- 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
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc6:20.74.1-20.74.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-06
Demetrius's fleet suffered severe damage from a storm before reaching Casium, where they faced extreme hardship due to a lack of drinking water; however, as the wind died down, the land force under Antigonus arrived and they established a camp near the Nile.
οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν Δημήτριον ἐκ τῆς Γάζης ἐκπλεύσαντες περὶ μέσας νύκτας τὸ μὲν πρῶτον εὐδίας οὔσης1 ἐφʼ ἡμέρας τινὰς ταῖς ταχυναυτούσαις ναυσὶν ἐρυμούλκουν τὰ στρατιωτικὰ πόρια· ἔπειτα τῆς Πλειάδος περικαταλαμβανούσης αὐτοὺς2 καὶ πνεύματος ἐπιγενομένου βορίου συνέβη πολλὰ τῶν τετρηρικῶν σκαφῶν ὑπὸ τοῦ χειμῶνος κατενεχθῆναι παραβόλως ἐπὶ πόλιν Ῥαφίαν, οὖσαν δυσπροσόρμιστον καὶ τεναγώδη. τῶν δὲ πλοίων τῶν κομιζόντων τὰ βέλη τὰ μὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ χειμῶνος συγκλυσθέντα διεφθάρη, τὰ δʼ ἐπαλινδρόμησεν εἰς τὴν Γάζαν· τοῖς δὲ κρατίστοις τῶν σκαφῶν βιασάμενοι διέτειναν μέχρι τοῦ Κασίου.
Meanwhile, Demetrius and his men, having sailed out from Gaza around midnight, at first towed the military transport ships with their fast-sailing ships for some days since the weather was calm. Then, as the setting of the Pleiades overtook them and a north wind arose, it happened that many of the quadriremes were dangerously driven by the storm toward the city of Raphia, which was difficult to anchor at and full of shoals. Of the vessels carrying the missiles, some were overwhelmed by the storm and destroyed, while others ran back to Gaza. But forcing their way with the strongest of the ships, they pressed on as far as Casium.
τοῦτο δὲ τοῦ μὲν Νείλου διέστηκεν οὐ μακράν, ἀλίμενον δέ ἐστι καὶ κατὰ τὰς χειμερίους περιστάσεις ἀπροσόρμιστον. διόπερ ἠναγκάζοντο τὰς ἀγκύρας ἀφέντες ὡς ἂν ἐν δυσὶ σταδίοις ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἀποσαλεύειν, ἅμα πολλοῖς περιεχόμενοι δεινοῖς· τοῦ μὲν γὰρ κλύδωνος ῥηγνυμένου τραχύτερον ἐκινδύνευον αὔτανδρα τὰ σκάφη συγκλυσθῆναι, τῆς δὲ γῆς οὔσης ἀπροσορμίστου καὶ πολεμίας οὔτε ναῦς ἀκινδύνως ἦν προσπλεῖν οὔτε τοὺς ἄνδρας προσνήξασθαι, τὸ δὲ μέγιστον, ἐλελοίπει τὸ εἰς πότον αὐτοῖς ὕδωρ, εἰς τοιαύτην τε σπάνιν κατεκλείσθησαν ὥστε εἰ μίαν ἡμέραν ὁ χειμὼν ἐπέμεινεν, πάντες ἂν τῷ δίψει διεφθάρησαν.3 ἐν ἀθυμίᾳ δʼ ὄντων ἁπάντων καὶ προσδοκωμένης ἤδη τῆς ἀπωλείας τὸ μὲν πνεῦμα κατέπαυσεν,4 ἡ δὲ μετʼ Ἀντιγόνου δύναμις καταντήσασα πλησίον τοῦ στόλου κατεστρατοπέδευσεν.
This place is not far distant from the Nile, but it is harborless and, under stormy conditions, impossible to anchor at. Therefore they were forced to let go their anchors and ride at anchor in the open sea about two stades from the land, while being surrounded by many dangers. For since the surge broke very violently, they were in danger of having their ships swallowed up along with their crews, and as the land was harborless and hostile, it was neither possible for the ships to sail in without danger nor for the men to swim ashore. And what was greatest, their drinking water had failed them, and they were reduced to such a scarcity that if the storm had continued for one single day, they would all have perished of thirst. While all were in despair and destruction was already expected, the wind ceased, and the force under Antigonus, having arrived near the fleet, encamped.
ἐκβάντες οὖν ἐκ τῶν σκαφῶν καὶ προσαναλαβόντες ἑαυτοὺς ἐν τῇ στρατοπεδείᾳ προσέμενον τῶν νεῶν τὰς ἀποσπασθείσας. διεφθάρη δʼ ἐν τούτῳ τῷ σάλῳ τρία σκάφη τῶν πεντηρικῶν, ἐξ ὧν ἔνιοι τῶν ἀνδρῶν διενήξαντο πρὸς τὴν γῆν. ἔπειτα Ἀντίγονος μὲν προαγαγὼν τὴν δύναμιν πλησίον τοῦ Νείλου κατεστρατοπέδευσεν, ἀπέχων δύο σταδίους τοῦ ποταμοῦ.
Therefore, having disembarked from the vessels and recuperated themselves in the camp, they waited for the ships that had been separated. In this heavy sea, three of the quinqueremes were destroyed, from which some of the men swam to the land. Then Antigonus, having advanced his force near the Nile, encamped at a distance of two stades from the river.
- 20.74.1εὐδίας οὔσης
Genitive absolute expressing time or cause ("since the weather was calm").
- 20.74.1τῆς Πλειάδος περικαταλαμβανούσης αὐτοὺς
Genitive absolute. It refers to the setting of the Pleiades (mentioned in 73.3) "overtaking" or "catching up with" them.
- 20.74.3εἰ μίαν ἡμέραν ὁ χειμὼν ἐπέμεινεν, πάντες ἂν τῷ δίψει διεφθάρησαν
A past contrary-to-fact conditional sentence. It uses the past indicative in the protasis (ἐπέμεινεν) and ἄν with the past indicative in the apodosis (ἂν διεφθάρησαν), meaning "if the storm had continued for one day (which it did not), everyone would have perished from thirst."
- 20.74.4κατέπαυσεν
Active indicative aorist third person singular of the verb καταπαύω. Instead of its transitive meaning "to stop," it is used here intransitively to mean "(the wind) ceased" or "died down."