E.C. Marchant, Commentary on Thucydides Book 1

24. οἱ δ᾽ ἦλθον—there was opposition at Athens to the proposal, but Cimon's view was that Sparta on land was as necessary to Greece as Athens on sea: Greece was ‘lamed’ while Sparta was tied down (Plut. Cim 16).

[2] 27. τοῖς δέ—edd. are divided as to whether this refers to the Athenians who fell short of their reputation, or to the Lac., i.e. whether to transl. (1) ‘but in their case (the Ath.) it gradually appeared that there was a deficiency in this (viz. τοῦ τειχομαχεῖν δυνατοὺς εἶναι),’ as they did not succeed in taking Ithome; or (2) ‘whereas it was apparent to them (the Lac.) that they lacked skill in this’—so that the full form would be ὅτι（οἱ μὲν Ἀθηναῖοι) ... τοῖς δὲ（Αακεδαιμονίοις). This seems better. The reading τῆς of the Schol. is prob. only a conjecture. ἐνδεᾶ is again the plur, adj. for sing. (=ἔνδεια). Thuc. might have said τοῦτο ἐνδεὲς ἐφαίνετο in the same sense.

2. βίᾳ γάρ—for otherwise (had they been competent τειχομαχεῖν) they would have captured it by assault—and would not have had to turn the siege into a blockade. Cf. on c. 11. 1.

[3] 8. ἡγησάμενοι—considering; so often in the aor.: they reflected ὅτι οι μὲν Δωριεῖς, οἱ δὲ Ἴωνες (Schol.).

μή τι κτλ.—this depends on δείσαντες, the clause between being parenthetical; a not very common form of constn.; cf. Soph. Antig. 1278 τὰ δ᾽ ἐν δόμοις | ἔοικας ἥκειν καὶ τάχ᾽ ὄψεσθαι κακά, with Jebb's note.

9. νεωτερίσωσι—i e. by joining the helots. This would be an instance of their τολμηρὸν καὶ νεωτεροποιία.

[4] 12. ἐπὶ τῷ βελτίονι λόγῳ—for the better reason, viz. that they were no longer needed. Of course βελτίων implies a contrast with a suppressed κακίων αἰτία viz. τὸ ὑποψίαν τινὰ γενέσθαι

15. δεινὸν ποιησάμενοι=δ. ἡγησάμενοι: but δεινόν（-ά）ποιεῖν=to declare a thing intolerable.