- 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-grc2:5.106.1-5.106.8
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
The Achaeans and other Peloponnesian cities recover their peaceful lives and restore their ancient religious traditions, while Athens, freed from Macedonian fears, turns to submissive adulation of foreign kings under its new leaders.
Ἀχαιοὶ μὲν οὖν ὡς θᾶττον1 ἀπέθεντο τὸν πόλεμον, στρατηγὸν αὑτῶν ἑλόμενοι Τιμόξενον, ἀναχωρήσαντες εἰς τὰ σφέτερα νόμιμα καὶ τὰς διαγωγάς, ἅμʼ Ἀχαιοῖς δʼ [καὶ] αἱ λοιπαὶ πόλεις αἱ κατὰ Πελοπόννησον, ἀνεκτῶντο μὲν τοὺς ἰδίους βίους, ἐθεράπευον δὲ τὴν χώραν, ἀνενεοῦντο δὲ τὰς πατρίους θυσίας καὶ πανηγύρεις καὶ τἄλλα τὰ πρὸς τοὺς θεοὺς παρʼ ἑκάστοις ὑπάρχοντα νόμιμα. σχεδὸν γὰρ ὡς ἂν εἰ2 λήθην συνέβαινε γεγονέναι παρὰ τοῖς πλείστοις περὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα διὰ τὴν συνέχειαν τῶν προγεγονότων πολέμων. οὐ γὰρ οἶδʼ ὅπως ἀεί ποτε Πελοποννήσιοι, τῶν ἄλλων ἀνθρώπων3 οἰκειότατα πρὸς τὸν ἥμερον καὶ τὸν ἀνθρώπινον βίον ἔχοντες, ἥκιστα πάντων ἀπολελαύκασιν αὐτοῦ κατά γε τοὺς ἀνώτερον χρόνους, μᾶλλον δέ πως κατὰ τὸν Εὐριπίδην ἦσαν ἀεὶ πρασίμοχθοί τινες καὶ οὔποτε ἥσυχοι δορί. τοῦτο δέ μοι δοκοῦσι πάσχειν εἰκότως· ἅπαντες γὰρ ἡγεμονικοὶ καὶ φιλελεύθεροι ταῖς φύσεσι μάχονται συνεχῶς πρὸς ἀλλήλους, ἀπαραχωρήτως διακείμενοι περὶ τῶν πρωτείων. Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ τῶν ἐκ Μακεδονίας φόβων ἀπελέλυντο καὶ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν ἔχειν ἐδόκουν ἤδη βεβαίως, χρώμενοι δὲ προστάταις Εὐρυκλείδᾳ καὶ Μικίωνι4 τῶν μὲν ἄλλων Ἑλληνικῶν πράξεων οὐδʼ ὁποίας μετεῖχον, ἀκολουθοῦντες δὲ τῇ τῶν προεστώτων αἱρέσει καὶ ταῖς τούτων ὁρμαῖς εἰς πάντας τοὺς βασιλεῖς ἐξεκέχυντο, καὶ μάλιστα τούτων εἰς Πτολεμαῖον, καὶ πᾶν γένος ὑπέμενον ψηφισμάτων καὶ κηρυγμάτων, βραχύν τινα λόγον ποιούμενοι τοῦ καθήκοντος διὰ τὴν τῶν προ
The Achaeans, as soon as they laid aside the war, having elected Timoxenus as their general, returned to their customary laws and ways of life; and at the same time as the Achaeans, the other cities throughout the Peloponnese recovered their private lives, cultivated their land, and renewed their ancestral sacrifices, festivals, and other religious customs established among each of them. For a state of almost complete forgetfulness concerning such matters had come to exist among most people due to the continuity of the preceding wars. For I know not how it is that the Peloponnesians, although having of all men the greatest natural affinity for a gentle and civilized life, have least of all enjoyed it, at least in earlier times, but rather, as Euripides says, were always “toil-worn and never at rest from the spear.” And it seems to me that they naturally suffered this; for, being all of a ruling and freedom-loving nature, they fight continuously with one another, being unyielding regarding the first place. The Athenians, on their part, had been freed from their fears of Macedonia and thought they now held their freedom securely; but employing Eurycleides and Micion as their leaders, they took no part in any of the other Greek affairs, but following the choice and impulses of these men, they poured themselves out in adulation towards all the kings, and especially towards Ptolemy among them. And they submitted to every kind of decree and proclamation, making small account of their duty because of the... of their leaders. The Achaeans, as soon as they laid aside the war, having elected Timoxenus as their general, returned to their customary laws and ways of life; and at the same time as the Achaeans, the other cities throughout the Peloponnese recovered their private lives, cultivated their land, and renewed their ancestral sacrifices, festivals, and other religious customs established among each of them. For a state of almost complete forgetfulness concerning such matters had come to exist among most people due to the continuity of the preceding wars. For I know not how it is that the Peloponnesians, although having of all men the greatest natural affinity for a gentle and civilized life, have least of all enjoyed it, at least in earlier times, but rather, as Euripides says, were always “toil-worn and never at rest from the spear.” And it seems to me that they naturally suffered this; for, being all of a ruling and freedom-loving nature, they fight continuously with one another, being unyielding regarding the first place. The Athenians, on their part, had been freed from their fears of Macedonia and thought they now held their freedom securely; but employing Eurycleides and Micion as their leaders, they took no part in any of the other Greek affairs, but following the choice and impulses of these men, they poured themselves out in adulation towards all the kings, and especially towards Ptolemy among them. And they submitted to every kind of decree and proclamation, making small account of their duty because of the... of their leaders.
- 5.106.1ὡς θᾶττον
Functions conjunctionally to mean "as soon as." It introduces a temporal clause, taking the indicative aorist verb ἀπέθεντο.
- 5.106.3ὡς ἂν εἰ
A comparative expression with the potential ἄν and conditional εἰ, meaning "as if." It modifies σχεδόν (almost) to express a figurative nuance: "almost as if a forgetfulness had occurred."
- 5.106.4τῶν ἄλλων ἀνθρώπων
Genitive of comparison or range depending on the superlative form οἰκειότατα, meaning "the most naturally suited among all other men."
- 5.106.7χρώμενοι δὲ προστάταις Εὐρυκλείδᾳ καὶ Μικίωνι
Participle of χράομαι (which governs the dative). προστάταις and the proper names Εὐρυκλείδᾳ καὶ Μικίωνι are in apposition, meaning "employing Eurycleides and Micion as leaders."