Hellenica Anonymous Fragments on Ephesian Campaign in Greek
The Fragments on Ephesian Campaign are two brief prose passages detailing a military engagement at the Ionian city of Ephesus. Preserved only as quotations within a later, unidentified ancient work, these excerpts are conventionally attributed to a lost historical text titled Hellenica, a common designation for continuations of Thucydides' history. The fragments offer a concise narrative of the action, describing an immediate assault on the city's walls and the strategic positioning of a fleet, followed by the response of the Ephesians and their Spartan allies who confronted one Athenian force near the harbor called Koressos while missing another. The precise historical context of the campaign—whether it occurred during the Peloponnesian War, the Corinthian War, or the conflicts following Alexander the Great—cannot be determined from the extant text alone. The work survives exclusively through this indirect transmission, categorized among the fragmentary Greek historians, and possesses no independent manuscript tradition. Its significance lies primarily in the specialized fields of historiography and philology, where it serves as evidence for reconstructing lost historical narratives and the events of the classical period.
| 1 | PAP. CAIRO temp. inv. 26/6/27/1—35 s. 1 p. (ed. Ludwig Koenen, Papyrology in the Federal Republic of Germany and fieldwork of the International Photographic Archive in Cairo, Studia Papyrologica 15, Barcelona 1976, 39—79, insbes. 55—67. 69—76; dazu G. A. Lehmann, ZPE 26, 1977, 181—191): (col. 1) [...] ἐπεχείρησεν εὐˈ[θὺ̣]ς προσβαλεῖν τοῖς τ̣ε̣[ίχεσι κελεύσας τὰς ˈ π]λ̣είστας τῶν τριήρω[ν ὁρμίσασθαι, τὰς ˈ δ’] ἑ̣τέρας τόπον τῆς Ἐφε[σίας καταλαβεῖν.] ˈ ⸤ ἐκ ⸥ β̣ι̣ ⸤ βά ⸥ σας δὲ πᾶσαν τὴν ⸤ δύναμιν ⸥ [προήγαˈγε]ν ἐπὶ τῆς πόλεως. Ἐφέσιοι [δὲ καὶ τῶν Λαˈκε]δαιμονίων αὐτοῖς̣ [ο̣ἱ̣ π̣α̣ρόντες τοὺς ˈ μὲ]ν μ̣ε̣τ̣ὰ τοῦ Πασίωνος τῶν Ἀθηναίων ˈ [οὐχ] ἑώρων—ἔτυχον γὰρ ὄντες ἔτι πόρρω καὶ ˈ [μα]κροτέραν ὁδὸν τῶν ἑτέρων βαδίζοντες—, ˈ [τοὺ]ς δὲ περὶ τὸν Θράσυλλον ὁρῶντ[ε]ς̣ ὅ̣σ̣ο̣ν ˈ [οὔ]π̣ω παρόντας ἀπήντω̣ν̣ αὐτοῖς πρὸς ˈ [τὸ]ν λιμένα τὸν Κορησσὸν καλούμενον, ˈ [ἔχο]ν̣τε̣ς̣ συμμάχους τούς̣ τ̣ε̣ βο̣ηθήσαντας [ ..... ] .. π̣[ . ] ... [ . ]ο̣ν̣ καὶ πιστ̣ο̣τ̣ά̣το[υ]ς̣ . ο . ε .. ˈ[ .... ] .... νη̣τωνη̣κ̣[ . ] . |
| 2 | τ ..... [ . ] ἐ̣[ν τ̣ῶ̣ι̣ ˈ Κιλ]β̣ί[ωι̣] πεδίωι κατοικο̣ύ̣ν̣τω̣ν. μ̣[ετ]ὰ δ̣ὲ̣ ˈ [ταῦ]τ̣α Θ̣ρ̣ά̣σ̣υ̣λλος μὲν ὁ τῶν Ἀθηναίων ˈ [στρα]τ̣η̣γ̣ό̣ς̣, ὡς ἧκε πρὸς τὴν πόλι[ν, ἔλι]π̣έ̣ν̣ ˈ[τιν]α̣ς μὲν τῶν στρατιωτῶν π̣ρ̣οσβ̣αˈ[λό]ν̣τ̣ας, τοὺς δὲ πρὸς τὸν λόφον α[ὐτ̣ὸ̣ς̣ˈ προ]σ̣ῆγεν ὃς ὑψηλὸς καὶ δύσβατός ἐστιν, [κ̣α̣ὶ̣ ˈ τὰ μ]ὲν ἐντὸς ἔστραπται, τὰ δ’ ἔξω τ̣ῆ̣ς̣ πόˈ[λεως]. τῶν δ’ Ἐφεσίων ἡγ̣ο̣ῦ̣ντο κ̣α̣ὶ̣ Τ̣ί̣μ̣α̣ρ̣ˈ[χο]ς̣ κ̣α̣ὶ̣ Ποσσι κράτης οἱ [ ]ˈ[ ] .. βει̣[] (col. 1 Ende) [...]σ[.].[ ]ˈ[ α]ὐτούς. πρα̣ . [ ]ˈ[ ]σ̣ι τινας τῶν [ ]ˈ[ ]μ̣α̣ . νου̣ντ[ ]ˈ[ ]ντας . α̣[] (col. 2) [...]ˈ γ̣η̣ς̣ . [ ]ˈ πιλ[ .. ] .. α̣λ̣[ ] ˈ μ̣ι̣β̣ .. Θρασ[υλλ] []ˈ τα̣ς [ . ] .. ει̣π̣[ ]ˈτ̣α̣ι̣ . ἐπειδὴ δὲ προ̣[ ]ˈ . [ .. ] πρὸς καρτερὰ χ̣ω̣ρ̣[ί]α̣ [ ]ˈ . [ .. ] . κ̣αὶ πρὸς αὐτοὺς κατέφευ[γον .... τὸ] ˈ στ̣ρ̣α̣τ̣[ό]πεδον ἐπῆγεν. ὑπο̣χ̣[ω]ρ̣ούντων̣ ˈ δ̣ὲ̣ τ̣ῶ̣ν̣ ἐναντίων οἱ μὲν Ἀθηναῖοι π̣ρ̣οˈθ̣ύ̣μω̣ς̣ ἐπηκολούθουν ὡς κ[α]τὰ κράτος ˈ λ̣η̣ψ̣[ό]μενοι τὴν πόλιν. Τ̣ίμαρχ̣ος δ̣[ὲ] κ̣αὶ ˈ Π̣ο̣[σσ]ι̣κράτης οἱ τῶν Ἐφεσίων ἡγε̣[μόν]ες ˈ ἀνε̣κ̣α̣λ̣οῦντο τοὺς ἑαυτ̣ῶ̣ν ὁπλ̣ίτας̣ . [παρ]ελˈθόντων δὲ̣ τῶν Ἀθηναίων .. [ ........ ]νˈτ̣ε̣ς̣ π̣ά̣λ̣ιν ο[ἱ] ψ{ε}ιλοὶ τῶν ἀ̣ν̣οδ[ε̣ύ̣τ̣ω̣ν̣ ... ] ˈ ε̣ἰ̣σ̣β̣ά̣λ̣λ̣ουσι μετὰ τῶν . ο̣ .. τ̣ . [ ...... ]η̣ˈ [ .... ]· οἱ δὲ διὰ τὴν τῶ[ν ......... · μ]εˈτ̣ὰ̣ δ̣[ὲ β]ραχὺν χρόνον . [ ]ˈ ρο̣[ . ]ν̣ ἐπέπεσεν τῶ[ι ] ˈ ἀπ̣[οπει]ρώμεν[ο]ι [ κατα]ˈπλαγ̣έ̣ντες διέλυσα[ν τ̣ὴν μάχην καὶ] ˈ πρ̣ὸ̣ς τ̣ὰ̣ς̣ ναῦς ἀ̣τ̣άκτως̣ [ ]ˈ ἔφευγον. ὅσ̣οι μὲν οὖν α̣ὐ̣τ̣ῶ̣ν̣ τ̣[ὴν εἰς θά]ˈλατταν ὁδὸν ἀπεχώρουν, ἀσ̣φ̣α̣[λῶς ἐ̣ποˈρεύ]θ̣η̣σ̣αν. τῶν δ̣ὲ̣ τὴν ἄνωθε[ν ὁδὸν ἐλθόνˈτων πολλοὶ διε]φθάρη̣σ̣α̣ν̣ .. [ ]ˈ[ ]ωσεν δι’ αὐτοῦ [ ]ˈ[ ]ον ... πεμψα . [ ]ˈ[ ]ων κατ[ . ] . [ ]ˈ[ ]π̣ρ̣ε .. μ̣ε . [ (col. 3) ... ] . ς οἱ προ[ ]ˈ[ ]ο̣ν ἀποβ .... [ ]ˈ[ στρα]τ̣ι̣ωτ̣ῶν̣ παρ[ ]ˈ[ ]ως ὑπὸ το[ῦ] π̣ρατ[ εἰς] ˈ[ Συρ]ακ̣ούσας [ ... ]δ̣ι[ ]ˈ[ τ]ῆ̣ς σαφηνε[ί]α[ς] . [ ]ˈ π[ . ] . εων .. αιν . [ ] ˈ ἵπ[π]α̣ρ̣χον [ . ] .... [ []ˈ ἐκε̣ῖ̣ν̣ο̣ς̣ ... [ . ] .. [ ] ˈ τοῖ̣ς στρατιώ̣τα̣[ι]ς [ ]ˈ τῆς Ἐφέσου . [ ]ˈ ἐπιμείνα̣ν̣τες α̣[ κιν]ˈδυνεύειν [ . ]π̣ . [ ἐ]ˈχώ̣ρισε καὶ [ ]ˈτα ...... [ ]ονε̣[ |