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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §12.35.1-12.35.4

Dispute over the Founder of Thurii and the Delphic Oracle

Passage 129 of 723 · Greek

Summary

A dispute arises in Thurii, Italy, over the colony's name and its founder's honor, which is resolved when the Delphic oracle declares Apollo as the founder. The death of the Spartan king Archidamus and the succession of Agis are also recorded.

§12.35.1ἐπʼ ἄρχοντος δʼ Ἀθήνησι Κράτητος Ῥωμαῖοι κατέστησαν ὑπάτους Κόιντον Φούριον Φοῦσον καὶ Μάνιον Παπίριον Κράσσον.
When Crates was archon in Athens, the Romans established Quintus Furius Fusus and Manius Papirius Crassus as consuls.
ἐπὶ δὲ τούτων κατὰ τὴν Ἰταλίαν οἱ τοὺς Θουρίους οἰκοῦντες, ἐκ πολλῶν πόλεων συνεστηκότες, ἐστασίαζον πρὸς ἀλλήλους, ποίας πόλεως ἀποίκους δεῖ καλεῖσθαι τοὺς Θουρίους καὶ τίνα κτίστην δίκαιον ὀνομάζεσθαι.
During their term of office, in Italy, the inhabitants of Thurii, having gathered from many cities, fell into strife with one another as to from which city the Thurians should be called colonists, and whom it was just to name as founder.
§12.35.2οἵ τε γὰρ Ἀθηναῖοι τῆς ἀποικίας ταύτης ἠμφισβήτουν, ἀποφαινόμενοι πλείστους οἰκήτορας ἐξ Ἀθηνῶν ἐληλυθέναι, οἵ τε Πελοποννήσιοι, πόλεις οὐκ ὀλίγας παρεσχημέναι παρʼ αὑτῶν εἰς τὴν κτίσιν τῶν Θουρίων, τὴν ἐπιγραφὴν τῆς ἀποικίας ἑαυτοῖς ἔφησαν δεῖν προσάπτεσθαι.
For the Athenians disputed the claim to this colony, declaring that the greatest number of settlers had come from Athens, while the Peloponnesians, having provided not a few cities from their own for the founding of Thurii, said that the title of the colony should be attached to themselves.
§12.35.3ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ πολλῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν κεκοινωνηκότων τῆς ἀποικίας καὶ πολλὰς χρείας παρεσχημένων, πολὺς ἦν ὁ λόγος, ἑκάστου τῆς τιμῆς ταύτης σπεύδοντος τυχεῖν.
Likewise, since many good men had shared in the colony and had rendered many services, there was much talk, as each was eager to obtain this honor.
τέλος δὲ τῶν Θουρίων πεμψάντων εἰς Δελφοὺς τοὺς ἐπερωτήσοντας τίνα χρὴ τῆς πόλεως οἰκιστὴν ἀγορεύειν, ὁ θεὸς ἔχρησεν αὑτὸν δεῖν κτίστην νομίζεσθαι.
Finally, when the Thurians sent messengers to Delphi to ask whom they should declare founder of the city, the god gave an oracle that he himself should be considered the founder.
τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ λυθείσης τῆς ἀμφισβητήσεως τὸν Ἀπόλλω κτίστην τῶν Θουρίων ἀπέδειξαν, καὶ τὸ πλῆθος τῆς στάσεως ἀπολυθὲν εἰς τὴν προϋπάρχουσαν ὁμόνοιαν ἀποκατέστη.
When the dispute was resolved in this manner, they declared Apollo to be the founder of Thurii, and the multitude, being delivered from the strife, returned to their pre-existing harmony.
§12.35.4κατὰ δὲ τὴν Ἑλλάδα Ἀρχίδαμος ὁ τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων βασιλεὺς ἐτελεύτησεν ἄρξας ἔτη τετταράκοντα δύο, τὴν δὲ ἀρχὴν διαδεξάμενος Ἆγις ἐβασίλευσεν ἔτη εἴκοσι ἑπτά.
In Greece, Archidamus, the king of the Lacedaemonians, died after a reign of forty-two years, and Agis, succeeding to the rule, reigned for twenty-seven years.

Notes

  1. 12.35.1ποίας πόλεως ἀποίκους δεῖ καλεῖσθαι τοὺς Θουρίους — An indirect question clause where the genitive ποίας πόλεως modifies the accusative predicate ἀποίκους ('colonists of which city'). καλεῖσθαι is the passive infinitive, with τοὺς Θουρίους as its accusative subject.
  2. 12.35.1τίνα κτίστην δίκαιον ὀνομάζεσθαι — The impersonal construction δίκαιόν [esiti] ('it is just') is followed by an accusative with infinitive (A.c.I.) construction. τίνα is the subject accusative of the passive infinitive ὀνομάζεσθαι ('to be named'), and κτίστην is the predicate accusative ('founder').
  3. 12.35.2πόλεις οὐκ ὀλίγας παρεσχημέναι — The transmitted feminine plural nominative participle παρεσχημέναι (agreeing with πόλεις) is contextually understood as agreeing with the main subject Πελοποννήσιοι (masculine plural) as if it were παρεσχημένοι, introducing a causal participle clause ('since they had provided not a few cities').
  4. 12.35.3ἑκάστου τῆς τιμῆς ταύτης σπεύδοντος τυχεῖν — A genitive absolute construction where ἑκάστου is the subject and the present participle σπεύδοντος is the verbal predicate. The infinitive τυχεῖν takes the genitive object τῆς τιμῆς ταύτης ('to obtain this honor').

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §12.35.1-12.35.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:12.35.1-12.35.4

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