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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §5.20.1-5.20.3

Ten Years of War and the Accuracy of Seasonal Dating

Passage 520 of 917 · Greek

Summary

The author notes that the peace treaty was made exactly ten years and a few days after the war began, arguing that dating by summers and winters is more accurate than relying on annual lists of magistrates.

§5.20.1αὗται αἱ σπονδαὶ ἐγένοντο τελευτῶντος τοῦ χειμῶνος ἅμα ἦρι, ἐκ Διονυσίων εὐθὺς τῶν ἀστικῶν, αὐτόδεκα ἐτῶν διελθόντων καὶ ἡμερῶν ὀλίγων παρενεγκουσῶν ἢ ὡς τὸ πρῶτον ἡ ἐσβολὴ ἡ ἐς τὴν Ἀττικὴν καὶ ἡ ἀρχὴ τοῦ πολέμου τοῦδε ἐγένετο.
This treaty was concluded at the end of the winter and the beginning of spring, immediately after the City Dionysia, just ten years and a few days having elapsed since the first invasion of Attica and the beginning of this war.
§5.20.2σκοπείτω δέ τις κατὰ τοὺς χρόνους καὶ μὴ τῶν ἑκασταχοῦ ἢ ἀρχόντων ἢ ἀπὸ τιμῆς τινὸς ἐς τὰ προγεγενημένα σημαινόντων τὴν ἀπαρίθμησιν τῶν ὀνομάτων πιστεύσας μᾶλλον.
One should examine the events by the seasons, rather than relying on the catalog of names of those who, whether as archons in various places or from some other office, mark past events.
οὐ γὰρ ἀκριβές ἐστιν, οἷς καὶ ἀρχομένοις καὶ μεσοῦσι καὶ ὅπως ἔτυχέ τῳ ἐπεγένετό τι.
For it is not accurate, since some events happened to men at the beginning of their office, some in the middle, and some just as it chanced.
§5.20.3κατὰ θέρη δὲ καὶ χειμῶνας ἀριθμῶν, ὥσπερ γέγραπται, εὑρήσει, ἐξ ἡμισείας ἑκατέρου τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ τὴν δύναμιν ἔχοντος, δέκα μὲν θέρη, ἴσους δὲ χειμῶνας τῷ πρώτῳ πολέμῳ τῷδε γεγενημένους.
But if one counts by summers and winters, as I have written, assuming that each of these has the value of half a year, he will find that ten summers and as many winters occurred in this first war.

Notes

  1. 5.20.1παρενεγκουσῶν — ἡμερῶν ὀλίγων παρενεγκουσῶν is a genitive absolute. παρενεγκουσῶν is the aorist active participle (genitive feminine plural) of παραφέρω (here used intransitively, "to deviate" or "elapse"), meaning "with a few days having deviated/elapsed," indicating a slight departure from the exact ten-year period.
  2. 5.20.1ἢ ὡς — A combination of the comparative ἤ and the temporal ὡς ("from the time when"). It marks the point of origin, meaning "since the time when," a characteristic chronological expression in Thucydides.
  3. 5.20.2σημαινόντων — Genitive present participle. It modifies the preceding τῶν ... ἀρχόντων ("archons in various places") or ἀπὸ τιμῆς τινὸς ("those from some office"), meaning "those who mark/designate past events (by their office)."
  4. 5.20.2οἷς — Dative relative pronoun. The antecedent is the omitted τούτοις ("to those [officials]"). Together with the agreeing participles ἀρχομένοις ("at the beginning") and μεσοῦσι ("in the middle"), it indicates the state of their office when an event (τι) occurred (ἐπεγένετο).
  5. 5.20.3γεγενημένους — Aorist middle participle (accusative masculine plural). It functions as a supplementary participle after the verb εὑρήσει ("will find") to express perception, taking the accusative subjects (δέκα μὲν θέρη, ἴσους δὲ χειμῶνας) to mean "will find that [ten summers and winters] occurred."

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §5.20.1-5.20.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.20.1-5.20.3

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