§31.26.1per eos ipsos dies, quibus Philippus in Achaia fuit, Philocles, praefectus regius, ex Euboea profectus cum duobus milibus Thracum Macedonumque ad depopulandos Atheniensium fines regione Eleusinis saltum Cithaeronis transcendit; §31.26.2inde dimidia parte militum ad praedandum passim per agros dimissa cum parte ipse occultus loco ad insidias opportuno consedit, §31.26.4ut, si ex castello ab Eleusine in praedantis suos impetus fieret, repente hostis effusos ex improviso adoriretur.
During those very days in which Philip was in Achaea, Philocles, the royal prefect, setting out from Euboea with two thousand Thracians and Macedonians to ravage the territory of the Athenians, crossed the pass of Cithaeron in the region of Eleusis; thence, having sent half of his soldiers here and there through the fields to plunder, he himself with the remaining part lay hidden in a place suitable for an ambush, so that, if an attack should be made from the fortress of Eleusis upon his men while plundering, he might suddenly and unexpectedly fall upon the scattered enemy.
non fefellere insidiae.
The ambush, however, was detected.
itaque revocatis, qui discurrerant ad praedandum, militibus instructisque, ad oppugnandum castellum Eleusinem profectus cum multis inde vulneribus recessit Philippoque se venienti ex Achaia coniunxit.
Therefore, having recalled the soldiers who had dispersed to plunder and having drawn them up, he proceeded to attack the fortress of Eleusis, but withdrew from there with many wounds and joined Philip as he was returning from Achaea.
§31.26.5temptata et ab ipso rege oppugnatio eiusdem castelli est; sed naves Romanae a Piraeo venientes intromissumque praesidium absistere incepto coegerunt.
An assault on the same fortress was also attempted by the king himself; but Roman ships coming from the Piraeus and the garrison that had been introduced forced him to desist from his undertaking.
§31.26.6diviso deinde exercitu rex cum parte Philoclem Athenas mittit, cum parte Piraeum pergit, ut, dum Philocles subeundo muros et comminanda oppugnatione contineret urbe Athenienses, ipsi Piraeum levi cum praesidio relictum expugnandi facultas esset.
Then, having divided the army, the king sent Philocles with part of it to Athens, and went himself with the other part to the Piraeus, so that, while Philocles, by approaching the walls and threatening an assault, kept the Athenians shut up in the city, he himself might have the opportunity of capturing the Piraeus, which had been left with only a light garrison.
§31.26.7ceterum nihilo ei Piraei quam Eleusinis facilior iisdem fere defendentibus oppugnatio fuit.
However, the assault on the Piraeus was no easier for him than that on Eleusis, defended as it was by almost the same forces.
a Piraeo Athenas repente duxit.
From the Piraeus he suddenly marched to Athens.
§31.26.8inde eruptione subita peditum equitumque inter angustias semiruti muri, qui bracchiis duobus Piraeum Athenis iungit, repulsus, §31.26.9omissa oppugnatione urbis, diviso cum Philocle rursus exercitu ad agros vastandos profectus, cum priorem populationem sepulcris circa urbem diruendis exercuisset, §31.26.10ne quid inviolatum relinqueret, templa deum, quae pagatim sacrata habebant, dirui atque incendi iussit; §31.26.11et ornata eo genere operum eximie terra Attica et copia domestici marmoris et ingeniis artificum praebuit huic furori materiam.
Driven back thence by a sudden sally of infantry and cavalry in the narrow space of the half-ruined wall which joins the Piraeus to Athens with its two arms, abandoning the siege of the city and having again divided the army with Philocles, he set out to lay waste the fields; and whereas he had carried out his former ravaging by demolishing the tombs around the city, lest he should leave anything unviolated, he ordered the temples of the gods, which they kept consecrated in each village, to be demolished and burned; and the Attic land, exceptionally adorned with works of that kind, both by the abundance of native marble and by the talents of her artisans, supplied material for this madness.
§31.26.12neque enim diruere modo ipsa templa ac simulacra evertere satis habuit, sed lapides quoque, ne integri cumularent ruinas, frangi iussit.
For he was not satisfied merely with demolishing the temples themselves and overturning the statues, but he also ordered the stones to be broken, lest they should pile up the ruins intact.
§31.26.13et postquam non tam ira erat satiata quam irae exercendae materia deerat, agro hostium in Boeotiam excessit nec aliud quicquam dignum memoria in Graecia egit.
And after his anger was not so much sated as the material for exercising his anger was lacking, he withdrew from the enemy's territory into Boeotia and did nothing else worthy of memory in Greece.