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The Athenians allow themselves to be deceived, and begin the battle without sufficient preparation. The Syracusans do them great damage with the strengthened prows, and with little boats which run up under the sides of the hostile ships. 1. καὶ οἱ μὲν κτἑ.: the rapid succession of short sents. connected by καί expresses vividly the execution of the plan. πρύμναν κρουσάμενοι: see on c. 36. 28. πάλιν: back; αὖθις (9), again. 5. ὡς ἡσσημένους σφῶν: “in the conviction (ὡς) that they could not cope with them.” σφῶν is pers. gen. with ἡσσημένους; elsewhere we find the gen. of impers. nouns, as τοῦ δεινοῦ, τοῦ ῥήματος, iv.37.6; v.111.15.— 7. ὡς οἰόμενοι: in the belief. On ὡς with the partic., see Kühn. 488, 1 a, a. Cf. vi.32.21. 10. διὰ θορύβου, καὶ ἄσιτοι: see on c. 32. 11.—οὐδενὶ κόσμῳ: common expression in Thuc. (c. 23. 16; 84. 9; ii.52.5; iii.108.16), here having its cause in διὰ θορύβου, as iii.108.16 in ἀτάκτως. μόλις ποτέ : i.e. it was a long time before order was sufficiently restored to enable them to sail out for battle. 12. ἀπέσχοντο ἀλλήλων: “they held off from one another.” Cf. σφῶν αὐτῶν ἀπέσχοντο, viii.92.52.—φυλασσόμενοι: i.e. guarding against unforeseen attack.—οὐκ ἐδόκει τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις...ἁλίσκεσθαι : “they did not think best to wear themselves out with delay,” lit. to be overcome with weariness through themselves (i.e. through their own fault) by delaying. Lamb. compares Soph. Aj. 216, μανίᾳ ἁλούς. On the change of case in διαμέλλοντας, see G. 138, N. 8; Kr. Spr. 55, 2, 7. St. adopts Madvig's conjecture ἀναλίσκεσθαι, which is used of animals in the sense overwhelmed, consumed (Plat. Prot. 321 b; Aesch. Ag. 553), and is no doubt admissible; but it does not seem to be necessary. 15. δεξάμενοι: sc. ἐπιφερομένους αὐτούς. Cf. iv.127.7. ὥσπερ διενοήθησαν: cf. c. 36. 18. τῶν ἐμβόλων: necessary emendation of Abresch, for ἐμβολῶν; for here the beak of the ship is meant, in which sense ἐμβολή does not occur in Att. prose. Observe, however, its use for a battering ram in ii.76.28.—ἀνερρήγνυσαν: cf. c. 34. 20; 36. 19. ἐπὶ πολὺ τῆς παρεξειρεσίας: “far into the front part of the ship.” See on c. 34. 21. For ἐπὶ πολύ with the gen., see on c. 11. 18. αὐτοῖς: sc. τοῖς Συρακοσίοις. For the const. of the dat., see on c. 34. 7. τοῖς λεπτοῖς πλοίοις: as in ii.83.26. ἐς τοὺς ταρσοὺς ὑποπίπτοντες: Schol. ὑποδυόμενοι ὑπὸ τοὺς ταρσούς, i.e. darting in among the banks of oars, thus interfering with the rowing, and injuring the oars. Cf. Dio C. 1. 32. 8, ἔς τε τοὺς ταρσοὺς τῶν νεῶν ὑποπίπτοντες καὶ τὰς κώπας συναράσσοντες. Boeckh (Seewesen, 112) explains the ταρσοί as the whole of the oarage.— 22. ἐς τὰ πλάγια παραπλέοντες: sailing against (not past) the sides (of the ships). ἐξ αὐτῶν: sc. τῶν λεπτῶν πλοίων. ἐς τοὺς ναύτας ἀκοντίζοντες : hurling at the sailors. The acc. is used without prep. when hitting or wounding is to be expressed. Kr. Spr. 47, 14, 1. The missiles were doubtless hurled, as Arn. explains, through the port-holes for the oars. As to the size of these port-holes, cf. Hdt. v.33.12.
Commentary on Thucydides Book 7. Charles F. Smith. 1886. Boston. Ginn and Company.
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