SOL Search

In olden times the company had these, just as their name shows, because they were supernumeraries of the company. They are 5 [in number]: camp-herald, trumpeter, standard-bearer, attendant, leader of the rear-guard.[2] But nowadays there are officers with this name both in the company and in the other [units]. The company, or even the battalion [syntagma], must have them:[2] the first one to communicate the orders with his voice, the second one [to do so] by the standard, if the voice is not heard because of hubbub;[3] the trumpeter,[4] whenever they cannot see even the standard because of dust; and the attendant, so as to carry over some of the things that are needed. Moreover, the special-duty leader of the rear-guard [is needed] to lead back any stragglers to the company; [it is he] who, of the four above-mentioned, is stationed in the rank below in the front line.[5]

*)/ektaktoi h)\ *)/ektatoi: tou/tous to\ me\n palaio\n h( ta/cis ei)=xen, w(s kai\ tou)/noma dhloi=, dio/ti th=s ta/cews e)ca/riqmoi h)=san. ei)si\ de\ e#: stratokh=ruc, salpigkth/s, shmeiofo/ros, u(phre/ths, ou)rago/s. nu=n de\ kai\ tou= sunta/gmatos le/gontai kai\ tw=n a)/llwn. e)/xein de\ dei= tou/tous th\n ta/cin h)\ kai\ to\ su/ntagma, to\n me\n o(/pws th=| fwnh=| shmai/nh| to\ prostatto/menon, to\n de\ o(/pws tw=| shmei/w|, ei) mh\ h( fwnh\ katakou/oito dia\ qo/rubon, to\n de\ salpigkth/n, o(po/te mhde\ shmei=on ble/poien dia\ koniorto/n, kai\ to\n u(phre/thn, w(/ste ti tw=n ei)s th\n xrei/an parakomi/sai: to/n ge mh\n e)/ktaton ou)rago\n pro\s to\ e)pana/gein to\n leipo/menon e)pi\ th\n ta/cin: o(\s tw=n tessa/rwn a)/nw tupoume/nwn kata\ me/twpon ka/tw ta/ssetai.

The headword (nominative masculine plural) is given here in two forms, 'ektaktoi or ektatoi'. (No other occurrences of the form ektatos are attested. The variant appears again in the appended Onomasticon Tacticon 17, cf. 34.)
The body of the entry follows Asclepiodotus 2.9, with added comment in the middle and again at the end. See further below.
[1] Thus far quotation from Asclepiodotus, with slight differences (nominative instead of the original accusative). See also Arrian, Tactica 10.4; Aelian, Tactica 9.4; Asclepiodotus 3.6, 6.3.
[2] The following words resume the quotation from Asclepiodotus, up to the words e)pi\ th\n ta/cin ("to the company").
[3] Asclepiodotus' original reads ei) mh\ fwnh=s katakou/ein e)nde/xoito, "if it is impossible to hear the voice".
[4] Asclepiodotus' original reads to\n de\ th=| sa/lpiggi, "the one with the trumpet".
[5] In this additional comment the genitive clause needs to be construed as "rather than" the other four.

David Whitehead (tweaked headword and tr; augmented notes and keywords) on 19 September 2006@05:09:18.
Catharine Roth (betacode cosmetics) on 19 September 2006@11:02:49.
David Whitehead (another keyword; tweaking) on 9 August 2012@04:00:34.
David Whitehead (expanded primary note) on 11 December 2015@04:53:52.

Suda On Line Search