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Polybius · The Histories §3.77.1-3.77.7

Roman Deployment and Hannibal's Release of Prisoners

Passage 236 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

At the return of spring, the Roman consuls Flaminius and Servilius take their defensive positions, while Hannibal treats the allied prisoners with great kindness and releases them without ransom to alienate them from Rome.

§3.77.1καὶ τὰ μὲν κατὰ τὴν Ἰβηρίαν ἐν τούτοις ἦν.
And matters in Iberia were in this state.
ἐνισταμένης δὲ τῆς ἐαρινῆς ὥρας, Γάιος μὲν Φλαμίνιος ἀναλαβὼν τὰς αὑτοῦ δυνάμεις προῆγε διὰ Τυρρηνίας καὶ κατεστρατοπέδευσε πρὸ τῆς τῶν Ἀρρητίνων πόλεως, §3.77.2Γνάιος δὲ Σερουίλιος τοὔμπαλιν ὡς ἐπʼ Ἀριμίνου, ταύτῃ παρατηρήσων τὴν εἰσβολὴν τῶν ὑπεναντίων.
At the approach of the spring season, Gaius Flaminius, having taken his forces, advanced through Tyrrhenia and encamped before the city of Arretium, while Gnaeus Servilius, on the contrary, advanced towards Ariminum, intending to watch for the invasion of the enemy in this direction.
§3.77.3Ἀννίβας δὲ παραχειμάζων ἐν τῇ Κελτικῇ τοὺς μὲν Ῥωμαίους τῶν ἐκ τῆς μάχης αἰχμαλώτων ἐν φυλακῇ συνεῖχεν, τὰ μέτρια τῶν ἐπιτηδείων διδούς, §3.77.4τοὺς δὲ συμμάχους αὐτῶν τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἐν τῇ πάσῃ φιλανθρωπίᾳ διεξῆγεν, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα συναγαγὼν παρεκάλει, φάσκων οὐκ ἐκείνοις ἥκειν πολεμήσων, ἀλλὰ Ῥωμαίοις ὑπὲρ ἐκείνων.
Hannibal, wintering in Celtic territory, kept the Roman prisoners from the battle in custody, giving them only a moderate amount of provisions, but their allies he treated at first with the utmost kindness, and afterwards, having assembled them, he addressed them, saying that he had come to make war not on them, but on the Romans on their behalf.
διόπερ ἔφη δεῖν αὐτούς, §3.77.5ἐὰν ὀρθῶς φρονῶσιν, ἀντέχεσθαι τῆς πρὸς αὑτὸν φιλίας.
Therefore, he said, they ought, if they were wise, to cling to friendship with him.
§3.77.6παρεῖναι γὰρ πρῶτον μὲν τὴν ἐλευθερίαν ἀνακτησόμενος Ἰταλιώταις, ὁμοίως δὲ τὰς πόλεις καὶ τὴν χώραν, ἣν ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων ἀπολωλεκότες ἕκαστοι τυγχάνουσι, συνανασώσων.
For he said he was present, first, to recover freedom for the Italians, and likewise to help them recover the cities and territory which each had happened to lose to the Romans.
§3.77.7ταῦτα δʼ εἰπὼν ἀφῆκε πάντας χωρὶς λύτρων εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν, βουλόμενος ἅμα μὲν προκαλεῖσθαι διὰ τοιούτου τρόπου πρὸς αὑτὸν τοὺς κατοικοῦντας τὴν Ἰταλίαν, ἅμα δʼ ἀπαλλοτριοῦν τῆς πρὸς Ῥωμαίους εὐνοίας, ἐρεθίζειν δὲ τοὺς δοκοῦντας πόλεσιν ἢ λιμέσιν ἠλαττῶσθαί τι διὰ τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῆς.
Having said this, he dismissed them all without ransom to their homes, wishing at the same time to win over by this method those living in Italy to his side, and at the same time to alienate them from their goodwill toward the Romans, and to stir up those who seemed to have suffered any disadvantage in their cities or harbors through the Roman rule.

Notes

  1. §3.77.2ὡς ἐπʼ Ἀριμίνου — A verb of motion (such as προῆγε in the preceding sentence) is omitted. The prepositional phrase ὡς ἐπʼ Ἀριμίνου indicates the direction, where ὡς emphasizes the direction or intended destination.
  2. §3.77.4φάσκων οὐκ ἐκείνοις ἥκειν πολεμήσων — The future participle πολεμήσων is used with the verb of arrival ἥκειν (here as an infinitive in indirect speech) to express purpose ('that he had come to make war').
  3. §3.77.6παρεῖναι γὰρ πρῶτον μὲν τὴν ἐλευθερίαν ἀνακτησόμενος — παρεῖναι is the infinitive in indirect speech representing 'to be present', accompanied by the future participle ἀνακτησόμενος (and later συνανασώσων) expressing purpose. Since its subject is identical to the subject of the main governing verb (Hannibal), the subject accusative of the infinitive is omitted.

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §3.77.1-3.77.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.77.1-3.77.7

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