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Bibliotheca Historica

§19.103.1-19.103.5

Deinocrates' Failed Uprising and the Carthaginian Raid

Deinocrates appeals to the Carthaginians and attempts to capture Centuripae, but fails. Meanwhile, the Carthaginian fleet attacks the Great Harbor of Syracuse and commits atrocities, but immediately suffers divine retribution as some of their ships are captured by Agathocles' generals.

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§19.103.1

ἅμα δὲ τούτοις πρασσομένοις Δεινοκράτης ὁ τῶν Συρακοσίων φυγάδων ἡγούμενος πρὸς μὲν τοὺς Καρχηδονίους διεπέμπετο, βοηθεῖν ἀξιῶν πρὶν ἢ τὸν Ἀγαθοκλέα πᾶσαν ὑφʼ ἑαυτὸν ποιήσασθαι Σικελίαν,1 αὐτὸς δὲ προσδεξάμενος τοὺς ἐκ Μεσσήνης ἐκβεβλημένους φυγάδας, ἔχων ἁδρὰν δύναμιν, ἀπέστειλέν τινα τῶν περὶ αὑτὸν Νυμφόδωρον, δοὺς μέρος τῶν στρατιωτῶν, ἐπὶ τὴν Κεντοριπίνων πόλιν· ταύτην γὰρ φρουρουμένην ὑπʼ Ἀγαθοκλέους τῶν πολιτικῶν τινες ἐπηγγείλαντο παραδώσειν, ἐφʼ ὅτῳ τὴν αὐτονομίαν δοθῆναι τῷ δήμῳ.2 παρεισπεσόντος δʼ εἰς τὴν πόλιν αὐτοῦ νυκτὸς οἱ προεστῶτες τῆς φρουρᾶς αἰσθόμενοι τὸ γεγονὸς αὐτόν τε τὸν Νυμφόδωρον ἀνεῖλον καὶ τοὺς βιαζομένους ἐντὸς τοῦ τείχους.

​While these things were being done, Deinocrates, the leader of the Syracusan exiles, sent messages to the Carthaginians, urging them to bring help before Agathocles should bring all Sicily under his own power, ​and he himself, having received the exiles who had been expelled from Messene and possessing a strong force, sent Nymphodorus, one of his associates, giving him a part of the soldiers, ​against the city of the Centuripini; for certain of the citizens had promised to betray this city, though it was garrisoned by Agathocles, on condition that autonomy should be granted to the people. But when he had slipped into the city by night, the commanders of the garrison, perceiving what had happened, killed both Nymphodorus himself and those who were forcing their way inside the wall.

§19.103.4

ταύτης δὲ τῆς ἀφορμῆς λαβόμενος Ἀγαθοκλῆς ἐνεκάλεσέ τε τοῖς Κεντοριπίνοις καὶ τοὺς δόξαντας αἰτίους γεγονέναι τοῦ νεωτερισμοῦ πάντας ἀπέσφαξε. περὶ ταῦτα δʼ ὄντος τοῦ δυνάστου3 Καρχηδόνιοι καταπλεύσαντες εἰς τὸν μέγαν λιμένα τῶν Συρακοσίων πεντήκοντα σκάφεσιν ἄλλο μὲν οὐδὲν ἠδυνήθησαν πρᾶξαι, δυσὶ δὲ περιπεσόντες φορτηγοῖς πλοίοις τὴν μὲν ἐξ Ἀθηνῶν κατέδυσαν, τῶν δʼ ἐπιπλεόντων τὰς χεῖρας ἀπέκοψαν.

​Seizing upon this pretext, Agathocles brought charges against the Centuripini and slaughtered all who were thought to have been responsible for the revolution. While the ruler was occupied with these matters, the Carthaginians, having sailed into the Great Harbor of the Syracusans with fifty ships, were unable to accomplish anything else, but falling in with two merchant vessels, they sank the one from Athens and cut off the hands of those on board.

§19.103.5

δοξάντων δʼ αὐτῶν ὠμῶς κεχρῆσθαι μηδʼ ὁτιοῦν ἀδικοῦσι4 ταχὺ τὸ δαιμόνιον αὐτοῖς ἐπεσήμαινεν· εὐθὺ γὰρ τοῦ στόλου τινὲς νῆες ἀποσχισθεῖσαι περὶ τὴν Βρεττίαν ἑάλωσαν ὑπὸ τῶν Ἀγαθοκλέους στρατηγῶν καὶ τὸ παραπλήσιον οἱ ζωγρηθέντες τῶν Φοινίκων ἔπαθον οἷς ἔπραξαν εἰς τοὺς ἁλόντας.

​Because they were thought to have behaved cruelly toward those who had done no wrong, the divine power quickly showed its sign to them; for immediately some ships of their fleet, having been separated near Brettium, were captured by the generals of Agathocles, and the Phoenicians who were taken alive suffered the same treatment that they had inflicted upon those they had captured.

Syntax notes4 items
  1. 19.103.1πρὶν ἢ τὸν Ἀγαθοκλέα πᾶσαν ὑφʼ ἑαυτὸν ποιήσασθαι Σικελίαν

    The conjunction πρὶν ἤ is followed by an accusative and infinitive construction (the subject accusative τὸν Ἀγαθοκλέα with the aorist middle infinitive ποιήσασθαι) to express 'before Agathocles should bring all Sicily under his own power.' The infinitive is regular here since the main clause (διεπέμπετο) is affirmative.

  2. 19.103.3ἐφʼ ὅτῳ τὴν αὐτονομίαν δοθῆναι τῷ δήμῳ

    The dative neuter singular of the relative pronoun ὅτῳ (= ᾧτινι) with the preposition ἐπί introduces a condition, meaning 'on condition that.' The following passive infinitive δοθῆναι has τὴν αὐτονομίαν as its subject accusative.

  3. 19.103.4περὶ ταῦτα δʼ ὄντος τοῦ δυνάστου

    A genitive absolute construction consisting of the present participle ὄντος (from εἰμί) and its subject noun τοῦ δυνάστου in the genitive. The prepositional phrase περὶ ταῦτα modifies the participle, indicating the temporal background: 'while the ruler was occupied with these matters.'

  4. 19.103.5δοξάντων δʼ αὐτῶν ὠμῶς κεχρῆσθαι μηδʼ ὁτιοῦν ἀδικοῦσι

    A genitive absolute construction (δοξάντων αὐτῶν) containing the perfect infinitive κεχρῆσθαι (from χράομαι, 'to treat/behave toward'), which governs the dative object. The object is the dative plural present participle ἀδικοῦσι ('those doing wrong') with the emphatic negative μηδʼ ὁτιοῦν, meaning 'those who had done no wrong at all.'

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc6:19.103.1-19.103.5