§1.14.1τῶν δὲ πόλεων, ἐν αἷς τὸ πρῶτον ᾤκησαν Ἀβοριγῖνες, ὀλίγαι περιῆσαν ἐπʼ ἐμοῦ· αἱ δὲ πλεῖσται ὑπό τε πολέμων καὶ ἄλλων κακῶν οἰκοφθορηθεῖσαι ἔρημοι ἀφεῖνται.
Of the cities in which the Aborigines first dwelt, only a few remained to my time; but the most part, having been ruined by wars and other calamities, have been left deserted.
ἦσαν δʼ ἐν τῇ Ῥεατίνῃ γῇ τῶν Ἀπεννίνων ὀρῶν οὐ μακρὰν, ὡς Οὐάρρων Τερέντιος ἐν ἀρχαιολογίαις γράφει, ἀπὸ τῆς Ῥωμαίων πόλεως αἱ τὸ βραχύτατον ἀπέχουσαι ἡμερήσιον διάστημα ὁδοῦ· ὧν ἐγὼ τὰς ἐπιφανεστάτας, ὡς ἐκεῖνος ἱστορεῖ, διηγήσομαι.
They were in the Reatine territory, not far from the Apennine mountains, and those of them that were at the shortest distance from the city of Rome were a day's journey away, as Terentius Varro writes in his *Antiquities*; of these I shall describe the most famous, as he records them.
§1.14.2Παλάτιον μὲν πέντε πρὸς τοῖς εἴκοσι σταδίοις ἀφεστῶσα Ῥεάτου, πόλεως οἰκουμένης ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων ἔτι καὶ εἰς ἐμὲ, Κοϊντίας ὁδοῦ πλησίον.
Palatium, indeed, is distant twenty-five stades from Reate, a city inhabited by Romans even down to my day, near the Quintian Way.
Τριβόλα δὲ ἀμφὶ τοὺς ἑξήκοντα σταδίους τῆς αὐτῆς πόλεως ἀφεστῶσα, λόφον ἐπικαθημένη σύμμετρον.
Tribola is about sixty stades distant from the same city, situated upon a hill of moderate height.
Συεσβόλα δὲ τὸ αὐτὸ διάστημα τῆς Τριβόλας ἀπέχουσα, τῶν Κεραυνίων ὀρῶν πλησίον.
Suesbola is the same distance from Tribola, near the Ceraunian mountains.
ἀπὸ δὲ ταύτης τετταράκοντα σταδίοις διῃρημένη πόλις ἐπιφανὴς Σούνα, ἔνθα νεὼς πάνυ ἀρχαῖός ἐστιν Ἄρεος.
And forty stades from this latter is the famous city of Suna, where there is a very ancient temple of Ares.
§1.14.3Μήφυλα δὲ ὡς τριάκοντα σταδίους ἄπωθεν τῆς Σούνης· δείκνυται δὲ αὐτῆς ἐρείπιά τε καὶ τείχους ἴχνη.
Mephyla is about thirty stades distant from Suna; its ruins and the traces of its walls are still pointed out.
τετταράκοντα δὲ σταδίους ἀπέχουσα Μηφύλης Ὀρουΐνιον, εἰ καί τις ἄλλη τῶν αὐτόθι πόλεων ἐπιφανὴς καὶ μεγάλη· δῆλοι γάρ εἰσιν αὐτῆς οἵ τε θεμέλιοι τῶν τειχῶν καὶ τάφοι τινὲς ἀρχαιοπρεπεῖς καὶ πολυανδρίων ἐν ὑψηλοῖς χώμασι μηκυνομένων περίβολοι· ἔνθα καὶ νεὼς Ἀθηνᾶς ἐστιν ἀρχαῖος, ἱδρυμένος ἐπὶ τῆς ἄκρας.
Orvinium, forty stades distant from Mephyla, was as famous and large as any city in those parts; for the foundations of its walls are still visible, as well as certain tombs of ancient appearance and the enclosures of common graves extended in high mounds; there is also an ancient temple of Athena, built on the citadel.
§1.14.4ἀπὸ δὲ σταδίων ἀγδοήκοντα Ῥεάτου τοῖς ἰοῦσι διὰ τῆς Κουρίας ὁδοῦ παρὰ Κόρητον ὄρος Κόρσουλα νεωστὶ διεφθαρμένη.
And eighty stades from Reate, for those traveling by the Curian Way past Mount Coreton, is Corsula, which was destroyed in recent times.
δείκνυται δέ τις καὶ νῆσος, Ἴσσα αὐτῇ ὄνομα, λίμνῃ περίρρυτος, ἣν χωρὶς ἐρύματος ποιητοῦ κατοικῆσαι λέγονται τοῖς τέλμασι τῆς λίμνης ὁπόσα τείχεσι χρώμενοι.
There is also pointed out an island, Issa by name, surrounded by a lake, which they are said to have inhabited without any artificial fortification, using the marshes of the lake instead of walls.
πλησίον δὲ τῆς Ἴσσης Μαρούιον ἐπὶ τῷ μυχῷ τῆς αὐτῆς λίμνης κειμένη, τετταράκοντα σταδίους ἀπέχουσα τῶν καλουμένων Ἑπτὰ ὑδάτων.
Near Issa is Maruvium, situated at the head of the same lake, forty stades distant from the place called Seven Waters.
§1.14.5ἀπὸ δὲ Ῥεάτου πάλιν τὴν ἐπὶ Λατίνην ὁδὸν ἰοῦσι Βατία μὲν ἀπὸ τριάκοντα σταδίων, Τιώρα δὲ ἀπὸ τριακοσίων, ἡ καλουμένη Ματιήνη.
Again, for those taking the Latina Way from Reate, Batia is thirty stades distant, and Tiora, called Matiene, is three hundred stades.
ἐν ταύτῃ λέγεται χρηστήριον Ἄρεος γενέσθαι πάνυ ἀρχαῖον.
In this latter city they say there was a very ancient oracle of Ares.
ὁ δὲ τρόπος αὐτοῦ παραπλήσιος ἦν ὥς φασι τῷ παρὰ Δωδωναίοις μυθολογουμένῳ ποτὲ γενέσθαι· πλὴν ὅσον ἐκεῖ μὲν ἐπὶ δρυὸς ἱερᾶς πέλεια καθεζομένη θεσπιῳδεῖν ἐλέγετο, παρὰ δὲ τοῖς Ἀβοριγῖσι θεόπεμπτος ὄρνις, ὃν αὐτοὶ μὲν πῖκον, Ἕλληνες δὲ δρυοκολάπτην καλοῦσιν, ἐπὶ κίονος ξυλίνου φαινόμενος τὸ αὐτὸ ἔδρα.
The manner of it was, they say, very similar to that which is fabled to have existed formerly among the Dodonaeans; except that there, a dove sitting on a sacred oak was said to deliver the oracle, whereas among the Aborigines a bird sent by the god, which they themselves call *picus* and the Greeks *dryokolaptes*, appearing on a wooden pillar, did the same.
§1.14.6τέτταρας δʼ ἐπὶ τοῖς εἴκοσι σταδίοις ἀπέχουσα τῆς εἰρημένης πόλεως Λίστα, μητρόπολις Ἀβοριγίνων, ἣν παλαίτερον ἔτι Σαβῖνοι νύκτωρ ἐπιστρατεύσαντες ἐκ πόλεως Ἀμιτέρνης ἀφύλακτον αἱροῦσιν·
Twenty-four stades distant from the aforementioned city is Lista, the mother-city of the Aborigines, which the Sabines in still earlier times, marching by night from the city of Amiternum, captured when it was unguarded.
οἱ δʼ ἐκ τῆς ἁλώσεως περισωθέντες ὑποδεξαμένων αὐτοὺς Ῥεατίνων, ὡς πολλὰ πειραθέντες οὐχ οἷοί τε ἦσαν ἀπολαβεῖν, ἱερὰν ἀνῆκαν ὡς σφετέραν ἔτι τὴν γῆν, ἐξαγίστους ποιήσαντες ἀραῖς τοὺς καρπωσομένους αὐτὴν ὕστερον.
Those who survived the capture, being received by the Reatines, after making many attempts but being unable to recover it, dedicated the land as sacred, as if it were still their own, making those who should later enjoy its fruits accursed by their imprecations.