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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §1.16.1

Obstacles to Greek Growth and Persian Subjugation of Ionians

Passage 16 of 917 · Greek

Summary

This section describes the obstacles to growth that arose for various Greeks, focusing on the subjugation of the Ionians on both the mainland and the islands by the Persian kings Cyrus and Darius.

§1.16.1ἐπεγένετο δὲ ἄλλοις τε ἄλλοθι κωλύματα μὴ αὐξηθῆναι, καὶ Ἴωσι προχωρησάντων ἐπὶ μέγα τῶν πραγμάτων Κῦρος καὶ ἡ Περσικὴ βασιλεία Κροῖσον καθελοῦσα καὶ ὅσα ἐντὸς Ἅλυος ποταμοῦ πρὸς θάλασσαν ἐπεστράτευσε καὶ τὰς ἐν τῇ ἠπείρῳ πόλεις ἐδούλωσε, Δαρεῖός τε ὕστερον τῷ Φοινίκων ναυτικῷ κρατῶν καὶ τὰς νήσους.
to others in different places there arose obstacles to their growth, and especially to the Ionians, when their affairs had advanced to a high point, Cyrus and the Persian kingdom, having overthrown Croesus and all that lay within the Halys river toward the sea, marched against them and enslaved the cities on the mainland, and Darius later, ruling with the Phoenician navy, enslaved the islands as well.

Notes

  1. §1.16.1μὴ αὐξηθῆναι — An infinitive with the negative μὴ, explaining or modifying the noun κωλύματα (obstacles). It follows the common Greek idiom where verbs or nouns of preventing/hindering take an infinitive with a redundant negative μὴ.
  2. §1.16.1προχωρησάντων ἐπὶ μέγα τῶν πραγμάτων — A genitive absolute construction, where τῶν πραγμάτων is the subject and προχωρησάντων is the participle, meaning "when their affairs had greatly advanced." The dative Ἴωσι (for the Ionians) depends on the main verb ἐπεγένετο, and this absolute clause describes the temporal circumstances.
  3. §1.16.1καθελοῦσα — A feminine singular nominative participle. Although the subject consists of multiple elements, Κῦρος (masculine singular) and ἡ Περσικὴ βασιλεία (feminine singular), the participle agrees in gender with the nearer noun, βασιλεία (agreement by proximity).
  4. §1.16.1Δαρεῖός τε ὕστερον τῷ Φοινίκων ναυτικῷ κρατῶν καὶ τὰς νήσους — This clause lacks a finite main verb, featuring instead the participle κρατῶν (ruling/controlling). The main verb ἐδούλωσε (enslaved/subjugated) from the preceding clause is elliptically understood here to complete the sense ("enslaved the islands as well").

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §1.16.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.16.1

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