- 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-grc2:4.34.1-4.34.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-29
The Athenian light-armed troops, noticing the Lacedaemonians slowing down, launch a fierce assault, pushing the enemy into a helpless plight amid blinding dust and deafening noise.
χρόνον μὲν οὖν τινὰ ὀλίγον οὕτω πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἠκροβολίσαντο· τῶν δὲ Λακεδαιμονίων οὐκέτι ὀξέως ἐπεκθεῖν ᾗ προσπίπτοιεν δυναμένων, γνόντες αὐτοὺς οἱ ψιλοὶ βραδυτέρους ἤδη ὄντας τῷ ἀμύνασθαι,1 καὶ αὐτοὶ τῇ τε ὄψει τοῦ θαρσεῖν τὸ πλεῖστον εἰληφότες2 πολλαπλάσιοι φαινόμενοι καὶ ξυνειθισμένοι μᾶλλον μηκέτι δεινοὺς αὐτοὺς ὁμοίως σφίσι φαίνεσθαι, ὅτι οὐκ εὐθὺς ἄξια τῆς προσδοκίας ἐπεπόνθεσαν, ὥσπερ ὅτε πρῶτον ἀπέβαινον τῇ γνώμῃ δεδουλωμένοι ὡς ἐπὶ Λακεδαιμονίους, καταφρονήσαντες καὶ ἐμβοήσαντες ἁθρόοι ὥρμησαν ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς καὶ ἔβαλλον λίθοις τε καὶ τοξεύμασι καὶ ἀκοντίοις, ὡς ἕκαστός τι πρόχειρον εἶχεν.
For some short time, then, they skirmished with one another in this way. But when the Lacedaemonians were no longer able to charge out quickly at the points where they were attacked, the light-armed troops, perceiving that they were already slower in their defense, and having themselves derived the greatest confidence from the sight of their own numbers, which appeared many times larger, and having become more accustomed to the Lacedaemonians no longer appearing so formidable to them—because they had not immediately suffered anything worthy of their expectation, whereas when they first landed they had been enslaved in spirit at the thought of facing Lacedaemonians—despised them and, raising a shout all together, rushed upon them, throwing stones, arrows, and javelins, whatever each had at hand.
γενομένης δὲ τῆς βοῆς ἅμα τῇ ἐπιδρομῇ ἔκπληξίς τε ἐνέπεσεν ἀνθρώποις ἀήθεσι τοιαύτης μάχης καὶ ὁ κονιορτὸς τῆς ὕλης νεωστὶ κεκαυμένης ἐχώρει πολὺς ἄνω, ἄπορόν τε ἦν ἰδεῖν τὸ πρὸ αὑτοῦ ὑπὸ τῶν τοξευμάτων καὶ λίθων ἀπὸ πολλῶν ἀνθρώπων μετὰ τοῦ κονιορτοῦ ἅμα φερομένων.
When the shout arose at the same time as the charge, panic fell upon men unaccustomed to such a mode of fighting; and the dust from the recently burnt wood rose thick into the air, and it was impossible to see what was ahead of oneself owing to the arrows and stones thrown by many men, which flew together with the dust.
τό τε ἔργον ἐνταῦθα χαλεπὸν τοῖς Λακεδαιμονίοις καθίστατο· οὔτε γὰρ οἱ πῖλοι ἔστεγον τὰ τοξεύματα, δοράτιά τε ἐναπεκέκλαστο βαλλομένων,3 εἶχόν τε οὐδὲν σφίσιν αὐτοῖς χρήσασθαι4 ἀποκεκλῃμένοι μὲν τῇ ὄψει τοῦ προορᾶν, ὑπὸ δὲ τῆς μείζονος βοῆς τῶν πολεμίων τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς παραγγελλόμενα οὐκ ἐσακούοντες, κινδύνου τε πανταχόθεν περιεστῶτος καὶ οὐκ ἔχοντες ἐλπίδα καθ’ ὅτι χρὴ ἀμυνομένους σωθῆναι.
The struggle then became difficult for the Lacedaemonians; for neither did their felt caps ward off the arrows, and javelins were broken and left sticking in them as they were hit, and they had no means of using their own strength, being shut out from seeing ahead, and not hearing the commands given among themselves because of the louder shouting of the enemy, while danger surrounded them on every side and they had no hope of any way by which they might defend themselves and be saved.
- 4.34.1τῷ ἀμύνασθαι
This is a dative of respect or limitation modifying the adjective βραδυτέρους ("slower"), meaning "with respect to defending themselves" or "in defense."
- 4.34.1τῇ ὄψει τοῦ θαρσεῖν τὸ πλεῖστον εἰληφότες
τῇ ὄψει ("by the sight / appearance") is a dative of means. The articular genitive infinitive τοῦ θαρσεῖν ("of being confident") is best understood as a partitive genitive modifying τὸ πλεῖστον ("the greatest part [of their confidence]"), rather than an appositive genitive to τῇ ὄψει.
- 4.34.3βαλλομένων
This is a genitive absolute of the present medio-passive participle, meaning "while they were being pelted [with missiles]." Although its logical subject refers to the Lacedaemonians who are also the subject of the main clause, such identical genitive absolutes are not uncommon in Greek, especially in Thucydides.
- 4.34.3εἶχόν τε οὐδὲν σφίσιν αὐτοῖς χρήσασθαι
εἶχον (ἔχω) with the infinitive χρήσασθαι means "to have the means or ability to do." οὐδέν functions as an adverbial accusative ("not at all"). The reflexive dative σφίσιν αὐτοῖς is governed by χρήσασθαι (since χράομαι takes the dative), meaning "to make use of themselves" or "to employ their own resources," indicating their helpless state.