πρὸς τὴν ἐ. τετραμμένων—‘had their attention oc cupied with’; τρέπεσθαι πρός of persons is ‘to concentrate one's attention on,’ or ‘to appeal to the help of,’ ‘resort to.’ The aor. is ἐτραπόμην, ἐτρεψάμην being trans.

ἐνῳκοδομημένην κακῶς—sc. τῷτείχει: ‘not built firmly into the wall.’ The meaning is explained by Eur. Phoen. 114 ἆρα πύλαι, κλῄθροις χαλκόδετ᾽ ἔμβολα, λαινέοισιν Ἀμφίονος ὀργάνοις τείχεος ἥρμοσται;—i.e., according to Bernadakis, ‘are the gates, the brass-bound barriers (ἔμβολα) in the gate-ways (κλῄθροις), fitted firm in the holes (ὀργάνοις) in the stone of Amphion's wall?’ so that ὄργανα are the dowels into which the bar (μόχλος) was fitted. Now in the present case the ὄργανα were so worn, or badly made, that though the bar was across the gate and was fastened, it could be removed without the key (βαλανάγρα).

ἠγόραζον=ἐν άγορᾷ διέτριβον (Schol.), ‘to learn what was going on’ (Arnold), just as at Athens it was customary to loiter there, especially before and after a meeting of the Ecclesia. The people coming from the Ecclesia would find the army in the Agora.