Humanitext Reader

Livy · History of Rome §44.29.1-44.29.8

Truce at Delos and Rhodes' Declaration of Mediation

Passage 1709 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

While the Roman envoys arrive at Delos and opposing forces meet peacefully under the sacred truce of the temple, Antenor continues his plundering of Aegean merchant ships, and changing alliances embolden Rhodes to declare mediation.

§44.29.1dum haec geruntur, legati Romani, C. Popilius et C. Decimius et C. Hostilius, a Chalcide profecti tribus quinqueremibus Delum cum venissent, lembos ibi Macedonum quadraginta et quinque regis Eumenis quinqueremis invenerunt.
While these things were going on, the Roman envoys, Gaius Popilius, Gaius Decimius, and Gaius Hostilius, having set out from Chalcis with three quinqueremes, when they had come to Delos, found there forty Macedonian lembuses and five quinqueremes of King Eumenes.
§44.29.2sanctitas templi insulaeque inviolatos praestabat omnes.
The sanctity of the temple and of the island kept everyone unharmed.
itaque permixti Romanique et Macedones et Eumenis navales socii in templo indutias religione loci praebente versabantur.
Therefore, the Romans, the Macedonians, and the naval allies of Eumenes, mingled together, were staying in the temple, while the sacred character of the place provided a truce.
§44.29.3Antenor, Persei praefectus, cum aliquas alto praeferri onerarias naves ex speculis significatum foret, parte lemborum ipse insequens, parte per Cyclades disposita, praeterquam si quae Macedoniam peterent, omnes aut supprimebat aut spoliabat naves.
Antenor, the commander of Perseus, when it had been signaled from the lookouts that some merchant ships were passing by on the deep, himself pursuing with part of the lembuses, while part was stationed through the Cyclades, either seized or plundered all the ships, except for any that were making for Macedonia.
§44.29.4quibus poterat Popilius aut suis aut Eumenis navibus succurrebat; §44.29.5sed evecti nocte binis aut ternis plerumque lembis Macedones fallebant.
Popilius brought help to whichever of those ships he could, using either his own ships or those of Eumenes; but the Macedonians, having sailed out at night usually with two or three lembuses at a time, eluded them.
§44.29.6per id fere tempus legati Macedones Illyriique simul Rhodum venerunt, quibus auctoritatem addidit non lemborum modo adventus passim per Cycladas atque Aegaeum vagantium mare, sed etiam coniunctio ipsa regum Persei Gentique et fama cum magno numero peditum equitumque venientium Gallorum.
Around that same time, Macedonian and Illyrian envoys came together to Rhodes, to whom weight was added not only by the arrival of the lembuses wandering here and there through the Cyclades and the Aegean Sea, but also by the very alliance of the kings Perseus and Gentius, and the rumor of the Gauls coming with a great number of infantry and cavalry.
§44.29.7et iam cum accessissent animi Dinoni ac Polyarato, qui Persei partium erant, non benigne modo responsum regibus est, sed palam pronuntiatum bello finem se auctoritate sua inposituros esse; §44.29.8itaque ipsi quoque reges aequos adhiberent animos ad pacem accipiendam.
And now, when courage had accrued to Dinon and Polyaratus, who were of Perseus' party, not only was a friendly answer given to the kings, but it was also publicly declared that they would by their own authority put an end to the war; therefore the kings themselves also should show a receptive mind toward accepting peace.

Notes

  1. 44.29.1Macedonum quadraginta et quinque regis Eumenis quinqueremis — Interpreted as 'forty [ships] of the Macedonians and five quinqueremes of King Eumenes'. The numeral 'quadraginta' modifies the preceding accusative plural 'lembos' (or an understood 'lembos'), while 'quinque' modifies 'quinqueremis', which is an accusative plural form (with the -is ending) of the third-declension noun 'quinqueremis'.
  2. 44.29.2indutias religione loci praebente — An ablative absolute construction denoting cause or attendant circumstance, consisting of the noun 'religione' and the present participle 'praebente'. 'indutias' is the direct object (accusative plural) of the participle 'praebente', meaning 'since the sanctity of the place provided a truce'.
  3. 44.29.4quibus poterat Popilius aut suis aut Eumenis navibus succurrebat — A structure where the relative clause containing the antecedent is merged with the main clause. The dative noun phrase that serves as the object of 'succurrebat' (helped) is assimilated into the relative clause 'quibus poterat' (whichever [ships] he could [help]). The latter phrase 'aut suis aut Eumenis navibus' is an ablative of means modifying 'succurrebat'.
  4. 44.29.8adhiberent — Imperfect subjunctive. It represents an indirect command or exhortation ('the kings also should show...') in indirect speech, dependent on the implied declaration in 'pronuntiatum [esse]' of the preceding sentence.

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §44.29.1-44.29.8. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:44.29.1-44.29.8

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.