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XX.91‑113

This webpage reproduces a portion of
The Library of History

of
Diodorus Siculus

published in Vol. XI
of the Loeb Classical Library edition, 1957

The text is in the public domain.

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and I believe it to be free of errors.
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Book XXII

(Vol. XI) Diodorus Siculus
Library of History

 p3  Fragments of Book XXI

[link to original Greek text] 1 4a All vice should be shunned by men of intelligence, but especially greed, for this vice, because of the expectation of profit, prompts many to injustice and becomes the cause of very great evils to mankind. Hence, since it is a very metropolis1 of unjust acts, it brings many great misfortunes not only on private citizens but even on the greatest kings.2

King Antigonus, who rose from private station to high power and became the mightiest king of his day, was not content with the gifts of Fortune, but undertook to bring unjustly into his own hands the kingdoms of all the others; thus he lost his own dominion and was deprived of life as well.

 p5  2 Ptolemy, Seleucus, and Lysimachus united against King Antigonus; not so much prompted by goodwill towards one another as compelled by the fears each had for himself, they moved readily to make common cause in the supreme struggle.

In the battle, the elephants of Antigonus and Lysimachus fought as if nature had matched them equally in courage and strength.

3 [After this​3 certain Chaldaeans approached Antigonus and prophesied that if he should let Seleucus out of his grasp, it would come to pass that all Asia would be made subject to Seleucus, and that Antigonus himself would die in battle against him. . . . This stirred him deeply . . . for he was impressed by the reputation that the men enjoyed. . . . They are in fact reputed to have prophesied to Alexander that if he entered Babylon, he would die. And just as in the case of Alexander, it came about that the prophecy concerning Seleucus was fulfilled according to the pronouncements of these men. Of this prophecy we shall speak in detail when we come to the proper period.]

4b Antigonus, king of Asia, made war against a coalition of four kings, Ptolemy, son of Lagus, king of Egypt, Seleucus, king of Babylonia, Lysimachus, king of Thrace, and Cassander, son of Antipater, king of Macedonia. When he engaged them in battle, he was pierced by many missiles, and his body was carried from the field and was buried with royal  p7 honours. His son Demetrius,​4 however, joining his mother Stratonicê, who had remained in Cilicia with all their valuables, sailed to Salamis in Cyprus, since it was in his possession.

5 As for Seleucus, after the partition of the kingdom of Antigonus, he took his army and went to Phoenicia, where, in accordance with the terms of the agreement,​5 he endeavoured to appropriate Coelê Syria. But Ptolemy had already occupied the cities of that region, and was denouncing Seleucus because, although he and Ptolemy were friends, Seleucus had accepted the assignment to his own share of a district that was already subject to Ptolemy; in addition, he accused the kings of giving him no part of the conquered territory, even though he had been a partner in the war against Antigonus. To these charges Seleucus replied that it was only just that those who were victorious on the battlefield​6 should dispose of the spoils; but in the matter of Coelê Syria, for friendship's sake he would not for the present interfere, but would consider later how best to deal with friends who chose to encroach.

6 [It so happened, however, that the city​7 did not long abide, for Seleucus tore it down and transferred its population to the city that he had founded and called Seleuceia after himself. But as for these matters, we shall set them forth exactly and in detail when we come to the proper period.]

 p9  If anyone is eager to know about the colonies sent out to this region​8 from Greece, there are painstaking accounts of the matter by Strabo the geographer, Phlegon, and Diodorus of Sicily.

[link to original Greek text] 2 1 When Corcyra was being besieged on land and sea by Cassander, king of Macedonia, and was on the point of capture, it was delivered by Agathocles, king of Sicily, who set fire to the entire Macedonian fleet.

2 The utmost spirit of rivalry was not lacking on either side, for the Macedonians were bent on saving their ships, while the Siceliotes wished not only to be regarded as victors over the Carthaginians and the barbarians of Italy, but also to show themselves in the Greek arena as more than a match for the Macedonians, whose spears had subjugated both Asia and Europe.

3 Had Agathocles, after landing his army, attacked the enemy, who were near at hand, he would easily have crushed the Macedonians; but since he was ignorant of the message that had been received and of the consternation of the men, he was satisfied after landing his forces, to set up a trophy, and thus to prove the truth of the proverb, "Many are the futilities of warfare." For misapprehension and deceit often accomplish as much as armed action.

[link to original Greek text] 3 1 When, on his return from Corcyra, Agathocles rejoined the army that he had left behind, and  p11 learned that in his absence the Ligurians and Etruscans had mutinously demanded their pay from his son Agatharchus,​9 he put them all to death, to the number of at least two thousand. This action alienated the Bruttians, whereupon Agathocles attempted to capture the city which is called Ethae.​10 When the barbarians, however, assembled a large force and made an unexpected attack by night upon him, he lost four thousand men, and in consequence returned to Syracuse.

[link to original Greek text] 4 1 Agathocles brought together his naval forces and sailed across to Italy. Planning to move on Croton, since he wished to besiege the city, he sent a messenger to Menedemus, the tyrant of Croton, his friend, bidding him not to be alarmed falsely and saying that he was escorting his daughter Lanassa with royal honours to Epirus for her marriage;​11 and by this ruse he caught the Crotoniates off their guard. He then invested the city and encircled it with walls from sea to sea, and by means of a stone-thrower and by tunnelling brought down in ruins the largest of  p13 the buildings.​12 When the Crotoniates saw this they were frightened, and opening the gate, received Agathocles and his army, who rushed into the city, plundered the houses, and slew the male inhabitants. With the neighbouring barbarians, both the Iapygians and the Peucetians, Agathocles made an alliance and supplied them with pirate ships, receiving in return a share of their booty. Then, leaving a garrison in Croton, he sailed back to Syracuse.

[link to original Greek text] 5 1 Diyllus, the Athenian historian, compiled a universal history in twenty-six books and Psaon of Plataea wrote a continuation of this work in thirty books.13

[link to original Greek text] 6 1 In the war with the Etruscans, Gauls, Samnites, and the other allies, the Romans slew one hundred thousand men in the consul­ship of Fabius,​14 according to Duris.

2 Something similar​15 is told by Duris, Diodorus, and Dio: that when the Samnites, Etruscans, and the other nations were at war with the Romans, Decius, the Roman consul, colleague of Torquatus,​16 in like manner devoted himself to death, and on that day one hundred thousand of the enemy were slain.

 p15  [link to original Greek text] 7 1 Because of envy, Antipater​17 murdered his own mother.

Alexander, the brother of Antipater, was assassinated by King Demetrius, whom he had summoned to aid him. He​18 likewise assassinated Antipater the matricide, the brother of Alexander, not wishing to have a partner in rule.

[link to original Greek text] 8 1 Agathocles assembled an army and crossed over into Italy with thirty thousand infantry and three thousand cavalry. The navy he entrusted to Stilpo with orders to ravage the territory of the Bruttians; but while Stilpo was plundering the estates along the shore, he encountered a storm and lost most of his ships. Agathocles laid siege to Hipponium . . . and by means of stone-throwers they over­powered the city and captured it. This terrified the Bruttians, who sent an embassy to treat for terms. Agathocles, having obtained six hundred hostages from them and having left an occupying force, returned to Syracuse. The Bruttians, however, instead of abiding by their oath, marched out in full force against the soldiers who had been left behind, crushed them, recovered the hostages, and so freed themselves from the domination of Agathocles.

 p17  [link to original Greek text] 9 1 King Demetrius, after arresting all who habitually defamed him in the public assemblies and contentiously opposed him in all things, let them go unharmed, remarking that pardon is better than punishment.19

[link to original Greek text] 10 1 Most leaders of armies, when confronted with serious reverses, follow the urgings of the mob rather than risk its opposition.

[link to original Greek text] 11 1 The Thracians captured Agathocles,​20 the king's son, but sent him home with gifts, partly to prepare for themselves a refuge against the surprises of Fortune, partly in the hope of recovering through this act of humanity that part of their territory which Lysimachus had seized. For they no longer hoped to be able to prevail in the war, since almost all the most powerful kings were now in agreement, and were in military alliance one with another.

[link to original Greek text] 12 1 When the army of Lysimachus was hard pressed for food,​21 and his friends kept advising him to save himself as best he could and not to hope for safety in the encampment, he replied to them that it was not honourable to provide a disgraceful safety for himself by abandoning his army and his friends.

 p19  2 Dromichaetes, the king of the Thracians, having given King Lysimachus every mark of welcome, having kissed him, and even called him "Father," then brought him and his children to a city called Helis.

3 After the capture of the army of Lysimachus, the Thracians assembling in haste shouted that the captured king should be brought into their midst for punishment. It was but right, they cried, that the multitude who had shared the hazard of battle should debate and decide what was to be done with the prisoners. Dromichaetes spoke against punishing the king and pointed out to the soldiers the advantages of preserving his life. Were he to be executed, he said, other kings, possibly more to be feared than their predecessor, would assume the authority of Lysimachus. If, on the other hand, his life were spared, he would owe a debt of gratitude to the Thracians, and with no hazard to themselves they would recover the forts that had formerly been Thracian. 4 When the multitude had given its approval to this policy, Dromichaetes searched out from among the prisoners the friends of Lysimachus and those who were accustomed to be in constant attendance upon him, and led them to the captive monarch. Then, having offered sacrifice, he invited Lysimachus and his friends to the banquet, together with the most suitable Thracians. He prepared two sets of couches, using for the company of Lysimachus the royal drapery that formed part of the spoils, but for himself and his friends cheap beds of straw. 5 In like manner, he had two different meals prepared, and set before his foreign guests a prodigal array of all  p21 kinds of viands, served on a silver table, while before the Thracians was placed a modestly prepared dish of herbs and meat, their meal being set out upon a cheap board. Finally, for his guests he poured out wine in gold and silver cups, but for his fellow-countrymen, as was the custom of the Getae, in cups of horn or wood. After they had been drinking some time, he filled the largest of the drinking-horns, and addressing Lysimachus as "Father," asked him which banquet seemed more fit for kings, the Macedonian or the Thracian. Lysimachus replied: "The Macedonian."​22 6 "Why then," he asked, "forsaking such ways, a splendid manner of life, and a more glorious kingdom as well, did you desire to come among men who are barbarous and lead a bestial existence, and to a wintry land deficient in cultivated grains and fruit? Why did you force a way against nature to bring an army into such a place as this, where no foreign force can survive in the open?" In reply Lysimachus said that in regard to this campaign he had acted blindly; but for the future he would endeavour to aid him as a friend, and not to fall short in returning kindness for kindness. Dromichaetes received these words graciously, obtained the  p23 return of the districts that Lysimachus had seized, placed a diadem on his head, and sent him on his way.

[link to original Greek text] 13 1 This Xermodigestus, as Diodorus writes, ranking as the most trusted friend, I think, of Audoleon, king of the Paeonians, reveals the treasures to Lysimachus, or to some other king of Thrace ('tis difficult for me, without books as I am, to relate all, like a god;​23 you to whom I speak know). He revealed to the crowned head of Thrace the treasures hidden beneath the river Sargentius, which he himself, aided only by captives, had buried, turning aside the river bed, and burying the treasure beneath, then letting in the stream, and slaying the captives.24

[link to original Greek text] 14 1 King Demetrius laid siege to Thebes when it revolted a second time, demolished the walls with siege engines, and took the city by storm, but put to death only the ten men who were responsible for the revolt.

2 King Demetrius, having gained possession of the other cities also, dealt generously with the Boeotians; for he dismissed the charges against all except the fourteen men who were chiefly responsible for the revolt.

3 In many cases one should decline to fight to the  p25 bitter end, indulging one's wrath. For sometimes it is expedient to come to terms, to pay a price for security, and in general to rate forgiveness above revenge.

[link to original Greek text] 15 1 Agathocles sent his son Agathocles to King Demetrius to arrange a treaty of friendship and alliance. The king welcomed the young man warmly, dressed him in princely robes, and gave him magnificent gifts. He sent back with him Oxythemis, one of his friends, ostensibly to receive pledges of the alliance, in reality to spy out Sicily.

[link to original Greek text] 16 1 [But as for the death of Agathocles, when we come to its place in the narrative, what actually occurred will confirm what has just been said.]25

King Agathocles, who had remained on terms of peace with the Carthaginians for a long time, had now made extensive naval preparations; for he intended to transport an army once again to Libya and with his ships to prevent the Phoenicians from importing grain from Sardinia and Sicily. Indeed, in the preceding war with Libya, it was by control of the sea that the Carthaginians had brought their country safely out of danger. King Agathocles now had, fully equipped, two hundred ships, quadriremes and sexremes. Nevertheless, he did not carry out his project for the following reasons. 2 There was a certain Menon, a Segestan by birth, who was taken captive on the seizure of his native city,​26 and became the king's slave because of the beauty of his person.  p27 For a while he pretended to be content, being reckoned among the king's favourites and friends; but the disaster to his city and the outrage to his person produced a rankling enmity to the king, and he seized an opportunity to take his revenge. Now the king, being now well advanced in years, had entrusted the command of his forces in the field to Archagathus. 3 He was the son of the Archagathus who was killed in Libya, and thus the grandson of King Agathocles; in manliness and fortitude he far surpassed ordinary expectations.​27 While he was encamped near Etna, the king, wishing to promote his son Agathocles as successor to the throne, first of all presented the young man at Syracuse, and declared that he would leave him heir to his power; he then sent him to the camp. To Archagathus he wrote a letter, ordering him to hand over to Agathocles both the land and naval forces. When Archagathus thus perceived that another was to fall heir to the kingdom, he resolved to lay a plot for both men. He sent word to Menon the Segestan, and persuaded him to poison the king. He himself offered sacrifice on a certain island, and when the younger Agathocles put in there, invited him to the feast, plied him with drink, and murdered him during the night. The body was  p29 thrown into the sea, and was washed ashore by the waves, where certain men recognized it and carried it to Syracuse.

[link to original Greek text] 4 Now it was the king's habit after dinner always to clean his teeth with a quill. Having finished his wine, therefore, he asked Menon for the quill, and Menon gave him one that he had smeared with a putrefactive drug. The king, unaware of this, applied it rather vigorously and so brought it into contact with the gums all about his teeth. The first effect was a continuous pain, which grew daily more excruciating, and this was followed by an incurable gangrene everywhere near the teeth.​28 As he lay dying, he summoned the populace, denounced Archagathus for his impiety, aroused the masses to avenge him, and declared that he restored to the people their self-government. 5 Then, when the king was already at the point of death, Oxythemis, the envoy of King Demetrius, placed him on the pyre and burned him, still alive, but because of the characteristic ravages of his affliction unable to utter a sound.​29 Agathocles had committed numerous and most varied acts of slaughter during his reign, and since to his cruelty towards his own people he added impiety towards the gods, the manner of his death was appropriate to his lawless life. He lived for seventy-two years and ruled for twenty-eight, according to Timaeus  p31 of Syracuse, Callias, another Syracusan, the author of twenty-two books, and Antander, the brother of Agathocles, who was himself a historian.​30 6 The Syracusans, upon the recovery of their popular government, confiscated the property of Agathocles and pulled down the statues that he had set up. Menon, who had plotted against the king, stayed with Archagathus, having fled from Syracuse. He was puffed up, however, by the credit that he enjoyed as overthrower of the kingdom; he assassinated Archagathus, gained control of the camp, and, having won over the masses by expressions of goodwill, determined to wage war on Syracuse and to claim for himself the chief power.

7 In manliness and fortitude Archagathus​31 was much in advance of his years, for he was extremely young.

[link to original Greek text] 17 1 This historian,​32 who had so sharply rebuked earlier historians for their errors, showed very high regard for the truth in the rest of his writings, but the greater part of his history of Agathocles consists of lying propaganda against the ruler because of personal enmity. For since he was banished from Sicily by Agathocles and could not strike back while the monarch lived, after his death he defamed him  p33 in his history for all time. 2 For, in general, to the bad qualities that this king did in fact possess the historian adds others of his own invention. He strips him of his successes, leaving him his failures — not only those for which the king was himself responsible, but even those due to ill luck, which he transfers to the score of one who was not at all at fault. And though it is generally agreed that the king was a shrewd strategist, and that he was energetic and confident where courage in battle was called for, yet Timaeus throughout his history incessantly calls him a poltroon and coward. Yet who does not know that of all men who ever came to power, none acquired a greater kingdom with fewer resources? Reared from childhood as an artisan because of scant means and humble parentage, he later, thanks to his own ability, not only became master of nearly all Sicily, but even reduced by arms much of Italy and Libya. 3 One may well marvel at the nonchalance of the historian, who throughout his work praises the people of Syracuse for their courage, but says that he who mastered them surpasses all men in cowardice. The evidence of these contradictions shows clearly that he deserted the honest standard of historical candour to gratify his personal animosity and contentiousness. Consequently we cannot fairly accept the last five books of this writer's history, in which he covers the deeds of Agathocles.

4 Likewise Callias of Syracuse​33 might justly and fittingly be held liable to censure. For ever since he  p35 was taken up by Agathocles and for a great price in gifts sold into bondage Madam History, the mouthpiece of truth, he has never ceased singing dishonest praises of his paymaster. Thus, although Agathocles' acts of impiety to the gods and of lawlessness to men were not few, yet the historian says that he far surpassed other men in piety and humanity. In general, just as Agathocles robbed the citizens of their goods and gave to the historian, contrary to all justice, what was not his to give, so this remarkable chronicler employed his pen to endow the monarch with all the virtues. It was quite easy, no doubt, in this exchange of favours for the writer not to let his praises fall short of the bribery coming from the royal family.

[link to original Greek text] 18 1 The people of Syracuse dispatched Hicetas as general with an army to conduct the war against Menon. For a while he carried on the war, so long as the enemy avoided action and refused to face them in battle. But when the Carthaginians, with their vastly superior forces, began to aid Menon, the Syracusans were compelled to give four hundred hostages to the Phoenicians, to make an end of hostilities, and to restore the exiles. Then, because the mercenaries were not allowed to vote in the elections, the city was filled with civil strife. Both the Syracusans and the mercenaries had recourse to arms, and it was only with difficulty that the Elders, after long negotiations and many appeals to both factions, ended the disturbance on the condition that within a set time the  p37 mercenaries should sell their possessions and leave Sicily. After these terms had been ratified, the mercenaries left Syracuse in accordance with the agreement; and when they reached the Strait, they were welcomed by the people of Messana as friends and allies. But when they had been hospitably received into the homes of the citizens, they slew their hosts in the night, married their wives, and took possession of the city. They named this city Mamertina after Ares, since in their language​34 he is called Mamertos.

3º When the mercenaries had left Syracuse in accordance with the agreement, they were welcomed by the people of Messana as friends and allies. But when they had been hospitably received by the citizens into their own homes, they slew their hosts in the night, married the wives of the men they had so wronged, and took possession of the city.

2 Those who are not eligible for​35 the tribunate may not participate in a vote sanctioned by a tribune.

 p39  [link to original Greek text] 19 1 [The sequel of our narrative and the sudden change in circumstances, which brought on the final crisis of the kingdom of Demetrius, will reveal more clearly the character of the woman.]36

[link to original Greek text] 20 1 While Demetrius was held under guard in Pella,​37 Lysimachus sent ambassadors to Seleucus with the request that he should on no account release Demetrius from his power, since he was a man of restless ambition and had plotted against all the kings; he offered to give Seleucus two thousand talents to do away with him. But the king rebuked the ambassadors for urging him not only to set at naught his solemn pledge but also to incur that pollution in respect of a man allied to him by marriage.​38 To his son Antiochus, who was in Media, he wrote, advising​39 him how to deal with Demetrius. For he had previously decided to release him and restore him with great pomp to his throne, but wanted to give his son joint credit for this kindness, since Antiochus had married Stratonicê, the daughter of Demetrius, and had begot children by her.

[link to original Greek text] 21 1 One should be most formidable to one's enemies, but to one's friends be most steadfastly cordial.40

2 Since on that occasion through ignorance of what  p41 was to your advantage you gave heed to flattering words, now that you have seen in actuality the misfortunes that pervade the country, be better instructed.

3 For it is but human to go astray now and again in the course of one's life, but to err repeatedly in the same circumstances marks a man as totally disordered in his calculations. For the more numerous the failures we have met with, the greater is the punishment that we deserve to get.

4 Some of our citizens have gone so far in their greed for gain as to wish to raise their own estates to greatness at the expense of their country's misfortunes.

5 How can men who have treated unjustly those who aid their fellow men find such aid for themselves?

6 We should grant pardon for the mistakes of the past, and henceforth live in peace.

7 We should not punish without exception those who have made mistakes, but only those who do not learn better by the mistakes they have made.

8 Among mortals fair dealing is better than anger, and an act of kindness better than punishment.

9 It is right and suitable to wipe out enmity and replace it with friendship. For when a man gets into straits, he is wont to turn first to his friends for aid.41

When an alien soldier gets into straits, he is wont to turn first to plundering his friends.

 p43  10 The greed that is innate in kings will not hold aloof from such a city.

The greed that is innate in mankind will not altogether abstain from such an enterprise.

11 For the pomp of pride and the raiment of tyranny should be kept at home, and when one enters a city of freemen, one should obey its laws.

12 When a man has inherited the blood and dominion of another, he will want to succeed to his good name also. For it is shameful to bear the name of Pyrrhus, son of Achilles, and show oneself in conduct a Thersites.42

13 The greater the reputation that a man possesses, the greater will be his gratitude to those who are the authors of his good fortune. Hence a man will not desire to obtain dishonestly and dishonourably the things that he can get with honour and goodwill.

14 It is therefore well, gentlemen, to find in other men's mistakes the experience you need for your own safety.

15 One should never prefer the foreign to that which is kindred, nor yet the hatred of enemies to the loyalty of comrades-in‑arms.


The Loeb Editor's Notes:

1 For this favourite metaphor see note in Vol. I, p8, and cp. Book 25.1.

2 This fragment, Dindorf's 1.4a (known to him only from H), has been placed here, since it precedes 1.2 in V and seems to be prefatory to the whole account of Antigonus I's death in the battle of Ipsus.

3 For the context see Vol. IX, p383. The date is 316 B.C.

4 Demetrius I (Poliorcetes). Plutarch (Demetrius, 30) gives a different account of his movements.

5 On the disputed terms of this agreement see Polybius, 5.67.

6 Ptolemy had not, in fact, taken part in the battle.

7 Antigoneia on the Orontes. Seleuceia, infra, is probably an error of the historian for Antiocheia: see the note ad loc. in Vol. X.

8 The reference is to Antioch of Syria. Cp. Strabo, 749‑750.

9 The less reliable Hoeschel text calls him Archagathus. Two sons, Archagathus and Heracleides, had been killed in Africa in 307 B.C. (Book 20.69). Agatharchus may then be a third son of Agathocles by his first marriage (cp. Berve, "Die Herrschaft des Agathokles,") S. B. München, Phil.‑Hist. Kl. 1952, 5, p76, n71); or on Hoeschel's reading, the man may be the Agatharchus, son of Agatharchus, of chap. 16.3, and so (reading υἱωνὸν) the grandson of Agathocles.

10 The site is unknown. E. Pais, Studi ital. fil. class. 1 (1893), 125, has proposed the reading Νήθας, based on the name of the river Neaethus (Strabo, 262).

11 To Pyrrhus, king of Epirus. Agathocles gave Corcyra for his daughter's dowry (Plutarch, Pyrrhus, 9).

12 Or possibly, "the largest tower"; see critical note.

The critical note to the Greek text (τὸν μέγιστον οἶκον) reads:

Reiske suggests πύργον.

13 On Diyllus of Athens, whose Histories covered the years 357‑297 B.C., see Sherman's note on Book 16.14 and Jacoby, FGH, no. 73. Little more is known of Psaon (FGH, no. 78) than is related here.

14 At the battle of Sentinum, 295 B.C. Livy (10.29.17) sets the figure of enemy dead at 25,000. The consuls were Q. Fabius Maximus Rullianus and P. Decius Mus. For Duris of Samos see Jacoby, FGH, no. 76.

15 Similar, that is, to the exploit of Codrus, who invited death in battle to save his country (cp. Lycurgus, Against Leocrates, 84‑87).

16 The consul of 295 B.C. has here been confused with his father, who as consul in 340 had devoted himself in battle against the Latins at Veseris.

17 Antipater I, son of Cassander and Thessalonicê. After the death of Cassander and his eldest son Philip IV in 298 B.C., Thessalonicê had arranged a division of the kingdom between her younger sons, Antipater and Alexander (cp. Plutarch, Demetrius, 36; Pyrrhus, 6‑7).

18 The subject appears to be Demetrius, but Antipater was in fact assassinated, in 287 B.C., by Lysimachus, his father-in‑law (cp. Justin, 16.2).

19 The proverbial saying, "Forgiveness is better than punishment" (or "revenge"), is ascribed by Diogenes Laertius, 1.76, to Pittacus, on the occasion of pardoning his enemy, the poet Alcaeus. Diodorus cites it repeatedly, e.g. infra, chap. 14.3 and Book 31.3.

20 Agathocles, son of Lysimachus. The exact occasion is uncertain.

21 In 292 B.C., Lysimachus crossed the Danube and attacked the Getae.

22 At this point the narrative breaks off in the collection De Virtutibus et Vitiis with a reference to the collection De Sententiis. There, with some repetition, the sequel is given, introduced by the words: "When Dromichaetes had invited Lysimachus to a banquet."

23 Cp. Homer, Iliad, 12.176.

24 Much the same tale is told of Trajan's enemy Decebalus, king of the Dacians (Dio Cassius, 68.14.4‑5; cp. Tzetzes, Hist. 2.61), and of Alaric (Jordanes, Get. 158, chap. 30). Since the Dacian river bears the suspiciously similar name of Sargetia or Sargentia, it is possible that Tzetzes has wrongly introduced the story here. — An Athenian decree of 288 B.C. (IG, 22 654) honours Audoleon for his benefactions to the city.

25 See below, note on chap. 16.5.

26 In 307 B.C. (see Book 20.71).

27 A few words are probably omitted; see the parallel passage given at the end of the chapter.

28 It is generally assumed that the fatal illness was, in fact, a cancer of the mouth. Justin's account (23.2) of his death is quite different and in part more trustworthy (cp. Berve, op. cit. p75).

29 This is the punishment, ascribed to the wrath of Hephaestus, that is alluded to in Book 20.101.

30 Nothing else is known of Antander's history (Jacoby, FGH, no. 565). For Timaeus (of Tauromenium, not Syracuse!) and Callias see chap. 17.

31 For the confusion of names see the note on chap. 3.

32 Timaeus of Tauromenium (357/40‑261/44 B.C.); the fragments are collected in Jacoby, FGH, no. 566. Polybius devotes nearly the whole of Book 12 to an even more scathing attack on Timaeus (12.15 for his treatment of Agathocles).

33 For Callias see Jacoby, FGH, no. 564.

34 i.e. Oscan, where the proper form of the god's name is, however, Mamers. Though the people called themselves Mamertines, it is not, apparently, true that the city was ever called Mamertina. The uncertain fragment from Tzetzes (see critical note) says: "The Romans call those who are warlike Mamertines, as either Diodorus or Dio (my re collection is uncertain) records somewhere, in words to this effect: Having slaughtered the Messanians who had entertained them, they seized Messana and called themselves Mamertines, that is, warlike. For among the Romans, Ares is called Mamertos." Scheer ends the citation with the word Messana.

The critical note to the Greek text, gives the Greek original of that additional text from Tzetzes, on the Alexandra of Lycophron, v. 938.

35 More literally, "who have no share in." The passage probably relates, not to the civil strife at Syracuse (above, chap. 18.1), as Dindorf apparently thought, but to the legislation of Q. Hortensius at Rome in 287 B.C. Patricians, who were ineligible for the post of tribunus plebis, were in theory excluded from the plebeian assemblies.

36 Phila, daughter of Antipater and wife of Demetrius Poliorcetes. She committed suicide soon after Demetrius lost Macedon in 287 B.C.

37 Another name for Apameia in Syria (Strabo, 752). Demetrius died there in 283 B.C.

38 Seleucus had married Stratonicê, daughter of Demetrius, and had since given her in marriage to his son Antiochus.

39 Or perhaps "asking his advice"; see critical note.

The critical note to the Greek text (συνεβούλευσε πῶς χρηστέον ἐστὶν τῷ Δημητρϊῳ) reads:

Dindorf suggests συνεβουλεύσατο.

40 The only clue to the context of these fragments is given by the mention of Pyrrhus. Dindorf suggests that they derive in part from the debate of the Tarentines over invoking the aid of Pyrrhus against the Romans, in part from the conversation of Pyrrhus with Cineas (cp. Plutarch, Pyrrhus, 13‑14).

41 So the text, as emended by Reiske. The discovery, later, of the parallel Vatican fragment might seem to preclude the emendation, but it still seems to give a better sense, and it is proper that the speaker was contrasting two types of behaviour. The sense of the unemended reading is "to turn first to plundering his friends."

42 Cp. the rebuke addressed to Philip of Macedon by the orator Demades (above, Book 16.87).


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