- 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-grc2:1.34.1-1.34.12
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-12
Under the leadership of Xanthippus, the Carthaginian elephants and cavalry routed the Romans; although the Roman left wing pursued the enemy's mercenaries, the main infantry was destroyed. The general Marcus was captured, and the Carthaginians returned to the city in great joy.
ἅμα δὲ τῷ τὸν Ξάνθιππον τοῖς μὲν ἐπὶ τῶν θηρίων παραγγεῖλαι1 προάγειν καὶ διασπᾶν τὰς τῶν ὑπεναντίων τάξεις, τοῖς δʼ ἱππεῦσιν ἐφʼ ἑκατέρου τοῦ κέρατος κυκλοῦν καὶ προσβάλλειν τοῖς πολεμίοις, τότε δὴ καὶ τὸ τῶν Ῥωμαίων στρατόπεδον κατὰ τὰ παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἔθη συνεψόφησαν τοῖς ὅπλοις καὶ συναλαλάξαντες ὥρμησαν2 ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους.
At the same time that Xanthippus ordered those on the beasts to advance and break the ranks of the enemy, and the cavalry on each wing to surround and charge the foe, then indeed the Roman army also, according to their custom, clashed their weapons together and, raising a battle cry, rushed upon the enemy.
οἱ μὲν οὖν ἱππεῖς τῶν Ῥωμαίων ταχέως ἀφʼ ἑκατέρων τῶν κεράτων ἔφυγον διὰ τὸ πολλαπλασίους εἶναι τοὺς Καρχηδονίους.
Now, the cavalry of the Romans quickly fled from both wings, because the Carthaginians were many times more numerous.
τῶν δὲ πεζῶν οἱ ταχθέντες ἐπὶ τοῦ λαιοῦ κέρως, ἅμα μὲν ἐκκλίνοντες τὴν τῶν θηρίων ἔφοδον, ἅμα δὲ καταφρονοῦντες τῶν μισθοφόρων ὥρμησαν ἐπὶ τὸ δεξιὸν κέρας τῶν Καρχηδονίων· τρεψάμενοι δὲ τούτους ἐπέκειντο καὶ κατεδίωκον αὐτοὺς ἕως εἰς τὸν χάρακα.
On the other hand, those of the infantry who were stationed on the left wing, partly turning aside from the attack of the beasts and partly despising the mercenaries, rushed upon the right wing of the Carthaginians; and having routed them, they pressed them hard and pursued them as far as their camp.
τῶν δὲ κατὰ τοὺς ἐλέφαντας ταχθέντων οἱ μὲν πρῶτοι συμπεσόντες ὑπὸ τῆς βίας τῶν ζῴων ἐξωθούμενοι καὶ καταπατούμενοι σωρηδὸν ἐν χειρῶν νόμῳ3 διεφθείροντο, τῆς γε μὴν ὅλης τάξεως τὸ σύστημα διὰ τὸ βάθος τῶν ἐφεστώτων ἕως τινὸς ἀδιάσπαστον ἔμεινεν.
But of those who were stationed opposite the elephants, the first to clash with them were pushed back by the force of the beasts and trampled underfoot, perishing in heaps in close combat; nevertheless, the cohesion of the whole line remained unbroken for a time because of the depth of the ranks behind.
ἐπεὶ δʼ οἱ μὲν τὰς ἐσχάτας ἔχοντες τάξεις κυκλούμενοι πανταχόθεν ὑπὸ τῶν ἱππέων ἠναγκάζοντο πρὸς τούτους στρεφόμενοι κινδυνεύειν, οἱ δὲ διὰ μέσων τῶν ἐλεφάντων εἰς τὸ πρόσθεν ἐκβιαζόμενοι καὶ κατὰ νώτου παριστάμενοι τῶν θηρίων εἰς ἀκέραιον καὶ συντεταγμένην ἐμπίπτοντες τὴν τῶν Καρχηδονίων φάλαγγα διεφθείροντο, τότε δὴ πανταχόθεν πονοῦντες οἱ μὲν πλεῖστοι τῶν Ῥωμαίων συνεπατήθησαν ὑπὸ τῆς ὑπερφυοῦς βίας τῶν ζῴων, οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ συνηκοντίσθησαν ὑπὸ τοῦ πλήθους τῶν ἱππέων ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ τῆς παρατάξεως τόπῳ, τελέως δέ τινες ὀλίγοι πρὸς φυγὴν ὥρμησαν.
But when those who held the rearmost ranks, being surrounded on all sides by the cavalry, were forced to turn and face them in battle, while those who forced their way forward through the midst of the elephants and got to the rear of the beasts fell upon the fresh and well-ordered phalanx of the Carthaginians and were destroyed, then indeed, hard pressed on every side, the majority of the Romans were trampled to death by the extraordinary force of the beasts, while the rest were shot down by the multitude of the cavalry on the very spot of the battle array, and only a very few attempted to flee.
οὐσῶν δὲ πεδινῶν τῶν ὑποχωρήσεων,4 καὶ τούτων οἱ μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν θηρίων καὶ τῶν ἱππέων ἀπώλλυντο, πεντακόσιοι δʼ ἴσως οἱ μετὰ Μάρκου τοῦ στρατηγοῦ φυγόντες μετʼ ὀλίγον ὑποχείριοι γενόμενοι σὺν αὐτῷ ʼκείνῳ πάντες ἐζωγρήθησαν.
As the line of retreat lay through flat country, some of these also perished at the hands of the beasts and the cavalry, while about five hundred who fled with the general Marcus, having shortly after fallen into the enemy’s hands, were all taken alive along with him.
τῶν μὲν οὖν παρὰ τοῖς Καρχηδονίοις μισθοφόρων ἔπεσον εἰς ὀκτακοσίους οἱ κατὰ τὸ λαιὸν τῶν Ῥωμαίων ταχθέντες,5 τῶν δὲ Ῥωμαίων ἐσώθησαν μὲν εἰς δισχιλίους οἱ κατὰ τὸ δίωγμα τῶν προειρημένων ἐκτὸς γενόμενοι τοῦ κινδύνου, τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν πλῆθος διεφθάρη πλὴν Μάρκου τοῦ στρατηγοῦ καὶ τῶν ἅμα τούτῳ φυγόντων.
Thus, of the mercenaries on the Carthaginian side, about eight hundred of those stationed opposite the Roman left wing fell; while of the Romans, about two thousand, who had got out of danger by pursuing the aforementioned mercenaries, were saved. The rest of the multitude perished, except for the general Marcus and those who fled with him.
αἱ μὲν οὖν σημεῖαι τῶν Ῥωμαίων αἱ σωθεῖσαι διέπεσον εἰς τὴν Ἀσπίδα παραδόξως·
The maniples of the Romans that survived thus escaped, contrary to expectation, to Aspis.
οἱ δὲ Καρχηδόνιοι τοὺς νεκροὺς σκυλεύσαντες καὶ τὸν στρατηγὸν ἅμα μετὰ τῶν αἰχμαλώτων ἄγοντες ἐπανῆλθον περιχαρεῖς τοῖς παροῦσιν εἰς τὴν πόλιν.
The Carthaginians, having despoiled the dead and leading the general along with the other captives, returned to the city, full of joy at what had happened.
- 1.34.1ἅμα δὲ τῷ τὸν Ξάνθιππον ... παραγγεῖλαι
Construction of ἅμα τῷ followed by an infinitive phrase. The accusative τὸν Ξάνθιππον serves as the subject of the infinitive παραγγεῖλαι.
- 1.34.2τὸ τῶν Ῥωμαίων στρατόπεδον ... συνεψόφησαν ... συναλαλάξαντες ὥρμησαν
An example of constructio ad sensum (agreement according to sense), where the collective noun τὸ στρατόπεδον (neuter singular) is followed by plural verbs (συνεψόφησαν, ὥρμησαν) and a masculine plural participle (συναλαλάξαντες).
- 1.34.5ἐν χειρῶν νόμῳ
An idiom, literally "in the law of hands," meaning "in hand-to-hand combat" or "in close fight."
- 1.34.8οὐσῶν δὲ πεδινῶν τῶν ὑποχωρήσεων
A genitive absolute construction where οὐσῶν is the participle, τῶν ὑποχωρήσεων the subject, and πεδινῶν the predicate, expressing cause (because the line of retreat was flat).
- 1.34.9τῶν μὲν οὖν παρὰ τοῖς Καρχηδονίοις μισθοφόρων ... ἔπεσον εἰς ὀκτακοσίους οἱ κατὰ τὸ λαιὸν τῶν Ῥωμαίων ταχθέντες
The subject is the latter phrase οἱ κατὰ τὸ λαιὸν τῶν Ῥωμαίων ταχθέντες (those stationed opposite the left wing of the Romans), while the genitive phrase τῶν μισθοφόρων at the beginning functions as a partitive genitive.