Rhodian Embassy to Rome and the Colossal Statue — Polybius, The Histories Book 31 (31.4.1–31.4.4), Greek & English

§31.4.1

ὅτι Ῥόδιοι διαπεπνευκότες ἐκ τῆς περὶ αὐτοὺς γενομένης δυσχερείας ἔπεμπον εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην πρεσβευτὰς τοὺς περὶ Κλεαγόραν, Κάλυνδα μὲν ἀξιώσοντας¹ σφίσι παραχωρηθῆναι, περὶ δὲ τῶν ἐχόντων ἐν τῇ Λυκίᾳ καὶ Καρίᾳ κτήσεις αἰτησομένους τὴν σύγκλητον, ἵνʼ αὐτοῖς ἔχειν ἐξῇ,² καθὰ καὶ πρότερον.

That the Rhodians, having recovered from the difficulty that had befallen them, sent Cleagoras and his party as ambassadors to Rome, on the one hand, to demand that Calynda should be ceded to them, and on the other hand, to petition the Senate concerning those who held possessions in Lycia and Caria, so that they might be allowed to hold them, just as before.

§31.4.4

ἐψηφίσαντο δὲ καὶ κολοσσὸν στῆσαι τοῦ δήμου τῶν Ῥωμαίων³ ἐν τῷ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς ἱερῷ τριακοντάπηχυν. —

They also voted to set up a colossal statue of the Roman people, thirty cubits high, in the temple of Athena. —

Syntax notes3 items

31.4.2ἀξιώσοντας
Future active participle expressing purpose. Instead of agreeing with the logical subject Ῥόδιοι in the nominative, it grammatically agrees with the direct object πρεσβευτάς in the accusative.
31.4.3ἵνʼ αὐτοῖς ἔχειν ἐξῇ
A clause introduced by ἵνα containing the impersonal verb ἐξῇ (3rd person singular present subjunctive of ἔξεστι), which takes the dative αὐτοῖς (referring to the Rhodians) and the infinitive ἔχειν (to hold their possessions).
31.4.4τοῦ δήμου τῶν Ῥωμαίων
Objective genitive (genitive of representation) modifying κολοσσόν (colossal statue), indicating that the statue represented or personified the Roman people.

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-grc2:31.4.1-31.4.4