Cleon's Advance to Reconnoiter Amphipolis — Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War Book 5 (5.7.1–5.7.5), Greek & English

§5.7.1

ὁ δὲ Κλέων τέως μὲν ἡσύχαζεν, ἔπειτα ἠναγκάσθη ποιῆσαι ὅπερ ὁ Βρασίδας προσεδέχετο.

Cleon for a time remained quiet, but was then forced to do what Brasidas had expected.

§5.7.2

τῶν γὰρ στρατιωτῶν ἀχθομένων μὲν τῇ ἕδρᾳ, ἀναλογιζομένων δὲ¹ τὴν ἐκείνου ἡγεμονίαν πρὸς οἵαν ἐμπειρίαν καὶ τόλμαν μετὰ οἵας ἀνεπιστημοσύνης καὶ μαλακίας γενήσοιτο καὶ οἴκοθεν ὡς ἄκοντες αὐτῷ ξυνῆλθον, αἰσθόμενος τὸν θροῦν καὶ οὐ βουλόμενος αὐτοὺς διὰ τὸ ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ καθημένους βαρύνεσθαι, ἀναλαβὼν ἦγεν.

For as the soldiers were vexed at their inaction, and reflecting upon his leadership—with what ignorance and cowardice it would be matched against such experience and daring—and how they had accompanied him from home against their will, Cleon, perceiving their murmurs and not wishing them to be worn down by sitting in the same place, took them and led them forward.

§5.7.3

καὶ ἐχρήσατο τῷ τρόπῳ ᾧπερ καὶ ἐς τὴν Πύλον εὐτυχήσας ἐπίστευσέ τι φρονεῖν·² ἐς μάχην μὲν γὰρ οὐδὲ ἤλπισέν οἱ ἐπεξιέναι οὐδένα, κατὰ θέαν δὲ μᾶλλον ἔφη ἀναβαίνειν τοῦ χωρίου, καὶ τὴν μείζω παρασκευὴν περιέμενεν, οὐχ ὡς τῷ ἀσφαλεῖ, ἢν ἀναγκάζηται, περισχήσων,³ ἀλλ’ ὡς κύκλῳ περιστὰς βίᾳ αἱρήσων τὴν πόλιν.

And he used the same method by which he had trusted that he possessed some wisdom owing to his success at Pylos; for he did not even expect that anyone would come out against him to fight, but said he was marching up rather to view the place, and was waiting for his larger force, not that he might overpower them by a safe margin if forced to, but that he might surround the city on all sides and take it by storm.

§5.7.4

ἐλθών τε καὶ καθίσας ἐπὶ λόφου καρτεροῦ πρὸ τῆς Ἀμφιπόλεως τὸν στρατὸν αὐτὸς ἐθεᾶτο τὸ λιμνῶδες τοῦ Στρυμόνος καὶ τὴν θέσιν τῆς πόλεως ἐπὶ τῇ Θρᾴκῃ ὡς ἔχοι.

And having come and stationed his army on a strong hill in front of Amphipolis, he himself observed the marshy part of the Strymon and how the position of the city lay towards Thrace.

§5.7.5

ἀπιέναι τε ἐνόμιζεν, ὁπόταν βούληται, ἀμαχεί· καὶ γὰρ οὐδὲ ἐφαίνετο οὔτ’ ἐπὶ τοῦ τείχους οὐδεὶς οὔτε κατὰ πύλας ἐξῄει, κεκλῃμέναι τε ἦσαν πᾶσαι. ὥστε καὶ μηχανὰς ὅτι οὐκ ἀνῆλθεν ἔχων, ἁμαρτεῖν ἐδόκει·⁴ ἑλεῖν γὰρ ἂν τὴν πόλιν διὰ τὸ ἐρῆμον.

And he thought that he could withdraw whenever he pleased without a battle; for indeed no one was visible on the wall, nor did anyone come out through the gates, which were all closed. So that he even thought himself to have made a mistake in not having come up with siege engines; for he believed he would have taken the city owing to its being deserted.

Syntax notes4 items

5.7.2τῶν γὰρ στρατιωτῶν ἀχθομένων μὲν ... ἀναλογιζομένων δὲ
Genitive absolute construction explaining the cause of Cleon's action (αἰσθόμενος, ἀναλαβὼν ἦγεν). The object of ἀναλογιζομένων is τὴν ἐκείνου ἡγεμονίαν ('his leadership'), which is coordinated with the subsequent indirect question.
5.7.3ἐπίστευσέ τι φρονεῖν
The verb ἐπίστευσε ('trusted/believed') takes the infinitive φρονεῖν. With the accusative pronoun τι ('something'), it expresses his overconfidence that 'he possessed some wisdom' or 'was of some consequence in judgment.'
5.7.3οὐχ ὡς τῷ ἀσφαλεῖ, ἢν ἀναγκάζηται, περισχήσων
The conjunction ὡς with the future participle περισχήσων (from περιέχω) expresses subjective purpose or intention. τῷ ἀσφαλεῖ is a dative of means ('by safe means'). The conditional clause ἢν ἀναγκάζηται is in the present subjunctive, indicating a general or hypothetical condition ('if he should be forced').
5.7.5ὥστε καὶ μηχανὰς ὅτι οὐκ ἀνῆλθεν ἔχων, ἁμαρτεῖν ἐδόκει
An impersonal or personal construction within the ὥστε clause. Either the whole ὅτι clause ('that he had not come up with engines') acts as the subject of ἁμαρτεῖν ἐδόκει, or Cleon is the subject of ἐδόκει with ἁμαρτεῖν and the ὅτι clause explains the respect in which he erred: 'he seemed to have erred in that he did not come up with them.'

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — note 1

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.7.1-5.7.5