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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §8.28.1-8.28.5

Capture of Iasus and Surrender of Amorges

Passage 836 of 917 · Greek

Summary

The Peloponnesians, persuaded by Tissaphernes, capture Iasus by surprise. They deliver the rebel Amorges to Tissaphernes, plunder the wealthy town, and after sending Pedaritus to Chios, the summer ends.

§8.28.1οἱ δὲ Πελοποννήσιοι ἅμα τῇ ἕῳ ἐκ τῆς Τειχιούσσης ἄραντες ἐπικατάγονται, καὶ μείναντες ἡμέραν μίαν τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ καὶ τὰς Χίας ναῦς προσλαβόντες τὰς μετὰ Χαλκιδέως τὸ πρῶτον ξυγκαταδιωχθείσας ἐβούλοντο πλεῦσαι ἐπὶ τὰ σκεύη ἃ ἐξείλοντο ἐς Τειχιοῦσσαν πάλιν.
On the next day, the Peloponnesians put out from Teichiussa at dawn and came to port; and after remaining one day, on the following day, taking with them also the Chian ships which had at first been chased in along with Chalcideus, they wished to sail back for the baggage which they had unladen at Teichiussa.
§8.28.2καὶ ὡς ἦλθον, Τισσαφέρνης τῷ πεζῷ παρελθὼν πείθει αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ Ἴασον, ἐν ᾗ Ἀμόργης πολέμιος ὢν κατεῖχε, πλεῦσαι.
And when they arrived, Tissaphernes came up with his land army and persuaded them to sail against Iasus, which Amorges, who was hostile, was holding.
καὶ προσβαλόντες τῇ Ἰάσῳ αἰφνίδιοι καὶ οὐ προσδεχομένων ἀλλ’ ἢ Ἀττικὰς τὰς ναῦς εἶναι αἱροῦσιν·
And having made an attack on Iasus suddenly, they took it, since the inhabitants expected nothing else than that the ships were Attic.
καὶ μάλιστα ἐν τῷ ἔργῳ οἱ Συρακόσιοι ἐπῃνέθησαν.
And in this action the Syracusans were especially praised.
§8.28.3καὶ τόν τε Ἀμόργην ζῶντα λαβόντες, Πισσούθνου νόθον υἱόν, ἀφεστῶτα δὲ βασιλέως, παραδιδόασιν οἱ Πελοποννήσιοι Τισσαφέρνει ἀπαγαγεῖν, εἰ βούλεται, βασιλεῖ, ὥσπερ αὐτῷ προσέταξε, καὶ τὴν Ἴασον διεπόρθησαν καὶ χρήματα πάνυ πολλὰ ἡ στρατιὰ ἔλαβεν· παλαιόπλουτον γὰρ ἦν τὸ χωρίον.
And having taken Amorges alive, who was a natural son of Pissuthnes and a rebel against the King, the Peloponnesians delivered him to Tissaphernes to lead away, if he wished, to the King, as the King had commanded him; and they sacked Iasus, and the army took very much wealth, for the place was wealthy from ancient times.
§8.28.4τούς τ’ ἐπικούρους τοὺς περὶ τὸν Ἀμόργην παρὰ σφᾶς αὐτοὺς κομίσαντες καὶ οὐκ ἀδικήσαντες ξυνέταξαν, ὅτι ἦσαν οἱ πλεῖστοι ἐκ Πελοποννήσου· τό τε πόλισμα Τισσαφέρνει παραδόντες καὶ τὰ ἀνδράποδα πάντα καὶ δοῦλα καὶ ἐλεύθερα, ὧν καθ’ ἕκαστον στατῆρα Δαρεικὸν παρ’ αὐτοῦ ξυνέβησαν λαβεῖν, ἔπειτα ἀνεχώρησαν ἐς τὴν Μίλητον.
And receiving the mercenaries who were with Amorges into their own service and doing them no harm, they incorporated them into their ranks, because most of them were from the Peloponnese; and delivering the town to Tissaphernes and all the captives, both slave and free, for each of whom they agreed to receive from him a Daric stater, they then returned to Miletus.
§8.28.5καὶ Πεδάριτόν τε τὸν Λέοντος ἐς τὴν Χίον ἄρχοντα Λακεδαιμονίων πεμψάντων ἀποστέλλουσι πεζῇ μέχρι Ἐρυθρῶν ἔχοντα τὸ παρὰ Ἀμόργου ἐπικουρικόν, καὶ ἐς τὴν Μίλητον αὐτοῦ Φίλιππον καθιστᾶσιν.
And Lacedaemonians having sent Pedaritus, the son of Leon, to Chios as governor, they dispatched him by land as far as Erythrae, having the mercenary force that had been taken from Amorges, and established Philippus there in Miletus.
καὶ τὸ θέρος ἐτελεύτα.
And the summer ended.

Notes

  1. 8.28.2οὐ προσδεχομένων ἀλλ’ ἢ Ἀττικὰς τὰς ναῦς εἶναι — οὐ προσδεχομένων is a genitive absolute construction with its subject (the inhabitants of Iasus) omitted. The idiom ἀλλ’ ἤ means 'except' or 'other than', meaning as a whole 'expecting nothing other than that the ships were Attic (i.e., fully believing they were Attic)'. εἶναι functions as the complementary infinitive of προσδεχομένων forming an accusative and infinitive construction.
  2. 8.28.3ἀπαγαγεῖν — An infinitive of purpose or intent ('in order to lead away'), modifying the dative Tissaphernes. The agent of the action ἀπαγαγεῖν is Tissaphernes, and the object is Amorges.
  3. 8.28.4ὧν καθ’ ἕκαστον στατῆρα Δαρεικὸν παρ’ αὐτοῦ ξυνέβησαν λαβεῖν — The relative pronoun ὧν refers to the captives (τὰ ἀνδράποδα) as a genitive of the whole, equivalent to καθ’ ἕκαστον αὐτῶν ('for each of them'). ξυνέβησαν is the aorist of the intransitive verb συμβαίνω ('to happen', 'to come to an agreement'), which with the infinitive λαβεῖν means 'they agreed to receive' or 'it resulted that they received'.
  4. 8.28.5ἔχοντα — The present participle ἔχοντα ('having', 'leading') agrees with the accusative Pedaritus (Πεδάριτον). The subject of the main verb ἀποστέλλουσι is the Peloponnesians, showing that they dispatched Pedaritus while letting him lead the mercenary force taken from Amorges.

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §8.28.1-8.28.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.28.1-8.28.5

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