Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides Book 7

1. κατὰ κράτος: with all their might, to be connected with ναυμαχοῦντες, not, as the Schol. says, with ἐνίκησαν. It is so used with πολιορκεῖν (i.64.14); πολεμεῖν (i.118.21; ii.54.14); προσβάλλειν (iv.131.4).

διὰ τῶν ὁλκάδων: cf. c. 38. 11.

ὅρμον: the open place of anchorage of the Athenians (cf. vi.44.12), which they had tried to turn into a λιμὴν κλῃστός (c. 38. 11 ff.).

5. αἱ κεραῖαι: similar contrivances to those that the Plataeans had erected to ward off the battering rams from their walls (ii. 76. § 4). As in the passage cited, beams (δοκοί) were attached to crane-shaped poles, to be let down, so here δελφῖνες (Schol., σιδηροῦν κατασκεύασμα ἢ μολίβδινον εἰς δελφῖνα ἐσχηματισμένον), heavy weights of lead or iron in the form of dolphins, possibly with the tail sharpened for the purpose of piercing through the vessels, and thus sinking them. Cf. Liv. xxxviii. 5, tollenonibus libramenta plumbi incutiebant. Poll. i. 54 mentions this contrivance as one used even on triremes, ὑπὲρ τὸ ἔμβολον δελφὶς ἵσταται, ὅταν ἡ ναῦς δελφινοφόρος ᾖ. But this seems to be the only notice of the kind.

ἠρμέναι: (pf.) always drawn up (not ἀρθεῖσαι, occasionally), they hung threateningly over the intervals between every two ships (c. 38. 14), ὑπὲρ τῶν ἔσπλων. As the interval was two plethra, the length of the κεραῖαι was extraordinary; but they are to be conceived as stretching out from both sides over the intervening space. On the position of the partic., see on c. 23. 14.

7. ἐπαιρόμεναι τῇ νίκῃ: flushed with victory.

προσέμιξαν αὐτῶν ἐγγύς: as in iv.93.4, προσέμιξεν ἐγγὺς τοῦ στρατεύματος. Without ἐγγύς the dat. would be necessary. αὐτῶν includes both ὁλκάδων and κεραῖαι.

ἡ ἑτέρα : the one (of these two ships), from which it follows that the crew of the other escaped.

10. κατατραυματίσαντες: of ships also in viii.10.20; 42. 11. Cf. iv.14.5, ἔτρωσαν μὲν πολλάς; Liv. xxxvii. 24, multis ictibus vulnerata navis erat.

τροπαῖά τε ἀμφοτέρων τῶν ναυμαχιῶν ἔστησαν: see on c. 24. 3. The reference is to the undecided action two days before (c. 38. § 1), and the last far more important one.

ταῖς μέν: so placed as if only τὸν δὲ πεζὸν χειρώσεσθαι were to follow.—καὶ πολύ: see on c. 34. 35. —ἐδόκουν δέ: weaker than τὴν ἐλπίδα (opinionem) ἤδη ἐχυρὰν εἶχον with which it is connected, “and they even thought.”

κατ᾽ ἀμφότερα: sc. τῷ τε πεζῷ καὶ ταῖς ναυσί. Cf. c. 50. 16; 59. 4; vi.31.17.

παρεσκευά- ζοντο αὖθις: refers to the preparations of the Syracusans before the last battle (c. 36; 37. § 1), and doubtless shows the zeal of Gylippus.