- 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-grc2:8.26.1-8.26.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Hannibal feigns illness to deceive the enemy and begins a rapid march toward Tarentum with ten thousand elite troops. He uses Numidian cavalry to secure the route and keep the march secret, then sets his vanguard in motion at dusk to reach the city walls by midnight with Philemenus as his guide.
ὁ δὲ πάλαι μὲν ἐπεπόριστο σκῆψιν ὡς ἀρρωστῶν, χάριν τοῦ μὴ θαυμάζειν ἀκούοντας τοὺς Ῥωμαίους,1 ὡς καὶ πλείω χρόνον ἐπὶ τῶν αὐτῶν τόπων ποιεῖται τὴν διατριβήν·
Hannibal had long ago devised a pretext of being ill, for the sake of the Romans, when they heard of it, not wondering that he was staying for a longer time in the same place;
τότε δὲ καὶ μᾶλλον προσεποιεῖτο τὴν ἀρρωστίαν. ἀπεῖχε δὲ τῷ στρατοπέδῳ τριῶν ἡμερῶν ὁδὸν τοῦ Τάραντος.
and then he feigned the illness even more. His camp was distant three days’ journey from Tarentum.
ἥκοντος δὲ τοῦ καιροῦ, παρεσκευακὼς ἔκ τε τῶν ἱππέων καὶ τῶν πεζῶν τοὺς διαφέροντας εὐκινησίᾳ καὶ τόλμῃ, περὶ μυρίους ὄντας τὸν ἀριθμόν, παρήγγειλε τεττάρων ἡμερῶν ἔχειν ἐφόδια.
When the opportunity had come, having prepared from both the cavalry and infantry those outstanding in mobility and daring, being about ten thousand in number, he ordered them to have four days’ provisions.
ποιησάμενος δὲ τὴν ἀναζυγὴν ὑπὸ τὴν ἑωθινὴν ἐχρῆτο τῇ πορείᾳ συντόνως. τῶν δὲ Νομαδικῶν ἱππέων εἰς ὀγδοήκοντα προχειρισάμενος ἐκέλευε προπορεύεσθαι τῆς δυνάμεως εἰς τριάκοντα σταδίους καὶ τοὺς παρὰ τὴν ὁδὸν τόπους ἐξ ἑκατέρου τοῦ μέρους ἐπιτρέχειν, ἵνα μηδεὶς κατοπτεύσῃ τὴν ὅλην δύναμιν, ἀλλʼ οἱ μὲν ὑποχείριοι γίνοιντο τῶν διεμπιπτόντων, οἱ δὲ διαφυγόντες ἀναγγέλλοιεν εἰς τὴν πόλιν, ὡς ἐπιδρομῆς οὔσης ἐκ τῶν Νομάδων.
Having made his departure just before dawn, he pursued his march rapidly. Having selected about eighty of the Numidian horsemen, he ordered them to advance about thirty stades ahead of the force and to scour the areas along the road on either side, so that no one should descry the whole army, but rather some of those who fell in with them should be captured, and those who escaped should report to the city that it was a raid of the Numidians.
ἀποσχόντων δὲ τῶν Νομάδων2 ὡς ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι σταδίους, ἐδειπνοποιήσατο παρά τινα δυσσύνοπτον καὶ φαραγγώδη ποταμόν.
When they had covered about one hundred and twenty stades, he made the army take their meal beside a river which was difficult to see and lay in a deep ravine.
καὶ συναθροίσας τοὺς ἡγεμόνας κυρίως μὲν οὐ διεσάφει τὴν ἐπιβολήν, ἁπλῶς δὲ παρεκάλει πρῶτον μὲν ἄνδρας ἀγαθοὺς γίνεσθαι πάντας, ὡς οὐδέποτε μειζόνων αὐτοῖς ἄθλων ὑποκειμένων,3 δεύτερον δὲ συνέχειν ἕκαστον τῇ πορείᾳ τοὺς ὑφʼ αὑτὸν ταττομένους καὶ πικρῶς ἐπιτιμᾶν τοῖς καθόλου παρεκβαίνουσιν ἐκ τῆς ἰδίας τάξεως, τελευταῖον δὲ προσέχειν τὸν νοῦν τοῖς παραγγελλομένοις καὶ μηδὲν ἰδιοπραγεῖν πάρεξ τῶν προσταττομένων.
And having assembled the officers, he did not explain the actual enterprise in detail, but simply exhorted them, firstly, that they should all be brave men, since never had greater rewards been proposed for them; secondly, that each should keep those stationed under him together on the march, and severely punish those who in any way straggled from their own ranks; and finally, to pay attention to the orders given and to do nothing on their own initiative apart from what was commanded.
ταῦτʼ εἰπὼν καὶ διαφεὶς τοὺς ἡγεμόνας ἐκίνει τὴν πρωτοπορείαν, κνέφατος ἄρτι γενομένου, σπουδάζων συνάψαι τῷ τείχει περὶ μέσας νύκτας, καθηγεμόνα τὸν Φιλήμενον ἔχων καὶ παρεσκευακὼς ὗν ἄγριον αὐτῷ4 πρὸς τὴν διατεταγμένην χρείαν.
Having said this and dismissed the officers, he set the vanguard in motion, just as dusk fell, hastening to reach the wall about midnight, having Philemenus as guide and having prepared a wild boar for him for the arranged purpose.
- 8.26.1χάριν τοῦ μὴ θαυμάζειν ἀκούοντας τοὺς Ῥωμαίους
The prepositional noun χάριν governs the genitive articular infinitive τοῦ μὴ θαυμάζειν to express purpose. The accusative τοὺς Ῥωμαίους functions as the subject of the infinitive, modified by the circumstantial participle ἀκούοντας ("when they heard").
- 8.26.6ἀποσχόντων δὲ τῶν Νομάδων
Genitive absolute construction. The aorist participle ἀποσχόντων (from ἀπέχω, to be distant) has τῶν Νομάδων as its subject, indicating that the Numidian horsemen (who were sent ahead) had reached a distance of about 120 stades.
- 8.26.7ὡς οὐδέποτε μειζόνων αὐτοῖς ἄθλων ὑποκειμένων
Genitive absolute with ὡς, expressing a subjective or alleged reason ("on the ground that..."). μειζόνων ἄθλων is the subject and the present participle ὑποκειμένων functions as the predicate.
- 8.26.10καθηγεμόνα τὸν Φιλήμενον ἔχων καὶ παρεσκευακὼς ὗν ἄγριον αὐτῷ
The participles ἔχων and παρεσκευακὼς are circumstantial, modifying the main verb ἐκίνει. καθηγεμόνα ("as guide") is a predicate accusative in apposition to τὸν Φιλήμενον. αὐτῷ is a dative of advantage, indicating that the wild boar had been prepared for Philemenus.