- Source
- Polybius. Vols. 1-4. Büttner-Wobst, Theodor, editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1893.
- 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:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.25.1-1.25.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-12
The Roman navy under Atilius encounters the Carthaginian fleet off Tyndaris, and despite an initial crisis, wins a victory. Consequently, both nations prepare for a larger conflict by significantly increasing their naval forces.
τῷ δʼ ἑξῆς ἐνιαυτῷ Γάιος Ἀτίλιος ὁ στρατηγὸς τῶν Ῥωμαίων πρὸς Τυνδαρίδα καθορμισθεὶς καὶ συνθεασάμενος ἀτάκτως παραπλέοντα τὸν τῶν Καρχηδονίων στόλον, παραγγείλας τοῖς ἰδίοις πληρώμασιν ἕπεσθαι τοῖς ἡγουμένοις, αὐτὸς ὥρμησε πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων, ἔχων δέκα ναῦς ὁμοπλοούσας.
In the following year, the Roman general Gaius Atilius, having put in at Tyndaris and having observed the Carthaginian fleet sailing along in disorder, ordered his own crews to follow the leading ships, and himself rushed forward ahead of the others, with ten closely-sailing ships.
οἱ δὲ Καρχηδόνιοι συνιδόντες τῶν ὑπεναντίων τοὺς μὲν ἀκμὴν1 ἐμβαίνοντας, τοὺς δʼ ἀναγομένους, τοὺς δὲ πρώτους πολὺ προειληφότας τῶν ἄλλων, ἐπιστρέψαντες αὐτοῖς ἀπήντων.
The Carthaginians, seeing that of their enemies some were just embarking, others were putting out to sea, and those in the front had far outstripped the others, turned back and met them.
καὶ κυκλώσαντες τὰς μὲν ἄλλας διέφθειραν, τὴν δὲ τοῦ στρατηγοῦ ναῦν παρʼ ὀλίγον2 αὔτανδρον ἔλαβον. οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ αὕτη μὲν ταῖς ὑπηρεσίαις ἐξηρτυμένη καὶ ταχυναυτοῦσα διέφυγε παραδόξως τὸν κίνδυνον, αἱ δὲ λοιπαὶ τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἐπιπλέουσαι κατὰ βραχὺ συνηθροίζοντο. γενόμεναι δʼ ἐν μετώπῳ συνέβαλλον τοῖς πολεμίοις καὶ δέκα μὲν αὐτάνδρους ναῦς ἔλαβον, ὀκτὼ δὲ κατέδυσαν. αἱ δὲ λοιπαὶ τῶν Καρχηδονίων ἀπεχώρησαν εἰς τὰς Λιπαραίας καλουμένας νήσους.
And having surrounded them, they destroyed the other ships, and came near capturing the general’s ship itself with all its crew. Nevertheless, this ship, being well-manned with oarsmen and fast-sailing, unexpectedly escaped the danger. The rest of the Roman ships, sailing up, collected by degrees. Having formed a front, they engaged the enemy and captured ten ships with their crews, and sank eight. The rest of the Carthaginian ships retreated to the islands called Liparaean.
ἐκ δὲ ταύτης τῆς ναυμαχίας ἀμφότεροι νομίζοντες ἐφάμιλλον πεποιῆσθαι τὸν κίνδυνον,3 ὥρμησαν ὁλοσχερέστερον ἐπὶ τὸ συνίστασθαι ναυτικὰς δυνάμεις καὶ τῶν κατὰ θάλατταν ἀντέχεσθαι πραγμάτων.
As a result of this naval battle, both sides, thinking that the contest had been an equal one, set themselves more earnestly to organize naval forces and to lay hold of the sovereignty of the sea.
αἱ δὲ πεζικαὶ δυνάμεις ἐν τοῖς κατὰ ταῦτα καιροῖς οὐδὲν ἔπραξαν ἄξιον μνήμης, ἀλλὰ περὶ μικρὰς καὶ τὰς τυχούσας πράξεις κατέτριψαν τοὺς χρόνους.
Meanwhile, the land forces during this period performed nothing worthy of mention, but wasted their time on minor and trifling operations.
διὸ παρασκευασάμενοι, καθάπερ εἶπον, εἰς τὴν ἐπιφερομένην θερείαν ἀνήχθησαν Ῥωμαῖοι μὲν τριάκοντα καὶ τριακοσίαις μακραῖς ναυσὶ καταφράκτοις καὶ κατέσχον εἰς Μεσσήνην.
Therefore, having made preparation as I said, for the approaching summer the Romans put to sea with three hundred and thirty decked ships of war and put in at Messene.
ὅθεν ἀναχθέντες ἔπλεον δεξιὰν ἔχοντες τὴν Σικελίαν, κάμψαντες δὲ τὸν Πάχυνον ὑπερῆραν εἰς Ἔκνομον διὰ τὸ καὶ τὸ πεζὸν στράτευμα περὶ τούτους αὐτοὺς εἶναι τοὺς τόπους.
Setting sail thence, they sailed keeping Sicily on their right, and having rounded Cape Pachynus and stood for Ecnomus, because their land army also was in these very districts.
Καρχηδόνιοι δὲ πεντήκοντα καὶ τριακοσίαις ναυσὶ καταφράκτοις ἀναπλεύσαντες Λιλυβαίῳ προσέσχον, ἐντεῦθεν δὲ πρὸς Ἡράκλειαν τὴν Μινῴαν καθωρμί4
The Carthaginians put to sea with three hundred and fifty decked ships and put in at Lilybaeum, and thence anchored at Heraclea Minoa...
- 1.25.2ἀκμὴν
The accusative ἀκμὴν is used adverbially here to mean "just" or "at the very moment." While in Classical Attic it commonly means "the point" or "prime," in Hellenistic Greek it frequently functions as an adverb.
- 1.25.3παρʼ ὀλίγον
The idiomatic prepositional phrase παρʼ ὀλίγον (with the accusative) means "within a little," "almost," or "narrowly missed," indicating that an event came very close to happening but did not actually occur.
- 1.25.5ἐφάμιλλον πεποιῆσθαι τὸν κίνδυνον
An accusative-with-infinitive (AcI) construction dependent on the participle νομίζοντες. The subject accusative of the perfect passive infinitive πεποιῆσθαι is τὸν κίνδυνον, with ἐφάμιλλον functioning as a predicate adjective meaning "equal" or "rivaling."
- 1.25.9καθωρμί
A lacuna or corruption in the manuscript. The text cuts off in the middle of the verb καθορμίζομαι (to bring to anchor, put in), specifically at the stem of the aorist indicative passive third person plural (e.g., καθωρμίσθησαν). In the translations, the meaning is supplied from the context.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1