τὰ δὲ Κάβειρα λαβὼν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων φρουρίων τὰ πλεῖστα θησαυρούς τε μεγάλους εὗρε καὶ δεσμωτήρια, πολλῶν μὲν Ἑλλήνων, πολλῶν δὲ συγγενῶν τοῦ βασιλέως καθειργμένων, οἷς πάλαι τεθνάναι δοκοῦσιν οὐ σωτηρίαν, ἀλλʼ ἀναβίωσιν καὶ δευτέραν τινὰ γέννησιν ἡ Λουκούλλου χάρις παρέσχεν.
In capturing Cabira and most of the other strongholds, he found great treasures, and many prisons, in which many Greeks and many kinsfolk of the king were confined. As they had long been given up for dead, it was not so much a rescue as it was a resurrection and a sort of second birth, for which they were indebted to the favour of Lucullus.
ἑάλω δὲ καὶ ἀδελφὴ τοῦ Μιθριδάτου Νύσσα σωτήριον ἅλωσιν αἱ δʼ ἀπωτάτω τοῦ κινδύνου καὶ καθʼ ἡσυχίαν ἀποκεῖσθαι δοκοῦσαι περὶ Φαρνάκειαν ἀδελφαί καὶ γυναῖκες οἰκτρῶς ἀπώλοντο, Μιθριδάτου πέμψαντος ἐπʼ αὐτὰς ἐκ τῆς φυγῆς Βακχίδην εὐνοῦχον. ἦσαν δὲ μετὰ πολλῶν ἀδελφαί τε δύο τοῦ βασιλέως, Ῥωξάνη καὶ Στάτειρα, περὶ τεσσαράκοντα ἔτη παρθενευόμεναι, καὶ γαμεταὶ δύο, γένος Ἰωνίδες, Βερενίκη μὲν ἐκ Χίου, Μονίμη δὲ Μιλησία.
Nyssa, a sister of Mithridates, was also captured; and her capture was her salvation. But the sisters and wives of the king who were thought to be at farthest remove from danger and quietly hidden away in Pharnacia, perished pitifully, since Mithridates paused long enough in his flight to send Bacchides, a eunuch, to compass their death. Among many other women, there were two sisters of the king, Roxana and Statira, about forty years old and unmarried; and two of his wives, of Ionian families, Berenicé from Chios, and Monimé, a Milesian.
ταύτης ὁ πλεῖστος ἦν λόγος ἐν τοῖς Ἕλλησιν, ὅτι τοῦ βασιλέως πειρῶντος αὐτὴν καὶ μυρίους πεντακισχιλίους χρυσοῦς προσπέμψαντος ἀντέσχε, μέχρι οὗ γάμων ἐγένοντο συνθῆκαι καὶ διάδημα πέμψας αὐτῇ βασίλισσαν ἀνηγόρευσεν. αὕτη καὶ παρὰ τὸν ἄλλον χρόνον ἀνιαρῶς εἶχε καὶ ἀπεθρήνει τὴν τοῦ σώματος εὐμορφίαν, ὡς δεσπότην μὲν ἀντʼ ἀνδρὸς αὐτῇ, φρουρὰν δὲ βαρβάρων ἀντὶ γάμου καὶ οἴκου προξενήσασαν, πόρρω δέ που τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἀπῳκισμένη τοῖς ἐλπισθεῖσιν ἀγαθοῖς ὄναρ σύνεστι, τῶν δʼ ἀληθινῶν ἐκείνων ἀπεστέρηται.
The latter was most talked of among the Greeks, to the effect that though the king tempted her virtue and sent her fifteen thousand pieces of gold, she resisted his advances, until he entered into a marriage contract with her, sent her a diadem, and greeted her with the title of Queen. But her marriage had been an unhappy one, and she bewailed that beauty which had procured her a master instead of a husband, and a guard of Barbarians instead of home and family, dwelling as she did far, far away from Greece, where the blessings for which she had hoped existed only in her dreams, while she was bereft of the real blessings to which she had been wonted.
καὶ δὴ τοῦ Βακχίδου παραγενομένου καὶ προστάξαντος αὐταῖς ἀποθνῄσκειν, ὡς ἑκάστῃ δοκοίη ῥᾷστον εἶναι καὶ ἀλυπότατον, περισπάσασα τῆς κεφαλῆς τὸ διάδημα τῷ τραχήλῳ περιῆψε καὶ ἀνήρτησεν ἑαυτήν. ταχὺ δʼ ἀπορραγέντος ὦ κατηραμένον, ἔφη, ῥάκος, οὐδὲ πρὸς τοῦτό μοι χρήσιμον ἔσῃ ; κἀκεῖνο μὲν ἀπέρριψε προσπτύσασα, τῷ δὲ Βακχίδῃ τὴν σφαγὴν παρέσχεν.
And now Bacchides came and ordered them all to die, in whatever manner each might deem easiest and most painless. Monimé snatched the diadem from her head, fastened it round her neck, and hanged herself. But her halter quickly broke in two. O cursed bauble, she cried, couldst thou not serve me even in this office? Then she spat upon it, hurled it from her, and offered her throat to Bacchides.
ἡ δὲ Βερενίκη κύλικα φαρμάκου λαβοῦσα, τῆς μητρὸς αὐτῇ παρούσης καὶ δεομένης, μετέδωκε. καὶ συνεξέπιον μὲν ἀμφότεραι, ἤρκεσε δὲ ἡ τοῦ φαρμάκου δύναμις εἰς. τὸ ἀσθενέστερον σῶμα, τὴν δὲ Βερενίκην οὐχ ὅσον ἔδει πιοῦσαν οὐκ ἀπήλλαξεν, ἀλλὰ δυσθανατοῦσα τοῦ Βακχίδου σπεύδοντος ἀπεπνίγη.
But Berenicé, taking a cup of poison, shared it with her mother, who stood at her side and begged for some. Together they drank it off, and the force of the poison sufficed for the weaker body, but it did not carry off Berenicé, who had not drunk enough. As she was long in dying, and Bacchides was in a hurry, she was strangled.
λέγεται δὲ καὶ τῶν ἀγάμων ἀδελφῶν ἐκείνων τὴν μὲν ἐπαρωμένην πολλὰ καὶ λοιδοροῦσαν ἐκπιεῖν τὸ φάρμακον, τὴν δὲ Στάτειραν οὔτε δύσφημόν τι φθεγξαμένην οὔτʼ ἀγεννές, ἀλλʼ ἐπαινοῦσαν τὸν ἀδελφόν, ὅτι περὶ τοῦ σώματος κινδυνεύων οὐκ ἠμέλησεν αὐτῶν, ἀλλὰ προὐνόησεν ἐλευθέρας καὶ ἀνυβρίστους ἀποθανεῖν. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν φύσει χρηστὸν ὄντα καὶ φιλάνθρωπον ἠνία τὸν Λούκουλλον.
It is said also that of the unmarried sisters, one drank off her poison with many abusive imprecations on her brother; but that Statira did so without uttering a single reproachful or ungenerous word. She rather commended her brother because, when his own life was at hazard, he had not neglected them, but had taken measures to have them die in freedom and under no insults. Of course these things gave pain to Lucullus, who was naturally of a gentle and humane disposition.
ἐλάσας δʼ ἄχρι Ταλαύρων, ἔνθεν ἡμέρᾳ τετάρτῃ πρότερον ἐφθάκει Μιθριδάτης εἰς Ἀρμενίαν πρὸς Τιγράνην πεφευγώς, ἀποτρέπεται, καταστρεψάμενος δὲ Χαλδαίους καὶ Τιβαρηνοὺς καὶ τὴν μικρὰν Ἀρμενίαν παραλαβών καὶ φρούρια καὶ πόλεις παραστησάμενος, Ἄππιον μὲν ἔπεμψε πρὸς Τιγράνην ἐξαιτῶν Μιθριδάτην, αὐτὸς δʼ ἧκε πρὸς Ἀμισὸν ἔτι πολιορκουμένην.
Lucullus pushed on in pursuit as far as Talaura, whence, four days before, Mithridates had succeeded in escaping to Tigranes, in Armenia; then he turned aside. After subduing the Chaldaeans and the Tibareni, he occupied Lesser Armenia, reducing its fortresses and cities, and then sent Appius to Tigranes with a demand for Mithridates. He himself, however, came to Amisus, which was still holding out against the siege.
αἴτιος δʼ ἦν Καλλίμαχος ὁ στρατηγός ἐμπειρίᾳ μηχανικῆς παρασκευῆς καὶ δεινότητι πανουργίας, ὅσην πολιορκία δέχεται, πλεῖστα λυπήσας Ῥωμαίους· ὧν ὕστερον ἔδωκε δίκην. τότε δʼ ὑπὸ Λουκούλλου καταστρατηγηθείς, ὑφʼ ἣν ἔθος εἶχεν ὥραν τῆς ἡμέρας ἀπάγειν καὶ ἀναπαύειν τούς στρατιώτας, ἐν ἐκείνῃ προσβαλόντος αἰφνιδίως καὶ κατασχόντος οὐ πολὺ μέρος τοῦ τείχους, αὐτὸς ἐκλιπὼν τὴν πόλιν ὑφῆψεν, εἴτε φθονῶν ὠφεληθῆναι Ῥωμαίοις, εἴτε ῥᾳστώνην φυγῆς ἑαυτῷ μηχανώμενος.
Its success in this was due to Callimachus, its commander, who, by his acquaintance with mechanical contrivances and his power to employ every resource which the siege of a city demands, had given the Romans the greatest annoyance. For this he afterwards paid the penalty. But at this time, he was simply outgeneralled by Lucullus, who made a sudden attack at just that time of day when Callimachus was accustomed to draw his soldiers off from the ramparts and give them a rest. When the Romans had got possession of a small part of the wall, Callimachus abandoned the city, first setting fire to it with his own hands, either because he begrudged the visitors their booty, or because his own escape was thus facilitated.
οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἐφρόντιζε τῶν ἐκπλεόντων, ἀλλὰ ὡς ἡ φλὸξ ἀναδραμοῦσα πολλὴ τὰ τείχη περιέσχεν, οἱ μὲν στρατιῶται παρεσκευάζοντο πρὸς ἁρπαγήν, ὁ δὲ Λούκουλλος οἰκτείρων ἀπολλυμένην τὴν πόλιν ἔξωθεν ἐβοήθει πρὸς τὸ πῦρ καὶ σβεννύναι παρεκάλει, μηδενὸς αὐτῷ προσέχοντος, ἀλλʼ ἐξαιτουμένων τὰ χρήματα καὶ μετὰ βοῆς ὅπλα κρουόντων, ἕως ἐκβιασθεὶς ἐπέτρεψεν, ὡς αὐτήν γε τὴν πόλιν ἐξαιρησόμενος τοῦ πυρός.
For no one paid any attention to those who were sailing away, but when the flames increased mightily and enveloped the walls, the soldiers made ready to plunder the houses. Lucullus, out of pity for the perishing city, tried to bring aid from outside against the fire, and gave orders to extinguish the flames, but no one paid any heed to his commands. The soldiers all clamoured for the booty, and shouted, and clashed their shields and spears together, until he was forced to let them have their way, hoping that he could at least save the city itself from the flames.
οἱ δὲ τοὐναντίον ἔπραξαν, πάντα γὰρ ἐξερευνῶντες ὑπὸ λαμπάδων καὶ πανταχοῦ φῶς ἐπιφέροντες αὐτοὶ τὰ πλεῖστα τῶν οἰκημάτων καθεῖλον, ὥστε τὸν Λούκουλλον εἰσελθόντα μεθʼ ἡμέραν καὶ δακρύσαντα πρὸς τούς φίλους εἰπεῖν, ὡς πολλάκις ἤδη Σύλλαν μακαρίσας μάλιστα τῇ σήμερον ἡμέρᾳ τὴν τἀνδρὸς εὐτυχίαν θαυμάσειεν, ὅτι σῶσαι βουληθεὶς ἐδυνήθη τὰς Ἀθήνας.
But the soldiers did just the opposite. Ransacking everything by torch-light and carrying lights about everywhere, they destroyed most of the houses themselves. When Lucullus entered the city at daybreak, he burst into tears, and said to his friends that he had often already deemed Sulla happy, and on that day more than ever he admired the man’s good fortune, in that when he wished to save Athens, he had the power to do so.
ἐμὲ δʼ, ἔφη, τούτου ζηλωτὴν γενόμενον εἰς τὴν Μομμίου δόξαν ὁ δαίμων περιέστησεν. οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ ἐκ τῶν παρόντων ἀναλαμβάνειν ἐπειρᾶτο τὴν πόλιν. καὶ τὸ μὲν πῦρ ὄμβροι κατέσβεσαν ἔκ τινος θείας τύχης περὶ τὴν ἅλωσιν αὐτήν συμπεσόντες, τὰ δὲ πλεῖστα τῶν ἀπολωλότων αὐτὸς ἔτι παρὼν ἀνῳκοδόμησε, καὶ τούς φεύγοντας Ἀμισηνῶν ἐδέξατο, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων Ἑλλήνων κατῴκισε τούς βουλομένους, εἴκοσι καὶ ἑκατὸν σταδίων χώραν προσορίσας.
But upon me, he said, who have been so eager to imitate his example, Heaven has devolved the reputation of Mummius. However, as far as circumstances allowed, he endeavoured to restore the city. The fire, indeed, had been quenched by showers which fell providentially just as the city was captured, and most of what the soldiers had destroyed he rebuilt himself before his departure. He also received into the city those of the Amisenes who had fled, and settled there any other Greeks who so desired, and added to the city’s domain a tract of a hundred and twenty stadia.
ἦν δʼ ἡ πόλις Ἀθηναίων ἄποικος, ἐν ἐκείνοις ἄρα τοῖς καιροῖς, ἐν οἷς ἤκμαζεν ἡ δύναμις αὐτῶν καὶ κατεῖχε τὴν θάλασσαν, οἰκισθεῖσα. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πολλοὶ τῶν τὴν Ἀριστίωνος τυραννίδα βουλομένων φεύγειν εἰσπλεύσαντες αὐτοῦ κατῴκουν καὶ μετεῖχον τῆς πολιτείας, οἷς συνέβη τὰ οἰκεῖα κακὰ φεύγουσιν ἀπολαῦσαι τῶν ἀλλοτρίων, ἀλλὰ τούς γε σωθέντας αὐτῶν ὁ Λούκουλλος ἀμφιέσας καλῶς καὶ διακοσίας ἑκάστῳ δραχμὰς ἐπιδοὺς ἀπέστειλε.
The city was a colony of Athens, founded in that period when her power was at its height and she controlled the sea. And this was the reason why many who wished to escape the tyranny of Aristion at Athens sailed to Amisus, settled there, and became citizens. In flying from evils at home, they got the benefit of greater evils abroad. But those of them who survived were well clothed by Lucullus, and sent back home, with a present of two hundred drachmas apiece. Tyrannio the grammarian was also taken prisoner at this time.
τότε καὶ Τυραννίων ὁ γραμματικὸς ἑάλω Μουρήνας δʼ αὐτὸν ἐξῃτήσατο καὶ λαβὼν ἀπηλευθέρωσεν, ἀνελευθέρως τῇ δωρεᾷ χρησάμενος. οὐ γὰρ ἠξίου Λούκουλλος ἄνδρα διὰ παιδείαν ἐσπουδασμένον δοῦλον γενέσθαι πρότερον, εἶτʼ ἀπελεύθερον. ἀφαίρεσις γὰρ ἦν τῆς ὑπαρχούσης ἡ τῆς δοκούσης ἐλευθερίας δόσις. ἀλλὰ Μουρήνας μὲν οὐκ ἐνταῦθα μόνον ὤφθη πολὺ τῆς τοῦ στρατηγοῦ καλοκαγαθίας ἀποδέων.
Murena asked to have him as his own prize, and on getting him, formally gave him his liberty, therein making an illiberal use of the gift which he had received. For Lucullus did not think it meet that a man so esteemed for his learning should first become a slave, and then be set at liberty. To give him a nominal liberty was to rob him of the liberty to which he was born. But this was not the only case in which Murena was found to be far inferior to his commander in nobility of conduct.
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