Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §6.62.1-6.62.5
Athenian Expedition along Northern Sicily and Capture of Hyccara
Summary
Following Alcibiades' departure, the remaining Athenian generals divided the army into two divisions and sailed toward Selinus and Egesta, capturing Hyccara along the way to secure funds from slave sales. After seeking support from the Sicels, they unsuccessfully attacked Hybla Geleatis as the first summer of the expedition drew to a close.
§6.62.1μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα οἱ λοιποὶ τῶν Ἀθηναίων στρατηγοὶ ἐν τῇ Σικελίᾳ, δύο μέρη ποιήσαντες τοῦ στρατεύματος καὶ λαχὼν ἑκάτερος, ἔπλεον ξύμπαντι ἐπὶ Σελινοῦντος καὶ Ἐγέστης,βουλόμενοι μὲν εἰδέναι τὰ χρήματα εἰ δώσουσιν οἱ Ἐγεσταῖοι, κατασκέψασθαι δὲ καὶ τῶν Σελινουντίων τὰ πράγματα καὶ τὰ διάφορα μαθεῖν τὰ πρὸς Ἐγεσταίους.
After this, the remaining Athenian generals in Sicily, having divided the army into two parts and each taking one by lot, sailed with the whole force for Selinus and Egesta, wishing on the one hand to know whether the Egestaeans would give the money, and on the other hand to reconnoiter the affairs of the Selinuntines and to learn the points of difference between them and the Egestaeans.
§6.62.2παραπλέοντες δ’ ἐν ἀριστερᾷ τὴν Σικελίαν, τὸ μέρος τὸ πρὸς τὸν Τυρσηνικὸν κόλπον, ἔσχον ἐς Ἱμέραν, ἥπερ μόνη ἐν τούτῳ τῷ μέρει τῆς Σικελίας Ἑλλὰς πόλις ἐστίν· καὶ ὡς οὐκ ἐδέχοντο αὐτούς, παρεκομίζοντο.
Sailing along the left coast of Sicily, the part facing the Tyrrhenian Gulf, they put in at Himera, which is the only Greek city in this part of Sicily; and when the inhabitants would not receive them, they passed on along the coast.
§6.62.3καὶ ἐν τῷ παράπλῳ αἱροῦσιν Ὕκκαρα, πόλισμα Σικανικὸν μέν, Ἐγεσταίοις δὲ πολέμιον· ἦν δὲ παραθαλασσίδιον.
And on their voyage they took Hyccara, a Sicanian town, but hostile to the Egestaeans, which was on the coast.
καὶ ἀνδραποδίσαντες τὴν πόλιν παρέδοσαν Ἐγεσταίοις (παρεγένοντο γὰρ αὐτῶν ἱππῆς), αὐτοὶ δὲ πάλιν τῷ μὲν πεζῷ ἐχώρουν διὰ τῶν Σικελῶν ἕως ἀφίκοντο ἐς Κατάνην, αἱ δὲ νῆες περιέπλευσαν τὰ ἀνδράποδα ἄγουσαι.
Having enslaved the inhabitants, they handed the town over to the Egestaeans (for some of their cavalry had arrived), while they themselves marched back through the country of the Sicels until they reached Catana, and the ships sailed round carrying the slaves.
§6.62.4Νικίας δὲ εὐθὺς ἐξ Ὑκκάρων ἐπὶ Ἐγέστης παραπλεύσας, καὶ τἆλλα χρηματίσας καὶ λαβὼν τάλαντα τριάκοντα παρῆν ἐς τὸ στράτευμα·
Nicias sailed directly from Hyccara to Egesta, and after transacting his other business and receiving thirty talents, he returned to the army.
καὶ τἀνδράποδα ἀπέδοσαν, καὶ ἐγένοντο ἐξ αὐτῶν εἴκοσι καὶ ἑκατὸν τάλαντα.
They then sold the slaves, and from them one hundred and twenty talents were realized.
§6.62.5καὶ ἐς τοὺς τῶν Σικελῶν ξυμμάχους περιέπλευσαν, στρατιὰν κελεύοντες πέμπειν· τῇ τε ἡμισείᾳ τῆς ἑαυτῶν ἦλθον ἐπὶ Ὕβλαν τὴν Γελεᾶτιν πολεμίαν οὖσαν, καὶ οὐχ εἷλον.
They also sailed round to their allies among the Sicels, bidding them send troops; and with half of their own force they marched against Hybla Geleatis, which was hostile, but did not take it.
καὶ τὸ θέρος ἐτελεύτα.
And so the summer ended.
Notes
- §6.62.1λαχὼν ἑκάτερος — This is a partitive apposition (or schema Alcmanicum) where the singular pronoun ἑκάτερος and its agreeing participle λαχών are placed in apposition to the plural subject οἱ λοιποὶ τῶν Ἀθηναίων στρατηγοὶ, indicating "each of them having drawn lots" for his respective division of the army.
- §6.62.1ἔπλεον ξύμπαντι — The dative ξύμπαντι (neuter singular) functions as a dative of accompaniment or instrument, meaning "they sailed with the whole force" or "with the entire fleet."
- §6.62.4ἀπέδοσαν — While the verb ἀποδίδωμι basically means "to give back" or "deliver", it is used here in the active voice to mean "to sell" (i.e., to deliver for a price), a meaning more commonly associated with the middle voice ἀποδίδομαι.
- §6.62.5τῇ τε ἡμισείᾳ τῆς ἑαυτῶν — The dative feminine singular adjective ἡμισείᾳ implies the omission of a feminine noun meaning "force" or "army" (such as στρατιᾷ or δυνάμει). The following genitive phrase τῆς ἑαυτῶν is also in the feminine singular, agreeing with this implicit construction to mean "with half of their own (force)."
Cite this passage
Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §6.62.1-6.62.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.62.1-6.62.5
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