- 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-grc2:29.23.1-29.23.11
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-11
In the Achaean League, when an embassy from the joint Ptolemaic kings requested military aid, Callicrates opposed it in favor of serving Rome, while Lycortas and Polybius advocated sending aid in accordance with their alliance.
ὅτι1 κατὰ τὴν Πελοπόννησον ἔτι κατὰ χειμῶνα πρεσβείας παραγενομένης παρὰ τῶν βασιλέων ἀμφοτέρων [Πτολεμαίου καὶ Πτολεμαίου] περὶ βοηθείας, ἐγενήθη διαβούλια καὶ πλείω, πολλὴν ἔχοντα φιλοτιμίαν.
In the Peloponnese, while it was still winter, when an embassy arrived from both kings [Ptolemy and Ptolemy] concerning aid, several deliberations took place, which involved much rivalry.
τοῖς μὲν γὰρ περὶ τὸν Καλλικράτην2 καὶ Διοφάνην καὶ σὺν τούτοις Ὑπέρβατον οὐκ ἤρεσκε διδόναι βοήθειαν, τοῖς δὲ περὶ τὸν Ἄρχωνα καὶ Λυκόρταν καὶ Πολύβιον ἤρεσκε τὸ διδόναι τοῖς βασιλεῦσι κατὰ τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν συμμαχίαν.
For to Callicrates, Diophanes, and with them Hyperbatus, it did not seem good to grant aid, whereas to Archon, Lycortas, and Polybius, it seemed good to grant it to the kings in accordance with the existing alliance.
ἤδη γὰρ συνέβαινε τότε τὸν νεώτερον Πτολεμαῖον ὑπὸ τῶν ὄχλων ἀναδεδεῖχθαι βασιλέα διὰ τὴν περίστασιν, τὸν δὲ πρεσβύτερον ἐκ τῆς Μέμφεως καταπεπορεῦσθαι καὶ συμβασιλεύειν τἀδελφῷ.
For it had already happened at that time that the younger Ptolemy had been declared king by the multitudes because of the critical situation, and the elder had come down from Memphis and was reigning together with his brother.
καὶ δεόμενοι παντοδαπῆς ἐπικουρίας ἐξαπέστειλαν πρεσβευτὰς Εὐμένη καὶ Διονυσόδωρον πρὸς τοὺς Ἀχαιούς, αἰτοῦντες πεζοὺς μὲν χιλίους ἱππεῖς δὲ διακοσίους, ἡγεμόνα δὲ τῆς ὅλης συμμαχίας Λυκόρταν, τῶν δʼ ἱππέων Πολύβιον.
And being in need of all kinds of assistance, they dispatched Eumenes and Dionysodorus as ambassadors to the Achaians, requesting a thousand infantry and two hundred cavalry, and asking for Lycortas as commander of the whole allied force, and Polybius of the cavalry.
πρὸς δὲ Θεοδωρίδαν τὸν Σικυώνιον διεπέμψαντο, παρακαλοῦντες αὐτὸν συστήσασθαι ξενολόγιον χιλίων ἀνδρῶν.
They also sent to Theodoridas of Sicyon, urging him to recruit a mercenary force of a thousand men.
συνέβαινε δὲ τοὺς μὲν βασιλεῖς τὴν ἐπὶ πλεῖον σύστασιν ἔχειν πρὸς τοὺς εἰρημένους ἄνδρας ἐκ τῶν πράξεων ὧν εἰρήκαμεν.
And it happened that the kings had a closer connection with the aforementioned men owing to the actions we have already spoken of.
τῶν δὲ πρεσβευτῶν παραγενομένων,3 τῆς συνόδου τῶν Ἀχαιῶν οὔσης ἐν Κορίνθῳ, καὶ τά τε φιλάνθρωπα πρὸς τὴν βασιλείαν ἀνανεωσαμένων ὄντα μεγάλα καὶ τὴν περίστασιν τῶν βασιλέων ὑπὸ τὴν ὄψιν ἀγόντων καὶ δεομένων σφίσι βοηθεῖν, τὸ μὲν πλῆθος τῶν Ἀχαιῶν ἕτοιμον ἦν οὐ μέρει τινί, πανδημεὶ δὲ συγκινδυνεύειν, εἰ δέοι, τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν· ἀμφότεροι γὰρ εἶχον τό τε διάδημα καὶ τὴν ἐξουσίαν. οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν Καλλικράτην ἀντέλεγον, φάσκοντες δεῖν καθόλου μὲν μὴ πραγματοκοπεῖν, ἐν δὲ τοῖς παροῦσι καιροῖς μηδʼ ὅλως, ἀλλʼ ἀπερισπάστους ὑπάρχοντας Ῥωμαίοις παρέχεσθαι χρείας·4
When the ambassadors arrived, the assembly of the Achaians being held in Corinth, and when they renewed the great acts of benevolence towards the kingdom and brought the critical situation of the kings before their eyes and begged them to help, the multitude of the Achaians was ready not merely with a certain part of their forces, but to share the danger with all their forces, if necessary, for the kings; for both of them held the diadem and the power. But Callicrates and his party spoke against it, asserting that they ought not to meddle at all, and least of all in the present circumstances, but should keep themselves free from distractions so as to render services to the Romans;
μάλιστα γὰρ ἦν τότε προσδόκιμος ὁ περὶ τῶν ὅλων κίνδυνος, ἅτε τοῦ Κοΐντου τοῦ Φιλίππου τὴν παραχειμασίαν ἐν τῇ
for the danger concerning the whole situation was then most expected, inasmuch as Quintus Philippus was making his winter quarters in Thessaly...
- 29.23.1ὅτι
The introductory ὅτι is due to the text surviving as a fragment in the Byzantine Excerpta. It does not introduce a subordinate clause in this context but acts as a conventional marker indicating the start of an excerpt.
- 29.23.2τοῖς μὲν γὰρ περὶ τὸν Καλλικράτην
The idiom 'οἱ περί + accusative' refers to 'Callicrates and his party' or 'Callicrates and his associates.' The dative case is used here as the logical subject of the impersonal verb phrase 'οὐκ ἤρεσκε'.
- 29.23.8τῶν δὲ πρεσβευτῶν παραγενομένων
A long sentence extending to τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν in §29.23.9. It features two genitive absolutes in parathesis, τῶν δὲ πρεσβευτῶν παραγενομένων (the ambassadors having arrived) and τῆς συνόδου ... οὔσης (the assembly being held), followed by active and middle participles ἀνανεωσαμένων (renewing), ἀγόντων (bringing), and δεομένων (begging), all agreeing with the ambassadors.
- 29.23.10ἀπερισπάστους ὑπάρχοντας Ῥωμαίοις παρέχεσθαι χρείας
The adjective ἀπερισπάστους (undistracted) with the participle ὑπάρχοντας (being) agrees with the omitted accusative subject of the infinitive παρέχεσθαι (to render), referring to the Achaians. It denotes that they should remain free from other concerns to be ready to serve the Romans.
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