Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3

ἐστασίαζον: cf. c. 69. 10 ἐς τὴν Κέρκυραν πλεῦσαι στασιάζουσαν.—ἐπειδή: see on c. 68. 32.—2.

ἦλθον αὐτοῖς: for dat. with ἐλθεῖν, see on c. 5. 12; 39. 22; i. 13. 12.

ἐκ τῶν περὶ Ἐπί δαμνον ναυμαχιῶν: more accurately, from the second of the two seafights, that at Sybota. Cf. i. 47-55. Acc. to i. 55. 6, the number of captives was 250, of whom it is said ἐτύγχανον δυνάμει αὐτῶν οἱ πλείους πρῶτοι ὄντες τῆς πόλεως.—3. ὑπὸ Κορινθίων ἀφεθέντες: as may be inferred from the context, not before the winter of 428-427 B.C., so that their captivity (ἐν θεραπείᾳ εἶχον πολλῇ) must have lasted about five years. See App.—

ὀκτακοσίων ταλάντων: gen. of price. The ransom of each man would be 3 1/5 talents, which seems enormous, even though the most of the captives were among the first men of the state (see above), and so would be, as a body of 250, a most valuable pledge in the hands of the Corinthians. Jow. thinks that the unusual amount is not a matter of much importance, as the sum was never meant to be paid. But Steup thinks that, even in a sham transaction, the demand would have to seem reasonable, in order not to excite suspicion. He cites from Philip's letter, Dem. xii. 3, a ransom of nine talents for a single man, and urges here the importance to the Corinthians of a body of 250 Corcy raean captives of such prominence, referring to the advantage which the Athenians derived from the 292 Spartans captured at Sphacteria (iv. 41. § 1; 117). For the ordinary ransom, see Boeckh, p. 99 f.—4.

τοῖς προξένοις διηγγυημένοι: bailed on the security of their proxeni, i.e. of Corinthian citizens who were the representatives of Corcyra at Corinth. For the dat., see on c. 64. 15. As to the relation of πρόξενος, see Schoemann, Gr. Ant. ii. p. 25.—5.

πεπεισμένοι . . . προσποιῆσαι: cf. i. 55. 5 (οἱ Κορίνθιοι) τῶν Κερκυραίων . . . πεντήκοντα καὶ διακοσίους δήσαντες ἐφύλασσον καὶ ἐν θεραπείᾳ εἶχον πολλῇ, ὅπως αὐτοῖς τὴν Κέρκυραν ἀναχωρήσαντες προσποιήσειαν. —προσποιῆσαι: to win over, as in i. 55. 8; ii. 8. 15.—7.

ἀποστήσωσιν: subjv. after past tense of verb of striving, as in i. 57. 9. GMT. 339; H. 885 b.

ἀφικομένης: sing. before two nouns, ἀγουσῶν following them. G. 901; H. 607. Cf. i. 29. 6.—8.

ἐς λόγους καταστάντων: sc. τῶν πρέσβεων ἑκατέρων τοῖς Κερκυραίοις.—10. ξύμμαχοι εἶναι κατὰ τὰ ξυγκείμενα: i.e. an ἐπιμαχία, defensive alliance, as described i. 44. 8. —11.

ὥσπερ καὶ πρότερον: i.e. as before the conflict with Corinth and other members of the Peloponnesian alliance about Epidamnus. Cf. i. 28. 10, where Corcyraean ambassadors, warning the Corinthians against going to war about Epidamnus, remark, εἰ δὲ μή, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἀναγκασθήσεσθαι ἔφασαν, ἐκείνων βιαζομένων, φίλους ποιεῖσθαι οὓς οὐ βούλονται, ἑτέρους τῶν νῦν ὄντων μᾶλλον, ὠφελίας ἕνεκα. So that, although Corcyra had never belonged to the Peloponnesian alliance, she had had, before the contention about Epidamnus, not only peaceful, but even friendly, relations with the Peloponnesians. These were now to be renewed without affecting the treaty obligations of Corcyra to Athens. The whole decision was a kind of first triumph of the Corinthian party, since Corcyra's conflicts with Corinth and her allies about Epidamnus, and her participation in the ravaging of the Peloponnesian coasts in the summer of 425 B.C. (ii. 25. § 1), were disregarded, while the connexion with Athens was expressly restricted to existing conditions, ἐπιμαχία τῇ ἀλλήλων βοηθεῖν, ἐάν τις ἐπὶ Κέρκυραν ἴῃ ἢ Ἀθήνας ἢ τοὺς τούτων ξυμμάχους (i. 44. 8).

καὶ (

ἦν γὰρ . . . προειστήκει): a causal sent. thus placed in parataxis before the main one is common in Hdt. and not rare in Thuc. For const. and punctuation, see on i. 31. 7.—

Πειθίας: this name occurs in a late Corcyraean epitaph, in the form Πειθείας (C. I. G. ii. 1911).—

ἐθελοπρόξενος: Schol. ἀφ̓ ἑαυτοῦ γενόμενος καὶ μὴ κελευσθεὶς ἐκ τῆς πόλεως. οἱ γὰρ πρόξενοι κελευόμενοι ἐκ τῆς ἑαυτῶν πόλεως ἐγένοντο, i.e. as Boeckh (C. I. G. i. p. 731) explains, non a Corcyraeis constitutus. But Steup thinks that others prob. more correctly explain, non ab Atheniensibus declaratus. The word and the office occur only here and in the comments of the grammarians on this passage.—12.

προειστήκει: i.e. προστάτης ἦν τοῦ δήμου. Cf. c. 75. 9; iv. 46. 14.—13.

ὑπάγουσιν: used with and without ἐς δίκην. Cf. Hdt. vi. 136. 4; Xen. Hell. ii. 3. 12, 33; v. 4. 24.—

οὗτοι οἱ ἄνδρες: Schol. οἱ ἀπὸ Κορίνθου ἐπανελθόντες.—14. καταδουλοῦν: i.e. trying to enslave. GMT. 25; H. 825.

ἀποφυγών: acquitted, as in c. 13. 34.—16.

τέμνειν χάρακας: acc. to the remark of the grammarians (χάραξ θηλυκῶς ἐπὶ τῶν ἀμπέλων, ἀρσενικῶς δὲ ἐπὶ τῶν πρὸς πολιορκίαν), the χάρακες are the stakes that support the vines. Cf. Phryn. Ecl. p. 61 ἡ χάραξ τὸ τῆς ἀμπέλου στήριγμα. See Lobeck ad loc. cit. Probably the more prominent citizens had the oversight and management of the temple and groves, and were now accused of having used these for their own private advantage. The pres. τέμνειν indicates that the transgression charged had been a constant practice; and this may explain the large amount of the fine, which manifestly threatened their existence.—

ἐκ τοῦ τε Διὸς τοῦ τεμένους καὶ τοῦ Ἀλκίνου: these were doubtless two τεμένη, as is clear both from the position of καὶ τοῦ Ἀλκίνου and the correlation with τε . . . καί. For ἐκ τοῦ Διὸς τοῦ τεμένους, cf. c. 81. 27; 96. 1; v. 47. 65. The reading of Vat. ἐκ τοῦ τε Διὸς τεμένους is prob. due to a slip of the copyist, and Cobet's conjecture ἔκ τε τοῦ Διὸς τεμένους (Mnem. N. S. viii. p. 142) is hardly to be accepted. The sites of the two τεμένη are unknown. See B. Schmidt, p. 32 f.—17.

τοῦ Ἀλκίνου: the Homerie king of ‘Scheria,’ who was worshipped as a ἥρως.—ἐπέκειτο: here and viii. 15. 6, pf. pass. of ἐπιτιθέναι (viii. 67. 13).—18.

στατήρ: whether a gold coin worth twenty drachmae, or a silver coin worth two drachmae, is meant, is doubtful. The context favours the former, as otherwise too large a number of χάρακες must be assumed in order to bring the amount of the fine up to a sum that would make intelligible the conduct of the accused rich men. In the inscription cited by B. Schmidt, p. 71 (C. I. A. ii. 841), which belongs prob. to the beginning of the third century B.C., a fine of fifty drachmae is imposed, ἄν τις ληφθῇ κόπτων ἢ φέρων τι τῶν ἀπειρημένων ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ.

ὀφλόντων: condemned, as in v. 101. 3; Plato Legg. 754 c.—

πρὸς τὰ ἱερά: cf. ii. 47. 16 πρὸς ἱεροῖς ἱκέτευσαν, and c. 81. 25 πρὸς αὐτοῖς (i.e. τοῖς ἱεροῖς) ἐκτείνοντο.—ἱκετῶν καθεζομένων: see on c. 28. 13; i. 24. 19.—19.

διὰ πλῆθος τῆς ζημίας: πλῆθος for μέγεθος, with reference perhaps to the large number of the χάρακες. Cf. στρατιᾶς πλήθει, i. 129. 17.—

ταξάμενοι: getting themselves rated, i.e. arranging for payment by instalments. Cf. the use of τάξις as a technical expression for such an arrangement with creditors, Plato Legg. 844 b. Cf. c. 50. 10; i. 99. 11, and see B. Schmidt, p. 71 f. —20.

καὶ βουλῆς: cf. 1. 12 τοῦ δήμου προειστήκει. Both parties were represented in the βουλή. In l. 23 also βουλή occurs without the article. Cf. Dio C. xxxvi. 11 βουλῆς γεγονώς, Plut. Coriol. 30 ἀπὸ βουλῆς.—21. πείθει ὥστε: see on c. 31. 10.

τῷ νόμῳ ἐξείργοντο: sc. τοῦ ταξάμενοι ἀποδοῦναι.—23. μέλλειν . . . νομίζειν: whereby the relation with Athens would be effected, which the Athenians themselves had rejected, i. 44. § 1.—24.

ξυνίσταντο: of conspirators also ii. 88. 4; v. 82. 4; viii. 65. 6. The subj. is the five with their followers.—26.

καὶ ἄλλους: i.e. the leaders of the democratic party.— 27.

καὶ ἰδιωτῶν: perhaps partisans of Pithias, who had come to his rescue.—

οἱ δέ τινες . . . ὀλίγοι: i.e. some few of the partisans of Pithias who were present in the βουλευτήριον, not of the democratic factions in general; for while most of the leaders doubtless perished at this time, the faction itself was not almost entirely destroyed. For τινες ὀλίγοι, cf. i. 63. 7; iv. 46. 17; 56. 7.—

τῆς αὐτῆς γνώμης: as in i. 113. 10; v. 46. 26. For the pred. gen., see G. 1094; H. 732; Kr. Spr. 47, 6, 10.—28.

ἐς τὴν Ἀττικὴν τριήρη: cf.