- 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-grc2:3.55.1-3.55.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-26
The Plataeans argue that Sparta's rejection of their past alliance request drove them to ally with Athens, defend the integrity of their loyalty to Athens, and assert that the responsibility for any wrongdoing lies with the leading states rather than their followers.
‘καὶ τὰ μὲν παλαιὰ καὶ μέγιστα τοιοῦτοι ἠξιώσαμεν εἶναι, πολέμιοι δὲ ἐγενόμεθα ὕστερον. ὑμεῖς δὲ αἴτιοι· δεομένων1 γὰρ ξυμμαχίας ὅτε Θηβαῖοι ἡμᾶς ἐβιάσαντο, ὑμεῖς ἀπεώσασθε καὶ πρὸς Ἀθηναίους ἐκελεύετε τραπέσθαι ὡς ἐγγὺς ὄντας, ὑμῶν δὲ μακρὰν ἀποικούντων.
‘And in ancient times and in the most important matters we claimed to be such, but we became enemies later. You, however, are the cause; for when the Thebans oppressed us by force and we begged for an alliance, you rejected us and bid us turn to the Athenians on the ground that they were near, while you lived far away.
ἐν μέντοι τῷ πολέμῳ οὐδὲν ἐκπρεπέστερον ὑπὸ ἡμῶν οὔτε ἐπάθετε οὔτε ἐμελλήσατε.2
In this war, however, you neither suffered any outrageous treatment from us, nor were you likely to do so.
εἰ δ’ ἀποστῆναι Ἀθηναίων οὐκ ἠθελήσαμεν ὑμῶν κελευσάντων, οὐκ ἠδικοῦμεν· καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι ἐβοήθουν ἡμῖν ἐναντία Θηβαίοις ὅτε ὑμεῖς ἀπωκνεῖτε, καὶ προδοῦναι αὐτοὺς οὐκέτι ἦν καλόν, ἄλλως τε καὶ οὓς εὖ παθών τις3 καὶ αὐτὸς δεόμενος προσηγάγετο ξυμμάχους καὶ πολιτείας μετέλαβεν, ἰέναι δὲ ἐς τὰ παραγγελλόμενα εἰκὸς ἦν προθύμως.
And if we did not wish to revolt from the Athenians when you commanded us, we were not doing wrong; for they too helped us against the Thebans when you shrank back, and to betray them was no longer honorable, especially since we had received benefits from them, and having ourselves stood in need of them, had brought them in as allies and shared in their citizenship, but it was reasonable for us to go eagerly into what was commanded of us.
ἃ δὲ ἑκάτεροι ἐξηγεῖσθε4 τοῖς ξυμμάχοις, οὐχ οἱ ἑπόμενοι αἴτιοι εἴ τι μὴ καλῶς ἐδρᾶτο, ἀλλ’ οἱ ἄγοντες ἐπὶ τὰ μὴ ὀρθῶς ἔχοντα.
And in the policies which each of you led your allies, if anything was not done well, it is not those who followed that are to blame, but those who led them to what was not right.
- 3.55.1δεομένων
Although it is a genitive absolute construction, the semantic subject, the first-person plural pronoun ἡμῶν ('we'), is omitted.
- 3.55.2οὔτε ἐμελλήσατε
The infinitive παθεῖν, corresponding to the preceding verb ἐπάθετε ('to suffer'), is omitted after the verb μέλλω ('to be about to', 'to be likely to'). It means 'nor were you likely to suffer [any such treatment]'.
- 3.55.3οὓς εὖ παθών τις
The antecedent of the relative pronoun οὓς is omitted (such as ἀνθρώπους or ἐκείνους). The indefinite pronoun τις ('someone', 'one') is used to generalize the moral duty of one who has received benefits, referring practically to the Plataeans themselves.
- 3.55.4ἃ δὲ ἑκάτεροι ἐξηγεῖσθε
The relative pronoun ἃ (neuter plural) has no explicit antecedent and is preposed to form a noun clause meaning 'as for the things in which each of you led', functioning as an accusative of respect or reference.