Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides Book 7

3. παρῆν: it was possible, in the sense well known from the abs. partic. (iv.19.11; v.103.7). The explanatory ὁρῶσι should not be separated by a comma from αἰσθάνεσθαι.

καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν παρασκευήν : i.e. all arrangements and occurrences which were connected with the embarkation.

προηγγέλθη...χειρῶν : the (device of) laying on the grapplingirons had been reported to them (i.e. by spies). For ἐπιβολή, see on c. 62. 12.

6. ὡς ἕκαστα: = καθ᾽ ἕκαστα, singula deinceps. See on i.3.19. —καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο: and especially against this, i.e. τὰς τῶν σιδηρῶν χειρῶν ἐπιβολάς. Kühn. 521, 2.

τῆς νεὼς ἄνω ἐπὶ πολύ: the whole forms the second obj. = μέγα μέρος τῆς νεὼς ἄνω, “and besides a considerable portion of the ship above (i.e. in its upper parts).” Kühn. 351, 3. See on c. 11. 18.—κατεβύρσωσαν: Poll. (i. 130) well explains, πρὸς τὰς ἐπιβολὰς αὐτῶν ἀντεσοφίζοντο βύρσας προσηλοῦντες πρὸς τὰ τειχίσματα τῶν νεῶν, ὅπως ὁ σίδηρος ὀλισθαίνῃ πρὸς τὸ ἀντίτυπον ἀντιλαβὴν οὐκ ἔχων.

ὅπως ἂν ἀπολισθάνοι : the opt. after ὅπως ἄν, though common in Hdt., is rare in Att. prose. GMT. 44, 1, N. 3 b; H. 882; Kühn. 553, 5.

ἐπιβαλλομένη: “when thrown upon the hostile ships.” Cf. iv.25.14.

οἵ τε στρατηγοὶ καὶ Γύλιππος...ἔλεξαν : the Schol. observes πάντες ὑπὸ θάρσους ἐν τούτοις παρακελεύονται, and mentions then the motives of the leaders of the different Greek states. But Thuc. means (as c. 69. 1 proves) only οἱ τῶν Συρακοσίων στρατηγοί, i.e. the native generals, as opp. to the Spartan Gylippus. A like case occurs ii.86.26, expressed in exactly the same words, παρεκελεύσαντο καὶ ἔλεξαν τοιάδε.

ADDRESS OF GYLIPPUS AND THE OTHER COMMANDERS TO THEIR TROOPS. Chaps. 66-68.