Charles D. Morris, Commentary on Thucydides Book 1

ἐστρατοπεδεύοντο: Cobet reads ἐστρατοπέδευντο, since the meaning must be habere (not ponere) castra. Cf. iv.54.7; 129. 16.—πρὸς Ὀλύνθῳ: in the neighbourhood of Olynthus on the isthmus. Aristeus marched to meet the advancing Athenians as far as the neighbourhood of Olynthus (60 stadia from Potidaea, c. 63. 9). While he himself with his main force occupied the approach to the isthmus (the road to Potidaea), and drew upon himself the chief attack, he had pushed forward the Chalcidian troops and the Macedonian cavalry to Olynthus itself, that they might assail in the rear the Athenians when engaged. But this flank attack was prevented by a detachment dispatched by the Athenians; the battle took place between the two main bodies on the road between Olynthus and Potidaea, at a considerable distance from the latter. See App.

ἐπεποίηντο: cf. ἡ ἀγορὰ παρεσκευάσθη, vii.40.2; they had arranged that provisions should be for sale outside of Potidaea, to prevent the soldiers from dispersing. Cf. vii.39.10.

στρατηγὸν μέν: though μέν belongs strictly to πεζοῦ, opp. to τῆς δὲ ἵππου, it is attracted by the principal word, which belongs to the second clause also. “Often μέν and δέ attack different members of the antithesis with chiastic effect.” B.L.G. on Pind. Ol. XI. 8.

ἀπέστη: as plpf. of ἀφέστηκα.

ἄρχοντα : i.e. as administrator of Macedonia. But Grote, V. c. 47, p. 335, understands that Iolaus was the captain of the 200 horse, which seems implied by the words τὴν παρὰ (not μετὰ）Περδίκκου in 11.

τοῦ Ἀριστέως...ἔχοντι : a rare change of case at so short an interval, caused by the equivalence of ἦν ἡ γνώμη to ἔδοξε. (Cobet says: postulat Graecitatis ratio ἔχοντα.) Cf. Hom. K 187; Ξ 141; Eur. Med. 58; I. A. 491. See Classen, Beobb. üb. d. hom. Sprachgebr. p. 156. ff. Further on, when the subject changes, ἦν δὲ ἡ γνώμη takes acc. with inf., Χαλκιδέας . . . μένειν καὶ . . . ἐν μέσῳ ποιεῖν αὑτῶν τοὺς πολεμίους, in which the pron. αὑτῶν contains a reference to Aristeus and his troops. See App.— 11. τοὺς ἔξω ἰσθμοῦ: Cl. explains ‘stationed outside the Isthmus’; but it is rather from beyond the Isthmus.—διακοσίαν ἵππον: fem. collective = cavalry; cf. ἵππος μυρίη, Hdt. i.27.8; ἀσπὶς . . . μυρία καὶ τετρακοσία, Xen. An. i.7.10.

ἐπὶ σφᾶς: i.e. against Aristeus and his army. Note σφᾶς used as a refl. of the 2d degree, referring to the principal subj., not that of its own clause (cf. c. 91. 14), while in the next line αὑτῶν is refl. of 1st degree, referring to Aristeus and the two divisions of his army.

ποιεῖν: in pregnant sense, ‘to bring into a position.’ So ἐπὶ τοῦ ξηροῦ, c. 109. 16; v.2.13; vii.5.14.

Καλλίας: his advance from Gigonus (c. 61. 19) must have taken place meanwhile. — 15. τοὺς Μακεδόνας ἱππέας: the 600 of c. 61. 16.

τοὺς ἐκεῖθεν: proleptic, as in c. 8. 9; 63. 8.—ἐπιβοηθεῖν: simple inf. after verb of hindrance. GMT. 95, 2 a; H. 963.

ἀναστήσαντες: cf. iv.90.2; 93. 2; v.58.10.

ἀντικαθίσταντο καὶ αὐτοί: see on c. 50. 18. The impfs. here indicate the preparations for the decisive action. Cf. c. 46. 1; 48. 2.

ἔτρεψαν τό: several Mss. have ἐτρέψαντο, which might suggest the correction ἐτρέψαντο τό. But Thuc. uses the act. 30 times and the mid. only 6 times in this sense.— 24. ἐπὶ πολύ: (of time, c. 6. 12; ii.16.1; 64. 26, and frequently) here of space, as ii.75.8; v.73.25; vi.37.18; 70. 12; viii.10.9.

τὸ τεῖχος: i.e. of Potidaea. This engagement near Potidaea, which acc. to ii. 2, 7 must be placed in Sept., 432, was the one in which Socrates saved the life of the young Alcibiades. Cf. Plat. Symp. 220 d, e.