Seventeenth Year of the War (8-93)
Seventeenth Year of the War (8-93)
In view of the favorable report of the ambassadors sent to Sicily the Athenians vote to send thither sixty triremes under Alcibiades, Nicias, and Lamachus. In an ecclesia called five days later to discuss the equipment Nicias tries to effect the abrogation of the vote.
ἧκον: as freq. with the force of
came back. Cf. 5. 34. 1; 7. 21. 2; 8. 92. 6.
ἄγοντες: of transport by ship, as 7. 16. 12, 31. 12.—
ὡς: with
μισθόν,
as pay. The estimate is for a drachma per day for each man— reckoning 200 men for each trireme (see Boeckh-Fränkel, Staatshaush.^{3} I, 344 ff.), i.e. twice as much as usual (60 x 200 x 30 = 360,000 drachmas, or 60 talents). See on 31. 19.
ἐπαγωγά:
enticements, as 4. 88. 3; 5. 111. 14.
ἐν τῷ κοινῷ: for the traditional
ἐν τοῖς κοινοῖς, correctly restored by van Herw. (Stud. Thuc. p. 46), following early editions, and Haacke, as seems to be required by
ἐν τῷ κοινῷ 6. 27. Cf. also 1. 80. 19, 141. 11; 8. 1. 15. It is the sort of miscopying that has been corrected in 3. 65. 2; 5. 27. 2, 48. 1. W. E. Heitland (Journal of Phil. XXIV, 3) calls attention to the fact that, acc. to 46. § 3, the Athenian ambassadors were led also into the sanctuary of Aphrodite in Eryx, but that proves nothing for
τοῖς κοινοῖς, since our passage has direct reference to 6. § 3.
αὐτοκράτορας: within the limits of the instructions implied in
βοηθοὺς μὲν . . . Ἀθηναίοις the generals were to have free hand in Sicilian matters. Later (26. § 1) they were given unlimited authority also to determine the strength and equipment of the forces to be sent to Sicily.
Λάμαχον: cf. 4. 75. 5.
ξυγκατοικίσαι, (14)
πρᾶξαι: infs. of purpose after
πέμπειν, as in 4. 132. 15. Cf. 50. 14. For the correlation of these infs. with
βοηθοὺς μέν, cf. 1. 72. 6, 128. 14.—
ξυγκατοικίσαι δὲ καὶ...πολέμου :
but also to join in restoring Leontini in case they should have any success in the war. So Bm. and Pp.-St. explain. St. renders si quid ex bello commodi nacti essent.
τοῦ πολέμου depends on
τι or rather on the subst. idea derived from its connection with
περιγένηται. On the fortunes of the Leontines, cf. 5. 4. § 4 ff.; 6. 6. § 2. For Steup's view, see App.
καὶ τἆλλα...πρᾶξαι : cf. 1. 95. 7
τἆλλα καταστησόμενοι ᾗ φαίνοιτο ἄριστα αὐτοῖς. Here we have the more general
πράσσειν, since there could be no question of a complete establishment (
καθίστασθαι). Cf. also 26. 2
περὶ στρατιᾶς πλήθους καὶ περὶ τοῦ παντὸς πλοῦ τοὺς στρατηγοὺς πράσσειν ᾗ ἂν αὐτοῖς δοκῇ ἄριστα εἶναι Ἀθηναίοις, 1. 126. 26
τὸ πᾶν διαθεῖναι ᾗ ἂν ἄριστα διαγιγνώσκωσι. Cf. also 9. 12, 10. 5.—
τἆλλα τὰ ἐν τῇ Σικελίᾳ: art. repeated, as in 8. 64. 6, 84. 18; but only one art. in 1. 44. 15, 56. 11, 91. 3; 3. 101. 7.
γιγνώσκωσιν:
judge. Cf. 9. 12; 8. 67. 18, and
διαγιγνώσκειν 1. 126. 26.
καθ̓ ὅ τι χρὴ κτἑ.: to be taken directly with
ἐκκλησία, something like
ὥστε βουλεύεσθαι being understood. For
καθ᾽ ὅτι,
in what way, cf. 9. 2; 8. 67. 5, and see on 1. 35. 16; 4. 34. 25.
εἴ του προσδέοιντο:
in case they should need anything further (besides the equipment voted), containing the subj. of
ψηφισθῆναι, inf. of purpose after
ἐκκλησία ἐγίγνετο (cf. 38. 25, 80. 10; 4. 114. 9). Hude unnecessarily inserts
τοῦ before
τοῖς στρατηγοῖς, but is right in denying that
ψηφισθῆναι depends on
καθ᾽ ὅ τι χρή, as Cl. and others explain.
προφάσει βραχείᾳ καὶ εὐπρεπεῖ:
on a slight and (only)
fair-seeming pretext. The first adj. has reference to the insignificance of Egesta, the second to 6. 4
βοηθεῖν δὲ ἅμα εὐπρεπῶς βουλόμενοι τοῖς ἑαυτῶν ξυγγενέσι κτἑ. Cf. 79. 9
εὐλόγῳ προφάσει.
μεγάλου ἔργου :
a great thing, matter, as in 3. 3. 3.
μεγάλου is esp. antithetic to
βραχείᾳ.
