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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §16.6.1-16.6.5

Dion's Exile and Preparations to Liberate Syracuse

Passage 514 of 723 · Greek

Summary

After stating the Athenian and Roman synchronisms, the passage describes how Dion, driven by his background and the tyrant's suspicion, fled to the Peloponnese and raised mercenaries and armor in Corinth and Zacynthus to liberate Syracuse.

§16.6.1ἐπʼ ἄρχοντος γὰρ Ἀθήνησι Κηφισοδότου Ῥωμαῖοι κατέστησαν ὑπάτους Γάιον Λικίνιον καὶ Γάιον Σουλπίκιον.
For when Cephisodotus was archon at Athens, the Romans appointed Gaius Licinius and Gaius Sulpicius as consuls.
ἐπὶ δὲ τούτων Δίων ὁ Ἱππαρίνου, Συρακοσίων ὑπάρχων ἐπιφανέστατος, ἔφυγεν ἐκ τῆς Σικελίας καὶ διὰ τὴν λαμπρότητα τῆς ψυχῆς ἠλευθέρωσε Συρακοσίους καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους Σικελιώτας διὰ τοιαύτας τινὰς αἰτίας.
And during their term of office, Dion the son of Hipparinus, who was the most illustrious of the Syracusans, fled from Sicily and, because of the nobility of his soul, liberated the Syracusans and the other Siceliotes for some such reasons as follows.
§16.6.2ὁ πρεσβύτερος Διονύσιος ἐκ δυεῖν γυναικῶν ἦν πεπαιδοποιημένος, ἐκ μὲν τῆς πρώτης Λοκρίδος οὔσης τὸ γένος Διονύσιον τὸν διαδεξάμενον τὴν τυραννίδα, ἐκ δὲ τῆς δευτέρας Ἱππαρίνου θυγατρὸς οὔσης, εὐδοκιμωτάτου Συρακοσίων, δύο παῖδας, Ἱππαρῖνον καὶ Νυσαῖον.
The elder Dionysius had begotten children by two wives: by the first, who was of Locrian descent, Dionysius who succeeded to the tyranny, and by the second, who was the daughter of Hipparinus, the most highly esteemed of the Syracusans, two sons, Hipparinus and Nysaeus.
§16.6.3ἐτύγχανε δὲ τῆς δευτέρας γυναικὸς ἀδελφὸς ὢν Δίων, ἀνὴρ ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ μεγάλην ἔχων προκοπὴν καὶ κατʼ ἀνδρείαν καὶ στρατηγίαν πολὺ προέχων τῶν κατʼ αὐτὸν Συρακοσίων.
Now Dion happened to be the brother of the second wife, a man who had made great progress in philosophy and who, in courage and military leadership, far surpassed the Syracusans of his time.
§16.6.4οὗτος δὲ διὰ τὴν εὐγένειαν καὶ τὴν λαμπρότητα τῆς ψυχῆς εἰς ὑποψίαν ἦλθε τῷ τυράννῳ, δόξας ἀξιόχρεως εἶναι καταλῦσαι τὴν τυραννίδα.
This man, because of his high birth and nobility of soul, fell under the suspicion of the tyrant, since he seemed to be capable of overthrowing the tyranny.
φοβούμενος οὖν αὐτὸν ὁ Διονύσιος ἔκρινεν ἐκποδὼν ποιήσασθαι τὸν ἄνδρα, συλλαβὼν ἐπὶ θανάτῳ.
Therefore, Dionysius, fearing him, decided to put the man out of the way, having him arrested to be put to death.
ὁ δὲ Δίων αἰσθόμενος τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἐκρύφθη παρά τισιν τῶν φίλων, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἔφυγεν ἐκ τῆς Σικελίας εἰς Πελοπόννησον, ἔχων μεθʼ ἑαυτοῦ τὸν ἀδελφὸν Μεγακλῆν καὶ Ἡρακλείδην τὸν ἐπὶ τῶν στρατιωτῶν τεταγμένον ὑπὸ τοῦ τυράννου.
But Dion, having perceived this, at first hid himself with some of his friends, and after that fled from Sicily to the Peloponnese, having with him his brother Megacles and Heracleides, who had been appointed commander of the soldiers by the tyrant.
§16.6.5καταπλεύσας δʼ εἰς τὴν Κόρινθον τοὺς μὲν Κορινθίους ἠξίου συνεπιλαβέσθαι τῆς ἐλευθερώσεως τῶν Συρακοσίων, αὐτὸς δὲ μισθοφόρους συνῆγε καὶ πανοπλίας συνήθροιζε.
And having sailed to Corinth, he urged the Corinthians to assist in the liberation of the Syracusans, and he himself collected mercenaries and gathered suits of armor.
ταχὺ δὲ πολλῶν ὑπακουόντων πανοπλίας τε παρεσκευάζετο καὶ μισθοφόρους συχνούς, καὶ φορτηγοὺς δύο ναῦς μισθωσάμενος τά τε ὅπλα καὶ τοὺς μισθοφόρους ἐνθέμενος αὐτὸς μὲν ταύτας τὰς φορτίδας ἔχων ἐξέπλευσεν ἐκ Ζακύνθου τῆς πρὸς Κεφαλληνίαν εἰς τὴν Σικελίαν, Ἡρακλείδην δὲ ἀπέλιπεν τριήρεις τινὰς καὶ ἑτέρας φορτηγοὺς ἄξοντα κατόπιν εἰς τὰς Συρακούσσας.
And since many quickly responded, he prepared suits of armor and numerous mercenaries, and having hired two merchant vessels and put the arms and the mercenaries on board, he himself set sail with these merchant ships from Zacynthus, which lies opposite Cephallenia, for Sicily; and he left Heracleides behind to bring some triremes and other merchant vessels later to Syracuse.

Notes

  1. §16.6.2ἦν πεπαιδοποιημένος — A periphrastic past perfect formed by the imperfect ἦν of εἰμί and the perfect passive participle πεπαιδοποιημένος (from παιδοποιέω, 'to beget children'), representing an active state of having begotten children.
  2. §16.6.3ἐτύγχανε... ὢν — The construction of the verb τυγχάνω with the present participle ὢν (from εἰμί, 'to be'), expressing that the subject 'happened to be' or 'actually was' of a certain status.
  3. §16.6.4δόξας ἀξιόχρεως εἶναι καταλῦσαι τὴν τυραννίδα — The infinitive καταλῦσαι functions as an epexegetical infinitive modifying the adjective ἀξιόχρεως ('capable', 'worthy'), clarifying in what respect he was deemed capable, namely 'capable of overthrowing the tyranny'.
  4. §16.6.5ἄξοντα — The future active participle of the verb ἄγω, expressing the purpose or intention relative to the main verb ἀπέλιπεν ('left him behind to bring...').

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §16.6.1-16.6.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:16.6.1-16.6.5

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