ταῦτα πρὸς τὸν Πύρρον οἱ βασιλεῖς γράφοντες ἅμα καὶ διʼ ἑαυτῶν ἔτι μέλλοντα καὶ παρασκευαζόμενον τὸν Δημήτριον ἐκίνουν. Πτολεμαῖος μὲν γὰρ ἐπιπλεύσας μεγάλῳ στόλῳ τὰς Ἑλληνίδας ἀφίστη πόλεις, Λυσίμαχος δὲ τὴν ἄνω Μακεδονίαν ἐκ Θρᾴκης ἐμβαλὼν ἐπόρθει. Πύρρος δὲ τούτοις ἅμα συνεξαναστὰς ἐπὶ Βέροιαν ἤλαυνε, προσδοκῶν, ὅπερ συνέβη, Δημήτριον ὑπαντιάζοντα Λυσιμάχῳ τὴν κάτω χώραν ἀπολείψειν ἔρημον.
Such letters the kings kept sending to Pyrrhus, and at the same time on their own part they assailed Demetrius while he was still waiting to complete his preparations. Ptolemy sailed up with a great fleet and tried to bring the Greek cities to revolt, while Lysimachus invaded upper Macedonia from Thrace and ravaged the country. So Pyrrhus, taking the field at the same time with these, marched against Beroea, expecting, as proved to be the case, that Demetrius would go to confront Lysimachus, and thus leave the lower country unprotected.
ἐκείνης δὲ τῆς νυκτὸς ἔδοξε κατὰ τοὺς ὕπνους ὑπὸ Ἀλεξάνδρου καλεῖσθαι τοῦ μεγάλου, καὶ παραγενόμενος κλινήρη μὲν αὐτὸν ἰδεῖν, λόγων δὲ χρηστῶν τυχεῖν καὶ φιλοφροσύνης ἐπαγγελλομένου προθύμως βοηθήσειν. αὐτοῦ δὲ τολμήσαντος εἰπεῖν, καὶ πῶς ἄν, ὦ βασιλεῦ, νοσῶν δυνατὸς εἴης ἐμοὶ βοηθεῖν; αὐτῷ φάναι τῷ ὀνόματι, καὶ περιβάντα Νισαῖον ἵππον ἡγεῖσθαι.
That night Pyrrhus dreamed that he was called by Alexander the Great, and that when he answered the call he found the king lying on a couch, but met with kindly speech and friendly treatment from him, and received a promise of his ready aid and help. And how, O King, Pyrrhus ventured to ask, when thou art sick, canst thou give me aid and help? My name itself will give it, said the king, and mounting a Nisaean horse he led the way.
ταύτην ἰδὼν τὴν ὄψιν ἐπερρώσθη· τάχει δὲ χρησάμενος καὶ διαδραμὼν τὰ μεταξὺ καταλαμβάνει τὴν Βέροιαν· καὶ τὸ πλεῖστον αὐτόθι τῆς στρατιᾶς ἱδρύσας τὰ λοιπὰ προσήγετο διὰ τῶν στρατηγῶν, ὁ δὲ Δημήτριος ἐπεὶ ταῦτα ἤκουσε καὶ πονηρὸν ἐν τῷ στρατοπέδῳ θόρυβον ᾔσθετο τῶν Μακεδόνων, ἔδεισε πορρωτέρω προαγαγεῖν, μὴ πλησίον γενόμενοι βασιλέως Μακεδόνος καὶ δόξαν ἔχοντος μεταβάλωνται πρὸς αὐτόν.
This vision gave Pyrrhus great assurance, and leading his army with all speed through the intervening districts he took possession of Beroea; then, stationing the greater part of his forces there, he proceeded to subdue the rest of the country through his generals. When Demetrius heard of this, and became aware of a pernicious uproar in his camp on the part of the Macedonians, he was afraid to lead them farther on, lest on coming into the neighbourhood of a Macedonian king of great renown they should go over to him.
ὅθεν ἐπιστρέψας ἐπὶ τὸν Πύρρον ἦγεν ὡς ξένον καὶ μισούμενον ὑπὸ τῶν Μακεδόνων, ἐπεὶ δὲ παρεστρατοπέδευσεν αὐτόθι, πολλοὶ τῶν ἐκ τῆς Βεροίας ἀφικνούμενοι τὸν Πύρρον ἐνεκωμίαζον, ὡς ἄμαχον μὲν ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις καὶ λαμπρὸν ἄνδρα, πράως δὲ καὶ φιλανθρώπως τοῖς ἡλωκόσι χρώμενον. ἦσαν δέ τινες οὓς αὐτὸς ὁ Πύρρος ἐγκαθίει προσποιουμένους εἶναι Μακεδόνας, καὶ λέγοντας ὅτι νῦν καιρός ἐστι τῆς Δημητρίου βαρύτητος ἀπαλλαγῆναι, πρὸς ἄνδρα δημοτικὸν καὶ φιλοστρατιώτην μεταβαλομένους τὸν Πύρρον.
Therefore he turned back and led them against Pyrrhus, with the idea that he was a foreigner and hated by the Macedonians. But after he had pitched his camp over against Pyrrhus, many Beroeans came thither with loud praises of Pyrrhus; they said he was invincible in arms and a brilliant hero, and treated his captives with mildness and humanity. There were some also whom Pyrrhus himself sent into the camp; they pretended to be Macedonians, and said that now was the favourable time to rid themselves of Demetrius and his severity, by going over to Pyrrhus, a man who was gracious to the common folk and fond of his soldiers.
ἐκ τούτου τὸ πλεῖστον ἀνηρέθιστο τῆς στρατιᾶς, καὶ τὸν Πύρρον ἐζήτουν περισκοποῦντες. ἔτυχε γὰρ ἀφῃρημένος τὸ κράνος, ἄχρι οὗ συμφρονήσας καὶ πάλιν περιθέμενος ἐγνώσθη τῷ τε λόφῳ διαπρέποντι καὶ τοῖς τραγικοῖς κέρασιν, ὥστε τοὺς Μακεδόνας σύνθημα προστρέχοντας αἰτεῖν, ἄλλους δὲ κλάδους δρυὸς ἀναστέφεσθαι διὰ τὸ καὶ τοὺς περὶ ἐκεῖνον ἐστεφανωμένους ὁρᾶν·
In consequence of this, the greater part of the army was all excitement, and went about looking for Pyrrhus; for it chanced that he had taken off his helmet, and he was not recognised until he bethought himself and put it on again, when its towering crest and its goat’s horns made him known to all. Some of the Macedonians therefore ran to him and asked him for his watchword, and others put garlands of oaken boughs about their heads because they saw the soldiers about him garlanded.
ἤδη δὲ καὶ πρὸς αὐτόν τινες ἐτόλμων λέγειν τὸν Δημήτριον ὡς ὑπεκστὰς καὶ προέμενος τὰ πράγματα καλῶς δόξει βεβουλεῦσθαι. τούτοις τοῖς λόγοις ὅμοιον ὁρῶν τὸ κίνημα τοῦ στρατοπέδου καὶ φοβηθεὶς κρύφα διεξέπεσε, καυσίᾳ τινὶ καὶ λιτῷ χλαμυδίῳ περιστείλας ἑαυτόν, ἐπελθὼν δὲ ὁ Πύρρος ἀμαχεὶ παρέλαβε τὸ στρατόπεδον καὶ βασιλεὺς ἀνηγορεύθη Μακεδόνων.
And presently even to Demetrius himself certain persons ventured to say that if he quietly withdrew and renounced his undertakings men would think that he had taken wise counsel. He saw that this advice tallied with the agitation in the camp, and was frightened, and secretly stole away, after putting on a broad-brimmed hat and a simple soldier’s cloak. So Pyrrhus came up, took the camp without a blow, and was proclaimed king of Macedonia.
ἐπιφανέντος δὲ Λυσιμάχου καὶ κοινὸν ἔργον ἀμφοῖν ποιουμένου τὴν Δημητρίου κατάλυσιν καὶ νέμεσθαι τὴν βασιλείαν ἀξιοῦντος, οὔπω πάνυ βεβαίως τοῖς Μακεδόσι πιστεύων ὁ Πύρρος, ἀλλʼ ἀμφίβολος ὢν ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐδέξατο τοῦ Λυσιμάχου τὴν πρόκλησιν, καὶ διενείμαντο τὰς πόλεις καὶ τὴν χώραν πρὸς ἀλλήλους.
But now Lysimachus made his appearance, claimed that the overthrow of Demetrius had been the joint work of both, and demanded a division of the kingdom. So Pyrrhus, who did not yet feel entire confidence in the Macedonians, but was still doubtful about them, accepted the proposition of Lysimachus, and they divided the cities and the territory with one another.
τοῦτο δὲ ὤνησε μὲν ἐν τῷ παρόντι καὶ κατέπαυσε τὸν πόλεμον αὐτοῖς, ὀλίγῳ δὲ ὕστερον ἔγνωσαν οὐκ ἀπαλλαγὴν ἔχθρας, ἀλλʼ ἐγκλημάτων καὶ διαφορᾶς ἀρχὴν πεποιημένοι τὴν νέμησιν. οἷς γάρ οὐ πέλαγος, οὐκ ὄρος, οὐκ ἀοίκητος ἐρημία πέρας ἐστὶ πλεονεξίας, οὐδʼ οἱ διαιροῦντες Εὐρώπην καὶ Ἀσίαν τέρμονες ὁρίζουσι τὰς ἐπιθυμίας, πῶς ἂν ἁπτόμενοι καὶ ψαύοντες ἀλλήλων ἀτρεμοῖεν ἐν τοῖς παροῦσι μὴ ἀδικοῦντες,
This availed for the present, and prevented war between them, but shortly afterward they perceived that the distribution which they had made did not put an end to their enmity, but gave occasion for complaints and quarrels. For how men to whose rapacity neither sea nor mountain nor uninhabitable desert sets a limit, men to whose inordinate desires the boundaries which separate Europe and Asia put no stop, can remain content with what they have and do one another no wrong when they are in close touch,
οὐκ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν, ἀλλὰ πολεμοῦσι μὲν ἀεί, τὸ ἐπιβουλεύειν καὶ φθονεῖν ἔμφυτον ἔχοντες, δυεῖν δὲ ὀνομάτων, ὥσπερ νομισμάτων, πολέμου καὶ εἰρήνης, τῷ παρατυχόντι χρῶνται πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον, οὐ πρὸς τὸ δίκαιον, ἐπεὶ βελτίους γε πολεμεῖν ὁμολογοῦντές εἰσιν ἢ τῆς ἀδικίας τὸ ἀργοῦν καὶ σχολάζον δικαιοσύνην καὶ φιλίαν ὀνομάζοντες.
it is impossible to say. Nay, they are perpetually at war, because plots and jealousies are parts of their natures, and they treat the two words, war and peace, like current coins, using whichever happens to be for their advantage, regardless of justice; for surely they are better men when they wage war openly than when they give the names of justice and friendship to the times of inactivity and leisure which interrupt their work of injustice.
ἐδήλωσε δὲ ὁ Πύρρος· ἐμποδὼν γάρ αὐξομένῳ τῷ Δημητρίῳ πάλιν ἱστάμενος, καὶ κωλύων τὴν δύναμιν ὥσπερ ἐξ ἀρρωστίας μεγάλης ἀναλαμβάνουσαν, ἐβοήθει τοῖς Ἕλλησι καὶ παρῆλθεν εἰς τὰς Ἀθήνας, ἀναβὰς δὲ εἰς τὴν ἀκρόπολιν καὶ θύσας τῇ θεῷ καὶ καταβὰς αὐθημερὸν ἀγαπᾶν μὲν ἔφησε τοῦ δήμου τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν εὔνοιαν καὶ πίστιν, ἂν μέντοι σωφρονῶσι μηδένα τῶν βασιλέων ἔτι παρήσειν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν πόλιν μηδὲ τὰς πύλας ἀνοίξειν·
And Pyrrhus made this plain; for, setting himself to hinder the growing power of Demetrius, and trying to prevent its recovery, so to speak, from a serious illness, he went to the help of the Greeks and entered Athens. Here he went up to the acropolis and sacrificed to the goddess, then came down again on the same day, and told the people he was well pleased with the confidence and goodwill which they had shown him, but that in future, if they were wise, they would not admit any one of the kings into their city nor open their gates to him.
ἐκ τούτου καὶ πρὸς Δημήτριον εἰρήνην ἐποιήσατο, καὶ μετʼ ὀλίγον χρόνον, εἰς Ἀσίαν ἀπάραντος αὐτοῦ, πάλιν πεισθεὶς ὑπὸ Λυσιμάχου Θετταλίαν ἀφίστη καὶ ταῖς Ἑλληνικαῖς φρουραῖς προσεπολέμει, βελτίοσι χρώμενος τοῖς Μακεδόσι στρατευομένοις ἢ σχολάζουσι, καὶ ὅλως αὐτὸς οὐκ ἐν πρὸς ἡσυχίαν πεφυκώς. τέλος δὲ Δημητρίου καταπολεμηθέντος ἐν Συρίᾳ Λυσίμαχος ἐπʼ ἀδείας γενόμενος καὶ σχολάζων εὐθὺς ἐπὶ τὸν Πύρρον ὥρμησε.
After this, he actually made peace with Demetrius, but in a little while, when Demetrius had set out for Asia, he once more took the advice of Lysimachus and tried to bring Thessaly to revolt, besides waging war upon the garrisons of Demetrius in the Greek cities. For he found that the Macedonians were better disposed when they were on a campaign than when they were unoccupied, and he himself was by nature entirely averse to keeping quiet. But at last, after Demetrius had been wholly overthrown in Syria, Lysimachus, who now felt himself secure, and had nothing on his hands, at once set out against Pyrrhus.
καὶ καθημένου περὶ τὴν Ἔδεσσαν αὐτοῦ ταῖς ἀγοραῖς κομιζομέναις ἐπιπεσὼν καὶ κρατήσας ἀπορίαν πρῶτον αὐτῷ περιέστησεν, εἶτα γράμμασι καὶ λόγοις διέφθειρε τοὺς πρώτους τῶν Μακεδόνων, ὀνειδίζων εἰ ξένον ἄνδρα καὶ προγόνων ἀεὶ δεδουλευκότων Μακεδόσι δεσπότην ἑλόμενοι τοὺς Ἀλεξάνδρου φίλους καὶ συνήθεις ἀπωθοῦσι Μακεδονίας.
Pyrrhus was in camp at Edessa, where Lysimachus fell upon his provision trains and mastered them, thus bringing him to straits; then, by letters and conferences he corrupted the leading Macedonians, upbraiding them because they had chosen as lord and master a man who was a foreigner, whose ancestors had always been subject to Macedonia, and were thrusting the friends and familiars of Alexander out of the country.
ἀναπειθομένων δὲ πολλῶν δείσας ὁ Πύρρος ἀπηλλάγη μετὰ τῆς Ἠπειρωτικῆς καὶ συμμαχικῆς δυνάμεως, ἀποβαλὼν Μακεδονίαν ᾧ τρόπῳ παρέλαβεν. ὅθεν οὐδʼ αἰτιᾶσθαι τοὺς πολλοὺς ἔχουσιν οἱ βασιλεῖς μετατιθεμένους πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον ἐκείνους γάρ αὐτοὺς ταῦτα μιμοῦνται ποιοῦντες, ἀπιστίας καὶ προδοσίας διδασκάλους ὄντας, καὶ πλεῖστα νομίζοντας ὠφελεῖσθαι τὸν ἐλάχιστα τῷ δικαίῳ χρώμενον.
After many had thus been won over, Pyrrhus took alarm and departed with his Epeirots and allied forces, thus losing Macedonia precisely as he got it. Whence we see that kings have no reason to find fault with popular bodies for changing sides as suits their interests; for in doing this they are but imitating the kings themselves, who are their teachers in unfaithfulness and treachery, and think him most advantaged who least observes justice.
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