Cretan and Rhodian Appeals and the Achaean Decision — Polybius, The Histories Book 33 (33.16.1–33.16.8), Greek & English

§33.16.1

ὅτι¹ κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον οἱ Κρηταιεῖς πρεσβευτὰς ἀπέστειλαν πρὸς Ἀχαιοὺς ὑπὲρ βοηθείας τοὺς περὶ Ἀντιφάταν Τηλεμνάστου Γορτύνιον, παραπλησίως δὲ καὶ Ῥόδιοι τοὺς περὶ Θευφάνην.

That at this time the Cretans sent as envoys to the Achaeans, to ask for aid, those under Antiphatas the Gortynian, son of Telemnastus, and likewise the Rhodians sent those under Theuphanes.

§33.16.2

οὔσης δὲ τῆς συνόδου τῶν Ἀχαιῶν ἐν Κορίνθῳ, καὶ διαλεγομένων τῶν πρεσβευτῶν ἑκατέρων ὑπὲρ τῆς βοηθείας, ἔρρεπον ταῖς γνώμαις οἱ πολλοὶ μᾶλλον ἐπὶ τοὺς Ῥοδίους, ἐντρεπόμενοι καὶ τὸ τῆς πόλεως ἀξίωμα καὶ τὴν ὅλην αἵρεσιν τῆς πολιτείας καὶ τῶν ἀνδρῶν.

When the assembly of the Achaeans was being held in Corinth, and the envoys of both sides spoke concerning the aid, the majority inclined in their opinions rather toward the Rhodians, respecting both the prestige of the city and the entire character of their constitution and of the men.

§33.16.4

εἰς ἃ βλέπων Ἀντιφάτας ἐβουλήθη πάλιν ἐπεισελθεῖν, τοῦ δὲ στρατηγοῦ συγχωρήσαντος ἐχρήσατο λόγοις βαρυτέροις ἢ κατὰ Κρῆτα² καὶ σπουδαιοτέροις·

Looking to these things, Antiphatas wished to come forward again, and when the general permitted, he employed words weightier than was characteristic of a Cretan, and more earnest;

§33.16.5

καὶ γὰρ ἦν ὁ νεανίσκος οὐδαμῶς Κρητικός, ἀλλὰ πεφευγὼς τὴν Κρητικὴν ἀναγωγίαν.

for the young man was in no way typical of a Cretan, but had escaped the Cretan lack of discipline.

§33.16.6

διὸ καὶ συνέβαινε τοὺς Ἀχαιοὺς ἐπιδέχεσθαι τὴν παρρησίαν αὐτοῦ καὶ μᾶλλον ἔτι διὰ τὸ τὸν πατέρα τοῦ προειρημένου Τηλέμναστον μετὰ πεντακοσίων Κρητῶν ἐλθόντα συμπεπολεμηκέναι τὸν πρὸς Νάβιν πόλεμον εὐγενῶς αὐτοῖς.

Therefore it also happened that the Achaeans welcomed his frankness of speech, and still more so because the father of the aforementioned, Telemnastus, had come with five hundred Cretans and had fought nobly alongside them in the war against Nabis.

§33.16.7

πλὴν διακούσαντες οὐδὲν ἧττον ὁρμὴν εἶχον οἱ πολλοὶ τοῖς Ῥοδίοις βοηθεῖν, ἕως Καλλικράτης ὁ Λεοντήσιος ἀναστὰς οὐκ ἔφη δεῖν οὔτε πολεμεῖν οὐδενὶ χωρὶς τῆς Ῥωμαίων γνώμης οὔτε βοήθειαν πέμπειν οὐδενὶ κατʼ οὐδενός.

Nevertheless, after hearing them out, the majority were no less eager to aid the Rhodians, until Callicrates of Leontium stood up and declared that they ought neither to make war on anyone without the consent of the Romans, nor to send aid to anyone against anyone.

§33.16.8

καὶ διὰ ταῦτα κατίσχυσε μένειν ἐπὶ τῶν ὑποκειμένων.³ —

And for this reason, the decision to remain with the existing state of affairs prevailed. —

Syntax notes3 items

33.16.1ὅτι
A stylistic feature characteristic of the Constantinian and other historical excerpts, where the entire sentence forms a noun clause ('that...') without a main verb, or functions as indirect discourse. It continues the structure seen in §33.15.1.
33.16.4ἢ κατὰ Κρῆτα
The construction of ἢ κατά + accusative following the comparatives βαρυτέροις and σπουδαιοτέροις. It means 'weightier than is in keeping with a Cretan' (or beyond the standard of a Cretan), indicating that he exceeded the usual character or speech expected of a Cretan.
33.16.8μένειν ἐπὶ τῶν ὑποκειμένων
An idiomatic expression meaning 'to remain with the existing state of affairs' or 'to stick to the current policies'. Here, following Callicrates' proposal, it means maintaining the status quo of not sending aid to either the Cretans or the Rhodians.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (4, latest 2026-10-09)

2026-10-09 Collated with the printed edition — source 1
2026-09-21 AI review — note 1
2026-09-21 AI review — translation 2

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:33.16.1-33.16.8