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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §11.85.1-11.85.2

Pericles' Expedition to the Peloponnese and Acarnania

Passage 86 of 723 · Greek

Summary

Pericles is appointed general and leads a successful expedition to the Peloponnese and Acarnania, expanding Athenian control and reputation.

§11.85.1ἐπʼ ἄρχοντος δʼ Ἀθήνησι Σωσιστράτου Ῥωμαῖοι μὲν ὑπάτους κατέστησαν Πούπλιον Οὐαλέριον Ποπλικόλαν καὶ Γάιον Κλώδιον Ῥήγιλλον.
When Sosistratus was archon in Athens, the Romans appointed Publius Valerius Publicola and Gaius Claudius Regillus as consuls.
ἐπὶ δὲ τούτων Τολμίδης μὲν περὶ τὴν Βοιωτίαν διέτριβεν, Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ Περικλέα τὸν Ξανθίππου, τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν, στρατηγὸν κατέστησαν, καὶ δόντες αὐτῷ τριήρεις πεντήκοντα καὶ χιλίους ὁπλίτας ἐξέπεμψαν ἐπὶ τὴν Πελοπόννησον.
Under these consuls, Tolmides was spending time around Boeotia, while the Athenians appointed Pericles, the son of Xanthippus, one of the outstanding men, as general, and giving him fifty triremes and a thousand hoplites, they sent him out against the Peloponnese.
§11.85.2οὗτος δὲ τῆς Πελοποννήσου πολλὴν ἐπόρθησεν, εἰς δὲ τὴν Ἀκαρνανίαν διαβὰς πλὴν Οἰνιαδῶν ἁπάσας τὰς πόλεις προσηγάγετο.
And he ravaged much of the Peloponnese, and having crossed over into Acarnania, he won over all the cities except Oeniadae.
οἱ μὲν οὖν Ἀθηναῖοι κατὰ τοῦτον τὸν ἐνιαυτὸν πλείστων πόλεων ἦρξαν, ἐπʼ ἀνδρείᾳ δὲ καὶ στρατηγίᾳ μεγάλην δόξαν κατεκτήσαντο.
Thus the Athenians, during this year, ruled over very many cities, and acquired great glory for bravery and generalship.

Notes

  1. §11.85.1τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν — The phrase τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν is a partitive genitive, functioning as an appositive modifier to show that Pericles, the son of Xanthippus, belongs to the class of outstanding men.
  2. §11.85.2τῆς Πελοποννήσου — The phrase τῆς Πελοποννήσου is a partitive genitive dependent on the feminine accusative singular adjective πολλὴν (which substantively means 'much' or modifies an implied noun like χώραν 'land'), meaning 'much of the Peloponnese'.
  3. §11.85.2πλείστων πόλεων ἦρξαν — The verb ἦρξαν (aorist of ἄρχω, 'to rule') governs the genitive case, hence the genitive πλείστων πόλεων. The superlative πλείστων is best understood as an elative superlative ('very many') rather than a relative one ('most') in this historical context.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §11.85.1-11.85.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:11.85.1-11.85.2

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