Thucydides 1.106.2

Greek Learning Greek
1

In a flashback Thucydides narrates the background to the outbreak of the Peloponnesian war. Here the Athenians defeat the Corinthians.


  1. οἱ δὲ νικώμενοι ὑπεχώρουν, καί τι αὐτῶν μέρος οὐκ ὀλίγον προσβιασθὲν καὶ διαμαρτὸν τῆς ὁδοῦ ἐσέπεσεν ἔς του χωρίον ἰδιώτου, ᾧ ἔτυχεν ὄρυγμα μέγα περιεῖργον καὶ οὐκ ἦν ἔξοδος. [2] οἱ δὲ Ἀθηναῖοι γνόντες κατὰ πρόσωπόν τε εἶργον τοῖς ὁπλίταις καὶ περιστήσαντες κύκλῳ τοὺς ψιλοὺς κατέλευσαν πάντας τοὺς ἐσελθόντας, καὶ πάθος μέγα τοῦτο Κορινθίοις ἐγένετο. τὸ δὲ πλῆθος ἀπεχώρησεν αὐτοῖς τῆς στρατιᾶς ἐπ᾽ οἴκου.

My question concerns the last sentence: τὸ δὲ πλῆθος ἀπεχώρησεν αὐτοῖς τῆς στρατιᾶς ἐπ᾽ οἴκου.

Translation: The greater part of the army went back home.

What is the meaning and grammatical rational of dative plural αὐτοῖς in the last sentence?

2

This is how I read it:

The majority went homewards together with those of the army.

Excerpt from: LSJ regarding αὐτοῖς

  1. in dat. with Subst., in one, together, ἀνόρουσεν αὐτῇ σὺν φόρμιγγι he sprang up lyre in hand, Il. 9.194; αὐτῇ σὺν πήληκι κάρη helmet and all, 14.498, cf. Od. 13.118; αὐτῷ σὺν ἄγγει E. Ion 32, cf. Hipp. 1213; also without σύν, αὐτῇ κεν γαίῃ ἐρύσαι Il. 8.24: so freq. in Prose and Poetry, αὐτοῖς ἀνδράσι men and all, Hdt. 6.93; αὐτοῖσι συμμάχοισι allies and all, A. Pr. 223 (lyr.); αὐτοῖς μελάθροις διακναιομένους E. Med. 164: with Art., αὐτοῖσι τοῖσι ἱματίοισι ἀπʼ ὦν ἔβαψε ἑωυτόν Hdt. 2.47; αὐτοῖσι τοῖς πόρπαξι Ar. Eq. 849, etc.; αὐτοῖς τοῖς ἵπποις κατακρημνισθῆναι X. Cyr. 1.4.7.
3

Here however there’s no noun in attendance, so I don’t think that that section applies. Rather this αυτοις is a so-called “ethic” dative, one that gets “them” into the sentence without assigning any specific grammatical function. Others would call it a dative of interest. Amounts to the same thing.

4

Many thanks to bedwere and Michael. This one is definitely above my present pay grade.