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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §14.106.1-14.106.4

Submission of Rhegium and Destruction of Caulonia

Passage 400 of 723 · Greek

Summary

Dionysius forced Rhegium into a harsh peace treaty before marching on to destroy Caulonia and relocate its inhabitants to Syracuse, while the Romans captured a city from the Aequi and celebrated games in honor of Zeus.

§14.106.1ἐπὶ δὲ Ῥήγιον ἀναζεύξαντος αὐτοῦ, καὶ μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως παρεσκευασμένου πολιορκεῖν διὰ τὴν περὶ τῆς ἐπιγαμίας ὕβριν, ἀγωνία πολλὴ κατεῖχε τοὺς Ῥηγίνους· οὔτε γὰρ συμμάχους οὔτε δύναμιν ἀξιόμαχον εἶχον, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις ᾔδεισαν ὅτι τῆς πόλεως ἁλούσης οὔτʼ ἔλεος οὔτε δέησις αὐτοῖς ἀπελείπετο.
When he marched against Rhegium and, with his army, prepared to besiege it because of the insult concerning the marriage alliance, great anxiety seized the Rhegians; for they had neither allies nor a force capable of fighting, and in addition to this, they knew that if the city were captured, neither mercy nor room for entreaty would be left to them.
§14.106.2διόπερ ἔκριναν ἀποστεῖλαι πρέσβεις τοὺς δεησομένους μετρίως αὐτοῖς χρήσασθαι καὶ παρακαλέσαι μηδὲν περὶ αὐτῶν ὑπὲρ ἄνθρωπον βουλεύσασθαι.
Therefore, they decided to send envoys to entreat him to treat them with moderation and to beg him to make no decision concerning them that was beyond human measure.
§14.106.3ὁ δὲ Διονύσιος τριακόσια τάλαντα πραξάμενος καὶ τὰς ναῦς ἁπάσας παραλαβὼν οὔσας ἑβδομήκοντα, προσέταξεν ἑκατὸν ὁμήρους δοῦναι δοθέντων δὲ πάντων ἀνέζευξεν ἐπὶ Καυλωνίαν.
But Dionysius, having exacted three hundred talents and taken over all their ships, which numbered seventy, commanded them to give one hundred hostages; and when all these had been given, he marched against Caulonia.
ταύτης δὲ τοὺς μὲν ἐνοικοῦντας εἰς Συρακούσας μετῴκισε καὶ πολιτείαν δοὺς πέντε ἔτη συνεχώρησεν ἀτελεῖς εἶναι, τὴν δὲ πόλιν κατασκάψας τοῖς Λοκροῖς τὴν χώραν τῶν Καυλωνιατῶν ἐδωρήσατο.
He relocated the inhabitants of this city to Syracuse, and having granted them citizenship, he permitted them to be exempt from taxes for five years; but having razed the city to the ground, he presented the territory of the Caulonians to the Locrians.
§14.106.4Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ Λιφοίκουαν πόλιν ἐκ τοῦ τῶν Αἰκῶν ἔθνους ἑλόντες, κατὰ τὰς τῶν ὑπάτων εὐχὰς μέγαν ἀγῶνα τῷ Διὶ συνετέλεσαν.
Meanwhile, the Romans, having captured the city of Liphoecua from the nation of the Aequi, celebrated great games in honor of Zeus, in accordance with the vows of the consuls.

Notes

  1. 14.106.1τῆς πόλεως ἁλούσης — Genitive absolute expressing a conditional force ("if the city were captured") within the indirect discourse introduced by `ὅτι` and dependent on `ᾔδεισαν`.
  2. 14.106.2τοὺς δεησομένους — Accusative future participle expressing purpose ("in order to entreat"), modifying the preceding noun `πρέσβεις` (envoys).
  3. 14.106.2ὑπὲρ ἄνθρωπον — Literally "beyond human (measure)," an idiomatic expression referring to a decision so harsh or cruel that it exceeds normal human limits or standards of behavior.
  4. 14.106.3ταύτης δὲ τοὺς μὲν ἐνοικοῦντας — The genitive demonstrative pronoun `ταύτης` (of this [city]) refers back to `Καυλωνίαν` in the preceding sentence, modifying the object `τοὺς ἐνοικοῦντας` ("the inhabitants").

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §14.106.1-14.106.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:14.106.1-14.106.4

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