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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §5.54.1-5.54.4

Colonization of Carpathos, Syme, and Calydna

Passage 376 of 406 · Greek

Summary

The historical settlements of Calydna, Nisyros, and Carpathos are recounted, detailing population shifts and colonial undertakings caused by the Trojan War, natural disasters, and oracles.

§5.54.1Κάλυδναν δὲ καὶ Νίσυρον τὸ μὲν ἀρχαῖον Κᾶρες κατῴκησαν, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα Θετταλὸς ὁ Ἡρακλέους ἀμφοτέρας τὰς νήσους κατεκτήσατο.
\nThe island of Calydna and Nisyros were inhabited in ancient times by the Carians, but after this, Thessalus, the son of Heracles, conquered both islands.
διόπερ Ἄντιφός τε καὶ Φείδιππος οἱ Κῴων βασιλεῖς στρατεύοντες εἰς Ἴλιον ἦρχον τῶν πλεόντων ἐκ τῶν προειρημένων νήσων. §5.54.2κατὰ δὲ τὸν ἐκ Τροίας ἀπόπλουν τέτταρες τῶν Ἀγαμέμνονος νεῶν ἐξέπεσον περὶ Κάλυδναν, καὶ τοῖς ἐγχωρίοις καταμιγέντες κατῴκησαν. §5.54.3οἱ δὲ τὴν Νίσυρον τὸ παλαιὸν οἰκήσαντες ὑπὸ σεισμῶν διεφθάρησαν· ὕστερον δὲ Κῷοι, καθάπερ τὴν Κάλυδναν, ταύτην κατῴκησαν·
For this reason, Antiphus and Phidippus, the kings of the Coans, when campaigning against Ilium, held command over those who sailed from the aforementioned islands.\n\nDuring the return voyage from Troy, four of Agamemnon's ships were cast ashore near Calydna, and mixing with the local inhabitants, they settled there.\n\nThose who inhabited Nisyros in ancient times were destroyed by earthquakes; but later the Coans settled it, just as they had done with Calydna.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα φθορᾶς ἀνθρώπων ἐν τῇ νήσῳ γενομένης οἱ Ῥόδιοι ἐποίκους εἰς αὐτὴν ἀπέστειλαν. §5.54.4τὴν δὲ Κάρπαθον πρῶτοι μὲν ᾤκησαν τῶν μετὰ Μίνω τινὲς συστρατευσαμένων, καθʼ ὃν χρόνον ἐθαλαττοκράτησε πρῶτος τῶν Ἑλλήνων·
After this, when a destruction of the population occurred on the island, the Rhodians sent settlers to it.\n\nCarpathos was first settled by some of those who campaigned with Minos, at the time when he was the first of the Greeks to hold the mastery of the sea.
ὕστερον δὲ πολλαῖς γενεαῖς Ἴοκλος ὁ Δημολέοντος, Ἀργεῖος ὢν τὸ γένος, κατά τι λόγιον ἀποικίαν ἀπέστειλεν εἰς τὴν Κάρπαθον.
Many generations later, Ioclus, the son of Demoleon, who was an Argive by birth, sent out a colony to Carpathos in accordance with a certain oracle.

Notes

  1. 5.54.1ἦρχον τῶν πλεόντων — The verb ἦρχον (to rule, lead) governs the genitive case, with the substantive participle τῶν πλεόντων (those who sail) serving as its object.
  2. 5.54.3καθάπερ τὴν Κάλυδναν — The accusative τὴν Κάλυδναν after the conjunction καθάπερ (just as) implies the ellipsis of the main verb κατῴκησαν, meaning 'just as they (the Coans) had settled Calydna.'
  3. 5.54.4τῶν μετὰ Μίνω τινὲς συστρατευσαμένων — The prepositional phrase μετὰ Μίνω (with Minos) is nested within the genitive participial phrase τῶν ... συστρατευσαμένων (of those who campaigned together), which functions as a partitive genitive modifying the indefinite pronoun τινές (some).
  4. 5.54.4πολλαῖς γενεαῖς — The dative πολλαῖς γενεαῖς functions as a dative of measure of difference with the adverb ὕστερον (later), meaning 'many generations later.'

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §5.54.1-5.54.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc5:5.54.1-5.54.4

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