Humanitext Reader

Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §11.82.1-11.82.5

Assessment of Myronides' Victory and Ravaging of Boeotia

Passage 83 of 723 · Greek

Summary

The victory of Myronides over the Boeotians is evaluated as equal to past famous achievements such as Marathon and Plataea, highlighting that the Athenians fought alone against the strongest Greeks. Following his victory, he dismantled the walls of Tanagra and ravaged all of Boeotia, rewarding his soldiers with abundant booty.

§11.82.1δοκεῖ δʼ ἡ πρᾶξις αὕτη μηδεμιᾶς ἀπολείπεσθαι τῶν ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν χρόνοις γεγενημένων παρατάξεων τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις· ἥ τε γὰρ ἐν Μαραθῶνι γενομένη νίκη καὶ τὸ περὶ Πλαταιὰς κατὰ Περσῶν προτέρημα καὶ τἄλλα τὰ περιβόητα τῶν Ἀθηναίων ἔργα δοκεῖ μηδὲν προέχειν τῆς μάχης ἧς ἐνίκησε Μυρωνίδης τοὺς Βοιωτούς.
This achievement seems to be in no way inferior to any of the battles fought by the Athenians in former times; for neither the victory that took place at Marathon, nor the advantage gained over the Persians around Plataea, nor the other celebrated deeds of the Athenians, seem to surpass in any degree the battle in which Myronides conquered the Boeotians.
§11.82.2ἐκείνων γὰρ αἱ μὲν ἐγένοντο πρὸς βαρβάρους, αἱ δὲ συνετελέσθησαν μετʼ ἄλλων συμμάχων, ταύτην δὲ τὴν παράταξιν Ἀθηναῖοι μόνοι διακινδυνεύσαντες ἐνίκησαν καὶ πρὸς Ἑλλήνων τοὺς ἀρίστου διηγωνίσαντο.
For of those earlier battles, some were waged against barbarians, and others were accomplished with the help of other allies, whereas in this battle the Athenians alone risked the danger and won, and contended to the end against the best of the Greeks.
§11.82.3δοκοῦσι γὰρ οἱ Βοιωτοὶ κατὰ τὰς τῶν δεινῶν ὑπομονὰς καὶ τοὺς πολεμικοὺς ἀγῶνας μηδενὸς λείπεσθαι τῶν ἄλλων· ὕστερον γοῦν αὐτοὶ Θηβαῖοι περὶ Λεῦκτρα καὶ Μαντίνειαν μόνοι πρὸς Λακεδαιμονίους ἅπαντας καὶ τοὺς συμμάχους παραταξάμενοι μεγίστην μὲν δόξαν ἐπʼ ἀνδρείᾳ κατεκτήσαντο, τῆς δʼ Ἑλλάδος ἁπάσης ἡγεμόνες ἀνελπίστως ἐγενήθησαν.
For the Boeotians seem to be second to none of the others in their endurance of hardships and in their struggles in war; indeed, later on, the Thebans themselves, drawing up alone against all the Lacedaemonians and their allies around Leuctra and Mantinea, acquired the greatest reputation for courage, and unexpectedly became the leaders of all Greece.
§11.82.4τῶν δὲ συγγραφέων, καίπερ τῆς μάχης ταύτης ἐπιφανοῦς γεγενημένης, οὐδεὶς οὔτε τὸν τρόπον αὐτῆς οὔτε τὴν διάταξιν ἀνέγραψε.
Yet of the historians, although this battle was illustrious, no one has recorded either its manner or its disposition.
Μυρωνίδης μὲν οὖν ἐπιφανεῖ μάχῃ νικήσας τοὺς Βοιωτοὺς ἐνάμιλλος ἐγενήθη τοῖς πρὸ αὐτοῦ γενομένοις ἡγεμόσιν ἐπιφανεστάτοις, Θεμιστοκλεῖ καὶ Μιλτιάδῃ καὶ Κίμωνι.
Thus Myronides, having conquered the Boeotians in an illustrious battle, became a rival to the most famous leaders who had lived before him, namely Themistocles, Miltiades, and Cimon.
§11.82.5ὁ δὲ Μυρωνίδης μετὰ τὴν γενομένην νίκην Τάναγραν μὲν ἐκπολιορκήσας, περιεῖλεν αὐτῆς τὰ τείχη, τὴν δὲ Βοιωτίαν ἅπασαν ἐπιὼν ἔτεμνε καὶ κατέφθειρε καὶ τοῖς στρατιώταις διελὼν τὰ λάφυρα πάντας ὠφελείαις ἁδραῖς ἐκόσμησεν.
And Myronides, after the victory had been gained, took Tanagra by siege and dismantled its walls, and advancing through all Boeotia, he plundered and ravaged it, and distributing the booty to the soldiers, he rewarded them all with abundant benefits.

Notes

  1. 11.82.1τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις — Interpreted as a dative of agent, construed either with the participle γεγενημένων or with the noun παρατάξεων, meaning 'battles fought by the Athenians.' Alternatively, it could be understood as a dative of interest ('battles that took place for the Athenians').
  2. 11.82.1ἧς — Genitive relative pronoun attracted to the case of its antecedent τῆς μάχης (genitive attraction). Grammatically, it would originally be an accusative ἣν as a cognate accusative governed by ἐνίκησε, or a dative of time ᾗ.
  3. 11.82.2ταύτην δὲ τὴν παράταξιν — Accusative of a military action or event. It is interpreted as a cognate accusative with the verb ἐνίκησαν ('they won this battle'). Alternatively, it could be taken as an accusative of respect ('with respect to this battle'), but the former is more direct.
  4. 11.82.4καίπερ τῆς μάχης ταύτης ἐπιφανοῦς γεγενημένης — A genitive absolute construction introduced by καίπερ, expressing concession: 'although this battle was illustrious.'

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §11.82.1-11.82.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:11.82.1-11.82.5

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.