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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §20.109.1-20.109.7

Winter Quarters of Antigonus and Lysimachus

Passage 297 of 301 · Greek

Summary

Antigonus pursues and besieges the retreating forces of Lysimachus, but is forced by severe weather to cease pursuit and distribute his army into winter quarters. Fearing Seleucus' approach, Antigonus summons Demetrius for aid, while Lysimachus also secures supplies through a marriage alliance and enters winter quarters.

§20.109.1Ἀντίγονος δὲ πυθόμενος τὴν τῶν πολεμίων ἀποχώρησιν εὐθὺς ἐπεδίωκεν αὐτοὺς καὶ πλησίον γενόμενος τῆς παρεμβολῆς, ἐπεὶ πρὸς παράταξιν οὐ συγκατέβαινον, ἤρξατο περιταφρεύειν τὴν στρατοπεδείαν καὶ καταπέλτας καὶ βέλη μετεπέμψατο, βουλόμενος αὐτὴν πολιορκῆσαι.
Antigonus, having learned of the departure of the enemy, pursued them at once; and coming near their encampment, since they would not come down to a pitched battle, he began to dig a trench around their camp and sent for catapults and missiles, wishing to besiege it.
συντελουμένων δʼ ἀκροβολισμῶν περὶ τὴν ταφρείαν καὶ τῶν περὶ τὸν Λυσίμαχον πειρωμένων ἀνείργειν τοῖς βέλεσι τοὺς ἐργαζομένους ἐν πᾶσιν προετέρουν οἱ περὶ τὸν Ἀντίγονον.
While skirmishes took place around the trenching and Lysimachus' men tried to keep back the workers with missiles, in all encounters Antigonus' men had the upper hand.
§20.109.2ἔπειτα χρόνου γενομένου καὶ τῶν ἔργων ἤδη συντέλειαν λαμβανόντων, τῆς δὲ τροφῆς ὑπολιπούσης τοὺς πολιορκουμένους οἱ περὶ Λυσίμαχον, τηρήσαντες νύκτα χειμέριον, ἀναζεύξαντες ἐκ τῆς παρεμβολῆς διὰ τῶν ὑπερδεξίων τόπων ἀπεχώρησαν εἰς παραχειμασίαν.
Then, as time passed and the works were already nearing completion, and food failed the besieged, Lysimachus and his men, watching for a stormy night, decamped from their position and withdrew through higher ground to their winter quarters.
ὁ δʼ Ἀντίγονος ἡμέρας γενομένης ὡς εἶδε τὴν τῶν πολεμίων ἀπαλλαγήν, ἀντιπαρῆγεν αὐτὸς διὰ τῶν πεδίων.
But Antigonus, when day came and he saw the departure of the enemy, himself marched parallel to them through the plains.
§20.109.3ἐπιγενομένων δὲ ὄμβρων μεγάλων καὶ τῆς χώρας οὔσης βαθυγείου καὶ πηλώδους τῶν τε ὑποζυγίων οὐκ ὀλίγα συνέβη καὶ τῶν σωμάτων τινὰ διαφθαρῆναι καὶ τὸ σύνολον ἐπιπόνως ἅπασαν τὴν δύναμιν διατεθῆναι.
But when great rains came on and the country, being deep-soiled and muddy, caused not a few of the beasts of burden and some of the men to perish, and on the whole the entire army was reduced to a painful state.
§20.109.4διόπερ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἅμα μὲν ἀναλαβεῖν βουλόμενος ἐκ τῆς κακοπαθίας τοὺς στρατιώτας, ἅμα δὲ τὴν χειμερινὴν ὥραν ὁρῶν περιλαμβάνουσαν τοῦ μὲν καταδιώκειν ἀπέστη, πρὸς δὲ τὴν χειμασίαν ἐπιλεξάμενος τοὺς εὐθετωτάτους τόπους διεῖλε κατὰ μέρη τὴν δύναμιν.
For this reason the king, wishing on the one hand to let the soldiers recover from their hardship, and on the other hand seeing that the winter season was setting in, desisted from pursuit, and having selected the most suitable places for winter quarters, distributed his army into divisions.
§20.109.5πυνθανόμενος δὲ Σέλευκον καταβαίνειν ἐκ τῶν ἄνω σατραπειῶν μετὰ μεγάλης δυνάμεως, ἔπεμψέ τινας τῶν φίλων εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα πρὸς Δημήτριον, παρακελευόμενος ἥκειν πρὸς αὐτὸν μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως τὴν ταχίστην· σφόδρα γὰρ εὐλαβεῖτο μὴ πάντων τῶν βασιλέων ἐπʼ αὐτὸν συνδραμόντων ἀναγκασθῇ παρατάξει κρῖναι τὸν ὅλον πόλεμον πρὶν ἢ συνελθεῖν εἰς ταὐτὸν τὴν ἐκ τῆς Εὐρώπης δύναμιν.
When he learned that Seleucus was descending from the upper satrapies with a large army, he sent some of his friends to Greece to Demetrius, urging him to come to him with his forces as quickly as possible; for he was exceedingly afraid lest, if all the kings gathered against him, he should be forced to decide the whole war in a pitched battle before the forces from Europe could join him.
§20.109.6παραπλησίως δὲ καὶ Λυσίμαχος διεῖλε τὴν δύναμιν εἰς χειμασίαν ἐν τῷ καλουμένῳ Σαλωνίας πεδίῳ.
Similarly, Lysimachus also distributed his army for winter quarters in the so-called plain of Salonia.
ἀγορὰν δὲ πολλὴν ἐξ Ἡρακλείας μετεπέμπετο, ποιησάμενος ἐπιγαμίαν πρὸς τοὺς Ἡρακλεώτας· §20.109.7ἔγημε γὰρ Ἄμηστριν τὴν Ὀξυάρτου μὲν θυγατέρα, Δαρείου δὲ τοῦ βασιλέως ἀδελφιδῆν, Κρατεροῦ δὲ γυναῖκα γενομένην ὑπʼ Ἀλεξάνδρου δοθεῖσαν, τότε δυναστεύουσαν τῆς πόλεως.
He sent for a large supply of provisions from Heracleia, having contracted a marriage alliance with the Heracleots; for he married Amastris, who was the daughter of Oxyartes, niece of King Darius, and had been the wife of Craterus, given to him by Alexander, and who at that time was the ruler of the city.
καὶ τὰ μὲν περὶ τὴν Ἀσίαν ἐν τούτοις ἦν.
And such was the state of affairs in Asia.

Notes

  1. 20.109.1συντελουμένων δʼ ἀκροβολισμῶν περὶ τὴν ταφρείαν καὶ τῶν περὶ τὸν Λυσίμαχον πειρωμένων ἀνείργειν τοῖς βέλεσι τοὺς ἐργαζομένους — A double genitive absolute construction where two participles (συντελουμένων and πειρωμένων) are connected by καί. In the second part, the accusative τοὺς ἐργαζομένους (the workers) functions as the object of the infinitive ἀνείργειν (to keep back).
  2. 20.109.3τῶν τε ὑποζυγίων οὐκ ὀλίγα συνέβη καὶ τῶν σωμάτων τινὰ διαφθαρῆναι καὶ τὸ σύνολον ἐπιπόνως ἅπασαν τὴν δύναμιν διατεθῆναι — Two accusative and infinitive clauses (διαφθαρῆναι and διατεθῆναι) function as the subject of the impersonal verb συνέβη (it happened). The subject of the first infinitive διαφθαρῆναι consists of τῶν τε ὑποζυγίων οὐκ ὀλίγα and τῶν σωμάτων τινά, while the subject of the second infinitive διατεθῆναι is ἅπασαν τὴν δύναμιν in the accusative.
  3. 20.109.5σφόδρα γὰρ εὐλαβεῖτο μὴ ... ἀναγκασθῇ ... πρὶν ἢ συνελθεῖν εἰς ταὐτὸν τὴν ἐκ τῆς Εὐρώπης δύναμιν — The verb of fearing εὐλαβεῖτο (he was afraid) introduces a μή clause with the subjunctive ἀναγκασθῇ. This is followed by a temporal clause introduced by πρὶν ἤ (before), taking the infinitive συνελθεῖν with its subject accusative τὴν ἐκ τῆς Εὐρώπης δύναμιν.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §20.109.1-20.109.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc6:20.109.1-20.109.7

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