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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §18.4.1-18.4.8

Rejection of Alexander's Plans and Upper Satrapies Revolt

Passage 5 of 301 · Greek

Summary

Alexander's grandiose plans, including costly campaigns and temple constructions recorded in his memoranda, are rejected by the Macedonian assembly, while Perdiccas begins to eliminate domestic opposition and suppress the revolting Greeks in the upper satrapies.

§18.4.1κρατερὸς δὲ τῶν ἐπιφανεστάτων ἀνδρῶν ὑπάρχων ἔτυχε προαπεσταλμένος εἰς Κιλικίαν ὑπʼ Ἀλεξάνδρου μετὰ τῶν ἀπολυθέντων τῆς στρατείας, ὄντων μυρίων.
Craterus, being one of the most illustrious men, happened to have been sent ahead by Alexander to Cilicia with those who had been discharged from the army, who numbered ten thousand.
ἅμα δʼ εἰληφὼς ἐντολὰς ἦν ἐγγράπτους, ἃς ἔδωκε μὲν ὁ βασιλεὺς αὐτῷ συντελέσαι, μεταλλάξαντος δʼ Ἀλεξάνδρου τοῖς διαδόχοις ἔδοξε μὴ συντελεῖν τὰ βεβουλευμένα.
At the same time, he had received written instructions which the king had given him to execute; but after Alexander passed away, the successors decided not to carry out the planned projects.
§18.4.2ὁ γὰρ Περδίκκας παραλαβὼν ἐν τοῖς ὑπομνήμασι τοῦ βασιλέως τήν τε συντέλειαν τῆς Ἡφαιστίωνος πυρᾶς, πολλῶν δεομένην χρημάτων, τάς τε λοιπὰς αὐτοῦ ἐπιβολὰς πολλὰς καὶ μεγάλας οὔσας καὶ δαπάνας ἀνυπερβλήτους ἐχούσας ἔκρινε συμφέρειν ἀκύρους ποιῆσαι.
For Perdiccas, having received in the memoranda of the king both the completion of the pyre of Hephaestion, which required a great deal of money, and his other projects, which were many and great and involved insurmountable expenditures, judged it to be advantageous to render them void.
§18.4.3ἵνα δὲ μὴ δόξῃ διὰ τῆς ἰδίας γνώμης καθαιρεῖν τι τῆς Ἀλεξάνδρου δόξης ἐπὶ τὸ κοινὸν τῶν Μακεδόνων πλῆθος ἀνήνεγκε τὴν περὶ τούτων βουλήν.
But in order that he might not seem by his own judgment to detract at all from Alexander's glory, he referred the decision concerning these matters to the general assembly of the Macedonians.
ἦν δὲ τῶν ὑπομνημάτων τὰ μέγιστα καὶ μνήμης ἄξια τάδε, §18.4.4χιλίας μὲν ναῦς μακρὰς μείζους τριήρων ναυπηγήσασθαι κατὰ τὴν Φοινίκην καὶ Συρίαν καὶ Κιλικίαν καὶ Κύπρον πρὸς τὴν στρατείαν τὴν ἐπὶ Καρχηδονίους καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους τοὺς παρὰ θάλατταν κατοικοῦντας τῆς τε Λιβύης καὶ Ἰβηρίας καὶ τῆς ὁμόρου χώρας παραθαλαττίου μέχρι Σικελίας, ὁδοποιῆσαι δὲ τὴν παραθαλάττιον τῆς Λιβύης μέχρι στηλῶν Ἡρακλείων, ἀκολούθως δὲ τῷ τηλικούτῳ στόλῳ λιμένας καὶ νεώρια κατασκευάσαι κατὰ τοὺς ἐπικαίρους τῶν τόπων, ναούς τε κατασκευάσαι πολυτελεῖς ἕξ, ἀπὸ ταλάντων χιλίων καὶ πεντακοσίων ἕκαστον, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις πόλεων συνοικισμοὺς καὶ σωμάτων μεταγωγὰς ἐκ τῆς Ἀσίας εἰς τὴν Εὐρώπην καὶ κατὰ τοὐναντίον ἐκ τῆς Εὐρώπης εἰς τὴν Ἀσίαν, ὅπως τὰς μεγίστας ἠπείρους ταῖς ἐπιγαμίαις καὶ ταῖς οἰκειώσεσιν εἰς κοινὴν ὁμόνοιαν καὶ συγγενικὴν φιλίαν καταστήσῃ.
And the greatest and most worthy of memory of these memoranda were the following: to build a thousand long ships larger than triremes in Phoenicia, Syria, Cilicia, and Cyprus for the campaign against the Carthaginians and the others who dwell along the sea of Libya and Iberia and the neighboring coastal country as far as Sicily; to construct a road along the coastal region of Libya as far as the Pillars of Heracles; and in accordance with so great a fleet, to construct harbors and shipyards at the suitable places; to build six sumptuous temples, each at a cost of fifteen hundred talents; and besides these, the amalgamation of cities and the transplanting of populations from Asia to Europe and, conversely, from Europe to Asia, in order that he might bring the greatest continents into a common harmony and family friendship by intermarriages and mutual ties.
§18.4.5τοὺς δὲ προειρημένους ναοὺς ἔδει κατασκευασθῆναι ἐν Δήλῳ καὶ Δελφοῖς καὶ Δωδώνῃ, κατὰ δὲ τὴν Μακεδονίαν ἐν Δίῳ μὲν τοῦ Διός, ἐν Ἀμφιπόλει δὲ τῆς Ταυροπόλου, ἐν Κύρνῳ δὲ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς· ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἐν Ἰλίῳ ταύτης τῆς θεᾶς κατασκευασθῆναι ναὸν ὑπερβολὴν ἑτέρῳ μὴ καταλείποντα. τοῦ δὲ πατρὸς Φιλίππου τάφον πυραμίδι παραπλήσιον μιᾷ τῇ μεγίστῃ κατὰ τὴν Αἴγυπτον, ἃς ἐν τοῖς ἑπτά τινες μεγίστοις ἔργοις καταριθμοῦσιν.
And the aforementioned temples were to be constructed in Delos, Delphi, and Dodona, and in Macedonia, at Dium for Zeus, at Amphipolis for Tauropolos, and at Cyrnus for Athena; and likewise in Ilium a temple of this goddess was to be built, leaving no possibility of being surpassed by any other; and for his father Philip, a tomb similar to the single largest pyramid in Egypt, which some count among the seven greatest works.
§18.4.6ἀναγνωσθέντων δὲ τῶν ὑπομνημάτων οἱ Μακεδόνες, καίπερ ἀποδεδεγμένοι καλῶς τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον, ὅμως ὑπερόγκους καὶ δυσεφίκτους τὰς ἐπιβολὰς ὁρῶντες ἔκριναν μηδὲν τῶν εἰρημένων συντελεῖν.
When the memoranda had been read, the Macedonians, although they held Alexander in high esteem, nevertheless, seeing that the projects were excessive and difficult to achieve, decided to execute none of the things mentioned.
§18.4.7Περδίκκας δὲ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον τοὺς ταραχώδεις τῶν στρατιωτῶν καὶ μάλιστα ἀλλοτρίως ἔχοντας τὰ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀπέκτεινεν, ὄντας τριάκοντα.
Perdiccas first put to death those of the soldiers who were mutinous and especially hostile towards him, who were thirty in number.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα καὶ Μελέαγρον ἐν τῇ στάσει καὶ πρεσβείᾳ προδότην γεγενημένον, ἐπιβαλόμενος οἰκείας διαβολὰς καὶ κατηγορίας, ὡς ἐπιβουλὴν κατʼ αὐτοῦ πεποιημένον ἐκόλασε.
After this, he also punished Meleager, who had proved a traitor in the mutiny and the embassy, by bringing against him plausible slanders and accusations, as though he had made a plot against him.
§18.4.8μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἐν ταῖς ἄνω σατραπείαις τῶν κατοικισθέντων Ἑλλήνων ἀποστάντων καὶ δύναμιν ἀξιόλογον συστησαμένων ἕνα τῶν ἐπιφανῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐξέπεμψε Πίθωνα, διαπολεμήσοντα πρὸς αὐτούς.
After this, when the Greeks who had been settled in the upper satrapies revolted and organized a noteworthy force, he sent out Peithon, one of the illustrious men, to wage war against them.

Notes

  1. 18.4.1ἔτυχε προαπεσταλμένος — The combination of the verb `τυγχάνω` and the perfect participle `προαπεσταλμένος` expresses a coincidental or pre-existing state ('happened to have been sent ahead'). It explains the background situation where Craterus was already away on another mission at the time of Alexander's death.
  2. 18.4.1ἦν εἰληφὼς — A periphrastic pluperfect construction combining the imperfect `ἦν` of `εἰμί` and the perfect active participle `εἰληφὼς` of `λαμβάνω`. It emphasizes the continuous state of having already received the instructions.
  3. 18.4.4ναυπηγήσασθαι — The infinitives in §18.4.4, starting with `ναυπηγήσασθαι` and followed by `ὁδοποιῆσαι` etc., depend on `ἦν δὲ τῶν ὑπομνημάτων τὰ μέγιστα ... τάδε` ('the greatest projects of the memoranda were these') in §18.4.3, functioning as infinitives of indirect discourse or command to describe the contents of the memoranda.
  4. 18.4.5τοῦ δὲ πατρὸς Φιλίππου τάφον — Grammatically, the verbal construction `ἔδει κατασκευασθῆναι` ('it was necessary to construct') from the preceding clause is understood here, with `τάφον` ('tomb') acting as its accusative subject (or object).
  5. 18.4.7ἐπιβαλόμενος οἰκείας διαβολὰς — The adjective `οἰκείας` can mean either 'his own' (referring to Perdiccas) or 'plausible/fitting.' In this context, where Perdiccas devised the plot to eliminate Meleager, it is interpreted as 'his own.' The middle participle `ἐπιβαλόμενος` means 'devising' or 'bringing against.'

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §18.4.1-18.4.8. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc6:18.4.1-18.4.8

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