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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §4.125.1-4.125.4

Panic of the Macedonians and Brasidas' Retreat

Passage 490 of 917 · Greek

Summary

Upon hearing of the Illyrian betrayal, the Macedonian army panics and retreats during the night, leaving Brasidas to organize an orderly retreat in a square formation and deliver a speech to his soldiers.

§4.125.1καὶ ἐν τούτῳ διαφερομένων αὐτῶν ἠγγέλθη ὅτι οἱ Ἰλλυριοὶ μετ’ Ἀρραβαίου προδόντες Περδίκκαν γεγένηνται·
And while they were thus at variance, news was brought that the Illyrians, having betrayed Perdiccas, had joined Arrhabaeus.
ὥστε ἤδη ἀμφοτέροις μὲν δοκοῦν ἀναχωρεῖν διὰ τὸ δέος αὐτῶν ὄντων ἀνθρώπων μαχίμων, κυρωθὲν δὲ οὐδὲν ἐκ τῆς διαφορᾶς ὁπηνίκα χρὴ ὁρμᾶσθαι, νυκτός τε ἐπιγενομένης, οἱ μὲν Μακεδόνες καὶ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν βαρβάρων εὐθὺς φοβηθέντες, ὅπερ φιλεῖ μεγάλα στρατόπεδα ἀσαφῶς ἐκπλήγνυσθαι, καὶ νομίσαντες πολλαπλασίους μὲν ἢ ἦλθον ἐπιέναι, ὅσον δὲ οὔπω παρεῖναι, καταστάντες ἐς αἰφνίδιον φυγὴν ἐχώρουν ἐπ’ οἴκου, καὶ τὸν Περδίκκαν τὸ πρῶτον οὐκ αἰσθανόμενον, ὡς ἔγνω, ἠνάγκασαν πρὶν τὸν Βρασίδαν ἰδεῖν (ἄπωθεν γὰρ πολὺ ἀλλήλων ἐστρατοπεδεύοντο) προαπελθεῖν.
Whereupon, though it already seemed best to both of them to retreat because of their fear of these men, who were warlike, yet as nothing was decided because of their dispute as to when they ought to start, and night having come on, the Macedonians and the crowd of barbarians were immediately seized with panic—as is wont to happen to large armies, which are terrified without any clear cause—and thinking that the enemy was advancing in forces many times larger than those that had actually come, and were just about to arrive, they broke into sudden flight and made for home. And Perdiccas, who at first did not perceive this, when he realized it, was forced to retreat before seeing Brasidas, since they were encamped far apart from each other.
§4.125.2Βρασίδας δὲ ἅμα τῇ ἕῳ ὡς εἶδε τοὺς Μακεδόνας προκεχωρηκότας τούς τε Ἰλλυριοὺς καὶ τὸν Ἀρραβαῖον μέλλοντας ἐπιέναι, ξυναγαγὼν καὶ αὐτὸς ἐς τετράγωνον τάξιν τοὺς ὁπλίτας καὶ τὸν ψιλὸν ὅμιλον ἐς μέσον λαβὼν διενοεῖτο ἀναχωρεῖν.
But Brasidas, at daybreak, when he saw that the Macedonians had already gone ahead, and that the Illyrians and Arrhabaeus were about to attack, drew up his hoplites in a square, and taking the light-armed crowd into the center, resolved to retreat.
§4.125.3ἐκδρόμους δέ, εἴ πῃ προσβάλλοιεν αὐτοῖς, ἔταξε τοὺς νεωτάτους, καὶ αὐτὸς λογάδας ἔχων τριακοσίους τελευταῖος γνώμην εἶχεν ὑποχωρῶν τοῖς τῶν ἐναντίων πρώτοις προσκεισομένοις ἀνθιστάμενος ἀμύνεσθαι.
He posted the youngest men as skirmishers to charge out if the enemy should attack them at any point, and he himself, with three hundred selected men, intended to bring up the rear, facing and repelling the first of the enemy who should press upon them as they retreated.
§4.125.4καὶ πρὶν τοὺς πολεμίους ἐγγὺς εἶναι, ὡς διὰ ταχέων παρεκελεύσατο τοῖς στρατιώταις τοιάδε.
And before the enemy came near, he briefly exhorted his soldiers as follows.

Notes

  1. §4.125.1δοκοῦν — An accusative absolute construction using the neuter singular present participle of the impersonal verb δοκεῖ. The subsequent participle κυρωθέν is also an accusative absolute of an impersonal passive verb, both indicating circumstantial conditions independent of the main clause.
  2. §4.125.1ὅπερ φιλεῖ μεγάλα στρατόπεδα ἀσαφῶς ἐκπλήγνυσθαι — The antecedent of the relative pronoun ὅπερ is the entire preceding circumstance of the army falling into a panic. The verb φιλεῖ is used here not in the sense of 'to love', but in the sense of 'to be wont to' or 'to tend to'.
  3. §4.125.1ὅσον οὔπω — An idiomatic adverbial phrase meaning 'just about to' or 'all but'. Here it modifies the infinitive παρεῖναι (to be present), expressing the retreating soldiers' acute subjective apprehension that the enemy is on the point of arriving.
  4. §4.125.3γνώμην εἶχεν ... ἀμύνεσθαι — A construction where γνώμην ἔχω (to have the intention, to mind to) is followed by the infinitive ἀμύνεσθαι. The participles ὑποχωρῶν and ἀνθιστάμενος (the latter modifying the action of ἀμύνεσθαι) describe the circumstances and manner of this intended action.

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §4.125.1-4.125.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.125.1-4.125.4

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