Appian’s Roman History, Volume I

Name: Appian’s Roman History, Volume I
Author: Appian of Alexandria

Ancient Greek with Horace White’s English translation

Appian’s Roman History, Volume IBook VI · Sections 29–31

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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 86 of 315

Book VI · Sections 29–31

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Ancient Greek

p. 184

αὐτὸν Σύφακα φιλίας, καὶ δέησιν Ῥωμαίοις, ἂν ἐπίωσι, συλλαμβάνειν. ὁ δὲ ὑπέσχετό τε ποιήσειν, καὶ τὰ δῶρα ἔλαβε καὶ ἀντέπεμψεν ἕτερα. αἰσθόμενοι δὲ τούτων οἱ Καρχηδόνιοι, καὶ αὐτοὶ περὶ συμμαχίας ἐπρεσβεύοντο παρὰ τὸν Σύφακα. καὶ ὁ Σκιπίων πυνθανόμενός τε, καὶ μέγα ποιούμενος ἐπὶ Καρχηδονίοις προσλαβεῖν καὶ βεβαιώσασθαι Σύφακα, ᾔει πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐπὶ νεῶν δύο σὺν τῷ Λαιλίῳ.

καὶ αὐτῷ καταγομένῳ οἱ πρέσβεις τῶν Καρχηδονίων, ἔτι ὄντες παρὰ τῷ Σύφακι, ναυσὶν αἷς εἶχον μακραῖς ἐπανήγοντο, λαθόντες τὸν Σύφακα. ἀλλʼ ὁ μὲν ἱστίῳ χρώμενος παρέπλευσεν αὐτοὺς ἀδεῶς καὶ κατήχθη, ὁ δὲ Σύφαξ ἐξένιζεν ἀμφοτέρους, καὶ τῷ Σκιπίωνι συνθέμενος ἰδίᾳ καὶ πίστεις παρασχὼν ἀπέπεμπε, καὶ τοὺς Καρχηδονίους ἐφεδρεύοντας αὖθις αὐτῷ κατεῖχεν, ἕως ἐν βεβαίῳ τῆς θαλάσσης γένοιτο ὁ Σκιπίων. παρὰ μὲν δὴ τοσοῦτον ἦλθε κινδύνου Σκιπίων, καταγόμενός τε καὶ πλέων· λέγεται δʼ ἐν Σύφακος ἑστιώμενος συγκατακλιθῆναι τῷ Ἀσδρούβᾳ, καὶ αὐτὸν ὁ Ἀσδρούβας περὶ πολλῶν ἐρόμενος καταπλαγῆναι τῆς σεμνότητος, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς φίλους εἰπεῖν ὅτι μὴ μόνον πολεμῶν οὗτος ὁ ἀνὴρ ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑστιώμενος φοβερὸς εἴη.

τῷ δʼ αὐτῷ χρόνῳ Μάγωνί τινες Κελτιβήρων καὶ Ἰβήρων ἔτι ἐμισθοφόρουν, ὧν αἱ πόλεις ἐς Ῥωμαίους μετετέθειντο. καὶ ὁ Μάρκιος αὐτοῖς ἐπιθέμενος χιλίους μὲν καὶ πεντακοσίους διέφθειρεν, οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ διέφυγον αὐτὸν ἐς τὰς πόλεις. ἑτέρους δὲ ἑπτακοσίους ἱππέας καὶ πεζοὺς ἑξακιοχιλίους, Ἄννωνος αὐτῶν ἡγουμένου,

Appian’s Roman History, Volume I: Book VI

p. 185

of the Scipios, and ask him to join the Romans if they should make an expedition to Africa. He promised to do so, accepted the presents, and sent others in return. When the Carthaginians discovered this they also sent envoys to Syphax to seek his alliance. When Scipio heard of this, judging that it was a matter of importance to win and confirm the alliance of Syphax against the Carthaginians, he took Laelius and went over to Africa with two ships, to see Syphax in person.

When he was approaching the shore the Carthaginian envoys who were still with Syphax sailed out against him with their war-ships, without Syphax’s knowledge. But he spread his sails, outran them completely, and reached the harbor. Syphax entertained both parties, but he made an alliance with Scipio privately, and having exchanged pledges sent him away. He also detained the Carthaginians, who were again lying in wait for Scipio, until he was a good distance out to sea. So much danger did Scipio incur both going and returning. It is reported that at a banquet given by Syphax, Scipio reclined on the same couch with Hasdrubal and that the latter questioned him about many things, and was greatly impressed with his gravity, and afterwards said to his friends that Scipio was formidable not only in war but also at a feast.

At this time certain of the Celtiberians and Spaniards were still serving under Mago as mercenaries, although their towns had gone over to the Romans. Marcius set upon them, slew1500, and scattered the rest of them among their towns. He corralled 700 horse and 6000 foot of the same force, of whom Hanno was in command, on a hill. When

About This Reading Edition

Appian’s Roman History asked readers of the Roman Empire to reckon with how conquest, ambition, and civil conflict created their world; its questions about political power, cultural encounter, civic division, and the human cost of expansion remain urgent today. This approximately page-aligned parallel-text edition pairs the Ancient Greek text with Horace White’s English translation, following the 1912 facing leaves while omitting translator’s notes, figures, fragment attributions, marginalia, and unnumbered appendices.

Historical Text and Translation

Appian, a Greek-speaking Roman historian from Alexandria, wrote in the second century CE and arranged Rome’s expansion by the peoples and regions it conquered rather than as one continuous chronology—a strikingly original design. Much of his twenty-four-book work is lost, making the surviving books and fragments especially valuable.

About Horace White

Horace White was an American journalist, editor, and financial writer rather than a university professor. He led the Chicago Tribune and later the New York Evening Post, yet his Greek scholarship produced the fluent two-volume Appian translation of 1899 that became the English text of the original Loeb edition in 1912.

Rights

Appian’s ancient work, Ludwig Mendelssohn’s 1879 Greek edition, Horace White’s 1899/1912 English translation, and the Eulogikon Greek Preface are in the public domain in the United States. The Perseus digital transcriptions are reused under CC BY-SA 4.0; their attribution and share-alike terms continue to apply.