Humanitext Reader

Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §18.57.1-18.57.4

Polyperchon's Purges and Appeals to Olympias and Eumenes

Passage 58 of 301 · Greek

Summary

In parallel with the dissemination of the decree to Greek cities, Polyperchon issued a series of political and military instructions, including the purging of pro-Antipater factions in Argos and elsewhere, the recall of Olympias to Macedonia, and a request to Eumenes to support the royal house.

§18.57.1τούτου δὲ τοῦ διαγράμματος ἐκδοθέντος καὶ πρὸς ἁπάσας τὰς πόλεις ἀποσταλέντος ἔγραψεν ὁ Πολυπέρχων πρός τε τὴν Ἀργείων πόλιν καὶ τὰς λοιπάς, προστάττων τοὺς ἀφηγησαμένους ἐπʼ Ἀντιπάτρου τῶν πολιτευμάτων φυγαδεῦσαι, τινῶν δὲ καὶ θάνατον καταγνῶναι καὶ δημεῦσαι τὰς οὐσίας, ὅπως ταπεινωθέντες εἰς τέλος μηδὲν ἰσχύσωσι συνεργεῖν Κασάνδρῳ.
After this decree was issued and sent to all the cities, Polyperchon wrote to the city of the Argives and the others, ordering them to banish those who had led the governments under Antipater, and to condemn some of them to death and confiscate their property, so that, being completely humbled, they might have no strength to cooperate with Cassander.
§18.57.2ἔγραψε δὲ καὶ πρὸς Ὀλυμπιάδα τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρου μητέρα, διατρίβουσαν ἐν Ἠπείρῳ διὰ τὴν πρὸς Κάσανδρον ἔχθραν, ἵνα τὴν ταχίστην εἰς Μακεδονίαν καταντήσῃ καὶ παραλαβοῦσα τὸ Ἀλεξάνδρου παιδίον ἐπιμέλειαν αὐτοῦ ποιῆται, μέχρι ἂν εἰς ἡλικίαν ἔλθῃ καὶ τὴν πατρῴαν βασιλείαν παραλάβῃ.
He also wrote to Olympias, the mother of Alexander, who was staying in Epirus because of her enmity toward Cassander, that she should return to Macedonia as quickly as possible and, taking charge of Alexander's child, care for him until he should come of age and receive his father's kingdom.
§18.57.3ἔπεμψε δὲ καὶ πρὸς Εὐμενῆ, γράψας ἐπιστολὴν ἐκ τοῦ τῶν βασιλέων ὀνόματος, ὅπως πρὸς μὲν Ἀντίγονον μὴ διαλύσηται τὴν ἀλλοτριότητα, πρὸς δὲ τοὺς βασιλεῖς ἀποκλίνας εἴτε βούλεται καταντᾶν εἰς Μακεδονίαν καὶ μετʼ αὐτοῦ κοινοπραγῶν ἐπιμελητὴς εἶναι τῶν βασιλέων, εἴτε μᾶλλον προαιρεῖται μένειν ἐπὶ τῆς Ἀσίας καὶ λαβὼν δύναμιν καὶ χρήματα διαπολεμεῖν πρὸς Ἀντίγονον, φανερῶς ἤδη γεγενημένον ἀποστάτην τῶν βασιλέων.
And he also sent to Eumenes, writing a letter in the name of the kings, that he should not dissolve his hostility toward Antigonus, but, leaning toward the kings, whether he wished to return to Macedonia and, acting in concert with him, be a guardian of the kings, or whether he rather preferred to remain in Asia and, receiving forces and money, wage war to the end against Antigonus, who had already clearly become a rebel against the kings.
ἀποκαθιστάνειν δʼ αὐτῷ τοὺς βασιλεῖς τήν τε σατραπείαν, ἣν Ἀντίγονος ἀφῄρηται, καὶ τὰς δωρεὰς ἁπάσας ὅσας πρότερον εἶχε κατὰ τὴν Ἀσίαν.
And [he wrote] that the kings were restoring to him both the satrapy which Antigonus had taken away and all the gifts which he previously had in Asia.
§18.57.4τὸ δʼ ὅλον ἀπεφαίνετο μάλιστα πάντων πρέπειν Εὐμενῆ τῆς βασιλικῆς οἰκίας κήδεσθαι καὶ φροντίζειν, ἀκολουθοῦντα τοῖς ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ προπεπολιτευμένοις πρὸς τὴν βασιλικὴν οἰκίαν. ἐὰν δὲ μείζονος δυνάμεως προσδέηται, καὶ αὐτὸς μετὰ τῶν βασιλέων ἀναζεύξειν ἐκ Μακεδονίας μετὰ πάσης τῆς βασιλικῆς δυνάμεως.
On the whole, he declared that it was especially fitting of all for Eumenes to care for and take thought for the royal house, following his own previous political actions toward the royal house; and that if he should stand in need of a larger force, he himself also, with the kings, would set out from Macedonia with the entire royal force.
ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐπράχθη κατὰ τοῦτον τὸν ἐνιαυτόν.
These things, then, were done during this year.

Notes

  1. 18.57.1τῶν πολιτευμάτων — Genitive noun, functioning as the object of the verb ἀφηγεῖσθαι (to lead, govern).
  2. 18.57.1τινῶν — Genitive plural of the indefinite pronoun. The verb καταγιγνώσκειν (to condemn) takes the penalty in the accusative (here θάνατον) and the person condemned in the genitive (here τινῶν).
  3. 18.57.3ἀποκαθιστάνειν — Present infinitive. It is used in indirect discourse continuing from the main verb ἔπεμψε ... γράψας (sent, writing) to convey the content of the letter (the kings' promise or declaration).
  4. 18.57.4ἀκολουθοῦντα — Present participle in the accusative singular masculine. It agrees with Εὐμενῆ, which is the accusative subject of the infinitive depending on the impersonal verb πρέπει (it is fitting), expressing circumstance or reason ("following...").
  5. 18.57.4ἀναζεύξειν — Future infinitive. It is used in indirect discourse as the apodosis of the conditional sentence (ἐὰν ... προσδέηται), and its subject is Polyperchon himself (indicated by the nominative καὶ αὐτός because the subject of the infinitive is the same as that of the governing verb).

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §18.57.1-18.57.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc6:18.57.1-18.57.4

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.