Humanitext Reader

Polybius · The Histories §5.57.1-5.57.8

Achaeus's Attempt to Usurp the Throne and Its Failure

Passage 421 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

While Antiochus returns home and protests against Achaeus's self-proclaimed kingship, the narrative explains how Achaeus previously attempted to usurp the throne and invade Syria, but was forced by a mutiny among his troops to divert his campaign to plundering Pisidia.

§5.57.1Ἀντίοχος δὲ παραγενόμενος εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν, καὶ διαφεὶς τὰς δυνάμεις εἰς παραχειμασίαν, διεπέμπετο πρὸς τὸν Ἀχαιόν, §5.57.2ἐγκαλῶν καὶ διαμαρτυρόμενος πρῶτον μὲν ἐπὶ τῷ τετολμηκέναι διάδημα περιθέσθαι καὶ βασιλέα χρηματίζειν, δεύτερον δὲ προλέγων ὡς οὐ λανθάνει κοινοπραγῶν Πτολεμαίῳ καὶ καθόλου πλείω τοῦ δέοντος κινούμενος.
Antiochus, having arrived in his own territory and dismissed his forces to winter quarters, sent messages to Achaeus, accusing and protesting first because of his having dared to put on a diadem and style himself king, and secondly warning him beforehand that it did not escape his notice that he was acting in concert with Ptolemy and on the whole stirring up more trouble than was necessary.
§5.57.3ὁ γὰρ Ἀχαιός, καθʼ οὓς καιροὺς ἐπὶ τὸν Ἀρταβαζάνην ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐστράτευε, πεισθεὶς καὶ παθεῖν ἄν τι τὸν Ἀντίοχον, καὶ μὴ παθόντος ἐλπίσας διὰ τὸ μῆκος §5.57.4τῆς ἀποστάσεως φθάσειν ἐμβαλὼν εἰς Συρίαν καὶ συνεργοῖς χρησάμενος Κυρρησταῖς τοῖς ἀποστάταις γεγονόσι τοῦ βασιλέως ταχέως ἂν κρατῆσαι τῶν κατὰ τὴν βασιλείαν πραγμάτων, ὥρμησε μετὰ πάσης τῆς δυνάμεως ἐκ Λυδίας.
For Achaeus, at the times when the king was campaigning against Artabazanes, having been convinced that Antiochus would suffer some disaster, and hoping that, even if he did not, owing to the distance of his expedition, he would forestall him by invading Syria and, employing as accomplices the Cyrrhestae who had revolted from the king, would quickly gain control of the affairs of the kingdom, set out from Lydia with his entire force.
§5.57.5παραγενόμενος δʼ εἰς Λαοδίκειαν τὴν ἐν Φρυγίᾳ διάδημά τε περιέθετο καὶ βασιλεὺς τότε πρῶτον ἐτόλμησε χρηματίζειν καὶ γράφειν πρὸς τὰς πόλεις; Γαρσυήριδος αὐτὸν τοῦ φυγάδος εἰς τοῦτο τὸ μέρος μάλιστα προτρεψαμένου.
And having arrived at Laodicea in Phrygia, he put on the diadem and then for the first time dared to style himself king and write to the cities, the exile Garsyeris having especially urged him to this step.
προάγοντος δὲ κατὰ τὸ συνεχὲς αὐτοῦ, §5.57.6καὶ σχεδὸν ἤδη περὶ Λυκαονίαν ὄντος, αἱ δυνάμεις ἐστασίασαν, δυσαρεστούμεναι τῷ δοκεῖν γίνεσθαι τὴν στρατείαν ἐπὶ τὸν κατὰ φύσιν αὐτῶν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὑπάρχοντα βασιλέα.
And as he continued to advance, and was now nearly in Lycaonia, the troops mutinied, being displeased at the thought that the campaign was being directed against their natural and original king.
§5.57.7διόπερ Ἀχαιὸς συνεὶς τὴν ἐν αὐτοῖς διατροπὴν τῆς μὲν προκειμένης ἐπιβολῆς ἀπέστη, βουλόμενος δὲ πεισθῆναι τὰς δυνάμεις ὡς οὐδʼ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐπεβάλετο στρατεύειν εἰς Συρίαν, ἐπιστρέψας πορθεῖ τὴν Πισιδικήν, §5.57.8καὶ πολλὰς ὠφελείας παρασκευάσας τῷ στρατοπέδῳ, πάντας εὔνους αὑτῷ καὶ πεπιστευκότας ἔχων ἐπανῆλθε πάλιν εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν.
Therefore, Achaeus, perceiving the disaffection among them, desisted from his intended enterprise; but wishing to persuade the troops that he had not even originally intended to campaign against Syria, he turned back and plundered the Pisidian territory, and having provided much booty for his army, returned again to his own territory with everyone well-disposed and trustful toward him.

Notes

  1. §5.57.2ὡς οὐ λανθάνει κοινοπραγῶν — The verb λανθάνω combined with a participle (κοινοπραγῶν) expresses 'doing something without being noticed.' Here, with the negative οὐ, it functions impersonally (or with the king as the implied object) to mean 'it does not escape [the king's] notice that he is acting in concert,' i.e., that the king is fully aware of it.
  2. §5.57.3πεισθεὶς καὶ παθεῖν ἄν τι τὸν Ἀντίοχον — An accusative and infinitive clause acting as the object of the participle πεισθείς. The combination of ἄν with the aorist infinitive represents either an indicative with ἄν (unreal) or an optative with ἄν (potential) in indirect discourse, expressing Achaeus's strong subjective conviction that Antiochus would suffer (or had suffered) some disaster.
  3. §5.57.4φθάσειν ἐμβαλὼν εἰς Συρίαν — An idiomatic construction of φθάνω followed by a participle (ἐμβαλών) meaning 'to forestall' or 'to do something before someone else.' The future infinitive φθάσειν depends on the preceding participle ἐλπίσας ('hoping that'), meaning 'that he would forestall [the king] by invading Syria.'
  4. §5.57.6τῷ δοκεῖν γίνεσθαι τὴν στρατείαν — A dative of cause expressed by the substantivized infinitive δοκεῖν with the neuter dative article τῷ ('by/because of the appearing'). The accusative τὴν στρατείαν is the subject accusative of γίνεσθαι, and the entire infinitive clause with γίνεσθαι functions as the complement of δοκεῖν.

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §5.57.1-5.57.8. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.57.1-5.57.8

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.