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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §17.61.1-17.61.3

Escape of Darius and End of the Battle of Gaugamela

Passage 666 of 723 · Greek

Summary

Darius successfully retreats to the rear of the Macedonian army by utilizing the heavy dust, and the Battle of Gaugamela ends with an overwhelming Macedonian victory, recording immense casualties on both sides.

§17.61.1ὁ δὲ Δαρεῖος τῇ στρατηγίᾳ διαφέρων καὶ συνεργὸν ἔχων τὸ πλῆθος τοῦ κονιορτοῦ τὴν ἀποχώρησιν οὐχ ὁμοίαν τοῖς ἄλλοις βαρβάροις ἐποιεῖτο, εἰς τοὐναντίον δὲ μέρος ὁρμήσας καὶ κρυπτομένην ἔχων διὰ τὸν ἐξαιρόμενον κονιορτὸν τὴν ἰδίαν ἀποχώρησιν ἀκινδύνως αὐτός τε διέφυγεν τούς τε μεθʼ ἑαυτοῦ πάντας εἰς τὰς κατόπιν κειμένας τῶν Μακεδόνων κώμας διέσωσε.
Darius, however, excelling in generalship and having the abundance of dust as his helper, did not make his retreat in the same manner as the other barbarians; but having rushed in the opposite direction and having his own retreat hidden because of the rising dust, he himself escaped without danger and brought all those with him safely to the villages situated behind the Macedonians.
§17.61.2τέλος δὲ πάντων τῶν βαρβάρων πρὸς φυγὴν ὁρμησάντων καὶ τῶν Μακεδόνων τοὺς ἐσχάτους ἀεὶ κτεινόντων ταχὺ πᾶς ὁ πλησίον τοῦ πεδίου τόπος νεκρῶν ἐπληρώθη.
Finally, when all the barbarians had turned to flight and the Macedonians were continually killing those at the very rear, soon the entire place near the plain was filled with dead bodies.
§17.61.3διὸ καὶ τῶν βαρβάρων ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ μάχῃ κατεκόπησαν οἱ πάντες ἱππεῖς τε καὶ πεζοὶ πλείους τῶν ἐννέα μυριάδων· τῶν δὲ Μακεδόνων ἀνῃρέθησαν μὲν εἰς πεντακοσίους, τραυματίαι δʼ ἐγένοντο παμπληθεῖς, ἐν οἷς καὶ τῶν ἐπιφανεστάτων ἡγεμόνων Ἡφαιστίων μὲν εἰς τὸν βραχίονα ξυστῷ βληθεὶς ἐτρώθη, τῶν σωματοφυλάκων ἡγούμενος, τῶν δὲ στρατηγῶν Περδίκκας καὶ Κοῖνος, ἔτι δὲ Μενίδας καί τινες ἕτεροι τῶν ἐπιφανῶν ἡγεμόνων.
Therefore, of the barbarians in this battle, there were slain in all, both cavalry and infantry, more than ninety thousand; whereas of the Macedonians, about five hundred were killed, and a vast number became wounded, among whom of the most distinguished leaders Hephaestion, commanding the bodyguards, was wounded by being struck in the arm with a spear, and of the generals, Perdiccas and Coenus, as well as Menidas and certain others of the prominent leaders.
ἡ μὲν οὖν περὶ Ἄρβηλα γενομένη παράταξις τοιοῦτον ἔσχε τὸ πέρας.
Thus the battle that took place around Arbela had such an end.

Notes

  1. 17.61.1τὴν ἀποχώρησιν οὐχ ὁμοίαν τοῖς ἄλλοις βαρβάροις ἐποιεῖτο — Meaning 'made his retreat not similar to the other barbarians.' The adjective `ὁμοίαν` functions predicatively with `ἀποχώρησιν`, implying 'made his retreat such that it was not like that of the others.' The dative `τοῖς ἄλλοις βαρβάροις` is governed by the adjective `ὁμοῖος` (similar to).
  2. 17.61.1κρυπτομένην ἔχων ... τὴν ἰδίαν ἀποχώρησιν — The participle `κρυπτομένην` (present passive participle, feminine accusative singular) is used with `ἔχων` to mean 'having his own retreat kept hidden (by the dust),' i.e., 'keeping his retreat hidden.' The participle `κρυπτομένην` stands in a predicative position relative to the direct object `τὴν ἰδίαν ἀποχώρησιν`.
  3. 17.61.3τῶν δὲ στρατηγῶν Περδίκκας — This clause is coordinated with the preceding main clause `Ἡφαιστίων μὲν ... ἐτρώθη` (Hephaestion was wounded). The verb `ἐτρώθη` is omitted but understood to apply to the subjects `Περδίκκας καὶ Κοῖνος...`. The genitive `τῶν στρατηγῶν` is a partitive genitive designating the class to which these generals belong.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §17.61.1-17.61.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:17.61.1-17.61.3

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