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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §15.59.1-15.59.4

Formation of Arcadian League and Spartan Invasion

Passage 471 of 723 · Greek

Summary

Lycomedes of Tegea establishes the Arcadian League, but a major civil strife breaks out among the Arcadians, leading to numerous exiles and prompting Spartan military intervention.

§15.59.1περὶ δὲ τοὺς αὐτοὺς χρόνους Λυκομήδης ὁ Τεγεάτης ἔπεισε τοὺς Ἀρκάδας εἰς μίαν συντέλειαν ταχθῆναι καὶ κοινὴν ἔχειν σύνοδον συνεστῶσαν ἐξ ἀνδρῶν μυρίων, καὶ τούτους ἐξουσίαν ἔχειν περὶ πολέμου καὶ εἰρήνης βουλεύεσθαι.
At about the same time, Lycomedes of Tegea persuaded the Arcadians to be organized into a single league and to have a common assembly consisting of ten thousand men, and that these should have the authority to deliberate on war and peace.
§15.59.2γενομένης δὲ στάσεως μεγάλης παρὰ τοῖς Ἀρκάσι, καὶ διὰ τῶν ὅπλων διακριθέντων τῶν διαφερομένων, πολλοὶ μὲν ἀνῃρέθησαν, πλείους δὲ τῶν χιλίων καὶ τετρακοσίων ἔφυγον, οἱ μὲν εἰς τὴν Σπάρτην, οἱ δʼ εἰς τὸ Παλλάντιον.
But when a great civil strife arose among the Arcadians, and the disputants decided the issue by force of arms, many indeed were killed, and more than fourteen hundred fled, some to Sparta, and others to Pallantium.
§15.59.3οὗτοι μὲν οὖν ἐκδοθέντες ὑπὸ τῶν Παλλαντίων, ὑπὸ τῶν νενικηκότων ἐσφαγιάσθησαν· οἱ δʼ εἰς τὴν Σπάρτην φυγόντες ἔπεισαν τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους εἰς τὴν Ἀρκαδίαν στρατεῦσαι.
Now these, having been surrendered by the Pallantians, were slaughtered by the victors; while those who had fled to Sparta persuaded the Lacedaemonians to make an expedition into Arcadia.
§15.59.4διόπερ Ἀγησίλαος ὁ βασιλεὺς μετὰ δυνάμεως καὶ τῶν φυγάδων ἐνέβαλεν εἰς τὴν τῶν Τεγεατῶν χώραν διὰ τὸ δοκεῖν τούτους τῆς στάσεως καὶ τῆς φυγῆς αἰτίους γεγονέναι.
Therefore, the king Agesilaus, with a force and the exiles, invaded the territory of the Tegeans, because they were thought to have been the causes of the strife and the banishment.
πορθήσας δὲ τὴν χώραν καὶ τῇ πόλει προσβολὰς ποιησάμενος κατεπλήξατο τῶν Ἀρκάδων τοὺς ἐναντιοπραγοῦντας.
Having ravaged the country and made assaults upon the city, he struck terror into those of the Arcadians who opposed him.

Notes

  1. §15.59.1ἔπεισε τοὺς Ἀρκάδας εἰς μίαν συντέλειαν ταχθῆναι καὶ κοινὴν ἔχειν σύνοδον συνεστῶσαν ἐξ ἀνδρῶν μυρίων, καὶ τούτους ἐξουσίαν ἔχειν — The verb ἔπεισε takes τοὺς Ἀρκάδας as its direct object, governing the following infinitives ταχθῆναι (passive) and ἔχειν (active). The final clause καὶ τούτους ἐξουσίαν ἔχειν is also an infinitive construction (accusative with infinitive) dependent on ἔπεισε, but with a shift in the subject to the accusative τούτους (referring to the ten thousand men).
  2. §15.59.2διακριθέντων τῶν διαφερομένων — A genitive absolute construction, where the present participle τῶν διαφερομένων (those who differ, i.e., the disputants) acts as the logical subject of the passive aorist participle διακριθέντων. The middle/passive of διακρίνω means 'to have a decision reached' or 'to decide an issue', which combined with διὰ τῶν ὅπλων (by force of arms) indicates that they settled their dispute through armed conflict.
  3. §15.59.4τούτους — The subject accusative within the articular infinitive construction διὰ τὸ δοκεῖν expressing cause. Historically and contextually, it refers to 'the Tegeans' (τοὺς Τεγεάτας), implied by the preceding genitive phrase τῆς τῶν Τεγεατῶν χώραν (the territory of the Tegeans), who were held responsible for inciting the civil strife and subsequent banishments.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §15.59.1-15.59.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:15.59.1-15.59.4

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