- 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-grc2:4.7.1-4.7.11
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
The Achaean League meets at Aegium and votes to assist the Messenians against the Aetolians. Aratus, the general-elect, assumes early command due to the incumbent's reluctance and summons the troops to Megalopolis.
οἱ δʼ Ἀχαιοί, καθηκούσης αὐτοῖς ἐκ τῶν νόμων συνόδου κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον, ἧκον εἰς Αἴγιον. συνελθόντες δʼ εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, καὶ τῶν τε Πατρέων καὶ Φαραιέων ἀπολογιζομένων1 τὰ γεγονότα περὶ τὴν χώραν αὐτῶν ἀδικήματα κατὰ τὴν τῶν Αἰτωλῶν δίοδον, τῶν τε Μεσσηνίων παρόντων κατὰ πρεσβείαν καὶ δεομένων σφίσι βοηθεῖν ἀδικουμένοις καὶ παρασπονδουμένοις, διακούσαντες τῶν λεγομένων, καὶ συναγανακτοῦντες μὲν τοῖς Πατρεῦσι καὶ Φαραιεῦσι, συμπάσχοντες δὲ ταῖς τῶν Μεσσηνίων ἀτυχίαις, μάλιστα δὲ νομίζοντες εἶναι δεινὸν εἰ2 μήτε συγχωρήσαντος τοῖς Αἰτωλοῖς μηδενὸς τὴν δίοδον μήτε καθάπαξ ἐπιβαλόμενοι παραιτεῖσθαι κατετόλμησαν ἐπιβῆναι στρατοπέδῳ τῆς Ἀχαΐας παρὰ τὰς συνθήκας, ἐπὶ πᾶσι τούτοις παροξυνθέντες ἐψηφίσαντο βοηθεῖν τοῖς Μεσσηνίοις καὶ συνάγειν τὸν στρατηγὸν τοὺς Ἀχαιοὺς ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις· ὃ δʼ ἂν τοῖς συνελθοῦσι βουλευομένοις δόξῃ, τοῦτʼ εἶναι κύριον.
Meanwhile, as their regular meeting prescribed by the laws fell due at this time, the Achaeans came to Aegium. Having assembled in the assembly, and while the people of Patrae and Pharae were giving an account of the injuries done to their territory during the passage of the Aetolians, and the Messenians were present by an embassy and begging them to bring help to them, who were being wronged and treated in violation of treaties, having heard these statements, and sharing the indignation of the people of Patrae and Pharae, and sympathizing with the misfortunes of the Messenians, and especially thinking it to be a terrible thing if, though no one had granted the passage to the Aetolians, nor had they at all attempted to ask permission, they had dared to enter the territory of Achaea with an army in violation of the treaties, provoked by all these circumstances, they voted to assist the Messenians, and that the general should summon the Achaeans in arms, and that whatever should be decided by those who met to deliberate should be valid.
ὁ μὲν οὖν Τιμόξενος ὁ τότʼ ἔθʼ ὑπάρχων στρατηγός, ὅσον οὔπω3 ληγούσης τῆς ἀρχῆς, ἅμα δὲ τοῖς Ἀχαιοῖς ἀπιστῶν διὰ τὸ ῥᾳθύμως αὐτοὺς ἐσχηκέναι κατὰ τὸ παρὸν περὶ τὴν ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις γυμνασίαν, ἀνεδύετο τὴν ἔξοδον καὶ καθόλου τὴν συναγωγὴν τῶν ὄχλων.
Timoxenus, therefore, who was then still general, as his office was almost on the point of expiring, and at the same time distrusting the Achaeans because they had recently been slack about training in arms, shrank from the expedition and from the general assembly of the multitude.
μετὰ γὰρ τὴν Κλεομένους τοῦ Σπαρτιατῶν βασιλέως ἔκπτωσιν, κάμνοντες μὲν τοῖς προγεγονόσι πολέμοις, πιστεύοντες δὲ τῇ παρούσῃ καταστάσει, πάντες ὠλιγώρησαν Πελοποννήσιοι τῆς περὶ τὰ πολεμικὰ παρασκευῆς.
For after the expulsion of Cleomenes, the king of the Spartans, being exhausted by the previous wars, but trusting in the present state of affairs, all the Peloponnesians neglected their military preparations.
ὁ δʼ Ἄρατος, σχετλιάζων καὶ παροξυνόμενος ἐπὶ τῇ τόλμῃ τῶν Αἰτωλῶν, θυμικώτερον ἐχρῆτο τοῖς πράγμασιν, ἅτε καὶ προϋπαρχούσης αὐτοῖς ἀλλοτριότητος ἐκ τῶν ἐπάνω χρόνων.
But Aratus, being indignant and provoked by the daring of the Aetolians, treated the situation with more passion, as there was also a pre-existing hostility between them from former times.
διὸ καὶ συνάγειν ἔσπευδε τοὺς Ἀχαιοὺς ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις καὶ συμβαλεῖν πρόθυμος ἦν τοῖς Αἰτωλοῖς.
Therefore he was also eager to assemble the Achaeans in arms and was ready to clash with the Aetolians.
τέλος δὲ πένθʼ ἡμέραις πρότερον τοῦ καθήκοντος αὐτῷ χρόνου παραλαβὼν παρὰ τοῦ Τιμοξένου τὴν δημοσίαν σφραγῖδα, πρός τε τὰς πόλεις ἔγραφε καὶ συνῆγε τοὺς ἐν ταῖς ἡλικίαις μετὰ τῶν ὅπλων εἰς τὴν Μεγάλην πόλιν.
Finally, five days before his proper term of office, having received the public seal from Timoxenus, he wrote to the cities and assembled those of military age with their arms at Megalopolis.
ὑπὲρ οὗ δοκεῖ μοι πρέπον εἶναι βραχέα προειπεῖν διὰ τὴν ἰδιότητα τῆς φύσεως.
Concerning whom it seems to me to be fitting to say a few words beforehand on account of the peculiarity of his character.
- 4.7.2τῶν τε Πατρέων καὶ Φαραιέων ἀπολογιζομένων
Together with the following τῶν τε Μεσσηνίων παρόντων, this forms a genitive absolute construction. These phrases describe the background circumstances of the main action (particularly modifying the participle διακούσαντες), representing the complaints made by the various cities when the assembly met.
- 4.7.4εἶναι δεινὸν εἰ
This is the infinitive form of the impersonal expression δεινόν ἐστιν εἰ... ("it is a terrible thing if..."), serving as the object of the leading participle νομίζοντες (accusative with infinitive construction). Within the subordinate clause introduced by εἰ, the absolute genitive συγχωρήσαντος... μηδενὸς ("though no one had granted") is embedded.
- 4.7.6ὅσον οὔπω
An adverbial idiom meaning "all but" or "just about to." Here it modifies the absolute genitive participle ληγούσης, indicating the imminent expiration of Timoxenus's term of office.