Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 2.52.4 · 2.52.4

Burial customs thrown into confusion

νόμοι τε πάντες ξυνεταράχθησαν οἷς ἐχρῶντο πρότερον περὶ τὰς ταφάς, ἔθαπτον δὲ ὡς ἕκαστος ἐδύνατο. καὶ πολλοὶ ἐς ἀναισχύντους θήκας ἐτράποντο σπάνει τῶν ἐπιτηδείων διὰ τὸ συχνοὺς ἤδη προτεθνάναι σφίσιν· ἐπὶ πυρὰς γὰρ ἀλλοτρίας φθάσαντες τοὺς νήσαντας οἱ μὲν ἐπιθέντες τὸν ἑαυτῶν νεκρὸν ὑφῆπτον, οἱ δὲ καιομένου ἄλλου ἐπιβαλόντες ἄνωθεν ὃν φέροιεν ἀπῇσαν.

All the customs they had formerly observed in burial were thrown into confusion, and each buried as he could. Many turned to shameless ways of disposing of the dead, for lack of what was needed, because so many of their own had already died. Some got to a pyre that others had built, put their own dead on it before the builders could, and set it alight. Others, while another body was burning, threw on top the one they were carrying and went away.

Word by word

νόμοιnómoicustomsτεteandπάντεςpántesallξυνεταράχθησανxynetaráchthēsanwere thrown into confusionοἷςhoîswhichἐχρῶντοechrôntothey usedπρότερονpróteronformerlyπερὶperìaboutτὰςtàstheταφάςtaphásburials,ἔθαπτονéthaptonburiedδὲdèandὡςhōsasἕκαστοςhékastoseach oneἐδύνατοedýnatowas able.καὶkaìandπολλοὶpolloìmanyἐςestoἀναισχύντουςanaischýntousshamelessθήκαςthḗkasburialsἐτράποντοetrápontoturnedσπάνειspáneifor lackτῶνtônofἐπιτηδείωνepitēdeíōnnecessitiesδιὰdiàbecauseτὸtò—συχνοὺςsychnoùsmanyἤδηḗdēalreadyπροτεθνάναιprotethnánaihad diedσφίσινsphísinof theirs·ἐπὶepìonπυρὰςpyràspyresγὰρgàrforἀλλοτρίαςallotríasother people’sφθάσαντεςphthásantesgetting ahead ofτοὺςtoùsthoseνήσανταςnḗsantaswho had builtοἱhoisomeμὲνmèn—ἐπιθέντεςepithéntesputτὸνtòn—ἑαυτῶνheautôntheir ownνεκρὸνnekròndeadὑφῆπτονhyphêptonlit,οἱhoiothersδὲdèandκαιομένουkaioménouas it burnedἄλλουállouanotherἐπιβαλόντεςepibalóntesthrewἄνωθενánōthenon top ofὃνhònthe oneφέροιενphéroienthey were carryingἀπῇσανapêisanwent away.

A white-ground lekythos, the oil flask Athenians left at graves — Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War — A white-ground lekythos, the oil flask Athenians left at graves · Attic, attributed to the Syriskos Painter, c. 480 BC · Altes Museum, Berlin · photo Gary Todd, CC0

The setting

The old burial customs collapsed, and short of everything, people burned their dead on pyres that other families had built.

A note on this passage

The word for the customs is nomoi, the ordinary word for laws, and they were xynetarachthēsan, "stirred together" (the old Attic xyn- for syn-). People then buried hōs hekastos edunato, "as each could," and the sentence moves from rules to improvisation. The adjective anaischuntous on thēkas, "shameless" burial places, belongs to the same family as the earlier aischunē, "shame," here lost.

The last sentence turns on phthasantes, "getting there first," the verb of a race. The people who had built the pyre, tous nēsantas, are the owners, and others beat them to it. With hoi men and hoi de, Thucydides divides the desperate into those who lit their own dead on a stranger's fire and those who dropped a body on top of one already burning. The optative pheroien marks the carrying as something done each time, by whoever came.

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