- 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-grc2:4.11.1-4.11.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
The Achaean commanders make poor strategic choices by drawing up their forces in the plain of Caphyae and attacking the retreating Aetolian rear guard on unfavorable hilly ground.
Μεθύδριον τῆς Μεγαλοπολίτιδος·1 οἱ δὲ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν ἡγεμόνες, συνέντες τὴν παρουσίαν τῶν Αἰτωλῶν, οὕτως κακῶς ἐχρήσαντο τοῖς πράγμασιν ὥσθʼ ὑπερβολὴν ἀνοίας μὴ καταλιπεῖν.
Methydrium in the territory of Megalopolis. But the Achaean commanders, though they became aware of the presence of the Aetolians, managed their affairs so badly as to leave no room for any greater folly.
ἀναστρέψαντες γὰρ ἐκ τῆς Κλειτορίας κατεστρατοπέδευσαν περὶ Καφύας.
For, turning back from Cleitoria, they encamped near Caphyae.
τῶν δʼ Αἰτωλῶν ποιουμένων τὴν πορείαν ἀπὸ Μεθυδρίου παρὰ τὴν τῶν Ὀρχομενίων πόλιν, ἐξάγοντες τοὺς Ἀχαιοὺς ἐν τῷ τῶν Καφυέων πεδίῳ παρενέβαλον, πρόβλημα ποιούμενοι τὸν διʼ αὐτοῦ ῥέοντα ποταμόν.
And when the Aetolians were marching from Methydrium past the city of the Orchomenians, the Achaean commanders led the Achaeans out and drew them up in the plain of Caphyae, making the river that flowed through it a barrier.
οἱ δʼ Αἰτωλοὶ καὶ διὰ τὰς μεταξὺ δυσχωρίας — ἦσαν γὰρ ἔτι πρὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τάφροι καὶ πλείους δύσβατοι — καὶ διὰ τὴν ἐπίφασιν τῆς ἑτοιμότητος τῶν Ἀχαιῶν πρὸς τὸν κίνδυνον τοῦ μὲν ἐγχειρεῖν τοῖς ὑπεναντίοις κατὰ τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς πρόθεσιν ἀπεδειλίασαν,2 μετὰ δὲ πολλῆς εὐταξίας ἐποιοῦντο τὴν πορείαν ὡς ἐπὶ τὰς ὑπερβολὰς ἐπὶ τὸν Ὀλύγυρτον, ἀσμενίζοντες, εἰ μή τις αὐτοῖς ἐγχειροίη καὶ βιάζοιτο κινδυνεύειν.
The Aetolians, both because of the difficult ground between them—for there were also several ditches in front of the river which were hard to cross—and because of the display of readiness on the part of the Achaeans for battle, shrank from attacking their opponents according to their original plan, and continued their march in great order towards the passes to Oligyrtus, glad that no one attacked them or forced them to risk a battle.
οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν Ἄρατον, τῆς μὲν πρωτοπορείας τῶν Αἰτωλῶν ἤδη προσβαινούσης πρὸς τὰς ὑπερβολάς, τῶν δʼ ἱππέων οὐραγούντων διὰ τοῦ πεδίου καὶ συνεγγιζόντων τῷ προσαγορευομένῳ Πρόποδι τῆς παρωρείας, ἐξαποστέλλουσι τοὺς ἱππεῖς καὶ τοὺς εὐζώνους, Ἐπίστρατον ἐπιστήσαντες τὸν Ἀκαρνᾶνα, καὶ συντάξαντες ἐξάπτεσθαι τῆς οὐραγίας καὶ καταπειράζειν τῶν πολεμίων.
As for Aratus and his men, when the vanguard of the Aetolians was already ascending towards the passes, while their cavalry was bringing up the rear through the plain and approaching the place called the Foot (Propus) of the mountain range, they dispatched their cavalry and light-armed troops, placing the Acarnanian Epistratus in command, and ordering them to hang upon the rear and harass the enemy.
καίτοι γʼ εἰ μὲν ἦν κινδυνευτέον, οὐ πρὸς τὴν οὐραγίαν ἐχρῆν3 συμπλέκεσθαι, διηνυκότων ἤδη τῶν πολεμίων τοὺς ὁμαλοὺς τόπους, πρὸς δὲ τὴν πρωτοπορείαν, εὐθέως ἐμβαλόντων εἰς τὸ πεδίον.
And yet, if they had to risk a battle, they ought not to have engaged with the rear, after the enemy had already traversed the level ground, but with the vanguard, as soon as they entered the plain.
οὕτως γὰρ ἂν τὸν ἀγῶνα συνέβη γενέσθαι τὸν ὅλον ἐν τοῖς ἐπιπέδοις καὶ πεδινοῖς τόποις, οὗ τοὺς μὲν Αἰτωλοὺς δυσχρηστοτάτους εἶναι συνέβαινε διά τε τὸν καθοπλισμὸν καὶ τὴν ὅλην σύνταξιν, τοὺς δʼ Ἀχαιοὺς εὐχρηστοτάτους καὶ δυναμικωτάτους διὰ τἀναντία τῶν προειρημένων.
For in this way the whole battle would have taken place on flat and level ground, where the Aetolians would have been most inefficient owing both to their armor and their general organization, while the Achaeans would have been most efficient and effective for the opposite reasons.
νῦν δʼ ἀφέμενοι τῶν οἰκείων τόπων καὶ καιρῶν εἰς τὰ τῶν πολεμίων προτερήματα συγκατέβησαν.4 τοιγαροῦν ἀκόλουθον
But as it was, abandoning their own proper positions and opportunities, they descended into the advantages of the enemy. Consequently, the result which followed
- 4.11.1Μεθύδριον τῆς Μεγαλοπολίτιδος
This genitive noun phrase functions grammatically as the continuation of the prepositional phrase following "κατεστρατοπέδευσαν περὶ" at the end of the previous chapter (§4.10.10).
- 4.11.4τοῦ μὲν ἐγχειρεῖν τοῖς ὑπεναντίοις κατὰ τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς πρόθεσιν ἀπεδειλίασαν
The verb ἀπεδειλίασαν (shrank from, lost heart) governs the genitive infinitive τοῦ ἐγχειρεῖν to specify the action that they shrank from undertaking.
- 4.11.7εἰ μὲν ἦν κινδυνευτέον... ἐχρῆν
The combination of the impersonal verbal adjective κινδυνευτέον (one must risk battle) and the imperfect impersonal verb ἐχρῆν (it was necessary / ought to have) expresses a past unfulfilled obligation or counterfactual implication.
- 4.11.9εἰς τὰ τῶν πολεμίων προτερήματα συγκατέβησαν
The verb συγκαταβαίνω, besides its literal sense of 'to descend,' is used metaphorically to mean 'to meet on the opponent's terms' or 'to yield,' indicating here that the Achaeans compromised their position and entered into circumstances favoring the enemy.