- 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-grc2:3.53.1-3.53.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-11
Hannibal suffers heavy losses from a barbarian ambush but avoids total destruction by placing his hoplites in the rear, eventually reaching the highest passes of the Alps where he rests his army.
περαιουμένων αὐτῶν. ἐν ᾧ καιρῷ πάντας ἄρδην ἀπολέσθαι συνέβη τοὺς περὶ τὸν Ἀννίβαν, εἰ μὴ δεδιότες ἀκμὴν1 ἐπὶ ποσὸν καὶ προορώμενοι τὸ μέλλον τὰ μὲν σκευοφόρα καὶ τοὺς ἱππεῖς εἶχον2 ἐν τῇ πρωτοπορείᾳ, τοὺς δʼ ὁπλίτας ἐπὶ τῆς οὐραγίας.
while they were passing through. At which time it would have happened that those with Hannibal were utterly destroyed, if they had not, still fearing to some extent and foreseeing the future, kept the baggage train and the cavalry in the van, and the hoplites in the rear.
τούτων δʼ ἐφεδρευόντων ἔλαττον συνέβη γενέσθαι τὸ πάθος· οὗτοι γὰρ ἔστεξαν τὴν ἐπιφορὰν τῶν βαρβάρων.
Since these were acting as a rearguard, the disaster turned out to be less; for they sustained the attack of the barbarians.
οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τούτου συγκυρήσαντος πολύ τι πλῆθος καὶ τῶν ἀνδρῶν καὶ τῶν ὑποζυγίων καὶ τῶν ἵππων διεφθάρη.
Nevertheless, even though this was the case, a very great number both of men and pack-animals and horses was destroyed.
τῶν γὰρ τόπων ὑπερδεξίων ὄντων τοῖς πολεμίοις, ἀντιπαράγοντες οἱ βάρβαροι ταῖς παρωρείαις καὶ τοῖς μὲν τὰς πέτρας ἐπικυλίοντες τοὺς δʼ ἐκ χειρὸς τοῖς λίθοις τύπτοντες εἰς ὁλοσχερῆ διατροπὴν καὶ κίνδυνον ἦγον, οὕτως ὥστʼ ἀναγκασθῆναι τὸν Ἀννίβαν μετὰ τῆς ἡμισείας δυνάμεως νυκτερεῦσαι περί τι λευκόπετρον ὀχυρὸν χωρὶς τῶν ἵππων καὶ τῶν ὑποζυγίων, ἐφεδρεύοντα τούτοις, ἕως ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ νυκτὶ ταῦτα μόλις ἐξεμηρύσατο τῆς χαράδρας.
For as the ground was commanding for the enemy, the barbarians, marching parallel along the slopes of the mountains, rolled down rocks on some and struck others by hand with stones, throwing them into utter confusion and danger, so that Hannibal was forced to spend the night with half his army near a certain strong bare rock, separated from the horses and pack-animals, covering them until with difficulty they wound their way out of the ravine throughout the whole night.
τῇ δʼ ἐπαύριον τῶν πολεμίων χωρισθέντων, συνάψας τοῖς ἱππεῦσι καὶ τοῖς ὑποζυγίοις προῆγε πρὸς τὰς ὑπερβολὰς τὰς ἀνωτάτω τῶν Ἄλπεων, ὁλοσχερεῖ μὲν οὐδενὶ περιπίπτων ἔτι συστήματι τῶν βαρβάρων, κατὰ μέρη δὲ καὶ κατὰ τόπους παρενοχλούμενος ὑπʼ αὐτῶν·
On the following day, the enemy having departed, he joined up with the cavalry and pack-animals and advanced toward the highest passes of the Alps, falling in no longer with any large concentrated force of the barbarians, but being harassed by them in parts and at various points;
ὧν οἱ μὲν ἀπὸ τῆς οὐραγίας, οἱ δʼ ἀπὸ τῆς πρωτοπορείας ἀπέσπων τῶν σκευοφόρων ἔνια, προσπίπτοντες εὐκαίρως. μεγίστην δʼ αὐτῷ παρείχετο χρείαν τὰ θηρία·
of whom some from the rear, others from the front, carried off some of the baggage, attacking whenever opportunity offered. And the beasts rendered him the greatest service;
καθʼ ὃν γὰρ ἂν τόπον ὑπάρχοι3 τῆς πορείας ταῦτα, πρὸς τοῦτο τὸ μέρος οὐκ ἐτόλμων οἱ πολέμιοι προσιέναι, τὸ παράδοξον ἐκπληττόμενοι τῆς τῶν ζῴων φαντασίας.
for in whatever part of the line of march these happened to be, the enemy did not dare to approach that quarter, being terrified by the strange appearance of the animals.
ἐναταῖος δὲ διανύσας εἰς τὰς ὑπερβολὰς αὐτοῦ κατεστρατοπέδευσε καὶ δύʼ ἡμέρας προσέμεινε, βουλόμενος ἅμα μὲν ἀναπαῦσαι τοὺς διασῳζομένους, ἅμα δὲ προσδέξασθαι τοὺς ἀπολειπομένους.
On the ninth day, having accomplished the ascent to the passes, he encamped there and remained for two days, wishing at the same time to rest those who had survived and to wait for those who had been left behind.
ἐν ᾧ καιρῷ συνέβη πολλοὺς μὲν ἵππους τῶν ἀπεπτοημένων, πολλὰ δʼ ὑποζύγια τῶν ἀπερριφότων τὰ φορτία παραδόξως ἀναδραμεῖν τοῖς στίβοις ἑπόμενα
During which time it happened that many of the horses that had been terrified, and many of the pack-animals that had thrown off their loads, unexpectedly came up, following the tracks.
- 3.53.1ἀκμὴν
A Hellenistic adverbial usage equivalent to classical Attic ἔτι ("still", "yet"), modifying the participle δεδιότες ("fearing").
- 3.53.1συνέβη ... εἰ μὴ ... εἶχον
A past contrary-to-fact conditional sentence. The verb of the apodosis, συνέβη, lacks the particle ἄν, which would normally accompany a contrary-to-fact construction. This omission emphasizes the imminent and near-certain realization of the event.
- 3.53.8καθʼ ὃν γὰρ ἂν τόπον ὑπάρχοι
The use of the particle ἄν with the optative mood (ὑπάρχοι) expresses an iterative generalization in past time ("wherever they might happen to be"). In classical Attic Greek, this would typically feature ἄν with the subjunctive, or the optative without ἄν; their combination is a characteristic feature of Hellenistic Greek.