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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §4.19.1-4.19.4

Foundation of Alesia in Celtica and the Alps Crossing

Passage 255 of 406 · Greek

Summary

After delivering the kingship of Iberia to the natives, Heracles traveled to Celtica, where he founded Alesia and abolished lawless customs. He then paved a difficult path across the Alps and subdued the hostile barbarians, securing the route to Italy.

§4.19.1ὁ δʼ Ἡρακλῆς τῶν μὲν Ἰβήρων παρέδωκε τὴν βασιλείαν τοῖς ἀρίστοις τῶν ἐγχωρίων, αὐτὸς δʼ ἀναλαβὼν τὴν δύναμιν καὶ καταντήσας εἰς τὴν Κελτικὴν καὶ πᾶσαν ἐπελθὼν κατέλυσε μὲν τὰς συνήθεις παρανομίας καὶ ξενοκτονίας, πολλοῦ δὲ πλήθους ἀνθρώπων ἐξ ἅπαντος ἔθνους ἑκουσίως συστρατεύοντος ἔκτισε πόλιν εὐμεγέθη τὴν ὀνομασθεῖσαν ἀπὸ τῆς κατὰ τὴν στρατείαν ἄλης Ἀλησίαν.
And Heracles delivered the kingship of the Iberians to the most outstanding of the natives, while he himself, having taken up his army and arrived in Celtica, and having traversed the whole of it, put an end to the customary lawlessness and murdering of strangers; and since a great multitude of men from every nation voluntarily joined his expedition, he founded a city of considerable size, which was named Alesia from his wandering on the expedition.
§4.19.2πολλοὺς δὲ καὶ τῶν ἐγχωρίων ἀνέμιξεν εἰς τὴν πόλιν· ὧν ἐπικρατησάντων τῷ πλήθει πάντας τοὺς ἐνοικοῦντας ἐκβαρβαρωθῆναι συνέβη.
And he also mixed many of the natives into the city; and as these got the upper hand in numbers, it happened that all the inhabitants became barbarized.
οἱ δὲ Κελτοὶ μέχρι τῶνδε τῶν καιρῶν τιμῶσι ταύτην τὴν πόλιν, ὡς ἁπάσης τῆς Κελτικῆς οὖσαν ἑστίαν καὶ μητρόπολιν.
But the Celts down to these times honor this city as being the hearth and metropolis of all Celtica.
διέμεινε δʼ αὕτη πάντα τὸν ἀφʼ Ἡρακλέους χρόνον ἐλευθέρα καὶ ἀπόρθητος μέχρι τοῦ καθʼ ἡμᾶς χρόνου· τὸ δὲ τελευταῖον ὑπὸ Γαΐου Καίσαρος τοῦ διὰ τὸ μέγεθος τῶν πράξεων θεοῦ προσαγορευθέντος ἐκ βίας ἁλοῦσα συνηναγκάσθη μετὰ πάντων τῶν ἄλλων Κελτῶν ὑποταγῆναι Ῥωμαίοις.
And this city remained free and unplundered throughout the whole time from Heracles down to our own time; but finally, having been taken by force by Gaius Caesar, who was addressed as a god because of the magnitude of his deeds, it was compelled, along with all the other Celts, to submit to the Romans.
§4.19.3ὁ δʼ Ἡρακλῆς τὴν ἐκ τῆς Κελτικῆς πορείαν ἐπὶ τὴν Ἰταλίαν ποιούμενος, καὶ διεξιὼν τὴν ὀρεινὴν τὴν κατὰ τὰς Ἄλπεις, ὡδοποίησε τὴν τραχύτητα τῆς ὁδοῦ καὶ τὸ δύσβατον, ὥστε δύνασθαι στρατοπέδοις καὶ ταῖς τῶν ὑποζυγίων ἀποσκευαῖς βάσιμον εἶναι.
And Heracles, making his journey from Celtica to Italy, and traversing the mountainous region along the Alps, made the roughness and difficulty of the road passable, so that it could be traversed by armies and the baggage-trains of the beasts of burden.
§4.19.4τῶν δὲ τὴν ὀρεινὴν ταύτην κατοικούντων βαρβάρων εἰωθότων τὰ διεξιόντα τῶν στρατοπέδων περικόπτειν καὶ λῃστεύειν ἐν ταῖς δυσχωρίαις, χειρωσάμενος ἅπαντας καὶ τοὺς ἡγεμόνας τῆς παρανομίας ἀνελὼν ἐποίησεν ἀσφαλῆ τοῖς μεταγενεστέροις τὴν ὁδοιπορίαν.
And since the barbarians who inhabited this mountainous region were accustomed to cut off and plunder the passing armies in the difficult passes, having subdued them all and slain the leaders of the lawlessness, he made the journey safe for those of later times.
διελθὼν δὲ τὰς Ἄλπεις καὶ τῆς νῦν καλουμένης Γαλατίας τὴν πεδιάδα διεξιὼν ἐποιήσατο τὴν πορείαν διὰ τῆς Λιγυστικῆς.
And having crossed the Alps and traversing the plain of what is now called Galatia, he made his way through Ligustica.

Notes

  1. 4.19.1ἄλης Ἀλησίαν — An etymological explanation that attributes the origin of the city name Ἀλησία (Alesia) to the "wandering" (ἄλη) of Heracles during his expedition.
  2. 4.19.2ὧν ἐπικρατησάντων τῷ πλήθει — A genitive absolute construction with the relative pronoun ὧν (referring to the preceding τῶν ἐγχωρίων, "the natives") functioning as its subject.
  3. 4.19.3ὥστε δύνασθαι στρατοπέδοις καὶ ταῖς τῶν ὑποζυγίων ἀποσκευαῖς βάσιμον εἶναι — An infinitive clause of result or purpose introduced by ὥστε. The implied subject is "the road", and the adjective βάσιμον (passable), which takes the datives (armies and baggage), functions as the complement of the infinitive εἶναι.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §4.19.1-4.19.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc5:4.19.1-4.19.4

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