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Polybius · The Histories §33.15.1-33.15.4

Heracleides' Maneuvers and the Senate on the Cretan War

Passage 1237 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

While Heracleides lobbies the senate in Rome, Astymedes of Rhodes speaks regarding the war with Crete, leading the senate to immediately dispatch an embassy under Quintus.

§33.15.1ὅτι ὁ Ἡρακλείδης ἔτι τῆς θερείας ἀκμαζούσης παρῆν εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην ἄγων τὴν Λαοδίκην καὶ τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον.
That Heracleides, while the summer was still at its height, arrived in Rome, bringing Laodice and Alexander with him.
§33.15.2ποιούμενος δὲ τὴν παρεπιδημίαν μετὰ τερατείας ἅμα καὶ κακουργίας ἐνεχρόνιζε, κατασκευαζόμενος τὰ περὶ τὴν σύγκλητον. — καὶ Ἀστυμήδης ὁ Ῥόδιος, §33.15.3πρεσβευτὴς ἅμα καὶ ναύαρχος καθεσταμένος, παρελθὼν ἐξ αὐτῆς εἰς τὴν σύγκλητον διελέγετο περὶ τοῦ πολέμου τοῦ πρὸς Κρηταιεῖς.
In making his temporary stay, he dragged it out with both charlatanry and trickery, making preparations with regard to the senate. — And Astymedes of Rhodes, having been appointed both envoy and admiral, immediately came forward before the senate and spoke concerning the war against the Cretans.
§33.15.4ἡ δὲ σύγκλητος προσέχουσα τὸν νοῦν ἐπιμελῶς παραχρῆμα πρεσβευτὰς ἐξαπέστειλε τοὺς περὶ Κόιντον λύσοντας τὸν πόλεμον.
The senate, paying careful attention, immediately sent out envoys under Quintus to put an end to the war.

Notes

  1. §33.15.1ἔτι τῆς θερείας ἀκμαζούσης — Genitive absolute construction, expressing temporal adverbial qualification ("while summer was still at its height").
  2. §33.15.3ἐξ αὐτῆς — An idiomatic adverbial phrase meaning "immediately" or "at once", originally arising from the ellipsis of a feminine noun such as τῆς ὥρας.
  3. §33.15.4τοὺς περὶ Κόιντον — The construction "οἱ περί + accusative", meaning "Quintus and his associates" or "the embassy under Quintus". A standard idiom referring to a leader and their entourage.
  4. §33.15.4λύσοντας — Future active participle in the accusative plural, functioning adverbially to express the purpose ("in order to put an end to") of the main verb ἐξαπέστειλε ("sent out").

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §33.15.1-33.15.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:33.15.1-33.15.4

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