[14,2] Ἀθήνῃσι μὲν ἐν τοῦ γηγενοῦς Ἐρεχθέως τῷ σηκῷ ἱερά τις ὑπ´ Ἀθηνᾶς φυτευθεῖσα ἐλαία κατὰ τὴν ἔριν τὴν γενομένην αὐτῇ πρὸς Ποσειδῶνα περὶ τῆς χώρας, ἅμα τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῖς ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ οὖσιν ἐμπρησθεῖσα ὑπὸ τῶν βαρβάρων, ὅτε τῆς ἀκροπόλεως ἐκράτησαν, δευτέρᾳ τῆς ἐμπρήσεως ἡμέρᾳ βλαστὸν ἐκ τοῦ στελέχους ἀνῆκεν ὅσον τε πηχυαῖον, δῆλον ἅπασι ποιῆσαι βουλομένων τῶν θεῶν, ὅτι ταχέως ἑαυτὴν ἡ πόλις ἀναλαβοῦσα βλαστοὺς ἀντὶ τῶν παλαιῶν ἐξοίσει νέους. Ἐν δὲ τῇ Ῥώμῃ καλιάς τις Ἄρεος ἱερὰ περὶ τὴν κορυφὴν ἱδρυμένη τοῦ Παλατίου συγκαταφλεγεῖσα ταῖς πέριξ οἰκίαις ἕως ἐδάφους, ἀνακαθαιρομένων τῶν οἰκοπέδων ἕνεκα τῆς ἐπισκευῆς, ἐν μέσῃ τῇ περικαύστῳ σποδῷ τὸ σύμβολον τοῦ συνοικισμοῦ τῆς πόλεως διέσωσεν ἀπαθές, ῥόπαλον ἐκ θατέρου τῶν ἄκρων ἐπικάμπιον, οἷα φέρουσι βουκόλοι καὶ νομεῖς οἱ μὲν καλαύροπας, οἱ δὲ λαγωβόλα καλοῦντες, ᾧ Ῥωμύλος ὀρνιθευόμενος διέγραφε τῶν οἰωνῶν τὰς χώρας, ὅτε τὴν πόλιν οἰκίζειν ἔμελλεν. Εὐζώνῳ καὶ οὐδὲν ἔξω τῶν ὅπλων φερούσῃ στρατιᾷ. Κρότου καταρραγέντος, ὡς ἐπὶ μεγίστῳ μὲν θεάματι, καλλίστῳ δ´ ἀκούσματι, οἵ τε βεβαίως ἄποροι καὶ οἱ πλαττόμενοι τὴν εἰς τὸ παντελὲς ἀπορίαν.

[14,2] At Athens, in the shrine of earth-born Erechtheus, an olive tree, planted by Athena at the time of her strife with Poseidon for the possession of the land, having been burned together with the other objects in the sanctuary by the barbarians when they captured the Acropolis, sent up from its stock a shoot (p263) about a cubit in length the day after the fire, the gods wishing to make it mag to all that the city would quickly recover itself and send up new shoots in place of the old. 2 In Rome likewise a sacred hut of Mars, built near the summit of the Palatine, was burned to the ground together with the houses round about; but when the area was being cleared for the purpose of restoring the buildings, it preserved unharmed in the midst of the surrounding ashes the symbol of the settlement of the city, a staff curved at one end, like those carried by herdsmen and shepherds, which some call kalauropes and others lagobola. With this staff Romulus, on the occasion of taking the auspices when he was intending to found the city, marked out the regions for the omens. 3 With an army of light troops carrying nothing but their arms. Applause having burst forth, as if at something most magnificent to behold and most glorious to hear, both those who were genuinely perplexed and those who feigned extreme perplexity - - -.