- 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-grc2:3.63.1-3.63.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-26
The Thebans condemn the Plataeans for aligning with the Athenians, pointing out that they voluntarily participated in Athenian acts of aggression against Greece.
‘καὶ τὰ μὲν ἐς τὸν μηδισμὸν τοσαῦτα ἀπολογούμεθα· ὡς δὲ ὑμεῖς μᾶλλόν τε ἠδικήκατε τοὺς Ἕλληνας καὶ ἀξιώτεροί ἐστε πάσης ζημίας, πειρασόμεθα ἀποφαίνειν.
And as for the matters concerning Medism, let this suffice for our defense; but we shall try to show that you have done greater wrong to the Greeks and are more deserving of every punishment.
ἐγένεσθε ἐπὶ τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ τιμωρίᾳ, ὡς φατέ, Ἀθηναίων ξύμμαχοι καὶ πολῖται. οὐκοῦν χρῆν τὰ πρὸς ἡμᾶς μόνον ὑμᾶς ἐπάγεσθαι αὐτοὺς καὶ μὴ ξυνεπιέναι μετ’ αὐτῶν ἄλλοις, ὑπάρχον1 γε ὑμῖν, εἴ τι καὶ ἄκοντες προσήγεσθε ὑπ’ Ἀθηναίων, τῆς τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων τῶνδε ἤδη ἐπὶ τῷ Μήδῳ ξυμμαχίας γεγενημένης,2 ἣν αὐτοὶ μάλιστα προβάλλεσθε· ἱκανή γε ἦν ἡμᾶς τε ὑμῶν ἀποτρέπειν, καί, τὸ μέγιστον, ἀδεῶς παρέχειν βουλεύεσθαι. ἀλλ’ ἑκόντες καὶ οὐ βιαζόμενοι ἔτι εἵλεσθε μᾶλλον τὰ Ἀθηναίων.
You became, as you say, allies and citizens of the Athenians for protection against us. Surely, then, you ought to have called them in only for matters against us, and not joined them in invading others, especially when it was open to you—even if you were in some way led on by the Athenians against your will—since the alliance of these Lacedaemonians here against the Mede had already been formed, which you yourselves especially bring forward as a pretext. It was sufficient to keep us from you, and, what is most important, to afford you the means of deliberating without fear. But of your own free will, and not under compulsion, you chose rather the cause of the Athenians.
καὶ λέγετε ὡς αἰσχρὸν ἦν προδοῦναι τοὺς εὐεργέτας· πολὺ δέ γε αἴσχιον καὶ ἀδικώτερον τοὺς πάντας Ἕλληνας καταπροδοῦναι, οἷς ξυνωμόσατε, ἢ Ἀθηναίους μόνους, τοὺς μὲν καταδουλουμένους τὴν Ἑλλάδα, τοὺς δὲ ἐλευθεροῦντας.
And you say that it was shameful to betray your benefactors. But it is far more shameful and unjust to betray all the Greeks, with whom you swore oaths, than the Athenians alone, when the latter are enslaving Greece and the former are liberating it.
καὶ οὐκ ἴσην αὐτοῖς τὴν χάριν ἀνταπέδοτε οὐδὲ αἰσχύνης ἀπηλλαγμένην· ὑμεῖς μὲν γὰρ ἀδικούμενοι αὐτούς, ὡς φατέ, ἐπηγάγεσθε, τοῖς δὲ ἀδικοῦσιν ἄλλους ξυνεργοὶ κατέστητε. καίτοι τὰς ὁμοίας χάριτας μὴ ἀντιδιδόναι αἰσχρὸν μᾶλλον ἢ3 τὰς μετὰ δικαιοσύνης μὲν ὀφειληθείσας, ἐς ἀδικίαν δὲ ἀποδιδομένας.
And you did not return to them an equal favor, nor one free from shame; for you, when you were being wronged, as you say, called them in, but you became cooperators with those who are wronging others. And yet, not to return equal favors is less shameful than to return favors which, though owed in justice, are paid back for the purpose of injustice.
- 3.63.2ὑπάρχον
The neuter singular present participle of the impersonal verb ὑπάρχει, used as an accusative absolute. It conveys the concession or premise 'although it was possible for you' or 'when you had the option'.
- 3.63.2τῆς τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων τῶνδε ἤδη ἐπὶ τῷ Μήδῳ ξυμμαχίας γεγενημένης
A genitive absolute construction, explaining the reason or circumstance: 'since the alliance of these Lacedaemonians here against the Mede had already been formed'.
- 3.63.4μὴ ἀντιδιδόναι αἰσχρὸν μᾶλλον ἢ ...
The negative μὴ negates the infinitive ἀντιδιδόναι to form the subject clause 'not to return'. Combined with the comparative αἰσχρὸν μᾶλλον ἢ, it forms a comparative statement meaning 'not to return equal favors is less shameful than [to return them for an unjust purpose]', implying that the latter is far more shameful.