Humanitext Reader

Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §20.100.1-20.100.7

Rebuilding of Rhodes and Honors for the Allied Kings

Passage 288 of 301 · Greek

Summary

The siege of Rhodes came to an end, and the Rhodians rebuilt their city and honored the supporting kings, dedicating a sacred precinct to Ptolemy as a god. Meanwhile, Demetrius sailed to Boeotia to liberate Greece, and in Bosporus, King Eumelus died and was succeeded by his son Spartacus.

§20.100.1οἱ μὲν οὖν Ῥόδιοι πολιορκηθέντες ἐνιαύσιον χρόνον τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ κατελύσαντο τὸν πόλεμον.
Thus the Rhodians, after having been besieged for a year, brought the war to an end in this manner.
τοὺς δʼ ἐν τοῖς κινδύνοις ἄνδρας ἀγαθοὺς γενομένους ἐτίμησαν ταῖς ἀξίαις δωρεαῖς καὶ τῶν δούλων τοὺς ἀνδραγαθήσαντας ἐλευθερίας καὶ πολιτείας ἠξίωσαν.
They honored with appropriate gifts the men who had shown themselves brave in the dangers, and deemed those of the slaves who had performed deeds of valor worthy of freedom and citizenship.
§20.100.2ἔστησαν δὲ καὶ τῶν βασιλέων εἰκόνας Κασάνδρου καὶ Λυσιμάχου τῶν δευτερευόντων μὲν ταῖς δόξαις, συμβεβλημένων δὲ μεγάλα πρὸς τὴν τῆς πόλεως σωτηρίαν.
They also set up statues of the kings Cassander and Lysimachus, who, though second to others in renown, had contributed greatly to the salvation of the city.
§20.100.3τὸν δὲ Πτολεμαῖον ἐν ἀνταποδόσει μείζονος χάριτος ὑπερβάλλεσθαι βουλόμενοι θεωροὺς ἀπέστειλαν εἰς Λιβύην τοὺς ἐπερωτήσοντας τὸ παρʼ Ἄμμωνι μαντεῖον εἰ συμβουλεύει Ῥοδίοις Πτολεμαῖον ὡς θεὸν τιμῆσαι.
But wishing to surpass themselves in returning a greater favor to Ptolemy, they sent sacred envoys to Libya to ask the oracle of Ammon if it advised the Rhodians to honor Ptolemy as a god.
§20.100.4συγκατατιθεμένου δὲ τοῦ χρηστηρίου τέμενος ἀνῆκαν ἐν τῇ πόλει τετράγωνον, οἰκοδομήσαντες παρʼ ἑκάστην πλευρὰν στοὰν σταδιαίαν, ὃ προσηγόρευσαν Πτολεμαῖον.
Since the oracle assented, they dedicated a square precinct in the city, building on each side a colonnade a stade long, which they called the Ptolemaeum.
ἀνῳκοδόμησαν δὲ καὶ τὸ θέατρον καὶ τὰ πεπτωκότα τῶν τειχῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τόπων τοὺς καθῃρημένους πολλῷ κάλλιον ἢ προϋπῆρχον.
They also rebuilt the theater, the fallen parts of the walls, and the demolished sections of other places much more beautifully than they had been before.
§20.100.5Δημήτριος δὲ κατὰ τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ πατρὸς διαλυσάμενος πρὸς Ῥοδίους ἐξέπλευσε μετὰ πάσης τῆς δυνάμεως καὶ κομισθεὶς διὰ νήσων κατέπλευσε τῆς Βοιωτίας εἰς Αὖλιν.
Demetrius, having come to terms with the Rhodians in accordance with his father's instructions, sailed out with his entire force, and after making his way through the islands, put in at Aulis in Boeotia.
§20.100.6σπεύδων δʼ ἐλευθερῶσαι τοὺς Ἕλληνας ʽοἱ γὰρ περὶ Κάσανδρον καὶ Πολυπέρχοντα τὸν ἔμπροσθεν χρόνον ἄδειαν ἐσχηκότες ἐπόρθουν τὰ πλεῖστα μέρη τῆς Ἑλλάδοσʼ πρῶτον μὲν τὴν Χαλκιδέων πόλιν ἠλευθέρωσε, φρουρουμένην ὑπὸ Βοιωτῶν, καὶ τοὺς κατὰ τὴν Βοιωτίαν καταπληξάμενος ἠνάγκασεν ἀποστῆναι τῆς Κασάνδρου φιλίας, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα πρὸς μὲν Αἰτωλοὺς συμμαχίαν ἐποιήσατο, πρὸς δὲ τοὺς περὶ Πολυπέρχοντα καὶ Κάσανδρον διαπολεμεῖν παρεσκευάζετο.
Hastening to liberate the Greeks (for Cassander and Polyperchon, having had immunity in the preceding time, were plundering most parts of Greece), he first liberated the city of the Chalcidians, which was garrisoned by Boeotians, and having struck terror into the inhabitants of Boeotia, compelled them to abandon their alliance with Cassander; after this, he made an alliance with the Aetolians, and began to prepare to carry on the war against Polyperchon and Cassander.
§20.100.7ἅμα δὲ τούτοις πραττομένοις Εὔμηλος μὲν ὁ Βοσπόρου βασιλεὺς βασιλεύων ἕκτον ἔτος ἐτελεύτησε, τὴν δὲ βασιλείαν διαδεξάμενος Σπάρτακος ὁ υἱὸς ἦρξεν ἔτη εἴκοσιν.
While these things were taking place, Eumelus, the king of Bosporus, died in the sixth year of his reign, and his son Spartacus, having succeeded to the kingdom, ruled for twenty years.

Notes

  1. 20.100.3ὑπερβάλλεσθαι — This infinitive is in the middle voice, meaning 'to surpass' or 'to outdo', taking the accusative `τὸν δὲ Πτολεμαῖον` as its direct object. Alternatively, it can be understood in an intransitive or reflexive sense as 'to excel (oneself) in returning a favor', with `Πτολεμαῖον` anticipated from the following clause. Here, it is interpreted transitively as wishing to 'surpass' others in honoring Ptolemy in return for a greater favor (`μείζονος χάριτος`).
  2. 20.100.3τοὺς ἐπερωτήσοντας — The future participle with the article expresses purpose after the verb `ἀπέστειλαν`, meaning 'those who would ask'. It is used substantively without a direct antecedent and stands in apposition to 'sacred envoys' (`θεωρούς`).
  3. 20.100.6οἱ περὶ Κάσανδρον — An idiomatic expression meaning 'those around Cassander', referring here to 'Cassander and his followers' or 'Cassander (and his forces) themselves'. The following name `Πολυπέρχοντα` is also governed by `οἱ περί`, indicating the entire faction led by them.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §20.100.1-20.100.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc6:20.100.1-20.100.7

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.