ὁ δὲ Ἄρατος ἀπορρέων ἤδη τῆς αὐλῆς καὶ κατὰ μικρὸν ἑαυτὸν ἀνακομιζόμενος ἐκ τῆς πρὸς τὸν Φίλιππον συνηθείας, διαβαίνοντος εἰς Ἤπειρὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ δεομένου συστρατεύειν, ἀπείπατο καὶ κατέμεινε, δεδιὼς ἀναπλησθῆναι δόξης πονηρᾶς ἀφʼ ὧν ἐκεῖνος ἔπραττεν.
But Aratus presently began to withdraw from the court and little by little to retire from his intimacy with Philip. When the king was about to cross into Epeirus and asked him to join the expedition, he refused and remained at home, fearing that he would be covered with ignominy by tine king’s proceedings.
ἐπεὶ δὲ τάς τε ναῦς ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων ἀπολέσας αἴσχιστα καὶ ὅλως ἀποτυχὼν ταῖς πράξεσιν ἐπανῆλθεν εἰς Πελοπόννησον, καὶ τοὺς Μεσσηνίους αὖθις ἐπιχειρήσας φενακίζειν καὶ μὴ λαθὼν ἠδίκει φανερῶς καὶ τὴν χώραν αὐτῶν ἐπόρθει, παντάπασιν ὁ Ἄρατος ἀπεστράφη καὶ διεβλήθη πρὸς αὐτόν, ἤδη καὶ τῶν περὶ τὴν γυναικωνῖτιν ἀδικημάτων αἰσθόμενος καὶ φέρων ἀνιαρῶς αὐτός, ἀποκρυπτόμενος δὲ τὸν υἱόν·
Philip lost his fleet most shamefully at the hands of the Romans, and after utter failure in his undertakings, came back into Peloponnesus. Here he tried once more to hoodwink the Messenians, and after being detected in this, wronged them openly and ravaged their territory. Then Aratus was altogether estranged and filled with distrust of the king, being now aware also of the crime committed against his domestic life. At this he was sorely vexed himself, but kept it hidden from his son,
εἰδέναι γὰρ ὑβρισμένον περιῆν, ἄλλο δὲ οὐδέν, ἀμύνασθαι μὴ δυναμένῳ. μεγίστην γὰρ ὁ Φίλιππος δοκεῖ καὶ παραλογωτάτην μεταβαλέσθαι μεταβολήν, ἐξ ἡμέρου βασιλέως καὶ μειρακίου σώφρονος ἀνὴρ ἀσελγὴς καὶ τύραννος ἐξώλης γενόμενος, τὸ δὲ οὐκ ἦν ἄρα μεταβολὴ φύσεως, ἀλλʼ ἐπίδειξις ἐν ἀδείᾳ κακίας πολὺν χρόνον διὰ φόβον ἀγνοηθείσης.
who could only know that he had been shamefully abused, seeing that he was not able to avenge himself. For Philip would seem to have undergone a very great and inexplicable change, in that from a gentle prince and chaste youth he became a lascivious man and a pernicious tyrant. In fact, however, this was not a change of nature, but a showing forth, in time of security, of a baseness which his fears had long led him to conceal.
ὅτι γὰρ ἦν μεμιγμένον αἰσχύνῃ καὶ φόβῳ τὸ πρὸς τὸν Ἄρατον αὐτοῦ πάθος ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς συντεθραμμένον, ἐδήλωσεν οἷς ἔπραξε περὶ αὐτόν, ἐπιθυμῶν γὰρ ἀνελεῖν τὸν ἄνδρα καὶ νομίζων οὐδʼ ἂν ἐλεύθερος ἐκείνου ζῶντος εἶναι, μή τί γε τύραννος ἢ βασιλεύς, βίᾳ. μὲν οὐδὲν ἐπεχείρησε, Ταυρίωνα δὲ τῶν στρατηγῶν τινα καὶ φίλων ἐκέλευσεν ἀδήλῳ τρόπῳ τοῦτο πρᾶξαι, μάλιστα διὰ φαρμάκων, αὐτοῦ μὴ παρόντος.
For that the feelings which he had cherished from the beginning towards Aratus had an admixture of shame and fear, was made plain by what he did to him at the last. For he desired to kill Aratus, and thought he could not be a free man while Aratus lived, much less a tyrant or a king. In a violent way, however, he made no attempt upon him, but ordered Taurion, one of his officers and friends, to do this in a secret way, preferably by poison, when the king was absent.
ὁ δὲ ποιησάμενος τὸν Ἄρατον συνήθη φάρμακον αὐτῷ δίδωσιν, οὐκ ὀξὺ καὶ σφοδρόν, ἀλλὰ τῶν θέρμας τε μαλακὰς τὸ πρῶτον ἐν τῷ σώματι καὶ βῆχα κινούντων ἀμβλεῖαν, εἶτα οὕτως κατὰ μικρὸν εἰς φθορὰν περαινόντων. οὐ μὴν ἔλαθέ γε τὸνἌρατον ἀλλʼ ὡς οὐδὲν ἦν ὄφελος ἐλέγχοντι, πράως καὶ σιωπῇ τὸ πάθος, ὡς δή τινα νόσον κοινὴν καὶ συνήθη νοσῶν, διήντλει.
So Taurion made an intimate companion of Aratus, and gave him poison, not of a sharp and violent sort, but one of those which first induce gentle heats in the body, and a dull cough, and then little by little bring on consumption. The thing was not hidden from Aratus, but since it was no use for him to convict the criminal, he calmly and silently drank his cup of suffering to the dregs, as if his sickness had been of a common and familiar type.
πλὴν ἑνός γε τῶν συνήθων ἐν τῷ δωματίῳ παρόντος ἀναπτύσας δίαιμον, ἰδόντος ἐκείνου καὶ θαυμάσαντος, ταῦτα, εἶπεν, ὦ Κεφάλων, ἐπίχειρα τῆς βασιλικῆς φιλίας.
However, when one of his intimate companions who was with him in his chamber saw him spit blood, and expressed surprise, Such, my dear Cephalo, said Aratus, are the wages of royal friendship.
οὕτω δὲ αὐτοῦ τελευτήσαντος ἐν Αἰγίῳ τὸ ἑπτακαιδέκατον στρατηγοῦντος, καὶ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν φιλοτιμουμένων ἐκεῖ γενέσθαι ταφὰς καὶ μνήματα πρέποντα τῷ βίῳ τὸν ἀνδρός, Σικυώνιοι συμφορὰν ἐποιοῦντο μὴ παρʼ αὐτοῖς τεθῆναι τὸ σῶμα.
And so he died, at Aegium, while general for the seventeenth time, and the Achaeans were very desirous that he should have burial there and memorials befitting his life. But the Sicyonians regarded it as a calamity that he should not be buried in their city, and persuaded the Achaeans to surrender his body to them.
καὶ τοὺς μὲν Ἀχαιοὺς ἔπεισαν ἐφιέναι, νόμου δὲ ὄντος ἀρχαίου μηδένα θάπτεσθαι τειχῶν ἐντός, ἰσχυρᾶς τε τῷ νόμῳ δεισιδαιμονίας προσούσης, ἔπεμψαν εἰς Δελφοὺς ὑπὲρ τούτων ἐρησόμενοι τὴν Πυθίαν. ἡ δὲ αὐτοῖς ἀναιρεῖ τὸν χρησμὸν τόνδε· βουλεύῃ, Σικυών, ζωάγριον αἰὲν Ἀράτου, / ἀμφʼ ὁσίῃ θαλίῃ τε κατοιχομένοιο ἄνακτος; / ὡς τὸ βαρυνόμενον τῷδʼ ἀνέρι καὶ τὸ βαρῦνον / γαίης ἔστʼ ἀσέβημα καὶ οὐρανοῦ ἠδὲ θαλάσσης. /
They had, however, an ancient law that no one should be buried inside the city walls, and the law was supported by strong feelings of superstition. So they sent to Delphi to get advice in the matter from the Pythian priestess, and she gave them the following oracular answer:— Would’st thou, O Sicyon, pay Aratus lasting honour for the lives he saved, / And join in pious funeral rites for thy departed lord? / Know that the place which vexes or is vexed by him / Is sacrilegious, be it in earth or sky or sea. /
κομισθείσης δὲ τῆς μαντείας οἵ τε Ἀχαιοὶ σύμπαντες ἥσθησαν, καὶ διαφερόντως οἱ Σικυώνιοι μεταβαλόντες εἰς ἑορτὴν τὸ πένθος εὐθὺς ἐκ τοῦ Αἰγίου τὸν νεκρὸν ἐστεφανωμένοι καὶ λευχειμονοῦντες ὑπὸ παιάνων καὶ χορῶν εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἀνῆγον, καὶ τόπον ἐξελόμενοι περίοπτον ὥσπερ οἰκιστὴν καὶ σωτῆρα τῆς πόλεως ἐκήδευσαν.
When the oracle was brought to them the Achaeans were all delighted, and the Sicyonians, in particular, changing their mourning into festival, at once put on garlands and white raiment and brought the body of Aratus from Aegium into their city, amid hymns of praise and choral dances; and choosing out a commanding place, they buried him there, calling him founder and saviour of the city.
καὶ καλεῖται μέχρι νῦν Ἀράτειον, καὶ θύουσιν αὐτῷ θυσίαν, τὴν μέν, ᾗ τὴν πόλιν ἀπήλλαξε τῆς τυραννίδος ἡμέρᾳ πέμπτῃ Δαισίου μηνός, ὃν Ἀθηναῖοι καλοῦσιν Ἀνθεστηριῶνα, καὶ τὴν θυσίαν ἐκείνην Σωτήρια προσαγορεύουσι, τὴν δὲ τοῦ μηνὸς ἐν ἡ γενέσθαι τὸν ἄνδρα διαμνημονεύουσι. τῆς μὲν οὖν προτέρας ὁ τὸν Διὸς τοῦ Σωτῆρος κατήρχετο θυηπόλος, τῆς δὲ δευτέρας ὁ τὸν Ἀράτου, στρόφιον οὐχ ὁλόλευκον, ἀλλὰ μεσοπόρφυρον ἔχων,
And the place is called to this day Arateium, and yearly sacrifices are made to Aratus there, one on the day when he freed the city from its tyranny—the fifth day of the month Daesius (which the Athenians call Anthestenon), which sacrifice has the name Soteria, and one on the day of the month when, according to the records, he was born. The first of these sacrifices was performed by the priest of Zeus the Saviour; the second by the priest of Aratus, who wore a headband, not pure white but purple and white,
μέλη δὲ ᾔδετο πρὸς κιθάραν ὑπὸ τῶν περὶ τὸν Διόνυσον τεχνιτῶν, καὶ συνεπόμπευεν ὁ γυμνασίαρχος ἡγούμενος τῶν τε παίδων καὶ τῶν ἐφήβων, εἶτα ἐφείπετο ἡ βουλὴ στεφανηφοροῦσα καὶ τῶν ἄλλων πολιτῶν ὁ βουλόμενος. ὧν ἔτι δείγματα μικρὰ ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις ἐξοσιούμενοι διαφυλάττουσιν αἱ δὲ πλεῖσται τῶν τιμῶν ὑπὸ χρόνου καὶ πραγμάτων ἄλλων ἐκλελοίπασιν.
and hymns with accompaniment of lyre were sung by the artists of Dionysus, and the gymnasiarch took part in the procession, at the head of the boys and young men of military age; then followed the councillors wearing garlands, and all other citizens who desired. Of these ceremonial rites the Sicyonians still preserve slight traces, celebrated on the same days of the year, but most of them, owing to the passage of time and the pressure of other matters, have lapsed.
ἀλλὰ γὰρ ὁ μὲν πρεσβύτερος Ἄρατος οὕτω βιῶσαι καὶ τοιοῦτος γενέσθαι τὴν φύσιν ἱστορεῖται· τὸν δὲ υἱὸν αὐτοῦ μιαρὸς ὢν φύσει καὶ μετʼ ὠμότητος ὑβριστὴς ὁ Φίλιππος οὐ θανασίμοις, ἀλλὰ μανικοῖς ἐξέστησε τοῦ λογισμοῦ φαρμάκοις· καὶ παρέτρεψεν εἰς δεινὰς καὶ ἀλλοκότους ἐπιφοράς, πράξεων ἀτόπων καὶ σὺν αἰσχύνῃ παθῶν ὀλεθρίων ὀρεγόμενον, ὥστε τὸν θάνατον αὐτῷ, καίπερ ὄντι νέῳ καὶ ἀνθοῦντι, μὴ συμφοράν, ἀλλʼ ἀπόλυσιν κακῶν καὶ σωτηρίαν γενέσθαι.
Such was the life and such the nature of the elder Aratus, as history tells us; and as for his son, he was deprived of his reason by Philip, who had an abominable nature and added savage cruelty to his wanton exercise of power. He gave the young man poisons which did not kill, but crazed, and thus made him a prey to strange and dreadful impulses, under which he grasped at absurd activities, and experiences not only shameful but destructive, so that death came to him, although he was young and in the flower of his life, not as a calamity, but as release from evils, and salvation.
δίκας γε μὴν ὁ Φίλιππος οὐ μεμπτὰς Διὶ ξενίῳ καὶ φιλίῳ τῆς ἀνοσιουργίας ταύτης τίνων διετέλεσε, καταπολεμηθεὶς μὲν γὰρ ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων ἐπέτρεψεν ἐκείνοις τὰ καθʼ αὑτόν, ἐκπεσὼν δὲ τῆς ἄλλης ἀρχῆς καὶ τὰς ναῦς; πλὴν πέντε πάσας προέμενος καὶ χίλια προσεκτίσειν ὁμολογήσας τάλαντα καὶ τὸν υἱὸν ὁμηρεύσοντα παραδούς διʼ οἶκτον ἔτυχε Μακεδονίας καὶ τῶν συντελούντων. ἀποκτείνων δὲ ἀεὶ τοὺς ἀρίστους καὶ συγγενεστάτους φρίκης ἐνέπλησε καὶ μίσους ὅλην τὴν βασιλείαν πρὸς αὑτόν.
For this unholy deed, however, Philip paid ample penalties to Zeus, the guardian of hospitality and friendship, as long as he lived. For after being subdued by the Romans and putting his fortunes in their hands, he was stripped of most of his dominions, surrendered all his ships but five, agreed to pay a thousand talents besides, gave up his son to serve as hostage, and only out of pity obtained Macedonia and its tributaries. But he was for ever putting to death the noblest of his subjects and his nearest kin, and thus filled his whole kingdom with horror and hatred of him.
ἔν δὲ μόνον ἐν τοσούτοις κακοῖς εὐτύχημα κτησάμενος, υἱὸν ἀρετῇ διαφέροντα, τοῦτον φθόνῳ καὶ ζηλοτυπίᾳ τῆς παρὰ Ῥωμαίοις τιμῆς ἀνεῖλε, Περσεῖ δὲ θατέρῳ τὴν ἀρχὴν παρέδωκεν, ὅν οὐ γνήσιον, ἀλλʼ ὑπόβλητον εἶναί φασιν, ἐκ Γναθαινίου τινὸς ἀκεστρίας γενόμενον. τοῦτον Αἰμίλιος ἐθριάμβευσε καὶ κατέστρεψεν ἐνταῦθα τῆς Ἀντιγονικῆς βασιλείας ἡ διαδοχή, τὸ δὲ Ἀράτου γένος ἐν τῇ Σικυῶνι καὶ τῇ Πελλήνῃ διέμεινε καθʼ ἡμᾶς.
One piece of good fortune only was his, amid so many ills, and that was a son of surpassing excellence; but this son he killed, out of envy and jealousy of the honour paid him by the Romans, and left his kingdom to his other son, Perseus, who was not legitimate, as we are told, but supposititious, the child of a sempstress, Gnathaenion. This king graced the triumph of Aemilius, and with him ended the royal line of the Antigonids; whereas the descendants of Aratus were living at Sicyon and Pellene in my time.
Cite This Text