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Polybius · The Histories §18.27.1-18.27.7

Roman Victory and the Dispute over Spoils

Passage 916 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

The Battle of Cynoscephalae ends in a Roman victory, leading Philip to retreat to collect his scattered forces. While plundering, the Romans clash with the Aetolians over the division of spoils before advancing toward Larisa, and the final casualties are tallied.

§18.27.1πανταχόθεν δὲ τοῦ κινδύνου συντέλειαν εἰληφότος καὶ κρατούντων τῶν Ῥωμαίων, ὁ μὲν Φίλιππος ἐποιεῖτο τὴν ἀποχώρησιν ὡς ἐπὶ τὰ Τέμπη.
When the battle had thus come to an end on all sides and the Romans were victorious, Philip began his retreat in the direction of Tempe.
§18.27.2καὶ τῇ μὲν πρώτῃ περὶ τὸν Ἀλεξάνδρου καλούμενον πύργον ηὐλίσθη, τῇ δʼ ὑστεραίᾳ προελθὼν εἰς Γόννους ἐπὶ τὴν εἰσβολὴν τῶν Τεμπῶν ἐπέμεινε, βουλόμενος ἀναδέξασθαι τοὺς ἐκ τῆς φυγῆς ἀνασῳζομένους.
On the first night he encamped near what is called the Tower of Alexander, and on the following day, advancing to Gonnus, he remained at the entrance of Tempe, wishing to collect those who survived from the flight.
§18.27.3οἱ δὲ Ῥωμαῖοι, μέχρι μέν τινος ἐπακολουθήσαντες τοῖς φεύγουσιν, οἱ μὲν ἐσκύλευον τοὺς τεθνεῶτας, οἱ δὲ τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους ἥθροιζον, οἱ δὲ πλείους ὥρμησαν ἐπὶ τὴν διαρπαγὴν τοῦ τῶν πολεμίων χάρακος·
The Romans, having pursued the fugitives for a certain distance, then turned to other tasks: some stripped the dead, others collected the prisoners, but the majority rushed to plunder the enemy's camp.
§18.27.4ἔνθα δὴ καταλαβόντες τοὺς Αἰτωλοὺς προεμπεπτωκότας καὶ δόξαντες στέρεσθαι τῆς σφίσι καθηκούσης ὠφελείας, ἤρξαντο καταμέμφεσθαι τοὺς Αἰτωλοὺς καὶ λέγειν πρὸς τὸν στρατηγὸν ὅτι τοὺς μὲν κινδύνους αὐτοῖς ἐπιτάττει, τῆς δʼ ὠφελείας ἄλλοις παρακεχώρηκε.
There, finding that the Aetolians had already burst in before them, and believing that they were being deprived of the booty that was rightfully theirs, they began to blame the Aetolians and to complain to the general that while he imposed the dangers upon them, he had yielded the spoils to others.
§18.27.5καὶ τότε μὲν ἐπανελθόντες εἰς τὴν ἑαυτῶν στρατοπεδείαν ηὐλίσθησαν, εἰς δὲ τὴν ἐπαύριον ἅμα μὲν ἥθροιζον τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους καὶ τὰ λειπόμενα τῶν σκύλων, ἅμα δὲ προῆγον ποιούμενοι τὴν πορείαν ὡς ἐπὶ Λαρίσης.
For that night they returned to their own camp and slept; but on the following day, while they collected the prisoners and the rest of the spoils, they also advanced, marching in the direction of Larisa.
§18.27.6ἔπεσον δὲ τῶν Ῥωμαίων πρὸς τοὺς ἑπτακοσίους· τῶν δὲ Μακεδόνων ἀπέθανον μὲν οἱ πάντες εἰς ὀκτακισχιλίους, ζωγρίᾳ δʼ ἑάλωσαν οὐκ ἐλάττους πεντακισχιλίων.
The Roman dead numbered about seven hundred; of the Macedonians, about eight thousand in all were killed, and no fewer than five thousand were taken alive.
§18.27.7καὶ τῆς μὲν ἐν Θετταλίᾳ γενομένης περὶ Κυνὸς Κεφαλὰς Ῥωμαίων καὶ Φιλίππου μάχης τοιοῦτον
Such was the end of the battle in Thessaly near Cynoscephalae between the Romans and Philip.

Notes

  1. §18.27.1τοῦ κινδύνου συντέλειαν εἰληφότος — Genitive absolute. The noun κίνδυνος here refers to the "combat" or "battle" itself rather than generic "danger". The phrase συντέλειαν λαμβάνω is an idiom meaning "to reach completion" or "to come to an end".
  2. §18.27.4δόξαντες στέρεσθαι τῆς σφίσι καθηκούσης ὠφελείας — δόξαντες is an active participle agreeing with the main subject (the Romans). The infinitive στέρεσθαι is present passive, expressing the ongoing state of "being deprived of". The genitive τῆς... ὠφελείας is a genitive of separation governed by στέρομαι. σφίσι is an indirect reflexive pronoun referring back to the main subject.
  3. §18.27.4ὅτι τοὺς μὲν κινδύνους αὐτοῖς ἐπιτάττει — The subject of the third-person singular verbs ἐπιτάττει (and the following παρακεχώρηκε) within the ὅτι-clause is the general (Flamininus), referred to by τὸν στρατηγόν just before. The pronoun αὐτοῖς (dative plural of αὐτός) refers to the Romans (the subject of the main clause).
  4. §18.27.7τοιοῦτον — The chapter ends abruptly with the word τοιοῦτον (neuter singular nominative/accusative), suggesting either an ellipsis of a predicate (such as ἀπέβη or ἦν τὸ τέλος) or a lacuna in the manuscript tradition.

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §18.27.1-18.27.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:18.27.1-18.27.7

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