- 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-grc2:5.75.1-5.75.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-03
Pleistoanax's aborted march and the Lacedaemonian withdrawal to celebrate the Carnea are related. The Spartan victory at Mantinea successfully rehabilitates their reputation among the Greeks, while the Argive allies take advantage of the Spartan festival to invade Epidaurus and build a wall of circumvallation.
τῆς δὲ μάχης μελλούσης ἔσεσθαι καὶ Πλειστοάναξ ὁ ἕτερος βασιλεὺς ἔχων τούς τε πρεσβυτέρους καὶ νεωτέρους1 ἐβοήθησε, καὶ μέχρι μὲν Τεγέας ἀφίκετο, πυθόμενος δὲ τὴν νίκην ἀπεχώρησεν.
When the battle was about to take place, Pleistoanax, the other king, also marched to their relief with the older and younger men; and he reached as far as Tegea, but turned back upon hearing of the victory.
καὶ τοὺς ἀπὸ Κορίνθου καὶ ἔξω Ἰσθμοῦ ξυμμάχους ἀπέστρεψαν πέμψαντες οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἀναχωρήσαντες καὶ τοὺς ξυμμάχους ἀφέντες (Κάρνεια γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἐτύγχανον ὄντα) τὴν ἑορτὴν ἦγον.
The Lacedaemonians also sent and turned back the allies from Corinth and from beyond the Isthmus, and themselves returned home and dismissed their allies, as they happened to be celebrating the Carnea, and kept the festival.
καὶ τὴν ὑπὸ τῶν Ἑλλήνων τότε ἐπιφερομένην αἰτίαν ἔς τε μαλακίαν διὰ τὴν ἐν τῇ νήσῳ ξυμφορὰν καὶ ἐς τὴν ἄλλην ἀβουλίαν τε καὶ βραδυτῆτα ἑνὶ ἔργῳ τούτῳ ἀπελύσαντο, τύχῃ μέν, ὡς ἐδόκουν, κακιζόμενοι, γνώμῃ δὲ οἱ αὐτοὶ ἔτι ὄντες.2
And the charge which was at that time brought against them by the Greeks, both of cowardice because of the disaster in the island, and of general mismanagement and dilatoriness, they wiped out by this single deed; for they were now thought to have been degraded by fortune, indeed, but in spirit to be still the same as ever.
τῇ δὲ προτέρᾳ ἡμέρᾳ ξυνέβη τῆς μάχης ταύτης3 καὶ τοὺς Ἐπιδαυρίους πανδημεὶ ἐσβαλεῖν ἐς τὴν Ἀργείαν ὡς ἐρῆμον οὖσαν καὶ τοὺς ὑπολοίπους φύλακας τῶν Ἀργείων ἐξελθόντων αὐτῶν διαφθεῖραι πολλούς.
On the day before this battle, it had also happened that the Epidaurians, with their whole force, invaded the Argive territory, believing it to be deserted, and killed many of the Argive guards who had been left behind when the main body marched out.
καὶ Ἠλείων τρισχιλίων ὁπλιτῶν βοηθησάντων Μαντινεῦσιν ὕστερον τῆς μάχης καὶ Ἀθηναίων χιλίων4 πρὸς τοῖς προτέροις ἐστράτευσαν ἅπαντες οἱ ξύμμαχοι οὗτοι εὐθὺς ἐπὶ Ἐπίδαυρον, ἕως οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι Κάρνεια ἦγον, καὶ διελόμενοι τὴν πόλιν περιετείχιζον.
After the battle, three thousand Elean hoplites having come to the aid of the Mantineans, and also one thousand Athenians in addition to the former force, all these allies marched immediately against Epidaurus, while the Lacedaemonians were keeping the Carnea, and, dividing the city among themselves, began to build a wall of circumvallation.
καὶ οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι ἐξεπαύσαντο, Ἀθηναῖοι δέ, ὥσπερ προσετάχθησαν, τὴν ἄκραν τὸ Ἡραῖον εὐθὺς ἐξειργάσαντο. καὶ ἐν τούτῳ ξυγκαταλιπόντες ἅπαντες τῷ τειχίσματι φρουρὰν ἀνεχώρησαν κατὰ πόλεις ἕκαστοι. καὶ τὸ θέρος ἐτελεύτα.
The others, indeed, desisted, but the Athenians immediately completed the part assigned to them, namely, the wall at the promontory of the Heraeum. Thereupon they all left a joint garrison in the fortification and withdrew, each to their respective cities. And the summer ended.
- 5.75.1τούς τε πρεσβυτέρους καὶ νεωτέρους
These comparative adjectives refer to the oldest (late fifties to early sixties) and the youngest (under twenty) age classes, who fell outside the standard age limits for active field service and were normally reserved for home defense. It indicates that Pleistoanax marched out with these reserve forces.
- 5.75.3τύχῃ μέν, ὡς ἐδόκουν, κακιζόμενοι, γνώμῃ δὲ οἱ αὐτοὶ ἔτι ὄντες
A participial construction modifying the subject of the main clause (the Lacedaemonians) to explain the rehabilitation of their reputation. The passive participle κακιζόμενοι means "being degraded/deemed cowards by fortune (in the eyes of others)," contrasted with γνώμῃ δὲ ... ὄντες ("but in spirit being still the same"). This construction explains that their victory proved they had only suffered from bad luck, while their inner character remained unchanged.
- 5.75.4τῇ δὲ προτέρᾳ ἡμέρᾳ ξυνέβη τῆς μάχης ταύτης
The impersonal verb ξυνέβη takes two accusative-with-infinitive clauses (ἐσβαλεῖν and διαφθεῖραι) as its subject. The genitive τῆς μάχης ταύτης depends on the temporal dative τῇ προτέρᾳ ἡμέρᾳ, meaning "on the day before this battle."
- 5.75.5Ἠλείων τρισχιλίων ὁπλιτῶν βοηθησάντων... καὶ Ἀθηναίων χιλίων
A genitive absolute construction. In the second part (καὶ Ἀθηναίων χιλίων), the participle βοηθησάντων (or a similar verb of motion) is omitted, carrying over from the first part. These two clauses explain the background circumstances under which the allies (οὗτοι) launched their expedition.