- 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-grc2:30.25.1-30.25.19
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-11
A description of the extremely luxurious festival celebrated by Antiochus IV at Daphne to rival the Roman general Aemilius Paulus, detailing the composition of the parade, including various armed infantry, cavalry, chariots, elephants, numerous divine statues, gold and silver vessels, and adorned women.
ὁ δʼ αὐτὸς οὗτος βασιλεὺς ἀκούσας τοὺς ἐν τῇ Μακεδονίᾳ συντετελεσμένους ἀγῶνας ὑπὸ Αἰμιλίου Παύλου τοῦ Ῥωμαίων στρατηγοῦ, βουλόμενος τῇ μεγαλοδωρίᾳ ὑπερᾶραι τὸν Παῦλον ἐξέπεμψε πρέσβεις καὶ θεωροὺς εἰς τὰς πόλεις καταγγελοῦντας τοὺς ἐσομένους ἀγῶνας ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ Δάφνης, ὡς πολλὴν γενέσθαι τῶν Ἑλλήνων σπουδὴν εἰς τὴν ὡς αὐτὸν ἄφιξιν.1
The same king, having heard of the games celebrated in Macedonia by the Roman general Aemilius Paulus, wishing to surpass Paulus in his generosity, sent envoys and sacred messengers to the cities to announce the games that would be held by him at Daphne, so that there arose among the Greeks a great eagerness to come to him.
ἀρχὴν δʼ ἐποιήσατο τῆς πανηγύρεως τὴν πομπείαν2 οὕτως ἐπιτελεσθεῖσαν.
And he made the procession, celebrated in the following manner, the beginning of the festival.
καθηγοῦντό τινες Ῥωμαϊκὸν ἔχοντες καθοπλισμὸν ἐν θώραξιν ἁλυσιδωτοῖς, ἄνδρες ἀκμάζοντες ταῖς ἡλικίαις πεντακισχίλιοι· μεθʼ οὓς Μυσοὶ πεντακισχίλιοι.
At the head went five thousand men in the prime of life, having Roman armor and wearing chain-mail breastplates; after whom came five thousand Mysians.
συνεχεῖς δʼ ἦσαν Κίλικες εἰς τὸν τῶν εὐζώνων τρόπον καθωπλισμένοι τρισχίλιοι, χρυσοῦς ἔχοντες στεφάνους.
Next to them were three thousand Cilicians armed in the manner of light-armed troops, wearing golden crowns.
ἐπὶ δὲ τούτοις Θρᾷκες τρισχίλιοι καὶ Γαλάται πεντακισχίλιοι. τούτοις ἐπέβαλλον Μακεδόνες δισμύριοι καὶ χαλκάσπιδες πεντακισχίλιοι, ἄλλοι δὲ ἀργυράσπιδες, οἷς ἐπηκολούθει μονομάχων ζεύγη διακόσια τετταράκοντα.
Behind these were three thousand Thracians and five thousand Galatians. To these succeeded twenty thousand Macedonians, of whom five thousand were brass-shields, and the others silver-shields, who were followed by two hundred and forty pairs of gladiators.
τούτων κατόπιν ἦσαν ἱππεῖς Νισαῖοι μὲν χίλιοι πολιτικοὶ δὲ τρισχίλιοι, ὧν οἱ μὲν πλείους ἦσαν χρυσοφάλαροι καὶ χρυσοστέφανοι, οἱ δʼ ἄλλοι ἀργυροφάλαροι.
Behind them were cavalry: a thousand Nisaeans and three thousand citizens, of whom the majority had golden trappings and golden crowns, and the others silver trappings.
μετὰ δὲ τούτους ἦσαν οἱ λεγόμενοι Ἑταῖροι ἱππεῖς· οὗτοι δὲ ἦσαν εἰς χιλίους, πάντες χρυσοφάλαροι. τούτοις συνεχὲς ἦν τὸ τῶν φίλων σύνταγμα, ἴσον καὶ κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος καὶ κατὰ τὸν κόσμον. ἐπὶ δὲ τούτοις ἐπίλεκτοι χίλιοι, οἷς ἐπηκολούθει τὸ καλούμενον ἄγημα, κράτιστον εἶναι δοκοῦν σύστημα τῶν ἱππέων, περὶ χιλίους. τελευταία δʼ ἦν ἡ κατάφρακτος ἵππος, οἰκείως τῇ προσηγορίᾳ τῶν ἵππων καὶ τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐσκεπασμένων τοῖς ὅπλοις· ἦσαν δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ χίλιοι καὶ πεντακόσιοι.
After these came the cavalry called Companions; these were about a thousand, all with golden trappings. Next to them was the troop of Friends, equal both in number and in equipment. Behind these were a thousand chosen men, followed by the so-called Agema, which was considered the finest squadron of cavalry, about a thousand in number. Last of all came the cataphract cavalry, both horses and men being covered with armor appropriately to their name; they too were fifteen hundred.
πάντες δʼ οἱ προειρημένοι εἶχον πορφυρᾶς ἐφαπτίδας, πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ διαχρύσους καὶ ζῳωτάς.
All the aforementioned wore purple cloaks, and many also had them embroidered with gold and figures of animals.
ἐπὶ δὲ τούτοις ἕξιππα μὲν ἦν ἑκατόν, τέθριππα δὲ τετταράκοντα, ἔπειτα ἐλεφάντων ἅρμα καὶ συνωρίς. καθʼ ἕνα δὲ εἵποντο ἐλέφαντες διεσκευασμένοι τριάκοντα καὶ ἕξ. τὴν δʼ ἄλλην πομπὴν λέγειν ἐστὶ δυσέφικτον, ὡς ἐν κεφαλαίῳ δὲ λεκτέον. ἔφηβοι μὲν γὰρ ἐπόμπευσαν εἰς ὀκτακοσίους, χρυσοῦς ἔχοντες στεφάνους, βόες δʼ εὐτραφεῖς περὶ χιλίους, θεωρίδες δὲ βραχὺ λείπουσαι τριακοσίων, ἐλεφάντων δὲ ὀδόντες ὀκτακόσιοι.
Behind these were a hundred six-horse chariots, and forty four-horse chariots, then a chariot drawn by elephants and a pair-horse chariot. One by one, thirty-six equipped elephants followed. To describe the rest of the procession is difficult, but it must be told in outline. For about eight hundred youths marched in the procession wearing golden crowns, about a thousand well-fed oxen, slightly fewer than three hundred sacred delegations, and eight hundred elephants’ tusks.
τὸ δὲ τῶν ἀγαλμάτων πλῆθος οὐ δυνατὸν ἐξηγήσασθαι· πάντων γὰρ τῶν παρʼ ἀνθρώποις λεγομένων ἢ νομιζομένων θεῶν ἢ δαιμόνων, προσέτι δὲ ἡρώων εἴδωλα διήγετο, τὰ μὲν κεχρυσωμένα, τὰ δʼ ἠμφιεσμένα στολαῖς διαχρύσοις.
The multitude of the statues cannot be fully described; for images of all those called or believed by men to be gods, dæmons, and moreover heroes, were carried along, some gilded, others clothed in robes of gold tissue.
καὶ πᾶσι τούτοις οἱ προσήκοντες μῦθοι κατὰ τὰς παραδεδομένας ἱστορίας ἐν διασκευαῖς πολυτελέσι παρέκειντο.
And to all these were added the appropriate myths according to the handed-down histories in costly representations.
εἵπετο δʼ αὐτοῖς καὶ Νυκτὸς εἴδωλον καὶ Ἡμέρας, Γῆς τε καὶ Οὐρανοῦ, καὶ Ἠοῦς καὶ Μεσημβρίας.
There followed them also images of Night and Day, of Earth and Heaven, and of Dawn and Noon.
τὸ δὲ τῶν χρυσωμάτων καὶ ἀργυρωμάτων πλῆθος οὕτως ἄν τις ὑπονοήσειεν3 ὅσον ἦν· ἑνὸς γὰρ τῶν φίλων, Διονυσίου τοῦ ἐπιστολιαγράφου, χίλιοι παῖδες ἐπόμπευσαν ἀργυρώματα ἔχοντες, ὧν οὐδὲν ἐλάττονʼ ὁλκὴν εἶχεν δραχμῶν χιλίων.
The abundance of gold and silver vessels might be estimated from this: a thousand boys belonging to one of the king’s Friends, Dionysius the secretary, marched in the procession carrying silver vessels, none of which weighed less than a thousand drachmæ.
βασιλικοὶ δὲ παῖδες παρῆλθον ἑξακόσιοι χρυσώματα ἔχοντες. ἔπειτα γυναῖκες ἐκ χρυσῶν καλπίδων μύροις ἔρραινον, εἰς διακοσίας.
And six hundred royal pages passed by holding gold vessels. Then followed women, to the number of two hundred, sprinkling perfumes from golden vases.
ταύταις δʼ ἑξῆς ἐπόμπευον ἐν χρυσόποσι μὲν φορείοις ὀγδοήκοντα γυναῖκες, ἐν ἀργυρόποσι δὲ πεντακόσιαι καθήμεναι, πολυτελῶς διεσκευασμέναι.
Next to these, eighty women sat in litters with golden feet, and five hundred in litters with silver feet, sumptuously adorned.
καὶ τῆς μὲν πομπῆς τὰ ἐπιφανέστατα ταῦτα ἦν.
And these were the most brilliant parts of the procession.
- 30.25.1τὴν ὡς αὐτὸν ἄφιξιν
The prepositional use of ὡς with the accusative of a person (the pronoun αὐτόν) expresses direction ('to him'), forming an attributive prepositional phrase modifying the noun ἄφιξιν under the article τὴν.
- 30.25.2ἀρχὴν δʼ ἐποιήσατο τῆς πανηγύρεως τὴν πομπείαν
τὴν πομπείαν is the direct object of ἐποιήσατο, while ἀρχὴν functions as a predicative accusative ('as the beginning'). It means 'he made the procession the beginning (of the festival).'
- 30.25.16ἄν τις ὑπονοήσειεν
A potential optative construction consisting of ἄν with the third-person singular active optative ὑπονοήσειεν, expressing the possibility that 'one might conceive/estimate.'
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