- Source
- Thucydides. Historiae, Vol 1-2. Jones, Henry Stuart, editor. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1910. (1942 printing).
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.18.1-2.18.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-22
The Peloponnesian army arrives at Oenoe, a border fortress, as their first point of invasion in Attica, but the troops grow resentful of Archidamus's delays, believing they allowed the Athenians time to secure their property.
ὁ δὲ στρατὸς τῶν Πελοποννησίων προϊὼν ἀφίκετο τῆς Ἀττικῆς1 ἐς Οἰνόην πρῶτον, ᾗπερ ἔμελλον ἐσβαλεῖν. καὶ ὡς ἐκαθέζοντο, προσβολὰς παρεσκευάζοντο τῷ τείχει ποιησόμενοι μηχαναῖς τε καὶ ἄλλῳ τρόπῳ·
The army of the Peloponnesians, advancing, arrived first at Oenoe in Attica, where they intended to invade. And when they encamped, they prepared to make assaults upon the wall with engines and in other ways.
ἡ γὰρ Οἰνόη οὖσα ἐν μεθορίοις τῆς Ἀττικῆς καὶ Βοιωτίας ἐτετείχιστο, καὶ αὐτῷ φρουρίῳ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι ἐχρῶντο ὁπότε πόλεμος καταλάβοι. τάς τε οὖν προσβολὰς ηὐτρεπίζοντο καὶ ἄλλως ἐνδιέτριψαν χρόνον περὶ αὐτήν.
For Oenoe, being on the border of Attica and Boeotia, was fortified, and the Athenians used it as a stronghold whenever war overtook them. So they made ready their assaults and also otherwise wasted time about it.
αἰτίαν τε οὐκ ἐλαχίστην Ἀρχίδαμος ἔλαβεν ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ, δοκῶν καὶ ἐν τῇ ξυναγωγῇ τοῦ πολέμου μαλακὸς εἶναι καὶ τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις ἐπιτήδειος, οὐ παραινῶν προθύμως πολεμεῖν· ἐπειδή τε ξυνελέγετο ὁ στρατός, ἥ τε ἐν τῷ Ἰσθμῷ ἐπιμονὴ γενομένη καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἄλλην πορείαν ἡ σχολαιότης διέβαλεν αὐτόν, μάλιστα δὲ ἡ ἐν τῇ Οἰνόῃ ἐπίσχεσις.
And Archidamus incurred no small blame because of this, appearing to be soft both in the gathering of the war and well-disposed to the Athenians, not urging them to wage war with enthusiasm. And when the army was assembling, the delay that occurred at the Isthmus, as well as his slowness during the rest of the march, brought him into disrepute, but most of all his halting at Oenoe.
οἱ γὰρ Ἀθηναῖοι ἐσεκομίζοντο ἐν τῷ χρόνῳ τούτῳ, καὶ ἐδόκουν οἱ Πελοποννήσιοι ἐπελθόντες ἂν διὰ τάχους πάντα ἔτι ἔξω καταλαβεῖν,2 εἰ μὴ διὰ τὴν ἐκείνου μέλλησιν.
For the Athenians were bringing in their property during this time, and the Peloponnesians thought that, if they had advanced quickly, they might have captured everything still outside, but for his delay.
ἐν τοιαύτῃ μὲν ὀργῇ ὁ στρατὸς τὸν Ἀρχίδαμον ἐν τῇ καθέδρᾳ εἶχεν. ὁ δὲ προσδεχόμενος, ὡς λέγεται, τοὺς Ἀθηναίους τῆς γῆς ἔτι ἀκεραίου οὔσης ἐνδώσειν τι καὶ κατοκνήσειν περιιδεῖν αὐτὴν τμηθεῖσαν,3 ἀνεῖχεν.
In such anger did the army hold Archidamus during the halt. But he, as it is said, expecting that the Athenians, while their land was still untouched, would make some concession and would shrink from allowing it to be ravaged, held back.
- 2.18.1τῆς Ἀττικῆς
A partitive genitive qualifying the accusative of place ἐς Οἰνόην, indicating "Oenoe of/in Attica."
- 2.18.4ἐπελθόντες ἂν ... καταλαβεῖν
The infinitive καταλαβεῖν with the particle ἂν is dependent on ἐδόκουν, representing an unreal past indicative with ἂν in indirect discourse (equivalent to ἐπῆλθον ἂν... κατέλαβον ἂν, "they would have captured"), with the protasis expressed by the prepositional phrase following εἰ μὴ.
- 2.18.5περιιδεῖν αὐτὴν τμηθεῖσαν
The aorist infinitive περιιδεῖν (from περιοράω, "to overlook, allow") takes the pronominal object αὐτὴν (the land) and the passive participle τμηθεῖσαν ("ravaged") to form the construction "allowing it to be ravaged." This entire phrase serves as the object of the infinitive κατοκνήσειν ("to shrink from").