Nepos, Themistocles 2

Them. 2.1Prīmus autem gradus fuit capessendae reī pūblicae bellō Corcȳraeō: ad quod gerendum praetor ā populō factus nōn sōlum praesentī bellō, sed etiam reliquō tempore ferōciōrem reddidit cīvitātem.

The first step in his public career was the Corcyraean war: chosen general by the people to conduct it, he made the state fiercer not only in the war at hand but for the rest of its history.

Note. capessendae reī pūblicae: gerundive in the genitive, 'of taking up public life'. bellō Corcȳraeō: ablative of time. Nepos is confused here: the war in which Themistocles's fleet was first used was against Aegina, not Corcyra. praetor: Nepos uses the Roman title for the Athenian stratēgos (general).

Them. 2.2Nam cum pecūnia pūblica, quae ex metallīs redībat, largītiōne magistrātuum quotannīs interīret, ille persuāsit populō ut eā pecūniā classis centum nāvium aedificārētur.

For since the public money that came in from the mines was being lost every year through the handouts of the magistrates, he persuaded the people to build a fleet of a hundred ships with that money.

Note. The silver mines at Laurium in Attica produced a rich new vein in 483 BC. Instead of sharing the money out among citizens, Themistocles persuaded the Athenians to build warships. ea pecūniā: ablative of means.

Them. 2.3Quā celeriter effectā prīmum Corcȳraeōs frēgit, deinde maritimōs praedōnēs cōnsectandō mare tūtum reddidit.

When this had been quickly done, he first broke the Corcyraeans, and then, by hunting down the pirates, he made the sea safe.

Note. Quā celeriter effectā: ablative absolute with a connecting relative, 'this (fleet) having been quickly completed'. cōnsectandō: gerund in the ablative, 'by chasing down'.

Them. 2.3In quō cum dīvitiīs ōrnāvit, tum etiam perītissimōs bellī nāvālis fēcit Athēniēnsēs.

In doing so he both enriched the Athenians and made them most skilled in naval warfare.

Note. cum … tum: 'both … and', or 'not only … but also'. Here cum is not 'when'. bellī nāvālis: genitive with perītus, 'skilled in'.

Them. 2.4Id quantae salūtī fuerit ūniversae Graeciae, bellō cognitum est Persicō.

How much this meant for the safety of all Greece became clear in the Persian War.

Note. quantae salūtī fuerit: double dative construction (dative of purpose with sum) in an indirect question: 'of how great safety it was', i.e. how much it saved Greece.

Them. 2.4Nam cum Xerxēs et marī et terrā bellum ūniversae īnferret Eurōpae, cum tantīs cōpiīs eam invāsit, quantās neque ante nec posteā habuit quisquam: huius enim classis mīlle et ducentārum nāvium longārum fuit, quam duo mīlia onerāriārum sequēbantur, terrestris autem exercitus septingenta peditum, equitum quadringenta mīlia fuērunt.

For when Xerxes was making war on all Europe by sea and by land, he invaded it with forces greater than anyone had before or since: his fleet was of twelve hundred warships, followed by two thousand transports, while his land army was seven hundred thousand foot and four hundred thousand horse.

Note. The numbers are wildly exaggerated, as in all ancient sources (Herodotus gives even larger figures); modern estimates of Xerxes' army are a tenth or less. mīlle et ducentārum nāvium: genitive of description, 'consisting of 1,200 ships'. nāvēs longae are warships, onerāriae transports.

Them. 2.6Cuius dē adventū cum fāma in Graeciam esset perlāta et maximē Athēniēnsēs petī dīcerentur propter pugnam Marathōniam, mīsērunt Delphōs cōnsultum, quidnam facerent dē rēbus suīs.

When news of his coming had reached Greece, and the Athenians in particular were said to be his target because of the battle of Marathon, they sent to Delphi to ask what they should do about their situation.

Note. Delphōs: accusative of place to which, without a preposition (names of towns). cōnsultum: supine in -um expressing purpose after a verb of motion, 'they sent to consult'. quidnam facerent: deliberative question made indirect.

Them. 2.6Dēlīberantibus Pȳthia respondit, ut moenibus ligneīs sē mūnīrent.

As they deliberated, the Pythia answered that they should protect themselves with wooden walls.

Note. Herodotus (7.141) gives the oracle in verse: Zeus would grant Athena 'a wooden wall' that alone would not be taken. The famous dispute over its meaning is summed up in the next sentence.

Them. 2.7Id respōnsum quō valēret cum intellegeret nēmō, Themistoclēs persuāsit cōnsilium esse Apollinis, ut in nāvēs sē suaque cōnferrent: eum enim ā deō significārī mūrum ligneum.

When no one understood what this answer meant, Themistocles convinced them that Apollo's advice was that they should take themselves and their belongings onto the ships: that, he said, was the wooden wall the god meant.

Note. Id respōnsum quō valēret: indirect question, 'what that answer meant' (quō valēre, 'to tend to, mean'). The rest is indirect speech depending on persuāsit: cōnsilium esse Apollinis ut …, and eum … significārī mūrum ligneum, 'that this (the fleet) was meant by the god as the wooden wall'.

Them. 2.8Tālī cōnsiliō probātō addunt ad superiōrēs totidem nāvēs trirēmēs suaque omnia, quae movērī poterant, partim Salamīna, partim Troezēna dēportant: arcem sacerdōtibus paucīsque maiōribus nātū ad sacra prōcūranda trādunt, reliquum oppidum relinquunt.

This plan was approved: they added as many triremes again to the earlier ones, and carried away all their goods that could be moved, partly to Salamis, partly to Troezen; the citadel they handed over to the priests and a few old men to look after the sacred rites, and the rest of the town they abandoned.

Note. Tālī cōnsiliō probātō: ablative absolute. Salamīna, Troezēna: Greek accusatives in -a of Salamīs and Troezēn, 'to Salamis, to Troezen' (no preposition with town names). maiōribus nātū: 'older men', literally 'greater by birth'. ad sacra prōcūranda: ad + gerundive of purpose.