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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §13.41.1-13.41.5

Wreck of Spartan Reinforcements off Athos and Return of Alcibiades

Passage 220 of 723 · Greek

Summary

Mindarus summons reinforcement ships from Euboea, which are completely destroyed by a storm near Mount Athos, while Alcibiades returns to Samos and is warmly received by his allies.

§13.41.1Μίνδαρος δʼ ὁ τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων ναύαρχος ἀπὸ τῆς ἥττης φυγὼν εἰς Ἄβυδον τάς τε πεπονηκυίας ναῦς ἐπεσκεύασε καὶ πρὸς τὰς ἐν Εὐβοίᾳ τριήρεις ἀπέστειλεν Ἐπικλέα τὸν Σπαρτιάτην, προστάξας ἄγειν τὴν ταχίστην.
Mindarus, the Lacedaemonian admiral, having fled from the defeat to Abydus, repaired the damaged ships and dispatched Epicles the Spartan to the triremes in Euboea, with orders to bring them as quickly as possible.
§13.41.2ὃς ἐπεὶ κατέπλευσεν εἰς Εὔβοιαν, ἀθροίσας τὰς ναῦς οὔσας πεντήκοντα κατὰ σπουδὴν ἀνήχθη· καὶ κατὰ τὸν Ἄθω γενομένων τῶν τριήρων ἐπεγενήθη χειμὼν τηλικοῦτος ὥστε τὰς μὲν ναῦς ἁπάσας ἀπολέσθαι, τῶν δὲ ἀνδρῶν δώδεκα μόνον διασωθῆναι.
When he arrived in Euboea, having assembled the ships, which numbered fifty, he put to sea in haste; and when the triremes came near Mount Athos, such a great storm arose that all the ships were lost, and of the men only twelve were saved.
§13.41.3δηλοῖ δὲ τὰ περὶ τούτων ἀνάθημα κείμενον ἐν τῷ περὶ Κορώνειαν νεῷ, καθάπερ φησὶν Ἔφορος, τὴν ἐπιγραφὴν ἔχον ταύτην· " οἵδʼ ἀπὸ πεντήκοντα νεῶν θάνατον προφυγόντες πρὸς σκοπέλοισιν Ἄθω σώματα γῇ πέλασαν δώδεκα, τοὺς δʼ ἄλλους ὄλεσεν μέγα λαῖτμα θαλάσσης, νῆάς τε στυγεροῖς πνεύμασι χρησαμένας. "
This is made clear by the votive offering dedicated in the temple near Coroneia, as Ephorus says, which bears this inscription: "These, escaping death from fifty ships, at the reefs of Athos brought their bodies to the land— twelve in number; but the rest were destroyed by the great gulf of the sea, and the ships that encountered the terrible winds.
§13.41.4περὶ δὲ τὸν αὐτὸν καιρὸν Ἀλκιβιάδης ἔχων τρισκαίδεκα τριήρεις κατέπλευσε πρὸς τοὺς ἐν Σάμῳ διατρίβοντας, οἳ πάλαι προακηκοότες ἦσαν, ὅτι πεπεικὼς εἴη τὸν Φαρνάβαζον μηκέτι ταῖς τριακοσίαις ναυσὶ βοηθεῖν τοῖς Λακεδαιμονίοις.
"At about the same time, Alcibiades, with thirteen triremes, sailed into the harbor of those who were stationed in Samos, who had long before heard that he had persuaded Pharnabazus no longer to assist the Lacedaemonians with his three hundred ships.
§13.41.5φιλοφρόνως δʼ αὐτὸν ἀποδεξαμένων τῶν ἐν τῇ Σάμῳ, διελέγετο πρὸς αὐτοὺς περὶ τῆς καθόδου, πολλὰ κατεπαγγελλόμενος χρήσιμος ἔσεσθαι τῇ πατρίδι, ὁμοίως καὶ τὰ καθʼ ἑαυτὸν ἀπολογησάμενος, καὶ πολλὰ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ δακρύσας τύχην, ὅτι τὴν ἰδίαν ἀρετὴν ὑπὸ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἠνάγκασται κατὰ τῆς πατρίδος ἐνδείξασθαι.
When those in Samos received him cordially, he spoke with them concerning his return, promising many things that he would be of great service to his country, while at the same time defending his own conduct and weeping much over his own fortune, because he had been forced by his enemies to display his own valor against his fatherland.

Notes

  1. 13.41.1τὴν ταχίστην — An accusative functioning adverbially to mean 'as quickly as possible' or 'by the quickest way', originally arising from the ellipsis of the noun `ὁδόν`.
  2. 13.41.4πεπεικὼς εἴη — A periphrastic perfect optative used in indirect discourse. Since the main verb of the clause is pluperfect (`προακηκοότες ἦσαν`), the original perfect indicative `πέπεικε` in the dependent clause is changed into the optative.
  3. 13.41.5ὅτι ... ἠνάγκασται — The `ὅτι` clause explains the cause of the emotion expressed by the main participle `δακρύσας` (weeping). The verb `ἠνάγκασται` is in the perfect indicative passive, with `ὑπὸ τῶν ἐχθρῶν` functioning as the agent of the passive voice.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §13.41.1-13.41.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:13.41.1-13.41.5

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