- 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-grc2:4.13.1-4.13.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-28
The Spartans temporarily cease their attacks on Pylos, while the Athenians receive reinforcements and prepare for a naval battle, as the Spartans fail to block the harbor entrances.
ταύτην μὲν οὖν τὴν ἡμέραν καὶ τῆς ὑστεραίας μέρος τι προσβολὰς ποιησάμενοι ἐπέπαυντο· καὶ τῇ τρίτῃ ἐπὶ ξύλα ἐς μηχανὰς παρέπεμψαν τῶν νεῶν τινὰς ἐς Ἀσίνην, ἐλπίζοντες τὸ κατὰ τὸν λιμένα τεῖχος ὕψος μὲν ἔχειν, ἀποβάσεως δὲ μάλιστα οὔσης ἑλεῖν 〈ἂν1〉 μηχαναῖς.
Having made attacks during this day and a part of the next, they desisted; and on the third day they dispatched some of their ships to Asine for timber to make siege engines, hoping that, although the wall facing the harbor was high, they might capture it with engines since landing was highly feasible there.
ἐν τούτῳ δὲ αἱ ἐκ τῆς Ζακύνθου νῆες τῶν Ἀθηναίων παραγίγνονται τεσσαράκοντα· προσεβοήθησαν γὰρ τῶν τε φρουρίδων τινὲς αὐτοῖς τῶν ἐκ Ναυπάκτου καὶ Χῖαι τέσσαρες.
Meanwhile, the forty Athenian ships from Zacynthus arrived; for they had been reinforced by some of the guard-ships from Naupactus and four Chian ships.
ὡς δὲ εἶδον τήν τε ἤπειρον ὁπλιτῶν περίπλεων τήν τε νῆσον, ἔν τε τῷ λιμένι οὔσας τὰς ναῦς καὶ οὐκ ἐκπλεούσας, ἀπορήσαντες ὅπῃ καθορμίσωνται, τότε μὲν ἐς Πρωτὴν τὴν νῆσον, ἣ οὐ πολὺ ἀπέχει ἐρῆμος οὖσα, ἔπλευσαν καὶ ηὐλίσαντο, τῇ δ’ ὑστεραίᾳ παρασκευασάμενοι ὡς ἐπὶ ναυμαχίαν ἀνήγοντο, ἢν μὲν ἀντεκπλεῖν ἐθέλωσι σφίσιν ἐς τὴν εὐρυχωρίαν, εἰ δὲ μή, ὡς αὐτοὶ ἐπεσπλευσούμενοι.2
When they saw both the mainland and the island full of hoplites, and the enemy’s ships inside the harbor and not sailing out, being at a loss where to anchor, they sailed for the moment to the island of Prote, which is not far off and uninhabited, and there spent the night; but on the following day, having prepared themselves as if for a sea-fight, they put out to sea, intending to fight in the open water if the enemy wished to sail out against them, or if not, to force their own way into the harbor.
καὶ οἱ μὲν οὔτε ἀντανήγοντο οὔτε ἃ διενοήθησαν, φάρξαι τοὺς ἔσπλους, ἔτυχον ποιήσαντες,3 ἡσυχάζοντες δ’ ἐν τῇ γῇ τάς τε ναῦς ἐπλήρουν καὶ παρεσκευάζοντο, ἢν ἐσπλέῃ τις, ὡς ἐν τῷ λιμένι ὄντι οὐ σμικρῷ ναυμαχήσοντες.
The Lacedaemonians, however, neither put out to meet them nor did they happen to have done what they had intended, namely, to block the entrances; but remaining quiet on the land, they manned their ships and kept making preparations, intending, if anyone sailed in, to fight a sea-battle inside the harbor, which was of no small size.
- 4.13.1ἀποβάσεως δὲ μάλιστα οὔσης ἑλεῖν 〈ἂν〉
The genitive absolute phrase ἀποβάσεως... οὔσης expresses the reason ("since landing was highly feasible"), with μάλιστα emphasizing the degree of feasibility. ἑλεῖν ἂν is an infinitive phrase functioning as the object of ἐλπίζοντες (hoping), representing the potential apodosis of a conditional sentence ("that they might/would capture").
- 4.13.3ἢν μὲν ἀντεκπλεῖν ἐθέλωσι... εἰ δὲ μή, ὡς αὐτοὶ ἐπεσπλευσούμενοι
ἢν μὲν... εἰ δὲ μή forms the contrast "if on the one hand... but if not." After εἰ δὲ μή, the verb (if they did not wish to sail out) is omitted. The construction ὡς with the future participle ἐπεσπλευσούμενοι (nominative plural) expresses the intention of the subject (the Athenians) ("intending to sail in/attack"), modifying the main verb ἀνήγοντο.
- 4.13.4οὔτε ἃ διενοήθησαν... ἔτυχον ποιήσαντες
The construction τυγχάνω with the participle (ποιήσαντες) means "happen to do" or, in this negative sentence, "did not happen to have done / failed to do." The content of the relative clause ἃ διενοήθησαν (what they had intended) is explained appositively by the infinitive phrase φάρξαι τοὺς ἔσπλους (to block the entrances).