In this same year, being the three hundred and sixty and fourth from the
building of the City, came ambassadors from Clusium asking help of the
Romans against the Gauls. Now some men say that these Gauls crossed the
Alps and took to themselves the lands which the Etrurians had before
possessed, being drawn by the delightsomeness of the things grown
therein, especially of wine, a pleasure before unknown to them. And they
say also that wine was brought into Gaul by one Aruns of Clusium for the
sake of avenging himself upon a certain Lucumo who had taken from him
his wife, this Lucumo being a prince in his country, whom there was no
hope that he could punish unless he should get help in some such way
from foreigners. However this may be, it is certain that the Gauls
crossed the Alps before this time by many years, and that they fought
many battles with the Etrurians. First, in the days of King Tarquinius
the Elder, one Ambigatus that was king of the Celts, who inhabited the
third part of Gaul, sent his sister's sons to seek out for themselves
new kingdoms, of whom one was directed by the oracle to go towards
Germany, and the other by a far more pleasant way to Italy. These then
having come to the Alps wondered how they might pass them, the top of
them seeming to be joined to the sky. And while they doubted there came
tidings how certain others, strangers like to themselves, and that had
come seeking lands wherein to dwell, were attacked by the natives of the
Salyi. (These strangers were the inhabitants of Phocaea, that had fled
from their town when it was besieged by Cyrus king of Persia.) Having
helped the Phocaeans to build a city, they themselves climbed over the
Alps, and, descending on the other side, put to flight the Etrurians
near the river Ticinus, and formed a city called Mediolanum.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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