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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §7.58.1-7.58.4

Catalogue of Allies Aiding Syracuse from Within and Outside Sicily

Passage 779 of 917 · Greek

Summary

All the forces from within and outside Sicily that came to the aid of Syracuse, including Dorian allies, mercenaries, and Boeotians, are listed, along with the massive scale of the defense provided by the Syracusans themselves.

§7.58.1Συρακοσίοις δὲ ἀντεβοήθησαν Καμαριναῖοι μὲν ὅμοροι ὄντες καὶ Γελῷοι οἰκοῦντες μετ’ αὐτούς, ἔπειτα Ἀκραγαντίνων ἡσυχαζόντων ἐν τῷ ἐπ᾽ ἐκεῖνα ἱδρυμένοι Σελινούντιοι.
Those who came to the aid of the Syracusans were the Camarinaeans, who were neighbors, and the Geloans who lived next to them, and then, while the Agrigentines remained neutral, the Selinuntines who were settled on the side beyond them.
§7.58.2καὶ οἵδε μὲν τῆς Σικελίας τὸ πρὸς Λιβύην μέρος τετραμμένον νεμόμενοι, Ἱμεραῖοι δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ πρὸς τὸν Τυρσηνικὸν πόντον μορίου, ἐν ᾧ καὶ μόνοι Ἕλληνες οἰκοῦσιν· οὗτοι δὲ καὶ ἐξ αὐτοῦ μόνοι ἐβοήθησαν.
And these inhabited the part of Sicily that faces toward Libya, while the Himeraeans came from the part facing the Tyrrhenian Sea, where they are indeed the only Greeks who live; and they were the only ones from that region who came to help.
§7.58.3καὶ Ἑλληνικὰ μὲν ἔθνη τῶν ἐν Σικελίᾳ τοσάδε, Δωριῆς τε καὶ [οἱ] αὐτόνομοι πάντες, ξυνεμάχουν, βαρβάρων δὲ Σικελοὶ μόνοι ὅσοι μὴ ἀφέστασαν πρὸς τοὺς Ἀθηναίους·
These were the Greek nations in Sicily that fought as allies, all of them Dorians and independent, and of the barbarians only those Sicels who had not revolted to the Athenians.
τῶν δ᾽ ἔξω Σικελίας Ἑλλήνων Λακεδαιμόνιοι μὲν ἡγεμόνα Σπαρτιάτην παρεχόμενοι, νεοδαμώδεις δὲ τοὺς ἄλλους καὶ Εἵλωτας [δύναται δὲ τὸ νεοδαμῶδες ἐλεύθερον ἤδη εἶναι], Κορίνθιοι δὲ καὶ ναυσὶ καὶ πεζῷ μόνοι παραγενόμενοι καὶ Λευκάδιοι καὶ Ἀμπρακιῶται κατὰ τὸ ξυγγενές, ἐκ δὲ Ἀρκαδίας μισθοφόροι ὑπὸ Κορινθίων ἀποσταλέντες καὶ Σικυώνιοι ἀναγκαστοὶ στρατεύοντες, καὶ τῶν ἔξω Πελοποννήσου Βοιωτοί.
Of the Greeks outside Sicily, the Lacedaemonians provided a Spartan commander, and for the rest Neodamodeis [now the term Neodamodes can mean someone who is already free] and Helots; the Corinthians were the only ones who came with both ships and infantry, and the Leucadians and Ambraciots because of kinship; from Arcadia, mercenaries were sent by the Corinthians, and the Sicyonians campaigned under compulsion, and of those outside the Peloponnese, the Boeotians.
§7.58.4πρὸς δὲ τοὺς ἐπελθόντας τούτους οἱ Σικελιῶται αὐτοὶ πλῆθος πλέον κατὰ πάντα παρέσχοντο ἅτε μεγάλας πόλεις οἰκοῦντες· καὶ γὰρ ὁπλῖται πολλοὶ καὶ νῆες καὶ ἵπποι καὶ ὁ ἄλλος ὅμιλος ἄφθονος ξυνελέγη.
To meet these newcomers, the Siceliots themselves provided a greater multitude in every respect, inasmuch as they inhabited great cities; for many hoplites, ships, horses, and an abundant crowd of others were assembled.
καὶ πρὸς ἅπαντας αὖθις ὡς εἰπεῖν τοὺς ἄλλους Συρακόσιοι αὐτοὶ πλείω ἐπορίσαντο διὰ μέγεθός τε πόλεως καὶ ὅτι ἐν μεγίστῳ κινδύνῳ ἦσαν.
And compared to almost all the others, so to speak, the Syracusans themselves provided more, because of the size of their city and because they were in the greatest danger.

Notes

  1. 7.58.1Ἀκραγαντίνων ἡσυχαζόντων — Genitive absolute expressing concession or circumstances ("while the Agrigentines remained neutral"). Agrigentum was a major power on the southern coast of Sicily but chose to remain neutral.
  2. 7.58.2ἐν ᾧ καὶ μόνοι Ἕλληνες οἰκοῦσιν — Relative clause referring back to "the part facing the Tyrrhenian Sea." It explains that Himera was the only Greek colony on the northern (Tyrrhenian) coast of Sicily.
  3. 7.58.3δύναται δὲ τὸ νεοδαμῶδες ἐλεύθερον ἤδη εἶναι — An explanatory parenthetical remark by the historian himself, explaining to the reader the Spartan institution of the "Neodamodeis" (new citizens) as "meaning someone who is already free."
  4. 7.58.4πρὸς δὲ τοὺς ἐπελθόντας τούτους — The preposition πρός with the accusative means "against" or "in comparison to." Here, combined with τοὺς ἐπελθόντας (the newcomers who had arrived to help), it creates a contrast with the defense forces provided by the Siceliots themselves.

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §7.58.1-7.58.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.58.1-7.58.4

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