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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §2.69.1-2.69.3

Tuccia Proves Her Innocence with a Sieve

Passage 160 of 962 · Greek

Summary

The sacred virgin Tuccia was unjustly accused of unchastity but proved her innocence through the miracle of carrying water from the Tiber in a sieve to the forum. Her accuser subsequently disappeared, and the author concludes his accounts of the goddess's manifestations.

§2.69.1ἔτι δὲ τούτου θαυμασιώτερόν ἐστι καὶ μύθῳ μᾶλλον ἐοικὸς ὃ μέλλω λέγειν.
But what I am about to relate is still more wonderful than this and resembles a myth even more.
κατηγορῆσαί τινά φασιν ἀδίκως μιᾶς τῶν παρθένων τῶν ἱερῶν Τυκκίας ὄνομα, ἀφανισμὸν μὲν πυρὸς οὐκ ἔχοντα προφέρειν, ἄλλας δέ τινας ἐξ εἰκότων τεκμηρίων καὶ μαρτυριῶν ἀποδείξεις φέροντα οὐκ ἀληθεῖς· κελευσθεῖσαν δʼ ἀπολογεῖσθαι τὴν παρθένον τοῦτο μόνον εἰπεῖν, ὅτι τοῖς ἔργοις ἀπολύσεται τὰς διαβολάς·
They say that a certain person unjustly accused one of the sacred virgins, Tuccia by name, not being able to bring forward the extinction of the fire as a charge, but producing other false proofs from probable indications and testimonies; and that the virgin, having been ordered to make her defense, said only this, that she would clear herself of the calumnies by her deeds.
§2.69.2ταῦτα δʼ εἰποῦσαν καὶ τὴν θεὸν ἐπικαλεσαμένην ἡγεμόνα τῆς ὁδοῦ γενέσθαι προάγειν ἐπὶ τὸν Τέβεριν ἐπιτρεψάντων μὲν αὐτῇ τῶν ἱεροφαντῶν, τοῦ δὲ κατὰ τὴν πόλιν ὄχλου συμπροπέμποντος· γενομένην δὲ τοῦ ποταμοῦ πλησίον τὸ παροιμιαζόμενον ἐν τοῖς πρώτοις τῶν ἀδυνάτων τόλμημα ὑπομεῖναι, ἀρυσαμένην ἐκ τοῦ ποταμοῦ κοσκίνῳ καὶ μέχρι τῆς ἀγορᾶς ἐνέγκασαν παρὰ τοὺς πόδας τῶν ἱεροφαντῶν ἐξερᾶσαι τὸ ὕδωρ.
They say that, having said this and having invoked the goddess to be the guide of her way, she proceeded to the Tiber, the pontiffs permitting her and the crowd of the city accompanying her; and that when she had come near the river, she undertook that bold attempt which is proverbial among the first of impossibilities, and having drawn water from the river in a sieve and carried it as far as the forum, she poured it out at the feet of the pontiffs.
§2.69.3καὶ μετὰ ταῦτά φασι τὸν κατήγορον αὐτῆς πολλῆς ζητήσεως γενομένης μήτε ζῶντα εὑρεθῆναι μήτε νεκρόν.
And after this, they say that, though a great search was made, her accuser was found neither alive nor dead.
ἀλλʼ ὑπὲρ μὲν τῶν ἐπιφανειῶν τῆς θεᾶς ἔχων ἔτι πολλὰ λέγειν καὶ ταῦτα ἱκανὰ εἰρῆσθαι νομίζω.
But, though I have still many things to say concerning the manifestations of the goddess, I think that even these are sufficient to have been related.

Notes

  1. §2.69.1κατηγορῆσαί τινά φασιν ἀδίκως μιᾶς τῶν παρθένων τῶν ἱερῶν — The genitive `μιᾶς τῶν παρθένων τῶν ἱερῶν` is governed by the verb `κατηγορέω` (to accuse), which takes the genitive of the person accused. `τινά` (accusative) is the subject accusative of the infinitive `κατηγορῆσαι`.
  2. §2.69.2ἡγεμόνα τῆς ὁδοῦ γενέσθαι — The infinitive phrase `ἡγεμόνα τῆς ὁδοῦ γενέσθαι` depends on the participle `ἐπικαλεσαμένην`. `τὴν θεὸν` (the goddess) serves as the subject accusative of `γενέσθαι`, with `ἡγεμόνα` acting as the predicate accusative.
  3. §2.69.2τὸ παροιμιαζόμενον ἐν τοῖς πρώτοις τῶν ἀδυνάτων τόλμημα — The noun phrase `τὸ ... τόλμημα` serves as the direct object of the infinitive `ὑπομεῖναι`. Its concrete content is further elaborated by the subsequent participles and infinitive (`ἀρυσαμένην`, `ἐνέγκασαν`, and `ἐξερᾶσαι`).
  4. §2.69.3ἔχων — The nominative participle `ἔχων` agrees with the unexpressed first-person singular subject of the main verb `νομίζω`. It is best understood concessively ('although I have').

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §2.69.1-2.69.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.69.1-2.69.3

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