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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §5.33.1-5.33.4

Cloelia's Escape and the Foiled Ambush by Tarquin

Passage 362 of 962 · Greek

Summary

The maiden hostages led by Clelia escape to Rome, provoking Tarquin to attempt an ambush against the Roman delegation, which is ultimately foiled by divine intervention and the consul's swift anticipation.

§5.33.1ἔτι δὲ τῆς δικαιολογίας γινομένης ἧκέ τις ἀπαγγέλλων τὴν φυγὴν τῶν ὁμηρευουσῶν παρθένων.
While the pleading was still going on, someone came announcing the flight of the maiden hostages.
δεηθεῖσαι γὰρ τῶν φυλαττόντων, ἵνα συγχωρήσωσιν αὐταῖς λούσασθαι παραγενομέναις εἰς τὸν ποταμόν, ἐπειδὴ τὸ συγχώρημα ἔλαβον ἀποστῆναι μικρὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τοῖς ἀνδράσιν εἰποῦσαι, τέως ἂν ἀπολούσωνταί τε καὶ τὰς ἐσθῆτας ἀπολάβωσιν, ἵνα μὴ γυμνὰς ὁρῶσιν αὐτάς·
For they, having requested of their guards that they would allow them, having gone to the river, to bathe, when they had obtained the permission, told the men to withdraw a little from the river until they had washed themselves and recovered their clothes, so that they might not see them naked.
ποιησάντων καὶ τοῦτο τῶν ἀνδρῶν, παρακελευσαμένης αὐταῖς τῆς Κλοιλίας καὶ πρώτης καταρχούσης, διανηξάμεναι τὸν ποταμὸν εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἀπῆλθον.
When the men had done this too, Clelia encouraging them and leading the way, they swam across the river and departed to the city.
§5.33.2ἔνθα δὴ πολὺς ὁ Ταρκύνιος ἦν ἐπιορκίαν τε καὶ ἀπιστίαν τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις ἐγκαλῶν, καὶ τὸν βασιλέα παροξύνων ὡς ἐξαπατώμενον ὑπʼ ἀνθρώπων δολίων μηθὲν προσέχειν αὐτοῖς.
Then indeed Tarquin was persistent in accusing the Romans of perjury and bad faith, and in provoking the king, on the ground that he was being deceived by deceitful men, to pay no attention to them.
ἀπολογουμένου δὲ τοῦ ὑπάτου καὶ τὸ ἔργον ἐξ αὐτῶν λέγοντος εἶναι τῶν παρθένων δίχα τῆς ἐπιταγῆς τῶν πατέρων, καὶ τὸ πιστὸν οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν παρέξεσθαι λέγοντος ὑπὲρ τοῦ μηδὲν ἐξ ἐπιβουλῆς ὑφʼ ἑαυτῶν πεπρᾶχθαι, πεισθεὶς ὁ βασιλεὺς συνεχώρησεν αὐτῷ πορευθέντι τὰς παρθένους ἀγαγεῖν, ὡς ὑπισχνεῖτο.
But when the consul made his defense, saying that the deed was of the maidens themselves without the order of their fathers, and saying that he would shortly provide proof that nothing had been done by design on their part, the king, persuaded, allowed him to go and bring the maidens, as he promised.
§5.33.3Οὐαλέριος μὲν δὴ τὰς παρθένους ἄξων ᾤχετο· Ταρκύνιος δὲ καὶ ὁ κηδεστὴς αὐτοῦ τῶν δικαίων ὑπεριδόντες πράγματι ἐπεβούλευσαν ἀνοσίῳ, λόχον ὑποπέμψαντες εἰς τὴν ὁδὸν ἱππέων, τάς τε παρθένους ἁρπάσαι τὰς ἀγομένας καὶ τὸν ὕπατον καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους τοὺς ἐπὶ τὸ στρατόπεδον ἐρχομένους συλλαβεῖν, ὡς ῥύσια καθέξοντες ἀνθʼ ὧν Ταρκύνιον ἀφείλοντο Ῥωμαῖοι χρημάτων τὰ σώματα ταῦτα, καὶ τῆς δίκης τὸ τέλος οὐκέτι περιμενοῦντες.
So Valerius departed to bring the maidens; but Tarquin and his son-in-law, despising justice, plotted an impious deed, sending secretly a band of horsemen onto the road to seize the maidens being brought and to capture the consul and the others coming to the camp, intending to hold these persons as pledges in place of the property of which the Romans had deprived Tarquin, and no longer waiting for the end of the trial.
§5.33.4οὐκ εἴασε δʼ αὐτοῖς κατὰ νοῦν χωρῆσαι τὴν ἐπιβουλὴν τὸ δαιμόνιον.
But the deity did not allow their plot to succeed according to their mind.
ἐν ὅσῳ γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ Λατίνων χάρακος ἐξῄεσαν οἱ μέλλοντες τοῖς παραγενομένοις ἐπιθέσθαι, φθάσας ὁ τῶν Ῥωμαίων ὕπατος ἦγε τὰς κόρας· καὶ πρὸς αὐταῖς ἤδη ταῖς πύλαις τοῦ Τυρρηνικοῦ χάρακος ὢν ὐπὸ τῶν ἐπιδιωξάντων ἐκ τῆς ἑτέρας στρατοπεδείας καταλαμβάνεται.
For while those who were going to attack the newcomers were coming out of the Latin camp, the consul of the Romans, anticipating them, was leading the girls; and when he was already at the very gates of the Tyrrhenian camp, he was overtaken by those who had pursued him from the other camp.
ἔνθα τῆς συμπλοκῆς αὐτῶν γενομένης ταχεῖα τοῖς Τυρρηνοῖς αἴσθησις ἐγένετο, καὶ κατὰ σπουδὴν ὁ τοῦ βασιλέως υἱὸς ἴλην ἱππέων ἐπαγόμενος ἐβοήθει, καὶ ἐκ τῶν πεζῶν οἱ προκαθήμενοι τοῦ χάρακος συνέδραμον.
There, when a clash took place between them, the Tyrrhenians quickly became aware of it, and in haste the king's son, bringing a troop of cavalry, came to the rescue, and those of the infantry who were stationed in front of the camp ran together to help.

Notes

  1. 918δεηθεῖσαι γὰρ τῶν φυλαττόντων... — This is an extremely long sentence with multiple participle constructions and genitive absolutes nested together. The core structure is "they swam across the river and departed to the city" (διανηξάμεναι τὸν ποταμὸν εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἀπῆλθον). Before reaching the main verb, a sequence of preceding events and circumstances is inserted step-by-step using nominative participles (δεηθεῖσαι, εἰποῦσαι), a temporal clause (ἐπειδὴ...), a purpose clause (ἵνα...), and two genitive absolutes (ποιησάντων... and παρακελευσαμένης...).
  2. 918πολὺς ὁ Ταρκύνιος ἦν — An idiomatic expression using the adjective πολύς predicatively to indicate that the subject's activity or state is persistent, vehement, or intense. It means "Tarquin was persistent (loud) in accusing and provoking."
  3. 919ὑπὲρ τοῦ μηδὲν ἐξ ἐπιβουλῆς ὑφʼ ἑαυτῶν πεπρᾶχθαι — The preposition ὑπέρ with the articular infinitive (genitive) τοῦ ... πεπρᾶχθαι, expressing relation or purpose here: "in defense of (to prove) the fact that...". The infinitive is in the passive perfect, taking the accusative μηδέν (nothing) as its subject.
  4. 920φθάσας ὁ τῶν Ῥωμαίων ὕπατος ἦγε τὰς κόρας — The participle φθάσας from the verb φθάνω (to anticipate, forestall) modifies the main verb ἦγε, forming a construction that emphasizes temporal precedence: "the consul, anticipating them, was leading the girls."

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §5.33.1-5.33.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.33.1-5.33.4

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