- 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-grc2:16.36.1-16.36.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Philopoemen successfully assembled the entire Achaean army in Tegea simultaneously and secretly by utilizing a clever system of sequential letter delivery.
ὁ δὲ Φιλοποίμην ἐξελογίσατο τὰ διαστήματα τῶν Ἀχαϊκῶν πόλεων ἁπασῶν καὶ ποῖαι δύνανται κατὰ τὰς αὐτὰς ὁδοὺς εἰς τὴν Τεγέαν παραγίνεσθαι. λοιπὸν ἐπιστολὰς ἔγραψε πρὸς πάσας τὰς πόλεις, καὶ ταύτας διέδωκε ταῖς πορρωτάτω πόλεσι, μερίσας οὕτως ὥστε καθʼ ἑκάστην1 ἔχειν μὴ μόνον τὰς ἑαυτῆς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς τῶν ἄλλων πόλεων, ὅσαι κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν ὁδὸν ἔπιπτον.
Philopoemen calculated the distances of all the Achaean cities and which of them were able to arrive at Tegea by the same roads. Consequently, he wrote letters to all the cities, and distributed them to the furthest cities, dividing them in such a way that each had not only its own letters but also those of the other cities that lay along the same road.
ἐγέγραπτο δʼ ἐν ταῖς πρώταις τοῖς ἀποτελείοις τοιαῦτα. "ὅταν κομίσησθε τὴν ἐπιστολήν, παραχρῆμα ποιήσασθε τοὺς ἐν ταῖς ἡλικίαις ἔχοντας τὰ ὅπλα καὶ πένθʼ ἡμερῶν ἐφόδια καὶ πέντʼ ἀργύριον, ἁθροίζεσθαι2 παραυτίκα πάντας εἰς τὴν ἀγοράν.
In the first letters to the magistrates, the following was written: “As soon as you receive this letter, immediately cause those of military age, with arms, five days’ provisions, and five pieces of silver, to assemble at once in the marketplace.
ἐπειδὰν δὲ συλλεχθῶσιν οἱ παρόντες, ἀναλαβόντες αὐτοὺς ἄγετʼ εἰς τὴν ἑξῆς πόλιν· ὅταν δʼ ἐκεῖ παραγένησθε, τὴν ἐπιστολὴν ἀπόδοτε τὴν ἐπιγεγραμμένην τῷ παρʼ ἐκείνων ἀποτελείῳ καὶ πειθαρχεῖτε τοῖς ἐγγεγραμμένοισ"
And when those present have gathered, take them and lead them to the next city; and when you arrive there, deliver the letter addressed to the magistrate of that place, and obey what is written in it.”
. ἐγγέγραπτο δʼ ἐν ταύτῃ ταὐτὰ τοῖς πρόσθεν, πλὴν διότι τὸ τῆς ἑξῆς κειμένης ὄνομα πόλεως οὐ ταὐτὸν εἶχεν, εἰς ἣν ἔδει προάγειν.
In this latter letter, the same instructions were written as in the former, except that it did not have the same name of the next city to which they had to advance.
τοιούτου δὲ τοῦ χειρισμοῦ γενομένου κατὰ τὸ συνεχές, πρῶτον μὲν οὐδεὶς ἐγίνωσκε πρὸς τίνα πρᾶξιν ἢ πρὸς ποίαν ἐπιβολήν ἐστιν ἡ παρασκευή, εἶτα ποῦ πορεύεται, πλὴν τῆς ἑξῆς πόλεως, οὐδεὶς ἁπλῶς ᾔδει, πάντες δὲ διαποροῦντες καὶ παραλαμβάνοντες ἀλλήλους προῆγον εἰς τοὔμπροσθεν.
Since this method of management was carried out continuously, in the first place no one knew for what action or what enterprise the preparation was being made; in the next place, absolutely no one knew where they were marching, except for the next city, but all in perplexity, taking up one another, advanced forward.
τῷ δὲ μὴ τὸ ἴσον ἀπέχειν3 τῆς Τεγέας τὰς πορρωτάτω κειμένας πόλεις οὐχ ἅμα πάσαις ἀπεδόθη τὰ γράμματα ταύταις, ἀλλὰ κατὰ λόγον ἑκάσταις.
Because the furthest situated cities were not at an equal distance from Tegea, the letters were not delivered to all of them at the same time, but to each in proportion.
ἐξ ὧν συνέβη, μήτε τῶν Τεγεατῶν εἰδότων τὸ μέλλον μήτε τῶν παραγινομένων, ἅμα πάντας τοὺς Ἀχαιοὺς καὶ κατὰ πάσας τὰς πύλας εἰς τὴν Τεγέαν εἰσπο4
As a result, while neither the Tegeans nor those who were arriving knew what was about to happen, all the Achaeans entered Tegea at the same time and through all its gates.
- 16.36.2καθʼ ἑκάστην
In the ὥστε clause, ἑκάστην is a feminine accusative singular modifying an implied πόλιν (city), serving as the subject accusative of the infinitive ἔχειν: 'so that each [city] had...'
- 16.36.3ποιήσασθε ... ἁθροίζεσθαι
The middle imperative ποιήσασθε of the verb ποιέω is used with the infinitive ἁθροίζεσθαι to form a causative expression ('make them assemble'). Its subject accusative is τοὺς ἐν ταῖς ἡλικίαις ἔχοντας (those of military age).
- 16.36.8τῷ δὲ μὴ τὸ ἴσον ἀπέχειν
The dative of the articular infinitive (τῷ with the infinitive ἀπέχειν) expresses cause without a preposition ('because... did not lie at an equal distance'). The subject accusative of the infinitive is τὰς πορρωτάτω κειμένας πόλεις (the furthest situated cities).
- 16.36.9εἰσπο
Due to a lacuna in the manuscript, the end of the word is lost, but the context and the government of συνέβη require the present infinitive εἰσπορεύεσθαι of the verb εἰσπορεύομαι (to enter). The syntax is an accusative with infinitive construction (subject: πάντας τοὺς Ἀχαιοὺς) dependent on the impersonal verb συνέβη.