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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §5.114.1-5.114.2

Athenian Circumvallation and the Beginning of the Siege of Melos

Passage 614 of 917 · Greek

Summary

After the Athenian ambassadors returned to the army, the generals began the circumvallation of Melos as the Melians refused to submit. Afterwards, leaving a guard by land and sea, the main Athenian force withdrew, while the remaining troops continued the siege.

§5.114.1καὶ οἱ μὲν Ἀθηναίων πρέσβεις ἀνεχώρησαν ἐς τὸ στράτευμα· οἱ δὲ στρατηγοὶ αὐτῶν, ὡς οὐδὲν ὑπήκουον οἱ Μήλιοι, πρὸς πόλεμον εὐθὺς ἐτρέποντο καὶ διελόμενοι κατὰ πόλεις περιετείχισαν κύκλῳ τοὺς Μηλίους.
And the Athenian ambassadors returned to the army; and their generals, since the Melians showed no sign of submission, immediately turned to war and, having divided the work among the contingents of the cities, surrounded the Melians with a wall all round.
§5.114.2καὶ ὕστερον φυλακὴν σφῶν τε αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν ξυμμάχων καταλιπόντες οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι καὶ κατὰ γῆν καὶ κατὰ θάλασσαν ἀνεχώρησαν τῷ πλέονι τοῦ στρατοῦ.
And afterwards, the Athenians, having left behind a guard composed of themselves and of the allies, both by land and by sea, withdrew with the greater part of the army.
οἱ δὲ λειπόμενοι παραμένοντες ἐπολιόρκουν τὸ χωρίον.
And those who were left behind remained and continued to besiege the place.

Notes

  1. §5.114.1διελόμενοι κατὰ πόλεις — The participle διελόμενοι (aorist middle participle of διαιρέω) means 'having divided among themselves.' Combined with κατὰ πόλεις ('by cities'), it indicates that the task of constructing the circumvallation wall was apportioned among the contingents of the various allied cities.
  2. §5.114.2φυλακὴν σφῶν τε αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν ξυμμάχων — The genitives σφῶν τε αὐτῶν and τῶν ξυμμάχων are genitives of material or composition defining the constituents of the guard (φυλακήν). The indirect reflexive pronoun σφῶν αὐτῶν refers back to the subject of the main clause, 'the Athenians' (οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι).
  3. §5.114.2τῷ πλέονι τοῦ στρατοῦ — The dative τῷ πλέονι is a dative of military accompaniment, used with the verb of motion ἀνεχώρησαν without the preposition σύν, meaning 'with the greater part of the army.'

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §5.114.1-5.114.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.114.1-5.114.2

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