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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §19.22.1-19.22.3

Peucestas' Lavish Banquet and Sacrifice at Persepolis

Passage 99 of 301 · Greek

Summary

Upon arriving at Persepolis, Peucestas held a magnificent banquet and sacrifice in honor of the gods and the Macedonian kings. He arranged the army into four giant concentric circles based on rank and status, preparing lavish seats for them.

§19.22.1ὡς δέ ποθʼ ἧκον εἰς Περσέπολιν τὸ βασίλειον, Πευκέστης μὲν, ὢν ταύτης τῆς χώρας στρατηγός, θυσίαν ἐπετέλεσε μεγαλοπρεπῆ τοῖς θεοῖς καὶ Ἀλεξάνδρῳ καὶ Φιλίππῳ, μεταπεμψάμενος δὲ ἐξ ὅλης σχεδὸν τῆς Περσίδος ἱερείων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν εἰς εὐωχίαν καὶ πανήγυριν χρησίμων πλῆθος εἱστίασε τὴν δύναμιν. §19.22.2ἐπλήρωσε δὲ τῆς τῶν πανηγυριζόντων θυσίας κύκλους τέσσαρας ἐντὸς ἀλλήλων ὄντας καὶ περιεχομένους ὑφʼ ἑνὸς τοῦ μεγίστου· εἶναι δὲ συνέβαινε τοῦ μὲν ἐκτὸς τὴν περίμετρον δέκα σταδίων, ἣν ἀνεπλήρουν οἵ τε μισθοφόροι καὶ συμμάχων τὸ πλῆθος, τοῦ δὲ δευτέρου σταδίων ὀκτώ, καθʼ ὃν ὑπῆρχον οἵ τε ἀργυράσπιδες Μακεδόνες καὶ τῶν ἑταίρων οἱ μετʼ Ἀλεξάνδρου στρατεύσαντες, τοῦ δʼ ἑξῆς τὴν μὲν περιφέρειαν σταδίων τεσσάρων, τὸν δὲ τόπον ἀναπληροῦσθαι κατακειμένων τῶν τε δευτέρων ἡγεμόνων καὶ τῶν ἔξω τάξεως φίλων καὶ στρατηγῶν καὶ τῶν ἱππέων· τοῦ δʼ ἐπὶ πᾶσιν, ὄντος δυεῖν σταδίων, διειλήφεισαν τὰς κλισίας οἵ τε στρατηγοὶ καὶ οἱ τὰς ἱππαρχίας ἔχοντες, ἔτι δὲ τῶν Περσῶν οἱ μάλιστα τιμώμενοι. §19.22.3ἐν μέσῳ δὲ τούτων ὑπῆρχον βωμοὶ θεῶν καὶ Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ Φιλίππου.
When they finally arrived at Persepolis the royal capital, Peucestas, being the general of this country, performed a magnificent sacrifice to the gods and to Alexander and Philip, and having sent for a multitude of victims and other things useful for a banquet and a festival from almost the whole of Persis, he feasted the army. For the sacrifice of the banqueters, he filled four circles that were within one another and enclosed by one, which was the largest; and it happened that the perimeter of the outermost circle was of ten stades, which the mercenaries and the multitude of the allies filled, and that of the second was of eight stades, along which were the Macedonian Argyraspids and those of the Companions who had campaigned with Alexander, and that of the next had a circumference of four stades, the place being filled by the reclining of the secondary leaders, the friends of unassigned rank, the generals, and the cavalry; and the last one, being of two stades, had its reclining places occupied by the generals, those holding the cavalry commands, and furthermore, those of the Persians who were most highly honored. In the midst of these were altars of the gods and of Alexander and Philip.
καὶ τὰς μὲν κλισίας συνέβαινεν ἐκ φυλλάδος κατεσκευάσθαι, κεκαλυμμένας αὐλαίαις καὶ παντοδαποῖς περιστρώμασι, χορηγούσης τῆς Περσίδος δαψιλῆ πάντα τὰ πρὸς τρυφὴν καὶ ἀπόλαυσιν, διεστηκέναι δὲ τοὺς κύκλους ἀπʼ ἀλλήλων ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ὥστε μηδὲν μὲν παρενοχλεῖσθαι τοὺς ἑστιωμένους,
And it happened that the couches had been constructed of foliage, covered with tapestries and rugs of all kinds, since Persis supplied abundantly everything for luxury and enjoyment, and that the circles stood apart from one another at such a distance that those who were feasting were not at all disturbed,

Notes

  1. 19.22.2εἶναι δὲ συνέβαινε — The syntax is structured around the impersonal verb συνέβαινε, which originally governs the infinitive clauses (εἶναι, ἀναπληροῦσθαι). However, as the description of the concentric circles progresses, Diodorus transitions into direct relative clauses and indicative main verbs (ἀνεπλήρουν, ὑπῆρχον, διειλήφεισαν), showing a loose anacoluthic structure. The genitives like δέκα σταδίων are genitives of measure.
  2. 19.22.2τοῦ δʼ ἐπὶ πᾶσιν — The prepositional phrase ἐπὶ πᾶσιν means "at the very end of all" or "finally," which in this context of concentric circles denotes "the innermost" circle, contrasting with the preceding phrases τοῦ μὲν ἐκτός, τοῦ δὲ δευτέρου, and τοῦ δʼ ἑξῆς.
  3. 19.22.3διεστηκέναι δὲ τοὺς κύκλους — The perfect infinitive διεστηκέναι, parallel to κατεσκευάσθαι, acts as another subject clause governed by the impersonal verb συνέβαινεν in the preceding sentence, continuing the description of the spatial arrangement of the banquet.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §19.22.1-19.22.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc6:19.22.1-19.22.3

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