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Polybius · The Histories §5.17.1-5.17.9

Allied setbacks and Philip's summons at Corinth

Passage 381 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

Describes Lycurgus's failed siege of Tegea, the Elean raid on Dyme, and the failure of Dorimachus's campaign, followed by Philip V's arrival at Corinth and his mobilization order to the allies.

§5.17.1κατὰ δὲ τοὺς προειρημένους καιροὺς Λυκοῦργος ἐκ μὲν τῆς Μεσσηνίας οὐδὲν ἄξιον λόγου πράξας ἐπανῆλθε· μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα πάλιν ὁρμήσας ἐκ Λακεδαίμονος κατελάβετο τὴν τῶν Τεγεατῶν πόλιν.
Meanwhile, at the times mentioned above, Lycurgus returned from Messenia having achieved nothing worthy of mention; and after this, setting out again from Lacedaemon, he seized the city of the Tegeans.
§5.17.2τῶν δὲ σωμάτων ἀποχωρησάντων εἰς τὴν ἄκραν, ἐπεβάλετο πολιορκεῖν ταύτην.
When the inhabitants had retreated into the citadel, he undertook to besiege it.
οὐδαμῶς δὲ δυνάμενος ἀνύειν οὐδὲν αὖτις ἀνεχώρησεν εἰς τὴν Σπάρτην.
But being utterly unable to accomplish anything, he returned once more to Sparta.
§5.17.3οἱ δʼ ἐκ τῆς Ἤλιδος καταδραμόντες τὴν Δυμαίαν καὶ τοὺς βοηθήσαντας τῶν ἱππέων εἰς ἐνέδραν ἐπαγαγόμενοι ῥᾳδίως ἐτρέψαντο, §5.17.4καὶ τῶν μὲν Γαλατικῶν οὐκ ὀλίγους κατέβαλον, τῶν δὲ πολιτικῶν αἰχμαλώτους ἔλαβον Πολυμήδη τε τὸν Αἰγιέα καὶ Δυμαίους Ἀγησίπολιν καὶ Διοκλέα.
Meanwhile, those from Elis, having overrun the territory of Dyme and having drawn into an ambush those of the cavalry who came to the rescue, easily routed them, and they slew not a few of the Gallic mercenaries, and took prisoners of the citizen-forces Polymedes of Aegium and the Dymaeans Agesipolis and Diocles.
§5.17.5Δωρίμαχος δὲ τὴν μὲν πρώτην ἔξοδον ἐποιήσατο μετὰ τῶν Αἰτωλῶν, πεπεισμένος, καθάπερ ἐπάνω προεῖπον, αὑτὸν μὲν ἀσφαλῶς κατασύρειν τὴν Θετταλίαν, τὸν δὲ Φίλιππον ἀναστήσειν ἀπὸ τῆς περὶ τοὺς Παλαιεῖς πολιορκίας· §5.17.6εὑρὼν δὲ τοὺς περὶ τὸν Χρυσόγονον καὶ Πετραῖον ἑτοίμους ἐν Θετταλίᾳ πρὸς τὸ διακινδυνεύειν, εἰς μὲν τὸ πεδίον οὐκ ἐθάρρει καταβαίνειν, ἐν δὲ ταῖς παρωρείαις προσανέχων διῆγε.
Dorimachus had made his first expedition with the Aetolians, convinced, as I said above, that he himself would safely plunder Thessaly, and would force Philip to raise the siege of Pale; but finding Chrysogonus and Petraeus ready in Thessaly to hazard a battle, he did not dare to descend into the plain, but remained clinging to the slopes of the hills.
§5.17.7προσπεσούσης δʼ αὐτῷ τῆς τῶν Μακεδόνων εἰς τὴν Αἰτωλίαν εἰσβολῆς, ἀφέμενος τῶν κατὰ Θετταλίαν ἐβοήθει τούτοις κατὰ σπουδήν.
But when the news of the Macedonian invasion into Aetolia reached him, abandoning his operations in Thessaly, he hastened to their aid.
καταλαβὼν δʼ ἀπηλλαγμένους ἐκ τῆς Αἰτωλίας τοὺς Μακεδόνας οὗτος μὲν ὑπελείπετο καὶ καθυστέρει πάντων·
Finding, however, that the Macedonians had already departed from Aetolia, he was left behind and came too late for everything.
§5.17.8ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ἀναχθεὶς ἐκ τῆς Λευκάδος, καὶ πορθήσας ἐν παράπλῳ τὴν τῶν Οἰανθέων χώραν, κατῆρε μετὰ τοῦ στόλου παντὸς εἰς Κόρινθον.
The king, on his part, having put to sea from Leucas, and having plundered the territory of the Oeantheans on his voyage, arrived with his whole fleet at Corinth.
§5.17.9ὁρμίσας δὲ τὰς νῆας ἐν τῷ Λεχαίῳ τήν τε δύναμιν ἐξεβίβαζε καὶ τοὺς γραμματοφόρους διαπέστελλε πρὸς τὰς ἐν Πελοποννήσῳ συμμαχίδας πόλεις, δηλῶν τὴν ἡμέραν, ἐν ᾗ δεήσει πάντας μετὰ τῶν ὅπλων κοιταίους ἐν τῇ τῶν
Having anchored his ships in Lechaeum, he disembarked his force and dispatched letter-carriers to the allied cities in the Peloponnese, indicating the day on which it would be necessary for all of them, with their arms, by nightfall to be in the...

Notes

  1. §5.17.2τῶν δὲ σωμάτων ἀποχωρησάντων — The noun σῶμα (literally 'body') is used in the sense of 'person' or 'citizen'. Syntactically, it forms a genitive absolute construction with the participle ἀποχωρησάντων.
  2. §5.17.5αὑτὸν μὲν ἀσφαλῶς κατασύρειν τὴν Θετταλίαν — An accusative and infinitive construction dependent on the participle πεπεισμένος. The reflexive pronoun αὑτόν functions as the subject of the infinitive κατασύρειν.
  3. §5.17.9δεήσει — The future tense of the impersonal verb δεῖ (δεήσει) is used in the relative clause, indicating a necessity or obligation that will arise in the future.
  4. §5.17.9κοιταίους — The adjective κοιταῖος ('at bedtime', 'at nightfall') is used predicatively to describe the time by which they must arrive ('by nightfall').

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §5.17.1-5.17.9. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.17.1-5.17.9

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