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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §11.76.1-11.76.6

Defeat of the Mercenaries and the Recovery of Catana

Passage 77 of 723 · Greek

Summary

The narrative describes the conflict between Syracusans and rebellious mercenaries, the recovery of Catana by Ducetius and the Syracusans, and the return of exiled citizens to their homelands, leading to a general pacification of Sicilian cities.

§11.76.1κατὰ δὲ τὴν Σικελίαν Συρακόσιοι μὲν πολεμοῦντες τοῖς ἀφεστηκόσι ξένοις συνεχεῖς προσβολὰς ἐποιοῦντο τῇ τε Ἀχραδινῇ καὶ τῇ Νήσῳ, καὶ ναυμαχίᾳ μὲν ἐνίκησαν τοὺς ἀποστάντας, πεζῇ δʼ οὐκ ἴσχυον ἐκβαλεῖν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως διὰ τὴν ὀχυρότητα τῶν τόπων.
In Sicily, the Syracusans, carrying on war against the rebellious mercenaries, made continuous attacks upon Achradina and the Island; and although they defeated the rebels in a sea-fight, on land they were unable to expel them from the city because of the strength of those positions.
§11.76.2μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα παρατάξεως γενομένης ἐπὶ τῆς χώρας, καὶ τῶν ἀγωνιζομένων παρʼ ἀμφοτέροις ἐκθύμως κινδυνευόντων, πεσεῖν συνέβη οὐκ ὀλίγους παρʼ ἀμφοτέροις, νικῆσαι δὲ τοὺς Συρακοσίους.
After this, when a pitched battle was fought in the open country, and the combatants on both sides risked their lives with great enthusiasm, it happened that not a few fell on both sides, but the Syracusans were victorious.
μετὰ δὲ τὴν μάχην οἱ Συρακόσιοι τοὺς μὲν ἐπιλέκτους, ὄντας ἑξακοσίους, αἰτίους γενομένους τῆς νίκης, ἐστεφάνωσαν ἀριστεῖα δόντες ἀργυρίου μνᾶν ἑκάστῳ.
After the battle, the Syracusans crowned the select band, numbering six hundred, who had been the cause of the victory, and gave them one mina of silver each as a prize of valor.
§11.76.3ἅμα δὲ τούτοις πραττομένοις Δουκέτιος μὲν ὁ τῶν Σικελῶν ἡγεμών, χαλεπῶς ἔχων τοῖς τὴν Κατάνην οἰκοῦσι διὰ τὴν ἀφαίρεσιν τῆς τῶν Σικελῶν χώρας, ἐστράτευσεν ἐπʼ αὐτούς.
While these things were going on, Ducetius, the leader of the Sicels, being resentful towards the inhabitants of Catana because of their seizure of the land of the Sicels, marched against them.
ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τῶν Συρακοσίων στρατευσάντων ἐπὶ τὴν Κατάνην, οὗτοι μὲν κοινῇ κατεκληρούχησαν τὴν χώραν καὶ τοὺς κατοικισθέντας ὑφʼ Ἱέρωνος τοῦ δυνάστου ἐπολέμουν·
Since the Syracusans likewise marched against Catana, these together distributed the land among themselves and made war on those who had been settled there by the tyrant Hieron.
ἀντιταχθέντων δὲ τῶν ἐν τῇ Κατάνῃ καὶ λειφθέντων πλείοσι μάχαις, οὗτοι μὲν ἐξέπεσον ἐκ τῆς Κατάνης, καὶ τὴν νῦν οὖσαν Αἴτνην ἐκτήσαντο, πρὸ τούτου καλουμένην Ἴνησσαν, οἱ δʼ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐκ τῆς Κατάνης ὄντες ἐκομίσαντο πολλῷ χρόνῳ τὴν πατρίδα.
When the inhabitants of Catana drew up their forces against them but were defeated in several battles, they were expelled from Catana and took possession of the place now called Aetna, which before this was called Inessa; whereas those who were originally from Catana recovered their homeland after a long time.
§11.76.4τούτων δὲ πραχθέντων οἱ κατὰ τὴν Ἱέρωνος δυναστείαν ἐκπεπτωκότες ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων πόλεων ἔχοντες τοὺς συναγωνιζομένους κατῆλθον εἰς τὰς πατρίδας, καὶ τοὺς ἀδίκως τὰς ἀλλοτρίας πόλεις ἀφῃρημένους ἐξέβαλον ἐκ τῶν πόλεων· τούτων δʼ ἦσαν Γελῷοι καὶ Ἀκραγαντῖνοι καὶ Ἱμεραῖοι.
When these things had been accomplished, those who had been expelled from their own cities during the tyranny of Hieron, accompanied by those who fought alongside them, returned to their homelands and expelled from the cities those who had unjustly seized the cities of others; among these were the people of Gela, Acragas, and Himera.
§11.76.5παραπλησίως δὲ τούτοις καὶ Ῥηγῖνοι μετὰ Ζαγκλαίων τοὺς Ἀναξίλου παῖδας δυναστεύοντας ἐκβαλόντες ἠλευθέρωσαν τὰς πατρίδας.
In a similar manner to these, the Rhegians, together with the Zancleans, expelled the sons of Anaxilas who were ruling over them, and liberated their homelands.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα Καμάριναν μὲν Γελῷοι κατοικίσαντες ἐξ ἀρχῆς κατεκληρούχησαν·
After this, the Geloans, having resettled Camarina, distributed its land from the beginning.
αἱ δὲ πόλεις σχεδὸν ἅπασαι πρὸς τὴν κατάλυσιν τῶν πολέμων ὁρμήσασαι, καὶ κοινὸν δόγμα ποιησάμεναι, πρὸς τοὺς κατοικοῦντας ξένους διελύθησαν, καὶ τοὺς φυγάδας καταδεξάμεναι τοῖς ἀρχαίοις πολίταις τὰς πόλεις ἀπέδοσαν, τοῖς δὲ ξένοις τοῖς διὰ τὰς δυναστείας ἀλλοτρίας τὰς πόλεις ἔχουσι συνεχώρησαν τὰ ἑαυτῶν ἀποκομίζειν καὶ κατοικεῖν ἅπαντας ἐν τῇ Μεσσηνίᾳ.
Almost all the cities, eagerly striving for the termination of the wars, made a common decree and came to terms with the foreign residents; they received back their exiles and restored the cities to the ancient citizens, while to the foreigners who held the cities of others because of the tyrannies, they permitted them to take their own belongings with them and all settle in Messenia.
§11.76.6αἱ μὲν οὖν κατὰ Σικελίαν ἐν ταῖς πόλεσι στάσεις καὶ ταραχαὶ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον κατελύθησαν, αἱ δὲ πόλεις τὰς ἀπαλλοτρίους πολιτείας ἀποβαλοῦσαι σχεδὸν ἅπασαι τὰς ἰδίας χώρας κατεκληρούχησαν τοῖς πολίταις πᾶσιν.
In this manner, then, the factions and disturbances in the cities throughout Sicily were brought to an end, and almost all the cities, having cast out their alien constitutions, distributed their own lands among all their citizens.

Notes

  1. §11.76.2πεσεῖν συνέβη οὐκ ὀλίγους παρʼ ἀμφοτέροις, νικῆσαι δὲ τοὺς Συρακοσίους — The impersonal verb συνέβη ('it happened') governs two accusative-and-infinitive clauses in apposition: 'πεσεῖν ... οὐκ ὀλίγους' and 'νικῆσαι ... τοὺς Συρακοσίους'. The conjunction δέ connects them to present the two distinct outcomes of the battle as a single event.
  2. §11.76.3οὗτοι μὲν κοινῇ κατεκληρούχησαν τὴν χώραν — The demonstrative pronoun οὗτοι ('these') refers collectively to the two parties mentioned just before, namely Ducetius (with his Sicels) and the Syracusans, who both launched expeditions against Catana and subsequently divided its land in common (κοινῇ).
  3. §11.76.4τοὺς ἀδίκως τὰς ἀλλοτρίας πόλεις ἀφῃρημένους — The perfect middle/passive participle ἀφῃρημένους (from ἀφαιρέω) is used here with a transitive/middle sense ('those who had seized/taken away for themselves'), governing the accusative object 'τὰς ἀλλοτρίας πόλεις'. It refers to the intruders who occupied the cities under the tyrants, and functions as the direct object of ἐξέβαλον.
  4. §11.76.5πρὸς τοὺς κατοικοῦντας ξένους διελύθησαν — The passive form διελύθησαν (aorist passive of διαλύω) is used in a reciprocal or intransitive sense, meaning 'they came to terms' or 'reconciled' with the foreign residents, governed by the prepositional phrase with πρὸς.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §11.76.1-11.76.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:11.76.1-11.76.6

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