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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §11.83.1-11.83.4

Myronides' Subjugation of Central Greece and Return

Passage 84 of 723 · Greek

Summary

After the victory at Oenophyta, the Athenian general Myronides subjugates all of Boeotia except Thebes, subdues Locris and Phocis, and campaigns into Thessaly, but returns to Athens after an unsuccessful siege of Pharsalus, earning high renown among his citizens.

§11.83.1οἱ δὲ Βοιωτοὶ παροξυνθέντες ἐπὶ τῇ διαφθορᾷ τῆς χώρας, συνεστράφησαν πανδημεί, καὶ στρατεύσαντες ἤθροισαν μεγάλην δύναμιν.
But the Boeotians, provoked by the devastation of their land, united in full force, and taking the field, gathered a great army.
γενομένης δὲ μάχης ἐν Οἰνοφύτοις τῆς Βοιωτίας, καὶ τὸ δεινὸν ἀμφοτέρων ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἐρρωμένως ὑπομενόντων, διημέρευσαν ἐν τῇ μάχῃ·
A battle having taken place at Oenophyta in Boeotia, and since both sides stoutly endured the danger with courage in their souls, they spent the whole day in the battle.
μόγις δὲ τῶν Ἀθηναίων τρεψαμένων τοὺς Βοιωτούς, ὁ Μυρωνίδης πασῶν τῶν κατὰ τὴν Βοιωτίαν πόλεων ἐγκρατὴς ἐγένετο πλὴν Θηβῶν. §11.83.2μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἐκ τῆς Βοιωτίας ἀναζεύξας ἐστράτευσεν ἐπὶ Λοκροὺς τοὺς ὀνομαζομένους Ὀπουντίους.
But when the Athenians at last with difficulty put the Boeotians to flight, Myronides became master of all the cities in Boeotia except Thebes. After these events, marching out of Boeotia, he campaigned against the Locrians who are called Opuntians.
τούτους δὲ ἐξ ἐφόδου χειρωσάμενος, καὶ λαβὼν ὁμήρους, ἐνέβαλεν εἰς τὴν Παρνασίαν. §11.83.3παραπλησίως δὲ τοῖς Λοκροῖς καὶ τοὺς Φωκεῖς καταπολεμήσας, καὶ λαβὼν ὁμήρους, ἀνέζευξεν εἰς τὴν Θετταλίαν, ἐγκαλῶν μὲν περὶ τῆς γενομένης προδοσίας, προστάττων δὲ καταδέχεσθαι τοὺς φυγάδας·
Having subdued these by an immediate assault and taken hostages, he invaded Parnassia. In a similar manner to the Locrians, having also subdued the Phocians in war and taken hostages, he marched into Thessaly, accusing them of the treachery that had occurred, and ordering them to receive back their exiles.
τῶν δὲ Φαρσαλίων οὐ προσδεχομένων, ἐπολιόρκει τὴν πόλιν. §11.83.4ἐπεὶ δὲ τὴν μὲν πόλιν οὐκ ἠδύνατο βίᾳ χειρώσασθαι, τὴν δὲ πολιορκίαν πολὺν χρόνον ὑπέμενον οἱ Φαρσάλιοι, τὸ τηνικαῦτα ἀπογνοὺς τὰ κατὰ τὴν Θετταλίαν ἐπανῆλθεν εἰς τὰς Ἀθήνας.
But since the Pharsalians would not receive them, he laid siege to the city. But when he could not take the city by force, and the Pharsalians endured the siege for a long time, he then gave up his plans regarding Thessaly and returned to Athens.
Μυρωνίδης μὲν οὖν ἐν ὀλίγῳ χρόνῳ μεγάλας πράξεις ἐπιτελεσάμενος περιβόητον ἔσχε τὴν δόξαν παρὰ τοῖς πολίταις.
Thus Myronides, having accomplished great deeds in a short time, won a celebrated reputation among his fellow citizens.
ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐπράχθη κατὰ τοῦτον τὸν ἐνιαυτόν.
These, then, were the events of this year.

Notes

  1. 11.83.1καὶ τὸ δεινὸν ἀμφοτέρων ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἐρρωμένως ὑπομενόντων — A genitive absolute construction where the genitive pronoun ἀμφοτέρων (both sides) acts as the subject for the present active participle in the genitive plural ὑπομενόντων (enduring). The articular adjective τὸ δεινὸν (the danger) is the direct object of the participle, and ταῖς ψυχαῖς (in their souls) is a dative of respect or relation.
  2. 11.83.3ἐγκαλῶν μὲν περὶ τῆς γενομένης προδοσίας, προστάττων δὲ καταδέχεσθαι τοὺς φυγάδας — The two present participles ἐγκαλῶν and προστάττων are in the nominative singular masculine, agreeing with the subject of the main clause (Myronides), and express circumstantial actions accompanying the verb ἀνέζευξεν (he marched). The indirect object of ἐγκαλῶν (the Thessalians, in the dative) is omitted but understood from the context, with the charge expressed by the prepositional phrase with περί. Conversely, προστάττων governs the infinitive καταδέχεσθαι, whose logical subject is also the omitted Thessalians.
  3. 11.83.4τὸ τηνικαῦτα — An accusative of adverbial relation (temporal accusative) derived from the demonstrative adverb τηνίκα. Meaning "at that time" or "thereupon," it temporally highlights the transition to the next action of returning to Athens after the failure of the negotiation.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §11.83.1-11.83.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:11.83.1-11.83.4

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