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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §7.65.1-7.65.3

Syracusan Countermeasures and Gylippus's Address

Passage 786 of 917 · Greek

Summary

After Nicias orders his men to board, the Syracusans perceive the Athenian naval preparations and the plan to use grappling irons, countering this by covering their prows with hides. Once ready, Gylippus and the generals begin their speech.

§7.65.1ὁ μὲν Νικίας τοσαῦτα παρακελευσάμενος εὐθὺς ἐκέλευε πληροῦν τὰς ναῦς.
Nicias, having exhorted them with these words, immediately ordered them to man the ships.
τῷ δὲ Γυλίππῳ καὶ τοῖς Συρακοσίοις παρῆν μὲν αἰσθάνεσθαι, ὁρῶσι καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν παρασκευήν, ὅτι ναυμαχήσουσιν οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι, προηγγέλθη δ’ αὐτοῖς καὶ ἡ ἐπιβολὴ τῶν σιδηρῶν χειρῶν,
On the other hand, it was possible for Gylippus and the Syracusans to perceive, by seeing the preparation itself, that the Athenians would fight a sea-battle, and they had also been previously informed of the device of the iron hands.
§7.65.2καὶ πρός τε τἆλλα ἐξηρτύσαντο ὡς ἕκαστα καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο· τὰς γὰρ πρῴρας καὶ τῆς νεὼς ἄνω ἐπὶ πολὺ κατεβύρσωσαν, ὅπως ἂν ἀπολισθάνοι καὶ μὴ ἔχοι ἀντιλαβὴν ἡ χεὶρ ἐπιβαλλομένη.
Therefore, they made preparations both for all other details individually and especially against this; for they covered the prows and a large part of the upper ship with hides, so that the hand, when thrown, might slip off and not get a grip.
§7.65.3καὶ ἐπειδὴ πάντα ἑτοῖμα ἦν, παρεκελεύσαντο ἐκείνοις οἵ τε στρατηγοὶ καὶ Γύλιππος καὶ ἔλεξαν τοιάδε.
And when everything was ready, the generals and Gylippus exhorted them and spoke as follows.

Notes

  1. 7.65.1παρῆν — The imperfect tense of the impersonal verb πάρεστι (it is possible). It takes the dative τῷ δὲ Γυλίππῳ καὶ τοῖς Συρακοσίοις and the infinitive αἰσθάνεσθαι, meaning 'it was possible for Gylippus and the Syracusans to perceive.'
  2. 7.65.1ὁρῶσι — Present active participle in the dative plural. It agrees with the preceding dative (referring to the Syracusans and Gylippus) and expresses means or cause ('by seeing' or 'seeing').
  3. 7.65.2ὅπως ἂν ἀπολισθάνοι — The conjunction ὅπως with the particle ἄν and the optative (ἀπολισθάνοι and ἔχοι) introduces a clause of purpose after a historical main verb (κατεβύρσωσαν). The inclusion of ἄν with the optative in a purpose clause implies a conditional purpose or that the outcome depends on specific circumstances.

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §7.65.1-7.65.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.65.1-7.65.3

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