- 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-grc2:1.85.1-1.85.7
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-12
Reduced to extreme hunger, the rebel leaders surrender to Hamilcar under an agreement allowing the Carthaginians to select ten prisoners, but Hamilcar immediately arrests the ten envoys and massacres the remaining forty thousand Libyan soldiers who rose in arms.
ἐπεὶ δὲ κατεχρήσαντο μὲν ἀσεβῶς τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους, τροφῇ ταύτῃ χρώμενοι, κατεχρήσαντο δὲ τὰ δουλικὰ τῶν σωμάτων, ἐβοήθει δʼ ἐκ τοῦ Τύνητος οὐδείς, τότε προδήλου τῆς αἰκίας διὰ τὴν περικάκησιν ἐκ τῶν πολλῶν τοῖς ἡγεμόσιν ὑπαρχούσης,1 ἔκριναν οἱ περὶ τὸν Αὐτάριτον καὶ Ζάρζαν καὶ Σπένδιον ἐγχειρίζειν ἑαυτοὺς τοῖς πολεμίοις καὶ διαλαλεῖν περὶ διαλύσεως Ἀμίλκᾳ.
When they had impiously consumed the prisoners, using this food, and had also consumed the bodies of their slaves, and no aid came from Tunis, then, as it was obvious that punishment would be inflicted on the leaders by the multitude because of their extreme distress, Autaritus, Zarzas, and Spendius decided to surrender themselves to the enemy and to treat with Hamilcar for terms.
πέμψαντες οὖν κήρυκα καὶ λαβόντες συγχώρημα περὶ πρεσβείας ἧκον, ὄντες δέκα, πρὸς τοὺς Καρχηδονίους.
Having therefore sent a herald and obtained permission for an embassy, they came, ten in number, to the Carthaginians.
πρὸς οὓς Ἀμίλκας ὁμολογίας ἐποιήσατο τοιαύτας· ἐξεῖναι2 Καρχηδονίοις ἐκλέξασθαι τῶν πολεμίων οὓς ἂν αὐτοὶ βούλωνται δέκα· τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς ἀφιέναι μετὰ χιτῶνος.
With them Hamilcar made an agreement on these terms: that the Carthaginians should be allowed to choose any ten of the enemy they wished, and to let the rest go with only a tunic.
γενομένων δὲ τούτων εὐθέως Ἀμίλκας ἔφη τοὺς παρόντας3 ἐκλέγεσθαι κατὰ τὰς ὁμολογίας. τῶν μὲν οὖν περὶ τὸν Αὐτάριτον καὶ Σπένδιον καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν ἐπιφανεστάτων ἡγεμόνων τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον ἐκυρίευσαν οἱ Καρχηδόνιοι.
When this was agreed, Hamilcar immediately said that he chose those present according to the agreement. In this manner, therefore, the Carthaginians got into their power Autaritus, Spendius, and the other most prominent leaders.
τῶν δὲ Λιβύων, ἐπεὶ τὴν σύλληψιν ᾔσθοντο τῶν ἡγεμόνων, νομισάντων αὑτοὺς παρεσπονδῆσθαι διὰ τὸ τὰς συνθήκας ἀγνοεῖν, καὶ διὰ ταύτην τὴν αἰτίαν ὁρμησάντων4 ἐπὶ τὰ ὅπλα, περιστήσας αὐτοῖς Ἀμίλκας τά τε θηρία καὶ τὴν λοιπὴν δύναμιν ἅπαντας διέφθειρε, πλείους ὄντας τῶν τετρακισμυρίων, περὶ τὸν τόπον τὸν Πρίονα καλούμενον· ὃν συμβαίνει διὰ τὴν ὁμοιότητα τοῦ σχήματος πρὸς τὸ νῦν εἰρημένον ὄργανον ταύτης τετευχέναι τῆς προσηγορίας.
But the Libyans, when they heard of the arrest of their leaders, thinking that they had been betrayed because they were ignorant of the treaty, and for this reason rushing to arms, Hamilcar surrounded them with the elephants and the rest of his forces and destroyed them all, being more than forty thousand, near the place called the Saw; which indeed happens to have obtained this name because of the likeness of its shape to the instrument just mentioned.
- 1.85.2προδήλου τῆς αἰκίας διὰ τὴν περικάκησιν ἐκ τῶν πολλῶν τοῖς ἡγεμόσιν ὑπαρχούσης
Genitive absolute construction. The participle ὑπαρχούσης agrees with the noun αἰκίας (ill-treatment, violence), where the prepositional phrase ἐκ τῶν πολλῶν (from the multitude/common soldiers) represents the agent and the dative τοῖς ἡγεμόσιν (to the leaders) represents the target. The whole phrase means 'since it was clear (προδήλου) that because of their extreme distress (περικάκησιν) violence would be done to the leaders by the multitude.'
- 1.85.4ἐξεῖναι
Infinitive of indirect discourse or apposition explaining the terms of the agreement (ὁμολογίας), meaning 'that it should be permitted for the Carthaginians to...'
- 1.85.5τοὺς παρόντας
Attributive participle with article in the accusative plural, meaning 'those who were present,' referring back to the ten envoys who had just arrived (in §1.85.3). Hamilcar exploited the literal terms of the agreement ('to choose any ten') to arrest the envoys on the spot.
- 1.85.6τῶν δὲ Λιβύων... νομισάντων... καὶ... ὁρμησάντων
Genitive absolute construction. The noun τῶν δὲ Λιβύων is modified by two coordinate participles, νομισάντων and ὁρμησάντων, explaining the circumstances of the Libyans which differ from the subject of the main clause (Hamilcar).