1. Septuagint, Tobit, 13.11, 14.6 (th cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •mythic origins as identity marker, of jews Found in books: Gruen (2020) 139 | 13.11. Many nations will come from afar to the name of the Lord God,bearing gifts in their hands, gifts for the King of heaven. Generations of generations will give you joyful praise. 14.6. Then all the Gentiles will turn to fear the Lord God in truth, and will bury their idols. |
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| 2. Hebrew Bible, Genesis, 11.27-12.9 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •mythic origins as identity marker, of jews Found in books: Gruen (2020) 139 |
3. Hesiod, Theogony, 1011-1016 (8th cent. BCE - 7th cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Gruen (2020) 76, 93 | 1016. Was splendidly intelligent. Then he |
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4. Herodotus, Histories, 1.7, 1.94, 4.5-4.13, 4.108, 5.22, 6.53-6.55 (5th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •mythic origins as identity marker, legendary ancestors •mythic origins as identity marker, of italian communities Found in books: Gruen (2020) 44, 46, 93 | 1.7. Now the sovereign power that belonged to the descendants of Heracles fell to the family of Croesus, called the Mermnadae, in the following way. ,Candaules, whom the Greeks call Myrsilus, was the ruler of Sardis ; he was descended from Alcaeus, son of Heracles; Agron son of Ninus, son of Belus, son of Alcaeus, was the first Heraclid king of Sardis and Candaules son of Myrsus was the last. ,The kings of this country before Agron were descendants of Lydus, son of Atys, from whom this whole Lydian district got its name; before that it was called the land of the Meii. ,The Heraclidae, descendants of Heracles and a female slave of Iardanus, received the sovereignty from these and held it, because of an oracle; and they ruled for twenty-two generations, or five hundred and five years, son succeeding father, down to Candaules son of Myrsus. 1.94. The customs of the Lydians are like those of the Greeks, except that they make prostitutes of their female children. They were the first men whom we know who coined and used gold and silver currency; and they were the first to sell by retail. ,And, according to what they themselves say, the games now in use among them and the Greeks were invented by the Lydians: these, they say, were invented among them at the time when they colonized Tyrrhenia. This is their story: ,In the reign of Atys son of Manes there was great scarcity of food in all Lydia . For a while the Lydians bore this with what patience they could; presently, when the famine did not abate, they looked for remedies, and different plans were devised by different men. Then it was that they invented the games of dice and knuckle-bones and ball and all other forms of game except dice, which the Lydians do not claim to have discovered. ,Then, using their discovery to lighten the famine, every other day they would play for the whole day, so that they would not have to look for food, and the next day they quit their play and ate. This was their way of life for eighteen years. ,But the famine did not cease to trouble them, and instead afflicted them even more. At last their king divided the people into two groups, and made them draw lots, so that the one group should remain and the other leave the country; he himself was to be the head of those who drew the lot to remain there, and his son, whose name was Tyrrhenus, of those who departed. ,Then the one group, having drawn the lot, left the country and came down to Smyrna and built ships, in which they loaded all their goods that could be transported aboard ship, and sailed away to seek a livelihood and a country; until at last, after sojourning with one people after another, they came to the Ombrici, where they founded cities and have lived ever since. ,They no longer called themselves Lydians, but Tyrrhenians, after the name of the king's son who had led them there.The Lydians, then, were enslaved by the Persians. 4.5. The Scythians say that their nation is the youngest in the world, and that it came into being in this way. A man whose name was Targitaüs appeared in this country, which was then desolate. They say that his parents were Zeus and a daughter of the Borysthenes river (I do not believe the story, but it is told). ,Such was Targitaüs' lineage; and he had three sons: Lipoxaïs, Arpoxaïs, and Colaxaïs, youngest of the three. ,In the time of their rule (the story goes) certain implements—namely, a plough, a yoke, a sword, and a flask, all of gold—fell down from the sky into Scythia . The eldest of them, seeing these, approached them meaning to take them; but the gold began to burn as he neared, and he stopped. ,Then the second approached, and the gold did as before. When these two had been driven back by the burning gold, the youngest brother approached and the burning stopped, and he took the gold to his own house. In view of this, the elder brothers agreed to give all the royal power to the youngest. 4.6. Lipoxaïs, it is said, was the father of the Scythian clan called Auchatae; Arpoxaïs, the second brother, of those called Katiari and Traspians; the youngest, who was king, of those called Paralatae. ,All these together bear the name of Skoloti, after their king; “Scythians” is the name given them by Greeks. This, then, is the Scythians' account of their origin, 4.7. and they say that neither more nor less than a thousand years in all passed from the time of their first king Targitaüs to the entry of Darius into their country. The kings guard this sacred gold very closely, and every year offer solemn sacrifices of propitiation to it. ,Whoever falls asleep at this festival in the open air, having the sacred gold with him, is said by the Scythians not to live out the year; for which reason (they say) as much land as he can ride round in one day is given to him. Because of the great size of the country, the lordships that Colaxaïs established for his sons were three, one of which, where they keep the gold, was the greatest. ,Above and north of the neighbors of their country no one (they say) can see or travel further, because of showers of feathers; for earth and sky are full of feathers, and these hinder sight. 4.8. This is what the Scythians say about themselves and the country north of them. But the story told by the Greeks who live in Pontus is as follows. Heracles, driving the cattle of Geryones, came to this land, which was then desolate, but is now inhabited by the Scythians. ,Geryones lived west of the Pontus , settled in the island called by the Greeks Erythea, on the shore of Ocean near Gadira, outside the pillars of Heracles. As for Ocean, the Greeks say that it flows around the whole world from where the sun rises, but they cannot prove that this is so. ,Heracles came from there to the country now called Scythia , where, encountering wintry and frosty weather, he drew his lion's skin over him and fell asleep, and while he slept his mares, which were grazing yoked to the chariot, were spirited away by divine fortune. 4.9. When Heracles awoke, he searched for them, visiting every part of the country, until at last he came to the land called the Woodland, and there he found in a cave a creature of double form that was half maiden and half serpent; above the buttocks she was a woman, below them a snake. ,When he saw her he was astonished, and asked her if she had seen his mares straying; she said that she had them, and would not return them to him before he had intercourse with her; Heracles did, in hope of this reward. ,But though he was anxious to take the horses and go, she delayed returning them, so that she might have Heracles with her for as long as possible; at last she gave them back, telling him, “These mares came, and I kept them safe here for you, and you have paid me for keeping them, for I have three sons by you. ,Now tell me what I am to do when they are grown up: shall I keep them here (since I am queen of this country), or shall I send them away to you?” Thus she inquired, and then (it is said) Heracles answered: ,“When you see the boys are grown up, do as follows and you will do rightly: whichever of them you see bending this bow and wearing this belt so, make him an inhabitant of this land; but whoever falls short of these accomplishments that I require, send him away out of the country. Do so and you shall yourself have comfort, and my will shall be done.” 4.10. So he drew one of his bows (for until then Heracles always carried two), and showed her the belt, and gave her the bow and the belt, that had a golden vessel on the end of its clasp; and, having given them, he departed. But when the sons born to her were grown men, she gave them names, calling one of them Agathyrsus and the next Gelonus and the youngest Scythes; furthermore, remembering the instructions, she did as she was told. ,Two of her sons, Agathyrsus and Gelonus, were cast out by their mother and left the country, unable to fulfill the requirements set; but Scythes, the youngest, fulfilled them and so stayed in the land. ,From Scythes son of Heracles comes the whole line of the kings of Scythia ; and it is because of the vessel that the Scythians carry vessels on their belts to this day. This alone his mother did for Scythes. This is what the Greek dwellers in Pontus say. 4.11. There is yet another story, to which account I myself especially incline. It is to this effect. The nomadic Scythians inhabiting Asia , when hard pressed in war by the Massagetae, fled across the Araxes river to the Cimmerian country (for the country which the Scythians now inhabit is said to have belonged to the Cimmerians before), ,and the Cimmerians, at the advance of the Scythians, deliberated as men threatened by a great force should. Opinions were divided; both were strongly held, but that of the princes was the more honorable; for the people believed that their part was to withdraw and that there was no need to risk their lives for the dust of the earth; but the princes were for fighting to defend their country against the attackers. ,Neither side could persuade the other, neither the people the princes nor the princes the people; the one party planned to depart without fighting and leave the country to their enemies, but the princes were determined to lie dead in their own country and not to flee with the people, for they considered how happy their situation had been and what ills were likely to come upon them if they fled from their native land. ,Having made up their minds, the princes separated into two equal bands and fought with each other until they were all killed by each other's hands; then the Cimmerian people buried them by the Tyras river, where their tombs are still to be seen, and having buried them left the land; and the Scythians came and took possession of the country left empty. 4.12. And to this day there are Cimmerian walls in Scythia , and a Cimmerian ferry, and there is a country Cimmeria and a strait named Cimmerian. ,Furthermore, it is evident that the Cimmerians in their flight from the Scythians into Asia also made a colony on the peninsula where the Greek city of Sinope has since been founded; and it is clear that the Scythians pursued them and invaded Media, missing their way; ,for the Cimmerians always fled along the coast, and the Scythians pursued with the Caucasus on their right until they came into the Median land, turning inland on their way. That is the other story current among Greeks and foreigners alike. 4.13. There is also a story related in a poem by Aristeas son of Caüstrobius, a man of Proconnesus . This Aristeas, possessed by Phoebus, visited the Issedones; beyond these (he said) live the one-eyed Arimaspians, beyond whom are the griffins that guard gold, and beyond these again the Hyperboreans, whose territory reaches to the sea. ,Except for the Hyperboreans, all these nations (and first the Arimaspians) are always at war with their neighbors; the Issedones were pushed from their lands by the Arimaspians, and the Scythians by the Issedones, and the Cimmerians, living by the southern sea, were hard pressed by the Scythians and left their country. Thus Aristeas' story does not agree with the Scythian account about this country. 4.108. The Budini are a great and populous nation; the eyes of them all are very bright, and they are ruddy. They have a city built of wood, called Gelonus. The wall of it is three and three quarters miles in length on each side of the city; this wall is high and all of wood; and their houses are wooden, and their temples; ,for there are temples of Greek gods among them, furnished in Greek style with images and altars and shrines of wood; and they honor Dionysus every two years with festivals and revelry. For the Geloni are by their origin Greeks, who left their trading ports to settle among the Budini; and they speak a language half Greek and half Scythian. But the Budini do not speak the same language as the Geloni, nor is their manner of life the same. 5.22. Now that these descendants of Perdiccas are Greeks, as they themselves say, I myself chance to know and will prove it in the later part of my history. Furthermore, the Hellenodicae who manage the contest at Olympia determined that it is so, ,for when Alexander chose to contend and entered the lists for that purpose, the Greeks who were to run against him wanted to bar him from the race, saying that the contest should be for Greeks and not for foreigners. Alexander, however, proving himself to be an Argive, was judged to be a Greek. He accordingly competed in the furlong race and tied step for first place. This, then, is approximately what happened. 6.53. The Lacedaemonians are the only Greeks who tell this story. But in what I write I follow the Greek report, and hold that the Greeks correctly recount these kings of the Dorians as far back as Perseus son of Danae—they make no mention of the god —and prove these kings to be Greek; for by that time they had come to be classified as Greeks. ,I said as far back as Perseus, and I took the matter no further than that, because no one is named as the mortal father of Perseus, as Amphitryon is named father of Heracles. So I used correct reasoning when I said that the Greek record is correct as far back as Perseus; farther back than that, if the king's ancestors in each generation, from Danae daughter of Acrisius upward, be reckoned, then the leaders of the Dorians will be shown to be true-born Egyptians. 6.54. Thus have I traced their lineage according to the Greek story; but the Persian tale is that Perseus himself was an Assyrian, and became a Greek, which his forebears had not been; the Persians say that the ancestors of Acrisius had no bond of kinship with Perseus, and they indeed were, as the Greeks say, Egyptians. 6.55. Enough of these matters. Why and for what achievements these men, being Egyptian, won the kingship of the Dorians has been told by others, so I will let it go, and will make mention of matters which others have not touched. |
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5. Lycophron, Alexandra, 1245-1249 (4th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Gruen (2020) 93| 1249. τῶν Ἡρακλείων ἐκγεγῶτες αἱμάτων. | |
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6. Septuagint, Tobit, 13.11, 14.6 (4th cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •mythic origins as identity marker, of jews Found in books: Gruen (2020) 139 | 13.11. Many nations will come from afar to the name of the Lord God,bearing gifts in their hands, gifts for the King of heaven. Generations of generations will give you joyful praise. 14.6. Then all the Gentiles will turn to fear the Lord God in truth, and will bury their idols. |
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| 7. Cato, Marcus Porcius, Origines, None (3rd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Gruen (2020) 78, 92 |
| 8. Polybius, Histories, None (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •mythic origins as identity marker, of romans Found in books: Gruen (2020) 76 |
9. Septuagint, Judith, 3.8, 5.5-5.21, 6.5, 8.1, 8.18, 9.14 (2nd cent. BCE - 0th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •mythic origins as identity marker, of jews Found in books: Gruen (2020) 139, 140 | 3.8. And he demolished all their shrines and cut down their sacred groves; for it had been given to him to destroy all the gods of the land, so that all nations should worship Nebuchadnezzar only, and all their tongues and tribes should call upon him as god. 5.5. Then Achior, the leader of all the Ammonites, said to him, "Let my lord now hear a word from the mouth of your servant, and I will tell you the truth about this people that dwells in the nearby mountain district. No falsehood shall come from your servant's mouth. 5.6. This people is descended from the Chaldeans. 5.7. At one time they lived in Mesopotamia, because they would not follow the gods of their fathers who were in Chaldea. 5.8. For they had left the ways of their ancestors, and they worshiped the God of heaven, the God they had come to know; hence they drove them out from the presence of their gods; and they fled to Mesopotamia, and lived there for a long time. 5.9. Then their God commanded them to leave the place where they were living and go to the land of Canaan. There they settled, and prospered, with much gold and silver and very many cattle. 5.10. When a famine spread over Canaan they went down to Egypt and lived there as long as they had food; and there they became a great multitude -- so great that they could not be counted. 5.11. So the king of Egypt became hostile to them; he took advantage of them and set them to making bricks, and humbled them and made slaves of them. 5.12. Then they cried out to their God, and he afflicted the whole land of Egypt with incurable plagues; and so the Egyptians drove them out of their sight. 5.13. Then God dried up the Red Sea before them, 5.14. and he led them by the way of Sinai and Kadesh-barnea, and drove out all the people of the wilderness. 5.15. So they lived in the land of the Amorites, and by their might destroyed all the inhabitants of Heshbon; and crossing over the Jordan they took possession of all the hill country. 5.16. And they drove out before them the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Jebusites and the Shechemites and all the Gergesites, and lived there a long time. 5.17. As long as they did not sin against their God they prospered, for the God who hates iniquity is with them. 5.18. But when they departed from the way which he had appointed for them, they were utterly defeated in many battles and were led away captive to a foreign country; the temple of their God was razed to the ground, and their cities were captured by their enemies. 5.19. But now they have returned to their God, and have come back from the places to which they were scattered, and have occupied Jerusalem, where their sanctuary is, and have settled in the hill country, because it was uninhabited. 5.20. Now therefore, my master and lord, if there is any unwitting error in this people and they sin against their God and we find out their offense, then we will go up and defeat them. 5.21. But if there is no transgression in their nation, then let my lord pass them by; for their Lord will defend them, and their God will protect them, and we shall be put to shame before the whole world." 6.5. "But you, Achior, you Ammonite hireling, who have said these words on the day of your iniquity, you shall not see my face again from this day until I take revenge on this race that came out of Egypt. 8.1. At that time Judith heard about these things: she was the daughter of Merari the son of Ox, son of Joseph, son of Oziel, son of Elkiah, son of Aias, son of Gideon, son of Raphaim, son of Ahitub, son of Elijah, son of Hilkiah, son of Eliab, son of Nathanael, son of Salamiel, son of Sarasadai, son of Israel. 8.18. "For never in our generation, nor in these present days, has there been any tribe or family or people or city of ours which worshiped gods made with hands, as was done in days gone by -- 9.14. And cause thy whole nation and every tribe to know and understand that thou art God, the God of all power and might, and that there is no other who protects the people of Israel but thou alone!" |
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10. Cicero, Republic, 2.13, 2.34-2.35, 3.25 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •mythic origins as identity marker, of romans •mythic origins as identity marker, legendary ancestors Found in books: Gruen (2020) 74, 75, 76| 2.13. Qua ex causa cum bellum Romanis Sabini intulissent proeliique certamen varium atque anceps fuisset, cum T. Tatio, rege Sabinorum, foedus icit matronis ipsis, quae raptae erant, orantibus; quo foedere et Sabinos in civitatem adscivit sacris conmunicatis et regnum suum cum illorum rege sociavit. 2.34. Sed hoc loco primum videtur insitiva quadam disciplina doctior facta esse civitas. Influxit enim non tenuis quidam e Graecia rivulus in hanc urbem, sed abundantissimus amnis illarum disciplinarum et artium. Fuisse enim quendam ferunt Demaratum Corinthium et honore et auctoritate et fortunis facile civitatis suae principem; qui cum Corinthiorum tyrannum Cypselum ferre non potuisset, fugisse cum magna pecunia dicitur ac se contulisse Tarquinios, in urbem Etruriae florentissimam. Cumque audiret dominationem Cypseli confirmari, defugit patriam vir liber ac fortis et adscitus est civis a Tarquiniensibus atque in ea civitate domicilium et sedes collocavit. Ubi cum de matre familias Tarquiniensi duo filios procreavisset, omnibus eos artibus ad Graecorum disciplinam eru diit 2.35. facile in civitatem receptus esset, propter humanitatem atque doctrinam Anco regi familiaris est factus usque eo, ut consiliorum omnium particeps et socius paene regni putaretur. Erat in eo praeterea summa comitas, summa in omnis civis opis, auxilii, defensionis, largiendi etiam benignitas. Itaque mortuo Marcio cunctis populi suffragiis rex est creatus L. Tarquinius; sic enim suum nomen ex Graeco nomine inflexerat, ut in omni genere huius populi consuetudinem videretur imitatus. Isque ut de suo imperio legem tulit, principio duplicavit illum pristinum patrum numerum et antiquos patres maiorum gentium appellavit, quos priores sententiam rogabat, a se adscitos minorum. 3.25. praeter Arcadas et Atheniensis, qui, credo, timentes hoc interdictum iustitiae ne quando existeret, commenti sunt se de terra tamquam hos ex arvis musculos extitisse. | |
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| 11. Cicero, Pro Balbo, 31 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •mythic origins as identity marker, legendary ancestors •mythic origins as identity marker, of romans Found in books: Gruen (2020) 75, 104 |
| 12. Livy, History, 1.1.9, 1.2.4-1.2.5, 1.5.1-1.5.2, 1.7.3-1.7.15, 1.8.4-1.8.5, 1.9-1.13, 1.13.4, 1.34, 1.34.1-1.34.6 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •mythic origins as identity marker, legendary ancestors •mythic origins as identity marker, of romans Found in books: Gruen (2020) 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 78, 104 |
| 13. Sallust, Catiline, 6.1-6.2 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •mythic origins as identity marker, legendary ancestors •mythic origins as identity marker, of romans Found in books: Gruen (2020) 72 |
| 14. Pliny The Elder, Natural History, 3.51, 3.108 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •mythic origins as identity marker, legendary ancestors •mythic origins as identity marker, of italian communities Found in books: Gruen (2020) 91, 92 |
15. Plutarch, Romulus, 2.1, 3.1-3.3, 9.3 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Gruen (2020) 77, 93, 104| 2.1. ἄλλοι δὲ Ῥώμην, Ἰταλοῦ θυγατέρα καὶ Λευκαρίας, οἱ δὲ Τηλέφου τοῦ Ἡρακλέουσ̓, Αἰνείᾳ γαμηθεῖσαν, οἱ δʼ Ἀσκανίῳ τῷ Αἰνείοὐ, λέγουσι τοὔνομα θέσθαι τῇ πόλει· οἱ δὲ Ῥωμανόν, Ὀδυσσέως παῖδα καὶ Κίρκης, οἰκίσαι τὴν πόλιν· οἱ δὲ Ῥῶμον ἐκ Τροίας ὑπὸ Διομήδους ἀποσταλέντα τὸν Ἠμαθίωνος, οἱ δὲ Ῥῶμιν Λατίνων τύραννον, ἐκβαλόντα Τυρρηνοὺς τοὺς εἰς Λυδίαν μὲν ἐκ Θετταλίας, ἐκ δὲ Λυδίας εἰς Ἰταλίαν παραγενομένους. οὐ μὴν οὐδʼ οἱ Ῥωμύλον τῷ δικαιοτάτῳ τῶν λόγων ἀποφαίνοντες ἐπώνυμον τῆς πόλεως ὁμολογοῦσι περὶ τοῦ γένους [αὐτοῦ]. 3.1. τοῦ δὲ πίστιν ἔχοντος λόγου μάλιστα καὶ πλείστους μάρτυρας τὰ μὲν κυριώτατα πρῶτος εἰς τοὺς Ἕλληνας ἐξέδωκε Διοκλῆς Πεπαρήθιος, ᾧ καὶ Φάβιος ὁ Πίκτωρ ἐν τοῖς πλείστοις ἐπηκολούθηκε. γεγόνασι δὲ καὶ περὶ τούτων ἕτεραι διαφοραί· τύπῳ δʼ εἰπεῖν τοιοῦτός ἐστι. 3.2. τῶν ἀπʼ Αἰνείου γεγονότων ἐν Ἄλβῃ βασιλέων εἰς ἀδελφοὺς δύο, Νομήτορα καὶ Ἀμούλιον, ἡ διαδοχὴ καθῆκεν. Ἀμουλίου δὲ νείμαντος τὰ πάντα δίχα, τῇ δὲ βασιλείᾳ τὰ χρήματα καὶ τὸν ἐκ Τροίας κομισθέντα χρυσὸν ἀντιθέντος, εἵλετο τὴν βασιλείαν ὁ Νομήτωρ. ἔχων οὖν ὁ Ἀμούλιος τὰ χρήματα καὶ πλέον ἀπʼ αὐτῶν δυνάμενος τοῦ Νομήτορος, τήν τε βασιλείαν ἀφείλετο ῥᾳδίως, καὶ φοβούμενος ἐκ τῆς θυγατρὸς αὐτοῦ γενέσθαι παῖδας, ἱέρειαν τῆς Ἑστίας ἀπέδειξεν, ἄγαμον καὶ παρθένον ἀεὶ βιωσομένην. 3.3. ταύτην οἱ μὲν Ἰλίαν, οἱ δὲ Ῥέαν, οἱ δὲ Σιλουίαν ὀνομάζουσι. φωρᾶται δὲ μετʼ οὐ πολὺν χρόνον κυοῦσα παρὰ τὸν καθεστῶτα ταῖς Ἑστιάσι νόμον, καὶ τὸ μὲν ἀνήκεστα μὴ παθεῖν αὐτὴν ἡ τοῦ βασιλέως θυγάτηρ Ἀνθὼ παρῃτήσατο, δεηθεῖσα τοῦ πατρός, εἵρχθη δὲ καὶ δίαιταν εἶχεν ἀνεπίμεικτον, ὅπως μὴ λάθοι τεκοῦσα τὸν Ἀμούλιον. ἔτεκε δὲ δύο παῖδας ὑπερφυεῖς μεγέθει καὶ κάλλει. 9.3. ἔπειτα τῆς πόλεως τὴν πρώτην ἵδρυσιν λαμβανούσης, ἱερόν τι φύξιμον τοῖς ἀφισταμένοις κατασκευάσαντες, ὃ Θεοῦ Ἀσυλαίου προσηγόρευον, ἐδέχοντο πάντας, οὔτε δεσπόταις δοῦλον οὔτε θῆτα χρήσταις οὔτʼ ἄρχουσιν ἀνδροφόνον ἐκδιδόντες, ἀλλὰ μαντεύματι πυθοχρήστῳ πᾶσι βεβαιοῦν τὴν ἀσυλίαν φάσκοντες, ὥστε πληθῦσαι ταχὺ τὴν πόλιν, ἐπεὶ τάς γε πρώτας ἑστίας λέγουσι τῶν χιλίων μὴ πλείονας γενέσθαι. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ὕστερον. | 2.1. Others again say that the Roma who gave her name to the city was a daughter of Italus and Leucaria, or, in another account, of Telephus the son of Heracles; and that she was married to Aeneas, or, in another version, to Ascanius the son of Aeneas. Some tell us that it was Romanus, a son of Odysseus and Circe, who colonized the city; others that it was Romus, who was sent from Troy by Diomedes the son of Emathion; and others still that it was Romis, tyrant of the Latins, after he had driven out the Tuscans, who passed from Thessaly into Lydia, and from Lydia into Italy. Moreover, even those writers who declare, in accordance with the most authentic tradition, that it was Romulus who gave his name to the city, do not agree about his lineage. 3.1. But the story which has the widest credence and the greatest number of vouchers was first published among the Greeks, in its principal details, by Diodes of Peparethus, and Fabius Pictor follows him in most points. Here again there are variations in the story, but its general outline is as follows. 3.2. The descendants of Aeneas reigned as kings in Alba, and the succession devolved at length upon two brothers, Numitor and Amulius. Cf. Livy, i. 3. Amulius divided the whole inheritance into two parts, setting the treasures and the gold which had been brought from Troy over against the kingdom, and Numitor chose the kingdom. Amulius, then, in possession of the treasure, and made more powerful by it than Numitor, easily took the kingdom away from his brother, and fearing lest that brother’s daughter should have children, made her a priestess of Vesta, bound to live unwedded and a virgin all her days. 3.3. Her name is variously given as Ilia, or Rhea, or Silvia. Not long after this, she was discovered to be with child, contrary to the established law for the Vestals. Cf. Livy, i. 4, 1-5. She did not, however, suffer the capital punishment which was her due, because the king’s daughter, Antho, interceded successfully in her behalf, but she was kept in solitary confinement, that she might not be delivered without the knowledge of Amulius. Delivered she was of two boys, and their size and beauty were more than human. 9.3. And in the second place, when their city was first founded, they made a sanctuary of refuge for all fugitives, Cf. Livy, i. 8, 5 f. which they called the sanctuary of the God of Asylum. There they received all who came, delivering none up, neither slave to masters, nor debtor to creditors, nor murderer to magistrates, but declaring it to be in obedience to an oracle from Delphi that they made the asylum secure for all men. Therefore the city was soon full of people, for they say that the first houses numbered no more than a thousand. This, however, was later. |
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| 16. Seneca The Younger, Apocolocyntosis, 3.3 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •mythic origins as identity marker, of romans Found in books: Gruen (2020) 73 |
| 17. Silius Italicus, Punica, 8.414-8.415 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •mythic origins as identity marker, of romans Found in books: Gruen (2020) 76 |
18. Tacitus, Annals, 4.55.3, 11.24, 11.24.4 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •mythic origins as identity marker, of italian communities •mythic origins as identity marker, of romans •mythic origins as identity marker, legendary ancestors Found in books: Gruen (2020) 73, 93, 104| 11.24. His atque talibus haud permotus princeps et statim contra disseruit et vocato senatu ita exorsus est: 'maiores mei, quorum antiquissimus Clausus origine Sabina simul in civitatem Romanam et in familias patriciorum adscitus est, hortantur uti paribus consiliis in re publica capessenda, transferendo huc quod usquam egregium fuerit. neque enim ignoro Iulios Alba, Coruncanios Camerio, Porcios Tusculo, et ne vetera scrutemur, Etruria Lucaniaque et omni Italia in senatum accitos, postremo ipsam ad Alpis promotam ut non modo singuli viritim, sed terrae, gentes in nomen nostrum coalescerent. tunc solida domi quies et adversus externa floruimus, cum Transpadani in civitatem recepti, cum specie deductarum per orbem terrae legionum additis provincialium validissimis fesso imperio subventum est. num paenitet Balbos ex Hispania nec minus insignis viros e Gallia Narbonensi transivisse? manent posteri eorum nec amore in hanc patriam nobis concedunt. quid aliud exitio Lacedaemoniis et Atheniensibus fuit, quamquam armis pollerent, nisi quod victos pro alienigenis arcebant? at conditor nostri Romulus tantum sapientia valuit ut plerosque populos eodem die hostis, dein civis habuerit. advenae in nos regnaverunt: libertinorum filiis magistratus mandare non, ut plerique falluntur, repens, sed priori populo factitatum est. at cum Senonibus pugnavimus: scilicet Vulsci et Aequi numquam adversam nobis aciem instruxere. capti a Gallis sumus: sed et Tuscis obsides dedimus et Samnitium iugum subiimus. ac tamen, si cuncta bella recenseas, nullum breviore spatio quam adversus Gallos confectum: continua inde ac fida pax. iam moribus artibus adfinitatibus nostris mixti aurum et opes suas inferant potius quam separati habeant. omnia, patres conscripti, quae nunc vetustissima creduntur, nova fuere: plebeii magistratus post patricios, Latini post plebeios, ceterarum Italiae gentium post Latinos. inveterascet hoc quoque, et quod hodie exemplis tuemur, inter exempla erit.' | 11.24. Unconvinced by these and similar arguments, the emperor not only stated his objections there and then, but, after convening the senate, addressed it as follows: â "In my own ancestors, the eldest of whom, Clausus, a Sabine by extraction, was made simultaneously a citizen and the head of a patrician house, I find encouragement to employ the same policy in my administration, by transferring hither all true excellence, let it be found where it will. For I am not unaware that the Julii came to us from Alba, the Coruncanii from Camerium, the Porcii from Tusculum; that â not to scrutinize antiquity â members were drafted into the senate from Etruria, from Lucania, from the whole of Italy; and that finally Italy itself was extended to the Alps, in order that not individuals merely but countries and nationalities should form one body under the name of Romans. The day of stable peace at home and victory abroad came when the districts beyond the Po were admitted to citizenship, and, availing ourselves of the fact that our legions were settled throughout the globe, we added to them the stoutest of the provincials, and succoured a weary empire. Is it regretted that the Balbi crossed over from Spain and families equally distinguished from Narbonese Gaul? Their descendants remain; nor do they yield to ourselves in love for this native land of theirs. What else proved fatal to Lacedaemon and Athens, in spite of their power in arms, but their policy of holding the conquered aloof as alien-born? But the sagacity of our own founder Romulus was such that several times he fought and naturalized a people in the course of the same day! Strangers have been kings over us: the conferment of magistracies on the sons of freedmen is not the novelty which it is commonly and mistakenly thought, but a frequent practice of the old commonwealth. â 'But we fought with the Senones.' â Then, presumably, the Volscians and Aequians never drew up a line of battle against us. â 'We were taken by the Gauls.' â But we also gave hostages to the Tuscans and underwent the yoke of the Samnites. â And yet, if you survey the whole of our wars, not one was finished within a shorter period than that against the Gauls: thenceforward there has been a continuous and loyal peace. Now that customs, culture, and the ties of marriage have blended them with ourselves, let them bring among us their gold and their riches instead of retaining them beyond the pale! All, Conscript Fathers, that is now believed supremely old has been new: plebeian magistrates followed the patrician; Latin, the plebeian; magistrates from the other races of Italy, the Latin. Our innovation, too, will be parcel of the past, and what toâday we defend by precedents will rank among precedents." |
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| 19. Aristides of Athens, Apology, 2.1, 2.3 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Gruen (2020) 208, 209 |
| 20. Nag Hammadi, The Tripartite Tractate, 109-112, 118-119 (3rd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Gruen (2020) 209 |
| 21. Lydus Johannes Laurentius, De Magistratibus Populi Romani, 1.5 (5th cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •mythic origins as identity marker, of italian communities Found in books: Gruen (2020) 92 |
| 22. Solinus C. Julius, Collectanea Rerum Memorabilium, 2.7, 2.28 Tagged with subjects: •mythic origins as identity marker, legendary ancestors •mythic origins as identity marker, of italian communities Found in books: Gruen (2020) 91, 92 |
23. Strabo, Geography, 5.2.2, 5.3.1, 5.3.3, 5.24 Tagged with subjects: •mythic origins as identity marker, of italian communities •mythic origins as identity marker, of romans •mythic origins as identity marker, legendary ancestors Found in books: Gruen (2020) 76, 78, 93, 104 | 5.2.2. The Tyrrheni have now received from the Romans the surname of Etrusci and Tusci. The Greeks thus named them from Tyrrhenus the son of Atys, as they say, who sent hither a colony from Lydia. Atys, who was one of the descendants of Hercules and Omphale, and had two sons, in a time of famine and scarcity determined by lot that Lydus should remain in the country, but that Tyrrhenus, with the greater part of the people, should depart. Arriving here, he named the country after himself, Tyrrhenia, and founded twelve cities, having appointed as their governor Tarcon, from whom the city of Tarquinia [received its name], and who, on account of the sagacity which he had displayed from childhood, was feigned to have been born with hoary hair. Placed originally under one authority, they became flourishing; but it seems that in after-times, their confederation being broken up and each city separated, they yielded to the violence of the neighbouring tribes. Otherwise they would never have abandoned a fertile country for a life of piracy on the sea. roving from one ocean to another; since, when united they were able not only to repel those who assailed them, but to act on the offensive, and undertake long campaigns. After the foundation of Rome, Demaratus arrived here, bringing with him people from Corinth. He was received at Tarquinia, where he had a son, named Lucumo, by a woman of that country. Lucumo becoming the friend of Ancus Marcius, king of the Romans, succeeded him on the throne, and assumed the name of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus. Both he and his father did much for the embellishment of Tyrrhenia, the one by means of the numerous artists who had followed him from their native country; the other having the resources of Rome. It is said that the triumphal costume of the consuls, as well as that of the other magistrates, was introduced from the Tarquinii, with the fasces, axes, trumpets, sacrifices, divination, and music employed by the Romans in their public ceremonies. His son, the second Tarquin, named Superbus, who was driven from his throne, was the last king [of Rome ]. Porsena, king of Clusium, a city of Tyrrhenia, endeavoured to replace him on the throne by force of arms, but not being able he made peace with the Romans, and departed in a friendly way, with honour and loaded with gifts. 5.3.1. The Sabini occupy a narrow country, its length from the Tiber and the small city of Nomentum to the Vestini being 1000 stadia. They have but few cities, and these have suffered severely in their continual wars [with the Romans]. Such are Amiternum and Reate, which is near to the village of Interocrea and the cold waters at Cotyliae, which are taken by patients, both as drink and as baths, for the cure of various maladies. The rocks of Foruli, likewise, belong to the Sabini; fitted rather for rebellion than peaceable habitation. Cures is now a small village, although formerly a famous city: whence came Titus Tatius and Numa Pompilius, kings of Rome. From this place is derived the name of Quirites, which the orators give to the Romans when they address the people. Trebula, Eretum, and other similar places, must be looked upon rather as villages than cities. The whole land [of Sabina] is singularly fertile in olive-trees and vines, it produces also many acorns, and besides has excellent cattle: the mules bred at Reate are much celebrated. In one word, the whole of Italy is rich both in cattle and vegetable productions; although certain articles may be finer in some districts than in others. The race of the Sabini is extremely ancient, they are Autochthones. The Picentini and Samnitae descend from them, as do the Leucani from these latter, and the Bruttii again from these. A proof of their antiquity may be found in the bravery and valour which they have maintained till the present time. Fabius, the historian, says that the Romans first knew what wealth was when they became masters of this nation. The Via Salaria, which however does not extend far, runs through their country: the Via Nomentana, which commences likewise at the Porta Collina, falls in with the Via Salaria near to Eretum, a village of Sabina lying above the Tiber. 5.3.3. However, there also exists another more ancient and mythical account, to the effect that Rome was an Arcadian colony planted by Evander. He entertained Hercules when driving the oxen of Geryon, and being informed by his mother Nicostrata, (who was skilled in the art of prophecy,) that when Hercules should have completed his labours it was fore-ordained that he should be enrolled amongst the gods; he informed him of the matter, consecrated to him a grove, and offered sacrifice to him after the Grecian mode; a sacrifice which is continued in honour of Hercules to this day. The Roman historian Coelius is of opinion that this is a proof that Rome is a Grecian colony, the sacrifice to Hercules after the Grecian mode having been brought over from their fatherland. The Romans also worship the mother of Evander under the name of Carmentis, considering her one of the nymphs. |
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| 24. Quintus Cicero, Commentariolum Petitionis, 54 Tagged with subjects: •mythic origins as identity marker, legendary ancestors Found in books: Gruen (2020) 104 |
| 26. Alcimus, In Festus, None Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Gruen (2020) 93 |
| 30. Velleius Paterculus, Roman History, 2.15.1 Tagged with subjects: •mythic origins as identity marker, of italian communities Found in books: Gruen (2020) 111 |
31. Vergil, Aeneis, 3.94-3.96, 3.167-3.171, 7.205-7.211, 7.240-7.242, 8.505-8.506 Tagged with subjects: •mythic origins as identity marker, of italian communities Found in books: Gruen (2020) 93 | 3.94. in cypress dark and purple pall of woe. 3.95. Our Ilian women wailed with loosened hair; 3.96. new milk was sprinkled from a foaming cup, 3.167. the brazen Corybantic cymbals clang, 3.168. or sacred silence guards her mystery, 3.169. and lions yoked her royal chariot draw. 3.170. Up, then, and follow the behests divine! 3.171. Pour offering to the winds, and point your keels 7.205. course with swift steeds, or steer through dusty cloud 7.206. the whirling chariot, or stretch stout bows, 7.207. or hurl the seasoned javelin, or strive 7.208. in boxing-bout and foot-race: one of these 7.209. made haste on horseback to the aged King, 7.210. with tidings of a stranger company 7.211. in foreign garb approaching. The good King 7.240. girt in scant shift, and bearing on his left 7.241. the sacred oval shield, appeared enthroned 7.242. Picus, breaker of horses, whom his bride, 8.505. and oft to see Aeneas burdened sore 8.506. I could but weep. But now by will of Jove |
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| 32. Florus Lucius Annaeus, Epitome Bellorum Omnium Annorum Dcc, 2.6.1 Tagged with subjects: •mythic origins as identity marker, of romans Found in books: Gruen (2020) 73 |
