§20.79.1Ἀγαθοκλῆς δʼ ἐπʼ οὐδενὶ τούτων μετεωρισθεὶς οὐδὲ τὰς ἀνθρωπίνας ἐλπίδας ἐξελέγξας τῇ πείρᾳ τηλικαύτην ἀρχὴν ἔκδοτον πεποίηται ταῖς ὁμολογίαις.
Agathocles, encouraged by none of these things and not even putting human hopes to the test of experience, surrendered so great a dominion by the agreements.
ταύτας δʼ ἀσυντελέστους συνέβη γενέσθαι τῇ μὲν Ἀγαθοκλέους προαιρέσει κυρωθείσας, διὰ δὲ τὴν Δεινοκράτους πλεονεξίαν μὴ προσδεχθείσας.
But it happened that these agreements came to nothing, although they had been ratified by the choice of Agathocles, because they were not accepted owing to the greed of Deinocrates.
§20.79.2οὗτος γὰρ μοναρχίας ὢν ἐπιθυμητὴς τῆς μὲν ἐν ταῖς Συρακούσσαις δημοκρατίας ἀλλότριος ἦν, τῇ δὲ ἡγεμονίᾳ τῇ τότε οὔσῃ περὶ αὐτὸν εὐαρεστεῖτο· ἀφηγεῖτο γὰρ πεζῶν μὲν πλειόνων ἢ δισμυρίων, ἱππέων δὲ τρισχιλίων, πόλεων δὲ πολλῶν καὶ μεγάλων, ὥστε αὐτὸν μὲν καλεῖσθαι τῶν φυγάδων στρατηγόν, τῇ δʼ ἀληθείᾳ βασιλικὴν ἔχειν ὑπεροχήν, τῆς ἐξουσίας οὔσης περὶ αὐτὸν αὐτοκράτορος.
For the latter, being desirous of monarchy, was hostile to the democracy in Syracuse, and was well pleased with the leadership that was then centered around him; for he commanded more than twenty thousand infantry, three thousand cavalry, and many great cities, so that although he was called the general of the exiles, in truth he possessed a kingly preeminence, since his authority was absolute.
§20.79.3εἰ κατέλθοι δʼ εἰς τὰς Συρακούσσας, πάντως ἀναγκαῖον ἂν ἦν ἰδιώτην ὑπάρχειν καὶ ἕνα τῶν πολλῶν ἀριθμεῖσθαι, τῆς αὐτονομίας ἀγαπώσης τὴν ἰσότητα, ἔν τε ταῖς χειροτονίαις ὑπὸ τοῦ τυχόντος δημαγωγοῦ παρευημερεῖσθαι, τοῦ πλήθους ἀντικειμένου ταῖς ὑπεροχαῖς τῶν ἀνδρῶν τῶν ἀγόντων παρρησίαν.
If he should return to Syracuse, it would be absolutely necessary for him to be a private citizen and to be numbered as one of the many, since autonomy loves equality, and in the elections to be outstripped by any ordinary demagogue, since the multitude is opposed to the preeminence of men who speak with frankness.
διόπερ Ἀγαθοκλῆς μὲν δικαίως ἂν λέγοιτο λελοιπέναι τὴν τῆς τυραννίδος τάξιν, Δεινοκράτης δʼ αἴτιος εἶναι νομίζοιτο τῶν ὕστερον τῷ δυνάστῃ κατορθωθέντων.
Therefore, Agathocles might justly be said to have abandoned the post of tyranny, but Deinocrates should be considered the cause of the successes subsequently achieved by the ruler.
§20.79.4οὗτος γάρ, συνεχῶς Ἀγαθοκλέους διαπρεσβευομένου περὶ τῶν ὁμολογιῶν καὶ δεομένου συγχωρῆσαι τὰ δύο φρούρια πρὸς καταβίωσιν, ἀεὶ προφάσεις εὐλόγους κατεσκεύαζε, διʼ ὧν διέκοπτε τὰς ἐλπίδας τῶν ὁμολογιῶν, ποτὲ μὲν ἀποφαινόμενος ἐκ Σικελίας αὐτὸν ἀπαλλάττεσθαι, ποτὲ δὲ τὰ τέκνα πρὸς ὁμηρίαν αἰτῶν.
For the latter, although Agathocles was continuously sending envoys concerning the agreements and begging to be allowed two fortresses for his retirement, always devised plausible pretexts by which he cut off the hopes of the agreements, at one time declaring that Agathocles must depart from Sicily, and at another time demanding his children as hostages.
§20.79.5ὁ δʼ Ἀγαθοκλῆς γνοὺς αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐπίνοιαν πρὸς μὲν τοὺς φυγάδας διεπέμπετο κατηγορῶν τοῦ Δεινοκράτους ὡς διακωλύοντος αὐτοῦ τυχεῖν αὐτοὺς τῆς αὐτονομίας, πρὸς δὲ Καρχηδονίους πρεσβευτὰς ἀποστείλας συνέθετο τὴν εἰρήνην ἐφʼ οἷς τὰς πόλεις κομίσασθαι τοὺς Φοίνικας πάσας τὰς πρότερον ὑπʼ αὐτοὺς γεγενημένας·
But Agathocles, recognizing his design, sent messengers to the exiles, accusing Deinocrates of preventing them from obtaining their autonomy; and having dispatched envoys to the Carthaginians, he concluded peace on the condition that the Phoenicians should recover all the cities that had formerly been subject to them.
ἀντὶ δὲ τούτων ἔλαβε παρὰ Καρχηδονίων χρυσίον μὲν εἰς ἀργυρίου λόγον ἀναγόμενον τριακοσίων ταλάντων, ὡς δὲ Τίμαιός φησιν, ἑκατὸν πεντήκοντα, σίτου δὲ μεδίμνων εἴκοσι μυριάδας.
In return for these, he received from the Carthaginians gold amounting to the value of three hundred talents of silver (or, as Timaeus says, one hundred and fifty), and two hundred thousand medimnoi of grain.
καὶ τὰ μὲν περὶ Σικελίαν ἐν τούτοις ἦν.
And such was the state of affairs in Sicily.