Delphi Complete Works of Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 79)

by Dionysius of Halicarnassus

  [3] When the people had assembled he called the curiae and took the vote of each curia separately. And upon being judged worthy of the kingship by all the curiae, he then accepted it from the populace, telling the senate to go hang; for he did not ask that body to ratify the decision of the people, as it was accustomed to do. After coming to the sovereignty in this manner, he introduced many reforms in the civil administration and also carried on a great and memorable war against the Tyrrhenians. But I shall first give an account of his administrative reforms.

  [1] εὐθὺς ἅμα τῷ παραλαβεῖν τὴν ἀρχὴν διένειμε τὴν δημοσίαν χώραν τοῖς θητεύουσι Ῥωμαίων: ἔπειτα τοὺς νόμους τούς τε συναλλακτικοὺς καὶ τοὺς περὶ τῶν ἀδικημάτων ἐπεκύρωσε ταῖς φράτραις: ἦσαν δὲ πεντήκοντά που μάλιστα τὸν ἀριθμόν, ὧν οὐδὲν δέομαι μεμνῆσθαι κατὰ τὸ παρόν.

  [13.1] Immediately upon receiving the sovereignty he divided the public lands among those of the Romans who served others for hire. Next he caused both the laws relating to private contracts and those concerning torts to be ratified by the curiae; these laws were about fifty in number, of which I need not make any mention at present.

  [2] τῇ τε πόλει προσέθηκε δύο λόφους, τόν τε Οὐιμινάλιον καλούμενον καὶ τὸ Ἰσκυλῖνον, ὧν ἑκάτερος ἀξιολόγου πόλεως ἔχει μέγεθος, καὶ διένειμεν αὐτοὺς τοῖς ἀνεστίοις Ῥωμαίων οἰκίας κατασκευάσασθαι: ἔνθα καὶ αὐτὸς ἐποιήσατο τὴν οἴκησιν ἐν τῷ κρατίστῳ τῆς Ἰσκυλίας τόπῳ.

  [2] He also added two hills to the city, those called the Viminal and the Esquiline, each of which has the size of a fairly large city. These he divided among such of the Romans as had no homes of their own, so that they might build houses there; and he himself fixed his habitation there, in the best part of the Esquiline Hill.

  [3] οὗτος ὁ βασιλεὺς τελευταῖος ηὔξησε τὸν περίβολον τῆς πόλεως τοὺς δύο τοῖς πέντε προσθεὶς λόφοις, ὀρνιθευσάμενός τε ὡς νόμος ἦν καὶ τἆλλα τὰ πρὸς θεοὺς ὅσια διαπραξάμενος. προσωτέρω δ᾽ οὐκέτι προῆλθεν ἡ κατασκευὴ τῆς πόλεως οὐκ ἐῶντος, ὥς φασι, τοῦ δαιμονίου, ἀλλ᾽ ἔστιν ἅπαντα τὰ περὶ τὴν πόλιν οἰκούμενα χωρία, πολλὰ ὄντα καὶ μεγάλα, γυμνὰ καὶ ἀτείχιστα [p. 26]

  [3] This king was the last who enlarged the circuit of the city, by adding these two hills to the other five, after he had first consulted the auspices, as the law directed, and performed the other religious rites. Farther than this the building of the city has not yet progressed, since the gods, they say, have not permitted it; but all the inhabited places round it, which are many and large, are unprotected and without walls, and very easy to be taken by any enemies who may come.

  [4] καὶ ῥᾷστα πολεμίοις ἐλθοῦσιν ὑποχείρια γενέσθαι: καὶ εἰ μὲν εἰς ταῦτά τις ὁρῶν τὸ μέγεθος ἐξετάζειν βουλήσεται τῆς Ῥώμης, πλανᾶσθαί τ᾽ ἀναγκασθήσεται καὶ οὐχ ἕξει βέβαιον σημεῖον οὐδέν, ᾧ διαγνώσεται, μέχρι ποῦ προβαίνουσα ἔτι πόλις ἐστὶ καὶ πόθεν ἄρχεται μηκέτ᾽ εἶναι πόλις, οὕτω συνύφανται τὸ ἄστυ τῇ χώρᾳ καὶ εἰς ἄπειρον ἐκμηκυνομένης πόλεως ὑπόληψιν τοῖς θεωμένοις παρέχεται.

  [4] If anyone wishes to estimate the size of Rome by looking at these suburbs he will necessarily be misled for want of a definite clue by which to determine up to what point it is still the city and where it ceases to be the city; so closely is the city connected with the country, giving the beholder the impression of a city stretching out indefinitely.

  [5] εἰ δὲ τῷ τείχει τῷ δυσευρέτῳ μὲν ὄντι διὰ τὰς περιλαμβανούσας αὐτὸ πολλαχόθεν οἰκήσεις, ἴχνη δέ τινα φυλάττοντι κατὰ πολλοὺς τόπους τῆς ἀρχαίας κατασκευῆς, βουληθείη μετρεῖν αὐτὴν κατὰ τὸν κύκλον τὸν περιέχοντα Ἀθηναίων τὸ ἄστυ, οὐ πολλῷ τινι μείζων ὁ τῆς Ῥώμης ἂν αὐτῷ φανείη κύκλος. ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὲρ μὲν τοῦ μεγέθους τε καὶ κάλλους τῆς πόλεως, ὡς κατὰ τὴν ἐμὴν εἶχεν ἡλικίαν, ἕτερος ἔσται τῇ διηγήσει καιρὸς ἐπιτηδειότερος.

  [5] But if one should wish to measure Rome by the wall, which, though hard to be discovered by reason of the buildings that surround it in many places, yet preserves in several parts of it some traces of its ancient structure, and to compare it with the circuit of the city of Athens, the circuit of Rome would not seem to him very much larger than the other. But for an account of the extent and beauty of the city of Rome, as it existed in my day, another occasion will be more suitable.

  [1] ὁ δὲ Τύλλιος, ἐπειδὴ τοὺς ἑπτὰ λόφους ἑνὶ τείχει περιέλαβεν, εἰς τέτταρας μοίρας διελὼν τὴν πόλιν καὶ θέμενος ἐπὶ τῶν λόφων ταῖς μοίραις τὰς ἐπικλήσεις, τῇ μὲν Παλατίνην, τῇ δὲ Σουβουράνην, τῇ δὲ τρίτῃ Κολλίνην, τῇ δὲ τετάρτῃ τῶν μοιρῶν Ἰσκυλίνην, τετράφυλον ἐποίησε τὴν πόλιν εἶναι, τρίφυλον οὖσαν τέως:

  [14.1] After Tullius had surrounded the seven hills with one wall, he divided the city into four regions, which he named after the hills, calling the first the Palatine, the second the Suburan, the third the Colline, and the fourth the Esquiline region; and by this means he made the city contain four tribes, whereas it previously had consisted of but three.

  [2] καὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἔταξε τοὺς ἐν ἑκάστῃ μοίρᾳ τῶν τεττάρων οἰκοῦντας, ὥσπερ κωμήτας, μήτε μεταλαμβάνειν [p. 27] ἑτέραν οἴκησιν μήτ᾽ ἄλλοθι που συντελεῖν, τάς τε καταγραφὰς τῶν στρατιωτῶν καὶ τὰς εἰσπράξεις τῶν χρημάτων τὰς γινομένας εἰς τὰ στρατιωτικὰ καὶ τὰς ἄλλας χρείας, ἃς ἕκαστον ἔδει τῷ κοινῷ παρέχειν, οὐκέτι κατὰ τὰς τρεῖς φυλὰς τὰς γενικὰς ὡς πρότερον, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὰς τέτταρας τὰς τοπικὰς τὰς ὑφ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ διαταχθείσας ἐποιεῖτο, ἡγεμόνας ἐφ᾽ ἑκάστης ἀποδείξας συμμορίας, ὥσπερ φυλάρχους ἢ κωμάρχας, οἷς προσέταξεν εἰδέναι, ποίαν οἰκίαν ἕκαστος οἰκεῖ.

  [2] And he ordered that the citizens inhabiting each of the four regions should, like persons living in villages, neither take up another abode nor be enrolled elsewhere; and the levies of troops, the collection of taxes for military purposes, and the other services which every citizen was bound to offer to the commonwealth, he no longer based upon the three national tribes, as aforetime, but upon the four local tribes established by himself. And over each region he appointed commanders, like heads of tribes or villages, whom he ordered to know what house each man lived in.

  [3] ἔπειτα κατὰ πάντας ἐκέλευσε τοὺς στενωποὺς ἱερὰ ἐγκατασκευασθῆναι καλιάδας ὑπὸ τῶν γειτόνων ἥρω�
�ι προνωπίοις καὶ θυσίας αὐτοῖς ἐνομοθέτησεν ἐπιτελεῖσθαι καθ᾽ ἕκαστον ἐνιαυτὸν πελάνους εἰσφερούσης ἑκάστης οἰκίας: τοῖς δὲ τὰ περὶ τῶν γεινόνων ἱερὰ συντελοῦσιν ἐν τοῖς προνωπίοις οὐ τοὺς ἐλευθέρους, ἀλλὰ τοὺς δούλους ἔταξε παρεῖναί τε καὶ συνιερουργεῖν, ὡς κεχαρισμένης τοῖς ἥρωσι τῆς τῶν θεραπόντων ὑπηρεσίας:

  [3] After this he commanded that there should be erected in every street by the inhabitants of the neighbourhood chapels to heroes whose statues stood in front of the houses, and he made a law that sacrifices should be performed to them every year, each family contributing a honey-cake. He directed also that the persons attending and assisting those who performed the sacrifices at these shrines on behalf of the neighbourhood should not be free men, but slaves, the ministry of servants being looked upon as pleasing to the heroes.

  [4] ἣν ἔτι καὶ καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς ἑορτὴν ἄγοντες Ῥωμαῖοι διετέλουν ὀλίγαις ὕστερον ἡμέραις τῶν Κρονίων, σεμνὴν ἐν τοῖς πάνυ καὶ πολυτελῆ, Κομπιτάλια προσαγορεύοντες αὐτὴν ἐπὶ τῶν στενωπῶν: κομπίτους γὰρ τοὺς στενωποὺς καλοῦσι: καὶ φυλάττουσι τὸν ἀρχαῖον ἐθισμὸν ἐπὶ τῶν ἱερῶν, διὰ τῶν θεραπόντων τοὺς ἥρωας ἱλασκόμενοι καὶ ἅπαν τὸ δοῦλον ἀφαιροῦντες αὐτῶν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις, ἵνα τῇ φιλανθρωπίᾳ ταύτῃ [p. 28] τιθασσευόμενοι μέγα τι καὶ σεμνὸν ἐχούσῃ χαριέστεροι γίνωνται περὶ τοὺς δεσπότας καὶ τὰ λυπηρὰ τῆς τύχης ἧττον βαρύνωνται.

  [4] This festival the Romans still continued to celebrate even in my day in the most solemn and sumptuous manner a few days after the Saturnalia, calling it the Compitalia, after the streets; for compiti, is their name for streets. And they still observe the ancient custom in connexion with those sacrifices, propitiating the heroes by the ministry of their servants, and during these days removing every badge of their servitude, in order that the slaves, being softened by this instance of humanity, which has something great and solemn about it, may make themselves more agreeable to their masters and be less sensible of the severity of their condition.

  [1] διεῖλε δὲ καὶ τὴν χώραν ἅπασαν, ὡς μὲν Φάβιός φησιν, εἰς μοίρας ἕξ τε καὶ εἴκοσιν, ἃς καὶ αὐτὰς καλεῖ φυλὰς καὶ τὰς ἀστικὰς προστιθεὶς αὐταῖς τέτταρας: ὡς δὲ Οὐεννώνιος ἱστόρηκεν, εἰς μίαν τε καὶ τριάκοντα, ὥστε σὺν ταῖς κατὰ πόλιν οὔσαις ἐκπεπληρῶσθαι τὰς ἔτι καὶ εἰς ἡμᾶς ὑπαρχούσας τριάκοντα καὶ πέντε φυλάς: Κάτων μέντοι τούτων ἀμφοτέρων ἀξιοπιστότερος ὢν τριάκοντα φυλὰς ἐπὶ Τυλλίου τὰς πάσας γενέσθαι λέγει καὶ οὐ χωρίζει τῶν μοιρῶν τὸν ἀριθμόν.

  [15.1] Tullius also divided the country as a whole into twenty-six parts, according to Fabius, who calls these divisions tribes also and, adding the four city tribes to them, says that there were thirty tribes in all under Tullius. But according to Vennonius he divided the country into thirty-one parts, so that with the four city tribes the number was rounded out to the thirty-five tribes that exist down to our day. However, Cato, who is more worthy of credence than either of these authors, does not specify the number of the parts into which the country was divided.

  [2] διελὼν δ᾽ οὖν ὁ Τύλλιος εἰς ὁπόσας δήποτε μοίρας τὴν γῆν κατὰ τοὺς ὀρεινοὺς καὶ πολὺ τὸ ἀσφαλὲς τοῖς γεωργοῖς παρέχειν δυνησομένοῦς ὄχθους κρησφύγετα κατεσκεύασεν, Ἑλληνικοῖς ὀνόμασιν αὐτὰ καλῶν Πάγους, ἔνθα συνέφευγον ἐκ τῶν ἀγρῶν ἅπαντες, ὁπότε γένοιτο πολεμίων ἔφοδος, καὶ τὰ πολλὰ

  [2] After Tullius, therefore, had divided the country into a certain number of parts, whatever that number was, he built places of refuge upon such lofty eminences as could afford ample security for the husbandmen, and called them by a Greek name, pagi or “hills.” Thither all the inhabitants fled from the fields whenever a raid was made by enemies, and generally passed the night there.

  [3] διενυκτέρευον ἐνταῦθα. ἄρχοντες δὲ καὶ τούτων ἦσαν, οἷς ἐπιμελὲς ἐγίνετο τά τ᾽ ὀνόματα τῶν γεωργῶν εἰδέναι τῶν συντελούντων εἰς τὸν αὐτὸν πάγον, καὶ [p. 29] τὰς κτήσεις, ἐν αἷς ὁ βίος αὐτῶν ἦν: καὶ ὁπότε χρεία γένοιτο ἐπὶ τὰ ὅπλα τοὺς χωρίτας καλεῖν ἢ χρημάτων εἰσφορὰς κατ᾽ ἄνδρα ἐκλέγειν, οὗτοι τά τε σώματα συνῆγον καὶ τὰ χρήματα εἰσέπραττον. ἵνα δὲ καὶ τούτων ἡ πληθὺς μὴ δυσεύρετος, ἀλλ᾽ εὐλόγιστος ᾖ καὶ φανερά, βωμοὺς ἐκέλευσεν αὐτοῖς ἱδρύσασθαι θεῶν ἐπισκόπων τε καὶ φυλάκων τοῦ πάγου, οὓς ἔταξε θυσίαις κοιναῖς γεραίρειν καθ᾽ ἕκαστον ἐνιαυτὸν ἅμα συνερχομένους, ἑορτήν τινα καὶ ταύτην ἐν τοῖς πάνυ τιμίαν καταστησάμενος, τὰ καλούμενα Παγανάλια: καὶ νόμους ὑπὲρ τῶν ἱερῶν τούτων, οὓς ἔτι διὰ φυλακῆς ἔχουσι Ῥωμαῖοι, συνέγραψεν.

  [3] These places also had their governors, whose duty it was to know not only the names of all the husbandmen who belonged to the same district but also the lands which afforded them their livelihood. And whenever there was occasion to summon the countrymen to take arms or to collect the taxes that were assessed against each of them, these governors assembled the men together and collected the money. And in order that the number of these husbandmen might not be hard to ascertain, but might be easy to compute and be known at once, he ordered them to erect altars to the gods who presided over and were guardians of the district, and directed them to assemble every year and honour these gods with public sacrifices. This occasion also he made one of the most solemn festivals, calling it the Paganalia; and he drew up laws concerning these sacrifices, which the Romans still observe.

  [4] εἰς δὲ τὴν θυσίαν ταύτην καὶ τὴν σύνοδον ἅπαντας ἐκέλευσε τοὺς ὁμοπάγους κατὰ κεφαλὴν ὡρισμένον νόμισμά τι συνεισφέρειν, ἕτερον μέν τι τοὺς ἄνδρας, ἕτερον δέ τι τὰς γυναῖκας, ἄλλο δέ τι τοὺς ἀνήβους. ἐξ οὗ συναριθμηθέντος ὑπὸ τῶν ἐφεστηκότων τοῖς ἱεροῖς φανερὸς ὁ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀριθμὸς ἐγίνετο κατὰ γένη τε καὶ καθ᾽ ἡλίκίας.

  [4] Towards the expense of this sacrifice and of this assemblage he ordered all those of the same district to contribute each of them a certain piece of money, the men paying one kind, the women another and the children a third kind. When these pieces of money were counted by those who presided over the sacrifices, the number of people, distinguished by their sex and age, became known.

  [5] ὡς δὲ Πείσων Λεύκιος ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ τῶν ἐνιαυσίων ἀναγραφῶν ἱστορεῖ, βουλόμενος καὶ τ�
��ν ἐν ἄστει διατριβόντων τὸ πλῆθος εἰδέναι, τῶν τε γεννωμένων καὶ τῶν ἀπογινομένων καὶ τῶν εἰς ἄνδρας ἐγγραφομένων, ἔταξεν ὅσον ἔδει νόμισμα καταφέρειν ὑπὲρ ἑκάστου τοὺς προσήκοντας, εἰς μὲν τὸν τῆς Εἰλειθυίας θησαυρόν, ἣν Ῥωμαῖοι καλοῦσιν Ἥραν φωσφόρον, ὑπὲρ τῶν γεννωμένων: εἰς δὲ τὸν τῆς Ἀφροδίτης τῆς ἐν ἄλσει καθιδρυμένης, ἣν προσαγορεύουσι Λιβιτίνην, [p. 30] ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀπογινομένων: εἰς δὲ τὸν τῆς Νεότητος, ὑπὲρ τῶν εἰς ἄνδρας ἀρχομένων συντελεῖν: ἐξ ὧν ἤμελλε διαγνώσεσθαι καθ᾽ ἕκαστον ἐνιαυτόν, ὅσοι τε οἱ σύμπαντες ἦσαν καὶ τίνες ἐξ αὐτῶν τὴν στρατεύσιμον 2 ἡλικίαν εἶχον.

  [5] And wishing also, as Lucius Piso writes in the first book of his Annals, to know the number of the inhabitants of the city, and of all who were born and died and arrived at the age of manhood, he prescribed the piece of money which their relations were to pay for each — into the treasury of Ilithiya (called by the Romans Juno Lucina) for those who were born, into that of the Venus of the Grove (called by them Libitina) for those who died, and into the treasury of Juventas for those who were arriving at manhood. By means of these pieces of money he would know every year both the number of all the inhabitants and which of them were of military age.

  [6] ταῦτα καταστησάμενος ἐκέλευσεν ἅπαντας Ῥωμαίους ἀπογράφεσθαί τε καὶ τιμᾶσθαι τὰς οὐσίας πρὸς ἀργύριον ὀμόσαντας τὸν νόμιμον ὅρκον, ἦ μὲν τἀληθῆ καὶ ἀπὸ παντὸς τοῦ βελτίστου τετιμῆσθαι, πατέρων τε ὧν εἰσι γράφοντας καὶ ἡλικίαν ἣν ἔχουσι δηλοῦντας γυναῖκάς τε καὶ παῖδας ὀνομάζοντας καὶ ἐν τίνι κατοικοῦσιν ἕκαστοι τῆς πόλεως φυλῇ ἢ πάγῳ τῆς χώρας προστιθέντας: τῷ δὲ μὴ τιμησαμένῳ τιμωρίαν ὥρισε τῆς τ᾽ οὐσίας στέρεσθαι καὶ αὐτὸν μαστιγωθέντα πραθῆναι: καὶ μέχρι πολλοῦ διέμεινε παρὰ Ῥωμαίοις οὗτος ὁ νόμος.