- 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
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc6:18.43.1-18.43.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
After securing his rule in Egypt, Ptolemy dispatches Nicanor to conquer and bring Syria and Phoenicia under his control.
κατὰ δὲ τὴν Αἴγυπτον Πτολεμαῖος παραδόξως ἀποτετριμμένος1 τόν τε Περδίκκαν καὶ τὰς βασιλικὰς δυνάμεις τὴν μὲν Αἴγυπτον ὡσανεί τινα βασιλείαν δορίκτητον εἶχεν. ὁρῶν δὲ τήν τε Φοινίκην καὶ τὴν Κοίλην ὀνομαζομένην Συρίαν εὐφυῶς κειμένας κατὰ τῆς Αἰγύπτου2 πολλὴν εἰσεφέρετο σπουδὴν κυριεῦσαι τούτων τῶν τόπων.
In Egypt, Ptolemy, having unexpectedly repulsed both Perdiccas and the royal forces, held Egypt as if it were a kingdom won by the spear. Seeing that Phoenicia and the region called Coele-Syria were advantageously situated with respect to Egypt, he applied great effort to make himself master of these places.
ἐξαπέστειλεν οὖν τὴν ἱκανὴν δύναμιν καὶ στρατηγόν, ἕνα τῶν φίλων προχειρισάμενος, Νικάνορα. οὗτος δὲ στρατεύσας εἰς τὴν Συρίαν Λαομέδοντα μὲν τὸν σατράπην ἐζώγρησε, τὴν δὲ Συρίαν ἅπασαν ἐχειρώσατο. ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τὰς κατὰ τὴν Φοινίκην πόλεις προσαγαγόμενος καὶ ποιήσας ἐμφρούρους ἐπανῆλθεν εἰς τὴν Αἴγυπτον, σύντομον τὴν στρατείαν καὶ πρακτικὴν πεποιημένος.3
He therefore dispatched a sufficient force and a general, having appointed Nicanor, one of his friends. This man, having marched into Syria, captured the satrap Laomedon alive and subdued the whole of Syria. In like manner, having also brought over the cities in Phoenicia and garrisoned them, he returned to Egypt, having made his campaign brief and effective.
- 18.43.1ἀποτετριμμένος
Although it is a perfect passive participle, it functions transitively here, taking τόν τε Περδίκκαν καὶ τὰς βασιλικὰς δυνάμεις ("both Perdiccas and the royal forces") as its direct object. It is interpreted as having a middle or active force.
- 18.43.1εὐφυῶς κειμένας κατὰ τῆς Αἰγύπτου
The participle κειμένας (from κεῖμαι, "to be situated") acts as a predicative participle of object with ὁρῶν ("seeing"), forming the construction "seeing that Phoenicia and Coele-Syria were situated...". The preposition κατά with the genitive τῆς Αἰγύπτου indicates geographical or strategic relation ("with respect to Egypt" or "facing Egypt").
- 18.43.2σύντομον τὴν στρατείαν καὶ πρακτικὴν πεποιημένος
The perfect middle participle πεποιημένος expresses an attendant circumstance to the main verb ἐπανῆλθεν. The adjectives σύντομον ("brief") and πρακτικήν ("effective") are in the predicative position without the article, serving as predicate accusatives to the object τὴν στρατείαν, meaning "having made the campaign brief and effective."