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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §1.6.1-1.6.6

Custom of Carrying Arms and Evolution of Greek Dress

Passage 6 of 917 · Greek

Summary

The author describes the ancient Greek custom of carrying weapons, the modernization of lifestyle in Athens and Sparta (such as simpler clothing and athletic nudity), and notes the similarities between the Greek past and the barbarian present.

§1.6.1πᾶσα γὰρ ἡ Ἑλλὰς ἐσιδηροφόρει διὰ τὰς ἀφάρκτους τε οἰκήσεις καὶ οὐκ ἀσφαλεῖς παρ᾽ ἀλλήλους ἐφόδους, καὶ ξυνήθη τὴν δίαιταν μεθ’ ὅπλων ἐποιήσαντο ὥσπερ οἱ βάρβαροι.
For the whole of Hellas carried weapons because their dwellings were unprotected and their intercourse with one another was unsafe, and they made their habitual way of life with arms, just like the barbarians.
§1.6.2σημεῖον δ’ ἐστὶ ταῦτα τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἔτι οὕτω νεμόμενα τῶν ποτὲ καὶ ἐς πάντας ὁμοίων διαιτημάτων.
And these parts of Hellas which still live in this manner are a proof of the customs which were once likewise common to all.
§1.6.3ἐν τοῖς πρῶτοι δὲ Ἀθηναῖοι τόν τε σίδηρον κατέθεντο καὶ ἀνειμένῃ τῇ διαίτῃ ἐς τὸ τρυφερώτερον μετέστησαν.
The Athenians were among the first to lay aside their weapons and, relaxing their way of life, transition to a more luxurious style.
καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι αὐτοῖς τῶν εὐδαιμόνων διὰ τὸ ἁβροδίαιτον οὐ πολὺς χρόνος ἐπειδὴ χιτῶνάς τε λινοῦς ἐπαύσαντο φοροῦντες καὶ χρυσῶν τεττίγων ἐνέρσει κρωβύλον ἀναδούμενοι τῶν ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ τριχῶν· ἀφ’ οὗ καὶ Ἰώνων τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους κατὰ τὸ ξυγγενὲς ἐπὶ πολὺ αὕτη ἡ σκευὴ κατέσχεν.
And it is not long since the elders among their wealthy men, because of their delicate living, ceased wearing linen tunics and fastening their hair in a bun secured with golden grasshoppers; from which circumstance this fashion also prevailed for a long time among the elder Ionians, because of their kinship.
§1.6.4μετρίᾳ δ’ αὖ ἐσθῆτι καὶ ἐς τὸν νῦν τρόπον πρῶτοι Λακεδαιμόνιοι ἐχρήσαντο καὶ ἐς τὰ ἄλλα πρὸς τοὺς πολλοὺς οἱ τὰ μείζω κεκτημένοι ἰσοδίαιτοι μάλιστα κατέστησαν.
On the other hand, the Lacedaemonians were the first to use a moderate dress and one in the modern style, and in other respects those who possessed greater wealth conformed themselves most to the lifestyle of the common people.
§1.6.5ἐγυμνώθησάν τε πρῶτοι καὶ ἐς τὸ φανερὸν ἀποδύντες λίπα μετὰ τοῦ γυμνάζεσθαι ἠλείψαντο· τὸ δὲ πάλαι καὶ ἐν τῷ Ὀλυμπικῷ ἀγῶνι διαζώματα ἔχοντες περὶ τὰ αἰδοῖα οἱ ἀθληταὶ ἠγωνίζοντο, καὶ οὐ πολλὰ ἔτη ἐπειδὴ πέπαυται.
They were also the first to strip themselves naked and, undressing in public, to anoint themselves with oil when they exercised; whereas in ancient times, even in the Olympic games, the athletes competed wearing girdles about their loins, and it is not many years since this has ceased.
ἔτι δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖς βαρβάροις ἔστιν οἷς νῦν, καὶ μάλιστα τοῖς Ἀσιανοῖς, πυγμῆς καὶ πάλης ἆθλα τίθεται, καὶ διεζωμένοι τοῦτο δρῶσιν.
Even now, among some of the barbarians, especially those of Asia, prizes are offered for boxing and wrestling, and they perform these contests wearing girdles.
§1.6.6πολλὰ δ’ ἂν καὶ ἄλλα τις ἀποδείξειε τὸ παλαιὸν Ἑλληνικὸν ὁμοιότροπα τῷ νῦν βαρβαρικῷ διαιτώμενον.
And one might point out many other things in which the ancient Greek world lived in a manner similar to the modern barbarian.

Notes

  1. 1.6.2ταῦτα τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἔτι οὕτω νεμόμενα — ταῦτα is the subject and is modified by the partitive genitive τῆς Ἑλλάδος (these parts of Hellas). The participle νεμόμενα is used in an intransitive or middle sense meaning 'dwelling' or 'living'. The whole phrase means 'these parts of Hellas which still live in this manner' and functions as the subject of the clause with σημεῖον.
  2. 1.6.3ἐν τοῖς πρῶτοι — An idiomatic phrase used to emphasize superlatives, comparatives, or words of order like πρῶτος. Derived from an original relative clause structure ('among those who... first'), here it functions as a fossilized adverbial idiom meaning 'among the very first' or 'preeminently'.
  3. 1.6.3οὐ πολὺς χρόνος ἐπειδὴ — An impersonal temporal expression meaning 'it is not much time since...' (with the copula ἐστίν omitted in the main clause). It corresponds structurally to the English 'It is not long since...'.
  4. 1.6.3ἐπαύσαντο φοροῦντες — The verb παύομαι (to cease) takes a supplementary participle to express 'to stop doing something'. Here, the present participles φοροῦντες (wearing) and ἀναδούμενοι (binding up) are connected by καί, both serving as complements to ἐπαύσαντο.
  5. 1.6.5ἔστιν οἷς — The dative form of the Greek idiom ἔστιν οἵ (corresponding to Latin sunt qui, meaning 'there are some who'). It functions here in apposition to and inserted within ἐν τοῖς βαρβάροις, meaning 'among some of the barbarians'.
  6. 1.6.6ἂν ... ἀποδείξειε — An expression of potentiality or possibility consisting of the aorist optative with the particle ἄν ('one might point out'). Additionally, the transitive verb ἀποδείξειε takes the accusative τὸ παλαιὸν Ἑλληνικὸν (the ancient Greek world) as its direct object, which is accompanied by the supplementary participle διαιτώμενον ('living') in a participial object clause ('point out that the ancient Greek world lived...').

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §1.6.1-1.6.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.6.1-1.6.6

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