- Source
- Diodorus Siculus. Diodori Bibliotheca Historica. Vols. 4-5 (partial). Bekker, Immanuel; Dindorf, Ludwig; Fischer, Curt Theodor; editors. Leipzig: Teubner, 1903-1906.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
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- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc6:18.21.1-18.21.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
Thibron recruits new mercenaries from the Peloponnese but suffers defeat, while internal strife breaks out in Cyrene where the popular party gains power. When exiles supported by Ptolemy of Egypt arrive with the general Ophellas, the popular party of Cyrene reconciles with Thibron, but Ophellas ultimately defeats Thibron and brings Cyrene and its vicinity under Ptolemaic rule.
ὁ δὲ Θίβρων τηλικαύτῃ συμφορᾷ περιπεσὼν ὅμως ἀντείχετο τοῦ πολέμου, προχειρισάμενος δὲ τῶν φίλων τοὺς εὐθέτους ἔπεμψεν εἰς τὴν Πελοπόννησον ἀναληψομένους τῶν ξένων τοὺς ἐνδιατρίβοντας1 περὶ Ταίναρον. ἔτι γὰρ τῶν ἀμισθώτων γενομένων πολλοὶ διεπλανῶντο ζητοῦντες τοὺς μισθοδοτήσοντας καὶ τότε περὶ Ταίναρον ὑπῆρχον πλείους τῶν δισχιλίων καὶ πεντακοσίων.
Thibron, although he had fallen into such a great disaster, nevertheless held fast to the war; choosing the most suitable of his friends, he sent them to the Peloponnese to enlist those of the mercenaries who were staying around Taenarum. For many of those who were still unemployed were wandering about looking for employers who would pay them, and at that time there were more than two thousand five hundred around Taenarum.
τούτους δὲ οἱ πεμφθέντες ἀνέλαβον, τὸν δὲ εἰς Κυρήνην πλοῦν ἐποιοῦντο. τῆς δὲ τούτων πρότερον παρουσίας2 οἱ μὲν Κυρηναῖοι θαρρήσαντες τοῖς γεγονόσι προτερήμασι μάχην συνῆψαν καὶ νικήσαντες τὸν Θίβρωνα πολλοὺς τῶν στρατιωτῶν ἀπέκτειναν.
Those who had been sent enlisted these men and made their voyage to Cyrene. But before their arrival, the Cyrenaeans, encouraged by the successes that had occurred, joined battle and, having defeated Thibron, killed many of his soldiers.
διὰ δὲ τὰς ἐλαττώσεις ὁ Θίβρων ἀπογινώσκων ἤδη τὰ κατὰ τὴν Κυρήνην παραδόξως πάλιν ἐθάρρησε. τῶν γὰρ ἀπὸ Ταινάρου στρατιωτῶν καταπλευσάντων καὶ μεγάλης αὐτῷ χειρὸς προσγενομένης εὔελπις ἐγένετο τῇ ψυχῇ.
Because of these losses, Thibron was already despairing of the situation in Cyrene, yet contrary to expectation he took heart again. For when the soldiers from Taenarum sailed in and a large force was added to him, he became hopeful in his soul.
οἱ δὲ Κυρηναῖοι πάλιν θεωροῦντες τὸν πόλεμον αὐξόμενον μετεπέμψαντο τὴν συμμαχίαν παρὰ τῶν πλησιοχώρων Λιβύων καὶ παρὰ τῶν Καρχηδονίων, ἀθροίσαντες δὲ τοὺς ἅπαντας μετὰ τῶν πολιτικῶν στρατιώτας τρισμυρίους ἡτοιμάζοντο παρατάξει περὶ τῶν ὅλων διακριθῆναι.3 γενομένης δὲ παρατάξεως μεγάλης ὁ μὲν Θίβρων νικήσας τῇ μάχῃ καὶ πολλοὺς ἀνελὼν περιχαρὴς ἦν, ὡς αὐτίκα μάλα κυριεύσων4 τῶν πλησίον πόλεων, οἱ δὲ Κυρηναῖοι τῶν στρατηγῶν ἁπάντων ἀνῃρημένων ἐν τῇ μάχῃ τὸν Κρῆτα Μνασικλῆν μεθʼ ἑτέρων εἵλοντο στρατηγόν. Θίβρων δʼ ἐπαρθεὶς τῇ νίκῃ τὸν λιμένα τῶν Κυρηναίων ἐπολιόρκησε καὶ τῇ Κυρήνῃ καθʼ ἡμέραν προσβολὰς ἐποιεῖτο.
But the Cyrenaeans, seeing the war growing again, summoned alliance from the neighboring Libyans and from the Carthaginians; having assembled all of them, thirty thousand soldiers including the citizen troops, they prepared to decide the whole issue by a pitched battle. When a great battle took place, Thibron, victorious in the fight and having slain many, was overjoyed, thinking that he would very shortly be master of the neighboring cities. But the Cyrenaeans, since all their generals had been slain in the battle, chose Mnasicles the Cretan along with others as generals. Thibron, elated by his victory, besieged the harbor of the Cyrenaeans and made daily assaults upon Cyrene.
χρονίζοντος δὲ τοῦ πολέμου Κυρηναῖοι μὲν σπανίζοντες τροφῆς ἐστασίασαν πρὸς ἀλλήλους· ἐπικρατούντων δὲ τῶν δημοτικῶν καὶ τοὺς κτηματικοὺς ἐκβαλλόντων οἱ τῆς πατρίδος στερηθέντες ἔφυγον οἱ μὲν πρὸς Θίβρωνα, οἱ δʼ εἰς Αἴγυπτον. οὗτοι δὲ πείσαντες τὸν Πτολεμαῖον κατάγειν αὐτοὺς ἧκον ἄγοντες δύναμιν ἀξιόλογον πεζικήν τε καὶ ναυτικὴν καὶ στρατηγὸν Ὀφέλλαν· ὧν τὴν παρουσίαν ἀκούσαντες οἱ παρὰ τῷ Θίβρωνι φυγάδες, νυκτὸς ἐπιχειρήσαντες πρὸς τούτους ἀπιέναι λάθρᾳ, φωραθέντες ἅπαντες κατεκόπησαν.
As the war dragged on, the Cyrenaeans, lacking food, fell into civil strife with one another; when the popular party got the upper hand and expelled the property owners, those who had been deprived of their native land fled, some to Thibron, and others to Egypt. The latter, having persuaded Ptolemy to restore them, came leading a notable force both of infantry and of navy, and Ophellas as general. When the exiles who were with Thibron heard of their arrival, they attempted to go off to them secretly by night, but being discovered, all were cut to pieces.
οἱ δὲ τῆς Κυρήνης στρατηγοῦντες δημοτικοί, φοβηθέντες τὴν τῶν φυγάδων κάθοδον, διελύσαντο πρὸς τὸν Θίβρωνα καὶ κοινῇ πολεμεῖν πρὸς τὸν Ὀφέλλαν παρεσκευάζοντο.
The popular leaders who were governing Cyrene, fearing the return of the exiles, came to terms with Thibron and prepared to wage war in common against Ophellas.
Ὀφέλλας δὲ καταπολεμήσας τὸν Θίβρωνα καὶ ζωγρήσας, ἔτι δὲ τῶν πόλεων ἐγκρατὴς γενόμενος παρέδωκε τάς τε πόλεις καὶ τὴν χώραν Πτολεμαίῳ τῷ βασιλεῖ. οἱ μὲν οὖν Κυρηναῖοι καὶ αἱ περιοικοῦσαι πόλεις τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον ἀποβαλοῦσαι τὴν ἐλευθερίαν ὑπὸ τὴν Πτολεμαϊκὴν βασιλείαν ἐτάχθησαν.
But Ophellas, having defeated Thibron in war and taken him alive, and furthermore having gotten possession of the cities, delivered both the cities and the territory to King Ptolemy. In this manner, therefore, the Cyrenaeans and the surrounding cities, having lost their freedom, were placed under the Ptolemaic kingdom.
- 18.21.1ἀναληψομένους τῶν ξένων τοὺς ἐνδιατρίβοντας
The future middle participle ἀναληψομένους (from ἀναλαμβάνω, 'to enlist, take along') expresses purpose ('to enlist') modifying the main verb ἔπεμψεν. Its direct object is the substantivized present participle τοὺς ἐνδιατρίβοντας ('those staying'), which is in turn modified by τῶν ξένων ('of the mercenaries') as a partitive genitive.
- 18.21.2τῆς δὲ τούτων πρότερον παρουσίας
The adverb πρότερον governs the genitive case τῆς παρουσίας due to its comparative force, meaning 'before their arrival' (literally, 'prior to the arrival of these'). τούτων is a possessive genitive modifying παρουσίας.
- 18.21.4περὶ τῶν ὅλων διακριθῆναι
The substantivized neuter plural τὰ ὅλα means 'the overall issue' or 'the general situation of the war.' Combined with the infinitive διακριθῆναι (from διακρίνομαι, 'to decide, settle'), it forms a military idiom meaning 'to decide the whole fortune of the war' or 'to fight a decisive battle.'
- 18.21.4ὡς αὐτίκα μάλα κυριεύσων
The conjunction ὡς prefixed to the future participle κυριεύσων is a classical construction expressing the subjective thought, expectation, or intention of the main subject Thibron ('thinking that he would soon rule').