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The Histories

§22.6.1-22.6.7

Accusations Against Philip and Roman Legation

Envoys from King Eumenes, exiles from Maroneia, and various Greek tribes arrived in Rome to accuse King Philip of Macedonia. In response, the Senate decided to dispatch an embassy led by Caecilius to investigate the situation and secure the safety of the accusers.

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§22.6.1

ὅτι κατὰ τοὺς αὐτοὺς καιροὺς ἧκον εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην παρά τε τοῦ βασιλέως Εὐμένους πρεσβευταὶ διασαφοῦντες τὸν ἐξιδιασμὸν τοῦ Φιλίππου τῶν ἐπὶ Θρᾴκης πόλεων,1 καὶ παρὰ Μαρωνειτῶν οἱ φυγάδες κατηγοροῦντες καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν ἀναφέροντες τῆς αὑτῶν ἐκπτώσεως ἐπὶ τὸν Φίλιππον, ἅμα δὲ τούτοις Ἀθαμᾶνες, Περραιβοί, Θετταλοί, φάσκοντες κομίζεσθαι δεῖν αὑτοὺς2 τὰς πόλεις, ἃς παρείλετο Φίλιππος αὐτῶν κατὰ τὸν Ἀντιοχικὸν πόλεμον.

​At the same period, ambassadors arrived in Rome from King Eumenes, reporting in detail the appropriation by Philip of the cities in Thrace, ​and also the exiles from Maroneia, accusing Philip and attributing the cause of their banishment to him; ​and along with these, the Athamanians, Perrhaebians, and Thessalians, asserting that they ought to recover the cities which Philip had taken from them during the Antiochian war.

§22.6.4

ἧκον δὲ καὶ παρὰ τοῦ Φιλίππου πρέσβεις πρὸς ἅπαντας τοὺς κατηγορήσαντας ἀπολογησόμενοι.

​Ambassadors also arrived from Philip to defend him against all who had brought accusations.

§22.6.5

γενομένων δὲ πλειόνων λόγων πᾶσι τοῖς προειρημένοις πρὸς τοὺς παρὰ τοῦ Φιλίππου πρεσβευτάς, ἔδοξε τῇ συγκλήτῳ παραυτίκα καταστῆσαι πρεσβείαν τὴν ἐπισκεψομένην τὰ κατὰ τὸν Φίλιππον καὶ παρέξουσαν ἀσφάλειαν τοῖς βουλομένοις κατὰ πρόσωπον λέγειν τὸ φαινόμενον καὶ κατηγορεῖν τοῦ βασιλέως.

​After many arguments had been made by all the aforementioned parties against the ambassadors of Philip, the Senate resolved to appoint immediately an embassy to investigate the affairs of Philip, and to provide security for those who wished to state the facts face to face and accuse the king.

§22.6.6

καὶ κατεστάθησαν οἱ περὶ τὸν Κόιντον Καικίλιον3 καὶ Μάρκον Βαίβιον καὶ Τεβέριον Κλαύδιον. — συνέβαινε τοὺς Αἰνίους πάλαι μὲν στασιάζειν, προσφάτως δʼ ἀπονεύειν τοὺς μὲν πρὸς Εὐμένη, τοὺς δὲ πρὸς Μακεδονίαν.

​And Quintus Caecilius, Marcus Baebius, and Tiberius Claudius with their colleagues were appointed. — It happened that the Aenians had long been in a state of sedition, ​and recently some leaned towards Eumenes, and others towards Macedonia.

Syntax notes3 items
  1. 22.6.1τὸν ἐξιδιασμὸν τοῦ Φιλίππου τῶν ἐπὶ Θρᾴκης πόλεων

    The noun ἐξιδιασμός (appropriation) is modified by two genitives: τοῦ Φιλίππου acts as a subjective genitive (the appropriation by Philip), and τῶν ἐπὶ Θρᾴκης πόλεων acts as an objective genitive (the appropriation of the cities in Thrace).

  2. 22.6.3κομίζεσθαι δεῖν αὑτοὺς

    The infinitive δεῖν (from the impersonal verb δεῖ, 'it is necessary') is dependent on the participle φάσκοντες ('asserting'). This δεῖν in turn governs an accusative and infinitive construction where αὑτοὺς (accusative plural) serves as the subject of the infinitive κομίζεσθαι ('to recover').

  3. 22.6.6οἱ περὶ τὸν Κόιντον Καικίλιον

    The idiomatic expression with the preposition περί and an accusative ('those around...') is used in post-classical Greek to denote a group led by a particular person (here, the embassy led by Quintus Caecilius) or sometimes simply the person themselves. Since other members are explicitly named alongside, it designates the delegation headed by Caecilius.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-10-09)
  • 2026-10-09 Collated with the printed edition — source 1
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:22.6.1-22.6.7