Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §6.71.1-6.71.2

Athenian Withdrawal to Katane and Winter Preparations

Passage 687 of 917 · Greek

Summary

After honoring their dead and exchanging casualties with the Syracusans, the Athenians withdraw temporarily to Katane due to the onset of winter and a lack of preparation. They decide to gather cavalry, money, and allies during the winter in order to renew their attack on Syracuse in the spring.

§6.71.1οἱ δὲ Ἀθηναῖοι πρὸς μὲν τὸ ἱερὸν οὐκ ἦλθον, ξυγκομίσαντες δὲ τοὺς ἑαυτῶν νεκροὺς καὶ ἐπὶ πυρὰν ἐπιθέντες ηὐλίσαντο αὐτοῦ.

\nOn the other hand, the Athenians did not go to the temple, but having collected their own dead and placed them upon a funeral pyre, they bivouacked there.

τῇ δ’ ὑστεραίᾳ τοῖς μὲν Συρακοσίοις ἀπέδοσαν ὑποσπόνδους τοὺς νεκρούς (ἀπέθανον δὲ αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν ξυμμάχων περὶ ἑξήκοντα καὶ διακοσίους), τῶν δὲ σφετέρων τὰ ὀστᾶ ξυνέλεξαν (ἀπέθανον δὲ αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν ξυμμάχων ὡς πεντήκοντα), καὶ τὰ τῶν πολεμίων σκῦλα ἔχοντες ἀπέπλευσαν ἐς Κατάνην· §6.71.2χειμών τε γὰρ ἦν, καὶ τὸν πόλεμον αὐτόθεν ποιεῖσθαι οὔπω ἐδόκει δυνατὸν εἶναι, πρὶν ἂν ἱππέας τε μεταπέμψωσιν ἐκ τῶν Ἀθηνῶν καὶ ἐκ τῶν αὐτόθεν ξυμμάχων ἀγείρωσιν, ὅπως μὴ παντάπασιν ἱπποκρατῶνται, καὶ χρήματα δὲ ἅμα αὐτόθεν τε ξυλλέξωνται καὶ παρ’ Ἀθηναίων ἔλθῃ, τῶν τε πόλεών τινας προσαγάγωνται, ἃς ἤλπιζον μετὰ τὴν μάχην μᾶλλον σφῶν ὑπακούσεσθαι, τά τε ἄλλα καὶ σῖτον καὶ ὅσων δέοι παρασκευάσωνται ὡς ἐς τὸ ἔαρ ἐπιχειρήσοντες ταῖς Συρακούσαις.

On the following day they restored the dead to the Syracusans under a truce (and of them and their allies there died about two hundred and sixty), and they collected the bones of their own (and of them and their allies there died about fifty), and having the spoils of the enemy, they sailed away to Katane.\n\nFor it was winter, and it did not yet seem possible to carry on the war from where they were, before they should send for cavalry from Athens and collect them from their allies there, so that they might not be completely dominated by cavalry, and at the same time collect money from local sources and have it come from Athens, and win over some of the cities, which they hoped would be more obedient to them after the battle, and prepare other things, especially corn, and whatever might be needed, with the intention of attacking Syracuse in the spring.

Notes

6.71.2πρὶν ἂν ἱππέας τε μεταπέμψωσιν — The conjunction πρὶν ἄν ("before") takes the subjunctive after the negative expression in the main clause (οὔπω ἐδόκει δυνατὸν εἶναι) to express a future prospect or condition. The government of πρὶν ἄν extends through the intervening purpose clause ὅπως μὴ... all the way to the end of the sentence, coordinating all the subjunctive verbs: μεταπέμψωσιν, ἀγείρωσιν, ξυλλέξωνται, ἔλθῃ, προσαγάγωνται, and παρασκευάσωνται. This structured series of parallel clauses outlines the multiple preparations necessary before resuming the war.
6.71.2καὶ παρ’ Ἀθηναίων ἔλθῃ — Among the subjunctive verbs governed by πρὶν ἄν, which otherwise have the Athenians as their subject (third-person plural), ἔλθῃ is third-person singular because its subject is the neuter plural noun χρήματα ("money") from the preceding clause, following the standard Greek rule that neuter plural subjects take singular verbs.
6.71.2ὡς ἐς τὸ ἔαρ ἐπιχειρήσοντες — The conjunction ὡς combined with the future participle ἐπιχειρήσοντες (agreeing with the subject, the Athenians) expresses subjective intention or purpose ("with the intention of attacking in the spring").

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §6.71.1-6.71.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.71.1-6.71.2

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