- 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-grc2:7.80.1-7.80.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
The Athenian generals decide to change their route and retreat secretly by night toward the southern coast of Sicily instead of Catana; however, panic ensues, separating Demosthenes' division, and they encounter Syracusan blockades at the rivers.
τῆς δὲ νυκτὸς τῷ Νικίᾳ καὶ Δημοσθένει ἐδόκει, ἐπειδὴ κακῶς σφίσι τὸ στράτευμα εἶχε τῶν τε ἐπιτηδείων πάντων ἀπορίᾳ ἤδη, καὶ κατατετραυματισμένοι ἦσαν πολλοὶ ἐν πολλαῖς προσβολαῖς τῶν πολεμίων γεγενημέναις, πυρὰ καύσαντας ὡς πλεῖστα ἀπάγειν1 τὴν στρατιάν, μηκέτι τὴν αὐτὴν ὁδὸν ᾗ διενοήθησαν, ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον ἢ οἱ Συρακόσιοι ἐτήρουν, πρὸς τὴν θάλασσαν.
During the night, since their army was in a wretched state due to the lack of all provisions already, and many had been wounded in the numerous attacks made by the enemy, it seemed best to Nicias and Demosthenes to kindle as many campfires as possible and lead the army away, no longer by the same road which they had intended, but in the opposite direction to that which the Syracusans were watching, towards the sea.
ἦν δὲ ἡ ξύμπασα ὁδὸς αὕτη οὐκ ἐπὶ Κατάνης τῷ στρατεύματι, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ ἕτερον μέρος τῆς Σικελίας τὸ πρὸς Καμάριναν καὶ Γέλαν καὶ τὰς ταύτῃ πόλεις καὶ Ἑλληνίδας καὶ βαρβάρους.
And this whole route was not for the army in the direction of Catana, but towards the other part of Sicily, that facing Camarina and Gela, and the cities, both Greek and barbarian, in that region.
καύσαντες οὖν πυρὰ πολλὰ ἐχώρουν ἐν τῇ νυκτί. καὶ αὐτοῖς, οἷον φιλεῖ καὶ πᾶσι στρατοπέδοις, μάλιστα δὲ τοῖς μεγίστοις, φόβοι καὶ δείματα ἐγγίγνεσθαι,2 ἄλλως τε καὶ ἐν νυκτί τε καὶ διὰ πολεμίας καὶ ἀπὸ πολεμίων οὐ πολὺ ἀπεχόντων ἰοῦσιν, ἐμπίπτει ταραχή·
Having kindled many fires, therefore, they marched during the night. And upon them—as is wont to happen to all armies, and especially to the largest, that fears and panics arise, particularly as they were marching by night through enemy territory and with the enemy not far off—a tumult fell.
καὶ τὸ μὲν Νικίου στράτευμα,ὥσπερ ἡγεῖτο, ξυνέμενέ τε καὶ προύλαβε πολλῷ, τὸ δὲ Δημοσθένους, τὸ ἥμισυ μάλιστα καὶ πλέον, ἀπεσπάσθη τε καὶ ἀτακτότερον ἐχώρει.
And the division of Nicias, as he was leading, kept together and got a long way ahead, but that of Demosthenes, which was about half or more, was separated and marched in greater disorder.
ἅμα δὲ τῇ ἕῳ ἀφικνοῦνται ὅμως πρὸς τὴν θάλασσαν, καὶ ἐσβάντες ἐς τὴν ὁδὸν τὴν Ἑλωρίνην καλουμένην ἐπορεύοντο, ὅπως, ἐπειδὴ γένοιντο ἐπὶ τῷ ποταμῷ τῷ Κακυπάρει, παρὰ τὸν ποταμὸν ἴοιεν3 ἄνω διὰ μεσογείας· ἤλπιζον γὰρ καὶ τοὺς Σικελοὺς ταύτῃ οὓς μετεπέμψαντο ἀπαντήσεσθαι.
Nevertheless, at dawn they reached the sea, and having entered upon the road called the Helorine, they marched on, so that, when they should reach the river Cacyparis, they might go up along the river through the interior; for they hoped that the Sicels whom they had sent for would meet them in this direction.
ἐπειδὴ δ’ ἐγένοντο ἐπὶ τῷ ποταμῷ, ηὗρον καὶ ἐνταῦθα φυλακήν τινα τῶν Συρακοσίων ἀποτειχίζουσάν τε καὶ ἀποσταυροῦσαν τὸν πόρον. καὶ βιασάμενοι αὐτὴν διέβησάν τε τὸν ποταμὸν καὶ ἐχώρουν αὖθις πρὸς ἄλλον ποταμὸν τὸν Ἐρινεόν· ταύτῃ γὰρ οἱ ἡγεμόνες ἐκέλευον.
And when they reached the river, they found there too a guard of the Syracusans blocking the passage with a wall and a palisade. Having forced their way through it, they crossed the river and marched again towards another river, the Erineus; for this was the way the guides directed them.
- 7.80.1πυρὰ καύσαντας ὡς πλεῖστα ἀπάγειν
The participle καύσαντας (accusative plural) functions as the subject of the infinitive ἀπάγειν. Although the decision-makers are introduced in the dative τῷ Νικίᾳ καὶ Δημοσθένει at the beginning of the sentence, the subject of the infinitive is expressed in the accusative, representing the whole army or the generals themselves as part of the retreating force.
- 7.80.3φόβοι καὶ δείματα ἐγγίγνεσθαι
The infinitive ἐγγίγνεσθαι is dependent on the parenthetical clause οἷον φιλεῖ ("as is wont to happen"). The main clause consists of the verb ἐμπίπτει and its subject ταραχή, with αὐτοῖς and the participle ἰοῦσιν (both dative plural) depending on ἐμπίπτει. The structure of the main clause is interrupted by this parenthetical clause and the subsequent participle phrase.
- 7.80.5ὅπως, ἐπειδὴ γένοιντο ... ἴοιεν
A conditional temporal clause ἐπειδὴ γένοιντο (optative) is nested within the purpose clause ὅπως ἴοιεν (optative of purpose after a past main verb). The optatives are oblique, representing a future contingency from a past point of view ("once they should reach... they might go").