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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §6.3.1-6.3.3

Fall of Corbilo and Postumius' Advance to Lake Regillus

Passage 409 of 962 · Greek

Summary

The scouts report that the Latins have marched out, captured the Roman garrison at Corbilo, and received reinforcements from Antium. In response, the Roman dictator Postumius quickly leads his army and pitches camp on a high, advantageous hill near the Latin camp by Lake Regillus.

§6.3.1παρεσκευασμένῳ δʼ αὐτῷ πάντα τἀπιτήδεια πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον ἧκον ἀγγέλλοντες οἱ σκοποὶ πανστρατιᾷ Λατίνους ἐξεληλυθότας· καὶ αὖθις ἕτεροι δηλοῦντες ἐξ ἐφόδου τι καταληφθῆναι πρὸς αὐτῶν χωρίον ἐχυρὸν Κορβιῶνα καλούμενον, ἐν ᾧ φρουρά τις ἦν Ῥωμαίων ἐνοικουροῦσα ὀλίγη· ἣν ἅπασαν διαφθείραντες καὶ τὸ χωρίον αὐτὸ κατασχόντες ὁρμητήριον ἐποιοῦντο τοῦ πολέμου· ἀνδράποδα δὲ καὶ βοσκήματα οὐ κατελάμβανον ἐν τοῖς ἀγροῖς χωρὶς τῶν ἐν τῷ Κορβιῶνι ἐγκαταληφθέντων, προανεσκευασμένων πρὸ πολλοῦ τῶν γεωργῶν εἰς τὰ προσεχέστατα τῶν ἐρυμάτων, ὅσα δύναμις ἦν ἑκάστοις φέρειν τε καὶ ἄγειν· οἰκίας δʼ αὐτῶν ἐνεπίμπρασαν ἐρήμους ἀφειμένας καὶ γῆν ἐδῄουν.
To him, when he had prepared all things necessary for the war, scouts came announcing that the Latins had marched out with their entire army; and again others came declaring that a certain strong place called Corbilo had been captured by them by assault, in which there was a small garrison of Romans keeping guard, having destroyed all of which garrison and seized the place itself, they were making it a base of operations for the war; but they found no slaves or cattle in the fields except those left behind in Corbilo, since the farmers had long before removed to the nearest fortifications whatever each was able to carry away and drive off; and they set fire to their houses, which had been left abandoned, and ravaged the land.
§6.3.2ἀφίκετο δʼ αὐτοῖς ἐξεστρατευμένοις ἤδη ἐξ Ἀντίου πόλεως ἐπιφανεστάτης τοῦ Οὐολούσκων ἔθνους στρατιά τε ἱκανὴ καὶ ὅπλα καὶ σῖτος καὶ ὅσων ἄλλων εἰς τὸν πόλεμον ἐδέοντο.
And to them, who had already taken the field, there arrived from Antium, a most illustrious city of the Volscian nation, a sufficient army, arms, grain, and whatever other things they needed for the war.
ἐφʼ οἷς πάνυ θαρρήσαντες ἐν ἐλπίσι χρησταῖς ἦσαν, ὡς καὶ τῶν ἄλλων Οὐολούσκων συναρουμένων σφίσι τοῦ πολέμου τῆς Ἀντιατῶν πόλεως ἀρξαμένης.
Being greatly encouraged by these things, they were in good hopes that the rest of the Volscians would also join with them in the war, now that the city of Antium had set the example.
§6.3.3ταῦτα μαθὼν ὁ Ποστόμιος ἐξεβοήθει διὰ ταχέων πρὶν ἢ συνελθεῖν τοὺς πολεμίους ἅπαντας· ἀγαγὼν δʼ ἐν νυκτὶ τὴν σὺν αὑτῷ στρατιὰν πορείᾳ συντόνῳ πλησίον γίνεται τῶν Λατίνων ἐστρατοπεδευκότων παρὰ λίμνῃ Ῥηγίλλῃ καλουμένῃ ἐν ἐχυρῷ χωρίῳ καὶ τίθεται τὸν χάρακα κατὰ κεφαλῆς τῶν πολεμίων ἐν ὑψηλῷ λόφῳ καὶ δυσβάτῳ, ἔνθʼ ὑπομένων πολλὰ πλεονεκτήσειν ἔμελλεν.
Postumius, having learned these things, marched out in haste before all the enemy should unite; and having led the army under his command by night in a forced march, he came near to the Latins who were encamped near the lake called Regillus in a strong place, and pitched his camp above the heads of the enemy on a high and difficult hill, where, by remaining, he was likely to have many advantages.

Notes

  1. ¦p.v.2p.263¦παρεσκευασμένῳ δʼ αὐτῷ — The dative participle `παρεσκευασμένῳ` and the pronoun `αὐτῷ` function as a dative of reference or interest with the main verb `ἧκον`, referring to the dictator Postumius, indicating the person to whom the scouts arrived.
  2. ¦1042¦φέρειν τε καὶ ἄγειν — The idiomatic phrase `φέρειν καὶ ἄγειν` (equivalent to Latin *ferre et agere*) normally means 'to plunder' (to carry off portables and drive off cattle). Here, however, it is used in a non-aggressive, defensive sense of the farmers 'carrying away and driving off' their own goods to safety.
  3. §6.3.2ὅσων ἄλλων — An instance of relative attraction where the relative pronoun and its adjective `ὅσων ἄλλων` are attracted into the genitive case. The full construction would expect the accusative `ὅσα ἄλλα` as the object of `ἐδέοντο`, with the antecedent `τούτων` omitted, leading to the attraction of the relative into the genitive.
  4. ¦1043¦κατὰ κεφαλῆς — The prepositional phrase `κατὰ κεφαλῆς` literally means 'down from the head', but in a military context here, it means 'directly above' or 'overlooking' the enemy, indicating that the camp was pitched on a high hill commanding the enemy's position.

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §6.3.1-6.3.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.3.1-6.3.3

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