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The Histories

§27.19.1-27.19.2

Antiochus IV Sends an Embassy to Rome

Antiochus IV, seeing the Ptolemaic preparations for war over Coele-Syria, sent an embassy under Meleager to Rome. He instructed them to protest to the senate that Ptolemy was the aggressor.

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§27.19.1

ὅτι Ἀντίοχος ὁρῶν ἐκφανῶς ἤδη τοὺς κατὰ τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν παρασκευαζομένους εἰς τὸν περὶ Κοίλης Συρίας πόλεμον, εἰς μὲν τὴν Ῥώμην ἔπεμψε πρεσβευτὰς τοὺς περὶ Μελέαγρον,1 ἐντειλάμενος λέγειν τῇ συγκλήτῳ καὶ διαμαρτύρασθαι διότι παρὰ πάντα τὰ δίκαια Πτολεμαῖος αὐτῷ τὰς χεῖρας ἐπιβάλλει πρότερος2 —

​That Antiochus, seeing that those in Alexandria were already openly preparing for the war over Coele-Syria, sent Meleager and his colleagues as ambassadors to Rome, ​with instructions to tell the senate and protest that Ptolemy, in defiance of all justice, was the first to lay hands on him —

Syntax notes2 items
  1. 27.19.1τοὺς περὶ Μελέαγρον

    An idiomatic expression meaning "Meleager and his associates." Here it refers to the embassy headed by Meleager.

  2. 27.19.2πρότερος

    Although a nominative adjective agreeing with the subject Ptolemy, it functions adverbially to modify the verb, meaning "first" or "prior."

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:27.19.1-27.19.2