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

ὕστερον χρόνῳ—so i. 8 fin. etc.: with χρόνοις Dem. etc. ‘ages after’.

ἐν τῇ Ἄθῳ—elsewhere Ἄθως is masculine as in ch. 3, 30: iv. 109, 2 A few manuscripts here have τῷ It has been suggested that ἡ Ἄθως denotes the region as opposed to the mountain. The reading of the whole passage is however uncertain, as a difficulty is caused by the word Δικτιδιῆς. The Dictidians are unknown, and there may be a corruption in the name. In ch. 82, 1, the true reading Διῆς is in some copies corrupted into Δικτιδιῆς. Dium is mentioned in iv. 109, 3 as a town in the peninsula of Athos. Accordingly here editors have adopted τὴν ἐν τῇ Ἄθῳ Διῆς, τὴν ἐν τῇ Ἄθῳ Ἀκτῇ Διῆς, or τὴν ἐν τῇ Ἀθώᾳ Ἀκτῇ Διῆς. Poppo points out that Thucydides simply calls the peninsula Ἀκτή (iv. 109, 3); while moreover Dium was friendly to the Athenians till 417, when it revolted to the Chalcidians (ch. 82). He therefore proposes instead of Δικτιδιῆς to read Χαλκιδῆς or οἱ Χαλκιδῆς. The Chalcidians would no doubt be hostile to Thyssus; there may however have been a private quarrel between Thyssus and Dium.

ἐπιμιξίαι—of reciprocal intercourse: cf. i. 2, 2, οὐδ̓ ἐπιμιγνύντες ἀδεῶς ἀλλήλοις: see note on ἔφοδοι line 40. ὑπώπτευον —so viii. 39, 2, ὑπώπτευον αὐτόν. Kruger notes (iv. 51) that the construction with a simple accusative is rare in Attic writers.

τὴν. .οὐκ ἀπόδοσιν—cf. ch. 50, 19: so i. 137, 7, τὴν τῶν γεφυρῶν οὐ διάλυσιν: iii. 95, 2, τὴν οὐ περιτείχισιν. It is a peculiarity of Thucydides, though occasionally found in other writers. Here ἀλλήλοις is added to the verbal substantive.

τὴν γὰρ Ἀμφίπολιν—the restoration of Amphipolis was the main point, accordingly its name stands prominently in the sentence. The ἄλλα χωρία are those specified in ch. 18, 22 sq. and also Panactum. πρότεροι λαχόντες—ch. 21, 1.

παρεῖχον—note the change of tense. παρέχω takes the same construction with an adjective in ii. 84, 3, τοῖς κυβερνήταις ἀπειθεστέρας τὰς ναῦς παρεῖχον, and in other passages. λέγοντες ἀεί—‘though they continued to declare’.

χρόνους δὲ προὔθεντο—apparently ‘proposed certain dates’, χρόνοι being plural because stipulations affecting dif ferent states were proposed. The scholiast explains προὔθεντο by ἔταξαν: but the middle means ‘to put forward on one's own part’; cf. Eur. Iph. T. 1225, τὰ ἄλλα ὅσα προὐθέμην, i. e. ‘ordered’.

ξυγγραφῆς—‘a bond’ or written agreement. They would only commit themselves to a verbal arrangement. χρῆν—i.e. according to the Spartan proposal. The imperfect is accommodated to the past tense of προὔθεντο, cf. ii. 51, 3, οὐδὲ ἓν κατέστη ἴαμα ὅ τι χρῆν προσφέροντας ὠφελεῖν; and see note on iv. 29, fin. ᾗ χρῆν ἐπιβοηθεῖν.

ὑπετόπευον—the same form occurs in viii. 76, 1: ὑποτοπεῖν ii. 5, 3, etc. ὑποπτεύω is the general word in Attic prose, as in ch. 35. 6. οὔτε Πύλον—answered by τά τε ἄλλα, the clause with ἀλλὰ καί being parenthetical.

ποιήσειαν—‘should have done’, corresponding to ἕως ἂν ποιήσωσι with a primary tense. ὄντας—order as in ch. 34, 6.

καὶ εἴ του ἄλλου—‘and (had done) everything else in their power’, rather than ‘had recalled their men from any other place in their hands’. For εἴ τις cf. ch. 37, 13; so iv. 26, 5, ἐσάγειν ς<*>τον <*>καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο βρῶμα.

ἀπολαβεῖν—‘get back’, in order to restore to Athens: cf. ch. 30, 17. κομιεῖν in the line below probably depends on ἔφασαν: Kruger however connects it with πειράσεσθαι, referring to i. 27, 2, ἐδεήθησαν ξυμπροπέμψειν, where he cites many similar instances of the future infinitive.

Μεσσηνίους—from Naupactus; see iv. 41. Note the use of the articles here and in line 37.

ὥστε—see note on ch. 16, 26. τοὺς ἄλλους—ἄλλος= ‘besides’. It seems possible that some of the περίοικοι as well as of the Helots might have deserted to Pylos. No such desertion is however mentioned, but only that of the Helots; see ch. 14, 20; and iv. 41, 3. The following words τε καί are therefore bracketed by some editors, while Classen brackets τε only. Stahl would omit Εἵλωτας as well as τε καί.