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ἐπὶ Σ. καὶ περὶ Σ.—belongs to ἐπολέμησαν, which is ingressive, =‘went to war.’ ἐπὶ Συρακούσαις—Holden retains the MSS. ἐπὶ Συρακούσας, and takes it with ἐλθόντες; but (1) the order is against this; (2) ἐπὶ Συρακούσας then impedes the progress of the sentence, since ἐπὶ Σικελίαν τε καὶ περὶ Σ. is supplied with ἐλθόντες (Herbst agrees with Holden; and he thinks that the form of the sentence is improved). οὐ κατὰ δίκην κ.τ λ.—joining one another not so much from a sense of right . . ., but rather as circumstances united the several states either through interest or on compulsion. τι μᾶλλον—often used together, or in the form μᾶλλόν τι. It is stronger than μᾶλλον. μᾶλλον . . . ἀλλὰ for μᾶλλον . . ἢ, only found after a neg., gives greater emphasis to the second elause. 6 κατὰ ξυγγένειαν—it will be seen in § 2 fol. that very few of the allies of either side took their side in the war from this motive. μετ᾽ ἀλλήλων στάντες—the usual construction, but ἵστασθαι πρός τινα is also fonnd. ὡς ἕκαστοι . . . ἔσχον—cf c. 2.1 ὡς εἶχον τάχους. τῆς ξυντυχίας — ‘circumstances’ which result in decisive action. Here these circumstances are themselves the result of interest or necessity Hence the ‘circumstances’ are feelings that prompt the different states to unite. Cf. I. 33.3. (No doubt this is what Classen meant by rendering ὡς τῆς ξ. ἔσχον as they came mto a closer relationship.）
Ἀθηναῖοι μὲν κ.τ λ.—chiasmus again. αὐτοῖς—after τῇ αὐτῇ. ἔτι—with νομίμοις. Λήμνιοι—the allies of Athens are enumerated thus: (1) Colonists § 2; (2) Euboea § 4; (3) Cylades § 4; (4) Asia Minor §§ 4-6; (5) the islands off north-west coast of Greece § 7; (6) Peloponnesians and μισθοφόροι §§ 8-10; (7) allies in Italy and Sicily § 11. Lemnos and Imbros were secured for Athenian cleruchs by Miltiades, and these two with Scyros were regarded as very peculiarly the possessions of the A. in the north. οἳ τότε Αἴγιναν εἶχον—i.e. the A. cleruchs placed there in 431 B.C., when the Aeginetans were expelled by A., and settled by Sparta in Thyrea, the border-land between Argolis and Laconia. Ἑστιαιῆς—taken by A. for cleruchs after the reduction of Euboea by Pericles in 445. ἄποικοι—i.e. the κληροῦχοι had by now quite supplanted the older population and taken its name, and were regarded as owners, like the possessores. ξυνεστράτευσαν—ingressive, ‘took the field with them.’
οἱ μὲν ὑπήκοοι—Stahl notes that there are two classes of these perpetual and subject allies, viz. (1) ὑπήκοοι καὶ φόρου ὑποτελεῖς, (2) ὑπἡκοοι οἱ ναυτικὸν παρεχόμενοι or αὐτόνομοι, enjoying their own constitution; viz. Methymna, Chios. These are both distinct from οἱ απὸ ξυμμαχίας αὐτόνομοι, like Corcyra, Zacynthus, Cephallenia.
ὑπηκόων καὶ φόρου ὑ.—subdivided into those from (1) Euboea, (2) νῆσοι = the Cyclades, (3) Ionia. In the latter Chios is included, but Thuc. adds an explanation that it was not ὑποτελής. Ἐρετριῆς καὶ Χαλκιδῆς—the two most important towns of Euboea; in early times they were rivals. Chalcis is still the capital of the island, but Eretria is now quite insignificant. νήσων—often used in a restricted sense for the Cyclades. Cf. I. 13.6; III. 104.2. Κεῖοι — cf. Herod. VIII. 46 Κήιοι ἔθνος ἐὸν Ἰωνικὸν ἀπὸ Ἀθηνέων. τούτων—asyndeton with demonstr., as Herod. 9.33 with τότε. τὸ πλεῖστον . . . πάντες — ‘all being Ionians in the main.’ There were some Dryopians among the Styrians, and in the Cyclades there were Carians. ἀπ᾽ Ἀθηναίων — there was an unfounded tradition that Chalcis and Eretria were founded by Athens. As for Ionia and the Cyclades, cf. I. 12 Ἴωνας μὲν Ἀθηναῖοι καὶ νησιωτῶν τοὺς τολλοὺς ᾤκισαν. Καρυστίων — Herod. says that the Dryopians had originally lived in Doris and had been driven out through the early migrations. ὅμως — with Ἴωνές γε. Though they served under obligation, yet it was natural for them to be on the side of A.
Μηθυμναῖοι—the only Lesbians who retained their autonomy after the revolt of 428. The Aeolians colonised six places in Lesbos. Αἴνιοι — at the mouth of the Hebrus, colonised by Aeolians from Mytilene. Βοιωτοῖς — the Aeolian colonisation proceeded from Thessaly and Boeotia. καὶ ἄντικρυς—though outright. The Plataeans meant are those who escaped at the time of the siege. Athens had given Scione to them for a home.
Ῥόδιοι — Rhodes was a tripolis, and very early acquired great wealth by its trade, and remained rich until debased by Rome. Κυθήριοι—seized by Nicias in 424. Athens had retained Cythera contrary to the terms of his peace.
τῶν περὶ Πελοπόννησον—regular expression for the N. W. islands. Cf. VI. 85 νησιώτας ὄντας . . . ἐν χωρίοις ἐπικαίροις περὶ τὴν Π.; Isocr. 15. 108 τίς οὐκ οἶδε Κόρκυραν ἐν ἐπικαιροτάτῳ καὶ κάλλιστα κειμένην τῶν περὶ Π.; Κεφ. μὲν . . . αὐτ. μέν, κατὰ δὲ . . . Κερ. δὲ — the extremes and the means are contrasted, as usually with this double use of μὲν . . . δέ. For the islands see on c. 31.2 κατὰ δὲ τὸ ν.—as islanders. μᾶλλον—the edd. supply ἢ οἱ ἠπειρῶται, following Aemilius Poitus. It is not easy to detect hereabouts any antithesis between the condition of the islanders and mainlanders. Thuc. means μᾶλλον ἢ ἑκόντες. Freeman says ‘the practical effect of a formally equal alliance between a stronger and a weaker power is well set forth.’ (My explanation of μᾶλλον is strongly supported by οὐχ ἧσσον sc. ἢ ἀνάγκῃ below) Κορίνθιοι σαφῶς — ‘actually Corinthians.’ In 492 Corcyra had helped Syracuse against Hippocrates of Gela, and once again helped her in the days of Timoleon. ξυγγενεῖς—Corinth being the mother-city of both. ἐκ τοῦ εὐπρεπουυ_ς—the obligation under which Corcyra stood to Athens made a πρόφασις εὐπρεπὴς for sinking her obligation to respect her mother-city. εἵποντο—the simple verb following the compound of l. 44 is idiomatic.
l. 49, οἱ Μεσσήνιοι νῦν κ.—i e. not the inhabitants of Messenia or of Messana in Sicily, but οἱ ἐκ Ν. καὶ ἐκ Π., those whom we in our day call Messenians. They were descended mostly from οἱ παλαιοὶ Μεσσήνιοι I. 101 f. (Stahl says that Thuc. alludes to the fact that some of them wcrc really helots; but it is more likely that he alludes to their change of home at the end of the third Messenian war and in 425 B.C.) νῦν—means the time at which he writes. From τότε it looks as if Pylus was then no longer in the hands of the A.: if so this sentence was written after A. lost Pylus in 409 B.C. Μεγαρέων φυγάδες—expclled in the party struggle of 424 B.C., when Brasidas saved Megara from falling into the hands of A. Σελινουντίοις—S. was a colony from Hyblaean Megara. ξυμφορὰν—i.e. their exile. Cf. calamitosus.
ἤδη—from this point, as in II. 96.3. Ἀργεῖοι—the alliance with A. had been renewed in June 417 B.C. ἔχθρας — Argos, long the rival of Sparta, had been humbled by her in 495 B.C. τῆς παραυτίκα ἕκαστοι ἰδίας ὠ.—generally understood to mean that they were mercenaries; but the plur ἕκαστοι is against this. Possibly Haacke rightly refers to Spartan and anti-Spartan factions in Argos. Ἀρκάδων — already heard of as mercenaries in the Persian wars. Herod. VIII. 26. αἰεὶ—at any time. οὐδὲν ἧσσον—i.e. though they belonged to the same race Κρησὶ . . . ξυγκτίσαντας—the same change as in c. 40.4 al μετὰ μισθοῦ ἐλθεῖν—cf. Isoc. 17. 46 μετὰ ποίας ἂν ἐλπίδος ἦλθον ἐπὶ τοῦτον;
Δημοσθένους—objective. They remembered the victory which they had won in 426 under his lead. See on c. 16.1 l. 12. εὐνοίᾳ—most of the Acarnamans had been allies of A. since 430. See on c. 31.2
κόλπῳ—is sometimes omitted with ὁ Ἰόνιος. Θούριοι καὶ Μ.—see c. 33.5. ἐν τοιαύταις κ.τ.λ.—who, when the Athenians came, had been reduced to such straits by a rcvolution. With ἐν ἀνάγκαις cf. ἀνάγκαις ταῖσδ᾽ ἐνέζευγμαι Aesch. PB 109. τοιαύταις means such as induced them to join the A. τότε refers to c. 33.5, where we found that Thurii had to be persuaded, while Metapontum in addition had passed through a crisis (καιροί). Now we find that Thurii also had suffered in the same way. (τοιαύταις was first explained thus by Bauer. It is obscure. Did Thuc. write ταῖς αὐταῖς; or did he mean by τοιαύταις that the στασιωτικοἰ καιροὶ of Thurii ‘were such as I have described in the case of Metapontum’?) κατειλημμένοι—depreliensi, sc. ὑπὸ τῶν Ἀθηναίων. Νάξιοι καὶ Κ.—c. 14.2. Ἐγεσταῖοι—Segesta, as its coins and the Romans call it, was chief city of the Elymians, who were thought to be Trojans. It was perpetually at war with Selinus. Life was difficult in the W. corner of Sicily owing to the constant rivalry of the Carthaginians and the Greeks there. In 409 Segesta joined Carthage in an attack on Selinus which destroyed for ever the greatness of that city. οἵπερ ἐπηγάγοντο—it is indicative of the falling off of high sentiment at Athens that she had consented to aid the barbarian against a Greek town. Σικελῶν τὸ πλέον—it is easy to see why the majority of the Sicels joined A. They did so early in the campaign of 414, about June, when the 2nd Syracusan counter-wall had failed to check the A. circumvallation and the besieging fleet had command of the Great Harbour, when Syr. was in terror and peace was being discussed there. See also on c. 1.4. The Sicels hoped to use Athens as a means for diminishing Greek influence in Sicily, and ever since A. had first interfered in Sicily, they had shown a strong tendency to support her. Τυρσηνῶν—cf. c. 53.2. τοσάδε . . . ἔθνη—it must have been very hard to get all these different elements to work with a common will.
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