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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §5.25.1-5.25.4

Honors for Horatius and the Introduction of Gaius Mucius

Passage 354 of 962 · Greek

Summary

The narrative describes Horatius's survival and the extraordinary honors and rewards bestowed on him by the citizens. Although highly honored, his physical disability prevents further political or military service, and the entry of Gaius Mucius is introduced.

§5.25.1τοῦτο τὸ ἔργον ἀθάνατον αὐτῷ δόξαν εἰργάσατο.
This deed wrought for him immortal glory.
παραχρῆμά τε γὰρ οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι στεφανώσαντες αὐτὸν ἀπέφερον εἰς τὴν πόλιν ὑμνοῦντες ὡς τῶν ἡρώων ἕνα, καὶ πᾶς ὁ κατοικίδιος ὄχλος ἐξεχεῖτο ποθῶν αὐτόν, ἕως ἔτι περιῆν, θεάσασθαι τὴν τελευταίαν πρόσοψιν· ἐδόκει γὰρ ὑπὸ τῶν τραυμάτων οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν διαφθαρήσεσθαι·
For the Romans immediately crowned him and carried him into the city, hymning him as one of the heroes, and all the population that had remained at home poured out, longing to behold his last aspect while he was yet alive; for it was thought that because of his wounds he would not survive for long.
§5.25.2καὶ ἐπειδὴ διέφυγε τὸν θάνατον, εἰκόνα χαλκῆν ἔνοπλον ὁ δῆμος ἔστησεν αὐτοῦ τῆς ἀγορᾶς ἐν τῷ κρατίστῳ καὶ χώραν ἐκ τῆς δημοσίας ἔδωκεν, ὅσην αὐτὸς ἐν ἡμέρᾳ μιᾷ ζεύγει βοῶν περιαρόσει·
And when he escaped death, the people set up a bronze statue of him in armor in the most prominent part of the forum and gave him as much of the public land as he himself could plow around in a single day with a yoke of oxen.
χωρὶς δὲ τῶν δημοσίᾳ δοθέντων κατὰ κεφαλὴν ἕκαστος ἀνδρῶν τε καὶ γυναικῶν, ὅτε μάλιστα δεινὴ σπάνις τῶν ἀναγκαίων ἅπαντας κατεῖχε, μιᾶς ἡμέρας τροφὴν ἐχαρίσαντο μυριάδες ἀνθρώπων αἱ §5.25.3σύμπασαι πλείους ἢ τριάκοντα.
And apart from what was given publicly, each person, both men and women, at a time when a most terrible scarcity of necessaries possessed them all, made him a present of one day's provisions, and these people altogether numbered more than thirty thousand.
Ὁράτιος μὲν δὴ τοιαύτην ἀποδειξάμενος ἀρετὴν ἐν τῷ τότε χρόνῳ ζηλωτὸς μὲν εἰ καί τις ἄλλος Ῥωμαίων ἐγένετο, ἄχρηστος δʼ εἰς τὰ λοιπὰ πράγματα τῆς πόλεως διὰ τὴν πήρωσιν τῆς βάσεως· καὶ διὰ τὴν συμφορὰν ταύτην οὔθʼ ὑπατείας οὔτʼ ἄλλης ἡγεμονίας στρατιωτικῆς οὐδεμιᾶς ἔτυχεν.
Horatius, indeed, having displayed such valor at that time, became as much an object of emulation as any other Roman, yet he was useless for the remaining business of the state because of his lameness; and by reason of this misfortune he obtained neither the consulship nor any other military command.
§5.25.4οὗτός τε δὴ θαυμαστὸν ἔργον ἀποδειξάμενος ἐν τῷ τότε ἀγῶνι Ῥωμαίοις ἄξιος εἴπερ τις καὶ ἄλλος τῶν ἐπʼ ἀνδρείᾳ διονομασθέντων ἐπαινεῖσθαι, καὶ ἔτι πρὸς τούτῳ Γάιος Μούκιος, ᾧ Κόρδος ἐπωνύμιον ἦν, ἀνὴρ ἐξ ἐπιφανῶν πατέρων καὶ αὐτὸς ἐγχειρήματι ἐπιβαλόμενος μεγάλῳ, περὶ οὗ μικρὸν ὕστερον ἐρῶ διηγησάμενος πρῶτον, ἐν οἵαις ἡ πόλις ἦν τότε συμφοραῖς.
He, then, having shown a wonderful deed in the struggle of that time, was as worthy to be praised as any other of those celebrated for bravery, and moreover, Gaius Mucius, who had the surname Cordus, a man of illustrious ancestors, himself also entered upon a great enterprise, concerning whom I shall speak a little later, after first relating in what calamities the city was at that time.

Notes

  1. 5.25.1κατοικίδιος ὄχλος — Meaning 'the crowd remaining at home'. It refers to non-combatant citizens, such as the elderly, women, and children, who remained inside the city and did not participate in the battle.
  2. 5.25.2περιαρόσει — Future indicative of the verb περιαρόω (or a variant reading of the aorist subjunctive περιαρόσῃ), which, with the relative pronoun ὅσην, forms a restrictive relative clause carrying a nuance of potentiality or projection: 'as much as he would (be able to) plow around.'
  3. 5.25.3εἰ καί τις ἄλλος — An idiomatic comparative and emphatic expression, literally 'if indeed any other is so,' meaning 'as much as any other' or 'preeminently.'
  4. 5.25.4οὗτός τε δὴ ... καὶ ἔτι πρὸς τούτῳ Γάιος Μούκιος ... — This sentence features an anacoluthon, lacking a main verb for the principal clause. While οὗτος and Γάιος Μούκιος are introduced in the nominative, the focus shifts to the author's narrative plans via the relative clause (περὶ οὗ...), leaving the main verb unexpressed as the transition to the next topic occurs.

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §5.25.1-5.25.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.25.1-5.25.4

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