- 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-grc2:16.32.1-16.32.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
The author compares the tragic determination of the Abydenians with historical precedents of the Phocians and Acarnanians, evaluating their bravery as surpassing both. He laments that while the latter two were ultimately saved by Fortune, the Abydenians met a tragic destruction.
ἐξ ὧν εἴποι τις ἂν καὶ τὴν λεγομένην Φωκικὴν ἀπόνοιαν καὶ τὴν Ἀκαρνάνων εὐψυχίαν ὑπερηρκέναι1 τὴν τῶν Ἀβυδηνῶν τόλμαν.
From these facts, one might say that the daring of the Abydenians surpassed even the so-called Phocian despair and the courage of the Acarnanians.
Φωκεῖς τε γὰρ δοκοῦσι τὰ παραπλήσια βουλεύσασθαι περὶ τῶν ἀναγκαίων,2 οὐκ εἰς τέλος ἀπηλπισμένας ἔχοντες τὰς τοῦ νικᾶν ἐλπίδας διὰ τὸ μέλλειν ποιεῖσθαι τὸν κίνδυνον πρὸς τοὺς Θετταλοὺς ἐν τοῖς ὑπαίθροις ἐκ παρατάξεως· ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τὸ τῶν Ἀκαρνάνων ἔθνος, ὅτε προιδόμενοι τὴν Αἰτωλῶν ἔφοδον, ἐβουλεύσαντο παραπλήσια περὶ τῶν ἐνεστώτων· ὑπὲρ ὧν τὰ κατὰ μέρος ἡμεῖς ἐν τοῖς πρὸ τούτων ἱστορήκαμεν.
For the Phocians seem to have made similar decisions concerning their near and dear ones, though they had not lost their hopes of victory to the end, because they were about to face the danger in the open field in a pitched battle against the Thessalians; and likewise the nation of the Acarnanians, when they foresaw the inroad of the Aetolians, made similar decisions concerning their present situation; about whom we have recorded the details in our previous narrative.
Ἀβυδηνοὶ δέ, συγκεκλεισμένοι καὶ σχεδὸν ἀπηλπικότες τὴν σωτηρίαν, πανδημεὶ προείλοντο τῆς εἱμαρμένης τυχεῖν μετὰ τῶν τέκνων καὶ τῶν γυναικῶν μᾶλλον ἢ ζῶντες ἔτι πρόληψιν ἔχειν τοῦ πεσεῖσθαι τὰ σφέτερα τέκνα καὶ τὰς γυναῖκας ὑπὸ τὴν τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἐξουσίαν.
But the Abydenians, shut up and having almost despaired of safety, chose as a whole people to meet their fate together with their children and wives rather than, while still living, to foresee their own children and wives falling under the power of the enemy.
διὸ καὶ μάλιστʼ ἄν τις ἐπὶ τῆς Ἀβυδηνῶν περιπετείας μέμψαιτο τῇ τύχῃ, διότι τὰς μὲν τῶν προειρημένων συμφορὰς οἷον ἐλεήσασα παραυτίκα διωρθώσατο, περιθεῖσα τὴν νίκην ἅμα καὶ τὴν σωτηρίαν τοῖς ἀπηλπισμένοις, περὶ δʼ Ἀβυδηνῶν τὴν ἐναντίαν εἶχε διάληψιν.
Wherefore one might most of all blame Fortune for the sudden reversal of the Abydenians, because, as if in pity, she immediately corrected the misfortunes of the aforementioned peoples, bestowing victory as well as safety upon those who had despaired, but for the Abydenians she held the opposite decision.
οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἄνδρες ἀπέθανον, ἡ δὲ πόλις ἑάλω, τὰ δὲ τέκνα σὺν αὐταῖς μητράσιν3 ἐγένετο τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ὑποχείρια.
For the men died, the city was taken, and the children together with their very mothers fell into the hands of the enemy.
- 16.32.1ὑπερηρκέναι
Perfect active infinitive of ὑπεραίρω, meaning 'to surpass' transitively. Although multiple accusative noun phrases are present, contextually τὴν τῶν Ἀβυδηνῶν τόλμαν acts as the subject accusative of the infinitive, while τὴν λεγομένην Φωκικὴν ἀπόνοιαν καὶ τὴν Ἀκαρνάνων εὐψυχίαν is its object.
- 16.32.2τῶν ἀναγκαίων
Neuter plural genitive of the adjective ἀναγκαῖος used substantively. Here, rather than the abstract meaning of 'necessities,' it functions as an idiomatic expression referring to 'near relations' or 'beloved wives and children,' in light of the historical context of their oath to kill them.
- 16.32.6σὺν αὐταῖς μητράσιν
The preposition σύν with a dative noun, accompanied by the intensive pronoun αὐτός (here in the dative plural feminine αὐταῖς) in agreement. This is an idiomatic construction expressing comprehensive accompaniment ('together with...'), translated as 'together with their very mothers' or 'mothers and all.'