Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3

οἱ ὑπερβαίνοντες τῶν Πλαταιῶν: these words are the general subj. of the whole sent., which is afterwards distributed into οἱ μέν (7), οἱ δέ (9). The expression stands, as σφῶν οἱ ἄνδρες οἱ ἐξιόντες, c. 22. 40, opp. to οἱ ἐν τῇ πόλει τῶν Πλαταιῶν ὑπολελειμμένοι, c. 22. 27, or οἱ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως Πλαταιῆς, c. 22. 36; 24. 15, and answers to the const. ἐκ τοὔμπαλιν ἢ οἱ ἄνδρες αὐτῶν ὑπερέβαινον, c. 22. 29. The pres. partic. is used to designate all the participants so long as the undertaking lasts. See on c. 4. 13. —2.

ὡς οἱ πρῶτοι αὐτῶν . . . ἐπιβοηθεῖν: parenthetical subord. clause. See Steup, following Pp., Rh. Mus. xxxiii. p. 253 f. Most commentators end the parenthetical clause at ἐκεκρατήκεσαν, and make τε, in l. 4, correl. to καί in But, with this const., ἀπὸ τῶν πύργων . . . βάλλοντες would be a mere repetition of τάς τε διόδους . . . ἐπιβοηθεῖν. The first part of the parenthetical clause is not resumptive, but progressive, since above (c. 22. 21) only a number of the detachment of Ammeas was said to have ascended the wall, while here οἱ πρῶτοι αὐτῶν includes not only the whole twelve, but also those armed with spears.—3.

τοῦ πύργου ἑκατέρου: cf. c. 22. 17.—4.

τὰς διόδους τῶν πύργων: i.e. the passages through the lower part of the towers. Cf. c. 21. 11.—5.

αὐτοί: opp. to the former guards. See on i. 100. 14.—

ἐφύλασσον μηδένα . . . ἐπιβοηθεῖν: cf. vii. 17. 5; also ii. 69. 4 φυλακὴν εἶχε μήτ̓ ἐκπλεῖν. The const., μή with inf., is the same as with κωλύειν.—6. καί: also. It was not deemed sufficient simply to guard the passages of the towers. —7.

πλείους: several, a number, as in c. 22. 21, or possibly, more, sc. than those that guarded the passages below.—8.

καὶ κάτωθεν καὶ ἄνωθεν: belongs to εἶργον, not to ἐπιβοηθοῦντας, and, with a reference to τὰς διόδους φυλάσσοντες, as well as to ἐπαναβιβάσαντες, more fully explains ἀπὸ τῶν πύργων. Kr. explains, ‘they kept back from the towers the advancing foe, shooting at them from below and from above.’ 9.

οἱ δέ: i.e. those still at the foot of the wall; οἱ πλείους being appos., as in viii. 80. 13, but not restrictive, as in ii. 4. 19.—

προσθέντες: sc. τῷ τείχει.—10. ἅμα: connects προσθέντες closely with ἀπώσαντες.— 11. ὑπερέβαινον: includes, acc. to what follows, also the erossing of the outer ditch.

ὁ δὲ διακομιζόμενος αἰεὶ ἵστατο: always as one came over he halted. αἰεί belongs not only to the iterative partic: ὁ διακομιζόμενος (=ὁπότε τις διακομίζοιτο), but also to ἵστατο,—hence its position. Kr. Spr. 50, 10, 5. See on i. 2. 4. The pl. idea implied in this clause finds expression in the verbs that follow.—

ἐπὶ τοῦ χείλους τῆς τάφρου: i.e. the outer ditch (c. 24. 13), to be distinguished from the inner mentioned c. 22. 4. With χεῖλος, bank, cf. labrum fossae, Liv. xxxvii. 37.—13.

παρὰ τὸ τεῖχος: by the side of the wall.—

κωλυτὴς γίγνοιτο τῆς διαβάσεως: = κωλύοι τὴν διάβασιν. See on c. 2. 11.

πάντες: sc. except those still on the two towers.—15.

χαλεπῶς οἱ τελευταῖοι καταβαίνοντες: parenthetical, the last descending with difficulty. οἱ τελευταῖοι is in part. appos. to οἱ ἀπὸ τῶν πύργων, as i. 119. 5; ii. 54. 4. Of the smaller detachment (=οἱ ἀπὸ τῶν πύργων = οἱ μέν, l. 7 above), under whose protection the larger division crossed the wall, those who descended last got down with difficulty, being hard pressed doubtless by the enemy, who must have pushed after them through the towers. See Steup, Rh. Mus. xxxiii. p. 255. Arn., Bl., and Jow. take only χαλεπῶς οἱ τελευταῖοι as parenthetical.—16.

οἱ τριακόσιοι: cf. c. 22. 33.

μᾶλλον: more, i.e. better. Cf. ἧσσον, —

ἐκ τοῦ σκότους: cf. Xen. Anab. vii. 4. 18 ἠκόντιζον εἰς τὸ φῶς ἐκ τοῦ σκότους.—19. τὰ γυμνά: i.e. the unprotected parts of the body, as in v. 10. 17; 71. 6. Cf. Liv. xxii. 50 in latus dextrum quod patebat Numidae iacularentur. —20.

διὰ τὰς λαμπάδας: i.e. the enemy's torches, which lighted only the space just around the bearers.— 22.

βιαίως: hard pressed. Kühn. 497, 5. Cf. ii. 33. 14 βιαιότερον ἀναγαγόμενοι, iv. 31. 15 ἀναχώρησις βιαιοτέρα, v. 73. 22 ἀποχώρησις οὐ βίαιος.

κρύσταλλος ἐπεπήγει: cf. Aesch. Pers. 501 περᾷ κρυσταλλοπῆγα διὰ πόρον, Eur. Rhes. 441 φυσήματα κρυσταλλόπηκτα.—23. ἐπελθεῖν: διαδραμεῖν, Schol.—24.

οἷος ἀπηλιώτου ἢ βορέου ὑδατώδης μᾶλλον: such as (is formed) when the wind is east instead of north, rather watery. This interpretation, given by the Schol. and Va., and adopted by Arn., Bl., and Jow., is doubtless the best that can be made out of the text as it stands. For the omission of μᾶλλον before ἤ, which Jow. thinks is softened by its occurrence after ὑδατώδης, Arn. cites Soph. Ajax 966 ἐμοὶ πικρὸς τέθνηκεν ἢ κείνοις γλυκύς. Dobree brackets ἢ βορέου. Pp. would transpose ὑδατώδης μᾶλλον, or bracket ὑδατώδης. For the temporal gens., see G. 1136; H. 759; Kühn. 418, 8 b; Kr. Spr. 47, 2, 1. On the form ἀπηλιώτης, see Lobeck on Soph. Aj. 805. ὑδατώδης occurs only here in Thuc.—

καὶ ἡ νὺξ . . . ὑπονειφομένη: and the night with such a wind somewhat snowy (lit. besnowed). A bold and rather poetic use of ὑπονειφομένη that seems not to be found elsewhere. Cf. ὑπένειφεν, iv. 103. 5. On the form ὑπονειφομένη, which most of the best Mss. have, see J. Schmidt, zur Gesch. d. indogerm. Vokalismus i. p. 134; Stahl Qu. Gr.^{2} p. 39. Cobet, ad Hyper. p. 57, prefers ὑπονιφομένη. —26.

ὃ μόλις ὑπερέχοντες ἐπεραιώθησαν: which they crossed scarcely keep- ing (their heads) above. ὅ belongs to both partic. and verb. For ὑπερέχειν with acc. in fig. sense, cf. Eur. Hipp. 1365.—

ἐγένετο . . . μᾶλλον: Cl. explains that ἐγένετο is not merely passive of ποιεῖσθαι, but has the stronger meaning of successful accomplishment, as in v. 55. 15; vi. 74. 3; viii. 57. 8. “And their escape was accomplished more, etc.” But cf. vii. 41. 3 τὴν κατάφευξιν ἐποιοῦντο. The idea of successful accomplishment is inseparable from the expression ἐγένετο ἡ διάφευξις. διάφευξις, which occurs elsewhere only in late writers, for διαφυγή, acc. to Thuc.'s preference for forms in -δις, which appears esp. in connexion with the pass. γίγνεσθαι. Cf. c. 92. 16; i. 73. 1; 75. 14; ii. 11. 17; 14. 7; 94. 2; iv. 74. 18; 85. 1; 113. 1; 116. 10; v. 82. 18; vi. 103. 17; vii. 42. 7; viii. 21. 2; 66. 9; 89. 26; 97. 13. On Thuc.'s use of verbal nouns in -δις, see Introd. to Book I. p. 49, and Sihler, Trans. Amer. Philol. Assoc. xii. p. 96 ff.—27.

διὰ τοῦ χειμῶνος τὸ μέγεθος: for the order, see on i. 32. 8.