- 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-grc6:18.67.1-18.67.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
Phocion is condemned to death and executed by drinking hemlock amidst the chaos of the Athenian crowd, and their bodies are cast outside the borders.
βιαζομένου δὲ τοῦ Φωκίωνος καὶ πρὸς περίστασιν ἀπεγνωσμένην ὑπὲρ τοῦ ζῆν ἀγωνιζομένου1 οἱ μὲν πλησίον ὄντες ἤκουον τῶν τῆς ὑποθέσεως δικαίων, οἱ δὲ μακρότερον διεστηκότες διὰ τὸ μέγεθος τῆς κραυγῆς τῶν θορυβούντων ἤκουον μὲν οὐδέν, αὐτὴν δὲ μόνην ἐθεώρουν τὴν τοῦ σώματος κίνησιν, γινομένην ἐναγώνιον καὶ ποικίλην διὰ τὸ μέγεθος τοῦ κινδύνου.
But when Phocion persisted and was struggling for his life against a desperate situation, those who were near heard the justice of his case, but those who stood further away heard nothing because of the loudness of the shouting of those making the disturbance, and they observed only the movement of his body, which became caught in struggle and varied because of the magnitude of the danger.
τέλος δὲ ἀπογνοὺς τὴν σωτηρίαν ὁ Φωκίων ἀνεβόησε, δεόμενος αὐτοῦ μὲν καταψηφίσασθαι τὸν θάνατον, τῶν δʼ ἄλλων φείδεσθαι. ἀμεταθέτου δὲ· τῆς τοῦ πλήθους ὁρμῆς καὶ βίας οὔσης2 παρεπορεύοντό τινες τῶν φίλων συνηγορήσοντες τῷ Φωκίωνι, ὧν τὰς μὲν ἀρχὰς τῶν λόγων ἤκουον, ὁπότε δὲ προβαίνοντες φανεροὶ καθίσταντο τὴν ἀπολογίαν διεξιόντες, ἐξεβάλλοντο τοῖς θορύβοις καὶ ταῖς ἐναντιουμέναις κραυγαῖς.
At last, despairing of safety, Phocion cried out, begging them to condemn himself to death but to spare the others. Although the impulse and violence of the multitude were unalterable, some of his friends came forward to speak in defense of Phocion; at first they heard the beginnings of their speeches, but when they stepped forward and became visible as they went through the defense, they were driven out by the clamor and opposing shouts.
τὸ δʼ ἔσχατον πανδήμῳ φωνῇ καταχειροτονηθέντες εἰς τὸ δεσμωτήριον ἤγοντο τὴν ἐπὶ θανάτῳ. συνηκολούθουν δὲ αὐτοῖς πολλοὶ τῶν σπουδαίων ἀνδρῶν, ὀδυρόμενοι καὶ συμπάσχοντες ἐπὶ τῷ μεγέθει τῶν ἀτυχημάτων·
And finally, having been condemned by a universal vote, they were led away to the prison to suffer death. Many of the good men followed them, weeping and sympathizing with them over the magnitude of their misfortunes;
τὸ γὰρ πρωτεύοντας ἄνδρας ταῖς δόξαις καὶ ταῖς εὐγενείαις, πολλὰ πεπραχότας ἐν τῷ ζῆν φιλάνθρωπα, μήτε λόγου μήτε κρίσεως δικαίας τυγχάνειν3 πολλοὺς ἦγεν εἰς ἐπίστασιν διανοίας καὶ φόβον, ἀστάτου καὶ κοινῆς ἅπασι τῆς τύχης οὔσης.
for the fact that men foremost in reputation and noble birth, who had performed many acts of kindness in their lives, should obtain neither a hearing nor a just trial led many to reflection and fear, since fortune is unstable and common to all.
πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ τῶν δημοτικῶν καὶ πικρῶς διακειμένων πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐλοιδόρουν τε ἀνηλεῶς καὶ πικρῶς ὠνείδιζον αὐτῷ τὰς συμφοράς· τὸ γὰρ ἐν ταῖς εὐτυχίαις σιωπώμενον μῖσος, ὅταν ἐκ μεταβολῆς ἐν ταῖς ἀτυχίαις ἐκραγῇ, ταῖς ὀργαῖς ἀποθηριοῦται πρὸς τοὺς μισουμένους.
And many of the common people and of those bitterly disposed toward him both reviled him mercilessly and bitterly reproached him with his misfortunes; for the hatred that is kept silent in times of prosperity, when it breaks out owing to a change in times of adversity, becomes brutal in its rage against those who are hated.
διὰ δὲ τῆς τοῦ κωνείου πόσεως κατὰ τὸ πάτριον ἔθος τὸν βίον καταλύσαντες ἐρρίφησαν ἄταφοι πάντες ἐκ τῶν τῆς Ἀττικῆς ὅρων. ὁ μὲν οὖν Φωκίων καὶ οἱ μετʼ αὐτοῦ διαβληθέντες τοιαύτην ἔσχον τὴν τοῦ βίου καταστροφήν.
And having ended their lives by drinking hemlock according to ancestral custom, they were all cast out unburied beyond the borders of Attica. Phocion, then, and those accused with him met with such an end to their lives.
- 18.67.1βιαζομένου δὲ τοῦ Φωκίωνος καὶ πρὸς περίστασιν ἀπεγνωσμένην ὑπὲρ τοῦ ζῆν ἀγωνιζομένου
This is a genitive absolute construction, expressing concession or time. The logical subject is different from the subjects of the main clauses.
- 18.67.2ἀμεταθέτου δὲ τῆς τοῦ πλήθους ὁρμῆς καὶ βίας οὔσης
A genitive absolute construction expressing concession or cause. In this context of the friends' defense being rejected, the concessive sense is prominent.
- 18.67.4τὸ γὰρ πρωτεύοντας ἄνδρας ταῖς δόξαις καὶ ταῖς εὐγενείαις ... μήτε λόγου μήτε κρίσεως δικαίας τυγχάνειν
The articular infinitive τὸ ... τυγχάνειν functions as the subject of the main verb ἦγεν. The accusative πρωτεύοντας ἄνδρας is the subject accusative of the infinitive.