Strabon Book 7

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εἰρηκόσι δ' ἡμῖν περὶ τῆς Ἰβηρίας καὶ τῶν Κελτικῶν ἐθνῶν καὶ τῶν Ἰταλικῶν σὺν ταῖς πλησίον νήσοις ἐφεξῆς ἂν εἴη λέγειν τὰ λειπόμενα τῆς Εὐρώπης μέρη, διελοῦσι τὸν ἐνδεχόμενον τρόπον. λείπεται δὲ τὰ πρὸς ἕω μὲν τὰ πέραν τοῦ Ῥήνου μέχρι τοῦ Τανάιδος καὶ τοῦ στόματος τῆς Μαιώτιδος λίμνης, καὶ ὅσα μεταξὺ τοῦ Ἀδρίου καὶ τῶν ἀριστερῶν τῆς Ποντικῆς θαλάττης μερῶν ἀπολαμβάνει πρὸς νότον μέχρι τῆς Ἑλλάδος καὶ τῆς Προποντίδος ὁ Ἴστρος· διαιρεῖ γὰρ οὗτος ἅπασαν ὡς ἐγγυτάτω δίχα τὴν λεχθεῖσαν γῆν, μέγιστος τῶν κατὰ τὴν Εὐρώπην ποταμῶν, ῥέων πρὸς νότον κατ' ἀρχάς, εἶτ' ἐπιστρέφων εὐθὺς ἀπὸ τῆς δύσεως ἐπὶ τὴν ἀνατολὴν καὶ τὸν Πόντον. ἄρχεται μὲν οὖν ἀπὸ τῶν Γερμανικῶν ἄκρων τῶν ἑσπερίων, πλησίον δὲ καὶ τοῦ μυχοῦ τοῦ Ἀδριατικοῦ, διέχων αὐτοῦ περὶ χιλίους σταδίους· τελευτᾷ δ' εἰς τὸν Πόντον οὐ πολὺ ἄπωθεν τῶν τοῦ Τύρα καὶ τοῦ Βορυσθένους ἐκβολῶν, ἐκκλίνων πως πρὸς ἄρκτους. προσάρκτια μὲν οὖν ἐστι τῷ Ἴστρῳ τὰ πέραν τοῦ Ῥήνου καὶ τῆς Κελτικῆς· ταῦτα δ' ἐστὶ τά τε Γαλατικὰ ἔθνη καὶ τὰ Γερμανικὰ μέχρι Βασταρνῶν καὶ Τυρεγετῶν καὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τοῦ Βορυσθένους, καὶ ὅσα μεταξὺ τούτου καὶ Τανάιδος καὶ τοῦ στόματος τῆς Μαιώτιδος εἴς τε τὴν μεσόγαιαν ἀνατείνει μέχρι τοῦ ὠκεανοῦ καὶ τῇ Ποντικῇ κλύζεται θαλάττῃ· μεσημβρινὰ δὲ τά τε Ἰλλυρικὰ καὶ τὰ Θρᾴκια καὶ ὅσα τούτοις ἀναμέμικται τῶν Κελτικῶν ἤ τινων ἄλλων, μέχρι τῆς Ἑλλάδος. λέγωμεν δὲ πρῶτον περὶ τῶν ἐκτὸς τοῦ Ἴστρου· πολὺ γὰρ ἁπλούστερα τῶν ἐπὶ θάτερα μερῶν ἐστιν.

Now that I have described Iberia and the Celtic and Italian tribes, along with the islands near by, it will be next in order to speak of the remaining parts of Europe, dividing them in the approved manner. The remaining parts are: first, those towards the east, being those which are across the Rhenus and extend as far as the Tanaïs {1} and the mouth of Lake Maeotis, {2} and also all those regions lying between the Adrias {3} and the regions on the left of the Pontic Sea that are shut off by the Ister {4} and extend towards the south as far as Greece and the Propontis; {5} for this river divides very nearly the whole of the aforesaid land into two parts. It is the largest of the European rivers, at the outset flowing towards the south and then turning straight from the west towards the east and the Pontus. It rises in the western limits of Germany, as also near the recess of the Adriatic (at a distance from it of about one thousand stadia), and comes to an end at the Pontus not very far from the outlets of the Tyras {6} and the Borysthenes, {7} bending from its easterly course approximately towards the north. Now the parts that are beyond the Rhenus and Celtica are to the north of the Ister; these are the territories of the Galatic and the Germanic tribes, extending as far as the Bastarnians and the Tyregetans and the River Borysthenes. And the territories of all the tribes between this river and the Tanaïs and the mouth of Lake Maeotis extend up into the interior as far as the ocean {8} and are washed by the Pontic Sea. But both the Illyrian and the Thracian tribes, and all tribes of the Celtic or other peoples that are mingled with these, as far as Greece, are to the south of the Ister. But let me first describe the parts outside the Ister, for they are much simpler than those on the other side.

1. The Don.

2. The sea of Azof.

3. The Adriatic.

4. The Danube.

5. The Sea of Marmora.

6. The Dniester.

7. The Dnieper.

8. Strabo here means the “exterior” or “Northern” ocean (see 2. 5. 31 and the Frontispiece, Vol. i).

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εὐθὺς τοίνυν τὰ πέραν τοῦ Ῥήνου μετὰ τοὺς Κελτοὺς πρὸς τὴν ἕω κεκλιμένα Γερμανοὶ νέμονται, μικρὸν ἐξαλλάττοντες τοῦ Κελτικοῦ φύλου τῷ τε πλεονασμῷ τῆς ἀγριότητος καὶ τοῦ μεγέθους καὶ τῆς ξανθότητος, τἆλλα δὲ παραπλήσιοι καὶ μορφαῖς καὶ ἤθεσι καὶ βίοις ὄντες, οἵους εἰρήκαμεν τοὺς Κελτούς. διὸ δὴ καί μοι δοκοῦσι Ῥωμαῖοι τοῦτο αὐτοῖς θέσθαι τοὔνομα ὡς ἂν γνησίους Γαλάτας φράζειν βουλόμενοι· γνήσιοι γὰρ οἱ Γερμανοὶ κατὰ τὴν Ῥωμαίων διάλεκτον.

Now the parts beyond the Rhenus, immediately after the country of the Celti, slope towards the east and are occupied by the Germans, who, though they vary slightly from the Celtic stock in that they are wilder, taller, and have yellower hair, are in all other respects similar, for in build, habits, and modes of life they are such as I have said {9} the Celti are. And I also think that it was for this reason that the Romans assigned to them the name “Germani,” as though they wished to indicate thereby that they were “genuine” Galatae, for in the language of the Romans “germani” means “genuine.” {10}

9. 4. 4. 2-3.

10. So also Julius Caesar, Tacitus, Pliny and the ancient writers in general regarded the Germans as Celts (Gauls). Dr. Richard Braungart has recently published a large work in two volumes in which he ably defends his thesis that the Boii, Vindelici, Rhaeti, Norici, Taurisci, and other tribes, as shown by their agricultural implements and contrivances, were originally, not Celts, but Germans, and, in all probability, the ancestors of all Germans (Sudgermanen, Heidelberg, 1914).

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ἔστι δὲ τὰ μὲν πρῶτα μέρη τῆς χώρας ταύτης τὰ πρὸς τῷ Ῥήνῳ μέχρι τῶν ἐκβολῶν ἀπὸ τῆς πηγῆς ἀρξαμένοις· σχεδὸν δέ τι καὶ τοῦτ' ἔστι τὸ ἑσπέριον τῆς χώρας πλάτος, ἡ ποταμία πᾶσα. ταύτης δὲ τὰ μὲν εἰς τὴν Κελτικὴν μετήγαγον Ῥωμαῖοι, τὰ δ' ἔφθη μεταστάντα εἰς τὴν ἐν βάθει χώραν, καθάπερ Μαρσοί· λοιποὶ δ' εἰσὶν ὀλίγοι καὶ τῶν Σουγάμβρων μέρος. μετὰ δὲ τοὺς παραποταμίους τἆλλά ἐστιν ἔθνη τὰ μεταξὺ τοῦ Ῥήνου καὶ τοῦ Ἄλβιος ποταμοῦ, ὃς παράλληλός πως ἐκείνῳ ῥεῖ πρὸς τὸν ὠκεανόν, οὐκ ἐλάττω χώραν διεξιὼν ἤπερ ἐκεῖνος. εἰσὶ δὲ μεταξὺ καὶ ἄλλοι ποταμοὶ πλωτοὶ ὧν ἐν τῷ Ἀμασίᾳ Δροῦσος Βρουκτέρους κατεναυμάχησε , ῥέοντες ὡσαύτως ἀπὸ νότου πρὸς βορρᾶν καὶ τὸν ὠκεανόν. ἐξῆρται γὰρ ἡ χώρα πρὸς νότον καὶ συνεχῆ ταῖς Ἄλπεσι ποιεῖ ῥάχιν τινὰ πρὸς ἕω τεταμένην, ὡς ἂν μέρος οὖσαν τῶν Ἄλπεων· καὶ δὴ καὶ ἀπεφήναντό τινες οὕτως διά τε τὴν λεχθεῖσαν θέσιν καὶ διὰ τὸ τὴν αὐτὴν ὕλην ἐκφέρειν· οὐ μὴν ἐπὶ τοσοῦτό γε ὕψος ἀνίσχει τὰ ταύτῃ ὄρη. ἐνταῦθα δ' ἐστὶν ὁ Ἑρκύνιος δρυμὸς καὶ τὰ τῶν Σοήβων ἔθνη, τὰ μὲν οἰκοῦντα ἐντὸς τοῦ δρυμοῦ, ἐν οἷς ἐστι καὶ τὸ Βουίαιμον τὸ τοῦ Μαροβόδου βασίλειον, εἰς ὃν ἐκεῖνος τόπον ἄλλους τε μετανέστησε πλείους καὶ δὴ καὶ τοὺς ὁμοεθνεῖς ἑαυτῷ Μαρκομμάνους. ἐπέστη γὰρ τοῖς πράγμασιν οὗτος ἐξ ἰδιώτου μετὰ τὴν ἐκ Ῥώμης ἐπάνοδον· νέος γὰρ ἦν ἐνθάδε καὶ εὐεργετεῖτο ὑπὸ τοῦ Σεβαστοῦ, ἐπανελθὼν δὲ ἐδυνάστευσε καὶ κατεκτήσατο πρὸς οἷς εἶπον Λουγίους τε, μέγα ἔθνος, καὶ Ζούμους καὶ Γούτωνας καὶ Μουγίλωνας καὶ Σιβίνους καὶ τῶν Σοήβων αὐτῶν μέγα ἔθνος, Σέμνωνας. πλὴν τά γε τῶν Σοήβων, ὡς ἔφην, ἔθνη τὰ μὲν ἐντὸς οἰκεῖ, τὰ δὲ ἐκτὸς τοῦ δρυμοῦ, ὅμορα τοῖς Γέταις. μέγιστον μὲν οὖν τὸ τῶν Σοήβων ἔθνος· διήκει γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ῥήνου μέχρι τοῦ Ἄλβιος· μέρος δέ τι αὐτῶν καὶ πέραν τοῦ Ἄλβιος νέμεται, καθάπερ Ἑρμόνδοροι καὶ Λαγκόβαρδοι· νυνὶ δὲ καὶ τελέως εἰς τὴν περαίαν οὗτοί γε ἐκπεπτώκασι φεύγοντες. κοινὸν δ' ἐστὶν ἅπασι τοῖς ταύτῃ τὸ περὶ τὰς μεταναστάσεις εὐμαρὲς διὰ τὴν λιτότητα τοῦ βίου καὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ γεωργεῖν μηδὲ θησαυρίζειν, ἀλλ' ἐν καλυβίοις οἰκεῖν ἐφήμερον ἔχουσι παρασκευήν· τροφὴ δ' ἀπὸ τῶν θρεμμάτων ἡ πλείστη καθάπερ τοῖς νομάσιν, ὥστ' ἐκείνους μιμούμενοι τὰ οἰκεῖα ταῖς ἁρμαμάξαις ἐπάραντες ὅπῃ ἂν δόξῃ τρέπονται μετὰ τῶν βοσκημάτων. ἄλλα δ' ἐνδεέστερά ἐστιν ἔθνη Γερμανικὰ Χηροῦσκοί τε καὶ Χάττοι καὶ Γαμαβρίουιοι καὶ Χαττουάριοι· πρὸς δὲ τῷ ὠκεανῷ Σούγαμβροί τε καὶ Χαῦβοι καὶ Βρούκτεροι καὶ Κίμβροι Καῦκοί τε καὶ Καοῦλκοι καὶ Καμψιανοὶ καὶ ἄλλοι πλείους. ἐπὶ ταὐτὰ δὲ τῷ Ἀμασίᾳ φέρονται Βίσουργίς τε καὶ Λουπίας ποταμός, διέχων Ῥήνου περὶ ἑξακοσίους σταδίους, ῥέων διὰ Βρουκτέρων τῶν ἐλαττόνων. ἔστι δὲ καὶ Σάλας ποταμός, οὗ μεταξὺ καὶ τοῦ Ῥήνου πολεμῶν καὶ κατορθῶν Δροῦσος ἐτελεύτησεν ὁ Γερμανικός. ἐχειρώσατο δ' οὐ μόνον τῶν ἐθνῶν τὰ πλεῖστα, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς ἐν τῷ παράπλῳ νήσους, ὧν ἐστι καὶ ἡ Βυρχανίς, ἣν ἐκ πολιορκίας εἷλε.

The first parts of this country are those that are next to the Rhenus, beginning at its source and extending a far as its outlet; and this stretch of river-land taken as a whole is approximately the breadth of the country on its western side. Some of the tribes of this river-land were transferred by the Romans to Celtica, whereas the others anticipated the Romans by migrating deep into the country, for instance, the Marsi; and only a few people, including a part of the Sugambri, {11} are left. After the people who live along the river come the other tribes that live between the Rhenus and the River Albis, {12} and traverses no less territory than the former. Between the two are other navigable rivers also (among them the Amasias, {13} on which Drusus won a naval victory over the Bructeri), which likewise flow from the south towards the north and the ocean; for the country is elevated towards the south and forms a mountain chain {14} that connects with the Alps and extends towards the east as though it were a part of the Alps; and in truth some declare that they actually are a part of the Alps, both because of their aforesaid position and of the fact that they produce the same timber; however, the country in this region does not rise to a sufficient height for that. Here, too, is the Hercynian Forest, {15} and also the tribes of the Suevi, some of which dwell inside the forest, as, for instance, the tribes of the Coldui, {16} in whose territory is Boihaemum, {17} the domain of Marabodus, the place whither he caused to migrate, not only several other peoples, but in particular the Marcomanni, his fellow-tribesmen; for after his return from Rome this man, who before had been only a private citizen, was placed in charge of the affairs of state, for, as a youth he had been at Rome and had enjoyed the favor of Augustus, and on his return he took the rulership and acquired, in addition to the peoples aforementioned, the Lugii (a large tribe), the Zumi, the Butones, the Mugilones, the Sibini, {18} and also the Semnones, a large tribe of the Suevi themselves. However, while some of the tribes of the Suevi dwell inside the forest, as I was saying, others dwell outside of it, and have a common boundary with the Getae. {19} Now as for the tribe of the Suevi, {20} it is the largest, for it extends from the Rhenus to the Albis; and a part of them even dwell on the far side of the Albis, as, for instance, the Hermondori and the Langobardi; and at the present time these latter, at least, have, to the last man, been driven in flight out of their country into the land on the far side of the river. It is a common characteristic of all the peoples in this part of the world {21} that they migrate with ease, because of the meagerness of their livelihood and because they do not till the soil or even store up food, but live in small huts that are merely temporary structures; and they live for the most part off their flocks, as the Nomads do, so that, in imitation of the Nomads, they load their household belongings on their wagons and with their beasts turn whithersoever they think best. But other German tribes are still more indigent. I mean the Cherusci, the Chatti, the Gamabrivii and the Chattuarii, and also, near the ocean, the Sugambri, the Chaubi, the Bructeri, and the Cimbri, and also the Cauci, the Caülci, the Campsiani, and several others. Both the Visurgis {22} and the Lupias {23} Rivers run in the same direction as the Amasias, the Lupias being about six hundred stadia distant from the Rhenus and flowing through the country of the Lesser Bructeri. {24} Germany has also the Salas River; {25} and it was between the Salas and the Rhenus that Drusus Germanicus, while he was successfully carrying on the war, came to his end. {26} He had subjugated, not only most of the tribes, but also the islands along the coast, among which is Burchanis, {27} which he took by siege.

11. e.g., the Ubii (see 4. 3. 4).

12. The Elbe.

13. The Ems.

14. The chain of mountains that extends from northern Switzerland to Mt. Krapak.

15. Now called the “Black Forest,” although the ancient term, according to Elton (Origins, p. 51, quoted by Tozer), embraced also “the forests of the Hartz, and the woods of Westphalia and Nassau.”

16. Müller-Dübner and Forbiger, perhaps rightly, emend “Coldui” to “Coadui.” But as Tozer (p. 187) says, the information Strabo here gives about Germany “is very imperfect, and hardly extends at all beyond the Elbe.”

17. Hence the modern “Bohemia,” “the home of the Boii.”

18. Scholars have suggested different emendations for “Zumi,” “Butones,” “Mugilones,” and “Sibini,” since all these seem to be corrupt (see C. Müller, Ind. Var. Lect., p 981). For “Butones” it is fairly certain that Strabo wrote “Gutones” (the Goths).

19. The “Getae,” also called “Daci,” dwelt in what are now Rumania and souther Hungary.

20. Strabo now uses “tribe” in its broadest sense.

21. Including the Galatae (see 4. 4. 2).

22. The Weser.

23. The Lippe.

24. The Lesser Bructeri appear to have lived south of the Frisii and west of the Ems, while the Greater Bructeri lived east of it and south of the Western Chauci (cp. Ptolemaeus 2.11.6-7).

25. The Thüringian Sasle.

26. In his thirtieth year (9 A.D.) his horse fell on him and broke his leg (Livy Ep. 140).

27. Now Borkum. The Romans nicknamed it “Fabaria” (“Bean Island”) because of the wild beans that grew there (Pliny 4.27).

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γνώριμα δὲ ταῦτα κατέστη τὰ ἔθνη πολεμοῦντα πρὸς Ῥωμαίους, εἶτ' ἐνδιδόντα καὶ πάλιν ἀφιστάμενα ἢ καὶ καταλείποντα τὰς κατοικίας· κἂν πλείω δὲ γνώριμα ὑπῆρξεν, εἰ ἐπέτρεπε τοῖς στρατηγοῖς ὁ Σεβαστὸς διαβαίνειν τὸν Ἄλβιν μετιοῦσι τοὺς ἐκεῖσε ἀπανισταμένους. νυνὶ δ' εὐπορώτερον ὑπέλαβε στρατηγεῖν τὸν ἐν χερσὶ πόλεμον, εἰ τῶν ἔξω τοῦ Ἄλβιος καθ' ἡσυχίαν ὄντων ἀπέχοιτο καὶ μὴ παροξύνοι πρὸς τὴν κοινωνίαν τῆς ἔχθρας. ἤρξαντο δὲ τοῦ πολέμου Σούγαμβροι πλησίον οἰκοῦντες τοῦ Ῥήνου, Μέλωνα ἔχοντες ἡγεμόνα· κἀκεῖθεν ἤδη διεδέχοντο ἄλλοτ' ἄλλοι δυναστεύοντες καὶ καταλυόμενοι, πάλιν δ' ἀφιστάμενοι, προδιδόντες καὶ τὰ ὅμηρα καὶ τὰς πίστεις. πρὸς οὓς ἡ μὲν ἀπιστία μέγα ὄφελος, οἱ δὲ πιστευθέντες τὰ μέγιστα κατέβλαψαν, καθάπερ οἱ Χηροῦσκοι καὶ οἱ τούτοις ὑπήκοοι, παρ' οἷς τρία τάγματα Ῥωμαίων μετὰ τοῦ στρατηγοῦ Ὀυάρου Κουιντιλλίου παρασπονδηθέντα ἀπώλετο ἐξ ἐνέδρας. ἔτισαν δὲ δίκας ἅπαντες καὶ παρέσχον τῷ νεωτέρῳ Γερμανικῷ λαμπρότατον θρίαμβον, ἐν ᾧ ἐθριαμβεύθη τῶν ἐπιφανεστάτων ἀνδρῶν σώματα καὶ γυναικῶν, Σεγιμοῦντός τε Σεγέστου υἱός, Χηρούσκων ἡγεμών, καὶ ἀδελφὴ αὐτοῦ, γυνὴ δ' Ἀρμενίου τοῦ πολεμαρχήσαντος ἐν τοῖς Χηρούσκοις ἐν τῇ πρὸς Ὀυᾶρον Κουιντίλλιον παρασπονδήσει καὶ νῦν ἔτι συνέχοντος τὸν πόλεμον, ὄνομα Θουσνέλδα, καὶ υἱὸς τριετὴς Θουμέλικος· ἔτι δὲ Σεσίθακος, Σεγιμήρου υἱὸς τῶν Χηρούσκων ἡγεμόνος, καὶ γυνὴ τούτου Ῥαμίς, Οὐκρομήρου θυγάτηρ ἡγεμόνος Χάττων, καὶ Δευδόριξ, Βαιτόριγος τοῦ Μέλωνος ἀδελφοῦ υἱός, Σούγαμβρος. Σεγέστης δὲ ὁ πενθερὸς τοῦ Ἀρμενίου καὶ ἐξ ἀρχῆς διέστη πρὸς τὴν γνώμην αὐτοῦ καὶ λαβὼν καιρὸν ηὐτομόλησε καὶ τῷ θριάμβῳ παρῆν τῶν φιλτάτων, ἐν τιμῇ ἀγόμενος. ἐπόμπευσε δὲ καὶ Λίβης τῶν Χάττων ἱερεύς, καὶ ἄλλα δὲ σώματα ἐπομπεύθη ἐκ τῶν πεπορθημένων ἐθνῶν, Καούλκων Καμψανῶν Βρουκτέρων Οὐσίπων Χηρούσκων Χάττων Χαττουαρίων Λανδῶν Τουβαττίων. διέχει δὲ τοῦ Ἄλβιος ὁ Ῥῆνος περὶ τρισχιλίους σταδίους, εἴ τις εὐθυπορούσας ἔχοι τὰς ὁδούς· νυνὶ δὲ διὰ σκολιᾶς καὶ ἑλώδους καὶ δρυμῶν κυκλοπορεῖν ἀνάγκη.

These tribes have become known through their wars with the Romans, in which they would either yield and then later revolt again, or else quit their settlements; and they would have been better known if Augustus had allowed his generals to cross the Albis in pursuit of those who emigrated thither. But as a matter of fact he supposed that he could conduct the war in hand more successfully if he should hold off from those outside the Albis, who were living in peace, and should not incite them to make common cause with the others in their enmity against him. It was the Sugambri, who live near the Rhenus, that began the war, Melo being their leader; and from that time on different peoples at different times would cause a breach, first growing powerful and then being put down, and then revolting again, betraying both the hostages they had given and their pledges of good faith. In dealing with these peoples distrust has been a great advantage, whereas those who have been trusted have done the greatest harm, as, for instance, the Cherusci and their subjects, in whose country three Roman legions, with their general Quintilius Varus, were destroyed by ambush in violation of the treaty. But they all paid the penalty, and afforded the younger Germanicus a most brilliant triumph {28} --that triumph in which their most famous men and women were led captive, I mean Segimuntus, son of Segestes and chieftain of the Cherusci,and his sister Thusnelda, the wife of Armenius, the man who at the time of the violation of the treaty against Quintilius Varus was commander-in-chief of the Cheruscan army and even to this day is keeping up the war, and Thusnelda's three-year-old son Thumelicus; and also Sesithacus, the son of Segimerus and chieftain of the Cherusci, and Rhamis, his wife, and a daughter of Ucromirus chieftain of the Chatti, and Deudorix, {29} a Sugambrian, the son of Baetorix the brother of Melo. But Segestes, the father-in-law of Armenius, who even from the outset had opposed {30} the purpose of Armenius, and, taking advantage of an opportune time, had deserted him, was present as a guest of honor at the triumph over his loved ones. And Libes too, a priest of the Chatti, marched in the procession, as also other captives from the plundered tribes--the Caülci, Campsani, Bructeri, Usipi, Cherusci, Chatti, Chattuarii, Landi, Tubattii. Now the Rhenus is about three thousand stadia distant from the Albis, if one had straight roads to travel on, but as it is one must go by a circuitous route, which winds through a marshy country and forests.

28. May 26, 17 A.D. (Tacitus, Annals 2.41).

29. The same name as “Theordoric.”

30. So Tac. Ann. 1.55; see also 1. 58, 71.

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ὁ δὲ Ἑρκύνιος δρυμὸς πυκνότερός τέ ἐστι καὶ μεγαλόδενδρος ἐν χωρίοις ἐρυμνοῖς κύκλον περιλαμβάνων μέγαν, ἐν μέσῳ δὲ ἵδρυται χώρα καλῶς οἰκεῖσθαι δυναμένη, περὶ ἧς εἰρήκαμεν. ἔστι δὲ πλησίον αὐτῆς ἥ τε τοῦ Ἴστρου πηγὴ καὶ ἡ τοῦ Ῥήνου καὶ ἡ μεταξὺ ἀμφοῖν λίμνη καὶ τὰ ἕλη τὰ ἐκ τοῦ Ῥήνου διαχεόμενα. ἔστι δ' ἡ λίμνη τὴν μὲν περίμετρον σταδίων πλειόνων ἢ πεντακοσίων, δίαρμα δὲ ἐγγὺς διακοσίων. ἔχει δὲ καὶ νῆσον, ᾖ ἐχρήσατο ὁρμητηρίῳ Τιβέριος ναυμαχῶν πρὸς Ὀυινδολικούς. νοτιωτέρα δ' ἐστὶ τῶν τοῦ Ἴστρου πηγῶν καὶ αὕτη, ὥστ' ἀνάγκη τῷ ἐκ τῆς Κελτικῆς ἐπὶ τὸν Ἑρκύνιον δρυμὸν ἰόντι πρῶτον μὲν διαπερᾶσαι τὴν λίμνην, ἔπειτα τὸν Ἴστρον, εἶτ' ἤδη δι' εὐπετεστέρων χωρίων ἐπὶ τὸν δρυμὸν τὰς προβάσεις ποιεῖσθαι δι' ὀροπεδίων. ἡμερήσιον δ' ἀπὸ τῆς λίμνης προελθὼν ὁδὸν Τιβέριος εἶδε τὰς τοῦ Ἴστρου πηγάς. προσάπτονται δὲ τῆς λίμνης ἐπ' ὀλίγον μὲν οἱ Ῥαιτοί, τὸ δὲ πλέον Ἑλουήττιοι καὶ Ὀυινδολικοί . . . καὶ ἡ Βοίων ἐρημία. μέχρι Παννονίων πάντες, τὸ πλέον δ' Ἑλουήττιοι καὶ Ὀυινδολικοί, οἰκοῦσιν ὀροπέδια. Ῥαιτοὶ δὲ καὶ Νωρικοὶ μέχρι τῶν Ἀλπείων ὑπερβολῶν ἀνίσχουσι καὶ πρὸς τὴν Ἰταλίαν περινεύουσιν, οἱ μὲν Ἰνσούβροις συνάπτοντες οἱ δὲ Κάρνοις καὶ τοῖς περὶ τὴν Ἀκυληίαν χωρίοις. ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἄλλη ὕλη μεγάλη Γαβρῆτα ἐπὶ τάδε τῶν Σοήβων, ἐπέκεινα δ' ὁ Ἑρκύνιος δρυμός· ἔχεται δὲ κἀκεῖνος ὑπ' αὐτῶν.

The Hercynian Forest is not only rather dense, but also has large trees, and comprises a large circuit within regions that are fortified by nature; in the center of it, however, lies a country (of which I have already spoken {31} ) that is capable of affording an excellent livelihood. And near it are the sources of both the Ister and the Rhenus, as also the lake {32} between the two sources, and the marshes {33} into which the Rhenus spreads. {34} The perimeter of the lake is more than three hundred stadia, while the passage across it is nearly two hundred. {35} There is also an island in it which Tiberius used as a base of operations in his naval battle with the Vindelici. This lake is south of the sources of the Ister, as is also the Hercynian Forest, so that necessarily, in going from Celtica to the Hercynian Forest, one first crosses the lake and then the Ister, and from there on advances through more passable regions--plateaus--to the forest. Tiberius had proceeded only a day's journey from the lake when he saw the sources of the Ister. The country of the Rhaeti adjoins the lake for only a short distance, whereas that of the Helvetii and the Vindelici, and also the desert of the Boii, adjoin the greater part of it. All the peoples as far as the Pannonii, but more especially the Helvetii and the Vindelici, inhabit plateaus. But the countries of the Rhaeti and the Norici extend as far as the passes over the Alps and verge toward Italy, a part thereof bordering on the country of the Insubri and a part on that of the Carni and the legions about Aquileia. And there is also another large forest, Gabreta; {36} it is on this side of the territory of the Suevi, whereas the Hercynian Forest, which is also held by them, is on the far side.

31. 4. 6. 9 and 7. 1. 3.

32. Now the Lake of Constance; also called the Bodensee. Cp. 4. 3. 3 and 4. 6. 9.

33. The Untersee.

34. Cp. 4. 3. 3.

35. These figures, as they stand in the manuscripts, are, of course, relatively impossible, and Strabo could hardly have made such a glaring error. Meineke and others emend 300 to 500, leaving the 200 as it is; but on textual grounds, at least, 600 is far more probable. “Passage across” (in Strabo) means the usual boat-passage, but the terminal points of this passage are now unknown. According to W.A.B. Coolidge (Encyclopedia Brittanica, s.v. “Lake of Constance”) the length of the lake is now 46 1/2 miles (from Bregenz to Stein-am-Rhein), while its greatest width is 10 1/2 miles.

36. The forest of the Bohemians.

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περὶ δὲ Κίμβρων τὰ μὲν οὐκ εὖ λέγεται, τὰ δ' ἔχει πιθανότητας οὐ μετρίας. οὔτε γὰρ τὴν τοιαύτην αἰτίαν τοῦ πλάνητας γενέσθαι καὶ λῃστρικοὺς ἀποδέξαιτ' ἄν τις, ὅτι χερρόνησον οἰκοῦντες μεγάλῃ πλημμυρίδι ἐξελαθεῖεν ἐκ τῶν τόπων· καὶ γὰρ νῦν ἔχουσι τὴν χώραν ἣν εἶχον πρότερον, καὶ ἔπεμψαν τῷ Σεβαστῷ δῶρον τὸν ἱερώτατον παρ' αὐτοῖς λέβητα, αἰτούμενοι φιλίαν καὶ ἀμνηστίαν τῶν ὑπηργμένων, τυχόντες δὲ ὧν ἠξίουν ἀπῆραν· γελοῖον δὲ τῷ φυσικῷ καὶ αἰωνίῳ πάθει δὶς ἑκάστης ἡμέρας συμβαίνοντι προσοργισθέντας ἀπελθεῖν ἐκ τοῦ τόπου. ἔοικε δὲ πλάσματι τὸ συμβῆναί ποτε ὑπερβάλλουσαν πλημμυρίδα· ἐπιτάσεις μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἀνέσεις δέχεται, τεταγμένας δὲ καὶ περιοδιζούσας, ὁ ὠκεανὸς ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις πάθεσιν. οὐκ εὖ δ' οὐδὲ ὁ φήσας ὅπλα αἴρεσθαι πρὸς τὰς πλημμυρίδας τοὺς Κίμβρους, οὐδ' ὅτι ἀφοβίαν οἱ Κελτοὶ ἀσκοῦντες κατακλύζεσθαι τὰς οἰκίας ὑπομένουσιν, εἶτ' ἀνοικοδομοῦσι, καὶ ὅτι πλείων αὐτοῖς συμβαίνει φθόρος ἐξ ὕδατος ἢ πολέμου, ὅπερ Ἔφορός φησιν. ἡ γὰρ τάξις ἡ τῶν πλημμυρίδων καὶ τὸ τὴν ἐπικλυζομένην χώραν εἶναι γνώριμον οὐκ ἔμελλε τοιαύτας τὰς ἀτοπίας παρέξειν. δὶς γὰρ ἑκάστης ἡμέρας τούτου συμβαίνοντος τὸ μηδ' ἅπαξ αἰσθάνεσθαι φυσικὴν οὖσαν τὴν παλίρροιαν καὶ ἀβλαβῆ, καὶ οὐ μόνοις τούτοις συμβαίνουσαν ἀλλὰ τοῖς παρωκεανίταις πᾶσι, πῶς οὐκ ἀπίθανον; οὐδὲ Κλείταρχος εὖ· φησὶ γὰρ τοὺς ἱππέας ἰδόντας τὴν ἔφοδον τοῦ πελάγους ἀφιππάσασθαι καὶ φεύγοντας ἐγγὺς γενέσθαι τοῦ περικαταληφθῆναι. οὔτε δὲ τοσούτῳ τάχει τὴν ἐπίβασιν ὁρμωμένην ἱστοροῦμεν, ἀλλὰ λεληθότως προσιοῦσαν τὴν θάλατταν· οὔτε τὸ καθ' ἡμέραν γινόμενον καὶ πᾶσιν ἔναυλον ἤδη ὂν τοῖς πλησιάζειν μέλλουσι πρὶν ἢ θεάσασθαι, τοσοῦτον ἔμελλε παρέξεσθαι φόβον ὥστε φεύγειν, ὡς ἂν εἰ ἐξ ἀδοκήτου προσέπεσε.

As for the Cimbri, some things that are told about them are incorrect and others are extremely improbable. For instance, one could not accept such a reason for their having become a wandering and piratical folk as this--that while they were dwelling on a Peninsula they were driven out of their habitations by a great flood-tide; for in fact they still hold the country which they held in earlier times; and they sent as a present to Augustus the most sacred kettle {37} in their country, with a plea for his friendship and for an amnesty of their earlier offences, and when their petition was granted they set sail for home; and it is ridiculous to suppose that they departed from their homes because they were incensed on account of a phenomenon that is natural and eternal, occurring twice every day. And the assertion that an excessive flood-tide once occurred looks like a fabrication, for when the ocean is affected in this way it is subject to increases and diminutions, but these are regulated and periodical. {38} And the man who said that the Cimbri took up arms against the flood-tides was not right, either; nor yet the statement that the Celti, as a training in the virtue of fearlessness, meekly abide the destruction of their homes by the tides and then rebuild them, and that they suffer a greater loss of life as the result of water than of war, as Ephorus says. Indeed, the regularity of the flood-tides and the fact that the part of the country subject to inundations was known should have precluded such absurdities; for since this phenomenon occurs twice every day, it is of course improbable that the Cimbri did not so much as once perceive that the reflux was natural and harmless, and that it occurred, not in their country alone, but in every country that was on the ocean. Neither is Cleitarchus right; for he says that the horsemen, on seeing the onset of the sea, rode away, and though in full flight came very near being cut off by the water. Now we know, in the first place, that the invasion of the tide does not rush on with such speed as that, but that the sea advances imperceptibly; and, secondly, that what takes place daily and is audible to all who are about to draw near it, even before they behold it, would not have been likely to prompt in them such terror that they would take to flight, as if it had occurred unexpectedly.

37. When the throats of prisoners of war were cut, the blood was caught in huge brazen kettles (7. 2. 3).

38. Cp. 3. 5. 9.

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ταῦτά τε δὴ δικαίως ἐπιτιμᾷ τοῖς συγγραφεῦσι Ποσειδώνιος καὶ οὐ κακῶς εἰκάζει, διότι λῃστρικοὶ ὄντες καὶ πλάνητες οἱ Κίμβροι καὶ μέχρι τῶν περὶ τὴν Μαιῶτιν ποιήσαιντο στρατείαν, ἀπ' ἐκείνων δὲ καὶ ὁ Κιμμέριος κληθείη Βόσπορος, οἷον Κιμβρικός, Κιμμερίους τοὺς Κίμβρους ὀνομασάντων τῶν Ἑλλήνων. φησὶ δὲ καὶ Βοίους τὸν Ἑρκύνιον δρυμὸν οἰκεῖν πρότερον, τοὺς δὲ Κίμβρους ὁρμήσαντας ἐπὶ τὸν τόπον τοῦτον, ἀποκρουσθέντας ὑπὸ τῶν Βοίων ἐπὶ τὸν Ἴστρον καὶ τοὺς Σκορδίσκους Γαλάτας καταβῆναι, εἶτ' ἐπὶ Τευρίστας καὶ Ταυρίσκους, καὶ τούτους Γαλάτας, εἶτ' ἐπὶ Ἑλουηττίους, πολυχρύσους μὲν ἄνδρας εἰρηναίους δέ· ὁρῶντας δὲ τὸν ἐκ τῶν λῃστηρίων πλοῦτον ὑπερβάλλοντα τοῦ παρ' ἑαυτοῖς τοὺς Ἑλουηττίους ἐπαρθῆναι, μάλιστα δ' αὐτῶν Τιγυρίνους τε καὶ Τωυγένους, ὥστε καὶ συνεξορμῆσαι. πάντες μέντοι κατελύθησαν ὑπὸ τῶν Ῥωμαίων αὐτοί τε οἱ Κίμβροι καὶ οἱ συναράμενοι τούτοις, οἱ μὲν ὑπερβαλόντες τὰς Ἄλπεις εἰς τὴν Ἰταλίαν οἱ δ' ἔξω τῶν Ἄλπεων.

Poseidonius is right in censuring the historians for these assertions, and his conjecture is not a bad one, that the Cimbri, being a piratical and wandering folk, made an expedition even as far as the region of Lake Maeotis, and that also the “Cimmerian” Bosporus {39} was named after them, being equivalent to “Cimbrian,” the Greeks naming the Cimbri “Cimmerii.” And he goes off to say that in earlier times the Boii dwelt in the Hercynian Forest, and that the Cimbri made a sally against this place, but on being repulsed by the Boii, went down to the Ister and the country of the Scordiscan Galatae, {40} then to the country of the Teuristae {41} and Taurisci (these, too, Galatae), and then to the country of the Helvetii--men rich in gold but peaceable; however, when the Helvetii saw that the wealth which the Cimbri had got from their robberies surpassed that of their own country, they, and particularly their tribes of Tigyreni and of Toygeni, were so excited that they sallied forth with the Cimbri. All, however, were subdued by the Romans, both the Cimbri themselves and those who had joined their expeditions, in part after they had crossed the Alps into Italy and in part while still on the other side of the Alps.

39. The Strait of Kerch (or Yenikale).

40. The Galatae lived between the Ister (Danube) and Morava Rivers on the confines of Illyria.

41. Cp. “Tauristae,” 7. 3. 2.

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ἔθος δέ τι τῶν Κίμβρων διηγοῦνται τοιοῦτον, ὅτι ταῖς γυναιξὶν αὐτῶν συστρατευούσαις παρηκολούθουν προμάντεις ἱέρειαι πολιότριχες, λευχείμονες, καρπασίνας ἐφαπτίδας ἐπιπεπορπημέναι, ζῶσμα χαλκοῦν ἔχουσαι, γυμνόποδες· τοῖς οὖν αἰχμαλώτοις διὰ τοῦ στρατοπέδου συνήντων ξιφήρεις, καταστέψασαι δ' αὐτοὺς ἦγον ἐπὶ κρατῆρα χαλκοῦν ὅσον ἀμφορέων εἴκοσιν· εἶχον δὲ ἀναβάθραν, ἣν ἀναβᾶσα . . . ὑπερπετὴς τοῦ λέβητος ἐλαιμοτόμει ἕκαστον μετεωρισθέντα· ἐκ δὲ τοῦ προχεομένου αἵματος εἰς τὸν κρατῆρα μαντείαν τινὰ ἐποιοῦντο, ἄλλαι δὲ διασχίσασαι ἐσπλάγχνευον ἀναφθεγγόμεναι νίκην τοῖς οἰκείοις. ἐν δὲ τοῖς ἀγῶσιν ἔτυπτον τὰς βύρσας τὰς περιτεταμένας τοῖς γέρροις τῶν ἁρμαμαξῶν, ὥστ' ἀποτελεῖσθαι ψόφον ἐξαίσιον.

Writers report a custom of the Cimbri to this effect: Their wives, who would accompany them on their expeditions, were attended by priestesses who were seers; these were grey-haired, clad in white, with flaxen cloaks fastened on with clasps, girt with girdles of bronze, and bare-footed; now sword in hand these priestesses would meet with the prisoners of war throughout the camp, and having first crowned them with wreaths would lead them to a brazen vessel of about twenty amphorae; {42} and they had a raised platform which the priestess would mount, and then, bending over the kettle, {43} would cut the throat of each prisoner after he had been lifted up; and from the blood that poured forth into the vessel some of the priestesses would draw a prophecy, while still others would split open the body and from an inspection of the entrails would utter a prophecy of victory for their own people; and during the battles they would beat on the hides that were stretched over the wicker-bodies of the wagons and in this way produce an unearthly noise.

42. About 120 gallons.

43. Cp. 7. 2. 1.

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τῶν δὲ Γερμανῶν, ὡς εἶπον, οἱ μὲν προσάρκτιοι παροικοῦσι τῷ ὠκεανῷ, γνωρίζονται δ' ἀπὸ τῶν ἐκβολῶν τοῦ Ῥήνου λαβόντες τὴν ἀρχὴν μέχρι τοῦ Ἄλβιος. τούτων δ' εἰσὶ γνωριμώτατοι Σούγαμβροί τε καὶ Κίμβροι. τὰ δὲ πέραν τοῦ Ἄλβιος τὰ πρὸς τῷ ὠκεανῷ παντάπασιν ἄγνωστα ἡμῖν ἐστιν. οὔτε γὰρ τῶν προτέρων οὐδένας ἴσμεν τὸν παράπλουν τοῦτον πεποιημένους πρὸς τὰ ἑωθινὰ μέρη τὰ μέχρι τοῦ στόματος τῆς Κασπίας θαλάττης, οὔθ' οἱ Ῥωμαῖοί πω προῆλθον εἰς τὰ περαιτέρω τοῦ Ἄλβιος· ὡς δ' αὕτως οὐδὲ πεζῇ παρωδεύκασιν οὐδένες. ἀλλ' ὅτι μὲν κατὰ μῆκος ἰοῦσιν ἐπὶ τὴν ἕω τὰ κατὰ τὸν Βορυσθένη καὶ τὰ πρὸς βορρᾶν τοῦ Πόντου χωρία ἀπαντᾷ, δῆλον ἐκ τῶν κλιμάτων καὶ τῶν παραλλήλων διαστημάτων. τί δ' ἐστὶ πέραν τῆς Γερμανίας καὶ τί τῶν ἄλλων τῶν ἑξῆς, εἴτε Βαστάρνας χρὴ λέγειν, ὡς οἱ πλείους ὑπονοοῦσιν, εἴτ' ἄλλους μεταξὺ ἢ Ἰάζυγας ἢ Ῥωξολανοὺς ἤ τινας ἄλλους τῶν ἁμαξοίκων οὐ ῥᾴδιον εἰπεῖν, οὐδ' εἰ μέχρι τοῦ ὠκεανοῦ παρήκουσι παρὰ πᾶν τὸ μῆκος, ἢ ἔστι τι ἀοίκητον ὑπὸ ψύχους ἢ ἄλλης αἰτίας, ἢ εἰ καὶ γένος ἀνθρώπων ἄλλο διαδέχεται μεταξὺ τῆς θαλάττης καὶ τῶν ἑῴων Γερμανῶν ἱδρυμένον. τοῦτο δὲ τὸ αὐτὸ ἀγνόημα καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν ἐφεξῆς προσαρκτίων ἐπέχει. οὔτε γὰρ τοὺς Βαστάρνας οὔτε τοὺς Σαυρομάτας καὶ ἁπλῶς τοὺς ὑπὲρ τοῦ Πόντου οἰκοῦντας ἴσμεν, οὔθ' ὁπόσον ἀπέχουσι τῆς Ἀτλαντικῆς θαλάττης, οὔτ' εἰ συνάπτουσιν αὐτῇ.

Of the Germans, as I have said, {44} those towards the north extend along the ocean; {45} and beginning at the outlets of the Rhenus, they are known as far as the Albis; and of these the best known are the Sugambri and the Cimbri; but those parts of the country beyond the Albis that are near the ocean are wholly unknown to us. For of the men of earlier times I know of no one who has made this voyage along the coast to the eastern parts that extend as far as the mouth {46} of the Caspian Sea; and the Romans have not yet advanced into the parts that are beyond the Albis; and likewise no one has made the journey by land either. However, it is clear from the “climata” and the parallel distances that if one travels longitudinally towards the east, one encounters the regions that are about the Borysthenes and that are to the north of the Pontus; but what is beyond Germany and what beyond the countries which are next after Germany--whether one should say the Bastarnae, as most writers suspect, or say that others lie in between, either the Iazyges, or the Roxolani, {47} or certain other of the wagon-dwellers {48} --it is not easy to say; nor yet whether they extend as far as the ocean along its entire length, or whether any part is uninhabitable by reason of the cold or other cause, or whether even a different race of people, succeeding the Germans, is situated between the sea and the eastern Germans. And this same ignorance prevails also in regard to the rest of the peoples that come next in order on the north; for I know neither the Bastarnae, {49} nor the Sauromatae, nor, in a word, any of the peoples who dwell above the Pontus, nor how far distant they are from the Atlantic Sea, {50} nor whether their countries border upon it.

44. 7. 1. 1.

45. Cp. 7. 1. 1 and the footnote on “ocean.”

46. See the Frontispiece, Vol. I.

47. Cp. 2. 5. 7 and 7. 3. 17.

48. Cp. 2. 5. 26.

49. See 2. 5. 30.

50. The same in Strabo as “the Atlantic Ocean,” including the “Northern Ocean.”

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τὸ δὲ νότιον μέρος τῆς Γερμανίας τὸ πέραν τοῦ Ἄλβιος τὸ μὲν συνεχὲς ἀκμὴν ὑπὸ τῶν Σοήβων κατέχεται· εἶτ' εὐθὺς ἡ τῶν Γετῶν συνάπτει γῆ, κατ' ἀρχὰς μὲν στενή, παρατεταμένη τῷ Ἴστρῳ κατὰ τὸ νότιον μέρος, κατὰ δὲ τοὐναντίον τῇ παρωρείᾳ τοῦ Ἑρκυνίου δρυμοῦ, μέρος τι τῶν ὀρῶν καὶ αὐτὴ κατέχουσα, εἶτα πλατύνεται πρὸς τὰς ἄρκτους μέχρι Τυρεγετῶν· τοὺς δὲ ἀκριβεῖς ὅρους οὐκ ἔχομεν φράζειν. διὰ δὲ τὴν ἄγνοιαν τῶν τόπων τούτων οἱ τὰ Ῥιπαῖα ὄρη καὶ τοὺς Ὑπερβορείους μυθοποιοῦντες λόγου ἠξίωνται, καὶ ἃ Πυθέας ὁ Μασσαλιώτης κατεψεύσατο ταῦτα τῆς παρωκεανίτιδος, προσχήματι χρώμενος τῇ περὶ τὰ οὐράνια καὶ τὰ μαθηματικὰ ἱστορίᾳ. ἐκεῖνοι μὲν οὖν ἐάσθωσαν· οὐδὲ γὰρ εἴ τινα Σοφοκλῆς τραγῳδεῖ περὶ τῆς Ὠρειθυίας λέγων ὡς ἀναρπαγεῖσα ὑπὸ Βορέου κομισθείη

ὑπέρ τε πόντον πάντ' ἐπ' ἔσχατα χθονὸς νυκτός τε πηγὰς οὐρανοῦ τ' ἀναπτυχάς, Φοίβου παλαιὸν κῆπον,

οὐδὲν ἂν εἴη πρὸς τὰ νῦν, ἀλλ' ἐατέον, ὥσπερ καὶ ἐν τῷ Φαίδρῳ ὁ Σωκράτης. ἃ δὲ ἔκ τε τῆς παλαιᾶς ἱστορίας καὶ τῆς νῦν παρειλήφαμεν, ταῦτα λέγωμεν.

As for the southern part of Germany beyond the Albis, the portion which is just contiguous to that river is occupied by the Suevi; then immediately adjoining this is the land of the Getae, which, though narrow at first, stretching as it does along the Ister on its southern side and on the opposite side along the mountain-side of the Hercynian Forest (for the land of the Getae also embraces a part of the mountains), afterwards broadens out towards the north as far as the Tyregetae; but I cannot tell the precise boundaries. It is because of men's ignorance of these regions that any heed has been given to those who created the mythical “Rhipaean Mountains” {51} and “Hyperboreans,” {52} and also to all those false statements made by Pytheas the Massalian regarding the country along the ocean, wherein he uses as a screen his scientific knowledge of astronomy and mathematics. {53} So then, those men should be disregarded; in fact, if even Sophocles, when in his role as a tragic poet he speaks of Oreithyia, {54} tells how she was snatched up by “Boreas” and carried “over the whole sea to the ends of the earth and to the sources of night {55} and to the unfoldings of heaven {56} and to the ancient garden of Phoebus,” {57} {58} his story can have no bearing on the present inquiry, but should be disregarded, just as it is disregarded by Socrates in the Phaedrus. {59} But let us confine our narrative to what we have learned from history, both ancient and modern.

51. Cp. Pliny 4.26.

52. Cp. 1. 3. 22.

53. Cp. 1. 4. 3-5, 2. 3. 5 and 2. 4. 1-2.

54. The daughter of Erechtheus, a mythical Attic king. The passage here quoted is a fragment Nauck, Fragmenta, 870) of a play now lost. Cp. Soph. Ant. 981ff.

55. The west.

56. The east.

57. Soph. Fr. 870 (Nauck)

58. The south, apparently; and thus Boreas would have carried her to the four ends of the earth. The home of Boreas (North Wind), according to the poets, was in the Haemus (Balkan), or Rhipaean, Mountains, on the “Sarpedonian Rock.”

59. Plat. Phaedrus 229.

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οἱ τοίνυν Ἕλληνες τοὺς Γέτας Θρᾷκας ὑπελάμβανον· ᾤκουν δ' ἐφ' ἑκάτερα τοῦ Ἴστρου καὶ οὗτοι καὶ οἱ Μυσοὶ Θρᾷκες ὄντες καὶ αὐτοὶ καὶ οὓς νῦν Μοισοὺς καλοῦσιν, ἀφ' ὧν ὡρμήθησαν καὶ οἱ νῦν μεταξὺ Λυδῶν καὶ Φρυγῶν καὶ Τρώων οἰκοῦντες Μυσοί. καὶ αὐτοὶ δ' οἱ Φρύγες Βρίγες εἰσί, Θρᾴκιόν τι ἔθνος, καθάπερ καὶ Μυγδόνες καὶ Βέβρυκες καὶ Μαιδοβιθυνοὶ καὶ Βιθυνοὶ καὶ Θυνοὶ, δοκῶ δὲ καὶ τοὺς Μαριανδυνούς. οὗτοι μὲν οὖν τελέως ἐκλελοίπασι πάντες τὴν Εὐρώπην, οἱ δὲ Μυσοὶ συνέμειναν. καὶ Ὅμηρον δ' ὀρθῶς εἰκάζειν μοι δοκεῖ Ποσειδώνιος τοὺς ἐν τῇ Εὐρώπῃ Μυσοὺς κατονομάζειν λέγω δὲ τοὺς ἐν τῇ Θρᾴκῃ ὅταν φῇ

αὐτὸς δὲ πάλιν τρέπεν ὄσσε φαεινώ, νόσφιν ἐφ' ἱπποπόλων Θρῃκῶν καθορώμενος αἶαν Μυσῶν τ' ἀγχεμάχων.

ἐπεὶ εἴ γε τοὺς κατὰ τὴν Ἀσίαν Μυσοὺς δέχοιτό τις, ἀπηρτημένος ἂν εἴη ὁ λόγος. τὸ γὰρ ἀπὸ τῶν Τρώων τρέψαντα τὴν ὅρασιν ἐπὶ τὴν Θρᾳκῶν γῆν συγκαταλέγειν ταύτῃ τὴν τῶν Μυσῶν, τῶν οὐ νόσφιν ὄντων ἀλλ' ὁμόρων τῇ Τρῳάδι καὶ ὄπισθεν αὐτῆς ἱδρυμένων καὶ ἑκατέρωθεν, διειργομένων δ' ἀπὸ τῆς Θρᾴκης πλατεῖ Ἑλλησπόντῳ, συγχέοντος ἂν εἴη τὰς ἠπείρους καὶ ἅμα τῆς φράσεως οὐκ ἀκούοντος. τὸ γὰρ πάλιν τρέπεν μάλιστα μέν ἐστιν εἰς τοὐπίσω· ὁ δ' ἀπὸ τῶν Τρώων μεταφέρων τὴν ὄψιν ἐπὶ τοὺς μὴ ὄπισθεν αὐτῶν ἢ ἐκ πλαγίων ὄντας προσωτέρω μὲν μεταφέρει, εἰς τοὐπίσω δ' οὐ πάνυ. καὶ τὸ ἐπιφερόμενον δ' αὐτοῦ τούτου μαρτύριον, ὅτι τοὺς ἱππημολγοὺς καὶ γαλακτοφάγους καὶ ἀβίους συνῆψεν αὐτοῖς, οἵπερ εἰσὶν οἱ ἁμάξοικοι Σκύθαι καὶ Σαρμάται. καὶ γὰρ νῦν ἀναμέμικται ταῦτα τὰ ἔθνη τοῖς Θρᾳξὶ καὶ τὰ Βασταρνικά, μᾶλλον μὲν τοῖς ἐκτὸς Ἴστρου, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ἐντός. τούτοις δὲ καὶ τὰ Κελτικά, οἵ τε Βόιοι καὶ Σκορδίσκοι καὶ Ταυρίσκοι. τοὺς δὲ Σκορδίσκους ἔνιοι Σκορδίστας καλοῦσι· καὶ τοὺς Ταυρίσκους δὲ Τευρίσκους καὶ Ταυρίστας φασί.

Now the Greeks used to suppose that the Getae were Thracians; and the Getae lived on either side the Ister, as did also the Mysi, these also being Thracians and identical with the people who are now called Moesi; from these Mysi sprang also the Mysi who now live between the Lydians and the Phrygians and Trojans. And the Phrygians themselves are Brigians, a Thracian tribe, as are also the Mygdonians, the Bebricians, the Medobithynians, {60} the Bithynians, and the Thynians, and, I think, also the Mariandynians. These peoples, to be sure, have all utterly quitted Europe, but the Mysi have remained there. And Poseidonius seems to me to be correct in his conjecture that Homer designates the Mysi in Europe (I mean those in Thrace) when he says, “But back he turned his shining eyes, and looked far away towards the land of the horsetending Thracians, and of the Mysi, hand-to-hand fighters” {61} for surely, if one should take Homer to mean the Mysi in Asia, the statement would not hang together. Indeed, when Zeus turns his eyes away from the Trojans towards the land of the Thracians, it would be the act of a man who confuses the continents and does not understand the poet's phraseology to connect with Thrace the land of the Asiatic Mysi, who are not “far away,” but have a common boundary with the Troad and are situated behind it and on either side of it, and are separated from Thrace by the broad Hellespont; for “back he turned” generally {62} means “to the rear,” and he who transfers his gaze from the Trojans to the people who are either in the rear of the Trojans or on their flanks, does indeed transfer his gaze rather far, but not at all “to the rear.” {63} Again, the appended phrase {64} is testimony to this very view, because the poet connected with the Mysi the “Hippemolgi” and “Galactophagi” and “Abii,” who are indeed the wagon-dwelling Scythians and Sarmatians. For at the present time these tribes, as well as the Bastarnian tribes, are mingled with the Thracians (more indeed with those outside the Ister, but also with those inside). And mingled with them are also the Celtic tribes--the Boii, the Scordisci, and the Taurisci. However, the Scordisci are by some called “Scordistae”; and the Taurisci are called also “Ligurisci” {65} and “Tauristae.” {66}

60. The correct spelling of the word is “Maedobithynians.”

61. Hom. Il. 13.3ff.

62. The other meaning of the word in question (πάλιν) is “again.” Aristarchus, the great Homeric scholar (fl. about 155 B.C.), quoted by Hesychius (s.v.), says that “generally the poet uses πάλιν in the place-sense and not, as we do, in the time-sense.”

63. i.e., “to the rear” of himself.

64. “And of the proud Hippemolgi (mare-milkers), Galactophagi (curd-eaters), and Abii ( a resourceless folk), men most just” Cp. 1. 1. 6.

65. “Ligursci” is almost certainly corrupt. Meineke is probably right in emending to “Teurisci.”

66. Cp. “Teuristae,” 7. 2. 2.

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λέγει δὲ τοὺς Μυσοὺς ὁ Ποσειδώνιος καὶ ἐμψύχων ἀπέχεσθαι κατ' εὐσέβειαν, διὰ δὲ τοῦτο καὶ θρεμμάτων· μέλιτι δὲ χρῆσθαι καὶ γάλακτι καὶ τυρῷ ζῶντας καθ' ἡσυχίαν, διὰ δὲ τοῦτο καλεῖσθαι θεοσεβεῖς τε καὶ καπνοβάτας· εἶναι δέ τινας τῶν Θρᾳκῶν οἳ χωρὶς γυναικὸς ζῶσιν, οὓς κτίστας καλεῖσθαι, ἀνιερῶσθαί τε διὰ τιμὴν καὶ μετὰ ἀδείας ζῆν· τούτους δὴ συλλήβδην ἅπαντας τὸν ποιητὴν εἰπεῖν ἀγαυοὺς ἱππημολγοὺς γλακτοφάγους ἀβίους τε, δικαιοτάτους ἀνθρώπους. ἀβίους δὲ προσαγορεύειν μάλιστα ὅτι χωρὶς γυναικῶν, ἡγούμενον ἡμιτελῆ τινα βίον τὸν χῆρον, καθάπερ καὶ τὸν οἶκον ἡμιτελῆ τὸν Πρωτεσιλάου διότι χῆρος· ἀγχεμάχους δὲ τοὺς Μυσούς, ὅτι ἀπόρθητοι, καθὰ οἱ ἀγαθοὶ πολεμισταί· δεῖν δὲ ἐν τῷ τρισκαιδεκάτῳ γράφειν ἀντὶ τοῦ Μυσῶν τ' ἀγχεμάχων Μοισῶν τ' ἀγχεμάχων.

Poseidonius goes on to say of the Mysians that in accordance with their religion they abstain from eating any living thing, and therefore from their flocks as well; and that they use as food honey and milk and cheese, living a peaceable life, and for this reason are called both “god-fearing” and “capnobatae”; {67} and there are some of the Thracians who live apart from woman-kind; these are called “Ctistae,” {68} and because of the honor in which they are held, have been dedicated to the gods and live with freedom from every fear; accordingly, Homer speaks collectively of all these peoples as “proud Hippemolgi, Galactophagi and Abii, men most just,” but he calls them “Abii” more especially for this reason, that they live apart from women, since he thinks that a life which is bereft of woman is only half-complete (just as he thinks the “house of Protesilaüs” is only “half complete,” because it is so bereft {69} ); and he speaks of the Mysians as “hand-to-hand fighters” because they were indomitable, as is the case with all brave warriors; and Poseidonius adds that in the Thirteenth Book {70} one should read “Moesi, hand-to-hand fighters” instead of “Mysi, hand-to-hand fighters.”

67. Scholars have suggested various emendations to “capnobatae,” but there is no variation in the spelling of the word in any of the manuscripts, either here or in section 4 below. Its literal meaning is “smoke-treaders” (cp. ἀεροβάτης, ἀεροβάτῳ Aristophanes, Clouds 225, 1503), and it seems to allude in some way to the smoke of sacrifice and the more of less ethereal existence of the people, or else (see Herodotus 1. 202 and 4.75) to the custom of generating an intoxicating vapor by throwing hemp-seed upon red-hot stones. Berkel and Wakefield would emend, respectively to “capnopatae” and “capnobotae” (“smoke-eaters,” i.e., people who live on food of no value).

68. Literally, “creators” or “founders.” But, like “capnobatae,” the force of the word here is unknown.

69. Hom. Il. 2.701.

70. Hom. Il. 13.5.

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τὸ μὲν οὖν τὴν γραφὴν κινεῖν ἐκ τοσούτων ἐτῶν εὐδοκιμήσασαν περιττὸν ἴσως· πολὺ γὰρ πιθανώτερον ὠνομάσθαι μὲν ἐξ ἀρχῆς Μυσούς, μετωνομάσθαι δὲ ὡς νῦν. τοὺς ἀβίους δὲ τοὺς χήρους οὐ μᾶλλον ἢ τοὺς ἀνεστίους καὶ τοὺς ἁμαξοίκους δέξαιτ' ἄν τις· μάλιστα γὰρ περὶ τὰ συμβόλαια καὶ τὴν τῶν χρημάτων κτῆσιν συνισταμένων τῶν ἀδικημάτων, τοὺς οὕτως ἀπ' ὀλίγων εὐτελῶς ζῶντας δικαιοτάτους εὔλογον κληθῆναι· ἐπεὶ καὶ οἱ φιλόσοφοι τῇ σωφροσύνῃ τὴν δικαιοσύνην ἐγγυτάτω τιθέντες τὸ αὔταρκες καὶ τὸ λιτὸν ἐν τοῖς πρώτοις ἐζήλωσαν· ἀφ' οὗ καὶ προεκπτώσεις τινὰς αὐτῶν παρέωσαν ἐπὶ τὸν κυνισμόν. τὸ δὲ χήρους γυναικῶν οἰκεῖν οὐδεμίαν τοιαύτην ἔμφασιν ὑπογράφει, καὶ μάλιστα παρὰ τοῖς Θρᾳξὶ καὶ τούτων τοῖς Γέταις. ὅρα δ' ἃ λέγει Μένανδρος περὶ αὐτῶν οὐ πλάσας, ὡς εἰκός, ἀλλ' ἐξ ἱστορίας λαβών

πάντες μὲν οἱ Θρᾷκες, μάλιστα δ' οἱ Γέται ἡμεῖς ἁπάντων καὶ γὰρ αὐτὸς εὔχομαι ἐκεῖθεν εἶναι τὸ γένος οὐ σφόδρ' ἐγκρατεῖς ἐσμέν.

καὶ ὑποβὰς μικρὸν τῆς περὶ τὰς γυναῖκας ἀκρασίας τίθησι τὰ παραδείγματα·

γαμεῖ γὰρ ἡμῶν οὐδὲ εἷς, εἰ μὴ δέκ' ἢ ἕνδεκα γυναῖκας δώδεκά τ' ἢ πλείους τινές· ἂν τέτταρας δ' ἢ πέντε γεγαμηκὼς τύχῃ καταστροφῆς τις, ἀνυμέναιος ἄθλιος ἄνυμφος οὗτος ἐπικαλεῖτ' ἐν τοῖς ἐκεῖ.

ταῦτα γὰρ ὁμολογεῖται μὲν καὶ παρὰ τῶν ἄλλων, οὐκ εἰκὸς δὲ τοὺς αὐτοὺς ἅμα μὲν ἄθλιον νομίζειν βίον τὸν μὴ μετὰ πολλῶν γυναικῶν, ἅμα δὲ σπουδαῖον καὶ δίκαιον τὸν τῶν γυναικῶν χῆρον. τὸ δὲ δὴ καὶ θεοσεβεῖς νομίζειν καὶ καπνοβάτας τοὺς ἐρήμους γυναικῶν σφόδρα ἐναντιοῦται ταῖς κοιναῖς ὑπολήψεσιν. ἅπαντες γὰρ τῆς δεισιδαιμονίας ἀρχηγοὺς οἴονται τὰς γυναῖκας· αὗται δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἄνδρας προκαλοῦνται πρὸς τὰς ἐπὶ πλέον θεραπείας τῶν θεῶν καὶ ἑορτὰς καὶ ποτνιασμούς· σπάνιον δ' εἴ τις ἀνὴρ καθ' αὑτὸν ζῶν εὑρίσκεται τοιοῦτος. ὅρα δὲ πάλιν τὸν αὐτὸν ποιητὴν ἃ λέγει εἰσάγων τὸν ἀχθόμενον ταῖς περὶ τὰς θυσίας τῶν γυναικῶν δαπάναις καὶ λέγοντα

ἐπιτρίβουσι δ' ἡμᾶς οἱ θεοί, μάλιστα τοὺς γήμαντας· ἀεὶ γάρ τινα ἄγειν ἑορτήν ἐστ' ἀνάγκη.

τὸν δὲ μισογύνην αὐτὰ ταῦτα αἰτιώμενον

ἐθύομεν δὲ πεντάκις τῆς ἡμέρας, ἐκυμβάλιζον δ' ἑπτὰ θεράπαιναι κύκλῳ, αἱ δ' ὠλόλυζον.

τὸ μὲν οὖν ἰδίως τοὺς ἀγύνους τῶν Γετῶν εὐσεβεῖς νομίζεσθαι παράλογόν τι ἐμφαίνει· τὸ δ' ἰσχύειν ἐν τῷ ἔθνει τούτῳ τὴν περὶ τὸ θεῖον σπουδὴν ἔκ τε ὧν εἶπε Ποσειδώνιος οὐκ ἀπιστητέον καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἄλλης ἱστορίας.

However, it is perhaps superfluous to disturb the reading that has had approval for so many years; for it is much more credible that the people were called Mysi at first and that later their name was changed to what it is now. And as for the term “Abii,” one might interpret it as meaning those who are “without hearth:” and “live on wagons” quite as well as those who are “bereft”; for since, in general, injustices arise only in connection with contracts and a too high regard for property, so it is reasonable that those who, like the Abii, live cheaply, on slight resources, should have been called “most just.” In fact, the philosophers who put justice next to self-restraint strive above all things for frugality and personal independence; and consequently extreme self-restraint diverts some of them to the Cynical mode of life. But as for the statement that they live “bereft of women,” the poet suggests nothing of the sort, and particularly in the country of the Thracians and of those of their number who are Getae. And see the statement of Menander about them, which, as one may reasonably suppose, was not invented by him but taken from history: “All the Thracians, and most of all we Getae (for I too boast that I am of this stock) are not very continent;” {71} and a little below he sets down the proofs of their incontinence in their relations with women: “For every man of us marries ten or eleven women, and some, twelve or more; but if anyone meets death before he has married more than four or five, he is lamented among the people there as a wretch without bride and nuptial song.” {72} Indeed, these facts are confirmed by the other writers as well. Further, it is not reasonable to suppose that the same people regard as wretched a life without many women, and yet at the same time regard as pious and just a life that is wholly bereft of women. And of course to regard as “both god-fearing and capnobatae” those who are without women is very much opposed to the common notions on that subject; for all agree in regarding the women as the chief founders of religion, and it is the women who provoke the men to the more attentive worship of the gods, to festivals, and to supplications, and it is a rare thing for a man who lives by himself to be found addicted to these things. See again what the same poet says when he introduces as speaker the man who is vexed by the money spent by the women in connection with the sacrifices: “The gods are the undoing of us, especially us married men, for we must always be celebrating some festival;” {73} and again when he introduces the Woman-hater, who complains about these very things: “we used to sacrifice five times a day, and seven female attendants would beat the cymbals all round us, while others would cry out to the gods.” {74} So, then, the interpretation that the wifeless men of the Getae are in a special way reverential towards the gods is clearly contrary to reason, whereas the interpretation that zeal for religion is strong in this tribe, and that because of their reverence for the gods the people abstain from eating any living thing, is one which, both from what Poseidonius and from what the histories in general tell us, should not be disbelieved.

71. Menander Fr. 547 (Kock

72. Menander Fr. 548 (Kock

73. Menander Fr. 601 (Kock

74. Menander Fr. 326 (Kock

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λέγεται γάρ τινα τῶν Γετῶν ὄνομα Ζάμολξιν δουλεῦσαι Πυθαγόρᾳ καί τινα τῶν οὐρανίων παρ' ἐκείνου μαθεῖν, τὰ δὲ καὶ παρ' Αἰγυπτίων πλανηθέντα καὶ μέχρι δεῦρο· ἐπανελθόντα δ' εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν σπουδασθῆναι παρὰ τοῖς ἡγεμόσι καὶ τῷ ἔθνει προλέγοντα τὰς ἐπισημασίας, τελευτῶντα δὲ πεῖσαι τὸν βασιλέα κοινωνὸν τῆς ἀρχῆς αὐτὸν λαβεῖν ὡς τὰ παρὰ τῶν θεῶν ἐξαγγέλλειν ἱκανόν· καὶ κατ' ἀρχὰς μὲν ἱερέα κατασταθῆναι τοῦ μάλιστα τιμωμένου παρ' αὐτοῖς θεοῦ, μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ καὶ θεὸν προσαγορευθῆναι, καὶ καταλαβόντα ἀντρῶδές τι χωρίον ἄβατον τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐνταῦθα διαιτᾶσθαι, σπάνιον ἐντυγχάνοντα τοῖς ἐκτὸς πλὴν τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ τῶν θεραπόντων· συμπράττειν δὲ τὸν βασιλέα ὁρῶντα τοὺς ἀνθρώπους προσέχοντας ἑαυτῷ πολὺ πλέον ἢ πρότερον, ὡς ἐκφέροντι τὰ προστάγματα κατὰ συμβουλὴν θεῶν. τουτὶ δὲ τὸ ἔθος διέτεινεν ἄχρι καὶ εἰς ἡμᾶς, ἀεί τινος εὑρισκομένου τοιούτου τὸ ἦθος, ὃς τῷ μὲν βασιλεῖ σύμβουλος ὑπῆρχε, παρὰ δὲ τοῖς Γέταις ὠνομάζετο θεός· καὶ τὸ ὄρος ὑπελήφθη ἱερόν, καὶ προσαγορεύουσιν οὕτως· ὄνομα δ' αὐτῷ Κωγαίονον ὁμώνυμον τῷ παραρρέοντι ποταμῷ. καὶ δὴ ὅτε Βυρεβίστας ἦρχε τῶν Γετῶν, ἐφ' ὃν ἤδη παρεσκευάσατο Καῖσαρ ὁ θεὸς στρατεύειν, Δεκαίνεος εἶχε ταύτην τὴν τιμήν, καί πως τὸ τῶν ἐμψύχων ἀπέχεσθαι Πυθαγόρειον τοῦ Ζαμόλξιος ἔμεινε παραδοθέν.

In fact, it is said that a certain man of the Getae, Zamolxis by name, had been a slave to Pythagoras, and had learned some things about the heavenly bodies from him, {75} as also certain other things from the Egyptians, for in his wanderings he had gone even as far as Egypt; and when he came on back to his home-land he was eagerly courted by the rulers and the people of the tribe, because he could make predictions from the celestial signs; and at last he persuaded the king to take him as a partner in the government, on the ground that he was competent to report the will of the gods; and although at the outset he was only made a priest of the god who was most honored in their country, yet afterwards he was even addressed as god, and having taken possession of a certain cavernous place that was inaccessible to anyone else he spent his life there, only rarely meeting with any people outside except the king and his own attendants; and the king cooperated with him, because he saw that the people paid much more attention to himself than before, in the belief that the decrees which he promulgated were in accordance with the counsel of the gods. This custom persisted even down to our own time, because some man of that character was always to be found, who, though in fact only a counsellor to the king, was called god among the Getae. And the people took up the notion that the mountain {76} was sacred and they so call it, but its name is Cogaeonum, {77} like that of the river which flows past it. So, too, at the time when Byrebistas, {78} against whom already {79} the Deified Caesar had prepared to make an expedition, was reigning over the Getae, the office in question was held by Decaeneus, and somehow or other the Pythagorean doctrine of abstention from eating any living thing still survived as taught by Zamolxis.

75. For another version of the story of Zamolxis, see Hdt. 4.94-96, who doubts whether such a man ever existed, but says that he was reputed to have been, for a time, a slave pf Pythagoras in Samos.

76. The “cavernous place” previously referred to.

77. Some scholars identify this mountain with what is now Mt. Gogany (near Mika); others, with Mt. Kaszon (on the borders of Transylvania and Moldavia). The former is more likely.

78. Strabo also spells the name “Boerebistas (7. 3. 11, 12).

79. Cp. 7. 3. 11.

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τοιαῦτα μὲν οὖν ὁὖ κακῶς ἄν τις διαποροίη περὶ τῶν κειμένων παρὰ τῷ ποιητῇ περί τε Μυσῶν καὶ ἀγαυῶν ἱππημολγῶν· ἃ δ' Ἀπολλόδωρος ἐν τῷ δευτέρῳ περὶ νεῶν προοιμιαζόμενος εἴρηκεν ἥκιστα λέγοιτ' ἄν. ἐπαινεῖ γὰρ Ἐρατοσθένους ἀπόφασιν, ὅτι φησὶν ἐκεῖνος καὶ Ὅμηρον καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους τοὺς παλαιοὺς τὰ μὲν Ἑλληνικὰ εἰδέναι τῶν δὲ πόρρω πολλὴν ἔχειν ἀπειρίαν, ἀπείρους μὲν μακρῶν ὁδῶν ὄντας ἀπείρους δὲ τοῦ ναυτίλλεσθαι. συνηγορῶν δὲ τούτοις Ὅμηρόν φησι τὴν μὲν Αὐλίδα καλεῖν πετρήεσσαν, ὥσπερ καὶ ἔστι, πολύκνημον δὲ τὸν Ἐτεωνόν, πολυτρήρωνα δὲ τὴν Θίσβην, ποιήεντα δὲ τὸν Ἁλίαρτον· τὰ δ' ἄπωθεν οὔτ' αὐτὸν εἰδέναι οὔτε τοὺς ἄλλους. ποταμῶν γοῦν περὶ τετταράκοντα ῥεόντων εἰς τὸν Πόντον μηδὲ τῶν ἐνδοξοτάτων μηδενὸς μεμνῆσθαι, οἷον Ἴστρου Τανάιδος Βορυσθένους Ὑπάνιος Φάσιδος Θερμώδοντος Ἅλυος· ἔτι δὲ Σκυθῶν μὲν μὴ μεμνῆσθαι, πλάττειν δὲ ἀγαυούς τινας ἱππημολγοὺς καὶ γαλακτοφάγους ἀβίους τε, Παφλαγόνας τε τοὺς ἐν τῇ μεσογαίᾳ ἱστορηκέναι παρὰ τῶν πεζῇ τοῖς τόποις πλησιασάντων, τὴν παραλίαν δὲ ἀγνοεῖν· καὶ εἰκότως γε. ἄπλουν γὰρ εἶναι τότε τὴν θάλατταν ταύτην καὶ καλεῖσθαι Ἄξενον διὰ τὸ δυσχείμερον καὶ τὴν ἀγριότητα τῶν περιοικούντων ἐθνῶν καὶ μάλιστα τῶν Σκυθικῶν, ξενοθυτούντων καὶ σαρκοφαγούντων καὶ τοῖς κρανίοις ἐκπώμασι χρωμένων· ὕστερον δ' Εὔξεινον κεκλῆσθαι τῶν Ἰώνων ἐν τῇ παραλίᾳ πόλεις κτισάντων· ὁμοίως δ' ἀγνοεῖν καὶ τὰ περὶ Αἴγυπτον καὶ Λιβύην, οἷον τὰς ἀναβάσεις τοῦ Νείλου καὶ προσχώσεις τοῦ πελάγους, ὧν οὐδαμοῦ μεμνῆσθαι, οὐδὲ τοῦ ἰσθμοῦ τοῦ μεταξὺ τῆς Ἐρυθρᾶς καὶ τῆς Αἰγυπτίας θαλάττης, οὐδὲ τῶν κατὰ τὴν Ἀραβίαν καὶ Αἰθιοπίαν καὶ τὸν ὠκεανόν, εἰ μὴ Ζήνωνι τῷ φιλοσόφῳ προσεκτέον γράφοντι

Αἰθίοπάς θ' ἱκόμην καὶ Σιδονίους Ἄραβάς τε.

οὐ θαυμαστὸν δ' εἶναι περὶ Ὁμήρου· καὶ γὰρ τοὺς ἔτι νεωτέρους ἐκείνου πολλὰ ἀγνοεῖν καὶ τερατολογεῖν, Ἡσίοδον μὲν Ἡμίκυνας λέγοντα καὶ Μεγαλοκεφάλους καὶ Πυγμαίους, Ἀλκμᾶνα δὲ Στεγανόποδας, Αἰσχύλον δὲ κυνοκεφάλους καὶ στερνοφθάλμους καὶ μονομμάτους καὶ ἄλλα μυρία. ἀπὸ δὲ τούτων ἐπὶ τοὺς συγγραφέας βαδίζει Ῥιπαῖα ὄρη λέγοντας καὶ τὸ Ὠγύιον ὄρος καὶ τὴν τῶν Γοργόνων καὶ Ἑσπερίδων κατοικίαν, καὶ τὴν παρὰ Θεοπόμπῳ Μεροπίδα γῆν, παρ' Ἑκαταίῳ δὲ Κιμμερίδα πόλιν, παρ' Εὐημέρῳ δὲ τὴν Παγχαΐαν γῆν, παρ' Ἀριστοτέλει δὲ ποταμίους λίθους ἐξ ἄμμου . . . ἐκ δὲ τῶν ὄμβρων τήκεσθαι, ἐν δὲ τῇ Λιβύῃ Διονύσου πόλιν εἶναι, ταύτην δ' οὐκ ἐνδέχεσθαι δὶς τὸν αὐτὸν ἐξευρεῖν. ἐπιτιμᾷ δὲ καὶ τοῖς περὶ Σικελίαν τὴν πλάνην λέγουσι καθ' Ὅμηρον τὴν Ὀδυσσέως· εἰ γὰρ αὖ χρῆναι τὴν μὲν πλάνην ἐκεῖ γεγονέναι φάσκειν, τὸν δὲ ποιητὴν ἐξωκεανικέναι μυθολογίας χάριν. καὶ τοῖς μὲν ἄλλοις συγγνώμην εἶναι, Καλλιμάχῳ δὲ μὴ πάνυ μεταποιουμένῳ γε γραμματικῆς, ὃς τὴν μὲν Γαῦδον Καλυψοῦς νῆσόν φησι, τὴν δὲ Κόρκυραν Σχερίαν. ἄλλους δ' αἰτιᾶται ψεύσασθαι περὶ Γερήνων καὶ τοῦ Ἀκακησίου καὶ Δήμου ἐν Ἰθάκῃ, Πελεθρονίου δ' ἐν Πηλίῳ, Γλαυκωπίου δ' ἐν Ἀθήναις. τούτοις δὲ μικρά τινα προσθεὶς τοιαῦτα παύεται, τὰ πλεῖστα μετενέγκας παρὰ τοῦ Ἐρατοσθένους, ὡς καὶ πρότερον ἐμνήσθημεν, οὐκ εὖ εἰρημένα. τὸ μὲν γὰρ τοὺς ὕστερον ἐμπειροτέρους γεγονέναι τῶν πάλαι περὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα καὶ Ἐρατοσθένει καὶ τούτῳ δοτέον· τὸ δ' οὕτω πέρα τοῦ μετρίου προάγειν καὶ μάλιστα ἐφ' Ὁμήρου, δοκεῖ μοι κἂν ἐπιπλῆξαί τις δικαίως καὶ τοὐναντίον εἰπεῖν, ὡς περὶ ὧν ἀγνοοῦσιν αὐτοί, περὶ τούτων τῷ ποιητῇ προφέρουσι. τὰ μὲν οὖν ἄλλα ἐν τοῖς καθ' ἕκαστα οἰκείας μνήμης τυγχάνει, τὰ δ' ἐν τοῖς καθόλου.

Now although such difficulties as these might fairly be raised concerning what is found in the text of Homer about the Mysians and the “proud Hippemolgi,” yet what Apollodorus states in the preface to the Second Book of his work On Ships {80} can by no means be asserted; for he approves the declaration of Eratosthenes, that although both Homer and the other early authors knew the Greek places, they were decidedly unacquainted with those that were far away, since they had no experience either in making long journeys by land or in making voyages by sea. And in support of this Apollodorus says that Homer calls Aulis “rocky” {81} (and so it is), and Eteonus “place of many ridges,” {82} and Thisbe “haunt of doves,” {83} and Haliartus “grassy,” {84} but, he says, neither Homer nor the others knew the places that were far away. At any rate, he says, although about forty rivers now into the Pontus, Homer mentions not a single one of those that are the most famous, as, for example, the Ister, the Tanaïs, the Borysthenes, the Hypanis, the Phasis, the Thermodon, the Halys; {85} and, besides, he does not mention the Scythians, but invents certain “proud Hippemolgi” and “Galactophagi” and “Abii”; and as for the Paphlagonians of the interior, he reports what he has learned from those who have approached the regions afoot, but he is ignorant of the seaboard, {86} and naturally so, for at that time this sea was not navigable, and was called Axine {87} because of its wintry storms and the ferocity of the tribes that lived around it, and particularly the Scythians, in that they sacrificed strangers, ate their flesh, and used their skulls as drinking-cups; but later it was called “Euxine,” {88} when the Ionians founded cities on the seaboard. And, likewise, Homer is also ignorant of the facts about Egypt and Libya, as, for example, about the risings of the Nile and the silting up of the sea, {89} things which he nowhere mentions; neither does he mention the isthmus between the Erythraean {90} and the Egyptian {91} Seas, nor the regions of Arabia and Ethiopia and the ocean, unless one should give heed to Zeno the philosopher when he writes, “And I came to the Ethiopians and Sidonians and Arabians.” {92} {93} But this ignorance in Homer's case is not amazing, for those who have lived later than he have been ignorant of many things and have invented marvellous tales: Hesiod, when he speaks of “men who are half-dog,” {94} of “long-headed men,” and of “Pygmies”; and Alcman, when he speaks of “web footed men”; and Aeschylus, when he speaks of “dog-headed men,” of “men with eyes in their breasts”, and of “one-eyed men” (in his Prometheus it is said {95} ); and a host of other tales. From these men he proceeds against the historians who speak of the “Rhipaean Mountains,” {96} and of “Mt. Ogyium,” {97} and of the settlement of the Gorgons and Hesperides, and of the “Land of Meropis” {98} in Theopompus, {99} and the “City of Cimmeris” in Hecataeus, {100} and the “Land of Panchaea” {101} in Euhemerus, {102} and in Aristotle “the river-stones, which are formed of sand but are melted by the rains.” {103} And in Libya, Apollodorus continues, there is a “City of Dionysus” which it is impossible for the same man ever to find twice. He censures also those who speak of the Homeric wanderings of Odysseus as having been in the neighborhood of Sicily; for in that case, says he, one should go on and say that, although the wanderings took place there, the poet, for the sake of mythology, placed them out in Oceanus. {104} And, he adds, the writers in general can be pardoned, but Callimachus {105} cannot be pardoned at all, because he makes a pretence of being a scholar; {106} for he calls Gaudos {107} the “Isle of Calypso” and Corcyra “Scheria.” And others he charges with falsifying about “Gerena,” {108} and “Aeacesium,” {109} and “Demus” {110} in Ithaca, and about “Pelethronium” {111} in Pelion, and about Glaucopium {112} in Athens. To these criticisms Apollodorus adds some petty ones of like sort and then stops, but he borrowed most of them from Eratosthenes, and as I have remarked before {113} they are wrong. For while one must concede to Eratosthenes and Apollodorus that the later writers have shown themselves better acquainted with such matters than the men of early times, yet to proceed beyond all moderation as they do, and particularly in the case of Homer, is a thing for which, as it seems to me, one might justly rebuke them and make the reverse statement: that where they are ignorant themselves, there they reproach the poet with ignorance. However, what remains to be said on this subject meets with appropriate mention in my detailed descriptions of the several countries, {114} as also in my general description. {115}

80. Or rather On the Catalogue of Ships (1. 2. 24).

81. Hom. Il. 2.496.

82. Hom. Il. 2.497.

83. Hom. Il. 2.502.

84. Hom. Il. 2.503.

85. Now, respectively, the Danube, Don, Dnieper, Bog, Rion, Termeh, and Kizil-Irmak.

86. Cp. 12. 3. 26.

87. That is “Inhospitable.

88. “Hospitable,” euphemistically.

89. Cp. 1. 2. 29.

90. Red.

91. Mediterranean.

92. Hom Od. 4.84

93. Zeno emended the Homeric text to read as above (see 1. 2. 34).

94. Cp. 1. 2. 35.

95. Aeschylus refers to “one-eyed” men in Aesch. PB 804. The other epithets (See Nauck, Fr. 431, 441) were taken from plays now lost.

96. Cp. 7. 3. 1.

97. “Mt. Ogyium” is otherwise unknown. The reading is probably corrupt.

98. Aelian Var. Hist. 3.18 says that Theopompus the historian related a conversation between King Midas and Silenus in which Silenus reported a race called “meropians” who inhabited a continent larger than Asia, Europe, and Africa combined.

99. Theopompus (b. about 380 B.C.) write, among other works, two histories, (1) the Hellenica, in twelve books, being a continuation of Thucydides and covering the period from 411 to 394 B.C., and (2) the Philippica, in fifty-eight books, being a history of the life and times of Philip of Macedon (360-336 BC.). Only a few fragments of these works remain.

100. Hecataeus (b. about 540 B.C.) wrote both a geographical and an historical treatise. Only fragments remain.

101. Cp. 2. 4. 2.

102. Euhemerus (fl. about 310 B.C.) wrote a work on Sacred History (cp. 1. 3. 1).

103. Such words as these have not been found in the extant works of Aristotle.

104. Cp. 1. 2. 17-19.

105. Callimachus of Cyrene (fl. about 250 B.C.) is said to have written about 800 works, in prose and verse. Only 6 hymns, 64 epigrams and some fragments are extant.

106. Cp. 1. 2. 37.

107. See footnote 2 on 1. 2. 37.

108. Cp. 8. 3. 7, 29 and the Odyssey (the “Gerenian” Nestor).

109. Strabo alludes to the wrong interpretation which some put upon ἀκάκητα, the epithet of Hermes (Hom. Il. 16.185), making it refer to a cavern in “Arcadia, called “Acacesium,” near Mt. Cyllene, where Hermes was born. Hesiod (Theog. 614) gives the same epithet to Prometheus, who, according to the scholiast, was so called from “Mt. Acacesium” in Arcadia, where he was much revered.

110. Hom. Il. 3.201. The critics in question maintained that “demus” (“deme,” “people”) was the name of a place in Ithaca.

111. “Pelethronium” is not found in Homer of Hesiod. According to some it was a city of Thessaly; others, a mountain (or a part of Mt. Pelion) in Thessaly; and others, the cave where Cheiron trained Achilles.

112. “Glauconpium” is not found in Homer or Hesiod. According to Eustathius it was applied by the ancients to the citadel of Athens, or to the temple of Athene, and was derived from Athene “Glaucopis” (“Flashing-eyed”); but Stephanus Byzantinus derives the word from Glaucopus, son of Alalcomeneus.

113. 1. 2. 24.

114. For example, 12. 3. 26-27.

115. The first and second books, passim.

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νυνὶ δὲ περὶ Θρᾳκῶν ἐλέγομεν

Μυσῶν τ' ἀγχεμάχων καὶ ἀγαυῶν ἱππημολγῶν, γλακτοφάγων ἀβίων τε, δικαιοτάτων ἀνθρώπων,

βουλόμενοι συγκρῖναι τά τε ὑφ' ἡμῶν καὶ τὰ ὑπὸ Ποσειδωνίου λεχθέντα καὶ τὰ ὑπὸ τούτων· πρότερον δ' ὅτι τὴν ἐπιχείρησιν ὑπεναντίαν τοῖς προτεθεῖσι πεποίηνται. προὔθεντο μὲν γὰρ διδάξαι διότι τῶν πόρρω τῆς Ἑλλάδος πλείων ἦν ἄγνοια τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις ἢ τοῖς νεωτέροις, ἔδειξαν δὲ τἀναντία, καὶ οὐ κατἆ τὰ πόρρω μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ Ἑλλάδι. ἀλλ', ὡς ἔφην, τὰ ἄλλα μὲν ὑπερκείσθω, τὰ δὲ νῦν σκοπῶμεν. Σκυθῶν μὲν γὰρ μἦ μεμνῆσθαι κατ' ἄγνοιάν φασι, μηδὲ τῆς περὶ τοὺς ξένους ὠμότητος αὐτῶν, καταθυόντων καὶ σαρκοφαγούντων καὶ τοῖς κρανίοις ἐκπώμασι χρωμένων, δι' οὓς Ἄξενος ὠνομάζετο ὁ πόντος, πλάττειν δ' ἀγαυούς τινας ἱππημολγοὺς γαλακτοφάγους ἀβίους τε, δικαιοτάτους ἀνθρώπους, τοὺς οὐδαμοῦ γῆς ὄντας. πῶς οὖν Ἄξενον ὠνόμαζον, εἰ μὴ ᾔδεισαν τὴν ἀγριότητα, μηδ' αὐτοὺς τοὺς μάλιστα τοιούτους; οὗτοι δ' εἰσὶ δήπου οἱ Σκύθαι. πότερον δ' οὐδ' ἱππημολγοὶ ἦσαν οἱ ἐπέκεινα τῶν Μυσῶν καὶ Θρᾳκῶν καὶ Γετῶν, οὐδὲ γαλακτοφάγοι καὶ ἄβιοι; ἀλλὰ καὶ νῦν εἰσιν ἁμάξοικοι καὶ νομάδες καλούμενοι, ζῶντες ἀπὸ θρεμμάτων καὶ γάλακτος καὶ τυροῦ καὶ μάλιστα ἱππείου, θησαυρισμὸν δ' οὐκ εἰδότες οὐδὲ καπηλείαν πλὴν εἰ φόρτον ἀντὶ φόρτου. πῶς οὖν ἠγνόει τοὺς Σκύθας ὁ ποιητής, ἱππημολγοὺς καὶ γαλακτοφάγους τινὰς προσαγορεύων; ὅτι γὰρ οἱ τότε τούτους ἱππημολγοὺς ἐκάλουν, καὶ Ἡσίοδος μάρτυς ἐν τοῖς ὑπ' Ἐρατοσθένους παρατεθεῖσιν ἔπεσιν

Αἰθίοπας τε Λίγυς τε ἰδὲ Σκύθας ἱππημολγούς.

τί δὲ θαυμαστόν, εἰ διὰ τὸ πλεονάζειν παρ' ἡμῖν τὴν περὶ τὰ συμβόλαια ἀδικίαν δικαιοτάτους εἶπεν ἀνθρώπους τοὺς ἥκιστα ἐν τοῖς συμβολαίοις καὶ τῷ ἀργυρισμῷ ζῶντας, ἀλλὰ καὶ κοινὰ κεκτημένους πάντα πλὴν ξίφους καὶ ποτηρίου, ἐν δὲ τοῖς πρῶτον τὰς γυναῖκας πλατωνικῶς ἔχοντας κοινὰς καὶ τέκνα; καὶ Αἰσχύλος δ' ἐμφαίνει συνηγορῶν τῷ ποιητῇ φήσας περὶ τῶν Σκυθῶν

ἀλλ' ἱππάκης βρωτῆρες εὔνομοι Σκύθα

αὕτη δ' ἡ ὑπόληψις καὶ νῦν ἔτι συμμένει παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησιν· ἁπλουστάτους τε γὰρ αὐτοὺς νομίζομεν καὶ ἥκιστα κακεντρεχεῖς εὐτελεστέρους τε πολὺ ἡμῶν καὶ αὐταρκεστέρους· καίτοι ὅ γε καθ' ἡμᾶς βίος εἰς πάντας σχεδόν τι διατέτακε τὴν πρὸς τὸ χεῖρον μεταβολήν, τρυφὴν καὶ ἡδονὰς καὶ κακοτεχνίας καὶ πλεονεξίας μυρίας πρὸς ταῦτ' εἰσάγων. πολὺ οὖν τῆς τοιαύτης κακίας καὶ εἰς τοὺς βαρβάρους ἐμπέπτωκε τούς τε ἄλλους καὶ τοὺς νομάδας· καὶ γὰρ θαλάττης ἁψάμενοι χείρους γεγόνασι λῃστεύοντες καὶ ξενοκτονοῦντες, καὶ ἐπιπλεκόμενοι πολλοῖς μεταλαμβάνουσι τῆς ἐκείνων πολυτελείας καὶ καπηλείας· ἃ δοκεῖ μὲν εἰς ἡμερότητα συντείνειν, διαφθείρει δὲ τὰ ἤθη καὶ ποικιλίαν ἀντὶ τῆς ἁπλότητος τῆς ἄρτι λεχθείσης εἰσάγει.

Just now I was discussing the Thracians, and the “Mysians, hand-to-hand fighters, and the proud Hippemolgi, Galactophagi, and Abii, men most just,” {116} {117} because I wished to make a comparison between the statements made by Poseidonius and myself and those made by the two men in question. Take first the fact that the argument which they have attempted is contrary to the proposition which they set out to prove; for although they set out to prove that the men of earlier times were more ignorant of regions remote from Greece than the men of more recent times, they showed the reverse, not only in regard to regions remote, but also in regard to places in Greece itself. However, as I was saying, let me put off everything else and look to what is now before me: they {118} say that the poet through ignorance fails to mention the Scythians, or their savage dealings with strangers, in that they sacrifice them, eat their flesh, and use their skulls as drinking-cups, although it was on account of the Scythians that the Puntus was called “Axine,” but that he invents certain “proud Hippemolgi, Galactophagi, and Abii, men most just”--people that exist nowhere on earth, How, then, could they call the sea “Axine” if they did not know about the ferocity or about the people who were most ferocious? And these, of course, are the Scythians. And were the people who lived beyond the Mysians and Thracians and Getae not also “Hippemolgi,” {119} not also “Galactophagi” {120} and “Abii”? {121} In fact, even now {122} there are Wagon-dwellers and Nomads, so called, who live off their herds, and on milk and cheese, and particularly on cheese made from mare's milk, and know nothing about storing up food or about peddling merchandise either, except the exchange of wares for wares. How, then, could the poet be ignorant of the Scythians if he called certain people “Hippemolgi and Galactophagi”? For that the people of his time were wont to call the Scythians “Hippemolgi,” Hesiod, too, is witness in the words cited by Eratosthenes: The Ethiopians, the Ligurians, and also the Scythians, Hippemolgi.” {123} Now wherein is it to be wondered at that, because of the widespread injustice connected with contracts in our country, Homer called “most just” and “proud” those who by no means spend their lives on contracts and money-getting but actually possess all things in common except sword and drinking-cup, and above all things have their wives and their children in common, in the Platonic way? {124} Aeschylus, too, is clearly pleading the cause of the poet when he says about the Scythians: “But the Scythians, law-abiding, eaters of cheese made of mare's milk.” {125} And this assumption even now still persists among the Greeks; for we regard the Scythians the most straightforward of men and the least prone to mischief, as also far more frugal and independent of others than we are. And yet our mode of life has spread its change for the worse to almost all peoples, introducing amongst them luxury and sensual pleasures and, to satisfy these vices, base artifices that lead to innumerable acts of greed. So then, much wickedness of this sort has fallen on the barbarian peoples also, on the Nomads as well as the rest; for as the result of taking up a seafaring life they not only have become morally worse, indulging in the practice of piracy and of slaying strangers, but also, because of their intercourse with many peoples, have partaken of the luxury and the peddling habits of those peoples. But though these things seem to conduce strongly to gentleness of manner, they corrupt morals and introduce cunning instead of the straightforwardness which I just now mentioned.

116. Hom. Il. 13.5f.

117. See 7. 3. 2 and the footnote.

118. Eratosthenes and Apollodorus.

119. “Mare-milkers.”

120. “Curd-eaters.”

121. “A resourceless folk.”

122. Cp. the similar words quoted from Ephorus, 7. 3. 9.

123. Eratosthenes Fr. 232 (Loeb); (Rzach, Fr. 55

124. Plat. Rep. 457d, 458c-d, 460b-d, 540, 543.

125. Aesch. Fr. 198 (Nauck)

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οἱ μέντοι πρὸ ἡμῶν καὶ μάλιστα οἱ ἐγγὺς τοῖς Ὁμήρου χρόνοις τοιοῦτοί τινες ἦσαν καὶ ὑπελαμβάνοντο παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ὁποίους Ὅμηρός φησιν. ὅρα δὲ ἃ λέγει Ἡρόδοτος περὶ τοῦ τῶν Σκυθῶν βασιλέως, ἐφ' ὃν ἐστράτευσε Δαρεῖος, καὶ τὰ ἐπεσταλμένα παρ' αὐτοῦ. ὅρα δὲ καὶ ἃ λέγει Χρύσιππος περὶ τῶν τοῦ Βοσπόρου βασιλέων τῶν περὶ Λεύκωνα. πλήρεις δὲ καὶ αἱ Περσικαὶ ἐπιστολαὶ τῆς ἁπλότητος ἧς λέγω, καὶ τὰ ὑπὸ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων καὶ Βαβυλωνίων καὶ Ἰνδῶν ἀπομνημονευόμενα. διὰ τοῦτο δὲ καὶ ὁ Ἀνάχαρσις καὶ Ἄβαρις καί τινες ἄλλοι τοιοῦτοι παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησιν εὐδοκίμουν, ὅτι ἐθνικόν τινα χαρακτῆρα ἐπέφαινον εὐκολίας καὶ λιτότητος καὶ δικαιοσύνης. καὶ τί δεῖ τοὺς πάλαι λέγειν; Ἀλέξανδρος γὰρ ὁ Φιλίππου κατὰ τὴν ἐπὶ Θρᾷκας τοὺς ὑπὲρ τοῦ Αἵμου στρατείαν ἐμβαλὼν εἰς Τριβαλλούς, ὁρῶν μέχρι τοῦ Ἴστρου καθήκοντας καὶ τῆς ἐν αὐτῷ νήσου Πεύκης, τὰ πέραν δὲ Γέτας ἔχοντας, ἀφῖχθαι λέγεται μέχρι δεῦρο, καὶ εἰς μὲν τὴν νῆσον ἀποβῆναι μὴ δύνασθαι σπάνει πλοίων ἐκεῖσε γὰρ καταφυγόντα τὸν τῶν Τριβαλλῶν βασιλέα Σύρμον ἀντισχεῖν πρὸς τὴν ἐπιχείρησιν , εἰς δὲ τοὺς Γέτας διαβάντα ἑλεῖν αὐτῶν πόλιν καὶ ἀναστρέψαι διὰ ταχέων εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν, λαβόντα δῶρα παρἆ τῶν ἐθνῶν καὶ παρὰ τοῦ Σύρμου. φησὶ δὲ Πτολεμαῖος ὁ Λάγου κατὰ ταύτην τὴν στρατείαν συμμῖξαι τῷ Ἀλεξάνδρῳ Κελτοὺς τοὺς περὶ τὸν Ἀδρίαν φιλίας καὶ ξενίας χάριν, δεξάμενον δὲ αὐτοὺς φιλοφρόνως τὸν βασιλέα ἐρέσθαι παρὰ πότον, τί μάλιστα εἴη ὃ φοβοῖντο, νομίζοντα αὐτὸν ἐρεῖν· αὐτοὺς δ' ἀποκρίνασθαι ὅτι οὐδὲν πλὴν εἰ ἄρα μὴ ὁ οὐρανὸς αὐτοῖς ἐπιπέσοι, φιλίαν γε μὴν ἀνδρὸς τοιούτου περὶ παντὸς τίθεσθαι. ταῦτα δὲ ἁπλότητος τῆς τῶν βαρβάρων ἐστὶ σημεῖα, τοῦ τε μὴ συγχωρήσαντος μὲν τὴν ἀπόβασιν τὴν εἰς τὴν νῆσον, δῶρα δὲ πέμψαντος καὶ συνθεμένου φιλίαν, καὶ τῶν φοβεῖσθαι μὲν οὐδένα φαμένων, φιλίαν δὲ περὶ παντὸς τίθεσθαι μεγάλων ἀνδρῶν. ὅτε Δρομιχαίτης κατὰ τοὺς διαδόχους ἦν Γετῶν βασιλεύς· ἐκεῖνος τοίνυν λαβὼν ζωγρίᾳ Λυσίμαχον ἐπιστρατεύσαντα αὐτῷ, δείξας τὴν πενίαν τήν τε ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἔθνους, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τὴν αὐτάρκειαν, ἐκέλευσε τοῖς τοιούτοις μὴ πολεμεῖν, ἀλλὰ φίλοις χρῆσθαι· ταῦτα δ' εἰπών, ξενίσας καὶ συνθέμενος φιλίαν ἀπέλυσεν αὐτόν.

Those, however, who lived before our times, and particularly those who lived near the time of Homer, were--and among the Greeks were assumed to be--some such people as Homer describes. And see what Herodotus says concerning that king of the Scythians against whom Dareius made his expedition, and the message which the king sent back to him. {126} See also what Chrysippus {127} says concerning the kings of the Bosporus, the house of Leuco. {128} And not only the Persian letters {129} are full of references to that straightforwardness of which I am speaking but also the memoirs written by the Egyptians, Babylonians, and Indians. And it was on this account that Anacharsis, {130} Abaris, {131} and other men of the sort were in fair repute among the Greeks, because they displayed a nature characterized by complacency, frugality, and justice. But why should I speak of the men of olden times? For when Alexander, the son of Philip, on his expedition against the Thracians beyond the Haemus, {132} invaded the country of the Triballians {133} and saw that it extended as far as the Ister and the island of Peuce {134} in the Ister, and that the parts on the far side were held by the Getae, he went as far as that, {135} it is said, but could not disembark upon the island because of scarcity of boats (for Syrmus, the king of the Triballi had taken refuge there and resisted his attempts); he did, however, cross over to the country of the Getae, took their city, and returned with all speed to his home-land, after receiving gifts from the tribes in question and from Syrmus. And Ptolemaeus, {136} the son of Lagus, {137} says that on this expedition the Celti who lived about the Adriatic joined Alexander for the sake of establishing friendship and hospitality, and that the king received them kindly and asked them when drinking what it was that they most feared, thinking they would say himself, but that they replied they feared no one, unless it were that Heaven might fall on them, although indeed they added that they put above everything else the friendship of such a man as he. And the following are signs of the straightforwardness of the barbarians: first, the fact that Syrmus refused to consent to the debarkation upon the island and yet sent gifts and made a compact of friendship; and, secondly, that the Celti said that they feared no one, and yet valued above everything else the friendship of great men. Earlier, Dromichaetes was king of the Getae in the time of the successors of Alexander. Now he, when he captured Lysimachus {138} alive, who had made an expedition against him, first pointed out the poverty both of himself and of his tribe and likewise their independence of others, and then bade him not to carry on war with people of that sort but rather to deal with them as friends; and after saying this he first entertained him as a guest, and made a compact of friendship, and then released him. Moreover, Plato in his Republic thinks that those who would have a well-governed city should flee as far as possible from the sea, as being a thing that teaches wickedness, and should not live near it. {139}

126. Cp. 7. 3. 14. Dareius sent a message to King Idanthyrsus in which he reproached the latter for fleeing and not fighting. Idanthyrsus replied that he was not fleeing because of fear, but was merely doing what he was wont to do in time of peace; and if Dareius insisted on a fight, he might search out and violate the ancestral tombs, and thus come to realize whether or no the Scythians would fight; “and in reply to your assertion that you are my master, I say ‘howl on’” (Herodotus, 4.127).

127. Chrysippus of Soli (fl. about 230 B.C.), the Stoic philosopher, was a prolific writer, but with the exception of a few fragments his works are lost. The present reference is obviously to his treatise on Modes of Life, which is quoted by Plut. De Stoicorum Repugnantiis 20.3 = 1043 B).

128. Leuco, who succeeded his father Satyrus I, reigned from 393 to 353 B.C. (see 7. 4. 4).

129. i.e., the letters of Persian kings, such as those quoted by Herodotus.

130. Anacharsis was a Scythian prince and philosopher, one of the “Seven Sages,” a traveller, long a resident of Athens (about 590 B.C.), a friend of Solon, and (according to Ephorus) and inventor (7. 3. 9). See Hdt. 4.76.

131. Abaris was called the “Hyperborean” priest and prophet of Apollo, and is said to have visited Athens in the eighth century, or perhaps much later. According to the legend, he healed the sick,m travelled round the world, without once eating, on a golden arrow given him by Apollo, and delivered Sparta from a plague.

132. The Balkan Mountains.

133. A Thracian tribe.

134. See 7. 3. 15 and footnote.

135. i.e., as far as the island.

136. Ptolemaeus Soter, “whom the Macedon (Paus. 1.6), was founder of the Egyptian dynasty and reigned 323-285 B.C.

137. Lagus married Arsinoë, a concubine of Philip.

138. Lysimachus, one of Alexander's generals and successors, obtained Thrace as his portion in the division of the provinces after Alexander's death (323 B.C.), assuming the title of king 306 B.C. He was taken captive, and released, by Dromichaetes 291 B.C.

139. Corais and Groskurd point out that the reference should have been, not to the Republic, but to the Plat. Laws 4.704-705, where Plato discusses the proper place for founding a city; cp. Aristot. Pol. 7.6 on the same subject.

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ἔφορος δ' ἐν τῇ τετάρτῃ μὲν τῆς ἱστορίας Εὐρώπῃ δ' ἐπιγραφομένῃ βίβλῳ, περιοδεύσας τὴν Εὐρώπην μέχρι Σκυθῶν ἐπὶ τέλει φησὶν εἶναι τῶν τε ἄλλων Σκυθῶν καὶ τῶν Σαυροματῶν τοὺς βίους ἀνομοίους· τοὺς μὲν γὰρ εἶναι χαλεποὺς ὥστε καὶ ἀνθρωποφαγεῖν, τοὺς δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ζῴων ἀπέχεσθαι. οἱ μὲν οὖν ἄλλοι, φησί, τὰ περὶ τῆς ὠμότητος αὐτῶν λέγουσιν, εἰδότες τὸ δεινόν τε καὶ τὸ θαυμαστὸν ἐκπληκτικὸν ὄν· δεῖν δὲ τἀναντία καὶ λέγειν καὶ παραδείγματα ποιεῖσθαι· καὶ αὐτὸς οὖν περὶ τῶν δικαιοτάτοις ἤθεσι χρωμένων ποιήσεσθαι τοὺς λόγους· εἶναι γάρ τινας τῶν νομάδων Σκυθῶν γάλακτι τρεφομένους ἵππων τῇ τε δικαιοσύνῃ πάντων διαφέρειν· μεμνῆσθαι δ' αὐτῶν τοὺς ποιητάς, Ὅμηρον μὲν

γλακτοφάγων Ἀβίων τε, δικαιοτάτων ἀνθρώπων

φήσαντα τὴν γῆν καθορᾶν τὸν Δία, Ἡσίοδον δ' ἐν τῇ καλουμένῃ γῆς περιόδῳ τὸν Φινέα ὑπὸ τῶν Ἁρπυιῶν ἄγεσθαι

γλακτοφάγων εἰς γαῖαν ἀπήναις οἰκί' ἐχόντων.

εἶτ' αἰτιολογεῖ διότι ταῖς διαίταις εὐτελεῖς ὄντες καὶ οὐ χρηματισταὶ πρός τε ἀλλήλους εὐνομοῦνται, κοινὰ πάντα ἔχοντες τά τε ἄλλα καὶ τὰς γυναῖκας καὶ τέκνα καὶ τὴν ὅλην συγγένειαν, πρός τε τοὺς ἐκτὸς ἄμαχοί εἰσι καὶ ἀνίκητοι, οὐδὲν ἔχοντες ὑπὲρ οὗ δουλεύσουσι. καλεῖ δὲ καὶ Χοιρίλον εἰπόντα ἐν τῇ διαβάσει τῆς σχεδίας ἣν ἔζευξε Δαρεῖος

μηλονόμοι τε Σάκαι, γενεῇ Σκύθαι· αὐτὰρ ἔναιον Ἀσίδα πυροφόρον· νομάδων γε μὲν ἦσαν ἄποικοι, ἀνθρώπων νομίμων.

καὶ τὸν Ἀνάχαρσιν δὲ σοφὸν καλῶν ὁ Ἔφορος τούτου τοῦ γένους φησὶν εἶναι· νομισθῆναι δὲ καὶ τῶν ἑπτὰ σοφῶν ἐπ' εὐτελείᾳ σωφροσύνῃ καὶ συνέσει· εὑρήματά τε αὐτοῦ λέγει τά τε ζώπυρα καὶ τὴν ἀμφίβολον ἄγκυραν καὶ τὸν κεραμικὸν τροχόν. ταῦτα δὲ λέγω σαφῶς μὲν εἰδὼς ὅτι καὶ οὗτος αὐτὸς οὐ τἀληθέστατα λέγει περὶ πάντων, καὶ δὴ καὶ τὸ τοῦ Ἀναχάρσιδος· πῶς γὰρ ὁ τροχὸς εὕρημα αὐτοῦ, ὃν οἶδεν Ὅμηρος πρεσβύτερος ὤν; ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνα διασημῆναι βουλόμενος ὅτι κοινῇ τινι φήμῃ καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν παλαιῶν καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ὑστέρων πεπιστεῦσθαι συνέβαινε τὸ τῶν νομάδων, τοὺς μάλιστα ἀπῳκισμένους ἀπὸ τῶν ἄλλων ἀνθρώπων γαλακτοφάγους τε εἶναι καὶ ἀβίους καὶ δικαιοτάτους, ἀλλ' οὐχ ὑπὸ Ὁμήρου πεπλάσθαι.

Ephorus, in the fourth book of his history, the book entitled Europe (for he made the circuit {140} of Europe as far as the Scythians), says towards the end that the modes of life both of the Sauromatae and of the other Scythians are unlike, for, whereas some are so cruel that they even eat human beings, others abstain from eating any living creature whatever. Now the other writers, he says, tell only about their savagery, because they know that the terrible and the marvellous are startling, but one should tell the opposite facts too and make them patterns of conduct, and he himself, therefore, will tell only about those who follow “most just” habits, for there are some of the Scythian Nomads who feed only on mare's milk, {141} and excel all men in justice; and they are mentioned by the poets: by Homer, when he says that Zeus espies the land “of the Galactophagi and Abii, men most just,” {142} and by Hesiod, in what is called his Circuit of the Earth, {143} when he says that Phineus is carried by the Storm Winds “to the land of the Galactophagi, who have their dwellings in wagons.” {144} Then Ephorus reasons out the cause as follows: since they are frugal in their ways of living and not money-getters, they not only are orderly towards one another, because they have all things in common, their wives, children, the whole of their kin and everything, but also remain invincible and unconquered by outsiders, because they have nothing to be enslaved for. And he cites Choerilus {145} also, who, in his The Crossing of the Pontoon-Bridge which was constructed by Dareius, {146} says, “the sheep-tending Sacae, of Scythian stock; but they used to live in wheat-producing Asia; however, they were colonists from the Nomads, law-abiding people.” {147} And when he calls Anacharsis “wise,” Ephorus says that he belongs to this race, and that he was considered also one of Seven Wise Men because of his perfect self-control and good sense. And he goes on to tell the inventions of Anacharsis--the bellows, the two-fluked anchor and the potter's wheel. These things I tell knowing full well that Ephorus himself does not tell the whole truth about everything; and particularly in his account of Anacharsis (for how could the wheel be his invention, if Homer, who lived in earlier times, knew of it? “As when a potter his wheel that fits in his hands,” {148} and so on); but as for those other things, I tell them because I wish to make my point clear that there actually was a common report, which was believed by the men of both early and of later times, that a part of the Nomads, I mean those who had settled the farthest away from the rest of mankind, were “galactophagi,” “abii,” and “most just,” and that they were not an invention of Homer.

140. In his description, not literally.

141. Cp. the similar statement in 7. 3. 7.

142. Hom. Il. 13.5

143. This poem seems to have comprised the third book of the Megalae Eoeae (now lost). See Pauly-Wissowa, s.v. “Hesiodus,” p. 1206.

144. Hes. Megalae Eoeae Fr. Book 3

145. Not, apparently, the tragic poet, contemporary of Aeschylus, but the epic poet of Samos (fl. towards the end of the fifth century B.C.), who wrote, among other poems, an epic poem (exact title uncertain) based on the Persian Wars. The Crossing of the Pontoon-Bridge was probably a sub-title of the epic. The same Choerilus is cited in 14. 5. 9.

146. In his campaign by Hdt. 4.83-93; See 7. 3. 15.

147. Choerilus Fr.

148. Hom. Il. 18.600.

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περί τε τῶν Μυσῶν δίκαιός ἐστιν ὑποσχεῖν λόγον τῶν ἐν τοῖς ἔπεσι λεγομένων Ἀπολλόδωρος, πότερ' ἡγεῖται καὶ τούτους εἶναι πλάσμα, ὅταν φῇ ὁ ποιητὴς

Μυσῶν τ' ἀγχεμάχων καὶ ἀγαυῶν ἱππημολγῶν,

ἢ τοὺς ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ δέχεται. τοὺς μὲν οὖν ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ δεχόμενος παρερμηνεύσει τὸν ποιητήν, ὡς προείρηται, πλάσμα δἐ λέγων, ὡς μὴ ὄντων ἐν τῇ Θρᾴκῃ Μυσῶν, παρὰ τὰ ὄντα ἐρεἶ. ἔτι γὰρ ἐφ' ἡμῶν Αἴλιος Κάτος μετῴκισεν ἐκ τῆς περαίας τοῦ Ἴστρου πέντε μυριάδας σωμάτων παρὰ τῶν Γετῶν, ὁμογλώττου τοῖς Θρᾳξὶν ἔθνους, εἰς τὴν Θρᾴκην· καὶ νῦν οἰκοῦσιν αὐτόθι Μοισοὶ καλούμενοι, ἤτοι καὶ τῶν πρότερον οὕτω καλουμένων, ἐν δὲ τῇ Ἀσίᾳ Μυσῶν μετονομασθέντων, ἢ ὅπερ οἰκειότερόν ἐστι τῇ ἱστορίᾳ καὶ τῇ ἀποφάσει τοῦ ποιητοῦ, τῶν ἐν τῇ Θρᾴκῃ Μυσῶν καλουμένων πρότερον. περὶ μὲν δὴ τούτων ἅλις· ἐπάνειμι δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν ἑξῆς περιήγησιν.

It is but fair, too, to ask Apollodorus to account for the Mysians that are mentioned in the verses of Homer, whether he thinks that these too are inventions {149} (when the poet says, “and the Mysians, hand-to-hand fighters and the proud Hippenlolgi” {150} ), or takes the poet to mean the Mysians in Asia. Now if he takes the poet to mean those in Asia, he will misinterpret him, as I have said before, {151} but if he calls them an invention, meaning that there were no Mysians in Thrace, he will contradict the facts; for at any rate, even in our own times, Aelius Catus {152} transplanted from the country on the far side of the Ister into Thrace {153} fifty thousand persons from among the Getae, a tribe with the same tongue as the Thracians. {154} And they live there in Thrace now and are called “Moesi”--whether it be that their people of earlier times were so called and that in Asia the name was changed to “Mysi,” {155} or (what is more apposite to history and the declaration of the poet) that in earlier times their people in Thrace were called “Mysi.” Enough, however, on this subject. I shall now go back to the next topic in the general description.

149. Cp. 7. 3. 6.

150. Hom. Il. 13.4

151. 7. 3. 2.

152. Perhaps as governor of Macedonia. He was consul with C. Sentius 4. A.D.

153. Lower Moesia.

154. Cp. 7. 3. 2.

155. See 7. 3. 4.

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τῶν δὴ Γετῶν τὰ μὲν παλαιὰ ἀφείσθω, τὰ δ' εἰς ἡμᾶς ἤδη τοιαῦτα ὑπῆρξε. Βοιρεβίστας ἀνὴρ Γέτης, ἐπιστὰς ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ ἔθνους ἐπιστασίαν, ἀνέλαβε κεκακωμένους τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ὑπὸ συχνῶν πολέμων καὶ τοσοῦτον ἐπῆρεν ἀσκήσει καὶ νήψει καὶ τῷ προσέχειν τοῖς προστάγμασιν, ὥστ' ὀλίγων ἐτῶν μεγάλην ἀρχὴν κατεστήσατο καὶ τῶν ὁμόρων τοὺς πλείστους ὑπέταξε τοῖς Γέταις· ἤδη δὲ καὶ Ῥωμαίοις φοβερὸς ἦν, διαβαίνων ἀδεῶς τὸν Ἴστρον καὶ τὴν Θρᾴκην λεηλατῶν μέχρι Μακεδονίας καὶ τῆς Ἰλλυρίδος, τούς τε Κελτοὺς τοὺς ἀναμεμιγμένους τοῖς τε Θρᾳξὶ καὶ τοῖς Ἰλλυριοῖς ἐξεπόρθησε, Βοίους δὲ καὶ ἄρδην ἠφάνισε τοὺς ὑπὸ Κριτασίρῳ καὶ Ταυρίσκους. πρὸς δὲ τὴν εὐπείθειαν τοῦ ἔθνους συναγωνιστὴν ἔσχε Δεκαίνεον ἄνδρα γόητα, πεπλανημένον κατὰ τὴν Αἴγυπτον καὶ προσημασίας ἐκμεμαθηκότα τινάς, δι' ὧν ὑπεκρίνετο τὰ θεῖα· καὶ δι' ὀλίγου καθίστατο θεός, καθάπερ ἔφαμεν περὶ τοῦ Ζαμόλξεως διηγούμενοι. τῆς δ' εὐπειθείας σημεῖον· ἐπείσθησαν γὰρ ἐκκόψαι τὴν ἄμπελον καὶ ζῆν οἴνου χωρίς. ὁ μὲν οὖν Βοιρεβίστας ἔφθη καταλυθεὶς ἐπαναστάντων αὐτῷ τινων πρὶν ἢ Ῥωμαίους στεῖλαι στρατείαν ἐπ' αὐτόν· οἱ δὲ διαδεξάμενοι τὴν ἀρχὴν εἰς πλείω μέρη διέστησαν. καὶ δὴ καὶ νῦν, ἡνίκα ἔπεμψεν ἐπ' αὐτοὺς στρατείαν ὁ Σεβαστὸς Καῖσαρ, εἰς πέντε μερίδας, τότε δὲ εἰς τέτταρας διεστῶτες ἐτύγχανον· οἱ μὲν οὖν τοιοῦτοι μερισμοὶ πρόσκαιροι καὶ ἄλλοτ' ἄλλοι.

As for the Getae, then, their early history must be left untold, but that which pertains to our own times is about as follows: Boerebistas {156} a Getan, on setting himself in authority over the tribe, restored the people, who had been reduced to an evil plight by numerous wars, and raised them to such a height through training, sobriety, and obedience to his commands that within only a few years he had established a great empire and subordinated to the Getae most of the neighboring peoples. And he began to be formidable even to the Romans, because he would cross the Ister with impunity and plunder Thrace as far as Macedonia and the Illyrian country; and he not only laid waste the country of the Celti who were intermingled {157} with the Thracians and the Illyrians, but actually caused the complete disappearance of the Boii {158} who were under the rule of Critasirus, {159} and also of the Taurisci. {160} To help him secure the complete obedience of his tribe he had as his coadjutor Decaeneus, {161} a wizard, a man who not only had wandered through Egypt, but also had thoroughly learned certain prognostics through which he would pretend to tell the divine will; and within a short time he was set up as god (as I said when relating the story of Zamolxis). {162} The following is an indication of their complete obedience: they were persuaded to cut down their vines and to live without wine. However, certain men rose up against Boerebistas and he was deposed before the Romans sent an expedition against him; {163} and those who succeeded him divided the empire into several parts. In fact, only recently, when Augustus Caesar sent an expedition against them, the number of parts into which the empire had been divided was five, though at the time of the insurrection it had been four. Such divisions, to be sure, are only temporary and vary with the times.

156. Also spelled Byrebistas (see 7. 3. 5 and footnote).

157. See 7. 3. 2 and 7. 5. 1.

158. Also a Celtic tribe (7. 3. 2).

159. 7. 5. 2.

160. Also under the rule of Critasirus (7. 5. 2).

161. See 7. 3. 5.

162. 7. 3. 5.

163. Cp. 7. 3. 5.

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γέγονε δὲ καὶ ἄλλος τῆς χώρας μερισμὸς συμμένων ἐκ παλαιοῦ· τοὺς μὲν γὰρ Δακοὺς προσαγορεύουσι τοὺς δὲ Γέτας, Γέτας μὲν τοὺς πρὸς τὸν Πόντον κεκλιμένους καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἕω, Δακοὺς δὲ τοὺς εἰς τἀναντία πρὸς τὴν Γερμανίαν καὶ τὰς τοῦ Ἴστρου πηγάς, οὓς οἶμαι Δάους καλεῖσθαι τὸ παλαιόν· ἀφ' οὗ καὶ παρὰ τοῖς Ἀττικοῖς ἐπεπόλασε τὰ τῶν οἰκετῶν ὀνόματα Γέται καὶ Δᾶοι. τοῦτο γὰρ πιθανώτερον ἢ ἀπὸ τῶν Σκυθῶν οὓς καλοῦσι Δάας· πόρρω γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι περὶ τὴν Ὑρκανίαν, καὶ οὐκ εἰκὸς ἐκεῖθεν κομίζεσθαι ἀνδράποδα εἰς τὴν Ἀττικήν. ἐξ ὧν γὰρ ἐκομίζετο, ἢ τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἐκείνοις ὁμωνύμους ἐκάλουν τοὺς οἰκέτας, ὡς Λυδὸν καὶ Σύρον, ἢ τοῖς ἐπιπολάζουσιν ἐκεῖ ὀνόμασι προσηγόρευον, ὡς Μάνην ἢ Μίδαν τὸν Φρύγα, Τίβιον δὲ τὸν Παφλαγόνα. ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον δ' ὑπὸ τοῦ Βοιρεβίστα τὸ ἔθνος ἐξαρθὲν ἐταπεινώθη τελέως ὑπό τε τῶν στάσεων καὶ τῶν Ῥωμαίων· ἱκανοὶ δ' ὅμως εἰσὶν ἔτι καὶ νῦν στέλλειν τέτταρας μυριάδας.

But there is also another division of the country which has endured from early times, for some of the people are called Daci, whereas others are called Getae--Getae, those who incline towards the Pontus and the east, and Daci, those who incline in the opposite direction towards Germany and the sources of the Ister. The Daci, I think, were called Daï in early times; whence the slave names “Geta” and “Daüs” {164} which prevailed among the Attic people; for this is more probable than that “Daüs” is from those Scythians who are called “Daae,” {165} for they live far away in the neighborhood of Hyrcania, and it is not reasonable to suppose that slaves were brought into Attica from there; for the Attic people were wont either to call their slaves by the same names as those of the nations from which they were brought (as “Lydus” or “Syrus ”), or addressed them by names that were prevalent in their countries (as “Manes”or else “Midas” for the Phrygian, or “Tibius” for the Paphlagonian). But though the tribe was raised to such a height by Boerebistas, it has been completely humbled by its own seditions and by the Romans; nevertheless, they are capable, even today, of sending forth an army of forty thousand men.

164. In Latin, Davus.”

165. Cp. 11. 7. 1, 8. 2, 9. 2.

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ῥεῖ δὲ δι' αὐτῶν Μάρισος ποταμὸς εἰς τὸν Δανούιον, ᾧ τὰς παρασκευὰς ἀνεκόμιζον οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι τὰς πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον· καὶ γὰρ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τὰ μὲν ἄνω καὶ πρὸς ταῖς πηγαῖς μέρη μέχρι τῶν καταρακτῶν Δανούιον προσηγόρευον, ἃ μάλιστα διὰ τῶν Δακῶν φέρεται, τὰ δὲ κάτω μέχρι τοῦ Πόντου τὰ παρὰ τοὺς Γέτας καλοῦσιν Ἴστρον· ὁμόγλωττοι δ' εἰσὶν οἱ Δακοὶ τοῖς Γέταις. παρὰ μὲν οὖν τοῖς Ἕλλησιν οἱ Γέται γνωρίζονται μᾶλλον διὰ τὸ συνεχεῖς τὰς μεταναστάσεις ἐφ' ἑκάτερα τοῦ Ἴστρου ποιεῖσθαι καὶ τοῖς Μοισοῖς ἀναμεμῖχθαι· καὶ τὸ τῶν Τριβαλλῶν δ' ἔθνος, Θρᾳκικὸν ὄν, τὸ αὐτὸ πέπονθε τοῦτο. μεταναστάσεις γὰρ δέδεκται, τῶν πλησιοχώρων εἰς τοὺς ἀσθενεστέρους ἐξαναστάντων, τῶν μὲν ἐκ τῆς περαίας Σκυθῶν καὶ Βασταρνῶν καὶ Σαυροματῶν ἐπικρατούντων πολλάκις, ὥστε καὶ ἐπιδιαβαίνειν τοῖς ἐξελαθεῖσι καὶ καταμένειν τινὰς αὐτῶν ἢ ἐν ταῖς νήσοις ἢ ἐν τῇ Θρᾴκῃ· τῶν δ' ἐκ θατέρου μέρους ὑπ' Ἰλλυριῶν μάλιστα κατισχυομένων. αὐξηθέντες δ' οὖν ἐπὶ πλεῖστον οἵ τε Γέται οἵ τε Δακοί, ὥστε καὶ εἰκοσιμυριάδας ἐκπέμπειν στρατείας, νῦν ὅσον εἰς τέτταρας μυριάδας συνεσταλμένοι τυγχάνουσι, καὶ ἐγγὺς μὲν ἥκουσι τοῦ ὑπακούειν Ῥωμαίων, οὔπω δ' εἰσὶν ὑποχείριοι τελέως διὰ τὰς ἐκ τῶν Γερμανῶν ἐλπίδας πολεμίων ὄντων τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις.

The Marisus River flows through their country into the Danuvius, {166} on which the Romans used to convey their equipment for war; the “Danuvius” I say, for so they used to call the upper part of the river from near its sources on to the cataracts, I mean the part which in the main flows through the country, of the Daci, although they give the name “Ister” to the lower part, from the cataracts on to the Pontus, the part which flows past the country of the Getae. The language of the Daci is the same as that of the Getae. Among the Greeks, however, the Getae are better known because the migrations they make to either side of the Ister are continuous, and because they are intermingled with the Thracians and Mysians. And also the tribe of the Triballi, likewise Thracian, has had this same experience, for it has admitted migrations into this country, because the neighboring peoples force them {167} to emigrate into the country of those who are weaker; that is, the Scythians and Bastarnians and Sauromatians on the far side of the river often prevail to the extent that they actually cross over to attack those whom they have already driven out, and some of them remain there, either in the islands or in Thrace, whereas those {168} on the other side are generally overpowered by the Illyrians. Be that as it may, although the Getae and Daci once attained to very great power, so that they actually could send forth an expedition of two hundred thousand men, they now find themselves reduced to as few as forty thousand, and they have come close to the point of yielding obedience to the Romans, though as yet they are not absolutely submissive, because of the hopes which they base on the Germans, who are enemies to the Romans.

166. On the various names of the river, see Pauly-Wissowa, s.v. “Danuvius.”

167. The Getae.

168. Getae.

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μεταξὺ δὲ τῆς Ποντικῆς θαλάττης τῆς ἀπὸ Ἴστρου ἐπὶ Τύραν καὶ ἡ τῶν Γετῶν ἐρημία πρόκειται πεδιὰς πᾶσα καὶ ἄνυδρος, ἐν ᾖ Δαρεῖος ἀποληφθεὶς ὁ Ὑστάσπεω, καθ' ὃν καιρὸν διέβη τὸν Ἴστρον ἐπὶ τοὺς Σκύθας, ἐκινδύνευσε πανστρατιᾷ δίψῃ διαλυθῆναι· συνῆκε δ' ὀψὲ καὶ ἀνέστρεψε. Λυσίμαχος δ' ὕστερον στρατεύσας ἐπὶ Γέτας καὶ τὸν βασιλέα Δρομιχαίτην οὐκ ἐκινδύνευσε μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑάλω ζωγρίᾳ· πάλιν δ' ἐσώθη τυχὼν εὐγνώμονος τοῦ βαρβάρου, καθάπερ εἶπον πρότερον.

In the intervening space, facing that part of the Pontic Sea which extends from the Ister to the Tyras, {169} lies the Desert of the Getae, wholly flat and waterless, in which Dareius the son of Hystaspis was caught {170} on the occasion when he crossed the Ister to attack the Scythians and ran the risk of perishing from thirst, army and all; however, he belatedly realized his error and turned back. And, later on, Lysimachus, in his expedition against the Getae and King Dromichaetes, not only ran the risk but actually was captured alive; but he again came off safely, because he found the barbarian kind-hearted, as I said before. {171}

169. The Dniester.

170. As in a trap. Cp. the experience of Milo in 6. 1. 12 where the same Greek word is used.

171. 7. 3. 8.

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πρὸς δὲ ταῖς ἐκβολαῖς μεγάλη νῆσός ἐστιν ἡ Πεύκη· κατασχόντες δ' αὐτὴν Βαστάρναι Πευκῖνοι προσηγορεύθησαν· εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ ἄλλαι νῆσοι πολὺ ἐλάττους, αἱ μὲν ἀνωτέρω ταύτης αἱ δὲ πρὸς τῇ θαλάττῃ. ἑπτάστομος γάρ ἐστι· μέγιστον δὲ τὸ ἱερὸν στόμα καλούμενον, δι' οὗ σταδίων ἀνάπλους ἐπὶ τὴν Πεύκην ἑκατὸν εἴκοσιν, ἧς κατὰ τὸ κάτω μέρος ἐποίησε τὸ ζεῦγμα Δαρεῖος· δύναιτο δ' ἂν ζευχθῆναι καὶ κατὰ τὸ ἄνω. τοῦτο δὲ καὶ πρῶτόν ἐστι στόμα ἐν ἀριστερᾷ εἰσπλέοντι εἰς τὸν Πόντον· τὰ δ' ἑξῆς ἐν παράπλῳ τῷ ἐπὶ τὸν Τύραν· διέχει δ' ἀπ' αὐτοῦ τὸ ἕβδομον στόμα περὶ τριακοσίους σταδίους. γίνονται οὖν μεταξὺ τῶν στομάτων νησῖδες. τὰ μὲν δὴ τρία στόματα τὰ ἐφεξῆς τῷ ἱερῷ στόματί ἐστι μικρά, τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ τοῦ μὲν πολὺ ἐλάττονα τῶν δὲ μείζονα· Ἔφορος δὲ πεντάστομον εἴρηκε τὸν Ἴστρον. ἐντεῦθεν δ' ἐπὶ Τύραν ποταμὸν πλωτὸν ἐνακόσιοι στάδιοι· ἐν δὲ τῷ μεταξὺ δύο λίμναι μεγάλαι, ἡ μὲν ἀνεῳγμένη πρὸς τὴν θάλατταν ὥστε καὶ λιμένι χρῆσθαι, ἡ δ' ἄστομος.

Near the outlets of the Ister River is a great island called Peuce; {172} and when the Bastarnians took possession of it they received the appellation of Peucini. There are still other islands which are much smaller; some of these are farther inland than Peuce, while others are near the sea, for the river has seven mouths. The largest of these mouths is what is called the Sacred Mouth, {173} on which one can sail inland a hundred and twenty stadia to Peuce. It was at the lower part of Peuce that Dareius made his pontoon-bridge, {174} although the bridge could have been constructed at the upper part also. The Sacred Mouth is the first mouth on the left as one sails {175} into the Pontus; the others come in order thereafter as one sails along the coast towards the Tyras; and the distance from it to the seventh mouth is about three hundred stadia. Accordingly, small islands are formed between the mouths. Now the three mouths that come next in order after the Sacred Mouth are small, but the remaining mouths are much smaller than it, but larger than any one of the three. According to Ephorus, however, the Ister has only five months. Thence to the Tyras, a navigable river, the distance is nine hundred stadia. And in the interval are two large lakes one of them opening into the sea, so that it can also be used as a harbor, but the other mouthless.

172. Literally, “Pine” Island. The term “Peuce” was applied also to what is now the St. George branch of the delta, which branch was the southern boundary of the island.

173. Strabo seems to mean by “Sacred Mouth” what is now the Dunavez branch of the delta, which turns off from the St. George branch into a lagoon called Lake Ragim, which opens into the sea at the Portidje mouth; for (1) the length of the Dunavez to the lake is about 120 stadia, and (2) what is known about the alluvial deposits and topographical changes in the delta clearly indicates that the lake once had a wide and deep opening into the sea. Ptolemaeus 3.10.2, in giving the names of the mouths, refers to what is now the St. George branch as “Sacred Mouth or Peuce,” thus making the two identical; but Strabo forces a distinction by referring to the inland voyage of 120 stadia, since the branch (Peuce) is a boundary of the island (Peuce). Cp. M. Besnier, Lexique de Geographie Ancienne, s.v. “Peuce,” and Pauly-Wissowa, s.v. “Danuvius,” pp. 2117-20.

174. Cp. 7. 3. 9.

175. From the Sea of Marmara through the Bosporus.

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ἐπὶ δὲ τῷ στόματι τοῦ Τύρα πύργος ἐστὶ Νεοπτολέμου καλούμενος καὶ κώμη Ἑρμώνακτος λεγομένη. ἀναπλεύσαντι δὲ ἑκατὸν τετταράκοντα σταδίους ἐφ' ἑκάτερα πόλεις, ἡ μὲν Νικωνία ἡ δ' ἐν ἀριστερᾷ Ὀφιοῦσσα· οἱ δὲ προσοικοῦντες τῷ ποταμῷ πόλιν φασὶν ἀνιόντι ἑκατὸν καὶ εἴκοσι σταδίους. διέχει δὲ τοῦ στόματος ἡ νῆσος ἡ Λευκὴ δίαρμα πεντακοσίων σταδίων, ἱερὰ τοῦ Ἀχιλλέως, πελαγία.

At the mouth {176} of the Tyras is what is called the Tower of Neoptolemus, {177} and also what is called the village of Hermonax. {178} And on sailing inland one hundred and forty stadia one comes to two cities, one on each side, Niconia {179} on the right and Ophiussa {180} on the left. But the people who live near the river speak of a city one hundred and twenty stadia inland. {181} Again, at a distance of five hundred stadia from the mouth is the island called Leuce, {182} which lies in the high sea and is sacred to Achilles.

176. Strabo and Ptolemaeus 3.10.7 agree in placing the “mouth of the Tyras” at the outlet of the lake (into the Pontus), not at what was the outlet proper (into the lake), nor yet at the narrowest part of the lake where the city of Tyras (now Akkerman) was situated.

177. According to Forbiger (Strabo, Vol. II, p. 89, footnote) this tower was “recently” (about 1850) discovered at the end of the west coast of the lake. Cp. the Towers of Caepio (3. 1. 9), Pelorus (3. 5. 5), and Pharos (17. 1. 6).

178. The exact site of the village is unknown, but Strabo certainly places it at the mouth. Ptolemaeus 3.10.7, places it 10 miles (in latitude) farther south than the mouth.

179. Niconia was situated on the lake near what is now Ovidiopol.

180. According to Pliny 4.26, the earlier name of Tyras was Ophiussa; but this is doubtful.

181. Tyras, on the site of what is now Akkerman.

182. “White” Island (now Ilan-Adassi); known as “Isle of the Blest” (Pliny 4.27); where the shade of Schilles was united to that of Helen.

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εἶτα Βορυσθένης ποταμὸς πλωτὸς ἐφ' ἑξακοσίους σταδίους καὶ πλησίον ἄλλος ποταμὸς Ὕπανις καὶ νῆσος πρὸ τοῦ στόματος τοῦ Βορυσθένους ἔχουσα λιμένα. πλεύσαντι δὲ τὸν Βορυσθένη σταδίους διακοσίους ὁμώνυμος τῷ ποταμῷ πόλις· ἡ δ' αὐτὴ καὶ Ὀλβία καλεῖται, μέγα ἐμπόριον, κτίσμα Μιλησίων. ἡ δὲ ὑπερκειμένη πᾶσα χώρα τοῦ λεχθέντος μεταξὺ Βορυσθένους καὶ Ἴστρου πρώτη μέν ἐστιν ἡ τῶν Γετῶν ἐρημία, ἔπειτα οἱ Τυρεγέται, μεθ' οὓς οἱ Ἰάζυγες Σαρμάται καὶ οἱ Βασίλειοι λεγόμενοι καὶ Οὖργοι, τὸ μὲν πλέον νομάδες, ὀλίγοι δὲ καὶ γεωργίας ἐπιμελούμενοι· τούτους φασὶ καὶ παρὰ τὸν Ἴστρον οἰκεῖν, ἐφ' ἑκάτερα πολλάκις. ἐν δὲ τῇ μεσογαίᾳ Βαστάρναι μὲν τοῖς Τυρεγέταις ὅμοροι καὶ Γερμανοῖς, σχεδόν τι καὶ αὐτοὶ τοῦ Γερμανικοῦ γένους ὄντες, εἰς πλείω φῦλα διῃρημένοι. καὶ γὰρ Ἄτμονοι λέγονταί τινες καὶ Σιδόνες, οἱ δὲ τὴν Πεύκην κατασχόντες τὴν ἐν τῷ Ἴστρῳ νῆσον Πευκῖνοι, Ῥωξολανοὶ δ' ἀρκτικώτατοι τὰ μεταξὺ τοῦ Τανάιδος καὶ Βορυσθένους νεμόμενοι πεδία. ἡ γὰρ προσάρκτιος πᾶσα ἀπὸ Γερμανίας μέχρι τῆς Κασπίας πεδιάς ἐστιν, ἣν ἴσμεν· ὑπὲρ δὲ τῶν Ῥωξολανῶν εἴ τινες οἰκοῦσιν οὐκ ἴσμεν. οἱ δὲ Ῥωξολανοὶ καὶ πρὸς τοὺς Μιθριδάτου τοῦ Εὐπάτορος στρατηγοὺς ἐπολέμουν ἔχοντες ἡγεμόνα Τάσιον· ἧκον δὲ Παλάκῳ συμμαχήσοντες τῷ Σκιλούρου, καὶ ἐδόκουν μὲν εἶναι μάχιμοι, πρὸς μέντοι συντεταγμένην φάλαγγα καὶ ὡπλισμένην καλῶς τὸ βάρβαρον φῦλον ἀσθενὲς πᾶν ἐστι καὶ τὸ γυμνητικόν. ἐκεῖνοι γοῦν περὶ πέντε μυριάδας πρὸς ἑξακισχιλίους τοὺς Διοφάντῳ, τῷ τοῦ Μιθριδάτου στρατηγῷ, συμπαραταξαμένους οὐκ ἀντέσχον, ἀλλ' οἱ πλεῖστοι διεφθάρησαν. χρῶνται δὲ ὠμοβοΐνοις κράνεσι καὶ θώραξι, γερροφόροι, ἀμυντήρια δ' ἔχοντες καὶ λόγχας καὶ τόξον καὶ ξίφος· τοιοῦτοι δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων οἱ πλείους. τῶν δὲ νομάδων αἱ σκηναὶ πιλωταὶ πεπήγασιν ἐπὶ ταῖς ἁμάξαις, ἐν αἷς διαιτῶνται· περὶ δὲ τὰς σκηνὰς τὰ βοσκήματα, ἀφ' ὧν τρέφονται καὶ γάλακτι καὶ τυρῷ καὶ κρέασιν· ἀκολουθοῦσι δὲ ταῖς νομαῖς μεταλαμβάνοντες τόπους ἀεὶ τοὺς ἔχοντας πόαν, χειμῶνος μὲν ἐν τοῖς ἕλεσι τοῖς περὶ τὴν Μαιῶτιν, θέρους δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖς πεδίοις.

Then comes the Borysthenes River, {183} which is navigable for a distance of six hundred stadia; and, near it, another river, the Hypanis, {184} and off the mouth of the Borysthenes, an island {185} with a harbor. On sailing up the Borysthenes two hundred stadia one comes to a city of the same name as the river, but the same city is also called Olbia; {186} it is a great trading center and was founded by Milesians. Now the whole country that lies above the said seaboard between the Borysthenes and the Ister consists, first, of the Desert of the Getae; {187} then the country of the Tyregetans; {188} and after it the country of the Iazygian Sarmatians and that of the people called the Basileians {189} and that of the Urgi, {190} who in general are nomads, though a few are interested also in farming; these people, it is said, dwell also along the Ister, often on both sides. In the interior dwell, first, those Bastarnians whose country borders on that of the Tyregetans and Germans--they also being, one might say, of Germanic stock; and they are divided up into several tribes, for a part of them are called Atmoni and Sidoni, while those who took possession of Peuce, the island in the Ister, are called “Peucini,” whereas the “Roxolani” (the most northerly of them all) roam the plains between the Tanaïs and the Borysthenes. {191} In fact, the whole country towards the north from Germany as far as the Caspian Sea is, so far as we know it, a plain, but whether any people dwell beyond the Roxolani we do not know. Now the Roxolani, under the leadership of Tasius, carried on war even with the generals of Mithridates Eupator; {192} they came for the purpose of assisting Palacus, {193} the son of Scilurus, as his allies, and they had the reputation of being warlike; yet all barbarian races and light-armed peoples are weak when matched against a well-ordered and well-armed phalanx. At any rate, those people, about fifty thousand strong, could not hold out against the six thousand men arrayed with Diophantus, the general of Mithridates, and most of them were destroyed. They use helmets and corselets made of raw ox-hides, carry wicker shields, and have for weapons spears, bow, and sword; and most of the other barbarians are armed in this way. As for the Nomads, their tents, made of felt, are fastened on the wagons in which they spend their lives; and round about the tents are the herds which afford the milk, cheese, and meat on which they live; and they follow the grazing herds, from time to time moving to other places that have grass, living only in the marsh-meadows about Lake Maeotis in winter, but also in the plains in summer.

183. The Dnieper.

184. The Bog.

185. Now Berezan (see C. Müller, Ptolemaeus, Didot edition note on 3. 10. 9, p. 471).

186. Now in ruins, near Nickolaiev.

187. Now Bessarabia.

188. The city and territory of Tyras.

189. Called by Hdt. 4.20, 22, 56, 57, 59 the “Basileian (‘Royal’) Scythians,” but by Ptolemaeus 5.9.16 the “Basileian Sarmathians.”

190. The “Urgi” are otherwise unknown. In the margin of Manuscript A, first hand, are these words: “Ungri” (cp. ‘Hungarians’) “now, though the same are also called Tuci” (cp. ‘Turks’). But the editors in general regard “Urgi” as corrupt, and conjecture either “Georgi” (literally, “Farmers”; cp. 7. 4. 6 and Herodotus 4.18) or “Agathyrsi” (cp. Herodotus 4.125).

191. The Dnieper.

192. King of Pontus 120-63 B.C.

193. A prince in the Tauric Chersonese.

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ἅπασα δ' ἡ χώρα δυσχείμερός ἐστι μέχρι τῶν ἐπὶ θαλάττῃ τόπων τῶν μεταξὺ Βορυσθένους καὶ τοῦ στόματος τῆς Μαιώτιδος· αὐτῶν δὲ τῶν ἐπὶ θαλάττῃ τὰ ἀρκτικώτατα τό τε στόμα τῆς Μαιώτιδος καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον τὸ τοῦ Βορυσθένους καἶ ὁ μυχὸς τοῦ Ταμυράκου κόλπου, τοὖ καὶ Καρκινίτου, καθ' ὃν ὁ ἰσθμὸς τῆς μεγάλης χερρονήσου. δηλοῖ δὲ τὰ ψύχη, καίπερ ἐν πεδίοις οἰκούντων· ὄνους τε γὰρ οὐ τρέφουσι δύσριγον γὰρ τὸ ζῷον , οἵ τε βόες οἱ μὲν ἄκερῳ γεννῶνται, τῶν δ' ἀπορρινῶσι τὰ κέρατα καὶ γὰρ τοῦτο δύσριγον τὸ μέρος , οἵ τε ἵπποι μικροί, τὰ δὲ πρόβατα μεγάλα· ῥήττονται δὲ χαλκαῖ ὑδρίαι, τὰ δ' ἐνόντα συμπήττεται. τῶν δὲ πάγων ἡ σφοδρότης μάλιστα ἐκ τῶν συμβαινόντων περὶ τὸ στόμα τῆς Μαιώτιδος δῆλός ἐστιν. ἁμαξεύεται γὰρ ὁ διάπλους ὁ εἰς Φαναγόρειαν ἐκ τοῦ Παντικαπαίου, ὥστε καὶ πλοῦν εἶναι καὶ ὁδόν· Νεοπτόλεμον δέ φασι τὸν τοῦ Μιθριδάτου στρατηγὸν ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ πόρῳ θέρους μὲν ναυμαχίᾳ περιγενέσθαι τῶν βαρβάρων, χειμῶνος δ' ἱππομαχίᾳ. ὀρυκτοί τέ εἰσιν ἰχθύες οἱ ἀποληφθέντες ἐν τῷ κρυστάλλῳ τῇ προσαγορευομένῃ γαγγάμῃ, καὶ μάλιστα οἱ ἀντακαῖοι, δελφῖσι πάρισοι τὸ μέγεθος. φασὶ δὲ καὶ τὴν ἄμπελον ἐν τῷ Βοσπόρῳ κατορύττεσθαι χειμῶνος, ἐπαμώντων πολὺ τῆς γῆς. λέγεται δὲ καὶ τὰ καύματα σφοδρὰ γίνεσθαι, τάχα μὲν τῶν σωμάτων ἀηθιζομένων, τάχα δὲ τῶν πεδίων ἀνηνεμούντων τότε, ἢ καὶ τοῦ πάχους τοῦ ἀέρος ἐκθερμαινομένου πλέον, καθάπερ ἐν τοῖς νέφεσιν οἱ παρήλιοι ποιοῦσιν. Ἀτέας δὲ δοκεῖ τῶν πλείστων ἄρξαι τῶν ταύτῃ βαρβάρων ὁ πρὸς Φίλιππον πολεμήσας τὸν Ἀμύντου.

The whole of the country has severe winters as far as the regions by the sea that are between the Borysthenes and the mouth of Lake Maeotis; but of the regions themselves that are by the sea the most northerly are the mouth of the Maeotis and, still more northerly, the mouth of the Borysthenes, and the recess of the Gulf of Tamyraces, {194} or Carcinites, which is the isthmus of the Great Chersonesus. {195} The coldness of these regions, albeit the people live in plains, is evident, for they do not breed asses, an animal that is very sensitive to cold; and as for their cattle, some are born without horns, while the horns of others are filed off, for this part of the animal is sensitive to cold; and the horses are small, whereas the sheep are large; and bronze water-jars burst {196} and their contents freeze solid. But the severity of the frosts is most clearly evidenced by what takes place in the region of the mouth of Lake Maeotis: the waterway from Panticapaeum {197} across to Phanagoria {198} is traversed by wagons, so that it is both ice and roadway. And fish that become caught in the ice are obtained by digging {199} with an implement called the “gangame,” {200} and particularly the antacaei, {201} which are about the size of dolphins. {202} It is said of Neoptolemus, the general of Mithridates, that in the same strait he overcame the barbarians in a naval engagement in summer and in a cavalry engagement in winter. {203} And it is further said that the vine in the Bosporus region is buried during the winter, the people heaping quantities of earth upon it. And it is said that the heat too becomes severe, perhaps because the bodies of the people are unaccustomed to it, or perhaps because no winds blow on the plains at that time, or else because the air, by reason of its density, becomes superheated (like the effect of the parhelia {204} in the clouds). It appears that Ateas, {205} who waged war with Philip {206} the son of Amyntas, ruled over most of the barbarians in this part of the world.

194. Now Karkinit Bay.

195. The Tauric Chersonese, now the Crimea.

196. See 2. 1. 16.

197. Now Kertch.

198. Near what is now Taman.

199. Strabo seems to mean that the fish were imbedded in the ice, and not that “the ice was first broken, and the fish extracted from the water beneath with a net” (Tozer, Selections from Strabo, p. 196).

200. A pronged instrument like a trident. Tozer (loc. cit.) takes “gangame” to mean here “ a small round net;” but see Stephanus, Thesaurus, and especially Hesychius (s.v.).

201. A kind of sturgeon (see Hdt. 4.53), being one of the fish from the roe of which the Russian caviar is now prepared.

202. This sentence is transposed by Meineke to a position after the sentence that follows, but see footnote on “Carcinites,” 7. 4. 1.

203. Cp. 2. 1. 16.

204. Aristot. Meteorologica 3.2.6, 3.6.5 refers to, and explains, the phenomena of the “parhelia” (“mock-suns”) in the Bosporus region.

205. According to Lucian Macrob. 10 Anteas (sic) fell in the war with Philip when about ninety years of age. The Roman writers spell the name “Atheas.”

206. 359-336 B.C.; the father of Alexander the Great.

007.003.019

μετὰ δὲ τὴν πρὸ τοῦ Βορυσθένους νῆσον ἑξῆς πρὸς ἀνίσχοντα ἥλιον ὁ πλοῦς ἐπὶ ἄκραν τὴν τοῦ Ἀχιλλείου δρόμου, ψιλὸν μὲν χωρίον καλούμενον δ' ἄλσος, ἱερὸν Ἀχιλλέως· εἶθ' ὁ Ἀχίλλειος δρόμος, ἁλιτενὴς χερρόνησος· ἔστι γὰρ ταινία τις ὅσον χιλίων σταδίων μῆκος ἐπὶ τὴν ἕω, πλάτος δὲ τὸ μέγιστον δυεῖν σταδίων, ἐλάχιστον τεττάρων πλέθρων, διέχουσα τῆς ἑκατέρωθεν τοῦ αὐχένος ἠπείρου σταδίους ἑξήκοντα, ἀμμώδης, ὕδωρ ἔχουσα ὀρυκτόν· κατὰ μέσην δ' ὁ τοῦ ἰσθμοῦ αὐχὴν ὅσον τετταράκοντα σταδίων· τελευτᾷ δὲ πρὸς ἄκραν ἣν Ταμυράκην καλοῦσιν, ἔχουσαν ὕφορμον βλέποντα πρὸς τὴν ἤπειρον· μεθ' ἣν ὁ Καρκινίτης κόλπος εὐμεγέθης, ἀνέχων πρὸς τὰς ἄρκτους ὅσον ἐπὶ σταδίους χιλίους, οἱ δὲ καὶ τριπλασίους φασὶ μέχρι τοῦ μυχοῦ . . . καλοῦνται δὲ Τάφριοι. τὸν δὲ κόλπον καὶ Ταμυράκην καλοῦσιν ὁμωνύμως τῇ ἄκρᾳ.

After the island {207} that lies off the Borysthenes, and next towards the rising sun, one sails to the cape {208} of the Race Course of Achilles, which, though a treeless place, is called Alsos {209} and is sacred to Achilles. Then comes the Race Course of Achilles, a peninsula {210} that lies flat on the sea; it is a ribbon-like stretch of land, as much as one thousand stadia in length, extending towards the east; its maximum breadth is only two stadia, and its minimum only four plethra, {211} and it is only sixty stadia distant from the mainland that lies on either side of the neck. It is sandy, {212} and water may be had by digging. The neck of the isthmus is near the center of the peninsula and is about forty stadia wide. It terminates in a cape called Tamyrace, {213} which has a mooring-place that faces the mainland. And after this cape comes the Carcinites Gulf. It is a very large gulf, reaching up towards the north as far as one thousand stadia; some say, however, that the distance to its recess is three times as much. The people there are called Taphrians. The gulf is also called Tamyrace, the same name as that of the cape.

207. See 7. 3. 17.

208. Now Cape Tendra.

209. i.e.,, “a grove”; the word usually means a sacred precinct planted with trees, but is often used of any sacred precinct.

210. The western part (now an island) of this peninsula is called “Tendra,” and the eastern, “Zharylgatch” (or Djarilgatch”). According to ancient legends Achilles pursued Iphigenia to this peninsula and there practised for his races.

211. The plethron was one-sixth of a stadium, or 100 feet.

212. We would call it a “sand-bank.”

213. Now Cape Czile.

007.004.001

ἐνταῦθα δ' ἐστὶν ὁ ἰσθμὸς ὁ διείργων τὴν σαπρὰν λεγομένην λίμνην ἀπὸ τῆς θαλάττης σταδίων ὢν τετταράκοντα καὶ ποιῶν τὴν Ταυρικὴν καὶ Σκυθικὴν λεγομένην χερρόνησον· οἱ δὲ τριακοσίων ἑξήκοντα τὸ πλάτος τοῦ ἰσθμοῦ φασιν. ἡ δὲ σαπρὰ λίμνη σταδίων μὲν καὶ τετρακισχιλίων λέγεται, μέρος δ' ἐστὶ τῆς Μαιώτιδος τὸ πρὸς δύσιν· συνεστόμωται γὰρ αὐτῇ στόματι μεγάλῳ. ἑλώδης δ' ἐστὶ σφόδρα καὶ ῥαπτοῖς πλοίοις μόγις πλόιμος· οἱ γὰρ ἄνεμοι τὰ τενάγη ῥᾳδίως ἀνακαλύπτουσιν, εἶτα πάλιν πληροῦσιν, ὥστε τὰ ἕλη τοῖς μείζοσι σκάφεσιν οὐ περάσιμά ἐστιν. ἔχει δ' ὁ κόλπος νησίδια τρία καὶ προσβραχῆ τινα καὶ χοιραδώδη ὀλίγα κατὰ τὸν παράπλουν.

Here is the isthmus {214} which separates what is called Lake Sapra {215} from the sea; it is forty stadia in width and forms what is called the Tauric, or Scythian, Chersonese. Some, however, say that the breadth of the isthmus is three hundred and sixty stadia. But though Lake Sapra is said to be as much as four thousand stadia, {216} it is only a part, the western part, of Lake Maeotis, for it is connected with the latter by a wide mouth. It is very marshy and is scarcely navigable for sewn boats, for the winds readily uncover the shallow places and then cover them with water again, and therefore the marshes are impassable for the larger boats. The gulf {217} contains three small islands, and also some shoals and a few reefs along the coast.

214. Isthmus of Perekop.

215. i.e., “Putrid”; called by Ptolemaeus 3.5.2 and other ancient writers “Byce”; now called by the Russians “Ghuiloje More.”

216. Strabo does not specify whether in breadth, length, or perimeter: he must mean perimeter, in which case the figure is, roughly speaking, correct.

217. i.e., Carcinites. In numerous cases Strabo unexpectedly reverts to a subject previously dismissed (cp. 7. 3. 18 and footnote). The present instance, among others, clearly shows that Groskurd, Forbiger, and Meineke are hardly justified in transferring passages of the text to different positions. However, they do not make a transfer here.

007.004.002

ἐκπλέοντι δ' ἐν ἀριστερᾷ πολίχνη καὶ ἄλλος λιμὴν Χερρονησιτῶν. ἔκκειται γὰρ ἐπὶ τὴν μεσημβρίαν ἄκρα μεγάλη κατὰ τὸν παράπλουν ἐφεξῆς, μέρος οὖσα τῆς ὅλης χερρονήσου, ἐφ' ᾖ ἵδρυται πόλις Ἡρακλεωτῶν ἄποικος τῶν ἐν τῷ Πόντῳ, αὐτὸ τοῦτο καλουμένη Χερρόνησος, διέχουσα τοῦ Τύρα παράπλουν σταδίων τετρακισχιλίων τετρακοσίων· ἐν ᾖ τὸ τῆς Παρθένου ἱερόν, δαίμονός τινος, ἧς ἐπώνυμος καὶ ἡ ἄκρα ἡ πρὸ τῆς πόλεώς ἐστιν ἐν σταδίοις ἑκατόν, καλουμένη Παρθένιον, ἔχον νεὼν τῆς δαίμονος καὶ ξόανον. μεταξὺ δὲ τῆς πόλεως καὶ τῆς ἄκρας λιμένες τρεῖς· εἶθ' ἡ παλαιὰ Χερρόνησος κατεσκαμμένη καὶ μετ' αὐτὴν λιμὴν στενόστομος, καθ' ὃν μάλιστα οἱ Ταῦροι, Σκυθικὸν ἔθνος, τὰ λῃστήρια συνίσταντο τοῖς καταφεύγουσιν ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἐπιχειροῦντες· καλεῖται δὲ συμβόλων λιμήν. οὗτος δὲ ποιεῖ πρὸς ἄλλον λιμένα Κτενοῦντα καλούμενον τετταράκοντα σταδίων ἰσθμόν· οὗτος δ' ἐστὶν ὁ ἰσθμὸς ὁ κλείων τὴν μικρὰν χερρόνησον, ἣν ἔφαμεν τῆς μεγάλης χερρονήσου μέρος, ἔχουσαν ἐν αὑτῇ τὴν ὁμωνύμως λεγομένην πόλιν Χερρόνησον.

As one sails out of the gulf, one comes, on the left, to a small city and another harbor {218} belonging to the Chersonesites. For next in order as one sails along the coast is a great cape which projects towards the south and is a part of the Chersonesus as a whole; {219} and on this cape is situated a city of the Heracleotae, a colony of the Heracleotae who live on the Pontus, {220} and this place itself {221} is called Chersonesus, {222} being distant as one sails along the coast {223} four thousand four hundred stadia from the Tyras. In this city is the temple of the Parthenos, a certain deity; {224} and the cape {225} which is in front of the city, at a distance of one hundred stadia, is also named after this deity, for it is called the Parthenium, and it has a shrine and xoanon {226} of her. Between the city and the cape are three harbors. Then comes the Old Chersonesus, which has been razed to the ground; and after it comes a narrow-mouthed harbor, where, generally speaking, the Tauri, a Scythian tribe, used to assemble their bands of pirates in order to attack all who fled thither for refuge. It is called Symbolon Limen. {227} This harbor forms with another harbor called Ctenus Limen {228} an isthmus forty stadia in width; and this is the isthmus that encloses the Little Chersonesus, which, as I was saying, is a part of the Great Chersonesus and has on it the city of Chersonesus, which bears the same name as the peninsula.

218. Corais, from a conjecture of Casaubon, emends “another harbor” to Fair Harbor.” But since Ptolemaeus 3.5.2 refers to a Kalos Limen on the opposite coast, the present translator conjectures that Strabo wrote “another Fair Harbor.” It is known that there were two settlements of the Chersonesites north of the great bay on which the city of Chersonesus was situated and that their names were “Cercinitis” and “Kalos Limen.” See Latyschew, and the inscription is S. Ber. Akad. Berl. 1892, 479; and Pauly-Wissowa, s.v. “Bosporus,” p. 772 and s.v. “Chersonesos,” p. 2265.

219. Also called the “Great Chersonesus” (the Crimea), as distinguished from the “Little Chersonesus.” Strabo means that the cape in question and the Little Chersonesus are identical. The cape (or peninsula) was bounded on the north by the isthmus (later mentioned), and this isthmus was marked by a wall and trench (see 7. 4. 7) which connected Ctenus Harbor (now the Harbor of Sebastopol) with Symbolon Limen (now the Harbor of Balaklava).

220. In the Paphlagonian city called Heracleia Pontica (now Erekli).

221. The “city” just mentioned.

222. “New Chersonesus,” which is now in ruins near Sebastopol. “Old Chersonesus” (in ruins in Strabo's time) was near the isthmus of the little peninsula which terminates in Cape Fanary.

223. That is, including the entire circuit around the coast of Karkinit Bay.

224. “Parthenos” (“Virgin”) usually means Athene; but in this case it means either the Tauric Artemis (see 5. 3. 12 and Diod. Sic. 4.44), or (what is more likely) Iphigenia (see Herodotus, 4. 103). In saying “deity,” and not “goddess,” Strabo seems purposely non-committal as between the two.

225. Now Cape Fanary.

226. See 4. 1. 4, and footnote.

227. “Signal Harbor”; now the Harbor of Balaklava.

228. “Comb Harbor” (now the Harbor of Sebastopol); probably so called from the sharp indentations in the coast.

007.004.003

αὕτη δ' ἦν πρότερον αὐτόνομος, πορθουμένη δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν βαρβάρων ἠναγκάσθη προστάτην ἑλέσθαι Μιθριδάτην τὸν Εὐπάτορα, στρατηγιῶντα ἐπὶ τοὺς ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἰσθμοῦ μέχρι Βορυσθένους βαρβάρους· ταῦτα δ' ἦν ἐπὶ Ῥωμαίους παρασκευή. ἐκεῖνος μὲν οὖν κατὰ ταύτας τὰς ἐλπίδας ἄσμενος πέμψας εἰς τὴν Χερρόνησον στρατιὰν ἅμα πρός τε τοὺς Σκύθας ἐπολέμει Σκίλουρόν τε καὶ τοὺς Σκιλούρου παῖδας τοὺς περὶ Πάλακον, οὓς Ποσειδώνιος μὲν πεντήκοντά φησιν Ἀπολλωνίδης δὲ ὀγδοήκοντα· ἅμα δὲ τούτους τε ἐχειρώσατο βίᾳ καὶ Βοσπόρου κατέστη κύριος παρ' ἑκόντος λαβὼν Παιρισάδου τοῦ κατέχοντος. ἐξ ἐκείνου δὴ τοῦ χρόνου τοῖς τοῦ Βοσπόρου δυνάσταις ἡ τῶν Χερρονησιτῶν πόλις ὑπήκοος μέχρι νῦν ἐστι. τὸ δ' ἴσον ὁ Κτενοῦς διέχει τῆς τε τῶν Χερρονησιτῶν πόλεως καὶ τοῦ συμβόλων λιμένος. μετὰ δὲ τὸν συμβόλων λιμένα μέχρι Θεοδοσίας πόλεως ἡ Ταυρικὴ παραλία, χιλίων που σταδίων τὸ μῆκος, τραχεῖα καὶ ὀρεινὴ καὶ καταιγίζουσα τοῖς βορέαις ἵδρυται. πρόκειται δ' αὐτῆς ἄκρα πολὺ πρὸς τὸ πέλαγος καὶ τὴν μεσημβρίαν ἐκκειμένη κατὰ Παφλαγονίαν καὶ Ἄμαστριν πόλιν, καλεῖται δὲ Κριοῦ μέτωπον. ἀντίκειται δ' αὐτῇ τὸ τῶν Παφλαγόνων ἀκρωτήριον ἡ Κάραμβις τὸ διαιροῦν εἰς πελάγη δύο τὸν Εὔξεινον πόντον τῷ ἑκατέρωθεν σφιγγομένῳ πορθμῷ. διέστηκε δ' ἡ Κάραμβις τῆς μὲν τῶν Χερρονησιτῶν πόλεως σταδίους δισχιλίους καὶ πεντακοσίους, τοῦ δὲ Κριοῦ μετώπου πολὺ ἐλάττους τὸν ἀριθμόν· συχνοὶ γοῦν τῶν διαπλευσάντων τὸν πορθμὸν ἅμα φασὶν ἰδεῖν ἀμφοτέρας ἑκατέρωθεν τὰς ἄκρας. ἐν δὲ τῇ ὀρεινῇ τῶν Ταύρων καὶ τὸ ὄρος ἐστὶν ὁ Τραπεζοῦς, ὁμώνυμον τῇ πόλει τῇ περὶ τὴν Τιβαρανίαν καὶ τὴν Κολχίδα· καὶ ἄλλο δ' ἐστὶν ὄρος Κιμμέριον κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν ὀρεινήν, δυναστευσάντων ποτὲ τῶν Κιμμερίων ἐν τῷ Βοσπόρῳ· καθ' ὃ καὶ Κιμμερικὸς Βόσπορος καλεῖται τοῦ πορθμοῦ πᾶν ὃ ἐπέχει τὸ στόμα τῆς Μαιώτιδος.

This city {229} was at first self-governing, but when it was sacked by the barbarians it was forced to choose Mithridates Eupator as protector. He was then leading an army against the barbarians who lived beyond the isthmus {230} as far as the Borysthenes and the Adrias; {231} this, however, was prepratory to a campaign against the Romans. So, then, in accordance with these hopes of his he gladly sent an army to Chersonesus, and at the same time carried on war against the Scythians, not only against Scilurus, but also the sons of Scilurus--Palacus {232} and the rest--who, according to Poseidonius were fifty in number, but according to Apollonides {233} were eighty. At the same time, also, he not only subdued all these by force, but also established himself as lord of the Bosporus, {234} receiving the country as a voluntary gift from Parisades {235} who held sway over it. So from that time on down to the present the city of the Chersonesites has been subject to the potentates of the Bosporus. Again, Ctenus Limen is equidistant from the city of the Chersonesites and Symbolon Limen. And after Symbolon Limen, as far as the city Theodosia, {236} lies the Tauric seaboard, which is about one thousand stadia in length. It is rugged and mountainous, and is subject to furious storms from the north. And in front of it lies a promontory which extends far out towards the high sea and the south in the direction of Paphlagonia and the city Amastris; {237} it is called Criumetopon. {238} And opposite it lies that promontory of the Paphlagonians, Carambis, {239} which, by means of the strait, which is contracted on both sides, divides the Euxine Pontus into two seas. {240} Now the distance from Carambis to the city of the Chersonesites is two thousand five hundred stadia, {241} but the number to Criumetopon is much less; at any rate, many who have sailed across the strait say that they have seen both promontories, on either side, at the same time. {242} In the mountainous district of the Taurians is also the mountain Trapezus, {243} which has the same name as the city {244} in the neighborhood of Tibarania and Colchis. And near the same mountainous district is also another mountain, Cimmerius, {245} so called because the Cimmerians once held sway in the Bosporus; and it is because of this fact that the whole of the strait {246} which extends to the mouth of Lake Maeotis is called the Cimmerian Bosporus.

229. Strabo is now thinking of the Old Chersonesus.

230. Isthmus of Perekop.

231. That is, the head of the Adriatic.

232. See 7. 3. 17.

233. Little is known of this Apollonides. According to the scholiast on Apollonius Argonautica 4.983, 1175, he wrote a geographical treatise entitled Periplus of Europe.

234. The Cimmerian Bosporus, the country about the strait of Kertch. The capital was Panticapaeum (now Kertch).

235. The correct spelling of the name seems to be “Paerisades” (so on coins), but several ancient writers spell it Parisades.

236. Now called Feodosia or Kaffa.

237. Now Amasra.

238. Literally, “Ram's-forehead”; now Cape Karadje.

239. Now Cape Kerembe.

240. Cp. 2. 5. 22, where the same thought is clearly expressed.

241. But cp. 2. 5. 22.

242. Cp. the footnote on seeing from Lilybaeum to the Carthaginian harbor, 6. 2. 1.

243. Now Tchadir-Dagh.

244. i.e., the Trebizond of today.

245. Now Aghirmisch-Daghi.

246. The strait of Kertch.

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μετὰ δὲ τὴν ὀρεινὴν τὴν λεχθεῖσαν ἡ Θεοδοσία κεῖται πόλις, πεδίον εὔγεων ἔχουσα καὶ λιμένα ναυσὶ καὶ ἑκατὸν ἐπιτήδειον· οὗτος δὲ ὅρος ἦν πρότερον τῆς τῶν Βοσποριανῶν καὶ Ταύρων γῆς· καὶ ἡ ἑξῆς δ' ἐστὶν εὔγεως χώρα μέχρι Παντικαπαίου, τῆς μητροπόλεως τῶν Βοσποριανῶν ἱδρυμένης ἐπὶ τῷ στόματι τῆς Μαιώτιδος. ἔστι δὲ τὸ μεταξὺ τῆς Θεοδοσίας καὶ τοῦ Παντικαπαίου σταδίων περὶ πεντακοσίων καὶ τριάκοντα, χώρα πᾶσα σιτοφόρος, κώμας ἔχουσα καὶ πόλιν εὐλίμενον τὸ Νύμφαιον καλούμενον. τὸ δὲ Παντικάπαιον λόφος ἐστὶ πάντη περιοικούμενος ἐν κύκλῳ σταδίων εἴκοσι· πρὸς ἕω δ' ἔχει λιμένα καὶ νεώρια ὅσον τριάκοντα νεῶν, ἔχει δὲ καὶ ἀκρόπολιν· κτίσμα δ' ἐστὶ Μιλησίων. ἐμοναρχεῖτο δὲ πολὺν χρόνον ὑπὸ δυναστῶν τῶν περὶ Λεύκωνα καὶ Σάτυρον καὶ Παιρισάδην αὕτη τε καὶ αἱ πλησιόχωροι κατοικίαι πᾶσαι αἱ περὶ τὸ στόμα τῆς Μαιώτιδος ἑκατέρωθεν μέχρι Παιρισάδου τοῦ Μιθριδάτῃ παραδόντος τὴν ἀρχήν. ἐκαλοῦντο δὲ τύραννοι, καίπερ οἱ πλείους ἐπιεικεῖς γεγονότες, ἀρξάμενοι ἀπὸ Παιρισάδου καὶ Λεύκωνος. Παιρισάδης δὲ καὶ θεὸς νενόμισται· τούτῳ δὲ ὁμώνυμος καὶ ὁ ὕστατος, ὃς οὐχ οἷός τε ὢν ἀντέχειν πρὸς τοὺς βαρβάρους φόρον πραττομένους μείζω τοῦ πρότερον Μιθριδάτῃ τῷ Εὐπάτορι παρέδωκε τὴν ἀρχήν· ἐξ ἐκείνου δ' ἡ βασιλεία γεγένηται Ῥωμαίοις ὑπήκοος. τὸ μὲν οὖν πλέον αὐτῆς μέρος ἐστὶν ἐπὶ τῆς Εὐρώπης, μέρος δέ τι καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς Ἀσίας.

After the aforesaid mountainous district is the city Theodosia. It is situated in a fertile plain and has a harbor that can accommodate as many as a hundred ships; this harbor in earlier times was a boundary between the countries of the Bosporians and the Taurians. And the country that comes next after that of Theodosia is also fertile, as far as Panticapaeum. Panticapaeum is the metropolis of the Bosporians and is situated at the mouth of Lake Maeotis. The distance between Theodosia and Panticapaeum is about five hundred and thirty stadia; the district is everywhere productive of grain, and it contains villages, as well as a city called Nymphaeum, {247} which possesses a good harbor. Panticapaeum is a hill inhabited on all sides in a circuit of twenty stadia. To the east it has a harbor, and docks for about thirty ships; and it also has an acropolis. It is a colony of the Milesians. For a long time it was ruled as a monarchy by the dynasty of Leuco, Satyrus, and Parisades, as were also all the neighboring settlements near the south of Lake Maeotis on both sides, until Parisades gave over the sovereignty to Mithridates. They were called tyrants, although most of them, beginning with Parisades and Leuco, proved to be equitable rulers. And Parisades was actually held in honor as god. The last {248} of these monarchs also bore the name Parisades, but he was unable to hold out against the barbarians, who kept exacting greater tribute than before, and he therefore gave over the sovereignty to Mithridates Eupator. But since the time of Mithridates the kingdom has been subject to the Romans. The greater part of it is situated in Europe, although a part of it is situated in Asia. {249}

247. Now Kalati.

248. His title seems to have been Paerisades V. On the titles and times of the monarchs in this dynasty, see Pauly-Wissowa, s.v. “Bosporus,“ p. 758.

249. According to Strabo, the boundary between Europe and Asia was formed by the Tanaïs (Don) River, Lake Maeotis (sea of Azof), and the Cimmerian Bosporus (strait of Kertch). See 2. 5. 26, 31 and 7. 4. 5.

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τὸ δὲ στόμα τῆς Μαιώτιδος καλεῖται μὲν Κιμμερικὸς Βόσπορος, ἄρχεται δὲ ἀπὸ μείζονος πλάτους ἑβδομήκοντά που σταδίων· καθ' ὃ διαίρουσιν ἐκ τῶν περὶ Παντικάπαιον τόπων εἰς τὴν ἐγγυτάτω πόλιν τῆς Ἀσίας τὴν Φαναγόρειαν· τελευτᾷ δ' εἰς πολὺ στενώτερον πορθμόν. διαιρεῖ δ' ὁ στενωπὸς οὗτος τὴν Ἀσίαν ἀπὸ τῆς Εὐρώπης καὶ ὁ Τάναϊς ποταμός, καταντικρὺ ῥέων ἀπὸ τῶν ἄρκτων εἴς τε τὴν λίμνην καὶ τὸ στόμα αὐτῆς· δύο δ' ἔχει τὰς εἰς τὴν λίμνην ἐκβολὰς διεχούσας ἀλλήλων ὅσον σταδίους ἑξήκοντα. ἔστι δὲ καὶ πόλις ὁμώνυμος τῷ ποταμῷ, μέγιστον τῶν βαρβάρων ἐμπόριον μετὰ τὸ Παντικάπαιον. ἐν ἀριστερᾷ δ' εἰσπλέοντι τὸν Κιμμερικὸν Βόσπορον πολίχνιόν ἐστι Μυρμήκιον ἐν εἴκοσι σταδίοις ἀπὸ τοῦ Παντικαπαίου. τοῦ δὲ Μυρμηκίου διπλάσιον διέχει κώμη Παρθένιον, καθ' ἣν στενώτατος ὁ εἴσπλους ἐστὶν ὅσον εἴκοσι σταδίων, ἔχων ἀντικειμένην ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ κώμην Ἀχίλλειον καλουμένην. ἐντεῦθεν δ' εὐθυπλοίᾳ μὲν ἐπὶ τὸν Τάναϊν καὶ τὴν κατὰ τὰς ἐκβολὰς νῆσον στάδιοι δισχίλιοι διακόσιοι, μικρὸν δ' ὑπερβάλλει τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ τούτου πλέοντι παρὰ τὴν Ἀσίαν· πλέον δ' ἢ τριπλάσιον ἐν ἀριστερᾷ πλέοντι μέχρι τοῦ Τανάιδος, ἐν ᾧ παράπλῳ καὶ ὁ ἰσθμὸς ἵδρυται. οὗτος μὲν οὖν ὁ παράπλους ἔρημος πᾶς ὁ παρὰ τὴν Εὐρώπην, ὁ δ' ἐν δεξιᾷ οὐκ ἔρημος· ὁ δὲ σύμπας τῆς λίμνης κύκλος ἐνακισχιλίων ἱστορεῖται σταδίων. ἡ δὲ μεγάλη χερρόνησος τῇ Πελοποννήσῳ προσέοικε καὶ τὸ σχῆμα καὶ τὸ μέγεθος. ἔχουσι δ' αὐτὴν οἱ τοῦ Βοσπόρου δυνάσται κεκακωμένην πᾶσαν ὑπὸ τῶν συνεχῶν πολέμων. πρότερον δ' εἶχον ὀλίγην μὲν τὴν πρὸς τῷ στόματι τῆς Μαιώτιδος καὶ τῷ Παντικαπαίῳ μέχρι Θεοδοσίας τῶν Βοσπορίων τύραννοι, τὴν δὲ πλείστην μέχρι τοῦ ἰσθμοῦ καὶ τοῦ κόλπου τοῦ Καρκινίτου Ταῦροι, Σκυθικὸν ἔθνος· καὶ ἐκαλεῖτο ἡ χώρα πᾶσα αὕτη, σχεδὸν δέ τι καὶ ἡ ἔξω τοῦ ἰσθμοῦ μέχρι Βορυσθένους, μικρὰ Σκυθία· διὰ δὲ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἐνθένδε περαιουμένων τόν τε Τύραν καὶ τὸν Ἴστρον καὶ ἐποικούντων τὴν γῆν καὶ ταύτης οὐκ ὀλίγη μικρὰ προσηγορεύθη Σκυθία, τῶν Θρᾳκῶν τὰ μὲν τῇ βίᾳ συγχωρούντων τὰ δὲ τῇ κακίᾳ τῆς χώρας· ἑλώδης γάρ ἐστιν ἡ πολλὴ αὐτῆς.

The mouth of Lake Maeotis is called the Cimmerian Bosporus. It is rather wide at first--about seventy stadia--and it is here that people cross over from the regions of Panticapaeum to Phanagoria, the nearest city of Asia; but it ends in a much narrower channel. This strait separates Asia from Europe; and so does the Tanaïs {250} River, which is directly opposite and flows from the north into the lake and then into the mouth of it. The river has two outlets into the lake which are about sixty stadia distant from one another. There is also a city {251} which has the same name as the river, and next to Panticapaeum is the greatest emporium of the barbarians. On the left, as one sails into the Cimmerian Bosporus, is a little city, Myrmecium, {252} at a distance of twenty stadia from Panticapaeum. And twice this distance from Myrmecium is the village of Parthenium; {253} here the strait is narrowest--about twenty stadia--and on the opposite side, in Asia, is situated a village called Achilleium. Thence, if one sails straight to the Tanaïs and the islands near its outlets, the distance is two thousand two hundred stadia, but if one sails along the coast of Asia, the distance slightly exceeds this; if, however, one sails on the left as far as the Tanaïs, following the coast where the isthmus is situated, the distance is more than three times as much. Now the whole of the seaboard along this coast, I mean on the European side, is desert, but the seaboard on the right is not desert; and, according to report, the total circuit of the lake is nine thousand stadia. The Great Chersonesus is similar to the Peloponnesus both in shape and in size. It is held by the potentates {254} of the Bosporus, though the whole of it has been devastated by continuous wars. But in earlier times only a small part of it--that which is close to the mouth of Lake Maeotis and to Panticapaeum and extends as far as Theodosia--was held by the tyrants of the Bosporians, whereas most of it, as far as the isthmus and the Gulf of Carcinites, was held by the Taurians, a Scythian tribe. And the whole of this country, together with about all the country outside the isthmus as far as the Borysthenes, was called Little Scythia. But on account of the large number of people who left Little Scythia and crossed both the Tyras and the Ister and took up their abode in the land beyond, no small portion of Thrace as well came to be called Little Scythia; the Thracians giving way to them partly as the result of force and partly because of the bad quality of the land, for the greater part of the country is marshy.

250. The Don.

251. The site was near Nedrigofka.

252. On the site of, or near, Yenikale.

253. Exact site unknown.

254. Chosen by the Romans (7. 4. 7).

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τῆς δὲ χερρονήσου, πλὴν τῆς ὀρεινῆς τῆς ἐπὶ τῇ θαλάττῃ μέχρι Θεοδοσίας, ἥ γε ἄλλη πεδιὰς καὶ εὔγεώς ἐστι πᾶσα, σίτῳ δὲ καὶ σφόδρα εὐτυχής, τριακοντάχουν ἀποδιδοῦσα διὰ τοῦ τυχόντος ὀρυκτοῦ σχιζομένη. φόρον τε ἐτέλουν ὀκτωκαίδεκα μυριάδας μεδίμνων Μιθριδάτῃ, τάλαντα δ' ἀργυρίου διακόσια σὺν τοῖς Ἀσιανοῖς χωρίοις τοῖς περὶ τὴν Σινδικήν. κἀν τοῖς πρόσθεν χρόνοις ἐντεῦθεν ἦν τὰ σιτοπομπεῖα τοῖς Ἕλλησι, καθάπερ ἐκ τῆς λίμνης αἱ ταριχεῖαι. Λεύκωνα δέ φασιν ἐκ τῆς Θεοδοσίας Ἀθηναίοις πέμψαι μυριάδας μεδίμνων διακοσίας καὶ δέκα. οἱ δ' αὐτοὶ οὗτοι καὶ γεωργοὶ ἐκαλοῦντο ἰδίως διὰ τὸ τοὺς ὑπερκειμένους νομάδας εἶναι, τρεφομένους κρέασιν ἄλλοις τε καὶ ἱππείοις, ἱππείῳ δὲ καὶ τυρῷ καὶ γάλακτι καὶ ὀξυγάλακτι τοῦτο δὲ καὶ ὄψημά ἐστιν αὐτοῖς κατασκευασθέν πως · διόπερ ὁ ποιητὴς ἅπαντας εἴρηκε τοὺς ταύτῃ γαλακτοφάγους. οἱ μὲν οὖν νομάδες πολεμισταὶ μᾶλλόν εἰσιν ἢ λῃστρικοί, πολεμοῦσι δὲ ὑπὲρ τῶν φόρων. ἐπιτρέψαντες γὰρ ἔχειν τὴν γῆν τοῖς ἐθέλουσι γεωργεῖν ἀντὶ ταύτης ἀγαπῶσι φόρους λαμβάνοντες τοὺς συντεταγμένους μετρίους τινάς, οὐκ εἰς περιουσίαν ἀλλ' εἰς τὰ ἐφήμερα καὶ τὰ ἀναγκαῖα τοῦ βίου· μὴ διδόντων δὲ αὐτοῖς πολεμοῦσιν. οὕτω δὲ καὶ δικαίους ἅμα καὶ ἀβίους ὁ ποιητὴς εἴρηκε τοὺς αὐτοὺς τούτους ἄνδρας, ἐπεὶ τῶν γε φόρων ἀπευτακτουμένων οὐδ' ἂν καθίσταντο εἰς πόλεμον. οὐκ ἀπευτακτοῦσι δ' οἱ δυνάμει πεποιθότες, ὥστε ἢ ἀμύνασθαι ῥᾳδίως ἐπιόντας ἢ κωλῦσαι τὴν ἔφοδον· καθάπερ Ἄσανδρον ποιῆσαί φησιν Ὑψικράτης, ἀποτειχίσαντα τὸν ἰσθμὸν τῆς χερρονήσου τὸν πρὸς τῇ Μαιώτιδι τριακοσίων ὄντα καὶ ἑξήκοντα σταδίων, ἐπιστήσαντα πύργους, καθ' ἕκαστον στάδιον ἕνα. οἱ δὲ γεωργοὶ ταύτῃ μὲν ἡμερώτεροί τε ἅμα καὶ πολιτικώτεροι νομίζονται εἶναι, χρηματισταὶ δ' ὄντες καὶ θαλάττης ἁπτόμενοι λῃστηρίων οὐκ ἀπέχονται, οὐδὲ τῶν τοιούτων ἀδικιῶν καὶ πλεονεξιῶν.

But the Chersonesus, except for the mountainous district that extends along the sea as far as Theodosia, is everywhere level and fertile, and in the production of grain it is extremely fortunate. At any rate, it yields thirty-fold if furrowed by any sort of a digging-instrument. {255} Further, the people of this region, together with those of the Asiatic districts round about Sindice, used to pay as tribute to Mithridates one hundred and eighty thousand medimni {256} and also two hundred talents of silver. {257} And in still earlier times the Greeks imported their supplies of grain from here, just as they imported their supplies of salt-fish from the lake. Leuco, it is said, once sent from Theodosia to Athens two million one hundred thousand medimni. {258} These same people used to be called Georgi, {259} in the literal sense of the term, because of the fact that the people who were situated beyond them were Nomads and lived not only on meats in general but also on the meat of horses, as also on cheese made from mare's milk, on mare's fresh milk, and on mare's sour milk, which last, when prepared in a particular way, is much relished by them. And this is why the poet calls all the people in that part of the world “Galactophagi.” {260} Now although the Nomads are warriors rather than brigands, yet they go to war only for the sake of the tributes due them; for they turn over their land to any people who wish to till it, and are satisfied if they receive in return for the land the tribute they have assessed, which is a moderate one, assessed with a view, not to an abundance, but only to the daily necessities of life; but if the tenants do not pay, the Nomads go to war with them. And so it is that the poet calls these same men at the same time both “just” and “resourceless”; for if the tributes were paid regularly, they would never resort to war. But men who are confident that they are powerful enough either to ward off attacks easily or to prevent any invasion do not pay regularly; such was the case with Asander, {261} who, according to Hypsicrates, {262} walled off the isthmus of the Chersonesus which is near Lake Maeotis and is three hundred and sixty stadia in width, and set up ten towers for every stadium. But though the Georgi of this region are considered to be at the same time both more gentle and civilized, still, since they are money-getters and have to do with the sea, they do not hold aloof from acts of piracy, nor yet from any other such acts of injustice and greed.

255. Or perhaps, “plough-share.”

256. The Attic medimnus was about one bushel and a half.

257. The Attic silver talent was about $1000.

258. Leuco sent to Athens 400,000 medimni of wheat annually, but in the year of the great famine (about 360 B.C.) he sent not only enough for Athens but a surplus which the Athenians sold at a profit of fifteen talents (Demosthenes, Against Leptines, 20. 32-33).

259. i.e.,, “Tillers of the soil.”

260. Cp. 7. 3. 3, 7, 9.

261. Asander unsurped the throne of the Bosporus in 47 (or 46) B.C., after he had overthrown and killed his chief, King Pharnaces, and had defeated and killed Mithridates of Pergamon who sought the throne. His kingdom extended as far as the Don (see 11. 2. 11 and 13. 4. 3), and he built the fortifications above mentioned to prevent the invasions of the Scythians.

262. Hysicrates flourished in the time of Julius Caesar. He wrote a number of historical and geographical treatises, but the exact titles are unknown (see Pauly-Wissowa, s.v.).

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πρὸς δὲ τοῖς καταριθμηθεῖσι τόποις ἐν τῇ χερρονήσῳ καὶ τὰ φρούρια ὑπῆρξεν, ἃ κατεσκεύασε Σκίλουρος καὶ οἱ παῖδες, οἷσπερ καὶ ὁρμητηρίοις ἐχρῶντο πρὸς τοὺς Μιθριδάτου στρατηγούς, Παλάκιόν τε καὶ Χάβον καὶ Νεάπολις· ἦν δὲ καὶ Εὐπατόριόν τι, κτίσαντος Διοφάντου, τοὖ Μιθριδάτου στρατηγοῦ. ἔστι δ' ἄκρα διέχουσα τοῦ τῶν Χερρονησιτῶν τείχους ὅσον πεντεκαίδεκα σταδίους, κόλπον ποιοῦσα εὐμεγέθη νεύοντα πρὸς τὴν πόλιν· τούτου δ' ὑπέρκειται λιμνοθάλαττα ἁλοπήγιον ἔχουσα· ἐνταῦθα δὲ καὶ ὁ Κτενοῦς ἦν. ἵν' οὖν ἀντέχοιεν, οἱ βασιλικοὶ πολιορκούμενοι τῇ τε ἄκρᾳ τῇ λεχθείσῃ φρουρὰν ἐγκατέστησαν τειχίσαντες τὸν τόπον, καὶ τὸ στόμα τοῦ κόλπου τὸ μέχρι τῆς πόλεως διέχωσαν, ὥστε πεζεύεσθαι ῥᾳδίως καὶ τρόπον τινὰ μίαν εἶναι πόλιν ἐξ ἀμφοῖν· ἐκ δὲ τούτου ῥᾷον ἀπεκρούοντο τοὺς Σκύθας. ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ τῷ διατειχίσματι τοῦ ἰσθμοῦ τοῦ πρὸς τῷ Κτενοῦντι προσέβαλον καὶ τὴν τάφρον ἐνέχουν καλάμῳ, τὸ μεθ' ἡμέραν γεφυρωθὲν μέρος νύκτωρ ἐνεπίμπρασαν οἱ βασιλικοὶ καὶ ἀντεῖχον τέως ἕως ἐπεκράτησαν. καὶ νῦν ὑπὸ τοῖς τῶν Βοσπορανῶν βασιλεῦσιν, οὓς ἂν Ῥωμαῖοι καταστήσωσιν, ἅπαντά ἐστιν.

In addition to the places in the Chersonesus which I have enumerated, there were also the three forts which were built by Scilurus and his sons--the forts which they used as bases of operations against the generals of Mithridates--I mean Palacium, Chabum, and Neapolis. {263} There was also a Fort Eupatorium, {264} founded by Diophantus when he was leading the army for Mithridates. There is a cape about fifteen stadia distant from the wall of the Chersonesites; {265} it forms a very large gulf which inclines towards the city. And above this gulf is situated a lagoon {266} which has salt-works. And here, too, was the Ctenus Harbor. Now it was in order that they might hold out that the besieged generals of the king fortified the place, established a garrison on the cape aforesaid, and filled up that part of the mouth of the gulf which extends as far as the city, so that there was now an easy journey on foot and, in a way, one city instead of two. Consequently, they could more easily beat off the Scythians. But when the Scythians made their attack, near Ctenus, on the fortified wall that extends across the isthmus, and daily filled up the trench with straw, the generals of the king set fire by night to the part thus bridged by day, and held out until they finally prevailed over them. And today everything is subject to whatever kings of the Bosporians the Romans choose to set up.

263. The sites of these forts are unknown, but they must have been not far from the line of fortifications which ran along the eastern boundary of the Little Chersonesus (see 7. 4. 2).

264. For Eupatorium is not to be identified with the city of Eupatoria (mentioned by Ptolemaeus 3.6.2), nor with the modern Eupatoria (the Crimean Kozlof). It was situated on what is now Cape Paul, where Fort Paul is, to the east of Sebastopol (Becker, Jahrb. für Philol., Suppl. vol., 1856), or else on the opposite cape between the harbor of Sebastopol and what is called Artillery Bay, where Fort Nicholas was (C. Müller, note on Ptolemaeus, l.c.).

265. i.e., the wall of the city of New Chersonesus.

266. Now Uschakowskaja Balka (Pauly-Wissowa, s.v. “Eupatoria”).

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ἴδιον δὲ τοῦ Σκυθικοῦ καὶ τοῦ Σαρματικοῦ παντὸς ἔθνους τὸ τοὺς ἵππους ἐκτέμνειν εὐπειθείας χάριν· μικροὶ μὲν γάρ εἰσιν, ὀξεῖς δὲ σφόδρα καὶ δυσπειθεῖς. θῆραι δ' εἰσὶν ἐν μὲν τοῖς ἕλεσιν ἐλάφων καὶ συάγρων, ἐν δὲ τοῖς πεδίοις ὀνάγρων καὶ δορκάδων. ἴδιον δέ τι καὶ τὸ ἀετὸν μὴ γίνεσθαι ἐν τοῖς τόποις τούτοις. ἔστι δὲ τῶν τετραπόδων ὁ καλούμενος κόλος, μεταξὺ ἐλάφου καὶ κριοῦ τὸ μέγεθος, λευκός, ὀξύτερος τούτων τῷ δρόμῳ, πίνων τοῖς ῥώθωσιν εἰς τὴν κεφαλήν, εἶτ' ἐντεῦθεν εἰς ἡμέρας ταμιεύων πλείους ὥστ' ἐν τῇ ἀνύδρῳ νέμεσθαι ῥᾳδίως. τοιαύτη μὲν ἡ ἐκτὸς Ἴστρου πᾶσα ἡ μεταξὺ τοῦ Ῥήνου καὶ τοῦ Τανάιδος ποταμοῦ μέχρι τῆς Ποντικῆς θαλάττης καὶ τῆς Μαιώτιδος.

It is a peculiarity of the whole Scythian and Sarmatian race that they castrate their horses to make them easy to manage; for although the horses are small, they are exceedingly quick and hard to manage. As for game, there are deer and wild boars in the marshes, and wild asses and roe deer in the plains. Another peculiar thing is the fact that the eagle is not found in these regions. And among the quadrupeds there is what is called the “colos”; {267} it is between the deer and ram in size, is white, is swifter than they, and drinks through its nostrils into its head, and then from this storage supplies itself for several days, so that it can easily live in the waterless country. Such, then, is the nature of the whole of the country which is outside the Ister between the Rhenus and the Tanaïs Rivers as far as the Pontic Sea and Lake Maeotis.

267. “A large he-goat without horns” (Hesychius, s.v.).

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λοιπὴ δ' ἐστὶ τῆς Εὐρώπης ἡ ἐντὸς Ἴστρου καὶ τῆς κύκλῳ θαλάττης, ἀρξαμένη ἀπὸ τοῦ μυχοῦ τοῦ Ἀδριατικοῦ μέχρι τοῦ ἱεροῦ στόματος τοῦ Ἴστρου, ἐν ᾖ ἔστιν ἥ τε Ἑλλὰς καὶ τὰ τῶν Μακεδόνων καὶ τῶν Ἠπειρωτῶν ἔθνη καὶ τὰ ὑπὲρ τούτων πρὸς τὸν Ἴστρον καθήκοντα καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἐφ' ἑκάτερα θάλατταν τήν τε Ἀδριατικὴν καὶ τὴν Ποντικήν, πρὸς μὲν τὴν Ἀδριατικὴν τὰ Ἰλλυρικά, πρὸς δὲ τὴν ἑτέραν μέχρι Προποντίδος καὶ Ἑλλησπόντου τὰ Θρᾴκια καὶ εἴ τινα τούτοις ἀναμέμικται Σκυθικὰ ἢ Κελτικά. δεῖ δ' ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἴστρου τὴν ἀρχὴν ποιήσασθαι τὰ ἐφεξῆς λέγοντας τοῖς περιοδευθεῖσι τόποις· ταῦτα δ' ἔστι τὰ συνεχῆ τῇ Ἰταλίᾳ τε καὶ ταῖς Ἄλπεσι καὶ Γερμανοῖς καὶ Δακοῖς καὶ Γέταις. δίχα δ' ἄν τις καὶ ταῦτα διέλοι· τρόπον γάρ τινα τῷ Ἴστρῳ παράλληλά ἐστι τά τε Ἰλλυρικὰ καὶ τὰ Παιονικὰ καὶ τὰ Θρᾴκια ὄρη, μίαν πως γραμμὴν ἀποτελοῦντα διήκουσαν ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἀδρίου μέχρι πρὸς τὸν Πόντον· ἧς προσάρκτια μέν ἐστι μέρη τὰ μεταξὺ τοῦ Ἴστρου καὶ τῶν ὀρῶν, πρὸς νότον δ' ἥ τε Ἑλλὰς καὶ ἡ συνεχὴς βάρβαρος μέχρι τῆς ὀρεινῆς. πρὸς μὲν οὖν τῷ Πόντῳ τὸ Αἷμον ἔστιν ὄρος, μέγιστον τῶν ταύτῃ καὶ ὑψηλότατον, μέσην πως διαιροῦν τὴν Θρᾴκην· ἀφ' οὗ φησι Πολύβιος ἀμφοτέρας καθορᾶσθαι τὰς θαλάττας, οὐκ ἀληθῆ λέγων· καὶ γὰρ τὸ διάστημα μέγα τὸ πρὸς τὸν Ἀδρίαν καὶ τὰ ἐπισκοτοῦντα πολλά. πρὸς δὲ τῷ Ἀδρίᾳ πᾶσα ἡ Ἀρδία σχεδόν τι, μέση δ' ἡ Παιονία καὶ αὐτὴ πᾶσα ὑψηλή. ἐφ' ἑκάτερα δ' αὐτῆς ἐπὶ μὲν τὰ Θρᾴκια ἡ Ῥοδόπη ὁμορεῖ, ὑψηλότατον ὄρος μετὰ τὸν Αἷμον, ἐπὶ δὲ θάτερα πρὸς ἄρκτον τὰ Ἰλλυρικὰ ἥ τε τῶν Αὐταριατῶν χώρα καὶ ἡ Δαρδανική. λέγωμεν δὴ τὰ Ἰλλυρικὰ πρῶτα συνάπτοντα τῷ τε Ἴστρῳ καὶ ταῖς Ἄλπεσιν, αἳ κεῖνται μεταξὺ τῆς Ἰταλίας καὶ τῆς Γερμανίας, ἀρξάμεναι ἀπὸ τῆς λίμνης τῆς κατὰ τοὺς Ὀυινδολικοὺς καὶ Ῥαιτοὺς καὶ Ἑλουηττίους.

The remainder of Europe consists of the country which is between the Ister and the encircling sea, beginning at the recess of the Adriatic and extending as far as the Sacred Mouth {268} of the Ister. In this country are Greece and the tribes of the Macedonians and of the Epeirotes, and all those tribes above them whose countries reach to the Ister and to the seas on either side, both the Adriatic and the Pontic--to the Adriatic, the Illyrian tribes, and to the other sea as far as the Propontis and the Hellespont, the Thracian tribes and whatever Scythian or Celtic tribes are intermingled {269} with them. But I must make my beginning at the Ister, speaking of the parts that come next in order after the regions which I have already encompassed in my description. These are the parts that border on Italy, on the Alps, and on the counties of the Germans, Dacians, and Getans. This country also {270} might be divided into two parts, for, in a way, the Illyrian, Paeonian, and Thracian mountains are parallel to the Ister, thus completing what is almost a straight line that reaches from the Adrias as far as the Pontus; and to the north of this line are the parts that are between the Ister and the mountains, whereas to the south are Greece and the barbarian country which borders thereon and extends as far as the mountainous country. Now the mountain called Haemus {271} is near the Pontus; it is the largest and highest of all mountains in that part of the world, and cleaves Thrace almost in the center. Polybius says that both seas are visible from the mountain, but this is untrue, for the distance to the Adrias is great and the things that obscure the view are many. On the other hand, almost the whole of Ardia {272} is near the Adrias. But Paeonia is in the middle, and the whole of it too is high country. Paeonia is bounded on either side, first, towards the Thracian parts, by Rhodope, {273} a mountain next in height to the Haemus, and secondly, on the other side, towards the north, by the Illyrian parts, both the country of the Autariatae and that of the Dardanians. {274} So then, let me speak first of the Illyrian parts, which join the Ister and that part of the Alps which lies between Italy and Germany and begins at the lake {275} which is near the country of the Vindelici, Rhaeti, and Toenii. {276}

268. See 7. 3. 15.

269. See 7. 3. 2, 11.

270. Cp. 7. 1. 1.

271. Balkan.

272. The southern part of Dalmatia, bounded by the River Naro (now Narenta); but Strabo is thinking also of the Adrian Mountain (now the Dinara; see 7. 5. 5), which runs through the center of Dalmatia as far as the Naro.

273. Now Despoto-Dagh.

274. Cp. 7. 5. 6.

275. Lake Constance (the Bodensee), see 7. 1. 5.

276. Meineke emends “Toenii” (otherwise unknown) to “Helvetii,” the word one would expect here (cp. 7. 1. 5); but (on textual grounds) “Toygeni” (cp. 7. 2. 2) is almost certainly the correct reading.

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μέρος μὲν δή τι τῆς χώρας ταύτης ἠρήμωσαν οἱ Δακοὶ καταπολεμήσαντες Βοίους καὶ Ταυρίσκους, ἔθνη Κελτικὰ τὰ ὑπὸ Κριτασίρῳ, φάσκοντες εἶναι τὴν χώραν σφετέραν, καίπερ ποταμοῦ διείργοντος τοῦ Παρίσου, ῥέοντος ἀπὸ τῶν ὀρῶν ἐπὶ τὸν Ἴστρον κατὰ τοὺς Σκορδίσκους καλουμένους Γαλάτας· καὶ γὰρ οὗτοι τοῖς Ἰλλυρικοῖς ἔθνεσι καὶ τοῖς Θρᾳκίοις ἀναμὶξ ᾤκησαν· ἀλλ' ἐκείνους μὲν οἱ Δακοὶ κατέλυσαν, τούτοις δὲ καὶ συμμάχοις ἐχρήσαντο πολλάκις. τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν ἔχουσι Παννόνιοι μέχρι Σεγεστικῆς καὶ Ἴστρου πρὸς ἄρκτον καὶ ἕω· πρὸς δὲ τἆλλα μέρη ἐπὶ πλέον διατείνουσιν. ἡ δὲ Σεγεστικὴ πόλις ἐστὶ Παννονίων ἐν συμβολῇ ποταμῶν πλειόνων, ἁπάντων πλωτῶν, εὐφυὲς ὁρμητήριον τῷ πρὸς Δακοὺς πολέμῳ· ὑποπέπτωκε γὰρ ταῖς Ἄλπεσιν, αἳ διατείνουσι μέχρι τῶν Ἰαπόδων, Κελτικοῦ τε ἅμα καὶ Ἰλλυρικοῦ ἔθνους· ἐντεῦθεν δὲ καὶ ποταμοὶ ῥέουσι πολλοὶ καταφέροντες εἰς αὐτὴν τόν τε ἄλλον καὶ τὸν ἐκ τῆς Ἰταλίας φόρτον. εἰς γὰρ Ναύπορτον ἐξ Ἀκυληίας ὑπερτιθεῖσι τὴν Ὄκραν εἰσὶ στάδιοι τριακόσιοι πεντήκοντα, εἰς ἣν αἱ ἁρμάμαξαι κατάγονται, τῶν Ταυρίσκων οὖσαν κατοικίαν· ἔνιοι δὲ πεντακοσίους φασίν. ἡ δ' Ὄκρα ταπεινότατον μέρος τῶν Ἄλπεών ἐστι τῶν διατεινουσῶν ἀπὸ τῆς Ῥαιτικῆς μέχρι Ἰαπόδων· ἐντεῦθεν δ' ἐξαίρεται τὰ ὄρη πάλιν ἐν τοῖς Ἰάποσι καὶ καλεῖται Ἄλβια. ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἐκ Τεργέστε κώμης Καρνικῆς ὑπέρθεσίς ἐστι διὰ τῆς Ὄκρας εἰς ἕλος Λούγεον καλούμενον. πλησίον δὲ τοῦ Ναυπόρτου ποταμός ἐστι Κορκόρας ὁ δεχόμενος τὰ φορτία· οὗτος μὲν οὖν εἰς τὸν Σάβον ἐμβάλλει, ἐκεῖνος δ' εἰς τὸν Δράβον, ὁ δὲ εἰς τὸν Νόαρον κατὰ τὴν Σεγεστικήν. ἐντεῦθεν δ' ἤδη ὁ Νόαρος πλήθει προσλαβὼν τὸν διὰ τῶν Ἰαπόδων ῥέοντα ἐκ τοῦ Ἀλβίου ὄρους Κόλαπιν συμβάλλει τῷ Δανουίῳ κατὰ τοὺς Σκορδίσκους. ὁ δὲ πλοῦς τὰ πολλὰ τοῖς ποταμοῖς ἐπὶ τὰς ἄρκτους ἐστίν· ὁδὸς δ' ἀπὸ Τεργέστε ἐπὶ τὸν Δανούιον σταδίων ὅσον χιλίων καὶ διακοσίων. ἐγγὺς δὲ τῆς Σεγεστικῆς ἐστι καὶ ἡ Σισκία φρούριον καὶ Σίρμιον ἐν ὁδῷ κείμεναι τῇ εἰς Ἰταλίαν.

A part of this country was laid waste by the Dacians when they subdued the Boii and Taurisci, Celtic tribes under the rule of Critasirus. {277} They alleged that the country was theirs, although it was separated from theirs by the River Parisus, {278} which flows from the mountains to the Ister near the country of the Scordisci who are called Galatae, {279} for these too {280} lived intermingled with the Illyrian and the Thracian tribes. But though the Dacians destroyed the Boii and Taurisci, they often used the Scordisci as allies. The remainder of the country in question is held by the Pannonii as far as Segestica {281} and the Ister, on the north and east, although their territory extends still farther in the other directions. The city Segestica, belonging to the Pannonians, is at the confluence of several rivers, {282} all of them navigable, and is naturally fitted to be a base of operations for making war against the Dacians; for it lies beneath that part of the Alps which extends as far as the country of the Iapodes, a tribe which is at the same time both Celtic and Illyrian. And thence, too, flow rivers which bring down into Segestica much merchandise both from other countries and from Italy. For if one passes over Mount Ocra {283} from Aquileia to Nauportus, {284} a settlement of the Taurisci, whither the wagons are brought, the distance is three hundred and fifty stadia, though some say five hundred. Now the Ocra is the lowest part of that portion of the Alps which extends from the country of the Rhaeti to that of the Iapodes. Then the mountains rise again, in the country of the Iapodes, and are called “Albian.” {285} In like manner, also, there is a pass which leads over Ocra from Tergeste, {286} a Carnic village, to a marsh called Lugeum. {287} Near Nauportus there is a river, the Corcoras, {288} which receives the cargoes. Now this river empties into the Saus, and the Saus into the Dravus, and the Dravus into the Noarus {289} near Segestica. Immediately below Nauportus the Noarus is further increased in volume by the Colapis, {290} which flows from the Albian Mountain through the country of the Iapodes and meets the Danuvius near the country of the Scordisci. The voyage on these rivers is, for the most part, towards the north. The road from Tergeste to the Danuvius is about one thousand two hundred stadia. Near Segestica, and on the road to Italy, are situated both Siscia, {291} a fort, and Sirmium. {292}

277. Cp. 7. 3. 11.

278. The “Parisus” (otherwise unknown) should probably be emended to “Pathissus” (now the Lower Theiss), the river mentioned by Pliny (4. 25) in connection with the Daci.

279. i.e. Gauls.

280. Cp. 7. 5. 1 and footnote.

281. Now Sissek.

282. Cp. 4. 6. 10.

283. The Julian Alps.

284. Now Ober-Laibach.

285. Cp. 4. 6.1.

286. Now Trieste.

287. Now Lake Zirknitz.

288. Now the Gurk.

289. Something is wrong here. In 4. 6. 10 Strabo rightly makes the Saüs (Save) flow past Segestica (Sissek) and empty into the Danube, not the Drave. The Drave, too, empties into the Danube, not into some Noarus River. Moreover, the Noarus is otherwise unknown, except that it is again mentioned in 7. 5. 12 as “flowing past Segestica.”

290. Now the Kulpa.

291. The usual name for Segestica itself was Siscia.

292. Now Mitrovitza.

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ἔθνη δ' ἐστὶ τῶν Παννονίων Βρεῦκοι καὶ Ἀνδιζήτιοι καὶ Διτίωνες καὶ Πειροῦσται καὶ Μαζαῖοι καὶ Δαισιτιᾶται, ὧν Βάτων ἡγεμών, καὶ ἄλλα ἀσημότερα μικρά, ἃ διατείνει μέχρι Δαλματίας σχεδὸν δέ τι καὶ Ἀρδιαίων ἰόντι πρὸς νότον· ἅπασα δ' ἡ ἀπὸ τοῦ μυχοῦ τοῦ Ἀδρίου παρήκουσα ὀρεινὴ μέχρι τοῦ Ῥιζονικοῦ κόλπου καὶ τῆς Ἀρδιαίων γῆς . . . μεταξὺ πίπτουσα τῆς τε θαλάττης καὶ τῶν Παννονίων ἐθνῶν. σχεδὸν δέ τι καὶ ἐντεῦθεν τὴν ἀρχὴν ποιητέον τῆς συνεχοῦς περιοδείας ἀναλαβοῦσι μικρὰ τῶν λεχθέντων πρότερον. ἔφαμεν δ' ἐν τῇ περιοδείᾳ τῆς Ἰταλίας Ἴστρους εἶναι πρώτους τῆς Ἰλλυρικῆς παραλίας συνεχεῖς τῇ Ἰταλίᾳ καὶ τοῖς Κάρνοις, καὶ διότι μέχρι Πόλας, Ἰστρικῆς πόλεως, προήγαγον οἱ νῦν ἡγεμόνες τοὺς τῆς Ἰταλίας ὅρους. οὗτοι μὲν οὖν περὶ ὀκτακοσίους σταδίους εἰσὶν ἀπὸ τοῦ μυχοῦ. τοσοῦτοι δ' εἰσὶ καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἄκρας τῆς πρὸ τῶν Πολῶν ἐπὶ Ἀγκῶνα ἐν δεξιᾷ ἔχοντι τὴν Ἑνετικήν. ὁ δὲ πᾶς Ἰστρικὸς παράπλους χίλια τριακόσια.

The tribes of the Pannonii are: the Breuci, the Andisetii, the Ditiones, the Peirustae, the Mazaei, and the Daesitiatae, whose leader is {293} Bato, {294} and also other small tribes of less significance which extend as far as Dalmatia and, as one goes south, almost as far as the land of the Ardiaei. The whole of the mountainous country that stretches alongside Pannonia from the recess of the Adriatic as far as the Rhizonic Gulf {295} and the land of the Ardiaei is Illyrian, falling as it does between the sea and the Pannonian tribes. But this {296} is about where I should begin my continuous geographical circuit--though first I shall repeat a little of what I have said before. {297} I was saying in my geographical circuit of Italy that the Istrians were the first people on the Illyrian seaboard; their country being a continuation of Italy and the country of the Carni; and it is for this reason that the present Roman rulers have advanced the boundary of Italy as far as Pola, an Istrian city. Now this boundary is about eight hundred stadia from the recess, and the distance from the promontory {298} in front of Pola to Ancona, if one keeps the Henetic {299} country on the right, is the same. And the entire distance along the coast of Istria is one thousand three hundred stadia.

293. It is doubtful whether “is” or “was” (so others translate) should be supplied from the context here. Certainly “is” is more natural. This passage is important as having a bearing on the time of the composition and retouching of Strabo's work. See the Introduction, pp. xxiv ff.

294. Bato the Daesitiation and Bato the Breucian made common cause against the Romans in 6 A.D. (Cass. Dio 55.29). The former put the latter to death in 8 A.D. (op. cit. 55. 34), but shortly afterwards surrendered to the Romans (Vell. Pat. 2.114).

295. Now the Gulf of Cattaro.

296. The Rhizonic Gulf.

297. 5. 1. 1, 5. 1. 9 and 6. 3. 10.

298. Polaticum Promontorium; now Punta di Promontore.

299. See 5. 1. 4.

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ἑξῆς δ' ἐστὶν ὁ Ἰαποδικὸς παράπλους χιλίων σταδίων· ἵδρυνται γὰρ οἱ Ἰάποδες ἐπὶ τῷ Ἀλβίῳ ὄρει τελευταίῳ τῶν Ἄλπεων ὄντι ὑψηλῷ σφόδρα, τῇ μὲν ἐπὶ τοὺς Παννονίους καὶ τὸν Ἴστρον καθήκοντες τῇ δ' ἐπὶ τὸν Ἀδρίαν, ἀρειμάνιοι μὲν ἐκπεπονημένοι δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ Σεβαστοῦ τελέως· πόλεις δ' αὐτῶν Μέτουλον Ἀρουπῖνοι Μονήτιον Ὀυένδων· λυπρὰ δὲ τὰ χωρία, καὶ ζειᾷ καὶ κέγχρῳ τὰ πολλὰ τρεφομένων· ὁ δ' ὁπλισμὸς Κελτικός· κατάστικτοι δ' ὁμοίως τοῖς ἄλλοις Ἰλλυριοῖς καὶ Θρᾳξί. μετὰ δὲ τὸν τῶν Ἰαπόδων ὁ Λιβυρνικὸς παράπλους ἐστί, μείζων τοῦ προτέρου σταδίοις πεντακοσίοις, ἐν δὲ τῷ παράπλῳ ποταμὸς φορτίοις ἀνάπλουν ἔχων μέχρι Δαλματέων, καὶ Σκάρδων Λιβυρνὴ πόλις.

Next in order comes the voyage of one thousand stadia along the coast of the country of the Iapodes; for the Iapodes are situated on the Albian Mountain, which is the last mountain of the Alps, is very lofty, and reaches down to the country of the Pannonians on one side and to the Adrias on the other. They are indeed a war-mad people, but they have been utterly worn out by Augustus. Their cities {300} are Metulum, {301} Arupini, {302} Monetium, {303} and Vendo. {304} Their lands are poor, the people living for the most part on spelt and millet. Their armor is Celtic, and they are tattooed like the rest of the Illyrians and the Miracians. After the voyage along the coast of the country of the Iapodes comes that along the coast of the country of the Liburni, the latter being five hundred stadia longer than the former; on this voyage is a river, {305} which is navigable inland for merchant-vessels as far as the country of the Dalmatians, and also a Liburnian city, Scardo. {306}

300. Cp. 4. 6. 10.

301. Probably what is now the village of Metule, east of Lake Zirknitz.

302. Probably what is now Auersberg.

303. Now Möttnig.

304. But the proper spelling is “Avendo,” which place was near what are now Crkvinje Kampolje, south-east of Zeng (see Tomaschek, Pauly-Wissowa, s.v. “Avendo”).

305. The Titius, now Kerka.

306. Now Scardona.

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παρ' ὅλην δ' ἣν εἶπον παραλίαν νῆσοι μὲν αἱ Ἀψυρτίδες, περὶ ἃς ἡ Μήδεια λέγεται διαφθεῖραι τὸν ἀδελφὸν Ἄψυρτον διώκοντα αὐτήν. ἔπειτα ἡ Κυρικτικὴ κατὰ τοὺς Ἰάποδας· εἶθ' αἱ Λιβυρνίδες περὶ τετταράκοντα τὸν ἀριθμόν· εἶτ' ἄλλαι νῆσοι, γνωριμώταται δ' Ἴσσα, Τραγούριον, Ἰσσέων κτίσμα, Φάρος ἡ πρότερον Πάρος, Παρίων κτίσμα, ἐξ ἧς Δημήτριος ὁ Φάριος. εἶτα ἡ τῶν Δαλματέων παραλία καὶ τὸ ἐπίνειον αὐτῶν Σάλων. ἔστι δὲ τῶν πολὺν χρόνον πολεμησάντων πρὸς Ῥωμαίους τὸ ἔθνος τοῦτο· κατοικίας δ' ἔσχεν ἀξιολόγους εἰς πεντήκοντα, ὧν τινὰς καὶ πόλεις, Σάλωνά τε καὶ Πρώμωνα καὶ Νινίαν καὶ Σινώτιον τό τε νέον καὶ τὸ παλαιόν, ἃς ἐνέπρησεν ὁ Σεβαστός. ἔστι δὲ καὶ Ἀνδήτριον ἐρυμνὸν χωρίον, Δέλμιον δὲ μεγάλη πόλις, ἧς ἐπώνυμον τὸ ἔθνος· μικρὰν δ' ἐποίησε Νασικᾶς καὶ τὸ πεδίον μηλόβοτον διὰ τὴν πλεονεξίαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων. ἴδιον δὲ τῶν Δαλματέων τὸ διὰ ὀκταετηρίδος χώρας ἀναδασμὸν ποιεῖσθαι· τὸ δὲ μὴ χρῆσθαι νομίσμασι πρὸς μὲν τοὺς ἐν τῇ παραλίᾳ ταύτῃ ἴδιον, πρὸς ἄλλους δὲ τῶν βαρβάρων πολλοὺς κοινόν. Ἄδριον δὲ ὄρος ἐστὶ μέσην τέμνον τὴν Δαλματικήν, τὴν μὲν ἐπιθαλάττιον τὴν δ' ἐπὶ θάτερα. εἶθ' ὁ Νάρων ποταμὸς καὶ οἱ περὶ αὐτὸν Δαόριζοι καὶ Ἀρδιαῖοι καὶ Πληραῖοι, ὧν τοῖς μὲν πλησιάζει νῆσος ἡ μέλαινα Κόρκυρα καλουμένη καὶ πόλις, Κνιδίων κτίσμα, τοῖς δὲ Ἀρδιαίοις ἡ Φάρος, Πάρος λεγομένη πρότερον· Παρίων γάρ ἐστι κτίσμα.

There are islands along the whole of the aforesaid seaboard: first, the Apsyrtides, {307} where Medeia is said to have killed her brother Apsyrtus who was pursuing her; and then, opposite the country of the Iapodes, Cyrictica, {308} then the Liburnides, {309} about forty in number; then other islands, of which the best known are Issa, {310} Tragurium {311} (founded by the people of Issa), and Pharos (formerly Paros, founded by the Parians {312} ), the native land of Demetrius {313} the Pharian. Then comes the seaboard of the Dalmatians, and also their sea-port, Salo. {314} This tribe is one of those which carried on war against the Romans for a long time; it had as many as fifty noteworthy settlements; and some of these were cities--Salo, Priamo, Ninia, and Sinotium (both the Old and the New), all of which were set on fire by Augustus. And there is Andretium, a fortified place; and also Dalmium {315} (whence the name of the tribe), which was once a large city, but because of the greed of the people Nasica {316} reduced it to a small city and made the plain a mere sheep pasture. The Dalmatians have the peculiar custom of making a redistribution of land every seven years; and that they make no use of coined money is peculiar to them as compared with the other peoples in that part of the world, although as compared with many other barbarian peoples it is common. And there is Mount Adrium, {317} which cuts the Dalmatian country through the middle into two parts, one facing the sea and the other in the opposite direction. Then come the River Naro and the people who live about it--the Daorisi, the Ardiaei, and the Pleraei. An island called the Black Corcyra {318} and also a city {319} founded by the Cnidians are close to the Pleraei, while Pharos (formerly called Paros, for it was founded by Parians) is close to the Ardiaei.

307. Now Ossero and Cherso.

308. Now Veglia.

309. Now Arbo, Pago, Isola Longa, and the rest.

310. Now Lissa.

311. Now Trau.

312. In 384 B.C. (Diodorus Siculus, 15. 13).

313. Demetrius of Pharos, on making common cause with the Romans in 229 B.C., was made ruler of most of Illyria instead of Queen Tuta (Polybius, 2-10 ff.).

314. Now Salona, between Klissa and Spalato.

315. Also spelled Delminium; apparently what is now Duvno (see Pauly-Wissowa, s.v. “Delminium”).

316. P. Cornelius Scipio Nascia Corculum, in 155 B.C.

317. The Dinara.

318. Now Curzola.

319. Of the same name.

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Ὀυαρδαίους δ' οἱ ὕστερον ἐκάλεσαν τοὺς Ἀρδιαίους· ἀπέωσαν δ' αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν μεσόγαιαν ἀπὸ τῆς θαλάττης Ῥωμαῖοι, λυμαινομένους αὐτὴν διὰ τῶν λῃστηρίων, καὶ ἠνάγκασαν γεωργεῖν. τραχεῖα δὲ χώρα καὶ λυπρὰ καὶ οὐ γεωργῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὥστ' ἐξέφθαρται τελέως τὸ ἔθνος, μικροῦ δὲ καὶ ἐκλέλοιπε. τοῦτο δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἔθνεσι τοῖς ταύτῃ συνέβη· οἱ γὰρ πλεῖστον δυνάμενοι πρότερον τελέως ἐταπεινώθησαν καὶ ἐξέλιπον, Γαλατῶν μὲν Βοῖοι καὶ Σκορδίσται, Ἰλλυριῶν δὲ Αὐταριᾶται καὶ Ἀρδιαῖοι καὶ Δαρδάνιοι, Θρᾳκῶν δὲ Τριβαλλοί, ὑπ' ἀλλήλων μὲν ἐξ ἀρχῆς, ὕστερον δ' ὑπὸ Μακεδόνων καὶ Ῥωμαίων ἐκπολεμούμενοι.

The Ardiaei were called by the men of later times “Vardiaei.” Because they pestered the sea through their piratical bands, the Romans pushed them back from it into the interior and forced them to till the soil. But the country is rough and poor and not suited to a farming population, and therefore the tribe has been utterly ruined and in fact has almost been obliterated. And this is what befell the rest of the peoples in that part of the world; for those who were most powerful in earlier times were utterly humbled or were obliterated, as, for example, among the Galatae the Boii and the Scordistae, and among the Illyrians the Autariatae, Ardiaei, and Dardanii, and among the Thracians the Triballi; that is, they were reduced in warfare by one another at first and then later by the Macedonians and the Romans.

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μετὰ δ' οὖν τὴν τῶν Ἀρδιαίων καὶ Πληραίων παραλίαν ὁ Ῥιζονικὸς κόλπος ἐστὶ καὶ Ῥίζων πόλις καὶ ἄλλα πολίχνια, καὶ Δρίλων ποταμὸς ἀνάπλουν ἔχων πρὸς ἕω μέχρι τῆς Δαρδανικῆς, ἣ συνάπτει τοῖς Μακεδονικοῖς ἔθνεσι καὶ τοῖς Παιονικοῖς πρὸς μεσημβρίαν, καθάπερ καὶ οἱ Αὐταριᾶται καὶ Δασαρήτιοι, ἄλλοι κατ' ἄλλα μέρη συνεχεῖς ἀλλήλοις ὄντες καὶ τοῖς Αὐταριάταις. τῶν δὲ Δαρδανιατῶν εἰσι καὶ οἱ Γαλάβριοι, παρ' οἷς . . . πόλις ἀρχαία, καὶ οἱ Θουνάται, ὁἶ Μαίδοις ἔθνει Θρᾳκίῳ πρὸς ἕω συνάπτουσιν. ἄγριοι δ' ὄντες οἱ Δαρδάνιοι τελέως, ὥσθ' ὑπὸ ταῖς κοπρίαις ὀρύξαντες σπήλαια ἐνταῦθα διαίτας ποιεῖσθαι, μουσικῆς δ' ὅμως ἐπεμελήθησαν ἀεὶ χρώμενοι καὶ αὐλοῖς καὶ τοῖς ἐντατοῖς ὀργάνοις. οὗτοι μὲν οὖν ἐν τῇ μεσογαίᾳ· μνησθησόμεθα δ' αὐτῶν καὶ ὕστερον.

Be this as it may, after the seaboard of the Ardiaei and the Pleraei come the Rhisonic Gulf, and the city Rhizo, {320} and other small towns and also the River Drilo, {321} which is navigable inland towards the east as far as the Dardanian country. This country borders on the Macedonian and the Paeonian tribes on the south, as do also the Autariatae and the Dassaretii--different peoples on different sides being contiguous to one another and to the Autariatae. {322} To the Dardaniatae belong also the Galabrii, {323} among whom is an ancient city, {324} and the Thunatae, whose country joins that of the Medi, {325} a Thracian tribe on the east. The Dardanians are so utterly wild that they dig caves beneath their dung-hills and live there, but still they care for music, always making use of musical instruments, both flutes and stringed instruments. However, these people live in the interior, and I shall mention them again later.

320. Now Risano.

321. Now the Drin.

322. The exact meaning and connection of “different. . . Autariatae” is doubtful. Carais and others emend Autariatae to Dardaniatae; others would omit “and to the Autariatae”; and still others would make the clause read “and different tribes which on different sides are contiguous to one another and to the Autariatae.” The last seems most probable.

323. The Galabrii, who are otherwise unknown, are thought by Patsch (Pauly-Wissowa, s.v.) and others to be the ancestors of the Italian Calabri.

324. The name of this city, now unknown, seems to have fallen out of the text.

325. “Maedi” is the usual spelling in other authors. But cp. “Medobithyni,” 7. 3. 2 and “Medi,” 7. 5. 12 and Frag. 36.

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μετὰ δὲ τὸν Ῥιζονικὸν κόλπον Λίσσος ἐστὶ πόλις καὶ Ἀκρόλισσος καὶ Ἐπίδαμνος Κερκυραίων κτίσμα, ἡ νῦν Δυρράχιον ὁμωνύμως τῇ χερρονήσῳ λεγομένη ἐφ' ἧς ἵδρυται. εἶθ' ὁ Ἄψος ποταμὸς καὶ ὁ Ἄωος, ἐφ' ᾧ Ἀπολλωνία πόλις εὐνομωτάτη, κτίσμα Κορινθίων καὶ Κερκυραίων, τοῦ ποταμοῦ μὲν ἀπέχουσα σταδίους δέκα τῆς θαλάττης δὲ ἑξήκοντα. τὸν δ' Ἄωον Αἴαντα καλεῖ Ἑκαταῖος καί φησιν ἀπὸ τοῦ αὐτοῦ τόπου τοῦ περὶ Λάκμον, μᾶλλον δὲ τοῦ αὐτοῦ μυχοῦ, τόν τε Ἴναχον ῥεῖν εἰς Ἄργος πρὸς νότον καὶ τὸν Αἴαντα πρὸς ἑσπέραν καὶ πρὸς τὸν Ἀδρίαν. ἐν δὲ τῇ χώρᾳ τῶν Ἀπολλωνιατῶν καλεῖταί τι νυμφαῖον· πέτρα δ' ἐστὶ πῦρ ἀναδιδοῦσα, ὑπ' αὐτῇ δὲ κρῆναι ῥέουσι χλιαροῦ καὶ ἀσφάλτου, καιομένης, ὡς εἰκός, τῆς βώλου τῆς ἀσφαλτίτιδος· μέταλλον δ' αὐτῆς ἔστι πλησίον ἐπὶ λόφου· τὸ δὲ τμηθὲν ἐκπληροῦται πάλιν τῷ χρόνῳ, τῆς ἐγχωννυμένης εἰς τὰ ὀρύγματα γῆς μεταβαλλούσης εἰς ἄσφαλτον, ὥς φησι Ποσειδώνιος. λέγει δ' ἐκεῖνος καὶ τὴν ἀμπελῖτιν γῆν ἀσφαλτώδη τὴν ἐν Σελευκείᾳ τῇ Πιερίᾳ μεταλλευομένην ἄκος τῆς φθειριώσης ἀμπέλου· χρισθεῖσαν γὰρ μετ' ἐλαίου φθείρειν τὸ θηρίον πρὶν ἐπὶ τοὺς βλαστοὺς τῆς ῥίζης ἀναβῆναι· τοιαύτην δ' εὑρεθῆναι καὶ ἐν Ῥόδῳ πρυτανεύοντος αὐτοῦ, πλείονος δ' ἐλαίου δεῖσθαι. μετὰ δ' Ἀπολλωνίαν Βυλλιακὴ καὶ Ὠρικὸν καὶ τὸ ἐπίνειον αὐτοῦ ὁ Πάνορμος καὶ τὰ Κεραύνια ὄρη, ἡ ἀρχὴ τοῦ στόματος τοῦ Ἰονίου κόλπου καὶ τοῦ Ἀδρίου.

After the Rhizonic Gulf comes the city of Lissus, {326} and Acrolissus, {327} and Epidamnus, {328} founded by the Corcyraeans, which is now called Dyrrachium, like the peninsula on which it is situated. Then comes the Apsus {329} River; and then the Aoüs, {330} on which is situated Apollonia, {331} an exceedingly well-governed city, founded by the Corinthians and the Corcyraeans, and ten stadia distant from the river and sixty from the sea. The Aoüs is called “Aeas “ {332} by Hecataeus, who says that both the Inachus and the Aeas flow from the same place, the region of Lacmus, {333} or rather from the same subterranean recess, the former towards the south into Argos and the latter towards the west and towards the Adrias. In the country of the Apolloniates is a place called Nymphaeum; it is a rock that gives forth fire; and beneath it flow springs of warm water and asphalt--probably because the clods of asphalt in the earth are burned by the fire. And near by, on a hill, is a mine of asphalt; and the part that is trenched is filled up again in the course of time, since, as Poseidonius says, the earth that is poured into the trenches changes to asphalt. He also speaks of the asphaltic vine-earth which is mined at the Pierian Seleuceia {334} as a cure for the infested vine; for, he says, if it is smeared on together with olive oil, it kills the insects {335} before they can mount the sprouts of the roots; {336} and, he adds, earth of this sort was also discovered in Rhodes when he was in office there as Prytanis, {337} but it required more olive oil. After Apollonia comes Bylliaca, {338} and Oricum {339} and its seaport Panormus, and the Ceraunian Mountains, where the mouth of the Ionian Gulf {340} and the Adrias begins.

326. Now Alessio.

327. A fortress near Lissus.

328. Now Durazzo.

329. Now the Semeni.

330. Now the Viosa.

331. Now Pollina.

332. Cp. 6. 2. 4, and Pliny 3.26.

333. More often spelled Lacmon; one of the heights of Pindus.

334. Now Kabousi, at the foot of the Djebel-Arsonz (Mt. Pieria), on the boundary of Cilicia and Syria.

335. In private communications to Professor C. R. Crosby of Cornell University, Dr. Paul Marchal and Professor F. Silvestri of Protici identify the insect in question as the Pseudococcus Vitis (also called Dactylopius Vitis, Nedzelsky). This insect, in conjunction with the fungus Bornetina Corium, still infests the vine in the region mentioned by Poseidonius.

336. For a discussion of this passage, see Mangin and Viala, Revue de Viticulture, 1903, Vol. XX, pp. 583-584.

337. President, or chief presiding-officer.

338. The territory (not the city of Byllis) between Apollonia and Oricum.

339. Now Erico.

340. See 6. 1. 7 and the footnote.

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τὸ μὲν οὖν στόμα κοινὸν ἀμφοῖν ἐστι, διαφέρει δὲ ὁ Ἰόνιος διότι τοῦ πρώτου μέρους τῆς θαλάττης ταύτης ὄνομα τοῦτ' ἐστίν, ὁ δ' Ἀδρίας τῆς ἐντὸς μέχρι τοῦ μυχοῦ, νυνὶ δὲ καὶ τῆς συμπάσης. φησὶ δ' ὁ Θεόπομπος τῶν ὀνομάτων τὸ μὲν ἥκειν ἀπὸ ἀνδρὸς ἡγησαμένου τῶν τόπων ἐξ Ἴσσης τὸ γένος, τὸν Ἀδρίαν δὲ ποταμοῦ ἐπώνυμον γεγονέναι. στάδιοι δ' ἀπὸ τῶν Λιβυρνῶν ἐπὶ τὰ Κεραύνια μικρῷ πλείους ἢ δισχίλιοι. Θεόπομπος δὲ τὸν πάντα ἀπὸ τοῦ μυχοῦ πλοῦν ἡμερῶν ἓξ εἴρηκε, πεζῇ δὲ τὸ μῆκος τῆς Ἰλλυρίδος καὶ τριάκοντα· πλεονάζειν δέ μοι δοκεῖ. καὶ ἄλλα δ' οὐ πιστὰ λέγει, τό τε συντετρῆσθαι τὰ πελάγη . . . ἀπὸ τοῦ εὑρίσκεσθαι κέραμόν τε Χῖον καὶ Θάσιον ἐν τῷ Νάρωνι, καὶ τὸ ἄμφω κατοπτεύεσθαι τὰ πελάγη ἀπό τινος ὄρους, καὶ τῶν νήσων τῶν Λιβυρνίδων τινὰ τιθείς, ὥστε κύκλον ἔχειν σταδίων καὶ πεντακοσίων, καὶ τὸ τὸν Ἴστρον ἑνὶ τῶν στομάτων εἰς τὸν Ἀδρίαν ἐμβάλλειν. τοιαῦτα δὲ καὶ τοῦ Ἐρατοσθένους ἔνια παρακούσματά ἐστι λαοδογματικά, καθάπερ Πολύβιός φησι καὶ περὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων λέγων συγγραφέων.

Now the mouth is common to both, but the Ionian is different in that it is the name of the first part of this sea, whereas Adrias is the name of the inside part of the sea as far as the recess; at the present time, however, Adrias is also the name of the sea as a whole. According to Theopompus, the first name came from a man, {341} a native of Issa, {342} who once ruled over the region, whereas the Adrias was named after a river. {343} The distance from the country of the Liburnians to the Ceraunian Mountains is slightly more than two thousand stadia Theopompus states that the whole voyage from the recess takes six days, and that on foot the length of the Illyrian country is as much as thirty days, though in my opinion he makes the distance too great. {344} And he also says other things that are incredible: first, that the seas {345} are connected by a subterranean passage, from the fact that both Chian and Thasian pottery are found in the Naro River; secondly, that both seas are visible from a certain mountain; {346} and thirdly, when he puts down a certain one of the Liburnides islands as large enough to have a circuit of five hundred stadia; {347} and fourthly, that the Ister empties by one of its mouths into the Adrias. In Eratosthenes, also, are some false hearsay statements of this kind--“popular notions,” {348} as Polybius calls them when speaking of him and the other historians.

341. Ionius, an Illyrian according to the Scholiasts (quoting Theopompus) on Apollonius Argonautica 4.308) and Pind. P. 3.120.

342. The isle of Issa (7. 5. 5).

343. Called by Ptolemaeus (3. 1. 21) “Atrianus,” emptying into the lagoons of the Padus (now Po) near the city of Adria (cp. 5. 1. 8), or Atria (now Atri). This river, now the Tartara, is by other writers called the Tartarus.

344. Strabo's estimate for the length of the Illyrian seaboard, all told (cp. 7.. 5. 3-4), amounts to 5,800 stadia. In objecting to Theopompus' length of the Illyrian country on foot, he obviously wishes, among other things, to make a liberal deduction for the seaboard of the Istrian peninsula. Cp. 6. 3. 10.

345. The Adriatic and the Aegaean.

346. The Haemus (cp. 7. 5. 1).

347. The coastline of Arbo is not much short of 500 stadia. The present translator inserts “a certain one”; others emend so as to make Theopompus refer to the circuit of all the Liburnides, or insert “the least” (τὴν ἐλαχίστον), or leave the text in doubt.

348. See 2. 4. 2 and 10. 3. 5.

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τὸν μὲν οὖν παράπλουν ἅπαντα τὸν Ἰλλυρικὸν σφόδρα εὐλίμενον εἶναι συμβαίνει καὶ ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς συνεχοῦς ᾐόνος καὶ ἐκ τῶν πλησίον νήσων, ὑπεναντίως τῷ Ἰταλικῷ τῷ ἀντικειμένῳ ἀλιμένῳ ὄντι· ἀλεεινοὶ δὲ καὶ χρηστόκαρποι ὁμοίως· ἐλαιόφυτοι γὰρ καὶ εὐάμπελοι, πλὴν εἴ τί που σπάνιον ἐκτετράχυνται τελέως. τοιαύτη δ' οὖσα ὠλιγωρεῖτο πρότερον ἡ Ἰλλυρικὴ παραλία, τάχα μὲν καὶ κατ' ἄγνοιαν τῆς ἀρετῆς, τὸ μέντοι πλέον διὰ τὴν ἀγριότητα τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ τὸ λῃστρικὸν ἔθος. ἡ δ' ὑπερκειμένη ταύτης πᾶσα ὀρεινὴ καὶ ψυχρὰ καὶ νιφόβολός ἐστιν, ἡ δὲ προσάρκτιος καὶ μᾶλλον, ὥστε καὶ τῶν ἀμπέλων σπάνιν εἶναι καὶ ἐν ταῖς ὑψώσεσι καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐπιπεδωτέροις. ὀροπέδια δ' ἐστὶ ταῦτα ἃ κατέχουσιν οἱ Παννόνιοι, πρὸς νότον μὲν μέχρι Δαλματέων καὶ Ἀρδιαίων διατείνοντα, πρὸς ἄρκτον δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν Ἴστρον τελευτῶντα, πρὸς ἕω δὲ Σκορδίσκοις συνάπτοντα . . . τῇ δὲ παρὰ τὰ ὄρη τῶν Μακεδόνων καὶ Θρᾳκῶν.

Now the whole Illyrian seaboard is exceedingly well supplied with harbors, not only on the continuous coast itself but also in the neighboring islands, although the reverse is the case with that part of the Italian seaboard which lies opposite, since it is harborless. But both seaboards in like manner are sunny and good for fruits, for the olive and the vine flourish there, except, perhaps, in places here or there that are utterly rugged. But although the Illyrian seaboard is such, people in earlier times made but small account of it--perhaps in part owing to their ignorance of its fertility, though mostly because of the wildness of the inhabitants and their piratical habits. But the whole of the country situated above this is mountainous, cold, and subject to snows, especially the northerly part, so that there is a scarcity of the vine, not only on the heights but also on the levels. These latter are the mountain-plains occupied by the Pannonians; on the south they extend as far as the country of the Dalmatians and the Ardiaei, on the north they end at the Ister, while on the east they border on the country of the Scordisci, that is, on the country that extends along the mountains of the Macedonians and the Thracians.

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Αὐταριᾶται μὲν οὖν τὸ μέγιστον καὶ ἄριστον τῶν Ἰλλυριῶν ἔθνος ὑπῆρξεν, ὃ πρότερον μὲν πρὸς Ἀρδιαίους συνεχῶς ἐπολέμει περὶ ἁλῶν ἐν μεθορίοις πηγνυμένων ἐξ ὕδατος ῥέοντος ὑπὸ ἄγκει τινὶ τοῦ ἔαρος· ἀρυσαμένοις γὰρ καὶ ἀποθεῖσιν ἡμέρας πέντε ἐξεπήγνυντο οἱ ἅλες. συνέκειτο δὲ παρὰ μέρος χρῆσθαι τῷ ἁλοπηγίῳ, παραβαίνοντες δὲ τὰ συγκείμενα ἐπολέμουν· καταστρεψάμενοι δέ ποτε οἱ Αὐταριᾶται Τριβαλλοὺς ἀπὸ Ἀγριάνων μέχρι τοῦ Ἴστρου καθήκοντας ἡμερῶν πεντεκαίδεκα ὁδὸν ἐπῆρξαν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων Θρᾳκῶν τε καὶ Ἰλλυριῶν· κατελύθησαν δ' ὑπὸ Σκορδίσκων πρότερον, ὕστερον δ' ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων, οἳ καὶ τοὺς Σκορδίσκους αὐτοὺς κατεπολέμησαν πολὺν χρόνον ἰσχύσαντας.

Now the Autariatae were once the largest and best tribe of the Illyrians. In earlier times they were continually at war with the Ardiaei over the salt-works on the common frontiers. The salt was made to crystallize out of water which in the spring-time flowed at the foot of a certain mountain-glen, for if they drew off the water and stowed it away for five days the salt would become thoroughly crystallized. They would agree to use the salt-works alternately, but would break the agreements and go to war. At one time when the Autariatae had subdued the Triballi, whose territory extended from that of the Agrianes as far as the Ister, a journey of fifteen days, they held sway also over the rest of the Thracians and the Illyrians; but they were overpowered, at first by the Scordisci, and later on by the Romans, who also subdued the Scordisci themselves, after these had been in power for a long time.

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ὤικησαν δ' οὗτοι παρὰ τὸν Ἴστρον διῃρημένοι δίχα, οἱ μὲν μεγάλοι Σκορδίσκοι καλούμενοι οἱ δὲ μικροί· οἱ μὲν μεταξὺ δυεῖν ποταμῶν ἐμβαλλόντων εἰς τὸν Ἴστρον, τοῦ τε Νοάρου τοῦ παρὰ τὴν Σεγεστικὴν ῥέοντος καὶ τοῦ Μάργου τινὲς δὲ Βάργον φασίν , οἱ δὲ μικροὶ τούτου πέραν, συνάπτοντες Τριβαλλοῖς καὶ Μυσοῖς. εἶχον δὲ καὶ τῶν νήσων τινὰς οἱ Σκορδίσκοι· ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον δ' ηὐξήθησαν ὥστε καὶ μέχρι τῶν Ἰλλυρικῶν καὶ τῶν Παιονικῶν καὶ Θρᾳκίων προῆλθον ὀρῶν· κατέσχον οὖν καὶ τὰς νήσους τὰς ἐν τῷ Ἴστρῳ τὰς πλείους, ἦσαν δὲ καὶ πόλεις αὐτοῖς Ἑόρτα καὶ Καπέδουνον. μετὰ δὲ τὴν τῶν Σκορδίσκων χώραν παρὰ μὲν τὸν Ἴστρον ἡ τῶν Τριβαλλῶν καὶ Μυσῶν ἔστιν, ὧν ἐμνήσθημεν πρότερον, καὶ τὰ ἕλη τὰ τῆς μικρᾶς καλουμένης Σκυθίας τῆς ἐντὸς Ἴστρου· καὶ τούτων ἐμνήσθημεν. ὑπεροικοῦσι δ' οὗτοί τε καὶ Κρόβυζοι καὶ οἱ Τρωγλοδύται λεγόμενοι τῶν περὶ Κάλλατιν καὶ Τομέα καὶ Ἴστρον τόπων. εἶθ' οἱ περὶ τὸ Αἷμον καὶ οἱ ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ οἰκοῦντες μέχρι τοῦ Πόντου Κόραλλοι καὶ Βέσσοι καὶ Μαίδων τινὲς καὶ Δανθηλητῶν. πάντα μὲν οὖν ταῦτα λῃστρικώτατα ἔθνη, Βέσσοι δέ, οἵπερ τὸ πλέον τοῦ ὄρους νέμονται τοῦ Αἵμου, καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν λῃστῶν λῃσταὶ προσαγορεύονται, καλυβῖταί τινες καὶ λυπρόβιοι, συνάπτοντες τῇ τε Ῥοδόπῃ καὶ τοῖς Παίοσι καὶ τῶν Ἰλλυριῶν τοῖς τε Αὐταριάταις καὶ τοῖς Δαρδανίοις. μεταξὺ δὲ τούτων τε καὶ τῶν Ἀρδιαίων οἱ Δασαρήτιοι εἰσὶ καὶ Ἀγριᾶνες καὶ ἄλλα ἄσημα ἔθνη, ἃ ἐπόρθουν οἱ Σκορδίσκοι μέχρι ἠρήμωσαν τὴν χώραν καὶ δρυμῶν ἀβάτων ἐφ' ἡμέρας πλείους ἐποίησαν μεστήν.

The Scordisci lived along the Ister and were divided into two tribes called the Great Scordisci and the Little Scordisci. The former lived between two rivers that empty into the Ister--the Noarus, {349} which flows past Segestica, and the Margus {350} (by some called the Bargus), whereas the Little Scordisci lived on the far side of this river, {351} and their territory bordered on that of the Triballi and the Mysi. The Scordisci also held some of the islands; and they increased to such an extent that they advanced as far as the Illyrian, Paeonian, and Thracian mountains; accordingly, they also took possession of most of the islands in the Ister. And they also had two cities--Heorta and Capedunum. {352} After the country of the Scordisci, along the Ister, comes that of the Triballi and the Mysi (whom I have mentioned before), {353} and also the marshes of that part of what is called Little Scythia which is this side the Ister (these too I have mentioned). {354} These people, as also the Crobyzi and what are called the Troglodytae, live above {355} the region round about Callatis, {356} Tomis, {357} and Ister. {358} Then come the peoples who live in the neighborhood of the Haemus Mountain and those who live at its base and extend as far as the Pontus--I mean the Coralli, the Bessi, and some of the Medi {359} and Dantheletae. Now these tribes are very brigandish themselves, but the Bessi, who inhabit the greater part of the Haemus Mountain, are called brigands even by the brigands. The Bessi live in huts and lead a wretched life; and their country borders on Mount Rhodope, on the country of the Paeonians, and on that of two Illyrian peoples--the Autariatae, and the Dardanians. Between these {360} and the Ardiaei are the Dassaretii, the Hybrianes, {361} and other insignificant tribes, which the Scordisci kept on ravaging until they had depopulated the country and made it full of trackless forests for a distance of several days' journey.

349. See 7. 5. 2.

350. Now the Morava.

351. i.e. east of the Margus.

352. The sites of these places are unknown. Groskurd and Forbiger identify them with what are now Heortberg (Hartberg) and Kappenberg (Kapfenstein).

353. 7. 3. 7, 8, 10, 13.

354. 7. 4. 5.

355. i.e. “in the interior and back of.”

356. Now Mangalia, on the Black Sea.

357. Now Kostanza.

358. Now Karanasib.

359. Cp. 7. 5. 7 and the footnote.

360. The word “these” would naturally refer to the Autariatae and the Dardanians, but it might refer to the Bessi (see next footnote).

361. The “Hybrianes” are otherwise unknown. Casaubon and Meineke emend to “Agrianes” (cp. 7. 5. 11 and Fragments 36, 37 and 41). If this doubtful emendation be accepted, the “these” (see preceding footnote) must refer to the Bessi.

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λοιπὴ δ' ἐστὶ τῆς μεταξὺ Ἴστρου καὶ τῶν ὀρῶν τῶν ἐφ' ἑκάτερα τῆς Παιονίας ἡ Ποντικὴ παραλία, ἡ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἱεροῦ στόματος τοῦ Ἴστρου μέχρι τῆς περὶ τὸν Αἷμον ὀρεινῆς καὶ μέχρι τοῦ στόματος τοῦ κατὰ Βυζάντιον. καθάπερ δἐ τὴν Ἰλλυρικὴν παραλίαν ἐπιόντες μέχρι τῶν Κεραυνίων ὀρῶν προὔβημεν ἔξω τῆς Ἰλλυρικῆς πιπτόντων ὀρεινῆς, ἐχόντων δέ τι οἰκεῖον πέρας, τὰ μεσόγαια δ' ἔθνη τούτοις ἀφωρίσμεθα, νομίζοντες σημειωδεστέρας ἔσεσθαι τὰς τοιαύτας περιγραφὰς καὶ πρὸς τὰ νῦν καὶ πρὸς τὰ ὕστερον, οὕτω κἀνταῦθα ἡ παραλία, κἂν ὑπερπίπτῃ τὴν ὀρεινὴν γραμμήν, ὅμως εἰς οἰκεῖόν τι πέρας τελευτήσει τὸ τοῦ Πόντου στόμα καὶ πρὸς τὰ νῦν καὶ πρὸς τὰ ἐφεξῆς. ἔστιν οὖν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἱεροῦ στόματος τοῦ Ἴστρου ἐν δεξιᾷ ἔχοντι τὴν συνεχῆ παραλίαν Ἴστρος πολίχνιον ἐν πεντακοσίοις σταδίοις, Μιλησίων κτίσμα· εἶτα Τόμις, ἕτερον πολίχνιον ἐν διακοσίοις πεντήκοντα σταδίοις· εἶτα πόλις Κάλλατις ἐν διακοσίοις ὀγδοήκοντα, Ἡρακλεωτῶν ἄποικος· εἶτ' Ἀπολλωνία ἐν χιλίοις τριακοσίοις σταδίοις, ἄποικος Μιλησίων, τὸ πλέον τοῦ κτίσματος ἱδρυμένον ἔχουσα ἐν νησίῳ τινί, ὅποὖ ἱερὸν τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος, ἐξ οὗ Μάρκος Λεύκολλος τὸν κολοσσὸν ἦρε καὶ ἀνέθηκεν ἐν τῷ Καπετωλίῳ τὸν τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος, Καλάμιδος ἔργον. ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ δὲ διαστήματι τῷ ἀπὸ Καλλάτιδος εἰς Ἀπολλωνίαν Βιζώνη τέ ἐστιν, ἧς κατεπόθη πολὺ μέρος ὑπὸ σεισμῶν, καὶ Κρουνοὶ καὶ Ὀδησσὸς Μιλησίων ἄποικος, καὶ Ναύλοχος Μεσημβριανῶν πολίχνιον· εἶτα τὸ Αἷμον ὄρος μέχρι τῆς δεῦρο θαλάττης διῆκον· εἶτα Μεσημβρία Μεγαρέων ἄποικος, πρότερον δὲ Μενεβρία, οἷον Μένα πόλις, τοῦ κτίσαντος Μένα καλουμένου, τῆς δὲ πόλεως βρίας καλουμένης θρᾳκιστί· ὡς καὶ ἡ τοῦ Σήλυος πόλις Σηλυμβρία προσηγόρευται, ἥ τε Αἶνος Πολτυμβρία ποτὲ ὠνομάζετο· εἶτ' Ἀγχιάλη πολίχνιον Ἀπολλωνιατῶν καὶ αὐτὴ Ἀπολλωνία. ἐν δὲ ταύτῃ τῇ παραλίᾳ ἐστὶν ἡ Τίριζις ἄκρα, χωρίον ἐρυμνόν, ᾧ ποτε καὶ Λυσίμαχος ἐχρήσατο γαζοφυλακίῳ. πάλιν δ' ἀπὸ τῆς Ἀπολλωνίας ἐπὶ Κυανέας στάδιοί εἰσι περὶ χιλίους καὶ πεντακοσίους, ἐν δὲ τῷ μεταξὺ ἥ τε Θυνιὰς τῶν Ἀπολλωνιατῶν χώρα, καὶ Φινόπολις καὶ Ἀνδριακή, συνάπτουσαι τῷ Σαλμυδησσῷ. ἔστι δ' οὗτος ἔρημος αἰγιαλὸς καὶ λιθώδης, ἀλίμενος, ἀναπεπταμένος πολὺς πρὸς τοὺς βορέας, σταδίων ὅσον ἑπτακοσίων μέχρι Κυανέων τὸ μῆκος, πρὸς ὃν οἱ ἐκπίπτοντες ὑπὸ τῶν Ἀστῶν διαρπάζονται τῶν ὑπερκειμένων, Θρᾳκίου ἔθνους. αἱ δὲ Κυάνεαι πρὸς τῷ στόματι τοῦ Πόντου εἰσὶ δύο νησίδια, τὸ μὲν τῇ Εὐρώπῃ προσεχὲς τὸ δὲ τῇ Ἀσίᾳ, πορθμῷ διειργόμενα ὅσον εἴκοσι σταδίων. τοσοῦτον δὲ διέχει καὶ τοῦ ἱεροῦ τοῦ Βυζαντίων καὶ τοῦ ἱεροῦ τοῦ Χαλκηδονίων, ὅπερ ἐστὶ τοῦ στόματος τοῦ Εὐξείνου τὸ στενώτατον· προϊόντι γὰρ δέκα σταδίους ἄκρα ἐστὶ πενταστάδιον ποιοῦσα τὸν πορθμόν, εἶτα διίσταται ἐπὶ πλέον καὶ ποιεῖν ἄρχεται τὴν Προποντίδα.

The remainder of the country between the Ister and the mountains on either side of Paeonia consists of that part of the Pontic seaboard which extends from the Sacred Mouth of the Ister as far as the mountainous country in the neighborhood of the Haemus and as far as the mouth at Byzantium. And just as, in traversing the Illyrian seaboard, I proceeded as far as the Ceraunian Mountains, because, although they fall outside the mountainous country of Illyria, they afford an appropriate limit, and just as I determined the positions of the tribes of the interior by these mountains, because I thought that marks {362} of this kind would be more significant as regards both the description at hand and what was to follow, so also in this case the seaboard, even though it falls beyond the mountain-line, will nevertheless end at an appropriate limit--the mouth of the Pontus--as regards both the description at hand and that which comes next in order. So, then, if one begins at the Sacred Mouth of the Ister and keeps the continuous seaboard on the right, one comes, at a distance of five hundred stadia, to a small town, Ister, founded by the Milesians; then, at a distance of two hundred and fifty stadia, to a second small town, Tomis; then, at two hundred and eighty stadia, to a city Callatis, {363} a colony of the Heracleotae; {364} then, at one thousand three hundred stadia, to Apollonia, {365} a colony of the Milesians. The greater part of Apollonia was founded on a certain isle, where there is a temple of Apollo, from which Marcus Lucullus carried off the colossal statue of Apollo, a work of Calamis, {366} which he set up in the Capitolium. In the interval between Callatis and Apollonia come also Bizone, {367} of which a considerable part was engulfed by earthquakes, {368} Cruni, {369} Odessus, {370} a colony of the Milesians, and Naulochus, {371} a small town of the Mesembriani. Then comes the Haemus Mountain, which reaches the sea here; {372} then Mesembria, a colony of the Megarians, formerly called “Menebria” (that is, “city of Menas,” because the name of its founder was Menas, while “bria” is the word for “city” in the Thracian language. In this way, also, the city of Selys is called Selybria {373} and Aenus {374} was once called Poltyobria {375} ). Then come Anchiale, {376} a small town belonging to the Apolloniatae, and Apollonia itself. On this coast-line is Cape Tirizis, {377} a stronghold, which Lysimachus {378} once used as a treasury. Again, from Apollonia to the Cyaneae the distance is about one thousand five hundred stadia; and in the interval are Thynias, {379} a territory belonging to the Apolloniatae (Anchiale, which also belongs to the Apolloniatae {380} ), and also Phinopolis and Andriaca, {381} which border on Salmydessus. {382} Salmydessus is a desert and stony beach, harborless and wide open to the north winds, and in length extends as far as the Cyaneae, a distance of about seven hundred stadia; and all who are cast ashore on this beach are plundered by the Astae, a Thracian tribe who are situated above it. The Cyaneae {383} are two islets near the mouth of the Pontus, one close to Europe and the other to Asia; they are separated by a channel of about twenty stadia and are twenty stadia distant both from the temple of the Byzantines and from the temple of the Chalcedonians. {384} And this is the narrowest part of the mouth of the Euxine, for when one proceeds only ten stadia farther one comes to a headland which makes the strait only five stadia {385} in width, and then the strait opens to a greater width and begins to form the Propontis.

362. Others wrongly emend “marks” to “outlines.” See critical note to Greek text, and especially cp. 17. 1. 48 where the “marks” on the wall of the well indicate the risings of the Nile.

363. On these three places, see 7. 5. 12.

364. Cp. 7. 4. 2.

365. Now Sizeboli.

366. Flourished at Athens about 450 B.C. This colossal statue was thirty cubits high and cost 500 talents (Pliny 34.18).

367. Now Kavarna.

368. Cp. 1. 3. 10.

369. Now Baltchik.

370. Now Varna.

371. In Pliny 4.18, “Tetranaulochus”; site unknown.

372. In Cape Emineh-bouroun (“End of Haemus”).

373. Or Selymbria; now Selivri.

374. Now Aenos.

375. Or Poltymbria; city of Poltys.

376. Now Ankhialo.

377. Cape Kaliakra.

378. See 7. 3. 8, 14.

379. Now Cape Iniada.

380. The parenthesized words seem to be merely a gloss (see critical note).

381. The sites of these two places are unknown.

382. Including the city of Salmydessus (now Midia).

383. Cp. 1. 2. 10 and 3. 2. The islet, or rock, on the Asiatic side was visible in the sixteenth century, but “is now submerged,”--”on the bight of Kabakos” (Tozer, op. cit., p. 198). Tozer (loc. cit.) rightly believes that the ancients often restricted the Cyanean Rocks to those on the European side--what are now the Oräkje Tashy (see Pliny 4. 27).

384. These temples were called the Sarapieium and the temple of Zeno Urius; and they were on the present sites of the two Turkish forts which command the entrance to the Bosporus (Tozer).

385. But cp. “four stadia” in 2. 5. 23.

007.006.002

ἀπὸ μὲν οὖν τῆς ἄκρας τῆς τὸ πενταστάδιον ποιούσης ἐπὶ τὸν ὑπὸ τῇ Συκῇ καλούμενον λιμένα στάδιοι πέντε καὶ τριάκοντα, ἐντεῦθεν δ' ἐπὶ τὸ Κέρας τὸ Βυζαντίων πέντε. ἔστι δὲ τὸ Κέρας προσεχὴς τῷ Βυζαντίων τείχει κόλπος ἀνέχων ὡς πρὸς δύσιν ἐπὶ σταδίους ἑξήκοντα, ἐοικὼς ἐλάφου κέρατι· εἰς γὰρ πλείστους σχίζεται κόλπους ὡς ἂν κλάδους τινάς, εἰς οὓς ἐμπίπτουσα ἡ πηλαμὺς ἁλίσκεται ῥᾳδίως διά τε τὸ πλῆθος αὐτῆς καὶ τὴν βίαν τοῦ συνελαύνοντος ῥοῦ καὶ τὴν στενότητα τῶν κόλπων, ὥστε καὶ χερσὶν ἁλίσκεσθαι. γεννᾶται μὲν οὖν τὸ ζῷον ἐν τοῖς ἕλεσι τῆς Μαιώτιδος, ἰσχῦσαν δὲ μικρὸν ἐκπίπτει διὰ τοῦ στόματος ἀγεληδὸν καὶ φέρεται παρὰ τὴν Ἀσιανὴν ᾐόνα μέχρι Τραπεζοῦντος καὶ Φαρνακείας· ἐνταῦθα δὲ πρῶτον συνίστασθαι συμβαίνει τὴν θήραν, οὐ πολλὴ δ' ἐστίν· οὐ γάρ πω τὸ προσῆκον ἔχει μέγεθος· εἰς δὲ Σινώπην προϊοῦσα ὡραιοτέρα πρός τε τὴν θήραν καὶ τὴν ταριχείαν ἐστίν· ἐπειδὰν δὲ ἤδη συνάψῃ ταῖς Κυανέαις καὶ παραλλάξῃ ταύτας, ἐκ τῆς Χαλκηδονιακῆς ἀκτῆς λευκή τις πέτρα προπίπτουσα φοβεῖ τὸ ζῷον ὥστ' εὐθὺς εἰς τὴν περαίαν τρέπεσθαι· παραλαβὼν δ' ὁ ἐνταῦθα ῥοῦς, ἅμα καὶ τῶν τόπων εὐφυῶν ὄντων πρὸς τὸ τὸν ἐκεῖ ῥοῦν τῆς θαλάττης ἐπὶ τὸ Βυζάντιον καὶ τὸ πρὸς αὐτῷ Κέρας τετράφθαι, φυσικῶς συνελαύνεται δεῦρο καὶ παρέχει τοῖς Βυζαντίοις καὶ τῷ δήμῳ τῶν Ῥωμαίων πρόσοδον ἀξιόλογον. Χαλκηδόνιοι δ' ἐπὶ τῆς περαίας ἱδρυμένοι πλησίον οὐ μετέχουσι τῆς εὐπορίας ταύτης διὰ τὸ μὴ προσπελάζειν τοῖς λιμέσιν αὐτῶν τὴν πηλαμύδα· ᾖ δὴ καὶ τὸν Ἀπόλλω φασὶ τοῖς κτίσασι τὸ Βυζάντιον ὕστερον μετὰ τὴν ὑπὸ Μεγαρέων Χαλκηδόνος κτίσιν χρηστηριαζομένοις προστάξαι ποιήσασθαι τὴν ἵδρυσιν ἀπεναντίον τῶν τυφλῶν, τυφλοὺς καλέσαντα τοὺς Χαλκηδονίους, ὅτι πρότεροι πλεύσαντες τοὺς τόπους, ἀφέντες τὴν πέραν κατασχεῖν τοσοῦτον πλοῦτον ἔχουσαν, εἵλοντο τὴν λυπροτέραν. Μέχρι μὲν δὴ Βυζαντίου προήλθομεν, ἐπειδὴ πόλις ἐπιφανὴς πλησιάζουσα μάλιστα τῷ στόματι εἰς γνωριμώτερον πέρας ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἴστρου τὸν παράπλουν τελευτῶντα ἀπέφαινεν. ὑπέρκειται δὲ τοῦ Βυζαντίου τὸ τῶν Ἀστῶν ἔθνος, ἐν ᾧ πόλις Καλύβη, Φιλίππου τοῦ Ἀμύντου τοὺς πονηροτάτους ἐνταῦθα ἱδρύσαντος.

Now the distance from the headland that makes the strait only five stadia wide to the harbor which is called “Under the Fig-tree “ {386} is thirty-five stadia; and thence to the Horn of the Byzantines, {387} five stadia. The Horn, which is close to the wall of the Byzantines, is a gulf that extends approximately towards the west for a distance of sixty stadia; it resembles a stag's horn, {388} for it is split into numerous gulfs--branches, as it were. The pelamydes {389} rush into these gulfs and are easily caught--because of their numbers, the force of the current that drives them together, and the narrowness of the gulfs; in fact, because of the narrowness of the area, they are even caught by hand. Now these fish are hatched in the marshes of Lake Maeotis, and when they have gained a little strength they rush out through the mouth of the lake in schools and move along the Asian shore as far as Trapezus and Pharnacia. It is here {390} that the catching of the fish first takes place, though the catch is not considerable, for the fish have not yet grown to their normal size. But when they reach Sinope, they are mature enough for catching and salting. Yet when once they touch the Cyaneae and pass by these, the creatures take such fright at a certain white rock which projects from the Chalcedonian shore that they forthwith turn to the opposite shore. There they are caught by the current, and since at the same time the region is so formed by nature as to turn the current of the sea there to Byzantium and the Horn at Byzantium, they naturally are driven together thither and thus afford the Byzantines and the Roman people considerable revenue. But the Chalcedonians, though situated near by, on the opposite shore, have no share in this abundance, because the pelamydes do not approach their harbors; hence the saying that Apollo, when the men who founded Byzantium at a time subsequent to the founding of Chalcedon {391} by the Megarians consulted the oracle, ordered them to “make their settlement opposite the blind,” thus calling the Chalcedonians “blind”, because, although they sailed the regions in question at an earlier time, they failed to take possession of the country on the far side, with all its wealth, and chose the poorer country. I have now carried my description as far as Byzantium, because a famous city, lying as it does very near to the mouth, marked a better-known limit to the coasting-voyage from the Ister. And above Byzantium is situated the tribe of the Astae, in whose territory is a city Calybe, {392} where Philip the son of Amyntas settled the most villainous people of his kingdom. {393}

386. Now Galata.

387. The Golden Horn.

388. So the harbor of Brindisi (6. 3. 6).

389. A kind of tunny-fish.

390. Pharnacia (cp. 12. 3. 19).

391. Byzantium appears to have been founded about 659 B.C. (see Pauly-Wissowa, s.v.). According to Herodotus (4. 144), Chalcedon (now Kadi Koi) was founded seventeen years earlier. Both were Megarian colonies.

392. i.e., “Hut,” called by Ptolemaeus (3. 11) and others “Cabyle”; to be identified, apparently, with the modern Tauschan-tepe, on the Toundja River.

393. Suidas (s.v. Δούλων πόλις) quotes Theopompus as saying that Philip founded in Thrace a small city called Poneropolis (“City of Villains”), settling the same with about two thousand men--the false-accusers, false-witnesses, lawyers, and all other bad mean; but Poneropolis is not to be identified with Cabyle if the positions assigned to the two places by Ptolemaeus (3. 11) are correct. However, Ptolemaeus does not mention Ponerpolois, but Philippopolis, which latter, according to Pliny (4. 18), was the later name of Poneropolis.

007.007.001

τὰ μὲν οὖν ἀφοριζόμενα ἔθνη τῷ τε Ἴστρῳ καὶ τοῖς Ἰλλυρικοῖς ὄρεσι καὶ Θρᾳκίοις ταῦτ' ἔστιν ὧν ἄξιον μνησθῆναι, κατέχοντα τὴν Ἀδριατικὴν παραλίαν πᾶσαν ἀπὸ τοῦ μυχοῦ ἀρξάμενα, καὶ τὴν τὰ ἀριστερὰ τοῦ Πόντου λεγομένην ἀπὸ Ἴστρου ποταμοῦ μέχρι Βυζαντίου. λοιπὰ δέ ἐστι τὰ νότια μέρη τῆς λεχθείσης ὀρεινῆς καὶ ἑξῆς τὰ ὑποπίπτοντα χωρία, ἐν οἷς ἐστιν ἥ τε Ἑλλὰς καὶ ἡ προσεχὴς βάρβαρος μέχρι τῶν ὀρῶν. Ἑκαταῖος μὲν οὖν ὁ Μιλήσιος περὶ τῆς Πελοποννήσου φησὶν διότι πρὸ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ᾤκησαν αὐτὴν βάρβαροι. σχεδὸν δέ τι καὶ ἡ σύμπασα Ἑλλὰς κατοικία βαρβάρων ὑπῆρξε τὸ παλαιόν, ἀπ' αὐτῶν λογιζομένοις τῶν μνημονευομένων, Πέλοπος μὲν ἐκ τῆς Φρυγίας ἐπαγαγομένου λαοὺς εἰς τὴν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ κληθεῖσαν Πελοπόννησον, Δαναοῦ δὲ ἐξ Αἰγύπτου, Δρυόπων τε καὶ Καυκώνων καὶ Πελασγῶν καὶ Λελέγων καὶ ἄλλων τοιούτων κατανειμαμένων τὰ ἐντὸς Ἰσθμοῦ καὶ τὰ ἐκτὸς δέ· τὴν μὲν γὰρ Ἀττικὴν οἱ μετὰ Εὐμόλπου Θρᾷκες ἔσχον, τῆς δὲ Φωκίδος τὴν Δαυλίδα Τηρεύς, τὴν δὲ Καδμείαν οἱ μετὰ Κάδμου Φοίνικες, αὐτὴν δὲ τὴν Βοιωτίαν Ἄονες καὶ Τέμμικες καὶ Ὕαντες· ὡς δὲ Πίνδαρός φησιν,

ἦν ὅτε σύας Βοιώτιον ἔθνος ἔνεπον.

καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ὀνομάτων δὲ ἐνίων τὸ βάρβαρον ἐμφαίνεται, Κέκροψ καὶ Κόδρος καὶ Ἄικλος καὶ Κόθος καὶ Δρύμας καὶ Κρίνακος. οἱ δὲ Θρᾷκες καὶ Ἰλλυριοὶ καὶ Ἠπειρῶται καὶ μέχρι νῦν ἐν πλευραῖς εἰσιν· ἔτι μέντοι μᾶλλον πρότερον ἢ νῦν, ὅπου γε καὶ τῆς ἐν τῷ παρόντι Ἑλλάδος ἀναντιλέκτως οὔσης τὴν πολλὴν οἱ βάρβαροι ἔχουσι, Μακεδονίαν μὲν Θρᾷκες καί τινα μέρη τῆς Θετταλίας, Ἀκαρνανίας δὲ καὶ Αἰτωλίας τἆ ἄνω Θεσπρωτοὶ καὶ Κασσωπαῖοι καὶ Ἀμφίλοχοι καὶ Μολοττοὶ καὶ Ἀθαμᾶνες, Ἠπειρωτικὰ ἔθνη.

These alone, then, of all the tribes that are marked off by the Ister and by the Illyrian and Thracian mountains, deserve to be mentioned, occupying as they do the whole of the Adriatic seaboard beginning at the recess, and also the sea-board that is called “the left parts of the Pontus,” and extends from the Ister River as far as Byzantium. But there remain to be described the southerly parts of the aforesaid {394} mountainous country and next thereafter the districts that are situated below them, among which are both Greece and the adjacent barbarian country as far as the mountains. Now Hecataeus of Miletus says of the Peloponnesus that before the time of the Greeks it was inhabited by barbarians. Yet one might say that in the ancient times the whole of Greece was a settlement of barbarians, if one reasons from the traditions themselves: Pelops {395} brought over peoples {396} from Phrygia to the Peloponnesus that received its name from him; and Danaüs {397} from Egypt; whereas the Dryopes, the Caucones, the Pelasgi, the Leleges, and other such peoples, apportioned among themselves the parts that are inside the isthmus--and also the parts outside, for Attica was once held by the Thracians who came with Eumolpus, {398} Daulis in Phocis by Tereus, {399} Cadmeia {400} by the Phoenicians who came with Cadmus, and Boeotia itself by the Aones and Temmices and Hyantes. According to Pindar, “there was a time when the Boeotian tribe was called “Syes.” {401} {402} Moreover, the barbarian origin of some is indicated by their names--Cecrops, Godrus, Aïclus, Cothus, Drymas, and Crinacus. And even to the present day the Thracians, Illyrians, and Epeirotes live on the flanks of the Greeks (though this was still more the case formerly than now); indeed most of the country that at the present time is indisputably Greece is held by the barbarians--Macedonia and certain parts of Thessaly by the Thracians, and the parts above Acarnania and Aetolia by the Thesproti, the Cassopaei, the Amphilochi, the Molossi, and the Athamanes--Epeirotic tribes.

394. See 7. 5. 1.

395. See 8. 3. 31, 4. 4, 5. 5 and 12. 8. 2.

396. See the quotation from Hesiod (2 following) and footnote on “peoples.”

397. See 8. 6. 9, 10.

398. son of Poseidon, king of the Thracians, and reputed founder of the Eleusinian Mysteries.

399. See 9. 3. 13.

400. Thebes and surrounding territory (9. 2. 3, 32).

401. Pind. Fr. Dith. 83 (Bergk)

402. Strabo identifies “Hyantes” with “Syes”=“Hyes,” i.e. “swine.”

007.007.002

περὶ μὲν οὖν Πελασγῶν εἴρηται, τοὺς δὲ Λέλεγας τινὲς μὲν τοὺς αὐτοὺς Καρσὶν εἰκάζουσιν, οἱ δὲ συνοίκους μόνον καὶ συστρατιώτας· διόπερ ἐν τῇ Μιλησίᾳ, Λελέγων κατοικίας λέγεσθαί τινας, πολλαχοῦ δὲ τῆς Καρίας τάφους Λελέγων καὶ ἐρύματα ἔρημα Λελέγεια καλούμενα. ἥ τε Ἰωνία νῦν λεγομένη πᾶσα ὑπὸ Καρῶν ᾠκεῖτο καὶ Λελέγων· ἐκβαλόντες δὲ τούτους οἱ Ἴωνες αὐτοὶ τὴν χώραν κατέσχον, ἔτι δὲ πρότερον οἱ τὴν Τροίαν ἑλόντες ἐξήλασαν τοὺς Λέλεγας ἐκ τῶν περὶ τὴν Ἴδην τόπων τῶν κατὰ Πήδασον καὶ τὸν Σατνιόεντα ποταμόν. ὅτι μὲν οὖν βάρβαροι ἦσαν οὗτοι, καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ κοινωνῆσαι τοῖς Καρσὶ νομίζοιτ' ἂν σημεῖον· ὅτι δὲ πλάνητες καὶ μετ' ἐκείνων καὶ χωρὶς καὶ ἐκ παλαιοῦ, καὶ αἱ Ἀριστοτέλους πολιτεῖαι δηλοῦσιν. ἐν μὲν γὰρ τῇ Ἀκαρνάνων φησὶ τὸ μὲν ἔχειν αὐτῆς Κουρῆτας, τὸ δὲ προσεσπέριον Λέλεγας, εἶτα Τηλεβόας· ἐν δὲ τῇ Αἰτωλῶν τοὺς νῦν Λοκροὺς Λέλεγας καλεῖ, κατασχεῖν δὲ καὶ τὴν Βοιωτίαν αὐτούς φησιν· ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἐν τῇ Ὀπουντίων καὶ Μεγαρέων· ἐν δὲ τῇ Λευκαδίων καὶ αὐτόχθονά τινα Λέλεγα ὀνομάζει, τούτου δὲ θυγατριδοῦν Τηλεβόαν, τοῦ δὲ παῖδας δύο καὶ εἴκοσι Τηλεβόας, ὧν τινὰς οἰκῆσαι τὴν Λευκάδα. μάλιστα δ' ἄν τις Ἡσιόδῳ πιστεύσειεν οὕτως περὶ αὐτῶν εἰπόντι

ἤτοι γὰρ Λοκρὸς Λελέγων ἡγήσατο λαῶν, τούς ῥά ποτε Κρονίδης, Ζεὺς ἄφθιτα μήδεα εἰδώς, λεκτοὺς ἐκ γαίης λάους πόρε Δευκαλίωνι.

τῇ γὰρ ἐτυμολογίᾳ τὸ συλλέκτους γεγονέναι τινὰς ἐκ παλαιοῦ καὶ μιγάδας αἰνίττεσθαί μοι δοκεῖ καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐκλελοιπέναι τὸ γένος· ἅπερ ἄν τις καὶ περὶ Καυκώνων λέγοι, νῦν οὐδαμοῦ ὄντων πρότερον δ' ἐν πλείοσι τόποις κατῳκισμένων.

As for the Pelasgi, I have already discussed them. {403} As for the Leleges, some conjecture that they are the same as the Carians, and others that they were only fellow-inhabitants and fellow-soldiers of these; and this, they say, is why, in the territory of Miletus, certain settlements are called settlements of the Leleges, and why, in many places in Caria, tombs of the Leleges and deserted forts, known as “Lelegian forts,” are so called. However, the whole of what is now called Ionia used to be inhabited by Carians and Leleges; but the Ionians themselves expelled them and took possession of the country, although in still earlier times the captors of Troy had driven the Leleges from the region about Ida that is near Pedasus and the Satnioïs River. So then, the very fact that the Leleges made common cause with the Carians might be considered a sign that they were barbarians. And Aristotle, in his Polities, {404} also clearly indicates that they led a wandering life, not only with the Carians, but also apart from them, and from earliest times; for instance, in the Polity of the Acarnanians he says that the Curetes held a part of the country, whereas the Leleges, and then the Teleboae, held the westerly part; and in the Polity of the Aetolians (and likewise in that of the Opuntii and the Megarians) he calls the Locri of today Leleges and says that they took possession of Boeotia too; again, in the Polity of the Leucadians he names a certain indigenous Lelex, and also Teleboas, the son of a daughter of Lelex, and twenty-two sons of Teleboas, some of whom, he says, dwelt in Leucas. {405} But in particular one might believe Hesiod when he says concerning them: “For verily Locrus was chieftain of the peoples of the Leleges, whom once Zeus the son of Cronus, who knoweth devices imperishable, gave to Deucalion--peoples {406} picked out of earth”; {407} for by his etymology {408} he seems to me to hint that from earliest times they were a collection of mixed peoples and that this was why the tribe disappeared. And the same might be said of the Caucones, since now they are nowhere to be found, although in earlier times they were settled in several places.

403. 5. 2. 4.

404. Only fragments of this work are now extant (see Didot Edition, Vol. IV, pp. 219-296).

405. Now Santa Maura (cp. 10. 2. 2).

406. In the Greek word for “peoples” (λαούς) Hesoid alludes to the Greek word for “stones” (λᾶας). Pindar (Olymp. 9. 46 ff.) clearly derives the former word from the latter: “Pyrrha and Deucalion, without bed of marriage, founded a Stone Race, who were called Laoi.” One might now infer that the resemblance of the two words gave rise to the myth of the stones.

407. Hes. Fr. 141.3 (Paulson

408. That is, of “Lelges.” In the Greek the root leg appears in (1) “Leleges.” (2) “picked,” and (3) “collection.”

007.007.003

πρότερον μὲν οὖν καίπερ μικρῶν καὶ πολλῶν καὶ ἀδόξων ὄντων τῶν ἐθνῶν, ὅμως διὰ τὴν εὐανδρίαν καὶ τὸ βασιλεύεσθαι κατὰ σφᾶς οὐ πάνυ ἦν χαλεπὸν διαλαβεῖν τοὺς ὅρους αὐτῶν, νυνὶ δ' ἐρήμου τῆς πλείστης χώρας γεγενημένης καὶ τῶν κατοικιῶν καὶ μάλιστα τῶν πόλεων ἠφανισμένων, οὐδ' εἰ δύναιτό τις ἀκριβοῦν ταῦτα, οὐδὲν ἂν ποιοίη χρήσιμον διὰ τὴν ἀδοξίαν καὶ τὸν ἀφανισμὸν αὐτῶν, ὃς ἐκ πολλοῦ χρόνου λαβὼν τὴν ἀρχὴν οὐδὲ νῦν πω πέπαυται κατὰ πολλὰ μέρη διὰ τὰς ἀποστάσεις, ἀλλ' ἐνστρατοπεδεύουσιν αὐτοῖς Ῥωμαῖοι τοῖς οἴκοις, κατασταθέντες ὑπ' αὐτῶν δυνάσται. τῶν γοῦν Ἠπειρωτῶν ἑβδομήκοντα πόλεις Πολύβιός φησιν ἀνατρέψαι Παῦλον μετὰ τὴν Μακεδόνων καὶ Περσέως κατάλυσιν Μολοττῶν δ' ὑπάρξαι τὰς πλείστας , πέντε δὲ καὶ δέκα μυριάδας ἀνθρώπων ἐξανδραποδίσασθαι. ὅμως δ' οὖν ἐγχειρήσομεν, ἐφ' ὅσον τῇ γραφῇ τε προσήκει καὶ ἡμῖν ἐφικτόν, ἐπελθεῖν τὰ καθ' ἕκαστα, ἀρξάμενοι ἀπὸ τῆς κατὰ τὸν Ἰόνιον κόλπον παραλίας· αὕτη δ' ἐστὶν εἰς ἣν ὁ ἔκπλους ὁ ἐκ τοῦ Ἀδρίου τελευτᾷ.

Now although in earlier times the tribes in question were small, numerous, and obscure, still, because of the density of their population and because they lived each under its own king, it was not at all difficult to determine their boundaries; but now that most of the country has become depopulated and the settlements, particularly the cities, have disappeared from sight, it would do no good, even if one could determine their boundaries with strict accuracy, to do so, because of their obscurity and their disappearance. This process of disappearing began a long time ago, and has not yet entirely ceased in many regions because the people keep revolting; indeed, the Romans, after being set up as masters by the inhabitants, encamp in their very houses. {409} Be this as it may, Polybius {410} says that Paulus, {411} after his subjection of Perseus and the Macedonians, destroyed seventy cities of the Epeirotes (most of which, he adds, belonged to the Molossi), {412} and reduced to slavery one hundred and fifty thousand people. Nevertheless, I shall attempt, in so far as it is appropriate to my description and as my knowledge reaches, to traverse the several different parts, beginning at the seaboard of the Ionian Gulf--that is, where the voyage out of the Adrias ends.

409. Now standing empty.

410. Polybius 30.16.

411. Aemilius Paulus Macedonicus (consul 182 and 168 B.C.) in 168 B.C.

412. See 7. 7. 8.

007.007.004

ταύτης δὴ τὰ πρῶτα μέρη τὰ περὶ Ἐπίδαμνον καὶ Ἀπολλωνίαν ἐστίν. ἐκ δὲ τῆς Ἀπολλωνίας εἰς Μακεδονίαν ἡ Ἐγνατία ἐστὶν ὁδὸς πρὸς ἕω, βεβηματισμένη κατὰ μίλιον καὶ κατεστηλωμένη μέχρι Κυψέλων καὶ Ἕβρου ποταμοῦ· μιλίων δ' ἐστὶ πεντακοσίων τριάκοντα πέντε· λογιζομένῳ δέ, ὡς μὲν οἱ πολλοί, τὸ μίλιον ὀκταστάδιον τετρακισχίλιοι ἂν εἶεν στάδιοι καὶ ἐπ' αὐτοῖς διακόσιοι ὀγδοήκοντα, ὡς δὲ Πολύβιος προστιθεὶς τῷ ὀκτασταδίῳ δίπλεθρον, ὅ ἐστι τρίτον σταδίου, προσθετέον ἄλλους σταδίους ἑκατὸν ἑβδομήκοντα ὀκτώ, τὸ τρίτον τοῦ τῶν μιλίων ἀριθμοῦ. συμβαίνει δ' ἀπὸ ἴσου διαστήματος συμπίπτειν εἰς τὴν αὐτὴν ὁδὸν τούς τ' ἐκ τῆς Ἀπολλωνίας ὁρμηθέντας καὶ τοὺς ἐξ Ἐπιδάμνου. ἡ μὲν οὖν πᾶσα Ἐγνατία καλεῖται, ἡ δὲ πρώτη ἐπὶ Κανδαουίας λέγεται ὄρους Ἰλλυρικοῦ, διὰ Λυχνιδοῦ πόλεως καὶ Πυλῶνος τόπου ὁρίζοντος ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ τήν τε Ἰλλυρίδα καὶ τὴν Μακεδονίαν· ἐκεῖθεν δ' ἐστὶ παρὰ Βαρνοῦντα διὰ Ἡρακλείας καὶ Λυγκηστῶν καὶ Ἐορδῶν εἰς Ἔδεσσαν καὶ Πέλλαν μέχρι Θεσσαλονικείας· μίλια δ' ἐστί, φησὶ Πολύβιος, ταῦτα διακόσια ἑξήκοντα ἑπτά. ταύτην δὴ τὴν ὁδὸν ἐκ τῶν περὶ τὴν Ἐπίδαμνον καὶ τὴν Ἀπολλωνίαν τόπων ἰοῦσιν ἐν δεξιᾷ μέν ἐστι τὰ Ἠπειρωτικὰ ἔθνη κλυζόμενα τῷ Σικελικῷ πελάγει μέχρι τοῦ Ἀμβρακικοῦ κόλπου, ἐν ἀριστερᾷ δὲ τὰ ὄρη τὰ τῶν Ἰλλυριῶν ἃ προδιήλθομεν, καὶ τὰ ἔθνη τὰ παροικοῦντα μέχρι Μακεδονίας καὶ Παιόνων. εἶτ' ἀπὸ μὲν Ἀμβρακικοῦ κόλπου τὰ νεύοντα ἐφεξῆς πρὸς ἕω, τὰ ἀντιπαρήκοντα τῇ Πελοποννήσῳ, τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἐστίν· εἶτ' ἐκπίπτει ἑἰς τὸ Αἰγαῖον πέλαγος ἀπολιπόντα ἐν δεξιᾷ τὴν Πελοπόννησον ὅλην. ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς ἀρχῆς τῶν Μακεδονικῶν ὀρῶν καὶ τῶν Παιονικῶν μέχρι Στρυμόνος ποταμοῦ Μακεδόνες τε οἰκοῦσι καὶ Παίονες καί τινες τῶν ὀρεινῶν Θρᾳκῶν· τὰ δὲ πέραν Στρυμόνος ἤδη μέχρι τοῦ Ποντικοῦ στόματος καὶ τοῦ Αἵμου πάντα Θρᾳκῶν ἔστι πλὴν τῆς παραλίας· αὕτη δ' ὑφ' Ἑλλήνων οἰκεῖται, τῶν μὲν ἐπὶ τῇ Προποντίδι ἱδρυμένων, τῶν δὲ ἐφ' Ἑλλησπόντῳ καὶ τῷ Μέλανι κόλπῳ, τῶν δ' ἐπὶ τῷ Αἰγαίῳ. τὸ δ' Αἰγαῖον πέλαγος δύο κλύζει πλευρὰς τῆς Ἑλλάδος, τὴν μὲν πρὸς ἕω βλέπουσαν, τείνουσαν δὲ ἀπὸ Σουνίου πρὸς τὴν ἄρκτον μέχρι τοῦ Θερμαίου κόλπου καὶ Θεσσαλονικείας Μακεδονικῆς πόλεως, ἣ νῦν μάλιστα τῶν ἄλλων εὐανδρεῖ, τὴν δὲ πρὸς νότον τὴν Μακεδονικὴν ἀπὸ Θεσσαλονικείας μέχρι Στρυμόνος· τινὲς δὲ καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ Στρυμόνος μέχρι Νέστου τῇ Μακεδονίᾳ προσνέμουσιν, ἐπειδὴ Φίλιππος ἐσπούδασε διαφερόντως περὶ ταῦτα τὰ χωρία ὥστ' ἐξιδιώσασθαι, καὶ συνεστήσατο προσόδους μεγίστας ἐκ τῶν μετάλλων καὶ τῆς ἄλλης εὐφυΐας τῶν τόπων. ἀπὸ δὲ Σουνίου μέχρι Πελοποννήσου τὸ Μυρτῷον ἔστι καὶ Κρητικὸν πέλαγος καὶ Λιβυκὸν σὺν τοῖς κόλποις μέχρι τοῦ Σικελικοῦ· τοῦτο δὲ καὶ τὸν Ἀμβρακικὸν καὶ Κορινθιακὸν καὶ Κρισαῖον ἐκπληροῖ κόλπον.

Of this seaboard, then, the first parts are those about Epidamnus and Apollonia. From Apollonia to Macedonia one travels the Egnatian Road, towards the east; it has been measured by Roman miles and marked by pillars as far as Cypsela {413} and the Hebrus {414} River--a distance of five hundred and thirty-five miles. Now if one reckons as most people do, eight stadia to the mile, there would be four thousand two hundred and eighty stadia, whereas if one reckons as Polybius does, who adds two plethra, which is a third of a stadium, to the eight stadia, one must add one hundred and seventy-eight stadia--the third of the number of miles. And it so happens that travellers setting out from Apollonia and Epidamnus meet at an equal distance from the two places on the same road. {415} Now although the road as a whole is called the Egnatian Road, the first part of it is called the Road to Candavia (an Illyrian mountain) and passes through Lychnidus, {416} a city, and Pylon, a place on the road which marks the boundary between the Illyrian country and Macedonia. From Pylon the road runs to Barnus {417} through Heracleia {418} and the country of the Lyncestae and that of the Eordi into Edessa {419} and Pella {420} and as far as Thessaloniceia; {421} and the length of this road in miles, according to Polybius, is two hundred and sixty-seven. So then, in travelling this road from the region of Epidamnus and Apollonia, one has on the right the Epeirotic tribes whose coasts are washed by the Sicilian Sea and extend as far as the Ambracian Gulf, {422} and, on the left, the mountains of Illyrla, which I have already described in detail, and those tribes which live along them and extend as far as Macedonia and the country of the Paeonians. Then, beginning at the Ambracian Gulf, all the districts which, one after another, incline towards the east and stretch parallel to the Peloponnesus belong to Greece; they then leave the whole of the Peloponnesus on the right and project into the Aegaean Sea. But the districts which extend from the beginning of the Macedonian and the Paeonian mountains as far as the Strymon {423} River are inhabited by the Macedonians, the Paeonians, and by some of the Thracian mountaineers; whereas the districts beyond the Strymon, extending as far as the mouth of the Pontus and the Haemus, all belong to the Thracians, except the seaboard. This seaboard is inhabited by Greeks, some being situated on the Propontis, {424} others on the Hellespont and the Gulf of Melas, {425} and others on the Aegaean. The Aegaean Sea washes Greece on two sides: first, the side that faces towards the east and stretches from Sunium, {426} towards the north as far as the Thermaean Gulf {427} and Thessaloniceia, a Macedonian city, which at the present time is more populous than any of the rest; and secondly, the side that faces towards the south, I mean the Macedonian country, extending from Thessaloniceia as far as the Strymon. Some, however, also assign to Macedonia the country that extends from the Strymon as far as the Nestus River, {428} since Philip was so specially interested in these districts that he appropriated them to himself, and since he organized very large revenues from the mines and the other natural resources of the country. But from Sunium to the Peloponnesus lie the Myrtoan, the Cretan, and the Libyan Seas, together with their gulfs, as far as the Sicilian Sea; and this last fills out the Ambracian, the Corinthian, and the Crisaean {429} Gulfs.

413. Now Ipsala.

414. Now the Maritza.

415. Or, as we should say, the junction of the roas is equidistant from the two places.

416. Now Ochrida.

417. Now the Neretschka Planina Mountain.

418. Heracleia Lyncestis; now Monastir.

419. Now Vodena.

420. The capital of Macedonia; now in ruins and called Hagii Apostoli.

421. Now Thessaloniki or Saloniki.

422. The Gulf of Arta.

423. Now the Struma.

424. Now the Sea of Marmara.

425. Now the Gulf of Saros.

426. Now Cape Colonna.

427. Now the Gulf of Saloniki.

428. Now the Mesta.

429. See footnote on 6.. 1. 7.

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τῶν μὲν οὖν Ἠπειρωτῶν ἔθνη φησὶν εἶναι Θεόπομπος τετταρεσκαίδεκα, τούτων δ' ἐνδοξότατα Χάονες καὶ Μολοττοὶ διὰ τὸ ἄρξαι ποτὲ πάσης τῆς Ἠπειρώτιδος πρότερον μὲν Χάονας, ὕστερον δὲ Μολοττούς, οἳ καὶ διὰ τὴν συγγένειαν τῶν βασιλέων ἐπὶ πλέον ηὐξήθησαν τῶν γὰρ Αἰακιδῶν ἦσαν , καὶ διὰ τὸ παρὰ τούτοις εἶναι τὸ ἐν Δωδώνῃ μαντεῖον, παλαιόν τε καὶ ὀνομαστὸν ὄν. Χάονες μὲν οὖν καὶ Θεσπρωτοὶ καὶ μετὰ τούτους ἐφεξῆς Κασσωπαῖοι καὶ οὗτοι δ' εἰσὶ Θεσπρωτοὶ τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν Κεραυνίων ὀρῶν μέχρι τοῦ Ἀμβρακικοῦ κόλπου παραλίαν νέμονται χώραν εὐδαίμονα ἔχοντες· ὁ δὲ πλοῦς ἀπὸ τῶν Χαόνων ἀρξαμένῳ πρὸς ἀνίσχοντα ἥλιον καὶ πρὸς τὸν Ἀμβρακικὸν κόλπον καὶ τὸν Κορινθιακόν, ἐν δεξιᾷ ἔχοντι τὸ Αὐσόνιον πέλαγος, ἐν ἀριστερᾷ δὲ τὴν Ἤπειρον, εἰσὶ χίλιοι καὶ τριακόσιοι στάδιοι ἀπὸ τῶν Κεραυνίων ἐπὶ τὸ στόμα τοῦ Ἀμβρακικοῦ κόλπου. ἐν τούτῳ δ' ἐστὶ τῷ διαστήματι Πάνορμός τε λιμὴν μέγας ἐν μέσοις τοῖς Κεραυνίοις ὄρεσι, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα Ὄγχησμος λιμὴν ἄλλος, καθ' ὃν τὰ δυσμικὰ ἄκρα τῆς Κορκυραίας ἀντίκειται, καὶ πάλιν ἄλλος Κασσιόπη, ἀφ' οὗ ἐπὶ Βρεντέσιον χίλιοι ἑπτακόσιοι στάδιοι· οἱ δ' ἴσοι καὶ ἐπὶ Τάραντα ἀπὸ ἄλλου ἀκρωτηρίου νοτιωτέρου τῆς Κασσιόπης ὃ καλοῦσι Φαλακρόν. μετὰ δὲ Ὄγχησμον Ποσείδιον καὶ Βουθρωτὸν ἐπὶ τῷ στόματι τοῦ Πηλώδους καλουμένου λιμένος ἱδρυμένον ἐν τόπῳ χερρονησίζοντι, ἐποίκους ἔχον Ῥωμαίους, καὶ τὰ Σύβοτα. εἰσὶ δὲ νησῖδες τὰ Σύβοτα τῆς μὲν Ἠπείρου μικρὸν ἀπέχουσαι, κατὰ δὲ τὸ ἑῷον ἄκρον τῆς Κορκυραίας τὴν Λευκίμμαν κείμεναι. καὶ ἄλλαι δ' ἐν τῷ παράπλῳ νησῖδες εἰσὶν οὐκ ἄξιαι μνήμης. ἔπειτα ἄκρα Χειμέριον καὶ Γλυκὺς λιμήν, εἰς ὃν ἐμβάλλει ὁ Ἀχέρων ποταμός, ῥέων ἐκ τῆς Ἀχερουσίας λίμνης καὶ δεχόμενος πλείους ποταμοὺς ὥστε καὶ γλυκαίνειν τὸν κόλπον· ῥεῖ δὲ καὶ ὁ Θύαμις πλησίον. ὑπέρκειται δὲ τούτου μὲν τοῦ κόλπου Κίχυρος, ἡ πρότερον Ἐφύρα, πόλις Θεσπρωτῶν· τοῦ δὲ κατὰ Βουθρωτὸν ἡ Φοινίκη. ἐγγὺς δὲ τῆς Κιχύρου πολίχνιον Βουχέτιον Κασσωπαίων μικρὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς θαλάττης ὄν, καὶ Ἐλάτρια καὶ Πανδοσία καὶ Βατίαι ἐν μεσογαίᾳ, καθήκει δ' αὐτῶν ἡ χώρα μέχρι τοῦ κόλπου. μετὰ δὲ Γλυκὺν λιμένα ἐφεξῆς εἰσι δύο ἄλλοι λιμένες, ὁ μὲν ἐγγυτέρω καὶ ἐλάττων Κόμαρος ἰσθμὸν ποιῶν ἑξήκοντα σταδίων πρὸς τὸν Ἀμβρακικὸν κόλπον καὶ τὸ τοῦ Σεβαστοῦ Καίσαρος κτίσμα τὴν Νικόπολιν· ὁ δὲ ἀπωτέρω καὶ μείζων καὶ ἀμείνων πλησίον τοῦ στόματος τοῦ κόλπου, διέχων τῆς Νικοπόλεως ὅσον δώδεκα σταδίους.

Now as for the Epeirotes, there are fourteen tribes of them, according to Theopompus, but of these the Chaones and the Molossi are the most famous, because of the fact that they once ruled over the whole of the Epeirote country--the Chaones earlier and later the Molossi; and the Molossi grew to still greater power, partly because of the kinship of their kings, who belonged to the family of the Aeacidae, {430} and partly because of the fact that the oracle at Dodona {431} was in their country, an oracle both ancient and renowned. Now the Chaones and the Thesproti and, next in order after these, the Cassopaei (these, too, are Thesproti) inhabit the seaboard which extends from the Ceraunian Mountains as far as the Ambracian Gulf, and they have a fertile country. The voyage, if one begins at the country of the Chaones and sails towards the rising sun and towards the Ambracian and Corinthian Gulfs, keeping the Ausonian Sea {432} on the right and Epeirus on the left, is one thousand three hundred stadia, that is, from the Ceraunian Mountains to the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. In this interval is Panormus, {433} a large harbor at the center of the Ceraunian Mountains, and after these mountains one comes to Onchesmus, {434} another harbor, opposite which lie the western extremities of Corcyraea, {435} and then still another harbor, Cassiope, {436} from which the distance to Brentesium is one thousand seven hundred stadia. And the distance to Taras from another cape, which is farther south than Cassiope and is called Phalacrum, {437} is the same. After Onchesmus comes Poseidium, {438} and also Buthrotum {439} (which is at the mouth of what is called Pelodes Harbor, is situated on a place that forms a peninsula, and has alien settlers consisting of Romans), and the Sybota. {440} The Sybota are small islands situated only a short distance from the mainland and opposite Leucimma, the eastern headland of Corcyraea. And there are still other small islands as one sails along this coast, but they are not worth mentioning. Then comes Gape Cheimerium, and also Glycys Limen, {441} into which the River Acheron {442} empties. The Acheron flows from the Acherusian Lake {443} and receives several rivers as tributaries, so that it sweetens the waters of the gulf. And also the Thyamis {444} flows near by. Cichyrus, {445} the Ephyra of former times, a city of the Thesprotians, lies above this gulf, whereas Phoenice {446} lies above that gulf which is at Buthrotum. Near Cichyrus is Buchetium, a small town of the Cassopaeans, which is only a short distance above the sea; also Elatria, Pandosia, and Batiae, which are in the interior, though their territory reaches down as far as the gulf. Next in order after Glycys Limen come two other harbors--Comarus, {447} the nearer and smaller of the two, which forms an isthmus of sixty stadia {448} with the Ambracian Gulf, and Nicopolis, a city founded by Augustus Caesar, and the other, the more distant and larger and better of the two, which is near the mouth of the gulf and is about twelve stadia distant from Nicopolis. {449}

430. Aeacus was son of Zeus and Aegina, was king of the Isle of Aegina, was noted for his justice and piety, and was finally made one of the three judges in Hades.

431. Dodona was situated to the south of Lake Pambotis (now Janina), near what is now Dramisi.

432. See 2. 5. 20, 2. 5. 29, 5. 3. 6.

433. Now Panormo.

434. Now Santi Quaranta.

435. Now Kerkyra or Corfu.

436. “Cassope” is probably the correct spelling; now Cassopo, the name of a harbor and cape of Corfu.

437. Now Cape Drasti, at the southern end of Corfu.

438. In Thesprotia (see Ptolemaeus 3.13.3); now Cape Scala.

439. Now Butrinto.

440. Now called the Syvota.

441. “Sweet Harbor”; now Port Splantza (Phanari).

442. Now the Phanariotikos.

443. Now Lago di Fusaro.

444. Now the Kalamas.

445. The exact side of Cichyrus is uncertain (see Pauly-Wissowa, s.v. “Ephyre”).

446. Now Phiniki.

447. Now Gomaro.

448. In width.

449. Now in ruins near Prevesa.

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ἐφεξῆς δὲ τὸ στόμα τοῦ Ἀμβρακικοῦ κόλπου· τούτου δὲ τοῦ κόλπου τὸ μὲν στόμα μικρῷ τοῦ τετρασταδίου μεῖζον, ὁ δὲ κύκλος καὶ τριακοσίων σταδίων, εὐλίμενος δὲ πᾶς. οἰκοῦσι δὲ τὰ μὲν ἐν δεξιᾷ εἰσπλέουσι τῶν Ἑλλήνων Ἀκαρνᾶνες· καὶ ἱερὸν τοῦ Ἀκτίου Ἀπόλλωνος ἐνταῦθά ἐστι πλησίον τοῦ στόματος, λόφος τις ἐφ' ᾧ ὁ νεώς, καὶ ὑπ' αὐτῷ πεδίον ἄλσος ἔχον καὶ νεώρια, ἐν οἷς ἀνέθηκε Καῖσαρ τὴν δεκαναΐαν ἀκροθίνιον, ἀπὸ μονοκρότου μέχρι δεκήρους· ὑπὸ πυρὸς δ' ἠφανίσθαι καὶ οἱ νεώσοικοι λέγονται καὶ τὰ πλοῖα· ἐν ἀριστερᾷ δὲ ἡ Νικόπολις καὶ τῶν Ἠπειρωτῶν οἱ Κασσωπαῖοι μέχρι τοῦ μυχοῦ τοῦ κατὰ Ἀμβρακίαν· ὑπέρκειται δὲ αὕτη τοῦ μυχοῦ μικρόν, Γόργου τοῦ Κυψέλου κτίσμα· παραρρεῖ δ' αὐτὴν ὁ Ἄρατθος ποταμὸς ἀνάπλουν ἔχων ἐκ θαλάττης εἰς αὐτὴν ὀλίγων σταδίων, ἀρχόμενος ἐκ Τύμφης ὄρους καὶ τῆς Παρωραίας. ηὐτύχει μὲν οὖν καὶ πρότερον ἡ πόλις αὕτη διαφερόντως τὴν γοῦν ἐπωνυμίαν ἐντεῦθεν ἔσχηκεν ὁ κόλπος , μάλιστα δ' ἐκόσμησεν αὐτὴν Πύρρος βασιλείῳ χρησάμενος τῷ τόπῳ· Μακεδόνες δ' ὕστερον καὶ Ῥωμαῖοι καὶ ταύτην καὶ τὰς ἄλλας κατεπόνησαν τοῖς συνεχέσι πολέμοις διὰ τὴν ἀπείθειαν, ὥστε τὸ τελευταῖον ὁ Σεβαστὸς ὁρῶν ἐκλελειμμένας τελέως τὰς πόλεις εἰς μίαν συνῴκισε τὴν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ κληθεῖσαν Νικόπολιν ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ τούτῳ, ἐκάλεσε δ' ἐπώνυμον τῆς νίκης, ἐν ᾖ κατεναυμάχησεν Ἀντώνιον πρὸ τοῦ στόματος τοῦ κόλπου καὶ τὴν Αἰγυπτίων βασίλισσαν Κλεοπάτραν παροῦσαν ἐν τῷ ἀγῶνι καὶ αὐτήν. ἡ μὲν οὖν Νικόπολις εὐανδρεῖ καὶ λαμβάνει καθ' ἡμέραν ἐπίδοσιν, χώραν τε ἔχουσα πολλὴν καὶ τὸν ἐκ τῶν λαφύρων κόσμον, τό τε κατασκευασθὲν τέμενος ἐν τῷ προαστείῳ τὸ μὲν εἰς τὸν ἀγῶνα τὸν πεντετηρικὸν ἐν ἄλσει ἔχοντι γυμνάσιόν τε καὶ στάδιον, τὸ δ' ἐν τῷ ὑπερκειμένῳ τοῦ ἄλσους ἱερῷ λόφῳ τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος. ἀποδέδεικται δ' ὁ ἀγὼν Ὀλύμπιος, τὰ Ἄκτια, ἱερὸς τοῦ Ἀκτίου Ἀπόλλωνος, τὴν δ' ἐπιμέλειαν ἔχουσιν αὐτοῦ Λακεδαιμόνιοι. αἱ δ' ἄλλαι κατοικίαι περιπόλιοι τῆς Νικοπόλεώς εἰσιν. ἤγετο δὲ καὶ πρότερον τὰ Ἄκτια τῷ θεῷ, στεφανίτης ἀγών, ὑπὸ τῶν περιοίκων· νυνὶ δ' ἐντιμότερον ἐποίησεν ὁ Καῖσαρ.

Next comes the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. Although the mouth of this gulf is but slightly more than four stadia wide, the circumference is as much as three hundred stadia; and it has good harbors everywhere. That part of the country which is on the right as one sails in is inhabited by the Greek Acarnanians. Here too, near the mouth, is the sacred precinct of the Actian Apollo--a hill on which the temple stands; and at the foot of the hill is a plain which contains a sacred grove and a naval station, the naval station where Caesar dedicated as first fruits of his victory {450} the squadron of ten ships--from vessel with single bank of oars to vessel with ten; however, not only the boats, it is said, but also the boat-houses have been wiped out by fire. On the left of the mouth are Nicopolis and the country of the Epeirote Cassopaeans, which extends as far as the recess of the gulf near Ambracia. {451} Ambracia lies only a short distance above the recess; it was founded by Gorgus, the son of Cypselus. The River Aratthus {452} flows past Ambracia; it is navigable inland for only a few stadia, from the sea to Ambracia, although it rises in Mount Tymphe and the Paroraea. Now this city enjoyed an exceptional prosperity in earlier times (at any rate the gulf was named after it), and it was adorned most of all by Pyrrhus, who made the place his royal residence. In later times, however, the Macedonians and the Romans, by their continuous wars, so completely reduced both this and the other Epeirote cities because of their disobedience that finally Augustus, seeing that the cities had utterly failed, settled what inhabitants were left in one city together the city on this gulf which was called by him Nicopolis; {453} and he so named it after the victory which he won in the naval battle before the mouth of the gulf over Antonius and Cleopatra the queen of the Egyptians, who was also present at the fight. Nicopolis is populous, and its numbers are increasing daily, since it has not only a considerable territory and the adornment taken from the spoils of the battle, but also, in its suburbs, the thoroughly equipped sacred precinct--one part of it being in a sacred grove that contains a gymnasium and a stadium for the celebration of the quinquennial games, {454} the other part being on the hill that is sacred to Apollo and lies above the grove. These games--the Actia, sacred to Actian Apollo--have been designated as Olympian, {455} and they are superintended by the Lacedaemonians. The other settlements are dependencies of Nicopolis. In earlier times also the Actian Games were wont to be celebrated in honor of the god by the inhabitants of the surrounding country--games in which the prize was a wreath--but at the present time they have been set in greater honor by Caesar.

450. In the Battle of Actium, 31 B.C.

451. Now Arta.

452. Otherwise called Arachthus; now the Arta.

453. “Victory-city.”

454. the Ludi Quinquennales, celebrated every four years (see Dio Cassius 51.1).

455. So in the course of time games at numerous places (including Athens, Ephesus, Naples, Smyrna, Tarsus) came to be called “Olympian” in imitation of those at Olympia. The actual term used, for those at Tarsus at least, was Ἰσολύμπια, “equal to the Olympian” (C. I. 4472).

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μετὰ δὲ τὴν Ἀμβρακίαν τὸ Ἄργος ἐστὶ τὸ Ἀμφιλοχικόν, κτίσμα Ἀλκμαίωνος καὶ τῶν παίδων. Ἔφορος μὲν οὖν φησὶ τὸν Ἀλκμαίωνα μετὰ τὴν Ἐπιγόνων ἐπὶ τὰς Θήβας στρατείαν παρακληθέντα ὑπὸ Διομήδους συνελθεῖν εἰς Αἰτωλίαν αὐτῷ καὶ συγκατακτήσασθαι ταύτην τε καὶ τὴν Ἀκαρνανίαν· καλοῦντος δ' αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ τὸν Τρωικὸν πόλεμον Ἀγαμέμνονος, τὸν μὲν Διομήδη πορευθῆναι, τὸν δ' Ἀλκμαίωνα μείναντα ἐν τῇ Ἀκαρνανίᾳ τὸ Ἄργος κτίσαι, καλέσαι δ' Ἀμφιλοχικὸν ἐπώνυμον τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ, Ἴναχον δὲ τὸν διὰ τῆς χώρας ῥέοντα ποταμὸν εἰς τὸν κόλπον ἀπὸ τοῦ κατὰ τὴν Ἀργείαν προσαγορεῦσαι. Θουκυδίδης δέ φησιν αὐτὸν Ἀμφίλοχον μετὰ τὴν ἐκ Τροίας ἐπάνοδον δυσαρεστοῦντα τοῖς ἐν Ἄργει παρελθεῖν εἰς τὴν Ἀκαρνανίαν, διαδεξάμενον δὲ τὴν τἀδελφοῦ δυναστείαν κτίσαι τὴν πόλιν ἐπώνυμον ἑαυτοῦ.

After Ambracia comes Argos Amphilochicum, founded by Alcmaeon and his children. According to Ephorus, at any rate, Alcmaeon, after the expedition of the Epigoni against Thebes, on being invited by Diomedes, went with him into Aetolia and helped him acquire both this country and Acarnania; and when Agamemnon summoned them to the Trojan war, Diomedes went, but Alcmaeon stayed in Acarnania, founded Argos, and named it Amphilochicum after his brother; and he named the river which flows through the country into the Ambracian Gulf “Inachus,” after the river in the Argeian country. But according to Thucydides, {456} Amphilochus himself, after his return from Troy, being displeased with the state of affairs at Argos, passed on into Acarnania, and on succeeding to his brother's dominion founded the city that is named after him.

456. Thuc. 2.68.

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Ἠπειρῶται δ' εἰσὶ καὶ Ἀμφίλοχοι καὶ οἱ ὑπερκείμενοι καὶ συνάπτοντες τοῖς Ἰλλυρικοῖς ὄρεσι, τραχεῖαν οἰκοῦντες χώραν, Μολοττοί τε καὶ Ἀθαμᾶνες καὶ Αἴθικες καὶ Τυμφαῖοι καὶ Ὀρέσται Παρωραῖοί τε καὶ Ἀτιντᾶνες, οἱ μὲν πλησιάζοντες τοῖς Μακεδόσι μᾶλλον οἱ δὲ τῷ Ἰονίῳ κόλπῳ. λέγεται δὲ τὴν Ὀρεστιάδα κατασχεῖν ποτε Ὀρέστης φεύγων τὸν τῆς μητρὸς φόνον καὶ καταλιπεῖν ἐπώνυμον ἑαυτοῦ τὴν χώραν, κτίσαι δὲ καὶ πόλιν, καλεῖσθαι δ' αὐτὴν Ἄργος Ὀρεστικόν. ἀναμέμικται δὲ τούτοις τὰ Ἰλλυρικὰ ἔθνη τὰ πρὸς τῷ νοτίῳ μέρει τῆς ὀρεινῆς καὶ τὰ ὑπὲρ τοῦ Ἰονίου κόλπου· τῆς γὰρ Ἐπιδάμνου καὶ τῆς Ἀπολλωνίας μέχρι τῶν Κεραυνίων ὑπεροικοῦσι Βυλλίονές τε καὶ Ταυλάντιοι καὶ Παρθῖνοι καὶ Βρῦγοι· πλησίον δέ που καὶ τὰ ἀργυρεῖα τὰ ἐν Δαμαστίῳ, περὶ ἃ Δυέσται συνεστήσαντο τὴν δυναστείαν καὶ Ἐγχέλειοι, οὓς καὶ Σεσαρηθίους καλοῦσι· πρὸς δὲ τούτοις Λυγκῆσταί τε καὶ ἡ Δευρίοπος καὶ ἡ τρίπολις Πελαγονία καὶ Ἐορδοὶ καὶ Ἐλίμεια καὶ Ἐράτυρα. ταῦτα δὲ πρότερον μὲν κατεδυναστεύετο ἕκαστα, ὧν ἐν τοῖς Ἐγχελείοις οἱ Κάδμου καὶ Ἁρμονίας ἀπόγονοι ἦρχον, καὶ τὰ μυθευόμενα περὶ αὐτῶν ἐκεῖ δείκνυται. οὗτοι μὲν οὖν οὐχ ὑπὸ ἰθαγενῶν ἤρχοντο· οἱ δὲ Λυγκῆσται ὑπ' Ἀρραβαίῳ ἐγένοντο τοῦ Βακχιαδῶν γένους ὄντι· τούτου δ' ἦν θυγατριδῆ ἡ Φιλίππου μήτηρ τοῦ Ἀμύντου Εὐρυδίκη, Σίρρα δὲ θυγάτηρ· καὶ τῶν Ἠπειρωτῶν δὲ Μολοττοὶ ὑπὸ Πύρρῳ τῷ Νεοπτολέμου τοῦ Ἀχιλλέως καὶ τοῖς ἀπογόνοις αὐτοῦ Θετταλοῖς οὖσι γεγονότες· οἱ λοιποὶ δὲ ὑπὸ ἰθαγενῶν ἤρχοντο· εἶτ' ἐπικρατούντων ἀεί τινων κατέστρεψεν ἅπαντα εἰς τὴν Μακεδόνων ἀρχήν, πλὴν ὀλίγων τῶν ὑπὲρ τοῦ Ἰονίου κόλπου. καὶ δὴ καὶ τὰ περὶ Λύγκον καὶ Πελαγονίαν καὶ Ὀρεστιάδα καὶ Ἐλίμειαν τὴν ἄνω Μακεδονίαν ἐκάλουν, οἱ δ' ὕστερον καὶ ἐλευθέραν· ἔνιοι δὲ καὶ σύμπασαν τὴν μέχρι Κορκύρας Μακεδονίαν προσαγορεύουσιν, αἰτιολογοῦντες ἅμα ὅτι καὶ κουρᾷ καὶ διαλέκτῳ καὶ χλαμύδι καὶ ἄλλοις τοιούτοις χρῶνται παραπλησίως· ἔνιοι δὲ καὶ δίγλωττοί εἰσι. καταλυθείσης δὲ τῆς Μακεδόνων ἀρχῆς ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίους ἔπεσε. διὰ δὲ τούτων ἐστὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἡ Ἐγνατία ὁδὸς ἐξ Ἐπιδάμνου καὶ Ἀπολλωνίας· περὶ δὲ τὴν ἐπὶ Κανδαουίας ὁδὸν αἵ τε λίμναι εἰσὶν αἱ περὶ Λυχνιδὸν ταριχείας ἰχθύων αὐτάρκεις ἔχουσαι, καὶ ποταμοὶ οἵ τε εἰς τὸν Ἰόνιον κόλπον ἐκπίπτοντες καὶ οἱ ἐπὶ τὰ νότια μέρη, ὅ τ' Ἴναχος καὶ ὁ Ἄρατθος καὶ ὁ Ἀχελῶος καὶ ὁ Εὔηνος ὁ Λυκόρμας πρότερον καλούμενος, ὁ μὲν εἰς τὸν κόλπον τὸν Ἀμβρακικὸν ἐμβάλλων ὁ δὲ εἰς τὸν Ἀχελῶον, αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ Ἀχελῶος εἰς τὴν θάλατταν καὶ ὁ Εὔηνος, ὁ μὲν τὴν Ἀκαρνανίαν διεξιὼν ὁ δὲ τὴν Αἰτωλίαν· ὁ δὲ Ἐρίγων πολλὰ δεξάμενος ῥεύματα ἐκ τῶν Ἰλλυρικῶν ὀρῶν καὶ Λυγκηστῶν καὶ Βρύγων καὶ Δευριόπων καὶ Πελαγόνων εἰς τὸν Ἀξιὸν ἐκδίδωσι.

The Amphilochians are Epeirotes; and so are the peoples who are situated above them and border on the Illyrian mountains, inhabiting a rugged country--I mean the Molossi, the Athamanes, the Aethices, the Tymphaei, the Orestae, and also the Paroraei and the Atintanes, some of them being nearer to the Macedonians and others to the Ionian Gulf. It is said that Orestes once took possession of Orestias--when is, exile on account of the murder of his mother--and left the country bearing his name; and that he also founded a city and called it Argos Oresticum. But the Illyrian tribes which are near the southern part of the mountainous country and those which are above the Ionian Gulf are intermingled with these peoples; for above Epidamnus and Apollonia as far as the Ceraunian Mountains dwell the Bylliones, the Taulantii, the Parthini, and the Brygi. Somewhere near by are also the silver mines of Damastium, {457} around which the Dyestae and the Encheleii (also called Sesarethii) together established their dominion; and near these people are also the Lyncestae, the territory Deuriopus, Pelagonian Tripolitis, the Eordi, Elimeia, and Eratyra. In earlier times these peoples were ruled separately, each by its own dynasty. For instance, it was the descendants of Cadmus and Harmonia who ruled over the Encheleii; and the scenes of the stories told about them are still pointed out there. These people, I say, were not ruled by men of native stock; and the Lyncestae became subject to Arrabaeus, who was of the stock of the Bacchiads (Eurydice, the mother of Philip, Amyntas' son, was Arrabaeus' daughter's daughter and Sirra was his daughter); and again, of the Epeirotes, the Molossi became subject to Pyrrhus, the son of Neoptolemus the son of Achilles, and to his descendants, who were Thessalians. But the rest were ruled by men of native stock. Then, because one tribe or another was always getting the mastery over others, they all ended in the Macedonian empire, except a few who dwelt above the Ionian Gulf. And in fact the regions about Lyncus, Pelagonia, Orestias, and Elimeia, used to be called Upper Macedonia, though later on they were by some also called Free Macedonia. But some go so far as to call the whole of the country Macedonia, as far as Corcyra, at the same time stating as their reason that in tonsure, language, short cloak, and other things of the kind, the usages of the inhabitants are similar, {458} although, they add, some speak both languages. But when the empire of the Macedonians was broken up, they fell under the power of the Romans. And it is through the country of these tribes that the Egnatian Road {459} runs, which begins at Epidamnus and Apollonia. Near the Road to Candavia {460} are not only the lakes which are in the neighborhood of Lychnidus, {461} on the shores of which are salt-fish establishments that are independent of other waters, but also a number of rivers, some emptying into the Ionian Gulf and others flowing in a southerly direction--I mean the Inachus, the Aratthus, the Acheloüs and the Evenus (formerly called the Lycormas); the Aratthus emptying into the Ambracian Gulf, the Inachus into the Acheloüs, the Acheloüs itself and the Evenus into the sea--the Acheloüs after traversing Acarnania and the Evenus after traversing Aetolia. But the Erigon, after receiving many streams from the Illyrian mountains and from the countries of the Lyncestae, Brygi, Deuriopes, and Pelagonians, empties into the Axius.

457. The site of Damstium is unknown. Imhoof-Blumer (Ztschr. f. Numism. 1874, Vol. I. pp. 99 ff.) think that is might be identified with what is now Tepeleni, on the Viosa River. But so far as is now known, there is no silver ore in Epeirus or Southern Illyria. Philippson (Pauly-Wissowa, s.v. “Damastion”) suggests that Argyrium (now Argyrocastro, on the Viosa) might be connected with the presence of silver.

458. That is, to those of the Macedonians.

459. See 7. 7. 4.

460. See 7. 7. 4.

461. Now Ochrida.

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πρότερον μὲν οὖν καὶ πόλεις ἦσαν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσι τούτοις· τρίπολις γοῦν ἡ Πελαγονία ἐλέγετο, ἧς καὶ Ἄζωρος ἦν, καὶ ἐπὶ τῷ Ἐρίγωνι πᾶσαι αἱ τῶν Δευριόπων πόλεις ᾤκηντο, ὧν τὸ Βρυάνιον καὶ Ἀλαλκομεναὶ καὶ Στύβαρα· Κύδραι δὲ Βρύγων, Αἰγίνιον δὲ Τυμφαίων, ὅμορον Αἰθικίᾳ καὶ Τρίκκῃ· πλησίον δ' ἤδη τῆς τε Μακεδονίας καὶ τῆς Θετταλίας περὶ τὸ Ποῖον ὄρος καὶ τὴν Πίνδον Αἴθικές τε καὶ τοῦ Πηνειοῦ πηγαί, ὧν ἀμφισβητοῦσι Τυμφαῖοί τε καὶ ὁἶ ὑπὸ τῇ Πίνδῳ Θετταλοί· καὶ πόλις Ὀξύνεια παρὰ τὸν Ἴωνα ποταμὸν ἀπέχουσα Ἀζώρου τῆς τριπολίτιδος σταδίους ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι· πλησίον δὲ καὶ Ἀλαλκομεναὶ καὶ Αἰγίνιον καὶ Εὔρωπος καὶ αἱ τοῦ Ἴωνος εἰς τὸν Πηνειὸν συμβολαί. τότε μὲν οὖν, ὡς εἶπον, καίπερ οὖσα τραχεῖα καὶ ὀρῶν πλήρης, Τομάρου καὶ Πολυάνου καὶ ἄλλων πλειόνων, ὅμως εὐάνδρει ἥ τε Ἤπειρος πᾶσα καὶ ἡ Ἰλλυρίς· νῦν δὲ τὰ πολλὰ μὲν ἐρημία κατέχει, τὰ δ' οἰκούμενα κωμηδὸν καὶ ἐν ἐρειπίοις λείπεται.

In earlier times there were also cities among these tribes; at any rate, Pelagonia used to be called Tripolitis, {462} one of which was Azorus; and all the cities of the Deuriopes on the Erigon River were populous, among which were Bryanium, Alalcomenae, and Stubara. And Cydrae belonged to the Brygi, while Aeginium, on the border of Aethicia and Tricca, {463} belonged to the Tymphaei. When one is already near to Macedonia and to Thessaly, and in the neighborhood of the Poeus and the Pindus Mountains, one comes to the country of the Aethices and to the sources of the Peneius River, the possession of which is disputed by the Tymphaei and those Thessalians who live at the foot of the Pindus, and to the city Oxineia, situated on the Ion River one hundred and twenty stadia from Azorus in Tripolitis. Near by are Alalcomenae, Aeginium, Europus, and the confluence of the Ion River with the Peneius. Now although in those earlier times, as I have said, all Epeirus and the Illyrian country were rugged and full of mountains, such as Tomarus and Polyanus and several others, still they were populous; but at the present time desolation prevails in most parts, while the parts that are still inhabited survive only in villages and in ruins. And even the oracle at Dodona, {464} like the rest, is virtually extinct.

462. “Country of three cities.”

463. Now Trikala.

464. See articles s.v. “Dodona” in Pauly-Wissowa and Encyclopedia Britannica.

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ἐκλέλοιπε δέ πως καὶ τὸ μαντεῖον τὸ ἐν Δωδώνῃ, καθάπερ τἆλλα. ἔστι δ', ὥς φησιν Ἔφορος, Πελασγῶν ἵδρυμα· οἱ δὲ Πελασγοὶ τῶν περὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα δυναστευσάντων ἀρχαιότατοι λέγονται· καὶ ὁ ποιητής φησιν οὕτω

Ζεῦ ἄνα Δωδωναῖε, Πελασγικέ,

ὁ δ' Ἡσίοδος

Δωδώνην φηγόν τε, Πελασγῶν ἕδρανον ᾗεν.

περὶ μὲν οὖν τῶν Πελασγῶν ἐν τοῖς Τυρρηνικοῖς εἴρηται, περὶ δὲ Δωδώνης τοὺς μὲν περιοικοῦντας τὸ ἱερὸν διότι βάρβαροι διασαφεῖ καὶ ὁ Ὅμηρος ἐκ τῆς διαίτης, ἀνιπτόποδας χαμαιεύνας λέγων· πότερον δὲ χρὴ λέγειν Ἑλλούς, ὡς Πίνδαρος, ἢ Σελλούς, ὡς ὑπονοοῦσι παρ' Ὁμήρῳ κεῖσθαι, ἡ γραφὴ ἀμφίβολος οὖσα οὐκ ἐᾷ διισχυρίζεσθαι. Φιλόχορος δέ φησι καὶ τὸν περὶ Δωδώνην τόπον, ὥσπερ τὴν Εὔβοιαν, Ἑλλοπίαν κληθῆναι· καὶ γὰρ Ἡσίοδον οὕτω λέγειν

ἔστι τις Ἑλλοπίη, πολυλήιος ἠδ' ἐυλείμων· ἔνθα δὲ Δωδώνη τις ἐπ' ἐσχατιῇ πεπόλισται.

οἴονται δέ, φησὶν ὁ Ἀπολλόδωρος, ἀπὸ τῶν ἑλῶν τῶν περὶ τὸ ἱερὸν οὕτω καλεῖσθαι· τὸν μέντοι ποιητὴν ὁὐχ οὕτω λέγειν Ἑλλοὺς ἀλλὰ Σελλοὺς ὑπολαμβάνει τοὺς περὶ τὸ ἱερόν, προσθεὶς ὅτι καὶ Σελλήεντα τινὰ ὀνομάζει ποταμόν. ὀνομάζει μὲν οὖν, ὅταν φῇ

τηλόθεν ἐξ Ἐφύρης ποταμοῦ ἄπο Σελλήεντος.

ὁὐ μέντοι, ὁ Σκήψιός φησι, τῆς ἐν Θεσπρωτοῖς Ἐφύρας, ἀλλὰ τῆς ἐν τοῖς Ἠλείοις· ἐκεῖ γὰρ εἶναι τὸν Σελλήεντα, ἐν δὲ Θεσπρωτοῖς οὐδένα, οὐδ' ἐν Μολοττοῖς. τὰ δὲ μυθευόμενα περὶ τῆς δρυὸς καὶ τῶν πελειῶν καὶ εἴ τινα ἄλλα τοιαῦτα, καθάπερ καὶ τἆ περὶ Δελφῶν, τὰ μὲν ποιητικωτέρας ἐστὶ διατριβῆς τὰ δ' οἰκεῖα τῆς νῦν περιοδείας.

This oracle, according to Ephorus, was founded by the Pelasgi. And the Pelasgi are called the earliest of all peoples who have held dominion in Greece. And the poet speaks in this way: “O Lord Zeus, Dodonaean, Pelasgian”; {465} and Hesiod: “He came to Dodona and the oak-tree, seat of the Pelasgi.” {466} The Pelasgi I have already discussed in my description of Tyrrhenia; {467} and as for the people who lived in the neighborhood of the temple of Dodona, Homer too makes it perfectly clear from their mode of life, when he calls them “men with feet unwashen, men who sleep upon the ground,” {468} that they were barbarians; but whether one should call them “Helli,” as Pindar does, or “Selli,” as is conjectured to be the true reading in Homer, is a question to which the text, since it is doubtful, does not permit a positive answer. Philochorus says that the region round about Dodona, like Euboea, was called Hellopia, and that in fact Hesiod speaks of it in this way: “There is a land called Hellopia, with many a corn-field and with goodly meadows; on the edge of this land a city called Dodona hath been built.” {469} It is thought, Apollodorus says, that the land was so called from the marshes {470} around the temple; as for the poet, however, Apollodorus takes it for granted that he did not call the people who lived about the temple “Helli,” but “Selli,” since (Apollodorus adds) the poet also named a certain river Selleeïs. He names it, indeed, when he says, “From afar, out of Ephyra, from the River Selleeïs” {471} ; however, as Demetrius of Scepsis says, the poet is not referring to the Ephyra among the Thesprotians, but to that among the Eleians, for the Selleeïs is among the Eleians, he adds, and there is no Selleeïs among the Thesprotians, nor yet among the Molossi. And as for the myths that are told about the oak-tree and the doves, and any other myths of the kind, although they, like those told about Delphi, are in part more appropriate to poetry, yet they also in part properly belong to the present geographical description.

465. Hom. Il. 16.233

466. Hes. Fr. 212 (Rzach)

467. 5. 2. 4.

468. Hom. Il. 16.235.

469. Hes. Fr. 134 (Rzach)

470. The Greek for marshes is “Hele.”

471. Hom. Il. 2.659; 15.531

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ἡ Δωδώνη τοίνυν τὸ μὲν παλαιὸν ὑπὸ Θεσπρωτοῖς ἦν καὶ τὸ ὄρος ὁ Τόμαρος ἢ Τμάρος ἀμφοτέρως γὰρ λέγεται , ὑφ' ᾧ κεῖται τὸ ἱερόν· καὶ οἱ τραγικοὶ δὲ καὶ Πίνδαρος Θεσπρωτίδα εἰρήκασι τὴν Δωδώνην· ὕστερον δὲ ὑπὸ Μολοττοῖς ἐγένετο. ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ Τομάρου τοὺς ὑπὸ τοῦ ποιητοῦ λεγομένους ὑποφήτας τοῦ Διός, οὓς καὶ ἀνιπτόποδας χαμαιεύνας καλεῖ, τομούρους φασὶ λεχθῆναι· καὶ ἐν μὲν τῇ Ὀδυσσείᾳ οὕτω γράφουσί τινες ἅ φησιν Ἀμφίνομος, συμβουλεύων τοῖς μνηστῆρσι μὴ πρότερον ἐπιτίθεσθαι τῷ Τηλεμάχῳ πρὶν ἂν τὸν Δία ἔρωνται

εἰ μέν κ' αἰνήσωσι Διὸς μεγάλοιο τομοῦροι, αὐτός τε κτανέω, τούς τ' ἄλλους πάντας ἀνώξω· εἰ δέ κ' ἀποτρεπέῃσι θεός, παύεσθαι ἄνωγα.

βέλτιον γὰρ εἶναι τομούρους ἢ θέμιστας γράφειν· οὐδαμοῦ γοῦν τὰ μαντεῖα θέμιστας λέγεσθαι παρὰ τῷ ποιητῇ, ἀλλὰ τὰς βουλὰς καὶ τὰ πολιτεύματα καὶ νομοθετήματα· τομούρους δ' εἰρῆσθαι ἐπιτετμημένως οἷον τομαροφύλακας. οἱ μὲν οὖν νεώτεροι λέγουσιν τομούρους· παρ' Ὁμήρῳ δ' ἁπλούστερον δεῖ δέχεσθαι θέμιστας καταχρηστικῶς καὶ βουλάς, τὰ προστάγματα καὶ τὰ βουλήματα τὰ μαντικά, καθάπερ καὶ τὰ νόμιμα· τοιοῦτον γὰρ καὶ τό

ἐκ δρυὸς ὑψικόμοιο Διὸς βουλὴν ἐπακοῦσαι.

In ancient times, then, Dodona was under the rule of the Thesprotians; and so was Mount Tomarus, {472} or Tmarus (for it is called both ways), at the base of which the temple is situated. And both the tragic poets and Pindar have called Dodona “Thesprotian Dodona.” But later on it came under the rule of the Molossi. And it is after the Tomarus, people say, that those whom the poet calls interpreters of Zeus--whom he also calls “men with feet unwashen, men who sleep upon the ground” {473} --were called “tomouroi”; and in the Odyssey some so write the words of Amphinomus, when he counsels the wooers not to attack Telemachus until they inquire of Zeus: “If the tomouroi of great Zeus approve, I myself shall slay, and I shall bid all the rest to aid, whereas if god averts it, I bid you stop.” {474} For it is better, they argue, to write “tomouroi” than “themistes”; at any rate, nowhere in the poet are the oracles called “themistes,” but it is the decrees, statutes, and laws that are so called; and the people have been called “tomouroi” because “tomouroi” is a contraction of “tomarouroi,” the equivalent of “tomarophylakes.” {475} Now although the more recent critics say “tomouroi,” yet in Homer one should interpret “themistes” (and also “boulai”) in a simpler way, though in a way that is a misuse of the term, as meaning those orders and decrees that are oracular, just as one also interprets “themistes” as meaning those that are made by law. For example, such is the case in the following: “to give ear to the decree {476} of Zeus from the oak-tree of lofty foliage. {477}

472. Now Mt. Olytsika.

473. Hom. Il. 16.235.

474. Hom. Od. 16.403

475. “Guardians of Mt. Tomarus.”

476. “Boulê.”

477. Hom. 14.328

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κατ' ἀρχὰς μὲν οὖν ἄνδρες ἦσαν οἱ προφητεύοντες· καὶ τοῦτ' ἴσως καὶ ὁ ποιητὴς ἐμφαίνει· ὑποφήτας γὰρ καλεῖ, ἐν οἷς τάττοιντο κἂν οἱ προφῆται· ὕστερον δ' ἀπεδείχθησαν τρεῖς γραῖαι, ἐπειδὴ καὶ σύνναος τῷ Διὶ προσαπεδείχθη καὶ ἡ Διώνη. Σουίδας μέντοι Θετταλοῖς μυθώδεις λόγους προσχαριζόμενος ἐκεῖθέν τέ φησιν εἶναι τὸ ἱερὸν μετενηνεγμένον ἐκ τῆς περὶ Σκοτοῦσσαν Πελασγίας ἔστι δ' ἡ Σκοτοῦσσα τῆς Πελασγιώτιδος Θετταλίας , συνακολουθῆσαί τε γυναῖκας τὰς πλείστας, ὧν ἀπογόνους εἶναι τὰς νῦν προφήτιδας· ἀπὸ δὲ τούτου καὶ Πελασγικὸν Δία κεκλῆσθαι· Κινέας δ' ἔτι μυθωδέστερον.φρ. 1 στεπηανυς ιν Δωδώνη.

Κινέας δέ φησι πόλιν ἐν Θεσσαλίᾳ εἶναι καὶ φηγὸν καὶ τὸ τοῦ Διὸς μαντεῖον εἰς Ἤπειρον μετενεχθῆναι.

Fr. 1a epit. (i. e. epitome edita).

ἦν δὲ πρότερον περὶ Σκοτοῦσσαν πόλιν τῆς Πελασγιώτιδος τὸ χρηστήριον· ἐμπρησθέντος δ' ὑπό τινων τοῦ δένδρου μετηνέχθη κατὰ χρησμὸν τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος ἐν Δωδώνῃ. ἐχρησμῴδει δ' οὐ διὰ λόγων, ἀλλὰ διά τινων συμβόλων, ὥσπερ τὸ ἐν Λιβύῃ Ἀμμωνιακόν· ἴσως δέ τινα πτῆσιν αἱ τρεῖς περιστεραὶ ἐπέτοντο ἐξαίρετον, ἐξ ὧν αἱ ἱέρειαι παρατηρούμεναι προεθέσπιζον. φασὶ δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὴν τῶν Μολοττῶν καὶ Θεσπρωτῶν γλῶτταν τὰς γραίας πελίας καλεῖσθαι καὶ τοὺς γέροντας πελίους· καὶ ἴσως οὐκ ὄρνεα ἦσαν αἱ θρυλούμεναι πελειάδες, ἀλλὰ γυναῖκες γραῖαι τρεῖς περὶ τὸ ἱερὸν σχολάζουσαι.

Fr. 1b Strab. 9.5.20

τῆς δὲ Σκοτούσσης ἐμνήσθημεν καὶ ἐν τοῖς περὶ Δωδώνης λόγοις καὶ τοῦ μαντείου τοῦ ἐν Θετταλίᾳ, διότι περὶ τοῦτον ὑπῆρξε τὸν τόπων.

Fr. 1c Eustathius on Od. 14.327

ἱερὰ δὲ κατὰ τὸν γεωγράφον δρῦς τιμᾶται ἐν Δωδώνῃ, ἀρχαιότατον ὑπολειφθεῖσα φυτὸν καὶ πρῶτον τροφὴν ἀνθρώποις παρασχόν. ὁ δ' αὐτὸς καὶ εἰς τὰς ἐκεῖ λεγομένας μαντικὰς πελείας φησὶν ὅτι αἱ πέλειαι εἰς οἰωνοσκοπίαν ὑπονοοῦνται, καθὰ καὶ κορακομάντεις ἦσαν τινες.

Fr. 2 e. (i. e. epitome vaticana).

ὅτι κατὰ Θεσπρωτοὺς καὶ Μολοττοὺς τὰς γραίας πελίας καὶ τοὺς γέροντας πελίους, καθάπερ καὶ παρὰ Μακεδόσι· πελιγόνας γοῦν καλοῦσιν ἐκεῖνοι τοὺς ἐν τιμαῖς, καθὰ παρὰ Λάκωσι καὶ Μασσαλιώταις τοὺς γέροντας· ὅθεν καὶ τὰς ἐν τῇ Δωδωναίᾳ δρυῒ μεμυθεῦσθαι πελείας φασίν.

Fr. 3 epit.

ὅτι ἡ παροιμία “τὸ ἐν Δωδώνῃ χαλκίον” ἐντεῦθεν ὠνομάσθη· χαλκίον ἦν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ ἔχον ὑπερκείμενον ἀνδριάντα κρατοῦντα μάστιγα χαλκῆν, ἀνάθημα Κορκυραίων· ἡ δὲ μάστιξ ἦν τριπλῆ ἁλυσιδωτὴ ἀπηρτημένους ἔχουσα ἐξ αὑτῆς ἀστραγάλους, οἳ πλήττοντες τὸ χαλκίον συνεχῶς, ὁπότε αἰωροῖντο ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνέμων, μακροὺς ἤχους ἀπειργάζοντο, ἕως ὁ μετρῶν τὸν χρόνον ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς τοῦ ἤχου μέχρι τέλους καὶ ἐπὶ τετρακόσια προέλθοι· ὅθεν καὶ ἡ παροιμία ἐλέχθη “ἡ Κερκυραίων μάστιξ.”

Fr. 4 e.

ἡ δὲ Παιονία τούτοις μὲν ἔστι πρὸς ἕω τοῖς ἔθνεσι, πρὸς δύσιν δὲ τοῖς Θρᾳκίοις ὄρεσι, πρὸς ἄρκτον δ' ὑπέρκειται τοῖς Μακεδόσι, διὰ Γορτυνίου πόλεως καὶ Στόβων ἔχουσα τὰς εἰσβολὰς ἐπὶ τὰ πρὸς στενὰ δι' ὧν ὁ Ἀξιὸς ῥέων δυσείσβολον ποιεῖ τὴν Μακεδονίαν ἐκ τῆς Παιονίας, ὡς ὁ Πηνειὸς διὰ τῶν Τεμπῶν φερόμενος ἀπὸ τῆς Ἑλλάδος αὐτὴν ἐρυμνοῖ· πρὸς νότον δὲ τοῖς Αὐταριάταις καὶ Δαρδανίοις καὶ Ἀρδιαίοις ὁμορεῖ· ἐκτέταται δὲ καὶ μέχρι Στρυμόνος ἡ Παιονία.

Fr. 5 e.

ὅτι ὁ Ἁλιάκμων εἰς τὸν Θερμαῖον κόλπον ῥεῖ.

Fr. 6 e.

ἡ δ' Ὀρεστὶς πολλὴ καὶ ὄρος ἔχει μέγα μέχρι τοῦ Κόρακος τῆς Αἰτωλίας καθῆκον καὶ τοῦ Παρνασσοῦ. περιοικοῦσι δ' αὐτοί τε Ὀρέσται καὶ Τυμφαῖοι καὶ οἱ ἐκτὸς Ἰσθμοῦ Ἕλληνες οἱ περὶ Παρνασσὸν καὶ τὴν Οἴτην καὶ Πίνδον. ἑνὶ μὲν δὴ κοινῷ ὀνόματι καλεῖται Βοῖον τὸ ὄροσ; κατὰ μέρη δὲ πολυώνυμόν ἐστιν. φασὶ δ' ἀπὸ τῶν ὑψηλοτάτων σκοπιῶν ἀφορᾶσθαι τό τε Αἰγαῖον πέλαγος καὶ τὸ Ἀμβρακικὸν καὶ τὸ Ἰόνιον, πρὸς ὑπερβολὴν οἶμαι λέγοντες. καὶ τὸ Πτελεὸν ἱκανῶς ἐστιν ἐν ὕψει τὸ περικείμενον τῷ Ἀμβρακικῷ κόλπῳ, τῇ μὲν ἐκτεινόμενον μέχρι τῆς Κερκυραίας τῇ δ' ἐπὶ τὴν κατὰ Λευκάδα θάλασσαν.

Fr. 7 e.

ὅτι ἐπὶ γέλωτι ἐν παροιμίας μέρει γελᾶται Κέρκυρα ταπεινωθεῖσα τοῖς πολλοῖς πολέμοις.

Fr. 8 epit.

ὅτι ἡ Κόρκυρα τὸ παλαιὸν εὐτυχὴς ἦν καὶ δύναμιν ναυτικὴν πλείστην εἶχεν, ἀλλ' ὑπὸ πολέμων τινῶν καὶ τυράννων ἐφθάρη· καὶ ὕστερον ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων ἐλευθερωθεῖσα οὐκ ἐπῃνέθη, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ λοιδορίᾳ παροιμίαν ἔλαβεν “ἐλευθέρα Κόρκυρα, χέζ' ὅπου θέλεις.”

Fr. 9 e.

λοιπὴ δ' ἐστὶ τῆς Εὐρώπης ἥ τε Μακεδονία καὶ τῆς Θρᾴκης τὰ συνεχῆ ταύτῃ μέχρι Βυζαντίου καὶ ἡ Ἑλλὰς καὶ αἱ προσεχεῖς νῆσοι. ἔστι μὲν οὖν Ἑλλὰς καὶ ἡ Μακεδονία· νυνὶ μέντοι τῇ φύσει τῶν τόπων ἀκολουθοῦντες καὶ τῷ σχήματι χωρὶς ἔγνωμεν αὐτὴν ἀπὸ τῆς ἄλλης Ἑλλάδος τάξαι καὶ συνάψαι πρὸς τὴν ὅμορον αὐτῇ Θρᾴκην μέχρι τοῦ στόματος τοῦ Εὐξείνου καὶ τῆς Προποντίδος. εἶτα μετ' ὀλίγα μέμνηται Κυψέλων καὶ τοῦ Ἕβρου ποταμοῦ. καταγράφει δὲ καί τι σχῆμα παραλληλόγραμμον, ἐν ᾧ ἡ σύμπασα Μακεδονία ἐστίν.

Fr. 10 epit.

ὅτι ἡ Μακεδονία περιορίζεται ἐκ μὲν δυσμῶν τῇ παραλίᾳ τοῦ Ἀδρίου, ἐξ ἀνατολῶν δὲ τῇ παραλλήλῳ ταύτης μεσημβρινῇ γραμμῇ τῇ διὰ τῶν ἐκβολῶν Ἕβρου ποταμοῦ καὶ Κυψέλων πόλεως, ἐκ βορρᾶ δὲ τῇ νοουμένῃ εὐθείᾳ γραμμῇ τῇ διὰ Βερτίσκου ὄρους καὶ Σκάρδου καὶ Ὀρβήλου καὶ Ῥοδόπης καὶ Αἵμου· τὰ γὰρ ὄρη ταῦτα ἀρχόμενα ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἀδρίου διήκει κατὰ εὐθεῖαν γραμμὴν ἕως τοῦ Εὐξείνου, ποιοῦντα χερρόνησον μεγάλην πρὸς νότον, τήν τε Θρᾴκην ὁμοῦ καὶ Μακεδονίαν καὶ Ἤπειρον καὶ Ἀχαΐαν· ἐκ νότου δὲ τῇ Ἐγνατίᾳ ὁδῷ ἀπὸ Δυρραχίου πόλεως πρὸς ἀνατολὰς ἰοῦσιν ἕως Θεσσαλονικείας· καὶ ἔστι τὸ σχῆμα τοῦτο τῆς Μακεδονίας παραλληλογράμμου ἔγγιστα.

Fr. 11 e.

ὅτι Ἠμαθία ἐκαλεῖτο πρότερον ἡ νῦν Μακεδονία. ἔλαβε δὲ τοὔνομα τοῦτο ἀπ' ἀρχαίου τινὸς τῶν ἡγεμόνων Μακεδόνος. ἦν δὲ καὶ πόλις Ἠμαθία πρὸς θαλάσσῃ. κατεῖχον δὲ τὴν χώραν ταύτην Ἠπειρωτῶν τινες καὶ Ἰλλυριῶν, τὸ δὲ πλεῖστον Βοττιαῖοι καὶ Θρᾷκες· οἱ μὲν ἐκ Κρήτης, ὥς φασι, τὸ γένος ὄντες, ἡγεμόνα ἔχοντες Βόττωνα, Θρᾳκῶν δὲ Πίερες μὲν ἐνέμοντο τὴν Πιερίαν καὶ τὰ περὶ τὸν Ὄλυμπον, Παίονες δὲ τἆ περὶ τὸν Ἀξιὸν ποταμὸν καὶ τὴν καλουμένην διὰ τοῦτο Ἀμφαξῖτιν, Ἠδωνοὶ δὲ καὶ Βισάλται τὴν λοιπὴν μέχρι Στρυμόνος· ὧν οἱ μὲν αὐτὸ τοῦτο προσηγορεύοντο Βισάλται, Ἠδωνῶν δ' οἱ μὲν Μυγδόνες οἱ δὲ Ἤδωνες οἱ δὲ Σίθωνες. τούτων δὲ πάντων οἱ Ἀργεάδαι καλούμενοι κατέστησαν κύριοι καὶ Χαλκιδεῖς οἱ ἐν Εὐβοίᾳ. ἐπῆλθον δὲ καὶ Χαλκιδεῖς οἱ ἐν Εὐβοίᾳ ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν Σιθώνων καὶ συνῴκισαν πόλεις ἐν αὐτῇ περὶ τριάκοντα, ἐξ ὧν ὕστερον ἐκβαλλόμενοι συνῆλθον εἰς μίαν οἱ πλείους αὐτῶν, εἰς τὴν Ὄλυνθον· ὠνομάζοντο δ' οἱ ἐπὶ Θρᾴκης Χαλκιδεῖς.

Fr. 11a etymol. m. p. 206, 6.

τὸ δὲ ἐθνικὸν τοῦ Βόττεια διὰ τοῦ ι, ὡς Στράβων ἐν ζ . καλεῖται δὲ ἀπὸ Βόττωνος τοῦ Κρητὸς ἡ πόλις.

Fr. 11b Stephanus Byzantinus under Ἀμφάξιον.

Ἀμφάξιον· δύω μέρη λόγου. πόλις. τὸ ἐξ αὐτοῦ Ἀμφαξίτης. Στράβων ἑβδόμῃ.

Fr. 12 e.

ὅτι Πηνειὸς μὲν ὁρίζει τὴν κάτω καὶ πρὸς θαλάττῃ Μακεδονίαν ἀπὸ Θετταλίας καὶ Μαγνησίας, Ἁλιάκμων δὲ τὴν ἄνω, καὶ ἔτι τοὺς Ἠπειρώτας καὶ τοὺς Παίονας καὶ αὐτὸς καὶ ὁ Ἐρίγων καὶ ὁ Ἀξιὸς καὶ ἕτεροι.

Fr. 12a Eustathius on Il. 2.848.

εἰ γὰρ κατὰ τὸν γεωγράφον ἀπὸ Πηλίου καὶ Πηνειοῦ τῶν Θετταλικῶν πρὸς μεσόγαιαν παράκεινται Μακεδόνες μέχρι Παιονίας καὶ τῶν Ἠπειρωτικῶν ἐθνῶν, ἐκ δὲ Παιόνον συμμαχίαν ἐν Τροίᾳ εἶχον οἱ Ἕλληνες, δυσχερὲς νοῆσαι τοῖς Τρωσὶν ἐλθεῖν συμμαχίαν ἐκ τῶν ῥηθέντων πορρωτέρω Παιόνων.

Fr. 13 e.

ὅτι ἐστὶ τῆς παραλίας τῆς Μακεδονικῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ μυχοῦ τοῦ Θερμαίου κόλπου καὶ Θεσσαλονικείας ἡ μὲν τεταμένη πρὸς νότον μέχρι Σουνίου, ἡ δὲ πρὸς ἕω μέχρι τῆς Θρᾳκίας χερρονήσου, γωνίαν τινὰ ποιοῦσα κατὰ τὸν μυχόν. εἰς ἑκάτερον δὲ καθηκούσης τῆς Μακεδονίας, ἀπὸ τῆς προτέρας λεχθείσης ἀρκτέον. τὰ μὲν δὴ πρῶτα μέρη τὰ περὶ Σούνιον ὑπερκειμένην ἔχει τὴν Ἀττικὴν σὺν τῇ Μεγαρικῇ μέχρι τοῦ Κρισαίου κόλπου· μετὰ δὲ ταύτην ἡ Βοιωτική ἐστι παραλία ἡ πρὸς Εὔβοιαν· ὑπέρκειται δ' αὐτῆς ἡ λοιπὴ Βοιωτία ἐπὶ δύσιν παράλληλος τῇ Ἀττικῇ. λέγει δὲ καὶ τὴν Ἐγνατίαν ὁδὸν τελευτᾶν εἰς Θεσσαλονίκειαν ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἰονίου κόλπου.

Fr. 14 e.

τῶν ταινιῶν, φησίν, ἀφοριοῦμεν πρώτους τοὺς περὶ Πηνειὸν οἰκοῦντας καὶ τὸν Ἁλιάκμονα πρὸς θαλάττῃ. ῥεῖ δ' ὁ Πηνειὸς ἐκ τοῦ Πίνδου ὄρους διὰ μέσης τῆς Θετταλίας πρὸς ἕω. διελθὼν δὲ τὰς τῶν Λαπιθῶν πόλεις καὶ Περραιβῶν τινας συνάπτει τοῖς Τέμπεσι, παραλαβὼν πλείους ποταμούς, ὧν καὶ ὁ Εὔρωπος, ὃν Τιταρήσιον εἶπεν ὁ ποιητής, τὰς πηγὰς ἔχοντα ἀπὸ τοῦ Τιταρίου ὄρους συμφυοῦς τῷ Ὀλύμπῳ, ὃ κἀντεῦθεν ἄρχεται διορίζειν τὴν Μακεδονίαν ἀπὸ τῆς Θετταλίας. ἔστι γὰρ τὰ Τέμπη στενὸς αὐλὼν μεταξὺ Ὀλύμπου καὶ Ὄσσης. φέρεται δ' ὁ Πηνειὸς ἀπὸ τῶν στενῶν τούτων ἐπὶ σταδίους τετταράκοντα, ἐν ἀριστερᾷ μὲν ἔχων τὸν Ὄλυμπον, Μακεδονικὸν ὄρος μετεωρότατον, ἐν δὲ δεξιᾷ τὴν Ὄσσαν, ἐγγὺσ τῶν ἐκβολῶν τοῦ ποταμοῦ. ἐπὶ μὲν δὴ ταῖς ἐκβολαῖς τοῦ Πηνειοῦ ἐν δεξιᾷ Γυρτὼν ἵδρυται, Περραιβικὴ πόλις καὶ Μαγνῆτις, ἐν ᾖ Πειρίθους τε καὶ Ἰξίων ἐβασίλευσαν· ἀπέχει δ' ὅσον σταδίους ἑκατὸν τῆς Γυρτῶνος πόλις Κραννών, καί φασιν, ὅταν εἴπῃ ὁ ποιητής

τὼ μὲν ἄρ' ἐκ Θρῄκησ

καὶ ἑξῆς, Ἐφύρους μὲν λέγεσθαι τοὺς Κραννωνίους, Φλεγύας δὲ τοὺς Γυρτωνίους· ἐπὶ δὲ θάτερα ἡ Πιερία.

Fr. 15 epit.

ὅτι ὁ Πηνειὸς ποταμός, ῥέων διὰ τῶν Τεμπῶν, καὶ ἀρχόμενος ἀπὸ τοῦ Πίνδου ὄρους, καὶ διὰ μέσης Θεσσαλίας καὶ τῶν Λαπιθῶν καὶ Περραιβῶν, δεχόμενός τε τὸν Εὔρωπον ποταμόν, ὃν Ὅμηρος Τιταρήσιον ὠνόμασε, διορίζει Μακεδονίαν μὲν πρὸς βορρᾶν, Θεσσαλίαν δὲ πρὸς νότον. αἱ δὲ τοῦ Εὐρώπου ποταμοῦ πηγαὶ ἐκ τοῦ Τιταρίου ὄρους ἄρχονται, ὅ ἐστι συνεχὲς τῷ Ὀλύμπῳ. καὶ ἔστιν ὁ μὲν Ὄλυμπος τῆς Μακεδονίας, ἡ δὲ Ὄσσα τῆς Θεσσαλίας καὶ τὸ Πήλιον.

Fr. 15a Eustathius on Il. 2.750.

Ἄρχεται δὲ κατὰ τὸν γεωγράφον ἐκ Πίνδου ὄρους ὁ Πηνειός, περὶ ὃ οἱ Περραιβοί. . . . περὶ δὲ Πηνειοῦ καὶ ταῦτα ἐν τοῖς τοῦ Στράβωνος φέρεται· Πηνειὸς ἄρχεται ἐκ Πίνδου· ἐν ἀριστερᾷ δ' ἀφεὶς Τρίκκην φέρεται περὶ Ἄτρακα καὶ Λάρισσαν καὶ τοὺς ἐν Θετταλίᾳ δεξάμενος ποταμοὺς πρόεισι διὰ τῶν Τεμπῶν. καὶ ὅτι διὰ μέσης ῥέει Θετταλίας πολλοὺς δεχόμενος ποταμούς, καὶ ὅτι Πηνειὸς φέρεται ἐν ἀριστερᾷ μὲν ἔχων Ὄλυμπον, ἐν δεξιᾷ δὲ Ὄσσαν. ἐπὶ δὲ ταῖς ἐκβολαῖς τοῦ Πηνειοῦ ἐν δεξιᾷ Μαγνῆτις πόλις ἡ Γυρτών, ἐν ᾖ Πειριθους καὶ Ἰξίων ἐβασίλευσαν· ἀπέχει δ' αὐτῆς οὐ πολὺ πόλις Κραννών, ἧς οἱ πολῖται Ἔφυροι ἑτερωνύμως, ὡς καὶ οἱ τῆς Γυρτῶνος Φλεγύαι.

Fr. 16 epit.

ὅτι ὑπὸ ταῖς ὑπωρείαις τοῦ Ὀλύμπου παρὰ τὸν Πηνειὸν ποταμὸν Γυρτὼν ἔστι, πόλις Περραιβικὴ καὶ Μαγνῆτις, ἐν ᾖ Πειρίθους τε καὶ Ἰξίων ἦρξαν. ἀπέχει δ' ἑκατὸν τῆς Γυρτῶνος πόλεως Κραννών, καί φασιν, ὅταν εἴπῃ ὁ ποιητής

τὼ μὲν ἄρ' ἐκ Θρῄκης,

Ἐφύρους μὲν λέγεσθαι τοὺς Κραννωνίους, Φλεγύας δὲ τοὺς Γυρτωνίους.

Fr. 16a Stephanus in Κραννών.

ἀπέχει δὲ σταδίους ἑκατὸν Γυρτῶνος ἡ Κραννὼν πόλις, ὥς φησι Στράβων.

Fr. 16b Stephanus v. Ὁμόλιον

Ὁμόλιον πόλις Μακεδονίας καὶ Μαγνησίας. Στράβων ἑβδόμῃ.

Fr. 16c Strab. 9.5.22

εἰρηται ἐν τοῖς Μακεδονικοῖς ὅτι ἐστὶ τὸ Ὁμόλιον πρὸς τῇ Ὄσσῃ κατὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς τοῦ Πηνειοῦ διὰ τῶν Τεμπῶν διεκβολῆς.

Fr. 16d Eustathius on Il. 2.659

διάφοροι δὲ Ἔφυραι, εἴπερ ὁ γεωγράφος καὶ εἰς ἐννέα ταύτας μετρεῖ.

Fr. 16e Eustathius on Il. 13.301; see also Strab. 9.5.19.

Γυρτῶνα δὲ πόλιν λέγει ὁ γεωγράφοσ Μαγνῆτιν πρὸς ταῖς τοῦ Πηνειοῦ ἐκβολαῖς.

Fr. 17 epit.

ὅτι τὸ Δῖον ἡ πόλις οὐκ ἐν τῷ αἰγιαλῷ τοῦ Θερμαίου κόλπου ἐστὶν ἐν ταῖς ὑπωρείαις τοῦ Ὀλύμπου, ἀλλ' ὅσον ἑπτὰ ἀπέχει σταδίους· ἔχει δ' ἡ πόλις τὸ Δῖον κώμην πλησίον Πίμπλειαν, ἔνθα Ὀρφεὺς διέτριβεν.

Fr. 18 e.

ὅτι ὑπὸ τῷ Ὀλύμπῳ πόλις Δῖον. ἔχει δὲ κώμην πλησίον Πίμπλειαν· ἐνταῦθα τὸν Ὀρφέα διατρῖψαί φησι τὸν Κίκονα, ἄνδρα γόητα, ἀπὸ μουσικῆς ἅμα καὶ μαντικῆς καὶ τῶν περὶ τὰς τελετὰς ὀργιασμῶν ἀγυρτεύοντα τὸ πρῶτον, εἶτ' ἤδη καὶ μειζόνων ἀξιοῦντα ἑαυτὸν καὶ ὄχλον καὶ δύναμιν κατασκευαζόμενον· τοὺς μὲν οὖν ἑκουσίως ἀποδέχεσθαι, τινὰς δ' ὑπιδομένους ἐπιβουλὴν καὶ βίαν ἐπισυστάντας διαφθεῖραι αὐτόν. ἐνταῦθα πλησίον καὶ τὰ Λείβηθρα.

Fr. 19 epit.

ὅτι τὸ παλαιὸν οἱ μάντεις καὶ μουσικὴν εἰργάζοντο.

Fr. 20 e.

μετὰ δὲ τὸ Δῖον αἱ τοῦ Ἁλιάκμονος ἐκβολαί· εἶτα Πύδνα Μεθώνη Ἄλωρος καὶ ὁ Ἐρίγων ποταμὸς καὶ Λουδίας, ὁ μὲν ἐκ Τρικλάρων ῥέων δι' Ὀρεστῶν καὶ τῆς Πελαγονίας ἐν ἀριστερᾷ ἀφιεὶς τὴν πόλιν καὶ συμβάλλων τῷ Ἀξιῷ· ὁ δὲ Λουδίας εἰς Πέλλαν ἀνάπλουν ἔχων σταδίων ἑκατὸν καὶ εἴκοσι. μέση δ' οὖσα ἡ Μεθώνη τῆς μὲν Πύδνης ὅσον τετταράκοντα σταδίων ἀπέχει, τῆς Ἀλώρου δὲ ἑβδομήκοντα. ἔστι δ'ἡ Ἄλωρος τὸ μυχαίτατον τοῦ Θερμαίου κόλπου· λέγεται δὲ Θεσσαλονίκεια διὰ τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν. τὴν μὲν οὖν Ἄλωρον Βοτταϊκὴν νομίζουσι, τὴν δὲ Πύδναν Πιερικήν. Πέλλα ἐστὶ μὲν τῆς κάτω Μακεδονίας ἣν Βοττιαῖοι κατεῖχον· ἐνταῦθ' ἦν πάλαι τὸ τῆς Μακεδονίας χρηματιστήριον· ηὔξησε τὴν πόλιν ἐκ μικρᾶς Φίλιππος τραφεὶς ἐν αὐτῇ. ἔχει δ' ἄκραν ἐν λίμνῃ τῇ καλουμένῃ Λουδίᾳ· ἐκ ταύτης ὁ Λουδίας ἐκδίδωσι ποταμός, αὐτὴν δὲ πληροῖ τοῦ Ἀξιοῦ τι ἀπόσπασμα. ὁ δὲ Ἀξιὸς ἐκδίδωσι μεταξὺ Χαλάστρας καὶ Θέρμης· ἐπίκειται δὲ τῷ ποταμῷ τούτῳ χωρίον ἐρυμνόν, ὃ νῦν μὲν καλεῖται Ἀβυδών, Ὅμηρος δ' Ἀμυδῶνα καλεῖ, καί φησι τοὺς Παίονας ἐντεῦθεν εἰς Τροίαν ἐπικούρους ἐλθεῖν

τηλόθεν ἐξ Ἀμυδῶνος ἀπ' Ἀξιοῦ εὐρυρέοντος.

κατεσκάφη δ' ὑπὸ τῶν Ἀργεαδῶν.

Fr. 20a Stephanus Byzantius, s.v. Ἀβυδών.

Ἀβυδών, Ἀβυδῶνος· χωρίον Μακεδονίας, ὡς Στράβων.

Fr. 21 e.

ὅτι ὁ Ἀξιὸς θολερὸς ῥεῖ· ὁ δ' Ὅμηρος Ἀξιοῦ κάλλιστον ὕδωρ φησίν, ἴσως διὰ τὴν πηγὴν τὴν καλουμένην Αἶαν, ἣ καθαρώτατον ἐκδιδοῦσα ὕδωρ εἰς τοῦτον ἐλέγχει φαύλην ὑπάρχουσαν τὴν νῦν φερομένην γραφὴν παρὰ τῷ ποιητῇ. μετὰ δὲ Ἀξιὸν Ἐχέδωρος ἐν σταδίοις εἴκοσιν· εἶτα Θεσσαλονίκεια Κασάνδρου κτίσμα ἐν ἄλλοις τετταράκοντα καὶ ἡ Ἐγνατία ὁδός. ἐπωνόμασε δὲ τὴν πόλιν ἀπὸ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ γυναικὸς Θεσσαλονίκης, Φιλίππου δὲ τοῦ Ἀμύντου θυγατρός, καθελὼν τὰ ἐν τῇ Κρουσίδι πολίσματα καὶ τὰ ἐν τῷ Θερμαίῳ κόλπῳ περὶ ἓξ καὶ εἴκοσι καὶ συνοικίσας εἰς ἕν· ἡ δὲ μητρόπολις τῆς νῦν Μακεδονίας ἐστί. τῶν δὲ συνοικισθεισῶν ἦν Ἀπολλωνία καὶ Χαλάστρα καὶ Θέρμα καὶ Γαρησκὸς καὶ Αἴνεια καὶ Κισσός, ὧν τὴν Κισσὸν ὑπονοήσειεν ἄν τις τῷ Κισσῇ προσήκειν, οὗ μέμνηται ὁ ποιητής

Κισσῆς τόν γ' ἔθρεψε,

τὸν Ἰφιδάμαντα λέγων.

Fr. 21a Stephanus Byzantius, s.v. Κρουσίς.

Κρουσίς· μοῖρα τῆς Μυγδονίας. Στράβων ἑβόμῃ.

Fr. 21b Stephanus Byzantius, s.v. Χαλάστρα.

Χαλάστρα· πόλις Θρᾴκης περὶ Θερμαῖον κόλπον . . . Στράβων δ' ἐν ἑβδόμῃ Μακεδονίας αὐτὴν καλεῖ.

Fr. 22 epit.

ὅτι μετὰ τὸ Δῖον πόλιν ὁ Ἁλιάκμων ποταμὸς ἔστιν, ἐκβάλλων εἰς τὸν Θερμαῖον κόλπον· καὶ τὸ ἀπὸ τούτου ἡ πρὸς βορρᾶν τοῦ κόλπου παραλία Πιερία καλεῖται ἕως τοῦ Ἀξιοῦ ποταμοῦ, ἐν ᾖ καὶ πόλις Πύδνα, ἣ νῦν Κίτρον καλεῖται· εἶτα Μεθώνη καὶ Ἄλωρος πόλεις· εἶτα Ἐρίγων καὶ Λουδίας ποταμοί· ἀπὸ δὲ Λουδίου εἰς Πέλλαν πόλιν ἀνάπλους στάδια ἑκατὸν εἴκοσιν. ἀπέχει δ' ἡ Μεθώνη τῆς μὲν Πύδνης στάδια τετταράκοντα, τῆς Ἀλώρου δὲ ἑβδομήκοντα στάδια. ἡ μὲν οὖν Πύδνα Πιερική ἐστι πόλις, ἡ δὲ Ἄλωρος Βοτταϊκή. ἐν μὲν οὖν τῷ πρὸ τῆς Πύδνης πεδίῳ Ῥωμαῖοι Περσέα καταπολεμήσαντες καθεῖλον τὴν τῶν Μακεδόνων βασιλείαν, ἐν δὲ τῷ πρὸ τῆς Μεθώνης πεδίῳ γενέσθαι συνέβη Φιλίππῳ τῷ Ἀμύντου τὴν ἐκκοπὴν τοῦ δεξιοῦ ὀφθαλμοῦ καταπελτικῷ βέλει κατὰ τὴν πολιορκίαν τῆς πόλεως.

Fr. 23 epit.

ὅτι τὴν Πέλλαν οὖσαν μικρὰν πρότερον Φίλιππος εἰς μῆκος ηὔξησε τραφεὶς ἐν αὐτῇ· ἔχει δὲ λίμνην πρὸ αὑτῆς, ἐξ ἧς ὁ Λουδίας ποταμὸς ῥεῖ· τὴν δὲ λίμνην πληροῖ τοῦ Ἀξιοῦ τι ποταμοῦ ἀπόσπασμα. εἶτα ὁ Ἀξιὸς διαιρῶν τήν τε Βοττιαίαν καὶ τὴν Ἀμφαξῖτιν γῆν, καὶ παραλαβὼν τὸν Ἐρίγωνα ποταμὸν ἐξίησι μεταξὺ Χαλάστρας καὶ Θέρμης· ἐπίκειται δὲ τῷ Ἀξιῷ ποταμῷ χωρίον, ὅπερ Ὅμηρος Ἀμυδῶνα καλεῖ, καί φησι τοὺς Παίονας ἐντεῦθεν εἰς Τροίαν ἐπικούρους ἐλθεῖν

τηλόθεν ἐξ Ἀμυδῶνος ἀπ' Ἀξιοῦ εὐρυρέοντος.

ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ ὁ μὲν Ἀξιὸς θολερός ἐστι, κρήνη δέ τις ἐξ Ἀμυδῶνος ἀνίσχουσα καὶ ἐπιμιγνυμένη αὐτῷ καλλίστου ὕδατος, διὰ τοῦτο τὸν ἑξῆς στίχον

Ἀξιοῦ, οὗ κάλλιστον ὕδωρ ἐπικίδναται Αἶαν

μεταγράφουσιν οὕτως

Ἀξιοῦ, ᾧ κάλλιστον ὕδωρ ἐπικίδναται Αἴης.

οὐ γὰρ τὸ τοῦ Ἀξιοῦ ὕδωρ κάλλιστον τῇ πηγῇ ἐπικίδναται, ἀλλὰ τὸ τῆς πηγῆς τῷ Ἀξιῷ.

Fr. 23a Eustathius ad Iliad 2.850

ἐν δὲ τῷ ἐπικίδναται αἴῃ ἢ αἶαν διττῶς γὰρ ἡ γραφἤ αἶαν τινὲς οὐ τὴν γῆν ἐνόησαν, ἀλλά τινα πηγήν, ὡς δῆλον ἐξ ὧν ὁ γεωγράφος φησί, λέγων ὅτι ἡ παρ' Ὁμήρῳ Ἀμυδὼν Ἀβυδὼν ὕστερον ἐκλήθη, κατεσκάφη δέ. πηγὴ δὲ πλησίον Ἀμυδῶνος Αἶα καλουμένη καθαρώτατον ὕδωρ ἐκδιδοῦσα εἰς τὸν Ἄξιον, ὃς ἐκ πολλῶν πληρούμενος ποταμῶν θολερὸς ῥέει. φαύλη οὖν, φησίν, ἡ φερομένη γραφὴ Ἀξίου κάλλιστον ὕδωρ ἐπικίδναται αἴῃ, ὡς δηλαδὴ οὐ τοῦ Ἀξίου ἐπικιδνάντος τὸ ὕδωρ τῇ πηγῇ, ἀλλ' ἀνάπαλιν· εἶτα ὑποδυσκόλως αἰτιώμενος ὁ γεωγράφος καὶ τὸ νοῆσαι τὴν αἶαν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἔοικε παντελῶς ἐθέλειν ἐκβαλεῖν τοῦ Ὁμηρικοῦ ἔπους τὴν τοιαύτην λέξιν.

Fr. 24 epit.

ὅτι μετὰ τὸν Ἀξιὸν ποταμὸν ἡ Θεσσαλονίκη ἐστὶ πόλις, ἣ πρότερον Θέρμη ἐκαλεῖτο· κτίσμα δ' ἐστὶ Κασσάνδρου, ὃς ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι τῆς ἑαυτοῦ γυναικός, παιδὸς δὲ Φιλίππου τοῦ Ἀμύντου, ὠνόμασε· μετῴκισε δὲ τὰ πέριξ πολίχνια εἰς αὐτήν, οἷον Χαλάστραν Αἴνειαν Κισσὸν καί τινα καὶ ἄλλα. ἐκ δὲ τοῦ Κισσοῦ τούτου ὑπονοήσειεν ἄν τις γενέσθαι καὶ τὸν παρ' Ὁμήρῳ Ἰφιδάμαντα, οὗ ὁ πάππος Κισσεὺς ἔθρεψεν αὐτὸν φησὶν ἐν Θρῄκῃ, ἣ νῦν Μακεδονία καλεῖται.

Fr. 25 3e.

ὅτι αὐτοῦ που καὶ τὸ Βέρμιον ὄρος, ὃ πρότερον κατεῖχον Βρίγες Θρᾳκῶν ἔθνος, ὧν τινες διαβάντες εἰς τὴν Ἀσίαν Φρύγες μετωνομάσθησαν· μετὰ δὲ Θεσσαλονίκειάν ἐστι τὰ λοιπὰ τοῦ Θερμαίου κόλπου μέχρι τοῦ Καναστραίου. τοῦτο δ' ἐστὶν ἄκρα χερρονησίζουσα, ἀνταίρουσα τῇ Μαγνήτιδι· ὄνομα δὲ τῇ χερρονήσῳ Παλλήνη· πενταστάδιον δ' ἔχει τὸν ἰσθμὸν διορωρυγμένον· κεῖται δ' ἐπ' αὐτῷ πόλις ἡ πρότερον μὲν Ποτίδαια, Κορινθίων κτίσμα, ὕστερον δὲ Κασάνδρεια ἀπὸ τοῦ αὐτοῦ βασιλέως Κασάνδρου ἀναλαβόντος αὐτὴν ἀνατετραμμένην· ὁ περίπλους ταύτης τῆς χερρονήσου πεντακοσίων καὶ ἑβδομήκοντα. ἔτι δὲ πρότερον τοὺς Γίγαντας ἐνταῦθα γενέσθαι φασὶ καὶ τὴν χώραν ὀνομάζεσθαι Φλέγραν οἱ μὲν μυθολογοῦντες οἱ δὲ πιθανώτερον ἔθνος τι βάρβαρον καὶ ἀσεβὲς ἀποφαίνοντες τὸ κατέχον τὸν τόπον, καταλυθὲν δ' ὑπὸ Ἡρακλέους, ἡνίκα τὴν Τροίαν ἑλὼν ἀνέπλει εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν. κἀνταῦθα δὲ τῆς λύμης αἱ Τρῳάδες αἴτιαι λέγονται, ἐμπρήσασαι τὰς ναῦς, ἵνα μὴ ταῖς γυναιξὶ τῶν ἑλόντων αὐτὰς δουλεύοιεν.

Fr. 25a Eustathius on Od. 1.101

ὅτι δὲ Βρίγες καὶ οἱ Φρύγες ἐλέγοντο, δηλοῖ ὁ γεωγράφος.

Fr. 26 epit.

ὅτι ἡ Βέροια πόλις ἐν ταῖς ὑπωρείαις κεῖται τοῦ Βερμίου ὄρους.

Fr. 27 epit.

ὅτι ἡ Παλλήνη χερρόνησος, ἧς ἐν τῷ ἰσθμῷ κεῖται ἡ πρὶν μὲν Ποτίδαια νῦν δὲ Κασσάνδρεια, Φλέγρα τὸ πρὶν ἐκαλεῖτο· ᾤκουν δ' αὐτὴν οἱ μυθευόμενοι Γίγαντες, ἔθνος ἀσεβὲς καὶ ἄνομον, οὓς Ἡρακλῆς διέφθειρεν· ἔχει δὲ πόλεις τέσσαρας, Ἄφυτιν Μένδην Σκιώνην Σάνην.

Fr. 27a Strab. 12.3.22

ὁ δὲ Σκήψιος Δημήτριος οὔτε τὴν τούτου Ἐφόροὖ δόξαν ἔοικεν ἀποδεξάμενος οὔτε τῶν περὶ τὴν Παλλήνην τοὺς Ἁλιζώνους ὑπολαβόντων, ὧν ἐμνήσθημεν ἐν τοῖς Μακεδονιδοῖς.

Fr. 28 3e.

ὅτι διεῖχε Ποτιδαίας Ὄλυνθος ἑβδομήκοντα σταδίους.

Fr. 29 epit.

ὅτι τῆς Ὀλύνθου ἐπίνειόν ἐστι Μηκύπερνα ἐν τῷ Τορωναίῳ κόλπῳ.

Fr. 30 epit.

ὅτι πλησίον Ὀλύνθου χωρίον ἐστὶ κοῖλον, καλούμενον Κανθαρώλεθρον ἐκ τοῦ συμβεβηκότος· τὸ γὰρ ζῷον ὁ κάνθαρος τῆς πέριξ χώρας γινόμενος, ἡνίκα ψαύσῃ τοῦ χωρίου ἐκείνου, διαφθείρεται.

Fr. 31 3e.

μετὰ δὲ Κασάνδρειαν ἐφεξῆς ἡ λοιπὴ τοῦ Τορωνικοῦ κόλπου παραλία μέχρι Δέρρεως· ἄκρα δ' ἐστὶν ἀνταίρουσα τῷ Καναστραίῳ καὶ ποιοῦσα τὸν κόλπον. ἀπαντικρὺ δὲ τῆς Δέρρεως πρὸς ἕω τὰ ἄκρα τοῦ Ἄθω, μεταξὺ δὲ ὁ Σιγγικὸς κόλπος ἀπὸ τῆς ἐν αὐτῷ πόλεως ἀρχαίας κατεσκαμμένης Σίγγου τοὔνομα. μεθ' ἣν Ἄκανθος ἐπὶ τῷ ἰσθμῷ τοῦ Ἄθω κειμένη πόλις, Ἀνδρίων κτίσμα, ἀφ' ἧς συχνοὶ καὶ τὸν κόλπον Ἀκάνθιον καλοῦσι.

Fr. 32 epit.

ὅτι ἀντικρὺ Κανάστρου, ἄκρου τῆς Παλλήνης, ἡ Δέρρις ἐστὶν ἄκρα πλησίον Κωφοῦ λιμένος, καὶ ὁ Τορωναῖος κόλπος ὑπὸ τούτων ἀφορίζεται. καὶ πρὸς ἀνατολὰς αὖθις κεῖται τὸ ἄκρον τοῦ Ἄθωνος, ὃ ἀφορίζει τὸν Σιγγιτικὸν κόλπον, ὡς εἶναι ἐφεξῆς κόλπους τοῦ Αἰγαίου πελάγους πρὸς βορρᾶν, ἀλλήλων ἀπέχοντας οὕτως, Μαλιακὸν Παγασιτικὸν Θερμαῖον Τορωναῖον Σιγγιτικὸν Στρυμονικόν. τὰ δὲ ἄκρα Ποσείδιον μὲν τὸ μεταξὺ Μαλιακοῦ καὶ Παγασιτικοῦ, τὸ δὲ ἐφεξῆς πρὸς βορρᾶν Σηπιάς, εἶτα τὸ ἐν Παλλήνῃ Κάναστρον, εἶτα Δέρρις, εἶτα Νυμφαῖον ἐν τῷ Ἄθωνι πρὸς τῷ Σιγγιτικῷ, τὸ δὲ πρὸς τῷ Στρυμονικῷ Ἀκράθως ἄκρον, ὧν μεταξὺ ὁ Ἄθων, οὗ πρὸς ἀνατολὰς ἡ Λῆμνος· πρὸς δὲ βορρᾶν ἀφορίζει τὸν Στρυμονικὸν κόλπον ἡ Νεάπολις.

Fr. 33 epit.

ὅτι Ἄκανθος πόλις ἐν τῷ Σιγγιτικῷ κόλπῳ ἐστὶ παράλιος πλησίον τῆς τοῦ Ξέρξου διώρυχος· ἔχει δ' ὁ Ἄθων πέντε πόλεις, Δῖον Κλεωνὰς Θύσσον Ὀλόφυξιν Ἀκροθώους· αὕτη δὲ πρὸς τῇ κορυφῇ τοῦ Ἄθωνος κεῖται. ἔστι δ' ὁ Ἄθων ὄρος μαστοειδὲς ὀξύτατον ὑψηλότατον· οὗ οἱ τὴν κορυφὴν οἰκοῦντες ὁρῶσι τὸν ἥλιον ἀνατέλλοντα πρὸ ὡρῶν τριῶν τῆς ἐν τῇ παραλίᾳ ἀνατολῆς. καὶ ἔστιν ἀπὸ πόλεως τῆς Ἀκάνθου ὁ περίπλους τῆς χερρονήσου ἕως Σταγείρου, πόλεως τοῦ Ἀριστοτέλους, στάδια τετρακόσια, ἐν ᾖ λιμὴν ὄνομα Κάπρος καὶ νησίον ὁμώνυμον τῷ λιμένι· εἶτα αἱ τοῦ Στρυμόνος ἐκβολαί· εἶτα Φάγρης Γαληψὸς Ἀπολλωνία, πᾶσαι πόλεις· εἶτα τὸ Νέστου στόμα τοῦ διορίζοντος Μακεδονίαν καὶ Θρᾴκην, ὡς Φίλιππος καὶ Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ τούτου παῖς διώριζον ἐν τοῖς κατ' αὐτοὺς χρόνοις. εἰσὶ δὲ περὶ τὸν Στρυμονικὸν κόλπον πόλεις καὶ ἕτεραι, οἷον Μύρκινος Ἄργιλος Δραβῆσκος Δάτον, ὅπερ καὶ ἀρίστην ἔχει χώραν καὶ εὔκαρπον καὶ ναυπήγια καὶ χρυσοῦ μέταλλα· ἀφ' οὗ καὶ παροιμία “Δάτον ἀγαθῶν,” ὡς καὶ “ἀγαθῶν ἀγαθῖδας.”

Fr. 34 epit.

ὅτι πλεῖστα μέταλλά ἐστι χρυσοῦ ἐν ταῖς Κρηνίσιν, ὅπου νῦν οἱ Φίλιπποι πόλις ἵδρυται, πλησίον τοῦ Παγγαίου ὄρους· καὶ αὐτὸ δὲ τὸ Παγγαῖον ὄρος χρυσεῖα καὶ ἀργυρεῖα ἔχει μέταλλα καὶ ἡ πέραν καὶ ἡ ἐντὸς τοῦ Στρυμόνος ποταμοῦ μέχρι Παιονίας· φασὶ δὲ καὶ τοὺς τὴν Παιονίαν γῆν ἀροῦντας εὑρίσκειν χρυσοῦ τινα μόρια.

Fr. 35 3e.

ἔστι δ' ὁ Ἄθως ὄρος ὑψηλὸν καὶ μαστοειδές, ὥστε τοὺς ἐν ταῖς κορυφαῖς ἤδη ἀνίσχοντος ἡλίου κάμνειν ἀροῦντας, ἡνίκα ἀλεκτοροφωνίας ἀρχὴ παρὰ τοῖς τὴν ἀκτὴν οἰκοῦσίν ἐστιν. ἐν δὲ τῇ ἀκτῇ ταύτῃ Θάμυρις ὁ Θρᾷξ ἐβασίλευσε, τῶν αὐτῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων γεγονὼς ὧν καὶ Ὀρφεύς. ἐνταῦθα δὲ καὶ διῶρυξ δείκνυται ἡ περὶ τὴν Ἄκανθον, καθ' ἣν Ξέρξης τὸν Ἄθω διορύξαι λέγεται καὶ διαγαγεῖν ἐκ τοῦ Στρυμονικοῦ κόλπου διὰ τοῦ ἰσθμοῦ, δεξάμενος τὴν θάλασσαν εἰς τὴν διώρυγα. Δημήτριος δ' ὁ Σκήψιος οὐκ οἴεται πλευσθῆναι τὴν διώρυγα ταύτην· μέχρι μὲν γὰρ δέκα σταδίων εὔγεων καὶ ὀρυκτὴν εἶναι, διορωρύχθαι δ' ἐπὶ πλάτος πλεθριαῖον, εἶθ' ὑψηλὸν εἶναι πλαταμῶνα σταδιαῖον σχεδόν τι τὸ μῆκος, ὅσον οὐκ ἐνὸν ἐκλατομηθῆναι δι' ὅλου μέχρι θαλάσσης· εἰ δὲ καὶ μέχρι δεῦρο, οὔ γε καὶ κατὰ βυθοῦ ὥστε πόρον γενέσθαι πλωτόν· ὅπου Ἀλέξαρχον τὸν Ἀντιπάτρου πόλιν ὑποδείμασθαι τὴν Οὐρανόπολιν τριάκοντα σταδίων τὸν κύκλον ἔχουσαν. ᾤκησαν δὲ τὴν χερρόνησον ταύτην τῶν ἐκ Λήμνου Πελασγῶν τινες, εἰς πέντε διῃρημένοι πολίσματα, Κλεωνὰς Ὀλόφυξιν Ἀκροθώους Δῖον Θύσσον. μετὰ δὲ Ἄθω ὁ Στρυμονικὸς κόλπος μέχρι Νέστου τοῦ ποταμοῦ τοῦ ἀφορίζοντος τὴν κατὰ Φίλιππον καὶ Ἀλέξανδρον Μακεδονίαν· εἰς μέντοι τἀκριβὲς ἄκρα τίς ἐστιν ἡ ποιοῦσα τὸν κόλπον πρὸς τὸν Ἄθω, πόλιν ἐσχηκυῖα τὴν Ἀπολλωνίαν. ἐν δὲ τῷ κόλπῳ πρώτη μετὰ τὸν Ἀκανθίων λιμένα Στάγειρα, ἔρημος, καὶ αὐτὴ τῶν Χαλκιδικῶν, Ἀριστοτέλους πατρίς, καὶ λιμὴν αὐτῆς Κάπρος καὶ νησίον ὁμώνυμον τούτῳ· εἶθ' ὁ Στρυμὼν καὶ ὁ ἀνάπλους εἰς Ἀμφίπολιν εἴκοσι σταδίων· ἔστι δ' Ἀθηναίων κτίσμα ἐν τῷ τόπῳ ἱδρυμένον τούτῳ, ὃς καλεῖται Ἐννέα ὁδοί· εἶτα Γαληψὸς καὶ Ἀπολλωνία, κατεσκαμμέναι ὑπὸ Φιλίππου.

Fr. 36 3e.

ἀπὸ Πηνειοῦ φησὶν εἰς Πύδναν σταδίους ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι. παρὰ δὲ τὴν παραλίαν τοῦ Στρυμόνος καὶ Δατηνῶν πόλις Νεάπολις καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ Δάτον, εὔκαρπα πεδία καὶ λίμνην καὶ ποταμοὺς καὶ ναυπήγια καὶ χρυσεῖα λυσιτελῆ ἔχον, ἀφ' οὗ καὶ παροιμιάζονται “Δάτον ἀγαθῶν” ὡς καὶ “ἀγαθῶν ἀγαθῖδας.” ἔστι δ' ἡ χώρα ἡ πρὸς τὸ Στρυμόνος πέραν, ἡ μὲν ἐπὶ τῇ θαλάττῃ καὶ τοῖς περὶ Δάτον τόποις Ὀδόμαντες καὶ Ἠδωνοὶ καὶ Βισάλται, οἵ τε αὐτόχθονες καὶ οἱ ἐκ Μακεδονίας διαβάντες, ἐν οἷς Ῥῆσος ἐβασίλευσεν. ὑπὲρ δὲ τῆς Ἀμφιπόλεως Βισάλται καὶ μέχρι πόλεως Ἡρακλείας, ἔχοντες αὐλῶνα εὔκαρπον, ὃν διαρρεῖ ὁ Στρυμὼν ὡρμημένος ἐκ τῶν περὶ Ῥοδόπην Ἀγριάνων, οἷς παράκειται τῆς Μακεδονίας ἡ Παρορβηλία, ἐν μεσογαίᾳ ἔχουσα κατὰ τὸν αὐλῶνα τὸν ἀπὸ Εἰδομένης Καλλίπολιν Ὀρθόπολιν Φιλιππούπολιν Γαρησκόν. ἐν δὲ τοῖς Βισάλταις ἀνὰ ποταμὸν ἰόντι τὸν Στρυμόνα καὶ ἡ Βέργη ἵδρυται, κώμη ἀπέχουσα Ἀμφιπόλεως περὶ διακοσίους σταδίους. ἐπὶ δὲ ἄρκτους ἰόντι ἀπὸ Ἡρακλείας καὶ τὰ στενὰ δι' ὧν ὁ Στρυμὼν φέρεται, δεξιὸν ἔχοντι τὸν ποταμὸν ἐκ μὲν τῶν εὐωνύμων ἐστὶν ἡ Παιονία καὶ τὰ περὶ τὸν Δόβηρον καὶ τὴν Ῥοδόπην καὶ τὸν Αἷμον ὄρος, ἐν δεξιᾷ δὲ τὰ περὶ τὸν Αἷμον. ἐντὸς δὲ τοῦ Στρυμόνος πρὸς αὐτῷ μὲν τῷ ποταμῷ ἡ Σκοτοῦσσα ἔστι, πρὸς δὲ τῇ λίμνῃ τῇ Βόλβῃ Ἀρέθουσα. καὶ δὴ καὶ μάλιστα λέγονται Μυγδόνες οἱ περὶ τὴν λίμνην. οὐ μόνον δ' ὁ Ἀξιὸς ἐκ Παιόνων ἔχει τὴν ῥύσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ Στρυμών· ἐξ Ἀγριάνων γὰρ διὰ Μαίδων καὶ Σιντῶν εἰς τὰ μεταξὺ Βισαλτῶν καὶ Ὀδομάντων ἐκπίπτει.

Fr. 37 epit.

ὅτι ὁ Στρυμὼν ποταμὸς ἄρχεται ἐκ τῶν περὶ τὴν Ῥοδόπην Ἀγριάνων.

Fr. 38 3e.

τοὺς δὲ Παίονας οἱ μὲν ἀποίκους Φρυγῶν οἱ δ' ἀρχηγέτας ἀποφαίνουσι, καὶ τὴν Παιονίαν μέχρι Πελαγονίας καὶ Πιερίας ἐκτετάσθαι φασί· καλεῖσθαι δὲ πρότερον Ὀρεστίαν τὴν Πελαγονίαν, τὸν δὲ Ἀστεροπαῖον, ἕνα τῶν ἐκ Παιονίας στρατευσάντων ἐπ' Ἴλιον ἡγεμόνων, οὐκ ἀπεικότως υἱὸν λέγεσθαι Πηλεγόνος, καὶ αὐτοὺς τοὺς Παίονας καλεῖσθαι Πελαγόνας.

Fr. 39 epit.

ὅτι ὁ παρ' Ὁμήρῳ

Ἀστεροπαῖος υἱὸς Πηλεγόνος

ἐκ Παιονίας ὢν τῆς ἐν Μακεδονίᾳ ἱστορεῖται· διὸ καὶ Πηλεγόνος υἱός· οἱ γὰρ Παίονες Πελαγόνες ἐκαλοῦντο.

Fr. 40 3e.

ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ παιανισμὸς τῶν Θρᾳκῶν τιτανισμὸς ὑπὸ τῶν Ἑλλήνων λέγεται κατὰ μίμησιν τῆς ἐν παιᾶσι φωνῆς, καὶ οἱ Τιτᾶνες ἐκλήθησαν Πηλαγόνες.

Fr. 41 3e.

ὅτι καὶ πάλαι καὶ νῦν οἱ Παίονες φαίνονται πολλὴν τῆς νῦν Μακεδονίας κατεσχηκότες, ὡς καὶ Πέρινθον πολιορκῆσαι, καὶ Κρηστωνίαν καὶ Μυγδονίδα πᾶσαν καὶ τὴν Ἀγριάνων μέχρι Παγγαίου ὑπ' αὐτοῖς γενέσθαι. τῆς δ' ἐν τῷ Στρυμονικῷ κόλπῳ παραλίας τῆς ἀπὸ Γαληψοῦ μέχρι Νέστου ὑπέρκεινται οἱ Φίλιπποι καὶ τὰ περὶ Φιλίππους. οἱ δὲ Φίλιπποι Κρηνίδες ἐκαλοῦντο πρότερον, κατοικία μικρά· ηὐξήθη δὲ μετὰ τὴν περὶ Βροῦτον καὶ Κάσσιον ἧτταν.

Fr. 42 epit.

ὅτι οἱ νῦν Φίλιπποι πόλις Κρηνίδες ἐκαλοῦντο τὸ παλαιόν.

Fr. 43 3e.

πρόκεινται δὲ τῆς παραλίας ταύτης δύο νῆσοι, Λῆμνος καὶ Θάσος. μετὰ δὲ τὸν εἰς Θάσον πορθμὸν Ἄβδηρα καὶ τὰ περὶ Ἀβδήρου μυθευόμενα. ᾤκησαν δ' αὐτὴν Βίστονες Θρᾷκες, ὧν Διομήδης ἦρχεν· οὐ μένει δ' ὁ Νέστος ἐπὶ ταὐτοῦ ῥείθρου διὰ παντός, ἀλλὰ κατακλύζει τὴν χώραν πολλάκις. εἶτα Δίκαια πόλις ἐν κόλπῳ κειμένη καὶ λιμήν· ὑπέρκειται δὲ τούτων ἡ Βιστονὶς λίμνη κύκλον ἔχουσα ὅσον διακοσίων σταδίων. φασὶ δὲ τοῦ πεδίου κοίλου παντάπασιν ὄντος καὶ ταπεινοτέρου τῆς θαλάττης ἱπποκρατούμενον τὸν Ἡρακλέα, ἡνίκα ἦλθεν ἐπὶ τὰς τοῦ Διομήδους ἵππους, διορύξαι τὴν ᾐόνα καὶ τὴν θάλατταν ἐπαφέντα τῷ πεδίῳ κρατῆσαι τῶν ἐναντίων. δείκνυται δὲ καὶ τὸ βασίλειον Διομήδους ἀπὸ συμβεβηκότος καλούμενον Καρτερὰ κώμη διὰ τὴν ἐρυμνότητα. μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἀνὰ μέσον λίμνην Ξάνθεια Μαρώνεια καὶ Ἴσμαρος, αἱ τῶν Κικόνων πόλεις· καλεῖται δὲ νῦν Ἰσμάρα πλησίον τῆς Μαρωνείας· πλησίον δὲ καὶ ἡ Ἰσμαρὶς ἐξίησι λίμνη· καλεῖται δὲ τὸ ῥεῖθρον ἠδύ . . . γειον· αὐτοῦ δὲ καὶ αἱ Θασίων λεγόμεναι κεφαλαί. Σαπαῖοι δ' εἰσὶν οἱ ὑπερκείμενοι.

Fr. 44 3e.

ὅτι τὰ Τόπειρά ἐστι πρὸς Ἀβδήροις καὶ Μαρωνείᾳ.

Fr. 44a Eustathius on Od. 9.30

ἡ ῥηθεῖσα Ἴσμαρος ἡ καὶ Ἴσμαρα ὕστερον, Κικόνων, φασί, πόλις, ἐγγὺς Μαρωνείας, ἔνθα καὶ λίμνη, ἧς τὸ ῥεῖθρον Ὀδύσσειον καλεῖται. ἐκεῖ δὲ καὶ Μάρωνος ἡρῷον, ὡς ὁ γεωγράφος ἱστορεῖ.

Fr. 45 epit.

ὅτι Σιντοὶ ἔθνος Θρᾳκικὸν κατῴκει τὴν Δῆμνον νῆσον· ὅθεν Ὅμηρος Σίντιας αὐτοὺς καλεῖ λέγων

ἔνθα με Σίντιες ἄνδρες.

Fr. 45a Stephanus Byzantinus, s.v. Λῆμνος.

Λῆμνος· ὠκίσθη δὲ πρῶτον ὑπὸ Θρᾳκῶν, οἳ Σίντιες ἐκαλοῦντο, ὡς Στράβων.

Fr. 46 epit.

ὅτι μετὰ τὸν Νέστον ποταμὸν πρὸς ἀνατολὰς Ἄβδηρα πόλις, ἐπώνυμος Ἀβδήρου, ὃν οἱ τοῦ Διομήδους ἵπποι ἔφαγον· εἶτα Δίκαια πόλις πλησίον, ἧς ὑπέρκειται λίμνη μεγάλη ἡ Βιστονίς· εἶτα πόλις Μαρώνεια.

Fr. 47 3e.

ἔστι δ' ἡ Θρᾴκη σύμπασα ἐκ δυεῖν καὶ εἴκοσιν ἐθνῶν συνεστῶσα· δύναται δὲ στέλλειν καίπερ οὖσα περισσῶς ἐκπεπονημένη μυρίους καὶ πεντακισχιλίους ἱππέας, πεζῶν δὲ καὶ εἴκοσι μυριάδας. μετὰ δὲ τὴν Μαρώνειαν Ὀρθαγόρεια πόλις καὶ τὰ περὶ Σέρριον, παράπλους τραχύς, καὶ τὸ τῶν Σαμοθρᾴκων πολίχνιον Τέμπυρα καὶ ἄλλο Χαράκωμα, οὗ πρόκειται ἡ Σαμοθρᾴκη νῆσος, καὶ Ἴμβρος οὐ πολὺ ἄπωθεν ταύτης· πλέον δ' ἢ διπλάσιον ἡ Θάσος. ἀπὸ δὲ Χαρακώματος Δορίσκος, ὅπου ἐμέτρησε Ξέρξης τῆς στρατιᾶς τὸ πλῆθος. εἶθ' Ἕβρος ἀνάπλουν ἔχων εἰς Κύψελα ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι· τῆς Μακεδονίας φησὶ τοῦτο ὅριον, ἣν ἀφείλοντο Περσέα Ῥωμαῖοι καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα τὸν Ψευδοφίλιππον. Παῦλος μὲν οὖν ὁ τὸν Περσέα ἑλὼν συνάψας τῇ Μακεδονίᾳ καὶ τὰ Ἠπειρωτικὰ ἔθνη εἰς τέτταρα μέρη διέταξε τὴν χώραν, καὶ τὸ μὲν προσένειμεν Ἀμφιπόλει, τὸ δὲ Θεσσαλονικείᾳ, τὸ δὲ Πέλλῃ, τὸ δὲ Πελαγόσι. παροικοῦσι δὲ τὸν Ἕβρον Κορπῖλοι καὶ Βρέναι ἔτι ἀνωτέρω, εἶτ' ἔσχατοι Βέσσοι· μέχρι γὰρ δεῦρο ὁ ἀνάπλους. ἅπαντα δὲ τὰ ἔθνη λῃστρικὰ ταῦτα, μάλιστα δ' οἱ Βέσσοι, οὓς λέγει γειτονεύειν Ὀδρύσαις καὶ Σαπαίοις. Ἀστῶν δὲ βασίλειον ἦν Βιζύη. Ὀδρύσας δὲ καλοῦσιν ἔνιοι πάντας τοὺς ἀπὸ Ἕβρου καὶ Κυψέλων μέχρι Ὀδησσοῦ τῆς παραλίας ὑπεροικοῦντας, ὧν ἐβασίλευσεν Ἀμάδοκος καὶ Κερσοβλέπτης καὶ Βηρισάδης καὶ Σεύθης καὶ Κότυς.

Fr. 47a Stephanus Byzantinus, s.v. Ὀδρύσαι.

Ὀδρύσαι· ἔθνος Θρᾳκης. Στράβων ἑβδόμῃ.

Fr. 47b Eustathius on Il. 2.844

ὁ δὲ γεωγράφος καὶ τὸ πολὺ τῆς Θρᾳκικῆς περιοχῆς δηλῶν λέγει ὡς ἡ Θρᾴκη σύμπασα ἐκ δύο καὶ εἴκοσι ἐθνῶν συνέστηκεν.

Fr. 48 epit.

ὅτι ὁ νῦν ποταμὸς Ῥιγινία ἐν Θρᾴκῃ καλούμενος Ἐρίγων ἦν καλούμενος.

Fr. 49 epit.

ὅτι τὴν Σαμοθρᾴκην Ἰασίων καὶ Δάρδανος ἀδελφοὶ ᾤκουν· κεραυνωθέντος δὲ Ἰασίωνος διὰ τὴν εἰς Δήμητρα ἁμαρτίαν, ὁ Δάρδανος ἀπάρας ἐκ Σαμοθρᾴκης, ἐλθὼν ᾤκησεν ἐν τῇ ὑπωρείᾳ τῆς Ἴδης, τὴν πόλιν Δαρδανίαν καλέσας, καὶ ἐδίδαξε τοὺς Τρῶας τὰ ἐν Σαμοθρᾴκῃ μυστήρια· ἐκαλεῖτο δὲ ἡ Σαμοθρᾴκη Σάμος πρίν.

Fr. 50 3e.

ὅτι τοὺς ἐν τῇ Σαμοθρᾴκῃ τιμωμένους θεοὺς εἰρήκασι πολλοὶ τοὺς αὐτοὺς τοῖς Καβείροις, οὐδ' αὐτοὺς ἔχοντες λέγειν τοὺς Καβείρους οἵτινές εἰσι, καθάπερ τοὺς Κύρβαντας καὶ Κορύβαντας, ὡς δ' αὕτως Κουρῆτας καὶ Ἰδαίους Δακτύλους.

Fr. 50a Eustathius on Il. 13.12

ἡ Θρᾳκικὴ αὕτη κατὰ τὸν γεωγράφου Σάμος καλεῖται διὰ τὸ ὕψος. σάμοι γάρ, φησί, τὰ ὕψη . . . λέγει δὲ ὁ γεωγράφος ὅτι Σάμιοι ἐκ Μυκάλης πάλαι ᾦκισαν ἐν αὐτῇ, ἐρημωθείσῃ κατὰ ἀφορίαν καρπῶν, ὥστε καὶ οὕτω κληθῆναι Σάμον. . . . ἱστορεῖ δὲ ὁ γεωγράφος καὶ Μελίτην πρότερον τὴν Σαμοθρᾴκην καλεῖσθαι καὶ πλουσίαν δὲ εἶναι. Κίλικες γὰρ, φησί, πειραταὶ προσπεσόντες λάθρᾳ τὸ ἐν Σαμοθρᾴκῃ ἐσύλησαν ἱερὸν καὶ ἀπήνεγκαν τάλαντα πλείω χιλίων.

Fr. 51 3e.

πρὸς δὲ τῇ ἐκβολῇ τοῦ Ἕβρου διστόμου ὄντος πόλις Αἶνος ἐν τῷ Μέλανι κόλπῳ κεῖται, κτίσμα Μιτυληναίων καὶ Κυμαίων, ἔτι δὲ πρότερον Ἀλωπεκοννησίων· εἶτ' ἄκρα Σαρπηδών· εἶθ' ἡ Χερρόνησος ἡ Θρᾳκία καλουμένη, ποιοῦσα τήν τε Προποντίδα καὶ τὸν Μέλανα κόλπον καὶ τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον· ἄκρα γὰρ ἔκκειται πρὸς εὐρόνοτον, συνάπτουσα τὴν Εὐρώπην πρὸς τὴν Ἀσίαν ἑπτασταδίῳ πορθμῷ τῷ κατὰ Ἄβυδον καὶ Σηστόν, ἐν ἀριστερᾷ μὲν τὴν Προποντίδα ἔχουσα, ἐν δεξιᾷ δὲ τὸν Μέλανα κόλπον καλούμενον οὕτως ἀπὸ τοῦ Μέλανος ἐκδιδόντος εἰς αὐτόν, καθάπερ Ἡρόδοτος καὶ Εὔδοξος· εἴρηκε δέ, φησίν, ὁ Ἡρόδοτος μὴ ἀνταρκέσαι τὸ ῥεῖθρον τῇ Ξέρξου στρατιᾷ τοῦτο· ἰσθμῷ δὲ κλείεται τετταράκοντα σταδίων ἡ λεχθεῖσα ἄκρα ἐν μέσῳ μὲν οὖν τοῦ ἰσθμοῦ Λυσιμάχεια πόλις ἵδρυται ἐπώνυμος τοῦ κτίσαντος βασιλέως· ἑκατέρωθεν δ' ἐπὶ μὲν τῷ Μέλανι κόλπῳ Καρδία κεῖται μεγίστη τῶν ἐν τῇ Χερρονήσῳ πόλεων, Μιλησίων καὶ Κλαζομενίων κτίσμα, ὕστερον δὲ καὶ Ἀθηναίων· ἐν δὲ τῇ Προποντίδι Πακτύη. μετὰ δὲ Καρδίαν Δράβος καὶ Λίμναι· εἶτ' Ἀλωπεκόννησος, εἰς ἣν τελευτᾷ μάλιστα ὁ Μέλας κόλπος· εἶτ' ἄκρα μεγάλη Μαζουσία· εἶτ' ἐν κόλπῳ Ἐλαιοῦς, ὅπου τὸ Πρωτεσιλάειον, καθ' ὃ τὸ Σίγειον ἀπὸ τετταράκοντα σταδίων ἐστίν, ἄκρα τῆς Τρῳάδος· καὶ σχεδὸν τοῦτ' ἔστι τὸ νοτιώτατον ἄκρον τῆς Χερρονήσου, σταδίους μικρῷ πλείους τῶν τετρακοσίων ἀπὸ Καρδίας· καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ δ' ἐπὶ θάτερον μέρος τοῦ ἰσθμοῦ μικρῷ τοῦ διαστήματος τούτου πλείους περιπλέοντι.

Fr. 51a Stephanus Byzantinus, s.v. Αἶνος

Αἶνος· πόλις Θρᾴκης, Ἄψυνθος καλουμένη. Στράβων ζ · ἐν δὲ τῇ ἐκβολῇ τοῦ Ἕβρου διστόμου ὄντος πόλις Αἶνος, καὶ κτίσμα Κυμαίων, κληθῆναι δὲ αὐτὴν ὅτι πλησίον τῆς Ὄσσης ἦν Αἴνιος ποταμὸς καὶ κώμη ὁμώνυμος.

Fr. 52 epit.

ὅτι ἡ ἐν Θρᾴκῃ Χερρόνησος τρεῖς ποιεῖ θαλάσσας· Προποντίδα ἐκ βορρᾶ, Ἑλλήσποντον ἐξ ἀνατολῶν καὶ τὸν Μέλανα κόλπον ἐκ νότου, ὅπου καὶ ὁ Μέλας ποταμὸς ἐκβάλλει, ὁμώνυμος τῷ κόλπῳ.

Fr. 53 epit.

ὅτι ἐν τῷ ἰσθμῷ τῆς Χερρονήσου τρεῖς πόλεις κεῖνται· πρὸς μὲν τῷ Μέλανι κόλπῳ Καρδία, πρὸς δὲ τῇ Προποντίδι Πακτύη, πρὸς δὲ τῇ μεσογαίᾳ Λυσιμάχεια· μῆκος τοῦ ἰσθμοῦ στάδια τετταράκοντα.

Fr. 54 epit.

ὅτι ἡ πόλις ὁ Ἐλεοῦς ἀρσενικῶς λέγεται· τάχα δὲ καὶ ὁ Τραπεζοῦς.

Fr. 55 3e.

ἔστι δ' ἐν τῷ περίπλῳ τούτῳ τῷ μετὰ Ἐλαιοῦντα ἡ εἰσβολὴ πρῶτον ἡ εἰς τὴν Προποντίδα διὰ τῶν στενῶν, ἥν φασιν ἀρχὴν εἶναι τοῦ Ἑλλησπόντου· ἐνταῦθα δ' ἐστὶ τὸ Κυνὸς σῆμα ἄκρα, οἱ δ' Ἑκάβης φασί· καὶ γὰρ δείκνυται κάμψαντι τὴν ἄκραν τάφος αὐτῆς. εἶτα Μάδυτος καὶ Σηστιὰς ἄκρα, καθ' ἣν τὸ Ξέρξου ζεῦγμα, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα Σηστός. ἀπὸ δὲ Ἐλαιοῦντος ἐπὶ τὸ ζεῦγμα ἑκατὸν ἑβδομήκοντα· μετὰ δὲ Σηστὸν ἐπὶ Αἰγὸς ποταμοὺς διακόσιοι ὀγδοήκοντα, πολίχνην κατεσκαμμένην, ὅπου φασὶ τὸν λίθον πεσεῖν κατὰ τὰ Περσικά· εἶτα Καλλίπολις, ἀφ' ἧς εἰς Λάμψακον δίαρμα εἰς τὴν Ἀσίαν τετταράκοντα· εἶτα πολίχνιον κατεσκαμμένον Κριθωτή· εἶτα Πακτύη· εἶτα τὸ Μακρὸν τεῖχος καὶ Λευκὴ ἀκτὴ καὶ τὸ Ἱερὸν ὄρος καὶ Πέρινθος, Σαμίων κτίσμα· εἶτα Σηλυβρία. ὑπέρκειται δ' αὐτῶν Σίλτα, καὶ τὸ Ἱερὸν ὄρος τιμᾶται ὑπὸ τῶν ἐγχωρίων καὶ ἔστιν οἷον ἀκρόπολις τῆς χώρας. ἄσφαλτον δ' ἐξίησιν εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν, καθ' ὃν τόπον ἡ Προκόννησος ἐγγυτάτω τῆς γῆς ἐστι ἀπὸ ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι σταδίων, τὸ μέταλλον ἔχουσα τῆς λευκῆς μαρμάρου πολύ τε καὶ σπουδαῖον. μετὰ δὲ Σηλυβρίαν Ἀθύρας ἐστὶ ποταμὸς καὶ Βαθυνίας· εἶτα Βυζάντιον καὶ τὰ ἐφεξῆς μέχρι Κυανέων πετρῶν.

Fr. 55a Strab. 13.1.22

περὶ δὲ Σηστοῦ καὶ τῆς ὅλης Χερρονήσου προείπομεν ἐν τοῖς περὶ τῆς Θρᾴκης τόποις.

Fr. 55b Stephanus Byzantius, s.v. Σηστός.

Σηστὸς μὲν, Λεσβίων ἄποικος, καθὰ καὶ ἡ Μάδυτος, ὠς ὁ γεωγράφος φησί, Χερρονησία πόλις, Ἀβύδου διέχουσα σταδίους λ , ἐκ λιμένος εἰς λιμένα.

Fr. 56 3e.

ὅτι ἐκ Περίνθου εἰς Βυζάντιόν εἰσιν ἑξακόσιοι τριάκοντα· ἀπὸ δὲ Ἕβρου καὶ Κυψέλων εἰς Βυζάντιον μέχρι Κυανέων τρισχίλιοι ἑκατόν, ὥς φησιν Ἀρτεμίδωρος· τὸ δὲ σύμπαν μῆκος ἀπὸ Ἰονίου κόλπου τοῦ κατὰ Ἀπολλωνίαν μέχρι Βυζαντίου ἑπτακισχίλιοι τριακόσιοι εἴκοσι· προστίθησι δ' ὁ Πολύβιος καὶ ἄλλους ἑκατὸν ὀγδοήκοντα, τὸ τρίτον τοῦ σταδίου προσλαμβάνων ἐπὶ τοῖς ὀκτὼ τοῦ μιλίου σταδίοις. Δημήτριος δ' ὁ Σκήψιος ἐν τοῖς περὶ τοῦ Τρωικοῦ διακόσμου τὸ μὲν ἐκ Περίνθου μέχρι Βυζαντίου φησὶν ἑξακοσίους σταδίους, τὸ δ' ἴσον μέχρι Παρίου. τὴν δὲ Προποντίδα μήκει μὲν χιλίων καὶ τετρακοσίων ἀποφαίνει σταδίων, εἰς εὖρος δὲ πεντακοσίων. τοῦ δὲ Ἑλλησπόντου τὸ στενώτατον ἑπταστάδιόν φησι, μῆκος δὲ τετρακοσίων.

Fr. 57 3e.

ὅτι Ἑλλήσποντος οὐχ ὁμολογεῖται παρὰ πᾶσιν ὁ αὐτός, ἀλλὰ δόξαι περὶ αὐτοῦ λέγονται πλείους. οἱ μὲν γὰρ ὅλην τὴν Προποντίδα καλοῦσιν Ἑλλήσποντον, οἱ δὲ μέρος τῆς Προποντίδος τὸ ἐντὸς Περίνθου· οἱ δὲ προσλαμβάνουσι καὶ τῆς ἔξω θαλάσσης τῆς πρὸς τὸ Αἰγαῖον πέλαγος καὶ τὸν Μέλανα κόλπον ἀνεῳγμένης, καὶ οὗτοι ἄλλος ἄλλα ἀποτεμνόμενος· οἱ μὲν τὸ ἀπὸ Σιγείου ἐπὶ Λάμψακον καὶ Κύζικον ἢ Πάριον ἢ Πρίαπον, ὁ δὲ προσλαμβάνων καὶ τὸ ἀπὸ Σιγρίου τῆς Λεσβίας. οὐκ ὀκνοῦσι δέ τινες καὶ τὸ μέχρι τοῦ Μυρτῴου πελάγους ἅπαν καλεῖν Ἑλλήσποντον, εἴπερ, ὥς φησιν ἐν τοῖς ὕμνοις Πίνδαρος, οἱ μεθ' Ἡρακλέους ἐκ Τροίας πλέοντες διὰ παρθένιον Ἕλλας πορθμόν, ἐπεὶ τῷ Μυρτῴῳ συνῆψαν, εἰς Κῶν ἐπαλινδρόμησαν ζεφύρου ἀντιπνεύσαντος. οὕτω δὲ καὶ τὸ Αἰγαῖον πέλαγος μέχρι τοῦ Θερμαίου κόλπου καὶ τῆς κατὰ Θετταλίαν καὶ Μακεδονίαν θαλάσσης ἅπαν ἀξιοῦσιν Ἑλλήσποντον προσαγορεύειν δεῖν, μάρτυρα καὶ Ὅμηρον καλοῦντες. φησὶ γάρ

ὄψεαι, ἢν ἐθέλῃσθα καὶ αἴ κέν τοι τὰ μεμήλῃ,

ἦρι μάλ' Ἑλλήσποντον ἐπ' ἰχθυοέντα πλεούσας

νῆας ἐμάς.

ἐλέγχεται δὲ τὸ τοιοῦτον ἐκ τῶν ἐπῶν ἐκείνων

ἥρως Ἰμβρασίδης, ὃς ἄρ' Αἰνόθεν εἰληλούθει·

οὗτος δὲ τῶν Θρᾳκῶν ἡγεῖτο

ὅσσους Ἑλλήσποντος ἀγάρροος ἐντὸς ἐέργει·

τοὺς γὰρ ἐφεξῆς τούτων ἐκτὸς ἂν καὶ τοῦ Ἑλλησπόντου καθιδρυμένους ἀποφαίνοι. ἡ μὲν γὰρ Αἶνος κεῖται κατὰ τὴν πρότερον Ἀψυνθίδα νῦν δὲ Κορπιλικὴν λεγομένην, ἡ δὲ τῶν Κικόνων ἐφεξῆς πρὸς δύσιν.

Fr. 58 Stephanus Byzantinus, s.v. Κορπίλοι.

Κορπίλοι· Θρᾳκῶν τινες. Στράβων ζ. ἡ χώρα Κορπιλική. ἡ γὰρ Αἶνος κεῖται κατὰ τὴν πρότερον Ἀψινθίδα, νῦν δὲ Κορπιλικὴν λεγομένον.

Fr. 59 Stephanus, s. v. Τετραχωρῖται.

Τετραχωρῖται, οἱ Βεσσοί, ὡς Στράβων ἑβδόμῃ. οὗτοι λέγονται καὶ Τετράκωμοι.

Fr. 60 Athenaeus 14 p. 657 f.

λέγει γὰρ Στράβων αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ ἑβδόμῃ τῶν γεωγραφουμένων ἐγνωκέναι Ποσειδώνιον τὸν ἀπὸ τῆς στοᾶς φιλόσοφον . . . συγγενομένου Σκιπίωνι τῷ τὴν Καρχηδόνα ἑλόντι.

At the outset, it is true, those who uttered the prophecies were men (this too perhaps the poet indicates, for he calls them “hypophetae,” {478} and the prophets might be ranked among these), but later on three old women were designated as prophets, after Dione also had been designated as temple-associate of Zeus. Suidas, {479} however, in his desire to gratify the Thessalians with mythical stories, says that the temple was transferred from Thessaly, from the part of Pelasgia which is about Scotussa (and Scotussa does belong to the territory called Thessalia Pelasgiotis), and also that most of the women whose descendants are the prophetesses of today went along at the same time; and it is from this fact that Zeus was also called “Pelasgian.” But Cineas tells a story that is still more mythical. . . Cineas {480} says that there was a city in Thessaly, {481} and that an oak-tree and the oracle of Zeus were transferred from there to Epeirus. In earlier times the oracle was in the neighborhood of Scotussa, a city of Pelasgiotis; but when the tree was set on fire by certain people the oracle was transferred in accordance with an oracle which Apollo gave out at Dodona. However, he gave out the oracle, not through words, but through certain symbols, as was the case at the oracle of Zeus Ammon in Libya. Perhaps there was something exceptional about the flight of the three pigeons from which the priestesses were wont to make observations and to prophesy. It is further said that in the language of the Molossians and the Thesprotians old women are called "peliai" {482} and old men "pelioi." {483} And perhaps the much talked of Peleiades were not birds, but three old women who busied themselves about the temple.

478. “interpreters.”

479. Little is known of this Suidas except that he wrote a History of Thessaly and a History of Euboea.

480. Corais and Groskurd offer only 27 Fragments; Kramer has 57, his numbers running from 1 to 58 inclusive, except that number 42 is missing; Müller-Dübner have the same 57, though they correct the numbering from 42 to 57; Meineke, like Kramer, has no number 42, but changes Kramer's 1 to 1a and inserts seven new fragments,1, 11a, 16a, 16b, 23a, 58a, and 58b (the last two being 59 and 60 in the present edition). The present editor adds 28 more. Of these, five (1b, 16c, 27a, 55a, 61) are quotations from Strabo himself; nine (11b, 20a, 21a, 45a, 47a, 51a, 55b, 58) are from Stephanus Byzantinus; twelve (1c, 12a, 15a, 16d, 16e, 25a, 44a, 47b, 50a, 62, 63, 64) are from the notes of Eustathius on the Iliad and Odyssey; and two (65, 66) from his notes on the geographical poem of Dionysius Periegetes. All these fragments from Eustathius, except no. 62, are citations from "the Geographer," not from "Strabo," and so is 23a, which Meineke inserted; but with the help of the editor, John Paul Prichard, Fellow in Greek and Latin at Cornell University, starting with the able articles of Kunze on this subject (Rheinisches Museum, 1902, LVII, pp. 43 ff. and 1903, LVIII, pp. 126 ff.), has established beyond all doubt that "the Geographer" is "Strabo," and in due time the complete proof will be published. To him the editor is also indebted for fragment no. 66 (hitherto unnoticed, we believe), and for the elimination of certain doubtful passages suggester by Kunze. Meineke's numbers, where different from those of the present edition, are given in parentheses.The rest of Book VII, containing the description of Macedonia and Thrace, has been lost, but the following fragments, gathered chiefly from the Vatican and Palatine Epitomes and from Eustathius, seem to preserve most of the original matter.Manuscript A has already lost a whole quaternion (about 13 Casaubon pages = about 26 Greek pages in the present edition) each of two places, namely, from ἡ Λιβύη (2. 5. 26) to περὶ αὐτῆς (3. 1. 6) and from καθ' αὑτούς to ῥεντῖνος ἐνάμιλλος (5. 4. 3). In the present case A leaves off at μετὰ δέ (7. 7. 5) and resumes at the beginning of Book VIII. Assuming the loss of a third quaternion from A, and taking into account that portion of it which is preserved in other manuscripts, ὄΓχησμον (7. 7. 5) to μυθωδέστερον (7. 7. 12), only about one-sixth of Book VII is missing; and if this is true the fragments here, although they contain some repetitions, account for most of the original matter of the missing one-sixth.

481. i.e., a city called Dodona.

482. "Pigeons."

483. "Pigeons."