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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §17.79.1-17.79.6

Conspiracy of Dimnus and Accusation of Philotas

Passage 684 of 723 · Greek

Summary

Dimnus plots a conspiracy against Alexander, which is leaked to Cebalinus. Cebalinus repeatedly tries to report it through Philotas, but when Philotas ignores it, Cebalinus exposes the plot via a royal page, leading to the arrest of Dimnus and the trial of Philotas.

§17.79.1κατὰ δὲ τούτους τοὺς καιροὺς περιέπεσε πράξει μοχθηρᾷ καὶ τῆς ἰδίας χρηστότητος ἀλλοτρίᾳ.
At these times, Alexander fell into a troublesome affair, foreign to his own generosity.
τῶν γὰρ φίλων τις τοῦ βασιλέως ὄνομα Δίμνος, μεμψιμοιρήσας τῷ βασιλεῖ περί τινων καὶ τῷ θυμῷ προπεσών, ἐπιβουλὴν συνεστήσατο κατʼ αὐτοῦ.
For one of the king's friends, named Dimnus, having conceived a grudge against the king about certain matters and having succumbed to anger, formed a conspiracy against him.
§17.79.2ἔχων δʼ ἐρώμενον Νικόμαχον τοῦτον ἔπεισε κοινωνῆσαι τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς.
He had a beloved named Nicomachus, whom he persuaded to take part in the conspiracy.
οὗτος δὲ νέος ὢν παντελῶς ἀνεκοινώσατο τὴν πρᾶξιν τῷ ἀδελφῷ Κεβαλίνῳ.
This youth, being exceedingly young, disclosed the matter to his brother Cebalinus.
ὁ δὲ φοβηθεὶς μὴ φθάσῃ τις τῶν συνειδότων καὶ δηλώσῃ τὴν ἐπιβουλὴν τῷ βασιλεῖ, αὐτὸς ἔκρινε μηνῦσαι.
The latter, fearing lest one of those in the know should anticipate them and reveal the conspiracy to the king, decided to report it himself.
§17.79.3παρελθὼν οὖν ἐπὶ τὴν αὐτὴν καὶ συντυχὼν Φιλώτᾳ καὶ διαλεχθεὶς παρεκελεύετο τὴν ταχίστην ἀπαγγεῖλαι τῷ βασιλεῖ τὴν πρᾶξιν.
Therefore, having gone to the court and having met Philotas and conversed with him, he urged him to report the affair to the king as quickly as possible.
ὁ δὲ Φιλώτας εἴτε καὶ διὰ τὸ κοινωνεῖν τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς εἴτε καὶ διὰ ῥᾳθυμίαν τὸν ῥηθέντα λόγον ἀργῶς ἐδέξατο καὶ παρελθὼν πρὸς τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον καὶ πολλῆς καὶ παντοδαπῆς κοινολογίας μετασχὼν οὐδὲν τῶν ὑπὸ Κεβαλίνου ῥηθέντων ἀπήγγειλεν.
But Philotas, whether because he was an accomplice in the conspiracy or through negligence, treated the words spoken to him lightly, and having gone to Alexander and taken part in a long and varied conversation, reported nothing of what had been said by Cebalinus.
§17.79.4ἐξελθὼν δὲ πρὸς τὸν Κεβαλῖνον εἶπεν ὅτι καιρὸν ἐπιτήδειον οὐκ ἔσχε διασαφῆσαι, ἐπηγγέλλετο δὲ τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ συντεύξεσθαι μόνῳ τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ πάντα δηλώσειν τὰ ῥηθέντα.
On leaving, he went to Cebalinus and said that he had not found a suitable opportunity to explain it, but promised that on the following day he would meet with the king alone and disclose everything that had been said.
τὸ δὲ αὐτὸ πράξαντος τοῦ Φιλώτου καὶ τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ ὁ Κεβαλῖνος, εὐλαβηθεὶς μὴ διʼ ἑτέρου μηνύσεως γενομένης αὐτὸς κινδυνεύσῃ, τὸν μὲν Φιλώταν παρέπεμψε, τῶν τὲ βασιλικῶν τινι παίδων προσελθὼν καὶ τὰ κατὰ μέρος ἀπαγγείλας ἠξίωσε τὴν ταχίστην ἀπαγγεῖλαι τῷ βασιλεῖ.
When Philotas did the very same thing on the following day as well, Cebalinus, fearing lest he himself should be in danger if the disclosure were made through someone else, bypassed Philotas, and approaching one of the royal pages and telling him the details, asked him to report it to the king as quickly as possible.
§17.79.5ὁ δὲ τὸν μὲν Κεβαλῖνον εἰς τὴν ὁπλοθήκην εἰσαγαγὼν ἀπέκρυψεν, αὐτὸς δὲ τῷ βασιλεῖ μεταξὺ λουομένῳ προσελθὼν ἀπήγγειλε τὰ ῥηθέντα καὶ διότι τὸν Κεβαλῖνον παρʼ ἑαυτῷ φυλάττει.
The page brought Cebalinus into the armory and hid him; then he himself approached the king while he was bathing, reported what had been said, and told him that he was keeping Cebalinus in his care.
ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς καταπλαγεὶς εὐθὺς τόν τε Δίμνον συνέλαβε καὶ μαθὼν ἅπαντα μετεπέμψατο τόν τε Κεβαλῖνον καὶ τὸν Φιλώταν.
The king was struck with dismay, immediately had Dimnus arrested, and having learned everything, summoned both Cebalinus and Philotas.
§17.79.6ἀνακρινομένων δʼ ἁπάντων καὶ τῆς πράξεως ἐξεταζομένης ὁ μὲν Δίμνος ἑαυτὸν κατέσφαξε, τοῦ δὲ Φιλώτου ῥᾳθυμίαν μὲν ἑαυτοῦ προσομολογήσαντος, τὴν δʼ ἐπιβουλὴν ἀπαρνουμένου τὴν κρίσιν ὑπὲρ τούτου τοῖς Μακεδόσιν ἐπέτρεψεν.
While all were being interrogated and the plot was being investigated, Dimnus killed himself; and when Philotas confessed his own negligence but denied the conspiracy, the king left the judgment concerning him to the Macedonians.

Notes

  1. §17.79.1περιέπεσε — The subject of the verb `περιέπεσε` (third-person singular aorist) is King Alexander, understood from the context of the previous chapter (§17.78.4) where he was resting his army at the palace of Drangiana.
  2. §17.79.2μὴ φθάσῃ τις τῶν συνειδότων — A subjunctive clause introduced by the conjunction of fearing `μή`. The verb `φθάνω` (to anticipate, get ahead of) usually takes a participle to mean 'to do something beforehand,' but here it is used either absolutely or with the omission of a participle meaning 'to report to the king,' conveying the sense of 'lest someone among those in the know should get ahead of him.'
  3. §17.79.4τὸ δὲ αὐτὸ πράξαντος τοῦ Φιλώτου καὶ τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ — A genitive absolute construction where `τοῦ Φιλώτου` is the subject and `πράξαντος` is the participle, expressing time or condition: 'when Philotas did the very same thing on the following day as well' (i.e., failing to report to the king).
  4. §17.79.4παρέπεμψε — The verb `παραπέμπω` can mean 'to send past' or 'to bypass, let pass, ignore.' Here it indicates that Cebalinus, giving up hope on Philotas, bypassed him and sought another route (the page) directly.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §17.79.1-17.79.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:17.79.1-17.79.6

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