- 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-grc2:8.82.1-8.82.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
The Athenian soldiers immediately elected Alcibiades as general and eagerly wished to sail against the Piraeus, but Alcibiades prevented them and went to Tissaphernes to conduct his double-dealing diplomacy, playing both sides against each other.
οἱ δὲ ἀκούοντες ταῦτά τε καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ στρατηγόν τε αὐτὸν εὐθὺς εἵλοντο μετὰ τῶν προτέρων καὶ τὰ πράγματα πάντα ἀνετίθεσαν, τήν τε παραυτίκα ἐλπίδα ἕκαστος τῆς τε σωτηρίας καὶ τῆς τῶν τετρακοσίων τιμωρίας οὐδενὸς ἂν ἠλλάξαντο,1 καὶ ἑτοῖμοι ἤδη ἦσαν διὰ τὸ αὐτίκα τούς τε παρόντας πολεμίους ἐκ τῶν λεχθέντων καταφρονεῖν καὶ πλεῖν ἐπὶ τὸν Πειραιᾶ.
Hearing these and many other things, they immediately elected him general along with the former ones and entrusted all their affairs to him. Each of them would not have exchanged their present hope of safety and of vengeance on the Four Hundred for anything, and they were already prepared, immediately despising the enemy before them because of what had been said, to sail against the Piraeus.
ὁ δὲ τὸ μὲν ἐπὶ τὸν Πειραιᾶ πλεῖν τοὺς ἐγγυτέρω πολεμίους ὑπολιπόντας καὶ πάνυ διεκώλυσε, πολλῶν ἐπειγομένων,2 τὰ δὲ τοῦ πολέμου πρῶτον ἔφη, ἐπειδὴ καὶ στρατηγὸς ᾕρητο, πλεύσας ὡς Τισσαφέρνην πράξειν.
But he absolutely forbade them to sail against the Piraeus, leaving behind the enemy who were nearer, though many urged it; instead, he said that since he had been elected general, his first task, after sailing to Tissaphernes, would be to manage the business of the war.
καὶ ἀπὸ ταύτης τῆς ἐκκλησίας εὐθὺς ᾤχετο, ἵνα δοκῇ πάντα μετ’ ἐκείνου κοινοῦσθαι, καὶ ἅμα βουλόμενος αὐτῷ τιμιώτερός τε εἶναι καὶ ἐνδείκνυσθαι ὅτι καὶ στρατηγὸς ἤδη ᾕρηται καὶ εὖ καὶ κακῶς οἷός τέ ἐστιν αὐτὸν [ἤδη] ποιεῖν. ξυνέβαινε δὲ τῷ Ἀλκιβιάδῃ3 τῷ μὲν Τισσαφέρνει τοὺς Ἀθηναίους φοβεῖν, ἐκείνοις δὲ τὸν Τισσαφέρνην.
And he immediately departed from this assembly, so that he might seem to communicate everything with him, and at the same time wishing to be more highly valued by him and to show him that he had already been elected general and was capable of doing him both good and harm. Thus it happened for Alcibiades to make Tissaphernes fear the Athenians, and the Athenians Tissaphernes.
- 8.82.1ἂν ἠλλάξαντο
The combination of the particle ἄν with the aorist indicative ἠλλάξαντο (third-person plural of ἀλλάσσω) expresses a potential or counterfactual action in the past ("would not have exchanged"). It emphasizes the supreme value that each soldier placed on their present hope of safety and revenge.
- 8.82.2πολλῶν ἐπειγομένων
A genitive absolute construction, functioning concessionively here ("although many were urging it" or "in spite of the urging of many") in contrast to Alcibiades' firm refusal to sail.
- 8.82.3ξυνέβαινε δὲ τῷ Ἀλκιβιάδῃ
An impersonal construction meaning "it happened for Alcibiades that..." or "it resulted for Alcibiades that...". The infinitive φοβεῖν is used transitively ("to terrify" or "to make fear"). It describes the success of Alcibiades' double-dealing policy, playing Tissaphernes and the Athenians against each other by mutual fear.