- 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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- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc6:20.58.1-20.58.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-07
Eumachus campaigns again into inland Libya but is defeated at Miltine; after passing through a cat-infested mountain and the cities of Pithecussae where monkeys are revered, he retreats to the coast to avoid a barbarian counter-offensive.
ἐμπλήσας δʼ ὠφελείας τὸ στρατόπεδον κατέβη πρὸς τοὺς περὶ τὸν Ἀρχάγαθον καὶ δόξας ἀγαθὸς ἀνὴρ γεγονέναι1 πάλιν ἐστράτευσεν εἰς τοὺς ἄνω τῆς Λιβύης τόπους. ὑπερβαλὼν δὲ τὰς πόλεις ὧν πρότερον ἐγεγόνει κύριος, παρεισέπεσεν εἰς τὴν καλουμένην Μιλτινὴν πόλιν, ἀπροσδοκήτως ἐπιφανείς·
After filling his camp with booty, he went down to Archagathus and his followers, and having gained the reputation of being a brave man, he campaigned again into the upper regions of Libya. Passing beyond the cities which he had previously mastered, he fell unexpectedly upon the city called Miltine and burst into it.
συστραφέντων δʼ ἐπʼ αὐτὸν τῶν βαρβάρων καὶ κρατησάντων2 ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς ἐξεβλήθη παραλόγως καὶ πολλοὺς τῶν στρατιωτῶν ἀπέβαλεν. ἐντεῦθεν δʼ ἀναζεύξας προῆγεν διʼ ὄρους ὑψηλοῦ παρήκοντος ἐπὶ σταδίους διακοσίους, πλήρους δʼ ὄντος αἰλούρων, ἐν ᾧ συνέβαινε μηδὲν ὅλως πτηνὸν νεοττεύειν μήτε ἐπὶ τοῖς δένδρεσι μήτε ἐν ταῖς φάραγξι διὰ τὴν ἀλλοτριότητα τῶν προειρημένων ζῴων.
But when the barbarians rallied against him and got the upper hand in the streets, he was unexpectedly driven out and lost many of his soldiers. Striking camp from there, he advanced through a high mountain extending for two hundred stades, which was full of cats, in which it happened that no bird at all nested, either in the trees or in the ravines, because of the hostile nature of the aforementioned animals.
διελθὼν δὲ τὴν ὀρεινὴν ταύτην ἐνέβαλεν εἰς χώραν ἔχουσαν πλῆθος πιθήκων καὶ πόλεις τρεῖς τὰς ἀπὸ τούτων τῶν ζῴων ὀνομαζομένας εἰς τὸν Ἑλληνικὸν τρόπον τῆς διαλέκτου μεθερμηνευομένας Πιθηκούσσας.
Having passed through this mountainous region, he entered a country which had a multitude of monkeys and three cities named after these animals, which, translated into the Greek manner of speech, were called Pithecussae.
ἐν δὲ ταύταις οὐκ ὀλίγα τῶν νομίμων πολὺ παρήλλαττε τῶν παρʼ ἡμῖν. τάς τε γὰρ αὐτὰς οἰκίας οἱ πίθηκοι κατῴκουν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, θεοὶ παρʼ αὐτοῖς νομιζόμενοι καθάπερ παρʼ Αἰγυπτίοις οἱ κύνες, ἔκ τε τῶν παρεσκευασμένων ἐν τοῖς ταμιείοις τὰ ζῷα τὰς τροφὰς ἐλάμβανον ἀκωλύτως ὁπότε βούλοιντο. καὶ τὰς προσηγορίας δʼ ἐτίθεσαν οἱ γονεῖς τοῖς παισὶ κατὰ τὸ πλεῖστον ἀπὸ τῶν πιθήκων, ὥσπερ παρʼ ἡμῖν ἀπὸ τῶν θεῶν.
In these cities, not a few of the customs differed greatly from ours. For the monkeys inhabited the same houses as the men, being regarded as gods among them just as dogs are among the Egyptians, and the animals took their food without hindrance from the provisions stored in the pantries whenever they wished. Furthermore, the parents gave names to their children for the most part after the monkeys, just as among us after the gods.
τοῖς δʼ ἀποκτείνασι τοῦτο τὸ ζῷον ὡς ἠσεβηκόσι τὰ μέγιστα θάνατος ὥριστο πρόστιμον· διὸ δὴ καὶ παρά τισιν ἐνίσχυσεν ἐν παροιμίας μέρει λεγόμενον ἐπὶ τῶν ἀνατεὶ κτεινομένων3 ὅτι πιθήκου αἷμʼ ἀποτίσειαν.4
For those who killed this animal, death was appointed as the penalty, as having committed the greatest impiety; wherefore indeed, among some, the saying became established as a proverb spoken of those who are killed with impunity, that “they would pay the penalty for the blood of a monkey.”
ὁ δʼ οὖν Εὔμαχος μίαν μὲν τούτων τῶν πόλεων ἑλὼν κατὰ κράτος διήρπασε, τὰς δὲ δύο προσηγάγετο. πυνθανόμενος δὲ τοὺς περιοικοῦντας βαρβάρους ἀθροίζειν ἐπʼ αὐτὸν μεγάλας δυνάμεις προῆγε συντονώτερον, διεγνωκὼς ἐπανιέναι πρὸς τοὺς ἐπὶ θαλάττῃ τόπους.
Eumachus, at any rate, took one of these cities by force and plundered it, and won over the other two. But learning that the neighboring barbarians were gathering large forces against him, he advanced more rapidly, having decided to return to the regions by the sea.
- 20.58.1δόξας ἀγαθὸς ἀνὴρ γεγονέναι
A participial clause modifying the main verb ἐστράτευσεν, with the infinitive γεγονέναι serving as the complement of δόξας. It expresses the cause or reason: 'having been deemed to have become a brave (or capable) man,' referring to his reputation gained through prior military success.
- 20.58.2συστραφέντων δʼ ἐπʼ αὐτὸν τῶν βαρβάρων καὶ κρατησάντων
A genitive absolute construction with τῶν βαρβάρων as the subject, which is distinct from the subject of the main clause (Eumachus). Structurally, it denotes the cause of his defeat and expulsion.
- 20.58.5ἐπὶ τῶν ἀνατεὶ κτεινομένων
The preposition ἐπί is used to indicate the subject matter ('concerning'). The adverb ἀνατεί means 'with impunity' or 'without penalty' and modifies the passive participle κτεινομένων. It refers to those who are killed with impunity (i.e. those whose slayers are legally immune from punishment), highlighting the irony of the proverb that even in such cases, the slayer would still be punished.
- 20.58.5ὅτι πιθήκου αἷμʼ ἀποτίσειαν
A noun clause introduced by ὅτι, expressing the content of the proverb. The verb ἀποτίσειαν is in the optative mood, functioning either as an oblique optative in indirect speech or representing a general potentiality/rule in a proverbial saying: 'that they would pay the penalty for the blood of a monkey' (i.e., face severe punishment as if for sacrilege).