- 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-grc6:19.40.1-19.40.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
The detailed battle array and the sizes of the forces of both Antigonus and Eumenes are described. Antigonus posted his elite troops on the right wing with elephants in front, while Eumenes countered by placing his best forces on his left wing, instructing his weaker right wing to avoid direct engagement.
Ἀντίγονος μὲν οὖν τοὺς ἱππεῖς ἐπὶ τὰ κέρατα διελόμενος τὸ μὲν εὐώνυμον μέρος Πίθωνι παρέδωκε, τὸ δὲ δεξιὸν τῷ υἱῷ Δημητρίῳ, μεθʼ οὗ καὶ αὐτὸς διαγωνίζεσθαι διεγνώκει· τοὺς δὲ πεζοὺς εἰς μέσον καταστήσας παρέταξε παρʼ ὅλην τὴν δύναμιν1 τοὺς ἐλέφαντας, πληρώσας τὰ διαστήματα τοῖς ψιλικοῖς τάγμασιν. ὁ δὲ πᾶς ἀριθμὸς ἦν αὐτοῦ τῆς δυνάμεως πεζοὶ μὲν δισμύριοι δισχίλιοι, ἱππεῖς δʼ ἐννακισχίλιοι σὺν τοῖς ἐκ Μηδίας προσκαταγραφεῖσι, θηρία δὲ ἑξήκοντα καὶ πέντε.
Antigonus, then, having divided his cavalry between the wings, assigned the left wing to Pithon, and the right to his son Demetrius, with whom he himself had decided to fight; and having stationed his infantry in the center, he drew up the elephants along his entire front, filling the intervals with the light-armed detachments. The total number of his force was twenty-two thousand infantry, nine thousand cavalry including those newly enrolled from Media, and sixty-five beasts.
ὁ δʼ Εὐμενὴς πυθόμενος τὸν Ἀντίγονον ἐπὶ τοῦ δεξιοῦ κέρατος τετάχθαι μετὰ τῶν ἀρίστων ἱππέων, καὶ αὐτὸς ἀντετάξατο, ἐπὶ τὸ λαιὸν κέρας2 ἐπιστήσας τοὺς ἀρίστους· καὶ γὰρ τῶν σατραπῶν τοὺς πλείστους ἐνταῦθα κατέστησεν μετὰ τῶν συναγωνιζομένων αὐτοῖς ἱππέων ἐπιλέκτων καὶ αὐτὸς μετὰ τούτων ἔμελλε κινδυνεύειν· συνῆν δʼ αὐτοῖς καὶ Μιθριδάτης ὁ Ἀριοβαρζάνου μὲν υἱός, ἀπόγονος δʼ ἑνὸς τῶν ἑπτὰ Περσῶν τῶν συγκαθελόντων τὸν μάγον Σμέρδιν, ἀνὴρ ἀνδρείᾳ διαφέρων καὶ τεθραμμένος ἐκ παιδὸς στρατιωτικῶς.
But Eumenes, having learned that Antigonus was stationed on the right wing with his best cavalry, himself drew up opposite him, stationing his own best men on the left wing; for he placed there most of the satraps with the elite cavalry fighting with them, and he himself intended to face the danger with these. With them was also Mithridates, the son of Ariobarzanes and a descendant of one of the seven Persians who had overthrown Smerdis the Magian, a man outstanding in courage and trained from boyhood in military life.
πρὸ δὲ τοῦ κέρατος παντὸς ἔταξεν ἐν ἐπικαμπίῳ3 τοὺς κρατίστους τῶν ἐλεφάντων ἑξήκοντα καὶ τὰ διαστήματα τοῖς ψιλοῖς διέλαβε τάγμασι. τῶν δὲ πεζῶν πρώτους μὲν ἔταξε τοὺς ὑπασπιστάς, εἶτα τοὺς ἀργυράσπιδας, ἐπὶ πᾶσι δὲ τοὺς ξένους καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τοὺς εἰς τὰ Μακεδονικὰ καθωπλισμένους, καὶ πρὸ τούτων ἐλέφαντας καὶ τῶν ψιλῶν τοὺς ἱκανούς.
In front of this entire wing, he stationed sixty of his strongest elephants in an angled line, and filled the intervals with the light-armed detachments. Of the infantry, he stationed the hypaspists first, then the Silver Shields, and behind them all the mercenaries and those of the others who were armed in Macedonian fashion, and in front of these he placed elephants and a sufficient number of the light-armed.
ἐπὶ δὲ τὸ δεξιὸν κέρας τάξας τῶν ἱππέων καὶ τῶν ἐλεφάντων τοὺς ἀσθενεστέρους ἀπέδειξεν ἡγεμόνα τῶν πάντων Φίλιππον· τούτῳ δὲ διεκελεύσατο φυγομαχεῖν4 καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ θατέρου μέρους κρίσιν ἀποθεωρεῖν. οἱ δὲ σύμπαντες ἦσαν μετʼ Εὐμενοῦς κατὰ τοῦτον τὸν καιρὸν πεζοὶ μὲν τρισμύριοι ἑξακισχίλιοι ἑπτακόσιοι, ἱππεῖς δὲ ἑξακισχίλιοι, ἐλέφαντες δὲ ἑκατὸν τεσσαρεσκαίδεκα.
On the right wing, having stationed the weaker of his cavalry and elephants, he appointed Philip commander of them all; and he instructed him to avoid battle and to watch the decision of the conflict from the other side. The total forces with Eumenes at this time were thirty-six thousand seven hundred infantry, six thousand cavalry, and one hundred and fourteen elephants.
- 19.40.1παρʼ ὅλην τὴν δύναμιν
The preposition παρά with the accusative expresses spatial extension, meaning 'along' or 'across the entire front of'. It indicates that the elephants were drawn up in a line covering the entire front of the infantry forces.
- 19.40.2ἐπὶ τὸ λαιὸν κέρας
The adjective λαιός ('left') is a poetic and elevated synonym for ἀριστερός, frequently preferred by Hellenistic and later prose writers like Diodorus. It reflects a mirror-image deployment: since Antigonus took his position on his own right wing (δεξιόν), Eumenes stationed his best troops on his own left wing (λαιόν) to directly confront him.
- 19.40.3ἐν ἐπικαμπίῳ
A military technical term meaning 'in an angled line' or 'at an angle' (en potence). Rather than drawing up the elephants in a straight line, they were placed in a formation with the flank curved or bent back to prevent envelopment or to flank the enemy's advance.
- 19.40.4φυγομαχεῖν
A verb meaning 'to avoid battle' or 'to decline active engagement'. It indicates Eumenes' tactical instruction to Philip on the weaker right wing to merely contain the enemy and delay action, while observing and waiting for the decisive result (κρίσιν) to be achieved by Eumenes' own elite forces on the left.