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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §2.60.1-2.60.4

Expulsion of Iambulus and His Return to Greece

Passage 160 of 406 · Greek

Summary

After being expelled from the islands, Iambulus and his companion shipwreck in India; his companion dies, but Iambulus is welcomed by an Indian king and returns safely to Greece via Persia to record his travels.

§2.60.1ἑπτὰ δʼ ἔτη μείναντας παρʼ αὐτοῖς τοὺς περὶ τὸν Ἰαμβοῦλον ἐκβληθῆναι ἄκοντας, ὡς κακούργους καὶ πονηροῖς ἐθισμοῖς συντεθραμμένους.
After having remained with them for seven years, Iambulus and his companion were cast out against their will, on the ground that they were evil-doers and had been brought up in wicked habits.
πάλιν οὖν τὸ πλοιάριον κατασκευάσαντας συναναγκασθῆναι τὸν χωρισμὸν ποιήσασθαι, καὶ τροφὴν ἐνθεμένους πλεῦσαι πλέον ἢ τέτταρας μῆνας· ἐκπεσεῖν δὲ κατὰ §2.60.2τὴν Ἰνδικὴν εἰς ἅμμους καὶ τεναγώδεις τόπους·
Having therefore constructed their little boat again, they were forced to make their departure, and putting food on board they sailed for more than four months; and they were cast away along the coast of India upon sandy and marshy places.
καὶ τὸν μὲν ἕτερον αὐτῶν ὑπὸ τοῦ κλύδωνος διαφθαρῆναι, τὸν δὲ Ἰαμβοῦλον πρός τινα κώμην προσενεχθέντα ὑπὸ τῶν ἐγχωρίων ἀναχθῆναι πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα εἰς πόλιν Παλίβοθρα, πολλῶν ἡμερῶν ὁδὸν ἀπέχουσαν τῆς θαλάττης.
And while the one of them was destroyed by the surf, Iambulus, having been carried to a certain village, was conducted by the natives to the king at the city of Palibothra, which was a journey of many days distant from the sea.
§2.60.3ὄντος δὲ φιλέλληνος τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ παιδείας ἀντεχομένου, μεγάλης αὐτὸν ἀποδοχῆς καταξιῶσαι· τὸ δὲ τελευταῖον μετά τινος ἀσφαλείας τὸ μὲν πρῶτον εἰς τὴν Περσίδα διελθεῖν, §2.60.4ὕστερον δὲ εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα διασωθῆναι.
And since the king was a lover of the Greeks and devoted to education, he deemed him worthy of a great reception; and at last, with a certain degree of safety, he passed first into Persia, and later was saved and returned to Greece.
ὁ δὲ Ἰαμβοῦλος ταῦτά τε ἀναγραφῆς ἠξίωσε καὶ περὶ τῶν κατὰ τὴν Ἰνδικὴν οὐκ ὀλίγα συνετάξατο τῶν ἀγνοουμένων παρὰ τοῖς ἄλλοις.
Now Iambulus thought these matters worthy of being recorded, and also wrote down not a few things concerning India which were unknown to other people.
ἡμεῖς δὲ τὴν ἐν ἀρχῇ τῆς βίβλου γεγενημένην ἐπαγγελίαν τετελεκότες αὐτοῦ περιγράψομεν τήνδε τὴν βίβλον.
And we, having fulfilled the promise made at the beginning of this book, will here bring this book to an end.

Notes

  1. §2.60.1τοὺς περὶ τὸν Ἰαμβοῦλον — This phrase literally means 'those around Iambulus', which is a classical Greek idiom referring to 'Iambulus and his companions' or simply 'Iambulus' himself. In this context, it refers to the traveler and his companion.
  2. §2.60.3ὄντος δὲ φιλέλληνος τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ παιδείας ἀντεχομένου — A genitive absolute construction with the noun `τοῦ βασιλέως` acting as the subject of the present participles `ὄντος` and `ἀντεχομένου`. It functions adverbially to express cause: 'since the king was a friend of the Greeks and devoted to education'.
  3. §2.60.4ταῦτά τε ἀναγραφῆς ἠξίωσε — The verb `ἀξιόω` (to deem worthy of) takes an accusative (`ταῦτα`, these things) and a genitive (`ἀναγραφῆς`, of writing down). It literally means 'he deemed these things worthy of being written down', i.e., 'he recorded these things'. At this point, the narrative shifts from indirect speech (infinitives) to direct narrative (indicative aorist `ἠξίωσε`).

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §2.60.1-2.60.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc5:2.60.1-2.60.4

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