- 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-grc2:6.49.1-6.49.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
The author points out the defects in Lycurgus's legislation concerning external affairs, citing Sparta's greed in the Messenian War and its subsequent submission to Persia for the sake of hegemony over Greece.
τοῦτο μὲν γὰρ τίς οὐκ οἶδε διότι πρῶτοι σχεδὸν τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἐπιθυμήσαντες τῆς τῶν ἀστυγειτόνων χώρας διὰ πλεονεξίαν ἐπʼ ἐξανδραποδισμῷ Μεσσηνίοις πόλεμον ἐξήνεγκαν;
For who does not know this, that they, having desired the land of their neighbors out of greed, were almost the first of the Greeks to wage war against the Messenians for the purpose of enslaving them?
τοῦτο δὲ1 τίς οὐχ ἱστόρηκεν ὡς διὰ φιλονεικίαν ἐνόρκους σφᾶς ἐποίησαν μὴ πρόσθεν λύσειν τὴν πολιορκίαν πρὶν ἢ κατὰ κράτος ἑλεῖν τὴν Μεσσήνην;
And who has not learned from history this, that out of rivalry they bound themselves by oath not to lift the siege until they had taken Messene by force?
καὶ μὴν τοῦτο γνώριμον ὑπάρχει πᾶσιν, ὡς διὰ τὴν ἐν τοῖς Ἕλλησι φιλαρχίαν, οὓς ἐνίκησαν μαχόμενοι, τούτοις2 αὖτις ὑπέμειναν ποιεῖν τὸ προσταττόμενον.
Furthermore, this is well known to all: that for the sake of their desire for power among the Greeks, they subsequently submitted to doing what was commanded by those whom they had defeated in battle.
ἐπιπορευομένους μὲν γὰρ τοὺς Πέρσας ἐνίκων διαγωνιζόμενοι περὶ τῆς τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἐλευθερίας· ἐπανελθοῦσι δὲ καὶ φυγοῦσι προύδωκαν ἐκδότους τὰς Ἑλληνίδας πόλεις κατὰ τὴν ἐπʼ Ἀνταλκίδου γενομένην εἰρήνην χάριν τοῦ χρημάτων εὐπορῆσαι πρὸς τὴν κατὰ τῶν Ἑλλήνων δυναστείαν, ὅτε δὴ καὶ τὸ τῆς νομοθεσίας ἐλλιπὲς συνώφθη παρʼ αὐτοῖς.
For while they conquered the invading Persians, fighting to the death for the liberty of the Greeks, they betrayed and surrendered the Greek cities to them after they had retreated and fled, in accordance with the Peace of Antalcidas, for the sake of securing abundant funds to establish their dominion over the Greeks— at which very time the defect of their legislation became apparent among them.
ἕως μὲν γὰρ τῆς τῶν ἀστυγειτόνων, ἔτι δὲ τῆς Πελοποννησίων αὐτῶν ἀρχῆς ἐφίεντο, συνεξεποιοῦντο ταῖς ἐκ τῆς Λακωνικῆς αὐτῆς ἐπαρκείαις καὶ χορηγίαις, προχείρους μὲν ἔχοντες τὰς τῶν ἐπιτηδείων παρασκευάς, ταχείας δὲ ποιούμενοι τὰς εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν ἐπανόδους καὶ παρακομιδάς.
For as long as they aspired to the rule over their neighbors, and further over the Peloponnesians themselves, they made do with the supplies and provisions from Laconia itself, having the acquisition of necessaries close at hand, and making quick returns and transportations back to their own home.
ἐπεὶ δὲ στόλους μὲν ἐπεβάλλοντο κατὰ θάλατταν ἐκπέμπειν, στρατεύειν δὲ πεζικοῖς στρατοπέδοις ἔξω Πελοποννήσου, δῆλον ὡς οὔτε τὸ νόμισμα τὸ σιδηροῦν οὔθʼ ἡ τῶν ἐπετείων καρπῶν ἀλλαγὴ πρὸς τὰ λείποντα τῆς χρείας ἔμελλεν αὐτοῖς ἐξαρκεῖν κατὰ τὴν Λυκούργου νομοθεσίαν·
But when they undertook to send out fleets by sea and to campaign with land forces outside the Peloponnese, it was clear that neither their iron currency nor the exchange of annual crops was bound to suffice for them under the legislation of Lycurgus to meet their lacking needs;
προσεδεῖτο γὰρ τὰ πράγματα κοινοῦ νομίσματος καὶ ξενικῆς παρασκευῆς.
for their affairs required a common currency and foreign resources.
ὅθεν ἠναγκάσθησαν ἐπὶ θύρας μὲν πορεύεσθαι τὰς Περσῶν, φόρους δὲ τοῖς νησιώταις ἐπιτάττειν, ἀργυρολογεῖν δὲ πάντας τοὺς Ἕλληνας, γνόντες ὡς οὐχ οἷόν τε κατὰ τὴν Λυκούργου νομοθεσίαν οὐχ ὅτι τῆς τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἡγεμονίας, ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ3 πραγμάτων ἀντιποιεῖσθαι τὸ παράπαν.
Hence they were forced to go to the doors of the Persians, to impose tribute on the islanders, and to exact money from all the Greeks, realizing that under the legislation of Lycurgus it was impossible, not to say for the hegemony over the Greeks, but even to contend for any external affairs at all.
- 6.49.1τοῦτο μὲν... τοῦτο δὲ...
A correlative structure ('on the one hand this... on the other hand this...') introducing two specific historical examples (the initiation of the Messenian War and the oath during its siege) to demonstrate Lacedaemonian greed and rivalry.
- 6.49.3οὓς ἐνίκησαν μαχόμενοι, τούτοις
An inverted structure where the relative clause οὓς ἐνίκησαν μαχόμενοι (whom they defeated in battle, i.e., the Persians) precedes its demonstrative antecedent τούτοις. This arrangement emphasizes the paradoxical position of the Spartans, who later had to submit to those they had once defeated.
- 6.49.10οὐχ ὅτι... ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ...
An idiomatic construction meaning 'not to speak of... but not even...' or 'not only not... but not even...'. A verb like λέγω is ellipted after οὐχ ὅτι, serving to emphasize that not only was the greater task (hegemony over Greece) impossible, but even the lesser task (interfering in external affairs in general) was entirely out of reach.