Egyptian Embassy of Thanks to Rome and the Release of Menalcidas — Polybius, The Histories Book 30 (30.16.1–30.16.2), Greek & English

§30.16.1

ὅτι¹ κατὰ τὴν Αἴγυπτον οἱ βασιλεῖς ἀπολελυμένοι τοῦ πρὸς Ἀντίοχον πολέμου πρῶτον μὲν εἰς Ῥώμην πρεσβευτὴν ἐξέπεμψαν Νουμήνιον, ἕνα τῶν φίλων, εὐχαριστήσοντα² περὶ τῶν εἰς αὐτοὺς γεγονότων εὐεργετημάτων·

ὅτι In Egypt, the kings, having been freed from the war against Antiochus, first of all sent Numenius, one of their Friends, as an ambassador to Rome, to express gratitude for the benefits bestowed upon them.

§30.16.2

ἀπέλυσαν δὲ καὶ τὸν Λακεδαιμόνιον Μεναλκίδαν, ἐνεργῶς κεχρημένον τοῖς κατὰ τῆς βασιλείας καιροῖς πρὸς τὴν ἰδίαν ἐπανόρθωσιν, Γαΐου Ποπιλίου τὴν ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀπολύσεως χάριν αἰτησαμένου³ παρὰ τῶν βασιλέων.

And they also released the Lacedaemonian Menalcidas, who had actively used the crises facing the kingdom for his own rehabilitation, since Gaius Popillius had requested the favor of his release from the kings.

Syntax notes3 items

30.16.1ὅτι
The conjunction ὅτι at the beginning of the passage is characteristic of Byzantine epitomes, introducing a summary or indirect discourse. It governs the main verbs ἐξέπεμψαν and ἀπέλυσαν, framing the entire account as a reported event.
30.16.1εὐχαριστήσοντα
The future active participle in the accusative singular masculine, modifying the preceding noun (Numenius the ambassador), expresses purpose ('in order to express gratitude') in coordination with the verb of motion ἐξέπεμψαν.
30.16.2Γαΐου Ποπιλίου ... αἰτησαμένου
A genitive absolute construction where the participle αἰτησαμένου (aorist middle) agrees with the proper name Γαΐου Ποπιλίου. It expresses the cause or background (Popillius's request) for the main clause's action (the kings' release of Menalcidas).

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

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:30.16.1-30.16.2