- 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-grc2:5.9.1-5.9.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
The author criticizes the Macedonian army's destruction of temples and dedications at Thermum, refuting the king's justification of revenge by citing the generous post-war treatment of Sparta by the former king Antigonus Doson.
καὶ ἕως μὲν τούτου πάντα κατὰ τοὺς τοῦ πολέμου· νόμους καλῶς καὶ δικαίως ἐπράττετο· τὰ δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα πῶς χρὴ λέγειν οὐκ οἶδα.
Up to this point, everything was done in a fine and just manner according to the laws of war; but as for what followed, I know not how I should speak of it.
λαβόντες γὰρ ἔννοιαν τῶν ἐν Δίῳ καὶ Δωδώνῃ πεπραγμένων τοῖς Αἰτωλοῖς,1 τάς τε στοὰς ἐνεπίμπρασαν καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ τῶν ἀναθημάτων διέφθειρον, ὄντα πολυτελῆ ταῖς κατασκευαῖς καὶ πολλῆς ἐπιμελείας ἔνια τετευχότα καὶ δαπάνης.
For having conceived the thought of what had been done by the Aetolians at Dium and Dodona, they set fire to the porticoes and destroyed the remaining dedications, which were costly in their workmanship and some of them had been executed with great care and expense.
οὐ μόνον δὲ τῷ πυρὶ κατελυμήναντο τὰς ὀροφάς, ἀλλὰ καὶ κατέσκαψαν εἰς ἔδαφος. ἀνέτρεψαν δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἀνδριάντας, ὄντας οὐκ ἐλάττους δισχιλίων· πολλοὺς δὲ καὶ διέφθειραν, πλὴν ὅσοι θεῶν ἐπιγραφὰς ἢ τύπους εἶχον· τῶν δὲ τοιούτων ἀπέσχοντο.
And they not only ruined the roofs with fire, but also razed them to the ground. They also threw down the statues, which were not fewer than two thousand; and many of them they destroyed, except for those that bore inscriptions or likenesses of the gods; from such they refrained.
κατέγραφον δʼ εἰς τοὺς τοίχους καὶ τὸν περιφερόμενον στίχον, ἤδη τότε τῆς ἐπιδεξιότητος τῆς Σάμου φυομένης, ὃς ἦν υἱὸς μὲν Χρυσογόνου, σύντροφος δὲ τοῦ βασιλέως.
And they wrote upon the walls the verse that was then being passed around, composed by Samos, whose talent was already then beginning to show itself, who was the son of Chrysogonus and the foster-brother of the king.
ὁ δὲ στίχος ἦν ὁρᾷς τὸ δῖον2 οὗ βέλος διέπτατο;
The verse was: “Do you see the divine place where the bolt flew through?”
καὶ μεγίστη δὴ καὶ παράστασις ἐπὶ τούτοις εἶχε τόν τε βασιλέα καὶ τοὺς περὶ αὐτὸν φίλους, ὡς δικαίως ταῦτα πράττοντας καὶ καθηκόντως, ἀμυνομένους τοῖς ὁμοίοις τὴν τῶν Αἰτωλῶν περὶ τὸ Δῖον ἀσέβειαν. ἐμοὶ δὲ τἀναντία δοκεῖ τούτων.
And indeed, on these accounts, a very great conviction possessed both the king and his friends around him, that they were doing these things justly and as was fitting, avenging the impiety of the Aetolians at Dium with similar treatment. But to me the contrary of this seems to be the case.
εἰ δʼ ὀρθὸς ὁ λόγος, σκοπεῖν ἐν μέσῳ πάρεστι, χρωμένους οὐχ ἑτέροις τισίν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς οἰκίας ταύτης παραδείγμασιν.
And whether this view is correct, one may consider in an impartial manner, using no other examples than those from this very royal house.
Ἀντίγονος ἐκ παρατάξεως νικήσας μάχῃ Κλεομένην τὸν βασιλέα τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων ἐγκρατὴς ἐγένετο καὶ τῆς Σπάρτης, αὐτός τʼ ὢν κύριος ὃ βούλοιτο χρῆσθαι καὶ τῇ πόλει καὶ τοῖς ἐμπολιτευομένοις, τοσοῦτον ἀπεῖχε τοῦ κακῶς ποιεῖν τοὺς γεγονότας ὑποχειρίους ὡς ἐκ τῶν ἐναντίων ἀποδοὺς3 τὸ πάτριον πολίτευμα καὶ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν, καὶ τῶν μεγίστων ἀγαθῶν αἴτιος γενόμενος καὶ κοινῇ καὶ κατʼ ἰδίαν Λακεδαιμονίοις, οὕτως εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν ἀπηλλάγη.
Antigonus, having defeated Cleomenes, the king of the Lacedaemonians, in a pitched battle, became master of Sparta as well; and although he was himself master to treat both the city and the citizens as he pleased, he was so far from doing harm to those who had fallen into his power that, on the contrary, he restored to them their ancestral constitution and their liberty, and having become the author of the greatest benefits to the Lacedaemonians both publicly and privately, he thus departed for his own country.
τοιγαροῦν οὐ μόνον ἐκρίθη παρʼ αὐτὸν τὸν καιρὸν εὐεργέτης, ἀλλὰ καὶ μεταλλάξας σωτήρ, οὐδὲ παρὰ μόνοις Λακεδαιμονίοις, ἀλλὰ παρὰ πᾶσι τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ἀθανάτου τέτευχε τιμῆς καὶ δόξης ἐπὶ
Therefore, he was judged to be a benefactor not only at that very time, but also after his death a savior, and not only among the Lacedaemonians, but among all the Greeks he obtained immortal honor and glory...
- 5.9.2τοῖς Αἰτωλοῖς
Dative of agent limiting the participle τῶν ... πεπραγμένων, meaning "things done by the Aetolians."
- 5.9.5τὸ δῖον
This phrase has a double meaning, as it can be interpreted either as the accusative neuter singular of the adjective δῖος ("divine, belonging to Zeus") or as the proper noun "Dium" (the Macedonian sanctuary sacked by the Aetolians).
- 5.9.9τοσοῦτον ἀπεῖχε τοῦ κακῶς ποιεῖν ... ὡς ἐκ τῶν ἐναντίων ἀποδοὺς
The construction is τοσοῦτον ἀπέχω ("to be so far from") + infinitive + ὥστε (ὡς), but here instead of a finite verb, the participles ἀποδοὺς and γενόμενος agreeing with the subject Ἀντίγονος are used, leading to the main verb ἀπηλλάγη.