[1] Ἰταλία δὲ ἀνὰ χρόνον ὠνομάσθη ἐπ᾽ ἀνδρὸς δυνάστου ὄνομα Ἰταλοῦ. τοῦτον δέ φησιν Ἀντίοχος ὁ Συρακούσιος ἀγαθὸν καὶ σοφὸν γεγενημένον καὶ τῶν πλησιοχώρων τοὺς μὲν λόγοις ἀναπείθοντα, τοὺς δὲ βίᾳ προσαγόμενον, ἅπασαν ὑφ᾽ ἑαυτῷ ποιήσασθαι τὴν γῆν ὅση ἐντὸς ἦν τῶν κόλπων τοῦ τε Ναπητίνου καὶ τοῦ Σκυλλητίνου: ἣν δὴ πρώτην κληθῆναι Ἰταλίαν ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἰταλοῦ. ἐπεὶ δὲ ταύτης καρτερὸς ἐγένετο καὶ ἀνθρώπους πολλοὺς εἶχεν ὑπηκόους αὑτῷ, αὐτίκα τῶν ἐχομένων ἐπορέγεσθαι καὶ πόλεις συνάγεσθαι πολλάς: εἶναι δ᾽ αὐτὸν Οἴνωτρον τὸ γένος.
[35.1] But in the course of time the land came to be called Italy, after a ruler named Italus. This man, according to Antiochus of Syracuse, was both a wise and good prince, and persuading some of his neighbours by arguments and subduing the rest by force, he made himself master of all the land which lies between the Napetine and Scylacian bays, which was the first land, he says, to be called Italy, after Italus. And when he had possessed himself of this district and had many subjects, he immediately coveted the neighbouring peoples and brought many cities under his rule. He says further that Italus was an Oenotrian by birth.
[2] Ἑλλάνικος δὲ ὁ Λέσβιός φησιν Ἡρακλέα τὰς Γηρυόνου βοῦς ἀπελαύνοντα εἰς Ἄργος, ἐπειδή τις αὐτῷ δάμαλις ἀποσκιρτήσας τῆς ἀγέλης ἐν Ἰταλίᾳ ἐόντι ἤδη φεύγων διῆρε τὴν ἀκτὴν καὶ τὸν μεταξὺ διανηξάμενος πόρον τῆς θαλάττης εἰς Σικελίαν ἀφίκετο, ἐρόμενον ἀεὶ τοὺς ἐπιχωρίους καθ᾽ οὓς ἑκάστοτε γίνοιτο διώκων τὸν δάμαλιν, εἴ πη τις αὐτὸν ἑωρακὼς εἴη, τῶν τῇδε ἀνθρώπων Ἑλλάδος μὲν γλώττης ὀλίγα συνιέντων, τῇ δὲ πατρίῳ φωνῇ κατὰ τὰς μηνύσεις τοῦ ζῴου καλούντων τὸν δάμαλιν οὐίτουλον, ὥσπερ καὶ νῦν λέγεται, ἐπὶ τοῦ ζῴου τὴν χώραν ὀνομάσαι [p. 56]
[2] But Hellanicus of Lesbos says that when Hercules was driving Geryon’s cattle to Argos and was come to Italy, a calf escaped from the herd and in its flight wandered the whole length of the coast and then, swimming across the intervening strait of the sea, came into Sicily. Hercules, following the calf, inquired of the inhabitants wherever he came if anyone had seen it anywhere, and when the people of the island, who understood but little Greek and used their own speech when indicating the animal, called it vitulus (the name by which it is still known), he, in memory of the calf, called all the country it had wandered over Vitulia.
[3] πᾶσαν ὅσην ὁ δάμαλις διῆλθεν Οὐιτουλίαν. μεταπεσεῖν δὲ ἀνὰ χρόνον τὴν ὀνομασίαν εἰς τὸ νῦν σχῆμα οὐδὲν θαυμαστόν, ἐπεὶ καὶ τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν πολλὰ τὸ παραπλήσιον πέπονθεν ὀνομάτων. πλὴν εἴτε ὡς Ἀντίοχός φησιν ἐπ᾽ ἀνδρὸς ἡγεμόνος, ὅπερ ἴσως καὶ πιθανώτερόν ἐστιν, εἴθ᾽ ὡς Ἑλλάνικος οἴεται ἐπὶ τοῦ ταύρου τὴν ὀνομασίαν ταύτην ἔσχεν, ἐκεῖνό γε ἐξ ἀμφοῖν δῆλον, ὅτι κατὰ τὴν Ἡρακλέους ἡλικίαν ἢ μικρῷ πρόσθεν οὕτως ὠνομάσθη. τὰ δὲ πρὸ τούτων Ἕλληνες μὲν Ἑσπερίαν καὶ Αὐσονίαν αὐτὴν ἐκάλουν, οἱ δ᾽ ἐπιχώριοι Σατορνίαν, ὡς εἴρηταί μοι πρότερον.
[3] And it is no wonder that the name has been changed in the course of time to its present form, since many Greek names, too, have met with a similar fate. But whether, as Antiochus says, the country took this name from a ruler, which perhaps is more probable, or, as Hellanicus believes, from the bull, yet this at least is evident from both their accounts, that in Hercules’ time, or a little earlier, it received this name. Before that it had been called Hesperia and Ausonia by the Greeks and Saturnia by the natives, as I have already stated.
[1] ἔστι δέ τις καὶ ἕτερος λόγος ὑπὸ τῶν ἐπιχωρίων μυθολογούμενος, ὡς πρὸ τῆς Διὸς ἀρχῆς ὁ Κρόνος ἐν τῇ γῇ ταύτῃ δυναστεύσειε, καὶ ὁ λεγόμενος ἐπ᾽ ἐκείνου βίος ἅπασι δαψιλὴς ὁπόσοις ὧραι φύουσιν οὐ παρ᾽ ἄλλοις μᾶλλον ἢ παρὰ σφίσι γένοιτο.
[36.1] There is another legend related by the inhabitants, to the effect that before the reign of Jupiter Saturn was lord in this land and that the celebrated manner of life in his reign, abounding in the produce of every season, was enjoyed by none more than them.
[2] καὶ εἴ τις ἄλλως ἀφελῶν τὸ μυθῶδες τοῦ λόγου χώρας ἀρετὴν ἐξετάζειν ἐθελήσειεν, ἐξ ἧς γένος τὸ ἀνθρώπων πλείστας εὐφροσύνας ἐκαρπώσατο γενόμενον εὐθὺς εἴτ᾽ ἐκ γῆς ὡς ὁ παλαιὸς ἔχει λόγος, εἴτ᾽ ἄλλως πως, οὐκ ἂν εὕροι ταύτης τινὰ ἐπιτηδειοτέραν. ὡς γὰρ μία γῆ πρὸς ἑτέραν κρίνεσθαι τοσαύτην τὸ μέγεθος, οὐ μόνον τῆς Εὐρώπης, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς ἄλλης ἁπάσης κρατίστη κατ᾽ ἐμὴν δόξαν ἐστὶν Ἰταλία.
[2] And, indeed, if anyone, setting aside the fabulous part of this account, will examine the merit of any country from which mankind received the greatest enjoyments immediately after their birth, whether they sprang from the earth, according to the ancient tradition, or came into being in some other manner, he will find none more beneficent to them than this. For, to compare one country with another of the same extent, Italy is, in my opinion, the best country, not only of Europe, but even of all the rest of the world.
[3] καίτοι με οὐ λέληθεν ὅτι πολλοῖς οὐ πιστὰ δόξω λέγειν, ἐνθυμουμένοις Αἴγυπτόν τε καὶ Λιβύην καὶ Βαβυλῶνα καὶ εἰ δή τινες ἄλλοι χῶροί εἰσιν εὐδαίμονες: ἀλλ᾽ ἐγὼ τὸν [p. 57] ἐκ γῆς πλοῦτον οὐκ ἐν μιᾷ τίθεμαι καρπῶν ἰδέᾳ οὐδ᾽ εἰσέρχεταί με ζῆλος οἰκήσεως, ἐν ᾗ μόνον εἰσὶν ἄρουραι πίονες, τῶν δ᾽ ἄλλων οὐδὲν ἢ βραχύ τι χρησίμων, ἀλλ᾽ ἥτις ἂν εἴη πολυαρκεστάτη τε καὶ τῶν ἐπεισάκτων ἀγαθῶν ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ ἐλάχιστον δεομένη, ταύτην κρατίστην εἶναι λογίζομαι. τοῦτο δὲ τὸ παμφόρον καὶ πολυωφελὲς παρ᾽ ἡντινοῦν ἄλλην γῆν Ἰταλίαν ἔχειν πείθομαι.
[3] And yet I am not unaware that I shall not be believed by many when they reflect on Egypt, Libya, Babylonia and any other fertile countries there may be. But I, for my part, do not limit the wealth derived from the soil to one sort of produce, nor do I feel any eagerness to live where there are only rich arable lands and little or nothing else that is useful; but I account that country the best which is the most self-sufficient and generally stands least in need of imported commodities. And I am persuaded that Italy enjoys this universal fertility and diversity of advantages beyond any other land.
[1] οὐ γὰρ ἀρούρας μὲν ἀγαθὰς ἔχει καὶ πολλάς, ἄδενδρο�
� δ᾽ ἐστὶν ὡς σιτοφόρος: οὐδ᾽ αὖ φυτὰ μὲν ἱκανὴ παντοῖα θρέψασθαι, σπείρεσθαι δ᾽ ὡς δενδρῖτις ὀλιγόκαρπος: οὐδ᾽ ἄμφω μὲν ταῦτα παρέχειν δαψιλής, προβατεύεσθαι δ᾽ ἀνεπιτήδειος: οὐδ᾽ ἄν τις αὐτὴν φαίη πολύκαρπον μὲν εἶναι καὶ πολύδενδρον καὶ πολύβοτον, ἐνδιαίτημα δ᾽ ἀνθρώποις ὑπάρχειν ἄχαρι: ἀλλ᾽ ἔστι πάσης ὡς εἰπεῖν ἡδονῆς τε καὶ
[37.1] For Italy does not, while possessing a great deal of good arable land, lack trees, as does a grain-bearing country; nor, on the other hand, while suitable for growing all manner of trees, does it, when sown to grain, produce scanty crops, as does a timbered country; nor yet, while yielding both grain and trees in abundance, is it unsuitable for the grazing of cattle; nor can anyone say that, while it bears rich produce of crops and timber and herds, it is nevertheless disagreeable for men to live in. Nay, on the contrary, it abounds in practically everything that affords either pleasure or profit.
[2] ὠφελείας ἔκπλεως. ποίας μὲν γὰρ λείπεται σιτοφόρου μὴ ποταμοῖς, ἀλλὰ τοῖς οὐρανίοις ὕδασιν ἀρδομένης τὰ καλούμενα Καμπανῶν πεδία, ἐν οἷς ἐγὼ καὶ τρικάρπους ἐθεασάμην ἀρούρας θερινὸν ἐπὶ χειμερινῷ καὶ μετοπωρινὸν ἐπὶ θερινῷ σπόρον ἐκφερούσας; ποίας δ᾽ ἐλαιοφόρου τὰ Μεσσαπίων καὶ Δαυνίων καὶ Σαβίνων καὶ πολλῶν ἄλλων γεώργια; ποίας δ᾽ οἰνοφύτου Τυρρηνία καὶ Ἀλβανὴ καὶ τὰ Φαλερίνων χωρία θαυμαστῶς [p. 58] ὡς φιλάμπελα καὶ δι᾽ ἐλαχίστου πόνου πλείστους ἅμα καὶ κρατίστους καρποὺς ἐξενεγκεῖν εὔπορα;
[2] To what grain-bearing country, indeed, watered, not with rivers, but with rains from heaven, do the plains of Campania yield, in which I have seen fields that produce even three crops in a year, summer’s harvest following upon that of when and autumn’s upon that of summer? To what olive orchards are those of the Messapians, the Daunians, the Sabines and many others inferior? To what vineyards those of Tyrrhenia and the Alban and the Falernian districts, where the soil is wonderfully kind to vines and with the least labour produces the finest grapes in the greatest abundance?
[3] χωρὶς δὲ τῆς ἐνεργοῦ πολλὴν μὲν ἄν τις εὕροι τὴν εἰς ποίμνας ἀνειμένην αὐτῆς, πολλὴν δὲ τὴν αἰγινόμον, ἔτι δὲ πλείω καὶ θαυμασιωτέραν τὴν ἱπποφορβόν τε καὶ βουκολίδα: ἡ γὰρ ἕλειος καὶ λειμωνία βοτάνη δαψιλὴς οὖσα τῶν τε ὀργάδων ἡ δροσερὰ καὶ κατάρρυτος ἄπειρος ὅση θέρει νέμεται καὶ παρέχει διὰ παντὸς εὐθενούσας τὰς ἀγέλας.
[3] And besides the land that is cultivated one will find much that is left untilled as pasturage for sheep and goats, and still more extensive and more wonderful is the land suitable for grazing horses and cattle; for not only the marsh and meadow grass, which is very plentiful, but the dewy and well-watered grass of the glades, infinite in its abundance, furnish grazing for them in summer as well as in winter and keep them always in good condition.
[4] πάντων δ᾽ εἰσὶν οἱ δρυμοὶ θαυμασιώτατοι περί τε τὰ κρημνώδη χωρία καὶ τὰς νάπας καὶ τοὺς ἀγεωργήτους λόφους, ἐξ ὧν πολλῆς μὲν εὐποροῦσι καὶ καλῆς ὕλης ναυπηγησίμου, πολλῆς δὲ τῆς εἰς τὰς ἄλλας ἐργασίας εὐθέτου. καὶ τούτων οὐδὲν οὔτε δυσπόριστόν ἐστιν οὔτε πρόσω τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης χρείας κείμενον, ἀλλ᾽ εὐκατέργαστα καὶ ῥᾴδια παρεῖναι πάντα διὰ πλῆθος τῶν ποταμῶν, οἳ διαρρέουσιν ἅπασαν τὴν ἀκτὴν καὶ ποιοῦσι τάς τε κομιδὰς καὶ τὰς ἀμείψεις τῶν ἐκ γῆς φυομένων λυσιτελεῖς.
[4] But most wonderful of all are the forests growing upon the rocky heights, in the glens and on the uncultivated hills, from which the inhabitants are abundantly supplied with fine timber suitable for the building of ships as well as for all other purposes. Nor are any of these materials hard to come at or at a distance from human need, but they are easy to handle and readily available, owing to the multitude of rivers that flow through the whole peninsula and make the transportation and exchange of everything the land produces inexpensive.
[5] ἔχει δὲ ἡ γῆ καὶ νάματα θερμῶν ὑδάτων ἐν πολλοῖς εὑρημένα χωρίοις, λουτρὰ παρασχεῖν ἥδιστα καὶ νόσους ἰάσασθαι χρονίους ἄριστα, καὶ μέταλλα παντοδαπὰ καὶ θηρίων ἄγρας ἀφθόνους καὶ θαλάττης φύσιν πολύγονον ἄλλα τε μυρία, τὰ μὲν [p. 59] εὔχρηστα, τὰ δὲ θαυμάσια, πάντων δὲ κάλλιστον, ἀέρα κεκραμένον ταῖς ὥραις συμμέτρως, οἷον ἥκιστα πημαίνειν κρυμῶν ὑπερβολαῖς ἢ θάλπεσιν ἐξαισίοις καρπῶν τε γένεσιν καὶ ζῴων φύσιν.
[5] Springs also of hot water have been discovered in many places, affording most pleasant baths and sovereign cures for chronic ailments. There are also mines of all sorts, plenty of wild beasts for hunting, and a great variety of sea fish, besides innumerable other things, some useful and others of a nature to excite wonder. But the finest thing of all is the climate, admirably tempered by the seasons, so that less than elsewhere is harm done by excessive cold or inordinate heat either to the growing fruits and grains or to the bodies of animals.
[1] οὐδὲν δὴ θαυμαστὸν ἦν τοὺς παλαιοὺς ἱερὰν ὑπολαβεῖν τοῦ Κρόνου τὴν χώραν ταύτην, τὸν μὲν δαίμονα τοῦτον οἰομένους εἶναι πάσης εὐδαιμονίας δοτῆρα καὶ πληρωτὴν ἀνθρώποις, εἴτε Κρόνον αὐτὸν δεῖ καλεῖν, ὡς Ἕλληνες ἀξιοῦσιν, εἴτε Σάτουρνον, ὡς Ῥωμαῖοι, πᾶσαν δὲ περιειληφότα τὴν τοῦ κόσμου φύσιν, ὁποτέρως ἄν τις ὀνομάσῃ: τὴν δὲ χώραν ταύτην ὁρῶντας ἔκπλεω πάσης εὐπορίας καὶ χάριτος, ἧς τὸ θνητὸν ἐφίεται γένος, ἀξιοῦντας δὲ καὶ θείῳ καὶ θνητῷ γένει τὸ πρόσφορον εἶναι πάντων χωρίων ἁρμοδιώτατον, ὄρη μὲν καὶ νάπας Πανί, λειμῶνας δὲ καὶ τεθηλότα χωρία νύμφαις, ἀκτὰς δὲ καὶ νήσους πελαγίοις δαίμοσι, τῶν δ᾽ ἄλλων, ὡς ἑκάστῳ
[38.1] It is no wonder, therefore, that the ancients looked upon this country as sacred to Saturn, since they esteemed this god to be the giver and accomplisher of all happiness to mankind, — whether he ought to be called Cronus, as the Greeks deem fitting, or Saturn, as do the Romans, — and regarded him as embracing the whole universe, by whichever name he is called, and since they saw this country abounding in universal plenty and every charm mankind craves, and judged those places to be most agreeable both to divine and to human beings that are suited to them — for example, the mountains and woods to Pan, the meadows and verdant places to the nymphs, the shores and islands to the sea-gods, and all there places to the god or genius to whom each is appropriate.
[2] τι θεῷ καὶ δαίμονι
οἰκεῖον. λέγουσι δὲ καὶ τὰς θυσίας ἐπιτελεῖν τῷ Κρόνῳ τοὺς παλαιοὺς, ὥσπερ ἐν Καρχηδόνι τέως ἡ πόλις διέμεινε καὶ παρὰ Κελτοῖς εἰς τόδε χρόνου γίνεται καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις τισὶ τῶν ἑσπερίων ἐθνῶν ἀνδροφόνους, Ἡρακλέα δὲ παῦσαι [p. 60] τὸν νόμον τῆς θυσίας βουληθέντα τόν τε βωμὸν ἱδρύσασθαι τὸν ἐπὶ τῷ Σατουρνίῳ καὶ κατάρξασθαι θυμάτων ἁγνῶν ἐπὶ καθαρῷ πυρὶ ἁγιζομένων, ἵνα δὲ μηδὲν εἴη τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἐνθύμιον, ὡς πατρίων ἠλογηκόσι θυσιῶν, διδάξαι τοὺς ἐπιχωρίους ἀπομειλιττομένους τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ μῆνιν ἀντὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, οὓς συμποδίζοντες καὶ τῶν χειρῶν ἀκρατεῖς ποιοῦντες ἐρρίπτουν εἰς τὸ τοῦ Τεβέριος ῥεῖθρον, εἴδωλα ποιοῦντας ἀνδρείκελα κεκοσμημένα τὸν αὐτὸν ἐκείνοις τρόπον ἐμβαλεῖν εἰς τὸν ποταμόν, ἵνα δὴ τὸ τῆς ὀττείας ὅ τι δή ποτε ἦν ἐν ταῖς ἁπάντων ψυχαῖς παραμένον ἐξαιρεθῇ τῶν εἰκόνων τοῦ παλαιοῦ πάθους ἔτι σωζομένων.
[2] It is said also that the ancients sacrificed human victims to Saturn, as was done at Carthage while that city stood and as is there is done to this day among the Gauls and certain other western nations, and that Hercules, desiring to abolish the custom of this sacrifice, erected the altar upon the Saturnian hill and performed the initial rites of sacrifice with unblemished victims burning on a pure fire. And lest the people should feel any scruple at having neglected their traditional sacrifices, he taught them to appease the anger of the god by making effigies resembling the men they had been wont to bind hand and foot and throw into the stream of the Tiber, and dressing these in the same manner, to throw them into the river instead of the men, his purpose being that any superstitious dread remaining in the minds of all might be removed, since the semblance of the ancient rite would still be preserved.
Delphi Complete Works of Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 79) Page 429