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Polybius · The Histories §1.73.1-1.73.7

Appointment of Hanno and the Rebel Siege of Carthage

Passage 73 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

Despite their dire straits, the Carthaginians appoint Hanno as general and rebuild their military forces, while the rebels under Mathos, reinforced by numerous Libyans, lay siege to Utica and Hippacritae, isolating Carthage and threatening the city itself.

§1.73.1οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καίπερ ἐν τοιούτοις κακοῖς ὄντες οἱ Καρχηδόνιοι, προστησάμενοι τὸν Ἄννωνα στρατηγὸν διὰ τὸ δοκεῖν τοῦτον καὶ πρότερον αὐτοῖς τὰ κατὰ τὴν Ἑκατοντάπυλον τῆς Λιβύης καταστρέψασθαι, συνήθροιζον μὲν μισθοφόρους, καθώπλιζον δὲ τοὺς ἐν ταῖς ἡλικίαις τῶν πολιτῶν·
Nevertheless, although the Carthaginians were in such great difficulties, they appointed Hanno as general because he was believed to have previously subdued for them the region around Hecatontapylos in Libya, and they began to collect mercenaries, and to arm those of the citizens who were of military age.
§1.73.2ἐγύμναζον δὲ καὶ συνέταττον τοὺς πολιτικοὺς ἱππεῖς· παρεσκεύαζον δὲ καὶ τὰ περιλιπῆ τῶν πλοίων, τριήρεις καὶ πεντηκοντόρους καὶ τὰ μέγιστα τῶν ἀκατίων.
They also trained and organized the civic cavalry, and prepared the remaining vessels, namely triremes, penteconters, and the largest of the boats.
§1.73.3οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν Μάθω, παραγενομένων αὐτοῖς εἰς ἑπτὰ μυριάδας Λιβύων, ἐπιδιελόντες τούτους, ἀσφαλῶς ἐπολιόρκουν τοὺς Ἰτυκαίους καὶ τοὺς Ἱππακρίτας, βεβαίως δὲ τὴν ἐν τῷ Τύνητι στρατοπεδείαν κατεῖχον, ἀποκεκλείκεσαν δὲ τοὺς Καρχηδονίους ἁπάσης τῆς ἐκτὸς Λιβύης.
Meanwhile, Mathos and his followers, after about seventy thousand Libyans had joined them, distributed these forces, and safely besieged the people of Utica and Hippacritae, while they securely held their camp at Tunes, and shut the Carthaginians off from the whole of outer Libya.
§1.73.4ἡ γὰρ Καρχηδὼν αὐτὴ μὲν ἐν κόλπῳ κεῖται, προτείνουσα καὶ χερρονησίζουσα τῇ θέσει, τὸ μὲν τῇ θαλάττῃ τὸ δέ τι καὶ λίμνῃ περιεχομένη κατὰ τὸ πλεῖστον·
For Carthage itself lies in a gulf, projecting and forming a peninsula by its position, being surrounded for the most part, on one side by the sea, and on the other also to some extent by a lake.
§1.73.5ὁ δὲ συνάπτων ἰσθμὸς αὐτὴν τῇ Λιβύῃ τὸ πλάτος ὡς εἴκοσι καὶ πέντε σταδίων ἐστιν. τούτου δʼ ἐπὶ μὲν τοῦ πρὸς τὸ πέλαγος νεύοντος μέρους οὐ μακρὰν ἡ τῶν Ἰτυκαίων κεῖται πόλις, ἐπὶ δὲ θατέρου παρὰ τὴν λίμνην ὁ Τύνης.
The isthmus connecting it with Libya is about twenty-five stades in width; on the side of this which faces the open sea lies the city of Utica at no great distance, while on the other side, by the lake, lies Tunes.
§1.73.6ἐφʼ ὧν ἑκατέρων τότε στρατοπεδεύσαντες οἱ μισθοφόροι καὶ διακλείσαντες ἀπὸ τῆς χώρας τοὺς Καρχηδονίους λοιπὸν ἐπεβούλευον αὐτῇ τῇ πόλει,
Having then encamped at both of these places, the mercenaries shut off the Carthaginians from the country, and thenceforth began to plot against the city itself.
§1.73.7καὶ ποτὲ μὲν ἡμέρας, ποτὲ δὲ καὶ νύκτωρ παραγινόμενοι πρὸς τὸ τεῖχος εἰς φόβους καὶ θορύβους ὁλοσχε
And appearing before the walls sometimes by day, and sometimes also by night, they threw them into complete terror and confusion...

Notes

  1. §1.73.1διὰ τὸ δοκεῖν τοῦτον καὶ πρότερον αὐτοῖς τὰ κατὰ τὴν Ἑκατοντάπυλον τῆς Λιβύης καταστρέψασθαι — An infinitive phrase introduced by the preposition διά with the articular infinitive τὸ δοκεῖν ('because of its seeming'). The infinitive depending on δοκεῖν is καταστρέψασθαι, whose subject accusative is τοῦτον (referring to Hanno). αὐτοῖς is a dative of advantage ('for them', referring to the Carthaginians).
  2. §1.73.3παραγενόμενων αὐτοῖς εἰς ἑπτὰ μυριάδας Λιβύων — A genitive absolute construction with the participle παραγενομένων and the noun Λιβύων. The preposition εἰς with the numeral ἑπτὰ μυριάδας ('seventy thousand') functions adverbially to indicate an approximate number ('about' or 'up to').
  3. §1.73.4τῇ θέσει — The dative feminine singular of θέσις ('position' or 'site'), here functioning as a dative of respect ('with respect to its position' or 'by its situation').
  4. §1.73.5τούτου — The genitive masculine singular of the demonstrative pronoun οὗτος. Its antecedent is the 'isthmus' (ὁ ἰσθμός) from the preceding sentence, functioning here as a partitive or possessive genitive with μέρους ('on the part of this isthmus').
  5. §1.73.7εἰς φόβους καὶ θορύβους ὁλοσχε... — The text is broken and unfinished due to a lacuna in the manuscript tradition. The incomplete word ὁλοσχε... is highly likely to be either the accusative plural adjective ὁλοσχερεῖς (modifying φόβους καὶ θορύβους) or the adverb ὁλοσχερῶς ('completely').

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §1.73.1-1.73.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.73.1-1.73.7

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