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Polybius · The Histories §18.1.1-18.1.14

Meeting of Philip V and Titus Flamininus at Nicaea

Passage 890 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

King Philip V of Macedon and the Roman general Titus (Flamininus) meet near Nicaea for peace negotiations. Philip refuses to land due to severe distrust and starts the conference in an offensive manner, while Titus demands his complete withdrawal from Greece and the restoration of territories.

§18.1.1ἐπελθόντος δὲ τοῦ τεταγμένου καιροῦ παρῆν ὁ μὲν Φίλιππος ἐκ Δημητριάδος ἀναχθεὶς εἰς τὸν Μηλιέα κόλπον, πέντε λέμβους ἔχων καὶ μίαν πρίστιν, ἐφʼ ἧς αὐτὸς ἐπέπλει.
When the appointed time arrived, Philip, having set sail from Demetrias, arrived at the Malian Gulf, having five lembi and one pristis, on which he himself was sailing.
§18.1.2συνῆσαν δʼ αὐτῷ Μακεδόνες μὲν Ἀπολλόδωρος καὶ Δημοσθένης οἱ γραμματεῖς, ἐκ Βοιωτίας Βραχύλλης, Ἀχαιὸς δὲ Κυκλιάδας, ἐκπεπτωκὼς ἐκ Πελοποννήσου διὰ τὰς πρότερον ὑφʼ ἡμῶν εἰρημένας αἰτίας.
Accompanying him were, of the Macedonians, Apollodorus and Demosthenes the secretaries, from Boeotia, Brachylles, and of the Achaeans, Cycliadas, who had been banished from the Peloponnese for the reasons we have previously mentioned.
§18.1.3μετὰ δὲ τοῦ Τίτου παρῆν ὅ τε βασιλεὺς Ἀμύνανδρος καὶ παρʼ Ἀττάλου Διονυσόδωρος, §18.1.4ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν ἐθνῶν καὶ πόλεων τῶν μὲν Ἀχαιῶν Ἀρίσταινος καὶ Ξενοφῶν, παρὰ δὲ Ῥοδίων Ἀκεσίμβροτος ὁ ναύαρχος, παρὰ δὲ τῶν Αἰτωλῶν Φαινέας ὁ στρατηγός, καὶ πλείους δʼ ἕτεροι τῶν πολιτευομένων.
With Titus, there were present King Amynander, and from Attalus, Dionysodorus, and from the nations and cities, of the Achaeans, Aristainos and Xenophon, from the Rhodians, Acesimbrotus the admiral, from the Aetolians, Phaeneas the general, and several others of those engaged in public affairs.
§18.1.5συνεγγίσαντες δὲ κατὰ Νίκαιαν πρὸς τὴν θάλατταν, οἱ μὲν περὶ τὸν Τίτον ἐπέστησαν παρʼ αὐτὸν τὸν αἰγιαλόν, ὁ δὲ Φίλιππος ἐγγίσας τῇ γῇ μετέωρος ἔμενε.
When they approached the sea near Nicaea, those around Titus stood on the very shore, while Philip, having neared the land, remained afloat.
§18.1.6τοῦ δὲ Τίτου κελεύοντος αὐτὸν ἀποβαίνειν, διαναστὰς ἐκ τῆς νεὼς οὐκ ἔφησεν ἀποβήσεσθαι.
As Titus urged him to land, Philip, standing up in his ship, said he would not land.
§18.1.7τοῦ δὲ πάλιν ἐρομένου τίνα φοβεῖται, φοβεῖσθαι μὲν ἔφησεν ὁ Φίλιππος οὐδένα πλὴν τοὺς θεούς, ἀπιστεῖν δὲ τοῖς πλείστοις τῶν παρόντων, μάλιστα δʼ Αἰτωλοῖς.
When the former asked him again whom he feared, Philip said he feared no one except the gods, but that he distrusted most of those present, and especially the Aetolians.
§18.1.8τοῦ δὲ τῶν Ῥωμαίων στρατηγοῦ θαυμάσαντος καὶ φήσαντος ἴσον εἶναι πᾶσι τὸν κίνδυνον καὶ κοινὸν τὸν καιρόν, μεταλαβὼν ὁ Φίλιππος οὐκ ἔφησεν αὐτὸν ὀρθῶς λέγειν·
When the Roman general expressed surprise and said that the danger was equal for all and the opportunity common, Philip, taking up the word, said that he did not speak correctly.
§18.1.9Φαινέου μὲν γὰρ παθόντος τι πολλοὺς εἶναι τοὺς στρατηγήσοντας Αἰτωλῶν, Φιλίππου δʼ ἀπολομένου κατὰ τὸ παρὸν οὐκ εἶναι τὸν βασιλεύσοντα Μακεδόνων.
For if Phaeneas were to suffer something, there would be many who would command as generals of the Aetolians, but if Philip were to perish, there was at present no one who would rule as king of the Macedonians.
§18.1.10ἐδόκει μὲν οὖν πᾶσι φορτικῶς κατάρχεσθαι τῆς ὁμιλίας.
Thus indeed he seemed to everyone to be starting the conference in an offensive manner.
ὅμως δὲ λέγειν αὐτὸν ἐκέλευεν ὁ Τίτος ὑπὲρ ὧν πάρεστιν.
Nevertheless, Titus urged him to speak on what matters he was present for.
§18.1.11ὁ δὲ Φίλιππος οὐκ ἔφη τὸν λόγον αὑτῷ καθήκειν, ἀλλʼ ἐκείνῳ· διόπερ ἠξίου διασαφεῖν τὸν Τίτον τί δεῖ ποιήσαντα τὴν εἰρήνην ἄγειν.
But Philip said that the speech did not belong to him, but to Titus; therefore he requested Titus to declare what he must do to enjoy peace.
§18.1.12ὁ δὲ τῶν Ῥωμαίων στρατηγὸς αὑτῷ μὲν ἁπλοῦν τινα λόγον ἔφη καθήκειν καὶ φαινόμενον.
And the Roman general said that a simple and obvious speech belonged to himself.
§18.1.13κελεύειν γὰρ αὐτὸν ἐκ μὲν τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἁπάσης ἐκχωρεῖν, ἀποδόντα τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους καὶ τοὺς αὐτομόλους ἑκάστοις οὓς ἔχει, §18.1.14τοὺς δὲ κατὰ τὴν Ἰλλυρίδα τόπους παραδοῦναι Ῥωμαίοις, ὧν γέγονε κύριος μετὰ τὰς ἐν Ἠπείρῳ διαλύσεις· ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ Πτολεμαίῳ τὰς πόλεις ἀποκαταστῆσαι πάσας, ἃς παρῄρηται μετὰ τὸν Πτολεμαίου τοῦ Φιλοπάτορος θάνατον.
For he commanded him to evacuate the whole of Greece, after restoring to each party the prisoners and the deserters whom he held, and to deliver to the Romans the places in the region of Illyria of which he had become master after the treaty in Epirus; and likewise to restore to Ptolemy all the cities which he had taken away after the death of Ptolemy Philopator.

Notes

  1. §18.1.1ἐπελθόντος δὲ τοῦ τεταγμένου καιροῦ — A genitive absolute construction expressing time, meaning "when the appointed time arrived."
  2. §18.1.8ἴσον εἶναι πᾶσι τὸν κίνδυνον καὶ κοινὸν τὸν καιρόν — An accusative with infinitive construction in indirect speech introduced by φήσαντος. The adjectives ἴσον and κοινόν function as predicates for τὸν κίνδυνον (danger) and τὸν καιρόν (opportunity/circumstance) respectively.
  3. §18.1.9Φαινέου μὲν γὰρ παθόντος τι... Φιλίππου δʼ ἀπολομένου — Both are genitive absolute constructions functioning as protases ("if...") of conditional sentences. They are embedded within the indirect speech (with the infinitives εἶναι) introduced by γάρ connected to the previous sentence.
  4. §18.1.11τί δεῖ ποιήσαντα τὴν εἰρήνην ἄγειν — For the infinitive ἄγειν governed by the impersonal verb δεῖ, the implied subject is in the accusative masculine singular (referring to Philip), and therefore the modifying aorist active participle ποιήσαντα is also in the accusative masculine singular.

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §18.1.1-18.1.14. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:18.1.1-18.1.14

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