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Polybius · The Histories §4.62.1-4.62.5

Scopas's Invasion of Macedonia and Destruction of Dium

Passage 339 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

The Aetolian army led by Scopas invaded Macedonia and destroyed Dium, returning to Aetolia with great spoils, which fostered unreasonable pride and high expectations among the Aetolians.

§4.62.1τὴν παρασκευὴν τῶν πρὸς τὴν πολιορκίαν.
...the preparations for the siege.
Σκόπας δὲ κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἀναλαβὼν τοὺς Αἰτωλοὺς πανδημεί, καὶ ποιησάμενος τὴν πορείαν διὰ Θετταλίας, ἐνέβαλεν εἰς Μακεδονίαν, καὶ τόν τε σῖτον ἐπιπορευόμενος τὸν κατὰ τὴν Πιερίαν ἔφθειρε καὶ λείας περιβαλόμενος πλῆθος ἐπανῆγε, ποιούμενος τὴν πορείαν ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ Δῖον.
Meanwhile, Scopas, having at this same time taken with him the entire force of the Aetolians, and made his march through Thessaly, invaded Macedonia; he both devastated the crops in Pieria as he marched through it, and having secured a great amount of booty, began to return, making his march as if towards Dium.
§4.62.2ἐκλιπόντων δὲ τῶν κατοικούντων τὸν τόπον, εἰσελθὼν τὰ τείχη κατέσκαψε καὶ τὰς οἰκίας καὶ τὸ γυμνάσιον, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις ἐνέπρησε τὰς στοὰς τὰς περὶ τὸ τέμενος καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ διέφθειρε τῶν ἀναθημάτων, ὅσα πρὸς κόσμον ἢ χρείαν ὑπῆρχε τοῖς εἰς τὰς πανηγύρεις συμπορευομένοις· ἀνέτρεψε δὲ καὶ τὰς εἰκόνας τῶν βασιλέων ἁπάσας.
When the inhabitants had abandoned the place, he entered the walls and razed them to the ground, as well as the houses and the gymnasium; moreover, he set fire to the colonnades around the sacred precinct and destroyed the rest of the votive offerings, as many as had existed for the decoration or use of those who assembled for the festivals; and he also threw down all the statues of the kings.
§4.62.3οὗτος μὲν οὖν εὐθέως κατὰ τὴν ἔνστασιν τοῦ πολέμου καὶ τὴν πρώτην πρᾶξιν οὐ μόνον τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς θεοῖς πόλεμον ἐξενηνοχώς, ἐπανῄει.
Thus he, having at the very outbreak of the war and in his first action declared war not only against men but also against the gods, returned home.
§4.62.4καὶ παραγενόμενος εἰς Αἰτωλίαν, οὐχ ὡς ἠσεβηκώς, ἀλλʼ ὡς ἀγαθὸς ἀνὴρ εἰς τὰ κοινὰ πράγματα γεγονώς, ἐτιμᾶτο καὶ περιεβλέπετο, πλήρεις ἐλπίδων κενῶν καὶ φρονήματος ἀλόγου πεποιηκὼς τοὺς Αἰτωλούς· §4.62.5ἔσχον γὰρ ἐκ τούτων διάληψιν ὡς τῆς μὲν Αἰτωλίας οὐδʼ ἐγγίζειν τολμήσοντος οὐδενός, αὐτοὶ δὲ πορθήσοντες ἀδεῶς οὐ μόνον τὴν Πελοπόννησον, καθάπερ ἔθος ἦν αὐτοῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν Θετταλίαν καὶ τὴν Μακε
And having arrived in Aetolia, he was honored and looked up to, not as one who had committed sacrilege, but as a man who had done good service to the state, having filled the Aetolians with empty hopes and unreasonable pride; for they conceived from these events the notion that no one would even dare to approach Aetolia, while they themselves would plunder with impunity not only the Peloponnese, as had been their custom, but also Thessaly and Mace[donia.]

Notes

  1. 4.62.1τὴν παρασκευὴν — This noun phrase directly completes the incomplete clause `ἐγίνετο περὶ` ("was occupied with") at the end of the previous chunk, together forming a single sentence meaning "he was occupied with the preparations for the siege."
  2. 4.62.2ἐκλιπόντων δὲ τῶν κατοικούντων τὸν τόπον — A genitive absolute construction where the substantive participle `τῶν κατοικούντων` acts as the logical subject and `ἐκλιπόντων` (aorist participle) as the predicate, indicating the temporal priority or circumstance of the inhabitants abandoning the place before Scopas entered.
  3. 4.62.5ὡς τῆς μὲν Αἰτωλίας οὐδʼ ἐγγίζειν τολμήσοντος οὐδενός, αὐτοὶ δὲ πορθήσοντες — The clause introduced by `ὡς` explains the content of the noun `διάληψιν` ("conception/notion"). It features an anacoluthon: the first half uses a genitive absolute (`οὐδενὸς τολμήσοντος`), while the second half switches to a nominative participle (`αὐτοὶ πορθήσοντες`) agreeing with the subject of the main clause, representing their subjective expectations.

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §4.62.1-4.62.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.62.1-4.62.5

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