- 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-grc6:20.113.1-20.113.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-06
King Ptolemy retreats to Egypt after believing a false report, while Antigonus welcomes deserters from Lysimachus. Meanwhile, Seleucus arrives in Cappadocia with a massive force, and as the kings prepare for a decisive battle, the book concludes.
ἐν δὲ ταῖς αὐταῖς ἡμέραις καὶ Πτολεμαῖος ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀναζεύξας ἐξ Αἰγύπτου μετὰ δυνάμεως ἀξιολόγου τὰς μὲν ἐν τῇ Κοίλῃ Συρίᾳ πόλεις ἁπάσας ὑποχειρίους ἐποιήσατο· Σιδῶνα δὲ πολιορκοῦντος αὐτοῦ τινες παρῆσαν ἀπαγγέλλοντες ψευδῶς ὅτι παρατάξεως γενομένης τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν1 οἱ μὲν περὶ Λυσίμαχον καὶ Σέλευκον ἡττηθέντες ἀποκεχωρήκασιν εἰς τὴν Ἡράκλειαν, Ἀντίγονος δὲ νενικηκὼς προσάγει μετὰ δυνάμεως ἐπὶ Συρίας.
During these same days, King Ptolemy also, having set out from Egypt with a noteworthy force, made all the cities in Coele-Syria subject to himself. But while he was besieging Sidon, some men arrived falsely reporting that, a battle having taken place between the kings, Lysimachus and Seleucus and their men had been defeated and had retreated to Heracleia, and that Antigonus, having conquered, was advancing with his force against Syria.
παραλογισθεὶς οὖν ὑπὸ τούτων καὶ πεισθεὶς ἀληθῆ τὴν προσαγγελίαν εἶναι, πρὸς μὲν τοὺς Σιδωνίους εἰς τέτταρας μῆνας ἀνοχὰς ἐποιήσατο, τὰς δὲ χειρωθείσας πόλεις φρουραῖς ἀσφαλισάμενος ἐπανῆλθε μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως εἰς Αἴγυπτον.
Having been deceived, therefore, by these men and persuaded that the report was true, he made a truce with the Sidonians for four months, and having secured the conquered cities with garrisons, he returned with his force to Egypt.
ἅμα δὲ τούτοις πραττομένοις οἱ τῶν παρὰ Λυσιμάχῳ στρατιωτῶν αὐτομολήσαντες2 ἐκ τῆς χειμασίας παρʼ Ἀντίγονον Αὐταριάται μὲν δισχίλιοι, Λύκιοι δὲ καὶ Παμφύλιοι περὶ ὀκτακοσίους. τούτοις μὲν οὖν Ἀντίγονος φιλανθρώπως προσενεχθεὶς τούς τε μισθοὺς ἔδωκεν, οὓς ἔφασαν ὀφείλεσθαι παρὰ Λυσιμάχου, καὶ δωρεαῖς ἐτίμησε.
While these things were being done, some of the soldiers with Lysimachus deserted from his winter quarters to Antigonus: two thousand Autariatae, and about eight hundred Lycians and Pamphylians. Antigonus, having treated them kindly, gave them the pay which they said was owed to them by Lysimachus, and honored them with gifts.
καθʼ ὃν δὴ χρόνον ἦλθε καὶ Σέλευκος ἐκ τῶν ἄνω σατραπειῶν διαβεβηκὼς εἰς Καππαδοκίαν μετὰ πολλῆς δυνάμεως καὶ κατασκευάσας στεγνὰ τοῖς στρατιώταις παρεχείμαζεν. εἶχε δὲ πεζοὺς μὲν εἰς δισμυρίους, ἱππεῖς δὲ σὺν τοῖς ἱπποτοξόταις περὶ μυρίους δισχιλίους, ἐλέφαντας δὲ ὀγδοήκοντα πρὸς τοῖς τετρακοσίοις,3 ἅρματα δὲ δρεπανηφόρα πλείω τῶν ἑκατόν.
At this very time, Seleucus also arrived, having crossed from the upper satrapies into Cappadocia with a large force, and having constructed shelters for his soldiers, spent the winter there. He had about twenty thousand foot-soldiers, about twelve thousand horsemen including the horse-archers, four hundred and eighty elephants, and more than a hundred scythed chariots.
αἱ μὲν οὖν τῶν βασιλέων δυνάμεις τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον ἠθροίζοντο, κεκρικότων ἁπάντων κατὰ τὴν ἐπιοῦσαν θερίαν διὰ τῶν ὅπλων κρῖναι τὸν πόλεμον. ἡμεῖς δέ, καθάπερ ἐν ἀρχῇ προεθέμεθα, τὸν γενόμενον τούτοις τοῖς βασιλεῦσι πρὸς ἀλλήλους πόλεμον περὶ τῶν ὅλων πράξεων4 ἀρχὴν ποιησόμεθα τῆς ἑπομένης βίβλου.
In this manner, then, the forces of the kings were being assembled, all of them having decided to decide the war by arms during the coming summer. But we, as we proposed at the beginning, shall make the war that arose between these kings concerning the whole empire the beginning of the next book.
- 20.113.1παρατάξεως γενομένης τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν
In this genitive absolute construction, the dative "τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν" functions as a dative of reference or relation (or dative of agent), meaning "a battle having taken place between the kings."
- 20.113.3οἱ τῶν παρὰ Λυσιμάχῳ στρατιωτῶν αὐτομολήσαντες
The partitive genitive "τῶν ... στρατιωτῶν" modifies the substantivized participle "οἱ ... αὐτομολήσαντες", meaning "those of the soldiers with Lysimachus who deserted." The specific groups ("Αὐταριάται μὲν... Λύκιοι δὲ...") follow in apposition.
- 20.113.4ὀγδοήκοντα πρὸς τοῖς τετρακοσίοις
The preposition "πρός" with the dative case expresses addition ("in addition to"), serving as a classical Greek idiom for "four hundred and eighty" (eighty in addition to four hundred).
- 20.113.5περὶ τῶν ὅλων πράξεων
Literally meaning "concerning the whole affairs," this is an idiomatic expression referring here to a decisive war for the supreme power or the empire as a whole.