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ἔδει παραγενέσθαι—‘ought to have reached Plataea.’ M. T. 415. Cf. c. 92, 7, 95, 3. εἴ τι ἄρα—cf. c. 12, 1. The following are noteworthy: (1) εἴ μὴ ἄρα = nisi forte, e.g. Xen. Mem. I. 2, 8 πῶς ἂν οὖν ὁ τοιοῦτος ἀνὴρ διαφθείροι τοὺς νέους; εἰ μὴ ἄρα ἡ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐπιμέλεια διαφθορά ἐστιν. (2) εί ἄρα in indirect questions, e.g. Plat. Phaedo, 95 B πειρώμεθα εί ἄρα τι λέγεις. (3) εἰ ἄρα or ἢν ἄρα in protasis, as I. 140 ἢν ἄρα τι καὶ σφαλλώμεθα. ἄρα implies a quite unlikely contingency. προχωροίη—the apodosis is only implied in ἔδει παραγενἐσθαι. M. T. 696. ἢν προχωρῇ might have been kept. προχωρεῖν is a favourite word with Thuc. ἅμα—belongs to ῥηθείσης, as c. 4 ὑετοῦ ἅμα ἐπιγενομένου. ῥηθείσης—more usually ἐλθούσης, but the former is better suited to a hurried announcement to an army on the march. τῶν γεγενημένων —the Theban reinforcements were ignorant of the destruction of their friends when they arrived, see 4 below. Hence these τὰ γεγενημένα told them were not complete. The message was doubtless brought by those who escaped κατὰ πύλας ἐρήμους, who did not know all. ἐπεβοήθουν—‘increased their speed.’ Cf. III. 110, 1.
Commentary on Thucydides Book 2. E.C. Marchant. London. MacMillan & Company. 1891.
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