# Historiae Animalium Epitome 116

Aristophanes of Byzantium, Historiae Animalium Epitome, B. Ancient Greek.

Canonical: https://interlinea.aeterna-institute.org/library/greek/aristophanes-of-byzantium/historiae-animalium-epitome/116

(116) Ὅταν ὑπὸ θηρατῶν ὡς ἐν πολέμῳ στρατιῶται τραπῶσιν οἱ ἐλέφαντες καὶ εἰς φυγὴν ὁρμήσωσιν οὐ φεύγουσι διῃρημένοι οὐδὲ καθ᾿ ἕνα, ἀλλὰ κοινῇ, καὶ πιέζουσιν ἀλλήλους τῶν συννόμων ἐχόμενοι. καὶ κύκλῳ μὲν οἱ νέοι, ὡς εἰπεῖν, τὸ μαχιμώτατον, ἐν μέσῳ δὲ | οἱ γεγηρακότες καὶ αἱ μητέρες, ὑπὸ ταύταις δὲ τὰ πωλία, ἑκάστη τὸ ἴδιον ἀποκρύπτουσα. καὶ ὁρῶνταί γε οἵδε οἱ μικροὶ σπανιώτατα. ἀθρόους δὲ αὐτοὺς ἐὰν θεάσωνται καὶ λέοντες, ἢ φεύγουσι προτροπάδην ἢ ἄλλος ἄλλῃ κατέπτηξαν ὡς νεβροί, τοὺς ἐλέφαντας οἱ τέως φοβεροὶ καὶ ἐκπληκτικοὶ καταδείσαντες. οὐκ ἀνθίσταται δὲ τοῖς διώκουσιν ἐλέφας, εἰ μή ποτε ἄρα ὑπὲρ τῶν τέκνων καὶ τῶν νοσούντων. ἐνταῦθα δὲ ἄμαχός ἐστι.

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Aristophanes of Byzantium, Historiae Animalium Epitome, ed. Spyridon Paulou Lampros. Text: The Greek Library, from the Perseus Digital Library and other open sources, CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: apostrophes normalised and the text divided into reading sections by Interlinea.
License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Source: https://thegreeklibrary.pages.lisn.upsaclay.fr/works/tlg0644.tlg001.local001/.