CHAPTER LII
τοῦ δ᾽ ἐπιγιγνομένου θέρους—cf. note on ch. 1, 1.
εὐθύς— ‘at its very beginning’.
ἐκλιπές τι—apparently a partial eclipse; calculated to have happened on the 21st of March: cf.
ii. 28,
ὁ ἤλιος έξέλιπε. This took place
νουμηνίᾳ κατὰ σελήνην, ‘at the beginning of a lunar month’, and Thuc. adds that this seems the only possible time.
τοῦ αὐτοῦ μηνὸς ἱσταμένου—in the first 10 days of the same month, viz. Elaphebolion, which began in the latter half of March. For the variation and uncertainty of the Greek calendar see Jowett on
ii. 1.
ἔσεισεν—‘there was an earthquake’: cf.
ὔει, βροντᾷ, and the like, as we say, it rains, etc.
ὁ θεός is to be understood:
Ar. Ach. 510,
Ποσειδῶν...σείσας. We have the pass. of
σείω in
ii. 8, (
Δῆλος)
πρότερον οὔπω σεισθεῖσα. Portents, such as earthquakes and eclipses, were especially frequent at the time of the Peloponnesian war (
i. 23).
οἱ Μυτιληναίων φυγάδες—the revolt of Mytilene and Lesbos is related in the earlier part of bk. iii.: the final reduction of the island in ch. 50.
οἱ πολλοί—partial apposition: cf. ch. 6, 4.
ἐκ τε—τε and
καί couple
Πελοποννήσου and
αὐτόθεν, the two districts supplying the force,
τε being somewhat out of place, as in ch. 28, 21,
ἔκ τε Αἴνου.. καὶ ἄλλοθεν.
ἐπικουρικόν—‘an auxiliary force’:
viii. 25,
ξενικὸν ἐπικουρικόν: so
ὁπλιτικόν, ἱππικόν, ναυτικόν, etc.
Ῥοίτειον—cf.
viii. 101,
ἐς Ῥοίτειον ἤδη τοῦ Ἑλλησπόντου.
λαβόντες—as ransom for the place.
στατῆρας—the Phocaean stater was worth somewhat less than the Attic stater, the value of which was about 16 shillings.
ἀπέδοσαν πάλιν οὐδὲν ἀδικήσαντες—‘restored the town uninjured’ (Jowett).
Ἀκταίας—so called because they were on the coast (
ὰκτή) near Lesbos. In
iii. 50 we read that the Athenians took possession of the towns on the mainland
ὄσων Μυτιληναῖοι ἐκράτουν.
πάντων μάλιστα—this use of the neuter is to be noted. Poppo compares Mark
xii. 28,
πρώτη πάντων ἐντολή.
κρατυνάμενοι—construction in accordance with the sense, as if
διενοοῦντο had preceded instead of
ἦν ἡ διάνοια: cf. ch. 23, 13, note. The middle form of
κρατύνω is found ch. 114, 13: also
iii. 82,
τὰς πίστεις ἐκρατύνοντο: the active occurs
i. 69, etc.
ναῦς τε γάρ—this parenthetical sentence extends to
παρασκευῇ. τε and
καί coupling its two members
ναῦς and
τῇ ἄλλῃ παρασκευῇ. Arnold however ends the parenthesis with
ἐπικειμένης, and takes
τῇ ἄλλῃ παρασκευῇ with the following
ὁρμώμενοι.
αὐτόθεν—in sense may be joined with the words before or after it, and is probably connected with both.
τῇ ἄλλῃ παρασκευῇ—most probably dat. of the instrument, dependent by a change of construction on the sense derived from
κρατυνάμενοι, sc.
τῇ ἄλλῃ παρασκευῇ κρατύνεσθαι εὔπορον ἦν. Poppo proposes to read
τὴν ἄλλην παρασκευήν governed by
ποιεῖσθαι. It has also been proposed to take the dative as dependent on
εὐπορία, ‘there were facilities for’ etc., or to alter the reading to
τῆς ἄλλης παρασκευῆς, giving the same meaning. Arnold regards the text as a mixture of two constructions, connecting the dat. with what follows, as if the words ran
ναυσί τε (
ναῦς γὰρ εὐπορία ἦν ποιεῖσθαι κ.τ.λ.)
καὶ τῇ ἄλλῃ παρασκευῇ.
Instead of
παρασκευῇ the manuscript authority is in favour of
σκευῇ, which is accordingly retained by Jowett.
σκευή however appears used exclusively of dress and personal appointments, e.g.
i. 6:
vi. 31,
τῶν περὶ τὸ σῶμα σκευῶν: and though it would apply to fitting out men for an expedition, is not so appropriate to the fortifying of a stronghold: cf.
i. 2,
οὔτε μεγέθει πόλεων ἴσχυον οὔτε τῇ ἄλλῃ παρασκευῇ.
ὁρμώμενοι—cf. ch.
i. 8: constructed like
κρατυνάμενοι above.
κακώσειν. χειρώσασθαι—construction and variation of tense as in ch. 28, 29.
καὶ οἱ μέν—cf. note on imp.
ἐπολέμουν, ch. 48, 32: the account of these operations is resumed in ch. 75.
