- 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-grc2:5.58.1-5.58.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-03
The Argives march out and confront the Lacedaemonians at Methydrium, but Agis retreats to Phlius by night to join the other allies. Agis then divides his forces into three distinct routes to descend into the Argive plain and begins to ravage the territory.
Ἀργεῖοι δὲ προαισθόμενοι τό τε πρῶτον τὴν παρασκευὴν τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων καὶ ἐπειδὴ ἐς τὸν Φλειοῦντα βουλόμενοι τοῖς ἄλλοις προσμεῖξαι ἐχώρουν, τότε δὴ1 ἐξεστράτευσαν καὶ αὐτοί· ἐβοήθησαν δ’ αὐτοῖς καὶ Μαντινῆς, ἔχοντες τοὺς σφετέρους ξυμμάχους, καὶ Ἠλείων τρισχίλιοι ὁπλῖται.
Meanwhile, the Argives, having first timely perceived the preparations of the Lacedaemonians, and when they were marching towards Phlius wishing to join the others, then indeed marched out themselves also; and there helped them both the Mantineans, having their own allies, and three thousand hoplites of the Eleans.
καὶ προϊόντες ἀπαντῶσι τοῖς Λακεδαιμονίοις ἐν Μεθυδρίῳ τῆς Ἀρκαδίας. καὶ καταλαμβάνουσιν ἑκάτεροι λόφον· καὶ οἱ μὲν Ἀργεῖοι ὡς μεμονωμένοις2 τοῖς Λακεδαιμονίοις παρεσκευάζοντο μάχεσθαι, ὁ δὲ Ἆγις τῆς νυκτὸς ἀναστήσας τὸν στρατὸν καὶ λαθὼν ἐπορεύετο ἐς Φλειοῦντα παρὰ τοὺς ἄλλους ξυμμάχους.
And advancing, they met the Lacedaemonians at Methydrium in Arcadia. And each side occupied a hill; and the Argives were preparing to fight the Lacedaemonians as being isolated, but Agis, having decamped his army by night and escaped notice, marched to Phlius to join the other allies.
καὶ οἱ Ἀργεῖοι αἰσθόμενοι ἅμα ἕῳ ἐχώρουν, πρῶτον μὲν ἐς Ἄργος, ἔπειτα δὲ ᾗ προσεδέχοντο τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους μετὰ τῶν ξυμμάχων καταβήσεσθαι, τὴν κατὰ Νεμέαν ὁδόν.
And the Argives, perceiving this at dawn, marched, first to Argos, and then to the road by Nemea, where they expected the Lacedaemonians with their allies would descend.
Ἆγις δὲ ταύτην μὲν ἣν προσεδέχοντο οὐκ ἐτράπετο, παραγγείλας δὲ τοῖς Λακεδαιμονίοις καὶ Ἀρκάσι καὶ Ἐπιδαυρίοις ἄλλην ἐχώρησε χαλεπὴν καὶ κατέβη ἐς τὸ Ἀργείων πεδίον· καὶ Κορίνθιοι καὶ Πελληνῆς καὶ Φλειάσιοι ὄρθιον ἑτέραν ἐπορεύοντο· τοῖς δὲ Βοιωτοῖς καὶ Μεγαρεῦσι καὶ Σικυωνίοις εἴρητο3 τὴν ἐπὶ Νεμέας ὁδὸν καταβαίνειν, ᾗ οἱ Ἀργεῖοι ἐκάθηντο, ὅπως, εἰ οἱ Ἀργεῖοι ἐπὶ σφᾶς ἰόντες ἐς τὸ πεδίον βοηθοῖεν, ἐφεπόμενοι τοῖς ἵπποις χρῷντο.4
But Agis did not take this road which they expected, but having given orders to the Lacedaemonians, Arcadians, and Epidaurians, he went by another difficult road and descended into the plain of the Argives; and the Corinthians, Pellenians, and Phliasians marched by another steep road; while the Boeotians, Megarians, and Sicyonians had been ordered to descend by the road to Nemea, where the Argives were posted, in order that, if the Argives should go against them into the plain to help, they might follow close upon them and use their cavalry.
καὶ ὁ μὲν οὕτω διατάξας καὶ ἐσβαλὼν ἐς τὸ πεδίον ἐδῄου Σάμινθόν τε καὶ ἄλλα·
And he, having thus arranged his forces and entered the plain, began to ravage Saminthus and other places.
- 5.58.1τό τε πρῶτον ... τότε δὴ
Temporal correlative structure. The adverbial phrase τό τε πρῶτον ('firstly') and the following ἐπειδὴ clause ('when...') are linked, and both are resumed by τότε δή ('then indeed') in the main clause, tightening the description of the sequence of actions leading to their departure.
- 5.58.2ὡς μεμονωμένοις
ὡς with dative participle. The dative μεμονωμένοις agrees with τοῖς Λακεδαιμονίοις, the object of μάχεσθαι. ὡς expresses subjective reason or perspective, meaning 'as being isolated' or 'under the assumption that they were isolated.'
- 5.58.4εἴρητο
Impersonal pluperfect passive (from ἐρῶ), meaning 'it had been ordered.' It takes the dative (τοῖς δὲ Βοιωτοῖς...) indicating the persons ordered, and the infinitive (καταβαίνειν) indicating the action commanded.
- 5.58.4ἐφεπόμενοι τοῖς ἵπποις χρῷντο
The subject of the present participle ἐφεπόμενοι ('following close behind') is the implied subject of the ὅπως clause (the Boeotians etc.). χρῷντο is the optative of purpose after a historical main tense, and the verb χράομαι governs the dative τοῖς ἵπποις ('cavalry').