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Plutarch · Life of Flamininus §16.1-16.4

Saving of Chalcis and Divine Honors for Titus

Passage 16 of 21 · Greek

Summary

Titus saves the Chalcidians from the anger of the consul Manius, and in gratitude, the Chalcidians dedicate sanctuaries to him and establish a priesthood and a paean in his honor.

§16.1πλεῖστον δὲ ἀγῶνα καὶ πόνον αὐτῷ παρεῖχον αἱ περὶ Χαλκιδέων δεήσεις πρὸς τὸν Μάνιον, ἐν ὀργῇ γεγονότων διὰ τὸν γάμον ὃν παρʼ αὐτῶν ἔγημεν Ἀντίοχος ἤδη τοῦ πολέμου συνεστῶτος, οὐ καθʼ ὥραν οὐδὲ κατὰ καιρόν, ἀλλʼ ἐρασθεὶς ἀνὴρ πρεσβύτερος κόρης, ἣ θυγάτηρ μὲν ἦν Κλεοπτολέμου, καλλίστη δὲ λέγεται παρθένων γενέσθαι.
But what caused him the greatest struggle and toil were the petitions on behalf of the Chalcidians addressed to Manius, who was in anger at them because of the marriage which Antiochus had contracted from among them after the war had already begun—a marriage out of season and out of due time, but an elderly man had fallen in love with a girl, who was the daughter of Cleoptolemus and was said to have been the most beautiful of maidens.
§16.2τοῦτο τοὺς Χαλκιδεῖς ἐποίησε βασιλίσαι προθυμότατα καὶ τὴν πόλιν αὐτῷ πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον ὁρμητήριον παρασχεῖν.
This made the Chalcidians most eagerly take the king's side and provide him with their city as a base of operations for the war.
ἐκεῖνος μὲν οὖν ὡς τάχιστα μετὰ τὴν μάχην φεύγων προσέμιξε τῇ Χαλκίδι, τήν τε κόρην ἀναλαβὼν καὶ τὰ χρήματα καὶ τοὺς φίλους εἰς Ἀσίαν ἀπέπλευσε· τὸν δὲ Μάνιον εὐθὺς ἐπὶ τοὺς Χαλκιδεῖς σὺν ὀργῇ πορευόμενον ὁ Τίτος παρακολουθῶν ἐμάλαττε καὶ παρῃτεῖτο καί τέλος ἔπεισε καὶ κατεπράϋνεν, αὐτοῦ τε καὶ τῶν ἐν τέλει Ῥωμαίων δεόμενος.
He, then, fleeing as fast as possible after the battle, reached Chalcis, and having taken on board the girl, the money, and his friends, sailed away to Asia; but Titus, following close by Manius who was marching straightway in anger against the Chalcidians, softened and deprecated his wrath, and finally persuaded and appeased him, entreating both him and the Romans in authority.
§16.3οὕτω διασωθέντες οἱ Χαλκιδεῖς τὰ κάλλιστα καὶ μέγιστα τῶν παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἀναθημάτων τῷ Τίτῳ καθιέρωσαν, ὧν ἐπιγραφὰς ἔστι τοιαύτας ἄχρι νῦν ὁρᾶν ὁ δῆμος Τίτῳ καὶ Ἡρακλεῖ τὸ γυμνάσιον, ἑτέρωθι δὲ πάλιν, ὁ δῆμος Τίτῳ καὶ Ἀπόλλωνι τὸ Δελφίνιον. §16.4ἔτι δὲ καὶ καθʼ ἡμᾶς ἱερεὺς χειροτονητὸς ἀπεδείκνυτο Τίτου, καὶ θύσαντες αὐτῷ τῶν σπονδῶν γενομένων ᾄδουσι παιᾶνα πεποιημένον, οὗ τἆλλα διὰ μῆκος ἡμεῖς παρέντες ἀνεγράψαμεν ἃ παυόμενοι τῆς ᾠδῆς λέγουσι· " πίστιν δὲ Ῥωμαίων σέβομεν, τὰν μεγαλευκτοτάταν ὅρκοις φυλάσσειν·
Having been saved in this manner, the Chalcidians dedicated the finest and greatest of their votive offerings to Titus, of which it is possible to see such inscriptions even to this day: "The people [dedicate] the Gymnasium to Titus and Heracles," and again elsewhere, "The people [dedicate] the Delphinium to Titus and Apollo." And even down to our own time a priest of Titus was appointed by election, and having sacrificed to him, when the libations have been performed, they sing a composed paean, of which we, omitting the rest on account of its length, have recorded what they say as they conclude the song: "And we revere the faith of the Romans, which we vow with solemn oaths to guard; sing, O maidens, of great Zeus and Rome, and Titus, and therewith the faith of the Romans.
μέλπετε κοῦραι, Ζῆνα μέγαν Ῥώμαν τε Τίτον θʼ ἅμα Ῥωμαίων τε πίστιν ἰήϊε Παιάν, ὦ Τίτε σῶτερ.
Hail, Paean! O Titus, savior!
"
"

Notes

  1. 16.1ἐν ὀργῇ γεγονότων — The genitive masculine plural participle `γεγονότων` agrees with the preceding noun `Χαλκιδέων` (of the Chalcidians). It contextually means "having become the object of [Manius's] anger."
  2. 16.2βασιλίσαι — The infinitive of the intransitive verb `βασιλίζω` (to side with the king, to play the royalist partisan). It forms an accusative-and-infinitive construction governed by the causative verb `ἐποίησε`, with `τοὺς Χαλκιδεῖς` acting as its subject accusative.
  3. 16.2αὐτοῦ τε καὶ τῶν ἐν τέλει Ῥωμαίων δεόμενος — The participle `δεόμενος` (entreating) governs the genitive case. Here, `αὐτοῦ` (him, referring to Manius) and `τῶν ἐν τέλει Ῥωμαίων` (the Romans in authority) function as its coordinate genitive objects.
  4. 16.4τὰν μεγαλευκτοτάταν — A Doric dialectal form equivalent to Attic `τὴν μεγαλευχητοτάτην` (most highly boasted, extremely revered). It modifies the antecedent `πίστιν` (faith).

Cite this passage

Plutarch, Life of Flamininus §16.1-16.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg028.humanitext-grc2:16.1-16.4

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