9.6. Basillus and his men burst into the city and were forcing their way along, when the unarmed multitude pelted them with stones and tiles from the roofs of the houses, stopped their further progress, and crowded them back to the wall. But by this time Sulla was at hand, and seeing what was going on, shouted orders to set fire to the houses, and seizing a blazing torch, led the way himself, and ordered his archers to use their fire-bolts and shoot them up at the roofs. This he did not from any calm calculation, but in a passion, and having surrendered to his anger the command over his actions, since he thought only of his enemies, and without any regard or even pity for friends and kindred and relations, made his entry by the aid of fire, which made no distinction between the guilty and the innocent.
9.6. τῶν δὲ περὶ τὸν Βάσιλλον εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἐμπεσόντων καὶ κρατούντων, ὁ πολὺς καὶ ἄνοπλος δῆμος ἀπὸ τῶν τεγῶν κεράμῳ καὶ λίθῳ βάλλοντες ἐπέσχον αὐτοὺς τοῦ πρόσω χωρεῖν καὶ συνέστειλαν εἰς τὸ τεῖχος, ἐν τούτῳ δὲ ὁ Σύλλας παρῆν ἤδη, καὶ συνιδὼν τὸ γινόμενον ἐβόα τὰς οἰκίας ὑφάπτειν, καὶ λαβὼν δᾷδα καιομένην ἐχώρει πρῶτος αὐτός, καὶ τοὺς τοξότας ἐκέλευε χρῆσθαι τοῖς πυροβόλοις ἄνω τῶν στεγασμάτων ἐφιεμένους, κατʼ οὐδένα λογισμόν, ἀλλʼ ἐμπαθὴς ὢν καὶ τῷ θυμῷ παραδεδωκὼς τὴν τῶν πρασσομένων ἡγεμονίαν, ὅς γε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς μόνον ἑώρα, φίλους δὲ καὶ συγγενεῖς καὶ οἰκείους εἰς οὐδένα λόγον θέμενος οὐδʼ οἶκτον κατῄει διὰ πυρός, ᾧ τῶν αἰτίων καὶ μὴ διάγνωσις οὐκ ἦν.
9.7. Meanwhile Marius, who had been driven back to the temple of Tellus, made a proclamation calling the slaves to his support under promise of freedom; but the enemy coming on, he was overpowered and fled from the city.
9.7. τούτων δὲ γινομένων Μάριος ἐξωσθεὶς πρὸς τὸ τῆς Γῆς ἱερὸν ἐκάλει διὰ κηρύγματος ἐπʼ ἐλευθερίᾳ τὸ οἰκετικόν ἐπελθόντων δὲ τῶν πολεμίων κρατηθεὶς ἐξέπεσε τῆς πόλεως.
10.1. Sulla now called together the senate, and had sentence of death passed on Marius himself and a few others, among whom was Sulpicius the tribune of the people. But Sulpicius was killed, after he had been betrayed by a servant, to whom Sulla first gave his freedom, and then had him thrown down the Tarpeian rock; moreover, he set a price on the head of Marius, an act both ungrateful and impolitic, since it was in his house that he had found refuge and surrendered himself a little before this, and had been let off safe.
10.1. Σύλλας δὲ τὴν βουλὴν συναγαγὼν καταψηφίζεται θάνατον αὐτοῦ τε Μαρίου καὶ ὀλίγων ἄλλων, ἐν οἷς Σουλπίκιος ἦν ὁ δήμαρχος, ἀλλὰ Σουλπίκιος μέν ἀπεσφάγη προδοθεὶς ὑπὸ θεράποντος, ὃν ὁ Σύλλας ἠλευθέρωσεν, εἶτα κατεκρήμνισε, Μαρίῳ δʼ ἐπεκήρυξεν ἀργύριον, οὐκ εὐγνωμόνως οὐδὲ πολιτικῶς, ᾧ γε μικρὸν ἔμπροσθεν ὑποχείριον εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν δοὺς ἑαυτὸν ἀσφαλῶς ἀφείθη.
10.2. And yet had Marius at that time not let Sulla go, but given him up to death at the hands of Sulpicius, he might have been absolute master in Rome; nevertheless he spared his life, and when after a few days he had given him the same opportunity, he did not obtain like mercy. By these proceedings Sulla won the secret dislike of the senate; but the people’s hatred and indignation was made manifest to him by their acts.
10.2. καίτοι Μαρίῳ τότε μὴ διέντι Σύλλαν, ἀλλʼ ἀποθανεῖν ὑπὸ Σουλπικίου προεμένῳ, πάντων κρατεῖν ὑπῆρχεν, ἀλλʼ ὅμως ἐφείσατο καὶ μεθʼ ἡμέρας ὀλίγας τὴν αὐτὴν λαβὴν παρασχὼν οὐκ ἔτυχε τῶν ὁμοίων. ἐφʼ οἷς ὁ Σύλλας τὴν μέν σύγκλητον ἀδήλως ἠνίασεν ἡ δὲ παρὰ τοῦ δήμου δυσμένεια καὶ νέμεσις αὐτῷ φανερὰ διʼ ἔργων ἀπήντα.
10.3. For instance, they ignominiously rejected Nonius his nephew, and Servius, who were his candidates for offices, and appointed others, whose preferment they thought would be most vexing to him. But he pretended to be pleased at this, saying that the people, in doing as it pleased, enjoyed a freedom which was due to him, and out of deference to the hatred of the multitude allowed Lucius Cinna, a man of the opposite faction, to be invested with the consulship, after binding him by solemn oaths to be favourable to his policies.
10.3. Νώνιον μέν γε τὸν ἀδελφιδοῦν αὐτοῦ καὶ Σερουήϊον ἀρχὰς μετιόντας ἀποψηφισάμενοι καὶ καθυβρίσαντες ἑτέρους κατέστησαν ἄρχοντας, οὓς μάλιστα τιμῶντες ᾤοντο λυπεῖν ἐκεῖνον, ὁ δὲ τούτοις τε προσεποιεῖτο χαίρειν, ὡς τοῦ δήμου τῷ ποιεῖν ἃ βούλοιτο διʼ αὐτὸν ἀπολαύοντος τῆς ἐλευθερίας, καὶ θεραπεύων τὸ τῶν πολλῶν μῖσος ὕπατον κατέστησεν ἀπὸ τῆς ἐναντίας στάσεως Λεύκιον Κίνναν, ἀραῖς καὶ ὅρκοις καταλαβὼν εὐνοήσειν τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ πράγμασιν.
10.4. And Cinna went up to the Capitol with a stone in his hand and took the oaths, and then, after praying that if he did not maintain his goodwill towards Sulla, he might be cast out of the city, as the stone from his hand, he threw the stone upon the ground in the sight of many people. But as soon as he had entered upon his office, he tried to subvert the existing order of things, and had an impeachment prepared against Sulla, and appointed Virginius, a tribune of the people, to be his accuser. But Sulla, ignoring alike accuser and court, set out against Mithridates.
10.4. ὁ δὲ ἀναβὰς εἰς τὸ Καπιτώλιον ἔχων ἐν τῇ χειρὶ λίθον ὤμνυεν, εἶτα ἐπαρασάμενος ἑαυτῷ μὴ φυλάττοντι τὴν πρὸς ἐκεῖνον εὔνοιαν ἐκπεσεῖν τῆς πόλεως, ὥσπερ ὁ λίθος διὰ τῆς χειρός, κατέβαλε χαμᾶζε τὸν λίθον οὐκ ὀλίγων παρόντων, παραλαβὼν δὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν εὐθὺς ἐπεχείρει τὰ καθεστῶτα κινεῖν, καὶ δίκην ἐπὶ τὸν Σύλλαν παρεσκεύασε καὶ κατηγορεῖν ἐπέστησεν Οὐεργίνιον, ἕνα τῶν δημάρχων, ὃν ἐκεῖνος ἅμα τῷ δικαστηρίῳ χαίρειν ἐάσας ἐπὶ Μιθριδάτην ἀπῆρε.
11.1. And it is said that about the time when Sulla was moving his armament from Italy, Mithridates, who was staying at Pergamum, was visited with many other portents from Heaven, and that a Victory with a crown in her hand, which the Pergamenians were lowering towards him by machinery of some sort, was broken to pieces just as she was about to touch his head, and the crown went tumbling from her hand to the ground in the midst of the theatre, and was shattered, whereat the people shuddered, and Mithridates was greatly dejected, although at that time his affairs were prospering beyond his hopes.
11.1. λέγεται δὲ ὑπὸ τάς ἡμέρας ἐκείνας ἐν αἷς ὁ Σύλλας ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰταλίας ἐκίνει τὸν στόλον, ἄλλα τε πολλὰ Μιθριδάτῃ διατρίβοντι περὶ τὸ Πέργαμον ἐπισκῆψαι δαιμόνια, καὶ Νίκην στεφανηφόρον καθιεμένην ὑπὸ τῶν Περγαμηνῶν ἐπʼ αὐτὸν ἔκ τινων ὀργάνων ἄνωθεν ὅσον οὔπω τῆς κεφαλῆς ψαύουσαν συντριβῆναι, καὶ τὸν στέφανον ἐκπεσόντα κατὰ τοῦ θεάτρου φέρεσθαι χαμᾶζε διαθρυπτόμενον, ὥστε φρίκην μὲν τῷ δήμῳ, ἀθυμίαν δὲ πολλὴν Μιθριδάτῃ παρασχεῖν, καίπερ αὐτῷ τότε τῶν πραγμάτων ἐλπίδος πέρα προχωρούντων.
11.2. For he himself had wrested Asia from the Romans, and Bithynia and Cappadocia from their kings, and was now set down in Pergamum, dispensing riches, principalities, and sovereignties to his friends; and of his sons, one was in Pontus and Bosporus, holding without any opposition the ancient realm as far as the deserts beyond Lake Maeotis, while Ariarathes was overrunning Thrace and Macedonia with a large army, and trying to win them over; his generals, too, with forces under them, were subduing other regions, and the greatest of them, Archelaüs, who with his fleet controlled the entire sea, was subjugating the Cyclades, and all the other islands which lie to the east of Cape Malea, and was in possession of Euboea itself, while from his head-quarters at Athens he was bringing into revolt from Rome the peoples of Greece as far as Thessaly, although he met with slight reverses at Chaeroneia.
11.2. αὐτὸς μὲν γὰρ Ἀσίαν τε Ῥωμαίων καὶ Βιθυνιαν καὶ Καππαδοκίαν τῶν βασιλέων ἀφῃρημένος ἐν Περγάμῳ καθῆστο, πλούτους καὶ δυναστείας καὶ τυραννίδας διανέμων τοῖς φίλοις, τῶν δὲ παίδων ὁ μὲν ἐν Πόντῳ καὶ Βοσπόρῳ τὴν παλαιὰν ἄχρι τῶν ὑπὲρ τὴν Μαιῶτιν ἀοικήτων ἀρχὴν κατεῖχεν οὐδενὸς παρενοχλοῦντος, Ἀριαράθης δὲ Θρᾴκην καὶ Μακεδονίαν ἐπῄει στρατῷ μεγάλῳ προσαγόμενος, ἄλλους δὲ οἱ στρατηγοὶ τόπους ἐχειροῦντο δυνάμεις ἔχοντες, ὧν ὁ μέγιστος Ἀρχέλαος ταῖς μὲν ναυσὶν ὁμοῦ τι συμπάσης ἐπικρατῶν τῆς θαλάττης τάς τε Κυκλάδας νήσους ἐδουλοῦτο καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὅσαι Μαλέας ἐντὸς ἵδρυνται, καὶ τὴν Εὔβοιαν αὐτὴν εἶχεν, ἐκ δὲ Ἀθηνῶν ὁρμώμενος τὰ μέχρι Θετταλίας ἔθνη τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἀφίστη, μικρὰ προσκρούσας περὶ Χαιρώνειαν.
11.4. For here he was confronted by Bruttius Sura, who was a lieutenant of Sentius the praetor of Macedonia, and a man of superior courage and prudence. This man, as Archelaüs came rushing like a torrent through Boeotia, opposed him most fiercely, and after thrice giving him battle at Chaeroneia, repulsed him, and drove him back to the sea.
11.4. ἐνταῦθα γὰρ αὐτῷ Βρέττιος Σούρρας ἀπήντησε, πρεσβευτὴς μὲν ὢν Σεντίου, τοῦ στρατηγοῦ τῆς Μακεδονίας, ἀνὴρ δὲ τόλμῃ καὶ φρονήσει διαφέρων, οὗτος Ἀρχελάῳ δίκην ῥεύματος φερομένῳ διὰ τῆς Βοιωτίας ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἀντιστάς, καὶ τρισὶ μάχαις διαγωνισάμενος περὶ Χαιρώνειαν, ἐξέωσε καὶ συνέστειλε πάλιν ἐπὶ τὴν θάλατταν.
11.5. But when Lucius Lucullus ordered him to give place to Sulla, who was coming, and to leave the conduct of the war to him, as the senate had voted, he at once abandoned Boeotia and marched back to Sentius, although his efforts were proving successful beyond hope, and although the nobility of his bearing was making Greece well-disposed towards a change of allegiance. However, these were the most brilliant achievements of Bruttius.
11.5. Λευκίου δὲ Λευκόλλου κελεύσαντος αὐτὸν ὑποχωρεῖν ἐπιόντι Σύλλᾳ καὶ τὸν ἐψηφισμένον ἐκείνῳ ἐᾶν πόλεμον, εὐθὺς ἐκλιπὼν τὴν Βοιωτίαν ὀπίσω πρὸς Σέντιον ἀπήλαυνε, καίπερ αὐτῷ τῶν πραγμάτων ἐλπίδος πέρα προχωρούντων καὶ τῆς Ἑλλάδος οἰκείως ἐχούσης πρὸς μεταβολὴν διὰ τὴν ἐκείνου καλοκἀγαθίαν. ἀλλὰ γὰρ Βρεττίῳ μὲν ταῦτα λαμπρότατα τῶν πεπραγμένων.
12.1. As for Sulla, be at once received deputations and invitations from the other cities, but Athens was compelled by the tyrant Aristion to side with Mithridates. Against this city, therefore, Sulla led up all his forces, and investing the Piraeus, laid siege to it, bringing to bear upon it every sort of siege-engine, and making all sorts of assaults upon it.
12.1. Σύλλας δὲ τὰς μὲν ἄλλας πόλεις εὐθὺς εἶχεν ἐπιπρεσβευομένας καὶ καλούσας, ταῖς δὲ Ἀθήναις διὰ τὸν τύραννον Ἀριστίωνα βασιλεύεσθαι ἠναγκασμέναις ἄθρους ἐπέστη καὶ τὸν Πειραιᾶ περιλαβὼν ἐπολιόρκει, μηχανήν τε πᾶσαν ἐφιστὰς καὶ μάχας παντοδαπὰς ποιούμενος.
12.2. And yet if he had been patient a little while, he might have captured the upper city without hazard, since it lacked the necessities of life and was already reduced by famine to the last extremity. But since he was eager to get back to Rome, and feared the spirit of revolution there, he ran many risks, fought many battles, and made great outlays that he might hasten on the war, in which, not to speak of his other munitions, the operation of the siege-engines called for ten thousand pairs of mules, which were employed daily for this service.
12.2. καίτοι χρόνον οὐ πολὺν ἀνασχομένῳ παρῆν ἀκινδύνως ἑλεῖν τὴν ἄνω πόλιν, ὑπὸ λιμοῦ συνηγμένην ἤδη τῇ χρείᾳ τῶν ἀναγκαίων εἰς τὸν ἔσχατον καιρόν ἀλλʼ ἐπειγόμενος εἰς Ῥώμην καὶ δεδιὼς τὸν ἐκεῖ νεωτερισμόν, πολλοῖς μὲν κινδύνοις, πολλαῖς δὲ μάχαις, μεγάλαις δὲ δαπάναις κατέσπευδε τὸν πόλεμον, ᾧ γε δίχα τῆς ἄλλης παρασκευῆς ἡ περὶ τὰ μηχανήματα πραγματεία ζεύγεσι μυρίοις ὀρικοῖς ἐχορηγεῖτο, καθʼ ἡμέραν ἐνεργοῖς οὖσι πρὸς τήν ὑπηρεσίαν.
12.3. And when timber began to fail, owing to the destruction of many of the works, which broke down of their own weight, and to the burning of those which were continually smitten by the enemy’s fire-bolts, he laid hands upon the sacred groves, and ravaged the Academy, which was the most wooded of the city’s suburbs, as well as the Lyceum. And since he needed much money also for the war, he diverted to his uses the sacred treasures of Hellas, partly from Epidaurus, and partly from Olympia, sending for the most beautiful and most precious of the offerings there.
12.3. ἐπιλειπούσης δὲ τῆς ὕλης διὰ τὸ κόπτεσθαι πολλὰ τῶν ἔργων περικλώμενα τοῖς αὑτῶν βρίθεσι καὶ πυρπολεῖσθαι βαλλόμενα συνεχῶς ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων, ἐπεχείρησε τοῖς ἱεροῖς ἄλσεσι, καὶ τήν τε Ἀκαδήμειαν ἔκειρε δενδροφορωτάτην προαστείων οὖσαν καὶ τὸ Λύκειον. ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ χρημάτων ἔδει πολλῶν πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον, ἐκίνει τὰ τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἄσυλα, τοῦτο μὲν ἐξ Ἐπιδαύρου, τοῦτο δὲ ἐξ Ὀλυμπίας, τὰ κάλλιστα καὶ πολυτελέστατα τῶν ἀναθημάτων μεταπεμπόμενος.
12.4. He wrote also to the Amphictyons at Delphi that it was better to have the treasures of the god sent to him; for he would either keep them more safely, or, if he spent them, would restore as much. And he sent Caphis, the Phocian, one of his friends, with the letter, bidding him receive each article by weight. Caphis came to Delphi, but was loth to touch the sacred objects, and shed many tears, in the presence of the Amphictyons, over the necessity of it.
12.4. ἔγραψε δὲ καὶ τοῖς Ἀμφικτύοσιν εἰς Δελφοὺς ὅτι τὰ χρήματα τοῦ θεοῦ βέλτιον εἴη κομισθῆναι πρὸς αὐτόν ἢ γὰρ φυλάξειν ἀσφαλέστερον ἢ καὶ ἀποχρησάμενος ἀποδώσειν οὐκ ἐλάττω· καὶ τῶν φίλων ἀπέστειλε Κάφιν τὸν Φωκέα κελεύσας σταθμῷ παραλαβεῖν ἕκαστον. ὁ δὲ Κάφις ἧκε μὲν εἰς Δελφούς, ὤκνει δὲ τῶν ἱερῶν θιγεῖν, καὶ πολλὰ τῶν Ἀμφικτυόνων παρόντων ἀπεδάκρυσε τήν ἀνάγκην.
12.5. And when some of them declared they heard the sound of the god’s lyre in the inner sanctuary, Caphis, either because he believed them, or because he wished to strike Sulla with superstitious fear, sent word to him about it. But Sulla wrote back jocosely, expressing his amazement that Caphis did not understand that singing was done in joy, not anger; his orders were therefore to take boldly, assured that the god was willing and glad to give.
12.5. ἐνίων δὲ φασκόντων ἀκοῦσαι φθεγγομένης τῆς ἐν τοῖς ἀνακτόροις κιθάρας, εἴτε πιστεύσας εἴτε τὸν Σύλλαν βουλόμενος ἐμβαλεῖν εἰς δεισιδαιμονίαν, ἐπέστειλε πρὸς αὐτόν, ὁ δὲ σκώπτων ἀντέγραψε θαυμάζειν τὸν Κάφιν, εἰ μὴ συνίησιν ὅτι χαίροντος, οὐ χαλεπαίνοντος, εἴη τὸ ᾅδειν· ὥστε θαρροῦντα λαμβάνειν ἐκέλευσεν, ὡς ἡδομένου τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ διδόντος.
12.6. Accordingly, the rest of the treasures were sent away without the knowledge of the most, certainly, of the Greeks; but the silver jar, the only one of the royal gifts which still remained, was too large and heavy for any beast of burden to carry, and the Amphictyons were compelled to cut it into pieces. As they did so, they called to mind now Titus Flamininus and Manius Acilius, and now Aemilius Paulus, of whom one had driven Antiochus out of Greece, and the others had subdued in war the kings of Macedonia; these had not only spared the sanctuaries of the Greeks, but had even made additional gifts to them, and greatly increased their honour and dignity.
12.6. τὰ μὲν οὖν ἄλλα διέλαθε τούς γε πολλοὺς Ἕλληνας ἐκπεμπόμενα, τὸν δὲ ἀργυροῦν πίθον, ὃς ἦν ὑπόλοιπος ἔτι τῶν βασιλικῶν, διὰ βάρος καὶ μέγεθος οὐ δυναμένων ἀναλαβεῖν τῶν ὑποζυγίων, ἀναγκαζόμενοι κατακόπτειν οἱ Ἀμφικτύονες εἰς μνήμην ἐβάλοντο τοῦτο μὲν Τίτον Φλαμινῖνον καὶ Μάνιον Ἀκύλιον, τοῦτο δὲ Αἰμίλιον Παῦλον, ὧν ὁ μὲν Ἀντίοχον ἐξελάσας τῆς Ἑλλάδος, οἱ δὲ τούς Μακεδόνων βασιλεῖς καταπολεμήσαντες οὐ μόνον ἀπέσχοντο τῶν ἱερῶν τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ δῶρα καὶ τιμὴν αὐτοῖς καὶ σεμνότητα πολλὴν προσέθεσαν.
12.7. But these were lawful commanders of men who were self-restrained and had learned to serve their leaders without a murmur, and they were themselves kingly in spirit and simple in their personal expenses, and indulged in moderate and specified public expenditures, deeming it more disgraceful to flatter their soldiers than to fear their enemies;
12.7. ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖνοι μὲν ἀνδρῶν τε σωφρόνων καὶ μεμαθηκότων σιωπῇ τοῖς ἄρχουσι παρέχειν τὰς χεῖρας ἡγούμενοι κατὰ νόμον, αὐτοί τε ταῖς ψυχαῖς βασιλικοὶ καὶ ταῖς δαπάναις εὐτελεῖς ὄντες, μετρίοις ἐχρῶντο καὶ τεταγμένοις ἀναλώμασι, τὸ κολακεύειν τούς στρατιώτας αἴσχιον ἡγούμενοι τοῦ δεδιέναι τούς πολεμίους·
12.8. the generals of this later time, however, who won their primacy by force, not merit, and who needed their armies for service against one another, rather than against the public enemy, were compelled to merge the general in the demagogue, and then, by purchasing the services of their soldiers with lavish sums to be spent on luxurious living, they unwittingly made their whole country a thing for sale, and themselves slaves of the basest men for the sake of ruling over the better. This was what drove out Marius, and then brought him back again against Sulla; this made Cinna the assassin of Octavius, and Fimbria of Flaccus.
12.8. οἱ δὲ τότε στρατηγοὶ βίᾳ τὸ πρωτεῖον, οὐκ ἀρετῇ, κτώμενοι, καὶ μᾶλλον ἐπʼ ἀλλήλους δεόμενοι τῶν ὅπλων ἢ τούς πολεμίους, ἠναγκάζοντο δημαγωγεῖν ἐν τῷ στρατηγεῖν, εἶθʼ ὧν εἰς τὰς ἡδυπαθείας τοῖς στρατευομένοις ἀνήλισκον ὠνούμενοι τούς πόνους αὑτῶν, ἔλαθον ὤνιον ὅλην τήν πατρίδα ποιήσαντες ἑαυτούς τε δούλους τῶν κακίστων ἐπὶ τῷ τῶν βελτιόνων ἄρχειν. ταῦτα ἐξήλαυνε Μάριον, εἶτʼ αὖθις ἐπὶ Σύλλαν κατῆγε, ταῦτα Ὀκταουΐου τούς περὶ Κίνναν, ταῦτα Φλάκκου τούς περὶ Φιμβρίαν αὐτόχειρας ἐποίησεν.
12.9. And it was Sulla who, more than any one else, paved the way for these horrors, by making lavish expenditures upon the soldiers under his own command that he might corrupt and win over those whom others commanded, so that in making traitors of the rest, and profligates of his own soldiers, he had need of much money, and especially for this siege.
12.9. ὧν οὐχ ἥκιστα Σύλλας ἐνέδωκεν ἀρχάς, ἐπὶ τῷ διαφθείρειν καὶ μετακαλεῖν τούς ὑπʼ ἄλλοις ταττομένους καταχορηγῶν εἰς τούς ὑφʼ αὑτῷ καὶ δαπανώμενος, ὥστε ἅμα τούς ἄλλους μὲν εἰς προδοσίαν, τούς δὲ ὑφʼ αὑτῷ εἰς ἀσωτίαν διαφθείρων χρημάτων δεῖσθαι πολλῶν, καὶ μάλιστα πρὸς τὴν πολιορκίαν ἐκείνην.
13.1. For he was possessed by some dreadful and inexorable passion for the capture of Athens, either because he was fighting with a sort of ardour against the shadow of the city’s former glory, or because he was provoked to anger by the scurrilous abuse which had been showered from the walls upon himself and Metella by the tyrant Aristion, who always danced in mockery as he scoffed. This man’s spirit was compounded of licentiousness and cruelty;
13.1. δεινὸς γάρ τις ἄρα καὶ ἀπαραίτητος εἶχεν αὐτὸν ἔρως ἑλεῖν τὰς Ἀθήνας, εἴτε ζήλῳ τινὶ πρὸς τὴν πάλαι σκιαμαχοῦντα τῆς πόλεως δόξαν, εἴτε θυμῷ τὰ σκώμματα φέροντα καὶ τὰς βωμολοχίας, αἷς αὐτόν τε καὶ τὴν Μετέλλαν ἀπὸ τῶν τειχῶν ἑκάστοτε γεφυρίζων καὶ κατορχούμενος ἐξηρέθιζεν ὁ τύραννος Ἀριστίων, ἄνθρωπος ἐξ ἀσελγείας ὁμοῦ καὶ ὠμότητος ἔχων συγκειμένην τὴν ψυχήν, καὶ τὰ χείριστα τῶν Μιθριδατικῶν συνερρυηκότα νοσημάτων καὶ παθῶν εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἀνειληφώς, καὶ τῇ πόλει μυρίους μὲν πολέμους, πολλὰς δὲ τυραννίδας καὶ στάσεις διαπεφευγυίᾳ πρότερον ὥσπερ νόσημα θανατηφόρον εἰς τοὺς ἐσχάτους καιροὺς ἐπιτιθέμενος·
13.2. he had made himself a sink for the worst of the diseases and passions of Mithridates; and in these her last days he had fixed himself, like a fatal malady, upon a city which had previously passed safely through countless wars, and many usurpations and seditions. This man, although at the time a bushel of wheat sold in the city for a thousand drachmas, and although men made food for themselves of the fever-few which grew on the acropolis, and boiled down shoes and leather oil-flasks to eat, was himself continually indulging in drinking-bouts and revels by daylight, was dancing in armour and making jokes to deride the enemy, while he suffered the sacred lamp of the goddess to go out for lack of oil; and when the chief priestess begged him for a twelfth of a bushel of wheat, he sent her so much pepper; and when the senators and priests came to him in suppliant array, and entreated him to take pity on the city and come to terms with Sulla, he scattered them with a volley of arrows.
13.2. ὅς, χιλίων δραχμῶν ὠνίου τοῦ μεδίμνου τῶν πυρῶν ὄντος ἐν ἄστει τότε, τῶν ἀνθρώπων σιτουμένων τὸ περὶ τὴν ἀκρόπολιν φυόμενον παρθένιον, ὑποδήματα δὲ καὶ ληκύθους ἑφθὰς ἐσθιόντων, αὐτὸς ἐνδελεχῶς πότοις μεθημερινοῖς καὶ κώμοις χρώμενος καὶ πυρριχίζων καὶ γελωτοποιῶν πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους τὸν μὲν ἱερὸν τῆς θεοῦ λύχνον ἀπεσβηκότα διὰ σπάνιν ἐλαίου περιεῖδε, τῇ δὲ ἱεροφάντιδι πυρῶν ἡμίεκτον προσαιτούσῃ πεπέρεως ἔπεμψε, τοὺς δὲ βουλευτὰς καὶ ἱερεῖς ἱκετεύοντας οἰκτεῖραι τὴν πόλιν καὶ διαλύσασθαι πρὸς Σύλλαν τοξεύμασι βάλλων διεσκέδασεν.
13.4. But after a long time, at last, with much ado, he sent out two or three of his fellow-revellers to treat for peace, to whom Sulla, when they made no demands which could save the city, but talked in lofty strains about Theseus and Eumolpus and the Persian wars, said: “Be off, my dear Sirs, and take these speeches with you; for I was not sent to Athens by the Romans to learn its history, but to subdue its rebels.”
13.4. ὀψὲ δὲ ἤδη που μόλις ἐξέπεμψεν ὑπὲρ εἰρήνης δύο ἢ τρεῖς τῶν συμποτῶν πρὸς οὓς οὐδὲν ἀξιοῦντας σωτήριον, ἀλλὰ τὸν Θησέα καὶ τὸν Εὔμολπον καὶ τὰ Μηδικὰ σεμνολογουμένους ὁ Σύλλας· ἄπιτε, εἶπεν, ὦ μακάριοι, τοὺς λόγους τούτους ἀναλαβόντες· ἐγὼ γὰρ οὐ φιλομαθήσων εἰς Ἀθήνας ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων ἐπέμφθην, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἀφισταμένους καταστρεψόμενος.
14.1. But at this juncture, as it is said, certain soldiers in the Cerameicus overheard some old men talking with one another, and abusing the tyrant because he did not guard the approaches to the wall at the Heptachalcum, at which point alone it was possible and easy for the enemy to get over. When this was reported to Sulla, he did not make light of it, but went thither by night, and after seeing that the place could be taken, set himself to the work.
14.1. ἐν δὲ τούτῳ λέγεταί τινας ἐν Κεραμεικῷ πρεσβυτῶν ἀκούσαντας διαλεγομένων πρὸς ἀλλήλους καὶ κακιζόντων τὸν τύραννον, ὡς μὴ φυλάττοντα τοῦ τείχους τὴν περὶ τὸ Ἑπτάχαλκον ἔφοδον καὶ προσβολήν, ᾗ μόνῃ δυνατὸν εἶναι καὶ ῥᾴδιον ὑπερβῆναι τοὺς πολεμίους, ἀπαγγεῖλαι ταῦτα πρὸς τὸν Σύλλαν.
14.2. And Sulla himself says, in his Memoirs, that Marcus Ateius was the first man to mount the wall, and that when an enemy confronted him, he gave him a downward cut on the helmet with his sword, and shattered the weapon; he did not, however, yield ground, but remained and held his own. At any rate, the city was taken at this point, as the oldest Athenians used to testify.
14.2. ὁ δὲ οὐ κατεφρόνησεν, ἀλλὰ ἐπελθὼν νυκτὸς καὶ θεασάμενος τὸν τόπον ἁλώσιμον εἴχετο τοῦ ἔργου, λέγει δὲ αὐτός ὁ Σύλλας ἐν τοῖς ὑπομνήμασι τὸν πρῶτον ἐπιβάντα τοῦ τείχους Μάρκον Ἀτήϊον ἀντιστάντος αὐτῷ πολεμίου δόντα πληγὴν ἐκ καταφορᾶς τῷ κράνει περικλάσαι τὸ ξίφος, οὐ μὴν ὑφέσθαι τῆς χώρας, ἀλλὰ μεῖναι καὶ κατασχεῖν. κατελήφθη μὲν οὖν ἡ πόλις ἐκεῖθεν, ὡς Ἀθηναίων οἱ πρεσβύτατοι διεμνημόνευον.
14.3. And Sulla himself, after he had thrown down and levelled with the ground the wall between the Piraïc and the Sacred Gate, led his army into the city at midnight. The sight of him was made terrible by blasts of many trumpets and bugles, and by the cries and yells of the soldiery now let loose by him for plunder and slaughter, and rushing through the narrow streets with drawn swords. There was therefore no counting of the slain, but their numbers are to this day determined only by the space that was covered with blood.
14.3. αὐτός δὲ Σύλλας τὸ μεταξὺ τῆς Πειραϊκῆς πύλης καὶ τῆς ἱερᾶς κατασκάψας καὶ συνομαλύνας, περὶ μέσας νύκτας εἰσήλαυνε, φρικώδης ὑπό τε σάλπιγξι καὶ κέρασι πολλοῖς, ἀλαλαγμῷ καὶ κραυγῇ τῆς δυνάμεως ἐφʼ ἁρπαγὴν καὶ φόνον ἀφειμένης ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ, καὶ φερομένης διὰ τῶν στενωπῶν ἐσπασμένοις τοῖς ξίφεσιν, ὥστε ἀριθμὸν μηδένα γενέσθαι τῶν ἀποσφαγέντων, ἀλλὰ τῷ τόπῳ τοῦ ῥυέντος αἵματος ἔτι νῦν μετρεῖσθαι τὸ πλῆθος.
14.4. For without mention of those who were killed in the rest of the city, the blood that was shed in the market-place covered all the Cerameicus inside the Dipylon gate; nay, many say that it flowed through the gate and deluged the suburb. But although those who were thus slain were so many, there were yet more who slew themselves, out of yearning pity for their native city, which they thought was going to be destroyed. For this conviction made the best of them give up in despair and fear to survive, since they expected no humanity or moderation in Sulla.
14.4. ἄνευ γὰρ τῶν κατὰ τὴν ἄλλην πόλιν ἀναιρεθέντων ὁ περὶ τὴν ἀγορὰν φόνος ἐπέσχε πάντα τὸν ἐντὸς τοῦ Διπύλου Κεραμεικόν πολλοῖς δὲ λέγεται καὶ διὰ πυλῶν κατακλύσαι τὸ προάστειον. ἀλλὰ τῶν οὕτως ἀποθανόντων, τοσούτων γενομένων, οὐκ ἐλάσσονες ἦσαν οἱ σφᾶς αὐτοὺς διαφθείροντες οἴκτῳ καὶ πόθῳ τῆς πατρίδος ὡς ἀναιρεθησομένης. τοῦτο γὰρ ἀπογνῶναι καὶ φοβηθῆναι τὴν σωτηρίαν ἐποίησε τοὺς βελτίστους, οὐδὲν ἐν τῷ Σύλλᾳ φιλάνθρωπον οὐδὲ μέτριον ἐλπίσαντας.
14.5. However, partly at the instance of the exiles Meidias and Calliphon, who threw themselves at his feet in supplication, and partly because all the Roman senators who were in his following interceded for the city, being himself also by this time sated with vengeance, after some words in praise of the ancient Athenians, he said that he forgave a few for the sake of many, the living for the sake of the dead.
14.5. ἀλλὰ γὰρ τοῦτο μὲν Μειδίου καὶ Καλλιφῶντος τῶν φυγάδων δεομένων καὶ προκυλινδουμένων αὐτοῦ, τοῦτο δὲ τῶν συγκλητικῶν, ὅσοι συνεστράτευον, ἐξαιτουμένων τὴν πόλιν, αὐτός τε μεστὸς ὢν ἤδη τῆς τιμωρίας, ἐγκώμιόν τι τῶν παλαιῶν Ἀθηναίων ὑπειπὼν ἔφη χαρίζεσθαι πολλοῖς μὲν ὀλίγους, ζῶντας δὲ τεθνηκόσιν.
14.6. He took Athens, as he says himself in his Memoirs, on the Calends of March, a day which corresponds very nearly with the first of the month Anthesterion. In this month, as it happens, the Athenians perform many rites commemorating the destruction and devastation caused by the flood, believing that the ancient deluge occurred at about this time.
14.6. ἑλεῖν δὲ τὰς Ἀθήνας αὐτός φησιν ἐν τοῖς ὑπομνήμασι Μαρτίαις καλάνδαις, ἥτις ἡμέρα μάλιστα συμπίπτει τῇ νουμηνίᾳ τοῦ Ἀνθεστηριῶνος μηνός, ἐν ᾧ κατὰ τύχην ὑπομνήματα πολλὰ τοῦ διὰ τὴν ἐπομβρίαν ὀλέθρου καὶ τῆς φθορᾶς ἐκείνης δρῶσιν, ὡς τότε καὶ περὶ τὸν χρόνον ἐκεῖνόν μάλιστα τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ συμπεσόντος.
14.7. On the capture of the town, the tyrant took refuge in the acropolis, and was besieged there by Curio, who was appointed to this task. He held out for a considerable time, but was driven by the pangs of thirst to give himself up. And the Deity at once gave a manifest token in the matter; for at the very hour of the day when Curio brought his prisoner down, clouds gathered in an open sky, and a quantity of rain fell and filled the acropolis with water. Not long after, Sulla took the Piraeus also, and burnt most of it, including the arsenal of Philo, a marvellous work.
14.7. ἑαλωκότος δὲ τοῦ ἄστεος ὁ μὲν τύραννος εἰς τὴν ἀκρόπολιν καταφυγὼν ἐπολιορκεῖτο, Κουρίωνος ἐπὶ τούτῳ τεταγμένου· καὶ χρόνον ἐγκαρτερήσας συχνὸν αὐτός ἑαυτὸν ἐνεχείρισε δίψει πιεσθείς, καὶ τὸ δαιμόνιον εὐθὺς ἐπεσήμηνε· τῆς γὰρ αὐτῆς ἡμέρας τε καὶ ὥρας ἐκεῖνόν τε Κουρίων κατῆγε, καὶ νεφῶν ἐξ αἰθρίας συνδραμόντων πλῆθος ὄμβρου καταρραγὲν ἐπλήρωσεν ὕδατος τὴν ἀκρόπολιν. εἷλε δὲ καὶ τὸν Πειραιᾶ μετʼ οὐ πολὺν χρόνον ὁ Σύλλας, καὶ τὰ πλεῖστα κατέκαυσεν, ὧν ἦν καὶ ἡ Φίλωνος ὁπλοθήκη, θαυμαζόμενον ἔργον.
15.1. Meanwhile Taxiles, the general of Mithridates had come down from Thrace and Macedonia with a hundred thousand footmen, ten thousand horse, and ninety scythe-bearing four-horse chariots, and summoned Archelaüs to join him. Archelaüs still lay with his fleet at Munychia, and was neither willing to quit the sea, nor eager to join battle with the Romans, but planned to protract the war and cut off their supplies.
15.1. ἐν δὲ τούτῳ Ταξίλης ὁ Μιθριδάτου στρατηγὸς ἐκ Θρᾴκης καὶ Μακεδονίας καταβεβηκὼς δέκα μυριάσι πεζῶν καὶ μυρίοις ἱππεῦσι καὶ τεθρίπποις ἐνενήκοντα δρεπανηφόροις ἐκάλει τὸν Ἀρχέλαον, ἔτι ναυλοχοῦντα περὶ τὴν Μουνυχίαν καὶ μήτε τῆς θαλάττης βουλόμενον ἀποστῆναι μήτε πρόθυμον ὄντα συμπλέκεσθαι τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις, ἀλλὰ χρονοτριβεῖν τὸν πόλεμον καὶ τὰς εὐπορίας αὐτῶν ἀφαιρεῖν.
15.2. But Sulla understood the situation much better than Archelaüs did, and therefore transferred his forces into Boeotia, away from regions that were far from fertile, and unable to maintain a population even in time of peace. Most people thought that he had erred in his calculations, because he had abandoned Attica, which was a rough country and ill-suited for cavalry movements, and thrown himself into the plains and open districts of Boeotia, although he saw that the strength of the Barbarians consisted in chariots and cavalry.
15.2. ἃ δὴ πολὺ μᾶλλον ἐκείνου συνορῶν ὁ Σύλλας ἀνέζευξεν εἰς Βοιωτίαν ἐκ χωρίων γλίσχρων καὶ μηβὲ ἐν εἰρήνῃ τρέφειν ἱκανῶν ὄντων, καὶ τοῖς πολλοῖς ἐδόκει σφάλλεσθαι τὸν λογισμόν, ὅτι τὴν Ἀττικὴν τραχεῖαν οὖσαν καὶ δύσιππον ἀπολιπὼν ἐνέβαλεν ἑαυτὸν πεδιάσι καὶ ἀναπεπταμέναις ταῖς περὶ τὴν Βοιωτίαν χώραις, ὁρῶν ἐν ἅρμασι καὶ ἵπποις τὴ;ν βαρβαρικὴν οὖσαν ἀλκήν.
15.3. But in flying from scarcity and famine, as has been said, he was compelled to pursue the danger arising from battle. And furthermore, he was anxious about Hortensius, a bold and capable general, who was leading a force from Thessaly to Sulla while the Barbarians were closely watching for him in the passes. For these reasons Sulla transferred his army into Boeotia. But Hortensius was rescued by Caphis, a countryman of mine, and conducted by different routes, of which the Barbarians were ignorant, past Parnassus to a spot just below Tithora. This was not so large a city then as it is now, but a fortress surrounded on all sides by steep cliffs, into which those of the Phocians who in ancient times fled before the advance of Xerxes betook themselves and were saved. Having encamped here, Hortensius repulsed the enemy by day, and at night descended to Patronis by difficult paths and made a junction with Sulla, who came to meet him with his army.
15.3. ἀλλὰ φεύγων, ὥσπερ εἴρηται, λιμὸν καὶ σπάνιν ἠναγκάζετο διώκειν τὸν ἐκ τῆς μάχης κίνδυνον. ἔτι δὲ Ὁρτήσιος αὐτὸν ἐφόβει, στρατηγικὸς ἀνὴρ καὶ φιλόνεικος, ὃν ἐκ Θετταλίας ἄγοντα τῷ Σύλλᾳ δύναμιν ἐν τοῖς στενοῖς οἱ βάρβαροι παρεφύλαττον. διὰ ταῦτα μὲν εἰς τὴν Βοιωτίαν ἀνέζευξεν ὁ Σύλλας· Ὁρτήσιον δὲ Κάφις, ἡμέτερος ὤν, ἑτέραις ὁδοῖς ψευσάμενος τοὺς βαρβάρους διὰ τοῦ Παρνασσοῦ κατῆγεν ὑπʼ αὐτὴν τὴν Τιθόραν, οὔπω τοσαύτην πόλιν οὖσαν ὅση νῦν ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ φρούριον ἀπορρῶγι κρημνῷ περικοπτόμενον, εἰς ὃ καὶ πάλαι ποτὲ Φωκέων οἱ Ξέρξην ἐπιόντα φεύγοντες ἀνεσκευάσαντο καὶ διεσώθησαν, ἐνταῦθα καταστρατοπεδεύσας Ὁρτήσιος ἡμέρας μὲν ἀπεκρούσατο τοὺς πολεμίους, νύκτωρ δʼ ἐπὶ Πατρωνίδα ταῖς δυσχωρίαις καταβὰς ἀπαντήσαντι τῷ Σύλλᾳ μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως συνέμιξε.
16.1. When they had thus united their forces, they occupied a hill which rose out of the midst of the plains of Elatea, a fertile hill, thickly grown with trees, and supplied with water at its base. Philoboeotus is its name, and its situation and natural advantages are most highly praised by Sulla. As they lay encamped here, they appeared to the enemy altogether few in numbers; for they were not more than fifteen hundred horse, and less than fifteen thousand foot.
16.1. γενόμενοι δὲ κοινῇ καταλαμβάνονται βουνὸν ἐκ μέσων ἑστῶτα τῶν Ἐλατικῶν πεδίων, εὔγεων καὶ ἀμφιλαφῆ καὶ παρὰ τήν ῥίζαν ὕδωρ ἔχοντα· Φιλοβοιωτὸς καλεῖται, καὶ τήν φύσιν αὐτοῦ καὶ τήν θέσιν ἐπαινεῖ θαυμασίως ὁ Σύλλας. στρατοπεδεύσαντες δὲ παντάπασιν ὀλίγοι τοῖς πολεμίοις κατεφάνησαν ἱππεῖς μὲν γὰρ οὐ πλείους πεντακοσίων καὶ χιλίων ἐγένοντο, πεζοὶ δὲ πεντακισχιλίων καὶ μυρίων ἐλάττους.
16.2. Wherefore the rest of his generals overpowered the objections of Archelaüs and drew up for battle, filling the plain with their horses, chariots, shields, and bucklers. The air could not contain the shouts and clamour of so many nations forming in array. At the same time also the pomp and ostentation of their costly equipment was not without its effect and use in exciting terror; indeed, the flashing of their armour, which was magnificently embellished with gold and silver, and the rich colours of their Median and Scythian vests, intermingled with bronze and flashing steel, presented a flaming and fearful sight as they surged to and fro, so that the Romans huddled together behind their trenches, and Sulla, unable by any reasoning to remove their fear, and unwilling to force them into a fight from which they wanted to run away, had to sit still and endure as best he could the sight of the Barbarians insulting him with boasts and laughter. This, however, was of service to him above all else.
16.2. ὅθεν ἐκβιασάμενοι τόν Ἀρχέλαον οἱ λοιποὶ στρατηγοὶ καὶ παρατάξαντες τήν δύναμιν, ἐνέπλησαν ἵππων, ἁρμάτων, ἀσπίδων, θυρεῶν τὸ πεδίον. τὴν δὲ κραυγὴν καὶ ἀλαλαγμὸν οὐκ ἔστεγεν ὁ ἀὴρ ἐθνῶν τοσούτων ἅμα καθισταμένων εἰς τάξιν. ἦν δὲ ἅμα καὶ τὸ κομπῶδες καὶ σοβαρὸν αὐτῶν τῆς πολυτελείας οὐκ ἀργὸν οὐδὲ ἄχρηστον εἰς ἔκπληξιν, ἀλλʼ αἵ τε μαρμαρυγαὶ τῶν ὅπλων ἠσκημένων χρυσῷ τε καὶ ἀργύρῳ διαπρεπῶς, αἵ τε βαφαὶ τῶν Μηδικῶν καὶ Σκυθικῶν χιτώνων ἀναμεμιγμέναι χαλκῷ καὶ σιδήρῳ λάμποντι πυροειδῆ καὶ φοβερὰν ἐν τῷ σαλεύεσθαι καὶ διαφέρεσθαι προσέβαλον ὄψιν, ὥστε τοὺς Ῥωμαίους ὑπὸ τόν χάρακα συστέλλειν ἑαυτούς, καὶ τόν Σύλλαν μηδενὶ λόγῳ τὸ θάμβος αὐτῶν ἀφελεῖν δυνάμενον, βιάζεσθαί τε ἀποδιδράσκοντας οὐ βουλόμενον, ἡσυχίαν ἄγειν καὶ φέρειν βαρέως ἐφυβρίζοντας ὁρῶντα κομπασμῷ καὶ γέλωτι τοὺς βαρβάρους, ὤνησε μέντοι τοῦτο μάλιστα πάντων αὐτόν.
16.4. For owing to their contempt of him, his opponents lapsed into great disorder, since even at their best they were not obedient to their generals, owing to the great number in command. Few of them therefore consented to remain within their entrenchments, but the largest part of the throng was lured away by plunder and pillage, and was scattered about the country many days march from their camp. They are said to have destroyed the city of Panope, and to have sacked Lebadeia and despoiled its oracle, although none of their generals ordered them to do so.
16.4. οἱ γὰρ ἐναντίοι καταφρονήσαντες ἐτράποντο πρὸς ἀταξίαν πολλήν, οὐδὲ ἄλλως ὑπήκοοι τῶν στρατηγῶν διὰ πολυαρχίαν ὄντες· ὥστε ὀλίγοι μὲν ἐν τῷ χάρακι διεκαρτέρουν, ὁ δὲ πλεῖστος ὄχλος ἁρπαγαῖς καὶ πορθήμασι δελεαζόμενος ὁδὸν ἡμερῶν πολλῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ στρατοπέδου διεσπείρετο. καὶ τήν τε τῶν Πανοπέων πόλιν ἐκκόψαι λέγονται καὶ τήν Λεβαδέων διαρπάσαι καὶ συλῆσαι τὸ μαντεῖον, οὐδενὸς στρατηγοῦ πρόσταγμα δόντος.
16.5. But Sulla, though chafing and fretting while cities were destroyed before his eyes, would not suffer his soldiers to be idle, but led them out and forced them to dig ditches and divert the Cephisus from its channel, giving no man a respite, and showing himself an inexorable chastiser of those who were remiss, in order that they might be worn out at their tasks and induced by their hardships to welcome danger. And so it fell out.
16.5. ὁ δὲ Σύλλας, ἐν ὄμμασιν αὐτοῦ πόλεων ἀπολλυμένων, δυσανασχετῶν καὶ λυπούμενος, οὐκ εἴα τοὺς στρατιώτας σχολάζειν, ἀλλὰ προσάγων αὐτοὺς ἠνάγκαζε τόν τε Κηφισὸν ἐκ τοῦ ῥείθρου παρατρέπειν καὶ τάφρους ὀρύσσειν, ἀνάπαυλαν οὐδενὶ διδοὺς καὶ τῶν ἐνδιδόντων ἀπαραίτητος ἐφεστὼς κολαστής, ὅπως ἀπαγορεύσαντες πρὸς τὰ ἔργα διὰ τόν πόνον ἀσπάσωνται τόν κίνδυνον.
16.6. For on the third day of their drudgery, as Sulla passed by, they begged and clamoured to be led against the enemy. But Sulla said their words showed not a willingness to fight, but an unwillingness to labour; if, however, they were really disposed to fight, then he bade them take their arms and go at once yonder, pointing them to what had formerly been the acropolis of Parapotamii. At this time, however, the city had been destroyed, and only a rocky and precipitous crest remained, separated from Mount Hedylium by the breadth of the river Assus, which then falls into the Cephisus at the very base of the mountain, becomes impetuous in its flow after the confluence, and makes the citadel a strong place for a camp. For this reason, and because he saw the Chalcaspides, or Bronze-shields, of the enemy pushing their way towards it, Sulla wished to occupy the place first; and he did occupy it, now that he found his soldiers eager for action.
16.6. ὃ καὶ συνέβη, τρίτην γὰρ ἡμέραν ἐργαζόμενοι τοῦ Σύλλα παρεξιόντος ἐδέοντο μετὰ κραυγῆς ἄγειν ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους, ὁ δὲ οὐ μάχεσθαι βουλομένων, ἀλλὰ μὴ βουλομένων πονεῖν ἔφησεν εἶναι τόν λόγον εἰ δὲ ὄντως ἔχουσιν ἀγωνιστικῶς, ἐκέλευσεν ἤδη μετὰ τῶν ὅπλων ἐλθεῖν ἐκεῖσε, δείξας αὐτοῖς τήν πρότερον μὲν γενομένην ἀκρόπολιν τῶν Παραποταμίων, τότε δὲ ἀνῃρημένης τῆς πόλεως λόφος ἐλείπετο πετρώδης καὶ περίκρημνος, τοῦ Ἡδυλίου διωρισμένος ὄρους ὅσον ὁ Ἄσσος ἐπέχει ῥέων, εἶτα συμπίπτων ὑπὸ τήν ῥίζαν αὐτὴν τῷ Κηφισῷ καὶ συνεκτραχυνόμενος ὀχυρὰν ἐνστρατοπεδεῦσαι τήν ἄκραν ποιεῖ, διὸ καὶ τοὺς χαλκάσπιδας ὁρῶν τῶν πολεμίων ὠθουμένους ἐπʼ αὐτὴν ὁ Σύλλας ἐβούλετο φθῆναι καταλαβὼν τόν τόπον καὶ κατέλαβε χρησάμενος τοῖς στρατιώταις προθύμοις.
16.8. And when Archelaüs, repulsed from this site, set out against Chaeroneia, and the Chaeroneians in Sulla’s army besought him not to abandon their city to its fate, he sent out Gabinius, one of his tribunes, with one legion, and let the Chaeroneians also go, who wished, but were unable, to get into the city before Gabinius. So efficient was he, and more eager to bring succour than those who begged that succour should be given. Juba, however, says it was not Gabinius, but Ericius, who was thus sent. At any rate, so narrowly did my native city escape its peril.
16.8. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἀποκρουσθεὶς ἐκεῖθεν ὁ Ἀρχέλαος ὥρμησεν ἐπὶ τήν Χαιρώνειαν, οἱ δὲ συστρατευσάμενοι τῶν Χαιρωνέων ἐδέοντο τοῦ Σύλλα μὴ προέσθαι τήν πόλιν, ἐκπέμπει τῶν χιλιάρχων ἕνα Γαβίνιον μετὰ τάγματος ἑνὸς καὶ τοὺς Χαιρωνεῖς ἀφίησι, βουληθέντας μέν, οὐ μὴν δυνηθέντας φθῆναι τόν Γαβίνιον. οὕτως ἦν ἀγαθὸς καὶ προθυμότερος εἰς τὸ σῶσαι τῶν σωθῆναι δεομένων. ὁ δὲ Ἰόβας οὐ Γαβίνιόν φησι πεμφθῆναι, ἀλλὰ Ἐρίκιον. ἡ μὲν οὖν πόλις ἡμῶν παρὰ τοσοῦτον ἐξέφυγε τόν κίνδυνον.
17.1. From Lebadeia and the cave of Trophonius favourable utterances and oracles announcing victory were now sent out to the Romans. Of these the inhabitants of the country have more to say; but Sulla himself has written in the tenth book of his Memoirs, how Quintus Titius, a prominent man among the Romans doing business in Greece, came to him immediately after he had won his victory at Chaeroneia, with tidings that Trophonius predicted for him a second battle and victory in that neighbourhood within a short time.
17.1. ἐκ δὲ Λεβαδείας καὶ τοῦ Τροφωνίου φῆμαί τε χρησταὶ καὶ νικηφόρα μαντεύματα τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις ἐξεπέμποντο. περὶ ὧν οἱ μὲν ἐπιχώριοι πλείονα λέγουσιν ὡς δὲ Σύλλας αὐτὸς ἐν δεκάτῳ τῶν ὑπομνημάτων γέγραφε, Κόϊντος Τίτιος, οὐκ ἀφανὴς ἀνὴρ τῶν ἐν τῇ Ἑλλάδι πραγματευομένων, ἧκε πρὸς αὐτὸν ἤδη τὴν ἐν Χαιρωνείᾳ νενικηκότα μάχην, ἀπαγγέλλων ὅτι καὶ δευτέραν ὁ Τροφώνιος αὐτόθι μάχην καὶ νίκην προσημαίνει ἐντὸς ὀλίγου χρόνου.
17.2. And after him, a legionary soldier, Salvenius by name, brought him from the god a statement of the issue which affairs in Italy were going to have. But both agreed about the source of their oracle; for they said they had beheld one who in beauty and majesty was like unto Olympian Jove.
17.2. μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον ἀνὴρ τῶν ἐν τάξει στρατευομένων ὄνομα Σαλουήνιος ἀνήνεγκε παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τέλος οἷον αἱ κατὰ τὴν Ἰταλίαν πράξεις ἔμελλον ἕξειν. ἀμφότεροι δὲ ταὐτὰ περὶ τῆς ὀμφῆς ἔφραζον τῷ γὰρ Ὀλυμπίῳ Διῒ καὶ τὸ κάλλος καὶ τὸ μέγεθος παραπλήσιον ἰδεῖν ἔφασαν.
17.3. Sulla now crossed the Assus, and after advancing to the foot of Mount Hedylium, encamped over against Archelaüs, who had thrown up strong entrenchments between Mounts Acontium and Hedylium, at the so-called Assian plain. The spot in which he encamped, moreover, is to this day called Archelaüs, after him. After one day’s respite, Sulla left Murena behind with one legion and two cohorts, to obstruct the enemy if they attempted to draw up their forces, while he himself held sacrifices on the banks of the Cephisus, and, when the rites were over, moved on towards Chaeroneia, to pick up the forces stationed there, and to reconnoitre Thurium, as it is called, which had been already occupied by the enemy.
17.3. ἐπειδὴ δὲ διέβη τὸν Ἄσσον ὁ Σύλλας, παρελθὼν ὑπὸ τὸ Ἡδύλιον τῷ Ἀρχελάῳ παρεστρατοπέδευσε, βεβλημένῳ χάρακα καρτερὸν ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ Ἀκοντίου καὶ τοῦ Ἡδυλίου πρὸς τοῖς λεγομένοις Ἀσσίοις. ὁ μέντοι τόπος ἐν ᾧ κατεσκήνωσεν ἄχρι νῦν Ἀρχέλαος ἀπʼ ἐκείνου καλεῖται, διαλιπὼν δὲ μίαν ἡμέραν ὁ Σύλλας Μουρήναν μὲν ἔχοντα τάγμα καὶ σπείρας δύο πρὸς τὸ τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐνοχλῆσαι παραταττομένοις ἀπέλιπεν, αὐτὸς δὲ παρὰ τὸν Κηφισὸν ἐσφαγιάζετο, καὶ τῶν ἱερῶν γενομένων ἐχώρει πρὸς τὴν Χαιρώνειαν, ἀναληψόμενός τε τὴν αὐτόθι στρατιὰν καὶ κατοψόμενος τὸ καλούμενον Θούριον ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων προκατειλημμένον.
17.4. This is a conical-shaped hill with a craggy peak (we call it Orthopagus), and at its foot is the river Molus and a temple of Apollo Thurius. The god got this surname from Thuro, the mother of Chaeron, who was founder of Chaeroneia, according to tradition.
17.4. ἔστι δὲ κορυφὴ τραχεῖα καὶ στροβιλῶδες ὄρος, ὃ καλοῦμεν Ὀρθόπαγον, ὑπὸ δὲ αὐτὸ τὸ ῥεῦμα τοῦ Μόλου καὶ Θουρίου νεὼς Ἀπόλλωνος. ὠνόμασται δὲ ὁ θεὸς ἀπὸ Θουροῦς, τῆς Χαίρωνος μητρός, ὃν οἰκιστὴν γεγονέναι τῆς Χαιρωνείας ἱστοροῦσιν.
17.5. But some say that the cow which was given by Apollo to Cadmus as his guide, appeared there, and that the place was named as it is from her, “thor” being the Phoenician word for cow. As Sulla drew near to Chaeroneia, the tribune who had been stationed in the city, with his men in full armour, came to meet him, carrying a wreath of laurel.
17.5. οἱ δέ φασι τὴν Κάδμῳ δοθεῖσαν ὑπὸ τοῦ Πυθίου καθηγεμόνα βοῦν ἐκεῖ φανῆναι, καὶ τὸν τόπον ἀπʼ αὐτῆς οὕτω προσαγορευθῆναι θὼρ γὰρ οἱ Φοίνικες τὴν βοῦν καλοῦσι. προσιόντος δὲ τοῦ Σύλλα πρὸς τὴν Χαιρώνειαν ὁ τεταγμένος ἐν τῇ πόλει χιλίαρχος, ἐξωπλισμένους ἄγων τοὺς στρατιώτας, ἀπήντησε στέφανον δάφνης κομίζων.
17.6. After Sulla had accepted this, greeted the soldiers, and animated them for the coming danger, two men of Chaeroneia accosted him, Homoloïchus and Anaxidamus, and engaged to cut off the troops in possession of Thurium if he would give them a few soldiers; for there was a path out of sight of the Barbarians, leading from the so-called Petrachus along past the Museum to that part of Thurium which was over their heads, and by taking this path it would not be difficult, they said, to fall upon them and either stone them to death from above, or force them into the plain.
17.6. ὡς δὲ δεξάμενος ἠσπάσατο τοὺς στρατιώτας καὶ παρώρμησε πρὸς τὸν κίνδυνον, ἐντυγχάνουσιν αὐτῷ δύο τῶν Χαιρωνέων ἄνδρες, Ὁμολόϊχος καὶ Ἀναξίδαμος, ὑφιστάμενοι τοὺς τὸ Θούριον κατασχόντας ἐκκόψειν, ὀλίγους στρατιώτας παρʼ ἐκείνου λαβόντες· ἀτραπὸν γὰρ εἶναι τοῖς βαρβάροις ἄδηλον, ἀπὸ τοῦ καλουμένου Πετράχου παρὰ τὸ Μουσεῖον ἐπὶ τὸ Θούριον ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς ἄγουσαν, ᾗ πορευθέντες οὐ χαλεπῶς ἐπιπεσεῖσθαι καὶ καταλεύσειν ἄνωθεν αὐτοὺς ἢ συνώσειν εἰς τὸ πεδίον.
17.7. After Gabinius had borne testimony to the men’s courage and fidelity, Sulla ordered them to make the attempt, while he himself proceeded to form his line of battle, and to dispose his cavalry on either wing, taking command of the right himself, and assigning the left to Murena. His lieutenants, Galba and Hortensius, with cohorts of reserves, stationed themselves on the heights in the rear, to guard against attacks on the flanks. For the enemy were observed to be making their wing flexible and light for evolution with large bodies of horse and light infantry, purposing to extend it and envelop the Romans.
17.7. τοῦ δὲ Γαβινίου τοῖς ἀνδράσι μαρτυρήσαντος ἀνδρείαν καὶ πίστιν, ἐκέλευσεν ἐπιχειρεῖν ὁ Σύλλας· αὐτὸς δὲ συνέταττε τὴν φάλαγγα καὶ διένειμε τοὺς ἱππότας ἐπὶ κέρως ἑκατέρου, τὸ δεξιὸν αὐτὸς ἔχων, τὸ δʼ εὐώνυμον ἀποδοὺς Μουρήνᾳ. Γάλβας δὲ καὶ Ὁρτήσιος οἱ πρεσβευταὶ σπείρας ἐπιτάκτους ἔχοντες ἔσχατοι παρενέβαλον ἐπὶ τῶν ἄκρων φύλακες πρὸς τὰς κυκλώσεις· ἑωρῶντο γὰρ οἱ πολέμιοι κατασκευάζοντες ἱππεῦσι πολλοῖς καὶ ψιλοῖς ποδώκεσιν εἰς ἐπιστροφὴν τὸ κέρας εὐκαμπὲς καὶ κοῦφον, ὡς μακρὰν ἀνάξοντες καὶ κυκλωσόμενοι τοὺς Ῥωμαίους.