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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §14.113.1-14.113.7

Celtic Invasion of Etruria and Roman Intervention

Passage 407 of 723 · Greek

Summary

While the Celts cross the Alps and invade Etruria, a reckless intervention by Roman envoys at Clusium sparks a conflict with the Celts and leads to a constitutional dispute within Rome.

§14.113.1καθʼ ὃν δὲ καιρὸν μάλιστα Ῥήγιον ἐπολιόρκει Διονύσιος, οἱ κατοικοῦντες τὰ πέραν τῶν Ἄλπεων Κελτοὶ τὰ στενὰ διελθόντες μεγάλαις δυνάμεσι κατελάβοντο τὴν μεταξὺ χώραν τοῦ τε Ἀπεννίνου καὶ τῶν Ἄλπεων ὀρῶν, ἐκβάλλοντες τοὺς κατοικοῦντας Τυρρηνούς.
At the very time when Dionysius was besieging Rhegium with the greatest intensity, the Celts who dwelt beyond the Alps, having passed through the defiles with large forces, seized the territory between the Apennines and the Alps, expelling the Tyrrhenians who were dwelling there.
§14.113.2τούτους δʼ ἔνιοί φασιν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐν Τυρρηνίᾳ δώδεκα πόλεων ἀποικισθῆναι· τινὲς δέ φασι Πελασγοὺς πρὸ τῶν Τρωικῶν ἐκ Θετταλίας φυγόντας τὸν ἐπὶ Δευκαλίωνος γενόμενον κατακλυσμὸν ἐν τούτῳ τῷ τόπῳ κατοικῆσαι.
Concerning these, some say that they had been sent out as colonists from the twelve cities in Tyrrhenia; but others say that Pelasgians, fleeing from Thessaly before the Trojan War to escape the deluge which occurred in the time of Deucalion, settled in this place.
§14.113.3τῶν οὖν Κελτῶν κατʼ ἔθνη διελομένων τὴν χώραν, οἱ καλούμενοι Σέννωνες ἔτυχον λαβόντες τὸν πορρωτάτω κείμενον τόπον τῶν ὀρῶν παρὰ θάλατταν.
When the Celts, therefore, divided the land by tribes, those called Senones happened to receive the territory situated farthest from the mountains along the sea.
ὄντος δʼ αὐτοῦ καυματώδους, δυσθετοῦντες ἔσπευδον μετοικῆσαι, καὶ τοὺς νεωτέρους καθοπλίσαντες ἀπέστειλαν ζητεῖν χώραν, ἐν ᾗ κατοικήσουσιν.
But since it was extremely hot, they, being uncomfortable under these conditions, hastened to move away, and having armed their younger men, they sent them out to seek a land where they might dwell.
εἰσβαλόντες οὖν εἰς Τυρρηνίαν, καὶ τὸν ἀριθμὸν ὄντες περὶ τρισμυρίους, τὴν τῶν Κλουσίνων χώραν ἐπόρθουν.
Invading Tyrrhenia, then, being about thirty thousand in number, they began to plunder the territory of the Clusians.
§14.113.4καθʼ ὃν δὴ χρόνον ὁ δῆμος ὁ τῶν Ῥωμαίων πρέσβεις ἀπέστειλεν εἰς Τυρρηνίαν τοὺς κατασκεψομένους τὴν στρατιὰν τῶν Κελτῶν.
At this very time, the Roman people sent envoys into Tyrrhenia to spy upon the army of the Celts.
παραγενόμενοι δὲ οἱ πρέσβεις εἰς Κλούσιον καὶ θεωρήσαντες παράταξιν γενομένην, ἀνδρειότεροι μᾶλλον ἢ φρονιμώτεροι γενηθέντες παρετάξαντο τοῖς Κλουσίνοις πρὸς τοὺς πολιορκοῦντας.
When the envoys arrived at Clusium and saw that a battle line had been formed, they, becoming more courageous than wise, drew up in battle array alongside the Clusians against the besiegers.
§14.113.5εὐημερήσαντος δὲ θατέρου τῶν πρεσβευτῶν καί τινα τῶν ἐνδοξοτέρων ἐπάρχων ἀποκτείναντος, γνόντες οἱ Κελτοὶ τὸ γεγονὸς εἰς Ῥώμην πρέσβεις ἀπέστειλαν τοὺς ἐξαιτήσοντας τὸν πρεσβευτὴν τὸν ἀδίκου πολέμου προκαταρξάμενον.
When one of the envoys met with success and killed one of the more illustrious commanders, the Celts, having learned what had happened, sent envoys to Rome to demand the surrender of the envoy who had initiated an unjust war.
§14.113.6ἡ δὲ γερουσία τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἔπειθε τοὺς πρεσβευτὰς τῶν Κελτῶν χρήματα λαβεῖν περὶ τῶν ἠδικημένων· ὡς δʼ οὐ προσεῖχον, ἐψηφίσαντο παραδοῦναι τὸν κατηγορούμενον.
The Senate at first tried to persuade the envoys of the Celts to accept money in compensation for the wrongs they had suffered; but when they paid no attention, they voted to surrender the accused.
ὁ δὲ πατὴρ τοῦ μέλλοντος παραδίδοσθαι, τῶν χιλιάρχων εἷς ὢν τῶν τὴν ὑπατικὴν ἐξουσίαν ἐχόντων, προεκαλέσατο τὴν δίκην ἐπὶ τὸν δῆμον, καὶ δυνατὸς ὢν ἐπὶ τοῖς πλήθεσιν ἔπεισεν ἄκυρον ποιῆσαι τὴν κρίσιν τῆς συγκλήτου.
However, the father of the one who was about to be surrendered, being one of the military tribunes with consular power, appealed the judgment to the people, and since he was influential with the multitude, he persuaded them to make the decision of the Senate void.
§14.113.7ὁ μὲν οὖν δῆμος ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν χρόνοις πάντα πειθόμενος τῇ γερουσίᾳ, τότε πρῶτον ἤρξατο διαλύειν τὸ κριθὲν ὑπὸ τῆς συγκλήτου.
Thus the people, who in former times had complied with the Senate in all things, then for the first time began to annul what had been decided by the Senate.

Notes

  1. §14.113.3ἔτυχον λαβόντες — The combination of the verb τυγχάνω with a participle (here the aorist active participle λαβόντες) expresses a chance occurrence or a matter of fact ('happened to receive' or 'by chance obtained'). It indicates that the Senones acquired that specific territory by lot or happenstance.
  2. §14.113.4ἀνδρειότεροι μᾶλλον ἢ φρονιμώτεροι γενηθέντες — The coordination of two comparative adjectives with ἤ, reinforced by μᾶλλον, emphasizes a disproportionate contrast ('more courageous than wise'). It describes the envoys as acting with reckless bravery rather than with the prudence expected of diplomats.
  3. §14.113.6ἔπειθε — The imperfect tense of πείθω is used here as a conative imperfect, meaning 'attempted to persuade' or 'tried to win over.' The failure of this attempt is immediately shown by the following clause, ὡς δʼ οὐ προσεῖχον ('but since they paid no attention').
  4. §14.113.6προεκαλέσατο τὴν δίκην ἐπὶ τὸν δῆμον — A Greek rendering of the Roman legal right of appeal to the people (*provocatio ad populum*). It refers to the formal procedure whereby a citizen facing capital or severe punishment appeals the Senate's or magistrate's decision to the popular assembly for a final verdict.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §14.113.1-14.113.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:14.113.1-14.113.7

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