- 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-grc2:3.31.1-3.31.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-25
Alcidas rejects the plan to attack Mytilene, prompting the Ionian exiles and Lesbians to propose seizing an Ionian city to instigate a revolt, damage Athenian finances, and ally with Persia, but Alcidas rejects this as well, desiring only a quick return to the Peloponnese.
ὁ μὲν τοσαῦτα εἰπὼν οὐκ ἔπειθε τὸν Ἀλκίδαν. ἄλλοι δέ τινες τῶν ἀπ’ Ἰωνίας φυγάδων καὶ οἱ Λέσβιοι 〈οἱ〉 ξυμπλέοντες παρῄνουν, ἐπειδὴ τοῦτον τὸν κίνδυνον φοβεῖται, τῶν ἐν Ἰωνίᾳ πόλεων καταλαβεῖν τινὰ ἢ Κύμην τὴν Αἰολίδα, ὅπως ἐκ πόλεως ὁρμώμενοι τὴν Ἰωνίαν ἀποστήσωσιν (ἐλπίδα δ’ εἶναι· οὐδενὶ γὰρ ἀκουσίως ἀφῖχθαι)1 καὶ τὴν πρόσοδον ταύτην μεγίστην οὖσαν Ἀθηναίων [ἢν] ὑφέλωσι, καὶ ἅμα, ἢν ἐφορμῶσι σφίσιν, αὐτοῖς δαπάνη γίγνηται·2 πείσειν τε οἴεσθαι καὶ Πισσούθνην ὥστε ξυμπολεμεῖν.
He spoke thus, but could not persuade Alcidas. But some others of the exiles from Ionia and the Lesbians who were sailing with them advised him, since he was afraid of this danger, to seize one of the cities in Ionia or Cyme in Aeolis, so that, using it as a base, they might bring about the revolt of Ionia (and they said there was hope of success, for their arrival was unwelcome to no one) and deprive the Athenians of this revenue, which was their greatest, and at the same time, if they should blockade them, expense would be incurred by them; they added that they thought they could also persuade Pissuthnes to join them in the war.
ὁ δὲ οὐδὲ ταῦτα ἐνεδέχετο, ἀλλὰ τὸ πλεῖστον τῆς γνώμης εἶχεν, ἐπειδὴ τῆς Μυτιλήνης ὑστερήκει, ὅτι τάχιστα τῇ Πελοποννήσῳ πάλιν προσμεῖξαι.3
But he would not accept these proposals either; instead, since he had arrived too late for Mytilene, his chief determination was to return as quickly as possible to the Peloponnese.
- 3.31.1οὐδενὶ γὰρ ἀκουσίως ἀφῖχθαι
An infinitive clause in indirect discourse. The subject of ἀφῖχθαι (perfect infinitive of ἀφικνέομαι, referring to the Peloponnesian fleet) is omitted as it is clear from the context. οὐδενὶ is a dative of interest/relation ("to no one"). The phrase means "their arrival was unwelcome to no one."
- 3.31.1ἢν ἐφορμῶσι σφίσιν, αὐτοῖς δαπάνη γίγνηται
Care should be taken with the referents of the pronouns. The indirect reflexive pronoun σφίσιν ("themselves") refers to the proposers (the Ionian exiles and Lesbians), while the dative αὐτοῖς ("them") refers to the Athenians. γίγνηται is a subjunctive governed by the purpose conjunction ὅπως, parallel to ἀποστήσωσιν and ὑφέλωσι.
- 3.31.2τὸ πλεῖστον τῆς γνώμης εἶχεν ... προσμεῖξαι
Here εἶχεν (imperfect of ἔχω) means "held" or "directed," taking τὸ πλεῖστον τῆς γνώμης ("the greater part of his mind/purpose") as its object. The following infinitive προσμεῖξαι ("to reach/rejoin") explains the substance of this purpose.