- 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-grc2:3.22.1-3.22.8
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-25
The Plataeans attempt to escape over the besiegers' wall on a dark, stormy night. Despite a falling tile alerting the guards, diversionary attacks and deceptive fire-signals from the city throw the enemy into complete confusion.
οἱ δ᾽, ἐπειδὴ παρεσκεύαστο αὐτοῖς, τηρήσαντες νύκτα χειμέριον ὕδατι καὶ ἀνέμῳ καὶ ἅμ’ ἀσέληνον ἐξῇσαν· ἡγοῦντο δὲ οἵπερ καὶ τῆς πείρας αἴτιοι ἦσαν. καὶ πρῶτον μὲν τὴν τάφρον διέβησαν ἣ περιεῖχεν αὐτούς, ἔπειτα προσέμειξαν τῷ τείχει τῶν πολεμίων λαθόντες τοὺς φύλακας, ἀνὰ τὸ σκοτεινὸν μὲν οὐ προϊδόντων αὐτῶν, ψόφῳ δὲ τῷ ἐκ τοῦ προσιέναι αὐτοὺς ἀντιπαταγοῦντος τοῦ ἀνέμου οὐ κατακουσάντων·1
When their preparations were complete, they went out, having watched for a stormy night with rain and wind, and at the same time moonless; and they were led by those who had actually been the authors of the enterprise. First they crossed the ditch which surrounded them, and then they approached the wall of the enemy without being noticed by the guards, who did not see them because of the darkness, and did not hear them because the sound of their approach was drowned out by the howling of the wind.
ἅμα δὲ καὶ διέχοντες πολὺ ᾖσαν, ὅπως τὰ ὅπλα μὴ κρουόμενα πρὸς ἄλληλα αἴσθησιν παρέχοι. ἦσαν δὲ εὐσταλεῖς τε τῇ ὁπλίσει καὶ τὸν ἀριστερὸν μόνον πόδα ὑποδεδεμένοι2 ἀσφαλείας ἕνεκα τῆς πρὸς τὸν πηλόν.
At the same time, they marched at a considerable distance from one another, so that their arms might not clash against each other and betray them. They were lightly equipped, and had only their left foot shod, for the sake of safety against slipping in the mud.
κατὰ οὖν μεταπύργιον προσέμισγον πρὸς τὰς ἐπάλξεις, εἰδότες ὅτι ἐρῆμοί εἰσι, πρῶτον μὲν οἱ τὰς κλίμακας φέροντες, καὶ προσέθεσαν· ἔπειτα ψιλοὶ δώδεκα ξὺν ξιφιδίῳ καὶ θώρακι ἀνέβαινον, ὧν ἡγεῖτο Ἀμμέας ὁ Κοροίβου καὶ πρῶτος ἀνέβη· μετὰ δὲ αὐτὸν οἱ ἑπόμενοι, ἓξ ἐφ’ ἑκάτερον τῶν πύργων, ἀνέβαινον. ἔπειτα ψιλοὶ ἄλλοι μετὰ τούτους ξὺν δορατίοις ἐχώρουν, οἷς ἕτεροι κατόπιν τὰς ἀσπίδας ἔφερον, ὅπως ἐκεῖνοι ῥᾷον προσβαίνοιεν, καὶ ἔμελλον δώσειν ὁπότε πρὸς τοῖς πολεμίοις εἶεν.
Accordingly, at the space between two towers they approached the battlements, knowing that they were deserted; first came those who carried the ladders, and they placed them against the wall; next, twelve light-armed men, with only a dagger and a breastplate, began to ascend, led by Ammeas, the son of Coroebus, who was the first to mount; after him followed the rest, six ascending each of the two towers. After these came other light-armed men with short spears, behind whom others carried their shields, so that they might ascend more easily, being ready to hand them over when they were close to the enemy.
ὡς δὲ ἄνω πλείους ἐγένοντο, ᾔσθοντο οἱ ἐκ τῶν πύργων φύλακες· κατέβαλε γάρ τις τῶν Πλαταιῶν ἀντιλαμβανόμενος ἀπὸ τῶν ἐπάλξεων κεραμίδα, ἣ πεσοῦσα δοῦπον ἐποίησεν.
When a considerable number had reached the top, the guards in the towers became aware of it; for one of the Plataeans, in laying hold of the battlements, knocked down a tile, which fell and made a noise.
καὶ αὐτίκα βοὴ ἦν, τὸ δὲ στρατόπεδον ἐπὶ τὸ τεῖχος ὥρμησεν· οὐ γὰρ ᾔδει ὅτι ἦν τὸ δεινὸν σκοτεινῆς νυκτὸς καὶ χειμῶνος ὄντος, καὶ ἅμα οἱ ἐν τῇ πόλει τῶν Πλαταιῶν ὑπολελειμμένοι ἐξελθόντες προσέβαλον τῷ τείχει τῶν Πελοποννησίων ἐκ τοὔμπαλιν ἢ οἱ ἄνδρες αὐτῶν ὑπερέβαινον, ὅπως ἥκιστα πρὸς αὐτοὺς τὸν νοῦν ἔχοιεν.
Immediately a shout was raised, and the army rushed to the wall; for they did not know what the danger was, as the night was dark and it was stormy. At the same time, the Plataeans left behind in the city sallied out and attacked the wall of the Peloponnesians on the opposite side from that where their men were climbing over, so that the enemy might direct their attention to them as little as possible.
ἐθορυβοῦντο μὲν οὖν κατὰ χώραν μένοντες, βοηθεῖν δὲ οὐδεὶς ἐτόλμα ἐκ τῆς ἑαυτῶν φυλακῆς, ἀλλ’ ἐν ἀπόρῳ ἦσαν εἰκάσαι τὸ γιγνόμενον.
Thus they remained in their places in confusion, and no one ventured to leave his own post to bring aid, but they were at a loss to conjecture what was happening.
καὶ οἱ τριακόσιοι αὐτῶν, οἷς ἐτέτακτο παραβοηθεῖν εἴ τι δέοι, ἐχώρουν ἔξω τοῦ τείχους πρὸς τὴν βοήν. φρυκτοί τε ᾔροντο ἐς τὰς Θήβας πολέμιοι·
And their three hundred, who were appointed to bring aid wherever it might be needed, went outside the wall in the direction of the shouting. Fire-signals of enemy alarm were also raised toward Thebes.
παρανῖσχον δὲ καὶ οἱ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως Πλαταιῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ τείχους φρυκτοὺς πολλοὺς πρότερον παρεσκευασμένους ἐς αὐτὸ τοῦτο, ὅπως ἀσαφῆ τὰ σημεῖα τῆς φρυκτωρίας τοῖς πολεμίοις ᾖ καὶ μὴ βοηθοῖεν,3 ἄλλο τι νομίσαντες τὸ γιγνόμενον εἶναι ἢ τὸ ὄν, πρὶν σφῶν οἱ ἄνδρες οἱ ἐξιόντες διαφύγοιεν καὶ τοῦ ἀσφαλοῦς ἀντιλάβοιντο.
To counteract this, the Plataeans in the city also showed many fire-signals from the wall, which had been previously prepared for this very purpose, so that the enemy’s signals might be unintelligible and they might not bring aid, believing that the situation was something other than what it really was, until their men who were escaping should have got clear away and reached safety.
- 3.22.1οὐ προϊδόντων αὐτῶν, ψόφῳ δὲ τῷ ἐκ τοῦ προσιέναι αὐτοὺς ἀντιπαταγοῦντος τοῦ ἀνέμου οὐ κατακουσάντων
Both οὐ προϊδόντων αὐτῶν and οὐ κατακουσάντων are genitives absolute whose implied subject is the guards (τοὺς φύλακας), mentioned earlier, rather than the main subject of the sentence (the escaping Plataeans, οἱ δ᾽). Interposed between them is another genitive absolute, ἀντιπαταγοῦντος τοῦ ἀνέμου ('since the wind was roaring against it'), which explains the cause of the guards' inability to hear the sound.
- 3.22.2τὸν ἀριστερὸν μόνον πόδα ὑποδεδεμένοι
The perfect middle participle ὑποδεδεμένοι takes τὸν ἀριστερὸν μόνον πόδα as its direct object, meaning 'having shod only their left foot.' This construction reflects the middle voice indicating an action performed on oneself or one's own body parts, but it can also be analyzed as an accusative of specification/respect.
- 3.22.8ὅπως ἀσαφῆ τὰ σημεῖα τῆς φρυκτωρίας τοῖς πολεμίοις ᾖ καὶ μὴ βοηθοῖεν
Within the purpose clause introduced by ὅπως, the subjunctive ᾖ (present) and the optative βοηθοῖεν (present) are coordinated. Since the main verb of the clause is in the past (imperfect παρανῖσχον), Thucydides employs a characteristic shift of mood (variatio), combining the vivid presentation of immediate purpose (subjunctive) with the remote potentiality after historical tenses (optative).