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Polybius · The Histories §9.5.1-9.5.9

Hannibal's Secret Letter to Capua and March to Rome

Passage 604 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

Hannibal secretly sends a letter to Capua to encourage the citizens to hold out during the siege, and then makes a stealthy night departure toward Rome, reaching its vicinity undetected.

§9.5.1ἃ διανοηθεὶς ἐξέπεμψε γραμματοφόρον εἰς τὴν Καπύην, πείσας τινὰ τῶν Λιβύων αὐτομολῆσαι πρὸς τοὺς Ῥωμαίους, κἀκεῖθεν εἰς τὴν πόλιν, προνοηθεὶς τῆς τῶν γραμμάτων ἀσφαλείας· §9.5.2πάνυ γὰρ ἠγωνία μὴ θεωρήσαντες αὐτὸν ἀπαλλαττόμενον οἱ Καπυανοί, κἄπειτα διατραπέντες ὡς ἀπηλπισμένοι, παραδῶσι τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις ἑαυτούς.
Having conceived this plan, he dispatched a letter-bearer to Capua, having persuaded one of the Libyans to desert to the Romans and from thence to enter the city, having taken precautions for the safety of the letter; for he was greatly anxious lest the Capuans, seeing him depart, and then being disheartened as if they were abandoned, should surrender themselves to the Romans.
§9.5.3διὸ γράψας ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐπιβολῆς τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἀναζυγὴν ἀπέστειλε τὸν Λίβυν, ἵνα συνέντες τὴν πρόθεσιν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸν χωρισμὸν εὐθαρσῶς ὑπομένοιεν τὴν πολιορκίαν.
Therefore, having written concerning his design in connection with his departure, he sent the Libyan, so that, understanding his purpose and his withdrawal, they might courageously endure the siege.
§9.5.4τοῖς δʼ ἐν Ῥώμῃ προσπεπτωκότων τῶν περὶ τὴν Καπύην, διότι παρεστρατοπεδευκὼς Ἀννίβας πολιορκεῖ τὰς δυνάμεις αὐτῶν, ὀρθοὶ ταῖς διανοίαις καὶ περίφοβοι πάντες ἦσαν, ὡς καὶ πρὸς τὰ ὅλα διατεινούσης τῆς ἐνεστηκυίας κρίσεως· §9.5.5διὸ καὶ ταῖς ἐξαποστολαῖς καὶ ταῖς παρασκευαῖς πρὸς τοῦτο τὸ μέρος ὅλοι καὶ πάντες ἐνενεύκεισαν.
Meanwhile, when the news from Capua reached those in Rome that Hannibal had encamped nearby and was besieging their forces, all were in suspense and filled with fear, as though the present crisis affected their whole state; wherefore they bent all their energy and attention to the dispatches of troops and preparations in that direction.
§9.5.6οἱ δὲ Καπυανοὶ κομισάμενοι τὰ παρὰ τοῦ Λίβυος γράμματα καὶ γνόντες τὴν ἐπίνοιαν τῶν Καρχηδονίων, ἔμενον ἐπὶ τῶν ὑποκειμένων, κρίνοντες ἔτι ταύτην ἐξελέγξαι τὴν ἐλπίδα.
But the Capuans, having received the letter from the Libyan and having learned the design of the Carthaginians, remained in their position, deciding still to test this hope.
Ἀννίβας δὲ μετὰ πέμπτην ἡμέραν τῆς παρουσίας, §9.5.7δειπνοποιησάμενος καὶ καταλιπὼν τὰ πυρὰ καιόμενα, τοιαύτην ἐποίησε τὴν ἀναζυγὴν ὥστε μηδένα συνεῖναι τῶν πολεμίων τὸ συμβαῖνον.
Meanwhile, Hannibal, five days after his arrival, having ordered his men to take their supper and having left the campfires burning, made his departure in such a manner that none of the enemy perceived what was happening.
§9.5.8χρησάμενος δὲ ταῖς πορείαις διὰ τῆς Σαυνίτιδος ἐνεργοῖς καὶ συνεχέσι καὶ τοὺς περὶ τὴν ὁδὸν τόπους αἰεὶ ταῖς προπορείαις ἐξερευνώμενος καὶ προκαταλαμβάνων, §9.5.9ἔτι τῶν ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ ταῖς διανοίαις περὶ τὴν Καπύην καὶ τὰς ἐκεῖ πράξεις ὄντων ἔλαθε διαβὰς τὸν Ἀνίωνα ποταμὸν καὶ συνεγγίσας, ὥστε μὴ πλεῖον τετταράκοντα σταδίων ἀποσχὼν τῆς Ῥώμης ποιήσασθαι τὴν παρεμβολήν.
Making rapid and continuous marches through Samnium, and always reconnoitering and pre-occupying the places along the route with his vanguard, while those in Rome were still occupied in their thoughts with Capua and the operations there, he crossed the river Anio without being observed and approached so near that he pitched his camp at a distance of not more than forty stades from Rome.

Notes

  1. §9.5.1κἀκεῖθεν εἰς τὴν πόλιν — Based on the preceding infinitive αὐτομολῆσαι (to desert), an infinitive of motion (such as πορευθῆναι or εἰσελθεῖν) meaning 'to go/enter' from the Roman camp into the city of Capua is omitted. This concisely expresses the two-step scheme where the Libyan first pretends to desert to the Romans and then makes his way into the city from there.
  2. §9.5.4τοῖς δʼ ἐν Ῥώμῃ — The dative at the beginning of the sentence, standing before the genitive absolute (προσπεπτωκότων...), functions as a dative of reference or relation with the main clause ὀρθοὶ ... πάντες ἦσαν, indicating the subjects of the psychological state: 'as for those in Rome, they were all in suspense.'
  3. §9.5.9ἔλαθε διαβὰς — A classic Greek construction where the verb λανθάνω, combined with participles (here διαβὰς and συνεγγίσας), means 'to do something unobserved' or 'secretly.' It indicates that the subject (Hannibal) crossed the river Anio and approached without being noticed.

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §9.5.1-9.5.9. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.5.1-9.5.9

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