- 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-grc2:4.25.1-4.25.12
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-29
A naval battle between the Syracusans and the Athenian-Rhegian coalition occurs near Messene, followed by a failed Messenian campaign against Naxos and a subsequent counter-offensive on Messene by the Leontines and Athenians.
ἐν τούτῳ οὖν τῷ μεταξὺ οἱ Συρακόσιοι καὶ οἱ ξύμμαχοι ναυσὶν ὀλίγῳ πλέοσιν ἢ τριάκοντα ἠναγκάσθησαν ὀψὲ τῆς ἡμέρας1 ναυμαχῆσαι περὶ πλοίου διαπλέοντος, ἀντεπαναγόμενοι πρός τε Ἀθηναίων ναῦς ἑκκαίδεκα καὶ Ῥηγίνας ὀκτώ.
During this interval, the Syracusans and their allies, with a little more than thirty ships, were forced to fight a sea-battle late in the day over a vessel that was sailing through, putting out against sixteen Athenian and eight Rhegian ships.
καὶ νικηθέντες ὑπὸ τῶν Ἀθηναίων διὰ τάχους ἀπέπλευσαν ὡς ἕκαστοι ἔτυχον2 ἐς τὰ οἰκεῖα στρατόπεδα, τό τε ἐν τῇ Μεσσήνῃ καὶ ἐν τῷ Ῥηγίῳ, μίαν ναῦν ἀπολέσαντες· καὶ νὺξ ἐπεγένετο τῷ ἔργῳ.
And being defeated by the Athenians, they sailed away in haste, each as they happened, to their respective camps, the one at Messene and the other at Rhegium, having lost one ship; and night put an end to the action.
μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο οἱ μὲν Λοκροὶ ἀπῆλθον ἐκ τῆς Ῥηγίνων, ἐπὶ δὲ τὴν Πελωρίδα τῆς Μεσσήνης ξυλλεγεῖσαι αἱ τῶν Συρακοσίων καὶ ξυμμάχων νῆες ὥρμουν καὶ ὁ πεζὸς αὐτοῖς παρῆν.
After this, the Locrians departed from the territory of the Rhegians, and the ships of the Syracusans and their allies, having assembled at Peloris in the territory of Messene, lay at anchor, and their land force was present with them.
προσπλεύσαντες δὲ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι καὶ Ῥηγῖνοι ὁρῶντες τὰς ναῦς κενὰς ἐνέβαλον, καὶ χειρὶ σιδηρᾷ ἐπιβληθείσῃ μίαν ναῦν αὐτοὶ ἀπώλεσαν τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἀποκολυμβησάντων.3
The Athenians and Rhegians, having sailed up and seeing the ships empty, made an attack, but when an iron hand was thrown upon them, they themselves lost one ship, the men having swum away.
καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο τῶν Συρακοσίων ἐσβάντων ἐς τὰς ναῦς καὶ παραπλεόντων ἀπὸ κάλω ἐς τὴν Μεσσήνην, αὖθις προσβαλόντες οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι, ἀποσιμωσάντων ἐκείνων καὶ προεμβαλόντων,4 ἑτέραν ναῦν ἀπολλύουσιν.
And after this, when the Syracusans had embarked and were coasting along towed by ropes towards Messene, the Athenians attacked them again, but the enemy having turned their ships outward and made a counter-charge, they lost another ship.
καὶ ἐν τῷ παράπλῳ καὶ τῇ ναυμαχίᾳ τοιουτοτρόπῳ γενομένῃ οὐκ ἔλασσον ἔχοντες οἱ Συρακόσιοι παρεκομίσθησαν ἐς τὸν ἐν τῇ Μεσσήνῃ λιμένα.
And in the coasting voyage and the sea-fight which took place in this manner, the Syracusans, having the best of it, were brought safe into the harbor at Messene.
καὶ οἱ μὲν Ἀθηναῖοι, Καμαρίνης ἀγγελθείσης προδίδοσθαι Συρακοσίοις ὑπ’ Ἀρχίου καὶ τῶν μετ’ αὐτοῦ, ἔπλευσαν ἐκεῖσε· Μεσσήνιοι δ’ ἐν τούτῳ πανδημεὶ κατὰ γῆν καὶ ταῖς ναυσὶν ἅμα ἐστράτευσαν ἐπὶ Νάξον τὴν Χαλκιδικὴν ὅμορον οὖσαν.
And the Athenians, on news being brought that Camarina was being betrayed to the Syracusans by Archias and his party, sailed thither; while the Messenians meanwhile, with their entire force by land and at the same time with their ships, made an expedition against Naxos, the Chalcidian city, which was their neighbor.
καὶ τῇ πρώτῃ ἡμέρᾳ τειχήρεις ποιήσαντες τοὺς Ναξίους ἐδῄουν τὴν γῆν, τῇ δ’ ὑστεραίᾳ ταῖς μὲν ναυσὶ περιπλεύσαντες κατὰ τὸν Ἀκεσίνην ποταμὸν τὴν γῆν ἐδῄουν, τῷ δὲ πεζῷ πρὸς τὴν πόλιν ἐσέβαλλον.
And on the first day, having shut up the Naxians within their walls, they ravaged their land; and on the next day, having sailed round with their ships along the river Acesines, they ravaged the land, while they made an assault on the city with their land force.
ἐν τούτῳ δὲ οἱ Σικελοὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἄκρων πολλοὶ κατέβαινον βοηθοῦντες ἐπὶ τοὺς Μεσσηνίους. καὶ οἱ Νάξιοι ὡς εἶδον, θαρσήσαντες καὶ παρακελευόμενοι ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ὡς οἱ Λεοντῖνοι σφίσι καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι Ἕλληνες ξύμμαχοι ἐς τιμωρίαν ἐπέρχονται, ἐκδραμόντες ἄφνω ἐκ τῆς πόλεως προσπίπτουσι τοῖς Μεσσηνίοις, καὶ τρέψαντες ἀπέκτεινάν τε ὑπὲρ χιλίους καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ χαλεπῶς ἀπεχώρησαν ἐπ’ οἴκου· καὶ γὰρ οἱ βάρβαροι ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς ἐπιπεσόντες τοὺς πλείστους διέφθειραν.
Meanwhile, many Sicels came down from the heights to assist against the Messenians. And when the Naxians saw them, taking courage and exhorting one another that the Leontines and their other Greek allies were coming to their rescue, they sallied out suddenly from the city and fell upon the Messenians, and having routed them, they killed over a thousand, and the rest retreated home with difficulty; for the barbarians fell upon them on the roads and destroyed most of them.
καὶ αἱ νῆες σχοῦσαι ἐς τὴν Μεσσήνην ὕστερον ἐπ’ οἴκου ἕκασται διεκρίθησαν. Λεοντῖνοι δὲ εὐθὺς καὶ οἱ ξύμμαχοι μετὰ Ἀθηναίων ἐς τὴν Μεσσήνην ὡς κεκακωμένην ἐστράτευον, καὶ προσβάλλοντες οἱ μὲν Ἀθηναῖοι κατὰ τὸν λιμένα ταῖς ναυσὶν ἐπείρων, ὁ δὲ πεζὸς πρὸς τὴν πόλιν.
And the ships, having put into Messene, afterwards dispersed to their respective homes. But the Leontines and their allies immediately marched with the Athenians against Messene, as being weakened, and the Athenians made an attempt with their ships at the harbor, while the land force assaulted the city.
ἐπεκδρομὴν δὲ ποιησάμενοι οἱ Μεσσήνιοι καὶ Λοκρῶν τινὲς μετὰ τοῦ Δημοτέλους, οἳ μετὰ τὸ πάθος ἐγκατελείφθησαν φρουροί, ἐξαπιναίως προσπεσόντες τρέπουσι τοῦ στρατεύματος τῶν Λεοντίνων τὸ πολὺ καὶ ἀπέκτειναν πολλούς. ἰδόντες δὲ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι καὶ ἀποβάντες ἀπὸ τῶν νεῶν ἐβοήθουν, καὶ κατεδίωξαν τοὺς Μεσσηνίους πάλιν ἐς τὴν πόλιν,τεταραγμένοις ἐπιγενόμενοι·5 καὶ τροπαῖον στήσαντες ἀνεχώρησαν ἐς τὸ Ῥήγιον.
But the Messenians and some Locrians under Demoteles, who had been left behind as a guard after the disaster, making a sally and falling upon them suddenly, routed the greater part of the army of the Leontines and killed many. The Athenians, seeing this, disembarked from their ships and came to the rescue, and falling upon the Messenians who were in disorder, drove them back into the city; and having erected a trophy, they returned to Rhegium.
μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο οἱ μὲν ἐν τῇ Σικελίᾳ Ἕλληνες ἄνευ τῶν Ἀθηναίων κατὰ γῆν ἐστράτευον ἐπ᾽ ἀλλήλους.
After this, the Greeks in Sicily, without the Athenians, made war against one another by land.
- 4.25.1ὀψὲ τῆς ἡμέρας
The adverb ὀψέ takes the genitive of time within which τῆς ἡμέρας, meaning "late in the day" or "at evening."
- 4.25.2ὡς ἕκαστοι ἔτυχον
An idiomatic expression consisting of the conjunction ὡς and the aorist of τυγχάνω ("as each happened to"), indicating that the retreating ships did not retire in order but scattered to whichever nearest refuge they could reach.
- 4.25.4τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἀποκολυμβησάντων
Genitive absolute (with the participle ἀποκολυμβησάντων), explaining the circumstance under which the Athenians and Rhegians lost a ship, referring to the enemy crews diving into the sea and swimming away.
- 4.25.5ἀποσιμωσάντων ἐκείνων καὶ προεμβαλόντων
Genitive absolute. The pronoun ἐκείνων refers to the Syracusans, explaining the reason why the Athenians lost another ship (because the enemy turned their ships out to sea and made a counter-charge first).
- 4.25.11τεταραγμένοις ἐπιγενόμενοι
The aorist participle ἐπιγενόμενοι governs the dative adjective/participle τεταραγμένοις, describing the Athenians falling upon the Messenians while the latter were in a state of confusion.