- 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-grc2:2.34.1-2.34.8
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-22
The ancestral custom and procedure of the Athenians for burying their war dead at public expense are described, along with the selection of Pericles to deliver the funeral oration over the first victims.
ἐν δὲ τῷ αὐτῷ χειμῶνι Ἀθηναῖοι τῷ πατρίῳ νόμῳ χρώμενοι δημοσίᾳ ταφὰς ἐποιήσαντο τῶν ἐν τῷδε τῷ πολέμῳ πρώτων ἀποθανόντων τρόπῳ τοιῷδε.
In the same winter, the Athenians, following their ancestral custom, celebrated at the public expense the funeral of those who first fell in this war, in the following manner.
τὰ μὲν ὀστᾶ προτίθενται τῶν ἀπογενομένων πρότριτα1 σκηνὴν ποιήσαντες, καὶ ἐπιφέρει τῷ αὑτοῦ ἕκαστος ἤν τι βούληται·
They first lay out the bones of the deceased three days beforehand, having erected a tent, and each person brings to his own relative whatever offering he wishes.
ἐπειδὰν δὲ ἡ ἐκφορὰ ᾖ, λάρνακας κυπαρισσίνας ἄγουσιν ἅμαξαι, φυλῆς ἑκάστης μίαν· ἔνεστι δὲ τὰ ὀστᾶ ἧς ἕκαστος ἦν φυλῆς.2 μία δὲ κλίνη κενὴ φέρεται ἐστρωμένη τῶν ἀφανῶν, οἳ ἂν μὴ εὑρεθῶσιν ἐς ἀναίρεσιν.3
And when the funeral procession takes place, wagons carry coffins of cypress wood, one for each tribe; inside are the bones of those who belonged to each tribe. And one empty bier, covered with a pall, is carried for the missing—those whose bodies could not be found for recovery.
ξυνεκφέρει δὲ ὁ βουλόμενος καὶ ἀστῶν καὶ ξένων, καὶ γυναῖκες πάρεισιν αἱ προσήκουσαι ἐπὶ τὸν τάφον ὀλοφυρόμεναι.
Anyone who wishes, both of citizens and strangers, joins in the procession, and the women who are related to the dead are present at the tomb, making lamentation.
τιθέασιν οὖν ἐς τὸ δημόσιον σῆμα, ὅ ἐστιν ἐπὶ τοῦ καλλίστου προαστείου τῆς πόλεως, καὶ αἰεὶ ἐν αὐτῷ θάπτουσι τοὺς ἐκ τῶν πολέμων, πλήν γε τοὺς ἐν Μαραθῶνι· ἐκείνων δὲ διαπρεπῆ τὴν ἀρετὴν κρίναντες αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸν τάφον ἐποίησαν.
So they lay them in the public sepulchre, which is in the most beautiful suburb of the city, and there they always bury those who fall in war, except indeed those who fell at Marathon; for, judging their valor to be pre-eminent, they made their tomb on the spot itself.
ἐπειδὰν δὲ κρύψωσι γῇ, ἀνὴρ ᾑρημένος ὑπὸ τῆς πόλεως, ὃς ἂν γνώμῃ τε δοκῇ μὴ ἀξύνετος εἶναι4 καὶ ἀξιώσει προήκῃ, λέγει ἐπ’ αὐτοῖς ἔπαινον τὸν πρέποντα· μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο ἀπέρχονται.
And when they have covered them with earth, a man chosen by the state, who is deemed not lacking in intellect and is pre-eminent in reputation, delivers over them the fitting panegyric; and after this they depart.
ὧδε μὲν θάπτουσιν· καὶ διὰ παντὸς τοῦ πολέμου, ὁπότε ξυμβαίη αὐτοῖς, ἐχρῶντο τῷ νόμῳ.
In this way they bury them; and throughout the whole war, whenever the occasion arose, they followed this custom.
ἐπὶ δ’ οὖν τοῖς πρώτοις τοῖσδε Περικλῆς ὁ Ξανθίππου ᾑρέθη λέγειν. καὶ ἐπειδὴ καιρὸς ἐλάμβανε,5 προελθὼν ἀπὸ τοῦ σήματος ἐπὶ βῆμα ὑψηλὸν πεποιημένον, ὅπως ἀκούοιτο ὡς ἐπὶ πλεῖστον τοῦ ὁμίλου, ἔλεγε τοιάδε.
Over these first victims, then, Pericles son of Xanthippus was chosen to speak. And when the proper moment arrived, stepping forward from the tomb to a high platform which had been erected so that he might be heard by as many of the crowd as possible, he spoke as follows.
- 2.34.2πρότριτα
Adverb meaning "three days beforehand." It refers to the period starting three days before the funeral procession (ἐκφορά), during which a tent is erected and the bones are laid out for relatives to bring offerings.
- 2.34.3ἧς ἕκαστος ἦν φυλῆς
Attraction of the relative pronoun and assimilation of the antecedent. The full structure would be τὰ ὀστᾶ τῆς φυλῆς ἧς ἕκαστος ἦν (the bones of the tribe to which each belonged), where the antecedent φυλῆς has been drawn into the relative clause.
- 2.34.3τῶν ἀφανῶν, οἳ ἂν μὴ εὑρεθῶσιν ἐς ἀναίρεσιν
τῶν ἀφανῶν (the missing) is defined by the relative clause (those who could not be found for recovery). The use of ἄν with the subjunctive denotes a general or hypothetical class rather than specific individuals.
- 2.34.6ὃς ἂν γνώμῃ τε δοκῇ μὴ ἀξύνετος εἶναι
μὴ ἀξύνετος is a litotes ("not unintelligent"), meaning highly intelligent or wise. The relative clause with ἄν and the subjunctive (δοκῇ) expresses a general condition or characteristic of the person to be chosen.
- 2.34.8καιρὸς ἐλάμβανε
An idiomatic expression consisting of the subject καιρός (season, proper time) and the imperfect verb ἐλάμβανε (was taking/seizing). Literally "time was seizing (them)", meaning "the proper moment arrived" or "the time came."