Humanitext Reader

Strabo · Geography §5.3.1

Geography, Cities, and Ancient Lineage of the Sabines

Passage 158 of 577 · Greek

Summary

Describes the geographical boundaries, minor cities, and famous hot springs of the Sabines, as well as their fertile land, excellent livestock, and ancient lineage from which other nations branched off.

§5.3.1σαβῖνοι δὲ στενὴν οἰκοῦσι χώραν, ἐπὶ μῆκος δὲ διήκουσαν καὶ χιλίων σταδίων ἀπὸ τοῦ Τιβέρεως καὶ Νωμεντοῦ πολίχνης μέχρι Ὀυηστίνων.
The Sabines inhabit a narrow country, but one extending in length even to a thousand stadia from the Tiber and the small town of Nomentum as far as the Vestini.
πόλεις δʼ ἔχουσιν ὀλίγας καὶ τεταπεινωμένας διὰ τοὺς συνεχεῖς πολέμους, Ἀμίτερνον καὶ Ῥεᾶτε, ᾧ πλησιάζει κώμη Ἰντεροκρέα καὶ τὰ ἐν Κωτιλίαις ψυχρὰ ὕδατα, ἀφʼ ὧν καὶ πίνουσι καὶ ἐγκαθίζοντες θεραπεύονται νόσους.
They have few cities, and those ruined by continuous wars, Amiternum and Reate, near which is the village of Interocrea and the cold waters at Cutiliae, from which people both drink and, by bathing in them, cure diseases.
Σαβίνων δʼ εἰσὶ καὶ οἱ Φόρουλοι, πέτραι πρὸς ἀπόστασιν μᾶλλον ἢ κατοικίαν εὐφυεῖς.
Among the Sabines is also Foruli, rocks well suited for rebellion rather than habitation.
Κύρις δὲ νῦν μὲν κωμίον ἐστίν, ἦν δὲ πόλις ἐπίσημος, ἐξ ἧς ὥρμηντο οἱ τῆς Ῥώμης βασιλεύσαντες Τίτος Τάτιος καὶ Νουμᾶς Πομπίλιος· ἐντεῦθεν δὲ καὶ Κυρίτας ὀνομάζουσιν οἱ δημηγοροῦντες τοὺς Ῥωμαίους.
Cures is now indeed a small village, but it was once an illustrious city, from which came Titus Tatius and Numa Pompilius, who ruled as kings of Rome; and from this place also those who address the public call the Romans Quirites.
Τρήβουλά τε καὶ Ἠρητὸν καὶ ἄλλαι κατοικίαι τοιαῦται κῶμαι μᾶλλον ἢ πόλεις ἐξετάζοιντʼ ἄν.
Trebula and Eretum and other such settlements would be classed as villages rather than cities.
ἅπασα δʼ αὐτῶν ἡ γῆ διαφερόντως ἐλαιόφυτός ἐστι καὶ ἀμπελόφυτος, βάλανόν τε ἐκφέρει πολλήν· σπουδαία δὲ καὶ βοσκήμασι τοῖς τε ἄλλοις, καὶ δὴ τὸ τῶν ἡμιόνων γένος τῶν Ῥεατίνων διωνόμασται θαυμαστῶς.
All their land is remarkably well-planted with olives and vines, and produces many acorns; it is also excellent for cattle and other livestock, and indeed the breed of Reatine mules is wonderfully famous.
ὡς δʼ εἰπεῖν, ἅπασα ἡ Ἰταλία θρεμμάτων τε ἀρίστη τροφὸς καὶ καρπῶν ἐστιν, ἄλλα δʼ εἴδη κατὰ ἄλλα μέρη τῶν πρωτείων τυγχάνει.
So to speak, all Italy is an excellent nourisher of both herds and crops, though different kinds of products obtain the first place in different parts.
ἔστι δὲ καὶ παλαιότατον γένος οἱ Σαβῖνοι καὶ αὐτόχθονες· τούτων δʼ ἄποικοι Πικεντῖνοί τε καὶ Σαυνῖται, τούτων δὲ Λευκανοί, τούτων δὲ Βρέττιοι.
The Sabines are also a very ancient race and indigenous; the Picentines and the Samnites are colonists from them, the Lucanians from the Samnites, and the Bruttians from the Lucanians.
τὴν δʼ ἀρχαιότητα τεκμήριον ἄν τις ποιήσαιτο ἀνδρείας καὶ τῆς ἄλλης ἀρετῆς ἀφʼ ἧς ἀντέσχον μέχρι πρὸς τὸν παρόντα χρόνον.
One might make their antiquity a proof of their courage and other virtues, by which they held out down to the present time.
φησὶ δʼ ὁ συγγραφεὺς Φάβιος Ῥωμαίους αἰσθέσθαι τοῦ πλούτου τότε πρῶτον, ὅτε τοῦ ἔθνους τούτου κατέστησαν κύριοι.
The historian Fabius says that the Romans first became aware of wealth at that time when they became masters of this nation.
ἔστρωται δὲ διʼ αὐτῶν ἡ Σαλαρία ὁδὸς οὐ πολλὴ οὖσα, εἰς ἣν καὶ ἡ Νωμεντανὴ συμπίπτει κατὰ Ἠρητὸν τῆς Σαβίνης κώμην ὑπὲρ τοῦ Τιβέρεως κειμένην, ἀπὸ τῆς αὐτῆς πύλης ἀρχομένη τῆς Κολλίνης.
Through their territory is laid the Salarian Way, which is not very long, and into it the Nomentan Way also falls at Eretum, a village of the Sabines situated above the Tiber, starting from the same Colline Gate.

Notes

  1. 5.3.1χιλίων σταδίων — Genitive of measure, modifying the participle `διήκουσαν` (extending).
  2. 5.3.1ἀφʼ ἧς — The antecedent of the relative pronoun `ἧς` is either the preceding `τῆς ἄλλης ἀρετῆς` or the whole phrase `ἀνδρείας καὶ τῆς ἄλλης ἀρετῆς`. The preposition `ἀπό` expresses cause or means ("by means of which," "by virtue of which"), indicating the ground on which they held out (`ἀντέσχον`).
  3. 5.3.1τούτων... τούτων... τούτων — A chained ellipsis of demonstrative pronouns. The first `τούτων` refers to the Sabines, the second to the immediately preceding Samnites (`Σαυνῖται`), and the third to the immediately preceding Lucanians (`Λευκανοί`), neatly presenting the lineage of these ethnic groups (Sabines → Samnites → Lucanians → Bruttians).

Cite this passage

Strabo, Geography §5.3.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0099.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.3.1

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.