- 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
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- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.56.1-8.56.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
Negotiations are held between the Athenian envoys and Tissaphernes, but Alcibiades, to protect his own position, deliberately makes exorbitant demands to break off the talks. The Athenians ultimately reject the conditions and the negotiations collapse.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα οἱ μὲν Χῖοι ἔκ τε γῆς καὶ θαλάσσης ἔτι μᾶλλον ἢ πρότερον ἐπολιορκοῦντο καὶ ὁ λιμὸς αὐτόθι ἦν μέγας· οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν Πείσανδρον Ἀθηναίων πρέσβεις ἀφικόμενοι ὡς τὸν Τισσαφέρνην λόγους ποιοῦνται περὶ τῆς ὁμολογίας.
After these events, the Chians were besieged still more than before, both by land and by sea, and the famine there was severe. Meanwhile, the Athenian ambassadors led by Peisander arrived at Tissaphernes and entered into negotiations concerning the agreement.
Ἀλκιβιάδης δέ (οὐ γὰρ αὐτῷ πάνυ τὰ ἀπὸ Τισσαφέρνους βέβαια ἦν, φοβουμένου τοὺς Πελοποννησίους μᾶλλον καὶ ἔτι βουλομένου, καθάπερ καὶ ὑπ’ ἐκείνου ἐδιδάσκετο, τρίβειν ἀμφοτέρους)1 τρέπεται ἐπὶ τοιόνδε εἶδος ὥστε τὸν Τισσαφέρνην ὡς μέγιστα αἰτοῦντα παρὰ τῶν Ἀθηναίων μὴ ξυμβῆναι.
But Alcibiades (for the disposition of Tissaphernes was not at all secure for him, since Tissaphernes feared the Peloponnesians more and still wished, just as he was also being instructed by Alcibiades, to wear out both sides) turned to the following device, so that Tissaphernes, by making the greatest demands of the Athenians, should not come to terms.
δοκεῖ δέ μοι καὶ ὁ Τισσαφέρνης τὸ αὐτὸ βουληθῆναι, αὐτὸς μὲν διὰ τὸ δέος, ὁ δὲ Ἀλκιβιάδης, ἐπειδὴ ἑώρα ἐκεῖνον καὶ ὣς οὐ ξυμβησείοντα, δοκεῖν τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις ἐβούλετο μὴ ἀδύνατος εἶναι πεῖσαι, ἀλλ’ ὡς πεπεισμένῳ Τισσαφέρνει καὶ βουλομένῳ προσχωρῆσαι τοὺς Ἀθηναίους μὴ ἱκανὰ διδόναι.2
And it seems to me that Tissaphernes also wished the same thing, he himself because of fear, whereas Alcibiades, since he saw that Tissaphernes was not going to come to terms in any case, wished to seem to the Athenians not unable to persuade him, but rather that Tissaphernes had been persuaded and was willing to join them, but the Athenians were not giving enough.
ᾔτει γὰρ τοσαῦτα ὑπερβάλλων ὁ Ἀλκιβιάδης, λέγων αὐτὸς ὑπὲρ παρόντος τοῦ Τισσαφέρνους, ὥστε τὸ τῶν Ἀθηναίων, καίπερ ἐπὶ πολὺ ὅτι αἰτοίη ξυγχωρούντων, ὅμως αἴτιον γενέσθαι· Ἰωνίαν τε γὰρ πᾶσαν ἠξίου δίδοσθαι καὶ αὖθις νήσους τε τὰς ἐπικειμένας καὶ ἄλλα, οἷς οὐκ ἐναντιουμένων τῶν Ἀθηναίων τέλος ἐν τῇ τρίτῃ ἤδη ξυνόδῳ, δείσας μὴ πάνυ φωραθῇ ἀδύνατος ὤν,3 ναῦς ἠξίου ἐᾶν βασιλέα ποιεῖσθαι καὶ παραπλεῖν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γῆν ὅπῃ ἂν καὶ ὅσαις ἂν βούληται. ἐνταῦθα δὴ οὐκέτι... ἀλλ’ ἄπορα νομίσαντες οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἀλκιβιάδου ἐξηπατῆσθαι, δι’ ὀργῆς ἀπελθόντες κομίζονται ἐς τὴν Σάμον.
For Alcibiades, speaking himself on behalf of Tissaphernes who was present, made such exorbitant demands, so that the refusal of the Athenians (although they conceded much of what he asked) nevertheless became the cause of the breakdown. For he demanded that all Ionia be given up, and further the adjacent islands and other things; and when the Athenians did not oppose these demands, finally, in what was already the third conference, fearing lest he should be completely exposed as being powerless, he demanded that the King be allowed to build ships and to sail along his own territory wherever and with as many ships as he pleased. At this point, indeed, they could bear it no longer, but considering the conditions impossible and believing that they had been deceived by Alcibiades, they departed in anger and withdrew to Samos.
- 8.56.2φοβουμένου τοὺς Πελοποννησίους μᾶλλον καὶ ἔτι βουλομένου... τρίβειν ἀμφοτέρους
These are participles in the genitive absolute construction without an explicit noun, whose logical subject must be understood from the context to be Tissaphernes. It describes Tissaphernes' state of mind as analyzed by Alcibiades.
- 8.56.3ἀλλ’ ὡς πεπεισμένῳ Τισσαφέρνει καὶ βουλομένῳ προσχωρῆσαι τοὺς Ἀθηναίους μὴ ἱκανὰ διδόναι
The particle ὡς introduces a subjective pretext, governing the dative participles 'πεπεισμένῳ' and 'βουλομένῳ' (agreeing with Tissaphernes) and the accusative-with-infinitive clause 'τοὺς Ἀθηναίους μὴ ἱκανὰ διδόναι' (stating that the Athenians were not giving enough). It expresses the impression Alcibiades wished to make on the Athenians.
- 8.56.4δείσας μὴ πάνυ φωραθῇ ἀδύνατος ὤν
The participle of fearing 'δείσας' introduces 'μή' with the subjunctive 'φωραθῇ', which in turn takes the supplementary participle 'ὤν' ('being powerless'). This is a regular construction with verbs of revealing or detecting like 'φωρῶ'.