Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §6.43.1

Departure and Force Numbers of the Sicilian Expedition

Passage 659 of 917 · Greek

Summary

This section describes the departure of the Athenian fleet and army from Corcyra to Sicily with a massive force, and details the specific numbers and composition of their ships, hoplites, archers, slingers, and other troops.

§6.43.1μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τοσῇδε ἤδη τῇ παρασκευῇ Ἀθηναῖοι ἄραντες ἐκ τῆς Κερκύρας ἐς τὴν Σικελίαν ἐπεραιοῦντο, τριήρεσι μὲν ταῖς πάσαις τέσσαρσι καὶ τριάκοντα καὶ ἑκατόν, καὶ δυοῖν Ῥοδίοιν πεντηκοντόροιν (τούτων Ἀττικαὶ μὲν ἦσαν ἑκατόν, ὧν αἱ μὲν ἑξήκοντα ταχεῖαι, αἱ δ’ ἄλλαι στρατιώτιδες, τὸ δὲ ἄλλο ναυτικὸν Χίων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ξυμμάχων), ὁπλίταις δὲ τοῖς ξύμπασιν ἑκατὸν καὶ πεντακισχιλίοις (καὶ τούτων Ἀθηναίων μὲν αὐτῶν ἦσαν πεντακόσιοι μὲν καὶ χίλιοι ἐκ καταλόγου, ἑπτακόσιοι δὲ θῆτες ἐπιβάται τῶν νεῶν, ξύμμαχοι δὲ οἱ ἄλλοι ξυνεστράτευον, οἱ μὲν τῶν ὑπηκόων, οἱ δ’ Ἀργείων πεντακόσιοι καὶ Μαντινέων καὶ μισθοφόρων πεντήκοντα καὶ διακόσιοι), τοξόταις δὲ τοῖς πᾶσιν ὀγδοήκοντα καὶ τετρακοσίοις (καὶ τούτων Κρῆτες οἱ ὀγδοήκοντα ἦσαν) καὶ σφενδονήταις Ῥοδίων ἑπτακοσίοις, καὶ Μεγαρεῦσι ψιλοῖς φυγάσιν εἴκοσι καὶ ἑκατόν, καὶ ἱππαγωγῷ μιᾷ τριάκοντα ἀγούσῃ ἱππέας.

After this, the Athenians, having set out from Corcyra with a force already as large as this, crossed over to Sicily, with one hundred and thirty-four triremes in all, and two Rhodian fifty-oared vessels (of these, one hundred were Athenian, of which sixty were fast cruisers and the rest troop-carriers, while the remaining fleet belonged to the Chians and the other allies); with five thousand one hundred hoplites in all (and of these, fifteen hundred of the Athenians themselves were from the muster-roll, and seven hundred were thetes serving as marines on the ships, while the other allies joined the expedition, some being from the subject states, and five hundred from the Argives, and two hundred and fifty from the Mantineans and mercenaries); with four hundred and eighty archers in all (and of these, eighty were Cretans); with seven hundred Rhodian slingers; with one hundred and twenty light-armed Megarian exiles; and with one horse-transport carrying thirty cavalrymen.

Notes

6.43.1τοσῇδε ἤδη τῇ παρασκευῇ — Dative of accompaniment. In classical Greek, military forces, fleets, or equipment are often expressed by the dative alone without the preposition σύν, especially when accompanied by an attribute.
6.43.1ἄραντες — First aorist active participle (masculine nominative plural) of ἀείρω (to raise). It is used intransitively to mean "having set out" or "having weighed anchor," with the object (such as τὰς ἀγκύρας "anchors" or τὰς ναῦς "ships") being omitted as a common maritime idiom.
6.43.1τριήρεσι μὲν ... ὁπλίταις δὲ ... τοξόταις δὲ ... καὶ σφενδονήταις ... καὶ Μεγαρεῦσι ... καὶ ἱππαγωγῷ — This series of nouns in the dative case (τριήρεσι, ὁπλίταις, τοξόταις, σφενδονήταις, Μεγαρεῦσι, ἱππαγωγῷ) are all appositives to or specifications of the initial dative of accompaniment `τοσῇδε ἤδη τῇ παρασκευῇ` (with a force already as large as this), detailing the constituents of the armament.
6.43.1Μαντινέων καὶ μισθοφόρων πεντήκοντα καὶ διακόσιοι — Regarding the modification of the numeral `πεντήκοντα καὶ διακόσιοι` (250), there are two interpretations: (1) it represents the "total" of both the Mantineans and the mercenaries combined (consistent with the fact that the Mantineans themselves served as mercenaries), or (2) the number modifies only `μισθοφόρων` (mercenaries), leaving the number of the Mantineans unspecified. The translation here follows the former interpretation (1).

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §6.43.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.43.1

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