Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides Book 7

1. ἐν τούτῳ: the battle at sea began before daylight, for when at daybreak (ἅμα τῇ ἕῳ, 4) Gylippus advanced to the attack, the Athenians had already been for some time looking on the sea-fight.

ἐπικαταβάντων: going down to the very edge (of the water), as in c. 35. 9; 84. 19; iv.11.2.

φθάνει προσπεσών: i.e. before the Athenians could arm themselves to resist.

ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ τὰ ἐλάσσω δύο: the decisive success is briefly announced first; the details and results are described afterwards in 7 with καὶ μέν and in 11 with ἐπειδὴ δέ.

τῶν φυλάκων : the garrison stationed there. Cf. c. 43. 22.

7. ἐκ τοῦ πρώτου ἁλόντος: from that which was first taken. For the pred. adj. between the art. and its partic., see Kr. Spr. 50, 12, 1. Cl. writes (against the Mss.) πρῶτον, taking it adv. both here and in 5. But even if it be not an adj. in 5, as St. claims (cf. vi.66.13), that would not be proof that it is not one here.

ἐς τὰ πλοῖα: which acc. to c. 4. 26 lay there at anchor under the protection of the fortifications of Plemmyrium.—ἐς τὸ στρατόπεδον: i.e. into the chief camp of the Athenian army near the double wall and close to the great harbour. See on c. 4. 24 and Holm, H. p. 395.

τῶν γὰρ κτἑ.: explains χαλεπῶς . . . ἐξεκομίζοντο.

κρατούντων τῇ ναυμαχίᾳ: as the Syracusans still had the advantage against the Att. ships, they could spare one trireme for the pursuit of the fleeing garrison of the larger fort.

ἐπειδὴ...ἡλίσκετο : exact statement of the simultancous (impf.) occurrences at two different points: “at the time when the two smaller forts fell into the hands of the Syracusan land troops, the Syracusan fleet was already losing the day, so that the Athenian garrisons from the smaller forts, who were fleeing along the coast in boats, could no longer be pursued by the Syracusans.” How this change in the sea-fight had come about is then described from 14 (αἱ γὰρ τῶν Συρακοσίων κτἑ.) to the end of the chap.

14. αἱ πρὸ τοῦ στόματος νῆες ναυμαχοῦσαι: i.e. αἱ ἐκ τοῦ νεωρίου περιπλέουσαι. Cf. c. 22. 13. Thuc. is fond of placing the attrib. partic. after the noun, when other words are added. Kr. Spr. 50, 10, 3. See on i.11.19.

οὐδενὶ κόσμῳ: cf. c. 40. 10; 84. 9; iii.108.16; also πολλῷ κόσμῳ in viii.00.13.—ταραχθεῖσαι περὶ ἀλλήλας: = ἐν ἀλλήλαις (ii.65.50), or ἐν σφίσιν αὐταῖς (c. 67. 14; 84. 18), or προσπίπτουσαι ἀλλήλαις (c. 36. 33).

παρέδοσαν τὴν νίκην: gave away the victory, as in viii.71.3, τὴν παλαιὰν ἐλευθερίαν παραδώσειν.

ταύτας τε...ἐνικῶντο : “for they routed not only these (who had fallen into disorder), but also those by whom they were at first worsted inside the harbour.” On this co-ordination of the rel. clause with the dem., see Kr. Spr. 51, 13, 5.

ἐν τῷ λιμένι: i.e. ἐν τῷ μεγάλῳ λιμένι (10).

20. πλὴν ὅσον: limiting in adv. sense the preceding, except, with which we must supply τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, to which οὕς refers. In c. 62. 18 (πλὴν ὅσον ἂν ὁ πεζὸς ἡμῶν ἐπέχῃ) the grammatical connexion is closer.

ἐν τῷ νησιδίῳ: it cannot be certainly determined whether this is Isola del Castelluccio or San Marciano.

ἐς τὸ ἑαυτῶν στρατόπεδον: see on 8.