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Ἔτι δ᾽—cf. c. 13, init. τῇ Π.—the dat. depends on ἐπίπλουν. ἑτοῖμα—cf. c. 3, 4.
Ἐπὶ τῶν—see c. 80, 2 ἱππαγωγοῖς—this is the first occasion on which the Athenians used transports. (The Persians used them, Herod. VI. 48.) They were triremes (IV. 42; VI. 43); in 424 they were sufficiently novel to provide Aristoph. with a joke, Eq. 599. It was very important to have cavalry in the plundering expeditions, in order to be able to penetrate as far inland as possible. Χῖοι καὶ Λ.— cf. c. 9, 4. ναυσίν—the dat. of accompaniment, only used in naval and military phrases.
Ὅτε—the imperf., as usual, after ὅτε, denoting that the act described in the principal clause occurs at the same time as that described in the temporal clause. Cf. on c. 21, 1, and c. 99, 6. τῆς Ἀττικῆς—for the order, cf. c. 18, 1, and contrast 4 below, where the emphasis is on Ἐπίδαυρον, whereas here the point is that the Peloponnesians were still in Attica, cf. 6 below.
Ἐπίδαυρον—the most important place yet attacked by the Athenians; it would have been valuable to them, as it lay on the road to Argos, which was then neutral (c. 9, 2) and might possibly join them if they obtained possession of so considerable a state: and other towns, as Troezen and Hermione might have fallen into their hands. ἔτεμον—it is not clear why Pericles ravaged the country before attacking Epidaurus: probably he had planned a stratagem to seize the place with a small force while the main body was scattered about and was keeping the troops that guarded the town (only a third of the whole force of Epidaurus, c. 47, 2) occupied. ἐς ἐλπίδα ἦλθον—the phrases ἐλπίς ἐστι, ἐν ἐλπίδι εἶναι, ἐλπίδα ἔχειν have the simple infin. aor. in most cases, as c. 80, 1; but in c. 85, 4 ἐλπίδος ούσης has the fut. infin., and in 102, 3 ἐλπὶς has ἂν παθεῖν; while in I. 144, 1 we have ἐλπίδα τοῦ περιέσεσθαι. Cf. on c. 13, 9. οὐ μἐντοι—this failure is probably due to a rally of the inhabitants similar to that of the Plataeans, c. 3. προεχώρησε—impersonal; cf. I. 109 ὼς αὐτῷ οὐ προυχώρει; III. 18 ἐπειδὴ οὐ προυχώρει ᾗ προσεδέχοντο; al.
Ἐκ τῆς Ἐ.—the attack on Epidaurus was the greatest enterprise of Athens before 427. Ἁλιάδα—the country round Halice, an unimportant town on the south-east coast of Argolis. Ἑρμιονίδα—Hermione had a territory of some extent on the coast of the Gulf of Hermione.
Πρασιάς—on north-east coast of Laconia. It suffered severely from the war, and is a proof how effective the method of Pericles was. Intr. p. lxx. Aristoph. Pax, 242 ἰὼ Πρασιαὶ τρισάθλιαι καὶ πεντάκις. οὐκέτι—nothing is said of the route taken by the Peloponnesians after they left Laurium. κατέλαβον—always takes pres. or perf. part.: IV. 129, 1 (pres.), I. 59, 1 (perf.).
Commentary on Thucydides Book 2. E.C. Marchant. London. MacMillan & Company. 1891.
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