Harold North Fowler, Commentary on Thucydides Book 5

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Cleon, having heard of Brasidas's intention, tries to retreat to Eion before it can be carried out. But Brasidas, after a short address to his men, makes the attack as agreed, and Clearidas comes up at the right moment. The Athenian army is thrown into confusion, which soon becomes a rout. In the heat of pursuit, Brasidas is mortally wounded, while Cleon is killed in his flight by a Myrcinian peltast. The rest escape after heavy losses to Eion. Brasidas dies after receiving the news of the victory.

τοσαῦτα: so much and no more, esp. after short speeches. Cf. ii. 12. 1; 72. 1 and 13; iii. 31. 1; 52. 14; iv. 11. 1; vii. 49. 1. So Plat. Prot. 318 a, τοσοῦτος ὁ ἡμέτερος λόγος.— 2. Κλεαρίδα: Dor. gen. as i. 103. 6, Διὸς τοῦ Ἰθωμήτα; v. 25. 4, Πλειστόλα.

Θρᾳκίας τῶν πυλῶν : acc. to Leake in the northeast side of the wall, on the road leading to Drabescus. See Weissenborn, Hellen, p. 156.

εἴρητο: cf. 9. 22 ff.—ἐπεξίοιεν: after he had himself made his ἔξοδος, 1.

φανεροῦ γενομένου: personal (as in c. 9. 18, φαίνονται), with the three partics. καταβάντος, θυομένου, πράσσοντος. The action of first (καταβάντος) was naturally noticed (aor.) by the Athenians as soon as it took place (c. 8. 2); how that of the other two was observed (θυομένου καὶ ταῦτα πράσσοντος, present with reference to γενομένου) is explained by ἐπιφανεῖ οὔσῃ ἔξωθεν (as in c. 6. 12, κατεφαίνετο πάντα αὐτόθεν).

αὐτοῦ: sc. Βρασίδου.— 6. θυομένου: mid. used esp. of sacrifices made for the purpose of observing the omens. Cf. Hdt.v. 44. 13; vii. 167. 7; 189. 9; ix. 10. 13; 33. 2; 62. 5; Xen. Anab. ii. 2. 3; vi. 2. 9. This purpose accounts also for the use of ταῦτα πράσσοντος referring to the sacrificial ceremonies mentioned in vi. 69. 16.

τότε: he had just gone out for the reconnoissance mentioned in c. 7. 11.—ἅπασα: “it was evident that the troops were all collected.”

ὑπὸ τὰς πύλας...ὑποφαίνονται : under the gate (in the space between the gate and the threshold) they were seen a little, i.e. as far as was possible (ὑπο-) in this way. So, too, πόδες . . . ὡς ἐξιόντων refers to the forces drawn up in readiness to march. This all shows accurate observation on the part of the scouts. But see App.

ἐπῆλθε: i.e. he went nearer to see for himself.

οἱ: with ἥκειν, like the dat. with ἐλθεῖν in i. 13. 12; 27. 1; 61. 1; 107. 27; iii. 70. 2; vi. 46. 12; vii. 73. 5; viii. 96. 1. Plat. Prot. 321 c. Cf. also vi. 96. 2. In all these cases the dat. is the ‘obj. for which’ coinciding with the limit of motion.

φθήσεσθαι ἀπελθών: that he would get away in time, i.e. before being attacked.

τοῖς ἀπιοῦσιν: the art. indicates the successive execution of the ἀναχώρησις as commands were given: hence Cl. with good Ms. authority writes παρήγγελλε (used esp. of military orders, cf. c. 58. 16; 71. 18; 73. 11) for παρήγγειλε. “To the departing troops, i.e. as the separate divisions started, the command was given to turn to the left upon the road to Eion” (St. omits τοῖς). The idea of gradual departure is also contained in ὑπάγειν. The emphatic connexion of the two verbs ἐκέλευεν and παρήγγελλε by τε ἅμα and καί gives an intimation of Cleon's efforts to hasten the departure, which in the following αὐτὸς ἐπιστρέψας τὸ δεξιὸν κτἑ. lead to pernicious haste.

ὥσπερ μόνον οἷόν τ᾽ ἦν: sc. in order to reach Eion.

σχολῇ: see App.

ἐπιστρέψας τὸ δεξιόν: in his impatience, he causes the right wing to turn and advance (cf. ii. 90. 18) before its proper turn, thereby exposing it to attack.—τὰ γυμνά: the unprotected side (iii. 23. 19; v. 71. 6), i.e. the right side, the left being covered by the shield.

ὅτι: often used to introduce a dir. quot. Cf. i. 137. 22; iv. 38. 16; viii. 53. 20.

δῆλοι δέ: (not δή with Kr.) epexegetical, as in i. 46. 3; 55. 9; iii. 34. 1.—τῇ κινήσει: hints at a restless movement toward hasty departure, not toward meeting the enemy.

ἅς εἴρηται: sc. ἀνοίγειν. He had chosen for his sally not the Thracian gate, but two others (τὰς ἐπὶ τὸ σταύρωμα). By τὰς πρώτας τοῦ μακροῦ τείχους τότε ὄντος an outer gate in the long wall built by Hagnon (iv. 102. 18) seems to be meant. This wall was afterwards destroyed. Changes made by the Lacedaemonians in the fortifications of Amphipolis are referred to in iv. 103. 18.

τὸ καρτερώτερον τοῦ χωρίου: the higher parts of the ground, which Cleon, acc. to c. 7. 15, had seized. Brasidas directed his attack against this point in order to strike at the main force of the Athenians while still undivided.

ἰόντι: the dat. denoting the person in respect to whom the statement is made is used most freq. of partics. denoting motion, estimation, or judgment. Cf. i. 10. 34; 24. 1; G. 184, 5; H. 771 b.

κατὰ μέσον τὸ στράτευμα: with προσβαλών.

τρέπει, καί ὁ Κλεαρίδας ἐπεφέρετο: the connexion is close. “Just as Brasidas was forcing the Athenians to retreat, Clearidas fell upon them.” The impf. is used of contemporaneous action.

ξυνέβη τε κτἑ.: “and so it came to pass that by the unexpectedness and suddenness (of the attack) from both sides at once the Athenians were thrown into disorder.” So ξυμβαίνειν of several events occurring at once in i. 29. 21; v. 14. 20; 37. 20; vii. 75. 7; viii. 64. 17; 82. 15. —καὶ ἐξαπίνης: pleonastic strengthening of ἀδοκήτῳ. The art. τῷ belongs with both. St. (Adn. Crit. VI.) takes it as consequence of ἀδοκήτῳ and connects it with θορυβηθῆναι, which, in view of the close connexion of cause and effect, seems inadmissible (in the new ed. St. omits καί). A similar connexion of two unlike adv. expressions occurs in iii. 4. 4 f., ἀπαράσκευοι καὶ ἐξαίφνης ἀναγκασθέντες πολεμεῖν.

τὸ πρὸς τὴν Ἠιόνα: which was already on the way to Eion in 15 f.— 37. ἐπιπαριὼν τῷ δεξιῷ: “pressing forward (ἐπι-) and turning against the right wing.” Cf. i. 61. 3, ὡς ᾔσθοντο καὶ τοὺς μετὰ Ἀριστέως ἐπιπαριόντας.

πεσόντα αὐτόν: that he had fallen. The partic. aor. with αἰσθάνεσθαι to express what has happened immediately before is found in Thuc. only here and in viii. 102. 3. In the 24 other passages always partic. pres. or pf. In c. 30. 3, the partic. pres. stands in connexion with the partic. aor. where the difference between them is plainly marked. The part. is equiv. to ὅτι ἔπεσεν.

τὸ δὲ δεξιὸν ἔμενε μᾶλλον : after the fall of Brasidas, by which the violence of the attack was diminished, the right wing, although hard pressed, still stood its ground for a while. Cleon, to be sure, who had (cf. 17) made an ill-advised movement with the right wing, and hoped to escape with the whole army (ἀπῆγε τὴν στρατιάν), took to flight immediately; but the hoplites, who had formed in close order (ξυστραφέντες, as in ii. 4. 23; iv. 68. 25; vi. 91. 6) where they stood, defended themselves bravely for a while, though on the one hand Cleon was urging them to retreat, while on the other Brasidas was attacking with the utmost vigour. See App.

ὡς τὸ πρῶτον οὐ διενοεῖτο μένειν: as he had from the first had no intention of standing his ground, with reference to c. 7. 10.

ἐπὶ τὸν λόφον: apparently interpolated to explain αὐτοῦ; for that αὐτοῦ must be understood as an adv. of place is evident from its position. It points expressly to the place from which Cleon had just fled. Some copier, thinking of c. 7. 15 ff., thought wrongly that the close order was formed ἐπὶ τὸν λόφον, and added this explanation of αὐτοῦ, but after ἀπῆγε τὴν στρατιάν, 18, it is not probable that they were still ἐπὶ λόφου καρτεροῦ of c. 7. 15.

καὶ δὶς ἢ τρίς: although he, etc. Cf. i. 82. 12, διελθόντων ἐτῶν καὶ δύο καὶ τριῶν and note.

Μυρκινία: cf. c. 6. 18, where, however, only peltasts from Myrcinus are mentioned.

οὕτω δή: see App.—τὸ στράτευμα πᾶν φυγὸν...τραπόμενοι...ὅσοι μὴ διεφθάρησαν οἱ...λοιποὶ ἀπεκομίσθησαν : the subj. is divided in the course of the period, and undergoes progressive modifications. Similarly ii. 4. 3 ff.; 65. 3 ff.; iv. 68. 3 ff.

ἐν χερσίν: cf. c. 3. 12.

ἔτι ἔμπνουν: also in i. 134. 15.

ᾔσθετο: i.e. he received the news while still in command of his faculties. Cf. c. 26. 5, where αἰσθανόμενος is used in a similar sense.

νεκρούς τε: the omission of the art. is occasioned by the close connexion with καὶ τρόπαιον.