- 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-grc2:4.39.1-4.39.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-29
The total duration of the blockade on Sphacteria is recorded as seventy-two days, detailing how the Spartans survived, before both armies withdraw and Cleon's seemingly mad promise to bring the captives back within twenty days is fulfilled.
χρόνος δὲ ὁ ξύμπας ἐγένετο ὅσον1 οἱ ἄνδρες [οἱ] ἐν τῇ νήσῳ ἐπολιορκήθησαν, ἀπὸ τῆς ναυμαχίας μέχρι τῆς ἐν τῇ νήσῳ μάχης, ἑβδομήκοντα ἡμέραι καὶ δύο.
The total time that the men were besieged on the island, from the naval battle to the battle on the island, was seventy-two days.
τούτων περὶ εἴκοσιν ἡμέρας, ἐν αἷς οἱ πρέσβεις περὶ τῶν σπονδῶν ἀπῇσαν, ἐσιτοδοτοῦντο, τὰς δὲ ἄλλας τοῖς ἐσπλέουσι2 λάθρᾳ διετρέφοντο. καὶ ἦν σῖτός τις ἐν τῇ νήσῳ καὶ ἄλλα βρώματα ἐγκατελήφθη· ὁ γὰρ ἄρχων Ἐπιτάδας ἐνδεεστέρως ἑκάστῳ παρεῖχεν ἢ πρὸς τὴν ἐξουσίαν.3
Of these, for about twenty days, during which the envoys were away concerning the treaty, they were supplied with food; but for the remaining days they kept themselves alive on what was brought by those who sailed in secretly. There was also some corn on the island, and other provisions were found left behind; for the commander Epitadas had distributed to each man more sparingly than his resources permitted.
οἱ μὲν δὴ Ἀθηναῖοι καὶ οἱ Πελοποννήσιοι ἀνεχώρησαν τῷ στρατῷ4 ἐκ τῆς Πύλου ἑκάτεροι ἐπ’ οἴκου, καὶ τοῦ Κλέωνος5 καίπερ μανιώδης οὖσα ἡ ὑπόσχεσις ἀπέβη· ἐντὸς γὰρ εἴκοσιν ἡμερῶν ἤγαγε τοὺς ἄνδρας, ὥσπερ ὑπέστη.
So the Athenians and the Peloponnesians returned home with their armies from Pylos, each to their own country; and Cleon’s promise, crazy though it was, was fulfilled; for within twenty days he brought the men back, just as he had undertaken.
- 4.39.1ὅσον
The neuter accusative of the relative pronoun/adverb, functioning to define the duration after the antecedent "χρόνος" (the total time during which...).
- 4.39.2τοῖς ἐσπλέουσι
Substantive use of the present participle in the dative case. It functions as a dative of means ("by means of those who sailed in secretly"), referring to the food supplies they brought rather than the persons themselves as agents.
- 4.39.2ἢ πρὸς τὴν ἐξουσίαν
Following the comparative adverb "ἐνδεεστέρως" (more sparingly), "ἤ" introduces the comparison, and "πρὸς" with the accusative denotes proportion or relation. It means "in comparison with what his resources/power allowed him to distribute."
- 4.39.3τῷ στρατῷ
Dative of accompaniment (sociative dative), commonly used in military contexts without the preposition "σύν" to indicate the force with which one moves ("with the army").
- 4.39.3τοῦ Κλέωνος
A possessive genitive modifying the subject "ἡ ὑπόσχεσις" (the promise), placed at the beginning of the clause for emphasis, despite being separated from it by the concessive participle phrase "καίπερ μανιώδης οὖσα" (although it was crazy).