Humanitext Reader

Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §3.19.1-3.19.2

Athenian Property Tax Levy and Death of Lysicles

Passage 268 of 917 · Greek

Summary

The Athenians levy an extraordinary property tax for the first time to fund the siege and send a squadron under Lysicles to collect money from the allies, but he is killed in battle in Caria.

§3.19.1προσδεόμενοι δὲ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι χρημάτων ἐς τὴν πολιορκίαν, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐσενεγκόντες τότε πρῶτον ἐσφορὰν διακόσια τάλαντα, ἐξέπεμψαν καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς ξυμμάχους ἀργυρολόγους ναῦς δώδεκα καὶ Λυσικλέα πέμπτον αὐτὸν στρατηγόν.
The Athenians, standing in need of additional funds for the siege, and having themselves on that occasion for the first time contributed a property tax of two hundred talents, also dispatched to the allies twelve tax-collecting ships and Lysicles as general, himself being one of five.
§3.19.2ὁ δὲ ἄλλα τε ἠργυρολόγει καὶ περιέπλει, καὶ τῆς Καρίας ἐκ Μυοῦντος ἀναβὰς διὰ τοῦ Μαιάνδρου πεδίου μέχρι τοῦ Σανδίου λόφου, ἐπιθεμένων τῶν Καρῶν καὶ Ἀναιιτῶν αὐτός τε διαφθείρεται καὶ τῆς ἄλλης στρατιᾶς πολλοί.
And he collected money from various places and sailed around; but having gone up from Myus in Caria through the plain of the Maeander as far as the hill of Sandius, when the Carians and Anaeitans attacked, he himself was killed, along with many of the rest of the army.

Notes

  1. §3.19.1τότε πρῶτον ἐσφορὰν — The term ἐσφορά refers to an extraordinary direct tax levied on citizens' property to meet war expenses, which Thucydides notes was raised here for the first time.
  2. §3.19.1πέμπτον αὐτὸν — The idiom 'ordinal + αὐτός' means 'himself with [N-1] others'. Here, Lysicles was dispatched as one of five generals in joint command.
  3. §3.19.2τῆς Καρίας — A genitive modifying the following prepositional phrase `ἐκ Μυοῦντος` (from Myus), specifying its geographical location: 'from Myus in Caria'.
  4. §3.19.2ἐπιθεμένων τῶν Καρῶν καὶ Ἀναιιτῶν — A genitive absolute construction. The aorist participle `ἐπιθεμένων` (having attacked) agrees with the genitive subjects, expressing the cause or temporal circumstance of the main clause.

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §3.19.1-3.19.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.19.1-3.19.2

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.