Recollection of Ancient Prophecies and the Spartan Oracle — Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War Book 2 (2.54.1–2.54.5), Greek & English

§2.54.1

τοιούτῳ μὲν πάθει οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι περιπεσόντες ἐπιέζοντο, ἀνθρώπων τ’ ἔνδον θνῃσκόντων καὶ γῆς ἔξω δῃουμένης.¹

Falling into such a calamity, the Athenians were hard pressed, while within the city people were dying and outside the land was being ravaged.

§2.54.2

ἐν δὲ τῷ κακῷ οἷα εἰκὸς² ἀνεμνήσθησαν καὶ τοῦδε τοῦ ἔπους, φάσκοντες οἱ πρεσβύτεροι πάλαι ᾄδεσθαι "‘ἥξει Δωριακὸς πόλεμος καὶ λοιμὸς ἅμ’ αὐτῷ.’ " ἐγένετο μὲν οὖν ἔρις τοῖς ἀνθρώποις μὴ λοιμὸν ὠνομάσθαι ἐν τῷ ἔπει ὑπὸ τῶν παλαιῶν, ἀλλὰ λιμόν,³ ἐνίκησε δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος εἰκότως λοιμὸν εἰρῆσθαι· οἱ γὰρ ἄνθρωποι πρὸς ἃ ἔπασχον τὴν μνήμην ἐποιοῦντο. ἢν δέ γε οἶμαί ποτε ἄλλος πόλεμος καταλάβῃ Δωρικὸς τοῦδε ὕστερος καὶ ξυμβῇ γενέσθαι λιμόν, κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς οὕτως ᾄσονται.

And in their distress, as was natural, they also remembered this verse, the older men saying that it had been sung of old: “’A Dorian war shall come, and with it a plague.’ “ Thus a dispute arose among the people, some maintaining that not ‘plague’ but ‘famine’ had been named in the verse by the ancients; but under the present circumstances, the opinion naturally prevailed that ‘plague’ had been spoken of, for people adapted their memory to what they were currently suffering. But if, I think, another Dorian war should ever come after this one and it should happen that a famine occurs, they will in all probability sing in that way.

§2.54.4

μνήμη δὲ ἐγένετο καὶ τοῦ Λακεδαιμονίων χρηστηρίου τοῖς εἰδόσιν,⁴ ὅτε ἐπερωτῶσιν αὐτοῖς τὸν θεὸν εἰ χρὴ πολεμεῖν ἀνεῖλε κατὰ κράτος πολεμοῦσι νίκην ἔσεσθαι,⁵ καὶ αὐτὸς ἔφη ξυλλήψεσθαι.

And those who knew of it also remembered the oracle given to the Lacedaemonians, that when they inquired of the god whether they should go to war, he answered that if they fought with all their might, victory would be theirs, and said that he himself would take part with them.

§2.54.5

περὶ μὲν οὖν τοῦ χρηστηρίου τὰ γιγνόμενα ᾔκαζον ὁμοῖα εἶναι· ἐσβεβληκότων δὲ τῶν Πελοποννησίων ἡ νόσος ἤρξατο εὐθύς, καὶ ἐς μὲν Πελοπόννησον οὐκ ἐσῆλθεν, ὅτι καὶ ἄξιον εἰπεῖν, ἐπενείματο δὲ Ἀθήνας μὲν μάλιστα, ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων χωρίων τὰ πολυανθρωπότατα. ταῦτα μὲν τὰ κατὰ τὴν νόσον γενόμενα.

Thus regarding the oracle, they conjectured that what was happening was similar to it; for the disease began immediately after the Peloponnesians had invaded. And while it did not enter the Peloponnese to any extent worth mentioning, it ravaged Athens most of all, and next those of the other places that were most populous. These, then, were the events that occurred in connection with the disease.

Syntax notes5 items

2.54.1ἀνθρώπων τ’ ἔνδον θνῃσκόντων καὶ γῆς ἔξω δῃουμένης
A genitive absolute construction where two parallel clauses with contrasting adverbs ἔνδον ('inside') and ἔξω ('outside') are juxtaposed to describe the internal and external hardships the Athenians were facing simultaneously.
2.54.2οἷα εἰκὸς
An adverbial parenthetical phrase, literally 'such things as are natural,' functioning to mean 'as is natural (under such circumstances),' reflecting the psychological tendency of people to recall ancient prophecies during a crisis.
2.54.3μὴ λοιμὸν ὠνομάσθαι ἐν τῷ ἔπει ὑπὸ τῶν παλαιῶν, ἀλλὰ λιμόν
An infinitive clause explaining the content of the noun ἔρις ('dispute'). The negative particle μὴ is used to negate λοιμός ('plague') in favor of λιμός ('famine'). The controversy arose due to the homophonic similarity between the two words in the pronunciation of the time.
2.54.4τοῖς εἰδόσιν
Dative plural of the perfect participle of οἶδα ('to know'), functioning as a dative of reference or possession with the impersonal expression μνήμη δὲ ἐγένετο ('remembrance arose'), meaning 'among those who knew (of it).'
2.54.4κατὰ κράτος πολεμοῦσι νίκην ἔσεσθαι
An accusative and infinitive construction expressing the content of the oracle (ἀνεῖλε). The dative plural present participle πολεμοῦσι functions conditionally: 'if they fought with all their might, there would be victory (νίκην ἔσεσθαι).'

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.54.1-2.54.5