Plutarch · Life of Flamininus §14.1-14.2

Spoils in the Triumph and Remission for Philip

Passage 14 of 21 · Greek

Summary

The magnificent spoils and immense amounts of gold and silver carried in the triumph are detailed, and it is recorded that the Romans later remitted Philip's debt and released his son from hostage.

§14.1καλλίω δὲ καὶ τὰ λάφυρα πομπευόμενα παρεῖχεν ὄψιν, Ἑλληνικὰ κράνη καὶ πέλται Μακεδονικαὶ καὶ σάρισαι.

And the spoils, as they were carried in the procession, presented an even more beautiful sight: Greek helmets, Macedonian targets (peltae), and sarissas.

τό τε τῶν χρημάτων πλῆθος οὐκ ὀλίγον ἦν, ὡς ἀναγράφουσιν οἱ περὶ Τουδιτανὸν ἐν τῷ θριάμβῳ κομισθῆναι χρυσίου μὲν συγκεχωνευμένου λίτρας τρισχιλίας ἑπτακοσίας δεκατρεῖς, ἀργύρου δὲ τετρακισμυρίας τρισχιλίας διακοσίας ἑβδομήκοντα, §14.2Φιλιππείους δὲ χρυσοῦς μυρίους τετρακισχιλίους πεντακοσίους δεκατέσσαρας, χωρὶς δὲ τούτων τὰ χίλια τάλαντα Φίλιππος ὤφειλεν.

Nor was the amount of money small; as Tuditanus and his followers write, there were carried in the triumph three thousand seven hundred and thirteen pounds of melted gold, forty-three thousand two hundred and seventy pounds of silver, and fourteen thousand five hundred and fourteen gold Philippics, besides the one thousand talents which Philip owed.

ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ὕστερον ἐπείσθησαν Ῥωμαῖοι, μάλιστα τοῦ Τίτου συμπράξαντος, ἀφεῖναι τῷ Φιλίππῳ, καὶ σύμμαχον ἐψηφίσαντο, καὶ τὸν υἱὸν ἀπήλλαξαν αὐτῷ τῆς ὁμηρείας.

But the Romans were afterwards persuaded, chiefly through the exertion of Titus, to remit this debt to Philip; they voted him an ally, and released his son from hostage.

Notes

14.1καλλίω — The contracted form of the feminine accusative singular `καλλίονα` of the comparative adjective `καλλίων`, modifying the following noun `ὄψιν`.
14.1τὰ λάφυρα ... παρεῖχεν — The neuter plural subject `τὰ λάφυρα` takes the third-person singular verb `παρεῖχεν`, in accordance with the classical Greek rule that neuter plural subjects take singular verbs.
14.1οἱ περί Τουδιτανὸν — The idiom `οἱ περί` with an accusative of a proper noun ("those around Tuditanus") refers to Tuditanus and his circle of historians, or simply to Tuditanus himself and his sources.
14.2ἀφεῖναι — The infinitive `ἀφεῖναι` (to remit) depends on `ἐπείσθησαν` (were persuaded), expressing what the Romans were persuaded to do.
14.2αὐτῷ τῆς ὁμηρείας — The verb `ἀπήλλαξαν` (freed, released) takes the genitive of separation `τῆς ὁμηρείας` (from hostagehood) and the dative of advantage `αὐτῷ` (for him, i.e., Philip).

Cite this passage

Plutarch, Life of Flamininus §14.1-14.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg028.humanitext-grc2:14.1-14.2

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