§7.25.1μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο ναῦς τε ἐκπέμπουσι δώδεκα οἱ Συρακόσιοι καὶ Ἀγάθαρχον ἐπ’ αὐτῶν Συρακόσιον ἄρχοντα.
After this, the Syracusans sent out twelve ships, with Agatharchus, a Syracusan, as commander over them.
καὶ αὐτῶν μία μὲν ἐς Πελοπόννησον ᾤχετο, πρέσβεις ἄγουσα οἵπερ τά τε σφέτερα φράσουσιν ὅτι ἐν ἐλπίσιν εἰσὶ καὶ τὸν ἐκεῖ πόλεμον ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐποτρυνοῦσι γίγνεσθαι· αἱ δ’ ἕνδεκα νῆες πρὸς τὴν Ἰταλίαν ἔπλευσαν, πυνθανόμεναι πλοῖα τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις γέμοντα χρημάτων προσπλεῖν.
And one of them went to the Peloponnesus, carrying ambassadors who were to report that they were in good hopes, and to urge still more that the war there should be carried on; and the eleven ships sailed to Italy, on hearing that vessels laden with supplies for the Athenians were approaching.
§7.25.2καὶ τῶν τε πλοίων ἐπιτυχοῦσαι τὰ πολλὰ διέφθειραν καὶ ξύλα ναυπηγήσιμα ἐν τῇ Καυλωνιάτιδι κατέκαυσαν, ἃ τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις ἑτοῖμα ἦν.
And falling in with the vessels, they destroyed most of them and burned shipbuilding timber in the territory of Caulonia, which was ready for the Athenians.
§7.25.3ἔς τε Λοκροὺς μετὰ ταῦτα ἦλθον, καὶ ὁρμουσῶν αὐτῶν κατέπλευσε μία τῶν ὁλκάδων τῶν ἀπὸ Πελοποννήσου ἄγουσα Θεσπιῶν ὁπλίτας· §7.25.4καὶ ἀναλαβόντες αὐτοὺς οἱ Συρακόσιοι ἐπὶ τὰς ναῦς παρέπλεον ἐπ’ οἴκου.
And after this they went to Locri; and while they were at anchor, there arrived one of the merchant vessels from the Peloponnesus, carrying hoplites of the Thespians; and the Syracusans took them on board their ships and coasted homeward.
φυλάξαντες δ᾽ αὐτοὺς οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι εἴκοσι ναυσὶ πρὸς τοῖς Μεγάροις μίαν μὲν ναῦν λαμβάνουσιν αὐτοῖς ἀνδράσι, τὰς δ’ ἄλλας οὐκ ἐδυνήθησαν, ἀλλ’ ἀποφεύγουσιν ἐς τὰς Συρακούσας.
But the Athenians, keeping watch for them with twenty ships near Megara, captured one ship with its crew, but were unable to capture the others, which escaped to Syracuse.
§7.25.5ἐγένετο δὲ καὶ περὶ τῶν σταυρῶν ἀκροβολισμὸς ἐν τῷ λιμένι, οὓς οἱ Συρακόσιοι πρὸ τῶν παλαιῶν νεωσοίκων κατέπηξαν ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ, ὅπως αὐτοῖς αἱ νῆες ἐντὸς ὁρμοῖεν καὶ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι ἐπιπλέοντες μὴ βλάπτοιεν ἐμβάλλοντες.
There also arose a skirmish in the harbor about the palisades, which the Syracusans had driven into the sea in front of their old docks, so that their ships might lie at anchor inside them and the Athenians might not sail against them and damage them by ramming.
§7.25.6προσαγαγόντες γὰρ ναῦν μυριοφόρον αὐτοῖς οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι, πύργους τε ξυλίνους ἔχουσαν καὶ παραφράγματα, ἔκ τε τῶν ἀκάτων ὤνευον ἀναδούμενοι τοὺς σταυροὺς καὶ ἀνέκλων καὶ κατακολυμβῶντες ἐξέπριον.
For the Athenians, bringing up to them a ship of ten thousand talents burden, which had wooden towers and screens, from their boats fastened ropes to the piles and hauled them up with windlasses, or snapped them off, or dived and sawed them through.
οἱ δὲ Συρακόσιοι ἀπὸ τῶν νεωσοίκων ἔβαλλον· οἱ δ’ ἐκ τῆς ὁλκάδος ἀντέβαλλον, καὶ τέλος τοὺς πολλοὺς τῶν σταυρῶν ἀνεῖλον οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι.
The Syracusans threw missiles from the docks, and the Athenians on the merchant vessel returned their fire, and at last the Athenians removed most of the piles.
§7.25.7χαλεπωτάτη δ’ ἦν τῆς σταυρώσεως ἡ κρύφιος· ἦσαν γὰρ τῶν σταυρῶν οὓς οὐχ ὑπερέχοντας τῆς θαλάσσης κατέπηξαν, ὥστε δεινὸν ἦν προσπλεῦσαι, μὴ οὐ προϊδών τις ὥσπερ περὶ ἕρμα περιβάλῃ τὴν ναῦν.
But the most difficult part of the palisade was the hidden part; for there were some of the piles which they had driven in so as not to project above the water, so that it was dangerous to approach, lest someone, not seeing them beforehand, should wreck his ship as if on a reef.
ἀλλὰ καὶ τούτους κολυμβηταὶ δυόμενοι ἐξέπριον μισθοῦ.
Yet even these, divers went down and sawed through for hire.
ὅμως δ’ αὖθις οἱ Συρακόσιοι ἐσταύρωσαν.
Nevertheless, the Syracusans drove in palisades again.
§7.25.8πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ἄλλα πρὸς ἀλλήλους οἷον εἰκὸς τῶν στρατοπέδων ἐγγὺς ὄντων καὶ ἀντιτεταγμένων ἐμηχανῶντο καὶ ἀκροβολισμοῖς καὶ πείραις παντοίαις ἐχρῶντο.
And they devised many other things against each other, as was natural since the camps were near and opposed to one another, and they engaged in skirmishes and attempts of every kind.
§7.25.9ἔπεμψαν δὲ καὶ ἐς τὰς πόλεις πρέσβεις οἱ Συρακόσιοι Κορινθίων καὶ Ἀμπρακιωτῶν καὶ Λακεδαιμονίων, ἀγγέλλοντας τήν τε τοῦ Πλημμυρίου λῆψιν καὶ τῆς ναυμαχίας πέρι ὡς οὐ τῇ τῶν πολεμίων ἰσχύι μᾶλλον ἢ τῇ σφετέρᾳ ταραχῇ ἡσσηθεῖεν, τά τε ἄλλα [αὖ] δηλώσοντας ὅτι ἐν ἐλπίσιν εἰσὶ καὶ ἀξιώσοντας ξυμβοηθεῖν ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς καὶ ναυσὶ καὶ πεζῷ, ὡς καὶ τῶν Ἀθηναίων προσδοκίμων ὄντων ἄλλῃ στρατιᾷ καί, ἢν φθάσωσιν αὐτοὶ πρότερον διαφθείραντες τὸ παρὸν στράτευμα αὐτῶν, διαπεπολεμησόμενον.
The Syracusans also sent ambassadors to the cities of the Corinthians, Ambraciots, and Lacedaemonians, to report the capture of Plemyrium, and regarding the sea-fight, that they had been defeated not so much by the strength of the enemy as by their own confusion; and to declare in other respects that they were in good hopes, and to demand that they should assist them against the Athenians with both ships and land forces, since the Athenians were also expected to receive another army, and if they themselves could succeed in destroying the present army first, the war would be finished.
καὶ οἱ μὲν ἐν τῇ Σικελίᾳ ταῦτα ἔπρασσον.
And those in Sicily were acting in this way.