Humanitext Reader

Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §2.48.1-2.48.4

Origin of Cures and the Legend of Modius Fabidius

Passage 139 of 962 · Greek

Summary

The origin of Cures, the city of Tatius, is described through the legend of its founder, Modius Fabidius, who was born to a maiden and the god Enyalius (Quirinus), along with two etymologies for the city's name.

§2.48.1περὶ δὲ τῆς Κυριτῶν πόλεως, ἐξ ἧς οἱ περὶ τὸν Τάτιον ἦσαν ʽἀπαιτεῖ γὰρ ἡ διήγησις καὶ περὶ τούτων, οἵτινές τε καὶ ὁπόθεν ἦσαν, εἰπεῖνʼ τοσαῦτα παρελάβομεν.
Concerning the city of the Curenses, from which Tatius and his followers came—for the narrative requires us to tell also of these, who they were and whence they came—we have received the following account.
ἐν τῇ Ῥεατίνων χώρᾳ καθʼ ὃν χρόνον Ἀβοριγῖνες αὐτὴν κατεῖχον παρθένος τις ἐπιχωρία τοῦ πρώτου γένους εἰς ἱερὸν ἦλθεν Ἐνυαλίου χορεύσουσα·
In the territory of Reate, at the time when the Aborigines held it, a certain local maiden of the first rank came to the sanctuary of Enyalius to dance.
§2.48.2τὸν δʼ Ἐνυάλιον οἱ Σαβῖνοι καὶ παρʼ ἐκείνων οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι μαθόντες Κυρῖνον ὀνομάζουσιν, οὐκ ἔχοντες εἰπεῖν τὸ ἀκριβὲς εἴτε Ἄρης ἐστὶν εἴτε ἕτερός τις ὁμοίας Ἄρει τιμὰς ἔχων.
Now this Enyalius the Sabines, and from them the Romans who learned of him, call Quirinus, though they are unable to say with certainty whether he is Ares or some other who has honors like those of Ares.
οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἐφʼ ἑνὸς οἴονται θεοῦ πολεμικῶν ἀγώνων ἡγεμόνος ἑκάτερον τῶν ὀνομάτων κατηγορῆσθαι, οἱ δὲ κατὰ §2.48.3δύο τάττεσθαι δαιμόνων πολεμιστῶν τὰ ὀνόματα.
For some think that each of these two names is predicated of one god, the leader of warlike contests, but others that the names are assigned to two warlike divinities.
ἐν δὴ τοῦ θεοῦ τῷ τεμένει χορεύουσα ἡ παῖς ἔνθεος ἄφνω γίνεται καὶ καταλιποῦσα τὸν χορὸν εἰς τὸν σηκὸν εἰστρέχει τοῦ θεοῦ.
Now as this maiden was dancing in the precinct of the god, she suddenly became possessed and, leaving the dance, ran into the shrine of the god.
ἔπειτα ἐγκύμων ἐκ τοῦ δαίμονος, ὡς ἅπασιν ἐδόκει, γενομένη τίκτει παῖδα Μόδιον ὄνομα, Φαβίδιον ἐπίκλησιν, ὃς ἀνδρωθεὶς μορφήν τε οὐ κατʼ ἄνθρωπον ἀλλὰ δαιμόνιον ἴσχει, καὶ τὰ πολέμια πάντων γίνεται λαμπρότατος· καὶ αὐτὸν εἰσέρχεται πόθος οἰκίσαι πόλιν ἐφʼ ἑαυτοῦ.
Afterwards, having become pregnant by the divinity, as everyone believed, she gave birth to a boy named Modius, surnamed Fabidius, who, when he grew to manhood, had a form that was not like that of a human but divine, and became the most illustrious of all in warlike achievements; and a desire entered him to found a city on his own.
§2.48.4συναγαγὼν δὴ χεῖρα πολλὴν τῶν περὶ ἐκεῖνα τὰ χωρία οἰκούντων ἐν ὀλίγῳ πάνυ χρόνῳ κτίζει τὰς καλουμένας Κύρεις, ὡς μέν τινες ἱστοροῦσιν ἐπὶ τοῦ δαίμονος, ἐξ οὗ γενέσθαι λόγος αὐτὸν εἶχε, τοὔνομα τῇ πόλει θέμενος, ὡς δʼ ἕτεροι γράφουσιν ἐπὶ τῆς αἰχμῆς· κύρεις γὰρ οἱ Σαβῖνοι τὰς αἰχμὰς καλοῦσιν. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν Τερέντιος Οὐάρρων γράφει.
Gathering, therefore, a great multitude of those who lived around those parts, in a very short time he founded the city called Cures, giving this name to the city, as some record, after the divinity from whom he was rumored to have sprung, but as others write, after the spear; for the Sabines call spears "cures." This, then, is what Terentius Varro writes.

Notes

  1. §2.48.1εἰπεῖν — Infinitive serving as the object of the verb `ἀπαιτεῖ`. With `ἡ διήγησις` as the subject, the structure means "the narrative requires [us] to tell [who they were and whence they came]."
  2. §2.48.1χορεύσουσα — Future active participle in the nominative feminine singular. Used with a verb of motion (`ἦλθεν`) to express purpose ("in order to dance").
  3. §2.48.2οὐκ ἔχοντες — The participle `ἔχοντες` with the infinitive `εἰπεῖν` functions as an idiom meaning "to be able to" (similar to `δύναμαι`).
  4. §2.48.4λόγος αὐτὸν εἶχε — A construction where the idiom `λόγος ἔχει τινά` ("a rumor possesses someone," i.e., "there is a rumor about someone") is joined with the infinitive `γενέσθαι` ("to have been born"), meaning "he was rumored to have sprung [from that divinity]."

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §2.48.1-2.48.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.48.1-2.48.4

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.