E.C. Marchant, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 7

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ἡ σελήνη ἐκλείπει—eclipses of sun or moon were deemed ominous. Plnt. Nic. 23 says that even οὶ πολλοὶ knew in the time of Nicias that eclipses of the sun were a natural phenomenon; but this is very doubtful. What was known about them was due to the teaching of Anaxagoras. Plut. Per. 35; de superstit. c. 7.

ἐτύγχανε . . . οὖσα—Thuc. uses the imperf. of τυγχάνω with pres. or perf.; with aor. only in VIII. 105. See on c. 4.3.

ἐνθύμιον ποιούμενοι—took it to heart.

ἦν . . . προσκείμενος—the tense of εἰμὶ must precede the participle in this periphrasis, as it is emphatic, representing a state of things existing at the time referred to. Cf. II. 67 ἦν . . . πολιορκοῦν; 2.80 ἦσαν . . . ξυμπροθυμούμενοι.

τι καὶ ἄγαν κ τ.λ.—cf Intr. p. XXXV. Plutarch says that Stilbides had lately died.

οὐδ᾽ ἂν διαβουλεύσασθαι—he would not even enter into any further discussion as to how he should move until . . .

πρὶν . . . μεῖναι—here πριν has the infin., though a negative precedes. This happens when something positive is insisted on; as here the fact that he would remain so long.

ἐξηγοῦντο—technical word for interpretation by priests. Cf. Andoc. I. 116 ἐξηγῇ Κηρύκων ὤν, οὐχ ὅσιον ὄν.

τρὶς ἐννέα—Plutarch says that the priests only required nine days, but Nicias insisted on staying for a whole revolution of the moon.

μελλήσασι—refers to the delay that had been rendered necessary by the eclipse, before they had decided how long to remain. ὴ μονὴ on the contrary refers to the definite stay of twenty-seven days. But they had only stayed a few days when they were attacked. ‘And so the A., after delaying for this reason, had resolved to remain.’