(1) P. Claudiō Pulchrō L. Iūniō cōnsulibus Claudius contrā auspicia pūgnāvit et ā Carthāginiēnsibus victus est. Nam ex ducentīs et vīgintī nāvibus cum trīgintā fūgit, nōnāgintā cum pūgnātōribus captae sunt, dēmersae cēterae.
(2) Alius quoque cōnsul naufragiō classem āmīsit, exercitum tamen salvum habuit, quia vīcīna lītora erant.
notes
Publius Claudius Defeated Near Drepana, 249 BCE
(1) P. Claudiō Pulchrō L. Iūniō cōnsulibus: ablative absolute with form of esse assumed (AG 419.a). In 249 BCE Claudius Pulcher attacked Drepana and was thoroughly defeated by the Punic commander, Adherbal. According to Polybius (Hist. 1.51), thirty Roman ships escaped, ninety-three were captured. The other Roman consul, L. Junius Pullus, was forced by the Carthaginians to anchor his fleet near Cape Passaro where a storm, which the Carthaginians had foreseen, destroyed it. Nevertheless the consul managed to save most of his men and subsequently seized the town of Eryx (Bird).
contrā auspicia: Roman military expeditions carried with them sacred chickens which were observed by official diviners called augurs. If the chickens ate in such a way that they dropped some food from their mouths it was considered a favorable omen. Other signs (auspices), usually from birds, were also used by the augurs (Bird). According to Suetonius,
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While on campaign in Sicily, Claudius Pulcher received the ill omen that the sacred chickens would not eat. In a display of sacrilege, he drowned them in the sea, saying that if they weren't hungry, perhaps they would drink instead. Engaging in a naval battle, he was defeated; and when he was ordered by the senate to appoint a dictator, he named his messenger Glycias, making a joke of the country's dire situation. (Div. Tib. 2.1.2, Trans. Kristin Masters)
dēmersae: supply sunt
cēterae: supply nāvēs
(2) Alius: In classical Latin alter would have been used. L. Junius is meant (Hazzard).
vocabulary
Core Vocabulary | Numbers | Dates
| P. |
abbreviation of the praenomen or nomen Publius |
| Claudius, ī, m. |
the name of one of the oldest and most famous of the Roman gentes. (1.) Claudius I. Tib. Claudius Drusus Nero, Roman emperor, 41–54 A.D.; (2) Claudius II., M. Aurelius Claudius Gothicus, Roman emperor, 268–270 A.D. |
| Iūnius, ī, m. | the name of a Roman gens |
| auspicium, ī [avis + speciō], n. |
divination by watching the flight, or noting the cries, of birds; an omen; auspices |
| Carthāginiēnsis, e, adj. |
Carthaginian; as subst., Carthāginiēnsēs, ium, pl. m., the Carthaginians |
| pūgnātor, ōris, m. | a fighter, combatant |
| dēmergō, ere, mersī, mersus | to sink |
| naufragium, ī [nāvis + frangō], n. | shipwreck, ruin |