[202] Thucyd. ii, 2. ἅμα ἦρι ἀρχομένῳ—seems to indicate a period rather before than after the first of April: we may consider the bisection of the Thucydidean year into θέρος and χείμων as marked by the equinoxes. His summer and winter are each a half of the year (Thucyd. v, 20), though Poppo erroneously treats the Thucydidean winter as only four months (Poppo, Proleg. i, c. v, p. 72, and ad Thucyd. ii, 2: see F. W. Ullrich, Beiträge zur Erklärung des Thukydidês, p. 32, Hamburg, 1846). [203] Thucyd. ii, 2-5. ~θέμενοι δὲ ἐς τὴν ἀγορὰν τὰ ὅπλα~ ... καὶ ἀνεῖπεν ὁ κήρυξ, εἴτις βούλεται κατὰ τὰ πάτρια τῶν πάντων Βοιωτῶν ξυμμαχεῖν, ~τίθεσθαι παρ᾽ αὑτοὺς τὰ ὅπλα~. Dr. Arnold has a note upon this passage, explaining τίθεσθαι, or θέσθαι τὰ ὅπλα, to mean, “piling the arms,” or getting rid of their spears and shields by piling them all in one or more heaps. He says: “The Thebans, therefore, as usual on a halt, proceeded to pile their arms, and by inviting the Platæans to come and pile theirs with them, they meant that they should come in arms from their several houses to join them, and thus naturally pile their spears and shields with those of their friends, to be taken up together with theirs, whenever there should be occasion either to march or to fight.” The same explanation of the phrase had before been given by Wesseling and Larcher, ad Herodot. ix, 52; though Bähr on the passage is more satisfactory. Both Poppo and Göller also sanction Dr. Arnold’s explanation: yet I cannot but think that it is unsuitable to the passage before us, as well as to several other passages in which τίθεσθαι τὰ ὅπλα occurs: there may be other passages in which it will suit, but as a general explanation it appears to me inadmissible. In most cases, the words mean “_armati consistere_,”—to ground arms,—to maintain rank, resting the spear and shield (see Xenoph. Hellen. ii, 4, 12) upon the ground. In the incident now before us, the Theban hoplites enter Platæa, a strange town, with the population decidedly hostile, and likely to be provoked more than ever by this surprise, add to which, that it is pitch dark, and a rainy night. Is it likely, that the first thing which they do will be to pile their arms? The darkness alone would render it a slow and uncertain operation to resume the arms: so that when the Platæans attacked them, as they did, quite suddenly and unexpectedly, and while it was yet dark, the Thebans would have been—upon Dr. Arnold’s supposition—altogether defenceless and unarmed (see ii, 3. ~προσέβαλόν τε εὐθὺς~—οἱ Πλαταιῆς—καὶ ἐς χεῖρας ᾔεσαν ~κατὰ τάχος~) which certainly they were not. Dr. Arnold’s explanation may suit the case of the soldier in camp, but certainly not that of the soldier in presence of an enemy, or under circumstances of danger: the difference of the two will be found illustrated in Xenophon, Hellenic. ii, 4, 5, 6.