- 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-grc2:23.8.1-23.8.7
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
Upon the arrival of Quintus Marcius's embassy, Philip complies with Roman demands by fully evacuating Greek cities in Thrace, but does so with resentment, conducting a military expedition against neighboring barbarian tribes to gain time for war preparations.
ὅτι τῶν περὶ τὸν Κόιντον τὸν Μάρκιον πρεσβευσάντων1 εἰς Μακεδονίαν, ἀπέβη μὲν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐπὶ Θρᾴκης Ἑλληνίδων πόλεων ὁλοσχερῶς ὁ Φίλιππος καὶ τὰς φρουρὰς ἐξήγαγεν, ἀπέβη δὲ2 βαρυνόμενος καὶ στένων.
When Quintus Marcius and his fellow-ambassadors arrived on an embassy in Macedonia, Philip withdrew entirely from the Greek cities on the coast of Thrace and evacuated his garrisons, yet he did so with a heavy heart and groaning with resentment.
διωρθώσατο δὲ καὶ τἄλλα πάντα, περὶ ὧν οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι προσεπέταττον, βουλόμενος ἐκείνοις μὲν μηδεμίαν ἔμφασιν ποιεῖν ἀλλοτριότητος, λαμβάνειν δʼ ἀναστροφὴν3 πρὸς τὰς εἰς τὸν πόλεμον παρασκευάς.
He also complied with all the other matters about which the Romans gave further orders, wishing to give them no indication of hostility, but to gain time for his preparations for war.
τηρῶν δὲ τὴν προκειμένην ὑπόθεσιν, ἐξῆγε στρατιὰν ἐπὶ τοὺς βαρβάρους.
Maintaining his underlying purpose, he led an army against the barbarians.
διελθὼν δὲ διὰ μέσης τῆς Θρᾴκης ἐνέβαλεν εἰς Ὀδρύσας καὶ Βέσσους καὶ Δενθηλήτους.
Passing through the heart of Thrace, he invaded the territories of the Odrysae, Bessi, and Dentheletae.
παραγενόμενος δʼ ἐπὶ τὴν προσαγορευομένην Φιλίππου πόλιν, φυγόντων τῶν ἐνοικούντων εἰς τὰς ἀκρωρείας, ἐξ ἐφόδου κατέσχε τὴν πόλιν.
Arriving at the city called Philippopolis, since the inhabitants had fled to the mountain heights, he took the city by storm at the first assault.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα πᾶν τὸ πεδίον ἐπιδραμὼν καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἐκπορθήσας, παρʼ ὧν δὲ πίστεις λαβών, ἐπανῆλθε, φρουρὰν καταλιπὼν ἐν τῇ Φιλίππου πόλει.
After this, having overrun the whole plain, and having plundered some, while receiving pledges of submission from others, he returned, leaving a garrison in Philippopolis.
ταύτην δὲ συνέβη μετά τινα χρόνον ἐκπεσεῖν4 ὑπὸ τῶν Ὀδρυσῶν, ἀθετησάντων τὰς πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα πίστεις.
But it happened that some time later this garrison was expelled by the Odrysae, who broke their pledges of submission to the king.
- 23.8.1τῶν περὶ τὸν Κόιντον τὸν Μάρκιον πρεσβευσάντων
The phrase οἱ περί τινα is an idiomatic expression meaning 'someone and his associates', here referring to the Roman embassy led by Quintus Marcius. The entire phrase, together with the participle πρεσβευσάντων, forms a genitive absolute functions as a temporal clause.
- 23.8.1ἀπέβη μὲν ... ἀπέβη δὲ
The same verb ἀπέβη (aorist of ἀποβαίνω) is repeated. The first occurrence means physically 'withdrawing' from a place (ἀπὸ τῶν... πόλεων), while the second, accompanied by the participles βαρυνόμενος καὶ στένων, describes the psychological or situational manner in which he departed.
- 23.8.2λαμβάνειν δʼ ἀναστροφὴν
The infinitive λαμβάνειν depends on the participle βουλόμενος ('wishing') in the preceding clause. Here, ἀναστροφή is used in a sense frequently found in Polybius, meaning 'respite', 'delay', or 'breathing space'.
- 23.8.7ταύτην δὲ συνέβη μετά τινα χρόνον ἐκπεσεῖν
An accusative and infinitive construction (ταύτην... ἐκπεσεῖν) serves as the subject of the impersonal verb συνέβη ('it happened'). The accusative pronoun ταύτην refers back to φρουράν ('garrison') or πόλιν ('city') and acts as the subject of ἐκπεσεῖν (aorist infinitive of ἐκπίπτω, 'to be expelled' or 'driven out').