E.C. Marchant, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 6

ἐπὶ τῷ ὀ—VII. 64 τὸ μέγα ὄνομα τῶν Ἀθηνῶν: ‘owing to their reputation as the city that he had attacked.’ That ὄνομα does not mean ‘fiction’ or ‘mere statement’ here is shown by καὶ ἡμῖν τὸ τοιοῦτο: it has the same sense as ὄνομα above. To have been the object of the Persian attack constituted that glory of Athens that led to her rise. ᾔει, which is in O.O., represents ᾔει of O.R.: men said, after the war, “ἐπ᾽ Ἀθήνας ᾔει ὁ Μῆδος.” Syraeuse too will grow great έπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι ὡς ἐφ̓ ἡμᾶς ᾕει ὁ Ἀθηναῖος. See Index s.v. ἐπί.

τοὺς μέν—i.e. τοὺς ὑπηκόους:

τοῖς δέ—i.e. τοῖς αὐτονόμοις ‘The difference is clearly marked between the Sikels of the east coast, familiar to Syr. as subjects, neighbours, or enemies, and the Sikel towns of the interior, now fast beginning to advance in power and in Hellenic culture’ (Freeman).

τὴν ἄλλην Σ—i.e. the Siceliots.

ἢξυμμαχίαν ποιώμεθα ἡμῖν—Stephanus reads ποιῶνται and Classen revives the reading. If we keep the MSS. reading we must make ἡμῖν = ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς ‘for ourselves,’ as Thuc. sometimes uses σφίσιν for σφίσιν αὐτοῖς: cf. II. 71 οὐ δίκαια ποιεῖτε οὔτε ὑμῶν οὔτε πατέρων. The phrase is, however, very unusnal.

ἄμεινον—e. 19, 1.

ἀνέλπιστον—taken in two ways: (1) ἄφοβον (Schol., Kruger), se. μή ποτε . . ἔλθωσιν, i.e. they are expeeting an attack on Carthage; (2) ‘the invasion of Sicily will not surprise them’ (Poppo, etc.). But (3) surely the key to the passage is in ἄμεινον εἶναι πέμψαι? To ἀνέλπιστον supply τὸ πέμψαι ἡμᾶς. ‘Our mission will not surprise them.’

διὰ φόβου εἰσί—c. 59, 2. The construction is frequent with εχειν, γίγνεσθαι, ἰέναι, εἶναι.

τάδε—‘our cause.’ προήσονται, κἂν . . εῖναι: O.R. προησόμεθα, κἂν . . εἶμεν. M.T. § 505.

ἤτοι . . γε . . ἤ—in Thuc. the more certain but less important alternative is put first when these particles are used. But this does not seem to be the case in other authors.

ἢ ἐξ ἑνός γέ του τ—‘or by some means or other’; the Schol. remarks that ἤ is superfluous, there being no other way except either κρύφα or φανερῶς. But the addition is not an unnatural inaccuracy, and the removal of ἤ by no means improves the sense. Aesch. Septem 202 ἤκουσας ἢ οὐκ ἤκουσας ἢ κωφῇ λέγω: Plat. Laches 199 B οὐ γὰρ μελλόντων μόνον πέρι ἐπαίει, ἀλλὰ καὶ γιγνομένων καὶ γεγονότων καὶ πάντως ἐχόντων, where καὶ πάντως ἐχόντων is equally superfluous.

εὐπορεῖ—‘by which war . . prospers’; cf. I. 83 δαπάνης, δι᾽ ἣν τὰ ὅπλα ὠφελεῖ. Nothing further is heard of this proposal of H. to send to Carthage. (Freeman, Sicily III. Append. vii.)

ἐς τὴν Λ. καὶ ἐς Κ—Thuc. repeats the preposition where different things are elearly opposed to one another, omits it when they are thought of together. Contrast § 4.

τὸν ἐκεῖ πόλεμον—cf. c. 36, 4. Freeman remarks that we should have looked for some more marked reference to Corinth, as metropolis of Syr.

διὰ τὸ ξύνηθες ἥσυχον—v. 68 τὸ ἀνθρώπειον κομπῶδες: and c. 55, 3 τὸ πρότερον ξύνηθες φοβερόν. ‘I will now tell you what I think would be most advantageous, though you with your habitual lack of cnterprise would by no means readily aceede to it.’ Cf. Plat. Laws p. 918 D γελοῖον μὲν εἰπεῖν ὅμως δ᾽ εἰρήσεται: Demosth. 14, 24 παράδοξον μὲν οἶδα λέγων, ὅμως δ᾽ εἰρήσεται.

περὶ τῆς Σικελίας—it appears necessary to read the gen. here, because ὁ ἀγών, ἀγωνίζεσθαι, μάχεσθαι, πολεμεῖν in Thuc. always take περί τινος not περί τινι elsewhere; and it certainly does appear that τοῦ περαιωθῆναι is also governed by περί here Thomas Magister connects ὁ άγών direetly with τοῦ περαιωθῆναι, for which ef. Eur Sup. 665 νεκροὺς ὄπισθεν θέμενοι, ὧν ἔκειτ᾽ ἀγών. (The MSS. reading is defended by Herbst, and by C. F. Smith in A.J.P. 25 p. 67.)

ἐς λογισμὸν καταστήσαιμεν—cf. Isocr. 15. 169 εἰσέπεσον εἰς τὸ λογίζεσθαι. The substance of the refleetions is given in all that follows down to the end of § 5.

ἐκ φιλίας χώρας—viz. Tarentum, as explained by the parenthesis—i.e. ‘we have the friendly haven of Taras as a base of operations and a place of shelter in case of need’ (Freeman).

φύλακες—of Sicily. Notice

αὐτοῖς and

ἐκείνους

τὸ δὲ πέλαγος κτλ—‘whereas they have before them a passage which is long for the whole of their armament, and it would be difficult owing to the length of the voyage to keep in line, and consequently their forees would be exposed to our attack, as they would come up with us slowly and in divisions.’ πολύ (ἐστι) περαιοῦσθαι, as c. 42 ῥᾴους ἄρχειν. Most edd. regard χαλεπὸν δὲ . . μεῖναι as a parenthesis; but the clause leads up to καὶ ἡμῖν . . εἴη, and the whole = χαλεπὸν (ἂν εἴη τῆ παρασκευῇ) ἐν τάξει μεῖναι, καὶ εὐεπἰθετος ἂν εἴη ἡ παρασκευή.

εἰ δ᾽ αὖ—‘on the other hand, if they transfer their baggage (to the transports), and attack us with their fast ships in a body’—i.e. if they leave behind the transports and do not attempt to cross from Corcyra μετὰ πάσης τῆς παρασκευῆς.

εἰ δὲ μὴ δοκοίη—se. ὴμῖν ἐπιθέσθαι, if we found that they had not been rowing hard, and so decided not to attack them.

ἔστι—so the Athenians would reflect when the Syr. were off Tarentum. ἔστι ὑποχωρῆσαι is equivalent to ὑποχωροῖμεν ἂν εἰ βουλοίμεθα.

μετ᾽ ὀ. ἐφοδίων—the result of κουφίσαντες ὡς ἐπὶ ναυμαχίᾳ.

κατὰ χωρία ἐρῆμα—‘the enemy,’ says Freeman, ‘will have to shift for himself how he can along desert or unfriendly coasts, where the Sikeliots will be able to attack, or harass, or bloekade him at pleasure.’ By χωρία ἐρῆμα Bloomfield rightly says that the eoast from Tarentum to Rhegium is meant: ‘the country itself was doubtless then, what it is now described as being, alike uncultivated and savage.’ Finding themselves ἐν ἀπορίᾳ κατὰ χωρία ἐρῆμα, they will have to choose between two eourses: (1) waiting for their transports, (2) trying to gain admission to eities—Thurii, Croton, Locri, Rhegium.

πολιορκοῖντο ἄν—se. ὑφ̓ ἡμῶν. The Syr. would of course not remain inaetive in the harbour of Tarentum if the Athenians lay off the coast awaiting the arrival of their transports. ‘The sanguine orator does not stop to discuss how or where the Athenian fleet is to be blockaded by any force which the Sieiliaus could bring against it’ (note in Jowett).

πειρώμενοι παραπλεῖν—if, instead of waiting for the rest of the fleet, they try to continue their voyage along the coast (of the Gulf of Tarentum, it being necessary for them to get supplies, if not by waiting, then by sailing along the coast and seeking them), they would be disheartened by the uncertainty whether the cities along the coast would receive them.

οὐκ ἂν κτλ = οὐκ ἃν βέβαια ἔχοιεν καὶ ἀθυμοῖεν (ἄν). “οὐκ εἰδότες βεβαίως εἰ αἱ πόλεις ὑποδἐξονται” (Schol.).

τούτῳ τῷ λ—with ἀποκλῃομένους: ‘hampered by these eonsiderations.’ Cf. Plat. Rep. p. 487 B in the sense ‘to receive a cheek’ in playing.

ἐξωσθῆναι ἄν—Arnold compares Herod. I. 31 ἐκκληιόμενοι τῇ ὤρῃ: cf. ἐξανάγκεσθαι, ἐξείργεσθαι. Caes. B.G. v. 24 anni tempore excludi; cf. in annum excedere. ‘Through spending time in prolonged indecision and in sending scouts to recon noitre our numbers and our position, they would be overtaken by winter.’ The aorist partic, does not express time past, relative to χρώμενοι, but is timeless. There is no reason why χρώμενοι should not have been χρησάμενοι, other than that with verbs like πέμπω the pres. partic. is much affected.

πρόφασιν—sc. του_ καραλυ_σαι τὸν π.

ἀξιόχρεων—‘some considerable action on our part.’

ἀγγελλοίμεθα—personal,=ἀγγελλοίμεθα πλείους εἶναι, ‘our numbers would be exaggerated by report’; cf. I. 10 ἐπὶ τὸ μεῖζον κος μῆσαι.

πρὸς τὰ λεγόμενα . . ἵστανται—metaphor from sails set in any direetion. ‘Men's minds veer in the direction of what they hear.’

ἢ . . γε—‘or at least.’

ἰσοκινδύνους—discrimini pares, Haase; and so recent edd. The Schol. says ‘either ἐν ὁμοίῳ κινδύνῳ καταστήσοντας αὐτούς, or ἰσοπαλεῖς’: in II. 39 we have ἡμεῖς ἀνειμένως διαιτώμενοι οὐδὲν ἧσσον ἐπὶ τοὺς ἰσοπαλεῖς κινδύνους χωροῦμεν, where some edd. explain ‘dangers as great as they face,’ others ‘struggles in which equal but not superior forces oppose us’; probably the first is right and here the sense is ‘equally ready to face danger.’ If so, ef. ἰσοτελής, contrast ἰσάργυρος.

κατεγνωκότες—‘looking down upon us because we did not support the attempt of the L.’ In 431 Sparta had appealed to Italy and Sicily for ships, but none had been sent, II. 7. Stein thinks the obj. to κατ. is lost. παρὰ γνώμην—παρὰ τὴν δόξαν αὐτῶν (Schol.).

ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀ=ἀληθεῖ. Such phrases are used as adjectives with nouns, or as adverbs with verbs. Cf. ἀπὸ τοῦ ἴσου, τοῦ προφανοῦς, τοῦ ἀδοκήτου. III. 43 τἀγαθὰ ἀπὸ τοῦ εὐθέος λεγόμενα, ‘the best advice when offered in plain terms.’

πείθεσθε . . τολμήσαντες—‘follow my advice, if possible, by taking this bold step.’ The aor. is ingressive; by entering upon this τόλμα. Again the time of the partic. is independent of the verb.

ταῦτα which some edd. construe as object of πείθεσθε, goes with the partic., because of the order.

τἆλλα . . ἑτοιμάζειν—sc. πείθεσθε: it is not unusual to find two constructions after a verb in this way. Cf. note on c. 1, 1.

παραστῆναι παντί—this infin. is by some explained as= an imperative, but it is more natural to supply πείθεσθε, which in passing through ἑτοιμάζειν has assumed a somewhat different meaning. （παραστῆναι often has this sense: c. 68, 3; 95, 2. Andoc. I. 54 εἴ τῳ παρέστηκε γνώμη τοιαύτη) Cf. II. 39 περιγίγνεται ἡμῖν . . μὴ προκάμνειν, καὶ .μὴ ἀτολμοτέρους . . φαίνεσθαι, καὶ ἔν τε τούτοις τὴν πόλιν ἀξίαν εἶναι θαυμάζεσθαι καὶ ἔτι ἐν ἄλλοις, where also, when εἶναι is reached, the meaning of περιγίγνεται is lost. This is a good example of thuc.'s πολύνους βραχυλογία.

καταφρονεῖν τοὺς ἐπιόντας—Thomas Magister quotes this passage for καταφρονεῖν with accus. In only one place has Thuc. the gen. of direct objeet with καταφρ.—viz. VII. 63 καταφρονἠσαντες Κορινθίων.

ἐν τῶν ἔργων τῇ ἀλκῇ—ef. Herod. VII. 49 ἀνὴρ οὕτω ἂν εἴη ἄριστος εἰ βουλευόμενος μὲν ἀρρωδέοι ἐν δὲ τῷ ἔργῳ θρασὺς εἴη: ‘resistance in action’; ἀλκή, robur, is found in Herod. and Xen., but not elsewhere in prose.

τὸ δ᾽ ἤδη—take τὸ δ᾽ ἤδη ὡς ἐπὶ κινδύνου πράσσειν together, ‘to act at present as in time of danger.’

ἐν πλῷ . . εἰσί—cf. ἐν ὁδῷ εἶναι, ἐν τειχισμῷ, ἐν παρασκευῇ, ἐν κινήσει, ἐν στάσει, etc.