- 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-grc6:19.49.1-19.49.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
Cassander continues the siege of Pydna through the winter, causing the besieged forces of Olympias to suffer from extreme starvation, leading to mass deaths and cannibalism.
ἡμεῖς δὲ διεληλυθότες τὰ κατὰ τὴν Ἀσίαν πραχθέντα μεταβιβάσομεν τὸν λόγον ἐπὶ τὴν Εὐρώπην καὶ τὰ συνεχῆ τῶν προειρημένων διέξιμεν. ὁ γὰρ Κάσανδρος εἰς Πύδναν τῆς Μακεδονίας συγκεκλεικὼς Ὀλυμπιάδα προσβολὰς μὲν τοῖς τείχεσιν ἠδυνάτει ποιεῖσθαι διὰ τοὺς χειμῶνας, περιστρατοπεδεύσας δὲ τὴν πόλιν καὶ χάρακα βαλόμενος ἀπὸ θαλάσσης εἰς θάλασσαν, ἔτι δὲ ἐφορμῶν τῷ λιμένι πάντα βουλόμενον ἐπικουρῆσαι διεκώλυεν.1
Having gone through what was done in Asia, we shall shift our narrative to Europe and detail the events subsequent to those previously mentioned. For Cassander, having shut up Olympias in Pydna of Macedonia, was unable to make assaults on the walls because of the winter, but having besieged the city and thrown up a stockade from sea to sea, and further blockading the harbor, he prevented anyone wishing to bring help.
ταχὺ δὲ τῶν ἐπιτηδείων ἐξαναλωθέντων τοσαύτην περὶ τοὺς ἔνδον κατεσκεύασεν ἔνδειαν ὥστʼ ἐκλυθῆναι τὸ παράπαν·2 εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ ἦλθον ἀνάγκης ὥστε3 τῷ μὲν στρατιώτῃ σιτομετρεῖν χοίνικας πέντε τοῦ μηνός, τοῖς δʼ ἐλέφασι τοῖς κατακλεισθεῖσι διδόναι πρίοντας τὰς δοκούς,4 τὰ δʼ ὑποζύγια καὶ τοὺς ἵππους κατακόψαι πρὸς διατροφήν.
And when the provisions were quickly consumed, he caused so great a shortage among those inside that they were completely exhausted; for they came to such a degree of necessity that they measured out five choenices of grain per month to each soldier, and to the elephants that were shut up they gave sawed beams, and they slaughtered the beasts of burden and the horses for food.
τοιαύτης δὲ περιστάσεως κατεχούσης τὴν πόλιν καὶ τῆς Ὀλυμπιάδος ἔτι προσανεχούσης ταῖς ἔξωθεν ἐλπίσιν οἱ μὲν ἐλέφαντες ὑπὸ τῆς ἐνδείας διεφθάρησαν, τῶν δʼ ἱππέων οἱ μὲν ἔξω τάξεως ὄντες5 οὐ σιτομετρούμενοι τὸ παράπαν σχεδὸν ἅπαντες ἐτελεύτησαν, οὐκ ὀλίγοι δὲ καὶ τῶν στρατιωτῶν τῆς ὁμοίας καταστροφῆς ἔτυχον.
While such a plight held the city and Olympias still clung to hopes from without, the elephants perished from the shortage, and of the cavalry, those who were outside the ranks and not rationed at all almost all died, and not a few of the soldiers also met with the same fate.
ἔνιοι δὲ τῶν βαρβάρων, τῆς φύσεως κατισχυούσης τὴν εὐλάβειαν,6 ἐσαρκοφάγουν ἀναλεγόμενοι τὰ σώματα τῶν ἀποθνησκόντων. ταχὺ δὲ τῆς πόλεως πληρουμένης νεκρῶν οἱ προεστηκότες τοῦ περὶ τὴν βασίλισσαν συστήματος τὰ μὲν κατώρυττον τῶν σωμάτων, τὰ δʼ ὑπὲρ τῶν τειχῶν ἐξερρίπτουν, ὥστʼ εἶναι καὶ τὴν θέαν τὴν τούτων ἀπεχθῆ καὶ τὴν δυσωδίαν ἀνυπομένητον μὴ μόνον γυναιξὶ βασιλίσσαις καὶ τρυφῆς οἰκείαις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν στρατιωτῶν τοῖς εἰωθόσι κακοπαθεῖν.
And some of the barbarians, their nature overcoming their religious scrupulousness, ate human flesh, gathering the bodies of those who died. And as the city quickly became full of corpses, those who were at the head of the queen’s entourage buried some of the bodies and threw others over the walls, so that both the sight of them was loathsome and the stench unbearable, not only for royal women accustomed to luxury, but even for those of the soldiers who were used to suffering hardships.
- 19.49.1προσβολὰς μὲν τοῖς τείχεσιν ἠδυνάτει ποιεῖσθαι ... περιστρατοπεδεύσας δὲ ... διεκώλυεν
The structure of μὲν...δὲ... with Cassander (ὁ Κάσανδρος) as the common subject. It contrasts the fact that he was unable to make assaults because of winter (the μὲν clause) with the fact that he blockaded the city and prevented any rescue (the δὲ clause).
- 19.49.2τοσαύτην ... ὥστʼ ἐκλυθῆναι τὸ παράπαν
A ὥστε clause correlating with the demonstrative τοσαύτην (so great). The subject of the infinitive ἐκλυθῆναι (to be completely exhausted) is to be understood as τοὺς ἔνδον (those inside) from the preceding phrase.
- 19.49.2εἰς τοῦτο ... ἀνάγκης ὥστε
τοῦτο is accompanied by the partitive genitive ἀνάγκης (necessity, distress), meaning 'to such a degree of necessity.' The subsequent ὥστε clause expresses the result, with the logical subject of the infinitives σιτομετρεῖν, διδόναι, and κατακόψαι being the besieged party.
- 19.49.2πρίοντας τὰς δοκούς
πρίοντας is an active present participle in the accusative masculine plural, denoting the subjects who saw the beams (or an accusative subject of the action). It indicates that they fed the elephants not with the intact beams, but with 'sawed beams' (i.e., sawdust or wood shavings produced by sawing them).
- 19.49.3τῶν δʼ ἱππέων οἱ μὲν ἔξω τάξεως ὄντες
ἔξω τάξεως ὄντες literally means 'those being outside the ranks.' It refers to those who had been excluded from the regular units or the rationing system.
- 19.49.4τῆς φύσεως κατισχυούσης τὴν εὐλάβειαν
A genitive absolute construction. It describes an extreme state in which φύσις (human nature, physical instinct for survival) overcame (κατισχυούσης) εὐλάβειαν (religious or moral scrupulousness/dread regarding corpses).
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — note 1