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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §17.48.1-17.48.7

Defeat of Amyntas and Alexander's Capture of Gaza

Passage 653 of 723 · Greek

Summary

After the battle of Issus, King Agis of Sparta and the Macedonian exile Amyntas act in support of the Persian cause, but Amyntas is killed in Egypt. Meanwhile, the Greek council votes to honor Alexander, who successfully besieges and captures Gaza.

§17.48.1κατὰ γὰρ τὴν Εὐρώπην Ἄγις μὲν ὁ τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων βασιλεὺς τῶν ἐκ τῆς ἐν Ἰσσῷ μάχης διασωθέντων μισθοφόρων ἀναλαβὼν ὀκτακισχιλίους νεωτέρων πραγμάτων ἀντείχετο, χαριζόμενος Δαρείῳ.
For in Europe, Agis, the king of the Lacedaemonians, took with him eight thousand of the mercenaries who had escaped from the battle at Issus and engaged in a new rebellion, wishing to favor Darius.
§17.48.2προσλαβὼν δὲ παρὰ τούτου καὶ ναῦς καὶ χρημάτων πλῆθος ἔπλευσεν εἰς Κρήτην καὶ τῶν πόλεων τὰς πλείους χειρωσάμενος ἠνάγκασε τὰ Περσῶν αἱρεῖσθαι.
And having received from him both ships and a large sum of money, he sailed to Crete, and having subdued most of the cities, he forced them to choose the cause of the Persians.
Ἀμύντας δʼ ὁ φυγὼν ἐκ Μακεδονίας καὶ πρὸς Δαρεῖον ἀναβὰς συνηγωνίσατο μὲν τοῖς Πέρσαις ἐν τῇ Κιλικίᾳ, διασωθεὶς δʼ ἐκ τῆς ἐν Ἰσσῷ παρατάξεως μετὰ τετρακισχιλίων μισθοφόρων καὶ πρὸ τῆς Ἀλεξάνδρου παρουσίας διανύσας εἰς Τρίπολιν τῆς Φοινίκης ἐπέλεξεν ἐκ τοῦ παντὸς στόλου τὰς ἀρκούσας ναῦς εἰς τὸν πλοῦν τοῖς ἰδίοις στρατιώταις, τὰς δʼ ἄλλας ἐνέπρησε.
But Amyntas, who had fled from Macedonia and gone up to Darius, had fought together with the Persians in Cilicia; having escaped from the battle array at Issus with four thousand mercenaries and having reached Tripoli in Phoenicia before the arrival of Alexander, he selected from the entire fleet the ships sufficient for the voyage of his own soldiers, and burned the rest.
§17.48.3διαπλεύσας δʼ εἰς τὴν Κύπρον καὶ προσλαβόμενος στρατιώτας καὶ ναῦς διέπλευσεν εἰς τὸ Πηλούσιον.
And having sailed across to Cyprus and taken on more soldiers and ships, he sailed to Pelusium.
τῆς δὲ πόλεως ἐγκρατὴς γενόμενος ἀπέφαινεν ἑαυτὸν ὑπὸ Δαρείου τοῦ βασιλέως ἀπεστάλθαι στρατηγὸν διὰ τὸ τὸν ἡγούμενον τῆς Αἰγύπτου σατράπην συναγωνιζόμενον ἐν Ἰσσῷ τῆς Κιλικίας πεπτωκέναι.
Having got possession of the city, he declared that he had been sent as general by King Darius because the satrap governing Egypt had fallen while fighting at Issus in Cilicia.
§17.48.4ἀναπλεύσας δʼ εἰς Μέμφιν τὸ μὲν πρῶτον πρὸ τῆς πόλεως παραταξάμενος τοῖς ἐγχωρίοις ἐνίκησε· μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα πρὸς ἁρπαγὴν τῶν στρατιωτῶν τραπέντων ἐπεξελθόντες ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἐπέθεντο τοῖς ἀτάκτως διαρπάζουσι τὰς ἐπὶ τῆς χώρας κτήσεις καὶ τόν τε Ἀμύνταν ἀπέκτειναν καὶ τοὺς μετʼ αὐτοῦ πάντας ἄρδην ἀνεῖλον.
Having sailed up to Memphis, he at first drew up his forces before the city against the natives and defeated them; but after this, when the soldiers turned to plundering, the natives, sallying out from the city, attacked those who were in disorder plundering the properties in the countryside, killed Amyntas, and utterly destroyed all those with him.
§17.48.5Ἀμύντας μὲν οὖν μεγάλαις ἐπιβολαῖς ἐγχειρήσας καὶ παρʼ ἐλπίδα σφαλεὶς τοιοῦτον ἔσχε τοῦ βίου τὸ τέλος.
Thus Amyntas, having embarked upon great undertakings and failed contrary to expectation, met with such an end of his life.
ὁμοίως δὲ τούτῳ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἡγεμόνων καὶ στρατηγῶν τινες ἐκ τῆς ἐν Ἰσσῷ μάχης μετὰ στρατιωτῶν διασωθέντες ἀντείχοντο τῶν Περσικῶν ἐλπίδων.
In like manner to him, some of the other leaders and generals who had escaped with soldiers from the battle at Issus clung to their Persian hopes.
§17.48.6οἱ μὲν γὰρ πόλεις ἐπικαίρους καταλαμβανόμενοι διεφύλαττον ταύτας τῷ Δαρείῳ, οἱ δʼ ἔθνη προσαγόμενοι καὶ δυνάμεις περὶ αὑτοὺς παρασκευαζόμενοι τὰς ἁρμοζούσας χρείας τοῖς ὑποκειμένοις καιροῖς παρείχοντο.
For some of them, seizing opportune cities, kept guarding them for Darius, while others, winning over nations and gathering forces around themselves, provided services suitable to the pressing crises.
οἱ δὲ σύνεδροι τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἐψηφίσαντο πέμψαι πρέσβεις πεντεκαίδεκα στέφανον φέροντας χρυσοῦν παρὰ τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἀριστεῖον Ἀλεξάνδρῳ καὶ συνησθησομένους τῇ κατὰ Κιλικίαν νίκῃ.
Meanwhile, the councilors of the Greeks voted to send fifteen ambassadors carrying a golden crown as a prize of valor from Greece to Alexander and to congratulate him on his victory in Cilicia.
§17.48.7Ἀλέξανδρος δὲ στρατεύσας ἐπὶ Γάζαν φρουρουμένην ὑπὸ Περσῶν καὶ δίμηνον προσεδρεύσας εἷλε κατὰ κράτος τὴν πόλιν.
Alexander, having marched against Gaza, which was garrisoned by the Persians, and having besieged it for two months, took the city by storm.

Notes

  1. 17.48.1νεωτέρων πραγμάτων ἀντείχετο — The comparative substantiated expression νεώτερα πράγματα (literally, "newer things") is an idiomatic term in historical prose meaning "revolution," "rebellion," or "political changes." The middle verb ἀντείχετο (imperfect of ἀντέχομαι, "to cling to, engage in") governs the genitive case, which explains the genitive form of νεωτέρων πραγμάτων.
  2. 17.48.2τὰ Περσῶν αἱρεῖσθαι — The article with genitive τὰ Περσῶν (literally, "the things of the Persians") functions as the object of the infinitive αἱρεῖσθαι ("to choose"), meaning "the Persian side" or "the cause of the Persians," denoting a political alignment.
  3. 17.48.3διὰ τὸ τὸν ἡγούμενον τῆς Αἰγύπτου σατράπην συναγωνιζόμενον ἐν Ἰσσῷ τῆς Κιλικίας πεπτωκέναι — A causal clause introduced by prep. διὰ with the articular infinitive τό + infinitive. The infinitive is the perfect πεπτωκέναι (from πίπτω, "to fall, die in battle"), and its subject accusative is τὸν ἡγούμενον ... σατράπην ("the satrap ruling [Egypt]"). The present participle συναγωνιζόμενον ("fighting alongside") modifies the satrap.
  4. 17.48.4τῶν στρατιωτῶν τραπέντων — A genitive absolute construction expressing time or cause ("when the soldiers turned [to plundering]"). The participle τραπέντων is the second aorist passive participle genitive plural of τρέπω, here used intransitively with an active/middle meaning ("to turn oneself to").

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §17.48.1-17.48.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:17.48.1-17.48.7

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