Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides Book 6

ὅσῳ: after, as well as before, a comp., in so far as (because). Cf. 1. 82. 19, and see on 1. 68. 11.

αὐτήν: antithesis to Σικελίαν, Syracuse alone. Cf. 1. 139. 16; 3. 27. 9.—τῆς νῦν στρατιᾶς: governed by κρείσσω. The attrib. ptc. may stand after the noun, since there is another modifier (νῦν). See on 1. 11. 19.

οὔθ᾽ ἵππους: has its correlative in οὔθ̓ (correctly restored by Haacke for οὐδ̓）ὁπλίτας ἰσοπλήθεις, both to be construed with ἀκολουθήσοντας. The clause οὐδ᾽ αὐτόθεν πορισθησομένους modifies ἵππους alone. As to ἵπποι, cf. 43. 16, 98. 2.

ἰσοπλήθεις: rare word. For similar formations, cf. ἰσοκίνδυνος 34. 46; ἰσοπαλής 2. 39. 9; ἰσόρροπος 2. 42. 7; 7. 71. 2.

ἐπὶ νεῶν γε ἐλθόντας : in sense of fut. pf. belonging to ὁπλίτας and explaining why the Athenian leaders would not have a hoplite force equal in numbers to the Syracusan.

μέγα γὰρ...κομισθῆναι : for it is a great thing to be brought so long a sail with actually their ships only, unladen as they are, i.e. with crew only, without hoplites or provisions. τοσοῦτον πλοῦν, const. as ὅσον πλοῦν 30. 13. Abresch's suggestion that the whole sent. is parenthetical has been generally approved.

τήν τε ἄλλην παρασκευήν...οὖσαν : third member dependent on οἷς γ᾽ ἐπίσταμαι, and that all the rest of the equipment which must be provided against so large a city is not small, and therefore not easy to be procured by them. τὴν ἄλλην παρασκευήν refers prob. to provisions, arms, and implements. To take τήν τε ἄλλην παρασκευήν with πορισθῆναι construed also with μέγα, as has usually been done, would weaken the force of καὶ αὐταῖς ταῖς ναυσὶ κούφαις and make the connection τήν τε ἄλλην unintelligible. See App.

παρὰ τοσοῦτον γιγνώσκω: by so much do I decide otherwise, i.e. so much do I differ from those who spread these reports. Schol. παρὰ τοσοῦτον διαφέρομαι τοῖς τὰ ἕτερα διαγγέλλουσι. See on 3. 49. 18. This expression is parenthetical here, just as εὖ οἶδ᾽ ὅτι in 34. 43, 57. —μόλις ἄν: ἄν, which belongs to διαφθαρῆναι, is there repeated. See on 4. 18. 17. GMT. 223; Gild., Syn. 467.— 12. εἰ πόλιν ἑτέραν τοσαύτην...τὸν πόλεμον ποιοῖντο: the condition assumed by the speaker as most favorable for the Athenians is made clear from its opposite, the real state of the case: that in a land entirely hostile they would have their base only in an ill-provided camp and would be without freedom of movement owing to the enemy's cavalry. The opp. condition is expressed by πόλιν ἐτέραν τοσαύτην ὅσαι Συράκουσαί εἰσιν ἔχοντες καὶ ὅμορον οἰκήσαντες, i.e. if they had in possession another city (in Sicily) as large as Syracuse and had settled therein contiguous (to Syracuse). εἰ ἔλθοιεν means here merely if they should come (against us), and we have here a case of the opp. character to ἐπὶ νεῶν ἐλθεῖν (cf. l. 7 ἐπὶ νεῶν γε ἐλθόντας, and l. 15 στρατοπέδῳ τε ἐκ νεῶν ἱδρυθέντι). Hence it is unnecessary to bracket, with Cl., ἔλθοιεν, or with v. H., St., etc., ἔλθοιεν ἔχοντες. L. Herbst (on 2. 101 f.) explained πόλιν ἑτέραν ἔχοντες, “with another city on board.” But the real meaning of Athenagoras is exactly that the Athenians ἐκ νεῶν would not be in any way dangerous in their advance upon the Syracusans. Cf. also 86. § 3.— 14. ἦ πού γε δή: much less then would they not be entirely destroyed. Cf. 1. 142. 7.—ἐν πάσῃ πολεμίᾳ Σικελίᾳ: cf. ἐς ἀλλοτρίαν πᾶσαν 21. 12.

ξυστήσεται : cf. 21. 4, 33. 26, 79. 13; 7. 15. 4.—στρατοπέδῳ τε ἐκ νεῶν ἱδρυθέντι: and in a camp pitched right from the ships (and therefore lacking in much). —καὶ ἐκ σκηνιδίων...ἐξιόντες : third member. σκηνίδιον found only here.— 16. ἀναγκαίας παρασκευῆς: i.e. from meagre equipment and war materials; what was absolutely necessary rather than sufficient. For ἀναγκαίας in this sense, cf. 2. 70. 5; 5. 8. 10; 7. 69. 21.— ὑπὸ τῶν ἡμετέρων ἱππέων: by reason of our cavalry, as 7. 78. 30.

τό τε ξύμπαν: for τὸ δὲ ξύμπαν of the Mss., as Haase emended, acc. to Thuc.'s usage for such comprehensive formulas. See on 3. 82. 34. It is only when a general remark is expressly opposed to what went before, as in 3. 116. 6, that Thuc. uses δέ.

οὐδ̓ ἂν κρατῆσαι τῆς γῆς : would not even effect a landing. Cf. 23. 7, and see on 3. 85. 13.