Defeat of the Samnites and Submission of the Campanians — Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica Book 19 (19.76.1–19.76.5), Greek & English

§19.76.1

κατὰ δὲ τὴν Ἰταλίαν Σαμνῖται μὲν μετὰ πολλῆς δυνάμεως ἐπῄεσαν πορθοῦντες τῶν κατʼ Ἰταλίαν πόλεων ὅσαι τοῖς ἐναντίοις συνηγωνίζοντο,¹ οἱ δʼ ὕπατοι τῶν Ῥωμαίων μετὰ στρατοπέδου παραγενόμενοι παραβοηθεῖν ἐπειρῶντο τοῖς κινδυνεύουσιν τῶν συμμάχων.

In Italy, the Samnites with a large force advanced, plundering as many of the cities in Italy as were allied in war with their opponents, while the consuls of the Romans, having arrived with an army, attempted to bring aid to those of their allies who were in danger.

§19.76.2

ἀντεστρατοπεδεύσαντο δὲ τοῖς πολεμίοις περὶ Κίνναν πόλιν καὶ ταύτην μὲν εὐθὺς ἐρύσαντο τῶν ἐπικειμένων φόβων, μετʼ ὀλίγας δʼ ἡμέρας ἐκταξάντων ἀμφοτέρων τὰς δυνάμεις ἐγένετο μάχη καρτερὰ καὶ συχνοὶ παρʼ ἀμφοτέροις ἔπεσον. τὸ δὲ τέλος οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι βιασάμενοι κατὰ κράτος περιεγένοντο τῶν πολεμίων, ἐπὶ πολὺν δὲ χρόνον χρησάμενοι τῷ διωγμῷ πλείους τῶν μυρίων ἀνεῖλον.

They encamped over against the enemy near the city of Cinna and immediately rescued it from the impending fears; and a few days later, when both sides had drawn up their forces, a fierce battle occurred and many fell on both sides. In the end, the Romans, forcing their way, got the better of the enemy by main force, and having pursued them for a long time, they slew more than ten thousand.

§19.76.3

καὶ τῆς μάχης ἀγνοουμένης ἔτι Καμπανοὶ μὲν καταφρονήσαντες τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἀπέστησαν, ὁ δὲ δῆμος εὐθὺς δύναμίν τε τὴν ἱκανὴν ἐξέπεμψεν ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς καὶ στρατηγὸν αὐτοκράτορα Γάιον Μάνιον καὶ μετʼ αὐτοῦ κατὰ τὸ πάτριον ἔθος Μάνιον Φούλβιον ἵππαρχον.²

And while the outcome of the battle was still unknown, the Campanians, despising the Romans, revolted, but the people immediately sent out a sufficient force against them, and Gaius Manius as general with absolute power, and with him, according to ancestral custom, Manius Fulvius as master of the horse.

§19.76.4

τούτων δὲ πλησίον τῆς Καπύης καταστρατοπεδευσάντων οἱ Καμπανοὶ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἐπεχείρουν ἀγωνίζεσθαι, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα πυθόμενοι τὴν τῶν Σαμνιτῶν ἧτταν καὶ νομίσαντες πάσας τὰς δυνάμεις ἥξειν ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς διελύσαντο πρὸς Ῥωμαίους·

When these had encamped near Capua, the Campanians at first attempted to fight, but after this, having learned of the defeat of the Samnites and thinking that all the forces would come against them, they made peace with the Romans;

§19.76.5

τοὺς γὰρ αἰτίους τῆς ταραχῆς ἐξέδωκαν, οἳ προτεθείσης κρίσεως³ οὐ περιμείναντες τὴν ἀπόφασιν αὑτοὺς ἀνεῖλαν. αἱ δὲ πόλεις τυχοῦσαι συγγνώμης εἰς τὴν προϋπάρχουσαν συμμαχίαν ἀποκατέστησαν.

for they surrendered those who were responsible for the disturbance, who, when a trial was appointed, did not wait for the verdict but took their own lives. And the cities, having obtained pardon, were restored to their pre-existing alliance.

Syntax notes3 items

19.76.1τῶν κατʼ Ἰταλίαν πόλεων ὅσαι τοῖς ἐναντίοις συνηγωνίζοντο
The antecedent of the relative pronoun ὅσαι is omitted, and the preceding partitive genitive τῶν κατʼ Ἰταλίαν πόλεων is modified by the relative clause. The dative τοῖς ἐναντίοις ('the opponents') refers to the enemies of the Samnites, i.e., the Romans, and functions as the complement of the verb συνηγωνίζοντο ('fought alongside').
19.76.3στρατηγὸν αὐτοκράτορα ... ἵππαρχον
The Roman-specific offices of 'dictator' and 'magister equitum' (master of the horse) are translated and expressed using the Greek terms στρατηγὸς αὐτοκράτωρ ('general with absolute power') and ἵππαρχος ('cavalry commander').
19.76.5προτεθείσης κρίσεως
A genitive absolute construction, functioning as an adverbial clause of time ('when a trial was appointed').

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — source 1

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc6:19.76.1-19.76.5