Archagathus' Call for Aid and Agathocles' Naval Victory — Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica Book 20 (20.61.1–20.61.8), Greek & English

§20.61.1

ὁ δʼ Ἀρχάγαθος τηλικαύτῃ συμφορᾷ περιπεσὼν ἐπανῆλθεν εἰς Τύνητα. καὶ τῶν μὲν ἐκπεμφθέντων στρατιωτῶν τοὺς περιλειπομένους μετεπέμπετο πανταχόθεν, εἰς δὲ τὴν Σικελίαν ἐξέπεμψε τοὺς δηλώσοντας¹ τῷ πατρὶ τὰ συμβεβηκότα καὶ παρακαλέσοντας βοηθεῖν τὴν ταχίστην.

But Archagathus, having fallen into so great a disaster, returned to Tunis. And of the soldiers who had been sent out, he summoned the survivors from all sides; and to Sicily he sent men to report to his father what had happened and to urge him to help as quickly as possible.

§20.61.2

τοῖς δὲ προγεγονόσιν ἀτυχήμασιν ἑτέρα τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ἐλάττωσις ἐπεγένετο· ἀπέστησαν μὲν γὰρ ἀπʼ αὐτῶν πλὴν ὀλίγων ἅπαντες οἱ σύμμαχοι, συνεστράφησαν δὲ αἱ τῶν πολεμίων δυνάμεις καὶ πλησίον ποιησάμενοι παρεμβολὰς ἐφήδρευον.

To the previous misfortunes another defeat was added for the Greeks; for all the allies except a few revolted from them, and the forces of the enemy united and, having made camps nearby, lay in wait.

§20.61.3

Ἰμίλκων μὲν γὰρ κατελάβετο τὰ στενὰ καὶ τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς χώρας εἰσβολῶν² ἀπέκλεισε τοὺς ἐναντίους, ἀπέχοντας σταδίους ἑκατόν· ἐκ δὲ θατέρου μέρους ἐστρατοπέδευσεν Ἀτάρβας ἀπὸ τεσσαράκοντα σταδίων τοῦ Τύνητος.

For Himilco occupied the passes and shut out the opponents, who were a hundred stades away, from the approaches from the country; and on the other side Atarbas encamped forty stades from Tunis.

§20.61.4

διόπερ τῶν πολεμίων οὐ μόνον τῆς θαλάττης, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς χώρας κυριευόντων σιτοδείᾳ τε συνέβαινε συνέχεσθαι τοὺς Ἕλληνας καὶ τῷ φόβῳ πάντοθεν κατείχοντο.

Therefore, since the enemy controlled not only the sea but also the land, it happened that the Greeks were afflicted with famine, and they were gripped by fear on all sides.

§20.61.5

ἐν ἀθυμίᾳ δὲ δεινῇ πάντων ὄντων Ἀγαθοκλῆς ὡς ἐπύθετο τὰ κατὰ τὴν Λιβύην ἐλαττώματα, παρεσκευάσατο ναῦς μακρὰς ἑπτακαίδεκα, διανοούμενος βοηθεῖν τοῖς περὶ τὸν Ἀρχάγαθον. καὶ τῶν κατὰ Σικελίαν δὲ πραγμάτων³ ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖρον αὐτῷ μεταβεβληκότων διὰ τὸ τοὺς περὶ Δεινοκράτην φυγάδας ηὐξῆσθαι ἐπὶ πλεῖον τὸν μὲν ἐν τῇ νήσῳ πόλεμον τοῖς περὶ Λεπτίνην στρατηγοῖς ἐνεχείρισεν, αὐτὸς δὲ πληρώσας τὰς ναῦς ἐπετήρει τὸν τοῦ πλοῦ καιρόν, ἐφορμούντων τῶν Καρχηδονίων τριάκοντα ναυσί. καθʼ ὃν δὴ χρόνον ἐκ Τυρρηνίας αὐτῷ κατέπλευσαν ὀκτωκαίδεκα ναῦς ἐπὶ βοήθειαν, αἳ διὰ νυκτὸς εἰς τὸν λιμένα εἰσπεσοῦσαι τοὺς Καρχηδονίους ἔλαθον.⁴ ὁ δʼ Ἀγαθοκλῆς ταύτης τυχὼν τῆς ἀφορμῆς κατεστρατήγησε τοὺς πολεμίους, τοῖς μὲν συμμάχοις μένειν παραγγείλας μέχρι ἂν αὐτὸς ἐκπλεύσας ἐπισπάσηται τοὺς Φοίνικας πρὸς τὸν διωγμόν, αὐτὸς δέ, καθάπερ ἦν συντεθειμένος, ἐκ τοῦ λιμένος ἀνήχθη κατὰ σπουδὴν τοῖς ἑπτακαίδεκα σκάφεσιν.

While everyone was in terrible dejection, Agathocles, when he learned of the defeats in Libya, prepared seventeen warships, intending to help Archagathus and his men. And since affairs in Sicily had also changed for the worse for him because the exiles under Deinocrates had increased to a greater number, he entrusted the war on the island to the generals under Leptines, while he himself, having manned the ships, watched for the opportunity to sail, while the Carthaginians were blockading with thirty ships. At this very time, eighteen ships from Etruria sailed to his assistance, which, entering the harbor by night, escaped the notice of the Carthaginians. Agathocles, obtaining this opportunity, outgeneraled the enemy; having ordered the allies to remain until he himself, having sailed out, should draw the Phoenicians into pursuit, he himself, just as had been agreed, put to sea in haste from the harbor with his seventeen vessels.

§20.61.7

εἶθʼ οἱ μὲν ἐφορμοῦντες ἐδίωκον, οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν Ἀγαθοκλέα κατανοήσαντες τοὺς Τυρρηνοὺς παραφαινομένους ἐκ τοῦ λιμένος ἄφνω τὰς ναῦς ἐπέστρεψαν καὶ καταστάντες εἰς ἐμβολὴν διεναυμάχουν τοῖς βαρβάροις. οἱ δὲ Καρχηδόνιοι διά τε τὸ παράδοξον καὶ διὰ τὸ τῶν πολεμίων εἰς μέσον ἀπολαμβάνεσθαι τὰς ἰδίας τριήρεις καταπλαγέντες ἔφυγον.

Then the blockaders pursued, but Agathocles and his men, when they observed the Etruscans appearing from the harbor, suddenly turned their ships around and, lining up for ramming, fought a naval battle with the barbarians. The Carthaginians, terrified both by the unexpectedness and because their own triremes were being caught in the middle of the enemy, fled.

§20.61.8

εἶθʼ οἱ μὲν Ἕλληνες πέντε νεῶν αὐτάνδρων ἐκυρίευσαν, ὁ δὲ τῶν Καρχηδονίων στρατηγὸς ἁλισκομένης ἤδη τῆς ναυαρχίδος ἀπέσφαξεν ἑαυτόν, προκρίνας τὸν θάνατον τῆς προσδοκηθείσης αἰχμαλωσίας. οὐ μὴν ἐφάνη γε εὖ βεβουλευμένος· ἡ γὰρ ναῦς φοροῦ πνεύματος ἐπιλαβομένη τοῦ δόλωνος ἀρθέντος⁵ ἐξέφυγε τὸν κίνδυνον.

Then the Greeks captured five ships with their crews, and the Carthaginian general, since his flagship was already being captured, cut his own throat, preferring death to the expected captivity. However, he did not appear to have planned well; for the ship, catching a favorable wind after the foresail was raised, escaped the danger.

Syntax notes5 items

20.61.1τοὺς δηλώσοντας
The future participles δηλώσοντας and παρακαλέσοντας are used attributively with the article τοὺς to express purpose ("those who would report... and urge...").
20.61.3τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς χώρας εἰσβολῶν
The genitive τῶν ... εἰσβολῶν is a genitive of separation depending on the verb ἀπέκλεισε ("shut out from"). It refers to the entrances or forays from the country, which leads to the "famine" (σιτοδείᾳ) in the next section.
20.61.5τῶν κατὰ Σικελίαν δὲ πραγμάτων
While Agathocles is the main subject, the main verbs are παρεσκευάσατο, ἐνεχείρισεν, and ἐπετήρει. The clause τῶν κατὰ Σικελίαν... μεταβεβληκότων is a genitive absolute expressing cause, further explained by the prepositional phrase διὰ τὸ ... ηὐξῆσθαι containing an articular infinitive with an accusative subject.
20.61.6ἔλαθον
The verb ἔλαθον (aorist of λανθάνω) is used here with the accusative τοὺς Καρχηδονίους with the participle εἰσπεσοῦσαι, meaning "they escaped the notice of the Carthaginians" (i.e., they entered the harbor undetected).
20.61.8τοῦ δόλωνος ἀρθέντος
A genitive absolute construction expressing time. δόλων refers to the foresail or small sail, and ἀρθέντος (aorist passive participle of αἴρω) means "having been raised."

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

2026-09-21 AI review — note 1

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc6:20.61.1-20.61.8