- 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-grc2:2.4.1-2.4.8
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-23
The story of how the Theban raiders were thrown into confusion by the fierce counter-attack of the Plataeans and the night's severe weather, and were eventually trapped and forced to surrender.
οἱ δ’ ὡς ἔγνωσαν ἐξηπατημένοι, ξυνεστρέφοντό τε ἐν σφίσιν αὐτοῖς καὶ τὰς προσβολὰς ᾗ προσπίπτοιεν ἀπεωθοῦντο.
But when they realized that they had been deceived, they closed their ranks and repulsed the attacks wherever they fell upon them.
καὶ δὶς μὲν ἢ τρὶς ἀπεκρούσαντο, ἔπειτα πολλῷ θορύβῳ αὐτῶν τε προσβαλόντων καὶ τῶν γυναικῶν καὶ τῶν οἰκετῶν ἅμα ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκιῶν κραυγῇ τε καὶ ὀλολυγῇ χρωμένων λίθοις τε καὶ κεράμῳ βαλλόντων, καὶ ὑετοῦ ἅμα διὰ νυκτὸς πολλοῦ ἐπιγενομένου,1 ἐφοβήθησαν καὶ τραπόμενοι ἔφευγον διὰ τῆς πόλεως, ἄπειροι μὲν ὄντες οἱ πλείους ἐν σκότῳ καὶ πηλῷ τῶν διόδων ᾗ χρὴ σωθῆναι (καὶ γὰρ τελευτῶντος τοῦ μηνὸς τὰ γιγνόμενα ἦν), ἐμπείρους δὲ ἔχοντες τοὺς διώκοντας τοῦ μὴ ἐκφεύγειν,2 ὥστε διεφθείροντο οἱ πολλοί.
And though they beat them off twice or thrice, yet afterwards, in the midst of a great tumult, as the Plataeans themselves attacked them and the women and slaves at the same time shrieked and wailed from the houses, throwing stones and tiles, and moreover a heavy rain came on during the night, they were terrified and turned and fled through the city. Most of them were unacquainted in the darkness and mud with the passages by which they might save themselves (for these events took place at the end of the month), while their pursuers had the experience to prevent them from escaping; so that the majority of them were destroyed.
τῶν δὲ Πλαταιῶν τις τὰς πύλας ᾗ ἐσῆλθον καὶ αἵπερ ἦσαν μόναι ἀνεῳγμέναι ἔκλῃσε στυρακίῳ ἀκοντίου ἀντὶ βαλάνου χρησάμενος ἐς τὸν μοχλόν, ὥστε μηδὲ ταύτῃ ἔξοδον ἔτι εἶναι.
One of the Plataeans closed the gate by which they had entered, and which was the only one open, by using the spike of a javelin instead of a peg for the bar, so that there was no longer any exit even this way.
διωκόμενοι δὲ κατὰ τὴν πόλιν οἱ μέν τινες αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὸ τεῖχος ἀναβάντες ἔρριψαν ἐς τὸ ἔξω σφᾶς αὐτοὺς καὶ διεφθάρησαν οἱ πλείους, οἱ δὲ κατὰ πύλας ἐρήμους γυναικὸς δούσης πέλεκυν λαθόντες καὶ διακόψαντες τὸν μοχλὸν ἐξῆλθον οὐ πολλοί (αἴσθησις γὰρ ταχεῖα ἐπεγένετο), ἄλλοι δὲ ἄλλῃ τῆς πόλεως σποράδες ἀπώλλυντο.
As they were pursued through the city, some of them climbed the wall and threw themselves down outside, and most of these perished; others came to an unguarded gate, where a woman gave them an axe, and having secretly cut through the bar, they got out, though not many, for they were quickly noticed; still others were destroyed scattered here and there in different parts of the city.
τὸ δὲ πλεῖστον καὶ ὅσον μάλιστα ἦν ξυνεστραμμένον ἐσπίπτουσιν ἐς οἴκημα μέγα, ὃ ἦν τοῦ τείχους3 καὶ αἱ θύραι ἀνεῳγμέναι ἔτυχον αὐτοῦ, οἰόμενοι πύλας τὰς θύρας τοῦ οἰκήματος εἶναι καὶ ἄντικρυς δίοδον ἐς τὸ ἔξω.
But the greatest part, and those who were most closely packed together, rushed into a large building which formed part of the wall, and the doors of which happened to be open, thinking that the doors of the building were the city gates and that there was a direct passage through to the outside.
ὁρῶντες δὲ αὐτοὺς οἱ Πλαταιῆς ἀπειλημμένους ἐβουλεύοντο εἴτε κατακαύσωσιν ὥσπερ ἔχουσιν, ἐμπρήσαντες τὸ οἴκημα, εἴτε τι ἄλλο χρήσωνται.4
When the Plataeans saw them thus cut off, they deliberated whether they should burn them where they were by setting fire to the building, or deal with them in some other way.
τέλος δὲ οὗτοί τε καὶ ὅσοι ἄλλοι τῶν Θηβαίων περιῆσαν κατὰ τὴν πόλιν πλανώμενοι, ξυνέβησαν τοῖς Πλαταιεῦσι παραδοῦναι σφᾶς τε αὐτοὺς καὶ τὰ ὅπλα χρήσασθαι ὅτι ἂν βούλωνται.
At last these, as well as all the other Thebans who survived and were wandering about the city, agreed to surrender themselves and their arms to the Plataeans, to do with them whatever they pleased.
οἱ μὲν δὴ ἐν τῇ Πλαταίᾳ οὕτως ἐπεπράγεσαν·
Such was the fate of those who had entered Plataea.
- 2.4.2αὐτῶν τε προσβαλόντων ... ἐπιγενομένου
A series of genitive absolutes connected by τε... καί graphically depicts the chaotic situation leading to the main verb ἐφοβήθησαν. αὐτῶν refers to the Plataean male citizens.
- 2.4.2τοῦ μὴ ἐκφεύγειν
An articular infinitive in the genitive with the negative μή. It is best understood as a complement modifying the adjective ἐμπείρους ('experienced in preventing their escape'), though it can also be interpreted as a genitive of purpose ('in order that they might not escape').
- 2.4.5ὃ ἦν τοῦ τείχους
The genitive τοῦ τείχους is a possessive genitive or genitive of belonging, meaning that the building 'belonged to' or 'was a part of' the city wall.
- 2.4.6εἴτε κατακαύσωσιν ... εἴτε τι ἄλλο χρήσωνται
Deliberative subjunctives in an indirect question. Although following a historical main verb ἐβουλεύοντο (imperfect), where an optative might be expected, the subjunctives are retained to preserve the vividness of the deliberation.