- 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-grc6:20.64.1-20.64.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-06
Agathocles returns to Libya and confronts the Carthaginian army but is defeated due to numerical and topographical disadvantages, forcing a retreat to his camp; the following night, an unexpected calamity strikes both forces.
καὶ κομισθεὶς εἰς Λιβύην κατέλαβε τὸ στρατόπεδον ἐν ἀθυμίᾳ καὶ σπάνει πολλῇ· διόπερ κρίνων συμφέρειν διαγωνίζεσθαι παρεκάλεσε τοὺς στρατιώτας εἰς τὸν κίνδυνον καὶ προαγαγὼν τὴν δύναμιν ἐκτεταγμένην προεκαλεῖτο τοὺς βαρβάρους εἰς μάχην.
And having crossed over to Libya, he found the camp in despondency and great want; wherefore, judging it to be advantageous to fight it out, he exhorted the soldiers to the danger, and having led forward his force drawn up in battle order, he challenged the barbarians to battle.
εἶχε δὲ πεζοὺς μὲν τοὺς ἅπαντας ὑπολειπομένους Ἕλληνας ἑξακισχιλίους, Κελτοὺς δὲ καὶ Σαυνίτας καὶ Τυρρηνοὺς τούτων οὐκ ἐλάττους,1 Λίβυας δὲ μικρὸν ἀπολείποντας τῶν μυρίων, οὓς ἐφέδρους εἶναι συνέβαινε,2 συμμεταβαλλομένους ἀεὶ τοῖς καιροῖς·
He had as infantry all the remaining Greeks, six thousand, and Celts, Samnites and Tyrrhenians no fewer than these, and Libyans little short of ten thousand, whom it happened were in reserve, always changing sides with the circumstances;
χωρὶς δὲ τούτων ἠκολούθουν ἱππεῖς χίλιοι πεντακόσιοι, ζεύγη δὲ Λιβύων πλείω τῶν ἑξακισχιλίων. οἱ δὲ Καρχηδόνιοι κατεστρατοπεδευκότες ἐπὶ τῶν ὑπερδεξίων καὶ δυσπροσίτων διακινδυνεύειν μὲν πρὸς ἀνθρώπους ἀπογινώσκοντας τὴν σωτηρίαν οὐκ ἔκρινον, μένοντες δʼ ἐν τῇ παρεμβολῇ καὶ πάντων εὐποροῦντες τῇ σπάνει καὶ τῷ χρόνῳ καταπολεμήσειν τοὺς ἐναντίους ἤλπιζον.
Apart from these there followed fifteen hundred cavalry, and more than six thousand Libyan chariots. The Carthaginians, having encamped on high and inaccessible grounds, decided not to risk a battle against men who despaired of their safety, but remaining in their camp and being well supplied with all things, they hoped to subdue the enemy by want and time.
ὁ δʼ Ἀγαθοκλῆς οὐ δυνάμενος μὲν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὰ πεδία προάγεσθαι, τῶν δὲ καιρῶν ἀναγκαζόντων τολμᾶν τι καὶ παραβάλλεσθαι τὴν δύναμιν ἤγαγεν ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν βαρβάρων στρατοπεδείαν. ἐπεξελθόντων οὖν τῶν Καρχηδονίων καὶ πολὺ τῷ πλήθει καὶ ταῖς δυσχωρίαις ὑπερεχόντων ἐπὶ μέν τινα χρόνον οἱ περὶ τὸν Ἀγαθοκλέα διεκαρτέρουν πάντοθεν ἐκθλιβόμενοι, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτʼ ἐνδόντων τῶν μισθοφόρων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἠναγκάσθησαν ἀναχωρῆσαι πρὸς τὴν στρατοπεδείαν.
Agathocles, being unable to draw them out into the plains, and circumstances forcing him to dare something and hazard his force, led them against the camp of the barbarians. Therefore, when the Carthaginians came out to meet them and, being far superior both in numbers and by the difficulty of the terrain, for a certain time those around Agathocles held out, though hard pressed from all sides, but after this, since the mercenaries and the others gave way, they were forced to retreat to their own camp.
οἱ δὲ βάρβαροι βαρέως ἐπικείμενοι τοὺς μὲν Λίβυας παρήλλαττον οὐδὲν ἐνοχλοῦντες, ἵνα τὴν εὔνοιαν αὐτῶν ἐκκαλέσωνται, τοὺς δʼ Ἕλληνας καὶ μισθοφόρους γνωρίζοντες διὰ τῶν ὅπλων ἐφόνευον, μέχρις ὅτου συνεδίωξαν εἰς τὴν παρεμβολήν. τότε μὲν οὖν ἀνῃρέθησαν Ἀγαθοκλέους3 εἰς τρισχιλίους· κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἐπιοῦσαν νύκτα τὰς δυνάμεις ἀμφοτέρας συνέβη περιπεσεῖν παραλόγῳ τινὶ συμφορᾷ καὶ πᾶσιν ἀνελπίστῳ.
The barbarians, pressing hard upon them, passed by the Libyans, harassing them not at all, in order to win their goodwill, but recognizing the Greeks and mercenaries by their armor, they slaughtered them until they drove them together into their camp. At that time, then, up to three thousand of Agathocles’ men were slain; but during the following night, it happened that both forces fell into a certain irrational and, to all, unexpected calamity.
- 20.64.2τούτων οὐκ ἐλάττους
The genitive of comparison τούτων refers back to the preceding 'six thousand' (ἑξακισχιλίους). Thus, it indicates that the combined force of the Celts, Samnites, and Tyrrhenians was not fewer than six thousand.
- 20.64.2οὓς ἐφέδρους εἶναι συνέβαινε
The relative pronoun οὕς functions as the subject accusative of the infinitive εἶναι, and the entire clause serves as the subject of the impersonal verb συνέβαινε ('it happened that they were in reserve').
- 20.64.5Ἀγαθοκλέους
The genitive Ἀγαθοκλέους is used ellipsis-like for 'Agathocles' men' (τῶν Ἀγαθοκλέους) or acts as a partitive genitive ('of Agathocles' [forces]'), modifying the subject 'up to three thousand.'