- 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-grc6:20.9.1-20.9.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
The Carthaginians watching the harbor change their joy to fear as the enemy advances inland, and the city of Carthage falls into great confusion upon learning of Agathocles' landing, assuming their forces in Sicily are destroyed.
οἱ δʼ ἐφορμοῦντες Καρχηδόνιοι τῷ ναυστάθμῳ τῶν Σικελιωτῶν τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ὁρῶντες καομένας τὰς ναῦς περιχαρεῖς ἦσαν, ὡς διὰ τὸν ἀπʼ αὐτῶν φόβον ἠναγκασμένων τῶν πολεμίων διαφθεῖραι τὰ σκάφη·1 ὡς δʼ ἴδον εἰς τὴν χώραν προάγουσαν τὴν τῶν ἐναντίων δύναμιν, συλλογιζόμενοι περὶ τῶν ἀποβησομένων συμφορὰν ἰδίαν ἡγοῦντο τὴν τῶν νεῶν ἀπώλειαν. διὸ καὶ ταῖς πρῴραις δέρρεις κατεπέτασαν, ὅπερ ἀεὶ ποιεῖν εἰώθασιν, ὅταν τι κακὸν δημοσίᾳ συμβεβηκέναι δόξῃ τῇ Καρχηδονίων πόλει, ἔλαβόν τε καὶ τὰ χαλκώματα τῶν Ἀγαθοκλέους νεῶν εἰς τὰς ἰδίας τριήρεις καὶ τοὺς ἀπαγγελοῦντας ὑπὲρ τῶν συμβεβηκότων τἀκριβὲς ἐξαπέστειλαν εἰς τὴν Καρχηδόνα. πρὶν δὲ τούτους δηλῶσαι τὸ γεγονός, ἀπὸ τῆς χώρας τινὲς αἰσθόμενοι τὸν κατάπλουν τὸν Ἀγαθοκλέους ἀπήγγειλαν κατὰ σπουδὴν τοῖς Καρχηδονίοις.
The Carthaginians who were blockading the naval station of the Siceliots were at first overjoyed when they saw the ships burning, thinking that the enemy, out of fear of them, had been forced to destroy their vessels. But when they saw the force of their opponents advancing into the country, reflecting on what would happen, they considered the destruction of the ships to be their own misfortune. Therefore, they also hung leather screens over their prows, which they are always accustomed to do whenever some misfortune is thought to have publicly befallen the city of the Carthaginians. They also took the bronze fittings from the ships of Agathocles into their own triremes and dispatched messengers to Carthage to report the exact truth of what had happened. But before these could make the event known, some people from the countryside, who had noticed the landing of Agathocles, reported it in haste to the Carthaginians.
οἱ δʼ ἐκπλαγέντες διὰ τὸ παράδοξον ὑπέλαβον ἀπολωλέναι τὰς ἰδίας δυνάμεις ἐν Σικελίᾳ καὶ τὰς πεζικὰς καὶ τὰς ναυτικάς· οὐ γὰρ ἄν ποτε τὸν Ἀγαθοκλέα μὴ νενικηκότα τολμῆσαι2 καταλιπεῖν ἐρήμους βοηθείας τὰς Συρακούσσας οὐδʼ ἂν ἐπιβαλέσθαι περαιοῦν δύναμιν θαλασσοκρατούντων τῶν πολεμίων.
These, being struck with dismay by the unexpected news, supposed that their own forces in Sicily, both land and naval, had been destroyed; for they thought that Agathocles would never have dared to leave Syracuse destitute of aid unless he had been victorious, nor would he have attempted to cross with a force while the enemy had control of the sea.
διόπερ θόρυβος καὶ πολλὴ ταραχὴ κατεῖχε τὴν πόλιν καὶ συνδρομὴ τῶν ὄχλων εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν ἐγίνετο καὶ βουλὴ τῆς γερουσίας ὅ,τι δέοι πράττειν.3 στρατόπεδον μὲν γὰρ οὐκ ἦν ἕτοιμον τὸ δυνάμενον ἀντιτάξασθαι, τὸ δὲ πολιτικὸν πλῆθος ἄπειρον ὂν πολέμου προκαταπεπτώκει ταῖς ψυχαῖς, οἱ πολέμιοι δὲ πλησίον εἶναι τῶν τειχῶν προσεδοκῶντο.
For this reason, tumult and great confusion seized the city, a crowd rushed together into the marketplace, and the council of the elders met to deliberate on what ought to be done. For there was no force ready that was capable of opposing him, and the mass of citizens, being inexperienced in war, had already lost heart, while the enemy was expected to be near the walls.
ἔνιοι μὲν οὖν ἔφασαν πρεσβευτὰς ὑπὲρ εἰρήνης ἀποστέλλειν πρὸς Ἀγαθοκλέα, τοὺς αὐτοὺς ἅμα καὶ κατασκόπους ἐσομένους τῶν παρὰ τοῖς πολεμίοις, τινὲς δὲ ἀναμεῖναι μέχρι ἂν γνῶσιν ἀκριβῶς ἕκαστον τῶν πεπραγμένων. τοιαύτης δὲ συγχύσεως τὴν πόλιν ἐχούσης κατέπλευσαν οἱ πεμφθέντες ὑπὸ τοῦ ναυάρχου καὶ τὰς αἰτίας τῶν πεπραγμένων ἐδήλωσαν.
Some, therefore, said that they should send ambassadors to Agathocles to treat for peace, who would at the same time act as spies on the affairs of the enemy, while others said they should wait until they should know accurately each of the events. While the city was in such confusion, those sent by the admiral sailed into port and explained the causes of what had happened.
- 20.9.1ὡς διὰ τὸν ἀπʼ αὐτῶν φόβον ἠναγκασμένων τῶν πολεμίων διαφθεῖραι τὰ σκάφη·
The conjunction ὡς introduces the genitive absolute (ἠναγκασμένων τῶν πολεμίων) followed by the infinitive (διαφθεῖραι), expressing a subjective reason ("thinking that...").
- 20.9.3οὐ γὰρ ἄν ποτε τὸν Ἀγαθοκλέα μὴ νενικηκότα τολμῆσαι...
The particle ἄν goes with the infinitives τολμῆσαι and ἐπιβαλέσθαι, representing the apodosis of a contrary-to-fact or potential condition in indirect discourse. The negative participle μὴ νενικηκότα functions as a conditional clause ("if he had not been victorious").
- 20.9.4καὶ βουλὴ τῆς γερουσίας ὅ,τι δέοι πράττειν.
The copula (verb ἐγίνετο or ἦν) is omitted, meaning "a council of the elders took place to deliberate on what ought to be done." The optative δέοι in the indirect question ὅ,τι δέοι πράττειν is an optative of indirect discourse (oblique optative) triggered by the past tense of the main clause.