Prusias Desecrates the Shrines and Faces Divine Punishment — Polybius, The Histories Book 32 (32.15.1–32.15.14), Greek & English

§32.15.1

ὅτι¹ Προυσίας μετὰ τὸ νικῆσαι τὸν Ἄτταλον μετὰ τὸ παρελθεῖν πρὸς τὸ Πέργαμον παρασκευασάμενος θυσίαν πολυτελῆ προσήγαγε πρὸς τὸ τέμενος τἈσκληπιοῦ, καὶ βουθυτήσας καὶ καλλιερήσας τότε μὲν ἐπανῆλθεν εἰς τὴν παρεμβολήν, κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἐπιοῦσαν καταστήσας τὴν δύναμιν ἐπὶ τὸ Νικηφόριον τούς τε νεὼς ἅπαντας διέφθειρε καὶ τὰ τεμένη τῶν θεῶν, ἐσύλησε δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἀνδριάντας καὶ τὰ λίθινα τῶν ἀγαλμάτων.

That Prusias, after defeating Attalus and after advancing to Pergamum, prepared a sumptuous sacrifice and brought it to the precinct of Asclepius, and having sacrificed oxen and obtained favorable omens, he returned at that time to his camp, but on the following day, having drawn up his force at the Nikephorium, he destroyed all the temples and the precincts of the gods, and plundered both the statues and the stone images.

§32.15.4

τὸ δὲ τελευταῖον καὶ τὸ τἈσκληπιοῦ βαστάσας ἄγαλμα, περιττῶς ὑπὸ Φυρομάχου κατεσκευασμένον, ἀπήνεγκεν ὡς αὑτόν, ᾧ τῇ πρότερον ἡμέρᾳ κατασπένδων ἐβουθύτει καὶ κατηύχετο, δεόμενος, ὅπερ εἰκός, ἵλεων αὑτῷ γενέσθαι καὶ εὐμενῆ κατὰ πάντα τρόπον.

Finally, he even carried off the statue of Asclepius, which had been exquisitely crafted by Phyromachus, and took it away to his own quarters—the very statue to which on the previous day he had been pouring libations, sacrificing oxen, and praying, entreating it, as was natural, to be propitious and favorable to him in every way.

§32.15.6

ἐγὼ δὲ τὰς τοιαύτας διαθέσεις καὶ πρότερον εἴρηκά που, περὶ Φιλίππου ποιούμενος τὸν λόγον, μανικάς.

For my part, I have already said somewhere before, when writing about Philip, that such dispositions are insane.

§32.15.7

τὸ γὰρ ἅμα μὲν θύειν² καὶ διὰ τούτων ἐξιλάσκεσθαι τὸ θεῖον, προσκυνοῦντα καὶ λιπαροῦντα τὰς τραπέζας καὶ τοὺς βωμοὺς ἐξάλλως, ὅπερ ὁ Προυσίας εἴθιστο ποιεῖν γονυπετῶν καὶ γυναικιζόμενος, ἅμα δὲ ταῦτα καὶ λυμαίνεσθαι καὶ διὰ τῆς τούτων καταφθορᾶς τὴν εἰς τὸ θεῖον ὕβριν διατίθεσθαι, πῶς οὐκ ἂν εἴποι τις εἶναι θυμοῦ λυττῶντος ἔργα καὶ ψυχῆς ἐξεστηκυίας τῶν λογισμῶν;

For, on the one hand, to sacrifice and thereby appease the deity, prostrating oneself and importuning the tables and the altars to an extraordinary degree—as Prusias was accustomed to do, falling on his knees and behaving like a woman— and, on the other hand, at the very same time, to desecrate these things and display insult toward the divine through their destruction—how could anyone not call this the work of a raging passion and of a mind that has departed from its senses?

§32.15.9

ὃ καὶ τότε συνέβαινε γίνεσθαι περὶ τὸν Προυσίαν. ἀνδρὸς μὲν γὰρ ἔργον οὐδὲν ἐπιτελεσάμενος³ κατὰ τὰς προσβολάς, ἀγεννῶς δὲ καὶ γυναικοθύμως χειρίσας καὶ τὰ πρὸς θεοὺς καὶ τὰ πρὸς ἀνθρώπους μετήγαγε τὸ στράτευμα πρὸς Ἐλαίαν·

This was precisely what happened in the case of Prusias at that time. Having performed no manly deed during his assaults, but having behaved in an ignoble and womanish manner in his dealings with both gods and men, he transferred his army to Elaea.

§32.15.10

καὶ καταπειράσας τῆς Ἐλαίας καί τινας προσβολὰς ποιησάμενος, οὐδὲν δὲ πράττειν δυνάμενος διὰ τὸ Σώσανδρον τὸν τοῦ βασιλέως σύντροφον εἰσεληλυθότα μετὰ στρατιωτῶν εἴργειν αὐτοῦ τὰς ἐπιβολάς, ἀπῆρεν ἐπὶ Θυατείρων.

And having reconnoitered Elaea and made some assaults, but being unable to achieve anything because Sosander, the foster-brother of the king, had entered with troops and barred his attempts, he departed for Thyatira.

§32.15.11

κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἐπάνοδον τὸ τῆς Ἀρτέμιδος ἱερὸν τῆς ἐν Ἱερᾷ κώμῃ μετὰ βίας ἐσύλησεν.

During his retreat, he violently plundered the temple of Artemis in Hiera Kome.

§32.15.12

ὁμοίως καὶ τὸ τοῦ Κυννείου Ἀπόλλωνος τέμενος τὸ περὶ Τῆμνον οὐ μόνον ἐσύλησεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ πυρὶ διέφθειρεν.

Likewise, he not only plundered the precinct of Cynnean Apollo near Temnus, but also destroyed it with fire.

§32.15.13

καὶ ταῦτα διαπραξάμενος ἐπανῆλθεν εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν, οὐ μόνον τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς θεοῖς πεπολεμηκώς.

And having accomplished these deeds, he returned to his own country, having made war not only on men but also on the gods.

§32.15.14

ἐταλαιπώρησε δὲ καὶ τὸ πεζικὸν στράτευμα τῷ Προυσίᾳ κατὰ τὴν ἐπάνοδον ὑπό τε τοῦ λιμοῦ καὶ τῆς δυσεντερίας, ὥστε παρὰ πόδας ἐκ θεοπέμπτου δοκεῖν⁴ ἀπηντῆσθαι μῆνιν αὐτῷ διὰ ταύτας τὰς αἰτίας. —

Furthermore, Prusias’s infantry force suffered severely during the retreat from both hunger and dysentery, so that it seemed as if a divinely sent wrath had immediately overtaken him for these very reasons.

Syntax notes4 items

32.15.1ὅτι
A conjunction meaning "that," formally placed at the beginning of each summary sentence in Byzantine epitomes to introduce the excerpt.
32.15.7τὸ γὰρ ἅμα μὲν θύειν...
The main clause is an accusative-and-infinitive construction introduced by πῶς οὐκ ἂν εἴποι τις ("how could anyone not say...?"). The long coordinated infinitive phrases ἅμα μὲν θύειν... ἅμα δὲ ταῦτα καὶ λυμαίνεσθαι..., substantivized by the neuter article τὸ, serve as the subject accusative of the infinitive εἶναι.
32.15.9ἀνδρὸς μὲν γὰρ ἔργον οὐδὲν ἐπιτελεσάμενος
The nominative masculine singular participle ἐπιτελεσάμενος modifies the subject of the main clause (Prusias). The genitive ἀνδρὸς modifies ἔργον, literally meaning "a deed of a man" but contextually signifying "a manly or courageous deed."
32.15.14ὥστε... δοκεῖν
The conjunction ὥστε introduces a clause of result with the infinitive δοκεῖν ("so that it seemed"). παρὰ πόδας (literally "at the feet") is an idiomatic adverbial phrase meaning "immediately" or "straightway."

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-grc2:32.15.1-32.15.14