Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §20.11.1-20.11.2

Exhaustion of Pyrrhus's Troops and Roman Principes

Passage 956 of 962 · Greek

Summary

On the inevitable exhaustion of Pyrrhus' hoplites marching through difficult terrain before battle, and the definition of the Roman soldiers called "Principes."

§20.11.1ἔμελλον ὅπερ εἰκὸς οἱ ὁπλῖται κράνεσι καὶ θώραξι καὶ θυρεοῖς βαρεῖς πρὸς ὀχθηρὰ χωρία καὶ μακρὰς ἀτραποὺς πορευόμενοι καὶ οὐδὲ ταύτας λεωφόρους, ἀλλʼ αἰγότριβας διʼ ὕλης τε καὶ κρημνῶν τάξιν τε οὐδεμίαν φυλάξειν, καὶ πρὶν ἐπιφανῆναί σφισι τοὺς πολεμίους ἐξασθενήσειν τὰ σώματα δίψει καὶ κόπῳ.

As was to be expected, the hoplites, heavy with helmets, breastplates, and shields, marching toward hilly places and along long paths—and these not highways, but goat-tracks through woods and cliffs—were bound to keep no order at all, and even before the enemy should appear to them, to have their bodies exhausted by thirst and fatigue.

§20.11.2τοὺς τοῖς ἱππικοῖς δόρασιν ἐκ διαλαβῆς ἀμφοτέραις ταῖς χερσὶ κρατουμένοις μαχομένους συστάδην καὶ τὰ πολλὰ κατορθοῦντας ἐν ταῖς μάχαις Πρίγκιπας Ῥωμαῖοι καλοῦσιν.

Those who fight hand-to-hand with cavalry spears held with both hands at an interval, and who are for the most part successful in battles, the Romans call "Principes."

Notes

19.12ἔμελλον — ἔμελλον (imperfect) takes the future infinitives φυλάξειν and ἐξασθενήσειν to express the destiny or inevitable outcome ("were bound to") of the subject (οἱ ὁπλῖται).
19.12ταύτας λεωφόρους — In the phrase οὐδὲ ταύτας λεωφόρους, ἀλλʼ αἰγότριβας, a participle like οὔσας (or a copula) is omitted, providing a supplementary explanation for the preceding ἀτραπούς (paths).
19.12ἐκ διαλαβῆς — An adverbial phrase meaning "at an interval" or "with a space between (the hands)," modifying the passive participle κρατουμένοις. It describes the tactical grip of the Roman soldiers (Principes) who held their long spears with both hands spaced apart.

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §20.11.1-20.11.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:20.11.1-20.11.2

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