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Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §8.8.1-8.8.4

Allied plan of operations and hauling ships across the Isthmus

Passage 816 of 917 · Greek

Summary

Kalligeitos and Timagoras decline to join the collective expedition in order to plan their own, while Agis and the allies decide to dispatch fleets successively to Chios, Lesbos, and the Hellespont, beginning by transporting half of the ships across the Isthmus to deceive the Athenians.

§8.8.1ὁ μὲν οὖν Καλλίγειτος καὶ Τιμαγόρας ὑπὲρ τοῦ Φαρναβάζου οὐκ ἐκοινοῦντο τὸν στόλον ἐς τὴν Χίον, οὐδὲ τὰ χρήματα ἐδίδοσαν ἃ ἦλθον ἔχοντες ἐς τὴν ἀποστολὴν πέντε καὶ εἴκοσι τάλαντα, ἀλλ’ ὕστερον ἐφ’ ἑαυτῶν διενοοῦντο ἄλλῳ στόλῳ πλεῖν·
Accordingly, Kalligeitos and Timagoras, on behalf of Pharnabazos, did not participate in the expedition to Chios, nor did they give the money which they had brought for the dispatch, namely twenty-five talents, but intended later to sail on their own with a different expedition.
§8.8.2ὁ δὲ Ἆγις ἐπειδὴ ἑώρα τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους ἐς τὴν Χίον πρῶτον ὡρμημένους, οὐδ’ αὐτὸς ἄλλο τι ἐγίγνωσκεν, ἀλλὰ ξυνελθόντες ἐς Κόρινθον οἱ ξύμμαχοι ἐβουλεύοντο, καὶ ἔδοξε πρῶτον ἐς Χίον αὐτοῖς πλεῖν ἄρχοντα ἔχοντας Χαλκιδέα, ὃς ἐν τῇ Λακωνικῇ τὰς πέντε ναῦς παρεσκεύαζεν, ἔπειτα ἐς Λέσβον καὶ Ἀλκαμένη ἄρχοντα, ὅνπερ καὶ Ἆγις διενοεῖτο, τὸ τελευταῖον δὲ ἐς τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον ἀφικέσθαι (προσετέτακτο δὲ ἐς αὐτὸν ἄρχων Κλέαρχος ὁ Ῥαμφίου),
As for Agis, when he saw that the Lacedaemonians were set on Chios first, he himself did not decide otherwise, but the allies met in Corinth and deliberated. And they resolved first to sail to Chios, having Chalcideus as commander, who was preparing the five ships in Laconia, next to Lesbos, with Alcamenes as commander, whom Agis also had in mind, and finally to arrive at the Hellespont (Clearchus, the son of Ramphias, had already been appointed as commander for this).
§8.8.3διαφέρειν δὲ τὸν Ἰσθμὸν τὰς ἡμισείας τῶν νεῶν πρῶτον, καὶ εὐθὺς ταύτας ἀποπλεῖν, ὅπως μὴ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι πρὸς τὰς ἀφορμωμένας μᾶλλον τὸν νοῦν ἔχωσιν ἢ τὰς ὕστερον ἐπιδιαφερομένας.
They also resolved to transport half of the ships across the Isthmus first, and to let them sail immediately, in order that the Athenians might not pay more attention to those sailing out than to those transported across afterwards.
§8.8.4καὶ γὰρ τὸν πλοῦν ταύτῃ ἐκ τοῦ προφανοῦς ἐποιοῦντο, καταφρονήσαντες τῶν Ἀθηναίων ἀδυνασίαν, ὅτι ναυτικὸν οὐδὲν αὐτῶν πολύ πω ἐφαίνετο.
For indeed they made their voyage in this way openly, holding in contempt the helplessness of the Athenians, because no substantial naval force of theirs had yet appeared.
ὡς δὲ ἔδοξεν αὐτοῖς, καὶ διεκόμισαν εὐθὺς μίαν καὶ εἴκοσι ναῦς.
When they had so decided, they immediately transported twenty-one ships across.

Notes

  1. §8.8.1οὐκ ἐκοινοῦντο τὸν στόλον — The verb ἐκοινοῦντο (imperfect middle of κοινόω) here means 'to take part in a common enterprise.' The middle voice emphasizes that they deliberately and of their own interest chose not to join or share in the expedition to Chios.
  2. §8.8.2ἔδοξε πρῶτον ἐς Χίον αὐτοῖς πλεῖν ἄρχοντα ἔχοντας Χαλκιδέα — In this accusative-with-infinitive (A.c.I.) construction following the impersonal ἔδοξε, although the dative αὐτοῖς indicates the deciders, the participle modifying the implied subject of the infinitive is in the accusative (ἔχοντας). This is a classical anacoluthon, where the syntax shifts to treat the performers of the action as the subject of the infinitive.
  3. §8.8.3διαφέρειν δὲ τὸν Ἰσθμὸν τὰς ἡμισείας τῶν νεῶν πρῶτον — The infinitive διαφέρειν directly depends on the decision (ἔδοξε) of the previous sentence. Here, the verb is used transitively to mean 'to transport across (the Isthmus),' taking 'half of the ships' (τὰς ἡμισείας τῶν νεῶν) as its direct object.
  4. §8.8.3ὅπως μὴ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι πρὸς τὰς ἀφορμωμένας μᾶλλον τὸν νοῦν ἔχωσιν ἢ τὰς ὕστερον ἐπιδιαφερομένας — The comparative structure μᾶλλον... ἤ ('more than...') is combined with the negative purpose clause ὅπως μή ('lest...'). It expresses the tactical intention: 'so that they might not focus more on the departing ships than on those being transported across later.' The prefix ἐπι- in the participle ἐπιδιαφερομένας emphasizes the action of transporting 'subsequently' or 'in addition.'
  5. §8.8.4ὡς δὲ ἔδοξεν αὐτοῖς, καὶ διεκόμισαν — The conjunction καί at the beginning of the main clause following the subordinate clause (ὡς δὲ ἔδοξεν αὐτοῖς) functions as an emphatic particle ('indeed' or 'actually'), highlighting that they immediately put the decision into effect.

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §8.8.1-8.8.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.8.1-8.8.4

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