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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §14.94.1-14.94.4

Thrasybulus campaigns at Lesbos and recovers Aegean cities

Passage 388 of 723 · Greek

Summary

In the archonship of Philocles in Athens, six military tribunes take office in Rome, and the ninety-seventh Olympiad is held. The Athenian general Thrasybulus, despite losing ships in a storm off Lesbos, subjugates the revolted cities and sets sail for Rhodes.

§14.94.1ἐπεὶ δʼ ὁ ἐνιαύσιος διεληλύθει χρόνος, Ἀθήνησι μὲν ἦρχε Φιλοκλῆς, ἐν Ῥώμῃ δὲ τὴν ὑπατικὴν ἀρχὴν μετέλαβον ἓξ χιλίαρχοι, Πόπλιος καὶ Κορνήλιος, Καίσων Φάβιος, Λεύκιος Φούριος, Κόιντος Σερουίλιος, Μάρκος Οὐαλέριος· ἤχθη δὲ καὶ Ὀλυμπιὰς κατὰ τοῦτον τὸν ἐνιαυτὸν ἑβδόμη πρὸς ταῖς ἐνενήκοντα, καθʼ ἣν ἐνίκα Τερίρης.
When the year's time had passed, Philocles was archon in Athens, and in Rome six military tribunes succeeded to the consular power, namely Publius and Cornelius, Caeso Fabius, Lucius Furius, Quintus Servilius, and Marcus Valerius; and in this year the ninety-seventh Olympiad was celebrated, in which Terires won the stadion.
§14.94.2κατὰ δὲ τούτους τοὺς χρόνους Ἀθηναῖοι στρατηγὸν ἑλόμενοι Θρασύβουλον ἐξέπεμψαν μετὰ τριήρων τετταράκοντα.
During this time, the Athenians chose Thrasybulus as general and sent him out with forty triremes.
οὗτος δὲ πλεύσας εἰς Ἰωνίαν καὶ χρήματα λαβὼν παρὰ τῶν συμμάχων ἀνέζευξε, καὶ διατρίβων περὶ Χερρόνησον Μήδοκον καὶ Σεύθην τοὺς τῶν Θρᾳκῶν βασιλεῖς συμμάχους ἐποιήσατο.
He sailed to Ionia, and having collected money from the allies, he set out from there; and while tarrying about the Chersonesus, he made Medocus and Seuthes, the kings of the Thracians, his allies.
§14.94.3μετὰ δέ τινα χρόνον ἐξ Ἑλλησπόντου πλεύσας εἰς Λέσβον, ἐν τῷ παρὰ τὴν Ἔρεσον αἰγιαλῷ καθώρμει.
After some time, sailing from the Hellespont to Lesbos, he anchored on the shore near Eresus.
ἐπιγενομένων δὲ πνευμάτων μεγάλων εἴκοσι μὲν καὶ τρεῖς τριήρεις διεφθάρησαν· μετὰ δὲ τῶν λοιπῶν διασωθεὶς ἐπῄει τὰς κατὰ τὴν Λέσβον πόλεις προσαγόμενος· ἀφειστήκεισαν γὰρ πᾶσαι πλὴν Μιτυλήνης.
But when great winds came upon them, twenty-three triremes were destroyed; having escaped with the rest, he went against the cities of Lesbos to win them over, for all had revolted except Mitylene.
§14.94.4καὶ πρῶτον μὲν ἐπὶ Μέθυμναν παραγενόμενος ἐπισυνῆψε μάχην τοῖς ἐκ τῆς πόλεως, ὧν ἦρχε Θηρίμαχος ὁ Σπαρτιάτης.
And first, arriving at Methymna, he joined battle with those from the city, who were commanded by Therimachus the Spartan.
ἀγωνισάμενος δὲ λαμπρῶς αὐτόν τε τὸν Θηρίμαχον ἀνεῖλε καὶ τῶν Μεθυμναίων οὐκ ὀλίγους, τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς συνέκλεισεν ἐντὸς τῶν τειχῶν, καὶ τὴν μὲν τῶν Μεθυμναίων χώραν ἔφθειρε, τὴν δʼ Ἔρεσον καὶ τὴν Ἄντισσαν καθʼ ὁμολογίαν παρέλαβεν.
Fighting brilliantly, he slew Therimachus himself and not a few of the Methymnaeans, and shut up the rest within their walls; then he ravaged the territory of the Methymnaeans, and received Eresus and Antissa by agreement.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα παρά τε Χίων καὶ Μιτυληναίων συμμάχων ἀθροίσας ναῦς ἔπλευσεν ἐπὶ Ῥόδον.
After this, having gathered ships from his allies the Chians and Mitylenaeans, he sailed for Rhodes.

Notes

  1. 14.94.1ἓξ χιλίαρχοι, Πόπλιος καὶ Κορνήλιος — A problem concerning the number and names of the Roman military tribunes with consular power. Diodorus mentions 'six military tribunes' (xiliarchoi) but counts 'Publius' and 'Cornelius' as two separate individuals by joining them with `καὶ` to make up the number of six. According to Roman records (such as the Fasti Capitolini), this actually refers to a single individual, 'Publius Cornelius (Cossus)', suggesting that Diodorus misidentified the name as two people, or that a portion of the original list was lost during the transmission of the text.
  2. 14.94.2ἀνέζευξε — The third-person singular aorist indicative of the verb ἀναζεύγνυμι (to strike tents, break camp). In military contexts, it is used intransitively and idiomatically to mean 'he set out' or 'he moved his army' without expressing a direct object.
  3. 14.94.3ἐπιγενομένων δὲ πνευμάτων μεγάλων — A genitive absolute construction consisting of the aorist participle ἐπιγενομένων and the noun phrase πνευμάτων μεγάλων. It functions to indicate the cause or temporal circumstance ('when great winds came upon them') leading to the loss of the triremes in the main clause.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §14.94.1-14.94.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:14.94.1-14.94.4

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