- 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-grc2:8.14.1-8.14.11
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Philip successfully decoyed the defenders of Acrolissus into the plain, defeated them with his hidden troops, and captured both Acrolissus and Lissus, leading to the submission of most of the surrounding Illyrians.
τινὰ τελέως εἰς αὐτὸν ἀπένειμαν φυλακήν.1 διόπερ ἅμα τῷ συνεγγίζειν τοὺς Μακεδόνας εὐθέως ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἐξεχέοντο, θαρροῦντες ἐπί τε τῷ πλήθει καὶ ταῖς τῶν τόπων ὀχυρότησι.
they had assigned to it a completely inadequate guard. For this reason, as soon as the Macedonians approached, they immediately poured out of the city, full of confidence in their numbers and the strength of the positions.
τοὺς μὲν οὖν πελταστὰς ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐν τοῖς ἐπιπέδοις ἐπέστησε, τοῖς δὲ κούφοις παρήγγειλε προβαίνειν πρὸς τοὺς λόφους καὶ συμπλέκεσθαι πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους ἐρρωμένως. ποιούντων δὲ τὸ παραγγελθέν, ἐπὶ ποσὸν μὲν ὁ κίνδυνος πάρισος ἦν μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα καὶ ταῖς δυσχωρίαις εἴξαντες οἱ παρὰ τοῦ Φιλίππου καὶ τῷ πλήθει τῶν πολεμίων ἐτράπησαν.
The king, therefore, stationed the peltasts on the level ground, and ordered the light-armed troops to advance towards the hills and engage the enemy vigorously. On their doing as they were ordered, for a certain time the struggle was well-balanced; but after this, yielding both to the difficulties of the ground and to the numbers of the enemy, Philip’s men were turned to flight.
καταφυγόντων δὲ τούτων εἰς τοὺς πελταστὰς οἱ μὲν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως καταφρονήσαντες προῄεσαν καὶ συγκαταβάντες ἐν τοῖς ἐπιπέδοις προσεμάχοντο τοῖς πελτασταῖς·
When these had fled for refuge to the peltasts, those from the city, despising the enemy, advanced further, and descending to the level ground, engaged the peltasts.
οἱ δὲ τὸν Ἀκρόλισσον φυλάττοντες, θεωροῦντες τὸν Φίλιππον ἐκ διαδοχῆς ταῖς σπείραις ἐπὶ πόδα ποιούμενον τὴν ἀναχώρησιν, καὶ δόξαντες τοῖς ὅλοις αὐτὸν εἴκειν, ἔλαθον ἐκκληθέντες2 διὰ τὸ πιστεύειν τῇ φύσει τοῦ τόπου, κἄπειτα κατʼ ὀλίγους ἐκλιπόντες τὸν Ἀκρόλισσον κατέρρεον ταῖς ἀνοδίαις εἰς τοὺς ὁμαλοὺς καὶ πεδινοὺς τόπους, ὡς ἤδη τινὸς ὠφελείας καὶ τροπῆς τῶν πολεμίων ἐσομένης.3
Meanwhile, those who were guarding Acrolissus, seeing Philip making his retreat step by step with his cohorts in succession, and thinking that he was yielding altogether, were lured out without realizing it, owing to their trust in the natural strength of the place, and then, leaving Acrolissus in small groups, they streamed down by pathless ways into the flat and level places, as if some advantage and rout of the enemy were already at hand.
κατὰ δὲ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον οἱ τὰς ἐνέδρας ἐκ τῆς μεσογαίας διειληφότες ἀφανῶς ἐξαναστάντες ἐνεργὸν ἐποιήσαντο τὴν ἔφοδον· ἅμα δὲ τούτοις ἐκ μεταβολῆς οἱ πελτασταὶ συνεπέθεντο τοῖς ὑπεναντίοις.
At this critical moment, those who had occupied the ambush in the inland region arose from their hiding places unseen and made a vigorous assault; and at the same time, the peltasts faced about and attacked the enemy.
οὗ συμβάντος διαταραχθέντες οἱ μὲν ἐκ τοῦ Λίσσου σποράδην ποιούμενοι τὴν ἀναχώρησιν διεσῴζοντο πρὸς τὴν πόλιν, οἱ δὲ τὸν Ἀκρόλισσον ἐκλιπόντες ἀπετμήθησαν ὑπὸ τῶν ἐκ τῆς ἐνέδρας ἐξαναστάντων.
Upon this happening, the enemy was thrown into confusion; those from Lissus made their retreat in scattered groups and escaped safely into the city, but those who had left Acrolissus were cut off by those who had risen from the ambush.
διὸ καὶ συνέβη τὸ μὲν ἀνέλπιστον, τὸν Ἀκρόλισσον παραχρῆμα ληφθῆναι χωρὶς κινδύνων, τὸν δὲ Λίσσον τῇ κατὰ πόδας ἡμέρᾳ μετὰ μεγάλων ἀγώνων,4 ποιησαμένων τῶν Μακεδόνων ἐνεργοὺς καὶ καταπληκτικὰς προσβολάς. Φίλιππος μὲν οὖν, παραδόξως ἐγκρατὴς γενόμενος τῶν προειρημένων τόπων, ἅπαντας τοὺς πέριξ ὑποχειρίους ἐποιήσατο διὰ ταύτης τῆς πράξεως, ὥστε τοὺς πλείστους τῶν Ἰλλυριῶν ἐθελοντὴν ἐπιτρέπειν αὐτῷ τὰς πόλεις·
Consequently, the unexpected happened: Acrolissus was immediately taken without any danger, and Lissus on the following day after a great struggle, the Macedonians having made vigorous and terrifying assaults. Philip, therefore, having contrary to expectation made himself master of the aforementioned places, brought all the surrounding people under his sway by this exploit, so that most of the Illyrians voluntarily surrendered their cities to him;
οὐδεμία γὰρ ὀχυρότης ἔτι πρὸς τὴν Φιλίππου βίαν οὐδʼ ἀσφάλεια τοῖς ἀντιταττομένοις προυφαίνετο, κεκρατημένων μετὰ βίας τῶν προειρημένων ὀχυρωμάτων.
for no strength of position nor security any longer appeared to those who opposed him, now that the aforementioned strongholds had been taken by force.
- 8.14.1τινὰ τελέως εἰς αὐτὸν ἀπένειμαν φυλακήν
The adjective μετρίαν at the very end of the previous chapter (§8.13.9) syntactically links with τινὰ ... φυλακήν at the beginning of this chapter, forming the single noun phrase meaning "a completely scanty/moderate guard." Note that the phrase is split by the chapter division.
- 8.14.5ἔλαθον ἐκκληθέντες
The verb λανθάνω combined with the passive participle ἐκκληθέντες (from ἐκκαλέω) forms an idiomatic construction meaning "they were lured out without realizing it," indicating that the action was performed unconsciously by the subject.
- 8.14.6ὡς ἤδη τινὸς ὠφελείας καὶ τροπῆς τῶν πολεμίων ἐσομένης
The conjunction ὡς introduces the genitive absolute construction (τινὸς ὠφελείας καὶ τροπῆς ... ἐσομένης in the future tense), expressing the subjective reason or expectation of the defenders of Acrolissus ("thinking that some advantage and rout of the enemy was already at hand").
- 8.14.9διὸ καὶ συνέβη τὸ μὲν ἀνέλπιστον, τὸν Ἀκρόλισσον παραχρῆμα ληφθῆναι χωρὶς κινδύνων, τὸν δὲ Λίσσον τῇ κατὰ πόδας ἡμέρᾳ μετὰ μεγάλων ἀγώνων
The subject of the impersonal verb συνέβη is τὸ μὲν ἀνέλπιστον (the unexpected), which is explained by the accusative-and-infinitive clause τὸν Ἀκρόλισσον ... ληφθῆναι. In the parallel subsequent clause τὸν δὲ Λίσσον..., the same infinitive ληφθῆναι is omitted and must be supplied from the context to complete the symmetry ("and Lissus [was taken] on the following day after a great struggle").
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-10-09)
- 2026-10-09 Collated with the printed edition — source 1