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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §1.131.1-1.131.2

Recall and Imprisonment of Pausanias at Sparta

Passage 131 of 917 · Greek

Summary

The Spartan ephors order the return of Pausanias due to suspicions of his conspiracy with the barbarians. Wishing to clear his name, he returns, is temporarily imprisoned, but secures his release through maneuvering and demands a trial.

§1.131.1οἱ δὲ Λακεδαιμόνιοι αἰσθόμενοι τό τε πρῶτον δι’ αὐτὰ ταῦτα ἀνεκάλεσαν αὐτόν, καὶ ἐπειδὴ τῇ Ἑρμιονίδι νηὶ τὸ δεύτερον ἐκπλεύσας οὐ κελευσάντων αὐτῶν τοιαῦτα ἐφαίνετο ποιῶν, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ Βυζαντίου βίᾳ ὑπ’ Ἀθηναίων ἐκπολιορκηθεὶς ἐς μὲν τὴν Σπάρτην οὐκ ἐπανεχώρει, ἐς δὲ Κολωνὰς τὰς Τρῳάδας ἱδρυθεὶς πράσσων τε ἐσηγγέλλετο αὐτοῖς ἐς τοὺς βαρβάρους καὶ οὐκ ἐπ’ ἀγαθῷ τὴν μονὴν ποιούμενος, οὕτω δὴ οὐκέτι ἐπέσχον, ἀλλὰ πέμψαντες κήρυκα οἱ ἔφοροι καὶ σκυτάλην εἶπον τοῦ κήρυκος μὴ λείπεσθαι, εἰ δὲ μή, πόλεμον αὐτῷ Σπαρτιάτας προαγορεύειν.
The Lacedaemonians, having perceived this, recalled him for the first time for these very reasons; and when, having sailed out for the second time in a Hermione vessel without their orders, he was clearly doing such things, and after being besieged and expelled by force from Byzantium by the Athenians, he did not return to Sparta, but settled in Colonae in the Troad, and it was reported to them that he was negotiating with the barbarians and that his stay there was for no good purpose, they finally hesitated no longer, but the ephors sent a herald and a skytale, and told him not to lag behind the herald, and if he did not obey, the Spartans would declare war on him.
§1.131.2ὁ δὲ βουλόμενος ὡς ἥκιστα ὕποπτος εἶναι καὶ πιστεύων χρήμασι διαλύσειν τὴν διαβολὴν ἀνεχώρει τὸ δεύτερον ἐς Σπάρτην.
But he, wishing to be as little suspected as possible and believing that he could clear the accusation with money, returned for the second time to Sparta.
καὶ ἐς μὲν τὴν εἱρκτὴν ἐσπίπτει τὸ πρῶτον ὑπὸ τῶν ἐφόρων (ἔξεστι δὲ τοῖς ἐφόροις τὸν βασιλέα δρᾶσαι τοῦτο), ἔπειτα διαπραξάμενος ὕστερον ἐξῆλθε καὶ καθίστησιν ἑαυτὸν ἐς κρίσιν τοῖς βουλομένοις περὶ αὐτῶν ἐλέγχειν.
And at first he was thrown into prison by the ephors (for it is permitted to the ephors to do this to the king); but afterwards, by negotiating, he later came out and submitted himself to trial for any who wished to examine him on these matters.

Notes

  1. §1.131.1ἐπειδὴ... ἐσηγγέλλετο — The clause introduced by the conjunction ἐπειδὴ is highly complex, containing multiple participles (ἐκπλεύσας, ἐκπολιορκηθεὶς, ἱδρυθεὶς). The core predicate of this temporal/causal clause is the passive verb ἐσηγγέλλετο ("it was reported"), with Pausanias as the subject accompanied by the participles πράσσων ("negotiating") and ποιούμενος ("making").
  2. §1.131.1τοῦ κήρυκος μὴ λείπεσθαι — The verb λεί포μαι ("to lag behind", "to be left behind") takes the genitive case (τοῦ κήρυκος), meaning "not to lag behind the herald". The verb εἶπον is used here in the sense of commanding, taking μὴ and the infinitive λείπεσθαι to form an indirect command.
  3. §1.131.2διαπραξάμενος — The aorist participle of the deponent verb διαπράσσομαι. Beyond the literal meaning of "to accomplish" or "to manage," it carries a contextual nuance here of "maneuvering," "negotiating," or "intriguing" (often involving bribery or influence) to secure his release.

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §1.131.1-1.131.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.131.1-1.131.2

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