- 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-grc6:20.73.1-20.73.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-06
Following the change of archon in Athens and consuls in Rome, King Antigonus mourns the death of his son Phoenix, summons Demetrius, and prepares a massive land and sea invasion of Egypt, pushing through the desert despite astronomical warnings and harsh swampy terrain.
τοῦ δʼ ἐνιαυσίου χρόνου διεληλυθότος Ἀθήνησι μὲν ἦρχε Κόροιβος, ἐν Ῥώμῃ δὲ τὴν ὕπατον ἀρχὴν παρέλαβον Κόιντος Μάρκιος καὶ Πόπλιος Κορνήλιος. ἐπὶ δὲ τούτων Ἀντίγονος ὁ βασιλεύς, τελευτήσαντος αὐτῷ τοῦ νεωτέρου τῶν υἱῶν Φοίνικος,1 τοῦτον μὲν βασιλικῶς ἔθαψε, τὸν δὲ Δημήτριον ἐκ τῆς Κύπρου μεταπεμψάμενος ἤθροιζε τὰς δυνάμεις εἰς τὴν Ἀντιγονίαν.
When the year had passed, Coroebus was archon at Athens, and in Rome Quintus Marcius and Publius Cornelius took over the consular office. Under their term, King Antigonus, his younger son Phoenix having died, buried him with royal honors, and having summoned Demetrius from Cyprus, assembled his forces at Antigonia.
ἔκρινε δὲ στρατεύειν ἐπὶ τὴν Αἴγυπτον. αὐτὸς μὲν οὖν τοῦ πεζοῦ στρατεύματος ἀφηγούμενος προῆγε διὰ τῆς Κοίλης Συρίας, ἔχων πεζοὺς μὲν πλείους τῶν ὀκτακισμυρίων, ἱππεῖς δὲ περὶ ὀκτακισχιλίους, ἐλέφαντας δὲ τρισὶ πλείους τῶν ὀγδοήκοντα·2 τῷ δὲ Δημητρίῳ παραδοὺς τὸν στόλον συνέταξε συμπαραπλεῖν ἅμα πορευομένῃ τῇ δυνάμει, παρεσκευασμένων νεῶν τῶν ἁπασῶν μακρῶν μὲν ἑκατὸν πεντήκοντα, πορίων δὲ στρατιωτικῶν ἑκατόν, ἐν οἷς ἐκομίζετο βελῶν πλῆθος.
He decided to campaign against Egypt. He himself, leading the land force, advanced through Coele-Syria, having more than eighty thousand infantry, about eight thousand cavalry, and eighty-three elephants (three more than eighty). Having handed over the fleet to Demetrius, he ordered him to sail along with the marching land force; in all, one hundred and fifty warships and one hundred military transport ships had been prepared, in which a great quantity of missiles was carried.
τῶν δὲ κυβερνητῶν οἰομένων δεῖν ἀπομένειν τὴν τῆς Πλειάδος δύσιν3 δοκοῦσαν ἔσεσθαι μεθʼ ἡμέρας ὀκτώ, τούτοις μὲν ἐπετίμησεν ὡς κατορρωδοῦσι τοὺς κινδύνους,4 αὐτὸς δὲ στρατοπεδεύων περὶ Γάζαν καὶ σπεύδων φθάσαι τὴν τοῦ Πτολεμαίου παρασκευὴν τοῖς μὲν στρατιώταις παρήγγειλε δέχʼ ἡμερῶν ἔχειν ἐπισίτισιν, ἐπὶ δὲ ταῖς καμήλοις ταῖς ἀθροισθείσαις ὑπὸ τῶν Ἀράβων ἐπέθηκε σίτου μυριάδας μεδίμνων τρισκαίδεκα καὶ χόρτου πλῆθος τοῖς τετράποσι· τά τε βέλη κομίζων τοῖς ζεύγεσι προῆγε διὰ τῆς ἐρήμου μετὰ κακοπαθείας διὰ τὸ πολλοὺς εἶναι τῶν τόπων τελματώδεις καὶ μάλιστα περὶ τὰ καλούμενα Βάραθρα.
When the pilots thought they ought to wait for the setting of the Pleiades, which was expected to be after eight days, he rebuked them on the ground that they shrank from the dangers. He himself, encamping near Gaza and hastening to forestall Ptolemy’s preparations, ordered the soldiers to have provisions for ten days, and upon the camels collected by the Arabs he loaded one hundred and thirty thousand medimnoi of grain and a great quantity of fodder for the beasts of burden. Carrying the missiles with the draft animals, he advanced through the desert with great hardship because many of the places were swampy, and especially around the so-called Barathra.
- 20.73.1τελευτήσαντος αὐτῷ τοῦ νεωτέρου τῶν υἱῶν Φοίνικος
A genitive absolute construction (τελευτήσαντος... Φοίνικος) containing the dative of interest (or possession) pronoun αὐτῷ referring to Antigonus ('his younger son Phoenix having died to him').
- 20.73.2τρισὶ πλείους τῶν ὀγδοήκοντα
The dative numeral τρισὶ is a dative of degree of difference modifying the comparative πλείους (contracted form of πλείονας), followed by the genitive of comparison τῶν ὀγδοήκοντα, meaning 'three more than eighty' (eighty-three).
- 20.73.3δεῖν ἀπομένειν τὴν τῆς Πλειάδος δύσιν
An infinitive clause under the impersonal verb δεῖν in indirect discourse. The verb ἀπομένειν is used transitively here, taking the accusative object τὴν τῆς Πλειάδος δύσιν, meaning 'to wait for' or 'to wait out' the setting of the Pleiades.
- 20.73.3ὡς κατορρωδοῦσι τοὺς κινδύνους
The conjunction ὡς with the dative plural present participle κατορρωδοῦσι (agreeing with τούτοις) expresses an alleged or subjective reason, implying 'on the ground that they were terrified of the dangers' as charged by Antigonus.