- 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-grc2:3.98.1-3.98.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
The Athenian army routed after losing their archer commander and suffered devastating losses, with many being trapped in a forest and burned. The survivors escaped to Oineon, and Demosthenes, fearing the Athenians after losing many of his finest men including the general Procles, remained in Naupactus.
μέχρι μὲν οὖν οἱ τοξόται εἶχόν τε τὰ βέλη αὐτοῖς1 καὶ οἷοί τε ἦσαν χρῆσθαι, οἱ δὲ ἀντεῖχον (τοξευόμενοι γὰρ οἱ Αἰτωλοὶ ἄνθρωποι ψιλοὶ ἀνεστέλλοντο)· ἐπειδὴ δὲ τοῦ τε τοξάρχου ἀποθανόντος2 οὗτοι διεσκεδάσθησαν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐκεκμήκεσαν καὶ ἐπὶ πολὺ τῷ αὐτῷ πόνῳ ξυνεχόμενοι, οἵ τε Αἰτωλοὶ ἐνέκειντο καὶ ἐσηκόντιζον, οὕτω δὴ τραπόμενοι ἔφευγον, καὶ ἐσπίπτοντες ἔς τε χαράδρας ἀνεκβάτους καὶ χωρία ὧν οὐκ ἦσαν ἔμπειροι διεφθείροντο· καὶ γὰρ ὁ ἡγεμὼν αὐτοῖς τῶν ὁδῶν Χρόμων ὁ Μεσσήνιος ἐτύγχανε τεθνηκώς.3
Therefore, as long as the archers had their arrows and were able to use them, they held out (for the Aetolians, being light-armed, were held back when shot with arrows); but when, their commander having died, the archers were scattered, and they themselves were exhausted, having long been beset by the same struggle, while the Aetolians pressed hard and threw javelins, they finally turned and fled, and falling into pathless ravines and places with which they were unacquainted, they were destroyed; for their guide, Chromon the Messenian, happened to have died.
οἱ δὲ Αἰτωλοὶ ἐσακοντίζοντες πολλοὺς μὲν αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ τροπῇ κατὰ πόδας αἱροῦντες ἄνθρωποι ποδώκεις καὶ ψιλοὶ διέφθειρον, τοὺς δὲ πλείους τῶν ὁδῶν ἁμαρτάνοντας καὶ ἐς τὴν ὕλην ἐσφερομένους, ὅθεν διέξοδοι οὐκ ἦσαν, πῦρ κομισάμενοι περιεπίμπρασαν·
And the Aetolians, throwing javelins, being swift of foot and light-armed, overtook and killed many of them on the spot in the rout, and bringing fire, they set fire all around the majority, who missed the roads and rushed into the forest, from which there was no way out.
πᾶσά τε ἰδέα κατέστη τῆς φυγῆς καὶ τοῦ ὀλέθρου τῷ στρατοπέδῳ τῶν Ἀθηναίων, μόλις τε ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ τὸν Οἰνεῶνα τῆς Λοκρίδος, ὅθεν περ καὶ ὡρμήθησαν, οἱ περιγενόμενοι κατέφυγον.
Every form of flight and destruction befell the army of the Athenians, and those who survived escaped with difficulty to the sea and to Oineon in Locris, the very place from which they had set out.
ἀπέθανον δὲ τῶν τε ξυμμάχων πολλοὶ καὶ αὐτῶν Ἀθηναίων ὁπλῖται περὶ εἴκοσι μάλιστα καὶ ἑκατόν. τοσοῦτοι μὲν τὸ πλῆθος καὶ ἡλικία ἡ αὐτὴ4 οὗτοι βέλτιστοι δὴ ἄνδρες ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ τῷδε ἐκ τῆς Ἀθηναίων πόλεως διεφθάρησαν· ἀπέθανε δὲ καὶ ὁ ἕτερος στρατηγὸς Προκλῆς.
Many of the allies died, and of the Athenians themselves, about one hundred and twenty hoplites. So many in number, and of the same age, these were indeed the best men from the city of the Athenians who perished in this war; and the other general, Procles, also died.
τοὺς δὲ νεκροὺς ὑποσπόνδους ἀνελόμενοι παρὰ τῶν Αἰτωλῶν καὶ ἀναχωρήσαντες ἐς Ναύπακτον ὕστερον ἐς τὰς Ἀθήνας ταῖς ναυσὶν ἐκομίσθησαν. Δημοσθένης δὲ περὶ Ναύπακτον καὶ τὰ χωρία ταῦτα ὑπελείφθη, τοῖς πεπραγμένοις φοβούμενος τοὺς Ἀθηναίους.
Having recovered their dead under a truce from the Aetolians and having retreated to Naupactus, they were afterwards carried by ship to Athens. But Demosthenes was left behind around Naupactus and those regions, fearing the Athenians because of what had happened.
- 3.98.1αὐτοῖς
Dative of advantage (or possession) referring back to οἱ τοξόται, indicating that the arrows were available 'for them' or 'at their disposal.'
- 3.98.1τοῦ τε τοξάρχου ἀποθανόντος
Genitive absolute construction expressing time or cause, marking the death of the archer commander which triggered the collapse of the Athenian defense.
- 3.98.1ἐτύγχανε τεθνηκώς
The verb τυγχάνω with the perfect participle τεθνηκώς expressing an existing state of affairs that happened to be the case ('happened to have died' or 'was already dead').
- 3.98.4ἡλικία ἡ αὐτὴ
Literally 'the same age,' referring to the cohort of young men of military age who formed the elite of the city. It emphasizes the tragic loss of a single generation of fine citizens.