Humanitext Reader

Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §17.22.1-17.22.5

Capture of Miletus and Disbandment of the Fleet

Passage 627 of 723 · Greek

Summary

Alexander besieges Miletus and captures it after a vigorous assault. While treating the Milesians humanely, he waves of enslavement over the other inhabitants and disbands most of his expensive fleet.

§17.22.1εἰς δὲ τὴν Μίλητον συμπεφευγότων τῶν διασωθέντων ἐκ τῆς μάχης Περσῶν μετὰ Μέμνονος τοῦ στρατηγοῦ ὁ μὲν βασιλεὺς πλησίον τῆς πόλεως στρατοπεδεύσας καθʼ ἡμέραν συνεχεῖς προσβολὰς τοῖς τείχεσιν ἐκ διαδοχῆς ἐποιεῖτο,
When the Persians who had survived the battle had fled to Miletus together with Memnon the general, the king, encamping near the city, made continuous attacks upon the walls day after day in relays.
§17.22.2οἱ δὲ πολιορκούμενοι τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ῥᾳδίως ἀπὸ τῶν τειχῶν ἠμύνοντο, πολλῶν μὲν στρατιωτῶν ἠθροισμένων εἰς τὴν πόλιν, βελῶν δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν εἰς τὴν πολιορκίαν χρησίμων δαψιλῆ χορηγίαν ἔχοντες·
Those who were besieged at first easily defended themselves from the walls, since many soldiers had assembled in the city, and they had an abundant supply of missiles and other things useful for a siege.
§17.22.3ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς φιλοτιμότερον ταῖς τε μηχαναῖς ἐσάλευε τὰ τείχη καὶ τὴν πολιορκίαν ἐνεργεστάτην ἐποιεῖτο κατὰ γῆν ἅμα καὶ κατὰ θάλατταν οἵ τε Μακεδόνες διὰ τῶν πιπτόντων τειχῶν εἰσεβιάζοντο, τηνικαῦτα κατισχυόμενοι πρὸς φυγὴν ἐτράποντο.
But when the king shook the walls with his engines with greater determination and made the siege most vigorous by land as well as by sea, and the Macedonians forced their way through the falling walls, then, being overpowered, they turned to flight.
§17.22.4εὐθὺ δʼ οἱ Μιλήσιοι μεθʼ ἱκετηριῶν τῷ βασιλεῖ προσπίπτοντες παρέδωκαν σφᾶς αὐτοὺς καὶ τὴν πόλιν.
Straightway the Milesians, falling down before the king with suppliant olive-branches, surrendered themselves and the city.
τῶν δὲ βαρβάρων οἱ μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν Μακεδόνων ἀνῃρέθησαν, οἱ δὲ τῆς πόλεως ἐκπίπτοντες ἔφευγον, οἱ δʼ ἄλλοι πάντες ἥλωσαν.
Of the barbarians, some were slain by the Macedonians, others fled as they were driven out of the city, and all the rest were captured.
§17.22.5ὁ δʼ Ἀλέξανδρος τοῖς μὲν Μιλησίοις φιλανθρώπως προσηνέχθη, τοὺς δʼ ἄλλους ἅπαντας ἐξηνδραποδίσατο.
Alexander treated the Milesians humanely, but enslaved all the others.
τῆς δὲ ναυτικῆς δυνάμεως οὔσης ἀχρήστου καὶ δαπάνας μεγάλας ἐχούσης κατέλυσε τὸ ναυτικὸν πλὴν ὀλίγων νεῶν, αἷς ἐχρῆτο πρὸς τὴν παρακομιδὴν τῶν πολιορκητικῶν ὀργάνων, ἐν αἷς ἦσαν αἱ παρʼ Ἀθηναίων νῆες συμμαχίδες εἴκοσιν.
Since the fleet was useless and incurred great expenses, he disbanded the navy except for a few ships which he used for the transport of the siege engines, among which were the twenty allied ships from the Athenians.

Notes

  1. 17.22.3ἐπεὶ δὲ ... τηνικαῦτα — The subordinate clause introduced by the conjunction ἐπεὶ is extended with multiple verb phrases (ἐσάλευε, ἐποιεῖτο, and εἰσεβιάζοντο connected by the particle τε), and the main clause (κατισχυόμενοι πρὸς φυγὴν ἐτράποντο) is finally introduced by the demonstrative adverb τηνικαῦτα (then).
  2. 17.22.5ὀλίγων νεῶν, αἷς ἐχρῆτο ... ἐν αἷς ἦσαν — The genitive noun phrase ὀλίγων νεῶν, governed by the preposition πλὴν (except), is modified first by the restrictive relative clause introduced by the dative relative pronoun αἷς (αἷς ἐχρῆτο...), and further supplemented by another relative clause introduced by the prepositional phrase ἐν αἷς.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §17.22.1-17.22.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:17.22.1-17.22.5

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.