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Polybius · The Histories §10.42.1-10.42.8

Philip's Defensive Measures and Signal-Fire Network

Passage 688 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

Philip deployed defensive forces to various regions to counter the moves of Attalus and the Aetolians, and marched in person to disrupt the enemy's assembly and plunder their crops. He then established himself at Demetrias, setting up a system of fire-signals to ensure constant communication and surveillance.

§10.42.1ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ὁρμήν.
...to make his start.
προσπεσόντος δʼ αὐτῷ κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον τοὺς περὶ τὸν Ἄτταλον διάραντας καὶ προσορμήσαντας τῇ Πεπαρήθῳ κατεσχηκέναι τὴν χώραν, τούτοις μὲν ἐξαπέστειλε τοὺς παραφυλάξοντας τὴν πόλιν, §10.42.2εἰς δὲ Φωκέας καὶ τοὺς κατὰ τὴν Βοιωτίαν τόπους Πολυφάνταν ἐξέπεμψε μετὰ συμμέτρου δυνάμεως, εἰς δὲ Χαλκίδα καὶ τὴν ἄλλην Εὔβοιαν Μένιππον, ἔχοντα πελταστὰς χιλίους, Ἀγριᾶνας πεντακοσίους.
At this juncture, when news reached him that those under Attalus had crossed over, anchored at Peparethus, and occupied the country, he dispatched to them forces to guard the city, while to Phocis and the regions of Boeotia he sent Polyphantas with a moderate force, and to Chalcis and the rest of Euboea Menippus, with a thousand peltasts and five hundred Agrianians.
§10.42.3αὐτὸς δὲ προῆγε ποιούμενος τὴν πορείαν εἰς Σκοτοῦσαν, παραπλησίως δὲ καὶ τοῖς Μακεδόσιν εἰς ταύτην τὴν πόλιν παρήγγειλεν ἀπαντᾶν.
He himself advanced, making his way to Scotusa, and likewise ordered the Macedonians to meet him at this city.
§10.42.4πυθόμενος δὲ τοὺς περὶ τὸν Ἄτταλον εἰς Νίκαιαν καταπεπλευκέναι, τῶν δʼ Αἰτωλῶν τοὺς ἄρχοντας εἰς Ἡράκλειαν ἁθροίζεσθαι χάριν τοῦ κοινολογηθῆναι πρὸς ἀλλήλους ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐνεστώτων, ἀναλαβὼν τὴν δύναμιν ἐκ τῆς Σκοτούσης ὥρμησε σπεύδων καταταχῆσαι καὶ πτοήσας διασῦραι τὴν σύνοδον αὐτῶν.
Having learned that those under Attalus had sailed into Nicaea, and that the leaders of the Aetolians were gathering at Heraclea for the purpose of conferring with one another about the present situation, he set out with his force from Scotusa, hastening to anticipate them and, by terrifying them, to break up their meeting.
§10.42.5τοῦ μὲν οὖν συλλόγου καθυστέρει, τὸν δὲ σῖτον φθείρας καὶ παρελόμενος τῶν περὶ τὸν Αἰνιᾶνα κόλπον κατοικούντων ἐπανῆλθε.
He was indeed too late for the assembly, but after destroying and plundering the corn of the inhabitants around the Malian Gulf, he returned.
§10.42.6καὶ τὴν μὲν δύναμιν ἐν τῇ Σκοτούσῃ πάλιν ἀπέλειπε, μετὰ δὲ τῶν εὐζώνων καὶ τῆς βασιλικῆς ἴλης εἰς Δημητριάδα καταλύσας ἔμενε, καραδοκῶν τὰς τῶν ἐναντίων ἐπιβολάς.
And leaving his force again at Scotusa, he went to quarters and remained at Demetrias with his light-armed troops and the royal squadron of horse, watching for the attempts of the enemy.
§10.42.7ἵνα δὲ μηδὲν αὐτὸν λανθάνῃ τῶν πραττομένων, διεπέμψατο πρὸς Πεπαρηθίους καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἐπὶ τῆς Φωκίδος, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἐπὶ τῆς Εὐβοίας, καὶ παρήγγειλε διασαφεῖν αὑτῷ πάντα τὰ γινόμενα διὰ τῶν πυρσῶν ἐπὶ τὸ Τίσαιον.
In order that nothing of what was being done might escape him, he sent word to the Peparethians and to those in Phocis, and likewise to those in Euboea, and ordered them to signal to him everything that happened by means of fire-signals to Tisaeum.
τοῦτο δʼ ἐστὶ τῆς Θετταλίας ὄρος, §10.42.8εὐφυῶς κείμενον πρὸς τὰς τῶν προειρημένων τόπων περιφάσεις.
This is a mountain of Thessaly, favorably situated for commanding a view of the aforementioned places.

Notes

  1. 10.42.1ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ὁρμήν — An accusative with infinitive clause governed by the impersonal verb δεήσει ('it will be necessary') at the end of the previous chunk §10.41.8. Care should be taken with the connection across the chunk boundary.
  2. 10.42.1προσπεσόντος δʼ αὐτῷ... κατεσχηκέναι — The genitive absolute προσπεσόντος functions impersonally, followed by the accusative and infinitive clause τοὺς περὶ... κατεσχηκέναι as its logical subject or appositive, meaning 'when the news reached him that those under Attalus had occupied...'
  3. 10.42.4καταταχῆσαι — An infinitive functioning as the complement of the participle σπεύδων ('hastening to'). Here, καταταχέω means 'to arrive beforehand' or 'forestall'. It is coordinated with διασῦραι ('to break up'), which is modified by the aorist participle πτοήσας ('having terrified').
  4. 10.42.7διὰ τῶν πυρσῶν ἐπὶ τὸ Τίσαιον — The prepositional phrase of means διὰ τῶν πυρσῶν ('by means of fire-signals') and that of direction ἐπὶ τὸ Τίσαιον ('to Tisaeum') both modify the infinitive διασαφεῖν ('to signal' / 'to make clear'), describing the pathway of communication.

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §10.42.1-10.42.8. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:10.42.1-10.42.8

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