That geographical investigation is not inconsistent with philosophy.—That Homer gives proof of it throughout his poems.—That they who first wrote on the science have omitted much, or given disjointed, defective, false, or inconsistent accounts.—Proofs and demonstrations of the correctness of this statement, with general heads containing a summary description of the disposition of the whole habitable earth.—Credit to be attached to the probabilities and evident proofs that in many regions the land and sea have been shifted, and exchanged places with each other.

The chapters and sectional divisions of Kramer’s edition of the Greek text have been generally followed in this translation. IF the scientific investigation of any subject be the proper avocation of the philosopher, Geography, the science of which we propose to treat, is certainly entitled to a high place; and this is evident from many considerations. They who first ventured to handle the matter were distinguished men. Homer, Anaximander the Milesian, and Hecataeus, (his fellow-citizen according to Eratosthenes,) Democritus, Eudoxus, Dicaearchus, Ephorus, with many others, and after these Erastosthenes, Polybius, and Posidonius, all of them philosophers.

Nor is the great learning, through which alone this subject can be approached, possessed by any but a person acquainted with both human and divine things,τὰ θεία καὶ ἀνθρώπεια, the productions of nature and art. and these attainments constitute what is called philosophy. In addition to its vast importance in regard to social life, and the art of government, Geography unfolds to us the celestial phenomena, acquaints us with the occupants of the land and ocean, and the vegetation, fruits, and peculiarities of the various quarters of the earth, a knowledge of which marks him who cultivates it as a man earnest in the great problem of life and happiness.

Admitting this, let us examine more in detail the points we have advanced.

And first, [we maintain,] that both we and our predecessors, amongst whom is Hipparchus, do justly regard Homer as the founder of geographical science, for he not only excelled all, ancient as well as modern, in the sublimity of his poetry, but also in his experience of social life. Thus it was that he not only exerted himself to become familiar with as many historic facts as possible, and transmit them to posterity, but also with the various regions of the inhabited land and sea, some intimately, others in a more general manner. For otherwise he would not have reached the utmost limits of the earth, traversing it in his imagination.

First, he stated that the earth was entirely encompassed by the ocean, as in truth it is; afterwards he described the countries, specifying some by name, others more generally by various indications, explicitly defining Libya,Africa. Ethiopia, the Sidonians, and the Erembi (by which latter are probably intended the Troglodyte Arabians); and alluding to those farther east and west as the lands washed by the ocean, for in ocean he believed both the sun and constellations to rise and set. Now from the gently-swelling flood profound The sun arising, with his earliest rays, In his ascent to heaven smote on the fields.Then indeed the sun freshly struck the fields [with its rays], ascending heaven from the calmly-flowing, deep-moving ocean.Iliad vii. 421; Odyssey xix. 433. These references relate to the Greek text; any one wishing to verify the poetic translation will find the place in Cowper, by adding a few lines to the number adapted to the Greek. The prose version is taken from Bohn’s edition.Iliad vii. 421 And now the radiant sun in ocean sank, Dragging night after him o’er all the earth.And the bright light of the sun fell into the ocean, drawing dark night over tile fruitful earth.Iliad viii. 485 Bright and steady as the star Autumnal, which in ocean newly bathed, Assumes fresh beauty.Iliad v. 6Iliad viii. 485 The stars also he describes as bathed in the ocean.Iliad v.6.

He portrays the happiness of the people of the West, and the salubrity of their climate, having no doubt heard of the abundance of Iberia,Gosselin remarks that in his opinion Strabo frequently attributes to Homer much information of which the great poet was entirely ignorant. the present is an instance, for Spain was to Homer a perfect terra in- cognita. which had attracted the arms of Hercules,The Phoenician Hercules, anterior to the Grecian hero by two or three centuries. The date of his expedition, supposing it to have actually occurred, was about sixteen or seventeen hundred years before the Christian era. afterwards of the Phoenicians, who acquired there an extended rule, and finally of the Romans. There the airs of Zephyr breathe, there the poet feigned the fields of Elysium, when he tells us Menelaus was sent thither by the gods:— Thee the gods Have destined to the blest Elysian isles, Earth’s utmost boundaries. Rhadamanthus there For ever reigns, and there the human kind Enjoy the easiest life; no snow is there, No biting winter, and no drenching shower, But Zephyr always gently from the sea Breathes on them, to refresh the happy race.But the immortals will send you to the Elysian plain, and the boundaries of the Earth, where is auburn-haired Rhadamanthus; there of a truth is the most easy life for men. There is nor snow, nor long winter, nor even a shower, but every day the ocean sends forth the gently blowing breezes of the west wind to refresh men.”Odyssey iv. 563.Odyssey iv. 563

The Isles of the BlestThe Isles of the Blest are the same as the Fortunate Isles of other geographers. It is clear from Strabo’s description that he alludes to the Canary Islands; but as it is certain that Homer had never heard of these, it is probable that the passages adduced by Strabo have reference to the Elysian Fields of Baïa in Campania. are on the extreme west of Maurusia,The Maurusia of the Greeks (the Mauritania of the Latins) is now known as Algiers and Fez in Africa. near where its shore runs parallel to the opposite coast of Spain; and it is clear he considered these regions also Blest, from their contiguity to the Islands.

He tells us also, that the Ethiopians are far removed, and bounded by the ocean: far removed,— The Ethiopians, utmost of mankind, These eastward situate, those toward the west.The Ethiopians, who are divided into two divisions, the most distant of men.Odyssey i. 23.Odyssey i. 23 Nor was he mistaken in calling them separated into two divisions, as we shall presently show: and next to the ocean,— For to the banks of the Oceanus, Where Ethiopia holds a feast to Jove, He journey’d yesterday.For yesterday Jove went to Oceanus, to the blameless Ethiopians, to a banquet.Iliad i. 423.The ancients gave the name of Ethiopians, generally, to the inhabitants of Interior Africa, the people who occupied the sea-coast of the Atlantic, and the shores of the Arabian Gulf. It is with this view of the name that Strabo explains the passage of Homer; but the Mediterranean was the boundary of the poet’s geographical knowledge; and the people he speaks of were doubtless the inhabitants of the southern parts of Phoenicia, who at one time were called Ethiopians. We may here remark too, that Homer’s ocean frequently means the Mediterranean, sometimes probably the Nile. See also p. 48, n. 2.Iliad i. 423 Speaking of the Bear, he implies that the most northern part of the earth is bounded by the ocean: Only star of these denied To slake his beams in Ocean’s briny baths.But it alone is free from the baths of the ocean.Iliad xviii. 489; Odyssey v. 275.Iliad xviii. 489; Odyssey v. 275. Now, by the Bear and the Wain, he means the Arctic Circle; otherwise he would never have said, It alone is deprived of the baths of the ocean, when such an infinity of stars is to be seen continually revolving in that part of the hemisphere. Let no one any longer blame his ignorance for being merely acquainted with one Bear, when there are two. It is probable that the second was not considered a constellation until, on the Phoenicians specially designating it, and employing it in navigation, it became known as one to the Greeks.We are informed by Diogenes Laertius, that Thales was the first to make known to the Greeks the constellation of the Lesser Bear. Now this philosopher flourished 600 years before the Christian era, and consequently some centuries after Homer’s death. The name of φοινίκη which it received from the Greeks, is proof that Thales owed his knowledge of it to the Phoenicians. Conf. Humboldt’s Cosmos, vol. iii. p. 160, Bohn’s edition. Such is the case with the Hair of Berenice, and Canopus, whose names are but of yesterday; and, as Aratus remarks, there are numbers which have not yet received any designation. Crates, therefore, is mistaken when, endeavouring to amend what is correct, he reads the verse thus: οἷος δ’ ἄμμορός ἐστι λοετρῶν, replacing οἴη by οἶς, with a view to make the adjective agree with the Arctic Circle, which is masculine; instead of the Arctic Constellation, which is feminine. The expression of Heraclitus is far more preferable and Homeric, who thus figuratively describes the Arctic Circle as the Bear,—The Bear is the limit of the dawn and of the evening, and from the region of the Bear we have fine weather. Now it is not the constellation of the Bear, but the Arctic Circle, which is the limit of the rising and the setting stars.

By the Bear, then, which he elsewhere calls the Wain, and describes as pursuing Orion, Homer means us to understand the Arctic Circle; and by the ocean, that horizon into which, and out of which, the stars rise and set. When he says that the Bear turns round and is deprived of the ocean, he was aware that the Arctic Circle [always] extended to the sign opposite the most northern point of the horizon. Adapting the words of the poet to this view, by that part of the earth nearest to the ocean we must understand the horizon, and by the Arctic Circle that which extends to the signs which seem to our senses to touch in succession the most northern point of the horizon. Thus, according to him, this portion of the earth is washed by the ocean. With the nations of the North he was well acquainted, although he does not mention them by name, and indeed at the present day there is no regular title by which they are all distinguished. He informs us of their mode of life, describing them as wanderers, noble milkers of mares, living on cheese, and without wealth.Iliad xiii. 5. Gosselin says, Thrace (the present Roumelia) was indisputably the most northern nation known to Homer. He names the people ιππημόλγοι, or living on mares’ milk, because in his time they were a pomade race. Strabo evidently gives a forced meaning to the words of the poet, when he attempts to prove his acquaintance with the Scythians and Sarmatians.

In the following speech of Juno, he states that the ocean surrounds the earth. For to the green earth’s utmost bounds I go, To visit there the parent of the gods, Oceanus.For I go to visit the limits of the fertile earth, and Oceanus, the parent of the gods. Iliad xiv. 200.Iliad xiv. 200.

Does he not here assert that ocean bounds all its extremities, and does it not surround these extremities? Again, in the Hoplopoeia,The eighteenth book of the Iliad. he places the ocean in a circle round the border of Achilles’ shield. Another proof of the extent of his knowledge, is his acquaintance with the ebb and flow of the sea, calling it the ebbing ocean.Iliad xviii. 399; Odyss. xx. 65. Again, Each day she thrice disgorges, and again Thrice drinks, insatiate, the deluge down.Thrice indeed each day it lets loose its waves, and thrice it ebbs them back.Odyss. xii. 105.

Gosselin remarks, I do not find any thing in these different passages of Homer to warrant the conclusion that he was aware of the ebb and flow of the tide; every one knows that the movement is hardly perceptible in the Mediterranean. In the Euripus, which divides the Isle of Negropont from Boeotia, the waters are observed to flow in opposite directions several times a day. It was from this that Homer probably drew his ideas; and the regular current of the Hellespont, which carries the waters of the Black Sea into the Mediterranean, led him to think that the whole ocean, or Mediterranean, had one continued flow like the current of a river.

Perception and experience alike inform us, that the earth we inhabit is an island: since wherever men have approached the termination of the land, the sea, which we designate ocean, has been met with: and reason assures us of the similarity of those places which our senses have not been permitted to survey. For in the eastWhat Strabo calls the eastern side of the continent, comprises that portion of India between Cape Comorin and Tana-serim, to the west of the kingdom of Siam: further than which he was not acquainted. the land occupied by the Indians, and in the west by the Iberians and Maurusians,Strabo’s acquaintance with Western Africa did not go further than Cape Nun, 214 leagues distant from the Strait of Gibraltar. is wholly encompassed [by water], and so is the greater part on the southBy the south is intended the whole land from the Arabian Gulf or Red Sea to Cape Comorin. and north.From Cape Finisterre to the mouth of the Elbe. And as to what remains as yet unexplored by us, because navigators, sailing from opposite points, have not hitherto fallen in with each other, it is not much, as any one may see who will compare the distances between those places with which we are already acquainted. Nor is it likely that the Atlantic Ocean is divided into two seas by narrow isthmuses so placed as to prevent circumnavigation: how much more probable that it is confluent and uninterrupted! Those who have returned from an attempt to circumnavigate the earth, do not say they have been prevented from continuing their voyage by any opposing continent, for the sea remained perfectly open, but through want of resolution, and the scarcity of provision. This theory too accords better with the ebb and flow of the ocean, for the phenomenon, both in the increase and diminution, is every where identical, or at all events has but little difference, as if produced by the agitation of one sea, and resulting from one cause.

We must not credit Hipparchus, who combats this opinion, denying that the ocean is every where similarly affected; or that even if it were, it would not follow that the Atlantic flowed in a circle, and thus continually returned into itself. Seleucus, the Babylonian, is his authority for this assertion. For a further investigation of the ocean and its tides we refer to Posidonius and Athenodorus, who have fully discussed this subject: we will now only remark that this view agrees better with the uniformity of the phenomenon; and that the greater the amount of moisture surrounding the earth, the easier would the heavenly bodies be supplied with vapours from thence.

Homer, besides the boundaries of the earth, which he fully describes, was likewise well acquainted with the Mediterranean. Starting from the Pillars,The rocks of Gibraltar and Ceuta. this sea is encompassed by Libya, Egypt, and Phoenicia, then by the coasts opposite Cyprus, the Solymi,The mountaineers of the Taurus, between Lycia and Pisidia. Lycia, and Caria, and then by the shore which stretches between MycaleA mountain of Ionia near to the Meander, and opposite the Isle of Samos. and Troas, and the adjacent islands, every one of which he mentions, as well as those of the PropontisThe Sea of Marmora. and the Euxine, as far as Colchis, and the locality of Jason’s expedition. Furthermore, he was acquainted with the Cimmerian Bosphorus,The Strait of Caffa, which connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azof. having known the Cimmerians,The Cimmerians, spoken of in Homer, were undoubtedly the inhabitants of Campania, not those of the Bosphrus. and that not merely by name, but as being familiar with themselves. About his time, or a little before, they had ravaged the whole country, from the Bosphorus to Ionia. Their climate he characterizes as dismal, in the following lines:— With clouds and darkness veil’d, on whom the sun Deigns not to look with his beam-darting eye, But sad night canopies the woeful race.They are covered with shadows and darkness, nor does the shining sun behold them with his beams,............ but pernicious night is spread over hapless mortals. Odyssey xi. 15 and 19.Odyssey xi. 15 and 19. He must also have been acquainted with the Ister,The Danube. since he speaks of the Mysians, a Thracian race, dwelling on the banks of the Ister. He knew also the whole ThracianAncient Thrace consisted of the modern provinces of Bulgaria and Roumelia. coast adjacent thereto, as far as the Peneus,A river of Thessaly, named at present Salampria. for he mentions individually the Paeonians, Athos, the Axius,Now the river Vardari. and the neighbouring islands. From hence to ThesprotisThesprotis, in Epirus, opposite Corfu. is the Grecian shore, with the whole of which he was acquainted. He was besides familiar with the whole of Italy, and speaks of TemeseAfterwards named Temsa. This town was in Citerior Calabria. Some think Torre de Nocera stands on the ancient site. and the Sicilians, as well as the whole of SpainThis is a misstatement, as before remarked. and its fertility, as we have said before. If he omits various intermediate places this must be pardoned, for even the compiler of a Geography overlooks numerous details. We must forgive him too for intermingling fabulous narrative with his historical and instructive work. This should not be complained of; nevertheless, what Eratosthenes says is false, that the poets aim at amusement, not instruction, since those who have treated upon the subject most profoundly, regard poesy in the light of a primitive philosophy. But we shall refute EratosthenesThis writer occupies so prominent a position in Strabo’s work, that no apology I think will be needed for the following extract from Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.

“Eratosthenes of Cyrene was, according to Suidas, the son of Aglaus, according to others, the son of Ambrosius, and was born B. C. 276. He was taught by Ariston of Chius, the philosopher, Lysanias of Cyrene, the grammarian, and Callimachus, the poet. He left Athens at the invitation of Ptolemy Euergetes, who placed him over the library at Alexandria. Here he continued till the reign of Ptolemy Epiphanes. He died at the age of eighty, about B. C. 196, of voluntary starvation, having lost his sight, and being tired of life. He was a man of very extensive learning: we shall first speak of him as a geometer and astronomer.

“It is supposed that Eratosthenes suggested to Ptolemy Euergetes the construction of the large armilloe, or fixed circular instruments, which were long in use at Alexandria; but only because it is difficult to imagine to whom else they are to be assigned, for Ptolemy the astronomer, though he mentions them, and incidentally their antiquity, does not state to whom they were due. In these circles each degree was divided into six parts. We know of no observations of Eratosthenes in which they were probably employed, except those which led him to the obliquity of the ecliptic, which he must have made to be 23° 51′ 20″; for he states the distance of the tropics to be eleven times the eighty-third part of the circumference. This was a good observation for the times. Ptolemy the astronomer was content with it, and according to him Hipparchus used no other. Of his measure of the earth we shall presently speak. According to Nicomachus, he was the inventor of the κόσκινον, or Cribrum Arithmeticum, as it has since been called, being the well-known method of detecting the prime numbers by writing down all odd numbers which do not end with 5, and striking out successively the multiples of each, one after the other, so that only prime numbers remain.

“We still possess under the name of Eratosthenes a work, entitled κατασεοͅισμοί, giving a slight account of the constellations, their fabulous history, and the stars in them. It is however acknowledged on all hands that this is not a work of Eratosthenes. * * * The only other writing of Eratosthenes which remains, is a letter to Ptolemy on the duplication of the cube, for the mechanical performance of which he had contrived an instrument, of which he seems to contemplate actual use in measuring the contents of vessels, etc. He seems to say that he has had his method engraved in some temple or public building, with some verses, which he adds. Eutocius has preserved this letter in his comment on book ii. prop. 2, of the sphere and cylinder of Archimedes.

“The greatest work of Eratosthenes, and that which must always make his name conspicuous in scientific history, is the attempt which he made to measure the magnitude of the earth, in which he brought forward and used the method which is employed to this day. Whether or no he was successful cannot be told, as we shall see; but it is not the less true that he was the originator of the process by which we now know, very nearly indeed, the magnitude of our own planet. Delambre says that if it were he who advised the erection of the circular instruments above alluded to, he must be considered as the founder of astronomy: to which it may be added, that he was the founder of geodesy without any if in the case. The number of ancient writers who have alluded to this remarkable operation (which seems to have obtained its full measure of fame) is very great, and we shall not attempt to combine their remarks or surmises: it is enough to say that the most distinct account, and one of the earliest, is found in the remaining work of Cleomedes.

“At Syene in Upper Egypt, which is supposed to be the same as, or near to, the town of Assouan, (Lat. 24° 10′ N., Long. 32° 59′ E. of Greenwich,) Eratosthenes was told (that he observed is very doubtful) that deep wells were enlightened to the bottom on the day of the summer solstice, and that vertical objects cast no shadows. He concluded therefore, that Syene was on the tropic, and its latitude equal to the obliquity of the ecliptic, which, as we have seen, he had determined: he presumed that it was in the same longitude as Alexandria, in which he was out about 3°, which is not enough to produce what would at that time have been a sensible error. By observations made at Alexandria, he determined the zenith of that place to be distant by the fiftieth part of the circumference from the solstice, which was equivalent to saying that the arc of the meridian between the two places is 7° 12′. Cleomedes says that he used the σκάφη, or hemispherical dial of Berosus, in the determination of this latitude. Delambre rejects the idea with infinite scorn, and pronounces Cleomedes unworthy of credit; and indeed it is not easy to see why Eratosthenes should have rejected the gnomon and the large circular instruments, unless, perhaps, for the following reason. There is a sentiment of Cleomedes which seems to imply that the disappearance of the shadows at Syene on the day of the summer solstice was noticed to take place for 300 stadia every way round Syene. If Eratosthenes took his report about the phenomenon (and we have no evidence that he went to Syene himself) from those who could give no better account than this, we may easily understand why he would think the σκάφη quite accurate enough to observe with at his own end of the arc, since the other end of it was uncertain by as much as 300 stadia. He gives 500 stadia for the distance from Alexandria to Syene, and this round number seems further to justify us in concluding that he thought the process to be as rough as in truth it was. Martianus Capella states that he obtained this distance from the measures made by order of the Ptolemies (which had been commenced by Alexander): this writer then implies that Eratosthenes did not go to Syene himself.

The result is 250,000 stadia for the circumference of the earth, which Eratosthenes altered into 252,000, that his result might give an exact number of stadia for the degree, namely, 700; this of course should have been 694 4/9. Pliny calls this 31,500 Roman miles, and therefore supposes the stadium to be the eighth part of a Roman mile, or takes for granted that Eratosthenes used the Olympic stadium. It is likely enough that the Ptolemies naturalized this stadium in Egypt; but nevertheless, it is not unlikely that an Egyptian stadium was employed. If we assume the Olympic stadium, (202 1/4 yards,) the degree of Eratosthenes is more than 79 miles, upwards of 10 miles too great. Nothing is known of any Egyptian stadium. Pliny asserts that Hipparchus, but for what reason he does not say, wanted to add 25,000 stadia to the circumference as found by Eratosthenes. According to Plutarch, Eratosthenes made the sun to be 804 millions of stadia from the earth, and the moon 780,000. According to Macrobius, he made the diameter of the sun to be 27 times that of the earth. With regard to the other merits of Eratosthenes, we must first of all mention what he did for geography, which was closely connected with his mathematical pursuits. It was Eratosthenes who raised geography to the rank of a science; for previous to his time it seems to have consisted, more or less, of a mass of information scattered in books of travel, descriptions of particular countries, and the like. All these treasures were accessible to Eratosthenes in the libraries of Alexandria; and he made the most profitable use of them, by collecting the scattered materials, and uniting them into an organic system of geography, in his comprehensive work entitled γεωγοͅαφικά, or as it is sometimes but erroneously called, γεωγοͅούμενα or γεωγοͅαφία. It consisted of three books, the first of which, forming a sort of Introduction, contained a critical review of the labours of his predecessors from the earliest to his own times, and investigations concerning the form and nature of the earth, which, according to him, was an immoveable globe, on the surface of which traces of a series of great revolutions were still visible. He conceived that in one of these revolutions the Mediterranean had acquired its present form; for according to him it was at one time a large lake covering portions of the adjacent countries of Asia and Libya, until a passage was forced open by which it entered into communication with the ocean in the west. The second book contained what is now called mathematical geography. His attempt to measure the magnitude of the earth has been spoken of above. The third book contained the political geography, and gave descriptions of the various countries, derived from the works of earlier travellers and geographers. In order to be able to determine the accurate site of each place, he drew a line parallel with the equator, running from the Pillars of Hercules to the extreme east of Asia, and dividing the whole of the inhabited earth into two halves. Connected with this work was a new map of the earth, in which towns, mountains, rivers, lakes, and climates were marked according to his own improved measurements. This important work of Eratosthenes forms an epoch in the history of ancient geography: but unfortunately it is lost, and all that has survived consists in fragments quoted by later geographers and historians, such as Polybius, Strabo, Marcianus, Pliny, and others, who often judge of him unfavourably, and controvert his statements; while it can be proved that in a great many passages they adopt his opinions without mentioning his name. Marcianus charges Eratosthenes with having copied the substance of the work of Timosthenes on Ports, (περὶ λιμένων,) to which he added but very little of his own. This charge may be well-founded, but cannot have diminished the value of the work of Eratosthenes, in which that of Timosthenes can have formed only a very small portion. It seems to have been the very overwhelming importance of the geography of Eratosthenes, that called forth a number of opponents, among whom we meet with the names of Polemon, Hipparchus, Polybius, Serapion, and Marcianus of Heracleia. * * * Another work of a somewhat similar nature, entitled ̔εεμῆς, was written in verse, and treated of the form of the earth, its temperature, the different zones, the constellations, and the like. * * * Eratosthenes distinguished himself also as a philosopher, historian, grammarian, etc.

What we have already advanced is sufficient to prove that poet the father of geography. Those who followed in his track are also well known as great men and true philosophers. The two immediately succeeding Homer, according to Eratosthenes, were Anaximander, the disciple and fellow-citizen of Thales, and Hecataeus the Milesian. Anaximander was the first to publish a geographical chart. Hecataeus left a work [on the same subject], which we can identify as his by means of his other writings.

Many have testified to the amount of knowledge which this subject requires, and Hipparchus, in his Strictures on Eratosthenes, well observes, that no one can become really proficient in geography, either as a private individual or as a professor, without an acquaintance with astronomy, and a knowledge of eclipses. For instance, no one could tell whether Alexandria in Egypt were north or south of Babylon, nor yet the intervening distance, without observing the latitudes.The ancients portioned out the globe by bands or zones parallel to the equator, which they named κλίματα. The extent of each zone was determined by the length of the solstitial day, and thus each diminished in extent according as it became more distant from the equator. The moderns have substituted a mode of reckoning the degrees by the elevation of the pole, which gives the latitudes with much greater accuracy. Again, the only means we possess of becoming acquainted with the longitudes of different places is afforded by the eclipses of the sun and moon. Such are the very words of Hipparchus.

Every one who undertakes to give an accurate description of a place, should be particular to add its astronomical and geometrical relations, explaining carefully its extent, distance, degrees of latitude, and climate.Literally, the heat, cold, and temperature of the atmosphere. Even a builder before constructing a house, or an architect before laying out a city, would take these things into consideration; much more should he who examines the whole earth: for such things in a peculiar manner belong to him. In small distances a little deviation north or south does not signify, but when it is the whole circle of the earth, the north extends to the furthest confines of Scythia,Tartary. or Keltica,France. and the south to the extremities of Ethiopia: there is a wide difference here. The case is the same should we inhabit India or Spain, one in the east, the other far west, and, as we are aware, the antipodesXylander and Casaubon remark that Strabo here makes an improper use of the term antipodes; the antipodes of Spain and India being in the southern hemisphere. to each other.

The [motions] of the sun and stars, and the centripetal force meet us on the very threshold of such subjects, and compel us to the study of astronomy, and the observation of such phenomena as each of us may notice; in which too, very considerable differences appear, according to the various points of observation. How could any one undertake to write accurately and with propriety on the differences of the various parts of the earth, who was ignorant of these matters? and although, if the undertaking were of a popular character, it might not be advisable to enter thoroughly into detail, still we should endeavour to include every thing which could be comprehended by the general reader.

He who has thus elevated his mind, will he be satisfied with any thing less than the whole world? If in his anxiety accurately to portray the inhabited earth, he has dared to survey heaven, and make use thereof for purposes of instruction, would it not seem childish were he to refrain from examining the whole earth, of which the inhabited is but a part, its size, its features, and its position in the universe; whether other portions are inhabited besides those on which we dwell, and if so, their amount? What is the extent of the regions not peopled? what their peculiarities, and the cause of their remaining as they are? Thus it appears that the knowledge of geography is connected with meteorologyMeteorology, from μετεώρος, aloft, is the science which describes and explains the various phenomena which occur in the region of the atmosphere. and geometry, that it unites the things of earth to the things of heaven, as though they were nearly allied, and not separated. As far as heaven from earth.Homer, Iliad viii. 16Iliad viii. 16

To the various subjects which it embraces let us add natural history, or the history of the animals, plants, and other different productions of the earth and sea, whether serviceable or useless, and my original statement will, I think, carry perfect conviction with it.

That he who should undertake this work would be a benefactor to mankind, reason and the voice of antiquity agree. The poets feign that they were the wisest heroes who travelled and wandered most in foreign climes: and to be familiar with many countries, and the disposition of the inhabitants, is, according to them, of vast importance. Nestor prides himself on having associated with the Lapithae,A people of Thessaly, on the banks of the Peneus. to whom he went, having been invited thither from the ApianThe former name of the Morea, and more ancient than Peloponnesus. Iliad i. 270. land afar.

So does Menelaus:— Cyprus, Phoenicia, Sidon, and the shores Of Egypt, roaming without hope I reach’d; In distant Ethiopia thence arrived, And Libya, where the lambs their foreheads show With budding horns defended soon as yean’d.Having wandered to Cyprus, and Phoenice, and the Egyptians, I came to the Ethiopians, and Sidonians, and Erembi, and Libya, where the lambs immediately become horned. Odyssey iv. 83.Odyssey iv. 83. Adding as a peculiarity of the country, There thrice within the year the flocks produce.Odyssey iv. 86.Odyssey iv. 86. And of Egypt:—Where the sustaining earth is most prolific.Homer says, ———τν͂ͅπλεῖστα φἐοͅει ζείδωοͅος ἄοͅουοͅα φάοͅμακα.Odyssey iv. 229. Which Cowper properly renders:— Egypt teems With drugs of various powers.

Strabo, by omitting the word φαοͅμακα from his citation, alters to a certain degree the meaning of the sentence.

Such information greatly enlarges our sphere of knowledge, by informing us of the nature of the country, its botanical and zoological peculiarities. To these should be added its marine history; for we are in a certain sense amphibious, not exclusively connected with the land, but with the sea as well. Hercules, on account of his vast experience and observation, was described as skilled in mighty works.Odyssey xxi. 26.

All that we have previously stated is confirmed both by the testimony of antiquity and by reason. One consideration however appears to bear in a peculiar manner on the case in point; viz. the importance of geography in a political view. For the sea and the earth in which we dwell furnish theatres for action; limited, for limited actions; vast, for grander deeds; but that which contains them all, and is the scene of the greatest undertakings, constitutes what we term the habitable earth; and they are the greatest generals who, subduing nations and kingdoms under one sceptre, and one political administration, have acquired dominion over land and sea. It is clear then, that geography is essential to all the transactions of the statesman, informing us, as it does, of the position of the continents, seas, and oceans of the whole habitable earth. Information of especial interest to those who are concerned to know the exact truth of such particulars, and whether the places have been explored or not: for government will certainly be better administered where the size and position of the country, its own peculiarities, and those of the surrounding districts, are understood. Forasmuch as there are many sovereigns who rule in different regions, and some stretch their dominion over others’ territories, and undertake the government of different nations and kingdoms, and thus enlarge the extent of their dominion, it is not possible that either themselves, nor yet writers on geography, should be equally acquainted with the whole, but to both there is a great deal more or less known. Indeed, were the whole earth under one government and one administration, it is hardly possible that we should be informed of every locality in an equal degree; for even then we should be most acquainted with the places nearest us: and after all, it is better that we should have a more perfect description of these, since, on account of their proximity, there is greater reed for it. We see there is no reason to be surprised that there should be one chorographerChorography, a term used by Greek writers, meaning the description of particular districts. for the Indians, another for the Ethiopians, and a third for the Greeks and Romans. What use would it be to the Indians if a geographer should thus describe Boeotia to them, in the words of Homer:— The dwellers on the rocks Of Aulis follow’d, with the hardy clans Of Hyria, Schoenus, Scolus.Iliad ii. 496. Four cities of Boeotia. The present name of Aulis is Vathi, situated on the Strait of Negropont The modern names of the other three cities are unknown.Iliad ii. 496. To us this is of value, while to be acquainted with the Indies and their various territorial divisions would be useless, as it could lead to no advantage, which is the only criterion of the worth of such knowledge.

Even if we descend to the consideration of such trivial matters as hunting, the case is still the same; for he will be most successful in the chase who is acquainted with the size and nature of the wood, and one familiar with the locality will be the most competent to superintend an encampment, an ambush, or a march. But it is in great undertakings that the truth shines out in all its brilliancy, for here, while the success resulting from knowledge is grand, the consequences of ignorance are disastrous. The fleet of Agamemnon, for instance, ravaging Mysia, as if it had been the Trojan territory, was compelled to a shameful retreat. Likewise the Persians and Libyans,By Libyans are here intended Carthaginians. The events alluded to by Strabo may be found in Pomponius Mela and Valerius Maximus, whose accounts however do not entirely accord. That of Valerius Maximus, who is followed by Servius, tells us that Hannibal, on his return to Africa, observed his pilot Pelorus was taking the ships by the coast of Italy, and suspecting him therefore of treachery, caused him to be executed. He did not know at the time the intention of Pelorus to take him through the Strait of Messina, but afterwards, when aware of the excellence of the passage, caused a monument to be raised to the memory of the unfortunate pilot. Strabo, in his ninth book, gives us the history of Salganeus, and the monument erected to him on the shores of Negropont. supposing certain straits to be impassable, were very near falling into great perils, and have left behind them memorials of their ignorance; the former a monument to Salganeus on the Euripus, near Chalcis, whom the Persians slew, for, as they thought, falsely conducting their fleet from the Gulf of MaleaThe Gulf of Zeitun. to the Euripus; and the latter to the memory of Pelorus, who was executed on a like occasion. At the time of the expedition of Xerxes, the coasts of Greece were covered with wrecks, and the emigrations from Aeolia and Ionia furnish numerous instances of the same calamity. On the other hand, matters have come to a prosperous termination, when judiciously directed by a knowledge of the locality. Thus it was at the pass of Thermopylae that Ephialtes is reported to have pointed out to the Persians a pathway over the mountains, and so placed the band of Leonidas at their mercy, and opened to the Barbarians a passage into Pylae. But passing over ancient occurrences, we think that the late expeditions of the Romans against the Parthians furnish an excellent example, where, as in those against the Germans and Kelts, the Barbarians, taking advantage of their situation, [carried on the war] in marshes, woods, and pathless deserts, deceiving the ignorant enemy as to the position of different places, and concealing the roads, and the means of obtaining food and necessaries.

As we have said, this science has an especial reference to the occupations and requirements of statesmen, with whom also political and ethical philosophy is mainly concerned; and here is an evidence. We distinguish the different kinds of civil government by the office of their chief men, denominating one government a monarchy, or kingdom, another an aristocracy, a third a democracy; for so many we consider are the forms of government, and we designate them by these names, because from them they derive their primary characteristic. For the laws which emanate from the sovereign, from the aristocracy, and from the people all are different. The law is in fact a type of the form of government. It is on this account that some define right to be the interest of the strongest. If, therefore, political philosophy is advantageous to the ruler, and geography in the actual government of the country, this latter seems to possess some little superiority. This superiority is most observable in real service.

But even the theoretical portion of geography is by no means contemptible. On the one hand, it embraces the arts, mathematics, and natural science; on the other, history and fable. Not that this latter can have any distinct advantage: for instance, if any one should relate to us the wanderings of Ulysses, Menelaus, and Jason, he would not seem to have added directly to our fund of practical knowledge thereby, (which is the only thing men of the world are interested in,) unless he should convey useful examples of what those wanderers were compelled to suffer, and at the same time afford matter of rational amusement to those who interest themselves in the places which gave birth to such fables. Practical men interest themselves in these pursuits, since they are at once commendable, and afford them pleasure; but yet not to any great extent. In this class, too, will be found those whose main object in life is pleasure and respectability: but these by no means constitute the majority of mankind, who naturally prefer that which holds out some direct advantage. The geographer should therefore chiefly devote himself to what is practically important. He should follow the same rule in regard to history and the mathematics, selecting always that which is most useful, most intelligible, and most authentic.

Geometry and astronomy, as we before remarked, seem absolutely indispensable in this science. This, in fact, is evident, that without some such assistance, it would be impossible to be accurately acquainted with the configuration of the earth; its climata,Vide preceding note on this word, p. 13, n. 1. dimensions, and the like information.

As the size of the earth has been demonstrated by other writers, we shall here take for granted and receive as accurate what they have advanced. We shall also assume that the earth is spheroidal, that its surface is likewise spheroidal, and above all, that bodies have a tendency towards its centre, which latter point is clear to the perception of the most average understanding. However we may show summarily that the earth is spheroidal, from the consideration that all things however distant tend to its centre, and that every body is attracted towards its centre of gravity; this is more distinctly proved from observations of the sea and sky, for here the evidence of the senses, and common observation, is alone requisite. The convexity of the sea is a further proof of this to those who have sailed; for they cannot perceive lights at a distance when placed at the same level as their eyes, but if raised on high, they at once become perceptible to vision, though at the same time further removed. So, when the eye is raised, it sees what before was utterly imperceptible. Homer speaks of this when he says, Lifted up on the vast wave he quickly beheld afar.Odyssey v. 393.Odyssey v. 393. Sailors, as they approach their destination, behold the shore continually raising itself to their view; and objects which had at first seemed low, begin to elevate themselves. Our gnomons, also, are, among other things, evidence of the revolution of the heavenly bodies; and common sense at once shows us, that if the depth of the earth were infinite,Allusion is here made to the theory of Xenophanes of Colophon and Anaximenes his disciple, who imagined the earth bore the form of a vast mountain, inhabited at the summit, but whose roots stretched into infinity. The Siamese at the present day hold a similar idea. such a revolution could not take place.

Every information respecting the climataSee note1, p. 13. is contained in the Treatises on Positions.πεοͅὶ τῶν οἰκήσεων.

Now there are some facts which we take to be established, viz. those with which every politician and general should be familiar. For on no account should they be so uninformed as to the heavens and the position of the earth,Meaning, the different appearances of the heavenly bodies at various parts of the earth. that when they are in strange countries, where some of the heavenly phenomena wear a different aspect to what they have been accustomed, they should be in a consternation, and exclaim, Neither west Know we, nor east, where rises or where sets The all-enlightening sun.Odyssey x. 190.Odyssey x. 190. Still, we do not expect that they should be such thorough masters of the subject as to know what stars rise and set together for the different quarters of the earth; those which have the same meridian line, the elevation of the poles, the signs which are in the zenith, with all the various phenomena which differ as well in appearance as reality with the variations of the horizon and arctic circle. With some of these matters, unless as philosophical pursuits, they should not burden themselves at all; others they must take for granted without searching into their causes. This must be left to the care of the philosopher; the statesman can have no leisure, or very little, for such pursuits. Those who, through carelessness and ignorance, are not familiar with the globe and the circles traced upon it, some parallel to each other, some at right angles to the former, others, again, in an oblique direction; nor yet with the position of the tropics, equator, and zodiac, (that circle through which the sun travels in his course, and by which we reckon the changes of season and the winds,) such persons we caution against the perusal of our work. For if a man is neither properly acquainted with these things, nor with the variations of the horizon and arctic circle, and such similar elements of mathematics, how can he comprehend the matters treated of here? So for one who does not know a right line from a curve, nor yet a circle, nor a plane or spherical surface, nor the seven stars in the firmament composing the Great Bear, and such like, our work is entirely useless, at least for the present. Unless he first acquires such information, he is utterly incompetent to the study of geography. * So those who have written the works entitled On Ports, and Voyages Round the World, have performed their task imperfectly, since they have omitted to supply the requisite information from mathematics and astronomy.*This sentence has been restored to what was evidently its original position. In the Greek text it appears immediately before section 23, commencing, Having already compiled, etc. The alteration is borne out by the French and German translators.

The present undertaking is composed in a lucid style, suitable alike to the statesman and the general reader, after the fashion of my History.Strabo here alludes to his ̔ιστορικὰ?̔υπομνήματα, cited by Plutarch (Lucullus, 28, Sulla, 26). This work, in forty-three books, began where the History of Polybius ended, and was probably continued to the battle of Actium. Smith, Gr. and Rom. Biog. By a statesman we do not intend an illiterate person, but one who has gone through the course of a liberal and philosophical education. For a man who has bestowed no attention on virtue or intelligence, nor what constitutes them, must be incompetent either to blame or praise, still less to decide what actions are worthy to be placed on record.

Having already compiled our Historical Memoirs, which, as we conceive, are a valuable addition both to political and moral philosophy, we have now determined to follow it up with the present work, which has been prepared on the same system as the former, and for the same class of readers, but more particularly for those who are in high stations of life. And as our former production contains only the most striking events in the lives of distinguished men, omitting trifling and unimportant incidents; so here it will be proper to dismiss small and doubtful particulars, and merely call attention to great and remarkable transactions, such in fact as are usefill, memorable, and entertaining. In the colossal works of the sculptor we do not descend into a minute examination of particulars, but look principally for perfection in the general ensemble. This is the only method of criticism applicable to the present work. Its proportions, so to speak, are colossal; it deals in the generalities and main outlines of things, except now and then, when some minor detail can be selected, calculated to be serviceable to the seeker after knowledge, or the man of business.

We now think we have demonstrated that our present undertaking is one that requires great care, and is well worthy of a philosopher.

No one can [justly] blame us for having undertaken to write on a subject already often treated of, unless it appears that we have done nothing more than copy the works of former writers. In our opinion, though they may have perfectly treated some subjects, in others they have still left much to be completed; and we shall be justified in our performance, if we can add to their information even in a trifling degree. At the present moment the conquests of the Romans and Parthians have added much to our knowledge, which (as was well observed by Eratosthenes) had been considerably increased by the expedition of Alexander. This prince laid open to our view the greater part of Asia, and the whole north of Europe as far as the Danube. And the Romans [have discovered to us] the entire west of Europe as far as the river Elbe, which divides Germany, and the country beyond the Ister to the river Dniester. The country beyond this to the Maeotis,The Sea of Azof. and the coasts extending along Colchis,Mingrelia; east of the Euxine. was brought to light by Mithridates, surnamed Eupator, and his generals. To the Parthians we are indebted for a better acquaintance with Hyrcania,A large country of Asia to the south of the eastern part of the Caspian Sea. It became much restricted during the Parthian rule, containing only the north of Comis, east of Masanderan, the country near Corcan. or Jorjan, (Dshiordshian,) and the west of the province of Khorassan. Bactriana,A country of Asia, on the west bounded by Aria, south by the mountains of Paropamisus, east by the Emodi montes, north by Sogdiana, now belongs to the kingdom of Afhganistan. Bactriana was anciently the centre of Asiatic commerce. and the land of the ScythiansA general name given by the Greeks and Romans to a large portion of Asia, and divided by them into Scythia intra et extra Imaum, that is, on either side of Mount Imaus. This mountain is generally thought to answer to the Himalaya mountains of Thibet. lying beyond, of which before we knew but little. Thus we can add much information not supplied by former writers, but this will best be seen when we come to treat on the writers who have preceded us; and this method we shall pursue, not so much in regard to the primitive geographers, as to Eratosthenes and those subsequent to him. As these writers far surpassed the generality in the amount of their knowledge, so naturally it is more difficult to detect their errors when such occur. If I seem to contradict those most whom I take chiefly for my guides, I must claim indulgence on the plea, that it was never intended to criticise the whole body of geographers, the larger number of whom are not worthy of consideration, but to give an opinion of those only who are generally found correct. Still, while many are beneath discussion, such men as Eratosthenes, Posidonius, Hipparchus, Polybius, and others of their stamp, deserve our highest consideration.

Let us first examine Eratosthenes, reviewing at the same time what Hipparchus has advanced against him. Eratosthenes is much too creditable an historian for us to believe what Polemon endeavours to charge against him, that he had not even seen Athens. At the same time he does not merit that unbounded confidence which some seem to repose in him, although, as he himself tells us, he passed much of his time with first-rate [characters]. Never, says he, at one period, and in one city, were there so many philosophers flourishing together as in my time. In their number was Ariston and Arcesilaus. This, however, it seems is not sufficient, but you must also be able to choose who are the real guides whom it is your interest to follow. He considers Arcesilaus and Ariston to be the coryphaei of the philosophers who flourished in his time, and is ceaseless in his eulogies of Apelles and Bion, the latter of whom, says he, was the first to deck himself in the flowers of philosophy, but concerning whom one is often likewise tempted to exclaim, How great is Bion in spite of his rags!This seems to be a paraphrase of Homer’s verse on Ulysses, Odyssey xviii. 74. οἵην ἐκ ῥακέων ὁ γέοͅων ἐπιγουνίδα φαίνει.Odyssey xviii. 74. What thews And what a haunch the senior’s tatters hide. Cowper. It is in such instances as the following that the mediocrity of his genius shows itself.

Although at Athens he became a disciple of ZenoZeno, of Citium, a city in the island of Cyprus, founded by Phoenician settlers, was the son of Mnaseas. of Citium, he makes no mention of his followers; while those who opposed that philosopher, and of whose sect not a trace remains, he thinks fit to set down amongst the [great characters] who flourished in his time. His real character appears in his Treatise on Moral Philosophy,πεοͅὶ τῶν?̓αγαθῶν, is the title given by Strabo, but we find from Harpocrates and Clemens Alexandrinus, that properly it was πεοͅὶ?̓αγαθῶν καὶ κακῶν, or “Concerning Good and Evil Things ‘ which we have rendered in the text Moral Philosophy. his Meditations, and some similar productions. He seems to have held a middle course between the man who devotes himself to philosophy, and the man who cannot make up his mind to dedicate himself to it: and to have studied the science merely as a relief from his other pursuits, or as a pleasing and instructive recreation. In his other writings he is just the same; but let these things pass. We will now proceed as well as we can to the task of rectifying his geography.

First, then, let us return to the point which we lately deferred.

Eratosthenes says that the poet directs his whole attention to the amusement of the mind, and not at all to its instruction. In opposition to his idea, the ancients define poesy as a primitive philosophy, guiding our life from infancy, and pleasantly regulating our morals, our tastes, and our actions. The [Stoics] of our day affirm that the only wise man is the poet. On this account the earliest lessons which the citizens of Greece convey to their children are from the poets; certainly not alone for the purpose of amusing their minds, but for their instruction. Nay, even the professors of music, who give lessons on the harp, lyre, and pipe, lay claim to our consideration on the same account, since they say that [the accomplishments which they teach] are calculated to form and improve the character. It is not only among the Pythagoreans that one hears this claim supported, for Aristoxenus is of that opinion, and Homer too regarded the bards as amongst the wisest of mankind.

Of this number was the guardian of Clytemnestra, to whom the son of Atreus, when he set out for Troy, gave earnest charge to preserve his wife,Odyssey iii. 267. whom Aegisthus was unable to seduce, until leading the bard to a desert island, he left him,Ib. iii. 270. and then The queen he led, not willing less than he, To his own mansion.Ib. iii. 272.Ib. iii. 272.

But apart from all such considerations, Eratosthenes contradicts himself; for a little previously to the sentence which we have quoted, at the commencement of his Essay on Geography, he says, that all the ancient poets took delight in showing their knowledge of such matters. Homer inserted into his poetry all that he knew about the Ethiopians, Egypt, and Libya. Of all that related to Greece and the neighbouring places he entered even too minutely into the details, describing Thisbe as abounding in doves, Haliartus, grassy, Anthedon, the far distant, Litaea, situated on the sources of the Cephissus,Thisbe, Haliartus, Anthedon, cities of Boeotia; Litaea, a city of Phocis. The Cephissus, a large river, rising in the west of Phocis. and none of his epithets are without their meaning. But in pursuing this method, what object has he in view, to amuse [merely], or to instruct? The latter, doubtless. Well, perhaps he has told the truth in these instances, but in what was beyond his observation both he and the other writers have indulged in all the marvels of fable. If such be the case the statement should have been, that the poets relate some things for mere amusement, others for instruction; but he affirms that they do it altogether for amusement, without any view to information; and by way of climax, inquires, What can it add to Homer’s worth to be familiar with many lands, and skilled in strategy, agriculture, rhetoric, and similar information, which some persons seem desirous to make him possessed of. To seek to invest him with all this knowledge is most likely the effect of too great a zeal for his honour. Hipparchus observes, that to assert he was acquainted with every art and science, is like saying that an Attic eiresionèA harvest-wreath of laurel or olive wound round with wool, and adorned with fruits, borne about by singing-boys at the πυανεψια and θαοͅγὴλια, while offerings were made to Helios and the Hours: it was afterwards hung up at the house-door. The song was likewise called eiresionè, which became the general name for all begging-songs. bears pears and apples.

As far as this goes, Eratosthenes, you are right enough; not so, however, when you not only deny that Homer was possessed of these vast acquirements, but represent poetry in general as a tissue of old wives’ fables, where, to use your own expression, every thing thought likely to amuse is cooked up. I ask, is it of no value to the auditorsAuditors,] ἀκοͅοωμένοις. In Greece there was a class of lectures where the only duty of the professors was to explain the works of the poets, and point out the beauties which they contained. The students who attended these lectures were styled ἀκοͅοάται, or auditors, and the method of instruction ἀκοͅόασις. of the poets to be made acquainted with [the history of] different countries, with strategy, agriculture, and rhetoric, and suchlike things, which the lecture generally contains.

One thing is certain, that the poet has bestowed all these gifts upon Ulysses, whom beyond any of his other [heroes] he loves to adorn with every virtue. He says of him, that he Discover’d various cities, and the mind And manners learn’d of men in lands remote.Odyssey i 3.Odyssey i 3. That he was Of a piercing wit and deeply wise.Iliad iii. 202.Iliad iii. 202. He is continually described as the destroyer of cities, and as having vanquished Troy, by his counsels, his advice, and his deceptive art. Diomede says of him, Let him attend me, and through fire itself We shall return; for none is wise as he.Ib. x. 246.Ib. x. 246. He prides himself on his skill in husbandry, for at the harvest [he says], I with my well-bent sickle in my hand, Thou arm’d with one as keen.Odyssey xviii. 367.Odyssey xviii. 367. And also in tillage, Then shouldst thou see How straight my furrow should be cut and true.Ib. xviii. 374.Ib. xviii. 374. And Homer was not singular in his opinion regarding these matters, for all educated people appeal to him in favour of the idea that such practical knowledge is one of the chief means of acquiring understanding.

That eloquence is regarded as the wisdom of speech, Ulysses manifests throughout the whole poem, both in the Trial,The second book of the Iliad. the Petitions,The ninth book of the Iliad. and the Embassy.The deputation of Menelaus and Ulysses to demand back Helen, alluded to by Antenor, in the third book of the Iliad. Of him it is said by Antenor, But when he spake, forth from his breast did flow A torrent swift as winter’s feather’d snow.But when he did send forth the mighty voice from his breast, and words like unto wintry flakes of snow, no longer then would another mortal contend with Ulysses. Iliad iii. 221.Iliad iii. 221. Who can suppose that a poet capable of effectively introducing into his scenes rhetoricians, generals, and various other characters, each displaying some peculiar excellence, was nothing more than a droll or juggler, capable only of cheating or flattering his hearer, and not of instructing him.

Are we not all agreed that the chief merit of a poet consists in his accurate representation of the affairs of life? Can this be done by a mere driveller, unacquainted with the world?

The excellence of a poet is not to be measured by the same standard as that of a mechanic or a blacksmith, where honour and virtue have nothing to do with our estimate. But the poet and the individual are connected, and he only can become a good poet, who is in the first instance a worthy man.

To deny that our poet possesses the graces of oratory is using us hardly indeed. What is so befitting an orator, what so poetical as eloquence, and who so sweetly eloquent as Homer? But, by heaven! you’ll say, there are other styles of eloquence than those peculiar to poetry. Of course [I admit this]; in poetry itself there is the tragic and the comic style; in prose, the historic and the forensic. But is not language a generality, of which poetry and prose are forms? Yes, language is; but are not the rhetorical, the eloquent, and the florid styles also? I answer, that flowery prose is nothing but an imitation of poetry. Ornate poetry was the first to make its appearance, and was well received. Afterwards it was closely imitated by writers in the time of Cadmus, Pherecydes, and Hecataeus. The metre was the only thing dispensed with, every other poetic grace being carefully preserved. As time advanced, one after another of its beauties was discarded, till at last it came down from its glory into our common prose. In the same way we may say that comedy took its rise from tragedy, but descended from its lofty grandeur into what we now call the common parlance of daily life. And when [we find] the ancient writers making use of the expression to sing, to designate eloquence of style, this in itself is an evidence that poetry is the source and origin of all ornamented and rhetorical language. Poetry in ancient days was on every occasion accompanied by melody. The song or ode was but a modulated speech, from whence the words rhapsody, tragedy, comedy,So much of the meaning of this sentence depends upon the orthography, that its force is not fully perceptible in English; the Greek is as follows: τοῦτο δ’ ὴ͂ν ἡ ᾠδὴ λόγος μεμελισμένος ἀφ’ ού͂ δὴ ῥαψῳδίαη τ̓ ἔλεγον καὶ τοͅαγῳδίαν καὶ κωμῳδίαν. are derived; and since originally eloquence was the term made use of for the poetical effusions which were always of the nature of a song, it soon happened [that in speaking of poetry] some said, to sing, others, to be eloquent; and as the one term was early misapplied to prose compositions, the other also was soon applied in the same way. Lastly, the very term prose, which is applied to language not clothed in metre, seems to indicate, as it were, its descent from an elevation or chariot to the ground.This last sentence can convey little or no meaning to the English reader; its whole force in the original depending on verbal association. Its general scope however will be evident, when it is stated that in Greek, the same word, πεζὸς, which means a foot-soldier, signifies also prose composition. Hence Strabo’s allusion to the chariot. The Latins borrowed the expression, and used sermo pedestris in the same sense.

Homer accurately describes many distant countries, and not only Greece and the neighbouring places, as Eratosthenes asserts. His romance, too, is in better style than that of his successors. He does not make up wondrous tales on every occasion, but to instruct us the better often, and especially in the Odyssey, adds to the circumstances which have come under his actual observation, allegories, wise harangues, and enticing narrations. Concerning which, Eratosthenes is much mistaken when he says that both Homer and his commentators are a pack of fools. But this subject demands a little more of our attention.

To begin. The poets were by no means the first to avail themselves of myths. States and lawgivers had taken advantage of them long before, having observed the constitutional bias of mankind. Man is eager after knowledge, and the love of legend is but the prelude thereto. This is why children begin to listen [to fables], and are acquainted with them before any other kind of knowledge; the cause of this is that the myth introduces them to a new train of ideas, relating not to every-day occurrences, but something in addition to these.

A charm hangs round whatever is new and hitherto unknown, inspiring us with a desire to become acquainted with it, but when the wonderful and the marvellous are likewise present, our delight is increased until at last it becomes a philtre of study. To children we are obliged to hold out such enticements, in order that in riper years, when the mind is powerful, and no longer needs such stimulants, it may be prepared to enter on the study of actual realities.

Every illiterate and uninstructed man is yet a child, and takes delight in fable. With the partially informed it is much the same; reason is not all-powerful within him, and he still possesses the tastes of a child. But the marvellous, which is capable of exciting fear as well as pleasure, influences not childhood only, but age as well. As we relate to children pleasing tales to incite them [to any course] of action, and frightful ones to deter them, such as those of Lamia,A female phantom said to devour children, used by nurses as a bugbear to intimidate their refractory charges. Gorgo,In later times there were three Gorgons, Stheino, Euryale, and Medusa, but Homer seems to have known but one. Ephialtes,One of the giants, who in the war against the gods was deprived of his left eye by Apollo, and of the right by Hercules. and Mormolyca.The same phantom as Mormo, with which the Greeks used to frighten little children. So numbers of our citizens are incited to deeds of virtue by the beauties of fable, when they hear the poets in a strain of enthusiasm recording noble actions, such as the labours of Hercules or Theseus, and the honours bestowed on them by the gods, or even when they see paintings, sculptures, or figures bearing their romantic evidence to such events. In the same way they are restrained from vicious courses, when they think they have received from the gods by oracles or some other invisible intimations, threats, menaces, or chastisements, or even if they only believe they have befallen others. The great mass of women and common people, cannot be induced by mere force of reason to devote themselves to piety, virtue, and honesty; superstition must therefore be employed, and even this is insufficient without the aid of the marvellous and the terrible. For what are the thunderbolts, the aegis, the trident, the torches, the dragons, the barbed thyrses, the arms of the gods, and all the paraphernalia of antique theology, but fables employed by the founders of states, as bugbears to frighten timorous minds.

Such was mythology; and when our ancestors found it capable of subserving the purposes of social and political life, and even contributing to the knowledge of truth, they continued the education of childhood to maturer years, and maintained that poetry was sufficient to form the understanding of every age. In course of time history and our present philosophy were introduced; these, however, suffice but for the chosen few, and to the present day poetry is the main agent which instructs our people and crowds our theatres. Homer here stands pre-eminent, but in truth all the early historians and natural philosophers were mythologists as well.

Thus it is that our poet, though he sometimes employs fiction for the purposes of instruction, always gives the preference to truth; he makes use of what is false, merely tolerating it in order the more easily to lead and govern the multitude. As a man Binds with a golden verge Bright silver:Odyssey vi. 232.Odyssey vi. 232. so Homer, heightening by fiction actual occurrences, adorns and embellishes his subject; but his end is always the same as that of the historian, who relates nothing but facts. In this manner he undertook the narration of the Trojan war, gilding it with the beauties of fancy and the wanderings of Ulysses; but we shall never find Homer inventing an empty fable apart from the inculcation of truth. It is ever the case that a person lies most successfully, when he intermingles [into the falsehood] a sprinkling of truth. Such is the remark of Polybius in treating of the wanderings of Ulysses; such is also the meaning of the verse, He fabricated many falsehoods, relating them like truths:Odyssey xix. 203.Odyssey xix. 203. not all, but many falsehoods, otherwise it would not have looked like the truth. Homer’s narrative is founded on history. He tells us that king Aeolus governed the Lipari Islands, that around Mount Aetna and Leontini dwelt the Cyclopae, and certain Laestrygonians inhospitable to strangers. That at that time the districts surrounding the strait were unapproachable; and Scylla and Charybdis were infested by banditti. In like manner in the writings of Homer we are informed of other freebooters, who dwelt in divers regions. Being aware that the Cimmerians dwelt on the Cimmerian Bosphorus, a dark northern country, he felicitously locates them in a gloomy region close by Hades, a fit theatre for the scene in the wanderings of Ulysses. That he was acquainted with these people we may satisfy ourselves from the chroniclers, who report an incursion made by the Cimmerians either during his life-time or just before.

Being acquainted with Colchis, and the voyage of Jason to Aea, and also with the historical and fabulous relations concerning Circe and Medea, their enchantments and their various other points of resemblance, he feigns there was a relationship between them, notwithstanding the vast distance by which they were separated, the one dwelling in an inland creek of the Euxine, and the other in Italy, and both of them beyond the ocean.

It is possible that Jason himself wandered as far as Italy, for traces of the Argonautic expedition are pointed out near the CeraunianThe mountains of Chimera in Albania. mountains, by the Adriatic,The Gulf of Venice. at the PossidonianThe Gulf of Salerno. Gulf, and the isles adjacent to Tyrrhenia.The Grecian name for Tuscany. The Cyaneae, called by some the Symplegades,Several small islands, or rather reefs, at the entrance of the Strait of Constantinople. They took their name of Symplegades from the varying positions they assumed to the eyes of the voyager, owing to the sinuosities of the Strait. or Jostling Rocks, which render the passage through the Strait of Constantinople so difficult, also afforded matter to our poet. The actual existence of a place named Aea, stamped credibility upon his Aeaea; so did the Symplegades upon the Planctae, (the Jostling Rocks upon the Wandering Rocks,) and the passage of Jason through the midst of them; in the same way Scylla and Charybdis accredited the passage [of Ulysses] past those rocks. In his time people absolutely regarded the Euxine as a kind of second ocean, and placed those who had crossed it in the same list with navigators who had passed the Pillars.Unfortunately for Strabo’s illustration, no Grecian navigator had ever passed the Strait of Gibraltar in Homer’s time. It was looked upon as the largest of our seas, and was therefore par excellence styled the Sea, in the same way as Homer [is called] the Poet. In order therefore to be well received, it is probable he transferred the scenes from the Euxine to the ocean, so as not to stagger the general belief. And in my opinion those Solymi who possess the highest ridges of Taurus, lying between Lycia and Pisidia, and those who in their southern heights stand out most conspicuously to the dwellers on this side Taurus, and the inhabitants of the Euxine by a figure of speech, he describes as being beyond the ocean. For narrating the voyage of Ulysses in his ship, he says, But Neptune, traversing in his return From Ethiopia’s sons, the mountain heights Of Solymè, descried him from afar.The powerful Shaker of the Earth, as he was returning from the Ethiopians, beheld him from a distance, from the mountains of the Solymi. Odyssey v. 282.Odyssey v. 282.

It is probable he took his account of the one-eyed Cyclopae from Scythian history, for the Arimaspi, whom Aristaeus of Proconnesus describes in his Tales of the Arimaspi, are said to be distinguished by this peculiarity.

Having premised thus much, we must now take into consideration the reasons of those who assert that Homer makes Ulysses wander to Sicily or Italy, and also of those who denied this. The truth is, he may be equally interpreted on this subject either way, according as we take a correct or incorrect view of the case. Correct, if we understand that he was convinced of the reality of Ulysses’ wanderings there, and taking this truth as a foundation, raised thereon a poetical superstructure. And so far this description of him is right; for not about Italy only, but to the farthest extremities of Spain, traces of his wanderings and those of similar adventurers may still be found. Incorrect, if the scene-painting is received as fact, his Ocean, and Hades, the oxen of the sun, his hospitable reception by the goddesses, the metamorphoses, the gigantic size of the Cyclopae and Laestrygonians, the monstrous appearance of Scylla, the distance of the voyage, and other similar particulars, all alike manifestly fabulous. It is as idle to waste words with a person who thus openly maligns our poet, as it would be with one who should assert as true all the particulars of Ulysses’ return to Ithaca,There is some doubt as to the modern name of the island of Ithaca. D’Anville supposes it to be the island of Thiaki, between the island of Cephalonia and Acarnania, while Wheeler and others, who object to this island as being too large to answer the description of Ithaca given by Strabo, identify it with the little isle of Ithaco, between Thiaki and the main-land. the slaughter of the suitors, and the pitched battle between him and the Ithacans in the field. But nothing can be said against the man who understands the words of the poet in a rational way.

Eratosthenes, though on no sufficient grounds for so doing, rejects both these opinions, endeavouring in his attack on the latter, to refute by lengthened arguments what is manifestly absurd and unworthy of consideration, and in regard to the former, maintaining a poet to be a mere gossip, to whose worth an acquaintance with science or geography could not add in the least degree: since the scenes of certain of Homer’s fables are cast in actual localities, as Ilium,A name of the city of Troy, from Ilus, son of Tros. Pelion,A mountain of Magnesia in Thessaly. and Ida;A mountain in the Troad. others in purely imaginary regions, such as those of the Gorgons and Geryon. Of this latter class, he says, are the places mentioned in the wanderings of Ulysses, and those who pretend that they are not mere fabrications of the poet, but have an actual existence, are proved to be mistaken by the differences of opinion existing among themselves: for some of them assert that the Sirenes of Homer are situated close to Pelorus,Cape Faro in Sicily. and others that they are more than two thousand stadia distant,The stadia here mentioned are 700 to a degree; thus 2000 stadia amount to rather more than 57 marine leagues, which is the distance in a direct line from Cape Faro to the Capo della Minerva. near the Sirenussae,The Sirenussae are the rocks which form the southern cape of the Gulf of Naples, and at the same time separate it from the Gulf of Salerno. This cape, which was also called the promontory of Minerva, from the Athenaeum which stood there, preserves to this day the name of Capo della Minerva. a three-peaked rock which separates the Gulfs of Cummaea and Posidonium. Now, in the first place, this rock is not three-peaked, nor does it form a crest at the summit at all, but a long and narrow angle reaching from the territory of SurrentumNow Surrento. to the Strait of Capria,The island of Capri is opposite to the Capo della Minerva. having on one side of the mountain the temple of the Sirens, and on the other side, next the Gulf of Posidonius, three little rocky and uninhabited islands, named the Sirenes; upon the strait, is situated the Athenaeum, from which the rocky angle itself takes its name.

Further, if those who describe the geography of certain places do not agree in every particular, are we justified in at once rejecting their whole narration? Frequently this is a reason why it should receive the greater credit. For example, in the investigation whether the scene of Ulysses’ wanderings were Sicily or Italy, and the proper position of the Sirenes, they differ in so far that one places them at Pelorus, and the other at Sirenussae, but neither of them dissents from the idea that it was some where near Sicily or Italy. They add thereby strength to this view, inasmuch as though they are not agreed as to the exact locality, neither of them makes any question but that it was some where contiguous to Italy or Sicily. If a third party should add, that the monument of Parthenope, who was one of the Sirens, is shown at Naples, this only confirms us the more in our belief, for though a third place is introduced to our notice, still as Naples is situated in the gulf called by Eratosthenes the Cumaean, and which is formed by the Sirenussae, we are more confident still that the position of the Sirenes was some where close by.

That the poet did not search for accuracy in every minor detail we admit, but neither ought we to expect this of him; at the same time we are not to believe that he composed his poem without inquiring into the history of the Wandering, nor where and how it occurred.

Eratosthenes thinks it probable that Hesiod, having heard of the wanderings of Ulysses, and of their having taken place near to Sicily and Italy, embraced this view of the case, and not only describes the places spoken of by Homer, but also Aetna, the Isle of Ortygia,Now the Island of St. Marcian. near to Syracuse, and Tyrrhenia. As for Homer, he was altogether unacquainted with these places, and further, had no wish to lay the scene of the wanderings in any well-known locality. What! are then Aetna and Tyrrhenia such well-known places, and Scyllaeum, Charybdis, Circaeum,Monte Circello, near to Terracina. and the Sirenussae, so obscure? Or is Hesiod so correct as never to write nonsense, but always follow in the wake of received opinions, while Homer blurts out whatever comes uppermost? Without taking into consideration our remarks on the character and aptitude of Homer’s myths, a large array of writers who bear evidence to his statements, and the additional testimony of local tradition, are sufficient proof that his are not the inventions of poets or contemporary scribblers, but the record of real actors and real scenes.

The conjecture of Polybius in regard to the particulars of the wandering of Ulysses is excellent. He says that Aeolus instructed sailors how to navigate the strait, a difficult matter on account of the currents occasioned by the ebb and flow. and was therefore called the dispenser of the winds, and reputed their king.

In like manner Danaus for pointing out the springs of water that were in Argos, and Atreus for showing the retrograde movement of the sun in the heavens, from being mere soothsayers and diviners, were raised to the dignity of kings. And the priests of the Egyptians, the Chaldeans, and Magi, distinguished for their wisdom above those around them, obtained from our predecessors honour and authority; and so it is that in each of the gods, we worship the discoverer of some useful art.

Having thus introduced his subject, he does not allow us to consider the account of Aeolus, nor yet the rest of the Odyssey, as altogether mythical. There is a spice of the fabulous here, as well as in the Trojan War,The Iliad. but as respects Sicily, the poet accords entirely with the other historians who have written on the local traditions of Sicily and Italy. He altogether denies the justness of Eratosthenes’ dictum, that we may hope to discover the whereabout of Ulysses’ wanderings, when we can find the cobbler who sewed up the winds in the leathern sack. “And [adds Polybius] his description of the hunt of the galeotesSword-fish. at Scylla, ‘Plunged to her middle in the horrid den She lurks, protruding from the black abyss Her heads, with which the ravening monster dives In quest of dolphins, dog-fish, or of prey More bulky,And fishes there, watching about the rock for dolphins and dogs, and if she can any where take a larger whale. Odyssey xii. 95.Odyssey xii. 95. accords well with what takes place around Scyllaeum: for the thunny-fish, carried in shoals by Italy, and not being able to reach Sicily, fall into [the Strait], where they become the prey of larger fish, such as dolphins, dog-fish, and other cetacea, and it is by this means that the galeotes (which are also called sword-fish) and dogs fatten themselves. For the same thing occurs here, and at the rising of the Nile and other rivers, as takes place when a forest is on fire. Vast crowds of animals, in flying from the fire or the water, become the prey of beasts more powerful than themselves.”

He then goes on to describe the manner in which they catch the sword-fish at Scyllaeum. One look-out directs the whole body of fishers, who are in a vast number of small boats, each furnished with two oars, and two men to each boat. One man rows, the other stands on the prow, spear in hand, while the look-out has to signal the appearance of a sword-fish. (This fish, when swimming, has about a third of its body above water.) As it passes the boat, the fisher darts the spear from his hand, and when this is withdrawn, it leaves the sharp point with which it is furnished sticking in the flesh of the fish: this point is barbed, and loosely fixed to the spear for the purpose; it has a long end fastened to it; this they pay out to the wounded fish, till it is exhausted with its struggling and endeavours at escape. Afterwards they trail it to the shore, or, unless it is too large and full-grown, haul it into the boat. If the spear should fall into the sea, it is not lost, for it is jointed of oak and pine, so that when the oak sinks on account of its weight, it causes the other end to rise, and thus is easily recovered. It sometimes happens that the rower is wounded, even through the boat, and such is the size of the sword with which the galeote is armed, such the strength of the fish, and the method of the capture, that [in danger] it is not surpassed by the chase of the wild boar. From these facts (he says) we may conclude that Ulysses’ wanderings were close to Sicily, since Homer describes ScyllaThere is a very fine medallion in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, portraying Scylla as half woman, half dolphin, with a trident in her left hand, and seizing a fish with her right. From her middle protrude two half-bodied dogs, who assist the monster in swimming. as engaging in a pursuit exactly similar to that which is carried on at Scyllaeum. As to Charybdis, he describes just what takes place at the Strait of Messina: Each day she thrice disgorges,Odyssey xii. 105.Odyssey xii. 105. instead of twice, being only a mistake, either of the scribe or the historian.

The customs of the inhabitants of MeninxAt this place there was an altar consecrated to Ulysses. Meninx is now known as the island of Zerbi, on the side of the Bay of Cabus, on the coast of Africa. closely correspond to the description of the Lotophagi. If any thing does not correspond, it should be attributed to change, or to misconception, or to poetical licence, which is made up of history, rhetoric, and fiction. Truth is the aim of the historical portion, as for instance in the Catalogue of Ships,The second book of the Iliad. where the poet informs us of the peculiarities of each place, that one is rocky, another the furthest city, that this abounds in doves. and that is maritime. A lively interest is the end of the rhetorical, as when he points to us the combat; and of the fiction, pleasure and astonishment. A mere fabrication would neither be persuasive nor Homeric; and we know that his poem is generally considered a scientific treatise, notwithstanding what Eratosthenes may say, when he bids us not to judge poems by the standard of intellect, nor yet look to them for history.

It is most probable that the line Nine days by cruel storms thence was I borne Athwart the fishy deep,And from thence I was carried for nine days over t’ fishy sea by baleful winds. Odyssey ix. 82.Odyssey ix. 82. should be understood of merely a short distance, (for cruel storms do not blow in a right course,) and not of being carried beyond the ocean, as if impelled by favourable winds. And, says Polybius, allowing the distance from MaleaCape Maleo off the Morea. The distance from this point to Gibraltar is now estimated at 28° 34′. The 22,500 stadia of Polybius would equal 32° 8′ 34″. He was therefore out in his calculation by 3° 34′ 34″. to the Pillars to be 22,500 stadia, and supposing the rate of passage was the same throughout the nine days, the voyage must have been accomplished at the speed of 2500 stadia per diem: now who has ever recorded that the passage from Lycia or Rhodes to Alexandria, a distance of 4000 stadia, has been made in two days? To those who demand how it was that Ulysses, though he journeyed thrice to Sicily, never once navigated the Strait, we reply that, long after his time, voyagers always sedulously avoided that route.

Such are the sentiments of Polybius; and in many respects they are correct enough; but when he discusses the voyage beyond the ocean, and enters on minute calculations of the proportion borne by the distance to the number of days, he is greatly mistaken. He alleges perpetually the words of the poet, Nine days by cruel storms thence was I borne; but at the same time he takes no notice of this expression, which is his as well, And now borne sea-ward from the river stream Of the Oceanus;But when the ship left the stream of the river ocean. Odyss. xii. l.Odyss. xii. l. and this, In the island of Ogygia, the centre of the sea,Vide Odyssey i. 50.Odyssey i. 50. and that the daughter of AtlasCalypso. dwells there. And the following concerning the Phaeacians, Remote amid the billowy deep, we hold Our dwelling, utmost of all human kind, And free from mixture with a foreign race.And we dwell at a distance, the farthest in the sea of many waves, nor does any other of mortals mingle with us. Odyssey vi. 204.Odyssey vi. 204.

These passages clearly refer to the Atlantic Ocean,Gosselin has satisfactorily demonstrated that Strabo is wrong in supposing that these passages relate to the Atlantic Ocean, and most of our readers will come at once themselves to the same conclusion. Those, however, who wish for proofs, may refer to the French translation, vol. i. p. 51, n. but though so plainly expressed, Polybius slily manages to overlook them. Here he is altogether wrong, though quite correct about the wandering of Ulysses having taken place round Sicily and Italy, a fact which Homer establishes himself. Otherwise, what poet or writer could have persuaded the Neapolitans to assert that they possessed the tomb of ParthenopeThe ancient name of the city of Naples. the Siren, or the inhabitants of Cumae, Dicaearchia,Puteoli, now Pozzuolo, in Campania. and Vesuvius [to bear their testimony] to Pyriphlegethon, the Marsh of Acherusia,Mare Morto, south of Baïa, and near to the ruins of Mycene. to the oracle of the dead which was near Aornus,Aornus or Avernus: this lake, which lies about one mile north of Baïa, still retains its ancient appellation. and to Baius and Misenus,Vide Virgil, Aeneid vi. 162. the companions of Ulysses. The same is the case with the Sirenussae, and the Strait of Messina, and Scylla, and Charybdis, and Aeolus, all which things should neither be examined into too rigorously, nor yet [despised] as groundless and without foundation, alike remote from truth and historic value.

Eratosthenes seems to have had something like this view of the case himself, when he says, Any one would believe that the poet intended the western regions as the scene of Ulysses’ wanderings, but that he has departed from fact, sometimes through want of perfect information, at other times because he wished to give to scenes a more terrific and marvellous appearance than they actually possessed. So far this is true, but his idea of the object which the poet had in view while composing, is false; real advantage, not trifling, being his aim. We may justly reprehend his assertion on this point, as also where he says, that Homer places the scene of his marvels in distant lands that he may lie the more easily. Remote localities have not furnished him with near so many wonderful narrations as Greece, and the countries thereto adjacent; witness the labours of Hercules, and Theseus, the fables concerning Crete, Sicily, and the other islands; besides those connected with Cithaerum, Helicon,Cythaeron and Helicon, two mountains of Boeotia, the latter of which is now named Zagaro Voreni. Parnassus,Parnassus, a mountain of Phocis, near Delphi. Pelion,Pelion, a mountain of Magnesia, in Thessaly. and the whole of Attica and the Peloponnesus. Let us not therefore tax the poets with ignorance on account of the myths which they employ, and since, so far from myth being the staple, they for the most part avail themselves of actual occurrences, (and Homer does this in a remarkable degree,) the inquirer who will seek how far these ancient writers have wandered into fiction, ought not to scrutinize to what extent the fiction was carried, but rather what is the truth concerning those places and persons to which the fictions have been applied; for instance, whether the wanderings of Ulysses did actually occur, and where.

On the whole, however, it is not proper to place the works of Homer in the common catalogue of other poets, without challenging for him a superiority both in respect of his other [excellences] and also for the geography on which our attention is now engaged.

If any one were to do no more than merely read through the Triptolemus of Sophocles, or the prologue to the Bacchae of Euripides, and then compare them with the care taken by Homer in his geographical descriptions, he would at once perceive both the difference and superiority of the latter, for wherever there is necessity for arrangement in the localities he has immortalized, he is careful to preserve it as well in regard to Greece, as to foreign countries. They On the Olympian summit thought to fix Huge Ossa, and on Ossa’s towering head Pelion with all his forests.They attempted to place Ossa upon Olympus, and upon Ossa leafy Pelion. Odyssey xi. 314. The mountains Pelion, Ossa, and Olympus, bounded the eastern coasts of Thessaly. And Juno starting from the Olympian height O’erflew Pieria and the lovely plains Of broad Emathia;Pieria and Emathia, two countries of Macedonia. soaring thence she swept The snow-clad summit of the Thracian hillsThe mountains of Macedonia; this latter name was unknown to Homer, who consequently describes as Thracian, the whole of the people north of Thessaly. Steed-famed, nor printed, as she pass’d, the soil, From AthosThe Mount Santo of the moderns. the foaming billows borne.Juno, hastening, quitted the summit of Olympus, and having passed over Pieria, and fertile Emathia, she hastened over the snowy mountains of equestrian Thrace, most lofty summits. * * * * From Athos she descended to the foaming deep. Iliad xiv. 225. In the Catalogue he does not describe his cities in regular order, because here there was no necessity, but both the people and foreign countries he arranges correctly. Having wandered to Cyprus, and Phoenice, and the Egyptians, I came to the Ethiopians, and Sidonians, and Erembi, and Libya.Odyssey iv. 83. Hipparchus has drawn attention to this. But the two tragedians where there was great necessity for proper arrangement, oneEuripides, Bacchae, towards commencement. where he introduces Bacchus visiting the nations, the otherSophocles. Triptolemus sowing the earth, have brought in juxta-position places far remote, and separated those which were near.

And having left the wealthy lands of the Lydians and Phrygians, and the sunny plains of the Persians and the Bactrian walls, and having come over the stormy land of the Medes, and the Happy Arabia.The inaccuracy of the description consists in this; that Bacchus leaving Lydia and Phrygia should have taken his course by Media into Bactriana, and returned by Persia into Arabia Felix. Perhaps too, for greater exactness, Strabo would have had the god mention particularly the intermediate countries through which he necessarily passed, as Cappadocia, Armenia, Syria, etc. And the Triptolemus is just as inaccurate.

Further, in respect to the winds and climates, Homer shows the wide extent of his geographical knowledge, for in his topographical descriptions he not unfrequently informs us of both these matters. Thus, My abode Is sun-burnt Ithaca. Flat on the deep she lies, farthest removed Toward the west, while situate apart, Her sister islands face the rising day.But it lies low, the highest in the sea towards the west, but those that are separated from it [lie] towards the east and the sun. Odyssey ix. 25.Odyssey ix. 25. And, It has a two-fold entrance, One towards the north, the other south.Vide Odyssey xiii. 109, 111.Odyssey xiii. 109, 111. And again, Which I alike despise, speed they their course With right-hand flight towards the ruddy east, Or leftward down into the shades of eve.Which I very little regard, nor do I care for them whether they fly to the right, towards the morn and the sun, or to the left, towards the darkening west. Iliad xii. 239.Iliad xii. 239. Ignorance of such matters he reckons no less than confusion. Alas! my friends, for neither west Know we, nor east; where rises or where sets The all-enlightening sun.O my friends, since we know not where is the west, nor where the morning, nor where the sun. Odyssey x. 190.Odyssey x. 190. Where the poet has said properly enough, As when two adverse winds, blowing from Thrace, Boreas and Zephyrus,The north and west winds, which both blow from Thrace. Iliad ix. 5.Iliad ix.5. Eratosthenes ill-naturedly misrepresents him as saying in an absolute sense, that the west wind blows from Thrace; whereas he is not speaking in an absolute sense at all, but merely of the meeting of contrary winds near the bay of Melas,Now the Bay of Saros. on the Thracian sea, itself a part of the Aegaean. For where Thrace forms a kind of promontory, where it borders on Macedonia,These two provinces are comprised in the modern division of Roumelia. A portion of Macedonia still maintains its ancient name Makidunia. it takes a turn to the south-west, and projects into the ocean, and from this point it seems to the inhabitants of Thasos, Lemnos, Imbros, Samothracia,The modern names of these places are Thaso, Stalimene, Imbro, and Samothraki. and the surrounding sea, that the west winds blow.Strabo, as well as Casaubon in his notes on this passage, seems to have made an imperfect defence of Homer. The difficulty experienced, as well by them as Eratosthenes, arose from their overlooking the fact that Macedonia was a part of Thrace in Homer’s time, and that the name of Macedon did not exist. So in regard to Attica, they seem to come from the rocks of Sciros,These rocks were situated between the city of Megara and the isthmus of Corinth. and this is the reason why all the westerly winds, the north-west more particularly, are called the Scirones. Of this Eratosthenes was not aware, though he suspected as much, for it was he who described this bending of the land [towards the south-west] which we have mentioned. But he interprets our poet in an absolute sense, and then taxes him with ignorance, because, says he, Zephyr blows from the west, and off Spain, and Thrace does not extend so far. Does he then think that Homer was not aware that Zephyr came from the west, notwithstanding the careful manner in which he distinguishes its position when he writes as follows: The east, the south, the heavy-blowing Zephyr, And the cold north-wind clear.And the south-east and the south rushed together, and the hard-blowing west, and the cold-producing north. Odyssey v. 295.Odyssey v. 295. Or was he ignorant that Thrace did not extend beyond the Paeonian and Thessalian mountains.The western part of Thrace, afterwards named Macedonia; having Paeonia on the north, and Thessaly on the south. To be sure he was well acquainted with the position of the countries adjoining Thrace in that direction, and does he not mention by name both the maritime and inland districts, and tells us of the Magnetae,The Magnetae dwelt near to Mount Pelion and the Pelasgic Gulf, now the Bay of Volo. the Malians,These people dwelt between Mount Othrys, and the Maliac Gulf, now the Gulf of Zeitun. and other Grecian [territories], all in order, as far as Thesprotis;The maritime portion of Epirus opposite Corfu. also of the DolopesIn the time of Homer the Dolopes were the neighbours of the Paeonians, and dwelt in the north of that part of Thrace which afterwards formed Macedonia. Later, however, they descended into Thessaly, and established themselves around Pindus. bordering on Paeonia, and the Sellae who inhabit the territory around DodonaDodona was in Epirus, but its exact position is not known. as far as the [river] Achelous,Now Aspro-potamo, or the White River; this river flows into the sea at the entrance of the Gulf of Corinth. but he never mentions Thrace, as being beyond these. He has evidently a predilection for the sea which is nearest to him, and with which he is most familiar, as where he says, Commotion shook The whole assembly, such as heaves the flood Of the Icarian deep.And the assembly was moved, as the great waves of the Icarian sea. Iliad ii. 144.Iliad ii. 144.

Some writers tell us there are but two principal winds, the north and south, and that the other winds are only a slight difference in the direction of these two. That is, (supposing only two winds, the north and south,) the south wind from the commencement of the summer quarter blows in a south-easterly direction; and from the commencement of the winter quarter from the east. The north wind from the decline of the summer, blows in a westerly direction, and from the decline of the winter, in a north-westerly direction.

In support of this opinion of the two winds they adduce Thrasyalces and our poet himself, forasmuch as he mentions the north-west with the south, From the north-west south,̓αοͅγέσταο νὀτοιο, Iliad xi. 306, xxi. 334.̓αοͅγέστης strictly speaking means the north-west, and although, to an English ear, the north-west south seems at first absurd, yet in following up the argument which Strabo is engaged in, it is impossible to make use of any other terms than those which he has brought forward, and merely to have translated ἀργέσταο νότοιο by Argest-south, would have mystified the passage without cause. We do not here attempt to reconcile the various renderings of ἀοͅγέσταο νότοιο by Homeric critics, as Strabo’s sense alone concerns us.Iliad xi. 306, xxi. 334. and the west with the north, As when two adverse winds, blowing from Thrace, Boreas and Zephyrus.The north and west winds, which both blow from Thrace. Iliad ix. 5.Iliad ix. 5.

But Posidonius remarks that none of those who are really acquainted with these subjects, such as Aristotle, Timosthenes, and Bion the astronomer, entertain so mistaken an opinion in regard to the winds. They say that the north-east (Caecias) blows from the commencement of summer, and that the southwest wind (Libs), which is exactly opposite to this, blows from the decline of winter. And again, the south-east wind (Eurus), which is opposite to the north-west wind (Argestes), from the commencement of winter. The east and west winds being intermediate.

When our poet makes use of the expression stormy zephyr, he means the wind which is now called by us the north-west; and by the clear-blowing zephyr our west wind; our Leuconotus is his Argestes-notus, or clearing south wind,̓αοͅγέστης νότος, the clearing south wind, Horace’s Notus Albus;— in the improved compass of Aristotle, ἀοͅγέστης was the north-west wind, the Athenian σκείοͅων. for this wind brings but few clouds, all the other southern winds bringing clouds and rain,τοῦ λοιποῦ νότου ὅλου εὔοͅου πως ὄντος. MSS. i. e. all the other southern winds having an easterly direction. We have adopted the suggestion of Kramer, and translated the passage as if it stood thus, τοῦ λοιποῦ νότου ὀλεοͅοῦ πως ὄντος. As when whirlwinds of the west A storm encounter from the clearing south.As when the west wind agitates the light clouds of the clearing south, striking them with a dreadful gale. Iliad xi. 305.Iliad xi. 305. Here he alludes to the stormy zephyr, which very frequently scatters the feathery clouds brought up by the Leuconotus, or, as it is called by way of epithet, the clearing south.

The statements made by Eratosthenes in the first book of his Geography, require some such correction as this.

Persisting in his false views in relation to Homer, he goes on to say, He was ignorant that the Nile separated into many mouths, nay, he was not even acquainted with the name of the river, though Hesiod knew it well, for he even mentions it.Gosselin observes that Hesiod lived about forty years after Homer, and he mentions not only the Nile, but also the Po, with which certainly Homer was unacquainted. He speaks too of the Western Ocean, where he places the Gorgons, and the garden of the Hesperides. It is very likely that these various points of information were brought into Greece by the Carthaginians. The name Nile seems to be merely a descriptive title; it is still in use in many countries of India, where it signifies water. The river known subsequently as the Nile, was, in Homer’s time, called the River of Egypt, or the River Egyptus; by the latter of which titles he was acquainted with it. See Odyssey xvii. 448. In respect of the name, it is probable that it had not then been given to the river, and as to the mouths, if they were obscure and little known, will not every one excuse him for not being aware whether there were several or merely one? At that time, the river, its rising, and its mouths were considered, as they are at the present day, amongst the most remarkable, the most wonderful, and most worthy of recording of all the peculiarities of Egypt: who can suppose that those who told our poet of the country and river of Egypt, of Egyptian Thebes, and of Pharos, were unaware of the many embouchures of the Nile; or that being aware, they would not have described them, were it not that they were too generally known? But is it not inconceivable that Homer should describe Ethiopia, and the Sidonians, the Erembi, and the Exterior Sea,By this expression is intended the Atlantic.—should tell us that Ethiopia was divided into two parts, and yet nothing about those things which were nearer and better known? Certainly not, his not describing these things is no proof that he was not acquainted with them. He does not tell us of his own country, nor yet many other things. The most probable reason is, they were so generally known that they did not appear to him worth recording.Gosselin remarks that the arguments made use of by Strabo are not sufficiently conclusive. The country with which the Greeks were best acquainted was Greece, undoubtedly, and it is this land which Homer has described with the greatest exactness of detail.

Again, they are entirely wrong when they allege as a mark of Homer’s ignorance, that he describes the island of PharosAn island opposite to Alexandria, and seven stadia distant therefrom. The Ptolemies united it to the main-land by means of a pier, named Hepta-stadium, in allusion to its length. The sands which accumulated against the pier became the site of the present city of Alexandria. It was not on this island that the celebrated Pharos of Alexandria was erected, but on a desolate rock a little to the N. E. It received the same name as the island, to which it was joined by another pier. As to the passage of Homer, (Odyssey iv. 354–357,) where he says that Pharos is one day’s sail from the Egyptus, he does not mean Egypt, as Strabo fancies, but the mouth of the Nile, which river in his time was called the Egyptus, and probably fell into the sea about one day’s sail from Pharos. as entirely surrounded by the sea. On the contrary, it might be taken advantage of as a proof that our poet was not unacquainted with a single one of the points concerning Egypt which we have just been speaking of: and thus we demonstrate it:—Every one is prone to romance a little in narrating his travels, and Menelaus was no exception to the rule. He had been to Ethiopia,We have before remarked that the Ethiopia visited by Menelaus was not the country above Egypt, generally known by that name, but an Ethiopia lying round Jaffa, the ancient Joppa. and there heard much discussion concerning the sources of the Nile, and the alluvium which it deposited, both along its course, and also at its mouths, and the large additions which it had thereby made to the main-land, so as fully to justify the remark of HerodotusThe priests stated also that Menes was the first of mortals that ever ruled over Egypt; to this they added that in the days of that king, all Egypt, with the exception of the Thebaic nome, was but a morass; and that none of the lands now seen below Lake Moeris, then existed; from the sea up to this place is a voyage by the river of seven days. I myself am perfectly convinced the account of the priests in this particular is correct; for the thing is evident to every one who sees and has common sense, although he may not have heard the fact, that the Egypt to which the Hellenes navigate, is a land annexed to the Egyptians, and a gift from the river; and that even in the parts above the lake just mentioned, for three days’ sail, concerning which the priests relate nothing, the country is just of the same description. Herod. ii. § 5. that the whole of Egypt was a gift from the river; or if not the whole, at all events that part of it below the Delta, called Lower Egypt. He had heard too that Pharos was entirely surrounded by sea, and therefore misrepresented it as entirely surrounded by the sea, although it had long ago ceased so to be. Now the author of all this was Homer, and we therefore infer that he was not ignorant concerning either the sources or the mouths of the Nile.

They are again mistaken when they say that he was not aware of the isthmus between the sea of Egypt and the Arabian Gulf, and that his description is false, The Ethiopians, utmost of mankind, These eastward situate, those toward the west.The Ethiopians, who are divided into two parts, the most distant of men, some at the setting of the sun, others at the rising. Odyssey i. 23.Odyssey i. 23. Nevertheless he is correct, and the criticism of the moderns is quite out of place: indeed, there is so little truth in the assertion that Homer was ignorant of this isthmus, that I will venture to affirm he was not only acquainted with it, but has also accurately defined it. But none of the grammarians, not even the chiefs of their number, Aristarchus and Crates, have understood the words of our poet on this subject. For they disagree as to the words which follow this expression of Homer, The Ethiopians, utmost of mankind, These eastward situate, those towards the west,Odyssey i. 23.Odyssey i. 23. Aristarchus writing, These towards the west, and those towards the east, and Crates, As well in the west as also in the east. However, in regard to their hypotheses, it makes no difference whether the passage were written this way or that. One of them, in fact, takes what he considers the mathematical view of the case, and says that the torrid zone is occupied by the ocean,Many ancient writers entertained the opinion that the regions surrounding the terrestrial equator were occupied by the ocean, which formed a circular zone, separating our continent from that which they supposed to exist in the southern hemisphere. To the inhabitants of this second continent they gave the name of Antichthones. and that on each side of this there is a temperate zone, one inhabited by us and another opposite thereto. And as we call the Ethiopians, who are situated to the south, and dwell along the shores of the ocean, the most distant on the face of the inhabited globe; so he supposed that on the other side of the ocean,The Southern Ocean. there were certain Ethiopians dwelling along the shores, who would in like manner be considered the most distantOr nearest to the equator. by the inhabitants of the other temperate zone; and thus that the Ethiopians were double, separated into two divisions by the ocean. He adds, as well in the west as also in the east, because as the celestial zodiac always corresponds to the terrestrial, and never exceeds in its obliquity the space occupied by the two Ethiopias, the sun’s entire course must necessarily be within this space, and also his rising and setting, as it appears to different nations according to the sign which he may be in.

He (Crates) adopted this version, because he considered it the more astronomical. But it would have maintained his opinion of the division of the Ethiopians into two parts, and at the same time have been much more simple, had he said that the Ethiopians dwelt on either side of the ocean from the rising to the setting of the sun. In this case what difference does it make whether we follow his version, or adopt the reading of Aristarchus, These towards the west, and those towards the east? which also means, that whether east or west, on either side of the ocean, Ethiopians dwell. But Aristarchus rejects this hypothesis. He says, The Ethiopians with whom we are acquainted, and who are farthest south from the Greeks, are those described by the poet as being separated into two divisions. But Ethiopia is not so separated as to form two countries, one situated towards the west, the other towards the east, but only one, that which lies south of the Greeks and adjoins Egypt; but of this the poet was ignorant, as well as of other matters enumerated by Apollodorus, which he has falsely stated concerning various places in his second book, containing the catalogue of the ships.

To refute Crates would require a lengthened argument, which here perhaps may be considered out of place. Aristarchus we commend for rejecting the hypothesis of Crates, which is open to many objections, and for referring the expression of the poet to our Ethiopia. But the remainder of his statement we must discuss. First, his minute examination of the reading is altogether fruitless, for whichever way it may have been written, his interpretation is equally applicable to both; for what difference is there whether you say thus—In our opinion there are two Ethiopias, one towards the east, the other to the west; or thus—For they are as well towards the east as the west? Secondly, He makes false assumptions. For admitting that the poet was ignorant of the isthmus,The isthmus of Suez. and that he alludes to the Ethiopia contiguous to Egypt, when he says, The Ethiopians separated into two divisions;Odyssey i. 23.Odyssey i. 23. what then? Are they not separated into two divisions, and could the poet have thus expressed himself if he had been in ignorance? Is not Egypt, nay, are not the Egyptians, separated into two divisions by the Nile from the Delta to Syene,This explanation falls to the ground when we remember, that prior to the reign of Psammeticus no stranger had ever succeeded in penetrating into the interior of Egypt. This was the statement of the Greeks themselves. Now as Psammeticus did not flourish till two and a half centuries after Homer, that poet could not possibly have been aware of the circumstances which Strabo brings forward to justify his interpretation of this passage which he has undertaken to defend. These towards the west, those towards the east? And what else is Egypt, with the exception of the island formed by the river and overflowed by its waters; does it not lie on either side of the river both east and west?

Ethiopia runs in the same direction as Egypt, and resembles it both in its position with respect to the Nile, and in its other geographical circumstances. It is narrow, long, and subject to inundation; beyond the reach of this inundation it is desolate and parched, and unfitted for the habitation of man; some districts lying to the east and some to the west of [the river]. How then can we deny that it is separated into two divisions? Shall the Nile, which is looked upon by some people as the proper boundary line between Asia and Libya,Africa. and which extends southward in length more than 10,000 stadia, embracing in its breadth islands which contain populations of above ten thousand men, the largest of these being Meroe, the seat of empire and metropolis of the Ethiopians, be regarded as too insignificant to divide Ethiopia into two parts? The greatest obstacle which they who object to the river being made the line of demarcation between the two continents are able to allege, is, that Egypt and Ethiopia are by this means divided, one part of each being assigned to Libya, and the other to Asia, or, if this will not suit, the continents cannot be divided at all, or at least not by the river.

But besides these there is another method of dividing Ethiopia. All those who have sailed along the coasts of Libya, whether starting from the Arabian Gulf,The Red Sea. or the Pillars,The Strait of Gibraltar. after proceeding a certain distance, have been obliged to turn back again on account of a variety of accidents; and thus originated a general belief that it was divided midway by some isthmus, although the whole of the Atlantic Ocean is confluent, more especially towards the south. Besides, all of these navigators called the final country which they reached, Ethiopia, and described it under that name. Is it therefore at all incredible, that Homer, misled by such reports, separated them into two divisions, one towards the east and the other west, not knowing whether there were any intermediate countries or not? But there is another ancient tradition related by Ephorus, which Homer had probably fallen in with. He tells us it is reported by the Tartessians,The Tartessians were the inhabitants of the island of Tartessus, formed by the two arms of the Baetis, (the present Guadalquiver,) near the mouth of this river. One of these arms being now dried up, the island is reunited to the mainland. It forms part of the present district of Andalusia. The tradition, says Gosselin, reported by Ephorus, seems to me to resemble that still preserved at Tingis, a city of Mauritania, so late as the sixth century. Procopius (Vandalicor. ii. 10) relates that there were two columns at Tingis bearing the following inscription in the Phoenician language, We are they who fled before the brigand Joshua, the son of Naue (Nun). It does not concern us to inquire whether these columns actually existed in the time of Procopius, but merely to remark two independent facts. The first is the tradition generally received for more than twenty centuries, that the coming of the Israelites into Palestine drove one body of Canaanites, its ancient inhabitants, to the extremities of the Mediterranean, while another party went to establish, among the savage tribes of the Peloponnesus and Attica, the earliest kingdoms known in Europe. The second observation has reference to the name of Ethiopians given by Ephorus to this fugitive people, as confirming what we have before stated, that the environs of Jaffa, and possibly the entire of Palestine, anciently bore the name of Ethiopia: and it is here we must leek for the Ethiopians of Homer, and not in the interior of Africa. that some of the Ethiopians, on their arrival in Libya,Africa. penetrated into the extreme west, and settled down there, while the rest occupied the greater part of the sea-coast; and in support of this statement he quotes the passage of Homer, The Ethiopians, the farthest removed of men, separated into two divisions.

These and other more stringent arguments may be urged against Aristarchus and those of his school, to clear our poet from the charge of such gross ignorance. I assert that the ancient Greeks, in the same way as they classed all the northern nations with which they were familiar under the one name of Scythians, or, according to Homer, Nomades, and afterwards becoming acquainted with those towards the west, styled them Kelts and Iberians; sometimes compounding the names into Keltiberians, or Keltoscythians, thus ignorantly uniting various distinct nations; so I affirm they designated as Ethiopia the whole of the southern countries towards the ocean. Of this there is evidence, for Aeschylus, in the Prometheus Loosed,This piece is now lost. thus speaks: There [is] the sacred wave, and the coralled bed of the Erythraean Sea, and [there] the luxuriant marsh of the Ethiopians, situated near the ocean, glitters like polished brass; where daily in the soft and tepid stream, the all-seeing sun bathes his undying self, and refreshes his weary steeds. And as the ocean holds the same position in respect to the sun, and serves the same purpose throughout the whole southern region,τὸ μεσημβοͅινὸν κλίμα. heAeschylus. therefore concludes that the Ethiopians inhabited the whole of the region.

And Euripides in his PhaetonThis piece is now lost. says that Clymene was given To Merops, sovereign of that land Which from his four-horsed chariot first The rising sun strikes with his golden rays; And which its swarthy neighbours call The radiant stable of the Morn and Sun. Here the poet merely describes them as the common stables of the Morning and of the Sun; but further on he tells us they were near to the dwellings of Merops, and in fact the whole plot of the piece has reference to this. This does not therefore refer alone to the [land] next to Egypt, but rather to the whole southern country extending along the sea-coast.

Ephorus likewise shows us the opinion of the ancients respecting Ethiopia, in his Treatise on Europe. He says, If the whole celestial and terrestrial globe were divided into four parts, the Indians would possess that towards the east, the Ethiopians towards the south, the Kelts towards the west, and the Scythians towards the north. He adds that Ethiopia is larger than Scythia; for, says he, it appears that the country of the Ethiopians extends from the rising to the setting of the sun in winter; and Scythia is opposite to it. It is evident this was the opinion of Homer, since he places Ithaca Towards the gloomy region,Odyssey ix. 26.Odyssey ix. 26. that is, towards the north,Strabo is mistaken in interpreting πρὸς ζόφον towards the north. It means here, as every where else, towards the west, and allusion in the passage is made to Ithaca as lying west of Greece. but the others apart, Towards the morning and the sun, by which he means the whole southern hemisphere: and again when he says, speed they their course With right-hand flight towards the ruddy east, Or leftward down into the shades of eve.Whether they fly to the right towards the morn and the sun, or to the left towards the darkening west. Iliad xii. 239.Iliad xii. 239. And again, Alas! my friends, for neither west Know we, nor east, where rises or where sets The all-enlightening sun.O my friends! since we know not where is the west, nor where the morning, nor where the sun that gives light to mortals descends beneath the earth, nor where he rises up again. Odyssey x. 190.Odyssey x. 190. Which we shall explain more fully when we come to speak of Ithaca.In Book x.

When therefore he says, For to the banks of the Oceanus, Where Ethiopia holds a feast to Jove, He journey’d yesterday,For yesterday Jove went to Oceanus to the blameless Ethiopians, to a banquet. Iliad i. 423.Iliad i. 423. we should take this in a general sense, and understand by it the whole of the ocean which washes Ethiopia and the southern region, for to whatever part of this region you direct your attention, you will there find both the ocean and Ethiopia. It is in a similar style he says, But Neptune, traversing in his return From Ethiopia’s sons the mountain heights Of Solymè, descried him from afar.The powerful shaker of the earth, as he was returning from the Ethiopians, beheld him from a distance, from the mountains of the Solymi, Odyssey v. 282.Odyssey v. 282. which is equal to saying, in his return from the southern regions,This would be true if Homer had lived two or three centuries later, when the Greeks became acquainted with the Ethiopians on the eastern and western coasts of Africa. But as the poet was only familiar with the Mediterranean, there is no question that the Ethiopians mentioned in this passage are those of Phoenicia and Palestine. meaning by the Solymi, as I remarked before, not those of Pisidia, but certain others merely imaginary, having the same name, and bearing the like relation to the navigators in [Ulysses’] ship, and the southern inhabitants there called Ethiopians, as those of Pisidia do in regard to Pontus and the inhabitants of Egyptian Ethiopia. What he says about the cranes must likewise be understood in a general sense. Such clang is heard Along the skies, when from incessant showers Escaping, and from winter’s cold, the cranes Take wing, and over ocean speed away. Woe to the land of dwarfs! prepared they fly For slaughter of the small Pygmaean race.Which, after they have escaped the winter and immeasurable shower, with a clamour wing their way towards the streams of the ocean bearing slaughter and fate to the Pygmaean men. Iliad iii. 3.Iliad iii. 3. For it is not in Greece alone that the crane is observed to emigrate to more southern regions, but likewise from Italy and Iberia,Gosselin is of opinion that this Iberia has no reference to Spain, but is a country situated between the Euxine and Caspian Seas, and forms part of the present Georgia. He assigns as his reason, that if Strabo had meant to refer to Spain, he would have mentioned it before Italy, so as not to interrupt the geographical order, which he is always careful to observe. from [the shores of] the Caspian, and from Bactriana. But since the ocean extends along the whole southern coast, and the cranes fly to all parts of it indiscriminately at the approach of winter, we must likewise believe that the PygmiesPygmy, (πυγμαῖος,) a being whose length is a πυγμὴ, that is, from the elbow to the hand. The Pygmaei were a fabulous nation of dwarfs, the Lilliputians of antiquity, who, according to Homer, had every spring to sustain a war against the cranes on the banks of Oceanus. They were believed to have been descended from Pygmraeus, a son of Dorus and grandson of Epaphus. Later writers usually place them near the sources of the Nile, whither the cranes are said to have migrated every year to take possession of the field of the Pygmies. The reports of them have been embellished in a variety of ways by the ancients. Hecataeus, for example, related that they cut down every corn-ear with an axe, for they were conceived to be an agricultural people. When Hercules came into their country, they climbed with ladders to the edge of his goblet to drink from it; and when they attacked the hero, a whole army of them made an assault upon his left hand, while two made the attack on his right. Aristotle did not believe that the accounts of the Pygmies were altogether fabulous, but thought that they were a tribe in Upper Egypt, who had exceedingly small horses, and lived in caves. In later times we also hear of Northern Pygmies, who lived in the neighbourhood of Thule: they are described as very short-lived, small, and armed with spears like needles. Lastly, we also have mention of Indian Pygmies, who lived under the earth on the east of the river Ganges. Smith, Diet. Biog. and Mythol. Various attempts have been made to account for this singular belief, which however seems to have its only origin in the love of the Marvellous. were equally considered to inhabit the whole of it. And if the moderns have confined the term of Ethiopians to those only who dwell near to Egypt, and have also restricted the Pygmies in like manner, this must not be allowed to interfere with the meaning of the ancients. We do not speak of all the people who fought against Troy as merely Achaeans and Argives, though Homer describes the whole under those two names. Similar to this is my remark concerning the separation of the Ethiopians into two divisions, that under that designation we should understand the whole of the nations inhabiting the sea-board from east to west. The Ethiopians taken in this sense are naturally separated into two parts by the Arabian Gulf, which occupies a considerable portion of a meridian circle,It must be observed that the Arabian Gulf, or Red Sea, does not run parallel to the equator, consequently it could not form any considerable part of a meridian circle; thus Strabo is wrong even as to the physical position of the Gulf, but this is not much to be wondered at, as he supposed in equatorial division of the earth into two hemispheres by the ocean. and resembles a river, being in length nearly 15,000 stadia,15,000 of the stadia employed by Strabo were equivalent to 21° 25′ 13″. The distance from the Isthmus of Suez to the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, following our better charts, is 20° 15′. Strabo says nearly 15,000 stadia; and this length may be considered just equal to that of the Arabian Gulf. Its breadth, so far as we know, is in some places equal to 1800 stadia. and in breadth not above 1000 at the widest point. In addition to the length, the recess of the Gulf is distant from the sea at Pelusium only three or four days’ journey across the isthmus. On this account those who are most felicitous in their division of Asia and Africa, prefer the GulfThe Arabian Gulf, or Red Sea. as a better boundary line for the two continents than the Nile, since it extends almost entirely from sea to sea, whereas the Nile is so remote from the ocean that it does not by any means divide the whole of Asia from Africa. On this account I believe it was the Gulf which the poet looked upon as dividing into two portions the whole southern regions of the inhabited earth. Is it possible, then, that he was unacquainted with the isthmus which separates this Gulf from the Egyptian Sea?The Mediterranean.

It is quite irrational to suppose that he could be accurately acquainted with Egyptian Thebes,Aristotle accounts for Homer’s mentioning Thebes rather than Memphis, by saying that, at the time of the poet, the formation of that part of Egypt by alluvial deposit was very recent. So that Memphis either did no then exist, or at all events had not then obtained its after celebrity. Aristotle likewise seems to say that anciently Egypt consisted only of the territory of the Thebaid, καὶ τὸ ἀοͅχαῖον ἡ αἴυπτος, θῆβαι καλούμεναι. which is separated from our seaThe Mediterranean. by a little less than 5000

Gosselin says, Read 4000, as in lib. xvii. This correction is indicated by the following measure given by Herodotus: From the sea to Heliopolis . . . . . 1500 stadia From Heliopolis to Thebes . . . . . 4860 —— 6360

The stadium made use of in Egypt at the time of Herodotus consisted of 1111 1/9 to a degree on the grand circle, as may be seen by comparing the measure of the coasts of the Delta furnished by that historian with our actual information. The length of this stadium may likewise be ascertained by reference to Aristotle. In the time of Eratosthenes and Strabo, the stadium of 700 to a degree was employed in Egypt. Now 6360 stadia of 1111 1/9 to a degree make just 4006 stadia of 700: consequently these two measures are identical, their apparent inconsistency merely resulting from the different scales by which preceding authors had expressed them. This reasoning seems very plausible, but we must remark that Col. Leake, in a valuable paper On the Stade as a Linear Measure, published in vol. ix. of the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, is of opinion that Gosselin’s system of stadia of different lengths cannot be maintained. stadia; and yet ignorant of the recess of the Arabian Gulf, and of the isthmus there, whose breadth is not more than 1000 stadia. Still more, would it not be ridiculous to believe that Homer was aware the Nile was called by the same name as the vast country [of Egypt], and yet unacquainted with the reason why? especially since the saying of Herodotus would occur to him, that the country was a gift from the river, and it ought therefore to bear its name. Further, the best known peculiarities of a country are those which have something of the nature of a paradox, and are likely to arrest general attention. Of this kind are the rising of the Nile, and the alluvial deposition at its mouth. There is nothing in the whole country to which travellers in Egypt so immediately direct their inquiries, as the character of the Nile; nor do the inhabitants possess any thing else equally wonderful and curious, of which to inform foreigners; for in fact, to give them a description of the river, is to lay open to their view every main characteristic of the country. It is the question put before every other by those who have never seen Egypt themselves. To these considerations we must add Homer’s thirst after knowledge, and his delight in visiting foreign lands, (tastes which we are assured both by those who have written histories of his life, and also by innumerable testimonies throughout his own poems, he possessed in an eminent degree,) and we shall have abundant evidence both of the extent of his information, and the felicity with which he described objects he deemed important, and passed over altogether, or with slight allusion, matters which were generally known.

These Egyptians and SyriansNamely Crates and Aristarchus. The last was of Alexandria, and consequently an Egyptian. Crates was of Cilicia, which was regarded as a part of Syria. whom we have been criticising fill one with amazement. They do not understand [Homer], even when he is describing their own countries, but accuse him of ignorance where, as our argument proves, they are open to the charge themselves. Not to mention a thing is clearly no evidence that a person is not acquainted with it.This is a very favourite axiom with Strabo, notwithstanding he too often forgets it himself. Homer does not tell us of the change in the current of the Euripus, nor of Thermopylae, nor of many other remarkable things well known to the Greeks; but was he therefore unacquainted with them? He describes to us, although these men, who are obstinately deaf, will not hear: they have themselves to blame.

Our poet applies to rivers the epithet of heaven-sent. And this not only to mountain torrents, but to all rivers alike, since they are all replenished by the showers. But even what is general becomes particular when it is bestowed on any object par excellence. Heaven-sent, when applied to a mountain torrent, means something else than when it is the epithet of the ever-flowing river; but the force of the term is doubly felt when attributed to the Nile. For as there are hyperboles of hyperboles, for instance, to be lighter than the shadow of a cork, more timid than a Phrygian hare,The Phrygians were considered to be more timid than any other people, and consequently the hares of their country more timid than those of any other. We see then a twofold hyperbole in the expression that a man is more timid than a Phrygian hare.to possess an estate shorter than a Lacedaemonian epistle; so excellence becomes more excellent, when the title of heaven-sent is given to the Nile. The mountain torrent has a better claim to be called heaven-sent than other rivers, but the Nile exceeds the mountain torrents, both in its size and the lengthened period of its overflow. Since, then, the wonders of this river were known to our poet, as we have shown in this defence, when he applies this epithet to the Nile, it must only be understood in the way we have explained. Homer did not think it worth mentioning, especially to those who were acquainted with the fact, that the Nile had many mouths, since this is a common feature of numerous other rivers. AlcaeusAlcaeus of Mitylene in the island of Lesbos, the earliest of the Aeolian lyric poets, began to flourish in the forty-second Olympiad (B. C. 610). In the second year of this Olympiad we find Cicis and Antimenidas, the brothers of Alcaeus, fighting under Pittacus against Melanchrus, who is described as the tyrant of Lesbos, and who fell in the conflict. Alcaeus does not appear to have taken part with his brothers on this occasion; on the contrary, he speaks of Melanchrus in terms of high praise. Alcaeus is mentioned in connexion with the war in Troas, between the Athenians and Mitylenaeans, for the possession of Sigaeum. During the period which followed this war, the contest between the nobles and the people of Mitylene was brought to a crisis. The party of Alcaeus engaged actively on the side of the nobles, and was defeated. When he and his brother Antimenidas perceived that all hope of their restoration to Mitylene was gone, they travelled over different countries. Alcaeus visited Egypt, and appears to have written poems in which his adventures by sea were described. Horace, Carm. ii. 13. 26. See Smith’s Diet. of Biog. and Mythol. does not mention it, although he tells us he had been in Egypt. One might infer the fact of its alluvial deposit, both From the rising [of the river] and what Homer tells us concerning Pharos. For his account, or rather the vulgar report concerning Pharos, that it was distant from the mainland a whole day’s voyage, ought not to be looked upon as a downright falsehood.

It is clear that Homer was only acquainted with the rising and deposit of the river in a general way, and concluding from what he heard that the island had been further removed in the time of Menelaus from the mainland, than it was in his own, he magnified the distance, simply that he might heighten the fiction. Fictions however are not the offspring of ignorance, as is sufficiently plain from those concerning Proteus, the Pygmies, the efficacy of charms, and many others similar to these fabricated by the poets. They narrate these things not through ignorance of the localities, but for the sake of giving pleasure and enjoyment. But [some one may inquire], how could he describe [Pharos], which is without water as possessed of that necessary? The haven there is good, and many a ship Finds watering there from rivulets on the coast.But in it there is a haven with good mooring, from whence they takes equal ships into the sea, having drawn black water. Odyssey iv. 358.Odyssey iv. 358. [I answer,] It is not impossible that the sources of water may since have failed. Besides, he does not say that the water was procured from the island, but that they went thither on account of the safety of the harbour; the water was probably obtained from the mainland, and by the expression the poet seems to admit that what he had before said of its being wholly surrounded by sea was not the actual fact, but a hyperbole or fiction.

As his description of the wanderings of Menelaus may seem to authenticate the charge of ignorance made against him in respect to those regions, it will perhaps be best to point out the difficulties of the narrative, and their explanation, and at the same time enter into a fuller defence of our poet. Menelaus thus addresses Telemachus, who is admiring the splendour of his palace: After numerous toils And perilous wanderings o’er the stormy deep, In the eighth year at last I brought them home. Cyprus, Phoenicia, Sidon, and the shores Of Egypt, roaming without hope, I reach’d, In distant Ethiopia thence arrived, And Libya.Certainly having suffered many things, and having wandered much, I was brought in my ships, and I returned in the eighth year; having wandered to Cyprus, and Phoenice, and the Egyptians, I came to the Ethiopians and Sidonians, and Erembians, and Libya. Odyssey iv. 81.Odyssey iv. 81.

It is asked, What Ethiopians could he have met with on his voyage from Egypt? None are to be found dwelling by our sea,On the coasts of the Mediterranean. and with his vesselsStrabo intends to say that the ships of Menelaus were not constructed so as to be capable of being taken to pieces, and carried on the backs of the sailors, as those of the Ethiopians were. he could never have reached the cataracts of the Nile. Next, who are the Sidonians? Certainly not the inhabitants of Phoenicia; for leaving mentioned the genus, he would assuredly not particularize the species.Having mentioned the Phoenicians, amongst whom the Sidonians are comprised, he certainly would not have enumerated these latter as a separate people. And then the Erembi; this is altogether a new name. Our contemporary Aristonicus, the grammarian, in his [observations] on the wanderings of Menelaus, has recorded the opinions of numerous writers on each of the heads under discussion. It will be sufficient for us to refer to them very briefly. They who assert that Menelaus went by sea to Ethiopia, tell us he directed his course past Cadiz into the Indian Ocean;That is to say, that he made the entire circuit of Africa, starting from Cadiz, and doubling the Cape of Good Hope. Such was the opinion of Crates, who endeavoured to explain all the expressions of Homer after mathematical hypotheses. If any one were to inquire how Menelaus, who was wandering about the Mediterranean, could have come into Ethiopia, Crates would answer, that Menelaus left the Mediterranean and entered the Atlantic, whence he could easily travel by sea into Ethiopia. In this he merely followed the hypothesis of the mathematicians, who said that the inhabited earth in all its southern portion was traversed by the Atlantic Ocean, and the other seas contiguous thereto. with which, say they, the long duration of his wanderings agrees, since he did not arrive there till the eighth year. Others, that he passed through the isthmusThe Isthmus of Suez. This isthmus they supposed to be covered by the sea, as Strabo explains further on. which enters the Arabian Gulf; and others again, through one of the canals. At the same time the idea of this circumnavigation, which owes its origin to Crates, is not necessary; we do not mean it was impossible, (for the wanderings of Ulysses are not impossible,) but neither the mathematical hypothesis, not yet the duration of the wandering, require such an explanation; for he was both retarded against his will by accidents in the voyage, as by [the tempest] which he narrates five only of his sixty ships survived; and also by voluntary delays for the sake of amassing wealth. Nestor says [of him], Thus he, provision gathering as he went, And gold abundant, roam’d to distant lands.Thus far he, collecting much property and gold, wandered with his ships. Odyssey iii. 301.Odyssey iii. 301. [And Menelaus himself], Cyprus, Phoenicia, and the Egyptians’ land I wandered through.Odyssey iv. 83.Odyssey iv. 83.

As to the navigation of the isthmus, or one of the canals, if it had been related by Homer himself, we should have counted it a myth; but as he does not relate it, we regard it as entirely extravagant and unworthy of belief. We say unworthy of belief, because at the time of the Trojan war no canal was in existence. It is recorded that Sesostris, who had planned the formation of one, apprehending that the level of the sea was too high to admit of it, desisted from the undertaking.Strabo here appears to have followed Aristotle, who attributes to Sesostris the construction of the first canal connecting the Mediterranean, or rather the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, with the Red Sea. Pliny has followed the same tradition. Strabo, Book xvii., informs us, that other authors attribute the canal to Necho the son of Psammeticus; and this is the opinion of Herodotus and Diodorus. It is possible these authors may be speaking of two different attempts to cut this canal. Sesostris flourished about 1356 years before Christ, Necho 615 years before the same era. About a century after Necho, Darius the son of Hystaspes made the undertaking, but desisted under the false impression that the level of the Red Sea was higher than that of the Mediterranean. Ptolemy Philadelphus proved this to be an error, by uniting the Red Sea to the Nile without causing any inundation. At the time of Trojan and Hadrian the communication was still in existence, though subsequently it became choked up by an accumulation of sand. It will be remembered that a recent proposition for opening the canal was opposed in Egypt on similar grounds.

Moreover the isthmus itself was not passable for ships, and Eratosthenes is unfortunate in his conjecture, for he considers that the strait at the Pillars was not then formed, so that the Atlantic should by that channel communicate with the Mediterranean, and that this sea being higher than the Isthmus [of Suez], covered it; but when the Strait [of Gibraltar] was formed, the sea subsided considerably; and left the land about CasiumMount El Kas. and PelusiumTineh. dry as far over as the Red Sea.

But what account have we of the formation of this strait, supposing it were not in existence prior to the Trojan war? Is it likely that our poet would make Ulysses sail out through the Strait [of Gibraltar] into the Atlantic Ocean, as if that strait already existed, and at the same time describe Menelaus conducting his ships from Egypt to the Red Sea, as if it did not exist. Further, the poet introduces Proteus as saying to him, Thee the gods Have destined to the blest Elysian Isles, Earth’s utmost boundaries.But the immortals will send you to the Elysian plain, and the boundaries of the earth. Odyssey iv. 563.Odyssey iv. 563. And what this place was, namely, some far western region, is evident from [the mention of] the Zephyr in connexion with it: But Zephyr always gently from the sea Breathes on them.But ever does the ocean send forth the gently blowing breezes of the west wind. Odyssey iv. 567.Odyssey iv. 567. This, however, is very enigmatical.

But if our poet speaks of the Isthmus of Suez as ever having been the strait of confluence between the Mediterranean and the Red Seas, how much more credit may we attribute to his division of the Ethiopians into two portions, being thus separated by so grand a strait! And what commerce could he have carried on with the Ethiopians who dwelt by the shores of the exterior sea and the ocean? Telemachus and his companions admire the multitude of ornaments that were in the palace, Of gold, electrum, silver, ivory.Odyssey iv. 73.See Strabo’s description of electrum, Book iii. c. ii. § 8.Odyssey iv. 73. Now the Ethiopians are possessed of none of these productions in any abundance, excepting ivory, being for the most part a needy and nomad race. True, [you say,] but adjoining them is Arabia, and the whole country as far as India. One of these is distinguished above all other lands by the title of Felix,Blessed. and the other, though not dignified by that name, is both generally believed and also said to be preeminently Blessed.

But [we reply], Homer was not acquainted with India, or he would have described it. And though he knew of the Arabia which is now named Felix, at that time it was by no means wealthy, but a wild country, the inhabitants of which dwelt for the most part in tents. It is only a small district which produces the aromatics from which the whole territory afterwards received its name,The name of Arabia Felix is now confined to Yemen. A much larger territory was anciently comprehended under this designation, containing the whole of Hedjaz, and even Nedjed-el-Ared. It is probable that Strabo here speaks of Hedjaz, situated about two days’ journey south of Mecca. owing to the rarity of the commodity amongst us, and the value set upon it. That the Arabians are now flourishing and wealthy is due to their vast and extended traffic, but formerly it does not appear to have been considerable. A merchant or camel-driver might attain to opulence by the sale of these aromatics and similar commodities; but Menelaus could only become so either by plunder, or presents conferred on him by kings and nobles, who had the means at their disposal, and wished to gratify one so distinguished by glory and renown. The Egyptians, it is true, and the neighbouring Ethiopians and Arabians, were not so entirely destitute of the luxuries of civilization, nor so unacquainted with the fame of Agamemnon, especially after the termination of the Trojan war, but that Menelaus might have expected some benefits from their generosity, even as the breastplate of Agamemnon is said to be The gift Of Cinyras long since; for rumour loud Had Cyprus reached.Iliad xi. 20.Iliad xi. 20. And we are told that the greater part of his wanderings were in Phoenicia, Syria, Egypt, Africa, around Cyprus, and, in fact, the whole of our coasts and islands.Of the Mediterranean. Here, indeed, he might hope to enrich himself both by the gifts of friendship and by violence, and especially by the plunder of those who had been the allies of Troy. They however who dwelt on the exterior ocean, and the distant barbarians, held out no such encouragement: and when Menelaus is said to have been in Ethiopia, it is because he had reached the frontiers of that country next Egypt. But perhaps at that time the frontiers lay more contiguous to Thebes than they do now. At the present day the nearest are the districts adjacent to Syene and Philae,Philae was built on a little island formed by the Nile, now called El-Heif. the former town being entirely in Egypt, while Philae is inhabited by a mixed population of Ethiopians and Egyptians. Supposing therefore he had arrived at Thebes, and thus reached the boundary-line of Ethiopia, where he experienced the munificence of the king, we must not be surprised if he is described as having passed through the country.This is evidently Strabo’s meaning; but the text, as it now stands, is manifestly corrupt. On no better authority Ulysses declares he has been to the land of the Cyclops, although he merely left the sea to enter a cavern which he himself tells us was situated on the very borders of the country: and, in fact, wherever he came to anchor, whether at Aeolia, Laestrygonia, or elsewhere, he is stated to have visited those places. In the same manner Menelaus is said to have been to Ethiopia and Libya, because here and there he touched at those places, and the port near Ardania above ParaetoniumEl-Baretun. A description of this place will be found in the 17th book. is called after him the port of Menelaus.At this port it was that Agesilaus terminated his glorious career.

When, after mentioning Phoenicia, he talks of Sidon, its metropolis, he merely employs a common form of expression, for example, He urged the Trojans and Hector to the ships.Iliad xiii. 1.Strabo means that Homer, after having spoken of the Trojans in general, mentions Hector in particular.Iliad xiii. 1. For the sons of magnanimous Oeneus were no more, nor was he himself surviving; moreover, fair-haired Meleager was dead.Iliad ii. 641. Having mentioned the sons of Aeneus collectively, he afterwards distinguishes one of them by name. He came to Ida—and to Gargarus.Iliad viii. 47.Gargarus was one of the highest peaks of Ida.Iliad viii. 47. He possessed Euboea, Chalcis, and Eretria.Iliad ii. 536. Chalcis and Eretria were two cities of Euboea.Iliad ii. 536. Sappho likewise [says], Whether Cyprus, or the spacious-harboured Paphos.We have here taken advantage of Casaubon’s suggestion to read ἡ πάνορμος instead of ἢ πάνορμος, the Greek name for Palermo in Sicily, which was not founded in the time of Sappho.

But he had some other cause besides this for mentioning Sidon immediately after having spoken of the Phoenicians: for had he merely desired to recount the nations in order, it would have been quite sufficient to say, Having wandered to Cyprus, Phoenice, and the Egyptians, I came to the Ethiopians.Odyssey iv. 83.

But that he might record his sojourn amongst the Sidonians, which was considerably prolonged, he thought it well to refer to it repeatedly. Thus he praises their prosperity and skill in the arts, and alludes to the hospitality the citizens had shown to Helen and Alexander. Thus he tells us of the many [treasures]of this nature laid up in store by Alexander.Paris. There his treasures lay, Works of Sidonian women, whom her son, The godlike Paris, when he crossed the seas With Jove-begotten Helen, brought to Troy.Where were her variously embroidered robes, the works of Sidonian females, which godlike Alexander himself had brought from Sidon, sailing over the broad ocean, in that voyage in which he carried off Helen, sprung from a noble sire. Iliad vi. 289.Iliad vi. 289. And also by Menelaus, who says to Telemachus, ‘I give thee this bright beaker, argent all, But round encircled with a lip of gold. It is the work of Vulcan, which to me The hero Phaedimus presented, king Of the Sidonians, when on my return Beneath his roof I lodged. I make it thine.I will give thee a wrought bowl: it is all silver, and the lips are bound with gold; it is the work of Vulcan: the hero Phaedimus, king of the Sidonians, gave it [to me], when his home sheltered me, as I was returning from thence. I wish to give this to thee. Odyssey xv. 115.Odyssey xv. 115. Here the expression, work of Vulcan, must be looked upon as a hyperbole: in the same way all elegant productions are said to be the work of Minerva, of the Graces, or of the Muses. But that the Sidonians were skilful artists, is clear from the praises bestowed [by Homer] on the bowl which Euneos gave in exchange for Lycaon: Earth Own’d not its like for elegance of form. Skilful Sidonian artists had around Embellish’d it, and o’er the sable deep Phoenician merchants into Lemnos’ port Had borne it.But in beauty it much excelled [all] upon the whole earth, for the ingenious Sidonians had wrought it cunningly, and Phoenician men had carried it. Iliad xxiii. 742.Iliad xxiii. 742.

Many conjectures have been hazarded as to who the Erembi were: they who suppose the Arabs are intended, seem to deserve the most credit.

Our Zeno reads the passage thus:— I came to the Ethiopians, the Sidonians, and the Arabians.

But there is no occasion to tamper with the text, which is of great antiquity; it is a far preferable course to suppose a change in the name itself, which is of frequent and ordinary occurrence in every nation: and in fact certain grammarians establish this view by a comparison of the radical letters. Posidonius seems to me to adopt the better plan after all, in looking for the etymology of names in nations of one stock and community; thus between the Armenians, Syrians, and Arabians there is a strong affinity both in regard to dialect, mode of life, peculiarities of physical conformation, and above all in the contiguity of the countries. Mesopotamia, which is a motley of the three nations, is a proof of this; for the similarity amongst these three is very remarkable. And though in consequence of the various latitudes there may be some difference between those who dwell in the northThe Armenians. and those of the the south,The Arabs and again between each of these and the inhabitants of the middle region,The Syrians still the same characteristics are dominant in all. Also the Assyrians and Arians have a great affinity both to these people and to each other. And [Posidonius] believes there is a similarity in the names of these different nations. Those whom we call Syrians style themselves Armenians and Arammaeans, names greatly like those of the Armenians, Arabs, and Erembi. Perhaps this [last] term is that by which the Greeks anciently designated the Arabs; the etymon of the word certainly strengthens the idea. Many deduce the etymology of the Erembi from ἔραν ἐμβαίνειν, (to go into the earth,) which [they say] was altered by the people of a later generation into the more intelligible name of Troglodytes,Dwelling in caverns. by which are intended those Arabs who dwell on that side of the Arabian Gulf next to Egypt and Ethiopia. It is probable then that the poet describes Menelaus as having visited these people in the same way that he says he visited the Ethiopians; for they are likewise near to the Thebaid; and he mentions them not on account of any commerce or gain, (for of these there was not much,) but probably to enhance the length of the journey and his meed of praise: for such distant travelling was highly thought of. For example,— Discover’d various cities, and the mind And manners learn’d of men in lands remote.He saw the cities of many men, and learned their manners. Odyssey i. 3.Odyssey i. 3. And again: After numerous toils And perilous wanderings o’er the stormy deep, In the eighth year at last I brought them home.Having suffered many things, and having wandered much, I was brought. Odyssey iv. 81.Odyssey iv. 81. Hesiod, in his Catalogue,See Hesiod, Fragments, ed. Loesner, p. 434. writes, And the daughter of Arabus, whom gracious Hermes and Thronia, descended from king Belus, brought forth. Thus, too, says Stesichorus. Whence it seems that at that time the country was from him named Arabia, though it is not likely this was the case in the heroic period.This derivation of Arabia is as problematical as the existence of the hero from whom it is said to have received its name; a far more probable etymology is derived from ereb, signifying the west, a name supposed to have been conferred upon it at a very early period by a people inhabiting Persia.

There are many who would make the Erembi a tribe of the Ethiopians, or of the Cephenes, or again of the Pygmies, and a thousand other fancies. These ought to be regarded with little trust; since their opinion is not only incredible, but they evidently labour under a certain confusion as to the different characters of history and fable. In the same category must be reckoned those who place the Sidonians and Phoenicians in the Persian Gulf, or somewhere else in the Ocean, and make the wanderings of Menelaus to have happened there. Not the least cause for mistrusting these writers is the manner in which they contradict each other. One half would have us believe that the Sidonians are a colony from the people whom they describe as located on the shores of the [Indian] Ocean, and who they say were called Phoenicians from the colour of the Erythraean Sea, while the others declare the opposite.That is, that the Phoenicians and Sidonians dwelling around the Persian Gulf are colonies from those inhabiting the shores of the Mediterranean.

Some again would transport Ethiopia into our Phoenicia, and make Joppa the scene of the adventures of Andromeda;As to this fact, upon which almost all geographers are agreed, it is only rejected by Strabo because it stands in the way of his hypothesis. and this not from any ignorance of the topography of those places, but by a kind of mythic fiction similar to those of Hesiod and other writers censured by Apollodorus, who, however, couples Homer with them, without, as it appears, any cause. He cites as instances what Homer relates of the Euxine and Egypt, and accuses him of ignorance for pretending to speak the actual truth, and then recounting fable, all the while ignorantly mistaking it for fact. Will anyone then accuse Hesiod of ignorance on account of his Hemicynes,Half men, half dogs. his Macro- cephali,Long-headed men. and his Pygmies; or Homer for his like fables, and amongst others the Pygmies themselves; or AlcmanA celebrated poet who flourished about seven centuries before the Christian era, said to have been a native of Sardis in Lydia. Only three short fragments of his writings are known to be in existence. for describing the Steganopodes;Men who covered themselves with their feet. or Aeschylus for his Cyno- cephali,Dog-headed men. Sternophthalmi,People having their eyes in their breasts. and Monommati;One-eyed. when amongst prose writers, and in works bearing the appearance of veritable history, we frequently meet with similar narrations, and that without any admission of their having inserted such myths. Indeed it becomes immediately evident that they have woven together a tissue of myths not through ignorance of the real facts, but merely to amuse by a deceptive narration of the impossible and marvellous. If they appear to do this in ignorance, it is because they can romance more frequently and with greater plausibility on those things which are uncertain and unknown. This Theopompus plainly confesses in the announcement of his intention to relate the fables in his history in a better style than Herodotus, Ctesias, Hellanicus, and those who had written on the affairs of India.

Homer has described to us the phenomena of the ocean under the form of a myth; this [art] is very desirable in a poet; the idea of his Charybdis was taken from the ebb and flow of the tide, and was by no means a pure invention of his own, but derived from what he knew concerning the Strait of Sicily.The Strait of Messina. And although he states that the ebb and flow occurred thrice during the four and twenty hours, instead of twice, (Each day she thrice disgorges, and each day Thrice swallows it,”)For thrice in a day she sends it out, and thrice she sucks it in. Odyssey xii. 105.Odyssey xii. 105. we must suppose that he said this not through any ignorance of the fact, but for tragic effect, and to excite the fear which Circe endeavours to infuse into her arguments to deter Ulysses from departing, even at a little expense of truth. The following is the language Circe makes use of in her speech to him: Each day she thrice disgorges, and each day Thrice swallows it. Ah! well-forewarn’d beware What time she swallows, that thou come not nigh, For not himself, Neptune, could snatch thee thence.For thrice in a day she sends it out, and thrice she sucks it in terribly. Mayest thou not come hither when she is gulping it; for not even Neptune could free thee from ill. Odyssey xii. 105.Odyssey xii. 105. And yet when Ulysses was ingulfed in the eddy he was not lost. He tells us himself, ‘It was the time when she absorb’d profound The briny flood, but by a wave upborne, I seized the branches fast of the wild fig, To which bat-like I clung.She gulped up the briny water of the sea; but I, raised on high to the lofty fig-tree, held clinging to it, as a bat. Odyssey xii. 431.Odyssey xii. 431. And then having waited for the timbers of the wreck he seized hold of them, and thus saved himself. Circe, therefore, had exaggerated both the peril, and also the fact of its vomiting forth thrice a day instead of twice. However, this latter is a hyperbole which every one makes use of; thus we say thrice-happy and thrice-miserable.

So the poet, Thrice-happy Greeks!Odyssey v. 306.Odyssey v. 306. Again, O delightful, thrice-wished for!Iliad viii. 488.Iliad viii. 488. And again, O thrice and four times.Iliad iii. 363.Iliad iii. 363. Any one, too, might conclude from the passage itself that Homer even here hinted at the truth, for the long time which the remains of the wreck lay under water, which Ulysses, who was all the while hanging suspended to the branches, so anxiously desired to rise, accords much better with the ebb and flow taking place but twice during the night and day instead of thrice. Therefore hard I clench’d the boughs, till she disgorged again Both keel and mast. Not undesired by me They came, though late; for at what hour the judge, After decision made of numerous strifes Between young candidates for honour, leaves The forum, for refreshment’s sake at home, Then was it that the mast and keel emerged.But I held without ceasing, until she vomited out again the mast and keel; and it came late to me wishing for it: as late as a man has risen from the forum to go to supper, adjudging many contests of disputing youths, so late these planks appeared from Charybdis. Odyssey xii. 437.Odyssey xii. 437.

Every word of this indicates a considerable length of time, especially when he prolongs it to the evening, not merely saying at that time when the judge has risen, but having adjudicated on a vast number of cases, and therefore detained longer than usual. Otherwise his account of the return of the wreck would not have appeared likely, if he had brought it back again with the return of the wave, before it had been first carried a long way off.

Apollodorus, who agrees with Eratosthenes, throws much blame upon Callimachus for asserting, in spite of his character as a grammarian, that GaudusGaudus, the little island of Gozo near Malta, supposed by Callimachus to have been the Isle of Calypso. and CorcyraIt seems more probable that Callimachus intended the island of Corsura, now Pantalaria, a small island between Africa and Sicily. were among the scenes of Ulysses’ wandering, such an opinion being altogether in defiance of Homer’s statement, and his description of the places as situated in the exterior ocean.The Atlantic.

This criticism is just if we suppose the wandering to have never actually occurred, and to be merely the result of Homer’s imagination; but if it did take place, although in other regions, Apollodorus ought plainly to have stated which they were, and thus set right the mistake of Callimachus. Since, however, after such evidence as we have produced, we cannot believe the whole account to be a fiction, and since no other more likely places have as yet been named, we hold that the grammarian is absolved from blame.

Demetrius of Skepsis is also wrong, and, in fact, the cause of some of the mistakes of Apollodorus. He eagerly objects to the statement of Neanthes of Cyzicus, that the Argonauts, when they sailed to the Phasis,A river of Colchis, hodie Fasz or Rion. founded at Cyzicus the temples of the Idaean Mother.Cybele, so named because she had a temple on Mount Ida. Though their voyage is attested both by Homer and other writers, he denies that Homer had any knowledge whatever of the departure of Jason to the Phasis. In so doing, he not only contradicts the very words of Homer, but even his own assertions. The poet informs us that Achilles, having ravaged LesbosAn island in the Aegaean, now Meteline. and other districts, spared LemnosHodie Lemno or Stalimene. and the adjoining islands, on account of his relationship with Jason and his son Euneos,Euneos was the eldest of the children which Hypsipele, daughter of Thoas, king of Lemnos, had by Jason during his stay in that island. who then had possession of the island. How should he know of a relationship, identity of race, or other connexion existing between Achilles and Jason, which, after all, was nothing else than that they were both Thessalians, one being of Iolcos,A town situated at the bottom of the Pelasgic Gulf, hodie Volo. the other of the Achaean Pthiotis,A country of Thessaly, which received its designation of Achaean from the same sovereign who left his name to Achaia in Peloponnesus. and yet was not aware how it happened that Jason, who was a Thessalian of Iolcos, should leave no descendants in the land of his nativity, but establish his son as ruler of Lemnos? Homer then was familiar with the history of Pelias and the daughters of Pelias, of Alcestis, who was the most charming of them all, and of her son Eumelus, whom Alcestis, praised For beauty above all her sisters fair, In Thessaly to king Admetus bore,Eumelus, whom Alcestis, divine amongst women, most beautiful in form of the daughters of Pelias, brought forth to Admetus.Iliad ii. 714.Iliad ii. 714. and was yet ignorant of all that befell Jason, and Argo, and the Argonauts, matters on the actual occurrence of which all the world is agreed. The tale then of their voyage in the ocean from Aeeta, was a mere fiction, for which he had no authority in history.

If, however, the expedition to the Phasis, fitted out by Pelias, its return, and the conquest of several islands, have at the bottom any truth whatever, as all say they have, so also has the account of their wanderings, no less than those of Ulysses and Menelaus; monuments of the actual occurrence of which remain to this day elsewhere than in the writings of Homer. The city of Aea, close by the Phasis, is still pointed Out Aeetes is generally believed to have reigned in Colchis, the name is still common throughout the country, tales of the sorceress Medea are yet abroad, and the riches of the country in gold, silver, and iron, proclaim the motive of Jason’s expedition, as well as of that which Phrixus had formerly undertaken. Traces both of one and the other still remain. Such is Phrixium,Named Ideessa in the time of Strabo. Strabo, book xi. c. ii. § 18. midway between Colchis and Iberia, and the Jasonia, or towns of Jason, which are every where met with in Armenia, Media, and the surrounding countries. Many are the witnesses to the reality of the expeditions of Jason and Phrixus at SinopeSinub. and its shore, at Propontis, at the Hellespont, and even at Lemnos. Of Jason and his Colchian followers there are traces even as far as Crete,Candia. Italy, and the Adriatic. Callimachus himself alludes to it where he says, [The temple of] Apollo and [the Isle of] Anaphe,Hodie The Isle of Nanfio. Near to Laconian Thera.Now the Island of Callistè, founded by Theras the Lacedaemonian more than ten centuries before the Christian era. In the verses which commence, I sing how the heroes from Cytaean Aeeta, Return’d again to ancient Aemonia.A name of Thessaly. And again concerning the Colchians, who, Ceasing to plough with oars the Illyrian Sea,The Gulf of Venice. Near to the tomb of fair Harmonia, Who was transform’d into a dragon’s shape, Founded their city, which a Greek would call The Town of Fugitives, but in their tongue Is Pola named.

Some writers assert that Jason and his companions sailed high up the Ister, others say he sailed only so far as to be able to gain the Adriatic: the first statement results altogether from ignorance; the second, which supposes there is a second Ister having its source from the larger river of the same name, and discharging its waters into the Adriatic, is neither incredible nor even improbable.The erroneous opinion that one of the mouths of the Danube emptied itself into the Adriatic is very ancient, being spoken of by Aristotle as a well-known fact, and likewise supported by Theopompus, Hipparchus, and many other writers.

Starting from these premises, the poet, in conformity both with general custom and his own practice, narrates some circumstances as they actually occurred, and paints others in the colours of fiction. He follows history when he tells us of Aeetes and Jason also, when he talks of Argo, and on the authority of [the actual city of Aea], feigns his city of Aeaea, when he settles Euneos in Lemnos, and makes that island friendly to Achilles, and when, in imitation of Medea, he makes the sorceress Circe Sister by birth of the all-wise Aeetes,Odyssey x. 137.Odyssey x. 137. he adds the fiction of the entrance of the Argonauts into the exterior ocean as the sequel to their wanderings on their return home. Here, supposing the previous statements admitted, the truth of the phrase the renowned Argo,Odyssey xii. 70. is evident, since, in that case, the expedition was directed to a populous and well-known country. But if, as [Demetrius] of Skepsis asserts, on the authority of Mimnermus, Aeetes dwelt by the Ocean, and Jason was sent thither far east by Pelias, to bring back the fleece, it neither seems probable that such an expedition would have been undertaken into unknown and obscure countries after the Fleece, nor could a voyage to lands desert, uninhabited, and so far remote from us, be considered either glorious or renowned.

[Here follow the words of Demetrius.] Nor as yet had Jason, having accomplished the arduous journey, carried off the splendid fleece from Aea, fulfilling the dangerous mission of the insolent Pelias, nor had they ploughed the glorious wave of the ocean. And again: The city of Aeetes, where the rays of the swift sun recline on their golden bed by the shore of the ocean, which the noble Jason visited.

ERATOSTHENES is guilty of another fault in so frequently referring to the works of men beneath his notice, sometimes for the purpose of refuting them; at others, when he agrees with them, in order to cite them as authorities. I allude to Damastes, and such as him, who even when they speak the truth, are utterly unworthy of being appealed to as authorities, or vouchers for the credibility of a statement. For such purposes the writings of trustworthy men should only be employed, who have accurately described much; and though perhaps they may have omitted many points altogether, and barely touched on others, are yet never guilty of wilfully falsifying their statements. To cite Damastes as an authority is little better than to quote the Bergaean,Antiphanes of Berga, a city of Thrace. This writer was so noted for his falsehoods, that βεοͅγαἷζειν came to be a proverbial term for designating that vice. or Euemerus the Messenian, and those other scribblers whom Eratosthenes himself sneers at for their absurdities. Why, he even points out as one of the follies of this Damastes, his observation that the Arabian Gulf was a lake;Thirty years before the time of this Damastes, Herodotus had demonstrated to the Greeks the real nature of the Arabian Gulf. likewise the statement that Diotimus, the son of Strombicus and chief of the Athenian legation, sailed through Cilicia up the CydnusThis river, called by the Turks Kara-sui, rises somewhere in Mount Taurus, and before emptying itself into the sea, runs through Tarsus into the river Choaspes,The Ab-Zal of oriental writers. which flows by Susa,The ancient capital of the kings of Persia, now Schuss. and so arrived at that capital after forty days’ journey. This particular he professes to state on the authority of Diotimus himself, and then expresses his wonder whether the Cydnus could actually cross the Euphrates and Tigris in order to disgorge itself into the Choaspes.The very idea that Diotimus could sail from the Cydnus into the Euphrates is most absurd, since, besides the distance between the two rivers, they are separated by lofty mountain-ridges.

However, this is not all we have to say against him. Of many places he tells us that nothing is known, when in fact they have every one been accurately described. Then he warns us to be very cautious in believing what we are told on such matters, and endeavours by long and tedious arguments to show the value of his advice; swallowing at the same time the most ridiculous absurdities himself concerning the Euxine and Adriatic. Thus he believed the Bay of IssusNow the Bay of Ajazzo. to be the most easterly point of the Mediterranean, though Dioscurias,Iskuriah. which is nearly at the bottom of the Pontus Euxinus, is, according to his own calculations, farther east by a distance of 3000 stadia.Gosselin justly remarks that this is a mere disputing about terms, since, though it is true the Mediterranean and Euxine flow into each other, it is fully admissible to describe them as separate. The same authority proves that we ought to read 3600 and not 3000 stadia, which he supposes to be a transcriber’s error. In describing the northern and farther parts of the Adriatic he cannot refrain from similar romancing, and gives credit to many strange narrations concerning what lies beyond the Pillars of Hercules, informing us of an Isle of Kerne there, and other places now nowhere to be found, which we shall speak of presently.

Having remarked that the ancients, whether out on piratical excursions, or for the purposes of commerce, never ventured into the high seas, but crept along the coast, and instancing Jason, who leaving his vessels at Colchis penetrated into Armenia and Media on foot, he proceeds to tell us that formerly no one dared to navigate either the Euxine or the seas by Libya, Syria, and Cilicia. If by formerly he means periods so long past that we possess no record of them, it is of little consequence to us whether they navigated those seas or not, but if [he speaks] of times of which we know any thing, and if we are to place any trust in the accounts which have come down to us, every one will admit that the ancients appear to have made longer journeys both by sea and land than their successors; witness Bacchus, Hercules, nay Jason himself, and again Ulysses and Menelaus, of whom Homer tells us. It seems most probable that Theseus and Pirithous are indebted to some long voyages for the credit they afterwards obtained of having visited the infernal regions; and in like manner the DioscuriCastor and Pollux. gained the appellation of guardians of the sea, and the deliverers of sailors.Castor and Pollux were amongst the number of the Argonauts. On their return they destroyed the pirates who infested the seas of Greece and the Archipelago, and were in consequence worshipped by sailors as tutelary deities. The sovereignty of the seas exercised by Minos, and the navigation carried on by the Phoenicians, is well known. A little after the period of the Trojan war they had penetrated beyond the Pillars of Hercules, and founded cities as well there as to the midst of the African coast.The Phoenicians or Carthaginians despatched Hanno to found certain colonies on the western coast of Africa, about a thousand years before the Christian era. Is it not correct to number amongst the ancients Aeneas,Strabo here follows the general belief that Aeneas escaped to Italy after the sack of Troy, a fact clearly disproved by Homer, Iliad xx. 307, who states that the posterity of Aeneas were in his time reigning at Troy. To this passage Strabo alludes in his 13th book, and, contrary to his general custom, hesitates whether to follow Homer’s authority or that of certain grammarians who had mutilated the passage in order to flatter the vanity of the Romans, who took pride in looking up to Aeneas and the Trojans as their ancestors. Antenor,Antenor having betrayed his Trojan countrymen was forced to fly. It is generally stated that, taking with him a party of the Heneti, (a people of Asia Minor close to the Euxine,) who had come to the assistance of Priam, he founded the city of Padua in Italy. From this people the district in which Padua is situated received the name of Henetia, afterwards Venetia or Venice. the Heneti, and all the crowd of warriors, who, after the destruction of Troy, wandered over the face of the whole earth? For at the conclusion of the war both the Greeks and Barbarians found themselves deprived, the one of their livelihood at home, the other of the fruits of their expedition; so that when Troy was overthrown, the victors, and still more the vanquished, who had survived the conflict, were compelled by want to a life of piracy; and we learn that they became the founders of many cities along the sea-coast beyond Greece,The coasts of Italy. besides several inland settlements.It is generally admitted that the events of the Trojan war gave rise to numerous colonies.

Again, having discoursed on the advance of knowledge respecting the Geography of the inhabited earth, between the time of Alexander and the period when he was writing, Eratosthenes goes into a description of the figure of the earth; not merely of the habitable earth, an account of which would have been very suitable, but of the whole earth, which should certainly have been given too, but not in this disorderly manner. He proceeds to tell us that the earth is spheroidal, not however perfectly so, inasmuch as it has certain irregularities, he then enlarges on the successive changes of its form, occasioned by water, fire, earthquakes, eruptions, and the like; all of which is entirely out of place, for the spheroidal form of the whole earth is the result of the system of the universe, and the phenomena which he mentions do not in the least change its general form; such little matters being entirely lost in the great mass of the earth. Still they cause various peculiarities in different parts of our globe, and result from a variety of causes.

He points out as a most interesting subject for disquisition the fact of our finding, often quite inland, two or three thousand stadia from the sea, vast numbers of muscle, oyster, and scallop-shells, and salt-water lakes.The word λιμνοθάλασσα frequently signifies a salt marsh. The French editors remark that it was a name given by the Greeks to lagoons mostly found in the vicinity of the sea, though entirely separated therefrom. Those which communicated with the sea were termed στομλἰμναι. He gives as an instance, that about the temple of Ammon,See book xvii. c. iii. and along the road to it for the space of 3000 stadia, there are yet found a vast amount of oyster shells, many salt-beds, and salt springs bubbling up, besides which are pointed out numerous fragments of wreck which they say have been cast up through some opening, and dolphins placed on pedestals with the inscription, Of the delegates from Cyrene. Herein he agrees with the opinion of Strato the natural philosopher, and 3anthus of Lydia. 3anthus mentioned that in the reign of Artaxerxes there was so great a drought, that every river, lake, and well was dried up: and that in many places he had seen a long way from the sea fossil shells, some like cockles, others resembling scallop shells, also salt lakes in Armenia, Matiana,A country close upon the Euxine. and Lower Phrygia, which induced him to believe that sea had formerly been where the land now was. Strato, who went more deeply into the causes of these phenomena, was of opinion that formerly there was no exit to the Euxine as now at Byzantium, but that the rivers running into it had forced a way through, and thus let the waters escape into the Propontis, and thence to the Hellespont.The Strait of the Dardanelles. And that a like change had occurred in the Mediterranean. For the sea being overflowed by the rivers, had opened for itself a passage by the Pillars of Hercules, and thus, much that was formerly covered by water, had been left dry.At the time of Diodorus Siculus, the people of the Isle of Samothracia preserved the tradition of an inundation caused by a sudden rising of the waters of the Mediterranean, which compelled the inhabitants to fly for refuge to the summits of the mountains; and long after, the fishermen’s nets used to be caught by columns, which, prior to the catastrophe, had adorned their edifices. It is said that the inundation originated in a rupture of the chain of mountains which enclosed the valley which has since become the Thracian Bosphorus or Strait of Constantinople, through which the waters of the Black Sea flow into the Mediterranean. He gives as the cause of this, that anciently the levels of the Mediterranean and Atlantic were not the same, and states that a bank of earth, the remains of the ancient separation of the two seas, is still stretched under water from Europe to Africa. He adds, that the Euxine is the most shallow, and the seas of Crete, Sicily, and Sardinia much deeper, which is occasioned by the number of large rivers flowing into the Euxine both from the north and east, and so filling it up with mud, whilst the others preserve their depth. This is the cause of the remarkable sweetness of the Euxine Sea, and of the currents which regularly set towards the deepest part. He gives it as his opinion, that should the rivers continue to flow in the same direction, the Euxine will in time be filled up [by the deposits], since already the left side of the sea is little else than shallows, as also Salmydessus,Now Midjeh, in Roumelia, on the borders of the Black Sea. Strabo alludes rather to the banks surrounding Salmydessus than to the town itself. and the shoals at the mouth of the Ister, and the desert of Scythia,The part of Bulgaria next the sea, between Varna and the Danube, now Dobrudzie. which the sailors call the Breasts. Probably too the temple of Ammon was originally close to the sea, though now, by the continual deposit of the waters, it is quite inland: and he conjectures that it was owing to its being so near the sea that it became so celebrated and illustrious, and that it never would have enjoyed the credit it now possesses had it always been equally remote from the sea. Egypt too [he says] was formerly covered by sea as far as the marshes near Pelusium,Tineh. Mount Casius,El-Kas. and the Lake Sirbonis.Lake Sebaket-Bardoil. Even at the present time, when salt is being dug in Egypt, the beds are found under layers of sand and mingled with fossil shells, as if this district had formerly been under water, and as if the whole region about Casium and GerrhaProbably the present Maseli. Most likely the place was so named from the γέῤῥα, or wattled huts, of the troops stationed there to prevent the ingress of foreign armies into Egypt. had been shallows reaching to the Arabian Gulf. The sea afterwards receding left the land uncovered, and the Lake Sirbonis remained, which having afterwards forced itself a passage, became a marsh. In like manner the borders of the Lake Moeris resemble a sea-beach rather than the banks of a river. Every one will admit that formerly at various periods a great portion of the mainland has been covered and again left bare by the sea. Likewise that the land now covered by the sea is not all on the same level, any more than that whereon we dwell; which is now uncovered and has experienced so many changes, as Eratosthenes has observed. Consequently in the reasoning of 3anthus there does not appear to be any thing out of place.

In regard to Strato, however, we must remark that, leaving out of the question the many arguments he has properly stated, some of those which he has brought forward are quite inadmissible. For first he is inaccurate in stating that the beds of the interior and the exterior seas have not the same level, and that the depth of those two seas is different: whereas the cause why the sea is at one time raised, at another depressed, that it inundates certain places and again retreats, is not that the beds have different levels, some higher and some lower, but simply this, that the same beds are at one time raised, at another depressed, causing the sea to rise or subside with them; for having risen they cause an inundation, and when they subside the waters return to their former places. For if it is so, an inundation will of course accompany every sudden increase of the waters of the sea, [as in the spring-tides,] or the periodical swelling of rivers, in the one instance the waters being brought together from distant parts of the ocean, in the other, their volume being increased. But the risings of rivers are not violent and sudden, nor do the tides continue any length of time, nor occur irregularly; nor yet along the coasts of our sea do they cause inundations, nor any where else. Consequently we must seek for an explanation of the cause either in the stratum composing the bed of the sea, or in that which is overflowed; we prefer to look for it in the former, since by reason of its humidity it is more liable to shiftings and sudden changes of position, and we shall find that in these matters the wind is the great agent after all. But, I repeat it, the immediate cause of these phenomena, is not in the fact of one part of the bed of the ocean being higher or lower than another, but in the upheaving or depression of the strata on which the waters rest. Strato’s hypothesis evidently originated in the belief that that which occurs in rivers is also the case in regard to the sea; viz. that there is a flow of water from the higher places. Otherwise he would not have attempted to account for the current he observed at the Strait of Byzantium in the manner he does, attributing it to the bed of the Euxine being higher than that of the Propontis and adjoining ocean, and even attempting to explain the cause thereof: viz. that the bed of the Euxine is filled up and choked by the deposit of the rivers which flow into it; and its waters in consequence driven out into the neighbouring sea. The same theory he would apply in respect to the Mediterranean and Atlantic, alleging that the bed of the former is higher than that of the latter, in consequence of the number of rivers which flow into it, and the alluvium they carry along with them. In that case there ought to be a like influx at the Pillars and Calpe,This city of Calpe was near Mount Calpe, one of the Pillars of Hercules. as there is at Byzantium. But I waive this objection, as it might be asserted that the influx was the same in both places, but owing to the interference of the ebb and flow of the sea, became imperceptible.

I rather make this inquiry:—If there were any reason why, before the outlet was opened at Byzantium, the bed of the Euxine (being deeper than either that of the PropontisSea of Marmora. or of the adjoining seaThe Aegaean.) should not gradually have become more shallow by the deposit of the rivers which flow into it, allowing it formerly either to have been a sea, or merely a vast lake greater than the Palus Maeotis? This proposition being conceded, I would next ask, whether before this the bed of the Euxine would not have been brought to the same level as the Propontis, and in that case, the pressure being counterpoised, the overflowing of the water have been thus avoided; and if after the Euxine had been filled up, the superfluous waters would not naturally have forced a passage and flowed off, and by their commingling and power have caused the Euxine and Propontis to flow into each other, and thus become one sea? no matter, as I said above, whether formerly it were a sea or a lake, though latterly certainly a sea. This also being conceded, they must allow that the present efflux depends neither upon the elevation nor the inclination of the bed, as Strato’s theory would have us consider it.

We would apply the same arguments to the whole of the Mediterranean and Atlantic, and account for the efflux of the former, not by any [supposed] difference between the elevation and inclination of its bed and of that of the Atlantic, but attribute it to the number of rivers which empty themselves into it. Since, according to this supposition, it is not incredible that, had the whole of the Mediterranean Sea in times past been but a lake filled by the rivers, and having overflowed, it might have broken through the Strait at the Pillars, as through a cataract; and still continuing to swell more and more, the Atlantic in course of time would have become confluent by that channel, and have run into one level, the Mediterranean thus becoming a sea. In fine, the Physician did wrong in comparing the sea to rivers, for the latter are borne down as a descending stream, but the sea always maintains its level. The currents of straits depend upon other causes, not upon the accumulation of earth formed by the alluvial deposit from rivers, filling up the bed of the sea. This accumulation only goes on at the mouths of rivers. Such are what are called the Stethe or Breasts at the mouth of the Ister,Danube. the desert of the Scythians, and Salmydessus, which are partially occasioned by other winter-torrents as well; witness the sandy, low, and even coast of Colchis,Mingrelia. at the mouth of the Phasis,The river Fasz. the whole of the coast of Themiscyra,Now Djanik. named the plain of the Amazons, near the mouths of the ThermodonThe river Thermeh. and Iris,The Jekil-Irmak. and the greater part of Sidene.Sidin, or Valisa, is comprised in the territory of Djanik, being part of the ancient kingdom of Pontus. It is the same with other rivers, they all resemble the Nile in forming an alluvial deposit at their mouths, some more, some less than others. Those rivers which carry but little soil with them deposit least, while others, which traverse an extended and soft country, and receive many torrents in their course, deposit the greatest quantity. Such for example is the river Pyramus,The river Geihun. by which Cilicia has been considerably augmented, and concerning which an oracle has declared, This shall occur when the wide waters of the Pyramus have enlarged their banks as far as sacred Cyprus.Gosselin remarks that the alluvial deposit of this river is now no nearer to Cyprus than it was at the time of the prediction. This river becomes navigable from the middle of the plains of Cataonia, and entering CiliciaCilicia and Cataonia are comprised in the modern Aladeuli. by the defiles of the Taurus, discharges itself into the sea which flows between that country and the island of Cyprus.

These river deposits are prevented from advancing further into the sea by the regularity of the ebb and flow, which continually drive them back. For after the manner of living creatures, which go on inhaling and exhaling their breath continually, so the sea in a like way keeps up a constant motion in and out of itself. Any one may observe who stands on the sea-shore when the waves are in motion, the regularity with which they cover, then leave bare, and then again cover up his feet. This agitation of the sea produces a continual movement on its surface, which even when it is most tranquil has considerable force, and so throws all extraneous matters on to the land, and Flings forth the salt weed on the shore.Iliad ix. 7.Iliad ix. 7. This effect is certainly most considerable when the wind is on the water, but it continues when all is hushed, and even when it blows from land the swell is still carried to the shore against the wind, as if by a peculiar motion of the sea itself. To this the verses refer— O’er the rocks that breast the flood Borne turgid, scatter far the showery spray,Being swollen it rises high around the projecting points, and spits from it the foam of the sea. Iliad iv. 425.Iliad iv. 425. and, Loud sounds the roar of waves ejected wide.The lofty shores resound, the wave being ejected [upon the beach]. Iliad xvii. 265.Iliad xvii. 265.

The wave, as it advances, possesses a kind of power, which some call the purging of the sea, to eject all foreign substances. It is by this force that dead bodies and wrecks are cast on shore. But on retiring it does not possess sufficient power to carry back into the sea either dead bodies, wood, or even the lightest substances, such as cork, which may have been cast out by the waves. And by this means when places next the sea fall down, being undermined by the wave, the earth and the water charged with it are cast back again; and the weight [of the mud] working at the same time in conjunction with the force of the advancing tide, it is the sooner brought to settle at the bottom, instead of being carried out far into the sea. The force of the river current ceases at a very little distance beyond its mouth. Otherwise, supposing the rivers had an uninterrupted flow, by degrees the whole ocean would be filled in from the beach onwards, by the alluvial deposits. And this would be inevitable even were the Euxine deeper than the sea of Sardinia, than which a deeper sea has never been sounded, measuring, as it does, according to Posidonius, about 1000 fathoms.The word ὄργυια, here rendered fathoms, strictly means the length of the outstretched arms. As a measure of length it equals four πήχεις, or six feet one inch. Gosselin seems to doubt with reason whether they ever sounded such a depth as this would give, and proposes to compute it by a smaller stadium in use at the time of Herodotus, which would have the effect of diminishing the depth by almost one half.

Some, however, may be disinclined to admit this explanation, and would rather have proof from things more manifest to the senses, and which seem to meet us at every turn. Now deluges, earthquakes, eruptions of wind, and risings in the bed of the sea, these things cause the rising of the ocean, as sinking of the bottom causes it to become lower. It is not the case that small volcanic or other islands can be raised up from the sea, and not large ones, nor that all islands can, but not continents, since extensive sinkings of the land no less than small ones have been known; witness the yawning of those chasms which have ingulfed whole districts no less than their cities, as is said to have happened to Bura,A city of Achaia near to the Gulf of Corinth. Pliny tells us it was submerged during an earthquake, about 371 years before the Christian era. According to Pausanias, it was a second time destroyed by the shock of an earthquake, but again rebuilt by the inhabitants who survived. Bizone,A city placed by some in Thrace, but by others in Pontus; a more probable opinion seems to be that Bizone was in Lower Moesia, on the western side of the Euxine. Pomponius Mela asserts that Bizone was entirely destroyed by an earthquake, but according to Strabo, (lib. vii.,) who places it about 40 stadia from the sea, it was only partially demolished. and many other towns at the time of earthquakes: and there is no more reason why one should rather think Sicily to have been disjoined from the main-land of Italy than cast up from the bottom of the sea by the fires of Aetna, as the Lipari and PithecussanIschia. Isles have been.

However, so nice a fellow is Eratosthenes, that though he professes himself a mathematician,We have here followed the earlier editions, as preferable to Kramer, who supplies μὴ before μαθημστικὸς. he rejects entirely the dictum of Archimedes, who, in his work On Bodies in Suspension, says that all liquids when left at rest assume a spherical form, having a centre of gravity similar to that of the earth. A dictum which is acknowledged by all who have the slightest pretensions to mathematical sagacity. He says that the Mediterranean, which, according to his own description, is one entire sea, has not the same level even at points quite close to each other; and offers us the authority of engineers for this piece of folly, notwithstanding the affirmation of mathematicians that engineering is itself only one division of the mathematics. He tells us that DemetriusDemetrius Poliorcetes: the same intention is narrated by Pliny and other historians of Julius Caesar, Caligula, and Nero. intended to cut through the Isthmus of Corinth, to open a passage for his fleet, but was prevented by his engineers, who, having taken measurements, reported that the level of the sea at the Gulf of Corinth was higher than at Cenchrea,Kankri. so that if he cut through the isthmus, not only the coasts near Aegina, but even Aegina itself, with the neighbouring islands, would be laid completely under water, while the passage would prove of little value. According to Eratosthenes, it is this which occasions the current in straits, especially the current in the Strait of Sicily,Strait of Messina. where effects similar to the flow and ebb of the tide are remarked. The current there changes twice in the course of a day and night, like as in that period the tides of the sea flow and ebb twice. In the Tyrrhenian seaThe sea which washes the shores of Tuscany. Strabo applies the term to the whole sea from the mouth of the Arno to Sicily. the current which is called descendent, and which runs towards the sea of Sicily, as if it followed an inclined plane, corresponds to the flow of the tide in the ocean. We may remark, that this current corresponds to the flow both in the time of its commencement and cessation. For it commences at the rising and setting of the moon, and recedes when that satellite attains its meridian, whether above [in the zenith] or below the earth [in the nadir]. In the same way occurs the opposite or ascending current, as it is called. It corresponds to the ebb of the ocean, and commences as soon as the moon has reached either zenith or nadir, and ceases the moment she reaches the point of her rising or setting. [So far Eratosthenes.]

The nature of the ebb and flow has been sufficiently treated of by Posidonius and Athenodorus. Concerning the flux and reflux of the currents, which also may be explained by physics, it will suffice our present purpose to observe, that in the various straits these do not resemble each other, but each strait has its own peculiar current. Were they to resemble each other,. the current at the Strait of SicilyStrait of Messina. would not change merely twice during the day, (as Eratosthenes himself tells us it does,) and at Chalcis seven times;Gosselin observes that Le Père Babin, who had carefully examined the currents of the Euripus of Chalcis, says that they are regular during eighteen or nineteen days of every month, the flux and reflux occurring twice in the twenty-four hours, and following the same laws as in the ocean; but from the ninth to the thirteenth, and from the twenty-first to the twenty-sixth, of each lunar month they become irregular, the flux occurring from twelve to fourteen times in the twenty-four hours, and the reflux as often. nor again that of Constantinople, which does not change at all, but runs always in one direction from the Euxine to the Propontis, and, as Hipparchus tells us, sometimes ceases altogether. However, if they did all depend on one cause, it would not be that which Eratosthenes has assigned, namely, that the various seas have different levels. The kind of inequality he supposes would not even be found in rivers only for the cataracts; and where these cataracts occur, they occasion no ebbing, but have one continued downward flow, which is caused by the inclination both of the flow and the surface; and therefore though they have no flux or reflux they do not remain still, on account of a principle of flowing which is inherent in them; at the same time they cannot be on the same level, but one must be higher and one lower than another. But who ever imagined the surface of the ocean to be on a slope, especially those who follow a system which supposes the four bodies we call elementary, to be spherical.See Plutarch, de Plac. Philos. lib. i. c. 14, and Stobaeus, Ecl. Phys. lib. i. c. 18. For water is not like the earth, which being of a solid nature is capable of permanent depressions and risings, but by its force of gravity spreads equally over the earth, and assumes that kind of level which Archimedes has assigned it.

To what we cited before concerning the temple of Ammon and Egypt, Eratosthenes adds, that to judge from appearances, Mount CasiusEl-Kas. was formerly covered by sea, and the whole district now known as Gerra lay under shoal water touching the bay of the Erythraean Sea,The Arabian Gulf. Mr. Stephenson, while examining the Temsah Lakes, anciently called the Bitter Lakes, discovered recent marine remains similar to those on the shores of the present sea, clearly showing that the basin of the Temsah Lakes was the head of the Arabian Gulf at a period geologically recent. but was left dry on the unionWe have here followed MSS. which all read συνελθούσης δὲ τῆς θαλάττης. The French editors propose συνενδούσης δὲ τῆς θαλάττης, with the sense of but on the retiring of the Mediterranean, etc. of the [Mediterranean] Sea [with the ocean]. A certain amphibology lurks here under this description of the district lying under shoal water and touching the bay of the Erythraean Sea; for to touchThis accusation may not seem quite fair to the English reader. Touch is the nearest term in our language by which we can express the Greek συνάπτω, the use of which Strabo objects to in this passage; still the meaning of the English word is much too definite for the Greek. both means to be close to, and also to be in actual contact with, so that when applied to water it would signify that one flows into the other. I understand him to mean, that so long as the strait by the Pillars of Hercules remained closed, these marshes covered with shoal-water extended as far as the Arabian Gulf, but on that passage being forced open, the Mediterranean, discharging itself by the strait, became lower, and the land was left dry.

On the other hand, Hipparchus understands by the term touching, that the Mediterranean, being over-full, flowed into the Erythraean Sea, and he inquires how it could happen, that as the Mediterranean flowed out by this new vent at the Pillars of Hercules, the Erythraean Sea, which was all one with it, did not flow away too, and thus become lower, but has always retained the same level? and since Eratosthenes supposes the whole exterior sea to be confluent, it follows that the Western OceanThe Atlantic. and the Erythraean Sea are all one; and thus [remarks Hipparchus] as a necessary consequence, the sea beyond the Pillars of Hercules, the Erythraean Sea, and that also which is confluent with it,Viz. the Mediterranean. have all the same level.

IN his Second Book Eratosthenes endeavours to correct some errors in geography, and offers his own views on the subject, any mistakes in which we shall endeavour in our turn to set right. He is correct in saying that the inductions of mathematics and natural philosophy should be employed, and that if the earth is spheroidal like the universe, it is inhabited in all parts; together with some other things of this nature. Later writers do not agree with him as to the size of the earth,According to Gosselin, this does not allude to the size of the whole earth, but merely that part of it which, according to the theory of the ancients, was alone habitable. nor admit his measurement. However Hipparchus, when noting the celestial appearances for each particular locality, adopts his admeasurements, saying that those taken for the meridian of Meroe,Most probably Gherri in Sennaar. Alexandria, and the Dnieper, differ but very slightly from the truth. Eratosthenes then enters into a long discussion concerning the figure of the globe, proving that the form of the earth together with the water is spheroidal, as also the heavens. This however we imagine was foreign to his purpose, and should have been disposed of in the compass of a few words.

After this he proceeds to determine the breadth of the habitable earth: he tells us, that measuring from the meridian of MeroeEratosthenes supposed that Meroe, Alexandria, the Hellespont, and the mouth of the Borysthenes or Dnieper, were all under the same meridian. to Alexandria, there are 10,000 stadia. From thence to the HellespontThe Dardanelles. about 8100. Again; from thence to the Dnieper, 5000; and thence to the parallel of Thule,Iceland. which Pytheas says is six days’ sail north from Britain, and near the Frozen Sea, other 11,500. To which if we add 3400 stadia above Meroe in order to include the Island of the Egyptians,This Island of the Egyptians is the same which Strabo elsewhere calls the Island of the Exiles, because it was inhabited by Egyptians who had revolted from Psammeticus, and established themselves in the island. Its exact situation is unknown. the Cinnamon country, and Taprobane,Ceylon. there will be in all 38,000 stadia.

We will let pass the rest of his distances, since they are something near,—but that the Dnieper is under the same parallel as Thule, what man in his senses could ever agree to this? Pytheas, who has given us the history of Thule, is known to be a man upon whom no reliance can be placed, and other writers who have seen Britain and Ierne,Ireland. although they tell us of many small islands round Britain, make no mention whatever of Thule. The length of Britain itself is nearly the same as that of Keltica,France. opposite to which it extends. Altogether it is not more than 5000 stadia in length, its outermost points corresponding to those of the opposite continent. In fact the extreme points of the two countries lie opposite to each other, the eastern extremity to the eastern, and the western to the western: the eastern points are situated so close as to be within sight of each other, both at Kent and at the mouths of the Rhine. But Pytheas tells us that the island [of Britain] is more than 20,000 stadia in length, and that Kent is some days’ sail from France. With regard to the locality of the Ostimii, and the countries beyond the Rhine,Between the Rhine and Elbe. as far as Scythia, he is altogether mistaken. The veracity of a writer who has been thus false in describing countries with which we are well acquainted, should not be too much trusted in regard to unknown places.

Further, Hipparchus and many others are of opinion that the parallel of latitude of the Dnieper does not differ from that of Britain; since that of Byzantium and Marseilles are the same. The degree of shadow from the gnomon which Pytheas states he observed at Marseilles being exactly equal to that which Hipparchus says he found at Byzantium; the periods of observation being in both cases similar.The latitudes of Marseilles and Constantinople differ by 2° 16′ 21″. Gosselin enters into a lengthened explanation on this subject, i. 158. Now from Marseilles to the centre of Britain is not more than 5000 stadia; and if from the centre of Britain we advance north not more than 4000 stadia, we arrive at a temperature in which it is scarcely possible to exist. Such indeed is that of Ierne.Ireland. Consequently the far region in which Eratosthenes places Thule must be totally uninhabitable. By what guesswork he arrived at the conclusion that between the latitude of Thule and the Dnieper there was a distance of 11,500 stadia I am unable to divine.

Eratosthenes being mistaken as to the breadth [of the habitable earth], is necessarily wrong as to its length. The most accurate observers, both ancient and modern, agree that the known length of the habitable earth is more than twice its breadth. Its length I take to be from the [eastern] extremity of IndiaThe eastern mouth of the Ganges. to the [westernmost] point of Spain;Cape St. Vincent. and its breadth from [the south of] Ethiopia to the latitude of Ierne. Eratosthenes, as we have said, reckoning its breadth from the extremity of Ethiopia to Thule, was forced to extend its length beyond the true limits, that he might make it more than twice as long as the breadth he had assigned to it. He says that India, measured where it is narrowest,In the opinion of Strabo and Eratosthenes, the narrowest portion of India was measured by a line running direct from the eastern embouchure of the Ganges to the sources of the Indus, that is, the northern side of India bounded by the great chain of the Taurus. is 16,000 stadia to the river Indus. If measured from its most prominent capes it extends 3000 more.Cape Comorin is the farthest point on the eastern coast. Strabo probably uses the plural to indicate the capes generally, not confining himself to those which project a few leagues farther than the rest. Thence to the Caspian Gates, 14,000. From the Caspian Gates to the Euphrates,The Euphrates at Thapsacus, the most frequented passage; hod. El-Der. 10,000. From the Euphrates to the Nile, 5000.The Pelusiac mouth of the Nile, now Thineh or Farameh. Thence to the CanopicClose by Aboukir. mouth, 1300. From the Canopic mouth to Carthage, 13,500. From thence to the Pillars at least 8000. Which make in all 70,800 stadia. To these [he says] should be added the curvature of Europe beyond the Pillars of Hercules, fronting the Iberians, and inclining west, not less than 3000 stadia, and the headlands, including that of the Ostimii, named Cabaeum,Cape S. Mahé. and the adjoining islands, the last of which, named Uxisama,Ushant. is distant, according to Pytheas, a three days’ sail. But he added nothing to its length by enumerating these last, viz. the headlands, including that of the Ostimii, the island of Uxisama, and the rest; they are not situated so as affect the length of the earth, for they all lie to the north, and belong to Keltica, not to Iberia; indeed it seems but an invention of Pytheas. Lastly, to fall in with the general opinion that the breadth ought notThe text has τὸ πλέον, but we have followed the suggestions of the commentators in reading τὸ μὴ πλέον. to exceed half the length, he adds to the stated measure of its length 2000 stadia west, and as many east.

Further, endeavouring to support the opinion that it is in accordance with natural philosophy to reckon the greatest dimension of the habitable earth from east to west, he says that, according to the laws of natural philosophy, the habitable earth ought to occupy a greater length from east to west, than its breadth from north to south. The temperate zone, which we have already designated as the longest zone, is that which the mathematicians denominate a continuous circle returning upon itself. So that if the extent of the Atlantic Ocean were not an obstacle, we might easily pass by sea from Iberia to India,It is remarkable that this is the same idea which led Columbus to the discovery of America, and gave to the islands off that continent the name of the West Indies. still keeping in the same parallel; the remaining portion of which parallel, measured as above in stadia, occupies more than a third of the whole circle: since the parallel drawn through Athens,We have followed Kramer in reading διʼ?̓́αθηνῶν, instead of the διὰ θινῶν of former editions. on which we have taken the distances from India to Iberia, does not contain in the whole 200,000 stadia. Here too his reasoning is incorrect. For this speculation respecting the temperate zone which we inhabit, and whereof the habitable earth is a part, devolves properly on those who make mathematics their study. But it is not equally the province of one treating of the habitable earth. For by this term we mean only that portion of the temperate zone where we dwell, and with which we are acquainted. But it is quite possible that in the temperate zone there may be two or even more habitable earths, especially near the circle of latitude which is drawn through Athens and the Atlantic Ocean. After this he returns to the form of the earth, which he again declares to be spheroidal. Here he exhibits the same churlishness we have previously pointed out, and goes on abusing Homer in his old style. He proceeds:

There has been much argument respecting the continents. Some, considering them to be divided by the rivers Nile and Tanais,The Nile being thought to separate Africa from Asia, and the Tanais, or Don, Europe. have described them as islands; while others suppose them to be peninsulas connected by the isthmuses between the Caspian and the Euxine Seas, and between the Erythraean SeaThe Red Sea. and Ecregma.The name of the mouth of the lake Sirbonis or Sebaket-Bardoil, which opens into the Mediterranean. A line drawn from this embouchure to the bottom of the Arabian Gulf, would give the boundary between Africa and Asia. He adds, that this question does not appear to him to be of any practical importance, but rather, as Democritus observed, a bone of contention for angry litigants. Where there are no precise boundary marks, columns, or walls, as at Colyttus and Melitè,Places in Attica. it is easy for us to say such a place is Colyttus, and such another Melitè, but not so easy to show the exact limits: thus disputes have frequently arisen concerning certain districts; that, for instance, between the Argives and Lacedaemonians concerning [the possession of] Thyrea,Probably Thyros, a place situated close to the sea, just at the boundary of the two countries. and that between the Athenians and Boeotians relative to Oropus.Oropo, on the confines of Attica and Boeotia. Further, in giving names to the three continents, the Greeks did not take into consideration the whole habitable earth, but merely their own country and the land exactly opposite, namely, Caria, which is now inhabited by the Ionians and other neighbouring tribes. In course of time, as they advanced further and daily became acquainted with new countries, this their division came to be general.”

I take this last part first, and (to use Eratosthenes’ own words, not those of Democritus) willing to pick my bone of contention, inquire, whether they who first made the division of the three continents were the same persons as those who first desired to distinguish their own land from that of the Carians opposite, or whether they were only acquainted with Greece, Caria, and some few other adjoining countries, and not with Europe, Asia, or Africa; but that others who followed them, and were able to write a description of the habitable earth, were the real authors of the division into three continents. How did he know that these were not the men who made this division of the habitable earth? And he who divided the earth into three parts, giving to each portion the name of continent, could he not form in his mind a just idea of that taken as a whole, which he had so parcelled out. But if indeed he were not acquainted with the whole habitable earth, but merely made a division of some part thereof, pray what portion of that part did he denominate Asia, or Europe, or simply continent? Such talk is altogether nonsense.

The reasoning of Eratosthenes, however, is still more absurd, when he declares that he sees no advantage in being acquainted with the exact boundaries of countries, and then cites the example of Colyttus and Melitè, which prove just the contrary of his assertion. Surely if a want of certainty respecting the boundaries of Thyrea and Oropus gave rise to war, a knowledge of the limits of different districts must be of practical importance. Will he tell us that the boundaries of districts, or the limits of kingdoms, may be of some service, but when applied to continents it is carrying the matter too far. We reply, it is of equal consequence here. Suppose a dispute between two powerful princes, one claiming the possession of Asia and the other of Africa, to which of these should Egypt, I mean the country called Lower Egypt, appertain. Will any one paws over such cases on account of their rarity? By no means. It is acknowledged by every one that the limits of each continent ought to be defined by some notable boundary, indicated by the configuration of the whole habitable earth. In following out this principle, we should not be very particular if they who determine boundaries by the rivers leave some districts undefined, since the rivers do not reach from sea to sea, nor leave the continents altogether as islands.

At the close of the book Eratosthenes blames the system of those who would divide all mankind into Greeks and Barbarians, and likewise those who recommended Alexander to treat the Greeks as friends, but the Barbarians as enemies.Aristotle was the giver of this sage counsel. He suggests, as a better course, to distinguish them according to their virtues and their vices, since amongst the Greeks there are many worthless characters, and many highly civilized are to be found amongst the Barbarians; witness the Indians and Ariani,A people of Asia. or still better the Romans and Carthaginians, whose political system is so beautifully perfect. Alexander, considering this, disregarded the advice which had been offered him, and patronized without distinction any man he considered to be deserving. But we would inquire whether those men who thus divided the human race, abandoning one portion to contempt, and exalting to dignity the other, were not actuated to this because they found that on one side justice, knowledge, and the force of reason reigned supreme, but their contraries on the other. Alexander did not disregard the advice tendered him, but gladly embraced and followed it, respecting the wisdom of those who gave it; and so far from taking the opposite course, he closely pursued that which they pointed out.

HAVING thus given a general view of Geography, it will now be proper to describe each separate country in detail, as we engaged to do. We fancy that the method which we have adopted in the division of our subject, up to this point, has been correct; and we now re-commence with Europe and the various countries into which it is divided, on the same principles as formerly, and induced by the same reasons.

The first division of this continent towards the west is Iberia, as we before stated. The greater part of this country is but little fitted for habitation; consisting chiefly of mountains, woods, and plains covered with a light meagre soil, the irrigation of which is likewise uncertain The part next the north, which borders on the ocean, is extremely cold, and besides its rugged character, has no communication or intercourse with other [countries], and thus to dwell there is attended with peculiar hardship. Such is the character of this portion; on the other hand, almost the whole of the south is fertile, especially what is beyond the Pillars [of Hercules]. This however will be shown more in detail, but we must first describe the figure and extent [of the country].

In shape it resembles a hide stretched out in length from west to east, the forepartThe neck, etc. towards the east, its breadth being from north to south. Its length is about 6000 stadia; the greatest breadth is 5000; while there are parts considerably less

CAS. 137.Note. The pages of Casaubon’s edition of 1620 are given to facilitate reference to various editions and translations of Strabo. than 3000, particularly in the vicinity of the Pyrenees, which form the eastern side. This chain of mountains stretches without interruption from north to south,The Pyrenees, on the contrary, range from east to west, with a slight inclination towards the north. This error gives occasion to several of the mistakes made by Strabo respecting the course of certain of the rivers in France. and divides KelticaFrance. from Iberia. The breadth both of Keltica and Iberia is irregular, the narrowest part in both of them from the Mediterranean to the [Atlantic] Ocean being near the Pyrenees, particularly on either side of that chain; this gives rise to gulfs both on the side of the Ocean, and also of the Mediterranean; the largest of these are denominated the Keltic or Galatic Gulfs,The Gulfs of Lyons and Gascony. and they render the [Keltic] Isthmus narrower than that of Iberia.Gosselin remarks that the distance between S. Jean de Luz and Tarragona, is rather less than that between Bayonne and Narbonne. The Pyrenees form the eastern side of Iberia, and the Mediterranean the southern from the Pyrenees to the Pillars of Hercules, thence the exterior [ocean]The Atlantic. as far as the Sacred Promontory.Cape St. Vincent. The third or western side runs nearly parallel to the Pyrenees from the Sacred Promontory to the promontory of the Artabri, called [Cape] Nerium.Cape Finisterre. The fourth side extends hence to the northern extremity of the Pyrenees.

We will now commence our detailed account, beginning from the Sacred Promontory. This is the most western point not only of Europe, but of the whole habitable earth. For the habitable earth is bounded to the west by two continents, namely, the extremities of Europe and Libya,Africa. which are inhabited respectively by the Iberians and the Maurusians.The Mauritanians. But the Iberian extremity, at the promontoryCape St. Vincent. we have mentioned, juts out beyond the other as much as 1500 stadia.Cape St. Vincent is about 1600 stadia west of Cape Spartel in Africa. Strabo imagined that beyond this cape the African coast inclined to the south-east. In reality it advances eleven degrees and a half farther west to Cape Verd, which is 8° 29′ west of Cape St. Vincent. The region adjacent to this cape they call in the Latin tongue Cu- neum,Herodotus is the first who speaks of a people of Iberia, to whom he gives the name of κυνήσιοι or κύυητες· he describes them as inhabiting the most western part of Europe, beyond the Pillars of Hercules. which signifies a wedge. The promontory which projects into the sea, Artemidorus (who states that he has himself been at the place) compares to a ship; three little islands, [he says,] each having a small harbour, contribute to give it this form; the former island resembling the beak of the ship, and the two latter the beams on each side of the ship’s bows. [He adds] that there is no temple of Hercules shown there, as Ephorus falsely states, nor yet any altar [to him] nor to any other divinity; but in many parts there are three or four stones placed together, which are turned by all travellers who arrive there, in accordance with a certain local custom, and are changed in position by such as turn them incorrectly.This passage of Strabo relative to the rocking-stones has occasioned much perplexity to the critics. We have attempted to render the Greek words as near as possible. Many curious facts relative to rocking and amber stones have been collected by Jabez Allies, F. S. A., in his work on the Antiquities of Worcestershire, now in the press. It is not lawful to offer sacrifice there, nor yet to approach the place during the night, for it is said that then the gods take up their abode at the place. Those who go thither to view it stay at a neighbouring village over-night, and proceed to the place on the morrow, carrying water with them, as there is none to be procured there.

It is quite possible that these things are so, and we ought not to disbelieve them. Not so however with regard to the other common and vulgar reports; for Posidonius tells us the common people say that in the countries next the ocean the sun appears larger as he sets, and makes a noise resembling the sound of hot metal in cold water, as though the sea were hissing as the sun was submerged in its depths. The statement [of Artemidorus] is also false, that night follows immediately on the setting of the sun: it does not follow immediately, although certainly the interval is short, as in other great seas. For when he sets behind mountains the agency of the false light continues the day for a long period; over the sea the twilight is shorter, still darkness does not immediately supervene. The same thing may be remarked in large plains. The image of the sun is enlarged on the seas at its rising as well as at its setting, because at these times a larger mass of exhalations rises from the humid element; and the eye looking through these exhalations, sees images refracted into larger forms, as observed through tubes. The same thing happens when the setting sun or moon is seen through a dry and thin cloud, when those bodies likewise appear reddish.We extract the following notice on this passage from Humboldt (Cosmos, vol. iii. 54, Bohn’s edition). This passage has recently been pronounced corrupt, (Kramer i. 211,) and δι’ ὑαλων (through glass spheres) substituted for δί αὐλῶν (Schneider, Eclog. Phys. ii. 273). The magnifying power of hollow glass spheres, filled with water, (Seneca i 6,) was, indeed, as familiar to the ancients as the action of burning glasses or crystals, (Aristoph. Nub. v. 765,) and that of Nero’s emerald (Plin. xxxvii. 5); but these spheres most assuredly could not have been employed as astronomical measuring instruments. (Compare Cosmos i. p. 619.) Solar altitudes taken through thin light clouds, or through volcanic vapours, exhibit no trace of the influence of refraction. Posidonius tells us that, having himself passed thirty days at Gades,Cadiz. during which time he carefully observed the setting of the sun, he is convinced of the falsity of Artemidorus’s account. This latter writer tells us, that at the time of its setting the sun appears a hundred times larger than its ordinary size, and that night immediately succeeds. If we attend to his account, we cannot believe that he himself remarked this phenomenon at the Sacred Promontory,Cape St. Vincent. for he tells us that no one can approach during the night; therefore they cannot approach at sunset, since night immediately supervenes thereupon. Neither did he observe it from any other part of the coast washed by the ocean, for Gades is upon the ocean, and both Posidonius and many others testify that there such is not the case.

The sea-coast next the Sacred Promontory forms on one side the commencement of the western coast of Spain as far as the outlet of the river Tagus; and on the other forms the southern coast as far as the outlet of another river, named the Guadiana.̓́ανας. Both of these rivers descend from the eastern parts [of Spain]; but the former, which is much larger than the other, pursues a straight course towards the west, while the Guadiana bends its course towards the south.The Tagus, the Guadiana, and the Guadalquiver, pursue a course nearly parallel to each other, and all incline towards the south before discharging themselves into the sea; the inclination of the Tagus is not equal to that of the other rivers. They enclose an extent of country peopled for the most part by Kelts and certain Lusitanians,Lusitania occupied the greater part of the present kingdom of Portugal. It was from the countries north of the Tagus that the Romans caused certain of the inhabitants to emigrate to the south side of that river. whom the Romans caused to settle here from the opposite side of the Tagus. Higher up, the country is inhabited by the Carpetani,The Carpetani occupied a portion of New Castile, where the cities of Madrid, Toledo, etc. are now situated. the Oretani,These people inhabited the southern portions of New Castile, now occupied by the cities of Calatrava, Ciudad-real, Alcaraz, etc. They also possessed a part of the Sierra-Morena. and a large number of Vettones.The Vettones inhabited that part of Estremadura, where the cities of Alcantara, Truxillo, etc. are now situated. This district is moderately fertile, but that which is beyond it to the east and south, does not give place in superiority to any part of the habitable earth with which it may be compared, in the excellence of its productions both of land and sea. This is the country through which the river GuadalquiverBaetis. flows. This river takes its rise from the same parts as the GuadianaAnas. and the Tagus, and is between these two in size.The course of the Guadiana is longer than that of the Guadalquiver. Like the Guadiana, the commencement of its course flows towards the west, but it afterwards turns to the south, and discharges itself at the same side of the coast as that river.

From this riverBeetis. the country has received the name of Baetica; it is called Turdetania by the inhabitants, who are themselves denominated Turdetani, and Turduli. Some think these two names refer to one nation, while others believe that they designate two distinct people. Of this latter opinion is Polybius, who imagines that the Turduli dwell more to the north than the Turdetani. At the present day however there does not appear to be any distinction between them. These people are esteemed to be the most intelligent of all the Iberians; they have an alphabet, and possess ancient writings, poems, and metrical laws six thousand years old, as they say. The other Iberians are likewise furnished with an alphabet, although not of the same form, nor do they speak the same language. Their country,Viz. Turdetania. which is on this side the Guadiana, extends eastward as far as Oretania,The mountainous country in which the Guadalquiver takes its source. and southward along the sea-coast from the outlets of the Guadiana to the Pillars [of Hercules]. But it is necessary that I should enter into further particulars concerning this and the neighbouring places, in order to illustrate their excellence and fertility.

Between this coast, where the Guadalquiver and Guadiana discharge themselves, and the extremities of Maurusia, the Atlantic Ocean forms the strait at the Pillars [of Hercules] by which it is connected with the Mediterranean. Here is situated Calpe,The rock of Gibraltar. the mountain of the Iberians who are denominated Bastetani, by others Bastuli. Its circumference is not large, but it is so high and steep as to resemble an island in the distance. Sailing from the Mediterranean into the Atlantic, it is left on the right hand. At a distance of 40 stadia from this [mountain] is the considerable and ancient city of Carteia, formerly a marine arsenal of the Iberians. Some assert that it was founded by Hercules; of this number is Timosthenes,This Timosthenes was the admiral of Ptolemy II. Strabo mentions him repeatedly. who tells us it was anciently called Heraclaea, and that vast walls and ship-sheds are still shown.

Next to these is Mellaria,The place on which this town formerly stood is now designated Val de Vacca. where they make salted provisions. After this the city and riverRio Barbate. of Belo. Here the merchandise and salted provisions for Tingis in Maurusia are principally shipped. There was a city named ZelisNow Azzila. near to Tingis, but the Romans transferred it to the opposite coast [of Spain], and having placed there in addition some of the inhabitants of Tingis, and sent over also some of their own people, they then gave to the city the name of Julia Joza.Called by Pliny and Ptolemy Julia Transducta. It appears to have been situated at the western entrance of the Bay of Gibraltar, at the place now called Al-Gesira. Beyond this is Gadeira,Cadiz. an island separated from Turdetania by a narrow strait, and distant from Calpe about 750 stadia, or, as others say, 800. This island has nothing to distinguish it above others, but owing to the boldness of its people in their expeditions by sea, and their friendship with the Romans, has attained to that pitch of good fortune, that although situated at the farthest extremities of the earth, it possesses a greater celebrity than any other island. But we will describe it when we come to speak of the other islands.

Next after [Cadiz] is the port of Menestheus,An Athenian king, who led the Athenians against Troy. The port of Menestheus is now Puerto Sta. Maria. and the estuary near to Asta and Nebrissa.Hodie Lebrixa. These estuaries are valleys filled by the sea during its flood-tides, up which you may sail into the interior, and to the cities built on them, in the same way as you sail up a river. Immediately after are the two outlets of the Guadalquiver.Baetis. The island embraced by these mouths has a coast of a hundred stadia, or rather more according to others. Hereabouts is the Oracle of Menestheus,At or near the port of Menestheus just mentioned. and the tower of Caepio,Quintus Servilius Caepio, a famous Roman general. Vide lib. iv. c. i. § 13. built upon a rock and washed on all sides by the sea. This is an admirable work, resembling the Pharos, and constructed for the safety of vessels. For the mud carried out by the river forms shallows, and sunken rocks are also scattered before it, so that a beacon was greatly needed. Thence sailing up the river is the city of EburaThis city is not to be confounded with others of the same name in Spain. and the temple of Phosphorus,Strabo is the only writer who speaks of this temple of Phosphorus.

It was no doubt a temple to Diana, who was named ̓́αρτεμις φωσφόοͅος. This temple, according to the Spanish authors quoted by Lopez in his translation of Strabo, corresponds to the present San-Lucar de Barrameda.

TURDETANIA lies above the coast on this side the Guadiana,Anas. and is intersected by the river Guadalquiver.Baetis. It is bounded on the west and north by the river Guadiana; on the east by certain of the Carpetani and the Oretani; on the south by those of the Bastetani who inhabit the narrow slip of coast between Calpe and Gadeira, and by the sea beyond as far as the Guadiana. The Bastetani whom I have mentioned, together with the people on the other side the Guadiana, and many of the places adjacent, belong to Turdetania. The size of this country in its length and breadth does not exceed two thousand stadia, still it contains a vast number of towns; two hundred, it is said. Those best known are situated on the rivers, estuaries, and sea; but the two which have acquired the greatest name and importance are, Corduba, founded by Marcellus,Cordova, situated on the Guadalquiver in Andalusia, We do not know whether it were founded by the Marcellus who was praetor in Thither Iberia, and created consul in the year of Rome 601, or Marcellus who joined Pompey’s party against Caesar. This city served for the winter quarters of the Romans, who during summer made war on the inhabitants of the western and northern parts of Spain. It was the native place of the two Senecas and Lucan, and the chief emporium of Iberia. We may form some idea of the amount of its population from the number of those who perished when taken by Caesar, as narrated by Hirtius, Spanish War, § 34. But the period in which Cordova’s glory was at its zenith was during the empire of the Moors, in the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries, when it numbered 300,000 inhabitants. and the city of the Gaditanians.Cadiz. The latter for its naval importance, and its alliance with the Romans; and the former on account of its fertility and extent, a considerable portion of the Guadalquiver flowing by it; in addition to this it has been from its commencement inhabited by picked men, whether natives or Romans; and it was the first colony planted by the Romans in these parts.

After this city and that of the Gaditanians, HispalisSeville. This city was surnamed Julia Romulensis. It was founded by Caesar, and regarded as the second city of the province, although, as we see, in the time of Strabo it was only third-rate. is the most noted. This also is a Roman colony. Commerce is still carried on here, although at the present moment the city of BaetisStrabo is the only writer who mentions this city of Baetis. Casaubon and others are inclined to the opinion that the MSS. are corrupted, and that formerly another name stood here. though not so finely built, is outshining it, on account of the honour it has received from the soldiers of Caesar taking up their quarters there.

After these are Italica,This city, the native place of the emperors Trajan and Adrian, and the poet Silius Italicus, was founded by Publius Scipio in the second Punic war, who placed here the soldiers incapacitated from the performance of military service. It is supposed to correspond to Sevilla la Vieja, about a league distant from Seville. and Ilipa,The Ilipa Ilia of Pliny and Illipula Magna of Ptolemy. Its exact position is not determined. situated on the Guadalquiver; farther on are Astygis,Hodie Ecija on the Xenil. Carmo,Carmona. and Obulco; and besides these Munda,Monda, seven leagues west of Malaga. Ategua, Urso,Osuna. Tukkis,Hodie Martos, Pliny gave it the surname of Augusta Gemella. Julia,The Itucci of Pliny, to which he gives the surname Virtus Julia. and Aegua, where the sons of Pompey were defeated. None of these places are far from Corduba. Munda is in some sort regarded as the metropolis of the whole district. This place is distant from Carteia 1400We should probably read 430. stadia, and it was here that Cnaeus fled after his defeat, and sailing thence landed on a rocky height overlooking the sea, where he was murdered. His brother Sextus, having escaped from Corduba, after carrying on the war for a short time in Spain, caused a revolt in Sicily. Flying thence into Asia he was seized at MiletusKramer, using the criticism of Lachmann, observes that this is a misreading for Midaium, and that a like mistake occurs in Appian. by the generalsFurnius and Titius. of Antony, and executed. Amongst the Kelts the most famous place is Conistorgis.In Lusitania. Upon the estuaries is Asta,About the spot where this city is supposed to have stood, between Xerez and Tribugena, there is still a place called Mesa de Asta. in which the Gaditani mostly hold their assemblies; it is opposite the sea-port of the island, at a distance of not more than 100 stadia.

A vast number of people dwell along the Guadalquiver; and you may sail up it almost 1200 stadia from the sea to Corduba, and the places a little higher up. The banks and little islets of this river are cultivated with the greatest diligence. The eye is also delighted with groves and gardens, which in this district are met with in the highest perfection. As far as Ispalis, which is a distance of not less than 500 stadia, the river is navigable for shipsStrabo uses ὸλκάσιν ἀξιολόγοις, but the English hulk would not bear the same import in this place as the Greek. of considerable size; but for the cities higher up, as far as Ilipas, smaller vessels are employed, and thence to Corduba river-boats. These are now constructed of planks joined together, but they were formerly made out of a single trunk. Above this to Castlon the river is no longer navigable. A chain of mountains, rich in metal, runs parallel to the Guadalquiver,Betis. approaching the river sometimes more, sometimes less, towards the north.

There is much silver found in the parts about Ilipas and Sisapo, both in that which is called the old town and the new. There are copper and gold about the Cotinae.Cotillas, or perhaps Constantina near Almaden. These mountains are on the left as you sail up the river; on the right there is a vast and elevated plain, fertile, full of large trees, and containing excellent pasturage. The GuadianaAnas. is likewise navigable, but not for vessels equally large, nor yet so far up. It is also bordered by mountains containing metal, and extends as far as the Tagus. Districts which contain metals must, of necessity, be rugged and poor,Experience does not seem to warrant this conclusion. as indeed are those adjoining Carpetania, and still more those next the Keltiberians. The same is the case with Baeturia, the plains of which, bordering on the Guadiana, are arid.

Turdetania, on the other hand, is marvellously fertile, and abounds in every species of produce. The value of its productions is doubled by means of exportation, the surplus products finding a ready sale amongst the numerous ship-owners. This results from its rivers and estuaries, which, as we have said, resemble rivers, and by which you may sail from the sea to the inland towns, not only in small, but even in large-sized skiffs. For the whole country above the coast, and situated between the Sacred PromontoryCape St. Vincent. and the Pillars, consists of an extended plain. Here in many places are hollows running inland from the sea, which resemble moderately-sized ravines or the beds of rivers, and extend for many stadia. These are filled by the approach of the sea at high tide, and may be navigated as easily, or even more so than rivers. They are navigated much the same as rivers the sea, meeting with no obstacle, enters like the flow of a river at flood-tide. The sea comes in here with greater force than in the other places; for being forced from the wide ocean into the narrow strait,Of Gibraltar. formed by the coast of Maurusia and Iberia, it experiences recoils, and thus is borne full into the retiring parts of the land. Some of these shallows are left dry as the tide ebbs, while others are never destitute of water; others again contain islands, of this kind are the estuaries between the Sacred PromontoryCape St. Vincent. and the Pillars, where the tide comes in with more violence than at other places. Such a tide is of considerable advantage to sailors, since it makes the estuaries both fuller and more spacious, frequently swelling them to a breadth of eightThe text here is evidently corrupt, but it is not easy to determine to what extent the overflow reached at the time Strabo wrote. stadia, so that the whole land, so to speak, is rendered navigable, thus giving wonderful facility both for the export and import of merchandise. Nevertheless there is some inconvenience. For in the navigation of the rivers, the sailors run considerable danger both in ascending and descending, owing to the violence with which the flood-tide encounters the current of the stream as it flows down. The ebb-tides are likewise the cause of much damage in these estuaries, for resulting as they do from the same cause as the flood-tides, they are frequently so rapid as to leave the vessel on dry land; and herds in passing over to the islands that are in these estuaries are sometimes drowned [in the passage] and sometimes surprised in the islands, and endeavouring to cross back again to the continent, are unable, and perish in the attempt. They say that certain of the cattle, having narrowly observed what takes place, wait till the sea has retired, and then cross over to the main-land.

The men [of the country], being well acquainted with the nature of these places, and that the estuaries would very well answer the same purpose as rivers, founded cities and other settlements along them the same as along rivers. Of this number are Asta, Nebrissa,Lebrixa. Onoba,Gibraleon. Ossonoba, Maenoba, besides many others. The canals which have been cut in various directions are also found useful in the traffic which is carried on between place and place, both amongst the people themselves and with foreigners. The conflux of water at the flood-tides is also valuable, as rendering navigable the isthmuses which separate the different pieces of water, thus making it possible to ferry over from the rivers into the estuaries, and from the estuaries into the rivers. Their trade is wholly carried on with Italy and Rome. The navigation is excellent as far as the Pillars, (excepting perhaps some little difficulties at the Strait,) and equally so on the Mediterranean, where the voyages are very calm, especially to those who keep the high seas. This is a great advantage to merchant-vessels. The winds on the high seas blow regularly; and peace reigns there now, the pirates having been put down, so that in every respect the voyage is facile. Posidonius tells us he observed the singular phenomenon in his journey from Iberia,Spain. that in this sea, as far as the Gulf of Sardinia, the south-eastοἱ εὕποι. winds blow periodically. And on this account he strove in vain for three whole months to reach Italy, being driven about by the winds against the Gymnesian islands,Majorca and Minorca. Sardinia, and the opposite coasts of Libya.

Large quantities of corn and wine are exported from Turdetania, besides much oil, which is of the first quality;In his third book, Strabo, speaking of Campania, regards the oil of Venafrum as superior to any other. In this he agrees with Pliny, who places in the second class the oils of Baetica and Istria. Pausanias considers these two oils, both for beauty of colour and excellence of flavour, inferior to that produced at Tithorea in Phocis, and which was sent to Rome for the service of the emperor’s table. also wax, honey, pitch, large quantities of the kermes-berry,Coccus tinctorius, used to dye scarlet. and vermilion not inferior to that of Sinope.Sinoub, still a Turkish city of importance. The country furnishes the timber for their shipbuilding. They have likewise mineral salt, and not a few salt streams. A considerable quantity of salted fish is exported, not only from hence, but also from the remainder of the coast beyond the Pillars, equal to that of Pontus. Formerly they exported large quantities of garments, but they now send the [unmanufactured] wool, which is superior even to that of the Coraxi,A people inhabiting the western parts of the Caucasus. and remarkable for its beauty. Rams for the purpose of covering fetch a talent. The stuffs manufactured by the SaltiataeThis name occurs only in Strabo: of the various conjectures which have been hazarded on the subject, one of the most probable seems to be that we should read Saltigetae, a people of Bastetania, mentioned by Ptolemy. are of incomparable texture. There is a super-abundance of cattle, and a great variety of game: while, on the other hand, of destructive animals there are scarcely any, with the exception of certain little hares which burrow in the ground, and are called by some leberides.These were evidently rabbits. These creatures destroy both seeds and trees by gnawing their roots. They are met with throughout almost the whole of Iberia,Spain. and extend to Marseilles, infesting likewise the islands. It is said that formerly the inhabitants of the Gymnesian islandsMajorca and Minorca. sent a deputation to the Romans soliciting that a new land might be given them, as they were quite driven out of their country by these animals, being no longer able to stand against their vast multitudes.According to Pliny, (lib. viii. c. 55,) this deputation was sent to Augustus to demand of him a military force, apparently for the purpose of assisting the inhabitants in destroying the rabbits. The same writer has brought together a variety of instances in which cities have been abandoned or destroyed through similar causes. Vide lib. viii. c. 29. The inhabitants of Abdera in Thrace were forced to quit their city on account of the rats and frogs, and settled on the frontiers of Macedonia. (Justin. lib. xv. c. 2.) It is possible that people should be obliged to have recourse to such an expedient for help in waging war in so great an extremity, which however but seldom happens, and is a plague produced by some pestilential state of the atmosphere, which at other times has produced serpents and rats in like abundance; but for the ordinary increase of these little hares, many ways of hunting have been devised, amongst others by wild cats from Africa,Ferrets. trained for the purpose. Having muzzled these, they turn them into the holes, when they either drag out the animals they find there with their claws, or compel them to fly to the surface of the earth, where they are taken by people standing by for that purpose. The large amount of the exports from Turdetania is evinced by the size and number of their ships. Merchant-vessels of the greatest size sail thence to DicaearchiaPozzuolo. and Ostia, a Roman port; they are in number nearly equal to those which arrive from Libya.

Such is the wealth of the inland part of Turdetania, and its maritime portions are found fully to equal it in the richness of their sea-productions. In fact, oysters and every variety of shell-fish, remarkable both for their number and size, are found along the whole of the exterior sea, but here in particular. It is probable that the flow and ebb tides, which are particularly strong here, contribute both to their quantity and size, on count of the great number of pools and standing waters which they form.We have here followed Gosselin’s suggestion of λιμνασίαν instead of ηυμνασίαν, the reading of MSS. The same is the case with regard to all kinds of cetacea, narwhals, whales, and physeteri,A kind of whale, mentioned also by Aristotle, but which does not seem to have been identified. which when they blow [up the water from their snouts] appear to observers from a distance to resemble a cloud shaped like a column. The congers are quite monstrous, far surpassing in size those of our [sea];The Mediterranean. so are the lampreys, and many other fish of the same kind. It is said that in Carteia there are kerukaeA kind of shell-fish with a wreathed shell, which might be used as a sort of trumpet. It is mentioned by Aristotle. and cuttle-fish which would contain as much as ten cotylae.The cotyla held about three-fourths of a pint. In the parts more exterior there are lampreys and congers weighing 80 minae,This weight equalled 15 oz. 83 3/4 grs. and polypesa talent,The Euboic or Attic talent, which is here meant, equalled almost 57 lb. also teuthidaeA kind of cuttle-fish or squid. two cubits in length, with other fish in proportion. Shoals of rich fat thunny are driven hither from the sea-coast beyond. They feed on the fruit of a species of stunted oak, which grows at the bottom of the sea, and produces very large acorns. The same oaks grow in large numbers throughout the land of Iberia, their roots are of the same size as those of the full-grown oak, although the tree itself never attains the height of a low shrub. So great is the quantity of fruit which it produces, that at the season when they are ripe, the whole coast on either side of the Pillars is covered with acorns which have been thrown up by the tides: the quantity however is always less on this side the Pillars [than on the other]. Polybius states that these acorns are ejected [by the sea] as far as [the shores of] Latium, unless, he adds, SardoSardinia. and the neighbouring districts also produce them. The thunny-fish become gradually thinner, owing to the failure of their food, as they approach the Pillars from the outer sea. This fish, in fact, may be regarded as a kind of sea-hog, being fond of the acorn, and growing marvellously fat upon it; and whenever acorns are abundant, thunny-fish are abundant likewise.

Of the various riches of the aforenamed country,Turdetania. not the least is its wealth in metals: this every one will particularly esteem and admire. Of metals, in fact, the whole country of the Iberians is full, although it is not equally fertile and flourishing throughout, especially in those parts where the metals most abound. It is seldom that any place is blessed with both these advantages, and likewise seldom that the different kinds of metals abound in one small territory. Turdetania, however, and the surrounding districts surpass so entirely in this respect, that however you may wish, words cannot convey their excellence. Gold, silver, copper, and iron, equal in amount and of similar quality, not having been hitherto discovered in any other part of the world.The mineral riches of Spain are lauded in equal terms by Herodotus, Aristotle, Pliny, and many other writers. We can only remark, that at the present day the mineral wealth of that country scarcely justifies such descriptions. Gold is not only dug from the mines, but likewise collected; sand containing gold being washed down by the rivers and torrents. It is frequently met with in arid districts, but here the gold is not visible to the sight, whereas in those which are overflowed the grains of gold are seen glittering. On this account they cause water to flow over the arid places in order to make the grains shine; they also dig pits, and make use of other contrivances for washing the sand, and separating the gold from it; so that at the present day more gold is procured by washing than by digging it from the mines. The Galatae affirm that the mines along the Kemmenus mountainsThe Cevennes. and their side of the Pyrenees are superior; but most people prefer those on this side. They say that sometimes amongst the grains of gold lumps have been found weighing half a pound, these they call paloe; they need but little refining.Pliny, (lib. xxxiii. c. 4,) writing on the same subject, says, Inveniuntur ita massae; necnon in puteis etiam denas excedentes libras. Palacras Hispani, alii palacranas, iidem quod minutum est balucem vocant. They also say that in splitting open stones they find small lumps, resembling paps. And that when they have melted the gold, and purified it by means of a kind of aluminous earth, the residue left is electrum. This, which contains a mixture of silver and gold, being again subjected to the fire, the silver is separated and the gold left [pure]; for this metal is easily dissipated and fat,This passage is evidently corrupt, nor do any of the readings which have been proposed seem to clear up the difficulties which it presents. and on this account gold is most easily melted by straw, the flame of which is soft, and bearing a similarity [to the gold], causes it easily to dissolve: whereas coal, besides wasting a great deal, melts it too much by reason of its vehemence, and carries it off [in vapour]. In the beds of the rivers the sand is either collected and washed in boats close by, or else a pit is dug to which the earth is carried and there washed. The furnaces for silver are constructed lofty, in order that the vapour, which is dense and pestilent, may be raised and carried off. Certain of the copper mines are called gold mines, which would seem to show that formerly gold was dug from them.

Posidonius, in praising the amount and excellence of the metals, cannot refrain from his accustomed rhetoric, and becomes quite enthusiastic in exaggeration. He tells us we are not to disbelieve the fable, that formerly the forests having been set on fire, the earth, which was loaded with silver and gold, melted, and threw up these metals to the surface, forasmuch as every mountain and wooded hill seemed to be heaped up with money by a lavish fortune. Altogether (he remarks) any one seeing these places, could only describe them as the inexhaustible treasuries of nature, or the unfailing exchequer of some potentate; for not only, he tells us, is this land rich itself, but riches abound beneath it. So that amongst these people the subterraneous regions should not be regarded as the realms of Pluto, but of Plutus. Such is the flourished style in which he speaks on this subject, that you would fancy his turgid language had been dug from a mine itself. Discoursing on the diligence of the miners, he applies to them the remark [of Demetrius] of Phalaris, who, speaking of the silver mines of Attica, said that the men there dug with as much energy as if they thought they could grub up Plutus himself. He compares with these the activity and diligence of the Turdetani, who are in the habit of cutting tortuous and deep tunnels, and draining the streams which they frequently encounter by means of Egyptian screws.Archimedes’ Screw. It was called the Egyptian screw because invented by Archimedes when in Egypt, and also because it was much employed by the Egyptians in raising water from the Nile for the irrigation of their lands. As for the rest,We read τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν, according to Kramer’s suggestion. they are quite different from the Attic miners, whose mining (he remarks) may be justly compared to that enigma,The following is the enigma alluded to. We have extracted it from Mackenzie’s Translation of the Life of Homer, attributed to Herodotus of Halicarnassus. While the sailors and the towns-people of the Isle of Ios (Nio) were speaking with Homer, some fishermen’s children ran their vessel on shore, and descending to the sands, addressed these words to the assembled persons: Hear us, strangers, explain our riddle if ye can. Then some of those who were present ordered them to speak. We leave, say they, what we take, and we carry with us that we cannot take. No one being able to solve the enigma, they thus expounded it. Having had an unproductive fishery, say they in explanation, we sat down on the sand, and being annoyed by the vermin, left the fish we had taken on the shore, taking with us the vermin we could not catch, What I have taken up I have not kept, and what I have got I have thrown away. Whereas the Turdetanians make a good profit, since a fourth part of the ore which they extract from the copper mines is [pure] copper, while from the silver mines one person has taken as much as a Euboean talent. He says that tin is not found upon the surface, as authors commonly relate, but that it is dug up; and that it is produced both in places among the barbarians who dwell beyond the Lusitanians and in the islands Cassiterides; and that from the Britannic Islands it is carried to Marseilles. Amongst the Artabri,These people inhabited the province of Gallicia in Spain. who are the last of the Lusitanians towards the north and west, he tells us that the earth is powdered with silver, tin, and white gold, that is, mixed with silver, the earth having been brought down by the rivers: this the women scrape up with spades, and wash in sieves, woven after the fashion of baskets. Such is the substance of what [Posidonius] tells us concerning the mines [of Iberia].

Polybius, speaking of the silver mines of New Carthage,Carthagena. tells us that they are extremely large, distant from the city about 20 stadia, and occupy a circuit of 400 stadia, that there are 40,000 men regularly engaged in them, and that they yield daily to the Roman people [a revenue of] 25,000 drachmae. The rest of the process I pass over, as it is too long, but as for the silver ore collected, he tells us that it is broken up, and sifted through sieves over water; that what remains is to be again broken, and the water having been strained off, it is to be sifted and broken a third time. The dregs which remain after the fifth time are to be melted, and the lead being poured off, the silver is obtained pure. These silver mines still exist; however they are no longer the property of the state, neither these nor those elsewhere, but are possessed by private individuals. The gold mines, on the contrary, nearly all belong to the state. Both at CastlonCaslona. and other places there are singular lead mines worked. They contain a small proportion of silver, but not sufficient to pay for the expense of refining.

Not far from Castlon is the mountain in which they report that the [river] GuadalquiverBaetis. takes its rise. They call it silver mountain on account of the silver mines which it contains.The Sierra Cazorla. Polybius asserts that both the GuadianaAnas. and this river have their sources in Keltiberia, notwithstanding they are separated from each other by a distance of 900 stadia;These 900 stadia are equal to from 25 to 26 leagues, which is exactly the distance from the sources of the Guadalquiver near to Cazorla to the lagoons named Ojos de Guadiana, adjacent to Villa-Harta. [this we are to attribute to] the Keltiberians having increased in power, and having consequently conferred their name on the surrounding country. It appears the ancients knew the Guadalquiver under the name of the Tartessus, and GadesCadiz. with the neighbouring islands under that of Erythia; and it is thought that we should understand in this sense the words of StesichorusA Greek poet born at Himera in Sicily, and who flourished about B. C. 570: he lived in the time of Phalaris, and was contemporary with Sappho, Alceus, and Pittacus. concerning the pastoral poet Geryon, that he was born almost opposite to the renowned Erythia, in a rocky cave near to the abundant springs of the silver-bedded river Tartessus. They say that on the piece of land enclosed between the two outlets of this river there formerly stood a city named, like the river, Tartessus, and that the district was called Tartessis, which the Turduli now inhabit. Eratosthenes likewise tells us that the [country] near to CalpeThe rock of Gibraltar. was called Tartessis, and also Erythia the Fortunate Island. This Artemidorus contradicts, and says that it is as false as his other statements, that the Sacred PromontoryCape St. Vincent. is distant from GadesCadiz. five days’ sail, when in fact they are [distant from each other] not more than 1700 stadia.This is exactly the distance from Cadiz to Cape St. Vincent, following the coasts. It is from 48 to 49 leagues. Likewise that the tide ceased at this point, whereas it passes round the whole circuit of the habitable earth. That it is easier to pass from the northern parts of Iberia into Keltica,Gaul. than to proceed thither by sea; with many other things which he asserted on the faith of that charlatan Pytheas.

Our poet [Homer] being very explicit, and possessing great experience, gives one cause to believe that he was not unfamiliar with these localities. Of this any one may be convinced who will examine carefully what has been written on these points, both the incorrect [comments], and likewise those which are better and more truthful. One amongst these incorrect ideas is, that he considered [Tartessis] to be the farthest country towards the west, where, as he himself expresses it, The radiant sun in ocean sank, Drawing night after him o’er all the earth.The bright light of the sun fell into the ocean, drawing dark night over the fruitful earth. Iliad viii. 485.Iliad viii. 485. Now, since it is evident that night is ominous, and near to Hades, and Hades to Tartarus, it seems probable that [Homer], having heard of Tartessus, took thence the name of Tartarus to distinguish the farthest of the places beneath the earth, also embellishing it with fable in virtue of the poetic licence. In the same way, knowing that the Cimmerians dwelt in northern and dismal territories near to the Bosphorus, he located them in the vicinity of Hades; perhaps also on account of the common hatred of the Ionians against this people. For they say that in the time of Homer, or a little before, the Cimmerians made an incursion as far as Aeolia and Ionia. Always drawing his fables from certain real facts, his PlanetaeWandering rocks. are modelled on the Cyaneae. He describes them as dangerous rocks, as they tell us the Cyaneaean rocks are, [and] on which account [in fact] they are called Symplegades.Entwining or conflicting rocks. Euripides, Medea, verse 2, gives them the title of Symplegades. He adds to this [the account of] Jason’s navigating through the midst of them. The Straits of the PillarsGibraltar. and Sicily,The Strait of Messina. likewise, suggested to him the fable of the Planetae. Thus, even according to the worst comments, from the fiction of Tartarus any one might gather that Homer was acquainted with the regions about Tartessus.

Of these facts, notwithstanding, there are better proofs. For instance, the expeditions of Hercules and the Phoenicians to this country were evidence to him of the wealth and luxury of the people. They fell so entirely under the dominion of the Phoenicians, that at the present day almost the whole of the cities of Turdetania and the neighbouring places are inhabited by them. It also seems to me that the expedition of Ulysses hither, as it took place and was recorded, was the foundation both of his Odyssey and Iliad, which he framed upon facts collected into a poem, and embellished as usual with poetical mythology. It is not only in Italy, Sicily, and a few other places that vestiges of these [events] occur; even in Iberia a city is shown named Ulyssea,Ulisipo or Lisbon. also a temple of Minerva, and a myriad other traces both of the wandering of Ulysses and also of other survivors of the Trojan war, which was equally fatal to the vanquished and those who took Troy. These latter in fact gained a Cadmean victory,A proverbial expression by which the Greeks described a victory equally prejudicial to the victors and the vanquished. for their homes were destroyed, and the portion of booty which fell to each was exceedingly minute. Consequently not only those who had survived the perils [of their country], but the Greeks as well, betook themselves to piracy, the former because they had been pillaged of every thing; the latter, on account of the shame which each one anticipated to himself: The shame That must attend us, after absence long Returning unsuccessful, who can bear?But still it would be disgraceful to remain here so long, and to return home without fitting booty. Iliad ii. 298.Iliad ii. 298. In the same way is related the wandering of Aeneas, of Antenor, and of the Heneti; likewise of Diomedes, of Menelaus, of Ulysses,We should probably here read Menestheus. and of many others. Hence the poet, knowing of similar expeditions to the extremities of Iberia, and having heard of its wealth and other excellencies, (which the Phoenicians had made known,) feigned this to be the region of the Blessed, and the Plain of Elysium, where Proteus informs Menelaus that he is to depart to: But far hence the gods Will send thee to Elysium, and the earth’s Extremest bounds; there Rhadamanthus dwells, The golden-haired, and there the human kind Enjoy the easiest life; no snow is there, No biting winter, and no drenching shower, But zephyr always gently from the sea Breathes on them to refresh the happy race.But the immortals will send you to the Elysian plain, and the boundaries of the earth, where is auburn-haired Rhadamanthus; there of a truth is the most easy life for men. There is nor snow nor long winter, nor ever a shower, but ever does the ocean send forth the gently blowing breezes of the west wind to refresh men. Odyssey iv. 563.Odyssey iv. 563. Now the purity of the air, and the gentle breathing of the zephyr, are both applicable to this country, as well as the softness of the climate, its position in the west, and its place at the extremities of the earth, where, as we have said, he feigned that Hades was. By coupling Rhadamanthus with it, he signifies that the place was near to Minos, of whom he says, There saw I Minos, offspring famed of Jove; His golden sceptre in his hand, he sat Judge of the dead.There then I beheld Minos, the illustrious son of Jove, having a golden sceptre, giving laws to the dead. Odyssey xi. 567. Bohn’s edition.Odyssey xi. 567. Bohn’s edition. Similar to these are the fables related by later poets; such, for instance, as the expeditions after the oxen of Geryon, and the golden apples of the Hesperides, the Islands of the BlessedThe Canary Islands. they speak of, which we know are still pointed out to us not far distant from the extremities of Maurusia, and opposite to Gades.

I repeat that the Phoenicians were the discoverers [of these countries], for they possessed the better part of Iberia and Libya before the time of Homer, and continued masters of those places until their empire was overthrown by the Romans. This also is an evidence of the wealth of Iberia: in the expedition of the Carthaginians under Barcas,Hamilcar, the father of Hannibal. they found, according to historians, that the people of Turdetania used silver gobletsWe have preferred, in common with the French translation, and the manuscript cited by Xylander, to read φιάλαις, instead of φάτναις, thinking it probable that Strabo referred in the first instance to the drinking vessels, and afterwards to the wine barrels, as being made of silver. and casks. One might guess too that it was on account of this great opulence that the men of the country, and their chiefs in particular, were styled long-lived. Wherefore Anacreon thus sings, Neither would I desire the horn of Amalthea, nor to reign over Tartessus one hundred and fifty years. Herodotus too has preserved the name of the king, whom he calls Arganthonius.Herodotus, who wrote about a century after the time of Anacreon, expressly tells us that Arganthonius reigned during eighty years, and lived one hundred and twenty (l. i. c. 163). Cicero, Valerius Maximus, and Pliny report the same, apparently on the testimony of Herodotus. Lucian, Phlegon, and Appian however state the life of Arganthonius at one hundred and fifty years; and what is remarkable, the two former, Lucian and Phlegon, cite as their authority Anacreon and Herodotus. Pliny, citing Anacreon, has taken the reign of one hundred and fifty years, mentioned by the poet, as a life of that duration. The passage of Strabo is evidently changed from its original form. The passage of Anacreon must therefore either be understood [of this king], or some other like him; or else more generally thus, nor to reign for a lengthened period in Tartessus. Some writersOf the number are Pomponius Mela and Pliny. are of opinion that Tartessus is the present Carteia.

The Turdetani not only enjoy a salubrious climate, but their manners are polished and urbane, as also are those of the people of Keltica, by reason of their vicinity [to the Turdetani], or, according to Polybius, on account of their being of the same stock, but not to so great a degree, for they live for the most part scattered in villages. The Turdetani, on the other hand, especially those who dwell about the Guadalquiver,Baectis. have so entirely adopted the Roman mode of life, as even to have forgotten their own language. They have for the most part become Latins,That is, been admitted to all the privileges of Roman citizenship. Pliny tells us that in Baetica alone there were thirty cities enjoying this distinction. and received Roman colonists; so that a short time only is wanted before they will be all Romans. The very names of many of the towns at present, such as Pax AugustaBeja in Alentejo: others, with less show of probability, say Badajoz the capital of Estremadura. amongst the Keltici, Augusta-EmeritaMerida. amongst the Turduli, Caesar-AugustaSaragossa. amongst the Keltiberians and certain other colonies, are proof of the change of manners I have spoken of. Those of the Iberians who adopt these new modes of life are styled togati. Amongst their number are the Keltiberians, who formerly were regarded as the most uncivilized of them all. So much for these.

STARTING again from the Sacred Promontory,Cape St. Vincent. and continuing along the other side of the coast, we come to the gulf near the Tagus, afterwards Cape Barbarium,Capo Espichel. and near to this the outlets of the Tagus, which may be reached by sailing in a straight course for a distance of 10 stadia.Coray reads two hundred and ten stadia, Groskurd and the French translators adopt 200; but the whole passage is so manifestly corrupt, that it scarcely seemed safe to hazard the correction. Here are estuaries, one of them more than 400 stadia from the said tower, on a part of which Laccaea is situated.The text is here very corrupt, and the explanations of the editors and translators unsatisfactory. The breadth of the mouth of the Tagus is about 20 stadia, its depth is so great as to be capable of navigation by vessels of the greatest burden. At the flood-tide the Tagus forms two estuaries in the plains which lie above it, so that the plain is inundated and rendered navigable for a distance of 150 stadia. In the upper estuary an island is formed about 30 stadia in length, and nearly equal in breadth, which is fertile, and has excellent vines. The island lies near to Moro,A city of Lusitania, hod. Al-Merim. a city happily situated on a mountain close to the river, and about 500 stadia from the sea. The country surrounding it is very fine, and the ascent [of the Tagus] for a considerable way practicable for vessels of a large size, the remainder is performed in riverboats. Above Moro it is navigable for a yet longer distance. Brutus, surnamed the Gallician, made use of this city as a military station, when fighting against the Lusitanians, whom he subdued. On the sides of the river he fortified Olysipo, in order that the passage up the river and the carriage of necessaries might be preserved unimpeded. These therefore are the finest cities near the Tagus. The river contains much fish, and is full of oysters. It takes its rise amongst the Keltiberians, and flows through the [country of the] Vettones, Carpetani, and Lusitani, towards the west;Literally towards the sunset at the equinox. to a certain distance it runs parallel with the GuadianaAnas. and Guadalquiver,Baetus. but parts from them as they decline towards the southern coast.

Of those who dwell above the aforesaid mountains, the Oretani are the most southern, extending in part as far as the sea-coast on this side the Pillars. Next these towards the north are the Carpetani, then the Vettones and Vaccaei, through whose [country] the DouroDurius. flows as it passes Acontia,This city is not mentioned elsewhere in Strabo. a city of the Vaccaei. The Gallicians are the last, and inhabit for the most part a mountainous country: on this account they were the most difficult to subdue, and furnished his surname to the conqueror of the Lusitanians; in fact, at the present day the greater part of the Lusitanians are beginning to call themselves Gallicians. The finest cities of Oretania are CastuloCaslona. and Oria.Oreto.

North of the Tagus is Lusitania, the principal of the nations of Iberia, and the one which has most frequently encountered the arms of the Romans. On the southern side this country is bounded by the Tagus, on the west and north by the ocean, on the east by the well-known nations of the Carpetani, the Vettones, the Vaccaei, the Gallicians, and by others not worthy to be mentioned on account of their insignificance and obscurity. On the other hand, certain historians of the present day give the name of Lusitanians to all of these nations.

To the east the Gallicians border on the nation of the Asturians and Keltiberians, the others [border] on the Keltiberians. In length Lusitania is 3000μυρίων καὶ τοͅισχιλίων, in text, but plainly the result of some error. stadia; its breadth, which is comprised between the eastern side and the opposite seacoast, is much less. The eastern part is mountainous and rugged, while the country beyond, as far as the sea, consists entirely of plains, with the exception of a few inconsiderable mountains. On this account Posidonius remarks that Aristotle was not correct in supposing that the ebb and flow of the tide was occasioned by the sea-coast of Iberia and Maurusia.We have followed the suggestion of Kramer in the rendering of this passage, the Greek text being evidently corrupt. For Aristotle asserted that the tides of the sea were caused by the extremities of the land being mountainous and rugged, and therefore both receiving the wave violently and also casting it back. Whereas Posidonius truly remarks that they are for the most part low and sandy.

The country which we are describing is fertile, and irrigated by rivers both large and small, all of which flow from the eastern parts parallel with the Tagus: most of them are navigable and full of gold dust. After the Tagus, the most noted rivers are the MondegoMunda. and the Vouga,Vacua. which are navigable but for a short distance. After these is the Douro,Durius. which flows from afar by Numantia,A city situated near Soria in Old Castile. and many other colonies of the Keltiberians and Vaccaei; it is capable of being navigated in large vessels for a distance of nearly 800 stadia. Besides these there are other rivers, after which is the [river] of Lethe, which some call the Limaea,Now the Lima. others the Belio,3ylander and many of the commentators propose to read ̓οβλιουιῶνα, or Oblivion, in place of βελιῶνα. The conjecture seems extremely probable. it likewise rises amongst the Keltiberians and Vaccaei. After this is the Baenis, (some call it the Minius,The Minho of the present day.) by far the largest river of Lusitania,The Minho is far surpassed in size, both by the Duero and the Tagus. being navigable for a distance of 800 stadia. Posidonius says this too rises amongst the Cantabrians.The text here is evidently incorrect. In the first place, the καὶ αὐτὸν, which we have rendered this too, evidently sustained some relation, no longer subsisting, to what preceded; and in the second, the sources of the Minho were not in Cantabria, but Gallicia. An islandStrabo here appears to confound the mouth of the Minho with a small bay about five leagues distant, near to the city of Bayona in Gallicia, and before which there is still the small island of Bayona. lies before its outlet, and two moles affording anchorage for vessels. A natural advantage [of this country] well deserving of commendation is, that the banks of the rivers are so lofty as to be capable of containing the entire of the water raised by the high tides of the sea, without either being overfilled, or overflowing the plains. This was the limit of Brutus’s expedition. Beyond there are many other rivers parallel to those I have named.

The Artabri are the last of the people [on this coast]. They inhabit the promontory called Nerium,Cape Finisterre. which is the boundary [of Iberia] on its western and northern sides. Around it dwell the Keltici, a kindred race to those who are situated along the Guadiana.Anas. They say that these latter, together with the Turduli, having undertaken an expedition thither, quarrelled after they had crossed the river Lima,Limaea. and, besides the sedition, their leader having also died, they remained scattered there, and from this circumstance the river was called the Lethe.Or the river of Oblivion, apparently because they forgot to return to their own country. The Artabri have besides many cities established round the Gulf, which mariners and those familiar with the places designate as the Port of the Artabri. At the present day the Artabri are denominated the Arotrebae. About thirtyA few of the MSS. read fifty, which number seems to be countenanced by the statement of Pliny, that forty-six nations inhabited Lusitania: but then the limits he set to the country were more extended than those allowed by Strabo. different nations occupy the country between the Tagus and the Artabri. Notwithstanding the fertility of the country in corn, cattle, gold, silver, and numerous other similar productions, the majority of its inhabitants, neglecting to gain their subsistence from the ground, passed their lives in pillage and continual warfare, both between themselves and their neighbours, whom they used to cross the Tagus [to plunder]. To this the Romans at length put a stop by subduing them, and changing many of their cities into villages, besides colonizing some of them better. The mountaineers, as was natural, were the first to commence this lawless mode of life: for living but scantily, and possessing little, they coveted the goods of others, who being obliged to repulse them, of necessity relinquished their proper employments, and instead of pursuing agriculture took up arms. Thus it happened that their country, being neglected, became barren notwithstanding its natural advantages, and inhabited by bandits.

The Lusitanians are reported to be clever in laying ambushes, sharp, swift of foot, light,The κούφος of the text signifies also a volatile disposition. and easily disciplined as soldiers. The small shield they make use of is two feet in diameter, its outer surface concave, and suspended by leather thongs; it neither has rings nor handles. They have in additionSome part of the sentence seems here to be wanting. It probably contained a description of the kind of sword made use of. a poignard or dagger. Their corselets are for the most part made of linen; a few have chain-coats and helmets with triple crests, but the others use helmets composed of sinews. The infantry wear greaves, each man is furnished with a number of javelins; some also use spears pointed with brass. They report that some of those who dwell near to the river DouroDurius. imitate the Lacedaemonians in anointing their bodies with oil, using hot air-baths made of heated stones, bathing in cold water, and taking but one tidy and frugal meal a day. The Lusitanians are frequent in the performance of sacrifice; they examine the entrails, but without cutting them out of the body; they also examine the veins of the side, and practise augury by the touch. They likewise divine by the entrails of captive enemies, whom they first cover with a military cloak, and when stricken under the entrails by the haruspex, they draw their first auguries from the fall [of the victim]. They cut off the right hands of their prisoners, and consecrate them to the gods.

All the mountaineers are frugal, their beverage is water, they sleep on the ground, and wear a profuse quantity of long hair after the fashion of women, which they bind around the forehead when they go to battle.This reminds one of the glibs the Irish used to wear down to a recent period. They subsist principally on the flesh of the goat, which animal they sacrifice to Mars, as also prisoners taken in war, and horses. They likewise offer hecatombs of each kind after the manner of the Greeks, described by Pindar, To sacrifice a hundred of every [species].This passage is not found in any of the odes of Pindar now remaining. They practise gymnastic exercises,The French translators observe, that we should probably understand this passage as follows, They exercise themselves as light-armed infantry, heavy-armed infantry, cavalry, etc. both as heavy-armed soldiers, and cavalry, also boxing, running, skirmishing, and fighting in bands. For two-thirds of the year the mountaineers feed on the acorn, which they dry, bruise, and afterwards grind and make into a kind of bread, which may be stored up for a long period. They also use beer; wine is very scarce, and what is made they speedily consume in feasting with their relatives. In place of oil they use butter. Their meals they take sitting, on seats put up round the walls, and they take place on these according to their age and rank. The supper is carried round, and whilst drinking they dance to the sound of the flute and trumpet, springing up and sinking upon the knees.3enophon describes this, or one very similar, as the Persian dance: τέλος δὲ τὸ πεοͅσικὸν ὠοͅχεῖτο, κοͅοτῶν τὰς πέλτας καὶ ὤκλαζε, καὶ ἐξανίατατο. Last of all he danced the Persian dance, clashing his bucklers, and in dancing fell on his knees, then sprang up again. 3en. Anab. b. vi. c. 1, 10.

In Bastetania the women dance promiscuously with the men, each holding the other’s hand. They all dress in black, the majority of them in cloaks called saga, in which they sleep on beds of straw. They make use of wooden vessels like the Kelts. The women wear dresses and embroidered garments. Instead of money, those who dwell far in the interior exchange merchandise, or give pieces of silver cut off from plates of that metal. Those condemned to death are executed by stoning; parricides are put to death without the frontiers or the cities. They marry according to the customs of the Greeks.This is said to distinguish them from their neighbours, the inhabitants of Majorca and Minorca, whose peculiar marriage ceremonies are thus described by Diodorus Siculus, lib. v. c. 18: παράδοξον δέ τι καὶ κατὰ τοὺς γάμους νόμιμον παρ’ αὐτοῖς ἐστιν ἐν γὰρ ταῦς κατὰ τοὺς γάμους εὐωχίαις, οἰκείων τε καὶ φίλων κατὰ τὴν ὴλικίαν ὁ πρῶτος άνὰ και ὁ δετερος, καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ κατὰ τὸ ἑξῆς, μίσγονται ταῖς νύμφαις ἀνὰ μέρος, ἐσχάτου τοῦ νυμφίου τυγχάνοντος ταύτης τῆς τιμῆς. Their sick they expose upon the highways, in the same way as the EgyptiansThe mention of Egyptians here seems surprising, inasmuch as no writer appears to have recorded this as one of their customs. Of the Assyrians it is stated, both by Herodotus, i. 197, and also by Strabo himself xvi. cap. i. 746. It seems therefore most probable that Assyrians are intended, Egyptians being merely an error of the transcriber. did anciently, in the hope that some one who has experienced the malady may be able to give them advice. Up to the time of [the expedition of] Brutus they made use of vessels constructed of skins for crossing the lagoons formed by the tides; they now have them formed out of the single trunk of a tree, but these are scarce. Their salt is purple, but becomes white by pounding. The life of the mountaineers is such as I have described, I mean those bordering the northern side of Iberia, the Gallicians, the Asturians, and the Cantabrians,Inhabitants of Biscay. as far as the VasconsPeople of Navarre. and the Pyrenees. The mode of life amongst all these is similar. But I am reluctant to fill my page with their names, and would fain escape the disagreeable task of writing them, unless perchance the Pleutauri, the Bardyetae, the Allotriges,Who the Pleutauri were, we do not know. The Bardyete appear to be the same people whom Strabo afterwards speaks of as Bardyiti, or Bardyali, who occupied a narrow slip of land between the east of Alava and the west of Navarre. The Allotriges Casaubon supposes to be the same as the Autrigones, who occupied the coast from Laredo to the Gulf of Bilboa. and other names still worse and more out of the way than these might be grateful to the ear of some one.

The rough and savage manners of these people is not alone owing to their wars, but likewise to their isolated position, it being a long distance to reach them, whether by sea or land. Thus the difficulty of communication has deprived them both of generosity of manners and of courtesy. At the present time, however, they suffer less from this both on account of their being at peace and the intermixture of Romans. Wherever these [influences] are not so much experienced people are harsher and more savage. It is probable that this ruggedness of character is increased by the barrenness of the mountains and some of the places which they inhabit. At the present day, as I have remarked, all warfare is put an end to, Augustus Caesar having subdued the CantabriansInhabitants of Biscay. and the neighbouring nations, amongst whom the system of pillage was mainly carried on in our day. So that at the present time, instead of plundering the allies of the Romans, the Coniaci and those who dwell by the sources of the Ebro,Iberus. with the exception of the Tuisi,πλὴν τουίσοι· these words are manifestly corrupt, but none of the various conjectural readings seem at all probable. bear arms for the Romans. Tiberius, who succeeded Augustus Caesar, carried out his intention of placing a military force of three legions in these parts, by which means he has not only preserved peace, but introduced amongst some of them a civil polity.

WHAT remains [to be described] of Iberia, is the seacoast of the Mediterranean from the Pillars to the Pyrenees, and the whole of the inland country which lies above. The breadth of this is irregular, its length a little above 4000 stadia. It has been remarked that the sea-coastFrom the Pillars to the Sacred Promontory, or Cape St. Vincent. is above 2000 stadia, and they say that from Mount Calpe,The rock of Gibraltar. which is near the Pillars, to New Carthage,Carthagena. there are 2200 stadia. This coast is inhabited by the Bastetani, also called the Bastuli, and in part by the Oretani. ThenceViz. from Carthagena. to the Ebro the distance is nearly as great. This [region] is inhabited by the Edetani. On this side the Ebro to the Pyrenees and the Trophies of Pompey there are 1600 stadia. It is peopled by a small portion of the Edetani, and the rest by a people named the Indicetes, divided into four cantons.

Commencing our particular description from Calpe, there is [first] the mountain-chain of Bastetania and the Oretani. This is covered with thick woods and gigantic trees, and separates the sea-coast from the interior. In many places it also contains gold and other mines. The first city along the coast is Malaca,Malaga. which is about as far distant from Calpe as Calpe is from Gades.Cadiz. It is a market for the nomade tribes from the opposite coast, and there are great stores of salt-fish there. Some suppose it to be the same as Maenaca, which tradition reports to be the farthest west of the cities of the Phocaei; but this is not the case, for Maenaca, which was situated at a greater distance from Calpe, is in ruins, and preserves traces of having been a Grecian city, whereas Malaca is nearer, and Phoenician in its configuration. Next in order is the city of the Exitani,Pomponius Mela gives this city the name of Hexi, or Ex, according to another reading; Pliny names it Sexi, with the surname of Firmum Julium; and Ptolemy, Sex. This is merely a difference relative to the aspiration of the word, which was sometimes omitted, at other times expressed by the letters H or S indifferently. from which the salted fishMentioned by Pliny, Athenaeus, Galen, and also by Martial, lib. vii. Epigramm. 78, Cum Saxetani ponatur cauda lacerti; Et bene si coenas, conchis inuncta tibi est; Sumen, aprum, leporem, boletos, ostrea, mullos, Mittis; habes nec cor, Papile, nec genium. bearing that name takes its appellation.

After these comes Abdera,Adra. founded likewise by the Phoenicians. Above these places, in the mountains, the city of UlysseaLisbon. is shown, containing a temple to Minerva, according to the testimony of Posidonius, Artemidorus, and Asclepiades the Myrlean,Asclepiades of Myrlea, a city of Bithynia, was a grammarian, and disciple of the celebrated grammarian, Apollonius. According to Suidas he taught literature at Rome, under Pompey the Great. And it is probable that it was with Pompey he afterwards passed into Spain. a man who taught literature in Turdetania, and published a description of the nations dwelling there. He says that in the temple of Minerva were hung up spears and prows of vessels, monuments of the wanderings of Ulysses. That some of those who followed Teucer in his expedition settled among the Gallicians;Teucer, the son of Telamon, king of the island of Salamis, being driven out of the country by his father, founded in Cyprus the city of Salamis. Justin adds, that after the death of his father he returned to the island of Salamis; but being prevented by the son of Ajax, his brother, from debarking, he went into Iberia, and took up his abode on the spot where Carthagena was afterwards built: that subsequently he removed into the country of the Gallicians, and settled amongst them. and that two cities were there, the one called Hellenes,The Hellenes derived their name from Hellen the son of Deucalion and Pyrrha. This name, which at first designated only a small people of Thessaly, became afterwards the general appellation of the inhabitants of the whole of Greece. the other Amphilochi; but AmphilochusAmphilochus, on his return from Troy, founded with Mopsus the city of Mallos in Cilicia. He afterwards retired to Argos, but not being contented there he rejoined Mopsus, who however would no longer divide with him the government of their common colony. This dispute resulted in a remarkable combat, which cost the life of both. (Compare Strabo, 1. xiv. c. 4.) Sophocles and other tragic poets have taken advantage of this tradition. Herodotus likewise speaks of the voyages of Amphilochus into Cilicia, and of the city of Posideium which he founded there, but he tells us nothing of his death. Thucydides merely says that Amphilochus on his return home after the Trojan war, being discontented with his compatriots, founded in the Gulf of Ambracia a city which he named after his fatherland, Argos. None of these traditions mention a voyage to Iberia. having died, his followers wandered into the interior. He adds, that it is said, that some of the followers of Hercules, and certain also of the inhabitants of Messene, settled in Iberia. Both he and others assert that a portion of Cantabria was occupied by Laconians. Here is the city named Opsicella,Siebenkees suspects that this name should be read Ocella. The Ocelenses in Lusitania are commended by Pliny. founded by Ocela,Some MSS. read Opsicella. who passed into Italy with Antenor and his children. Some believe the account of the merchants of Gades, asserted by Artemidorus, that in Libya there are people living above Maurusia, near to the Western Ethiopians, named Lotophagi, because they feed on the leaves and root of the lotusStrabo, or rather Artemidorus, seems to have confused the two kinds of lotus mentioned by the ancients. That whereof they ate the roots and the grain is the lotus of the Nile, and a plant of the species nymphtoea. The lotus alluded to in this instance is a shrub, (the rhamnus lotus of Linnaecus,) named seedra by the inhabitants of Barbary, with whom the fruit is an article of food. Herodotus mentions both kinds, (lib. ii. c. 92, and iv. c. 177,) and Polybius describes the second, as an eye-witness. without wanting to drink; for they possess [no drink], being without water. These people they say extend as far as the regions above Cyrene. There are others also called Lotophagi, who inhabit Meninx,The Island of Zerbi. one of the islands situated opposite the Lesser Syrtes.The Gulf of Cabes.

No one should be surprised that the poet, in his fiction descriptive of the wanderings of Ulysses, should have located the majority of the scenes which he narrates without the Pillars, in the Atlantic. For historical events of a similar character did actually occur near to the places, so that the other circumstances which he feigned did not make his fiction incredible; nor [should any one be surprised] if certain persons, putting faith in the historical accuracy and extensive knowledge of the poet, should have attempted to explain the poem of Homer on scientific principles; a proceeding undertaken by Crates of Mallos,A celebrated stoic philosopher and grammarian contemporary with Aristarchus. He was of Mallos, a city of Cilicia, and surnamed the Critic and the Homeric, on account of the corrections, explanations, and remarks which he composed in nine books on the poems of Homer. and some others. On the other hand, there have been those who have treated the undertaking of Homer so contemptuously, as not only to deny any such knowledge to the poet, as though he were a ditcher or reaper, but have stigmatized as fools those who commented on his writings. And not one either of the grammarians, or of those skilled in the mathematics, has dared to undertake their defence, or to set right any mistakes in what they have advanced, or any thing else; although it seems to me possible both to prove correct much that they have said, and also to set right other points, especially where they have been misled by putting faith in Pytheas, who was ignorant of the countries situated along the ocean, both to the west and north. But we must let these matters pass, as they require a particular and lengthened discussion.

The settlement of the Grecians amongst these barbarous nations may be regarded as the result of the division of these latter into small tribes and sovereignties, having on account of their moroseness no union amongst themselves, and therefore powerless against attacks from without. This moroseness is remarkably prevalent amongst the Iberians, who are besides crafty in their manner, devoid of sincerity, insidious, and predatory in their mode of life; they are bold in little adventures, but never undertake any thing of magnitude, inasmuch as they have never formed any extended power or confederacy. If they had had but the will to assist each other, neither could the Carthaginians by making an incursion have so easily deprived them of the greater part of their country, nor before them the Tyrians, then the Kelts, now called the Keltiberians and Berones, nor after these the brigand Viriathus, and Sertorius,Sertorius, on the return of Sylla to Rome, took refuge in Spain. where he put himself at the head of the Romans who had revolted against the republic; he was assassinated by one of his officers. nor any others who desired power. On this account the Romans, having carried the war into Iberia, lost much time by reason of the number of different sovereignties, having to conquer first one, then another; in fact, it occupied nearly two centuries, or even longer, before they had subdued the whole.—I return to my description.

After AbderaAdra. is New Carthage,Carthagena. founded by Asdrubal, who succeeded Bareas, the father of Hannibal. It is by far the most powerful city of this country, being impregnable, and furnished with a noble wall, harbours, and a lake, besides the silver mines already mentioned. The places in the vicinity have an abundance of salted fish, and it is besides the great emporium of the sea merchandise for the interior, and likewise for the merchandise from the interior for exportation. About midway along the coast between this city and the Ebro, we meet with the outlet of the river 4ucar,Sucro. and a city bearing the same name.That is, the ancient name, Sucro. It rises in a mountain belonging to the chain which overlooks Malaca,Malaga. and the regions around Carthage, and may be forded on foot; it is nearly parallel to the Ebro, but not quite so far distant from Carthage as from the Ebro. Between the 4ucar and Carthage are three small towns of the people of Marseilles, not far from the river. Of these the best known is Hemeroscopium.Denia or Artemus. On the promontory there is a temple to Diana of Ephesus, held in great veneration. Sertorius used it as an arsenal, convenient to the sea, both on account of its being fortified and fitted for piratical uses, and because it is visible from a great distance to vessels approaching. It is called Dianium,Denia. from Diana. Near to it are some fine iron-works, and two small islands, PlanesiaIsola Plana. and Plumbaria,S. Pola. with a sea-water lake lying above, of 400 stadia in circumference. Next is the island of Hercules, near to Carthage, and called Scombraria,Islote. on account of the mackerel taken there, from which the finest garumA sauce so named from the garus, a small fish, from which originally it was prepared. Afterwards it was made with mackerel and other fish. Vide Pliny 1. xxxi. c. 7, 8. is made. It is distant 24 stadia from Carthage. On the other side of the 4ucar, going towards the outlet of the Ebro, is Saguntum, founded by the Zacynthians. The destruction of this city by Hannibal, contrary to his treaties with the Romans, kindled the second Punic war. Near to it are the cities of Cherronesus,Peniscola. Oleastrum, and Cartalia, and the colony of Dertossa,Tortosa. on the very passage of the Ebro. The Ebro takes its source amongst the Cantabrians; it flows through an extended plain towards the south, running parallel with the Pyrenees.

The first city between the windings of the Ebro and the extremities of the Pyrenees, near to where the Trophies of Pompey are erected, is Tarraco;Tarragona. it has no harbour, but is situated on a bay, and possessed of many other advantages. At the present day it is as well peopled as Carthage;New Carthage, or Carthagena, is intended. for it is admirably suited for the stay of the prefects,Sent from Rome. and is as it were the metropolis, not only of [the country lying] on this side the Ebro, but also of a great part of what lies beyond. The near vicinity of the Gymnesian Islands,Majorca and Minorca. and Ebusus,Iviça. which are all of considerable importance, are sufficient to inform one of the felicitous position of the city. Eratosthenes tells us that it has a road-stead, but Artemidorus contradicts this, and affirms that it scarcely possesses an anchorage.

The whole coast from the Pillars up to this place wants harbours, but all the way from here to Emporium,Ampurias. the countries of the Leëtani, the Lartolaeetae, and others, are both furnished with excellent harbours and fertile. Emporium was founded by the people of Marseilles, and is about 4000The text is here manifestly corrupt. Various other numbers, from 4 to 400, have been conjectured as the true reading. Gosselin and Groskurd are in favour of 200. stadia distant from the Pyrenees, and the confines of Iberia and Keltica. This is a very fine region, and possesses good ports. Here also is Rhodope,Sic text. Siebenkees and Coray propose to read ̔πόδος, and Casaubon also ̔πόδη, now Rosas. a small town of the Emporitae, but some say it was founded by the Rhodians. Both here and in Emporium they reverence the Ephesian Diana. The cause of this we will explain when we come to speak of Massalia.Marseilles. in former times the Emporitae dwelt on a small island opposite, now called the old city, but at the present day they inhabit the mainland. The city is double, being divided by a wall, for in past times some of the Indiceti dwelt close by, who, although they had a separate polity to themselves, desired, for the sake of safety, to be shut in by a common enclosure with the Grecians; but at the same time that this enclosure should be two-fold, being divided through its middle by a wall. In time, however, they came to have but one government, a mixture of Barbarian and Grecian laws; a result which has taken place in many other [states].

A riverProbably the river Fluvia, the Alba of the ancients. flows near to it, which has its sources in the Pyrenees; its outlet forms a port for the Emporitae, who are skilful workers in flax. Of the interior of their country some parts are fertile, others covered with spartum, a rush which flourishes in marshes, and is entirely useless: they call this the June Plain. There are some who inhabit the Pyrenean mountains as far as the Trophies of Pompey, on the route which leads from Italy into Ulterior Iberia,Iberia, or Spain, was anciently divided into two grand divisions, to which the Romans gave the names of Citerior and Ulterior Iberia. Augustus subdivided this latter into the two provinces of Baetica and Lusitania, giving the name of Tarraco to Citerior Iberia. Nevertheless the ancient names of Citerior and Ulterior continued in use long after this division. and particularly into Baetica. This road runs sometimes close to the sea, sometimes at a distance therefrom, particularly in the western parts. From the Trophies of Pompey it leads to Tarraco,Tarragona. through the June Plain, the Betteres,We are not exactly acquainted with this place, it is probably Vidreras; though others suppose it to be Colonia Sagerra. and the plain called in the Latin tongue [the plain] of Marathon, on account of the quantity of fennel growing there. From Tarraco [the road runs] towards the passage of the Ebro at the city of Dertossa;Tortosa. from thence having traversed the city of Saguntum,Murviedro. and Setabis,4ativa. it follows a course more and more distant from the sea, till it approaches the Plain of Spartarium, which signifies the Plain of Rushes. This is a vast arid plain, producing the species of rush from which cords are made, and which are exported to all parts, but particularly to Italy.The cordage of the famous vessel built by Hiero of Syracuse was formed from the spartum of Iberia. Vid. Athenaeus, lib. v. p. 206. Formerly the road passed on through the midst of the plain, and [the city of] Egelastae,Yniesta. which was both difficult and long, but they have now constructed a new road close to the sea, which merely touches upon the Plain of Rushes, and leads to the same places as the former, [viz.] Castlon,Caslona. and Obulco,Porcuna. through which runs the road to Corduba and Gades,Cordova and Cadiz. the two greatest emporia [of Iberia]. Obulco is distant about 300 stadia from Corduba. Historians report that Caesar came from Rome to Obulco, and to his army there, within the space of twenty-seven days, when about to fight the battle of Munda.Fought against Pompey.

Such is the whole sea-coast from the Pillars to the confines of the Iberians and Kelts. The interior of the country lying above, and included between the mountains of the Pyrenees and the northern side [of Iberia], as far as the Astures, is principally divided by two mountain chains; the one of these is parallel to the Pyrenees, and takes its commencement from the country of the Cantabri, terminating at the Mediterranean. This is called the Idubeda.The mountains of Burgos and Cuença, the Sierras of Oca, Lorenzo and Moncayo. The second, springing from the middle [of this first], runs towards the west, inclining however to the south and the sea-coast towards the Pillars. At the commencement it consists of bare hills, but after traversing the Plain of Spartarium, falls in with the forest lying above Carthage,Carthagena. and the regions round Malaca.Malaga. It is named Orospeda.The Sierra de Toledo. The river Ebro flows between the Pyrenees and Idubeda, and parallel to both these mountains. It is fed by the rivers and other waters carried down from [the mountains]. Situated on the Ebro is the city of Caesar Augusta,Saragossa. and the colony of Celsa,4elsa. where there is a stone bridge across the river. This country is inhabited by many nations, the best known being that of the Jaccetani.They occupied the northern half of Catalonia. Commencing at the foot of the Pyrenees, it widens out into the plains, and reaches to the districts around IlerdaLerida. and Osca,Huesca. [cities] of the Ilergetes not far distant from the Ebro. It was in these cities, and in Calaguris,Calahorra. a city of the Gascons, as well as those of TarracoTarragona. and Hemeroscopium,Denia. situated on the coast, that Sertorius sustained the last efforts of the war, after being ejected from the country of the Keltiberians. He died at Osca, and it was near to Ilerda that Afranius and Petreius, Pompey’s generals, were afterwards defeated by divusὑπὸ καίσαοͅος τοῦ θεοῦ, by the deified Caesar. We have adopted the Latin divus as the most suitable epithet for the emperor in an English version. Caesar. Ilerda is distant 160 stadia from the Ebro, which is on its west, about 460 from Tarraco, which is on the south, and 540 from Osca, which lies to the north.Gosselin here labours to reconcile these distances with the actual topography of those parts, but it is useless to attempt to make all the loose statements furnished by Strabo tally with the exact distances of the places he mentions by supposing the stadia to be so continually varied. Passing through these places from Tarraco to the extremities of the Vascons who dwell by the ocean, near PompelonPampeluna. and the city of OeasoGosselin is of opinion that this Oeaso, is not Ojarço near Fontarabia, but trunks it probable that Ea near Cape Machicaco is the site where it stood. situated on the ocean, the route extends 2400 stadia, to the very frontiers of Aquitaine and Iberia. It was in the country of the Jaccetani that Sertorius fought against Pompey, and here afterwards Sextus, Pompey’s son, fought against the generals of Caesar. The nation of the Vascons, in which is Pompelon, or Pompey’s city, lies north of Jaccetania.

The side of the Pyrenees next Iberia is covered with forests containing numerous kinds of trees and evergreens, whilst the side next Keltica is bare: in the midst [the mountains] enclose valleys admirably fitted for the habitation of man. These are mainly possessed by the Kerretani, a people of the Iberians. The hams they cure are excellent, fully equal to those of the Cantabrians,People of Biscay. and they realize no inconsiderable profit to the inhabitants.

Immediately after passing Idubeda, you enter on Keltiberia, a large and irregular country. It is for the most part rugged, and watered by rivers, being traversed by the Guadiana,The ancient Anas. the Tagus, and many other of the rivers which flow into the western sea, but have their sources in Keltiberia. Of their number is the Douro, which flows by NumantiaThe ruins of Numantia are seen a little to the north of Soria. and Serguntia. The GuadalquiverBaetis. rises in Orospeda, and after passing through Oretania, enters Baetica. The Berones inhabit the districts north of the Keltiberians, and are neighbours of the Conish Cantabrians. They likewise had their origin in the Keltic expedition. Their city is Varia,Probably the small village of Varea, about half a league from Logrono; D’Anville supposes it to be Logrono itself. situated near to the passage of the Ebro. They are adjacent to the Bardyitae, now called the Bardyli.Aliter Bardyali. To the west [of the Keltiberians] are certain of the Astures, Gallicians, and Vaccaei, besides Vettones and Carpetani. On the south are the Oretani, and the other inhabitants of Orospeda, both Bastetani and Edetani,Kramer has altered the text into ̓εδητανῶν, all MSS. having διττνῶν. There is little doubt they are the same people mentioned in section 14 as Sidetani. and to the east is Idubeda.

Of the four divisions into which the Keltiberians are separated, the most powerful are the Aruaci, situated to the east and south, near to the Carpetani and the sources of the Tagus. Their most renowned city is Numantia. They showed their valour in the war of twenty years, waged by the Keltiberians against the Romans; for many armies of the Romans, together with their generals, were destroyed; and in the end the Numantians, besieged within their city, endured the famine with constancy, till, reduced to a very small number, they were compelled to surrender the place. The Lusones are also situated to the east, and likewise border on the sources of the Tagus. Segeda and PallantiaPalencia. are cities of the Aruaci. Numantia is distant from Caesar Augusta,Saragossa. situated as we have said upon the Ebro, about 800 stadia. Near to Segobriga and Bilbilis,Baubola. likewise cities of the Keltiberians, was fought the battle between Metellus and Sertorius. Polybius, describing the people and countries of the Vaccaei and Keltiberians, enumerates SegesamaSasamo, west of Briviesca. and Intercatia amongst their other cities. Posidonius tells us that Marcus Marcellus exacted of Keltiberia a tribute of 600 talents, which proves that the Keltiberians were a numerous and wealthy people, notwithstanding the little fertility of their country. Polybius narrates that Tiberius Gracchus destroyed 300 cities of the Keltiberians. This Posidonius ridicules, and asserts that to flatter Gracchus, Polybius described as cities the towers such as are exhibited in the triumphal processions.Allusion is here made to the custom of the Roman generals, who caused to be carried at their triumphs, representations in painting or sculpture, not only of the kings or generals of the enemy, who had been slain, but likewise of the forts, cities, mountains, lakes, rivers, and even seas, conquered from the enemy. This usage explains the words of Cicero, portari in triumpho Massiliam vidimus. Appian, on occasion of the triumph of Scipio, says, πυργοι τε παοͅαφεοͅνται μιμὴατα τῶν εἰλημμένων πὀλεων. This is not incredible; for both generals and historians easily fall into this species of deception, by exaggerating their doings. Those who assert that Iberia contained more than a thousand cities, seem to me to have been carried away in a similar manner, and to have denominated as cities what were merely large villages; since, from its very nature, this country is incapable of maintaining so many cities, on account of its sterility, wildness, and its out-of-the-way position. Nor, with the exception of those who dwell along the shores of the Mediterranean, is any such statement confirmed by the mode of life or actions of the inhabitants. The inhabitants of the villages, who constitute the majority of the Iberians, are quite uncivilized. Even the cities cannot very easily refine the manners [of their inhabitants], as the neighbouring woods are full of robbers, waiting only an opportunity to inflict injury on the citizens.

Beyond the Keltiberians to the south are the inhabitants of Orospeda and the country about the 4ucar,Sucro, now 4ucar. the Sidetani,The same people as the Edetani, mentioned in section 12. [who extend] as far as Carthage,Carthagena. and the Bastetani and Oretani, [who extend] almost as far as Malaca.Malaga.

All the Iberians, so to speak, were peltastae, furnished with light arms for the purposes of robbery, and, as we described the Lusitanians, using the javelin, the sling, and the sword. They have some cavalry interspersed amongst the foot-soldiers, the horses are trained to traverse the mountains, and to sink down on their knees at the word of command, in case of necessity. Iberia produces abundance of antelopes and wild horses. In many places the lakes are stocked. They have fowl, swans, and birds of similar kind, and vast numbers of bustards. Beavers are found in the rivers, but the castor does not possess the same virtue as that from the Euxine,At the present day the best castor comes from Russia, but the greater part of that found in shops is the produce of Canada. It is denominated a stimulant and antispasmodic. Formerly it was much used in spasmodic diseases, as hysteria and epilepsy. It is now considered almost inert, and is seldom employed. After this description, it is scarcely necessary to warn the reader against the vulgar error of confusing castor with castor oil, which is extracted from the seeds of the Ricinus communis or castor oil plant, a shrub growing in the West Indies. the drug from that place having peculiar properties of its own, as is the case in many other instances. Thus Posidonius tells us that the Cyprian copper alone produces the cadmian stone, copperas-water, and oxide of copper. He likewise informs us of the singular fact, that in Iberia the crows are not black; and that the horses of Keltiberia which are spotted, lose that colour when they pass into Ulterior Iberia. He compares them to the Parthian horses, for indeed they are superior to all other breeds, both in fleetness and their ease in speedy travelling.

Iberia produces a large quantity of roots used in dyeing. In olives, vines, figs, and every kind of similar fruit-trees, the Iberian coast next the Mediterranean abounds, they are likewise plentiful beyond. Of the coasts next the ocean, that towards the north is destitute of them, on account of the cold, and the remaining portion generally on account of the apathy of the men, and because they do not lead a civilized life, but pass their days in poverty, only acting on the animal impulse, and living most corruptly. They do not attend to ease or luxury, unless any one considers it can add to the happiness of their lives to wash themselves and their wives in stale urine kept in tanks, and to rinse their teeth with it, which they say is the custom both with the Cantabrians and their neighbours.Apuleius, Catullus, and Diodorus Siculus all speak of this singular custom. This practice, as well as that of sleeping on the ground, is common both among the Iberians and Kelts. Some say that the Gallicians are atheists, but that the Keltiberians, and their neighbours to the north, [sacrifice] to a nameless god, every full moon, at night, before their doors, the whole family passing the night in dancing and festival. The Vettones, the first time they came to a Roman camp, and saw certain of the officers walking up and down the roads for the mere pleasure of walking, supposed that they were mad, and offered to show them the way to their tents. For they thought, when not fighting, one should remain quietly seated at ease.A note in the French edition says, This surprise of the Vettones is nothing extraordinary. Amongst all barbarous nations, savages especially, the promenade is an unknown exercise. When roused by necessity or passion, they will even kill themselves with fatigue; at other times they remain in the most perfect inaction. The first thing which strikes a Turk on coming to any of the polished nations of Europe, is to see men promenading without any other aim but that of pleasure or health.

What Artemidorus relates concerning the adornment of certain of their women, must likewise be attributed to their barbarous customs. He says that they wear iron collars having crows fixed to them which bend over the head, and fall forward considerably over the forehead. When they wish they draw their veil over these crows, so as to shade the whole face: this they consider an ornament. Others wear a tympaniumHead-dress shaped like a drum. surrounding the occiput, and fitting tight to the head as far as the ears, turning over [and increasing] little by little in height and breadth. Others again make bald the front of the head, in order to display the forehead to greater advantage. Some twist their flowing hair round a small style, a foot high, and afterwards cover it with a black veil. Of singularities like these many have been observed and recorded as to all the Iberian nations in common, but particularly those towards the north not only concerning their bravery, but likewise their cruelty and brutal madness. For in the war against the Cantabrians, mothers have slain their children sooner than suffer them to be captured; and a young boy, having obtained a sword, slew, at the command of his father, both his parents and brothers, who had been made prisoners and were bound, and a woman those who had been taken together with her. A man being invited by a party of drunken [soldiers] to their feast, threw himself into a fire. These feelings are common both to the Keltic, Thracian, and Scythian nations, as well as the valour not only of their men, but likewise of their women. These till the ground,At the present day in Bilboa, the capital of Biscay, the women work far more than the men; they load and unload vessels, and carry on their heads burdens which require two men to place there. and after parturition, having put their husbands instead of themselves to bed, they wait upon them. Frequently in their employment they wash and swathe their infants, sitting down by some stream. Posidonius tells us that in Liguria, his host Charmoleon, a man who came from Marseilles, related to him, that having hired some men and women to dig his land, one of the women was seized with the pains of labour, and going to a little distance from where they were at work, she brought forth, and returned immediately to her work, for fear she might lose her pay. He observed that she was evidently working in considerable pain, but was not aware of the cause till towards evening, when he ascertained it, and sent her away, having given her her wages. She then carried her infant to a small spring, and having washed it, wrapped it up in as good swaddling clothes as she could get, and made the best of her way home.

Another practice, not restricted to the Iberians alone, is for two to mount on one horse, so that in the event of a conflict, one may be there to fight on foot. Neither are they the only sufferers in being tormented with vast swarms of mice, from which pestilential diseases have frequently ensued. This occurred to the Romans in Cantabria, so that they caused it to be proclaimed, that whoever would catch the mice should receive rewards according to the number taken, and [even with this] they were scarcely preserved, as they were suffering besides from want of corn and other necessaries, it being difficult to get supplies of corn from Aquitaine on account of the rugged nature of the country. It is a proof of the ferocity of the Cantabrians, that a number of them having been taken prisoners and fixed to the cross, they chanted songs of triumph. Instances such as these are proofs of the ferocity of their manners. There are others which, although not showing them to be polished, are certainly not brutish. For example, amongst the Cantabrians, the men give dowries to their wives, and the daughters are left heirs, but they procure wives for their brothers. These things indicate a degree of power in the woman, although they are no proof of advanced civilization.We must remark that so far from the dowry given by men to their wives being an evidence of civilization, it is a custom common amongst barbarous people, and indicative of nothing so much as the despotic power of the man over the wife. These dowries were generally a sum of money from the husband to the father of his intended, on the payment of which he acquired the same power over her as over a slave. Aristotle, speaking of the ancient Greeks, tells us expressly that they bought their wives, (Polit. ii. c. 8,) and observing that amongst barbarous nations women were always regarded in the same light as slaves, he cites the example of the Cyclopes, who exercised, according to Homer, sovereign authority over their families (Odyss. 1. ix. 114). This custom was so well established amongst the Greeks at the time of the poet, that he does not hesitate to introduce it amongst the gods (Odyss. viii. 318). It was not unknown among the Jews, and Strabo, in his fifteenth book, tells us that the Indians bought their wives. It is also a custom with the Iberians to furnish themselves with a poison, which kills without pain, and which they procure from a herb resembling parsley. This they hold in readiness in case of misfortune, and to devote themselves for those whose cause they have joined, thus dying for their sake.Caesar and Athenaeus attribute this custom to the Gauls, and Valerius Maximus to the Keltiberians. Those men who attached themselves to the interests of any prince or famous personage, and who espoused all his quarrels, even devoting themselves to death on his account, are named by Athenaeus σιλοδοῦοͅοι, and by Caesar soldurii. Speaking of 600 soldiers devoted in this manner to a Gaulish prince, named Adcantuannus, Caesar (1. iii. c. 22) says, Sibi mortem consciscant; neque adhuc hominum memoriâ repertus est quisquam, qui, eo interfecto cujus se amicitiae devovisset, mori recusaret. Plutarch tells us that Sertorius had in his suite many thousand Iberians devoted to him. The following epitaph of these men, who, after the death of Sertorius, sacrificed themselves, being unwilling to survive him, was extracted by Swinburne from the Annals of Catalonia. Hic multae quae se manibus Q. Sertorii turmae, et terrae Mortalium omnium parenti Devovere, dum, eo sublato, Superesse taederet, et fortiter Pugnando invicem cecidere, Morte ad presens optata jacent. Valete posteri. For the appalling means they adopted to hold out the city of Calaguris to the last, see Valerius Maximus, lib. vii. cap. vi.

Some, as I have said, state that this country is separated into four divisions; others, into five. It is not easy to state any thing precisely on these points, both on account of the changes which the places have undergone, and by reason of their obscurity. In well-known and notable countries both the migrations are known, and the divisions of the land, and the changes of their names, and every thing else of the same kind. Such matters being the common topics with everybody, and especially with the Greeks, who are more talkative than any other people. But in barbarous and out-of-the-way countries, and such as are cut up into small divisions, and lie scattered, the remembrance of such occurrences is not nearly so certain, nor yet so full. If these countries are far removed from the Greeks [our] ignorance is increased. For although the Roman historians imitate the Greeks, they fall far short of them. What they relate is taken from the Greeks, very little being the result of their own ardour in acquiring information. So that whenever any thing has been omitted by the former there is not much supplied by the latter. Add to this, that the names most celebrated are generally Grecian. Formerly the name of Iberia was given to the whole country between the Rhone and the isthmus formed by the two Galatic gulfs; whereas now they make the Pyrenees its boundary, and call it indifferently Iberia or Hispania; others have restricted Iberia to the country on this side the Ebro.The country between the Ebro and the Pyrenees. Still earlier it bore the name of the Igletes,These Igletes are the same which Stephen of Byzantium names Gletes, and by an error of the copyist Tletes. Herodotus places them between the Cynetae, and the Tartessians, and Theopompus in the neighbourhood of the Tartessians. The position between the Ebro and the Pyrenees, which Asclepiades the Myrlean thus gives them, supports the opinion of those who reckon that Rosas was founded by the Rhodians, and that the people of Marseilles did not settle there till afterwards; it is more than probable that the Igletes were nothing more than Ignetes or Gnetes of the Isle of Rhodes. who inhabited but a small district, according to Asclepiades the Myrlean. The Romans call the whole indifferently Iberia and Hispania, but designate one portion of it Ulterior, and the other Citerior. However, at different periods they have divided it differently, according to its political aspect at various times.

At the present time some of the provinces having been assigned to the people and senate of the Romans, and the others to the emperor, Baetica appertains to the people, and a praetor has been sent into the country, having under him a quaestor and a lieutenant. Its eastern boundary has been fixed near to Castlon.Caslona. The remainder belongs to the emperor, who deputes two lieutenants, a praetor, and a consul. The praetor with a lieutenant administers justice amongst the Lusitanians, who are situated next Baetica, and extend as far as the outlets of the river Douro, for at the present time this district is called Lusitania by the inhabitants. Here is [the city of] Augusta Emerita.Merida. What remains, which is [indeed] the greater part of Iberia, is governed by the consul, who has under him a respectable force, consisting of about three legions, with three lieutenants, one of whom with two legions guards the whole country north of the Douro, the inhabitants of which formerly were styled Lusitanians, but are now called Gallicians. The northern mountains, together with the Asturian and Cantabrian, border on these. The river MelsusCasaubon supposes that this is the river Ptolemy names Merus. Lopez, Geograf. de Estrabon, lib. iii. p. 232, thinks it the Narcea. flows through the country of the Asturians, and at a little distance is the city of Nougat,Pomponius Mela and Pliny coincide with Strabo in making this city belong to the Asturians; Ptolemy however describes it under the name of Neoga Cassia as pertaining to the Cantabrians. Some say it corresponds to the present Navix, others to Praia. Groskurd reckons it Gabon, or Navix, or Scamander. close to an estuary formed by the ocean, which separates the Asturians from the Cantabrians. The second lieutenant with the remaining legion governs the adjoining district as far as the Pyrenees. The third oversees the midland district, and governs the cities inhabited by the togati, whom we have before alluded to as inclined to peace, and who have adopted the refined manners and mode of life of the Italians, together with the toga. These are the Keltiberians, and those who dwell on either side of the Ebro, as far as the sea-coast. The consul passes the winter in the maritime districts, mostly administering justice either in [the city of] Carthage,Carthagena. or Tarraco.Tarragona. During the summer he travels through the country, observing whatever may need reform. There are also the procurators of the emperor, men of the equestrian rank, who distribute the pay to the soldiers for their maintenance.

OF the islands which are situated in front of Iberia, two named the Pityussae, and two the Gymnasiae, (also called the Baleares,) are situated on the sea-coast between Tarraco and [the river] 5ucar, on which SaguntumMurviedro. is built. The Pityussae are situated farther in the high seas and more to the West than the Gymnasiae. One of the Pityusse is called Ebusus,Iviça. having a city of the same name. This island is 400 stadia in circumference, and nearly equal in its breadth and length. The other, [named] Orpheus, is situated near to this, but’s desert, and much smaller. The largerMajorca. of the Gymnasiae contains two cities, Palma,Palma. and Polentia;Pollença. the latter lying towards the east, the former towards the west. The length of this island is scarcely less than 600 stadia, its breadth 200; although Artemidorus asserts it is twice this size both in breadth and length.Gosselin observes that the greatest length of Majorca is 14 leagues and a half; its breadth at the narrowest part 8 leagues; and adds, that by confounding stadia of unequal value, Strabo makes Majorca a long narrow island, whereas in fact its form approaches nearer to that of a square. The smaller islandMinorca. is about [2]70 stadia distant from Polentia; in size it is far surpassed by the larger island, but in excellence it is by no means inferior, for both of them are very fertile, and furnished with harbours. At the mouths of these however there are rocks rising but a little out of the water, which renders attention necessary in entering them. The fertility of these places inclines the inhabitants to peace, as also the people of Ebusus. But certain malefactors, though few in number, having associated with the pirates in those seas, they all got a bad name, and Metellus, surnamed Balearicus, marched against them. He it was who built the cities. But owing to the great fertility of the country, these people have always had enemies plotting against them. Although naturally disposed to peace, they bear the reputation of being most excellent slingers, which art they have been proficient in since the time that the Phoenicians possessed the islands. It is said that theseViz. the Phoenicians. were the first who introduced amongst the men [of the Baleares] the custom of wearing tunics with wide borders. They were accustomed to go into battle naked, having a shield covered with goat-skin in their hand, and a javelin hardened by fire at the point, very rarely with an iron tip, and wearing round the head three slings of black rush,Immediately after the word μελαγκραὶ͂νας, which we have translated black rush, the text of our geographer runs on as follows: resembling the schenus, a species of rush from which cords are made. Philetas in his Mercury [says] ‘ he was covered with a vile and filthy tunic, and about his wretched loins was bound a strip of black rush, as if he had been girt with a mere schoenus. It is evident that this passage is the scholium of some ancient grammarian, and we have followed the example of the French editors in inserting it in a note, as it is a great impediment in the middle of Strabo’s description of the equipment of the island warriors. hair, or sinew. The long sling they use for hitting at far distances, the short one for near marks, and the middle one for those between. From childhood they were so thoroughly practised in the use of slings, that bread was never distributed to the children till they had won it by the sling.Cibum puer a matre non accipit, nisi quem, ipsa monstrante, percussit. Florus, lib. iii. c. 8. The same thing is stated by Lycophron, v. 637, and Diodorus Siculus, 1. v. c. 18. On this account Metellus, when he was approaching the islands, spread pelts over the decks as a shelter from the slings. He introduced [into the country 3000 Roman colonists from Spain.

In addition to the fruitfulness of the land, noxious animals are rarely to be met with. Even the rabbits, they say, were not indigenous, but that a male and female having been introduced by some one from the opposite continent, from thence the whole stock sprung, which formerly was so great a nuisance that even houses and trees were overturned, [being undermined] by their warrens, and the inhabitants were compelled, as we have related, to resort for refuge to the Romans. However, at the present day the facility with which these animals are taken, prevents them from doing injury, consequently those who possess land cultivate it with advantage. These [islands] are on this side of what are called the Pillars of Hercules.

Near to them are two small islands, one of which is called the Island of Juno: some call these the Pillars. Beyond the Pillars is Gades,Cadiz. concerning which all that we have hitherto remarked is, that it is distant from CalpeThe rock of Gibraltar. about 750 stadia, and is situated near to the outlet of the Guadalquiver.This mouth of the Guadalquiver, opposite Cadiz, no longer exists. Notwithstanding there is much can be said about it. For its inhabitants equip the greatest number of ships, and the largest in size, both for our sea,The Mediterranean. and the exterior [ocean], although the island they inhabit is by no means large, nor yet do they possess much of the mainland, nor are masters of other islands. They dwell for the most part on the sea, only a few staying at home or passing their time in Rome. Still, in amount of population, their city does not seem to be surpassed by any with the exception of Rome. I have heard that in a census taken within our own times, there were enumerated five hundred citizens of Gades of the equestrian order, a number equalled by none of the Italian cities excepting that of the Patavini.Padua. However, notwithstanding their vast number, its inhabitants possess an island, in lengthThe length of the island of Leon, at the extremity of which the city of Cadiz is situated, is about 9500 toises, which are equivalent to 100 Olympic stadia.Gosselin. not much above 100 stadia, and in some places only one stadium in breadth. Originally the city in which they dwelt was extremely small, but BalbusL. Cornelius Balbus was a native of Cadiz, and descended from an illustrious family in that town. His original name probably bore some resemblance in sound to the Latin Balbus. Cadiz being one of the federate cities, supported the Romans in their war against Sertorius in Spain, and Balbus thus had an opportunity for distinguishing himself. He served under the Roman generals Q. Mettellus Pius, C. Memmius, and Pompey, and was present at the battles of Turia and Sucro. He distinguished himself so much throughout the war, that Pompey conferred the Roman citizenship upon him, his brother, and his brother’s sons and this act of Pompey was ratified by the law of the consuls, Cn. Cornelius Lentulus and L. Gellius, B. C. 72. It was probably in honour of these consuls that Balbus took the Gentile name of the one, and the praenomen of the other. It was for this Balbus that Cicero made the defence which has come down to us. The reason which induced Strabo to notice, as something remarkable, that Balbus had received the honours of a triumph, we learn from Pliny, who, noticing the victories which he had gained over the Garamantes and other nations of Africa, tells us he was the only person of foreign extraction who had ever received the honour of a triumph. Omnia armis Romanis superata et a Cornelio Balbo triumphata, uni huic omnium externo curru et Quiritium jure donato. Plin. ib. v. c. 5. Solinus likewise says of him, (cap. xxix. p. 54,) Primus sane de externis, utpote Gadibus genitus accessit ad gloriana nominis triumphalis. the Gaditanian, who received the honours of a triumph, added another to it which they call the New Town. These two form the city of Didyme,This word signifies The Twins. which is not above twenty stadia in circumference. In it, however, they are not pressed for room, because few live at home, the majority passing their lives on the sea, some too dwelling on the opposite continent, and particularly on a little island adjacent on account of its excellence. They have such a liking for this place as almost to have made it a rival city to Didyme. However, few in comparison inhabit either this or the sea-port which Balbus constructed for them on the opposite continent. Their city is situated in the western parts of the island. Near to it is the temple of Saturn, which terminates [Gades to the west], and is opposite the smaller island. The temple of Hercules is on the other side, to the east, where the island approaches nearest to the mainland, being only separated therefrom by a strait of a stadium [in breadth].Gosselin says, the temple of Saturn appears to have stood on the site of the present church of S. Sebastian, and that of Hercules at the other extremity of the island on the site of St. Peter’s. They say that this temple is twelve miles from the city, thus making the number of miles and the number of [Hercules’] labours equal: but this is too great, being almost equal to the length of the island. Now the length of the island runs from west to east.

Pherecydes appears to have given to Gades the name of Erythia, the locality of the myths concerning Geryon: others suppose it to have been the island situated near to this city, and separated from it by a strait of merely one stadium. This they do on account of the excellence of its pasturage. For the milk of the cattle which feed there does not yield any whey, and they are obliged to mix it with large quantities of water when they make cheese on account of its richness. After fifty days the beasts [pasturing there] would be choked unless they were let blood. The pasturage of the country is dry, but it fattens wonderfully: and it is thought that from this the myth concerning the oxen of Geryon took its rise. The whole sea-shore however is possessed in common.Groskurd supposes that we should here read, [certain citizens of Cadiz have appropriated to themselves possessions in the interior of the island,] but the whole sea-shore is inhabited in common, that is, by shepherds who pastured the grounds in common.

Concerning the foundation of Gades, the Gaditanians report that a certain oracle commanded the Tyrians to found a colony by the Pillars of Hercules. Those who were sent out for the purpose of exploring, when they had arrived at the strait by Calpe, imagined that the capes which form the strait were the boundaries of the habitable earth, as well as of the expedition of Hercules, and consequently they were what the oracle termed the Pillars. They landed on the inside of the straits, at a place where the city of the Exitani now stands. Here they offered sacrifices, which however not being favourable, they returned. After a time others were sent, who advanced about 1500Gosselin shows that we ought to read 500 stadia in this place. stadia beyond the strait, to an island consecrated to Hercules, and lying opposite to Onoba, a city of Iberia: considering that here were the Pillars, they sacrificed to the god, but the sacrifices being again unfavourable, they returned home. In the third voyage they reached Gades, and founded the temple in the eastern part of the island, and the city in the west. On this account some consider that the capes in the strait are the Pillars, others suppose Gades, while others again believe that they lie still farther, beyond Gades. There are also some who think that the Pillars are Calpe,The rock of Gibraltar. and the mountain of Libya which is opposite, named Abilyx,The Ape-mountain near Ceuta. and situated, according to Eratosthenes, amongst the Metagonians, a wandering race. Others fancy that they are two small islands near to the former, one of which is named the Island of Juno. Artemidorus speaks both of the Island of Juno and the temple there, but makes no mention either of mount Abilyx, or the nation of the Metagonians.The text is corrupt, but it is needless to go through all the emendations proposed. Some have transported hither the Planctae and the Symplgades, supposing them to be the Pillars, which Pindar calls the Gates of Gades, when he says that they were the farthest limits at which Hercules arrived.This passage of Pindar has not come down to us. Dicaearchus, Eratosthenes, and Polybius, with most of the Grecians, represent the Pillars as being close to the strait, while the Iberians and Libyans place them at Gades, alleging that there is nothing at all resembling pillars close by the strait. Others pretend that they are the pillars of brass eight cubits high in the temple of Hercules at Gades, on which is inscribed the cost of erecting that edifice; and that the sailors coming there on the completion of their voyage and sacrificing to Hercules, rendered the place so famous that it came to be regarded as the termination of the land and sea. Posidonius thinks this view the most probable of all, and looks upon the oracle and the several expeditions as a Phoenician invention.ψ́ε͂σμα φοινικικόν, a proverbial mode of speaking, having its origin in the bad faith of the Phoenicians [fides Punica] As for the expeditions, what matters it whether any one should vehemently deny or credit the account, as neither the one nor the other would be inconsistent with reason: but the assertion that neither the little islands, nor yet the mountains, bear much resemblance to pillars, and that we should seek for pillars, strictly so called, [set up] either as the termination of the habitable earth, or of the expedition of Hercules, has at all events some reason in it; it being an ancient usage to set up such boundary marks. As for instance the small column which the inhabitants of RhegiumRegio. erected by the Strait of Sicily, which is indeed a little tower; and the tower called after Pelorus, which is situated opposite to this small column; also the structures called altarsStrabo, in his 17th book, gives a different locality to these altars. of the Philaeni, about midway in the land between the Syrtes; likewise it is recorded, that a certain pillar was formerly erected on the Isthmus of Corinth, which the Ionians who took possession of Attica and Megaris when they were driven out of the Peloponnesus, and those who settled in the Peloponnesus, set up in common, and inscribed on the side next Megaris, This is no longer Peloponnesus, but Ionia, and on the opposite, This is Peloponnesus, not Ionia. Alexander too erected altars as boundaries of his Indian campaign in those parts of the Indies he arrived at, which were situated farthest towards the east, in imitation of Hercules and Bacchus.These were twelve altars, of fifty cubits each, erected to the twelve gods. Vide Diodorus Siculus, 1. xvii. c. 95. That this custom existed, then, cannot be doubted.

It is probable that the places themselves took the same name [as the monuments], especially after time had destroyed the boundary marks which had been placed there. For instance, at the present day the altars of the Philaeni no longer exist, but the place itself bears that designation. Similarly they say that in India neither the pillars of Hercules or Bacchus are to be seen, nevertheless certain localities being described and pointed out to the Macedonians, they believed that those places were the pillars in which they discovered any trace either of the adventures of Bacchus or Hercules. In the instance before us, it is not improbable that they who first [visited these regions], set up boundary marks fashioned by the hand of man, such as altars, towers, and pillars, in the most remarkable situations, to indicate the farthest distance they had reached, (and straits, the surrounding mountains, and little islands, are indubitably the most remarkable situations for pointing out the termination or commencement of places,) and that after these human monuments had decayed, their names descended to the places [where they had stood]; whether that were the little islands or the capes forming the strait. This latter point it would not be easy now to determine; the name would suit either place, as they both bear some resemblance to pillars; I say bear some resemblance, because they are placed in such situations as might well indicate boundaries. Now this strait is styled a mouth, as well as many others, but the mouth is at the beginning to those sailing into the strait, and to those who are quitting it at the end. The little islands at the mouth having a contour easy to describe, and being remarkable, one might not improperly compare to pillars. In like manner the mountains overlooking the strait are prominent, resembling columns or pillars. So too Pindar might very justly have said, The Gaditanian Gates, if he had in mind the pillars at the mouth; for these mouths are very similar to gates. On the other hand, Gades is not in a position to indicate an extremity, but is situated about the middle of a long coast forming a kind of gulf. The supposition that the pillars of the temple of Hercules in Gades are intended, appears to me still less probable. It seems most likely that the name was originally conferred not by merchants, but generals, its celebrity afterwards became universal, as was the case with the Indian pillars. Besides, the inscription recorded refutes this idea, since it contains no religious dedication, but a mere list of expenses; whereas the pillars of Hercules should have been a record of the hero’s wonderful deeds, not of Phoenician expenditure.

Polybius relates that there is a spring within the temple of Hercules at Gades, having a descent of a few steps to fresh water, which is affected in a manner the reverse of the sea-tides, subsiding at the flow of the tide, and springing at the ebb. He assigns as the cause of this phenomenon, that air rises from the interior to the surface of the earth; when this surface is covered by the waves, at the rising of the sea, the air is deprived of its ordinary vents, and returns to the interior, stopping up the passages of the spring, and causing a want of water, but when the surface is again laid bare, the air having a direct exit liberates the channels which feed the spring, so that it gushes freely. Artemidorus rejects this explanation, and substitutes one of his own, recording at the same time the opinion of the historian Silanus; but neither one or other of their views seems to me worth relating, since both he and Silanus were ignorant in regard to these matters. Posidonius asserts that the entire account is false, and adds that there are two wells in the temple of Hercules, and a third in the city. That the smaller of the two in the temple of Hercules, if drawn from frequently, will become for a time exhausted, but that on ceasing to draw from it, it fills again: while in regard to the larger, it may be drawn from during the whole day; that it is true it becomes lower, like all other wells, but that it fills again during the night when drawing ceases. [He adds] that the ebb tide frequently happening to occur during the period of its re-filling, gave rise to the groundless belief of the inhabitants as to its being affected in an opposite manner [to the tides of the ocean]. However it is not only related by him that it is a commonly believed fact, but we have received it from tradition as much referred to amongst paradoxes.The text is ἐν τοῖς παοͅαδόξοις, which Gosselin renders, Les ouvrages qui traitent des choses merveilleuses. We have likewise heard that there are wells both within the city and also in the gardens without, but that on account of the inferiority of this water, tanks are generally constructed throughout the city for the supply of water: whether likewise any of these reservoirs give any signs of being affected in an opposite manner to the tides, we know not. If such be the case, the causes thereof should be received as amongst phenomena hard to be explained. It is likely that Polybius may have assigned the proper reason; but it is also likely that certain of the channels of the springs being damped outside become relaxed, and so let the water run out into the surrounding land, instead of forcing it along its ancient passage to the spring; and there will of course be moisture when the tide overflows.Strabo’s argument is here so weak, that one can hardly believe it can have ever been seriously made use of. But if, as Athenodorus asserts, the ebb and flow resemble the inspiration and expiration of the breath, it is possible that some of the currents of water which naturally have an efflux on to the surface of the earth, through various channels, the mouths of which we denominate springs and fountains, are by other channels drawn towards the depths of the sea, and raise it, so as to produce a flood-tide; when the expiration is sufficient, they leave off the course in which they are then flowing, and again revert to their former direction, when that again takes a change.This method of explaining the ebb and flow of the sea, by comparing it to the respiration of animals, is not so extraordinary, when we remember that it was the opinion of many philosophers that the universe was itself an animal. Pomponius Mela, (De Situ Orbis, lib. iii. c. 1,) speaking of the tides, says, Neque adhuc satis cognitum est, anhelitune suo id mundus efficiat, retractamque cum spiritu regerat undam undique, si, ut doctioribus placet, unum (lege universum) animal est; an sint depressi aliqui specus, quo reciprocata maria residant, atque unde se rursus exuberantia attollant: an luna causas tantis meatibus praebeat.

I cannot tell how it is that Posidonius, who describes the Phoenicians as sagacious in other things, should here attribute to them folly rather than shrewdness. The sun completes his revolution in the space of a day and night, being a portion of the time beneath the earth, and a portion of the time shining upon it. Now he asserts that the motion of the sea corresponds with the revolution of the heavenly bodies, and experiences a diurnal, monthly, and annual change, in strict accordance with the changes of the moon. For [he continues] when the moon is elevated one sign of the zodiacThirty degrees. above the horizon, the sea begins sensibly to swell and cover the shores, until she has attained her meridian; but when that satellite begins to decline, the sea again retires by degrees, until the moon wants merely one sign of the zodiac from setting; it then remains stationary until the moon has set, and also descended one sign of the zodiac below the horizon, when it again rises until she has attained her meridian below the earth; it then retires again until the moon is within one sign of the zodiac of her rising above the horizon, when it remains stationary until the moon has risen one sign of the zodiac above the earth, and then begins to rise as before. Such he describes to be the diurnal revolution. In respect to the monthly revolution, [he says] that the spring-tides occur at the time of the new moon, when they decrease until the first quarter; they then increase until full moon, when they again decrease until the last quarter, after which they increase till the new moon; [he adds] that these increases ought to be understood both of their duration and speed. In regard to the annual revolution, he says that he learned from the statements of the Gaditanians, that both the ebb and flow tides were at their extremes at the summer solstice: and that hence he conjectured that they decreased until the [autumnal] equinox; then increased till the winter solstice; then decreased again until the vernal equinox; and [finally] increased until the summer solstice. But since these revolutions occur twice in the four-and-twenty hours, the sea rising twice and receding twice, and that regularly every day and night, how is it that the filling and failing of the well do not frequently occur during the ebb and flow of the tide? or if it be allowed that this does often occur, why does it not do so in the same proportion? and if it does so in the same proportion, how comes it that the Gaditanians are not competent to observe what is of daily occurrence, while they are nevertheless competent to the observing of revolutions which occur but once in the year. That Posidonius himself credited these reports is evident from his own conjecture respecting the decrease and increase [of the sea] from solstice to solstice. However, it is not likely, being an observant people, that they should be ignorant of what actually occurred, whilst giving credit to imaginary phenomena.

Posidonius tells us that Seleucus, a native of the country next the Erythraean Sea,The Persian Gulf. states that the regularity and irregularity of the ebb and flow of the sea follow the different positions of the moon in the zodiac; that when she is in the equinoctial signs the tides are regular, but that when she is in the signs next the tropics, the tides are irregular both in their height and force; and that for the remaining signs the irregularity is greater or less, according as they are more or less removed from the signs before mentioned. Posidonius adds, that during the summer solstice and whilst the moon was full, he himself passed many days in the temple of Hercules at Gades, but could not observe any thing of these annual irregularities. However, about the new moon of the same month he observed at IlipaAlcolea. a great change in the reflux of the water of the Guadalquiver, as compared with previous flood-tides, in which the water did not rise half as high as the banks, and that then the water poured in so copiously, that the soldiers there dipped their supply without difficulty, although Ilipa is about 700 stadia from the sea. He says, that the plains next the sea were covered by the tides to a distance of 30Some MSS. read 50 stadia. stadia, and to such a depth as to form islands, while the basement of the temple in the enclosure dedicated to Hercules, and the top of the mole in front of the harbour of Gades, were not covered higher than 10 cubits, as observed by actual soundings; but if any one should add the double of that for the occasional risings of the tide which occur, [neither] thus would he be able to estimate the violence with which the full force of the high tide rushes over the plains. Posidonius informs us that this violence [of the tide] is common to all the coasts of Spain on the Atlantic,This is the sense of the text, πᾶσαν τὴν κύκλῳ ταοͅωκεανῖτιν. but what he relates concerning the Ebro is unusual and peculiar to itself, for he says that it sometimes overflows after continued north winds, although there may have been neither rains nor snows. The cause of this [he supposes] to be the lake through which the Ebro flows, its waters being driven by the winds into the current of the river.We are not aware that the Ebro passes through any lake.

The same writer mentions a tree at Gades, which had boughs reaching to the ground; its sword-shaped leaves often measuring a cubit long, and four fingers broad. Also that about Carthagena there was a tree whose thorns produced a bark from which most beautiful stuffs were woven. As for the tree [he saw] at Gades, we ourselves have observed a similar in Egypt, so far as the inclination of the boughs is concerned, but with a differently shaped leaf, and producing no fruit, which according to him the other did. In Cappadocia there are stuffs made from thorns, but it is not a tree which produces the thorn from which the bark is taken, but a low plant; he also tells us of a tree at Gades, from which if a branch be broken off a milk will flow, and if the root be cut a red fluid runs. Thus much for Gades.

The Cassiterides are ten in number, and lie near each other in the ocean towards the north from the haven of the Artabri. One of them is desert, but the others are inhabited by men in black cloaks, clad in tunics reaching to the feet, girt about the breast, and walking with staves, thus resembling the Furies we see in tragic representations.This is probably a description of the appearance of the Druids. Tacitus, (Ann. lib. xiv. 30,) speaking of the consternation into which the Druids of Anglesey threw the Roman soldiers who had disembarked there, says, Druidaeque circum, preces diras, sublatis ad coelum manibus, fundentes, novitate adspectus perculere milites, ut, quasi haerentibus membris, immobile corpus vulneribus praeberent. Immediately before these words he thus describes the women, “Stabat pro litore diversa acies, densa armis virisque, intercursantibus feminis in modum furiarum, quae veste ferali, crinibus dejectis, faces praeferebant. They subsist by their cattle, leading for the most part a wandering life. Of the metals they have tin and lead; which with skins they barter with the merchants for earthenware, salt, and brazen vessels. Formerly the Phoenicians alone carried on this traffic from Gades, concealing the passage from every one; and when the Romans followed a certain ship-master, that they also might find the market, the shipmaster of jealousy purposely ran his vessel upon a shoal, leading on those who followed him into the same destructive disaster; he himself escaped by means of a fragment of the ship, and received from the state the value of the cargo he had lost. The Romans nevertheless by frequent efforts discovered the passage, and as soon as Publius Crassus, passing over to them, perceived that the metals were dug out at a little depth, and that the men were peaceably disposed, he declared it to those who already wished to traffic in this sea for profit, although the passage was longer than that to Britain.Viz. that the Cassiterides are farther removed from the coasts of Spain than the rest of the southern coasts of England. Thus far concerning Iberia and the adjacent islands.

The Fourth Book contains a description of the regions about Gaul, Spain, and the Alps on this side, towards Italy. Likewise of Britain, and of certain islands in the ocean which are habitable, together with the country of the barbarians, and the nations dwelling beyond the Danube.

NEXT in order [after Iberia] comes Keltica beyond the Alps,Transalpine Gaul. the configuration and size of which has been already mentioned in a general manner; we are now to describe it more particularly. Some divide it into the three nations of the Aquitani, Belge, and Kelte.Gaul is properly divided into the four grand divisions of the Narbonnaise, Aquitaine, Keltica, and Belgica. Strabo has principally copied Caesar, who appears only to have divided Gaul into Aquitaine, Keltica, and Belgica. Caesar however only speaks of the provinces he had conquered, and makes no mention of the Narbonnaise, which had submitted to the Romans before his time. Strabo seems to have thought that the Narbonnaise formed part of Keltica. Of these the Aquitani differ completely from the other nations, not only in their language but in their figure, which resembles more that of the Iberians than the Galatae. The others are Galatae in countenance, although they do not all speak the same language, but some make a slight difference in their speech; neither is their polity and mode of life exactly the same. These writers give the name of Aquitani and Keltae to the dwellers near the Pyrenees, which are bounded by the Cevennes. For it has been stated that this Keltica is bounded on the west by the mountains of the Pyrenees, which extend to either sea, both the Mediterranean and the ocean; on the east by the Rhine, which is parallel to the Pyrenees; on the north by the ocean, from the northern extremities of the Pyrenees to the mouths of the Rhine; on the south by the sea of Marseilles, and Narbonne, and by the Alps from Liguria to the sources of the Rhine. The Cevennes lie at right angles to the Pyrenees, and traverse the plains for about 2000 stadia, terminating in the middle near Lugdunum.Lyons. They call those people Aquitani who inhabit the northern portions of the Pyrenees, and the Cevennes extending as far as the ocean, and bounded by the river Garonne; and Keltae, those who dwell on the other side of the Garonne, towards the sea of Marseilles and Narbonne, and touching a portion of the Alpine chain. This is the division adopted by divus Caesar in his Commentaries.The whole of this passage, says Gosselin, is full of mistakes, and it would seem that Strabo quoted from an inexact copy of Caesar. To understand his meaning, we must remember that he supposed the Pyrenees extended from north to south, instead of from east to west; and since he adds that these mountains divide the Cevennes at right angles, he must have supposed that this second chain extended from cast to west, instead of from north to south. He likewise fancied that the Garonne, the Loire, and the Seine ran from north to south like the Rhine. Starting from such premises, it was impossible he could avoid confusion; thus we find him describing the Aquitani as north of the Cevennes, when in fact they dwelt north of the Pyrenees, between those mountains and the Garonne, and west of the southern portions of the Cevennes. Where he says that the Kelts dwelt on the other side or east of the Garonne, and towards the sea of Narbonne and Marseilles, it is clear that he prolonged Keltica into the Narbonnaise, since this last province extended along the Mediterranean from the frontiers of Spain to the Alps. Caesar had stated that the Gauls (the Kelts of Strabo) ipsorum lingua Keltae, nostri Galli, dwelt between the Garonne, the Seine, the Marne, and the Rhine. Finally, Strabo appears to have assigned the greater part of Gaul to the Belgae in making them extend from the ocean, and the mouth of the Rhine, to the Alps. This considerably embarrassed Xylander, but as we have seen that Strabo transported a portion of the Kelts into the Narbonnaise, it is easy to imagine that, in order to make these people border on the Belgae, he was forced to extend them as far as the Alps, near the sources of the Rhine. Caesar located the Belgae between the Seine, the ocean, and the Rhine. But Augustus Caesar, when dividing the country into four parts, united the Keltae to the Narbonnaise; the Aquitani he preserved the same as Julius Caesar, but added thereto fourteen other nations of those who dwelt between the Garonne and the river Loire,Liger. and dividing the rest into two parts, the one extending to the upper districts of the Rhine he made dependent upon Lugdunum, the other [he assigned] to the Belgae. However, it is the duty of the Geographer to describe the physical divisions of each country, and those which result from diversity of nations, when they seem worthy of notice; as to the limits which princes, induced by a policy which circumstances dictate, have variously imposed, it will be sufficient for him to notice them summarily, leaving others to furnish particular details.

The whole of this country is irrigated by rivers descending from the Alps, the Cevennes, and the Pyrenees, some of which discharge themselves into the ocean, others into the Mediterranean. The districts through which they flow are mostly plains interspersed with hills, and having navigable streams. The course of these rivers is so happily disposed in relation to each other, that you may traffic from one sea to the other,From the ocean to the Mediterranean, and vice versa. carrying the merchandise only a small distance, and that easily, across the plains; but for the most part by the rivers, ascending some, and descending others. The Rhone is pre-eminent in this respect, both because it communicates with many other rivers, and also because it flows into the Mediterranean, which, as we have said, is superior to the ocean,Alluding to the superiority of the climate on the shores of the Mediterranean. and likewise passes through the richest provinces of Gaul. The whole of the Narbonnaise produces the same fruits as Italy. As we advance towards the north, and the mountains of the Cevennes, the plantations of the olive and fig disappear, but the others remain. Likewise the vine, as you proceed northward, does not easily mature its fruit. The entire of the remaining country produces in abundance corn, millet, acorns, and mast of all kinds. No part of it lies waste except that which is taken up in marshes and woods, and even this is inhabited. The cause of this, however, is rather a dense population than the industry of the inhabitants. For the women there are both very prolific and excellent nurses, while the men devote themselves rather to war than husbandry. However, their arms being now laid aside, they are compelled to engage in agriculture. These remarks apply generally to the whole of Transalpine Keltica. We must now describe particularly each of the four divisions, which hitherto we have only mentioned in a summary manner. And, first, of the Narbonnaise.

The configuration of this country resembles a parallelogram, the western side of which is traced by the Pyrenees, the north by the Cevennes; as for the other two sides, the south is bounded by the sea between the Pyrenees and Marseilles, and the east partly by the Alps,We shall see in the course of this book, that under the name of Alps Strabo includes the different mountain-chains separated from the range of Alps properly so called. This accounts for his extending those mountains on the west as far as Marseilles, and on the east beyond Istria. and partly by a line drawn perpendicularly from these mountains to the foot of the Cevennes, which extend towards the Rhone, and form a right angle with the aforesaid perpendicular drawn from the Alps. To the southern side of this parallelogram we must add the sea-coast inhabited by the MassiliensesThe Marseillese. and Salyes,The Salyes inhabited Provence. as far as the country of the Ligurians, the confines of Italy, and the river Var. This river, as we have said before,As Strabo has made no previous mention of this river, the words as we have said before are evidently interpolated. is the boundary of the Narbonnaise and Italy. It is but small in summer, but in winter swells to a breadth of seven stadia. From thence the coast extends to the temple of the Pyrenaean Venus,This temple was built on Cape Creus, which on that account received the name of Aphrodisium. Many geographers confound this temple with the portus Veneris, the modern Vendres, which is at a short distance from Cape Creus. which is the boundary between this province and Iberia. Some, however, assert that the spot where the Trophies of Pompey stand is the boundary between Iberia and Keltica. From thence to Narbonne is 63 miles; from Narbonne to Nemausus,Nimes. 88; from Nemausus through UgernumBeaucaire. and Tarusco, to the hot waters called SextiaeAix. near Marseilles, 53;Gosselin, who considers that the former numbers were correct, enters at some length on an argument to prove that these 53 miles were 62, and differs also in computing the succeeding numbers. from thence to Antipolis and the river Var, 73; making in the total 277 miles. Some set down the distance from the temple of Venus to the Var at 2600 stadia; while others increase this number by 200 stadia; for there are different opinions as to these distances. As for the other road, which traverses the [countries of the] VocontiiThe cantons of Vaison and Die. and Cottius,Cottius possessed the present Briançonnais. That portion of the Alps next this canton took from this sovereign the name of the Cottian Alps. Cottius bore the title of king; and Augustus recognised his independence; he lived till the time of Nero, when his possessions became a Roman province. from NemaususNimes. to Ugernum and Tarusco, the route is common; from thence [it branches off in two directions], one through Druentia and Caballio,Durance and Cavaillon. to the frontiers of the Vocontii and the commencement of the ascent of the Alps, which is 63 miles; the other is reckoned at 99 miles from the same point to the other extremity of the Vocontii, bordering on the state of Cottius, as far as the village of Ebrodunum.Embrun. The distance is said to be the same by the route through the village of Brigantium,Briandon. Scingomagus,Sezanne, or perhaps Chamlat de Seguin. and the passage of the Alps to Ocelum,Uxeau. which is the limit of the country of Cottius. However, it is considered to be Italy from Scingomagus. And Ocelum is 28 miles beyond this.

Marseilles, founded by the Phocaeans,About 600 years before the Christian era. is built in a stony region. Its harbour lies beneath a rock, which is shaped like a theatre, and looks towards the south. It is well surrounded with walls, as well as the whole city, which is of considerable size. Within the citadel are placed the Ephesium and the temple of the Delphian Apollo. This latter temple is common to all the Ionians; the Ephesium is the temple consecrated to Diana of Ephesus. They say that when the Phocaeans were about to quit their country, an oracle commanded them to take from Diana of Ephesus a conductor for their voyage. On arriving at Ephesus they therefore inquired how they might be able to obtain from the goddess what was enjoined them. The goddess appeared in a dream to Aristarcha, one of the most honourable women of the city, and commanded her to accompany the Phocaeans, and to take with her a plan of the temple and statues.̓αφίδοͅυμά τι τῶν ἱεοͅῶν. Gosselin gives a note on these words, and translates them in his text as follows, one of the statues consecrated in her temple. These things being performed, and the colony being settled, the Phocaeans built a temple, and evinced their great respect for Aristarcha by making her priestess. All the colonies [sent out from Marseilles] hold this goddess in peculiar reverence, preserving both the shape of the image [of the goddess], and also every rite observed in the metropolis.

The Massilians live under a well-regulated aristocracy. They have a council composed of 600 persons called timuchi,τιμοῦχος, literally, one having honour and esteem. who enjoy this dignity for life. Fifteen of these preside over the council, and have the management of current affairs; these fifteen are in their turn presided over by three of their number, in whom rests the principal authority; and these again by one. No one can become a timuchus who has not children, and who has not been a citizen for three generations.We have seen no reason to depart from a literal rendering of the Greek in this passage, its meaning, whose ancestors have not been citizens, etc., being self-evident. Their laws, which are the same as those of the Ionians, they expound in public. Their country abounds in olives and vines, but on account of its ruggedness the wheat is poor. Consequently they trust more to the resources of the sea than of the land, and avail themselves in preference of their excellent position for commerce. Nevertheless they have been enabled by the power of perseverance to take in some of the surrounding plains, and also to found cities: of this number are the cities they founded in Iberia as a rampart against the Iberians, in which they introduced the worship of Diana of Ephesus, as practised in their father-land, with the Grecian mode of sacrifice. In this number too are RhoaThis name has evidently been corrupted, but it seems difficult to determine what stood originally in the text; most probably it was Rhodanusia. [and] Agatha,Agde. [built for defence] against the barbarians dwelling around the river Rhone; also Tauroentium,Taurenti. Olbia,Eoube. AntipolisAntibes. and Nicaea,Nice. [built as a rampart] against the nation of the Salyes and the Ligurians who inhabit the Alps. TheyThe people of Marseilles. possess likewise dry docks and armouries. Formerly they had an abundance of vessels, arms, and machines, both for the purposes of navigation and for besieging towns; by means of which they defended themselves against the barbarians, and likewise obtained the alliance of the Romans, to whom they rendered many important services; the Romans in their turn assisting in their aggrandizement. Sextius, who defeated the Salyes, founded, not far from Marseilles, a cityAquae Sextiae, now Aix. which was named after him and the hot waters, some of which they say have lost their heat.Solinus tells us that in his day the waters had lost their virtue, and that their fame had declined. Quarum calor, olim acrior, exhalatus per tempora evaporavit; nec jam par est fame priori.Solin. cap. 8. The victory of Sextius, mentioned by Strabo, is said to have been gained in the year of Rome 629. Here he established a Roman garrison, and drove from the sea-coast which leads from Marseilles to Italy the barbarians, whom the Massilians were not able to keep back entirely. However, all he accomplished by this was to compel the barbarians to keep at a distance of twelve stadia from those parts of the coast which possessed good harbours, and at a distance of eight stadia where it was rugged. The land which they thus abandoned, he presented to the Massilians. In their city are laid up heaps of booty taken in naval engagements against those who disputed the sea unjustly. Formerly they enjoyed singular good fortune, as well in other matters as also in their amity with the Romans. Of this [amity] we find numerous signs, amongst others the statue of Diana which the Romans dedicated on the Aventine mount, of the same figure as that of the Massilians. Their prosperity has in a great measure decayed since the war of Pompey against Caesar, in which they sided with the vanquished party. Nevertheless some traces of their ancient industry may still be seen amongst the inhabitants, especially the making of engines of war and ship-building. Still as the surrounding barbarians, now that they are under the dominion of the Romans, become daily more civilized, and leave the occupation of war for the business of towns and agriculture, there is no longer the same attention paid by the inhabitants of Marseilles to these objects. The aspect of the city at the present day is a proof of this. For all those who profess to be men of taste, turn to the study of elocution and philosophy. Thus this city for some little time back has become a school for the barbarians, and has communicated to the Galatae such a taste for Greek literature, that they even draw contracts on the Grecian model. While at the present day it so entices the noblest of the Romans, that those desirous of studying resort thither in preference to Athens. These the Galatae observing, and being at leisure on account of the peace, readily devote themselves to similar pursuits, and that not merely individuals, but the public generally; professors of the arts and sciences, and likewise of medicine, being employed not only by private persons, but by towns for common instruction. Of the wisdom of the Massilians and the simplicity of their life, the following will not be thought an insignificant proof. The largest dowry amongst them consists of one hundred gold pieces, with five for dress, and five more for golden ornaments. More than this is not lawful. Caesar and his successors treated with moderation the offences of which they were guilty during the war, in consideration of their former friendship; and have preserved to the state the right of governing according to its ancient laws. So that neither Marseilles nor the cities dependent on it are under submission to the governors sent [into the Narbonnaise]. So much for Marseilles.

The mountains of the Salyes incline gently from west to north in proportion as they retire from the sea. The coast runs west, and extending a short distance, about 100 stadia, from Marseilles, it begins to assume the character of a gulf at a considerable promontory near to certain stone quarries, and extending to the Aphrodisium, the headland which terminates the Pyrenees,The Cape de Creus, a promontory on which was the temple of the Pyrenaean Venus. forms the Galatic Gulf,The Gulf of Lyons. which is also called the Gulf of Marseilles: it is double, for in its circuit Mount SetiumThe Cape de Cette. stands out together with the island of Blascon,Gosselin says, The Island of Blascon is a rock opposite Agde, on which remains a fortified castle, which preserves the name of Brescon. This rock has been connected with the mainland, to form the port of Agde. which is situated close to it, and separates the two gulfs. The larger of these is properly designated the Galatic Gulf, into which the Rhone discharges itself; the smaller is on the coast of Narbonne, and extends as far as the Pyrenees. Narbonne is situated above the outlets of the Aude̓́αταξ. and the lake of Narbonne.At the present day Narbonne is not situated on the Aude, the course of that river being changed. The lake of Narbonne, mentioned by Strabo, is not the present lake of Narbonne, but the lake of Rubine. It is the principal commercial city on this coast. On the Rhone is Arelate,Arles. a city and emporium of considerable traffic. The distance between these two cities is nearly equal to that which separates them from the aforesaid promontories, namely, Narbonne from the Aphrodisium, and Arelate from the cape of Marseilles. There are other rivers besides which flow on either side of Narbonne, some from the Cevennes, others from the Pyrenees. Along these rivers are situated cities having but little commerce, and that in small vessels. The rivers which proceed from the Pyrenees, are the Tet̔πσκίνων. and the Tech;ὁ?̓ιλιιρρις. two citiesViz. Ruscino, now superseded by Perpignan on the Tet; and Ilibirris, now Elne on the Tech. are built on them, which bear respectively the same name as the rivers. There is a lake near to Ruscino,This ancient city, says Gosselin, “no longer exists, with the exception of an old tower, scarcely a league from Perpignan, which still bears the name of the Tower of Roussillon. and a little above the sea a marshy district full of salt-springs, which supplies dug mullets, for whoever digs two or three feet and plunges a trident into the muddy water, will be sure to take the fish, which are worthy of consideration on account of their size; they are nourished in the mud like eels. Such are the rivers which flow from the Pyrenees between Narbonne and the promontory on which is built the temple of Venus. On the other side of Narbonne the following rivers descend from the Cevennes into the sea. The Aude,This river does not rise in the Cevennes, but in the Pyrenees. the Orbe,Ὄρβις. and the Rauraris.This name is evidently corrupt; the Arauris of Mela and Ptolemy (the modern Herault) is probably intended. On one of theseThe Orbe. is situated the strong city of Baetera,Beziers. near to Narbonne; on the other Agatha,Agde. founded by the people of Marseilles.

Of one marvel of this sea-coast, namely the dug mullets, we have already spoken; we will now mention another, even more surprising. Between Marseilles and the outlets of the Rhone there is a circular plain, about 100 stadia distant from the sea, and about 100 stadia in diameter. It has received the name of the Stony Plain, from the circumstance of its being covered with stones the size of the fist, from beneath which an abundant herbage springs up for the pasturage of cattle. In the midst of it are water, salt-springs, and salt. The whole both of this district and that above it is exposed to the wind, but in this plain the black north,The French bise. a violent and horrible wind, rages especially: for they say that sometimes the stones are swept and rolled along, and men hurled from their carriages and stripped both of their arms and garments by the force of the tempest. Aristotle tells us that these stones being cast up by the earthquakes designated brastai,βοͅάσται σεισμοί, earthquakes attended with a violent fermentation. and falling on the surface of the earth, roll into the hollow places of the districts; but Posidonius, that the place was formerly a lake, which being congealed during a violent agitation, became divided into numerous stones, like river pebbles or the stones by the sea-shore, which they resemble both as to smoothness, size, and appearance. Such are the causes assigned by these two [writers]; however, neither of their opinions is credible,The text has, “both of their opinions are credible,’ (πιθανὸς μὲν οὑν ὁ παοͅ ἀμφοῖν λόγος,) but this is discountenanced by the whole sentence. for these stones could neither have thus accumulated of themselves, nor yet have been formed by congealed moisture, but necessarily from the fragments of large stones shattered by frequent convulsions. Aeschylus having, however, learnt of the difficulty of accounting for it, or having been so informed by another, has explained it away as a myth. He makes Prometheus utter the following, whilst directing Hercules the road from the Caucasus to the Hesperides: There you will come to the undaunted army of the Ligurians, where, resistless though you be, sure am I you will not worst them in battle; for it is fated that there your darts shall fail you; nor will you be able to take up a stone from the ground, since the country consists of soft mould; but Jupiter, beholding your distress, will compassionate you, and overshadowing the earth with a cloud, he will cause it to hail round stones, which you hurling against the Ligurian army, will soon put them to flight!From the Prometheus Loosed, which is now lost.

Posidonius asks, would it not have been better to have rained down these stones upon the Ligurians themselves, and thus have destroyed them all, than to make Hercules in need of so many stones? As for the number, they were necessary against so vast a multitude; so that in this respect the writer of the myth seems to me deserving of more credit than he who would refute it. Further, the poet, in describing it as fated, secures himself against such fault-finding. For if you dispute Providence and Destiny, you can find many similar things both in human affairs and nature, that you would suppose might be much better performed in this or that way; as for instance, that Egypt should have plenty of rain of its own, without being irrigated from the land of Ethiopia. That it would have been much better if Paris had suffered shipwreck on his voyage to Sparta, instead of expiating his offences after having carried off Helen, and having been the cause of so great destruction both amongst the Greeks and Barbarians. Euripides attributes this to Jupiter: Father Jupiter, willing evil to the Trojans and suffering to the Greeks, decreed such things.

As to the mouths of the Rhone, Polybius asserts that there are but two, and blames TimaeusThe historian, son of Andromachus. for saying five. Artemidorus says that there are three. Afterwards Marius, observing that the mouth was becoming stopped up and difficult of entrance on account of the deposits of mud, caused a new channel to be dug, which received the greater part of the river into it.The mouths of the Rhone, like those of other impetuous rivers, are subject to considerable changes, and vary from one age to another. Ptolemy agrees with Polybius in stating that there are but two mouths to the Rhone, and those which he indicates are at the present day almost entirely filled up; the one being at Aigues-Mortes, the other the canal now called the Rhône-Mort. This he gave to the people of Marseilles in recompense for their services in the war against the Ambrones and Toygeni.Two Helvetian tribes who united themselves to the Cimbri to pass into Italy, and were defeated near Aix by Marius. This canal became to them a source of much revenue, as they levied a toll from all those who sailed up or down it: notwithstanding, the entrance [to the river] still continues difficult to navigate, on account of its great impetuosity, its deposits, and the [general] flatness of the country, so that in foul weather you cannot clearly discern the land even when quite close. On this account the people of Marseilles, who wished by all means to inhabit the country, set up towers as beacons; they have even erected a temple to Diana of Ephesus on a piece of the land, which the mouths of the rivers have formed into an island. Above the outlets of the Rhone is a salt-lake which they call Stomalimnè.Now l’étang de Berre or de Martigues. It abounds in shell and other fish. There are some who enumerate this amongst the mouths of the Rhone, especially those who say that it has sevenThe French editors propose to read here five mouths, thus referring to the opinion of Timaeus. This, Kramer observes, Strabo probably intended to do. Still, as there were some who were of opinion the Rhone has seven mouths, as appears from Apoll. Rhod. Argonaut. iv. 634, he did not venture to touch the text. mouths. But in this they are quite mistaken; for there is a mountain between, which separates the lake from the river. Such then is the disposition and extent of the coast from the Pyrenees to Marseilles.

The [coast] which extends from this [last city] to the river Var, and the Ligurians who dwell near it, contains the Massilian cities of Tauroentium,Taurenti. Olbia,Eoube. Antipolis,Antibes. Nicaea,Nice. and the sea-port of Augustus Caesar, called Forum Julium.Fréjus. which is situated between Olbia and Antipolis, and distant from Marseilles about 600 stadia. The Var is between Antipolis and Nicaea; distant from the one about 20 stadia, from the other about 60; so that according to the boundary now marked Nicaea belongs to Italy, although it is a city of the people of Marseilles, for they built these cities [as a defence] against the barbarians who dwelt higher up the country, in order to maintain the sea free, as the barbarians possessed the land. For this [region] is mountainous and fortified by nature, leaving however a considerable extent of plain country near Marseilles; but as you proceed towards the east the country is so hemmed in by the mountains, as scarcely to leave a sufficient road for passage by the sea-shore. The former districts are inhabited by the Salyes,Inhabitants of Provence. the latter by the Ligurians, who border on Italy, of whom we shall speak afterwards. It should here be mentioned, that although Antipolis is situated in the Narbonnaise, and Nicaea in Italy, this latter is dependent on Marseilles, and forms part of that province; while Antipolis is ranked amongst the Italian cities, and freed from the government of the Marseillese by a judgment given against them.

Lying off this narrow pass along the coast, as you commence your journey from Marseilles, are the Stoechades islands.Les Isles d’ Hières, a row of islands off Marseilles. Three of these are considerable, and two small. They are cultivated by the people of Marseilles. Anciently they contained a garrison, placed here to defend them from the attacks of pirates, for they have good ports. After the Stoechades come [the islands of] PlanasiaIsle St. Honorat. and Lero,Isle Ste. Marguerite. both of them inhabited. In Lero, which lies opposite to Antipolis, is a temple erected to the hero Lero. There are other small islands not worth mentioning, some of them before Marseilles, others before the rest of the coast which I have been describing. As to the harbours, those of the seaport [of Forum-Julium]Fréjus. and Marseilles are considerable, the others are but middling. Of this latter class is the port Oxybius,Between the river d’ Argents and Antibes. so named from the Oxybian Ligurians.—This concludes what we have to say of this coast.

The country above this is bounded principally by the surrounding mountains and rivers. Of these the Rhone is the most remarkable, being both the largest, and capable of being navigated farther than any of the others, and also receiving into it a greater number of tributaries; of these we must speak in order. Commencing at Marseilles, and proceeding to the country between the Alps and the Rhone, to the river Durance, dwell the Salyes for a space of 500 stadia. From thence you proceed in a ferry-boat to the city of Caballio;Cavaillon. beyond this the whole country belongs to the Cavari as far as the junction of the Isère with the Rhone; it is here too that the Cevennes approach the Rhone. From the Durance to this point is a distance of 700 stadia.From the mouth of the Durance to the mouth of the Isère, following the course of the Rhone, the distance is 24 leagues, or 720 Olympic stadia. The Salyes occupy the plains and mountains above these. The Vocontii, Tricorii, Icomi, and Medylli, lie above the Cavari.The Vocontii occupied the territories of Vaison and Die. The Tricorii appear to have inhabited a small district east of Die, on the banks of the Drac. The Iconii were to the east of Gap; and the Medylli in La Maurienne, along the Aar. Between the Durance and the Isère there are other rivers which flow from the Alps into the Rhone; two of these, after having flowed round the city of the Cavari, discharge themselves by a common outlet into the Rhone. The Sulgas,The Sorgue. which is the third, mixes with the Rhone near the city of Vindalum,Vedene. where Cnaeus Aenobarbus in a decisive engagement routed many myriads of the Kelts. Between these are the cities of Avenio,Avignon. Arausio,Orange. and Aëria,Le mont Ventoux. which latter, remarks Artemidorus, is rightly named aërial, being situated in a very lofty position. The whole of this country consists of plains abounding in pasturage, excepting on the route from Aëria to Avenio, where there are narrow defiles and woods to traverse. It was at the point where the river Isère and the Rhone unite near the Cevennes, that Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus,Casaubon remarks that Aemilianus is a name more than this Roman general actually possessed. with scarcely 30,000 men, cut to pieces 200,000 Kelts.Livy states that 120,000 Kelts were slain, and Pliny, 130,000. Here he erected a white stone as a trophy, and two temples, one to Mars, and the other to Hercules. From the Isère to Vienne, the metropolis of the Allobroges, situated on the Rhone, the distance is 320 stadia. LugdunumLyons. is a little above Vienne at the confluence of the Saone̓́αοͅαοͅ. and the Rhone. The distance by land [from this latter city] to Lugdunum, passing through the country of the Allobroges, is about 200 stadia, and rather more by water. Formerly the Allobroges engaged in war, their armies consisting of many myriads; they now occupy themselves in cultivating the plains and valleys of the Alps. They dwell generally in villages, the most notable of them inhabiting Vienne, which was merely a village, although called the metropolis of their nation; they have now improved and embellished it as a city; it is situated on the Rhone. So full and rapid is the descent of this river from the Alps, that the flow of its waters through Lake Leman may be distinguished for many stadia. Having descended into the plains of the countries of the Allobroges, and Segusii, it falls into the Saone, near to Lugdunum, a city of the Segusii.The Allobroges and Segusii were separated by the Rhone; the former inhabiting the left bank of the river. The Saone rises in the Alps,The Saone rises in the Vosges. and separates the Sequani, the Aedui, and the Lincasii.These people are elsewhere called by Strabo Lingones, the name by which they are designated by other writers. It afterwards receives the Doubs, a navigable river which rises in the same mountains,The Doubs rises in the Jura, not in the Alps. Ptolemy falls into the same mistake as Strabo. still however preserving its own name, and consisting of the two, mingles with the Rhone. The Rhone in like manner preserves its name, and flows on to Vienne. At their rise these three rivers flow towards the north, then in a westerly direction, afterwards uniting into one they take another turn and flow towards the south, and having received other rivers, they flow in this direction to the sea. Such is the country situated between the Alps and the Rhone.

The main part of the country on the other side of the Rhone is inhabited by the Volcae, surnamed Arecomisci. Their naval station is Narbonne, which may justly be called the emporium of all Gaul, as it far surpasses every other in the multitude of those who resortWe have here followed the proposed correction of Ziegler. to it. The Volcae border on tile Rhone, the Salyes and Cavari being opposite to them on tile other side of the river. However, the name of the Cavari has so obtained, that all the barbarians inhabiting near now go by that designation; nay, even those who are no longer barbarians, but follow the Roman customs, both in their speech and mode of life, and some of those even who have adopted the Roman polity. Between the Arecomisci and the Pyrenees there are some other small and insignificant nations. NemaususNîmes. is the metropolis of the Arecomisci; though far inferior to Narbonne both as to its commerce, and the number of foreigners attracted thither, it surpasses that city in the number of its citizens; for it has under its dominion four and twenty different villages all well inhabited, and by the same people, who pay tribute; it likewise enjoys the rights of the Latin towns, so that in Nemausus you meet with Roman citizens who have obtained the honours of the aedile and quaestorship, wherefore this nation is not subject to the orders issued by the praetors from Rome. The city is situated on the road from Iberia to Italy; this road is very good in the summer, but muddy and overflowed by the rivers during winter and spring. Some of these streams are crossed in ferry-boats, and others by means of bridges constructed either of wood or stone. The inundations which destroy the roads are caused by the winter torrents, which sometimes pour down from the Alps even in summer-time after the melting of the snows. To perform the route before mentioned, the shortest way is, as we have said, across the territory of the Vocontii direct to the Alps; the other, along the coast of Marseilles and Liguria, is longer, although it offers an easier passage into Italy, as the mountains are lower. Nemausus is about 100 stadia distant from the Rhone, situated opposite to the small town of Tarascon, and about 720 stadia from Narbonne. The Tectosages,This name is written diversely, Tectosages, Tectosagae, and Tectosagi. It appears to be composed of the two Latin words, tectus, covered, and sagum, a species of cassock. and certain others whom we shall mention afterwards, border on the range of the Cevennes, and inhabit its southern side as far as the promontory of the Volcae. Respecting all the others we will speak hereafter.

But the Tectosages dwell near to the Pyrenees, bordering for a small space the northern side of the Cevennes;Viz. between Lodève and Toulouse; we must remember that Strabo supposed the chain of the Cevennes to run west and east. the land they inhabit is rich in gold. It appears that formerly they were so powerful and numerous, that dissensions having arisen amongst them, they drove a vast multitude of their number from their homes; and that these men associating with others of different nations took possession of Phrygia, next to Cappadocia, and the Paphlagonians. Of this those who are now called the Tectosages afford us proof, for [Phrygia contains] three nations, one of them dwelling near to the city of Ancyra,Angora. being called the Tectosages; the remaining two, the Trocmi and Tolistobogii.These three nations inhabited Galatia, of which Ancyra was the capital. The resemblance these nations bear to the Tectosages is evidence of their having immigrated from Keltica, though we are unable to say from which district they came, as there does not appear to be any people at the present time bearing the name of Trocmi or Tolistobogii, who inhabit either beyond the Alps, the Alps themselves, or on this side the Alps. It would seem that continual emigration has drained them completely from their native country, a circumstance which has occurred to many other nations, as some say that the Brennus, who led an expedition to Delphi,279 years before the Christian era. was a leader of the Prausi; but we are unable to say where the Prausi formerly inhabited. It is said that the Tectosages took part in the expedition to Delphi, and that the treasures found in the city of Toulouse by the Roman general Caepio formed a portion of the booty gained there, which was afterwards increased by offerings which the citizens made from their own property, and consecrated in order to conciliate the god.Justin tells us that the Tectosages on returning to Toulouse from the expedition, were attacked with a pestilential malady, from which they could find no relief until they complied with the advice of their augurs, and cast the ill-gotten wealth into a lake. Justin, lib. xxxii. c. 3. And that it was for daring to touch these that Caepio terminated so miserably his existence, being driven from his country as a plunderer of the temples of the gods, and leaving behind him his daughters, who, as Timagenes informs us, having been wickedly violated, perished miserably. However, the account given by Posidonius is the more credible. He tells us that the wealth found in Toulouse amounted to somewhere about 15,000 talents, a part of which was hidden in the chapels, and the remainder in the sacred lakes, and that it was not coined [money], but gold and silver in bullion. But at this time the temple of Delphi was emptied of these treasures, having been pillaged by the Phocaeans at the period of the Sacred war and supposing any to have been left, it would have been distributed amongst many. Nor is it probable that the Tectosages returned home, since they came off miserably after leaving Delphi, and owing to their dissensions were scattered here and there throughout the country; there is much more likelihood in the statement made by Posidonius and many others, that the country abounding in gold, and the inhabitants being superstitious, and not living expensively, they hid their treasures in many different places, the lakes in particular affording them a hiding-place for depositing their gold and silver bullion. When the Romans obtained possession of the country they put up these lakes to public sale, and many of the purchasers found therein solid masses of silver. In Toulouse there was a sacred temple, held in great reverence by the inhabitants of the surrounding country, and on this account loaded with riches, inasmuch as there were many who offered gifts, and no one dared to touch them.

Toulouse is situated upon the narrowest part of the isthmus which separates the ocean from the sea of Narbonne; the breadth of the [isthmus], according to Posidonius, being less than 3000 stadia. The perfect similarity maintained throughout this country both in respect to its rivers, and to the exterior and interior sea,The Atlantic and Mediterranean. appears to us worthy of especial notice, as we have said before. This, on reflection, will prove to be one main cause of the excellence of this country, since the inhabitants are enabled mutually to communicate, and to procure from each other the necessaries of life; this is peculiarly the case at the present time, when on account of their leisure from war they are devoting themselves to agriculture and the pursuits of social life. In this we are persuaded that we behold the work of Providence; such a disposition of these regions not resulting from chance, but from the thought of some [intelligence]. The Rhone, for instance, is navigable to a considerable distance for vessels of heavy burden, which it is capable of transmitting through various districts of the country by means of other rivers which fall into it, and are likewise fitted for the navigation of large vessels. To the Rhone succeeds the Saone,̓́αοͅαοͅ. and into this latter river falls the Doubs; thence the merchandise is carried by land to the river Seine; whence it is transported to the ocean and the [countries of the] Lexovii and Caleti,The Lexovii inhabited the southern banks of the Seine, Lizieux was anciently their capital. The Caleti occupied the opposite side of the Seine, and the sea-coast as far as Tréport. the distance thence to Britain being less than a day’s journey. The navigation of the Rhone being difficult on account of the rapidity of its current, the merchants prefer to transport in waggons certain of their wares, which are destined for the Arverni,The inhabitants of Auvergne. and the river Loire,The ancient Liger. notwithstanding the vicinity of the Rhone in some places, but the road being level and the distance not far, (about 800 stadia,) they do not make use of water carriage on account of the facility of the transport by land, from thence the merchandise is easily conveyed by the Loire. This river flows from the Cevennes into the ocean. From Narbonne the voyage to the Aude̓́αταξ. is short, but the journey by land to the river Garonne longer, being as much as 700 or 800 stadia. The Garonne likewise flows into the ocean. Such is what we have to say concerning the inhabitants of the Narbonnaise, who were formerly named Kelts. In my opinion the celebrity of the Kelts induced the Grecians to confer that name on the whole of the Galatae; the vicinity of the Massilians may also have had something to do with it.The whole of Gaul bore the name of Keltica long before the Romans had penetrated into that country. After their conquest of the southern provinces, they distinguished them from the rest of Keltica by conferring on them the name of Gallia Narbonensis. Aristotle gave the name of Kelts to the inhabitants of the country near Narbonne. Polybius tells us that the Pyrenees separated the Iberians from the Kelts; while Diodorus Siculus fixed the position of the Kelts between the Alps and the Pyrenees.

WE must now speak of the Aquitani and the fourteen Galatic nations pertaining to them, situated between the Garonne and the Loire, some of which extend to the river Rhone and the plains of the Narbonnaise. Generally speaking, the Aquitani may be said to differ from the Galatic race, both as to form of body and language, resembling more nearly the Iberians. They are bounded by the Garonne, and dwell between this river and the Pyrenees. There are above twenty nations which bear the name of Aquitani, small and obscure, the major part of them dwelling by the ocean, and the remainder in the interior and by the extremities of the Cevennes, as far as the Tectosages. This district, however, being too small, they added to it the territory between the Garonne and the Loire. These rivers are nearly parallel with the Pyrenees, and form with them two parallelograms, bounded on the remaining sides by the ocean and the mountains of the Cevennes.Strabo, says Gosselin, always argues on the hypothesis that the Pyrenees run from south to north; that the Garonne and the Loire flowed in the same direction; that the Cevennes stretched from west to east; and that the coasts of Gaul, from the Pyrenees, rose gently towards the north, bending considerably east. Both of these rivers are navigable for a distance of about 2000 stadia.The Garonne becomes navigable at Cazères near to Rieux, in the ancient Comté de Comminges. From this point to its mouth, following the sinuosities of the river, there are about 68 leagues of 20 to a degree, or 2030 Olympic stadia. The Loire is navigable as far as St. Rambert, about three leagues from St. Etienne-en-Forez, that is to say, double the distance assigned by Strabo. 2000 stadia measured from the mouth of the Loire would extend merely as far as Orleans. The Garonne, after being augmented by three other rivers,Probably the Arriége, the Tarn, and the Dordogne. discharges itself into the [ocean] between the [country] of the Bituriges, surnamed the Vivisci,̓ιοσκῶν MSS. and that of the Santoni;The present Saintes was the capital of this nation. both of them Gallic nations.

The Bituriges are the only foreign people who dwell among the Aquitani without forming a part of them. Their emporium is Burdegala,Bordeaux. situated on a creek formed by the outlets of the river. The Loire discharges itself between the Pictones and the Namnetae.Poictiers was the capital of the Pictones or Pictavi, and Nantes of the Namnetae. Formerly there was an emporium on this river named Corbilon, mentioned by Polybius when speaking of the fictions of Pytheas. The Marseillese, [says he,] when interrogated by ScipioScipio Aemilianus. at their meeting, had nothing to tell about Britain worth mentioning, nor yet had the people of the Narbonnaise, nor those of Corbilon; notwithstanding these were the two principal cities of the district, Pytheas alone dared to forge so many lies [concerning that island]. MediolaniumSaintes. is the capital of the Santoni. The part of Aquitaine next the ocean is for the most part sandy and meagre, producing millet, but barren of all other fruits. Here is the gulf which, with that on the coast of Narbonne, forms the isthmus. Both these gulfsThe Gulfs of Gascony and Lyons. go by the name of the Galatic gulf. The former gulf belongs to the Tarbelli.The Tarbelli occupied the sea-coast from the Pyrenees to the Lake of Arcachon. These people possess the richest gold mines; masses of gold as big as the fist can contain, and requiring hardly any purifying, being found in diggings scarcely beneath the surface of the earth, the remainder consisting of dust and lumps, which likewise require but little working. In the interior and mountainous parts [of Aquitaine] the soil is superior; for instance, in the district near the Pyrenees belonging to the Convenae,The Canton of Comminges. which name signifies people assembled from different countries to dwell in one place. Here is the city of Lugdunum,St. Bertrand. and the hot springs of the Onesii,Xylander thinks that these Onesii may be identical with the Monesi of Pliny. Gosselin says that the hot springs are probably the baths of Bagnières-sur-l’ Adour. which are most excellent for drinking. The country of the AusciiThe territory of the city of Auch. likewise is fine.

The nations between the Garonne and the Loire annexed to the Aquitani, are the Elui,The inhabitants of Vivarais. who commence at the Rhone. After these the Vellaei,The inhabitants of Vélai. who were formerly comprehended amongst the Arverni,The inhabitants of Auvergne. but now form a people to themselves. After these Arverni come the Lemovices,The Limousins. and Petrocorii,The inhabitants of Périgord, Agénois, Querci, and Berri. and after them the Nitiobriges,The inhabitants of Périgord, Agénois, Querci, and Berri. the Cadurci,The inhabitants of Périgord, Agénois, Querci, and Berri. and the Bituriges,The inhabitants of Périgord, Agénois, Querci, and Berri. surnamed Cubi. Along the ocean we meet with the Santoni, and Pictones,The inhabitants of Saintonge and Poitou. the former dwelling by the Garonne, as we have stated, and the latter by the Loire. The Ruteni and the GabalesThe inhabitants of Rouergue and Gévaudan. are in the vicinity of the Narbonnaise. The Petrocorii and Bituriges-Cubi possess excellent ironworks, the Cadurci linen-factories, and the Ruteni silver-mines: the Gabales likewise possess silver-mines. On certain amongst the Aquitani the Romans have conferred the rights of Latin cities; such for instance as the Auscii, and the Convenae.

The Arverni are situated along the Loire. Nemossus, their metropolis, is built on the same river.Gosselin supposes that this city is Clermont in Auvergne at some distance from the Allier. This river having flowed past Genabum,Orleans. an emporium of the Carnutes,The people of the Chartrain. situated about the middle of its course, discharges itself into the ocean. A great proof of the former power of the Arverni, is the fact of the frequent wars which they sustained against the Romans, sometimes with armies of 200,000 men, and sometimes with double that number, which was the amount of their force when they fought against divus Caesar under the command of Vercingetorix.Caesar himself (lib. vii. c. 76) states the number at 248,000 men. Before this they had brought 200,000 men against Maximus Aemilianus, and the same number against Domitius Aenobarbus. Their battles with Caesar took place, one in Gergovia,A city near Clermont. a city of the Arverni situated on a lofty mountain, the birth-place of Vercingetorix; the other, near to Alesia,Alise. The ruins of Alesia, says Gosselin, still exist near to Flavigni in Burgundy, on Mount Auxois, between two small rivers, the Oze and the Ozerain, which flow into the Brenne. a city of the Mandubii, who border on the Arverni; this city is likewise situated on a high hill, surrounded by mountains, and between two rivers. Here the war was terminated by the capture of their leader. The battle with Maximus Aemilianus was fought near the confluence of the Isère and the Rhone, at the point where the mountains of the Cevennes approach the latter river. That with Domitius was fought lower down at the confluence of the SulgasThe Sorgue. and the Rhone. The Arverni extended their dominion as far as Narbonne and the borders of Marseilles, and exercised authority over the nations as far as the Pyrenees, the ocean, and the Rhine. Luerius,In Athenaeus, (lib. iv. p. 152,) this name is written Luernius. the father of Bituitus who fought against Maximus and Domitius, is said to have been so distinguished by his riches and luxury, that to give a proof of his opulence to his friends, he caused himself to be dragged across a plain in a car, whilst he scattered gold and silver coin in every direction for those who followed him to gather up.

NE3T in order after Aquitaine and the Narbonnaise, is that portion [of Gaul] extending as far as the Rhine from the river Loire, and the Rhone, where it passes by Lugdunum:Lyons. in its descent from its source. The upper regions of this district from the sources of the Rhine and Rhone, nearly to the middle of the plains, pertain to Lugdunum; the remainder, with the regions next the ocean, is comprised in another division which belongs to the Belgae. We will describe the two together.

Lugdunum itself, situated onMSS. read ὑπὸ, under, we have not hesitated to translate it ἐπὶ, like the Italian, French, and German versions; although Kramer remarks paulo audacius, of Coray’s reading ἐπὶ in the Greek. a hill, at the confluence of the Saone̓́αοͅαοͅ. and the Rhone, belongs to the Romans. It is the most populous city after Narbonne. It carries on a great commerce, and the Roman prefects here coin both gold and silver money. Before this city, at the confluence of the rivers, is situated the temple dedicated by all the Galatae in common to Caesar Augustus. The altar is splendid, and has inscribed on it the names of sixty people, and images of them, one for each, and also another great altar.Kramer says that ἄλλος is manifestly corrupt.—I have ventured to translate it another altar.

This is the principal city of the nation of the Segusiani who lie between the Rhone and the Doubs.Kramer concurs with Falconer and Gosselin in understanding this passage to have been originally between the Rhone and the Loire. The other nations who extend to the Rhine, are bounded in part by the Doubs, and in part by the Saone. These two rivers, as said before, descend from the Alps, and, falling into one stream, flow into the Rhone. There is likewise another river which has its sources in the Alps, and is named the Seine.σηκοάνος. It flows parallel with the Rhine, through a nation bearing the same name as itself,The Sequani. and so into the ocean. The Sequani are bounded on the east by the Rhine, and on the opposite side by the Saone. It is from them that the Romans procure the finest salted-pork. Between the Doubs and Saone dwells the nation of the Aedui, who possess the city of Cabyllinum,Châlons-sur-Saone. situated on the Saone and the fortress of Bibracte.Autun, according to Gosselin. Beurect, according to Ferrarius. The AeduiCaesar, Tacitus, and other writers, also speak of this relationship of the Aedui with the Romans. are said to be related to the Romans, and they were the first to enter into friendship and alliance with them. On the other side of the Saone dwell the Sequani, who have for long been at enmity with the Romans and Aedui, having frequently allied themselves with the Germans in their incursions into Italy. It was then that they proved their strength, for united to them the Germans were powerful, but when separated, weak. As for the Aedui, their alliance with the Romans naturally rendered them the enemies of the Sequani,Lit. As for the Aedui on these accounts indeed. but the enmity was increased by their contests concerning the river which divides them, each nation claiming the Saone exclusively for themselves, and likewise the tolls on vessels passing. However, at the present time, the whole of it is under the dominion of the Romans.

The first of all the nations dwelling on the Rhine are the Helvetii, amongst whom are the sources of that river in Mount Adula,The sources of the Rhine take their rise in Mount St. Gothard and Mount Bernardin, while the Adda rises in the glaciers of the Valteline. Adula, however, may have been the name of the Rhaetian Alps. which forms part of the Alps. From this mountain, but in an opposite direction, likewise proceeds the Adda, which flows towards Cisalpine Gaul, and fills lake Larius,The Lake of Como. near to which stands [the city of] Como; thence it discharges itself into the Po, of which we shall speak afterwards. The Rhine also flows into vast marshes and a great lake,The Lake of Constance. which borders on the Rhaeti and Vindelici,The Rhaeti occupied the Tirol; the Vindelici that portion of Bavaria south of the Danube. who dwell partly in the Alps, and partly beyond the Alps. Asinius says that the length of this river is 6000 stadia, but such is not the case, for taken in a straight line it does not much exceed half that length, and 1000 stadia is quite sufficient to allow for its sinuosities. In fact this river is so rapid that it is difficult to throw bridges across it, although after its descent from the mountains it is borne the remainder of the way through level plains; now how could it maintain its rapidity and vehemence, if in addition to this level channel, we suppose it also to have long and frequent tortuosities? Asinius likewise asserts that this river has two mouths, and blames those who say that it has more.Ptolemy says it has three. It appears that the ancient mouths of this river were not the same as the present. This river and the Seine embrace within their tortuosities a certain extent of country, which however is not considerable. They both flow from south to north. Britain lies opposite to them; but nearest to the Rhine, from which you may see Kent, which is the most easterly part of the island. The Seine is a little further. It was here that divus Caesar established a dock-yard when he sailed to Britain. The navigable portion of the Seine, commencing from the point where they receive the merchandise from the Saone, is of greater extent than the [navigable portions] of the Loire and Garonne. From LugdunumLyons. to the Seine is [a distance of] 1000 stadia, and not twice this distance from the outlets of the Rhone to Lugdunum. They say that the Helvetii,The Swiss. though rich in gold, nevertheless devoted themselves to pillage on beholding the wealth of the Cimbri,Gosselin identifies the Cimbri as the inhabitants of Jutland or Denmark. [accumulated by that means;] and that two out of their three tribes perished entirely in their military expeditions. However, the multitude of descendants who sprang from this remainder was proved in their war with divus Caesar, in which about 400,000 of their number were destroyed; the 8000 who survived the war, being spared by the conqueror, that their country might not be left desert, a prey to the neighbouring Germans.Casaubon remarks that the text must be corrupt, since Strabo’s account of the Helvetii must have been taken from Caesar, who (lib. i. c. 29) states the number of slain at 258,000, and the survivors at 110,000.

After the Helvetii, the SequaniThe Sequani occupied La Franche-Comté. and MediornatriciMetz was the capital of the Mediomatrici. dwell along the Rhine, amongst whom are the Tribocchi,These people dwe’; between the Rhine and the Vosges, nearly from Colmar to Hagenau. a German nation who emigrated from their country hither. Mount Jura, which is in the country of the Sequani, separates that people from the Helvetii. To the west, above the Helvetii and Sequani, dwell the Aedui and Lingones; the Leuci and a part of the Lingones dwelling above the Mediomatrici. The nations between the Loire and the Seine, and beyond the Rhone and the Saone, are situated to the north near to the Allobroges,The Allobroges dwelt to the left of the Rhone, between that river and the Isère. and the parts about Lyons. The most celebrated amongst them are the Arverni and Carnutes,The Arverni have given their name to Auvergne, and the Carnutes to Chartrain. through both of whose territories the Loire flows before discharging itself into the ocean. The distance from the rivers of Keltica to Britain is 320 stadia; for departing in the evening with the ebb tide, you will arrive on the morrow at the island about the eighth hour.Strabo here copies Caesar exactly, who, speaking of his second passage into Britain, (lib. v. c. 8,) says: Ad solis occasum naves solvit . . . . accessum est ad Britanniam omnibus navibus meridiano fere tempore. After the Mediomatrici and Tribocchi, the TreviriThe capital of these people is Trèves. inhabit along the Rhine; in their country the Roman generals now engaged in the German war have constructed a bridge. Opposite this place on the other bank of the river dwelt the Ubii, whom Agrippa with their own consent brought over to this side the Rhine.Viz. to the western bank of the river. The Nervii,The Nervii occupied Hainault, and the Comté de Namur. another German nation, are contiguous to the Treviri; and last the Menapii, who inhabit either bank of the river near to its outlets; they dwell amongst marshes and forests, not lofty, but consisting of dense and thorny wood. Near to these dwell the Sicambri,The Sicambri occupied the countries of Berg, Mark, and Arensberg. They afterwards formed part of the people included under the name of Franci or Franks. who are likewise Germans. The country next the whole [eastern] bank is inhabited by the Suevi, who are also named Germans, but are superior both in power and number to the others, whom they drove out, and who have now taken refuge on this side the Rhine. Other tribes have sway in different places; they are successively a prey to the flames of war, the former inhabitants for the most part being destroyed.

The Senones, the Remi, the Atrebates, and the Eburones dwell west of the Treviri and Nervii.Bavai, to the south of Valenciennes, was the capital of the Nervii Duricortora, now Rheims, of the Remi; Arras of the Atrebates, and Tongues of the Eburones. Close to the Menapii and near the sea are the Morini, the Bellovaci, the Ambiani, the Suessiones, and the Caleti, as far as the outlet of the river Seine.Térouane was the principal city of the Morini, Beauvais of the Bellovaci, Amiens of the Ambiani, Soissons of the Suessiones, and Lilebonne of the Caleti. The countries of the Morini, the Atrebates, and the Eburones are similar to that of the Menapii. It consists of a forest filled with low trees; of great extent, but not near so large as writers have described it, viz. 4000 stadia.Caesar (lib. vi. c. 29) describes the forest of Ardennes as 500 miles in extent. It is named Arduenna.Ardennes. In the event of warlike incursions the inhabitants would interweave the flexible brambly shrubs, thus stopping up the passages [into their country]. They also fixed stakes in various places, and then retreated with their whole families into the recesses of the forest, to small islands surrounded by marshes. During the rainy season these proved secure hiding-places, but in times of drought they were easily taken. However, at the present time all the nations on this side the RhineWest of the Rhine. dwell in peace under the dominion of the Romans. The Parisii dwell along the river Seine, and inhabit an island formed by the river; their city is Lucotocia.Ptolemy names it Lucotecia; Caesar, Lutetia. Julian, who was proclaimed emperor by his army in this city, names it Leucetia. The Meldi and Lexovii border on the ocean. The most considerable, however, of all these nations are the Remi. Duricortora, their metropolis, is well populated, and is the residence of the Roman prefects.

AFTER the nations mentioned come those of the Belgae, who dwell next the ocean. Of their number are the Veneti,The inhabitants of Vannes and the surrounding country. who fought a naval battle with Caesar. They had prepared to resist his passage into Britain, being possessed of the commerce [of that island] themselves. But Caesar easily gained the victory, not however by means of his beaks, (for their ships were constructed of solid wood,)Neque enim his nostrae rostro nocere poterant; tanta erat in his firmitudo. Caesar, lib. iii. c. 13. but whenever their ships were borne near to his by the wind, the Romans rent the sails by means of scythes fixed on long handles:Vide Caesar, lib. iii. c. 14. for the sails [of their ships] are made of leather to resist the violence of the winds, and managed by chains instead of cables. They construct their vessels with broad bottoms and high poops and prows, on account of the tides. They are built of the wood of the oak, of which there is abundance. On this account, instead of fitting the planks close together, they leave interstices between them; these they fill with sea-weed to prevent tile wood from drying up in dock for want of moisture; for the sea-weed is damp by nature, but the oak dry and arid. In my opinion these Veneti were the founders of the Veneti in the Adriatic, for almost all the other Keltic nations in Italy have passed over from the country beyond the Alps, as for instance, the BoiiThe Boii, who passed into Italy, established themselves near to Bologna. and Senones.The Senones, or inhabitants of Sens, are thought to have founded Sienna in Italy. They are said to be Paphlagonians merely on account of a similarity of name. However, I do not maintain my opinion positively; for in these matters probability is quite sufficient. The Osismii are the people whom Pytheas calls Ostimii; they dwell on a promontory which projects considerably into the ocean, but not so far as Pytheas and those who follow him assert.The promontory of Calbium, the present Cape Saint-Mahé, is here alluded to. As for the nations between the Seine and the Loire, some are contiguous to the Sequani, others to the Arverni.

The entire race which now goes by the name of Gallic, or Galatic,Gosselin observes, These people called themselves by the name of Kelts; the Greeks styled them Galatae, and the Latins Galli or Gaus. is warlike, passionate, and always ready for fighting, but otherwise simple and not malicious. If irritated, they rush in crowds to the conflict, openly and without any circumspection; and thus are easily vanquished by those who employ stratagem. For any one may exasperate them when, where, and under whatever pretext he pleases; he will always find them ready for danger, with nothing to support them except their violence and daring. Nevertheless they may be easily persuaded to devote themselves to any thing useful, and have thus engaged both in science and letters. Their power consists both in the size of their bodies and also in their numbers. Their frankness and simplicity lead then easily to assemble in masses, each one feeling indignant at what appears injustice to his neighbour. At the present time indeed they are all at peace, being in subjection and living under the command of the Romans, who have subdued them; but we have described their customs as we understand they existed in former times, and as they still exist amongst the Germans. These two nations, both by nature and in their form of government, are similar and related to each other. Their countries border on each other, being separated by the river Rhine, and are for the most part similar. Germany, however, is more to the north, if we compare together the southern and northern parts of the two countries respectively. Thus it is that they can so easily change their abode. They march in crowds in one collected army, or rather remove with all their families, whenever they are ejected by a more powerful force. They were subdued by the Romans much more easily than the Iberians; for they began to wage war with these latter first, and ceased last, having in the mean time conquered the whole of the nations situated between the Rhine and the mountains of the Pyrenees. For these fighting in crowds and vast numbers, were overthrown in crowds, whereas the Iberians kept themselves in reserve, and broke up the war into a series of petty engagements, showing themselves in different bands, sometimes here, sometimes there, like banditti. All the Gauls are warriors by nature, but they fight better on horseback than on foot, and the flower of the Roman cavalry is drawn from their number. The most valiant of them dwell towards the north and next the ocean.

Of these they say that the Belgae are the bravest. They are divided into fifteen nations, and dwell near the ocean between the Rhine and the Loire, and have therefore sustained themselves single-handed against the incursions of the Germans, the Cimbri,The Cimbri inhabited Denmark and the adjacent regions. and the Teutons. The bravest of the Belgae are the Bellovaci,The inhabitants of the Beauvoisis. and after them the Suessiones. The amount of their population may be estimated by the fact that formerly there were said to be 300,000 Belgae capable of bearing arms.Vide Caesar, lib. ii. c. 4. The numbers of the Helvetii, the Arverni, and their allies, have already been mentioned. All this is a proof both of the amount of the population [of Gaul], and, as before remarked, of the fecundity of their women, and the ease with which they rear their children. The Gauls wear the sagum, let their hair grow, and wear short breeches. Instead of tunics they wear a slashed garment with sleeves descending a little below the hips.This slashed garment is the smock frock of the English peasant and the blouse of the continent. The wool [of their sheep is coarse, but long; from it they weave the thick saga called laines. However, in the northern parts the Romans rear flocks of sheep which they cover with skins, and which produce very fine wool. The equipment [of the Gauls] is in keeping with the size of their bodies; they have a long sword hanging at their right side, a long shield, and lances in proportion, together with a madaris somewhat resembling a javelin; some of them also use bows and slings; they have also a piece of wood resembling a pilum, which they hurl not out of a thong, but from their hand, and to a farther distance than an arrow. They principally make use of it in shooting birds. To the present day most of them lie on the ground, and take their meals seated on straw. They subsist principally on milk and all kinds of flesh, especially that of swine, which they eat both fresh and salted. Their swine live in the fields, and surpass in height, strength, and swiftness. To persons unaccustomed to approach them they are almost as dangerous as wolves. The people dwell in great houses arched, constructed of planks and wicker, and covered with a heavy thatched roof. They have sheep and swine in such abundance, that they supply saga and salted pork in plenty, not only to Rome but to most parts of Italy. Their governments were for the most part aristocratic; formerly they chose a governor every year, and a military leader was likewise elected by the multitude.Conf. Caesar, lib. vi. c. 13. Plebs pene servorum habetur loco, quae per se nihil audet, et nulli adhibetur consilio. At the present day they are mostly under subjection to the Romans. They have a peculiar custom in their assemblies. If any one makes an uproar or interrupts the person speaking, an attendant advances with a drawn sword, and commands him with menace to be silent; if he persists, the attendant does the same thing a second and third time; and finally, [if he will not obey,] cuts off from his sagum so large a piece as to render the remainder useless. The labours of the two sexes are distributed in a manner the reverse of what they are with us, but this is a common thing with numerous other barbarians.

Amongst [the Gauls] there are generally three divisions of men especially reverenced, the Bards, the Vates, and the Druids. The Bards composed and chanted hymns; the Vates occupied themselves with the sacrifices and the study of nature; while the Druids joined to the study of nature that of moral philosophy. The belief in the justice [of the Druids] is so great that the decision both of public and private disputes is referred to them; and they have before now, by their decision, prevented armies from engaging when drawn up in battle-array against each other. All cases of murder are particularly referred to them. When there is plenty of these they imagine there will likewise be a plentiful harvest. Both these and the othersBy the others are probably meant the Bards and Vates. assert that the soul is indestructible, and likewise the world, but that sometimes fire and sometimes water have prevailed in making great changes.These opinions are also to be found in the Pythagorean philosophy.

To their simplicity and vehemence, the Gauls join much folly, arrogance, and love of ornament. They wear golden collars round their necks, and bracelets on their arms and wrists, and those who are of any dignity have garments dyed and worked with gold. This lightness of character makes them intolerable when they conquer, and throws them into consternation when worsted. In addition to their folly, they have a barbarous and absurd custom, common however with many nations of the north, of suspending the heads of their enemies from their horses’ necks on their return from tattle, and when they have arrived nailing them as a spectacle to their gates. Posidonius says he witnessed this in many different places, and was at first shocked, but became familiar with it in time on account of its frequency. The beads of any illustrious persons they embalm with cedar, exhibit them to strangers, and would not sell them for their weight in gold.These particulars are taken from Posidonius. See also Diodorus Siculus, lib. v. c. 29. However, the Romans put a stop to these customs, as well as to their modes of sacrifice and divination, which were quite opposite to those sanctioned by our laws. They would strike a man devoted as an offering in his back with a sword, and divine from his convulsive throes. Without the Druids they never sacrifice. It is said they have other modes of sacrificing their human victims; that they pierce some of them with arrows, and crucify others in their temples; and that they prepare a colossus of hay and wood, into which they put cattle, beasts of all kinds, and men, and then set fire to it.

They say that in the ocean, not far from the coast, there is a small island lying opposite to the outlet of the river Loire, inhabited by Samnite women who are Bacchantes, and conciliate and appease that god by mysteries and sacrifices. No man is permitted to land on the island; and when the women desire to have intercourse with the other sex, they cross the sea, and afterwards return again. They have a custom of once a year unroofing the whole of the temple, and roofing it again the same day before sun-set, each one bringing some of the materials. If any one lets her burden fall, she is torn in pieces by the others, and her limbs carried round the temple with wild shouts, which they never cease until their rage is exhausted. [They say] it always happens that some one drops her burden, and is thus sacrificed.

But what Artenmidorus tells us concerning the crows, partakes still more of fiction. He narrates that on the coast, washed by the ocean, there is a harbour named the Port of Two Crows, and that here two crows may be seen with their right wings white. Those who have any dispute come here, and each one having placed a plank for himself on a lofty eminence, sprinkles crumbs thereupon; the birds fly to these, eat up the one and scatter the other, and he whose crumbs are scattered gains the cause. This narration has decidedly too much the air of fiction. What he narrates concerning Ceres and Proserpine is more credible. He says that there is an island near Britain in which they perform sacrifices to these goddesses after the same fashion that they do in Samothrace. The following is also credible, that a tree grows in Keltica similar to a fig, which produces a fruit resembling a Corinthian capital, and which, being cut, exudes a poisonous juice which they use for poisoning their arrows. It is well known that all the Kelts are fond of disputes; and that amongst them pederasty is not considered shameful. Ephorus extends the size of Keltica too far, including within it most of what we now designate as Iberia, as far as Gades, He states that the people are great admirers of the Greeks, and relates many particulars concerning them not applicable to their present state. This is one:—That they take great care not to become fat or big-bellied, and that if any young man exceeds the measure of a certain girdle, he is punished.A similar custom existed amongst the Spartans; the young people were obliged to present themselves from time to time before the Ephori, and if of the bulk thought proper for a Spartan, they were praised, if on the contrary they appeared too fat, they were punished. Athen. 1. xii. p. 550. Aelian, V. H. I. xiv. c. 7. At Rome likewise it was the duty of the censor to see that the equites did not become too fat; if they did, they were punished with the loss of their horse. Aulus Gellius, Noct. Att. l. vii. c. 22.

Such is our account of Keltica beyond the Alps.Transalpine Gaul.

BRITAIN is triangular in form; its longest side lies parallel to Keltica, in length neither exceeding nor falling short of it; for each of then extends as much as 4300 or 4400 stadia: the side of Keltica extending from the mouths of the Rhine to the northern extremities of the Pyrenees towards Aquitaine; and that of Britain, which commences at Kent, its most eastern point, opposite the mouths of the Rhine, extending to the western extremity of the island, which lies over against Aquitaine and the Pyrenees. This is the shortest line from the Pyrenees to the Rhine; the longest is said to be 5000 stadia; but it is likely that there is some convergency of the river towards the mountain from a strictly parallel position, there being an inclination of either toward the other at the extremities next the ocean.

There are four passages commonly used from the continent to the island, namely, from the mouths of the rivers Rhine, Seine, Loire, and Garonne; but to such as set sail from the parts about the Rhine, the passage is not exactly from its mouths, but from the Morini,The coasts occupied by the Morini extended from la Canche to the Yser. who border on the Menapii,The Menapii occupied Brabant. among whom also is situated Itium,General opinion places the port Itius at Wissant, near Cape Grisnez; Professor Airy, however, is of opinion that the portus Itius of Caesar is the estuary of the Somme. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of London, 1852, vol. ii. No. 30, p. 198. which divus Caesar used as his naval station when about to pass over to the island: he set sail by night, and arrived the next day about the fourth hour,Caesar passed twice into Britain: the first time he started about midnight, and arrived at the fourth hour of the day; the second time he started at the commencement of the night, and did not arrive until the following day at noon, the wind having failed about midnight. having completed a passage of 320 stadia, and he found the corn in the fields. The greatest portion of the island is level and woody, although many tracts are hilly. It produces corn, cattle, gold, silver, and iron, which things are brought thence, and also skins, and slaves, and dogs sagacious in hunting; the Kelts use these, as well as their native dogs, for the purposes of war. The men are taller than the Kelts, with hair less yellow; they are slighter in their persons. As an instance of their height, we ourselves saw at Rome some youths who were taller than the tallest there by as much as half a foot, but their legs were bowed, and in other respects they were not symmetrical in conformation. Their manners are in part like those of the Kelts, though in part more simple and barbarous; insomuch that some of them, though possessing plenty of milk, have not skill enough to make cheese, and are totally unacquainted with horticulture and other matters of husbandry. There are several states amongst them. In their wars they make use of chariots for the most part, as do some of the Kelts. Forests are their cities; for having enclosed an ample space with felled trees, they make themselves huts therein, and lodge their cattle, though not for any long continuance. Their atmosphere is more subject to rain than to snow; even in their clear days the mist continues for a considerable time, insomuch that throughout the whole day the sun is only visible for three or four hours about noon; and this must be the case also amongst the Morini, and the Menapii, and among all the neighbouring people.

Divus Caesar twice passed over to the island, but quickly returned, having effected nothing of consequence, nor proceeded far into the country, as well on account of some commotions in Keltica, both among his own soldiers and among the barbarians, as because of the loss of many of his ships at the time of the full moon, when both the ebb and flow of the tides were greatly increased.The fleet consisted of 1000 vessels, according to Cotta. (Athen. 1. vi. c. 21.) The great loss spoken of by Strabo occurred before the first return of Caesar into Gaul. (Caesar, 1. iv. c. 28.) As to his second return, it was occasioned, to use his own words, propter repentinos Galliae motus. L. v. c. 22. Nevertheless he gained two or three victories over the Britons, although he had transported thither only two legions of his army, and brought away hostages and slaves and much other booty. At the present time, however, some of the princes there have, by their embassies and solicitations, obtained the friendship of Augustus Caesar, dedicated their offerings in the Capitol, and brought the whole island into intimate union with the Romans. They pay but moderate duties both on the imports and exports from Keltica; which are ivory bracelets and necklaces, amber, vessels of glass, and small wares; so that the island scarcely needs a garrison, for at the least it would require one legion and some cavalry to enforce tribute from them; and the total expenditure for the army would be equal to the revenue collected; for if a tribute were levied, of necessity the imposts must be diminished, and at the same time some danger would be incurred if force were to be employed.

There are also other small islands around Britain; but one, of great extent, Ierna,Called by Caesar, Hibernia; by Mela, Juverna; and by Diodorus Siculus, Iris. lying parallel to it towards the north, long, or rather, wide; concerning which we have nothing certain to relate, further than that its inhabitants are more savage than the Britons, feeding on human flesh, and enormous eaters, and deeming it commendable to devour their deceased fathers,This custom resembles that related by Herodotus (lib. i. c. 216, and iv. 26) of the Massagetae and Issedoni. Amongst these latter, when the father of a family died, all the relatives assembled at the house of the deceased, and having slain certain animals, cut them and the body of the deceased into small pieces, and having mixed the morsels together, regaled themselves on the inhuman feast. as well as openlyStrabo intends by φανερῶς what Herodotus expresses by μίξιν ἐμφθανέα, καθάπερ τοῖσι ποͅοβάτοισι (concubitum, sicutipecoribus, in propa- tulo esse). to have commerce not only with other women, but also with their own mothers and sisters.Herodotus, (l. iv. c. 180,) mentioning a similar practice amongst the inhabitants of Lake Tritonis in Libya, tells us that the men owned the children as they resembled them respectively. Mela asserts the same of the Garamantes. As to the commerce between relations, Strabo in his 16th Book, speaks of it as being usual amongst the Arabs. It was a custom amongst the early Greeks. Homer makes the six sons of Aeolus marry their six sisters, and Juno addresses herself to Jupiter as Et sorer et conjux. Compare also Caesar, lib. v. But this we relate perhaps without very competent authority; although to eat human flesh is said to be a Scythian custom; and during the severities of a siege, even the Kelts, the Iberians, and many others, are reported to have done the like.An extremity to which the Gauls were driven during the war they sustained against the Cimbri and Teutones, (Cesar, lib. vii. c. 77,) and the inhabitants of Numantia in Iberia, when besieged by Scipio. (Valerius Maximus, lib. vii. c. 6.) The city of Potidea in Greece experienced a similar calamity. (Thucyd. lib. ii. c. 70. )

The account of Thulè is still more uncertain, on account of its secluded situation; for they consider it to be the northernmost of all lands of which the names are known. The falsity of what Pytheas has related concerning this and neighbouring places, is proved by what he has asserted of well-known countries. For if, as we have shown, his description of these is in the main incorrect, what he says of far distant countries is still more likely to be false.Pytheas placed Thulè under the 66th degree of north latitude, which is the latitude of the north of Iceland. Nevertheless, as far as astronomy and the mathematics are concerned, he appears to have reasoned correctly, that people bordering on the frozen zone would be destitute of cultivated fruits, and almost deprived of the domestic animals; that their food would consist of millet, herbs, fruits, and roots; and that where there was corn and honey they would make drink of these. That having no bright sun, they would thresh their corn, and store it in vast granaries, threshing-floors being useless on account of the rain and want of sun.

HAVING described Keltica beyond the Alps,Transalpine Gaul. and the nations who inhabit the country, we must now speak of the Alps themselves and their inhabitants, and afterwards of the whole of Italy; observing in our description such arrangement as the nature of the country shall point out.

The Alps do not commence at Monoeci Portus,Port Monaco. as some have asserted, but from the region whence the Apennines take their rise about Genoa, a mercantile city of the Ligurians, and at the marshes named Sabatorum Vada;Vadi. for the Apennines take their rise near Genoa, and the Alps near Sabatorum Vada. The distance between Genoa and the Sabatorum Vada is about 260 stadia. About 370 stadia farther on is the little city of Albingaunum,Albinga. inhabited by Ligurians who are called Ingauni. From thence to the Monoeci Portus is 480 stadia. In the interval between is the very considerable city of Albium Intemelium,Vintimille. inhabited by the Intemelii. These names are sufficient to prove that the Alps commence at the Sabbatorum Vada. For the Alps were formerly called Albia and Alpionia,Kramer conjectures that instead of ̓αλπιόρνια, we should read ̓αλπεινὰ. and at the present day the high mountain in the country of the Iapodes,These people occupied the borders of the province of Murlaka, near to Istria, on the Gulf of Venice. Mount Albius is still called Alben. next to Ocra and the Alps, is named Albius, showing that the Alps extend so far.

Now since the Ligurians were divided into Ingauri and Intemelii, it was natural that their maritime colonies should be distinguished, one by the name of Albium Intemelium, Alpine as it were, and the other by the more concise form Albingaunum.Casaubon observes that the Roman writers separated the name Albium Ingaunum, in the same manner as Albium Intemelium. To these two tribes of Ligurians already mentioned, Polybius adds those of the Oxybii and Deciates.These two tribes inhabited the country round Fréjus and Antibes as far as the Var. The whole coast from Monoeci Portus to Tyrrhenia is continuous, and without harbours excepting some small roads and anchorages. Above it rise the rugged precipices of the Alpine range, leaving but a narrow passage along the sea. This district, but particularly the mountains, is inhabited by Ligurians, principally subsisting on the produce of their herds, and milk, and a drink made of barley. There is plenty of wood here for the construction of ships; the trees grow to a vast size, some of them having been found eight feet in diameter. Much of the wood is veined, and not inferior to cedar-wood for cabinet work. This wood, together with the produce of their cattle, hides, and honey, they transport to the mart of Genoa, receiving in exchange for them the oil and wine of Italy; for the little [wine] which their country produces is harsh and tastes of pitch. Here are bred the horses and mules known as ginni, and here too are wrought the Ligurian tunics and saga. In their country likewise there is plenty of lingurium, called by some electrum.Or amber. They use but few cavalry in war; their infantry are good, and excellent slingers. Some have thought that their brazen shields prove these people to be of Grecian origin.

The Monoeci Portus is merely a roadstead, not capable of containing either many or large vessels. Here is a temple dedicated to Hercules Monoecus.μόνοικος, an epithet of Hercules signifying sole inhabitant. According to Servius, either because after he had driven out the Ligurians he remained the sole inhabitant of the country; or because it was not usual to associate any other divinities in the temples consecrated to him. The name seems to show it probable that the Massilian voyages along the coast extended as far as here. Monoeci Portus is distant from Antipolis rather more than 200 stadia. The Salyes occupy the region from thence to Marseilles, or a little farther; they inhabit the Alps which lie above that city, and a portion of the sea-coast, where they intermingle with the Greeks. The ancient Greeks gave to the Salyes the name of Ligyes,λἰγυες, or Ligurians. and to the country which was in the possession of the Marseillese, that of Ligystica.λιγυστικὴ, or Liguria. The later Greeks named them Kelto-Ligyes,κελτολίγυες, or Kelto-Ligurians. and assigned to them the whole of the plains extending as far as LuerionKramer is of opinion that we should adopt the suggestion of Mannert, to read here Avignon. and the Rhone. They are divided into ten cantons, and are capable of raising troops not only of infantry, but of cavalry also. These people were the first of the Transalpine Kelts whom the Romans subdued after maintaining a lengthened war against them and the Ligurians. They closed [against the Romans] all the roads into Iberia along the sea-coast, and carried on a system of pillage both by sea and land. Their strength so increased that large armies were scarcely able to force a passage. And after a war of eighty years, the Romans were hardly able to obtain a breadth of twelve stadia for the purpose of making a public road. After this, however, the Romans subdued the whole of them, and established among them a regular form of government, and imposed a tribute.We have adopted the reading of the older editions, which is also that of the French translation. Kramer however reads φόβον, and adds φόρον in a note.

After the Salyes, the Albienses, the Albioeci,The Albieci are named Albici in Caesar; the capital city is called by Pliny Alebece Reiorum; it is now Riez in Provence. and the Vocontii inhabit the northern portion of the mountains. The Vocontii extend as far as the Allobriges, and occupy vast valleys in the depths of the mountains, not inferior to those inhabited by the Allobriges. Both the Allobriges and Ligurians are subject to the pretors sent into the Narbonnaise, but the Vocontii are governed by their own laws, as we have said of the Volcae of Nemausus.Nimes. Of the Ligurians between the Var and Genoa, those along the sea are considered Italians; while the mountaineers are governed by a prefect of the equestrian order, as is the case in regard to other nations wholly barbarous.

After the Vocontii, are the Iconii, the Tricorii, and the Medulli; who inhabit the loftiest ridges of the mountains, for they say that some of them have an almost perpendicular ascent of 100 stadia, and a similar descent to the frontiers of Italy. In these high-lands there is a great lake; there are also two springs not far distant from each other; one of these gives rise to the Durance, which flows like a torrent into the Rhone, and to the Durias,There are two rivers of this name which descend from the Alps and discharge themselves into the Po. The Durias which rises near the Durance is the Durias minor of the ancients, and the Doria Riparia of the moderns; this river falls into the Po at Turin. which flows in an opposite direction; for it mingles with the Po after having pursued its course through the country of the SalassiGosselin observes:—The Salassi occupied the country about Aouste, or Aoste. The name of this city is a corruption of Augusta Praetoria Salassorum, which it received in the time of Augustus. The Durias which passes by Aouste is the Durias major, the modern Doria Baltea. Its sources are between the Great Saint Bernard and Mont Blanc. into Cisalpine Keltica. From the other source, but much lower down, rises the Po itself, large and rapid, which as it advances becomes still vaster, and at the same time more gentle. As it reaches the plains it increases in breadth, being augmented by numerous [other rivers], and thus it becomes less impetuous in its course, and its current is weakened. Having become the largest river in Europe, with the exception of the Danube,The Ister of the classics. it discharges itself into the Adriatic Sea. The Medulli are situated considerably above the confluence of the Isère and the Rhone.

On the opposite side of the mountains, sloping towards Italy, dwell the Taurini,Augusta Taurinorum, hodie Turin, was the capital of these people. a Ligurian nation, together with certain other Ligurians. What is called the land of IdeonnusVarious conjectures have been hazarded concerning this name, of which there appears to be no other mention. and Cottius belongs to these Ligurians. Beyond them and the Po are the Salassi; above whom in the summits [of the Alps] are the Kentrones, the Catoriges, the Veragri, the Nantuatae,The Kentrones occupied la Tarentaise; the Catoriges, the territories of Chorges and Embrun; the Veragri, a part of the Valais south of the Rhone; and the Nantuatae, Le Chablais. Lake Leman,The Lake of Geneva. traversed by the Rhone, and the sources of that river. Not far from these are the sources of the Rhine, and Mount Adulas,Saint Gothard. from whence the Rhine flows towards the north; likewise the Adda,The Adda does not flow from the same mountain as the Rhine. which flows in an opposite direction, and discharges itself into Lake Larius,The Lake of Como. near to Como. Lying above Como, which is situated at the roots of the Alps, on one side are the Rhaeti and Vennones towards the east,The Rhaeti are the Grisons; the Vennones, the people of the Va Telline. and on the other the Lepontii, the Tridentini, the Stoni,The Lepontii inhabited the Haut Valais, and the valley of Leventina; the Tridentini occupied Trente; the Stoni, Sténéco. and numerous other small nations, poor and addicted to robbery, who in former times possessed Italy. At the present time some of them have been destroyed, and the others at length civilized, so that the passes over the mountains through their territories, which were formerly few and difficult, now run in every direction, secure from any danger of these people, and as accessible as art can make them. For Augustus Caesar not only destroyed the robbers, but improved the character of the roads as far as practicable, although he could not every where overcome nature, on account of the rocks and immense precipices; some of which tower above the road, while others yawn beneath; so that departing ever so little [from the path], the traveller is in inevitable danger of falling down bottomless chasms. In some places the road is so narrow as to make both the foot traveller and his beasts of burden, who are unaccustomed to it, dizzy; but the animals of the district will carry their burdens quite securely. These things however are beyond remedy, as well as the violent descent of vast masses of congealed snow from above, capable of overwhelming a whole company at a time, and sweeping them into the chasms beneath. Numerous masses lie one upon the other, one hill of congealed snow being formed upon another, so that the uppermost mass is easily detached at any time from that below it, before being perfectly melted by the sun.

A great part of the country of the Salassi lies in a deep valley, formed by a chain of mountains which encloses the district on either side; a part of them however inhabit the The valley of Aouste. overhanging ridges. The route of those who are desirous of passing from Italy over these mountains, lies through the aforesaid valley. Beyond this the road separates into two. The one which passes through the mountain peaks, known as the Pennine Alps, cannot be traversed by carriages; the other, which runs through the country of the Centrones, lies more to the west.These two routes still exist. The former passes by the Great Saint Bernard, or the Pennine Alps; the latter traverses the Little Saint Bernard, and descends into La Tarentaise, formerly occupied by the Centrones. The country of the Salassi contains gold mines, of which formerly, in the days of their power, they were masters, as well as of the passes. The river Doria BalteaAnciently Durias. afforded them great facility in obtaining the metal by [supplying them with water] for washing the gold, and they have emptied the main bed by the numerous trenches cut for drawing the water to different places. This operation, though advantageous in gold hunting, was injurious to the agriculturists below, as it deprived them of the irrigation of a river, which, by the height of its position, was capable of watering their plains. This gave rise to frequent wars between the two nations; when the Romans gained the dominion, the Salassi lost both their gold works and their country, but as they still possessed the mountains, they continued to sell water to the public contractors of the gold mines; with whom there were continual disputes on account of the avarice of the contractors, and thus the Roman generals sent into the country were ever able to find a pretext for commencing war. And, until very recently, the Salassi at one time waging war against the Romans, and at another making peace, took occasion to inflict numerous damages upon those who crossed over their mountains, by their system of plundering; and even exacted from Decimus Brutus, on his flight from Mutina,Modena. a drachm per man. Messala, likewise, having taken up his winter quarters in their vicinity, was obliged to pay them, both for his fire-wood, and for the elm-wood for making javelins for the exercise of his troops. In one instance they plundered the treasures of Caesar,It does not appear that Julius Caesar is here intended, for he mentions nothing of it in his Commentaries. It seems more probable that Strabo used the expression of Caesar in its wider sense of Emperor, and alludes to Augustus, of whom he speaks immediately after. and rolled down huge masses of rock upon the soldiers under pretence of making roads, or building bridges over the rivers. Afterwards Augustus completely overthrew them, and carried them to Eporedia,Ivrea. a Roman colony which had been planted as a bulwark against the Salassi, although the inhabitants were able to do but little against them until the nation was destroyed; their numbers amounted to 36,000 persons, besides 8000 men capable of bearing arms. Terentius Varro, the general who defeated them, sold them all by public auction, as enemies taken in war. Three thousand Romans sent out by Augustus founded the city of Augusta,Aouste. on the spot where Varro had encamped, and now the whole surrounding country, even to the summits of the mountains, is at peace.

Beyond, both the eastern parts of the mountains, and those likewise inclining to the south, are possessed by the Rhaeti and Vindelici, who adjoin the Helvetii and Boii, and press upon their plains. The Rhaeti extend as far as Italy above Verona and Como. The Rhaetian wine, which is esteemed not inferior to the finest wines of Italy, is produced [from vines which grow] at the foot of the mountains. These people extend also as far as the districts through which the Rhine flows. The Lepontii and Camuni are of their nation. The Vindelici and Norici possess, for the most part, the opposite side of the mountains together with the Breuni and Genauni, who form part of the Illyrians.The limits of these barbarous nations were continually varying according to their success in war, in general, however, the Rhaeti possessed the country of the Grisons, the Tyrol, and the district about Trent. The Lepontii possessed the Val Leventina. The Camuni the Val Camonica. The Vindelici occupied a portion of Bavaria and Suabia; on their west were the Helvetii or Swiss, and on the north the Boii, from whom they were separated by the Danube; these last people have left their name to Bohemia. The Norici possessed Styria, Carinthia, a part of Austria and Bavaria to the south of the Danube. The Breuni have given their name to the Val Braunia north of the Lago Maggiore; and the Genauni appear to have inhabited the Val Agno, between Lake Maggiore and the Lake of Como, although Strabo seems to place these people on the northern side of the Alps, towards the confines of Illyria. All these people were continually making incursions both into the neighbouring parts of Italy, and into [the countries] of the Helvetii, the Sequani,The people of Franche Comté. the Boii, and the Germans.The Germans of Wirtemberg and Suabia. But the Licattii, the Clautinatii, and the VennonesThe Licattii appear to have inhabited the country about the Lech, and the Clautinatii that about the Inn; the Vennones the Val Telline. proved the boldest amongst the Vindelici; and the Rucantii and Cotuantii amongst the Rhaeti. Both the Estiones and Brigantii belong to the Vindelici; their cities are Brigantium, Campodunum, and Damasia, which may be looked upon as the Acropolis of the Licattii. It is narrated, as an instance of the extreme brutality of these robbers towards the people of Italy, that when they have taken any village or city, they not only put to death all the men capable of bearing arms, but likewise all the male children, and do not even stop here, but murder every pregnant woman who, their diviners say, will bring forth a male infant.This disgusting brutality however is no more barbarous than the intention put by Homer into the mouth of Agamemnon, the king of men, which Scholiasts have in vain endeavoured to soften or excuse— τῶν μήτις ὑπεκφύγοι αἰπὺν ὂλεθοͅον, χεῖοͅάς θ̓ ἡμετερασ’ μηδ’ ὅντινα γαστέοͅι μήτηρ κοῦρον ἐόντα φέροι, μηδ’ ὅς φύγοι ἀλλ ἅμα πάντες ̓ιλίου ἐξαπολοίατʼ, ἀκηδεστοι καὶ ἂφαντοι. Iliad vi. 57–60.

After these come certain of the Norici, and the Carni, who inhabit the country about the Adriatic Gulf and Aquileia. The Taurisci belong to the Norici. Tiberius and his brother Drusus in one summer put a stop to their lawless incursions, so that now for three and thirty yearsThis expedition of Tiberius took place in the eleventh year of the Christian era; Strabo therefore must have written his fourth book in the 44th year. they have lived quietly and paid their tribute regularly. Throughout the whole region of the Alps there are hilly districts capable of excellent cultivation, and well situated valleys; but the greater part, especially the summits of the mountains inhabited by the robbers, are barren and unfruitful, both on account of the frost and the ruggedness of the land. On account of the want of food and other necessaries the mountaineers have sometimes been obliged to spare the inhabitants of the plains, that they might have some people to supply them; for these they have given them in exchange, resin, pitch, torches, wax, cheese, and honey, of which they have plenty. In the Mount ApennineThe Carnic, or Julian Alps, is intended. which lies above the Carni there is a lake which runs out into the Isar, which river, after receiving another river, the Aude,̓́αταξ. discharges itself into the Adriatic. From this lake there is also another river, the Atesinus, which flows into the Danube.There is, remarks Gosselin, a palpable mistake in this passage. We neither know of a river named the Isar nor yet the Atax discharging themselves into the Adriatic. Atesinus or Athesis are the ancient names of the Adige, but this river flows into the Adriatic, and not, as Strabo seems to say, into the Danube. The error of the text appears to result from a transposition of the two names made by the copyists, and to render it intelligible we should read thus:—There is a lake from which proceeds the Atesinus, (or the Adige,) and which, after having received the Atax, (perhaps the Eisach, or Aicha, which flows by Bolzano,) discharges itself into the Adriatic. The Isar proceeds from the same lake, and [passing by Munich] discharges itself into the Danube. The Danube itself rises in the mountains which are split into many branches and numerous summits. For from Liguria to here the summits of the Alps stretch along continuously, presenting the appearance of one mountain; but after this they rise and fall in turns, forming numerous ridges and peaks. The first of these is beyond the Rhine and the lakeApparently the lake of Constance. inclining towards the east, its ridge moderately elevated; here are the sources of the Danube near to the Suevi and the forest of Hercynia.The Black Forest. The other branches extend towards Illyria and the Adriatic, such are the Mount Apennine, already mentioned, Tullum and Phligadia,These two chains are in Murlaka, they are now named Telez and Flicz. the mountains lying above the Vindelici from whence proceed the Duras,The Traun or Würm. the Clanis,The Glan in Bavaria. and many other rivers which discharge themselves like torrents into the current of the Danube.

Near to these regions dwell the Iapodes, (a nation now mixed with the Illyrians, and Kelts,) close to them is [the Mount] Ocra.The Julian Alps, and Birnbaumerwald. Formerly the Iapodes were numerous, inhabiting either side of the mountain, and were notorious for their predatory habits, but they have been entirely reduced and brought to subjection by Augustus Caesar. Their cities are Metulum,Probably Mödling. Arupenum,Auersperg, or the Flecken Mungava. Monetium,Möttnig or Mansburg. and Vendon.Windisch Grätz, or Brindjel. After these is the city of Segesta,Now Sisseck. [situated] in a plain. Near to it flows the river Save,The text reads Rhine, but we have, in common with Gosselin, followed the correction of Cluvier, 6ylander, and Tyrwhitt. which discharges itself into the Danube. This city lies in an advantageous position for carrying on war against the Dacians.The Dacians occupied a part of Hungary, Transylvania, Wallachia, and a portion of Moldavia. Ocra forms the lowest portion of the Alps, where they approach the territory of the Carni, and through which they convey the merchandise of Aquileia in waggons to Pamportus.Coray suggests Nauportus, now Ober-Laibach in Krain. This suggestion is extremely probable, however Pamportus occurs twice in the text. This route is not more than 400 stadia. From thence they convey it by the rivers as far as the Danube and surrounding districts, for a navigable riverThe river Laibach. which flows out of Illyria, passes by Pamportus, and discharges itself into the Save, so that the merchandise may easily be carried down both to Segesta, and to the Pannonians, and Taurisci.The Pannonians occupied a portion of Austria and Hungary. The Taurisci, who formed part of the former people, inhabited Styria. It is near this city,Segesta. that the KulpThe ancient Colapis. falls into the Save. Both of these rivers are navigable, and flow down from the Alps. The Alps contain wild horses and cattle, and Polybius asserts that an animal of a singular form is found there; it resembles a stag except in the neck and hair, which are similar to those of a wild boar; under its chin it has a tuft of hair about a span long, and the thickness of the tail of a young horse.This is a description of the elk (cervus alces of Linn.). This animal no longer exists either in France or in the Alps.

One of the passages over the mountains from Italy into Transalpine and northern Keltica is that which passes through the country of the Salassi, and leads to Lugdunum.Lyons. This [route] is divided into two ways, one practicable for carriages, but longer, which crosses the country of the Centrones, the other steep and narrow, but shorter; this crosses the Pennine [Alps]. Lugdunum is situated in the midst of the country, serving as an Acropolis, both on account of the confluence of the rivers, and of its being equally near to all parts. It was on this account that Agrippa cut all the roads from this [as a centre] one running through the mountains of the Cevennes to the SantonesLa Saintonge. and Aquitaine,Gascony. another towards the Rhine; a third towards the ocean by the country of the BellovaciBeauvoisis. and Ambiani,Picardie. and a fourth towards the Narbonnaise and the coast of Marseilles.From Lyons this route passed by Vienne, Valence, Orange, and Avignon; here it separated, leading on one side to Tarascon, Nimes, Beziers, and Narbonne, and on the other to Arles, Aix, Marseilles, Fréjus, Antibes, etc. The traveller, also, leaving Lugdunum and the country above on his left, may pass over the Pennine Alps themselves, the Rhone, or Lake Leman, into the plains of the Helvetii, whence there is a passage through Mount Jura into the country of the Sequani, and Lingones; here the road separates into two routes, one running to the Rhine, and the otherThis other route, says Gosselin, starting from Aouste, traversed the Great Saint Bernard, Valais, the Rhone, a portion of the Vaud, Mount Jura, and so to Besançon and Langres, where it separated, the road to the right passing by Toul, Metz, and Trèves, approached the Rhine at Mayence; while that to the left passed by Troies, Châlons, Rheims, and Bavai, where it again separated and conducted by various points to the sea-coast. to the ocean.

Polybius tells us that in his time the gold mines were so rich about Aquileia, but particularly in the countries of the Taurisci Norici, that if you dug but two feet below the surface you found gold, and that the diggings [generally] were not deeper than fifteen feet. In some instances the gold was found pure in lumps about the size of a bean or lupin, and which diminished in the fire only about one eighth; and in others, though requiring more fusion, was still very profitable. Certain ItaliansThe Italians also went into Spain, and there engaged in working the mines. Vide Diodorus Siculus, lib. v. c. 36, 38. aiding the barbarians in working [the mines], in the space of two months the value of gold was diminished throughout the whole of Italy by one third. The Taurisci on discovering this drove out their fellow-labourers, and only sold the gold themselves. Now, however, the Romans possess all the gold mines. Here, too, as well as in Iberia, the rivers yield gold-dust as well as the diggings, though not in such large quantities. The same writer, speaking of the extent and height of the Alps, compares with them the largest mountains of Greece, such as Taygetum,A mountain of Laconia. Lycaeum,In Arcadia, some suppose it to be the modern Tetragi, others Diaphorti, and others Mintha. Parnassus,In Phocis, Iapara, or Liokura. Olympus,Olympus is a mountain range of Thessaly, bordering on Macedonia, its summit is thirty miles north of Larissa, in lat. 40° 4′ 32″ N., long. 22° 25′ E. Its estimated height is 9745 feet. Pelion,Petras or Zagora. Ossa,Now Kissovo; it is situated to the east of the river Peneus, immediately north of Mount Pelion, and bounds the celebrated vale of Tempe on one side. and of Thrace, as the Haemus, Rhodope, and Dunax, saying that an active person might almost ascend any of these in a single day, and go round them in the same time, whereas five days would not be sufficient to ascend the Alps, while their length along the plains extends 2200 stadia.Gosselin observes, both Polybius and Strabo extended the Alps from the neighbourhood of Marseilles to beyond the Adriatic Gulf, a distance twice 2200 stadia. It appears probable from the words of Polybius himself, (lib. ii. c. 14,) that he merely intended to state the length of the plains situated at the foot of the mountains, which bound Italy on the north; and in fact the distance in a right line from the foot of the Alps about Rivoli or Pignerol to Rovigo, and the marshes formed at the mouths of the Adige and Po, is 63 leagues, or 2200 stadia of 700 to a degree. He only names four passes over the mountains, one through Liguria close to the Tyrrhenian Sea,This route passes from Tortona, by Vadi, Albinga, Vintimille, and Monaco, where it crosses the maritime Alps, and thence to Nice, Antibes, etc. Gosselin. a second through the country of the Taurini,This route passes by Briançon, Mont Genèvre, the Col de Sestrière, and the Val Progelas. by which Hannibal passed, a third through the country of the Salassi,The passage by the Val Aouste. and a fourth through that of the Rhaeti,This route, starting from Milan, passed east of the lake of Como by Coire, and then by Bregentz to the Lake of Constance. all of them precipitous. In these mountains, he says, there are numerous lakes; three large ones, the first of which is Benacus,The Lago di Garda. 500 stadia in length and 130 in breadth, the river Mincio flows from it. The second is the Verbanus,Lago Maggiore. 400 stadia [in length], and in breadth smaller than the preceding; the great river TicinoTicinus. We have followed the example of the French translators in making the Ticino to flow from the Lago Maggiore, and the Adda from the Lake of Como; by some inexplicable process the text of Strabo has been corrupted and these rivers transposed. Kramer notices the inconsistency of the text. flows from this [lake]. The third is the Larius,The Lake of Como. its length is nearly 300 stadia, and its breadth 30, the river Adda flows from it. All these rivers flow into the Po. This is what we have to say concerning the Alpine mountains.

The Fifth Book contains a description of Italy from the roots of the Alps to the Strait of Sicily, the Gulf of Taranto, and the region about Posidonium; likewise of Venetia, Liguria, Agro Piceno, Tuscany, Rome, Campania, Lucania, Apulia, and the islands lying in the sea between Genoa and Sicily.

AT the foot of the Alps commences the region now known as Italy. The ancients by Italy merely understood Oenotria, which reached from the Strait of Sicily to the Gulf of Taranto, and the region about Posidonium,The Gulf of Salerno. but the name has extended even to the foot of the Alps; comprehending on one side that portion of Liguria situated by the sea, from the confines of Tyrrhenia to the Var; and on the other, that portion of Istria which extends as far as Pola. It seems probable that the first inhabitants were named Italians, and, being successful, they communicated their name to the neighbouring tribes, and this propagation [of name] continued until the Romans obtained dominion. Afterwards, when the Romans conferred on the Italians the privileges of equal citizenship, and thought fit to extend the same honour to the Cisalpine Galatae and Heneti,Venetians. they comprised the whole under the general denomination of Italians and Romans; they likewise founded amongst them numerous colonies, some earlier, some later, of which it would be difficult to say which are the most considerable.

It is not easy to describe the whole of Italy under any one geometrical figure; although some say that it is a promontory of triangular form, extending towards the south and winter rising, with its apex towards the Strait of Sicily, and its base formed by the Alps. . . . . . [No one can allow this definition either for the base or one of the sides,] although it is correct for the other side which terminates at the Strait, and is washed by the Tyrrhenian Sea. But a triangle, properly so called, is a rectilinear figure, whereas in this instance both the base and the sides are curved. So that, if I agree, I must add that the base and the sides are of a curved figure, and it must be conceded to me that the eastern side deviates, as well; otherwise they have not been sufficiently exact in describing as one side that which extends from the head of the Adriatic to the Strait [of Sicily]. For we designate as a side a line without any angle; now a line without any angle is one which does not incline to either side, or but very little; whereas the line from AriminumRimini. to the Iapygian promontory,Capo di Leuca. and that from the Strait [of Sicily] to the same promontory, incline very considerably. The same I consider to be the case with regard to the lines drawn from the head of the Adriatic and Iapygia, for meeting about the neighbourhood of Ariminum and Ravenna, they form an angle, or if not an angle, at least a strongly defined curve. Consequently, if the coast from the head [of the Adriatic] to Iapygia be considered as one side, it cannot be described as a right line; neither can the remainder of the line from hence to the Strait [of Sicily], though it may be considered another side, be said to form a right line. Thus the figure [of Italy] may be said to be rather quadrilateral than trilateral, and can never without impropriety be called a triangle. It is better to confess that you cannot define exactly ungeometrical figures.

[Italy], however, may be described in the following manner. The roots of the Alps are curved, and in the form of a gulf, the head turned towards Italy; the middle of the gulf in the country of the Salassi, and its extremities turned, the one towards Ocra and the head of the Adriatic, the other towards the coast of Liguria as far as Genoa, a mercantile city of the Ligurians, where the Apennines fall in with the Alps. Immediately under [the Alps] there is a considerable plain, of about an equal extent of 2100 stadia both in breadth and length; its southern side is closed by the coast of the HenetiVenetians. and the Apennines, which extend to Ariminum and Ancona; for these mountains, commencing at Liguria, enter Tyrrhenia, leaving but a narrow sea-coast; they afterwards retire by degrees into the interior, and having reached the territory of Pisa, turn towards the east in the direction of the Adriatic as far as the country about Ariminum and Ancona, where they approach the sea-coast of the Heneti at right angles. Cisalpine Keltica is enclosed within these limits, and the length of the coast joined to that of the mountains is 6300 stadia; its breadth rather less than 2000. The remainder of Italy is long and narrow, and terminates in two promontories, oneThe peninsula occupied by the people named Brettii, or Bruttii. extending to the Strait of Sicily, the otherThe peninsula now designated Terra di Lecce, and called by the ancients sometimes Iapygia, at others Messapia, Calabria, and Salentina. The isthmus of this peninsula was supposed to be formed by a line drawn from Brindisi to Taranto. to Iapygia. It is embraced on one side by the Adriatic,The Gulf of Venice. on the other by the Tyrrhenian Sea.The Sea of Tuscany. The form and size of the Adriatic resembles that portion of Italy bounded by the Apennines and the two seas, and extending as far as Iapygia and the isthmus which separates the Gulf of Taranto from that of Posidonium.The Gulf of Salerno. The greatest breadth of both is about 1300 stadia, and the length not much less than 6000. The remainder of the country is possessed by the Bruttii, and certain of the Leucani. Polybius tells us, that traversing the sea-coast on foot from IapygiaCapo di Leuca. to the Strait [of Sicily] there are 3000 stadia, the coast being washed by the Sea of Sicily; but that going by water it is 500 stadia less. The Apennines, after approaching the country about Ariminum and Ancona, and determining the breadth of Italy at this point from sea to sea, change their direction and divide the whole country throughout its length. As far as the Peucetii and Leucani they do not recede much from the Adriatic, but on arriving at the Leucani they decline considerably towards the other sea,The Mediterranean. and traversing the remainder of the distance through the Leucani and Bruttii, terminate at Leucopetra,Capo dell’ Armi. in Reggio. Such is a general description of the whole of present Italy. We will now endeavour to undertake a description of its various parts. And, first, of those situated below the Alps.

This is a superb plain variegated with fruitful hills. The Po divides it almost through its midst, one side being denominated Cispadana, and the other Transpadana. Cispadana comprehends that part next the Apennines and Liguria, and Transpadana the remainder. The former [division] is inhabited by Ligurian and Keltic nations, the former inhabiting the mountains and the latter the plains; and the latter [division] by Kelts and Heneti. These Kelts are of the same race as the Transalpine Kelts. Concerning the Heneti there are two traditions, some saying that they are a colony of those Kelts of the same name who dwell by the ocean.Of Vannes. Others say that they are descended from the Veneti of Paphlagonia, who took refuge here with Antenor after the Trojan war; and they give as a proof of this the attention these people bestow on rearing horses; which, though now entirely abandoned, was formerly in great esteem among them, resulting from the ancient rage for breeding mules, which Homer thus mentions: From the Eneti for forest mules renowned.From the Heneti, whence is the race of wild mules. Iliad ii. 857.Iliad ii. 857. It was here that Dionysius, the tyrant of Sicily, kept his stud of race-horses. And, in consequence, the Henetian horses were much esteemed in Greece, and their breed in great repute for a long period.

The whole of this countryTranspadana. is full of rivers and marshes, especially the district of the Heneti, which likewise experiences the tides of the sea. This is almost the only part of our seaThe Mediterranean. which is influenced in the same manner as the ocean, and, like it, has ebb and flood tides. In consequence most of the plain is covered with lagoons.The whole of the coast from Ravenna to Aquileia at the bottom of the Gulf of Venice is still covered with marshes and lagoons, as it was in the time of Strabo. The largest of these lagoons are at the mouths of the Po, the others at the mouths of the torrents which descend from the Alps. The inhabitants have dug canals and dikes, after the manner of Lower Egypt, so that part of the country is drained and cultivated, and the rest is navigable. Some of their cities stand in the midst of water like islands, others are only partially surrounded. Such as lie above the marshes in the interior are situated on rivers navigable for a surprising distance, the Po in particular, which is both a large river, and also continually swelled by the rains and snows. As it expands into numerous outlets, its mouth is not easily perceptible and is difficult to enter. But experience surmounts even the greatest difficulties.

Formerly, as we have said, the district next this river was chiefly inhabited by Kelts. The principal nations of these Kelts were the Boii, the Insubri, and the Senones and Gaesatae, who in one of their incursions took possession of Rome. The Romans afterwards entirely extirpated these latter, and expelled the Boii from their country, who then migrated to the land about the Danube, where they dwelt with the Taurisci, and warred against the Dacians until the whole nation was destroyed; and they left to the surrounding tribes this sheep-pasturing district of Illyria. The Insubri still exist; their metropolis is Mediolanum,Milan. which formerly was a village, (for they all dwelt in villages,) but is now a considerable city, beyond the Po, and almost touching the Alps. Near to it is Verona, a large city, and the smaller towns Brescia, Mantua, Reggio, and Como. This latter was but a very indifferent colony, having been seriously impaired by the Rhaeti who dwelt higher up, but it was repeopled by Pompey Strabo, father of Pompey the Great. Afterwards Caius ScipioApparently a mistake for Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus; we are unacquainted with any Caius Scipio. transferred thither 3000 men, and finally divus Caesar peopled it with 5000 men, the most distinguished of whom were 500 Greeks. He conferred on these the privileges of citizens, and enrolled them amongst the inhabitants. They not only took up their abode here, but left their name to the colony itself; for all the inhabitants taking the name of νεοκωμῖται, this was translated [into Latin], and the place called Novum-Comum. Near to this place is Lake Larius,The Lake of Como. which is filled by the river Adda, and afterwards flows out into the Po. The sources of this river, as well as those of the Rhine, rise in Mount Adulas.The source of the Adda is at the foot of Mount Braulio; the three sources of the Rhine issue from Mounts St. Bernardin, St. Barnabé, and Crispalt, at a considerable distance from the source of the Adda.

These cities are situated high above the marshes; near to them is Patavium,Padua. the finest of all the cities in this district, and which at the time of the late censusThis appears to have been the last census of the three taken under the reign of Augustus. The first occurred in the year of Rome 726, twenty-eight years before the Christian era; the number of citizens then amounted to 4,064,000, or, according to Eusebius, 4,011,017. The second was in the year of Rome 746, eight years before the Christian era; the number of citizens was then found to be 4,163,000. The third census was in the year of Rome 767, in the fourteenth year of the Christian era; the number of citizens at this time was 4,037,000, according to the monument of Ancyra, but according to Eusebius, 9,070,000. was said to contain 500 equites. Anciently it could muster an army of 120,000 men. The population and skill of this city is evinced by the vast amount of manufactured goods it sends to the Roman market, especially clothing of all kinds. It communicates with the sea by a river navigable from a large harbour [at its mouth], the river runs across the marshes for a distance of 250 stadia. This harbour,Chioggia. as well as the river,The Bacchiglione. is named Medoacus. Situated in the marshes is the great [city of] Ravenna, built entirely on piles,ξυλοπαγὴς ὅλη. We have followed the rendering of the French translators; however, Guarini, Buonaccivoli, Xylander, Siebenkees, and Bréquigny, all understand Strabo to mean that the city was built entirely of wood. and traversed by canals, which you cross by bridges or ferry-boats. At the full tides it is washed by a considerable quantity of sea-water, as well as by the river, and thus the sewage is carried off, and the air purified; in fact, the district is considered so salubrious that the [Roman] governors have selected it as a spot to bring up and exercise the gladiators in. It is a remarkable peculiarity of this place, that, though situated in the midst of a marsh, the air is perfectly innocuous; the same is the case with respect to Alexandria in Egypt, where the malignity of the lake during summer is entirely removed by the rising of the river which covers over the mud. Another remarkable peculiarity is that of its vines, which, though growing in the marshes, make very quickly and yield a large amount of fruit, but perish in four or five years. AltinumAltino. stands likewise in the marshes, its situation being very similar to that of Ravenna. Between them is Butrium,Butrio. a small city of Ravenna, and Spina,Spinazino. which is now a village, but was anciently a celebrated Grecian city. In fact, the treasures of the Spinitae are shown at Delphi, and it is, besides, reported in history that they had dominion over the sea. They say that it formerly stood on the sea; now, however, the district is inland about 90 stadia from the sea. Ravenna is reported to have been founded by Thessalians, who not being able to sustain the violence of the Tyrrheni, welcomed into their city some of the Ombrici, who still possess it, while they themselves returned home. These cities for the most part are surrounded, and, as it were, washed by the marshes.

Opitergium,Oderzo. Concordia, Atria,Adria. Vicetia,Vicenza. as well as some smaller cities, are less annoyed by the marshes: they communicate by small navigable canals with the sea. They say that Atria was formerly a famous city, from which the Adriatic Gulf, with a slight variation, received its name. Aquileia, which is the nearest to the head [of the gulf], was founded by the Romans,About the year 186 before the Christian era. to keep in check the barbarians dwelling higher up. You may navigate transport ships to it up the river Natisone for more than sixty stadia. This is the trading city with the nations of Illyrians who dwell round the Danube. Some deal in marine merchandise, and carry in waggons wine in wooden casks and oil, and others exchange slaves, cattle, and hides. Aquileia is without the limits of the Heneti, their country being bounded by a river which flows from the mountains of the Alps, and is navigable for a distance of 1200 stadia, as far as the city of Noreia,Friesach in Steiermark. near to where Cnaeus Carbo was defeated in his attack upon the Kimbrians.113 years before the Christian era. This place contains fine stations for gold washing and iron-works. At the very head of the Adriatic is the Timavum,Giovanni del Carso. a temple consecrated to Diomede, worthy of notice. For it contains a harbour and a fine grove, with seven springs of fresh water, which fall into the sea in a broad, deep river.The present Timavo. Polybius, however, says that, with the exception of one, they are all salt springs, and that it is on this account the place is called by the inhabitants—the source and mother of the sea. Posidonius, on the other hand, tells us that the river Timavo, after flowing from the mountains, precipitates itself into a chasm, and after flowing under ground about 130 stadia, discharges itself into the sea.

That Diomedes did hold sovereignty over the country around this sea,The Adriatic. is proved both by the Diomedean islands,The three islands of Tremiti, namely Domenico, Nicola, and Caprara, opposite Monte Gargano. and the traditions concerning the Daunii and Argos-Hippium.Arpino. Of these we shall narrate as much as may be serviceable to history, and shall leave alone the numerous falsehoods and myths; such, for instance, as those concerning Phaethon and the HeliadesPhaethusa, Lampetie, and Lampethusa. See Virg. cel. vi. 62; Aen. x. 190; Ovid Met. ii. changed into alders near the [river] Eridanus, which exists no where, although said to be near the Po;Either this passage has undergone alteration, or else Strabo is the only writer who informs us that certain mythological traditions distinguished the Eridanus from the Po, placing the former of these rivers in the vicinity of the latter. The père Bardetti thinks the Greeks originally confounded the Eretenus, a tributary of the Po, with the name Eridanus. of the islands Electrides, opposite the mouths of the Po, and the Meleagrides,Probably Guinea-hens. found in them; none of which things exist in these localities.Strabo seems here to doubt that the Electrides islands ever existed, but the French translators, in a very judicious note, have explained that the geographical features of the country about the mouths of the Po had undergone very considerable changes on account of the immense alluvial deposit brought down from the mountains by that river, and suggest that these islands had been united to the main-land long before Strabo’s time, for which reason he would not be able to verify the ancient traditions. Even at the present day the Cavalier Negrelli is employing his celebrated engineering science in making the communication between the Po and the Adriatic navigable, and so rendering the countries bordering on the Ticino, Adda, Mincio, Trebbia, Panono, and the adjacent lakes accessible to steam-boats from the Adriatic. However, some have narrated that honours are paid to Diomedes amongst the Heneti, and that they sacrifice to him a white horse; two groves are likewise pointed out, one [sacred] to the Argian Juno, and the other to the Aetolian Diana. They have too, as we might expect, fictions concerning these groves; for instance, that the wild beasts in them grow tame, that the deer herd with wolves, and they suffer men to approach and stroke them; and that when pursued by dogs, as soon as they have reached these groves, the dogs no longer pursue them. They say, too, that a certain person, well known for the facility with which he offered himself as a pledge for others, being bantered on this subject by some hunters who came up with him having a wolf in leash, they said in jest, that if he would become pledge for the wolf and pay for the damage he might do, they would loose the bonds. To this the man consented, and they let loose the wolf, who gave chase to a herd of horses unbranded, and drove them into the stable of the person who had become pledge for him. The man accepted the gift, branded the horses with [the representation of] a wolf, and named them Lucophori. They were distinguished rather for their swiftness than gracefulness. His heirs kept the same brand and the same name for this race of horses, and made it a rule never to part with a single mare, in order that they might remain sole possessors of the race, which became famous. At the present day, however, as we have before remarked, this [rage for] horse-breeding has entirely ceased.

After the TimavumThe Timavum, or temple consecrated to Diomede. comes the sea-coast of Istria as far as Pola, which appertains to Italy. Between [the two] is the fortress of Tergeste, distant from Aquileia 180 stadia. Pola is situated in a gulf forming a kind of port, and containing some small islands,The Isola di Brioni, Conversara, and S. Nicolo. Pliny calls them Insulae Pullarie. fruitful, and with good harbours. This city was anciently founded by the Colchians sent after Medea, who not being able to fulfil their mission, condemned themselves to exile. As Callimachus says, It a Greek would call The town of Fugitives, but in their tongue ’Tis Pola named. The different parts of Transpadana are inhabited by the Heneti and the Istrii as far as Pola; above the Heneti, by the Carni, the Cenomani, the Medoaci, and the Symbri.This name is probably corrupt; Coray proposes to read Insubri. These nations were formerly at enmity with the Romans, but the Cenomani and Heneti allied themselves with that nation, both prior to the expedition of Hannibal, when they waged war with the Boii and Symbrii,This name is probably corrupt; Coray proposes to read Insubri. and also after that time.

Cispadana comprehends all that country enclosed between the Apennines and the Alps as far as Genoa and the Vada-Sabbatorum.Vadi. The greater part was inhabited by the Boii, the Ligurians, the Senones, and Gaesatae; but after the depopulation of the Boii, and the destruction of the Gaesatae and Senones, the Ligurian tribes and the Roman colonies alone remained. The nation of the OmbriciThe Umbrians, or Umbri, of Roman History. and certain of the Tyrrheni are also mixed amongst the Romans. These two nations, before the aggrandizement of the Romans, had some disputes with each other concerning precedence. Having only the river Tiber between, it was easy to commence war upon each other; and if the one sent out an expedition against any nation, it was the ambition of the other to enter the same country with an equal force. Thus, the Tyrrheni, having organized a successful expedition against the barbarians [dwelling in the countries] about the Po, but having speedily lost again through their luxury [all they had acquired], the Ombrici made war upon those who had driven them out. Disputes arose between the Tyrrheni and Ombrici concerning the right of possessing these places, and both nations founded many colonies; those, however, of the Ombrici were most numerous, as they were nearest to the spot. When the Romans gained the dominion, they sent out colonies to different parts, but preserved those which had been formerly planted by their predecessors. And although now they are all Romans, they are not the less distinguished, some by the names of Ombri and Tyrrheni, others by those of Heneti, Ligurians, and Insubri.

Both in Cispadana and around the Po there are some fine cities. PlacentiaPiacenza and Cremona, situated about the middle of the country, are close to each other. Between these and Ariminum,Rimini. are Parma, Mutina,Modena. and Bononia,Bologna. which is near to Ravenna; amongst these are smaller cities on the route to Rome, as Acara,Probably corrupt. Rhegium-Lepidum,Reggio in Modena. Macri-Campi,Between Parma and Modena, the Val di Montirone and Orte Ma. where a public festival is held every year, Claterna,Quaderna. Forum-Cornelium;Imola. while FaventiaFaenza. and Caesena, situated near to the river SavioAncient Sapis. and the Rubicon,Probably Pisatello. are adjacent to Ariminum. Ariminum, like Ravenna, is an ancient colony of the Ombri. but both of them have received also Roman colonies. Anminum has a port and a riverThe Marecchia. of the same name as itself. From Placentia to Ariminum there are 1300 stadia. About 36 miles above Placentia, towards the boundaries of the kingdom of Cottius, is the city of Ticinum,Pavia. by which flows a riverThe Ticino. bearing the same name, which falls into the Po, while a little out of the route are Clastidium,Castezzio. Derthon,Tortona. and Aquae-Statiellae.Acqui, on the left bank of the Bormia. But the direct route as far as Ocelum,Ucello. along the Po and the Doria Riparia,δουοͅίας. is full of precipices, intersected by numerous other rivers, one of which is the Durance,The ancient Druentia. and is about 160 miles long. Here commence the Alpine mountains and Keltica.Transalpine Gaul. Near to the mountains above Luna is the city of Lucca. Some [of the people of this part of Italy] dwell in villages, nevertheless it is well populated, and furnishes the greater part of the military force, and of equites, of whom the senate is partly composed. Derthon is a considerable city, situated about half way on the road from Genoa to Placentia, which are distant 400 stadia from each other. Aquae-Statiellae is on the same route. That from Placentia to Ariminum we have already described, but the sail to Ravenna down the Po requires two days and nights. AFrom here to the word Derthon the text appears to be corrupt. great part of Cispadana likewise was covered by marshes, through which Hannibal passed with difficulty on his march into Tyrrhenia.Tuscany. But Scaurus drained the plains by navigable canals from the PoCluvier proposes to read from Placentia to Parma; he has been followed throughout the passage by the French translators. to the country of the Parmesans. For the Trebia meeting the Po near Placentia, and having previously received many other rivers, is over-swollen near this place. I allude to the ScaurusM. Aemilius Scaurus. who also made the Aemilian road through Pisa and Luna as far as Sabbatorum, and thence through Derthon. There is another Aemilian road, which continues the Flaminian. For Marcus Lepidus and Caius Flaminius being colleagues in the consulship, and having vanquished the Ligurians, the one made the Via Flaminia from Rome across Tyrrhenia and Ombrica as far as the territory of Ariminum,Strabo here falls into a mistake in attributing to C. Flaminius Nepos, who was consul in the year of Rome 567, 187 years before the Christian era, the construction of the Via Flaminia which led from the Portus Flumentana to the city of Ariminum. According to most Latin authors, this grand route was formed by C. Flaminius Nepos, censor in the year of Rome 534, and 220 years before the Christian era (the same who three years afterwards was slain at the battle of Thrasymenus). Livy, whose authority is certainly of great weight, speaking of the grand road made by C. Flaminius Nepos, consul in the year of Rome 567, states expressly that it led from Bologna to Arezzo. Hist. lib. xxxix. § 2. the other, the road as far as Bononia,Bologna. and thence to AquileiaMaffei proposes to substitute Placentia for Aquilena. by the roots of the Alps, and encircling the marshes. The boundaries which separate from the rest of Italy this country, which we designate Citerior Keltica,Cisalpine Gaul. were marked by the Apennine mountains above Tyrrhenia and the river Esino,The ancient Aesis, now Esino, named also Fiumesino. and afterwards by the Rubicon.Probably the Pisatello. Both these rivers fall into the Adriatic.

The fertility of this country is proved by its population, the size of its cities, and its wealth, in all of which the Romans of this country surpass the rest of Italy. The cultivated land produces fruits in abundance and of every kind, and the woods contain such abundance of mast, that Rome is principally supplied from the swine fed there. Being well supplied with water, millet grows there in perfection. This affords the greatest security against famine, inasmuch as millet resists any inclemency of the atmosphere, and never fails, even when there is scarcity of other kinds of grain. Their pitch-works are amazing, and their casks give evidence of the abundance of wine: these are made of wood, and are larger than houses, and the great supply of pitch allows them to be sold cheap. The soft wool and by far the best is produced in the country round MutinaModena. and the river Panaro;The Scultanua of antiquity. while the coarse wool, which forms the main article of clothing amongst the slaves in Italy, is produced in Liguria and the country of the Symbri. There is a middling kind grown about Patavium,Padua. of which the finer carpets, gausapi,A kind of cassock with long hair. and every thing else of the same sort, whether with the wool on one or on both sides, are made. The mines are not worked now so diligently, because not equally profitable with those of Transalpine Keltica and Iberia; but formerly they must have been, since there were gold-diggings even in Vercelli, near to Ictimuli,Probably Victimolo. both which villages are near to Placentia.Piacenza. Here we finish our description of the first part of Italy, and pass on to the second.

IN the second place, we shall treat of that portion of Liguria situated in the Apennines, between the KelticaGallia Cispadana. already described and Tyrrhenia. There is nothing worth mentioning about it, except that the people dwell in villages, ploughing and digging the intractable land, or rather, as Posidonius expresses it, hewing the rocks.

The third division contains the Tyrrhenians, who dwell next the former, and inhabit the plains extending to the Tiber, which river, as far as its outlet, washes the side towards the east, the opposite side being washed by the Tyrrhenian and Sardinian sea. The Tiber flows from the Apennines, and is swelled by many rivers; it flows partly through Tyrrhenia, dividing it in the first instance from Ombrica,̓ομβικὴ, now Ombria. afterwards from the Sabini and the Latini, who are situated next Rome as far as the sea-coast; so that these countries are bounded in their breadth by the river [Tiber] and the Tyrrhenians, and in their length by each other. They extend upwards towards the Apennines which approach the Adriatic. The firstOr nearest to the Adriatic. are the Ombrici, after these the Sabini, and finally the inhabitants of Latium. They all commence from the river. The country of the Latini extends on one side along the seacoast from Ostia to the city of Sinuessa, on the other it is bounded by the land of the Sabini, (Ostia is the port of Rome, through which the Tiber passes in its course,) it extends in length as far as Campania and the Samnitic mountains. The country of the Sabini lies between the Latini and the Ombrici, it likewise extends to the Samnitic mountains, but approaches nearer to the Apennines inhabited by the Vestini, the Peligni, and the Marsi. The Ombrici lie between the country of the Sabini and Tyrrhenia, but extend beyond the mountains as far as Ariminum,Rimini. and Ravenna. The Tyrrheni, commencing from their own sea and the Tiber, extend to the circular chain of mountains which stretches from Liguria to the Adriatic. We will now enter into a detailed account, commencing with these.

The Tyrrheni have now received from the Romans the surname of Etrusci and Tusci. The Greeks thus named them from Tyrrhenus the son of Atys, as they say, who sent hither a colony from Lydia. Atys, who was one of the descendants of Hercules and Omphale, and had two sons, in a time of famine and scarcity determined by lot that Lydus should remain in the country, but that Tyrrhenus, with the greater part of the people, should depart. Arriving here, he named the country after himself, Tyrrhenia, and founded twelve cities, having appointed as their governor Tarcon, from whom the city of Tarquinia [received its name], and who, on account of the sagacity which he had displayed from childhood, was feigned to have been born with hoary hair. Placed originally under one authority, they became flourishing; but it seems that in after-times, their confederation being broken up and each city separated, they yielded to the violence of the neighbouring tribes. Otherwise they would never have abandoned a fertile country for a life of piracy on the sea. roving from one ocean to another; since, when united they were able not only to repel those who assailed them, but to act on the offensive, and undertake long campaigns. After the foundation of Rome, Demaratus arrived here, bringing with him people from Corinth.Larcher calculates that it was about the year of Rome 91, or 663 years before the Christian era, that Demaratus, flying from the tyranny of Cypselus at Corinth, established himself in Tyrrhenia. He was received at Tarquinia, where he had a son, named Lucumo, by a woman of that country.Strabo here mentions only one son of Demaratus, to whom he gives the name of Lucumo; in this latter statement he is supported by Dionysius Halicarnassus. Livy also mentions a young citizen of Clusium named Lucumo. But there is reason to believe that these three writers were deceived by the writers whom they followed. It seems to be incontestable that Lucumo was the designation of the chief of each of the twelve cities of Etruria. Lucumo becoming the friend of Ancus Marcius, king of the Romans, succeeded him on the throne, and assumed the name of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus. Both he and his father did much for the embellishment of Tyrrhenia, the one by means of the numerous artists who had followed him from their native country; the other having the resources of Rome.Dionysius Halicarnassus relates that after a brisk war the cities of Etruria submitted to Tarquinius Priscus, and that the Romans permitted him to accept this foreign royalty, and still hold the throne of Rome. No historian that we are aware of, with the exception of Strabo, mentions the benefits received by Etruria from that prince. It is said that the triumphal costume of the consuls, as well as that of the other magistrates, was introduced from the Tarquinii, with the fasces, axes, trumpets, sacrifices, divination, and music employed by the Romans in their public ceremonies. His son, the second Tarquin, named Superbus, who was driven from his throne, was the last king [of Rome]. Porsena, king of Clusium,Chiusi. a city of Tyrrhenia, endeavoured to replace him on the throne by force of arms, but not being able he made peaceB. C. 508. with the Romans, and departed in a friendly way, with honour and loaded with gifts.

Such are the facts concerning the celebrity of the Tyrrheni, to which may be added the exploits of the Caeretani,The people of Cerveteri. who defeated the Galatae after they had taken Rome. Having attacked them as they were departing through the country of the Sabini, they took from them, much against their will, the ransom which the Romans had willingly paid to them; besides this, they took under their protection those who fled to them out of Rome, the sacred fire and the priestesses of Vesta.This is also related by Livy and Valerius Maximus. The Romans, influenced by those who then misgoverned the city, seem not to have been properly mindful of this service; for although they conferred on them the rights of citizenship, they did not enrol them amongst the citizens; and further, they inscribed upon the same roll with the Caeretani, others who did not enjoy as great privileges as they did. However, amongst the Greeks this city was highly esteemed both for its bravery and rectitude of conduct; for they refrained from piracy, with favourable opportunities for engaging in it, and dedicated at Delphi the treasure, as it was called, of the Agylllaei; for their country was formerly named Agylla, though now Caerea. It is said to have been founded by Pelasgi from Thessaly. The Lydians, who had taken the name of Tyrrheni, having engaged in war against the Agyllaei, one of them, approaching the wall, inquired the name of the city; when one of the Thessalians from the wall, instead of answering the question, saluted him with χαῖρε.A Grecian form of salutation, equivalent to our good-morning. The Tyrrheni received this as an omen, and having taken the city they changed its name. This city, once so flourishing and celebrated, only preserves the traces [of its former greatness]; the neighbouring hot springs, named Caeretana,Craeri, according to Holstenius, the Bagni di Sasso, Cluvi considered it Bagni di Stigliano. being more frequented than it, by the people attracted thither for the sake of their health.

Almost every one is agreed that the Pelasgi were an ancient race spread throughout the whole of Greece, but especially in the country of the Aeolians near to Thessaly. Ephorus, however, says that he considers they were originally Arcadians, who had taken up a warlike mode of life; and having persuaded many others to the same course, imparted their own name to the whole, and became famous both among the Greeks, and in every other country where they chanced to come. Homer informs us that there were colonies of them in Crete, for he makes Ulysses say to Penelope— Diverse their language is; Achaians some, And some indigenous are; Cydonians there, Crest-shaking Dorians, and Pelasgians dwell.And there is a different language of different men mixed together; there are in it Achaians, and magnanimous Eteocretans, and Cydonians, and crest-shaking Dorians, and divine Pelasgians.Odyssey xix. 175.Odyssey xix. 175. And that portion of Thessaly between the outlets of the PeneiusThe Salambria, Costum. and the Thermopylae, as far as the mountains of Pindus, is named Pelasgic Argos, the district having formerly belonged to the Pelasgi. The poet himself also gives to Dodonaeman Jupiter, the epithet of Pelasgian:— Pelasgian, Dodonaean Jove supreme.Iliad xvi. 223.Iliad xvi. 223. Many have likewise asserted that the nations of the Epirus are Pelasgic, because the dominions of the Pelasgi extended so far. And, as many of the heroes have been named Pelasgi, later writers have applied the same name to the nations over which they were the chiefs. Thus LesbosMetelino. has been called Pelasgic, and Homer has called the people bordering on the Cilices in the Troad Pelasgic:— Hippothous from Larissa, for her soil Far-famed, the spear-expert Pelasgians brought.Hippothous led the tribes of the spear-skilled Pelasgians, of those who inhabited fertile Larissa.Iliad ii. 840Iliad ii. 840 Ephorus, when he supposes that they were a tribe of Arcadians, follows Hesiod, who says, The sons born of the divine Lycaon, whom formerly Pelasgus begot. Likewise Aeschylus in his Suppliants, or Danaids, makes their race to be of Argos near Mycenae. Ephorus likewise says that Peloponnesus was named Pelasgia; and Euripides, in the Archelaus, says, Danaus, who was the father of fifty daughters, having arrived in Argos inhabitedWe have followed the example of the French translators in reading ᾤκησεν with all MSS. Groskurd and Kramer adopt the views of Xylander and Siebenkees in substituting ᾤκισεν. the city of Inachus, and made a law that those who had before borne the name of Pelasgiotae throughout Greece should be called Danai. Anticlides says, that they first colonized about Lemnos and Imbros, and that some of their number passed into Italy with Tyrrhenus, the son of Atys. And the writers on the Athenian Antiquities,οἱ τὴν?̓ατθίδα συγγράψαντες.?̓ατθὶς was a title given to their works by many authors who wrote on Athenian Antiquities, as Philochorus, Androtion, Amelesagoras, Hellanicus, etc. relate of the Pelasgi, that some of them came to Athens, where, on account of their wanderings, and their settling like birds in any place where they chanced to come, they were called by the Athenians Pelargi.Or Storks.

They say that the greatest length of Tyrrhenia, which is along the coast from Luna to Ostia, is about 2500 stadia; and that its breadth in the direction of the mountains is less than half that number. Then from Luna to Pisa there are more than 400 stadia; from thence to VolaterraeVolterra. 280; thence to Poplonium 270; and from Poplonium to CossaRuins near Ansedonia. near 800, or as some say, 600. Polybius, however, says that there are notCoray here reads αὐκ. Kramer considers the passage corrupt. in all 1330.The French translation here gives 1460, and a note by Gosselin. Of these Luna is a city and harbour; it is named by the Greeks, the harbour and city of Selene.σελήνη, the moon. The city is not large, but the harbourThe bay of Spezia. is very fine and spacious, containing in itself numerous harbours, all of them deep near the shore; it is in fact an arsenal worthy of a nation holding dominion for so long a time over so vast a sea. The harbour is surrounded by lofty mountains,The mountains of Carrara. from whence you may view the seaThe Mediterranean. and Sardinia, and a great part of the coast on either side. Here are quarries of marble, both white and marked with green, so numerous and large, as to furnish tablets and columns of one block; and most of the material for the fine works, both in Rome and the other cities, is furnished from hence. The transport of the marble is easy, as the quarries lie near to the sea, and from the sea they are conveyed by the Tiber. Tyrrhenia likewise supplies most of the straightest and longest planks for building, as they are brought direct from the mountains to the river. Between Luna and Pisa flows the Macra,Other writers mention a river Macra, but none of them, as it appears, a district in Italy bearing that name. Kramer supposes that Strabo wrote ποτάμιον, and not χωοͅίον, the reading of all MSS. a division which many writers consider the true boundary of Tyrrhenia and Liguria. Pisa was founded by the Pisatae of the Peloponnesus, who went under Nestor to the expedition against Troy, but in their voyage home wandered out of their course, some to Metapontium,Near the mouth of the river Basiento. others to the Pisatis; they were, however, all called Pylians. The city lies between the two rivers ArnoThe ancient Arnus. and Aesar,Corresponding to the present Serchio, which discharges itself into the sea, and not into the Arno. The time when this change of direction took place is not recorded, but traces of the ancient name and course of the river remain in the Osari, which, after flowing a short distance through a marshy district, falls into the sea between the Serchio and Arno. at their point of confluence; the former of which, though very full, descends from ArretiumArezzo. not in one body, but divided into three; the second flows down from the Apennines. Where they fall into one current, the shock between them is so great as to raise the water to that height, that people standing on either bank are not able to see each other; so that necessarily the voyage up from the sea is difficult. This voyage is about 20 stadia. There is a tradition, that when these rivers first descended from the mountains they were impeded by the inhabitants of the district, lest falling together they should inundate the country; however, they promised not to inundate it, and they have kept their word. This city appears to have been formerly flourishing, and at the present day it still maintains its name, on account of its fertility, its marble-quarries, and its wood for building ships, which formerly they employed to preserve themselves from danger by sea; for they were more warlike than the Tyrrheni, and were constantly irritated by the Ligurians, troublesome neighbours, who dwelt on the coast. At the present day the wood is mostly employed for building houses in Rome, and in the country villas [of the Romans], which resemble in their gorgeousness Persian palaces.

The country of the VolaterraniVolterra. is washed by the sea. Their city is situated in a deep hollow on the top of a high hill. The wall of the city is built round its summit, which is flat and precipitous on every side. From its base, the ascent upward is fifteen stadia, steep and difficult. Here certain of the Tyrrhenians and of those proscribed by Sulla,Eighty-one years B. C. took their stand, and having organized four bands, sustained a siege for two years, and at last secured articles of truce before surrendering the place. Poplonium is situated on a lofty promontory, which projects into the sea, and forms a chersonesus. It likewise sustained a siege about the same time. This little place is now deserted, with the exception of the temples and a few houses; the sea-port, which is situated at the root of the mountain, is better inhabited, having both a small harbour and ship-sheds. This appears to me the only one of the ancient Tyrrhenian cities situated on the sea; the reason being that this territory affords no harbours. The founders [of the cities] therefore either avoided the sea altogether, or threw up fortifications in order that they might not become the ready prey of those who might sail against them. On the summit [of the cape] there is a look-out for thunnies.This was a regular business. A man was posted on a high place, from which he could see the shoals coming, and make a sign to the fishermen. From this city there is an indistinct and distant view of Sardinia. Cyrnus,Corsica. however, is nearer, being distant from Sardinia about 60 stadia. While AethaliaThe island of Elba. is much nearer to the continent than either, being distant therefrom only 300The French translation has 200 in text, while it states in a note that all manuscripts give 300, and continues to discuss the real distance at some length. Kramer says, in a note, that MS. Vatic. No. 482, has 200. stadia, and the same number from Cyrnus. Poplonium is the best starting-place to any of the three mentioned islands. We ourselves observed them from the height of Poplonium, in which place we saw certain mines which had been abandoned, we also saw the craftsmen who work the iron brought from Aethalia; for they cannot reduce it into bars in the furnaces on the island, and it is therefore transferred direct from the mines to the continent. There is another remarkable circumstance, that the exhausted mines of the island in course of time are again refilled similarly to what they say takes place at the platamonesπλαταμῶνας is here adopted is preference to any attempt at translation. It is probable they were quarries of the cream-coloured limestone of the island. in Rhodes, the marble-quarries in Paros, and the salt-mines in India, mentioned by Clitarchus. Eratosthenes was therefore incorrect in saying that from the mainland you could neither see Cyrnus nor Sardinia; and so was Artemidorus in his assertion, that both these places lay in the high sea at a distance of 1200 stadia. For whatever others might, I certainly could never have seen them at such a distance, however carefully I had looked, particularly Cyrnus. Aethalia has a harbour named Argoiis,Porto Ferrajo. derived, as they say, from the [ship] Argo, Jason having sailed hither, seeking the abode of Circe as Medea wished to see that goddess; and that from the sweat scraped off by the Argonauts and hardened, are formed the variegated pebbles now seen on the beach.Gosselin supposes that the crystals of iron, abundant in the island of Elba, are here alluded to. This and similar traditions prove what we before stated, that Homer did not invent them all himself, but, hearing the numerous current stories, he merely transferred the scenes to other localities and exaggerated the distances: as he makes Ulysses wander over the ocean, so does he narrate of Jason, as he too had been renowned for his travels: and the same he likewise relates of Menelaus. This is what we have to say of Aethalia.

Cyrnus is called by the Romans Corsica; it is poorly inhabited, being both rugged and in many parts entirely inaccessible, so that the mountaineers, who live by plunder, are more savage than wild beasts. Whenever any Roman general invades the country, and, penetrating into the wilds, seizes a vast number of slaves, it is a marvel to behold in Rome how savage and bestial they appear. For they either scorn to live, or if they do live, aggravate their purchasers by their apathy and insensibility, causing them to regret the purchase-money, however small.The testimony of Diodorus is just to the contrary. The Corsican slaves appear better fitted than any others for performing useful services; their physical constitution being peculiarly adapted thereto. Diodor. Sic. 1. v. § 13. We must remark, however, that some districts are habitable, and that there are some small cities, for instance Blesino, Charax, Eniconiae, and Vapanes.None of these names are found in Ptolemy’s description of Corsica. Diodorus Siculus has names somewhat similar. The chorographerIt is uncertain to whom Strabo here alludes. The French translators are of opinion that he alludes to the chart of Agrippa. says that the length of this island is 160 miles, its breadth 70; that the length of Sardinia is 220, and its breadth 98. According to others, the perimeter of Cyrnus is said to be about 1200The French translators read with their manuscript 1394, πεοͅὶ τοͅις χιλίος, κ. τ. λ., about 3200. stadia, and of Sardinia 4000. A great portion of this latter is rugged and untranquil; another large portion is fertile in every production, but particularly in wheat. There are many cities, some are considerable, as CaralisCagliari. and Sulchi.Cluvier is of opinion that the modern Palma di Solo corresponds to Sulchi. There is however an evil, which must be set against the fertility of these places; for during the summer the island is unhealthy, more particularly so in the most fertile districts; in addition to this, it is often ravaged by the mountaineers, whom they call Diagesbes,Some manuscripts read Diagebres. who formerly were named Iolaënses. For it is said that IolausThe nephew of Hercules, being the son of Iphiclus, his brother. brought hither certain of the children of Hercules, and established himself amongst the barbarian possessors of the island, who were Tyrrhenians. Afterwards the Phoenicians of Carthage became masters of the island, and, assisted by the inhabitants, carried on war against the Romans; but after the subversion of the Carthaginians, the Romans became masters of the whole. There are four nations of mountaineers, the Parati, Sossinati, Balari, and the Aconites. These people dwell in caverns. Although they have some arable land, they neglect its cultivation, preferring rather to plunder what they find cultivated by others, whether on the island or on the continent, where they make descents, especially upon the Pisatae. The prefects sent [into Sardinia] sometimes resist them, but at other times leave them alone, since it would cost too dear to maintain an army always on foot in an unhealthy place: they have, however, recourse to the arts of stratagem, and taking advantage of the custom of the barbarians, who always hold a great festival for several days after returning from a plundering expedition, they then fall upon them, and capture many. There are rams here which, instead of wool, have hair resembling that of a goat; they are called musmones, and the inhabitants make corselets of their hides. They likewise arm themselves with a pelta and a small sword.

Along the whole coast between Poplonium and Pisa these islands are clearly visible; they are oblong, and all three nearly parallel,That is, Corsica and Sardinia run in a line north and south, and Elba lies to one side; the παοͅάλληλοι σχεδὸν αί τπεῖς is an example showing how happily a circumstance may be expressed in Greek, while no amount of labour will adapt an English equivalent. running towards the south and Libya. Aethalia is by far smaller than either of the other two. The chorographer says that the shortest passage from Libya to Sardinia is 300The real distance, according to Gosselin, is 115 miles. miles. After Poplonium is the city of Cossae, situated at a short distance from the sea: there is at the head of the bay a high hill upon which it is built; below it lies the port of Hercules,Porto Ercole and near to it a marsh formed by the sea.The Stagno d’Orbitello. At the summit of the cape which commands the gulf is a lookout for thunnies; for the thunny pursues his course along the coast, from the Atlantic Ocean as far as Sicily, in search not only of acorns, but also of the fish which furnishes the purple dye. As one sails along the coast from Cossae to Ostia there are the towns of Gravisci,Situated in the marshy plain commanded by the heights of Corneto, between the Mignone and the Marta. Pyrgi,This town stood on the site of the present S. Severa, at the mouth of the Rio-Castrica. Alsium,The ancient Alsium occupied the site of the place now called Statua; below it are the vestiges of the Portus Alsiensis, at the embouchure of the Rio-Cupino, a little to the east of Palo. and Fregena.Torre Macarese. [From Cossae] to Gravisci is a distance of 300 stadia, and between them is the place named Regis-Villa. This is said to have been the royal residence of Maleos the Pelasgian; they report that after he had reigned here for some time, he departed with his Pelasgians to Athens. These were of the same tribe as those who occupied Agylla. From Gravisci to Pyrgi is a little less than 180 stadia, and the sea-port town of the Caeretani is 30 stadia farther. [Pyrgi] contains a temple of IlethyiaThe Roman Lucina, in later times identical with Diana. founded by the Pelasgi, and which was formerly rich, but it was plundered by Dionysius the tyrant of the Sicilians, at the timeAbout the year 384 before the Christian era. of his voyage to Cyrnus.Corsica. From Pyrgi to Ostia is 260 stadia; between the two are Alsium and Fregena. Such is our account of the coast of Tyrrhenia.

In the interior of the country, besides the cities already mentioned, there are Arretium,Arezzo. Perusia,Perugia. Volsinii,Bolsena. Sutrium;Sutri. and in addition to these are numerous small cities, as Blera,Bieda. Ferentinum,The French translation understands this to be the modern Ferenti, near Viterbo. Falerium,Sta. Maria di Falari. Faliscum,Probably another name for Falerium. Nepita,Nepi. Statonia,Castro, or Farnese, near Lake Mezzano. and many others; some of which exist in their original state, others have been colonized by the Romans, or partially ruined by them in their wars, viz. those they frequently waged against the VeiiThis ancient city was probably situated near the Isola Farnesia, about the place where Storta now stands. and the Fidenae.Fidenae was situated on the left bank of the Tiber, near its confluence with the Anio, now the Teverone, 40 stadia from Rome. The ruins are near the villages Giubileo and Serpentina. Some say that the inhabitants of Falerium are not Tyrrhenians, but Falisci, a distinct nation; others state further, that the Falisci speak a language peculiar to themselves; some again would make it Aequum-Faliscum on the Via Flaminia, lying between OcricliHodie Otricoli: the ancient town was situated nearer the Tiber than the modern. and Rome. Below Mount SoracteMonte di S. Silvestro. is the city of Feronia, having the same name as a certain goddess of the country, highly reverenced by the surrounding people: here is her temple, in which a remarkable ceremony is performed, for those possessed by the divinity pass over a large bed of burning coal and ashes barefoot, unhurt. A great concourse of people assemble to assist at the festival, which is celebrated yearly, and to see the said spectacle. Arretium,Arezzo. near the mountains, is the most inland city: it is distant from Rome 1200 stadia: from ClusiumChiusi. [to Rome] is 800 stadia. Near to these [two cities] is Perusia.Perugia. The large and numerous lakes add to the fertility of this country,Tyrrhenia. they are navigable, and stocked with fish and aquatic birds. Large quantities of typha,An aquatic plant, perhaps the Typha of Linnaeus, used in making lamp-wicks, and for other purposes to which tow was applied. papyrus, and anthelaThe downy substance growing on the flowering reed. are transported to Rome, up the rivers which flow from these lakes to the Tiber. Among these are the lake Ciminius,The Lago di Vico or di Ronciglione. and those near the Volsinii,Lago di Bolsena. and Clusium,Now only marshes. and Sabatus,Lago di Bracciano. which is nearest to Rome and the sea, and the farthest Trasumennus,All MSS. are corrupt at this word. It is now called Lago di Perugia. near Arretium. Along this is the pass by which armies can proceed from [Cisalpine] Keltica into Tyrrhenia; this is the one followed by Hannibal. There are two; the other leads towards Ariminum across Ombrica, and is preferable as the mountains are considerably lower; however, as this was carefully guarded, Hannibal was compelled to take the more difficult, which he succeeded in forcing after having vanquished Flaminius in a decisive engagement. There are likewise in Tyrrhenia numerous hot springs, which on account of their proximity to Rome, are not less frequented than those of Baiae, which are the most famous of all.

Ombrica lies along the eastern boundary of Tyrrhenia, and commencing from the Apennines, or rather beyond those mountains, [extends] as far as the Adriatic. For commencing from Ravenna, the Ombrici inhabit the neighbouring country together with the cities of Sarsina, Ariminum,Rimini. Sena,Sinigaglia. † and Marinum. †Apparently an interpolation; vide Kramer’s edition, vol. i. p. 358, n. To their country likewise belongs the river Esino,The Aesis. Mount Cingulum, [the city of] Sentinum,Sentina. the river Metaurus, and the Fanum Fortunae;Fano. for about these parts are the boundaries which separate ancient Italy and [Cisalpine] Keltica on the side next the Adriatic, although the boundary has frequently been changed by the chief men of the state. First they made the Esino the boundary; afterwards the river Rubicon: the Esino being between Ancona and Sena, and the Rubicon between Ariminum and Ravenna, both of them falling into the Adriatic. At the present day, however, since Italy comprehends the whole country as far as the Alps, we need take no further notice of these limits. All allow that OmbricaUmbria. extends as far as Ravenna, as the inhabitants are Ombrici. From Ravenna to Ariminum they say is about 300 stadia. Going from Ariminum to Rome by the Via Flaminia, the whole journey lies through Ombrica as far as the city of OcricliOtricoli. and the Tiber, a distance of 1350 stadia. This, consequently, is the length [of Ombrica]; its breadth varies. The cities of considerable magnitude situated on this side the Apennines along the Via Flaminia, are Ocricli on the Tiber, Laroloni,No such city as this is mentioned in any other writer; the word as it now stands is evidently corrupt. and Narnia,Narni through which the NeraThe ancient Nar. flows. This river discharges itself into the Tiber a little above Ocricli; it is not navigable for large vessels. After these are Carsuli and Mevania,Bevagna. past which latter the TeneasMevania stood at the junction of the Tinia (now Timia) and the Topino. flows, by which river the merchandise of the plain is transported in small vessels to the Tiber. There are also other cities well populated, rather on account of the route along which they lie, than for their political importance. Such are Forum Flaminium,Forfiamma, or Ponte-Centesimo, or the village of Vescia. NuceriaNocera Camellaria. where wooden vases are manufactured, and Forum Sempronium.Fossembruno. Going from Ocricli to Ariminum, on the right of the way are Interamna,Terni. Spoletium,Spoleto. Asisium,Between Spoleto and Camerino. and Camerta, situated in the mountains which bound Picenum. On the other sideThe left side of the Via Flaminia. are Ameria,Amelia. Tuder,Todi. a well-fortified city, Hispellum,Hispello. and Iguvium,Eugubbio, or Gubbio, where the celebrated inscriptions were found in 1440. near to the passes of the mountain. The whole of this country is fertile, but rather too mountainous, and producing more ryeζειὰ. than wheat for the food of the inhabitants. The next district, Sabina, is mountainous, and borders on Tyrrhenia in like manner. The parts of Latium which border on these districts and the Apennines are very rugged. These two nationsSabinaand Latium. commence from the Tiber and Tyrrhenia, and extend as far as the Apennines which advance obliquely towards the Adriatic: Ombrica extends, as we have said, beyond as far as the sea. We have now sufficiently described the Ombrici.

THE Sabini occupy a narrow country, its length from the Tiber and the small city of NomentumProbably Lamentana Vecchia. to the Vestini being 1000 stadia. They have but few cities, and these have suffered severely in their continual wars [with the Romans]. Such are AmiternumGroskurd considers this to be Amatrice. and Reate,Rieti. which is near to the village of InterocreaInterdoco, between Rieti and Aquila. and the cold waters at Cotyliae, which are taken by patients, both as drink and as baths, for the cure of various maladies. The rocks of Foruli,Civita Tommassa, or rather Forcella. likewise, belong to the Sabini; fitted rather for rebellion than peaceable habitation. Cures is now a small village, although formerly a famous city: whence came Titus Tatius and Numa Pompilius, kings of Rome. From this place is derived the name of Quirites, which the orators give to the Romans when they address the people. Trebula,Monte Leone della Sabina. Eretum,Chaupy considers this to be Rimane. and other similar places, must be looked upon rather as villages than cities. The whole land [of Sabina] is singularly fertile in olive-trees and vines, it produces also many acorns, and besides has excellent cattle: the mules bred at ReateRieti. are much celebrated. In one word, the whole of Italy is rich both in cattle and vegetable productions; although certain articles may be finer in some districts than in others. The race of the Sabini is extremely ancient, they are Autochthones. The Picentini and Samnitae descend from them, as do the Leucani from these latter, and the Bruttii again from these. A proof of their antiquity may be found in the bravery and valour which they have maintained till the present time. Fabius,He flourished about 216 years before the Christian era. the historian, says that the Romans first knew what wealth was when they became masters of this nation. The Via Salaria, which however does not extend far, runs through their country: the Via Nomentana, which commences likewise at the Porta Collina, falls in with the Via Salaria near to Eretum, a village of Sabina lying above the Tiber.

Beyond Sabina is Latium, wherein the city of Rome is situated. It comprises many places which formed no part of ancient Latium. For the Aequi, the Volsci, the Hernici, the aborigines around Rome, the Rutuli who possessed ancient Ardea, and many other nations, some larger, some smaller, formed so many separate states around Rome, when that city was first built. Some of these nations, who dwelt in villages, were governed by their own laws, and subjected to no common tribe. They sayGosselin calls our attention to the difference between Strabo’s relation of these occurrences, and the events as commonly recounted by the Greek and Latin authors. that Aeneas, with his father Anchises and his child Ascanius, arrived at Laurentum,Near the spot now called Patemo. near to Ostia and the bank of the Tiber, where he built a city about 24 stadia above the sea. That Latinus, the king of the aborigines who then dwelt on the site where Rome now stands, employed his forces to aid Aeneas against the neighbouring Rutuli who inhabited Ardea, (now from Ardea to Rome is a distance of 160 stadia,) and having gained a victory, he built near to the spot a city, to which he gave the name of his daughter Lavinia. However, in a second battle, commenced by the Rutuli, Latinus fell, and Aeneas, being conqueror, succeeded this prince on the throne, and conferred on his subjects the name of Latini. After the death both of himself and his father, Ascanius founded Alba,Cluvier placed the ancient Alba on the east shore of Lake Albano, about Palazzuolo. Holstenius thinks that it was on the southern shore in the locality of Villa-Domitiana. The Abbe de Chaupy places it farther to the east of Monte Albano. on Mount Albanus,Albano. situated about the same distance from Rome as Ardea. Here the Romans and Latini conjointly offer sacrifice to Jupiter. The magistracy all assemble, and during the period of the solemnity the government of the city is intrusted to some distinguished youth. The facts related of Amulius and his brother Numitor, some of which are fictitious, while others approach nearer the truth, occurred four hundred years later. These two brothers, who were descended from Ascanius, succeeded conjointly to the government of Alba, which extended as far as the Tiber. However, Amulius the younger, having expelled the elder, governed [alone]. Numitor had a son and a daughter; the former Amulius treacherously murdered in the chase; the latter, that she might remain childless, he made a priestess of Vesta, thus imposing virginity upon her. This [daughter] they name Rhea Silvia. Afterwards he discovered that she was pregnant, and when she had given birth to twins, he, out of respect to his brother, placed her in confinement, instead of putting her to death, and exposed the boys by the Tiber according to a national usage. According to the mythology, Mars was the father of these children, and when they were exposed they were discovered and suckled by a she-wolf. Faustulus, one of the swine-herds of the place, took and reared them up, and named one Romulus, the other Remus. (We must understand that Faustulus, who took them up and nourished them, was an influential man, and a subject of Amulius.) Having arrived at man’s estate, they waged war upon Amulius and his sons; and having slain them, restored the government to Numitor. They then returned home and founded Rome, in a locality selected rather through necessity than choice, as the site was neither fortified by nature, nor sufficiently large for a city of importance. In addition to this, the neighbourhood supplied no inhabitants; for those who dwelt around, even though touching the very walls of the newly founded city, kept to themselves, and would have nothing at all to do with the Albani. Collatia, Antemnae, Fidenae, Labicum,The sites of these places are much disputed. and similar places are here alluded to, which then were small cities, but are now villages possessed by private individuals; they are distant from Rome 30 or 40Kramer considers this 40 an interpolation. stadia, or rather more. Between the fifth and sixth mile-stone which marks the distance from Rome there is a place named Festi; this they say was at that time the limit of the Roman territory, and at the present day, both here and in numerous other places which they consider to have been boundaries, the priests offer the sacrifice denominated Ambarvia.Usually Ambarvalia, sacrifices performed by the Fratres Arvales, who formed” a college or company of twelve in number, and were so called, according to Varro, from offering public sacrifices for the fertility of the fields. That they were of extreme antiquity is proved by the legend which refers their institution to Romulus; of whom it is said, that when his nurse, Acca Laurentia, lost one of her twelve sons, he allowed himself to be adopted by her in his place, and called himself and the remaining eleven-Fratres Arvales. (Gell. vi. 7.) We also find a college called the Sodales Titii, and as the latter were confessedly of Sabine origin, and instituted for the purpose of keeping up the Sabine religious rites, (Tac. Ann. i. 53,) there is some reason for the supposition of Niebuhr, that these colleges corresponded one to the other—the Fratres Arvales being connected with the Latin, and the Sodales Titii with the Sabine element of the Roman state; just as there were two colleges of the Luperci, the Fabii and the Quinctilii, the former of whom seem to have belonged to the Sabines.

The office of the Fratres Arvales was for life, and was not taken away even from an exile or captive. They wore, as a badge of office, a chaplet of ears of corn fastened on their heads with a white band. The number given on inscriptions varies, but it is never more than nine; though, according to the legend and general belief, it amounted to twelve. One of their annual duties was to celebrate a three days’ festival in honour of Dea Dia, supposed to be Ceres . . . . Of this the master of the college, appointed annually, gave public notice from the temple of Concord on the Capitol. On the first and last of these days, the college met at the house of their president, to make offerings to the Dea Dia; on the second day they assembled in the grove of the same goddess, about five miles south of Rome, and there offered sacrifices for the fertility of the earth. An account of the different ceremonies of this festival is preserved in an inscription, which was written in the first year of the emperor Heliogabalus, (A. D. 218,) who was elected a member of the college under the name of M. Aurelius Antoninus Pius Felix. The same inscription contains a hymn, which appears to have been sung at the festival from the most ancient times.

Besides this festival of the Dea Dia, the Fratres Arvales were required on various occasions under the emperors to make vows and offer up thanksgivings, an enumeration of which is given in Forcellini. Strabo indeed informs us that, in the reign of Tiberius, these priests performed sacrifices called the Ambarvalia at various places on the borders of the Ager Romanus, or original territory of Rome; and amongst others, at Festi. There is no boldness in supposing that this was a custom handed down from time immemorial; and, moreover, that it was a duty of this priesthood to invoke a blessing upon the whole territory of Rome. It is proved by inscriptions that this college existed till the reign of the emperor Gordian, or A. D. 325, and it is probable that it was not abolished till A. D. 400, together with the other colleges of the pagan priesthoods.

The private Ambarvalia were certainly of a different nature to those mentioned by Strabo, and were so called from the victim hostia Amber- valis that was slain on the occasion, being led three times round the corn-fields, before the sickle was put to the corn. This victim was accompanied by a crowd of merry-makers, (chorus et socii,) the reapers and farm-servants, dancing and singing, as they marched along, the praises of Ceres, and praying for her favour and presence while they offered her the libations of milk, honey, and wine. (Virg. Georg. i. 338.) This ceremony was also called a lustratio, (Virg. Ecl. v. 83,) or purification; and for a beautiful description of the holiday, and the prayers and vows made on the occasion, the reader is referred to Tibullus (ii. 1). It is perhaps worth while to remark that Polybius (iv. 21, § 9) uses language almost applicable to the Roman Ambarvalia in speaking of the Mantincians, who, he says, (specifying the occasion,) made a purification, and carried victims round the city and all the country.

There is, however, a still greater resemblance to the rites we have been describing, in the ceremonies of the Rogation or gang-week of the Latin church. These consisted of processions through the fields, accompained with prayers (rogationes) for a blessing on the fruits of the, earth, and were continued during three days in Whitsun-week. The custom was abolished at the Reformation in consequence of its abuses, and the porambulation of the parish boundaries substituted in its place. Vid Hoomer, Eccl. Pol. v. 61, 2; Wheatley,, Com. Pray. v 20. Bohn’s standard Library edition.)

However, there also exists another more ancient and mythical account, to the effect that Rome was an Arcadian colony planted by Evander. He entertained Hercules when driving the oxen of Geryon, and being informed by his mother Nicostrata, (who was skilled in the art of prophecy,) that when Hercules should have completed his labours it was fore-ordained that he should be enrolled amongst the gods; he informed him of the matter, consecrated to him a grove, and offered sacrifice to him after the Grecian mode; a sacrifice which is continued in honour of Hercules to this day. The Roman historian Coelius is of opinion that this is a proof that Rome is a Grecian colony, the sacrifice to Hercules after the Grecian mode having been brought over from their fatherland. The Romans also worship the mother of Evander under the name of Carmentis,The Camenae, says Dr. Smith, were prophetic nymphs, and belonged to the religion of ancient Italy, although later traditions represent them as having been introduced into Italy from Arcadia. Two of the Camenae were Antevorta and Postvorta; the third was Carmenta or Carmentis, a prophetic and healing divinity, who had a temple at the foot of the Capitoline hill, and altars near the Porta Carmentalis. The traditions which assigned a Greek origin to her worship at Rome, state that her original name was Nicostrata, and that she was called Carmentis from her prophetic powers. (Serv. ad Aen. viii. 51, 336; Dionys. i. 15, 32.) According to these traditions, she was the mother of Evander, the Arcadian, by Hermes; and after having endeavoured to persuade her son to kill Hermes, she fled with him to Italy, where she gave oracles to the people and to Hercules. She was put to death by her son at the age of 110 years, and then obtained divine honours. Dionys. i. 31, etc. considering her one of the nymphs.

Thus then the Latini originally were few in number, and for the most part under no subjection to the Romans; but afterwards, being struck by the valour of Romulus and the kings who succeeded him, they all submitted. But the Aequi,This name is written in Strabo sometimes αἴκοι, sometimes αἴκουοι; the Latin writers also named them differently, Aequi, Aecani, Aequicoli, etc. the Volsci, the Hernici; and before them the Rutuli, the aborigines, the Rhaeci, together with certain of the Argyrusci and the Preferni,Privernates of Pliny; the chief city is now called Piperno. being subdued, the whole of their different countries were included under the name of Latium. To the Volsci pertained the pomentine plain, bordering on the territory of the Latini, and the city of Apiola, levelled to the ground604 years B. C. by Tarquinius Priscus. The Aequi principally were neighbours to the Quirites, whose cities Tarquinius Priscus likewise devastated. His son took Suessa,Suessa surnamed Pometia, to distinguish it from Suessa Aurunca, is here alluded to. Its exact position does not appear to be known. the metropolis of the Volsci. The Hernici dwelt near to Lanuvium, Alba, and to Rome itself; neither were Aricia,La Riccia. the Tellenae, and AntiumCapo d’ Anzo. at any great distance. The Albani were at first friendly with the Romans, speaking as they did the same language, and being likewise of the Latin stock; and though they were under separate governments, this did not prevent them from marrying together, nor from performing in common the sacred ceremonies at Alba, and other civil rites. In after-time, however, war having sprung up, Alba was entirely destroyed with the exception of the temple, and the Albani were declared citizens of Rome. Of the other surrounding cities, those which resisted were either destroyed or enfeebled, while others, which were friendly to the Romans, flourished. At the present day the coast from Ostia to the city of SinuessaMonte Dragone. is denominated the Latin coast; formerly the country thus designated extended only so far as Circaeum.Monte Circello. The interior also [of Latium] was formerly small; but it afterwards extended to Campania, the Samnitae, the Peligni,According to Cluvier, Strabo was mistaken in making Latium extend to the country of the Peligni, as these latter were always separated from Latium by the Marsi. and other nations dwelling around the Apennines.

The whole [of Latium] is fertile, and abounding in every production, with the exception of a few districts along the coast, which are marshy and unhealthy; such as the country of Ardea, the lands between Antium and Lanuvium as far as Pometia, and certain of the districts of Setia,Sezza. Terracina, and Circaeum. Some parts may also be too mountainous and rocky; but even these are not absolutely idle and useless, since they furnish abundant pasturage, wood, and the peculiar productions of the marsh and rock; while Caecubum, which is entirely marshy, nourishes a vine, the dendritis,The vine to which the term arbustive or hautain is applied, which the French translators explain as a vine trained from the foot of a tree. which produces the most excellent wine. Of the maritime cities of Latium, one is Ostia. This city has no port, owing to the accumulation of the alluvial deposit Brought down by the Tiber, which is swelled by numerous rivers; vessels therefore bring to anchor further out, but not without danger; however, gain overcomes every thing, for there is an abundance of lighters in readiness to freight and unfreight the larger ships, before they approach the mouth of the river, and thus enable them to perform their voyage speedily. Being lightened of a part of their cargo, they enter the river and sail up to Rome, a distance of about 190 stadia. Such is the city of Ostia, founded by Ancus Martius. Next in order comes Antium, which city is likewise destitute of any port; it is situated on rocks, and about 260 stadia distant from Ostia. At the present day it is devoted to the leisure and recreation of statesmen from their political duties, whenever they can find time, and is in consequence covered with sumptuous mansions suited to such rusticating. The inhabitants of Antium had formerly a marine, and even after they were under subjection to the Romans, took part with the Tyrrhenian pirates. Of this, first, Alexander sent to complain; after him Demetrius, having taken many of these pirates, sent them to the Romans, saying that he would surrender them their persons on account of their affinity to the Greeks, and remarking at the same time, that it seemed to him a great impropriety, that those who held sway over the whole of Italy should send out pirates, and that they who had consecrated in their forum a temple to the honour of the Dioscuri,Castor and Pollux. whom all denominated the Saviours, should likewise send to commit acts of piracy on Greece, which was the father-land of those divinities. Hereupon the Romans put a stop to this occupation [piracy]. Between these two cities is Lavinium, which contains a temple of Venus common to all the Latini, the care of which is intrusted to the priests of Ardea. After this is Laurentum;Near Paterno. and above these lies Ardea, a colony of the Rutuli, 70 stadia from the sea; near to it is another temple of Venus, where all the Latini hold a public festival. These regions have been ravaged by the Samnitae, and only the traces of the cities left; but even these are reverenced on account of the arrival of Aeneas here, and of the religious rites which they say were bequeathed from those times.

At 290 stadia from Antium is Mount Circaeum, insulated by the sea and marshes. They say that it contains numerous roots, but this perhaps is only to harmonize with the myth relating to Circe. It has a small city, together with a temple to Circe and an altar to Minerva; they likewise say that a cup is shown which belonged to Ulysses. Between [Antium and Circaeum] is the river Stura,Storas, the Astura of Pliny. which has a station for ships: the rest of the coast is exposed to the southwest wind,Libs. with the exception of this small harbour of Circaeum.Hodie, the Porto di Paula, connected with the Lake of S. Maria. Above this, in the interior, is the Pomentine plain: the region next to this was formerly inhabited by the Ausonians, who likewise possessed Campania: next after these the Osci, who also held part of Campania; now, however, as we have remarked, the whole, as far as Sinuessa, belongs to the Latini. A peculiar fate has attended the Osci and Ausonians; for although the Osci have ceased to exist as a distinct tribe, their dialect is extant among the Romans, dramatic and burlesque pieces composed in it being still represented at certain games which were instituted in ancient times. And as for the Ausonians, although they never have dwelt by the sea of Sicily,This does not appear to be in accordance with the statement of Dionysius Halicarnassus and Pliny, that the Ausonians anciently possessed the whole coast, from the Strait of Messina to the entrance of the Adriatic. it is named the Ausonian Sea. At 100 stadia from Circaeum is Tarracina, formerly named Trachina,Or mountainous. on account of its ruggedness; before it is a great marsh, formed by two rivers, the larger of which is called the Aufidus.We should doubtless here read the Ufens, the modern Ufente. This is the first place where the Via Appia approaches the sea. This road is paved from Rome to Brundusium,βροεντέσιον, now Brindes. and has great traffic. Of the maritime cities, these alone are situated on it; Tarracina, beyond it Formiae,Mola di Gaeta. Minturnae,The ruins of this town are extant on either bank of the Garigliano, the ancient Liris. Sinuessa,Rocca di Monte Dragone. and towards its extremity Tarentum and Brundusium. Near to Tarracina, advancing in the direction of Rome, a canal runs by the side of the Via Appia, which is supplied at intervals by water from the marshes and rivers. Travellers generally sail up it by night, embarking in the evening, and landing in the morning to travel the rest of their journey by the way; however, during the day the passage boat is towed by mules.Compare Horace, Satir. l. i. sat. 5. Beyond is Formiae, founded by the Lacedaemonians, and formerly called Hormiae, on account of its excellent port. Between these [two cities],Tarracina and Formiae. is a gulf which they have named Caiata,Gaëta. in fact all gulfs are called by the Lacedaemonians Caietae: some, however, say that the gulf received this appellation from [Caieta], the nurse of Aeneas. From Tarracina to the promontory of Caiata is a length of 100 stadia. HereAt Sperlunga. are opened vast caverns, which contain large and sumptuous mansions. From hence to Formiae is a distance of 40 stadia. Between this city and Sinuessa, at a distance of about 80 stadia from each, is Minturnae. The river Liris,The Garigliano. formerly named the Clanis, flows through it. It descends from the Apennines, passes through the country of the Vescini,Vestini, MSS. and by the village of Fregellae, (formerly a famous city,) and so into a sacred grove situated below the city, and held in great veneration by the people of Minturnae. There are two islands, named Pandataria and Pontia,Ponza. lying in the high sea, and clearly discernible from the caverns. Although small, they are well inhabited, are not at any great distance from each other, and at 250 stadia from the mainland. Caecubum is situated on the gulf of Caiata, and next to it Fundi, a city on the Via Appia. All these places produce excellent wines; but those of Caecubum, Fundi, and SetiaSezza. The French translators think this should be Vescia. are most in repute, and so are the Falernian, Alban,Albano. and Statanian wines. Sinuessa is situated in a gulf from which it takes its name, sinus signifying [in Latin] a gulf. Near to it are some fine hot-baths, good for the cure of various maladies. Such are the maritime cities of Latium.

In the interior, the first city above Ostia is Rome; it is the only city built on the Tiber. It has been remarked above, that its position was fixed, not by choice, but necessity; to this must be added, that those who afterwards enlarged it, were not at liberty to select a better site, being prevented by what was already built. The first [kings] fortified the Capitol, the Palatium, and the Collis Quirinalis, which was so easy of access, that when Titus Tatius came to avenge the rape of the [Sabine] virgins, he took it on the first assault. Ancus Marcius, who added Mount Caelius and the Aventine Mount with the intermediate plain, separated as these places were both from each other and from what had been formerly fortified, was compelled to do this of necessity; since he did not consider it proper to leave outside his walls, heights so well protected by nature, to whomsoever might have a mind to fortify themselves upon them, while at the same time he was not capable of enclosing the whole as far as Mount Quirinus. Servius perceived this defect, and added the Esquiline and Viminal hills. As these were both of easy access from without, a deep trench was dug outside them and the earth thrown up on the inside, thus forming a terrace of 6 stadia in length along the inner side of the trench. This terrace he surmounted with a wall flanked with towers, and extending from the CollineCalled also the Quirinal, and often Salara, according to Ovid. to the Esquiline gate. Midway along the terrace is a third gate, named after the Viminal hill. Such is the Roman rampart, which seems to stand in need of other ramparts itself. But it seems to me that the first [founders] were of opinion, both in regard to themselves and their successors, that Romans had to depend not on fortifications, but on arms and their individual valour, both for safety and for wealth, and that walls were not a defence to men, but men were a defence to walls. At the period of its commencement, when the large and fertile districts surrounding the city belonged to others, and while it lay easily open to assault, there was nothing in its position which could be looked upon as favourable; but when by valour and labour these districts became its own, there succeeded a tide of prosperity surpassing the advantages of every other place. Thus, notwithstanding the prodigious increase of the city, there has been plenty of food, and also of wood and stone for ceaseless building, rendered necessary by the falling down of houses, and on account of conflagrations, and of the sales, which seem never to cease. These sales are a kind of voluntary falling down of houses, each owner knocking down and rebuilding one part or another, according to his individual taste. For these purposes the numerous quarries, the forests, and the rivers which convey the materials, offer wonderful facilities. Of these rivers, the first is the Teverone,Anio. which flows from Alba, a city of the Latins near to the country of the Marsi, and from thence through the plain below this [city], till it unites with the Tiber. After this come the NeraThe Nar. and the Timia,The Teneas of Strabo. which passing through Ombrica fall into the Tiber, and the Chiana,ὸ κλάνις, there were other rivers called Clanis as well as this. which flows through Tyrrhenia and the territory of Clusiumn.Chiusi. Augustus Caesar endeavoured to avert from the city damages of the kind alluded to, and instituted a company of freedmen, who should be ready to lend their assistance in cases of conflagration;Suetonius likewise mentions this fact. Dion Cassius informs us that Augustus, in the year of Rome 732, and twenty-two years before our era, commanded that the curule aediles should promptly endeavour to arrest the progress of conflagrations, and for this purpose placed at their disposal 600 guards. Fifteen years afterwards he established a company of seven freedmen, presided over by one of the equestrian order, to see what means could be taken in order to prevent these numerous fires. Augustus, however, was not the first to take precautions of this nature, as we may learn from Livy, 1. ix. § 46; 1. xxxix. § 14; Tacit. Annal. 1. xv. § 43, and various other authorities. whilst, as a preventive against the falling of houses, he decreed that all new buildings should not be carried so high as formerly, and that those erected along the public ways should not exceed seventy feet in height.Subsequent emperors reduced this standard still lower. See what Tacitus says of Nero in regard to this point, Annal. l. xv. § 43. Trajan forbade that any house should be constructed above 60 feet in height. Sextus Aurelius Victor, Epit. § 27. But these improvements must have ceased only for the facilities afforded by the quarries, the forests, and the ease of transport.

These advantages accrued to the city from the nature of the country; but the foresight of the Romans added others besides. The Grecian cities are thought to have flourished mainly on account of the felicitous choice made by their founders, in regard to the beauty and strength of their sites, their proximity to some port, and the fineness of the country. But the Roman prudence was more particularly employed on matters which had received but little attention from the Greeks, such as paving their roads, constructing aqueducts, and sewers, to convey the sewage of the city into the Tiber. In fact, they have paved the roads, cut through hills, and filled up valleys, so that the merchandise may be conveyed by carriage from the ports. The sewers, arched over with hewn stones, are large enough in some parts for waggons loaded with hay to pass through; while so plentiful is the supply of water from the aqueducts, that rivers may be said to flow through the city and the sewers, and almost every house is furnished with water-pipes and copious fountains. To effect which Marcus Agrippa directed his special attention; he likewise bestowed upon the city numerous ornaments. We may remark, that the ancients, occupied with greater and more necessary concerns, paid but little attention to the beautifying of Rome. But their successors, and especially those of our own day, without neglecting these things, have at the same time embellished the city with numerous and splendid objects. Pompey, divus Caesar, and Augustus, with his children, friends, wife, and sister, have surpassed all others in their zeal and munificence in these decorations. The greater number of these may be seen in the Campus Martius, which to the beauties of nature adds those of art. The size of the plain is marvellous, permitting chariot-races and other feats of horsemanship without impediment, and multitudes to exercise themselves at ball,There were five modes of playing at ball; 1. Throwing it up and catching it; 2. Foot-ball; 3. A throwing of the ball from one to another in a large party of players; 4. A dashing of the ball to the ground with force enough to rebound, when it was struck down again with the palm of the hand, and a reckoning was kept of the number of times the feat was repeated; and 5. A ball thrown among the players, who all endeavoured to obtain possession of it; this was a game of which we have no accurate account, it was called ἁοͅπαστὸν, and Galen speaks of it, πεοͅὶ μικρο͂ς οφαιοͅας, c. 2, p. 902. in the circusCoray proposes to read δίσκῳ, at quoits. and the paloestra. The structures which surround it, the turf covered with herbage all the year round, the summits of the hills beyond the Tiber, extending from its banks with panoramic effect, present a spectacle which the eye abandons with regret. Near to this plain is another surrounded with columns, sacred groves, three theatres, an amphitheatre, and superb temples in close contiguity to each other; and so magnificent, that it would seem idle to describe the rest of the city after it. For this cause the Romans, esteeming it as the most sacred place, have there erected funeral monuments to the most illustrious persons of either sex. The most remarkable of these is that designated as the Mausoleum,The tomb of Augustus. which consists of a mound of earth raised upon a high foundation of white marble, situated near the river, and covered to the top with ever-green shrubs. Upon the summit is a bronze statue of Augustus Caesar, and beneath the mound are the ashesθῆκαι, urns, Greek. of himself, his relatives, and friends. Behind is a large grove containing charming promenades. In the centre of the plain,The Campus Martius. is the spot where this prince was reduced to ashes; it is surrounded with a double enclosure, one of marble, the other of iron, and planted within with poplars. If from hence you proceed to visit the ancient forum, which is equally filled with basilicas, porticos, and temples, you will there behold the Capitol, the Palatium, with the noble works which adorn them, and the piazza of Livia, each successive place causing you speedily to forget what you have before seen. Such is Rome.

Of the other cities of Latium, some are distinguished by a variety of remarkable objects, others by the celebrated roads which intersect Latium, being situated either upon, or near to, or between these roads, the most celebrated of which are the Via Appia, the Via Latina, and the Via Valeria. The former of these bounds the maritime portion of Latium, as far as Sinuessa, the latter extends along Sabina as far as the Marsi, whilst between these is the Via Latina, which falls in with the Via Appia near to Casilinum,The modern Gavua. a city distant from CapuaS. Maria di Capoa. 19 stadia. The Via Latina commences from the Via Appia, branching from it towards the left, near to Rome. It passes over the Tusculan mountain, between the city of TusculumTascolo. and Mount Albanus; it then descends to the little city of Algidum,L’Ostera deil’ Aglio. and the Pictae tavern; afterwards the Via Lavicana joins it, which commences, like the Via Praenestina, from the Esquiline gate. This road, as well as the Esquiline plain, the Via Lavicana leaves on the left; it then proceeds a distance of 120 stadia, or more, when it approaches Lavicum, an ancient city now in ruins, situated on an eminence; this and Tusculum it leaves on the right, and terminates near to Pictae in the Via Latina. This place is 210 stadia distant from Rome. Proceeding thence along the Via Latina there are noble residences, and the cities Ferentinum,Ferentino, near to Vitorchiano. Frusino,Frusinone. by which the river Cosa flows, Fabrateria,Falvaterra. by which flows the river Sacco,Trerus. Aquinum,Aquino. a large city, by which flows the great river Melfa,Melpis. Interamnium, situated at the confluence of two rivers, the Garigliano and another, Casinum, also an important city, and the last of those belonging to Latium. For Teanum, called Sidicinum,Teano. which lies next in order, shows by its name that it belongs to the nation of the Sidicini. These people are Osci, a surviving nation of the Campani, so that this city, which is the largest of those situated upon the Via Latina, may be said to be Campanian; as well as that of Cales,Calvi. another considerable city which lies beyond, and is contiguous to Casilinum.Nova Capua.

As to the places situated on either side of the Via Latina, those on the right are between it and the Via Appia; of their number are SetiaSezza. and Signia,Segni. which produce wine, that of Setia being one of the dearest wines, and that called Signium the best for strengthening the stomach. Before thisποͅὸ δὲ ταὺτης. It seems doubtful whether ταύτης refers to Signia, or the Via Appia. are Privernum,This city was sacked by the last Tarquin. Cora,Core. Suessa,Probably Torre Petrara. ‘ Trapontium,Kramer supposes this name to be an interpolation; the idea of Cluvier, adopted by Siebenkees and Coray, is that we should here read σουέσσα τῶν πωμεντίνων, Suessa Pometia. Velitrae,Veiletri. Aletrium,Alatri. and also Fregellae,Ceperano. by which the Garigliano flows, which discharges itself [into the sea] near Minturnae. Fregellae, though now a village, was formerly a considerable city, and the chief of the surrounding places we have just named. Even now their inhabitants throng to it on market days, and for the performance of certain religious solemnities. Its defection from the Romans was the cause of its ruin.125, B. C. Both these, and also the cities lying on the Via Latina and beyond, situated in the territories of the Hernici, Aequi, and Volsci, were for the most part founded by the Romans. To the left of the Via Latina, the cities between it and the Via Valeria, are, Gabii,Now called l’ Osteria del Pantano, situated very near the Castel dell’ Osa, and close by the lake Pantan de’ Griffi. standing in the Via Preenestina, it possesses a stone-quarry, in greater demand at Rome than any other, and is at an equal distance of about 100 stadia between Rome and Praeneste.Palestrina. Then Praeneste, of which we shall have occasion presently to speak. Then, in the mountains above Praeneste, Capitulum, a small city of the Hernici, and Anagnia,Anagni. a considerable city; Cereate,Cerretano. and Sora, by which the river GariglianoLiris. flows as it passes on to Fregellae, and Minturnoe. After these there are other places, and finally, Venafrum,Venafro. from whence comes the finest oil. This city is situated on a high hill by the foot of which flows the Volturno,Vulturnus. which passing by Casilinum,Capua. discharges itself [into the sea] at a cityCastel di Volturno. bearing the same name as itself. AeserniaIsernia. and Alliphae,Allife. cities of the Samnites, the former was destroyed in the Marsian war,90 years B. C. the other still remains.

The Via Valeria, commencing from Tibura,Tivoli. leads to the country of the Marsi, and to Corfinium,The modern Pentima is supposed to occupy the site where the citadel of Corfinium stood, and the church of S. Pelino, about three miles from Popoli, stands on that of the ancient city of Corfinium. the metropolis of the Peligni. Upon it are situated the Latin cities of Valeria,We read with all MSS. and editions, Valeria, but Kramer, following the conjectures of Cluvier and others, has adopted Varia in his text. Carseoli,Carsoli. Alba,Albi. and near to it the city of Cuculum.Groskurd considers this to be Cucullo, alias Scutolo. Within sight of Rome are Tibura, Praeneste, and Tusculum.Il Tuscolo, above the modern town of Frascati. At Tibura is a temple of Hercules, and a cataract formed by the fall of the TeveroneThe classic Anio. (which is here navigable,) from a great height into a deep and wooded ravine close to the city. From thence the river flows through a highly fertile plain along by the Tiburtine stone-quarries, those of the Gabii, and those denominated the red-stone quarries. As both the carriage from the quarries and the conveyance by river are easy, most of the Roman edifices are built of materials from hence. In this plain flow the cold waters called Albula, they spring from numerous fountains, and are taken both as a beverage and as baths,The waters from the sulphur-lake; named the Solfatara di Tivoli. for the cure of various diseases. Of the same kind are the Labanae,Now the Lago di S. Giovanni, or Bagni di Grotta Marozza. not far from these, on the Via Nomentana, and near to Eretum.Prob. Cretona, not Monte Rotondo. At Praeneste is the celebrated temple and oracle of Fortune. Both this and the preceding city are situated on the same chain of mountains, and are distant from each other 100 stadia. Praeneste is 200 stadia from Rome, Tibura less than that distance. They are said to be both of Grecian foundation, Praeneste being formerly named Polystephanus. They are both fortified, but Praeneste is the stronger place of the two, having for its citadel a lofty mountain, which overhangs the town, and is divided at the back from the adjoining mountain range by a neck of land. This mountain is two stadia higher than the neck in direct altitude. In addition to these [natural] defences, the city is furnished on all sides with subterraneous passages, which extend to the plains, and some of which serve to convey water, while others form secret ways; it was in one of these that MariusThe younger Marius being entirely defeated by Sulla in the decisive battle fought near Sacriportus, B. C. 82, Marius threw himself into Praeneste, where he had deposited the treasures of the Capitoline temple. (Pliny H. N. 1. xxxiii. s. 5.) Sulla left Lucretius Opella to prosecute the siege while he hastened on to Rome. Various efforts were made to relieve Praeneste, but they all failed; and after Sulla’s great victory at the Colline gate of Rome, in which Pontius Telesinus was defeated and slain, Marius despaired of holding out any longer, and in company with the brother of Telesinus attempted to escape by a subterraneous passage, which led from the town into the open country; but finding that their flight was discovered, they put all end to one another’s lives. According to other accounts, Marius killed himself, or was killed by his slave at his own request. Marius perished in the year of his consulship. Smith, Diet. Biogr. and Myth. perished, when he was besieged. Other cities are in most instances benefited by a strong position, but to the people of Praeneste it has proved a bane, owing to the civil wars of the Romans. For hither the revolutionary movers take refuge, and when at last they surrender, in addition to the injury sustained by the city during the war, the country is confiscated, and the guilt thus imputed to the guiltless. The river VerestisThe Abbé Chaupy is inclined to think that this was a name given to the part nearest the source of the river which Strabo, § 9, calls the Trerus, but Kramer thinks it was originally written ὸ τρῆρος, and corrupted by the copyists. flows through this region. The said cities are to the east of Rome.

But within-side the chain of mountains, [where these cities are situated,] there is another ridge, leaving a valley between it and Mount Algidus; it is lofty, and extends as far as Mount Albanus.Monte Cavo. It is on this ridge that Tusculum is situated, a city which is not wanting in adornment, being entirely surrounded by ornamental plantations and edifices, particularly that part of it which looks towards Rome. For on this side Tusculum presents a fertile hill, well irrigated, and with numerous gentle slopes embellished with majestic palaces. Contiguous are the undulating slopes of Mount Albanus, which are equally fertile and ornamented. Beyond are plains which extend some of them to Rome and its environs, others to the sea; these latter are unhealthy, but the others are salubrious and well cultivated. Next after Albanum is the city Aricia, on the Appian Way. It is 160 stadia from Rome. This place is situated in a hollow, and has a strong citadel.We have translated literally ἔχει δ’ ὅρυμνὴν ἄκραν, but it is possible that Strabo may have meant that the citadel was built on a height above the town; if so the citadel would occupy the site of la Riccia. Beyond it on one side of the way is Lanuvium,Civita Lavinia, or, Città della Vigna. a Roman city on the right of the Via Appia, and from which both the sea and Antium may be viewed. On the other side is the Artemisium,Or Grove of Diana. which is called Nemus,Nemus Ariciae. on the left side of the way, leading from Aricia to the temple.The text here appears to be mutilated. They say that it is consecrated to Diana Taurica, and certainly the rites performed in this temple are something barbarous and Scythic. They appoint as priest a fugitive who has murdered the preceding priest with his own hand. Apprehensive of an attack upon himself, the priest is always armed with a sword, ready for resistance. The temple is in a grove, and before it is a lake of considerable size. The temple and water are surrounded by abrupt and lofty precipices, so that they seem to be situated in a deep and hollow ravine. The springs by which the lake is filled are visible. One of these is denominated Egeria, after the name of a certain divinity; however, their course on leaving the lake is subterraneous, but they may be observed at some distance, when they rise to the surface of the ground.

Near to these localities is Mount Albanus,Monte Cavo. which is much higher than either the Artemisium or the heights surrounding it, although these are sufficiently lofty and precipitous. It has likewise a lake,The Lago d’Albano. much larger than that of the Artemisium. Further forward than these are the cities on the Via Latina, we have already mentioned. AlbaAlba Fucensis is here intended: hod. Albi. is the most inland of all the Latin cities; it borders on the Marsi, and is situated on a high hill near to Lake Fucinus. This [lake] is vast as a sea, and is of great service to the Marsi and all the surrounding nations. They say, that at times its waters rise to the height of the mountains which surround it, and at others subside so much, that the places which had been covered with water reappear and may be cultivated; however, the subsidings of the waters occur irregularly and without previous warning, and are followed by their rising again; the springs fail altogether and gush out again after a time; as they say is the case with the Amenanus,The Judicello. which flows through Catana,Catania, in Sicily. for after remaining dry for a number of years, it again flows. It is reported that the MarcianSee Pliny in reference to the Aqua Marcia, Hist. Nat. l. xxxi. § 24, also 1. ii. § 106. water, which is drunk at Rome in preference to any other, has its source in [Lake] Fucinus. As Alba is situated in the depths of the country, and is besides a strong position, the Romans have often employed it as a place of security, for lodging important prisoners.It served successively as a place of confinement for the kings Syphax, Perseus, and Bituitus.

AFTER having commenced with the nations about the Alps, and the Apennine mountains which are near to these, we proceeded from thence and passed through that portion of the hither country lying between the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Apennine mountains, which incline towards the Adriatic, as far as the Samnites and the Campani. We will now return again, and describe the mountaineers, and those who dwell at the foot of the mountains; whether on the coast of the Adriatic, or in the interior. Thus, we must recommence from the boundaries of Keltica.Cisalpine Gaul.

After the cities of the Ombrici, which are comprised between AriminumRimini. and Ancona, comes Picenum. The Picentini proceeded originally from the land of the Sabini. A woodpecker led the way for their chieftains, and from this bird they have taken their name, it being called in their language Picus, and is regarded as sacred to Mars. They inhabit the plains extending from the mountains to the sea; the length of their country considerably exceeds its breadth; the soil is every where good, but better fitted for the cultivation of fruits than grain. Its breadth, from the mountains to the sea varies in different parts. But its length; from the river AesisThe Fiumesino. to Castrum,Giulia Nova. sailing round the coast, is 800 stadia. Of its cities, Ancona is of Grecian origin, having been founded by the Syracusans who fled from the tyranny of Dionysius. It is situated upon a cape, which bending round towards the north forms a harbour; and it abounds in wine and wheat. Near to it is the city of Auxumon,Osimo. at a little distance from the sea. After it are Septempeda,S. Severino. Pneuentia,Probably for Pollentia, on the Chiento, opposite Urbisaglia. Potentia,Ruins, on the river Potenza, near to Porto di Recanati. and Firmum Picenum,Fermo. with its port of Castellum.Porto di Fermo. Beyond, is the temple of Cupra,Near to the river Monecchia, not far from Marano. built and dedicated by the Tyrrheni to Juno, who is named by them Cupra; and after it the river Tronto,Truentum. with a city of the same name.The position of this city is still disputed, it has been identified with Porto d’Ascoli, Torre di Seguro, and other places. Beyond this is Castrum Novum,Giulia Nova. and the river Piomba,Matrinus. flowing from the city of Adria,Atri. and having [at its mouth] the naval station of Adria, which bears the same name as itself. In the interior is [the city of Adria] itself and Asculum Picenum,Ascoli. a very strong position, upon which is built a wall: the mountains which surround it are not accessible to armies.The text is here defective. Above Picenum are the Vestini,The Vestini appear to have occupied the region where at present Aquila, Ofena, Civita Aquana, Civita di Penna, Civita di St. Angelo, and Pescara are situated. the Marsi,They inhabited the canton in which are built Tagliacozzo, Scurcola, Albi, Celano, Pescina, and the environs of Lake Celano. the Peligni,Inhabited the territories of Sulmona, Pentima, and Popolo. the Marucini,Occupied the district of Tieti or Chieti. and the Frentani,Inhabited the right bank of the Sangro, the territory of Guasto, the banks of the Trigno and Biferno, the district of Larino, the left bank of the Fortore, and extended north-west towards Pescara. a Samnitic nation possessing the hill-country, and extending almost to the sea. All these nations are small, but extremely brave, and have frequently given the Romans proofs of their valour, first as enemies, afterwards as allies; and finally, having demanded the liberty and rights of citizens, and being denied, they revolted and kindled the Marsian war.91 B. C. They decreed that Corfinium,Pentima near Popoli. the metropolis of the Peligni, should be the capital for all the Italians instead of Rome: made it their place d’armes, and new-named it Italica. Then, having convoked deputies from all the people friendly to their design, they created consulsThe first consuls were Q. Pompaedius Silo, and C. Aponius Mutilus; the praetors were Herius Asinius for the Marucini, C. Veltius Cato for the Marsi, M. Lamponius and T. Cleptius for the Leucani, Marius Egnatius Trebatius and Pontius Telesinus for the Samnites, C. Judacilius for the Apuli or Picentini, and A. Cluentius for the Peligni. Many other officers besides these distinguished themselves in the several campaigns of the Marsian war. and pretors, and maintained the war for twoA note in the French translation would make the duration of the Marsian war twelve years. years, until they had obtained the rights for which they struggled. The war was named the MarsianDiodorus Siculus agrees with Strabo, in asserting that this war was called Marsian, because it had been commenced by the Marsi, ̓ωνομᾶσθα δέ φησι μαοͅσικὸν [i. e. πόλεμον] ἐκ τῶν ἁοͅξάντων τῆς ἀποστάσεως. however, Velleius Paterculus asserts that the people of Asculum commenced the war, which was continued by the Marsi; and Livy (Epit. lib. lxxii.) makes the Picentini the first to raise the standard of revolt. war, because that nation commenced the insurrection, and particularly on account of Pompaedius.Quintus Pompaedius Silo. These nations live generally in villages, nevertheless they are possessed of certain cities, some of which are at some little distance from the sea, as Corfinium, Sulmo,Now Sulmona, about seven miles south-east of Corfinium. It was the birth-place of Ovid.

Sulmo mihi patria est gelidis uberrimus undis. Ovid. Trist. iv. El. 9.

Next in order after Latium is Campania, which extends along the [Tyrrhenian] Sea; above it is Samnium, in the interior, extending as far as the Frentani and Daunii; and beyond are the Daunii, and the other nations as far as the Strait of Sicily. We shall in the first place speak of Campania. From SinuessaThe ruins of Monte Dragone. to MisenumPunta di Miseno. the coast forms a vast gulf; beyond this is another gulf still larger, which they name the Crater.The bay of Naples. It is enclosed by the two promontories of Misenum and the Athenaeum.Punta della Campanella. It is along the shores of these [two gulfs] that the whole of Campania is situated. This plain is fertile above all others, and entirely surrounded by fruitful hills and the mountains of the Samnites and Osci. Antiochus says that this country was formerly inhabited by the Opici, and that these were called Ausones. Polybius appears to consider these as two people, for he says that the Opici and Ausones inhabit the country around the Crater.This passage is not found in the works of Polybius, as handed down to us. Others, however, state that it was originally inhabited by Opici and Ausones, but was afterwards seized on by a nation of the Osci, who were driven out by the Cumaei, and these again by the Tyrrheni. Thus the possession of the plain was much disputed on account of its great fertility. [They add that the Tyrrheni] built there twelve cities, and named the metropolis Capua. But luxury having made them effeminate, in the same way that they had formerly been driven from the banks of the Po, they were now forced to abandon this country to the Samnites; who in their turn fell before the Romans. One proof of the fertility of this country is, that it produces the finest corn. I allude to the grain from which a groat is made superior to all kinds of rice, and to almost all other farinacious food. They say that some of the plains are cropped all the year round; twice with rye, the third time with panic, and occasionally a fourth time with vegetables. It is likewise from hence that the Romans procure their finest wines, the Falernian, the Statanian, and the Calenian. That of SurrentumSorrento. is now esteemed equal to these, it having been lately discovered that it can be kept to ripen. In addition to this, the whole country round Venafrum, bordering on the plains, is rich in olives.

The maritime cities [of Campania], after Sinuessa, are Liternum,Torre di Patria. where is the sepulchral monument of the first of the two Scipios, surnamed Africanus; it was here that he passed the last days of his life, having abandoned public affairs in disgust at the intrigues of certain opponents. A river of the same nameLiternus. flows by this city. In like manner the Vulturnus bears the same name as the cityVulturnum. founded on it, which comes next in order: this river flows through VenafrumVenafro. and the midst of Campania. After these [cities] comes Cumae,κύμη. The Greeks gave a singular form to this name of the ancient seat of the Sibyl. Her chamber, which was hewn out of the solid rock, was destroyed when the fortress of Cumae was besieged by Narses, who undermined it. the most ancient settlementEusebius states that it was founded 1050 B. C., a few years before the great migration of the Ionians into Asia Minor. of the Chalcidenses and Cumaeans, for it is the oldest of all [the Greek cities] in Sicily or Italy. The leaders of the expedition, Hippocles the Cumaean and Megasthenes of Chalcis, having mutually agreed that one of the nations should have the management of the colony, and the other the honour of conferring upon it its own name. Hence at the present day it is named Cumae, while at the same time it is said to have been founded by the Chalcidenses. At first this city was highly prosperous, as well as the PhlegraeanWe may observe that Strabo seems not to have restricted the φλέγοͅαιον πέδιον to that which modern geographers term the Phlegraean plains, which are contained between Cumae and the hills bordering the Lake Agnano, a little beyond Pozzuolo, but, like Pliny, to have extended it to the whole region, at present termed Terra di Lavoro. plain, which mythology has made the scene of the adventures of the giants, for no other reason, as it appears, than because the fertility of the country had given rise to battles for its possession. Afterwards, however, the Campanians becoming mastersA note in the French translation observes, that Diodonus Siculua (lib. xii. § 76) places this event in the fourth year of the 89th Olympiad, 421 B. C. Livy (lib. iv. § 44) seems to place it a year later. of the city, inflicted much injustice on the inhabitants, and even violated their wives. Still, however, there remain numerous traces of the Grecian taste, their temples, and their laws. Some are of opinion that Cumae was so called from τὰ κύματα, the waves, the sea-coast near it being rocky and exposed. These people have excellent fisheries. On the shores of this gulf there is a scrubby forest, extending over numerous acres of parched and sandy land. This they call the GallinarianIt is now called Pineta di Castel Volturno. wood. It was there that the admirals of Sextus Pompeius assembled their gangs of pirates, at the time when he drew Sicily into revolt.Forty years B. C.

Near to Cumae is the promontory of Misenum,Punta di Miseno. and between them is the Acherusian Lake,Lago di Fusaro. which is a muddy estuary of the sea. Having doubled Misenum, you come to a harbour at the very foot of the promontory. After this the shore runs inland, forming a deeply indented bay, on which are Baïae and the hot springs, much used, both as a fashionable watering-place, and for the cure of diseases. Contiguous to Baïae is the Lucrine Lake,Lago Lucrino. This lake has almost disappeared, owing to a subterraneous eruption, which in 1538 displaced the water and raised the hill called Monte Nuovo. and within this the Lake Avernus,Lago d’Averno. which converts into a peninsula the land stretching from the maritime district, situated between it and Cumae, as far as Cape Misenum, for there is only an isthmus of a few stadia, across which a subterraneous road is cut [from the head of the gulf of Avernus] to Cumae and the sea [shore] on which it stands. Former writers, mingling fable with history, have applied to Avernus the expressions of Homer in his Invocation of Departed Spirits,νηκυῖα, the title of the 11th book of the Odyssey. and relate that here formerly was an oracle of the dead,νεκυομαντεῖον, another title of the same (11th) book. and that it was to this place that Ulysses came. However, this gulf of Avernus is deep even near the shore, with an excellent entrance, and is both as to its size and nature a harbour; but it is not used, on account of the Lucrine Gulf which lies before it, and is both large and somewhat shallow. The Avernus is surrounded with steep hills which encompass the whole of it, with the exception of the entrance. These hills, now so beautifully cultivated were formerly covered with wild forests, gigantic and impenetrable, which overshadowed the gulf, imparting a feeling of superstitious awe. The inhabitants affirm that birds, flying over the lake, fall into the water,Strabo is not the only one who mentions this: Virgil says, Spelunca alta fuit, vastoque immanis hiatn, Scrupea, tuta lacu nigro, nemorumque tenebris; Quam super hand ullae poterant impune volantes Tendere iter pennis; talis esse halitus atris Faucibus effundens supera ad convexa ferebat; Unde locum Graii dixerunt nomine Avernum. Aeneid. vi. 237. being stifled by the vapours rising from it, a phenomenon of all PlutonianThe Greeks applied the term Plutonian to places where disagreeable and pestilential exhalations arose. localities. They believed, in fact, that this place was a Plutonium, around which the Kimmerians used to dwell, and those who sailed into the place made sacrifice and propitiatory offerings to the infernal deities, as they were instructed by the priests who ministered at the place. There is here a spring of water near to the sea fit for drinking, from which, however, every one abstained, as they supposed it to be water from the Styx: [they thought likewise] that the oracle of the dead was situated some where here; and the hot springs near to the Acherusian Lake indicated the proximity of Pyriphlegethon. Ephorus, peopling this place with Kimmerii, tells us that they dwell in under-ground habitations, named by them Argillae, and that these communicate with one another by means of certain subterranean passages; and that they conduct strangers through them to the oracle, which is built far below the surface of the earth. They live on the mines together with the profits accruing from the oracle, and grants made to them by the king [of the country]. It was a traditional custom for the servants of the oracle never to behold the sun, and only to quit their caverns at night. It was on this account that the poet said, On them the Sun Deigns not to look with his beam-darting eye. Nor ever does the light-giving Sun shine upon them. Odys. xi. 15.Odys. xi. 15. At last, however, these men were exterminated by one of the kings, the oracle having deceived him; but [adds Ephorus] the oracle is still in existence, though removed to another place. Such were the myths related by our ancestors. But now that the wood surrounding the Avernus has been cut down by Agrippa, the lands built upon, and a subterranean passage cut from Avernus to Cumae, all these appear fables. PerhapsThe text here appears to have been corrupted. Cocceius, who made this subterranean passage,We agree with Kramer in considering as an interpolation the words, τε καὶ ἐπὶ νέαν πόλιν ἐκ δικαιαοͅχίας ἐπὶ ταῖς βαἷαις, and likewise another at Neapolis from Dioearchia to Baicoe. It is generally supposed that the Grotta di Pausilipo, or Crypta Neapolitana, is of much greater antiquity than the Augustan age, when Cocceius flourished. There is good reason to refer that great undertaking to the Cumaei, of whose skill in works of this nature we have so remarkable an instance in the temple of their sibyl. wished to follow the practice of the Kimmerians we have already described, or fancied that it was natural to this place that its roads should be made under-ground.

The Lucrine gulf extends in breadth as far as Baïae; it is separated from the sea by a bank eight stadia in length, and the breadth of a carriage-way; this they say was constructed by Hercules when he drove away the oxen of Geryon. But as the wave covered its surface in stormy weather, rendering it difficult to pass on foot, Agrippa has repaired it. Small vessels can put into it, but it is useless as a harbour.Dion Cassius tells us, on the contrary, that owing to the exertions of Agrippa, the gulfs both of Avernus and Lucrinus became excellent ports, λιμένας ναυλοχωτάτους ἀπέδειξεν. It contains abundant oyster-beds. Some take this to be the Acherusian Lake, while Artemidorus confounds it with Avernus. They say that Baïae took its name from Baius one of the companions of Ulysses, and Misenum from Misenus. Beyond is the strand and city of Dicaearchia. Formerly it was nothing but a naval station of the Cumaei. It was built on an eminence. But at the time of the war with Hannibal, the Romans established a colony there, and changed its name into Puteoli,Pozzuoli. [an appellation derived] from its wells; or, according to others, from the stench of its waters, the whole district from hence to Baïae and Cumae being full of sulphur, fire, and hot-springs. Some too are of opinion that it was on this account [that the country about] Cumae was named Phlegra, and that the fables of the giants struck down by thunderbolts owe their origin to these eruptions of fire and water. This city has become a place of extensive commerce, having artificially constructed harbours, which were much facilitated by the facile nature of the sand, which contains much gypsum, and will cement and consolidate thoroughly. For mixing this sand with chalk-stones they construct moles in the sea, thus forming bays along the open coast, in which the largest transport ships may safely ride. Immediately above the city lies the Forum-Vulcani,La Solfa-terra. a plain surrounded with hills which seem to be on fire, having in many parts mouths emitting smoke, frequently accompanied by a terrible rumbling noise; the plain itself is full of drifted sulphur.

After Dicaearchia is Neapolis,Naples. [foundedInnumerable accounts exist relative to the foundation of this city. The most prevalent fiction was that the siren Parthenope was cast upon its shores, and from her it derived the name, by which it was usually designated by the ancient poets. Sirenum dedit una suum memorabile nomen Parthenope muris Acheloïas: aequore cujus Regnavere diu cantus, quum dulce per undas Exitium miseris caneret non prospera nautis. Sil. Ital. xii. 33. Scymnus of Chios mentions both the Phocaei and Cumaei as its founders. Stephanus of Byzantium attributes its foundation to the Rhodians; their proximity is favourable to the claims of the Cumaei, and hence the connexion of Naples with Euboea, alluded to by Statius, who was born there. At te nascentem gremio mea prima recepit Parthenope, dulcisque solo tu gloria nostro Reptasti; nitidum consurgat ad aethera tellus Eubois, et pulchra tumeat Sebethos alumna. Silv. i. 2. A Greek inscription mentions a hero named Eumelus as having had divine honours paid to him, possibly as founder of the city. [See Capaccio, Hist. Nap. p. 105. Martorelli de’ Fenici primi abitatori di Napoli.] This may illustrate the following lines,— Di patrii, quos auguriis super aequora magnis Littus ad Ausonium devexit Abantia classis, Tu ductor populi longe emigrantis Apollo, Cujus adhuc volucrem leva cervice sedentem Respiciens blande felix Eumelis adorat. Silv. iv. 8, 45. originally] by the Cumaei, but afterwards being peopled by Chalcidians, and certain Pithecussaeans and Athenians,Probably those mentioned in a fragment of Timaeus, quoted by Tzetzes, (ad Lycophr. v. 732–737,) as having migrated to Italy under the command of Diotimus, who also instituted the λαμπαδηφοοͅία, which was still observed at Naples in the time of Statius: Tuque Actaea Ceres, cursu cui semper anhelo Votivam taciti quassamus lampada mystae. Silv. iv. 8, 50. it was on this account denominated Naples.Neapolis, or Naples, signifying the new city. Here is pointed out the tomb of Parthenope, one of the sirens, and a gymnastic sport is celebrated by command of an oracle. In course of time the inhabitants, having disagreed amongst themselves, admitted certain Campanians; thus being forced to regard in the light of friends those most inimical to them, since their friends were hostile. This is proved by the names of their demarchi, the earlier of which are Grecian, but the latter a mixture of Campanian with the Grecian names. Many traces of Grecian institution are still preserved, the gymnasia, the ephebeia,Places of exercise for youth. the fratriae,Societies. and the Grecian names of people who are Roman citizens. At the present time they celebrate, every fifth year, public games for music and gymnastic exercises during many days, which rival the most famous games of Greece. There is here a subterranean passage, similar to that at Cumae,Grotta di Pausilipo. extending for many stadia along the mountain,Pausilypus mons was the name of the ridge of hills which separates the bay of Naples from that of Pozzuoli. This was probably given to it on account of its delightful situation and aspect, which rendered it the favourite residence of several noble and wealthy Romans. between DicaearchiaPuteoli. and Neapolis: it is sufficiently broad to let carriages pass each other, and light is admitted from the surface of the mountain, by means of numerous apertures cut through a great depth.Seneca, in describing the Crypta Neapolitana, as it was then called, gives an exaggerated account of the sombre horrors of the place. Perhaps in his time the apertures had become obstructed, which was evidently not the case at the time when Strabo, or the authority whom he follows, visited the place. Naples also has hot springs and baths not at all inferior in quality to those at Baïae, but much less frequented, for another city has arisen there, not less than Dicaearchia, one palace after another having been built. Naples still preserves the Grecian mode of life, owing to those who retire hither from Rome for the sake of repose, after a life of labour from childhood, and to those whose age or weakness demands relaxation. Besides these, Romans who find attractions in this style of life, and observe the numbers of persons dwelling there, are attracted by the place, and make it their abode.

Following this is the fortress of Heraclaeum,Hercolano, or Herculaneum, by Cicero (to Atticus, vii. 3) called Herculanum. It is probable that the subversion of this town was not sudden, but progressive, since Seneca mentions a partial demolition which it sustained from an earthquake. (Nat. Quoest. vi. 1.) So many books have been written on the antiquities and works of art discovered in Herculaneum, that the subject need not be enlarged upon here. built upon a promontory which projects out into the sea, and which, on account of the prevalence of the south-west wind, is a very healthy spot. The OsciSeveral inscriptions in Oscan, and Etruscan, characters have been discovered in the ruins of Herculaneum. Lanzi, (tom. iii.,)—Romanelli Viaggio a Pompei ed Ercolano. originally possessed both this and Pompeia,Pompeii. which is next to it, by which the river SarnoThe ancient Sarnus. flows; afterwards the Tyrrheni and Pelasgi,These Pelasgi were established among the Tyrrhenians. and then the SamnitesIt is believed that the Samnites possessed both places, 310, B. C. obtained possession of them, and the lastThe Romans must have been masters of these cities 272, B. C. (Livy, Epit. xiv.) in their turn were driven from these regions. Pompeia is the port for Nola,Nola resisted, under the able direction of Marcellus, all the efforts of Hannibal after the battle of Cannae. A remarkable inscription in Oscan characters relative to this town is explained by Lanzi, (tom. iii. 612,) its name is there written NUFLA. See Cramer’s Ancient Italy, vol. ii. p. 211. Nuceria,Nocera de’ Pagani. and Acerrae, which bears the same name as the city near to Cremona. It is built on the river Sarno, by which merchandise is received and exported. Above these places is Mount Vesuvius, which is covered with very beautiful fields, excepting its summit, a great part of which is level, but wholly sterile. It appears ash-coloured to the eye, cavernous hollows appear formed of blackened stones, looking as if they had been subjected to the action of fire. From this we may infer that the place was formerly in a burning state with live craters, which however became extinguished on the failing of the fuel. Perhaps this [volcano] may have been the cause of the fertility of the surrounding country, the same as occurs in Catana, where they say that that portion which has been covered with ashes thrown up by the fires of Aetna is most excellent for the vine. The land about Vesuvius contains fat, and a soil which has been subjected to fire, and is very strong and productive of fruit: when this fat superabounds, it is apt, like all sulphurous substances, to take fire, but being dried up by evaporation, extinguished, and pulverized, it becomes a productive earth. Adjoining Pompeia is Surrentum,Sorrento. [a city] of the Campanians, from whence the Athenaeum,Punta della Campanella. called by some the promontory of the Sirenuae, projects [into the sea]; upon its summit is the temple of Minerva, founded by Ulysses. From hence to the island of Capreas the passage is short; after doubling the promontory you encounter various desert and rocky little islands, which are called the Sirenusae.The Sirenusae were three small rocks detached from the land, and celebrated as the islands of the Sirens; they are now called Galli. See Holsten. Adnot. p. 248; Romanelli, torn. iii. p. 619. Virgil, Aen. v. 864, describes them as, Jamque adeo scopulos advecta subibat; Difficiles quondam, multorumque ossibus albos. It had been decreed that the Sirens should live only till some one hearing their song should pass on unmoved, and Orpheus, who accompanied the Argonauts, having surpassed the Sirens, and led on the ship, they cast themselves into the sea, and were metamorphosed into these rocks. On the side towards Surrentum there is shown a temple with the ancient offerings of those who held this place in veneration. Here is the end of the bay named Crater,The bay of Naples. which is bounded by the two promontories of MisenumPunta di Miseno. and the Athenaeum, both looking towards the south. The whole is adorned by the cities we have described, by villas, and plantations, so close together that to the eye they appear but one city.

In front of Misenum lies the island of Prochyta,Procida. which has been rent from the Pithecussae.Ischia. Pithecussae was peopled by a colony of Eretrians and Chalcidians, which was very prosperous on account of the fertility of the soil and the productive gold-mines; however, they abandoned the island on account of civil dissensions, and were ultimately driven out by earthquakes, and eruptions of fire, sea, and hot waters. It was on account of these eruptions, to which the island is subject, that the colonists sent by Hiero,It appears that Hiero the First is here alluded to; he ascended the throne 478 years before the Christian era. the king of Syracuse, abandoned the island, together with the town which they had built, when it was taken possession of by the Neapolitans. This explains the myth concerning Typhon, who, they say, lies beneath the island, and when he turns himself, causes flames and water to rush forth, and sometimes even small islands to rise in the sea, containing springs of hot water. Pindar throws more credibility into the myth, by making it conformable to the actual phenomena, for the whole strait from Cumae to Sicily is subigneous, and below the sea has certain galleries which form a communication between [the volcanosThe volcanos of Sicily, Lipari, Pithecussae, or Ischia, and Mount Vesuvius. See Humboldt (Cosmos i. 238, note). of the islandsWe, in common with the French translators and Siebenkees, have adopted the νήσους found in the MS. of Peter Bembo, and some others cited by Casaubon.] and those of the main-land. He shows that Aetna is on this account of the nature described by all, and also the Lipari Islands, with the regions around Dicaearchia, Neapolis, Baïae, and the Pithecussae. And mindful hereof, [Pindar] says that Typhon lies under the whole of this space. Now indeed the sea-girt shores beyond Cumae, and Sicily, press on his shaggy breast.Pindar Pyth. Od i. 32; Conf. Pindar. Olymp. Od. iv. 2. Timaeus,This writer flourished about 264 years before the Christian era. who remarks that many paradoxical accounts were related by the ancients concerning the Pithecussae, states, nevertheless, that a little before his time, Mount Epomeus,Epopeus mons, now sometimes called Epomeo, but more commonly Monte San Nicolo. in the middle of the island, being shaken by an earthquake, vomited forth fire; and that the land between it and the coast was driven out into the sea. That the powdered soil, after being whirled on high, was poured down again upon the island in a whirlwind. That the sea retired from it to a distance of three stadia, but after remaining so for a short time it returned, and inundated the island, thus extinguishing the fire. And that the inhabitants of the continent fled at the noise, from the sea-coast, into the interior of Campania. It seems that the hot-springsThe waters at the source Olmitello, in the southern part of the island, are the most efficacious for this disease. here are a remedy for those afflicted with gravel. CapreaeCapri. anciently possessed two small cities, afterwards but one. The Neapolitans possessed this island, but having lost Pithecussae in war, they received it again from Caesar Augustus, giving him in exchange Capreae. This [island] having thus become the property of that prince, he has ornamented it with numerous edifices. Such then are the maritime cities of Campania, and the islands lying opposite to it.

In the interior is the metropolis, Capua, being, as the etymon of the name signifies, the head; for in regard to it all the other cities appear small, excepting Teanum-Sidicinum,Teano. which is a very considerable place. This city lies on the Via Appia, as also the others which lead from hence to Brundusium, [viz.] Callateria,Galazze. We have not hesitated to read Callateria, with all MSS. Kramer has printed καλατία in text. Numismatic writers ascribe to this, and not the Samnite Calatia, the coins with the head of Jupiter on the obverse, and the legend, KALAT, and KALATI, in retrograde Oscan characters on the reverse. Mionnet. Med. Ant. Suppl. vol. i. p. 232; Sestini, Monet. Vet. p. 13. Caudium,S. Maria di Goti, near to Forchia Caudina. and Beneventum.Benevento. On the side of Rome is Casilinum,Nova Capua. situated on the river Vulturnus.Volturno. Here 540 men of Praeneste sustained against Hannibal in the height of his power so desperate a siege, that by reason of the famine, a ratThe text has μεδίμνου; but we have adopted μυὸς, the word proposed by most of the Greek editors; Valerius Maximus, Pliny, and Frontinus all agreeing in the statement, that it was a rat which fetched this enormous price. was sold for two hundred drachmae, the seller dying [of hunger], but the purchaser being saved. Hannibal observing some of them sowing turnip-seed near to the wall, admired, as well he might, the patient courage of these men, who hoped to hold out in the mean while, until these turnips should be ready for food. However, we are assured that they all survived, with the exception of a few who perished either by famine or in war.

In addition to those just spoken of, there are these Campanian cities which we have already mentioned, viz. Cales,Calvi. and Teanum-Sidicinum, the limits of which are respectively marked out by the two temples of Fortune situated on either side of the Via Latina. Besides these are Suessula,Castel di Sessola, near Maddaloni. Atella,Holstenius says that the ruins of Atella are still to be seen near S. Arpino, or S. Elpidio, about two miles beyond Aversa. Nola,Now Nola. It was one of the most ancient and important cities of Campania; though situated in an open plain, it resisted all the efforts of Hannibal after the battle of Cannae. Here Augustus expired, in the same room in which his father Octavius had breathed his last. Nuceria,Nocera. Acerroe,Acerra near the source of the Agno, the ancient Clanius. Abella,Avella Vecchia. with other smaller settlements, some of which are said to be Samnite.Such was Nola, which our author in his sixth book evidently places in the territory of the Samnites. The Samnites, by making incursions into Latium as far as Ardea, and afterwards devastating Campania itself, greatly extended their power. The Campanians, being otherwise accustomed to a despotic government, yielded ready obedience to their commands. At the present day they have been almost entirely exterminated by the various Roman generals, and last of all by Sulla, who was absolute master of the republic. He, after having by numerous battles extinguished the Italian revolt, observing that the Samnites, almost without exception, remained in one body, and with one sole intention, so that they had even marched upon Rome itself, gave them battle under the walls, and as he had issued orders to make no prisoners, many of them were cut to pieces on the field, while the remainder, said to be about three or four thousand men, who threw down their arms, were led off to the Villa Publica in the Campus Martius, and there shut in; three days after soldiers were sent in who massacred the whole; and when [Sulla] drew up his conscription list, he did not rest satisfied until he had destroyed, or driven from Italy, every one who bore a Samnite name. To those who reproached him for this animosity, he replied that he had learned by experience that not a single Roman could rest in peace so long as any of the Samnites survived. Thus their cities have now dwindled into villages, some indeed being entirely deserted, as Boianum,Bojano. Aesernia,Isernia. Panna, TelesiaThe ruins of Telesia are to be seen about a mile from the modern Telese. Allifae was between Telesia and Venafrum. adjoining Venafrum, and others similar, none of which can be looked upon as cities; but in a country so renowned and powerful as Italy, we thought proper to mention places even of second-rate importance. [We should add that] BeneventumBenevento. and VenusiaVenosa. The coins of Venusia have on the reverse the inscription VE., and an eagle resting on a thunderbolt. On the obverse, a head of Jupiter, and sometimes of Bacchus. Sestini, Monet. Vet. p. 15. The Antiquitates Venusinae and the Iter Venusinum were published at Naples in the last century. are still prosperous.

The following is the tradition concerning the [origin of the] Samnites. The Sabines having been engaged for a long period in war with the Ombrici, made a vow, common with some of the Grecian nations, that they would consecrate to the gods the productions of the year.Casaubon conjectures that in place of the τῷ ἔτει τούτῳ, we should read τῷ ἔαρι τούτω, or, the productions of the spring: and it certainly would seem that Strabo is here describing what the Latins called a ver sacrum. An ancient historian, speaking of the occurrence mentioned by Strabo, says, Quondam Sabini fernntur vovisse, si res communis melioribus locis constitisset, se ver sacrum facturos. Sisenn. Hist. lib. iv. ap. Non. Marcell. De doctor. indag. ed. 1683, fol. 2531. Festus, Sext. P. Fest. De verb. sign. F. ed. 1699, p. 478, seems to have mentioned the same thing. They were victorious, and accordingly of the productions,The animals and fruits are intended. the one kind were sacrificed, the other consecrated. However, in a time of scarcity, some one remarked, that they ought likewise to have consecrated the children. This then they did, and the children born at that period were called the sons of Mars.Devoted to Mars. When these had grown up to manhood, they were sent forth, a bull leading the way, to found a colony. The bull lay down to rest in a place belonging to the Opici; a people dwelling in villages. These they drove out, and established themselves in the place. The bull, according to the direction of the diviners, they sacrificed to Mars, who had given him to then as a leader. It seems to have been in allusion to this that their parents called them by the diminutive form of Sabelli.Or little Sabines. The name of Samnites, or, as the Greeks call them, Saunites, originated in another cause. It is also said that certain Lacedaemonians came to dwell amongst them, and that this is the reason of their affection for the Greeks, and that certain of them are called Pitanatae.From Pitane, a place in Laconia. The whole of this, however, appears to be a mere fabrication of the Tarentini, interested in flattering and conciliating to themselves a neighbouring people, so powerful as to be able, on a time, to bring into the field a force of eighty thousand foot-soldiers, and eight thousand cavalry. There is said to be a law amongst the Samnites, excellent in itself, and calculated to excite to virtue. It is not lawful for fathers to give away their daughters to whomsoever they may please; but every year ten of the most virtuous young women, and ten of the most virtuous young men, are selected; of these the most excellent young man is married to the most excellent young woman, the second to the second, and so on in order. Should he who receives this reward, afterwards change and become wicked, he is dishonoured, and the wife who had been given is taken away from him. Beyond are the Hirpini, who are also Samnites: their name they take from the wolf, which conducted their colony; a wolf being called by the Samnites hirpos: these people border on the Leucani in the interior. So much for the Samnites.

The fertility of their country has been productive to the Campanians of as much evil as good. Their luxury ran to such a height, that they would invite to supper, in order to exhibit pairs of fighting gladiators, the exact number of pairs being regulated according to the distinction of the guests. When, on their voluntary submission to Hannibal, they received his soldiers into winter quarters,B. C. 216. the pleasures [of the place] rendered the men so effeminate, that Hannibal said, although conqueror, that he was in danger of the enemy, since his soldiers were returned to him women, and no longer men. When the Romans obtained the mastery,211 B. C. they inflicted on them numerous ills, and ended by distributing their land by lot.B. C. 59. At the present day they are living in prosperity, and on friendly terms with the [Roman] colonists, and preserve their ancient reputation, both in respect to the size of their city and the numbers of their population. Beyond Campania and the Samnites,We concur with Kramer in considering that the words μέχρι φρεντανῶν, which occur immediately after σαυνῖτιν, have been interpolated. and upon the Tyrrhenian Sea, dwells the nation of the Picentini. This is a small off-shoot from the Picentini who dwell near the Adriatic, and was transplanted by the Romans to the Posidoniate Gulf,The Gulf of Salerno. now called the Gulf of Paestum. The city of Posidonia, which is built about the middle of the gulf, is called Paestum.Pesti. The Sybarites [when they founded the cityThis city must have been founded nearly 540 years B. C., for Herodotus says that the Phocaeans were chiefly induced to settle on the shores of Aenotria by the advice of a citizen of Posidonia, and they founded Velia in the reign of Cyrus. B. i. 164.] built the fortifications close upon the sea, but the inhabitants removed higher up. In after time442 B. C. the Leucani seized upon the city, but in their turn were deprived of it by the Romans.B. C. 274. It is rendered unhealthy by a riverApparently the Fiume Salso. which overflows the marshy districts in the neighbourhood. Between the Sirenusse and PosidoniaPesti. is Marcina,Vietri. a city founded by the Tyrrheni, but inhabited by the Samnites. [To go] from thence into Pompaea,Pompeii. through Nuceria,Nocera. [you cross] an isthmus of not more than 120 stadia. The Picentes extend as far as the river Silaro,The ancient Silaris. which separates their country on this side from ancient Leucania.We are inclined to read Leucania with Du Theil. The Paris manuscript, No. 1393, reads κανίαν. The water of this river is reported to possess the singular property of petrifying any plant thrown into it, preserving at the same time both the colour and form.Pliny, in his Natural History, (lib. ii. § 106,) has confirmed Strabo’s account. It appears from Cluvier that the people who inhabit the banks of the Silaro are not acquainted with any circumstances which might corroborate the statement. (Cluvier, Ital. Ant. lib. iv. c, 14.) Picentia was formerly the capital of the Picentes; but they now dwell in villages, having been ejected by the RomansAbout B. C. 201. for taking part with Hannibal. Also, instead of doing military service, it has been decreed that they shall be the public daily couriers and letter-carriers; [a penalty] which for the same cause has been likewise inflicted on the Leucani and Bruttii. To keep them in check, the Romans fortified Salernum, which is a little above the sea. The distance from the Sirenusse to the Silaro is 260 stadia.

The Sixth Book contains the remainder of Italy, and the regions within the Adriatic, as far as Macedonia; likewise a description of Apulia, Calabria, the country by the Ionian Gulf, together with the adjacent islands, from Sicily to the Ceraunian mountains, and on the other side as far as Carthage, and the small islands lying near to it.

AFTER the mouth of the Silaro,The ancient Silaris. is Leucania, and the temple of Argive Juno, founded by Jason. Near to this, within 50 stadia, is Posidonia.Pesti. Sailing thence, towards the high sea, is the island of Leucosia,It is now called Licosa, and sometimes Isola piana; several vestiges of buildings were discovered on the island in 1696. Antonin. della Lucan. p. ii. disc. 8. at a little distance from the main-land. It bears the name of one of the Sirens, who according to the mythology was cast up here, after having been precipitated with her companions into the deep. The promontoryCapo della Licosa. of the island projects opposite the Sirenussae,Punta della Campanella. forming the bay of Posidonium.Golfo di Salerno. After having made this cape there is another contiguous bay, on which is built the city which the Phocaeans called Hyela when they founded it, but others Ela from a certain fountain. People in the present day call it Elea. It is here that Parmenides and Zeno, the Pythagorean philosophers, were born. And it is my opinion that through the instrumentality of those men, as well as by previous good management, the government of that place was well arranged, so that they successfully resisted the Leucani and the Posidoniatae, notwithstanding the smallness of their district and the inferiority of their numbers. They are compelled, therefore, on account of the barrenness of the soil, to apply to maritime trade chiefly, to employ themselves in the salting of fish, and in such other occupations. AntiochusStrabo here cites the historian Antiochus, but it is surprising that he does not rather cite the writer from whom Antiochus seems to have borrowed this account, we mean Herodotus, who relates it (lib. i. § 164). But Strabo, probably, looking upon Herodotus as a collector of fables, chose rather to yield to the authority of Antiochus, who had written very accurate memoirs upon Italy, and who was, likewise, himself a very ancient author, (Dion. Halicarn. Antiq. Rom. lib. i. § 12,) and flourished about 420 years before the Christian era. says that when Phocea was taken by Harpagus, the general of Cyrus, those who had the means embarked with their families, and sailed under the conduct of Creontiades, first to Cyrnos and Marseilles, but having been driven thence, they founded Elea;Or Velia, founded 532 B.C., mentioned by Horace, Epist. I. xv. l, Quae sit hyems Veliae, quod coelum, Vala, Salerni. the name of which some say is derived from the river Elees.The modern Alento. The city is distant about two hundred stadia from Posidonia. After this city is the promontory of Palinurus. But in front of the Eleatis are the Oenotrides, two islandsNow unknown. having good anchorage.Pliny affirms that these two islands were called, the one Pontia, the other Ischia; Contra Veliam Pontia et Ischia. Utraequc uno nomine Oenotrides, argumentum possesses ab Oenotriis Italiae. Hist. Nat. lib. iii. § 13. If this reading be not faulty, Pliny will have placed in the latitude, of which our author is now giving a description, a small island bearing the same name, Pontia, as the island lying off Cape Misenum. And beyond Palinurus are the promontory, harbour, and river of Pyxus;The Buxentum of the Latins. the three having the same name. This colony was founded471 years before the Christian era. by Micythus, then governor of Messina in Sicily; but those who were located here, except a few, abandoned the place. After Pyxus are the gulf,Gulf of Policastro. the river,Now the river Laino. and the cityCalled Laino in the time of Cluverius. Lib. iv. cap. 14. of Laüs. This, the lastUpon this coast. city of the Leucani, situate a little above the sea, is a colonyFounded about the year 510 B. C. of the Sybarites, and is distant from Aelea 400 stadia. The whole circuit of Leucania, by sea is 650 stadia. Near to Latis is seen the tomb of Draco, one of the companions of Ulysses, and the oracular response, given to the Italian Greeks, alludes to him: Some day, around the Dragon’s stony tomb, A mighty multitude shall meet their doom. For the Greeks of Italy, enticed by this prophecy, marched against Laiis, and were defeated by the Leucani.About the year 390 before the Christian era.

Such, along the shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea, are the possessions of the Leucani, which at first did not reach to the other sea;i. e. the Gulf of Tarentum. the Greeks who dwelt on the Gulf of Tarentum possessed it. But before the coming of the Greeks there were no Leucani, the ChonesStrabo seems here to distinguish the Chones from the Oenotri, and the CEnotri from the Greeks. According to Cluvier (Ital. Antiq. cap. 16, p. 1323) here was a double error: not only (says he) Aristotle, but Antiochus, according to Strabo’s own testimony, positively affirmed that the Chones and Oenotri were one and the same nation, and Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Antiq. Roman. lib. i. § 11) makes no doubt that the Oenotri were of Greek origin. But Mazochi justifies the distinction between the Chones and the Oenotri, and shows cause to doubt that the Oenotri were of Greek origin. and Oenotri possessed these territories. But when the Samnites had greatly increased, and expelled the Chones and Oenotri, and driven the Leucani into this region, while the Greeks possessed the seacoast on both sides as far as the straits, the Greeks and the Barbarians maintained a lengthened contest. The tyrants of Sicily, and afterwards the Carthaginians, at one time making war against the Romans, for the acquisition of Sicily, and at another, for Italy itself, utterly wasted all these regions. The Greeks, however, succeeded in depriving the ancient inhabitants of a great portion of the midland country, beginning even as early as the Trojan war; they increased in power, and extent of territory, to such a degree, that they called this region and Sicily, the Magna Groecia. But now the whole region, except Tarentum, Rhegium, and Neapolis, has become barbarian,ἐκβεβαοͅβαοͅῶσθαι. We think with Mazochi (Prodrom. ad Heracl. pseph. diatrib. 2, cap. 7, sect. 2) that, by the above word, Strabo probably expressed that, at the time when he wrote, Tarentum, Rheggio, and Naples were the only cities founded by the Greeks in Italy, which, although become Roman, retained the language, laws, and usages of their mother country. and belongs partly to the Leucani and Bruttii, partly to the Campani; to these, however, only in name, but truly to the Romans; for these people have become Roman. However, it is incumbent on one who is treating of universal geography, to speak both of things as they now are, and of some of those that have been, and especially when they are important. Of the Leucani, who border upon the Tuscan Sea, mention has already been made; those who possess the midland regions dwell above the Gulf of Tarentum, but these, as well as the Bruttii, and the Samnites themselves, the progenitors of both, have been so maltreated [by the Romans], that it is difficult to determine the boundaries of each people. The reason of this is, that there no longer remains separately any of the institutions common to these nations; and their peculiarities of language, of military and civil costume, and such particulars, have passed away; besides, even their places of abode, considered separately and apart, possess nothing worthy of observation.

We will narrate in a general manner what we have gathered concerning the Leucani, who dwell in the interior, without too much care in distinguishing them from their neighbours, the Samnites. PetiliaIt has been well observed by Cramer in his Ancient Italy, that Strabo confused this Petilia of the Leucani with another better known of the Bruttii, the foundation of which was attributed to Philoctetes. It is observed by Antonini that Strabo contradicts himself, by ascribing to Philoctetes the origin of a town in Leucania, for he states a few lines further on that that hero occupied a part of the coast near Crotona, which was in the territory of the Bruttii. Strabo’s account, however, of the existence of a Leucanian Petilia is confirmed by many inscriptions of early date. The ruins of the town remain on the Monte della Stella. Antonin. della Lucan. p. i. disc. 8. Romanelli, tom. i. p. 350. is considered as the metropolis of the Leucani, and is still well peopled. It owes its foundation to Philoctetes, who was compelled to quit Meliboea on account of civil dissensions. Its position is so strong, that the Samnites were formerly obliged to construct forts around it for the defence of their territory. The ancient Crimissa, situated near these places, was also founded by Philoctetes. Apollodorus, in his description of the ships [of the Greeks], narrates concerning Philoctetes, that, according to certain writers, this prince having disembarked in the district of Crotona, settled on the promontory of Crimissa, and built the city of ChoneAccording to some judicious antiquaries, the site of Chone is located at Casabuona, near Strongoli. above it, from which the inhabitants were called Chones; and that certain colonists being sent by him into Sicily, to the neighbourhood of Eryx,Trapani del Monte. with Aegestus the Trojan, founded Aegesta.The ruins of this city, which was anciently called also Egesta, Acesta, and Segesta, may be seen at Barbara, in the valley of Mazzara. In the inland districts are also Grumentum,Kramer, following the suggestion of Xylander, has printed γοͅουμεντὸν. I am inclined, however, to think that πουμεντὸν, the reading of Manuscripts, is correct. According to Barrio, it occupied the situation of Gerenza, on the right bank of the Nieto. Vertinae,Verzine on the Nieto. (Barr. lib. iv. cap. 18. Maraf. lib. iii. c. 18.) Calasarna,Calasarna is supposed by the Calabrian topographers to accord with the site of Campania. and other small villages, reaching as far as Venusia,Venosa, situated about 15 miles south of the Aufidus. It was a colony of importance before the war against Pyrrhus. After the disaster at Cannae, it afforded a retreat to Varro and the few who escaped that signal overthrow. Horace was born there in the year of the city 688. About six miles from Venosa, on the site named Palazzo, was the Fons Bandusiae. (Chaupy, Des c. de la maison de Camp. d’ Horace, tom. iii. p. 538.) a city of some importance. This, however, I consider to be a Samnite city, as are also those which are next met with on going into Campania. Above the Thurii lies the district called Tauriana.Cluvier thought that we should read θουριανὴ instead of ταυριανὴ. The Leucani are of Samnite origin. Having vanquished the Posidoniates and their allies, they took possession of their cities. At one time the institutions of the Leucani were democratic, but during the wars a king was elected by those who were possessed of chief authority: at the present time they are Roman.

The Bruttii occupy the remainder of the coast as far as the Strait of Sicily, extending about 1350 stadia. Antiochus, in his treatise on Italy, says that this district, which he intended to describe, was called Italy, but that previously it had been called Oenotria. The boundary which he assigns to it on the Tyrrhenian Sea, is the river Lao,Laos, now Lao. and on the Sea of Sicily Metapontium, the former of which we have given as the boundary of the Bruttii. He describes Tarentum, which is next to Metapontium,Torre di Mare. as beyond Italy, calling it Iapygian. He also relates that, at a more ancient period, those who dwelt on this side the isthmus, which lies next the Strait of Sicily, were the only people who were called Oenotrians and Italians. The isthmus is 160 stadia across between the two gulfs, namely, that of Hipponium,Golfo di S. Eufemia. which Antiochus called Napitinus, and that of Scylletium.Golfo di Squillace. Scylletium was once a Greek city of note, communicating its name to the gulf. Servius observes that the Athenians who founded the colony were returning from Africa. There was a Greek inscription found in 1791 relative to the λαμπαδηδοͅομία, which seems to confirm the tradition of the Athenian origin of Scylletium. It was the birth-place of Cassiodorus. The circumnavigation of the peninsula, which is comprised between this isthmus and the strait, is 2000 stadia. He says that afterwards the names of Italy and of the Oenotrians were extended as far as Metapontium and the Siritis; the Chones, a people of Oenotrian descent, and highly civilized, inhabited these districts, and called their country Chone. However, this author has written in a very loose and old-fashioned manner, without giving any definite boundaries to the Leucani and Bruttii. Now Leucania is situated on the Tyrrhenian and Sicilian Seas, extending on one coast from the Silaroσιλαοͅις. The Silaro, which divides Lucania from Campania, takes its rise in the Apennines, in a district which formerly belonged to the Hirpini; and after receiving the Tanager, now Negro, and the Calor, now Calore, falls into the Gulf of Salerno. Silius Italicus (viii. 582) states that this river possessed the property of incrusting twigs with a calcareous deposit: Nunc Silarus quos nutrit aquis, quo gurgite tradunt Duritiem lapidum mersis inolescere ramis. At its mouth was a haven named Portus Albernus. to the river Lao, and on the other from MetapontiumTorre di Mare. to Thurii. Along the continent it stretches from the country of the Samnites, as far as the isthmus between Thurii and Cerilli,Cirella. near the Lao. This isthmus is 300 stadiaThis measure, upon our charts, is 330 Olympic stadia. Gosselin. across. Beyond are the Bruttii, who dwell on the peninsula; in this is included another peninsula, which is bounded by the isthmus between ScylletiumGolfo di Squillace. and the Hipponiate gulf.The Golfo di S. Eufemia. ποͅὸς ἅπαντας. Lit. He stirred up every body against every body. It is conceived that the hostilities of the Bruttii were fomented by Dion in order to prevent the tyrant Dionysius from deriving any aid from his Leucanian allies. The advancement of the Bruttii to independence is computed by Diodorus Siculus to have taken place about 397 years after the foundation of Rome, that is, 356 before the Christian era. The nation received its appellation from the Leucani, for they call runaways Bruttii, and they say that formerly they ran away from them when employed as shepherds, and that afterwards their independence was established through the weakness [of the Leucani], when Dion [of Syracuse] was prosecuting a war against [the younger] Dionysius, and fomented hostilities amongst all.ἐξετάραξ. This is all we shall remark as to the Leucani and Bruttii.

From the Lao the first city is the TemesaThe situation of Temesa has not yet been fully determined. Cluverius fixes it about ten miles south of Amantea, near Torre Loppa. Romanelli observes, however, that Cluverius has not allowed for the difference between the ancient and modern computation of distance. To rectify this oversight, he makes choice of Torre del piano del Casale, nearly two miles north of Torre Loppa, as the locality of this ancient site. The silver coins of Temesa are scarce. They have the Greek epigraph, TEM. of the Bruttii, which at present is called Tempsa. It was founded by the Ausonians; afterwards the Aetolians, under the command of Thoas, gained possession of it. These were expelled by the Bruttii; Hannibal and the Romans have overthrown the Bruttii.After the second Punic war it was colonized by the Romans, who called it Tempsa, B. C. 195. In the vicinity of Temesa is the Heroum of Polites, one of the companions of Ulysses. It is surrounded by a thick grove of wild olives. He was treacherously slain by the barbarians, and became in consequence very wrathful, and his shade so tormented the inhabitants that they submitted to pay him a tribute, according to the direction of a certain oracle. Thus it became a proverb amongst them, Let no one offend the hero of Temesa, for they said that [for a long time heWe concur with Kramer in approving the proposition of Groskurd to understand the words ἐκεῖνον μὲν οὺ͂ν διά πολλοῦ as having been originally written in the text immediately before ἐπικεῖσθαι αὐτοῖς.] had tormented them. But when the Epizephyrian Locrians took the city, they feign that Euthymus the pugilist went out against him, and having overcome him in fight, constrained him to free the inhabitants from tribute.They had been compelled to sacrifice a virgin annually in order to appease his disturbed spirit. They say that the poet intended this Temesa, and not the TamassusBorgo di Tamasso. in Cyprus, (for it is said that the words are suitable to either,These words in parenthesis seem to have been interpolated by the transcribers of our author. Both Temesa and Tamassus were rich in metal, but the spelling of the name in Homer is more in accordance with Temesa than Tamassus, and other poets have alluded to it, as Ovid. Met. xv. 706, Evincitque fretum, Siculique angusta Pelori, Hippotadaeque domos regis, Temesesque metalla. Ovid. Met. xv. 706 And Fast. v. 441, . . . . . Temesaeaque concrepat sera. Fast. v. 441 And Statius, Silv. i. 42, Et cui se toties Temese dedit hausta metallis.Statius, Silv. i. 42) when he sings, in quest of brass To Temesa.Odyssey i. 184.Odyssey i. 184. and certain copper-mines are pointed out near to the place, which are now exhausted. Contiguous to it is Terina,Nocera. which Hannibal destroyed, when he found he could no longer retain it; at the time when he took refuge in the country of the Bruttii.Hannibal took refuge in Calabria about 209 years before the Christian era. Next in order comes Cosentia,Cosenza, near the source of the Crathis, now Crati, represents Cosentia. It was taken by Hannibal after the surrender of Petilia, but towards the end of the war the Romans regained it. the metropolis of the Bruttii. A little above it is Pandosia, which is strongly fortified, before which Alexander the Molossian king was overthrown. This prince was led astray by the oracle of Dodona, which commanded him to avoid Acheron and Pandosia; αἰακίδη, προφύλαξαξο μολεῖν?̓αχερούσιον ὕδωρ πανδοσίην θʼ, ὅθι τοι θάνατος πεπρωμένος ἐστί. Son of Aeacus, beware of approaching the Acherusian water and Pandosia, where death is destined for thee. for places with names like these being pointed out in Thesprotia, caused him to lose his lifeAbout B. C. 330. here. The position has three summits, and the river Acheron flows by it. He was also mistaken in another oracle, O Pandosia, thou three-topp’d hill, Hereafter many people thou shalt kill; for he thought that it foreshowed the destruction of his enemies, and not of his own people. They say that PandosiaCommentators generally agree that this is the Pandosia memorable for the defeat and death of Alexander, king of Epirus. The early Calabrian antiquaries have placed it at Castel Franco. D’Anville, in his map, lays it down near Lao and Cirella. Modern investigators have sought its ruins near Mendocino, between Cosenza and the sea, a hill with three summits having been remarked there, which answers to the fatal height pointed out by the oracle, πανδοσία τρικόλωνε, πολύν ποτε λαὸν ὀλέσσεις· together with a rivulet, Maresanto or Arconti; which last name recalls the Acheron denounced by another prediction, as so inauspicious to the Molossian king. Scylax, in his Periplus, seems to place Pandosia, together with Clampetia and Terina, near the western coast. was formerly the residence of the Oenotrian kings. After Cosentia is Hipponium,Afterwards Vibo Valentia, now Monte-Leone. founded by the Locrians.Surnamed the Epizephyrii. Heyne supposes this took place B. C. 388. The Romans took it from the Bruttii, who were in possession of it at a subsequent period, and changed the name into Vibo-Valentia.B. C. 193. And because the meadows in its vicinity are luxuriant and full of flowers, it is supposed that Proserpine came over from Sicily to gather them, and from thence the custom among women of this city, to gather flowers and plait garlands, prevailed to such an extent, that they now think it shameful to wear purchased garlands at the festivals.There was a temple erected to Proserpine in these meadows, and a building called Amalthea’s horn, raised by Gelon of Syracuse. It also possesses a harbourThe present harbour of Bivona. made by Agathocles,He reigned from B. C. 317 to B. C. 289. the tyrant of Sicily, when he was in possession of the town. On sailing hence to the Portus Herculis,Now Le Formicole. The promontory named Capo Vaticano seems to have been anciently known under the same appellation. we come to the point where the headlands of Italy, as they stretch towards the Strait [of Sicily], begin to turn westward. In this voyage we pass Medma,Medma, or Mesma, was situated on the right bank of the river Mesima, which seems to retain traces of the name of the ancient city. Antiquaries report that its ruins are seen between Nicotera and the river Mesima. The epigraph on the coins of this city is generally μεσμα, Or μεσμαιων, and in a single instance μεδαμα. a city of the same Locrians,That is, the Epizephyrian Locrians. which bears the name of a copious fountain, and possessing at a short distance a naval station, called Emporium.Cluverius considers this to be the modern Bagnara. Very nigh is the river Metauro,The ancient river Metaurus is now also called Marro, and sometimes Petrace. It was noted for the excellence of the thunny fish caught at its mouth. as also a naval station bearing the same name.Metaurum. The site of this place is supposed to accord with that of the town of Gioja. The Lipari Isles lie off this coast; they are distant 200 stadia from the strait. They say that they are the islands of Aeolus, of whom the poet makes mention in the Odyssey.Homer, Odyssey, lib. x. They are seven in number, and are all easily distinguished both from Sicily and the coast of the continent about Medma. We will speak of them in particular when we describe Sicily. After the river Metaurus, there is another Metaurus.There have been many suggestions for the correction of this passage. Kramer thinks that Cluverius was happy in proposing ποταμὸς instead of μέτανοͅος, and that then the Cratais, now Solano, or Fiume de’ Pesci, would be the river which Strabo intended. Next in order is Scyllaeum, an elevated cliff nearly surrounded by the sea. But connected with the main-land by a low isthmus easily accessible on either side, which Anaxilaus, the tyrant of Rhegium, fortified against the Tyrrheni, and formed a commodious haven, and thus prevented the pirates from passing through the strait. Next to the Scyllaean promontory was that of Caenys, distant from Medma 250 stadia. It is the last headland, and forms the narrowest part of the Strait [of Sicily], being opposite to Cape Pelorus on the Sicilian side, which is one of the three points which give to that island the form of a triangle. Its aspect is towards the rising of the sun in summer, whilst that of Caenys looks towards the west. Indeed they both seem to have diverged from the general line of coast in order to stand out opposite each other.According to Pliny, these two promontories were separated by an interval of twelve stadia, or a mile and a half, which accords with the statement of Polybius. Thucydides, however, allows about two miles and a half, which he considers to be the utmost possible distance. Topographers are divided as to the exact point of the Italian coast which answers to Cape Caenys. The Calabrian geographers say the Punta del Pezzo, called also Coda del Volpe, in which opinion Cluverius and D’Anville coincide, but Holstenius contends for the Torre del Cavallo, which the French translators seem to favour. In fact, that may be the narrowest point, still it does not answer so well to Strabo’s description of the figure and bearing of Cape Caenys as the Punta del Pezzo. From Caenys to the PosidoniumThe temple or altar of Neptune. [and] the Columna Rheginorum,The Columna Rhegina, as remarked by Cramer, (vol. ii. p. 427,) was probably a pillar set up to mark the consular road leading to the south of Italy. Strabo speaks of it as a small tower (book iii. c. v. § 5, p 265). In the Itinerary of Antoninus it is simply termed Columna, but In the inscription relative to the Via Aquilia, it is called Statua. The situation of this tower is generally identified with the site of La Catona. the narrow part of the strait stretches as much as 6 stadia, the shortest passage across the strait is a little more. From the Columna [Rheginorum] to Rhegium, where the strait begins to widen, is a hundred [stadia] as you advance in a direction towards the exterior and eastern sea, which is called the sea of Sicily.

RhegiumNow Reggio, one of the most celebrated and flourishing cities of Magna Grecia, founded about 696 years B. C. Cato affirms that it was once in the possession of the Aurunci. The connexion which subsisted between Rhegium and the Chalcidian colonies in Sicily, induced its inhabitants to take part with the Athenians in their first hostilities against the Syracusans and Locrians. In the great Sicilian expedition, the Rhegians observed a strict neutrality. While the Athenian fleet was moored in their roads, they refused to admit the army within their walls, which therefore encamped near the temple of Diana outside the town. Rhegium subsequently pursued a similar policy, and suffered severely under tyrants, but the Roman senate at length freed the unfortunate citizens. was founded by certain Chalcidenses, who, as they say, were decimated as an offering to Apollo in a time of scarcity, by order of an oracle, and afterwards removed hither from Delphi, taking with them certain others from home. As Antiochus says, the Zanclaeans sent for the Chalcidenses, and appointed Antimnestus chief over them. Certain fugitives of the Messenians of Peloponnesus accompanied this colony, who had been compelled to fly by those who refused to give satisfaction to the Lacedaemonians for the violationStrabo here alludes to the crime which was perpetrated in the reign of Teleclus, about 811 years before the Christian era. The division of the Messenians into two parties, the one wishing and the other refusing to give satisfaction, lasted about 150 years. See book vi. cap. iii. § .3. of the virgins at Limnae, whom they had abused when attending the religious festival, and had slain those who assisted them. However when the fugitives had removed to Macistus, they sent to the oracle complaining against Apollo and Diana for suffering these things to happen notwithstanding they so greatly honoured them, and inquiring how the devoted might be saved. Apollo commanded to send them with the Chalcidenses to Rhegium, and to be grateful, therefore, to his sister Diana for that they were not lost but saved, as they should not be destroyed with their country, which would be annihilated shortly after by the Spartans.It Was taken by the Lacedaemonians about B. C. 668. They acted in accordance with the oracle, and thus it was that the rulers of the Rhegini were all of Messenian race until the time of Anaxilaus.

Antiochus asserts that anciently the whole of this district was inhabited by Sicilians and Morgetes; and that they afterwards passed into Sicily when they were expelled by the Oenotri. Some say that MorgantiumIt seems probable that Strabo here refers to Morgantium in Sicily, which had disappeared in his days, and which he mentions in b. vi. c. ii. § 4. thus received its name from the Morgetes. But the city of the Rhegini became very powerful, and possessed many dependent settlements. It has always been a bulwark for us against the island [of Sicily], and, indeed, has recently served to that purpose when Sextus Pompeins alienated Sicily.Sextus Pompeius, having received from the senate the command of the fleet, B. C. 43, in a short time made himself master of Sicily, which he held till 36. It was called Rhegium either, as Aeschylus says, because of the convulsion which had taken place in this region; for Sicily was broken from the continent by earthquakes, Whence it is called Rhegium.This is a quotation from one of the missing works of Aeschylus. Others,Virgil speaks of this great catastrophe, Aen. iii. 414, Haec loca, vi quondam et vasta convulsa ruina (Tantum aevi longinqua valet mutare vetustas,) Dissiluisse ferunt: cum protinus utraque tell us Una foret, venit medio vi pontus, et undis Hesperium Sicuto latus abscidit: arvaque et urbes Litore diductas angusto interluit aestu.Aen. iii. 414 as well as he, have affirmed the same thing, and adduce as an evidence that which is observed about Aetna, and the appearances seen in other parts of Sicily, the Lipari and neighbouring islands, and even in the Pithecussae, with the whole coast beyond them, which prove that it was not unlikely that this convulsion had taken place. But now these mouths being opened, through which the fire is drawn up, and the ardent masses and water poured out, they say that the land in the neighbourhood of the Strait of Sicily rarely suffers from the effects of earthquakes; but formerly all the passages to the surface being blocked up, the fire which was smouldering beneath the earth, together with the vapour, occasioned terrible earthquakes, and the regions, being disturbed by the force of the pent-up winds, sometimes gave way, and being rent received the sea, which flowed in from either side; and thus were formed both this strait and the sea which surrounds the other islands in the neighbourhood. For ProchytaProcida. and the Pithecussae as well as Capreae, Leucosia, the Sirenes, and the Oenotrides, are but so many detached fragments from the continent, but other islands have risen from the bottom of the sea, a circumstance which frequently occurs in many places; for it is more reasonable to think that the islands in the midst of the sea have been raised up from the bottom, and that those which lie off headlands and are separated merely by a strait were broken off from them. Still it is beside our purpose to investigate thoroughly whether the name were given to the city for these causes, or whether it were named by the Samnites from the Latin word regium, which signifies royal, on account of its importance,It appears from the more ancient coins of Rhegium, that the original name was RECION. In these the epigraph is REC. RECI. RECINOS, in characters partaking more of the Oscan than the Greek form; those of more recent date are decidedly Greek, PHT. PHTINQN, being inscribed on them. A note in the French translation shows that the inhabitants of Rhegium did not participate in the rights of Roman citizens till about 90 years before the Christian era. for their chieftains participated in the privileges of citizenship with the Romans, and generally used the Latin language. But Dionysius (the elder), having been treated with contempt by them, destroyed the illustrious city which had founded many towns and produced many distinguished characters, whether statesmen or men of letters,Among these were many followers of Pythagoras, also Theagenes Hippys, Lycus surnamed Butera, and Glaucus, who were historians; Ibicus, Cleomenes, and Lycus the adoptive father of Lycophron, who were poets; Clearchus and Pythagoras, who were sculptors. for when he sought a consort from their city, they offered him the hangman’s daughter;The Rhegians firmly opposed the designs of this tyrant; and when, under pretence of courting their alliance, he sought a consort from their city, they replied with independent feeling that he might have their hangman’s daughter. (See Diodorus Siculus, xiv. 44.) Had the other states of Magna Grecia displayed the same energy, the ambitious views of this artful prince might have been frustrated; but after the defeat of their forces on the Elleporus, now Callipari, they succumbed, and Rhegium, after a gallant defence which lasted nearly a year, was compelled to yield, about the year 398 B. C. The insulting tyrant sentenced the heroic Phyton, who had commanded the town, to a cruel death, and removed the few inhabitants that remained to Sicily. but his son (Dionysius the younger) partly restored it,B. C. 360. and called it Phoebia. During the war with Pyrrhus, a body of Campanians destroyed most of the citizens against the faith of treaties,B. C. 280. and a little before the Marsic or social war, earthquakes destroyed most of the towns;B.C. 91. but after Augustus Caesar had driven Sextus Pompeius out of Sicily, when he saw that the city was deficient of inhabitants, he appointed certain of those who accompanied the expedition to reside there, and it is now tolerably well peopled.The defeat of Sextus Pompeins is referred to the year 36 B. C., but there is no precise date mentioned for the establishment of the veteran soldiers in Rhegium, which probably took place about the year 31 B. C.

Sailing 50 stadia from Rhegium towards the east, we meet the cape called Leucopetra, from the colour of the rock, where they say the range of the Apennines terminates.Pliny computes the distance from Rhegium to Cape Leucopetra at 12 miles; there is probably some error in the text, as there is no cape which corresponds with the distance of 50 stadia from Rhegium. A note in the French translation proposes to read 100 instead of 50 stadia. Topographers are not agreed in fixing the situation of the celebrated Leucopetra. D’Anville places it at Capo Pittaro, Grimaldi at the Punta della Saetta, and Cluverius, Holstenius, and Cellarius at the Capo dell’ Armi. This latter opinion seems more compatible with the statement of Pliny, and is also more generally accredited. Further on is Heraclaeum.The Herculeum Promontorium is known in modern geography as Capo Spartivento. It is the last promontory, and looks towards the south; for presently on doubling it the course takes a south-western direction as far as the promontory of Iapygia,The Promontorium Iapygium, or Sallentinum, as it was sometimes called, formed a remarkable feature in the figure of Italy, while the art of navigation was in its infancy. It was a conspicuous land-mark to mariners bound from the ports of Greece to Sicily. The fleets of Athens, after having circumnavigated the Peloponnesus, usually made for Corcyra, whence they steered straight across to the promontory, and then coasted along the south of Italy. It seems from Thucydides (vi. 44) that there was a haven here which afforded a shelter to vessels in tempestuous weather. then it runs towards the north more and more, and towards the west along the Ionian gulf. After the Herculeum Promontorium is the head-land of Locris, which is called Zephyrium,Now Capo di Bruzzano. possessing a haven exposed to the west winds, whence is derived its name. Then is the state of the Locri Epizephyrii, a colony of Locrians transported by Evanthes from the Crissaean gulf, shortly after the foundation of Crotona and Syracuse.The one 710, the other 734 years B. C. Ephorus was not correct in stating that they were a colony of the Locri Opuntii.The opinion of Ephorus seems to be supported by many other writers, and is generally preferred by modern critics. They remained at first during three or four years at Cape Zephyrium; afterwards they removed their city, with the assistance of certain Syracusans who dwelt amongst them. There is also a fountain called Locria in the place where the Locri first took up their abode. From Rhegium to the Locri there are 600 stadia. The city is built on a height, which they call Esopis.Monte Esope.

The Locri are believed to have been the first who committed their laws to writing, but after they had enjoyed the advantage of these good laws for a very considerable time, Dionysius [the younger], having been expelledThis wicked prince, having been expelled from Syracuse, had found refuge among the Locrians from the storm which threatened his existence, but, depraved as he was degraded, he repaid the kindness of the people, who treated him as their kinsman because his mother Doris had been the daughter of one of their principal citizens, with the basest treachery and ingratitude. He introduced into their city a number of miscreants and having overpowered the inhabitants, gave loose to all the vicious propenalties of his nature. from Syracuse, found means to abuse them in a most abominable manner, for he, entering into a private chamber where certain young brides had been adorned for their nuptials, violated them; he also gathered the most beautiful virgins to his revels, and having liberated doves with uncut wings, commanded the young women to chase them round the apartment in a state of perfect nudity, while on some he bound sandals of unequal height, one being high and the other low, in order to make their appearance in the pursuit the more unseemly. However he paid dearly for this, for having returned to Sicily to resume his government, the Locri overpowered the guard he had left in their city, freed themselves, and obtained possession of his wife and children; there were two of his daughters, and his second son who had already attained the age of manhood; the eldest, however, called Apollocrates, accompanied his father in the expedition. And although Dionysius himself entreated them earnestly, as did also the Tarentines, to deliver the prisoners for whatever ransom they should name, they remained inexorable, and endured a siege and the wasting of their country, that they might vent their rage on his daughters. After having exposed them to the most shameful outrages, they strangled them, burnt their bodies, pounded their bones, and cast them into the sea.Horrid as is the vengeance which the Locri took on these unfortunate victims of a husband’s and a father’s crimes, it serves to confirm the accounts of the iniquity and barbarity of a prince, whose mean and imbecile conduct at other times sanctions the notion that his intellect was disordered. Ephorus in speaking of the written law of the Locri, which Zaleucus had most judiciously selected from the Cretan, Lacedaemonian, and Areopagite codes, says that Zaleucus was the first to establish this principle, that whereas formerly lawgivers had left it to the judges to award the punishments for the several offences, he established a certain penalty in his laws, thinking that the minds of the judges would not be led to attach the same penalties for the same transgressions, which course he considered expedient. He praises him also for having simplified the law of contracts. [He says also] that the Thurians, being desirous to improve [the code of Zaleucus] more than the Locri had done, became more celebrated, but were less judicious.We could almost wish to read this passage—rendered them more plausible, but impaired their utility. For that state is not regulated by the best government, where they guard against all manner of deceit by their laws, but that wherein they abide by laws simply framed. Plato also has observed that where there are many laws, there there will be law-suits and evil lives, in the same way as, where there are many physicians, there it is likely there is much sickness.

There is a certain singular circumstance, respecting grasshoppers, worthy of note. The river AleceThe ancient Halex. divides Rhegium from Locris, flowing through a deep ravine; those which are in the territory of the Locrians sing, but those on the other side are silent; and it is thought probable that this is caused by the region being woody, and their membranes being softened by dew do not produce sound; but those on the Locrian side being sunned, are dry and horny, so that the sound is easily produced by them. The statue of Eunomus the harper having a grasshopper seated on his harp is shown at Locri. Timaeus says, that this Eunomus was once contending at the Pythian games and disputed with Aristo of Rhegium for the prize, and that Aristo declared that the people of Delphi ought to take part with him, because his ancestors were consecrated to the god, and sent out to found the colony; but Eunomus said that they could have no claim to contend for melody with any one, because that among them even the grasshoppers, who are the most gifted of all creatures, were mute. Nevertheless Aristo was applauded, and had hopes of obtaining the victory, but Eunomus was declared victorious, and dedicated the said statue in his country, because that at the contest one of the chords of his harp having broken, a grasshopper taking his stand on it supplied the sound. Above these towns the Bruttii possess the interior, and there is the city Mamertium,Although Strabo ascribes Mamertium to the Bruttii, it is more probable that it was a colony of Campanian mercenaries, deriving their name from Mamers, the Oscan Mars, who served under Agathocles, and other princes of Sicily. The Mamertini were employed by the Romans against Pyrrhus, whom they attacked in the woods and defiles about Rhegium. Barrio (lib. ii. c. 10) and Maraf. (lib. iii. c. 25, f. 222) have identified the site of this ancient town with Martorano, but it seems too distant from Locri and Rhegium to accord with Strabo’s description. Cluverius, D’Anville, and Romanelli place it at Oppido, a bishop’s see above Reggio, and Gerace, where old coins are said to have been discovered. Cramer (vol. ii. p. 439) thinks that the Melae mentioned by Thucydides may have been identical with Mamertium. Several remains of antiquity exist on the site called Mela, in the vicinity of Oppido. and the forest which they call Sila, which produces the best or Bruttian pitch.The pix Bruttia is noticed by Pliny, Columella, Dioscorides, and other authorities mentioned by Bochart, Canaan, p. 595. Bochart looks upon the Bruttii as a people known to the Phoenicians at a very remote period. It yields fine trees, and is well watered, extending over a length of 700 stadia.

After the Locri is the [river] Sagras,Geographers differ much as to the modern river which corresponda to this stream. Romanelli and Swinburne consider it to be the Alam. in the feminine gender, on which is situated the altar of the Dioscuri, near which ten thousand Locrians, with a small body of Rhegians gained a victory over 130,000 Crotoniatae whence they say arose the proverb applied to incredulous people. It is more true than the victory of the Sagras. Some people add to the mysterious account, that it was announced the same day at the Olympic games to the people there assembled, and this speedy news was found perfectly correct. They say that this mischance was so unfortunate an event to the Crotoniatae, that after it they did not long remain as a nation, on account of the number of citizens who fell in the battle. After the Sagras is Caulonia, which was at first called Aulonia, from the αὐλὼν, or valley, in which it was situated; but it is deserted, for its former possessors were driven out by the barbarians,During the war against Pyrrhus, whose cause was espoused by Caulonia, the city was pillaged by the Mamertini, the allies of the Romans. The town was subsequently occupied by the Bruttii, who defended it against the Romans in the second Punic war. Barrio and other Calabrian topographers have fixed its site at Castro Vetere, but Strabo placed it on the left bank of the Sagras, which is inconsistent with their supposition, and it is still a subject of inquiry. and have taken refuge in Sicily, and there founded [another] Caulonia.Cluvier (Sicil. ant. lib. ii.) reckons this place was situated between Caltanis and Pietrapreccia. After this is Scylletium,Now Squillace. a colony of the Athenians, who set out under Menestheus;Servius observes that these Athenians were returning from Africa, Serv. Aen. iii. 552. it is now called Scylacium.Saumaise (Exercit. Plin. p. 47, 57) thinks the true reading should be Scylaceium, or Virgil could not have made the penultimate long. . . . Attollit se diva Lacinia contra Caulonisque arces, et navifragum Scylaceum. Aen. iii. 652. Dionysius [the elder] allotted a portion of it to the Locri, whilst it was in the possession of the Crotoniatae.About B. C. 389. The Scylleticus Sinus received its name from this city. It together with the Hipponiates Sinus forms the isthmus which we have mentioned above.Book vi. cap. i. § 4. DionysiusPliny seems to attribute to Dionysius the elder the project of cutting not walling off the isthmus: Itaque Dionysius major intercisam eo loco adjicere Siciliae voluit. Hist. Nat. lib. iii. § 15. Grimaldi also is of opinion that the circumstance mentioned by Strabo should be referred to the first years of Dionysius the younger, about B. C. 366–359. undertook to build a wall across the isthmus, at the time he was carrying on war against the Leucani, assigning as a pretext that it would afford security to the inhabitants of the peninsula from the inroads of the barbarians dwelling beyond it; but in truth his intention was to cut off the communication of the Greeks with each other, and to have the greater power over those who dwelt within the peninsula, but those who dwelt withoutBy those who dwelt without, Strabo doubtless intended the Crotoniatae, and their allies. assembled and prevented the undertaking.

After Scylletium is the region of Crotona, and the lapygum tria Promontoria,These three capes are now called Capo delle Castella, Capo Rizzuto, and Capo della Nave. and after these the Lacinium,Lacinium was about six miles from Crotona. The celebrated temple of Juno derived its name from the promontory. According to Diodorus Siculus, some ascribe its origin to Hercules. (Diod. Sic. iv. 24.) Its ruins are in the early Doric style, with fluted pillars broader at the base than at the capital. It measured about 132 yards in length, and 66 in breadth. Its principal entrance opened to the west. sacred to Juno, formerly rich and filled with many offerings. But the distances have not been accurately stated. We can only say that in a general way Polybius reckons 2300Gosselin follows the opinion that Polybius wrote 1300 stadia. stadia from the straitThe Strait of Sicily. to Lacinium,The modern names of Cape Lacinium, viz. Capo delle Colonne and Capo Nao, are derived from the remains of the temple, which is still visible on its summit. and 700 stadia from Lacinium to the Iapygian promontory. They call this the entrance of the Gulf of Taranto. The extent of the gulf is considerable, being 240 miles along the shore. As the chorographer says .. of 380 .. . to a light person, Artemidorus: wanting also by so many . . . of the breadth of the mouth of the gulf.The text is here evidently deficient. Groskurd says that Strabo most probably wrote as follows, As the chorographer says, Artemidorus reckons that [the journey would take 12 days for one travelling on foot], with his girdle on; [but, to one sailing, the distance is 2000 stadia:] leaving at the same time as many [for the mouth, as Polybius has given] for the breadth of the mouth of the gulf. The French translators, however, have attempted to read the text as follows, The chorographer makes it 240 miles, and Artemidorus says that it is 380 for a light traveller; a computation in which the breadth of the mouth is not included; but comment on it in several extensive notes. Its aspect looks towards the rising of the sun in winter.South-east. It commenced from Lacinium, for presently on doubling the cape you come to where the Greek cities formerly stood; now they no longer exist, with the exception of Tarentum. But on account of the estimation in which certain of them were held, it is worth while to speak of them somewhat in detail.

The first is Crotona, 150 stadia from Lacinium and the river Esaro;The ancient Aesar. there is also a havenGroskurd observes, Im Texte καὶ λιμὴν. Besser also, liest man mit Cluv. λιμνη, and translates it a salt-marsh; but Cramer, in his description of ancient Italy, observes that the mouth of the river Esaro formed a haven, which, however incommodious compared with those of Tarentum and Brundusium, was long a source of great wealth to Crotona, as we are assured by Polybius, Frag. x. 1. there, and another river Nieto.Neaethus. This river was said to derive its name from the circumstance of the captive Trojan women having there set fire to the Grecian fleet. the name whereof is said to be derived from the following circumstance—they say that certain of the Greeks who had wandered from the fleet which had besieged Troy, having arrived in this place, disembarked to take a survey of the country, and that the Trojan women who accompanied them in the fleet, having observed the absence of the men, and being wearied with a toilsome voyage, set fire to the fleet, so that they were compelled to abide, when they saw, in addition [to the loss of their ships], that the soil was very fertile. Many others arriving soon after, and being desirous to live near their fellow-countrymen, founded several settlements. Most of them derived their names from the Trojans, and the river Nieto received its appellation from the destructionνέαιθος, from νῆας and αἰθεῖν, to burn the ships. [of the ships]. But Antiochus relates that an oracle having commanded the Greeks to found Crotona, Myscellus went forth to view the place, and having seen Sybaris already built on a neighbouring river of the same name, thought it better, and returned to the god to ask if he might be permitted to settle in that, instead of the other; but that the oracle answered, applying to him an epithet noticing his defective stature, (for Myscellus was somewhat crook-backed,) O short-backed Myscellus, whilst seeking somewhat else of thyself,

Thou pursuest only misfortune: it is right to accept that which is proffered to thee:

Beyond this, at the distance of 200 stadia, is situated Sybaris,Sybaris was said to have been founded by the people of Troezene not long after the siege of Troy. Aristot. Politic. lib. v. cap. 3. Solin. viii. But those were subsequently joined by a more numerous colony of Achmaeans, about B. C. 720. Euseb. Chron. ii. a colony settled by the Achoeans, between the two rivers Cratiὁ κοͅᾶθις. There was a stream of the same name in Achaia, from whence the Italian Crathis, now Crati, derived its name. The Crathis and Sybaris now join about 14 miles from the sea. and Sybaris.Now Cochile. Its founder was Is . . . .Koray objected to the old reading, ὸ?̓ισελικεν̀ς, and proposed instead οἰς. . . . ̔ελικεὺς; Groskurd thought it better to translate it Ihr Erbauer war Is .....aus He like; and Kramer has adopted this latter view, which we have followed. the Helice an.Helice was mentioned, book i. chap. iii. § 18. Ovid, Metam. xv. 293, also speaks of this city, Si quaeras Helicen et Buram Achaïdas urbes, Invenies sub aquis...Ovid, Metam. xv. 293 So great was the prosperity enjoyed by this city anciently, that it held dominion over four neighbouring people and twenty-five towns; in the war with the Crotoniatae it brought into the field 300,000 men, and occupied a circuit of 50 stadia on the Crati. But on account of the arrogance and turbulence of its citizens, it was deprived of all its prosperity by the Crotoniatae in 70The Epitome gives nine days. days, who took the city, and turning the waters of the river [Crati], overwhelmed it with an inundation.The events which led to this catastrophe are thus related by Diodorns Siculus: A democratical party, at the head of which was Telys, having gained the ascendency, expelled 500 of the principal citizens, who sought refuge at Crotona. This city, upon receiving a summons to give up the fugitives, or prepare for war, by the advice of Pythagoras chose the latter. The armies met near the river Triunti, in the territory of Crotona, where the brave citizens gained a complete victory. Some time after, a few who had escaped came together and inhabited the site of their former city, but in time they were dispossessed by the AtheniansAt the instigation of Pericles, the Athenians sent out a colony under the command of Lampon and Xenocritus, which arrived about 55 years after the overthrow of Sybaris. Two celebrated characters are named among those who joined this expedition, which was collected from different parts of Greece. These were Herodotus, and Lysias the orator. and other Greeks, who came and settled amongst them, but they despised and subjugated them, and removed the city to a neighbouring place, calling its name Thurii, from a fountain of that name. The water of the river Sybaris has the peculiar property of making the horses which drink it shy,“Compare Aelian. Hist. Anim. ii. 36. for which reason they keep their horses away from the river. The Crati turns the hair of those who bathe in it yellow, and sometimes white, but has been found salutary for the cure of many disorders. Thurii, after having flourished for a long time, became a continual prey to the aggressions of the Leucani,From B. C. 390 to 290. and afterwards the Tarentini troubling them, they appealed to the Romans for succour, who, in course of time, sent a colonyAbout B. C. 194. when it was nearly deserted, and changed the name of the city to Copiae.Caesar however calls it Thurii, and designates it a municipal town. Civ. Bell. iii. 22.

After Thurii is Lagaria,Now La Nucara. a garrison fort; it was originally settled by EpeiusIt is not ascertained whether this leader were the architect of the Horse of Troy. and the Phocenses; hence is derived the Lagaritan wine, sweet and delicate, and much recommended by the physicians, as is likewise the Thurian wine, which is reckoned among the best. Then comes the city of Heraclea,Antiquaries seem agreed in fixing the site of this town at Policoro, about three miles from the mouth of the Agri, where considerable remains are still visible. The city is famous as the seat of the general council of the Greek states, and the celebrated bronze tables on which the learned Mazzocchi bestowed so much labour were discovered near its site. Its coins represent Hercules contending with the lion, and bear the epigraph ηρα or ηρακληιων. a little way from the sea, and two navigable rivers, the Agri̓ακιοͅις. and the Sinno,σῖοͅις on which was the city Siris, founded by a Trojan colony, but in course of time, when Heraclea was peopled with the citizens of Siris by the Tarentini, it became the harbour of Heraclea. Its distance from Heraclea was 24 stadia, and from Thurii about 330.This accords very well with the distance given in the Itinerary of Antoninus. They point out the statue of the Trojan Minerva, which is erected there, as a proof of its colonization by the Trojans. They also relate as a miracle how the statue closed its eyes when the suppliants, who had fled for sanctuary to her shrine, were dragged away by the Ionians after they had taken the city;About B. C. 580. they say that these Ionians came to settle here, when they fled from the yoke of the Lydians, and took the town of the TrojansKramer reads χώνων in the text. We have followed the opinion of the French translators, who have rendered it possédée par des Troyens. MSS. give various readings. by force, calling its name Polieum. They show, too, at the present time the statue that closes its eyes. It must, however, require a good courage, not to assert that it appeared to have closed its eyes, as that at Troy turned away its eyes from beholding the violence offered to Cassandra, but to show it in the act of winking:—but it is much more daring to make so many statues of the Minerva rescued from Ilium, as those who describe them affirm, for there is a Minerva said to be Trojan in the sense of having been rescued from that city, not only at Siris, but at Rome, at Lavinium, and at Luceria. The scene, too, of the daring of the Trojan female captives is assigned to many different places and appears incredible, although it is by no means impossible. There are some who say that Siris, and also that Sybaris on the Trionto,Kramer reads ἐπὶ τεύθοͅαντος, but thinks with Groskurd that ἐπὶ τοῦ τοͅάεντος, the Traens or modern Trionto, is the true reading. were founded by the Rhodians. Antiochus says that the site of Siris having become the subject of a contention between the Tarentini and the Thurii, on that occasion commanded by Cleandridas the general who had been banished from Lacedaemon, the two people came to a composition, and agreed to inhabit it in common, but that the colonyAbout B. C. 444. should be considered as Tarentine; however, at a subsequent period both the name and the locality were changed, and it was called Heraclea.About B. C. 433.

Next in order is Metapontium,In the time of Pausanias, this city was a heap of ruins, and nothing remained standing but the walls and theatre. Considerable vestiges, situated near the station called Torre di Mare, indicate the site it anciently adorned. at a distance of 140 stadia from the sea-port of Heraclea. It is said to be a settlement of the Pylians at the time of their return from Ilium under Nestor; their success in agriculture was so great, that it is said they offered at Delphi a golden harvest:θερος χρυσοῦν. Xylander and others have thought this was a statue representing Summer; others have reckoned that golden sheaves were intended. The coins of Metapontium, which are greatly admired as works of art, have a head of Ceres, and on the reverse an ear of corn. A large sum of these might be justly called a golden harvest. they adduce, as a proof of this foundation, the offerings of the dead sacrificed periodically to the Neleïdae;Neleus had twelve sons, eleven of whom were slain by Hercules, while Nestor alone escaped; we must therefore infer from this passage, that rites were celebrated at Metapontium in honour of his brothers. but it was destroyed by the Samnites.The Greek words might either mean that Metapontium was destroyed or that the sacrifices were abolished. From the succeeding sentence it would be most natural to suppose that Strabo meant to say the city was overthrown. Antiochus says that certain Achaeans, who had been sent for by the Achaeans of Sybaris, settled in this place when it had been desolated; he adds that these were sent for on account of the hatred of the Achaeans to the Tarentini, who had originally migrated from Laconia, in order to prevent their seizing upon the place which lay adjacent to them. Of the two cities, viz. Metapontium which was situated the nearer, [and Siris the further,These words are not in the Greek text, but seem to have been accidentally omitted by the transcriber.] from Tarentum, the new comers preferred to occupy Metapontium. This choice was suggested by the Sybarites, because, if they should make good their settlement there, they would also possess Siris, but if they were to turn to Siris, Metapontium would be annexed to the territory of the Tarentines which was conterminous. But after being engaged in war with the Tarentini and the Oenotrians, who dwelt beyond them, they came to an agreement, securing to them a portion of land, which should constitute the boundary between Italy, as it then existed, and Iapygia. This, too, is the locality which tradition assigns to the adventures of Metapontus and the captive Melanippe, and her son Boeotus. But Antiochus is of opinion that the city Metapontium was originally called Metabum, and that its name was altered at a subsequent period; and that Melanippe was not entertained here but at Dius, and thinks that the heroum of Metabus as well as the testimony of the poet Asius, who says that The beautiful Melanippe, in the halls of Dius, bare Boeotus, afford sufficient proof that Melanippe was led to Dius and not to Metabum. Ephorus says that Daulius, the tyrant of CrissaA city of Phocis, now Krisso. near Delphi, was the founder of Metapontium. There is, however, another tradition, that Leucippus was sent by the Achaeans to help to found the colony, and having asked permission of the Tarentini to have the place for a day and a night, would not give it up, replying by day to those who asked it of him, that he had asked and obtained it till the following night, and when asked by night, he said that he held it till the coming day.

Next adjoining is Tarentum and lapygia, which we will describe when we shall have first gone through the islands which lie off Italy, according to our original purpose; for we have always given the adjacent islands with every nation we have hitherto described, and since we have gone through Oenotria, which only, the people of ancient times named Italy we feel justified in keeping to the same arrangement, and shall pass on to Sicily and the surrounding islands.

SICILY is triangular in form, and on this account was at first called Trinacria, but afterwards the name was softened and it was changed into Thrinacia.The ordinary reading is Trinacis, but Kramer found it given Thrinacia in the Vatican Manuscript, No. 482, which seems to suit the rest of the sentence better. Dionysius Perieg. vers. 467, says, τρινακίη δ’ ἐπὰ τῆσιν, ὑπὲρ πὲδον αὐσονιήων ̓εκτέταται.Dionysius Perieg. vers. 467 And Homer, Strabo’s great geographical authority, in book xi. of the Odyssey, line 106, terms it θοͅινακίῃ νήσῳ. Virgil, Aen. iii. 440, says, Trinacria fines Italos mittere relicta.Virgil, Aen. iii. 440 Three low headlands bound the figure: Pelorias is the name of that towards Caenys and the Columna Rheginorum which forms the strait; PachynusCapo Passaro. is that which stretches towards the east, and is washed by the Sea of Sicily, looking towards the Peloponnesus and in the direction of the passage to Crete; the third is Lilybaeum,Capo di Marsalla, or Capo Boeo. and is next to Africa, looking towards that region and the setting of the sun in winter.The south-west. Of the sides which these three headlands bound, two are somewhat concave, while the third is slightly convex, it runs from Lilybaeum to Pelorias, and is the longest, being, as Posidonius has said, 1700 stadia adding further twenty. Of the others, that extending to Pachynus from Lilybaeum is the longer, while the shortest faces the Strait and Italy, extending from Pelorias to Pachynus, being about 1120 or 1130 stadia. Posidonius shows that the circumference is 4400 stadia, but in the Chorography the distances are declared to exceed the above numbers, being severally reckoned in miles. Thus from Cape Pelorias to Mylae,Milazzo. 25 miles; from Mylae to Tyndaris,S. Maria di Tindaro. 25; thence to Agathyrnum,The MSS. of Strabo read Agathyrsum, but the town is more commonly called Agathyrnum. Livy, book xxvi. cap. 40, and Silius Italicus, book xiv. ver. 260, call it Agathyrna. Cluverius considers it to have been situated near S. Marco; others would place it nearer to Capo d’Orlando; while D’Anville is in favour of Agati. 30; from Agathyrnum to Alaesa,I Bagni, or S. Maria de’ Palazzi. Groskurd gives it as Torre di Pittineo by Tusa, or Torre di Tusa. Cicero writes the name without a diphthong, statim Messana litteras Halesam mittit. Cic. in Verr. ii. c. 7. Diodorus spells it ̓́αλεσα. Silius Italicus, lib. xiv. ver. 219, makes the penultimate long: Venit ab amne trahens nomen Gela, venit Halaesa.Silius Italicus, lib. xiv. v. 219 And the inscription in Gruter, p. 212, gives the name of the river near it, αλαισος. 30; from Alaesa to Cephaloedium,Cefalù. 30; these are but insignificant places; from Cephaloedium to the river Himera,Modern critics consider this to be the Fiume-Grande, which takes its rise near Polizzi and the Fiume Salso, the latter flows from a source within a few miles of the Fiume-Grande, and after a course of about 80 miles, falls into the sea near Alicata. The Fiume Salso was also called Himera, and both rivers taken to be one. which runs through the midst of Sicily, 18; from thence to Panormus,Palermo. 35; [thence] to the EmporiumCastel-à-Mare. of the Aegestani, 32; leaving to LilybaeumCapo Boeo. a distance of 38; thence having doubled the Cape and coasting the adjacent side to Heracleum,Probably ruins at the embouchure of the Platani. Groskurd also gives for it Bissenza. 75; and to the EmporiumAt the mouth of the Fiume di Girgenti. Virgil calls Agrigentum by the Greek name, Aen. iii. 703, Arduus inde Acragas ostentat maxima longe Moenia, magnanimûm quondam generator equorum.Aen. iii. 703 of the Agrigentini, 20; and toAs the distance from Agrigentum to Camarina greatly exceeds another 20 miles, Kramer supposes that the words, and to Gela, 20, have been omitted by the copyist. Camarina,Torre di Camarana. another 20; then to Pachynus, 50; thence again along the third side to Syracuse, 36;The Paris MS. No. 1393, used by the French translators, has 33; the Paris MS. 1396, and the Medici pint. 28, No. 5, give 20 miles. from Syracuse to Catana, 60; then to Tauromenium,Taormina. 33; thence to Messana, 30.Gossellin observes, that the distance from Messina to Cape Pelorias, which would complete the circuit of Sicily, is about 9 miles. Thus on footi. e. by land. from Pachynus to Pelorias we have 168 [miles], and from MessanaMessina. to [Cape] Lilybeum, on the Via Valeria,An intelligent critic has imagined that this road may have been commenced by M. Valerius Maximus Messala, consul in the year 263, and censor in 253, before the Christian era. D’Orvill. Sic. c. ii. p. 12. we have 235We have followed Kramer, who inserts [διακόσια] before τοͅιάκοντα πέντε. [miles]. Some have estimated the circuit in a more simple way, as Ephorus, who says that the compass of the island by sea takes five days and nights. Posidonius attempts to determine the situation of the island by climata,i. e. to give its parallels of latitude and longitude. and places Pelorias to the north, Lilybaeum to the south, and Pachynus to the east. We however consider that of necessity all climata are set out in the manner of a parallelogram, but that districts portrayed as triangles, and especially such triangles as are scalene,i. e. wherein all three sides are unequal. and whereof no one side lies parallel to a side of the parallelogram, cannot in any way be assimilated to climata on account of their obliquity. However, we must allow, that in treating of Sicily, Pelorias, which lies to the south of Italy, may well be called the most northern of the three angles, so that we say that the line which joins iti. e. Pelorias. to Pachynus faces the east but looks towards the north.Or, lies towards the east, with a northern inclination. Now this line [of coast] will make the side next the Strait [of Messina], and it must have a slight inclination towards the winter sunrise;South-east. for thus the shore slightly changes its direction as you travel from Catana towards Syracuse and Pachynus. Now the transit from Pachynus to the mouth of the AlpheusA river of the Peloponnesus, now called Ruféa. is 4000 stadia. But when Artemidorus says that from Pachynus to TaenarumCape Matapan. it is 4600, and from the Alpheus to the Pamisus is 1130 stadia,The French translation gives 1160 stadia. he appears to me to lie open to the objection of having given distances which do not accord with the 4000 stadia from Pachynus to the Alpheus. The line run from Pachynus to Lilybaeum (which is much to the west of Pelorias) is considerably diverged from the south towards the west, having at the same time an aspect looking towards the east and towards the south.Gossellin observes, that from Pachynus to Lilybaeum the coast runs from the south to the north-west, and looks towards the south-west. On one side it is washed by the sea of Sicily, and on the other by the Libyan Sea, extending from Carthage to the Syrtes. The shortest run is 1500 stadia from Lilybaeum to the coast of Africa about Carthage; and, according to report, a certain very sharp-sighted person,This person, according to Varro, was named Strabo. See Varr. ap. Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. vii. § 21, page 386. placed on a watch-tower, announced to the Carthaginians besieged in Lilybaeum the number of the ships which were leaving Carthage. And from Lilybaeum to Pelorias the side must necessarily incline towards the east, and look in a direction towards the west and north, having Italy to the north, and the Tyrrhenian Sea with the islands of Aeolus to the west.This coast of Sicily rises very little as it advances towards the east, and looks almost continually towards the north, with the exception of a very short space near Lilybaeum. The Aeolian islands lie to the north.

The cities situated on the side which forms the Strait are, first Messana, then Tauromenium,Taormina. Catana, and Syracuse; between Catana and Syracuse were the ruined cities NaxosNaxos was not situated between Catana and Syracuse, but was most probably built on the left bank of the Fiume Freddo, the ancient Asines, near Taormina. It is possible that Strabo originally wrote, between Messina and Syracuse. Naxos was founded about 734 B. C., and destroyed by Dionysius the elder about the year 403. Naxos is thought by some to be the modern Schisso. and Megara,Megara was founded on the right of the Cantaro, the ancient Alabus. It was destroyed about 214 years B. C. situated where the rivers descending from Aetna fall into the sea, and afford good accommodation for shipping. Here is also the promontory of Xiphonia. They say that Ephorus founded these first cities of the Greeks in Sicily in the tenth generation from the Trojan war. For those who preceded him were so terrified by the piratical customs of the Tyrrheni, and the ferocity of the savages of the neighbourhood, that they did not even venture to resort thither for the purposes of commerce. Theocles the Athenian, however, having been driven to Sicily by storms, observed both the weakness of the inhabitants and the excellence of the soil. On his return home, he was unable to persuade the Athenians to make any attempt, but he collected a numerous band of Chalcidians in Euboea, with some Ionians and Dorians, whereof the most part were Megarenses, and sailed. The Chalcidians founded Naxos, and the Dorians Megara, which was at first called Hybla. These cities no longer exist, but the name of Hybla survives on account of the Hyblaean honey.

The first of the cities which at present remain on the aforesaid side is Messana, built at the head of the gulf of Pelorias, which is curved very considerably towards the east, and forms a bay. The passage across to RhegiumReggio. is 60 stadia, but the distance to the Columna Rheginorum is much less. It was from a colony of the Messenians of the Peloponnesus that it was named Messana, having been originally called Zanole, on account of the great inequality of the coast (for anything irregular was termed ξάγκλιον.Thucydides says ξάγκλιον is a Sicilian word. It was originally founded by the people of Naxos near Catana. Afterwards the Mamertini, a tribe of Campanians, took possession of it.B. C. 289. The Romans, in the war in Sicily against the Carthaginians, used it as an arsenal.B. C. 264 to 243. Still more recently,B. C. 44. Sextus Pompeius assembled his fleet in it, to contend against Augustus Caesar; and when he relinquished the island, he took ship from thence.B. C. 36. CharybdisNow called Garafalo. is pointed out at a short distance from the city in the Strait, an immense gulf, into which the back currents of the Strait frequently impel ships, carrying them down with a whirl and the violence of the eddy. When they are swallowed down and shattered, the wrecks are cast by the stream on the shore of Tauromenia,Taormina. which they call, on account of this kind of accumulation, the dunghill.κοπρία. So greatly have the Mamertini prevailed over the Messenians, that they have by degrees wrested the city from them. The inhabitants generally are rather called Mamertini than Messenians. The district abounds in wine, which we do not call Messenian, but Mamertinian: it vies with the best produced in Italy.These wines, although grown in Sicily, were reckoned among the Italian wines. See Athen. Deipnos. lib. i, cap. 21, ed. Schweigh. tom. i. p. 102. And from the time of Julius Caesar they were classed in the fourth division of the most esteemed wines. See Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. xiv. § 8, No. 4 and § 17. The city is well peopled, but Catana is more populous, which has been colonized by the Romans.At the same time as Syracuse. Tauromenium is less populous than either. Catana was founded by people from Naxos, and Tauromenium by the Zanclaens of Hybla,A note in the French translation suggests that we should read Sicilians of Hybla. τῶν ἐν?̔́υβλῃ σικελῶν instead of ζαγκλαίων. but Catana was deprived of its original inhabitants when Hiero, the tyrant of Syracuse, introduced others, and called it by the name of Aetna instead of Catana. It is of this that Pindar says he was the founder, when he sings, Thou understandest what I say, O father, that bearest the same name with the splendid holy sacrifices, thou founder of Aetna.Hiero in Greek was ̔ιέοͅων. The line of Pindar in Kramer’s edition is, ξύνες [ὅ] τοι λέγω, ζαθέων ἱεοͅῶν ὁμώνυμε πάτεοͅ κτίστοοͅ αἴτνας. The words played on are ̔ιέοͅων and ὶεοͅῶν. But on the death of Hiero,This occurred in the year 468. the Catanaeans returned and expelled the new inhabitants, and demolished the mausoleum of the tyrant. The Aetnaeans, compelled to retire,About 461. established themselves on a hilly district of Aetna, called Innesa,Cluvier considers that the monastery of Saint Nicolas de Arenis, about 12 modern miles from Catana, is situated about the place to which Strabo here alludes. and called the place Aetna. It is distant from Catana about 80 stadia. They still acknowledged Hiero as their founder.

Aetna lies the highest of any part of Catana, and participates the most in the inconveniences occasioned by the mouths of the volcano, for the streams of lava flowing down in Catanaeaτὴν καταναίαν. The spelling of this name, like very many in the present work, was by no means uniform in classic authors. Strabo has generally called it Catana (κατάνη); Ptolemy, κατάυν κολώνια; Pliny, lib. iii. cap. 8, Colonia Catina; Pomponius Mela, lib. ii. cap. 7, Catina; Cicero, Catina; and on ancient coins we find καταναιων. pass through it first. It was here that Amphinomus and Anapias set the example of filial piety so greatly celebrated, for they, seizing their parents, carried them on their shouldersThis feat was recorded by divers works of art set up in different places: it must have taken place in one of the eruptions, 477, 453, or 427, before the Christian era. The place where they lived was called Campus Piorum. to a place of safety from the impending ruin; for whenever, as Posidonius relates, there is an eruption of the mountain the fields of the Catanaeans are buried to a great depth. However, after the burning ashes have occasioned a temporary damage, they fertilize the country for future seasons, and render the soil good for the vine and very strong for other produce, the neighbouring districts not being equally adapted to the produce of wine. They say that the roots which the districts covered with these ashes produce, are so good for fattening sheep, that they are sometimes suffocated, wherefore they bleed them in the ear every four or five days,δι’ ἡμερῶν τεσσάοͅων ἤ πέντε, in Kramer’s text; in his notes he particularizes the readings of the different manuscripts and editions, some reading forty or fifty. He also records his sorrow at having preferred the reading of fifty days to thirty, in the passage relating to the fat beasts of Erythia, book iii. cap. 5, § 4, (page 255). in the same way as we have related a like practice at Erythia. When the stream of lava coolsLiterally, changes into coagulation. it covers the surface of the earth with stone to a considerable depth, so that those who wish to uncover the original surface are obliged to hew away the stone as in a quarry. For the stone is liquefied in the craters and then thrown up. That which is cast forth from the top is like a black moist clay and flows down the hill-sides, then congealing it becomes mill-stone, preserving the same colour it had while fluid. The ashes of the stones which are burnt are like what would be produced by wood, and as rue thrives on wood ashes, so there is probably some quality in the ashes of Aetna which is appropriate to the vine.

Archaism, sailing from Corinth, founded Syracuse about the same periodAbout 758 or 735 B. C. that Naxos and Megara were built. They say that Myscellus and Archias having repaired to Delphi at the same time to consult the oracle, the god demanded whether they would choose wealth or health, when Archias preferred wealth and Myscellus health, upon which the oracle assigned Syracuse to the former to found, and Crotona to the latter. And certainly, in like manner as it fell out that the Crotoniatae should inhabit a state so notable for salubrity as we have described,Book vi. chap. 1, § 12. so such great riches have accrued to the Syracusans that their name has been embodied in the proverb applied to those who have too great wealth, viz. that they have not yet attained to a tithe of the riches of the Syracusans. While Archias was on his voyage to Sicily, he left Chersicrates, a chief of the race of the Heracleidae,According to other authorities he was descended from Bacchus. with a part of the expedition to settle the island now called Corcyra,At present Corfû. but anciently called Scheria, and he, having expelled the Liburni who possessed it, established his colony in the island. Archias, pursuing his route, met with certain Dorians at Zephyrium,Cape Bruzzano. come from Sicily, and who had quitted the company of those who had founded Megara; these he took with him, and in conjunction with them founded Syracuse. The city flourished on account of the fertilityCicero’s Oratio Frumentaria supports this character of the country. Silius Italicus, lib. xiv. vers. 23, thus celebrates the richness of the soil, Multa solo virtus: jam reddere foenus aratris, Jam montes umbrare olea, dare nomina Baccho; Nectare Cecropias Hyblaeo accendere ceras: Silius Italicus, lib. vix. vers. 23 and Florus terms it Terra frugum ferax. of the country and the convenience of the harbours, the citizens became great rulers; while under tyrants themselves, they domineered over the other states [of Sicily], and when freed from despotism, they set at liberty such as had been enslaved by the barbarians: of these barbarians some were the aboriginal inhabitants of the island, while others had come across from the continent. The Greeks suffered none of the barbarians to approach the shore, although they were not able to expel them entirely from the interior, for the Siculi, Sicani,Strabo makes a distinct mention of Siculi and Sicani, as if they were different people. Philologists have been much divided as to whether they were not different appellations of the same nation. Morgetes, and some others,Such as the Elymi, or Helymi, who occupied the districts bordering on the Belici in the western part of the island. still inhabit the island to the present day, amongst whom also were the Iberians, who, as Ephorus relates, were the first of the barbarians that are considered to have been settlers in Sicily. It seems probable that MorgantiumIt is probable that Morgantium was situated on the right bank of the Giaretta, below its confluence with the Dattaino, but at some little distance from the sea; at least such is the opinion of Cluverius, in opposition to the views of Sicilian topographers. Sic. Ant. book ii. cap. 7, pp. 325 and 335. was founded by the Morgetes. Formerly it was a city, but now it is not. When the CarthaginiansThe first settlement of the Carthaginians in Sicily was about 560 B. C. endeavoured to gain possession of the island they continually harassed both the Greeks and the barbarians, but the Syracusans withstood them; at a later period the Romans expelled the Carthaginians and took Syracuse after a long siege.212 years B. C. And [Sextus] Pompeius, having destroyed Syracuse in the same way as he had done by the other cities,42 years B. C. Augustus Caesar in our own times sent thither a colony, and to a great extent restored it to its former importance, for anciently it consisted of five townsThey were called Nesos, [the island Ortygia,] Achradina, Tycha, Neapolis, and Epipolae. Ausonius applies the epithet fourfold, Quis Catinam sileat? quis quadruplices Syracusas? Dionysius however fortified Epipolae with a wall, and joined it to the city. enclosed by a wall of 180Twenty-two miles four perches English. Swinburne spent two days in examining the extent of the ruins, and was satisfied as to the accuracy of Strabo’s statement. stadia, but there being no great need that it should fill this extensive circle, he thought it expedient to fortify in a better way the thickly inhabited portion lying next the island of Ortygia, the circumference of which by itself equals that of an important city. Ortygia is connected to the mainland by a bridge, and [boasts of] the fountain Arethusa, which springs in such abundance as to form a river at once, and flows into the sea. They say that it is the river AlpheusA river of Elis. which rises in the Peloponnesus, and that it flows through the land beneath the seaVirgil thus deals with the subject: Sicanio praetenta sinu jacet insula contra Plemmyrium undosum: nomen dixere priores Ortygiam Alpheum fama est huc, Elidis amnem, Occultas egisse vias subtar mare; qui nunc Ore, Arethusa, tuo Sicniss confunditur undis. Aen. iii. 69. to the place where the Arethusa rises and flows into the sea. Some such proofs as these are given in .upport of the fact. A certain chalice having fallen into the river at Olympia was cast up by the springs of Arethusa; the fountain too is troubled by the sacrifices of oxen at Olympia. And Pindar, following such reports, thus sings, Ortygia, revered place of reappearingThe words of Pindar are, ἄμπνευμα σεμνὸν?̓αλφεοῦ, κλεινᾶν συρακοσσᾶν θάλος,?̓ορτυγία. The French translators have rendered them, Terme saint du tourment d’ Alphée Bel ornement, de Syracuse Ortygia!” And Groskurd, Ehrwürdige Ruhstatt Alpheos’, Ruhmzweig Syrakossai’s, o Du Ortygia. Liddell and Scott call ἀνάπνευμα a resting-place, referring to this passage, but I can see no reason for not allowing to it the signification most suitable to the passage. ἀναπνέω is, to breathe again, and, according to the supposition of the ancients, the Alpheus might justly be said to breathe again on appearing at Arethusa, after its passage beneath the bed of the sea from Greece. ἀναπνοὴ also, means a recovering of breath. of the Alpheus, The offset of renowned Syracuse.Pindar, Nem. Od. i. vers. 1. See also Bohn’s Classic. Lib. Pindar. TimaeusConf. Antig. Caryst. Hist. Min. cap. 155. the historian advances these accounts in like manner with Pindar. Undoubtedly if before reaching the sea the Alpheus were to fall into some chasm,According to Strabo himself, book viii. chap. 3, § 12, the Alpheus flows through a subterraneous course before it comes to Olympia; the objection therefore which he here takes, rests only on the circumstance of the river pursuing a visible course all the way to the sea, from the point where the chalice had fallen into it. there would be a probability that it continued its course from thence to Sicily, preserving its potable water unmixed with the sea; but since the mouth of the river manifestly falls into the sea, and there does not appear any opening in the bed of the sea there, which would be capable of imbibing the waters of the river, (although even if there were they could not remain perfectly fresh, still it might be possible to retain much of the character of fresh water, if they were presently to be swallowed down into a passage running below the earth which forms the bed of the sea,) it is altogether impossible; and this the water of Arethusa clearly proves, being perfectly fit for beverage; but that the flow of the river should remain compact through so long a course, not mixing with the sea until it should fall into the fancied channel, is entirely visionary; for we can scarcely credit it of the Rhone, the body of the waters of which remains compact during its passage through the lake, and preserves a visible course, but in that instance both the distance is short and the lake is not agitated by waves like the sea, but in this case of the Alpheus,A river of Elis. where there are great storms and the waters are tossed with violence, the supposition is by no means worthy of attention. The fable of the chalice being carried over is likewise a mere fabrication, for it is not calculated for transfer, nor is it by any means probable it should be washed away so far, nor yet by such difficult passages. Many rivers, however, and in many parts of the world, flow beneath the earth, but none for so great a distance.—Still, although there may be no impossibility in this circumstance, yet the above-mentioned accounts are altogether impossible, and almost as absurd as the fable related of the Inachus: this river, as SophoclesThe play from which this is quoted is not extant. feigns, Flowing from the heights of Pindus and Lacmus, passes from the country of the PerrhoebiA people of Thessaly. to that of the AmphilochiA people of Argos. and the Acarnanians, and mingles its waters with the Achelous:Aspro-potamo. and further on [he says], Thence to Argos, cutting through the waves, it comes to the territory of Lyrceius. Those who would have the river Inopus to be a branch of the Nile flowing to Delos, exaggerate this kind of marvel to the utmost. Zoïlus the rhetorician, in his Eulogium of the people of Tenedos, says that the river Alpheus flows from Tenedos: yet this is the man who blames Homer for fabulous writing. Ibycus also says that the Asopus, a river of Sicyon,In the Peloponnesus. flows from Phrygia. Hecataeus is more rational, who says that the Inachus of the Amphilochi, which flows from Mount Lacmus, from whence also the AeasThe Lao or the Pollina. descends, was distinct from the river of like name in Argolis, and was so named after Amphilochus, from whom likewise the city of Argos was denominated Amphilochian. He says further, that this river falls into the Achelous, and that the Aeas flows to ApolloniaPollina. towards the west. On each side of the island there is an extensive harbour; the extent of the larger one is 80The Porto Maggiore of Syracuse is scarcely half so large. stadia. [Augustus] Caesar has not only restored this city, but Catana, and likewise Centoripa,Centorbe, to the south-west of Aetna. Silius, lib. xiv., mentions it as Centuripe, largoque virens Entella Lyaeo. which had contributed much towards the overthrow of [Sextus] Pompey. Centoripa is situated above Catana and confines with the mountains of Aetna and the river Giaretta,The ancient Symaethus. which flows into Catanvaea.

One of the remaining sides, that stretching from Pachynus to Lilybaeum, is entirely deserted; still it preserves a few traces of the ancient inhabitants, one of whose cities was Camarina.Now Camarana: it was founded 600 years B. C. Acragas,Girgenti. which was a colony of the Geloi,Apparet Camarina procul, campique Geloi. Virg. Aen. iii. 701. together with its port and Lilybaeum,Marsalla. still exist. In fact, these regions, lying opposite to Carthage, have been wasted by the great and protracted wars which have been waged. The remaining and greatest side, although it is by no means densely peopled, is well occupied, for Alaesa,I Bagni. Tyndaris,S. Maria di Tindaro. the emporiumCastel-à-Mare. of the Aegestani and Cephaloedium,Cefalù. are respectable towns. Panormus has received a Roman colony: they say that AegestaNow ruins at Barbara. was founded by the Greeks who passed over, as we have related when speaking of Italy, with Philoctetes to the Crotoniatis, and were by him sent to Sicily with AegestusAlso called Acestes. the Trojan.

In the interior of the island a few inhabitants possess Enna,Castro-Ioanni. in which there is a temple of Ceres;Ovid, in the fourth book of his Fasti, thus alludes to the temple, Grata domus Cereri, multas ea possidet urbes, In quibus est culto fertilis Enna solo. From this place we have the adjective Enneus, and the Ennea virgo of Sil. lib. xiv., for Proserpine, Tum rapta praeceps Ennea virgine flexit. Diodorus Siculus, lib. v. cap. 3, says that there was a fable about the seizure of the virgin [Proserpine] in the meadows near Enna. The locality is very near the town, embellished with violets and all kinds of beautiful flowers. An ancient coin of the place described by Ezech. Spanheim, page 906, is inscribed with the letters M U N. H E N N A E. Pliny, lib. iii. cap. 8, writes, Municipes Hennenses. it is situated on a hill, and surrounded by spacious table-lands well adapted for tillage. The fugitive slaves, who placed themselves under the leading of Eunus,About 146 years B. C. and sustained in this city a long siege, scarcely being reduced by the Romans, occasioned much damage to the city. The Catanaei, Tauromenitae, and many others, suffered, much in like manner. † Eryx,The sentence from Eryx to notice, placed between daggers, seems to have been transposed from the end of § 5; it should immediately succeed the words Aegestus the Trojan. a very lofty mountain, is also inhabited. It possesses a temple of Venus, which is very much esteemed; in former times it was well filled with women sacred to the goddess, whom the inhabitants of Sicily, and also many others, offered in accomplishment of their vows; but now, both is the neighbourhood much thinner of inhabitants, and the temple not near so well supplied with priestesses and female attendants.Diodorus Siculus, lib. iv. § 83, tom. i. p. 326, gives a different account of the state of this place at this time. There is also an establishment of this goddess at Rome called the temple of Venus Erycina, just before the Colline Gate; in addition to the temple it has a portico well worthy of notice. † The other settlement and most of the interior have been left to the shepherds for pasturage; for we do not know that Himera is yet inhabited,The Carthaginians had destroyed it about 409 years B. C. or Gela,Some colonists from Rhodes made a settlement here 45 years after the foundation of Syracuse. It was overthrown about 279 years B. C. or Callipolis, or Selinus, or Euboea, or many other places; of these the Zanclaei of MyloeMilazzo. founded Himera,About 649 B. C. the people of Naxos, Callipolis,It is supposed that Callipolis anciently occupied the site of Mascalis. the Megaraeans of Sicily,Those who inhabited Hybia Minor. We know that Selinus was in existence 640 B. C., and destroyed 268 B. C. Selinus,Now ruins called di Pollece on the river Madiuni in the Terra de’ Pulci. and the LeontiniThe Leontini arrived in Sicily 728 B. C., and founded Leontini, now Lentini. Euboea.Eubmoea was destroyed by the tyrant Gelon, who reigned from 491 to 478 B. C. Eubali, Castellazzio, and a place near the little town of Licodia, not far from the source of the Drillo, have been supposed to be the site of the ancient Euboea. Siebenkees thinks that the words between daggers at the end of § 7 should follow Euboea. Many too of the cities of the aboriginal inhabitantsLit. barbarians. have been destroyed, as Camici, the kingdom of Cocalus, at whose house Minos is reported to have been treacherously cut off. The Romans therefore, considering the deserted condition of the country, and having got possession both of the hills and the most part of the plains, have given them over to horse-breeders, herdsmen, and shepherds, by whom the island has frequently been brought into great perils. First of all the shepherds, taking to pillage here and there in different places, and afterwards assembling in numbers and forcibly taking settlements; for instance, as those under the command of EunusAbout 134 B. C. seized upon Enna.Castro-Ioanni. And quite recently, during the time that we were at Rome, a certain Selurus, called the son of Aetna, was sent up to that city. He had been the captain of a band of robbers, and had for a long time infested the country round Aetna, committing frequent depredations. We saw him torn to pieces by wild beasts in the forum after a contest of gladiators: he had been set upon a platform fashioned to represent Mount Aetna, which being suddenly unfastened and falling, he was precipitated amongst certain cages of wild beasts, which had also been slightly constructed under the platform for the occasion.

The fertility of the country is so generally extolled by every one, as nothing inferior to Italy, that there is a question as to what we should say of it. Indeed, for wheat, honey, saffron, and some other commodities, it even surpasses that country. In addition to this, its proximity renders the island like a part of Italy itself, so that it supplies the Roman market with produce both commodiously and without trouble. Indeed they call it the granary of Rome, for all the produce of the island is carried thither, except a few things required for home consumption. It consists not only of the fruits of the earth, but of cattle, skins, wool, and the like. Posidonius says that Syracuse and Eryx are situated on the sea like two citadels, and that Enna in the midst, between Syracuse and Eryx, commands the surrounding plains. † TheKramer and Siebenkees consider that the sentence between daggers, from The to prosperity, has been transferred from its proper place. See note 12, page 412. whole territory of the Leontini, which was possessed by the people of Naxos settled in Sicily, suffered much, for they always shared in the misfortunes of Syracuse, but not always in its prosperity. †

Near to Centoripa is the town we have a little before mentioned, Aetna, which serves as a place for travellers about to ascend Mount Aetna, to halt and refresh themselves for the expedition. For here commences the region in which is situated the summit of the mountain. The districts above are barren and covered with ashes, which are surmounted by the snows in winter: all below it however is filled with woods and plantations of all kinds. It seems that the summits of the mountain take many changes by the ravages of the fire, which sometimes is brought together into one crater, and at another is divided; at one time again it heaves forth streams of lava, and at another flames and thick smoke: at other times again ejecting red-hot masses of fire-stone. In such violent commotions as these the subterraneous passages must necessarily undergo a corresponding change, and at times the orifices on the surface around be considerably increased. Some who have very recently ascended the mountain, reportedThe French translators infer from this passage that Strabo had never visited Sicily. to us, that they found at the top an even plain of about 20 stadia in circumference, enclosed by an overhanging ridge of ashes about the height of a wall, so that those who are desirous of proceeding further are obliged to leap down into the plain. They noticed in the midst of it a mound; it was ash-coloured, as was likewise the plain in appearance. Above the mound a column of cloud reared itself in a perpendicular line to the height of 200 stadia, and remained motionless (there being no air stirring at the time); it resembled smoke. Two of the party resolutely attempted to proceed further across this plain, but, finding the sand very hot and sinking very deep in it, they turned back, without however being able to make any more particular observations, as to what we have described, than those who beheld from a greater distance. They were, however, of opinion, from the observations they were able to make, that much exaggeration pervades the accounts we have of the volcano, and especially the tale about Empedocles, that he leaped into the crater, and left as a vestige of his folly one of the brazen sandals which he wore, it being found outside at a short distance from the lip of the crater, with the appearance of having been cast up by the violence of the flame; for neither is the place approachable nor even visible, nor yet was it likely that any thing could be cast in thither, on account of the contrary current of the vapours and other matters cast up from the lower parts of the mountain, and also on account of the overpowering excess of heat, which would most likely meet any one long before approaching the mouth of the crater; and if eventually any thing should be cast down, it would be totally decomposed before it were cast up again, what manner of form so ever it might have had at first. And again, although it is not unreasonable to suppose that the force of the vapour and fire is occasionally slackened for want of a continual supply of fuel, still we are not to conclude that it is ever possible for a man to approach it in the presence of so great an opposing power. Aetna more especially commands the shore along the Strait and Catana, but it also overlooks the sea that washes Tyrrhenia and the Lipari Islands. By night a glowing light appears on its summit, but in the day-time it is enveloped with smoke and thick darkness.

The Nebrodes mountainsSicilian topographers vary exceedingly in defining the position of these mountains. Groskurd makes them Madonia. take their rise oppositeTo the south-west. to Aetna; they are not so lofty as Aetna, but extend over a much greater surface. The whole island is hollow under ground, and full of rivers and fire like the bed of the Tyrrhenian Sea,See Humboldt, Cosmos, i. 242. as far as Cumaea, as we before describedBook v. chap. iv. § 9. For there are hot springs in many places in the island, some of which are saline, as those named SelinuntiaI Bagni di Sciacca. and the springs at Himera, while those at AegestaNow ruins at Barbara, in the valley of Mazzara. are fresh. Near to AcragasGirgenti. there are certain lakes,A modern traveller is of opinion that these correspond with certain peculiar marshes near Girgenti, in the midst of the Macaluba mountains, supplied by a spring of salt water. The soil here is chalky, and the mountains abound in a grey and ductile clay. See Monsieur le Commandeur de Dolomieu, Voyage aux iles de Lipari, pp. 165 et seqq.; also Fazell. Decad. i. lib. i. cap. 5, p. 45. the waters of which taste like the sea, but their properties are very different, for if those who do not know how to swim plunge into them, they are not covered over by them, but float on the surface like pieces of wood.

The PaliciThe place dedicated to these avengers of perjury is frequently located near Mineo and Palagonia; others, thinking to gain the support of Virgil’s testimony, place it near Paterno, much farther north, between Catana and Centorbi, and not far from the banks of the Giaretta, the ancient Symaethus. possess craters which cast up water in a jet, having the appearance of a dome, and then receive it back again into the same place it rose from. The cavern near MataurumCluvier supposes this cavern must have been near Mazarum [Mazara]. The river named Mazarus by the ancients, runs through a rocky district, abounding in stone quarries. It is possible that this river, much hemmed in throughout its course, might have anciently flowed beneath some of these massive rocks. has within it a considerable channel, with a river flowing through it under ground for a long distance, and afterwards emerging to the surface as does the El-AsiOrontes. in Syria, which, after descending into the chasm between Apameia and Antioch, which they call Charybdis, rises again to the surface at the distance of about 40 stadia. Much the same circumstances are remarked of the TigrisAccording to Pliny, Hist. Nat. lib. vi. § 31, tom. i. p. 333, the Tigris is ingulfed on reaching a branch of Mount Taurus, at a place called Zoroanda, which M. D’Anville identifies with the modern Hazour. in Mesopotamia, and the Nile in Africa,λιβύη in Strabo. a little beforeKramer here persists in reading ποͅὸ, and rejects ἀπὸ we have endeavoured to translate it with Kramer, but the French translation of 1809 renders it, a little below its sources. its most notorious springs. The water in the neighbourhood of the city of Stymphalus, having passed under ground about 200 stadia, gives rise to the river ErasinusA river of Argolis: see book viii. Casaub. pp. 371 and 389. in Argia;Argolis. and again, the waters which are ingulfed with a low roaring sound near AseaThis ancient city was found in ruins by Pausanias, who says (Arcadic or book viii. cap. 44, p. 691) that at less than 20 stadia distant from the Athenaeum are found the ruins of Asea, as well as the hill on which the citadel of the town was built, which was surrounded by walls, the vestiges of which still remain. About 5 stadia from Asea, and not far from the main road, is the source of the Alpheus, and, quite close, even at the edge of the road, that of the Eurotas.... [At a short distance] the two rivers unite and run as one for about 20 stadia; they then both cast themselves into a chasm, and, continuing their under-ground course, they afterwards reappear; one (the Eurotas) in Laconia, the other in the territory of Megalopolis. Such is what Pausanias relates in one place. But when, in this account, he fixes the source of the Alpheus at about 5 stadia from Asea, we must understand him to allude to a second source of the river; for further on (book viii. cap. 54, p. 709) he says distinctly that the main source of the Alpheus is seen near Phylace in Arcadia; then adds that that river, on coming to the district of Tegea, is absorbed under the ground, to re-issue near Asea. in Arcadia, after a long course, spring forth with such copiousness as to form the Eurotas and the Alpheus,See § 4 of this chapter, page 408. whence has arisen a fable extensively credited, that if a certain charm is uttered over each of two crowns on their being cast into the stream where the two rivers flow in a common channel, each crown will make its appearance in its respective river according to the charm. As for what we might add with reference to the Timao,The ancient Timavus. See book v. chap. i. § 8, page 319. it has already been particularized.

Phenomena, similar to these, and such as take place throughout Sicily,The French translation, en divers endroits de I’ Italic. Some manuscripts read ̓ιταλίαν. We have followed Kramer and Groskurd. are witnessed in the Lipari Islands, and especially in Lipari itself.—These islands are seven in number, the chief of which is Lipari, a colony of the Cnidians.Founded about B. C. 580. It is nearest to Sicily after Thermessa.Thermessa, at present called Vulcano, is doubtless the same mentioned in Pliny’s Nat. Hist. lib. iii. § 14, tom. i. p. 164, as Therasia, by the error of the copyist. Paulus Orosius, lib. iv. cap. 20, says that it rose from the bed of the sea, B. C. 571. It is however certain that it was in existence B. C. 427, confer. l’hucyd. lib. iii. § 88, and was for a considerable time called Hiera. It was originally named Meligunis. It was possessed of a fleet, and for a considerable time repelled the incursions of the Tyrrheni.See Pausan. Phoc. or lib. x. cap. 16, p. 835. The islands now called Liparaean were subject to it, some call them the islands of Aeolus. The citizens were so successful as to make frequent offerings of the spoils taken in war to the temple of Apollo at Delphi.See Pausan. Phoc. or lib. x. cap. 2, p. 824. It possesses a fertile soil,M. le Comm. de Dolomieu, in his Voyage aux iles de Lipari, ed. 1783, p. 75 et seq., supports the character here given of the fertility of this island, and praises the abundance of delicious fruits it produces. and minesM. le Comm. de Dolomieu considers it probable that the Liparaeans obtained this alum by the lixiviation of earths exposed to the acidosulphurous vapours of their volcanos, pp. 77, 78. of alum easy to be wrought, hot springs,These hot springs are not much frequented, although they still exist. and craters. [Thermessa] is, as it were, situated between this and Sicily; it is now designated as Hiera, or sacred to Vulcan; it is entirely rocky, and desert, and volcanic. In it are three craters, and the flames which issue from the largest are accompanied with burning masses of lava, which have already obstructed a considerable portion of the strait [between Thermessa and the island Lipari]; repeated observations have led to the belief that the flames of the volcanos, both in this island and at Mount Aetna, are stimulated by the windsSee Humboldt, Cosm. i. 242. as they rise; and when the winds are lulled, the flames also subside; nor is this without reason, for if the winds are both originally produced and kept up by the vapours arising from the sea, those who witness these phenomena will not be surprised, if the fire should be excited in some such way, by the like aliment and circumstances. Polybius tells us that one of the three craters of the island has partly fallen down, while the larger of the two that remain has a lip, the circumference of which is five stadia, and the diameter nearly 50 feet,This is 30 feet in the epitome. and its elevation about a stadium from the level of the sea, which may be seen at the base in calm weather; but if we are to credit this, we may as well attend to what has been reported concerning Empedocles. [Polybius] also says, that when the south wind is to blow, a thick cloud lies stretched round the island, so that one cannot see even as far as Sicily in the distance; but when there is to be a north wind, the clear flames ascend to a great height above the said crater, and great rumblings are heard; while for the west wind effects are produced about half way between these two. The other craters are similarly affected, but their exhalations are not so violent. Indeed, it is possible to foretell what wind will blow three days beforehand, from the degree of intensity of the rumbling, and also from the part whence the exhalations, flames, and smoky blazes issue. It is said indeed that some of the inhabitants of the Lipari Islands, at times when there has been so great a calm that no ship could sail out of port, have predieted what wind would blow, and have not been mistaken. From hence indeed that which seems to be the most fabulous invention of the poet, appears not to have been written without some foundation, and he appears to have merely used an allegorical style, while guided by the truth, when he says that Aeolus is the steward of the winds;Odyss. lib. x. 21. however, we have formerly said enough as to this.Here follow some words which convey no intelligible meaning.— They are written in the margin of some of the manuscripts. Kramer inserts them between asterisks as follows:Ἔστιν ἡ ἐπίστασις τῆς ἐν αργείας λέγοιτ’ ἄν,. . . . . . ἐπίσης τε ψάρ ἄμθω πάρεστι, καί διαθέσει καὶ τῇ ἐναργείᾳ ἥ γε ἡδονὴ κοινὸν ἀμφοτέοͅων* Groskurd thinks the passage might be translated, [Great, undoubtedly,] is the impression produced by animated energy, [of which] it may be asserted [that it excites in a marked degree both admiration and pleasure]. For both arise equally from graphic representation and animated description. Pleasure at least is common to both. The following are Groskurd’s own words: Gross allerdings ist der Eindruck kräftiger Lebendigkeit, [von welcher] man behaupten darf, [dass sie vorzüglich sowohl Bewunderung als Vergniigen gewahre]. Denn Beide erfolgen gleichermassen, sowohl durch Darstellung als durch Lebendigkeit; das Vergniigen wenigstens ist Beiden gemein. We will now return to the point whence we digressed.

We have noticed the islands of Lipari and Thermessa. As for Strongyle,Stromboli. it takes its name from its form.στρογγύλος means round. M. Dolomieu, p. 113, says that the island of Stromboli, seen from a distance, appears like a cone; when, however, it is more particularly examined, it looks like a mountain terminated by two peaks of different heights, and the sides appear disturbed and torn by craters opened in various parts, and streams of lava which have flowed down. It might be about 12 miles in circumference. Like the other two, it is subigneous, but is deficient in the force of the flames which are emitted, while their brightness is greater. It is here they say that Aeolus resided.Most of the ancient authors agree in considering Lipari as the residence of amp Aeolus. See Cluver. Sic. Ant. lib. ii. cap. 14. The fourth is Didyma; this island also is named from its form.δίδυμος, double. Cluverius identifies this with the island now called Salini. M. Dolomieu says that Didyma is situated to the west of Lipari; it is nearly circular, and contains three mountains placed so as to form a triangle. Two of the mountains are connected at their bases, the third is separated from them by a valley which runs right across the island, so that while sailing at some distance in the sea on the south side it has the appearance of two islands, from which circumstance it took its ancient name of Didyma: its present name, Salini, is derived from salt works there. Of the others, [the fifth and sixth] are EricussaEricussa, now called Alicudi or Alicurim, is covered with trees, it is inhabited, but little cultivated. The pasturage is pretty good. and phoenicussa;Phoenicussa, now Felicudi or Filicurim, abounds in rich pastures; both wheat and the vine are here cultivated. they are called from the plants which they produce, and are given up to pasture. The seventh [island] is called Euonymus;Cluverius, Sic. Ant. lib. ii. p. 414, identifies this island with Lisca-Bianca, to the east of Lipari, but M. le commandeur Dolomieu, Voyage pittoresqne de Naples et de Sicile, tom. iv. part ii. chap. 14, considers that it corresponded with the present Panaria, which is about eight times the circumference of Lisca-Bianca. He says the neighbouring islets are but the detached portions of a vast crater now submerged; the denomination, Formocoli or the Little Ants, is aptly illustrative of their minuteness and numbers. The most important are Datolo, Lisca-Nera, Lisca-Bianca, and Basiluzzo. M. Gossellin very justly remarks that it is quite possible the volcanos, which continually burn in the islands of Aeolus, may have formed some new one, and gives some good reasons for identifying Didyma with Panaria. it is the farthest in the sea and barren. It is called Euonymus because it lies the most to the left when you sail from the island of Lipari to Sicily,Rich. Pocock, Descr. de I’ Or., etc. vers. Fr. part iii. chap. 24, tom. vi. p. 327, considers that Strabo meant to say that Euonymus lies most to the left hand as you sail from Sicily to the island of Lipari, and proposes Ustica, the westernmost of the Lipari Islands, as its modern representative. and many times flames of fire have been seen to rise to the surface, and play upon the sea round the islands: these flames rush with violence from the cavities at the bottom of the sea,See Humboldt, Cosmos ii. 557. and force for themselves a passage to the open air. Posidonius says, that at a time so recent as to be almost within his recollection, about the summer solstice and at break of day, between Hiera and Euonymus, the sea was observed to be suddenly raised aloft, and to abide some time raised in a compact mass and then to subside. Some ventured to approach that part in their ships; they observed the fish dead and driven by the current, but being distressed by the heat and foul smell, were compelled to turn back. One of the boats which had approached nearest lost some of her crew, and was scarcely able to reach Lipari with the rest, and they had fits like an epileptic person, at one time fainting and giddy, and at another returning to their senses; and many days afterwards a mud or clay was observed rising in the sea, and in many parts the flames issued, and smoke and smoky blazes; afterwards it congealed and became a rock like mill-stones. Titus Flaminius,A note in the French translation suggests that, notwithstanding the accord of all manuscripts, we should, doubtless, understand Titus Quinctius Flaminius, praetor in A.. U C. 628, and B. C. 126. who then commanded in Sicily, despatched to the senate [of Rome] a fill account of the phenomenon; the senate sent and offered sacrifices to the infernal and marine divinities both in the little island [which had thus been formed] and the Lipari Islands. Now the chorographer reckons that from Ericodes to Phoenicodes are 10 miles, from thence to Didyma 30, from thence to the northernmost pointποͅὸς ἄρκτον, in Kramer’s text. We have followed the example set by the French translators, and approved by Groskurd, who proposes to read πρὸς ἀρκτ[ικὸν ἄκοͅ]ον. Kramer however justly remarks, that many other things in this passage are exceedingly confused, and remain incapable of conjectural elucidation. of Lipari 29, and from thence to Sicily 19, while from Strongyle are 16.From Ericodes, now Alicudi, to Phoenicodes, now Felicudi, the distance given by the chorographer is the same as that set down by Ptolemy, and by far too much for that which, according to our charts, separates Felicudi from Salini, but tallies exactly with that to the island Panaria, so that the evidence, both of the chorographer and Ptolemy, seems to point to Panaria, not to Salini, as the ancient Didyma. Further, the 29 miles given in Strabo’s text as the distance from Didyma to Lipari, are reduced to 19 miles in the chart of Ptolemy, and even this last distance would be much too great for the interval which separates Salini from Lipari, but agrees with the distance from Lipari to Panaria, and seems likewise to confirm the identity of Panaria and Didyma. The 19 miles, from Lipari to Sicily, agree with Ptolemy and our charts. Ptolemy gives the equivalent of 44 miles as the distance between Sicily and Strongyle, while our modern maps confirm his computation. M. Gossellin observes that the 16 miles of the existing text of Strabo must be a transcriber’s error; but the construction of the text might very well allow the distance to be from Didyma to Strongyle, which would be nearly correct. MelitaMalta. lies beforeTowards Africa and the south. Pachynus; from thence come the little dogs called Maltese;μελιτωῖα. so does also Gaudus,All other classic authors, both Greek and Latin, give the name of Gaulus to this island; it is the modern Gozzo. both of them are situated about 88 miles distant from that promontory. CossuraPantelaria. is situated before Cape Lilybaesum, and opposite the Carthaginian city Aspis, which they call [in Latin] Clypea, it is situated in the midst of the space which lies between those two places, and is distant from each the number of miles last given.This M. Gossellin very satisfactorily proves to be 88. Aegimurus also and other little islands lie off Sicily and Africa. So much for the islands.

HAVING previously passed over the regions of ancient Italy as far as Metapontium, we must now proceed to describe the rest. After it IapygiaA note in the French translation observes, that the Iapygia of Strabo was confined to the peninsula of Tarentum. comes next in order; the Greeks call it Messapia, but the inhabitants, dividing it into cantons, call one the Salentini,The Sallentini, or Salentini, cannot be distinguished with accuracy from the Calabri, as the name is used by several writers in a very ex tensive sense, and applied to the greater part of Iapygia. that in the neighbourhood of the CapeCapo di Leuca. Iapygia, and another the Calabri;The district occupied by the Calabri seems to have been that maritime part of the Iapygian peninsula extending from the ancient Brundusium to the city of Hydruntum, answering nearly to what is now called Terra di Lecce. above these towards the north lie the Peucetii,Dionysius of Halicarnassus derives the name of this people from Peucetius, son of Lycaon, king of Arcadia, but they are generally spoken of in history as barbarians, differing in no essential respect from the Daunii, Iapyges, and other neighbouring nations. and those who are called DauniiA note in the French translation remarks, that Strabo would have done well to add, and also the Apuli properly so called. If we follow Strabo’s testimony solely, we may almost describe the bounds of the Peucetii by four lines, viz. 1. From Tarentum to Brindisi. 2. Along the sea-shore from Brindisi to Bari. 3. From Bari to Garagnone or Gorgoglione, the ancient Sylvium, if not even still nearer to Venosa. 4. From Garagnone to Tarentum, constituting what is called in modern geography Terra di Bari.–The following are the limits of the Dannii. 1. From Garagnone to Bari. 2. From Bari to Peschici or to Rodi. 3. Thence to Lucera; and, 4 from Lucera to Garagnone. Thus they occupied a great part of La Puglia, with a portion of the Terra di Bari. With regard to those who, according to Strabo, were properly Apuli, they extended from the neighbourhood of Lucera to Rodi or Peschici, thence to the mouth of the river Fortore, thence to Civitate, (the ancient Teanum Apulum,) which was included, and from Civitate to Lucera; this district would answer to the northern portion of La Puglia, which the Fortore separates from La Capitanata. in the Greek language, but the inhabitants call the whole region beyond the Calabri, Apulia. Some of these people are called Poedicli,The name of Poediculi was given to the inhabitants of that portion of Peucetia which was more particularly situated on the coast between the Aufidus and the confines of the Calabri. Pliny (iii. 11) states that this particular tribe derived their origin from Illyria. especially the Peucetii. Messapia forms a peninsula; the isthmus extending from BrentesiumBrindisi. to Tarentum, which bounds it, being 310 stadia, and the circumnavigation round the Iapygian promontoryCapo di Leuca. about [one thousand]We have followed Groskurd’s example in introducing this thousand. The French translators thought it too hardy to venture, and Kramer was fearful to insert it in his text, but he approves of it in his notes. four hundred. [TarentumManuscripts here have blanks.] is distant from MetapontiumRuins near Torre a Mare. about two hundred and twentyManuscripts here have blanks.] stadia. The course to it by sea runs in an easterly direction. The Gulf of Tarentum is for the most part destitute of a port, but here there is a spacious and commodious [harbourMare-piccolo.], closed in by a great bridge. It is 100 stadiaOr twelve miles and a half. This computation does not agree with modern measurements, which reckon the circuit at sixteen miles. See Swinburne’s Travels, torn. i. sect. 32. Gagliardi, Topogr. di Taranto. in circuit. This port, at the head of its basin which recedes most inland, forms, with the exterior sea, an isthmus which connects the peninsula with the land. The city is situated upon this peninsula. The neck of land is so low that ships are easily hauled over it from either side. The site of the city likewise is extremely low; the ground, however, rises slightly towards the citadel. The old wall of the city has an immense circuit, but now the portion towards the isthmus is deserted, but that standing near the mouth of the harbour, where the citadel is situated, still subsists, and contains a considerable city. It possesses a noble gymnasium and a spacious forum, in which there is set up a brazen colossus of Jupiter, the largest that ever was, with the exception of that of Rhodes. The citadel is situated between the forum and the entrance of the harbour, it still preserves some slight relics of its ancient magnificence and gifts, but the chief of them were destroyed either by the CarthaginiansIn the year 213 or 212 B. C. when they took the city, or by the RomansB. C. 209. when they took it by force and sacked it. Amongst other booty taken on this occasionIt is said the pictures and statues taken on this occasion were nearly as numerous as those found at Syracuse. was the brazen colossus of Hercules, the work of Lysippus, now in the Capitol, which was dedicated as an offering by Fabius Maximus, who took the city.

Antiochus, speaking of the foundation of this city, says that after the Messenian warThat which commenced about 743 B. C. such of the Lacedaemonians as did not join the army were sentenced to be slaves, and denominated Helots; and that such as were born during the period of the war they termed Partheniae, and decreed to be base: but these not bearing the reproach, (for they were many,) conspired against the free citizens,I have here translated τοῖς τοῦ δήμου and οἱ τοῦ δήμου by free citizens. Several notes have been written on the exact meaning of the words, but I am not satisfied that we understand it properly. It might perhaps mean those appointed to the chief rule of the state by the constitution. but the chief magistrates, becoming acquainted with the existence of the plot, employed certain persons, who, by feigning friendship to the cause, should be able to give some intelligence of the nature of it. Of this number was Phalanthus, who was apparently the chief leader of them, but who was not quite pleased with those who had been named to conduct their deliberations.There is little doubt that this passage is corrupt. It was agreed that at the Hyacinthine games, celebrated in the temple of Amyclae, just at the conclusion of the contest, and when Phalanthus should put on his helmet,κυνέη, a leathern cap or hat, a helmet, etc. See also page 426. they should make a simultaneous attack. The free citizensI have here translated τοῖς τοῦ δήμου and οἱ τοῦ δήμου by free citizens. Several notes have been written on the exact meaning of the words, but I am not satisfied that we understand it properly. It might perhaps mean those appointed to the chief rule of the state by the constitution. were distinguishable from others by their hair. They, having been secretly warned as to the arrangements made for the signal of Phalanthus, just as the chief contest came off, a herald came forward and proclaimed, Let not Phalanthus put on his helmet. The conspirators perceiving that the plot was disclosed, some fled, and others supplicated mercy. When the chief magistrates had bid them not to fear, they committed them to prison, but sent Phalanthus to inquire after a new settlement. He received from the oracle the following response, To thee SatyriumAbout eight miles to the east or south-east of Taranto, upon the coast, we find a place named Saturo. In this place the country open to the south presents the most agreeable aspect. Sheltered from the north wind, and watered by numerous running streams, it produces the choicest fruits, oranges, citrons, lemons, pomegranates, figs, and all manner of garden produce, with which Taranto is abundantly supplied. Ant. de Ferrar. Galat. de sit. Iapyg. edit. nell. Raccolt. d’ Opusc. sc. et philol. tom. vii. p. 80. I have given, and the rich country of Tarentum to inhabit, and thou shalt become a scourge to the Iapygians. The Partheniae accordingly accompanied Phalanthus to their destination, and the barbarians and Cretans,Mazoch. Prod. ad Heracl. pseph. diatr. ii. cap. 4, sect. 4, page 96, not. 51, considers that we should not make a distinction between these barbarians and Cretans, but that they were identical. who already possessed the country, received them kindly. They say that these Cretans were the party who sailed with Minos to Sicily, and that after his death, which took place at Camici,According to Sicilian topographers, Camici was the same as the citadel of Acragas [Girgenti].—Cluvier, Sic. Ant. lib. ii. cap. 15, p. 207, is of opinion that Camici occupied the site of Siculiana, on the Fiume delle Canne. D’Anville, Géogr. Anc. tom. i. p. 219, and tom. iii. p. 146, seems to locate Camici at Platanella, on the Fiume di Platani. in the palace of Cocalus, they took ship and set sail from Sicily, but in their voyage they were cast by tempest on this coast, some of whom, afterwards coasting the Adriatic on foot, reached Macedonia, and were called Bottiaei.There are various readings of this name. They further add, that all the people who reach as far as Daunia were called Iapygians, from Iapyx, who was born to Daedalus by a Cretan woman, and became a chief leader of the Cretans. The city Tarentum was named from a certain hero.There is a tradition that Taras was born to Neptune by Satyraea, daughter of Minos.

Ephorus gives the following account of the foundation. The Lacedaemonians waged war against the Messenians, who had murdered their king, Teleclus,About 745 B. C. when he visited Messene to offer sacrifice. They took an oath that they would not return home before they had destroyed Messene, or should be all slain. They left only the youngest and oldest of the citizens to keep their own country. After this, in the tenth [year] of the war, the Lacedaemonian matrons assembled and deputed certain women to remonstrate with the citizens, and show them that they were carrying on the war with the Messenians on very disadvantageous terms, for they, abiding in their own country, procreated children, while the Lacedaemonians, leaving their wives in a state like widowhood, remained away in the war; and to expose the great peril there was of the depopulation of their country. The Lacedaemonians, being both desirous of observing their oath, and taking into consideration the representations of their wives, sent a deputation of the most vigorous, and, at the same time, most juvenile of the army, whom they considered, in a manner, not to have participated in the oath, because they had been but children when they accompanied their elders to the war, and charged them all to company with all the maidens, reckoning that by that means they would bear the more children; which having been accordingly obeyed, the children who were born were denominated Partheniae. Messene was taken after a war of nineteen years, as Tyrtaeus says, The fathers of our fathers, armed for war, Possessing ever patient courage, fought at Messene For nineteen years with unremitting toil. Till on the twentieth, leaving their rich soil, The enemy forsook the towering heights of Ithome.Statius, lib. 4, Theb., thus mentions Ithome, Planaque Messena, montanaque nutrit Ithome.Statius, lib. 4, Theb.

Thus then did they destroy Messenia, but returning home, they neglected to honour the Partheniae like other youths, and treated them as though they had been born out of wedlock. The Partheniae, leaguing with the Helots, conspired against the Lacedaemonians, and agreed to raise a Laconic felt hatπῖλος λακωνικός. in the market-place as a signal for the commencement of hostilities. Some of the Helots betrayed the plot, but the government found it difficult to resist them by force, for they were many, and all unanimous, and looked upon each other as brothers; those in authority therefore commanded such as were appointed to raise the signal, to depart out of the market-place; when they therefore perceived that their plot was disclosed they desisted, and the Lacedaemonians persuaded them, through the instrumentality of their fathers, to leave the country and colonize: and advised them, if they should get possession of a convenient place, to abide in it, but if not, they promised that a fifth part of Messenia should be divided amongst them on their return. So they departed and found the Greeks carrying on hostilities against the barbarians, and taking part in the perils of the war, they obtained possession of Tarentum, which they colonized.

At one time, when the government of the Tarentines had assumed a democratic form, they rose to great importance; for they possessed the greatest fleet of any state in those parts, and could bring into the field an army of 30,000 foot and 3000 horse, exclusive of a select body of 1000 cavalry called Hipparchi.See Heyne, Opusc. Acad. tom. ii. p. 223, not. h. They likewise encouraged the Pythagorean philosophy, and Archytas, who for a long time presided over the government of their state, gave it his special support.He is said to have entertained Plato during his sojourn here. Archytas flourished about the commencement of the fourth century B. C., and was still living in the year 349 B. C. But at a later period their luxury, which was produced by their prosperity, increased to that degree that their general holidays or festivals exceeded in number the days of the year; and hence arose an inefficient government, and as one proof of their unstatesmanlike acts we may adduce their employment of foreign generals; for they sent for Alexander,About 332 or 339 B. C. See Heyn. Opusc. Acad. tom. ii. p. 141. king of the Molossi, to come and assist them against the Messapii and Leucani. They had before that employed Archidamus, the son of Agesilaus;About 338 B. C. afterwards they called in CleonymusAbout 303 B. C. and Agathocles,About 330 B. C. and later, when they rose against the Romans, Pyrrhus.About 281 B. C. They were not able even to retain the respect of those whom they had invited, but rather merited their disgust. Alexander [of Epirus] was so displeased with them that lie endeavoured to remove the seat of the general council of the Greek states in Italy, which was accustomed to assemble at Heraclea, a city of the Tarentines, to a city of the Thurii; and he commanded that some place on the river Acalandrus,Cramer, in his Ancient Italy, has very justly remarked that the name of the small river Calandro, which discharges itself into the sea a little below Capo di Roseto, bears some affinity to the river Acalandrus mentioned by Strabo. However, some have thought it identical with the Salandrella and the Fiume di Roseto, while Cluverius was of opinion that we should here read κυλίσταρνος instead of ̓ακάλανδρος, and identify it with the modern Racanello. commodious for their meetings, should be properly fortified for their reception.—And indeed they say that the misfortune326 B. C. of that prince was chiefly due to a want of good feeling on their part. They were deprived of their liberty during the wars209 B. C. of Hannibal, but have since received a Roman colony,124 B. C. and now live in peace and are in a more prosperous state than ever. They also engaged in war with the Messapii concerning Heraclea, when they counted the kings of the Daunii and of the Peucetii as allies.Some suspect this last sentence to be an interpolation; certain it is that there is great difficulty in finding a time to correspond with all the circumstances contained in it. According to M. Heyne, this war must have taken place 474 B. C., but then Heraclea was not founded till 436 B. C. It seems too that the people of Iapygia had kings as late as 480 B. C.

The remainder of the country of the Iapygii is very fair, notwithstanding unfavourable appearances; for although, for the most part, it appears rugged, yet when it is broken up the soil is found to be deep; and although it lacks water, yet it appears well-suited for pasture, and is furnished with trees. At one time it was thickly inhabited throughout its whole extent, and possessed thirteen cities, but now it is so depopulated that, with the exception of Tarentum and Brentesium,Brundusium, now Brindisi. they only deserve the name of hamlets. They say that the Salentini are a colony of Cretans. Here is the temple of Minerva,Castro. This temple is now changed into the church of Sancta Maria in finibus terra. See Capmart. de Chaupy, tom. iii. page 529. which formerly was rich, and the rock called Acra Iapygia,Capo di Leuca. Pliny, lib. iii. cap. 11, says, Inde promontorium quod Acran Iapygian vocant, quo longissime in maria procurrit Italia. The Promontorium Iapygium, or Sallentinum, presented a conspicuous landmark to mariners sailing from Greece to Sicily. The fleets of Athens, after passing the Peloponnesus, are represented on this passage as usually making for Corcyra, from whence they steered straight across to the promontory, and then coasted along the south of Italy for the remainder of the voyage. which juts out far into the sea towards the rising of the sun in winter,The south-east. and turning, as it were, towards Cape Lacinium, which lies opposite to it on the west, it closes the entrance of the Gulf of Tarentum, as on the other side, the Ceraunian Mountains, together with the said Cape, close the entrance of the Ionian Gulf, the run across is about 700 stadia from that,The Acra Iapygia. both to the Ceraunian Mountains and to Cape Lacinium.See notes to page 393 of this translation. In coasting along the shore from Tarentum to Brentesium there are 600 stadia as far as the little city of Baris, which is at the present time called Veretum,Cramer remarks that Veretum is still represented by the old church of S. Maria di Vereto. and is situated on the extremities of the Salentine territory; the approach to it from Tarentum is much easier on footThat is, on land. than by sea. Thence to Leuca are 80 stadia; this too is but a small village, in which there is shown a well of fetid water, and the legend runs, that when Hercules drove out the last of the giants from Phlegra in Campania, who were called Leuternians, some fled and were buried here, and that from their blood a spring issues to supply the well; on this account likewise the coast is called the Leuternian coast.Scylax, Peripl. p. 5, speaks of the Leuterni as a really existing people. From Leuca to Hydrus,Now Otranto. Lucan, book v. verse 374, speaking of the little river Idro which runs close to Otranto, says, Et cunctas revocare rates, quas avius Hydrûs, Antiquusque Taras, secretaque litora Leucae. Quas recipit Salapina palus, et subdita Sipus Montibus. Lucan, v.374 And Cicero, writing of the town to Tyro, book xvi. epistle 9, says of his voyage from Cassiope, Inde Austro lenissimo, coelo sereno, nocte illa et die postero in Italiam ad Hydruntem ludibundi pervenimus. This place was called Hydruntum by Pliny and other authors. a small town, 150 stadia. From thence to Brentesium 400, and the like distance also [from Hydrus] to the island Saso,Now Saseno, distant 35 minutes from Otranto. which is situated almost in the midst of the course from Epirus to Brentesium; and therefore when vessels are unable to obtain a direct passage they run to the left from Saso to Hydrus, and thence watching for a favourable wind they steer towards the haven of Brentesium, or the passengers disembarking proceed on foot by a shorter way through Rudiae, a Grecian city, where the poet Ennius was born.B. C. 239. The district which we have followed by sea from Tarentum to Brentesium is like a peninsula. The road by land from Brentesium to Tarentum is but a day’s journey for a light person on foot, it constitutes the isthmus of the said peninsula, which people in general call Messapia, lapygia, Calabria, or Salentinum, without being at all particular; but some, as we have said before, do make a distinction. Thus have we described the towns on the sea-coast.

In the inland are Rudiae and Lupiae, and at a short distance from the sea Aletia;We have followed Kramer’s text in calling this place Aletia, several MSS. read Salepia. Cramer, in his description of Ancient Italy, vol ii. p. 316, says, Aletium is naturally supposed to have occupied the site of the church of S. Maria della Lizza.—It was called ̓αλήτιον by Ptolemy. about the middle of the isthmus is Uria,We have followed Kramer’s reading; some MSS. have θυοͅέαι, some θυοͅαῖαι, etc. in which is still shown the palace of a certain famous nobleman.lit. of a certain one of the nobles. As Hyriaούοͅαῖαι, MSS., but a note in the French translation explains that Strabo was quoting Herodotus from memory. We follow Kramer. is described by Herodotus as situated in Iapygia, and as founded by the Cretans who strayed from the fleet of Minos while sailing to Sicily;B. C. 1353. we must suppose that he meant either this place [Uria] or Veretum. It is said that a colony of Cretans settled in Brentesium,Brindisi. but the tradition varies; some say they were those who came with Theseus from Cnossus;About B. C. 1323. others, that they were some out of Sicily who had come with Iapyx; they agree however in saying that they did not abide there, but went thence to Bottiaea. At a later period, when the state was under the government of a monarch, it lost a large portion of its territories, which was taken by the Lacedaemonians who came over under Phalanthus; notwithstanding this the Brundusians received him when he was expelled from Tarentum, and honoured him with a splendid tomb at his death. They possess a district of superior fertility to that of the Tarentines; for its soil is light, still it is fruitful, and its honey and wools are amongst the most esteemed; further, the harbour of Brentesium is superior to that of Tarentum, for many havens are protected by the single entrance,Great changes have taken place in this locality since Strabo’s description was drawn. and rendered perfectly smooth, many bays [or reaches] being formed within it, so that it resembles in fashion the antlers of a stag, whence its name, for the place, together with the city, is exceedingly like the head of a stag, and in the Messapian language the stag’s head is called Brentesium; while the port of Tarentum is not entirely safe, both on account of its lying very open, and of certain shallows near its head.

Further, the course for passengers from Greece and Asia is most direct to Brentesium, and in fact all who are journeying to Rome disembark here. Hence there are two ways to Rome; one, which is only walked by mules, through the Peucetii, who are called Poedicli, the Daunii, and the Samnites, as far as Beneventum, on which road is the city Egnatia,Torre d’ Agnazzo. then Celia,Ceglie, south of Bari. Netium,Now Noja; but the identity of this place has been much canvassed. Canusium,Canosa. and Herdonia.Now Ordona, about twelve miles to the east of Aeca, now Troja. Livy records the defeat of the Roman forces at this place in two successive years. Hannibal removed the inhabitants and fired the town, (Livy xxvii. 1,) but it was subsequently repaired, and is noticed by Frontinus as Ardona. Ptolemy and Silius Italicus, viii. 568, mention it as Herdonia— . . . . . . . . . quosque Obscura inculsis Herdonia misit ab agris. That through Tarentum is a little to the left, it runs about a day’s journey round for one traversing the whole distance; it is called the Appian Way, and is more of a carriage road than the other. On it stands the city Uria,Oria. and Venusia;Venosa. the one [Uria] between Tarentum and Brentesium, the other on the confines of the Samnites and Lucani. Both the roads from Brentesium run into one near Beneventum and Campania, and thence to Rome it receives the name of Appian, and runs through Caudium,Paolisi. Calatia,Le Galazze Capua,S. Maria di Capoa. and Casilinum,Capoa Nova. to Sinuessa.Monte Dragone, or Mondragone. The way from thence to Rome has been already described.—The whole length of the Appian Way from Rome to Brentesium is 360 miles.

There is a third way from Rhegium, through the Bruttii, Lucani, and Samnites, along the chain of the Apennines, into Campania, where it joins the Appian Way;At Capua, now S. Maria di Capua. it is longer than those from Brentesium by about three or four days’ journey.

From Brentesium the sea is traversed by two passages to the opposite coast, one crossing to the CeraunianEustathius explains that those mountains were called Ceraunian from the frequent falling of thunderbolts upon them. τά κεοͅαύνια ὄοͅη, οὕτω καλούμενα διὰ τὸ συχνοὺς ἐκεῖ πίπτειν κεοͅαυνούς. Mountains and the adjacent coasts of the Epirus and Greece, the other to Epidamnus,Durazzo. which is the longerIt seems as if some words had been skipped in this place, for we should expect to have the distance of the other passage to the Ceraunian Mountains, but Strabo no where mentions it. of the two, being 1800M. Gossellin seems to think we should here read 800 and not 1800 stadia; but Kramer reckons it improbable. Groskurd concurs essentially with the opinion of M. Gossellin, and translates it something as follows for it is 1000, while the former is 800 stadia across. stadia. Still this is habitually traversed, on account of the situation of the city [Epidamnus] being convenient for the nations of Illyria and Macedonia. As we coast along the shore of the Adriatic from Brentesium we come to the city Egnatia,Now Torre d’ Agnazzo. it is the general place to stop at for those travelling to Barium,Bari. as well by land as by sea. The run is made when the wind blows from the south. The territory of the Peucetii extends as far as this along the coast, in the interior of the land it reaches as far as Silvium.Silvium was situated on the Appian Way. Holstenius and Pratilli agree in fixing its position at Garagnone, about 15 miles to the south-west of Venosa. Holsten. Adnot. p. 281. Pratilli, Via Appia, 1. iv. c. 7. It is throughout rugged and mountainous, and chiefly occupied by the Apennine mountains. It is thought to have been colonized by a party of Arcadians. The distance from Brentesium to Barium is about 700 stadia. [Tarentum] is about equally distant from both.About 310 stadia. The Daunii inhabit the adjoining district, then the Apuli as far as the Phrentani. As the inhabitants of the district, except in ancient times, have never been particular in speaking of the Peucetii or Daunii precisely, and as the whole of this country is now called Apulia, the boundaries of these nations are necessarily but ill defined: wherefore we ourselves shall not be very exact in treating of them.

From Barium to the river Ofanto,The Aufidus, celebrated by Horace, Od. iv. 9, Ne forte credas interitura, quae Longe sonantem natus ad Aufidum, Non ante vulgatas per artes Verba loquor socianda chordis. on which the Canusitae have established an emporium, there are 400M. Gossellin considers this rather too much, and supposes 315 stadia would be nearer the truth. stadia. The course up the river to the emporium is 90 [stadia]. Near it is Salapia,Ruins now called Salpi. the port of the Argyrippeni. For the two cities, Canusium and Argyrippa, are situated at no great distance from the sea, and in the midst of a plain; at one time they were the most important cities of the Greeks of Italy, as is manifest from the circumference of their walls, but now they have fallen off. One of them was originally called Argos Hippium, then Argyrippa, and then again Arpi. They are said to have been both founded by Diomed, and both the plain of Diomed and many other things are shown in these districts as evidence of his having possessed them. Such were the ancient offerings in the temple of Minerva, at Luceria.Now Lucera. That was an ancient city of the Daunii, but now it is of no account. Again, in the neighbouring sea there are two islands called the Diomedean islands, one of which is inhabited, but the other, they say, is desert: in the latter it is fabled that Diomed disappeared from the earth, and that his companions were transformed into birds,See book v. c. 1, § 9, p. 320. Ptolemy makes these five which is the number of the isles of Tremiti at present, if we include in the group three barren rocks, which scarce deserve the name of islands. One was called Diomedea by Pliny, and Tremitus by Tacitus, who states that Augustus appointed it as the prison of his grand-daughter Julia; the second was called Teutria. The largest is at present called Isola San Domino, the other Isola San Nicolo. and indeed the fable goes so far as to prolong their race to the present time, saying that they are tame, and lead a sort of human life, both in respect of food, and their readiness to approach men of gentle manners, and to shun the evil and wanton. We have already noticedBook v. c. i. § 9, p. 320. what is currently reported amongst the Heneti concerning this hero [Diomed] and the honours decreed to him by custom. It is thought also that SipusSiponto, a place in ruins near Manfredonia. was a settlement founded by Diomed, it is distant from Salapia about 140 stadia, and was called by the Greeks Sepius, from the numbers of cuttle fishSestini describes a gold coin belonging to this city, on which the emblem of a cuttle fish in Greek, σηπία, is apparent. The legend is σιπο. Sestini descrizione d’ una Med. p. 16. thrown up by the sea along its shore. Between Salapia and Sipus is a navigable river, and a considerable estuary; by both of these channels the merchandise, and wheat especially, of Sipus is conveyed to the sea. Two heroa or shrines are shown on a hill of Daunia, called Drium, one on the very brow of the hill sacred to Calchas, those who are about to inquire of the oracle offer a black ram to him, and sleep upon the fleece, the other below near the foot of the hill is dedicated to Podalirius, it is about a hundred stadia distant from the sea; from this hill also flows a stream,Lycophron calls this stream by the name of Althaenus. which is a potent cure for all manner of diseases among cattle.Groskurd is of opinion that some words to the following effect have been accidentally lost from this place, viz. The coast of Daunia forms an extensive bay about these parts. The promontory of GarganumNow Punta di Viesti. Strabo seems to have considered the whole of the extensive neck of land lying between the bay of Rodi and that of Manfredonia, as the Garganum Promontorium. Lucan, v. 380, thus describes its prominence, Apulus Hadriacas exit Garganus in undas. running into the sea, juts out from this bay about 300 stadia.About 37 miles towards the east. As you turn the point you perceive the town of Urium,Rodi. while off the headland are seen the Diomedean islands. All this coast produces everything in great abundance, it is exceedingly well adapted for horses and sheep, and the wool is finer than that of Tarentum, but less glossy. The district is mild on account of the cup-like situation of the plains. There are some who report that Diomed attempted to cut a canal to the sea, but being sent for to return home, where he died, left it incomplete, as well as other undertakings. This is one account of him: another makes him abide here till the end of his days; a third is the fable I have already noticed, that he vanished in the island [of Teutria], and one might reckon as a fourth that of the Heneti,See Book v. c. I. § 9, p. 320. for they somehow make out that he finished his career among them, as they assert his apotheosis. The distances I have thus given are laid down in accordance with those of Artemidorus.

The chorographer indeed gives only 165 miles from BrentesiumBrindisi. to Garganum, but Artemidorus makes then more.M. Gossellin gives a long note to show that the chorographer and Artemidorus were both correct in the distances they gave, but asserts that Strabo was mistaken as to the length of the stadium used by Artemidorus, and consequently thought he saw a discrepancy between their accounts. Thence to Ancona, the first says there are 254 miles, whilst Artemidorus has given but 1250 stadia to the Fiumesino,The ancient Aesis. near to Ancona, which is much shorter. Polybius says that from Iapygia the distance has been laid down in miles, and that there are 562 miles thence to the town of Sila,We think, with Kramer, that Sena Gallica, now Sinigaglia, was the city Strabo intends. thence to Aquileia 178. These geographers do not agree as to the length to be assigned to the line of the sea-coast of Illyria, run from the Ceraunian MountainsFrom the Capo della Linguetta, on the coast of Albania. to the headThe town of Aquileia. of the Adriatic, some of them stating it to be above 6000 [stadia], and making it longer than the opposite coast [of Italy], while it is much shorter.M. Gossellin suggests that Strabo omitted the coast of Istria in his calculations, when he made this observation on the length of the Illyrian shore, and refers to what Strabo will himself state in book vii. chap. v. sections 3, 4, and 9, and to his estimate of 6150 stadia from the Ceraunian Mountains to Iapygia in book ii. chap. iv. § 3, p. 159. Indeed they all generally differ among themselves in stating distances, as we often have occasion to remark. Wherever it is possible to discriminate we set forth what appears to us to be correct, but where it is impossible to come to any safe conclusion we think it our duty to publish their several assertions. However, when we have no data furnished by them, it must not be wondered at, if we should leave some points untouched in treating of such and so vast a subject as we have undertaken. We would not indeed omit any of the important particulars, but trifling circumstances, even when they are noted, are of little advantage, and when taken no heed of, are not missed, nor does their omission at all impair the whole work, or, if it does, at most not much.

Immediately beyond the Garganum comes a deep bay.Doubtless the bight between the, shore, adjacent to Peschioi, to the north of Viesti, and the Punta d’ Asinella. Those who dwell round it call themselves Apuli,A note in the French translation observes that the Apuli, properly so called, could but have occupied the shore of half this bay, for the Fortore falls into it just about the centre, which river was a common boundary between the Apuli and Frentani. they speak the same language as the Daunii and Peucetii, and at the present time resemble them in every other particular; however it is likely that they were formerly distinct, since their names completely differ from those of the others. In ancient times the whole of this country was flourishing, but Hannibal and the wars which subsequently occurred have wasted it. Here too was fought the battle of Cannae, where there was so great a slaughter of the Roman forces and their allies.B. C. 216. Near this gulf there is a lake,Cramer says, the lake which Strabo speaks of as being near Teanum, but without mentioning its name, is called by Pliny Lacus Pontanus, (iii. 11,) now Lago di Lesina. and above the lake in the interior is the Apulian Teanum,The city of Teanum stood on the right bank of the Fortore, the ancient Frento; its ruins are stated to exist on the site of Civitate, about a mile from the right bank of the Fortore, and ten miles from the sea. Cramer, vol. ii. p. 273. having a like name with that of the Sidicini.Now Teano, six miles from Sessa, and fifteen from Capua. It is between this and the neighbourhood of DicaearchiaPozzuolo. that the breadth of Italy is so contracted as to form an isthmus of less than 1000 stadia from sea to sea.M. Gossellin observes that from the head of the bay of Naples to the shores bordering the ancient Teanum, there are 80 minutes, or 933 stadia of 700. Leaving the lake we sail next to Buca,Romanelli is of opinion that the ruins of Buca exist at the present Penna. and the country of the Frentani. There are 200 stadia from the lake both to Buca and to the Garganum. The remainder of the towns in the vicinity of Buca have been before described.Book v. chap. iv. § 2, p. 359.

So great indeed is Italy, and much as we have described it; we will now advert to the chief of the many things that have been described, which have conduced to raise the Romans to so great a height of prosperity. One point is its insular position, by which it is securely guarded, the seas forming a natural protection around it with the exception of a very inconsiderable frontier, which too is fortified by almost impassable mountains. A second is, that there are but few harbours, and those few capacious and admirably situated. These are of great service both for enterprises against foreign places, and also in case of invasions undertaken against the country, and the reception of abundant merchandise. And a third, that it is situated so as to possess many advantages of atmosphere and temperature of climate, in which both animals and plants, and in fact all things available for sustaining life, may be accommodated with every variety both of mild and severe temperature; its length stretches in a direction north and south. Sicily, which is extensive, may be looked upon as an addition to its length, for we cannot consider it in any other light than as a part of it. The salubrity or severity of the atmosphere of different countries, is estimated by the amount of cold or heat, or the degrees of temperature between those extremes; in this way we shall find that Italy, which is situated in the medium of both the extremes, and having so great a length, largely participates in a salubrious atmosphere, and that in many respects. This advantage is still secured to it in another way, for the chain of the Apennines extending through its whole length, and leaving on each side plains and fruitful hills, there is no district which does not participate in the advantages of the best productions both of hill and plain. We must also enumerate the magnitude and number of its rivers and lakes, and the springs of hot and cold waters supplied by nature in various localities for the restoration of health; and in addition to these, its great wealth in mines of all the metals, abundance of timber, and excellent food both for man and for beasts of all kinds. Italy, likewise, being situated in the very midst of the greatest nations, I allude to Greece and the best provinces of Asia, is naturally in a position to gain the ascendency, since she excels the circumjacent countries both in the valour of her population and in extent of territory, and by being in proximity to them seems to have been ordained to bring them into subjection without difficulty.

If, in addition to our description of Italy, a few words should be summarily added about the Romans who have possessed themselves of it, and prepared it as a centre from whence to enforce their universal dominion, we would offer the following.—The Romans, after the foundation of their state, discreetly existed as a kingdom for many years, till Tarquin, the last [Roman king], abused his power, when they expelled him, and established a mixed form of government, being a modification both of the monarchical and aristocratical systems; they admitted both the SabinesIn the year 747 B. C. and LatinsIn the year 594 B. C. into their alliance, but as neither they nor the other neighbouring states continued to act with good faith towards them at all times, they were under the necessity of aggrandizing themselves by the dismemberment of their neighbours.The Latins were first subjected in 499 B. C., but not totally subjugated; the Sabines were almost annihilated in the war which happened about 450 B. C. Having thus, by degrees, arrived at a state of considerable importance, it chanced that they lost their city suddenly, contrary to the expectation of all men, and again recovered the same contrary to all expectation.See Poly b. Hist. book i. chap. vi. § 1, edit. Schweigh, tom. i. p. 12. This took place, according to Polybius, in the nineteenth year after the naval engagement of Aegos-potami,This battle was fought in the year 405 B. C. about the time of the conclusion of the peace of Antalcidas.Concluded 387 B. C. Having escaped these misfortunes, the Romans first reduced all the LatinsAbout 338 B. C. to complete obedience, they then subdued the Tyrrheni,About 310 B. C. and stayed the Kelts, who border the Po, from their too frequent and licentious forays; then the Samnites, and after them they conquered the Tarentines and Pyrrhus,About 275 B. C. and presently after the remainder of what is now considered as Italy, with the exception of the districts on the Po. While these still remained a subject of dispute they passed over into Sicily,In the year 264 B. C. and having wrested that island from the CarthaginiansIn the year 241 B. C. they returned to complete the conquest of the people dwelling along the Po. While this war was still in hand Hannibal entered Italy,218 B. C. thus the second war against the Carthaginians ensued, and after a very short interval the third, in which Carthage was demolished.146 B. C. At the same time the Romans became masters of Africa,λιβὺη. and of such portions of Spain as they won from the Carthaginians. Both the Greeks and the Macedonians, and the nations of Asia who dwelt on the hither side of the river Kisil-IrmakThe ancient Halys. and the Taurus, took part in these struggles with the Carthaginians: over these AntiochusAntiochus ceded Asia Minor in the year B. C. 189. was king, and Philip and Perseus,Perseus was taken in the year B. C. 167. these therefore the Romans found themselves obliged to subdue. The people likewise of Illyria and Thrace, who were next neighbours to the Greeks and Macedonians, at this time commenced the war with the Romans that never ceased, until the subjugation of all the people who inhabit the countries on the hither side of the DanubeIster. and the Kisil-IrmakThe ancient Halys. had been effected. The Iberians, and Kelts, and all the rest who are subject to the Romans, shared a similar fate, for the Romans never rested in the subjugation of the land to their sway until they had entirely overthrown it: in the first instance they took Numantia,In the year B. C. 133. and subdued Viriathus,In the year B. C. 140. and afterwards vanquished Sertorius,B. C. 72. and last of all the Cantabrians,The inhabitants of Biscay. who were brought to subjection by Augustus Caesar.B. C. 19. Likewise the whole of Gaul both within and beyond the Alps with Liguria were annexed at first by a partial occupation, but subsequently divus Caesar and then Augustus subdued them completely in open war, so that nowAbout A. D. 17 or 18. the Romans direct their expeditions against the Germans from these countries as the most convenient rendezvous, and have already adorned their own country with several triumphs over them. Also in Africa all that did not belong to the Carthaginians has been left to the charge of kings owning dependence on the Roman state, while such as have attempted to assert their independence have been overpowered. At the present moment both Maurusia and much of the rest of Africa have fallen to the portion of JubaFrom this expression we may gather that Strabo wrote this 6th Book of his Geography during the life-time of Juba, and, as we shall presently see, about A. D. 18; while he did not compile the 17th Book till after Juba’s death, which must have taken place before A. D. 21. See M. l’ Abbé Sevin, Rech. sur la Vie, etc., de Juba, Ac. des Inscr. et Belles- Lettres, vol. iv. Mém. p. 462. on account of his good will and friendship towards the Romans. The like things have taken place in Asia. At first it was governed by kings who were dependent on the Romans, and afterwards when their several lines of succession failed, as of that of the kings Attalus,Attalus III., king of Pergamus, died 133 B. C., and constituted the Roman people his heir. the kings of the Syrians,We may here observe that the Seleucidae ceased to reign in Syria as early as 83 B. C., when that country, wearied of their sad dissensions, willingly submitted to Tigranes the king of Armenia, but their race was not extinct, and even in the year 64 B. C. when Pompey made the kingdom a Roman province, there were two princes of the Seleucidae, Antiochus Asiaticus and his brother Seleucus-Cybiosactes, who had an hereditary right to the throne; the latter however died about 54 B. C., and in him terminated the race of the Seleucidae. the Paphlagonians,The race of the kings of Paphlagonia became extinct about 7 B. C. See M. l’ Abbé Belley, Diss. sur l’ ère de Germanicopolis, etc. Ac. des Inscr. et Belles-Lettres, vol. xxx. Mém. p. 331. Cappadocians,The royal race of Cappadocia failed about 91 B. C. and Egyptians,The race of the Lagidae terminated with Ptolemy Auletes, who died 44 B. C., leaving two daughters, Cleopatra and Arsinoë. Ptolemy Apion died 96 B. C.; he left Cyrene, whereof he was king, to the Roman people [or] when they revolted and were subsequently deposed, as it happened in the case of Mithridates Eupator, and Cleopatra of Egypt, the whole of their territories within the PhasisNow the Fasz or Rion. and the Euphrates,The Forat, Ferat, or Frat. with the exception of some tribes of Arabs, were brought completely under the dominion of the Romans and the dynasties set up by them. The Armenians and the people who lie beyond Colchis, both the Albani and Iberians, require nothing more than that Roman governors should be sent among them, and they would be easily ruled; their attempted insurrections are merely the consequence of the want of attention from the Romans, who are so much occupied elsewhere: the like may be asserted of those who dwell beyond the Danube,The ancient Ister. and inhabit the banks of the Euxine, excepting only those who dwell on the BosphorusStrabo will relate in book vii. chap. iv. § 4, that after the defeat of Mithridates Eupator they became subject to the Romans. and the Nomades;See more as to these people in book vii. chap. iii. § 17. of these the former are in subjection to the Romans, and the latter are unprofitable for commerce on account of their wandering life, and only require to be watched. The rest of the countries [of Asia] are chiefly inhabited by ScenitesInhabitants of tents. and Nomades who dwell at a great distance. The Parthians indeed border on them and are very powerful, but they have yielded so far to the superiority of the Romans and our emperors, that they have not only sent backIn the year 20 B. C. See book xvi. chap. i. § 28. to Rome the trophies which they had at a still more distant period taken from the Romans, but Phraates has even sent his sons and his sons’ sons to Augustus Caesar, as hostages, assiduously courting his friendship:Compare Tacitus, Annales, lib. ii. § 1. indeed the [Parthians] of the present time frequently send for a king from hence,As Vonones, mentioned by Tacitus in his second book. and are almost on the point of relinquishing all power to the Romans. We now see Italy, which has frequently been torn by civil war even since it came under the dominion of the Romans, nay, even Rome herself, restrained from rushing headlong into confusion and destruction by the excellence of her form of government and the ability of her emperors. Indeed it were hard to administer the affairs of so great an empire otherwise than by committing them to one man as a father.Compare the words of Tacitus, Annal. lib. i. § 9, Non aliud discordantis patriae remedium fuisse, quàm ut ab uno regeretur. For it would never have been in the power of the Romans and their allies to attain to a state of such perfect peace, and the enjoyment of such abundant prosperity, as Augustus Caesar afforded them from the time that he took upon himself the absolute authority; and which his son Tiberius, who has succeeded him, still maintains, who takes his father for a pattern in his government and ordinances. And in their turn his sons, Germanicus and Drusus,Germanicus was appointed to take charge of the East in A. D. 17, in 18 he took possession of his government, and died in 19. Drusus was in command of the armies of Germany in A. D. 17. Thus we may safely conclude this 6th book of Strabo’s Geography to have been written in A. D. 18. who are exercising the functions of government under their father, take him for their model.

In the Seventh Book Strabo describes the remaining portions of Europe. That on the east is the country beyond the Rhine, as far as the DonThe ancient Tanais. and the mouth of the Sea of Azof;Palus Maeotis. and on the south, that which the DanubeThe ancient Ister. bounds, lying between the Adriatic and the left shores of the Euxine, as far as Greece and the Sea of Marmora,The ancient Propontis. including the whole of Macedonia.

WE have described Spain and the Keltic nations, together with Italy and the islands adjacent, and must now speak of the remaining portions of Europe, dividing it in the best way we can. That which remains is, on the east, all the country beyond the Rhine, as far as the Don and the mouth of the Sea of Azof; and, on the south, that which the Danube bounds, lying between the Adriatic and the left shores of the Euxine, as far as Greece and the Sea of Marmora, for the Danube, which is the largest of the rivers of Europe, divides the whole territory of which we have spoken, into two portions. This river from its commencement flows southwards, then, making a sudden turn, continues its course from west to east, which [terminates] in the Euxine Sea. It takes its rise in the western confines of Germany, not far from the head of the Adriatic, being distant from it about 1000 stadia,Strabo, in a subsequent passage, states that the distance from the Danube to the city Trieste, at the head of the Adriatic, is about 1200 stadia. and falls into the Euxine near the mouths of the DniesterThe ancient Tyras. and the Dnieper,The Borysthenes. inclining a little towards the north. Thus the countries beyond the Rhine and Keltica are situated to the north of the Danube, and are occupied by the Galatic and German tribes, as far as the territory of the Bastarnae,The Bastarnae were a people occupying portions of the modern Moldavia, Podolia, and the Ukraine. the Tyregetae,The Tyregetae, or the Getae of the river Tyras, were a people dwelling on the Dniester, to the south of the Bastarnae. and the river Dnieper; so also is the country situated between the Dnieper, the Don, and the mouth of the Sea of Azof, which on one side stretches back as far as the [Northern] Ocean,The ancient geographers supposed that the Northern Ocean extended to the 56° of north latitude. Their notions of the existence of the Baltic were vague. They therefore confounded it with the Northern Ocean, thus making the continent of Europe to extend only to the 56° of north latitude. and on another is washed by the Euxine. To the south of the Danube are situated the people of Illyria and Thrace, and mixed with them certain tribes of Kelts and other races, extending as far as Greece.

We will first speak of those nations to the north of the Danube, for their history is less involved than that of the tribes situated on the other side of the river.

Next after the Keltic nations come the Germans who inhabit the country to the east beyond the Rhine; and these differ but little from the Keltic race, except in their being more fierce, of a larger stature, and more ruddy in countenance; but in every other respect, their figure, their customs and manners of life, are such as we have related of the Kelts.See book iv. chap. iv. § 2, pp. 291, 292. The Romans therefore, I think, have very appositely applied to them the name Germani, as signifying genuine; for in the Latin language Germani signifies genuine.Strabo’s words are, γνήσιοι γάοͅ οὶ γεοͅμανοὶ κατὰ τὴν?̔πωμαίων διάλεκτον. It is possible he may be endeavouring to explain that the yep in Germani is equivalent to the Latin verus, true, the wahr of modern German, and that Germani signifies the true men of the country, the undoubted autochthones of Galatia or Gaul.

The first division of this country is the land extending along the Rhine from its source to its embouchure. Indeed, the valley of that river extends nearly as far as the whole breadth of Germany on the west. Of the people who occupied this country, some have been transplanted by the Romans into Keltica, the others have retired to the interior, as the Marsi;The Marsi were a people dwelling on the banks of the Ems, near Munster. there are but few remaining, and some portion of them are Sicambri;The Sicambri were located near the Menapii. See above, p. 289. next to the inhabitants of this valley succeeds the tribe dwelling between the Rhine and the river Elbe,The Albis. which river flows towards the ocean in a direction nearly parallel with the Rhine, and traversing a country of no less extent. There are also between these other navigable rivers, such as the Ems,Amasias. on which Drusus defeated the BructeriThe name of this tribe is written variously by different authors. They are supposed to have occupied the lands between the Rhine, the Ems, and the Lippe, but their boundaries were very uncertain, on account of their continual wars. in a naval engagement; all likewise flowing from south to north, and falling into the ocean; for the whole country rises towards the south, and forms a ridge of mountains near the Alps, which extends eastward as though it were a continuation of the Alps;This refers to the chain of mountains which, running from the north of Switzerland, traverses Wurtemberg, Franconia, Bohemia, Moravia, and joins Mount Krapak. and some have even so described it, as well on account of its position as because it produces the same system of vegetation; nevertheless, the altitude of this ridge in no part equals that of the Alps. Here is situated the Hercynian Wood,The Hercynian Wood, or Black Forest, was either one or a succession of continuous forests, extending from the banks of the Rhine to the confines of Persia and Bactriana. and the tribes of the Suevi,The Suevi occupied a considerable portion of Germany, to the north and east of Bohemia. some of whom inhabit the forest, as do likewise some of the Quadi.Coldui manuscripts. Kramer agrees with Cluverius in this instance, and we have followed Kramer’s text. Among these latter people is situated Bujemum, the royal city of Marobodus, whither he has assembled many strangers and many of the Marcomanni, a kindred nation with his own. This Marobodus, from a private station, raised himself to the administration of affairs after his return from Rome. For he went to that city while a youth, and was patronized by Augustus. After he came home, he acquired the sovereignty of his country, and added to the people I have enumerated, the Luji,The Lugii of Tacitus. a powerful nation, and the Zumi,Zeus thinks these were the Burri of Dio Cassius, lxviii. 8. See Zeus, Die Deutschen, etc., p. 126. and the GutonesKramer has γούτωνας, although the MSS. have βούτωνας. He is led to this emendation by Cluverius and others. Cluv. Germ. Antiq. lib. iii. c. 34, page 625. and Mugilones and Sibini, besides the Semnones, another considerable tribe of the Suevi. As I have previously stated, a portion of the Suevi dwells within the Forest, while another portion occupies the territory beyond, on the frontiers of the Getae; wherefore the nation of the Suevi is the most considerable, as it extends from the Rhine as far as the Elbe, and even a part of them, as the Hermonduri and the Langobardi, inhabit the country beyond the Elbe; but at the present time these tribes, having been defeated, have retired entirely beyond the Elbe. All these nations easily change their abode, on account of the scantiness of provisions, and because they neither cultivate the lands nor accumulate wealth, but dwell in miserable huts, and satisfy their wants from day to day, the most part of their food being supplied by the herd, as amongst the nomade races, and in imitation of them they transfer their households in waggons, wandering with their cattle to any place which may appear most advantageous. There are many other smaller German tribes, as the Cherusci, Chatti, Gamabrivi,The Gambrivii of Tacitus, Germ. cap. 2. Chattuarii, and next the ocean the Sicambri, Chaubi,Cluverius considers these were the Chamavi. Bructeri,We have followed Kramer’s text. MSS. read Bucteri. Cimbri, Cauci, Caulci, Campsiani,For Caulci, Campsiani, Cluverius would read Cathulci, Campsani. A little further on Strabo calls the Campsiani Ampsani. and many others.

In the same direction with the Ems,Amasias. the WeserVisurgis. and the river LippeLupias. take their course, the latter, distant about 600 stadia from the Rhine, flows through the territory of the Lesser Bructeri. And there is also the river Sala,Salas. between which and the Rhine Drusus Germanicus died, whilst in the midst of his victories. He not only subdued the greater part of the German tribes, but also the islands on the coast he passed along, one amongst which is Byrchanis,Borcum. Pliny calls this island Burchana, and adds, that the Romans gave it the name of Fabaria, on account of the beans (in Latin Faba) which grow there. which he took by siege.

All these nations became known through their wars with the Romans, at one time submitting, at another revolting and quitting their habitations; and we should have become acquainted with a greater number of their tribes, if Augustus had permitted his generals to pass the Elbe, in pursuit of those who had fled thither; but he considered the war on hand would be more easily brought to a conclusion, if he left the people on the other side of the Elbe unmolested, and not by attacking provoke them to make common cause with his enemies.

The Sicambri inhabiting the country next the Rhine were the first to commence the war, under the conduct of their leader, Melon; other nations afterwards followed their example, at one time being victorious, at another defeated, and again recommencing hostilities, without regard to hostages or the faith of treaties. Against these people mistrust was the surest defence; for those who were trusted effected the most mischief. For example, the Cherusci, and those who were subject to them, amongst whom three Roman legions with their general, Quintilius Varus, perished by ambush, in violation of the truce; nevertheless all have received punishment for this perfidy, which furnished to Germanicus the Younger the opportunity of a most brilliant triumph, he leading publicly as his captives the most illustrious persons, both men and women, amongst whom were Segimuntus,Segimundus in Tacitus, Annal. lib. i. cap. 57. the son of Segestes, the chief of the Cherusci, and his sister, named Thusnelda, the wife of Armenius, who led on the Cherusci when they treacherously attacked Quintilius Varus, and even to this day continues the war; likewise his son Thumelicus, a boy three years old, as also Sesithacus, the son of Segimerus,Aegimerus in Tacitus, Annal. lib. i. cap. 71. chief of the Cherusci, and his wife Rhamis, the daughter of Ucromirus,Acrumerus, according to the correction of Cluverius. He is Actumerus in Tacitus, Annal. lib. xi. 16, 17. chief of the Chatti,MSS. Batti, which Vossius reckons were the Batavi. and Deudorix, the son of Baetorix, the brother of Melon, of the nation of the Sicambri; but Segestes, the father-in-law of Armenius, from the commencement opposed the designs of his son-in-law, and taking advantage of a favourable opportunity, went over to the Roman camp and witnessed the triumphal procession over those who were dearest to him, he being held in honour by the Romans. There was also led in triumph Libes the priest of the Chatti, and many other prisoners of the various vanquished nations, the Cathylci and the Ampsani, the Bructeri, the Usipi, the Cherusci, the Chatti, the Chattuarii, the Landi,Cluverius considers these were the Marsi of Tacitus, Annal. lib. ii. cap. 25. the Tubattii.Called Tubantes by the Roman writers.

The Rhine is distant from the Elbe about 3000 stadia, if one could travel in a direct line; but we are compelled to go a circuitous route, on account of the windings of the marshes and the woods.

The Hercynian ForestSchwartz Wald, or Black Forest. is extremely dense, and overgrown with very large trees, covering an immense circuit of country, fortified by nature. In the midst of it is situated the region well suited for habitation, of which we have spoken. Near this forest are the sources of the Danube and the Rhine, and the lakeThe Lake Constance. situated between these, together with the marshes formed by the Rhine. The circuit of the lake is more than 300Strabo could hardly have intended 300, since the diameter of the lake is given at 200. Velser conjectures that 500 or 600 would be the proper reading. Its exact circumference is about 550 stadia. stadia, and the distance across about 200. In this lake is an island which served Tiberius as an arsenal, in the naval war with the Vindelici. This lake is south of the sources of the Danube and the Hercynian Forest, so that in passing from KelticaGossellin considers that by Keltica we are to understand Cisalpine Gaul, and the neighbourhood of Milan and Mantua. to the forest, one has first to cross the lake, then the Danube, and afterwards by a more passable country, and over elevated plains, you approach the forest. When Tiberius had proceeded but one day’s journey from the lake, he came in sight of the sources of the Danube.Gossellin says that the sources of the Danube are about 14 leagues distant from the western extremity of the Lake Constance.

The territory of the RhaetiThe Rhaeti possessed the countries of the Grisons and the Tyrol, extending to the eastern shores of the Lake Constance. borders some portion of this lake, but the greater part of the shores belong to the HelvetiiThe Helvetii, or Swiss, possessed the southern borders of the Lake Constance. and VindeliciThe Vindelici occupied the country on the northern borders of the lake, with the regions of Swabia and Bavaria south of the Danube, and reaching to the Inn. Gossellin. [the Norici come next after the Vindelici in an easterly direction,]It is evident that some words have been omitted in this place. The words we have inserted are the conjecture of Cluverius and Groskurd. and the desert of the Boii.As far as we can make out from Strabo and Pliny, book iii. cap. 27, the desert of the Boii stretched along the shores of the Danube from the river Inn to the mountains a little west of Vienna, which were the boundary between the Norici and the Pannonians. This strip of land is now called the Wiener-Wald, or Forest of Vienna. Doubtless it took its name of Desert of the Boii on account of its contiguity to the south of the country occupied by those people, and which still bears the name of Bohemia. The nations as far as the Pannonians,The Pannonians occupied the districts of Hungary west of the Danube. but more especially the Helvetii and Vindelici, inhabit high table lands. The Rhaeti and the Norici,The Norici inhabited that part of Austria which lies between the Danube and the Alps. verging towards Italy, extend over the very summits of the Alps; the former confining with the Insubri,The Insubri occupied the Milanese. the latter the Carni,The Carni have left their name to Carniola. and the districts about Aquileia. There is likewise another great forest, named Gabreta, on this side the territory of the Suevi, while beyond them lies the Hercynian Wood, which also is in their possession.

SOME of the accounts which we receive respecting the Cimbri are not worthy of credit, while others seem likely enough: for instance, no one could accept the reason given for their wandering life and piracy, that, dwelling on a peninsula, they were driven out of their settlements by a very high tide;See also book ii. chap. 3, § 6. Festus relates that the Ambrones abandoned their country on account of this tide. The Ambrones were a tribe of the Helvetii, and more than once joined with the Cimbri. for they still to this day possess the country which they had in former times, and have sent as a present to Augustus the caldron held most sacred by them, supplicating his friendship, and an amnesty for past offences; and having obtained their request, they returned home. Indeed, it would have been ridiculous for them to have departed from their country in a pet, on account of a natural and constant phenomenon, which recurs twice every day. It is likewise evidently a fiction, that there ever occurred an overwhelming flood-tide, for the ocean, in the influences of this kind which it experiences, receives a certain settled and periodical increase and decrease.The French translation has happily paraphrased, not translated, this passage as follows: For although it is true that the ocean has tides of more or less height, still they occur periodically, and in an order constantly the same. Neither is it true, as has been related,Aristotle, Ethics, Eudem. lib. iii. cap. 1, Nicolas of Damascus, and Aelian, Var. Histor. lib. xii. cap. 23, have attributed the like extravagant proceedings to the Kelts or Gauls. Nicolas of Damascus, Reliq. pp. 272, 273, says that the Kelts resist the tides of the ocean with their swords in their hands, till they perish in the waters, in order that they may not seem to fear death by taking the precaution to fly. that the Cimbri take arms against the flood-tides, or that the Kelts, as an exercise of their intrepidity, suffer their houses to be washed away by them, and afterwards rebuild them; and that a greater number of them perish by water than by war, as Ephorus relates. For the regular order the flood-tides observe, and the notoriety of the extent of the country subject to inundation by them, could never have given occasion for such absurd actions. For the tide flowing twice every day, how could any one think for an instant that it was not a natural and harmless phenomenon, and that it occurs not only on their coasts, but on all others bordering on the ocean? Is not this quite incredible? Neither is Clitarchus to be trusted,It is probable that Clitarchus obtained his information from the Gauls. As for the sudden influx of the tide, there are several other examples of the kind, in which the troops surprised were not so successful in getting off. when he says that their cavalry, on seeing the sea flowing in, rode off at full speed, and yet scarcely escaped by flight from being overtaken by the flood; for we know, by experience, that the tide does not come in with such impetuosity, but that the sea advances stealthily by slow degrees. And we should think, besides, that a phenomenon of daily occurrence, which would naturally strike the ear of such as approached it, before even they could see it with their eyes, could not by any means terrify them so as to put them to flight, as if they had been surprised by some unexpected catastrophe.

For such fables as these, Posidonius justly blames these writers, and not inaptly conjectures that the Cimbri, on account of their wandering life and habits of piracy, might have made an expedition as far as the countries around the Palus Maeotis, and that from them has been derived the name of the Cimmerian Bosphorus, or what we should more correctly denominate the Cimbrian Bosphorus, for the Greeks call the Cimbri Cimmerii.

He likewise tells us that the Boii formerly inhabited the Hercynian Forest, and that the Cimbri, having made an incursion into those parts, were repulsed by them, and driven towards the Danube, and the country occupied by the Scordisci, a Galatic tribe, and from thence to the Tauristae, or Taurisci, a people likewise of Galatic origin, and farther to the Helvetii, who were at that time a rich and peaceful people; but, perceiving that the wealth of these freebooters far exceeded their own, the Helvetii, and more especially the Tigureni and the Toygeni, associated themselves with their expeditions. But both the Cimbri and their auxiliaries were vanquished by the Romans, the one part when they crossed the Alps and came down upon Italy, the others on the other side of the Alps.

It is reported that the Cimbri had a peculiar custom. They were accompanied in their expeditions by their wives; these were followed by hoary-headed priestesses,Tacitus, De Morib. Germanor. cap. viii., says that these priestesses were held in great reputation, and mentions one Veleda as diu apud plerosque numinis loco habitam. clad in white, with cloaks of carbasusPliny, lib. xix. cap. 1, describes this carbasus as very fine flax, grown in the neighbourhood of Tarragona in Spain. The Père Hardouin considers that the carbasus or fabric manufactured of this flax was similar to the French batiste.—The flax and the fabric were alike called carbasus. fastened on with clasps, girt with brazen girdles, and bare-footed. These individuals, bearing drawn swords, went to meet the captives throughout the camp, and, having crowned them, led them to a brazen vessel containing about 20 amphorae, and placed on a raised platform, which one of the priestesses having ascended, and holding the prisoner above the vessel, cut his throat; then, from the manner in which the blood flowed into the vessel, some drew certain divinations; while others, having opened the corpse, and inspected the entrails, prophesied victory to their army. In battle too they beat skins stretched on the wicker sides of chariots, which produces a stunning noise.

As we have before stated, the northernmost of the Germans inhabit a country bordering on the ocean; but we are only acquainted with those situated between the mouths of the Rhine and the Elbe, of which the SicambriThe Sicambri, or Sugambri, dwelt to the south of the Lippe. and CimbriThe Cimbri occupied Jutland, the ancient Cimbrica Chersonesus. are the most generally known: those dwelling along the coastThe shores of the Baltic. beyond the Elbe are entirely unknown to us; for none of the ancients with whom I am acquainted have prosecuted this voyage towards the east as far as the mouths of the Caspian Sea, neither have the Romans as yet sailed coastwise beyond the Elbe, nor has any one travelling on foot penetrated farther into this country. But it is evident, by the climates and the parallels of distances, that in following a longitudinal course towards the east we must come to the countries near the Dnieper, and the regions on the north side of the Euxine. But as for any particulars as to Germany beyond the Elbe, or of the countries which lie beyond it in order, whether we should call them the Bastarnae, as most geographers suppose, or whether other nations intervene, such as the Jazyges,Gossellin places the Jazyges in the southern districts of the Ukraine, between the Dniester and the Sea of Azoff. or the Roxolani,Gossellin considers that the name of Russia is derived from these Roxolani. or any others of the tribes dwelling in waggons, it is not easy to give any account. Neither can we say whether these nations extend as far as the [Northern] Ocean, along the whole distance, or whether [between them and the Ocean] there are countries rendered unfit for habitation by the cold or by any other cause; or whether men of a different race are situated between the sea and the most eastern of the Germans.

The same uncertainty prevails with regard to the other nationsThe Bastarne and Tyregetae, mentioned in chap. i. § I, of this book, to whom, in book ii. chap. v. § 30, Strabo adds also the Sauromatae. of the north, for we know neither the Bastarnae nor the Sauromatae;The Sauromatae, or Sarmatians, living to the east of the Sea of Azoff and along the banks of the Don. nor, in a word, any of those tribes situate above the Euxine: we are ignorant as to what distance they lie from the Atlantic,The term Atlantic was applied with much more latitude by Strabo and Eratosthenes than by us. or even whether they extend as far as that sea.

As to the southern part of Germany beyond the Elbe, the country which adjoins the bank of that river is now occupied by the Suevi. Next lies the country of the Getae, at first narrow, its southern side extends along the Danube, and the opposite side along the mountains of the Hercynian Forest, even including part of those mountains, it then becomes broader towards the north, and extends as far as the Tyregetae; however, we are unable to declare its boundaries with accuracy; and it is on account of our ignorance of these places that those who relate fables of the Riphaean mountains and the Hyperboreans have received credit; as also that which Pytheas of Marseilles has forged concerning the countries bordering on the Northern Ocean, making use of his acquaintance with astronomy and mathematics to fabricate his false narration: let us therefore pass over them; as also what Sophocles, speaking of Orithya in one of his tragedies, says, that she, being snatched by the north wind, was carried Over the whole ocean, to the extremities of the earth, Even to the place where night received its birth, Where the opposite side of the heavens is beheld, And where is situated the ancient garden of Phoebus. This is of no value to our present inquiry, but must be omitted, as Socrates has done in the Phaedrus of Plato. We will relate only what we have learnt from ancient accounts, and the reports made in our times.

The Greeks indeed considered the Getae to be Thracians. They occupied either bank of the Danube, as also did the Mysians, likewise a Thracian people, now called the Moesi, from whom are descended the Mysians, settled between the Lydians, the Phrygians, and the inhabitants of the Troad. Even the Phrygians themselves are the same as the Briges, a people of Thrace, as also are the Mygdones, the Bebryces, the Maedobithyni, the Bithyni, the Thyni, and, as I consider, also are the Mariandyni. All these people quitted Europe entirely, the Mysians alone remaining. Posidonius appears to me to have rightly conjectured that it is the Mysians of Europe (or as I should say of Thrace) that Homer designates when he says, and his glorious eyes Averting, on the land look’d down remote Of the horse-breeding Thracians, of the bold Close-fighting Mysian race. . . . But he himself turned back his shining eyes apart, looking towards the land of the equestrian Thracians and the close-fighting Mysians. Iliad xiii. 3.Iliad xiii. 3. For if any one should understand them as the Mysians of Asia, the expression of the poet would not be fitting. For this would be, that having turned his eyes from the Trojans towards the land of the Thracians, he beheld at the same time the land of the Mysians, situated not far off from where he was, but conterminous with the Troad, rather behind it and on either side, but separated from Thrace by the breadth of the Hellespont.The Strait of the Dardanelles. This would be to confound the continents, and at the same time to disregard the form of the poet’s expression. For to turn his eyes again, is more especially to turn them behind him; but he who extends his vision from the Trojans to the people either behind them, or on either side of them, stretches his sight to a greater distance, but not in the least behind him. And this also is introduced as a proof of this very thing, that Homer classes with these the Hippemolgi,Milkers of mares. the Galactophagi,People who live on milk. and the Abii,Devoid of riches. who are the Scythian HamaxoeciDwelling in waggons. and Sarmatians; for at this day, all these nations, as well as the Bastarnae, are mixed with the Thracians, more especially with those beyond the Danube, and some even with the Thracians on this side the Danube; also amongst these are the Keltic tribes of the Boii, Scordisci, and Taurisci. Some, indeed, call the Scordisci the Scordistae, and give to the Taurisci the names of LigurisciPerhaps Teurisci. and Tauristae.

Posidonius relates that the Mysians religiously abstain from eating any thing that had life, and consequently, from cattle; but that they lived in a quiet way on honey, milk, and cheese; wherefore they are considered a religious people, and called Capnobatae.A note in the French translation suggests that Capnobatae has some connexion with the practice of intoxication by inhaling smoke, and of using the vapour of linseed, burned upon red-hot stones, as a bath. See Herodot. book i. chap. 202; book iv. chap. 75. He adds, that there are amongst the Thracians some who live without wives, and who are known by the name of Ctistae. These are considered sacred and worthy of honour, and live in great freedom. [He pretends] that the poet comprehends the whole of these people when he says, and where abide, On milk sustain’d, and blest with length of days, The Hippemolgi, justest of mankind.And the illustrious Hippemolgi, milk-nourished, simple in living and most just men. Iliad xiii. 5.Iliad xiii. 5. These he designates as without life, more particularly on account of their living without wives, considering their solitary state as but a half life; in the same way as he likewise designates the house of Protesilaus imperfect, on account of the bereavement of his widow; in the same manner he applies to the Mysians the epithet of close-fighting, on account of their being invincible, like good warriors. [Finally, Posidonius pretends] that in the thirteenthδεκάτῳ text: but there is no doubt it should be the thirteenth. book of the Iliad we ought to substitute for the close-fighting Mysians, [the close-fighting Moesi.]

Nevertheless it would perhaps be superfluous to change the text [of Homer], which has stood the test of so many years. For it appears more probable to suppose that the people were anciently called Mysians, but that their name is now altered. Further, any one would suppose that the AbiiPeople without life. were no more so named from being unmarried than from their being houseless,The Greek is ἀνεστίους, literally without hearths. or their dwelling in waggons. In fact, as injustice is ordinarily committed in matters relative to bonds for money and the acquisition of wealth, it would be natural that the people living so frugally on such small property should be called [by Homer] the justest of mankind: and the more so as the philosophers who place justice next to moderation, aim at independence of others and frugality as amongst the most desirable objects of attainment; from which however some, having passed the bounds of moderation, have wandered into a cynical mode of life.Strabo does not intend by the word κυνισμὸς which he here uses, the profession of a Cynic philosopher, which some of the Stoics affected in consequence of their not thoroughly understanding the dogmas of Zeno, the founder of their sect. It was to these ultra-Stoics that the name of Stoaces [στόακες] was given by way of ridicule. Athenaeus, book xiii. chap. 2, remarks that a like propensity to overdo the precept of the teacher led the disciples of Aristippus, who recommended rational pleasures, to become mere libertines. But [the words of the poet] sanction no such assertion of the Thracians, and the Getae in particular, that they live without wives. But see what Menander says of these people, not out of his own imagination, as it should seem, but deriving it from history. All the Thracians truly, and especially above all others we Getae, (for I myself glory in being descended from this race,) are not very chaste. And a little after he gives examples of their rage for women. For there is no one among us who marries fewer than ten or eleven wives, and some have twelve, or even more.Heraclides of Pontus, page 215, gives them even as many as thirty wives. If any one loses his life who has only married four or five wives, he is lamented by us as unfortunate, and one deprived of the pleasures of Hymen. Such a one would be accounted as unmarried amongst them. These things are likewise confirmed by the evidence of other historians. And it is not likely that the same people should regard as an unhappy life that which is passed without the enjoyment of many women, and at the same time regard as a dignified and holy life that which is passed in celibacy without any women. But that those living without wives should be considered holy, and termed Capnobatae, is entirely opposed to our received opinions; for all agree in regarding women as the authors of devotion to the gods, and it is they who induce the men by their example to a more attentive worship of the gods, and to the observance of feast-days and supplications; for scarcely is there found a man living by himself who pays any regard to such matters. And again attend to the words of the same poet when he speaks in one of his characters, bringing in a man disgusted with the expensesKramer reads δαπάναις, which we have rendered by expenses, but all manuscripts have ἀπάταις. The French translation gives a note with Koray’s conjecture of δαπάναις, which is supported by a very similar passage respecting Alcibiades, where Isocrates (P. I. page 354, ed. Coray) says, He was so lavish in the sacrifices and other expenses for the feast. Both the French and German translations adopt the emendation. of the sacrifices of the women. The gods weary us indeed, but especially our married men, who are always obliged to celebrate some feast. And his Misogynes, complaining of the same things, exclaims, We sacrificed five times a day, while seven female slaves ranged in a circle played on the cymbals, and others raised their suppliant cries. It would therefore seem absurd to suppose that only those among the Getae who remained without wives were considered pious, but that the care of worshipping the Supreme Being is great among this nation is not to be doubted, after what Posidonius has related, and they even abstain from animal food from religious motives, as likewise on account of the testimony of other historians.

For it is said that one of the nation of the Getae, named Zamolxis,ζάλμοξις is the reading of the Paris manuscript, No. 1393, and we should have preferred it for the text, as more likely to be a Getaen name, but for the circumstance of his being generally written Zamolxis. had served Pythagoras, and had acquired with this philosopher some astronomical knowledge, in addition to what he had learned from the Egyptians, amongst whom he had travelled. He returned to his own country, and was highly esteemed both by the chief rulers and the people, on account of his predictions of astronomical phenomena, and eventually persuaded the king to unite him in the government, as an organ of the will of the gods. At first he was chosen a priest of the divinity most revered by the Getae, but afterwards was esteemed as a god, and having retired into a district of caverns, inaccessible and unfrequented by other men, he there passed his life, rarely communicating with anybody except the king and his ministers. The king himself assisted him to play his part, seeing that his subjects obeyed him more readily than formerly, as promulgating his ordinances with the counsel of the gods. This custom even continues to our time; for there is always found some one of this character who assists the king in his counsels, and is styled a god by the Getae. The mountain likewise [where Zamolxis retired] is held sacred, and is thus distinguished, being named Cogaeonus,D’Anville imagines that this is the modern mountain Kaszon, and the little river of the same name on the confines of Transylvania and Moldavia. as well as the river which flows by it; and at the time when Byrebistus, against whom divus Caesar prepared an expedition, reigned over the Getae, Decaeneus held that honour: likewise the Pythagorean precept to abstain from animal food, which was originally introduced by Zamolxis, is still observed to a great extent.

Any one may well entertain such questions as these touching the localities mentioned by the poet [Homer], and with regard to the Mysians and the illustrious Hippemolgi: but what Apollodorus has advanced in his preface to the Catalogue of Ships in the Second Book [of the Iliad] is by no means to be adopted. For he praises the opinions of Eratosthenes, who says that Homer and the rest of the ancients were well versed in every thing that related to Greece, but were in a state of considerable ignorance as to places at a distance, in consequence of the impossibility of’ their making long journeys by land or voyages by sea. In support of this he asserts,See Strabo’s former remarks on this identical subject, book i. chap. ii. § 3, page 25. that Homer designated Aulis as ‘ rocky,’ as indeed it is; Eteonus as ‘ mountainous and woody,’ Thisbe as ‘ abounding in doves,’ Haliartus as ‘ grassy;’ but that neither Homer nor the others were familiar with localities far off; for although there are forty rivers which discharge themselves into the Black Sea,εἰς τὸν πόντον. he makes no mention whatever even of the most considerable, as the Danube,Ister. the Don,Tanaïs. the Dnieper,Borysthenes. the Bog,Hypanis. the Phasz,Phasis. the Termeh,Thermodon. the Kisil-Irmak,Halys. nor does he even allude to the Scythians, but makes up fables about certain illustrious Hippemolgi, Galactophagi, and Abii. He had become acquainted with the Paphlagonians of the interior from the relations of such as had penetrated into those regions on foot, but he was perfectly unacquainted with the sea-coasts of the country; which indeed was likely enough, for that sea was in his time closed to navigation, and known by the name of Pontus Axenus [or the Inhospitable] on account of the severity of the storms to which it was subject, as well as of the savage disposition of the nations who inhabited its shores, but more especially of the Scythian hordes,Gossellin observes, that these must have been the Scythians inhabiting the Taurica Chersonesus, now the Crimea. The people on the opposite or southern shore were less savage. The Ionians had made settlements amongst these as early as the sixth century B. C. who made a practice of sacrificing strangers, devouring their flesh, and using their skulls for drinking-cups; although at a subsequent period, when the Ionians had established cities along its shores, it was called by the name of Pontus Euxinus [or the Hospitable]. He was likewise in ignorance as to the natural peculiarities of Egypt and Libya,Africa. as the risings of the Nile, and the alluvial deposits, which he no where notices, nor yet the isthmus [of Suez] which separates the Red Sea from the Egyptian Sea;The Mediterranean. nor yet does he relate any particulars of Arabia, Ethiopia, or the Ocean, unless we should agree with the philosopher Zeno in altering the Homeric line as follows, I came to the Ethiopians, the Sidonians, and the Arabians.Od. book iv. line 83. See Strabo’s remarks on this reading of Zeno, book i. chap. ii. § 34, page 66. Indeed we ought not to be surprised at meeting with this in Homer, for those who have lived at a more recent period than he did, have been ignorant of many things, and have told strange tales. Hesiod has talked of Hemicynes,See the notes on these various monsters, book i. chap. ii. § 35, p. 68. Megalocephali, and Pygmies; Alcman of Steganopodes;Aeschylus of Cynocephali, Sternophthalmi, and Monommati, (they say it is in his Prometheus,) and ten thousand other absurdities. From these he proceeds to censure the writers who talk of the Riphaean MountainsThe Riphaean Mountains were probably the chain of the Ural Mountains, which separate Russia from Siberia. and Mount Ogyium,This mountain is unknown. and the dwelling of the GorgonsThe Gorgons were Stheino, Euryalé, and Medusa, the daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. See also book i. chap. ii. § 8, page 29. and the Hesperides,The Hesperides were the daughters of Night. They dwelt on an island on the western edge of the world. See also Apollodorus, book ii. chap. v. § 11. the land of MeropisAelian, Var. Histor. book iii. chap. 18, says that Theopompus related an interview between Midas, king of Phrygia, and Silenus, in which Silenus reported the existence of an immense continent, larger than Asia, Europe, and Africa taken together, and that amongst others a race of men called Meropes occupied several extensive cities there. mentioned by Theopompus, Cimmeris,Ephorus speaks of the Cimmerii who dwelt round the Lake Avernus. See Strabo, book v. chap. iv. § 5, page 263. a city mentioned in Hecataeus, the land of PanchaeaSee Strabo, book ii. chap. iv. § 2, page 158. mentioned by Euhemerus, and the river-stones formed of sand mentioned by Aristotle,A note in the French translation says that this place has not been identified in the works of Aristotle now remaining, and suggests that there may be some error in the text. which were dissolved by rain-showers. Further, that there exists in Africa a city of Bacchus which no one can find twice. He likewise reproves those who assert that the wanderings of Ulysses mentioned in Homer were in the neighbourhood of Sicily, for again, if we should say that the wanderings did take place in those parts, we should have to confess that the poet transferred them to the ocean for the sake of making his account the more romantic. Some allowance might be made for others, but no manner of excuse can be put forward for Callimachus, who pretends to the character of a critic, and yet supposes that Gaudus was the island of Calypso, and identifies Scheria with Corcyra.See what Strabo has said on this subject in book i. chap. ii. § 37, pp. 70, 71. Other writers he blames for misstatements as to Gerena,Strabo will speak further on the subject of Gerena in book viii. chap. iii. § 7, and § 29. Acacesium,Reference is here made to the epithet a ἀκάκητα, which Homer applies to Mercury, Iliad xvi. 185. The grammarians explain it correctly as free from evil, or who neither does nor suffers wrong. However. there were some who interpreted it differently. They maintain that Mercury was so called from a cavern in Arcadia, called Acacesium, (see Schol. in Homer, edit. Villois. pag. 382,) which was situated near Cyllene, a mountain of Arcadia, where he was born. See Apollodor. Biblioth. lib. iii. cap. x. § 2. Hesiod, however, applies the same epithet to Prometheus, (Theogon. verse 613,) who, according to the scholiast, was thus designated from Acacesium, a mountain, not a cavern, of Arcadia, where he was greatly revered. and the DemusHomer, Iliad iii. verse 201, in speaking of Ulysses, says, ̔̀ος τοͅάθη ἐν δήμῳ?̓ιθάκης. Some writers affirmed that the δῆμος was the name of a place in Ithaca, while others think it a word, and understand the passage who was bred in the country of Ithaca. On comparing this passage with others, Iliad xvi. vss. 47, 514, and with a parallel expression of Hesiod, Theogon. verse 971, one is greatly astonished at the ignorance and eccentricity of those who sought to make a place Demus out of this passage of Homer. in Ithaca, PelethroniumAccording to some, Pelethronium was a city of Thessaly; according to others, it was a mountain there, or even a part of Mount Pelion. in Pelium, and the Glaucopium at Athens.There is no mention of any Glaucopium throughout the writings of Homer. Eustathius, on the Odyssey, book ii. page 1451, remarks that it was from the epithet γλαυκῶπις, blue-eyed or fierce-eyed, which he so often gives to Minerva, that the citadel at Athens was called the Glaucopium, while Stephen of Byzantium, on ̓αλαλκομένιον, asserts that both the epithet γλαυκῶπις and the name of the citadel Glaucopium comes from Glaucopus, the son of Alalcomeneus. With these and a few similar trifling observations, most of which he has drawn from Eratosthenes, whose inaccuracy we have before shown, he breaks off. However, we frankly acknowledge, both with respect to him [Apollodorus] and Eratosthenes, that the moderns are better informed on geography than the ancients: but to strain the subject beyond measure, as they do, especially when they inculpate Homer, seems to me as if it gave a fair occasion to any one to find fault, and to say by way of recrimination, that they reproach the poet for the very things of which they themselves are ignorant. As for the rest of their observations, particular mention is made of some of them in the places where they occur, and of others in the General Introduction.

It has been our wish, while discoursing of the Thracians, and the bold Close-fighting Mysian race, and where abide, On milk sustain’d, and blest with length of days, The Hippemolgi, justest of mankind,And the close-fighting Mysians, and the illustrious Hippemolgi milk-nourished, simple in living, and most just of men.Iliad xiii. 5. The word which Cowper renders blest with length of days, and Buckley simple in living, is ἄβιοι. Its signification is very uncertain. Some propose to derive it from a, privative, and βιὸς, a bow, or bowless; while others regard it as a proper name, Abii. In Lucian’s Dialogues of the Dead, xv. 3, it means, without a living, poor, as derived from a, privative, and βίος, a means of living, livelihood. Cowper’s meaning is made up from a, intensive, and βίος, life.Iliad xiii. 5 to compare what we have advanced with the remarks of Posidonius and the other critics. Now, in the first place, they have universally proved the very contrary of the allegations which they had undertaken to maintain; for where they undertook to show that amongst the ancients there was a greater amount of ignorance as to places far from Greece than there was among the moderns, they have proved the very contrary, and that not only with regard to the countries more remote, but even with respect to Greece itself; but, as I have said before, let the other matters remain in abeyance while we consider carefully the subject now before us. Thus they say that it was through ignorance Homer and the ancients omitted to speak of the Scythians, and their cruelty to strangers, whom they sacrificed, devoured their flesh, and afterwards made use of their skulls as drinking-cups, for which barbarities the sea was termed the Axine,Pontus Axenus. or inhospitable; but in place of these they imagined fables as to illustrious Hippemolgi, Galactophagi, and Abii, the most just of mankind, who never existed any where in this world. But how came it that they named the sea the Axenus, if they were so ignorant of the barbarism of that region, or of those savages who were the most barbarous on earth? But these undoubtedly are the Scythians! Or in the early times were not those who dwelt beyond the Mysians, and Thracians, and Getae, Hippemolgi, (or milkers of mares,) Galactophagi, and Abii? Nay rather, they exist at this very day, being called Hamaxoeci and Nomades, living on the herd, milk and cheese, and especially on cheese made of mare’s milk, and being ignorant how to lay up treasure or deal in merchandise, except the simple barter of one commodity for another. How then can it be said that the poet [Homer] knew nothing of the Scythians, since he doubtless designates some of them by the names of Hippemolgi and Galactophagi? And that the men of that time called these people Hippemolgi even Hesiod is a witness in the words which Eratosthenes has quoted: He went and saw the Ethiopians, the Ligurians,This word is corrupt in the MSS. and the Scythians, milkers of mares. And when we consider the amount of fraud connected with trading speculations even amongst ourselves, what ground have we to wonder that Homer should have designated as the justest and most noble those who had but few commercial and monetary transactions, and with the exception of their swords and drinking-cups, possessed all things in common, and especially their wives and children, who were cared for by the whole community according to the system of Plato. Aeschylus too seems to plead the poet’s cause, when he says, But the Scythians, governed by good laws, and feeding on cheese of mares’ milk. And this is still the opinion entertained of them by the Greeks; for we esteem them the most sincere, the least deceitful of any people, and much more frugal and self-relying than ourselves. And yet the manner of life customary among us has spread almost every where, and brought about a change for the worse, effeminacy, luxury, and over-great refinement, inducing extortion in ten thousand different ways; and doubtless much of this corruption has penetrated even into the countries of the nomades, as well as those of the other barbarians; for having once learnt how to navigate the sea, they have become depraved, committing piracy and murdering strangers; and holding intercourse with many different nations, they have imitated both their extravagance and their dishonest traffic, which may indeed appear to promote civility of manners, but do doubtless corrupt the morals and lead to dissimulation, in place of the genuine sincerity we have before noticed.

Those however who lived before our time, and more especially those who lived near to the times of Homer, were such as he describes them, and so they were esteemed to be by the Greeks. Take for instance what Herodotus relates concerning the kingHe was called Idanthyrsus. See Herodotus, book iv. chap. 127. of the Scythians, against whom Darius waged war, and especially the answer he sent [to the messenger of Darius]. Take again what Chrysippus relates of the kings of the Bosphorus, [SatyrusSatyrus is supplied by Koray. See also chapter iv. of this book, § 4, and book xi. chap. ii. § 7. Groskurd refers also to Diodorus, book xiv. 93, and says that Leuco was the son of Satyrus. and] Leuco. The letters of the Persians are full of the sincerity I have described; so likewise are the memorials of the Egyptians, Babylonians, and Indians. It was on this account that both Anacharsis and Abaris, and certain others of the same class, gained so great a reputation among the Greeks; for we may well believe they displayed their national characteristics of affability of manner, simplicity, and love of justice. But what occasion is there for me to speak of such as belonged to the times of old? for Alexander [the Great], the son of Philip, in his campaign against the Thracians beyond Mount Haemus,The mountains in the north of Thrace still bear the name of Emineh-Dag, or Mount Emineh, at their eastern point; but the western portion is called the Balkan. is said to have penetrated as far as this in an incursion into the country of the Triballi, and observed that they occupied the territory as far as the Danube and the island Peuce,Piczina, at the embouchure of the Danube, between Babadag and Ismail. which is in it, and that the Getae possessed the country beyond that river; however, he was unable to pass into the island for want of a sufficient number of ships, and because Syrmus, the king of the Triballi, who had taken refuge in that place, resisted the undertaking: but Alexander crossed over into the country of the Getae and took their city, after which he returned home in haste, carrying with him presents from those nations, and also from Syrmus. Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, relates that in this campaign the Kelts who dwell on the AdriaticA note in the French translation says, these were the Carni and the Iapodes, who having followed Sigovesus, in the reign of the elder Tarquin, had taken up their abode in the neighbourhood of the Adriatic; and refers to the Examen Critique des Anciens Historiens d’ Alexandre, by M. de Sainte Croix, page 855. came to Alexander for the purpose of making a treaty of friendship and mutual hospitality, and that the king received them in a friendly way, and asked them, while drinking, what might be the chief object of their dread, supposing that they would say it was he; but that they replied, it was no man, only they felt some alarm lest the heavens should on some occasion or other fall on them, but that they valued the friendship of such a man as him above every thing. These examples sufficiently manifest the open sincerity of the barbarians, both of the one who would not suffer Alexander to land on the island, but nevertheless sent presents and concluded a treaty of friendship with him, and also of those who asserted that they feared no man, but that they valued the friendship of great men above every price.

In like manner Dromichaetes, who was king of the Getae in the times of the successors of Alexander, having taken captive Lysimachus, who had come to wage war against him, showed him his poverty and that of his people, and likewise their great frugality, bade him not to make war on such, but rather seek them as friends; after which he received him as a guest, made a treaty of friendship, and suffered him to depart.Diodorus Siculus, in Excerpt. Peiresc. pag. 257; Memnon apud Photium, cod. 214, cap. 6; and Plutarch, in Demetrio, § 39 and 52, confirm what Strabo says here of the manner in which Dromichaetes treated Lysimachus. [*And Plato, in his Republic,This is not in Plato’s Republic, but in his fourth book of Laws. considers that the neighbourhood of the sea ought to be shunned as being productive of vice, and that those who would enjoy a well-governed city, should plant it very far from the sea, and not near it.This passage, if it is the writing of Strabo, and not the marginal note of some learned reader, should doubtless be transferred back to the end of § 7 of this chapter.]

Ephorus, in the fourth book of his History, which is entitled Of Europe, having gone over Europe as far as the Scythians, concludes by saying that there is great difference in the manner of life both of the Sauromatae and the other Scythians, for while some of them are exceedingly morose, and are indeed cannibals, others abstain even from the flesh of animals. Other historians, he observes, descant upon their ferocity, knowing that the terrible and the wonderful always excite attention; but they ought also to relate the better features of these people, and point to them as a pattern; for his part, he declares he will speak of those who excel in the justness of their actions, as there are some of the nomade Scythians who subsist on mares’ milk, and excel all men in their justice, these are mentioned by the poets: as Homer, where he says that Jupiter beheld the land Of the Galactophagi and Abii, justest of mankind;Iliad xiii. 5.See note 4 to page 460.Iliad xiii. 5. and Hesiod, in his poem entitled Travels round the World, who says that Phineus was taken by the Harpies To the land of the Galactophagi, who have their dwellings in waggons. Ephorus then proceeds to state the causes of their justice, because they are frugal in their mode of life, not hoarders of wealth, and just towards each other; they possess everything in common, both their women, their children, and the whole of their kin; thus when they come into collision with other nations, they are irresistible and unconquered, having no cause for which they need endure slavery. He then cites Choerilus, who in his Passage of the Bridge of Boats, which DariusKramer quotes Naekius in proof that we should here read 3erxes instead of Darius; and Groskurd refers to another passage in Strabo, book xiii chap. i. § 22. had made, says, And the sheep-feeding Sacae, a people of Scythian race, but they inhabited Wheat-producing Asia: truly they were a colony of the nomades, A righteous race. And again Ephorus declares of Anacharsis, whom he designates as The Wise, that he was sprung from that race; and that he was reckoned as one of the Seven Sages, on account of his pre-eminent moderation and knowledge. He asserts too that he was the inventor of the bellows, the double-fluked anchor, and the potter’s wheel.Casaubon observes that Diodorus Siculus attributes the invention of the potter’s wheel to Talus, a nephew of Daedalus, and that Theophrastus awards it to one Hyberbius of Corinth. I merely state this, although I know very well that Ephorus is not at all times to be relied on, especially when speaking of Anacharsis; (for how can the wheel be his invention, with which Homer, who is anterior to him, was acquainted; [who says], as when, before his wheel Seated, the potter twirls it with both hands,” etc.;Iliad xviii. 600. Posidonius chose to regard this passage as an interpolation, and would not give the praise of the invention to any other than Anacharsis.)Iliad xviii. 600. for I wish to show by these references, that there was a general impression among both the ancients and moderns with regard to the nomades, that some were very far removed from the rest of mankind, that they subsisted on milk, and were very frugal,ἀβίους. and the most just of men, and that all this was not the mere invention of Homer.

It is but just too that Apollodorus should give some explanation respecting the Mysians mentioned in the Epic poems of Homer, whether he takes them to be but people of his feigning, when the poet says, Of the close-fighting Mysians and the illustrious Hippemolgi,Iliad xiii. 5.Iliad xiii. 5. or would he regard them as the Mysians of Asia? Now if he should declare that he considers them to be those of Asia, he will misinterpret the poet, as has been before observed; but if he should say they were but an invention, as there were no Mysians in Thrace, he will be guilty of a palpable misstatement, for even in our own times Aelius Catus has removed from the opposite side of the Danube into Thrace fifty thousand Getae, who speak a language cognate with the Thracian. They still inhabit the very spot, and pass by the name of Moesi. Whether those of former times were so designated, and had their name slightly varied in Asia, or, as is more suitable to history and the poet’s expression, those in Thrace were at the first called Mysians,See chap. iii. § 3, 4, of this book. is not certain. But enough of this; we must now return to our geography.

Let us pass over the early history of the Getae, and occupy ourselves with their actual condition. Boerebistas, one of the Getae, having taken the command of his tribe, reanimated the men who were disheartened by frequent wars, and raised them to such a degree of training, sobriety, and a habit of obedience to orders, that he established a powerful dominion within a few years, and brought most of the neighbouring states into subjection to the Getae. He at length became formidable even to the Romans, fearlessly crossing the Danube, and laying waste Thrace as far as Macedonia and Illyria; he also subdued the Kelts who live among the Thracians and Illyrians, and thoroughly annihilated the Boii who were subject to Critasirus and the Taurisci. In order to maintain the obedience of his subjects, he availed himself of the assistance of Decseneus a sorcerer,ἄνδα γόητα, one who used a kind of howling incantation while repeating spells. who had travelled in Egypt, and who, by predictions he had learnt to draw from certain natural signs, was enabled to assume the character of an oracle, and was almost held in the veneration of a god, as we have related when noticing Zamolxis.See book vii. chap. iii. § 5, page 456. As an instance of their implicit obedience, we may relate that they were persuaded to root up their vines and live without wine. However, Boerebistas was murdered in a sedition before the Romans sent an army against him. Those who succeeded to his government divided it into several states. Lately, when Augustus Caesar sent an army against them, they were divided into five states, at another time they were four, for such divisions are but temporary in duration, and variable in their extent.

There was, from ancient times, another division of these people which still exists; thus, some they call Dacians and others Getae: the Getae extend towards the Euxine and the east, but the Dacians are situated on the opposite side towards Germany and the sources of the Danube,Gossellin observes that the Dacians did not extend to the sources of the Danube, but to Bohemia, near the middle of the course of the Danube. whom I consider to have been called Daci from a very early period. Whence also amongst the Attics the names of Getae and Davi were customary for slaves. This at least is more probable than to consider them as taken from the Scythians who are named Daae,Gossellin seems to think that these Daae are identical with the inhabitants of Daghistan. Davus is not found as the name of a slave amongst the Greeks till after the conquests of Alexander the Great. for they live far beyond Hyrcania,Hyrcania comprehended the Corcan and Daghistan. and it is not likely that slaves would be brought all that way into Attica. It was usual with them to call their slaves after the name of the nation from whence they were brought, as Lydus and Syrus,From Lydia and Syria. or else by a name much in use in their own country, as, for a Phrygian, Manes or Midas; for a Paphlagonian, Tibius. The nation which was raised to so much power by Boerebistas has since been completely reduced by civil dissensions and contests with the Romans; however, they are still able to set out 40,000 men armed for the wars.

The river Marosμάοͅισος ποταμός, flows through their country into the Danube,ὁ δανούιος. on which the Romans transported their military stores; for thus they termed the upper part of that river from its sources to the cataracts, which flows chiefly through the country of the Dacians, but the part below that point which flows through the country of the Getae as far as the Black Sea, they call the Ister.ὁ?̓́ιστοͅος. Stephen of Byzantium says that the Ister was called δάνουβις, and that in very ancient times it was called Matoas. According to Ptolemy the lower part of the Danube was called Ister from Axiopolis, now Rassovat; according to Agathemerus, from Vienna. The Dacians speak the same language as the Getae. The Getae are best known among the Greeks on account of the frequent wandering expeditions they make on both sides of the Danube, and their being mixed among the Thracians and Mysians. The like is the case with regard to the nation of the Triballi, a Thracian people; for they have received many refugees on occasions when their more powerful neighbours have driven out the weaker, for from time to time the Scythians of the opposite side of the river, and the Bastarnae, and the Sarmatians,σαυοͅομάται. become victorious, and those who are driven out cross over and some of them take up their residence either in the islands of the river or in Thrace, while on the other side the inhabitants are distressed by the Illyrians. At one time when the Getae and the Dacians had increased to the greatest numbers, they were able to set on foot an army of two hundred thousand men, but now they are reduced to about forty thousand men, and are even likely to become subject to the Romans; still they are not yet quite under their sway on account of their trust in the Germans, who are enemies to the Romans.

Between [the Getae and] the Black Sea, from the Danube to the Dniester,The ancient Tyras. lies the desert of the Getae.Bessarabia and the southern part of Moldavia. It is entirely a plain and destitute of water. It was there that Darius the son of Hystaspes, at the time he crossed the Danube, was in danger of being cut off with his whole army for want of water; this he found out before it was too late, and returned. At a subsequent period, when Lysimachus was waging war against the Getae and their king Dromichaetes, he not only incurred the risk,Peter the Great, at the beginning of the last century, incurred the risk of falling into the hands of the Turks almost on the same spot where Darius and Lysimachus had been in distress. but he fell into the hands of the enemy; but his life was spared by the courtesy of the barbarian, as I have before related.

Near the mouths of the Danube is the large island called Peuce.Now Piczina. This the Bastarnae possessed, and were hence called Peucini. There are also other islands much smaller, some above this, and others nearer the sea. The Danube has seven mouths, the largest is called the Sacred Mouth,Ammianus Marcellinus, book xxii. chap. 8, gives the names of these mouths. He calls the Sacred Mouth by the name of the island Peuce. the passage by which to Peuce is 120 stadia.There has been much geographical change in this locality since Strabo wrote. At the lower part of this island Darius made his bridge. It might likewise have been constructed at the upper part. This is the first mouth on the left-hand side as you sail into the Black Sea; the rest are passed while sailing along towards the Dniester; the seventh mouth is distant from this first mouth about 300 stadia. These mouths form several islands. The first three mouths next after the Sacred Mouth are but small, the remainder are much less than it, but greater than any of the three. Ephorus states that the Danube has five mouths. From hence to the Dniester,The Tyras. which is a navigable river, there are 900 stadia.Gossellin supports this distance. In the district intervening there are two great lakes; one is open to the sea, and is used as a harbour,The Lake Ovidovo. the other has no outlet.

At the mouth of the Dniester there is a tower called the Tower of Neoptolemus, and a village called Hermōnax.Now Akkerman. As you sail up the river 140 stadia, there are cities on both sides; the one is Niconia,Gossellin could not identify Niconia with any modern town. Groskurd marks it as destroyed. and that on the left Ophiussa.Groskurd identifies this with Palanka. Those who dwell on the spot say that the city is but 120 stadia up the river. The island of LeuceGroskurd calls this Ilan-Adassi, or Schlangeninsel. Gossellin likewise translates Ilan-Adassi as Isle of Serpents. is distant from the river’s mouth a course of 500 stadia; it is quite in the sea, and is sacred to Achilles.

Next is the Dnieper,The ancient Borysthenes. a river navigable to the distance of 600Gossellin considers that Strabo wrote 1600 stadia, for at that distance from the sea there are cataracts which stop the ships that come from the sea. stadia, and near to it another river, the Bog,Strabo’s word is ̔́υπανις. Gossellin observes that we should look for the ̔́υπανις to the east of the Dnieper, while the Bog lies to the west of that river. and an islandGossellin identifies this island with the modern Berezan. lying before the mouth of the Dnieper, which possesses a haven. After sailing up the BorysthenesNow the Dnieper. 200 stadia, you come to the city of like name with the river, which is likewise called Olbia;Olbia, or Olbiopolis, would, according to this measure, be about the junction of the Bog and Dnieper. it is a great emporium and a foundation of the Milesians. Of the region lying inland from the coast we have described between the Dnieper and the Danube, the first portion is the Desert of the Getae, then comes the Tyregetae, after them the Jazyges Sarmatae, and the Basilii, who are also called Urgi.Mannert has attempted to read γεωοͅγοί, because Herodotus, book iv. chap. 18, has so termed those Scythians who cultivated their fields. Is it not possible that the Latin Regii was the word Strabo had in his mind? Most of these people are nomades. However, a few of them pay attention to agriculture. These are said to inhabit the banks of the Danube, frequently even on both sides of the river. In the inland the Bastarnae dwell, and confine with the Tyregetae and the Germans; indeed, they may almost be said to be of the German stock. They are divided into many tribes, as some are called Atmoni, some Sidones, those who inhabit the island PeucePiczina. in the Danube, Peucini, and the most northern, Roxolani.Some MSS. read this name ̔πωξανοί, others ̔πωξανοι, and others ̔πωξοανοί, but whether there is any distinction to be drawn between these and the ̔πωξαλανοί of book ii. chap. v. § 7, is not to be ascertained. These latter depasture the plains lying between the DonThe Tanais. and the Dnieper. Indeed the whole of the northern regions with which we are acquainted, from Germany to the Caspian, is an extended plain. Whether any dwell still farther than the Roxolani is unknown to us. However, the Roxolani fought against the generals of Mithridates Eupator. Their leader was Tasius. They came as allies of Palacus, the son of Scilurus, and were considered good soldiers, but against the serried and wellarmed phalanx every barbarous and light-armed tribe is ineffective. Thus they, although numbering fifty thousand men, could not withstand the six thousand arrayed by Diophantus, the general of Mithridates, but were almost all cut to pieces. They make use of helmets and breastplates made of untanned ox-hide. They bear wicker shields; and as weapons, lances, the bow, and the sword, such as most of the other barbarians do. The woollen tents of the nomades are fixed upon their chariots, in which they pass their lives. Their herds are scattered round their tents, and they live on the milk, the cheese, and the meat which they supply. They shift their quarters ever in search of pasture, changing the places they have exhausted for others full of grass. In the winter they encamp in the marshes near the Palus Maeotis,The Sea of Zabache. and in the summer on the plains.

The whole of this country, which reaches to the seacoast extending from the DnieperThe Borysthenes. to the Palus Maeotis, is subject to severe winters; so also are the most northern of the districts bordering on the sea, as the mouth of the Palus Maeotis, and farther that of the Dnieper and the head of the Gulf of Tamyraca, or Carcinites,The Gulf of Perecop, called also Olou-Degniz. Gossellin. which washes the isthmusThe Isthmus of Perecop, which connects the Peninsula of Crimea, the ancient Taurica Chersonesus. of the Magna Chersonesus. The intense cold of the districts inhabited, notwithstanding their being plains, is manifest, for they rear no asses, as that animal is too susceptible of cold; some of their oxen are without horns by nature, of the others they file off the horns, as a part most susceptible of injury from cold. Their horses are diminutive and their sheep large. Their brazen vessels are split with the frosts, and their contents frozen into a solid mass. However, the rigour of the frosts may be best illustrated by the phenomena which are common in the neighbourhood of the embouchure of the Palus Maeotis;The Strait of Zabache, or Iéni-Kalé. for the passage from Panticapaeum,Panticapaeum, now Kertsch or Wospor in Europe. across to Phanagoria,Phanagoria was on the Asiatic coast of the Bosphorus. is at times performed in waggons, thus being both a sea passageWe entirely agree with Kramer in favouring Coray’s emendation of πλοῦν for πηλόν, the reading of MSS. and an overland route [as the season may determine]. There are also fish which are taken in the ice by means of a round net called a gangama, and especially a kind of sturgeon called antacaeus,Herodotus, book iv. chap. 53, says this fishing was carried on in the Dnieper. Aelian, de Natur. Animal. book xiv. chap. 26, refers it to the Danube. nearly the size of a dolphin. It is related that Neoptolemus, the general of Mithridates,Strabo has before alluded to this fact, book ii. chap. i. § 16, p. 114. defeated the barbarians during summer-time in a naval engagement in this very strait, and during the winter in a cavalry action. They say that about the Bosphorus the vine is hidden away in the earth in winter, great mounds of mould being piled over it [to preserve it from the frost]. They also report that the heats are excessive, [this may be accounted for in several ways,] perhaps men’s bodies not being accustomed to them, feel them the more; perhaps the plains are at that time unrefreshed by winds; or perhaps the thickness of the air is heated to a great degree, similar to the way in which the misty air is affected in times when a parhelion is observed.

It appears that Ateas,Lucian, in Macrob. § 10, spells his name Anteas, and relates that he was killed in this war when upwards of 90 years of age. who carried on war against Philip,Father of Alexander the Great. the son of Amyntas, had the rule over most of the barbarians of these parts.

After the islandThe Island of Berezan. situated opposite the mouth of the Dnieper, in sailing towards the east, we arrive at the cape of the Course of Achilles.M. Gossellin identifies this as Cape Czile. The district is quite bare, notwithstanding that it is termed a wood. It is sacred to Achilles. Then we arrive at the Course of Achilles, a low peninsula; for it is a certain tongue of land about a thousand stadia in length, running out towards the east, and its width is but two stadia190 toises. in the broadest part, and but four plethra63 1/2 toises. in the narrowest. It is distant from the main-land, which runs out on both sides of the neck, about 60 stadia. It is sandy, but water is obtainable by digging. About the midst of the Course of AchillesThe Dromos Achillis is pretty well laid down in D’Anville’s Orbis Romani Pars Orientalis, 1764, but at present it presents a very different appearance. is the neck of the isthmus [joining it to the main-land]. It is about 40 stadia in breadth, and terminates in a headland which they call Tamyraca.There is a note by Gossellin in the French translation to the following effect. The western part of this strip of land is known as the Island of Tendra, because it is separated by a cut. The eastern part of the strip is called Djarilgatch. The entire length of the tongue of land is 800 Olympic stadia, the two extremities are a little farther from the mainland than Strabo says, and the isthmus is about 50 Olympic stadia broad. D’Anville has run this isthmus through the tongue of land, and jutting out into the sea, so as to form a cape, which he also calls Tendra, and which would answer to the Tamyraca of Strabo. In the most recent maps there is no trace of this cape, but we see the port of which Strabo speaks. As these tongues of land are composed of a shifting sand, they may experience alterations of form and variations of extent. This possesses an anchorage opposite the main-land. Next comes the Gulf Carcinites, which is of considerable extent, reaching towards the northGossellin observes that the direction of the Gulf Carcinites, or Gulf of Perecop, is from west to east, with a slight inclination towards the north, on arriving from the south. Its northern shore commences at the isthmus of the Course of Achilles, and would measure about 1000 Olympic stadia if we were to follow all the sinuosities. about 1000 stadia. Some affirm that it is three times that distance to the head of the gulf . . . . . . . . are called Taphrii. They likewise call the Gulf Carcinites the Gulf Tamyraca, the same as the headland.

AT the bottom of the bay (Carcinites) commences the isthmusPerekop. The isthmus is about 5 1/2 miles across, according to M, Huot’s map, which accompanies Prince Demidoff’s Travels in Russia. which separates the lake called Sapra, [or the Putrid Lake,] from the sea; it is 40 stadia in width, and forms the Tauric or Scythian Chersonese.The Crimea. This, according to some, is 360 stadia across. The Putrid LakeThe Sivash, or Putrid Lake. It communicates at the present day, not by a large opening, but by the narrow strait of Yenitche, or Tonka, with the Sea of Azof, (the Palus Maeotis,) from which it is separated by the Tonka, or Tongue of Arabat. is said to extend 4000 stadia (in circumference), and forms part of the [Palus] Moeotis on its western side, with which it communicates by a large opening. It abounds in marshy tracts, and is scarcely navigable with sewnῥαπτοῖς πλοίοις. Boats probably composed of frame-work covered with hides. boats. The shallower parts are soon uncovered, and again covered with water, by the force of the wind; but the marsh will not bear boats of a deeper draught. In the bay are three small islands; and in sailing along the coast, some shallows are met with, and rocks which rise above water.

On the left in sailing out of the bay [Carcinites] there is a small town and another harbourCasaubon suggests, and Gossellin adopts, the reading καλὸς λιμὴν, Fair Haven, for ἄλλος λιμὴν, another harbour. Whatever harbour was meant, its situation is uncertain. belonging to the people of the Chersonese; for in coasting along the bay, there projects towards the south a large promontory, which is a part of the great Chersonese. Upon it stands a city of the Heracleotae, who are a colony from HeracleaTereklias. in the Euxine; it bears the same name, Chersonesus, as the territory. It is distant from the Dniester,The ancient Tyras. in following the coast, 4400 stadia. In this city is a temple of the Virgin, some goddess,In speaking of the Virgin as some goddess, it may be doubted whether Diana is here meant, or some Scythian or Eastern divinity. Parthenium, a village, is mentioned, c. 4, 5. The scene of the Iphigenia in Tauris of Euripides is laid some where on these shores. after whom the promontory, which is in front of the city, at the distance of 100 stadia, is called Parthenium. It has a shrine of the goddess and a statue. Between the cityThe New Chersonesus, Cape Cherson, and the three small harbours ear Khut. and the promontory are three harbours; next is the Old city Chersonesus in ruins; then follows a harbour with a narrow entrance. It was called Symbolon Limen, or Signal Harbour; and here principally was carried on a system of piracy against those who took refuge in the ports. This, together with another harbour, called Ctenus,The Heracleotic Chersonese was comprehended in the triangle formed by Ctenus, (Inkerman,) Parthenium, (Cape Cherson,) and Symbolon Limen (Baluklava). The Gulf of Ctenus is now the Gulf of Sebastopol, a name substituted for that of Akhtiar in the time of Catherine II. of Russia. On the first small bay to the west of the town of Sebastopol, was situated the New city Chersonesus, flourishing in the time of Strabo; the Old Chersonesus, described as in ruins, was situated on the small peninsula, the extreme western point of which is Cape Cherson. Both here and in various parts of the Crimea were very interesting remains of antiquity, but Dr. Clarke complains of their wanton destruction. Ctenus is probably derived from κτενώδης, like a comb, descriptive of the indented nature of the gulf. Both Gossellin and D’Anville have mistaken the true position of the Heracleotic Chersonese. forms an isthmus of 40 stadia in extent. This isthmus locks in the Smaller Chersonesus, which we said was a part of the Great Chersonesus, having on it a city of the same name.

It was formerly governed by its own laws, but after it was ravaged by barbarous nations, the inhabitants were obliged to elect as their protector, Mithridates Eupator, who was anxious to direct his forces against the barbarians who lived above the isthmus, and occupied the country as far as the Dnieper and the Adriatic, and thus to prepare himself against war with the Romans. Mithridates, with these views, readily despatched an expedition into the Chersonesus, and carried on war at the same time against the Scythians, Scilurus, and the sons of Scilurus, namely, Palacus and his brothers, whom Posidonius reckons to have been fifty, and Apollonides eighty, in number. By the subjugation of these enemies he became at once master of the Bosporus, which Pairisades, who held the command of it, voluntarily surrendered. From that time to the present the city of the Chersonitae has been subject to the princes of the Bosporus.

Ctenus is equally distant from the city of the Chersonitae, and from Symbolon Limen. From Symbolon Limen the Tauric coast extends 1000 stadia to the city Theodosia.So named after the wife or sister of Leucon. C. Now Kaffa. The coast is rugged and mountainous, and during the prevalence of the north winds, tempestuous. From this coast a promontory projects far into the sea, and stretches out southwards towards Paphlagonia, and the city Amastris. It is called Criu-metopon, or Ram’s Head. Opposite to it is Carambis,Cape Aia and Cape Keremp. the promontory of the Paphlagonians. Criu-metopon and Carambis together form a strait compressed between them, and divide the Euxine into two parts. Carambis is distant from the city of the Chersonesus 2500 stadia, and from Criu-metopon much less; for many persons who have sailed through the strait say, that they saw both promontories at once.The opposite coasts are not visible from the middle passage.

In the mountainous district of the Tauri there is a hill called Trapezus,The engraving in Pallas shows it to be, as the name implies, a table mountain, now Tchadir-Dagh, or Tent Mountain. of the same name as the city,Trebizond. which is near Tibarania and Colchis. There is another hill also, the Kimmerium,The name seems to be preserved in that of one of the districts near the mountains, Eski-Krim. G. In Prince Demidoff’s map it is called Staröi-Krime. in the same mountainous district, for the Kimmerii were once sovereigns of the Bosporus, and hence the whole of the strait at the mouth of the [Palus] Maeotis is called the Kimmerian Bosporus.

After leaving the above-mentioned mountainous district, is the city Theodosia, situated on a plain; the soil is fertile, and there is a harbour capable of containing a hundred vessels. This formerly was the boundary of the territory of the Bosporians and of the Tauri. Then follows a fertile country extending to Panticapaeum,Kertch. the capital of the Bosporians, which is situated at the mouth of the Palus Maeotis.The Sea of Azof. Between TheodosiaCaffa. and Panticapaeum there is a tract of about 530 stadia in extent. The whole country is corn-producing; there are villages in it, and a city called Nymphaeum, with a good harbour.

Panticaepsum is a hill inhabited all round for a circuit of 20 stadia. To the east it has a harbour, and docks capable of containing about thirty vessels; there is also an acropolis. It was founded by the Milesians. Both this place and the neighbouring settlements on each side of the mouth of the Palus Maeotis were for a long period under the monarchical dynasty of Leucon, and Satyrus, and Pairisades, till the latter surrendered the sovereignty to Mithridates. They had the name of tyrants, although most of them were moderate and just in their government, from the time of Pairisades and Leucon. Pairisades was accounted even a god. The last sovereign, whose name was also Pairisades, being unable to resist the barbarians, by whom great and unusual tributes were exacted, surrendered the kingdom into the hands of Mithridates. After him it became subject to the Romans. The greater portion of it is situated in Europe, but a part of it is also situated in Asia.

The mouth of the [Palus] Maeotis is called the Kimmerian Bosporus. The entrance, which at the broadest part is about 70 stadia across, where there is a passage from the neighbourhoodi. e. from Kertch to Taman, or from Yenikaleh near Kertch to Taman. Prince Gleb, son of Vladimir, A. D. 1065, measured this latter distance on the ice, and found it to be 30.057 Russian fathoms, or nearly 12 miles. Here the battle was fought on the ice. See chap. iii. § 18. of Panticapaeum to Phanagoria, the nearest city in Asia. The [Palus] Maeotis closes in an arm of the sea which is much narrower. This arm of the sea and the DonThe Tanais. separate Europe from Asia. Then the Don flows from the north opposite into the lake, and into the Kimmerian Bosporus. It discharges itself into the lake by two mouths,According to modern maps, the Don separates into two branches, and there again into several others, which form the mouths of the river. The extreme branches are at a considerable distance from each other. which are distant from each other about 60 stadia. There is also a city of the same name as the river; and next to Panticapaeum it is the largest mart belonging to the barbarians.

On sailing into the Kimmerian Bosporus,Azof. on the left hand is Myrmecium,Yenikaleh. a small city, 20 stadia from Panticapaeum, and 40 stadia from Parthenium;Kazandib. it is a village where is the narrowest entrance into the lake, about 20 stadia in breadth; opposite to it is a village situated in Asia, called Achilleum. Thence to the Don, and to the island at its mouths, is a voyage in a direct line of 2200 stadia. The distance is somewhat greater if the voyage is performed along the coast of Asia, but taking the left-hand side, (in which direction the isthmus of the Chersonese is fallen in with,) the distance is more than tripled. This latter course is along the desert shore of Europe, but the Asiatic side is not without inhabitants. The whole circumference of the lake is 9000 stadia.

The Great Chersonesus resembles Peloponnesus both in figure and size. The kings of the Bosporus possess it, but the whole country has been devastated by continual wars. They formerly possessed a small tract only at the mouth of the [Palus] Maeotis near Panticapaeum, extending as far as Theodosia. The largest part of the territory, as far as the isthmus and the Gulf Carcinites, was in possession of the Tauri, a Scythian nation. The whole of this country, comprehending also a portion on the other side of the isthmus as far as the Dnieper, was called Little Scythia. In consequence of the number of people who passed from thence across the Dniester and the Danube, and settled there, no small part of that country also bore the name of Little Scythia. The Thracians surrendered a part of it to superior force, and a part was abandoned on account of the bad quality of the ground, a large portion of which is marshy.

Except the mountainous tract of the Chersonesus on the sea-coast, extending as far as Theodosia, all the rest consist of plains, the soil of which is rich, and remarkably fertile in corn. It yields thirty-fold, when turned up by the most ordinary implements of husbandry. The tribute paid to Mithridates by the inhabitants, including that from the neighbourhood of Sindace in Asia, amounted to 180,000 medimni of corn, and 200 talents of silver. The Greeks in former times imported from this country corn, and the cured fish of Palus Maeotis. Leucon is said to have sent to the Athenians 2,100,000 medimni of corn from Theodosia.The amount is enormous, if it refers to the quantity of corn shipped in a single year. Neither manuscripts nor translations afford any various reading. The abbreviator, however, instead of 2,100,000, (μυριάδας μεδίμνων διακοσίας καί δέκα, gives 150,000 (μεδίμνους μυπιαδασιε.) But instead of correcting Strabo by his abbreviator, it is more probable that the text of the latter should be changed to 2,100,000, or even to 2,150,000 (μυπιαδας σιε.). Brequigny, by an oversight, or because he thought proper to change the μυπιαδας of the text to χιλιαδας, translates 210,000 medimni. However it may be, we know from Demosthenes, that this same prince of the Bosporus mentioned by Strabo, sent annually to Athens 400,000 medimni of corn, a quantity far below that mentioned in the text. To reconcile these authors, Mr. Wolf supposes that we ought to understand by 2,100,000 medimni of corn, the shipment made in the year of the great famine, which occurred in the 105th Olympiad, (about 360 B. C.,) and of which Demosthenes speaks in a manner to give us to understand, that the quantity sent that year by Leucon greatly exceeded that of former years. A very probable conjecture. F. T. The medimnus was about 1 1/2 bushel. The name of Georgi, or husbandmen, was appropriately given to these people, to distinguish them from the nations situated above them, who are nomades, and live upon the flesh of horses and other animals, on cheese of mares’ milk, milk, and sour milk. The latter, prepared in a peculiar manner, is a delicacy.ὄψημα. Hence the poet designates all the nations in that quarter as Galactophagi, milk-eaters.

The nomades are more disposed to war than to robbery. The occasion of their contests was to enforce the payment of tribute. They permit those to have land who are willing to cultivate it. In return for the use of the land, they are satisfied with receiving a settled and moderate tribute, not such as will furnish superfluities, but the daily necessaries of life. If this tribute is not paid, the nomades declare war. Hence the poet calls these people both just, and miserable, (Abii,)ἀβίους. for if the tribute is regularly paid, they do not have recourse to war. Payment is not made by those, who have confidence in their ability to repel attacks with ease, and to prevent the incursion of their enemies. This course was pursued, as Hypsicrates relates, by Ansander, who fortified on the isthmus of the Chersonesus, at the Palus Maeotis, a space of 360 stadia, and erected towers at the distance of every 10 stadia.I have adopted the reading suggested by the F. T., πύοͅγους καθʼ ἔκαστα στάδια δέκα. The wall of Ansander may still be traced. Pallas.

The Georgi (husbandmen) are considered to be more civilized and mild in their manners than the other tribes in this quarter, but they are addicted to gain. They navigate the sea, and do not abstain from piracy, nor from similar acts of injustice and rapacity.

Besides the places in the Chersonesus already enumerated, there are the fortresses Palacium, and Chabum, and Neapolis,Places to me unknown. G. Pallas erroneously supposes Palacium to be the modern Balaklava. which Scilurus and his sons constructed, from which they sallied out against the generals of Mithridates.

There was also a fortress called Eupatorium, built by Diophantus, one of the generals of Mithridates.Named after Mithridates Eupator. Koslof, now again Eupatoria. There is a promontory, distant about 15 stadia from the wall of Chersonesus, which forms a large bay, which bends towards the city. Above this bay is a sea-lake, where there are salt pits. Here was the harbour Ctenus. The generals of the king, in order to strengthen their means of resistance in case of siege, stationed a garrison on the above-mentioned promontory, which was further protected by a fortification. The mouth of the Gulf was closed by an embankment which extended to the city, and was easily traversed on foot. The garrison and the city were thus united. The Scythians were afterwards easily repulsed. They attacked that part of the wall built across the isthmus which touches upon Ctenus, and filled the ditch with straw. The kind of bridge thus formed by day, was burnt at night by the king’s generals, who continued their resistance and defeated the enemy. At present the whole country is subject to whomsoever the Romans may appoint as king of the Bosporus.

It is a custom peculiar to all the Scythian and Sarmatian tribes, to castrate their horses, in order to make them more tractable, for although they are small, yet they are spirited, and difficult to manage. Stags and wild boars are hunted in the marshes, and wild asses and roesδοοͅκάδες. in the plains. It is a peculiarity of this country, that no eagles are to be found in it. Among the quadrupeds there is an animal called Colus, in size between a deer and a ram; it is white, and swifter in speed than either of those animals. It draws up water into the head through the nostrils; from this store it can supply itself for several days, and live without inconvenience in places destitute of water.

Such is the nature of the whole of the country beyond the Danube, lying between the Rhine and the Don, and extending as far as the Pontic Sea and the Palus Maeotis.

THERE remains to be described that part of Europe included between the Danube and the sea which surrounds it, beginning from the inner recess of the Adriatic, and extending to the Sacred mouth of the Danube.

This part contains Greece, Macedonia, Epirus, and the people who live above them, extending to the Danube and to the two seas (the Adriatic and the Euxine Sea) on each side. On the Adriatic are the Illyrians; on the Euxine Sea, as far as the PropontisSea of Marmora. and Hellespont, are the Thracians, and the Scythian or Keltic tribes intermixed with them. We must begin from the Danube, and treat of the countries which follow next in order to those already described, that is to say, the parts contiguous to Italy, the Alps, the Germans, the Dacians, and the Getae.

These may be divided into two parts. For the mountains of Illyria, Paeonia, and Thrace, may be considered as forming, as it were, a single line, parallel to the Danube, and extending from the Adriatic to the Euxine. To the north of this line is the country included between the Danube and the mountains. To the south is Greece and the barbarous tract contiguous to these mountains.

Near the Euxine Sea is Mount Haemus,The Veliki Balkan. the largest and the highest of the mountains in that quarter, and divides Thrace nearly in the middle. According to Polybius, both seas may be seen from this mountain; but he is mistaken, for the distance to the Adriatic is considerable, and many things obstruct the view.

Almost the whole of ArdiaThe southern part of Dalmatia bounded by the Narenta, which takes its source in the Herzogovina. lies near the Adriatic, Paeonia is in the middle, and all this country consists of elevated ground. On the side towards Thrace, it is bounded by Rhodope,Called Monte Argentaro by the Italians, Basilissa by the Greeks, Rulla by the Turks. Baudrand. Despoto Dagh. a mountain next in height to Haemus; on the other side to the north is Illyria, and the country of the Autariatae,Occupied the neighbourhood of the river Titius, Kerca, which discharges itself near Siberico. and Dardania.The mountainous country south of Servia.

I shall first describe Illyria, which approaches close to the Danube, and to the Alps which lie between Italy and Germany, taking their commencement from the lake in the territory of the Vindelici, Rhaeti, and Helvetii.The text presents some difficulty; another reading is Taenii. Gossellin supposes the lake to be the Czirknitz-See near Mount Albius, now Alben or Planina.

The Daci depopulated a part of this country in their wars with the Boii and Taurisci, Keltic tribes whose chief was Critasirus. The Daci claimed the country, although it was separated from them by the river Parisus,The Margus? See chap. v. § 12. which flows from the mountains to the Danube, near the Galatae Scordisci, a people who lived intermixed with the Illyrian and the Thracian tribes. The Illyrians were destroyed by the Daci, while the Scordisci were frequently their allies.

The rest of the country as far as Segestica,At the confluence of the Kalpa and the Save, afterwards Siscia, now Sizsek. and the Danube, towards the north and east, is occupied by Pannonii, but they extend farther in an opposite direction. The city Segestica, belonging to the Pannonii, is situated at the confluence of several rivers, all of which are navigable. It is in a convenient situation for carrying on war against the Daci, for it lies at the foot of the Alps, which extend to the Iapodes,Occupied the coast of Morlacca from the Gulf of Quarnero to Zara. a mixed Keltic and Illyrian tribe. Thence also flow the rivers by which is conveyed to Segestica a great quantity of merchandise, and among the rest, commodities from Italy. The distance from Aquileia to Nauportus,According to Pliny, the name of this place is derived from the fable of the ship Argo, which was brought up the Danube and the Save, and thence carried on men’s shoulders to the Adriatic. Now Porto Quieto. a settlement of the Taurisci, across the mountain Ocra,To the north of Trieste. is 350, or, according to some writers, 500 stadia. Merchandise is transported to Nauportus in waggons. The Ocra is the lowest part of the Alps, which extend from Rhaetica to the Iapodes, where the mountains rise again, and are called Albii. From Tergeste,Trieste. a village of the Carni,Carniola. there is a pass across and through the Ocra to a marsh called Lugeum.The Czirknitz-See. A river, the Corcoras, flows near Nauportus, and conveys the merchandise from that place. It discharges itself into the Save, and this latter river into the Drave; the Drave again into the Noarus at Segestica. Here the Noarus, having received the ColapisThe Kuipa. as it descends in its full stream from the mountain Albius through the Iapodes, enters the Danube among the Scordisci. The navigation on the rivers is in general towards the north. The journey from Tergeste to the Danube is about 1200 stadia. Near Segestica is Siscia, a strong-hold, and Sirmium, both situated on the road to Italy.

The Breuci, Andizetii, Ditiones, Peirustae, Mazaei, Daisitiatae, whose chief was Baton, and other small obscure communities, which extend to Dalmatia, and almost to the Ardiaei to the south, are Pannonians. The whole mountainous tract from the recess of the Adriatic bay to the Rhizonic gulf,Gulf of Cataro. and to the territory of the Ardiaei, intervening between the sea and Pannonia, forms the coast of Illyria.

Here perhaps we ought to begin an uninterrupted account of these places, after a short repetition.

In describing Italy we said, that the Istri were the first nation on the Illyrian coast, contiguous to Italy and to the Carni, and that the present government had advanced the limits of Italy to Pola,Now celebrated for the remains of a Roman amphitheatre. a city of Istria. These limits are distant about 800 stadia from the recess of the bay. It is the same distance from the promontory in front of Pola to Ancon,Ancona. keeping HeneticaThe Venetian territory. on the right hand. The whole voyage along the coast of Istria is 1300 stadia.

Next is the voyage along the coast of the Iapodes, 1000 stadia in extent. The Iapodes are situated on Mount Albius, which is the termination of the Alps, and is of very great height. They reach in one direction to the Pannonii and the Danube, and in another to the Adriatic. They are a warlike people, but were completely subdued by Augustus. Their cities are Metulum, Arupinum, Monetium, Vendum.I am not acquainted with the sites of these places. G. The country is poor, and the inhabitants live chiefly upon spelt and millet.ζειᾷ καὶ κέγχρῳ. Their armour is after the Keltic fashion. Their bodies are punctured, like those of the other Illyrian and Thracian people. After the coast of the Iapodes follows that of Liburnia, exceeding the former by 500 stadia. On this coast is Scardon,Scardona. a Liburnian city, and a river,The Kerka. which is navigable for vessels of burden as far as the Dalmatae.

Islands are scattered along the whole of the above-mentioned coast; among them are the Apsyrtides, where Medea is said to have killed her brother Apsyrtus, who was pursuing her.

Near the Iapodes is Cyrictica,The modern names of these numerous islands must be matter of conjecture. Issa is Lissa. then the Liburnian islands, about forty in number; other islands follow, of which the best known are Issa, Tragurium, founded by Isseans; Pharos, formerly Paros, founded by Parians, the birth-place of Demetrius, the Pharian; then the coast of the Dallnatae and their naval arsenal, Salon.Salona. This nation was for a long time at war with the Romans. They had fifty considerable settlements, some of which were in the rank of cities, as Salon, Priomon, Ninias, and the old and new Sinotium. Augustus burnt them down. There is also Andetrium, a strong fortress, and Dalmatium, a large city, of the same name as the nation. Scipio Nasica greatly reduced its size, and converted the plain into a pasture for sheep, on account of the disposition of the people to rob and pillage.

It is a custom peculiar to the Dalmatae to make a partition of their lands every eighth year. They do not use money, which is a peculiarity also when compared with the habits of the other inhabitants of this coast; but this is common among many other tribes of barbarians.

The mountain Adrion divides Dalmatia into two parts, one of which is on the sea, the other forms the opposite side of the mountain. Then follow the river Naron, and the people in the neighbourhood, the Daorizi, Ardiaei, and Pleraei.Inhabitants, probably, of the peninsula Sabioncello. Near the former lies the island Black Corcyra,Curzola. on which is a city founded by the Cnidians. Near the Ardiaei is Pharos, formerly called Paros, for it was founded by Parians.

Later writers call the Ardiaei, Vard$sei.Varalii, MSS.; but manifestly wrong. The Romans drove them into the interior from the sea-coast, which was infested by their piracies, and compelled them to cultivate the ground; but as the country was rugged and barren, and not adapted to husbandry, the nation was entirely ruined and nearly extinguished. The same happened to other neighbouring nations. People formerly very powerful are extinct, or were reduced to the lowest condition, as the Boii and Scordisci among the Galatae; the Autariatae, Ardiaei, and Dardanii, among the Illyrians; and the Triballi among the Thracians. They first declined in consequence of disputes amongst themselves, but were finally prostrated by wars with the Macedonians and Romans.

After the termination of the coast of the Ardiaei and Pleraei is the bay of the Rhizaei, a city Rhizon,Risano in the Gulf of Cataro. other small towns, and the river Drilon,The river Drin. which may be navigated up its stream towards the east as far as Dardanica. This country is situated close to the Macedonian and Paeonian nations, towards the south, as also the Autariatae and the Dasaretii are in parts contiguous to one another [and to the Autariatae].Kramer suggests the omission of these words, which render the passage obscure. To the Dardaniatae belong the Galabrii,Galabrii. The name of this people is unknown. Probably it should be changed to Taulantii, an Illyrian tribe, or considered as a second name of the Taulantii, or that of a tribe belonging to them. The name Galabrus, or Galaurus, king of the Taulantii, has come down to us, which gives some probability to the second conjecture. C. in whose territory is an ancient city; and the Thunatae, who approach on the east close to the Maedi,The Maedi occupied the mountains which separate Macedonia from Thrace, between the river Strymon and Mount Rhodope. G. a Thracian tribe.

The Dardanii are entirely a savage people, so much so that they dig caves beneath dungheaps, in which they dwell; yet they are fond of music, and are much occupied in playing upon pipes and on stringed instruments. They inhabit the inland parts of the country, and we shall mention them again in another place.

After the bay of RhizonThe Gulf of Cataro is Lissus,Alesso a city, Acrolissus,A fortified rock near. and Epidamnus, the present Dyrrhachium,Durazzo founded by Corcyraeans, and bearing the name of the peninsula on which it is situated. Then follow the rivers ApsusErgent, or Beratino. and the Aous,Lao, or Vousoutza. on the banks of which is situated Apollonia,Polina. Thucydides calls Apollonia a colony of the Corinthians, and not of the Corinthians and Corcyraeans. He states it, however, (b. i. c. 24,) to have been the practice for colonies which in their turn founded other colonies, to unite with them, on these occasions, citizens of the mother city. a city governed by excellent laws. It was founded by Corinthians and Corcyraeans, and is distant from the river 10, and from the sea 60, stadia. Hecataeus calls the Aous, Aias, and says that from the same place, or rather from the same sources about Lacmus,One of the peaks of Pindus. the Inachus flows southward, to Argos,Amphilochian Argos, now Filochia. G. and the Aias westward, into the Adriatic.

In the territory of the Apolloniatae there is what is called a Nymphaeum. It is a rock which emits fire. Below it are springs flowing with hot water and asphaltus. The earth containing the asphaltus is probably in a state of combustion. The asphaltus is dug out of a neighbouring hill; the parts excavated are replaced by fresh earth, which after a time are converted into asphaltus. This account is given by Posidonius, who says also, that the ampelitis, an asphaltic earth found in the Pierian Seleucia,On the boundary of Cilicia and Syria. is a remedy for the lice which infest the vine. If the vine is smeared with this earth mixed with oil, the insects are killed before they ascend from the root to the branches. This earth, but it required for use a larger quantity of oil, he says was found at Rhodes also, while he held there the office of Prytanes.

Next to Apollonia is Bylliace (Bullis) and Oricum,Appear to have been situated on the Gulf of Valona. G. with its naval arsenal, Panormus, and the Ceraunian mountains, which form the commencement of the entrance of the Ionian and Adriatic Gulfs.

The mouth is common to both; but this difference is to be observed, that the name IonianThe name, Ionian Gulf, appears to have extended from the Acroceraunian mountains to the southern part of Dalmatia, near Lissus, now Alessio, to the bottom of the Gulf of Drin. G. is applied to the first part of the gulf only, and Adriatic to the interior sea up to the farthest end, but the name Adriatic is now applied to the whole sea. According to Theopompus, the name Ionian was derived from a chief (Ionius) of that country, a native of Issa; and the name Adriatic from a river, Adrias.The word αδρίας is translated Adriatic. In the version of the New Testament it is translated Adria. Acts xxvii. 27.—The Tartaro.

From the Liburni to the Ceraunian mountains is a distance of a little more than 2000 stadia. But Theopompus says, that it is six days’ sail from the farthest recess of the bay, but a journey of thirty days by land along the length of Ilyria. This appears to me an exaggeration, but he makes many incredible statements. Among other instances, he pretends that there is a subterraneous passage between the Adriatic and the Aegaean Seas, grounding his opinion on the discovery of Chian and Thasian pottery in the river Naron.Narenta. The two seas, he says, may be seen from some pretended mountain. He describes the Liburnian islands as occupying a position so extensive as to form a circle of 500 stadia. According to him, the Danube discharges itself by one of its mouths into the Adriatic.A common opinion among ancient geographers. See b. i. c. ii. § 39. Similar mistakes are to be found in Eratosthenes, which Polybius, when speaking of him and other writers, describes as having their origin in vulgar error.παρακούσματα λαοδογματικά

On the coast of Illyria, along its whole extent, and in the neighbouring islands, there are numerous excellent harbours, contrary to what occurs on the opposite Italian coast, where there are none. As in Italy, however, the climate is warm, and the soil productive of fruits; olives also and vines grow readily, except in some few excessively rugged places. Although Illyria possesses these advantages, it was formerly neglected, through ignorance, perhaps, of its fertility; but it was principally avoided on account of the savage manners of the inhabitants, and their piratical habits.

The region situated above the sea-coast is mountainous, cold, and at times covered with snow. The northern part is still colder, so that vines are rarely to be met with either in the hills or in the plains lower down. These mountain-plains are in the possession of the Pannonians, and extend towards the south as far as the Dalmatians and Ardiaei. They terminate towards the north at the Ister, and approach towards the east close to the Scordisci, who live near the Macedonian and Thracian mountains.

The Autariatae were the most populous and the bravest tribe of the Illyrians. Formerly, there were continual disputes between them and the Ardiaei respecting the salt which was spontaneously formed on the confines of their respective territories, in the spring season, from water which flows through a valley. The salt concreted five days after the water was drawn and deposited in reservoirs. The right of collecting salt was, by agreement, to be exercised alternately by each party, but the compact was broken and war was the consequence. After the Autariatae had subdued the Triballi, a people whose territory extended a journey of fifteen days, from the Agrianae to the Danube, they became masters of the Thracians and Illyrians. The Autariatae were first conquered by the Scordisci, and afterwards by the Romans, who overpowered the Scordisci, for a long time a powerful nation.

This people inhabited the country on the banks of the Danube, and were divided into two tribes, the Great and the Little Scordisci.The Agrianae occupied the neighbourhood of Mount Pangaeus on the confines of Thrace and Macedonia. The Triballi, at the time alluded to by Strabo, possessed nearly the whole of the country included between the Adriatic and the Euxine. The Scordisci, who were at first confined to the territory situated between the Drave and the Save, in their turn took possession of all this country. It is not possible, in consequence of the continual wars which existed amongst these people, to determine with exactness the places which they successively occupied. G. The former occupied the space between two rivers, which empty themselves into the Danube, the Noarus,Probably the Save. G. which runs beside Segestica, and the Margus, or, as some call it, Bargus. The Little Scordisci lived beyond this river close to the Triballi and Mysi.Maedi. The Scordisci possessed some of the islands also. They increased so much in strength and numbers as to advance even to the Illyrian, Paeonian, and Thracian confines. Most of the islands on the Danube fell into their hands, and they possessed the cities Heorta and Capedunum.Cities not identified.

Next to the territory of the Scordisci, lying along the banks of the Danube, is the country of the Triballi and Mysi, whom we have before mentioned; we have also spoken of the marshesThe Dobrudscha. of the Lesser Scythia on this side the Danube. This nation, and the Crobyzi, and the nation called Troglodytae, live above the districts in which are situated Callatis, Tomis, and Ister.Mangalia, Tomesvar, the place of Ovid’s exile, Kara-Herman. Next are the people about the Mount Haemus, and those who live at its foot, extending as far as the Pontus, Coralli, and Bessi, and some tribes of Maedi and of Dantheletae. All these nations are very much addicted to robbery. The Bessi possess far the greatest part of Mount Haemus, and are called Robbers from their mode of life as free-booters. Some of them live in huts and lead a life of hardship. They extend close to Rhodope, the Paeeones, and to the Illyrian nations; to the Autariatae also, and the Dardanians. Between these and the Ardiaei are the Dasaretii, Hybrianes, and other obscure nations, whose numbers the Scordisci were continually reducing, until they had made the country a desert, full of impassable forests, which extended several days’ journey.

OF the country situated between the Danube and the mountains on each side of Paeonia, there remains to be described the Pontic coast, which reaches from the Sacred mouth of the Danube to the mountainous district about Haemus, and to the mouth of the Pontus at Byzantium. As in describing the Illyrian coast we had proceeded as far as the Ceraunian mountains, which, although they stretch beyond the mountainous district of Illyria, yet constitute a sort of proper boundary, we determined by means of these mountains the limits of the nations in the inland parts, considering, that such separating lines would be better marks both for our present and future use; so here also the coast, although it may fall beyond the mountainous line, will still end at a proper kind of limit, the mouth of the Pontus, which will be useful both for our present and our future descriptions.

If we set out from the Sacred mouth of the Danube, having on the right hand the continuous line of coast, we find at the distance of 500 stadia, Ister,Istropolis or Kara-Herman. a small town founded by Milesians; then Tomis,Tomesvar. another small town, at the distance of 250 stadia; then Callatis,Mangalia. a city, a colony of the Heracleotae, at 280 stadia; then, at 1300 stadia, Apollonia,Sizepoli. a colony of Milesians, having the greater part of the buildings upon a small island, where is a temple of Apollo, whence Marcus Lucullus took the Colossus of Apollo, the work of Calamides, and dedicated it as a sacred offering in the Capitol. In the intermediate distance between Callatis and Apollonia, is Bizone, a great part of which was swallowed up by an earthquake; Cruni;Baltchik, near Kavarna. Odessus,Varna. a colony of Milesians; and Naulochus, a small town of the Mesembriani. Next follows the mountain Haemus,Cape Emineh-in the English charts Emona, but there is no fixed system of spelling for names of places in this part of the world. Emineh is probably a corruption of Haemus. extending to the sea in this quarter; then Mesembria,Missemvria. a colony of the Megarenses, formerly called Menabria, or city of Mena, Menas being the name of the founder, and bria,Or Meneburgh, we should say. The Thracian was a language cognate with that of the Getae; see Strabo, book vii. chap. iii. § 10; and the Getae were Gothic. We have the Liber Aureus in the Moeso Gothic language still. signifying in the Thracian tongue, city. Thus the city of Selys is called Selybria, and Aenus once had the name of Poltyobria. Then follows Anchiale,Ahiolou. a small town of the Apolloniat$aa, and Apollonia itself.

On this coast is the promontory Tirizis, a place naturally strong, which Lysimachus formerly used as a treasury. Again, from Apollonia to the Cyanetae are about 1500 stadia. In this interval are Thynias, a tract belonging to the Apolloniatae, Phinopolis, and Andriace,Places no longer known. G. which are contiguous to Salmydessus. This coast is without inhabitants and rocky, without harbours, stretching far towards the north, and extending as far as the Cyaneae, about 700 stadia. Those who are wrecked on this coast are plundered by the Asti, a Thracian tribe who live above it.

The CyaneaeIn the English charts Kyanees. They do not correspond to the description here given. The well-known poetical name is Symplegades. are two small islands at the mouth of the Pontus, one lying near Europe, the other near Asia, and are separated by a channel of about 20 stadia. This is the measure of the distance between the temple of the Byzantines and the temple of the Chalcedonians, where is the narrowest part of the mouth of the Euxine Sea. For proceeding onwards 10 stadia there is a promontory, which reduces the strait to 5 stadia; the strait afterwards opens to a greater width, and begins to form the Propontis.

From the promontory, then, that reduces the strait to 5 stadia, to the Port under the Fig-tree, as it is called, are 35 stadia; thence to the Horn of the Byzantines, 5 stadia. This Horn, close to the walls of Byzantium, is a bay, extending westwards 60 stadia, and resembling a stag’s horn, for it is divided into a great many bays, like so many branches. The PelamidesIn Italian, Pelamide, or Palamide, well known in the Mediterranean. It is not to be compared in size to the Thunny, but is much larger than the Mackerel, of a dark blue and streaked. Like the Thunny, it is migratory. Aristotle erroneously conjectures the Pelamide to be the young of the Thunny. resort to these bays, and are easily taken, on account of their great number, and the force of the current, which drives them together in a body; and also on account of the narrowness of the bays, which is such that they are caught even by the hand. These fish are bred in the marshes of the Maeotis. When they have attained a little size and strength, they rush through the mouth in shoals, and are carried along the Asiatic coast as far as Trapezus and Pharnacia. It is here that the fishery begins, but it is not carried on to any considerable extent, because the fish are not of a proper size at this place. When they get as far as Sinope, they are in better season for the fishery, and for the purpose of salting. But when they have reached and passed the Cyaneae, a white rock projects from the Chalcedonian shore, which alarms the fish, so that they immediately turn away to the opposite coast. There they are caught by the stream, and the nature of the places being such as to divert the current of the sea in that part towards Byzantium, and the Horn near it, the fish are impelled thither in a body, and afford to the Byzantines, and to the Roman people, a large revenue. The Chalcedonians, however, although situated near, and on the opposite side, have no share of this supply, because the Pelamides do not approach their harbours.

After the foundation of Chalcedon, Apollo is said to have enjoined the founders of Byzantium, in answer to their inquiries, to build their city opposite to the Blind, applying this name to the Chalcedonians, who, although they were the first persons to arrive in these parts, had omitted to take possession of the opposite side, which afforded such great resources of wealth, and chose the barren coast.

We have continued our description to Byzantium, because this celebrated city,The ancient Byzantium, there are grounds for believing, was marked by the present walls of the Seraglio. The enlarged city was founded by the emperor Constantine, A. D. 328, who gave it his name, and made it the rival of Rome itself. It was taken from the Greeks in 1204, by the Venetians under Dandolo; retaken by the Greeks in 1261 under the emperor Michael Palaeologus, and conquered by the Turks in 1453. The crescent found on some of the ancient Byzantine coins was adopted as a symbol by the Turks. by its proximity to the mouth of the Euxine Sea, forms a better-known and more remarkable termination of an account of the coast from the Danube than any other.

Above Byzantium is the nation of the Asti, in whose territory is the city Calybe, which Philip the son of Amyntas made a settlement for criminals.

THESE are the nations, bounded by the Danube and by the Illyrian and Thracian mountains, which are worthy of record. They occupy the whole coast of the Adriatic Sea, beginning from the recess of the gulf, and the left side, as it is called, of the Euxine Sea, from the river Danube to Byzantium.

The southern parts of the above-mentioned mountainous tract, and the countries which follow, lying below it, remain to be described. Among these are Greece, and the contiguous barbarous country extending to the mountains.

Hecataeus of Miletus says of the Peloponnesus, that, before the time of the Greeks, it was inhabited by barbarians. Perhaps even the whole of Greece was, anciently, a settlement of barbarians, if we judge from former accounts. For Pelops brought colonists from Phrygia into the Peloponnesus, which took his name; DanausB. C. 1570. He was king of Argos. brought colonists from Egypt; Dryopes, Caucones, Pelasgi, Leleges, and other barbarous nations, partitioned among themselves the country on this side of the isthmus.The Peloponnesus, which before the arrival of Pelops was called Apia. The case was the same on the other side of the isthmus; for Thracians, under their leader Eumolpus,Eumolpus took possession of Eleusis B. C. 1400. He is said to have there instituted the mysteries of Ceres. took possession of Attica; Tereus of Daulis in Phocaea; the Phoenicians, with their leader Cadmus,Cadmus, son of Agenor, king of Tyre, arrived in Boeotia B. C. 1550. The citadel of Thebes was named after him. occupied the Cadmeian district; Aones, and Temmices, and Hyantes, Boeotia. Pindar says, there was a time when the Boeotian people were called Syes.Sues, σύας, swine, in allusion to their ignorance. Some names show their barbarous origin, as Cecrops, Codrus, Oeclus, Cothus, Drymas, and Crinacus.There were two kings of Athens named Cecrops. The first of this name, first king of Attica and Boeotia, came from Egypt. Cecrops II. was the 7th, and Codrus the 17th and last king of Attica. Strabo informs us, b. x. c. i. § 3, that Oeclus and Cothus were brothers of Ellops, who founded Ellopia in Euboea, and gave the name to the whole island. Thracians, Illyrians, and Epirotae are settled even at present on the sides of Greece. Formerly the territory they possessed was more extensive, although even now the barbarians possess a large part of the country, which, without dispute, is Greece. Macedonia is occupied by Thracians, as well as some parts of Thessaly; the country above Acarnania and Aetolia, by Thesproti, Cassopaei, Amphilochi, Molotti, and Athamanes, Epirotic tribes.

We have already spoken of the Pelasgi.B. v. c. ii. § 4. Some writers conjecture that the Leleges and Carians are the same people; others, that they were only joint settlers, and comrades in war, because there are said to be some settlements called Settlements of the Leleges in the Milesian territory, and in many parts of Caria there are burial-places of the Leleges, and deserted fortresses, called Lelegia.

The whole country called Ionia was formerly inhabited by Carians and Leleges; these were expelled by the Ionians, who themselves took possession of the country. In still earlier times, the captors of TroyThe capture of Troy by Hercules. See Grote i. 388. had driven out the Leleges from the places about Ida near the rivers Pedasus and Satnioeis.

The fact of the association of these people with the Carians may be regarded as a proof of their being barbarians, and Aristotle, in his Politics, shows that they were a wandering nation, sometimes in company with the Carians, sometimes alone, and that from ancient times; for, in speaking of the polity of the Acarnanians, he says that the Curetes occupied a part of the country, and the Leleges (and after them the Teleboae) the western side. On the subject of the Aetolian polity, he calls the present Locri, Leleges, and observes that they occupy Boeotia. He repeats the same remark on the subject of the polity of the Opuntians and Megareans. In speaking of the polity of the Leucadians, he mentions an aboriginal by name, Leleges, and a grandson by his daughter of the name of Teleboas, and besides two and twenty of his sons of the name of Teleboas, some of whom inhabited Lucas. But we should chiefly rely upon Hesiod, who thus speaks of them: For Locrus was the leader of the nation of the Leleges, whom Jupiter, the son of Saturn, in his infinite wisdom, once gave as subjects to Deucalion, a people gathered from among the nations of the earth. For it seems to me to be obscurely intimated by the etymology of the name, Leleges, that they were a mixed people anciently collected together, which had become extinct. And this may be said of the Caucones, who exist no where at present, yet were formerly settled in several places.

Although Greece was formerly composed of small nations, many in number, and obscure; nevertheless their valour, and their separate government by kings, prevented any difficulty in defining their boundaries. As the greatest part of the country, however, is at present uninhabited, and the settlements, especially the cities, have been destroyed, it would be of no service, even if it were possible, to ascertain the names of cities and regions occupied by obscure and extinct people. This destruction, which began a long time since, still continues in many parts in consequence of rebellion. It has been checked by the Romans, who accepted the supreme authority from the inhabitants and lodged soldiers in their houses. Polybius says that Paulus [Emilius], after the defeat of the MacedoniansB. C. 168. and their king Perseus, destroyed 70 cities of the Epirotae (most of which belonged to the Molotti) and reduced to slavery 150,000 of the inhabitants. Still, however, I shall endeavour, as far as it is compatible with the design of this work, to describe, as far as I am able, these places in detail, beginning from the sea-coast near the Ionian Gulf, where the navigation out of the Adriatic terminates.

The first parts of this coast are those about Epidamnus and Apollonia. From Apollonia to Macedonia is the Egnatian Way; its direction is towards the east, and the distance is measured by pillars at every mile, as far as CypselusIpsala. and the river Hebrus.Maritza. The whole distance is 535 miles. But reckoning, as the generality of persons reckon, a mile at eight stadia, there may be 4280 stadia. And according to Polybius, who adds two plethra, that is, the third of a stadium, to every eight stadia, we must add 178 stadia more, a third part of the number of miles.D’Anville (Mesures Itineraires) conjectures the difference between Polybius and Strabo to arise from the Greek foot being less than the Roman foot in the ratio of 24 to 25; or 24 Roman stadia = 25 Greek stadia containing the same number of feet. A traveller from Apollonia,Polina. and a traveller from Epidamnus,Durazzo. on the same road, meet midway between the two cities. The whole is called the Egnatian Way. The first part of it is called the road to Candavia, which is an Illyrian mountain. It passes through Lychnidus,Lago d’ Ochrida. a city, and Pylon, a place which separates Illyria from Macedonia. Thence its direction is beside Barnus through Heracleia, the Lyncestae, and the Eordi, to EdessaVodina. and Pella,The ruins of Pella are at a little distance on the east of the lake Tenidscheh. as far as Thessalonica.Saloniki. Polybius says, that this is a distance of 267 miles. In travelling this road from the neighbourhood of Epidamnus and Apollonia, on the right hand are the Epirotic nations situated on the coast of the Sicilian Sea, and extending as far as the Gulf of Ambracia;Gulf of Arta. on the left are the Illyrian mountains, which we have before described, and the nations that live near them, extending as far as Macedonia and the Paeones. From the Gulf of Ambracia the places next in order, inclining to the east, and extending opposite to Peloponnesus, belong to Greece; they terminate at the Aegean Sea, leaving the whole of Peloponnesus on the right hand.

The country, from the commencement of the Macedonian and Paeonian mountains, as far as the river Strymon,Iemboli. is inhabited by Macedonians, and Paeones, and some of the Thracian mountain tribes. But all the country on the other side the Strymon, as far as the mouth of the Euxine Sea, and Mount Haemus,Balkan applies to the whole mountainous range of Haemus; Emineh to the part bordering on the Black Sea. belong to the Thracians, except the coast, which is occupied by Greeks, some of whom are settled on the Propontis,Sea of Marmora. others on the Hellespont and on the Gulf Melas,Gulf of Saros. and others on the Aegean Sea.

The Aegean Sea waters two sides of Greece; first, the eastern side, extending from the promontory SuniumCape Colonna. to the north as far as the Thermaean Gulf, and Thessalonica, a Macedonian city, which has, at present, the largest population in these parts. Then the southern side, which is a part of Macedonia, extending from Thessalonica to the Strymon. Some writers assign the coast from the Strymon as far as NestusKarasu, or Mesta. to Macedonia. For Philip showed the greatest solicitude to obtain, and at length appropriated it to himself. He raised a very large revenue from the mines, and from other sources which the richness of the country afforded.

From Sunium to the Peloponnesus are the Myrtoan, the Cretan, and the Libyan Seas, together with the Gulfs, as far as the Sicilian Sea, which consist of the Gulfs of Ambracia, of Corinth, and of Crissa.

Theopompus says, that there are fourteen Epirotic nations. Of these, the most celebrated are the Chaones and Molotti, because the whole of Epirus was at one time subject, first to Chaones, afterwards to Molotti. Their power was greatly strengthened by the family of their kings being descended from the Aeacidae, and because the ancient and famous oracle of DodonaThe site of Dodona is unknown. was in their country. Chaones, Thesproti, and next after these Cassopaei, (who are Thesproti,) occupy the coast, a fertile tract reaching from the Ceraunian mountains to the Ambracian Gulf.

The voyage commencing from the Chaones eastward towards the Gulfs of Ambracia and Corinth, and having the Ausonian Sea on the right, and Epirus on the left, comprises 1300 stadia to the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. In this interval is Panormus,Panormo. a large port in the middle of the Ceraunian mountains. Next to this is Onchesmus,Santi Quaranta. another harbour, opposite to which are the western extremities of Corcyra,Corfu. and then again another port, Cassiope,Cassiopo. (Cassope?) whence to BrundusiumBrindisi. are 1700 stadia. It is the same distance to Tarentum from another promontory more to the south than Cassiope, which is called Phalacrum. Next after Onchesmus are Posidium, and Buthrotum,Butrinto. (which is situated upon the mouth of the lake Pelodes, in a spot of a peninsula form, and has a Roman colony,) and the Sybota. The SybotaSyvota. are small islands at a little distance from Epirus, lying near Leucimme,C. Bianco. the eastern promontory of Corcyra. There are also other small islands, not worthy of notice, which are met with along the coast.

Next is the promontory Chimerium, and a harbour called Glycys-Limen, [or Sweet Harbour,] where the river Acheron, which receives several other rivers, empties itself and renders fresh the water of the gulf. The ThyamusThe Thyamus, or Thyamis, is now called Glycys, and the Acheron, Calamas. flows near it. Above this gulf is situated Cichyrus, formerly Ephyra, a city of the Thesproti, and above the gulf at Buthrotum, Phoenice.Sopoto. Near Cichyrus is Buchetium, a small city of the Cassopaei, situated at a little distance from the sea; Elatria, Pandosia, and Batiae are in the inland parts. Their territory extends as far as the gulf. Next after the harbour Glycys-Limen are two others, Comarus,Porto Fanari. the nearest and smallest, forming an isthmus of 60 stadia, near the Ambracian Gulf and Nicopolis,The ruins of Nicopolis are to the north of Prevesa. founded by Augustus Caesar; the other, the more distant and larger, and better harbour, is near the mouth of the gulf, and distant from Nicopolis about 12 stadia.

Then follows the entrance of the Ambracian Gulf, which is a little more than four stadia in width. The circuit of the gulf is 400 stadia, and the whole has good harbours. On sailing into it, on the right hand are the Acarnanes, who are Greeks; and here near the entrance of the gulf is a temple of Apollo Actius, situated on an eminence; in the plain below is a sacred grove, and a naval station. Here Augustus CaesarCaesar Augustus (then Caesar Octavianus) obtained the celebrated victory of Actium over Marcus Antonius, B. C. 31. The latter, after his defeat, fled into Egypt with Cleopatra. The battle would appear to have taken place at the entrance into the Gulf of Arta, and therefore probably off La Punta, opposite Prevesa, and not off the modern town of Azio. dedicated as offerings one-tenth of the vessels taken in war, from vessels of one bank to vessels of ten banks of oars. The vessels, and the buildings destined for their reception, were destroyed, it is said, by fire.

On the left hand are Nicopolis,In the Austrian map a ground-plan of the ruins of Nicopolis are given, at about one mile to the north of Prevesa. and the Cassopaei, a tribe of the Epirotae, extending as far as the recess of the gulf at Ambracia. AmbraciaThe Gulf of Ambracia, and the rivers which flow into it, are much distorted in D’Anville. According to more modern maps, the Arathus is the most western of the streams which flow into the gulf, and the ancient city was situated at about 15 miles from the mouth. The Loru (the Arathus); the Mauro Potamo or Glykys (the Acheron); the Zagura (the Selleis?) which falls into it; and the Tercino, which falls into the Kalamas, (the Thyamis or Thyamus,) all rise in the mountain ridge Olytkiza, about 10 miles to the west of Ianina. is situated a little above the recess of the bay, and was founded by Gorgus, (Torgus, Tolgus,) the son of Cypselus. The river Arathus flows beside it, which may be navigated up the stream to the city, a distance of a few stadia. It rises in Mount Tymphe, and the Paroraea. This city was formerly in a very flourishing condition, and hence the gulf received its name from the city. Pyrrhus, however, embellished it more than any other person, and made it a royal residence. In later times,Livy xxxviii. c. 3. the Macedonians and Romans harassed this and other cities by continual wars, caused by the refractory disposition of the inhabitants, so that Augustus, at length perceiving that these cities were entirely deserted, collected their remaining inhabitants into one city, which he called Nicopolis, situated upon the gulf. He called it after the victory which he obtained in front of the gulf, over Antony, and Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt, who was present in the engagement.

Nicopolis is well peopled, and is improving every day. It has a large territory, and is adorned with the spoils of war. In the suburbs is a sacred enclosure; part of it is a grove, containing a gymnasium and a stadium, intended for the celebration of quinquennial games; the other part, on a rising ground overhanging the grove, is sacred to Apollo. The Olympian game, called the Actia,Virg. Aen. iii. 280. is instituted there in honour of Apollo Actius. It is under the superintendence of the Lacedaemonians. The other surrounding settlements are dependent on Nicopolis. The Actian gamesVirg. Aen. iii. 280. were formerly celebrated in honour of the god by the neighbouring people; it was a contest in which the victor was crowned; but Caesar has conferred on it greater honours.

After Ambracia follows the Amphilochian Argos, founded by Alcmaeon and his sons. According to Ephorus, Alcmaeon, after the expedition of the EpigoniDescendants of the seven chiefs who fought and perished before Thebes. against Thebes, upon the solicitation of Diomed, accompanied him in his invasion of Aetolia, and obtained joint possession of this country and of Acarnania. When Agamemnon invited them to come to the siege of Troy, Diomed went, but Alcmaeon remained in Acarnania, founded Argos, and gave it the name Amphilochian, after his brother Amphilochus. On the same authority the river Inachus, which flows through the country and empties itself into the bay, received its name from the river in the Argive territory. Thucydides, however, says that Amphilochus himself, upon his return from Troy, dissatisfied with the state of things at Argos, passed over into Acarnania, and having succeeded to the dynasty of his brother, founded the city which is called after his name.

The Amphilochians are Epirotae, as also are those nations who inhabit a rugged country situated above and close to the Illyrian mountains, the Molotti, Athamanes, Aethices, Tymphaei, Orestae Paroraei, and Atintanes, some of whom approach nearer to Macedonia, others to the Ionian Gulf. It is said that Orestes possessed the territory Orestias at the time of his flight, after the murder of his mother, and left the country bearing his name, where also he had built a city called Orestic Argos. With these people are intermixed Illyrian nations, some of whom are situated on the southern part of the mountainous district, and others above the Ionian Gulf. For above Epidamnus and Apollonia, as far as the Ceraunian mountains, live the Bulliones, Taulantii, Parthini, and Brygi.These nations are mentioned by other authors; they were probably separated by the numerous mountain ridges to the west of Pindus. See below, § 9. But compare D Anville and the Austrian military map.

Somewhere near are the silver mines of Damastium. Here the Perisadyes had established their sway, and Enchelii, who are also called Sesarethii. Then come the Lyncestae, the territory Deuriopus, Pelagonia-Tripolitis, the Eordi, Elimia, and Eratyra. Formerly each of these nations was under its own prince. The chiefs of the Enchelii were descendants of Cadmus and Harmonia, and scenes of the fables respecting these persons are shown in the territory. This nation, therefore, was not governed by native princes. The Lyncestae were under Arrhabaeus, who was of the race of the Bacchiadae. Irra was his daughter, and his grand-daughter was Eurydice, the mother of Philip Amyntas.

The Molotti also were Epirotae, and were subjects of Pyrrhus Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles, and of his descendants, who were Thessalians. The rest were governed by native princes. Some tribes were continually endeavouring to obtain the mastery over the others, but all were finally subdued by the Macedonians, except a few situated above the Ionian Gulf. They gave the name of Upper Macedonia to the country about Lyncestis, Pelagonia, Orestias, and Elimia. Later writers called it Macedonia the Free, and some extend the name of Macedonia to all the country as far as Corcyra, at the same time assigning as their reasons, the mode of cutting their hair, their language, the use of the chlamys, and similar things in which they resemble the Macedonians; some of them, however, speak two languages. On the dissolution of the Macedonian empire, they fell under the power of the Romans.

The Egnatian Way, from Epidamnus and Apollonia, passes through the territory of these people. Near the road to Candavia are the lakes about Lychnidus, which furnish large supplies of fish for salting, and rivers, some of which empty themselves into the Ionian Gulf. Some flow towards the south, as the Inachus, the Arathus, (Ratoiis,) the Achelous, and the Evenus, formerly called Lycormas. The Ratous discharges its waters into the Ambracian Gulf, the Inachus into the Achelous, the Achelous itself into the sea, as also the Evenus; the former traverses Acarnania, the latter Aetolia. The Erigon, after having received many streams which flow from the Illyrian mountains, and through the territories of Lyncestae, Brygi, Deuriopes, and Pelagonians, empties itself into the Axius.

There were formerly cities among these nations. The district Pelagonia-Tripolitis contained (as the name signifies) three cities, of which Azorus was one. All the cities of the Deuriopes were situated on the banks of the Erigon; among which were Bryanium, Alalcomenae,Alcomene. and Stymbara.Styberra, Polyb.; Stubera, Liv.; Stobera, Suid. Cydriae belonged to the Brygi, and Aeginium on the confines of Aethicia, and Tricca, to the Tymphaei. Near Macedonia and Thessalia, about the mountains Poeus and Pindus, are the Aethices, and the sources of the Peneus, which are a subject of dispute between the Tymphei and the Thessalians, who are situated below Pindus.

On the banks of the river Ion is Oxynia, a city distant from Azorus in the Tripolitis 120 stadia. Near Oxynia are Alalcomenae, Aeginium, Europus, and the confluence of the Ion with the Peneus.

At that time then, as I said before, the whole of Epirus and Illyria were well peopled, although the country is rugged and full of mountains, such as Tomarus, and Polyanus, and many others. At present the greater part is uninhabited, and the inhabited parts are left in the state of villages, or in ruins. Even the oracle at Dodona has almost been deserted, like the rest.

This oracle, according to Ephorus, was established by Pelasgi, who are said to be the most ancient people that were sovereigns in Greece. Thus the poet speaks, O great Pelasgic Dodonaean Jove;Iliad, book xvi. 233.Iliad, book xvi. 233. and Hesiod, He went to Dodona, the dwelling of the Pelasgi, and to the beech tree. I have spoken of the Pelasgi in the account of Tyrrhenia.

With respect to Dodona, Homer clearly intimates that the people who lived about the temple were barbarians, from their mode of life, describing them as persons who do not wash their feet, and who sleep on the ground. Whether we should read Helli, with Pindar, or Selli, as it is conjectured the word existed in Homer, the ambiguity of the writing does not permit us to affirm confidently. Philochorus says, that the country about Dodona was called, like Euboea, Hellopia; for these are the words of Hesiod, There is a country Hellopia, rich in corn-fields and pastures; at its extremity is built Dodona. It is supposed, says Apollodorus, that it had this name from the hele, or marshes about the temple. He is of opinion that the poet did not call the people about the temple Helli, but Selli, adding, that Homer mentions a certain river (near) of the name of Selleis. He specifies the name in this line, At a distance far from Ephyra, from the river Selleis. [Demetrius of Skepsis contends that] Ephyra of Thesprotia is not here meant, but Ephyra of Elis. For the river Selleis is in Elis, and there is no river of this name either in Thesprotia or among the Molotti. The fable of the oak and the doves, and other similar things, like the stories connected with Delphi, although they are subjects more adapted to engage the attention of a poet, yet are appropriate to the description of the country with which we are now occupied.

Dodona was formerly subject to the Thesproti, as was the mountain Tomarus, or Tmarus, (both names are in use,) be low which the temple is situated. The tragic writers and Pindar give the epithet of Thesprotis to Dodona. It was said to be subject, in later times, to the Molotti. Those called by the poet Jove’s interpreters,ὺποθῆται. and described by him as men with unwashen feet, who slept on the ground, were, it is said called Tomuriτομοῦοͅοι. from Mount Tomarus, and the passage in the

Odyssey containing the advice of Amphinomus to the suitors not to attack Telemachus before they had inquired of Jupiter is as follows, If the Tomuri of great Jove approve, I myself will kill him, and I will order all to join in the deed; but if the god forbid it, I command to withhold.Odys. xvi. 403. For it is better, it is asserted, to write Tomuriτομούοͅους. than Themistae,θέμιστας. because in no passage whatever are oracles called by the poet Themistae, this term being applied to decrees,βουλαί. or statutes and rules of civil government; and the persons are called Tomuri,τομούοͅους. which is the contracted form of Tomaruri,τομαοͅούοͅους. or guardians of Tomarus.

In Homer, however, we must understand θέμιστες in a more simple sense, and, like βουλαί, by the figure Catachresis, as meaning commands and oracular injunctions as well as laws; for such is the import of this line: To listen toβουλὴν. the will of Jove, which comes forth from the lofty and verdant oak.

The first prophets were men, and this the poet perhaps indicates, for he calls the persons interpreters,ὺποφῆται. among whom the prophetsποͅοφῆται. might be classed. In after-times three old women were appointed to this office, after even Dione had a common temple with Jupiter.

Suidas, in order to court the favour of the Thessalians by fabulous stories, says, that the temple was transported from Scotussa of the Thessalian Pelasgiotis, accompanied by a great multitude, chiefly of women, whose descendants are the present prophetesses, and that hence Jupiter had the epithet Pelasgic. Cineas relates what is still more fabulous * * * * * * * * * * [With the exception of the following Fragments, the rest of this book is lost.]

THE oracle was formerly at Scotussa, a city of Pelasgiotis, but was transferred to Dodona by the command of Apollo, after some persons had burnt down the tree. The oracular answers were not conveyed by words, but by certain signs, as at the oracle of Ammon in Libya. Probably the three doves made some peculiar flight, which, observed by the priestesses, suggested the oracular answer. Some say that, in the language of the Molotti and Thesprote, old women are called peliae, and old men pelii, so that the celebrated doves were probably not birds, but three old women who passed an idle time about the temple. EPIT.

Among the Thesprotae and Molotti old women are called peliae, and old men pelii, as among the Macedonians. Persons at least who hold office are called peligones, as among the Laconians and Massilienses they are called gerontes. Hence it is asserted that the story of the doves in the oak at Dodona is a fable. E.

The proverb, The brazen vessel of Dodona, thus arose. In the temple was a brazen vessel, having over it a statue of a man (an offering of the Corcyraeans) grasping in the hand a brazen scourge of three thongs, woven in chains, from which were suspended small bones. The bones striking continually upon the brazen vessel, whenever they were agitated by the wind, produced a long protracted sound, so that a person from the beginning to the end of the vibrations might proceed to count as far as four hundred. Whence also came the proverb, The Corcyraean scourge.This proverb is quoted in Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus. EPIT.

Paeonia is to the east of these nations, and to the west of the Thracian mountains; on the north it lies above Macedonia. Through the city Gortynium and Stobi it admits of a passage to * * * (through which the Axius flows, and renders the access difficult from Paeonia into Macedonia, as the Peneus flowing through Tempe protects it on the side of Greece.) On the south, Paeonia borders on the Autariatae, the Dardanii, and the Ardiaei; it extends also as far as the Strymon. E.

The HaliacmonIndesche Karasu. flows into the Thermaean Gulf. E.

Orestis is of considerable extent; there is in it a large mountain which reaches to CoraxOxas. of Aetolia and to Parnassus. It is inhabited by the Orestae themselves, by the Tymphaeans, and by Greeks without the isthmus, namely, those who also occupy Parnassus, Aeta, and Pindus. As a whole, the mountain is called by one name, Boion, (Peum?) but the separate divisions bear various names. The Aegean, Ambracian, and Ionian Seas are said to be distinguishable from the highest elevations, but this appears to me to be an extravagant assertion; for Pteleum rises to a considerable height, and is situated near the Ambracian Gulf, stretching on one side to the Corcyraean and on the other to the Leucadian Seas. E.

Corcyra, humbled by many wars, became a subject of ridicule, and passed into a proverb. E.

Corcyra was formerly a flourishing place, and possessed a considerable naval force, but went into decay through war and the oppression of its rulers. In later times, although restored to liberty by the Romans, it acquired no renown, but the taunting proverb was applied to it, Corcyra the Free, ease yourself where you please. EPIT.

Of Europe, there remains Macedonia, and the parts of Thrace contiguous to it, extending to Byzantium, Greece also, and the adjacent islands: indeed, Macedonia is a part of Greece. Following, however, the natural character of the country and its form, we have determined to separate it from Greece, and to unite it with Thrace, which borders upon it.——Strabo, after a few remarks, mentions CypselaIpsala. and the river Hebrus.The Maritza. He also describes a parallelogram in which is placed the whole of Macedonia. E.

Macedonia is bounded on the west by the sea-coast of the Adriatic; on the east by a meridian line parallel to this coast, passing through the mouth of the river Hebrus, and the city Cypsela; on the north by an imaginary straight line passing through the mountains Bertiscus, Scardus,Schardagh. Orbelus,Egrisoudagh. Rhodope,Despotodagh. and Haemus.Velikidagh. For these mountains extend in a straight line, beginning from the Adriatic, to the Euxine, forming towards the south a great peninsula, which comprehends Thrace, Macedonia, Epirus, and Achaia. On the south, Macedonia is bounded by the Egnatian Way, which goes from Dyrrachium eastwards to Thessalonica, and thus has very nearly the form of a parallelogram. EPIT.

The country now called Macedonia was formerly called Emathia. It acquired this name from Macedon, one of its ancient princes. There was also a city Emathia near the sea. The country was occupied by some of the Epirotae and Illyrians, but the greatest part by Bottiaei and Thracians. The Bottiaei were of Cretan origin, and came under the command of Botton; the Pieres, who were Thracians, inhabited Pieria and the parts about Olympus; the Paeonians, the borders of the river Axius, from whence the region was called Amphaxitis; the Edoni and Bisalti, the rest of the country as far as the Strymon. The Bisalti retained their name, but the Edoni went under the various names of Mygdones, Edoni, (Odones?) and Sithones. Of all these people, the Argeadae and the Chalcidenses of Euboea became the chief. The Chalcidenses came from Euboea into the territory of the Sithones, and there founded about thirty cities. They were subsequently driven out by the Sithones, but the greater part of them collected together into a single city, namely, Olynthus.Above Agios-Mamas, in the Bay of Cassandra. They had the name of Chalcidenses-in-Thrace. E.

The Peneus separates Lower Macedonia and the seaboard from Thessaly and Magnesia. The Haliacmon is the boundary of Upper Macedonia; and the Haliacmon, the Erigon, the Axius, and other rivers, form the boundary between Macedonia and the Epirotae and the Paeonians. E.

If a line is drawn from the recess of the Thermaic Gulf, on the sea-coast of Macedonia, and from Thessalonica, southwards, to Sunium, and another eastwards, towards the Thracian Chersonese, an angle will be made in the recess. Macedonia extends in both directions, and we must begin with the line first mentioned. The first part of it has beyond it Attica with Megaris to the Crissaean Bay. Next succeeds the sea-coast of Boeotia near Eubea. Above Euboea an the west lies the rest of Boeotia, parallel with Attica. Strabo says that the Egnatian Way begins from the Ionian Gulf and ends at Thessalonica. E.

From these reefs, says Strabo, we shall first mark the boundaries of those who live about the river Peneus and Haliacmon near the sea. The Peneus flows from Mount Pindus through the middle of Thrace eastwards; passing through the cities of the Lapithae and some of the cities of the Perrhaebi, it arrives at the vale of Tempe, having in its course received the waters of several rivers: of these, the Europus (Eurotas) is one, called by the poet Titaresius. It rises from Titarius, (Titarus,) a mountain continuous with Olympus, which at this point first begins to mark the boundary between Macedonia and Thessaly. Tempe is a narrow valley between Olympus and Ossa. The Peneus continues its course from this narrow pass 40 stadia, having Olympus, the highest of the Macedonian mountains, on the left, [and Ossa on the right, near] the mouth of the river. At the mouth of the Peneus on the right is situated Gyrton, a city of the Perrhaebi, and Magnetis, where Pirithous and Ixion were kings. The city Crannon is 100 stadia distant from Gyrton. Some assert, that in the lines of Homer, These two from Thrace, and what follows, for Ephyri we are to understand Crannonii, and for Phlegyes, the people of Gyrton. Pieria is on the other side. E.

The Peneus, rising in Mount Pindus, flows through Tempe, the middle of Thessaly, the Lapithae, and the Perrhaebi. It receives the Europus, (Eurotas,) which Homer calls Titaresius, in its course, and forms on the north the boundary of Macedonia, and on the south that of Thessaly. The sources of the river Europus are in Mount Titarius, which is contiguous to Olympus. Olympus itself is in Macedonia; Ossa and Pelion in Thessaly. EPIT.

At the roots of Olympus, and on the banks of the Peneus, is Gyrton, a Perrhaebic city, and Magnetis, where Pirithous and Ixion ruled. [The city] Crannon is [100 stadia] distant [from Gyrton]; and it is said that when the poet writes Both from Thrace, we are to understand by Ephyri, the Crannonians, and by Phlegyes, the Gyrtonii. EPIT.

The city Dium is not on the sea-shore of the Thermaean Gulf, at the roots of Olympus, but is about 7 stadia distant. Near Dium is a village Pimplea, where Orpheus lived. EPIT.

Beneath Olympus is Dium; near it is a village, Pimplea, where it is said Orpheus lived. He was a Cicon (of the tribe of the Cicones) and was a diviner. At first he drew people about him by the practice of music and witchcraft, and by the introduction of mysterious ceremonies in religious worship. After a time, obtaining a greater degree of self-importance, he collected a multitude of followers, and acquired influence. He had many willing followers, but becoming suspected by a few of entertaining secret designs, and of an intention of taking forcible possession of power, he was attacked by them and put to death. Near this place is Libethra. E.

Anciently diviners practised the art of music. EPIT.

After Dium follow the mouths of the Haliacmon; then Pydna, Methone, Alorus, and the rivers Erigon and Ludias. The Ludias flows from Triclari, through the Oresti and the Pellaean country (Pelagonia): leaving the city on the left it falls into the Axius. The Ludias is navigable up the stream to Pella 120 stadia. Methone is situated in the middle, about 40 stadia distant from Pydna, and 70 stadia from Alorus. Alorus is situated in the farthest recess of the Thermaean Gulf. It was called Thessalonica on account of the splendid [victory obtained over the Thessalians]. Alorus is considered as belonging to Bottiaea and Pydna to Pieria. Pella is in Lower Macedonia, which was in possession of the Bottiaei. Here was formerly the Macedonian Treasury. Philip, who was brought up in this place, raised it from an inconsiderable city to some importance. It has a citadel situated on a lake called Ludias. From this lake issues the river Ludias, which is filled by a branch of the Axius. The Axius discharges itself between Chalastra and Therma. Near this river is a fortified place, now called Abydos; Homer calls it Amydon, and says that the Paeonians came from hence to assist the Trojans during the siege of Troy. From afar, from Amydon, from Axius’ wide stream. It was razed by the Argeadae. E.

The water of the Axius is turbid. Homer, however, says that the water is month beautiful, probably on account of a spring called Aea which runs into it, the water of which is of surpassing clearness. This is sufficient to prove that the present reading in the poem is erroneous. After the Axius is the Echedorus,The Gallico. 20 stadia distant. Then Thessalonica, founded by Cassander, 40 stadia farther on, and the Egnatian Way. He named the city after his wife Thessalonice, the daughter of Philip Amyntas, and pulled down nearly 26 cities in the district of Crucis, and on the Thermraean Gulf, collecting the inhabitants into one city. It is the metropolis of the present Macedonia. The cities transferred to Thessalonica were Apollonia, Chalastra, Therma, Garescus, Aenea, and Cissus. Cissus, it is probable, belonged to Cisseus, who is mentioned by the poet. Cisseus educated him, meaning Iphidamas. E.

After the city Drium is the river Haliacmon, which discharges itself into the Thermaean Gulf. From hence to the river Axius the sea-coast on the north of the gulf bears the name of Pieria, on which is situated the city Pydna, now called Citrum. Then follow Methone and the river Alorus; then the rivers Erigon and Ludias. From Ludias to the city Pella the river is navigated upwards to the distance of 20 stadia. Methone is distant from Pydna 40 stadia, and 70 stadia from Alorus. Pydna is a Pierian, Alorus a Bottiaean city. In the plain of Pydna the Romans defeated Perseus, and put an end to the Macedonian empire. In the plain of Methone, during the siege of the city, Philip Amyntas accidentally lost his right eye by an arrow discharged from a catapult. EPIT.

Philip, who was brought up at Pella, formerly a small city, much improved it. In front of the city is a lake, out of which flows the river Ludias. The lake is supplied by a branch of the river Axius. Next follows the Axius, which separates the territory of Bottiaea and Amphaxitis, and after receiving the river Erigon, issues out between Chalestra and Therme. On the river Axius is a place which Homer calls Amydon, and says that the Paeones set out thence as auxiliaries to Troy: From afar, from Amydon, from Axius’ wide stream. The Axius is a turbid river, but as a spring of clearest water rises in Amydon, and mingles with the Axius, some have altered the line ̓αξιοῦ, οὔ κάλλισττον ὕδωοͅ ἐπικίδναται αἶαν, Axius, whose fairest water o’erspreads Aea, to ̓αξιοῦ, ᾧ κάλλιστον ὕοδωοͅ ἐπικίδναται αἴης. Axius, o’er whom spreads Aea’s fairest water. For it is not the fairest water which is diffused over the spring, but the fairest water of the spring which is diffused over the Axius.Kramer quotes the following passage from Eustathius: In the passage ἐπίκιδναται αἴῃ, or αἶαν, (for there are two readings,) some have understood αἶαν not to mean the earth, but a spring, as is evident from the words of the geographer, where he says that the Amydon of Homer was afterwards called Abydos, but was razed. For there is a spring of clearest water near Amydon, called Aea, running into the Axius, which is itself turbid, in consequence of the numerous rivers which flow into it. There is, therefore, he says, an error in the quotation, ̓αξίον κάλλιστον ὕδωοͅ ἐπικίδναται αἴῃ, as it is clearly not the Axius which diffuses its water over the spring, but the contrary. The geographer rather intemperately finds fault with the supposition of αἷαν meaning the earth, and seems anxious to reject altogether this reading in the Homeric poem. EPIT.

After the river Axius is the city Thessalonica, formerly called Therma. It was founded by Cassander, who called it after the name of his wife, a daughter of Philip Amyntas. He transferred to it the small surrounding cities, Chalastra, Aenea, Cissus, and some others. Probably from this Cissus came Iphidamas, mentioned in Homer, whose grandfather Cisseus educated him, he says, in Thrace, which is now called Macedonia. EPIT.

Somewhere in this neighbourhood is the mountain Bermius,Buraeus. which was formerly in the possession of the Briges, a Thracian nation, some of whom passed over to Asia and were called by another name, Phrygians (Phryges). After Thessalonica follows the remaining part of the Thermaean Gulf,Gulf of Salonica. extending to Canastraeum.Cape Pailuri. This is a promontory of a peninsula form, and is opposite to Magnesia. Pallene is the name of the peninsula. It has an isthmus 5 stadia in width, with a ditch cut across it. There is a city on the peninsula, formerly called Potidaea,The ruins of Potidaea, or Cassandria, are near Pinako. founded by the Corinthians, but afterwards it was called Cassandria, from king Cassander, who restored it after it was demolished. It is a circuit of 570 stadia round the peninsula by sea. Here giants were said to have lived, and the region to have been called Phlegra. Some consider this to be a mere fable, but others, with greater probability on their side, see implied in it the existence of a barbarous and lawless race of people who once occupied the country, but who were destroyed by Hercules on his return home, after the capture of Troy. Here also the Trojan women are said to have committed the destructive act of burning the ships, to avoid becoming the slaves of their captors’ wives. E.

The city BeroeaKarafaja. lies at the roots of Mount Bermius. EPIT.

Pallene is a peninsula. On the isthmus of Pallene lies what was once Potidaea, but now Cassandra. It was formerly called Phlegra, and was inhabited by the fabulous giants, an impious and lawless race, who were destroyed by Hercules. It has upon it four cities, Aphytis, Mende, Scione, and Sana. EPIT.

Olynthus is distant from Potidaea 70 stadia. E.

The arsenal of Olynthus is Mecyberna, on the Toronaean Gulf. EPIT.

Near Olynthus is a hollow tract called Cantharolethron, from an accidental circumstance. The Cantharus, (the beetle,) which is bred in the surrounding country, dies as soon as it touches this tract. EPIT.

Next after Cassandria is the remaining part of the seacoast of the Toronaean Gulf, as far as Derris. It is a promontory opposite the district of Canastrum, and forms a gulf. Opposite to Derris, to the east, are the promontories of Athos; between them is the Singitic Gulf, which receives its name from an ancient city in it, Singus, now destroyed. Next is the city Acanthus, situated on the isthmus of Athos,Monte Santo. founded by the Andrii; whence, by many, it is called the Acanthian Gulf. E.

Opposite to Canastrum, a promontory of Pallene, is the promontory Derris, near Cophus-Limen [or Deaf Harbour]: these form the boundaries of the Toronaean Gulf. Again, towards the east lies the promontory of Athos, [Nymphaeum,] which bounds the Singitic Gulf. Then follow one another the gulfs of the Aegean Sea, towards the north, in this order: the Maliac,Gulf of Zeitun. the Pagasitic,G. of Volo. the Thermaean,G. of Salonica. the Toronaean,G. of Cassandra. the Singitic,G. of Monte Santo. and the Strymonic.G. of Orfane The promontories are these: Posidium,Cape Stauros. situated between the Maliac and Pegasitic Gulfs; next in order, towards the north, Sepias;C. Demitri. then CanastrumC. Pailuri. in Pallene; then Derris;C. Drepano next NymphaeumC. St. George. in Athos, on the Singitic Gulf; Acrathos,C. Monte Santo. the promontory on the Strymonic Gulf; between them is Athos, to the east of which is Lemnos. NeapolisKavala. bounds the Strymonic Gulf towards the north. EPIT.

The city Acanthus, on the Singitic Gulf, is a maritime city near the Canal of Xerxes. There are five cities in Athos; Dium, Cleonae, Thyssos, Olophyxis, Acrothoi, which is situated near the summit of Athos. Mount Athos is pap-shaped, very pointed, and of very great height. Those who live upon the summit see the sun rise three hours before it is visible on the sea-shore. The voyage round the peninsula, from the city Acanthus to the city Stagirus, the birth-place of Aristotle, is 400 stadia. It has a harbour called Caprus, and a small island of the same name. Then follow the mouths of the Strymon; then Phagres, Galepsus, and Apollonia, all of them cities; then the mouth of the Nestus, which is the boundary of Macedonia and Thrace, as settled, in their own times, by Philip and Alexander his son. There are about the Strymonic Gulf other cities also, as Myrcinus, Argilus, Drabescus, and Datum, which has an excellent and most productive soil, dock-yards for ship-building, and gold mines; whence the proverb, A Datum of good things, like to the proverb, Piles of plenty.δάτον ἀγͅαθῶν.?̓αγͅαθῶν ἀγͅαθίδες. EPIT.

There are numerous gold mines among the Crenides, where the city of Philip now stands, near Mount Pangaeus. Pangaeus itself, and the country on the east of the Strymon, and on the west as far as Paeonia, contains gold and silver mines. Particles of gold, it is said, are found in Paeonia in ploughing the land. EPIT.

Mount Athos is pap-shaped, and so lofty that the husbandmen on the summit are already weary of their labour, the sun having long since risen to them, when to the inhabitants of the shore it is the beginning of cockcrowing. Thamyris, the Thracian, was king of this coast, and followed the same practices as Orpheus. Here also, at Acanthus, is seen the canal, which Xerxes is said to have made, and through which he is said to have brought the sea from the Strymonic Gulf, across the isthmus. Demetrius of Skepsis is of opinion that this canal was not navigable; for, says he, the ground is composed of deep earth, and admits of being dug for a distance of 10 stadia only: the canal is a plethrum in width; then follows a high, broad, and flat rock, nearly a stadium in length, which prevents excavation throughout the whole distance to the sea. And even if the work could be carried on so far across, yet it could not be continued to a sufficient depth, so as to present a navigable passage. Here Alexarchus, the son of Antipater, built the city Uranopolis, 30 stadia in circumference.

This peninsula was inhabited by Pelasgi from Lemnos; they were distributed into five small cities, Cleonae, Olophyxis, Acrothoi, Dium, Thyssos. After Athos comes the Strymonic Gulf, extending to the river Nestus, which forms the boundary of Macedonia, as settled by Philip and Alexander. Accurately speaking, there is a promontory forming a gulf with Athos, on which is the city Apollonia. First in the gulf, after the harbour of Acanthus, is Stagira, now deserted: it was one of the Chalcidic cities, and the birth-place of Aristotle. Caprus was the harbour, and there is a small island of the same name. Then comes the Strymon, and Amphipolis, at the distance of 20 stadia up the river. In this part is situated an Athenian colony, called Ennea-Odoi (the Nine-Ways). Then Galepsus and Apollonia, which were destroyed by Philip. E.

He says, it is 120 stadia (300?) from the Peneus to Pydna. On the sea-coast of the Strymon and of the Dateni is Neapolis, and Datum also, which has fruitful plains, a lake, rivers, dockyards, and valuable gold mines. Hence the proverb, A Datum of good things, like “Piles of plenty. The country beyond the Strymon, which borders upon the sea and includes the parts about Datum, is occupied by Odomantes, Edoni, and Bisaltae, some of whom are an indigenous people, the others came from Macedonia and were under the government of Rhesus. Above Amphipolis live the Bisaltae, extending to the city Heraclea (Sintica); they occupy a fertile valley, through which passes the Strymon, which rises among the Agrianes near Rhodope. Near the Agrianes is situated Parorbelia of Macedonia. In the interior, in a valley, which commences at Idomene, are situated Callipolis, Orthopolis, Philipopolis, and Garescus. Among the Bisaltae, proceeding up the river Strymon, is situated Berga, a village, distant from Amphipolis about 200 stadia. Proceeding northwards from Heraclea, and to the narrows, through which the Strymon flows, keeping the river on the right, first on the left are Paeonia and the parts about Dobera; then on the right are the mountains Haemus and Rhodope, with the adjacent parts. On this side of the Strymon, close upon the river, is Scotussa; near the lake Bolbe is Arethusa; the inhabitants above the lake are chiefly Mygdones. Not only is the course of the Axius through Paeonia, but that of the Strymon also; for it rises among the Agrianes, passes through the territory of the Maedi and Sinti, and discharges itself between the Bisaltae and Odomantes. E.

The source of the river Strymon is among the Agrianes near Rhodope. EPIT.

The Paeonians, according to some, were a dependent colony of the Phrygians; according to others, they were an independent settlement. Paenonia, it is said, extended to Pelagonia and Pieria; Pelagonia is said to have been formerly called Orestia; and Asteropaeus, one of the chiefs from Paeonia who went to Troy, to have been called, with great probability, the son of Pelagon, and the Paeonians themselves to have been called Pelagones. E.

The Asteropaeus in Homer, son of Pelegon, we are told, was of Paeonia in Macedonia: whence Son of Pelegon; for the Paeonians were called Pelagones. EPIT.

As the poeanismus, or singing of the Thracian Paean, was called titanusmus by the Greeks, in imitation of a wellknown note in the paean, so the Pelagones were called Titanes. E,

Anciently, as at present, the Paeonians appear to have been masters of so much of what is now called Macedonia as to be able to besiege Perinthus, and subject to their power Crestonia, the whole of Mygdonia, and the territory of the Agrianes as far as Mount Pangaeus. Above the sea-coast of the Strymonic Gulf, extending from Galepsus to Nestus, are situated Philippi and the surrounding country. Philippi was formerly called Crenides; it was a small settlement, but increased after the defeat of Brutus and Cassius. E.

This extract should be numbered 42, and not 43. As the error in Kramer continues to the end of the book, it has not been corrected. The present city Philippi was anciently called Crenides. EPIT.

In front of this coast lie two islands, Lemnos and Thasos. Beyond the strait at Thasos is Abdera, with its fables. It was inhabited by Bistones, over whom ruled Diomed. The Nestus does not always keep within its banks, but frequently inundates the country. Then Dicaea, a city on the gulf, with a harbour. Above it is the lake Bistonis, 200 stadia in circumference. They say that Hercules, when he came to seize upon the horses of Diomed, cut a canal through the sea-shore and turned the water of the sea upon the plain, which is situated in a hollow, and is lower than the level of the sea, and thus vanquished his opponents. The royal residence of Diomed is shown, called, from a local peculiarity, its natural strength, Cartera-Come [Strong-Village]. Beyond the inland lake are Xanthia, Maronia, and Ismarus, cities of the Cicones. Ismarus is now called Ismara-near-Maronia. Near it is the outlet of the lake Ismaris. The stream is called sweet * * * * * * At this place are what are called the heads of the Thasii. The Sapaei are situated above. E.

Topeira is situated near Abdera and Maronia. E.

The Sinti, a Thracian tribe, inhabit the island of Lemnos; whence Homer calls them Sinties, thus, There are the Sinties. EPIT.

After the river Nestus to the west is the city Abdera, named after Abderus, who was eaten by the horses of Diomed; then, near, Dicaea, a city, above which is situated a large lake, the Bistonis; then the city Maronia. EPIT.

The whole of Thrace is composed of twenty-two nations. Although greatly exhausted, it is capable of equipping 15,000 cavalry and 20,000 infantry. After Maronia are Orthagoria, a city, and the district of Serrium (the navigation along the coast is difficult); the small city Tempyra belonging to the Samothracians, and another Caracoma, (the Stockade,) in front of which lies the island Samothrace. Imbros is at no great distance from Samothrace; Thasos is double the distance from it. After Caracoma is Doriscus, where Xerxes counted the number of his army. Then the Hebrus, with a navigation up the stream for 100 stadia to Cypsela. Strabo says that this was the boundary of Macedonia when wrested by the Romans, first from Perseus, and afterwards from Pseudophilip. Paulus, who overthrew Perseus, united the Epirotic nations to Macedonia, and divided the country into four parts; one he assigned to Amphipolis, a second to Thessalonica, a third to Pella, and a fourth to Pelagonia. Along the Hebrus dwell the Corpili, the Brenae still higher up, above them, and lastly the Bessi, for the Hebrus is navigable up to this point. All these nations are addicted to plunder, particularly the Bessi, whom, he says, border upon the Odrysae and Sapei. Bizya is the capital of the Astrae (?). Some give the name of Odrysae to all those people who live on the mountains overhanging the coast, from the Hebrus and Cypsela to Odessus. They were under the kingly government of Amadocus, Khersobleptes, Berisades, Seuthes, (Theseus?) and Cotys. E.

The river in Thrace now called Rhiginia (Rhegina?) was formerly called Erigon (Erginus?). EPIT.

Samothrace was inhabited by the brothers Jasion and Dardanus. Jasion was killed by lightning, for his crime against Ceres; Dardanus moved away from Samothrace, and built a city, to which he gave the name of Dardania, at the foot of Mount Ida. He taught the Trojans the Samothracian mysteries. Samothrace was formerly called Samos. EPIT.

The gods worshipped in Samothrace, the Curbantes and Corybantes, the Curetes and the Idaean Dactyli, are said by many persons to be the same as the Cabiri, although they are unable to explain who the Cabiri were. E.

At the mouth of the Hebrus, which discharges itself by two channels, in the Gulf of Melas, is a city Aenos, founded by the Mitylenaeans and Cumaeans; its first founders, however, were Alopeconnesi; then the promontory Sarpedon; then the Chersonesus, called the Thracian Chersonesus, forming the Propontis, the Gulf of Melas, and the Hellespont. It stretches forwards to the south-east, like a promontory, bringing Europe and Asia together, with only a strait between them of 7 stadia in width, the Strait of Sestos and Abydos. On the left is the Propontis, on the right the Gulf Melas,Gulf of Saros. so called from the river Melas,Kavaktshai. which discharges itself into it, according to Herodotus and Eudoxus. It is stated (says Strabo) by Herodotus, that the stream of this river was not sufficient to supply the army of Xerxes. The above promontory is closed in by an isthmus 40 stadia across. In the middle of the isthmus is situated the city Lysimachia, named after king Lysimachus, its founder. On one side of the isthmus, on the Gulf Melas, lies Cardia; its first founders were Milesians and Clazomenaeans, its second founders Athenians. It is the largest of the cities in the Chersonesus. Pactya is on the Propontis. After Cardia are Drabus and Limnae; then Alopeconnesus, where the Gulf Melas principally ends; then the great promontory Mazusia; then, in the gulf, Eleus, where is Protesilaum, from whence Sigeum, a promontory of Troas, is 40 stadia distant; this is about the most southern extremity of the Chersonesus, distant from Cardia rather more than 400 stadia; if the circuit is made by sea to the other side of the isthmus, the distance is a little greater. E.

The Thracian Chersonesus forms three seas, the Propontis to the north, the Hellespont to the east, and the Gulf Melas to the south, where the river Melas, of the same name as the gulf, discharges itself. EPIT.

In the isthmus of the Chersonesus are three cities, Cardia on the Gulf of Melas, Pactya on the Propontis, Lysimachia in the interior; the breadth of the isthmus is 40 stadia. EPIT.

The name of the city Eleus is of the masculine gender, perhaps that of Trapezus is also masculine. EPIT.

In the voyage round of which we have been speaking; beyond Eleus, first, is the entrance into the Propontis through the straits, where they say the Hellespont begins. There is a promontory here by some called Dog’s Monument, by others the Monument of Hecuba, for on doubling the promontory, the place of her burial is to be seen. Then Madytus and the promontory of Sestos, where was the Bridge of Xerxes; after these places comes Sestos. From Eleus to the Bridge it is 170 stadia; after Sestos it is 280 stadia to Aegospotamos: it is a small city in ruins. At this place a stone is said to have fallen from heaven during the Persian war. Then Callipolis, from whence to Lampsacus in Asia is a passage across of 40 stadia; then a small city Crithote in ruins; then Pactya; next Macron-Tichos, and Leuce-Acte, and Hieron-Oros, and Perinthus, a colony of the Samians; then Selybria. Above these places is situated Silta. Sacred rites are performed in honour of Hieron-Oros by the natives, which is as it were the citadel of the country. It discharges asphaltus into the sea. Proconnesus here approaches nearest the continent, being 120 stadia distant; there is a quarry of white marble in it, which is plentiful and of good quality; after Selybria the rivers Athyras and [Bathynias]; then Byzantium and the parts reaching to the Cyanean rocks. E.

From Perinthus to Byzantium it is 630 stadia; from the Hebrus and Cypseli to Byzantium and the Cyanean rocks it is, according to Artemidorus, 3100 stadia. The whole distance from Apollonia on the Ionian Gulf to Byzantium is 7320 stadia; Polybius makes this distance 180 stadia more, by the addition of a third of a stadium to the sum of 8 stadia, which compose a mile. Demetrius of Skepsis, in his account of the disposition of the Trojan forces, says that it is 700 stadia from Perinthus to Byzantium, and the same distance to Parium. He makes the length of the Propontis to be 1400 and the breadth 500 stadia; the narrowest part also of the Hellespont to be 7 stadia, and the length 400. E.

All writers do not agree in their description of the Hellespont, and many opinions are advanced on the subject. Some describe the Propontis to be the Hellespont; others, that part of the Propontis which is to the south of Perinthus; others include a part of the exterior sea which opens to the Aegaean and the Gulf Melas, each assigning different limits. Some make their measurement from Sigeum to Lampsacus, and Cyzicus, and Parium, and Priapus; and one is to be found who measures from Singrium, a promontory of Lesbos. Some do not hesitate to give the name of Hellespont to the whole distance as far as the Myrtoan Sea, because (as in the Odes of Pindar) when Hercules sailed from Troy through the virgin strait of Hella, and arrived at the Myrtoan Sea, he returned back to Cos, in consequence of the wind Zephyrus blowing contrary to his course. Thus some consider it correct to apply the name Hellespont to the whole of the Aegaean Sea, and the sea along the coast of Thessaly and Macedonia, invoking the testimony of Homer, who says, Thou shalt see, if such thy will, in spring, My ships shall sail to Hellespont. But the argument is contradicted in the following lines, Piros, Imbracius’ son, who came from Aenos. Piros commanded the Thracians, Whose limits are the quick-flowing Hellespont. So that he would consider all people settled next to the Thracians as excluded from the Hellespont. For Aenos is situated in the district formerly called Apsynthis, but now Corpilice. The territory of the Cicones is next towards the west. E.

The remaining parts of Macedonia are considered, and the whole of Greece; on this the author dwells some time on account of the great reputation of the country. He corrects minutely, and clears up, the confused and vague accounts respecting the cities contained therein, given by poets and historians, and especially in the Catalogue and in many other parts of the Poem.

AFTER having described as much of the western parts of Europe as is comprised within the interior and exterior seas, and surveyed all the barbarous nations which it contains, as far as the DonThe ancient Tanais. and a small part of Greece, [namely, Macedonia,]These words are interpolated. Casaubon. we propose to give an account of the remainder of the Helladic geography. Homer was the first writer on the subject of geography, and was followed by many others, some of whom composed particular treatises, and entitled them Harbours, Voyages, Circuits of the Earth,λιμένες, περίπλοι, περιοσοι γῆς. or gave them some name of this kind, and these comprised the description of the Helladic country. Some, as Ephorus and Polybius, included in their general history a separate topography of the continents; others, as Posidonius and Hipparchus, introduced matter relating to geography in their writings on physical and mathematical subjects.

It is easy to form an opinion of the other writers, but the poems of Homer require critical consideration, both because he speaks as a poet, and because he describes things not as they exist at present, but as they existed anciently, and the greater part of which have been rendered obscure by time.

We must however undertake this inquiry as far as we are able, beginning from the point where our description ended.

It ended with an account of the Epirotic and Illyrian nations on the west and north, and of Macedonia as far as Byzantium on the east.

After the Epirotae and Illyrii follow the Acarnanes,The territory of the Acarnanes is still called Carnia, south of the Gulf of Arta. The rest of the countries mentioned by Strabo no longer retain the ancient divisions, Boeotia is the modern Livadhia. G. the Aetoli, the Locri-Ozolae, then the Phocaeenses and Boeoti, Grecian nations. Opposite to these on the other side of the strait is Peloponnesus, which comprises the Gulf of Corinth,The Gulf of Lepanto. interposed between, and determining the figure of the latter, from which it also receives its own. Next to MacedoniaMakedunea. are the Thessalians,The ancient Thessaly is the modern Vlakea. extending as far as the Malienses,The neighbourhood of the Gulf of Zeitun—the ancient Maliac Gulf. and the other nations, situated on both sides of the isthmus.

There are many Greek tribes, but the chief people are equal in number to the Greek dialects with which we are acquainted, namely, four. Of these, the Ionic is the same as the ancient Attic; (for Iones was the former name of the inhabitants of Attica; from thence came the Iones who settled in Asia,In Asia Minor, and founded the cities Miletus, Smyrna, Phocaea, etc. and use the dialect now called Ionic;) the Doric was the same as the Aeolic dialect, for all the people on the other side of the isthmus except the Athenians, the Megareans, and the Dorians about Parnassus, are even now called Aeolians; it is probable that the Dorians, from their being a small nation, and occupying a most rugged country, and from want of intercourse [with the Aeolians], no longer resemble that people either in language or customs, and, although of the same race, have lost all appearance of affinity. It was the same with the Athenians, who inhabiting a rugged country with a light soil, escaped the ravages of invaders. As they always occupied the same territory, and no enemy attempted to expel them, nor had any desire to take possession of it themselves, on this account they were, according to Thucydides, regarded as Autochthones, or an indigenous race. This was probably the reason, although they were a small nation, why they remained a distinct people with a distinct dialect.

It was not in the parts only on the other side of the isthmus, that the Aeolian nation was powerful, but those on this side also were formerly Aeolians. They were afterwards intermixed first with Ionians who came from Attica, and got possession of Aegialus,The word Aegialus (αἰγιαλὸς) signifies sea-shore. The name was given to this part of the Peloponnesus (afterwards called Achaia) from the towns being situated generally along the coast. Others, however, give a different explanation to the word. and secondly with Dorians, who under the conduct of the Heracleidae founded Megara and many of the cities in the Peloponnesus. The Iones were soon expelled by the Achaei, an Aeolian tribe; and there remained in Peloponnesus the two nations, the Aeolic and the Doric. Those nations then that had little intercourse with the Dorians used the Aeolian dialect. (This was the case with the Arcadians and Eleians, the former of whom were altogether a mountain tribe, and did not share in the partition of the Peloponnesus; the latter were considered as dedicated to the service of the Olympian Jupiter, and lived for a long period in peace, principally because they were of Aeolian descent, and had admitted into their country the army of Oxylus, about the time of the return of the Heracleidae.1113 before the Christian era. G.) The rest used a kind of dialect composed of both, some of them having more, others less, of the Aeolic dialect. Even at present the inhabitants of different cities use different dialects, but all seem to Dorize, or use the Doric dialect, on account of the ascendency of that nation.

Such then is the number of the Grecian nations, and thus in general are they distinguished from each other.

I shall resume my account of them, and describe each nation in their proper order.

According to Ephorus, Acarnania is the commencement of Greece on the west, for it is the first country which lies contiguous to the Epirotic nations. As this author follows the coast in his measurements, and begins from thence, considering the sea the most important guide of topographical description, (for otherwise he might have placed the beginning of Greece in Macedonia and Thessaly,) so ought I, observing the natural character of places, to keep in view the sea as a mark by which I should direct the course of my description.

The sea coming from Sicily spreads itself on one side towards the Corinthian Gulf, and on the other forms a large peninsula, the Peloponnesus, united to the main-land by a narrow isthmus.

The two largest bodies of country in Greece are that within the isthmus, and that without the isthmus, [extending to the mouths of the river Peneius]. That within the isthmas is however larger, and more celebrated. The Peloponnesus is, as it were, the acropolis or citadel of all Greece; and all Greece in a manner holds the chief or leading position in Europe. For independently of the fame and power of the nations which inhabited it, the position itself of the places in it suggests this superiority. One site succeeds another diversified with numerous most remarkable bays, and large peninsulas. The first of these peninsulas is the Peloponnesus, closed in by an isthmus of forty stadia in extent. The second comprehends the first, and has an isthmus reaching from Pagae in Megaris to Nisaea, which is the naval arsenal of the Megareans; the passage across the isthmus from sea to sea is 120 stadia.

The third peninsula also comprises the latter. Its isthmus extends from the farthest recess of the Crissaean Gulf to Thermopylae. The line supposed to be drawn between these is about 508 stadia in length, including within it the whole of Boeotia, and cutting Phocis and the country of the Epicnemidii obliquely. The fourth peninsula has the isthmus extending from the Ambracian Gulf through Mount Oeta and Traclinia to the Maliac Gulf and Thermopylae, about 800 stadia.

There is another isthmus of more than 1000 stadia reaching from the same Gulf of Ambracia, and passing through the country of the Thessalians and Macedonians to the recess of the Thermaean Gulf.

The succession of peninsulas furnishes a convenient order to be followed in describing the country.

We must begin from the smallest, as being also the most famous of these peninsulas.Taking the reverse order in which these peninsulas are described, the fifth and last contains all the rest, the fourth all but the difference between the fourth and fifth, and so on in order until we come to the Peloponnesus, properly so called, which is thus the least of the peninsulas. Strabo himself seems to admit the term peninsula to be improperly applied to these subdivisions, by first describing Greece to be divided into two great bodies, viz. that within and that without the Isthmus of Corinth.

THE Peloponnesus resembles in figure the leaf of a plane tree.For the same reason, at a subsequent period, it obtained the name of Morea, in Greek (μοοͅέα) which signifies mulberry, a species or variety of which tree bears leaves divided into five lobes—equal in number to the five principal capes of the Peloponnesus. See book ii. ch. i. 30. Its length and breadth are nearly equal, each about 1400 stadia. The former is reckoned from west to east, that is, from the promontory Chelonatas through Olympia and the territory Megalopolitis to the isthmus; the latter from south to north, or from Maliae though Arcadia to Aegium.

The circumference, according to Polybius, exclusive of the circuit of the bays, is 4000 stadia. Artemidorus however adds to this 400 stadia, and if we include the measure of the bays, it exceeds 5600 stadia. We have already said that the isthmus at the road where they draw vessels over-land from one sea to the other is 40 stadia across.

Eleians and Messenians occupy the western side of this peninsula. Their territory is washed by the Sicilian Sea. They possess the coast also on each side. Elis bends towards the north and the commencement of the Corinthian Gulf as far as the promontory Araxus,Cape Papa. opposite to which across the strait is Acarnania; the islands Zacynthus,Zante. Cephallenia,Cephalonia. Ithaca,Theaki. and the Echinades, to which belongs Dulichium, lie in front of it. The greater part of Messenia is open to the south and to the Libyan Sea as far as the islands Thyrides near Taenarum.Cape Matapan.

Next to Elis, is the nation of the Achaei looking towards the north, and stretching along the Corinthian Gulf they terminate at Sicyonia. Then follow SicyonBasilico. and Corinth, extending as far as the isthmus. Next after Messenia are Laconia and Argeia, which latter country also reaches as far as the isthmus.

The bays of the Peloponnesus are the Messeniac,Gulf of Coron. the Laconian,Gulf of Colochina. a third the Argolic,Gulf of Napoli. and a fourth the Hermionic,Gulf of Castri. or the Saronic,Gulf of Egina. which some writers call the Salaminiac bay. Some of these bays are supplied by the Libyan, others by the Cretan and Myrtoan Seas. Some call even the Saronic Gulf a sea. In the middle of Peloponnesus is Arcadia, lying contiguous to all the other nations.

The Corinthian Gulf begins from the mouths of the Evenus,Fidari. (some say from the mouths of the Achelous,Aspropotamo. which is the boundary between the Acarnanes and Aetoli,) and from the promontory Araxus. For there the shores on both sides first begin to contract, and have a considerable inclination towards each other; as they advance farther onwards they nearly meet at RhiumDrepano. and Antirrhium,Castle of Roumelia. leaving a channel of only about 5 stadia between them.

Rhium is a promontory of Achaia, it is low, and bends inwards like a sickle, (indeed it has the name of Drepanum, or the Sickle,) and lies between PatraePatras. and Aegium,Vostitza. on it there is a temple of Neptune. Antirrhium is situated on the confines of Aetolia and Locris. It is called Rhium Molycrium. From this point the sea-shore again parts in a moderate degree on each side, and advancing into the Crissaean Gulf, terminates there, being shut in by the western boundaries of Boeotia and Megaris.

The Corinthian Gulf is 2230 stadia in circuit from the river Evenus to the promontory Araxus; and if we reckon from the Achelous, it would be increased by about 100 stadia.

The tract from the Achelous to the Evenus is occupied by Acarnanians; next are the Aetoli, reaching to the Cape Antirrhium. The remainder of the country, as far as the isthmus, is occupied by Phocis, Boeotia, and by Megaris, it extends 1118 stadia.

The sea from Cape Antirrhium as far as the isthmus is [the Crissaean Gulf, but from the city Creusa it is called the Sea of] Alcyonis, and is a portion of the Crissaean Gulf.The words in brackets are inserted according to the suggestion of Groskurd. The Gulf of Corinth is, in other passages, called by Strabo the Crissaean Gulf. From the isthmus to the promontory Araxus is a distance of 1030 stadia.

Such in general then is the nature and extent of the Peloponnesus, and of the country on the other side of the strait up to the farther recess of the gulf. Such also is the nature of the gulf between both.

We shall next describe each country in particular, beginning with Elis.

AT present the whole sea-coast lying between the Achaei and Messenii is called Eleia, it stretches into the inland parts towards Arcadia at Pholoe, and the Azanes, and Parrhasii. Anciently it was divided into several states; afterwards into two, Elis of the Epeii, and Elis under Nestor, the son of Neleus. As Homer says, who mentions Elis of the Epeii by name, Sacred Elis, where the Epeii rule. The other he calls Pylus subject to Nestor, through which, he says, the Alpheius flows: Alpheius, that flows in a straight line through the land of the Pylians.Il. v. 545.Il. v. 545. The poet was also acquainted with a city Pylus; They arrived at Pylus, the well-built city of Neleus.Od. iii. 4.Od. iii. 4. The Alpheius however does not flow through nor beside the city, but another river flows beside it, which some call Pamisus, others Amathus, from which Pylus seems to be termed Emathöeis, but the Alpheius flows through the Eleian territory.

Elis, the present city, was not yet founded in the time of Homer, but the inhabitants of the country lived in villages. It was called Coele [or Hollow] Elis, from the accident of its locality, for the largest and best part of it is situated in a hollow. It was at a late period, and after the Persian war, that the people collected together out of many demi, or Od. xv. 298. burghs, into one city. And, with the exception of a few, the other places in the Peloponnesus which the poet enumerates are not to be called cities, but districts. Each contained several assemblages of demi or burghs, out of which the famous cities were afterwards formed, as Mantineia in Arcadia, which was furnished with inhabitants from five burghs by Argives; Tegea from nine; Heraea from as many during the reign of Cleombrotus, or Cleonymus; Aegium out of seven, or eight; Patrae out of seven; Dyme out of eight; thus Elis also was formed out of the surrounding burghs. The demus of the Agriades was one of those added to it. The PeneiusIgliaco flows through the city by the Gymnasium, which the Eleii constructed long after the countries which were subject to Nestor had passed into their possession.

These were the Pisatis, of which Olympia is a part, and Triphylia, and the territory of the Caucones. The Triphylii had their name from the accident of the union of three tribes; of the Epeii, the original inhabitants; of the Minyae, who afterwards settled there; and last of all of the Eleii, who made themselves masters of the country. Instead of the Minyae some writers substitute Arcadians, who had frequently disputed the possession of the territory, whence Pylus had the epithet Arcadian as well as Triphylian. Homer calls all this tract as far as Messene by the name of Pylus, the name of the city. The names of the chiefs, and of their abodes in the Catalogue of the Ships, show that Coele Elis, or the Hollow Elis, was distinct from the country subject to Nestor.

I say this on comparing the present places with Homer’s description of them, for we must compare one with the other in consideration of the fame of the poet, and our being bred up in an acquaintance with his writings; and every one will conclude that our present inquiry is rightly conducted, if nothing is found repugnant to his accounts of places, which have been received with the fullest reliance on their credibility and his veracity.

We must describe these places as they exist at present, and as they are represented by the poet, comparing them together as far as is required by the design of this work.

The Araxus is a promontory of Eleia situated on the north, 60 stadia from Dyme, an Achaean city. This promontory we consider the commencement of the coast of Eleia. Proceeding thence towards the west is Cyllene,Chiarenza, in ruins. the naval arsenal of the Eleii, from whence is an ascent of 120 stadia to the present city. This Cyllene Homer mentions in these words, Cyllenian Otus, chief of the Epeii, for he would not have given the title of chief of Epeii to one who came from the Arcadian mountain of this name. It is a village of moderate size, in which is preserved the Aesculapius of Colotes, a statue of ivory, of admirable workmanship. Next to Cyllene is the promontory Chelonatas,Cape Tornese. the most westerly point of the Peloponnesus. In front of it there is a small island and shoals on the confines of Hollow Elis, and the territory of the Pisatae. From hence [Cyllene] to Cephallenia is a voyage of not more than 80 stadia. Somewhere on the above-mentioned confines is the river Elisson, or Elissa.

Between the Chelonatas and Cyllene the river Peneius empties itself, and that also called by the poet Selleis, which flows from the mountain Pholoe. On this river is situated Ephyra, a city to be distinguished from the Thesprotian, Thessalian, and Corinthian Ephyras; being a fourth city of this name, situated on the road leading to the Lasion seacoast, and which may be either the same place as Boeonoa, (for it is the custom to call Oenoe by this name,) or a city near this, distant from Elis 120 stadia. This Ephyra seems to be the reputed birth-place of Astyochea, the mother of Tlepolemus, the son of Hercules, Whom Hercules brought from Ephyra, from the river Selleïs;Il. ii. 650.Il. ii. 650. (for this was the principal scene of the adventures of Hercules; at the other places called Ephyra, there is no river Selleis;) hence came the armour of Meges, Which Phyleus formerly brought from Ephyra, from the river Selleis;Il. xv. 531.Il. xv. 531. from this Ephyra came also mortal poisons. For Minerva says, that Ulysses went to Ephyra In search of a mortal poison wherewith to anoint his arrows:Od. i. 261.Od. i. 261. And the suitors say of Telemachus; Or he will go to the rich country of Ephyra to bring back poison destructive of our lives.Od. ii. 328. And Nestor introduces the daughter of Augeas, king of the Epeii, in his account of the war with that people, as one who administered poisons: I first slew a man,Il. xi. 738. Mulius, a brave soldier. He was son-in-law of Augeas; he had married his eldest daughter; she was acquainted with all the poisons which the earth brings forth.

There is also near Sicyon a river, Selleis, and a village of the name of Ephyra near it; and a village Ephyra in the territory of Agraea in Aetolia, the people of which are called Ephyri. There are also other Ephyri among the Perrhaebi near Macedonia, who are Crannonians,I read οἱ καὶ as Meineke suggests, but the whole passage from there ii to Ephyra, is, as he also remarks, probably an interpolation. Strabo has already enumerated four cities of the name of Ephyra, viz. the Eliac, the Thesprotic, the Corinthian, and the Thessalian; yet here two others are presented to our notice, the Sicyonian and the Aetolian, of which Strabo makes no mention in his account of Aetolia and Sicyonia. and the Thesprotic Ephyri of Cichyrus, which was formerly called Ephyra.

Apollodorus, when he informs us in what manner the poet usually distinguishes places with the same names, as Orchomenus for instance, designating that in Arcadia by the epithet, abounding with sheep; the Boeotian Orchomenus, as Minyeius; by applying to Samos the term Thracian, and adds, Between Samos and Imbros,Il. xxiv. 78.Il. xxiv. 78. to distinguish it from Ionian Samos; so he says the Thesprotic Ephyra is distinguished from others by the words, at a distance, and from the river Selleis. This does not agree with what Demetrius of Scepsis says, from whom he borrows most of his information. For Demetrius does not say that there is a river Selleis in Thesprotia, but in Elis, near the Thesprotic Ephyra, as I have said before.

What he says also about Oechalia requires examination, where he asserts that the city of Eurytus of Oechalia is the only city, when there is more than one city of that name. It is therefore evident that he means the Thessalian city mentioned by Homer: And they who occupied Oechalia, the city of Eurytus, the Oechalian.Il. ii. 730.Il. ii. 730. What city, then, is that on the road from which Thamyris the Thracian was met by the Muses, and deprived of the power of song, for he says, Coming from Oechalia, from the dwelling of Eurytus, the Oechalian.Il. ii. 591.Il. ii. 591. If this were the city in Thessaly, the Scepsian is mistaken in mentioning some city in Arcadia, which is now called Andania. If he is not mistaken, still the Arcadian Oechalia is said to be the city of Eurytus, so that there is not one city only of that name, although Apollodorus asserts that there is but one.

There existed between the mouths of the Peneius and the Selleis near Scollis, a Pylus, not the city of Nestor, but another of that name, having nothing in common with that on the Alpheius, nor even with that on the Pamisus, or, if we must so call it, the Amathus. Some writers, through their solicitude for the fame and noble descent of Nestor, give a forced meaning to these words. Since there are three places in Peloponnesus of the name of Pylus, (whence the saying originated, There is a Pylus in front of Pylus, and still there is another Pylus,) namely, this and the Lepreatic Pylus in Triphylia, and a third, the Messeniac near Coryphasium,This is supposed to be the modern Navarino. The Coryphasium is Mount St. Nicholas. G. the advocates for each place endeavour to show that the river in his own country is (Emathois) ήμαθόεις, or sandy, and declare that to be the country of Nestor.

The greater number of other writers, both historians and poets, say, that Nestor was a Messenian, assigning as his birthplace the Pylus, which continued to exist to their times. Those, however, who adhere to Homer and follow his poem as their guide, say, that the Pylus of Nestor is where the territory is traversed by the Alpheius. Now this river passes through the Pisatis and Triphylia. The inhabitants of the Hollow Elis were emulous of the same honour respecting the Pylus in their own country, and point out distinctive marks, as a place called Gerenus, and a river Geron, and another river Geranius, and endeavour to confirm this opinion by pretending that Nestor had the epithet Gerenius from these places.

The Messenians argue in the very same manner, but apparently with more probability on their side. For they say, that in their territory there is a place better known, called Gerena, and once well inhabited.

Such then is the present state of the Hollow Elis.κοίλη?̓́ηλις, or Coele-Elis.

The poet however, after having divided the country into four parts, and mentioned the four chiefs, does not clearly express himself, when he says: those who inhabit Buprasium and the sacred Elis, all whom Hyrminë and Myrsinus, situated at the extremity of the territory and the Olenian rock, and Aleisium contain, these were led by four chiefs; ten swift vessels accompanied each, and multitudes of Epeii were embarked in them.Il. ii. 615. For, by applying the name Epeii to both people, the Buprasians and the Eleii, and by never applying the name Eleii to the Buprasians, he may seem to divide, not Eleia, but the country of the Epeii, into four parts, which he had before divided into two; nor would Buprasium then be a part of Elis, but rather of the country of the Epeii. For that he terms the Buprasians Epeii, is evident from these words: As when the Epeii were burying King Amarynces at Buprasium.Il. xxiii. 630. Again, by enumerating together Buprasium and sacred Elis, and then by making a fourfold division, he seems to arrange these very four divisions in common under both Buprasium and Elis.

Buprasium, it is probable, was a considerable settlement in Eleia, which does not exist at present. But the territory only has this name, which lies on the road to Dyme from Elis the present city. It might be supposed that Buprasium had at that time some superiority over Elis, as the Epeii had over the Eleii, but afterwards they had the name of Eleii instead of Epeii.

Buprasium then was a part of Elis, and they say, that Homer, by a poetical figure, speaks of the whole and of the part together, as in these lines: through Greece and the middle of Argos;Od. i. 344. through Greece and Pthia;Od. ii. 496. the Curetes and the Aetoli were fightingIl. ix. 529. those from Dulichium and the sacred Echinades;Il. ii. 625. for Dulichium is one of the Echinades. Modern writers also use this figure, as Hipponax, they eat the bread of the Cyprians and the wheat of the Amathusii; for the Amathusii are Cyprians: and Alcman; leaving the beloved Cyprus, and Paphos, washed on all sides by the sea: and Aeschylus; possessing as your share by lot the whole of Cyprus and Paphos.

If Homer has not called the Buprasii by the name of Eleii, we shall reply, nor has he mentioned many other places and things which exist. For this is not a proof that they did not exist, but only that he has not mentioned them.

But Hecataeus of Miletus says, that the Epeii are a different people from the Eleii; that the Epeii accompanied Hercules in his expedition against Augeas, and joined him in destroying Elis, and defeating Augeas. He also says, that Dyme was both an Epeian and an Achaean city.

The ancient historians, accustomed from childhood to falsehood through the tales of mythologists, speak of many things that never existed. Hence they do not even agree with one another, in their accounts of the same things. Not that it is improbable that the Epeii, although a different people and at variance with the Eleii, when they had gained the ascendency, united together, forming a common state, and their power extended even as far as Dyme. The poet does not mention Dyme, but it is not improbable that at that time it was subject to the Epeii, and afterwards to the ones, or perhaps not even to this people, but to the Achsaei, who were in possession of the country of the Iones.

Of the four portions, which include Buprasium, Hyrminē and Myrsinus belong to the territory of Eleia. The rest, according to the opinion of some writers, are situated close on the borders of the Pisatis.

Hyrminë was a small town, which exists no longer, but there is a mountainous promontory near Cyllene, called Hormina or Hyrmina.

Myrsinus is the present Myrtuntium, a settlement extending to the sea, and situated on the road from Dyme to Elis, at the distance of 70 stadia from the city of the Eleii.

It is conjectured that the Olenian rock is the present Scollis. For we might mention probable conjectures, since both places and names have undergone changes, and the poet himself does not explain his meaning clearly in many passages. Scollis is a rocky mountain, common to the Dymaei, and Tritaeenses, and Eleii, situated close to Lampeia, another mountain in Arcadia, which is distant from Elis 130 stadia, from Tritaea 100, and an equal number [from Dyme] Achaean cities.

Aleisium is the present Alesiaeum, a place near Amphidolis, where the neighbouring people hold a market every month. It is situated upon the mountain road leading from Elis to Olympia. Formerly, it was a city of the Pisatis, the boundaries of the country being different at different times on account of the change of masters. The poet also calls Aleisium, the hill of Aleisius, when he says, Till we brought our horses to Buprasium rich in grain, and to the Olenian rock, and to the place which is called the hill of Aleisium,Il. ii. 756. for we must understand the words by the figure hyperbaton. Some also point out a river Aleisius.

Since a tribe of Caucones is mentioned in Triphylia near Messenia, and as Dyme is called by some writers Cauconis, and since between Dyme and Tritaea in the Dymaean district there is also a river called Caucon, a question arises respecting the Caucones, whether there are two nations of this name, one situate about Triphylia, and another about Dyme, Elis, and Caucon. This river empties itself into another which is called Teutheas, in the masculine gender, and is the name of a small town that was one of those that composed Dyme; except that the town is of the feminine gender, and is pronounced Teuthea, without the s, and the last syllable is long.

There is a temple of Diana Nemydia (Nemeaema?). The Teutheas discharges itself into the Achelous, which runs by Dyme, and has the same name as that in Acarnania, and the name also of Peirus. In the lines of Hesiod, he lived near the Olenian rock on the banks of the broad Peirus, some change the last word πείοͅοιο to πώοͅοιο but improperly.

—2 This passage in brackets is an interpolation to explain the subsequent inquiry who the Caucones were. Kramer.[But it is the opinion of some writers, who make the Caucones a subject of inquiry, that when Minerva in the Odyssey, who has assumed the form of Mentor, says to Nestor; At sun-rise I go to the magnanimous Caucones, where a debt neither of a late date nor of small amount is owing to me.Il. iii. 636. When Telemachus comes to thy house send him with thy son, thy chariot, and thy horses; a certain district in the territory of the Epeii appears to be designated, which the Caucones, a different nation from that in Triphylia, possessed, and who perhaps extended even as far as the Dymean territory.] But it was not proper to omit, whence Dyme had the name Cauconitis, nor why the river was called Caucon, because the question is, who the CauconesBook vii. ch. vii. 2. were, to whom Minerva says, she is going to recover a debt. For if we understand the poet to mean those in Triphylia about Lepreum, I know not how this is probable; whence some persons even write the passage, where a large debt is owing to me in the sacred Elis. This will appear more clearly, when we describe the Pisatis, and after it Triphylia as far as the confines of Messenia.

Next to the Chelonatas is the long tract of coast of the Pisatae; then follows a promontory, Pheia; there was also a small town of this name; by the walls of Pheia about the stream of the Jardanes,I. vii. 135. for there is a small river near it.

Some writers say, that Pheia is the commencement of the Pisatis. In front of Pheia is a small island and a harbour; thence to Olympia by sea, which is the shortest way, is 120 stadia. Then immediately follows another promontory, [Icthys,] projecting very far towards the west, like the Chelonatas; from this promontory to Cephallenia are 120 stadia. Next the Alpheius discharges itself, at the distance from the Chelonatas of 280, and from the Araxus of 545, stadia. It flows from the same places as the Eurotas. There is a village of the name of Asea in the Megalopolitis, where the two sources, whence the above-mentioned rivers issue, are near to one another. After running under the earth the distance of many stadia, they then rise to the surface, when one takes its course to Laconia, the other to the Pisatis. The Eurotas reappears at the commencement of the district Bleminates, flowing close beside Sparta, and passing through a long valley near Helos, which the poet mentions, empties itself between Gythium, the naval arsenal of Sparta, and Acraea. But the Alpheius, after receiving the Celadon, (Ladon?) and Erymanthus, and other obscure streams, pursues its course through Phrixa, and the Pisatis, and Triphylia, close to Olympia, and discharges itself into the Sicilian Sea between Pheia and Epitalium. At its mouth, and at the distance of 80 stadia from Olympia, is situated the grove of Artemis Alpheionia, or Alpheiusa, for both words are in use. At Olympia an annual festival, to which multitudes resort, is celebrated in honour of this goddess, as well as of Diana Elaplia and Diana Daphnia. The whole country is full of temples dedicated to Diana, and Aphrodite, and the Nymphs, which are situated amidst flowery groves, and generally where there is abundance of water. Hermeia, or images of Mercury, are frequently met with on the road, and on the sea-shore, temples dedicated to Neptune. In the temple of Diana Alpheionia are pictures by Cleanthes and Aregon, Corinthian painters; the former has depicted the taking of Troy, and the birth of Minerva; the latter, Diana borne upon a griffin; which are highly esteemed.

Next is the mountain, which separates Macistia in Triphylia from the Pisatis; then follows another river Chalcis, and a spring called Cruni, and Chalcis a village, and next to these the Samicum, where is the temple of the Samian Neptune, which is held in the highest honour. There is also a grove full of wild olive trees. It was intrusted to the care of the Macistii, whose business it was to announce the Samian truce as it is called. All the Triphylii contribute to the temple.

[The temple of the Scilluntian Minerva at Scillus in the neighbourhood of Olympia, opposite the Phellon, is among the celebrated temples.]This passage is transposed from the following section, as proposed by Groskurd.

Near these temples, at the distance of 30 stadia, or a little more, above the sea-coast, is situated the Triphyliac, or Lepreatic, Pylus, which the poet calls Emathoeis, or Sandy, and transmits to us as the native country of Nestor, as may be collected from his poetry. It had the epithet Emathoeis either from the river, which flows by the city towards the north, and was formerly called Amathus, but now Mamaus, or Arcadicus; or because this river was called Pamisus, the same name as that of two rivers in Messenia, while with respect to the city, the epithet Emathoeis, or sandy, is of uncertain origin, since it is not the fact, it is said, that either the river or the country abounds with sand. Towards the east is a mountain near Pylus, named after Minthe, who, according to the fable, was the mistress of Hades, and being deluded by Proserpine, was transformed into the garden mint, which some call hedyosmus, or the sweet-smelling mint. There is also near the mountain an enclosure, sacred to Hades, held in great veneration by the Macistii; and a grove dedicated to Ceres, situated above the Pyliac plain. This plain is fertile, and situated close to the sea-coast; it extends along the interval between the Samicum and the river Neda. The sea-shore is sandy and narrow, so that no one could be censured for asserting that Pylus was called sandy from this tract.