- 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-grc6:19.71.1-19.71.7
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
Acrotatus takes command in Acragas but alienates the people through his cruelty and the murder of Sosistratus, forcing him to flee to Sparta, after which Hamilcar mediates a peace treaty between the Sicilian allies and Agathocles.
τῶν δὲ Ταραντίνων περὶ τὴν παρασκευὴν ὄντων αὐτὸς συνεκπλεύσας εἰς τὸν Ἀκράγαντα παρέλαβε τὴν στρατηγίαν καὶ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον μετεωρήσας τὰ πλήθη μεγάλαις ἐλπίσι παρεστήσατο πάντας προσδοκᾶν1 σύντομον κατάλυσιν τοῦ τυράννου, τοῦ δὲ χρόνου προϊόντος πρᾶξιν μὲν οὐδεμίαν οὔτε τῆς πατρίδος οὔτε τῆς περὶ τὸ γένος ἐπιφανείας ἀξίαν διεπράξατο, τοὐναντίον δὲ φονικὸς ὢν καὶ τῶν τυράννων ὠμότερος προσέκοπτε τοῖς πλήθεσι.
While the Tarentines were occupied with their preparations, Acrotatus himself sailed with them to Acragas and assumed the generalship; at first, elevating the multitudes with great hopes, he led everyone to expect a speedy overthrow of the tyrant. But as time went on, he performed no deed worthy either of his native land or of the prestige of his family; on the contrary, being bloodthirsty and more cruel than the tyrants, he offended the multitudes.
πρὸς δὲ τούτοις τὴν πάτριον δίαιταν μετέβαλεν καὶ ταῖς ἡδοναῖς ἐνετρύφησεν οὕτως ἀσελγῶς ὥστε Πέρσην εἶναι δοκεῖν καὶ οὐ Σπαρτιάτην.
In addition to this, he abandoned his ancestral way of life and indulged in pleasures so self-indulgently that he seemed to be a Persian and not a Spartan.
ἐπεὶ δὲ τῶν προσόδων τὸ πλεῖον μέρος ἀνήλωσεν τὰ μὲν πολιτευόμενος, τὰ δὲ2 διανοσφιζόμενος τέλος Σωσίστρατον, ἐπιφανέστατον τῶν φυγάδων, πολλάκις δυνάμεων ἀφηγησάμενον, ἐπὶ τὸ δεῖπνον παραλαβὼν ἐδολοφόνησεν, ἐγκαλέσαι μὲν ἁπλῶς οὐδʼ ὁτιοῦν ἔχων, ἐκ ποδῶν δὲ ποιήσασθαι σπεύδων δραστικὸν ἄνδρα καὶ δυνάμενον ἐφεδρεῦσαι τοῖς κακῶς προϊσταμένοις3 τῆς ἡγεμονίας.
And when he had spent the greater part of his revenues, partly in public administration and partly by embezzlement, he finally invited Sosistratus, the most prominent of the exiles who had often commanded armies, to dinner and treacherously murdered him, although he had absolutely no charge to bring against him, but was eager to remove from his path an active man who was capable of keeping watch on his own bad leadership.
διαβοηθείσης δὲ τῆς πράξεως εὐθὺς οἵ τε φυγάδες συνέτρεχον ἐπʼ αὐτὸν καὶ πάντες οἱ λοιποὶ διετέθησαν ἀλλοτρίως καὶ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἀπέστησαν αὐτὸν τῆς στρατηγίας, μετʼ ὀλίγον δὲ καὶ βάλλειν τοῖς λίθοις ἐπεχείρησαν· διόπερ φοβηθεὶς τὴν τοῦ πλήθους ὁρμὴν νυκτὸς ἔφυγε καὶ λαθὼν διῆρεν εἰς τὴν Λακωνικήν.
When this deed was made known, the exiles immediately rushed together against him, and all the rest became hostilely disposed; at first they removed him from the generalship, and a little later they even attempted to stone him. Therefore, fearing the onset of the multitude, he fled by night and secretly crossed over to Laconia.
τούτου δʼ ἀπαλλαγέντος Ταραντῖνοι μὲν ἀπεσταλκότες εἰς Σικελίαν τὸν στόλον μετεπέμψαντο, Ἀκραγαντῖνοι δὲ καὶ Γελῷοι καὶ Μεσσήνιοι κατέλυσαν τὸν πρὸς Ἀγαθοκλέα πόλεμον, μεσιτεύσαντος τὰς συνθήκας Ἀμίλκου τοῦ Καρχηδονίου.
After his departure, the Tarentines recalled the fleet they had sent to Sicily, while the Acragantines, Geloans, and Messenians ended their war against Agathocles, with Hamilcar the Carthaginian mediating the treaty.
ἦσαν δὲ τὰ κεφάλαια τῶν συντεθέντων τοιάδε, τῶν Ἑλληνίδων πόλεων τῶν κατὰ Σικελίαν Ἡράκλειαν μὲν καὶ Σελινοῦντα καὶ πρὸς ταύταις Ἱμέραν ὑπὸ Καρχηδονίοις τετάχθαι, καθὰ καὶ προϋπῆρχον, τὰς δʼ ἄλλας πάσας αὐτονόμους εἶναι, τὴν ἡγεμονίαν ἐχόντων Συρακοσίων.
The main points of the agreement were as follows: of the Greek cities in Sicily, Heracleia, Selinus, and in addition to these, Himera, were to be subject to the Carthaginians, just as they had been before; all the others were to be autonomous, under the leadership of the Syracusans.
- 19.71.1παρεστήσατο πάντας προσδοκᾶν
The middle voice aorist παρεστήσατο of the verb παρίστημι, followed by an accusative (πάντας) and an infinitive (προσδοκᾶν), means "to bring someone to a state of mind, to induce them to do/think something." Here, it expresses that Acrotatus caused everyone to expect.
- 19.71.4τὰ μὲν ... τὰ δὲ
A neuter plural accusative pronominal expression used adverbially ("on the one hand... on the other hand..." or "partly... partly..."). These modify the present participles of manner/means (πολιτευόμενος and διανοσφιζόμενος), contrastively explaining the breakdown of how Acrotatus spent (ἀνήλωσεν) the revenues.
- 19.71.4ἐφεδρεῦσαι τοῖς κακῶς προϊσταμένοις
The intransitive verb ἐφεδρεύω, meaning "to lie in wait (for a further opportunity)" and by extension "to keep watch on, to threaten, to act as a check on," governs the dative case (τοῖς ... προϊσταμένοις). The participle προϊσταμένοις refers to "those who poorly direct (κακῶς προϊσταμένοις) the leadership (τῆς ἡγεμονίας)," pointing to Acrotatus's own misrule from an objective perspective.