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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §4.5.1-4.5.3

Tanaquil's Deception and Tullius' Regency

Passage 249 of 962 · Greek

Summary

The wife of Tarquinius falsely announces to the public that the king is alive and has appointed Tullius as regent, producing the conspirators. Tullius assumes royal authority, banishes the sons of Marcius, and secures his power.

§4.5.1ταῦτʼ εἰποῦσα καὶ τῶν παιδίων ἑκάτερον εἰς τὰς ἀγκάλας ἐμβαλοῦσα τοῦ τε γαμβροῦ καὶ τῆς θυγατρὸς καὶ πολὺν ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων κινήσασα οἶκτον, ἐπειδὴ καιρὸς ἦν, ἐξῆλθεν ἐκ τοῦ δωματίου καὶ παρήγγειλε τοῖς ἔνδον εὐτρεπῆ τὰ πρὸς τὴν θεραπείαν ἐπιτήδεια ποιεῖν καὶ τοὺς ἰατροὺς συγκαλεῖν.
Having said this and having placed each of the children into the arms of both her son-in-law and her daughter, and having aroused great pity from both of them, when the proper time came, she went out of the room and ordered those inside to prepare what was necessary for the treatment and to summon the physicians.
διαλιποῦσα δὲ τὴν μεταξὺ νύκτα τῇ κατόπιν ἡμέρᾳ πολλοῦ πρὸς τὰ βασίλεια συνδραμόντος ὄχλου προῆλθεν εἰς τοὐμφανὲς ταῖς θυρίσιν ἐπιστᾶσα ταῖς φερούσαις εἰς τὸν πρὸ τῶν θυρῶν στενωπόν, καὶ πρῶτον μὲν ἐδήλωσε τοῖς παροῦσι τοὺς βουλεύσαντας ἐπὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ τὸν φόνον, καὶ τοὺς ἐπὶ τοὖργον ἀποσταλέντας ὑπʼ §4.5.2αὐτῶν δεδεμένους παρήγαγεν·
And having passed the intervening night, on the following day, when a large crowd had run together to the palace, she appeared in public, standing at the windows that looked out into the street before the gates, and first she declared to those present the ones who had plotted the murder against the king, and those who had been sent for the deed by them she brought forward bound.
ἔπειθʼ ὡς εἶδε πολλοὺς· ὀλοφυρομένους τε τὸ πάθος καὶ τοῖς δεδρακόσιν ἀπεχθομένους, τελευτῶσα εἶπεν οὐδὲν αὐτοῖς ἐκ τῶν ἀνοσίων ἐπιβουλευμάτων γεγονέναι οὐ δυνηθεῖσιν ἀποκτεῖναι Ταρκύνιον.
Then, when she saw many lamenting the calamity and feeling hatred toward those who had done it, she finally said that nothing had resulted to them from their impious plots, since they had not been able to kill Tarquinius.
ἀγαπητῶς δὲ τὸν λόγον ἁπάντων δεξαμένων τότε τὸν Τύλλιον αὐτοῖς συνίστησιν ὡς ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπίτροπον ἁπάντων τῶν τʼ ἰδίων καὶ τῶν κοινῶν ἀποδεικνύμενον, ἕως αὐτὸς ῥαΐσῃ.
And when everyone had received this report with joy, she then introduced Tullius to them as having been appointed by the king as guardian of all things, both private and public, until he himself should recover.
§4.5.3ὁ μὲν οὖν δῆμος ἀπῄει περιχαρὴς γενόμενος, εἰ μηδὲν πέπονθεν ὁ βασιλεὺς δεινόν, καὶ μέχρι πολλοῦ τὴν δόξαν ἔχων ταύτην διετέλει.
So the people went away rejoicing greatly that the king had suffered nothing terrible, and for a long time they continued to hold this opinion.
ὁ δὲ Τύλλιος ἰσχυρὰν χεῖρα περὶ αὑτὸν ἔχων καὶ τοὺς ῥαβδούχους ἐπαγόμενος τοὺς βασιλικοὺς προῆλθεν εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν καὶ τοὺς Μαρκίους ἐκήρυττεν ἥκειν ὑφέξοντας δίκην· ὡς δʼ οὐχ ὑπήκουον, ἐπικηρύξας αὐτοῖς ἀϊδίους φυγὰς καὶ τὰς οὐσίας ἀναλαβὼν εἰς τὸ δημόσιον ἀσφαλῶς ἤδη τὴν Ταρκυνίου κατεῖχεν ἀρχήν.
But Tullius, having a strong guard around him and taking the royal lictors with him, went forth into the forum and summoned the Marcii by proclamation to come to stand trial; and since they did not obey, having proclaimed perpetual banishment against them and having confiscated their property to the public treasury, he was now securely holding the power of Tarquinius.

Notes

  1. 4.5.1ταῖς θυρίσιν — Refers to 'windows' or 'shutters'. It indicates the situation where Tanaquil addressed the crowd gathered in the narrow street (στενωπός) below from an upper-floor window of the palace.
  2. 4.5.2τελευτῶσα — The present active participle of τελευτάω (to end), used here adverbially to mean 'at last' or 'finally'.
  3. 4.5.3εἰ — Introduced by the adjective of emotion περιχαρής (exceedingly glad), it does not mean 'if' but introduces a factual clause expressing the ground of emotion ('that' or 'because').

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §4.5.1-4.5.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.5.1-4.5.3

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