Παρὰ σφὰς ὃς οὐκ ἐσπλεῖν

all but [able] to sail in to them

Translated by Ronald Allen17 Oct 2010Vetting: high3 revisions

1 note · 15 words

In Thucydides. Meaning nearly [sc. able to do so], as [sc. if to say] well-nigh.¹

Greek original · Adler’s text

Παρὰ σφὰς ὃς οὐκ ἐσπλεῖν· παρὰ Θουκυδίδῃ. ἀντὶ τοῦ σχεδόν, ὡς τὸ μονονουχί.

Betacode

*para\ sfa\s o(\s ou)k e)splei=n: para\ *qoukudi/dh|. a)nti\ tou= sxedo/n, w(s to\ mononouxi/.

The headword phrase comes from Thucydides 2.94.1 (web address 1). It occurs during his description of an episode in late summer 429 BCE, when, before disbanding for the winter, Spartan/Peloponnesian naval forces try a surprise attack on Athens' harbor, Peiraieus (pi 1455) -- at that time rather poorly defended -- via the island of Salamis (cf. sigma 49). At this stage of the narrative Thuc. has just commented that the residents of Athens town supposed (incorrectly) that Peiraieus had already been breached; he now says that those in Peiraieus itself thought (correctly) that the enemy had seized Salamis and were thus on the point of sailing into Peiraieus.
The Suda, unfortunately, mangles Thucydides' idiom here. As Adler notes, Thucydides' text reads not the untranslatable o(\s ou)k but o(/son ou)k, for which cf. omicron 700.
1From the scholia to the aforementioned passage. ↩

Revision history3 revisions · last 30 Aug 2011

30 Aug 2011Revised — David Whitehead
17 Oct 2010Revised — David Whitehead
17 Oct 2010modified headword and tr; reworked and expanded notes; more keywords — David Whitehead
17 Oct 2010Translated — Ronald Allen