- 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-grc2:5.18.1-5.18.11
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
This passage describes how King Philip reached Amyclae near Sparta with extreme speed through a continuous march, greatly surprising and throwing into panic the unprepared Lacedaemonians by his bold operations unexpected of his age.
Τεγεατῶν γίνεσθαι πόλει.1 ταῦτα δὲ διαπραξάμενος, καὶ μείνας οὐδένα χρόνον ἐν τῇ Κορίνθῳ, παρήγγειλε τοῖς Μακεδόσιν ἀναζυγήν. ποιησάμενος δὲ τὴν πορείαν διʼ Ἄργους ἧκε δευτεραῖος εἰς Τεγέαν.
to be in the city of the Tegeans. Having accomplished this, and having stayed in Corinth for no time at all, he ordered the Macedonians to strike camp. Having made his march through Argos, he arrived on the second day at Tegea.
προσαναλαβὼν δὲ τοὺς ἡθροισμένους τῶν Ἀχαιῶν προῆγε διὰ τῆς ὀρεινῆς, σπουδάζων λαθεῖν τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους ἐμβαλὼν εἰς τὴν χώραν.2
Taking also with him the assembled forces of the Achaeans, he advanced through the mountainous region, anxious to escape the notice of the Lacedaemonians as he invaded their country.
περιελθὼν δὲ ταῖς ἐρημίαις, τεταρταῖος ἐπέβαλε τοῖς καταντικρὺ τῆς πόλεως λόφοις, καὶ παρῄει δεξιὸν ἔχων τὸ Μενελάιον ἐπʼ αὐτὰς τὰς Ἀμύκλας.
Going round through desert places, on the fourth day he reached the hills opposite the city, and passed on to Amyclae itself, keeping the Menelaium on his right.
οἱ δὲ Λακεδαιμόνιοι, θεωροῦντες ἐκ τῆς πόλεως παράγουσαν τὴν δύναμιν, ἐκπλαγεῖς ἐγένοντο καὶ περίφοβοι, θαυμάζοντες τὸ συμβαῖνον.
And the Lacedaemonians, seeing from the city the force passing by, were struck with amazement and filled with fear, wondering at what was happening.
ἀκμὴν γὰρ ἦσαν μετέωροι ταῖς διανοίαις ἐκ τῶν προσπιπτόντων ὑπὲρ τοῦ Φιλίππου περὶ τὴν καταφθορὰν τοῦ Θέρμου καὶ καθόλου ταῖς ἐν Αἰτωλίᾳ πράξεσι, καί τις ἐνεπεπτώκει θροῦς παρʼ αὐτοῖς ὑπὲρ τοῦ τὸν Λυκοῦργον ἐκπέμπειν βοηθήσοντα τοῖς Αἰτωλοῖς.3
For they were still in suspense in their minds owing to the reports arriving about Philip concerning the destruction of Thermus and in general his actions in Aetolia, and a rumor had spread among them that they should send out Lycurgus to assist the Aetolians.
ὑπὲρ δὲ τοῦ τὸ δεινὸν ἥξειν ἐπὶ σφᾶς οὕτως ὀξέως ἐκ τηλικούτου διαστήματος οὐδὲ διενοεῖτο παράπαν αὐτῶν οὐδείς, ἅτε καὶ τῆς ἡλικίας ἐχούσης ἀκμὴν εὐκαταφρόνητόν τι τῆς τοῦ βασιλέως.4 διὸ καὶ παρὰ δόξαν αὐτοῖς τῶν πραγμάτων συγκυρούντων εἰκότως ἦσαν ἐκπλαγεῖς.
But that the danger would come upon them so swiftly from so great a distance not one of them had even imagined at all, especially as the king’s age was still at an eligible point for being somewhat despised. Therefore, as events turned out contrary to their expectation, they were naturally struck with amazement.
ὁ γὰρ Φίλιππος τολμηρότερον καὶ πρακτικώτερον ἢ κατὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν χρώμενος ταῖς ἐπιβολαῖς εἰς ἀπορίαν καὶ δυσχρηστίαν ἅπαντας ἦγε τοὺς πολεμίους.
For Philip, by executing his plans with a boldness and activity greater than was to be expected from his age, brought all his enemies into perplexity and distress.
ἀναχθεὶς γὰρ ἐκ μέσης Αἰτωλίας, καθάπερ ἐπάνω προεῖπον, καὶ διανύσας ἐν νυκτὶ τὸν Ἀμβρακικὸν κόλπον, εἰς Λευκάδα κατῆρε.
For having set out from the heart of Aetolia, as I said above, and having traversed the Ambracian gulf in a single night, he arrived at Leucas.
δύο δὲ μείνας ἡμέρας ἐνταῦθα, τῇ τρίτῃ ποιησάμενος ὑπὸ τὴν ἑωθινὴν τὸν ἀνάπλουν, δευτεραῖος πορθήσας ἅμα τὴν τῶν Αἰτωλῶν παραλίαν ἐν Λεχαίῳ καθωρμίσθη.
And having remained there two days, on the third day making his departure before dawn, and at the same time plundering the coast of the Aetolians, on the second day he anchored in Lechaeum.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα κατὰ τὸ συνεχὲς ποιούμενος τὰς πορείας ἑβδομαῖος ἐπέβαλε τοῖς ὑπὲρ τὴν πόλιν κειμένοις παρὰ τὸ Μενελάιον λόφοις, ὥστε τοὺς πλείστους ὁρῶντας τὸ γεγονὸς μὴ πιστεύειν τοῖς συμβαίνουσιν. οἱ μὲν οὖν Λακεδαιμόνιοι, περιδεεῖς γεγονότες διὰ τὸ παράδοξον, ἠπόρουν καὶ δυσχρήστως διέ5
And after this, making his marches continuously, on the seventh day he reached the hills lying above the city along the Menelaium, so that most of those who saw what had happened could not believe the events. Now, the Lacedaemonians, having become terrified due to the unexpectedness of the event, were at a loss and in a difficult...
- 5.18.1Τεγεατῶν γίνεσθαι πόλει
The phrase Τεγεατῶν γίνεσθαι πόλει completes the accusative-and-infinitive construction starting with ἐν τῇ τῶν in the previous chunk (§5.17.9), functioning as an indirect command indicating the location where the allies were to assemble.
- 5.18.2λαθεῖν τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους ἐμβαλὼν εἰς τὴν χώραν
The aorist participle ἐμβαλών in the nominative case is used with the verb λαθεῖν (from λανθάνω) to express the idea of invading without being noticed ('escaping notice in invading'). The logical subject of the participle is Philip, the subject of the main clause.
- 5.18.5ὑπὲρ τοῦ τὸν Λυκοῦργον ἐκπέμπειν βοηθήσοντα τοῖς Αἰτωλοῖς
The preposition ὑπὲρ with the genitive article τοῦ governs the accusative-and-infinitive clause τὸν Λυκοῦργον ἐκπέμπειν ('concerning the sending of Lycurgus'), which is further modified by the future participle βοηθήσοντα expressing purpose ('in order to aid').
- 5.18.6ἅτε καὶ τῆς ἡλικίας ἐχούσης ἀκμὴν εὐκαταφρόνητόν τι τῆς τοῦ βασιλέως
The conjunction ἅτε is used with the genitive absolute construction, consisting of the subject τῆς ἡλικίας ... τῆς τοῦ βασιλέως and the participle ἐχούσης, to present the asserted reason for the Spartans' underestimation ('seeing that the king's age was...').
- 5.18.11δυσχρήστως διέ
The text breaks off abruptly after the adverb δυσχρήστως and the prefix of a compound verb διέ... (most likely to be completed as διέκειντο, 'were in a difficult state').