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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §6.70.1-6.70.4

Athenian Victory and the Syracusan Rout

Passage 686 of 917 · Greek

Summary

During close combat, a sudden storm arises and terrifies the inexperienced soldiers, but the Athenian and Argive coalition routs the Syracusans. The Athenians refrain from a long pursuit due to the formidable Syracusan cavalry, and the Syracusans withdraw to the city after leaving a garrison at the temple.

§6.70.1γενομένης δ’ ἐν χερσὶ τῆς μάχης ἐπὶ πολὺ ἀντεῖχον ἀλλήλοις, καὶ ξυνέβη βροντάς τε ἅμα τινὰς γενέσθαι καὶ ἀστραπὰς καὶ ὕδωρ πολύ, ὥστε τοῖς μὲν πρῶτον μαχομένοις καὶ ἐλάχιστα πολέμῳ ὡμιληκόσι καὶ τοῦτο ξυνεπιλαβέσθαι τοῦ φόβου, τοῖς δ’ ἐμπειροτέροις τὰ μὲν γιγνόμενα καὶ ὥρᾳ ἔτους περαίνεσθαι δοκεῖν, τοὺς δὲ ἀνθεστῶτας πολὺ μείζω ἔκπληξιν μὴ νικωμένους παρέχειν.
When the battle came to close quarters, they held out against each other for a long time; and it happened that there were at the same time some claps of thunder, lightning, and heavy rain, so that to those who were fighting for the first time and had the least experience of war, this also contributed to their fear, while to the more experienced, these occurrences seemed to be produced merely by the season of the year, whereas the fact that their opponents, not being defeated, still stood their ground caused them far greater consternation.
§6.70.2ὠσαμένων δὲ τῶν Ἀργείων πρῶτον τὸ εὐώνυμον κέρας τῶν Συρακοσίων καὶ μετ’ αὐτοὺς τῶν Ἀθηναίων τὸ κατὰ σφᾶς αὐτούς, παρερρήγνυτο ἤδη καὶ τὸ ἄλλο στράτευμα τῶν Συρακοσίων καὶ ἐς φυγὴν κατέστη.
When the Argives had first pushed back the left wing of the Syracusans, and after them the Athenians the enemy opposite themselves, the rest of the Syracusan army also was already breaking and turned to flight.
§6.70.3καὶ ἐπὶ πολὺ μὲν οὐκ ἐδίωξαν οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι (οἱ γὰρ ἱππῆς τῶν Συρακοσίων πολλοὶ ὄντες καὶ ἀήσσητοι εἶργον, καὶ ἐσβαλόντες ἐς τοὺς ὁπλίτας αὐτῶν, εἴ τινας προδιώκοντας ἴδοιεν, ἀνέστελλον), ἐπακολουθήσαντες δὲ ἁθρόοι ὅσον ἀσφαλῶς εἶχε πάλιν ἐπανεχώρουν καὶ τροπαῖον ἵστασαν.
The Athenians did not pursue them far (for the Syracusan cavalry, being numerous and undefeated, kept them in check, and charging into their hoplites, whenever they saw any pressing forward in pursuit, they drove them back); however, having followed them in a body as far as was safe, they returned and set up a trophy.
§6.70.4οἱ δὲ Συρακόσιοι ἁθροισθέντες ἐς τὴν Ἑλωρίνην ὁδὸν καὶ ὡς ἐκ τῶν παρόντων ξυνταξάμενοι ἔς τε τὸ Ὀλυμπιεῖον ὅμως σφῶν αὐτῶν παρέπεμψαν φυλακήν, δείσαντες μὴ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι τῶν χρημάτων ἃ ἦν αὐτόθι κινήσωσι, καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ ἐπανεχώρησαν ἐς τὴν πόλιν.
The Syracusans, having rallied on the Helorine road and formed their ranks as well as the circumstances permitted, nevertheless sent a guard from their own number to the Olympieum, fearing that the Athenians might plunder the treasures that were there, and the rest returned to the city.

Notes

  1. 6.70.1τοῖς μὲν πρῶτον μαχομένοις ... ξυνεπιλαβέσθαι τοῦ φόβου — The verb ξυνεπιλαμβάνομαι ('to help in, contribute to') here takes a dative of the person helped (τοῖς ... μαχομένοις) and a genitive of the thing or emotion contributed to (τοῦ φόβου). The grammatical subject is the neuter pronoun καὶ τοῦτο, referring to the sudden storm.
  2. 6.70.1τοὺς δὲ ἀνθεστῶτας πολὺ μείζω ἔκπληξιν μὴ νικωμένους παρέχειν — An accusative-with-infinitive construction where τοὺς ἀνθεστῶτας ('those standing opposite') is the subject of παρέχειν, modified by the negative participle μὴ νικωμένους ('not being defeated'). It expresses the idea that 'the fact that their opponents, undefeated, still stood their ground' caused greater alarm. The negative μή highlights the state or condition rather than a specific objective fact.
  3. 6.70.2καὶ μετ’ αὐτοὺς τῶν Ἀθηναίων τὸ κατὰ σφᾶς αὐτούς — The genitive absolute participle ὠσαμένων from the first clause is understood as applying to the second subject in the genitive, τῶν Ἀθηναίων, with the accusative phrase τὸ κατὰ σφᾶς αὐτούς ('the part opposite themselves') acting as its object: 'and after them, when the Athenians had pushed back the enemy opposite themselves'.
  4. 6.70.3ὅσον ἀσφαλῶς εἶχε — The impersonal use of ἔχει with an adverb (ἀσφαλῶς ἔχει) means 'to be in a safe state'. The relative pronoun ὅσον limits the range or distance: 'as far as it was safe' or 'to the extent that safety permitted'.

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §6.70.1-6.70.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.70.1-6.70.4

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