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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §6.65.1-6.65.3

Syracusan Advance to Catana and Athenian Landing

Passage 681 of 917 · Greek

Summary

Believing the false message, the Syracusan generals march toward Catana, while the Athenians take advantage of their absence to sail by night and land near the Olympieum in Syracuse.

§6.65.1οἱ δὲ στρατηγοὶ τῶν Συρακοσίων, μετὰ τοῦ καὶ ἐς τὰ ἄλλα θαρσεῖν καὶ εἶναι ἐν διανοίᾳ καὶ ἄνευ τούτων ἰέναι παρεσκευάσθαι ἐπὶ Κατάνην, ἐπίστευσάν τε τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ πολλῷ ἀπερισκεπτότερον καὶ εὐθὺς ἡμέραν ξυνθέμενοι ᾗ παρέσονται ἀπέστειλαν αὐτόν, καὶ αὐτοί (ἤδη γὰρ καὶ τῶν ξυμμάχων Σελινούντιοι καὶ ἄλλοι τινὲς παρῆσαν) προεῖπον πανδημεὶ πᾶσιν ἐξιέναι Συρακοσίοις.
The generals of the Syracusans, besides being confident in other respects and having it in mind even without this message to have prepared themselves to march against Catana, believed the man far too recklessly and, having immediately agreed upon a day on which they would arrive, sent him back; and they themselves (for by now the Selinuntines and some other allies had also arrived) proclaimed that all the Syracusans should march out in full force.
ἐπεὶ δὲ ἑτοῖμα αὐτοῖς καὶ τὰ τῆς παρασκευῆς ἦν καὶ αἱ ἡμέραι ἐν αἷς ξυνέθεντο ἥξειν ἐγγὺς ἦσαν, πορευόμενοι ἐπὶ Κατάνης ηὐλίσαντο ἐπὶ τῷ Συμαίθῳ ποταμῷ ἐν τῇ Λεοντίνῃ.
When everything was ready for them in their preparations and the days on which they had agreed to arrive were near, they marched toward Catana and bivouacked by the Symaethus river in the territory of Leontini.
§6.65.2οἱ δ’ Ἀθηναῖοι ὡς ᾔσθοντο αὐτοὺς προσιόντας, ἀναλαβόντες τό τε στράτευμα ἅπαν τὸ ἑαυτῶν καὶ ὅσοι Σικελῶν αὐτοῖς ἢ ἄλλος τις προσεληλύθει καὶ ἐπιβιβάσαντες ἐπὶ τὰς ναῦς καὶ τὰ πλοῖα, ὑπὸ νύκτα ἔπλεον ἐπὶ τὰς Συρακούσας.
Meanwhile, the Athenians, as soon as they perceived them approaching, took along all their own army and as many of the Sicels or anyone else as had joined them, and having embarked them on the ships and boats, sailed by night against Syracuse.
§6.65.3καὶ οἵ τε Ἀθηναῖοι ἅμα ἕῳ ἐξέβαινον ἐς τὸ κατὰ τὸ Ὀλυμπιεῖον ὡς τὸ στρατόπεδον καταληψόμενοι, καὶ οἱ ἱππῆς οἱ Συρακοσίων πρῶτοι προσελάσαντες ἐς τὴν Κατάνην καὶ αἰσθόμενοι ὅτι τὸ στράτευμα ἅπαν ἀνῆκται, ἀποστρέψαντες ἀγγέλλουσι τοῖς πεζοῖς, καὶ ξύμπαντες ἤδη ἀποτρεπόμενοι ἐβοήθουν ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν.
And just as the Athenians at dawn were disembarking at the place opposite the Olympieum with the intention of occupying a camp, the cavalry of the Syracusans, having ridden ahead first into Catana and perceived that the whole army had put to sea, turned back and brought the news to the infantry; and now all together turned back and hastened to the aid of their city.

Notes

  1. 6.65.1μετὰ τοῦ καὶ ἐς τὰ ἄλλα θαρσεῖν καὶ εἶναι ἐν διανοίᾳ καὶ ἄνευ τούτων ἰέναι παρεσκευάσθαι — The preposition μετά governs the genitive articular infinitives τοῦ θαρσεῖν and τοῦ εἶναι, meaning "in addition to." Within the second clause (εἶναι ἐν διανοίᾳ), the perfect infinitive παρεσκευάσθαι depends on it as an accusative-with-infinitive construction, with the subject ('themselves') omitted.
  2. 6.65.3ὡς τὸ στρατόπεδον καταληψόμενοι — The conjunction ὡς combined with the future middle participle καταληψόμενοι (from καταλαμβάνω) expresses the subjective purpose of the subject of the main clause (the Athenians), meaning "with the intention of occupying a camp."
  3. 6.65.3καὶ οἵ τε Ἀθηναῖοι ... καὶ οἱ ἱππῆς — A correlative τε... καί construction, emphasizing the simultaneous occurrence or contrast of the two events: "just as the Athenians were disembarking..., the cavalry of the Syracusans..."

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §6.65.1-6.65.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.65.1-6.65.3

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