Humanitext Reader

Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §13.70.1-13.70.4

Appointment of Lysander and Financial Aid from Cyrus

Passage 249 of 723 · Greek

Summary

The Lacedaemonians appointed Lysander as their new admiral, who sailed to the eastern Aegean, secured massive financial support from the Persian prince Cyrus, and consolidated his power by forming alliances with oligarchic leaders in Ionian cities.

§13.70.1Λακεδαιμόνιοι δὲ τήν τε ναυτικὴν δύναμιν ἄρδην ἀπολωλεκότες καὶ μετʼ αὐτῆς Μίνδαρον τὸν ἡγεμόνα, ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὅμως οὐκ ἐνέδωκαν, ἀλλὰ ναύαρχον εἵλαντο Λύσανδρον, δοκοῦντα στρατηγίᾳ διαφέρειν τῶν ἄλλων καὶ τόλμαν ἔμπρακτον ἔχοντα πρὸς πᾶσαν περίστασιν· ὃς παραλαβὼν τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐκ τῆς Πελοποννήσου στρατιώτας τε κατέγραφε τοὺς ἱκανοὺς καὶ ναῦς ἐπλήρωσεν ὅσας ἐδύνατο πλείστας. §13.70.2ἐκπλεύσας δὲ εἰς Ῥόδον, καὶ προσλαβόμενος ἐκεῖθεν ναῦς ὅσας εἶχον αἱ πόλεις, ἔπλευσεν εἰς Ἔφεσον καὶ Μίλητον.
The Lacedaemonians, although they had utterly lost their naval force and with it their commander Mindarus, nevertheless did not lose heart, but chose as admiral Lysander, who was thought to excel others in generalship and to possess a practical daring for every situation; having taken over the command, he enrolled sufficient soldiers from the Peloponnese and manned as many ships as he was able. Having sailed out to Rhodes, and having taken from there as many ships as the cities possessed, he sailed to Ephesus and Miletus.
καταρτίσας δὲ καὶ τὰς ἐν ταύταις ταῖς πόλεσι τριήρεις, μετεπέμψατο τὰς ἐκ Χίου, καὶ στόλον ἐξήρτυεν ἐξ Ἐφέσου νεῶν ὑπάρχοντα σχεδὸν ἑβδομήκοντα. §13.70.3ἀκούσας δὲ Κῦρον τὸν Δαρείου τοῦ βασιλέως υἱὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς ἀπεσταλμένον συμπολεμεῖν τοῖς Λακεδαιμονίοις, ἧκεν εἰς Σάρδεις πρὸς αὐτόν, καὶ παροξύνας τὸν νεανίσκον εἰς τὸν κατὰ τῶν Ἀθηναίων πόλεμον μυρίους μὲν δαρεικοὺς παραχρῆμα ἔλαβεν εἰς τὸν τῶν στρατιωτῶν μισθόν, καὶ εἰς τὸ λοιπὸν δὲ ὁ Κῦρος ἐκέλευσεν αἰτεῖν μηδὲν ὑποστελλόμενον· ἐντολὰς γὰρ ἔχειν παρὰ τοῦ πατρός, ὅπως ὅσα ἂν προαιρῶνται Λακεδαιμόνιοι χορηγήσαι αὐτοῖς. §13.70.4ἀνακάμψας δὲ εἰς Ἔφεσον ἀπὸ τῶν πόλεων μετεπέμπετο τοὺς δυνατωτάτους, πρὸς οὓς ἑταιρίας συντιθέμενος ἐπηγγέλλετο τῶν πραγμάτων κατορθωθέντων κυρίους ἑκάστους τῶν πόλεων ποιήσειν.
Having also refitted the triremes in these cities, he summoned those from Chios, and equipped a fleet from Ephesus consisting of nearly seventy ships. Hearing that Cyrus, the son of King Darius, had been sent by his father to fight along with the Lacedaemonians, he came to him at Sardis, and having incited the young man to the war against the Athenians, he immediately received ten thousand darics for the soldiers' pay; and for the future, Cyrus bade him ask without holding back anything, for he said he had instructions from his father to supply the Lacedaemonians with whatever they might choose. Returning to Ephesus, he summoned the most powerful men from the cities, and forming political clubs with them, he promised that if affairs were successfully carried out, he would make each of them masters of their respective cities.
διʼ ἣν αἰτίαν συνέβη τούτους πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἁμιλλωμένους ὑπηρετεῖν πλείονα τῶν ἐπιταττομένων, καὶ ταχὺ παραδόξως εὐπορεῖν τὸν Λύσανδρον πάντων τῶν εἰς πόλεμον χρησίμων.
For this reason, it happened that these men, vying with one another, rendered service beyond what was ordered, and Lysander quickly and unexpectedly came to have an abundance of everything useful for war.

Notes

  1. 13.70.1δοκοῦντα στρατηγίᾳ διαφέρειν τῶν ἄλλων — The participle δοκοῦντα modifies Λύσανδρον. The verb διαφέρειν (to excel, differ from), which has a comparative sense, takes the genitive of comparison (τῶν ἄλλων) and the dative of respect or limitation (στρατηγίᾳ) to specify the field of excellence.
  2. 13.70.3ἐντολὰς γὰρ ἔχειν... χορηγήσαι — The entire γάρ clause is integrated into the indirect discourse, with the accusative subject of the infinitive ἔχειν being Cyrus (Κῦρον). The form χορηγήσαι in the ὅπως clause is read in some manuscripts as the infinitive χορηγῆσαι (or is a corruption of χορηγήσῃ in a purpose clause), representing the command given by his father to supply the Lacedaemonians.
  3. 13.70.4τῶν πραγμάτων κατορθωθέντων — A genitive absolute construction expressing condition ('if affairs should be successfully completed'). This matches the future tense of the infinitive phrase (κυρίους... ποιήσειν).

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §13.70.1-13.70.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:13.70.1-13.70.4

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.