- 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-grc6:19.38.1-19.38.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
Eumenes devises a stratagem of lighting numerous fake campfires on the high ground to stop Peucestas from retreating. Antigonus's army mistakes this for a real enemy assembly, halts its march, and diverts to a roundabout route.
οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν Πευκέστην πυθόμενοι κατὰ μέσην τὴν ὁδὸν ἑωρᾶσθαι τὴν στρατοπεδείαν, διέγνωσαν ἀναχωρεῖν εἰς τοὺς ἐσχάτους τόπους τῆς χειμασίας, φοβούμενοι μὴ καταληφθῶσιν ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων πρὶν ἢ συνελθεῖν πανταχόθεν τὴν συμμαχοῦσαν δύναμιν.
Those with Peucestas, learning that their encampment had been seen in the middle of the road, resolved to retreat to the remotest parts of the winter quarters, fearing that they might be overtaken by the enemy before the allied force could assemble from all sides.
ὧν1 ὁρῶν τὴν ἀθυμίαν Εὐμενὴς θαρρεῖν παρεκελεύετο καὶ μένειν ἐπὶ τῶν ὅρων τῆς ἐρήμου· εὑρηκέναι γὰρ τρόπον2 δι’ οὗ ποιήσει τὸν Ἀντίγονον ὕστερον ἡμέραις τρισὶν ἢ τέτταρσι παραγενέσθαι· τούτου δὲ γενομένου τὴν μὲν ἑαυτῶν δύναμιν ῥᾳδίως ἀθροισθήσεσθαι, τοὺς δὲ πολεμίους καταπεπονημένους καὶ πάντων ἐνδεεῖς ὄντας ὑποχειρίους γενήσεσθαι.
Seeing their dejection, Eumenes urged them to take courage and remain at the borders of the desert; for he said that he had found a way by which he would cause Antigonus to arrive three or four days later. If this happened, he said, their own force would easily be assembled, and the enemy, exhausted and in want of everything, would fall into their hands.
πάντων δὲ θαυμασάντων τὸ παράδοξον τῆς ἐπαγγελίας καὶ ζητούντων μαθεῖν τί ποτʼ ἔσται τὸ δυνάμενον κωλῦσαι προάγειν τοὺς ἐναντίους, προσέταξεν ἀκολουθεῖν ἑαυτῷ πάντας τοὺς ἡγεμόνας μετὰ τῶν ἰδίων στρατιωτῶν, ἔχοντας ἐν ἀγγείοις πλείοσι πῦρ. ἐκλεξάμενος δὲ τῆς μετεώρου χώρας τόπον ἐστραμμένον ἐπὶ τὴν ἔρημον καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἀποθεώρησιν πανταχόθεν εὐφυῆ, σημεῖα θέμενος περιέλαβεν ὡς ἂν3 ἑβδομήκοντα σταδίων περιφέρειαν. διελὼν δὲ τόπους ἑκάστῳ τῶν συνακολουθούντων συνέταξε νυκτὸς πῦρ κάειν διαστάντας ὡς ἂν εἴκοσι πήχεις καὶ κατὰ μὲν τὴν πρώτην φυλακὴν πολλὴν φλόγα ποιεῖν ὡς ἂν ἐγρηγορότων ἔτι καὶ πρὸς θεραπείαν καὶ δεῖπνον παρασκευαζομένων, τῆς δὲ δευτέρας4 ἐλάττω, καὶ τῆς τρίτης ἀπολιπεῖν ὀλίγα παντελῶς ὥστε δοκεῖν εἶναι τοῖς ἐξ ἀποστήματος θεωροῦσιν ἀληθινὴν στρατοπεδείαν.
When everyone wondered at the unexpectedness of this promise and sought to learn what it could possibly be that was capable of preventing the enemy from advancing, he ordered all the commanders to follow him with their own soldiers, carrying fire in several vessels. Having selected a place in the high country that faced the desert and was naturally well-suited for observation from all sides, he set up markers and enclosed a circumference of about seventy stades. Distributing the places to each of those who followed him, he ordered them to burn fires at night, standing at intervals of about twenty cubits; and during the first watch, to make a great flame as if they were still awake and preparing for attendance and dinner, but during the second watch, a smaller one, and during the third, to leave completely a few so as to make it appear to those observing from a distance that it was a real encampment.
τῶν δὲ στρατιωτῶν ποιησάντων τὸ προσταχθὲν κατενόησάν τινες τὰ πυρὰ τῶν νεμομένων μὲν τὴν ἀπεναντίον ὀρεινήν, φίλων δʼ ὄντων Πίθωνι τῷ Μηδίας σατράπῃ. δόξαντες δὲ πρὸς ἀλήθειαν εἶναι στρατοπεδείαν, καταδραμόντες εἰς τὸ πεδίον ἀπήγγειλαν τοῖς περὶ τὸν Ἀντίγονον καὶ Πίθωνα.
When the soldiers did as they were ordered, some of those who pastured their flocks in the opposite mountainous country and were friendly to Pithon, the satrap of Media, noticed the fires. Thinking that it was indeed an encampment, they ran down into the plain and reported it to those with Antigonus and Pithon.
οἱ δὲ διὰ τὸ παράδοξον καταπλαγέντες καὶ τῆς ὁδοιπορίας ἐπισχόντες ἐβουλεύοντο πῶς χρηστέον τοῖς προσηγγελμένοις· ἦν γὰρ ἐπικίνδυνον τὸ πεπονηκότας καὶ πάντων ἐνδεεῖς συνηγμένοις ἤδη τοῖς πολεμίοις καὶ πάντων εὐποροῦσι συμβαλεῖν.5
They, struck with dismay by the unexpected news, halted their march and consulted how to deal with the reported situation; for it was dangerous for those who were exhausted and in want of everything to engage with an enemy already assembled and in abundance of everything.
ὑπολαβόντες δὲ προδοσίαν γεγενῆσθαι καὶ προακηκοότας τὸ μέλλον τοὺς πολεμίους ἠθροῖσθαι, τὸ μὲν ἐπʼ εὐθείας προάγειν ἀπέγνωσαν, εἰς δεξιὰ δὲ κλίναντες προῆγον ἐφʼ ἑκάτερα μέρη τῆς οἰκουμένης χώρας, βουλόμενοι τὴν δύναμιν ἐκ τῆς κακοπαθίας ἀναλαβεῖν.
Supposing that treachery had occurred and that the enemy, having heard in advance what was to happen, had assembled, they gave up advancing straight ahead, but turning to the right, they proceeded toward the various parts of the inhabited country, wishing to recover their force from its hardships.
- 19.38.2ὧν
The relative pronoun is used as a connective at the beginning of the sentence, referring back to 'those with Peucestas' (who were planning a retreat) in §19.38.1. Functionally, it is a genitive modifying the following noun τὴν ἀθυμίαν ('their dejection').
- 19.38.2εὑρηκέναι γὰρ τρόπον
The perfect infinitive represents indirect speech. It continues the narrative from the main verb παρεκελεύεतो, or implies an omitted verb of saying (like ἔφη), expressing Eumenes' own claim: 'for he said that he had found a way'.
- 19.38.3ὡς ἂν
An idiom used three times in this section (ὡς ἂν ἑβδομήκοντα, ὡς ἂν εἴκοσι, ὡς ἂν ἐγρηγορότων). Before numerals, it indicates an approximation ('about, approximately'), whereas before a participle, it strengthens the hypothetical or comparative sense ('as if', 'as though').
- 19.38.3τῆς δὲ δευτέρας
The genitives τῆς δευτέρας and the subsequent τῆς τρίτης correspond to the preceding accusative phrase τὴν πρώτην φυλακήν. They function as genitives of time (or imply the omitted noun φυλακῆς 'watch'), meaning 'during the second watch' and 'during the third watch'.
- 19.38.5τὸ πεπονηκότας καὶ πάντων ἐνδεεῖς συνηγμένοις ἤδη τοῖς πολεμίοις καὶ πάντων εὐποροῦσι συμβαλεῖν
The articular infinitive τὸ ... συμβαλεῖν forms the subject of the impersonal phrase ἦν ἐπικίνδυνον ('it was dangerous'). The implied subject of the infinitive (their own troops) is in the accusative plural (πεπονηκότας and ἐνδεεῖς), whereas the enemy with whom they would engage is in the dative case required by συμβάλλω (τοῖς πολεμίοις with its agreeing dative participles συνηγμένοις and εὐποροῦσι).