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Polybius · The Histories §30.1.1-30.1.10

Attalus Visits Rome and the Temptation of Kingship

Passage 1143 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

Attalus, the brother of King Eumenes, arrives in Rome and is warmly received. Influenced by prominent Romans who resent his brother, he is tempted to seek an independent kingdom for himself.

§30.1.1ὅτι κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἦλθε παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως Εὐμένους ἀδελφὸς Ἄτταλος,
At this time, Attalus, the brother of King Eumenes, arrived.
§30.1.2ἔχων μὲν πρόφασιν, εἰ καὶ μὴ τὸ κατὰ τοὺς Γαλάτας ἐγεγόνει σύμπτωμα περὶ τὴν βασιλείαν, ὅμως ἐλθεῖν εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην ἕνεκεν τοῦ συγχαρῆναι τῇ συγκλήτῳ καὶ τυχεῖν τινος ἐπισημασίας διὰ τὸ συμπεπολεμηκέναι καὶ πάντων εὐμενῶς σφίσι μετεσχηκέναι τῶν κινδύνων· §30.1.3τότε δὲ καὶ διὰ τὴν Γαλατικὴν περίστασιν ἠναγκασμένος ἧκεν εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην.
He had a pretext for coming to Rome in any case—even if the misfortune concerning the Galatians had not occurred to the kingdom—in order to congratulate the Senate and to obtain some mark of distinction for having fought alongside them and having cheerfully shared in all their dangers; but on this occasion he was also compelled to come to Rome because of the Galatian crisis.
§30.1.4πάντων δὲ φιλοφρόνως αὐτὸν ἀποδεχομένων διά τε τὴν ἐν τῇ στρατείᾳ γεγενημένην συνήθειαν καὶ διὰ τὸ δοκεῖν εὔνουν αὐτοῖς ὑπάρχειν, καὶ γινομένης τῆς ἀπαντήσεως ὑπὲρ τὴν προσδοκίαν, μετέωρος ἐγενήθη ταῖς ἐλπίσιν, οὐκ εἰδὼς τὴν ἀληθινὴν αἰτίαν τῆς ἀποδοχῆς.
Since everyone welcomed him cordially, both because of the intimacy established during the campaign and because he was thought to be well-disposed toward them, and since the reception he met with was beyond expectation, he was elated with hopes, not knowing the true reason for this reception.
§30.1.5διὸ καὶ παρʼ ὀλίγον ἦλθε τοῦ λυμήνασθαι τὰ σφέτερα πράγματα καὶ τὴν ὅλην βασιλείαν.
Consequently, he came within a little of ruining his own prospects and the entire kingdom.
§30.1.6τῶν γὰρ πλείστων Ῥωμαίων ἀπηλλοτριωμένων τῆς τοῦ βασιλέως Εὐμένους εὐνοίας καὶ πεπεισμένων αὐτὸν πλάγιον ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ γεγονέναι, λαλοῦντα τῷ Περσεῖ καὶ τοῖς καιροῖς ἐφεδρεύοντα τοῖς κατʼ αὐτῶν,
For the majority of the Romans had become estranged from King Eumenes and were convinced that he had acted treacherously during the war, communicating with Perseus and watching for opportunities against them.
§30.1.7ἔνιοι τῶν ἐπιφανῶν ἀνδρῶν λαμβάνοντες εἰς τὰς χεῖρας τὸν Ἄτταλον παρεκάλουν τὴν μὲν ὑπὲρ τἀδελφοῦ πρεσβείαν ἀποθέσθαι, περὶ δʼ ἑαυτοῦ ποιεῖσθαι τοὺς λόγους· §30.1.8βούλεσθαι γὰρ αὐτῷ τὴν σύγκλητον συγκατασκευάζειν ἰδίαν ἀρχὴν καὶ δυναστείαν διὰ τὴν ἀλλοτριότητα τὴν πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφόν.
Some of the prominent men, taking Attalus by the hand, exhorted him to set aside the embassy on behalf of his brother and to make proposals on his own behalf; for they said that the Senate, because of their hostility toward his brother, wished to establish a separate principality and sovereignty for Attalus himself.
§30.1.9ἐφʼ οἷς συνέβαινε τὸν Ἄτταλον ἐπὶ πολὺ μετεωρίζεσθαι καὶ συγκατανεύειν ἐν ταῖς κατʼ ἰδίαν ὁμιλίαις τοῖς εἰς τοῦτο τὸ μέρος αὐτὸν παρορμῶσι.
On these terms, Attalus became greatly elated and in his private conversations agreed with those who urged him in this direction.
§30.1.10τέλος δὲ πρὸς ἐνίους τῶν ἀξιολόγων ἀνδρῶν συνέθετο καὶ παρελθὼν εἰς τὴν σύγκλητον ποιήσεσθαι τοὺς περὶ τούτων λόγους.
Finally, he made an agreement with some of the men of high standing and undertook to go before the Senate and speak on these matters.

Notes

  1. 30.1.2ἔχων μὲν πρόφασιν ... ἐλθεῖν — The infinitive ἐλθεῖν acts appositively to the noun πρόφασιν, meaning "having a pretext for going." The structure is temporarily interrupted by the concessive clause εἰ καὶ μὴ ... ὅμως, which separates the infinitive from its head noun.
  2. 30.1.5παρʼ ὀλίγον ἦλθε τοῦ λυμήνασθαι — The prepositional phrase παρʼ ὀλίγον combined with the verb ἦλθε and the genitive infinitive τοῦ λυμήνασθαι forms an idiomatic expression meaning "he came within a little of ruining" or "he was on the verge of ruining."
  3. 30.1.6λαλοῦντα ... καὶ ἐφεδρεύοντα — The present participles λαλοῦντα and ἐφεδρεύοντα are predicate participles agreeing with the accusative pronoun αὐτόν (referring to Eumenes), which functions as the subject accusative of the perfect passive participle πεπεισμένων ("being convinced"), describing the specific actions of which the Romans suspected him.

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §30.1.1-30.1.10. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:30.1.1-30.1.10

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