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Polybius · The Histories §20.2.1

The Boeotians' Reply to Philip's Envoys

Passage 949 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

When Philip sent envoys to the Boeotians, they replied that they would deliberate on the requests only when the king himself arrived.

§20.2.1ὅτι φιλίππου πρεσβεύσαντος πρὸς Βοιωτοὺς οἱ Βοιωτοὶ ἀπεκρίθησαν τοῖς πρεσβευταῖς διότι παραγενομένου τοῦ βασιλέως πρὸς αὐτούς, τότε βουλεύσονται περὶ τῶν παρακαλουμένων. —
When Philip sent envoys to the Boeotians, the Boeotians replied to the envoys that when the king arrived among them, they would then deliberate concerning the requests. —

Notes

  1. §20.2.1ὅτι — Introductory ὅτι typical of epitomes, serving to introduce a summarized statement. It is usually left untranslated or understood as introducing the whole excerpt.
  2. §20.2.1διότι — Used here not as a causal conjunction ("because"), but as a declarative conjunction introducing indirect speech, equivalent to classical ὅτι ("that"). This usage is highly characteristic of Hellenistic Greek and Polybius.
  3. §20.2.1τῶν παρακαλουμένων — Genitive neuter plural of the present passive participle of παρακαλέω ("to request", "urge"), governed by the preposition περί ("about"). It means "the matters being requested" or "the proposals".

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §20.2.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:20.2.1

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