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

ἐπεπόνθεσαν—‘the feeling was as follows,’ already before the speeches.

πλὴν καθ̔ ὅσον—‘except in so far as.’ Classen defends εἰ after καθ᾽ ὅσον, but subsequent edd. rightly reject it.

κατὰ τὸ ὅμορον διάφοροι—‘border enemies’ (Freeman).

τοὺς ὀλίγους ἱππέας—see c. 67, 2.

καὶ τὸ λοιπόν—the policy adopted is to continue to render slight help to Syr., but to answer that they were neutral.

μᾶλλον—lather than the Athenians.

ἔργῳ—contrasts the actual intention with the diplomatic answer ἐν τῷ παρόντι μηδετέροις ἀμύνειν.

μετριώτατα—of amount. ὡς <δ᾽> ἂν Stein.

ἔλασσον δοκῶσι νεῖμαι—‘appear to have shown less respect to.’

καὶ οὕτω βουλευσάμενοι—‘accordingly after considering the matter in this light.’

ἀμφοτἐροις οὖσι ξυμμάχοις—cf. c. 78, 4. Remember that Camarina really has with Syr. only an ἐπιμαχία—a defensive alliance, ἀλλήλοις βοηθεῖν, ξυνεπιστρατεύειν δὲ μηδενί (v. 48); but with Athens a full ξυμμαχία. But Hermocrates in his speech adroitly exaggerated the ἐπιμαχία into a ξυμμαχία, and (c. 79, 1) minimised the ξυμμαχία into an ἐπιμαχία. These two treaties are both, however, ‘treaties of guarantee’ of some kind; and in all history it has been difficult to secure the fulfilment of such guarantees, especially where there are conflicting treaties, as in the present case.

εὔορκον—refers to the oaths taken when the treaties were made.

τὰ καθ̓ ἑαυτοὺς ἐξ=ἑαυτοὺς ἐξηρτύοντο. τὰ πρὸς τοὺς Σ. ἔπρασσον refers to cc. 48 and 71, 2; cf. Intr. p. XV.

ἐν τῇ Νάξῳ—see c. 74, 2.

πρὸς τὰ πεδία μᾶλλον—‘the plains’ near the sea ‘rather than’ the inland parts.

ἀφειστήκεσαν—from Syracuse. See crit. note.

αὐτόνομοι οὖσαι κτλ—‘their settlements, being independent from time immemorial, with but few exceptions immediately joined the A.’

οἰκήσεις=oppidula, κῶμαι. πλήν is here constructed as an adverb, and ὀλίγοι is masc. κατὰ σύνεσιν. Freeman thinks οἰκήσεις a strange word to apply to the Sicels of the interior, who had under Ducetius (died 440 B.C.) reached a high degree of unity. In 451 he had even defeated the combined forces of Syr. and Acragas (Diod. xi. 91). He was aided by another chief, Archonides, against whom Syr. declared war when Ducetius died. Ducetins built Menaenum, still called Mineo; and this was doubtless among the towns that joined Athens. No doubt Thuc. uses οἰκήσεις in contrast with the larger cities of the Siceliots.

κατεκόμιζον—to the coast from the interior.

εἰσὶν οἵ—in the oblique cases Thuc. much more often uses ἔστιν (ὧν, οἷς, etc.); but cf. VII. 25 ἦσαν τῶν σταυρῶν οὕς.

τοὺς δέ—sc. προσαναγκάζειν, depending on ἀπεκωλύοντο.

τόν τε χειμῶνα κτλ—‘for all these purposes Katanê was a better centre than Naxos. They therefore came back to their old quarters for the rest of the winter’ (Freeman).

ὃ κατεκαύθη—see c. 75, 2.

ἔπεμψαν μὲν . . ἔπεμψαν δέ—cf. I. 85 πέμπετε μὲν . . πέμπετε δέ. The examples of epanaphora in Thuc. are not very numerous; the μέν is sometimes omitted.

ἐς Καρχηδόνα—nothing came of this embassy This shows that at least Athens hoped to gain some influence at Carthage. See c. 34, where Hermocrates suggests the possibility of an alliance between Carthage and Syr. against Athens.

Τυρσηνίαν—Etruria, north of the Tiber, the south being Ὀπική (c. 4, 5) (Arnold). In 415 the Etruscans were still powerful. They carried on trade with Athens and Sicily. In 480 they with the Carthaginians had been defeated by Syr. with Agrigentum at the great battle of Himera. They actually sent help, and are included among the allies of Athens in VII. 57 Τυρσηνῶν τινες κατὰ (‘owing to’) διαφορὰν Συρακοσίων.

καὶ αὐτῶν—‘of their own accord.’

τὸν περιτειχισμόν—cf. c. 71, 2 init.

ὅσα ἔδει—sc. ἑτοιμάζειν.

ἀποσταλέντες—see c. 73, 2.

ἐκείνοις . . ἐπιβουλευόμενα—‘that the plots were directed equally against them,’ both ταῦτα ἐπιβουλεύεταί μοι and ἐπιβουλεύομαι being used. Nothing seems to have come of these appeals.

λόγους ἐποιοῦντο—‘made overtures.’

ὥστε—M.T. § 588.

τὸν αὐτοῦ πόλεμον—cf. c. 34, 2: ‘to put an end to the uncertain state of things at home by making open war upon Athens’ (Freeman).

μετὰ τῶν ξυμφυγάδων—see c. 61, 6. τότ᾽ εὐθύς—τότε is often used to refer back to events already mentioned. See c. 61, 7.

ἔπειτα ὕστερον—often used together.

τὴν περὶ τῶν Μαντινικῶν πρᾶξιν—see cc. 16, 6; 17, 1; 61, 5. The reference is to the events of 418 B.C. τὰ Μαντινικἀ alludes to the fact that the Athenians and Mantineans attacked and took Orchomenus, and attempted to take Tegea.

τῶν ἐν τέλει ὄντων—‘the other officials.’ καί joins part to whole.

κωλύοντας—the pres. partic. is very common with verbs of ‘sending.’ The partic. is placed either in nom. or accus. at will—ἔπεμπον ἀγγέλλοντες or ἔπεμπον πρέσβεις ἀγγέλλοντας.

παρώξυνε . . ἐξώρμησε—‘stimulated their passions and their energies.’