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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §14.91.1-14.91.3

Italian Greek Alliance and Victories of Iphicrates

Passage 385 of 723 · Greek

Summary

The Greeks in southern Italy form an alliance to counter the threats from Dionysius and the Lucanians. Meanwhile, in mainland Greece, Iphicrates achieves successive victories over the Corinthian exiles, a Lacedaemonian force, the Phliasians, and the Sicyonians.

§14.91.1οἱ δὲ τὴν Ἰταλίαν κατοικοῦντες Ἕλληνες ἑώρων μὲν μέχρι τῆς ἑαυτῶν χώρας προβαίνουσαν τὴν Διονυσίου πλεονεξίαν, συμμαχίαν δὲ πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἐποιήσαντο καὶ συνέδριον ἐγκατεσκεύαζον.
The Greeks inhabiting Italy saw the greed of Dionysius advancing as far as their own territory, and they formed an alliance with one another and established a common council.
ἤλπιζον γὰρ τὸν Διονύσιον ῥᾳδίως ἀμυνεῖσθαι καὶ τοῖς παροικοῦσι Λευκανῶν ἀντιτάξεσθαι· καὶ γὰρ οὗτοι τότε διεπολέμουν πρὸς αὐτούς.
For they hoped easily to ward off Dionysius and to oppose the neighboring Lucanians; for these too were at that time waging war against them.
§14.91.2οἱ δὲ τὸ Λέχαιον τῆς Κορινθίας κατέχοντες φυγάδες νυκτὸς ὑπό τινων εἰσαχθέντες ἐνεχείρησαν μὲν καταλαμβάνειν τὰ τείχη, τῶν δὲ μετʼ Ἰφικράτους ἐκβοηθησάντων τριακοσίους ἐξ αὑτῶν ἀποβαλόντες ἔφυγον ἐπὶ τὸν ναύσταθμον.
Meanwhile, the exiles who held Lechaeum in the Corinthian territory, having been let in by some during the night, attempted to seize the walls, but when the forces under Iphicrates came to the rescue, they lost three hundred of their own number and fled to the naval station.
μετὰ δέ τινας ἡμέρας τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων μέρος τῆς στρατιᾶς διῄει διὰ τῆς Κορινθίας χώρας, οἷς Ἰφικράτης καί τινες τῶν ἐν Κορίνθῳ συμμάχων ἐπιπεσόντες τοὺς πλείστους ἀνεῖλον.
After some days, a part of the Lacedaemonian army was passing through the Corinthian territory, and Iphicrates and some of the allies in Corinth fell upon them and slew most of them.
§14.91.3Ἰφικράτης δὲ μετὰ τῶν πελταστῶν ἐπὶ Φλιασίαν στρατεύσας, καὶ μάχην τοῖς ἐκ τῆς πόλεως συνάψας, τούτων μὲν πλείους τριακοσίων ἀπέκτεινε· μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἐπὶ Σικυῶνα αὐτοῦ πορευθέντος, οἱ Σικυώνιοι παραταξάμενοι πρὸ τῶν τειχῶν ἀπέβαλον περὶ πεντακοσίους καὶ συνέφυγον εἰς τὴν πόλιν.
And Iphicrates, marching into the territory of Phlius with his peltasts, joined battle with those from the city and slew more than three hundred of them; and after this, when he marched against Sicyon, the Sicyonians, having drawn up their lines before the walls, lost about five hundred men and fled together into the city.

Notes

  1. §14.91.1τὸν Διονύσιον ῥᾳδίως ἀμυνεῖσθαι — In the complement of the verb ἤλπιζον, τὸν Διονύσιον is the accusative object of the future infinitive ἀμυνεῖσθαι (middle voice used transitively, meaning 'to ward off'), while the subject of the infinitive is the same as that of the main clause (the Greeks of Italy). It should not be misinterpreted as the subject accusative of the infinitive (i.e., 'they hoped that Dionysius would...').
  2. §14.91.2τῶν δὲ μετʼ Ἰφικράτους ἐκβοηθησάντων — A genitive absolute construction. The subject of the participle ἐκβοηθησάντων is 'those who came to the rescue with Iphicrates', which differs from the subject of the main clause (the exiles), hence the use of the genitive case.
  3. §14.91.3αὐτοῦ πορευθέντος — A genitive absolute construction with the genitive of the personal pronoun αὐτοῦ (referring to Iphicrates) as its subject. It is used because the subject is different from that of the main clause, 'the Sicyonians' (οἱ Σικυώνιοι).

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §14.91.1-14.91.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:14.91.1-14.91.3

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