Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3

καίτοι ἀξιοῦμέν γε kte(.: the chief emphasis is on καὶ θεῶν ἕνεκα . . . Ἕλληνας. Over against the anxiety just expressed are now placed those weighty considerations, which should induce the Lacedaemonians not to pass sentence against the Plataeans.—

θεῶν ἕνεκα . . . γενομένων: for the sake of the gods that once protected our alliance. The order as in c. 57. 7 ἱεροῖς τοῖς κοινοῖς.—2. τῆς ἀρετῆς: Schol. sc. τῆς ἡμετέρας. Cf. c. 54. § 4; 56. 16; 57. 10, 18.—3.

καμφθῆναι: found only here in Thuc. (cf. Aesch. Prom. 237, 306; Plato Prot. 320 b; Rep. 494 e; Plut. Per. 36), = ἐπικλασθῆναι, c. 59. 5; 67. 5; iv. 37. 5. —4.

τήν τε δωρεὰν . . . πρέπει: ὑμᾶς is the subj. of κτείνειν, as shown by οὓς μὴ ὑμῖν πρέπει, as well as of ἀνταπαιτῆσαι, κομίσασθαι, and ἀντιλαβεῖν, that you in turn ask of them the boon that you should not kill those whom you ought not, i.e. as the Thebans have asked the favour of our death (as hinted in εἴ τι ὑπὸ Θηβαίων ἐπείσθητε—cf. also c. 53. 21 ἄλλοις χάριν φέροντες), do you demand as a counterfavour, etc. Cl. explains, “that you request of them (in return for much favour shown them) the counterfavour, etc.” But in that case there should be some explanation of the favours that had been shown by the Lacedaemonians to the Thebans. St. and Kr. explain ἀντι-, “in return for our former merits.” Kr. makes αὐτούς, sc. ὑμᾶς, subj. of κτείνειν. But to this is opposed the fact that all the rest of the infs. have ὑμᾶς as subject. For the inf. limiting τὴν δωρεάν, cf. c. 66. 16 τὴν περὶ αὐτῶν ἡμῖν μὴ κτείνειν ψευσθεῖσαν ὑπόσχεσιν.—αὐτούς: i.e. τοὺς Θηβαίους, pers. obj. of ἀνταπαιτῆσαι.—5. σώφρονά τε . . . χάριν: that you receive an honest gratitude (from us) instead of a disgraceful gratitude (from them). While the Plataeans designate the gratitude that would be acquired from the Thebans by the Lacedaemonians for their destruction as an αἰσχρὰ χάρις, the Thebans, c. 67. 26, demand the death of the Plataeans as a χάρις δίκαια for their merits. κομίζεσθαι is used commonly of good things, as i. 43. 3; iv. 98. 25. Cf. Dem. xxi. 171 κεκόμισται χάριν παῤ ὑμῶν.— 6. κακίαν: as in c. 61. 7, the result of unworthy conduct, shame, more plainly expressed in δύσκλειαν below. Cf. φέρειν ἀρετήν, i. 33. 11.

βραχύ: a small matter, as i. 140. 23, 27; viii. 76. 25.—8.

αὐτοῦ: i.e. τοῦ διαφθεῖραι. αὐτό thus emphatically used c. 59. 20; i. 68. 9; 74. 3; 122. 20; 138. 11.—9.

εἰκότως: see on c. 56. 6. 10.

κατ̓ ἀνάγκην: as shown c. 55. For the asyndeton, which Cl. was inclined to remove by inserting καί, cf. c. 43. 10.

ὥστε καὶ τῶν σωμάτων kte(.: see App.—11.

ἄδειαν ποιοῦντες: (sc. ἡμῖν) as in viii. 76. 34. Cf. vi. 60. 15 ἄδειαν ποιησάμενον, obtaining security for one's self.—

ὅσια ἂν δικάζοιτε: you would render a righteous judgment, i.e. in accordance with divine law.—

προνοοῦντες: rendered by Cl., St., Jow., and others, if you consider beforehand, i.e. before you decide. But Steup follows Pp. and Kr. in supplying ἡμῶν with προνοοῦντες (as ἡμῖν with ποιοῦντες). Cf. Xen. Cyrop. viii. 1. 1; 7. 15; and προνοεῖσθαι with gen., Thuc. vi. 9. 10.—12.

ἑκόντας τε ἐλάβετε kte(.: the Plataeans would have their voluntary surrender regarded as a ἱκετεία.—χεῖρας προισχομένους: Schol., ἱκετεύσαντας. Cf. c. 66. 12; 67. 22.—

ὁ νόμος: i.e. the international custom based on religion. Cf. c. 59. 2 τὰ κοινὰ τῶν Ἑλλήνων νόμιμα, 67. 24 ὁ τῶν Ἑλλήνων νόμος. iv. 97. 10 τὰ νόμιμα τῶν Ἑλλήνων. See Hermann, Staats-Alt.^{6} p. 70, N. 3.—13.

εὐεργέτας γεγενημένους: see on c. 2. 11.— 14.

διὰ παντός: constantly, of time as usual. See on i. 38. 2.

θήκας: see on c. 104. 5; ii. 52. 14. The place of the art. is supplied by the preceding gen., as often. Cf. c. 59. 6; i. 1. 11; 3. 1; 11. 2. As to these sepulchres, cf. Hdt. ix. 85; Paus. ix. 2. 5. In the sense of tomb, the word seems to occur, outside of Thuc., mainly in Hdt. (ii. 67. 4; ix. 85. 4) and Tragedy (Aesch. Agam. 453; Pers. 405; Soph. O. C. 1763; El. 896). Cf. Xen. Cyrop. vii. 3. 5. —17.

ἐσθήμασί τε . . . ὅσα τε: over against the honours usually paid to the dead is placed as something espe cial the offering of the first fruits of the land, and instead of continuing with the dat. there is a change of const. to the participle.—

ἐσθήμασι: this much, but unjustly, suspected word seems, as Duker explained, to refer to the garments that were offered to the dead. Cf. Soph. El. 452; Eur. Or. 123, 1436. See Pasanisi, Rivista di Filol. Class. xv. p. 518 ff. As to the view of Cl. and St., that ἐσθήμασι refers to the mourning clothes of the participants in the festival, no reason can be conceived why among the honours publicly paid every year to the dead especial mention should be made of the mourning garments. Nor is the difficulty removed by the circumstance emphasized by St., that, acc. to Plut. Aristid. 21, the archon of Plataea only at this annual festival put on χιτῶνα φοινικοῦν. Plut.'s omission, in his description of the festival, of any mention of the offering of garments may be explained on the assumption that the custom was obsolete in his time. ἔσθημα is a poetic word, acc. to the Schol. on Soph. El. 270. Cf. Aesch. Ag. 562; Pers. 536; Soph. El. 270; Eur. Troad. 991. Elsewhere only in late prose.—

τοῖς ἄλλοις νομίμοις: Plut. l.c. mentions the slaughter of a bull, a drink-offering, etc.— 18.

ἀνεδίδου: just as in Xen. Mem. iv. 3. 5.—

ὡραῖα: products of the land, as in i. 120. 10.—

ἐπιφέροντες: of offerings to the dead, as in ii. 34. 5. —19.

ἐκ φιλίας χώρας: sc. τῆς ἡμετέρας ἐπιφέροντες.—ὁμαίχμοις: found only here in Thucydides. Cf. ὁμαιχμία, i. 18. 25; Hdt. vii. 145. 12; viii. 140 a 21.

σκέψασθε δέ: as in i. 143. 21, introduces an explanatory addition. Cf. c. 46. 4 σκέψασθε γάρ, i. 33. 7 καὶ σκέψασθε.—22. ἔθαπτεν: for the force of the impf., see GMT. 35, and compare 56. Cf. ἀπεδίδου οἰκεῖν, ii. 71. 14.—23.

τοιούτοις: sc. φιλίοις, as τοιοῦτος often represents a preceding adjuective; cf. Plato Phaedo 108 b τὴν ἀκάθαρτον (ψυχὴν) καί τι πεποιηκυῖαν τοιοῦτον. Esp. is this the case with ἕτερος and ἄλλος. Cf. Plato Phaedo 58 d.—24.

Θηβαΐδα ποιήσετε: acc. to c. 68. § 3, the territory of the Plataeans was after a year rented to the Thebans.—

τί ἄλλο ἤ: see on c. 39. 10.—25.

τοῖς αὐθένταις: τοῖς φονεῦσι: αὐθένται κυρίως οἱ αὐτόχειρες καὶ πολέμιοι, Schol. See Lobeck ad Phryn. p. 120. The Thebans are called αὐθένται, because they had sided with the Persians.—26.

ἀτίμους γερῶν: as ii. 65. 32 χρημάτων ἀδωρότατος. G. 1141; H. 753 c; Kr. Spr. 47, 26, 10. γέρα, as in i. 13. 5; 25. 15, of honours based on ancient precedent and sacred usage.—

ἴσχουσι: possess, enjoy, as in ii. 68. 17; Hdt. i. 62. 3.—27.

πρὸς δέ: moreover, adv. only here in Thuc., but found also in Xen., Plato, and Demosthenes. Kühn. 443, 2; Kr. Spr. 68, 2, 2.—28.

ἱερά τε . . . ἀφαιρήσεσθε: and you desolate the temples of the gods to whom they prayed when they conquered the Medes, and you will take away the hereditary sacrifices from those who founded and built (the temples). As to the last clause, where ἱερά is supplied, with St. and Bm., as obj. of the parties., Cl. explains, ‘you will take away the hereditary sacrifices from those who founded and established them, where one would expect, “you will take from the sacrifices their founders,” i.e. the citizens of Plataea, who also in later generations were regarded as founders of those saerifices.’ Steup suggests that as Thuc. in i. 40. 7 uses ἀποστερεῖν (τινά τινος) in the sense ‘withdraw,’ not as usual ‘deprive’ (c. 42. 19; i. 69. 3; 136. 19), so here, on the contrary, ἀφαιρεῖσθαί (τινά τινος) may mean not ‘withdraw,’ but ‘deprive.’ Cf. Dem. xx. 82 τῆς δωρεᾶς ἀφῃρέθη. Also Xen. Cyneg. 6. 4; Lys. xxiv. 6; Plut. Aem. Paul. 31; Anton. 60. But see App.—29.

ἐρημοῦτε: the pres. between two futs. is rather remarkable. For the pres. thus co-ord. with a single fut., cf. ii. 44. 2; iv. 10. 11. Cl. considers this a contracted future form. See App. —

ἑσσαμένων: with the best Mss.; a few, εἱσαμένων or ἑσαμένων. See Curtius, Verbum, I.^{2} p. 129. The archaic form is due possibly to some old formulary usage.—30.

ἀφαιρήσεσθε: with acc. and gen. also c. 43. 4; viii. 46. 33.