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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §4.5.1-4.5.2

Spartan Neglect and the Garrison Left at Pylos

Passage 370 of 917 · Greek

Summary

The Lacedaemonians make light of the Athenian fortification of Pylos due to a festival, optimistic assumptions, and the presence of their army in Attica. Meanwhile, the Athenians fortify the site within six days, leaving Demosthenes behind with five ships while the rest sail for Corcyra and Sicily.

§4.5.1οἱ δὲ ἑορτήν τινα ἔτυχον ἄγοντες καὶ ἅμα πυνθανόμενοι ἐν ὀλιγωρίᾳ ἐποιοῦντο, ὡς, ὅταν ἐξέλθωσιν, ἢ οὐχ ὑπομενοῦντας σφᾶς ἢ ῥᾳδίως ληψόμενοι βίᾳ· καί τι καὶ αὐτοὺς ὁ στρατὸς ἔτι ἐν ταῖς Ἀθήναις ὢν ἐπέσχεν.
But they happened to be celebrating a certain festival, and at the same time, on hearing the news, they made light of it, thinking that, when they should go out against them, either the enemy would not await them, or they would easily take the place by force; and to some extent also their army, being still in Athens, delayed them.
§4.5.2τειχίσαντες δὲ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι τοῦ χωρίου τὰ πρὸς ἤπειρον καὶ ἃ μάλιστα ἔδει ἐν ἡμέραις ἓξ τὸν μὲν Δημοσθένη μετὰ νεῶν πέντε αὐτοῦ φύλακα καταλείπουσι, ταῖς δὲ πλείοσι ναυσὶ τὸν ἐς τὴν Κέρκυραν πλοῦν καὶ Σικελίαν ἠπείγοντο.
Having fortified in six days the parts of the place facing the mainland and those which most required it, the Athenians left Demosthenes there as a guard with five ships, while they themselves with the majority of the ships hastened on their voyage to Corcyra and Sicily.

Notes

  1. §4.5.1ὡς ... ἢ οὐχ ὑπομενοῦντας σφᾶς ἢ ῥᾳδίως ληψόμενοι βίᾳ — Under ὡς, which introduces a subjective expectation, there is an anacoluthon in the coordination of the two future participles by ἢ. The first, οὐχ ὑπομενοῦντας, is in the accusative (representing an accusative absolute with the Athenians as the implied subject), while the second, ληψόμενοι, is in the nominative, agreeing with the main subject of the sentence (the Lacedaemonians).
  2. §4.5.1ὁ στρατὸς ἔτι ἐν ταῖς Ἀθήναις ὢν — The phrase 'the army being still in Athens' refers to the Peloponnesian expeditionary army which was invading and occupying Attica (Athenian territory) at that time. The proper name Ἀθῆναι is used loosely to designate Attica as a whole rather than just the city of Athens.
  3. §4.5.2τοῦ χωρίου τὰ πρὸς ἤπειρον καὶ ἃ μάλιστα ἔδει — τοῦ χωρίου is a partitive genitive qualifying the following substantivized phrase τὰ πρὸς ἤπειρον ('the parts facing the mainland'). The relative clause ἃ μάλιστα ἔδει ('those parts which most required [fortification]'), with its antecedent omitted, is coordinated with τὰ πρὸς ἤπειρον as the direct object of the participle τειχίσαντες.

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §4.5.1-4.5.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.5.1-4.5.2

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