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§8.96.1-8.96.2

Wreckage at Colias and Fulfilment of the Prophecy

After the battle of Salamis, the Greeks prepared for another clash while a west wind drifted the shipwrecks to the Colian shore, fulfilling an ancient prophecy.

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§8.96.1

ὡς δὲ ἡ ναυμαχίη διελέλυτο, κατειρύσαντες ἐς τὴν Σαλαμῖνα οἱ Ἕλληνες τῶν ναυηγίων ὅσα1 ταύτῃ ἐτύγχανε ἔτι ἐόντα, ἕτοιμοι ἦσαν ἐς ἄλλην ναυμαχίην, ἐλπίζοντες τῇσι περιεούσῃσι νηυσὶ ἔτι χρήσεσθαι βασιλέα.

​When the sea-fight was ended, the Greeks, having towed to Salamis all the wrecks that happened to be still there, were ready for another sea-fight, expecting that the king would still make use of his remaining ships.

§8.96.2

τῶν δὲ ναυηγίων πολλὰ ὑπολαβὼν ἄνεμος ζέφυρος ἔφερε τῆς Ἀττικῆς ἐπὶ τὴν ἠιόνα2 τὴν καλεομένην Κωλιάδα· ὥστε ἀποπλησθῆναι τὸν χρησμὸν τόν τε ἄλλον πάντα τὸν περὶ τῆς ναυμαχίης ταύτης εἰρημένον Βάκιδι καὶ Μουσαίῳ, καὶ δὴ καὶ κατὰ τὰ ναυήγια τὰ ταύτῃ ἐξενειχθέντα τὸ εἰρημένον πολλοῖσι ἔτεσι πρότερον τούτων ἐν χρησμῷ Λυσιστράτῳ Ἀθηναίῳ ἀνδρὶ χρησμολόγῳ, τὸ ἐλελήθεε πάντας τοὺς Ἕλληνας,3 "Κωλιάδες δὲ γυναῖκες ἐρετμοῖσι φρύξουσι" τοῦτο δὲ ἔμελλε ἀπελάσαντος βασιλέος4 ἔσεσθαι.

​But a west wind took up many of the wrecks and carried them to the shore of Attica called Colias; so that not only was all the other prophecy fulfilled which had been spoken about this sea-fight by Bacis and Musaeus, but also, in connection with the wrecks washed ashore there, that which had been spoken many years before this in a prophecy by Lysistratus, an Athenian diviner, which had escaped the notice of all the Greeks: “The Colian women shall roast with oars” And this was destined to happen after the king had departed.

Syntax notes4 items
  1. 8.96.1τῶν ναυηγίων ὅσα

    The partitive genitive τῶν ναυηγίων functions alongside the relative clause ὅσα... ἔτι ἐόντα. It means 'as many of the wrecks as happened to be still there'.

  2. 8.96.2τῆς Ἀττικῆς ἐπὶ τὴν ἠιόνα

    The genitive τῆς Ἀττικῆς is partitive, qualifying the directional prepositional phrase ἐπὶ τὴν ἠιόνα..., meaning 'to the shore of Attica which is called Colias'.

  3. 8.96.2τὸ ἐλελήθεε πάντας τοὺς Ἕλληνας

    The relative pronoun τὸ refers back to the prophecy of Lysistratus (τὸ εἰρημένον...). The verb ἐλελήθεε (pluperfect active of λανθάνω) takes the accusative object πάντας τοὺς Ἕλληνας, meaning 'which had escaped the notice of all the Greeks'.

  4. 8.96.2ἀπελάσαντος βασιλέος

    A genitive absolute construction. The aorist participle ἀπελάσαντος and the genitive noun βασιλέος form an adverbial phrase of time, meaning 'after the king had departed'.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-22)
  • 2026-09-22 AI review — source 1
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.96.1-8.96.2