Humanitext Reader

Thucydides · History of the Peloponnesian War §8.94.1-8.94.3

Approach of the Spartan Fleet and Defense of Piraeus

Passage 902 of 917 · Greek

Summary

On the day of the assembly in the Dionysion, news arrived that a Peloponnesian fleet was approaching Piraeus, prompting the Athenians to suspend their internal discord and immediately mobilize to defend the harbor.

§8.94.1ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἐπῆλθεν ἡ [ἐν Διονύσου] ἐκκλησία καὶ ὅσον οὐ ξυνειλεγμένοι ἦσαν, ἀγγέλλονται αἱ δύο καὶ τεσσαράκοντα νῆες καὶ ὁ Ἀγησανδρίδας ἀπὸ τῶν Μεγάρων τὴν Σαλαμῖνα παραπλεῖν· καὶ πᾶς τις [τῶν πολλῶν ὁπλιτῶν] αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἐνόμιζεν εἶναι τὸ πάλαι λεγόμενον ὑπὸ Θηραμένους καὶ τῶν μετ’ αὐτοῦ, ὡς ἐς τὸ τείχισμα ἔπλεον αἱ νῆες, καὶ χρησίμως ἐδόκει καταπεπτωκέναι.
When the day for the assembly in the temple of Dionysus came and they were all but assembled, news was brought that the forty-two ships and Hegesandridas were sailing from Megara along the coast of Salamis; and every one of the hoplites thought that this was the very thing which had so long been asserted by Theramenes and his party, namely, that the ships were sailing to the fortification, and it seemed to have been demolished opportunely.
§8.94.2ὁ δὲ Ἀγησανδρίδας τάχα μέν τι καὶ ἀπὸ ξυγκειμένου λόγου περί τε τὴν Ἐπίδαυρον καὶ ταύτῃ ἀνεστρέφετο, εἰκὸς δ’ αὐτὸν καὶ πρὸς τὸν παρόντα στασιασμὸν τῶν Ἀθηναίων, δι’ ἐλπίδος ὡς κἂν ἐς δέον παραγένοιτο, ταύτῃ ἀνέχειν.
Now Hegesandridas was perhaps hovering about Epidaurus and that neighborhood in accordance with some preconcerted agreement, but it is also likely that he was holding off in that quarter in view of the present dissension among the Athenians, in the hope that he might arrive at the opportune moment.
§8.94.3οἱ δ’ αὖ Ἀθηναῖοι, ὡς ἠγγέλθη αὐτοῖς, εὐθὺς δρόμῳ ἐς τὸν Πειραιᾶ πανδημεὶ ἐχώρουν, ὡς τοῦ ἰδίου πολέμου μείζονος [ἢ] ἀπὸ τῶν πολεμίων οὐχ ἑκάς, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τῷ λιμένι ὄντος.
The Athenians, on their part, as soon as the news reached them, ran down to Piraeus in a body; for they felt that a war more serious than their private feud was not far off, but at their very harbor.
καὶ οἱ μὲν ἐς τὰς παρούσας ναῦς ἐσέβαινον, οἱ δὲ ἄλλας καθεῖλκον, οἱ δέ τινες ἐπὶ τὰ τείχη καὶ τὸ στόμα τοῦ λιμένος παρεβοήθουν.
Some of them embarked on the ships already afloat, others began to launch additional ones, and still others hastened to the rescue of the walls and the mouth of the harbor.

Notes

  1. §8.94.1ὅσον οὐ — ὅσον οὐ is an adverbial phrase meaning "all but" or "almost." Here it describes the state where the assembly was nearly fully gathered.
  2. §8.94.1ἀγγέλλονται ... παραπλεῖν — The passive verb ἀγγέλλονται ("are reported") governs an accusative and infinitive construction, with αἱ ... νῆες καὶ ὁ Ἀγησανδρίδας as the subject and παραπλεῖν as the infinitive. It is translated as a historical present.
  3. §8.94.1ὡς ἐς τὸ τείχισμα ἔπλεον αἱ νῆες — The ὡς clause functions as an appositive clause explaining the specific content of the preceding τὸ πάλαι λεγόμενον ("what had long been asserted").
  4. §8.94.1καταπεπτωκέναι — A perfect infinitive used intransitively to mean "to have fallen down" or "to have been demolished." The subject, understood from the context, is the fortification (τὸ τείχισμα) in Piraeus demolished in the previous chapter.
  5. §8.94.2ἀνέχειν — The subject is accusative αὐτόν (Hegesandridas). Here ἀνέχειν means "to hold off" or "to hover," functioning as an infinitive dependent on εἰκὸς (it is likely).
  6. §8.94.3ὡς τοῦ ἰδίου πολέμου μείζονος ... ὄντος — A genitive absolute construction with ὡς (subject: τοῦ ... πολέμου, participle: ὄντος) expressing a subjective reason ("feeling that..."). Supplying the bracketed [ἢ] clarifies the comparative structure: "a war greater than [ἢ] their private feud."

Cite this passage

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War §8.94.1-8.94.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.94.1-8.94.3

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.