Geography

​Secondly, let Liguria be described, which is situated in the Apennines mountains themselves, between the Celtic territory just mentioned and Tyrrhenia; it has nothing worthy of description, except that the people live in villages, tilling and digging a rugged land, or rather, as Poseidonius says, quarrying stone. Thirdly, continuous with these are the Tyrrhenians, who hold the plains extending as far as the river Tiber; they are washed on their eastern parts especially by the river as far as its mouth, and on the other side by the Tyrrhenian and Sardinian seas. The Tiber flows from the Apennines mountains and is filled from many rivers, running for a certain part through Tyrrhenia itself, and next dividing from it first Umbria, and then the Sabines and the Latins who are near Rome, as far as the coast. These people are situated in a way parallel to the river and to the Tyrrhenians in breadth, but to one another in length; and extending up towards the Apennines mountains that approach the Adriatic, first are the Umbrians, after these the Sabines, and last those who hold Latium, all starting from the river. Now, the territory of the Latins lies between the coast from Ostia as far as the city of Sinuessa and the Sabine country (Ostia is the port of Rome, into which the Tiber empties, flowing past Rome itself), and it extends in length as far as Campania and the Samnite mountains; and the Sabine country lies between the Latins and the Umbrians, and it also extends towards the Samnite mountains, and more closely connects with the Apennines near the Vestini, Paeligni, and Marsi; and the Umbrians lie between the Sabine country and Tyrrhenia, and they advance as far as Ariminum and Ravenna, crossing over the mountains. The Tyrrhenians end at the very mountains which enclose them from Liguria to the Adriatic, starting from their own sea and the Tiber. We shall go through the details starting from these very people.

​The Tyrrhenians, then, are called Etruscans and Tusci by the Romans. But the Greeks named them thus after Tyrrhenus, the son of Atys, as they say, who sent colonists here from Lydia. For during a famine and barrenness, Atys, one of the descendants of Heracles and Omphale, since he had two sons, retained Lydus by lot, but having assembled the greater part of the people with Tyrrhenus, sent them out. And having arrived, he called the country Tyrrhenia after himself and founded twelve cities, appointing Tarchon as founder, after whom the city of Tarquinia is named, who, they mythologically say, was born grey-haired because of his intelligence from childhood. At that time, therefore, being organized under one leader, they were very powerful; but in later times it is likely that the system was dissolved and they were split up by cities, yielding to the violence of their neighbors. For otherwise they would not have abandoned a fertile country and applied themselves to piracy on the sea, turning to different seas; since, wherever they acted in unison, they were capable not only of repelling those who attacked them, but also of counter-attacking and making long expeditions. After the founding of Rome, Demaratus arrived leading a host from Corinth, and being received by the Tarquinienses, he begot Lucumo of a local woman. Having become a friend to Ancus Marcius, the king of the Romans, this man reigned and was renamed Lucius Tarquinius Priscus. He himself, and his father before him, adorned Tyrrhenia: the father through the abundance of artisans who accompanied him from home, and the son through the resources from Rome. It is said also that the triumphal ornament, and the consular, and simply that of the magistrates was transferred here from Tarquinia, as well as the rods and axes, trumpets, sacred rites, divination, and music, as much as the Romans use publicly. His son was the second Tarquinius, Superbus, who, having reigned last, was expelled. And Porsinas, the king of the Clusini, a Tyrrhenian city, having attempted to restore him by force of arms, when he was unable to do so, made peace and departed as a friend with honor and great gifts.