I percorsi della Basilicata

1) II, 10, 2. Cleandrida muove guerra ai Lucani (post 443 a.C.). Κλεανδρίδας Θουρίων ἡγούμενος μάχῃ νικήσας Λευκανοὺς μετὰ τὴν νίκην ἦγε τοὺς Θουρίους ἐπὶ τὸν τόπον τῆς μάχης δεικνύων αὐτοῖς, ὅτι αὐτοὶ μὲν ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ μείναντες διὰ τοῦτο ἐνίκησαν, οἱ πολέμιοι δὲ πολὺ ἀπ’ ἀλλήλων πεσόντες τοῦτο ἔπαθον τῷ μὴ μένειν, ἀλλὰ διεσπάσθαι. ταῦτα διεξιόντος πρὸς τοὺς Θουρίους, ἐπεφάνησαν οἱ Λευκανοὶ πολλῷ πλείονα δύναμιν ἔχοντες. ὁ δὲ ἐκ τῆς εὐρυχωρίας ἐς στενόπορον χωρίον ὑπεξήγαγε τὴν ἑαυτοῦ στρατιὰν, ἵνα τὸ πλῆθος τῶν πολεμίων ἀχρεῖον κατασκευάσας ἴσους τοὺς αὑτοῦ στρατιώτας (ἐν) τῇ στενότητι τοῦ τόπου πρὸς τὸν κίνδυνον καταστήσῃ· καὶ δὴ πάλιν Λευκανοὺς ἐνίκησαν οἱ Θούριοι.

1) Traduzione. After defeating the Lucanians in a battle, Cleandridas, commander of the Thurians, led the Thurians to the battle-field. He showed them that they won because they held theirground, while the enemy falling far fron one another, suffered this defeat because they scattered rather than held their ground. While he was explaining this to the Thurians, the Lucaniens appeared with a much larger force. He led his own army out of the wide plain to a narrow place, so that by making the enemy’s numbers useless due to the narrowness of the place he could make his own soldiers equal to the danger. And in fact the Thurians conquered the Lucaniens again.

2) II, 10, 4. Cleandrida sconfigge i Lucani con l'inganno (post 442 a.C.). Κλεανδρίδας Λευκανοῖς πολεμῶν ὑπερέχων ἡμιολίῳ πλήθει λογισάμενος ὡς, εἰ φανερὸν τὸ πλῆθος γένοιτο τοῖς πολεμίοις, ἀναχωρήσουσι [μὴ] διακινδυνεύσαντες, τὴν φάλαγγα συνήγαγεν ἐς βάθος. ἐπεὶ δὲ Λευκανοὶ καταφρονήσαντες ὡς ὀλίγων ἐπὶ μῆκος ἐξέτειναν τὰ ζυγὰ ὑπερφαλαγγῆσαι πειρώμενοι καὶ βουλόμενοι καὶ * ἦν αὐτοῖς ἡ ἀναχώρησις ἡπλωμένης τῆς φάλαγγος, παρήγγειλε τοὺς ἐπιστάτας μεταβαίνειν εἰς παραστάτην· πολλῷ δὲ ποιήσας ὑπερμηκεστέραν τὴν τάξιν ὑπερεφαλάγγησε τοὺς Λευκανούς. οἱ δὲ κυκλωθέντες, βαλλόμενοι πανταχόθεν πάντες ἀπώλοντο πλὴν ὀλίγων [οἳ] διεσώθησαν αἰσχρῶς φεύγοντες.

2) Traduzione. In a war with the Lucanian Cleandridas had one a half times as many men as the enemy, so he formed the phalanx deep, reasoning that if the size of his army was clear to the enemy they would retreat rather than fight. When the Lucaniens, despising his small numbers, stretched out the ranks to a great length, attempting to outflank the enemy and wishing their retreat after the phalanx was extended, he told the rear-rankers to take position beside the front-ankers. By making his formation much wider, he outfanked the Lucaniens. Surrounded and hit from all sides, they all died except a few who survived by fleeing disgracefully.