- 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-grc2:2.2.1-2.2.11
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-12
Explains the background of the first Roman crossing into Illyria, starting with the rise of the Illyrian king Agron and the disputes among Aetolian generals during the siege of Medion.
κατὰ δὲ τοὺς καιροὺς τούτους Ῥωμαῖοι τὴν πρώτην διάβασιν εἰς τὴν Ἰλλυρίδα καὶ ταῦτα τὰ μέρη τῆς Εὐρώπης ἐπεβάλοντο ποιεῖσθαι μετὰ δυνάμεως. ἅπερ1 οὐ παρέργως, ἀλλὰ μετʼ ἐπιστάσεως θεωρητέον τοῖς βουλομένοις ἀληθινῶς τήν τε πρόθεσιν τὴν ἡμετέραν συνθεάσασθαι καὶ τὴν αὔξησιν καὶ κατασκευὴν τῆς Ῥωμαίων δυναστείας.
At about this time the Romans undertook to make their first crossing with an army into Illyria and these parts of Europe. This matter must be viewed not cursorily, but with close attention, by those who wish truly to grasp both our purpose and the growth and establishment of the Roman power.
ἔγνωσαν δὲ διαβαίνειν διά τινας τοιαύτας αἰτίας.
They resolved to cross for some such reasons.
Ἄγρων ὁ τῶν Ἰλλυριῶν βασιλεὺς ἦν μὲν υἱὸς Πλευράτου, δύναμιν δὲ πεζὴν καὶ ναυτικὴν μεγίστην ἔσχε τῶν πρὸ αὐτοῦ βεβασιλευκότων ἐν Ἰλλυριοῖς.
Agron, the king of the Illyrians, was the son of Pleuratus, and possessed a land and naval force greater than any of those who had ruled in Illyria before him.
οὗτος ὑπὸ Δημητρίου τοῦ Φιλίππου πατρὸς πεισθεὶς χρήμασιν ὑπέσχετο βοηθήσειν Μεδιωνίοις ὑπʼ Αἰτωλῶν πολιορκουμένοις.
Having been persuaded with money by Demetrius, the father of Philip, he promised to succour the Medionians, who were being besieged by the Aetolians.
Αἰτωλοὶ γὰρ οὐδαμῶς δυνάμενοι πεῖσαι Μεδιωνίους μετέχειν σφίσι τῆς αὐτῆς πολιτείας, ἐπεβάλοντο κατὰ κράτος ἑλεῖν αὐτούς.
For the Aetolians, being in no way able to persuade the Medionians to share the same polity with them, undertook to capture them by force.
στρατεύσαντες οὖν πανδημεὶ καὶ περιστρατοπεδεύσαντες αὐτῶν τὴν πόλιν κατὰ τὸ συνεχὲς ἐπολιόρκουν, πᾶσαν βίαν προσφέροντες καὶ μηχανήν.
Having therefore marched out in full force and encamped around their city, they besieged it continuously, applying every force and engine.
συνάψαντος δὲ τοῦ χρόνου τῶν ἀρχαιρεσίων, καὶ δέον2 στρατηγὸν ἕτερον αἱρεῖσθαι, καὶ τῶν πολιορκουμένων ἤδη κακῶς διακειμένων καὶ δοκούντων ἀνʼ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἐνδώσειν ἑαυτούς, ὁ προϋπάρχων στρατηγὸς προσφέρει λόγον τοῖς Αἰτωλοῖς φάσκων, ἐπειδὴ τὰς κακοπαθείας καὶ τοὺς κινδύνους αὐτὸς ἀναδέδεκται τοὺς κατὰ τὴν πολιορκίαν, δίκαιον εἶναι καὶ τὴν οἰκονομίαν τῶν λαφύρων, ἐπὰν κρατήσωσι, καὶ τὴν ἐπιγραφὴν τῶν ὅπλων ἑαυτῷ συγχωρεῖσθαι. τινῶν δέ, καὶ μάλιστα τῶν προϊόντων πρὸς τὴν ἀρχήν, ἀμφισβητούντων πρὸς τὰ λεγόμενα καὶ παρακαλούντων τὰ πλήθη μὴ προδιαλαμβάνειν, ἀλλʼ ἀκέραιον ἐᾶν, ᾧ ποτʼ ἂν3 ἡ τύχη βουληθῇ περιθεῖναι τοῦτον τὸν στέφανον, ἔδοξε τοῖς Αἰτωλοῖς, ὃς ἂν ἐπικατασταθεὶς στρατηγὸς κρατήσῃ τῆς πόλεως, κοινὴν ποιεῖν τῷ προϋπάρχοντι καὶ τὴν οἰκονομίαν
And as the time of the elections drew near, and it was necessary to elect another general, and the besieged were already in a bad plight and seemed likely to surrender from day to day, the existing general brought a proposal to the Aetolians, saying that, since he himself had undergone the hardships and dangers of the siege, it was just that both the distribution of the booty, when they should capture the city, and the dedication of the arms should be granted to him. But since some, and especially those who were candidates for the office, disputed his words and exhorted the multitude not to decide beforehand, but to leave the matter open for whomever Fortune might wish to invest with this crown, the Aetolians resolved that whoever, having been appointed as the next general, should capture the city, should share both the distribution with the existing one
- 2.2.1ἅπερ
Relative pronoun in the neuter plural, whose antecedent is the entire event of the first Roman crossing to Illyria mentioned in the preceding sentence. Syntactically, it functions as the subject of the clause containing the verbal adjective θεωρητέον.
- 2.2.8δέον
Neuter singular accusative participle of the impersonal verb δεῖ, used here as an "accusative absolute" in parallel with the genitive absolute συνάψαντος δὲ τοῦ χρόνου. Impersonal participles take the accusative case in absolute constructions to express circumstances or reasons ("since it was necessary").
- 2.2.10ᾧ ποτʼ ἂν
A generalized relative pronoun equivalent to ᾧτινι ἄν, combined with the enclitic ποτέ and the particle ἄν. It takes the subjunctive βουληθῇ to express an indefinite relative clause ("to whomever Fortune might wish..."), in the dative case.