- 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-grc2:29.27.1-29.27.13
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-11
The historic confrontation in which the Roman general Popilius Laenas delivers the Senate's decree to Antiochus IV, drawing a circle around him with a staff to force immediate compliance and withdrawal from Egypt.
ὅτι1 τοῦ Ἀντιόχου πρὸς Πτολεμαῖον ἕνεκεν τοῦ Πηλούσιον κατασχεῖν ἀφικομένου, ὁ Ποπίλιος ὁ τῶν Ῥωμαίων στρατηγός, τοῦ βασιλέως πόρρωθεν ἀσπαζομένου διὰ τῆς φωνῆς καὶ τὴν δεξιὰν προτείνοντος, πρόχειρον ἔχων τὸ δελτάριον, ἐν ᾧ τὸ τῆς συγκλήτου δόγμα κατετέτακτο, προύτεινεν αὐτῷ καὶ τοῦτʼ ἐκέλευσε πρῶτον ἀναγνῶναι τὸν Ἀντίοχον, ὡς μὲν ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ, μὴ πρότερον ἀξιώσας2 τὸ τῆς φιλίας σύνθημα ποιεῖν πρὶν ἢ τὴν προαίρεσιν ἐπιγνῶναι τοῦ δεξιουμένου, πότερα φίλιος ἢ πολέμιός ἐστιν.
When Antiochus arrived for the purpose of seizing Pelusium, Popilius, the Roman general, when the king greeted him from a distance and held out his right hand, having ready in his hand the tablet in which the decree of the Senate was written, held it out to him and ordered Antiochus to read this first, as it seems to me, because he did not think it proper to exchange the greeting of friendship before knowing the intention of the one who welcomed him, whether he was a friend or an enemy.
ἐπεὶ δʼ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀναγνοὺς ἔφη βούλεσθαι μεταδοῦναι τοῖς φίλοις ὑπὲρ τῶν προσπεπτωκότων, ἀκούσας ὁ Ποπίλιος ἐποίησε πρᾶγμα βαρὺ μὲν δοκοῦν εἶναι καὶ τελέως ὑπερήφανον·
But when the king, after reading it, said that he wished to communicate with his friends about the message, Popilius, on hearing this, did a deed which seemed offensive and utterly arrogant.
ἔχων γὰρ πρόχειρον ἀμπελίνην βακτηρίαν περιέγραφε τῷ κλήματι τὸν Ἀντίοχον ἐν τούτῳ τε τῷ γύρῳ τὴν ἀπόφασιν ἐκέλευσε δοῦναι περὶ τῶν γεγραμμένων·
For, having a vine-stick ready in his hand, he drew a circle round Antiochus with the twig, and ordered him to give his answer to what was written within this circle.
ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ξενισθεὶς3 τὸ γινόμενον καὶ τὴν ὑπεροχήν, βραχὺν χρόνον ἐναπορήσας ἔφη ποιήσειν πᾶν τὸ παρακαλούμενον ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων. οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν Ποπίλιον τότε τὴν δεξιὰν αὐτοῦ λαμβάνοντες ἅμα πάντες ἠσπάζοντο φιλοφρόνως.
The king, astonished at what was happening and at this authoritative behavior, hesitated for a short time, and then said he would do all that was requested by the Romans. Thereupon Popilius and his companions took his right hand and all welcomed him cordially.
ἦν δὲ τὰ γεγραμμένα λύειν4 ἐξ αὐτῆς τὸν πρὸς Πτολεμαῖον πόλεμον.
The substance of the writing was to put an end to the war against Ptolemy immediately.
διὸ καὶ δοθεισῶν αὐτῷ τακτῶν ἡμερῶν, οὗτος μὲν ἀπῆγε τὰς δυνάμεις εἰς τὴν Συρίαν, βαρυνόμενος καὶ στένων, εἴκων δὲ τοῖς καιροῖς κατὰ τὸ παρόν·
Therefore, after a fixed number of days had been allowed him, he led his forces back to Syria, aggrieved and groaning, but yielding to the circumstances for the present.
οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν Ποπίλιον καταστησάμενοι τὰ κατὰ τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν καὶ παρακαλέσαντες τοὺς βασιλεῖς ὁμονοεῖν, ἅμα δὲ προστάξαντες αὐτοῖς Πολυάρατον ἀναπέμπειν εἰς Ῥώμην, ἀνέπλευσαν ἐπὶ τῆς Κύπρου, βουλόμενοι καὶ τὰς ἐκεῖ καθυπαρχούσας δυνάμεις ἐκβαλεῖν ἐκ τῆς νήσου κατὰ σπουδήν.
Meanwhile Popilius and his suite, having settled matters in Alexandria and exhorted the kings to remain at peace, and having at the same time ordered them to send Polyaratus to Rome, sailed for Cyprus, wishing to expel the forces already there from the island with all speed.
ἀφικόμενοι δὲ καὶ καταλαβόντες ἡττημένους μάχῃ τοὺς τοῦ Πτολεμαίου στρατηγοὺς καὶ καθόλου φερόμενα τὰ κατὰ τὴν Κύπρον ἄνω καὶ κάτω ταχέως ἀνέστησαν τὸ στρατόπεδον ἐκ τῆς χώρας καὶ παρήδρευσαν, ἕως ἀπέπλευσαν αἱ δυνάμεις ἐπὶ Συρίας.
On arriving and finding that Ptolemy’s generals had been defeated in battle, and that the affairs of Cyprus were in utter confusion, they quickly withdrew the army from the country and remained on the spot until the forces had sailed for Syria.
καὶ Ῥωμαῖοι μὲν ὅσον οὔπω καταπεπονημένην τὴν Πτολεμαίου βασιλείαν τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ διέσωσαν, τῆς τύχης οὕτω βραβευούσης τὰ κατὰ τὸν Περσέα πράγματα καὶ τοὺς Μακεδόνας ὥστε καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἔσχατον καιρὸν ἐλθόντα τὰ κατὰ τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν καὶ τὴν ὅλην Αἴγυπτον παρὰ τοῦτο5 πάλιν ὀρθωθῆναι, παρὰ τὸ φθάσαι κριθέντα τὰ κατὰ τὸν Περσέα πράγματα·
And in this manner the Romans saved the kingdom of Ptolemy when it was all but destroyed, fortune having so arbitrated the issue of the war with Perseus and the Macedonians, that the affairs of Alexandria and of all Egypt, although they had reached the last extremity, were set right again by this very circumstance, because the fate of Perseus had been decided beforehand.
μὴ γὰρ γενομένου τούτου καὶ πιστευθέντος, οὐκ ἄν μοι δοκεῖ πειθαρχῆσαι6 τοῖς ἐπιταττομένοις Ἀντίοχος.
For had this not happened and been believed, Antiochus would not, I think, have obeyed these commands.
- 29.27.1ὅτι
An introductory conjunction characteristic of excerpted manuscripts (epitome); although syntactically linking to a main clause meaning 'that...', it does not need to be translated here.
- 29.27.3μὴ ... ἀξιώσας
A participle accompanied by the negative particle μὴ, expressing Popilius' subjective judgment or reason ('deeming it not proper' or 'not thinking it fit').
- 29.27.6ξενισθεὶς
A passive participle that here directly governs the accusatives (τὸ γινόμενον καὶ τὴν ὑπεροχήν) in the middle/passive sense of 'being astonished at' or 'disconcerted by'.
- 29.27.7ἦν δὲ τὰ γεγραμμένα λύειν
The infinitive λύειν acts as a predicate of the subject τὰ γεγραμμένα with the copula ἦν, forming a structure meaning 'the substance of the writing was to put an end to...'.
- 29.27.12παρὰ τοῦτο
The preposition παρὰ with the accusative denotes cause here ('owing to this' or 'by this circumstance'). The subsequent phrase παρὰ τὸ φθάσαι κριθέντα shares the same causal structure.
- 29.27.13οὐκ ἄν μοι δοκεῖ πειθαρχῆσαι
The particle ἄν belongs not to the verb δοκεῖ but to the infinitive πειθαρχῆσαι, representing a past irrealis apodosis ('he would not have obeyed, I think').