Humanitext Reader

Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §16.34.1-16.34.5

Pammenes' Campaign in Asia and the Siege of Methone

Passage 542 of 723 · Greek

Summary

This chunk describes the military exploits of the Thebans under Pammenes assisting Artabazus in Asia, various conflicts in Greece including Chares' capture of Sestos, and Philip's siege of Methone, during which Philip lost his eye.

§16.34.1ἅμα δὲ τούτοις πραττομένοις Ἀρτάβαζος, ἀποστάτης ὢν τοῦ βασιλέως, διεπολέμει πρὸς τοὺς ἀποσταλέντας ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως σατράπας εἰς τὸν πόλεμον.
While these things were being done, Artabazus, who was a rebel against the King, carried on war against the satraps who had been sent by the King to the war.
καὶ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον συμμαχοῦντος αὐτῷ Χάρητος τοῦ Ἀθηναίων στρατηγοῦ ἐρρωμένως ἀντετάττετο τοῖς σατράπαις, ἐκείνου δʼ ἀπελθόντος μονωθεὶς ἔπεισε τοὺς Θηβαίους συμμαχίαν αὐτῷ πέμψαι.
At first, indeed, since Chares the Athenian general was in alliance with him, he strongly opposed the satraps, but when the former departed and he was left alone, he persuaded the Thebans to send him an alliance.
οἱ δὲ Παμμένη στρατηγὸν ἑλόμενοι καὶ δόντες αὐτῷ στρατιώτας πεντακισχιλίους ἐξέπεμψαν εἰς τὴν Ἀσίαν.
They, having chosen Pammenes as general and having given him five thousand soldiers, dispatched him to Asia.
§16.34.2ὁ δὲ Παμμένης βοηθήσας Ἀρταβάζῳ καὶ τοὺς σατράπας μεγάλαις μάχαις δυσὶ νικήσας περιεποιήσατο μεγάλην δόξαν ἑαυτῷ τε καὶ τοῖς Βοιωτοῖς.
Pammenes, having assisted Artabazus and having defeated the satraps in two great battles, acquired great glory for himself and for the Boeotians.
ἐφάνη γὰρ θαυμαστὸν εἰ Βοιωτοὶ τῶν μὲν Θετταλῶν ἐγκαταλελοιπότων, τοῦ δὲ Φωκικοῦ πολέμου μεγάλους ἐπιφέροντος κινδύνους διαποντίους δυνάμεις εἰς Ἀσίαν ἐξέπεμπον καὶ προετέρουν κατὰ τὸ πλεῖστον ἐν τοῖς κινδύνοις.
For indeed, it seemed astonishing that the Boeotians, although the Thessalians had abandoned them and the Phocian War was bringing great dangers upon them, were dispatching overseas forces to Asia and were for the most part prevailing in those dangers.
§16.34.3ἅμα δὲ τούτοις πραττομένοις συνέστη πόλεμος Ἀργείοις πρὸς Λακεδαιμονίους, καὶ γενομένης μάχης περὶ πόλιν Ὀρνεὰς ἐνίκων οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι καὶ τὰς Ὀρνεὰς ἐκπολιορκήσαντες ἐπανῆλθον εἰς τὴν Σπάρτην.
While these things were being done, a war broke out between the Argives and the Lacedaemonians; and when a battle took place near the city of Orneae, the Lacedaemonians were victorious, and having taken Orneae by siege, they returned to Sparta.
Χάρης δὲ ὁ τῶν Ἀθηναίων στρατηγὸς εἰσπλεύσας εἰς Ἑλλήσποντον καὶ Σηστὸν πόλιν ἑλὼν τοὺς μὲν ἡβῶντας ἀπέσφαξεν, τοὺς δʼ ἄλλους ἐξηνδραποδίσατο.
Meanwhile Chares, the Athenian general, having sailed into the Hellespont and captured the city of Sestos, slaughtered the adult men and enslaved the rest.
§16.34.4Κερσοβλέπτου δὲ τοῦ Κότυος διά τε τὴν πρὸς Φίλιππον ἀλλοτριότητα καὶ τὴν πρὸς Ἀθηναίους φιλίαν ἐγχειρίσαντος τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις τὰς ἐν Χερρονήσῳ πόλεις πλὴν Καρδίας ἀπέστειλεν ὁ δῆμος κληρούχους εἰς τὰς πόλεις.
When Cersobleptes, the son of Cotys, because of both his hostility toward Philip and his friendship toward the Athenians, surrendered to the Athenians the cities in the Chersonese except Cardia, the people dispatched settlers to these cities.
Φίλιππος δʼ ὁρῶν τοὺς Μεθωναίους ὁρμητήριον παρεχομένους τὴν πόλιν τοῖς πολεμίοις ἑαυτοῦ πολιορκίαν συνεστήσατο.
But Philip, seeing that the Methonaeans were providing their city as a base of operations for his enemies, undertook a siege of it.
§16.34.5καὶ μέχρι μέν τινος οἱ Μεθωναῖοι διεκαρτέρουν, ἔπειτα κατισχυόμενοι συνηναγκάσθησαν παραδοῦναι τὴν πόλιν τῷ βασιλεῖ ὥστε ἀπελθεῖν τοὺς πολίτας ἐκ τῆς Μεθώνης ἔχοντας ἓν ἱμάτιον ἕκαστον.
And for a certain time the Methonaeans held out, but later, being overpowered, they were forced to surrender the city to the King on condition that the citizens should depart from Methone, each having one garment.
ὁ δὲ Φίλιππος τὴν μὲν πόλιν κατέσκαψε, τὴν δὲ χώραν διένειμε τοῖς Μακεδόσιν.
Philip demolished the city and distributed its territory to the Macedonians.
ἐν δὲ τῇ πολιορκίᾳ ταύτῃ συνέβη τὸν Φίλιππον εἰς τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν πληγέντα τοξεύματι διαφθαρῆναι τὴν ὅρασιν.
In this siege, it happened that Philip, having been struck in the eye by an arrow, lost his sight.

Notes

  1. 16.34.2ἐφάνη γὰρ θαυμαστὸν εἰ — The conjunction εἰ following the adjective of emotion (θαυμαστόν) introduces a factual noun clause (equivalent to 'that') rather than a conditional clause. It expresses astonishment at the fact that the Boeotians dispatched an overseas force despite their own crisis.
  2. 16.34.4τοὺς Μεθωναίους ὁρμητήριον παρεχομένους τὴν πόλιν — The participle παρεχομένους serves as the accusative complement of the verb of perception ὁρῶν. ὁρμητήριον functions as a predicative accusative complement to τὴν πόλιν (direct object), meaning 'seeing the Methonians providing the city as a base.'
  3. 16.34.5ὥστε ἀπελθεῖν τοὺς πολίτας — The conjunction ὥστε with the infinitive expresses not merely a result, but a condition or terms of agreement ('on condition that the citizens should depart...').

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §16.34.1-16.34.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:16.34.1-16.34.5

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.