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Polybius · The Histories §18.44.1-18.44.7

Arrival of the Ten Commissioners and the Peace Terms

Passage 934 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

Ten commissioners arrive from Rome, bringing the Senate's decree containing the specific terms of the peace treaty with Philip.

§18.44.1ὅτι κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἧκον ἐκ τῆς Ῥώμης οἱ δέκα, διʼ ὧν ἔμελλε χειρίζεσθαι τὰ κατὰ τοὺς Ἕλληνας, κομίζοντες τὸ τῆς συγκλήτου δόγμα τὸ περὶ τῆς πρὸς Φίλιππον εἰρήνης.
At this time the ten commissioners arrived from Rome, through whom the affairs of the Greeks were to be settled, bringing the decree of the Senate concerning the peace with Philip.
§18.44.2ἦν δὲ τὰ συνέχοντα τοῦ δόγματος ταῦτα, τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους Ἕλληνας πάντας, τούς τε κατὰ τὴν Ἀσίαν καὶ κατὰ τὴν Εὐρώπην, ἐλευθέρους ὑπάρχειν καὶ νόμοις χρῆσθαι τοῖς ἰδίοις· §18.44.3τοὺς δὲ ταττομένους ὑπὸ Φίλιππον καὶ τὰς πόλεις τὰς ἐμφρούρους παραδοῦναι Φίλιππον Ῥωμαίοις πρὸ τῆς τῶν Ἰσθμίων πανηγύρεως, §18.44.4Εὔρωμον δὲ καὶ Πήδασα καὶ Βαργύλια καὶ τὴν Ἰασέων πόλιν, ὁμοίως Ἄβυδον, Θάσον, Μύριναν, Πέρινθον, ἐλευθέρας ἀφεῖναι τὰς φρουρὰς ἐξ αὐτῶν μεταστησάμενον· §18.44.5περὶ δὲ τῆς τῶν Κιανῶν ἐλευθερώσεως Τίτον γράψαι πρὸς Προυσίαν κατὰ τὸ δόγμα τῆς συγκλήτου· §18.44.6τὰ δʼ αἰχμάλωτα καὶ τοὺς αὐτομόλους ἅπαντας ἀποκαταστῆσαι Φίλιππον Ῥωμαίοις ἐν τοῖς αὐτοῖς χρόνοις, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τὰς καταφράκτους ναῦς πλὴν πέντε σκαφῶν καὶ τῆς ἑκκαιδεκήρους· δοῦναι δὲ καὶ χίλια τάλαντα, §18.44.7τούτων τὰ μὲν ἡμίση παραυτίκα, τὰ δʼ ἡμίση κατὰ φόρους ἐν ἔτεσι δέκα.
The substance of the decree was as follows: that all the other Greeks, both in Asia and in Europe, should be free and govern themselves by their own laws; that Philip should hand over to the Romans before the festival of the Isthmian games those who were subject to him and the cities that were garrisoned; and that he should leave free Euromus, Pedasa, Bargylia, and the city of the Iasens, and likewise Abydus, Thasos, Myrina, and Perinthus, after withdrawing his garrisons from them; and that concerning the liberation of the Cians, Titus should write to Prusias in accordance with the decree of the Senate; and that Philip should restore to the Romans all the prisoners of war and deserters within the same period, and likewise all the decked ships except five vessels and the sixteen-banked ship; and that he should pay a thousand talents, half of this immediately, and the other half in ten annual installments.

Notes

  1. §18.44.1ὅτι — The introductory ὅτι at the beginning of the passage is a textual feature resulting from the excerpting process of the Byzantine 'Excerpta.' It originally introduced a noun clause depending on a verb like 'Note that...', but in the isolated excerpt it is left without an main governing verb and is translated as a direct statement.
  2. §18.44.2ὑπάρχειν — The series of infinitives starting from §18.44.2 through §18.44.6 (ὑπάρχειν, χρῆσθαι, παραδοῦναι, ἀφεῖναι, γράψαι, ἀποκαταστῆσαι, δοῦναι) are all in the accusative and infinitive (A.c.I.) construction, depending on the main clause 'The substance of the decree was as follows' (ἦν δὲ τὰ συνέχοντα τοῦ δόγματος ταῦτα). They express the individual terms of the senatorial decree in indirect speech.
  3. §18.44.4μεταστησάμενον — Aorist middle participle, masculine accusative singular. Since the subject of the infinitive ἀφεῖναι is the implied Philip (Φίλιππον, accusative, from §18.44.3), the participle agrees with it in the accusative case. The middle voice denotes withdrawing 'his own' garrisons.
  4. §18.44.5Κιανῶν — Refers to the inhabitants of Cius (Κίος) in Bithynia. This is entirely distinct from the island of Chios (Χίος, whose inhabitants are Χῖοι) in the eastern Aegean, requiring careful distinction in translation.

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §18.44.1-18.44.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:18.44.1-18.44.7

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