- 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-grc2:7.36.1-7.36.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
The Syracusans decide to launch another attack before the Athenian reinforcements arrive, preparing their fleet by shortening and strengthening the prows of their ships to employ head-on collision tactics advantageous in the confined space of the Great Harbour.
οἱ δὲ Συρακόσιοι ἐν τούτῳ πυνθανόμενοι αὐτῶν τὸν ἐπίπλουν1 αὖθις ταῖς ναυσὶν ἀποπειρᾶσαι ἐβούλοντο καὶ τῇ ἄλλῃ παρασκευῇ τοῦ πεζοῦ, ἥνπερ ἐπ’ αὐτὸ τοῦτο πρὶν ἐλθεῖν αὐτοὺς φθάσαι βουλόμενοι ξυνέλεγον.
Meanwhile the Syracusans, hearing of their approach, wished to make another attempt with their ships and the other preparations of the land force, which they had been collecting for this very purpose, wishing to strike a blow before they arrived.
παρεσκευάσαντο δὲ τό τε ἄλλο ναυτικὸν ὡς ἐκ τῆς προτέρας ναυμαχίας τι πλέον ἐνεῖδον σχήσοντες,2 καὶ τὰς πρῴρας τῶν νεῶν ξυντεμόντες ἐς ἔλασσον στεριφωτέρας ἐποίησαν, καὶ τὰς ἐπωτίδας ἐπέθεσαν ταῖς πρῴραις παχείας, καὶ ἀντηρίδας ἀπ’ αὐτῶν ὑπέτειναν πρὸς τοὺς τοίχους ὡς ἐπὶ ἓξ πήχεις ἐντός τε καὶ ἔξωθεν· ᾧπερ τρόπῳ3 καὶ οἱ Κορίνθιοι πρὸς τὰς ἐν τῇ Ναυπάκτῳ ναῦς ἐπισκευασάμενοι πρῴραθεν ἐναυμάχουν.
They prepared the rest of their navy with the expectation of gaining some advantage from their former sea-fight; they cut down and shortened the prows of their ships, making them stouter, and attached thick catheads to the prows, stretching stays from them to the ship’s sides, both inside and outside, for a distance of about six cubits. In this very manner the Corinthians also, having remodelled their ships against those at Naupactus, fought their sea-fights from the prow.
ἐνόμισαν γὰρ οἱ Συρακόσιοι πρὸς τὰς τῶν Ἀθηναίων ναῦς οὐχ ὁμοίως ἀντινεναυπηγημένας,4 ἀλλὰ λεπτὰ τὰ πρῴραθεν ἐχούσας διὰ τὸ μὴ ἀντιπρῴροις μᾶλλον αὐτοὺς ἢ ἐκ περίπλου ταῖς ἐμβολαῖς χρῆσθαι, οὐκ ἔλασσον σχήσειν,5 καὶ τὴν ἐν τῷ μεγάλῳ λιμένι ναυμαχίαν, οὐκ ἐν πολλῷ πολλαῖς ναυσὶν οὖσαν, πρὸς ἑαυτῶν ἔσεσθαι· ἀντιπρῴροις γὰρ ταῖς ἐμβολαῖς χρώμενοι ἀναρρήξειν τὰ πρῴραθεν αὐτοῖς, στερίφοις καὶ παχέσι πρὸς κοῖλα καὶ ἀσθενῆ παίοντες τοῖς ἐμβόλοις.
For the Syracusans thought that, against the Athenian ships which were not built to meet them in the same way, but had their prows weak because they used the periplous and the charge from the flank rather than the head-on collision, they would not have the worst of it, and that the sea-fight in the Great Harbour, being fought by many ships in a confined space, would be in their favour; for by using head-on collisions they would break in the bow parts of the enemy’s ships, striking with their own stout and thick rams against the hollow and weak prows of the Athenians.
τοῖς δὲ Ἀθηναίοις οὐκ ἔσεσθαι σφῶν ἐν στενοχωρίᾳ οὔτε περίπλουν οὔτε διέκπλουν, ᾧπερ τῆς τέχνης μάλιστα ἐπίστευον· αὐτοὶ γὰρ κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν τὸ μὲν οὐ δώσειν διεκπλεῖν, τὸ δὲ τὴν στενοχωρίαν κωλύσειν ὥστε μὴ περιπλεῖν.
They thought also that the Athenians would not have room in the narrow space either to sail round them or to break their line, the very maneuvers of their skill in which they chiefly trusted; for they themselves would do their best to prevent them from breaking the line, and the narrowness of the space would prevent them from sailing round.
τῇ τε πρότερον ἀμαθίᾳ τῶν κυβερνητῶν δοκούσῃ εἶναι, τὸ ἀντίπρῳρον ξυγκροῦσαι,6 μάλιστ᾽ ἂν αὐτοὶ χρήσασθαι· πλεῖστον γὰρ ἐν αὐτῷ σχήσειν· τὴν γὰρ ἀνάκρουσιν οὐκ ἔσεσθαι τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις ἐξωθουμένοις ἄλλοσε ἢ ἐς τὴν γῆν, καὶ ταύτην δι’ ὀλίγου καὶ ἐς ὀλίγον,7 κατ᾽ αὐτὸ τὸ στρατόπεδον τὸ ἑαυτῶν· τοῦ δ’ ἄλλου λιμένος αὐτοὶ κρατήσειν, καὶ ξυμφερομένους αὐτούς, ἤν πῃ βιάζωνται, ἐς ὀλίγον τε καὶ πάντας ἐς τὸ αὐτό, προσπίπτοντας ἀλλήλοις ταράξεσθαι (ὅπερ καὶ ἔβλαπτε μάλιστα τοὺς Ἀθηναίους ἐν ἁπάσαις ταῖς ναυμαχίαις, οὐκ οὔσης αὐτοῖς ἐς πάντα τὸν λιμένα τῆς ἀνακρούσεως, ὥσπερ τοῖς Συρακοσίοις)· περιπλεῦσαι δὲ ἐς τὴν εὐρυχωρίαν, σφῶν ἐχόντων τὴν ἐπίπλευσιν ἀπὸ τοῦ πελάγους τε καὶ ἀνάκρουσιν, οὐ δυνήσεσθαι αὐτούς, ἄλλως τε καὶ τοῦ Πλημμυρίου πολεμίου τε αὐτοῖς ἐσομένου καὶ τοῦ στόματος οὐ μεγάλου ὄντος τοῦ λιμένος.
And what had previously been thought to be the ignorance of their pilots—namely, head-on collision—they would now use to the utmost; for in this they would have the greatest advantage. For the Athenians, when forced back, would have no place to back water except to the land, and that only at a short distance and to a small area, namely, opposite their own camp; while they themselves would command the rest of the harbour, and if the Athenians should be forced anywhere, they would be driven together into one spot, and being crowded into a small space, and all to the same point, they would fall foul of one another and be thrown into confusion (which indeed was the chief source of damage to the Athenians in all the sea-fights, since they had no power of backing water over the whole harbour, as the Syracusans had); and as for sailing round into the open space, they would not be able to do this, since the Syracusans held the approach from the open sea and the power of backing water, especially as Plemmyrion would be hostile to them and the mouth of the harbour was not wide.
- 7.36.1πυνθανόμενοι αὐτῶν τὸν ἐπίπλουν
αὐτῶν (of them) refers to the Athenian reinforcement led by Demosthenes and Eurymedon. It means that the Syracusans heard of their movements mentioned in the previous chunk §7.35 (arrival at Petra in the territory of Rhegium).
- 7.36.2ὡς ἐκ τῆς προτέρας ναυμαχίας τι πλέον ἐνεῖδον σχήσοντες
ὡς with the future participle σχήσοντες expresses subjective intention or expectation: "with the expectation of gaining some advantage." τι πλέον means "some advantage."
- 7.36.2ᾧπερ τρόπῳ
The relative pronoun ᾧπερ agrees with τρόπῳ in the dative, referring to the method of ship modification described in the preceding clauses.
- 7.36.3οὐχ ὁμοίως ἀντινεναυπηγημένας
The accusative participles οὐχ ὁμοίως ἀντινεναυπηγημένας and ἐχούσας modify the Athenian ships (τὰς τῶν Ἀθηναίων ναῦς) within the prepositional phrase introduced by πρὸς, explaining their structural characteristics in contrast to those of the Syracusans.
- 7.36.3οὐκ ἔλασσον σχήσειν
This is a future infinitive depending on ἐνόμισαν. The implied subject is the Syracusans (οἱ Συρακόσιοι), meaning "they would not have the worst of it" or "they would hold their own."
- 7.36.5τῇ τε πρότερον ἀμαθίᾳ τῶν κυβερνητῶν δοκούσῃ εἶναι, τὸ ἀντίπρῳρον ξυγκροῦσαι
The dative noun phrase τῇ ... ἀμαθίᾳ (the ignorance) functions as the object of χρήσασθαι. The articular infinitive phrase τὸ ἀντίπρῳρον ξυγκροῦσαι (head-on collision) is in apposition to it, defining what was formerly considered "ignorance."
- 7.36.5καὶ ταύτην δι’ ὀλίγου καὶ ἐς ὀλίγον
ταύτην refers back to τὴν γῆν (the land). The phrase implies that this backing water to the land will be "from a short distance" (δι’ ὀλίγου) and "to a small space" (ἐς ὀλίγον).