§11Ἀντίοχος ὁ Σελεύκου τοῦ Ἀντιόχου, Σύρων καὶ Βαβυλωνίων καὶ ἑτέρων ἐθνῶν βασιλεύς, ἕκτος δὲ ἀπὸ Σελεύκου τοῦ μετʼ Ἀλέξανδρον Ἀσίας τῆς περὶ Εὐφράτην βεβασιλευκότος, ἐσβαλὼν ἐς Μηδίαν τε καὶ Παρθυηνὴν καὶ ἕτερα ἔθνη ἀφιστάμενα ἔτι πρὸ αὐτοῦ, καὶ πολλὰ καὶ μεγάλα δράσας, καὶ μέγας Ἀντίοχος ἀπὸ τοῦδε κληθείς, ἐπαιρόμενος τοῖς γεγονόσι καὶ τῇ διʼ αὐτὰ προσωνυμίᾳ, Συρίαν τε τὴν κοίλην καὶ Κιλικίας ἔστιν ἃ Πτολεμαίου τοῦ φιλοπάτορος, Αἰγύπτου βασιλέως ἔτι παιδὸς ὄντος, ἐπιδραμὼν περιέσπασε, καὶ μικρὸν οὐδὲν ἐνθυμούμενος Ἑλλησποντίους ἐπῄει καὶ Αἰολέας καὶ Ἴωνας ὡς οἷ προσήκοντας ἄρχοντι τῆς Ἀσίας, ὅτι καὶ πάλαι τῶν τῆς Ἀσίας βασιλέων ὑπήκουον.
Antiochus, the son of Seleucus, the son of Antiochus, king of the Syrians, Babylonians, and other nations, and the sixth in descent from Seleucus who, after Alexander, ruled over Asia around the Euphrates, having invaded Media and Parthiene and other nations that had been revolting even before his time, and having performed many great deeds, being called Antiochus the Great from this, and being elated by these achievements and the title gained through them, invaded and tore away Coele-Syria and certain parts of Cilicia from Ptolemy Philopator, the king of Egypt, who was still a child. Meditating on nothing small, he marched against the Hellespontines, Aeolians, and Ionians as belonging to him as ruler of Asia, because they had of old obeyed the kings of Asia.
ἔς τε τὴν Εὐρώπην διαπλεύσας Θρᾴκην ὑπήγετο καὶ τὰ ἀπειθοῦντα ἐβιάζετο, Χερρόνησόν τε ὠχύρου, καὶ Λυσιμάχειαν ᾤκιζεν, ἣν Λυσίμαχος μὲν ὁ Θρᾴκης ἐπὶ Ἀλεξάνδρῳ βασιλεύσας ἔκτισεν ἐπιτείχισμα τοῖς Θρᾳξὶν εἶναι, οἱ Θρᾷκες δʼ ἀποθανόντος τοῦ Λυσιμάχου καθῃρήκεσαν.
Having crossed over into Europe, he brought Thrace under subjection and forced those who disobeyed, and fortified the Chersonese, and rebuilt Lysimachia, which Lysimachus, who ruled Thrace after Alexander, had founded to be a fortress against the Thracians, but which the Thracians had demolished after the death of Lysimachus.
καὶ ὁ Ἀντίοχος συνῴκιζε, τούς τε φεύγοντας τῶν Λυσιμαχέων κατακαλῶν, καὶ εἴ τινες αὐτῶν αἰχμάλωτοι γεγονότες ἐδούλευον ὠνούμενος, καὶ ἑτέρους προσκαταλέγων, καὶ βοῦς καὶ πρόβατα καὶ σίδηρον ἐς γεωργίαν ἐπιδιδούς, καὶ οὐδὲν ἐλλείπων ἐς ταχεῖαν ἐπιτειχίσματος ὁρμήν· πάνυ γὰρ αὐτῷ τὸ χωρίον ἐφαίνετο λαμπρῶς ἔχειν ἐπὶ ὅλῃ Θρᾴκῃ, καὶ ταμιεῖον εὔκαιρον ἐς τὰ λοιπὰ ὧν ἐπενόει πάντων ἔσεσθαι.
And Antiochus resettled it, recalling the exiles of the Lysimachians, and ransoming any of them who, having been taken captive, were serving as slaves, and enrolling others besides, and supplying oxen, sheep, and iron for agriculture, and leaving nothing undone for the rapid completion of the fortress; for the place seemed to him to be splendidly situated for the whole of Thrace, and likely to be a convenient storehouse for all the rest of the things he had in mind.
§12ταῦτα δʼ αὐτῷ διαφορᾶς φανερᾶς καὶ πρὸς Ῥωμαίους ἦρξεν.
And these things were the beginning of an open rift between him and the Romans.
ὡς γὰρ δὴ μετῄει τὰς τῇδε Ἑλληνίδας πόλεις, οἱ μὲν πλέονες αὐτῷ προσετίθεντο καὶ φρουρὰς ἐσεδέχοντο δέει τῷ τῆς ἁλώσεως, Σμυρναῖοι δὲ καὶ Λαμψακηνοὶ καὶ ἕτεροι ἔτι ἀντέχοντες ἐπρεσβεύοντο ἐς Φλαμινῖνον τὸν Ῥωμαίων στρατηγόν, ἄρτι Φιλίππου τοῦ Μακεδόνος μεγάλῃ μάχῃ περὶ Θετταλίαν κεκρατηκότα· ἐγίγνετο γὰρ δὴ καὶ τὰ Μακεδόνων καὶ τὰ Ἑλλήνων ἐπίμικτα ἀλλήλοις ἀνὰ μέρη καὶ χρόνους, ὥς μοι ἐν τῇ Ἑλληνικῇ γραφῇ δεδήλωται.
For as he went through the Greek cities of those parts, most of them submitted to him and received garrisons out of fear of capture; but the Smyrnaeans and Lampsacenes, and some others still holding out, sent embassies to Flamininus, the Roman general, who had recently defeated Philip of Macedon in a great battle in Thessaly; for the affairs of the Macedonians and the Greeks were mixed up with one another by turns and times, as has been shown by me in my Greek history.
καὶ γίγνονταί τινες Ἀντιόχῳ καὶ Φλαμινίνῳ διαπρεσβεύσεις τε ἐς ἀλλήλους καὶ ἀπόπειραι ἀτελεῖς.
And there were some embassies exchanged between Antiochus and Flamininus, and fruitless attempts at negotiation.
ἐκ πολλοῦ δὲ οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι καὶ ὁ Ἀντίοχος ὑπόπτως εἶχον ἀλλήλοις, οἱ μὲν οὐκ ἀτρεμήσειν ὑπολαμβάνοντες Ἀντίοχον ἐπαιρόμενον ἀρχῆς τε μεγέθει καὶ εὐπραξίας ἀκμῇ, ὁ δὲ Ῥωμαίους οἱ μόνους αὐξομένῳ μάλιστα ἐμποδὼν ἔσεσθαι, καὶ κωλύσειν ἐς τὴν Εὐρώπην περαιούμενον.
For a long time, both the Romans and Antiochus had held each other in suspicion, the former supposing that Antiochus would not remain quiet, elated as he was by the size of his empire and the height of his prosperity, and the latter believing that the Romans were the only ones who would stand in the way of his growth, and would prevent him from crossing into Europe.
οὐδενὸς δέ πω φανεροῦ γεγονότος αὐτοῖς ἐς ἔχθραν ἀφίκοντο πρέσβεις ἐς Ῥώμην παρὰ Πτολεμαίου τοῦ φιλοπάτορος, αἰτιωμένου Συρίαν τε καὶ Κιλικίαν Ἀντίοχον αὐτὸν ὑφελέσθαι.
While nothing open had yet occurred, ambassadors came to Rome from Ptolemy Philopator, accusing Antiochus of having robbed him of Syria and Cilicia.
καὶ οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι τῆς ἀφορμῆς ἐπέβαινον ἄσμενοι, κατὰ καιρὸν σφίσι γενομένης, καὶ πρέσβεις ἐς τὸν Ἀντίοχον ἔστελλον, οἳ λόγῳ μὲν ἔμελλον συναλλάξειν Πτολεμαῖον Ἀντιόχῳ, ἔργῳ δὲ κατασκέψεσθαι τὴν ὁρμὴν Ἀντιόχου καὶ κωλύσειν ὅσα δύναιντο.
And the Romans gladly seized upon this pretext, which had come to them opportunely, and sent ambassadors to Antiochus, who in word were to reconcile Ptolemy with Antiochus, but in deed were to spy out Antiochus' designs and prevent them as much as they could.