Polybius, Histories

Translation

Book 2 - Chapter 17

<w lemma="%2Aplh%5Cn">Πλὴν</w> <w lemma="tau%3Dta%2F">ταῦτά</w> <w lemma="ge">γε</w> <w lemma="ta%5C">τὰ</w> <w lemma="pedi%2Fa">πεδία</w> <w lemma="to%5C">τὸ</w> <w lemma="palaio%5Cn">παλαιὸν</w> <w lemma="e%29ne%2Fmonto">ἐνέμοντο</w> <w lemma="%2Aturrhnoi%2F">Τυρρηνοί</w>, <w lemma="kaq%27">καθ᾽</w> <w lemma="ou%28%5Cs">οὓς</w> <w lemma="xro%2Fnous">χρόνους</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="ta%5C">τὰ</w> <w lemma="%2Afle%2Fgraia%2F">Φλέγραιά</w> <w lemma="pote">ποτε</w> <w lemma="kalou%2Fmena">καλούμενα</w> <w lemma="ta%5C">τὰ</w> <w lemma="peri%5C">περὶ</w> <w lemma="%2Akapu%2Fhn">Καπύην</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="%2Anw%2Flhn:">Νώλην·</w> <w lemma="a%28%5C">ἃ</w> <w lemma="dh%5C">δὴ</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="dia%5C">διὰ</w> <w lemma="to%5C">τὸ</w> <w lemma="polloi%3Ds">πολλοῖς</w> <w lemma="e%29mpodw%5Cn">ἐμποδὼν</w> <w lemma="ei%29%3Dnai">εἶναι</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="gnwri%2Fzesqai">γνωρίζεσθαι</w> <w lemma="mega%2Flhn">μεγάλην</w> <w lemma="e%29p%27">ἐπ᾽</w> <w lemma="a%29reth%3D%7C">ἀρετῇ</w> <w lemma="do%2Fcan">δόξαν</w> <w lemma="ei%29%2Flhfen">εἴληφεν</w>.

<w lemma="dio%5C">διὸ</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="tou%5Cs">τοὺς</w> <w lemma="i%28storou%3Dntas">ἱστοροῦντας</w> <w lemma="ta%5Cs">τὰς</w> <w lemma="%2Aturrhnw%3Dn">Τυρρηνῶν</w> <w lemma="dunastei%2Fas">δυναστείας</w> <w lemma="ou%29">οὐ</w> <w lemma="xrh%5C">χρὴ</w> <w lemma="poiei%3Dsqai">ποιεῖσθαι</w> <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="a%29nafora%5Cn">ἀναφορὰν</w> <w lemma="e%29pi%5C">ἐπὶ</w> <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="nu%3Dn">νῦν</w> <w lemma="katexome%2Fnhn">κατεχομένην</w> <w lemma="u%28p%27">ὑπ᾽</w> <w lemma="au%29tw%3Dn">αὐτῶν</w> <w lemma="xw%2Fran">χώραν</w>, <w lemma="a%29ll%27">ἀλλ᾽</w> <w lemma="e%29pi%5C">ἐπὶ</w> <w lemma="ta%5C">τὰ</w> <w lemma="proeirhme%2Fna">προειρημένα</w> <w lemma="pedi%2Fa">πεδία</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="ta%5Cs">τὰς</w> <w lemma="e%29k">ἐκ</w> <w lemma="tou%2Ftwn">τούτων</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="to%2Fpwn">τόπων</w> <w lemma="a%29forma%2Fs">ἀφορμάς</w>.

<w lemma="oi%28%3Ds">οἷς</w> <w lemma="e%29pimignu%2Fmenoi">ἐπιμιγνύμενοι</w> <w lemma="kata%5C">κατὰ</w> <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="para%2Fqesin">παράθεσιν</w> <w lemma="%2Akeltoi%5C">Κελτοὶ</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="peri%5C">περὶ</w> <w lemma="to%5C">τὸ</w> <w lemma="ka%2Fllos">κάλλος</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="xw%2Fras">χώρας</w> <w lemma="o%29fqalmia%2Fsantes">ὀφθαλμιάσαντες</w>, <w lemma="e%29k">ἐκ</w> <w lemma="mikra%3Ds">μικρᾶς</w> <w lemma="profa%2Fsews">προφάσεως</w> <w lemma="mega%2Flh%7C">μεγάλῃ</w> <w lemma="stratia%3D%7C">στρατιᾷ</w> <w lemma="parado%2Fcws">παραδόξως</w> <w lemma="e%29pelqo%2Fntes">ἐπελθόντες</w> <w lemma="e%29ce%2Fbalon">ἐξέβαλον</w> <w lemma="e%29k">ἐκ</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="peri%5C">περὶ</w> <w lemma="to%5Cn">τὸν</w> <w lemma="%2Apa%2Fdon">Πάδον</w> <w lemma="xw%2Fras">χώρας</w> <w lemma="%2Aturrhnou%5Cs">Τυρρηνοὺς</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="kate%2Fsxon">κατέσχον</w> <w lemma="au%29toi%5C">αὐτοὶ</w> <w lemma="ta%5C">τὰ</w> <w lemma="pedi%2Fa">πεδία</w>.

<w lemma="ta%5C">τὰ</w> <w lemma="me%5Cn">μὲν</w> <w lemma="ou%29%3Dn">οὖν</w> <w lemma="prw%3Dta">πρῶτα</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="peri%5C">περὶ</w> <w lemma="ta%5Cs">τὰς</w> <w lemma="a%29natola%5Cs">ἀνατολὰς</w> <w lemma="tou%3D">τοῦ</w> <w lemma="%2Apa%2Fdou">Πάδου</w> <w lemma="kei%2Fmena">κείμενα</w> <w lemma="%2Ala%2Foi">Λάοι</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="%2Alebe%2Fkioi">Λεβέκιοι</w>, <w lemma="meta%5C">μετὰ</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="tou%2Ftous">τούτους</w> <w lemma="%2A%29%2Finsobres">Ἴνσοβρες</w> <w lemma="katw%2F%7Ckhsan">κατῴκησαν</w>, <w lemma="o%28%5C">ὃ</w> <w lemma="me%2Fgiston">μέγιστον</w> <w lemma="e%29%2Fqnos">ἔθνος</w> <w lemma="h%29%3Dn">ἦν</w> <w lemma="au%29tw%3Dn:">αὐτῶν·</w> <w lemma="e%28ch%3Ds">ἑξῆς</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="tou%2Ftois">τούτοις</w> <w lemma="para%5C">παρὰ</w> <w lemma="to%5Cn">τὸν</w> <w lemma="potamo%5Cn">ποταμὸν</w> <w lemma="%2Agonoma%2Fnoi">Γονομάνοι</w>.

<w lemma="ta%5C">τὰ</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="pro%5Cs">πρὸς</w> <w lemma="to%5Cn">τὸν</w> <w lemma="%2A%29adri%2Fan">Ἀδρίαν</w> <w lemma="h%29%2Fdh">ἤδη</w> <w lemma="prosh%2Fkonta">προσήκοντα</w> <w lemma="ge%2Fnos">γένος</w> <w lemma="a%29%2Fllo">ἄλλο</w> <w lemma="pa%2Fnu">πάνυ</w> <w lemma="palaio%5Cn">παλαιὸν</w> <w lemma="diakate%2Fsxen:">διακατέσχεν·</w> <w lemma="prosagoreu%2Fontai">προσαγορεύονται</w> <w lemma="d%27">δ᾽</w> <w lemma="%2Aou%29e%2Fnetoi">Οὐένετοι</w>, <w lemma="toi%3Ds">τοῖς</w> <w lemma="me%5Cn">μὲν</w> <w lemma="e%29%2Fqesi">ἔθεσι</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="tw%3D%7C">τῷ</w> <w lemma="ko%2Fsmw%7C">κόσμῳ</w> <w lemma="braxei%3D">βραχεῖ</w> <w lemma="diafe%2Frontes">διαφέροντες</w> <w lemma="%2Akeltw%3Dn">Κελτῶν</w>, <w lemma="glw%2Ftth%7C">γλώττῃ</w> <w lemma="d%27">δ᾽</w> <w lemma="a%29lloi%2Fa%7C">ἀλλοίᾳ</w> <w lemma="xrw%2Fmenoi">χρώμενοι</w>.

<w lemma="peri%5C">περὶ</w> <w lemma="w%28%3Dn">ὧν</w> <w lemma="oi%28">οἱ</w> <w lemma="tragw%7Cdiogra%2Ffoi">τραγῳδιογράφοι</w> <w lemma="polu%2Fn">πολύν</w> <w lemma="tina">τινα</w> <w lemma="pepoi%2Fhntai">πεποίηνται</w> <w lemma="lo%2Fgon">λόγον</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="pollh%5Cn">πολλὴν</w> <w lemma="diate%2Fqeintai">διατέθεινται</w> <w lemma="teratei%2Fan">τερατείαν</w>.

<w lemma="ta%5C">τὰ</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="pe%2Fran">πέραν</w> <w lemma="tou%3D">τοῦ</w> <w lemma="%2Apa%2Fdou">Πάδου</w> <w lemma="ta%5C">τὰ</w> <w lemma="peri%5C">περὶ</w> <w lemma="to%5Cn">τὸν</w> <w lemma="%2A%29apenni%3Dnon">Ἀπεννῖνον</w> <w lemma="prw%3Dtoi">πρῶτοι</w> <w lemma="me%5Cn">μὲν</w> <w lemma="%2A%29%2Fanares">Ἄναρες</w>, <w lemma="meta%5C">μετὰ</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="tou%2Ftous">τούτους</w> <w lemma="%2Aboi%3Doi">Βοῖοι</w> <w lemma="katw%2F%7Ckhsan:">κατῴκησαν·</w> <w lemma="e%28ch%3Ds">ἑξῆς</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="tou%2Ftwn">τούτων</w> <w lemma="w%28s">ὡς</w> <w lemma="pro%5Cs">πρὸς</w> <w lemma="to%5Cn">τὸν</w> <w lemma="%2A%29adri%2Fan">Ἀδρίαν</w> <w lemma="%2Ali%2Fggones">Λίγγονες</w>, <w lemma="ta%5C">τὰ</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="teleutai%3Da">τελευταῖα</w> <w lemma="pro%5Cs">πρὸς</w> <w lemma="qala%2Ftth%7C">θαλάττῃ</w> <w lemma="%2Ash%2Fnwnes">Σήνωνες</w>.

<w lemma="ta%5C">τὰ</w> <w lemma="me%5Cn">μὲν</w> <w lemma="ou%29%3Dn">οὖν</w> <w lemma="e%29pifane%2Fstata">ἐπιφανέστατα</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="katasxo%2Fntwn">κατασχόντων</w> <w lemma="tou%5Cs">τοὺς</w> <w lemma="proeirhme%2Fnous">προειρημένους</w> <w lemma="to%2Fpous">τόπους</w> <w lemma="e%29qnw%3Dn">ἐθνῶν</w> <w lemma="tau%3Dq%27">ταῦθ᾽</w> <w lemma="u%28ph%3Drxen">ὑπῆρχεν</w>.

<w lemma="w%29%2F%7Ckoun">ᾤκουν</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="kata%5C">κατὰ</w> <w lemma="kw%2Fmas">κώμας</w> <w lemma="a%29teixi%2Fstous">ἀτειχίστους</w>, <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="loiph%3Ds">λοιπῆς</w> <w lemma="kataskeuh%3Ds">κατασκευῆς</w> <w lemma="a%29%2Fmoiroi">ἄμοιροι</w> <w lemma="kaqestw%3Dtes">καθεστῶτες</w>.

<w lemma="dia%5C">διὰ</w> <w lemma="ga%5Cr">γὰρ</w> <w lemma="to%5C">τὸ</w> <w lemma="stibadokoitei%3Dn">στιβαδοκοιτεῖν</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="kreafagei%3Dn">κρεαφαγεῖν</w>, <w lemma="e%29%2Fti">ἔτι</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="mhde%5Cn">μηδὲν</w> <w lemma="a%29%2Fllo">ἄλλο</w> <w lemma="plh%5Cn">πλὴν</w> <w lemma="ta%5C">τὰ</w> <w lemma="polemika%5C">πολεμικὰ</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="ta%5C">τὰ</w> <w lemma="kata%5C">κατὰ</w> <w lemma="gewrgi%2Fan:">γεωργίαν·</w> <w lemma="a%29skei%3Dn">ἀσκεῖν</w> <w lemma="a%28plou%3Ds">ἁπλοῦς</w> <w lemma="ei%29%3Dxon">εἶχον</w> <w lemma="tou%5Cs">τοὺς</w> <w lemma="bi%2Fous">βίους</w>, <w lemma="ou%29%2Ft%27">οὔτ᾽</w> <w lemma="e%29pisth%2Fmhs">ἐπιστήμης</w> <w lemma="a%29%2Fllhs">ἄλλης</w> <w lemma="ou%29%2Fte">οὔτε</w> <w lemma="te%2Fxnhs">τέχνης</w> <w lemma="par%27">παρ᾽</w> <w lemma="au%29toi%3Ds">αὐτοῖς</w> <w lemma="to%5C">τὸ</w> <w lemma="para%2Fpan">παράπαν</w> <w lemma="ginwskome%2Fnhs">γινωσκομένης</w>.

<w lemma="u%28%2Fparci%2Fs">ὕπαρξίς</w> <w lemma="ge">γε</w> <w lemma="mh%5Cn">μὴν</w> <w lemma="e%28ka%2Fstois">ἑκάστοις</w> <w lemma="h%29%3Dn">ἦν</w> <w lemma="qre%2Fmmata">θρέμματα</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="xruso%5Cs">χρυσὸς</w> <w lemma="dia%5C">διὰ</w> <w lemma="to%5C">τὸ</w> <w lemma="mo%2Fna">μόνα</w> <w lemma="tau%3Dta">ταῦτα</w> <w lemma="kata%5C">κατὰ</w> <w lemma="ta%5Cs">τὰς</w> <w lemma="perista%2Fseis">περιστάσεις</w> <w lemma="r%28a%7Cdi%2Fws">ῥᾳδίως</w> <w lemma="du%2Fnasqai">δύνασθαι</w> <w lemma="pantaxh%3D%7C">πανταχῇ</w> <w lemma="periagagei%3Dn">περιαγαγεῖν</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="meqista%2Fnai">μεθιστάναι</w> <w lemma="kata%5C">κατὰ</w> <w lemma="ta%5Cs">τὰς</w> <w lemma="au%28tw%3Dn">αὑτῶν</w> <w lemma="proaire%2Fseis">προαιρέσεις</w>.

<w lemma="peri%5C">περὶ</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="ta%5Cs">τὰς</w> <w lemma="e%28tairei%2Fas">ἑταιρείας</w> <w lemma="megi%2Fsthn">μεγίστην</w> <w lemma="spoudh%5Cn">σπουδὴν</w> <w lemma="e%29poiou%3Dnto">ἐποιοῦντο</w> <w lemma="dia%5C">διὰ</w> <w lemma="to%5C">τὸ</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="foberw%2Ftaton">φοβερώτατον</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="dunatw%2Ftaton">δυνατώτατον</w> <w lemma="ei%29%3Dnai">εἶναι</w> <w lemma="par%27">παρ᾽</w> <w lemma="au%29toi%3Ds">αὐτοῖς</w> <w lemma="tou%3Dton">τοῦτον</w> <w lemma="o%28%5Cs">ὃς</w> <w lemma="a%29%5Cn">ἂν</w> <w lemma="plei%2Fstous">πλείστους</w> <w lemma="e%29%2Fxein">ἔχειν</w> <w lemma="dokh%3D%7C">δοκῇ</w> <w lemma="tou%5Cs">τοὺς</w> <w lemma="qerapeu%2Fontas">θεραπεύοντας</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="sumperiferome%2Fnous">συμπεριφερομένους</w> <w lemma="au%29tw%3D%7C">αὐτῷ</w>.

The Etruscans were the oldest inhabitants of this plain at the same period that they possessed also the Phlegraean plain in the neighbourhood of Capua and <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Nola&groupId=796&placeId=1439">Nola</a>, which, accessible and well known as it is to many, has such a reputation for fertility.

Those therefore who would know something of the dominion of the Etruscans should not look at the country they now inhabit, but at these plains and the resources they drew thence.

The Celts, being close neighbours of the Etruscans and associating much with them, cast covetous eyes on their beautiful country, and on a small pretext, suddenly attacked them with a large army and, expelling them from the plain of the Po, occupied it themselves.

The first settlers at the eastern extremity, near the source of the Po, were the Laevi and Lebecii, after them the Insubres, the largest tribe of all, and next these, on the banks of the river, the <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Cenomani&groupId=448&placeId=834">Cenomani</a>.

The part of the plain near the Adriatic had never ceased to be in the possession of another very ancient tribe called the Veneti, differing slightly from the Gauls in customs and costume and speaking another language.

About this people the tragic poets tell many marvellous stories.

On the other bank of the Po, by the <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Apennines&groupId=343&placeId=664">Apennines</a>, the first settlers beginning from the west were the Anares and next them the Boii. Next the latter, towards the Adriatic, were the Lingones and lastly, near the sea, the Senones.

These are the names of the principal tribes that settled in the district.

They lived in unwalled villages, without any superfluous furniture;

for as they slept on beds of leaves and fed on meat and were exclusively occupied with war and agriculture, their lives were very simple, and they had no knowledge whatever of any art or science.

Their possessions consisted of cattle and gold, because these were the only things they could carry about with them everywhere according to circumstances and shift where they chose.

They treated comradeship as of the greatest importance, those among them being the most feared and most powerful who were thought to have the largest number of attendants and associates.

Walbank Commentary

Overview

2.13.0 - 2.35.0

<a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a> and the Gauls The Gallic invasion of 225 gives P. occasion to outline the previous history of the Gauls in <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Italy&groupId=656&placeId=1199">Italy</a>, prefixing a geographical survey of Cisalpine <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Gaul&groupId=598&placeId=1108">Gaul</a> (14–17). In i. 6. 8 the Celts were excepted from the peoples of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Italy&groupId=656&placeId=1199">Italy</a> mastered before the Roman crossing into <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Sicily&groupId=973&placeId=1724">Sicily</a>. Thus the present digression falls into place as part of the story of how the Romans amassed sufficient resources to justify their ambitions for world-dominion (i. 3. 10); in addition it is relevant to Hannibal's invasion (14. 2).

2.14.3 - 2.17.12

The geography of Cisalpine <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Gaul&groupId=598&placeId=1108">Gaul</a>. This account of the district and its inhabitants is a minor masterpiece, and derives in part from P.'s own inquiries; for the geometrical simplification of <milestone unit="page" n="172">[172]</milestone> the shape of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Italy&groupId=656&placeId=1199">Italy</a> and the Po valley cf. i. 42. 1–7 (<a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Sicily&groupId=973&placeId=1724">Sicily</a>). It has been argued that P. did not leave <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Italy&groupId=656&placeId=1199">Italy</a> during his internment, and hence that he writes from some earlier source (Cuntz, 72 f.); but it seems certain that some at least of P.'s western journeys took place during his detention in <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Italy&groupId=656&placeId=1199">Italy</a>, and he may have visited Cisalpine <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Gaul&groupId=598&placeId=1108">Gaul</a> in 150, accompanying Scipio Aemilianus back from service in <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Spain&groupId=983&placeId=1735">Spain</a> (xxxv. 4; cf. Nissen, Rh. Mus., 1871, 271; De Sanctis, iii. 1. 208 ff.). In that case his account (if based on autopsy) would be an insertion roughly contemporary with iii. 22 ff. (on the Punic treaties). On the other hand, P. may very well have visited Cisalpine <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Gaul&groupId=598&placeId=1108">Gaul</a> previously (cf. Thommen, Hermes, 1885, 204), and no safe conclusions are to be drawn on the date of composition. Pdech, Mthode, 567, argues convincingly for regarding this geographical excursus as inserted in the revised edition after 146.

2.17.0 - 2.35.0

The Gallic Wars. 18–20 cover the earlier conflicts (390–282), 21–35 those from 237 to 221 including the tumultus of 225. The source for most of this is probably Fabius Pictor (cf. i. 14. 1 n.), who himself took part in the war of 225 (cf. Oros. iv. 13. 6, qui eidem bello inter- fuit); consequently P. reproduces Fabius' tendency to depict the Romans as the victims of aggression, and acting in self-defence. See De Sanctis, iii. 1. 305 n. 103; Leuze, Jahrzhlung, 142–5; Beloch, RG, 139–40; Gelzer, Hermes, 1933, 147; Bung, 151 ff. (who, however, argues for the use of other sources besides Fabius). The chronology of the Gallic Wars is discussed in detail by Pdech (CRAI, 1955, 367–74; Mthode, 475–84), who argues that P.'s system is based on Olympiad years and that cardinal numbers imply an interval one year longer than that indicated by ordinals. He gives the following table (Mthode, 477): <table cols="4" rows="8"> <row> <cell>1.</cell> <cell>Capture of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a>, basic date</cell> <cell>1</cell> <cell>Ol. 98, 2 = 387/6</cell> </row> <row> <cell>2.</cell> <cell><w lang="el-GR">ἔ ῷ</w> after this, the Celts advance to Alba (ii. 18. 6)</cell> <cell>30</cell> <cell>Ol. 105, 4 = 357/6</cell> </row> <row> <cell>3.</cell> <cell><w lang="el-GR">ἔ</w> after this, a new invasion (ii. 18.7)</cell> <cell>12</cell> <cell>Ol. 108, 4 = 345/4</cell> </row> <row> <cell>4.</cell> <cell>Thirteen years' quiet ( <w lang="el-GR">ἔ)</w>, then the Gauls treat with <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a> (ii. 18. 9)</cell> <cell>13 1</cell> <cell>Ol. 112, 2 = 331/0</cell> </row> <row> <cell>5.</cell> <cell>Thirty years' peace <w lang="el-GR">(ἔ</w> ), then invavasion of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Etruria&groupId=582&placeId=1089">Etruria</a> (ii. 19. 1)</cell> <cell>301</cell> <cell>Ol. 120, 1 = 300/299</cell> </row> <row> <cell>6.</cell> <cell><w lang="el-GR">μὰ ὲ ῦα ἔ ῳ</w> a Gallo-Samnite coalition; battle of Sentinum (ii. 19. 5)</cell> <cell>4</cell> <cell>Ol. 121, 1 = 296/5</cell> </row> <row> <cell>7.</cell> <cell><w lang="el-GR">μέ ἐ ῶ έ</w>, a new invasion, siege of Arretium, Etrusco-Boian coalition, battle of Lake Vadimo (ii. 19. 8)</cell> <cell>10 1</cell> <cell>Ol. 123, 4 = 285/4</cell> </row> <row> <cell>8.</cell> <cell><w lang="el-GR">ῷ? ὰ ἐῷ</w>, new attack and treaty with <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a> (ii. 20. 4)</cell> <cell>1</cell> <cell>Ol. 124, 1 = 284/3</cell> </row> </table> <table cols="4" rows="7"> <row> <cell>9.</cell> <cell><w lang="el-GR">ἔ έ ὶ</w> quiet, then war between the transalpine Gauls and the Boii (ii. 21. 1)</cell> <cell>451</cell> <cell>Ol. 135, 3 = 238/7</cell> </row> <row> <cell>10.</cell> <cell><w lang="el-GR">ἒ έμῳ</w> after this, colonization of Picenum (ii. 21. 7)</cell> <cell>5</cell> <cell>Ol. 136, 4 = 233/5</cell> </row> <row> <cell>11.</cell> <cell><w lang="el-GR">ἒ ὀῳ</w> after this, invasion of the Gaesatae, battle of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Telamon&groupId=1012&placeId=1781">Telamon</a> (ii. 23. 16)</cell> <cell>8</cell> <cell>Ol. 138, 4 = 225/4</cell> </row> <row> <cell>12.</cell> <cell>Campaign of Q. Fulvius and T. Manlius, coss. 224, in Cisalpine <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Gaul&groupId=598&placeId=1108">Gaul</a> (ii. 31. 8)</cell> <cell>1</cell> <cell>Ol. 139, 1 = 224/3</cell> </row> <row> <cell>13.</cell> <cell>Campaigns of P. Furius and C. Flaminius, coss.s 223, against the Anares (ii. 32. 1)</cell> <cell>1</cell> <cell>Ol. 139, 2 = 223/2</cell> </row> <row> <cell>14.</cell> <cell><w lang="el-GR">ῷ ᾽ ἑ ῆ ἔ</w>, campaign of Cn. Cornelius and M. Claudius, coss. 222, against the Insubres (ii. 34. 1)</cell> <cell>1</cell> <cell>Ol. 139, 3 = 222/1</cell> </row> <row> <cell /> <cell>Total</cell> <cell>166</cell> <cell /> </row> </table> For criticism of the chronology of Pdech for the Gallic wars (set out in Vol. II, addendum on pp. 631–2), and of that proposed by Werner, Der Beginn der römischen Republik (Munich, 1963), 58 ff., see R. M. Errington, JRS, 1967, 101–2, 105. See also Forni, Athen. 1953, 204 ff.

Specifics

2.17.1 - 2.17.1

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">τὸ παλαιὸν ἐνέμοντο Τυρρηνοί</w>:</emph> the problem of Etruscan origins still arouses violent controversy. Herodotus (i. 94) brought them from Asia Minor, and they themselves accepted this version; cf. Tac. Ann. iv. 55. Dionysius, on the other hand (i. 27–30), claimed them as autochthonous. Modern views are surveyed by R. S. Conway (CAH, iv. 383 ff.), who favours an eastern origin, by H. Last (CAH, vii. 379 ff.), who makes them a mixture of autochthonous elements with Indo-European immigrants from the north, and by De Sanctis (i. 124 ff., 429 ff.), who supports the theory of northern immigration. For a short summary see Scullard, Hist. 15 f., and, for a complete survey of the history of the problem and the evidence, P. Ducati, Le problme trusque (Paris, 1938). Ducati argues that the Etruscans are a mixture of native Umbrians using the Villanovan iron-age technique with Tyrrhenians who brought Aegean cults, culture, and language by sea from Asia Minor. But a recent theory of C. F. Hawkes (Proc. Prehist. Soc., 1948, 205–16), brings down the date of the Iron Age in <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Italy&groupId=656&placeId=1199">Italy</a> to after the arrival of the Etruscans about 800, and attributes the impulse of it to them. M. Pallottino, The Etruscans (London, 1955), 46–73, restates the problem as one of ethnic formation out of mixed elements within <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Etruria&groupId=582&placeId=1089">Etruria</a>. Livy (v. 33. 7) describes the Etruscan advance north over the <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Apennines&groupId=343&placeId=664">Apennines</a> into the Po valley, and this was apparently about 525. The Etruscans occupied Felsina (Bologna) and spread to Parma, Mantua, and Melpum (near Milan), and to the Adriatic at Atria and Spina in the Po mouth; but their domination was interrupted by the coming of the Gauls about 450 (cf. De Sanctis, ii. 159–60). Archaeological remains, inscriptions, and folk-traditions survive as testimony to the civilization they established north of the <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Apennines&groupId=343&placeId=664">Apennines</a>. <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">καθ</w>f <w lang="el-GR">οὓς χρόνους καὶ τὰ Φλέγραια . . . τὰ περὶ Καπύην καὶ Νώλην</w>:</emph> the Etruscans' advance south was in the late seventh century. Seizing <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a> they went by the Liris valley into Campania, and there founded a league of twelve cities (Strabo, v. 242). In particular their presence is attested at <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Nola&groupId=796&placeId=1439">Nola</a> and Capua (which they are said to have founded: Vell. Pat. i. 7 (contrast Cato, fg. 69 Peter); Strabo, ibid.; cf. Heurgon, 62 ff.), at Herculaneum and <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Pompeii&groupId=1092&placeId=1916">Pompeii</a> (Strabo, <milestone unit="page" n="181">[181]</milestone> v. 246–7), and at Macrina, which they founded on the Gulf of Salerno (Pliny, Nat. hist. iii. 70). But in 524 they were defeated by Aristodemus of Cumae (Dion. Hal. vii. 3–11); and their sway in <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Latium&groupId=673&placeId=1231">Latium</a> was broken, traditionally in 509, with the expulsion of the Tarquins from <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a>. On this see Altheim, Epochen, i. 89 ff. To later writers the Phlegraean plain is the volcanic area between Cumae, the Gulf of Pozzuoli, and the Gulf of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Naples&groupId=785&placeId=1422">Naples</a>; but P. understands the whole Campanian plain. See iii. 91. 7, where the Phlegraean plain leads to a discussion of the story of the battle of the gods <w lang="el-GR">παρὰ τοῖς μυθογράφοις</w>, just as the Padane plain brought up criticism of the story of Phaethon. Here, too, Timaeus is the source; see Diod. iv. 21. 7, cf. v. 71. 4; Nissen, It. Land. i. 267. The fertility of the plain is attested by Strabo (v. 243).

2.17.3 - 2.17.3

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">ἐ?κ μικρᾶς προφάσεως</w>:</emph> P. appears to recall the story recorded (and rejected) by Livy (v. 33. 1–4; cf. Plut. Cam. 15; Dion. Hal. xiii. 10–11; Cato, fg. 36 Peter), that the Gauls were first brought into Cisalpine <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Gaul&groupId=598&placeId=1108">Gaul</a> by a man from <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Clusium&groupId=479&placeId=898">Clusium</a>, named Arruns, who showed them wine, figs, and olives, to enlist their aid against the Lucumo, who had seduced his wife. This story implies a date a little before the capture of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a> in 390; but the movement of Sabellian peoples down the highlands towards Campania from c. 450 onwards suggests Gallic penetration of north <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Italy&groupId=656&placeId=1199">Italy</a> by then (cf. De Sanctis, ii. 161). However, Livy's account of a series of invasions from the time of Tarquinius Priscus (v. 34; cf. Iustin. xx. 5, xxiv. 4) is a tissue of inaccuracies; see Meyer (v. 151 ff.), and de Navarro (CAH, vii. 60 ff.), who discusses the invasion in the light of archaeology.

2.17.4 - 2.17.4

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">περὶ τὰς ἀνατολὰς τοῦ Πάδου</w>:</emph> 'near the source of the Po'. Paton confusedly adds a reference to the east. <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">Λάοι καὶ Λεβέκιοι . . . Ἴνσοβρες</w>:</emph> the <w lang="el-GR">Λάοι</w> are probably the Laeui of Livy (v. 35. 2) and Pliny (Nat. hist. iii. 124), though to Pliny they are Ligurians. The <w lang="el-GR">Λεβέκιοι</w> will then be the Libui of Livy (ibid.; cf. Pliny, Nat. hist. iii. 124, Libicii; Ptol. Geog. iii. 1. 32). These tribes inhabited the valleys of the lower <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Ticinus&groupId=1038&placeId=1828">Ticinus</a> and the Sesites (modern Sesia) respectively; Vercellae was the capital of the Libicii (Pliny, Nat. hist. iii. 124). P.'s description of these tribes as the first near the source of the Po supports the view (cf. 16. 6 n.) that he identified the Dora Baltea with this source. The Insubres, one of the most important tribes of the plain, had their capital at Mediolanum (cf. 34. 10), and Philipp has argued (RE, 'Insubres', col. 1590) that they controlled several neighbouring peoples, including the Laevi and the Anares (cf. § 7). This might explain how the Laevi, a Ligurian people, are reckoned here as Celts, and also why Ptolemy (Geog. iii. 1. 29) counts their capital, Ticinum, an Insubrian town. See Nissen, It. Land. ii. 177–9. P. makes the Insubres neighbours of the Taurini (iii. 60. 8). <milestone unit="page" n="182">[182]</milestone> <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">Γονομάνοι</w>:</emph> the <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Cenomani&groupId=448&placeId=834">Cenomani</a> (cf. Livy, v. 34–35; Strabo, v. 216; Ptol. Geog. iii. 1. 27) dwelt rather closer to the <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Alps&groupId=313&placeId=609">Alps</a> than P. suggests. Their lands stretched from the Ollius (Oglio) to the Athesis (Adige), and their towns were Brixia, Verona, <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Cremona&groupId=502&placeId=945">Cremona</a>, and (according to Ptolemy) Bergamum, Mantua, and Tridentum. See Nissen, It. Land. ii. 195 f.; Hlsen, RE, '<a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Cenomani&groupId=448&placeId=834">Cenomani</a> (3)', cols. 1899–1900.

2.17.5 - 2.17.5

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">Οὐένετοι</w>:</emph> the Veneti dwelt between the Adige, the Po, the Adriatic, and (to the east) the lower waters of the Tagliamento (Tiliaventus); to the north they reached the <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Alps&groupId=313&placeId=609">Alps</a>. See Strabo, v. 214; Pliny, Nat. hist. iii. 126; Nissen, It. Land. i. 488 ff.; De Sanctis, i. 155 ff.; Whatmough, Foundations, 171–83. Our knowledge of Venetic derives largely from funerary and votive inscriptions, and its origins are still debated; the view that it is akin to Illyrian (cf. R. S. Conway, The Prae-Italic Dialects, i (London, 1933), 1–201), is now generally rejected (cf. M. S. Beeler, The Venetic Language (Berkeley 1949); H. Crahe, S.-B. Heidelberg, 1950, 3, 'Das Venetische'; P. Kretschmer, Glotta, 1943, 134–68; recent survey in M. Lejeune, Rev. phil., 1951, 202–4). The first arrival of Venetic culture in <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Italy&groupId=656&placeId=1199">Italy</a> is usually dated about 1000 B.C.; see Ninck, 178.

2.17.6 - 2.17.6

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">οἱ τραγῳδιογράφοι</w>:</emph> 'tragic poets', as in iii. 48. 8 (with similar criticism). However, P. usually employs the word <w lang="el-GR">τερατεία</w> in connexion with 'tragic' historians (cf. ii. 58. 12, 59. 3, iii. 58. 9, xv. 34. 1), and in vii. 7. 1 the whole phrase <w lang="el-GR">πολύν τινα . . . τερατείαν</w> is repeated of historians who have written sensational accounts of Hieronymus of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Syracuse&groupId=994&placeId=1753">Syracuse</a>. Here too, then, P. may be hinting at historians, (cf. Wunderer, ii. 56–57). One legend of this area brought Antenor from Troy, along with the Eneti of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Paphlagonia&groupId=842&placeId=457">Paphlagonia</a>, to found Patavium (cf. Strabo, v. 212, xiii. 608; Virg. Aen. i. 242 ff. (with Servius); Livy, i. 1; De Sanctis, i. 156–7); but P. may also be thinking of some of the current 'wonder-tales', of hens that laid twice a day, sheep that lambed twice a year, with huge litters, the fifty towns of the Veneti, and the richness of the soil (Nissen, It. Land. i. 492).

2.17.7 - 2.17.7

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">Ἄναρες</w>:</emph> cf. 32. 1, 34. 5. The MSS. give a variety of forms, and <w lang="el-GR">Ἄναρες</w> is due to Mommsen (RG, 554 and 558); recently G. Patroni (Rend. Ac. <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Italia&groupId=656&placeId=1198">Italia</a>, 4, 1942–3, 110–23) has defended 'Ananes'. Mommsen (CIL, v, p. 828) suggested an identification with the Marici, who helped to found Ticinum (Pliny, Nat. hist. iii. 124); but the Anares lived south of the Po between it and the <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Trebia&groupId=1044&placeId=1838">Trebia</a>. See Philipp, RE, 'Massalia (2)', cols. 2152–3 (with the criticism below, 32. 1 n.); Hlsen, RE, 'Anamares', cols. 2055–6; Mllenhoff, ii. 257. <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">Βοῖοι . . . Λίγγονες . . . Σήνωνες</w>:</emph> Livy (v. 35. 2) relates how the Boii crossed the Great St. Bernard (Poeninus), found the area between the Po and the <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Alps&groupId=313&placeId=609">Alps</a> inhabited, and crossed the river to seize modern Emilia, where they occupied Felsina and renamed it Bononia; cf. Ruge, RE, 'Boii (1)', cols. 630 ff. (with details of other branches <milestone unit="page" n="183">[183]</milestone> in Germany). At the same time the Lingones, a branch of a people dwelling about the head-waters of the Marne, Meuse, and Sane, took the low land south of the Po towards Ravenna and <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Ariminum&groupId=362&placeId=691">Ariminum</a>. The Senones, a branch of those established between the Loire and the Seine, reached <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Italy&groupId=656&placeId=1199">Italy</a> last (Livy, v. 35. 3) and occupied the socalled ager Gallicus on the coast between Ravenna and <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Sena&groupId=968&placeId=1716">Sena</a> Gal- lica, driving the Umbrians into the <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Apennines&groupId=343&placeId=664">Apennines</a>. On their later clash with <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a> see 19. 10. Cf. Keune and Philipp, RE, 'Senones', cols. 1474 ff.

2.17.9 - 2.17.9

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">τῆς λοιπῆς κατασκευῆς ἄμοιροι</w>:</emph> 'without knowledge of the other arts of civilization'. For this sense of <w lang="el-GR">κατασκευή</w>, 'instruction, acquired skill, culture' (not in LSJ) cf. xi. 8. 1, <w lang="el-GR">τῆς ἐκ τούτων (τῶν ὑπομνημάτων) κατασκευῆς</w>, 'lessons from memoirs'. Paton's translation 'furniture' is derived from that of Schweighaeuser (corrected in the Lex. Polyb.). P. means 'civilized arts other than building walled towns' (implied from the previous phrase). On the primitive culture of the Gauls see C. Jullian, i. 360 ff.

2.17.10 - 2.17.10

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">τὸ στιβαδοκοιτεῖν</w>:</emph> 'lying on litter', i.e. to eat as well as sleep. Cf. Strabo, iii. 155 (of the Spanish Bastetani); Diod. v. 28 (of the Transalpine Gauls). Diodorus (ibid.) also mentions their meateating; cf. Poseidonius ap. Athen. iv. 151. <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">οὔτ᾿ ἐπιστήμης . . . οὔτε τέχνης</w>:</emph> an exaggeration, as Treves observes. The Gauls had considerable skill in metallurgy; cf. 33 below; Diod. v. 27 for gold ornaments.

2.17.11 - 2.17.11

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">κατὰ τὰς περιστάσεις . . . κατὰ τὰς αὑτῶν προαιρέσεις</w>:</emph> 'whatever their circumstances . . . to suit their choice'. On the former phrase see Strachan-Davidson, 11–12.

2.17.12 - 2.17.12

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">τὰς ἑταιρείας</w>:</emph> 'a following'; cf. Caesar, BG, vi. 12. 2, 'hi cum per se minus ualerent, quod summa auctoritas antiquitus erat in Aeduis magnaeque eorum erant clientelae . . .' . On the importance attributed to their following by the Gauls see Caesar, BG, i. 4. 2; vi. 15. 2; E. Norden, Die germanische Urgeschichte in Tacitus' Germania (Leipzig, 1920), 124–7. The translation 'comradeship' (Paton) or 'friendship' (Shuckburgh) misses the point.

Addenda & corrigenda

2.14.3 - 2.17.12

<emph rend="bold">:</emph> Pdech, Mthode, 567, argues convincingly for regarding this geographical excursus as inserted in the revised edition after 146.

Polybius, Histories

Bibliography

Archaeology

Places

Walbank Commentary

Commentary