- 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-grc2:7.65.1-7.65.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
After Nicias orders his men to board, the Syracusans perceive the Athenian naval preparations and the plan to use grappling irons, countering this by covering their prows with hides. Once ready, Gylippus and the generals begin their speech.
ὁ μὲν Νικίας τοσαῦτα παρακελευσάμενος εὐθὺς ἐκέλευε πληροῦν τὰς ναῦς. τῷ δὲ Γυλίππῳ καὶ τοῖς Συρακοσίοις παρῆν1 μὲν αἰσθάνεσθαι, ὁρῶσι2 καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν παρασκευήν, ὅτι ναυμαχήσουσιν οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι, προηγγέλθη δ’ αὐτοῖς καὶ ἡ ἐπιβολὴ τῶν σιδηρῶν χειρῶν, καὶ πρός τε τἆλλα ἐξηρτύσαντο ὡς ἕκαστα καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο· τὰς γὰρ πρῴρας καὶ τῆς νεὼς ἄνω ἐπὶ πολὺ κατεβύρσωσαν, ὅπως ἂν ἀπολισθάνοι3 καὶ μὴ ἔχοι ἀντιλαβὴν ἡ χεὶρ ἐπιβαλλομένη.
Nicias, having exhorted them with these words, immediately ordered them to man the ships. On the other hand, it was possible for Gylippus and the Syracusans to perceive, by seeing the preparation itself, that the Athenians would fight a sea-battle, and they had also been previously informed of the device of the iron hands. Therefore, they made preparations both for all other details individually and especially against this; for they covered the prows and a large part of the upper ship with hides, so that the hand, when thrown, might slip off and not get a grip.
καὶ ἐπειδὴ πάντα ἑτοῖμα ἦν, παρεκελεύσαντο ἐκείνοις οἵ τε στρατηγοὶ καὶ Γύλιππος καὶ ἔλεξαν τοιάδε.
And when everything was ready, the generals and Gylippus exhorted them and spoke as follows.
- 7.65.1παρῆν
The imperfect tense of the impersonal verb πάρεστι (it is possible). It takes the dative τῷ δὲ Γυλίππῳ καὶ τοῖς Συρακοσίοις and the infinitive αἰσθάνεσθαι, meaning 'it was possible for Gylippus and the Syracusans to perceive.'
- 7.65.1ὁρῶσι
Present active participle in the dative plural. It agrees with the preceding dative (referring to the Syracusans and Gylippus) and expresses means or cause ('by seeing' or 'seeing').
- 7.65.2ὅπως ἂν ἀπολισθάνοι
The conjunction ὅπως with the particle ἄν and the optative (ἀπολισθάνοι and ἔχοι) introduces a clause of purpose after a historical main verb (κατεβύρσωσαν). The inclusion of ἄν with the optative in a purpose clause implies a conditional purpose or that the outcome depends on specific circumstances.