§28οἱ δʼ ἐν ἄστει Ῥωμαῖοι πυθόμενοι, καὶ τρίτον ἤδη πταίοντες περὶ Πάδον ἥττηντο γὰρ δὴ καὶ ὑπὸ Βοιῶν πρὸ Ἀννίβου), στρατιάν τε παρʼ αὑτῶν ἄλλην κατέλεγον, σὺν τοῖς οὖσι περὶ τὸν Πάδον ὡς εἶναι τρισκαίδεκα τέλη, καὶ τοῖς συμμάχοις ἑτέραν διπλασίονα ταύτης ἐπήγγελλον.
The Romans in the city, when they heard of this, and having already stumbled for the third time around the Padus (for indeed they had also been defeated by the Boii before Hannibal), began to levy another army from their own resources, so that together with the troops already around the Padus there would be thirteen legions, and they ordered their allies to supply another force twice as large as this.
ἤδη δὲ αὐτοῖς τὸ τέλος εἶχε πεζοὺς πεντακισχιλίους καὶ ἱππέας τριακοσίους.
At that time, their legion consisted of five thousand infantry and three hundred cavalry.
καὶ τούτων τοὺς μὲν ἐς Ἰβηρίαν ἔπεμπον, τοὺς δʼ ἐς Σαρδόνα κἀκείνην πολεμουμένην, τοὺς δʼ ἐς Σικελίαν.
And of these, they sent some to Iberia, others to Sardinia, which was also at war, and others to Sicily.
τὰ πλέονα δʼ ἦγον ἐπὶ τὸν Ἀννίβαν οἱ μετὰ Σκιπίωνα καὶ Σεμπρώνιον αἱρεθέντες ὕπατοι, Σερουίλιός τε Γναῖος καὶ Γάιος Φλαμίνιος.
But the greater part was led against Hannibal by the consuls elected after Scipio and Sempronius, Gnaeus Servilius and Gaius Flaminius.
ὧν ὁ μὲν Σερουίλιος ἐπὶ τὸν Πάδον ἐπειχθεὶς τὴν στρατηγίαν ἐκδέχεται παρὰ τοῦ Σκιπίωνος (ὁ δὲ Σκιπίων ἀνθύπατος αἱρεθεὶς ἐς Ἰβηρίαν διέπλευσε), Φλαμίνιος δὲ τρισμυρίοις τε πεζοῖς καὶ τρισχιλίοις ἱππεῦσι τὴν ἐντὸς Ἀπεννίνων ὀρῶν Ἰταλίαν ἐφύλασσεν, ἣν καὶ μόνην ἄν τις εἴποι κυρίως Ἰταλίαν.
Of these, Servilius, hastening to the Padus, took over the command from Scipio (while Scipio, having been elected proconsul, sailed to Iberia), and Flaminius with thirty thousand infantry and three thousand cavalry guarded the part of Italy inside the Apennine mountains, which alone one might call Italy in the proper sense.
τὰ γὰρ Ἀπεννῖνα κατέρχεται μὲν ἐκ μέσων τῶν Ἀλπείων ἐπὶ θάλασσαν, ἔστι δʼ αὐτῶν τὰ μὲν ἐπὶ δεξιὰ πάντα καθαρῶς Ἰταλία, τὰ δὲ ἐπὶ θάτερα ἐς τὸν Ἰόνιον φθάνοντα νῦν μέν ἐστι καὶ ταῦτα Ἰταλία, ὅτι καὶ Τυρρηνία νῦν Ἰταλία, οἰκοῦσι δʼ αὐτῶν τὰ μὲν Ἕλληνες, ἀμφὶ τὴν Ἰόνιον ἀκτήν, τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ Κελτοί, ὅσοι τῇ Ῥώμῃ τὸ πρῶτον ἐπιθέμενοι τὴν πόλιν ἐνέπρησαν.
For the Apennines run down from the middle of the Alps to the sea, and all the lands on their right are purely Italy, while those on the other side, reaching to the Ionian Sea, are now also called Italy, since Tyrrhenia too is now Italy; but of these lands, Greeks inhabit the parts around the Ionian coast, and the rest is inhabited by the Celts, who had first attacked Rome and burned the city.
ὅτε γὰρ αὐτοὺς ἐξελαύνων Κάμιλλος ἐδίωκε μέχρι τῶν Ἀπεννίνων ὀρῶν, ἐμοὶ δοκοῦσιν ὑπερβάντες αὐτά, ἀντὶ ἠθῶν τῶν ἰδίων, παρὰ τὸν Ἰόνιον οἰκῆσαι· καὶ τὸ μέρος τῆς χώρας ἔτι νῦν οὕτω καλοῦσιν, Ἰταλίαν Γαλατικήν.
For when Camillus drove them out and pursued them as far as the Apennine mountains, they seem to me to have crossed them and settled along the Ionian Sea instead of their own native lands; and they still call that part of the country to this day Gallic Italy.
§29Ῥωμαῖοι μὲν δὴ μεγάλοις στρατοῖς ἐς πολλὰ ὁμοῦ διῄρηντο· Ἀννίβας δὲ τούτων αἰσθόμενος, ἅμα τῷ ἦρι, τοὺς ἄλλους λαθὼν ἐδῄου τὴν Τυρρηνίαν καὶ προύβαινεν ἐς τὸ μέρος τὸ ἐπὶ Ῥώμης.
The Romans indeed had been divided into many parts with large armies; but Hannibal, perceiving this, at the beginning of spring, escaped the notice of the others and began to ravage Tyrrhenia, advancing toward the region of Rome.
οἱ δὲ πλησιάζοντος αὐτοῦ πάνυ ἔδεισαν, οὐ παρούσης σφίσιν ἀξιομάχου δυνάμεως.
The people in the city, as he approached, were greatly terrified, since they did not have a force capable of fighting him present.
ἐστράτευον δὲ ὅμως ἐκ τῶν ὑπολοίπων ὀκτακισχιλίους, καὶ Κεντήνιον αὐτοῖς τινὰ τῶν ἐπιφανῶν ἰδιωτῶν, οὐδεμιᾶς ἀρχῆς παρούσης, ἐπέστησάν τε καὶ ἐξέπεμπον ἐς Ὀμβρικοὺς ἐς τὴν Πλειστινην λίμνην, τὰ στενὰ προληψόμενον, ᾗ συντομώτατόν ἐστιν ἐπὶ τὴν Ῥώμην.
Nevertheless, they enlisted eight thousand from the remaining population and appointed Centenius, one of the prominent private citizens, to command them, although he held no public office, and sent them to the Umbrians to Lake Pleistine, to occupy beforehand the narrow passes, where the shortest route to Rome lay.
ἐν δὲ τούτῳ καὶ Φλαμίνιος ὁ τοῖς τρισμυρίοις τὴν ἐντὸς Ἰταλίαν φυλάσσων, αἰσθόμενος τῆς σπουδῆς Ἀννίβου, μετέβαινεν ὀξέως, οὐ διαναπαύων τὴν στρατιάν.
In the meantime, Flaminius, who was guarding the inner Italy with his thirty thousand men, perceiving the haste of Hannibal, moved rapidly, not giving his army any rest.
δέει τε περὶ τῆς πόλεως, καὶ αὐτὸς ὢν ἀπειροπόλεμός τε καὶ ἐς τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀπὸ δημοκοπίας ᾑρημένος, ἠπείγετο Ἀννίβᾳ συμπλεκῆναι.
Out of fear for the city, and being himself inexperienced in war and having been elected to office through demagogy, he was eager to engage with Hannibal.
§210ὁ δὲ αἰσθόμενος αὐτοῦ τῆς τε ὁρμῆς καὶ ἀπειρίας, ὄρος μέν τι καὶ λίμνην προυβάλετο πρὸ ἑαυτοῦ, ψιλοὺς δὲ καὶ ἱππέας ἐς φάραγγα ἀποκρύψας ἐστρατοπέδευεν.
But he, perceiving his eagerness and inexperience, placed a mountain and a lake in front of himself, and having concealed his light-armed troops and cavalry in a ravine, he encamped.
καὶ αὐτὸν ὁ Φλαμίνιος κατιδὼν ἅμα ἕῳ σμικρὸν μέν τι διέτριψε, τὸν στρατὸν ἀναπαύων ἐξ ὁδοιπορίας καὶ χαρακοποιούμενος, μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο ἐξῆγεν εὐθὺς ἐπὶ τὴν μάχην αὔους ὄντας ὑπʼ ἀγρυπνίας καὶ κόπου.
When Flaminius saw him at daybreak, he delayed a little while, resting his army after their march and building entrenchments, but after this he immediately led them out to battle, parched and exhausted from lack of sleep and fatigue.
τῆς δʼ ἐνέδρας ἐκφανείσης ἐν μέσῳ ληφθεὶς τοῦ τε ὄρους καὶ τῆς λίμνης καὶ τῶν ἐχθρῶν αὐτός τε ἀνῃρέθη καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ δισμύριοι.
When the ambush was revealed, being caught in the middle between the mountain, the lake, and the enemy, he himself was slain, and with him twenty thousand men.
τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς ἔτι μυρίους, ἔς τινα κώμην ὀχυρὰν συμφυγόντας, Μαάρβαλ ὁ ὑποστράτηγος Ἀννίβου, μεγίστην καὶ ὅδε ἐπὶ στρατηγίᾳ δόξαν ἔχων, οὐ δυνάμενος ἑλεῖν εὐχερῶς, οὐδὲ ἀξιῶν ἀπεγνωκόσι μάχεσθαι, ἔπεισε τὰ ὅπλα ἀποθέσθαι, συνθέμενος ἀπολύσειν ὅπῃ θέλοιεν.
The remaining ten thousand, who had fled to a strong village, Maharbal, the lieutenant of Hannibal, who also possessed the greatest reputation for generalship, being unable to capture them easily, and not thinking it worthwhile to fight against desperate men, persuaded them to lay down their arms, agreeing to release them wherever they wished.
ὡς δὲ ἀπέθεντο, λαβὼν ἦγεν αὐτοὺς πρὸς τὸν Ἀννίβαν γυμνούς.
When they laid them down, he took them and led them disarmed to Hannibal.
ὁ δʼ οὐ φάμενος εἶναι κύριον χωρὶς αὑτοῦ ταῦτα συνθέσθαι τὸν Μαάρβαλ, τοὺς μὲν ἐκ τῶν συμμάχων φιλανθρωπευσάμενος ἀπέλυσεν ἐς τὰ ἑαυτῶν, θηρεύων τῇ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τὰς πόλεις, ὅσοι δὲ Ῥωμαίων ἦσαν, εἶχε δήσας.
But Hannibal, saying that Maharbal had no authority to make such an agreement without him, released those who were from the allies to their homes with kindness, hunting for the cities through this benevolence, but those who were Romans he kept in chains.
τὴν δὲ λείαν τοῖς συστρατεύουσι Κελτοῖς ἀποδόμενος, ἵνα καὶ τούσδε θεραπεύσειε τῷ κέρδει, προύβαινεν ἐς τὸ πρόσθεν, αἰσθομένου μὲν ἤδη τῶν γιγνομένων τοῦ περὶ Πάδον στρατηγοῦ Σερουιλίου, καὶ τετρακισμυρίοις ἐπὶ Τυρρηνίας ἐπειγομένου, Κεντηνίου δὲ ἤδη τοῖς ὀκτακισχιλίοις τὰ στενὰ προειληφότος.
And having given the booty to the Celts who were campaigning with him, so that he might conciliate them also with profit, he advanced forward, while the general around the Padus, Servilius, was already aware of what was happening and was hastening toward Tyrrhenia with forty thousand men, and Centenius with his eight thousand had already occupied the narrow passes.
§211Ἀννίβας δὲ ἐπειδὴ τήν τε λίμνην εἶδε τὴν Πλειστίνην καὶ τὸ ὄρος τὸ ὑπὲρ αὐτήν, καὶ τὸν Κεντήνιον ἐν μέσῳ κρατοῦντα τῆς διόδου, τοὺς ἡγεμόνας τῶν ὁδῶν ἐξήταζεν εἴ τις εἴη περίοδος.
Hannibal, when he saw Lake Pleistine and the mountain above it, and Centenius holding the middle of the passage, questioned the guides of the roads if there was any way around.
οὐδεμίαν δὲ φαμένων εἶναι τρίβον, ἀλλʼ ἀπόκρημνα πάντα καὶ φαραγγώδη, διʼ αὐτῶν ὅμως ἔπεμπε τοὺς ψιλοὺς νύκτωρ τὸ ὄρος περιιέναι, καὶ Μαάρβαλ μετʼ αὐτῶν.
When they said there was no path, but that everything was precipitous and full of ravines, he nevertheless sent his light-armed troops by night through them to go around the mountain, and Maharbal with them.
τεκμηράμενος δʼ ὅτε δύναιντο περιελθεῖν, προσέβαλε τῷ Κεντηνίῳ κατὰ μέτωπον.
Judging the time when they would be able to get around, he attacked Centenius in front.
καὶ συνεστώτων ἑκατέρων, πάνυ προθύμως ὁ Μαάρβαλ ἐκ κορυφῆς ἄνωθεν ὤφθη τε καὶ ἠλάλαξεν.
When they came to close quarters, Maharbal was seen on high from the summit, and raised a war cry with great enthusiasm.
Ῥωμαίων δʼ εὐθὺς ἦν φυγὴ καὶ φόνος κεκυκλωμένων, καὶ τρισχίλιοι μὲν ἔπεσον ὀκτακόσιοι δʼ ἐλήφθησαν· οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ μόλις διέφυγον.
Immediately there was flight and slaughter of the Romans, who were surrounded; three thousand fell and eight hundred were captured, while the rest escaped with difficulty.
πυθόμενοι δὲ οἱ ἐν ἄστει, καὶ δείσαντες μὴ εὐθὺς ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν ὁ Ἀννίβας ἔλθοι, τό τε τεῖχος ἐπλήρουν λίθων καὶ τοὺς γέροντας ὥπλιζον, ὅπλων μὲν ἀποροῦντες, τὰ δὲ λάφυρα ἐκ τῶν ἱερῶν καταφέροντες, ἃ ἐκ πολέμων ἄλλων κόσμος αὐτοῖς περιέκειτο· δικτάτορά τε, ὡς ἐν κινδύνῳ, Φάβιον εἵλοντο Μάξιμον.
When those in the city heard of this, and fearing lest Hannibal should come immediately against the city, they filled the walls with stones and armed the old men, since they were in want of arms, bringing down from the temples the spoils which hung there as ornaments from other wars; and they chose Fabius Maximus as dictator, since they were in danger.