Humanitext Reader

Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §19.60.1-19.60.4

Campaigns of Aristodemus and Ptolemy

Passage 137 of 301 · Greek

Summary

Antigonus's general Aristodemus recruits troops in the Peloponnese and allies with Polyperchon, while another general, Ptolemy, relieves Amisus and neighboring cities before hastening to the coast to counter Seleucus's movements.

§19.60.1τῶν δὲ πεμφθέντων ὑπʼ Ἀντιγόνου στρατηγῶν Ἀριστόδημος μὲν πλεύσας εἰς τὴν Λακωνικὴν καὶ λαβὼν παρὰ τῶν Σπαρτιατῶν ἐξουσίαν ξενολογεῖν, στρατιώτας ἤθροισεν ὀκτακισχιλίους ἐκ τῆς Πελοποννήσου.
Of the generals sent by Antigonus, Aristodemus, having sailed to Laconica and obtained from the Spartans the authority to recruit mercenaries, collected eight thousand soldiers from the Peloponnese.
ἐντυχὼν δὲ Ἀλεξάνδρῳ καὶ Πολυπέρχοντι φιλίαν συνέθετο πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὑπὲρ Ἀντιγόνου καὶ Πολυπέρχοντα μὲν στρατηγὸν ἀπέδειξε τῆς Πελοποννήσου, τὸν δὲ Ἀλέξανδρον ἔπεισεν εἰς τὴν Ἀσίαν πλεῦσαι πρὸς Ἀντίγονον.
Meeting Alexander and Polyperchon, he established friendship with them on behalf of Antigonus, and declared Polyperchon general of the Peloponnese, while he persuaded Alexander to sail to Asia to meet Antigonus.
§19.60.2ὁ δʼ ἕτερος τῶν στρατηγῶν Πτολεμαῖος πορευθεὶς μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως εἰς Καππαδοκίαν καὶ καταλαβὼν Ἀμισσὸν πολιορκουμένην ὑπʼ Ἀσκληπιοδώρου τοῦ Κασάνδρου στρατηγοῦ τὴν μὲν πόλιν ἐκ τῶν κινδύνων ἐρρύσατο, τοὺς δὲ περὶ τὸν Ἀσκληπιόδωρον ὑποσπόνδους ἀφεὶς ἀνεκτήσατο τὴν σατραπείαν.
The other of the generals, Ptolemy, marching with his army into Cappadocia and finding Amisus besieged by Asclepiodorus, the general of Cassander, rescued the city from its dangers, and, letting Asclepiodorus and his men go under a truce, recovered the satrapy.
§19.60.3μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα πορευθεὶς διὰ Βιθυνίας καὶ Ζιβύτην τὸν βασιλέα τῶν Βιθυνῶν καταλαβὼν πολιορκοῦντα τήν τε τῶν Ἀστακηνῶν καὶ Χαλκηδονίων πόλιν συνηνάγκασε λῦσαι τὴν πολιορκίαν.
After this, marching through Bithynia and finding Ziboetes, the king of the Bithynians, besieging the city of the Astaceni and Chalcedonians, he compelled him to raise the siege.
ποιησάμενος δὲ συμμαχίαν πρός τε τὰς πόλεις ταύτας καὶ πρὸς τὸν Ζιβύτην, ἔτι δὲ λαβὼν ὁμήρους προῆγεν ἐπὶ Ἰωνίας καὶ Λυδίας· ἐγεγράφει γὰρ Ἀντίγονος αὐτῷ βοηθεῖν τῇ παραλίῳ κατὰ τάχος, ὡς τοῦ Σελεύκου τὸν πλοῦν ἐνταῦθα ποιησομένου.
Having made an alliance both with these cities and with Ziboetes, and having also taken hostages, he advanced toward Ionia and Lydia; for Antigonus had written to him to aid the coast with speed, as Seleucus was about to make his voyage there.
§19.60.4ὡς δέ ποθʼ ἧκε πλησίον τῶν προειρημένων τόπων, Σέλευκος ἔτυχε μὲν πολιορκῶν Ἐρυθράς, πυθόμενος δὲ τὴν τῶν πολεμίων δύναμιν πλησίον οὖσαν ἀπέπλευσεν ἄπρακτος.
When he arrived near the aforementioned places, Seleucus happened to be besieging Erythrae, but learning that the enemy's force was near, he sailed away without accomplishing his purpose.

Notes

  1. 19.60.1τῶν δὲ πεμφθέντων ὑπʼ Ἀντιγόνου στρατηγῶν — The genitive phrase at the beginning of the sentence is a partitive genitive, qualifying both the subsequent `Ἀριστόδημος μὲν` and `ὁ δʼ ἕτερος τῶν στρατηγῶν Πτολεμαῖος` (in §19.60.2). It serves to present the overall framework first.
  2. 19.60.3ὡς τοῦ Σελεύκου τὸν πλοῦν ἐνταῦθα ποιησομένου — A genitive absolute construction with a future participle introduced by the conjunction `ὡς`. The `ὡς` indicates the subjective expectation or reason of the subject of the main clause (Antigonus), meaning 'on the ground that' or 'as Seleucus was about to.'
  3. 19.60.4ἔτυχε μὲν πολιορκῶν — The verb `τυγχάνω` with the participle `πολιορκῶν` expresses a coincidence or an ongoing action at that moment ('happened to be besieging' or 'was just then besieging').

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §19.60.1-19.60.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc6:19.60.1-19.60.4

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.