- 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-grc2:2.5.1-2.5.7
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-23
The main Theban force arrives late at Plataea due to flooding and attempts to seize hostages from the countryside, prompting negotiations. The Plataeans secure the withdrawal of the Thebans but execute the prisoners immediately after securing their property.
οἱ δ’ ἄλλοι Θηβαῖοι, οὓς ἔδει ἔτι τῆς νυκτὸς παραγενέσθαι πανστρατιᾷ, εἴ τι ἄρα μὴ προχωροίη1 τοῖς ἐσεληλυθόσι, τῆς ἀγγελίας ἅμα καθ’ ὁδὸν αὐτοῖς ῥηθείσης περὶ τῶν γεγενημένων ἐπεβοήθουν.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Thebans, who were to have arrived during the night with their whole force, in case things should not go well with those who had entered, hastened to their relief as soon as the news of what had happened reached them on the march.
ἀπέχει δὲ ἡ Πλάταια τῶν Θηβῶν σταδίους ἑβδομήκοντα, καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ τὸ γενόμενον τῆς νυκτὸς ἐποίησε βραδύτερον αὐτοὺς ἐλθεῖν· ὁ γὰρ Ἀσωπὸς ποταμὸς ἐρρύη μέγας καὶ οὐ ῥᾳδίως διαβατὸς ἦν.
Now Plataea is seventy stadia distant from Thebes, and the rain which fell during the night made them slower in coming; for the river Asopus was running high and was not easy to cross.
πορευόμενοί τε ἐν ὑετῷ καὶ τὸν ποταμὸν μόλις διαβάντες ὕστερον παρεγένοντο, ἤδη τῶν ἀνδρῶν τῶν μὲν διεφθαρμένων, τῶν δὲ ζώντων ἐχομένων.
Marching in the rain and crossing the river with difficulty, they arrived too late, when some of their men had already been destroyed and others were held alive as prisoners.
ὡς δ’ ᾔσθοντο οἱ Θηβαῖοι τὸ γεγενημένον, ἐπεβούλευον τοῖς ἔξω τῆς πόλεως τῶν Πλαταιῶν· ἦσαν γὰρ καὶ ἄνθρωποι κατὰ τοὺς ἀγροὺς καὶ κατασκευή, οἷα ἀπροσδοκήτου κακοῦ ἐν εἰρήνῃ γενομένου·2 ἐβούλοντο γὰρ σφίσιν, εἴ τινα λάβοιεν, ὑπάρχειν ἀντὶ τῶν ἔνδον, ἢν ἄρα τύχωσί τινες ἐζωγρημένοι. καὶ οἱ μὲν ταῦτα διενοοῦντο, οἱ δὲ Πλαταιῆς ἔτι διαβουλευομένων αὐτῶν ὑποτοπήσαντες τοιοῦτόν τι ἔσεσθαι καὶ δείσαντες περὶ τοῖς ἔξω κήρυκα ἐξέπεμψαν παρὰ τοὺς Θηβαίους, λέγοντες ὅτι οὔτε τὰ πεποιημένα ὅσια δράσειαν ἐν σπονδαῖς σφῶν πειράσαντες καταλαβεῖν τὴν πόλιν, τά τε ἔξω ἔλεγον αὐτοῖς μὴ ἀδικεῖν·3 εἰ δὲ μή, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔφασαν αὐτῶν τοὺς ἄνδρας ἀποκτενεῖν οὓς ἔχουσι ζῶντας· ἀναχωρησάντων δὲ πάλιν ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἀποδώσειν αὐτοῖς τοὺς ἄνδρας.
When the Thebans realized what had happened, they began to plot against those Plataeans who were outside the city; for there were both people and property in the fields, as the calamity had occurred unexpectedly in a time of peace. They wished to have any whom they might capture to hold as hostages in exchange for their own men inside, in case any happened to have been taken alive. While they were planning this, the Plataeans, suspecting that something of the sort would happen while the Thebans were still deliberating, and fearing for those outside, sent a herald to the Thebans, saying that they had committed a sacrilegious deed in attempting to seize the city during a truce, and telling them not to injure those outside. Otherwise, they said they would kill the prisoners they held alive; but if they withdrew from the territory, they would restore the men to them.
Θηβαῖοι μὲν ταῦτα λέγουσι καὶ ἐπομόσαι φασὶν αὐτούς· Πλαταιῆς δ’ οὐχ ὁμολογοῦσι τοὺς ἄνδρας εὐθὺς ὑποσχέσθαι ἀποδώσειν, ἀλλὰ λόγων πρῶτον γενομένων ἤν τι ξυμβαίνωσι, καὶ ἐπομόσαι οὔ φασιν.
This is the Thebans’ account, and they say they swore to it; but the Plataeans do not admit that they promised to restore the men immediately, but only after preliminary negotiations to see if they could come to an agreement, and they deny that they swore an oath.
ἐκ δ’ οὖν τῆς γῆς ἀνεχώρησαν οἱ Θηβαῖοι οὐδὲν ἀδικήσαντες· οἱ δὲ Πλαταιῆς ἐπειδὴ τὰ ἐκ τῆς χώρας κατὰ τάχος ἐσεκομίσαντο, ἀπέκτειναν τοὺς ἄνδρας εὐθύς. ἦσαν δὲ ὀγδοήκοντα καὶ ἑκατὸν οἱ ληφθέντες, καὶ Εὐρύμαχος εἷς αὐτῶν ἦν, πρὸς ὃν ἔπραξαν οἱ προδιδόντες.
At any rate, the Thebans withdrew from the territory without doing any damage; but the Plataeans, as soon as they had quickly brought in their property from the country, put the prisoners to death immediately. There were one hundred and eighty who were captured, and Eurymachus, with whom the traitors had negotiated, was one of them.
- 2.5.1εἴ τι ἄρα μὴ προχωροίη
The optative with εἴ τι ἄρα (without ἄν) expresses a hypothetical condition ('in case something should not go well') viewed from a past perspective, depending on the past necessity (ἔδει) in the main clause.
- 2.5.4οἷα ἀπροσδοκήτου κακοῦ ἐν εἰρήνῃ γενομένου
The particle οἷα here accompanies the genitive absolute (ἀπροσδοκήτου κακοῦ... γενομένου) to present an objective, factual reason for the state of affairs ('since/inasmuch as an unexpected calamity had occurred in a time of peace').
- 2.5.5τά τε ἔξω ἔλεγον αὐτοῖς μὴ ἀδικεῖν
In the indirect speech, the construction shifts from the previous ὅτι clause to an indirect command using an infinitive (ἀδικεῖν) with a negative (μή), dependent on ἔλεγον ('they told them not to do any harm to those outside').