E.C. Marchant, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 6

ἀφικόμεθα—our intention when we came was to renew the treaty (see c. 75, 3), but we now find it necessary to defend the imperial policy of Athens.

ἐπὶ τῆς πρότερον . . ἀνανεώσει—cf. c. 33, 1 περὶ τοῦ ἐπίπλου τῆς ἀληθείας. The art. is often omitted with the governing noun.

ἔχομεν—sc. αὐτήν.

μαρτύριον—sc. ὡς εἰκότως ἄρχομεν. It is necessary for us, as hereditary enemies of the Dorians, to secure ourselves.

ἔχει δὲ καὶ οὕτως—‘moreover the case stands exactly as follows.’ Classen and others explain this οὕτως as referring to what precedes, which is further dealt with in what follows. But the δέ forms an antithesis to what precedes. The general principle, says the speaker, is enough to justify us; but there is besides the following special circumstance. οὕτως ἔχειν often refers to what follows.

Ἴωνες ὄντες Πελοποννησίοις—‘being Ionians in the eyes of the P., while they were Dorians and superior in numbers and near neighbours of ours.’ In § 2 he has said οί Ἴωνες πολέμιοι τοῖς Δωριεῦσίν εἰσιν. So now, instead of saying πολέμιοι ὄντες Πελοποννησίοις, he ingeniously says Ἴωνες (=πολέμιοι) ὄντες Πελοποννησίοις. (The edd. have, I believe, missed the meaning of this sentence. For the alterations of the text see the crit. note. The old explanation, that αὐτῶν is a repetition of Πελοποννησίοις in a different case by anacoluthon, is quite untenable. Herbst believes there is an ellipse of πολέμιοι, but I do not see the need of this.) This sentence admirably expresses the contempt of the Dorians for the Ionians (cf. c. 68), who were only fit in their view to be their subjects.

ϝαῦς κτησάμενοι—this refers to the building of a fleet, which was due to the advice of Themistocles, probably in 483. Hence μετὰ τὰ Μηδικά belongs to ἀπηλλάγημεν rather than to κτησάμενοι.

τῆς μὲν Λακεδαιμονίων κτλ—the speaker has to represent Athens as an upholder of liberty, and yet he cannot say that she strove to get free from a δουλεἰα, as that word has been used against her. He therefore admits that Sparta, so long as she was superior in power, had justly led the confederacy (ἡγεμονἰα) and exercised dominion (ἀρχή).

πλὴν καθ̓ ὅσον—cf. c. 54, 6.

ἐν τῷ παρόντι—‘for the time being.’

οἰκοῦμεν—the edd. explain this as intrans., meaning either ‘live’ (for ἐσμέν, διάγομεν) in the position of ἡγέμονες, or ‘find ourselves’ in that position. For the conjectures see crit. note. It is much more likely that the verb is trans., sc. τὰ ὑπὸ β. πρότερον ὄντα= ‘manage their (external) affairs,’ as though he said οἰκοῦμεν τὰ τῶν ξυμμάχων, the word being used here metaphorically, like ταμιεύεσθαι and ταμίας (cc. 18, 3; 78 2). This forms a good antithesis to ἀπηλλάγημεν τῆς Α. ἀρχῆς, and is in keeping with the context. It also contrasts well with ἐπιτάσσειν. See Intr. § 21. <ἀσφαλῶς> οἰκοῦμεν Stein.

οὕτως—i.e. οἰκοῦντες τοὺς . . ὄντας.

ἐς τὸ ἀκριβές—‘accurately.’ Cf. c. 104, 2 n. ἐς τὰ μάλιστα.

εἰπεῖν—absolute: M.T. § 777.

ἐφ̓ ἡμᾶς—‘that is against us.’ The prep. is not often repeated before an apposition.

οὐκ ἐτόλμησαν κτλ—‘conld not bring themselves to revolt (sc. τοῦ Μήδου) and sacrifice their property, abandoning their city as we did,’ or ‘whereas we abandoned our city.’ This sort of attraction with οὐχ ὤσπερ is very common (see e g. Shilleto on Thuc. II. 42, Kock on Aristoph. Eq. 784, or DeuschleCron on Plat. Gorg. 522 A). δουλείαν δὲ . . ἐβούλοντο—βούλομαι only here with a subst. as obj.: Bohme-Widmann compare τὴν αὐτὴν δύναται δούλωσιν I. 141. We should also expect ἐβουλήθησαν, if the sense is ‘they chose slavery.’ Heibst understands ἐνεγκεῖν to ἐβούλοντο from ἐπενεγκεῖν, but such an ellipse is surely impossible. δουλεύειν of the inferior MSS. is very tempting. See crit. note.

τὸ αὐτό—after the fem. δουλείαν, by a common change. With ἐπενεγκεῖν supply ἐβούλοντο