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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §17.80.1-17.80.4

Execution of Philotas and Parmenion

Passage 685 of 723 · Greek

Summary

The Macedonian assembly condemned Philotas and his associates to death, while Alexander ordered the execution of Philotas' father Parmenion and Alexander the Lyncestian. Additionally, the king grouped dissatisfied Macedonian soldiers into a special unit called the "Unit of the Undisciplined."

§17.80.1πολλῶν δὲ ῥηθέντων λόγων οἱ Μακεδόνες κατέγνωσαν τοῦ Φιλώτου καὶ τῶν συγκαταιτιαθέντων θάνατον· ἐν οἷς ὑπῆρχε Παρμενίων ὁ πρῶτος εἶναι δοκῶν τῶν Ἀλεξάνδρου φίλων, τότε δὲ οὐ παρών, ἀλλὰ δόξας διὰ τοῦ ἰδίου υἱοῦ Φιλώτου πεποιῆσθαι τὴν ἐπιβουλήν. §17.80.2ὁ μὲν οὖν Φιλώτας, βασανισθεὶς πρότερον καὶ ὁμολογήσας τὴν ἐπιβουλήν, κατὰ τὸ τῶν Μακεδόνων ἔθος μετὰ τῶν συγκαταγνωσθέντων ἐθανατώθη.
After many speeches had been delivered, the Macedonians condemned Philotas and those accused with him to death; among whom was Parmenion, who was considered to be the first of Alexander's friends, but who was not present at the time, yet was deemed to have formed the conspiracy through his own son Philotas. Now Philotas, having first been tortured and having confessed to the conspiracy, was executed along with those who had been condemned, according to the custom of the Macedonians.
ὁμοίως δὲ τούτῳ καὶ ὁ Λυγκιστὴς Ἀλέξανδρος, αἰτίαν ἔχων ἐπιβεβουλευκέναι τῷ βασιλεῖ, τριετῆ μὲν χρόνον ἐν φυλακῇ τηρούμενος διετέλεσε, διὰ τὴν πρὸς Ἀντίγονον οἰκειότητα τετευχὼς ἀναβολῆς, τότε δʼ εἰς τὴν τῶν Μακεδόνων κρίσιν παραχθεὶς καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἀπολογίαν ἀπορηθεὶς λόγων ἐθανατώθη. §17.80.3ὁ δʼ Ἀλέξανδρος ἐκπέμψας τινὰς ἐπὶ δρομάδων καμήλων καὶ φθάσας τὴν φήμην τῆς περὶ τὸν Φιλώταν τιμωρίας τὸν πατέρα τοῦ Φιλώτου Παρμενίωνα ἐδολοφόνησε, τεταγμένον μὲν τῆς Μηδείας ἄρχοντα, πεπιστευμένον δὲ τοὺς βασιλικοὺς θησαυροὺς ἐν Ἐκβατάνοις, ἔχοντας ταλάντων ὀκτωκαίδεκα μυριάδας. §17.80.4ὁ δʼ Ἀλέξανδρος ἐπιλεξάμενος ἐκ τῶν Μακεδόνων τοὺς ἀλλοτρίας κατʼ αὐτοῦ προϊεμένους φωνὰς καὶ τοὺς ἠγανακτηκότας ἐπὶ τῷ τοῦ Παρμενίωνος θανάτῳ, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις τοὺς ἐν ταῖς ἀποσταλείσας εἰς Μακεδονίαν ἐπιστολαῖς ἀλλότριόν τι γεγραφότας τοῖς οἰκείοις περὶ τῶν τῷ βασιλεῖ συμφερόντων εἰς ἓν κατέλεξε σύστημα καὶ προσηγόρευσεν ἀτάκτων τάγμα, ὅπως μὴ διὰ τὰς τούτων ἀκαίρους φωνὰς καὶ παρρησίας τὸ λοιπὸν πλῆθος τῶν Μακεδόνων συνδιαφθείρηται.
In like manner to him, Alexander the Lyncestian also, who was accused of having conspired against the king, had continued to be kept in prison for a period of three years, having obtained a delay of execution due to his friendship with Antigonus; but at this time, having been brought before the judgment of the Macedonians and having run out of words during his defense, he was executed. But Alexander, sending out certain men on dromedary camels and outstripping the rumor of the punishment of Philotas, assassinated Philotas' father Parmenion, who had been appointed commander of Media and entrusted with the royal treasures in Ecbatana, which amounted to one hundred and eighty thousand talents. And Alexander, having selected from among the Macedonians those who uttered hostile words against him and those who were indignant at the death of Parmenion, and in addition to these, those who had written in their letters sent to Macedonia anything unfavorable to their relatives concerning the king's interests, enrolled them into a single unit and called it the Unit of the Undisciplined, so that the rest of the multitude of the Macedonians might not be corrupted along with them by their untimely words and freedom of speech.

Notes

  1. §17.80.1δόξας διὰ τοῦ ἰδίου υἱοῦ Φιλώτου πεποιῆσθαι τὴν ἐπιβουλήν — The passive participle δόξας ("having been thought/deemed") takes the perfect middle/passive infinitive πεποιῆσθαι to express the reason for Parmenion's condemnation, meaning "because he was believed to have formed the conspiracy through his own son Philotas."
  2. §17.80.2αἰτίαν ἔχων ἐπιβεβουλευκέναι — The idiom αἰτίαν ἔχω ("to bear an accusation" or "to be accused") is followed by the perfect active infinitive ἐπιβεβουλευκέναι to specify the substance of the accusation, namely, having plotted against the king.
  3. §17.80.3πεπιστευμένον δὲ τοὺς βασιλικοὺς θησαυροὺς — A passive construction derived from a double-object verb. In the active voice, πιστεύω takes a dative of the person and an accusative of the thing ("to entrust something to someone"). In the passive, the person (here the participle πεπιστευμένον modifying Parmenion) becomes the subject, while the thing entrusted (τοὺς βασιλικοὺς θησαυροὺς) remains in the accusative case.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §17.80.1-17.80.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:17.80.1-17.80.4

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