- 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-grc2:6.97.1-6.97.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
The Athenians land at Leon at dawn without the Syracusans' knowledge and seize the heights of Epipolae. After defeating the Syracusan forces that rushed to the rescue, the Athenians build a fort at Labdalum as a storehouse.
οἱ δὲ Ἀθηναῖοι ταύτης τῆς νυκτὸς τῇ ἐπιγιγνομένῃ ἡμέρᾳ ἐξητάζοντο καὶ ἔλαθον αὐτοὺς παντὶ ἤδη τῷ στρατεύματι ἐκ τῆς Κατάνης σχόντες1 κατὰ τὸν Λέοντα καλούμενον, ὃς ἀπέχει τῶν Ἐπιπολῶν ἓξ ἢ ἑπτὰ σταδίους, καὶ τοὺς πεζοὺς ἀποβιβάσαντες, ταῖς τε ναυσὶν ἐς τὴν Θάψον καθορμισάμενοι· ἔστι δὲ χερσόνησος μὲν ἐν στενῷ ἰσθμῷ προύχουσα ἐς τὸ πέλαγος, τῆς δὲ Συρακοσίων πόλεως οὔτε πλοῦν οὔτε ὁδὸν πολλὴν ἀπέχει.
On the day following this night, while the Athenians were mustering, they had already slipped past the Syracusans’ notice and put in with their entire armament from Catana at the place called Leon, which is six or seven stades distant from Epipolae; they disembarked the land forces and brought their ships to anchor at Thapsus, which is a peninsula jutting out into the sea on a narrow isthmus, and is at no great distance from the city of the Syracusans, either by sea or by land.
καὶ ὁ μὲν ναυτικὸς στρατὸς τῶν Ἀθηναίων ἐν τῇ Θάψῳ διασταυρωσάμενος τὸν ἰσθμὸν ἡσύχαζεν· ὁ δὲ πεζὸς ἐχώρει εὐθὺς δρόμῳ πρὸς τὰς Ἐπιπολὰς καὶ φθάνει ἀναβὰς κατὰ τὸν Εὐρύηλον πρὶν τοὺς Συρακοσίους αἰσθομένους ἐκ τοῦ λειμῶνος καὶ τῆς ἐξετάσεως παραγενέσθαι.2
And while the naval force of the Athenians remained quiet at Thapsus, having barricaded the isthmus with a stockade, the infantry marched immediately at a run toward Epipolae, and succeeded in ascending by way of Euryelus before the Syracusans, perceiving them, could arrive from the meadow and the review.
ἐβοήθουν δὲ οἵ τε ἄλλοι, ὡς ἕκαστος τάχους εἶχε,3 καὶ οἱ περὶ τὸν Διόμιλον ἑξακόσιοι· στάδιοι δὲ πρὶν προσμεῖξαι ἐκ τοῦ λειμῶνος ἐγίγνοντο αὐτοῖς οὐκ ἔλασσον ἢ πέντε καὶ εἴκοσι.
The rest of the Syracusans hastened to the rescue, each with what speed he could, as did the six hundred under Diomilus; but the distance they had to cover from the meadow before engaging was not less than twenty-five stades.
προσπεσόντες οὖν αὐτοῖς τοιούτῳ τρόπῳ ἀτακτότερον καὶ μάχῃ νικηθέντες οἱ Συρακόσιοι ἐπὶ ταῖς Ἐπιπολαῖς ἀνεχώρησαν ἐς τὴν πόλιν· καὶ ὅ τε Διόμιλος ἀποθνῄσκει καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὡς τριακόσιοι.
Falling upon them, therefore, under these circumstances in a somewhat disordered state, and being defeated in battle upon Epipolae, the Syracusans retreated into the city; and Diomilus was killed, as well as about three hundred of the others.
καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι τροπαῖόν τε στήσαντες καὶ τοὺς νεκροὺς ὑποσπόνδους ἀποδόντες τοῖς Συρακοσίοις, πρὸς τὴν πόλιν αὐτὴν τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ ἐπικαταβάντες, ὡς οὐκ ἐπεξῇσαν αὐτοῖς, ἐπαναχωρήσαντες φρούριον ἐπὶ τῷ Λαβδάλῳ ᾠκοδόμησαν, ἐπ’ ἄκροις τοῖς κρημνοῖς τῶν Ἐπιπολῶν, ὁρῶν πρὸς τὰ Μέγαρα,4 ὅπως εἴη αὐτοῖς, ὁπότε προΐοιεν ἢ μαχούμενοι ἢ τειχιοῦντες, τοῖς τε σκεύεσι καὶ τοῖς χρήμασιν ἀποθήκη.
After this, the Athenians, having erected a trophy and restored the dead to the Syracusans under a truce, went down on the next day close to the city itself; but when the enemy did not come out against them, they withdrew and built a fort at Labdalum, upon the very edge of the cliffs of Epipolae, looking toward Megara, in order that it might serve as a storehouse for their baggage and money whenever they advanced either to fight or to build the wall.
- 6.97.1ἔλαθον αὐτοὺς ... σχόντες
The verb λανθάνω constructed with participles (σχόντες, ἀποβιβάσαντες, καθορμισάμενοι) to express the idea of doing something without being noticed ("escaped their notice in putting in..."). The aorist participles describe the series of actions of the Athenians.
- 6.97.2φθάνει ἀναβὰς ... πρὶν ... παραγενέσθαι
The verb φθάνω used with the participle ἀναβάς to mean "anticipate in ascending" or "succeed in ascending before," which is further reinforced by the πρὶν with infinitive construction (πρὶν ... παραγενέσθαι). This emphasizes the speed with which the Athenian infantry reached the heights of Epipolae before the Syracusans could arrive.
- 6.97.3ὡς ἕκαστος τάχους εἶχε
The genitive τάχους (partitive genitive of state/manner) is used with ἔχω and an adverbial relative (here introduced by ὡς), forming an idiomatic expression meaning "as fast as each one could" or "with all possible speed."
- 6.97.5ὁρῶν πρὸς τὰ Μέγαρα
The present participle ὁρῶν (looking), though masculine nominative singular, refers to the neuter noun φρούριον (fort). It is an active usage denoting that an inanimate object (the fort) "faces" or "looks toward" a direction. The discord in gender (masculine participle for a neuter noun) can be explained as a constructio ad sensum, or as reflecting the perspective of the subject of the main clause (the Athenians).