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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §14.73.1-14.73.5

Burning of the Carthaginian Fleet by the Syracusans

Passage 367 of 723 · Greek

Summary

The Syracusan land and naval forces launch a fierce assault on the Carthaginian shipyards and set fire to their ships; as the fire spreads violently by the wind and destroys the fleet, the citizens of Syracuse watch the destruction as if it were a theatrical performance.

§14.73.1οἱ δὲ Συρακόσιοι τῷ προτερήματι συμφιλοτιμούμενοι κατὰ πολλὴν σπουδὴν ἀλλήλους ἔφθανον ἐπιπηδῶντες ταῖς πολεμίαις ναυσί, καὶ τοὺς βαρβάρους καταπεπληγμένους τὸ μέγεθος τῆς περιστάσεως περιχυθέντες ἐφόνευον.
Meanwhile, the Syracusans, inspired by their success, with great eagerness anticipated one another in leaping onto the enemy's ships, and surrounding the barbarians, who were stunned by the magnitude of the crisis, they slaughtered them.
§14.73.2οὐ μὴν οὐδʼ οἱ πεζῇ τῷ ναυστάθμῳ προσβάλλοντες ἐλείποντο τῆς τούτων σπουδῆς· ἐν οἷς συνέβαινεν εἶναι καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν Διονύσιον, παριππευκότα πρὸς τὸ κατὰ Δάσκωνα μέρος.
Nor indeed were those who attacked the naval station by land lagging behind the eagerness of these; among them was Dionysius himself, who had ridden along to the region near Dascon.
εὑρόντες γὰρ πεντηκοντόρους τετταράκοντα νενεωλκημένας, καὶ κατὰ τὸ συνεχὲς ναῦς παρορμούσας ὁλκάδας καί τινας τῶν τριήρων, πῦρ εἰς αὐτὰς ἐνῆκαν.
For finding forty fifty-oared ships hauled up on land, and adjacent to them cargo ships and some triremes moored in a continuous line, they set fire to them.
§14.73.3ταχὺ δὲ τῆς φλογὸς εἰς ὕψος ἀρθείσης καὶ χεομένης ἐπὶ πολὺν τόπον ἐφλέγετο τὰ σκάφη, καὶ τῶν ἐμπόρων τε καὶ ναυκλήρων οὐδεὶς ἐδύνατο παραβοηθῆσαι διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τοῦ πυρός.
Soon, as the flames rose to a great height and spread over a large area, the vessels were consumed by fire, and none of the merchants or shipowners was able to bring help because of the intensity of the fire.
ἐπιγενομένου δὲ μεγάλου πνεύματος ἐκ τῶν νενεωλκημένων σκαφῶν ἐφέρετο τὸ πῦρ ἐπὶ τὰς ὁρμούσας ὁλκάδας.
Moreover, since a strong wind arose, the fire was carried from the hauled-up vessels to the moored cargo ships.
§14.73.4τῶν δʼ ἀνδρῶν ἐκκολυμβώντων διὰ τὸν ἀπὸ τῆς πνιγὸς φόβον, καὶ τῶν ἀγκυρίων ἀποκαιομένων, διὰ τὸν κλύδωνα συνέκρουον αἱ ναῦς, καὶ τινὲς μὲν ὑπʼ ἀλλήλων συντριβόμεναι διεφθείροντο, τινὲς δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ πνεύματος ὠθούμεναι, αἱ πλεῖσται δʼ ὑπὸ τοῦ πυρὸς ἀπώλλυντο.
As the men swam away out of fear of suffocation, and the anchor cables were burned through, the ships collided with one another because of the rough water; some were destroyed by being shattered against each other, others were driven by the wind, and the majority were destroyed by the fire.
§14.73.5ἔνθα δὴ τῶν φορτηγῶν πλοίων ἀναφερομένης τῆς φλογὸς διὰ τῶν ἱστίων καὶ τὰς κεραίας καταφλεγούσης, τοῖς ἐκ τῆς πόλεως θεατρικὴν συνέβαινε γίνεσθαι τὴν θέαν καὶ τοῖς διʼ ἀσέβειαν κεραυνωθεῖσι φαίνεσθαι παραπλησίαν τὴν ἀπώλειαν τῶν βαρβάρων.
There indeed, as the flames rose through the sails of the merchant vessels and consumed the yards, the spectacle became like a theatrical show to the people from the city, and the destruction of the barbarians appeared very similar to those who had been struck by lightning for their impiety.

Notes

  1. 14.73.1ἔφθανον ἐπιπηδῶντες — The verb φθάνω combined with a participle means to anticipate or do something before others. Accompanied by the reciprocal pronoun ἀλλήλους, it expresses that they eagerly competed with each other to leap onto the ships.
  2. 14.73.1τοὺς βαρβάρους καταπεπληγμένους τὸ μέγεθος — τὸ μέγεθος is an accusative of specification (respect) modifying the perfect passive participle καταπεπληγμένους, describing the barbarians as 'stunned with respect to the magnitude (of the crisis).'
  3. 14.73.2συνέβαινεν εἶναι καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν Διονύσιον, παριππευκότα — The impersonal verb συνέβαινε takes the infinitive εἶναι, whose logical subject is the accusative αὐτὸν τὸν Διονύσιον. The perfect active participle παριππευκότα is also in the accusative to agree with this subject.
  4. 14.73.5φαίνεσθαι παραπλησίαν τὴν ἀπώλειαν ... τοῖς ... κεραυνωθεῖσι — The infinitive φαίνεσθαι is also governed by the preceding συνέβαινε. Its subject is the accusative τὴν ἀπώλειαν, with the predicate adjective παραπλησίαν taking the dative object of comparison τοῖς... κεραυνωθεῖσι (those who had been struck by lightning).

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §14.73.1-14.73.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:14.73.1-14.73.5

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