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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §2.18.1-2.18.5

The Siege of Oenoe and Discontent over Archidamus's Delay

Passage 164 of 917 · Greek

Summary

The Peloponnesian army arrives at Oenoe, a border fortress, as their first point of invasion in Attica, but the troops grow resentful of Archidamus's delays, believing they allowed the Athenians time to secure their property.

§2.18.1ὁ δὲ στρατὸς τῶν Πελοποννησίων προϊὼν ἀφίκετο τῆς Ἀττικῆς ἐς Οἰνόην πρῶτον, ᾗπερ ἔμελλον ἐσβαλεῖν.
The army of the Peloponnesians, advancing, arrived first at Oenoe in Attica, where they intended to invade.
καὶ ὡς ἐκαθέζοντο, προσβολὰς παρεσκευάζοντο τῷ τείχει ποιησόμενοι μηχαναῖς τε καὶ ἄλλῳ τρόπῳ· §2.18.2ἡ γὰρ Οἰνόη οὖσα ἐν μεθορίοις τῆς Ἀττικῆς καὶ Βοιωτίας ἐτετείχιστο, καὶ αὐτῷ φρουρίῳ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι ἐχρῶντο ὁπότε πόλεμος καταλάβοι.
And when they encamped, they prepared to make assaults upon the wall with engines and in other ways. For Oenoe, being on the border of Attica and Boeotia, was fortified, and the Athenians used it as a stronghold whenever war overtook them.
τάς τε οὖν προσβολὰς ηὐτρεπίζοντο καὶ ἄλλως ἐνδιέτριψαν χρόνον περὶ αὐτήν. §2.18.3αἰτίαν τε οὐκ ἐλαχίστην Ἀρχίδαμος ἔλαβεν ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ, δοκῶν καὶ ἐν τῇ ξυναγωγῇ τοῦ πολέμου μαλακὸς εἶναι καὶ τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις ἐπιτήδειος, οὐ παραινῶν προθύμως πολεμεῖν·
So they made ready their assaults and also otherwise wasted time about it. And Archidamus incurred no small blame because of this, appearing to be soft both in the gathering of the war and well-disposed to the Athenians, not urging them to wage war with enthusiasm.
ἐπειδή τε ξυνελέγετο ὁ στρατός, ἥ τε ἐν τῷ Ἰσθμῷ ἐπιμονὴ γενομένη καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἄλλην πορείαν ἡ σχολαιότης διέβαλεν αὐτόν, μάλιστα δὲ ἡ ἐν τῇ Οἰνόῃ ἐπίσχεσις. §2.18.4οἱ γὰρ Ἀθηναῖοι ἐσεκομίζοντο ἐν τῷ χρόνῳ τούτῳ, καὶ ἐδόκουν οἱ Πελοποννήσιοι ἐπελθόντες ἂν διὰ τάχους πάντα ἔτι ἔξω καταλαβεῖν, εἰ μὴ διὰ τὴν ἐκείνου μέλλησιν. §2.18.5ἐν τοιαύτῃ μὲν ὀργῇ ὁ στρατὸς τὸν Ἀρχίδαμον ἐν τῇ καθέδρᾳ εἶχεν.
And when the army was assembling, the delay that occurred at the Isthmus, as well as his slowness during the rest of the march, brought him into disrepute, but most of all his halting at Oenoe. For the Athenians were bringing in their property during this time, and the Peloponnesians thought that, if they had advanced quickly, they might have captured everything still outside, but for his delay. In such anger did the army hold Archidamus during the halt.
ὁ δὲ προσδεχόμενος, ὡς λέγεται, τοὺς Ἀθηναίους τῆς γῆς ἔτι ἀκεραίου οὔσης ἐνδώσειν τι καὶ κατοκνήσειν περιιδεῖν αὐτὴν τμηθεῖσαν, ἀνεῖχεν.
But he, as it is said, expecting that the Athenians, while their land was still untouched, would make some concession and would shrink from allowing it to be ravaged, held back.

Notes

  1. 2.18.1τῆς Ἀττικῆς — A partitive genitive qualifying the accusative of place ἐς Οἰνόην, indicating "Oenoe of/in Attica."
  2. 2.18.4ἐπελθόντες ἂν ... καταλαβεῖν — The infinitive καταλαβεῖν with the particle ἂν is dependent on ἐδόκουν, representing an unreal past indicative with ἂν in indirect discourse (equivalent to ἐπῆλθον ἂν... κατέλαβον ἂν, "they would have captured"), with the protasis expressed by the prepositional phrase following εἰ μὴ.
  3. 2.18.5περιιδεῖν αὐτὴν τμηθεῖσαν — The aorist infinitive περιιδεῖν (from περιοράω, "to overlook, allow") takes the pronominal object αὐτὴν (the land) and the passive participle τμηθεῖσαν ("ravaged") to form the construction "allowing it to be ravaged." This entire phrase serves as the object of the infinitive κατοκνήσειν ("to shrink from").

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §2.18.1-2.18.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.18.1-2.18.5

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