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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §17.35.1-17.35.7

Pillage of the Persian Camp and Captivity of the Women

Passage 640 of 723 · Greek

Summary

After the Battle of Issus, the Persians disperse under the cover of night, while the Macedonians plunder the rich Persian camp, resulting in a tragic and humiliating plight for the captive royal and noble women.

§17.35.1νυκτὸς δʼ ἐπιλαβούσης οἱ μὲν Πέρσαι ῥᾳδίως διεσπάρησαν εἰς πολλοὺς τόπους, οἱ δὲ Μακεδόνες παυσάμενοι τοῦ διωγμοῦ πρὸς ἁρπαγὴν ὥρμησαν καὶ μάλιστα περὶ τὰς βασιλικὰς σκηνὰς διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῆς πολυτελείας ἠσχολοῦντο.
When night came on, the Persians easily dispersed into many places, but the Macedonians, having ceased their pursuit, rushed to plunder and were occupied especially around the royal tents because of the abundance of luxury goods.
§17.35.2διόπερ πολὺς μὲν ἄργυρος, οὐκ ὀλίγος δὲ χρυσός, παμπληθεῖς δὲ καὶ πολυτελεῖς ἐσθῆτες ἐκ τῆς βασιλικῆς γάζης διεφοροῦντο.
Consequently, much silver, not a little gold, and numerous and costly garments were carried off from the royal treasury.
ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τῶν τοῦ βασιλέως φίλων καὶ συγγενῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἡγεμόνων οὐκ ὀλίγος διηρπάγη πλοῦτος.
Likewise, not a little wealth of the king's friends and relatives and of the other commanders was plundered.
§17.35.3οὐ μόνον γὰρ αἱ τῆς βασιλικῆς οἰκίας, ἀλλὰ καὶ αἱ τῶν συγγενῶν καὶ φίλων γυναῖκες ἐφʼ ἁρμάτων ὀχούμεναι καταχρύσων συνηκολούθουν κατά τι πάτριον ἔθος τῶν Περσῶν·
For not only the women of the royal household, but also the wives of his relatives and friends were accompanying them, riding on gilded chariots according to a certain ancestral custom of the Persians.
§17.35.4ἑκάστη δὲ τούτων διὰ τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τοῦ πλούτου καὶ τῆς τρυφῆς περιήγετο πλῆθος πολυδαπάνου κατασκευῆς καὶ γυναικείου κόσμου.
And each of these, because of the excess of wealth and luxury, carried about with her a multitude of expensive equipment and feminine adornments.
πάθος δʼ ἦν δεινότατον περὶ τὰς αἰχμαλωτιζομένας γυναῖκας.
But a most terrible suffering befell the women who were being taken captive.
§17.35.5αἱ γὰρ πρότερον διὰ τρυφὴν ἐπʼ ἀπήναις πολυτελέσι μόγις κατακομιζόμεναι καὶ γυμνὸν μέρος τοῦ σώματος οὐδὲν φαίνουσαι, τότε μονοχίτωνες καὶ τὰς ἐσθῆτας περιρρήττουσαι μετʼ ὀδυρμῶν ἐκ τῶν σκηνῶν ἐξεπήδων, ἐπιβοώμεναι θεοὺς καὶ προσπίπτουσαι τοῖς τῶν κρατούντων γόνασι.
For those who formerly because of luxury were with difficulty carried along in costly carriages and showed no naked part of their body, then, wearing only a single tunic and tearing their garments, leapt out of the tents with wailing, calling upon the gods and falling at the knees of their conquerors.
§17.35.6περιαιρούμεναι δὲ ταῖς χερσὶ τρεμούσαις τὸν τοῦ σώματος κόσμον καὶ τὰς κόμας ἀνειμέναι διὰ τόπων τραχέων ἔθεον καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλας συντρέχουσαι βοηθοὺς ἐπεκαλοῦντο τὰς παρʼ ἑτέρων ἐπικουρίας δεομένας.
Stripping off the adornment of their bodies with trembling hands and with their hair let loose, they ran through rough places and, rushing toward one another, called upon as helpers those who themselves stood in need of aid from others.
§17.35.7ἦγον δʼ αὐτὰς οἱ μὲν ἀπὸ τῆς κόμης ἐπισπώμενοι τὰς ἠτυχηκυίας, οἱ δὲ τὰς ἐσθῆτας περιρηγνύντες καὶ γυμνοῖς τοῖς σώμασιν ἐπιβάλλοντες τὰς χεῖρας καὶ ταῖς στάθμαις τῶν δοράτων τύπτοντες καὶ τὰ τιμιώτατα καὶ περιβόητα τῶν βαρβάρων ταῖς τῆς τύχης δωρεαῖς ὑβρίζοντες.
And men led them away, some dragging the unfortunate women by their hair, others tearing their garments and laying hands on their naked bodies, striking them with the shafts of their spears and abusing the most precious and renowned possessions of the barbarians through the gifts of fortune.

Notes

  1. §17.35.1νυκτὸς δʼ ἐπιλαβούσης — A genitive absolute construction acting temporally, using the second aorist active participle of ἐπιλαμβάνω used intransitively, with νύξ ('night') as its logical subject, which is distinct from the main subject of the clause.
  2. §17.35.5αἱ γὰρ πρότερον... τότε... — The demonstrative pronoun (or article functioning as a relative) αἱ at the beginning serves as the subject of the main verb ἐξεπήδων ('leapt out') in the latter half. The long sentence is structured to contrast their past luxurious state (introduced by πρότερον) with their current misery (introduced by τότε), with several present participles describing their actions.
  3. §17.35.6βοηθοὺς ἐπεκαλοῦντο τὰς παρʼ ἑτέρων ἐπικουρίας δεομένας — The verb ἐπεκαλοῦνto ('called upon') takes a double accusative: the substantivized participle phrase acting as the object, tὰς ... δεομένας ('those who stood in need'), and the predicate accusative βοηθούς ('as helpers'). This structure highlights the paradoxical tragedy of seeking help from those who themselves need it.
  4. §17.35.7τὰ τιμιώτατα καὶ περιβόητα τῶν βαρβάρων — A neuter plural adjective with the genitive τῶν βαρβάρων ('of the barbarians'), abstractly referring in this context to the 'most precious and renowned women'. By treating the women as inanimate spoils or prized possessions, the rhetorical phrasing intensifies the tragedy of their objectification.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §17.35.1-17.35.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:17.35.1-17.35.7

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