(1) Intereā etiam Athēnae cīvitās Achaiae, ab Aristōne Athēniēnsī Mithradātī trādita est. Mīserat enim iam ad Achaiam Mithradātēs Archelāum ducem suum cum centum et vīgintī mīlibus equitum ac peditum, per quem etiam reliqua Graecia occupāta est. Sulla Archelāum apud Pīraeum nōn longē ab Athēnīs obsēdit, ipsās Athēnās cēpit.
(2) Posteā commissō proeliō contrā Archelāum ita eum vīcit, ut ex CXX mīlibus vix decem Archelāō superessent, ex Sullae exercitū XIII tantum hominēs interficerentur. Hāc pūgnā Mithradātēs cognitā, septuāgintā mīlia lēctissima ex Asiā Archelāō mīsit, contrā quem iterum Sulla commīsit. Prīmō proeliō quīndecim mīlia hostium interfecta sunt et fīlius Archelāī Diogenēs; secundō omnēs Mithradātis cōpiae extīnctae sunt, Archelāus ipse trīduō nūdus in palūdibus latuit. Hāc rē auditā Mithradātēs iussit cum Sullā dē pace agī.
notes
Sulla Takes Athens (87 BCE). Battle of Chaeronea (86 BCE)
Appian, Mithridatic Wars 4.22–49. Plutarch, Sulla 14–23.
(1) ab Aristōne: Aristion, an agent of Mithridates, led a rebellion against the unpopular pro-Roman oligarchy there and seized the city, while Archelaus, Mithridates' commander-in-chief, occupied the Peiraeus (Bird). Peiraeus was Athens' famous port city.
Archelāum: Archelaus was a distinguished general of Mithridates. At first he met with some success, but was twice defeated by Sulla in the battles of Chaeronea and Orchomenos in Boeotia (Hazzard).
ipsās Athēnās cēpit: Regarding the capture of Athens, Plutarch states that
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[Sulla] laid hands upon the sacred groves, and ravaged the Academy, which was the most wooded of the city's suburbs, as well as the Lyceum. And since he needed much money also for the war, he diverted to his uses the sacred treasures of Hellas, partly from Epidaurus, and partly from Olympia, sending for the most beautiful and most precious of the offerings there (Sulla, 12.3, Trans. Bernadotte Perrin).
(2) commissō proeliō: ablative absolute using a perfect passive participle(AG 419)
ita eum vīcit, ut: "in such a way, that..." result clause (AG 537)
ex CXX mīlibus: supply hominum
decem: supply milia hominum
XIII tantum hominēs: "only 13 men." In 86 BCE Sulla defeated Archelaus' main army at Chaeroneia in Boeotia.
Hāc pūgnā Mithradātēs cognitā: ablative absolute using a perfect passive participle (AG 419)
lēctissima: "picked troops," i.e. top quality soldiers, > lego "to choose, select." Neut. pl. acc. agreeing with milia.
iterum ... commīsit: "fought another battle," supply proelium.
secundō: supply proeliō
omnēs Mithradātis cōpiae: Sulla defeated a relieving army (of Mithridates) of 80,000 elite troops at Orchomenos in Boeotia (Bird).
iussit cum Sullā dē pace agī: "ordered that peace should be negotiated with Sulla." agī is passive infinitive > ago, used impersonally (see LS ago II.D.8.a, "to treat, deal, negotiate, confer, talk with one about a person or thing").
vocabulary
Core Vocabulary | Numbers | Dates
|
Athēnae, ārum, pl. f. |
Athens, the chief city of Attica |
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Achaia, ae, f. |
a district in the Peloponnesus. Later the Roman province of Southern Greece |
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Aristō, ōnis, m. |
an Athenian philosopher who surrendered Athens to Mithradates, 87 B.C. |
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Athēniēnsis, e, adj. |
Athenian |
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Mithradātēs, is, m. |
surnamed the Great, king of Pontus 120–63 B.C. |
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Archelāus, ī, m. |
(1) a distinguished general of Mithradates; (2) Called Cappadox, king of Cappadocia, 36 B.C.–14 A.D. |
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Graecia, ae, f. |
Greece |
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Sulla, ae, m. |
L. Cornēlius Sulla, surnamed Felix, consul 88 B.C. |
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Pīraeus, ī, m. |
the chief harbor of Athens |
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Asia, ae, f. |
Asia; the Roman province of Asia Minor |
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exstinguō, ere, stīnxī, stīnctus [ex + stinguō, to extinguish] |
to quench, kill, blot out, destroy, extinguish, put an end to |
|
trīduum, ī [trēs + diēs], n. |
the space of three days, three days |
|
palūs, ūdis. f. |
a marsh, fen |