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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §14.24.1-14.24.7

Clearchus' Defense and Aridaeus' Retreat Proposal

Passage 318 of 723 · Greek

Summary

Following Cyrus's death, his satrap Aridaeus retreats, while the Greek forces under Clearchus reorganize to avoid encirclement. After successfully repelling a night attack by the King's forces, the Greeks receive a proposal from Aridaeus to make a joint retreat to the coast.

§14.24.1ἐκ δὲ θατέρου μέρους Ἀριδαῖος ὁ Κύρου σατράπης τεταγμένος ἐπὶ τῆς ἡγεμονίας τὸ μὲν πρῶτον εὐρώστως ἐδέξατο τοὺς ἐπιόντας βαρβάρους· μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τῆς φάλαγγος ἐπὶ πολὺ παρεκτεινούσης κυκλούμενος καὶ τὴν Κύρου τελευτὴν πυθόμενος, ἔφυγε μετὰ τῶν ἰδίων στρατιωτῶν πρός τινα τῶν ἰδίων σταθμῶν, ἔχοντα καταφυγὴν οὐκ ἀνεπιτήδειον.
But on the other side, Aridaeus, Cyrus's satrap who had been appointed to the command, at first vigorously received the oncoming barbarians; but after this, since the phalanx extended over a great distance, being outflanked, and learning of Cyrus's death, he fled with his own soldiers to one of his own stations, which offered a not unsuitable refuge.
§14.24.2Κλέαρχος δὲ θεωρῶν τήν τε μέσην τάξιν καὶ τἄλλα μέρη τῶν συμμάχων τετραμμένα, τοῦ μὲν διώκειν ἀπέστη, τοὺς δὲ στρατιώτας ἀνακαλούμενος καθίστα· εὐλαβεῖτο γὰρ μήποτε πάσης τῆς δυνάμεως ἐπὶ τοὺς Ἕλληνας ἐλθούσης κυκλωθῶσι καὶ πάντες ἀπόλωνται.
And Clearchus, seeing that the center of the line and the other parts of the allies had been routed, desisted from pursuit and, recalling his soldiers, drew them up; for he was cautious lest, if the entire force should come against the Greeks, they might be surrounded and all perish.
§14.24.3οἱ δὲ μετὰ τοῦ βασιλέως ταχθέντες ἐπειδὴ τὰ καθʼ αὑτοὺς ἐτρέψαντο, πρῶτον μὲν τὴν ἀποσκευὴν τοῦ Κύρου διήρπασαν, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἤδη νυκτὸς ἐπελθούσης ἀθροισθέντες ἐπὶ τοὺς Ἕλληνας ὥρμησαν· ὧν δεξαμένων τὴν ἔφοδον εὐγενῶς, ὀλίγον μὲν χρόνον ὑπέμενον οἱ βάρβαροι, μετʼ ὀλίγον δὲ ταῖς τόλμαις καὶ ταῖς εὐχειρίαις νικώμενοι πρὸς φυγὴν ὥρμησαν.
And those posted with the King, when they had routed those opposite them, first plundered the baggage of Cyrus, and after this, when night had already come on, they assembled and rushed against the Greeks; and when the latter received the attack nobly, the barbarians held out for a short time, but shortly after, being overcome by the Greeks' daring and dexterity, they turned to flight.
§14.24.4οἱ δὲ περὶ Κλέαρχον πολλοὺς τῶν βαρβάρων ἀνελόντες, ὡς ἤδη νὺξ ἦν, ἀναχωρήσαντες τρόπαιον ἔστησαν, καὶ περὶ δευτέραν σχεδὸν φυλακὴν ἔφθασαν εἰς τὴν παρεμβολήν.
And Clearchus and his men, having slain many of the barbarians, since it was already night, withdrew and erected a trophy, and around nearly the second watch they reached their camp.
§14.24.5τῆς δὲ μάχης τοιοῦτον τέλος λαβούσης ἀνῃρέθησαν τῶν τοῦ βασιλέως πλείους τῶν μυρίων πεντακισχιλίων, ὧν τοὺς πλείστους ἀνεῖλον οἱ μετὰ Κλεάρχου ταχθέντες Λακεδαιμόνιοί τε καὶ μισθοφόροι.
When the battle had reached such an end, there were slain of the King's men more than fifteen thousand, most of whom were killed by the Lacedaemonians and mercenaries posted under Clearchus.
§14.24.6ἐκ δὲ θατέρου μέρους τῶν Κύρου στρατιωτῶν ἔπεσον περὶ τρισχιλίους· τῶν δὲ Ἑλλήνων φασὶν ἀναιρεθῆναι μὲν οὐδένα, τρωθῆναι δʼ ὀλίγους.
And on the other side, of Cyrus's soldiers there fell about three thousand; but of the Greeks they say that not a single man was killed, and only a few were wounded.
§14.24.7τῆς δὲ νυκτὸς παρελθούσης Ἀριδαῖος ὁ πεφευγὼς εἰς τὸν σταθμὸν ἀπέστειλέ τινας πρὸς τὸν Κλέαρχον, παρακαλῶν πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἀπαγαγεῖν τοὺς στρατιώτας καὶ κοινῇ διασώζεσθαι πρὸς τοὺς ἐπὶ θάλατταν τόπους· ἀνῃρημένου γὰρ Κύρου καὶ τῶν τοῦ βασιλέως δυνάμεων ὑπερεχουσῶν, ἀγωνία πολλὴ κατέσχε τοὺς τετολμηκότας ἐπὶ τῇ καταλύσει τῆς Ἀρταξέρξου βασιλείας στρατεύεσθαι.
When the night had passed, Aridaeus, who had fled to the station, sent messengers to Clearchus, urging him to bring his soldiers to him and to make their escape together toward the regions by the sea; for since Cyrus had been slain and the King's forces were far superior, great anxiety seized those who had dared to campaign for the overthrow of Artaxerxes's kingship.

Notes

  1. 14.24.1τῆς φάλαγγος ἐπὶ πολὺ παρεκτεινούσης — Genitive absolute construction. It explains the circumstance that the King's phalanx extended over a great distance, which led directly to the following present participle `κυκλούμενος` (being outflanked or surrounded).
  2. 14.24.3ὧν δεξαμένων — Genitive absolute with a connecting relative pronoun. The antecedent of `ὧν` is `τοὺς Ἕλληνας` (the Greeks) in the preceding clause. It translates as "when they (the Greeks) received the attack."
  3. 14.24.4ἔφθασαν εἰς τὴν παρεμβολήν — The verb `φθάνω` in Classical Greek usually means "to anticipate" or "to do something beforehand" and is accompanied by a participle, but here it is used in its Hellenistic (Koine) sense meaning simply "to arrive at" or "to reach."
  4. 14.24.7τοὺς τετολμηκότας ἐπὶ τῇ καταλύσει... στρατεύεσθαι — The perfect participle `τοὺς τετολμηκότας` means "those who had dared," taking the infinitive `στρατεύεσθαι` (to campaign) as its complement. The preposition `ἐπί` with the dative expresses the purpose ("for the overthrow").

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §14.24.1-14.24.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:14.24.1-14.24.7

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