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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §3.28.1-3.28.3

Surrender to Paches and Terms of Mytilene

Passage 277 of 917 · Greek

Summary

The Mytilaenean oligarchs, unable to control the commons, surrendered to the Athenian general Paches under an agreement that ensured their safety until a final decision was made by Athens.

§3.28.1γνόντες δὲ οἱ ἐν τοῖς πράγμασιν οὔτ’ ἀποκωλύειν δυνατοὶ ὄντες, εἴ τ’ ἀπομονωθήσονται τῆς ξυμβάσεως κινδυνεύσοντες, ποιοῦνται κοινῇ ὁμολογίαν πρός τε Πάχητα καὶ τὸ στρατόπεδον, ὥστε Ἀθηναίοις μὲν ἐξεῖναι βουλεῦσαι περὶ Μυτιληναίων ὁποῖον ἄν τι βούλωνται καὶ τὴν στρατιὰν ἐς τὴν πόλιν δέχεσθαι αὐτούς, πρεσβείαν δὲ ἀποστέλλειν ἐς τὰς Ἀθήνας Μυτιληναίους περὶ ἑαυτῶν· ἐν ὅσῳ δ’ ἂν πάλιν ἔλθωσι, Πάχητα μήτε δῆσαι Μυτιληναίων μηδένα μηδὲ ἀνδραποδίσαι μήτε ἀποκτεῖναι.
But those in authority, realizing that they were neither able to prevent them, and that if they should be excluded from the agreement they would be in danger, made a joint agreement with Paches and the army, on the terms that it should be permitted to the Athenians to decide concerning the Mytilaeneans whatever they wished, and that they should receive the army into the city, and that the Mytilaeneans should send an embassy to Athens concerning themselves; and that until they should return, Paches should neither bind any of the Mytilaeneans, nor reduce them to slavery, nor put them to death.
§3.28.2ἡ μὲν ξύμβασις αὕτη ἐγένετο, οἱ δὲ πράξαντες πρὸς τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους μάλιστα τῶν Μυτιληναίων περιδεεῖς ὄντες, ὡς ἡ στρατιὰ ἐσῆλθεν, οὐκ ἠνέσχοντο, ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ τοὺς βωμοὺς ὅμως καθίζουσιν·
This agreement was made, but those of the Mytilaeneans who had been in active negotiation with the Lacedaemonians, being in extreme fear, when the army entered, could not contain themselves, but nevertheless went and sat at the altars.
Πάχης δ’ ἀναστήσας αὐτοὺς ὥστε μὴ ἀδικῆσαι, κατατίθεται ἐς Τένεδον μέχρι οὗ τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις τι δόξῃ.
Paches, having raised them up on the understanding that he would do them no wrong, placed them in Tenedos until the Athenians should come to some decision.
§3.28.3πέμψας δὲ καὶ ἐς τὴν Ἄντισσαν τριήρεις προσεκτήσατο καὶ τἆλλα τὰ περὶ τὸ στρατόπεδον καθίστατο ᾗ αὐτῷ ἐδόκει.
He also sent triremes to Antissa and secured it, and settled all other matters concerning his forces as he saw fit.

Notes

  1. §3.28.1γνόντες δὲ οἱ ἐν τοῖς πράγμασιν οὔτ’ ἀποκωλύειν δυνατοὶ ὄντες, εἴ τ’ ἀπομονωθήσονται τῆς ξυμβάσεως κινδυνεύσοντες — The participle γνόντες governs two clauses: first, οὔτε ... ὄντες (present participle), and second, εἴ τε ... κινδυνεύσοντες (future participle). The correlative structure here is οὔτε ... τε ... ('neither... and'). The εἴ introduces a conditional clause ('if they should be excluded...'), and the future participle κινδυνεύσοντες acts as a supplementary participle dependent on γνόντες, expressing the realization of a future risk ('realizing that they would run a risk').
  2. §3.28.1καὶ τὴν στρατιὰν ἐς τὴν πόλιν δέχεσθαι αὐτούς — The accusative αὐτούς (referring to the Mytilaeneans) functions as the subject of the infinitive δέχεσθαι, while τὴν στρατιὰν is its object. Since the subject of the infinitive differs from the primary subject of the main governing clause, the accusative αὐτούς is explicitly expressed.
  3. §3.28.2ὥστε μὴ ἀδικῆσαι — The construction ὥστε with the infinitive here expresses a condition or stipulation ('on the condition that he would not harm them'), rather than a simple result or degree, denoting the terms under which Paches induced them to rise from the altars.

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §3.28.1-3.28.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.28.1-3.28.3

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