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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §8.101.1-8.101.3

Arrival of Mindarus' Fleet at the Hellespont

Passage 909 of 917 · Greek

Summary

The Peloponnesian fleet under Mindarus departs Chios, choosing a coastal route along the mainland to avoid the Athenian fleet at Eresos, and sails rapidly to reach Rhoeteum in the Hellespont before midnight.

§8.101.1ὁ δὲ Μίνδαρος ἐν τούτῳ καὶ ἐκ τῆς Χίου τῶν Πελοποννησίων αἱ νῆες ἐπισιτισάμεναι δυοῖν ἡμέραιν καὶ λαβόντες παρὰ τῶν Χίων τρεῖς τεσσαρακοστὰς ἕκαστος Χίας τῇ τρίτῃ διὰ ταχέων ἀπαίρουσιν ἐκ τῆς Χίου 〈οὐ〉 πελάγιαι, ἵνα μὴ περιτύχωσι ταῖς ἐν τῇ Ἐρέσῳ ναυσίν, ἀλλὰ ἐν ἀριστερᾷ τὴν Λέσβον ἔχοντες ἔπλεον ἐπὶ τὴν ἤπειρον.
Meanwhile Mindarus and the Peloponnesian ships from Chios, having provisioned themselves for two days and having received from the Chians three Chian tessarakostai each, set sail hastily from Chios on the third day, not by the open sea, so that they might not fall in with the ships at Eresos, but sailing towards the mainland, keeping Lesbos on their left.
§8.101.2καὶ προσβαλόντες τῆς Φωκαΐδος ἐς τὸν ἐν Καρτερίοις λιμένα καὶ ἀριστοποιησάμενοι, παραπλεύσαντες τὴν Κυμαίαν δειπνοποιοῦνται ἐν Ἀργινούσαις τῆς ἠπείρου, ἐν τῷ ἀντιπέρας τῆς Μυτιλήνης.
And having touched at the harbor in Carteria, in the territory of Phocaea, and taken their lunch, they sailed along the territory of Cyme and took their dinner at Arginusae on the mainland, opposite Mytilene.
§8.101.3ἐντεῦθεν δὲ ἔτι πολλῆς νυκτὸς παραπλεύσαντες καὶ ἀφικόμενοι τῆς ἠπείρου ἐς Ἁρματοῦντα καταντικρὺ Μηθύμνης, ἀριστοποιησάμενοι διὰ ταχέων παραπλεύσαντες Λεκτὸν καὶ Λάρισαν καὶ Ἁμαξιτὸν καὶ τὰ ταύτῃ χωρία ἀφικνοῦνται ἐς Ῥοίτειον ἤδη τοῦ Ἑλλησπόντου πρωίτερον μέσων νυκτῶν.
Sailing thence while it was still deep night, they arrived at Harmaetus on the mainland, opposite Methymna, and having taken a hasty lunch, they sailed past Lectum, Larissa, Hamaxitus, and the places in those parts, and arrived at Rhoeteum, already in the Hellespont, before midnight.
εἰσὶ δ’ αἳ τῶν νεῶν καὶ ἐς Σίγειον κατῆραν καὶ ἄλλοσε τῶν ταύτῃ χωρίων.
There were some of the ships that also put in at Sigeum and other places in those parts.

Notes

  1. §8.101.1λαβόντες — The participle λαβόντες (masculine plural nominative) constructionally agrees with the sense ("the crew") rather than the grammatical gender of the subject αἱ νῆες (feminine plural), which is an instance of constructio ad sensum, or it refers to the combined subject of ὁ Μίνδαρος and αἱ νῆες.
  2. §8.101.1〈οὐ〉 πελάγιαι — The negative particle οὐ inserted by editors is necessary to yield the meaning "not by the open sea". The context of the following purpose clause ἵνα μὴ περιτύχωσι... (lest they should fall in with...) and the contrast in ἀλλὰ... (but...) require this negative to explain their choice of a coastal route to avoid detection.
  3. §8.101.3ἔτι πολλῆς νυκτὸς — A genitive of time within which, meaning literally "while much of the night was still remaining," referring to the deep night or early hours long before dawn.
  4. §8.101.3πρωίτερον μέσων νυκτῶν — The comparative πρωίτερον (earlier) governs the genitive of comparison μέσων νυκτῶν (midnight), meaning "earlier than midnight," which emphasizes the extreme speed of their voyage.

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §8.101.1-8.101.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.101.1-8.101.3

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