Humanitext Reader

Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §20.17.1-20.17.2

Uprising Incited by a Samnite and Its Suppression

Passage 962 of 962 · Greek

Summary

An indigent crowd, incited by a Samnite, forms a band and occupies a stronghold to plunder the region, but the Roman consuls capture the city, execute the ringleaders, and sell the rest into slavery.

§20.17.1τὸ ἄπορον πλῆθος, ᾧ καλῶν καὶ δικαίων φροντὶς ἦν οὐδεμία, παρακρουσθὲν ὑπὸ Σαυνίτου τινὸς εἰς τὸ αὐτὸ συνέρχεται.
The indigent multitude, which had no regard for what was honorable and just, being misled by a certain Samnite, came together.
καὶ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἐπὶ τοῖς ὄρεσιν ἄγραυλον καὶ κακόπαθον τὸν βίον εἶχεν, ἐπεὶ δὲ πλεῖον ἤδη καὶ ἀξιόμαχον ἐδόκει γεγονέναι, πόλιν ἐχυρὰν καταλαμβάνεται, ὅθεν ὁρμώμενον ἐληίζετο πᾶσαν τὴν κύκλῳ χώραν.
And at first they led a life in the open and full of hardship on the mountains, but when they seemed now to have become more numerous and fit for battle, they occupied a strong city, from which as a base they plundered all the surrounding country.
§20.17.2ἐπὶ τούτους ἐξήγαγον στρατιὰν οἱ ὕπατοι καὶ οὐ πολλῇ σὺν πραγματείᾳ τὴν πόλιν αἱρησάμενοι τοὺς μὲν αἰτίους τῆς ἀποστάσεως αἰκισάμενοι ῥάβδοις ἀπέκτειναν, τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς ἐλαφυροπώλησαν.
Against these the consuls led out an army, and having taken the city with no great trouble, they scourged the authors of the rebellion with rods and put them to death, and sold the rest as booty.
ἔτυχε τῷ πρότερον ἐνιαυτῷ πεπραμένη μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων δορίκτήτων ἡ γῆ, καὶ τὸ πεσὸν ἀπὸ τῆς τιμῆς ἀργύριον διῃρημένον τοῖς πολίταις. αμβρ.
It happened that in the preceding year the land had been sold along with the other spear-won territories, and the money accruing from the price had been distributed among the citizens. αμβρ.

Notes

  1. 20.9καλῶν καὶ δικαίων — Objective genitives depending on the noun φροντίς ("care", "regard"), representing the object of the concern: "regard for what is honorable and just."
  2. §20.17.2ἔτυχε ... πεπραμένη — The verb τυγχάνω used with the supplementary participle πεπραμένη (perfect passive participle agreeing with ἡ γῆ), indicating a state of affairs: "It happened that the land had been sold." The subsequent participle διῃρημένον (agreeing with ἀργύριον) is also coordinate and depends on ἔτυχε.

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §20.17.1-20.17.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:20.17.1-20.17.2

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.