- 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-grc2:5.60.1-5.60.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-03
King Agis accepts a personal proposal from the Argives and unilaterally concludes a four-month truce, withdrawing his army without consulting his allies. Both the Spartan alliance and the Argive citizens are furious at losing a decisive opportunity, leading to severe criticism of their respective representatives and the near-stoning of the Argive general Thrasylus.
καὶ οἱ μὲν ταῦτα εἰπόντες τῶν Ἀργείων ἀφ’ ἑαυτῶν καὶ οὐ τοῦ πλήθους κελεύσαντος εἶπον· καὶ ὁ Ἆγις δεξάμενος τοὺς λόγους αὐτός, καὶ οὐ μετὰ τῶν πλεόνων οὐδὲ αὐτὸς βουλευσάμενος ἀλλ’ ἢ1 ἑνὶ ἀνδρὶ κοινώσας τῶν ἐν τέλει ξυστρατευομένων, σπένδεται τέσσαρας μῆνας, ἐν οἷς ἔδει ἐπιτελέσαι αὐτοὺς τὰ ῥηθέντα. καὶ ἀπήγαγε τὸν στρατὸν εὐθύς, οὐδενὶ φράσας τῶν ἄλλων ξυμμάχων.
And those of the Argives who said these things spoke of their own accord and not by order of the multitude; and Agis, having accepted their words himself, and not having consulted with the majority either, but only having communicated with one of the men in authority who was serving with him, made a truce for four months, during which they had to perform what had been agreed upon. And he led the army away immediately, without telling any of the other allies.
οἱ δὲ Λακεδαιμόνιοι καὶ οἱ ξύμμαχοι εἵποντο μὲν ὡς ἡγεῖτο διὰ τὸν νόμον, ἐν αἰτίᾳ δ᾽ εἶχον κατ’ ἀλλήλους πολλῇ τὸν Ἆγιν, νομίζοντες ἐν καλῷ παρατυχὸν2 σφίσι ξυμβαλεῖν καὶ πανταχόθεν αὐτῶν ἀποκεκλῃμένων καὶ ὑπὸ ἱππέων καὶ πεζῶν οὐδὲν δράσαντες ἄξιον τῆς παρασκευῆς ἀπιέναι.
And the Lacedaemonians and the allies followed indeed as he led because of the law, but among themselves they held Agis in great blame, thinking that, although a favorable opportunity had presented itself to them to join battle, and though the enemy was shut in on all sides both by cavalry and by infantry, they were departing having done nothing worthy of their preparation.
στρατόπεδον γὰρ δὴ τοῦτο κάλλιστον Ἑλληνικὸν τῶν μέχρι τοῦδε ξυνῆλθεν· ὤφθη δὲ μάλιστα ἕως ἔτι ἦν ἁθρόον ἐν Νεμέᾳ, ἐν ᾧ Λακεδαιμόνιοί τε πανστρατιᾷ ἦσαν καὶ Ἀρκάδες καὶ Βοιωτοὶ καὶ Κορίνθιοι καὶ Σικυώνιοι καὶ Πελληνῆς καὶ Φλειάσιοι καὶ Μεγαρῆς, καὶ οὗτοι πάντες λογάδες ἀφ’ ἑκάστων, ἀξιόμαχοι δοκοῦντες εἶναι οὐ τῇ Ἀργείων μόνον ξυμμαχίᾳ ἀλλὰ κἂν ἄλλῃ ἔτι προσγενομένῃ.3
For indeed this was the finest Greek army that had assembled up to that time; and it was seen at its best while it was still gathered together in Nemea, in which the Lacedaemonians were with their whole force, and Arcadians, Boeotians, Corinthians, Sicyonians, Pellenians, Phliasians, and Megarians, and all these were picked men from each state, seeming to be a match not only for the Argive alliance, but even if another had been added to it.
τὸ μὲν οὖν στρατόπεδον οὕτως ἐν αἰτίᾳ ἔχοντες τὸν Ἆγιν ἀνεχώρουν τε καὶ διελύθησαν ἐπ’ οἴκου ἕκαστοι, Ἀργεῖοι δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔτι ἐν πολλῷ πλέονι αἰτίᾳ εἶχον τοὺς σπεισαμένους ἄνευ τοῦ πλήθους, νομίζοντες κἀκεῖνοι μὴ ἂν σφίσι ποτὲ κάλλιον παρασχὸν4 Λακεδαιμονίους διαπεφευγέναι· πρός τε γὰρ τῇ σφετέρᾳ πόλει καὶ μετὰ πολλῶν καὶ ἀγαθῶν ξυμμάχων τὸν ἀγῶνα ἂν γίγνεσθαι.5
So the army, holding Agis in blame in this way, retreated and dispersed, each to their own homes. And the Argives themselves also held those who had made the truce without the multitude in still greater blame, they too thinking that never would a better opportunity have presented itself to them, and that the Lacedaemonians had escaped; for the contest would have taken place close to their own city and with many brave allies.
τόν τε Θράσυλον ἀναχωρήσαντες ἐν τῷ Χαράδρῳ, οὗπερ τὰς ἀπὸ στρατείας δίκας πρὶν ἐσιέναι κρίνουσιν, ἤρξαντο λεύειν. ὁ δὲ καταφυγὼν ἐπὶ τὸν βωμὸν περιγίγνεται· τὰ μέντοι χρήματα ἐδήμευσαν αὐτοῦ.
And having returned, they began to stone Thrasylus in the Charadrus, where they try cases arising from campaigns before entering the city. But he, having fled to the altar, survived; however, they confiscated his property.
- 5.60.1ἀλλ’ ἢ
The idiom ἀλλ’ ἤ functions as "except" or "other than," appearing here with οὐδὲ ... ἀλλ’ ἤ to indicate the sole exception to the lack of consultation.
- 5.60.2παρατυχὸν
An accusative absolute of the impersonal verb παρατυγχάνει ("there is an opportunity"), functioning as a concessive or conditional phrase: "although a favorable opportunity had presented itself to them."
- 5.60.3κἂν ἄλλῃ ἔτι προσγενομένῃ
The crasis κἂν represents καὶ ἐάν (or καὶ ἄν). Here, the particle ἄν is combined with the dative participle προσγενομένῃ to form a shorthand conditional clause, equivalent to "even if another [alliance] had been added."
- 5.60.5μὴ ἂν σφίσι ποτὲ κάλλιον παρασχὸν
The word παρασχόν is an aorist active participle (neuter singular accusative) of παρέχω in the accusative absolute construction, meaning "since a more favorable opportunity would never present itself." The particle ἄν, combined with the negative μή, modifies the following perfect infinitive διαπεφευγέναι, expressing a past potential or counterfactual thought ("that the Lacedaemonians would not have escaped").
- 5.60.5τὸν ἀγῶνα ἂν γίγνεσθαι
This is an infinitive with ἄν in indirect discourse, representing a past counterfactual indicative (τὸν ἀγῶνα ἂν ἐγίγνετο, "the contest would have taken place"). It is dependent on νομίζοντες, indicating a situation contrary to past fact (as the battle did not actually occur).
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — note 1