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Polybius · The Histories §23.6.1-23.6.3

Spartan Exiles' Embassy to Rome and Pirates' Attack

Passage 1037 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

The exiles from Lacedaemon sent ambassadors to Rome; however, Agesipolis and Arcesilaus were attacked and killed by pirates at sea, while the remaining ambassadors reached Rome safely.

§23.6.1ὅτι κατὰ τοὺς αὐτοὺς καιροὺς ἐξαπεστάλησαν ὑπὸ τῶν ἐκ Λακεδαίμονος φυγάδων πρέσβεις εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην, ἐν οἷς ἦν Ἀρκεσίλαος καὶ Ἀγησίπολις, ὃς ἔτι παῖς ὢν ἐγενήθη βασιλεὺς ἐν τῇ Σπάρτῃ.
At the same time, ambassadors were sent to Rome by the exiles from Lacedaemon, among whom were Arcesilaus and Agesipolis, who, while still a boy, had become king in Sparta.
§23.6.2τούτους μὲν οὖν λῃσταί τινες περιπεσόντες ἐν τῷ πελάγει διέφθειραν, §23.6.3οἱ δὲ μετὰ τούτων κατασταθέντες διεκομίσθησαν εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην.
Now, certain pirates, having fallen in with them on the open sea, killed them, but those who had been appointed along with them were conveyed safely to Rome.

Notes

  1. 23.6.1ἦν Ἀρκεσίλαος καὶ Ἀγησίπολις — Although the subject 'Arcesilaus and Agesipolis' is plural, the verb 'ἦν' is in the singular. This is an instance of partial agreement (sometimes referred to as the Schema Pindaricum), where the verb agrees in number with the first of the coordinated subjects or is simply in the singular despite the compound subject.
  2. 23.6.2τούτους μὲν οὖν λῃσταί τινες περιπεσόντες ἐν τῷ πελάγει διέφθειραν — The pronoun 'τούτους' (them, accusative) serves as the direct object of the transitive verb 'διέφθειραν' (killed), not of the participle 'περιπεσόντες' (having fallen in with, which typically governs the dative). Due to hyperbaton, the object 'τούτους' is placed at the very beginning of the clause for emphasis, followed by the subject, the participle, and finally the main verb.

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §23.6.1-23.6.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:23.6.1-23.6.3

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