- 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-grc2:16.33.1-16.33.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
The Abydenians wage a fierce, desperate hand-to-hand battle against the Macedonians on the ruined inner wall, forcing Philip to temporarily withdraw. However, after nightfall leaves most defenders dead or wounded, two leaders decide to break the citizens' heroic resolve and surrender the city.
πεσόντος γὰρ τοῦ διατειχίσματος, ἐπιβάντες ἐπὶ τὸ πτῶμα κατὰ τοὺς ὅρκους διεμάχοντο τοῖς πολεμίοις οὕτω τετολμηκότως ὥστε τὸν Φίλιππον, καίπερ ἐκ διαδοχῆς προβαλόμενον1 τοὺς Μακεδόνας ἕως νυκτός, τέλος ἀποστῆναι τῆς μάχης, δυσελπιστήσαντα καὶ περὶ τῆς ὅλης ἐπιβολῆς.
For when the inner wall fell, they mounted the ruins and, in accordance with their oaths, fought against the enemy so daringly that Philip, although he had put forward his Macedonians in relays until nightfall, finally desisted from the battle, having lost hope also for the success of his entire enterprise.
οὐ γὰρ μόνον ἐπὶ τοὺς θνήσκοντας τῶν πολεμίων ἐπιβαίνοντες ἠγωνίζοντο μετὰ παραστάσεως οἱ προκινδυνεύοντες τῶν Ἀβυδηνῶν, οὐδὲ τοῖς ξίφεσι καὶ τοῖς δόρασιν αὐτοῖς ἐμάχοντο παραβόλως, ἀλλʼ ὅτε τι τούτων ἀχρειωθὲν ἀδυνατήσειεν ἢ μετὰ βίας προοῖντʼ ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν, συμπλεκόμενοι τοῖς Μακεδόσιν οὓς μὲν ἀνέτρεπον ὁμοῦ τοῖς ὅπλοις, ὧν δὲ συντρίβοντες τὰς σαρίσας αὐτοῖς τοῖς ἐκείνων κλάσμασιν ἐκ διαλήψεως2 τύπτοντες αὐτῶν ταῖς ἐπιδορατίσι τὰ πρόσωπα καὶ τοὺς γυμνοὺς τόπους εἰς ὁλοσχερῆ διατροπὴν ἦγον.
For not only did the foremost fighters of the Abydenians, stepping over the dying among the enemy, struggle with desperate resolve, nor did they fight recklessly with their swords and spears alone; but whenever any of these weapons became useless and failed them, or was violently wrested from their hands, they closed with the Macedonians, overturning some together with their armor, while shattering the sarissas of others and, firmly grasping the very fragments of those weapons, they struck their faces and exposed parts with the spear-points, throwing them into complete rout.
ἐπιγενομένης δὲ τῆς νυκτὸς καὶ διαλυθείσης τῆς μάχης, τῶν μὲν πλείστων τεθνεώτων ἐπὶ τοῦ πτώματος, τῶν δὲ λοιπῶν ὑπὸ τοῦ κόπου καὶ τῶν τραυμάτων ἀδυνατούντων, συναγαγόντες ὀλίγους τινὰς τῶν πρεσβυτέρων Γλαυκίδης καὶ Θεόγνητος κατέβαλον τὸ σεμνὸν καὶ θαυμάσιον τῆς τῶν πολιτῶν προαιρέσεως3 διὰ τὰς ἰδίας ἐλπίδας·
But when night came on and the battle was broken off, with most of them dead upon the ruins, and the survivors incapacitated by fatigue and wounds, Glaucides and Theognetus, having gathered together a few of the elders, cast down the noble and wonderful resolve of the citizens for the sake of their own personal hopes;
ἐβουλεύσαντο γὰρ τὰ μὲν τέκνα καὶ τὰς γυναῖκας ζωγρεῖν, ἅμα δὲ τῷ φωτὶ τοὺς ἱερεῖς καὶ τὰς ἱερείας ἐκπέμπειν μετὰ στεμμάτων πρὸς τὸν Φίλιππον, δεησομένους καὶ παραδιδόντας αὐτῷ τὴν πόλιν.
for they resolved to keep the children and women alive, and at daybreak to send out the priests and priestesses with suppliant fillets to Philip, to entreat him and surrender the city to him.
- 16.33.1καίπερ ἐκ διαδοχῆς προβαλόμενον
προβαλόμενον is an aorist middle participle in the accusative masculine singular, agreeing with τὸν Φίλιππον, which is the subject accusative of the infinitive ἀποστῆναι in the ὥστε clause. Accompanied by καίπερ, it functions as a concessive participle ('although he had put forward'). The middle voice προβάλλεσθαι here has a causative nuance, meaning 'to put forward [one's own troops] as a screen/defense.'
- 16.33.3ἐκ διαλήψεως
Interpretation of the prepositional phrase ἐκ διαλήψεως. In Polybius, it can mean 'firmly grasping' (securing a hold on the broken shafts) or 'with calculation/at intervals.' Here, following the action of shattering the sarissas and using the fragments themselves, it functions adverbially, describing how they 'firmly gripped' the broken pieces or struck 'with precise aim' at the enemy's exposed parts.
- 16.33.4κατέβαλον τὸ σεμνὸν καὶ θαυμάσιον τῆς τῶν πολιτῶν προαιρέσεως
The verb κατέβαλον (aorist active), moving from its physical sense of 'throwing down' or 'overthrowing,' is used metaphorically here as 'to ruin,' 'to bring to naught,' or 'to betray.' The direct object is the abstract phrase 'the noble and wonderful resolve of the citizens' (τὸ σεμνὸν καὶ θαυμάσιον τῆς ... προαιρέσεως), dramatically expressing how the two leaders destroyed this grand determination for the sake of their personal survival.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1