C.E. Graves, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 5

διὰ τῶν Σικελῶν—through the interior; the Σικελοί occupied the central and northern parts of the island. παραΘαρσύνας—‘reassured’; iv. 115, 1: viii. 77. We are not told what became of this garrison. It was probably reduced and expelled by the Syracusans; cf. vi. 6, 1, εἰ Συρακόσιοι Λεοντίνους ἀναστήσαντες ἀτιμώρητοι γενήσονται.

τῇ παρακομιδῇ κ.τ.λ —the article applies to both substantives, which are equivalent to ‘on his way to Sicily and back’; cf. i. 120, 2, τὴν κατακομιδὴν ..καὶ πάλιν <*>ντίληψιν=exchange of exports and imports.

καί—‘also’, with ἐν τῇ Ἰταλίᾳ. ἐχρημάτισε—‘treated’, only here with the dative (Classen): i. 87, 4, ἐφ̓ ἅπερ ἦλθον χρηματίσαντες. φιλίας τοῖς Αθηναίοις=πρὸς τούς: iv. 22, 1, ξυνέδρους σφίσιν ε:λέσθαι: ib. infr. ὀλίγους ξύνεδροι γίγνεσθαι.

τοῖς ἐκ Μεσσήνης—the definite article is explained by what follows: the circumstances have not been mentioned before. The Epizephyrian Locrians had joined in occupying Messene in 425 (iv. 1, 1), but only with a naval force. Messene from the earliest days had been a centre of faction; see the account of it in vi. 4. ἐποίκοις—‘settlers’ or colonists, ii. 27, 1, αὑτῶν πέμψαντας ἐποίκους ἔχειν.

ἐκπεπτωκόσιν—part of the epithet, but placed after the substantive, as is not uncommon, especially with participles; cf. ch. 34, 6: i. 11, 3. ὁμολογίαν=ξύμβασιν ch. 4, 5. καὶ ἐγέϝετο—the second division of the relative construction, put in demonstrative form; see note on ch. 2, 16.

κομιζομένοις—‘on their way’ (back to Locri); so i. 52, 3, κομισθήσονται, etc. The manuscripts have τοῖς κομιζομένοις, ‘those namely etc.’, with προσκομιζομένοις as a correction in one. Bekker suggests ἀποκομιζομένοις. Classen would omit both words, as being an interpolation. For other instances of an article which we might at first sight think better away, cf. iv. 46, 3, τοὺς ἐλθοντας, and Jowett's note on iv. 33, 2, οἱ ὑποστρέφοντες.

τοῖς Λοκροι_ς πρὸς αὐτόν—render ‘between him and the Locrians’; see iv. 80, 2, note, and Shilleto on i. 17, 1. κατεῖχεν—κατέχω=‘to constrain’ or ‘press hard on’; i. 103, 3, Κορίνθιοι αυ:τοὺς πολέμῳ κατεῖχον: iv. 92, 5, εἰώθασι κατέχειν. For Ἰτωνέας καὶ Μελαίους, unknown people, Classen adopts Ἰππωνιάτας καὶ Μεδμαίους, from names of places found in Strabo. Ἱπωνιέας seems the right form (F.). Note the definite article with πόλεμος, as in line 4; though the war has not been mentioned before. CHAPTER VI.

τότε—see the end of ch. 3. Σταγείρῳ—Stageirus joined Brasidas soon after Acanthus, iv. 88: for Galepsus see iv. 107, 2. The article with ἀποικίαν is a Thucydidean mannerism, sometimes implying ‘the well-known’ or ‘the before-named’ colony; but often used with no especial definitive force.

Περδίκκαν—this fickle prince had made peace with the Athenians two years before, after quarrelling with Brasidas, iv. 132, 1. κατὰ τὸ ξυμμαχικόν—so i. 107 fin.: ii. 22, 2, κατὰ τὸ παλαιὸν ξυμμαχικόν.

ἄξοντα—‘who was to bring’: Classen approves the suggestion ἄξοντας, referring to the envoys; cf. ch. 80, 20: ch. 84, 21. For μισθοῦ cf. iv. 124, 4, μισθοῦ μέλλοντες η:´κειν.

καὶ αὐτός=‘on his side’; the words belong to α:ντεκάθητο or strictly to ἐκάθητο only: cf. iv. 124, 3, ἀντεπαγαγόντες καὶ αὐτοί: so ch. 8, 2.

Ἀργιλίων—see iv. 103, 2. For the genitive cf. iv. 41, 2, ἔστι ἡ Πυλος τῆς Μεσσηνίδος ποτὲ οὔσης γῆς. Xen. Anab. v. 5, 7, Κοτύωρα ἦν Σινωπέων. πέραν—i.e. the side opposite Amphipolis, which lay to the east of the Strymon in a bend of the river; see iv. 102, 2.

αὐτόθεν—the second αὐτόθεν if genuine goes with οὐκ ἂν ἔλαθεν. It is however a mere repetition, and probably ought to be omitted or altered to αὐτόν. Classen adopts the alteration, for which there is some slight manuscript authority.

ὅπερ ἀναβήσεσθαι—ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν is to be taken with ἀναβήσεσθαι: the construction being appositional and explanatory of ὅπερ ποιήσειν: iv. 125, 1, ο:´περ φιλεῖ. .ἐκπλήγνυσθαι: so iii. 59, 3 ὑπεριδόντα: vi. 104, 4, υπερεῖδε τὸ πλῆθος τῶν νεῶν. πλῆθος—of small numbers, as in iv. 10, 2, ἀντιπάλους τῷ ἠμετερῳ πλη:θει.

παρεσκευάζετο—this governs Θρᾷκας, and παρακαλῶν= οὓς παρεκάλει: see note on iv. 48, 3, παραιρήματα ποιοῦντες= παραιρήμασιν ἃ ἐποίουν. Edones are mentioned in iv 109, 3, as dwelling on the peninsula of Acte: in i. 100, 3 as once holding Ἐννέα ὁδοί (Amphipolis).

Μυρκινίων—Myrcinus was an Edonian town (iv. 107, 3), N. of Amphipolis. ξύμπαν—predicate, ‘in all’. For δισχίλιοι cf. Xen. Cyr. ii. 1, 25, ἡ δὲ τάξις ἦν ὲκατὸν ἄνδρες. The ἱππῆς Ἕλληνες were probably the Chalcidians, as we see from ch. 10, 51. For ἐς cf. iv. 48, 1, ἐς ἑξήκοντα ἔλαθον διαφθείραντες.