- 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-grc2:5.64.1-5.64.7
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
The passage describes how the Greek commanders reorganized the forces by classifying soldiers by nationality and age, distributing new arms, and raising their training level and morale through armed assemblies and exhortations.
πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ κατὰ γένη καὶ καθʼ ἡλικίαν διελόντες ἀνέδοσαν ἑκάστοις τοὺς ἐπιτηδείους καθοπλισμούς, ὀλιγωρήσαντες τῶν πρότερον αὐτοῖς ὑπαρχόντων·1
For first, dividing them according to their nationalities and ages, they distributed to each the appropriate arms, taking no account of those they previously possessed.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα συνέταξαν οἰκείως πρὸς τὴν παροῦσαν χρείαν, λύσαντες τὰ συστήματα καὶ τὰς ἐκ τῶν πρότερον ὀψωνιασμῶν καταγραφάς·2
After this they organized them in a manner suitable to the present need, having dissolved the previous units and the enrollment lists based on former pay-rolls.
ἑξῆς δὲ τούτοις ἐγύμναζον, συνήθεις ἑκάστους ποιοῦντες οὐ μόνον τοῖς παραγγέλμασιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ταῖς οἰκείαις τῶν καθοπλισμῶν κινήσεσιν.
Next to this they trained them, making each familiar not only with the words of command, but also with the proper movements of their respective arms.
ἐποιοῦντο δὲ καὶ συναγωγὰς ἐπὶ τῶν ὅπλων3 καὶ παρακλήσεις, ἐν αἷς μεγίστην παρείχοντο χρείαν Ἀνδρόμαχος Ἀσπένδιος καὶ Πολυκράτης Ἀργεῖος, προσφάτως μὲν ἐκ τῆς Ἑλλάδος διαβεβηκότες, συνήθεις δʼ ἀκμὴν ὄντες ταῖς Ἑλληνικαῖς ὁρμαῖς καὶ ταῖς ἑκάστων ἐπινοίαις, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις ἐπιφανεῖς ὑπάρχοντες ταῖς τε πατρίσι καὶ τοῖς βίοις, Πολυκράτης δὲ καὶ μᾶλλον διά τε τὴν τῆς οἰκίας ἀρχαιότητα καὶ διὰ τὴν Μνασιάδου τοῦ πατρὸς δόξαν ἐκ τῆς ἀθλήσεως.
They also held assemblies under arms and exhortations, in which Andromachus of Aspendus and Polycrates of Argos rendered the greatest service, having recently crossed over from Greece, and being still well acquainted with Greek military spirit and the tactical designs of each, and furthermore being distinguished both for their native cities and their lives, and Polycrates even more so, both because of the antiquity of his house and the reputation of his father Mnasiades in athletic contests.
οἳ καὶ κατʼ ἰδίαν καὶ κοινῇ παρακαλοῦντες ὁρμὴν καὶ προθυμίαν ἐνειργάσαντο τοῖς ἀνθρώποις πρὸς τὸν μέλλοντα κίν4
Who, exhorting them both individually and in common, inspired the men with passion and zeal for the coming danger...
- 5.64.1ὀλιγωρήσαντες τῶν πρότερον αὐτοῖς ὑπαρχόντων
The verb ὀλιγωρέω takes the genitive (τῶν ... ὑπαρχόντων), meaning 'to disregard' or 'to take no account of'. It indicates that the previous unsuitable weapons of the soldiers were completely ignored in favor of a uniform redistribution.
- 5.64.2λύσαντες τὰ συστήματα καὶ τὰς ἐκ τῶν πρότερον ὀψωνιασμῶν καταγραφάς
The participle λύσαντες means 'having dissolved' or 'having broken up'. It shows that they completely reset the old military units (συστήματα) and enlistment rolls (καταγραφάς) based on previous payrolls to reconstruct the army from scratch.
- 5.64.4συναγωγὰς ἐπὶ τῶν ὅπλων
The preposition ἐπί with the genitive denotes accompaniment or circumstance ('under arms' or 'in full armor'), thus meaning 'assemblies of the troops in full military equipment'.
- 5.64.7κίν
The text breaks off mid-word, but from the context, it is clearly the beginning of the word κίνδυνον ('danger' or 'battle' in the accusative singular).