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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §16.38.1-16.38.7

Philip's Withdrawal and the Death of Phayllus

Passage 546 of 723 · Greek

Summary

Philip defeats Onomarchus and expands his power but is blocked by the Athenians. Meanwhile, the Phocian general Phayllus conducts campaigns before dying of disease, and his young successor Phalaecus suffers defeats against the Boeotians.

§16.38.1οὗτος γὰρ νικήσας τὸν Ὀνόμαρχον ἐπιφανεῖ παρατάξει τήν τʼ ἐν Φεραῖς τυραννίδα καθεῖλε καὶ τῇ πόλει τὴν ἐλευθερίαν ἀποδοὺς καὶ τἄλλα τὰ κατὰ τὴν Θετταλίαν καταστήσας προῆγεν ἐπὶ τὰς Πύλας πολεμήσων τοῖς Φωκεῦσι. §16.38.2κωλυσάντων δὲ τῶν Ἀθηναίων διελθεῖν τὰς παρόδους ἐπανῆλθεν εἰς Μακεδονίαν, ηὐξηκὼς ἑαυτοῦ τὴν βασιλείαν ταῖς τε πράξεσι καὶ τῇ πρὸς τὸ θεῖον εὐσεβείᾳ. §16.38.3Φάυλλος δὲ στρατεύσας εἰς Λοκροὺς τοὺς ὀνομαζομένους Ἐπικνημιδίους τὰς μὲν ἄλλας πόλεις ἐχειρώσατο πάσας, μίαν δὲ τὴν ὀνομαζομένην Νάρυκα διὰ προδοσίας νυκτὸς παραλαβὼν πάλιν ἐξέπεσε καὶ τῶν στρατιωτῶν ἀπέβαλεν οὐκ ἐλάττους τῶν διακοσίων. §16.38.4μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα στρατοπεδεύοντος αὐτοῦ περὶ τὰς ὀνομαζομένας Ἄβας οἱ Βοιωτοὶ νυκτὸς ἐπιθέμενοι τοῖς Φωκεῦσιν ἀνεῖλον αὐτῶν οὐκ ὀλίγους· ἐπαρθέντες δὲ τῷ προτερήματι παρῆλθον εἰς τὴν τῶν Φωκέων χώραν καὶ πολλὴν αὐτῆς πορθήσαντες ἤθροισαν λαφύρων πλῆθος. §16.38.5ἐπανιόντων δʼ αὐτῶν καὶ τῇ Ναρυκαίων πόλει πολιορκουμένῃ βοηθούντων ἐπιφανεὶς ὁ Φάυλλος τούτους μὲν ἐτρέψατο, τὴν δὲ πόλιν ἑλὼν κατὰ κράτος διήρπασε καὶ κατέσκαψεν. §16.38.6αὐτὸς δὲ περιπεσὼν νόσῳ φθινάδι καὶ πολὺν χρόνον ἀρρωστήσας ἐπιπόνως καὶ τῆς ἀσεβείας οἰκείως κατέστρεψε τὸν βίον, καταλιπὼν τῶν Φωκέων στρατηγὸν Φάλαικον τὸν Ὀνομάρχου υἱὸν τοῦ τὸν ἱερὸν πόλεμον ἐκκαύσαντος, ἀντίπαιδα τὴν ἡλικίαν ὄντα· παρακατέστησε δʼ αὐτῷ ἐπίτροπον ἅμα καὶ στρατηγὸν Μνασέαν, ἕνα τῶν ἑαυτοῦ φίλων. §16.38.7μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα οἱ Βοιωτοὶ νυκτὸς ἐπιθέμενοι τοῖς Φωκεῦσι τόν τε στρατηγὸν αὐτῶν Μνασέαν ἀπέκτειναν καὶ τῶν στρατιωτῶν εἰς διακοσίους.
For he, having defeated Onomarchus in a famous battle, overthrew the tyranny in Pherae, and after restoring freedom to the city and settling the other affairs throughout Thessaly, advanced toward Thermopylae to make war against the Phocians. But when the Athenians prevented him from passing through the defiles, he returned to Macedonia, having enlarged his kingdom both by his deeds and by his piety toward the divine. Meanwhile, Phayllus, having marched against the Locrians called Epicnemidian, subdued all the other cities, but after taking one called Naryx by treachery at night, he was driven out again and lost no fewer than two hundred of his soldiers. After this, while he was encamped near the place called Abae, the Boeotians attacked the Phocians by night and slew not a few of them; and being encouraged by their success, they passed into the territory of the Phocians, and after ravaging much of it, gathered an abundance of booty. As they were returning and bringing aid to the city of the Naryceans which was under siege, Phayllus appeared and put them to flight, and having captured the city by storm, plundered it and razed it to the ground. But he himself, falling into a wasting disease and being painfully ill for a long time, ended his life in a manner appropriate to his impiety, leaving as general of the Phocians Phalaecus, the son of Onomarchus who had kindled the Sacred War, who was still a mere boy in age; and he appointed alongside him as guardian and also general Mnaseas, one of his own friends. After this, the Boeotians, attacking the Phocians by night, killed their general Mnaseas and about two hundred of their soldiers.
μετʼ ὀλίγον δʼ ἱππομαχίας γενομένης περὶ Χαιρώνειαν ὁ Φάλαικος ἡττηθεὶς ἀπέβαλε τῶν ἱππέων οὐκ ὀλίγους.
And a little later, when a cavalry battle took place near Chaeroneia, Phalaecus was defeated and lost not a few of his cavalry.

Notes

  1. 16.38.1πολεμήσων — Future participle active, masculine singular nominative of πολεμέω, expressing the purpose ('in order to wage war') of the main subject (Philip).
  2. 16.38.2κωλυσάντων — κωλυσάντων τῶν Ἀθηναίων forms a genitive absolute construction. The aorist infinitive διελθεῖν depends on the verb κωλύω ('prevent from passing through'), with the omitted accusative subject (Philip) implied.
  3. 16.38.5ἐπανιόντων — ἐπανιόντων δʼ αὐτῶν and βοηθούντων form a genitive absolute, with αὐτῶν referring to the Boeotians, which is distinct from the main subject of the clause (ὁ Φάυλλος).
  4. 16.38.6τοῦ — The article τοῦ with the aorist active participle ἐκκαύσαντος modifies the genitive noun Ὀνομάρχου, functioning attributively ('of Onomarchus, the one who kindled...').
  5. 16.38.7εἰς — The preposition εἰς combined with a numeral is used here to express an approximate number ('about' or 'up to two hundred').

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §16.38.1-16.38.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:16.38.1-16.38.7

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