Return of Demetrius and Perseus's Suspicion — Polybius, The Histories Book 23 (23.7.1–23.7.7), Greek & English

§23.7.1

ὅτι¹ τοῦ Δημητρίου παραγενηθέντος ἐκ τῆς Ῥώμης εἰς τὴν Μακεδονίαν καὶ κομίζοντος² τὰς ἀποκρίσεις, ἐν αἷς οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι πᾶσαν τὴν ἐξ αὑτῶν χάριν καὶ πίστιν εἰς τὸν Δημήτριον ἀπηρείδοντο καὶ διὰ τοῦτον ἔφασαν πάντα πεποιηκέναι καὶ ποιήσειν, οἱ μὲν Μακεδόνες ἀπεδέχοντο τὸν Δημήτριον, μεγάλων ὑπολαμβάνοντες ἀπολελύσθαι φόβων καὶ κινδύνων —

When Demetrius arrived in Macedonia from Rome bringing the replies, in which the Romans reposed all their goodwill and confidence in Demetrius, and stated that it was for his sake that they had done and would do everything, the Macedonians welcomed Demetrius, supposing that they were released from great fears and dangers—

§23.7.3

προσεδόκων γὰρ ὅσον οὔπω³ τὸν ἀπὸ Ῥωμαίων πόλεμον ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς ἥξειν διὰ τὰς τοῦ Φιλίππου παρατριβάς —

for they expected that a war on the part of the Romans would all but immediately come upon them because of the frictions caused by Philip—

§23.7.4

ὁ δὲ Φίλιππος καὶ Περσεὺς οὐχ ἡδέως ἑώρων τὸ γινόμενον, οὐδʼ ἤρεσεν αὐτοῖς τὸ δοκεῖν τοὺς Ῥωμαίους αὐτῶν μὲν μηθένα λόγον ποιεῖσθαι, τῷ δὲ Δημητρίῳ πᾶσαν ἀνατιθέναι τὴν ἐξ αὑτῶν χάριν.

but Philip and Perseus did not look upon what was happening with pleasure, nor did they like the appearance that the Romans made no account of them, but attributed all their goodwill to Demetrius.

§23.7.5

οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ ὁ μὲν Φίλιππος ἐπεκρύπτετο τὴν ἐπὶ τούτοις δυσαρέστησιν, ὁ δὲ Περσεύς, οὐ μόνον ἐν τῇ πρὸς Ῥωμαίους εὐνοίᾳ παρὰ πολὺ τἀδελφοῦ λειπόμενος, ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ τἄλλα πάντα καθυστερῶν καὶ τῇ φύσει καὶ τῇ κατασκευῇ, δυσχερῶς ἔφερε·

Nevertheless, while Philip concealed his displeasure at these things, Perseus, who was not only far inferior to his brother in goodwill toward the Romans, but also lagged behind him in all other respects, both in his natural disposition and training, bore it with difficulty;

§23.7.6

τὸ δὲ συνέχον,⁴ ἐδεδίει περὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς, μὴ πρεσβύτερος ὢν ἐξωσθῇ⁵ διὰ τὰς προειρημένας αἰτίας.

and what was most important, he was afraid concerning his rule, lest, although he was the elder, he might be excluded because of the aforementioned reasons.

§23.7.7

διὸ τούς τε φίλους ἔφθειρε τοὺς τοῦ Δημητρίου. —

Therefore, he began to corrupt the friends of Demetrius.

Syntax notes5 items

23.7.1ὅτι
An introductory ὅτι characteristic of epitomes, indicating an excerpt of historical narrative. It does not connect to a main verb but stands independently at the beginning of the sentence.
23.7.1τοῦ Δημητρίου παραγενηθέντος ... καὶ κομίζοντος
A genitive absolute construction with τοῦ Δημητρίου as its semantic subject. The aorist participle παραγενηθέντος (having arrived) and the present participle κομίζοντος (bringing) are coordinated to express a sequence of action and an ongoing state.
23.7.3ὅσον οὔπω
An adverbial idiomatic expression meaning "all but immediately" or "very soon," modifying the infinitive ἥξειν in the accusative-and-infinitive construction.
23.7.6τὸ δὲ συνέχον
An adverbial idiomatic expression using the neuter accusative of the participle, meaning "what was most important" or "the main point," modifying the whole sentence.
23.7.6μὴ πρεσβύτερος ὢν ἐξωσθῇ
A clause of fearing introduced by μὴ with the subjunctive ἐξωσθῇ, depending on the verb of fearing ἐδεδίει, meaning "fearing lest he might be excluded." The participle phrase πρεσβύτερος ὢν is concessive, meaning "although he was the elder."

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-grc2:23.7.1-23.7.7