§1.73.1ἔχων δὲ πολλοὺς καὶ ἄλλους τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν παρέχεσθαι συγγραφέων, οἳ διαφόρους ἀποφαίνουσι τοὺς οἰκιστὰς τῆς πόλεως, ἵνα μὴ δόξω μακρηγορεῖν ἐπὶ τοὺς Ῥωμαίων ἐλεύσομαι συγγραφεῖς.
Although I have many other Greek historians to produce who declare that the founders of the city were different, in order that I may not seem to be verbose, I shall pass on to the Roman historians.
παλαιὸς μὲν οὖν οὔτε συγγραφεὺς οὔτε λογογράφος ἐστὶ Ῥωμαίων οὐδὲ εἷς· ἐκ παλαιῶν μέντοι λόγων ἐν ἱεραῖς δέλτοις σωζομένων ἕκαστός τι παραλαβὼν ἀνέγραψεν.
Now, there is not even one ancient historian or chronicler among the Romans; however, each of them, having received something from the ancient accounts preserved on sacred tablets, recorded it.
§1.73.2τούτων δέ τινες μὲν Αἰνείου γενέσθαι υἱοὺς λέγουσι Ῥωμύλον τε καὶ Ῥῶμον τοὺς οἰκιστὰς τῆς Ῥώμης, ἕτεροι δὲ θυγατρὸς Αἰνείου παῖδας, ὅτου δὲ πατρὸς οὐκέτι διορίζοντες· δοθῆναι δʼ αὐτοὺς ὑπʼ Αἰνείου Λατίνῳ τῷ βασιλεῖ τῶν Ἀβοριγίνων ὁμηρεύσοντας, ὅτε καὶ αἱ πίστεις τοῖς ἐπιχωρίοις πρὸς τοὺς ἐπήλυδας ἐγένοντο.
Of these, some say that Romulus and Rhomos, the founders of Rome, were the sons of Aeneas, and others say they were children of Aeneas' daughter, without further specifying who their father was; and they say that they were given by Aeneas to Latinus, the king of the Aborigines, to serve as hostages, at the time when the pledges were made by the natives to the newcomers.
ἀσπαζόμενον δὲ αὐτοὺς Λατῖνον τῇ τε ἄλλῃ θεραπείᾳ περιέπειν εὖ καὶ ἐκγόνου ἄρρενος ἄπαιδα τελευτῶντα διαδόχους μέρους τινὸς τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ἀρχῆς καταλιπεῖν.
And they say that Latinus, welcoming them, treated them well with other kind services, and when he died without male offspring, he left them as successors to a certain part of his own domain.
§1.73.3ἄλλοι δὲ λέγουσιν Αἰνείου τελευτήσαντος Ἀσκάνιον ἅπασαν τὴν Λατίνων ἀρχὴν παραλαβόντα νείμασθαι πρὸς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς Ῥωμύλον τε καὶ Ῥῶμον τήν τε χώραν καὶ τὴν δύναμιν τὴν Λατίνων τριχῇ· αὐτὸν μὲν δὴ τήν τε Ἄλβαν κτίσαι καὶ ἄλλʼ ἄττα πολίσματα· Ῥῶμον δὲ Καπύην μὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ προπάππου Κάπυος, Ἀγχίσην δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ προπάτορος Ἀγχίσου, Αἰνείαν δὲ τὴν ὕστερον κληθεῖσαν Ἰάνικλον ἀπὸ τοῦ πατρός, Ῥώμην δὲ ἀφʼ ἑαυτοῦ, ταύτην δὲ χρόνους τινὰς ἐρημωθεῖσαν ἑτέρας αὖθις ἐλθούσης ἀποικίας, ἣν Ἀλβανοὶ ἔστειλαν ἡγουμένου Ῥωμύλου καὶ Ῥώμου, τὴν ἀρχαίαν κτίσιν ἀπολαβεῖν·
But others say that after Aeneas died, Ascanius, having received the entire domain of the Latins, divided both the land and the power of the Latins into three parts with his brothers Romulus and Rhomos; and that he himself indeed founded Alba and some other small towns, while Rhomos founded Capua after his great-grandfather Capys, Anchise after his ancestor Anchises, Aeneia (which was later called Janiculum) after his father, and Rome after himself.
ὥστε διττὰς εἶναι τῆς Ῥώμης τὰς κτίσεις· τὴν μὲν ὀλίγον ὕστερον τῶν Τρωικῶν γενομένην, τὴν δὲ πεντεκαίδεκα γενεαῖς ὑστεροῦσαν τῆς προτέρας.
And they say that this city, having been deserted for some time, regained its ancient foundation when another colony came again, which the Albans sent under the leadership of Romulus and Rhomos; so that the foundings of Rome were twofold: one occurring a little after the Trojan War, and the other being fifteen generations later than the former.
§1.73.4εἰ δέ τις ἀπιδεῖν βουλήσεται τὰ προσωτέρω καὶ τρίτη τις ἀρχαιοτέρα τούτων εὑρεθήσεται Ῥώμη γενομένη πρὶν Αἰνείαν καὶ Τρῶας ἐλθεῖν εἰς Ἰταλίαν.
But if anyone wishes to look further back, a third Rome, even more ancient than these, will be found to have existed before Aeneas and the Trojans came to Italy.
ταῦτα δὲ οὐ τῶν ἐπιτυχόντων τις οὐδὲ νέων συγγραφεὺς ἱστόρηκεν, ἀλλʼ Ἀντίοχος ὁ Συρακούσιος, οὑ καὶ πρότερον ἐμνήσθην.
And this has been recorded not by any ordinary or recent historian, but by Antiochus of Syracuse, whom I also mentioned before.
φησὶ δὲ Μόργητος ἐν Ἰταλίᾳ βασιλεύοντος (ἦν δὲ τότε Ἰταλία ἡ ἀπὸ Τάραντος ἄχρι Ποσειδωνίας παράλιος) ἐλθεῖν ὡς αὐτὸν ἄνδρα φυγάδα ἐκ Ῥώμης.
And he says that when Morges was reigning in Italy (and Italy then was the coastal region from Tarentum to Poseidonia), there came to him a man as a fugitive from Rome.
λέγει δὲ ὧδε· ʽἐπεὶ δὲ Ἰταλὸς κατεγήρα, Μόργης ἐβασίλευσεν.
And he says as follows: "When Italus grew old, Morges reigned.
ἐπὶ τούτου δὲ ἀνὴρ ἀφίκετο ἐκ Ῥώμης φυγάς· Σικελὸς ὄνομα αὐτῷ. ʼ §1.73.5κατὰ μὲν δὴ τὸν Συρακούσιον συγγραφέα παλαιά τις εὑρίσκεται καὶ προτεροῦσα τῶν Τρωικῶν πότερον δὲ περὶ τοὺς αὐτοὺς ἦν τόπους, ἐν οἷς ἡ νῦν οἰκουμένη πόλις ἐστίν, ἢ χωρίον ἕτερον ἐτύγχανεν οὕτως ὀνομαζόμενον ἀσαφὲς ἐκείνου καταλιπόντος οὐδʼ ἐγὼ δύναμαι συμβαλεῖν.
Under him a man came as a fugitive from Rome; his name was Sicelus." Thus, according to the Syracusan historian, a certain ancient Rome is found which even preceded the Trojan War; but whether it was around the same places where the city is now inhabited, or happened to be another place named in this way, since he has left it unclear, I too am unable to conjecture.
περὶ μὲν οὖν τῶν παλαιῶν κτίσεων ἱκανὰ ἡγοῦμαι τὰ προειρημένα.
Therefore, concerning the ancient foundings, I consider what has been said before to be sufficient.