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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §2.17.1-2.17.5

Refugee Overcrowding in Athens and the Pelargikon Oracle

Passage 163 of 917 · Greek

Summary

This passage describes the housing shortage for refugees entering Athens, the paradoxical fulfillment of an oracle concerning the occupation of the sacred 'Pelargikon', and their temporary settlements alongside ongoing preparations for war.

§2.17.1ἐπειδή τε ἀφίκοντο ἐς τὸ ἄστυ, ὀλίγοις μέν τισιν ὑπῆρχον οἰκήσεις καὶ παρὰ φίλων τινὰς ἢ οἰκείων καταφυγή, οἱ δὲ πολλοὶ τά τε ἐρῆμα τῆς πόλεως ᾤκησαν καὶ τὰ ἱερὰ καὶ τὰ ἡρῷα πάντα πλὴν τῆς ἀκροπόλεως καὶ τοῦ Ἐλευσινίου καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο βεβαίως κλῃστὸν ἦν·
When they arrived in the city, a few of them had residences available, and some found refuge with friends or relatives; but the majority occupied the vacant spaces of the city, and all the temples and shrines of the heroes, except the Acropolis, the Eleusinion, and any other place that was securely locked.
τό τε Πελαργικὸν καλούμενον τὸ ὑπὸ τὴν ἀκρόπολιν, ὃ καὶ ἐπάρατόν τε ἦν μὴ οἰκεῖν καί τι καὶ Πυθικοῦ μαντείου ἀκροτελεύτιον τοιόνδε διεκώλυε, λέγον ὡς ‘τὸ Πελαργικὸν ἀργὸν ἄμεινον,’ ὅμως ὑπὸ τῆς παραχρῆμα ἀνάγκης ἐξῳκήθη. §2.17.2καί μοι δοκεῖ τὸ μαντεῖον τοὐναντίον ξυμβῆναι ἢ προσεδέχοντο· οὐ γὰρ διὰ τὴν παράνομον ἐνοίκησιν αἱ ξυμφοραὶ γενέσθαι τῇ πόλει, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸν πόλεμον ἡ ἀνάγκη τῆς οἰκήσεως, ὃν οὐκ ὀνομάζον τὸ μαντεῖον προῄδει μὴ ἐπ’ ἀγαθῷ ποτὲ αὐτὸ κατοικισθησόμενον. §2.17.3κατεσκευάσαντο δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖς πύργοις τῶν τειχῶν πολλοὶ καὶ ὡς ἕκαστός που ἐδύνατο· οὐ γὰρ ἐχώρησε ξυνελθόντας αὐτοὺς ἡ πόλις, ἀλλ’ ὕστερον δὴ τά τε μακρὰ τείχη ᾤκησαν κατανειμάμενοι καὶ τοῦ Πειραιῶς τὰ πολλά. §2.17.4ἅμα δὲ καὶ τῶν πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον ἥπτοντο, ξυμμάχους τε ἀγείροντες καὶ τῇ Πελοποννήσῳ ἑκατὸν νεῶν ἐπίπλουν ἐξαρτύοντες. §2.17.5καὶ οἱ μὲν ἐν τούτῳ παρασκευῆς ἦσαν.
The place called the Pelargikon under the Acropolis, which it was under a curse to inhabit and which a certain end of a Pythian oracle also forbade in some such terms, saying, "The Pelargikon is better left vacant," was nevertheless inhabited under the immediate pressure of necessity. And to me the oracle seems to have turned out in the opposite way to what people expected; for the calamities did not happen to the city because of the unlawful habitation, but the necessity of habitation arose because of the war, which the oracle, without naming it, foresaw would never be inhabited for any good purpose. Many also established themselves in the towers of the walls and wherever each was able; for the city did not have room for them when they had all come together, but later they occupied and divided among themselves the space of the Long Walls and most of Piraeus. At the same time, they also applied themselves to the war, gathering allies and fitting out an expedition of a hundred ships against the Peloponnese. These, then, were engaged in their preparations.

Notes

  1. 2.17.1μὴ οἰκεῖν — An explanatory infinitive dependent on the adjective `ἐπάρατον` (accursed, under a ban). The negative `μή` is standard with infinitives expressing prohibition or negative outcomes, meaning 'it was under a curse not to be inhabited'.
  2. 2.17.2οὐ γὰρ διὰ τὴν παράνομον ἐνοίκησιν αἱ ξυμφοραὶ γενέσθαι — The infinitive `γενέσθαι` (along with the implied infinitive in the coordinate clause beginning with `ἡ ἀνάγκη`) depends on the governing verb `δοκεῖ` ('it seems to me'), introducing a clause of indirect discourse explaining the cause of the calamities.
  3. 2.17.2μὴ ἐπ’ ἀγαθῷ ποτὲ αὐτὸ κατοικισθησόμενον — The future passive participle `κατοικισθησόμενον` modifies `αὐτό` (referring to the Pelargikon), serving as a supplementary participle in indirect discourse after the verb of foreseeing `προῄδει` to indicate a future state of affairs.

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §2.17.1-2.17.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.17.1-2.17.5

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