Polybius, Histories
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Book 32 - Chapter 4

1
<head lang="la">II. Res Graeciae</head><w lemma="%2A%28%2Foti">Ὅτι</w> <w lemma="%2Aluki%2Fskou">Λυκίσκου</w> <w lemma="tou%3D">τοῦ</w> <w lemma="%2Aai%29twlou%3D">Αἰτωλοῦ</w> <w lemma="tara">ταρα</w> <w lemma="xw%2Fdous">χώδους</w> <w lemma="o%29%2Fntos">ὄντος</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="qorubw%2Fdous">θορυβώδους</w>, <w lemma="a%29naireqe%2Fntos">ἀναιρεθέντος</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="tou%2Ftou">τούτου</w>, <w lemma="to%5C">τὸ</w> <w lemma="e%28ch%3Ds">ἑξῆς</w> <w lemma="oi%28">οἱ</w> <w lemma="%2Aai%29twloi%5C">Αἰτωλοὶ</w> <w lemma="w%28mofro%2Fnhsan">ὡμοφρόνησαν</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="w%28mono%2Fhsan">ὡμονόησαν</w> <w lemma="e%28no%5Cs">ἑνὸς</w> <w lemma="a%29nqrw%2Fpou">ἀνθρώπου</w> <w lemma="paraxwrh%2Fsantos:">παραχωρήσαντος·</w>
2
<w lemma="thlikau%2Fth">τηλικαύτη</w> <w lemma="ti%2Fs">τίς</w> <w lemma="e%29stin">ἐστιν</w>, <w lemma="w%28s">ὡς</w> <w lemma="e%29%2Foike">ἔοικε</w>, <w lemma="du%2Fnamis">δύναμις</w> <w lemma="e%29n">ἐν</w> <w lemma="tai%3Ds">ταῖς</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="a%29nqrw%2Fpwn">ἀνθρώπων</w> <w lemma="fu%2Fsesin">φύσεσιν</w>, <w lemma="w%28%2Fste">ὥστε</w> <w lemma="mh%5C">μὴ</w> <w lemma="mo%2Fnon">μόνον</w> <w lemma="strato%2Fpeda">στρατόπεδα</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="po%2Fleis">πόλεις</w>, <w lemma="a%29lla%5C">ἀλλὰ</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="ta%5Cs">τὰς</w> <w lemma="e%29qnika%5Cs">ἐθνικὰς</w> <w lemma="susta%2Fseis">συστάσεις</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="ta%5Cs">τὰς</w> <w lemma="o%28losxerei%3Ds">ὁλοσχερεῖς</w> <w lemma="diafora%5Cs">διαφορὰς</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="oi%29koume%2Fnhs">οἰκουμένης</w> <w lemma="di%27">δι᾽</w> <w lemma="e%28no%5Cs">ἑνὸς</w> <w lemma="a%29ndro%5Cs">ἀνδρὸς</w> <w lemma="a%29reth%5Cn">ἀρετὴν</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="kaki%2Fan">κακίαν</w> <w lemma="pote%5C">ποτὲ</w> <w lemma="me%5Cn">μὲν</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="megi%2Fstwn">μεγίστων</w> <w lemma="kakw%3Dn">κακῶν</w>, <w lemma="pote%5C">ποτὲ</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="megi%2Fstwn">μεγίστων</w> <w lemma="a%29gaqw%3Dn">ἀγαθῶν</w> <w lemma="pei%3Dran">πεῖραν</w> <w lemma="lamba%2Fnein">λαμβάνειν</w>. —
3
<w lemma=""></w> <w lemma="%2A%28%2Foti">Ὅτι</w> <w lemma="%2Aluki%2Fskos">Λυκίσκος</w> <w lemma="ka%2Fkistos">κάκιστος</w> <w lemma="w%29%5Cn">ὢν</w> <w lemma="kalw%3Ds">καλῶς</w> <w lemma="kate%2Fstreye">κατέστρεψε</w> <w lemma="to%5Cn">τὸν</w> <w lemma="bi%2Fon">βίον</w>, <w lemma="w%28%2Fste">ὥστε</w> <w lemma="tou%5Cs">τοὺς</w> <w lemma="plei%2Fstous">πλείστους</w> <w lemma="ei%29ko%2Ftws">εἰκότως</w> <w lemma="o%29neidi%2Fzein">ὀνειδίζειν</w> <w lemma="th%3D%7C">τῇ</w> <w lemma="tu%2Fxh%7C">τύχῃ</w> <w lemma="dio%2Fti">διότι</w> <w lemma="to%5C">τὸ</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="a%29gaqw%3Dn">ἀγαθῶν</w> <w lemma="a%29ndrw%3Dn">ἀνδρῶν</w> <w lemma="a%29%3Dqlon">ἆθλον</w> <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="eu%29qanasi%2Fan">εὐθανασίαν</w> <w lemma="toi%3Ds">τοῖς</w> <w lemma="xeiri%2Fstois">χειρίστοις</w> <w lemma="e%29ni%2Fote">ἐνίοτε</w> <w lemma="periti%2Fqhsin">περιτίθησιν</w>. —
<head>Demetrius and Ariarathes</head>When Menochares arrived in Antioch to visit Demetrius,<note anchored="yes" place="marg" id="note7">Demetrius induces Tiberius Gracchus to salute him as king.</note>and informed the king<note anchored="yes" place="unspecified" id="note8">Demetrius was now king. On his escape from <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a>, described in<ref target="b31c20" targOrder="U">bk. 31, chs. 20-23</ref>, he had met with a ready reception in <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Syria&groupId=995&placeId=502">Syria</a>, had seized the sovereign power, and put the young Antiochus and his minister Lysias to death; this was in B.C. 162. Appian,<bibl n="App. Syr. 47" default="NO" valid="yes"><title>Syriac,</title>ch. 47</bibl>,</note>of the conversation he had had with the commission under Tiberius Gracchus in <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Cappadocia&groupId=435&placeId=343">Cappadocia</a>, the king, thinking it a matter of the most urgent necessity to get these men on his side as much as he could, devoted himself, to the exclusion of every other business, to sending<pb n="449" />messages to them, first to <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Pamphylia&groupId=833&placeId=1505">Pamphylia</a>, and then to <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rhodes&groupId=931&placeId=1665">Rhodes</a>, undertaking to do everything the Romans wished; till at last he extracted their acknowledgment of him as king. The fact was that Tiberius was very favourably disposed to him; and, accordingly, materially contributed to the success of his attempt, and to his acquisition of the royal power.<note anchored="yes" place="marg" id="note9">Surrenders the murderer of Octavius.</note>Demetrius took advantage of this to send envoys to <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a>, taking with them a complimentary crown, the murderer of Gnaeus Octavius, and with them Isocrates the critic. . . .

Walbank Commentary

Overview
32.4.1 - 32.4.3
<p rend="Plain Text">Aetolia after Lyciscus' death</p> <p rend="Plain Text"> This passage, made up of two excerpts (4. 1–2 and 4. 3) from de sent., forms part of res Graeciae of Ol. 155, 1 = 160/59; see p. 38. The first <milestone unit="page" n="521">[521]</milestone> three lines are oddly worded and betray the compression of the excerptor. </p>
Specifics
32.4.1 - 32.4.1
<p rend="Plain Text"> <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">Λυκί?σκου</w>:</emph> on Lyciscus of Stratus see xxvii. 15. 14 n., xxviii. 4. 5, 4. 9, xxx. 13. 4, 13. 11. </p>
32.4.2 - 32.4.2
<p rend="Plain Text"> <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">ἐθνικὰς συστάσεις</w>:</emph> 'national groups' (cf. xxiii. 1. 3, xxx. 13. 6). Here P. is thinking of federal states such as the Aetolian Confederacy; but, as the phrase <w lang="el-GR">τὰς ὁλοσχερεῖς διαφορὰς τῆς οἰκουμένης</w> makes clear, P. is speaking generally and is more concerned to embrace all groupings within his generalization than to distinguish between them (cf. iv. 21. 2, <w lang="el-GR">κατὰ τὰς ἐθνικὰς καὶ τὰς ὁλοσχερεῖς διαστάσεις)</w>. </p> <p rend="Plain Text"> <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">δι᾽ ἑνὸς ἀνδρός</w>:</emph> for this theme see i. 35 n. (Xanthippus), viii. 3. 3 n., 7. 7 (Archimedes), ix. 22. 1, 22. 6 (Hannibal); cf. von Scala, 94 n. 6 (fanciful ideas on the influence of Heracleitus). See further Lehmann, 294–5, who links this passage with P.'s views about Callicrates' role in <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Achaea&groupId=272&placeId=533">Achaea</a> (xxiv. 10. 8–15). </p>
32.4.3 - 32.4.3
<p rend="Plain Text"> <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">καλῶς κατέστρεψε τὸν βίον</w>:</emph> evidently a violent, but honourable death; no details survive. </p> <p rend="Plain Text"> <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">τῇ τύχῃ . . . ἆθλον . . . περιτίθησιν</w>:</emph> for Fortune as awarder of prizes cf. iii. 63. 3 n. Susemihi (ii. 96 n. 68) suggests that by making 'a good death' the fitting reward for good men P. may be casting doubt on the existence of a life beyond; but these phrases (cf. viii. 12. 8) are perhaps too stereotyped to reveal anything of P.'s personal beliefs. </p>

Commentary