- 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-grc2:1.53.1-1.53.13
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-12
The Carthaginian commander Carthalo launches a surprise attack on the Roman fleet at Lilybaeum and pursues the approaching Roman supply fleet. The Roman quaestors anchor near a small town to defend themselves, and the Carthaginians, unable to break their defenses, withdraw to a nearby river to keep watch.
κατὰ δὲ τοὺς αὐτοὺς καιροὺς Ἀτάρβας μὲν ἄνδρας τοὺς ἐν τῇ ναυμαχίᾳ ληφθέντας καὶ τὰς αἰχμαλώτους νῆας ἐξαπέστειλεν εἰς τὴν Καρχηδόνα, Καρθάλωνα δὲ τὸν συνάρχοντα δοὺς τριάκοντα ναῦς ἐξέπεμψε πρὸς αἷς1 ἔχων αὐτὸς ἑβδομήκοντα κατέπλευσεν, προστάξας ἄφνω προσπεσόντα ταῖς ὁρμούσαις παρὰ τὸ Λιλύβαιον τῶν πολεμίων ναυσίν, ὧν μὲν ἂν δυνατὸς ᾖ κυριεῦσαι, ταῖς δὲ λοιπαῖς πῦρ ἐμβαλεῖν.
At about the same time, Adherbal sent the men captured in the naval battle and the captured ships to Carthage, while he sent out his colleague Carthalo, giving him thirty ships, in addition to the seventy with which Carthalo himself had sailed to join him. ordering him to fall suddenly upon the enemy’s ships anchored near Lilybaeum, and to capture any he could, and set fire to the rest.
πεισθέντος δὲ τοῦ Καρθάλωνος2 καὶ ποιησαμένου τὸν ἐπίπλουν ὑπὸ τὴν ἑωθινὴν καὶ τὰ μὲν ἐμπιπρῶντος τὰ δʼ ἀποσπῶντος τῶν πλοίων, μεγάλην συνέπεσε γενέσθαι ταραχὴν περὶ τὸ τῶν Ῥωμαίων στρατόπεδον.
When Carthalo obeyed and made his attack towards dawn, setting fire to some of the ships and dragging others away, a great confusion arose around the Roman camp.
προσβοηθούντων γὰρ αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὰς ναῦς καὶ γινομένης κραυγῆς, συννοήσας Ἰμίλκων ὁ τὸ Λιλύβαιον τηρῶν καὶ θεωρῶν ἤδη τῆς ἡμέρας ὑποφαινούσης τὸ συμβαῖνον, ἐπαποστέλλει τοὺς ἐκ τῆς πόλεως μισθοφόρους.
For as they rushed to help the ships and a great cry arose, Himilco, who was guarding Lilybaeum, having perceived what was happening, as day was now dawning, sent out the mercenaries from the city to attack them in addition.
οἱ δὲ Ῥωμαῖοι, τοῦ δεινοῦ πανταχόθεν αὐτοὺς περιστάντος, οὐκ εἰς μικρὰν οὐδʼ εἰς τὴν τυχοῦσαν ἦλθον διατροπήν.3
The Romans, with danger surrounding them from every side, fell into no small or ordinary panic.
ὁ δὲ τῶν Καρχηδονίων ναύαρχος ὀλίγα τῶν σκαφῶν τὰ μὲν ἀποσπάσας τὰ δὲ συντρίψας, μετὰ ταῦτα μικρὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ Λιλυβαίου παρακομισθεὶς ὡς ἐφʼ Ἡρακλείας ἐτήρει, βουλόμενος διακωλύειν τοὺς ἐπὶ τὸ στρατόπεδον πλέοντας.
The Carthaginian admiral, having dragged away some of the ships and destroyed others, then sailed a short distance away from Lilybaeum and kept watch in the direction of Heraclea, wishing to intercept those who were sailing towards the camp.
προσαγγειλάντων δὲ τῶν σκοπῶν πλῆθος ἱκανὸν πλοίων προσφέρεσθαι παντοδαπῶν καὶ συνεγγίζειν, ἀναχθεὶς ἔπλει, συμμῖξαι σπεύδων διὰ τὸ καταφρονεῖν τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἐκ τοῦ προγεγενημένου προτερήματος.
When the scouts reported that a considerable number of ships of all kinds were approaching and drawing near, he put to sea and sailed, eager to engage them because he held the Romans in contempt owing to his recent success.
ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἐκ τῶν Συρακουσῶν προαπεσταλμένοις ταμίαις ἀνήγγειλαν οἱ προπλεῖν εἰθισμένοι λέμβοι τὸν ἐπίπλουν τῶν ὑπεναντίων.
Similarly, the scout boats that usually sailed ahead announced the approach of the enemy to the quaestors who had been sent on in advance from Syracuse.
οἱ δὲ νομίσαντες οὐκ ἀξιόχρεως σφᾶς αὐτοὺς εἶναι πρὸς ναυμαχίαν, καθωρμίσθησαν πρός τι πολισμάτιον τῶν ὑπʼ αὐτοὺς ταττομένων, ἀλίμενον μέν, σάλους δʼ ἔχον καὶ προβολὰς περικλειούσας ἐκ τῆς γῆς εὐφυεῖς.
They, thinking they were not strong enough for a naval battle, anchored near a small town subject to them, which had no harbor indeed, but possessed roadsteads and convenient headlands jutting out from the land to enclose them.
οὗ ποιησάμενοι τὴν ἀπόβασιν καὶ τούς τε καταπέλτας καὶ τοὺς πετροβόλους τοὺς ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἐπιστήσαντες προσεδόκων τὸν ἐπίπλουν τῶν ὑπεναντίων.
Having landed there, and having mounted the catapults and stone-throwers obtained from the town, they awaited the attack of the enemy.
οἱ δὲ Καρχηδόνιοι συνεγγίσαντες τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἐπεβάλοντο πολιορκεῖν τούτους, ὑπολαβόντες τοὺς μὲν ἄνδρας καταπλαγέντας εἰς τὸ πολισμάτιον ἀποχωρήσειν, τῶν δὲ πλοίων ἀσφαλῶς κυριεύσειν·
The Carthaginians, on drawing near, at first attempted to blockade them, supposing that the men would be terrified and retreat into the town, and that they themselves would safely capture the ships.
οὐ προχωρούσης δὲ τῆς ἐλπίδος, ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον ἀμυνομένων4 γενναίως, καὶ τοῦ τόπου πολλὰς ἔχοντος καὶ παντοδαπὰς δυσχρηστίας, ὀλίγα τῶν τὰς ἀγορὰς ἐχόντων πλοίων ἀποσπάσαντες ἀπέπλευσαν πρός τινα ποταμόν, ἐν ᾧ καθορμισθέντες ἐπετήρουν τὸν ἀνάπλουν αὐτῶν.
But when their expectation did not succeed, and on the contrary the Romans defended themselves gallantly, and the place presented many and various difficulties, they dragged away only a few of the ships carrying provisions and sailed off towards a certain river, where they anchored and watched for the enemy to put out to sea.
- 1.53.2πρὸς αἷς
The relative pronoun αἷς (feminine plural) has its antecedent ναυσί ('ships') omitted. It refers back to the ships, meaning 'in addition to the seventy ships with which Carthalo himself had sailed.'
- 1.53.4πεισθέντος δὲ τοῦ Καρθάλωνος
A series of genitive absolutes (πεισθέντος, ποιησαμένου, ἐμπιπρῶντος, ἀποσπῶντος) are used to describe the actions of Carthalo, whose subject is different from the main clause's subject (ταραχή). The aorist participles (πεισθέντος, ποιησαμένου) express prior or completed actions (obeying and initiating the attack), while the present participles (ἐμπιπρῶντος, ἀποσπῶντος) express ongoing actions during the attack (burning and dragging away ships).
- 1.53.6οὐκ εἰς μικρὰν οὐδʼ εἰς τὴν τυχοῦσαν... διατροπήν
τὴν τυχοῦσαν is the attributive aorist active participle of τυγχάνω in the feminine accusative singular, meaning idiomatically 'ordinary' or 'common'. Combined with the double negative οὐκ... οὐδέ ('not... nor'), it functions as a litotes, meaning 'no ordinary (i.e., extremely great) panic.'
- 1.53.13ἀμυνομένων
The genitive absolute participle ἀμυνομένων ('defending themselves') has its semantic subject (the Romans, τῶν Ῥωμαίων) omitted. It is omitted because it can be easily supplied from the context, referring back to τούτους and τοὺς ἄνδρας in the preceding sentence.