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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §2.58.1-2.58.3

Plague at the Siege of Potidaea and Hagnon's Retreat

Passage 204 of 917 · Greek

Summary

Hagnon and Cleopompus lead an expedition to join the siege of Potidaea, but the plague breaks out among them, causing heavy casualties, leading Hagnon to retreat to Athens while the original besieging force remains.

§2.58.1τοῦ δ’ αὐτοῦ θέρους Ἅγνων ὁ Νικίου καὶ Κλεόπομπος ὁ Κλεινίου, ξυστράτηγοι ὄντες Περικλέους, λαβόντες τὴν στρατιὰν ᾗπερ ἐκεῖνος ἐχρήσατο ἐστράτευσαν εὐθὺς ἐπὶ Χαλκιδέας τοὺς ἐπὶ Θρᾴκης καὶ Ποτείδαιαν ἔτι πολιορκουμένην, ἀφικόμενοι δὲ μηχανάς τε τῇ Ποτειδαίᾳ προσέφερον καὶ παντὶ τρόπῳ ἐπειρῶντο ἑλεῖν.
During the same summer, Hagnon the son of Nicias and Cleopompus the son of Cleinias, who were fellow-generals with Pericles, took the army which he had used and campaigned immediately against the Chalcidians of Thrace and against Potidaea, which was still being besieged; and upon their arrival, they brought siege-engines against Potidaea and tried by every means to capture it.
§2.58.2προυχώρει δὲ αὐτοῖς οὔτε ἡ αἵρεσις τῆς πόλεως οὔτε τἆλλα τῆς παρασκευῆς ἀξίως· ἐπιγενομένη γὰρ ἡ νόσος ἐνταῦθα δὴ πάνυ ἐπίεσε τοὺς Ἀθηναίους, φθείρουσα τὴν στρατιάν, ὥστε καὶ τοὺς προτέρους στρατιώτας νοσῆσαι τῶν Ἀθηναίων ἀπὸ τῆς ξὺν Ἅγνωνι στρατιᾶς, ἐν τῷ πρὸ τοῦ χρόνῳ ὑγιαίνοντας.
But neither the capture of the city nor anything else went for them in a manner worthy of their preparation; for the plague, breaking out there as well, sorely distressed the Athenians, destroying the army, so that even the former Athenian soldiers, who had been healthy in the preceding time, fell sick from the army that had come with Hagnon.
Φορμίων δὲ καὶ οἱ ἑξακόσιοι καὶ χίλιοι οὐκέτι ἦσαν περὶ Χαλκιδέας.
Meanwhile, Phormio and his sixteen hundred were no longer in the neighborhood of the Chalcidians.
§2.58.3ὁ μὲν οὖν Ἅγνων ἀνεχώρησε ταῖς ναυσὶν ἐς τὰς Ἀθήνας, ἀπὸ τετρακισχιλίων ὁπλιτῶν χιλίους καὶ πεντήκοντα τῇ νόσῳ ἀπολέσας ἐν τεσσαράκοντα μάλιστα ἡμέραις· οἱ δὲ πρότεροι στρατιῶται κατὰ χώραν μένοντες ἐπολιόρκουν τὴν Ποτείδαιαν.
Accordingly, Hagnon returned with his ships to Athens, having lost by the plague one thousand and fifty out of four thousand hoplites in about forty days; but the former soldiers, remaining in their position, continued to besiege Potidaea.

Notes

  1. 2.58.1ᾗπερ ἐκεῖνος ἐχρήσατο — The relative pronoun ᾗπερ is in the dative case. It refers to the feminine antecedent τὴν στρατιὰν (accusative), and is attracted into the dative because the verb ἐχρήσατο (from χράομαι, "to use") governs the dative. ἐκεῖνος refers to Pericles.
  2. 2.58.2τῆς παρασκευῆς ἀξίως — The genitive τῆς παρασκευῆς is governed by the adverb ἀξίως ("in a manner worthy of").
  3. 2.58.2ἀπὸ τῆς ξὺν Ἅγνωνι στρατιᾶς — The prepositional phrase ἀπὸ ... στρατιᾶς ("from the army with Hagnon") modifies the infinitive νοσῆσαι ("to fall sick"), expressing the source or cause of infection/transmission.
  4. 2.58.2τοὺς προτέρους στρατιώτας ... ἐν τῷ πρὸ τοῦ χρόνῳ ὑγιαίνοντας — The participle ὑγιαίνοντας (accusative masculine plural) agrees with and modifies τοὺς προτέρους στρατιώτας ("the former soldiers"), functioning attributively or with concessive force ("although they had been healthy"). It is modified by the temporal adverbial phrase ἐν τῷ πρὸ τοῦ χρόνῳ ("in the time before").

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §2.58.1-2.58.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.58.1-2.58.3

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