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Polybius · The Histories §31.32.1-31.32.3

Envoys Sent to Rome by Kings of Asia Minor

Passage 1206 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

Prusias and Eumenes send envoys to Rome respectively to accuse and defend, while King Ariarathes of Cappadocia sends a gold crown and envoys to express his complete submission to Rome.

§31.32.1ὅτι κατὰ τὴν Ἀσίαν Προυσίας μὲν ἐξέπεμψεν εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην πρεσβευτὰς μετὰ Γαλατῶν τοὺς κατηγορήσοντας Εὐμένους, §31.32.2οὗτος δὲ πάλιν τὸν ἀδελφὸν Ἄτταλον ἐξαπέστειλεν ἀπολογησόμενον πρὸς τὰς διαβολάς. §31.32.3Ἀριαράθης δὲ τῇ τε Ῥώμῃ στέφανον ἀπὸ χρυσῶν μυρίων ἔπεμψε καὶ πρεσβευτὰς τοὺς διασαφήσοντας τῇ συγκλήτῳ τὴν πρὸς τὸν Τεβέριον ἀπάντησιν αὐτοῦ καὶ καθόλου παρακαλέσοντας διασαφεῖν ὑπὲρ ὧν ἂν δέωνται, διότι πᾶν ποιήσειν ἕτοιμός ἐστι Ῥωμαίοις τὸ παραγγελλόμενον. —
That, in Asia, Prusias sent envoys to Rome along with the Galatians to accuse Eumenes; and that the latter in turn dispatched his brother Attalus to make his defence against these accusations; and that Ariarathes sent to Rome a crown of the value of ten thousand gold pieces, and also envoys to explain to the senate his meeting with Tiberius, and generally to request them to state clearly what they required, because he was ready to do everything that was commanded of him by the Romans.

Notes

  1. §31.32.1ὅτι — The sentence opens with ὅτι ('that'), which is characteristic of the epitomised manuscripts (Epitome) of Polybius' Histories, presenting the main point of the original narrative. The main verb on which this clause would depend is omitted.
  2. §31.32.1τοὺς κατηγορήσοντας — The future active participle with the article denotes purpose ('those who were to accuse'), meaning 'envoys to accuse'. The same construction is found in §31.32.3 with `τοὺς διασαφήσοντας` and `παρακαλέσοντας`.
  3. §31.32.3ἀπὸ χρυσῶν μυρίων — The preposition ἀπό indicates the material or value. Here it means 'made of gold to the value of ten thousand gold pieces'. The word χρυσῶν is the genitive plural of the substantivised adjective χρυσοῦς, referring here to gold coins (usually staters).
  4. §31.32.3τὴν πρὸς τὸν Τεβέριον ἀπάντησιν — The noun ἀπάντησις (meeting, reception) here refers to Ariarathes V's reception of or meeting with the Roman embassy led by Tiberius Gracchus (Sempronius Gracchus).

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §31.32.1-31.32.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:31.32.1-31.32.3

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