§7.3.10περί τε τῶν Μυσῶν δίκαιός ἐστιν ὑποσχεῖν λόγον τῶν ἐν τοῖς ἔπεσι λεγομένων Ἀπολλόδωρος, πότερʼ ἡγεῖται καὶ τούτους εἶναι πλάσμα, ὅταν φῇ ὁ ποιητὴς
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Μυσῶν τʼ ἀγχεμάχων καὶ ἀγαυῶν ἱππημολγῶν,
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ἢ τοὺς ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ δέχεται.
Concerning the Mysians mentioned in the epic poems, Apollodorus is right to be called to account, whether he considers these also to be a fiction, when the poet says, "and of the Mysians, hand-to-hand fighters, and the noble Galactophagi, "or whether he accepts those in Asia.
τοὺς μὲν οὖν ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ δεχόμενος παρερμηνεύσει τὸν ποιητήν, ὡς προείρηται, πλάσμα λέγων, ὡς μὴ ὄντων ἐν τῇ Θρᾴκῃ Μυσῶν, παρὰ τὰ ὄντα.
If he accepts those in Asia, he will misinterpret the poet, as has been said before, calling them a fiction on the ground that there are no Mysians in Thrace, contrary to the facts.
ἔτι γὰρ ἐφʼ ἡμῶν Αἴλιος Κάτος μετῴκισεν ἐκ τῆς περαίας τοῦ Ἴστρου πέντε μυριάδας σωμάτων παρὰ τῶν Γετῶν, ὁμογλώττου τοῖς Θρᾳξὶν ἔθνους, εἰς τὴν Θρᾴκην· καὶ νῦν οἰκοῦσιν αὐτόθι Μοισοὶ καλούμενοι, ἤτοι καὶ τῶν πρότερον οὕτω καλουμένων, ἐν δὲ τῇ Ἀσίᾳ Μυσῶν μετονομασθέντων, ἢ ὅπερ οἰκειότερόν ἐστι τῇ ἱστορίᾳ καὶ τῇ ἀποφάσει τοῦ ποιητοῦ, τῶν ἐν τῇ Θρᾴκῃ Μυσῶν καλουμένων πρότερον.
For even in our own time Aelius Catus translated from the other side of the Ister fifty thousand persons from the Getae, a tribe of the same tongue as the Thracians, into Thrace; and now they live there under the name of Moesi, whether they were indeed formerly so called and changed their name to Mysians in Asia, or, what is more consistent with history and the statement of the poet, they were formerly called Mysians in Thrace.
περὶ μὲν δὴ τούτων ἅλις· ἐπάνειμι δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν ἑξῆς περιήγησιν.
But enough of these matters; I shall return to the subsequent description.
§7.3.11τῶν δὴ Γετῶν τὰ μὲν παλαιὰ ἀφείσθω, τὰ δʼ εἰς ἡμᾶς ἤδη τοιαῦτα ὑπῆρξε.
As for the Getae, let their ancient history be dismissed, but their affairs in our own time have been as follows.
Βοιρεβίστας ἀνὴρ Γέτης, ἐπιστὰς ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ ἔθνους ἐπιστασίαν, ἀνέλαβε κεκακωμένους τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ὑπὸ συχνῶν πολέμων καὶ τοσοῦτον ἐπῆρεν ἀσκήσει καὶ νήψει καὶ τῷ προσέχειν τοῖς προστάγμασιν, ὥστʼ ὀλίγων ἐτῶν μεγάλην ἀρχὴν κατεστήσατο καὶ τῶν ὁμόρων τοὺς πλείστους ὑπέταξε τοῖς Γέταις·
Boerebistas, a Getan man, having attained the leadership of the nation, restored his people who had been reduced to a wretched state by frequent wars, and raised them so high by training, sobriety, and obedience to commands, that in a few years he established a great empire and subjected most of the neighboring peoples to the Getae.
ἤδη δὲ καὶ Ῥωμαίοις φοβερὸς ἦν, διαβαίνων ἀδεῶς τὸν Ἴστρον καὶ τὴν Θρᾴκην λεηλατῶν μέχρι Μακεδονίας καὶ τῆς Ἰλλυρίδος, τούς τε Κελτοὺς τοὺς ἀναμεμιγμένους τοῖς τε Θρᾳξὶ καὶ τοῖς Ἰλλυριοῖς ἐξεπόρθησε, Βοίους δὲ καὶ ἄρδην ἠφάνισε τοὺς ὑπὸ Κριτασίρῳ καὶ Ταυρίσκους.
And he was already formidable even to the Romans, crossing the Ister without fear and plundering Thrace as far as Macedonia and Illyria; and he utterly devastated the Celts who were mingled with the Thracians and Illyrians, and completely wiped out the Boii under Critasirus and the Taurisci.
πρὸς δὲ τὴν εὐπείθειαν τοῦ ἔθνους συναγωνιστὴν ἔσχε Δεκαίνεον ἄνδρα γόητα, πεπλανημένον κατὰ τὴν Αἴγυπτον καὶ προσημασίας ἐκμεμαθηκότα τινάς, διʼ ὧν ὑπεκρίνετο τὰ θεῖα· καὶ διʼ ὀλίγου καθίστατο θεός, καθάπερ ἔφαμεν περὶ τοῦ Ζαμόλξεως διηγούμενοι.
To secure the obedience of the nation, he had as an associate Decaeneus, a sorcerer, who had traveled in Egypt and learned certain signs of prophecy, through which he pretended to speak the divine will; and in a short time he was regarded as a god, just as we said in our account of Zamolxis.
τῆς δʼ εὐπειθείας σημεῖον· ἐπείσθησαν γὰρ ἐκκόψαι τὴν ἄμπελον καὶ ζῆν οἴνου χωρίς.
And this is a sign of their obedience: for they were persuaded to cut down the vine and to live without wine.
ὁ μὲν οὖν Βοιρεβίστας ἔφθη καταλυθεὶς ἐπαναστάντων αὐτῷ τινων πρὶν ἢ Ῥωμαίους στεῖλαι στρατείαν ἐπʼ αὐτόν· οἱ δὲ διαδεξάμενοι τὴν ἀρχὴν εἰς πλείω μέρη διέστησαν.
Now Boerebistas was overthrown by a conspiracy of certain men before the Romans could send an expedition against him; and those who succeeded to the government divided it into several parts.
καὶ δὴ καὶ νῦν, ἡνίκα ἔπεμψεν ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς στρατείαν ὁ Σεβαστὸς Καῖσαρ, εἰς πέντε μερίδας, τότε δὲ εἰς τέτταρας διεστῶτες ἐτύγχανον·
Indeed, quite recently, when Augustus Caesar sent an expedition against them, they were divided into five parts, whereas at that time they happened to be divided into four.
οἱ μὲν οὖν τοιοῦτοι μερισμοὶ πρόσκαιροι καὶ ἄλλοτʼ ἄλλοι.
To be sure, such divisions are temporary and vary at different times.
§7.3.12γέγονε δὲ καὶ ἄλλος τῆς χώρας μερισμὸς συμμένων ἐκ παλαιοῦ· τοὺς μὲν γὰρ Δακοὺς προσαγορεύουσι τοὺς δὲ Γέτας, Γέτας μὲν τοὺς πρὸς τὸν Πόντον κεκλιμένους καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἕω, Δακοὺς δὲ τοὺς εἰς τἀναντία πρὸς τὴν Γερμανίαν καὶ τὰς τοῦ Ἴστρου πηγάς, οὓς οἶμαι Δάους καλεῖσθαι τὸ παλαιόν·
There has also been another division of the country which has persisted from of old; for some they call Dacians, and others Getae—Getae, those who incline towards the Pontus and the east, and Dacians, those in the opposite direction towards Germany and the sources of the Ister, who, I think, were called Daoi in ancient times.
ἀφʼ οὗ καὶ παρὰ τοῖς Ἀττικοῖς ἐπεπόλασε τὰ τῶν οἰκετῶν ὀνόματα Γέται καὶ Δᾶοι.
From this fact, the names of servants, Getas and Daos, became common among the Athenians.
τοῦτο γὰρ πιθανώτερον ἢ ἀπὸ τῶν Σκυθῶν οὓς καλοῦσι Δάας· πόρρω γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι περὶ τὴν Ὑρκανίαν, καὶ οὐκ εἰκὸς ἐκεῖθεν κομίζεσθαι ἀνδράποδα εἰς τὴν Ἀττικήν.
For this is more plausible than to derive them from the Scythians whom they call Dahae; for the latter are far away around Hyrcania, and it is not likely that slaves would be brought from there to Attica.
ἐξ ὧν γὰρ ἐκομίζετο, ἢ τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἐκείνοις ὁμωνύμους ἐκάλουν τοὺς οἰκέτας, ὡς Λυδὸν καὶ Σύρον, ἢ τοῖς ἐπιπολάζουσιν ἐκεῖ ὀνόμασι προσηγόρευον, ὡς Μάνην ἢ Μίδαν τὸν Φρύγα, Τίβιον δὲ τὸν Παφλαγόνα.
For people used to name their servants either after the nations from which they were brought, calling them by the same name as those nations, such as Lydus or Syrus, or by the names that were prevalent in those places, such as Manes or Midas for the Phrygian, and Tibios for the Paphlagonian.
ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον δʼ ὑπὸ τοῦ Βοιρεβίστα τὸ ἔθνος ἐξαρθὲν ἐταπεινώθη τελέως ὑπό τε τῶν στάσεων καὶ τῶν Ῥωμαίων· ἱκανοὶ δʼ ὅμως εἰσὶν ἔτι καὶ νῦν στέλλειν τέτταρας μυριάδας.
But the nation, though raised to such power by Boerebistas, was completely humbled by factions and by the Romans; nevertheless, they are still capable even now of sending out forty thousand men.