- 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-grc6:20.8.1-20.8.7
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
To encourage his soldiers who were despondent after the burning of the ships, Agathocles quickly captured the wealthy "Great City" and "White Tunis," subsequently destroying both to ensure they left themselves no refuge before a decisive victory.
οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ τῶν νεῶν ἁπασῶν φλεγομένων καὶ τοῦ πυρὸς πολὺν ἐπέχοντος τόπον ἔκπληξις κατεῖχε τοὺς Σικελιώτας. ἐν ἀρχῇ μὲν γὰρ ὑπὸ τῆς Ἀγαθοκλέους γοητείας παραλογισθέντες καὶ τῆς τῶν ἐγχειρουμένων ὀξύτητος ἀναθεώρησιν οὐ διδούσης πάντες συγκατετίθεντο τοῖς πραττομένοις· τοῦ δὲ χρόνου τὸν περὶ ἑκάστων ἀναλογισμὸν παριστάντος εἰς μεταμέλειαν ἐνέπιπτον καὶ τὸ μέγεθος τοῦ διείργοντος πελάγους ἀναλογιζόμενοι τὴν σωτηρίαν ἀπεγίνωσκον.
Nevertheless, as all the ships were burning and the fire occupied a vast area, consternation seized the Siceliots. For at first, having been deceived by the spell of Agathocles, and since the speed of the undertaking gave no opportunity for reflection, they had all agreed to what was being done; but as time brought reflection on each of these matters, they fell into repentance, and considering the vastness of the intervening sea, they despaired of their safety.
ὁ δʼ Ἀγαθοκλῆς σπεύδων ἀπαλλάξαι τῆς ἀθυμίας τοὺς στρατιώτας ἦγε τὴν δύναμιν ἐπὶ τὴν ὀνομαζομένην Μεγάλην πόλιν, οὖσαν Καρχηδονίων.
But Agathocles, hastening to rid the soldiers of their despondency, led his force against the so-called Great City, which belonged to the Carthaginians.
ἡ δʼ ἀνὰ μέσον χώρα, διʼ ἧς ἦν ἀναγκαῖον πορευθῆναι, διείληπτο κηπείαις καὶ παντοίαις φυτουργίαις, πολλῶν ὑδάτων διωχετευμένων καὶ πάντα τόπον ἀρδευόντων. ἀγροικίαι τε συνεχεῖς ὑπῆρχον, οἰκοδομαῖς πολυτελέσι καὶ κονιάμασι διαπεπονημέναι καὶ τὸν τῶν κεκτημένων αὐτὰς διασημαίνουσαι πλοῦτον.
The intervening country, through which it was necessary to march, was divided up by gardens and plantations of every kind, with many streams of water channeled and irrigating every spot. There were also continuous farmsteads, elaborately adorned with costly buildings and plaster-work, displaying the wealth of their owners.
ἔγεμον δʼ αἱ μὲν ἐπαύλεις πάντων τῶν πρὸς ἀπόλαυσιν, ὡς ἂν τῶν ἐγχωρίων ἐν εἰρήνῃ πολυχρονίῳ τεθησαυρικότων1 γεννημάτων ἀφθονίαν· ἡ δὲ χώρα ἡ μὲν ἦν ἀμπελόφυτος, ἡ δὲ ἐλαιοφόρος καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν καρπίμων δένδρων ἀνάπλεως. ἐπὶ θάτερα δὲ μέρη τὸ πεδίον ἐνέμοντο βοῶν ἀγέλαι καὶ ποῖμναι καὶ τὰ πλησίον ἕλη φορβάδων ἵππων ἔγεμε. καθόλου δὲ παντοία τις ἦν ἐν τοῖς τόποις εὐδαιμονία, τῶν ἐπιφανεστάτων Καρχηδονίων διειληφότων τὰς κτήσεις καὶ τοῖς πλούτοις πεφιλοκαληκότων πρὸς ἀπόλαυσιν.
The villas were filled with everything for enjoyment, as if the inhabitants had hoarded an abundance of produce during a long peace. Part of the land was planted with vines, part was olive-bearing, and it was full of other fruitful trees. On the other side, herds of cattle and flocks of sheep grazed on the plain, and the neighboring marshes were full of grazing horses. In general, there was a kind of manifold prosperity in those parts, as the most distinguished Carthaginians had distributed the estates among themselves and had cultivated a taste for beauty with their wealth for the sake of enjoyment.
διόπερ οἱ Σικελιῶται τό τε τῆς χώρας κάλλος καὶ τὴν εὐδαιμονίαν τὴν ἐν αὐτῇ θαυμάζοντες μετέωροι ταῖς ἐλπίσιν2 ἐγένοντο, θεωροῦντες ἄξια τῶν κινδύνων ἔπαθλα τοῖς νικῶσι προκείμενα.
Therefore, the Siceliots, marveling both at the beauty of the land and the prosperity in it, became elated in their hopes, seeing that prizes worthy of their dangers lay before the victors.
ὁ δʼ Ἀγαθοκλῆς ὁρῶν τοὺς στρατιώτας ἀναλαμβάνοντας αὑτοὺς ἐκ τῆς ἀθυμίας καὶ προθύμους ὄντας εἰς τοὺς κινδύνους ἐξ ἐφόδου προσέβαλλε τοῖς τείχεσιν. ἀπροσδοκήτου δὲ τῆς ἐπιθέσεως γενομένης καὶ τῶν ἔνδον διὰ τὴν ἄγνοιαν καὶ τὴν τῶν πολεμικῶν ἀπειρίαν ὀλίγον ὑποστάντων χρόνον εἷλε τὴν πόλιν κατὰ κράτος· δοὺς δὲ τοῖς στρατιώταις εἰς ἁρπαγὴν ἐνέπλησε τὴν δύναμιν ὠφελείας ἅμα καὶ θάρσους.
But Agathocles, seeing his soldiers recovering themselves from their despondency and eager for danger, immediately assaulted the walls. Since the attack was unexpected and those within held out for only a short time because of their ignorance and lack of experience in military affairs, he took the city by storm; and by giving it over to the soldiers for plunder, he filled his army with booty and courage at the same time.
εὐθὺ δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὸν Λευκὸν Τύνητα καλούμενον ἀναζεύξας ἐχειρώσατο τὴν πόλιν, ἀπέχουσαν Καρχηδόνος δισχιλίους σταδίους. ἀμφοτέρας δὲ τὰς ἁλούσας πόλεις οἱ μὲν στρατιῶται διαφυλάττειν ἠβούλοντο καὶ τὰς ὠφελείας εἰς αὐτὰς ἀπετίθεντο· ὁ δʼ Ἀγαθοκλῆς ἀκόλουθα τοῖς προπεπραγμένοις3 διανοηθεὶς καὶ διδάξας τὸ πλῆθος ὡς οὐδεμίαν συμφέρει καταφυγὴν ἀπολιπεῖν, ἕως ἂν παρατάξει νικήσωσι, κατέστρεψέ τε τὰς πόλεις καὶ κατεστρατοπέδευσεν ἐν ὑπαίθρῳ.
Right away, having marched also toward the so-called White Tunis, he subdued the city, which was two thousand stades distant from Carthage. Now the soldiers wished to guard both the captured cities and store their booty in them; but Agathocles, thinking in a manner consistent with what he had previously done and showing the multitude that it was of no advantage to leave any refuge until they should win in a pitched battle, destroyed the cities and encamped in the open.
- 20.8.4ὡς ἂν τῶν ἐγχωρίων ... τεθησαυρικότων
A construction where the conjunction ὡς ἄν is followed by the perfect participle τεθησαυρικότων in the genitive absolute. Rather than presenting an objective fact, it expresses a subjective inference or hypothetical comparison on the part of the observer, equivalent to "as if the inhabitants had hoarded."
- 20.8.5μετέωροι ταῖς ἐλπίσιν
An expression combining the adjective μετέωροι ("suspended on high," "excited") with the dative of respect ταῖς ἐλπίσιν. It describes the psychological state of the soldiers whose expectations were highly raised or set on tiptoe by the prospect of rich spoils.
- 20.8.7ἀκόλουθα τοῖς προπεπραγμένοις
The neuter plural accusative ἀκόλουθα of the adjective ἀκόλουθος is used adverbially to modify the participle διανοηθείς ("having thought/intended"). Accompanied by the dative complement τοῖς προπεπραγμένοις ("what had previously been done"), it means "thinking in a manner consistent with his previous actions" (i.e., burning the ships to cut off retreat).