- 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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- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc6:19.58.1-19.58.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
Antigonus marches to Phoenicia, besieges Tyre, and orders a large-scale shipbuilding campaign using timber from Lebanon to build up his naval power. Although the appearance of Seleucus's Egyptian fleet causes despondency among his allies, Antigonus reassures them by promising to put to sea with a massive fleet this summer.
ἀπὸ δὲ τούτων γενόμενος1 ἀνέζευξεν ἐπὶ Φοινίκην, σπεύδων ναυτικὴν δύναμιν συστήσασθαι· συνέβαινε γὰρ τοὺς μὲν πολεμίους τότε θαλασσοκρατεῖν ναῦς πολλὰς ἔχοντας, αὐτῷ δὲ τὸ παράπαν οὐδʼ ὀλίγας εἶναι. στρατοπεδεύσας δὲ ἐν Τύρῳ τῆς Φοινίκης καὶ πολιορκῆσαι διανοούμενος τὴν Τύρον μετεπέμπετο τοὺς βασιλεῖς τῶν Φοινίκων καὶ τοὺς ὑπάρχους τῆς Συρίας.
Having finished with these matters, he marched to Phoenicia, eager to organize a naval force; for it happened that the enemy at that time ruled the sea, having many ships, while he had none at all. Having encamped at Tyre in Phoenicia and intending to besiege Tyre, he summoned the kings of the Phoenicians and the governors of Syria.
καὶ τοὺς μὲν βασιλεῖς προετρέψατο συνεπιλαβέσθαι ναυπηγίας, ἐπειδὴ τὰς ναῦς τὰς ἐκ Φοινίκης ἁπάσας μετὰ τῶν πληρωμάτων Πτολεμαῖος εἶχεν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ· τοῖς δʼ ὑπάρχοις ἐκέλευσεν ἑτοιμάσαι κατὰ τάχος πυρῶν μὲν μεδίμνων μυριάδας τετρακοσίας πεντήκοντα· τοσοῦτο γὰρ εἰς τὸν ἐνιαυτὸν ἐγίνετο δαπάνημα. αὐτὸς δὲ πανταχόθεν ἀθροίσας ὑλοτόμους καὶ πρίστας, ἔτι δὲ ναυπηγοὺς κατεκόμιζε τὴν ὕλην ἐπὶ θάλασσαν ἐκ τοῦ Λιβάνου, τεμνόντων μὲν αὐτὴν καὶ πριζόντων ἀνδρῶν ὀκτακισχιλίων,2 κατακομιζόντων δὲ ζευγῶν χιλίων.
And he urged the kings to take part in the shipbuilding, since Ptolemy held all the ships from Phoenicia together with their crews in Egypt; and he ordered the governors to prepare quickly four million five hundred thousand medimnoi of wheat; for this was the amount required for the year’s expenditure. He himself, having gathered from all sides woodcutters and sawyers, and also shipbuilders, began to bring down the timber to the sea from Lebanon, while eight thousand men were cutting and sawing it, and a thousand teams of draft animals were bringing it down.
τὸ δʼ ὄρος τοῦτο παρήκει μὲν παρά τε τὴν Τρίπολιν καὶ Βυβλίαν, ἔτι δὲ Σιδωνίαν, πλῆρες δʼ ἐστὶ ξύλων κεδρίνων καὶ κυπαρισσίνων θαυμαστῶν τό τε κάλλος καὶ μέγεθος.3
This mountain extends along Tripoli and Byblos, and also Sidon, and is full of cedar and cypress trees, wonderful both in beauty and in size.
ναυπηγεῖα δʼ ἀπέδειξε τρία μὲν κατὰ τὴν Φοινίκην, ἔν τε Τριπόλει καὶ Βύβλῳ καὶ Σιδῶνι, τέταρτον δὲ περὶ Κιλικίαν, κομιζομένης τῆς ὕλης ἐκ τοῦ Ταύρου.
He established three shipyards in Phoenicia, namely, in Tripoli, Byblos, and Sidon, and a fourth near Cilicia, the timber being brought from Mount Taurus.
ἦν δὲ καὶ περὶ Ῥόδον ἄλλο, συγχωρήσαντος τοῦ δήμου κατασκευάζειν ναῦς ἀπὸ τῆς ὕλης τῆς εἰσκομιζομένης. τοῦ δʼ Ἀντιγόνου περὶ ταῦτα ὄντος4 καὶ πλησίον τῆς θαλάσσης κατεστρατοπεδευκότος ἧκεν ἐξ Αἰγύπτου Σέλευκος μετὰ νεῶν ἑκατὸν κεκοσμημένων βασιλικῶς καὶ πλεουσῶν ἱκανῶς. ποιουμένου δʼ αὐτοῦ τὸν παράπλουν παρʼ αὐτὴν τὴν στρατοπεδείαν καταπεφρονηκότως οἵ τε ἐκ τῶν συμμαχίδων πόλεων καὶ πάντες οἱ κοινοπραγοῦντες τοῖς περὶ Ἀντίγονον ἄθυμοι καθειστήκεισαν·
There was also another one near Rhodes, since the people agreed to build ships from the imported timber. While Antigonus was occupied with these things and encamped near the sea, Seleucus arrived from Egypt with a hundred ships royally equipped and capable of sailing well. As he made his voyage past the camp itself in a contemptuous manner, both those from the allied cities and all who were cooperating with Antigonus became despondent;
πρόδηλον γὰρ ἦν ὅτι θαλασσοκρατοῦντες οἱ πολέμιοι πορθήσουσι τοὺς τοῖς ἐναντίοις κοινοπραγοῦντας ἀπὸ τῆς πρὸς Ἀντίγονον φιλίας. ὁ δʼ Ἀντίγονος τούτους μὲν παρεκάλει θαρρεῖν, διαβεβαιούμενος ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ θερίᾳ ἀναπλευσεῖσθαι ναυσὶ πεντακοσίαις.
for it was evident that, since the enemy ruled the sea, they would ravage those who co-operated with their adversaries because of their friendship with Antigonus. But Antigonus urged them to be of good courage, assuring them that he would put to sea in this very summer with five hundred ships.
- 19.58.1ἀπὸ δὲ τούτων γενόμενος
An idiomatic expression combining the preposition ἀπό and the verb γίνομαι, meaning to "get away from" or "be free of" certain matters; here it means "having finished with these things" or "having attended to these matters."
- 19.58.2τεμνόντων μὲν αὐτὴν καὶ πριζόντων ἀνδρῶν ὀκτακισχιλίων
Genitive absolute construction. The logical subject is ἀνδρῶν ὀκτακισχιλίων (eight thousand men), and along with the subsequent κατακομιζόντων δὲ ζευγῶν χιλίων (and a thousand teams), it describes the attendant circumstances of the main verb κατεκόμιζε.
- 19.58.3τό τε κάλλος καὶ μέγεθος
Accusative of respect (or specification). It modifies the adjective θαυμαστῶν, which in turn qualifies the genitive noun ξύλων, specifying the aspects (beauty and size) in which the trees were "wonderful."
- 19.58.5τοῦ δʼ Ἀντιγόνου περὶ ταῦτα ὄντος
Genitive absolute construction. The phrase εἶναι περί τι idiomatially means "to be occupied with" or "to be busy about" something. Here it indicates the temporal background while Antigonus was busy preparing the ships.