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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §12.69.1-12.69.4

Fortification of Delium and Boeotian Mobilization

Passage 163 of 723 · Greek

Summary

The background of the Battle of Delium is explained. After a secret plot between some Boeotians and the Athenian generals failed, Hippocrates fortified Delium, which was then confronted by a large Boeotian force led by Pagondas.

§12.69.1ἅμα δὲ τούτοις πραττομένοις περὶ τὸ Δήλιον ἐγένετο παράταξις κατὰ τὴν Βοιωτίαν Ἀθηναίων πρὸς Βοιωτοὺς διὰ τοιαύτας τινὰς αἰτίας.
At the same time that these things were being done, a battle between the Athenians and the Boeotians took place around Delium in Boeotia for some such reasons.
τῶν Βοιωτῶν τινες δυσαρεστούμενοι τῇ τότε πολιτείᾳ καὶ σπεύδοντες δημοκρατίας ἐν ταῖς πόλεσι καταστῆσαι, διελέχθησαν περὶ τῆς ἰδίας προαιρέσεως τοῖς Ἀθηναίων στρατηγοῖς Ἱπποκράτει καὶ Δημοσθένει, καὶ κατεπηγγέλλοντο παραδώσειν τὰς ἐν τῇ Βοιωτίᾳ πόλεις.
Some of the Boeotians, being dissatisfied with the constitution of that time and eager to establish democracies in the cities, discussed their own plan with the Athenian generals Hippocrates and Demosthenes, and promised to deliver up the cities in Boeotia.
§12.69.2ἀσμένως δὲ τῶν Ἀθηναίων προσδεξαμένων, περί τε τῶν κατὰ τὴν ἐπίθεσιν διοικήσεων διελομένων τῶν στρατηγῶν τὴν δύναμιν, Δημοσθένης μὲν τὸ πλεῖστον τοῦ στρατεύματος ἀναλαβὼν ἐνέβαλεν εἰς τὴν Βοιωτίαν, καὶ καταλαβὼν τοὺς Βοιωτοὺς προνενοημένους τὴν προδοσίαν, ἄπρακτος ἀπῆλθεν, Ἱπποκράτης δὲ πανδημεὶ τοὺς Ἀθηναίους ἀγαγὼν ἐπὶ τὸ Δήλιον κατελάβετο τὸ χωρίον, καὶ φθάσας τὴν ἔφοδον τῶν Βοιωτῶν ἐτείχισε τὸ Δήλιον.
And the Athenians having gladly accepted this, and the generals having divided the force concerning the operations for the attack, Demosthenes, on the one hand, taking the largest part of the army, invaded Boeotia, but finding that the Boeotians had anticipated the betrayal, he departed without having accomplished anything; Hippocrates, on the other hand, leading the Athenians with their full force to Delium, seized the place, and anticipating the approach of the Boeotians, fortified Delium.
τοῦτο δὲ τὸ χωρίον κεῖται μὲν πλησίον τῆς Ὠρωπίας καὶ τῶν ὅρων τῆς Βοιωτίας,
This place lies near Oropia and the borders of Boeotia.
§12.69.3Παγώνδας δʼ ὁ τῶν Βοιωτῶν ἔχων τὴν στρατηγίαν ἐξ ἁπασῶν τῶν κατὰ τὴν Βοιωτίαν πόλεων μεταπεμψάμενος στρατιώτας ἧκε πρὸς τὸ Δήλιον μετὰ πολλῆς δυνάμεως· εἶχε γὰρ στρατιώτας πεζοὺς μὲν οὐ πολὺ λείποντας τῶν δισμυρίων, ἱππεῖς δὲ περὶ χιλίους.
And Pagondas, who held the generalship of the Boeotians, having summoned soldiers from all the cities in Boeotia, came to Delium with a large force; for he had infantry not much falling short of twenty thousand, and about one thousand cavalry.
§12.69.4οἱ δʼ Ἀθηναῖοι τῷ πλήθει μὲν ὑπερεῖχον τῶν Βοιωτῶν, ὡπλισμένοι δὲ οὐχ ὁμοίως τοῖς πολεμίοις· ἄφνω γὰρ καὶ συντόμως ἐξεληλύθεσαν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως, καὶ διὰ τὴν σπουδὴν ὑπῆρχον ἀπαράσκευοι.
The Athenians, on the one hand, were superior to the Boeotians in numbers, but were not armed in the same manner as their enemies; for they had gone forth from the city suddenly and in haste, and because of the speed they were unprepared.

Notes

  1. §12.69.1ἅμα δὲ τούτοις πραττομένοις — The preposition/adverb ἅμα takes the dative (τούτοις πραττομένοις) to mean "at the same time as these things were being done." This is a dative construction governed by ἅμα, not a genitive absolute.
  2. §12.69.2καταλαβὼν τοὺς Βοιωτοὺς προνενοημένους — A supplementary participle construction with καταλαμβάνω (to find/discover). The participle προνενοημένους ("having anticipated") agrees with the direct object τοὺς Βοιωτοὺς, meaning "finding that the Boeotians had anticipated."
  3. §12.69.2φθάσας τὴν ἔφοδον — While the verb φθάνω usually takes a supplementary participle to mean "doing something before someone else," here it transitively takes a direct object in the accusative (τὴν ἔφοδον) to mean "anticipating" or "getting ahead of" the approach.
  4. §12.69.3οὐ πολὺ λείποντας τῶν δισμυρίων — The participle λείποντας ("falling short") takes the genitive of comparison τῶν δισμυρίων (twenty thousand), meaning "not falling much short of twenty thousand" (i.e., nearly twenty thousand).
  5. §12.69.4οὐχ ὁμοίως τοῖς πολεμίοις — The adverb ὁμοίως, like other adjectives and adverbs of similarity, takes the dative (τοῖς πολεμίοις) to express the object of comparison, meaning "not in the same manner as the enemies."

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §12.69.1-12.69.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:12.69.1-12.69.4

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