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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §1.62.1-1.62.2

Lineage of Aeneas and Greek Origin of the Trojans

Passage 62 of 962 · Greek

Summary

The author traces the lineage of Aeneas from Dardanus through Erichthonius, Tros, Assaracus, Capys, and Anchises, demonstrating and concluding that the Trojan race was Greek in origin.

§1.62.1ἀπαιτεῖ δὲ ὁ λόγος καὶ τὸν Αἰνείαν ἐξ ὧν ἔφυ διηγήσασθαι· βραχείᾳ δὴ καὶ τοῦτο δηλώσει σημανῶ.
The narrative also requires explaining from whom Aeneas was born; and this too I shall make clear in a brief statement.
Δάρδανος ἐπειδὴ Χρύσην τὴν Πάλλαντος θυγατέρα, ἐξ ἧς οἱ πρότεροι παῖδες ἐγένοντο αὐτῷ, τελευτῆσαι συνέπεσε, Βάτειαν γαμεῖ τὴν Τεύκρου θυγατέρα·
Dardanus, when it happened that Chryse, the daughter of Pallas, by whom his former children had been born to him, died, married Bateia, the daughter of Teucer.
καὶ γίνεται παῖς αὐτῷ Ἐριχθόνιος, ὃς ἁπάντων ἀνθρώπων εὐδαιμονέστατος λέγεται γενέσθαι τῆς τε πατρῴας καὶ τῆς ὑπὸ τῷ μητροπάτορι γενομένης §1.62.2κληρονομήσας ἀρχῆς.
And to him was born a son, Erichthonius, who is said to have become the most fortunate of all men, having inherited both his father's dominion and that which had been under his maternal grandfather dominion.
Ἐριχθονίου δὲ καὶ Καλλιρρόης τῆς Σκαμάνδρου γίνεται Τρώς, ἀφʼ οὗ τὴν ἐπωνυμίαν τὸ ἔθνος ἔχει·
From Erichthonius and Callirhoe, the daughter of Scamander, was born Tros, from whom the nation has its name.
Τρωὸς δὲ καὶ Ἀκαλλαρίδος τῆς Εὐμήδους Ἀσσάρακος ἦν· τούτου δὲ καὶ Κλυτοδώρας τῆς Λαομέδοντος Κάπυς· Κάπυος δὲ καὶ νύμφης Ναϊάδος Ἱερομνήμης Ἀγχίσης· Ἀγχίσου δὲ καὶ Ἀφροδίτης Αἰνείας.
From Tros and Acallaris, the daughter of Eumedes, was born Assaracus; and from him and Clytodora, the daughter of Laomedon, Capys; and from Capys and the Naiad nymph Hieromneme, Anchises; and from Anchises and Aphrodite, Aeneas.
ὡς μὲν δὴ καὶ τὸ Τρωικὸν γένος Ἑλληνικὸν ἀρχῆθεν ἦν δεδήλωταί μοι.
Thus it has been shown by me that the Trojan race too was originally Greek.

Notes

  1. §1.62.1τὸν Αἰνείαν ἐξ ὧν ἔφυ — A proleptic construction where Aeneas, the logical subject of the infinitive `διηγήσασθαι`, is pulled into the main clause as the accusative `τὸν Αἰνείαν`. The relative pronoun `ὧν` has an omitted antecedent `τούτων` (those from whom he was born).
  2. §1.62.1τελευτῆσαι συνέπεσε — The impersonal verb `συνέπεσε` (it happened) takes the infinitive `τελευτῆσαι` (to die), meaning 'it happened that she died'. The accusative `Χρύσην` serves as the subject of the infinitive.
  3. §1.62.2κληρονομήσας ἀρχῆς — The participle `κληρονομήσας` (having inherited) governs the genitive case, the object of which is `ἀρχῆς` (dominion), placed across the section boundary. It is modified by two coordinate genitive phrases: `τῆς τε πατρῴας` (paternal) and `τῆς ὑπὸ τῷ μητροπάτορι γενομένης` (that which had been under his maternal grandfather).

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §1.62.1-1.62.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.62.1-1.62.2

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