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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §12.73.1-12.73.3

Expulsion of the Delians and Cleon's Capture of Torone

Passage 167 of 723 · Greek

Summary

Diodorus describes the Athenian expulsion of the Delians and Cleon's campaign in Thrace, including the capture of Torone and the assault on Eion.

§12.73.1μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα Ἀθήνησι μὲν ἦρχεν Ἀλκαῖος, ἐν Ῥώμῃ δὲ ὑπῆρχον ὕπατοι Ὀπίτερος Λουκρήτιος καὶ Λεύκιος Σέργιος Φιδηνιάτης.
After these things, Alcaeus was archon in Athens, and in Rome the consuls were Opiter Lucretius and Lucius Sergius Fidenas.
ἐπὶ δὲ τούτων Ἀθηναῖοι τοῖς Δηλίοις ἐγκαλοῦντες ὅτι λάθρᾳ πρὸς Λακεδαιμονίους συντίθενται συμμαχίαν, ἐξέβαλον αὐτοὺς ἐκ τῆς νήσου καὶ τὴν πόλιν αὐτοὶ κατέσχον.
Under these, the Athenians, accusing the Delians of secretly concluding an alliance with the Lacedaemonians, expelled them from the island and themselves seized the city.
τοῖς δʼ ἐκπεσοῦσι Δηλίοις Φαρνιάκης ὁ σατράπης ἔδωκεν οἰκεῖν πόλιν Ἀδραμύτιον.
To the expelled Delians, the satrap Pharnaces gave the city of Adramyttium to inhabit.
§12.73.2οἱ δʼ Ἀθηναῖοι προχειρισάμενοι στρατηγὸν Κλέωνα τὸν δημαγωγόν, καὶ δόντες ἀξιόλογον δύναμιν πεζήν, ἐξέπεμψαν εἰς τοὺς ἐπὶ Θρᾴκης τόπους.
The Athenians, having chosen Cleon the demagogue as general and having given him a noteworthy land force, sent him out to the regions of Thrace.
οὗτος δὲ πλεύσας εἰς Σκιώνην, κἀκεῖθεν προσλαβόμενος στρατιώτας ἐκ τῶν πολιορκούντων τὴν πόλιν, ἀπέπλευσε καὶ κατῆρεν εἰς Τορώνην· ἐγίνωσκε γὰρ τὸν μὲν Βρασίδαν ἐκ τούτων τῶν τόπων ἀπεληλυθότα, πρὸς δὲ τῇ Τορώνῃ τοὺς ἀπολελειμμένους στρατιώτας οὐκ ὄντας ἀξιομάχους.
Having sailed to Scione, and having taken additional soldiers from there from those besieging the city, he sailed away and put in at Torone; for he knew that Brasidas had departed from these regions, and that the soldiers left behind at Torone were not a match in battle.
§12.73.3πλησίον δὲ τῆς Τορώνης καταστρατοπεδεύσας καὶ πολιορκήσας ἅμα κατὰ γῆν καὶ κατὰ θάλατταν, εἷλε κατὰ κράτος τὴν πόλιν, καὶ τοὺς μὲν παῖδας καὶ τὰς γυναῖκας ἠνδραποδίσατο, αὐτοὺς δὲ καὶ τοὺς τὴν πόλιν φρουροῦντας αἰχμαλώτους λαβών, σήσας ἀπέστειλεν εἰς τὰς Ἀθήνας·
Having encamped near Torone and having besieged it at the same time by land and by sea, he captured the city by force, and enslaved the children and women; but the men themselves and those guarding the city he took captive, and having bound them, sent them to Athens.
τῆς δὲ πόλεως ἀπολιπὼν τὴν ἱκανὴν φρουρὰν ἐξέπλευσε μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως, καὶ κατῆρε τῆς Θρᾴκης ἐπὶ Στρυμόνα ποταμόν.
Having left a sufficient garrison in the city, he sailed away with his force and put in at the Strymon River in Thrace.
καταστρατοπεδεύσας δὲ πλησίον πόλεως Ἠιόνος, ἀπεχούσης ἀπὸ τῆς Ἀμφιπόλεως σταδίους ὡς τριάκοντα, προσβολὰς ἐποιεῖτο τῷ πολίσματι.
Having encamped near the city of Eion, which was about thirty stades distant from Amphipolis, he made assaults upon the small town.

Notes

  1. §12.73.1τοῖς Δηλίοις ἐγκαλοῦντες ὅτι λάθρᾳ... συντίθενται συμμαχίαν — The verb ἐγκαλέω takes a dative of the person accused (τοῖς Δηλίοις) and a ὅτι clause expressing the charge. Here, it functions as accusing the Delians on the grounds that they were secretly concluding an alliance.
  2. §12.73.2ἐγίνωσκε γὰρ τὸν μὲν Βρασίδαν... ἀπεληλυθότα, πρὸς δὲ τῇ Τορώνῃ τοὺς ἀπολελειμμένους στρατιώτας οὐκ ὄντας ἀξιομάχους — The verb of knowing, ἐγίνωσκε (imperfect of γινώσκω), takes two parallel indirect discourse constructions consisting of an accusative subject and a participle: first, τὸν μὲν Βρασίδαν... ἀπεληλυθότα (that Brasidas had departed), and second, τοὺς δὲ... στρατιώτας οὐκ ὄντας... (that the remaining soldiers were not a match).
  3. §12.73.3σήσας — The reading σήσας in the manuscripts is generally emended to or interpreted as δήσας (aorist active participle of δέω, 'having bound'), which fits the context of capturing prisoners. It is a nominative masculine singular participle agreeing with the subject of the main clause (Cleon).

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §12.73.1-12.73.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:12.73.1-12.73.3

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