Humanitext Reader

Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §4.55.1-4.55.4

Spartan Defensive Measures and Loss of Confidence

Passage 420 of 917 · Greek

Summary

The Spartans respond to the Athenian occupation of Cythera by taking unusual defensive measures, but traumatized by the Sphacteria disaster and fearful of unfamiliar naval warfare, they become extremely hesitant and lose all confidence.

§4.55.1οἱ δὲ Λακεδαιμόνιοι ἰδόντες μὲν τοὺς Ἀθηναίους τὰ Κύθηρα ἔχοντας, προσδεχόμενοι δὲ καὶ ἐς τὴν γῆν σφῶν ἀποβάσεις τοιαύτας ποιήσεσθαι, ἁθρόᾳ μὲν οὐδαμοῦ τῇ δυνάμει ἀντετάξαντο, κατὰ δὲ τὴν χώραν φρουρὰς διέπεμψαν, ὁπλιτῶν πλῆθος, ὡς ἑκασταχόσε ἔδει, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ἐν φυλακῇ πολλῇ ἦσαν, φοβούμενοι μὴ σφίσι νεώτερόν τι γένηται τῶν περὶ τὴν κατάστασιν, γεγενημένου μὲν τοῦ ἐν τῇ νήσῳ πάθους ἀνελπίστου καὶ μεγάλου, Πύλου δὲ ἐχομένης καὶ Κυθήρων καὶ πανταχόθεν σφᾶς περιεστῶτος πολέμου ταχέος καὶ ἀπροφυλάκτου,
The Lacedaemonians, seeing the Athenians in possession of Cythera, and expecting that they would make similar landings upon their own territory, did not draw up their forces united anywhere to oppose them, but distributed garrisons throughout the country, a body of hoplites, as was necessary in each direction, and in other respects were on close guard, fearing lest some revolution should occur in their political system, since the disaster on the island had been unexpected and great, and Pylos and Cythera were held by the enemy, and a swift and unguardable war surrounded them on all sides.
§4.55.2ὥστε παρὰ τὸ εἰωθὸς ἱππέας τετρακοσίους κατεστήσαντο καὶ τοξότας, ἔς τε τὰ πολεμικά, εἴπερ ποτέ, μάλιστα δὴ ὀκνηρότεροι ἐγένοντο, ξυνεστῶτες παρὰ τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν σφῶν ἰδέαν τῆς παρασκευῆς ναυτικῷ ἀγῶνι, καὶ τούτῳ πρὸς Ἀθηναίους, οἷς τὸ μὴ ἐπιχειρούμενον αἰεὶ ἐλλιπὲς ἦν τῆς δοκήσεώς τι πράξειν·
Consequently, contrary to their custom, they established four hundred cavalry and archers; and in military matters, if ever, they now became most hesitant, being engaged, contrary to their established mode of preparation, in a naval contest, and that too against the Athenians, for whom whatever was not attempted was always felt to be a failure compared to their expectation of achieving something.
§4.55.3καὶ ἅμα τὰ τῆς τύχης πολλὰ καὶ ἐν ὀλίγῳ ξυμβάντα παρὰ λόγον αὐτοῖς ἔκπληξιν μεγίστην παρεῖχε, καὶ ἐδέδισαν μή ποτε αὖθις ξυμφορά τις αὐτοῖς περιτύχῃ οἵα καὶ ἐν τῇ νήσῳ.
At the same time, the many strokes of fortune, occurring to them in a short time contrary to calculations, caused them the greatest dismay, and they feared lest some disaster should again befall them such as that on the island.
§4.55.4ἀτολμότεροι δὲ δι’ αὐτὸ ἐς τὰς μάχας ἦσαν, καὶ πᾶν ὅτι κινήσειαν ᾤοντο ἁμαρτήσεσθαι διὰ τὸ τὴν γνώμην ἀνεχέγγυον γεγενῆσθαι ἐκ τῆς πρὶν ἀηθείας τοῦ κακοπραγεῖν.
For this reason they were more timid in battle, and they thought that they would fail in everything they might attempt, because their confidence had become shaken owing to their previous unacquaintance with adversity.

Notes

  1. §4.55.1νεώτερόν τι ... τῶν περὶ τὴν κατάστασιν — Meaning 'some unexpected event (something newer) concerning the established state,' which refers to Sparta's fear of a Helot revolt or a collapse of their constitution. νεώτερόν τι is a euphemism for political revolution, with which the genitive phrase τῶν περὶ τὴν κατάστασιν is associated.
  2. §4.55.2οἷς τὸ μὴ ἐπιχειρούμενον αἰεὶ ἐλλιπὲς ἦν τῆς δοκήσεώς τι πράξειν — The dative relative pronoun οἷς refers to the Athenians (dative of possessor/reference). The sentence has a difficult abstract structure: 'for whom that which was not attempted (τὸ μὴ ἐπιχειρούμενον) was always a deficiency (ἐλλιπές) in comparison with their expectation (τῆς δοκήσεως, genitive after the adjective of deficiency) of achieving something.' The infinitive τι πράξειν defines the content of δόκησις.
  3. §4.55.4πᾶν ὅτι κινήσειαν ᾤοντο ἁμαρτήσεσθαι — The clause ὅτι κινήσειαν uses the optative (κινήσειαν) to express a past general condition ('whatever they might undertake'). The subject of the future infinitive ἁμαρτήσεσθαι ('would fail') is the omitted Spartans. The relative clause with its antecedent πᾶν ὅτι ('everything they might attempt') functions as the object or accusative of respect for ἁμαρτήσεσθαι.

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §4.55.1-4.55.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.55.1-4.55.4

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.