- 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-grc2:10.15.1-10.15.11
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-06
The Roman forces successfully captured the walls and the eastern hill, unleashing an uncompromising slaughter in accordance with Roman custom to strike terror, which eventually led to Mago surrendering the citadel.
οἱ δὲ Ῥωμαῖοι κρατήσαντες τοῦ τείχους τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἐπεπορεύοντο κατὰ τὴν ἐφοδείαν ἀποσύροντες τοὺς πολεμίους, μεγάλα συμβαλλομένης αὐτοῖς τῆς ὁπλίσεως πρὸς τοῦτο τὸ γένος τῆς χρείας·1
The Romans, having made themselves masters of the wall, at first proceeded along the parapet clearing the enemy, their armor being of great service to them in this kind of combat.
ἐπεὶ δʼ ἀφίκοντο πρὸς τὴν πύλην, οἱ μὲν καταβάντες διέκοπτον τοὺς μοχλούς, οἱ δʼ ἔξωθεν εἰσέπιπτον, οἱ δὲ διὰ τῶν κλιμάκων βιαζόμενοι κατὰ τὸν ἰσθμόν, ἤδη κρατοῦντες τῶν ἀμυνομένων, ἐπέβαινον ἐπὶ τὰς ἐπάλξεις.
But when they reached the gate, some of them descended and began to chop through the bolts, while those outside rushed in; and those who were forcing their way by the ladders at the isthmus, having now overpowered the defenders, began to mount the battlements.
καὶ τέλος τὰ μὲν τείχη τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ κατείληπτο, τὸν δὲ λόφον οἱ διὰ τῆς πύλης εἰσπορευόμενοι κατελάμβανον τὸν πρὸς τὰς ἀνατολάς, τρεψάμενοι τοὺς φυλάττοντας.
And at last the walls were captured in this manner; and those who entered through the gate occupied the hill on the east, after putting its defenders to flight.
ὁ δὲ Πόπλιος ἐπεὶ τοὺς εἰσεληλυθότας ἀξιόχρεως ὑπελάμβανεν εἶναι, τοὺς μὲν πλείστους ἐφῆκε κατὰ τὸ παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἔθος ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐν τῇ πόλει, παραγγείλας κτείνειν τὸν παρατυχόντα καὶ μηδενὸς φείδεσθαι, μηδὲ πρὸς τὰς ὠφελείας ὁρμᾶν, μέχρις ἂν ἀποδοθῇ τὸ σύνθημα. ποιεῖν δέ μοι δοκοῦσι τοῦτο καταπλήξεως χάριν·2
But Publius, when he judged that those who had entered were sufficient in number, sent most of them against those in the city, according to their custom, with orders to kill everyone they met and to spare no one, and not to start plundering until the signal was given. They do this, it seems to me, to inspire terror;
διὸ καὶ πολλάκις ἰδεῖν ἔστιν ἐν ταῖς τῶν Ῥωμαίων καταλήψεσι τῶν πόλεων οὐ μόνον τοὺς ἀνθρώπους πεφονευμένους, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς κύνας δεδιχοτομημένους καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ζῴων μέλη παρακεκομμένα.
hence one may often see in cities captured by the Romans not only human beings slaughtered, but even dogs cleft in two and the limbs of other animals hacked off.
τότε δὲ καὶ τελέως πολὺ τὸ τοιοῦτον ἦν διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν κατειλημμένων.
And on this occasion, too, such scenes were very numerous on account of the great number of those who were captured.
αὐτὸς δὲ περὶ χιλίους ἔχων ὥρμησε πρὸς τὴν ἄκραν. ἐγγίσαντος δʼ αὐτοῦ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἐπεβάλλετο Μάγων ἀμύνεσθαι, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα συννοήσας βεβαίως ἤδη κατειλημμένην τὴν πόλιν διεπέμψατο περὶ τῆς ἀσφαλείας τῆς αὑτοῦ, καὶ παρέδωκε τὴν ἄκραν.
He himself, with about a thousand men, hastened toward the citadel. As he approached, Mago at first attempted to defend himself, but after this, realizing clearly that the city was already captured, he sent a message to treat for his own safety and surrendered the citadel.
οὗ γενομένου, καὶ τοῦ συνθήματος ἀποδοθέντος, τοῦ μὲν φονεύειν ἀπέστησαν, ὥρμησαν δὲ πρὸς τὰς ἁρπαγάς.
When this was done and the signal was given, they ceased from slaughter and turned to plundering.
ἐπιγενομένης δὲ τῆς νυκτὸς οἱ μὲν ἐπὶ τῆς παρεμβολῆς ἔμενον, οἷς ἦν οὕτω διατεταγμένον· μετὰ δὲ τῶν χιλίων ὁ στρατηγὸς ἐπὶ τῆς ἄκρας ηὐλίσθη, τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς διὰ τῶν χιλιάρχων ἐκ τῶν οἰκιῶν ἐκκαλεσάμενος ἐπέταξε συναθροίσαντας εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν τὰ διηρπασμένα κατὰ σημαίας3 ἐπὶ τούτων κοιτάζεσθαι.
And when night came on, those who had been so ordered remained in the camp; but the general with his thousand slept in the citadel, and having summoned the rest from the houses through the military tribunes, he ordered them to collect the booty into the market-place and sleep by maniple near it.
τοὺς δὲ γροσφομάχους ἐκ τῆς παρεμβολῆς καλέσας ἐπὶ τὸν λόφον ἐπέστησε τὸν ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνατολῶν.
He also summoned the velites from the camp and stationed them on the hill on the east.
καὶ τῆς μὲν κατὰ τὴν Ἰβηρίαν Καρχηδόνος
Thus New Carthage in Iberia
- 10.15.1μεγάλα συμβαλλομένης αὐτοῖς τῆς ὁπλίσεως πρὸς τοῦτο τὸ γένος τῆς χρείας
A genitive absolute construction, meaning 'their armor being of great service to them in this kind of combat.' The neuter plural μεγάλα functions adverbially.
- 10.15.4ποιεῖν δέ μοι δοκοῦσι τοῦτο καταπλήξεως χάριν
The subject of the main verb δοκοῦσι is the Romans in general, understood from the context. The word χάριν is used with the genitive καταπλήξεως as a postposition meaning 'for the sake of.'
- 10.15.9κατὰ σημαίας
The preposition κατὰ with the accusative plural of σημαία ('standard' or 'maniple') indicates distribution by military units, referring to the Roman tactical units of maniples or centuries.