E.C. Marchant, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 7

Table of Contents

Go to

Commentary on Thucydides, Histories. book 7, chapter 1:section 1.

I. Ho--the art. added because this is a continuation of the narrative from VI. 104. Contrast c. 2.1, where the art. is omitted because there is a transition to new points.

Gulippos--son of Cleandridas, who had settled at Thurii, on which see c. 33.6 note. His appointment to command in Sicily was the immediate result of Alcibiades' advice. Nothing is known of his previous history. (His character is in some points not Spartan. He is quick, enterprising, full of resource, able to adapt himself to all men and to all circumstances. Freeman . This character reminds us of the description which Pericles gave of the Athenians.)

ho--the art. again because the persons are thought of separately. Contrast c. 80.1 tôi N kai D edokei.

Puthên--Corinthian captain. Syr. envoys had gone to Corinth in the winter of 415, and Corinth had at once resolved to assist her colony.

tou T--T. has been all genders. In Attic it is masc., on the analogy of all nouns in -ras; in Alexandrine writers it became fem.; the Romans made it neut.

Tarantos--Gyl. had been driven by foul weather to seek shelter there. T.--regnata Laconi rura Phalanto--was founded circ. 705 B.C. after the first Messenian war.

epeskeuasan--VI. 104 tas naus epeskeuazen. Diod. XIII. 1 tas naus epeskeuasan . . . triêreis kateskeuasan . . . . tou stolou pareskeuasmenou. To the Latin sense of apparatus paraskeuê corresponds; while kataskeuê has the English sense of the same word.

Lokrous--founded about 690 B.C. on land belonging to the Sicels. Now Gerace.

êdê--they had received several false reports that Syr. was entirely shut in. [p. 110]

kata tas E.--via: cf. II. 76.4 kata chôma prosagein. Epipolae includes all the high ground west of Achradina which was not inclosed in the fortifications of the city.

stratiai--dat. of accompaniment, only used in naval and military expressions.

ebouleuonto--because before they had supposed that the only chance of getting into Syr. was by eluding the A. fleet.

en dexiai labontes--except here Thuc. always uses echein en d., en aristerai.

diakinduneusôsin--so II. 4 ebouleuonto eite katakausôsin eite ti allo chrêsôntai. Thuc. does not use poteron . . ê. He uses poteron twice, VIZ. I. 80 pôs chrê . . epeichthênai : poteron tais nausin ; and VI. 38 ti kai boulesthe; poteron archein ; In both cases alla follows (hupophora), as in Andoc. I. 148 tina gar anabibasômai; ton patera; alla tethnêken. alla tous adelphous; all' ouk eisin.

diakinduneusôsin espleusai--of the compounds of kinduneuô, ana-, apo-, dia-, para- are found with infin.; epi-, pro-, sug- are not.

Himeran--founded 646 B.C. from Zancle, to be a stronghold against Phoenician Panormus. It was destroyed for ever by the Carthaginians in 408.

autous--tous Himeraious, the name of the people implied in the name of their city, as constantly.

hous--after the collective stratian.

This text is based on the following book(s):
Professional Data Entry .