- 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-grc2:2.91.1-2.91.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-24
The Athenian ships flee to Naupactus to prepare for defense. During the pursuit, a single Athenian ship successfully counters and sinks a Leucadian pursuer by maneuvering around an anchored merchant vessel, causing panic and disorder among the Peloponnesians.
ταύτῃ μὲν οὖν οἱ Πελοποννήσιοι ἐκράτουν τε καὶ διέφθειραν τὰς Ἀττικὰς ναῦς· αἱ δὲ εἴκοσι νῆες αὐτῶν αἱ ἀπὸ τοῦ δεξιοῦ κέρως ἐδίωκον τὰς ἕνδεκα ναῦς τῶν Ἀθηναίων αἵπερ ὑπεξέφυγον τὴν ἐπιστροφὴν ἐς τὴν εὐρυχωρίαν. καὶ φθάνουσιν αὐτοὺς πλὴν μιᾶς νεὼς προκαταφυγοῦσαι1 ἐς τὴν Ναύπακτον, καὶ σχοῦσαι ἀντίπρῳροι κατὰ τὸ Ἀπολλώνιον παρεσκευάζοντο ἀμυνούμενοι, ἢν ἐς τὴν γῆν ἐπὶ σφᾶς πλέωσιν.
In this way, the Peloponnesians were victorious and destroyed the Athenian ships; but their twenty ships from the right wing pursued the eleven Athenian ships which had escaped the turn into the open water. And these, with the exception of one ship, succeeded in fleeing first to Naupactus ahead of them, and having come to anchor with their prows facing the enemy near the temple of Apollo, they made preparations to defend themselves in case the enemy should sail against them toward the land.
οἱ δὲ παραγενόμενοι ὕστερον ἐπαιάνιζόν τε ἅμα πλέοντες ὡς νενικηκότες, καὶ τὴν μίαν ναῦν τῶν Ἀθηναίων τὴν ὑπόλοιπον ἐδίωκε Λευκαδία ναῦς μία πολὺ πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων.
Those who arrived later were singing a paean as they sailed, as if they had already won, and the single remaining Athenian ship was being pursued by a Leucadian ship, which was far ahead of the others.
ἔτυχε δὲ ὁλκὰς ὁρμοῦσα2 μετέωρος, περὶ ἣν ἡ Ἀττικὴ ναῦς φθάσασα καὶ περιπλεύσασα τῇ Λευκαδίᾳ διωκούσῃ ἐμβάλλει μέσῃ καὶ καταδύει.
Now it happened that a merchant vessel was anchored in the open water, around which the Athenian ship, getting ahead, sailed, and struck the pursuing Leucadian ship amidships and sank her.
τοῖς μὲν οὖν Πελοποννησίοις γενομένου τούτου ἀπροσδοκήτου τε καὶ παρὰ λόγον3 φόβος ἐμπίπτει, καὶ ἅμα ἀτάκτως διώκοντες διὰ τὸ κρατεῖν αἱ μέν τινες τῶν νεῶν καθεῖσαι τὰς κώπας ἐπέστησαν τοῦ πλοῦ, ἀξύμφορον δρῶντες πρὸς τὴν ἐξ ὀλίγου ἀντεφόρμησιν, βουλόμενοι4 τὰς πλείους περιμεῖναι, αἱ δὲ καὶ ἐς βράχεα ἀπειρίᾳ χωρίων ὤκειλαν.
As this happened unexpectedly and contrary to calculation, panic fell upon the Peloponnesians, and since they were pursuing in disorder due to their being victorious, some of the ships backed water and stopped their course—doing what was disadvantageous in the face of an attack from a short distance, as they wished to wait for the main body—while others, from ignorance of the localities, ran aground on the shallows.
- 2.91.1φθάνουσιν αὐτοὺς πλὴν μιᾶς νεὼς προκαταφυγοῦσαι
The verb φθάνουσιν (present tense used as historical present) takes the participle προκαταφυγοῦσαι to express the action of anticipating or succeeding in fleeing before the pursuers.
- 2.91.3ἔτυχε δὲ ὁλκὰς ὁρμοῦσα
The verb ἔτυχε (aorist of τυγχάνω) is construed with the participle ὁρμοῦσα to denote a coincidental occurrence (it happened that ... was anchored).
- 2.91.4γενομένου τούτου ἀπροσδοκήτου τε καὶ παρὰ λόγον
A genitive absolute construction expressing cause (since this happened unexpectedly and contrary to calculation). The preceding dative τοῖς ... Πελοποννησίοις functions as the indirect object of the main verb ἐμπίπτει.
- 2.91.4αἱ μέν τινες τῶν νεῶν ... ἐπέστησαν τοῦ πλοῦ, ἀξύμφορον δρῶντες ... βουλόμενοι
Although the grammatical subject is the feminine plural αἱ μέν τινες τῶν νεῶν, the participles δρῶντες and βουλόμενοι are in the masculine plural, agreeing ad sensum with the crews of the ships rather than the physical vessels.