- 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-grc6:20.110.1-20.110.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-06
After being initiated into the Athenian mysteries in an unusual manner, Demetrius launches an offensive against Cassander in Greece, liberating Larisa and other cities before encamping opposite Cassander's army.
κατὰ δὲ τὴν Ἑλλάδα Δημήτριος διατρίβων ἐν ταῖς Ἀθήναις ἔσπευδε μυηθῆναι καὶ καταλαβεῖν τὴν ἐν Ἐλευσῖνι τελετήν. ἀπεχούσης δὲ χρόνον ἱκανὸν τῆς κατὰ νόμους ἡμέρας,1 καθʼ ἣν εἰώθεισαν Ἀθηναῖοι συντελεῖν τὴν τελετήν, ἔπεισε τὸν δῆμον διὰ τὰς εὐεργεσίας κινῆσαι τὸ πάτριον ἔθος. παραδοὺς οὖν αὑτὸν ἄνοπλον τοῖς ἱερεῦσι καὶ πρὸ τῆς ὡρισμένης ἡμέρας μυηθεὶς ἀνέζευξεν ἐκ τῶν Ἀθηνῶν.
Meanwhile, in Greece, Demetrius, spending time in Athens, was eager to be initiated and to experience the ceremony in Eleusis. Since the day appointed by law, on which the Athenians were accustomed to perform the ceremony, was still a considerable time off, he persuaded the people because of his past benefactions to alter their ancestral custom. Therefore, delivering himself unarmed to the priests and having been initiated before the prescribed day, he marched out from Athens.
καὶ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον εἰς Χαλκίδα τῆς Εὐβοίας ἤθροισε τὸν στόλον καὶ τὴν πεζὴν δύναμιν· μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα πυθόμενος τοὺς περὶ Κάσανδρον προκατειλῆφθαι τὰς παρόδους, πεζῇ μὲν ἀπέγνω τὴν εἰς Θετταλίαν ποιεῖσθαι πορείαν, παραπλεύσας δὲ μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως εἰς τὸν ἐν Λαρίσῃ λιμένα2 καὶ τὴν δύναμιν ἐκβιβάσας τὴν μὲν πόλιν ἐξ ἐφόδου παρέλαβε, τὴν δʼ ἄκραν ἐκπολιορκήσας τοὺς μὲν φρουροὺς δήσας παρέδωκεν εἰς φυλακήν, τοῖς δὲ Λαρισαίοις τὴν αὐτονομίαν ἀποκατέστησεν.
And at first he assembled his fleet and land force at Chalcis in Euboea; but after this, learning that Cassander’s men had pre-occupied the passes, he gave up the idea of making the march into Thessaly by land, and sailing along with his force to the harbor at Larisa and disembarking his army, he took the city at the first assault; and having reduced the citadel by siege, he bound the garrison and committed them to prison, and restored to the Larisaeans their autonomy.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα Ἀντρῶνας μὲν καὶ Πτελεὸν προσηγάγετο, Δίον δὲ καὶ Ὀρχομενὸν μετοικίζοντος εἰς Θήβας Κασάνδρου διεκώλυσε μετοικισθῆναι τὰς πόλεις.3 Κάσανδρος δὲ θεωρῶν τὰ πράγματα τῷ Δημητρίῳ κατὰ νοῦν χωροῦντα Φερὰς μὲν καὶ Θήβας ἁδροτέραις φρουραῖς παρεφύλαττε, τὴν δὲ δύναμιν πᾶσαν εἰς ἕνα τόπον ἀθροίσας ἀντεστρατοπέδευσε τοῖς περὶ τὸν Δημήτριον.
After this, he won over Antrones and Pteleum, and since Cassander was transferring the populations of Dium and Orchomenus to Thebes, he prevented those cities from being relocated. Cassander, seeing that affairs were going to Demetrius’ mind, guarded Pherae and Thebes with stronger garrisons, and gathering all his forces into one place, encamped opposite Demetrius’ men.
εἶχε δὲ τοὺς σύμπαντας πεζοὺς μὲν εἰς δισμυρίους ἐννακισχιλίους, ἱππεῖς δὲ δισχιλίους. τῷ δὲ Δημητρίῳ συνηκολούθουν ἱππεῖς μὲν χίλιοι καὶ πεντακόσιοι, πεζοὶ δὲ Μακεδόνες οὐκ ἐλάττους τῶν ὀκτακισχιλίων, μισθοφόροι δʼ εἰς μυρίους καὶ πεντακισχιλίους, ἐκ δὲ τῶν κατὰ τὴν Ἑλλάδα πόλεων δισμύριοι καὶ πεντακισχίλιοι, ψιλικὰ δὲ τάγματα καὶ πειρατῶν παντοδαπῶν τῶν συντρεχόντων ἐπὶ τοὺς πολέμους καὶ τὰς ἁρπαγὰς οὐκ ἐλάττους τῶν ὀκτακισχιλίων, ὥστʼ εἶναι τοὺς ἅπαντας πεζοὺς περὶ τοὺς πεντακισμυρίους ἑξακισχιλίους.
He had in all about twenty-nine thousand foot-soldiers and two thousand horsemen. Demetrius was accompanied by fifteen hundred horsemen, not less than eight thousand Macedonian foot-soldiers, about fifteen thousand mercenaries, twenty-five thousand from the cities of Greece, and not less than eight thousand light-armed troops and pirates of all kinds who flocked together for war and plunder, so that the total of his foot-soldiers was about fifty-six thousand.
ἀντικαθημένων δὲ τῶν στρατοπέδων ἀλλήλοις ἐπὶ πολλὰς ἡμέρας ἐκτάξεις μὲν ἐγίνοντο παρʼ ἀμφοτέροις, εἰς μάχην δὲ οὐδέτερος συγκατέβαινε, καραδοκῶν τὴν ἐπὶ τῆς Ἀσίας ἐσομένην τῶν ὅλων κρίσιν.
Although the armies remained encamped opposite each other for many days, and battle arrays were formed on both sides, neither came down to battle, as each was waiting for the general decision that was to take place in Asia.
Δημήτριος δέ, τῶν Φεραίων ἐπικαλεσαμένων αὐτόν, παρεισπεσὼν εἰς τὴν πόλιν μετὰ μέρους τῆς δυνάμεως τὴν μὲν ἄκραν ἐκπολιορκήσας ὑποσπόνδους ἀφῆκε τοὺς παρὰ Κασάνδρου στρατιώτας, τοῖς δὲ Φεραίοις τὴν ἐλευθερίαν ἀποκατέστησεν.
But Demetrius, when the Pheraeans called upon him, slipped into the city with a part of his force, and having reduced the citadel by siege, released under truce the soldiers sent by Cassander, and restored to the Pheraeans their liberty.
- 20.110.1ἀπεχούσης δὲ χρόνον ἱκανὸν τῆς κατὰ νόμους ἡμέρας
A genitive absolute construction consisting of the present participle ἀπεχούσης and the noun phrase τῆς κατὰ νόμους ἡμέρας, expressing cause ('since the day appointed by law was still a considerable time off'). The accusative χρόνον ἱκανὸν expresses the duration or extent of time. The phrase κατὰ νόμους functions attributively ('according to the laws').
- 20.110.2τὸν ἐν Λαρίσῃ λιμένα
Refers to 'the harbor at Larisa', meaning Larisa Kremaste on the Malian Gulf, rather than the famous inland city of Larisa in Thessaly. The prepositional phrase ἐν Λαρίσῃ is placed in the attributive position between the article τὸν and the noun λιμένα.
- 20.110.3Δίον δὲ καὶ Ὀρχομενὸν μετοικίζοντος εἰς Θήβας Κασάνδρου διεκώλυσε μετοικισθῆναι τὰς πόλεις
The first part μετοικίζοντος εἰς Θήβας Κασάνδρου is a genitive absolute construction showing the time or situation during which Demetrius acted. The main verb διεκώλυσε takes as its object the passive infinitive μετοικισθῆναι with its accusative subject τὰς πόλεις (referring to Dium and Orchomenus), meaning 'he prevented those cities from being relocated'.