ἐβιάσαντο πρὸς—forced their way to.
οὐκ ἐπ᾽ ὀλίγων ἀσπίδων—in a deep line; cf. II. 90 ἐπὶ τεσσάρων ταξάμενοι τὰς ναῦς. The gen. is commoner than the accus., which is also used in these military phrases; Xen. Hel. VI 4, 12 ἐπὶ πεντήκοντα ἀσπίδων συνεστραμμένοι; Aristoph. Frag. ἵστασθ᾽ ἐφεξῆς ἐπὶ τρεῖς ἀσπίδας.
διικνοῦντο—βάλλοντες.
πρὸς μετόπωρον—Aristoph. Eccles. 20 πρὸς ὄρθρον ἐστίν.
ἐπὶ τῷ σφετέρῳ ὀ—cf. ἐπὶ κακῷ γίγνεσθαι.
ἐκ τοῦ ὄπισθεν—i.e. “between their halting-place and their camp of the night before.” Freeman .
πρὸς τὸ πεδίον μᾶλλον—rather south of the haltingplace of the two previous nights.
προυχώρουν—in what direction was this advance? “the generals now gave up the thonght of forcing their way to that particular [Acraean] cliff by that particular pass [above Floridia] Their object seems now to have been to find some other road, some other pass, in the same neighbourhood, which might lead them to the high ground [to the west], and which the Syr. might not have occupied.” Freeman . (The progress of the fifth day should not be marked in the plans by a line running straight to the south, but should bend away to the west with the bend in the brook that forms the southern branch of the Cyane)
πανταχῆ . . . κύκλῳ—to be taken close together..
ἀνεπαύοντο—a little south of the camp of the previous night.
