Harold North Fowler, Commentary on Thucydides Book 5

ἀναβάντας: a necessary correction for ἀναβάντες of most Mss.— 4. ἐπειδὴ προθυμοῦνται: since they eagerly desired.

ἐπομόσαι: see App.

θυσίας καὶ ἀγώνων: in appos. with τοῦ ἱεροῦ, answering the same purpose as ὥστε with the corresponding infs. in c. 49. 3. These words are not necessary, but are not out of place here (Kr. and St. bracket them as an interpolation derived from c. 49. 3).

οἴκοι ἔθυον: for ‘participation in the sacrifice at the festival of the Olympian Zeus belonged to the state religion of the Spartans’ (Curtius, Hermes 14, p. 131).—ἐθεώρουν: “were on the spot and took part in the festival.” Cf. c. 18. 4; viii. 10. 2.

μὴ βίᾳ θύσωσι: “that they would force their way to the sacrifice by arms,” aor.—ξὺν ὅπλοις τῶν νεωτέρων: an unusual expression: cum iuuentute armata, with the young men under arms. The simple ξὺν ὅπλοις or ξὺν τοῖς ὅπλοις (cf. 13; ii. 2. 11; 90. 28; iv. 14. 13; vi. 105. 10) freq. denotes arms in actual use, and is practically equiv. to ξὺν ὁπλίταις. Cf. Scott, Marmion, i. 20.

The sight of plundering Border spears Might justify suspicious fears.

Here the ὅπλα are limited to the νεώτεροι because the rest of the population was just then busy with the festival.— 12. Ἁρπίνῃ: for Ἄργει of the Mss. is an emendation of Michaelis (Philol. 24, p. 166) adopted by Cl. and St. Harpina, one of the eight towns of the Pisatid (Strab. viii. 32), was situated in the valley of the Alpheus, twenty stadia above Olympia (Curtius, Pelopon. II. p. 50; Bursian, II. p. 287 f.), near enough for protection, and far enough away to avoid disturbing the festival by the sight of arms.

Λίχας: the same who appears freq. in the course of the war as a man of some influence. Cf. c. 76. 11; viii. 39. 8, etc.

ῥαβδούχων: prob. the subordinates of the agonothetae or hellanodicae, whose duty was to keep order and correct offenders. Hermann, Griech. Alt. II. § 50, note 20.

Βοιωτῶν δημοσίου: τοῦ δημοσίου τῶν Βοιωτῶν, Schol. Apparently Lichas had the community or state of the Boeotians proclaimed victor. Others take δημοσίου with ζεύγους.— κατὰ τὴν οὐκ ἐξουσίαν: διὰ τὸ μὴ ἐξεῖναι Λακεδαιμονίοις ἀγωνίζεσθαι, Schol. Cf. i. 137. 28, τὴν τῶν γεφυρῶν οὐ διάλυσιν, and c. 35. 6. Lichas had the Boeotians proclaimed victor because he, as a Lacedaemonian, could not take part in the games. He was struck by the beadles because he went upon the course and crowned his charioteer.

ἀγωνίσεως: this word occurs only here in Thuc. and prob. nowhere else in Att. Greek.—ἐς τὸν ἀγῶνα: upon the course.—ἀνέδησε: ἐστεφάνωσε, Schol.

τι νέον: in the sense of the more usual comp. νεώτε ρόν τι, as in i. 132. 25; vii. 86. 22.— 22. οὕτω διῆλθεν: i.e. without any further disturbance. αὐτοῖς refers not to the Lacedaemonians but the Greeks (πάντες, 20) present at Olympia.

τέλος: adv. finally.—σεισμοῦ γενομένου: cf. c. 45. 20.