E.C. Marchant, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 2

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Νόμῳ—‘custom.’ See c. 35, 1.

ταφὰς—funeral) )τάφος, tomb.

ἐν τῷδε τῷ π—see e. 1, init.

ἀποθανόντων —in the siege of Potidaea, during the skirmishes with the invaders in Attica, and in the two coast expeditions.

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Ὀστᾶ—the bodies had been burnt already at the scene of the action, then the bones were collected and buried at Athens. Cf. Plato, Phaedo, 80 D ἔνια μέρη τοῦ σώματος, ὁστᾶ τε καὶ νεῦρα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν ἀθάνατά ἐστιν. προτίθενται—proponunt.

ἀπογενομένων—ef. c. 51, 5. An Ionie word. Herod. II. 85. Suidas, s.v. ἀπεγένετο, says οὕτως Ἀντιφῶν καὶ Θουκυδίδης. Probably it was used in ritual, as ἀποκτιννύναι for ἀποκτείνειν. πρότριτα—so Aristoph. Lys. 611. Cf. πρόπεμπτα. Both words puzzled ancient commentators. We should say ‘two days’ (before the ἐκφορά).

σκηνὴν ποιήσαντες—in the agora, whieh was in the deme Cerameicus.

ἤν τι—not the things whieh the dead were supposed to require for their existenee below, but fancy presents.

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ἐπειδὰν—used here like ὅταν. Contrast 6 below, and c. 72, 3.

κυπαρισσίνας—the sehol. says that cypress was used beeause it does not easily deeay. Cl. says this is mere imagination; but at Veniee carved chests of cypress were used in the time of Shakspere for keeping valuable stuffs in. (‘Taming of the Shrew,’ II. 1 In cypress chests my arras.) The faet that it was used for coffins may be the reason why it was saered to the dead.

φυλῆς—the members of a φυλὴ were buried together (a) because the φυλαὶ were the largest aggregates based on the family, (b) because they were the basis of military organisation. ἧς ἕκαστος—ἕκ. is put into the relative clause, as in c. 17, 3.

κενὴ—every effort had to be made to reeover the dead; only for those who were not found after eareful search was the symbolic burial sufficient. Eur. Hel. 1241 Ἕλλησίν έστι νόμος ὃς ἂν πόντῳ θάνῃ [κενοῖσι θάπτειν ἐν πέπλων ὑφάσμασιν. τῶν ἀφανῶν—with κλίνη. For the expression, cf. VIII. 38 ἀποπλέων ἐν κέλητι ἀφανίζεται.

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Ὁ βουλόμενος—the generic art. is post-Homeric.

ξένων—thus the aliens would hear the funeral oration, in which Athens was always extolled.

αἱ προσήκουσαι—this limits γυναῖκες, lit. ‘I mean those who are related.’

ἐπὶ τὸν τάφον—the women might be present at the grave, but did not walk in the proeession from the agora.

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Προαστείου—that part of the Cerameieus which was outside the gates was used as a cemetery. It was to Athens what the Appian Way was to Rome. It was just outside the Dipylon, the chief and double gateway of Athens. Probably it means ‘the potters' quarter,’ the Athenian potteries being famous. Cf. the potters' field in St. Matthew, XXVII. 7, whieh was bought ‘to bury strangers in.’

πλὴν—see c. 21, 2.

ἐν Μαραθῶνι—see not. crit. Some critics, while admitting ἐν Σαλαμῖνι, deny that ἐν can be used with Μαραθῶνι, and no case where the metre requires ἐν before Μαραθῶνι is found. The names of the sites of famous battles are used elliptically.

αὐτοῦ—on the battle-field.

καὶ—as well as burning the bodies.

τάφον ἐποίησαν—‘made them their grave.’ The mound raised over it still exists, as also the remains of the trophy of victory set up in 490 B.C.

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Ἡιρημένος ὑπὸ—the subject is a person; therefore ὑπὸ and not the dat. is used with the perf. pass.

μὴ ἀξύνετος—i.e. ξυνετώτατος. ἀξιώσει—Grote and Shil. say ἀξίωσις means the estimate one has of oneself; ἀξίωμα that which others have of one. Such a wide difference does not exist here. ἀξίωσις is the recogintion of a man's γνώμη. προήκῃ —rare for προέχῃ. ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῖς—the prep. marks the occasion. Cf. 8 below, 35, 1, 42, 1. So in the orators.

ἔ. τὸν πρέποντα—mark the order. c. 2. 2.

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Ξυμβαίη—sc. θάπτειν τοὺς ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου, i.e. at the end of each campaign.

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Καιρὸς ἐλάμβανε—‘at the right moment,’ = κ. κατε- λάμβανε. Cf. c. 18, 2.

ὑψηλὸν πεποιημένον—together. Ste. however places the stop after ὑψηλόν. ὡς ἐπὶ πλεῖστον —so ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολύ IV. 29, 3; ἐπί πλέον c. 53, 1 (cf. c. 29, 2 note). Cf. Eur. Sup. 857 fol.

ἔλεγε—now follows the λόγος ἐπιτάφιος. It is more worked up than any other speech in Thuc., and conforms closely to the rhetorical rules. The other λ. ἐπιτάφιοι extant are one ascribed to Lysias, one to Demosthenes (see 44, 2), the Menexenus ascribed to Plato; fragments of one by Gorgias (see Intr. p. xlii.), and a considerable part of one by Hypereides. Doderlein says of the speech ‘Arte dicentis ad laudes Athenarum inflexum ac potius ad comparationem vitae Atheniensium liberae, liberalis, vere vitalis, cum tetrica angustaque et aerumnosa Spartanorum disciplina.’