Peace with Euthydemus and End of Antiochus' Eastern Campaign — Polybius, The Histories Book 11 (11.34.1–11.34.16), Greek & English

§11.34.1

καὶ γὰρ αὐτὸς ἦν ὁ Εὐθύδημος Μάγνης, πρὸς ὃν¹ ἀπελογίζετο φάσκων ὡς οὐ δικαίως αὐτὸν Ἀντίοχος ἐκ τῆς βασιλείας ἐκβαλεῖν σπουδάζει·

For Euthydemus himself was a Magnesian, to whom [Teleas] he defended himself, declaring that Antiochus was not justified in attempting to expel him from his kingdom;

§11.34.2

γεγονέναι γὰρ² οὐκ αὐτὸς ἀποστάτης τοῦ βασιλέως, ἀλλʼ ἑτέρων ἀποστάντων ἐπανελόμενος τοὺς ἐκείνων ἐκγόνους, οὕτως κρατῆσαι τῆς Βακτριανῶν ἀρχῆς.

for he said he had not himself been a rebel against the king, but that, others having rebelled, he had destroyed their descendants, and in this way had obtained possession of the Bactrian kingdom.

§11.34.3

καὶ πλείω δὲ πρὸς ταύτην τὴν ὑπόθεσιν διαλεχθεὶς ἠξίου τὸν Τηλέαν μεσιτεῦσαι τὴν διάλυσιν εὐνοϊκῶς, παρακαλέσαντα τὸν Ἀντίοχον μὴ φθονῆσαι τῆς ὀνομασίας αὑτῷ³ τῆς τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ προστασίας, ὥς γʼ ἐὰν μὴ συγχωρῇ τοῖς ἀξιουμένοις, οὐδετέρῳ τῆς ἀσφαλείας ὑπαρχούσης·

And after speaking at greater length on this subject, he begged Teleas to mediate the reconciliation in a friendly spirit, by urging Antiochus not to begrudge him the title of king and his sovereign power, since, if he did not concede these requests, safety would exist for neither of them;

§11.34.5

πλήθη γὰρ οὐκ ὀλίγα παρεῖναι τῶν Νομάδων, διʼ ὧν κινδυνεύειν μὲν ἀμφοτέρους, ἐκβαρβαρωθήσεσθαι δὲ τὴν χώραν⁴ ὁμολογουμένως, ἐὰν ἐκείνους προσδέχωνται.

for there were present no small multitudes of Nomads, by whom both were threatened with danger, and the country would confessedly be entirely barbarized if they should admit them.

§11.34.6

ταῦτα δʼ εἰπὼν ἐξαπέστειλε τὸν Τηλέαν πρὸς τὸν Ἀντίοχον.

Having said this, he dispatched Teleas to Antiochus.

§11.34.7

ὁ δὲ βασιλεύς, πάλαι περιβλεπόμενος λύσιν τῶν πραγμάτων, πυθόμενος ταῦτα παρὰ τοῦ Τηλέου, προθύμως ὑπήκουσε πρὸς τὰς διαλύσεις διὰ τὰς προειρημένας αἰτίας.

The king, who had long been looking round for a solution to the situation, on hearing this from Teleas, readily acceded to the terms of reconciliation for the reasons mentioned above.

§11.34.8

τοῦ δὲ Τηλέου προσανακάμψαντος καὶ πολλάκις πρὸς ἀμφοτέρους, τέλος Εὐθύδημος ἐξέπεμψε Δημήτριον τὸν υἱὸν βεβαιώσοντα τὰς ὁμολογίας· ὃν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀποδεξάμενος, καὶ νομίσας ἄξιον εἶναι τὸν νεανίσκον βασιλείας καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἔντευξιν καὶ προστασίαν, πρῶτον μὲν ἐπηγγείλατο δώσειν αὐτῷ μίαν τῶν ἑαυτοῦ θυγατέρων· δεύτερον δὲ συνεχώρησε τῷ πατρὶ τὸ τῆς βασιλείας ὄνομα.

When Teleas had traveled back and forth many times between them, Euthydemus finally sent his son Demetrius to confirm the treaty; whom the king, having received him, and judging the young man to be worthy of royal power both from his appearance and from his conversation and bearing, first promised to give him one of his own daughters in marriage, and secondly conceded to his father the title of king.

§11.34.10

περὶ δὲ τῶν λοιπῶν ἐγγράπτους ποιησάμενος ὁμολογίας καὶ συμμαχίαν ἔνορκον, ἀνέζευξε σιτομετρήσας δαψιλῶς τὴν δύναμιν, προσλαβὼν καὶ τοὺς ὑπάρχοντας ἐλέφαντας τοῖς περὶ τὸν Εὐθύδημον.

Having made a written treaty on the other points and a sworn alliance, he broke up his camp, after distributing a generous supply of corn to his army, and taking with him the elephants belonging to Euthydemus.

§11.34.11

ὑπερβαλὼν δὲ τὸν Καύκασον καὶ κατάρας εἰς τὴν Ἰνδικήν, τήν τε φιλίαν ἀνενεώσατο τὴν πρὸς τὸν Σοφαγασῆνον τὸν βασιλέα τῶν Ἰνδῶν, καὶ λαβὼν ἐλέφαντας, ὥστε γενέσθαι τοὺς ἅπαντας εἰς ἑκατὸν καὶ πεντήκοντʼ, ἔτι δὲ σιτομετρήσας πάλιν ἐνταῦθα τὴν δύναμιν, αὐτὸς μὲν ἀνέζευξε μετὰ τῆς στρατιᾶς, Ἀνδροσθένην δὲ τὸν Κυζικηνὸν ἐπὶ τῆς ἀνακομιδῆς ἀπέλιπε τῆς γάζης τῆς ὁμολογηθείσης αὐτῷ⁵ παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως.

Having crossed the Caucasus and descended into India, he renewed his friendship with Sophagasenus, the king of the Indians, and having received more elephants, so that his total number amounted to a hundred and fifty, and once more distributing corn to his army there, he himself marched away with his army, but left Androsthenes of Cyzicus to bring back the treasure which had been agreed to be given to him by the king.

§11.34.13

διελθὼν δὲ τὴν Ἀραχωσίαν καὶ περαιωθεὶς τὸν Ἐρύμανθον ποταμόν, ἧκε διὰ τῆς Δραγγηνῆς εἰς τὴν Καρμανίαν, οὗ καὶ συνάπτοντος ἤδη τοῦ χειμῶνος ἐποιήσατο τὴν παραχειμασίαν.

And having passed through Arachosia and crossed the river Erymanthus, he came through Drangiana into Carmania, where, as winter was already setting in, he established his winter quarters.

§11.34.14

τὸ μὲν οὖν πέρας τῆς εἰς τοὺς ἄνω τόπους στρατείας Ἀντιόχου τοιαύτην ἔλαβε τὴν συντέλειαν, διʼ ἧς οὐ μόνον τοὺς ἄνω σατράπας ὑπηκόους ἐποιήσατο τῆς ἰδίας ἀρχῆς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς ἐπιθαλαττίους πόλεις καὶ τοὺς ἐπὶ τάδε τοῦ Ταύρου δυνάστας, καὶ συλλήβδην ἠσφαλίσατο τὴν βασιλείαν, καταπληξάμενος τῇ τόλμῃ καὶ φιλοπονίᾳ πάντας τοὺς ὑποταττομένους·

Such, then, was the end and completion of Antiochus’s expedition into the upper countries, by which he not only reduced the upper satraps to obedience to his rule, but also the maritime cities and the princes on this side of Taurus, and, in a word, secured his kingdom, striking all his subjects with awe by his daring and industry;

§11.34.16

διὰ γὰρ ταύτης τῆς στρατείας ἄξιος ἐφάνη τῆς βασιλείας οὐ μόνον τοῖς κατὰ τὴν Ἀσίαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς κατὰ τὴν Εὐρώπην.

for by this expedition he appeared worthy of royal power not only to the people of Asia, but also to those of Europe.

Syntax notes5 items

11.34.1πρὸς ὃν
The antecedent of the relative pronoun ὃν is Teleas, the mediator who is only explicitly named in §11.34.3. The narrative assumes the reader knows Teleas was acting as an intermediary between Antiochus and Euthydemus.
11.34.2γεγονέναι γὰρ
Accusative with infinitive in indirect speech introduced by the participle φάσκων ('saying, asserting') in the preceding section (§11.34.1). The subject of the infinitive is the omitted αὑτόν (Euthydemus himself).
11.34.3μὴ φθονῆσαι τῆς ὀνομασίας αὑτῷ
The verb φθονέω ('begrudge, deny') takes a dative of the person (αὑτῷ, referring to Euthydemus) and a genitive of the thing (τῆς ὀνομασίας... καὶ προστασίας, referring to the royal title and sovereignty).
11.34.5ἐκβαρβαρωθήσεσθαι δὲ τὴν χώραν
Future passive infinitive with the accusative τὴν χώραν as its subject, continuing the indirect discourse of Euthydemus' argument introduced by ὥς ('since') in the previous section (§11.34.4). It expresses the inevitable consequence if they should admit the Nomads (ἐὰν ἐκείνους προσδέχωνται).
11.34.12τῆς ὁμολογηθείσης αὐτῷ
The dative pronoun αὐτῷ refers to King Antiochus. It denotes the treasure (γάζης) that was agreed to be paid to him (Antiochus) by the Indian king Sophagasenus.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (2, latest 2026-10-09)

2026-10-09 Collated with the printed edition — source 1
2026-09-21 AI review — note 1

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:11.34.1-11.34.16