E.C. Marchant, Commentary on Thucydides Book 1

[4] 4. οὔτε γάρ—the verb is ἔπεμπον (c. 26. 1), but, owing to the length of the sentence, the construction is changed (anacoluthon), and instead of οι: Κερκυραῖοι being the subject of the verb, a new subject, οἱ Κορίνθιοι, is introduced. The outline of the sentence is as follows: 1. (a) οὔτε ... νομιζόμενα, (b) οὔτε ... ἀποικίαι: 2. περιφρονοῦντες δέ, (a) καὶ (‘both’) ... πλουσιωτάτοις, (b) καὶ ... δυνατώτεροι, (c) ναυτικῷ δὲ ... ἐπαιρόμενοι, etc.

4. ἐν πανηγύρεσι ταῖς κοιναῖς—festivals common to Corinth and Corcyra.

5. γέρα—the schol. rather vaguely says τὰς τιμὰς καὶ προεδρίας. The corresponding passage in Diodorus says that the Corcyraeans neglected to send animals for sacrifice.

6. Κορινθίῳ ἀνδρὶ ... ἱερῶν—Hdt. 6.81 (Cleomenes of Sparta at Argos) Xen. Hell. 3.4 (Agesilaus of Sparta at Aulis) allude to the fact that a ξένος could not offer sacrifice in a strange city without permission. Dittenberger shows that προκατάρχεσθαι is equivalent to προθύειν (cf. Syl. Ins. Gr. 323 and 358): certain ceremonies took place before a victim was killed for sacrifice (Gardner and Jevons, p. 250), and these ceremonies had to be performed by a citizen of the place. The Corcyraeans would not perform them for Corinthians, and thus prevented the latter from sacrificing in Corcyra. Thuc. uses προκατάρχεσθαι here for the usual κατάρχεσθαι.

8. καὶ χρημάτων κτλ.—partly because the power that money gave them put them on a level with the richest of the Greeks. By ‘the richest of the Greeks’ the Corinthians themselves are meant. There is some exaggeration, no doubt, for the Athenians were actually among the richest; but the wealth of Corinth had become a tradition (see c. 13). ὁμοία ὄντες is not possible (see crit. note), and δυνατοί cannot be supplied with Herbst from δυνατώτεροι. <ἐν> δυνάμει ... ὁμοίᾳ or δυνάμει ... ὁμοῖοι would give the required sense with a proper construction, but no correction is certain.

12. προύχειν —ἐπαίρομαι is found only here with infin.= ‘boast.’

ἔστιν ὅτε—with καὶ κατὰ κτλ., sometimes even on the ground that the Phaeacians, who were famous for seamanship, had dwelt in Corcyra before them. The Greeks identified Corcyra with the Scheria of the Odyssey. For the naval reputation of the Phaeacians see Od. vii. 34-39, where they are called ναυσικλυτοί.

14. ᾗ καί—this circumstance (that they were proud of the reputation of the Phaeacians) led them to. καί=‘and in fact.’

15. οὐκ ἀδύνατοι, meiosis for δυνατώτατοι.