ἐπιγιγνομένου—used of natural phenomena, whether ordinary or unexpected.
ἡγεῖτο—ἡγεμὼν is the regular word for a Spartan king or regent in the field, and for the supreme commander of any foreign expedition.
Ἀρχιδάμου—had died in 427 B.C
πρῶτον μὲν . . . ἔπειτα—Thue. has πρῶτον (πρῶτα） μὲν . . ἔπειτα twenty-eight times, while he adds δὲ only eight times. If καὶ follows ἔπειτα, δὲ is regulaily added, even if πρῶτον is without μέν.
τὰ περὶ τὸ πεδίον—the country about the (Attic) plain
κατὰ πόλεις διελόμενοι—a common practice.
εἴκοσι καὶ ἑκατόν—if the text is right, Thuc. reckons in the case of Boeotia from Oropus, which belonged to Athens and from which ran the road to Decelea and Athens, through the demes of Aphidna and Cephisia. Otherwise the distance would be much less. But from ἀπέχει to Βοιωτίας may be spurious, like some others of the geographieal data in Thuc.
[καὶ οὐ π. πλέον]—or not much more; but καὶ added in B is prob. only a correction. When an adscript is brought into the text, it is frequently joined on with καί.
ἐπὶ δὲ τῷ—for the control of, iu speaking of forts, etc., which by their position threaten a locality; e.g V. 7 ἐθεᾶτο τὴν θέσιν τῆς πόλεως ἐτὶ Θράκῃ ὡς ἔχοι. Cf the Château Gaillard.
τοῖς κρατίστοις—the richest parts, the soil of Attica as a whole not being rich. The land about Cephisia is noted for its vegetation.
ἐς τὸ κακουργεῖν—with ᾠκοδομεῖτο, expressing purpose. Cf. Dem. 31.13 παρεσκεύασεν εἰς τὸ λέγειν τι δοκεῖν.
ταῖς ὁλκάσι—without ἐν, as c. 7.3.
ἐπιλεξάμενοι—i.e. placing them among the hoplites. They were first so used by Brasidas in Thrace. Before this they had only attended their masters in the field. One as θεράπων was his master's armour-bearer. The rest were used either as light-armed troops, or as sappers, engmeers, or carriers. The king often ordered them to carry booty.
νεοδαμώδων—helots emancipated as a reward for military services since 424 B.C.
ἄρχοντα—not ἡγεμών, as it was not a general expedition under the king. Contrast § 1. So Brasidas is always called ἄρχων or στρατηγός.
Βοιωτοὶ—loosely reekoned among οἱ ἐν τῇ Πελοποννήσῳ, as though he had said only οἱ δὲ Πελοποννήσιοι, which generally in Thuc. includes all the allies of Sparta. When in II. 9 he says Πελοποννήσιοι πάντες πλὴν Ἀργείων καὶ Ἀχαιῶν. he uses Π. in the strict geographieal sense, in contrast with the Greeks ἔξω Πελοποννήσου.
ἐν τοῖς πρῶτοι—the same idiom c. 24.3; 27.3; 71.3. It is constantly corrupted in the MSS. of Thuc., as the scribes did not understand it.
ὁρμήσαντες—generally ὁρμῶμαι is used in this sense.
ἐς τὸ πέλαγος ἀφεῖσαν—a frequent idiom; e.g. Herod. VII. 193; Aristoph Eq 432 ἀφήσω κατὰ κύμ᾽ ἐμαυτὸν οὔριον. θάλασσα cannot be used in this phrase; only Plutarch and Pausanias do so.
μετὰ δὲ τούτους Κορίνθιοι—this still refers to οἱ δ᾽ ἐν τῇ Πελοποννήσῳ above, which is in fact divided into Λακεδαιμόνιοι μὲν . . . Βοιωτοὶ δὲ . . . Κορίνθιοι . . . Σικυώνιοι, but the sense requires that the imperf. ἀπέστελλον should be given up for the aor. ἀφεῖσαν, ἀπέπεμψαν, ἀπέστειλαν. (The form of this passage, like many others, shows how Thuc. is in a transition stage between the εἰρομένη λέξις—running style of Herod.—and the artificial periods of Isocrates.)
ἄρχοντα—governed by both partic, and verb.
Σικυώνιοι—now dissatisfied with Sparta because early in 417 an aristocratic government had been foreed upon it. This aristocracy, however, subsequently got the upper hand, and Sicyon aided Sparta after the battle of Leuctra, 371. But in 369, the democrats revived and Sicyon joined Thebes. In 367 or 6, after violent dissensions and the tyranny of Euthyphron, it passed again into the hands of Sparta.
l. 39
ἕωσπερ—rare, except in Plato. It occurs in Xen. Hel. VI. 5.12, VII. 2.23 (Dindorf); Xen. Cyr. VII. 5.39; Dem. 54.3; Plat. Lach. 188B; Apol. 29D; Prot. 325A; Rep. 342B, 433 B; Phaedr. 243E; Theaet. 177D, 200 C; Meno 97C; Parm. 144C; Sophist. 235C.
αὐτοῖς—they found that—dat. of interest.
τὸν νοῦν ἔχωσιν—distinguish from νοῦν ἔχειν = to be sensible.
