E.C. Marchant, Commentary on Thucydides Book 1

χαλεπὰ ὄντα—though it is difficult to trust every piece of evidence as put forward in the traditions about them. This is the personal construction for χαλεπὸν ὂν παντὶ ἑξῆς τ. π. The clause is amplified in what follows, and does not refer to what has preceded. πᾶν ἑξῆς=‘every one without exception.’

22. ἀκοάς—accounts.

24. σφίσιν—the indirect reflexive, which, as regularly used in subord. sentences, refers to subject of principal sentence. But later writers generally use ἑαυτούς etc. as both indirect and direct reflex.

ὁμοίως—as events that did not occur in their own place.

[2] 25. γοῦν—cf. c. 2.5. Here ‘for example’ (? and there too).

Ἵππαρχον—there is a more detailed account of the matter in 6.54-59. Hdt. 5.55; Hdt. 6.123; Arist. Ath. Pol. c. 18. There are no discrepancies between this account and the statement of Herod. and Arist. (for the statement in the latter that Thessalus was half-brother of Hipparchus is not necessarily a contradiction of this); but there are several differences between the Aristotelian account and the longer account given in book vi.

1. ὑποτοπήσαντές τι—feeling some suspicion. (Some connect τί with μεμηνῦσθαι.) ὑποτοπῆσαι used by Thuc. only in aor. inf. or partic.

2. ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ καὶ π. with μεμηνῦσθαι, on that great day at the very moment, before they were to take action.

3. ἐκ ... μεμηνῦσθαι—the other places in Thuc. in which ε:κ practically=ὑπό are 2.49. 1; iii. 69. 1; v. 104; 6.36. 2. The use is Ionic, not found in Aristoph., and there are only doubtful traces of it in the orators.

5. πρὶν ξυλληφθῆναι ... κινδυνεῦσαι—wishing to do something before they were arrested (and) then to take their chance. πρὶν ξ. goes with δράσαντές τι, and καί=‘on that condition.’

7. περὶ τὸ Αεωκόρειον —ἐν μέσῳ τῷ Κεραμεικῷ (Harpocration), but inside the city. Meanwhile Hippias (according to 6.57) was marshalling the procession outside the gates. The Ath. Pol. however says that Hippias was awaiting the procession on the acropolis. The route of the procession was from the (outer) Ceramicus to the temple of Athcna Polias. As for the Leocorion, the story was that the three daughters of King Leos were sacrificed to Pallas to avert famine from Athens. The chapel is connected with the worship of Apollo as god of purification.

[3] 9. πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ἄλλα—as regards; or (what comes to the same) οἴονται may be rendered ‘conceive.’

10. οὐ χρόνῳ ἀμνηστούμενα—le grec renforce souvent une idée positive en la reprenant sous forme négative (Chambry). Cf. p. 112 1. 16.

11. ὥσπερ κτλ.—Hdt. 6.57, if the kings are not present at a meeting of the Council, (κελεύουσι）τοὺς μάλιστά σφι τῶν γερόντων προσήκοντας ἔχειν τὰ τῶν βασιλέων γέρεα, δύο ψήφους τιθεμένους, τρίτην δὲ τὴν ἑωυτῶν. It may be that Thuc. is referring to that passage, and took it to imply that each king had two votes (though it is doubtful whether Herod. meant that). In ix. 53 Herod. mentions the λόχος Πιτανάτης as present at Plataea. It can hardly be doubted that Thuc. consciously includes Herod. among οἱ ἄλλοι Ἕλληνες. See Jebb, The Speeches of Thuc., in Hellenica, p. 273.

12. μιᾷ ψήφῳ—we expect the accus., as in Aesch. Eum. 738 ψῆφον δ᾽ Ὀρέστῃ τήνδ᾽ ἐγὼ προσθήσομαι, but the sense is ‘give their opinion (sc. γνώμην) with one vote.’ (Eum. l.c. does not support the opinion of Classen and Steup that the use of the dat. is to be explained by the fact that the kings voted last.) The errors noted illustrate the difficulty of getting information about Spartan proceedings.

17. ἐκ ... τεκμηρίων with νομίξων. The object is (ἐκεῖνα）ἃ διῆλθον, the pred. τοιαῦτα μάλιστα（εἶναι). The partic. νομίζων, πιστεύων, ἡγησάμενος are co-ordinate; but they express not condition, but means: lit. However, it is by considering the proofs I have given and in the light of them thinking that ... that one will escape error, and not by preferring to follow the embellishments and exaggerations of poets or the attractive but untrustworthy compositions of prose writers ... but by coming to the conclusion. Edd. generally represent the participles as conditional, but μήτε ... μήτε would then be required. See M.T. 835