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Bibliotheca Historica

§18.9.1-18.9.5

Athenian War Preparations and Leosthenes' Mercenaries

Taking advantage of Alexander's death, the Athenians sought to regain hegemony, secretly tasking Leosthenes with enlisting mercenaries using Harpalus' funds. Once the king's death was confirmed, Athens openly prepared for war and secured alliances with neighboring regions.

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§18.9.1

εὔθετον,1 ὃν ἡ τύχη ταχέως αὐτοῖς παρεσκεύασε· μετʼ ὀλίγον γὰρ τελευτήσαντος Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ τῆς βασιλείας υἱοὺς διαδόχους οὐκ ἔχοντος ἐτόλμησαν ἀντιλαβέσθαι τῆς ἐλευθερίας καὶ τῆς κοινῆς τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἡγεμονίας. ἀφορμὰς δὲ ἔσχον εἰς τὸν πόλεμον τό τε πλῆθος τῶν καταλειφθέντων ὑφʼ Ἁρπάλου χρημάτων, περὶ ὧν τὰ κατὰ μέρος ἐν τῇ πρὸ ταύτης βύβλῳ διήλθομεν, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τοὺς κατὰ τὴν Ἀσίαν ἀμίσθους γενομένους ὑπὸ τῶν σατραπῶν μισθοφόρους, ὄντας μὲν ὀκτακισχιλίους, διατρίβοντας δὲ περὶ Ταίναρον τῆς Πελοποννήσου.

​an opportune [moment], which fortune quickly provided for them; for when a short time later Alexander died and the kingdom had no sons as successors, they dared to lay hold of their freedom and the common hegemony of the Greeks. And they had as resources for the war both the large amount of money left by Harpalus, concerning which we have related the details in the book preceding this, and likewise the mercenaries from Asia who had been discharged without pay by the satraps, who were eight thousand in number and were lingering about Taenarum in the Peloponnese.

§18.9.2

διὸ καὶ τούτους προσέταξαν ἐν ἀπορρήτοις Λεωσθένει τῷ Ἀθηναίῳ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἀναλαβεῖν αὐτοὺς ὡς ἰδιοπραγοῦντα2 χωρὶς τῆς τοῦ δήμου γνώμης, ὅπως ὁ μὲν Ἀντίπατρος ῥᾳθυμότερον διατεθῇ πρὸς τὰς παρασκευὰς, καταφρονῶν τοῦ Λεωσθένους, οἱ δʼ Ἀθηναῖοι σχολὴν λάβωσι καὶ χρόνον προκατασκευάσαι τι τῶν εἰς τὸν πόλεμον χρησίμων.

​Therefore, they also ordered the Athenian Leosthenes, in secret, to enlist them at first as if acting on his own initiative without the authorization of the people, so that Antipater might be more carelessly disposed toward his preparations, despising Leosthenes, while the Athenians might gain leisure and time to prepare beforehand some of the things useful for the war.

§18.9.3

διὸ καὶ Λεωσθένης μετὰ πολλῆς ἡσυχίας μισθωσάμενος τοὺς προειρημένους παραδόξως ἑτοίμην ἔσχε πρὸς τὰς πράξεις ἀξιόλογον δύναμιν· ἐστρατευμένοι γὰρ κατὰ τὴν Ἀσίαν πολὺν χρόνον καὶ πολλῶν καὶ μεγάλων ἀγώνων μετεσχηκότες ἀθληταὶ τῶν κατὰ πόλεμον ἔργων ἐγεγένηντο.

​Consequently, Leosthenes, having hired the aforementioned men with great secrecy, unexpectedly had a significant force ready for action; for since they had campaigned in Asia for a long time and had taken part in many great contests, they had become skilled athletes in the works of war.

§18.9.4

ταῦτα μὲν οὖν οὕτως ἐπράττετο μήπω καλῶς ἐγνωσμένης τῆς Ἀλεξάνδρου τελευτῆς· ἐπεὶ δέ τινες ἐκ Βαβυλῶνος ἧκον αὐτόπται γεγονότες τῆς τοῦ βασιλέως μεταλλαγῆς, τότε φανερῶς ὁ δῆμος ἀπεκαλύψατο πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον καὶ τῶν μὲν Ἁρπάλου χρημάτων μέρος ἐξέπεμψε τῷ Λεωσθένει καὶ πανοπλίας οὐκ ὀλίγας καὶ παρήγγειλε μηκέτι παρακρύπτειν, ἀλλὰ φανερῶς πράττειν τι τῶν συμφερόντων.

​These things, then, were being done in this way while the death of Alexander was not yet clearly known; but when some came from Babylon who had been eyewitnesses of the king’s demise, then the people openly declared for the war and sent part of the money of Harpalus to Leosthenes along with not a few suits of armor, and ordered him no longer to act in secret, but openly to do what was advantageous.

§18.9.5

ὁ δὲ διαδοὺς τοῖς μισθοφόροις τὰς συντάξεις καὶ καθοπλίσας τοὺς ἀνόπλους παρῆλθεν εἰς Αἰτωλίαν, συνθησόμενος κοινοπραγίαν. ἀσμένως δὲ τῶν Αἰτωλῶν συνυπακουσάντων καὶ διδόντων αὐτῷ στρατιώτας ἑπτακισχιλίους ὁ μὲν Λεωσθένης διαπεμπόμενος πρός τε τοὺς Λοκροὺς καὶ Φωκεῖς καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους τοὺς πλησιοχώρους παρεκάλει τῆς αὐτονομίας ἀντέχεσθαι καὶ τῆς τῶν Μακεδόνων δεσποτείας3

​He, having distributed the pay to the mercenaries and armed those who were unarmed, went into Aetolia to conclude an alliance for common action. When the Aetolians gladly acceded and gave him seven thousand soldiers, Leosthenes, sending messengers to the Locrians, Phocians, and the other neighboring peoples, exhorted them to cling to their autonomy and from the despotism of the Macedonians...

Syntax notes3 items
  1. 18.9.1εὔθετον

    This adjective (accusative masculine singular) modifies the noun καιρὸν (accusative) at the end of the previous chapter (§18.8.7). This is an extreme case of hyperbaton spanning across chapter divisions.

  2. 18.9.2ὡς ἰδιοπραγοῦντα

    Although the dative Λεωσθένει is the indirect object of προσέταξαν, the subject of the following infinitive ἀναλαβεῖν is treated as accusative, and thus the participle ἰδιοπραγοῦντα is in the accusative. ὡς is used to express a subjective pretext ("under the guise of acting on his own").

  3. 18.9.5δεσποτείας

    Although this chunk ends abruptly here, the genitive δεσποτείας (from the despotism) is governed by the infinitive ἐλευθερῶσαι (to free), which appears at the beginning of the subsequent chunk.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (2, latest 2026-06-02)
  • 2026-06-02 Reader report (fixed by a curator) — source 2
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc6:18.9.1-18.9.5