The Rise of Rome (Penguin Classics)

  14. It was during the fourth month after the founding of the city, according to Fabius, that the Romans audaciously carried off some of the Sabine women. Some authorities say that this event took place because Romulus was, owing to his very nature, disposed to warfare and because he had come to believe, on account of certain oracles, that Rome was destined to be increased and made great by war, until she became the greatest of all cities. Consequently, he initiated hostilities against the Sabines. This is why so few maidens were seized by the Romans – only thirty in fact – because Romulus wanted war instead of marriages. But this is improbable. Instead, because he observed that his city was quickly becoming filled with newcomers, few of whom had wives and most of whom amounted to a contemptible rabble of poor and obscure men unlikely ever to form themselves into a unified and strong society, Romulus devised this injury in the hope that it might, once the Romans had won the affections of the women they carried away, lead to some sort of confederation and community with the Sabines. And so he undertook this exploit in the following way.54

  He began by spreading a report that he had discovered, hidden under the earth, an altar of a certain god, whom they called Consus. He is either a god of counsel, for consilium is the Latin word for counsel and the Romans call their chief magistrates consuls55 (which means counsellors), or he is Poseidon the god of horses,56 for his altar is located in the Circus Maximus, where it remains hidden, except during horse races, when it is uncovered. Some, however, make the simple assertion that, inasmuch as counsel is given secretly and in private, it is perfectly reasonable for an altar to the god of counsel to remain hidden. In any case, when the altar was discovered, Romulus announced a splendid sacrifice and a public festival to honour the occasion, with contests and spectacles. The event attracted a great throng of celebrants, and Romulus, wearing a purple cloak and seated with his chief men, presided over the festival. A signal had been devised for marking the right moment to seize the women. Romulus would rise to his feet, fold a part of his cloak and twist it behind him. Many of the Romans were armed and were watching Romulus closely. Once the signal was given, they drew their swords and rushed forward with a great cry. They carried off the daughters of the Sabines, but allowed the men to escape and offered no pursuit. Some sources report that only thirty women were seized, and that the curiae were named after them.57 Valerius Antias, however, says that 527 women were taken, while Juba puts the number at 683, all of them virgins.58 This latter fact was Romulus’ best defence of his actions, for the Romans captured only one married woman, Hersilia, and she was taken in error, for the Romans did not seize these women in order to violate them or to do them an injustice but rather to unite and affiliate Romans and Sabines through the most compelling of all bonds. As for Hersilia, according to some accounts she was given in marriage to Hostilius,59 one of the most distinguished men in Rome. In others, however, she was given to Romulus himself60 and bore him children: a daughter named Prima, from the order of her birth, and only one son, whom Romulus named Aollius on account of the large number of citizens whom he ruled. Later he was called Avillius. This information, however, is taken from Zenodotus61 of Troezen, and there are many authorities who contradict him.

  15. The story is told that, among those who were carrying off the Sabine women, there happened to be some men of mean status who were dragging along a maiden who far excelled the others in beauty and stature. When some men of higher rank appeared and attempted to take her away, they cried out that they were taking the girl to Talasius, a young man who was already distinguished for his merit. The other party, when they heard this, registered their approval with shouts and applause. Some of them, motivated by goodwill and a desire to please Talasius, went so far as to follow along, crying out his name. This is why, down to the present day, the Romans shout talasius at weddings, just as Greeks cry hymenaeus, for the story goes that Talasius was very fortunate in his wife.62

  Sextius Sulla of Carthage,63 however, a man of deep culture and elegance, told me that Romulus supplied this name as the watchword for seizing the Sabine women, and so all those who carried the maidens off cried out talasius and this is the reason for the custom that prevails at weddings. But most authorities, and Juba is one of them, believe the cry is an exhortation and an encouragement to industry – especially to spinning wool, the Greek word for which is talasia,64 for in those days Greek words had not been entirely supplanted by Italian ones. Now if this is correct and the Romans did, in those days, use the word talasia as we do, then a more believable explanation of this custom can be conjectured. When the Sabines, after their war against the Romans, agreed to be reconciled with them, it was stipulated that the Romans’ Sabine wives should undertake no other task for their husbands apart from those associated with spinning. Thereafter it became customary at weddings for those who gave the bride away or accompanied her to her new home or simply were present on the occasion to cry out talasius playfully, in this way attesting that the woman was being led away to perform no other service than spinning wool. Even today, after all, it remains the custom that no Roman bride steps across the threshold of her new home but instead is lifted up and carried in, because long ago the Sabine women were carried into their new homes by force and did not enter voluntarily. Some writers add that the custom of parting a bride’s hair with the head of a spear symbolizes how the first Roman marriages involved fighting and warfare. These are subjects I have commented on more fully in my Roman Questions.65 In any case, the seizing of the Sabine women took place on the eighteenth day of the month that was once called Sextilis but is now called August, on which day the festival known as the Consualia is celebrated.66

  16. The Sabines were a numerous and belligerent nation who lived in unwalled villages, for they thought it only fitting that, being Lacedaemonian colonists, they remain proud and fearless.67 Nevertheless they were now impeded from fighting on account of the precious hostages held by the Romans, for they were afraid for their daughters. Consequently, they sent ambassadors to Romulus with fair and moderate proposals: he should restore the maidens, make amends for his violent action, and then, through customary diplomacy, establish a friendly alliance between the two peoples. But Romulus would not return the women and instead demanded that the Sabines accept a union with the Romans. In reaction to this, the Sabines applied themselves to long deliberations and extensive preparations for going to war – with the exception of Acron, the king of Caenina,68 a bold man who was skilled in warfare. From the beginning he had been suspicious of Romulus’ daring acts, and what happened to the women made him certain that Romulus was now a threat to everyone and would remain intolerable if he were not punished.69 Therefore he went to war, advancing against Romulus with a great army. Romulus marched out to meet him. After they came within sight of one another and each had taken the other’s measure, the two men accepted one another’s challenge to single combat, while their armies stood by under arms. Romulus then made a vow that, if he should vanquish and slay his adversary, he would carry the man’s armour to Rome, where he would dedicate it to Jupiter. And Romulus did defeat Acron and slay him, after which he routed his army in battle and captured his city as well. He did no harm to the captured Sabines beyond ordering them to destroy their homes and follow him to Rome, where they would become citizens with rights equal to those of all other Romans. And it is this more than anything else that has made Rome great: Rome always annexes and incorporates the peoples whom she conquers.70

  Romulus now considered carefully how he might fulfil his vow in a manner most pleasing to Jupiter and with a spectacle that would delight the citizens of Rome. Accordingly, he cut down a gigantic oak tree growing in the camp, fashioned it into the shape of a trophy71 and fastened to it all of Acron’s armour, each piece in its proper position. He then donned a special garment72 and wreathed himself in laurel, after which he lifted the trophy onto his right shoulder, where he held it erect, and set forth, leading a paean of victory which was sung by his army as it followed him under arms.
This procession was welcomed by the citizens with joy and wonder, and it is the origin and model for all subsequent Roman triumphs.73 The trophy was consecrated as a dedication to Jupiter Feretrius,74 for the Latin word ferire means to smite, and Romulus had prayed to smite his enemy and to slay him. Varro claims that these spoils are called opima because opes is the Latin word for wealth. A more plausible explanation of the expression would derive it from the valiant deed involved, for opus is the Latin word for an exploit, and it is only a general who has slain an enemy general with his own hand who is permitted to dedicate the spolia opima.

  Only three Roman generals have achieved this distinction. Romulus was the first, for slaying Acron the king of Caenina. After him came Cornelius Cossus,75 who slew Tolumnius the Etruscan. And finally Claudius Marcellus, who vanquished Britomartus,76 who was king of the Gauls. Now Cossus and Marcellus each entered the city in a chariot driven by four horses, although both of them carried their own trophies. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, however, is incorrect when he reports that Romulus employed a chariot,77 for historians agree that Tarquinius,78 the son of Demaratus, was the first of the kings to elevate the triumph to such a pitch of pomp and magnificence, although other authorities name Publicola as the first man who celebrated a triumph in a chariot.79 In any case, one can inspect the statues in Rome that depict Romulus bearing his trophy. Each of them represents him on foot.

  17. After the city of the Caeninenses had been taken and while the rest of the Sabines continued making their preparations for war, the inhabitants of Fidenae, Crustumerium and Antemnae80 joined their forces against the Romans. They, too, were defeated in the ensuing battle. They surrendered their cities for destruction, their lands to be divided and themselves to be transferred to Rome. Romulus distributed among his citizens all the lands that were taken, except for any property belonging to fathers of the maidens who had been carried off, which he allowed the owners to keep for themselves.

  These events so angered the rest of the Sabines that they appointed Tatius81 their general and marched on Rome. Now the city was securely protected by a steep fortress, which today is the Capitol, on which the Romans stationed a garrison whose captain was named Tarpeius – not a maiden named Tarpeia, as some sources report, thereby making Romulus seem foolish. Instead, Tarpeia was a daughter of this captain of the guard and it was she who betrayed the place to the Sabines because she coveted the golden bracelets which they wore on their left arms. Indeed, she demanded what they wore on their left arms as the price for her treachery. Tatius agreed to this, whereupon she opened one of the city’s gates during the night and allowed the Sabines to enter. Antigonus,82 I suppose, is not the only man who has said that, whereas he loved men who were willing to betray their side to him, he hated the men who actually did so. Caesar, too, in speaking of Rhoemetalces83 the Thracian, said that he loved treachery but loathed a traitor. And this is the general feeling held against wicked men by those who require their services. Just as they need certain savage beasts in order to exploit their poisonous bile, so they welcome such people only as long as they are useful, but, after getting what they want from them, despise their wickedness. This is exactly how Tatius felt about Tarpeia when he gave the order to the Sabines, in observance of their agreement, not to deny her anything which they wore on their left arms. He acted first, removing from his arm not only his bracelet but also his shield, both of which he threw at her. His soldiers did the same, and the girl, struck by the gold bracelets and buried beneath the shields, perished owing to their quantity and weight. Tarpeius was also condemned for treason, after he was prosecuted by Romulus. This is the account of Sulpicius Galba,84 as reported by Juba.

  There are other traditions about Tarpeia, none of them credible, alleging that she was the daughter of Tatius, the leader of the Sabines, and that, because she had been forced to live with Romulus, she acted as she did and was punished by her own father. Antigonus85 is one of these authors. And the poet Simylus86 is simply talking nonsense when he writes that Tarpeia betrayed the Capitol not to the Sabines but to the Gauls, because she was in love with their king. This is how he puts it:

  Tarpeia, who dwelt hard by the steep Capitoline,

  Ushered in destruction for the walls of Rome;

  In her desire for the marriage bed of a Celtic chief87

  She betrayed the homes of her fathers.

  And, somewhat later in his poem, he writes of her death:

  In their exultation, neither the Boii nor the myriad Celtic

  tribes,

  Did cast her into the streams of the Po;

  But they hurled upon the hated maiden shields from

  their warlike arms,

  And with their ornaments they slew her.

  18. In any event, Tarpeia was buried on the Capitol and the place was called the Tarpeian Hill until King Tarquinius,88 who consecrated it to Jupiter and removed her remains, after which time the name was forgotten, except for the cliff on the Capitol that is still called the Tarpeian Rock, from which the Romans throw evildoers.89

  When he discovered that the citadel had been occupied by the Sabines, Romulus angrily challenged them to fight, and Tatius boldly accepted, since he knew that, should they suffer a defeat, the Sabines had a secure refuge. The space between them, where the battle was to be fought, was restricted by many hills, which meant that, owing to the difficulty of the terrain, their battle would be bitter and hard for both armies, for there was little room for flight or pursuit. Only a few days before this, moreover, the river had overflowed and had left in the plain where the forum now is a deep but indistinct layer of mud. This hazard, mucky underneath its surface and so very dangerous, was at once hard to detect and hard to avoid. The Sabines, completely unaware of it, were rushing towards this very place when they were saved by a stroke of good fortune. Curtius, a distinguished man who was bold and eager for fame, galloped far ahead of the rest, only for his horse to become mired in the mud. For some time he tried, both with his whip and with cries of encouragement, to goad his horse to free itself, but when this failed he abandoned his horse and saved himself. On account of this episode, the place is to this day called the Lake of Curtius.90

  Because of this, the Sabines avoided the hazard. Still, though they fought staunchly, the battle remained undecided. Indeed, many fell, including Hostilius, who, some report, was the husband of Hersilia and who was the grandfather of Hostilius, the king who succeeded Numa.91 As the battle raged, there were many struggles within a short time, as one would expect. The most memorable of these was the final one, when Romulus was struck on the head with a stone and nearly fell to the ground, unable to fight on against the Sabines. At that the Romans gave way and retreated in flight towards the Palatine, since they had been ejected from the plain. Soon, however, Romulus recovered from the blow and sought to recall his fleeing troops, and so he cried out in a great voice that they should stand firm and fight. But all around him was panic, and not a single man had the boldness to turn and do battle. Romulus then raised his hands to heaven and prayed that Jupiter stay the army and not allow the Roman cause to fall but lift it up instead. No sooner had he completed his prayer than the Romans were overcome by reverence for their king and the fugitives’ fear was replaced by courage. The place where they first made their stand is now the site of the temple of Jupiter Stator, an epithet which one could interpret as Stayer.92 The Romans then closed their ranks and drove the Sabines back to the place where the Regia and the temple of Vesta93 now stand.

  19. There, as both sides were preparing to renew their struggle, they were transfixed by a sight that was strange to behold – a spectacle beyond all description. For they saw the daughters of the Sabines, the women who had been carried off by the Romans, rushing in from all directions, amid cries and lamentations. Like women divinely possessed, they charged past armed men and corpses to find their husbands and fathers. Some of them bore infants in their arms; others covered their faces in dishevelled hair; all of them called, with tender names, now upo
n the Sabines, now upon the Romans. Both armies were deeply affected, and they drew apart so the women could come between their battle-lines. All began to weep, and a profound degree of pity was stirred by the sight of these women and still more by their words, which passed from just and candid upbraiding to supplication and entreaty.