Defense of Repelling Thebes and Appeal to Spartan Justice — Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War Book 3 (3.56.1–3.56.7), Greek & English

§3.56.1

‘Θηβαῖοι δὲ πολλὰ μὲν καὶ ἄλλα ἡμᾶς ἠδίκησαν, τὸ δὲ τελευταῖον αὐτοὶ ξύνιστε, δι’ ὅπερ καὶ τάδε πάσχομεν.

‘The Thebans have done us many other wrongs, but of the last you yourselves are well aware, and it is on account of this that we are suffering these present things.

§3.56.2

πόλιν γὰρ αὐτοὺς τὴν ἡμετέραν καταλαμβάνοντας ἐν σπονδαῖς καὶ προσέτι ἱερομηνίᾳ ὀρθῶς τε ἐτιμωρησάμεθα κατὰ τὸν πᾶσι νόμον καθεστῶτα, τὸν ἐπιόντα πολέμιον ὅσιον εἶναι ἀμύνεσθαι,¹ καὶ νῦν οὐκ ἂν εἰκότως δι’ αὐτοὺς βλαπτοίμεθα.

For when they were seizing our city during a truce, and moreover during a holy month, we rightly punished them in accordance with the established law common to all, which says that it is holy to repel an attacking enemy; and now we should not reasonably be harmed on their account.

§3.56.3

εἰ γὰρ τῷ αὐτίκα χρησίμῳ ὑμῶν τε καὶ ἐκείνων πολεμίῳ² τὸ δίκαιον λήψεσθε, τοῦ μὲν ὀρθοῦ φανεῖσθε οὐκ ἀληθεῖς κριταὶ ὄντες, τὸ δὲ ξυμφέρον μᾶλλον θεραπεύοντες.

For if you take what is just by the measure of your own immediate utility and their status as enemies, you will show yourselves to be no true judges of what is right, but rather servants of your own interest.

§3.56.4

καίτοι εἰ νῦν ὑμῖν ὠφέλιμοι δοκοῦσιν εἶναι, πολὺ καὶ ἡμεῖς καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι Ἕλληνες μᾶλλον τότε ὅτε ἐν μείζονι κινδύνῳ ἦτε. νῦν μὲν γὰρ ἑτέροις ὑμεῖς ἐπέρχεσθε δεινοί, ἐν ἐκείνῳ δὲ τῷ καιρῷ, ὅτε πᾶσι δουλείαν ἐπέφερεν ὁ βάρβαρος, οἵδε μετ’ αὐτοῦ ἦσαν.

And yet, if they seem to be useful to you now, we and the other Greeks were much more so then, when you were in greater danger. For now you are attacking others as formidable foes, but in that crisis, when the barbarian was bringing slavery upon all, these men were on his side.

§3.56.5

καὶ δίκαιον ἡμῶν τῆς νῦν ἁμαρτίας, εἰ ἄρα ἡμάρτηταί τι, ἀντιθεῖναι³ τὴν τότε προθυμίαν· καὶ μείζω τε πρὸς ἐλάσσω εὑρήσετε καὶ ἐν καιροῖς οἷς σπάνιον ἦν τῶν Ἑλλήνων τινὰ ἀρετὴν τῇ Ξέρξου δυνάμει ἀντιτάξασθαι, ἐπῃνοῦντό τε μᾶλλον οἱ μὴ τὰ ξύμφορα πρὸς τὴν ἔφοδον αὑτοῖς ἀσφαλείᾳ πράσσοντες, ἐθέλοντες δὲ τολμᾶν μετὰ κινδύνων τὰ βέλτιστα.

And it is fair to set our zeal at that time against our present error, if indeed any error has been committed; you will find it to be a greater thing against a smaller, and performed at a time when it was rare for any of the Greeks to oppose their courage to the power of Xerxes, and praise was given rather to those who did not act for their own safety and interest against the invasion, but were willing to dare the best course in the midst of dangers.

§3.56.6

ὧν ἡμεῖς γενόμενοι καὶ τιμηθέντες ἐς τὰ πρῶτα νῦν ἐπὶ τοῖς αὐτοῖς δέδιμεν μὴ διαφθαρῶμεν, Ἀθηναίους ἑλόμενοι δικαίως μᾶλλον ἢ ὑμᾶς κερδαλέως.

We were among those and were honored among the very first, yet now we fear we may be destroyed for the very same things, because we chose the Athenians justly rather than you profitably.

§3.56.7

καίτοι χρὴ ταὐτὰ περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν ὁμοίως φαίνεσθαι γιγνώσκοντας, καὶ τὸ ξυμφέρον μὴ ἄλλο τι νομίσαι ἢ τῶν ξυμμάχων τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς ὅταν αἰεὶ βέβαιον τὴν χάριν τῆς ἀρετῆς ἔχωσι⁴ καὶ τὸ παραυτίκα που ὑμῖν ὠφέλιμον καθιστῆται.

And yet you ought to appear to hold the same opinion about the same matters, and to think that utility is nothing else than when you keep a steadfast gratitude for the virtue of your good allies, while at the same time your immediate advantage is secured.’

Syntax notes4 items

3.56.2τὸν ἐπιόντα πολέμιον ὅσιον εἶναι ἀμύνεσθαι
The infinitive εἶναι with ὅσιον forms an impersonal expression ("that it is holy to..."), which functions in apposition to or as an explanation of τὸν πᾶσι νόμον. ἀμύνεσθαι means "to ward off" or "to repel."
3.56.3τῷ αὐτίκα χρησίμῳ ὑμῶν τε καὶ ἐκείνων πολεμίῳ
Datives of standard or means, consisting of two coordinated elements: τῷ αὐτίκα χρησίμῳ ὑμῶν (your immediate utility) and ἐκείνων [τῷ] πολεμίῳ (the fact that those people [the Athenians] are enemies). These together constitute the utilitarian criteria for judging justice.
3.56.5ἡμῶν τῆς νῦν ἁμαρτίας ... ἀντιθεῖναι
The verb ἀντιθεῖναι (to set against, compare) here governs the accusative (τὴν τότε προθυμίαν) and the genitive (ἡμῶν τῆς νῦν ἁμαρτίας). A genitive is used instead of the more usual dative due to the comparative sense of the phrase.
3.56.7τῶν ξυμμάχων τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς ὅταν αἰεὶ βέβαιον τὴν χάριν τῆς ἀρετῆς ἔχωσι
The subject of the verb ἔχωσι in the ὅταν clause is the Spartans (third-person plural subject implied by ἔχωσι). τῶν ξυμμάχων τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς is a dative indicating the object of the attitude ("toward the good allies"), meaning "when you always keep a steadfast gratitude for the virtue of your good allies."

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — note 1

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.56.1-3.56.7