- 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-grc6:19.36.1-19.36.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
Cassander besieges Pydna by land and sea to isolate Olympias. The relief force led by Aeacides of Epeirus collapses due to a mutiny, and Polyperchon's army is weakened by bribery.
ὃς1 τότε διελθὼν τὰ κατὰ Περραιβίαν στενὰ καὶ παραγενόμενος πλησίον τῆς Πύδνης τὴν μὲν πόλιν περιεχαράκωσεν ἐκ θαλάττης εἰς θάλατταν, παρὰ δὲ τῶν συμμαχεῖν βουλομένων μετεπέμπετο ναῦς καὶ βέλη παντοδαπὰ καὶ μηχανάς, διανοούμενος πολιορκεῖν τοὺς μετʼ Ὀλυμπιάδος καὶ κατὰ γῆν καὶ κατὰ θάλασσαν.
He [Cassander], having then passed through the passes around Perrhaebia and arrived near Pydna, walled the city off with a palisade from sea to sea, and summoned ships, missiles of all kinds, and engines of war from those who wished to be his allies, intending to besiege those with Olympias both by land and by sea.
πυθόμενος δʼ Αἰακίδην τὸν Ἠπειρωτῶν βασιλέα μετὰ δυνάμεως μέλλειν βοηθήσειν Ὀλυμπιάδι, στρατηγὸν ἐξέπεμψεν Ἀταρρίαν, δοὺς στρατόπεδον καὶ συντάξας ἀπαντᾶν τοῖς Ἠπειρώταις.
And learning that Aeacides, the king of the Epeirots, was about to come to the aid of Olympias with a force, he sent out Atarrias as general, giving him an army and ordering him to meet the Epeirots.
οὗ ταχὺ τὸ προσταχθὲν ποιήσαντος καὶ τὰς ἐξ Ἠπείρου παρόδους προκαταλαβομένου συνέβη τὸν Αἰακίδην ἄπρακτον γενέσθαι. καὶ γὰρ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν Ἠπειρωτῶν ἀκουσίως ἐστράτευσεν ἐπὶ Μακεδονίας καὶ στάσιν ἐποίει κατὰ τὴν παρεμβολήν· ὁ δὲ Αἰακίδης ἐκ παντὸς τρόπου βουλόμενος βοηθεῖν Ὀλυμπιάδι τοὺς μὲν ἀλλοτρίως διακειμένους ἀπέλυσε τῆς στρατείας, τοὺς δὲ συγκινδυνεύειν βουλομένους ἀναλαβὼν προθυμίαν μὲν εἶχε τοῦ διακινδυνεύειν, οὐκ ἀξιόμαχος δʼ ἦν ὡς ἂν ὀλίγου καταλελειμμένου τοῦ περὶ αὐτὸν συστήματος.2
When the latter quickly did what had been commanded and occupied the passes from Epeirus beforehand, it happened that Aeacides was unable to achieve anything. For indeed, the multitude of the Epeirots had marched against Macedonia unwillingly and began to mutiny in the camp; but Aeacides, wishing by all means to help Olympias, dismissed from the campaign those who were ill-disposed, and having taken up those who wished to share the danger, was eager to run the risk, but he was not a match for the enemy, since the force left around him was small.
οἱ δὲ χωρισθέντες τῶν Ἠπειρωτῶν εἰς τὰς πατρίδας κατεστασίασαν ἀπόντα τὸν βασιλέα καὶ κοινῷ δόγματι φυγὴν αὐτοῦ καταγνόντες πρὸς Κάσανδρον ἐποιήσαντο συμμαχίαν. ὅπερ3 οὐδέποτε γενέσθαι συνέβη κατὰ τὴν Ἤπειρον ἀφʼ οὗ Νεοπτόλεμος ὁ Ἀχιλλέως ἐβασίλευσε τῆς χώρας· ἀεὶ γὰρ παῖς παρὰ πατρὸς διαδεχόμενος τὴν δυναστείαν ἐναπέθνησκε ταῖς βασιλείαις μέχρι τῶνδε τῶν καιρῶν.
But those of the Epeirots who had separated themselves, returning to their homelands, rebelled against the absent king, and having condemned him to exile by a common decree, made an alliance with Cassander . This was something that had never happened in Epeirus since Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles, ruled the country; for always, a son succeeding his father in power died while still holding the kingship, until these times.
Κασάνδρου δὲ παραλαβόντος τὴν Ἤπειρον τῇ συμμαχίᾳ καὶ πέμψαντος εἰς αὐτὴν ἐπιμελητὴν ἅμα καὶ στρατηγὸν Λυκίσκον οἱ πρότερον κατὰ Μακεδονίαν διστάζοντες περὶ τῆς συμμαχίας ἀπήλπισαν μὲν τὰ κατʼ Ὀλυμπιάδα πράγματα, τῷ δὲ Κασάνδρῳ προσέθεντο. μιᾶς δʼ οὔσης αὐτῇ βοηθείας τῆς παρὰ Πολυπέρχοντος συνέβη καὶ ταύτην συντριβῆναι παραδόξως·
When Cassander had taken over Epeirus through the alliance and had sent Lyciscus to it as governor and general, those who had previously hesitated in Macedonia concerning the alliance despaired of Olympias’ affairs and sided with Cassander. And while there was only one aid left to her, namely that from Polyperchon, it happened that this also was shattered unexpectedly;
ὁ γὰρ ὑπὸ Κασάνδρου πεμφθεὶς στρατηγὸς Κάλλας ἐπειδὴ πλησίον γενόμενος τοῦ Πολυπέρχοντος κατεστρατοπέδευσεν ἐν τῇ Περραιβίᾳ, διέφθειρε τῶν μετʼ αὐτοῦ στρατιωτῶν τοὺς πλείστους χρήμασιν, ὥστε ὀλίγους τοὺς μάλιστα πιστοὺς ἀπολειφθῆναι. αἱ μὲν οὖν Ὀλυμπιάδος ἐλπίδες ἐν ὀλίγῳ χρόνῳ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον ἐταπεινώθησαν.
for the general Callas sent by Cassander, when he arrived near Polyperchon and encamped in Perrhaebia, corrupted most of his soldiers with money, so that only a few, those who were most faithful, were left. In this manner, therefore, the hopes of Olympias were brought low in a short time.
- 19.36.1ὃς
Nominative relative pronoun used as a relative link at the beginning of the sentence, referring back to Cassander, the main subject of the preceding section.
- 19.36.3ὡς ἂν ὀλίγου καταλελειμμένου τοῦ περὶ αὐτὸν συστήματος
The particle ὡς combined with the genitive absolute (ὀλίγου καταλελειμμένου...) expresses a subjective reason; the addition of ἄν lends a potential or conditional nuance, implying 'as if, as one might expect since the force left was small.'
- 19.36.4ὅπερ
Neuter singular relative pronoun whose antecedent is not a single noun but the entire content of the preceding clause (the Epeirots rebelling against the absent king, exile him, and making an alliance with the enemy).