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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §1.63.1-1.63.3

Aristeus' Retreat into Potidaea and the Aftermath

Passage 63 of 917 · Greek

Summary

Aristeus returns to Potidaea through a difficult retreat, while the reinforcement from Olynthus withdraws without major engagement due to the quick Athenian victory. The Athenians set up a trophy, though losing many men including General Callias.

§1.63.1ἐπαναχωρῶν δὲ ὁ Ἀριστεὺς ἀπὸ τῆς διώξεως, ὡς ὁρᾷ τὸ ἄλλο στράτευμα ἡσσημένον, ἠπόρησε μὲν ὁποτέρωσε διακινδυνεύσῃ χωρήσας, ἢ ἐπὶ τῆς Ὀλύνθου ἢ ἐς τὴν Ποτείδαιαν· ἔδοξε δ’ οὖν ξυναγαγόντι τοὺς μεθ’ αὑτοῦ ὡς ἐς ἐλάχιστον χωρίον δρόμῳ βιάσασθαι ἐς τὴν Ποτείδαιαν, καὶ παρῆλθε παρὰ τὴν χηλὴν διὰ τῆς θαλάσσης βαλλόμενός τε καὶ χαλεπῶς, ὀλίγους μέν τινας ἀποβαλών, τοὺς δὲ πλείους σώσας.
And Aristeus, returning from the pursuit, when he saw the rest of the army defeated, was in doubt which way he should risk a passage, whether towards Olynthus or into Potidaea; but he decided, therefore, having drawn together those with him into as small a space as possible, to force his way at a run into Potidaea, and he made his way along the breakwater through the sea, being shot at and with great difficulty, losing some few men indeed, but saving the greater part.
§1.63.2οἱ δ’ ἀπὸ τῆς Ὀλύνθου τοῖς Ποτειδεάταις βοηθοί (ἀπέχει δὲ ἑξήκοντα μάλιστα σταδίους καὶ ἔστι καταφανές), ὡς ἡ μάχη ἐγίγνετο καὶ τὰ σημεῖα ἤρθη, βραχὺ μέν τι προῆλθον ὡς βοηθήσοντες, καὶ οἱ Μακεδόνες ἱππῆς ἀντιπαρετάξαντο ὡς κωλύσοντες· ἐπειδὴ δὲ διὰ τάχους ἡ νίκη τῶν Ἀθηναίων ἐγίγνετο καὶ τὰ σημεῖα κατεσπάσθη, πάλιν ἐπανεχώρουν ἐς τὸ τεῖχος καὶ οἱ Μακεδόνες παρὰ τοὺς Ἀθηναίους· ἱππῆς δ’ οὐδετέροις παρεγένοντο.
Meanwhile, the auxiliaries from Olynthus for the Potidaeans (and the city is about sixty stades distant and is visible from there), when the battle was taking place and the signals were raised, advanced a little way indeed with the intention of bringing help, and the Macedonian cavalry drew up in opposition to prevent them; but when the victory of the Athenians was quickly decided and the signals were lowered, they retreated back to the wall, and the Macedonians returned to the Athenians; thus, the cavalry on neither side took part in the battle.
§1.63.3μετὰ δὲ τὴν μάχην τροπαῖον ἔστησαν οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι καὶ τοὺς νεκροὺς ὑποσπόνδους ἀπέδοσαν τοῖς Ποτειδεάταις· ἀπέθανον δὲ Ποτειδεατῶν μὲν καὶ τῶν ξυμμάχων ὀλίγῳ ἐλάσσους τριακοσίων, Ἀθηναίων δὲ αὐτῶν πεντήκοντα καὶ ἑκατὸν καὶ Καλλίας ὁ στρατηγός.
After the battle, the Athenians set up a trophy and restored the dead under truce to the Potidaeans; and there died of the Potidaeans and their allies a little fewer than three hundred, and of the Athenians themselves one hundred and fifty, and Callias the general.

Notes

  1. §1.63.1διακινδυνεύσῃ — Deliberative subjunctive in an indirect question introduced by the interrogative adverb ὁποτέρωσε. Although a secondary sequence (after the historical aorist ἠπόρησε) normally allows the optative, the subjunctive is retained here to vividly represent the original, urgent deliberation in the mind of Aristeus.
  2. §1.63.1ξυναγαγόντι — Dative participle agreeing with the implied dative pronoun (αὐτῷ) governed by the impersonal verb ἔδοξε ('it seemed good to him' / 'he decided'). This is a common Greek construction where the modifier of the logical subject of the infinitive (βιάσασθαι) agrees in the dative rather than being in the accusative.
  3. §1.63.2οἱ δ’ ἀπὸ τῆς Ὀλύνθου τοῖς Ποτειδεάταις βοηθοί — The adjective βοηθός is used substantively with the article οἱ to mean 'auxiliaries' or 'helpers'. The dative τοῖς Ποτειδεάταις is a dative of advantage/reference ('for the Potidaeans'), and the prepositional phrase ἀπὸ τῆς Ὀλύνθου indicates their point of origin.
  4. §1.63.2ἱππῆς δ’ οὐδετέροις παρεγένοντο — The dative οὐδετέροις ('for neither side') indicates that because the Macedonian cavalry (on the Athenian side) and the Olynthian cavalry (on the Potidaean side) held each other in check, neither cavalry force actually joined or took part in the main infantry battle.

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §1.63.1-1.63.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.63.1-1.63.3

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