C.E. Graves, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 5

νεκρούς—the article is omitted with νεκρούς i. 54, 4: iv. 14, 4, etc.: so often with words which are repeatedly found in a particular context, as παῖδες καὶ γυναῖκες (of a captured town), μέσον (of an army), etc. Such words get in fact a definite force of their own, and can dispense with the article. See note on πολεως iv. 18, 2, and μέσον iv. 31, 2.

ἔθαψαν—it appears from Xen Hel. vii. 3, 12 that this was the special honour of founders and benefactors of cities. The historian says of Euphron, a military adventurer of Sicyon, οἱ πολῖται αὐτοῦ ὡς ἄνδρα ἀγαθὸν ἔθαψάν τε ἐν τῇ ἀγορᾷ... καὶ ὡς α:ρχηγέτην τῆς πόλεως σέβονται. To show the rarity of such honours Arnold cites Cic. Ep. Fam. iv. 12, 3, where we find the Athenians refusing a place of sepulture within their walls to M. Marcellus, ‘quod religione se impediri dicerent; neque tamen id antea cuiquam concesserant’.

περιέρξαντες—elsewhere Thucydides uses the forms of εἴργω, and one manuscript here has περιείρξαντες. ξυνέρξετε is found Soph. Aj. 593. ἐντέμνουσι—ἐντέμνω, according to the scholiast, like ἔντομα and ἐναγίζω, is properly used of offerings to the dead, or to the powers below, as opposed to sacrifices to the gods above. In the latter case the victim's throat was held up and pierced; in the former its head was struck off on the ground. The present ἐντέμνουσι and perfect δεδώκασι imply a custom still continuing. Classen considers the style of expression appropriate to a writer who was connected with the neighbourhood, as we know that Thucydides was (iv. 105, 1).

προσέθεσαν—thus making Brasidas their tutelary hero.

τὰ Ἁγνώνεια οἰκοδομήματα—public buildings which commemorated Hagnon's name as founder. These would include a shrine in his honour, if he was dead. He may however have been still alive, as it was only 15 years since he established the city (iv. 102, 3). In 429 we find him in Thrace (ii. 95, 3). The name of Hagnon occurs in ch. 19, 2, and ch. 24, 1, among the Athenian signatories, and in viii. 68, 4, we have a Hagnon mentioned as the father of Theramenes.

εἴ τι μνημόσυνον—‘si quod aliud deductionis eius monumentum superfuturum erat’: cf. Hdt. i. 185, μνημόσυνα ἐλίπετο, of material works executed by queen Nitocris. αὐτοῦ τῆς οἰκίσεως—αὐτοῦ refers to the preceding adjective Ἁγνώνεια. The actual construction of the genitives is open to some doubt. Probably αὐτοῦ depends on οἰκίσεως, the more emphatic word standing first. It is however quite possible to take αὐτοῦ as dependent directly on μνημόσυνον, in which case τῆς οι:κίσεως is added, as a ‘genitive of further definition’ and depends on the combined μνημόσυνον αὐτοῦ.

σωτῆρά τε—the two main divisions of the sentence are τὸν μὲν Βρασίδαν...τὸν δὲ Ἅγνωνα. The first of these divisions is expanded by a subordinate τε and καί, connecting the two ideas which led the citizens thus to honour Brasidas; gratitude to Brasidas himself, and a desire at the same time to court the favour of Sparta. The construction as usual is modified by putting in a fresh governing participle; cf. ch. 28, 10, ὁρῶντες τόν τε πόλεμον ἐσόμενον, καὶ ἄμα ἐλπίσαντες τῆς Πελοποννήσου ἡγήσεσθαι.

τὸ πολέμιον τῶν—‘their hostility to Athens’: in iii. 56, 2, τῷ ἐκείνων πολεμίῳ is ‘their hostile feelings’.

ὁμοίως—probably ‘as formerly’: so i. 99, 2, ἧσαν οὐκέτι ὁμοίως ἐν ἡδονῇ άρχοντες. Kruger however understands ‘as Brasidas’. ἡδέως—sc. σφίσι, according to the scholiast; but possibly Ἄγνωνι, for Hagnon, whether alive or dead, would be dishonoured in his sacred character of founder by the homage of a revolted town.

ἑπτά—‘so in the great battle of Corinth, fought A.C. 394, only eight Lacedaemonians were killed (Xen. Hel. iv. 3. 1). For such was the Spartan skill and discipline that, till their ranks were broken, they fought almost without risk’ (Arnold).

τοιαύτης—referring to the description already given. προεκφοβήσεως is active in force. The word seems to occur nowhere else in classical Greek: φόβησις is not found and ἐκφόβησις has no classical authority.