Demographics and the Collapse of Order in Alexandria — Polybius, The Histories Book 34 (34.14.1–34.14.8), Greek & English

§34.14.1

ὁ γοῦν Πολύβιος γεγονὼς ἐν τῇ πόλει βδελύττεται τὴν τότε κατάστασιν καί φησι τρία γένη τὴν πόλιν οἰκεῖν, τό τε Αἰγύπτιον καὶ ἐπιχώριον φῦλον, ὀξὺ καὶ πολιτικόν, καὶ τὸ μισθοφορικόν, βαρὺ καὶ πολὺ καὶ ἀνάγωγον· ἐξ ἔθους γὰρ παλαιοῦ ξένους ἔτρεφον τοὺς τὰ ὅπλα ἔχοντας, ἄρχειν μᾶλλον ἢ ἄρχεσθαι δεδιδαγμένους¹ διὰ τὴν τῶν βασιλέων οὐδένειαν.

At all events, Polybius, who had been in the city, detests the situation at that time and says that three classes of people inhabit the city: first, the Egyptian and native race, quick-witted and civilised, and second, the mercenary class, headstrong and numerous and unruly; for from an ancient custom they maintained foreign armed men, who had been taught to rule rather than to be ruled because of the worthlessness of the kings.

§34.14.4

τρίτον δʼ ἦν γένος τὸ τῶν Ἀλεξανδρέων, οὐδʼ αὐτὸ εὐκρινῶς πολιτικὸν διὰ τὰς αὐτὰς αἰτίας, κρεῖττον δʼ ἐκείνων ὅμως·

The third class was that of the Alexandrians, which was not itself clearly civilised for the same reasons, but was nevertheless better than the former;

§34.14.5

καὶ γὰρ εἰ μιγάδες, Ἕλληνες ὅμως ἀνέκαθεν ἦσαν καὶ ἐμέμνηντο τοῦ κοινοῦ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἔθους. ἠφανισμένου δὲ καὶ τούτου τοῦ πλήθους,² μάλιστα ὑπὸ τοῦ Εὐεργέτου τοῦ Φύσκωνος, καθʼ ὃν ἧκεν εἰς τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν ὁ Πολύβιος —

for even if they were of mixed blood, they were nevertheless Greeks by origin and remembered the common customs of the Greeks. But when this population also had been wiped out, especially by Euergetes Physcon, in whose time Polybius came to Alexandria—

§34.14.7

καταστασιαζόμενος γὰρ ὁ Φύσκων πλεονάκις τοῖς στρατιώταις ἐφίει τὰ πλήθη³ καὶ διέφθειρε —

for Physcon, being frequently troubled by factions, let loose his soldiers upon the multitudes and destroyed them—

§34.14.8

, τοιούτων δή, φησίν, ὄντων τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει, λοιπὸν ἦν τῷ ὄντι τὸ τοῦ ποιητοῦ Αἴγυπτόνδʼ ἰέναι δολιχὴν ὁδὸν ἀργαλέην τε.

since the inhabitants of the city were indeed of such a character, he says, there remained in truth that saying of the Poet: “To go to Egypt is a long and painful journey.”

Syntax notes3 items

34.14.3δεδιδαγμένους
Accusative masculine plural perfect passive participle. It agrees with and modifies ξένους (or its attributive phrase τοὺς τὰ ὅπλα ἔχοντας). The infinitives ἄρχειν and ἄρχεσθαι function as complement to δεδιδαγμένους ("having been taught to...").
34.14.5ἠφανισμένου δὲ καὶ τούτου τοῦ πλήθους
Genitive absolute construction. The genitive is used because the subject of this clause differs from that of the main clause (λοιπὸν ἦν in 34.14.8). The resolution of this absolute clause is suspended through the parenthetical remarks (34.14.6-7) until λοιπὸν ἦν in 34.14.8.
34.14.7τοῖς στρατιώταις ἐφίει τὰ πλήθη
The verb ἐφίημι (imperfect ἐφίει) takes a dative (τοῖς στρατιώταις) and an accusative (τὰ πλήθη), meaning "to let loose (accusative) upon (dative)". Although some interpret τοῖς στρατιώταις as dependent on the preceding passive participle καταστασιαζόμενος ("beset by the soldiers"), taking it as the dative object of ἐφίει best suits the context of the king employing soldiers to slaughter the populace.

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-grc2:34.14.1-34.14.8