- 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-grc2:5.37.1-5.37.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-02
As the Boeotian and Corinthian envoys return home, they are approached by high-ranking Argive officials seeking an alliance. Since this proposal perfectly aligns with the Lacedaemonians' secret plan, the Boeotarchs warmly receive the subsequent Argive embassy.
καὶ οἱ μὲν Βοιωτοὶ καὶ Κορίνθιοι ταῦτα ἐπεσταλμένοι1 ἀπό τε τοῦ Ξενάρους καὶ Κλεοβούλου καὶ ὅσοι φίλοι ἦσαν αὐτοῖς τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων ὥστε ἀπαγγεῖλαι ἐπὶ τὰ κοινά, ἑκάτεροι ἀνεχώρουν.
So the Boeotians and Corinthians departed for their respective homes, having received these instructions from Xenares and Cleobulus, and from all the Lacedaemonians who were friendly to them, to report them to their respective governments.
Ἀργείων δὲ δύο ἄνδρες τῆς ἀρχῆς τῆς μεγίστης ἐπετήρουν ἀπιόντας αὐτοὺς καθ’ ὁδὸν καὶ ξυγγενόμενοι ἐς λόγους ἦλθον, εἴ πως οἱ Βοιωτοὶ σφίσι ξύμμαχοι γένοιντο ὥσπερ Κορίνθιοι καὶ Ἠλεῖοι καὶ Μαντινῆς· νομίζειν γὰρ ἂν2 τούτου προχωρήσαντος ῥᾳδίως ἤδη καὶ πολεμεῖν καὶ σπένδεσθαι καὶ πρὸς Λακεδαιμονίους, εἰ βούλοιντο, κοινῷ λόγῳ χρωμένους, καὶ εἴ τινα πρὸς ἄλλον δέοι.
But two Argives who held the highest office watched for them on their way as they were returning, and having met them, entered into negotiations with them to see if the Boeotians might somehow become their allies, like the Corinthians, Eleans, and Mantineans; for they thought that if this succeeded, they could then easily, acting in common, make war or peace with the Lacedaemonians if they wished, or with anyone else if necessary.
τοῖς δὲ τῶν Βοιωτῶν πρέσβεσιν ἀκούουσιν ἤρεσκεν· κατὰ τύχην γὰρ ἐδέοντο τούτων ὧνπερ3 καὶ οἱ ἐκ τῆς Λακεδαίμονος αὐτοῖς φίλοι ἐπεστάλκεσαν. καὶ οἱ τῶν Ἀργείων ἄνδρες ὡς ᾔσθοντο αὐτοὺς δεχομένους τὸν λόγον, εἰπόντες ὅτι πρέσβεις πέμψουσιν ἐς Βοιωτοὺς ἀπῆλθον.
To the Boeotian envoys, as they listened, the proposal was highly acceptable; for by chance, the Argives were requesting the very things that their friends in Lacedaemon had instructed them to do. And when the Argives perceived that they accepted the proposal, they departed, saying that they would send embassies to the Boeotians.
ἀφικόμενοι δὲ οἱ Βοιωτοὶ ἀπήγγειλαν τοῖς βοιωτάρχαις τά τε ἐκ τῆς Λακεδαίμονος καὶ τὰ ἀπὸ τῶν ξυγγενομένων Ἀργείων· καὶ οἱ βοιωτάρχαι ἠρέσκοντό τε καὶ πολλῷ προθυμότεροι ἦσαν, ὅτι ἀμφοτέρωθεν ξυνεβεβήκει αὐτοῖς τούς τε φίλους τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων τῶν αὐτῶν δεῖσθαι καὶ τοὺς Ἀργείους ἐς τὰ ὁμοῖα σπεύδειν.
On their arrival, the Boeotians reported to the Boeotarchs both the message from Lacedaemon and the proposal from the Argives whom they had met. The Boeotarchs were pleased and became much more eager, since it had turned out by a double coincidence that their friends among the Lacedaemonians were asking for the same things and the Argives were striving for the same end.
καὶ οὐ πολλῷ ὕστερον πρέσβεις παρῆσαν Ἀργείων τὰ εἰρημένα προκαλούμενοι· καὶ αὐτοὺς ἀπέπεμψαν ἐπαινέσαντες τοὺς λόγους οἱ βοιωτάρχαι καὶ πρέσβεις ὑποσχόμενοι ἀποστελεῖν περὶ τῆς ξυμμαχίας ἐς Ἄργος.
And not long afterwards, embassies from Argos arrived to propose the terms that had been mentioned. The Boeotarchs, after commending their proposals, sent them back, promising that they would send envoys to Argos to discuss the alliance.
- 5.37.1ταῦτα ἐπεσταλμένοι
The perfect passive participle ἐπεσταλμένοι (from ἐπιστέλλω) retains ταῦτα as a retained accusative, since the active verb takes a dative of the person and an accusative of the thing/instruction.
- 5.37.2νομίζειν γὰρ ἂν
An infinitive in indirect discourse standing for an optative with ἂν in direct discourse (νομίζοιεν ἄν), expressing potentiality. The particle ἄν belongs logically to the subordinate infinitives πολεμεῖν and σπένδεσθαι. The governing verb of thinking is implied from the context.
- 5.37.3τούτων ὧνπερ
An instance of relative attraction where the relative pronoun ὧνπερ is attracted to the genitive case of its antecedent τούτων, whereas grammatically it should be the accusative ἅπερ as the direct object of ἐπεστάλκεσαν.