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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §18.42.1-18.42.5

Eumenes' Envoys and Novel Horse Training at Nora

Passage 43 of 301 · Greek

Summary

Eumenes dispatched envoys to Antipater led by the historian Hieronymus, while in the narrow fortress of Nora he devised an ingenious method of exercising the horses by suspending them, and fostered unity by sharing the frugal lifestyle of his soldiers.

§18.42.1μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ὁ Εὐμενὴς πρὸς τὸν Ἀντίπατρον πρεσβευτὰς ἀπέστειλε περὶ τῶν ὁμολογιῶν, ὧν ἦν ἡγούμενος Ἱερώνυμος ὁ τὰς τῶν διαδόχων ἱστορίας γεγραφώς.
After this, Eumenes sent envoys to Antipater concerning the terms of agreement, the leader of whom was Hieronymus, the man who wrote the history of the Successors.
αὐτὸς δὲ πολλαῖς καὶ ποικίλαις κεχρημένος τοῦ βίου μεταβολαῖς οὐκ ἐταπεινοῦτο τῷ φρονήματι, σαφῶς εἰδὼς τὴν τύχην ὀξείας τὰς εἰς ἀμφότερα τὰ μέρη ποιουμένην μεταβολάς.
He himself, having experienced many and diverse vicissitudes of life, was not humbled in spirit, knowing clearly that fortune makes rapid changes to both sides.
§18.42.2ἑώρα γὰρ τοὺς μὲν τῶν Μακεδόνων βασιλεῖς κενὸν ἔχοντας τὸ τῆς βασιλείας πρόσχημα, πολλοὺς δὲ καὶ μεγάλους τοῖς φρονήμασιν ἄνδρας διαδεχομένους τὰς ἡγεμονίας, πάντας δὲ ἰδιοπραγεῖν βουλομένους.
For he saw that the kings of the Macedonians held only the empty pretext of royalty, while many and high-spirited men were succeeding to the commands, and all wished to act for their own interests.
ἤλπιζεν οὖν, ὅπερ ἦν πρὸς ἀλήθειαν, πολλοὺς αὐτοῦ χρείαν ἕξειν διά τε τὴν φρόνησιν καὶ τὴν ἐμπειρίαν τῶν πολεμικῶν, ἔτι δὲ τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τῆς ἐν τῇ πίστει βεβαιότητος.
He hoped, therefore, which was indeed the truth, that many would have need of him because of his prudence and his experience in warfare, and furthermore because of the exceeding firmness of his loyalty.
§18.42.3ὁρῶν δὲ τοὺς ἵππους, διὰ τὴν ἐν τῇ στενοχωρίᾳ τραχύτητα μὴ δυναμένους γυμνάζεσθαι, πρὸς τὴν ἐν ταῖς ἱππομαχίαις χρείαν ἀχρήστους ἐσομένους ἐπενοήσατό τινα ξένην καὶ παρηλλαγμένην τῶν ἵππων γυμνασίαν.
But seeing that the horses, because of the roughness of the narrow space, were unable to exercise and would be useless for service in cavalry battles, he devised a certain strange and unusual exercise for the horses.
§18.42.4τὰς γὰρ κεφαλὰς αὐτῶν ταῖς σειραῖς ἀναδεσμεύων ἔκ τινων δοκίων ἢ παττάλων καὶ δύο ἢ τρεῖς διχάδας ἐωρήσας συνηνάγκαζεν τοῖς ὀπισθίοις ποσὶν ἐπιβεβηκέναι, τοῖς δʼ ἔμπροσθεν μόγις ψαύειν τῆς γῆς μικρὸν ἀπολείποντας·
For binding their heads with ropes to some beams or posts and raising them in the air by two or three slings, he forced them to stand on their hind legs, and with their forelegs barely to touch the ground, being slightly off it.
εὐθὺς οὖν ὁ μὲν ἵππος βουλόμενος στηρίζεσθαι τοῖς ἐμπροσθίοις διεπονεῖτο τῷ τε σώματι παντὶ καὶ τοῖς σκέλεσι, συμπασχόντων ἁπάντων τῶν κατὰ τὸν ὄγκον μελῶν· τοιαύτης δὲ γινομένης κινήσεως ἱδρώς τε πολὺς ἐκ τοῦ σώματος ἐξεχεῖτο καὶ τῇ τῶν πόνων ὑπερβολῇ τὴν ἀκρότητα τῶν γυμνασίων τοῖς ζῴοις περιεποιεῖτο.
Immediately, then, the horse, wishing to support itself on its forelegs, exerted itself with its whole body and legs, all the limbs of its bulk working together; and as such movement took place, much sweat poured from its body, and by the extreme nature of the exertions he secured for the animals the highest degree of exercise.
§18.42.5τοῖς δὲ στρατιώταις ἅπασι τὰς αὐτὰς τροφὰς παρείχετο, μετέχων αὐτὸς τῆς λιτότητος, καὶ διὰ τῆς ὁμοίας συμπεριφορᾶς πολλὴν εὔνοιαν ἑαυτῷ, τοῖς δὲ συμπεφευγόσι πᾶσιν ὁμόνοιαν συγκατεσκεύασε.
And to all the soldiers he provided the same food, sharing in the frugality himself, and through this similar social intercourse he established great goodwill toward himself and concord among all those who had fled with him.
καὶ τὰ μὲν κατὰ τὸν Εὐμενῆ καὶ τοὺς συμπεφευγότας εἰς τὴν πέτραν ἐν τούτοις ἦν.
And such was the state of affairs concerning Eumenes and those who had fled with him to the rock.

Notes

  1. 18.42.1ὧν — The relative pronoun ὧν (genitive plural) takes the preceding πρεσβευτάς (envoys) as its antecedent. It functions as a genitive complement to the noun ἡγούμενος (leader), meaning 'the leader of whom [the envoys]'.
  2. 18.42.1ποιουμένην — This is an accusative-with-participle construction serving as the complement of εἰδὼς, where τὴν τύχην acts as the subject accusative and ποιουμένην as the participle, expressing that Eumenes 'knew clearly that fortune was making (rapid changes)'.
  3. 18.42.4διχάδας — The direct object of the participle ἐωρήσας (from αἰωρέω, 'to suspend'). Although διχάς usually means 'half' or 'cloven,' here it refers to a specialized training device or harness, such as 'forked slings' or 'loops,' used to suspend the horses.
  4. 18.42.4συμπασχόντων — A genitive absolute construction, where the subject is ἁπάντων τῶν κατὰ τὸν ὄγκον μελῶν (all the limbs according to their bulk). The verb συμπάσχω here carries the meaning of 'to be affected in unison' or 'to work together'.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §18.42.1-18.42.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc6:18.42.1-18.42.5

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