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Polybius · The Histories §30.21.1-30.21.5

Death of Theaidetus and Rome's Order to Rhodes

Passage 1163 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

Theaidetus speaks before the Roman senate regarding the alliance but dies of old age after the deliberation is postponed; meanwhile, the senate decrees that Rhodes must withdraw its garrisons from Caunus and Stratoniceia, prompting the Rhodian envoys to return home in haste to avoid further conflict.

§30.21.1ὅτι κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον Θεαίδητος εἰσελθὼν εἰς τὴν σύγκλητον λόγους μὲν ἐποιήσατο περὶ τῆς συμμαχίας· §30.21.2ὑπερθεμένης δὲ τῆς συγκλήτου τὸ διαβούλιον, οὗτος μὲν μετήλλαξε τὸν βίον κατὰ φύσιν· ἔτη γὰρ εἶχε πλείω τῶν ὀγδοήκοντα· παρα §30.21.3γενομένων δὲ φυγάδων ἔκ τε Καύνου καὶ Στρατονικείας εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην καὶ παρελθόντων εἰς τὴν σύγκλητον, ἐγένετο δόγμα Ῥοδίους ἐξάγειν τὰς φρουρὰς ἔκ τε Καύνου καὶ Στρατονικείας.
That at this time Theaidetus, having entered the senate, made a speech concerning the alliance; but when the senate postponed the deliberation, he departed this life by natural causes, for he was more than eighty years old; and when there ar rived exiles from Caunus and Stratoniceia in Rome and entered the senate, a decree was passed that the Rhodians should withdraw their garrisons from Caunus and Stratoniceia.
§30.21.4οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν Φιλόφρονα καὶ Ἀστυμήδην λαβόντες ταύτην τὴν ἀπόκρισιν ἀπέπλευσαν κατὰ σπουδὴν εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν, §30.21.5δεδιότες μὴ παρακούσαντες οἱ Ῥόδιοι περὶ τοῦ τὰς φρουρὰς ἐξαγαγεῖν αὖθις ἄλλην ἀρχὴν ἐγκλημάτων ποιήσωσιν. —
Philophron, Astymedes, and their associates, having received this reply, sailed away in haste to their own country, fearing lest the Rhodians, by failing to comply regarding the withdrawal of the garrisons, should again create another starting point for accusations.

Notes

  1. 30.21.1ὅτι — The ὅτι at the beginning of the sentence is a typical style found in Byzantine excerpts (epitomes), where the main verb (such as 'it is said that') is omitted, or it functions simply to introduce a fact ('that...').
  2. 30.21.3παραγενομένων — The genitive participle παραγενομένων of the verb παραγίγνομαι is split between παρα at the end of §30.21.2 and γενομένων at the beginning of §30.21.3 due to line or section breaks in the critical edition. Grammatically, it is a single word forming a genitive absolute construction with the following noun φυγάδων.
  3. 30.21.4οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν Φιλόφρονα καὶ Ἀστυμήδην — The construction 'οἱ περί + accusative' refers to the principal persons together with their companions or associates. Here it denotes Philophron and Astymedes themselves, or the embassy from Rhodes led by them.
  4. 30.21.5μὴ ... ποιήσωσιν — Introduced by the participle of fear δεδιότες (perfect participle of δεδοίκα with present sense), this is a fear clause with the aorist subjunctive, meaning 'fearing lest they should make...'. The preceding participle παρακούσαντες functions conditionally ('if they fail to comply').

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §30.21.1-30.21.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:30.21.1-30.21.5

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