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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §14.34.1-14.34.7

Peace with Elis and the Expulsion of the Messenians

Passage 328 of 723 · Greek

Summary

The Eleans settled their conflict with the Lacedaemonians, who then proceeded to expel the Messenians from their fortresses. These exiled Messenians fled to Sicily and Cyrene, where they became entangled in a violent local civil war.

§14.34.1Ἠλεῖοι δὲ φοβηθέντες τὴν τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων ὑπεροχήν, κατέλυσαν τὸν πρὸς αὐτοὺς πόλεμον, ἐφʼ ᾧ τὰς τριήρεις δοῦναι Λακεδαιμονίοις καὶ τὰς περιοικούσας πόλεις αὐτονόμους ἀφεῖναι.
The Eleans, fearing the supremacy of the Lacedaemonians, ended the war against them, on condition that they deliver their triremes to the Lacedaemonians and leave the neighboring cities autonomous.
§14.34.2Λακεδαιμόνιοι δὲ καταλελυκότες τοὺς πολέμους καὶ σχολὴν ἔχοντες ἐστράτευσαν ἐπὶ Μεσσηνίους, ὧν οἱ μὲν ἐν Κεφαλληνίᾳ φρούριόν τι κατῴκουν, οἱ δὲ Ναύπακτον ἐν τοῖς προσεσπερίοις λεγομένοις Λοκροῖς, δόντων Ἀθηναίων.
And the Lacedaemonians, having ended their wars and having leisure, made an expedition against the Messenians, of whom some inhabited a certain fortress in Cephallenia, and others, since the Athenians had given it to them, inhabited Naupactus in the region of the Locrians called western.
ἐκβαλόντες δʼ αὐτοὺς ἐκ τῶν τόπων ἀπέδωκαν τὰ φρούρια, τὸ μὲν τοῖς τὴν Κεφαλληνίαν οἰκοῦσι, τὸ δὲ τοῖς Λοκροῖς.
And having expelled them from these places, they restored the fortresses, the one to the inhabitants of Cephallenia, and the other to the Locrians.
§14.34.3οἱ δὲ Μεσσήνιοι διὰ τὸ παλαιὸν πρὸς τοὺς Σπαρτιάτας μῖσος πανταχόθεν ἐλαυνόμενοι, μετὰ τῶν ὅπλων ἀπηλλάγησαν ἐκ τῆς Ἑλλάδος, καὶ τινὲς μὲν αὐτῶν πλεύσαντες εἰς Σικελίαν ἐγένοντο Διονυσίου μισθοφόροι, τινὲς δʼ εἰς Κυρήνην ἔπλευσαν, περὶ τρισχιλίους ὄντες, καὶ μετὰ τῶν ἐκεῖ φυγάδων ἐτάχθησαν.
The Messenians, being driven from everywhere because of their ancient hatred toward the Spartans, departed from Greece with their arms; and some of them, having sailed to Sicily, became mercenaries of Dionysius, while others sailed to Cyrene, being about three thousand, and ranged themselves with the exiles there.
§14.34.4οἱ γὰρ Κυρηναῖοι κατʼ ἐκεῖνον τὸν καιρὸν ἐν ταραχῇ καθειστήκεισαν, Ἀρίστωνος καί τινων ἑτέρων κατειληφότων τὴν πόλιν.
For the Cyrenians at that time had fallen into disorder, Ariston and certain others having seized the city.
προσφάτως μὲν πεντακόσιοι οἱ δυνατώτατοι τῶν Κυρηναίων ἀνῄρηντο, τῶν δʼ ἄλλων ἐπεφεύγεισαν οἱ χαριέστατοι.
Recently, five hundred of the most influential Cyrenians had been slain, and the most refined of the others had fled into exile.
§14.34.5οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ οἱ φυγάδες προσλαμβανόμενοι τοὺς Μεσσηνίους παρετάξαντο πρὸς τοὺς τὴν πόλιν κατειληφότας, καὶ τῶν μὲν Κυρηναίων πολλοὶ παρʼ ἀμφοτέροις ἔπεσον, οἱ δὲ Μεσσήνιοι σχεδὸν ἅπαντες ἀνῃρέθησαν.
Nevertheless, the exiles, taking the Messenians to their side, drew up their forces against those who had seized the city; and while many of the Cyrenians fell on both sides, the Messenians were almost all destroyed.
§14.34.6μετὰ δὲ τὴν παράταξιν οἱ Κυρηναῖοι πρὸς ἀλλήλους διαπρεσβευσάμενοι διηλλάγησαν, καὶ παραχρῆμα ὁρκωμοτήσαντες μὴ μνησικακήσειν, κοινῇ τὴν πόλιν κατῴκησαν.
After the battle, the Cyrenians, having sent envoys to one another, were reconciled; and having immediately sworn not to remember past wrongs, they inhabited the city in common.
§14.34.7περὶ δὲ τοὺς αὐτοὺς χρόνους Ῥωμαῖοι προσέθηκαν οἰκήτορας εἰς τὰς ὀνομαζομένας Οὐελίτρας.
At about the same time, the Romans added settlers to the place called Velitrae.

Notes

  1. §14.34.1ἐφʼ ᾧ — An idiomatic expression introducing a condition. The phrase "ἐφʼ ᾧ (or ἐφʼ ᾧτε) + infinitive" means "on condition that." Here it governs the following infinitives δοῦναι (to deliver) and ἀφεῖναι (to leave).
  2. §14.34.2δόντων Ἀθηναίων — A genitive absolute construction consisting of the aorist participle δόντων and the noun Ἀθηναίων, explaining the historical reason or background: "since the Athenians had given (it to them)."
  3. §14.34.5οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ — An idiomatic phrase expressing a strong contrast ("nevertheless", "yet"). After describing the grim situation where many leading citizens were slain and others exiled, it emphasizes that they nevertheless launched a counter-attack.
  4. §14.34.6μὴ μνησικακήσειν — A future infinitive functioning as the object of the participle ὁρκωμοτήσαντες ("having sworn"), expressing the content of their oath regarding future conduct ("not to bear a grudge for past wrongs"). The negative particle μὴ is used to negate the infinitive.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §14.34.1-14.34.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:14.34.1-14.34.7

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