C.E. Graves, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 5

ὅπῃ ἂν ξυγχωρῇ—‘on whatever terms might be agreed on’. ξυγχωρεῖν, to accede or agree, does not seem to be elsewhere used impersonally, except in a var lect. from Xenophon, given by Liddell and Scott. If the reading be right, it is to be explained on the analogy of ἐγχωρεῖ, which is common; unless indeed τὰ παρόντα can be understood as the subject. If the impersonal usage were established, it would be convenient to take συγχωρῆσαι, Plat. Phaedr. 263 C, in this way.

ἀφικόμενοι αὐτῶν—for the order of the words, see note on ch. 10, 49, ξυστραφέντες. ἐφ̓ ᾧ ἄν—this use of the relative for ὅτῳ is not uncommon, especially in affirmative statements; see Poppo and Krüger on i. 136, 3, δηλοῖ ὅς ἐστι: i. 137, 2, φράζει ὅστις ἐστὶ καὶ δἰ ἂ φεύγει: viii. 50, 5, γράψας ᾦ ἂν τρόπῳ αὐτὰ πράξειε. ἄν of course goes with the verb, not with ᾦ: cf. vii. 36, 3, ἐξ ὧν ἂν ἄνθρωποι δεινοὶ...δράσειαν.

ἐπιτροπήν—cf. ch. 31, 15, δίκης ἐπιτραπείσης. σφίσι γενέσθαι—Krüger considers σφίσι as perhaps an interpolation from two lines above; but it emphasizes the anxiety of the Argives ‘to be allowed to refer the question to arbitration’. ‘This did take place at a later period, and the result was, that Thyrea was awarded to the Argives, and retained by them down to the time of Pausanias’ (Arnold).

Κυνοσουρίας—Κυνουρίας is also read, as in iv. 56, 2, where see the note. ἧς ἀεὶ πέρι—Classen, on i. 18, 3, ἐς τόνδε ἀεὶ τὸν πόλεμον, gives other instances of this position of ἀεί. μεθορίας—the Θυρεᾶτις γῆ is similarly described in ii. 27, 2; where Krüger also notes that adjectives compounded from ὅρος have often three terminations.

μεμνῆσθαι—mentionem facere; a sense which, accord ing to Classen, is elsewhere confined to the aorist μνησθῆναι. μνησθῆναι governs the genitive directly (VI. 15, 2) or takes περί (viii. 47, 2). ἑτοῖμοι εἶναι—sc. λεγόντων: constructed in accordance with the sense, as if ἐπειδὴ οὐκ εἴων had gone before: cf. vii. 3, 1, κήρυκα προπέμπει αὐτοῖς λέγοντα, εἰ..., ἑτοῖμος εἷναι σπένδεσθαι: so in viii. 104, 3, we have a genitive absolute construction passing into the nominative.

ὁποτεροισοῦν—‘to either side’; ch. 18, 65: Plat. Rep. 509 A, ἀγαθὸν δὲ ἡγεῖσθαι ὁπότερον αὐτῶν (alterutrum) οὐκ ὀρθόν: Dem. pro Mag. 209 § 27, ἐὰν μὴ ἐθέλωσι ποιεῖν ὸπότεροι ταῦτα: so uter is sometimes used indefinitely=either of two. προκαλεσαμένοις—‘after due challenge’. πρότερόν ποτε—the account of this combat is given by Herodotus (i. 82). Three hundred picked men fought on either side. At nightfall two Argives and one Spartan remained alive. The Argives claimed the victory because ἑωυτῶν πλεῦνες περιγεγόνασι, the Spartans because their champion remained on the field, while the Argives went home. This was in the days of Croesus, in the middle of the sixth century.

αὐτοὶ ἑκάτεροι—Hdt i 82, αὐτοὶ ἑκάτεροι ἔφασαν νικᾶν: Thuc. i 105, 4, ἐνόμισαν αὐτοὶ ἑκάτεροι οὐκ ἔλασσον ἔχειν. μωρία εἶναι ταῦτα—cf. ii. 41, 2, οὐ λόγων κόμπος τάδε μᾶλλον ἢ ἔργων ἐστὶν ἀλήθεια: Ar. Ach. 125, ταῦτα δῆτ᾽ οὐκ ἀγχόνη;

πάντως—‘on any terms’; vi. 20, 1: Hdt. ix. 35, πάντως συνεχώρεόν οἱ, accepted him on his own terms, πανταχῆ is similarly used, Soph. Aj. 1369: Ant. 634: cf. ch. 36, 31, καλῶς. ξυνεγράψαντο—‘had the terms drawn up’.

πρὶν τέλος.. ἔχειν—of final conclusion; iv. 118, 7, τέλος ἔχοντες, of ambassadors with final powers. δεῖξαι—sc. these terms, αὐτά, hence the subject of ἀρέσκοντα. Note the use of εἶναι with the participle. Krüger collects instances on i. 38, 2, ἀρέσκοντ<*>ς ἐσμεν.