Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides Book 6

---

The Athenians, however, had already landed the night before with their whole army at Leon at the foot of Epipolae and ascended this height by way of Euryelus before the Syracusans could lend aid from the Anapus meadow. The 600 picked men and the rest of the Syracusans rush in disorder against the Athenians, but are repulsed with great loss. Next day the Athenians advance against the city; but as the Syracusans do not come out, they turn back and build at Labdalum, the northernmost point of Epipolae, a fort to serve as a base and a depository of military supplies.

οἱ δὲ Ἀθηναῖοι ταύτης τῆς νυκτός, <ᾗ> τῇ ἐπιγιγνομένῃ ἡμέρᾳ ἐξητάζοντο ἐκεῖνοι, ἔλαθον αὐτοὺς...κατὰ τὸν Λέοντα καλούμενον: the Athenians during that night, on the day after which the Syracusans held their review, came from Catana with their whole force and landed unobserved at the place called Leon. The general situation was this: the Athenians use the same ruse as in their first attack upon Syracuse (64-66), that is, they avail themselves of a time to ascend Epipolae when the main force of the Syracusans is engaged outside of the city in the opposite direction. This time they had doubtless information of the intended great review and hence sail during the night preceding the day set therefor from Catana to the point Leon, distant six or seven stades from Epipolae (as 65. 14 ὑπὸ νύκτα ἔπλεον ἐπὶ τὰς Συρακούσας), land the troops, and ascend Euryelus, while the Syracusans are still on the meadow by the Anapus. On the text, see App.

σχόντες: condensed expression for παραπλεύσαντες καὶ σχόντες. For const. σχεῖν κατά, see on 1. 110. 11.—τὸν Λέοντα: Leon was near the modern Casa della Finanza south of Thapsus. See Holm H, 385 f.; Freeman, Hist. of Sic. III, 211.

ἐς τὴν Θάψον: the peninsula north west of Leon with a roomy harbor for ships. See on 4. 5.

ἐν στενῷ ἰσθμῷ...πέλαγος : with a narrow isthmus, extending into the sea.

πλοῦν: understand πολύν from πολλήν. Cf. 92. 17. Measure of distance, as in 2. 38, 49. 19.

διασταυρωσάμενος: =σταυροἶς ἀπολαβών (cf. 4. 102. 18). The middle διασταυροῦσθαι is found nowhere else, the act. only in Dio C. 41. 50.

κατὰ τὸν Εὐρύηλον: not far from the westernmost point of Epipolae, near the present Belvedere. See Holm H, 32, 386; Freeman III, 211 f.

ὡς ἕκαστος τάχους εἶχε: as in 2. 90. 19. See on 1. 22. 13; 7. 2. 2.—οἱ περὶ τὸν Διόμιλον: cf. 96. 16.

προσμεῖξαι: of approach (1. 46. 8), προσπεσόντες (16) of attack.—ἐγίγνοντο: (to which belongs ἐκ τοῦ χειμῶνος) with numerals, as in 1. 87. 10, 107. 24; 2. 13. 27, 20. 11, 98. 14; 3. 75. 22; 4. 9. 10.

αὐτοῖς: τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις.

τοιούτῳ τρόπῳ : with ἀτακτότερον. Against the reading of Vat. ἀτακτότεροι might be cited ἀτάκτως καὶ οὐδενὶ κόσμῳ προσπίπτοντες 3. 108. 15; ἀτάκτως προσφερομένους 7. 53. 8. Cf. however ἀπροσδόκητος προσπεσών 4. 103. 21, and προσπίπτειν ἀπροσδοκήτως 4. 29. 17.

τροπαῖόν τε στήσαντες: τε is wanting in Vat.

ὡς οὐκ ἐπεξῇσαν αὐτοῖς: Cl. would read, unnecessarily, ὡς δ̓ οὐκ ἐπεξῇσαν.

τῷ Λαβδάλῳ : (cf. 98. § 2; 7. 3. § 4) on the extreme north ridge (as ἐπ᾽ ἄκροις τοῖς κρημνοῖς means; not on the highest ridge, against which would be 7. 3. § 4), a point at once splendid and dominant (Holm H, 33. 387). Cf. Freeman III, 213.— 25. ὁρῶν πρός: see on 2. 55. 4. It belongs to φρούριον, but might have been as well ὁρῶσι with κρημνοῖς.

τὰ Μέγαρα : see on 4. 7.

προίοιεν: for the inappropriate προσίοιεν of the Mss., conjecture of F. Portus universally accepted.

τοῖς χρήμασιν: see on 49. 13.—ἀποθήκη: apparently not found elsewhere in Attic writers.