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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §4.32.1-4.32.5

Capture of Troy by Heracles and Death of Laomedon

Passage 268 of 406 · Greek

Summary

Heracles launched an expedition against King Laomedon of Troy to avenge a past broken promise, successfully capturing the city with a small, elite force as described by Homer, slaying the king while granting the throne to the righteous Priam, and rewarding Telamon with Hesione for being the first to breach the walls.

§4.32.1μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἐπανελθὼν εἰς Πελοπόννησον ἐστράτευσεν εἰς Ἴλιον, ἐγκαλῶν Λαομέδοντι τῷ βασιλεῖ.
After these events, having returned to the Peloponnese, he made an expedition against Ilium, bringing charges against King Laomedon.
οὗτος γὰρ Ἡρακλέους στρατεύοντος μετὰ Ἰάσονος ἐπὶ τὸ χρυσόμαλλον δέρος, καὶ τὸ κῆτος ἀνελόντος, ἀπεστέρησε τῶν ὡμολογημένων ἵππων, περὶ ὧν ἐν τοῖς Ἀργοναύτοις τὰ κατὰ μέρος μικρὸν ὕστερον διέξιμεν.
For this king, when Heracles was campaigning with Jason for the Golden Fleece and killed the sea-monster, deprived him of the horses that had been agreed upon, concerning which we shall relate the details a little later in the section on the Argonauts.
§4.32.2καὶ τότε μὲν διὰ τὴν μετʼ Ἰάσονος στρατείαν ἀσχοληθείς, ὕστερον δὲ λαβὼν καιρὸν ἐπὶ τὴν Τροίαν ἐστράτευσεν, ὡς μέν τινές φασι, ναυσὶ μακραῖς ὀκτωκαίδεκα, ὡς δὲ Ὅμηρος γέγραφεν, ἓξ ταῖς ἁπάσαις, ἐν οἷς παρεισάγει τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ Τληπόλεμον λέγοντα "ἀλλʼ οἷόν τινά φασι βίην Ἡρακληείην εἶναι, ἐμὸν πατέρα θρασυμέμνονα, θυμολέοντα, ὅς ποτε δεῦρʼ ἐλθὼν ἕνεχʼ ἵππων Λαομέδοντος ἓξ οἴῃς σὺν νηυσὶ καὶ ἀνδράσι παυροτέροισιν Ἰλίου ἐξαλάπαξε πόλιν, χήρωσε δʼ ἀγυιάς. " §4.32.3ὁ δʼ οὖν Ἡρακλῆς καταπλεύσας εἰς τὴν Τρῳάδα αὐτὸς μὲν μετὰ τῶν ἀρίστων προῆγεν ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν, ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν νεῶν ἀπέλιπεν ἡγεμόνα τὸν Ἀμφιαράου υἱὸν Οἰκλέα.
And at that time indeed he was busy because of the campaign with Jason, but later, having found an opportunity, he campaigned against Troy, as some say, with eighteen warships, but as Homer has written, with six in all, in which verses he introduces his son Tlepolemus saying: "But what a man they say the mighty Heracles was, my father, bold of heart, with a lion's soul, who once came here for the sake of the horses of Laomedon with only six ships and fewer men, and sacked the city of Ilium, and made its streets desolate." Heracles, then, having sailed to the Troad, himself advanced against the city with his best men, but left Oicles, the son of Amphiaraus, as commander at the ships.
Λαομέδων δʼ ἀπροσδοκήτου τῆς παρουσίας τῶν πολεμίων γενομένης δύναμιν ἀξιόλογον συναγαγεῖν ἐξεκλείσθη διὰ τὴν ὀξύτητα τῶν καιρῶν, ἀθροίσας δʼ ὅσους ἐδύνατο, μετὰ τούτων ἦλθεν ἐπὶ τὰς ναῦς, ἐλπίζων, εἰ ταύτας ἐμπρήσειε, τέλος ἐπιθήσειν τῷ πολέμῳ.
But Laomedon, since the arrival of the enemy was unexpected, was prevented from gathering a noteworthy force owing to the suddenness of the occasion; but having assembled as many as he could, he went with them against the ships, hoping that, if he should burn them, he would bring an end to the war.
τοῦ δὲ Οἰκλέους ἀπαντήσαντος, ὁ μὲν στρατηγὸς Οἰκλῆς ἔπεσεν, οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ συνδιωχθέντες εἰς τὰς ναῦς ἔφθασαν ἀναπλεύσαντες ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς.
But when Oicles met him, the general Oicles fell, and the rest, having been pursued to the ships, succeeded in sailing away from the land.
§4.32.4Λαομέδων δʼ ἐπανελθὼν καὶ πρὸς τῇ πόλει τοῖς μεθʼ Ἡρακλέους συμβαλὼν αὐτός τε ἔπεσε καὶ τῶν συναγωνιζομένων οἱ πλείους· Ἡρακλῆς δὲ τὴν πόλιν ἑλὼν κατὰ κράτος καὶ πολλοὺς ἐν χειρῶν νόμῳ κατασφάξας, Πριάμῳ τὴν βασιλείαν ἀπέδωκε τῶν Ἰλιαδῶν διὰ τὴν δικαιοσύνην·
But Laomedon, having returned and joined battle near the city with the men under Heracles, fell himself, as did most of those who fought alongside him; and Heracles, having taken the city by storm and slaughtered many in hand-to-hand combat, gave the kingdom of the Ilians to Priam because of his justice.
§4.32.5οὗτος γὰρ μόνος τῶν υἱῶν τοῦ Λαομέδοντος ἐναντιούμενος τῷ πατρὶ τὰς ἵππους ἀποδοῦναι συνεβούλευσεν τῷ Ἡρακλεῖ κατὰ τὰς ἐπαγγελίας.
For he alone of the sons of Laomedon, opposing his father, had advised him to give back the horses to Heracles according to the promises.
ὁ δʼ Ἡρακλῆς ἐστεφάνωσε Τελαμῶνα ἀριστείοις, δοὺς αὐτῷ τὴν Λαομέδοντος θυγατέρα Ἡσιόνην· οὗτος γὰρ κατὰ τὴν πολιορκίαν πρῶτος βιασάμενος εἰσέπεσεν εἰς τὴν πόλιν, Ἡρακλέους προσβαλόντος κατὰ τὸ καρτερώτατον μέρος τοῦ τείχους τῆς ἀκροπόλεως.
And Heracles rewarded Telamon with the prize of valour, giving him Laomedon's daughter Hesione; for he was the first during the siege to force his way and break into the city, while Heracles was attacking at the strongest part of the wall of the acropolis.

Notes

  1. 4.32.1Ἡρακλέους στρατεύοντος — Together with `ἀνελόντος` connected by `καὶ`, this forms a lengthy genitive absolute construction with `Ἡρακλέους` as its subject, expressing the background circumstances or reasons for the main clause action `ἀπεστέρησε` ("deprived").
  2. 4.32.2ἐν οἷς — The relative pronoun `οἷς` is neuter plural; though it has no direct linguistic antecedent, it refers to the "verses" (ἔπη) or "writings" of Homer implied by `Ὅμηρος γέγραφεν`.
  3. 4.32.3ἔφθασαν ἀναπλεύσαντες — An idiomatic construction combining the verb `φθάνω` ("anticipate, do first") with the participle `ἀναπλεύσαντες` ("having sailed off"), meaning "they succeeded in sailing away before (the enemy could catch them)."
  4. 4.32.4ἐν χειρῶν νόμῳ — Literally meaning "in the law of hands," this is a Classical Greek idiom denoting "in hand-to-hand combat" or "by direct force of hand (without mercy)" in a melee, as opposed to a formal battle.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §4.32.1-4.32.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc5:4.32.1-4.32.5

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