Humanitext Reader

Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §11.26.1-11.26.4

Siccius Fights Valiantly Against Assassins to the Death

Passage 826 of 962 · Greek

Summary

Depicts Siccius, trapped by the commanders' conspiracy, fighting bravely against a hundred soldiers, and finally being killed by missiles and rocks.

§11.26.1οἱ δʼ ἀσμένως δέχεσθαι τὰς παραινέσεις σκηψάμενοι· τί οὖν, ἔφασαν, οὐκ αὐτὸς ἡγεμὼν γίνῃ τῆς ἀναζεύξεως τόπον ἐπιτήδειον προκατασκεψάμενος;
And they, pretending to receive his advice gladly, said, "Why, then, do you not yourself become the leader of the departure, having first reconnoitred a suitable place?
ἐμπειρίαν δʼ ἱκανὴν ἔχεις τῶν τόπων διὰ τὰς πολλὰς στρατείας, λόχον δέ σοι δώσομεν ἐπιλέκτων νέων εὐζώνῳ ἐσταλμένων ὁπλίσει· σοὶ δὲ ἵππος τε διὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν παρέστω, καὶ ὁπλισμὸς ὁ τοῖς τηλικούτοις πρέπων. §11.26.2ὑποδεξαμένου δὲ τοῦ Σικκίου καὶ ψιλοὺς αἰτήσαντος ἑκατὸν ἐπιλέκτους οὐδένα χρόνον ἐπισχόντες ἐκπέμπουσιν αὐτὸν ἔτι νυκτὸς οὔσης καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ τοὺς ἑκατὸν ἄνδρας ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων ἑταίρων τοὺς ἰταμωτάτους ἐπιλεξάμενοι, οἷς ἐπέσκηψαν ἀποκτεῖναι τὸν ἄνδρα μεγάλους μισθοὺς τῆς ἀνδροφονίας ὑποσχόμενοι.
You have sufficient experience of the places because of your many campaigns, and we will give you a company of select young men equipped with light armour; and for you, let a horse be provided because of your age, and armour fitting for men of such years." When Siccius accepted this and asked for a hundred select light-armed men, without delaying at all they sent him out while it was still night, and with him the hundred men, having chosen the most daring from among their own companions, whom they charged to kill the man, promising great rewards for the murder.
ἐπεὶ δὲ πολὺ προελθόντες ἀπὸ τοῦ χάρακος εἰς χωρίον ἦλθον ὀχθηρὸν καὶ στενόπορον καὶ χαλεπὸν ἵππῳ διεξελθεῖν, ὅτι μὴ βάδην ἀνιόντι, διὰ τὴν τραχύτητα τῶν ὄχθων, σύνθημα δόντες ἀλλήλοις στίφος ἐποίουν ὡς ἅμα χωρήσοντες ἐπʼ αὐτὸν ἀθρόοι.
When, having advanced far from the camp, they came to a place hilly, narrow, and difficult for a horse to pass through, except at a walk in ascending, because of the roughness of the hills, giving a signal to one another they formed a close body as if they were going to charge him all together.
θεράπων δέ τις ὑπασπιστὴς τοῦ Σικκίου τὰ πολεμικὰ ἀγαθὸς εἰκάσας τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτῶν μηνυτὴς γίνεται τῷ δεσπότῃ.
But a certain servant, a shield-bearer of Siccius, who was brave in military affairs, having guessed their design, became an informant to his master.
§11.26.3κἀκεῖνος ὡς ἔγνω κατακλειόμενον αὑτὸν εἰς δυσχωρίας, ἔνθα οὐκ ἦν δυνατὸν ἀνὰ κράτος ἐλάσαι τὸν ἵππον, καθάλλεταί τε καὶ στὰς ἐπὶ τὸν ὄχθον, ἵνα μὴ κυκλωθείη πρὸς αὐτῶν, τὸν ὑπασπιστὴν μόνον ἔχων τοὺς ἐπιόντας ὑπέμεινεν.
And he, when he realized that he was being hemmed into a difficult place where it was not possible to urge his horse at full speed, leaped down and, standing against the hill so that he might not be surrounded by them, having only his shield-bearer, awaited those who were coming against him.
ὁρμησάντων δὲ ἅμα πάντων πολλῶν ὄντων ἐπʼ αὐτὸν ἀποκτείνει μὲν περὶ πεντεκαίδεκα, τραυματίζει δὲ καὶ διπλασίους.
When all, being many, rushed upon him at once, he killed about fifteen of them, and wounded twice as many.
ἐδόκει δʼ ἂν καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἅπαντας διαφθεῖραι μαχόμενος, εἰ συνῄεσαν ὁμόσε.
And he would have seemed likely to destroy all the rest also as he fought, if they had come to close quarters.
§11.26.4οἱ δʼ ἄρα συμφρονήσαντες, ὡς ἄμαχον εἴη χρῆμα, καὶ οὐκ ἂν ἕλοιεν αὐτὸν συστάδην, τῆς μὲν ἐκ χειρὸς ἀπείχοντο μάχης, προσωτέρω δʼ ἀποστάντες ἔβαλλον οἱ μὲν σαυνίοις, οἱ δὲ χερμάσιν, οἱ δὲ ξύλοις· τινὲς δʼ αὐτῶν προσελθόντες ἐκ τῶν πλαγίων τῷ ὄχθῳ καὶ γενόμενοι κατὰ κεφαλῆς κατεκύλιον ὑπερμεγέθεις ἄνωθεν πέτρας, ἕως ὑπὸ πλήθους τῶν ἐξ ἐναντίας βαλλομένων καὶ βάρους τῶν ἄνωθεν ἐπικαταραττομένων διέφθειραν αὐτόν.
They, therefore, having realized that he was an invincible creature and that they could not overcome him in close combat, kept away from hand-to-hand fighting, and standing further off, they threw at him, some with javelins, some with hand-stones, and others with clubs; and some of them, approaching the hill from the sides and getting above his head, rolled down huge rocks from above, until, by the multitude of missiles thrown from in front and the weight of the rocks crashing down from above, they destroyed him.
Σίκκιος μὲν δὴ τοιαύτης καταστροφῆς ἔτυχεν.
Thus, indeed, Siccius met with such an end.

Notes

  1. 11.26.2ὅτι μὴ βάδην ἀνιόντι — The phrase "ὅτι μή" is an idiomatic expression meaning "except." The present participle "ἀνιόντι" (ascending) is in the dative, agreeing with the preceding dative noun "ἵππῳ" (for a horse), modifying it to mean "except for a horse ascending at a walk."
  2. 11.26.3ἐδόκει δʼ ἂν καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἅπαντας διαφθεῖραι — The past indicative verb "ἐδόκει" with the particle "ἂν" expresses a past unreal or potential result. Together with the infinitive "διαφθεῖραι", it means "he would have seemed likely to destroy all the rest also (if they had come to close quarters)," emphasizing the extraordinary strength of Siccius. The hypothetical condition is supplied by "εἰ συνῄεσαν".
  3. 11.26.4ὡς ἄμαχον εἴη χρῆμα — Although "χρῆμα" literally means "thing" or "matter," here it is used colloquially or figuratively to refer to a person of extraordinary qualities, meaning an "invincible creature" or "formidable entity." The verb "εἴη" in the clause introduced by "ὡς" is in the oblique optative because the main verb of the sentence is in a past tense.

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §11.26.1-11.26.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:11.26.1-11.26.4

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