- 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-grc2:22.3.1-22.3.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
Lacedaemonians dissatisfied with the Compasium incident accuse Philopoemen in Rome, prompting the Achaeans to send their own embassy. Meanwhile, the alliance with King Ptolemy is renewed, and during a banquet, the ambassador Demetrius praises the king's extraordinary physical prowess and hunting skills.
ὅτι1 μετὰ τὴν ἐν τῷ Κομπασίῳ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐπαναίρεσιν δυσαρεστήσαντές τινες τῶν ἐν τῇ Λακεδαίμονι τοῖς γεγονόσι καὶ νομίσαντες ὑπὸ τοῦ Φιλοποίμενος ἅμα τὴν δύναμιν καὶ τὴν προστασίαν καταλελύσθαι τὴν Λακεδαιμονίων, ἐλθόντες εἰς Ῥώμην κατηγορίαν ἐποιήσαντο τῶν διῳκημένων καὶ τοῦ Φιλοποίμενος.
That after the massacre of the people at Compasium, some of those in Lacedaemon, being dissatisfied with what had occurred and believing that both the power and the supremacy of the Lacedaemonians had been destroyed by Philopoemen, went to Rome and laid accusations against the measures taken and Philopoemen.
καὶ τέλος ἐξεπορίσαντο γράμματα πρὸς τοὺς Ἀχαιοὺς παρὰ Μάρκου Λεπέδου τοῦ μετὰ ταῦτα γενηθέντος ἀρχιερέως, τότε δὲ τὴν ὕπατον ἀρχὴν εἰληφότος·
And finally they procured a letter to the Achaeans from Marcus Lepidus, who afterwards became pontifex maximus, but at that time held the office of consul;
ὃς ἔγραφε τοῖς Ἀχαιοῖς, φάσκων οὐκ ὀρθῶς αὐτοὺς κεχειρικέναι τὰ κατὰ τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους. ὧν πρεσβευόντων,2 εὐθέως ὁ Φιλοποίμην πρεσβευτὰς καταστήσας τοὺς περὶ Νικόδημον τὸν Ἠλεῖον ἐξέπεμψεν εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην.
who wrote to the Achaeans, asserting that they had not managed the affairs of the Lacedaemonians correctly. While these men were acting as ambassadors, Philopoemen immediately appointed Nicodemus of Elis and his associates as ambassadors and dispatched them to Rome.
κατὰ δὲ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἧκε καὶ παρὰ Πτολεμαίου πρεσβευτὴς Δημήτριος Ἀθηναῖος, ἀνανεωσόμενος τὴν προϋπάρχουσαν συμμαχίαν τῷ βασιλεῖ πρὸς τὸ ἔθνος τῶν Ἀχαιῶν.
Around this same time, Demetrius of Athens also arrived as an ambassador from Ptolemy, in order to renew the pre-existing alliance between the king and the Achaean nation.
ὧν προθύμως ἀναδεξαμένων τὴν ἀνανέωσιν, κατεστάθησαν πρεσβευταὶ πρὸς Πτολεμαῖον Λυκόρτας ὁ παρʼ ἡμῶν πατὴρ3 καὶ Θεοδωρίδας καὶ Ῥωσιτέλης Σικυώνιοι χάριν τοῦ δοῦναι τοὺς ὅρκους ὑπὲρ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν καὶ λαβεῖν παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως.
As they readily accepted the renewal, Lycortas, our father, and Theodoridas and Rhositeles of Sicyon were appointed as ambassadors to Ptolemy for the purpose of giving the oaths on behalf of the Achaeans and receiving them from the king.
ἐγενήθη δέ τι κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον πάρεργον μὲν ἴσως, ἄξιον δὲ μνήμης. μετὰ γὰρ τὸ συντελεσθῆναι τὴν ἀνανέωσιν τῆς συμμαχίας, ὑπὲρ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν ὑπεδέξατο τὸν πρεσβευτὴν ὁ Φιλοποίμην·
At this time there occurred an incident, perhaps of secondary importance, but worthy of record. For after the renewal of the alliance had been concluded, Philopoemen entertained the ambassador on behalf of the Achaeans;
γενομένης δὲ παρὰ τὴν συνουσίαν μνήμης τοῦ βασιλέως, ἐπιβαλὼν4 ὁ πρεσβευτὴς πολλούς τινας διετίθετο λόγους ἐγκωμιάζων τὸν Πτολεμαῖον καί τινας ἀποδείξεις προεφέρετο τῆς τε περὶ τὰς κυνηγίας εὐχερείας καὶ τόλμης, ἑξῆς τε τῆς περὶ τοὺς ἵππους καὶ τὰ ὅπλα δυνάμεως καὶ τῆς ἐν τούτοις ἀσκήσεως.
and when, during the gathering, mention was made of the king, the ambassador spoke at great length, praising Ptolemy and bringing forward various proofs of his dexterity and boldness in hunting, and further of his skill with horses and weapons and his training in these matters.
τελευταίῳ δʼ ἐχρήσατο μαρτυρίῳ πρὸς πίστιν τῶν εἰρημένων· ἔφη γὰρ αὐτὸν κυνηγετοῦντα ταῦρον βαλεῖν ἀφʼ ἵππου μεσαγκύλῳ. —
Finally, he adduced a testimony to gain belief for what he had said; for he stated that while hunting, the king had struck a bull from horseback with a javelin.
- 22.3.1ὅτι
An introductory ὅti commonly found at the beginning of excerpts in the epitome of Polybius, serving to indicate a summary statement ('That...').
- 22.3.3ὧν πρεσβευόντων
A genitive absolute construction using the genitive relative pronoun ὧν. The antecedent refers to the dissatisfied Lacedaemonians who made the accusations in the previous section, meaning 'while these men were acting as ambassadors.'
- 22.3.6ὁ παρʼ ἡμῶν πατὴρ
Meaning 'our father'; the author Polybius refers to himself as 'we/us' and indicates his own biological father, Lycortas. An instance of autobiographical first-person intervention.
- 22.3.8ἐπιβαλών
The aorist active participle of ἐπιβάλλω used intransitively or adverbially, meaning 'adding (words)' or 'with emphasis/ardor.'