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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §17.99.1-17.99.6

Alexander's Wounding and Rescue and the Greek Colonists' Revolt

Passage 704 of 723 · Greek

Summary

Alexander leaps into the city alone and fights courageously despite being wounded until Peucestes and others rescue him. The city is taken, but rumors of the king's death spark a revolt among the Greek settlers in Bactria and Sogdiana.

§17.99.1ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ἐρημωθεὶς πάσης βοηθείας ἐτόλμησεν ἐπιτελέσαι πρᾶξιν παράδοξον καὶ μνήμης ἀξίαν.
the king, stripped of all assistance, dared to perform an action unexpected and worthy of memory.
τὸ γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ τείχους ἀπελθεῖν ἄπρακτον πρὸς τοὺς ἰδίους ἀνάξιον κρίνας ὑπάρχειν τῆς ἰδίας εὐπραξίας καθήλατο μετὰ τῶν ὅπλων μόνος εἰς τὴν πόλιν. §17.99.2συνδραμόντων δʼ ἐπʼ αὐτὸν τῶν Ἰνδῶν ὑπέστη τεθαρρηκότως τὴν τῶν βαρβάρων ἐπιφοράν· προβαλλόμενος δʼ ἐκ τῶν δεξιῶν δένδρον τι παρʼ αὐτὸ τὸ τεῖχος ἐρριζωμένον, ἐκ δὲ τῶν εὐωνύμων αὐτὸ τὸ τεῖχος ἠμύνετο τοὺς Ἰνδούς, οὕτω τῷ θυμῷ παραστὰς ὡς ἄν τις βασιλεὺς τηλικούτων ἤδη ἀπειργασμένων ἀνδραγαθήσειε, τὴν ἐσχάτην τοῦ βίου καταστροφὴν εὐκλεεστάτην γενέσθαι φιλοτιμούμενος. §17.99.3πολλὰς μὲν γὰρ εἰς τὸ κράνος ἐλάμβανε πληγάς, οὐκ ὀλίγας δὲ εἰς τὴν πέλτην ἐδέχετο· τέλος δὲ τοξευθεὶς ὑπὸ τὸν μαστὸν ἔπεσεν εἰς γόνυ, κατισχυθεὶς ὑπὸ τῆς πληγῆς.
For, judging that to return from the wall to his own men without having accomplished anything would be unworthy of his own achievements, he leaped down with his weapons alone into the city. the Indians rushed upon him, he courageously withstood the assault of the barbarians; protecting himself on his right by a tree rooted right next to the wall, and on his left by the wall itself, he kept the Indians at bay, filled with such high spirit as a king might display who had already achieved such great deeds of valor, and being eager that the final end of his life should be most glorious. he received many blows upon his helmet, and welcomed not a few upon his shield; and at last, shot by an arrow below the breast, he sank to his knee, overcome by the blow.
εὐθὺ δʼ ὁ μὲν τοξεύσας Ἰνδὸς καταφρονήσας προσέδραμε καὶ καταφέροντος αὐτοῦ πληγὴν ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος ὑπέθηκε τῇ λαγόνι τὸ ξίφος καὶ καιρίου γενομένου τοῦ τραύματος ὁ μὲν βάρβαρος ἔπεσεν, ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ἐπιλαβόμενος τοῦ πλησίον κλάδου καὶ διαναστὰς προεκαλεῖτο τῶν Ἰνδῶν τοὺς βουλομένους διαγωνίσασθαι. §17.99.4κατὰ δὲ τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον Πευκέστης, εἷς τῶν ὑπασπιστῶν, διʼ ἑτέρας κλίμακος προσαναβὰς πρῶτος ὑπερήσπισε τὸν βασιλέα· μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον ἕτεροι πλείους ἐπιφανέντες καὶ καταπληξάμενοι τοὺς βαρβάρους διέσωσαν τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον.
Straightway the Indian who had shot him ran up in contempt, and as he was bringing down a blow, Alexander thrust his sword into the man's flank; and the wound proving fatal, the barbarian fell, while the king, grasping a neighboring branch and raising himself up, challenged those of the Indians who wished to fight him. this very time, Peucestes, one of the shield-bearers, having ascended by another ladder, was the first to protect the king with his shield; and after him, several others appeared, and terrifying the barbarians, saved Alexander.
τῆς δὲ πόλεως ἁλούσης κατὰ κράτος οἱ μὲν Μακεδόνες διὰ τὸν ὑπὲρ τοῦ βασιλέως θυμὸν πάντας τοὺς περιτυχόντας ἀνῄρουν καὶ τὴν πόλιν νεκρῶν ἐπλήρωσαν. §17.99.5ἐπὶ πολλὰς δὲ ἡμέρας τοῦ βασιλέως ἀσχοληθέντος περὶ τὴν θεραπείαν οἱ κατὰ τὴν Βακτριανὴν καὶ Σογδιανὴν κατοικισθέντες Ἕλληνες ἐκ πολλοῦ μὲν τὸν ἐν τοῖς βαρβάροις κατοικισμὸν χαλεπῶς ἔφερον, τότε δὲ φήμης προσπεσούσης αὐτοῖς ὅτι τρωθεὶς ὁ βασιλεὺς τετελεύτηκεν ἀπέστησαν ἀπὸ τῶν Μακεδόνων. §17.99.6ἀθροισθέντες δὲ εἰς τρισχιλίους, κατὰ τὴν εἰς οἶκον ἀνακομιδὴν πολλὰ πονήσαντες, ὕστερον ὑπὸ τῶν Μακεδόνων κατεκόπησαν μετὰ τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρου τελευτήν.
When the city was taken by storm, the Macedonians, because of their anger on behalf of the king, slew everyone they met and filled the city with dead bodies. the king was occupied for many days with his medical treatment, the Greeks who had been settled in Bactria and Sogdiana, who had for a long time resented their settlement among the barbarians, upon receiving a rumor at that time that the king had died of his wound, revolted from the Macedonians. gathered to the number of three thousand, and having suffered many hardships on their return home, they were later cut to pieces by the Macedonians after the death of Alexander.

Notes

  1. §17.99.1τὸ γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ τείχους ἀπελθεῖν — The articular infinitive τὸ ... ἀπελθεῖν functions as the subject of the accusative-and-infinitive construction (τὸ ... ἀπελθεῖν ... ἀνάξιον ὑπάρχειν, 'that returning... was unworthy') which is the object of the participle κρίνας (agreeing with the subject, the king). ἀνάξιον is a predicate adjective in the neuter singular describing the infinitive and taking the genitive τῆς ἰδίας εὐπραξίας ('unworthy of his own achievements').
  2. §17.99.2ὡς ἄν τις βασιλεὺς τηλικούτων ἤδη ἀπειργασμένων ἀνδραγαθήσειε — The combination of ὡς ἄν with the optative (ἀνδραγαθήσειε) introduces a comparative clause of result corresponding to the adverb οὕτω ('in such a way... as any king would act bravely'), expressing potentiality. The embedded phrase τηλικούτων ἤδη ἀπειργασμένων is a genitive absolute (neuter plural), serving as a circumstantial clause meaning 'when such great deeds had already been accomplished.'
  3. §17.99.3καταφέροντος αὐτοῦ πληγὴν — This is a genitive absolute construction consisting of the participle καταφέροντος and the pronoun αὐτοῦ. The present participle καταφέροντος has a conative or inceptive force, indicating that the action was about to happen ('as he was bringing down a blow'). The pronoun αὐτοῦ refers back to 'the Indian who had shot him' (ὁ μὲν τοξεύσας Ἰνδός), which is different from the main subject, ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §17.99.1-17.99.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:17.99.1-17.99.6

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