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Strabo · Geography §4.3.1-4.3.2

Division of Lugdunum and the Aedui and Sequani

Passage 132 of 577 · Greek

Summary

This section describes the new administrative division of Gaul centered around Lugdunum (Lyon), and explains the geography and historical relations of the Aedui and Sequani tribes living near the Arar and Sequanas rivers.

§4.3.1μετὰ δὲ τὴν Ἀκυιτανὴν μερίδα καὶ τὴν Ναρβωνῖτιν ἡ ἐφεξῆς ἐστι μέχρι τοῦ Ῥήνου παντὸς ἀπὸ τοῦ Λίγηρος ποταμοῦ καὶ τοῦ Ῥοδανοῦ, καθʼ ὃ συνάπτει πρὸς τὸ Λούγδουνον ἀπὸ τῆς πηγῆς κατενεχθεὶς ὁ Ῥοδανός.
Next after the Aquitanian portion and the Narbonitid is the portion adjacent to them, extending as far as the entire Rhine, from the River Liger and the Rhodanus, at the point where the Rhodanus, flowing down from its source, joins Lugdunum.
ταύτης δὲ τῆς χώρας τὰ μὲν ἄνω μέρη τὰ πρὸς ταῖς πηγαῖς τῶν ποταμῶν, τοῦ τε Ῥήνου καὶ τοῦ Ῥοδανοῦ, μέχρι μέσων σχεδόν τι τῶν πεδίων ὑπὸ τῷ Λουγδούνῳ τέτακται, τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ καὶ παρωκεανιτικὰ ὑπʼ ἄλλῃ τέτακται μερίδι, ἣν ἰδίως Βέλγαις προσνέμουσιν·
Of this territory, the upper parts near the sources of the rivers, both the Rhine and the Rhodanus, as far as almost the middle of the plains, are placed under Lugdunum; but the remainder, including the coastal parts along the ocean, are placed under another portion, which they assign specifically to the Belgae.
ἡμεῖς δὲ κοινότερον τὰ καθʼ ἕκαστα δηλώσομεν.
We, however, shall describe the particulars in a more general way.
§4.3.2αὐτὸ μὲν δὴ τὸ Λούγδουνον ἐκτισμένον ὑπὸ λόφῳ κατὰ τὴν συμβολὴν τοῦ τε Ἄραρος τοῦ ποταμοῦ καὶ τοῦ Ῥοδανοῦ κατέχουσι Ῥωμαῖοι.
Now Lugdunum itself, which is founded under a hill at the confluence of the River Arar and the Rhodanus, is held by the Romans.
εὐανδρεῖ δὲ μάλιστα τῶν ἄλλων πλὴν Νάρβωνος· καὶ γὰρ ἐμπορίῳ χρῶνται καὶ τὸ νόμισμα χαράττουσιν ἐνταῦθα τό τε ἀργυροῦν καὶ τὸ χρυσοῦν οἱ τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμόνες.
It is the most populous of all the cities except Narbo; for they use it as an emporium, and the Roman governors coin there both silver and gold money.
τό τε ἱερὸν τὸ ἀναδειχθὲν ὑπὸ πάντων κοινῇ τῶν Γαλατῶν Καίσαρι τῷ Σεβαστῷ πρὸ ταύτης ἵδρυται τῆς πόλεως ἐπὶ τῇ συμβολῇ τῶν ποταμῶν· ἔστι δὲ βωμὸς ἀξιόλογος ἐπιγραφὴν ἔχων τῶν ἐθνῶν ἑξήκοντα τὸν ἀριθμὸν καὶ εἰκόνες τούτων ἑκάστου μία καὶ ἄλλος μέγας.
The temple dedicated to Caesar Augustus by all the Gauls in common is established in front of this city at the confluence of the rivers; and there is a notable altar, bearing an inscription of the tribes, sixty in number, and statues of each of these, one for each, and another large statue.
προκάθηται δὲ τοῦ ἔθνους τοῦ Σεγοσιανῶν ἡ πόλις αὕτη, κειμένου μεταξὺ τοῦ Ῥοδανοῦ καὶ τοῦ Λίγηρος·
This city stands in front of the territory of the Segosiani, which lies between the Rhodanus and the Liger.
τὰ δʼ ἑξῆς ἔθνη τὰ συντείνοντα πρὸς τὸν Ῥῆνον, τὰ μὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ Δούβιος ὁρίζεται τὰ δʼ ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἄραρος.
The next tribes, which extend toward the Rhine, are bounded, some by the Dubis, and others by the Arar.
οὗτοι μὲν οὖν, ὡς εἴρηται πρότερον, ἀπὸ τῶν Ἄλπεων καὶ αὐτοὶ κατενεχθέντες ἔπειτʼ εἰς ἓν ῥεῖθρον συμπεσόντες εἰς τὸν Ῥοδανὸν καταφέρονται· ἄλλος δʼ ἐστὶν ὁμοίως ἐν ταῖς Ἄλπεσι τὰς πηγὰς ἔχων, Σηκοάνας ὄνομα.
Now these rivers, as has been said before, also flow down from the Alps themselves, and then, falling together into a single channel, are carried down into the Rhodanus; but there is another river which likewise has its sources in the Alps, named Sequanas.
ῥεῖ δʼ εἰς τὸν ὠκεανὸν παράλληλος τῷ Ῥήνῳ διὰ ἔθνους ὁμωνύμου, συνάπτοντος τῷ Ῥήνῳ τὰ πρὸς ἕω, τὰ δʼ εἰς τἀναντία τῷ Ἄραρι, ὅθεν αἱ κάλλισται ταριχεῖαι τῶν ὑείων κρεῶν εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην κατακομίζονται.
It flows into the ocean parallel to the Rhine, through the tribe of the same name, which borders on the Rhine on the east, and on the opposite side on the Arar, whence the finest salted pork-meats are brought down to Rome.
μεταξὺ μὲν οὖν τοῦ Λίγηρος καὶ τοῦ Ἄραρος οἰκεῖ τὸ τῶν Αἰδούων ἔθνος, πόλιν ἔχον Καβυλλῖνον ἐπὶ τῷ Ἄραρι καὶ φρούριον Βίβρακτα.
Now between the Liger and the Arar dwells the tribe of the Aedui, having the city of Cabyllinum on the Arar and the fortress of Bibracte.
οἱ δὲ Αἴδουοι καὶ συγγενεῖς Ῥωμαίων ὠνομάζοντο καὶ πρῶτοι τῶν ταύτῃ προσῆλθον πρὸς τὴν φιλίαν καὶ συμμαχίαν.
The Aedui were even called kinsmen of the Romans and were the first of those in these parts to enter into friendship and alliance.
πέραν δὲ τοῦ Ἄραρος οἰκοῦσιν οἱ Σηκοανοί, διάφοροι καὶ τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις ἐκ πολλοῦ γεγονότες καὶ τοῖς Αἰδούοις, ὅτι πρὸς Γερμανοὺς προσεχώρουν πολλάκις κατὰ τὰς ἐφόδους αὐτῶν τὰς ἐπὶ τὴν Ἰταλίαν, καὶ ἐπεδείκνυντό γε οὐ τὴν τυχοῦσαν δύναμιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ κοινωνοῦντες αὐτοῖς ἐποίουν μεγάλους καὶ ἀφιστάμενοι μικρούς· πρὸς δὲ τοὺς Αἰδούους καὶ διὰ ταῦτα μέν, ἀλλʼ ἐπέτεινε τὴν ἔχθραν ἡ τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἔρις τοῦ διείργοντος αὐτούς, ἑκατέρου τοῦ ἔθνους ἴδιον ἀξιοῦντος εἶναι τὸν Ἄραρα καὶ ἑαυτῷ προσήκειν τὰ διαγωγικὰ τέλη· νυνὶ δʼ ὑπὸ τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις ἅπαντʼ ἐστί.
But on the other side of the Arar dwell the Sequani, who have long been at variance with both the Romans and the Aedui, because they repeatedly joined the Germans in their incursions into Italy, and indeed displayed no ordinary power, for by sharing in their actions they made them great, and by revolting they made them small; and while their hostility toward the Aedui was due to these reasons also, it was intensified by the dispute over the river which separated them, each tribe claiming the Arar as its own and asserting that the transport tolls belonged to itself; but now everything is under the power of the Romans.

Notes

  1. 4.3.1ἡ ἐφεξῆς ἐστι μέχρι τοῦ Ῥήνου παντὸς — The phrase ἡ ἐφεξῆς ("the next [portion]") assumes the ellipsis of the feminine noun μερίς ("portion") and functions as the subject. μέχρι τοῦ Ῥήνου παντὸς means "as far as the entire Rhine," indicating that this new administrative division extends to the whole length of the Rhine.
  2. 4.3.2ἐκτισμένον ὑπὸ λόφῳ — The participle ἐκτισμένον (neuter singular) modifies the subject τὸ Λούγδουνον (Lugdunum). The preposition ὑπό with the dative λόφῳ ("hill") expresses a static location, meaning "under/at the foot of a hill."
  3. 4.3.2τὰ δʼ ἑξῆς ἔθνη τὰ συντείνοντα πρὸς τὸν Ῥῆνον, τὰ μὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ Δούβιος ὁρίζεται τὰ δʼ ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἄραρος. — The subject of both passive verbs contrasted by μέν and δέ is the neuter plural nominative τὰ δʼ ἑξῆς ἔθνη ("the next tribes"). The verb ὁρίζεται is in the singular, following the Greek rule (schema Atticum) where a neuter plural subject takes a singular verb.
  4. 4.3.2ὅτι πρὸς Γερμανοὺς προσεχώρουν πολλάκις — The conjunction ὅτι introduces a causal clause explaining the reason for the main clause's διάφοροι... γεγονότες ("having been at variance"). The imperfect verb προσεχώρουν ("approached, joined") expresses repeated or ongoing alignment with the Germans in the past.
  5. 4.3.2ἑκατέρου τοῦ ἔθνους ἴδιον ἀξιοῦντος εἶναι τὸν Ἄραρα — This is a genitive absolute construction where ἑκατέρου τοῦ ἔθνους ("each of the two tribes") is the subject and the present participle ἀξιοῦντος ("claiming, deeming worthy") is the verb. The infinitive εἶναι has τὸν Ἄραρα ("the Arar") as its subject accusative, with ἴδιον ("its own") functioning as a predicate.

Cite this passage

Strabo, Geography §4.3.1-4.3.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0099.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.3.1-4.3.2

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