- 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-grc6:20.24.1-20.24.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-07
After the sudden death of Satyrus, Prytanis assumes the kingship, but Eumelus revolts, defeats him, and seizes control of the Bosporan Kingdom. Eumelus solidifies his power by purging the supporters of his brothers, but regains the favor of the citizens through constitutional restorations and tax exemptions, subsequently ruling lawfully.
ὃς1 ταφὴν συντελέσας μεγαλοπρεπῆ καὶ καταθέμενος εἰς τὰς βασιλικὰς θήκας τὸ σῶμα ταχέως ἧκεν εἰς Γάργαζαν καὶ τὴν δύναμιν ἅμα καὶ τὴν δυναστείαν παρέλαβεν. Εὐμήλου δὲ διαπρεσβευομένου2 περὶ μέρους τῆς βασιλείας τούτῳ μὲν οὐ προσεῖχεν, ἐν δὲ Γαργάζῃ φρουρὰν ἀπολιπὼν ἐπανῆλθεν εἰς Παντικάπαιον, ἀσφαλισόμενος3 τὰ κατὰ τὴν βασιλείαν. καθʼ ὃν δὴ χρόνον Εὔμηλος, συναγωνισαμένων αὐτῷ τῶν βαρβάρων, τήν τε Γάργαζαν κατελάβετο καὶ τῶν ἄλλων πολισμάτων καὶ χωρίων οὐκ ὀλίγα.
He, having performed a magnificent funeral and deposited the body in the royal tombs, quickly came to Gargaza and took over both the army and the sovereignty. Although Eumelus sent envoys to treat for a share of the kingdom, he paid no attention to him, but leaving a garrison in Gargaza, he returned to Panticapaeum to secure the affairs of the kingdom. It was at this very time that Eumelus, the barbarians fighting along with him, seized Gargaza and not a few of the other towns and places.
ἐπιστρατεύσαντος δὲ τοῦ Πρυτάνιδος μάχῃ τε ἐνίκησε τὸν ἀδελφὸν καὶ συγκλείσας εἰς τὸν ἰσθμὸν τὸν πλησίον τῆς Μαιώτιδος λίμνης συνηνάγκασεν ὁμολογίας θέσθαι, καθʼ ἃς4 τούς τε στρατιώτας παρέδωκε καὶ τῆς βασιλείας ἐκχωρεῖν ὡμολόγησεν. ὡς δὲ παρεγένετο εἰς Παντικάπαιον, ἐν ᾧ τὸ βασίλειον ἦν ἀεὶ τῶν ἐν Βοσπόρῳ βασιλευσάντων, ἐπεχείρησε μὲν πάλιν ἀνακτᾶσθαι τὴν βασιλείαν, κατισχυθεὶς δὲ καὶ φυγὼν εἰς τοὺς καλουμένους Κήπους ἀνῃρέθη.
And when Prytanis marched against him, he defeated his brother in battle, and having shut him up in the isthmus near the Maeotis Lake, he compelled him to make an agreement, according to which he surrendered his soldiers and agreed to abdicate the kingdom. But when he arrived at Panticapaeum, where the palace of those who ruled in Bosporus had always been, he attempted again to recover the kingdom, but being overpowered and fleeing to the place called Kepoi, he was slain.
Εὔμηλος δὲ μετὰ τὸν τῶν ἀδελφῶν θάνατον βουλόμενος ἀσφαλῶς θέσθαι τὰ κατὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀνεῖλε τούς τε φίλους τῶν περὶ τὸν Σάτυρον καὶ Πρύτανιν, ἔτι δὲ τὰς γυναῖκας καὶ τὰ τέκνα. μόνος δὲ διέφυγεν αὐτὸν ὁ παῖς ὁ Σατύρου Παρυσάδης, νέος ὢν παντελῶς τὴν ἡλικίαν·5 ἐξιππεύσας γὰρ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως κατέφυγε πρὸς Ἄγαρον τὸν βασιλέα τῶν Σκυδῶν.
But Eumelus, wishing after the death of his brothers to establish his own power securely, put to death the friends of Satyrus and Prytanis, and furthermore their wives and children. Only the son of Satyrus, Parysades, escaped him, being very young in age; for having ridden on horseback out of the city, he fled for refuge to Agaros, the king of the Scydians.
ἀγανακτούντων δὲ τῶν πολιτῶν ἐπὶ τῷ φόνῳ τῶν οἰκείων συναγαγὼν εἰς ἐκκλησίαν τὰ πλήθη περί τε τούτων ἀπελογήσατο καὶ τὴν πάτριον πολιτείαν ἀποκατέστησεν. συνεχώρησε δὲ καὶ τὴν ἀτέλειαν ἔχειν τὴν ἐπὶ τῶν προγόνων οὖσαν τοῖς Παντικάπαιον οἰκοῦσι.6 προσεπηγγείλατο δὲ καὶ τῶν εἰσφορῶν ἅπαντας ἀφήσειν καὶ πολλὰ διελέχθη δημαγωγῶν τὰ πλήθη.
Since the citizens were indignant at the murder of their relatives, he gathered the multitudes into an assembly, made his defense concerning these matters, and restored the ancestral constitution. He also granted to those who inhabited Panticapaeum the right to have the exemption from taxes that had existed in the time of their ancestors. Furthermore, he promised to release everyone from all direct taxes and spoke at length, winning the favor of the multitudes.
ταχὺ δὲ πάντων εἰς τὴν προϋπάρχουσαν εὔνοιαν ἀποκαταστάντων διὰ τὰς εὐεργεσίας τὸ λοιπὸν ἐβασίλευεν ἄρχων νομίμως τῶν ὑποτεταγμένων καὶ διὰ τὴν ἀρετὴν οὐ μετρίως θαυμαζόμενος.
And when all had quickly returned to their former goodwill because of his benefactions, he reigned for the future, ruling his subjects lawfully and being admired in no small measure for his virtue.
- 20.24.1ὃς
The relative pronoun at the beginning of a sentence functioning as a demonstrative pronoun (connecting relative). Here it refers to Prytanis, who was mentioned at the end of the preceding chapter.
- 20.24.1Εὐμήλου δὲ διαπρεσβευομένου
Genitive absolute. The present participle expresses an ongoing attempt (sending embassies to negotiate) concurrent with the main verb οὐ προσεῖχεν in the imperfect tense.
- 20.24.1ἀσφαλισόμενος
Adverbial future participle expressing purpose ('in order to secure'), modifying the main verb ἐπανῆλθεν. Its subject is identical with the subject of the sentence (Prytanis).
- 20.24.2καθʼ ἃς
The antecedent of the relative pronoun ἃς is the preceding feminine plural noun ὁμολογίας (agreement, terms). The preposition κατά with the accusative relative pronoun introduces a relative clause defining the terms, meaning 'according to which' or 'under which terms'.
- 20.24.3τὴν ἡλικίαν
Accusative of respect (or specification), modifying the adjective νέος to clarify 'with respect to age' or 'in age'.
- 20.24.4τοῖς Παντικάπαιον οἰκοῦσι
Dative participle phrase governed by the verb συνεχώρησε ('granted to'). The infinitive phrase τὴν ἀτέλειαν ἔχειν ('to have the tax exemption') serves as the object of permission, forming the construction: 'he granted to those inhabiting Panticapaeum to have the tax exemption'.