§5.4.3̔εξῆς δὲ μετὰ τὴν Λατίνην ἐστὶν ἥ τε Καμπανία παρήκουσα τῇ θαλάττῃ, καὶ ὑπὲρ ταύτην ἡ Σαυνῖτις ἐν μεσογαίᾳ μέχρι Φρεντανῶν καὶ τῶν Δαυνίων, εἶτʼ αὐτοὶ Δαύνιοι καὶ τἆλλα ἔθνη τὰ μέχρι τοῦ Σικελικοῦ πορθμοῦ.
Next after Latium is Campania, extending along the sea, and above it, in the interior, is Samnium as far as the Frentani and the Daunians, then the Daunians themselves and the other tribes as far as the Sicilian Strait.
πρῶτον δὲ περὶ τῆς Καμπανίας ῥητέον.
First, we must speak about Campania.
ἔστι δʼ ἀπὸ τῆς Σινοέσσης ἐπὶ μὲν τὴν ἑξῆς παραλίαν κόλπος εὐμεγέθης μέχρι Μισηνοῦ, κἀκεῖθεν ἄλλος κόλπος πολὺ μείζων τοῦ προτέρου, καλοῦσι δʼ αὐτὸν κρατῆρα, ἀπὸ τοῦ Μισηνοῦ μέχρι τοῦ Ἀθηναίου, δυεῖν ἀκρωτηρίων, κολπούμενον.
From Sinuessa to the next coast, there is a very large gulf as far as Misenum, and from there another gulf much larger than the former, which they call the Crater, forming a bay between two capes, from Misenum to Athenaion.
ὑπὲρ δὲ τούτων τῶν ᾐόνων Καμπανία πᾶσα ἵδρυται, πεδίον εὐδαιμονέστατον τῶν ἁπάντων· περίκεινται δʼ αὐτῷ γεωλοφίαι τε εὔκαρποι καὶ ὄρη τά τε τῶν Σαυνιτῶν καὶ τὰ τῶν Ὄσκων.
Above these shores is situated all Campania, a plain most blessed of all; and around it lie fruitful hills and the mountains of the Samnites and the Osci.
Ἀντίοχος μὲν οὖν φησι τὴν χώραν ταύτην Ὀπικοὺς οἰκῆσαι, τούτους δὲ καὶ Αὔσονας καλεῖσθαι.
Now Antiochus says that this country was inhabited by the Opici, and that these were also called Ausones.
Πολύβιος δʼ ἐμφαίνει δύο ἔθνη νομίζων ταῦτα· Ὀπικοὺς γάρ φησι καὶ Αὔσονας οἰκεῖν τὴν χώραν ταύτην περὶ τὸν κρατῆρα.
But Polybius appears to hold these as two distinct nations, for he says that both Opici and Ausones inhabited this country around the Crater.
ἄλλοι δὲ λέγουσιν οἰκούντων Ὀπικῶν πρότερον καὶ Αὐσόνων· οἱ δʼ ἐκείνους κατασχεῖν ὕστερον Ὄσκων τι ἔθνος, τούτους δʼ ὑπὸ Κυμαίων, ἐκείνους δʼ ὑπὸ Τυρρηνῶν ἐκπεσεῖν· διὰ γὰρ τὴν ἀρετὴν περιμάχητον γενέσθαι τὸ πεδίον· δώδεκα δὲ πόλεις ἐγκατοικίσαντας τὴν οἷον κεφαλὴν ὀνομάσαι Καπύην.
Others say that while the Opici and Ausones inhabited it first, a tribe of the Osci later seized the land from them, and these were expelled by the Cumaeans, and the Cumaeans by the Tyrrhenians; for because of its fertility the plain became a subject of contention; and having settled twelve cities in it, they named the one that was as it were the head, Capua.
διὰ δὲ τὴν τρυφὴν εἰς μαλακίαν τραπομένους καθάπερ τῆς περὶ τὸν Πάδον χώρας ἐξέστησαν, οὕτω καὶ ταύτης παραχωρῆσαι Σαυνίταις, τούτους δʼ ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων ἐκπεσεῖν.
But because of luxury they turned to softness, and just as they departed from the country around the Po, so they yielded this also to the Samnites, and these in turn were expelled by the Romans.
τῆς δʼ εὐκαρπίας ἐστὶ σημεῖον τὸ σῖτον ἐνταῦθα γίνεσθαι τὸν κάλλιστον, λέγω δὲ τὸν πύρινον, ἐξ οὗ καὶ ὁ χόνδρος κρείττων ὢν πάσης καὶ ὀρύζης καὶ ἐν ὀλίγῳ σιτικῆς τροφῆς.
A sign of its fertility is that the finest wheat is produced here, I mean the wheat from which is made the groats that are superior to all rice and to almost any grain food.
ἱστορεῖται δʼ ἔνια τῶν πεδίων σπείρεσθαι διʼ ἔτους δὶς μὲν τῇ ζειᾷ, τὸ δὲ τρίτον ἐλύμῳ, τινὰ δὲ καὶ λαχανεύεσθαι τῷ τετάρτῳ σπόρῳ.
It is recorded that some parts of the plains are sown twice a year with spelt, and the third time with millet, and some parts are even cultivated with vegetables in a fourth sowing.
καὶ μὴν τὸν οἶνον τὸν κράτιστον ἐντεῦθεν ἔχουσι Ῥωμαῖοι τὸν Φάλερνον καὶ τὸν Στατανὸν καὶ Καληνόν· ἤδη δὲ καὶ ὁ Συρρεντῖνος ἐνάμιλλος καθίσταται τούτοις, νεωστὶ πειρασθεὶς ὅτι παλαίωσιν δέχεται.
Moreover, the Romans obtain their finest wine from here—the Falernian, the Statanian, and the Calenian; and already the Surrentine also is establishing itself as a rival to these, having recently been tested to show that it tolerates aging.
ὡς δʼ αὕτως εὐέλαιός ἐστι καὶ πᾶσα ἡ περὶ τὸ Ὀυέναφρον ὅμορον τοῖς πεδίοις ὄν.
In the very same way, all the country around Venafrum, which borders on the plains, is rich in olive oil.
§5.4.4πόλεις δʼ ἐπὶ μὲν τῇ θαλάττῃ μετὰ τὴν Σινόεσσαν Λίτερνον, ὅπου τὸ μνῆμα τὸ Σκιπίωνος τοῦ πρώτου προσαγορευθέντος Ἀφρικανοῦ· διέτριψε γὰρ ἐνταῦθα τὸ τελευταῖον ἀφεὶς τὰς πολιτείας κατʼ ἀπέχθειαν τὴν πρός τινας.
Of the cities on the sea, after Sinuessa is Liternum, where is the tomb of Scipio, the first to be surnamed Africanus; for he spent his last days here, having abandoned public affairs because of his hatred toward certain persons.
παραρρεῖ δὲ ὁμώνυμος τῇ πόλει ποταμός.
A river of the same name flows past the city.
ὡς δʼ αὕτως καὶ Ὀυουλτοῦρνος ὁμώνυμός ἐστι τῇ παρʼ αὐτὸν πόλει ἐφεξῆς κειμένῃ· ῥεῖ δʼ οὗτος διὰ Ὀυενάφρου καὶ τῆς Καμπανίας μέσης.
In the same way also, the Volturnus is of the same name as the next city situated beside it; and this river flows through Venafrum and through the middle of Campania.
ταύταις δʼ ἐφεξῆς ἔστι Κύμη Χαλκιδέων καὶ Κυμαίων παλαιότατον κτίσμα· πασῶν γάρ ἐστι πρεσβυτάτη τῶν τε Σικελικῶν καὶ τῶν Ἰταλιωτίδων.
Next after these is Cumae, a most ancient foundation of the Chalcidians and Cumaeans; for it is the oldest of all the Sicilian and Italiote cities.
οἱ δὲ τὸν στόλον ἄγοντες, Ἱπποκλῆς ὁ Κυμαῖος καὶ Μεγασθένης ὁ Χαλκιδεύς, διωμολογήσαντο πρὸς σφᾶς αὐτούς, τῶν μὲν ἀποικίαν εἶναι τῶν δὲ τὴν ἐπωνυμίαν· ὅθεν νῦν μὲν προσαγορεύεται Κύμη, κτίσαι δʼ αὐτὴν Χαλκιδεῖς δοκοῦσι.
The leaders of the fleet, Hippocles the Cumaean and Megasthenes the Chalcidian, agreed among themselves that the colony should belong to the latter but take its name from the former; whence it is now called Cumae, though the Chalcidians are considered to have founded it.
πρότερον μὲν οὖν ηὐτύχει καὶ τὸ Φλεγραῖον καλούμενον πεδίον, ἐν ᾧ τὰ περὶ τοὺς Γίγαντας μυθεύουσιν οὐκ ἄλλοθεν, ὡς εἰκός, ἀλλʼ ἐκ τοῦ περιμάχητον τὴν γῆν εἶναι διʼ ἀρετήν, ὕστερον δʼ οἱ Καμπανοὶ κύριοι καταστάντες τῆς πόλεως ὕβρισαν εἰς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους πολλά·
Formerly, then, the plain called Phlegraean also flourished, where they tell the myths about the Giants, for no other reason, as is likely, than because the land was a subject of contention due to its excellence.
καὶ δὴ καὶ ταῖς γυναιξὶν αὐτῶν συνῴκησαν αὐτοί.
But later, when the Campanians became masters of the city, they committed many outrages against the inhabitants; and indeed, they themselves cohabited with their wives.
ὅμως δʼ οὖν ἔτι σώζεται πολλὰ ἴχνη τοῦ Ἑλληνικοῦ κόσμου καὶ τῶν ἱερῶν καὶ τῶν νομίμων.
Nevertheless, many traces of the Greek order, temples, and customs are still preserved.
ὠνομάσθαι δʼ ἔνιοι Κύμην ἀπὸ τῶν κυμάτων φασί· ῥαχιώδης γὰρ καὶ προσεχὴς ὁ πλησίον αἰγιαλός.
Some say that Cumae was named after the waves; for the nearby beach is rocky and exposed to the surf.
εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ κητεῖαι παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἄρισται.
There are also excellent fisheries for large sea-monsters among them.
ἐν δὲ τῷ κόλπῳ τούτῳ καὶ ὕλη τίς ἐστι θαμνώδης ἐπὶ πολλοὺς ἐκτεινομένη σταδίους ἄνυδρος καὶ ἀμμώδης, ἣν Γαλλιναρίαν ὕλην καλοῦσιν.
In this gulf there is also a sort of brushwood forest, waterless and sandy, extending over many stadia, which they call the Gallinaria forest.
ἐνταῦθα δὴ λῃστήρια συνεστήσαντο οἱ Πομπηίου Σέξτου ναύαρχοι, καθʼ ὃν καιρὸν Σικελίαν ἀπέστησεν ἐκεῖνος.
It was here that the admirals of Sextus Pompeius established pirate strongholds at the time when he caused Sicily to revolt.