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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §4.39.1-4.39.3

Duration of the Blockade and Fulfilment of Cleon's Promise

Passage 404 of 917 · Greek

Summary

The total duration of the blockade on Sphacteria is recorded as seventy-two days, detailing how the Spartans survived, before both armies withdraw and Cleon's seemingly mad promise to bring the captives back within twenty days is fulfilled.

§4.39.1χρόνος δὲ ὁ ξύμπας ἐγένετο ὅσον οἱ ἄνδρες [οἱ] ἐν τῇ νήσῳ ἐπολιορκήθησαν, ἀπὸ τῆς ναυμαχίας μέχρι τῆς ἐν τῇ νήσῳ μάχης, ἑβδομήκοντα ἡμέραι καὶ δύο.
The total time that the men were besieged on the island, from the naval battle to the battle on the island, was seventy-two days.
§4.39.2τούτων περὶ εἴκοσιν ἡμέρας, ἐν αἷς οἱ πρέσβεις περὶ τῶν σπονδῶν ἀπῇσαν, ἐσιτοδοτοῦντο, τὰς δὲ ἄλλας τοῖς ἐσπλέουσι λάθρᾳ διετρέφοντο.
Of these, for about twenty days, during which the envoys were away concerning the treaty, they were supplied with food; but for the remaining days they kept themselves alive on what was brought by those who sailed in secretly.
καὶ ἦν σῖτός τις ἐν τῇ νήσῳ καὶ ἄλλα βρώματα ἐγκατελήφθη· ὁ γὰρ ἄρχων Ἐπιτάδας ἐνδεεστέρως ἑκάστῳ παρεῖχεν ἢ πρὸς τὴν ἐξουσίαν.
There was also some corn on the island, and other provisions were found left behind; for the commander Epitadas had distributed to each man more sparingly than his resources permitted.
§4.39.3οἱ μὲν δὴ Ἀθηναῖοι καὶ οἱ Πελοποννήσιοι ἀνεχώρησαν τῷ στρατῷ ἐκ τῆς Πύλου ἑκάτεροι ἐπ’ οἴκου, καὶ τοῦ Κλέωνος καίπερ μανιώδης οὖσα ἡ ὑπόσχεσις ἀπέβη· ἐντὸς γὰρ εἴκοσιν ἡμερῶν ἤγαγε τοὺς ἄνδρας, ὥσπερ ὑπέστη.
So the Athenians and the Peloponnesians returned home with their armies from Pylos, each to their own country; and Cleon's promise, crazy though it was, was fulfilled; for within twenty days he brought the men back, just as he had undertaken.

Notes

  1. §4.39.1ὅσον — The neuter accusative of the relative pronoun/adverb, functioning to define the duration after the antecedent "χρόνος" (the total time during which...).
  2. §4.39.2τοῖς ἐσπλέουσι — Substantive use of the present participle in the dative case. It functions as a dative of means ("by means of those who sailed in secretly"), referring to the food supplies they brought rather than the persons themselves as agents.
  3. §4.39.2ἢ πρὸς τὴν ἐξουσίαν — Following the comparative adverb "ἐνδεεστέρως" (more sparingly), "ἤ" introduces the comparison, and "πρὸς" with the accusative denotes proportion or relation. It means "in comparison with what his resources/power allowed him to distribute."
  4. §4.39.3τῷ στρατῷ — Dative of accompaniment (sociative dative), commonly used in military contexts without the preposition "σύν" to indicate the force with which one moves ("with the army").
  5. §4.39.3τοῦ Κλέωνος — A possessive genitive modifying the subject "ἡ ὑπόσχεσις" (the promise), placed at the beginning of the clause for emphasis, despite being separated from it by the concessive participle phrase "καίπερ μανιώδης οὖσα" (although it was crazy).

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §4.39.1-4.39.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.39.1-4.39.3

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