- 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-grc2:4.100.1-4.100.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-31
The Boeotians, reinforced by their allies, attacked the fortification of Delium using a newly devised flame-throwing machine made of a hollowed beam, a cauldron, and bellows, successfully capturing the fort and taking many prisoners.
καὶ οἱ Βοιωτοὶ εὐθὺς μεταπεμψάμενοι ἔκ τε τοῦ Μηλιῶς κόλπου ἀκοντιστὰς καὶ σφενδονήτας, καὶ βεβοηθηκότων αὐτοῖς1 μετὰ τὴν μάχην Κορινθίων τε δισχιλίων ὁπλιτῶν καὶ τῶν ἐκ Νισαίας ἐξεληλυθότων Πελοποννησίων φρουρῶν καὶ Μεγαρέων ἅμα, ἐστράτευσαν ἐπὶ τὸ Δήλιον καὶ προσέβαλον τῷ τειχίσματι, ἄλλῳ τε τρόπῳ πειράσαντες καὶ μηχανὴν προσήγαγον, ἥπερ εἷλεν αὐτό, τοιάνδε.
And the Boeotians, having immediately sent for javelin-throwers and slingers from the Malian Gulf, and since two thousand Corinthian hoplites, the Peloponnesian garrison-troops who had evacuated Nisaea, and the Megarians at the same time had come to their aid after the battle, marched against Delium and attacked the fortification; and after trying other methods, they brought up an engine which captured it, of the following kind.
κεραίαν μεγάλην δίχα πρίσαντες ἐκοίλαναν ἅπασαν καὶ ξυνήρμοσαν πάλιν ἀκριβῶς ὥσπερ αὐλόν, καὶ ἐπ’ ἄκραν λέβητά τε ἤρτησαν ἁλύσεσι καὶ ἀκροφύσιον ἀπὸ τῆς κεραίας σιδηροῦν ἐς αὐτὸν νεῦον καθεῖτο, καὶ ἐσεσιδήρωτο ἐπὶ μέγα καὶ τοῦ ἄλλου ξύλου.2
They sawed a great beam in two, hollowed it out entirely, and fitted it together again accurately like a pipe. At the end of it they suspended a cauldron by chains, and an iron bellows-pipe from the beam was let down, inclining into the cauldron; and a large part of the rest of the wood also had been covered with iron.
προσῆγον δὲ ἐκ πολλοῦ ἁμάξαις τῷ τείχει, ᾗ μάλιστα τῇ ἀμπέλῳ καὶ τοῖς ξύλοις ᾠκοδόμητο·3 καὶ ὁπότε εἴη ἐγγύς, φύσας μεγάλας ἐσθέντες ἐς τὸ πρὸς ἑαυτῶν ἄκρον τῆς κεραίας ἐφύσων.
They brought this up from a distance on carts to the wall, especially where it had been built with vines and wood; and whenever it was near, they inserted great bellows into their own end of the beam and blew.
ἡ δὲ πνοὴ ἰοῦσα στεγανῶς ἐς τὸν λέβητα, ἔχοντα ἄνθρακάς τε ἡμμένους καὶ θεῖον καὶ πίσσαν, φλόγα ἐποίει μεγάλην καὶ ἧψε τοῦ τείχους, ὥστε μηδένα ἔτι ἐπ’ αὐτοῦ μεῖναι, ἀλλὰ ἀπολιπόντας4 ἐς φυγὴν καταστῆναι καὶ τὸ τείχισμα τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ ἁλῶναι.
And the blast, passing airtight into the cauldron, which contained lighted coals, sulphur, and pitch, produced a great flame and set fire to the wall, so that no one could remain upon it any longer, but they abandoned it and took to flight, and the fortification was captured in this manner.
τῶν δὲ φρουρῶν οἱ μὲν ἀπέθανον, διακόσιοι δὲ ἐλήφθησαν· τῶν δὲ ἄλλων τὸ πλῆθος ἐς τὰς ναῦς ἐσβὰν ἀπεκομίσθη ἐπ’ οἴκου.
Of the garrison, some were killed and two hundred were captured; and the majority of the rest embarked on the ships and were carried back home.
- 4.100.1βεβοηθηκότων αὐτοῖς
A genitive absolute construction where the logical subjects (the Corinthians, etc.) differ from the main subject οἱ Βοιωτοὶ, indicating the background or reason for the Boeotian campaign.
- 4.100.2τοῦ ἄλλου ξύλου
A partitive genitive indicating the scope or reference point with the adverbial phrase ἐπὶ μέγα and the passive verb ἐσεσιδήρωτο, meaning 'a large part of the rest of the wood'.
- 4.100.3ᾗ μάλιστα τῇ ἀμπέλῳ καὶ τοῖς ξύλοις ᾠκοδόμητο
The dative feminine singular relative pronoun ᾗ functions adverbially as 'where', referring back to τῷ τείχει. The pluperfect passive ᾠκοδόμητο describes the state of the wall having been built with vines and wood.
- 4.100.4ἀπολιπόντας
An accusative plural masculine participle serving as the subject of the infinitive καταστῆναι in the resultative ὥστε clause. Unlike the singular negative μηδένα, it refers to the Athenian defenders as a collective plural group who abandoned the wall.