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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §4.113.1-4.113.3

Athenian Garrison Flees to the Fortress of Lekythos

Passage 478 of 917 · Greek

Summary

During the capture of Torone, the conspirators immediately joined the Spartans. The Athenian garrison, caught sleeping in the agora, suffered some casualties but the rest escaped to the fortress of Lekythos.

§4.113.1τῶν δὲ Τορωναίων γιγνομένης τῆς ἁλώσεως τὸ μὲν πολὺ οὐδὲν εἰδὸς ἐθορυβεῖτο, οἱ δὲ πράσσοντες καὶ οἷς ταῦτα ἤρεσκε μετὰ τῶν ἐσελθόντων εὐθὺς ἦσαν.
While the capture was taking place, the great majority of the Toronaeans, knowing nothing, were thrown into confusion; but those who were negotiating and those who were pleased with these things immediately joined the invaders.
§4.113.2οἱ δὲ Ἀθηναῖοι (ἔτυχον γὰρ ἐν τῇ ἀγορᾷ ὁπλῖται καθεύδοντες ὡς πεντήκοντα) ἐπειδὴ ᾔσθοντο, οἱ μέν τινες ὀλίγοι διαφθείρονται ἐν χερσὶν αὐτῶν, τῶν δὲ λοιπῶν οἱ μὲν πεζῇ, οἱ δὲ ἐς τὰς ναῦς, αἳ ἐφρούρουν δύο, καταφυγόντες διασῴζονται ἐς τὴν Λήκυθον τὸ φρούριον, ὃ εἶχον αὐτοὶ καταλαβόντες, ἄκρον τῆς πόλεως ἐς τὴν θάλασσαν ἀπειλημμένον ἐν στενῷ ἰσθμῷ.
The Athenians (for it happened that about fifty hoplites were sleeping in the agora), when they perceived it, a few of them were killed in hand-to-hand combat, while of the rest, some by land, and others by fleeing to the ships—of which there were two on guard—escaped safely to the fortress of Lekythos, which they themselves held, having occupied it, being a point of the city cut off into the sea on a narrow isthmus.
§4.113.3κατέφυγον δὲ καὶ τῶν Τορωναίων ἐς αὐτοὺς ὅσοι ἦσαν σφίσιν ἐπιτήδειοι.
And those of the Toronaeans who were friendly to them also fled to them for refuge.

Notes

  1. §4.113.1τῶν δὲ Τορωναίων — Partitive genitive, indicating the whole group of which the subsequent subject τὸ μὲν πολὺ (the great majority) is a part.
  2. §4.113.1οὐδὲν εἰδὸς — οὐδέν is an adverbial accusative ('at all / nothing'). The perfect active participle εἰδός is neuter singular nominative, agreeing grammatically with the collective neuter noun phrase τὸ μὲν πολὺ.
  3. §4.113.2ἔτυχον ... καθεύδοντες — The idiomatic construction of τυγχάνω with a participle, meaning 'happened to be sleeping'.
  4. §4.113.2ἐν χερσὶν αὐτῶν — Literally 'in their hands', an idiomatic expression referring to hand-to-hand combat or close-quarters fighting.
  5. §4.113.2ὃ εἶχον αὐτοὶ καταλαβόντες — A periphrastic construction using ἔχω with the aorist participle, emphasizing not just the past action of occupying, but the continued state of holding or possessing it.

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §4.113.1-4.113.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.113.1-4.113.3

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