Humanitext Reader

Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §16.90.1-16.90.2

Death of Timoleon and His Public Funeral at Syracuse

Passage 598 of 723 · Greek

Summary

The death of Timoleon in Sicily and his grand funeral with the proclamation of a decree are described, along with the death of Ariobarzanes and the Roman victory near Suessa.

§16.90.1κατὰ δὲ τὴν Σικελίαν Τιμολέων ὁ Κορίνθιος ἅπαντα τοῖς Συρακοσίοις καὶ τοῖς Σικελιώταις κατωρθωκὼς ἐτελεύτησε, στρατηγήσας ἔτη ὀκτώ.
In Sicily, Timoleon the Corinthian, having successfully settled all affairs for the Syracusans and the Siceliotes, died after having served as general for eight years.
οἱ δὲ Συρακόσιοι μεγάλως ἀποδεδεγμένοι τὸν ἄνδρα διά τε τὴν ἀρετὴν καὶ τὸ μέγεθος τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν μεγαλοπρεπῶς ἔθαψαν αὐτὸν καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἐκφορὰν ἀθροισθέντος τοῦ πλήθους τόδε τὸ ψήφισμα ἀνηγόρευσεν ὁ Δημήτριος ὃς ἦν μεγαλοφωνότατος τῶν τότε κηρύκων· ἐψήφισται ὁ δᾶμος τῶν Συρακοσίων Τιμολέοντα Τιμαινέτου Κορίνθιον τόνδε θάπτειν μὲν ἀπὸ διακοσιᾶν μνᾶν, τιμᾶσθαι δὲ εἰς τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον ἀγώνεσσι μουσικοῖς καὶ ἱππικοῖς καὶ γυμνικοῖς, ὅτι τοὺς τυράννους καταλύσας καὶ τοὺς βαρβάρους καταπολεμήσας καὶ τὰς μεγίστας τῶν Ἑλληνίδων πόλεων ἀνοικίσας αἴτιος ἐγενήθη τᾶς ἐλευθερίας τοῖς Σικελιώταις. §16.90.2περὶ δὲ τοὺς αὐτοὺς καιροὺς Ἀριοβαρζάνης μὲν ἐτελεύτησεν βασιλεύσας ἔτη εἴκοσι καὶ ἕξ, τὴν δὲ βασιλείαν διαδεξάμενος Μιθριδάτης ἦρξεν ἔτη πέντε πρὸς τοῖς τριάκοντα.
The Syracusans, who held the man in great esteem because of his virtue and the greatness of his benefactions, buried him magnificently, and at his funeral, when the multitude had gathered, Demetrius, who had the loudest voice among the heralds of that time, proclaimed this decree: "The people of Syracuse have decreed to bury this Timoleon, son of Timainetos, the Corinthian, at a cost of two hundred minae, and to honor him for all time with musical, equestrian, and gymnastic contests, because, by overthrowing the tyrants, defeating the barbarians in war, and resettling the greatest of the Greek cities, he became the author of freedom for the Siceliotes." About the same time, Ariobarzanes died after reigning for twenty-six years, and Mithridates, having succeeded to the kingdom, ruled for thirty-five years.
Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ πρὸς Λατίνους καὶ Καμπανοὺς παραταξάμενοι περὶ πόλιν Σούεσσαν ἐνίκησαν καὶ τῶν ἡττηθέντων μέρος τῆς χώρας ἀφείλοντο.
The Romans, having drawn up for battle against the Latins and Campanians near the city of Suessa, defeated them and confiscated a portion of the territory of the vanquished.
ὁ δὲ κατωρθωκὼς τὴν μάχην Μάλλιος ὁ ὕπατος ἐθριάμβευσεν.
The consul Manlius, who had successfully directed the battle, celebrated a triumph.

Notes

  1. §16.90.1διακοσιᾶν μνᾶν — Written in the Doric dialect (equivalent to Attic διακοσίων μνῶν). The preposition ἀπό indicates the source of funds or expense ('at a cost of').
  2. §16.90.1ἐψήφισται ὁ δᾶμος ... θάπτειν — The verb ἐψήφισται is a third-person singular perfect passive ('it has been decreed'), but it is accompanied by the nominative subject ὁ δᾶμος (the people) and governs the infinitive θάπτειν (to bury), showing a mixture of active and passive constructions.
  3. §16.90.2παραταξάμενος — The participle is in the singular nominative (παραταξάμενος), whereas the subject is the plural noun Ῥωμαῖοι (the Romans), representing a grammatical disagreement in number. It is generally understood as a scribal error for the plural παραταξάμενοι.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §16.90.1-16.90.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:16.90.1-16.90.2

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.