- 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-grc2:2.94.1-2.94.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-24
The Peloponnesian raid causes great panic in Athens, but after plundering Salamis, the Peloponnesians retreat due to the Athenian reinforcement and leaky ships, leading Athens to secure Peiraeus.
ἐς δὲ τὰς Ἀθήνας φρυκτοί τε ᾔροντο πολέμιοι καὶ ἔκπληξις ἐγένετο οὐδεμιᾶς τῶν κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον ἐλάσσων. οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἐν τῷ ἄστει ἐς τὸν Πειραιᾶ ᾤοντο τοὺς πολεμίους ἐσπεπλευκέναι ἤδη, οἱ δ’ ἐν τῷ Πειραιεῖ τήν τε Σαλαμῖνα ᾑρῆσθαι καὶ παρὰ σφᾶς ὅσον οὐκ1 ἐσπλεῖν αὐτούς· ὅπερ ἄν, εἰ ἐβουλήθησαν μὴ κατοκνῆσαι, ῥᾳδίως ἐγένετο,2 καὶ οὐκ ἂν ἄνεμος ἐκώλυσεν.
Fire-signals of enemy approach were raised for Athens, and a panic arose not inferior to any during the war. For those in the city thought that the enemy had already sailed into Peiraeus, while those in Peiraeus thought that Salamis had been taken and that they were all but sailing into their own harbor; which indeed, if they had wished not to hesitate, would easily have happened, and the wind would not have prevented it.
βοηθήσαντες δὲ ἅμ’ ἡμέρᾳ πανδημεὶ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι ἐς τὸν Πειραιᾶ ναῦς τε καθεῖλκον καὶ ἐσβάντες κατὰ σπουδὴν καὶ πολλῷ θορύβῳ ταῖς μὲν ναυσὶν ἐπὶ τὴν Σαλαμῖνα ἔπλεον, τῷ πεζῷ δὲ φυλακὰς τοῦ Πειραιῶς καθίσταντο.
At daybreak the Athenians marched in full force to Peiraeus to help, and launched their ships; embarking in haste and with great tumult, they sailed with the ships to Salamis, while with the land force they established guards for Peiraeus.
οἱ δὲ Πελοποννήσιοι ὡς ᾔσθοντο τὴν βοήθειαν, καταδραμόντες τῆς Σαλαμῖνος τὰ πολλὰ καὶ ἀνθρώπους καὶ λείαν λαβόντες καὶ τὰς τρεῖς ναῦς ἐκ τοῦ Βουδόρου τοῦ φρουρίου κατὰ τάχος ἐπὶ τῆς Νισαίας ἀπέπλεον· ἔστι γὰρ ὅτι3 καὶ αἱ νῆες αὐτοὺς διὰ χρόνου καθελκυσθεῖσαι καὶ οὐδὲν στέγουσαι ἐφόβουν. ἀφικόμενοι δὲ ἐς τὰ Μέγαρα πάλιν ἐπὶ τῆς Κορίνθου ἀπεχώρησαν πεζῇ·
The Peloponnesians, when they perceived the reinforcement coming, after overrunning most of Salamis and taking prisoners and booty, and also the three ships from the fort of Budoron, sailed back in haste for Nisaea; for there was also the fact that their ships, having been launched after a long interval and being not at all watertight, caused them fear. Arriving back at Megara, they retreated by land to Corinth.
οἱ δ’ Ἀθηναῖοι οὐκέτι καταλαβόντες πρὸς τῇ Σαλαμῖνι ἀπέπλευσαν καὶ αὐτοί, καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο φυλακὴν ἤδη τοῦ Πειραιῶς μᾶλλον τὸ λοιπὸν ἐποιοῦντο λιμένων τε κλῄσει καὶ τῇ ἄλλῃ ἐπιμελείᾳ.
The Athenians, no longer finding them near Salamis, also sailed back themselves; and after this they henceforth kept guard over Peiraeus more securely, by closing the harbors and by other precautions.
- 2.94.1ὅσον οὐκ
Used adverbially to mean "all but" or "on the point of." Here it modifies the infinitive ἐσπλεῖν, expressing the imminent dread that the enemy was just about to sail into their own harbor.
- 2.94.1ὅπερ ἄν, εἰ ἐβουλήθησαν μὴ κατοκνῆσαι, ῥᾳδίως ἐγένετο
An unreal (contrary-to-fact) conditional sentence in the past. The protasis consists of εἰ with the aorist indicative (ἐβουλήθησαν), and the apodosis contains ἄν with the aorist indicatives (ἐγένετο and ἐκώλυσεν). The relative pronoun ὅπερ (referring to the sailing into Peiraeus) serves as the subject.
- 2.94.3ἔστι γὰρ ὅτι
An idiomatic expression meaning "for there was also the reason/fact that..." The verb ἔστι introduces the ὅτι clause explaining a cause, presenting an additional reason (the poor condition of the ships) for the Peloponnesians' hasty retreat.