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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §17.66.1-17.66.7

Treasure of Susa and Darius's Table as a Footstool

Passage 671 of 723 · Greek

Summary

Alexander acquires immense treasure in Susa and, when sitting on a throne too large for him, has Darius's table placed under his feet as a footstool. Realizing the arrogance of the act, he attempts to remove it, but Philotas advises him to keep it as a favorable omen.

§17.66.1ὁ δὲ Ἀλέξανδρος παραλαβὼν τὴν πόλιν καὶ τοὺς ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις θησαυροὺς εὗρεν ἀσήμου χρυσοῦ καὶ ἀργύρου πλείω τῶν τετρακισμυρίων ταλάντων.
Alexander, having taken over the city and the treasures in the palace, found more than forty thousand talents of uncoined gold and silver.
§17.66.2ταῦτα δὲ ἐκ πολλῶν χρόνων οἱ βασιλεῖς ἄθικτα διετήρησαν, πρὸς τὰ παράλογα τῆς τύχης ἀπολιπόντες αὑτοῖς καταφυγάς.
The kings had preserved these untouched over many years, leaving them as refuges for themselves against the unpredictable turns of fortune.
χωρὶς δὲ τούτων ὑπῆρχεν ἐνακισχίλια τάλαντα χρυσοῦ χαρακτῆρα δαρεικὸν ἔχοντα.
Apart from these, there were nine thousand talents of gold bearing the Daric stamp.
§17.66.3ἴδιον δέ τι συνέβη γενέσθαι τῷ βασιλεῖ κατὰ τὴν παράληψιν τῶν χρημάτων.
A peculiar incident happened to the king during the taking over of the money.
καθίσαντος γὰρ αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸν βασιλικὸν θρόνον καὶ τούτου μείζονος ὄντος ἢ κατὰ τὴν συμμετρίαν τοῦ σώματος, τῶν παίδων τις ἰδὼν τοὺς πόδας ἀπολείποντας πολὺ τοῦ κατὰ τὸν θρόνον ὑποβάθρου βαστάσας τὴν Δαρείου τράπεζαν ὑπέθηκε τοῖς ποσὶν αἰωρουμένοις.
For when he sat down upon the royal throne, and since this was larger than what was proportionate to his body, one of the pages, seeing that his feet fell far short of the footstool of the throne, lifted up the table of Darius and placed it under his dangling feet.
§17.66.4ἁρμοστῆς δὲ γενομένης ὁ μὲν βασιλεὺς ἀπεδέξατο τὴν τοῦ πράξαντος εὐστοχίαν, τῶν δὲ παρεστώτων τις τῷ θρόνῳ εὐνοῦχος κινηθεὶς τὴν ψυχὴν τῇ μεταβολῇ τῆς τύχης ἐδάκρυσεν.
When it fitted perfectly, the king welcomed the ingenuity of the one who had done it; but one of the eunuchs standing by the throne, his soul deeply moved by the turn of fortune, burst into tears.
§17.66.5ὃν ἰδὼν ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος ἤρετο, τί κακὸν ἰδὼν γεγονὸς κλαίεις; ὁ δὲ εὐνοῦχος ἔφησε, νῦν μὲν σός εἰμι δοῦλος, πρότερον δὲ Δαρείου, καὶ φύσει φιλοδέσποτος ὢν ἤλγηκα ἰδὼν τὸ παρʼ ἐκείνῳ μάλιστα τιμώμενον νῦν ἄτιμον γεγονὸς σκεῦος. §17.66.6ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς διὰ τῆς ἀποκρίσεως λαβὼν ἔννοιαν τῆς ὅλης κατὰ τὴν Περσικὴν βασιλείαν μεταβολῆς ὑπέλαβεν ἑαυτὸν ὑπερήφανόν τι πεποιηκέναι καὶ τῆς πρὸς τὰς αἰχμαλωτίδας ἐπιεικείας ἀλλοτριώτατον.
Seeing him, Alexander asked: "What bad thing do you see having happened that you are weeping?" The eunuch said: "Now I am your slave, but formerly I was Darius's, and being loyal to my master by nature, I am pained to see what was most highly honored by him now become a dishonored utensil." The king, conceiving from this reply an idea of the total change in the Persian empire, thought that he himself had done something arrogant and completely alien to his clemency toward the captives.
§17.66.7διόπερ προσκαλεσάμενος τὸν θέντα τὴν τράπεζαν ἐπέταξεν ἆραι πάλιν.
Therefore, calling to him the one who had placed the table, he ordered him to take it away again.
ἐνταῦθα παρεστὼς Φιλώτας, ἀλλʼ οὐχ ὕβρις ἐστίν, εἶπεν, τὸ μὴ ὑπὸ σοῦ προσταχθέν, ἀλλὰ δαίμονός τινος ἀγαθοῦ προνοίᾳ καὶ βουλήσει. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς οἰωνισάμενος τὸ ῥηθὲν προσέταξεν ἐᾶν κειμένην ὑπὸ τῷ θρόνῳ τὴν τράπεζαν.
Then Philotas, who was standing by, said: "But it is not an act of arrogance, since it was not ordered by you, but by the providence and will of some good deity." The king, taking the statement as an omen, ordered the table to be left lying under the throne.

Notes

  1. §17.66.1ἀσήμου χρυσοῦ καὶ ἀργύρου — The adjective `ἀσήμου` (uncoined, bullion) modifies both genitive nouns `χρυσοῦ` (gold) and `ἀργύρου` (silver).
  2. §17.66.3καθίσαντος γὰρ αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸν βασιλικὸν θρόνον καὶ τούτου μείζονος ὄντος — Two genitive absolute constructions are coordinated by the conjunction `καί`. The subject of the first, the demonstrative pronoun `αὐτοῦ`, refers to Alexander, while the subject of the second, `τούτου`, refers to the royal throne (`βασιλικὸν θρόνον`).
  3. §17.66.3ἢ κατὰ τὴν συμμετρίαν τοῦ σώματος — Following the comparative `μείζονος`, the preposition `κατά` (in proportion to, fitting for) is used with the accusative to express the standard of comparison: "larger than in proportion to his body."
  4. §17.66.4ἁρμοστῆς δὲ γενομένης — A genitive absolute construction. The feminine singular participle `γενομένης` is used, where the feminine noun `τράπεζα` (table) from the preceding clause is understood as the subject, or the fitting itself is treated abstractly as a feminine nominal concept.
  5. §17.66.6ὑπέλαβεν ἑαυτὸν ὑπερήφανόν τι πεποιηκέναι — An accusative with infinitive construction governed by the verb `ὑπέλαβεν` (thought). The accusative reflexive pronoun `ἑαυτόν` serves as the subject of the perfect infinitive `πεποιηκέναι`, specifying that the subject of the infinitive is identical to the subject of the main clause (Alexander).

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §17.66.1-17.66.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:17.66.1-17.66.7

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