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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §1.116.1-1.116.3

Athenian Victory at Sea and the Siege of Samos

Passage 116 of 917 · Greek

Summary

The Athenian fleet, under the command of Pericles, defeats the Samians in a sea battle and besieges the city with reinforcements. Pericles then sails towards Caria upon hearing reports of an approaching Phoenician fleet.

§1.116.1Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ ὡς ᾔσθοντο, πλεύσαντες ναυσὶν ἑξήκοντα ἐπὶ Σάμου ταῖς μὲν ἑκκαίδεκα τῶν νεῶν οὐκ ἐχρήσαντο (ἔτυχον γὰρ αἱ μὲν ἐπὶ Καρίας ἐς προσκοπὴν τῶν Φοινισσῶν νεῶν οἰχόμεναι, αἱ δὲ ἐπὶ Χίου καὶ Λέσβου περιαγγέλλουσαι βοηθεῖν), τεσσαράκοντα δὲ ναυσὶ καὶ τέσσαρσι Περικλέους δεκάτου αὐτοῦ στρατηγοῦντος ἐναυμάχησαν πρὸς Τραγίᾳ τῇ νήσῳ Σαμίων ναυσὶν ἑβδομήκοντα, ὧν ἦσαν αἱ εἴκοσι στρατιώτιδες (ἔτυχον δὲ αἱ πᾶσαι ἀπὸ Μιλήτου πλέουσαι), καὶ ἐνίκων Ἀθηναῖοι. §1.116.2ὕστερον δὲ αὐτοῖς ἐβοήθησαν ἐκ τῶν Ἀθηνῶν νῆες τεσσαράκοντα καὶ Χίων καὶ Λεσβίων πέντε καὶ εἴκοσι, καὶ ἀποβάντες καὶ κρατοῦντες τῷ πεζῷ ἐπολιόρκουν τρισὶ τείχεσι τὴν πόλιν καὶ ἐκ θαλάσσης ἅμα. §1.116.3Περικλῆς δὲ λαβὼν ἑξήκοντα ναῦς ἀπὸ τῶν ἐφορμουσῶν ᾤχετο κατὰ τάχος ἐπὶ Καύνου καὶ Καρίας, ἐσαγγελθέντων ὅτι Φοίνισσαι νῆες ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς πλέουσιν· ᾤχετο γὰρ καὶ ἐκ τῆς Σάμου πέντε ναυσὶ Στησαγόρας καὶ ἄλλοι ἐπὶ τὰς Φοινίσσας.
\nBut the Athenians, when they heard of this, sailed with sixty ships to Samos; sixteen of these ships they did not use (for some of them happened to have gone towards Caria to look out for the Phoenician ships, and others to Chios and Lesbos to summon aid), but with forty-four ships, under the command of Pericles himself as one of ten generals, they fought a sea-battle near the island of Tragia against seventy Samian ships, of which twenty were troop-transports (and all of these happened to be sailing from Miletus); and the Athenians were victorious.\n\nAnd later, forty ships from Athens came to their aid, and twenty-five from the Chians and Lesbians; and having disembarked and being victorious in the land-battle, they besieged the city with three walls, and at the same time from the sea.\n\nBut Pericles, taking sixty ships from those on blockade duty, departed in haste for Caunus and Caria, as it was reported that Phoenician ships were sailing against them; for Stesagoras also and others had already departed from Samos with five ships to meet the Phoenician ships.

Notes

  1. §1.116.1Περικλέους δεκάτου αὐτοῦ στρατηγοῦντος — Genitive absolute. The phrase 'himself being tenth' (with nine colleagues) is an idiomatic Greek expression meaning 'Pericles himself being in command as one of ten generals,' indicating that he held the joint generalship.
  2. §1.116.1ἔτυχον ... οἰχόμεναι — The verb ἔτυχον is used with the participles οἰχόμεναι (and περιαγγέλλουσαι) to express a coincidental or actual state of affairs ('happened to have gone' / 'happened to be announcing').
  3. §1.116.3ἐσαγγελθέντων — Genitive absolute of an impersonal expression. Although the singular neuter ἐσαγγελθέντος is more common, the plural ἐσαγγελθέντων is used here to introduce the following ὅτι-clause ('it having been reported that...').

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §1.116.1-1.116.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.116.1-1.116.3

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