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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §16.61.1-16.61.4

Fates of the Phocian Leaders and Phalaecus

Passage 569 of 723 · Greek

Summary

The author describes the divine retribution and disastrous fates that befell the Phocian leaders who plundered the oracle. He also explains how the last leader, Phalaecus, prepared to sail toward Italy and Sicily with his mercenaries.

§16.61.1δίκαιον δʼ εἶναι νομίζομεν πρῶτον ἀναγράψαι τὴν ἐκ θεῶν γενομένην τοῖς εἰς τὸ μαντεῖον παρανενομηκόσι κόλασιν, ὅλως γὰρ οὐ μόνον τοῖς αὐθένταις τῆς ἱεροσυλίας, ἀλλὰ καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς προσαψαμένοις μόνον τῆς παρανομίας ἀπαραίτητος ἐκ τοῦ δαιμονίου ἐπηκολούθησε τιμωρία.
We consider it to be just to record first the punishment from the gods that befell those who had committed lawless acts against the oracle; for in general, not only the perpetrators themselves of the sacrilege, but also all those who merely associated themselves with the lawlessness, were pursued by an inexorable retribution from the divine power.
§16.61.2ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἀρχιτέκτων τῆς καταλήψεως τοῦ ἱεροῦ Φιλόμηλος κατά τινα περίστασιν πολεμικὴν ἑαυτὸν κατεκρήμνισεν, ὁ δὲ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ Ὀνόμαρχος διαδεξάμενος τὴν τῶν ἀπονοηθέντων στρατηγίαν μετὰ τῶν συμπαραταξαμένων ἐν Θετταλίᾳ Φωκέων καὶ μισθοφόρων κατακοπεὶς ἐσταυρώθη.
For Philomelus, the architect of the seizure of the temple, in a certain military crisis threw himself down a cliff; while his brother Onomarchus, having succeeded to the command of these desperate men, was cut to pieces and crucified along with the Phocians and mercenaries who had drawn up in battle with him in Thessaly.
§16.61.3ὁ δὲ τρίτος καὶ πλεῖστα τῶν ἀναθημάτων κατακόψας Φάυλλος πολυχρονίῳ νόσῳ νοσήσας οὐδʼ ἀπολυθῆναι συντόμως τῆς τιμωρίας ἠδυνήθη.
And Phayllus, the third, who had melted down the greatest part of the votive offerings, fell ill with a lingering disease and was not even able to be released quickly from his punishment.
ὁ δʼ ἐπὶ πᾶσι Φάλαικος τὰ λείψανα τῆς ἱεροσυλίας ἀναλαβὼν ἐν πλάναις καὶ μεγάλοις φόβοις καὶ κινδύνοις ἐφʼ ἱκανὸν χρόνον ἐβίωσεν, οὐχ ἵνα μακαριώτερος γένηται τῶν συνασεβησάντων, ἀλλʼ ἵνα πλείω χρόνον στρεβλωθεὶς καὶ πολλοῖς διὰ τὴν ἀτυχίαν γενόμενος γνώριμος περιβόητον ἔχῃ τὴν συμφοράν.
Phalaecus, the last of all, having taken over the remnants of the sacrilege, lived for a considerable time in wanderings, great fears, and dangers—not that he might become happier than his fellow-impious, but that, being tormented for a longer time and becoming known to many because of his misfortune, he might have a notorious disaster.
§16.61.4οὗτος γὰρ μετὰ τὴν ἐκ τῆς ὁμολογίας φυγὴν μετὰ τῶν μισθοφόρων τὸ μὲν πρῶτον διέτριβεν περὶ τὴν Πελοπόννησον, συνέχων τοὺς στρατιώτας ἐκ τῶν ἱεροσυληθέντων λειψάνων, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἐν Κορίνθῳ μισθωσάμενος πλοῖα φορτηγὰ μεγάλα καὶ τέσσαρας ἔχων ἡμιολίας παρεσκευάζετο πρὸς τὸν εἰς Ἰταλίαν καὶ Σικελίαν πλοῦν, νομίζων ἐν τούτοις τοῖς τόποις ἢ καταλήψεσθαί τινα πόλιν ἢ τεύξεσθαι μισθοφορίας· ἐτύγχανε γὰρ Λευκανοῖς πρὸς Ταραντίνους συνεστηκὼς πόλεμος.
For after his flight under the capitulation, he first spent time with his mercenaries around the Peloponnese, maintaining his soldiers from the remnants of the sacrilegious spoils; but after this, having hired large merchant vessels in Corinth and having four hemioliae, he prepared for the voyage to Italy and Sicily, thinking that in these regions he would either seize some city or obtain employment as a mercenary; for a war happened to have broken out between the Lucanians and the Tarentines.
πρὸς δὲ τοὺς συμπλέοντας ἔφη μετάπεμπτος πλεῖν ὑπὸ τῶν ἐξ Ἰταλίας καὶ Σικελίας.
To those sailing with him, he said that he was sailing because he had been summoned by those in Italy and Sicily.

Notes

  1. 16.61.1δίκαιον δʼ εἶναι — An accusative with infinitive construction acting as the object of νομίζομεν (we think). The neuter accusative δίκαιον (just/right) serves as the predicate of εἶναι, while the infinitive ἀναγράψαι (to record) functions as the real subject of the infinitive clause.
  2. 16.61.1τοῖς προσαψαμένοις μόνον τῆς παρανομίας — The participle προσαψαμένοις (those who touched/associated with) is the middle aorist participle of προσάπτομαι, which governs the genitive case. Here, τῆς παρανομίας (the lawlessness) is its genitive object, and μόνον (merely) adverbially modifies the participle.
  3. 16.61.4μετάπεμπτος πλεῖν — In the infinitive construction introduced by the verb ἔφη (he said), since the subject of the infinitive πλεῖν (to sail) is identical to the subject of the main clause (Phalaecus), the adjective μετάπεμπτος (summoned) agrees with the subject in the nominative case rather than the accusative (nominative with infinitive construction).

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §16.61.1-16.61.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:16.61.1-16.61.4

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