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

οὐ τοῦ θείου χάριν—the editors quote A. Gellius i. 2, 1, non prorsus ex aliquo ritu religionum neque rei divinae gratia. ὅπερ φιλεῖ—iv. 125, 1, ὅπερ φιλεῖ μεγάλα στρατόπεδα ..ἐκπλήγνυσθαι. Classen points out (i. 78, 2) that Thucydides always uses φιλεῖν in this sense, in which it occurs more than a dozen times. He adds that it is only used once by Herodotus (v. 5) in the sense of loving, elsewhere of being wont, as here. For ποιεῖν we might expect πάσχειν: so in line 2 of the next chapter. Poppo cites (from Duker) Ar. Plut. 1204, πολὺ τῶν ἄλλων χυτρῶν ταναντία αὗται ποιοῦσι.

τοιόνδε—the explanation is given in line 16, δείσας δὲ Ἇγις, the construction beginning afresh with καὶ τότε after the parenthetical intioduction. Otherwise the words would run τοιόνδε ἐβουλεύσατο δρᾶσαι: δείσας μή κ.τ.λ. We have a similar sentence in iv. 67, 2, οἱ προδιδόντες τοιόνδε ἐποίησαν: ἀκάτιον .. εἰὡθεσαν κατακομίζειν:...καὶ τότε: cf. vi. 88, 1, οἱ Καμαριναῖοι ἐπεπόνθεσαν τοιόνδε: τοῖς μὲν Ἀθηναίοις εὔνοι ἦσαν. So Hdt. i. 80, ἐποίησε τοιο:νδε: <*>σαι κ.τ.λ.: cf. Xen. Anab. v. 4, 31, τὰ δὲ πλεῖστα τοιάδε ἦν τῶν χωρίων: ἀπεῖχον: Other instances of ‘asyndeton’ are cited by Kuhner on Xen. Anab. iv. 7, 10, μηχανᾶταί τι: προέτρεχεν κ.τ.λ.

ἐβουλεύσατο—‘decided’; ii. 74, 1: iv. 57, 4. Sudden change of purpose at a crisis was characteristic of Agis; see ch. 60 and 65.

ποιεῖ μέν—this would be regularly answered by τότε δὲ καὶ οἱ Μαντινῆς, but the construction is dropped. καὶ ἅπαντα— ‘all without exception do this’; iv. 23, 3, τῆς νυκτὸς καὶ ἅπασαι περιώρμουν. τοῦτο—explained by what follows without a connecting word: so vi. 36, 2, αἱ ἀγγελίαι τοῦτο δύνανται: οὐκ ἀπὸ ταὐτομάτου ξύγκεινται: cf. ii. 36, 4, ὃ νῦν ὑμεῖς δρᾶτε ἀφίεσθε: vi. 11, 4, ὅπερ νῦν ὑμεῖς πεπόνθατε .ἐφίεσθε: Xen. Cyr. ii. 3, 4, οὕτω πως ἐποίησε δίδωσι: cf. note on line 1.

αὑτῶν—the position of αὑτῶν is due to the insertion of δεξιόν, otherwise τὰ αὑτῶν κέρατα is the regular order, as in line 24: cf. iv. 43, 3, τῷ εὐωνύμῳ κέρᾳ ἑαυτῶν. As a general principle the genitive of a personal pronoun and αὐτοῦ stands after the substantive on which it depends, or before the article; while the genitive of reflexive and demonstrative pronouns follows the article. Thus we have ἡ γλῶσσά σου, καλαἰ νῷν αἱ γυναῖκες, ο: πατὴρ αύτοῦ: but φὑλαττε τὸν σαυτοῦ τρόπον, ἑς κόσμον τὸν ἑαυτῶν, ὁ τούτου πατήρ, ἡ ἀλλήλων δικαιοσύνη. There are however instances where this usage is disregarded for the sake of emphasis or otherwise. Thus, ἀνεπικούρητον σεαυτοῦ τὸν βίον λήσῃ ποιῶν, where σεαυτοῦ has a force like that of an ethical dative. Again, with an additional word the position of αὐτοῦ may be changed, γνώσεσθε τὴν ἀλλην αὐτοῦ πονηρίαν, an exact converse of the present passage: so iv. 55, 3, παρὰ τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν σφῶν ἰδέαν: cf. ch. 43, 14. Full illustrations of all these usages may be found in Kruger's Grammar § 47, 9, 9—20: see also Madvig's Greek Syntax, § 10. It should be noticed that Kruger says that αὑτοῦ (αὐτῶν) when it means ipsius is placed next the article like ἑαυτοῦ etc. In such cases however αὑτοῦ is now generally read; see note on ch. 10, 48. These constructions are not to be confounded with the partitive genitive, such as οἱ πλεῖστοι αὐτῶν (iv. 43, 2).

ἐν ταῖς ξυνόδοις—when closing with the enemy; iii. 107, 3, ἐν τῇ ξυνόδῳ αὐτῇ. ἐξωθεῖται—‘thrust outwards’ (Jowett) (mid.), or ‘are forced out’ of the proper line, which is thus unduly extended towards the right.

περι<*>σχουσι—‘extend beyond’, ‘overlap’, or ‘outflank’; iii. 107, 3, περιέσχε τὸ τῶν Πελοποννησίων στρατόπεδον (nom.); with this verb may be joined a dative of the instrument, ib. fin. περιέσχον τῷ κέρᾳ, ‘with their wing’. κατά—‘opposite to’.

προστέλλειν...τῇ.. ἀσπίδι—either (1) ‘shelter with’, or (2) ‘move up to, the shield of the man next on the right’. Liddell and Scott are in favour of (1); Poppo and Krüger of (2). Poppo cites Dio Cas. XL. 23, 3, ταῖς τῶν παραστατῶν ἀσπίσι τὰς γυμνώσεις σφῶν προστέλλειν, which is equally ambiguous. Classen reads προσστέλλειν in sense (2) maintaining that this form is required for the construction and meaning.

τὰ γυμνά—as in ch. 10. 20, the right arm and side which were not covered by the shield. καὶ νομίζειν—‘and because they think that this closeness of locking up gives the best shelter’. εὐσκεπαστότατον is probably neuter, in accordance with a common construction; it may possibly be feminine, as in ch. 110, 3: iii. 101, 2, ταύτῃ δυσεσβολώτατος ἠ Αοκρίς. In iii. 89 (fin.) βιαιότερον τὴν ἐπίκλυσιν ποιεῖν is ambiguous. εὐσκέπαστος is found in Dio Cas. 49. 30, but not elsewhere in classical Greek. σκεπάζω is used by Xenophon; see σκέπας.

ἡγεῖται τῆς αἰτίας—lit. ‘begins this fault’, αἰτία being ground or cause of blame. πρωτοστάτης—as we say, ‘the pivot-man’: οἱ πρωτοστάται in Xen. are the front-rank men. ἐξαλλάσσειν—‘to withdraw from the enemy’.

γύμνωσιν—this unusual word, which is active in form, may mean the side ‘which he exposes’ or ‘finds himself exposing’; or it may be simply a convenient singular, the plural τὰ γυμνά being elsewhere used. We use such words as enclosure in a similar passive way. It is copied by Dio, as cited above.

καὶ τότε—‘and so now’, resuming the particular description after a general digression; so iv. 67, 5: vii. 29, 4. τότε δ̓ οὖν is used somewhat in the same way.

περιέσχον.. τῶν Σκιριτῶν—‘overlapped the Sciritae with their wing’. περιέχω, which elsewhere takes the accusative when it means to surround, is here constructed like περιγίγνομαι. The datives in line 6 and iii. 107 (fin.) seem decisive as to the construction. Haack however suggested τὸ κέρας and τὸ τῶν Ἀθηναίων.

δείσας .νομίσας—the aorist implies a sudden thought, as in ch. 65. 12. σφῶν=our: iv. 9, 2, note. The position gives the word an emphatic force=‘lest he should have his left surrounded’.

ἐσήμηνεν—of military orders; ii. 84, 1, πρὶν ἂν αὐτὸς σημήνῃ: with infinitive in the general sense of directing, Hdt. v. 35, σημαίνοντα ἀπίστασθαι ἀπὸ βασιλέος. The order given by Agis was ‘extend away from us, and present an equal front to the Mantineans’. In ἐπεξαγαγόντας, ἐπί implies motion not towards the enemy, but to the new position required; while ἐξ denotes leaving their original post, or opening out the line: so of ships, vii. 52, 2, ἐπεξαγαγόντα πρὸς τὴν γῆν: viii. 104, 3, ἀντεπεξῆγον: παυσάμενοι τῆς ἐπεξαγωγῆς. All of these are flank movements to surround the enemy.

ἐξισῶσαι—‘to present an equal front to the Mantineans’. τὸ εὐώνυμον may be the object; or ἐξισῶσαι may be quasi-intransitive, as in vi. 87, 5, ἐξισὠσαντες τοῖς ἄλλοις, ‘acting like the rest of the world’, lit. ‘making things (or the matter in hand) equal’: cf. Soph. El. 1194, μητρὶ δ: οὐδὲν ἐξισοῖ. Here τὴν τάξιν, or ἑαυτούς, or ‘the state of things’, would be implied. We have seen (ch. 67, 1) that the Sciritae were entitled to the left, and ‘among the Lacedaemonians especially ancient routine was more valued than elsewhere’ (Grote). Hence it was impossible to order round a division from the extreme right to the extreme left, and apparently impracticable to move the whole line more to the left. We do not know the nature of the ground.

ἐς τὸ διάκενον τοῦτο—put emphatically first, ‘to fill up this gap’; for the word cf. ch. 72. 16: iv. 135, 1. παρήγγελλεν —‘consecutio verborum haec est: παρήγγελλεν τῶν πολεμάρχων Ἱππονοίδᾳ καὶ Ἀριστοκλεῖ παρελθεῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ δεξιοῦ κέρως ἐς τὸ διάκενον τοῦτο ἔχουσι δύο λόχους. Lochos autem duos duo polemarchi aut ideo adducere iussi sunt quod lochi Thucydidei moris Xenophonteis sunt similes, aut quod in graviore negotio vel tempore difficiliore etiam minores partes militum a maioribus ducibus adversus hostes dncendae videntur’ (Poppo).

τῶν πολεμάρχων—partitive genitive depending immediately on the proper names; i. 24, 1, Φάλιος Κορίνθιος τῶν ἀφ̓ Ἡρακλέους: i. 126, 2, Κύλων ἀνὴρ Ἀθηναῖος τῶν πάλαι. Aristocles may be the brother of king Pleistoanax mentioned ch. 16, 26. For the position of ἔχουσι Kruger compares iii. 26, 1, δύο καὶ τεσσαράκοντα ναῦς ἀπέστειλαν ἔχοντα Ἀλκίδαν.