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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §1.103.1-1.103.4

Surrender of Ithome and the Alliance with Megara

Passage 103 of 917 · Greek

Summary

The rebels of Ithome surrender and are settled in Naupactus by the Athenians, while Megara's alliance with Athens sparks deep hostility from Corinth.

§1.103.1οἱ δ’ ἐν Ἰθώμῃ δεκάτῳ ἔτει, ὡς οὐκέτι ἐδύναντο ἀντέχειν, ξυνέβησαν πρὸς τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους ἐφ’ ᾧ ἐξίασιν ἐκ Πελοποννήσου ὑπόσπονδοι καὶ μηδέποτε ἐπιβήσονται αὐτῆς· ἢν δέ τις ἁλίσκηται, τοῦ λαβόντος εἶναι δοῦλον.
Meanwhile, those in Ithome, in the tenth year, as they were no longer able to hold out, came to an agreement with the Lacedaemonians on condition that they should depart from the Peloponnese under truce and never set foot on it again; and if anyone should be caught, he should be the slave of the captor.
§1.103.2ἦν δέ τι καὶ χρηστήριον τοῖς Λακεδαιμονίοις Πυθικὸν πρὸ τοῦ, τὸν ἱκέτην τοῦ Διὸς τοῦ Ἰθωμήτα ἀφιέναι.
There was also a certain Pythian oracle given to the Lacedaemonians before this, to release the suppliant of Zeus of Ithome.
§1.103.3ἐξῆλθον δὲ αὐτοὶ καὶ παῖδες καὶ γυναῖκες, καὶ αὐτοὺς οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι δεξάμενοι κατ’ ἔχθος ἤδη τὸ Λακεδαιμονίων ἐς Ναύπακτον κατῴκισαν, ἣν ἔτυχον ᾑρηκότες νεωστὶ Λοκρῶν τῶν Ὀζολῶν ἐχόντων.
So they themselves, their children, and their wives departed; and the Athenians, receiving them because of their already existing hatred toward the Lacedaemonians, settled them in Naupactus, which they happened to have recently taken from the Ozolian Locrians who had held it.
§1.103.4προσεχώρησαν δὲ καὶ Μεγαρῆς Ἀθηναίοις ἐς ξυμμαχίαν Λακεδαιμονίων ἀποστάντες, ὅτι αὐτοὺς Κορίνθιοι περὶ γῆς ὅρων πολέμῳ κατεῖχον·
The Megarians also revolted from the Lacedaemonians and joined the alliance of the Athenians, because the Corinthians were pressing them hard in a war over the boundaries of their territory.
καὶ ἔσχον Ἀθηναῖοι Μέγαρα καὶ Πηγάς, καὶ τὰ μακρὰ τείχη ᾠκοδόμησαν Μεγαρεῦσι τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς πόλεως ἐς Νίσαιαν καὶ ἐφρούρουν αὐτοί.
Thus the Athenians held Megara and Pegae, and built for the Megarians the long walls from the city to Nisaea, and garrisoned them themselves.
καὶ Κορινθίοις μὲν οὐχ ἥκιστα ἀπὸ τοῦδε τὸ σφοδρὸν μῖσος ἤρξατο πρῶτον ἐς Ἀθηναίους γενέσθαι.
And from this, not least, first began the bitter hatred of the Corinthians toward the Athenians.

Notes

  1. §1.103.1ἐφ’ ᾧ — A relative phrase expressing condition, meaning 'on condition that.' It is usually followed by an infinitive, but here it is followed by the future indicative (or present with future meaning).
  2. §1.103.1τοῦ λαβόντος εἶναι δοῦλον — The infinitive εἶναι continues the conditional clauses introduced by ἐφ’ ᾧ. τοῦ λαβόντος is a possessive genitive, meaning 'to be the property of the captor.'
  3. §1.103.2τὸν ἱκέτην τοῦ Διὸς τοῦ Ἰθωμήτα ἀφιέναι — The infinitive ἀφιέναι explains the content of the oracle (χρηστήριον) and carries an imperative force ('to release').
  4. §1.103.3Λοκρῶν τῶν Ὀζολῶν ἐχόντων — Formally a genitive absolute, but it functions as a genitive of separation or source governed by the verb ᾑρηκότες (from αἱρέω, 'to take from someone').
  5. §1.103.4Κορινθίοις μὲν οὐχ ἥκιστα ἀπὸ τοῦδε τὸ σφοδρὸν μῖσος ἤρξατο πρῶτον ἐς Ἀθηναίους γενέσθαι — The subject is τὸ σφοδρὸν μῖσος, the verb is ἤρξατο, and the infinitive is γενέσθαι. Κορινθίοις is a dative of interest, and ἐς Ἀθηναίους denotes the target of the hatred. The core structure is 'for the Corinthians, the bitter hatred toward the Athenians first began to arise...'.

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §1.103.1-1.103.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.103.1-1.103.4

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