Humanitext Reader

Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §13.105.1-13.105.4

Alcibiades' Offer and the Generals' Rejection

Passage 284 of 723 · Greek

Summary

The Athenian generals, finding Lampsacus already captured, anchor at Aegospotami and challenge the Spartans to battle daily. Alcibiades arrives, offering Thracian reinforcements in exchange for a share in the command, but the generals refuse, fearing he will get all the credit.

§13.105.1οἱ δὲ τῶν Ἀθηναίων στρατηγοὶ πυθόμενοι τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους πάσῃ τῇ δυνάμει πολιορκεῖν Λάμψακον, συνήγαγόν τε πανταχόθεν τριήρεις καὶ κατὰ σπουδὴν ἀνήχθησαν ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς ναυσὶν ἑκατὸν ὀγδοήκοντα.
When the Athenian generals learned that the Lacedaemonians were besieging Lampsacus with all their forces, they gathered triremes from every quarter and in haste put out to sea against them with one hundred and eighty ships.
§13.105.2εὑρόντες δὲ τὴν πόλιν ἡλωκυῖαν, τότε μὲν ἐν Αἰγὸς ποταμοῖς καθώρμισαν τὰς ναῦς, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτʼ ἐπιπλέοντες τοῖς πολεμίοις καθʼ ἡμέραν εἰς ναυμαχίαν προεκαλοῦντο.
But finding the city already captured, at that time they anchored their ships at Aegospotami, and after this, sailing against the enemy daily, they challenged them to a naval battle.
οὐκ ἀνταναγομένων δὲ τῶν Πελοποννησίων, οἱ μὲν Ἀθηναῖοι διηπόρουν ὅ,τι χρήσωνται τοῖς πράγμασιν, οὐ δυνάμενοι τὸν πλείω χρόνον ἐκεῖ διατρέφειν τὰς δυνάμεις.
Since the Peloponnesians did not put out to meet them, the Athenians were at a loss as to how they should handle the situation, being unable to maintain their forces there for any longer time.
§13.105.3Ἀλκιβιάδου δὲ πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἐλθόντος καὶ λέγοντος, ὅτι Μήδοκος καὶ Σεύθης οἱ τῶν Θρᾳκῶν βασιλεῖς εἰσιν αὐτῷ φίλοι, καὶ δύναμιν πολλὴν ὡμολόγησαν δώσειν, ἐὰν βούληται διαπολεμεῖν τοῖς Λακεδαιμονίοις· διόπερ αὐτοὺς ἠξίου μεταδοῦναι τῆς ἡγεμονίας, ἐπαγγελλόμενος αὐτοῖς δυεῖν θάτερον, ἢ ναυμαχεῖν τοὺς πολεμίους ἀναγκάσειν ἢ πεζῇ μετὰ Θρᾳκῶν πρὸς αὐτοὺς διαγωνιεῖσθαι.
And Alcibiades came to them and said that Medocus and Seuthes, the kings of the Thracians, were his friends, and had agreed to give him a large force if he wished to carry on the war against the Lacedaemonians; wherefore he demanded that they give him a share in the command, promising them one of two things, either that he would force the enemy to fight a naval battle or that he would contend against them on land with the Thracians.
§13.105.4ταῦτα δὲ ὁ Ἀλκιβιάδης ἔπραττεν ἐπιθυμῶν διʼ ἑαυτοῦ τῇ πατρίδι μέγα τι κατεργάσασθαι καὶ διὰ τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν τὸν δῆμον ἀποκαταστῆσαι εἰς τὴν ἀρχαίαν εὔνοιαν.
Alcibiades did this because he desired through his own efforts to achieve some great success for his country, and through his benefits to restore the people to their ancient goodwill toward him.
οἱ δὲ τῶν Ἀθηναίων στρατηγοί, νομίσαντες τῶν μὲν ἐλαττωμάτων ἑαυτοῖς τὴν μέμψιν ἀκολουθήσειν, τὰ δʼ ἐπιτεύγματα προσάψειν ἅπαντας Ἀλκιβιάδῃ, ταχέως αὐτὸν ἐκέλευσαν ἀπιέναι καὶ μηκέτι προσεγγίζειν τῷ στρατοπέδῳ.
But the Athenian generals, thinking that the blame for any failures would follow them, while all men would attribute the successes to Alcibiades, ordered him to depart quickly and to come near the camp no more.

Notes

  1. 13.105.2ὅ,τι χρήσωνται τοῖς πράγμασιν — An indirect question using the deliberative subjunctive. It means "how they should handle the situation," where the dative τοῖς πράγμασιν is the object of the verb χράομαι.
  2. 13.105.3ἐπαγγελλόμενος αὐτοῖς δυεῖν θάτερον — Meaning "promising them one of the two." The participle ἐπαγγελλόμενος agrees with the subject of the main clause (Alcibiades), and the two subsequent infinitive clauses introduced by ἢ ... ἢ ... (ἀναγκάσειν and διαγωνιεῖσθαι) represent the substance of the promise.
  3. 13.105.4τῶν μὲν ἐλαττωμάτων ἑαυτοῖς τὴν μέμψιν ἀκολουθήσειν, τὰ δʼ ἐπιτεύγματα προσάψειν ἅπαντας Ἀλκιβιάδῃ — Coordinated accusative-with-infinitive (future) clauses introduced by νομίσαντες. In the first clause, the subject is τὴν μέμψιν ("blame would follow them"), whereas in the second, the subject shifts to the accusative masculine plural ἅπαντας ("all people would attribute the successes to Alcibiades").

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §13.105.1-13.105.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:13.105.1-13.105.4

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.