- 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-grc2:8.28.1-8.28.13
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
The young men and Hannibal share a plan to advance toward the gates after exchanging signal fires, and they wait at the tombs of Tarentum. In Tarentum, where dead are buried within the walls due to an oracle, the signals are successfully exchanged; the young men then rush ahead to overpower the guards and open the gates for Hannibal's army.
τὰ δὲ συγκείμενα τοῖς νεανίσκοις ἦν πρὸς τοὺς Καρχηδονίους·
The agreement made by the young men with the Carthaginians was as follows:
τὸν μὲν Ἀννίβαν ἔδει συνάψαντα τῇ πόλει κατὰ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς μεσογαίου, πρὸς ἕω δὲ κειμένην πλευράν, ὡς ἐπὶ τὰς Τημενίδας προσαγορευομένας πύλας, ἀνάψαι πῦρ ἐπὶ τοῦ τάφου, τοῦ παρὰ μέν τισιν Ὑακίνθου προσαγορευομένου, παρὰ δέ τισιν Ἀπόλλωνος Ὑακίνθου, τοὺς δὲ περὶ τὸν Τραγίσκον, ὅταν ἴδωσι τοῦτο γινόμενον, ἔνδοθεν ἀντιπυρσεῦσαι.
Hannibal, on approaching the city on the side which looks eastwards from the interior, towards the gates called Temenides, was to light a fire on the tomb which is called by some the tomb of Hyacinthus, and by others that of Apollo Hyacinthus, and Tragiscus and his party, when they saw this done, were to show a signal fire from within.
τούτου δὲ συντελεσθέντος, σβέσαι τὸ πῦρ ἔδει τοὺς περὶ τὸν Ἀννίβαν καὶ βάδην ποιεῖσθαι τὴν πορείαν ὡς ἐπὶ τὴν πύλην.
This being done, Hannibal and his men were to extinguish their fire and march slowly towards the gate.
ὧν διατεταγμένων, οἱ μὲν νεανίσκοι διαπορευθέντες τὸν οἰκούμενον τόπον τῆς πόλεως ἧκον ἐπὶ τοὺς τάφους.
These arrangements having been made, the young men, passing through the inhabited quarter of the city, arrived at the tombs.
τὸ γὰρ πρὸς ἕω μέρος τῆς τῶν Ταραντίνων πόλεως μνημάτων ἐστὶ πλῆρες, διὰ τὸ τοὺς τελευτήσαντας ἔτι καὶ νῦν θάπτεσθαι παρʼ αὐτοῖς πάντας ἐντὸς τῶν τειχῶν κατά τι λόγιον ἀρχαῖον.
For the eastern part of the city of Tarentum is full of monuments, owing to the fact that they still bury all their dead within the walls, in accordance with an ancient oracle.
φασὶ γὰρ χρῆσαι τὸν θεὸν τοῖς Ταραντίνοις ἄμεινον καὶ λῷον ἔσεσθαί σφισι ποιουμένοις τὴν οἴκησιν μετὰ τῶν πλειόνων.1
For they say that the god declared in an oracle to the Tarentines that it would be better and more advantageous for them if they made their dwelling with the majority.
τοὺς δὲ νομίσαντας ἂν οἰκῆσʼ οὕτως ἄριστα2 κατὰ τὸν χρησμόν, εἰ καὶ τοὺς μετηλλαχότας ἐντὸς τοῦ τείχους ἔχοιεν, διὰ ταῦτα θάπτειν ἔτι καὶ νῦν τοὺς μεταλλάξαντας ἐντὸς τῶν πυλῶν.
And they, thinking that they would thus dwell best according to the oracle if they kept also the departed within the wall, for this reason still bury those who die within the gates.
οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ οἵ γε προειρημένοι παραγενόμενοι πρὸς τὸν τοῦ Πυθιονίκου τάφον ἐκαραδόκουν τὸ μέλλον.
However, the aforementioned young men, having arrived at the tomb of Pythionicus, were anxiously waiting for what was to happen.
συνεγγισάντων δὲ τῶν περὶ τὸν Ἀννίβαν καὶ πραξάντων τὸ συνταχθέν, ἅμα τῷ τὸ πῦρ ἰδεῖν οἱ περὶ τὸν Νίκωνα καὶ Τραγίσκον ἀναθαρρήσαντες ταῖς ψυχαῖς καὶ τὸν παρʼ αὑτῶν πυρσὸν ἀναδείξαντες, ἐπεὶ τὸ παρʼ ἐκείνων πῦρ πάλιν ἑώρων ἀποσβεννύμενον, ὥρμησαν ἐπὶ τὴν πύλην μετὰ δρόμου καὶ σπουδῆς, βουλόμενοι φθάσαι φονεύσαντες3 τοὺς ἐπὶ τοῦ πυλῶνος τεταγμένους, διὰ τὸ συγκεῖσθαι [καὶ] σχολῇ καὶ βάδην ποιεῖσθαι τὴν πορείαν τοὺς Καρχηδονίους.
When Hannibal and his men approached and did what had been commanded, Nicon and Tragiscus and their companions, as soon as they saw the fire, took courage in their hearts and showed their own torch; and when they saw the other fire extinguished in turn, they rushed towards the gate with speed and haste, wishing to anticipate them by slaying the guards stationed at the gateway, because it had been agreed that the Carthaginians should make their march slowly and at a walking pace.
εὐροήσαντος δὲ τοῦ πράγματος, καὶ προκαταληφθέντων τῶν φυλαττόντων, οἱ μὲν ἐφόνευον τούτους, οἱ δὲ διέκοπτον τοὺς μοχλούς.
The affair having gone smoothly and the guards being surprised and overpowered, some of them began to slay these, while others cut through the bars.
ταχὺ δὲ τῶν πυλῶν ἀνοιχθεισῶν, πρὸς τὸν δέοντα καιρὸν ἧκον οἱ περὶ τὸν Ἀννίβαν, κεχρημένοι τῇ πορείᾳ συμμέτρως, ὥστε μηδεμίαν ἐπίστασιν γενέσθαι παρʼ ὁδὸν ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν.
And the gates being quickly opened, Hannibal and his men arrived at the proper moment, having timed their march so well that there was no halt on their way to the city.
- 8.28.7μετὰ τῶν πλειόνων
The Greek phrase 'the majority' (οἱ πλείονες) is a common euphemism in classical literature for 'the dead.' The Tarentines interpreted the oracle's command to 'make their dwelling with the majority (i.e. the dead)' as meaning that they should bury their deceased within the city walls. Syntactically, it functions as a prepositional phrase with μετὰ governing the genitive.
- 8.28.8τοὺς δὲ νομίσαντας ἂν οἰκῆσʼ οὕτως ἄριστα
An indirect discourse introduced by the participle νομίσαντας (accusative subject representing the Tarentines). The particle ἄν goes with the infinitive οἰκῆσαι (elided as οἰκῆσʼ), representing the apodosis of a conditional sentence (unreal or potential) transferred into the infinitive (i.e., 'that they would dwell most excellently'). The protasis is expressed by the optative clause εἰ ... ἔχοιεν.
- 8.28.11φθάσαι φονεύσαντες
The verb φθάνω (here in the infinitive φθάσαι) combined with a supplementary participle (φονεύσαντες) forms a common idiomatic expression meaning 'to anticipate doing something' or 'to do something before someone else.' Here, it expresses that the young men wished (βουλόμενοι) to forestall the Carthaginians by slaying the guards before they could arrive.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — note 1