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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §18.58.1-18.58.4

Eumenes' Appointment as Supreme Commander and Royal Loyalty

Passage 59 of 301 · Greek

Summary

Eumenes receives letters from Polyperchon and Olympias requesting him to support the kings and accept the supreme command of all Asia. He advises Olympias to remain in Epirus for now, while deciding for himself to undergo any danger for the safety of the royal house.

§18.58.1ἐπʼ ἄρχοντος δʼ Ἀθήνησιν Ἀρχίππου Ῥωμαῖοι κατέστησαν ὑπάτους Κόιντον Αἴλιον καὶ Λεύκιον Παπίριον.
When Archippus was archon in Athens, the Romans established Quintus Aelius and Lucius Papirius as consuls.
ἐπὶ δὲ τούτων Εὐμενὴς μὲν ἄρτι τὴν ἐκ τοῦ φρουρίου πεποιημένος ἀποχώρησιν ἐκομίσατο τὰς ἐπιστολὰς τὰς ἀποσταλείσας ὑπὸ Πολυπέρχοντος, ἐν αἷς ἦν γεγραμμένον χωρὶς τῶν προειρημένων ὅτι πεντακόσια μὲν τάλαντα διδόασιν αὐτῷ δωρεὰν οἱ βασιλεῖς εἰς ἐπανόρθωσιν τῶν γεγενημένων περὶ αὐτὸν ἐλαττωμάτων καὶ διότι γράμματα ἀπέστειλαν οἱ βασιλεῖς πρὸς τοὺς ἐν τῇ Κιλικίᾳ στρατηγοὺς καὶ θησαυροφύλακας, ὅπως αὐτῷ τὰ πεντακόσια τάλαντα δῶσι καὶ τῶν ἄλλων χρημάτων ὅσα ἂν αἰτήσῃ πρός τε τὰς ξενολογίας καὶ τὰς ἄλλας τὰς κατεπειγούσας χρείας, τούς τε τῶν ἀργυρασπίδων Μακεδόνων τρισχιλίων ἀφηγουμένους, ἵνα παραδῶσιν αὑτοὺς Εὐμενεῖ καὶ τἄλλα συμπράττωσι προθύμως, ὡς ἂν ἀποδεδειγμένῳ στρατηγῷ τῆς ὅλης Ἀσίας αὐτοκράτορι.
During their term of office, Eumenes, who had just made his departure from the fortress, received the letters sent by Polyperchon, in which it was written, apart from what has been said before, that the kings were giving him five hundred talents as a gift for the restoration of the losses he had suffered, and that the kings had sent letters to the generals and treasurers in Cilicia, in order that they might give him the five hundred talents and whatever of the other funds he should ask for both the recruitment of mercenaries and other pressing needs, and [that they had sent letters] also to the commanders of the three thousand Macedonian Silver Shields, so that they might submit themselves to Eumenes and zealously cooperate in all other matters, as if to one who had been appointed commander-in-chief of all Asia.
§18.58.2ἧκεν δὲ καὶ παρʼ Ὀλυμπιάδος αὐτῷ γράμματα, δεομένης καὶ λιπαρούσης βοηθεῖν τοῖς βασιλεῦσι καὶ ἑαυτῇ· μόνον γὰρ ἐκεῖνον πιστότατον ἀπολελεῖφθαι τῶν φίλων καὶ δυνάμενον διορθώσασθαι τὴν ἐρημίαν τῆς βασιλικῆς οἰκίας.
There came to him also a letter from Olympias, begging and entreating him to help the kings and herself; for she wrote that he alone of their friends had been left most faithful and was able to remedy the desolation of the royal house.
§18.58.3ἠξίου δʼ αὐτὸν ἡ Ὀλυμπιὰς συμβουλεῦσαι πότερον αὐτῷ δοκεῖ συμφέρειν μένειν αὐτὴν ἐν Ἠπείρῳ καὶ μὴ πιστεύειν τοῖς αἰεὶ δοκοῦσι μὲν ἐπιμεληταῖς εἶναι, τῇ δὲ ἀληθείᾳ τὴν βασιλείαν εἰς ἑαυτοὺς μεθιστῶσιν, ἢ ἐπανέρχεσθαι.
And Olympias requested him to advise her whether he thought it was advantageous for her to remain in Epirus and not to trust those who always seemed indeed to be guardians, but in truth were transferring the kingdom to themselves, or to return.
§18.58.4ὁ δʼ Εὐμενὴς πρὸς μὲν τὴν Ὀλυμπιάδα παραχρῆμα ἀντέγραψε, συμβουλεύων κατὰ τὸ παρὸν μένειν ἐν Ἠπείρῳ, μέχρι ἂν ὁ πόλεμος λάβῃ τινὰ κρίσιν.
Eumenes immediately wrote back to Olympias, advising her for the present to remain in Epirus until the war should reach some decision.
αὐτὸς δʼ ἀεὶ τὴν εὔνοιαν βεβαιοτάτην πρὸς τοὺς βασιλεῖς τετηρηκὼς ἔκρινεν Ἀντιγόνῳ μὲν μὴ προσέχειν ἐξιδιαζομένῳ τὴν βασιλείαν, τοῦ δὲ Ἀλεξάνδρου παιδὸς προσδεομένου βοηθείας διά τε τὴν ὀρφανίαν καὶ διὰ τὴν τῶν ἡγεμόνων πλεονεξίαν διέλαβεν ἁρμόζειν ἑαυτῷ πάντα κίνδυνον ἀναδέχεσθαι τῆς τῶν βασιλέων σωτηρίας ἕνεκα.
But as for himself, since he had always maintained his goodwill most steadfast toward the kings, he decided not to pay attention to Antigonus, who was seeking to appropriate the kingdom for himself; and since Alexander's child stood in need of help both because of his orphanhood and because of the greed of the commanders, he concluded that it was fitting for him to undergo every danger for the sake of the safety of the kings.

Notes

  1. §18.58.1ὅτι... καὶ διότι — Both the ὅτι clause and the διότι clause are connected by καὶ and function as noun clauses serving as the subject of ἦν γεγραμμένον ('it was written'). Here, διότι is used not to mean 'because,' but in the same sense as ὅτι to introduce a statement of fact ('that...').
  2. §18.58.1τούς τε τῶν ἀργυρασπίδων Μακεδόνων τρισχιλίων ἀφηγουμένους — This accusative phrase represents another recipient (indirect object) of the preceding verb ἀπέστειλαν ('they sent'). That is, the kings sent letters 'to the generals and treasurers in Cilicia' (πρὸς τοὺς... στρατηγοὺς καὶ θησαυροφύλακας) 'and' (τε) 'to the commanders of the Silver Shields' (τούς τε... ἀφηγουμένους). The latter phrase is expressed in the accusative, independent of the preposition πρὸς, leading directly into the ἵνα clause.
  3. §18.58.1ὡς ἂν ἀποδεδειγμένῳ — The particle construction ὡς ἄν with the dative participle expresses a hypothetical condition or assumption, meaning 'as if to one who had been appointed...' It modifies Εὐμενεῖ, indicating the capacity in which they should submit to and cooperate with him.
  4. §18.58.3πότερον αὐτῷ δοκεῖ συμφέρειν — This clause, introduced by πότερον ('whether'), functions as an indirect question. The dative pronoun αὐτῷ ('to him') refers to Eumenes and depends on the impersonal verb δοκεῖ ('it seems [to him]'). The subject of συμφέρειν ('to be advantageous') is the pair of infinitive clauses μένειν... ἢ ἐπανέρχεσθαι ('to remain... or to return'), and αὐτήν (referring to Olympias herself) is the subject accusative of μένειν.
  5. §18.58.4τοῦ δὲ Ἀλεξάνδρου παιδὸς προσδεομένου βοηθείας — A genitive absolute construction expressing the cause (or prerequisite) for the following main verb διέλαβεν ('he concluded'). The prepositional phrases διά τε τὴν ὀρφανίαν καὶ διὰ τὴν τῶν ἡγεμόνων πλεονεξίαν are inserted to explain the reason for this need for help.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §18.58.1-18.58.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc6:18.58.1-18.58.4

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