- 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-grc2:7.74.1-7.74.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Believing the message, the Athenians delay their departure to prepare, while the Syracusans and Gylippus preemptively block the land routes and tow away the remaining Athenian ships.
οἱ δὲ πρὸς τὸ ἄγγελμα ἐπέσχον τὴν νύκτα, νομίσαντες οὐκ ἀπάτην εἶναι. καὶ ἐπειδὴ καὶ ὣς1 οὐκ εὐθὺς ὥρμησαν, ἔδοξεν αὐτοῖς καὶ τὴν ἐπιοῦσαν ἡμέραν περιμεῖναι, ὅπως ξυσκευάσαιντο ὡς ἐκ τῶν δυνατῶν οἱ στρατιῶται ὅτι χρησιμώτατα, καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα πάντα καταλιπεῖν, ἀναλαβόντες δὲ αὐτὰ ὅσα περὶ τὸ σῶμα ἐς δίαιταν ὑπῆρχεν ἐπιτήδεια ἀφορμᾶσθαι.2
And they, in response to the message, stayed that night, believing that it was not a deception. And since, even so, they did not set out immediately, they decided to wait for the following day as well, in order that the soldiers might pack up what was most useful as far as possible, and, leaving all other things behind, to set out carrying only those necessaries which were at hand for their bodily sustenance.
Συρακόσιοι δὲ καὶ Γύλιππος τῷ μὲν πεζῷ προεξελθόντες τάς τε ὁδοὺς τὰς κατὰ τὴν χώραν, ᾗ εἰκὸς ἦν τοὺς Ἀθηναίους ἰέναι, ἀπεφάργνυσαν καὶ τῶν ῥείθρων καὶ [τῶν] ποταμῶν τὰς διαβάσεις ἐφύλασσον καὶ ἐς ὑποδοχὴν τοῦ στρατεύματος ὡς κωλύσοντες ᾗ ἐδόκει ἐτάσσοντο· ταῖς δὲ ναυσὶ προσπλεύσαντες τὰς ναῦς τῶν Ἀθηναίων ἀπὸ τοῦ αἰγιαλοῦ ἀφεῖλκον (ἐνέπρησαν δέ τινας ὀλίγας, ὥσπερ διενοήθησαν, αὐτοὶ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι), τὰς δ’ ἄλλας καθ᾽ ἡσυχίαν οὐδενὸς κωλύοντος ὡς ἑκάστην ποι ἐκπεπτωκυῖαν3 ἀναδησάμενοι ἐκόμιζον ἐς τὴν πόλιν.
Meanwhile, the Syracusans and Gylippus, having gone out beforehand with their infantry, blocked the roads throughout the country where it was likely the Athenians would go, guarded the crossings of the streams and rivers, and drew themselves up at suitable points to receive the army so as to block its progress. And sailing up with their ships, they towed away the Athenian ships from the shore (though the Athenians themselves had burned a few, as they had intended); the rest they lashed to their own without any hindrance and quietly towed them to the city, each vessel from wherever it had been cast ashore.
- 7.74.1καὶ ὣς
An adverbial expression meaning "even so" or "in any case." Reflecting the fact that they had already failed to start the previous night, it introduces the further decision to postpone their departure.
- 7.74.1ἀφορμᾶσθαι
The infinitives καταλιπεῖν and ἀφορμᾶσθαι depend directly on the main verb ἔδοξεν αὐτοῖς ("they decided") at the beginning of the sentence, rather than being part of the purpose clause starting with ὅπως. The sentence structure is "they decided to wait... and to leave behind... and to set out."
- 7.74.2ὡς ἑκάστην ποι ἐκπεπτωκυῖαν
An idiomatic construction combining ὡς with ἕκαστος, the indefinite adverb ποι, and the participle. It means "each vessel wherever it had been cast ashore," expressing the scattered state of the individual ships.