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53-686: The usage, by ancient writers, in regard to national appellations is very vague and fluctuating, perhaps in no instance more so than in the case of the Ausones or Ausonians. Originally "Aurunci" was the appellation given by the Romans to the people called "Ausones" by the Greeks: Indeed, the two names are merely different forms of the same, as around the 4th century BCE, Latin medial "s" (at this point representing [z]) shifted to “r” (pronounced [r]). (Aurunci = Auronici = Auruni = Ausuni). The identity of

106-627: A few years afterwards the success of the Samnites at Lautulae induced them to rebel, their three remaining towns were easily reduced by the Roman consuls, and their inhabitants put to the sword. On this occasion Livy tells us that "the Ausonian nation was destroyed"; it is certain that its name does not again appear in history, and is only noticed by Pliny among the extinct races which had formerly inhabited Latium. According to different classical sources

159-461: A former prostitute . According to Plutarch, lupa (Latin for "wolf") was a common term for members of her profession and this gave rise to the she-wolf legend. The twins receive a proper education in the city of Gabii , before eventually winning control of the area around where Rome would be founded. Dispute over the particular hill upon which Rome should be built, the Palatine Hill or

212-457: A little later he tells us that they had three cities, Ausona, Minturnae, and Vescia, all of which seem to have been situated in the plains bordering on the Liris , not far from its outlet. At this period they were certainly an inconsiderable tribe, and were able to offer but little resistance to the Romans. Their city of Cales was captured, and soon after occupied by a Roman colony, 333 BC; and though

265-447: A personal bodyguard of 300 of the strongest and fittest among the nobles were also established: the latter, the celeres , were so-named either for their quickness, or, according to Valerius Antias , for their commander. A separation of power and measures to increase manpower were also instituted, as were Rome's religious customs and practices, and a variety of legal measures praised by Dionysius. Again, Dionysius thoroughly describes

318-413: A sign of the approval of the gods. He prayed and witnessed an auspicious lightning bolt, after which he declared that no king shall take the throne without receiving approval from the gods. Dionysus then provided a detailed account of the 'Romulus' constitution, most probably based on the work of Terentius Varro . Romulus supposedly divides Rome into 3 tribes , each with a Tribune in charge. Each tribe

371-508: A source for their material. The works of Appian , Plutarch and Livy all describe similar people and events of Early Rome as Dionysius. In the preamble to Book I, Dionysius states that the Greek people lack basic information on Roman history, a deficiency he hopes to fix with the present work. Because his prime objective was to reconcile the Greeks to Roman rule, Dionysius focused on

424-616: A source text by an earlier author. It shows marked similarities with Quintilian 's view of imitation, and both may derive from a common source. Dionysius' concept marked a significant departure from the concept of mimesis formulated by Aristotle in the 4th century BC, which was only concerned with "imitation of nature" and not "imitation of other authors." Latin orators and rhetoricians adopted Dionysius' method of imitatio and discarded Aristotle's mimesis . Dionysius carried out extensive research for his Roman history, selecting among authorities, and preserving (for example) details of

477-509: Is a comparatively short commentary, attributed to Servius in the superscription in the manuscripts and by other internal evidence. The second class derive from the 10th and 11th centuries, embed the same text in a much expanded commentary. The copious additions are in contrasting style to the original; none of these manuscripts bears Servius' name, and the commentary is known traditionally as Servius auctus or Servius Danielis , from Pierre Daniel who first published it in 1600. "The added matter

530-520: Is originally connected with the same root as Oscus or Opicus. The first Greek settlers found Italy inhabited by three major populations: Ausones, Oenotrians and Iapyges . The Ausones spoke an Indo-European language. The core of the Ausonian people lived in a territory termed Ausonia: during the 8th century BC it included what is now southern Lazio and Campania until the Sele river. In one passage Livy speaks of Cales as their chief city; but

583-484: Is undoubtedly ancient, dating from a time but little removed from that of Servius, and is founded to a large extent on historical and antiquarian literature which is now lost. The writer is anonymous and probably a Christian", although one proposed author, Aelius Donatus , was a Christian. A third class of manuscripts, written for the most part in Italy, includes the core text with interpolated scholia , which demonstrate

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636-567: The Aeolian Islands are occupied by a group of Ausones brought there by the legendary Liparus. According to a legend Liparus is succeeded by Aeolus whose house, according to Homer , gave hospitality to Ulysses . This continuous occupation may have been interrupted violently when during the late 9th century BC the Ausonian civilisation site, Lipara , on the island of Lipari was burned and apparently not rebuilt. Around 1270 BC part of

689-475: The Aventine Hill for its strategic advantages saw the brothers fall out and Remus killed. When the time came to actually construct the city of Rome, the two brothers disputed over the particular hill upon which Rome should be built, Romulus favoring the Palatine Hill and Remus favoring what later came to be known as Remoria (possibly the Aventine Hill ). Eventually, the two deferred their decision to

742-491: The Servian Census . His first two books present a unified account of the supposed Greek origin for Rome, merging a variety of sources into a firm narrative: his success, however, was at the expense of concealing the primitive Roman actuality (as revealed by archaeology). Along with Livy , Dionysius is thus one of the primary sources for the accounts of the Roman foundation myth, and that of Romulus and Remus , and

795-591: The Ausones ". Polybius , on the contrary, regarded the two nations as different, and spoke of Campania as inhabited by the Ausonians and Opicans. This does not necessarily prove that they were really distinct, as some authors mention the Opicans and Oscans as if they were two different nations when they are clearly the same. However, the use of "Ausones" as identical with that of the Opicans may simply be due to

848-538: The Ausones relocated from Campania to Sicily . The excavations on Lipari have revealed an assemblage which shares many features with those of contemporary Southern Italy (in its Subapennine-Protovillanovan phases). This insular culture has been named as Ausonian I (1250/1200–1150 BC) and II (1150–850 BC) and associated with the Pantalica I and II ( Cassibile ) phases in Sicily (See Luigi Bernabò Brea ). Cales , in

901-685: The Ausones were also settled in Calabria . The Ausones allied with the Samnites against the Romans . The main Ausonian cities of Ausona , Minturnae , Vescia and Sinuessa , according to Livy were destroyed. According to a legend told by Diodorus Siculus , the king of the Ausones was Auson , son of Ulysses and Circe (or Calypso ). The son of Auson was Liparus , from whence the Lipari Islands derive their name. From 1240 to 850 BC

954-719: The Grammarian ( Latin : Servius or Seruius Grammaticus ), was a late fourth-century and early fifth-century grammarian . He earned a contemporary reputation as the most learned man of his generation in Italy ; he authored a set of commentaries on the works of Virgil . These works, In Tria Virgilii Opera Expositio ("Exposition on Three Works of Virgil"), Commentarii in Virgilium ("Commentaries on Virgil"), Commentarii in Vergilii Opera ("Commentaries on

1007-677: The Romans), known subsequently as the Tyrrhenian Sea , was in early ages commonly termed by the Greeks the Ausonian Sea. Other accounts, however, represent them as originally an inland people, dwelling in the mountains about Beneventum . Scymnus Chius also writes of them as occupying an inland region; and Strabo states that they had occupied the mountain tract above the Pontine marshes, and in Roman history only with Volscians . On

1060-609: The Works of Vergil"), or Vergilii Carmina Commentarii ("Commentaries on the Poems of Virgil"), constituted the first incunable to be printed at Florence , by Bernardo Cennini , in 1471. In the Saturnalia of Macrobius , Servius appears as one of the interlocutors; allusions in that work and a letter from Symmachus to Servius indicate that he was not a convert to Christianity. The name Servius also appears as Seruius owing to

1113-719: The adjective "Ausontan" both to the country and people, apparently as equivalent to "Italian"; for he includes under the appellation, Arpi in Apulia , Agylla in Etruria , the neighbourhood of Cumae in Campania, and the banks of the Crathis in Lucania. Apollonius Rhodius , a little later, seems to use the name of Ausonia precisely in the sense in which it is employed by Dionysius Periegetes and other Greek poets of later times (for

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1166-409: The arrival of the Greeks. The use of the name of Ausonia for the whole Italian peninsula was merely poetical, at least it is not found in any extant prose writer; and Dionysius indicates that it was used by the Greeks in very early times, associates it with Hesperia and Saturnia , both of them obviously poetical appellations. Lycophron , though he does not use the name of Ausonia, repeatedly applies

1219-482: The commune of Calvi Risorta ( province of Caserta , Campania ), of which remains has been found, has been identified as an Ausonian city. In the park of Roccamonfina remains of a polygonal line of walls belonging to the Ausonian civilization have been discovered. "In multis verbis, in quo antiqui dicebant s, postea dicunt r... foedesum foederum, plusima plurima, meliosem meliorem, asenam arenam." Maurus Servius Honoratus Servius , distinguished as Servius

1272-532: The continued usefulness of the Virgilii Opera Expositio . Besides the Virgilian commentary, other works of Servius are extant: a collection of notes on the grammar ( Ars grammatica ) of Aelius Donatus; a treatise on metrical endings in verse ( De finalibus ); and a tract on the different poetic meters ( De centum metris ). The edition of Georg Thilo and Hermann Hagen (1878–1902), remains

1325-517: The daughter of King Latinus of the Original Latin tribes , thus linking Rome to Trojans and Latins both. Dionysius lays out the different accounts of her pregnancy and the twins' conception, but declines to choose one over the others. Citing Fabius , Cincius , Porcius Cato , and Piso , Dionysius recounts the most common tale, whereby the twins are to be tossed into the Tiber ; are left at

1378-525: The end of the festival, Romulus and the young men seized all the virgins at the festival and planned to marry them according to their customs. In his narrative, however, the cities of Caecina , Crustumerium , and Antemnae petition for Tatius , king of the Sabines to lead them to war; and it is only after the famous intervention of the Sabine women that the nations agreed to become a single kingdom under

1431-519: The fact "Ausones" was used as a vague term for all inhabitants of the Italian peninsula, as stated above. Indeed, it is probable that the Greeks frequently applied the name with little regard to accuracy, and may have included races widely different under the common appellation of Ausonians, but it is impossible to account for this vague and general use of the name, unless the people to whom it referred shared many attributes and formed an important part of

1484-480: The famous abducting of the Sabine women and suggesting thereby that the abduction was a pretext for alliance with the Sabines . Romulus wished to cement relations with neighboring cities through intermarriage, but none of them found the fledgling city of Rome worthy of their daughters. To overcome this, Romulus arranged a festival in honor of Neptune (the Consualia ) and invited the surrounding cities to attend. At

1537-493: The first nine have survived. Dionysius' opinion of the necessity of a promotion of paideia within education, from true knowledge of classical sources , endured for centuries in a form integral to the identity of the Greek elite. He was a Halicarnassian . At some time after the end of the civil wars he moved to Rome , and spent twenty-two years studying Latin and literature and preparing materials for his history. During this period, he gave lessons in rhetoric , and enjoyed

1590-407: The gods at the advice of their grandfather. Using the birds as omens , the two brothers decided "he to whom the more favourable birds first appeared should rule the colony and be its leader." Since Remus saw nine vultures first, he claimed that the gods chose him and Romulus claimed that since he saw a greater (the "more favorable") number of vultures, the gods chose him. Unable to reach a conclusion,

1643-477: The good qualities of their conquerors, and also argued that – based on sources ancient in his own time – the Romans were genuine descendants of the older Greeks. According to him, history is philosophy teaching by examples, and this idea he has carried out from the point of view of a Greek rhetorician. But he carefully consulted the best authorities, and his work and that of Livy are the only connected and detailed extant accounts of early Roman history. Dionysius

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1696-459: The joint rule of Romulus and Tatius, both declared Quirites . After the death of Tatius, however, Romulus became more dictatorial, until he met his end, either through actions divine or earthly. One tale tells of a "darkness" that took Romulus from his war camp to his father in heaven. Another source claims that Romulus was killed by his Roman countrymen after releasing hostages, showing favoritism, and excessive cruelty in his punishments. It

1749-472: The later period of the fourth century BC, that the Romans came to distinguish the two names as applying to two separate political tribes of the same race. Evidently two parts of one people, both dwelling on the frontiers of Latium and Campania . For more details on this see Aurunci . It is possible the Ausonians may have also been identical with the Oscans (Opicans), as they were occasionally referred to by

1802-543: The latter. Wives could inherit upon their husband's death. A wife's adultery was a serious crime, however, drunkenness could be a mitigating factor in determining the appropriate punishment. Because of Romulus' laws, Dionysius claims that not a single Roman couple divorced over the following five centuries. Romulus' laws governing parental rights, in particular, those that allow fathers to maintain power over their adult children were also considered an improvement over those of others; while Dionysius further approved of how, under

1855-446: The laws of Romulus, native-born free Romans were limited to two forms of employment: farming and the army. All other occupations were filled by slaves or non-Roman labor. Romulus used the trappings of his office to encourage compliance with the law. His court was imposing and filled with loyal soldiers and he was always accompanied by the 12 lictors appointed to be his attendants. Following his institutional account, Dionysus described

1908-416: The laws of other nations before contrasting the approach of Romulus and lauding his work. The Roman law governing marriage is, according to his Antiquities , an elegant yet simple improvement over that of other nations, most of which he harshly derides. By declaring that wives would share equally in the possessions and conduct of their husband, Romulus promoted virtue in the former and deterred mistreatment by

1961-548: The mythical period to the beginning of the First Punic War in twenty books, of which the first nine remain extant while the remaining books only exist as fragments, in the excerpts of the Roman emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus and an epitome discovered by Angelo Mai in a Milan manuscript. Dionysius is the first major historian of early Roman history whose work is now extant. Several other ancient historians who wrote of this period, almost certainly used Dionysius as

2014-739: The only edition of the whole of Servius' work. Currently in development is the Harvard Servius ( Servianorum in Vergilii Carmina Commentariorum: Editionis Harvardianae ); of the projected five volumes, two have so far appeared: ii (Aeneid 1–2), 1946, and iii (Aeneid 3–5), 1965. Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus ( Ancient Greek : Διονύσιος Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἁλικαρνασσεύς , Dionúsios Alexándrou Halikarnasseús , ''Dionysios (son of Alexandros) of Halikarnassos''; c.   60 BC – after 7 BC)

2067-409: The populace. He assembled the people and gave them the choice as to what type of government they wanted - monarchy, democracy, or oligarchy - for its constitution. After his address, which extolled bravery in war abroad and moderation at home, and in which Romulus denied any need to remain in power, the people decided to remain a kingdom and asked him to remain its king. Before accepting he looked for

2120-466: The population of central Italy. The precise relation in which they were considered as having to the Opicans or Oscans it is impossible to determine, nor perhaps were the ideas of the Greeks themselves about this very clear and definite. The passages already cited prove that they were considered as occupying the western coast of Campania, on which account the Lower Sea ( Mare Inferum , as it was termed by

2173-430: The same name. Aristotle expressly states that the part of Italy towards Tyrrhenia was inhabited by the Opicans, "who were called, both formerly and in his time, by the additional name of Ausones". Antiochus of Syracuse stated, that Campania was at first occupied by the Opicans, "who were also called Ausonians". Hecataeus also seems to have had the same opinion as Antiochus, as he termed Nola in Campania "a city of

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2226-512: The site of the ficus Ruminalis ; and rescued by a she-wolf who nurses them in front of her lair (the Lupercal ) before being adopted by Faustulus . Dionysius relates an alternate, "non-fantastical" version of Romulus and Remus' birth, survival and youth. In this version, Numitor managed to switch the twins at birth with two other infants. The twins were delivered by their grandfather to Faustulus to be fostered by him and his wife, Laurentia,

2279-416: The society of many distinguished men. The date of his death is unknown. In the 19th century, it was commonly supposed that he was the ancestor of Aelius Dionysius of Halicarnassus . His major work, entitled Roman Antiquities ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Ῥωμαϊκὴ Ἀρχαιολογία , Rhōmaikē Archaiologia ), frequently abbreviated Ant. Rom. ( Latin : Antiquitates Romanae ), narrates the history of Rome from

2332-554: The southern parts of the peninsula; though other authors certainly confounded them. Hellanicus of Lesbos according to Dionysius of Halicarnassus wrote of the Ausonians as crossing over into Sicily under their king Siculus, where the people meant are clearly the Siculi. Again, Strabo wrote of Temesa as founded by the Ausones, where he must probably mean the Oenotrians, the only people whom we know of as inhabiting these regions before

2385-435: The two brothers and their followers fought, ultimately resulting in the death of Remus. After his brother's death, a saddened Romulus buried Remus at the site of Remoria, giving the location its namesake. Before the actual construction of the city began, Romulus made sacrifices and received good omens, and he then ordered the populace to ritually atone for their guilt. The city's fortifications were first and then housing for

2438-591: The two is distinctly asserted by Servius , and clearly implied by Cassius Dio , where he says that the name of Ausonia was properly applied only to the land of the Auruncans, between the Volscians and the Campanians . Nevertheless, it does not appear that the name "Aurunci" was ever employed by the Romans in the vague and extensive sense in which that of "Ausones" was used by the Greeks. Further, it seems, by

2491-696: The unity of the Latin letters V and U from antiquity until as late as the 18th century. Many medieval manuscripts of Servius's commentaries give him the praenomen Marius or Maurus and the cognomen Honoratus . The authenticity of these names—shared by Christian saints—is now doubted. The commentary on Virgil 's Aeneid — In Vergilii Aeneidem Commentarii , In Aeneida , Commentarii in Vergilii Aeneidem , In Vergilii Aeneidos Libros I–III Commentarii , or Ad Aen. —survives in two distinct manuscript traditions. The first

2544-469: The whole Italian peninsula). It was probably only adopted by the Alexandrian writers as a poetical equivalent for Italia, a name which is not found in any poets of that period. From them the name of Ausonia was adopted by the Roman poets in the same sense, and at a later period became not uncommon even in prose writers. The etymology of the name of Ausones is uncertain; but it seems not improbable that it

2597-511: The whole, it is probable that the name was applied with little discrimination to all the native races who, prior to the invasion of the Samnites , occupied Campania and the inland mountainous region afterwards known as Samnium , and from thence came to be gradually applied to all the inhabitants of central Italy. But they seem to have been regarded by the best authorities as distinct from the Oenotrians , or Pelasgic nations, which inhabited

2650-406: Was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric , who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus . His literary style was atticistic – imitating Classical Attic Greek in its prime. He is known for his work Rhōmaikē Archaiologia (Roman Antiquities), which describes the history of Rome from its beginnings until the outbreak of the First Punic War in 264 BCE. Out of twenty books, only

2703-435: Was also the author of several rhetorical treatises, in which he shows that he had thoroughly studied the best Attic models: The last two treatises are supplemented by letters to Gn. Pompeius and Ammaeus (two, one of which is about Thucydides). Dionysian imitatio is the literary method of imitation as formulated by Dionysius, who conceived it as the rhetorical practice of emulating, adapting, reworking, and enriching

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2756-501: Was divided into 10 Curia , and each of those into smaller units. He divided the kingdom's land holdings between them, and Dionysus alone among our authorities insists that this was done in equal lots. The Patrician class was separated from the Plebeian class; while each curiae was responsible for providing soldiers in the event of war. A system of patronage ( clientela ), a senate (attributed by Dionysius to Greek influence) and

2809-508: Was relied on in the later publications of Plutarch , for example. He writes extensively on the myth, sometimes attributing direct quotations to its figures. The myth spans the first 2 volumes of his Roman Antiquities , beginning with Book I chapter 73 and concluding in Book II chapter 56. Dionysius claims that the twins, Romulus and Remus, were born to a vestal named Ilia Silvia (sometimes called Rea), descended from Aeneas of Troy and

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