Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §2.7.1-2.7.3

War Preparations and Alliance Seeking by Both Sides

Passage 153 of 917 · Greek

Summary

Following the breach of the treaty at Plataea, both Athens and Sparta begin extensive war preparations, including planning embassies to Persia and other states, while Sparta orders its western allies to build ships and Athens secures alliances in strategic positions around the Peloponnese.

§2.7.1γεγενημένου δὲ τοῦ ἐν Πλαταιαῖς ἔργου καὶ λελυμένων λαμπρῶς τῶν σπονδῶν οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι παρεσκευάζοντο ὡς πολεμήσοντες, παρεσκευάζοντο δὲ καὶ Λακεδαιμόνιοι καὶ οἱ ξύμμαχοι, πρεσβείας τε μέλλοντες πέμπειν παρὰ βασιλέα καὶ ἄλλοσε πρὸς τοὺς βαρβάρους, εἴ ποθέν τινα ὠφελίαν ἤλπιζον ἑκάτεροι προσλήψεσθαι, πόλεις τε ξυμμαχίδας ποιούμενοι ὅσαι ἦσαν ἐκτὸς τῆς ἑαυτῶν δυνάμεως.

Now that the affair at Plataea had taken place and the treaty had been glaringly broken, the Athenians began to make preparations for war, and the Lacedaemonians and their allies did the same, both intending to send embassies to the King and to other barbarian lands, in the hope of obtaining aid from any possible quarter, and attempting to win over as allies such cities as were outside their own sphere of influence.

§2.7.2καὶ Λακεδαιμονίοις μὲν πρὸς ταῖς αὐτοῦ ὑπαρχούσαις ἐξ Ἰταλίας καὶ Σικελίας τοῖς τἀκείνων ἑλομένοις ναῦς ἐπετάχθη ποιεῖσθαι κατὰ μέγεθος τῶν πόλεων, ὡς ἐς τὸν πάντα ἀριθμὸν πεντακοσίων νεῶν ἐσομένων, καὶ ἀργύριον ῥητὸν ἑτοιμάζειν, τά τε ἄλλα ἡσυχάζοντας καὶ Ἀθηναίους δεχομένους μιᾷ νηὶ ἕως ἂν ταῦτα παρασκευασθῇ.

For the Lacedaemonians, in addition to the ships already available at home, orders were given to those in Italy and Sicily who had chosen their side to build ships in proportion to the size of their cities, so that the total number should reach five hundred, and to get ready a specified sum of money, while keeping quiet in other respects and receiving the Athenians with only a single ship until these preparations should be completed.

§2.7.3Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ τήν τε ὑπάρχουσαν ξυμμαχίαν ἐξήταζον καὶ ἐς τὰ περὶ Πελοπόννησον μᾶλλον χωρία ἐπρεσβεύοντο, Κέρκυραν καὶ Κεφαλληνίαν καὶ Ἀκαρνᾶνας καὶ Ζάκυνθον, ὁρῶντες, εἰ σφίσι φίλια ταῦτ’ εἴη βεβαίως, πέριξ τὴν Πελοπόννησον καταπολεμήσοντες.

The Athenians, on their part, scrutinized their existing alliance and sent embassies especially to the places around the Peloponnese, namely Corcyra, Cephallenia, the Acarnanians, and Zacynthus, seeing that if these were firmly friendly to them, they would be able to carry on the war by surrounding the Peloponnese.

Notes

2.7.1μέλλοντες — The nominative plural participle μέλλοντες (and the subsequent ποιούμενος) modifies not only the immediate subject 'the Lacedaemonians and their allies' but, as indicated by the word ἑκάτεροι ('each of the two'), encompasses the intentions of both sides (including 'the Athenians' mentioned at the beginning).
2.7.2ἡσυχάζοντας — The accusative participle ἡσυχάζοντας (and δεχομένους) refers logically to the preceding dative 'those who had chosen their side' (τοῖς τἀκείνων ἑλομένοις). It stands in the accusative as the subject of the infinitives (ποιεῖσθαι, ἑτοιμάζειν) governed by the impersonal passive verb ἐπετάχθη, following the standard construction of the accusative with the infinitive.
2.7.3καταπολεμήσοντες — A future active participle functioning as the object clause content of the participle ὁρῶντες ('seeing that...'). Accompanied by the optative conditional clause εἰ... εἴη, it represents the apodosis expressing future potentiality ('that they would be able to carry on the war').

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §2.7.1-2.7.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.7.1-2.7.3

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