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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §8.20.1-8.20.2

Escape from Spiraeum and Operations at Teos

Passage 828 of 917 · Greek

Summary

The Peloponnesian fleet blockaded in Spiraeum breaks out and escapes to Cenchreae, where Astyochus arrives as admiral. Meanwhile, Tissaphernes demolishes the walls of Teos, and Diomedon's Athenian fleet subsequently arrives to make a treaty with the Teians but fails to capture Erae.

§8.20.1ὑπὸ δὲ τοὺς αὐτοὺς χρόνους αἱ ἐν τῷ Σπειραίῳ εἴκοσι νῆες τῶν Πελοποννησίων, καταδιωχθεῖσαι τότε καὶ ἐφορμούμεναι ἴσῳ ἀριθμῷ ὑπὸ Ἀθηναίων, ἐπέκπλουν ποιησάμεναι αἰφνίδιον καὶ κρατήσασαι ναυμαχίᾳ τέσσαράς τε ναῦς λαμβάνουσι τῶν Ἀθηναίων καὶ ἀποπλεύσασαι ἐς Κεγχρειὰς τὸν ἐς τὴν Χίον καὶ τὴν Ἰωνίαν πλοῦν αὖθις παρεσκευάζοντο.
About the same time, the twenty Peloponnesian ships in Spiraeum, which had been chased there at that time and were blockaded by an equal number of Athenian ships, made a sudden sally, and having conquered in a sea-fight, they captured four of the Athenian ships; and sailing away to Cenchreae, they prepared once more for their voyage to Chios and Ionia.
καὶ ναύαρχος αὐτοῖς ἐκ Λακεδαίμονος Ἀστύοχος ἐπῆλθεν, ᾧπερ ἐγίγνετο ἤδη πᾶσα ἡ ναυαρχία.
And Astyochus came to them from Lacedaemon as admiral, to whom all the command of the fleet was now being committed.
§8.20.2ἀναχωρήσαντος δὲ τοῦ ἐκ τῆς Τέω πεζοῦ καὶ Τισσαφέρνης αὐτὸς στρατιᾷ παραγενόμενος καὶ ἐπικαθελὼν τὸ ἐν τῇ Τέῳ τεῖχος, εἴ τι ὑπελείφθη, ἀνεχώρησεν.
After the land force had retreated from Teos, Tissaphernes himself also arrived with an army, and having completely demolished the wall in Teos, whatever of it had been left standing, he retreated.
καὶ Διομέδων ἀπελθόντος αὐτοῦ οὐ πολὺ ὕστερον δέκα ναυσὶν Ἀθηναίων ἀφικόμενος ἐσπείσατο Τηίοις ὥστε δέχεσθαι καὶ σφᾶς.
Not long after his departure, Diomedon, arriving with ten Athenian ships, made a treaty with the Teians so that they should receive them as well.
καὶ παραπλεύσας ἐπὶ Αἱρὰς καὶ προσβαλών, ὡς οὐκ ἐλάμβανε τὴν πόλιν, ἀπέπλευσεν.
And having sailed along to Erae and made an attack, when he could not take the city, he sailed away.

Notes

  1. §8.20.1ᾧπερ ἐγίγνετο ἤδη πᾶσα ἡ ναυαρχία — The dative of the relative pronoun ᾧπερ expresses the possessor or the person concerned (to whom). The imperfect ἐγίγνετο denotes a scheduled or developing state ('was being committed' or 'was falling to').
  2. §8.20.2εἴ τι ὑπελείφθη — Although formulated as a conditional clause with εἴ τι ('if anything...'), it refers to an actual fact with the indicative aorist ὑπελείφθη ('whatever was left standing'), functioning as the object of the participle ἐπικαθελὼν ('having completely demolished').
  3. §8.20.2ὥστε δέχεσθαι καὶ σφᾶς — A clause of result or condition introduced by ὥστε with the infinitive, expressing the terms of the treaty ('so that they should receive them too'). The accusative σφᾶς is the object (referring to the Athenians) of the infinitive δέχεσθαι, not its subject.

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §8.20.1-8.20.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.20.1-8.20.2

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