John Malalas, Chronography

of the west, that is of Italy, with four-horse chariots, that is with the earth and the sea and the fire and the air. and Rhomos assigned names to these same four elements: to the earth the Green faction, which is the verdant, and to the sea, that is to the waters, the Blue faction, as it is dark blue, and to fire the Red faction, as it is red 176, and to the air the White faction, as it is white; and from there the four factions were devised in Rome. And he called the Green faction, which in the Roman tongue is the abiding, for *praesenteuein* is the word for to remain, because the verdant earth always stands with its groves. And he called the Blue (*Veneton*) from there being under Rome a great province, a land called Venetia, whose metropolis is Aquileia, and from there come the dark blue things, that is the Venetian dyes for clothing. And he attached to the Green faction, that is to the earth, the white, he says, the air, inasmuch as it both rains and serves and is suited to the earth; and to the Blue faction, that is to the waters, he attached, having mixed it in, the Red faction, that is fire, inasmuch as water extinguishes fire, as being subject to it. And thereafter those who inhabited Rome were divided into the factions, and they were no longer of one mind with each other because they henceforth loved their own victory and laid claim to their own faction, as if to some religion. And a great schism arose in Rome, and the factions in Rome had a great enmity towards one another, after Rhomos devised for them the spectacle of the hippodrome. And whenever Rhomos saw in any faction the people or senators who were aggrieved and resisting him because of the death of his brother or for any other reason whatsoever, he seemed 177 to support the other faction, and he had them well-disposed and opposing the purpose of his enemies. From that time on, the kings of Rome after him also used the same rule. And in the reign of the same Rhomos, his army became very large and imported, and there was a multitude of wild men in Rome, and there were not women for the multitudes of men. And the troops of young men desired the pleasure of life; and they began to assault the women in the marketplace, and there arose a disturbance and a civil war. And Rhomos was disheartened, at a loss as to what to do; for none of the women would tolerate mixing with the soldiers, as they were wild and barbarian. And he proclaimed a law that the soldiers should take for marriage maidens, whom he called Brutidae; and no one chose to give them his own daughter, but they said that they had no hope of life from day to day because of the wars, but all were joining their own daughters in marriage to the men of the city. And Rhomos, being disheartened, went to the oracle; and an oracle was given to him to hold a spectacle of the hippodrome for the women, so that the army might take wives for itself. And having gathered the multitude of the army in the palace, he held a hippodrome event, commanding only women to watch the horse-race. And as some strange spectacle was about to take place, from all the surrounding country and from the faraway cities and villages, multitudes of women came into the city 178 of Rome, and they filled up the hippodrome, married women and younger maidens; and there came also the daughters of the so-called Sabines, a country being near Rome, comely women. And Rhomos, having given secret orders for no married woman who was a Roman citizen to watch, and having commanded his own army not to dare to touch a married woman, but to seize the maidens and those who did not have husbands and were alone, went up into the hippodrome and watched. And while the horse-race was being held, the army, being released from the palace, rushed into the hippodrome, and from the stands they dragged off the maiden women and those who did not have husbands; and they took wives for themselves. And Rhomos did this to happen once for all;

δύσεως, ἤτοι τῆς Ἰταλίας, ἅρμασι τετραπώλοις, τοῦτ' ἐστὶ τῇ γῇ καὶ τῇ θαλάσσῃ καὶ τῷ πυρὶ καὶ τῷ ἀέρι. καὶ ἐπέθηκεν ὁ Ῥῶμος τοῖς αὐτοῖς τέτρασι στοιχείοις τὰ ὀνόματα, τῇ γῇ τὸ Πράσινον μέρος, ὅ ἐστι τὸ χλοῶδες, τῇ δὲ θαλάσσῃ, ὅ ἐστι τοῖς ὕδασιν, τὸ Βένετον μέρος, ὡς κυανόν, τῷ δὲ πυρὶ τὸ Ῥούσιον μέρος, ὡς ἐρυ 176 θρόν, τῷ δὲ ἀέρι τὸ Ἄλβον μέρος, ὡς λευκόν· κἀκεῖθεν ἐπενοήθη τὰ τέσσαρα μέρη ἐν Ῥώμῃ. ἐκάλεσε δὲ τὸ Πράσινον μέρος, ὅ ἐστι ῥωμαϊστὶ τὸ ἐμπαράμονον, πραισεντεύειν γὰρ λέγεται τὸ παραμένειν, διότι ἡ χλοώδης γῆ διὰ παντὸς ἵσταται σὺν τοῖς ἄλσεσι. τὸ δὲ Βένετον ἐκάλεσεν ἐκ τοῦ εἶναι ὑπὸ τὴν Ῥώμην ἐπαρχίαν μεγάλην χώραν λεγομένην Βενετζίαν, ἧστινος μητρόπολίς ἐστιν Ἀκυληία, κἀκεῖθεν ἐξέρχεται τὰ κυανά, τοῦτ' ἐστὶ τὰ Βενέτζια βάμματα τῶν ἱματίων. καὶ προσεκόλλησε τῷ Πρασίνῳ μέρει, ὅ ἐστι τῇ γῇ, τὸ λευκόν, φησί, τὸν ἀέρα, καθότι καὶ βρέχει καὶ ὑπουργεῖ καὶ ἁρμόττει τῇ γῇ· καὶ τῷ Βενέτῳ μέρει, ὅ ἐστι τοῖς ὕδασι, προσεκόλλησε συμμίξας τὸ Ῥούσιον μέρος, ὅ ἐστι τὸ πῦρ, καθότι σβέννυσι τὸ ὕδωρ τὸ πῦρ, ὡς ὑποτεταγμένον αὐτῷ. καὶ λοιπὸν οἱ τὴν Ῥώμην οἰκοῦντες διεμερίσθησαν εἰς τὰ μέρη, καὶ οὐκέτι ὡμονόησαν πρὸς ἀλλήλους διὰ τὸ ἐρᾶν λοιπὸν τῆς ἰδίας νίκης καὶ ἀντιποιεῖσθαι τοῦ ἰδίου μέρους, ὥσπερ θρησκείας τινός. καὶ ἐγένετο μέγα σχίσμα ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ, καὶ μεγάλην ἔχθραν εἶχον πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ τὰ μέρη, ἀφότε ἐπενόησεν αὐτοῖς τὴν τοῦ ἱππικοῦ θέαν ὁ Ῥῶμος. καὶ ὅτε ἐν οἱῳδήποτε μέρει εἶδεν ὁ Ῥῶμος φιλοῦντας τοὺς λελυπημένους καὶ ἀνθισταμένους αὐτῷ δήμους ἢ συγκλητικοὺς διὰ τὸν θάνατον τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ ἢ δι' ἄλλην αἰτίαν οἱανδήποτε, ἐδό 177 κει ἀντέχεσθαι τοῦ ἄλλου μέρους, καὶ εἶχεν αὐτοὺς εὐμενεῖς καὶ ἐναντιουμένους τῷ σκοπῷ τῶν ἐναντίων αὐτοῦ. ἐξ ἐκείνου καὶ οἱ μετ' αὐτὸν βασιλεῖς τῆς Ῥώμης τῷ αὐτῷ κανόνι ἐχρήσαντο. Ἐν δὲ τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ αὐτοῦ Ῥώμου ὁ στρατὸς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο πολὺς ἐπείσακτος, καὶ πλῆθος ἦν ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ τῶν ἀγρίων ἀνθρώπων, καὶ οὐκ ἦσαν πρὸς τὰ πλήθη τῶν ἀνδρῶν γυναῖκες. καὶ ἐπεθύμουν τῆς τοῦ βίου ἡδονῆς τὰ τῶν νεανιῶν στρατεύματα· καὶ ἐπήρχοντο κατὰ τὴν ἀγορὰν ταῖς γυναιξί, καὶ ἐγένετο ταραχὴ καὶ ἐμφύλιος πόλεμος. καὶ ἠθύμει ὁ Ῥῶμος, ἀμηχανῶν τί πράξει· οὐδεμία γὰρ ἠνείχετο τῶν γυναικῶν καταμῖξαι τοῖς στρατιώταις, ὡς ἀγρίοις καὶ βαρβάροις. καὶ ἐξεφώνησε νόμον ὥστε λαμβάνειν τοὺς στρατιώτας πρὸς γάμον παρθένους, ἃς ἐκάλεσε Βρυτίδας· καὶ οὐδεὶς εἵλετο δοῦναι αὐτοῖς τὴν ἰδίαν θυγατέρα, ἀλλ' ἔλεγον ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτοῖς καθ' ἑκάστην ἐλπὶς ζωῆς διὰ τοὺς πολέμους, ἀλλὰ πάντες τοῖς τῆς πόλεως ἐζεύγνυον τὰς ἑαυτῶν θυγατέρας. καὶ ἀθυμῶν ὁ Ῥῶμος ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὸ μαντεῖον· καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ χρησμὸς ὥστε ἐπιτελέσαι ταῖς γυναιξὶ θέαν ἱππικοῦ, ἵνα ἀγάγηται ἑαυτῷ ὁ στρατὸς γυναῖκας. καὶ συνάξας τὸ πλῆθος τοῦ στρατοῦ ἐν τῷ παλατίῳ ἐπετέλεσεν ἱππικόν, κελεύσας μόνον γυναῖκας θεωρῆσαι τὸ ἱπποδρόμιον. καὶ ὡς παραξένου τινὸς θέας μελλούσης γίνεσθαι, ἀπὸ πάσης τῆς περιχώρου καὶ τῶν πόῤῥωθεν πόλεων καὶ κωμῶν ἦλθον ἐν τῇ πό 178 λει Ῥώμῃ πλήθη γυναικῶν, καὶ ἀνεπλήρωσαν τὸ ἱππικὸν γυναῖκες ὕπανδροι καὶ νεώτεραι παρθένοι· ἦλθον δὲ καὶ αἱ θυγατέρες τῶν λεγομένων Σαβίνων, χώρας πλησίον τῆς Ῥώμης οὔσης, γυναῖκες εὐπρεπεῖς. καὶ δοὺς ὁ Ῥῶμος μανδᾶτα λάθρᾳ γυναῖκα ὕπανδρον οὖσαν Ῥωμαίαν πολίτιδα μὴ θεωρῆσαι, κελεύσας καὶ ἰδίῳ στρατῷ ὥστε ὑπάνδρου γυναικὸς μὴ τολμῆσαι ἅψασθαι, ἀλλὰ τὰς παρθένους ἁρπάσαι καὶ τὰς μὴ ἐχούσας ἄνδρας καὶ μόνας, ἀνελθὼν ἐν τῷ ἱππικῷ ὁ Ῥῶμος ἐθεώρει. καὶ ἐν τῷ ἐπιτελεῖσθαι τὸ ἱπποδρόμιον ἀπολυθεὶς ὁ στρατὸς ἐκ τοῦ παλατίου ὥρμησαν ἐν τῷ ἱππικῷ, καὶ ἐκ τῶν βάθρων ἀνέσπασαν τὰς παρθένους γυναῖκας καὶ τὰς μὴ ἐχούσας ἄνδρας· καὶ ἔλαβον ἑαυτοῖς γυναῖκας. τοῦτο δὲ πρὸς ἅπαξ ἐποίησεν ὁ Ῥῶμος γενέσθαι·