by Polybius
29. It was surely a peculiar and surprising battle to witness, and scarcely less so to hear described. A battle, to begin with, in which three distinct armies were engaged, must have presented a strange and unusual appearance, and must have been fought under strange and unusual conditions. Again, it must have seemed to a spectator open to question, whether the position of the Gauls were the most dangerous conceivable, from being between two attacking forces; or the most favourable, as enabling them to meet both armies at once, while their own two divisions afforded each other a mutual support: and, above all, as putting retreat out of the question, or any hope of safety except in victory. For this is the peculiar advantage of having an army facing in two opposite directions. The Romans, on the other hand, while encouraged by having got their enemy between two of their own armies, were at the same time dismayed by the ornaments and clamour of the Celtic host. For there were among them such innumerable horns and trumpets, which were being blown simultaneously in all parts of their army, and their cries were so loud and piercing, that the noise seemed not to come merely from trumpets and human voices, but from the whole country-side at once. Not less terrifying was the appearance and rapid movement of the naked warriors in the van, which indicated men in the prime of their strength and beauty: while all the warriors in the front ranks were richly adorned with gold necklaces and bracelets. These sights certainly dismayed the Romans; still the hope they gave of a profitable victory redoubled their eagerness for the battle.
[1] κίνδυνον. πλὴν ἅμα τῷ τοὺς ἀκοντιστὰς προελθόντας ἐκ τῶν Ῥωμαϊκῶν στρατοπέδων κατὰ τὸν ἐθισμὸν εἰσακοντίζειν ἐνεργοῖς καὶ πυκνοῖς τοῖς βέλεσιν, τοῖς μὲν ὀπίσω τῶν Κελτῶν πολλὴν εὐχρηστίαν οἱ σάγοι μετὰ τῶν ἀναξυρίδων παρεῖχον: [2] τοῖς δὲ γυμνοῖς προεστῶσι παρὰ τὴν προσδοκίαν τοῦ πράγματος συμβαίνοντος τἀναντία πολλὴν ἀπορίαν καὶ δυσχρηστίαν παρεῖχε τὸ γινόμενον. [3] οὐ γὰρ δυναμένου τοῦ Γαλατικοῦ θυρεοῦ τὸν ἄνδρα περισκέπειν, ὅσῳ γυμνὰ καὶ μείζω τὰ σώματ᾽ ἦν, τοσούτῳ συνέβαινε μᾶλλον τὰ βέλη πίπτειν ἔνδον. [4] τέλος δ᾽ οὐ δυνάμενοι μὲν ἀμύνασθαι τοὺς εἰσακοντίζοντας διὰ τὴν ἀπόστασιν καὶ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν πιπτόντων βελῶν, περικακοῦντες δὲ καὶ δυσχρηστούμενοι τοῖς παροῦσιν, οἱ μὲν εἰς τοὺς πολεμίους ὑπὸ τοῦ θυμοῦ καὶ τῆς ἀλογιστίας εἰκῇ προπίπτοντες καὶ διδόντες σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ἑκουσίως ἀπέθνησκον, οἱ δ᾽ εἰς τοὺς φίλους ἀναχωροῦντες ἐπὶ πόδα καὶ προδήλως ἀποδειλιῶντες διέστρεφον τοὺς κατόπιν. [5] τὸ μὲν οὖν τῶν Γαισάτων φρόνημα παρὰ τοῖς ἀκοντισταῖς τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ κατελύθη, [6] τὸ δὲ τῶν Ἰνσόμβρων καὶ Βοίων ἔτι δὲ Ταυρίσκων πλῆθος, ἅμα τῷ τοὺς Ῥωμαίους δεξαμένους τοὺς ἑαυτῶν ἀκοντιστὰς προσβάλλειν σφίσι τὰς σπείρας, συμπεσὸν τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐκ χειρὸς ἐποίει μάχην ἐχυράν. [7] διακοπτόμενοι γὰρ ἔμενον ἐπ᾽ ἴσον ταῖς ψυχαῖς, αὐτῷ τούτῳ καὶ καθόλου καὶ κατ᾽ ἄνδρα λειπόμενοι, ταῖς τῶν ὅπλων κατασκευαῖς. [8] οἱ μὲν οὖν θυρεοὶ πρὸς ἀσφάλειαν, αἱ δὲ μάχαιραι πρὸς πρᾶξιν μεγάλην διαφορὰν **** ἔχειν, τὴν δὲ Γαλατικὴν καταφορὰν ἔχειν μόνον. [9] ἐπεὶ δ᾽ ἐξ ὑπερδεξίων καὶ κατὰ κέρας οἱ τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἱππεῖς ἐμβαλόντες ἀπὸ τοῦ λόφου προσέφερον τὰς χεῖρας ἐρρωμένως, τόθ᾽ οἱ μὲν πεζοὶ τῶν Κελτῶν ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ τῆς παρατάξεως τόπῳ κατεκόπησαν, οἱ δ᾽ ἱππεῖς πρὸς φυγὴν ὥρμησαν.
30. When the men who were armed with the pilum advanced in front of the legions, in accordance with the regular method of Roman warfare, and hurled their pila in rapid and effective volleys, the inner ranks of the Celts found their jerkins and leather breeches of great service; but to the naked men in the front ranks this unexpected mode of attack caused great distress and discomfiture. For the Gallic shields not being big enough to cover the man, the larger the naked body the more certainty was there of the pilum hitting. And at last, not being able to retaliate, because the pilum-throwers were out of reach, and their weapons kept pouring in, some of them, in the extremity of their distress and helplessness, threw themselves with desperate courage and reckless violence upon the enemy, and thus met a voluntary death; while others gave ground step by step towards their own friends, whom they threw into confusion by this manifest acknowledgment of their panic. Thus the courage of the Gaesatae had broken down before the preliminary attack of the pilum. But when the throwers of it had rejoined their ranks, and the whole Roman line charged, the Insubres, Boii, and Taurisci received the attack, and maintained a desperate hand-to-hand fight. Though almost cut to pieces, they held their ground with unabated courage, in spite of the fact that man for man, as well as collectively, they were inferior to the Romans in point of arms. The shields and swords of the latter were proved to be manifestly superior for defence and attack, for the Gallic sword can only deliver a cut, but cannot thrust. And when, besides, the Roman horse charged down from the high ground on their flank, and attacked them vigorously, the infantry of the Celts were cut to pieces on the field, while their horse turned and fled.
[1] ἀπέθανον μὲν οὖν τῶν Κελτῶν εἰς τετρακισμυρίους, ἑάλωσαν δ᾽ οὐκ ἐλάττους μυρίων, ἐν οἷς καὶ τῶν βασιλέων Κογκολιτάνος. [2] ὁ δ᾽ ἕτερος αὐτῶν Ἀνηρόεστος εἴς τινα τόπον συμφυγὼν μετ᾽ ὀλίγων προσήνεγκε τὰς χεῖρας αὑτῷ καὶ τοῖς ἀναγκαίοις. [3] ὁ δὲ στρατηγὸς τῶν Ῥωμαίων τὰ μὲν σκῦλα συναθροίσας εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην ἀπέστειλε, τὴν δὲ λείαν ἀπέδωκε τοῖς προσήκουσιν. [4] αὐτὸς δ᾽ ἀναλαβὼν τὰ στρατόπεδα καὶ διελθὼν παρ᾽ αὐτὴν τὴν Λιγυστικὴν εἰς τὴν τῶν Βοίων ἐνέβαλε χώραν. πληρώσας δὲ τὰς ὁρμὰς τῶν στρατοπέδων τῆς ὠφελείας, ἐν ὀλίγαις ἡμέραις ἧκεν μετὰ τῶν δυνάμεων εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην. [5] καὶ τὸ μὲν Καπετώλιον ἐκόσμησε ταῖς τε σημείαις καὶ τοῖς μανιάκαις — τοῦτο δ᾽ ἔστι χρυσοῦν ψέλιον, ὃ φοροῦσι περὶ τὸν τράχηλον οἱ Γαλάται — [6] τοῖς δὲ λοιποῖς σκύλοις καὶ τοῖς αἰχμαλώτοις πρὸς τὴν εἴσοδον ἐχρήσατο τὴν ἑαυτοῦ καὶ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ θριάμβου διακόσμησιν. [7] ἡ μὲν οὖν βαρυτάτη τῶν Κελτῶν ἔφοδος οὕτω καὶ τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ διεφθάρη, πᾶσι μὲν Ἰταλιώταις, μάλιστα δὲ Ῥωμαίοις μέγαν καὶ φοβερὸν ἐπικρεμάσασα κίνδυνον. [8] ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ κατορθώματος τούτου κατελπίσαντες Ῥωμαῖοι δυνήσεσθαι τοὺς Κελτοὺς ἐκ τῶν τόπων τῶν περὶ τὸν Πάδον ὁλοσχερῶς ἐκβαλεῖν, τού�
� τε μετὰ ταῦτα κατασταθέντας ὑπάτους Κόϊντον Φόλουιον καὶ Τίτον Μάλιον ἀμφοτέρους καὶ τὰς δυνάμεις μετὰ παρασκευῆς μεγάλης ἐξαπέστειλαν ἐπὶ τοὺς Κελτούς. [9] οὗτοι δὲ τοὺς μὲν Βοίους ἐξ ἐφόδου καταπληξάμενοι συνηνάγκασαν εἰς τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἑαυτοὺς δοῦναι πίστιν, τὸν δὲ λοιπὸν χρόνον τῆς στρατείας, [10] ἐπιγενομένων ὄμβρων ἐξαισίων, ἔτι δὲ λοιμικῆς διαθέσεως ἐμπε
31. Forty thousand of them were slain, and quite ten thousand taken prisoners, among whom was one of their kings, Concolitanus: the other king, Aneroestes, fled with a few followers; joined a few of his people in escaping to a place of security; and there put an end to his own life and that of his friends. Lucius Aemilius, the surviving Consul, collected the spoils of the slain and sent them to Rome, and restored the property taken by the Gauls to its owners. Then taking command of the legions, he marched along the frontier of Liguria, and made a raid upon the territory of the Boii; and having satisfied the desires of the legions with plunder, returned with his forces to Rome in a few days’ march. There he adorned the Capitol with the captured standards and necklaces, which are gold chains worn by the Gauls round their necks; but the rest of the spoils, and the captives, he converted to the benefit of his own estate and to the adornment of his triumph.
Thus was the most formidable Celtic invasion repelled, which had been regarded by all Italians, and especially by the Romans, as a danger of the utmost gravity. The victory inspired the Romans with a hope that they might be able to entirely expel the Celts from the valley of the Padus: and accordingly the Consuls of the next year, Quintus Fulvius Flaccus and Titus Manlius Torquatus, were both sent out with their legions, and military preparations on a large scale, against them. By a rapid attack they terrified the Boii into making submission to Rome; but the campaign had no other practical effect, because, during the rest of it, there was a season of excessive rains, and an outbreak of pestilence in the army.
[1] σούσης αὐτοῖς, εἰς τέλος ἄπρακτον εἶχον. μετὰ δὲ τούτους κατασταθέντες Πόπλιος Φούριος καὶ Γάιος Φλαμίνιος αὖθις ἐνέβαλον εἰς τὴν Κελτικὴν διὰ τῆς τῶν Ἀνάρων χώρας, οἷς συμβαίνει μὴ μακρὰν ἀπὸ Μασσαλίας* [2] ἔχειν τὴν οἴκησιν. οὓς εἰς τὴν φιλίαν προσαγαγόμενοι διέβησαν εἰς τὴν τῶν Ἰνσόμβρων γῆν κατὰ τὰς συρροίας τοῦ τ᾽ Ἀδόα καὶ Πάδου ποταμοῦ. [3] λαβόντες δὲ πληγὰς περί τε τὴν διάβασιν καὶ περὶ τὴν στρατοπεδείαν παραυτίκα μὲν ἔμειναν, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα σπεισάμενοι καθ᾽ ὁμολογίαν ἀνέλυσαν ἐκ τῶν τόπων. [4] περιελθόντες δὲ πλείους ἡμέρας καὶ διελθόντες τὸν Κλούσιον ποταμὸν ἦλθον εἰς τὴν τῶν Γονομάνων χώραν καὶ προσλαβόντες τούτους, ὄντας συμμάχους, ἐνέβαλον πάλιν ἀπὸ τῶν κατὰ τὰς Ἄλπεις τόπων εἰς τὰ τῶν Ἰνσόμβρων πεδία καὶ τήν τε γῆν ἐδῄουν καὶ τὰς κατοικίας αὐτῶν ἐξεπόρθουν. [5] οἱ δὲ τῶν Ἰνσόμβρων προεστῶτες θεωροῦντες ἀμετάθετον οὖσαν τὴν ἐπιβολὴν τῶν Ῥωμαίων, ἔκριναν τῆς τύχης λαβεῖν πεῖραν καὶ διακινδυνεῦσαι πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὁλοσχερῶς. [6] συναθροίσαντες οὖν ἁπάσας τὰς ὑπαρχούσας δυνάμεις ἐπὶ ταὐτὸν καὶ τὰς χρυσᾶς σημείας τὰς ἀκινήτους λεγομένας καθελόντες ἐκ τοῦ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς ἱεροῦ καὶ τἄλλα παρασκευασάμενοι δεόντως μετὰ ταῦτα τεθαρρηκότως καὶ καταπληκτικῶς ἀντεστρατοπέδευσαν τοῖς πολεμίοις, ὄντες τὸ πλῆθος εἰς πέντε μυριάδας. [7] οἱ δὲ Ῥωμαῖοι τὰ μὲν ὁρῶντες σφᾶς ἐλάττους ὄντας παρὰ πολὺ τῶν ἐναντίων, ἐβούλοντο συγχρῆσθαι ταῖς τῶν συμμαχούντων αὐτοῖς Κελτῶν δυνάμεσι: [8] τὰ δὲ συλλογισάμενοι τήν τε Γαλατικὴν ἀθεσίαν καὶ διότι πρὸς ὁμοφύλους τῶν προσλαμβανομένων μέλλουσι ποιεῖσθαι τὸν κίνδυνον, εὐλαβοῦντο τοιούτοις ἀνδράσιν τοιούτου καιροῦ καὶ πράγματος κοινωνεῖν. [9] τέλος δ᾽ οὖν αὐτοὶ μὲν ὑπέμειναν ἐντὸς τοῦ ποταμοῦ, τοὺς δὲ τῶν Κελτῶν σφίσι συνόντας διαβιβάσαντες εἰς τὸ πέραν ἀνέσπασαν τὰς ἐπὶ τοῦ ῥείθρου γεφύρας, [10] ἅμα μὲν ἀσφαλιζόμενοι τὰ πρὸς ἐκείνους, ἅμα δὲ μίαν ἑαυτοῖς ἀπολείποντες ἐλπίδα τῆς σωτηρίας τὴν ἐν τῷ νικᾶν διὰ τὸ κατόπιν αὐτοῖς ἄβατον ὄντα παρακεῖσθαι τὸν προειρημένον ποταμόν. [11] πράξαντες δὲ ταῦτα πρὸς τῷ διακινδυνεύειν ἦσαν.
32. The Consuls of the next year, however, Publius Furius Philus and Caius Flaminius, once more invaded the Celtic lands, marching through the territory of the Anamares, who live not far from Placentia. Having secured the friendship of this tribe, they crossed into the country of the Insubres, near the confluence of the Adua and Padus. They suffered some annoyance from the enemy, as they were crossing the river, and as they were pitching their camp; and after remaining for a short time, they made terms with the Insubres and left their country. After a circuitous march of several days, they crossed the River Clusius, and came into the territory of the Cenomani. As these people were allies of Rome, they reinforced the army with some of their men, which then descended once more from the Alpine regions into the plains belonging to the Insubres, and began laying waste their land and plundering their houses. The Insubrian chiefs, seeing that nothing could change the determination of the Romans to destroy them, determined that they had better try their fortune by a great and decisive battle. They therefore mustered all their forces, took down from the temple of Minerva the golden standards, which are called “the immovables,” and having made other necessary preparations, in high spirits and formidable array, encamped opposite to their enemies to the number of fifty thousand. Seeing themselves thus out-numbered, the Romans at first determined to avail themselves of the forces of the allied Celtic tribes; but when they reflected on the fickle character of the Gauls, and that they were about to fight with an enemy of the same race as these auxiliary troops, they hesitated to associate such men with themselves, at a crisis of such danger, and in an action of such importance. However, they finally decided to do this. They themselves stayed on the side of the river next the enemy: and sending the Celtic contingent to the other side, they pulled up the bridges; which at once precluded any fear of danger from them, and left themselves no hope of safety except in victory; the impassable river being thus in their rear. These dispositions made, they were ready to engage.