- 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-grc2:1.84.1-1.84.12
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-12
Hamilcar reduces the mercenaries to a severe lack of provisions and continuously defeats them in minor clashes and ambushes; he finally traps them in an unfavorable position, forcing them into cannibalism.
πολιορκίαν.1 τοῖς δὲ περὶ τὸν Μάθω καὶ Σπένδιον οὐχ ἧττον πολιορκεῖσθαι συνέβαινεν ἢ πολιορκεῖν.
siege. But it happened that Mathos and Spendius were no less besieged themselves than besieging others.
εἰς τοιαύτην γὰρ αὐτοὺς οἱ περὶ τὸν Ἀμίλκαν ἔνδειαν καθίστασαν τῶν ἐπιτηδείων ὥστʼ ἀναγκασθῆναι τέλος αὐτοὺς διαλῦσαι τὴν πολιορκίαν.
For Hamilcar and his men reduced them to such a lack of provisions that they were finally forced to raise the siege.
μετὰ δέ τινα χρόνον ἁθροίσαντες τῶν τε μισθοφόρων τοὺς ἀρίστους καὶ Λιβύων, τοὺς ἅπαντας εἰς πεντακισμυρίους, μεθʼ ὧν ἦν καὶ Ζάρζας ὁ Λίβυς ἔχων τοὺς ὑφʼ αὑτὸν ταττομένους, ὥρμησαν αὖθις ἀντιπαράγειν ἐν τοῖς ὑπαίθροις καὶ τηρεῖν τοὺς περὶ τὸν Ἀμίλκαν.
And after some time, having collected the best of the mercenaries and Libyans, numbering in all about fifty thousand, among whom was also Zarzas the Libyan with the troops under his command, they set out to march parallel to the enemy in the open country and to watch Hamilcar and his men.
τῶν μὲν οὖν πεδινῶν τόπων ἀπείχοντο, καταπεπληγμένοι τὰ θηρία καὶ τοὺς περὶ τὸν Ναραύαν ἱππεῖς, τοὺς δʼ ὀρεινοὺς καὶ στενοὺς ἐπειρῶντο προκαταλαμβάνειν.
They avoided the plains, being terrified of the elephants and Naravas’s cavalry, and attempted to occupy the mountainous and narrow places beforehand.
ἐν οἷς καιροῖς συνέβη ταῖς μὲν ἐπιβολαῖς καὶ τόλμαις μηδὲν αὐτοὺς λείπεσθαι τῶν ὑπεναντίων, διὰ δὲ τὴν ἀπειρίαν πολλάκις ἐλαττοῦσθαι.
During this time, it happened that they were in no way inferior to their opponents in designs and courage, but were often defeated owing to their lack of experience.
τότε γὰρ ἦν, ὡς ἔοικε, συνιδεῖν ἐπʼ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀληθείας πηλίκην ἔχει διαφορὰν ἐμπειρία μεθοδικὴ καὶ στρατηγικὴ δύναμις ἀπειρίας καὶ τριβῆς ἀλόγου καὶ στρατιωτικῆς.2
For then, as it seems, it was possible to see in actual truth how great a difference there is between methodical experience and military skill, and lack of experience and irrational and merely soldierly routine.
πολλοὺς μὲν γὰρ αὐτῶν ἐν ταῖς κατὰ μέρος χρείαις ἀποτεμνόμενος καὶ συγκλείων ὥσπερ ἀγαθὸς πεττευτὴς ἀμαχεὶ διέφθειρε, πολλοὺς δʼ ἐν τοῖς ὁλοσχερέσι κινδύνοις τοὺς μὲν εἰς ἐνέδρας ἀνυπονοήτους ἐπαγόμενος ἀνῄρει, τοῖς δʼ ἀνελπίστως καὶ παραδόξως ποτὲ μὲν μεθʼ ἡμέραν ποτὲ δὲ νύκτωρ ἐπιφαινόμενος ἐξέπληττεν· ὧν ὅσους λάβοι3 ζωγρίᾳ, πάντας παρέβαλλε τοῖς θηρίοις.
For cutting off and surrounding many of them in partial encounters, Hamilcar, like a skilled chess-player, destroyed them without a battle, and in general actions he killed many by drawing them into unsuspected ambushes, and terrified others by appearing unexpectedly and contrary to anticipation, sometimes by day and sometimes by night; and as many of them as he took alive, he threw to the wild beasts.
τέλος δʼ ἐπιστρατοπεδεύσας αὐτοῖς ἀνυπονοήτως ἐν τόποις ἀφυέσι μὲν πρὸς τὴν ἐκείνων χρείαν εὐφυέσι δὲ πρὸς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ δύναμιν εἰς τοῦτʼ ἤγαγε περιστάσεως4 ὥστε μήτε διακινδυνεύειν τολμῶντας μήτʼ ἀποδρᾶναι δυναμένους διὰ τὸ τάφρῳ καὶ χάρακι περιειλῆφθαι πανταχόθεν τέλος ὑπὸ τῆς λιμοῦ συναγομένους ἐσθίειν ἀλλήλων ἀναγκασθῆναι, τοῦ δαιμονίου τὴν οἰκείαν ἀμοιβὴν αὐτοῖς ἐπιφέροντος τῇ πρὸς τοὺς πέλας ἀσεβείᾳ καὶ παρανομίᾳ.
Finally, having unexpectedly encamped against them in positions ill-suited for their tactics but well-suited for his own forces, he brought them to such a state of extremity that, neither daring to risk a battle nor being able to escape because they were surrounded on all sides by a trench and rampart, they were finally forced by famine to eat one another, the divine power bringing upon them a fitting retribution for their impiety and lawlessness towards their neighbors.
πρὸς μὲν γὰρ τὸν κίνδυνον οὐκ ἐτόλμων ἐξιέναι, προδήλου τῆς ἥττης καὶ τῆς τιμωρίας τοῖς ἁλισκομένοις ὑπαρχούσης, περὶ δὲ διαλύσεως οὐδʼ ὑπενόουν ποιεῖσθαι μνήμην, συνειδότες σφίσι τὰ πεπραγμένα.
For they did not dare to go out to battle, defeat being certain and punishment obvious for those captured, nor did they even think of making mention of terms, being conscious of their own deeds.
προσανέχοντες δʼ ἀεὶ ταῖς ἐκ τοῦ Τύνητος βοηθείαις διὰ τὰς τῶν ἡγουμένων ἐπαγγελίας πᾶν ὑπέμενον ποιεῖν κατὰ σφῶν αὐτῶν.5
But continually looking forward to the reinforcements from Tunis because of the promises of their leaders, they submitted to everything, even against themselves.
- 1.84.1πολιορκίαν
The object of the definite article τὴν at the end of the previous chapter. In Polybius's text, chapter divisions sometimes occur in the middle of a sentence, and this noun functions as the direct object of ὑπέμενον τὴν ("they endured the...") from the end of the preceding chapter.
- 1.84.6πηλίκην ἔχει διαφορὰν ἐμπειρία μεθοδικὴ καὶ στρατηγικὴ δύναμις ἀπειρίας καὶ τριβῆς ἀλόγου καὶ στρατιωτικῆς
The noun διαφορά (difference) governs the genitives ἀπειρίας καὶ τριβῆς..., meaning "how great a difference A (nominative: ἐμπειρία...) has from B (genitive)." The phrase τριβῆς ἀλόγου καὶ στρατιωτικῆς means "irrational and merely soldierly routine," contrasted with systematic and strategic generalship.
- 1.84.8ὧν ὅσους λάβοι
The relative pronoun ὧν is a partitive genitive ("of whom"), referring back to the preceding πολλοὺς and introducing the subset of those taken alive. The verb λάβοι is an optative of indefinite frequency (iterative optative) representing a repeated action in the past.
- 1.84.9εἰς τοῦτʼ ἤγαγε περιστάσεως
The neuter accusative singular demonstrative pronoun τοῦτο combined with the partitive genitive περιστάσεως (state, extremity) expresses degree: "he brought them to such a state of extremity."
- 1.84.12πᾶν ὑπέμενον ποιεῖν κατὰ σφῶν αὐτῶν
Literally, "they submitted to doing everything against themselves." This describes their submission to the ultimate, self-destructive, and horrific act of cannibalism under the extreme pressure of starvation.