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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §16.17.1-16.17.5

Escape of Dionysius and the Magnanimity of Dion

Passage 525 of 723 · Greek

Summary

Dionysius departs for Italy after surrendering the citadel, leaving the Syracusans in internal strife. Deprived of their pay, the mercenaries convince Dion to lead them away, and although they defeat the pursuing Syracusans, Dion treats the vanquished with great magnanimity.

§16.17.1τοῦ δὲ Δίωνος ἀποκριθέντος ὅτι τοῖς Συρακοσίοις δίκαιόν ἐστι παραδιδόναι τὴν ἀκρόπολιν ἐπί τισιν ἐξαιρέτοις χρήμασι καὶ τιμαῖς, ὁ μὲν Διονύσιος ἕτοιμος ἦν παραδιδόναι τὴν ἄκραν τῷ δήμῳ ὥστε τοὺς μισθοφόρους καὶ τὰ χρήματα λαβόντα εἰς τὴν Ἰταλίαν μεταστῆναι, ὁ δὲ Δίων συνεβούλευε τοῖς Συρακοσίοις δέχεσθαι τὰ διδόμενα.
Since Dion had answered that it was just to surrender the acropolis to the Syracusans upon certain special payments and honors, Dionysius was ready to surrender the citadel to the people on the condition that he should take his mercenaries and his property and depart to Italy; and Dion advised the Syracusans to accept the offer.
ὁ δὲ δῆμος ὑπὸ τῶν ἀκαίρων δημηγόρων πεισθεὶς ἀντεῖπε, νομίζων κατὰ κράτος ἐκπολιορκήσειν τὸν τύραννον.
But the people, persuaded by untimely demagogues, refused, thinking that they would capture the tyrant by force.
§16.17.2μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ὁ μὲν Διονύσιος τοὺς ἀρίστους τῶν μισθοφόρων ἀπέλιπεν φυλάξοντας τὴν ἄκραν, αὐτὸς δʼ ἐνθέμενος τὰ χρήματα καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν βασιλικὴν κατασκευὴν ἔλαθεν ἐκπλεύσας καὶ κατῆρεν εἰς τὴν Ἰταλίαν.
After this, Dionysius left the best of his mercenaries to guard the citadel, while he himself, having loaded his property and all the royal equipment, sailed away secretly and put in at Italy.
§16.17.3οἱ δὲ Συρακόσιοι πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἐστασίασαν, τῶν μὲν οἰομένων δεῖν τὴν στρατηγίαν καὶ τὴν τῶν ὅλων ἐξουσίαν ἐγχειρίζειν Ἡρακλείδῃ διὰ τὸ τοῦτον δοκεῖν μηδέποτʼ ἂν ἐπιθέσθαι τυραννίδι, τῶν δὲ ἀποφαινομένων τὸν Δίωνα δεῖν ἔχειν τὴν τῶν ἁπάντων ἡγεμονίαν.
The Syracusans, however, fell into dissension among themselves, some thinking that they ought to entrust the generalship and the supreme power to Heracleides, because he seemed never likely to aim at tyranny, while others declared that Dion ought to have the command of all.
πρὸς δὲ τούτοις πολλῶν ὀφειλομένων μισθῶν τοῖς ἐκ Πελοποννήσου ξένοις τοῖς ἠλευθερωκόσι τὰς Συρακούσσας καὶ χρημάτων σπανιζούσης τῆς πόλεως οἱ μὲν μισθοφόροι τῶν χρημάτων ἀποστερούμενοι συνεστράφησαν, ὄντες πλείους τῶν τρισχιλίων, πάντες δʼ ἐπίλεκτοι ταῖς ἀρεταῖς καὶ διὰ τὴν ἄθλησιν τῶν πολεμικῶν ἔργων διαπεπονημένοι πολὺ τοὺς Συρακοσίους ταῖς ἀρεταῖς ὑπερεβάλλοντο.
In addition to these things, since many wages were owed to the mercenaries from the Peloponnese who had liberated Syracuse, and the city was short of money, the mercenaries, being deprived of their pay, banded together; they were more than three thousand, and being all elite in their bravery and thoroughly trained through the exercise of military works, they far surpassed the Syracusans in bravery.
§16.17.4ὁ δὲ Δίων ἀξιούμενος ὑπὸ τῶν μισθοφόρων συναποστῆναι καὶ παρὰ τῶν Συρακοσίων ὡς κοινῶν ἐχθρῶν λαβεῖν τιμωρίαν τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἀντεῖπεν, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα συναναγκαζόμενος ὑπὸ τῆς περιστάσεως προσεδέξατο τὴν ἡγεμονίαν τῶν ξένων καὶ μετʼ ἐκείνων ταχθεὶς ἀνέζευξεν ἐπὶ τοὺς Λεοντίνους.
Dion, being urged by the mercenaries to join them in revolting and to take vengeance upon the Syracusans as common enemies, at first refused, but afterwards, being forced by the circumstance, he accepted the command of the foreigners and, marching with them, set out for Leontini.
§16.17.5οἱ δὲ Συρακόσιοι συστραφέντες ἐδίωκον τοὺς μισθοφόρους καὶ κατὰ τὴν ὁδοιπορίαν συνάψαντες μάχην καὶ πολλοὺς ἀποβαλόντες ἀπεχώρησαν.
The Syracusans, having banded together, pursued the mercenaries, and having joined battle on the march and lost many men, they retreated.
ὁ δὲ Δίων λαμπρᾷ μάχῃ νικήσας οὐδὲν ἐμνησικάκησε τοῖς Συρακοσίοις· ἀποστειλάντων γὰρ πρὸς αὐτὸν κήρυκα περὶ τῆς τῶν νεκρῶν ἀναιρέσεως τήν τε τῶν νεκρῶν ἀναίρεσιν ἔδωκε καὶ τοὺς ἁλόντας πολλοὺς ὄντας ἀπέλυσεν ἄνευ λύτρων.
Dion, having won a brilliant victory in the battle, bore no grudge against the Syracusans; for when they sent a herald to him concerning the recovery of the dead, he granted the recovery of the dead and released the captives, who were many, without ransom.
πολλοὶ γὰρ ἐν τῇ φυγῇ μέλλοντες φονεύεσθαι διηγόρευον ἑαυτοὺς εἶναι τῶν τὰ Δίωνος φρονούντων καὶ πάντες διὰ ταύτην τὴν αἰτίαν ἐξέφυγον τὸν θάνατον.
For many who were about to be slain in the flight declared themselves to be among those who favored Dion's cause, and all of them for this reason escaped death.

Notes

  1. §16.17.1τοῦ δὲ Δίωνος ἀποκριθέντος — Genitive absolute construction. It introduces a premise or cause with a subject (ὁ Δίων) distinct from that of the main clause (ὁ μὲν Διονύσιος).
  2. §16.17.1ὥστε τοὺς μισθοφόρους καὶ τὰ χρήματα λαβόντα εἰς τὴν Ἰταλίαν μεταστῆναι — The conjunction ὥστε with the infinitive μεταστῆναι expresses the terms of an agreement ('on the condition that') rather than a consequence. The implied subject of the infinitive is indicated by the accusative participle λαβόντα, referring back to Dionysius.
  3. §16.17.3διὰ τὸ τοῦτον δοκεῖν μηδέποτʼ ἂν ἐπιθέσθαι τυραννίδι — Within the articular infinitive τὸ ... δοκεῖν governed by διὰ, τοῦτον (referring to Heracleides) acts as the subject accusative. The infinitive ἐπιθέσθαι with ἂν dependent on δοκεῖν represents a potential optative or an indicative past with ἂν in indirect discourse, conveying the potential sense: 'because it seemed that he would never attempt a tyranny.'
  4. §16.17.5τῶν τὰ Δίωνος φρονούντων — The genitive participle phrase τῶν ... φρονούντων acts as a partitive predicate genitive with εἶναι, meaning 'that they belonged to those who...'. The expression τὰ Δίωνος φρονεῖν (literally 'to mind the things of Dion') is an idiomatic phrase meaning 'to favor the cause of Dion' or 'to side with Dion'.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §16.17.1-16.17.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:16.17.1-16.17.5

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