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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §11.41.1-11.41.5

Themistocles' Plan for the Peiraeus Harbor

Passage 42 of 723 · Greek

Summary

Based on his high reputation among his citizens and all Greeks, Themistocles conceived a plan to construct the Peiraeus as a major harbor to replace the small Phaleric harbor, aiming to secure Athens' maritime hegemony.

§11.41.1τοῦ δʼ ἐνιαυσίου χρόνου διεληλυθότος Ἀθήνησι μὲν ἦν ἄρχων Ἀδείμαντος, ἐν Ῥώμῃ δὲ κατεστάθησαν ὕπατοι Μάρκος Φάβιος Οὐιβλανὸς καὶ Λεύκιος Οὐαλέριος Πόπλιος.
When the period of a year had elapsed, Adeimantus was archon in Athens, and in Rome Marcus Fabius Vibulanus and Lucius Valerius Publius were established as consuls.
ἐπὶ δὲ τούτων Θεμιστοκλῆς διὰ τὴν στρατηγίαν καὶ ἀγχίνοιαν ἀποδοχῆς ἔτυχεν οὐ μόνον παρὰ τοῖς πολίταις, ἀλλὰ καὶ παρὰ πᾶσι τοῖς Ἕλλησι.
During their term of office, Themistocles, because of his military skill and sagacity, met with high esteem not only among his fellow citizens but also among all the Greeks.
§11.41.2διὸ καὶ μετεωριζόμενος ἐπὶ τῇ δόξῃ πολὺ μείζοσιν ἄλλαις ἐπιβολαῖς ἐχρήσατο πρὸς αὔξησιν ἡγεμονίας ἀνηκούσαις τῇ πατρίδι.
Therefore, being elated by his reputation, he applied himself to other much greater enterprises which contributed to the increase of his fatherland's hegemony.
τοῦ γὰρ καλουμένου Πειραιῶς οὐκ ὄντος λιμένος κατʼ ἐκείνους τοὺς χρόνους, ἀλλʼ ἐπινείῳ χρωμένων τῶν Ἀθηναίων τῷ προσαγορευομένῳ Φαληρικῷ, μικρῷ παντελῶς ὄντι, ἐπενόησε τὸν Πειραιᾶ κατασκευάζειν λιμένα, μικρᾶς μὲν προσδεόμενον κατασκευῆς, δυνάμενον δὲ γενέσθαι λιμένα κάλλιστον καὶ μέγιστον τῶν κατὰ τὴν Ἑλλάδα.
For since the place called Peiraeus was not a harbor in those times, but the Athenians used the so-called Phaleric harbor, which was completely small, he conceived the plan to make Peiraeus a harbor, which required only a small construction but was capable of becoming the finest and largest harbor in Greece.
§11.41.3ἤλπιζεν οὖν τούτου προσγενομένου τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις δυνήσεσθαι τὴν πόλιν ἀντιποιήσασθαι τῆς κατὰ θάλατταν ἡγεμονίας· τριήρεις γὰρ τότε πλείστας ἐκέκτηντο, καὶ διὰ τὴν συνέχειαν τῶν ναυμαχιῶν ἐμπειρίαν καὶ δόξαν μεγάλην τῶν ναυτικῶν ἀγώνων περιεπεποίηντο.
He hoped, therefore, that if this were added to the Athenians, the city would be able to claim the hegemony of the sea; for they possessed at that time a great many triremes, and because of the continuity of naval battles they had acquired great experience and reputation in maritime conflicts.
§11.41.4πρὸς δὲ τούτοις τοὺς μὲν Ἴωνας ὑπελάμβανε διὰ τὴν συγγένειαν ἰδίους ἕξειν, τοὺς δὲ ἄλλους τοὺς κατὰ τὴν Ἀσίαν Ἕλληνας διʼ ἐκείνους ἐλευθερώσειν, ἀποκλινεῖν τε ταῖς εὐνοίαις πρὸς τοὺς Ἀθηναίους διὰ τὴν εὐεργεσίαν, τοὺς δὲ νησιώτας ἅπαντας καταπεπληγμένους τὸ μέγεθος τῆς ναυτικῆς δυνάμεως ἑτοίμως ταχθήσεσθαι μετὰ τῶν δυναμένων καὶ βλάπτειν καὶ ὠφελεῖν τὰ μέγιστα.
In addition to these things, he assumed that they would have the Ionians as their own because of kinship, and that they would liberate the other Greeks in Asia through them, and that these would incline in goodwill toward the Athenians because of the benefit, while all the islanders, being struck with awe at the magnitude of their naval power, would readily range themselves with those who were able both to harm and to benefit them in the highest degree.
§11.41.5τοὺς γὰρ Λακεδαιμονίους ἑώρα περὶ μὲν τὰς πεζὰς δυνάμεις εὖ κατεσκευασμένους, πρὸς δὲ τοὺς ἐν ταῖς ναυσὶν ἀγῶνας ἀφυεστάτους.
For he saw that the Lacedaemonians, though well prepared regarding their land forces, were completely unsuited for conflicts on ships.

Notes

  1. 11.41.1ἐπὶ δὲ τούτων — The preposition ἐπί with the genitive pronoun expresses time ('in the time of these men' or 'during their term of office'), referring to the year of the Athenian archon and Roman consuls mentioned just before.
  2. 11.41.2ἀνηκούσαις — The present participle of ἀνήκω ('to belong to,' 'to relate to') in the dative feminine plural, modifying the preceding noun ἐπιβολαῖς. It is separated from its noun by the prepositional phrase πρὸς αὔξησιν ἡγεμονίας and takes the dative complement τῇ πατρίδι.
  3. 11.41.2τοῦ γὰρ καλουμένου Πειραιῶς οὐκ ὄντος λιμένος... ἀλλʼ ἐπινείῳ χρωμένων τῶν Ἀθηναίων... — Two genitive absolute constructions (τοῦ... Πειραιῶς οὐκ ὄντος and χρωμένων τῶν Ἀθηναίων) are contrastively joined by ἀλλά, serving as the background explanation for the main clause ἐπενόησε ('he conceived').
  4. 11.41.4ὑπελάμβανε — Four infinitive clauses (ἕξειν, ἐλευθερώσειν, ἀποκλινεῖν, and ταχθήσεσθαι) are coordinated under the verb ὑπελάμβανε ('he assumed'). Note the shift of the subject for each: for ἕξειν and ἐλευθερώσειν, it is Themistocles (or the Athenians); for ἀποκλινεῖν, it is 'the other Greeks in Asia' (τοὺς δὲ ἄλλους... Ἕλληνας); and for tabēsesthai, it is 'all the islanders' (τοὺς δὲ νησιώτας ἅπαντας).

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §11.41.1-11.41.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:11.41.1-11.41.5

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