- 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-grc2:3.107.1-3.107.15
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
Hannibal seizes the citadel of Cannae, a key Roman supply base, causing great distress among the Roman forces. In response, Rome decides to risk a decisive battle with an unprecedented force of eight legions, dispatching the consuls to the field, while the author details the standard and emergency military organization of the Roman army.
τὸν μὲν οὖν χειμῶνα καὶ τὴν ἐαρινὴν ὥραν διέμειναν ἀντιστρατοπεδεύοντες ἀλλήλοις· ἤδη δὲ παραδιδόντος τοῦ καιροῦ1 τὴν ἐκ τῶν ἐπετείων καρπῶν χορηγίαν, ἐκίνει τὴν δύναμιν ἐκ τοῦ περὶ τὸ Γερούνιον χάρακος Ἀννίβας.
Thus they remained during the winter and the spring season encamped opposite to each other. But when the season was already offering the supply from the yearly crops, Hannibal moved his army from the camp near Gerunium.
κρίνων δὲ συμφέρειν τὸ κατὰ πάντα τρόπον ἀναγκάσαι μάχεσθαι τοὺς πολεμίους, καταλαμβάνει τὴν τῆς Κάννης προσαγορευομένης πόλεως ἄκραν.
Judging that it was advantageous to force the enemy to fight by every means, he seized the citadel of the city called Cannae.
εἰς γὰρ ταύτην συνέβαινε τόν τε σῖτον καὶ τὰς λοιπὰς χορηγίας ἁθροίζεσθαι τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις ἐκ τῶν περὶ Κανύσιον τόπων· ἐκ δὲ ταύτης ἀεὶ πρὸς τὴν χρείαν ἐπὶ τὸ στρατόπεδον παρακομίζεσθαι.
For into this city, it happened that the corn and other provisions were gathered for the Romans from the districts around Canusium, and from it they were constantly conveyed to the camp as need arose.
τὴν μὲν οὖν πόλιν ἔτι πρότερον συνέβαινε κατεσκάφθαι, τῆς παρασκευῆς δὲ καὶ τῆς ἄκρας τότε καταληφθείσης,2 οὐ μικρὰν συνέπεσε ταραχὴν γενέσθαι περὶ τὰς τῶν Ῥωμαίων δυνάμεις·
Now the city itself had already been destroyed before this, but when the provisions and the citadel were captured at this time, no small confusion arose among the Roman forces;
οὐ γὰρ μόνον διὰ τὰς χορηγίας ἐδυσχρηστοῦντʼ ἐπὶ τῷ κατειλῆφθαι τὸν προειρημένον τόπον, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τὸ κατὰ τὴν πέριξ εὐφυῶς κεῖσθαι χώραν.
for they were distressed by the capture of the aforementioned place not only because of the provisions, but also because it was advantageously situated with respect to the surrounding country.
πέμποντες οὖν εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην συνεχῶς ἐπυνθάνοντο τί δεῖ ποιεῖν, ὡς ἐὰν ἐγγίσωσι τοῖς πολεμίοις, οὐ δυνησόμενοι φυγομαχεῖν,3 τῆς μὲν χώρας καταφθειρομένης, τῶν δὲ συμμάχων πάντων μετεώρων ὄντων ταῖς διανοίαις, οἱ δʼ ἐβουλεύσαντο μάχεσθαι καὶ συμβάλλειν τοῖς πολεμίοις. τοῖς μὲν οὖν περὶ τὸν Γνάιον ἐπισχεῖν ἔτι διεσάφησαν, αὐτοὶ δὲ τοὺς ὑπάτους ἐξαπέστελλον.
Sending therefore constantly to Rome, they kept inquiring what they ought to do, since, if they approached the enemy, they would not be able to avoid a battle, while the countryside was being laid waste and the minds of all the allies were in suspense. But they resolved to fight and engage the enemy. They sent instructions to Gnaeus and his colleague to hold on still, and they themselves dispatched the consuls.
συνέβαινε δὲ πάντας εἰς τὸν Αἰμίλιον ἀποβλέπειν καὶ πρὸς τοῦτον ἀπερείδεσθαι τὰς πλείστας ἐλπίδας διά τε τὴν ἐκ τοῦ λοιποῦ βίου καλοκἀγαθίαν4 καὶ διὰ τὸ μικροῖς πρότερον χρόνοις ἀνδρωδῶς ἅμα καὶ συμφερόντως δοκεῖν κεχειρικέναι τὸν πρὸς Ἰλλυριοὺς πόλεμον.
Now it happened that everyone looked to Aemilius and placed their chief hopes in him, both because of the noble character of his past life and because he was believed to have conducted the war against the Illyrians, only a short time before, in a courageous as well as advantageous manner.
προέθεντο δὲ στρατοπέδοις ὀκτὼ διακινδυνεύειν, ὃ πρότερον οὐδέποτʼ ἐγεγόνει παρὰ Ῥωμαίοις, ἑκάστου τῶν στρατοπέδων ἔχοντος ἄνδρας εἰς πεντακισχιλίους χωρὶς τῶν συμμάχων.
And they purposed to risk the battle with eight legions, a thing which had never happened before among the Romans, each of the legions having about five thousand men, exclusive of the allies.
Ῥωμαῖοι γάρ, καθά που καὶ πρότερον εἰρήκαμεν, ἀεί ποτε τέτταρα στρατόπεδα προχειρίζονται. τὸ δὲ στρατόπεδον πεζοὺς μὲν λαμβάνει περὶ τετρακισχιλίους, ἱππεῖς δὲ διακοσίους.
For the Romans, as we have said somewhere before, always mobilize four legions. Each legion takes about four thousand infantry and two hundred cavalry.
ἐπὰν δέ τις ὁλοσχερεστέρα προφαίνηται χρεία, τοὺς μὲν πεζοὺς ἐν ἑκάστῳ στρατοπέδῳ ποιοῦσι περὶ πεντακισχιλίους, τοὺς δʼ ἱππεῖς τριακοσίους.
But whenever some more serious need appears, they make the infantry in each legion about five thousand, and the cavalry three hundred.
τῶν δὲ συμμάχων τὸ μὲν τῶν πεζῶν πλῆθος πάρισον ποιοῦσι τοῖς Ῥωμαϊκοῖς στρατοπέδοις, τὸ δὲ τῶν ἱππέων ὡς ἐπίπαν τριπλάσιον.
Of the allies, they make the number of infantry equal to the Roman legions, but that of the cavalry generally three times as many.
τούτων δὲ τοὺς ἡμίσεις τῶν συμμάχων καὶ τὰ δύο στρατόπεδα δόντες ἑκατέρῳ τῶν ὑπάτων ἐξαποστέλλουσιν ἐπὶ τὰς πράξεις.
Giving half of these allies and two legions to each of the two consuls, they dispatch them for active operations.
καὶ τοὺς μὲν πλείστους ἀγῶνας διʼ ἑνὸς ὑπάτου καὶ δύο στρατοπέδων καὶ τοῦ προειρημένου πλήθους τῶν συμμάχων κρίνουσι, σπανίως δὲ πᾶσι πρὸς ἕνα καιρὸν καὶ πρὸς ἕνα χρῶνται κίνδυνον.
And they decide most of their campaigns by means of one consul and two legions, along with the aforementioned number of allies, and they rarely use all of them at one time and for a single hazard.
τότε γε μὴν οὕτως ἐκπλαγεῖς ἦσαν καὶ κατάφοβοι τὸ μέλλον ὡς οὐ μόνον τέτταρσιν, ἀλλʼ ὀκτὼ στρατοπέδοις Ῥωμαϊκοῖς ὁμοῦ προῄρηντο διακινδυνεύειν.
At that time, however, they were so panic-stricken and terrified of the future that they resolved to risk the battle with not only four, but eight Roman legions together.
- 3.107.1παραδιδόντος τοῦ καιροῦ
Genitive absolute construction. The present participle παραδιδόντος is used in the sense of the season "affording" or "delivering" the supply of yearly crops.
- 3.107.4τῆς παρασκευῆς δὲ καὶ τῆς ἄκρας τότε καταληφθείσης
Genitive absolute construction. παρασκευῆς means "provisions" or "supplies" accumulated by the army, serving together with ἄκρας (citadel) as the subject of the passive aorist participle καταληφθείσης.
- 3.107.6ὡς ἐὰν ἐγγίσωσι τοῖς πολεμίοις, οὐ δυνησόμενοι φυγομαχεῖν
The conjunction ὡς is joined with the future participle δυνησόμενοι to express the subjective reason or expectation of the Roman commanders. ἐὰν ἐγγίσωσι forms a conditional clause dependent on it.
- 3.107.8διά τε τὴν ἐκ τοῦ λοιποῦ βίου καλοκἀγαθίαν
The prepositional phrase ἐκ τοῦ λοιποῦ βίου ("from the rest of his life", meaning his past life as a whole) is used attributively to modify the noun καλοκἀγαθίαν ("nobility of character").