- 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-grc6:19.65.1-19.65.7
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
In Sicily, Agathocles of Syracuse attempts to capture Messene but fails, resulting in peace mediated by Carthage, while in Italy, the Romans capture Ferentum during the Samnite War, and Nuceria defects from Rome.
ἡμεῖς δὲ διεληλυθότες τὰ πραχθέντα τῶν Ἑλλήνων1 τῆς Εὐρώπης περὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα καὶ Μακεδονίαν ἐν μέρει διέξιμεν περὶ τῶν πρὸς ἑσπέραν νευόντων μερῶν. Ἀγαθοκλῆς γὰρ ὁ τῶν Συρακοσίων δυνάστης κατέχων φρούριον τῶν Μεσσηνίων ἐπηγγείλατο λαβὼν παρʼ αὐτῶν τριάκοντα τάλαντα παραδώσειν τὸν τόπον.
Having gone through the deeds of the Greeks of Europe around Greece and Macedonia, we shall now in turn relate those concerning the regions inclining toward the west. For Agathocles, the ruler of the Syracusans, holding a fortress of the Messenians, promised that, upon receiving thirty talents from them, he would hand over the place.
δόντων δὲ τῶν Μεσσηνίων τἀργύριον οὐ μόνον διεψεύσατο τοὺς πιστεύσαντας τῆς ἐπαγγελίας,2 ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν Μεσσήνην αὐτὴν ἐπεχείρησε καταλαβέσθαι. πυθόμενος γὰρ μέρος τι τοῦ τείχους ἐν αὐτῇ πεπτωκέναι πεζῇ3 μὲν τοὺς ἱππεῖς ἀπέστειλεν ἐκ Συρακουσσῶν, αὐτὸς δʼ ἀναλαβὼν ναῦς ἡμιολίας νυκτὸς κατέπλευσε πλησίον τῆς πόλεως.
But although the Messenians gave the money, he not only deceived those who had trusted his promise, but also attempted to seize Messene itself. For learning that a certain part of the wall in it had fallen down, he dispatched the cavalry by land from Syracuse, while he himself, having taken hemolia vessels, sailed by night to a place near the city.
προαισθομένων δὲ τῶν ἐπιβουλευομένων ταύτης μὲν τῆς ἐπιβολῆς ἀπέτυχεν, ἐπὶ δὲ τὰς Μύλας πλεύσας καὶ πολιορκήσας τὸ φρούριον διʼ ὁμολογίας παρέλαβε. καὶ τότε μὲν εἰς Συρακούσσας ἐχωρίσθη, κατὰ δὲ τὰς τῶν καρπῶν συγκομιδὰς πάλιν ἐστράτευσεν ἐπὶ τὴν Μεσσήνην.
However, since those who were being plotted against perceived it beforehand, he failed in this attempt; but sailing to Mylae and besieging the fortress, he took it by agreement. And at that time he departed to Syracuse, but during the harvesting of the crops, he again made an expedition against Messene.
πλησίον δὲ τῆς πόλεως στρατοπεδεύσας καὶ προσβολὰς συνεχεῖς ποιούμενος οὐδὲν ἀξιόλογον ἴσχυσε βλάψαι τοὺς πολεμίους· καὶ γὰρ τῶν ἐκ Συρακουσσῶν φυγάδων πολλοὶ συνεδεδραμήκεισαν εἰς τὴν πόλιν, οἳ καὶ διὰ τὴν ἰδίαν ἀσφάλειαν καὶ διὰ τὸ πρὸς τὸν τύραννον μίσος ἐκθύμως ἠγωνίζοντο.
Encamping near the city and making continuous assaults, he was unable to do any noteworthy damage to the enemy; for many of the exiles from Syracuse had run together into the city, who, both for their own safety and because of their hatred toward the tyrant, fought eagerly.
καθʼ ὃν δὴ χρόνον ἧκον ἐκ Καρχηδόνος πρέσβεις, οἳ τῷ μὲν Ἀγαθοκλεῖ περὶ τῶν πραχθέντων ἐπετίμησαν ὡς παραβαίνοντι τὰς συνθήκας, τοῖς δὲ Μεσσηνίοις εἰρήνην παρεσκεύασαν καὶ τὸ φρούριον ἀναγκάσαντες ἀποκαταστῆσαι τὸν τύραννον ἀπέπλευσαν εἰς τὴν Λιβύην.
At this very time, ambassadors arrived from Carthage, who on the one hand censured Agathocles for his deeds as violating the treaty, and on the other hand procured peace for the Messenians, and having compelled the tyrant to restore the fortress, they sailed back to Libya.
ὁ δʼ Ἀγαθοκλῆς παρελθὼν εἰς Ἀβάκαινον πόλιν σύμμαχον, τοὺς δοκοῦντας ἀλλοτρίως ἔχειν4 τὰ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀπέσφαξεν, ὄντας πλείους τῶν τεσσαράκοντα.
But Agathocles, having gone to the allied city of Abacaenum, slaughtered those who seemed to be hostilely disposed toward him, who were more than forty in number.
ἅμα δὲ τούτοις πραττομένοις Ῥωμαῖοι μὲν διαπολεμοῦντες Σαμνίταις Φερέντην, πόλιν τῆς Ἀπουλίας, κατὰ κράτος εἷλον. οἱ δὲ τὴν Νουκερίαν τὴν Ἀλφατέρναν καλουμένην οἰκοῦντες πεισθέντες ὑπό τινων τῆς μὲν Ῥωμαίων φιλίας ἀπέστησαν, πρὸς δὲ τοὺς Σαμνίατας συμμαχίαν ἐποιήσαντο.
While these things were being transacted, the Romans, carrying on the war against the Samnites to the end, took Ferentum, a city of Apulia, by storm. And those who inhabited Nuceria, called Alfaterna, being persuaded by certain persons, defected from the friendship of the Romans and made an alliance with the Samnites.
- 19.65.1τῶν Ἑλλήνων
The genitive τῶν Ἑλλήνων, together with the phrase τῆς Εὐρώπης, means 'the Greeks of Europe' and functions either as the subject of the action (subjective genitive with τὰ πραχθέντα) or as a partitive genitive defining the group.
- 19.65.2τῆς ἐπαγγελίας
The direct object of the verb διεψεύσατο ('deceived, disappointed') is the accusative τοὺς πιστεύσαντας ('those who trusted'), and the genitive τῆς ἐπαγγελίας functions as a genitive of reference or separation dependent on the verb, meaning 'with respect to the promise.' Although it could theoretically be construed as the object of the participle πιστεύσαντας, the latter usually governs the dative, making the connection with the main verb more natural.
- 19.65.2πεζῇ
The adverb πεζῇ, which normally means 'on foot,' is used here with 'the cavalry' (τοὺς ἱππεῖς). This is a contrastive expression indicating that they proceeded 'by land' as opposed to the sea voyage undertaken by Agathocles himself by ship (ναῦς).
- 19.65.6ἀλλοτρίως ἔχειν
The idiom ἀλλοτρίως ἔχειν ('to be adversely disposed') is accompanied by the accusative of respect/relation τὰ πρὸς αὐτόν ('with regard to the things concerning him'), together meaning 'to be hostilely disposed toward him.'