- 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
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- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:23.1.1-23.1.13
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
During the 149th Olympiad, an unprecedented number of embassies from Greece and neighboring regions gather in Rome to bring charges against Philip, causing the Senate difficulty in managing the diverse and complex disputes.
ὅτι κατὰ τὴν ἐνάτην καὶ τετταρακοστὴν ὀλυμπιάδα πρὸς ταῖς ἑκατὸν εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην ἡθροίσθησαν πρεσβειῶν πλῆθος1 ἀπὸ τῆς Ἑλλάδος, ὅσον οὐ ταχέως πρότερον.
That in the hundred and forty-ninth Olympiad, there assembled in Rome a larger number of embassies from Greece than had ever been seen before.
τοῦ γὰρ Φιλίππου συγκλεισθέντος εἰς τὴν κατὰ τὸ σύμβολον δικαιοδοσίαν πρὸς τοὺς ἀστυγείτονας, καὶ τῶν Ῥωμαίων γνωσθέντων2 ὅτι προσδέχονται τὰς κατὰ Φιλίππου κατηγορίας καὶ πρόνοιαν ποιοῦνται τῆς ἀσφαλείας τῶν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀμφισβητούντων, ἅπαντες οἱ παρακείμενοι τῇ Μακεδονίᾳ παρῆσαν, οἱ μὲν κατʼ ἰδίαν, οἱ δὲ κατὰ πόλιν, οἱ δὲ κατὰ τὰς ἐθνικὰς συστάσεις, ἐγκαλοῦντες τῷ Φιλίππῳ.
For, as Philip was restricted to the jurisdiction established by treaty with his neighbors, and as it became known that the Romans were receiving the accusations against Philip and taking thought for the safety of those who had disputes with him, all those who bordered on Macedonia made their appearance, some individually, some by cities, and others by national leagues, bringing charges against Philip.
σὺν δὲ τούτοις οἱ παρʼ Εὐμένους ἧκον ἅμʼ Ἀθηναίῳ τῷ τοῦ βασιλέως ἀδελφῷ, κατηγορήσοντες αὐτοῦ περί τε τῶν ἐπὶ Θρᾴκης πόλεων καὶ περὶ τῆς ἀποσταλείσης Προυσίᾳ βοηθείας.
Along with these came the envoys of Eumenes together with Athenaeus, the king’s brother, to accuse him concerning the cities in Thrace and the assistance sent to Prusias.
ἧκε δὲ καὶ Δημήτριος ὁ τοῦ Φιλίππου πρὸς πάντας τούτους ἀπολογησόμενος, ἔχων Ἀπελλῆν καὶ Φιλοκλῆ μεθʼ αὑτοῦ, τοὺς τότε δοκοῦντας εἶναι πρώτους φίλους τοῦ βασιλέως.
Demetrius, the son of Philip, also came to make defense against all these, having with him Apelles and Philocles, who were at that time considered to be the chief friends of the king.
παρῆσαν δὲ καὶ παρὰ Λακεδαιμονίων πρέσβεις, ἀφʼ ἑκάστου γένους τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει.3
There were also present ambassadors from the Lacedaemonians, representing each of the factions in the city.
πρῶτον μὲν οὖν ἡ σύγκλητος εἰσεκαλέσατο τὸν Ἀθήναιον καὶ δεξαμένη τὸν στέφανον, ὃν ἐκόμιζεν ἀπὸ μυρίων καὶ πεντακισχιλίων χρυσῶν, ἐπῄνεσέ τε μεγαλομερῶς τὸν Εὐμένη καὶ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς διὰ τῆς ἀποκρίσεως καὶ παρεκάλεσε μένειν ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῆς αἱρέσεως.
First, then, the Senate summoned Athenaeus, and having accepted the crown which he brought, valued at fifteen thousand gold pieces, they handsomely praised Eumenes and his brothers in their reply, and exhorted them to adhere to the same policy.
ἐπὶ δὲ τούτῳ τὸν Δημήτριον εἰσαγαγόντες οἱ στρατηγοὶ4 παρεκαλέσαντο τοὺς κατηγοροῦντας τοῦ Φιλίππου πάντας καὶ παρῆγον κατὰ μίαν πρεσβείαν.
After this, the consuls, having introduced Demetrius, summoned all those who accused Philip and brought them forward one embassy at a time.
οὐσῶν δὲ τῶν πρεσβειῶν πολλῶν, καὶ τῆς εἰσόδου τούτων γενομένης ἐπὶ τρεῖς ἡμέρας, εἰς ἀπορίαν ἐνέπιπτεν ἡ σύγκλητος περὶ τοῦ πῶς δεῖ χειρισθῆναι τὰ κατὰ μέρος.
As the embassies were numerous, and their introduction occupied three days, the Senate fell into difficulty as to how they should manage the details.
παρά τε γὰρ Θετταλῶν καὶ κατὰ κοινὸν ἧκον καὶ κατʼ ἰδίαν ἀφʼ ἑκάστης πόλεως πρεσβευταί, παρά τε Περραιβῶν, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ παρʼ Ἀθαμάνων καὶ παρʼ Ἠπειρωτῶν καὶ παρʼ Ἰλλυριῶν·
For ambassadors had come from the Thessalians both collectively and from each city individually, and from the Perrhaebians, and likewise from the Athamanes, the Epirotes, and the Illyrians;
ὧν οἱ μὲν περὶ χώρας, οἱ δὲ περὶ σωμάτων, οἱ δὲ περὶ θρεμμάτων ἧκον ἀμφισβητοῦντες, ἔνιοι δὲ περὶ συμβολαίων καὶ τῶν εἰς αὑτοὺς ἀδικημάτων, τινὲς μὲν οὐ φάσκοντες δύνασθαι τυχεῖν τοῦ δικαίου κατὰ τὸ σύμβολον διὰ τὸ τὸν Φίλιππον ἐκκόπτειν τὴν δικαιοδοσίαν, τινὲς δʼ ἐγκαλοῦντες τοῖς κρίμασιν ὡς παραβεβραβευμένοι,5 διαφθείραντος τοῦ Φιλίππου τοὺς δικαστάς.
of whom some came disputing about territory, others about persons, others about livestock, and some about contracts and injuries done to themselves, some declaring that they could not obtain justice according to the treaty because Philip blocked the jurisdiction, others complaining against the judgments as having been unfairly decided, since Philip had corrupted the judges.
καθόλου δὲ ποικίλη τις ἦν ἀκρισία καὶ δυσχώρητος ἐκ τῶν κατηγορουμένων.
In general, there was a diverse and intractable confusion arising from the accusations.
- 23.1.1ἡθροίσθησαν πρεσβειῶν πλῆθος
The verb ἡθροίσθησαν is in the plural despite its subject being the neuter singular noun πλῆθος ("multitude"), illustrating a construction according to sense (constructio ad sensum).
- 23.1.2γνωσθέντων
A passive aorist participle of γιγνώσκω forming part of a genitive absolute construction. It means "it having become known [to the Greeks] that..." or "the Romans having been recognized as...".
- 23.1.6ἀφʼ ἑκάστου γένους τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει
Although γένος usually means "race" or "family", here it refers to the different "factions" or "political parties" (e.g., exiles versus those inside the city) within Spartan society.
- 23.1.8οἱ στρατηγοὶ
Polybius uses the Greek term στρατηγός ("general") to refer to the Roman chief magistrates (in this context, the consuls, or praetors in charge of administration).
- 23.1.12ὡς παραβεβραβευμένοι
The conjunction ὡς ("on the ground that") accompanies the perfect passive participle (nominative plural) of παραβραβεύω ("to decide unfairly, cheat of a prize"), expressing the subjective reason of the accusers.
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