- 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-grc2:2.68.1-2.68.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-11
Antigonus praises Philopoemen for charging without waiting for orders. Meanwhile, Eucleidas fails to utilize the advantages of the terrain and meets the enemy on the summit, leading to a disastrous defeat due to the lack of retreat.
ὅθεν καὶ τὸν Ἀντίγονόν φασι μετὰ ταῦτα καταπειράζοντα1 πυνθάνεσθαι τοῦ ταχθέντος ἐπὶ τῶν ἱππέων Ἀλεξάνδρου διὰ τί πρὸ τοῦ παραδοθῆναι τὸ σύνθημα τοῦ κινδύνου κατάρξαιτο.
Hence they say that Antigonus afterwards, by way of testing him, asked Alexander, who had been placed in command of the cavalry, why he had begun the battle before the signal was given.
τοῦ δʼ ἀρνουμένου, φάσκοντος δὲ μειράκιόν τι Μεγαλοπολιτικὸν προεγχειρῆσαι παρὰ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γνώμην, εἰπεῖν διότι τὸ μὲν μειράκιον ἡγεμόνος ἔργον ἀγαθοῦ ποιήσαι, συνθεασάμενον τὸν καιρόν, ἐκεῖνος δʼ ἡγεμὼν ὑπάρχων μειρακίου τοῦ τυχόντος.2
When Alexander denied it, saying that a certain youth from Megalopolis had made the charge prematurely against his own judgment, Antigonus replied that the youth indeed, having observed the opportunity, had acted like a good general, while Alexander, though being a general, had acted like an ordinary youth.
οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ οἵ γε περὶ τὸν Εὐκλείδαν3 ὁρῶντες προσβαινούσας τὰς σπείρας, ἀφέμενοι τοῦ χρῆσθαι ταῖς τῶν τόπων εὐκαιρίαις —
However, Eucleidas and his men, seeing the cohorts ascending, neglected to make use of the advantages of the ground—
τοῦτο δʼ ἦν ἐκ πολλοῦ συναντῶντας καὶ προσπίπτοντας τοῖς πολεμίοις τὰ μὲν ἐκείνων στίφη συνταράττειν καὶ διαλύειν, αὐτοὺς δʼ ὑποχωρεῖν ἐπὶ πόδα καὶ μεθίστασθαι πρὸς τοὺς ὑπερδεξίους ἀεὶ τόπους ἀσφαλῶς·
which would have been to meet and fall upon the enemy from a distance, throwing their ranks into confusion and breaking them, while they themselves retreated step by step and safely withdrew to the higher positions as they became available;
οὕτω γὰρ ἂν προλυμηνάμενοι καὶ συγχέαντες τὸ τοῦ καθοπλισμοῦ καὶ τῆς συντάξεως ἰδίωμα τῶν ὑπεναντίων ῥᾳδίως αὐτοὺς ἐτρέψαντο διὰ τὴν τῶν τόπων εὐφυΐαν —
for by thus beforehand damaging and confounding the peculiar advantage of the enemy’s heavy armor and formation, they would have easily routed them owing to the favorable nature of the ground—
τούτων μὲν οὐδὲν ἐποίησαν, καθάπερ δʼ ἐξ ἑτοίμου σφίσι τῆς νίκης ὑπαρχούσης τοὐναντίον ἔπραξαν.
but they did none of these things, and acted in the opposite way, as if victory was already assured to them.
κατὰ γὰρ τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς στάσιν ἔμενον ἐπὶ τῶν ἄκρων, ὡς ἀνωτάτω σπεύδοντες λαβεῖν τοὺς ὑπεναντίους εἰς τὸ τὴν φυγὴν ἐπὶ πολὺ καταφερῆ καὶ κρημνώδη γενέσθαι τοῖς πολεμίοις.
For they remained at the summit on their original position, aiming to receive the enemy at the highest point possible, so that the flight of the enemy might be down a long and steep descent.
συνέβη δʼ, ὅπερ εἰκὸς ἦν, τοὐναντίον· οὐ γὰρ ἀπολιπόντες αὑτοῖς ἀναχώρησιν, προσδεξάμενοι δʼ ἀκεραίους ἅμα καὶ συνεστώσας τὰς σπείρας, εἰς τοῦτο δυσχρηστίας ἦλθον ὥστε διʼ αὐτῆς τῆς τοῦ λόφου κορυφῆς διαμάχεσθαι πρὸς τοὺς βιαζομένους.
But the contrary, as might be expected, happened; for by leaving themselves no way of retreat, and receiving the cohorts while still fresh and in close order, they fell into such difficulty that they had to fight against those forcing their way up on the very summit of the hill.
λοιπὸν ὅσον ἐκ ποδὸς ἐπιέσθησαν τῷ βάρει τοῦ καθοπλισμοῦ καὶ τῆς συντάξεως, εὐθέως οἱ μὲν Ἰλλυριοὶ τὴν κατάστασιν ἐλάμβανον, οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν Εὐκλείδαν τὴν ὑπὸ πόδα4 διὰ τὸ μὴ καταλείπεσθαι τόπον εἰς ἀναχώρησιν καὶ μετάστασιν ἑαυτοῖς.
Finally, when they were pressed step by step by the weight of the enemy’s heavy armor and formation, the Illyrians immediately gained a firm footing, while Eucleidas and his men began to give way, because no space was left for them to retreat or change their position.
ἐξ οὗ ταχέως συνέβη τραπέντας αὐτοὺς ὀλεθρίῳ χρήσασθαι φυγῇ, κρημνώδη καὶ δύσβατον ἐχόντων ἐπὶ πολὺ τὴν ἀναχώρησιν τῶν τόπων.
From which it quickly resulted that they were routed and met with a disastrous flight, the terrain of their retreat being steep and difficult to traverse for a long distance.
- 2.68.1καταπειράζοντα
A participle meaning 'testing' or 'trying', here conveying the nuance that Antigonus was sounding out Alexander's capability, tactical judgment, or true intentions.
- 2.68.2μειρακίου τοῦ τυχόντος
In contrast with the preceding phrase ἡγεμόνος ἔργον ἀγαθοῦ ποιήσαι, the words ἔργον ποιήσαι are elided here. It is understood as 'while being a general, he performed the part of an ordinary youth.'
- 2.68.3οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ οἵ γε περὶ τὸν Εὐκλείδαν
The sentence starting here, after a long parenthetical explanation of the advantages of the terrain in §2.68.4–5, resumes its main predicate in §2.68.6 with τούτων μὲν οὐδὲν ἐποίησαν, forming an anacoluthon.
- 2.68.9τὴν ὑπὸ πόδα
The noun to be supplied after the article τὴν is either φυγήν (flight) or χώραν / στάσιν (the ground underfoot, retreat). It stands in contrast to the Illyrians' τὴν κατάστασιν ἐλάμβανον (gained a footing), indicating that Eucleidas' men began to retreat.