- 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-grc2:9.18.1-9.18.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-07
This passage describes how Cleomenes of Sparta and Philip V of Macedon failed in their respective surprise attacks on Megalopolis and Meliteia due to miscalculating the timing.
καὶ μὴν Κλεομένης ὁ Σπαρτιάτης προθέμενος διὰ πράξεως ἑλεῖν τὴν τῶν Μεγαλοπολιτῶν πόλιν, συνετάξατο τοῖς τὸ τεῖχος φυλάττουσι τὸ κατὰ τὸν Φωλεὸν καλούμενον νυκτὸς ἥξειν μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως κατὰ τρίτην φυλακήν· τοῦτον γὰρ ἐφύλαττον τὸν καιρὸν τὸ τεῖχος οἱ συμπράττοντες αὐτῷ.
Indeed, Cleomenes the Spartan, proposing to capture the city of the Megalopolitans by intrigue, agreed with those guarding the wall at the place called Pholeos that he would arrive by night with his force during the third watch; for his accomplices were guarding the wall at this time.
οὐκέτι δὲ προνοηθεὶς ὅτι περὶ τὴν τῆς Πλειάδος ἐπιτολὴν τελέως ἤδη βραχείας εἶναι συμβαίνει τὰς νύκτας,1 ἐκίνησε τὴν δύναμιν ἐκ τῆς Λακεδαίμονος περὶ δυσμὰς ἡλίου.
But failing to consider that around the rising of the Pleiades the nights already happen to be completely short, he moved his force from Lacedaemon about sunset.
λοιπὸν οὐ δυνάμενος καταταχεῖν, ἀλλὰ τῆς ἡμέρας καταλαμβανούσης εἰκῇ καὶ ἀλόγως βιαζόμενος, αἰσχρῶς ἐξέπεσε, πολλοὺς ἀποβαλὼν καὶ κινδυνεύσας τοῖς ὅλοις·
Consequently, being unable to arrive in time, but pushing on the attack blindly and unreasonably as day was breaking, he was shamefully repulsed, losing many of his men and endangering his entire enterprise.
ὃς εἰ κατὰ τὸ συνταχθὲν ηὐστόχησε2 τοῦ καιροῦ καὶ κρατούντων τῆς εἰσόδου τῶν συνεργούντων εἰσήγαγε τὴν δύναμιν, οὐκ ἂν διεψεύσθη τῆς ἐπιβολῆς. πάλιν ὁμοίως Φίλιππος ὁ βασιλεύς, ὡς ἐπάνω προεῖπον, πρᾶξιν ἔχων ἐκ τῆς τῶν Μελιταιῶν πόλεως κατὰ δύο τρόπους ἥμαρτε· καὶ γὰρ τὰς κλίμακας ἐλάττους ἔχων ἦλθε τῆς χρείας καὶ τοῦ καιροῦ διέπεσε.
If he had hit the right time according to the agreement and had introduced his force while his accomplices held the entrance, he would not have failed in his attempt. Similarly again, King Philip, as I said above, having an enterprise against the city of the Melitaeans, failed in two ways; for he both came with ladders too short for the purpose and missed the right time.
συνταξάμενος γὰρ ἥξειν περὶ μέσας νύκτας κατακεκοιμημένων ἤδη πάντων, πρὸ τοῦ δέοντος καιροῦ κινήσας ἐκ Λαρίσης καὶ προσπεσὼν πρὸς τὴν τῶν Μελιταιῶν χώραν, οὔτʼ ἐπιμένειν ἐδύνατο, δεδιὼς μὴ προσαγγελθείη τοῖς ἔνδον, οὔτʼ ἀνακάμψας ἔτι λαθεῖν.
For having agreed to arrive about midnight when everyone was already asleep, he set out from Larissa before the proper time, and having fallen upon the territory of the Melitaeans, he could neither wait, fearing lest he should be reported to those inside, nor return and still remain undetected.
διόπερ ἀναγκαζόμενος εἰς τοὔμπροσθεν προάγειν, ἧκε πρὸς τὴν πόλιν ἀκμὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐγρηγορότων.
Therefore, being forced to advance forward, he arrived at the city when the people were still wide awake.
ὅθεν οὔτε διὰ τῶν κλιμάκων ἠδύνατο βιάζεσθαι διὰ τὴν ἀσυμμετρίαν οὔτε διὰ τῆς πύλης εἰσελθεῖν τῷ μὴ δύνασθαι τοὺς ἔνδον αὐτῷ συνεργεῖν διὰ τὸν καιρόν.
Consequently, he could neither force his way by means of the ladders owing to their disproportion, nor enter through the gate because those inside were unable to cooperate with him on account of the timing.
τέλος διερεθίσας τοὺς ἐν τῇ πόλει καὶ πολλοὺς τῶν ἰδίων ἀποβαλών, μετʼ αἰσχύνης ἄπρακτος ἐπανῆλθε, πᾶσι καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις παρηγγελκὼς ἀπιστεῖν αὐτῷ καὶ φυλάττεσθαι.3
At last, having aroused the people in the city and lost many of his own men, he returned without success in disgrace, having given warning to all others as well to distrust him and be on their guard.
- 9.18.2βραχείας εἶναι συμβαίνει τὰς νύκτας
Inside the ὅτι clause, the impersonal verb συμβαίνει is construed with the infinitive εἶναι, with τὰς νύκτας (accusative) serving as the subject of the infinitive and βραχείας (accusative feminine plural) as its predicate. This structure represents a mixture of the ὅτι clause and an accusative-with-infinitive construction, meaning "it happens that the nights are short."
- 9.18.4ὃς εἰ κατὰ τὸ συνταχθὲν ηὐστόχησε
The relative pronoun ὃς at the beginning of the sentence functions as a relative connection (coordinating relative) referring back to Cleomenes, linking the sentence like a demonstrative ("And if he..."). The conditional clause that follows (εἰ + aorist indicative ηὐστόχησε ... ἂν + aorist indicative οὐκ ἂν διεψεύσθη) expresses a past counterfactual condition.
- 9.18.9παρηγγελκὼς ἀπιστεῖν αὐτῷ καὶ φυλάττεσθαι
The perfect participle παρηγγελκὼς expresses an attendant circumstance or result of the main verb ἐπανῆλθε. The verb παραγγέλλω ("to warn, instruct") is used here in a figurative sense, meaning "having (by his actions) given a warning to people." αὐτῷ is an indirect reflexive pronoun referring to the subject of the main clause (Philip).