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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §7.63.1-7.63.4

Nicias Exhorts Hopilites and Sailors to Stand Their Ground

Passage 784 of 917 · Greek

Summary

Nicias urges the soldiers to fight thoroughly, bearing in mind that the land behind them is hostile, and boosts the sailors' morale by reminding them of the pride and privileges they shared in the Athenian empire.

§7.63.1‘ὧν χρὴ μεμνημένους διαμάχεσθαι ὅσον ἂν δύνησθε καὶ μὴ ἐξωθεῖσθαι ἐς αὐτήν, ἀλλὰ ξυμπεσούσης νηὶ νεὼς μὴ πρότερον ἀξιοῦν ἀπολύεσθαι ἢ τοὺς ἀπὸ τοῦ πολεμίου καταστρώματος ὁπλίτας ἀπαράξητε.
Remembering these things, you must fight it out as much as you can and not be forced onto the land; rather, when ship has clashed with ship, do not think it right to get free before you have swept the hoplites from the enemy's deck.
§7.63.2καὶ ταῦτα τοῖς ὁπλίταις οὐχ ἧσσον τῶν ναυτῶν παρακελεύομαι, ὅσῳ τῶν ἄνωθεν μᾶλλον τὸ ἔργον τοῦτο· ὑπάρχει δ’ ἡμῖν ἔτι νῦν γε τὰ πλείω τῷ πεζῷ ἐπικρατεῖν.
And I exhort the hoplites to this no less than the sailors, inasmuch as this task belongs more to those on the decks; and we still have even now, for the most part, the advantage of prevailing with our infantry.
§7.63.3τοῖς δὲ ναύταις παραινῶ καὶ ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ τῷδε καὶ δέομαι μὴ ἐκπεπλῆχθαί τι ταῖς ξυμφοραῖς ἄγαν, τήν τε παρασκευὴν ἀπὸ τῶν καταστρωμάτων βελτίω νῦν ἔχοντας καὶ τὰς ναῦς πλείους, ἐκείνην τε τὴν ἡδονὴν ἐνθυμεῖσθαι ὡς ἀξία ἐστὶ διασώσασθαι, οἳ τέως Ἀθηναῖοι νομιζόμενοι καὶ μὴ ὄντες ἡμῶν τῆς τε φωνῆς τῇ ἐπιστήμῃ καὶ τῶν τρόπων τῇ μιμήσει ἐθαυμάζεσθε κατὰ τὴν Ἑλλάδα, καὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς τῆς ἡμετέρας οὐκ ἔλασσον κατὰ τὸ ὠφελεῖσθαι ἔς τε τὸ φοβερὸν τοῖς ὑπηκόοις καὶ τὸ μὴ ἀδικεῖσθαι πολὺ πλέον μετείχετε.
To the sailors, on this very same occasion, I exhort and entreat them not to be too much dismayed by their misfortunes, since they now have better preparation on the decks and a greater number of ships, and to reflect on how worthy of being preserved is that pleasure—you who, though not being of our people but hitherto regarded as Athenians, were admired throughout Greece for your knowledge of our tongue and your imitation of our ways, and shared in our empire, no less in being feared by our subjects, and far more in not being wronged.
§7.63.4ὥστε κοινωνοὶ μόνοι ἐλευθέρως ἡμῖν τῆς ἀρχῆς ὄντες δικαίως [ἂν] αὐτὴν νῦν μὴ καταπροδίδοτε, καταφρονήσαντες δὲ Κορινθίων τε, οὓς πολλάκις νενικήκατε, καὶ Σικελιωτῶν, ὧν οὐδ’ ἀντιστῆναι οὐδεὶς ἕως ἤκμαζε τὸ ναυτικὸν ἡμῖν ἠξίωσεν, ἀμύνασθε αὐτούς, καὶ δείξατε ὅτι καὶ μετ’ ἀσθενείας καὶ ξυμφορῶν ἡ ὑμετέρα ἐπιστήμη κρείσσων ἐστὶν ἑτέρας εὐτυχούσης ῥώμης.
Therefore, since you alone are free partners with us in our empire, you would not now justly betray it; but showing contempt for the Corinthians, whom you have often defeated, and the Siceliots, of whom not one thought fit even to stand against us as long as our navy was at its height, ward them off, and show that even with weakness and misfortunes your skill is superior to another's fortunate strength.

Notes

  1. 7.63.1ὧν — The relative pronoun ὧν is neuter plural, referring to the circumstances mentioned in the previous section (§7.62.4), such as the fact that all surrounding land is hostile and they are forced to fight a land-battle from their ships.
  2. 7.63.3μὴ ὄντες ἡμῶν — The genitive ἡμῶν is a genitive of belonging, meaning "not being of us" (i.e., not being Athenian citizens). It refers to the metics (resident aliens) and allies who made up a large portion of the sailors.
  3. 7.63.4ἐλευθέρως — The adverb ἐλευθέρως emphasizes that they shared in the benefits of the empire "as free partners" or "on equal terms," rather than subordinately as subjects.
  4. 7.63.4μὴ καταπροδίδοτε — This is an imperfect indicative (accompanied by ἂν in some manuscripts) with the negative μή, expressing an obligation or a strong request contrary to present reality, forming the sense of "you ought not to betray."

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §7.63.1-7.63.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.63.1-7.63.4

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