- 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-grc6:18.33.1-18.33.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
Perdiccas, emboldened by Eumenes' victory, proceeds with his Egyptian campaign, but his tyrannical behavior drives many allies to join the benevolent Ptolemy. He makes a swift night march to the Nile near Camel's Wall and begins crossing his forces under the cover of elephants and specialized troops.
Ἀντίπατρος δὲ τοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς φυγῆς διασωθέντας ἐκδεξάμενος καὶ προσαναλαβὼν προῆγεν ἐπὶ Κιλικίαν, σπεύδων βοηθῆσαι τῷ Πτολεμαίῳ. Περδίκκας δὲ πυθόμενος τὴν κατὰ τὸν Εὐμενῆ νίκην1 πολλῷ θρασύτερος ἐγένετο πρὸς τὴν εἰς Αἴγυπτον στρατείαν· ὡς δʼ ἐγγὺς ἐγένετο τοῦ Νείλου, κατεστρατοπέδευσεν οὐ μακρὰν πόλεως Πηλουσίου.
Antipater, having received and reorganized those who had been saved from the flight, advanced toward Cilicia, hastening to aid Ptolemy. Perdiccas, having learned of the victory on Eumenes’ side, became much bolder toward the expedition to Egypt; and when he got near the Nile, he encamped not far from the city of Pelusium.
ἐπιχειρήσας δὲ διώρυγά τινα παλαιὰν ἀνακαθαίρειν καὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ λάβρως ἐκραγέντος καὶ τὰ ἔργα λυμηναμένου2 πολλοὶ τῶν φίλων ἐγκαταλιπόντες ἀπεχώρησαν πρὸς τὸν Πτολεμαῖον·
But when he attempted to clear out a certain ancient canal, and as the river broke out violently and ruined the works, many of his friends abandoned him and departed to Ptolemy;
καὶ γὰρ φονικὸς ἦν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἡγεμόνων περιαιρούμενος τὰς ἐξουσίας3 καὶ καθόλου πάντων βουλόμενος ἄρχειν βιαίως, ὁ δὲ Πτολεμαῖος τοὐναντίον εὐεργετικὸς καὶ ἐπιεικὴς καὶ μεταδιδοὺς πᾶσι τοῖς ἡγεμόσι τῆς παρρησίας, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις διειληφὼς πάντας τοὺς ἐπικαιροτάτους Αἰγύπτου τόπους φυλακαῖς ἀξιολόγοις καὶ βέλεσι παντοδαποῖς καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασιν εὖ κατεσκευασμένος.
for he was bloodthirsty and stripped the other commanders of their powers and in general wished to rule everyone by force, whereas Ptolemy on the contrary was beneficent and reasonable and shared freedom of speech with all the commanders, and in addition to this, he had occupied all the most opportune places of Egypt with significant garrisons and missiles of all kinds, and was well prepared with all other things.
διὸ καὶ κατὰ τὰς ἐπιβολὰς κατὰ τὸ πλεῖστον ἐπλεονέκτει, πολλοὺς ἔχων εὐνοοῦντας καὶ προθύμως διακινδυνεύοντας.
Therefore also in his undertakings he had for the most part the advantage, having many who were well-disposed and readily risking their lives.
ὁ δʼ οὖν Περδίκκας διορθούμενος τὰς ἐλαττώσεις συνήγαγε τοὺς ἡγεμόνας καὶ τοὺς μὲν δωρεαῖς, τοὺς δʼ ἐπαγγελίαις μεγάλαις, πάντας δὲ φιλανθρώποις ὁμιλίαις ἐξιδιοποιησάμενος προετρέψατο πρὸς τοὺς ἐπιφερομένους κινδύνους. παραγγείλας δὲ ἑτοίμους εἶναι πρὸς ἀναζυγὴν ὥρμησε μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως ἀφʼ ἑσπέρας, οὐδενὶ δηλώσας τὸν τόπον εἰς ὃν διεγνωκὼς ἦν καταντᾶν.
Perdiccas, then, correcting his disadvantages, assembled the commanders, and having won them over, some by gifts, others by great promises, and all by friendly conversation, he urged them toward the oncoming dangers. Having ordered them to be ready for departure, he set out with his force in the evening, having revealed to no one the place to which he had decided to go.
τὴν δὲ νύκτα πᾶσαν ὁδοιπορήσας ἐν τάχει κατεστρατοπέδευσε παρὰ τὸν Νεῖλον πλησίον φρουρίου τινος ὃ προσηγορεύετο Καμήλων τεῖχος. διαφαινούσης δὲ τῆς ἡμέρας διεβίβαζε τὴν δύναμιν ἡγουμένων τῶν ἐλεφάντων, ἐπακολουθούντων δὲ τῶν ὑπασπιστῶν4 καὶ κλιμακοφόρων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων διʼ ὧν ἔμελλε τὴν τειχομαχίαν ποιεῖσθαι. ἐπὶ πᾶσι δὲ ἐπεβάλοντο οἱ κράτιστοι τῶν ἱππέων,5 οὓς διενοεῖτο ἐπιπέμπειν τοῖς περὶ τὸν Πτολεμαῖον, ἐὰν τύχωσιν ἐπιφαινόμενοι.
And having marched the whole night in haste, he encamped by the Nile near a certain fortress which was called Camel’s Wall. As day was dawning, he began to transport his force, with the elephants leading, and the hypaspists and ladder-bearers and the others following by whose means he intended to carry out the siege. Behind all, the strongest of the cavalry fell in, whom he intended to send against Ptolemy’s men, if they should happen to appear.
- 18.33.1τὴν κατὰ τὸν Εὐμενῆ νίκην
The prepositional phrase κατὰ τὸν Εὐμενῆ is placed in the attributive position between the article and the noun, meaning 'the victory on Eumenes' side', i.e., the victory won by Eumenes.
- 18.33.2τοῦ ποταμοῦ λάβρως ἐκραγέντος καὶ τὰ ἔργα λυμηναμένου
A genitive absolute construction, describing the obstacle or circumstance of the river flooding in contrast to Perdiccas' attempt (ἐπιχειρήσας) to clear out the canal.
- 18.33.3τῶν ἄλλων ἡγεμόνων περιαιρούμενος τὰς ἐξουσίας
Genitive of separation. The verb περιαιρέω (to strip, take away) takes a syntactic structure of 'taking away something (accusative) from someone (genitive)', where τῶν ἄλλων ἡγεμόνων indicates the persons from whom authority was stripped.
- 18.33.6ἡγουμένων τῶν ἐλεφάντων, ἐπακολουθούντων δὲ τῶν ὑπασπιστῶν...
A series of genitive absolutes, describing the specific accompanying circumstances of the action of crossing the river, expressed by the main verb διεβίβαζε (imperfect, indicating an attempted or ongoing action).
- 18.33.6ἐπὶ πᾶσι δὲ ἐπεβάλοντο οἱ κράτιστοι τῶν ἱππέων
The prepositional phrase ἐπὶ πᾶσι means 'behind all (the infantry), at the very rear'. The middle verb ἐπεβάλοντο (from ἐπιβάλλω), used intransitively, expresses falling in at the rear or following the column.