Textus Originalis
ARGUMENTA LIBRORUM. | LIB. XIII.
Cap. 1. Diodorus prooemii ambages in tanta rerum copia sibi mittendas esse praefatus, cum totius operis rationem, tum huius libri terminos describit. Ol. 91, 2 : 415 a. Chr. 2. Ab Atheniensibus contra Syracusanos magna classe comparata accidit, ut Athenis omnes hermae deicerentur. Cuius flagitii Alcibiades accusatus, tum quidem absolutus est. Navium militumque numerus. Athenienses deliberant, quid de Sicilia capta faciant. 3. Sacris in Piraeo factis Atheniensium classis iter ingreditur. Quo itinere Rhegium pervenerit, describitur. 4. Syracusani circum Siciliae civitates legatos mittunt auxilium petitum. Aliae cum Syracusanis, aliae cum Atheniensibus, aliae cum neutris se facturas respondent. Athenienses Naxum et Catinam adeunt. 5. Alcibiades ab inimicis insimulatus ad causam dicendam domum revocatur, aufugit Lacedaemonem. 6. Athenienses exacto ab Segestanis tributo per insidias magnum Syracusanorum portum, Olympium vicinaque loca occupant. — Diagoras ἄθεος Athenis aufugit. 7. Romani cum Aequis bella gerunt. Ol. 91, 3 : 414 a. Chr. 7. Syracusani a Lacedaemoniis et Corinthiis auxilia impetrant. Nicias et Lamachus Epipolis potiti Syracusas terra marique obsident. Gylippus Lacedaemoniorum dux Syracusanis auxilio venit.
Traduzione
English — scholarly
ARETHE Knowledge Engineering DivisionARGUMENTS OF THE BOOKS. | BOOK XIII.
Ch. 1. Diodorus, having stated beforehand that digressions in a prologue must be avoided in such a great abundance of material, describes both the plan of the entire work and the limits of this book. Ol. 91, 2 : 415 BC 2. After the Athenians had prepared a great fleet against the Syracusans, it happened that at Athens all the herms were thrown down. Accused of this crime, Alcibiades was at that time acquitted. The number of ships and soldiers. The Athenians deliberate what they should do after the capture of Sicily. 3. After sacrifices were made at Piraeus, the Athenian fleet begins its journey. The route by which it arrived at Rhegium is described. 4. The Syracusans send envoys around the cities of Sicily to seek aid. Some respond that they will act with the Syracusans, others with the Athenians, others with neither. The Athenians approach Naxos and Catania. 5. Alcibiades, accused by his enemies, is recalled home to stand trial; he flees to Lacedaemon. 6. The Athenians, having exacted the tribute from the Segestans by treachery, occupy the great harbor of Syracuse, the Olympieum, and nearby places. — Diagoras the atheist flees from Athens. 7. The Romans wage war against the Aequi. Ol. 91, 3 : 414 BC 7. The Syracusans obtain aid from the Lacedaemonians and Corinthians. Nicias and Lamachus, having gained possession of Epipolae, besiege Syracuse by land and sea. Gylippus, the Lacedaemonian commander, comes to the aid of the Syracusans.
Commentario Arethe
Ol. 91, 2 : 415 a. Chr.
The Argumenta begin with Olympiad 91, year 2 (= 415 BC) — the year of the Athenian expedition to Sicily, one of the most consequential military campaigns in ancient history. Diodorus' account of the Sicilian Expedition (XIII 1–33) parallels but differs from Thucydides VII, offering additional details and different perspectives. The chapter summaries (Argumenta) were composed by Vogel himself as a reader's guide, following the tradition of 19th-century Teubner editions. They are not found in the manuscripts.
415–413 BC
Hermae... Alcibiades
The mutilation of the Herms (hermokopidai scandal) of 415 BC was the event that derailed the Sicilian Expedition before it began. All herms — stone pillars with a head of Hermes and an erect phallus — throughout Athens were vandalized in a single night. Alcibiades was accused, allowed to sail, then recalled for trial, whereupon he defected to Sparta. For Sicilian history, this matters because Alcibiades' absence deprived the expedition of its most audacious commander.
c. 450–404 BC