Humanitext Reader

Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §3.33.1-3.33.4

Sabine Reinvasion and Defeat at the Malitiosa Wood

Passage 204 of 962 · Greek

Summary

Taking advantage of the war between Rome and the Latins, the Sabines broke the treaty and invaded Roman territory, but King Tullus made a truce with the Latins, mobilized his doubled forces, and decisively defeated the Sabines near the "Wicked Wood."

§3.33.1ἐπὶ τούτοις καταλυσάμενοι τὸν πόλεμον οἱ Σαβῖνοι καὶ τῶν ὁμολογιῶν στήλας ἀντιγράφους θέντες ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς, ἐπειδὴ συνέστη Ῥωμαίοις πρὸς τὰς Λατίνων πόλεις κοινῇ συνηρπαγμένας πόλεμος οὐ ῥᾴδιος ἐν ὀλίγῳ καθαιρεθῆναι χρόνῳ ʽδι’ ἃς δὲ αἰτίας ὕστερον ἐρὦ, δεξάμενοι τὸ συμβὰν ἀγαπητῶς ὅρκων μὲν ἐκείνων καὶ συνθηκῶν ὥσπερ οὐδὲ γεγενημένων ἐπελάθοντο, καιρὸν δὲ νομίσαντες ἐπιτήδειον ἔχειν ὧν ἐξέτισαν Ῥωμαίοις χρημάτων πολλαπλάσια παρʼ αὐτῶν ἀπολαβεῖν, ὀλίγοι μὲν τὸ πρῶτον καὶ ἀφανῶς ἐξιόντες ἐληίζοντο τὴν ὅμορον· §3.33.2ἔπειτα δὲ πολλοὶ συνιόντες καὶ ἐκ τοῦ φανεροῦ, ἐπεὶ τὰ πρῶτα κατὰ γνώμην αὐτοῖς ἐχώρησεν οὐδεμιᾶς ἐπὶ τὴν φυλακὴν τῶν γεωργῶν ἀφικομένης βοηθείας, καταφρονήσαντες τῶν πολεμίων ἐπʼ αὐτὴν διενοοῦντο τὴν Ῥώμην ἐλαύνειν καὶ συνῆγον ἐξ ἁπάσης πόλεως στρατόν, διελέγοντο δὲ καὶ ταῖς Λατίνων πόλεσι περὶ §3.33.3συμμαχίας.
Having ended the war on these conditions, the Sabines set up copies of the treaty on steles in their temples. But when a war arose for the Romans against the Latin cities which had risen up together, a war not easy to end in a short time (for what causes I shall tell later), they welcomed this event gladly, and forgot those oaths and treaties as if they had never even existed. Believing they had a favorable opportunity to recover from the Romans many times the money they had paid to them, at first they went out in small numbers and secretly, plundering the borderland. Then, when their first attempts turned out according to their wishes, since no help arrived for the protection of the husbandmen, they gathered in large numbers and plundered openly. Contemning their enemies, they purposed to march against Rome itself and assembled an army from every city, and also negotiated with the Latin cities about an alliance.
οὐ μὴν ἐξεγένετό γε αὐτοῖς φιλίαν τε καὶ ὁμαιχμίαν ποιήσασθαι πρὸς τὸ ἔθνος· μαθὼν γὰρ τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτῶν ὁ Τύλλος ἀνοχὰς πρὸς Λατίνους ποιησάμενος ἐπὶ τούτους ἔγνω στρατὸν ἐξάγειν τήν τε Ῥωμαίων ἅπασαν δύναμιν καθοπλίσας διπλασίαν οὖσαν ἤδη τῆς πρότερον, ἐξ οὗ τὴν Ἀλβανῶν πόλιν προσέλαβε, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἄλλων συμμάχων ἐπικουρικὸν ὅσον πλεῖστον ἐδύνατο μεταπεμψάμενος. §3.33.4συνῆκτο δὲ καὶ τοῖς Σαβίνοις ἤδη τὸ στράτευμα, καὶ ἐπειδὴ πλησίον ἀλλήλων ἐγένοντο περὶ τὴν καλουμένην ὕλην κακοῦργον ὀλίγον τὸ μεταξὺ χωρίον ἀφέντες κατεστρατοπεδεύσαντο.
However, it was not permitted to them to make friendship and a common alliance with that nation; for Tullus, having learned their intention, made a truce with the Latins and resolved to lead out an army against them, having armed the entire force of the Romans, which was already double what it had been before since he had annexed the city of the Albans, and having summoned as many auxiliaries as possible from the other allies. An army had also been assembled by the Sabines, and when they were near each other, they encamped near the so-called "Wicked Wood," leaving only a small space between them.
τῇ δʼ ἑξῆς ἡμέρᾳ συμπεσόντες ἐμάχοντο καὶ ἦσαν ἰσόρροποι μέχρι πολλοῦ·
On the following day, they clashed and fought, and the battle was balanced for a long time.
ἤδη δὲ περὶ δείλην ὀψίαν ἐγκλίνουσιν οἱ Σαβῖνοι βιασθέντες ὑπὸ τοῦ Ῥωμαίων ἱππικοῦ καὶ πολὺς αὐτῶν γίνεται φόνος ἐν τῇ φυγῇ, Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ νεκρούς τε τῶν πολεμίων σκυλεύσαντες καὶ χρήματα ὅσα ἦν ἐν τῷ χάρακι διαρπάσαντες τῆς τε χώρας τὴν κρατίστην λεηλατήσαντες ἀπῄεσαν ἐπʼ οἴκου.
But already late in the afternoon, the Sabines gave way, being forced by the Roman cavalry, and a great slaughter of them occurred in the flight. The Romans, having stripped the corpses of the enemy, plundered all the property that was in the camp, and having ravaged the best part of the territory, departed for home.
τοῦτο τὸ τέλος ἔλαβεν ὁ συμβὰς Ῥωμαίοις πρὸς Σαβίνους πόλεμος ἐπὶ τῆς Τύλλου ἀρχῆς.
This was the end of the war that arose between the Romans and the Sabines during the reign of Tullus.

Notes

  1. 3.33.1ὧν ἐξέτισαν ... χρημάτων — An example of the attraction of the relative pronoun. Instead of the accusative `ἃ` which would be expected as the direct object of `ἐξέτισαν` inside the relative clause, the relative pronoun is attracted into the genitive case `ὧν` to agree with the genitive antecedent `χρημάτων`.
  2. 3.33.2οὐδεμιᾶς ἐπὶ τὴν φυλακὴν τῶν γεωργῶν ἀφικομένης βοηθείας — A genitive absolute construction consisting of the noun `βοηθείας` and the participle `ἀφικομένης`, expressing cause (the fact that no help arrived for the protection of the husbandmen).
  3. 3.33.3ἐξ οὗ — An idiomatic expression for "since" (with the ellipsis of `χρόνου`), marking the temporal starting point, which in this context is the annexation of the city of Alba Longa.
  4. 3.33.4ὀλίγον τὸ μεταξύ χωρίον ἀφέντες — The adjective `ὀλίγον` is used predicatively: "leaving the intervening space small," meaning that they left only a short distance between the two camps.

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §3.33.1-3.33.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.33.1-3.33.4

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.