- 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-grc2:4.129.1-4.129.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-01
While Brasidas remained quiet in Torone, the Athenian army led by Nicias and Nicostratus advanced to capture Mende and Scione, encountering fierce resistance from the Mendaeans and Peloponnesian allies on a steep hill.
Βρασίδας δὲ ἀναχωρήσας ἐκ Μακεδονίας ἐς Τορώνην καταλαμβάνει Ἀθηναίους Μένδην ἤδη ἔχοντας, καὶ αὐτοῦ ἡσυχάζων ἐς μὲν τὴν Παλλήνην ἀδύνατος ἤδη ἐνόμιζεν εἶναι διαβὰς τιμωρεῖν, τὴν δὲ Τορώνην ἐν φυλακῇ εἶχεν.
Brasidas, having retreated from Macedonia to Torone, found the Athenians already in possession of Mende; and remaining quiet there, he thought he was no longer able to cross over to Pallene to bring aid, but kept Torone under guard.
ὑπὸ γὰρ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον τοῖς ἐν τῇ Λύγκῳ1 ἐξέπλευσαν ἐπί τε τὴν Μένδην καὶ τὴν Σκιώνην οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι, ὥσπερ παρεσκευάζοντο, ναυσὶ μὲν πεντήκοντα, ὧν ἦσαν δέκα Χῖαι, ὁπλίταις δὲ χιλίοις ἑαυτῶν καὶ τοξόταις ἑξακοσίοις καὶ Θρᾳξὶ μισθωτοῖς χιλίοις καὶ ἄλλοις τῶν αὐτόθεν ξυμμάχων πελτασταῖς· ἐστρατήγει δὲ Νικίας ὁ Νικηράτου καὶ Νικόστρατος ὁ Διειτρέφους.
For about the same time as the events in Lyncus, the Athenians sailed against Mende and Scione, as they had been preparing to do, with fifty ships, of which ten were Chian, a thousand of their own hoplites, six hundred archers, a thousand Thracian mercenaries, and other peltasts of the local allies; Nicias son of Niceratus and Nicostratus son of Diitrephes were in command.
ἄραντες δὲ ἐκ Ποτειδαίας ταῖς ναυσὶ καὶ σχόντες κατὰ τὸ Ποσειδώνιον ἐχώρουν ἐς τοὺς Μενδαίους. οἱ δὲ αὐτοί τε καὶ Σκιωναίων τριακόσιοι βεβοηθηκότες Πελοποννησίων τε οἱ ἐπίκουροι, ξύμπαντες [δὲ] ἑπτακόσιοι ὁπλῖται, καὶ Πολυδαμίδας ὁ ἄρχων αὐτῶν, ἔτυχον ἐξεστρατοπεδευμένοι ἔξω τῆς πόλεως ἐπὶ λόφου καρτεροῦ.
Setting out from Potidaea with their ships and touching at the Poseidonium, they advanced against the Mendaeans. The Mendaeans themselves, three hundred Scionaeans who had come to help, and the Peloponnesian auxiliaries, in all seven hundred hoplites, with Polydamidas their commander, happened to have encamped outside the city on a strong hill.
καὶ αὐτοῖς Νικίας μὲν Μεθωναίους τε ἔχων εἴκοσι καὶ ἑκατὸν ψιλοὺς καὶ λογάδας τῶν Ἀθηναίων ὁπλιτῶν ἑξήκοντα καὶ τοὺς τοξότας ἅπαντας κατὰ ἀτραπόν τινα τοῦ λόφου πειρώμενος προσβῆναι καὶ τραυματιζόμενος ὑπ’ αὐτῶν οὐκ ἐδυνήθη βιάσασθαι· Νικόστρατος δὲ ἄλλῃ ἐφόδῳ ἐκ πλέονος παντὶ τῷ ἄλλῳ στρατοπέδῳ ἐπιὼν τῷ λόφῳ ὄντι δυσπροσβάτῳ καὶ πάνυ ἐθορυβήθη, καὶ ἐς ὀλίγον ἀφίκετο πᾶν τὸ στράτευμα τῶν Ἀθηναίων νικηθῆναι.2
And Nicias, with one hundred and twenty light-armed Methonaeans, sixty selected Athenian hoplites, and all the archers, trying to ascend by a certain path of the hill and being wounded by them, was unable to force his way. Nicostratus, with all the rest of the army, attacking by another approach from a greater distance, found the hill difficult of access and was thrown into great confusion, and the whole Athenian army came within a little of being defeated.
καὶ ταύτῃ μὲν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ, ὡς οὐκ ἐνέδοσαν οἱ Μενδαῖοι καὶ οἱ ξύμμαχοι, οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι ἀναχωρήσαντες ἐστρατοπεδεύσαντο, καὶ οἱ Μενδαῖοι νυκτὸς ἐπελθούσης ἐς τὴν πόλιν ἀπῆλθον.
On that day, since the Mendaeans and their allies did not give way, the Athenians retreated and encamped, and when night came on, the Mendaeans withdrew into the city.
- 4.129.2τοῖς ἐν τῇ Λύγκῳ
The dative τοῖς is used in association with ὑπὸ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον to express the point of comparison for simultaneous time, functioning as a substantive neuter plural meaning 'the events in Lyncus' (hence, 'at about the same time as the events in Lyncus').
- 4.129.4ἐς ὀλίγον ἀφίκετο πᾶν τὸ στράτευμα τῶν Ἀθηναίων νικηθῆναι
An idiomatic construction where the phrase ἐς ὀλίγον ἀφίκετο (used either impersonally or with πᾶν τὸ στράτευμα as the subject) is followed by the passive infinitive νικηθῆναι, meaning 'the whole army of the Athenians came within a little of being defeated' or 'was on the point of being defeated'.