Humanitext Reader

Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §16.81.1-16.81.4

Division of the Spoils and Carthaginian Fears

Passage 589 of 723 · Greek

Summary

After the battle, Timoleon granted the abundant spoils to his soldiers, while the defeated Carthaginians barely escaped to Lilybaeum. In Carthage, citizens feared an imminent invasion, prompting them to recruit foreign mercenaries and seek peace.

§16.81.1πολλῶν δὲ καὶ χρημάτων καταληφθέντων διὰ τὸ τοὺς Καρχηδονίους ἐσχηκέναι πλῆθος ἐκπωμάτων ἀργυρῶν τε καὶ χρυσῶν, ἔτι δὲ τὸν ἄλλον κόσμον ὑπερβάλλοντα διὰ τὸ μέγεθος τῆς παρʼ αὐτοῖς εὐπορίας ἅπαντα συνεχώρησε τοῖς στρατιώταις ἔχειν ἔπαθλα τῆς ἀνδραγαθίας.
And since many riches were also captured, because the Carthaginians possessed a multitude of silver and gold cups, and furthermore, other ornaments outstanding because of the greatness of their wealth, he allowed the soldiers to keep all these as prizes for their bravery.
§16.81.2τῶν δὲ Καρχηδονίων οἱ διαφυγόντες τὸν ἐν τῇ μάχῃ κίνδυνον μόγις εἰς τὸ Λιλύβαιον διεσώθησαν.
Those of the Carthaginians who escaped the danger in the battle barely saved themselves into Lilybaeum.
τοσαύτη δʼ αὐτοὺς κατάπληξις καὶ δέος κατεῖχεν ὥστε μὴ τολμᾶν εἰς τὰς ναῦς ἐμβαίνειν μηδʼ ἀποπλεῖν εἰς τὴν Λιβύην, ὡς διὰ τὴν τῶν θεῶν ἀλλοτριότητα πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὑπὸ τοῦ Λιβυκοῦ πελάγους καταποθησομένους.
Such great consternation and fear possessed them that they did not dare to embark on the ships nor to sail away to Libya, thinking that they would be swallowed up by the Libyan Sea because of the hostility of the gods toward them.
§16.81.3οἱ δʼ ἐν τῇ Καρχηδόνι τὸ μέγεθος πυθόμενοι τῆς συμφορᾶς συνετρίβησαν ταῖς ψυχαῖς καὶ συντόμως ὑπελάμβανον ἥξειν ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς τὸν Τιμολέοντα μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως.
Those in Carthage, hearing of the greatness of the disaster, were crushed in their souls and immediately supposed that Timoleon would come against them with his army.
εὐθὺ δὲ Γέσκωνα τὸν Ἄννωνος πεφυγαδευμένον κατήγαγον καὶ στρατηγὸν ἀπέδειξαν διὰ τὸ δοκεῖν τόλμῃ τε καὶ στρατηγίᾳ διαφέρειν.
And straightway they recalled Gisco, the son of Hanno, who had been exiled, and appointed him general because he was thought to excel in courage and generalship.
§16.81.4αὐτοὶ δʼ ἔκριναν πολιτικοῖς μὲν σώμασι μὴ διακινδυνεύειν, μισθοφόρους δὲ ἀλλοεθνεῖς ἀθροίζειν καὶ μάλιστα Ἕλληνας· ὑπακούσεσθαι δʼ αὐτοῖς πρὸς τὴν στρατείαν πολλοὺς ὑπελάμβανον διὰ τὸ μέγεθος τῆς μισθοφορᾶς καὶ τὴν εὐπορίαν τῆς Καρχηδόνος.
They themselves decided not to risk citizen bodies, but to gather mercenaries of other nations, and especially Greeks; and they supposed that many would obey them for the campaign because of the greatness of the pay and the wealth of Carthage.
εἰς δὲ τὴν Σικελίαν τοὺς εὐθέτους πρέσβεις ἐξέπεμψαν, προστάξαντες ἐφʼ οἷς ἂν ᾖ δυνατὸν συνθέσθαι τὴν εἰρήνην.
To Sicily they sent suitable ambassadors, ordering them to make peace on whatever terms might be possible.

Notes

  1. §16.81.1πολλῶν δὲ καὶ χρημάτων καταληφθέντων — A genitive absolute construction. Although the subject of the entire sentence is not explicitly stated in this clause, contextually Timoleon (or the Greek army under his command) is the agent of the action.
  2. §16.81.2ὡς ... καταποθησομένους — The future participle καταποθησομένους (passive) with the conjunction ὡς agrees with the accusative pronoun αὐτούς (the surviving Carthaginians) of the main clause, expressing their subjective expectation or belief ('thinking that they would be...').
  3. §16.81.4ἐφʼ οἷς ἂν ᾖ δυνατὸν — A relative conditional clause, where the relative pronoun ὅς is preceded by the preposition ἐπί (denoting conditions, 'on terms that...'), followed by the subjunctive ᾖ with ἄν.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §16.81.1-16.81.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:16.81.1-16.81.4

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.