Strabo 5, 4, 2 C 241

 

Editor: F.Russo

Text:

Ὑπὲρ δὲ τῆς Πικεντίνης Οὐηστῖνοί τε καὶ Μαρσοὶ καὶ Πελίγνοι καὶ Μαρρουκῖνοι καὶ Φρεντανοί, Σαυνιτικὸν ἔθνος, τὴν ὀρεινὴν κατέχουσιν, ἐφαπτόμενοι μικρὰ τῆς θαλάττης. ἔστι δὲ τὰ ἔθνη ταῦτα μικρὰ μὲν, ἀνδρικώτατα δὲ καὶ πολλάκις τὴν ἀρετὴν ταύτην ἐπιδεδειγμένα Ῥωμαίοις, πρῶτον μὲν, ἡνίκα ἐπολέμουν· δεύτερον δέ, ὅτε συνεστράτευον· τρίτον δ᾽ ὅτε δεόμενοι τυχεῖν ἐλευθερίας καὶ πολιτείας μὴ τυγχάνοντες ἀπέστησαν καὶ τὸν Μαρσικὸν καλούμενον ἐξῆψαν πόλεμον, Κορφίνιον, τὴν τῶν Πελίγνων μητρόπολιν, κοινὴν ἅπασι τοῖς Ἰταλιώταις ἀποδείξαντες πόλιν ἀντὶ τῆς Ῥώμης, ὁρμητήριον τοῦ πολέμου, μετονομασθεῖσαν Ἰταλικήν, καὶ ἐνταῦθα δὴ τοὺς συνεπομένους ἀθροίσαντες καὶ χειροτονήσαντες ὑπάτους καὶ στρατηγούς· δύο δ᾽ ἔτη συνέμειναν ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ, μέχρι διεπράξαντο τὴν κοινωνίαν περὶ ἧς ἐπολέμουν. Μαρσικὸν δὲ ὠνόμασαν τὸν πόλεμον ἀπὸ τῶν ἀρξάντων τῆς ἀποστάσεως, καὶ μάλιστα ἀπὸ Πομπαιδίου.
(MEINEKE 1877)

Translation: “Beyond the Picentine territory are the Vestini, the Marsi, the Peligni, the Marrucini, and the Frentani, a Samnitic tribe; they live among the mountains and their territory touch upon the sea for only short stretches. These people are small but very courageous and have often shown this virtue to the Romans: first, when they waged war against them, a second time, when they fought as their allies, and a third time when, demanding liberty and citizen rights without getting them, they revolted and declared the so-called ‘Marsic War’; they proclaimed Corfinium, the metropolis of the Peligni, the common city for all the Italians instead of Rome, they made it their base of the war operations and changed its name to ‘Italica’; there they gathered all their followers and elected consuls and praetors. And they persisted in the war for two years, until they achieved the communion [of rights] for which they went to war. They named the war ‘Marsic’ after the people who began the revolt, Pompaedius in particular”. (F.Russo)

Dating: 91 BC

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