- 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-grc2:12.12a.1-12.12a.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-07
The origin of the proverb "The Locrians and the treaty," used for treaty-breakers, is explained through the historical event where the Locrians broke their promise to the Peloponnesians and raised false signal-fires during the invasion of the Heracleidae.
ἐπὶ τῶν ἀθετούντων τὰς ὁμολογίας προφερόμεθα ταύτην τὴν παροιμίαν "Λοκροὶ τὰς συνθήκας." τοῦτο δέ τις ἐξεύρηκεν ὅτι1 καὶ παρὰ τοῖς συγγραφεῦσι καὶ παρὰ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀνθρώποις ὁμολογούμενόν ἐστι, διότι κατὰ τὴν τῶν Ἡρακλειδῶν ἔφοδον συνθεμένων τῶν Λοκρῶν τοῖς Πελοποννησίοις πολεμίους πυρσοὺς αἴρειν,2 ἐὰν συμβῇ τοὺς Ἡρακλείδας μὴ κατὰ τὸν Ἰσθμόν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ Ῥίον ποιεῖσθαι τὴν διάβασιν, χάριν τοῦ προαισθομένους φυλάξασθαι3 τὴν ἔφοδον αὐτῶν, οὐ ποιησάντων δὲ τῶν Λοκρῶν, πᾶν δὲ τοὐναντίον φιλίους ἀράντων πυρσούς, ὅτε παρῆσαν, τοὺς μὲν Ἡρακλείδας συνέβη μετʼ ἀσφαλείας χρῆσθαι τῇ διαβάσει, τοὺς δὲ Πελοποννησίους κατολιγωρήσαντας λαθεῖν παραδεξαμένους4 εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν τοὺς ὑπεναντίους παρασπονδηθέντας ὑπὸ τῶν Λοκρῶν.
Against those who disregard agreements, we quote this proverb, “The Locrians and the treaty.” And someone has discovered that this is agreed upon both among writers and among other men, namely that, during the invasion of the Heracleidae, the Locrians agreed with the Peloponnesians to raise hostile signal-fires if it should happen that the Heracleidae made their crossing not by the Isthmus but by Rhium, for the purpose of their perceiving it beforehand and guarding against their invasion, but the Locrians did not do this, but on the contrary, when they arrived, raised friendly signal-fires, with the result that the Heracleidae succeeded in making their crossing in safety, while the Peloponnesians, having grown careless, were betrayed by the Locrians and unawares admitted their enemies into their own land.
- 12.12a.1τοῦτο δέ τις ἐξεύρηκεν ὅτι
The ὅτι clause functions as the direct object clause of the verb ἐξεύρηκεν, or as an appositive clause explaining the concrete content of the preceding demonstrative pronoun τοῦτο.
- 12.12a.2συνθεμένων τῶν Λοκρῶν τοῖς Πελοποννησίοις πολεμίους πυρσοὺς αἴρειν
This is a genitive absolute construction (συνθεμένων τῶν Λοκρῶν), where the middle verb συντίθεμαι takes a dative (τοῖς Πελοποννησίοις) to mean "agree or contract with someone" and the infinitive phrase (πολεμίους πυρσοὺς αἴρειν) introduces the specific content of the agreement.
- 12.12a.2χάριν τοῦ προαισθομένους φυλάξασθαι
The prepositional adverb χάριν governs the articular infinitive in the genitive (τοῦ φυλάξασθαι) to express purpose. The accusative participle προαισθομένους, representing the implied subject of the infinitive (the Peloponnesians in context), is inserted before the infinitive.
- 12.12a.3λαθεῖν παραδεξαμένους
The infinitive of λανθάνω (λαθεῖν) with the participle (παραδεξαμένους) forms the idiomatic expression "to do something unawares." The participle is in the accusative (plural masculine) to agree with Πελοποννησίους, which is the subject of the infinitive clause dependent on the impersonal verb συνέβη in the main clause.