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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §8.31.1-8.31.4

Astyochus' Departure and Unsuccessful Attack on Clazomenae

Passage 839 of 917 · Greek

Summary

Astyochus calls off the collection of hostages upon Therimenes' arrival and sails out. After failing to force Clazomenae into submission, he attacks the city and is forced by a gale to retreat, while his other ships plunder the Clazomenians' deposited property on adjacent islands before joining him.

§8.31.1ὁ δ’ Ἀστύοχος ὡς τότε ἐν τῇ Χίῳ ἔτυχε διὰ τὴν προδοσίαν τοὺς ὁμήρους καταλεγόμενος τούτου μὲν ἐπέσχεν,ἐπειδὴ ᾔσθετο τάς τε μετὰ Θηριμένους ναῦς ἡκούσας καὶ τὰ περὶ τὴν ξυμμαχίαν βελτίω ὄντα, λαβὼν δὲ ναῦς τάς τε Πελοποννησίων δέκα καὶ Χίας δέκα ἀνάγεται, §8.31.2καὶ προσβαλὼν Πτελεῷ καὶ οὐχ ἑλὼν παρέπλευσεν ἐπὶ Κλαζομενὰς καὶ ἐκέλευεν αὐτῶν τοὺς τὰ Ἀθηναίων φρονοῦντας ἀνοικίζεσθαι ἐς τὸν Δαφνοῦντα καὶ προσχωρεῖν σφίσιν· ξυνεκέλευε δὲ καὶ Τάμως Ἰωνίας ὕπαρχος ὤν.
Astyochus, who happened at that time to be in Chios collecting hostages because of the suspected betrayal, stopped doing this when he perceived that the ships with Therimenes had arrived and that the affairs of the alliance were in a better state; and taking ten Peloponnesian and ten Chian ships, he put to sea, and after attacking Pteleum without capturing it, he sailed along the coast to Clazomenae, and ordered those of them who favored the Athenian cause to remove inland to Daphnus and to join their side; Tamos also, who was lieutenant-governor of Ionia, joined in this order.
§8.31.3ὡς δ’ οὐκ ἐσήκουον, προσβολὴν ποιησάμενος τῇ πόλει οὔσῃ ἀτειχίστῳ καὶ οὐ δυνάμενος ἑλεῖν, ἀπέπλευσεν ἀνέμῳ μεγάλῳ αὐτὸς μὲν ἐς Φώκαιαν καὶ Κύμην, αἱ δὲ ἄλλαι νῆες κατῆραν ἐς τὰς ἐπικειμένας ταῖς Κλαζομεναῖς νήσους, Μαραθοῦσσαν καὶ Πήλην καὶ Δρυμοῦσσαν.
Since they would not listen, he made an attack upon the city, which was unfortified, but being unable to take it, he himself sailed away in a gale to Phocaea and Cyme, while the other ships put in at the islands adjacent to Clazomenae, namely, Marathussa, Pele, and Drymussa.
§8.31.4καὶ ὅσα ὑπεξέκειτο αὐτόθι τῶν Κλαζομενίων, ἡμέρας ἐμμείναντες διὰ τοὺς ἀνέμους ὀκτὼ τὰ μὲν διήρπασαν καὶ ἀνήλωσαν, τὰ δὲ ἐσβαλόμενοι ἀπέπλευσαν ἐς Φώκαιαν καὶ Κύμην ὡς Ἀστύοχον.
Having remained there eight days on account of the winds, they plundered and consumed some of the property which the Clazomenians had deposited there for safety, and having loaded the rest onto their ships, they sailed away to Phocaea and Cyme to join Astyochus.

Notes

  1. §8.31.1ἔτυχε... καταλεγόμενος — The verb `τυγχάνω` with the present participle `καταλεγόμενος` emphasizes actual simultaneity ("happened to be collecting") at that specific moment, rather than mere chance or accident.
  2. §8.31.1τούτου μὲν ἐπέσχεν — The verb `ἐπέσχεν` (aorist of `ἐπέχω`), meaning "to stop" or "refrain from," takes the genitive `τούτου`, which refers back to the collection of hostages mentioned in the previous clause.
  3. §8.31.3ὡς δ’ οὐκ ἐσήκουον — The conjunction `ὡς` here functions causally ("since" or "as"), and `ἐσήκουον` (imperfect of `εἰσακούω`) means "to listen to" or "obey," referring to the Clazomenians' refusal to comply with the demands made in §8.31.2.
  4. §8.31.4ὅσα ὑπεξέκειτο αὐτόθι τῶν Κλαζομενίων — The verb `ὑπεξέκειτο` (imperfect of `ὑπέκκειμαι`) means "to have been deposited or removed for safety." The relative pronoun `ὅσα` contains its own antecedent ("all the things that") and serves as the direct object of the main verbs `διήρπασαν` and `ἀνήλωσαν`.

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §8.31.1-8.31.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.31.1-8.31.4

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