Humanitext Reader

Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §20.80.1-20.80.4

The Samnite War and the Roman Capture of Silvium

Passage 268 of 301 · Greek

Summary

In the Italian war, while the Samnites captured Sora and Calatia, the Roman consuls captured Silvium, thoroughly devastated the Samnite territory over five months, and subsequently took Frusino.

§20.80.1κατὰ δὲ τὴν Ἰταλίαν Σαμνῖται μὲν Σώραν καὶ Καλατίαν πόλεις Ῥωμαίοις συμμαχούσας ἐκπολιορκήσαντες ἐξηνδραποδίσαντο· οἱ δʼ ὕπατοι δυνάμεσιν ἁδραῖς εἰς τὴν Ἰαπυγίαν ἐμβαλόντες πλησίον Σιλβίου πόλεως κατεστρατοπέδευσαν.
In Italy, the Samnites, after besieging and capturing Sora and Calatia, cities allied with the Romans, enslaved the inhabitants; while the consuls, having invaded Iapygia with strong forces, encamped near the city of Silvium.
§20.80.2φρουρουμένης δὲ αὐτῆς ὑπὸ Σαμνιτῶν συνεστήσαντο πολιορκίαν ἐφʼ ἱκανὰς ἡμέρας καὶ κατὰ κράτος ἑλόντες αἰχμάλωτα σώματα πλείω τῶν πεντακισχιλίων ἔλαβον καὶ τῶν ἄλλων λαφύρων ἱκανόν τι πλῆθος.
Since this city was garrisoned by the Samnites, they established a siege for a sufficient number of days, and having taken it by force, they took more than five thousand captives and a considerable amount of other booty.
§20.80.3ἀπὸ δὲ τούτων γενόμενοι τὴν τῶν Σαμνιτῶν χώραν ἐπῆλθον δενδροτομοῦντες καὶ πάντα τόπον καταφθείροντες· πολλὰ γὰρ ἔτη τῆς Ῥώμης πρὸς τοῦτο τὸ ἔθνος διαπολεμούσης ὑπὲρ τῆς ἡγεμονίας ἤλπιζον τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς χώρας κτήσεων στερήσαντες τοὺς πολεμίους ἀναγκάσειν εἶξαι τοῖς ὑπερέχουσιν.
Departing from these operations, they invaded the territory of the Samnites, cutting down the trees and devastating every place; for since Rome had been at war with this nation for many years for the supremacy, they hoped that by depriving the enemy of their possessions on the land, they would force them to yield to those who were superior.
§20.80.4διὸ καὶ πέντε μῆνας καταναλώσαντες εἰς τὴν τῆς πολεμίας γῆς καταφθορὰν τάς τε ἐπαύλεις σχεδὸν ἁπάσας ἐπυρπόλησαν καὶ τὴν χώραν ἐξηγρίωσαν, ἀφανίσαντες πᾶν τὸ δυνάμενον ἐνεγκεῖν ἥμερον καρπόν.
Therefore, having spent five months in the destruction of the hostile land, they burned down almost all the farmsteads and laid waste the countryside, destroying everything capable of bearing cultivated fruit.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τοῖς μὲν Ἀναγνίταις ἀδικήματα ποιοῦσι πόλεμον κατήγγειλαν, Φρουσίνωνα δὲ ἐκπολιορκήσαντες ἀπέδοντο τὴν χώραν.
After this, they declared war on the Anagnitans, who were committing injustices, and after besieging and capturing Frusino, they sold its land.

Notes

  1. §20.80.3ἀπὸ δὲ τούτων γενόμενοι — The combination of the preposition ἀπό and the aorist participle γενόμενοι (from γίνομαι) means "having finished" or "having got away from." Here it indicates completing the military operations and collection of booty at Silvium.
  2. §20.80.3ἀναγκάσειν εἶξαι τοῖς ὑπερέχουσιν — The future infinitive ἀναγκάσειν is governed by the main verb ἤλπιζον. In turn, ἀναγκάσειν governs the aorist infinitive εἶξαι, whose logical subject (the omitted object of ἀναγκάσειν, "the enemy") is forced "to yield." The dative τοῖς ὑπερέχουσιν ("to those who are superior," referring to the Romans) is the complement of the intransitive εἶξαι.
  3. §20.80.4ἀπέδοντο — The third-person plural aorist middle of ἀποδίδωμι. While the active voice means "to give back" or "to surrender," the middle voice (ἀποδίδομαι) has the distinctive meaning of "to sell" (literally, "to give away for one's own interest"). Here it refers to the Romans selling the captured land of Frusino.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §20.80.1-20.80.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc6:20.80.1-20.80.4

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.