- 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-grc2:5.82.1-5.82.13
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
After five days of facing each other, Ptolemy and Antiochus resolved to join battle and drew up their respective forces—consisting of phalanxes, cavalry, and war elephants—on both wings and in the center.
οἱ δὲ βασιλεῖς πένθʼ ἡμέρας ἀντιστρατοπεδεύσαντες ἀλλήλοις, ἔγνωσαν ἀμφότεροι διὰ μάχης κρίνειν τὰ πράγματα.
The kings, having remained encamped opposite to each other for five days, both resolved to decide the issue by a battle.
καταρχομένων δὲ τῶν περὶ τὸν Πτολεμαῖον κινεῖν τὴν δύναμιν ἐκ τοῦ χάρακος, εὐθέως οἱ περὶ τὸν Ἀντίοχον ἀντεξῆγον. καὶ τὰς μὲν φάλαγγας ἀμφότεροι καὶ τοὺς ἐπιλέκτους τοὺς εἰς τὸν Μακεδονικὸν τρόπον καθωπλισμένους κατὰ πρόσωπον ἀλλήλων ἔταξαν, τὰ δὲ κέρατα Πτολεμαίῳ μὲν ἑκάτερα τουτονὶ συνίστατο τὸν τρόπον. Πολυκράτης μὲν εἶχε μετὰ τῶν ὑφʼ ἑαυτὸν ἱππέων τὸ λαιὸν κέρας·
As Ptolemy’s forces began to move their army out of the camp, Antiochus’ men immediately led out theirs in response. And both of them drew up their phalanxes and their elite troops armed in the Macedonian fashion, opposite to each other. On Ptolemy’s side, both wings were drawn up in the following manner: Polycrates held the left wing with the cavalry under his command;
τούτου δὲ καὶ τῆς φάλαγγος μεταξὺ Κρῆτες ἦσαν παρʼ αὐτοὺς τοὺς ἱππεῖς, ἑξῆς δὲ τούτοις τὸ βασιλικὸν ἄγημα, μετὰ δὲ τούτους οἱ μετὰ Σωκράτους πελτασταί, συνάπτοντες τοῖς Λίβυσι τοῖς εἰς τὸν Μακεδονικὸν τρόπον καθωπλισμένοις.
between this and the phalanx were the Cretans, next to the cavalry themselves, and next to them the royal agema, and after them the peltasts under Socrates, adjoining the Libyans who were armed in the Macedonian fashion.
ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ δεξιοῦ κέρως Ἐχεκράτης ἦν ὁ Θετταλός, ἔχων τοὺς ὑφʼ αὑτὸν ἱππεῖς· παρὰ δὲ τοῦτον ἐκ τῶν εὐωνύμων. ἵσταντο Γαλάται καὶ Θρᾷκες· ἑξῆς δὲ τούτοις Φοξίδας εἶχε τοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς Ἑλλάδος μισθοφόρους, συνάπτοντας1 τοῖς τῶν Αἰγυπτίων φαλαγγίταις.
On the right wing was Echecratis the Thessalian, commanding the cavalry under him; and next to him, on the left, were stationed the Galatians and Thracians; next to these Phoxidas held the mercenaries from Greece, adjoining the Egyptian phalangites.
τῶν δὲ θηρίων τὰ μὲν τετταράκοντα κατὰ τὸ λαιὸν ἦν, ἐφʼ οὗ Πτολεμαῖος αὐτὸς ἔμελλε ποιεῖσθαι τὸν κίνδυνον, τὰ δὲ τριάκοντα καὶ τρία πρὸ τοῦ δεξιοῦ κέρατος ἐτέτακτο κατʼ αὐτοὺς τοὺς μισθοφόρους ἱππεῖς.
Of the elephants, forty were on the left wing, where Ptolemy himself was about to take part in the danger, while thirty-three were stationed in front of the right wing, opposite the mercenary cavalry themselves.
Ἀντίοχος δὲ τοὺς μὲν ἑξήκοντα τῶν ἐλεφάντων, ἐφʼ ὧν ἦν Φίλιππος ὁ σύντροφος αὐτοῦ, πρὸ τοῦ δεξιοῦ κέρατος προέστησε, καθʼ ὃ ποιεῖσθαι τὸν κίνδυνον αὐτὸς ἔμελλε πρὸς τοὺς περὶ τὸν Πτολεμαῖον·
Antiochus placed sixty of the elephants, commanded by his foster-brother Philip, in front of his right wing, on which he himself was about to fight against Ptolemy’s forces;
τούτων δὲ κατόπιν δισχιλίους μὲν ἱππεῖς τοὺς ὑπʼ Ἀντίπατρον ταττομένους ἐπέστησε, δισχιλίους δʼ ἐν ἐπικαμπίῳ2 παρενέβαλε.
behind these he stationed two thousand cavalry drawn up under Antipater, and posted another two thousand in a potence.
παρὰ δὲ τοὺς ἱππεῖς ἐν μετώπῳ τοὺς Κρῆτας ἔστησε· τούτοις δʼ ἑξῆς ἔταξε τοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς Ἑλλάδος μισθοφόρους· μετὰ δὲ τούτων καὶ τῶν εἰς τὸν Μακεδονικὸν τρόπον καθωπλισμένων τοὺς μετὰ Βυττάκου τοῦ Μακεδόνος ὄντας πεντακισχιλίους παρενέβαλε.
Next to the cavalry, on the front, he placed the Cretans; and next to them he drew up the mercenaries from Greece; and between these and those armed in the Macedonian fashion, he posted the five thousand under Byttacus the Macedonian.
τῆς δʼ εὐωνύμου τάξεως ἐπʼ αὐτὸ μὲν τὸ κέρας ἔθηκε δισχιλίους ἱππεῖς, ὧν ἡγεῖτο Θεμίσων, παρὰ δὲ τούτους Κάρδακας καὶ Λυδοὺς ἀκοντιστάς, ἑξῆς δὲ τούτοις τοὺς ὑπὸ Μενέδημον εὐζώνους, ὄντας εἰς τρισχιλίους, μετὰ δὲ τούτους Κισσίους καὶ Μήδους καὶ Καρμανίους, παρὰ δὲ τούτους Ἄραβας ἅμα τοῖς προσχώροις, συνάπτοντας τῇ φάλαγγι.
On the left wing, he placed two thousand cavalry at the extremity of the wing itself, commanded by Themison, and next to them Cardaces and Lydian javelin-throwers, and next to these the light-armed troops under Menedemus, numbering about three thousand, and after these Cissians, Medes, and Carmanians, and next to them Arabs with their neighbors, adjoining the phalanx.
τὰ δὲ κατάλοιπα τῶν θηρίων τοῦ λαιοῦ κέρατος προεβάλετο, τῶν βασιλικῶν τινα γεγονότα παίδων3 ἐπιστήσας Μυΐσκον.
The remainder of the elephants he posted in front of his left wing, placing over them Myiscus, one of those who had been royal pages.
- 5.82.6συνάπτοντας
Although we would expect the nominative plural συνάπτοντες to agree with the subject οἱ πελτασταί, the text has the accusative συνάπτοντας. This is an instance of case mismatch (assimilation to nearby accusative nouns, or a loosening of sentence structure) frequently observed in Polybius' style. The same accusative συνάπτοντας appears in similar constructions in §5.82.6 and §5.82.12.
- 5.82.9ἐν ἐπικαμπίῳ
A military technical term meaning 'at an angle' or 'in a potence,' referring to drawing up a line of troops bent backward or forward at the extremity to secure the flank or to outflank the enemy.
- 5.82.13τῶν βασιλικῶν τινα γεγονότα παίδων
The perfect participle γεγονότα (from γίγνομαι) governs the genitive τῶν βασιλικῶν παίδων ('royal pages'), meaning 'one who had been a royal page.' The indefinite pronoun τινα is in apposition to Μυΐσκον, explaining his background.