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Polybius · The Histories §33.11.1-33.11.7

Ptolemy the Younger Accuses His Brother at Rome

Passage 1233 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

Around the time Opimius was dispatched, Ptolemy the Younger went to the Roman Senate to accuse his brother of conspiracy. Prepossessed by his speech, the Senate dismissed the elder brother's envoys and decreed commissioners and allied support to restore the younger Ptolemy to Cyprus.

§33.11.1ὅτι κατὰ τοὺς καιρούς, καθʼ οὓς ἐξέπεμψεν ἡ σύγκλητος τὸν Ὀπίμιον ἐπὶ τὸν τῶν Ὀξυβίων πόλεμον, ἧκε Πτολεμαῖος ὁ νεώτερος εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην, §33.11.2καὶ παρελθὼν εἰς τὴν σύγκλητον ἐποιεῖτο κατηγορίαν τἀδελφοῦ, φέρων τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς ἐπʼ ἐκεῖνον. §33.11.3ἅμα δὲ τὰς ἐκ τῶν τραυμάτων οὐλὰς ὑπὸ τὴν ὄψιν δεικνὺς καὶ τὴν λοιπὴν δεινολογίαν ἀκόλουθον τούτοις διατιθέμενος ἐξεκαλεῖτο τοὺς ἀνθρώπους πρὸς ἔλεον. §33.11.4ἧκον δὲ καὶ παρὰ τοῦ πρεσβυτέρου πρέσβεις οἱ περὶ τὸν Νεολαΐδαν καὶ Ἀνδρόμαχον, ἀπολογούμενοι πρὸς τὰς ὑπὸ τἀδελφοῦ γενομένας κατηγορίας. §33.11.5ὧν ἡ σύγκλητος οὐδʼ ἀνέχεσθαι δικαιολογουμένων ἠβουλήθη, προκατειλημμένη ταῖς ὑπὸ τοῦ νεωτέρου διαβολαῖς· ἀλλὰ τούτοις μὲν ἐπανάγειν ἐκ τῆς Ῥώμης προσέταξεν ἐξ αὐτῆς, §33.11.6τῷ δὲ νεωτέρῳ πέντε πρεσβευτὰς καταστήσασα τοὺς περὶ Γνάιον Μερόλαν καὶ Λεύκιον Θέρμον καὶ πεντήρη δοῦσα τῶν πρεσβευτῶν ἑκάστῳ, τούτοις μὲν παρήγγειλε κατάγειν Πτολεμαῖον εἰς Κύπρον, §33.11.7τοῖς δὲ κατὰ τὴν Ἑλλάδα καὶ τὴν Ἀσίαν συμμάχοις ἔγραψαν ἐξεῖναι συμπράττειν τῷ Πτολεμαίῳ τὰ κατὰ τὴν κάθοδον.
At the very time when the senate dispatched Opimius to the war against the Oxybii, Ptolemy the Younger arrived in Rome, and appearing before the senate, he brought accusations against his brother, laying the blame for the conspiracy upon him. At the same time, by displaying the scars from his wounds before their eyes and delivering a pitiful speech in keeping with this, he excited the people to compassion. Envoys also arrived from the elder brother, namely Neolaidas, Andromachus, and their associates, to defend themselves against the accusations made by the brother. But the senate, having been prepossessed by the calumnies of the younger brother, would not even tolerate them presenting their defense; on the contrary, they ordered them to depart from Rome immediately. For the younger brother, they appointed five commissioners, namely Gnaeus Merula, Lucius Thermus, and their associates, and giving a quinquereme to each of the commissioners, they instructed them to restore Ptolemy to Cyprus. They also wrote to the allies in Greece and Asia, stating that they were permitted to assist Ptolemy in his restoration.

Notes

  1. §33.11.1ὅτι — A conjunction frequently occurring at the beginning of extracts in historical epitomes (Excerpta) to introduce the summary; it is translated here as an independent main clause.
  2. §33.11.4οἱ περὶ τὸν Νεολαΐδαν καὶ Ἀνδρόμαχον — An idiomatic expression "οἱ περί + accusative," referring to the embassy headed by Neolaidas and Andromachus.
  3. §33.11.5ὧν ἡ σύγκλητος οὐδʼ ἀνέχεσθαι δικαιολογουμένων ἠβουλήθη — The relative pronoun ὧν (referring to πρέσβεις) functions as the genitive subject of the participle δικαιολογουμένων, which is dependent on the verb ἀνέχομαι ("to tolerate").
  4. §33.11.7τὰ κατὰ τὴν κάθοδον — An accusative neuter plural article with a prepositional phrase, meaning "matters concerning his restoration/return," serving as the direct object of the infinitive συμπράττειν.

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §33.11.1-33.11.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:33.11.1-33.11.7

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