Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3

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After fruitless remonstrance against the preparations of the Mytileneans and the proposed ‘synoecismus’ of the island, the Athenians detain 10 Mytilenean ships with their crews, and send to surprise Mytilene 40 triremes, whose coming was, however, betrayed to the Mytileneans.

ἦσαν γὰρ kte(.: the causal sent. in parataxis before the main one, not rare in Thuc. See on i. 31. 7. —

τεταλαιπωρημένοι: Cl. considers this a mid., as also in c. 78. 3; iv. 27. 2; 35. 12; vii. 28. 10, with the same force as the act. in i. 99. 5; 134. 9. But it seems better, with St., to regard it as pass. in all the passages cited. Cf. Plut. Brut. 37 τὸ σῶμα ταλαιπωρούμενον, and Isoc. viii. 19 (ὁ πόλεμος) τεταλαιπώρηκεν ἡμᾶς. The act. occurs with ὑπό in ii. 101. 19.—2.

ἄρτι καθισταμένου καὶ ἀκμάζοντος: pred., being just fairly afoot and at its height. ἄρτι καθισταμένου as in c. 68. 29. On ἄρτι see Lobeck ad Phryn. p. 20; Rutherford, New Phryn. p. 70 f. ἀκμάζειν also of pestilence, ii. 49. 27. Steup, comparing both this passage and c. 68. 29 with καθεστηκυῖα ἡλικία in ii. 36. 9, understands the reference to be to the middle period of the war, in which case, of course, the ten years', not the twenty-seven years', war would be meant.—3.

μέγα: great, i.e. difficult. Cf. ii. 45. 2; 89. 45; vi. 12. 16.—

προσπολεμώσασθαι: obs. the force of the middle. The Schol. rightly explains, πρὸς τοῖς οὖσι πολεμίοις . . . καὶ αὐτὴν πολεμίαν ποιῆσαι. Cf. v. 98. 6.— 5.

πρῶτον: acc. to most and best Mss., without art. Both forms are about equally common.—

μεῖζον μέρος νέμοντες . . . εἶναι: giving too much weight to the wish that it might not be true. For the sentiment, cf. iv. 108. § 4; v. 113, and the evident imitation of the present passage in Philo Leg. ad Caium 10 πλεῖστον διδόντες μέρος τῷ μὴ βούλεσθαι . . . δοκεῖν ὠμόν. Also Dio C. xxxvii. 11 τῇ βουλήσει πλέον ἢ τῇ δυνάμει νέμων, Dem. iii. 19 ὃ γὰρ βούλεται, τοῦθ̓ ἕκαστος καὶ οἴεται, Caes. Bell. Gall. iii. 18 fere libenter homines id, quod volunt, credunt. For the phrase μεῖζον μέρος νέμειν, cf. c. 48. 2; i. 71. 7; vi. 88. 10. Also Eur. Suppl. 241 νέμοντες τῷ φθόνῳ πλέον μέρος, Hec. 868 τῷ τ̓ ὄχλῳ πλέον νέμεις, Anliope (frg. 183) νέμων τὸ πλεῖστον ἡμέρας τούτῳ μέρος.—6.

ἀληθῆ εἶναι: sc. τὰ κατηγορημένα from τὰς καττηγορίας. Cl. explains ‘without reference to any definite noun,’ comparing ὄντων ἀκρίτων, iv. 20. 5.—8.

τὴν ξυνοίκισιν: found only here in Thuc., and prob. not elsewhere unless in late writers.—9.

προκαταλαβεῖν: see on c. 2. 15.

ἐξαπιναίως: as in c. 34. 17; 70. 25; i. 117. 1; ii. 3. 2; 48. 4; 93. 15; iv. 25. 48; vi. 100. 14. This form, as well as ἐξαπίνης (c. 89. 20; i. 50. 21; iv. 36. 10; 111. 12; 115. 13; v. 10. 33,—cf. Plat. Rep. 621 b; Ps.-Dem. lix. 99; Arist. H. An. 636 a 31), seems to be lonic and poetic, being used by Xenophon only, of other Attic prose writers. The regular Attic forms, ἐξαίφνης and αἰφνιδίως, occur also in both Thuc. and Xenophon. See Diener, de Serm. Thuc. 1889, pp. 24-26.

ἐσηγγέλθη γὰρ . . . ἐπιπεσεῖν ἄφνω: explanation of πέμπονσιν ἐξαπιναίως. Hence the preceding sent, must be considered parenthetical. The following dependent clause, however, ἢν μὲν ξυμβῇ . . . πολεμεῖν, contains in the usual const., καὶ . . . μὲν . . . δέ (cf. i. 19. 1; 22. 1, etc.), the execution of the task implied in πέμπουσιν.—13. Μαλόεντος: this epithet of Apollo seems to occur only in Lesbos. Cf. Schol. Patm. (Rev. de Philol. N. S. i. p. 185; cf. Hellanicus ap. Steph. Byz. s.v. Μαλόεις) ὡς . . . ἑορτή] Μαλόεις Ἀπόλλων: οὗτος παρὰ Μιτυληναίοις ἐτιμᾶτο, ἀπὸ τοιαύτης δέ τινος αἰτίας. Μαντὼ ἡ Τειρεσίου θυγάτηρ περὶ τοὺς τόπους χορεύουσα τούτους μῆλον χρυσοῦν ἀπὸ τοῦ περιδεραίου ἐκπεσὸν ἀπώλεσεν: εὔξατο οὖν, εἰ εὕροι, ἱερὸν ἱδρύσειν τῷ θεῷ. εὑροῦσα δὲ τὸ μῆλον τὸ ἱερὸν ἱδρύσατο, καὶ Μαλόεις Ἀπόλλων ἐντεῦθεν παῤ αὐτοῖς ἐτιμᾶτο. The explanation of Meister (Gr. Dial. i. p. 65) is most prob. correct: god of Malea. Cf. c. 4. 18. For other explanations, see Wilamowitz, Isyllos, p. 99 f. and Preller-Robert, Gr. Myth. I.^{4} p. 252.—14.

ἐπιπεσεῖν: aor. without ἄν after ἐλπίς, as ii. 80. 11; iv. 70. 20; v. 9. 27; 102. 4; vi. 87. 18; viii. 40. 14; 86. 34; so after ἐλπίζω, iv. 13. 4; 24. 10; 80. 3; vii. 21. 6. G. 1286; H. 948 a, 952; Kühn. 389, N. 8. See App. on ii. 3. 8. —15.

ἢν μὲν ξυμβῇ ἡ πεῖρα: the Schol. explains ξυμβῇ by κατορθωθῇ. There is an ellipsis of some apod. like εὖ ἔχειν or ταῦτα ἄριστα εἶναι (cf. i. 82. 12), which is easily supplied from the second member of the hypothetical sentence. Such an ellipsis occurs possibly also in iv. 13. 14. Cf. Hom. A 135; Hdt. viii. 62. 3, and see SauppeTowle on Plato Prot. 311 d. GMT. 482; H. 904 a; Kr. Spr. 54, 12, 12; Kühn. 577, 3 c.—

εἰ δὲ μή: otherwise, after ἢν μέν, GMT. 478; H. 906; Kr. Spr. 65, 5, 12.—16.

εἰπεῖν: depends on κελεύουσιν implied in πέμπουσιν.—ναῦς, τείχη: without art. in formulae of conditions of peace, also i. 101. 12; 108. 14; 117. 14.—

παραδοῦναι: after εἰπεῖν, to command, as in i. 131. 9; ii. 6. 7. GMT. 99; H. 946 b.

τὰς δὲ δέκα τριήρεις: the art. on account of the rel. clause following, as in c. 22. 33; viii. 15. 9. Cf. also viii. 26. 2. Kühn. 465, 13; Kr. Spr. 50, 2, 7.—19.

παρὰ σφᾶς: the reflexive pron. in a dependent clause refers to the subj. of the primary clause. G. 987; H. 683 a. Cf. c. 108. 14; i. 20. 3; 115. 23; vi. 32. 9. —

κατὰ τὸ ξυμμαχικόν: the word is rare except in Thucydides. Cf. c. 91. 7; i. 107. 27; ii. 22. 17; 101. 15; iv. 61. 15; v. 6. 6; vii. 20. 5; 33. 22. —

παροῦσαι:=παραγενόμεναι, hence παρὰ σφᾶς. Cf. γυναῖκες πάρεισιν . . . ἐπὶ τὸν τάφον, ii. 34. 11. Also c. 8. 3; vi. 62. 19; 88. 51; vii. 50. 1.—20.

ἐς φυλακὴν ἐποιήσαντο: as viii. 1. 25 ἐς ἀσφάλειαν ποιεῖσθαι. Cf. also ἐντὸς ποιεῖσθαι, ii. 83. 26; vi. 67. 9.

διαβὰς kte(.: obs. the effect of the five parties., which involuntarily portray the haste of the messenger.—

Γεραιστόν: Schol. Γεραιστὸς ἀκρωτήριον Εὐβοίας ἔχον λιμένα. Cf. Hom. γ 177; Hdt. viii. 7. 5; ix. 105. 6. Livy (xxxi. 45) calls the harbour nobilis Euboeae portus, and Strabo (x. 1. 7) mentions the adjacent town with the celebrated temple of Poseidon. It is now called Mantelo. See Leake, Northern Greece, ii. p. 423; Bursian, Geogr. v. Gr. ii. pp. 399, 434.—23.

ἀναγομένης: the pres. as in i. 117. 4; 137. 7; ii. 90. 13.—

ἐπιτυχών: with gen. also vii. 25. 8. Cf. Xen. Oec. 2. 3; 12. 20; Plato Phil. 61 d; Ar. Plut. 245. With the dat. c. 75. 20; viii. 14. 1; 34. 3; Lys. xii. 12. Kr. Spr. 47, 14, 2.—

πλῷ: the Schol. explains ἀντὶ τοῦ εὐπλοίᾳ. Cf. i. 137. 13; Hes. Op. 630; Ant. v. 24; Xen. Anab. v. 9. 33. So most editt. explain. But Arn. takes πλῷ χρησάμενος as merely opp. to πεζῇ ἐπὶ Γεραιστὸν ἐλθών, comparing vi. 97. 8, οὔτε πλοῦν οὔτε ὁδὸν πολλὴν ἀπέχει, where πλοῦς is thus opp. to ὁδός.— τριταῖος: pred. adj. for adverb. G. 926; H. 619; Kr. Spr. 57, 5, 4.

οἱ δὲ kte(: ‘illi vero neque in Maloentem exierunt et praeterea etiam imperfecta murorum portuumque opera obstruxerunt et excubias apud eos egerunt.’ Haacke. See App.—

ἐς τὸν Μαλόεντα: Steph. Byz. Μαλόεις Ἀπόλλων ἐν Λέσβῳ: καὶ ὁ τόπος τοῦ ἱεροῦ Μαλόεις. Since the reference is to the temple there is no objection to the preposition.—26.

φραξάμενοι: having blocked up, the walls prob. by means of palisades and battlements, the harbours by means of ships that were sunk.