§17.41.1οἱ δὲ Τύριοι τὸ μὲν πρῶτον προσπλέοντες τῷ χώματι κατεγέλων τοῦ βασιλέως, εἰ τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος ἑαυτὸν δοκεῖ περιέσεσθαι·
At first, the Tyrians, sailing up to the mole, mocked the king, asking whether he thought he would get the better of Poseidon.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα παραδόξως τοῦ χώματος αὐξομένου τέκνα μὲν καὶ γυναῖκας καὶ τοὺς γεγηρακότας εἰς Καρχηδόνα διακομίζειν ἐψηφίσαντο, τοὺς δʼ ἀκμάζοντας ταῖς ἡλικίαις ἐπέλεξαν πρὸς τὴν τειχομαχίαν καὶ ναυμαχίαν ἑτοίμως παρεσκεύαζον, ἔχοντες τριήρεις ὀγδοήκοντα.
But after this, as the mole grew larger contrary to expectation, they voted to evacuate their children, wives, and the aged to Carthage, and selected those in the prime of life for the defense of the walls, readily preparing them for a naval battle, having eighty triremes.
§17.41.2τέλος δὲ τῶν τέκνων καὶ γυναικῶν μέρος μὲν ἔφθασαν ὑπεκθέμενοι πρὸς τοὺς Καρχηδονίους, καταταχούμενοι δʼ ὑπὸ τῆς πολυχειρίας καὶ ταῖς ναυσὶν οὐκ ὄντες ἀξιόμαχοι συνηναγκάσθησαν ὑπομεῖναι πανδημεὶ τὴν πολιορκίαν.
Finally, they succeeded in sending away a part of their children and wives beforehand to the Carthaginians; but being hard pressed by the rapid progress of the work due to the abundance of hands and not being a match for the enemy in their ships, they were compelled en masse to endure the siege.
§17.41.3ἔχοντες δὲ πολλὴν δαψίλειαν καταπελτῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων μηχανῶν τῶν πρὸς πολιορκίαν χρησίμων ἑτέρας πολλαπλασίους κατεσκεύασαν ῥᾳδίως διὰ τῶν ἐν τῇ Τύρῳ μηχανοποιῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τεχνιτῶν παντοδαπῶν ὄντων.
Although they possessed an abundance of catapults and other engines useful for a siege, they easily constructed many times more of them through the engine-makers and other artisans of all kinds who were in Tyre.
§17.41.4διὰ δὲ τούτων ὀργάνων παντοδαπῶν καὶ ξένων ταῖς ἐπινοίαις κατασκευαζομένων ἅπας μὲν ὁ περίβολος τῆς πόλεως ἐπληρώθη τῶν μηχανῶν, μάλιστα δὲ κατὰ τὸν τόπον τοῦτον ἐν ᾧ τὸ χῶμα συνήγγιζε τῷ τείχει.
Because of these men, engines of all kinds and novel in their designs were constructed, so that the entire circuit wall of the city was filled with engines, especially in that place where the mole was approaching the wall.
§17.41.5ὡς δʼ εἰς τὴν ἄφεσιν τοῦ βέλους διέτεινε τὸ κατασκευαζόμενον ὑπὸ τῶν Μακεδόνων ἔργον, καὶ παρὰ τῶν θεῶν τινα προεσημαίνετο τοῖς κινδυνεύουσιν.
When the work constructed by the Macedonians reached within range of missiles, then indeed signs from the gods were shown beforehand to those in danger.
ἐκ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ πελάγους ὁ κλύδων προσεπέλασε τοῖς ἔργοις κῆτος ἄπιστον τὸ μέγεθος, ὃ προσπεσὸν τῷ χώματι κακὸν μὲν οὐδὲν εἰργάσατο, τῷ δʼ ἑτέρῳ μέρει τοῦ σώματος προσανακεκλιμένον ἐπὶ πολὺν χρόνον ἔμενε καὶ πολλὴν κατάπληξιν παρείχετο τοῖς θεωμένοις τὸ παράδοξον,
For from the open sea, the swell brought toward the works a sea-monster of incredible size, which, after casting itself against the mole, did no harm, but remained for a long time leaning with one part of its body against it, and caused great astonishment to those who beheld this strange phenomenon.
§17.41.6πάλιν δʼ εἰς τὸ πέλαγος νηξάμενον εἰς δεισιδαιμονίαν ἀμφοτέρους προηγάγετο· ἑκάτεροι γὰρ ὡς τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος αὐτοῖς βοηθήσειν μέλλοντος διέκρινον τὸ σημεῖον, ῥέποντες ταῖς γνώμαις πρὸς τὸ ἴδιον συμφέρον.
Swimming back into the open sea, it led both sides into superstition; for each side interpreted the sign as meaning that Poseidon was going to help them, inclining in their judgments toward their own advantage.
§17.41.7ἐγίνετο δὲ καὶ ἄλλα σημεῖα παράδοξα, δυνάμενα διατροπὴν καὶ φόβον τοῖς ὄχλοις παρασχέσθαι.
There were also other strange signs that occurred, capable of causing distraction and fear among the multitudes.
κατὰ γὰρ τὰς τροφὰς παρὰ τοῖς Μακεδόσιν οἱ διακλώμενοι τῶν ἄρτων αἱματοειδῆ τὴν πρόσοψιν εἶχον.
For during meals among the Macedonians, the bread that was being broken had a blood-like appearance.
ἑωρακέναι δέ τις ἔφησεν ὄψιν καθʼ ἣν ὁ Ἀπόλλων ἔλεγε μέλλειν ἑαυτὸν ἐκλιπεῖν τὴν πόλιν.
And someone claimed to have seen a vision in which Apollo said he was going to abandon the city.
§17.41.8τοῦ δὲ πλήθους ὑπονοήσαντος ὅτι πεπλακὼς εἴη τὸν λόγον χαριζόμενος Ἀλεξάνδρῳ καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τῶν νεωτέρων ὁρμησάντων ἐπὶ τὸ λιθοβολῆσαι τὸν ἄνθρωπον οὗτος μὲν διὰ τῶν ἀρχόντων ἐκκλαπεὶς καὶ καταφυγὼν εἰς τὸ τοῦ Ἡρακλέους ἱερὸν διέφυγε τὴν τιμωρίαν διὰ τὴν ἱκεσίαν, οἱ δὲ Τύριοι δεισιδαιμονήσαντες χρυσαῖς σειραῖς προσέδησαν τὸ τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος ξόανον τῇ βάσει, ἐμποδίζοντες, ὡς ᾤοντο, τοῦ θεοῦ τὸν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως χωρισμόν.
But when the multitude suspected that he had fabricated the story to curry favor with Alexander, and because of this the younger men rushed to stone the man, he was secretly carried off by the magistrates and fled to the temple of Heracles, where he escaped punishment because of his status as a suppliant. But the Tyrians, gripped by superstitious fear, bound the wooden image of Apollo to its pedestal with golden chains, preventing, as they thought, the departure of the god from the city.