Humanitext Reader

Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §19.21.1-19.21.4

Dispute in Eumenes' Camp and March to Persepolis

Passage 98 of 301 · Greek

Summary

A division arises within Eumenes' camp regarding the operational direction between those wanting to descend to the sea and those wishing to remain inland; Eumenes yields, and they march from the Pasitigris to Persepolis.

§19.21.1οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν Εὐμενῆ σατράπαι καὶ στρατηγοὶ πυθόμενοι τοὺς πολεμίους ἐν τῇ Μηδίᾳ στρατοπεδεύειν, διέστησαν πρὸς ἀλλήλους.
But the satraps and generals around Eumenes, having learned that the enemy was encamped in Media, fell into disagreement with one another.
Εὐμενὴς μὲν γὰρ καὶ Ἀντιγένης ὁ τῶν ἀργυρασπίδων ἡγούμενος καὶ πάντες οἱ τὴν ἀπὸ θαλάσσης ἀνάβασιν πεποιημένοι πάλιν ᾤοντο δεῖν ἐπὶ θάλατταν καταβαίνειν, οἱ δʼ ἐκ τῶν ἄνω σατραπειῶν καταβεβηκότες ἀγωνιῶντες ὑπὲρ τῶν ἰδίων ἔφασαν δεῖν ἀντέχεσθαι τῶν ἄνω τόπων.
For Eumenes and Antigenes, the leader of the Argyraspids, and all those who had made the march up from the sea thought they ought to go down again to the sea, whereas those who had come down from the upper satrapies, being anxious for their own possessions, said they ought to hold onto the upper regions.
§19.21.2αὐξομένης δὲ τῆς διαφορᾶς Εὐμενὴς ὁρῶν ὅτι διαιρεθέντος τοῦ στρατοπέδου κατʼ ἰδίαν ἑκάτερον τῶν μερῶν οὐκ ἀξιόμαχόν ἐστι, συνεχώρησε τοῖς καταβεβηκόσι σατράπαις.
As the disagreement grew, Eumenes, seeing that if the army were divided, neither of the parts by itself would be a match for the enemy, yielded to the satraps who had come down.
ἀναζεύξαντες οὖν ἀπὸ τοῦ Πασιτίγριος προῆγον τῆς Περσίδος εἰς Περσέπολιν τὸ βασίλειον, οὔσης τῆς ὁδοιπορίας ἡμερῶν εἴκοσι καὶ τεσσάρων, ἧς ἦν ἡ πρώτη μὲν ἕως τῆς καλουμένης Κλίμακος κοίλη, καυματώδης δὲ καὶ σπανίζουσα τῶν ἐπιτηδείων, ἡ λοιπὴ δὲ μετέωρος καὶ τὸν ἀέρα παντελῶς ὑγιεινὸν ἔχουσα καὶ πλήρης τῶν ἐπετείων καρπῶν·
Having broken camp, therefore, from the Pasitigris, they advanced through Persis toward Persepolis the royal capital, the journey being of twenty-four days, of which the first part, as far as the so-called Climax, was low-lying, hot, and lacking in provisions, but the rest was elevated, having a perfectly healthy atmosphere, and full of seasonal fruits.
§19.21.3αὐλῶνάς τε γὰρ εἶχε πυκνοὺς καὶ συσκίους καὶ παραδείσων φυτείας ποικίλας, ἔτι δὲ παντοδαπῶν δένδρων φυσικὰς συναγκίας καὶ ῥύσεις ὑδάτων, ὥστε τοὺς ὁδοιποροῦντας μετὰ πολλῆς τέρψεως ἐνδιατρίβειν τόποις ἡδίστοις πρὸς ἀνάπαυσιν.
For it had dense and shady valleys and various plantings of parks, and furthermore, natural glens of all kinds of trees and flows of water, so that those making the journey spent their time with great pleasure in the most delightful places for rest.
ἦν δὲ καὶ λείας παντοδαπῆς πλῆθος, ἣν μεταπεμπόμενος Πευκέστης παρὰ τῶν ἐγχωρίων διεδίδου δαψιλῆ τοῖς στρατιώταις, ἐκκαλούμενος αὐτῶν τὴν εὔνοιαν.
There was also an abundance of booty of all kinds, which Peucestas, sending for it from the inhabitants, distributed abundantly to the soldiers, calling forth their goodwill.
§19.21.4κατοικοῦσι δὲ ταύτην τὴν χώραν τῶν Περσῶν οἱ μαχιμώτατοι, πάντες ὄντες τοξόται καὶ σφενδονῆται, πολυανθρωπίᾳ τε πολὺ διαφέρειν συμβαίνει τὴν χώραν ταύτην τῶν ἄλλων σατραπειῶν.
The most warlike of the Persians inhabit this country, all being archers and slingers, and it happens that this country far surpasses the other satrapies in populousness.

Notes

  1. §19.21.1οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν Εὐμενῆ — The expression referring to "Eumenes and his associates" or "those around Eumenes". In post-classical Greek, `οἱ περί` with the accusative denotes a leader and their associates or the entire faction, and sometimes represents the main figure alone. Here, as the subsequent sentence details the internal division among the satraps and generals, it refers to the entire leadership of the coalition centered around Eumenes.
  2. §19.21.2διαιρεθέντος τοῦ στρατοπέδου — Genitive absolute construction. Using the perfect passive participle `διαιρεθέντος`, it functions conditionally ("if the army should be divided"). It operates as a conditional clause within the ὅτι-clause, which is the object of the participle `ὁρῶν` in the main clause.
  3. §19.21.2ἧς ἦν ἡ πρώτη μὲν... ἡ λοιπὴ δὲ... — The genitive relative pronoun `ἧς` (feminine singular) takes the preceding `ὁδοιπορίας` (journey) as its antecedent, functioning as a partitive genitive. It structures the description of the entire 24-day journey by contrasting its "first part" (`ἡ πρώτη`) with the "remaining part" (`ἡ λοιπή`) using `μὲν... δὲ...`.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §19.21.1-19.21.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc6:19.21.1-19.21.4

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.