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ἐτείχιζον—his “main object now is to hinder them from carrying their north wall to the edge of the cliff, and down to the water on that side. A wall running east and west was to be built.” Freeman . This is the third Syr. counterwork. διὰ τῶν Ἐπιπολῶν . . . ἐγκάρσιον—four expressions are here given in order to fix the direction: (1) διὰ τῶν Ἐ. shows that the wall was to run along E.: (2) ἀπὸ τῆς π. ἀρξάμενοι shows that it was to run from east to west: (3) ἄνω north of the κύκλος, as VI. 99 κάτωθεν τοῦ κύκλου south of it; cf. on c. 2.4; (4) πρὸς τὸ ἐγκάρσιον at an angle to the north wall of the A. (The meaning of ἄνω is much disputed: (a) Freeman says it means that ‘the wall was carried westwards, up the slope,’ with which the note in Jowett agrees. So Stahl. In this case ἄνω adds nothing new, but—as often—only gives the general direction which is further defined by the words following it—viz. πρὸς τὸ ἐγκάρσιον; (b） Classen renders ‘along the northern height’ and Fr. Muller ‘north of the κύκλος,’ which is much the same thing. This is better, because (1) it enables us to give the same meaning throughout the description to ἄνω, viz. ‘north’ (cf. c. 4.3) of the place specified; (2) if ἄνω does not mean north, there is nothing to show on which side of the κύκλος the new wall ran. This can indeed be inferred from what follows, but in the case of the other counterworks Thuc. states clearly that the one was κάτωθεν τοῦ κύκλου, the other διὰ τοῦ ἔλους; (3) ἄνω thus gives a new indication of direction and does not merely repeat the other expressions.) πρὸς τὸ ἐγκάρσιον—adverbial, cross-wise: with prepositional phrases used adverbially the article is rarely found. ὅπως . . . εἰ μὴ δύναιντο . . . μηκέτι οἷοί τε ὦσιν—when ἐὰν and subj. is changed into εἰ and opt, the subj in a final clause is regularly changed into opt.; the only exceptions in Thuc. are this passage and IV. 120 ὅπως, εἰ . . . περιτυγχάνοι, ἡ τριήρης ἀμύνῃ (V. l. ἀμύνοι), ἀποτειχίσαι—to invest the city, by completing the northern wall.
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