Roman Scandinavia - Primary Sources
Strabo (English)
Strabo, Geography
1.4.2-5, 2.1.18, 2.4.1-2, 2.5.8, 2.5.26, 2.5.43, 4.5.5, 7.1.1-3, 7.2.1-4;
From LCL
I. (1) Now that I have described
Iberia and the Celtic and Italian tribes, along with the islands near
by, it will be next in order to speak of the remaining parts of Europe,
dividing them in the approved manner. The remaining parts are: first,
those towards the east, being those which are across the Rhenus and extend
as far as the Tanaïs and the mouth of Lake Maeotis, and also all
those regions lying between the Adrias and the regions on the left of
the Pontic Sea that are shut off by the Ister and extend towards the south
as far as Greece and the Propontis; for this river divides very nearly
the whole of the aforesaid land into two parts. It is the largest of the
European rivers, at the outset flowing towards the south and then turning
straight from the west towards the east and the Pontus. It rises in the
western limits of Germany, as also near the recess of the Adriatic (at
a distance from it of about one thousand stadia), and comes to an end
at the Pontus not very far from the outlets of the Tyras and the Borysthenes,
bending from its easterly course approximately towards the north. Now
the parts that are beyond the Rhenus and Celtica are to the north of the
Ister; these are the territories of the Galatic and the Germanic tribes,
extending as far as the Bastarnians and the Tyregetans and the River Borysthenes.
And the territories of all the tribes between this river and the Tanaïs
and the mouth of Lake Maeotis extend up into the interior as far as the
ocean and are washed by the Pontic Sea. But both the Illyrian and the
Thracian tribes, and all tribes of the Celtic or other peoples that are
mingled with these, as far as Greece, are to the south of the Ister. But
let me first describe the parts outside the Ister, for they are much simpler
than those on the other side.
(2) Now the parts beyond the Rhenus, immediately after the country of
the Celti, slope towards the east and are occupied by the Germans, who,
though they vary slightly from the Celtic stock in that they are wilder,
taller, and have yellower hair, are in all other respects similar, for
in build, habits, and modes of life they are such as I have said the Celti
are. And I also think that it was for this reason that the Romans assigned
to them the name "Germani," as though they wished to indicate thereby
that they were "genuine" Galatae, for in the language of the Romans "germani"
means "genuine."
(3) The first parts of this country are those that are next to the Rhenus,
beginning at its source and extending a far as its outlet; and this stretch
of river-land taken as a whole is approximately the breadth of the country
on its western side. Some of the tribes of this river-land were transferred
by the Romans to Celtica, whereas the others anticipated the Romans by
migrating deep into the country, for instance, the Marsi; and only a few
people, including a part of the Sugambri, are left. After the people who
live along the river come the other tribes that live between the Rhenus
and the River Albis, and traverses no less territory than the former.
Between the two are other navigable rivers also (among them the Amasias,
on which Drusus won a naval victory over the Bructeri), which likewise
flow from the south towards the north and the ocean; for the country is
elevated towards the south and forms a mountain chain that connects with
the Alps and extends towards the east as though it were a part of the
Alps; and in truth some declare that they actually are a part of the Alps,
both because of their aforesaid position and of the fact that they produce
the same timber; however, the country in this region does not rise to
a sufficient height for that. Here, too, is the Hercynian Forest, and
also the tribes of the Suevi, some of which dwell inside the forest, as,
for instance, the tribes of the Coldui, in whose territory is Boihaemum,
the domain of Marabodus, the place whither he caused to migrate, not only
several other peoples, but in particular the Marcomanni, his fellow-tribesmen;
for after his return from Rome this man, who before had been only a private
citizen, was placed in charge of the affairs of state, for, as a youth
he had been at Rome and had enjoyed the favor of Augustus, and on his
return he took the rulership and acquired, in addition to the peoples
aforementioned, the Lugii (a large tribe), the Zumi, the Butones, the
Mugilones, the Sibini, and also the Semnones, a large tribe of the Suevi
themselves. However, while some of the tribes of the Suevi dwell inside
the forest, as I was saying, others dwell outside of it, and have a common
boundary with the Getae. Now as for the tribe of the Suevi, it is the
largest, for it extends from the Rhenus to the Albis; and a part of them
even dwell on the far side of the Albis, as, for instance, the Hermondori
and the Langobardi; and at the present time these latter, at least, have,
to the last man, been driven in flight out of their country into the land
on the far side of the river. It is a common characteristic of all the
peoples in this part of the world that they migrate with ease, because
of the meagerness of their livelihood and because they do not till the
soil or even store up food, but live in small huts that are merely temporary
structures; and they live for the most part off their flocks, as the Nomads
do, so that, in imitation of the Nomads, they load their household belong
on their wagons and with their beasts turn whithersoever they think best.
But other German tribes are still more indigent. I mean the Cherusci,
the Chatti, the Gamabrivii and the Chattuarii, and also, near the ocean,
the Sugambri, the Chaubi, the Bructeri, and the Cimbri, and also the Cauci,
the Calci, the Campsiani, and several others. Both the Visurgis and the
Lupias Rivers run in the same direction as the Amasias, the Lupias being
about six hundred stadia distant from the Rhenus and flowing through the
country of the Lesser Bructeri. Germany has also the Salas River; and
it was between the Salas and the Rhenus that Drusus Germanicus, while
he was successfully carrying on the war, came to his end. He had subjugated,
not only most of the tribes, but also the islands along the coast, among
which is Burchanis, which he took by siege.
II. (1) As for the Cimbri,
some things that are told about them are incorrect and others are extremely
improbable. For instance, one could not accept such a reason for their
having become a wandering and piratical folk as this--that while they
were dwelling on a Peninsula they were driven out of their habitations
by a great flood-tide; for in fact they still hold the country which they
held in earlier times; and they sent as a present to Augustus the most
sacred kettle in their country, with a plea for his friendship and for
an amnesty of their earlier offences, and when their petition was granted
they set sail for home; and it is ridiculous to suppose that they departed
from their homes because they were incensed on account of a phenomenon
that is natural and eternal, occurring twice every day. And the assertion
that an excessive flood-tide once occurred looks like a fabrication, for
when the ocean is affected in this way it is subject to increases and
diminutions, but these are regulated and periodical. And the man who said
that the Cimbri took up arms against the flood-tides was not right, either;
nor yet the statement that the Celti, as a training in the virtue of fearlessness,
meekly abide the destruction of their homes by the tides and then rebuild
them, and that they suffer a greater loss of life as the result of water
than of war, as Ephorus says. Indeed, the regularity of the flood-tides
and the fact that the part of the country subject to inundations was known
should have precluded such absurdities; for since this phenomenon occurs
twice every day, it is of course improbable that the Cimbri did not so
much as once perceive that the reflux was natural and harmless, and that
it occurred, not in their country alone, but in every country that was
on the ocean. Neither is Cleitarchus right; for he says that the horsemen,
on seeing the onset of the sea, rode away, and though in full flight came
very near being cut off by the water. Now we know, in the first place,
that the invasion of the tide does not rush on with such speed as that,
but that the sea advances imperceptibly; and, secondly, that what takes
place daily and is audible to all who are about to draw near it, even
before they behold it, would not have been likely to prompt in them such
terror that they would take to flight, as if it had occurred unexpectedly.
(2) Poseidonius is right in censuring the historians for these assertions,
and his conjecture is not a bad one, that the Cimbri, being a piratical
and wandering folk, made an expedition even as far as the region of Lake
Maeotis, and that also the "Cimmerian" Bosporus was named after them,
being equivalent to "Cimbrian," the Greeks naming the Cimbri "Cimmerii."
And he goes off to say that in earlier times the Boii dwelt in the Hercynian
Forest, and that the Cimbri made a sally against this place, but on being
repulsed by the Boii, went down to the Ister and the country of the Scordiscan
Galatae, then to the country of the Teuristae and Taurisci (these, too,
Galatae), and then to the country of the Helvetii--men rich in gold but
peaceable; however, when the Helvetii saw that the wealth which the Cimbri
had got from their robberies surpassed that of their own country, they,
and particularly their tribes of Tigyreni and of Toygeni, were so excited
that they sallied forth with the Cimbri. All, however, were subdued by
the Romans, both the Cimbri themselves and those who had joined their
expeditions, in part after they had crossed the Alps into Italy and in
part while still on the other side of the Alps.
(3) Writers report a custom of the Cimbri to this effect: Their wives,
who would accompany them on their expeditions, were attended by priestesses
who were seers; these were grey-haired, clad in white, with flaxen cloaks
fastened on with clasps, girt with girdles of bronze, and bare-footed;
now sword in hand these priestesses would meet with the prisoners of war
throughout the camp, and having first crowned them with wreaths would
lead them to a brazen vessel of about twenty amphorae; and they had a
raised platform which the priestess would mount, and then, bending over
the kettle, would cut the throat of each prisoner after he had been lifted
up; and from the blood that poured forth into the vessel some of the priestesses
would draw a prophecy, while still others would split open the body and
from an inspection of the entrails would utter a prophecy of victory for
their own people; and during the battles they would beat on the hides
that were stretched over the wicker-bodies of the wagons and in this way
produce an unearthly noise.
(4) Of the Germans, as I have said, those towards the north extend along
the ocean; and beginning at the outlets of the Rhenus, they are known
as far as the Albis; and of these the best known are the Sugambri and
the Cimbri; but those parts of the country beyond the Albis that are near
the ocean are wholly unknown to us. For of the men of earlier times I
know of no one who has made this voyage along the coast to the eastern
parts that extend as far as the mouth of the Caspian Sea; and the Romans
have not yet advanced into the parts that are beyond the Albis; and likewise
no one has made the journey by land either. However, it is clear from
the "climata" and the parallel distances that if one travels longitudinally
towards the east, one encounters the regions that are about the Borysthenes
and that are to the north of the Pontus; but what is beyond Germany and
what beyond the countries which are next after Germany--whether one should
say the Bastarnae, as most writers suspect, or say that others lie in
between, either the Iazyges, or the Roxolani, or certain other of the
wagon-dwellers --it is not easy to say; nor yet whether they extend as
far as the ocean along its entire length, or whether any part is uninhabitable
by reason of the cold or other cause, or whether even a different race
of people, succeeding the Germans, is situated between the sea and the
eastern Germans. And this same ignorance prevails also in regard to the
rest of the peoples that come next in order on the north; for I know neither
the Bastarnae, nor the Sauromatae, nor, in a word, any of the peoples
who dwell above the Pontus, nor how far distant they are from the Atlantic
Sea, nor whether their countries border upon it.
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