C.E. Graves, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 5

γίγνεται—‘becomes due’: Dem. Timocr. 726, § 83, τὸ τίμημα τὸ γιγνόμενον.

ἀπομόσαι—this is the invariable reading, and is interpreted ‘to swear solemnly’. Elsewhere ἀπόμνυμι always has a negative force, and means ‘to disclaim on oath’. Should ἐπομόσαι be read here? Arnold suggests that ἀπομόσαι may perhaps be justified, as the oath would be exculpatory in effect.

θυσίας καὶ ἀγώνων—usually regarded as explanatory of τοῦ ἱεροῦ, and coordinate in construction. Some authorities however take τοῦ ἱεροῦ as dependent on θυσίας, or conversely translate, ‘from the sacred observance of sacrifice’. The position of the article is against such renderings. Kruger suggests that θυσίας καὶ ἀγώνων may be a note interpolated from ch. 49, 4.

ἐθεώρουν—were formally represented by their θεωροί: viii. 10 init. οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι ἐθεώρουν ἐς αὐτά (τὰ Ἴσθμια). Individual Spartans were not excluded.

ξὺν ὅπλοις—‘under arms’; one of the regular phrases in which ξύν is used in prose. Classen unaccountably takes τῶν νεωτέρων as dependent on ὅπλοις, and naturally calls it a strange expression. Surely the construction is obvious even without such instances as νεῶν τριῶν φυλακή (ii. 93 fin.): τὴν φυλακὴν τῶν τριἡρων ἐλάνθανον (iv. 26, 7).

ἐν Ἄργει ὑπέμενον—‘had been waiting at Argos for the feast’, and then moved towards Olympia (Jowett). This is a legitimate sense of the imperfect, referring to duration of time before ἦλθον; cf. i. 9, 2, ὅσων Εὐρυσθεὺς ἦρχε τὴν βασιλεἰαν *:ατρἑα παραλαβεῖν. Otherwise the reading ἐν Ἄργει must be wrong, as Argos was seventy or eighty miles off. Classen accordingly adopts εν Ἁρπίνῃ, Harpina being a town in the valley of the Alpheus, 20 stadia from Olympia. It seems however natural that Argos, the head of the league with Athens, would find quarters for an Athenian detachment, which had probably been sent in readiness by the advice of Alcibiades.

Λίχας—Lichas was a man of eminence. He was one of the envoys to Argos, ch. 22, 11 (cf. ch. 76, 13), and is mentioned several times in the eighth Book. ἐν τῷ ἀγῶνι— ‘on the course’ or place of contest, an Homeric use; so infr. line 20. Otherwise the meaning might be ‘in the midst of the assembly’ or ‘during the meeting’.

ὑπὸ τῶν ῥαβδούχων—the ῥαβδοῦχοι were probably the officials acting under orders from the presiding Ἑλλανοδίκαι or ἀγωνοθέται, rather than these authorities themselves. πληγὰς λαμβάνω is the regular phrase for ‘being beaten’ and is accordingly constructed with ὑπό. For the ‘defective verb τύπτω’, see the Appendix to Sandys' Private Orations of Demosthenes. Grote points out how much less harsh and rough, by comparison with this incident, was the manner of dealing at Athens, where personal violence was illegal. He adds ‘the boldness of the Eleans in putting this affront upon the most powerful state in Greece is so astonishing, that we can hardly be mistaken in supposing their proceeding to have been suggested by Alcibiades and encouraged by the armed aid from the allies. He was at this moment not less ostentatious in humiliating Sparta than in showing off Athens’ (ch. 55).

νικῶντος—ch. 49, 2. ζεύγους—chariot and pair. Whether Lichas won the final heat we do not know, or even whether there were more heats than one. Grote (ch. 55) discusses the matter at length, and strives to show that this was the Olympian festival at which Alcibiades made his unparalleled display of magnificence as θεωρός, and entered seven chariots, taking the first, second and fourth place (vi. 16, 2).

Βοιωτῶν δημοσίου—Lichas had entered his chariot under the name of the ‘Boeotian community’, which was accordingly declared victorious: Xen. Hell. iii. 2, 21, Λίχα παραδόντος Θηβαίοις τὸ ἅρμα. δημόσιον may mean a state, as in Hdt. i. 14, Κορινθίων τού δημοσίου: and the article is omitted, as it often is with quasi-proper names, so ch. 18, 42, ἐν δημοσίῳ (ἐν τῷ just before): vi. 31, 3, ἑκ δημοσίου. Poppo suggests that δημοσίου might possibly be taken as an adjective agreeing with ζεύγους, ‘his chariot being proclaimed as belonging to the Boeotian state’. States, like kings, seem to have competed in the race; cf. vi. 16, 2, where Alcibiades says that he entered more chariots than any private person before him.

οὐκ ἐξουσίαν—see note on ch. 35, 7. ἀγώνισις is not found elsewhere in classical Greek. ἀνέδησε—iv. 121, 1, στεφάνῳ άνέδησαν.

ἡσύχασαν—the aorist, ‘became quiet’ or ‘were pacified’, suggests that they had actually made some threatening movement; otherwise we should expect the imperfect: cf. viii. 86, 2, μόλις ἡσυχάσαντες ἤκουσαν. αὐτοῖς—‘as for them’; ch. 3, 24. The Lacedaemonians seem meant, though Krüger refers the word to πάντες. Twelve years afterwards the Spartans avenged the insult they had received, by invading and ravaging the land of Elis; Xen. Hell. iii. 2, 23—31.