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Strabo · Geography §5.2.1-5.2.2

Geography of Central Italy and Origins of the Tyrrhenians

Passage 151 of 577 · Greek

Summary

This chunk describes the geographical layout of Liguria, Tyrrhenia, Umbria, the Sabine territory, and Latium, and outlines the Lydian origin myth of the Tyrrhenians and their significant cultural and institutional influence on early Rome.

§5.2.1δευτέρα δὲ λεγέσθω ἡ Λιγυστικὴ ἡ ἐν αὐτοῖς τοῖς Ἀπεννίνοις ὄρεσι, μεταξὺ ἱδρυμένη τῆς νῦν λεχθείσης Κελτικῆς καὶ τῆς Τυρρηνίας, οὐδὲν ἔχουσα περιηγήσεως ἄξιον, πλὴν ὅτι κωμηδὸν ζῶσι, τραχεῖαν γῆν ἀροῦντες καὶ σκάπτοντες, μᾶλλον δὲ λατομοῦντες, ὥς φησι Ποσειδώνιος.
Secondly, let Liguria be described, which is situated in the Apennines mountains themselves, between the Celtic territory just mentioned and Tyrrhenia; it has nothing worthy of description, except that the people live in villages, tilling and digging a rugged land, or rather, as Poseidonius says, quarrying stone.
τρίτοι δʼ εἰσὶ συνεχεῖς τούτοις οἱ Τυρρηνοί, τὰ πεδία ἔχοντες τὰ μέχρι τοῦ ποταμοῦ τοῦ Τιβέριδος, κλυζόμενοι τὰ μὲν πρὸς ἕω μάλιστα μέρη τῷ ποταμῷ μέχρι τῆς ἐκβολῆς αὐτοῦ, κατὰ δὲ θάτερα τῷ Τυρρηνικῷ καὶ Σαρδῴῳ πελάγει.
Thirdly, continuous with these are the Tyrrhenians, who hold the plains extending as far as the river Tiber; they are washed on their eastern parts especially by the river as far as its mouth, and on the other side by the Tyrrhenian and Sardinian seas.
ῥεῖ δὲ ἐκ τῶν Ἀπεννίνων ὀρῶν ὁ Τίβερις, πληροῦται δʼ ἐκ πολλῶν ποταμῶν, μέρος μέν τι διʼ αὐτῆς φερόμενος τῆς Τυρρηνίας, τὸ δʼ ἐφεξῆς διορίζων ἀπʼ αὐτῆς πρῶτον μὲν τὴν Ὀμβρικήν, εἶτα τοὺς Σαβίνους καὶ Λατίνους τοὺς πρὸς τῇ Ῥώμῃ μέχρι τῆς παραλίας.
The Tiber flows from the Apennines mountains and is filled from many rivers, running for a certain part through Tyrrhenia itself, and next dividing from it first Umbria, and then the Sabines and the Latins who are near Rome, as far as the coast.
παραβέβληνται δέ πως τῷ ποταμῷ μὲν καὶ τοῖς Τυρρηνοῖς κατὰ πλάτος, ἀλλήλοις δὲ κατὰ μῆκος· ἀνέχουσι δὲ πρὸς τὰ Ἀπέννινα ὄρη τὰ πλησιάζοντα τῷ Ἀδρίᾳ πρῶτοι μὲν οἱ Ὀμβρικοί, μετὰ δὲ τούτους Σαβῖνοι, τελευταῖοι δʼ οἱ τὴν Λατίνην ἔχοντες, ἀρξάμενοι πάντες ἀπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ.
These people are situated in a way parallel to the river and to the Tyrrhenians in breadth, but to one another in length; and extending up towards the Apennines mountains that approach the Adriatic, first are the Umbrians, after these the Sabines, and last those who hold Latium, all starting from the river.
ἡ μὲν οὖν τῶν Λατίνων χώρα μεταξὺ κεῖται τῆς τε ἀπὸ τῶν Ὠστίων παραλίας μέχρι πόλεως Σινοέσσης καὶ τῆς Σαβίνης (τὰ δʼ Ὤστια ἐστὶν ἐπίνειον τῆς Ῥώμης, εἰς ὃ ἐκδίδωσιν ὁ Τίβερις παρʼ αὐτὴν ῥυείς), ἐκτείνεται δὲ ἐπὶ μῆκος μέχρι τῆς Καμπανίας καὶ τῶν Σαυνιτικῶν ὀρῶν· ἡ δὲ Σαβίνη μεταξὺ τῶν Λατίνων κεῖται καὶ τῶν Ὀμβρικῶν, ἐκτείνεται δὲ καὶ αὐτὴ πρὸς τὰ Σαυνιτικὰ ὄρη, καὶ μᾶλλον συνάπτει τοῖς Ἀπεννίνοις τοῖς κατὰ Ὀυηστίνους τε καὶ Πελίγνους καὶ Μαρσούς· οἱ δʼ Ὀμβρικοὶ μέσοι μὲν κεῖνται τῆς τε Σαβίνης καὶ τῆς Τυρρηνίας, μέχρι δʼ Ἀριμίνου καὶ Ῥαουέννης προΐασιν, ὑπερβάλλοντες τὰ ὄρη.
Now, the territory of the Latins lies between the coast from Ostia as far as the city of Sinuessa and the Sabine country (Ostia is the port of Rome, into which the Tiber empties, flowing past Rome itself), and it extends in length as far as Campania and the Samnite mountains; and the Sabine country lies between the Latins and the Umbrians, and it also extends towards the Samnite mountains, and more closely connects with the Apennines near the Vestini, Paeligni, and Marsi; and the Umbrians lie between the Sabine country and Tyrrhenia, and they advance as far as Ariminum and Ravenna, crossing over the mountains.
Τυρρηνοὶ δὲ παύονται ὑπʼ αὐτοῖς τοῖς ὄρεσι τοῖς περικλείουσιν ἐκ τῆς Λιγυστικῆς εἰς τὸν Ἀδρίαν, ἀπὸ τῆς οἰκείας ἀρξάμενοι θαλάττης καὶ τοῦ Τιβέριδος.
The Tyrrhenians end at the very mountains which enclose them from Liguria to the Adriatic, starting from their own sea and the Tiber.
τὰ καθʼ ἕκαστα δὲ διέξιμεν ἀπʼ αὐτῶν τούτων ἀρξάμενοι.
We shall go through the details starting from these very people.
§5.2.2οἱ Τυρρηνοὶ τοίνυν παρὰ τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις Ἑτροῦσκοι καὶ Τοῦσκοι προσαγορεύονται.
The Tyrrhenians, then, are called Etruscans and Tusci by the Romans.
οἱ δʼ Ἕλληνες οὕτως ὠνόμασαν αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ τοῦ Τυρρηνοῦ Ἄτυος, ὥς φασι, τοῦ στείλαντος ἐκ Λυδίας ἐποίκους δεῦρο.
But the Greeks named them thus after Tyrrhenus, the son of Atys, as they say, who sent colonists here from Lydia.
ἐπὶ γὰρ λιμοῦ καὶ ἀφορίας ὁ Ἄτυς, εἷς τῶν ἀπογόνων Ἡρακλέους καὶ Ὀμφάλης, δυεῖν παίδων ὄντων, κλήρῳ Λυδὸν μὲν κατέσχε, τῷ δὲ Τυρρηνῷ τὸν πλείω συστήσας λαὸν ἐξέστειλεν.
For during a famine and barrenness, Atys, one of the descendants of Heracles and Omphale, since he had two sons, retained Lydus by lot, but having assembled the greater part of the people with Tyrrhenus, sent them out.
ἐλθὼν δὲ τήν τε χώραν ἀφʼ ἑαυτοῦ Τυρρηνίαν ἐκάλεσε καὶ δώδεκα πόλεις ἔκτισεν, οἰκιστὴν ἐπιστήσας Τάρκωνα, ἀφʼ οὗ Ταρκυνία ἡ πόλις, ὃν διὰ τὴν ἐκ παίδων σύνεσιν πολιὸν γεγεννῆσθαι μυθεύουσι.
And having arrived, he called the country Tyrrhenia after himself and founded twelve cities, appointing Tarchon as founder, after whom the city of Tarquinia is named, who, they mythologically say, was born grey-haired because of his intelligence from childhood.
τότε μὲν οὖν ὑφʼ ἑνὶ ἡγεμόνι ταττόμενοι μέγα ἴσχυον, χρόνοις δʼ ὕστερον διαλυθῆναι τὸ σύστημα εἰκὸς καὶ κατὰ πόλεις διασπασθῆναι βίᾳ τῶν πλησιοχώρων εἴξαντας·
At that time, therefore, being organized under one leader, they were very powerful; but in later times it is likely that the system was dissolved and they were split up by cities, yielding to the violence of their neighbors.
οὐ γὰρ ἂν χώραν εὐδαίμονα ἀφέντες τῇ θαλάττῃ κατὰ λῃστείαν ἐπέθεντο ἄλλοι πρὸς ἄλλα τραπόμενοι πελάγη, ἐπεί, ὅπου γε συμπνεύσαιεν, ἱκανοὶ ἦσαν οὐκ ἀμύνασθαι μόνον τοὺς ἐπιχειροῦντας αὐτοῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀντεπιχειρεῖν καὶ μακρὰς στρατείας ποιεῖσθαι.
For otherwise they would not have abandoned a fertile country and applied themselves to piracy on the sea, turning to different seas; since, wherever they acted in unison, they were capable not only of repelling those who attacked them, but also of counter-attacking and making long expeditions.
μετὰ δὲ τὴν τῆς Ῥώμης κτίσιν Δημάρατος ἀφικνεῖται λαὸν ἄγων ἐκ Κορίνθου, καὶ δεξαμένων αὐτὸν Ταρκυνιτῶν γεννᾷ Λουκούμωνα ἐξ ἐπιχωρίας γυναικός.
After the founding of Rome, Demaratus arrived leading a host from Corinth, and being received by the Tarquinienses, he begot Lucumo of a local woman.
γενόμενος δὲ Ἄγκῳ Μαρκίῳ τῷ βασιλεῖ τῶν Ῥωμαίων φίλος, ἐβασίλευσεν οὗτος καὶ μετωνομάσθη Λεύκιος Ταρκύνιος Πρίσκος.
Having become a friend to Ancus Marcius, the king of the Romans, this man reigned and was renamed Lucius Tarquinius Priscus.
ἐκόσμησε δʼ οὖν τὴν Τυρρηνίαν καὶ αὐτὸς καὶ ὁ πατὴρ πρότερον, ὁ μὲν εὐπορίᾳ δημιουργῶν τῶν συνακολουθησάντων οἴκοθεν, ὁ δὲ ταῖς ἐκ τῆς Ῥώμης ἀφορμαῖς.
He himself, and his father before him, adorned Tyrrhenia: the father through the abundance of artisans who accompanied him from home, and the son through the resources from Rome.
λέγεται δὲ καὶ ὁ θριαμβικὸς κόσμος καὶ ὑπατικὸς καὶ ἁπλῶς ὁ τῶν ἀρχόντων ἐκ Ταρκυνίων δεῦρο μετενεχθῆναι καὶ ῥάβδοι καὶ πελέκεις καὶ σάλπιγγες καὶ ἱεροποιίαι καὶ μαντικὴ καὶ μουσική, ὅσῃ δημοσίᾳ χρῶνται Ῥωμαῖοι.
It is said also that the triumphal ornament, and the consular, and simply that of the magistrates was transferred here from Tarquinia, as well as the rods and axes, trumpets, sacred rites, divination, and music, as much as the Romans use publicly.
τούτου δʼ υἱὸς ἦν ὁ δεύτερος Ταρκύνιος ὁ Σούπερβος, ὅσπερ καὶ τελευταῖος βασιλεύσας ἐξέπεσε.
His son was the second Tarquinius, Superbus, who, having reigned last, was expelled.
Πορσίνας δʼ, ὁ τῶν Κλουσίνων βασιλεύς, πόλεως Τυρρηνίδος, κατάγειν αὐτὸν ἐπιχειρήσας διʼ ὅπλων, ὡς οὐχ οἷός τε ἦν, καταλυσάμενος τὴν ἔχθραν ἀπῆλθε φίλος μετὰ τιμῆς καὶ δωρεῶν μεγάλων.
And Porsinas, the king of the Clusini, a Tyrrhenian city, having attempted to restore him by force of arms, when he was unable to do so, made peace and departed as a friend with honor and great gifts.

Notes

  1. 5.2.1οὐδὲν ἔχουσα περιηγήσεως ἄξιον, πλὴν ὅτι κωμηδὸν ζῶσι... — The noun `περιηγήσεως` is a genitive of value/respect depending on the adjective `ἄξιον`. The clause introduced by `πλὴν ὅτι` (except that...) functions as an adverbial phrase of exception qualifying the main statement.
  2. 5.2.1παραβέβληνται δέ πως τῷ ποταμῷ μὲν καὶ τοῖς Τυρρηνοῖς κατὰ πλάτος, ἀλλήλοις δὲ κατὰ μῆκος — The subject of the verb `παραβέβληνται` (third-person plural perfect passive of `παραβάλλω`) consists of the previously listed Umbrians, Sabines, and Latins. It describes a complex spatial relationship: they run parallel in breadth (east-west) relative to the river and Tyrrhenians, but are arranged in length (north-south) relative to each other.
  3. 5.2.2κλήρῳ Λυδὸν μὲν κατέσχε, τῷ δὲ Τυρρηνῷ τὸν πλείω συστήσας λαὸν ἐξέστειλεν — The noun `κλήρῳ` is a dative of means ('by lot'). The aorist active participle `συστήσας` (from `συνίστημι`) indicates an attendant circumstance to the main verb `ἐξέστειλεν`, meaning 'having assembled' or 'having organized' the greater part of the people under Tyrrhenus.
  4. 5.2.2οὐ γὰρ ἂν χώραν εὐδαίμονα ἀφέντες τῇ θαλάττῃ κατὰ λῃστείαν ἐπέθεντο — The particle `ἂν` combined with the aorist indicative `ἐπέθεντο` forms a past contrafactual statement. The participle `ἀφέντες` (aorist active participle of `ἀφίημι`) functions conditionally ('if they had abandoned'), conveying the meaning that 'otherwise (if they had not been weakened) they would not have abandoned their fertile land to turn to piracy'.

Cite this passage

Strabo, Geography §5.2.1-5.2.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0099.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.2.1-5.2.2

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