- 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-grc2:3.23.1-3.23.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-25
The Plataeans secure the towers to block enemy reinforcements while the majority scale the wall, succeeding in crossing the water-logged outer ditch despite being pursued by enemies carrying torches.
οἱ δ’1 ὑπερβαίνοντες τῶν Πλαταιῶν ἐν τούτῳ, ὡς οἱ πρῶτοι αὐτῶν ἀνεβεβήκεσαν καὶ τοῦ πύργου ἑκατέρου τοὺς φύλακας διαφθείραντες ἐκεκρατήκεσαν, τάς τε διόδους τῶν πύργων ἐνστάντες αὐτοὶ ἐφύλασσον μηδένα δι’ αὐτῶν ἐπιβοηθεῖν, καὶ κλίμακας προσθέντες ἀπὸ τοῦ τείχους τοῖς πύργοις καὶ ἐπαναβιβάσαντες ἄνδρας πλείους, οἱ μὲν ἀπὸ τῶν πύργων τοὺς ἐπιβοηθοῦντας καὶ κάτωθεν καὶ ἄνωθεν εἶργον βάλλοντες, οἱ δ’ ἐν τούτῳ οἱ πλείους πολλὰς προσθέντες κλίμακας ἅμα καὶ τὰς ἐπάλξεις ἀπώσαντες διὰ τοῦ μεταπυργίου ὑπερέβαινον.
Meanwhile, the escaping Plataeans, when the first of them had ascended and, having killed the guards, had taken possession of each of the two towers, themselves took up positions in the passages of the towers and guarded them so that no one should bring aid through them. Having placed ladders from the wall against the towers and having sent more men up, some, from the towers, kept off those who were coming to help, both from below and from above, by throwing missiles at them, while the majority, in the meantime, having placed many ladders and at the same time having thrown down the battlements, were climbing over through the space between the towers.
ὁ δὲ διακομιζόμενος αἰεὶ2 ἵστατο ἐπὶ τοῦ χείλους τῆς τάφρου καὶ ἐντεῦθεν ἐτόξευόν τε καὶ ἠκόντιζον, εἴ τις παραβοηθῶν παρὰ τὸ τεῖχος κωλυτὴς γίγνοιτο τῆς διαβάσεως.
Those who crossed over from time to time stood on the brink of the ditch, and from there shot arrows and threw javelins in case anyone coming to help along the wall should try to hinder their crossing.
ἐπεὶ δὲ πάντες διεπεπεραίωντο, οἱ ἀπὸ τῶν πύργων χαλεπῶς οἱ τελευταῖοι καταβαίνοντες ἐχώρουν ἐπὶ τὴν τάφρον, καὶ ἐν τούτῳ οἱ τριακόσιοι αὐτοῖς ἐπεφέροντο λαμπάδας ἔχοντες.
When all had crossed over, those from the towers, who were the last to descend, with difficulty went toward the ditch; and in the meantime, the three hundred were bearing down upon them, carrying torches.
οἱ μὲν οὖν Πλαταιῆς ἐκείνους ἑώρων μᾶλλον ἐκ τοῦ σκότους ἑστῶτες ἐπὶ τοῦ χείλους τῆς τάφρου, καὶ ἐτόξευόν τε καὶ ἐσηκόντιζον ἐς τὰ γυμνά, αὐτοὶ δὲ ἐν τῷ ἀφανεῖ ὄντες ἧσσον διὰ τὰς λαμπάδας καθεωρῶντο, ὥστε φθάνουσι τῶν Πλαταιῶν καὶ οἱ ὕστατοι διαβάντες3 τὴν τάφρον, χαλεπῶς δὲ καὶ βιαίως·
Now, the Plataeans, standing on the brink of the ditch, saw them better out of the darkness, and shot arrows and threw javelins at their exposed parts; while they themselves, being in the dark, were less easily seen because of the torches, so that even the last of the Plataeans succeeded in crossing the ditch before the enemy could reach them, though with difficulty and effort.
κρύσταλλός τε γὰρ ἐπεπήγει οὐ βέβαιος ἐν αὐτῇ ὥστ’ ἐπελθεῖν, ἀλλ’ οἷος ἀπηλιώτου [ἢ βορέου] ὑδατώδης μᾶλλον, καὶ ἡ νὺξ τοιούτῳ ἀνέμῳ ὑπονειφομένη πολὺ τὸ ὕδωρ ἐν αὐτῇ ἐπεποιήκει, ὃ μόλις ὑπερέχοντες ἐπεραιώθησαν.4 ἐγένετο δὲ καὶ ἡ διάφευξις αὐτοῖς μᾶλλον διὰ τοῦ χειμῶνος τὸ μέγεθος.
For ice had frozen in it, not firm enough to walk upon, but such as comes with an east wind [or north wind], rather slushy; and the night, with a light snow falling under such a wind, had made the water in it rise high, which they crossed over with difficulty, barely keeping their heads above water. Indeed, their escape was made possible largely because of the severity of the storm.
- 3.23.1οἱ δ’ ὑπερβαίνοντες... οἱ μὲν... οἱ δ’
An instance of anacoluthon (nominativus pendens). The phrase "οἱ δ’ ὑπερβαίνοντες τῶν Πλαταιῶν" is introduced as the subject at the beginning of the sentence, but instead of having its own direct finite verb, it is split into "οἱ μὲν" and "οἱ δ’" which govern their respective verbs ("εἶργον" and "ὑπερέβαινον").
- 3.23.2ὁ δὲ διακομιζόμενος αἰεὶ
Collective singular. The singular present participle combined with the adverb "αἰεὶ" (each time, continually) refers to "each of those who crossed over in turn", denoting a repeated action by successive individuals.
- 3.23.4φθάνουσι... διαβάντες
The idiom of the verb "φθάνω" with a participle, meaning "to anticipate doing something" or "to do something before someone else does". Here it indicates that the last of the Plataeans succeeded in crossing the ditch before the enemy could intercept them.
- 3.23.5ὃ μόλις ὑπερέχοντες ἐπεραιώθησαν
Ellipsis with the participle "ὑπερέχοντες". Used intransitively, it means "holding [themselves/their heads] above [the water]", depicting the difficult situation where the water was so high that they could only cross by barely keeping their heads above it.