- 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-grc2:15.33.1-15.33.13
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Agathocles and his associates are brutally lynched and slaughtered by the enraged crowd in the stadium and streets, while Philammon and his family, who were involved in the murder of Queen Arsinoe, are also killed by her former foster-sisters.
τοῦ δὲ ποιεῖν αἷμα καὶ φόνους1 ἐγένετό τις ἐκ ταὐτομάτου καταρχὴ τοιαύτη.
An origin of shedding blood and committing murders arose spontaneously as follows.
τῶν γὰρ Ἀγαθοκλέους ὑπηρετῶν καὶ κολάκων τις ὄνομα Φίλων ἐξῆλθε κραιπαλῶν εἰς τὸ στάδιον.
For one of the servants and flatterers of Agathocles, named Philon, came out to the stadium suffering from a hangover.
οὗτος θεωρῶν τὴν ὁρμὴν τῶν ὄχλων εἶπε πρὸς τοὺς παρεστῶτας ὅτι πάλιν αὐτοῖς, καθάπερ καὶ πρῴην, ἐὰν Ἀγαθοκλῆς ἐξέλθῃ, μεταμελήσει.2
This man, seeing the impulse of the crowds, said to those standing by that if Agathocles came out, they would regret it again, just as on the previous occasion.
τῶν δʼ ἀκουσάντων οἱ μὲν ἀπελοιδόρουν αὐτόν, οἱ δὲ προώθουν. ἐπιβαλομένου δʼ ἀμύνεσθαι ταχέως οἱ μὲν τὴν χλαμύδα περιέρρηξαν, οἱ δὲ τὰς λόγχας προσερείσαντες ἐξεκέντησαν.
Of those who heard, some abused him, while others pushed him. When he attempted to defend himself, some quickly tore his cloak, while others, presenting their spears, stabbed him to death.
ἅμα δὲ τῷ τοῦτον εἰς τὸ μέσον ἑλκυσθῆναι μεθʼ ὕβρεως ἔτι σπαίροντα, καὶ γεύσασθαι τὰ πλήθη φόνου, πάντες ἐκαραδόκουν τὴν τῶν ἄλλων παρουσίαν.
As soon as he was dragged into the midst with insult while still gasping, and the crowd tasted blood, everyone eagerly awaited the appearance of the others.
μετʼ οὐ πολὺ δὲ παρῆν ἀγόμενος πρῶτος Ἀγαθοκλῆς δέσμιος· ὃν εὐθέως εἰσιόντα προσδραμόντες τινὲς ἄφνω συνεκέντησαν, ἔργον ποιοῦντες οὐκ ἐχθρῶν, ἀλλʼ εὐνοούντων·3 αἴτιοι γὰρ ἐγένοντο τοῦ μὴ τυχεῖν αὐτὸν τῆς ἁρμοζούσης καταστροφῆς·4 μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον ἤχθη Νίκων, εἶτʼ Ἀγαθόκλεια γυμνὴ σὺν ταῖς ἀδελφαῖς, ἑξῆς δὲ τούτοις πάντες οἱ συγγενεῖς.
Not long after, Agathocles was brought in first, bound; as soon as he entered, some ran up and suddenly stabbed him, doing the work not of enemies but of well-wishers; for they became the cause of his not meeting his fitting end. After him, Nikon was led in, then Agathoclea naked with her sisters, and next to them all their relatives.
ἐπὶ δὲ πᾶσιν ἐκ τοῦ Θεσμοφορείου τὴν Οἰνάνθην ἀποσπάσαντες ἧκον εἰς τὸ στάδιον, ἄγοντες γυμνὴν ἐφʼ ἵππου.
Finally, tearing Oenanthe away from the Thesmophoreium, they came to the stadium, leading her naked on a horse.
παραδοθέντων δὲ πάντων ὁμοῦ τοῖς ὄχλοις, οἱ μὲν ἔδακνον, οἱ δʼ ἐκέντουν, οἱ δὲ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐξέκοπτον· ἀεὶ δὲ τοῦ πεσόντος τὰ μέλη διέσπων, ἕως ὅτου κατελώβησαν πάντας αὐτούς·
When all of them were handed over together to the crowds, some bit them, others stabbed them, and others gouged out their eyes; and they kept tearing apart the limbs of whoever fell, until they had mutilated them all.
δεινὴ γάρ τις ἡ περὶ τοὺς θυμοὺς ὠμότης γίνεται τῶν κατὰ τὴν Αἴγυπτον ἀνθρώπων.
For the cruelty of the people of Egypt when in a rage is something terrible.
κατὰ δὲ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον σύντροφοι τῆς Ἀρσινόης γεγενημέναι τινὲς παιδίσκαι, πυθόμεναι παραγεγονέναι τὸν Φιλάμμωνα τριταῖον5 ἀπὸ Κυρήνης τὸν ἐπιστάντα τῷ φόνῳ τῆς βασιλίσσης, ὥρμησαν ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ, καὶ βιασάμεναι τὸν μὲν Φιλάμμωνα τύπτουσαι τοῖς λίθοις καὶ τοῖς ξύλοις ἀπέκτειναν, τὸν δʼ υἱὸν ἀπέπνιξαν, ἀντίπαιδα τὴν ἡλικίαν ὄντα, σὺν δὲ τούτοις τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ Φιλάμμωνος γυμνὴν εἰς τὴν πλατεῖαν ἐξέλκουσαι διέφθειραν.
At this time, certain young maids who had been foster-sisters of Arsinoe, having learned that Philammon, who had directed the murder of the queen, had arrived from Cyrene two days before, rushed to his house, and forcing their way in, they killed Philammon by beating him with stones and clubs, strangled his son, who was still a mere boy in age, and along with them, dragging Philammon’s wife naked into the street, they put her to death.
καὶ τὰ μὲν περὶ τὸν Ἀγαθοκλέα καὶ τὴν Ἀγαθόκλειαν καὶ τοὺς τούτων συγγενεῖς τοιοῦτον ἔσχε
And the affairs concerning Agathocles and Agathoclea and their relatives had such an end.
- 15.33.1τοῦ δὲ ποιεῖν αἷμα καὶ φόνους
The articular infinitive in the genitive case modifies the following noun καταρχὴ (origin/beginning), functioning as a genitive of definition.
- 15.33.3μεταμελήσει
The future tense of the impersonal verb μεταμέλει (to regret), with the dative αὐτοῖς functioning as the logical subject ('it will repent them' = 'they will regret'). It forms the apodosis of a future open condition introduced by ἐὰν ... ἐξέλθῃ.
- 15.33.6ἔργον ποιοῦντες οὐκ ἐχθρῶν, ἀλλʼ εὐνοούντων
The genitives οὐκ ἐχθρῶν, ἀλλʼ εὐνοούντων function as possessive genitives modifying ἔργον (the object of the participle ποιοῦντες), meaning 'doing the work not of enemies but of well-wishers.' In this context, it describes how their prompt killing of him (paradoxically) spared him from worse torture by the crowd.
- 15.33.6τοῦ μὴ τυχεῖν αὐτὸν τῆς ἁρμοζούσης καταστροφῆς
A genitive infinitive phrase depending on the adjective αἴτιοι (responsible for/causes of), containing the negative μὴ. It means 'became the cause of his (αὐτόν, subject accusative of the infinitive) not obtaining (τυχεῖν, which governs the genitive καταστροφῆς) his fitting end.'
- 15.33.11τριταῖον
A temporal adjective used adverbially, a common idiom in Classical Greek where an adjective of time modifies a verb or participle. Meaning 'on the third day,' it indicates here that he had arrived 'two days before' (reckoned inclusively).