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Livy · History of Rome §43.22.1-43.22.11

Perseus' Failure at Stratus and Retreat

Passage 1679 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

Perseus fails to secure the Aetolian city of Stratus due to a pre-emptive Roman garrison and internal political shifts; concerned with the harsh winter and lack of supplies, he retreats to Aperantia and leaves Archidamus in charge.

§43.22.1eo die ad finem agri Aetolici castra posita; §43.22.2inde altero die ad Stratum perventum; ubi prope Inachum amnem castris positis, cum expectaret effusos omnibus portis Aetolos in fidem suam venturos, clausas portas atque ipsa ea nocte, qua venerat, receptum Romanum praesidium cum C. Popilio legato invenit.
On that day, camp was pitched at the border of the Aetolian territory; from there, on the next day, they arrived at Stratus; where, having pitched camp near the river Inachus, while he expected that the Aetolians, pouring out of all the gates, would come to submit to him, he found the gates closed and that on the very night he arrived, a Roman garrison under the lieutenant Gaius Popilius had been admitted.
§43.22.3principes, qui praesentis Archidami auctoritate conpulsi regem arcessierant, obviam egresso Archidamo segniores facti locum adversae factioni dederant ad Popilium cum mille peditibus ab Ambracia accersendum.
The leading men, who, urged by the authority of Archidamus while he was present, had summoned the king, had become less active once Archidamus had gone out to meet him, and thereby gave an opportunity to the opposing faction to summon Popilius with a thousand infantry from Ambracia.
§43.22.4in tempore et Dinarchus, praefectus equitum gentis Aetolorum, cum sescentis peditibus et equitibus centum venit.
Just in time, Dinarchus also, the commander of the cavalry of the Aetolian nation, arrived with six hundred infantry and a hundred cavalry.
satis constabat eum tamquam ad Persea tendentem Stratum venisse, §43.22.5mutato deinde cum fortuna animo Romanis se, adversus quos venerat, iunxisse.
It was clear enough that he had come to Stratus pretending to make his way to Perseus, but having then changed his mind along with fortune, he joined the Romans, against whom he had come.
§43.22.6nec Popilius securior, quam debebat esse, inter tam mobilia ingenia erat.
Nor was Popilius more secure than he ought to have been among such changeable temperaments.
claves portarum custodiamque murorum suae extemplo potestatis fecit; §43.22.7Dinarchum Aetolosque cum iuventute Stratiorum in arcem per praesidii speciem amovit.
He immediately took the keys of the gates and the custody of the walls into his own authority; he removed Dinarchus and the Aetolians, together with the youth of the Stratians, into the citadel under the pretext of a garrison.
§43.22.8Perseus ab imminentibus superiori parti urbis tumulis temptatis conloquiis, cum obstinatos atque etiam telis procul arcentis videret, quinque milia passuum ab urbe trans Petitarum amnem posuit castra.
Perseus, having attempted parleys from the hills overlooking the upper part of the city, when he saw that they were obstinate and even kept him off at a distance with missiles, pitched his camp five miles from the city across the river Petitarus.
§43.22.9ibi consilio advocato cum Archidamus Epirotarumque transfugae retinerent, Macedonum principes non pugnandum cum infesto tempore anni censerent, nullis praeparatis commeatibus, §43.22.10cum inopiam prius obsidentes quam obsessi sensuri essent, maxime quod hostium haud procul inde hiberna erant, territus in Aperantiam castra movit.
There, a council having been called, while Archidamus and the refugees of the Epirots urged him to stay, the Macedonian leaders thought that they ought not to fight in such a hostile season of the year, since no provisions had been prepared, since the besiegers would experience scarcity sooner than the besieged, especially as the winter quarters of the enemy were not far from there; terrified by this, he moved his camp into Aperantia.
§43.22.11Aperanti eum propter Archidami magnam in ea gente gratiam auctoritatemque consensu omnium acceperunt; is ipse cum octingentorum militum praesidio his est praepositus.
In Aperantia they received him by common consent because of the great influence and authority of Archidamus among that nation; Archidamus himself was placed in command over them with a garrison of eight hundred soldiers.

Notes

  1. 43.22.2altero die — Meaning "on the next day" (literally "the other day"), referring to the day following the previously mentioned `eo die`.
  2. 43.22.3ad Popilium cum mille peditibus ab Ambracia accersendum — The gerundive construction with `ad` + accusative noun (`ad Popilium... accersendum`) expresses purpose, meaning "to summon Popilius". `ab Ambracia` modifies the gerundive.
  3. 43.22.4satis constabat eum tamquam ad Persea tendentem Stratum venisse — An accusative and infinitive construction `eum ... venisse` acting as the subject of the impersonal verb `constabat`. The present participle `tendentem` agrees with `eum`, qualified by `tamquam` to express assumed purpose ("as if making his way to Perseus").
  4. 43.22.6suae extemplo potestatis fecit — The genitive of possession or control `suae potestatis` is used with `facere` to mean "to bring under one's own power or authority".
  5. 43.22.9non pugnandum — An impersonal use of the gerundive (`pugnandum [esse]`) with the intransitive verb `pugnare`, expressing negative obligation: "that they ought not to fight".
  6. 43.22.11Aperanti — The locative singular of the first-declension noun `Aperantia`, meaning "in Aperantia".

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §43.22.1-43.22.11. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:43.22.1-43.22.11

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