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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §1.10.1-1.10.3

Three Theories on the Origins of the Aborigines

Passage 10 of 962 · Greek

Summary

Explores the origins of the Aborigines, the ancestors of the Romans, presenting three different theories: that they were indigenous to Italy, that they were homeless wanderers, or that they were colonists of the Ligurians.

§1.10.1τοὺς δὲ Ἀβοριγῖνας, ἀφʼ ὧν ἄρχει Ῥωμαίοις τὸ γένος, οἱ μὲν αὐτόχθονας Ἰταλίας, γένος αὐτὸ καθʼ ἑαυτὸ γενόμενον ἀποφαίνουσιν·
As for the Aborigines, from whom the race of the Romans has its origin, some declare them to be indigenous to Italy, a race that came into being by itself.
Ἰταλίαν δὲ καλῶ τὴν ἀκτὴν σύμπασαν, ὅσην Ἰόνιός τε κόλπος καὶ Τυρρηνικὴ θάλασσα καὶ τρίται περιέχουσιν ἐκ γῆς Ἄλπεις.
By Italy I mean the whole peninsula which the Ionian Gulf, the Tyrrhenian Sea, and, thirdly, from the landward side, the Alps enclose.
καὶ τὴν ὀνομασίαν αὐτοῖς τὴν πρώτην φασὶ τεθῆναι διὰ τὸ γενέσεως τοῖς μετʼ αὐτοὺς ἄρξαι, ὥσπερ ἂν ἡμεῖς εἴποιμεν γενεάρχας ἢ πρωτογόνους.
And they say that this first name was given to them because they were the beginners of generation for those after them, just as we might say "ancestors" or "first-born".
§1.10.2ἕτεροι δὲ λέγουσιν ἀνεστίους τινὰς καὶ πλάνητας ἐκ πολλῶν συνελθόντας χωρίων κατὰ δαίμονα περιτυχεῖν ἀλλήλοις αὐτόθι καὶ τὴν οἴκησιν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐρύμασι καταστήσασθαι, ζῆν δὲ ἀπὸ λῃστείας καὶ νομῆς.
But others say that certain homeless people and wanderers, having come together from many places, met one another there by chance, established their dwelling on fortified places, and lived by plunder and pasturage.
παραλλάττουσι δὲ καὶ τὴν ὀνομασίαν αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὸ ταῖς τύχαις οἰκειότερον, Ἀβερριγῖνας λέγοντες, ὥστε δηλοῦσθαι αὐτοὺς πλάνητας.
And they slightly alter their name to make it more appropriate to their fortunes, calling them "Aberrigines", so that they are shown to be wanderers.
κινδυνεύει δὴ κατὰ τούτους μηδὲν διαφέρειν τὸ τῶν Ἀβοριγίνων φῦλον ὧν ἐκάλουν οἱ παλαιοὶ Λελέγων· τοῖς γὰρ ἀνεστίοις καὶ μιγάσι καὶ μηδεμίαν γῆν βεβαίως ὡς πατρίδα κατοικοῦσι ταύτην ἐπετίθεντο τὴν ὀνομασίαν ὡς τὰ §1.10.3πολλά.
According to these, then, the race of the Aborigines is in danger of being no different from those whom the ancients called Leleges; for they generally applied this name to homeless and mixed peoples who inhabited no land securely as a fatherland, for the most part.
ἄλλοι δὲ Λιγύων ἀποίκους μυθολογοῦσιν αὐτοὺς γενέσθαι τῶν ὁμορούντων Ὀμβρικοῖς· οἱ γὰρ Λίγυες οἰκοῦσι μὲν καὶ τῆς Ἰταλίας πολλαχῇ, νέμονται δέ τινα καὶ τῆς Κελτικῆς.
And others tell a story that they were colonists of the Ligurians who bordered on the Umbrians; for the Ligurians inhabit many parts of Italy and also occupy some of Celtica.
ὁποτέρα δʼ αὐτοῖς ἐστι γῆ πατρίς, ἄδηλον· οὐ γὰρ ἔτι λέγεται περὶ αὐτῶν προσωτέρω σαφὲς οὐδέν.
But which of the two lands is their fatherland is unclear; for nothing further is said clearly about them.

Notes

  1. 1.10.1ἀφʼ ὧν ἄρχει Ῥωμαίοις τὸ γένος — The subject of the verb ἄρχει (begins) in the relative clause is τὸ γένος. Ῥωμαίοις is a dative of reference or interest. The accusative τοὺς δὲ Ἀβοριγῖνας at the beginning of the sentence serves as the object of the main verb ἀποφαίνουσιν and also functions as the antecedent of the relative pronoun ὧν.
  2. 1.10.1διὰ τὸ γενέσεως τοῖς μετʼ αὐτοὺς ἄρξαι — An articular infinitive phrase governed by the preposition διὰ. The verb ἄρξαι (aorist active infinitive of ἄρχω) governs the genitive case when meaning "to be the first to do" or "to be the source/beginner of"; here it takes the genitive γενέσεως (generation, origin). τοῖς μετʼ αὐτοὺς is a dative of reference ("for those after them").
  3. 1.10.2κινδυνεύει δὴ κατὰ τούτους μηδὲν διαφέρειν τὸ τῶν Ἀβοριγίνων φῦλον ὧν ἐκάλουν οἱ παλαιοὶ Λελέγων — The verb κινδυνεύει is used impersonally meaning "it is likely to" or "runs the risk of," taking the accusative and infinitive construction (μηδὲν διαφέρειν ... φῦλον). In the relative clause ὧν ἐκάλουν..., the relative pronoun ὧν is attracted to the genitive case of its antecedent Λελέγων, or the entire phrase is governed as a genitive of difference/comparison by διαφέρειν ("to differ in nothing from those whom the ancients called Leleges").

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §1.10.1-1.10.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.10.1-1.10.3

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