---
title: "Life of Timoleon · Τιμολέων"
author: "Plutarch"
translator: "Bernadotte Perrin"
languages: [grc, en]
shelf: "Classical Greek"
section: 2 of 3
url: https://scriptura.si/works/plutarch-timoleon/2/
cite: "Plutarch, tr. Bernadotte Perrin, Life of Timoleon · Τιμολέων, section 2. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/plutarch-timoleon/2/"
---

# Life of Timoleon · Τιμολέων

*Plutarch, tr. Bernadotte Perrin*

The Corinthian who freed Sicily from its tyrants and the Carthaginians and then lived as a private citizen in Syracuse.

> Greek: ed. Bernadotte Perrin, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-greekLit, tlg0007.tlg018, CC BY-SA 4.0).

> English: Bernadotte Perrin, from the Perseus Digital Library (tlg0007.tlg018.perseus-eng2). Notes are not included.

> Rows follow the references the two texts share (chapters and sections), cut where both reach the end of a sentence.

## 2. Chapters 13–26

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/plutarch-timoleon/2/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/plutarch-timoleon/2/#p-N

[¶0] 13.8. And after he had been conveyed to the camp of Timoleon, where for the first time he was seen as a private person and in humble garb, he was sent off to Corinth with a single ship and a small treasure, having been born and reared in a tyranny which was the greatest and most illustrious of all tyrannies and having held this for ten years, and then for twelve other years, after the expedition of Dion, having been involved in harassing struggles and wars, and having surpassed in his sufferings all his acts of tyranny.

> Greek: 13.8. καὶ κομισθεὶς εἰς τὸ τοῦ Τιμολέοντος στρατόπεδον, τότε πρῶτον ἰδιώτης καὶ ταπεινὸς ὀφθείς, ἐπὶ μιᾶς νεὼς καὶ χρημάτων ὀλίγων εἰς Κόρινθον ἀπεστάλη, γεννηθεὶς μὲν καὶ τραφεὶς ἐν τυραννίδι τῇ πασῶν ἐπιφανεστάτῃ καὶ μεγίστῃ, κατασχὼν δὲ ταύτην ἔτη δέκα, δώδεκα δʼ ἄλλα μετὰ τὴν Δίωνος στρατείαν ἐν ἀγῶσι καὶ πολέμοις διαφορηθείς, ἃ δʼ ἔπραξε τυραννῶν οἷς ἔπαθεν ὑπερβαλόμενος,

[¶1] 13.10. For he lived to see the violent deaths of his grown-up sons and the violation of his maiden daughters, and the shameful abuse of the person of his wife, who was at the same time his sister, and who, while living, was subjected to the most wanton pleasures of his enemies, and after being murdered, together with her children, was cast into the sea. These things, then, have been fully described in my Life of Dion.

> Greek: 13.10. καὶ γὰρ υἱῶν ἐνηλίκων θανάτους καὶ θυγατέρων καταπορνεύσεις παρθένων ἐπεῖδε, καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ἀδελφὴν καὶ γυναῖκα ζῶσαν μὲν εἰς τὸ σῶμα ταῖς ἀσελγεστάταις ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων ἡδοναῖς παρανομηθεῖσαν, βίᾳ δʼ ἀποθανοῦσαν μετὰ τῶν τέκνων, καταποντισθεῖσαν εἰς τὸ πέλαγος, ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐν τοῖς περὶ Δίωνος ἀκριβῶς γέγραπται.

[¶2] 14.1. But as for Dionysius, after his arrival at Corinth there was no Greek who did not long to behold and speak to him.

> Greek: 14.1. τοῦ δὲ Διονυσίου καταπλεύσαντος εἰς Κόρινθον, οὐδεὶς ἦν Ἑλλήνων ὃς οὐχὶ θεάσασθαι καὶ προσειπεῖν ἐπόθησεν αὐτόν.

[¶3] 14.2. But those who rejoiced in his misfortunes were lead by their hatred to come together gladly that they might trample, as it were, upon one who had been cast down by Fortune; while those who regarded rather the reversal of his fortune and sympathised with him, saw strong proof, amid the weakness of things that are human and seen, of the power of causes that are unseen and divine.

> Greek: 14.2. ἀλλʼ οἵ τε χαίροντες ἐπὶ ταῖς συμφοραῖς διὰ μῖσος ἄσμενοι συνῆλθον οἷον ἐρριμμένον ὑπὸ τῆς τύχης πατήσοντες, οἵ τε πρὸς τὴν μεταβολὴν τρεπόμενοι καὶ συμπαθοῦντες ἐθεῶντο πολλὴν ἐν ἀσθενέσι τοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις καὶ προδήλοις τὴν τῶν ἀδήλων αἰτιῶν καὶ θείων δύναμιν.

[¶4] 14.3. For that age showed no work either of nature or of art that was comparable to this work of Fortune, namely, the recent tyrant of Sicily in Corinth, whiling his time away at a fishmonger’s or sitting in a perfumer’s shop, drinking diluted wine from the taverns and skirmishing in public with common prostitutes, or trying to teach music-girls in their singing, and earnestly contending with them about songs for the stage and melody in hymns. Some thought that Dionysius did these things as an aimless loiterer, and because he was naturally easy-going and fond of license; but others thought that it was in order to be held in contempt and not in fear by the Corinthians, nor under suspicion of being oppressed by the change in his life and of striving after power, that he engaged in these practices and played an unnatural part, making a display of great silliness in the way he amused himself.

> Greek: 14.3. οὐδὲν γὰρ οὔτε φύσεως ὁ τότε καιρὸς οὔτε τέχνης ὅσον ἐκεῖνο τύχης ἔργον ἐπεδείξατο, τὸν Σικελίας ὀλίγον ἔμπροσθεν τύραννον ἐν Κορίνθῳ διατρίβοντα περὶ τὴν ὀψόπωλιν ἢ καθήμενον ἐν μυροπωλίῳ, πίνοντα κεκραμένον ἀπὸ τῶν καπηλείων καὶ διαπληκτιζόμενον ἐν μέσῳ τοῖς ἀφʼ ὥρας ἐργαζομένοις γυναίοις, τὰς δὲ μουσουργοὺς ἐν ταῖς ᾠδαῖς διδάσκοντα, καὶ περὶ θεατρικῶν ᾀσμάτων ἐρίζειν σπουδάζοντα πρὸς ἐκείνας καὶ περὶ μέλους ἁρμονίας, ταῦτα δʼ οἱ μὲν ἄλλως ἀλύοντα καὶ φύσει ῥᾴθυμον ὄντα καὶ φιλακόλαστον ᾤοντο ποιεῖν τὸν Διονύσιον, οἱ δʼ ὑπὲρ τοῦ καταφρονεῖσθαι καὶ μὴ φοβερὸν εἶναι τοῖς Κορινθίοις, μηδʼ ὕποπτον ὡς βαρυνόμενον τὴν μεταβολὴν τοῦ βίου καὶ πραγμάτων ἐφιέμενον, ἐπιτηδεύειν καὶ ὑποκρίνεσθαι παρὰ φύσιν, πολλὴν ἀβελτερίαν ἐπιδεικνύμενον ἐν τῷ σχολάζειν.

[¶5] 15.1. However, certain sayings of his are preserved, from which it would appear that he accommodated himself to his present circumstances not ignobly.

> Greek: 15.1. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καί λόγοι τινὲς αὐτοῦ μνημονεύονται, διʼ ὧν ἐδόκει συμφέρεσθαι τοῖς παροῦσιν οὐκ ἀγεννῶς.

[¶6] 15.2. Once, namely, when he landed at Leucadia, a city which had been colonized by Corinthians, just like Syracuse, he said he had the same feelings as young men who have been guilty of misdemeanours;

> Greek: 15.2. τοῦτο μὲν γὰρ εἰς Λευκάδα καταχθείς, πόλιν ἀπῳκισμένην ὑπὸ Κορινθίων ὥσπερ τὴν Συρακουσίων, ταὐτὸν ἔφη πεπονθέναι τοῖς ἐν ἁμαρτήμασι γενομένοις τῶν νεανίσκων·

[¶7] 15.3. for just as these pass their time merrily with their brothers, but shun their fathers from a feeling of shame, so he was ashamed to live in their common mother-city, and would gladly dwell there with them.

> Greek: 15.3. ὡς γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι τοῖς μὲν ἀδελφοῖς ἱλαρῶς συνδιατρίβουσι, τοὺς δὲ πατέρας αἰσχυνόμενοι φεύγουσιν, οὕτως αὐτὸς αἰδούμενος τὴν μητρόπολιν ἡδέως ἂν αὐτόθι μετʼ ἐκείνων κατοικεῖν.

[¶8] 15.4. And again, in Corinth, when a stranger somewhat rudely derided him about his associations with philosophers, in which he used to take delight when he was a tyrant, and finally asked him what good Plato’s wisdom did him now, “Dost thou think,” said he, “that I have had no help from Plato, when I bear my change of fortune as I do?”

> Greek: 15.4. τοῦτο δʼ ἐν Κορίνθῳ ξένου τινὸς ἀγροικότερον εἰς τὰς μετὰ τῶν φιλοσόφων διατριβὰς, αἷς τυραννῶν ἔχαιρε, χλευάζοντος αὐτὸν, καί τέλος ἐρωτῶντος τί δὴ τῆς Πλάτωνος ἀπολαύσειε σοφίας, οὐδὲν, ἔφη, σοὶ δοκοῦμεν ὑπὸ Πλάτωνος ὠφελῆσθαι, τύχης μεταβολὴν οὕτω φέροντες;

[¶9] 15.5. Further, when Aristoxenus the musician and certain others inquired what his complaint against Plato was and what its origin, he told them that of the many ills with which tyranny abounded there was none so great as this, that not one of those reputed to be friends speaks frankly with the tyrant; for indeed it was by such friends that he himself had been deprived of Plato’s good will.

> Greek: 15.5. πρὸς δὲ τὸν μουσικὸν Ἀριστόξενον καί τινας ἄλλους πυνθανομένους ὁπόθεν αὐτῷ καί τίς ἡ πρὸς Πλάτωνα γένοιτο μέμψις, πολλῶν ἔφη κακῶν τὴν τυραννίδα μεστὴν οὖσαν οὐδὲν ἔχειν τηλικοῦτον ἡλίκον τὸ μηδένα τῶν λεγομένων φίλων μετὰ παρρησίας διαλέγεσθαι· καί γὰρ αὐτὸς ὑπʼ ἐκείνων ἀποστερηθῆναι τῆς Πλάτωνος εὐνοίας.

[¶10] 15.6. Again, when one of those who wish to be witty, in mockery of Dionysius shook out his robe on coming into his presence, as if into the presence of a tyrant, Dionysius turned the jest upon him by bidding him do so when he went out from his presence, that he might not take anything in the house away with him.

> Greek: 15.6. ἐπεὶ δὲ τῶν βουλομένων τις εὐφυῶν εἶναι σκώπτων τὸν Διονύσιον ἐξέσειε τὸ ἱμάτιον εἰσιὼν πρὸς αὐτὸν, ὡς δὴ πρὸς τύραννον, ἀντισκώπτων ἐκεῖνος ἐκέλευε τοῦτο ποιεῖν ὅταν ἐξίῃ παρʼ αὐτοῦ, μή τι τῶν ἔνδον ἔχων ἀπέλθῃ.

[¶11] 15.7. And when Philip of Macedon, at a banquet, began to talk in banter about the lyric poems and tragedies which Dionysius the Elder had left behind him, and pretended to wonder when that monarch found time for these compositions, Dionysius not inaptly replied by saying: “When thou and I and all those whom men call happy are busy at the bowl.”

> Greek: 15.7. Φιλίππου δὲ τοῦ Μακεδόνος παρὰ πότον τινὰ λόγον μετὰ εἰρωνείας ἐμβαλόντος περὶ τῶν μελῶν καὶ τῶν τραγῳδιῶν ἃς ὁ πρεσβύτερος Διονύσιος κατέλιπε, καί προσποιουμένου διαπορεῖν ἐν τίνι χρόνῳ ταῦτα ποιεῖν ἐκεῖνος ἐσχόλαζεν, οὐ φαύλως ἀπήντησεν ὁ Διονύσιος εἰπών ἐν ᾧ σὺ κἀγὼ καί πάντες οἱ μακάριοι δοκοῦντες εἶναι περὶ κώθωνα διατρίβομεν.

[¶12] 15.8. Now, Plato did not live to see Dionysius when he was in Corinth, but he was already dead; Diogenes of Sinope, however, on meeting him for the first time, said: “How little thou deservest, Dionysius, thus to live!”

> Greek: 15.8. Πλάτων μὲν οὖν οὐκ ἐπεῖδεν ἐν Κορίνθῳ Διονύσιον, ἀλλʼ ἔτυχεν ἤδη τεθνηκώς, ὁ δὲ Σινωπεὺς Διογένης ἀπαντήσας αὐτῷ πρῶτον, ὡς ἀναξίως, ἔφη, Διονύσιε, ζῇς.

[¶13] 15.9. Upon this, Dionysius stopped and said: “It is good of thee, O Diogenes, to sympathize with me in my misfortunes.” “How is that?” said Diogenes; “Dost thou suppose that I am sympathizing with thee? Nay, I am indignant that such a slave as thou, and one so worthy to have grown old and died in the tyrant’s estate, just as thy father did, should be living here with us in mirth and luxury.”

> Greek: 15.9. ἐπιστάντος δʼ ἐκείνου καὶ εἰπόντος· εὖ ποιεῖς, ὦ Διόγενες, συναχθόμενος ἡμῖν ἠτυχηκόσι, τί γὰρ; εἶπεν ὁ Διογένης, οἴει μέ σοὶ συναλγεῖν, οὐ διαγανακτεῖν ὅτι τοιοῦτον ἀνδράποδον ὤν, καί τοῖς τυραννείοις, ὥσπερ ὁ πατὴρ, ἐπιτήδειος ἐγγηράσας ἀποθανεῖν, ἐνταῦθα παίζων καί τρυφῶν διάγεις μεθʼ ἡμῶν;

[¶14] 15.10. Wherefore, when I compare with these words the mournful utterances of Philistus about the daughters of Leptines, how from the great blessings of the tyranny they fell to a lowly life, they seem the lamentations of a woman who pines for her alabaster caskets and purple gowns and golden trinkets.

> Greek: 15.10. ὥστε μοι παραβάλλοντι τούτοις τὰς Φιλίστου φωνάς, ἃς ἀφίησι περὶ τῶν Λεπτίνου θυγατέρων ὀλοφυρόμενος, ὡς ἐκ μεγάλων ἀγαθῶν τῶν τῆς τυραννίδος εἰς ταπεινὴν ἀφιγμένων δίαιταν, φαίνεσθαι θρήνους γυναικὸς ἀλαβάστους καί πορφύρας καί χρυσία ποθούσης.

[¶15] 15.11. These details, then, will not seem foreign to my biography, I think, nor without usefulness, to readers who are not in haste, and are not occupied with other matters.

> Greek: 15.11. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν οὐκ ἀλλότρια τῆς τῶν βίων ἀναγραφῆς οὐδὲ ἄχρηστα δόξειν οἰόμεθα μὴ σπεύδουσι μηδὲ ἀσχολουμένοις ἀκροαταῖς.

[¶16] 16.1. But though the misfortune of Dionysius seemed extraordinary, none the less did the good fortune of Timoleon have something marvellous about it.

> Greek: 16.1. τῆς δὲ Διονυσίου δυστυχίας παραλόγου φανείσης οὐχ ἧττον ἡ Τιμολέοντος εὐτυχία τὸ θαυμαστὸν ἔσχεν.

[¶17] 16.2. For within fifty days after his landing in Sicily the acropolis of Syracuse was surrendered to him and Dionysius was sent off to Peloponnesus.

> Greek: 16.2. ἐπιβὰς γὰρ Σικελίας ἐν ἡμέραις πεντήκοντα τήν τʼ ἀκρόπολιν τῶν Συρακουσῶν παρέλαβε καὶ Διονύσιον εἰς Πελοπόννησον ἐξέπεμψεν.

[¶18] 16.3. Stimulated by this success, the Corinthians sent him two thousand men-at-arms and two hundred horsemen. These got as far as Thurii, but seeing that their passage thence was impracticable, since the sea was beset with many Carthaginian ships, they were compelled to remain there quietly and await their opportunity, and therefore turned their leisure to advantage in a most noble action.

> Greek: 16.3. ὅθεν ἐπιρρωσθέντες οἱ Κορίνθιοι πέμπουσιν αὐτῷ δισχιλίους ὁπλίτας καὶ διακοσίους ἱππεῖς, οἳ κομισθέντες ἄχρι Θουρίων τήν ἐκεῖθεν περαίωσιν ὑπὸ Καρχηδονίων πολλαῖς ναυσὶ κατεχομένης τῆς θαλάττης ἄπορον ὁρῶντες, ὡς ἦν ἀνάγκη καιρὸν περιμένοντας ἀτρεμεῖν αὐτόθι, πρὸς κάλλιστον ἔργον ἀπεχρήσαντο τῇ σχολῇ.

[¶19] 16.4. When the Thurians, namely, went on an expedition against the Bruttians, the Corinthians received their city in charge, and guarded it honestly and faithfully to the end, as though it were their own.

> Greek: 16.4. Θουρίων γὰρ ἐπὶ Βρεττίους στρατευόντων τήν πόλιν παραλαβόντες ὥσπερ πατρίδα καθαρῶς καὶ πιστῶς διεφύλαξαν.

[¶20] 16.5. But Hicetas kept the acropolis of Syracuse under siege and prevented the importation of food for the Corinthians there; he also sent to Adranum two foreigners whom he had engaged to assassinate Timoleon; for Timoleon at no time kept a guard in array about his person, and at this time in particular, owing to his trust in their god, he was altogether without anxiety or suspicion in his diversions with the people of Adranum.

> Greek: 16.5. ὁ δʼ Ἱκέτης τήν μὲν ἀκρόπολιν τῶν Συρακουσῶν ἐπολιόρκει καὶ σῖτον ἐκώλυεν εἰσπλεῖν τοῖς Κορινθίοις, Τιμολέοντι δὲ δύο ξένους παρασκευάσας δολοφονήσοντας αὐτὸν ὑπέπεμψεν εἰς Ἀδρανόν, οὔτε ἄλλως περὶ τὸ σῶμα συντεταγμένην ἔχοντι φυλακήν, καὶ τότε παντάπασι διὰ τὸν θεὸν ἀνειμένως καὶ ἀνυπόπτως σχολάζοντι μετὰ τῶν Ἀδρανιτῶν.

[¶21] 16.6. The men who had thus been sent learned, as chance would have it, that he was about to offer a sacrifice, and therefore came into the sacred precinct with daggers under their robes, mingled with those who stood around the altar, and gradually drew nearer their intended victim.

> Greek: 16.6. οἱ δὲ πεμφθέντες κατὰ τύχην πυθόμενοι μέλλοντα θύειν αὐτόν, ἧκον εἰς τὸ ἱερόν ὑπὸ τοῖς ἱματίοις ἐγχειρίδια κομίζοντες, καὶ τοῖς περιεστῶσι τὸν βωμὸν ἀναμιχθέντες, ἐγγυτέρω κατὰ μικρὸν ἐπεχείρουν.

[¶22] 16.7. And as they were just on the point of exhorting one another to begin their work, somebody smote one of them on the head with a sword and laid him low, whereupon neither he who had struck the blow nor the companion of him who had received it kept his place; but the one, with his sword still in his hand, fled to a lofty rock and sprang upon it, while the other laid hold of the altar and begged immunity from Timoleon on the condition of his revealing everything.

> Greek: 16.7. καὶ ὅσον οὔπω παρακελευομένων ἀλλήλοις ἐνάρχεσθαι παίει τις αὐτῶν τὸν ἕτερον κατὰ τῆς κεφαλῆς ξίφει, καὶ πεσόντος οὔθʼ ὁ παίσας ἔμεινεν οὔδʼ ὁ μετὰ τοῦ πληγέντος ἥκων, ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖνος μὲν, ὥσπερ εἶχε τὸ ξίφος, φεύγων πρός τινα πέτραν ὑψηλὴν ἀνεπήδησεν, ἅτερος δὲ τοῦ βωμοῦ λαβόμενος ἄδειαν ᾐτεῖτο παρὰ τοῦ Τιμολέοντος ἐπὶ τῷ πάντα μηνῦσαι.

[¶23] 16.8. And when he had obtained his request, he testified against himself and against his dead comrade that they had been sent to kill Timoleon.

> Greek: 16.8. καὶ λαβὼν ἐμήνυσε καθʼ αὑτοῦ καὶ κατὰ τοῦ τεθνηκότος ὡς πεμφθεῖεν ἐκεῖνον ἀποκτενοῦντες.

[¶24] 16.9. Meanwhile others brought down the man who had fled to the rock, who kept crying out that he had done no wrong, but had justly slain the man on behalf of his dead father, who had been murdered by him some time ago in Leontini.

> Greek: 16.9. ἐν τούτῳ δὲ καὶ τὸν ἀπὸ τῆς πέτρας κατῆγον ἕτεροι, βοῶντα μηδὲν ἀδικεῖν, ἀλλʼ ἀνῃρηκέναι δικαίως τὸν ἄνθρωπον ὑπὲρ πατρὸς τεθνηκότος, ὃν ἐκεῖνος ἀπεκτονήκοι πρότερον ἐν Λεοντίνοις.

[¶25] 16.10. Some of the bystanders bore witness also to the truth of his words, and wondered, too, at the dexterity of Fortune, seeing how she makes some things lead up to others, brings all things together from afar, weaves together incidents which seem to be most divergent and to have nothing in common with one another, and so makes use of their reciprocal beginnings and endings.

> Greek: 16.10. καὶ μαρτυροῦντας εἶχεν ἐνίους τῶν παρόντων, θαυμάζοντας ἅμα τῆς τύχης τήν εὐμηχανίαν, ὡς διʼ ἑτέρων ἕτερα κινοῦσα καὶ συνάγουσα πάντα πόρρωθεν καὶ συγκαταπλέκουσα τοῖς πλεῖστον διαφέρειν δοκοῦσι καὶ μηδὲν ἔχειν πρὸς ἄλληλα κοινόν ἀεὶ τοῖς ἀλλήλων χρῆται καὶ τέλεσι καὶ ἀρχαῖς.

[¶26] 16.11. To this man, then, the Corinthians gave a reward of ten minas, because he had put his just resentment at the service of the deity who was guarding Timoleon, and had not at an earlier time expended the wrath which had long been in his heart, but with a personal motive had reserved it, under Fortune’s guidance, for the preservation of that general.

> Greek: 16.11. τὸν μὲν οὖν ἄνθρωπον ἐστεφάνωσαν οἱ Κορίνθιοι δέκα μναῖς, ὅτι τῷ φυλάττοντι δαίμονι τὸν Τιμολέοντα πάθος ἔχρησε δίκαιον καὶ τὸν ἐκ πολλοῦ παρόντα θυμὸν αὐτῷ πρότερον οὐ κατανάλωσεν, ἀλλὰ μετʼ αἰτίας ἰδίας πρὸς τήν ἐκείνου σωτηρίαν ἀπὸ τύχης διετήρησεν.

[¶27] 16.12. Moreover, their good fortune in the present crisis raised their hopes for the future also, and they anticipated that men would revere and protect Timoleon, looking upon him as a sacred personage, and one who had come under divine guidance to avenge the wrongs of Sicily.

> Greek: 16.12. ἡ δʼ εἰς τὸν παρόντα καιρὸν εὐτυχία καὶ πρὸς τὰ μέλλοντα ταῖς ἐλπίσιν ἐπῆρεν ὁρῶντας ὡς ἱερὸν ἄνδρα καὶ σὺν θεῷ τιμωρὸν ἥκοντα τῇ Σικελίᾳ, τὸν Τιμολέοντα σέβεσθαι καὶ φυλάττειν.

[¶28] 17.1. But when Hicetas had failed in this attempt and saw that many were now thronging to the support of Timoleon, he found fault with himself because, when so large a force of the Carthaginians was at hand, he was using it in small detachments and secretly, as though he were ashamed of it, bringing in his allied troops like a thief and by stealth; he therefore called in Mago their general together with his whole armament. Thus Mago, with a formidable fleet of a hundred and fifty ships, sailed in and occupied the harbour, disembarking also sixty thousand of his infantry and encamping them in the city of Syracuse, so that all men thought that the barbarization of Sicily, long talked of and expected, had come upon her.

> Greek: 17.1. ὡς δὲ ταύτης διήμαρτε τῆς πείρας ὁ Ἱκέτης καὶ πρὸς Τιμολέοντα πολλοὺς ἑώρα συνισταμένους, μεμψάμενος αὐτὸς ἑαυτόν ὅτι τηλικαύτης παρούσης τῆς Καρχηδονίων δυνάμεως ὥσπερ αἰσχυνόμενος αὐτῇ κατὰ μικρὰ χρῆται καὶ λάθρα, κλέπτων καὶ παρεισάγων τὴν συμμαχίαν, μετεπέμπετο Μάγωνα τὸν στρατηγὸν αὐτῶν μετὰ τοῦ στόλου παντός, ὁ δὲ εἰσέπλει φοβερός ναυσὶ πεντήκοντα καὶ ἑκατὸν καταλαμβάνων τὸν λιμένα, πεζῶν δὲ μυριάδας ἓξ ἀποβιβάζων καὶ καταστρατοπεδεύων ἐν τῇ πόλει τῶν Συρακουσίων, ὥστε πάντας οἴεσθαι τὴν πάλαι λεγομένην καὶ προσδοκωμένην ἐκβαρβάρωσιν ἥκειν ἐπὶ τὴν Σικελίαν.

[¶29] 17.3. For never before in all their countless wars in Sicily had the Carthaginians succeeded in taking Syracuse; but now Hicetas admitted them and handed over to them the city, and men saw that it was a barbarian camp.

> Greek: 17.3. οὐδέποτε γὰρ Καρχηδονίοις ὑπῆρξε πρότερον μυρίους πολεμήσασι πολέμους ἐν Σικελίᾳ λαβεῖν τὰς Συρακούσας, ἀλλὰ τότε δεξαμένου τοῦ Ἱκέτου καὶ παραδόντος ἦν ὁρᾶν τὴν πόλιν στρατόπεδον βαρβάρων οὖσαν.

[¶30] 17.4. But those of the Corinthians who held the acropolis were beset with difficulty and danger; for they no longer had sufficient food, but suffered lack because the harbours were blockaded; and they were forever dividing up their forces in skirmishes and battles around the walls, and in repelling all sorts of engines and every species of siege warfare.

> Greek: 17.4. οἱ δὲ τὴν ἀκρόπολιν τῶν Κορινθίων κατέχοντες ἐπισφαλῶς καὶ χαλεπῶς ἀπήλλαττον, τροφῆς μὲν ἱκανῆς οὐκέτι παρούσης, ἀλλʼ ἐνδεόμενοι διὰ τὸ φρουρεῖσθαι τοὺς λιμένας, ἀεὶ δὲ ἐν ἀγῶσι καὶ μάχαις περὶ τὰ τείχη καὶ πρὸς πᾶν μηχάνημα καὶ πρὸς πᾶσαν ἰδέαν πολιορκίας μερίζοντες αὑτούς.

[¶31] 18.1. However, Timoleon came to their aid by sending them grain from Catana in small fishing boats and light skiffs; these would make their way in, especially in stormy weather, by stealing along through the barbarian triremes, which lay at wide intervals from one another because of the roughness of the sea.

> Greek: 18.1. οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ ὁ Τιμολέων παρεβοήθει σῖτον ἐκ Κατάνης μικραῖς ἁλιάσι καὶ λεπτοῖς ἀκατίοις ἀποστέλλων, ἃ μάλιστα χειμῶνι παρεισέπιπτε διὰ τῶν βαρβαρικῶν τριήρων ὑποπορευόμενα, πρὸς τὸν κλύδωνα καὶ τὸν σάλον ἐκείνων διϊσταμένων.

[¶32] 18.2. This soon came to the notice of Mago and Hicetas, who therefore determined to take Catana, from which provisions came in by sea to the besieged; so taking with them the best of their fighting men, they sailed forth from Syracuse.

> Greek: 18.2. ἃ δὴ συνορῶντες οἱ περὶ τὸν Μάγωνα καὶ τὸν Ἱκέτην ἐβούλοντο τὴν Κατάνην ἑλεῖν, ἐξ ἧς εἰσέπλει τὰ ἐπιτήδεια τοῖς πολιορκουμένοις καὶ λαβόντες τῆς δυνάμεως τὴν μαχιμωτάτην ἐξέπλευσαν ἐκ τῶν Συρακουσῶν.

[¶33] 18.3. But Neon the Corinthian (for he it was who commanded the besieged), observing from the citadel that the enemy who had been left behind were keeping an easy and careless watch, fell suddenly upon them as they were scattered apart;

> Greek: 18.3. ὁ δὲ Κορίνθιος Νέων οὗτος γὰρ ἦν ἄρχων τῶν πολιορκουμένων κατιδὼν ἀπὸ τῆς ἄκρας τοὺς ὑπολελειμμένους τῶν πολεμίων ἀργῶς καὶ ἀμελῶς φυλάττοντας ἐξαίφνης ἐπέπεσε διεσπαρμένοις αὐτοῖς·

[¶34] 18.4. some he slew, others he put to flight, and then mastered and took possession of the quarter called Achradina. This seems to have been the strongest and least vulnerable part of the city of Syracuse, which was, in a manner, an assemblage and union of several cities.

> Greek: 18.4. καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἀνελών, τοὺς δὲ τρεψάμενος, ἐκράτησε καὶ κατέσχε τὴν λεγομένην Ἀχραδινήν, ὃ κράτιστον ἐδόκει καὶ ἀθραυστότατον ὑπάρχειν τῆς Συρακουσίων μέρος πόλεως, τρόπον τινὰ συγκειμένης καὶ συνηρμοσμένης ἐκ πλειόνων πόλεων.

[¶35] 18.5. Having thus supplied himself with grain and money, he did not give up the place, nor did he go back again to the citadel, but fenced in the circumference of Achradina, united it by his fortifications with the acropolis, and guarded both.

> Greek: 18.5. εὐπορήσας δὲ καὶ σίτου καὶ χρημάτων οὐκ ἀφῆκε τὸν τόπον, οὐδʼ ἀνεχώρησε πάλιν ἐπὶ τὴν ἄκραν, ἀλλὰ φραξάμενος τὸν περίβολον τῆς Ἀχραδινῆς καὶ συνάψας τοῖς ἐρύμασι πρὸς τὴν ἀκρόπολιν διεφύλαττε.

[¶36] 18.6. Mago and Hicetas were already near Catana, when a horseman from Syracuse overtook them and told them of the capture of Achradina.

> Greek: 18.6. τοὺς δὲ περὶ τὸν Μάγωνα καὶ τὸν Ἱκέτην ἐγγὺς ἤδη τῆς Κατάνης ὄντας ἱππεὺς ἐκ Συρακουσῶν καταλαβὼν ἀπήγγειλε τὴν ἅλωσιν τῆς Ἀχραδινῆς.

[¶37] 18.7. They were confounded by the tidings and went back in haste, having neither taken the city against which they went forth, nor kept the one they had.

> Greek: 18.7. καὶ συνταραχθέντες ἀνεχώρησαν διὰ ταχέων, οὔτε λαβόντες ἐφʼ ἣν ἐξῆλθον οὔτε φυλάξαντες ἣν εἶχον.

[¶38] 19.1. In these successes, then, foresight and valour might still dispute the claims of Fortune; but that which followed them would seem to have been wholly due to good fortune.

> Greek: 19.1. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἔτι τῇ προνοίᾳ καὶ ἀρετῇ δίδωσί τινα πρὸς τὴν τύχην ἀμφισβήτησιν τὸ δʼ ἐπὶ τούτοις γενόμενον παντάπασιν ἔοικε συμβῆναι κατʼ εὐτυχίαν.

[¶39] 19.2. The Corinthian soldiers, namely, who were tarrying at Thurii, partly because they feared the Carthaginian triremes which were lying in wait for them under Hanno, and partly because a storm of many days’ duration had made the sea very rough and savage, set out to travel by land through Bruttium;

> Greek: 19.2. οἱ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς Θουρίοις διατρίβοντες στρατιῶται τῶν Κορινθίων ἅμα μὲν δεδιότες τὰς Καρχηδονίων τριήρεις, αἳ παρεφύλαττον αὐτοὺς μετὰ Ἄννωνος, ἅμα δʼ ἐφʼ ἡμέρας πολλὰς ἐξηγριωμένης ὑπὸ πνεύματος τῆς θαλάττης, πεζῇ διὰ Βρεττίων ὥρμησαν πορεύεσθαι·

[¶40] 19.3. and partly by persuading, partly by compelling the Barbarians, they made their way down to Rhegium while a great storm was still raging at sea.

> Greek: 19.3. καὶ τὰ μὲν πείθοντες, τὰ δὲ βιαζόμενοι τοὺς βαρβάρους εἰς Ῥήγιον κατέβαινον ἔτι πολὺν χειμῶνα τοῦ πελάγους ἔχοντος.

[¶41] 19.4. But the Carthaginian admiral, since he did not expect that the Corinthians would venture forth and thought his remaining there inactive an idle thing, after convincing himself that he had devised something clever and mischievous in the way of deceit, ordered his sailors to crown their heads with garlands, decorated his triremes with purple battle-flags and Greek shields, and sailed for Syracuse.

> Greek: 19.4. ὁ δὲ τῶν Καρχηδονίων ναύαρχος, ὡς οὐ προσεδόκα τοὺς Κορινθίους καὶ μάτην ᾤετο καθῆσθαι, πείσας αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν νενοηκέναι τι τῶν σοφῶν καὶ πανούργων πρὸς ἀπάτην, στεφανώσασθαι τοὺς ναύτας κελεύσας καὶ κοσμήσας τὰς τριήρεις ἀσπίσιν Ἑλληνικαῖς καὶ φοινικίσιν, ἔπλει πρὸς τὰς Συρακούσας.

[¶42] 19.5. And as he passed the acropolis at a dashing speed amid clapping of hands and laughter, he shouted that he was come from conquering and capturing the Corinthians, whom he had caught at sea as they were trying to cross the strait; supposing, indeed, that he would thus greatly dishearten the besieged.

> Greek: 19.5. καὶ παρὰ τὴν ἀκρόπολιν χρώμενος ῥοθίῳ μετὰ κρότου καὶ γέλωτος ἐβόα τοὺς Κορινθίους ἥκειν νενικηκὼς καὶ κεχειρωμένος, ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ λαβὼν διαπλέοντας, ὡς δή τινα δυσθυμίαν τοῖς πολιορκουμένοις παρέξων.

[¶43] 19.6. While he was thus babbling and playing the trickster, the Corinthians who had come down from Bruttium to Rhegium, since no one was lying in wait for them and the unexpected cessation of the storm had made the strait smooth and calm to look upon, speedily manned the ferry-boats and fishing craft which they found at hand, put off and made their way across to Sicily, with such safety and in so great a calm that their horses also swam along by the side of the boats and were towed by the reins.

> Greek: 19.6. ἐκείνου δὲ ταῦτα ληροῦντος καὶ φενακίζοντος ἐκ τῶν Βρεττίων καταβεβηκότες οἱ Κορίνθιοι εἰς τὸ Ῥήγιον, ὡς οὐδεὶς παρεφύλαττε καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα κατεσβεσμένον παραλόγως ἀκύμονα τὸν πόρον ἰδεῖν καὶ λεῖον παρεῖχε, ταχὺ πληρώσαντες τὰ πορθμεῖα καὶ τὰς ἁλιάδας τὰς παρούσας ἀνήγοντο καὶ διεκομίζοντο πρὸς τὴν Σικελίαν, οὕτως ἀσφαλῶς καὶ διὰ τοσαύτης γαλήνης ὥστε τοὺς ἵππους παρὰ τὰ πλοῖα παρανηχομένους ἐκ ῥυτήρων ἐφέλκεσθαι.

[¶44] 20.1. When they had all crossed over, Timoleon took them and at once occupied Messana, then, uniting them with his other forces, marched against Syracuse, relying on the good fortune and success that attended his efforts rather than on the strength of his army; for his followers were not more than four thousand in number.

> Greek: 20.1. περαιωθέντων δὲ πάντων ὁ Τιμολέων δεξάμενος αὐτοὺς τήν τε Μεσσήνην εὐθὺς εἶχε, καὶ συνταξάμενος ἐβάδιζεν ἐπὶ τὰς Συρακούσας, οἷς εὐτύχει καὶ κατώρθου μᾶλλον ἢ τῇ δυνάμει πεποιθώς· οὐ γὰρ ἦσαν οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ πλείους τετρακισχιλίων.

[¶45] 20.2. But when Mago got tidings of his approach, disturbed and fearful as he was, he was made still more suspicious for the following reason.

> Greek: 20.2. ἀγγελλομένης δὲ τῆς ἐφόδου τῷ Μάγωνι θορυβούμενος καὶ δεδοικὼς ἔτι μᾶλλον εἰς ὑποψίαν ἦλθεν ἐκ τοιαύτης προφάσεως.

[¶46] 20.3. In the shoals about the city, which receive much fresh water from springs, and much from marshes and rivers emptying into the sea, great numbers of eels live, and there is always an abundance of this catch for anybody.

> Greek: 20.3. ἐν τοῖς περὶ τήν πόλιν τενάγεσι, πολὺ μὲν ἐκ κρηνῶν πότιμον ὕδωρ, πολὺ δʼ ἐξ ἑλῶν καὶ ποταμῶν καταρρεόντων εἰς τήν θάλατταν δεχομένοις, πλῆθος ἐγχέλεων νέμεται, καὶ δαψίλεια τῆς ἄγρας τοῖς βουλομένοις ἀεὶ πάρεστι.

[¶47] 20.4. These eels the mercenary soldiers on both sides, when they had leisure or a truce was on, used to hunt together.

> Greek: 20.4. ταύτας οἱ παρʼ ἀμφοτέρων μισθοῦ στρατευόμενοι σχολῆς οὔσης καὶ ἀνοχῶν συνεθήρευον.

[¶48] 20.5. And since they were Greeks and had no reason for private hatred of one another, while in their battles they risked their lives bravely, in their times of truce they would visit and converse with one another.

> Greek: 20.5. οἷα δʼ Ἕλληνες ὄντες καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους οὐκ ἔχοντες ἰδίων ἀπεχθειῶν πρόφασιν, ἐν μὲν ταῖς μάχαις διεκινδύνευον εὐρώστως, ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἀνοχαῖς προσφοιτῶντες ἀλλήλοις διελέγοντο.

[¶49] 20.6. And so now, as they were busy together with their fishing, they conversed, expressing their admiration of the richness of the sea and the character of the adjacent lands.

> Greek: 20.6. καὶ τότε κοινὸν περὶ τήν ἁλιείαν ἔχοντες ἔργον ἐν λόγοις ἦσαν, θαυμάζοντες τῆς θαλάσσης τήν εὐφυΐαν καὶ τῶν χωρίων τήν κατασκευήν.

[¶50] 20.7. And one of those who were serving on the Corinthian side said: “Can it really be that you, who are Greeks, are eager to barbarize a city of such great size and furnished with such great advantages, thus settling Carthaginians, who are the basest and bloodiest of men, nearer to us, when you ought to pray for many Sicilies to lie as a barrier between Greece and them?”

> Greek: 20.7. καὶ τις εἶπε τῶν παρὰ τοῖς Κορινθίοις στρατευομένων τοσαύτην μέντοι πόλιν τὸ μέγεθος καὶ τοσούτοις ἐξησκημένην καλοῖς ὑμεῖς Ἕλληνες ὄντες ἐκβαρβαρῶσαι προθυμεῖσθε, τοὺς κακίστους καὶ φονικωτάτους Καρχηδονίους ἐγγυτέρω κατοικίζοντες ἡμῶν, πρὸς οὓς ἔδει πολλὰς εὔχεσθαι Σικελίας προκεῖσθαι τῆς Ἑλλάδος·

[¶51] 20.8. “Or do you suppose that they have collected an army and are come hither from the pillars of Heracles and the Atlantic sea in order to risk their lives in behalf of the dynasty of Hicetas?”

> Greek: 20.8. ἢ δοκεῖτε τούτους στρατὸν ἀγείραντας ἀπὸ στηλῶν Ἡρακλείων καὶ τῆς Ἀτλαντικῆς ἥκειν θαλάττης δεῦρο κινδυνεύσοντας ὑπὲρ τῆς Ἱκέτου δυναστείας;

[¶52] 20.9. “He, if he reasoned like a true leader, would not be casting out his kindred people, nor would he be leading against his country her natural enemies, but would be enjoying a befitting amount of honour and power, with the consent of Timoleon and the Corinthians.”

> Greek: 20.9. ὃς εἰ λογισμὸν εἶχεν ἡγεμόνος, οὐκ ἂν ἐξέβαλλε τοὺς πατέρας οὐδʼ ἐπῆγε τῇ πατρίδι τοὺς πολεμίους, ἀλλὰ καὶ τιμῆς καὶ δυνάμεως ἐτύγχανεν ὅσης πρέπει, Κορινθίους καὶ Τιμολέοντα πείσας.

[¶53] 20.10. Such speeches as these the mercenaries disseminated in their camp, and made Mago suspicious of treachery, though he had long wanted a pretext for going away.

> Greek: 20.10. τούτους τοὺς λόγους οἱ μισθοφόροι διεθρόησαν ἐν τῷ στρατοπέδῳ, καὶ παρέσχον ὑποψίαν τῷ Μάγωνι προδίδοσθαι, χρῄζοντι πάλαι προφάσεως.

[¶54] 20.11. Therefore when Hicetas begged him to remain and tried to show him how much superior they were to their enemies, he thought rather that they were more inferior to Timoleon in bravery and good fortune than they surpassed him in the number of their forces, and weighing anchor at once, sailed off to Libya, thus letting Sicily slip out of his hands disgracefully and for no reason that man could suggest.

> Greek: 20.11. διὸ καὶ δεομένου τοῦ Ἱκέτου παραμένειν καὶ διδάσκοντος ὅσῳ βελτίονές εἰσι τῶν πολεμίων, μᾶλλον οἰόμενος ἀρετῇ καὶ τύχῃ λείπεσθαι Τιμολέοντος ἢ πλήθει δυνάμεως ὑπερβάλλειν, ἄρας εὐθὺς ἀπέπλευσεν εἰς Λιβύην, αἰσχρῶς κατʼ οὐδένα λογισμὸν ἀνθρώπινον ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν ἀφεὶς Σικελίαν.

[¶55] 21.1. On the day after his departure, Timoleon came up with his forces arrayed for battle. But when they learned of Mago’s flight and saw the docks empty of vessels, they could not help laughing at his cowardice, and went about the city proclaiming a reward for any one who told them whither the Carthaginian fleet had fled away from them.

> Greek: 21.1. τῇ δʼ ὑστεραίᾳ παρῆν ὁ Τιμολέων ἐπὶ μάχην συντεταγμένος· ὡς δὲ τὴν φυγὴν ἐπυνθάνοντο καὶ τὴν ἐρημίαν ἑώρων τῶν νεωρίων, γελᾶν αὐτοῖς ἐπῄει τὴν ἀνανδρίαν τοῦ Μάγωνος, καὶ περιϊόντες ἐκήρυττον ἐν τῇ πόλει μήνυτρα τῷ φράσαντι τὸν Καρχηδονίων στόλον ὅπῃ σφᾶς ἀποδέδρακεν.

[¶56] 21.2. However, since Hicetas was still eager for battle and would not let go his hold upon the city, but clung to the parts of it in his possession, which were strong and dangerous to attack, Timoleon divided his forces, he himself attacking along the river Anapus where the struggle was likely to be hottest, and ordering others, under the lead of Isias the Corinthian, to make their attempt from Achradina. The third division was led against Epipolae by Deinarchus and Demaretus, who had brought the second reinforcement from Corinth.

> Greek: 21.2. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ τοῦ Ἱκέτου φιλομαχοῦντος ἔτι καὶ τὴν λαβὴν οὐ προϊεμένου τῆς πόλεως, ἀλλὰ ἐμπεφυκότος οἷς κατεῖχε μέρεσι καρτεροῖς οὖσι καὶ δυσπροσμάχοις, διελὼν ὁ Τιμολέων τὴν δύναμιν αὐτὸς μὲν ᾗ βιαιότατον ἦν παρὰ τὸ ῥεῖθρον τοῦ Ἀνάπου προσέβαλλεν, ἄλλους δʼ ἐκ τῆς Ἀχραδινῆς ἐκέλευεν ἐπιχειρεῖν, ὧν Ἰσίας ἡγεῖτο ὁ Κορίνθιος, τοὺς δὲ τρίτους ἐπῆγον ἐπὶ τὰς Ἐπιπολὰς Δείναρχος καὶ Δημάρετος, οἱ τὴν ὑστέραν ἀγαγόντες ἐκ Κορίνθου βοήθειαν.

[¶57] 21.4. The attack was made in all three places at once, and the troops of Hicetas were overwhelmed and took to flight. That the city was taken by storm and fell quickly into their hands after the enemy had been driven out, it is right to ascribe to the bravery of the soldiers and the ability of their general; but that not one of the Corinthians was killed or even wounded, this the good fortune of Timoleon showed to be her own work, vying emulously, as it were, with his valour, in order that those who hear his story may wonder at his happy successes more than at his laudable efforts.

> Greek: 21.4. ἅμα δὲ καὶ πανταχόθεν τῆς ἐφόδου γενομένης καὶ τῶν περὶ τὸν Ἱκέτην ἀνατραπέντων καὶ φευγόντων, τὸ μὲν ἁλῶναι τὴν πόλιν κατʼ ἄκρας καὶ γενέσθαι ταχέως ὑποχείριον ἐκπεσόντων τῶν πολεμίων δίκαιον ἀναθεῖναι τῇ τῶν μαχομένων ἀνδραγαθίᾳ καὶ τῇ δεινότητι τοῦ στρατηγοῦ, τὸ δὲ μὴ ἀποθανεῖν τινα μηδὲ τρωθῆναι τῶν Κορινθίων ἴδιον ἔργον αὑτῆς ἡ Τιμολέοντος ἐπεδείξατο τύχη, καθάπερ διαμιλλωμένη πρὸς τὴν ἀρετὴν τοῦ ἀνδρός, ἵνα τῶν ἐπαινουμένων αὐτοῦ τὰ μακαριζόμενα μᾶλλον οἱ πυνθανόμενοι θαυμάζωσιν.

[¶58] 21.6. For his fame not only filled at once all Sicily and Italy, but within a few days Greece echoed with his great success, so that the city of Corinth, which was in doubt whether his armament had got across the sea, heard at one and the same time that it had safely crossed, and that it was victorious.

> Greek: 21.6. οὐ γὰρ μόνον Σικελίαν πᾶσαν οὐδʼ Ἰταλίαν εὐθὺς ἡ φήμη κατέσχεν, ἀλλʼ ἡμερῶν ὀλίγων ᾗ Ἑλλὰς διήχει τὸ μέγεθος τοῦ κατορθώματος, ὥστε τὴν τῶν Κορινθίων πόλιν ἀπιστοῦσαν εἰ διαπέπλευκεν ὁ στόλος, ὁμοῦ καὶ σεσῳσμένους καὶ νενικηκότας ἀκούειν τοὺς ἄνδρας.

[¶59] 21.7. So prosperous was the course of his enterprises, and such was the speed with which Fortune crowned the beauty of his achievements.

> Greek: 21.7. οὕτως εὐρόησαν αἱ πράξεις, καὶ τοσοῦτο τῷ κάλλει τῶν ἔργων τὸ τάχος ἡ τύχη προσέθηκεν.

[¶60] 22.1. When he had become master of the citadel, he did not repeat the experience of Dion, nor did he spare the place on account of the beauty and great cost of its architecture, but guarding against the suspicions which had brought calumny and then destruction upon his predecessor, he made proclamation that all Syracusans who wished should come with implements of iron and help in the demolition of the tyrants’ bulwarks.

> Greek: 22.1. γενόμενος δὲ τῆς ἄκρας κύριος οὐκ ἔπαθε Δίωνι ταὐτὸ πάθος, οὐδʼ ἐφείσατο τοῦ τόπου διὰ τὸ κάλλος καὶ τὴν πολυτέλειαν τῆς κατασκευῆς, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐκεῖνον διαβαλοῦσαν, εἶτʼ ἀπολέσασαν ὑποψίαν φυλαξάμενος ἐκήρυξε τῶν Συρακοσίων τὸν βουλόμενον παρεῖναι μετὰ σιδήρου καὶ συνεφάπτεσθαι κατασκαπτομένων τῶν τυραννικῶν ἐρυμάτων.

[¶61] 22.2. And when they had all come up, considering that day with its proclamation to be a most secure beginning of freedom, they overthrew and demolished, not only the citadel, but also the palaces and the tombs of the tyrants.

> Greek: 22.2. ὡς δὲ πάντες ἀνέβησαν, ἀρχὴν ἐλευθερίας ποιησάμενοι βεβαιοτάτην τὸ κήρυγμα καὶ τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκείνην, οὐ μόνον τὴν ἄκραν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς οἰκίας καὶ τὰ μνήματα τῶν τυράννων ἀνέτρεψαν καὶ κατέσκαψαν.

[¶62] 22.3. Then, as soon as he had levelled off the place, Timoleon built the courts of justice there, thus gratifying the citizens by making their democracy triumphant over tyranny.

> Greek: 22.3. εὐθὺς δὲ τὸν τόπον συνομαλύνας ἐνῳκοδόμησε τὰ δικαστήρια, χαριζόμενος τοῖς πολίταις καὶ τῆς τυραννίδος ὑπερτέραν ποιῶν τὴν δημοκρατίαν.

[¶63] 22.4. But the city which he had taken had not citizens enough, since some had perished in their wars and seditions, while others had gone into exile from tyrannical governments. Indeed, for lack of population the market place of Syracuse had produced such a quantity of dense herbage that horses were pastured in it, while their grooms lay down in the grass; and the other cities, with almost no exceptions, were full of deer and wild swine, while in their suburbs and around their walls those who had leisure for it went hunting, and not one of those who were established in fortresses and strongholds would hearken to any summons, or come down into the city, but fear and hatred kept all away from market place and civic life and public speaking, which had produced the most of their tyrants. Therefore Timoleon and the Syracusans decided to write to the Corinthians urging them to send settlers to Syracuse from Greece.

> Greek: 22.4. ἐπεὶ δὲ τὴν πόλιν ἑλὼν οὐκ εἶχε πολίτας, ἀλλὰ τῶν μὲν ἐν τοῖς πολέμοις καὶ ταῖς στάσεσι διαφθαρέντων, τῶν δὲ τὰς τυραννίδας φυγόντων, ἡ μὲν ἐν Συρακούσαις ἀγορὰ διʼ ἐρημίαν οὕτω πολλὴν καὶ βαθεῖαν ἐξέφυσεν ὕλην ὥστε τοὺς ἵππους ἐν αὐτῇ κατανέμεσθαι, τῶν ἱπποκόμων ἐν τῇ χλόῃ κατακειμένων, αἱ δὲ ἄλλαι πόλεις πλὴν παντελῶς ὀλίγων ἐλάφων ἐγένοντο μεσταὶ καὶ συῶν ἀγρίων, ἐν δὲ τοῖς προαστείοις καὶ περὶ τὰ τείχη πολλάκις οἱ σχολὴν ἄγοντες ἐκυνηγέτουν, ὑπήκουε δʼ οὐδεὶς τῶν ἐν τοῖς ἐρύμασι καὶ φρουρίοις κατοικούντων, οὐδὲ κατέβαινον εἰς τὴν πόλιν, ἀλλὰ φρίκη καὶ μῖσος εἶχε πάντας ἀγορᾶς καὶ πολιτείας καὶ βήματος, ἐξ ὧν ἀνέφυσαν αὐτοῖς οἱ πλεῖστοι τῶν τυράννων, ἔδοξε τῷ Τιμολέοντι καὶ τοῖς Συρακουσίοις γράψαι πρὸς τοὺς Κορινθίους ὅπως πέμψωσιν οἰκήτορας εἰς τὰς Συρακούσας ἐκ τῆς Ἑλλάδος,

[¶64] 22.8. For otherwise the land was likely to lie uncultivated, and they expected a great war from Africa, since they learned that the Carthaginians, after Mago’s suicide, had impaled his dead body, in their rage at his conduct of the expedition, and that they were assembling a great force with the intention of crossing into Sicily in the summer.

> Greek: 22.8. ἥ τε γὰρ χώρα σχολάζειν ἔμελλε, καὶ πολὺν πόλεμον ἐκ Λιβύης προσεδέχοντο, πυνθανόμενοι τοὺς Καρχηδονίους τοῦ μὲν Μάγωνος ἑαυτὸν ἀνελόντος ἀνεσταυρωκέναι τὸ σῶμα διὰ τὴν στρατηγίαν ὀργισθέντας, αὐτοὺς δὲ συνάγειν μεγάλην δύναμιν ὡς ἔτους ὥρᾳ διαβησομένους εἰς Σικελίαν.

[¶65] 23.1. When these letters from Timoleon had been delivered and were accompanied by Syracusan envoys who begged them to take thought for their city and to become anew its founders, the Corinthians did not seize the opportunity for their own aggrandizement, nor did they appropriate the city for themselves, but, in the first place, they visited the sacred games in Greece and the greatest festival assemblages, and proclaimed by heralds that the Corinthians had overthrown the tyranny in Syracuse, and driven out the tyrant, and now invited Syracusans, and any other Sicilian Greeks who wished, to people the city with free and independent citizens, allotting the land among them on equal and just terms.

> Greek: 23.1. τῶν δὲ γραμμάτων τούτων παρὰ τοῦ Τιμολέοντος κομισθέντων, καὶ πρέσβεων ἅμα παρόντων Συρακουσίων καὶ δεομένων ἐπιμεληθῆναι τῆς πόλεως καὶ γενέσθαι πάλιν ἐξ ὑπαρχῆς οἰκιστάς, οὐχ ἥρπασαν οἱ Κορίνθιοι τὴν πλεονεξίαν, οὐδὲ προσεποίησαν αὑτοῖς τὴν πόλιν, ἀλλὰ πρῶτον μὲν ἐπιόντες τοὺς ἱεροὺς ἀγῶνας ἐν τῇ Ἑλλάδι καὶ τὰς μεγίστας τῶν πανηγύρεων ἀνηγόρευον ὑπὸ κηρύκων ὅτι Κορίνθιοι καταλελυκότες τὴν ἐν Συρακούσαις τυραννίδα, καὶ τὸν τύραννον ἐξεληλακότες, καλοῦσι Συρακουσίους καὶ τῶν ἄλλων Σικελιωτῶν τὸν βουλόμενον οἰκεῖν τὴν πόλιν ἐλευθέρους καὶ αὐτονόμους, ἐπʼ ἴσοις καὶ δικαίοις τὴν χώραν διαλαχόντας·

[¶66] 23.3. In the second place, they sent messengers to Asia and the islands, where they learned that most of the scattered exiles were residing, and invited them all to come to Corinth, assuring them that the Corinthians, at their own expense, would furnish them with leaders and transports and a safe convoy to Syracuse.

> Greek: 23.3. ἔπειτα διαπέμποντες ἀγγέλους εἰς τὴν Ἀσίαν καὶ τὰς νήσους, ὅπου πλείστους ἐπυνθάνοντο τῶν φυγάδων διεσπαρμένους κατοικεῖν, παρεκάλουν ἰέναι πάντας εἰς Κόρινθον, ὡς Κορινθίων ἀσφαλῆ πομπὴν καὶ πλοῖα καὶ στρατηγοὺς παρεξόντων ἰδίοις τέλεσιν εἰς Συρακούσας.

[¶67] 23.4. By these proclamations the city of Corinth earned the justest praise and the fairest glory; she was freeing the land from its tyrants, saving it from the Barbarians, and restoring it to its rightful citizens.

> Greek: 23.4. κηρυσσομένων δὲ τούτων ἡ μὲν πόλις τὸν δικαιότατον καὶ κάλλιστον ἀπελάμβανεν ἔπαινον καὶ ζῆλον, ἐλευθεροῦσα μὲν ἀπὸ τῶν τυράννων, σῴζουσα δʼ ἀπὸ τῶν βαρβάρων, ἀποδιδοῦσα δὲ τοῖς πολίταις τὴν χώραν.

[¶68] 23.5. When these had assembled at Corinth, being too few in number, they begged that they might receive fellow colonists from Corinth and the rest of Greece; and after their numbers had risen to as many as ten thousand, they sailed to Syracuse.

> Greek: 23.5. οἱ δὲ συνελθόντες εἰς Κόρινθον οὐκ ὄντες ἱκανοὶ τὸ πλῆθος ἐδεήθησαν ἐκ Κορίνθου καὶ τῆς ἄλλης Ἑλλάδος παραλαβεῖν συνοίκους· καὶ γενόμενοι μυρίων οὐκ ἐλάττους κατέπλευσαν εἰς Συρακούσας.

[¶69] 23.6. But by this time many also from Italy and Sicily had flocked to Timoleon; and when their numbers had risen to sixty thousand, as Athanis states, Timoleon divided the land among them, and sold the houses of the city for a thousand talents, thus at once reserving for the original Syracusans the power to purchase their own houses, and devising an abundance of money for the community; this had so little, both for other purposes, and especially for the war, that it actually sold its public statues at auction, a regular vote of condemnation being passed against each, as though they were men submitting their accounts.

> Greek: 23.6. ἤδη δὲ καὶ τῶν ἐξ Ἰταλίας καὶ Σικελίας πολλοὶ τῷ Τιμολέοντι συνεληλύθεισαν καὶ γενομένοις αὐτοῖς ἑξακισμυρίοις τὸ πλῆθος, ὡς Ἄθανις εἴρηκε, τὴν μὲν χώραν διένειμε, τὰς δὲ οἰκίας ἀπέδοτο χιλίων ταλάντων, ἅμα μὲν ὑπολειπόμενος τοῖς ἀρχαίοις Συρακουσίοις ἐξωνεῖσθαι τὰς αὑτῶν, ἅμα δὲ χρημάτων εὐπορίαν τῷ δήμῳ μηχανώμενος οὕτως πενομένῳ καὶ πρὸς τἆλλα καὶ πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον ὥστε καὶ τοὺς ἀνδριάντας ἀποδόσθαι, ψήφου διαφερομένης ὑπὲρ ἑκάστου καὶ γινομένης κατηγορίας, ὥσπερ ἀνθρώπων εὐθύνας διδόντων·

[¶70] 23.8. It was at this time, they say, that the statue of Gelon, their ancient tyrant, was preserved by the Syracusans, though they condemned the rest, because they admired and honoured him for the victory which he had won over the Carthaginians at Himera.

> Greek: 23.8. ὅτε δή φασι τὸν Γέλωνος ἀνδριάντα τοῦ παλαιοῦ τυράννου διατηρῆσαι τοὺς Συρακουσίους, καταχειροτονουμένων τῶν ἄλλων, ἀγαμένους καὶ τιμῶντας τὸν ἄνδρα τῆς νίκης ἣν πρὸς Ἱμέρᾳ Καρχηδονίους ἐνίκησεν.

[¶71] 24.1. Seeing the city thus beginning to revive and fill itself with people, since its citizens were streaming into it from all sides, Timoleon determined to set the other cities also free, and utterly to root out all tyrannies from Sicily. He therefore made an expedition into their territories and compelled Hicetas to forsake the cause of Carthage, and to agree to demolish his citadels and live as a private person in Leontini. And as for Leptines, who lorded it over Apollonia and numerous other strongholds, when he was in danger of being taken by main force, he surrendered himself; and Timoleon spared his life and sent him off to Corinth, considering it a fine thing to have the tyrants of Sicily in the mother city where the Greeks could observe them living the lowly life of exiles.

> Greek: 24.1. οὕτω δὲ τῆς πόλεως ἀναζωπυρούσης καὶ πληρουμένης, ἐπιρρεόντων πανταχόθεν εἰς αὐτὴν τῶν πολιτῶν, βουλόμενος ὁ Τιμολέων καὶ τὰς ἄλλας πόλεις ἐλευθερῶσαι καὶ παντάπασιν ἐκκόψαι τῆς Σικελίας τὰς τυραννίδας, ἐπὶ τὰς χώρας αὐτῶν στρατεύων Ἱκέτην μὲν ἠνάγκασεν ἀποστάντα Καρχηδονίων ὁμολογῆσαι τὰς ἀκροπόλεις κατασκάψειν καὶ βιοτεύσειν ἰδιώτην ἐν Λεοντίνοις, Λεπτίνου δὲ τοῦ τυραννοῦντος Ἀπολλωνίας καὶ συχνῶν ἄλλων πολιχνίων, ὡς ἐκινδύνευε κατὰ κράτος ἁλῶναι, παραδόντος αὑτόν φεισάμενος εἰς Κόρινθον ἀπέστειλε, καλὸν ἡγούμενος ἐν τῇ μητροπόλει τοὺς τῆς Σικελίας τυράννους ὑπὸ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἀποθεωρεῖσθαι φυγαδικῶς καὶ ταπεινῶς ζῶντας.

[¶72] 24.3. Moreover, he wished that his mercenaries might get booty from the enemy’s country and not remain idle. Accordingly, while he himself returned to Syracuse in order to apply himself to the establishment of the civil polity and to assist the lawgivers who had come from Corinth, Cephalus and Dionysius, in arranging its most important details in the most attractive way, he sent forth the troops under Deinarchus and Demaretus into that part of the island which the Carthaginians controlled, where they brought many cities to revolt from the Barbarians, and not only lived in plenty themselves, but actually raised moneys for the war from the spoils they made.

> Greek: 24.3. τοὺς δὲ μισθοφόρους βουλόμενος ἐκ τῆς πολεμίας ὠφελεῖσθαι καὶ μὴ σχολάζειν, αὐτὸς μὲν εἰς τὰς Συρακούσας ἐπανῆλθε τῇ καταστάσει τῆς πολιτείας προσέξων καὶ τοῖς ἥκουσιν ἐκ Κορίνθου νομοθέταις Κεφάλῳ καὶ Διονυσίῳ τὰ κυριώτατα καὶ κάλλιστα συνδιαθήσων, τοὺς δὲ περὶ Δείναρχον καὶ Δημάρετον εἰς τὴν τῶν Καρχηδονίων ἐξέπεμψεν ἐπικράτειαν, οἳ πόλεις πολλὰς ἀφιστάντες τῶν βαρβάρων οὐ μόνον αὐτοὶ διῆγον ἐν ἀφθόνοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ χρήματα παρεσκεύαζον εἰς τὸν πόλεμον ἀπὸ τῶν ἁλισκομένων.

[¶73] 25.1. Meanwhile the Carthaginians put in at Lilybaeum with an army of seventy thousand men, two hundred triremes, and a thousand transports carrying engines of war, four-horse chariots, grain in abundance, and other requisite equipment. Their purpose was, not to carry on the war by piece-meal any more, but at one time to drive the invading Greeks out of all Sicily;

> Greek: 25.1. ἐν τούτῳ δὲ Καρχηδόνιοι καταπλέουσιν εἰς τὸ Λιλύβαιον ἄγοντες ἑπτὰ μυριάδας στρατοῦ καὶ τριήρεις διακοσίας καὶ πλοῖα χίλια κομίζοντα μηχανὰς καὶ τέθριππα καὶ σῖτον ἄφθονον καὶ τὴν ἄλλην παρασκευήν, ὡς οὐκέτι ποιησόμενοι κατὰ μέρος τὸν πόλεμον, ἀλλʼ ὁμοῦ πάσης Σικελίας ἐξελάσοντες τοὺς Ἕλληνας·

[¶74] 25.2. for their force would have been sufficient to capture the native Greeks, even though they had not been politically weak and utterly ruined by one another.

> Greek: 25.2. ἦν γὰρ ἡ δύναμις ἐπαρκοῦσα καὶ μὴ νοσοῦντας μηδὲ διεφθαρμένους ὑπʼ ἀλλήλων συλλαβέσθαι Σικελιώτας.

[¶75] 25.3. And on learning that the territory which they controlled was being ravaged by the Corinthians, they were furious, and straightway marched against them under the command of Hasdrubal and Hamilcar.

> Greek: 25.3. πυθόμενοι δὲ πορθεῖσθαι τὴν ἐπικράτειαν αὐτῶν, εὐθὺς ὀργῇ πρὸς τοὺς Κορινθίους ἐχώρουν Ἀσδρούβα τε καὶ Ἀμίλκα στρατηγούντων.

[¶76] 25.4. Tidings of this coming quickly to Syracuse, the Syracusans were so terrified at the magnitude of the enemy’s forces that only three thousand out of so many tens of thousands could with difficulty be brought to pluck up courage, take their arms, and go forth with Timoleon.

> Greek: 25.4. τῆς δὲ ἀγγελίας ὀξέως εἰς Συρακούσας ἀφικομένης οὕτω κατεπλάγησαν οἱ Συρακούσιοι πρὸς τὸ μέγεθος τῆς δυνάμεως ὥστε μόλις τῷ Τιμολέοντι τρισχιλίους ἀπὸ τοσούτων μυριάδων ὅπλα λαβόντας τολμῆσαι συνεξελθεῖν.

[¶77] 25.5. Furthermore, the mercenaries were only four thousand in number; and of these, again, about a thousand played the coward on the march and went back to Syracuse, declaring that Timoleon was not in his right mind, but was more crazy than his years would lead one to expect, and was marching against seventy thousand of the enemy with five thousand foot and a thousand horse, and was taking his force a march of eight days away from Syracuse, so that those of them who fled from the field would find no safety, and those who fell upon it would have no burial. As for these men, then, Timoleon counted it gain that they had shown what they were before the battle; the rest he encouraged and led them with all speed to the river Crimesus, where he heard that the Carthaginians also were concentrating.

> Greek: 25.5. οἱ δὲ μισθοφόροι τετρακισχίλιοι τὸ πλῆθος ἦσαν καὶ τούτων αὖθις ὅσον χίλιοι καθʼ ὁδὸν ἀποδειλιάσαντες ἀνεχώρησαν, ὡς οὐχ ὑγιαίνοντος τοῦ Τιμολέοντος, ἀλλὰ μαινομένου παρʼ ἡλικίαν καὶ πρὸς ἑπτὰ μυριάδας πολεμίων μετὰ πεντακισχιλίων πεζῶν καὶ χιλίων ἱππέων βαδίζοντος, καὶ διαρτῶντος ὁδὸν ἡμερῶν ὀκτὼ τὴν δύναμιν ἀπὸ τῶν Συρακουσῶν, ὅθεν οὔτε σωθῆναι τοῖς φεύγουσιν οὔτε ταφῆναι τοῖς πεσοῦσιν αὐτῶν ὑπάρξει, τούτους μὲν οὖν Τιμολέων κέρδος ἡγεῖτο πρὸ τῆς μάχης φανεροὺς γεγονότας, τοὺς δὲ ἄλλους ἐπιρρώσας κατὰ τάχος ἦγε πρὸς τὸν Κρίμησον ποταμόν, ὅπου καὶ τοὺς Καρχηδονίους ἤκουσε συνάπτειν.

[¶78] 26.1. As he was marching up a hill, from the crest of which they expected to look down upon the camp and the forces of the enemy, there met them by chance some mules laden with parsley;

> Greek: 26.1. ἀναβαίνοντι δὲ αὐτῷ πρὸς λόφον, ὃν ὑπερβαλόντες ἔμελλον κατόψεσθαι τὸ στράτευμα καὶ τὴν δύναμιν τῶν πολεμίων, ἐμβάλλουσιν ἡμίονοι σέλινα κομίζοντες·

[¶79] 26.2. and it occurred to the soldiers that the sign was a bad one, because we are generally accustomed to wreath the tombs of the dead with parsley; and this has given rise to a proverb, namely, that one who is dangerously sick “needs only parsley.”

> Greek: 26.2. καὶ τοῖς στρατιώταις εἰσῆλθε πονηρὸν εἶναι τὸ σημεῖον, ὅτι τὰ μνήματα τῶν νεκρῶν εἰώθαμεν ἐπιεικῶς στεφανοῦν σελίνοις· καὶ παροιμία τις ἐκ τούτου γέγονε, τὸν ἐπισφαλῶς νοσοῦντα δεῖσθαι σελίνου.

[¶80] 26.3. Accordingly, wishing to free them from their superstitious fears and take away their despondency, Timoleon halted them on their march, and after discoursing otherwise as befitted the occasion, said also that the wreath for their victory had come into their hands in advance and of its own accord, the wreath with which Corinthians crown the victors at the Isthmian games, considering the garland of parsley to be traditionally sacred in their country.

> Greek: 26.3. βουλόμενος οὖν αὐτοὺς ἀπαλλάξαι τῆς δεισιδαιμονίας καὶ τὴν δυσελπιστίαν ἀφελεῖν ὁ Τιμολέων, ἐπιστήσας τὴν πορείαν ἄλλα τε πρέποντα τῷ καιρῷ διελέχθη, καὶ τὸν στέφανον αὐτοῖς ἔφη πρὸ τῆς νίκης κομιζόμενον αὐτομάτως εἰς τὰς χεῖρας ἥκειν, ᾧ Κορίνθιοι στεφανοῦσι τοὺς Ἴσθμια νικῶντας, ἱερὸν καὶ πάτριον τὸ στέμμα τοῦ σελίνου νομίζοντες.