Conspiracy of Harmodius and Aristogeiton for the Panathenaea — Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War Book 6 (6.56.1–6.56.3), Greek & English

§6.56.1

τὸν δ’ οὖν Ἁρμόδιον ἀπαρνηθέντα τὴν πείρασιν, ὥσπερ διενοεῖτο, προυπηλάκισεν· ἀδελφὴν γὰρ αὐτοῦ κόρην ἐπαγγείλαντες ἥκειν κανοῦν οἴσουσαν ἐν πομπῇ τινί, ἀπήλασαν λέγοντες οὐδὲ ἐπαγγεῖλαι τὴν ἀρχὴν¹ διὰ τὸ μὴ ἀξίαν εἶναι.

So then, when Harmodius rejected his advances, [Hipparchus] insulted him just as he had intended. For, after they had invited a young sister of his to come and carry a basket in a certain procession, they drove her away, saying that they had not even invited her in the first place because she was not worthy.

§6.56.2

χαλεπῶς δὲ ἐνεγκόντος τοῦ Ἁρμοδίου πολλῷ δὴ μᾶλλον δι’ ἐκεῖνον καὶ ὁ Ἀριστογείτων παρωξύνετο. καὶ αὐτοῖς τὰ μὲν ἄλλα πρὸς τοὺς ξυνεπιθησομένους τῷ ἔργῳ ἐπέπρακτο, περιέμενον δὲ Παναθήναια τὰ μεγάλα, ἐν ᾗ μόνον ἡμέρᾳ² οὐχ ὕποπτον ἐγίγνετο ἐν ὅπλοις τῶν πολιτῶν τοὺς τὴν πομπὴν πέμψοντας ἁθρόους γενέσθαι· καὶ ἔδει ἄρξαι μὲν αὐτούς, ξυνεπαμύνειν δὲ εὐθὺς τὰ πρὸς τοὺς δορυφόρους ἐκείνους.

And when Harmodius took this hard, Aristogeiton was also aroused to anger much more on his account. And by them all other arrangements had been made with those who were to join in the deed, and they were waiting for the Great Panathenaia, on which day alone it did not cause suspicion for those of the citizens who were to join the procession to assemble in arms in a body; and it was necessary that they themselves should begin, and that the others should immediately join in defending them against those bodyguards.

§6.56.3

ἦσαν δὲ οὐ πολλοὶ οἱ ξυνομωμοκότες ἀσφαλείας ἕνεκα· ἤλπιζον γὰρ καὶ τοὺς μὴ προειδότας, εἰ καὶ ὁποσοιοῦν τολμήσειαν, ἐκ τοῦ παραχρῆμα ἔχοντάς γε ὅπλα ἐθελήσειν σφᾶς αὐτοὺς³ ξυνελευθεροῦν.

And those who had joined the conspiracy were not many, for the sake of safety; for they hoped that even those who had no prior knowledge, if indeed any number at all should make a bold move, would immediately, since they had arms at hand, be willing to join in liberating themselves.

Syntax notes3 items

6.56.1τὴν ἀρχήν
Not the accusative of the noun meaning 'rule,' but an adverbial accusative used with the negative οὐδέ to mean 'at all' or 'in the first place.' Here it means 'not even to have invited her in the first place.'
6.56.2ἐν ᾗ μόνον ἡμέρᾳ
A relative structure where the noun ἡμέρᾳ is attracted into the relative clause of ᾗ (assimilation of the antecedent). It means 'on which day alone (the festival is held).'
6.56.3σφᾶς αὐτούς
The object of the infinitive ξυνελευθεροῦν, acting as a reflexive pronoun referring to its logical subject 'the citizens who had no prior knowledge' (τοὺς μὴ προειδότας). It means 'to join in liberating themselves.'

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.56.1-6.56.3