- 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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- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc6:18.71.1-18.71.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
After Polyperchon withdraws at night, he attempts to capture the city the next day using elephants. However, the Megalopolitan commander Damis sets a trap with spiked doors, which immobilizes the elephants and inflicts heavy casualties on the Macedonian forces.
πολλῶν δὲ πιπτόντων παρʼ ἀμφοτέροις καὶ κατατραυματιζομένων καὶ τῆς νυκτὸς περικαταλαβούσης ὁ μὲν Πολυπέρχων ἀνακαλεσάμενος τῇ σάλπιγγι τοὺς στρατιώτας ἐπανῆλθεν ἐπὶ τὴν ἰδίαν στρατοπεδείαν.
Since many were falling and being wounded on both sides, and night had overtaken them, Polyperchon recalled his soldiers by the trumpet and returned to his own camp.
τῇ δʼ ὑστεραίᾳ τὸν τοῦ πτώματος τόπον ἀνακαθάρας ἐποίησε βάσιμον τοῖς θηρίοις καὶ διενοεῖτο χρήσασθαι ταῖς τούτων ῥώμαις πρὸς τὴν ἅλωσιν τῆς πόλεως. οἱ δὲ Μεγαλοπολῖται Δάμιδος ἡγουμένου καὶ τούτου γεγονότος1 κατὰ τὴν Ἀσίαν μετʼ Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ περὶ τὰς φύσεις καὶ χρείας τῶν ἐλεφάντων ἐμπειρίαν ἔχοντος οὐ μετρίως προετέρησαν.
On the next day, having cleared the place of the breach, he made it passable for the beasts, and intended to use their strength for the capture of the city. But the Megalopolitans, under the leadership of Damis—who had been in Asia with Alexander and had experience of the natures and uses of elephants—gained a significant advantage.
οὗτος γὰρ τὴν ἰδίαν ἐπίνοιαν ἀντίταγμα τῇ τῶν θηρίων βίᾳ2 κατασκευάσας ἀχρήστους ἐποίησε τὰς τῶν σωμάτων ῥώμας. θύρας γὰρ μεγάλας πλείονας ἥλοις ὀξέσι καταπυκνώσας καὶ ταύτας ἐν ὀρύγμασι ταπεινοῖς καταστρώσας καὶ τὰς ἐξοχὰς τῶν κέντρων ἐπικρυψάμενος κατέλιπε διὰ τούτων δίοδον εἰς τὴν πόλιν καὶ κατὰ μέτωπον μὲν οὐδένα τῶν στρατιωτῶν ἔστησεν, ἐκ δὲ τῶν πλαγίων ἔταξε πλῆθος ἀκοντιστῶν καὶ τοξοτῶν καὶ τῶν καταπελτικῶν βελῶν.
For he constructed his own device as a counter-measure against the violence of the beasts, and rendered the strength of their bodies useless. He studded many large doors with sharp nails, laid them down in shallow trenches, and, having concealed the protruding spikes, left a passage through them into the city; and while he stationed none of his soldiers in front, he posted on the flanks a multitude of javelin-throwers, archers, and catapult missiles.
τοῦ δὲ Πολυπέρχοντος ἀνακαθαίροντος πάντα τὸν τόπον τοῦ πτώματος καὶ τοῖς θηρίοις ἀθρόοις διὰ τούτου τὴν ἔφοδον ποιουμένου παράδοξος ἐγένετο πρᾶξις περὶ τοὺς ἐλέφαντας. οὐδενὸς γὰρ ἀπαντῶντος κατὰ στόμα τοῖς θηρίοις οἱ μὲν Ἰνδοὶ συνηνάγκαζον εἰσπίπτειν εἰς τὴν πόλιν, οἱ δʼ ἐλέφαντες τῇ ῥύμῃ προπίπτοντες ἐνέπιπτον εἰς τὰς κατακεκεντρωμένας θύρας.
When Polyperchon cleared the entire area of the breach and made the assault through it with the beasts in a body, an unexpected event occurred regarding the elephants. For since no one opposed the beasts face to face, the Indians forced them to rush into the city, and the elephants, plunging forward with momentum, fell upon the spiked doors.
τραυματιζόμενοι δὲ τοὺς πόδας3 ὑπὸ τῶν ἥλων καὶ διὰ τὸ βάρος περιπειρόμενοι τοῖς κέντροις οὔτε προϊέναι πορρώτερον οὔτε ἀναστρέφειν διὰ τὴν δυσκινησίαν ἠδύναντο. ἅμα δὲ καὶ βελῶν παντοδαπῶν ἐκ πλαγίων φερομένων οἱ μὲν ἀπέθνησκον τῶν Ἰνδῶν, οἱ δὲ κατατραυματιζόμενοι τῆς ἐνδεχομένης χρείας ὑστεροῦντο.
Wounded in their feet by the nails and impaled on the spikes because of their weight, they could neither advance further nor turn back because of their inability to move. At the same time, as missiles of all kinds were flying from the flanks, some of the Indians were killed, while others, being severely wounded, failed in their expected service.
τὰ δὲ θηρία διά τε τὸ πλῆθος τῶν βελῶν καὶ τὴν ἰδιότητα τῆς τῶν ἥλων πληγῆς περιώδυνα γινόμενα τὴν διὰ τῶν φίλων ἐπιστροφὴν ἐποιοῦντο καὶ πολλοὺς αὐτῶν κατεπάτουν. τέλος δὲ τὸ μὲν ἀνδρειότατον αὐτῶν καὶ πλείστην ἔχον κατάπληξιν ἔπεσε, τῶν δὲ ἄλλων τὰ μὲν ἄχρηστα παντελῶς ἐγένετο, τὰ δὲ πολλοῖς τῶν ἰδίων θάνατον ἐπήνεγκεν.
The beasts, becoming frantic with pain because of the multitude of missiles and the peculiar nature of the wounds from the nails, turned back through their own friends and trampled many of them. Finally, the bravest of them, which inspired the greatest terror, fell, and of the rest, some became entirely useless and others brought death to many of their own men.
- 18.71.2Δάμιδος ἡγουμένου καὶ τούτου γεγονότος
Following the genitive absolute Δάμιδος ἡγουμένου ('under the leadership of Damis'), τούτου γεγονότος is also a genitive absolute construction (perfect participle), where τούτου refers to Δάμιδος as a demonstrative pronoun. Furthermore, ἐμπειρίαν ἔχοντος is a genitive present participle agreeing with the subject of these phrases, describing Damis's past background and expertise.
- 18.71.3ἀντίταγμα τῇ τῶν θηρίων βίᾳ
The accusative noun ἀντίταγμα ('counter-measure') functions as an appositive (or object complement) showing the result or purpose of τὴν ἰδίαν ἐπίνοιαν ('his own device'), which is the direct object of the participle κατασκευάσας.
- 18.71.5τραυματιζόμενοι δὲ τοὺς πόδας
τοὺς πόδας is an accusative of specification (or accusative of respect) with the passive participle τραυματιζόμενοι, specifying that the elephants were wounded 'in their feet.'