- 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-grc2:8.68.1-8.68.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
The author praises the exceptional abilities and backgrounds of the primary leaders behind the oligarchical revolution—Pisander, Antiphon, Phrynichus, and Theramenes—and reflects on the immense difficulty of stripping liberty from the Athenians, who had been free and ruling others for nearly a century.
ἦν δὲ ὁ μὲν τὴν γνώμην ταύτην εἰπὼν Πείσανδρος, καὶ τἆλλα ἐκ τοῦ προφανοῦς προθυμότατα ξυγκαταλύσας τὸν δῆμον· ὁ μέντοι ἅπαν τὸ πρᾶγμα ξυνθεὶς ὅτῳ τρόπῳ κατέστη ἐς τοῦτο καὶ ἐκ πλείστου ἐπιμεληθεὶς Ἀντιφῶν ἦν ἀνὴρ Ἀθηναίων τῶν καθ’ ἑαυτὸν ἀρετῇ τε οὐδενὸς ὕστερος καὶ κράτιστος ἐνθυμηθῆναι γενόμενος καὶ ἃ γνοίη εἰπεῖν,1 καὶ ἐς μὲν δῆμον οὐ παριὼν οὐδ’ ἐς ἄλλον ἀγῶνα ἑκούσιος οὐδένα, ἀλλ’ ὑπόπτως τῷ πλήθει διὰ δόξαν δεινότητος διακείμενος, τοὺς μέντοι ἀγωνιζομένους καὶ ἐν δικαστηρίῳ καὶ ἐν δήμῳ πλεῖστα εἷς ἀνήρ, ὅστις ξυμβουλεύσαιτό τι, δυνάμενος ὠφελεῖν.2
The one who proposed this motion was Pisander, who also in other respects was most forward in openly helping to overthrow the democracy. But the one who planned the whole affair, as to how it should be brought to this point, and who had given it the longest attention, was Antiphon, a man who among the Athenians of his own day was second to none in ability, and had proved himself best both at conceiving a plan and at expressing his decisions. He did not come forward before the people, nor voluntarily enter any other public contest, but was regarded with suspicion by the multitude because of his reputation for cleverness; yet he was the one man who was best able to assist those who were contending in the courts or before the assembly, if any of them came to him for advice.
καὶ αὐτός τε, ἐπειδὴ † μετέστη ἡ δημοκρατία καὶ ἐς ἀγῶνας κατέστη † τὰ τῶν τετρακοσίων ἐν ὑστέρῳ μεταπεσόντα ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου ἐκακοῦτο3 †, ἄριστα φαίνεται τῶν μέχρι ἐμοῦ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν τούτων αἰτιαθείς, ὡς ξυγκατέστησε, θανάτου δίκην ἀπολογησάμενος.
And he himself, when the democracy was overthrown, and the affairs of the Four Hundred later met with a reverse and were hard pressed by the people in trials, being accused of this very thing—that he had helped to set it up—appears to have made the best defence on a capital charge of any man up to my time.
παρέσχε δὲ καὶ ὁ Φρύνιχος ἑαυτὸν πάντων διαφερόντως προθυμότατον ἐς τὴν ὀλιγαρχίαν, δεδιὼς τὸν Ἀλκιβιάδην καὶ ἐπιστάμενος εἰδότα αὐτὸν ὅσα ἐν τῇ Σάμῳ πρὸς τὸν Ἀστύοχον ἔπραξε, νομίζων οὐκ ἄν ποτε αὐτὸν κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς ὑπ’ ὀλιγαρχίας κατελθεῖν· πολύ τε πρὸς τὰ δεινά, ἐπειδήπερ ὑπέστη, φερεγγυώτατος ἐφάνη.
Phrynichus also showed himself beyond all others most zealously devoted to the oligarchy, because he feared Alcibiades and was aware that the latter knew of all his intrigues at Samos with Astyochus, thinking that in all probability Alcibiades would never be recalled by an oligarchy; and after he had once embarked upon the enterprise, he showed himself by far the most reliable in facing dangers.
καὶ Θηραμένης ὁ τοῦ Ἅγνωνος ἐν τοῖς ξυγκαταλύουσι τὸν δῆμον πρῶτος ἦν, ἀνὴρ οὔτε εἰπεῖν οὔτε γνῶναι ἀδύνατος. ὥστε ἀπ’ ἀνδρῶν πολλῶν καὶ ξυνετῶν πραχθὲν τὸ ἔργον οὐκ ἀπεικότως καίπερ μέγα ὂν προυχώρησεν· χαλεπὸν γὰρ ἦν τὸν Ἀθηναίων δῆμον ἐπ’ ἔτει ἑκατοστῷ μάλιστα ἐπειδὴ οἱ τύραννοι κατελύθησαν ἐλευθερίας παῦσαι,4 καὶ οὐ μόνον μὴ ὑπήκοον ὄντα, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὲρ ἥμισυ τοῦ χρόνου τούτου αὐτὸν ἄλλων ἄρχειν εἰωθότα.
Theramenes also, the son of Hagnon, was foremost among those who helped to overthrow the democracy, a man of no mean ability either in speech or in judgment. Consequently, the enterprise, being conducted by many able and intelligent men, not unnaturally succeeded, great though it was; for it was a difficult task to deprive the Athenian people of their liberty, nearly a hundred years after the expulsion of the tyrants, and that too when they had not only been free from subjection to others, but had themselves been accustomed to rule over others for more than half of that period.
- 8.68.1κράτιστος ἐνθυμηθῆναι γενόμενος καὶ ἃ γνοίη εἰπεῖν
The infinitives ἐνθυμηθῆναι and εἰπεῖν function as epexegetical infinitives (limiting or specifying) modifying the adjective κράτιστος ("best at conceiving... and at expressing..."). ἃ γνοίη is a relative clause with the optative mood, representing a general or repeated conception of what he might decide.
- 8.68.1τοὺς μέντοι ἀγωνιζομένους ... δυνάμενος ὠφελεῖν
The participle δυνάμενος is in the nominative, agreeing with the subject Antiphon, and links back to the earlier Ἀντιφῶν ἦν to form the predicate ("was able to assist"). τοὺς ἀγωνιζομένους (those contending) is the direct object of the infinitive ὠφελεῖν, with the conditional relative clause ὅστις ξυμβουλεύσαιτό τι (whoever might seek advice) embedded within.
- 8.68.2ἐπειδὴ † μετέστη ἡ δημοκρατία ... ἐκακοῦτο †
This passage contains corrupt text (indicated by cruces †) with conflicting verbs (κατέστη, ἐκακοῦτο) and structural shifts. Contextually, it is interpreted as a temporal clause introduced by ἐπειδή describing the transition: "when the democracy was overthrown, and the affairs of the Four Hundred later suffered a reverse and were brought into difficulty/trials by the people."
- 8.68.4τὸν Ἀθηναίων δῆμον ... ἐλευθερίας παῦσαι
The subject of the infinitive παῦσαι (to stop, to deprive), introduced by the impersonal adjective χαλεπόν (it was difficult), is contextually "they" (the oligarchs). The accusative τὸν Ἀθηναίων δῆμον is the direct object of παῦσαι, and the genitive ἐλευθερίας is a genitive of separation ("to deprive of liberty").
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (3, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — translation 3