§7.78.1ὁ μὲν Νικίας τοιάδε παρακελευόμενος ἅμα ἐπῄει τὸ στράτευμα, καὶ εἴ πῃ ὁρῴη διεσπασμένον καὶ μὴ ἐν τάξει χωροῦν ξυνάγων καὶ καθιστάς, καὶ ὁ Δημοσθένης οὐδὲν ἧσσον τοῖς καθ’ ἑαυτὸν τοιαῦτά τε καὶ παραπλήσια λέγων. §7.78.2τὸ δὲ ἐχώρει ἐν πλαισίῳ τεταγμένον, πρῶτον μὲν ἡγούμενον τὸ Νικίου, ἐφεπόμενον δὲ τὸ Δημοσθένους· τοὺς δὲ σκευοφόρους καὶ τὸν πλεῖστον ὄχλον ἐντὸς εἶχον οἱ ὁπλῖται. §7.78.3καὶ ἐπειδή [τε] ἐγένοντο ἐπὶ τῇ διαβάσει τοῦ Ἀνάπου ποταμοῦ, ηὗρον ἐπ’ αὐτῷ παρατεταγμένους τῶν Συρακοσίων καὶ ξυμμάχων, καὶ τρεψάμενοι αὐτοὺς καὶ κρατήσαντες τοῦ πόρου ἐχώρουν ἐς τὸ πρόσθεν· οἱ δὲ Συρακόσιοι παριππεύοντές τε προσέκειντο καὶ ἐσακοντίζοντες οἱ ψιλοί. §7.78.4καὶ ταύτῃ μὲν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ προελθόντες σταδίους ὡς τεσσαράκοντα ηὐλίσαντο πρὸς λόφῳ τινὶ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι· τῇ δ’ ὑστεραίᾳ πρῲ ἐπορεύοντο καὶ προῆλθον ὡς εἴκοσι σταδίους, καὶ κατέβησαν ἐς χωρίον ἄπεδόν τι καὶ αὐτοῦ ἐστρατοπεδεύσαντο, βουλόμενοι ἔκ τε τῶν οἰκιῶν λαβεῖν τι ἐδώδιμον (ᾠκεῖτο γὰρ ὁ χῶρος) καὶ ὕδωρ μετὰ σφῶν αὐτῶν φέρεσθαι αὐτόθεν· ἐν γὰρ τῷ πρόσθεν ἐπὶ πολλὰ στάδια, ᾗ ἔμελλον ἰέναι, οὐκ ἄφθονον ἦν. §7.78.5οἱ δὲ Συρακόσιοι ἐν τούτῳ προελθόντες τὴν δίοδον τὴν ἐν τῷ πρόσθεν ἀπετείχιζον· ἦν δὲ λόφος καρτερὸς καὶ ἑκατέρωθεν αὐτοῦ χαράδρα κρημνώδης, ἐκαλεῖτο δὲ Ἀκραῖον λέπας. §7.78.6τῇ δ’ ὑστεραίᾳ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι προῇσαν, καὶ οἱ τῶν Συρακοσίων καὶ ξυμμάχων αὐτοὺς ἱππῆς καὶ ἀκοντισταὶ ὄντες πολλοὶ ἑκατέρωθεν ἐκώλυον καὶ ἐσηκόντιζόν τε καὶ παρίππευον.
Nicias, while giving such encouragement, at the same time led the army forward, and if he saw it anywhere separated and not marching in order, he gathered and rallied them; and Demosthenes did no less, saying similar and nearly identical things to those under his command. The army marched drawn up in a hollow square, first indeed with the division of Nicias leading, and that of Demosthenes following; and the hoplites kept the baggage-bearers and the greater part of the crowd inside. And when they reached the crossing of the river Anapus, they found a body of Syracusans and allies drawn up at it, and having routed them and secured the passage, they marched forward; but the Syracusan cavalry rode alongside and pressed upon them, and the light-armed troops showered them with javelins. On that day the Athenians advanced about forty stades and bivouacked near a certain hill; on the next day they started early and advanced about twenty stades, and descended into a flat country and encamped there, wishing to get something edible from the houses (for the place was inhabited) and to carry water with them from there, since for many stades ahead, in the direction they were to go, it was not abundant. In the meantime, the Syracusans went ahead and blocked the pass in front with a wall; and it was a steep hill, with a precipitous ravine on each side, called the Acraean cliff. On the next day the Athenians advanced, and the cavalry and javelin-men of the Syracusans and their allies, being numerous, hindered them on both sides, throwing javelins and riding along.
καὶ χρόνον μὲν πολὺν ἐμάχοντο οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι, ἔπειτα ἀνεχώρησαν πάλιν ἐς τὸ αὐτὸ στρατόπεδον.
For a long time the Athenians fought, and then retreated back to the same camp.
καὶ τὰ ἐπιτήδεια οὐκέτι ὁμοίως εἶχον· οὐ γὰρ ἔτι ἀποχωρεῖν οἷόν τ’ ἦν ὑπὸ τῶν ἱππέων.
And they no longer had provisions in the same way; for it was no longer possible to go out to forage because of the cavalry.