Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 1.1.1 · 1.1.1

Thucydides begins his history

Θουκυδίδης Ἀθηναῖος ξυνέγραψε τὸν πόλεμον τῶν Πελοποννησίων καὶ Ἀθηναίων, ὡς ἐπολέμησαν πρὸς ἀλλήλους, ἀρξάμενος εὐθὺς καθισταμένου καὶ ἐλπίσας μέγαν τε ἔσεσθαι καὶ ἀξιολογώτατον τῶν προγεγενημένων, τεκμαιρόμενος ὅτι ἀκμάζοντές τε ᾖσαν ἐς αὐτὸν ἀμφότεροι παρασκευῇ τῇ πάσῃ καὶ τὸ ἄλλο Ἑλληνικὸν ὁρῶν ξυνιστάμενον πρὸς ἑκατέρους, τὸ μὲν εὐθύς, τὸ δὲ καὶ διανοούμενον.

Thucydides of Athens wrote up the war of the Peloponnesians and the Athenians, telling how they fought against each other. He began as soon as the war broke out, expecting it to be a great one and more worth recording than any before it. He judged so because both sides were at the height of their strength, fully prepared, and because he saw the rest of the Greek world joining one side or the other, some at once and others meaning to.

Word by word

ΘουκυδίδηςThoukydídēsThucydidesἈθηναῖοςAthēnaîosan Athenianξυνέγραψεxynégrapsewrote upτὸνtòntheπόλεμονpólemonwarτῶνtônof theΠελοποννησίωνPeloponnēsíōnPeloponnesiansκαὶkaìandἈθηναίωνAthēnaíōnAthenians,ὡςhōshowἐπολέμησανepolémēsanfoughtπρὸςpròsagainstἀλλήλουςallḗlouseach other,ἀρξάμενοςarxámenosbeganεὐθὺςeuthỳsat onceκαθισταμένουkathistaménouwas breaking outκαὶkaìandἐλπίσαςelpísasexpectingμέγανmégangreatτεtebothἔσεσθαιésesthaiwould beκαὶkaìandἀξιολογώτατονaxiologṓtatonmost worth tellingτῶνtônof theπρογεγενημένωνprogegenēménōnearlier events,τεκμαιρόμενοςtekmairómenosinferredὅτιhótibecauseἀκμάζοντέςakmázontésat their peakτεte—ᾖσανêisanwereἐςesforαὐτὸνautònitἀμφότεροιamphóteroiboth sidesπαρασκευῇparaskeuêipreparationτῇtêi—πάσῃpásēieveryκαὶkaìandτὸtò—ἄλλοállothe rest ofἙλληνικὸνHellēnikònthe Greek worldὁρῶνhorônsawξυνιστάμενονxynistámenonjoiningπρὸςpròs—ἑκατέρουςhekatérousone side or the other,τὸtòsomeμὲνmèn—εὐθύςeuthýsat once,τὸtòothersδὲdèwhileκαὶkaìalsoδιανοούμενονdianooúmenonplanning.

The setting

The first sentence of the book names the author and the war, and gives his reasons for starting at once: he expected a great war, and he saw both sides at their peak.

A note on this passage

The sentence opens with the author naming himself and his city, Thoukydidēs Athēnaios, and then the verb xynegrapse. It is the old Attic spelling of syngraphō, "write together," which means to compose a connected account in one piece. The aorist tense presents the finished work from the start, though the next clause says he began writing as the war broke out. The war is described from both sides at once, "of the Peloponnesians and the Athenians," and the Greek says they fought pros allēlous, against one another.

The reasons come as a chain of participles: arxamenos "beginning," elpisas "expecting," tekmairomenos "judging from evidence," and horōn "seeing." The verb tekmairomai is the one he uses for inference from signs, and its noun tekmērion turns up in the next sections. The last clause splits the Greek world with to men euthys, to de kai dianooumenon: one part joined at once, the other part was only intending to.

Read the full commentary — and tap any word for its dictionary entry — in the interlinear reader.

Open Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 1.1.1 in the full reader

Always open passages in the reader

From the Great Library

You are reading a page of the Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War — the whole book is free in our interlinear reader.

The Great Library Project presses the classics in their original languages, glossed word by word — free to read, always. Browse the whole library.

Also on our shelves:

❦

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 1.1.1 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/thucydides/1.1.1/