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Polybius · The Histories §2.31.1-2.31.10

Aftermath of the Battle of Telamon and Roman Triumph

Passage 119 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

The aftermath of the Battle of Telamon is depicted, recording the death of Celtic leaders, the triumph of the Roman general, and the subsequent dispatch of new consuls aiming to completely expel the Celts from the Padus region.

§2.31.1ἀπέθανον μὲν οὖν τῶν Κελτῶν εἰς τετρακισμυρίους, ἑάλωσαν δʼ οὐκ ἐλάττους μυρίων, ἐν οἷς καὶ τῶν βασιλέων Κογκολιτάνος.
Thus, about forty thousand of the Celts were killed, and no fewer than ten thousand were taken prisoner, among whom was Concolitanus, one of their kings.
§2.31.2ὁ δʼ ἕτερος αὐτῶν Ἀνηρόεστος εἴς τινα τόπον συμφυγὼν μετʼ ὀλίγων προσήνεγκε τὰς χεῖρας αὑτῷ καὶ τοῖς ἀναγκαίοις.
The other king, Aneroëstes, having fled with a few followers to a certain place, laid hands upon himself and his close relatives.
§2.31.3ὁ δὲ στρατηγὸς τῶν Ῥωμαίων τὰ μὲν σκῦλα συναθροίσας εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην ἀπέστειλε, τὴν δὲ λείαν ἀπέδωκε τοῖς προσήκουσιν.
The Roman general, having collected the spoils of war, sent them to Rome, and restored the booty to those to whom it belonged.
§2.31.4αὐτὸς δʼ ἀναλαβὼν τὰ στρατόπεδα καὶ διελθὼν παρʼ αὐτὴν τὴν Λιγυστικὴν εἰς τὴν τῶν Βοίων ἐνέβαλε χώραν. πληρώσας δὲ τὰς ὁρμὰς τῶν στρατοπέδων τῆς ὠφελείας, ἐν ὀλίγαις ἡμέραις ἧκεν μετὰ τῶν δυνάμεων εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην.
He himself, taking his army and passing along the very border of Liguria, invaded the territory of the Boii; and having satisfied the desires of his troops with booty, he returned within a few days with his forces to Rome.
§2.31.5καὶ τὸ μὲν Καπετώλιον ἐκόσμησε ταῖς τε σημείαις καὶ τοῖς μανιάκαις — τοῦτο δʼ ἔστι χρυσοῦν ψέλιον, ὃ φοροῦσι περὶ τὸν τράχηλον οἱ Γαλάται — §2.31.6τοῖς δὲ λοιποῖς σκύλοις καὶ τοῖς αἰχμαλώτοις πρὸς τὴν εἴσοδον ἐχρήσατο τὴν ἑαυτοῦ καὶ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ θριάμβου διακόσμησιν.
He adorned the Capitol with the standards and the torques—this is a golden necklet which the Gauls wear around their necks— and used the remaining spoils and the prisoners for his own entry and for the decoration of his triumph.
§2.31.7ἡ μὲν οὖν βαρυτάτη τῶν Κελτῶν ἔφοδος οὕτω καὶ τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ διεφθάρη, πᾶσι μὲν Ἰταλιώταις, μάλιστα δὲ Ῥωμαίοις μέγαν καὶ φοβερὸν ἐπικρεμάσασα κίνδυνον.
In this manner and by these means, then, the most formidable invasion of the Celts was destroyed, which had hung like a great and terrible danger over all the Italians, and especially the Romans.
§2.31.8ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ κατορθώματος τούτου κατελπίσαντες Ῥωμαῖοι δυνήσεσθαι τοὺς Κελτοὺς ἐκ τῶν τόπων τῶν περὶ τὸν Πάδον ὁλοσχερῶς ἐκβαλεῖν, τούς τε μετὰ ταῦτα κατασταθέντας ὑπάτους Κόϊντον Φόλουιον καὶ Τίτον Μάλιον ἀμφοτέρους καὶ τὰς δυνάμεις μετὰ παρασκευῆς μεγάλης ἐξαπέστειλαν ἐπὶ τοὺς Κελτούς.
From this success, the Romans, hoping to be able to expel the Celts entirely from the districts around the Padus, dispatched the consuls appointed after this, Quintus Fulvius and Titus Manlius, both of them, and their forces with great preparations against the Celts.
§2.31.9οὗτοι δὲ τοὺς μὲν Βοίους ἐξ ἐφόδου καταπληξάμενοι συνηνάγκασαν εἰς τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἑαυτοὺς δοῦναι πίστιν, τὸν δὲ λοιπὸν χρόνον τῆς στρατείας, §2.31.10ἐπιγενομένων ὄμβρων ἐξαισίων, ἔτι δὲ λοιμικῆς διαθέσεως ἐμπε
These consuls, having terrified the Boii by their initial onslaught, compelled them to give themselves up to the good faith of the Romans, but for the remaining time of the campaign, as extraordinary rains fell, and moreover a pestilential disease broke...

Notes

  1. 2.31.2τοῖς ἀναγκαίοις — The substantivized plural of the adjective ἀναγκαῖος ('necessary', 'close'), meaning 'close relatives' or 'kinsmen'. It indicates that King Aneroëstes not only committed suicide but also killed his family or close associates. It functions as a dative object parallel with αὑτῷ ('to himself') governed by the phrase προσήνεγκε τὰς χεῖρας ('laid hands upon').
  2. 2.31.4τῆς ὠφελείας — A genitive of material/abundance required by the participle πληρώσας ('having filled/satisfied'). The noun ὠφέλεια here refers to 'booty' or 'plunder'. The accusative τὰς ὁρμὰς τῶν στρατοπέδων ('the impulses/desires of the camps/troops') is the direct object, meaning 'having satisfied the desires of the troops with booty'.
  3. 2.31.8κατελπίσαντες — An aorist active participle of the verb κατελπίζω ('to hope, expect, feel confident'), agreeing with the main subject Ῥωμαῖοι. It governs the following accusative and infinitive construction (δυνήσεσθαι ... ἐκβαλεῖν, 'that they would be able to expel'), showing the confidence and future intent that the Romans conceived from their victory at Telamon.
  4. 2.31.10ἐπιγενομένων ὄμβρων — A genitive absolute construction, where the participle ἐπιγενομένων and the noun ὄμβρων agree in the genitive case, forming an adverbial clause independent of the main clause ('extraordinary rains having come upon them'). The following phrase ἔτι δὲ λοιμικῆς διαθέσεως ἐμπε... also forms part of a parallel genitive absolute, though the text is cut short.

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §2.31.1-2.31.10. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.31.1-2.31.10

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