E.C. Marchant, Commentary on Thucydides Book 1

23. οἱ ἐκ τῆς—the prep. by attraction to κατελύθησαν.

ἐπὶ πολὺ κτλ.—lit. which over a large area had been under tyrants even before Athens. The earliest instance was at Sicyon, where Orthagoras became tyrant circ. 670 B.C.

24. οἱ πλεῖστοι ... Σικελίᾳ—limiting apposition to οἱ τύραννοι, καὶ ... Σικελίᾳ explaining πλεῖστοι, most of them, the last in fact except those in Sicily. In Syracuse the tyrants lasted till 466 B.C., when Thrasybulus was expelled.

25. ὑπὸ Αακεδαιμονίων—the Spartans were called μισοτύραννοι. Cf. Aristotle, Pol. v. 10 Αακ. πλείστας κατέλυσαν τυραννίδας. But their traditional policy of tyrant-breaking was dropped in the fourth cent., when αὐτονομία became their watehword. Thus in 371 B.C. an orator is represented by Xen. as taunting the Spartans with preferring tyranny to free institutions. Alcibiades in his speech at Sparta (6.89—winter of 415-4 B.C.) makes a point out of this tradition.

27. τὴν κτίσιν—strictly speaking the Dorians did not found Sparta: it existed before the invasion; but there is no difficulty in speaking of the second founders thus.

1. ὧν ἴσμεν=ἐκείνων οὓς ἴσμεν. The στάσις lasted longer at Sparta than elsewhere: cf. Herod. i 65, the Spartans before Lycurgus κακονομώτατοι ἦσαν σχεδὸν πάντων Ἑλλήνων κατά τε σφέας αὐτοὺς καὶ ξείνοισι ἀπρόσμικτοι. In spite of this, they were the earliest to obtain good laws—μετέβαλον ἐς εὐνομίην (Herod. l.c.)=ηὐνομήθη.

4. τετρακόσια—this gives a later date than 884 B.C. which other authorities assign to Lycurgus.

7. δυνάμενοι=δυνατοὶ ὄντες, see L. & S.

8. μετὰ δέ—the main sentence is resumed after the parenthesis. Cf. the use of δέ（δ᾽ οὖν) in c. 11. 1; οὖν in 7.42. 3; δέ is frequent. So autem, sed, igitur.

τὴν κατάλυσιν ἐκ τῆς Ἑλλάδος—the art. is not repeated with a verbal substantive. The words necessary to complete its sense generally follow, but sometimes precede it, as in 2.18. 3 κατὰ τὴν ἄλλην πορείαν ἡ σχολαιότης. In the latter case, the prepositional phrase is connected with the verb of the sentence (cf. 2.7. 2; 38. 1) as well as with the verbal substantive.

10. καὶ ἡ ἐν Μαραθῶνι μάχη—i.e. now begins the modern period, τὰ Μηδικά.

12. τῷ μ. στόλῳ—the great armada.