- 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-grc2:7.25.1-7.25.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
The passage details the Syracusan efforts to intercept Athenian supplies in Italy, the active skirmishes in the harbor over the underwater defensive palisades, and their embassy to Greek allies requesting reinforcements.
μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο ναῦς τε ἐκπέμπουσι δώδεκα οἱ Συρακόσιοι καὶ Ἀγάθαρχον ἐπ’ αὐτῶν Συρακόσιον ἄρχοντα. καὶ αὐτῶν μία μὲν ἐς Πελοπόννησον ᾤχετο, πρέσβεις ἄγουσα οἵπερ τά τε σφέτερα φράσουσιν1 ὅτι ἐν ἐλπίσιν εἰσὶ καὶ τὸν ἐκεῖ πόλεμον ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐποτρυνοῦσι γίγνεσθαι· αἱ δ’ ἕνδεκα νῆες πρὸς τὴν Ἰταλίαν ἔπλευσαν, πυνθανόμεναι πλοῖα τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις2 γέμοντα χρημάτων προσπλεῖν.
After this, the Syracusans sent out twelve ships, with Agatharchus, a Syracusan, as commander over them. And one of them went to the Peloponnesus, carrying ambassadors who were to report that they were in good hopes, and to urge still more that the war there should be carried on; and the eleven ships sailed to Italy, on hearing that vessels laden with supplies for the Athenians were approaching.
καὶ τῶν τε πλοίων ἐπιτυχοῦσαι τὰ πολλὰ διέφθειραν καὶ ξύλα ναυπηγήσιμα ἐν τῇ Καυλωνιάτιδι κατέκαυσαν, ἃ τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις ἑτοῖμα ἦν.
And falling in with the vessels, they destroyed most of them and burned shipbuilding timber in the territory of Caulonia, which was ready for the Athenians.
ἔς τε Λοκροὺς μετὰ ταῦτα ἦλθον, καὶ ὁρμουσῶν αὐτῶν κατέπλευσε μία τῶν ὁλκάδων τῶν ἀπὸ Πελοποννήσου ἄγουσα Θεσπιῶν ὁπλίτας·
And after this they went to Locri; and while they were at anchor, there arrived one of the merchant vessels from the Peloponnesus, carrying hoplites of the Thespians;
καὶ ἀναλαβόντες αὐτοὺς οἱ Συρακόσιοι ἐπὶ τὰς ναῦς παρέπλεον ἐπ’ οἴκου. φυλάξαντες δ᾽ αὐτοὺς οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι εἴκοσι ναυσὶ πρὸς τοῖς Μεγάροις μίαν μὲν ναῦν λαμβάνουσιν αὐτοῖς ἀνδράσι, τὰς δ’ ἄλλας οὐκ ἐδυνήθησαν, ἀλλ’ ἀποφεύγουσιν ἐς τὰς Συρακούσας.
and the Syracusans took them on board their ships and coasted homeward. But the Athenians, keeping watch for them with twenty ships near Megara, captured one ship with its crew, but were unable to capture the others, which escaped to Syracuse.
ἐγένετο δὲ καὶ περὶ τῶν σταυρῶν ἀκροβολισμὸς ἐν τῷ λιμένι, οὓς οἱ Συρακόσιοι πρὸ τῶν παλαιῶν νεωσοίκων κατέπηξαν ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ, ὅπως αὐτοῖς αἱ νῆες ἐντὸς ὁρμοῖεν καὶ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι ἐπιπλέοντες μὴ βλάπτοιεν ἐμβάλλοντες.
There also arose a skirmish in the harbor about the palisades, which the Syracusans had driven into the sea in front of their old docks, so that their ships might lie at anchor inside them and the Athenians might not sail against them and damage them by ramming.
προσαγαγόντες γὰρ ναῦν μυριοφόρον αὐτοῖς οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι, πύργους τε ξυλίνους ἔχουσαν καὶ παραφράγματα, ἔκ τε τῶν ἀκάτων ὤνευον ἀναδούμενοι τοὺς σταυροὺς καὶ ἀνέκλων καὶ κατακολυμβῶντες ἐξέπριον. οἱ δὲ Συρακόσιοι ἀπὸ τῶν νεωσοίκων ἔβαλλον· οἱ δ’ ἐκ τῆς ὁλκάδος ἀντέβαλλον, καὶ τέλος τοὺς πολλοὺς τῶν σταυρῶν ἀνεῖλον οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι.
For the Athenians, bringing up to them a ship of ten thousand talents burden, which had wooden towers and screens, from their boats fastened ropes to the piles and hauled them up with windlasses, or snapped them off, or dived and sawed them through. The Syracusans threw missiles from the docks, and the Athenians on the merchant vessel returned their fire, and at last the Athenians removed most of the piles.
χαλεπωτάτη δ’ ἦν τῆς σταυρώσεως ἡ κρύφιος· ἦσαν γὰρ τῶν σταυρῶν οὓς οὐχ ὑπερέχοντας τῆς θαλάσσης κατέπηξαν, ὥστε δεινὸν ἦν προσπλεῦσαι, μὴ οὐ προϊδών3 τις ὥσπερ περὶ ἕρμα περιβάλῃ τὴν ναῦν. ἀλλὰ καὶ τούτους κολυμβηταὶ δυόμενοι ἐξέπριον μισθοῦ. ὅμως δ’ αὖθις οἱ Συρακόσιοι ἐσταύρωσαν.
But the most difficult part of the palisade was the hidden part; for there were some of the piles which they had driven in so as not to project above the water, so that it was dangerous to approach, lest someone, not seeing them beforehand, should wreck his ship as if on a reef. Yet even these, divers went down and sawed through for hire. Nevertheless, the Syracusans drove in palisades again.
πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ἄλλα πρὸς ἀλλήλους οἷον εἰκὸς τῶν στρατοπέδων ἐγγὺς ὄντων καὶ ἀντιτεταγμένων ἐμηχανῶντο καὶ ἀκροβολισμοῖς καὶ πείραις παντοίαις ἐχρῶντο.
And they devised many other things against each other, as was natural since the camps were near and opposed to one another, and they engaged in skirmishes and attempts of every kind.
ἔπεμψαν δὲ καὶ ἐς τὰς πόλεις πρέσβεις οἱ Συρακόσιοι Κορινθίων καὶ Ἀμπρακιωτῶν καὶ Λακεδαιμονίων, ἀγγέλλοντας τήν τε τοῦ Πλημμυρίου λῆψιν καὶ τῆς ναυμαχίας πέρι ὡς οὐ τῇ τῶν πολεμίων ἰσχύι μᾶλλον ἢ τῇ σφετέρᾳ ταραχῇ ἡσσηθεῖεν, τά τε ἄλλα [αὖ] δηλώσοντας ὅτι ἐν ἐλπίσιν εἰσὶ καὶ ἀξιώσοντας ξυμβοηθεῖν ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς καὶ ναυσὶ καὶ πεζῷ, ὡς καὶ τῶν Ἀθηναίων προσδοκίμων ὄντων ἄλλῃ στρατιᾷ καί, ἢν φθάσωσιν αὐτοὶ πρότερον διαφθείραντες τὸ παρὸν στράτευμα αὐτῶν, διαπεπολεμησόμενον. καὶ οἱ μὲν ἐν τῇ Σικελίᾳ ταῦτα ἔπρασσον.
The Syracusans also sent ambassadors to the cities of the Corinthians, Ambraciots, and Lacedaemonians, to report the capture of Plemyrium, and regarding the sea-fight, that they had been defeated not so much by the strength of the enemy as by their own confusion; and to declare in other respects that they were in good hopes, and to demand that they should assist them against the Athenians with both ships and land forces, since the Athenians were also expected to receive another army, and if they themselves could succeed in destroying the present army first, the war would be finished. And those in Sicily were acting in this way.
- 7.25.1οἵπερ τά τε σφέτερα φράσουσιν
The relative pronoun οἵπερ followed by the future indicative φράσουσιν and ἐποτρυνοῦσι expresses purpose ("in order to report... and urge...").
- 7.25.1τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις
The dative τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις acts as a dative of interest or reference ("for the Athenians"), distinct from the genitive χρημάτων which is governed by the participle γέμοντα ("laden with").
- 7.25.7μὴ οὐ προϊδών
After the adjective expressing fear or danger (δεινόν), the subjunctive περιβάλῃ is introduced by μὴ ("lest"). The negation οὐ negatives the participle προϊδών ("not seeing beforehand / without having foreseen").