Spartan Exiles' Embassy to Rome and Pirates' Attack — Polybius, The Histories Book 23 (23.6.1–23.6.3), Greek & English

§23.6.1

ὅτι κατὰ τοὺς αὐτοὺς καιροὺς ἐξαπεστάλησαν ὑπὸ τῶν ἐκ Λακεδαίμονος φυγάδων πρέσβεις εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην, ἐν οἷς ἦν Ἀρκεσίλαος καὶ Ἀγησίπολις,¹ ὃς ἔτι παῖς ὢν ἐγενήθη βασιλεὺς ἐν τῇ Σπάρτῃ.

At the same time, ambassadors were sent to Rome by the exiles from Lacedaemon, among whom were Arcesilaus and Agesipolis, who, while still a boy, had become king in Sparta.

§23.6.2

τούτους μὲν οὖν λῃσταί τινες περιπεσόντες ἐν τῷ πελάγει διέφθειραν,² οἱ δὲ μετὰ τούτων κατασταθέντες διεκομίσθησαν εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην.

Now, certain pirates, having fallen in with them on the open sea, killed them, but those who had been appointed along with them were conveyed safely to Rome.

Syntax notes2 items

23.6.1ἦν Ἀρκεσίλαος καὶ Ἀγησίπολις
Although the subject 'Arcesilaus and Agesipolis' is plural, the verb 'ἦν' is in the singular. This is an instance of partial agreement (sometimes referred to as the Schema Pindaricum), where the verb agrees in number with the first of the coordinated subjects or is simply in the singular despite the compound subject.
23.6.2τούτους μὲν οὖν λῃσταί τινες περιπεσόντες ἐν τῷ πελάγει διέφθειραν
The pronoun 'τούτους' (them, accusative) serves as the direct object of the transitive verb 'διέφθειραν' (killed), not of the participle 'περιπεσόντες' (having fallen in with, which typically governs the dative). Due to hyperbaton, the object 'τούτους' is placed at the very beginning of the clause for emphasis, followed by the subject, the participle, and finally the main verb.

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-grc2:23.6.1-23.6.3