- 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-grc2:15.23.1-15.23.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
While Philip's ambassador is defending him before the Rhodians in the theater, news of the enslavement of Cios arrives, exposing his deceit. Consequently, the Rhodians and Aetolians turn hostile and prepare for conflict.
περὶ Φιλίππου. καὶ γὰρ ἡ τύχη πρός γε τοῦτο τὸ μέρος αὐτῷ συνήργησε1 προφανῶς.
Concerning Philip. For indeed fortune, in this matter at least, manifestly worked with him.
ὅτε γὰρ ὁ πρεσβευτὴν ἐν τῷ θεάτρῳ τὸν ἀπολογισμὸν ἐποιεῖτο πρὸς τοὺς Ῥοδίους, ἐμφανίζων τὴν τοῦ Φιλίππου μεγαλοψυχίαν, καὶ διότι τρόπον τινὰ κρατῶν ἤδη τῆς πόλεως δίδωσι τῷ δήμῳ τὴν χάριν ταύτην, ποιεῖ δὲ τοῦτο βουλόμενος ἐλέγξαι μὲν τὰς τῶν ἀντιπραττόντων αὐτῷ διαβολάς, φανερὰν δὲ τῇ πόλει καταστῆσαι τὴν αὑτοῦ προαίρεσιν·
For when the ambassador was making his defense before the Rhodians in the theater, displaying the magnanimity of Philip, and explaining that, since he was already in a sense master of the city, he was granting this favor to the people, and that he was doing this because he wished to refute the slanders of his opponents and to make his own purpose clear to the city;
καὶ παρῆν τις2 ἐκ κατάπλου πρὸς τὸ πρυτανεῖον ἀναγγέλλων τὸν ἐξανδραποδισμὸν τῶν Κιανῶν καὶ τὴν ὠμότητα τοῦ Φιλίππου τὴν ἐν τούτοις γεγενημένην, ὥστε τοὺς Ῥοδίους, ἔτι μεταξὺ τοῦ πρεσβευτοῦ τὰ προειρημένα λέγοντος, ἐπεὶ προελθὼν ὁ πρύτανις διεσάφει τὰ προσηγγελμένα, μὴ δύνασθαι πιστεῦσαι διὰ τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τῆς ἀθεσίας.
just then, someone arrived from a ship at the prytaneum, announcing the enslavement of the Cians and the cruelty of Philip that had taken place in these events, so that the Rhodians, while the ambassador was still in the middle of saying the aforementioned things, when the prytanis came forward and made clear the reports, were unable to believe it because of the extreme nature of the perfidy.
Φίλιππος μὲν οὖν, παρασπονδήσας οὐχ οὕτως Κιανοὺς ὡς ἑαυτόν, εἰς τοιαύτην ἄγνοιαν ἢ καὶ παράπτωσιν τοῦ καθήκοντος ἧκεν ὥστʼ ἐφʼ οἷς ἐχρῆν αἰσχύνεσθαι καθʼ ὑπερβολήν, ἐπὶ τούτοις ὡς καλοῖς σεμνύνεσθαι καὶ μεγαλαυχεῖν·
Philip, then, having broken treaties not so much with the Cians as with himself, had reached such a state of ignorance or rather deviation from duty that he took pride in and boasted of as noble things for which he ought to have been exceedingly ashamed;
ὁ δὲ τῶν Ῥοδίων δῆμος ἀπὸ ταύτης τῆς ἡμέρας ὡς περὶ πολεμίου διελάμβανε τοῦ Φιλίππου, καὶ πρὸς τοῦτον τὸν σκοπὸν ἐποιεῖτο τὰς παρασκευάς.
and the people of the Rhodians from that day on regarded Philip as an enemy, and made their preparations with this goal in mind.
παραπλήσιον δὲ καὶ τοῖς Αἰτωλοῖς μῖσος ἐκ ταύτης τῆς πράξεως ἐνειργάσατο πρὸς αὑτόν·
And he aroused a similar hatred against himself among the Aetolians as well as a result of this action;
ἄρτι γὰρ διαλελυμένος3 καὶ τὰς χεῖρας ἐκτείνων πρὸς τὸ ἔθνος, οὐδεμιᾶς προφάσεως ἐγγινομένης, φίλων ὑπαρχόντων καὶ συμμάχων Αἰτωλῶν, Λυσιμαχέων, Καλχηδονίων, Κιανῶν, βραχεῖ χρόνῳ πρότερον, πρῶτον μὲν προσηγάγετο τὴν Λυσιμαχέων πόλιν, ἀποσπάσας ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν Αἰτωλῶν συμμαχίας, δευτέραν δὲ τὴν Καλχηδονίων, τρίτην δὲ τὴν Κιανῶν ἐξηνδραποδίσατο, στρατηγοῦ παρʼ Αἰτωλῶν ἐν αὐτῇ διατρίβοντος καὶ προεστῶτος τῶν κοινῶν. Προυσίας δέ, καθὸ μὲν ἡ πρόθεσις αὐτοῦ συντελείας ἔτυχε, περιχαρὴς ἦν, καθὸ δὲ τὰ μὲν ἆθλα τῆς ἐπιβολῆς ἕτερος ἀπέφερεν, αὐτὸς δὲ πόλεως οἰκόπεδον ἔρημον ἐκληρονόμει, δυσχερῶς διέκειτο, ποιεῖν δʼ οὐδὲν οἷός τʼ ἦν. —
for although he had recently come to terms and was extending his hands to their nation, and though there was no pretext, while Aetolians, Lysimacheans, Chalcedonians, and Cians had been their friends and allies a short time before, first he won over the city of the Lysimacheans, tearing it away from the alliance with the Aetolians, secondly that of the Chalcedonians, and thirdly he enslaved that of the Cians, although an Aetolian general was residing in it and presiding over public affairs. And Prusias, insofar as his purpose had been accomplished, was overjoyed; but insofar as another carried off the prizes of the enterprise, while he himself inherited only the empty site of a city, he was displeased, but was able to do nothing. —
- 15.23.1καὶ γὰρ ἡ τύχη... συνήργησε
The phrase "fortune worked with him" is used paradoxically by the author to describe the irony of fate, where the bad news arrived at the exact moment of his deceptive defense, instantly exposing his hypocrisy.
- 15.23.2ὅτε γὰρ ὁ πρεσβευτὴν... καὶ παρῆν τις
This is a paratactic construction where the temporal clause introduced by ὅτε (§15.23.2) is followed by the main clause starting with καὶ παρῆν (§15.23.3), conveying a dramatic and simultaneous occurrence ("when... just then"). The form ὁ πρεσβευτὴν is a scribal error for the nominative ὁ πρεσβευτής.
- 15.23.8ἄρτι γὰρ διαλελυμένος...
A long period spanning §15.23.8 and §15.23.9. The main verbs of the sentence are προσηγάγετο and ἐξηνδραποδίσατο in §15.23.9. The participles διαλελυμένος and ἐκτείνων in §15.23.8 agree with the subject (Philip) and denote concession or temporal background.