Battle of Chaeronea

[cmacq]

Tellos, you're right, it would have to be 'oracle of Trophonios.'
This would have been a very important event for Sulla.

For others

K.T.
Κόϊντος Τίτιος = Qvintvs Titivs

T.
Τροφώνιος = Trophonios

irrelevant factoid
Κόϊντος Τίτιος, οὐκ ἀφανὴς ἀνὴρ τῶν ἐν τῇ ῾Ελλάδι πραγματευομένων,
Qvintvs Titivs, a not so obscure [Italian] man about his business in the Hellas,

I think that may be close?

[Tellos Athenaios]

"not an unknown man among those engaged in Hellas", yes. That's a classic example of genitivus partitivus there for those versed in the grammar trade. Plus a bonus litotes. Proper ancient Greek for you: I think "not unknown" is the single most common way of saying "well known" (i.e. it goes without saying who I mean exactly).

[cmacq]

Juba the Numidi

It seems that Plutarch also used part of a 'lost history' by Juba II, king of Mauritania, son of Juba I, for his account of Sulla's victory at Chaeronea.


Profile of Juba ii (left) and his wife Cleopatra Selene ii (right), daughter of Marcvs Antonivs Creticvs and Cleopatra (vii) Thea Philopator.



or the head fragment of his bust




From Plutarch's Sulla; chapter 16, end of line 8.

ὁ δὲ ᾿Ιόβας οὐ Γαβίνιόν φησι πεμφθῆναι, ἀλλὰ ᾿Ερίκιον. ἡ μὲν οὖν πόλις ἡμῶν παρὰ τοσοῦτον ἐξέφυγε τὸν κίνδυνον.


However, Iuba asserted that Gabinivs [was] not sent forth, rather [it was] Ericivs. Whomever, yes indeed [did] one’s city of birth, escape the danger so near at hand.

I think 'ἡ μὲν' means 'the former' and its a reference to both Gabinivs and Ericivs?

The city of birth mentioned above is Plutarch's home town, Chaeronea.

[cmacq]

Here is Appian's account of the 2nd Chaeronea from his Ῥωμαικα; Roman History. Although no numbers are given in the descriptive part, this account indicates that the Roman casualties were substantial. Sadly, this is contradicted further in the After Action part of the translation. I’ll see if I can find a copy of the Greek text, and actually see what it says. It also states that most of the Pontic losses were POWs.

[§41] [86] Thence Archelaus withdrew to Thessaly by way of Boeotia and drew what was left of his entire forces together at Thermopylae, both his own and those brought by Dromichiaetes. He also united with his command the army that had invaded Macedonia under Arcathias, the son of king Mithridates[VI Eupator of Pontus], which was fresh and at nearly its full strength, and had lately received recruits from Mithridates; for he never ceased sending forward reinforcements.
While Archelaus was hastily gathering these forces, [the Roman commander Lucius Cornelius] Sulla burned Piraeus, which had given him more trouble than the city of Athens, not sparing the arsenal, or the navy yard, or any other of its famous belongings.

Then he marched against Archelaus, proceeding also by way of Boeotia. As they neared each other, the forces of Archelaus just from Thermopylae advanced into Phocis, consisting of Thracian, Pontic, Scythian, Cappadocian, Bithynian, Galatian, and Phrygian troops, and others from Mithridates' newly acquired territory, in all 120,000 men. Each nationality had its own general, but Archelaus had supreme command over all. Sulla's forces were Italians and some Greeks and Macedonians, who had lately deserted Archelaus and come over to him, and a few others from the surrounding country, but they were not one third the number of the enemy.

[§42] When they had taken position opposite each other Archelaus repeatedly led out his forces and offered battle. Sulla hesitated on account of the nature of the ground and the numbers of the enemy. When Archelaus moved toward Chalcis Sulla followed him closely, watching for a favorable time and place. When he saw the enemy encamped in a rocky region near Chaeronea, where there was no chance of escape for the vanquished, he took possession of a broad plain nearby and drew up his forces in such a way that he could compel Archelaus to fight whether he wanted to or not, and where the slope of the plain favored the Romans either in advancing or retreating.

Archelaus was hedged in by rocks which, in a battle, would not allow his whole army to act in concert, as he could not bring them together by reason of the unevenness of the ground; and if they were routed their flight would be impeded by the rocks. Relying for these reasons on his advantage of position Sulla moved forward in such a way that the enemy's superiority of numbers should not be of any service to him.[1]

Archelaus did not dream of coming to an engagement at that time, for which reason he had been careless in choosing the place for his camp. Now that the Romans were advancing he perceived sorrowfully and too late the badness of his position, and he sent forward a detachment of horse to prevent the movement. The detachment was put to flight and shattered among the rocks. He next charged with sixty chariots, hoping to sever and break in pieces the formation of the legions by the shock. The Romans opened their ranks and the chariots were carried through by their own momentum to the rear, and before they could turn back they were surrounded and destroyed by the javelins of the rear guard.

[§43] Although Archelaus might have fought safely from his fortified camp, where the crags would perhaps have defended him, he hastily led out his vast multitude of men who had not expected to fight here, and drew them up, in a place that had proved much too narrow, because Sulla was already approaching. He first made a powerful charge with his horse, cut the Roman formation in two, and, by reason of the smallness of their numbers, completely surrounded both parts.

The Romans turned their faces to the enemy on all sides and fought bravely. The divisions of Galba and Hortensius suffered most since Archelaus led the battle against them in person, and the barbarians fighting under the eye of the commander were spurred by emulation to the highest pitch of valor. But Sulla moved to their aid with a large body of horse and Archelaus, feeling sure that it was Sulla who was approaching, for he saw the standards of the commander-in-chief, and a greater cloud of dust arising, released his grasp and began to resume his first position.

Sulla, leading the best part of his horse and picking up two new cohorts that had been placed in reserve, struck the enemy before they had executed their maneuver and formed a solid front. He threw them into confusion, put them to flight, and pursued them. While victory was dawning on that side, [Lucius Licinius] Murena, who commanded the left wing, was not idle. Chiding his soldiers for their remissness he, too, dashed upon the enemy valiantly and put them to flight.

[§44] When Archelaus' two wings gave way, the center no longer held its ground, but took to promiscuous flight. Then everything that Sulla had foreseen befell the enemy. Not having room to turn around, or an open country for flight, they were driven by their pursuers among the rocks. Some of them rushed into the hands of the Romans.

Others with more wisdom fled toward their own camp. Archelaus placed himself in front of them and barred the entrance, and ordered them to turn and face the enemy, thus betraying the greatest inexperience of the exigencies of war. They obeyed him with alacrity, but as they no longer had either generals to lead, or officers to align them, or standards to show where they belonged, but were scattered in disorderly rout, and had no room either to fly or to fight, the pursuit having brought them into their very narrowest place, they were killed without resistance, some by the enemy, upon whom they could not retaliate, and others by their own friends in the jam and confusion.

Again they fled toward the gates of the camp, around which they became congested. They up braided the gate-keepers. They appealed to them in the name of their country's gods and their common relationship, and reproached them that they were slaughtered not so much by the swords of the enemy as by the indifference of their friends. Finally Archelaus, after more delay than was necessary, opened the gates and received the disorganized runaways. When the Romans observed this they gave a great cheer, burst into the camp with the fugitives, and made their victory complete.

[§45] Archelaus and the rest, who made their escape singly, came together at Chalcis. Not more than 10,000 of the 120,000 remained. The Roman loss was only fifteen, and two of these turned up afterward. Such was the result of the battle of Chaeronea between Sulla and Archelaus, the general of Mithridates, to which the sagacity of Sulla and the blundering of Archelaus contributed in equal measure.

Sulla captured a large number of prisoners and a great quantity of arms and spoils, the useless part of which he put in a heap. Then he girded himself according to the Roman custom and burned it as a sacrifice to the gods of war.

[cmacq]

Right, here is the Greek text for Appian's Roman History: The Mithridatic Wars

Αππιανος Ῥωμαικα Μιτηριδατειοσ

Chapter 45 Αρψηελαοσ δε και ηοσοι αλλοι κατα μεροσ εχεπηυγον· εσ Ψηαλκιδα συνελεγοντο· ου πολυ πλειουσ μυριὀν εκ δὀδεκα μυριαδὀν γενομενοι, Ρηὀμαιὀν δε εδοχαν μεν αποτηανειν πεντεκαιδεκα ανδρεσ· δυο δ᾿ αυτὀν επανὑλτηον, τουτο μεν δὑ Συλλαι και Αρψηελαὀι τὀι Μιτηριδατου στρατὑγὀι τὑσ περι Ψηαιρὀνειαν μαψηὑσ τελοσ ὑν· δι᾿ ευβουλιαν δὑ μαλιστα Συλλα και δι᾿ απηροσυνὑν Αρψηελαου τοιονδε ηεκατερὀι γενομενον, Συλλασ δε πολλὀν μεν αιψημαλὀτὀν πολλὀν δ᾿ ηοπλὀν και λειασ κρατὀν· τα μεν αψηρεια σὀρευτηεντα· διαζὀσαμενοσ ηὀσ ετηοσ εστι Ρηὀμαιοισ· αυτοσ ενεπρὑσε τοισ ενυαλιοισ τηεοισ· αναπαυσασ δε τὑν στρατιαν επ᾿ ολιγον· εσ τον Ευριπον συν ευζὀνοισ επι τον Αρψηελαον ὑπειγετο, Ρηὀμαιὀν δε ναυσ ουκ εψηοντὀν· αδεὀσ τασ νὑσουσ περιεπλει τα παραλια πορτηὀν, Ζακυντηὀι δ᾿ εκβασ παρεστρατοπεδευσεν, και τινὀν Ρηὀμαιὀν· ηοι επεδὑμουν· νυκτοσ επιτηεμενὀν αυτὀι· κατα ταψηοσ εσβασ αυτηισ ανὑγετο εσ Ψηαλκιδα· λὑιστευοντι μαλλον ὑ πολεμουντι εοικὀσ,

Now,the thread in question...
Αρψηελαοσ δε και ηοσοι αλλοι κατα μεροσ εχεπηυγον· εσ Ψηαλκιδα συνελεγοντο· ου πολυ πλειουσ μυριὀν εκ δὀδεκα μυριαδὀν γενομενοι, Ρηὀμαιὀν δε εδοχαν μεν αποτηανειν πεντεκαιδεκα ανδρεσ· δυο δ᾿ αυτὀν επανὑλτηον,

Rendered
Archelaus and all the others excaped divided, in Chalcis from a multitude of one hundred twenty thusand, collected [the] remaining ten thusand. However on the other hand, the Ramans suposed fifteen men [were] dead, of these two returned [alive],

In Plutarch's Σύλλας it was ἐπιζητῆσαι and in the Ῥωμαικα its αποτηανειν. I don't understand why the two accounts don't jive?

[cmacq]

Tellos did I mistranslate αποτηανειν? Die, dead, or killed?

[Tellos Athenaios]

It looks like your quote is pretty messed up. Quite a few instances where I'd expect a spiritus asper or aspirated consonant returns an eta; and the chi I see in 'edochan' better be replace with an xsi according to my gut feeling.

The latter would explain everything; since "edoxan" would indicate "thought that they had died".