Humanitext Reader

Polybius · The Histories §21.42.1-21.42.10

Truce at Perge and Preparations for the Treaty at Apamea

Passage 1004 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

Gnaeus grants the garrison commander of Perge a delay to consult King Antiochus, and later meets with King Eumenes and the ten commissioners in Apamea to begin ratifying the treaty with Antiochus.

§21.42.1αὐτὸς δὲ πυνθανόμενος τὸν ἐπὶ τῆς Πέργης καθεσταμένον ὑπʼ Ἀντιόχου φρούραρχον οὔτε τὴν φρουρὰν ἐξάγειν οὔτʼ αὐτὸν ἐκχωρεῖν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως, ὥρμησε μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως ἐπὶ τὴν Πέργην.
But Gnaeus, hearing that the garrison commander appointed by Antiochus at Perge was neither withdrawing the garrison nor departing from the city himself, set out with his army for Perge.
§21.42.2ἐγγίζοντος δʼ αὐτοῦ τῇ πόλει, παρῆν ἀπαντῶν ὁ τεταγμένος ἐπὶ τῆς φρουρᾶς, ἀξιῶν καὶ δεόμενος μὴ προκαταγινώσκειν αὑτοῦ· §21.42.3ποιεῖν γὰρ ἕν τι τῶν καθηκόντων· παραλαβὼν γὰρ ἐν πίστει παρʼ Ἀντιόχου τὴν πόλιν τηρεῖν ἔφη ταύτην, ἕως ἂν διασαφηθῇ πάλιν παρὰ τοῦ πιστεύσαντος τί δεῖ ποιεῖν· μέχρι δὲ τοῦ νῦν ἁπλῶς οὐδὲν αὐτῷ παρʼ οὐδενὸς ἀποδεδηλῶσθαι.
As he approached the city, the officer appointed over the garrison came to meet him, requesting and entreating him not to condemn him beforehand; for he was doing one of his duties; since he had received the city in trust from Antiochus, he said he was guarding it until it should be made clear again by the one who had trusted him what he ought to do; and up to the present absolutely nothing had been declared to him by anyone.
§21.42.4διόπερ ἠξίου τριάκονθʼ ἡμέρας χάριν τοῦ διαπεμψάμενος ἐρέσθαι τὸν βασιλέα τί δεῖ πράττειν.
Therefore, he requested a delay of thirty days, for the purpose of sending a messenger to ask the king what he ought to do.
§21.42.5ὁ δὲ Γνάιος, θεωρῶν τὸν Ἀντίοχον ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἄλλοις εὐσυνθετοῦντα, συνεχώρησε πέμπειν καὶ πυνθάνεσθαι τοῦ βασιλέως· καὶ μετά τινας ἡμέρας πυθόμενος παρέδωκε τὴν πόλιν.
Gnaeus, seeing that Antiochus was acting honorably in all other respects, permitted him to send and inquire of the king; and after some days, having received his answer, the commander surrendered the city.
§21.42.6κατὰ δὲ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον οἱ δέκα πρεσβευταὶ καὶ [ὁ] βασιλεὺς Εὐμένης εἰς Ἔφεσον κατέπλευσαν, ἤδη τῆς θερείας ἐναρχομένης· καὶ δύʼ ἡμέρας ἐκ τοῦ πλοῦ προσαναλαβόντες αὑτοὺς ἀνέβαινον εἰς τὴν Ἀπάμειαν.
About this time, the ten commissioners and King Eumenes sailed into Ephesus, just as summer was beginning; and after taking two days to recover from their voyage, they went up to Apamea.
§21.42.7ὁ δὲ Γνάιος, προσπεσούσης αὐτῷ τῆς τούτων παρουσίας, Λεύκιον μὲν τὸν ἀδελφὸν μετὰ τετρακισχιλίων ἐξαπέστειλε πρὸς τοὺς Ὀροανδεῖς, πειθανάγκης ἔχοντας διάθεσιν χάριν τοῦ κομίσασθαι τὰ προσοφειλόμενα τῶν ὁμολογηθέντων χρημάτων, §21.42.8αὐτὸς δὲ μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως ἀναζεύξας ἠπείγετο, σπεύδων συνάψαι τοῖς περὶ τὸν Εὐμένη.
Gnaeus, when the news of their arrival reached him, sent his brother Lucius with four thousand men to the Oroandians, with instructions to use a mixture of persuasion and force in order to recover the remainder of the money that had been agreed upon, while he himself set out with his army and hastened, eager to join Eumenes and his party.
§21.42.9παραγενόμενος δʼ εἰς τὴν Ἀπάμειαν καὶ καταλαβὼν τόν τε βασιλέα καὶ τοὺς δέκα, συνήδρευεν περὶ τῶν πραγμάτων.
Arriving at Apamea and finding the king and the ten commissioners there, he held a council with them concerning the state of affairs.
§21.42.10ἔδοξεν οὖν αὐτοῖς κυρῶσαι πρῶτον τὰ πρὸς Ἀντίοχον ὅρκια καὶ τὰς συνθήκας, ὑπὲρ ὧν οὐδὲν ἂν δέοι πλείω διατίθεσθαι λόγον, ἀλλʼ ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν ἐγγράπτων ποιεῖσθαι τὰς διαλήψεις.
It was therefore resolved by them first of all to ratify the oaths and treaty with Antiochus, concerning which there was no need to hold any further discussion, but to make their decisions based on the written documents themselves.

Notes

  1. §21.42.3ποιεῖν γὰρ ἕν τι τῶν καθηκόντων — Part of the indirect discourse reporting the defense of the garrison commander. The infinitives ποιεῖν (present), τηρεῖν (present), and ἀποδεδηλῶσθαι (perfect) at the end of the section are coordinated as depending on the leading verb ἔφη.
  2. §21.42.5παρέδωκε τὴν πόλιν — The subject of the verb παρέδωκε (third person singular) is not Gnaeus, who is the subject of the main clause, but contextually the garrison commander who had requested the delay. In Greek, a shift of subject is frequently left to be understood from the context without explicit pronouns.
  3. §21.42.7πειθανάγκης ἔχοντας διάθεσιν — The accusative plural participle ἔχοντας refers semantically to the entire expeditionary force consisting of Lucius (accusative singular) and his men (introduced by μετὰ + genitive). The compound πειθανάγκη represents a mixture of persuasion (πειθώ) and force (ἀνάγκη), describing a coercive negotiating posture.

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §21.42.1-21.42.10. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:21.42.1-21.42.10

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.