Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/297

 MARSr. by their neighbours and kinsfolk the Peligni, ]Iar- riicini, and Vestini, as well as by the Samnites, Frentani, and Lucanians. (Appian, B. C. i. 39; Liv. £/)(Mxxii.; Ores. v. 18.) During the military operations that followed, imperfect as is our informa- tion concerning them, we may clearly discern that the allies formed two principal groups; the one composed of the Marsi, with their immediate neigh- bours already mentioned, as well as the Picentes, and probably the Frentani; the other of the Samnites, with the Lucanians, Apulians, and some of the Campanians. The Marsi appear to have stood, by common consent, at the head of the former section ; and hence we frequently find their name alone men- tioned, where it is clear that their confederates also fought by their side. At the first outbreak of the war (b. c. 91), they laid siege to AJba Fucensis, a Roman colony and a strong fortress (Liv. Eint. Ixxii.), which appears to have at first defied all their efforts. But the Roman consul P. Rutilius, who was sent against them, proved unequal to the task. One division of his army, under Perpenna, was cut to pieces at the outset of the campaign; and somewhat later the consul himself was defeated and slain by the allied forces under Vettius Cato. (Appian, B. C. i. 43; Liv. Epit. Ixxiii.; Oros. v. 18.) C. Marius, who was acting as legate to Rutilius, is said to have retrieved this disaster; and afterwards, in conjunc- tion with Sulla, achieved a decisive victory over the Marsi, in which it is said that the allies lost 6000 men, and the leader or praetor of the Marnicini, Herius Asinius, was slain. But notwithstanding this advantage, it appears that JIarius himself was unable to keep the field, and was almost blockaded in his camp by Pompaedius Silo; and when at length he ventured on a third battle, it had no decisive result. Meanwhile, his colleague in the command, Q. Caepio, was totally defeated and cut to pieces with his whole army by the Marsi ; while an advantage gained by Ser. Sulpicius over the Peligni appears to have led to no important result. (Liv. Epit. Ixxiii. Ixxiv. ; Appian B. C. i. 46; Plut. Mar. 33; Oros. v. 18.) The next campaign (b. c. 89) proved at first scarcely more favourable to the Roman arms; for though the consul L. Porcius Cato obtained some successes over the Marsi and their allies, he was himself slain in a battle near the lake Fucinus. (Appian, B. C. i. 50; Oros. v. 18.) But it is probable that the policy adopted by the Romans in admitting to the franchise all those of the allies who were willing to submit had a great tendency to disarm the confederates, as well as to introduce dissensions among them; and this cause, combined with the successful operations of the consul Cn. Pompeius Strabo and his lieutenant Sulpicius, cflfected the submission of the MaiTucini, Vestiui, and Peligni before the close of the year. The Marsi for a time still held out, though single-handed ; but repeated defeats at length compelled them also to sue for peace. (Liv. Epit. Ixxvi.; Oros. v. 18.) Notwithstanding their obstinate resistance, they were admitted to favourable terms, and received, in common with the rest of the Italians, the full rights of Roman citizens. From this time the Marsi as a nation disappear from history, and became merged in the common condition of the ItaUans. They however, still re- tained much of their national character, and their existence as a separate tribe is acknowledged by many Roman writers, both of the Republic, and Emiiire. lu the civil war between Caesar and MARSL 281 Pompey they appear to have been at first favourably disposed to the latter; and the twenty cohorts with which Domitius occupied Corfinium were principally raised among the Marsi and Peligni, or their imme- diate neighbours. (Caes. B. C. i. 1 5, 20.) In like manner, the Marsi are mentioned as declaring them- selves, as a people, in favour of Vespasian during the civil war between him and Vitellius. (Tac. Jlisf. iii. 59.) In the days of Cicero, the Marsi and Peligni, as well as the Sabines, were comprised in the Sergian tribe (Cic. m Vatin. 15; Schol. Bob. «(Z foe); and at a later period all three were included in the Fourth Region of Augustus, which, according to Pliny, was composed of the bravest nations of all Italy. (Plin. iii. 12. s. 17.) In the later division of the Empire, the territory of the Marsi (Marsorum regio) was included in the province named Valeria. (P. Diac. ii. 20; Lib. Col. p. 229.) It appears to have early formed a separate ecclesiastical diocese ; and in the middle ages the bishop of Marruviu.n bore the title of " Episcopus Marsorum," which is still retained bythe bishops of Pesc!Mrt,towhich place the see has been transferred. (Bingham's Eccle- siastical Antiquities, book ix. ch. 5. § 3.) The dis- trict comprised within it is still familiarly called "the land of the Marsi," and the noble Roman family of Colonna bears the title of Counts of the Marsi. (K. Craven's Abruzzi, vol. i. p. 144.) The Marsi appear to have been always celebrated in ancient times, even beyond their hardy and war- like neighbours, for their valour and spirit in war. Virgil adduces them as the first and most prominent example of the "genus acre virum" which Italy was able to produce : and Horace alludes to the " Marsic cohorts" as an almost proverbial expression for the bravest troops in the Roman army. (Viig. Georg. ii. 167 ; Hor. Carm. ii. 20. 18, iii. 5. 9.) Appian also tells us that a proverbial saying was current at tlu time of the outbreak of the Social War, that no tri- umph had ever been gained over the Marsi or luith- out the Marsi (Appian, B. C. i. 46). The historical accuracy of this saying will not bear examinatior, but it sufficiently proves the high character they hid earned as Roman auxiliaries. In common with tie Sabines and other mountain tribes, they retained dovm to a late period their rustic and frugal habits ; aid are cited by the Roman poets as e.xamples of prini- tive simplicity. (Juv. iii. 169, xiv. 180.) But the most remarkable characteristic of the Marsians was their peculiar skill in magical charns and incantations, — especially in charming venomms reptiles, so as to render them innoxious. This pover, which they were said to have derived from their in- cestress Circe, or from the local divinity Angtia, who was described as her sisier, was not confinel to a few individuals, though the priests appear to lave principally exercised it, but, according to Silius Ita- licus, was possessed by the whole body of the naiun. (Virg. Aen. vii. 750—758 ; Sil. Ital. viii. 495— )01 ; Plin. vii. 2, xxi. 13. s. 2.5, xxviii. 3. s. 6 ; Soliii. 2. §27; Cell. xvi. II; Lamprid. JIdioyah. 23.^ It is worthy of notice that the inhabitants of thcK! re- gions still pretend to possess the same occult powers as their ancestors : and are often seen as wan';erers in the streets of Naples carrying boxes full of ser- pents of various sizes and colours, against the bites of which they profess to charm both theinselvts and the spectators. (Craven's ^i™s2*, vol. i. p. 145.) The physical characters of the land of the Marsi have been already described under the article of the lake Fucinus ; the basin of which, surrounded on