CHAPTER I.

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| Transcriber's note: |

| |

| In this book many city names are spelled in different ways. |

| When the correct spelling is obvious these have been corrected |

| for the sake of consistency. See the list of modern spellings |

| at the end of volume III. |

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THE

GEOGRAPHY

OF

STRABO.

LITERALLY TRANSLATED, WITH NOTES.

THE FIRST SIX BOOKS

BY H. C. HAMILTON, ESQ.

THE REMAINDER

BY W. FALCONER, M.A.,

LATE FELLOW OF EXETER COLLEGE, OXFORD.

IN THREE VOLUMES.

VOL. II.

LONDON:

HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.

MDCCCLVI.

JOHN CHILDS AND SON, BUNGAY.

STRABO’S GEOGRAPHY.

BOOK VIII.

EUROPE CONTINUED.--GREECE.

SUMMARY.

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.

CHAPTER I.

1. 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 Don[1] and a small

part of Greece, [namely, Macedonia,][2] 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,”[3] 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 [CAS. 333] 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 Epirotæ and Illyrii follow the Acarnanes,[4] the Ætoli, the

Locri-Ozolæ, then the Phocæenses and Bœoti, Grecian nations. Opposite to

these on the other side of the strait is Peloponnesus, which comprises

the Gulf of Corinth,[5] interposed between, and determining the figure

of the latter, from which it also receives its own. Next to Macedonia[6]

are the Thessalians,[7] extending as far as the Malienses,[8] and the

other nations, situated on both sides of the isthmus.

2. 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,[9] and use the dialect now called Ionic;) the Doric was

the same as the Æolic 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 Æolians; 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 Æolians], 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

Æolian nation was powerful, but those on this side also were formerly

Æolians. They were afterwards intermixed first with Ionians who came

from Attica, and got possession of Ægialus,[10] and secondly with

Dorians, who under the conduct of the Heracleidæ founded Megara and many

of the cities in the Peloponnesus. The Iones were soon expelled by the

Achæi, an Æolian tribe; and there remained in Peloponnesus the two

nations, the Æolic and the Doric. Those nations then that had little

intercourse with the Dorians used the Æolian 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 Æolian descent, and had admitted into their country the army of

Oxylus, about the time of the return of the Heracleidæ.[11]) The rest

used a kind of dialect composed of both, some of them having more,

others less, of the Æolic 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.

3. 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

[CAS. 334] 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 mainland 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 isthmus 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 Pagæ in Megaris to Nisæa, 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 Crissæan Gulf to Thermopylæ. The line

supposed to be drawn between these is about 508 stadia in length,

including within it the whole of Bœotia, and cutting Phocis and the

country of the Epicnemidii obliquely. The fourth peninsula has the

isthmus extending from the Ambracian Gulf through Mount Œta and

Traclinia to the Maliac Gulf and Thermopylæ, 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 Thermæan 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.[12]

CHAPTER II.

1. The Peloponnesus resembles in figure the leaf of a plane tree.[13]

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 Maliæ through Arcadia to

Ægium.

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.

2. 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,[14] opposite to

which across the strait is Acarnania; the islands Zacynthus,[15]

Cephallenia,[16] Ithaca,[17] 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

Tænarum.[18]

Next to Elis, is the nation of the Achæi looking towards the north, and

stretching along the Corinthian Gulf they terminate at Sicyonia. Then

follow Sicyon[19] and Corinth, extending as far as the isthmus. Next

after Messenia are [CAS. 335] Laconia and Argeia, which latter country

also reaches as far as the isthmus.

The bays of the Peloponnesus are the Messeniac,[20] the Laconian,[21] a

third the Argolic,[22] and a fourth the Hermionic,[23] or the

Saronic,[24] 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.

3. The Corinthian Gulf begins from the mouths of the Evenus,[25] (some

say from the mouths of the Achelous,[26] which is the boundary between

the Acarnanes and Ætoli,) 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 Rhium[27] and Antirrhium,[28] 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 Patræ[29] and Ægium,[30] on it there is a temple of Neptune.

Antirrhium is situated on the confines of Ætolia 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 Crissæan Gulf,

terminates there, being shut in by the western boundaries of Bœotia 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 Ætoli, reaching to the Cape Antirrhium. The remainder of

the country, as far as the isthmus, is occupied by Phocis, Bœotia, and

by Megaris, it extends 1118 stadia.

The sea from Cape Antirrhium as far as the isthmus is [the Crissæan

Gulf, but from the city Creusa it is called the Sea of] Alcyonis, and is

a portion of the Crissæan Gulf.[31]

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.

CHAPTER III.

1. At present the whole sea-coast lying between the Achæi 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.”[32]

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.”[33]

The poet was also acquainted with a city Pylus;

“They arrived at Pylus, the well-built city of Neleus.”[34]

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.

2. 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 Cœle [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 [CAS. 337] 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; Heræa from as

many during the reign of Cleombrotus, or Cleonymus; Ægium out of seven,

or eight; Patræ 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 Peneius[35] 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.

3. 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 Minyæ, who afterwards settled there; and last of all

of the Eleii, who made themselves masters of the country. Instead of the

Minyæ 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 Cœle 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.

4. The Araxus is a promontory of Eleia situated on the north, 60 stadia

from Dyme, an Achæan city. This promontory we consider the commencement

of the coast of Eleia. Proceeding thence towards the west is

Cyllene,[36] 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 Æsculapius of Colotes, a statue of

ivory, of admirable workmanship.

Next to Cyllene is the promontory Chelonatas,[37] 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 Pisatæ.

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.

5. Between the Chelonatas and Cyllene the river Peneius empties itself,

and that also called by the poet Selleïs, 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 sea-coast,

and which may be either the same place as Bœonoa, (for it is the custom

to call Œnoe 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 Selleis;”[38]

(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;”[39]

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.”[40]

And the suitors say of Telemachus;

“Or he will go to the rich country of Ephyra to bring back poison

destructive of our lives.”[41]

[CAS. 338] 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,[42] 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 Agræa in

Ætolia, the people of which are called Ephyri. There are also other

Ephyri among the Perrhæbi near Macedonia, who are Crannonians,[43] and

the Thesprotic Ephyri of Cichyrus, which was formerly called Ephyra.

6. 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

Bœotian Orchomenus, as “Minyeïus;” by applying to Samos the term

Thracian, and adds,

“Between Samos and Imbros,”[44]

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 Œchalia requires examination, where he asserts

that the city of Eurytus of Œchalia 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 Œchalia, the city of Eurytus,

the Œchalian.”[45]

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 Œchalia, from the dwelling of Eurytus,

the Œchalian.”[46]

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 Œchalia 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.

7. 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,[47] the advocates for each place endeavour

to show that the river in his own country is (Emathois) ἠμαθόεις,

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 birth-place 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 [CAS. 340] 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.[48]

8. 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

Hyrminē 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.”[49]

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.”[50]

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;”[51] “through Greece

and Phthia;”[52] “the Curetes and the Ætoli were fighting;”[53]

“those from Dulichium and the sacred Echinades;”[54]

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 Æschylus;

“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.

9. But Hecatæus 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 Achæan 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 Iones, or perhaps not even to this people, but to the

Achæi, 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.

10. Hyrminē 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 [CAS. 341] is a rocky mountain, common to the Dymæi, and

Tritæenses, and Eleii, situated close to Lampeia, another mountain in

Arcadia, which is distant from Elis 130 stadia, from Tritæa 100, and an

equal number [from Dyme] Achæan cities.

Aleisium is the present Alesiæum, 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,”[55]

for we must understand the words by the figure hyperbaton. Some also

point out a river Aleisius.

11. 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 Tritæa in the Dymæan 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 (Nemeæa?). 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 Πείροιο to Πώροιο, but improperly.[56] [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 sunrise I go to the magnanimous Caucones, where a debt

neither of a late date nor of small amount is owing to me.[57]

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 Caucones[58] 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.

12. Next to the Chelonatas is the long tract of coast of the Pisatæ;

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,”[59]

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 Acræa. 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, [CAS. 343]

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 Elaphia 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.

13. 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.][60]

14. 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.

15. Towards the north there were two small Triphyliac towns, Hypana and

Typaneæ, bordering upon Pylus; the former of which was incorporated with

Elis, the other remained separate. Two rivers flow near, the Dalion and

the Acheron, and empty themselves into the Alpheius. The Acheron has its

name from its relation to Hades. For at that place were held in

extraordinary reverence the temples of Ceres, Proserpine, and Hades,

perhaps on account of the contrariety of the properties of the country,

which Demetrius of Scepsis mentions. For Triphylia is fertile, but the

soil is subject to mildew, and produces rushes,[61] whence in these

places, instead of the product being large, there is frequently no crop

whatever.

16. Towards the south of Pylus is Lepreum. This also was a city,

situated 40 stadia above the sea-coast. Between the Lepreum and the

Annius (Anigrus? Alphæus?) is the temple of the Samian Neptune. These

places are distant 100 stadia from each other. This is the temple in

which the poet says that the Pylii were found by Telemachus engaged in

offering sacrifice:

“They came to Pylus, the well-built city of Neleus; the people

were sacrificing on the sea-shore bulls, entirely black, to

Neptune, the god of the dark locks, who shakes the earth.”[62]

For the poet was at liberty to feign things which did not exist, but

when it is possible to adapt poetry to reality, and [CAS. 345] preserve

the narrative ... it is better to abstain from fiction.

The Lepreatæ possessed a fertile country, on the confines of which were

situated the Cyparissenses. But Caucones were masters of both these

tracts, and even of the Macistus, which some call Platanistus. The town

has the same name as the territory. It is said, that in the Lepreatis

there is even a monument of a Caucon, who had the name of the nation,

either because he was a chief, or for some other reason.

17. There are many accounts respecting the Caucones. They are said to be

an Arcadian tribe, like the Pelasgi, and also, like them, a wandering

people. Thus the poet relates, that they came as auxiliaries to the

Trojans, but from what country he does not mention, but it is supposed

from Paphlagonia. For in that country there is a tribe of the name of

Cauconiatæ, that border upon the Mariandyni, who are themselves

Paphlagonians. We shall say more of them when we describe that

country.[63]

At present I must add some remarks concerning the Caucones in Triphylia.

For some writers say, that the whole of the present Elis, from Messenia

to Dyme, was called Cauconia. Antimachus calls them all Epeii and

Caucones. But some writers say that they did not possess the whole

country, but inhabited it when they were divided into two bodies, one of

which settled in Triphylia towards Messenia, the other in the Buprasian

district towards Dyme, and in the Hollow Elis. And there, and not in any

other place, Aristotle considered them to be situated. The last opinion

agrees better with the language of Homer, and the preceding question is

resolved. For Nestor is supposed to have lived at the Triphyliac Pylus,

the parts of which towards the south and the east (and these coincide

towards Messenia and Laconia) was the country subject to Nestor, but the

Caucones now occupy it, so that those who are going from Pylus to

Lacedæmon must necessarily take the road through the Caucones. The

temple of the Samian Neptune, and the naval station near it, where

Telemachus landed, incline to the west and to the north. If then the

Caucones lived there only, the account of the poet must be erroneous.

[For, according to Sotades, Minerva enjoins Nestor to send his son with

Telemachus in a chariot to Lacedæmon towards the east, while she herself

returns back to the west, to pass the night in the vessel;

“but at sunrise she sets out to the magnanimous Caucones,”

to obtain payment of the debt, in a forward direction. How then are we

to reconcile these opinions? for Nestor might say, “The Caucones are my

subjects, and lie directly in the road of persons who are going to

Lacedæmon; why then do you not accompany Telemachus and his friends on

his journey, but take a road in an opposite direction?” Besides, it was

natural for one, who was going to recover payment of a debt, and that a

considerable sum, as she says, from a people under the command of

Nestor, to request some assistance from him in case they should be so

unjust, as usually happens, as to refuse to discharge it. But she did

not do this.

If therefore the Caucones are to be found in one situation only, these

absurdities would follow. But if one division of this tribe occupied the

places in Elis near Dymē, Minerva might be said to direct her journey

thither, and even the return to the ship would not be absurd, nor the

separation from the company of Telemachus, when her road was in an

opposite direction.

The question respecting Pylus may perhaps be resolved in a similar

manner, when we come, as we proceed, to the description of the Messenian

Pylus.[64]]

18. There is also, it is said, a nation, the Paroreatæ, who occupy, in

the hilly district of Triphylia, the mountains, which extend from about

Lepreum and Macistum to the sea near the Samian grove sacred to Neptune.

19. Below these people on the coast are two caves; one, of the nymphs

Anigriades; the other, the scene of the adventures of the

Atlantides,[65] and of the birth of Dardanus. There also are the groves,

both the Ionæum and Eurycydeium.

Samicum is a fortress. Formerly there was a city of the name of Samos,

which perhaps had its designation from its [CAS. 336] height, since

they called heights Sami; perhaps also this was the acropolis of Arēnē,

which the poet mentions in the Catalogue of the Ships;

“who inhabited Pylus, and the pleasant Arene;”[66]

for as the position of Arēnē has not been clearly discovered anywhere,

it is conjectured, that it was most probably situated where the

adjoining river Anigrus, formerly called Minyeius, empties itself. As no

inconsiderable proof of this, Homer says,

“There is a river Minyeius, which empties itself into the sea, near

Arene.”[67]

Now near the cave of the nymphs Anigriades is a fountain, by which the

subjacent country is rendered marshy, and filled with pools of water.

The Anigrus however receives the greater part of the water, being deep,

but with so little current that it stagnates. The place is full of mud,

emits an offensive smell perceptible at a distance of 26 stadia, and

renders the fish unfit for food. Some writers give this fabulous account

of these waters, and attribute the latter effect to the venom of the

Hydra, which some of the Centaurs[68] washed from their wounds; others

say, that Melampus used these cleansing waters for the purification of

the Prœtades.[69] They are a cure for alphi, or leprous eruptions, and

the white tetter, and the leichen. They say also that the Alpheus had

its name from its property of curing the disease alphi.[70]

Since then the sluggishness of the Anigrus, and the recoil of the waters

of the sea, produce a state of rest rather than a current, they say,

that its former name was Minyeïus, but that some persons perverted the

name and altered it to Minteïus. The etymology of the name may be

derived from other sources; either from those who accompanied Chloris,

the mother of Nestor, from the Minyeian Orchomenus; or, from the Minyæ

descendants of the Argonauts, who were banished from Lemnos, and went to

Lacedæmon, and thence to Triphylia, and settled about Arēnē, in the

country now called Hypæsia, which however no longer contains places

built by the Minyæ.

Some of these people, with Theras the son of Autesion, who was a

descendant of Polynices, having set sail to the country between Cyrenæa

and the island of Crete, “formerly Calliste, but afterwards called

Thera,” according to Callimachus, founded Thera, the capital of Cyrene,

and gave the same name to the city, and to the island.

20. Between the Anigrus and the mountain from which the Jardanes rises,

a meadow and a sepulchre are shown, and the Achææ, which are rocks

broken off from the same mountain, above which was situated, as I have

said, the city Samos. Samos is not mentioned by any of the authors of

Peripli, or Circumnavigations; because perhaps it had been long since

destroyed, and perhaps also on account of its position. For the

Poseidium is a grove, as I have said, near the sea, a lofty eminence

rises above it, situated in front of the present Samicum, where Samos

once stood, so that it cannot be seen from the sea.

Here also is the plain called Samicus, from which we may further

conjecture that there was once a city Samos.

According to the poem Rhadinē, of which Stesichorus seems to have been

the author, and which begins in this manner,

“Come, tuneful Muse, Erato, begin the melodious song, in

praise of the lovely Samian youths, sounding the strings of

the delightful lyre:”

these youths were natives of this Samos. For he says that Rhadinē being

given in marriage to the tyrant, set sail from Samos to Corinth with a

westerly wind, and therefore certainly not from the Ionian Samos. By the

same wind her brother, who was archi-theorus, arrived at Delphi. Her

cousin, who was in love with her, set out after her in a chariot to

Corinth. The tyrant put both of them to death, and sent away the bodies

in a chariot, but changing his mind, he recalled the chariot, and buried

them.

21. From this Pylus and the Lepreum to the Messenian Pylus[71] and the

Coryphasium, fortresses situated upon the sea, [CAS. 348] and to the

adjoining island Sphagia, is a distance of about 400 stadia, and from

the Alpheius a distance of 750, and from the promontory Chelonatas 1030

stadia. In the intervening distance are the temple of the Macistian

Hercules, and the river Acidon, which flows beside the tomb of Jardanus,

and Chaa, a city which was once near Lepreum, where also is the Æpasian

plain. It was for this Chaa, it is said, that the Arcadians and Pylians

went to war with each other, which war Homer has mentioned, and it is

thought that the verse ought to be written,

“Oh that I were young as when multitudes of Pylii, and of

Arcades, handling the spear, fought together at the

swift-flowing Acidon near the walls of Chaa,”[72]

not Celadon, nor Pheia, for this place is nearer the tomb of Jardanus

and the Arcades than the other.

22. On the Triphylian Sea are situated Cyparissia, and Pyrgi, and the

rivers Acidon and Neda. At present the boundary of Triphylia towards

Messenia is the impetuous stream of the Neda descending from the Lycæus,

a mountain of Arcadia, and rising from a source which, according to the

fable, burst forth to furnish water in which Rhea was to wash herself

after the birth of Jupiter. It flows near Phigalia, and empties itself

into the sea where the Pyrgitæ, the extreme tribe of the Triphylii,

approach the Cyparissenses, the first of the Messenian nation. But,

anciently, the country had other boundaries, so that the dominions of

Nestor included some places on the other side of the Neda, as the

Cyparisseïs, and some others beyond that tract, in the same manner as

the poet extends the Pylian sea as far as the seven cities, which

Agamemnon promised to Achilles,

“All near the sea bordering upon the sandy Pylus,”[73]

which is equivalent to, near the Pylian sea.

23. Next in order to the Cyparisseïs in traversing the coast towards the

Messenian Pylus and the Coryphasium, we meet with Erana, (Eranna,) which

some writers incorrectly suppose was formerly called Arene, by the same

name as the Pylian city, and the promontory Platamodes, from which to

the Coryphasium, and to the place at present called Pylus, are 100

stadia.[74] There is also a cenotaph and a small town in it both of the

same name--Protē.

We ought not perhaps to carry our inquiries so far into antiquity, and

it might be sufficient to describe the present state of each place, if

certain reports about them had not been delivered down to us in

childhood; but as different writers give different accounts, it is

necessary to examine them. The most famous and the most ancient writers

being the first in point of personal knowledge of the places, are, in

general, persons of the most credit. Now as Homer surpasses all others

in these respects, we must examine what he says, and compare his

descriptions with the present state of places, as we have just said. We

have already considered his description of the Hollow Elis and of

Buprasium.

24. He describes the dominions of Nestor in these words:

“And they who inhabited Pylus, and the beautiful Arene, and

Thryum, a passage across the Alpheius, and the well-built Æpy,

and Cyparisseis, and Amphigeneia, and Pteleum, and Helos, and

Dorium, where the Muses having met with Thamyris the Thracian,

deprived him of the power of song, as he was coming from

Œchalia, from the house of Eurytus the Œchalian.”[75]

It is Pylus, therefore, to which the question relates, and we shall soon

treat of it. We have already spoken of Arene. The places, which he here

calls Thryum, in another passage he calls Thryoessa,

“There is a city Thryoessa, lofty, situated on a hill,

Far off, on the banks of the Alpheius.”[76]

He calls it the ford or passage of the Alpheius, because, according to

these verses, it seems as if it could be crossed at this place on foot.

Thryum is at present called Epitalium, a village of Macistia.

With respect to εὔκτιτον Αἶπυ, “Æpy the

well-built,” some writers ask which of these words is the epithet of the

other, and what is the city, and whether it is the present Margalæ of

Amphidolia, but this Margalæ is not a natural fortress, but another is

meant, a natural stronghold in Macistia. Writers who suppose this place

to be meant, say, that Æpy is the name of the city, and infer it from

its natural properties, as in the example of Helos,[77] Ægialos,[78] and

many others: [CAS. 349] those who suppose Margalæ to be meant here,

will assert the contrary.

Thryum, or Thryoessa, they say, is Epitalium, because all the country

is θρυώδης, or sedgy, and particularly the banks of the rivers, but

this appears more clearly at the fordable places of the stream. Perhaps

Thryum is meant by the ford, and by “the well-built Æpy,” Epitalium,

which is naturally strong, and in the other part of the passage he

mentions a lofty hill;

“The city Thryoessa, a lofty hill,

Far away by the Alpheus.”[79]

25. Cyparisseïs is near the old Macistia, which then extended even to

the other side of the Neda, but it is not inhabited, as neither is

Macistum. There is also another, the Messenian Cyparissia, not having

quite the same name, but one like it. The city of Macistia is at present

called Cyparissia, in the singular number, and feminine gender, but the

name of the river is Cyparisseis.

Amphigeneia, also belonging to Macistia, is near Hypsoeis, where is the

temple of Latona.

Pteleum was founded by the colony that came from Pteleum in Thessaly,

for it is mentioned in this line,

“Antron on the sea-coast, and the grassy Pteleum.”[80]

It is a woody place, uninhabited, called Pteleasimum.

Some writers say, that Helos was some spot near the Alpheius; others,

that it was a city like that in Laconia,

“and Helos, a small city on the sea;”[81]

others say that it is the marsh near Alorium, where is a temple of the

Eleian Artemis, (Diana of the Marsh,) belonging to the Arcadians, for

this people had the priesthood.

Dorium is said by some authors to be a mountain, by others a plain, but

nothing is now to be seen; yet it is alleged, that the present Oluris,

or Olura, situated in the Aulon, as it is called, of Messenia, is

Dorium. Somewhere there also is Œchalia of Eurytus, the present Andania,

a small Arcadian town of the same name as those in Thessaly and Eubœa,

whence the poet says, Thamyris, the Thracian, came to Dorium, and was

deprived by the Muses of the power of song.

26. Hence it is evident that the country under the command of Nestor is

on each side of the Alpheius, all of which tract he calls the country

of the Pylians, but nowhere does the Alpheius touch Messenia, nor the

Hollow Elis.[82]

It is in this district that we have the native country of Nestor, which

we call the Triphylian, the Arcadian, and the Lepreatic Pylus. For we

know that other places of the name of Pylus are pointed out, situated

upon the sea, but this is distant more than 30 stadia from it, as

appears from the poem. A messenger is sent to the vessel, to the

companions of Telemachus,--to invite them to a hospitable entertainment.

Telemachus, upon his return from Sparta, does not permit Peisistratus to

go to the city, but diverts him from it, and prevails upon him to hasten

to the ship, whence it appears that the same road did not lead both to

the city and to the haven. The departure of Telemachus may in this

manner be aptly understood:

“they went past Cruni, and the beautiful streams of Chalcis;

the sun set, and all the villages were in shade and darkness;

but the ship, exulting in the gales of Jove, arrived at Pheæ.

She passed also the divine Elis, where the Epeii rule;”[83]

for to this place the direction of the vessel was towards the north, and

thence it turns to the east. The vessel leaves its first and straight

course in the direction of Ithaca, because the suitors had placed an

ambush there,

“In the strait between Ithaca and Samos,

And from thence he directed the vessel to the sharp-pointed islands,

νήσοισι θοῇσι;”[84]

the sharp-pointed (ὀξείαι) he calls θοαὶ.

They belong to the Echinades, and are near the commencement of the

Corinthian Gulf and the mouths of the Achelous. After having sailed past

Ithaca so as to leave the island behind him, he turns to the proper

course between Acarnania and Ithaca, and disembarks on the other side of

the island, not at the strait of Cephallenia, where the suitors were on

the watch.

27. If any one therefore should suppose that the Eleian Pylus is the

Pylus of Nestor, the ship would not properly be said, after setting off

thence, to take its course along Cruni and Chalcis, as far as the west,

then to arrive by night at Pheæ, and afterwards to sail along the

territory of Eleia, for [CAS. 351] these places are to the south of

Eleia, first Pheæ, then Chalcis, then Cruni, then the Triphylian Pylus,

and the Samicum. In sailing then to the south from the Eleian Pylus this

would be the course. In sailing to the north, where Ithaca lies, all

these places are left behind, but they must sail along Eleia itself, and

before, although he says after, sunset. Again, on the other side, if

any one should suppose the Messenian Pylus and the Coryphasium to be the

commencement of the voyage after leaving the country of Nestor, the

distance would be great, and would occupy more time. For the distance

only to the Triphylian Pylus and the Samian Poseidium is 400 stadia, and

the voyage would not be along Cruni, and Chalcis, and Pheæ, the names of

obscure places and rivers, or rather of streams, but first along the

Neda, then Acidon, next Alpheius, and the places and countries lying

between these rivers, and lastly, if we must mention them, along the

former, because the voyage was along the former places and rivers also.

28. Besides, Nestor’s account of the war between the Pylians and

Eleians, which he relates to Patroclus, agrees with our arguments, if

any one examines the lines. For he says there, that Hercules laid waste

Pylus, and that all the youth were exterminated; that out of twelve sons

of Neleus, he himself alone survived, and was a very young man, and that

the Epeii, despising Neleus on account of his old age and destitute

state, treated the Pylians with haughtiness and insult. Nestor

therefore, in order to avenge this wrong, collected as large a body of

his people as he was able, made an inroad into Eleia, and carried away a

large quantity of booty;

“Fifty herds of oxen, as many flocks of sheep,

As many herds of swine,”[85]

and as many flocks of goats, an hundred and fifty brood mares,

bay-coloured, most of which had foals, and “these,” he says,

“We drove away to Pylus, belonging to Neleus,

By night towards the city;”[86]

so that the capture of the booty, and the flight of those who came to

the assistance of people who were robbed, happened in the day-time,

when, he says, he slew Itamon; and they returned by night, so that they

arrived by night at the city. When they were engaged in dividing the

booty, and in sacrificing, the Epeii, having assembled in multitudes, on

the third day marched against them with an army of horse and foot, and

encamped about Thryum, which is situated on the Alpheius. The Pylians

were no sooner informed of this than they immediately set out to the

relief of this place, and having passed the night on the river Minyeius

near Arene, thence arrive at the Alpheius at noon. After sacrificing to

the gods, and passing the night on the banks of the river, they

immediately, in the morning, engaged in battle. The rout of the enemy

was complete, and they did not desist from the pursuit and slaughter,

till they came to Buprasium,

“and the Olenian rock, where is a tumulus of Alesius, whence

again Minerva repulsed the multitudes;”[87]

and adds below,

“but the Achæi

Turned back their swift horses from Buprasium to Pylus.”

29. From these verses how can it be supposed that Eleian or Messenian

Pylus is meant. I say the Eleian, because when this was destroyed by

Hercules, the country of the Epeii also was ravaged at the same time,

that is, Eleia. How then could those, who were of the same tribe, and

who had been plundered at that time, show such pride and insult to

persons, who were suffering under the same injuries? How could they

overrun and ravage their own country? How could Augeas and Neleus be

kings of the same people, and yet be mutual enemies; for to Neleus

“a great debt was owing at the divine Elis; four horses, which

had won the prize; they came with their chariots to contend

for prizes; they were about to run in the race for a tripod;

and Augeas, king of men, detained them there, but dismissed

the charioteer.”[88]

If Neleus lived there, there Nestor also lived. How then were there

“four chiefs of Eleians and Buprasians, with ten swift ships

accompanying each, and with many Epeii embarked in them?”

The country also was divided into four parts, none of which was subject

to Nestor, but those tribes were under his command,

“who lived at Pylus, and the pleasant Arēnē,”

and at the places that follow next as far as Messene. [CAS. 352] How

came the Epeii, when marching against the Pylians, to set out towards

the Alpheius and Thryum, and after being defeated there in battle, to

fly to Buprasium? But on the other side, if Hercules laid waste the

Messenian Pylus, how could they, who were at such a distance, treat the

Pylians with insult, or have so much intercourse and traffic with them,

and defraud them by refusing to discharge a debt, so that war should

ensue on that account? How too could Nestor, after having got, in his

marauding adventure, so large a quantity of booty, a prey of swine and

sheep, none of which are swift-footed, nor able to go a long journey,

accomplish a march of more than 1000 stadia to Pylus near Coryphasium?

Yet all the Epeii arrive at Thryoessa and the river Alpheius on the

third day, ready to lay siege to the stronghold. How also did these

districts belong to the chiefs of Messenia, when the Caucones, and

Triphylii, and Pisatæ occupied them? But the territory Gerena, or

Gerenia, for it is written both ways, might have a name which some

persons applied designedly, or which might have originated even in

accident.

Since, however, Messenia was entirely under the dominion of Menelaus, to

whom Laconia also was subject, as will be evident from what will be said

hereafter, and since the rivers, the Pamisus and the Nedon, flow through

this country, and not the Alpheius at all, which runs in a straight line

through the country of the Pylians, of which Nestor was ruler, can that

account be credible, by which it appears that one man takes possession

by force of the dominion of another, and deprives him of the cities,

which are said to be his property in the Catalogue of the Ships, and

makes others subject to the usurper.

30. It remains that we speak of Olympia, and of the manner in which

everything fell into the power of the Eleii.

The temple is in the district Pisatis, at the distance of less than 300

stadia from Elis. In front of it is a grove of wild olive trees, where

is the stadium. The Alpheius flows beside it, taking its course out of

Arcadia to the Triphylian Sea between the west and the south. The fame

of the temple was originally owing to the oracle of the Olympian Jove;

yet after that had ceased, the renown of the temple continued, and

increased, as we know, to a high degree of celebrity, both on account of

the assembly of the people of Greece, which was held there, and of the

Olympic games, in which the victor was crowned. These games were

esteemed sacred, and ranked above all others. The temple was decorated

with abundance of offerings, the contributions of all Greece. Among

these offerings was a Jupiter of beaten gold, presented by Cypselus, the

tyrant of Corinth. The largest was a statue of Jupiter in ivory, the

workmanship of Phidias of Athens, the son of Charmides. Its height was

so great, that although the temple is very large, the artist seems to

have mistaken its proportions, and although he made the figure sitting,

yet the head nearly touches the roof, and presents the appearance that,

if it should rise, and stand upright, it would unroof the temple. Some

writers have given the measurement of the statue, and Callimachus has

expressed it in some iambic verses. Panænus, the painter, his nephew,

and joint labourer, afforded great assistance in the completion of the

statue with respect to the colours with which it was ornamented, and

particularly the drapery.

There are exhibited also many and admirable pictures around the temple,

the work of this painter. It is recorded of Phidias, that to Panænus,

who was inquiring after what model he intended to form the figure of

Jupiter, he replied, that it would be from that of Homer delineated in

these words;

“He spoke, and gave the nod with his sable brows, the

ambrosial hair shook on the immortal head of the king of gods,

and vast Olympus trembled.”[89]

[This is well expressed, and the poet, as from other circumstances, so

particularly from the brows, suggests the thought that he is depicting

some grand conception, and great power worthy of Jupiter. So also in his

description of Juno, in both he preserves the peculiar decorum of each

character, for he says,

“she moved herself upon the throne, and shook vast Olympus:”[90]

this was effected by the motion of her whole body, but Olympus shakes

when Jupiter only nods with his brows, the hair of his head partaking of

the motion. It was elegantly said [of Homer] that he was the only person

who had seen and had made visible the figures of the gods.][91]

To [CAS. 354] the Eleii above all other people is to be ascribed the

magnificence of the temple at Olympia, and the reverence in which it was

held. For about the Trojan times, and even before that period, they were

not in a flourishing state, having been reduced to a low condition by

war with the Pylii, and afterwards by Hercules, when Augeas their king

was overthrown. The proof is this. The Eleii sent forty ships to Troy,

but the Pylians and Nestor ninety; then after the return of the

Heracleidæ the contrary happened. For the Ætoli returning with the

Heracleidæ under the command of Oxylus, became joint settlers with the

Epeii, on the ground of ancient affinity. They extended the bounds of

Hollow Elis, got possession of a large portion of the Pisatis, and

subjected Olympia to their power. It was these people who invented the

Olympic games,[92] and instituted the first Olympiad. For we must reject

the ancient stories both respecting the foundation of the temple, and

the establishment of the games, some alleging that Hercules, one of the

Idæan Dactyli, was the founder; others, that the son of Alcmene and

Jupiter founded them, who also was the first combatant and victor. For

such things are variously reported, and not entitled to much credit. It

is more probable, that from the first Olympiad,[93] when Corœbus the

Eleian was the victor in the race in the stadium, to the twenty-sixth,

the Eleians presided over the temple, and at the games. But in the

Trojan times, either there were no games where a crown was awarded, or

they had not yet acquired any fame, neither these nor any of the games

which are now so renowned. Homer does not speak of these games, but of

others of a different kind, which were celebrated at funerals. Some

persons however are of opinion that he does mention the Olympic games,

when he says, that Augeas detained four victorious horses, which had

been sent to contend for the prize. It is also said that the Pisatæ did

not take any part in the Trojan war, being considered as consecrated to

the service of Jupiter. But neither was the Pisatis, the tract of

country in which Olympia is situated, subject at that time to Augeas,

but Eleia only, nor were the Olympic games celebrated even once in the

Eleian district, but always at Olympia. But the games, of which Homer

speaks, seem to have taken place in Elis, where the debt was owing,

“For a great debt was owing in the divine Elis,

Namely, four victorious horses.”[94]

But it was not in these, but in the Olympic games, that the victor was

crowned, for here they were to contend for a tripod.

After the twenty-sixth Olympiad, the Pisatæ, having recovered their

territory, instituted games themselves, when they perceived that these

games were obtaining celebrity. But in after-times, when the territory

of the Pisatis reverted to the Eleii, the presidency and celebration of

the games reverted to them also. The Lacedæmonians too, after the last

defeat of the Messenians, co-operated with the Eleii as allies, contrary

to the conduct of the descendants of Nestor and of the Arcadians, who

were allies of the Messenians. And they assisted them so effectually

that all the country as far as Messene was called Eleia, and the name

continues even to the present time. But of the Pisatæ, and Triphylii,

and Caucones, not even the names remain. They united also Pylus

Emathoeis itself with Lepreum in order to gratify the Lepreatæ, who had

taken no part in the war. They razed many other towns, and imposed a

tribute upon as many as were inclined to maintain their independence.

31. The Pisatis obtained the highest celebrity from the great power of

its sovereigns, Œnomaus and his successor Pelops, and the number of

their children. Salmoneus is said to have reigned there, and one of the

eight cities, into which the Pisatis is divided, has the name of

Salmone. For these reasons, and on account of the temple at Olympia, the

fame of the country spread everywhere.

We must however receive ancient histories, as not entirely agreeing with

one another, for modern writers, entertaining different opinions, are

accustomed to contradict them frequently; as for example, according to

some writers, Augeas was king of the Pisatis, and Œnomaus and Salmoneus

kings of Eleia, while others consider the two nations as one. Still we

ought to follow in general what is received as true, since writers are

not agreed even upon the derivation of the word Pisatis. Some derive it

from Pisa, (Πῖσα,) a city of the same [CAS. 356] name as

the fountain, and say that the fountain had that name, as much as to say

Pistra, (Πίστρα,) which means Potistra, (ποτίστρα,) or “potable.” The

city of Pisa is shown, situated on an eminence between two mountains,

which have the same names as those in Thessaly, Ossa and Olympus. Some

say, that there was no such city as Pisa, for it would have been one of

the eight, but a fountain only, which is now called Bisa, near Cicysium,

the largest of the eight cities. But Stesichorus calls the tract of

country named Pisa, a city, as the poet calls Lesbos, a city of Macar;

and Euripides in the play of Ion says

“Eubœa is a neighbour city to Athens,”

and so in the play of Rhadamanthus,

“they who occupy the land of Eubœa, an adjoining state;”

thus Sophocles also in the play of the Mysi,

“O stranger, all this country is called Asia,

But the state of the Mysi is called Mysia.”

32. Salmonē is near the fountain of the same name, the source of the

Enipeus. It discharges itself into the Alpheius, [and at present it is

called Barnichius.[95]] Tyro, it is said, was enamoured of this river;

“who was enamoured of the river, the divine Enipeus.”[96]

for there her father Salmoneus was king, as Euripides says in the play

of Æolus. [The river in Thessaly some call Eniseus, which, flowing from

the Othrys, receives the Apidanus, that descends from the mountain

Pharsalus.[97]] Near Salmonē is Heracleia, which is one of the eight

cities, distant about 40 stadia from Olympia on the river Cytherius,

where there is a temple of the nymphs, the Ioniades, who are believed to

heal diseases by means of the waters of the river.

Near Olympia is Arpīna, which also is one of the eight cities. The river

Parthenius runs through it in the direction of the road to Pheræa.

Pheræa belongs to Arcadia. [It is situated above Dymæa, Buprasium, and

Elis, which lie to the north of the Pisatis.[98]] There also is

Cicysium, one of the eight cities; and Dyspontium, on the road from Elis

to Olympia, situated in a plain. But it was razed, and the greatest

part of the inhabitants removed to Epidamnus and Apollonia.

Above and so very near Olympia, is Pholoe, an Arcadian mountain, that

the country at its foot belongs to the Pisatis. Indeed the whole of the

Pisatis and a great part of Triphylia border upon Arcadia. For this

reason, most of the places, which have the name of Pylian in the

Catalogue of the Ships, seem to be Arcadian. Persons, however, who are

well informed, say, that the river Erymanthus, one of those that empty

themselves into the Alpheius, is the boundary of Arcadia, and that the

places called Pylian are beyond the Erymanthus.

33. According to Ephorus, “Ætolus, being banished by Salmoneus, king of

the Epeii, and the Pisatæ, from Eleia to Ætolia, called the country

after his own name, and settled the cities there. His descendant Oxylus

was the friend of Temenus, and the Heracleidæ his companions, and was

their guide on their journey to Peloponnesus; he divided among them the

hostile territory, and suggested instructions relative to the

acquisition of the country. In return for these services he was to be

requited by the restoration of Elis, which had belonged to his

ancestors. He returned with an army collected out of Ætolia, for the

purpose of attacking the Epeii, who occupied Elis. On the approach of

the Epeii in arms, when the forces were drawn up in array against each

other, there advanced in front, and engaged in single combat according

to an ancient custom of the Greeks, Pyræchmes, an Ætolian, and Degmenus,

an Epeian: the latter was lightly armed with a bow, and thought to

vanquish easily from a distance a heavy-armed soldier; the former, when

he perceived the stratagem of his adversary, provided himself with a

sling, and a scrip filled with stones. The kind of sling also happened

to have been lately invented by the Ætolians. As a sling reaches its

object at a greater distance than a bow, Degmenus fell; the Ætolians

took possession of the country, and ejected the Epeii. They assumed also

the superintendence of the temple at Olympia, which the Epeii exercised;

and on account of the friendship which subsisted between Oxylus and the

Heracleidæ, it was generally agreed upon, and confirmed by an oath, that

the Eleian territory was sacred to Jupiter, and that any one who invaded

that country with an army, was a sacrilegious person: he also was to be

accounted sacrilegious, who did not [CAS. 358] defend it against the

invader to the utmost of his power. It was for this reason, that the

later founders of the city left it without walls, and those who are

passing through the country with an army, deliver up their arms and

receive them again upon quitting the borders. Iphitus instituted there

the Olympic games, because the Eleians were a sacred people. Hence it

was that they increased in numbers, for while other nations were

continually engaged in war with each other, they alone enjoyed profound

peace, and not themselves only, but strangers also, so that on this

account they were a more populous state than all the others.”

Pheidon the Argive was the tenth in descent from Temenus, and the most

powerful prince of his age; he was the inventor of the weights and

measures called Pheidonian, and stamped money, silver in particular. He

recovered the whole inheritance of Temenus, which had been severed into

many portions. He attacked also the cities which Hercules had formerly

taken, and claimed the privilege of celebrating the games which Hercules

had established, and among these the Olympian games. He entered their

country by force and celebrated the games, for the Eleians had no army

to prevent it, as they were in a state of peace, and the rest were

oppressed by his power. The Eleians however did not solemnly inscribe in

their records this celebration of the games, but on this occasion

procured arms, and began to defend themselves. The Lacedæmonians also

afforded assistance, either because they were jealous of the prosperity,

which was the effect of the peaceful state of the Eleians, or because

they supposed that they should have the aid of the Eleians in destroying

the power of Pheidon, who had deprived them of the sovereignty (ἡγεμονίαν)

of Peloponnesus, which they before possessed. They succeeded in their

joint attempt to overthrow Pheidon, and the Eleians with this assistance

obtained possession of Pisatis and Triphylia.

The whole of the coasting voyage along the present Eleian territory

comprises, with the exception of the bays, 1200 stadia.

So much then respecting the Eleian territory.

CHAPTER IV.

1. Messenia is continuous with the Eleian territory, inclining for the

most part towards the south, and the Libyan Sea. Being part of Laconia,

it was subject in the Trojan times to Menelaus. The name of the country

was Messene. But the present city called Messene, the acropolis of which

was Ithome, was not then founded. After the death of Menelaus, when the

power of those who succeeded to the possession of Laconia was altogether

weakened, the Neleidæ governed Messenia. At the time of the return of

the Heracleidæ, and according to the partition of the country at that

time, Melanthus was king of the Messenians, who were a separate

community, but formerly subject to Menelaus. As a proof of this, in the

space from the Messenian Gulf and the continuous gulf, (called the

Asinæan from the Messenian Asine,) were situated the seven cities which

Agamemnon promised to Achilles;

“Cardamyle, Enope, the grassy Hira, the divine Pheræ,[99]

Antheia with rich meadows, the beautiful Æpeia, and Pedasus

abounding with vines.”[100]

He certainly would not have promised what did not belong either to

himself or to his brother. The poet mentions those, who accompanied

Menelaus from Pheræ to the war,[101] and speaks of (Œtylus) in the

Laconian catalogue, a city situated on the Gulf of Messenia.

Messene follows next to Triphylia. The promontory, after which are the

Coryphasium and Cyparissia, is common to both. At the distance of 7

stadia is a mountain, the Ægaleum, situated above Coryphasium and the

sea.

2. The ancient Messenian Pylus was a city lying below the Ægaleum, and

after it was razed, some of the inhabitants settled under the

Coryphasium. But the Athenians in their second expedition against

Sicily, under the command of Eurymedon and Stratocles, got possession of

it, and used it as a stronghold against the Lacedæmonians.[102] Here

also is the Messenian Cyparissia, (and the island Prote,) lying close

[CAS. 359] to Pylus, the island Sphagia, called also Sphacteria. It was

here that the Lacedæmonians lost three hundred men,[103] who were

besieged by the Athenians and taken prisoners.

Two islands, called Strophades,[104] belonging to the Cyparissii, lie

off at sea in front of this coast, at the distance of about 400 stadia

from the continent, in the Libyan and southern sea. According to

Thucydides this Pylus was the naval station of the Messenians. It is

distant from Sparta 400 stadia.

3. Next is Methone.[105] This city, called by the poet Pedasus, was one

of the seven, it is said, which Agamemnon promised to Achilles. There

Agrippa killed, in the Actian war, Bogus, the king of the Maurusii, a

partisan of Antony’s, having got possession of the place by an attack by

sea.

4. Continuous with Methone is Acritas,[106] where the Messenian Gulf

begins, which they call also Asinæus from Asine, a small city, the first

we meet with on the gulf, and having the same name as the Hermionic

Asine.

This is the commencement of the gulf towards the west. Towards the east

are the Thyrides,[107] as they are called, bordering upon the present

Laconia near Cænepolis,[108] and Tænarum.

In the intervening distance, if we begin from the Thyrides, we meet with

Œtylus,[109] by some called Beitylus; then Leuctrum, a colony of the

Leuctri in Bœotia; next, situated upon a steep rock, Cardamyle;[110]

then Pheræ, bordering upon Thuria, and Gerenia, from which place they

say Nestor had the epithet Gerenian, because he escaped thither, as we

have mentioned before. They show in the Gerenian territory a temple of

Æsculapius Triccæus, copied from that at the Thessalian Tricca. Pelops

is said to have founded Leuctrum, and Charadra, and Thalami, now called

the Bœotian Thalami, having brought with him, when he married his sister

Niobe to Amphion, some colonists from Bœotia.

The Nedon, a different river from the Neda, flows through Laconia, and

discharges its waters near Pheræ. It has upon its banks a remarkable

temple of the Nedusian Minerva. At Pœaessa also there is a temple of the

Nedusian Minerva, which derives its name from a place called Nedon,[111]

whence, they say, Teleclus colonized Pœaessa,[112] and Echeiæ, and

Tragium.

5. With respect to the seven cities promised to Achilles, we have

already spoken of Cardamyle, and Pheræ, and Pedasus. Enope, some say is

Pellana; others, some place near Cardamyle; others, Gerenia.[113] Hira

is pointed out near a mountain in the neighbourhood of Megalopolis[114]

in Arcadia, on the road to Andania, which we have said is called by the

poet Œchalia. Others say that the present Mesola was called Hira, which

extends to the bay situated between Taÿgetum and Messenia. Æpeia is now

called Thuria, which we said bordered upon Pheræ. It is situated upon a

lofty hill, whence its name.[115] The Thuriatic Gulf has its name from

Thuria; upon the gulf is a single city, named Rhium, opposite Tænarum.

Some say that Antheia is Thuria, and Æpeia Methone; others, that Antheia

is Asine, situated between Methone and Thuria, to which, of all the

Messenian cities, the description, “with its rich pastures,” is most

appropriate. Near it on the sea is Corone. There are some writers who

say that this town is called Pedasus by the poet. These cities are “all

near the sea;” Cardamyle close to it; Pheræ at the distance of 5 stadia,

having an anchorage, which is used in the summer. The rest are situated

at unequal distances from the sea.

6. Near Corone, about the middle of the gulf, the river Pamisus[116]

discharges itself, having, on the right hand, this city, and the rest in

succession, the last of which, towards the west, are Pylus and

Cyparissia, and between these is Erana, which some writers erroneously

suppose to be the ancient [CAS. 361] Arene; on the left hand it has

Thyria and Pheræ. It is the largest (in width) of the rivers within the

isthmus, although its course from its springs does not exceed 100 stadia

in length; it has an abundant supply of water, and traverses the

Messenian plain, and the district called Macaria.[117] It is distant

from the present city of the Messenians 50 stadia.[118] There is also

another Pamisus, a small torrent stream, running near Leuctrum of

Laconia, which was a subject of dispute between the Messenians and

Lacedæmonians in the time of Philip.

I have before said that some persons called the Pamisus, Amathus.[119]

7. Ephorus relates that Cresphontes, after he had taken Messene, divided

it into five cities, and chose Stenyclarus, situated in the middle of

this district, to be the royal seat of his kingdom. To the other cities,

Pylus, Rhium, (Mesola,) and Hyameitis, he appointed kings, and put all

the Messenians on an equal footing with the Dorians as to rights and

privileges. The Dorians, however, taking offence, he changed his

intention, and determined that Stenyclarus alone should have the rank of

a city, and here he assembled all the Dorians.

8. The city of the Messenians[120] resembles Corinth, for above each

city is a lofty and precipitous mountain, enclosed by a common wall in

such a manner as to be used as an acropolis; the Messenian mountain is

Ithome,[121] that near Corinth is Acrocorinthus. Demetrius of Pharos

seemed to have counselled Philip the son of Demetrius well, when he

advised him to make himself master of both cities, if he desired to get

possession of Peloponnesus; “for,” said he, “when you have seized both

horns, the cow will be your own;” meaning, by the horns, Ithome and

Acrocorinthus, and, by the cow, Peloponnesus. It was no doubt their

convenient situation which made these cities subjects of contention. The

Romans therefore razed Corinth, and again rebuilt it. The Lacedæmonians

destroyed Messene, and the Thebans, and subsequently Philip, the son of

Amyntas, restored it. The citadels however continued unoccupied.

9. The temple of Diana in Limnæ (in the Marshes), where the Messenians

are supposed to have violated the virgins who came there to offer

sacrifice, is on the confines of Laconia and Messenia, where the

inhabitants of both countries usually celebrated a common festival, and

performed sacrifices; but after the violation of the virgins, the

Messenians did not make any reparation, and war, it is said, ensued. The

Limnæan temple of Diana at Sparta is said to have its name from the

Limnæ here.

10. There were frequent wars (between the Lacedæmonians and Messenians)

on account of the revolts of the Messenians. Tyrtæus mentions, in his

poems, that their first subjugation was in the time of their

grandfathers;[122] the second, when in conjunction with their allies the

Eleians [Arcadians], Argives, and Pisatæ, they revolted; the leader of

the Arcadians was Aristocrates, king of Orchomenus, and of the Pisatæ,

Pantaleon, son of Omphalion. In this war, Tyrtæus says, he himself

commanded the Lacedæmonian army, for in his elegiac poem, entitled

Eunomia, he says he came from Erineum;

“for Jupiter himself, the son of Saturn, and husband of Juno

with the beautiful crown, gave this city to the Heracleidæ,

with whom we left the windy Erineum, and arrived at the

spacious island of Pelops.”

Wherefore we must either invalidate the authority of the elegiac verses,

or we must disbelieve Philochorus, and Callisthenes, and many other

writers, who say that he came from Athens, or Aphidnæ, at the request of

the Lacedæmonians, whom an oracle had enjoined to receive a commander

from the Athenians.

The second war then occurred in the time of Tyrtæus. But they mention a

third, and even a fourth war, in which the Messenians were

destroyed.[123]

The [CAS. 362] whole voyage along the Messenian coast comprises about

800 stadia, including the measurement of the bays.

11. I have exceeded the limits of moderation in this description, by

attending to the multitude of facts which are related of a country, the

greatest part of which is deserted. Even Laconia itself is deficient in

population, if we compare its present state with its ancient

populousness. For, with the exception of Sparta, the remaining small

cities are about thirty; but, anciently, Laconia had the name of

Hecatompolis, and that for this reason hecatombs were annually

sacrificed.

CHAPTER V.

1. Next after the Messenian is the Laconian Gulf, situated between

Tænarum and Maleæ, declining a little from the south to the east.

Thyrides, a precipitous rock, beaten by the waves, is in the Messenian

Gulf, and distant from Tænarum 100 stadia. Above is Taÿgetum, a lofty

and perpendicular mountain, at a short distance from the sea,

approaching on the northern side close to the Arcadian mountains, so as

to leave between them a valley, where Messenia is continuous with

Laconia.

At the foot of Taÿgetum, in the inland parts, lie Sparta and

Amyclæ,[124] where is the temple of Apollo, and Pharis. The site of

Sparta is in rather a hollow, although it comprises mountains within it;

no part of it, however, is marshy, although, anciently, the suburbs were

so, which were called Limnæ. The temple of Bacchus, also in Limnæ, was

in a wet situation, but now stands on a dry ground.

In the bay on the coast is Tænarum, a promontory projecting into the

sea.[125] Upon it, in a grove, is the temple of Neptune, and near the

temple a cave, through which, according to the fable, Cerberus was

brought up by Hercules from Hades. Thence to the promontory Phycus in

Cyrenaica, is a passage across towards the south of 3000 stadia; and to

Pachynus, towards the west, the promontory of Sicily, 4600, or,

according to some writers, 4000 stadia; to Maleæ, towards the east,

including the measurement of the bays, 670 stadia; to Onugnathus,[126] a

low peninsula a little within Maleæ, 520 stadia. (In front of

Onugnathus, at the distance of 40 stadia, lies Cythera,[127] an island

with a good harbour, and a city of the same name, which was the private

property of Eurycles, the commander of the Lacedæmonians in our time. It

is surrounded by several small islands, some near it, others lying

somewhat farther off.) To Corycus, a promontory of Crete, the nearest

passage by sea is 250 stadia.[128]

2. Next to Tænarum on the voyage to Onugnathus and to Maleæ[129] is

Amathus, (Psamathus,) a city; then follow Asine, and Gythium,[130] the

naval arsenal of Sparta, situated at an interval of 240 stadia. Its

station for vessels, they say, is excavated by art. Farther on, between

Gythium and Acræa, is the mouth of the Eurotas.[131] To this place the

voyage along the coast is about 240 stadia; then succeeds a marshy

tract, and a village, Helos, which formerly was a city, according to

Homer;

“They who occupied Amyclæ, and Helos, a small town on

the sea-coast.”[132]

They say that it was founded by Helius the son of Perseus. There is a

plain also call Leuce; then Cyparissia,[133] a city upon a peninsula,

with a harbour; then Onugnathus with a harbour; next Bœa, a city; then

Maleæ. From these cities to Onugnathus are 150 stadia. There is also

Asopus,[134] a city in Laconia.

3. Among the places enumerated by Homer in the Catalogue of the Ships,

Messa, they say, is no longer to be found; and that Messoa is not a part

of Laconia, but a part of Sparta itself, as was the Limnæum near

Thornax. Some understand [CAS. 364] Messē to be a contraction of

Messene, for it is said that this was a part of Laconia. [They allege as

examples from the poet, the words “cri,” and “do,” and “maps,”[135] and

this passage also;

“The horses were yoked by Automedon and Alcimus,”[136]

instead of Alcimedon. And the words of Hesiod, who uses βρῖ for βριθὺ

and βριαρὸν; and Sophocles and Io, who have ῥᾳ for ῥᾴδιον; and

Epicharmus, λῖ for λίαν, and Συρακὼ for Συράκουσαι; Empedocles also has

ὂψ for ὄψις (μία γίγνεται ἀμφοτέρων ὄψ or ὄψις); and Antimachus,

Δήμητρός τοι Ἐλευσινίης ἱερὴ ὄψ, and ἄλφι for ἄλφιτον; Euphorion has ἧλ

for ἧλος; Philetes has δμωίδες εἰς ταλάρους λευκὸν ἄγουσιν ἔρι for

ἔριον; Aratus, εἰς ἄνεμον δὲ τὰ πηδά for τὰ πηδάλια; Simmias, Dodo for

Dodona.][137]

Of the rest of the places mentioned by the poet, some are extinct; of

others traces remain, and of others the names are changed, as Augeiæ

into Ægææ: [the city] of that name in Locris exists no longer. With

respect to Las, the Dioscuri are said to have taken it by siege

formerly, whence they had the name of Lapersæ, (Destroyers of Las,) and

Sophocles says somewhere, “by the two Lapersæ, by Eurotas, by the gods

in Argos and Sparta.”

4. Ephorus says that the Heracleidæ, Eurysthenes and Procles, having

obtained possession of Laconia, divided it into six parts, and founded

cities throughout the country, and assigned Amyclæ to him who betrayed

to them Laconia, and who prevailed upon the person that occupied it to

retire, on certain conditions, with the Achæi, into Ionia. Sparta they

retained themselves as the royal seat of the kingdom. To the other

cities they sent kings, permitting them to receive whatever strangers

might be disposed to settle there, on account of the scarcity of

inhabitants. Las was used as a naval station, because it had a

convenient harbour; Ægys, as a stronghold, from whence to attack

surrounding enemies; Pheræa, as a place to deposit treasure, because it

afforded security from[138] attempts from without. * * * * that all the

neighbouring people submitted to the Spartiatæ, but were to enjoy an

equality of rights, and to have a share in the government and in the

offices of state. They were called Heilotæ. But Agis, the son of

Eurysthenes, deprived them of the equality of rights, and ordered them

to pay tribute to Sparta. The rest submitted; but the Heleii, who

occupied Helos, revolted, and were made prisoners in the course of the

war; they were adjudged to be slaves, with the conditions, that the

owner should not be allowed to give them their liberty, nor sell them

beyond the boundaries of the country. This was called the war of the

Heilotæ.[139] The system of Heilote-slavery, which continued from that

time to the establishment of the dominion of the Romans, was almost

entirely the contrivance of Agis. They were a kind of public slaves, to

whom the Lacedæmonians assigned habitations, and required from them

peculiar services.

5. With respect to the government of the Lacones, and the changes which

have taken place among them, many things, as being well known, may be

passed over, but some it may be worth while to relate. It is said that

the Achæan Phthiotæ, who, with Pelops, made an irruption into

Peloponnesus, settled in Laconia, and were so much distinguished for

their valour, that Peloponnesus, which for a long period up to this time

had the name of Argos, was then called Achæan Argos; and not

Peloponnesus alone had this name, but Laconia also was thus peculiarly

designated. Some even understand the words of the poet,

“Where was Menelaus, was he not at Achæan Argos?”[140]

as implying, was he not in Laconia? But about the time of the return of

the Heracleidæ, when Philonomus betrayed the country to the Dorians,

they removed from Laconia to the country of the Ionians, which at

present is called Achaia. We shall speak of them in our description of

Achaia.

Those who were in possession of Laconia, at first conducted themselves

with moderation, but after they had intrusted to Lycurgus the formation

of a political constitution, they acquired such a superiority over the

other Greeks, that they alone obtained the sovereignty both by sea and

land, and continued to be the chiefs of the Greeks, till the Thebans,

and soon afterwards the Macedonians, deprived them of this ascendency.

They [CAS. 365] did not however entirely submit even to these, but,

preserving their independence, were continually disputing the

sovereignty both with the other Greeks and with the Macedonian kings.

After the overthrow of the latter by the Romans, the Lacones living

under a bad government at that time, and under the power of tyrants, had

given some slight offence to the generals whom the Romans sent into the

province. They however recovered themselves, and were held in very great

honour. They remained free, and performed no other services but those

expected from allies. Lately however Eurycles[141] excited some

disturbances amongst them, having abused excessively, in the exercise of

his authority, the friendship of Cæsar. The government soon came to an

end by the death of Eurycles, and the son rejected all such friendships.

The Eleuthero-Lacones[142] however did obtain some regular form of

government, when the surrounding people, and especially the Heilotæ, at

the time that Sparta was governed by tyrants, were the first to attach

themselves to the Romans.

Hellanicus says that Eurysthenes and Procles regulated the form of

government, but Ephorus reproaches him with not mentioning Lycurgus at

all, and with ascribing the acts of the latter to persons who had no

concern in them; to Lycurgus only is a temple erected, and sacrifices

are annually performed in his honour, but to Eurysthenes and Procles,

although they were the founders of Sparta, yet not even these honours

were paid to them, that their descendants should bear the respective

appellations of Eurysthenidæ and Procleidæ.[143] [The descendants of

Agis, however, the son of Eurysthenes, were called Agides, and the

descendants of Eurypon, the son of Procles, were called Eurypontiadæ.

The former were legitimate princes; the others, having admitted

strangers as settlers, reigned by their means; whence they were not

regarded as original authors of the settlement, an honour usually

conferred upon all founders of cities.]

6. As to the nature of the places in Laconia and Messenia, we may take

the description of Euripides;[144]

“Laconia has much land capable of tillage, but difficult to be

worked, for it is hollow, surrounded by mountains, rugged, and

difficult of access to an enemy.”

Messenia he describes in this manner:

“It bears excellent fruit; is watered by innumerable streams;

it affords the finest pasture to herds and flocks; it is not

subject to the blasts of winter, nor too much heated by the

coursers of the sun;”

and a little farther on, speaking of the division of the country by the

Heracleidæ according to lot, the first was

“lord of the Lacænian land, a bad soil,”

the second was Messene,

“whose excellence no language could express;”

and Tyrtæus speaks of it in the same manner.

But we cannot admit that Laconia and Messenia are bounded, as Euripides

says,

“by the Pamisus,[145] which empties itself into the sea;”

this river flows through the middle of Messenia, and does not touch any

part of the present Laconia. Nor is he right, when he says that Messenia

is inaccessible to sailors, whereas it borders upon the sea, in the same

manner as Laconia.

Nor does he give the right boundaries of Elis;

“after passing the river is Elis, the neighbour of Jove;”

and he adduces a proof unnecessarily. For if he means the present Eleian

territory, which is on the confines of Messenia, this the Pamisus does

not touch, any more than it touches Laconia, for, as has been said

before, it flows through the middle of Messenia: or, if he meant the

ancient Eleia, called the Hollow, this is a still greater deviation from

the truth. For after crossing the Pamisus, there is a large tract of the

Messenian country, then the whole district of [the Lepreatæ], and of the

[Macistii], which is called Triphylia; then the Pisatis, and Olympia;

then at the distance of 300 stadia is Elis.

7. As some persons write the epithet applied by Homer to Lacedæmon,

κητώεσσαν, and others καιετάεσσαν, how are we to understand κητώεσσα,

whether it is derived from Cetos,[146] or [CAS. 367] whether it denotes

“large,” which is most probable. Some understand καιετάεσσα

to signify, “abounding with calaminthus;” others suppose, as

the fissures occasioned by earthquakes are called Cæeti, that this is

the origin of the epithet. Hence Cæietas also, the name of the prison

among the Lacedæmonians, which is a sort of cave. Some however say, that

such kind of hollows are rather called Coi, whence the expression of

Homer,[147] applied to wild beasts, φηρσὶν ὀρεσκῴοισιν, which live in

mountain caves. Laconia however is subject to earthquakes, and some

writers relate, that certain peaks of Taÿgetum have been broken off by

the shocks.[148]

Laconia contains also quarries of valuable marble. Those of the Tænarian

marble in Tænarum[149] are ancient, and certain persons, assisted by the

wealth of the Romans, lately opened a large quarry in Taÿgetum.

8. It appears from Homer, that both the country and the city had the

name of Lacedæmon; I mean the country together with Messenia. When he

speaks of the bow and quiver of Ulysses, he says,

“A present from Iphitus Eurytides, a stranger, who met him in

Lacedæmon,”[150]

and adds,

“They met at Messene in the house of Ortilochus.”

He means the country which was a part of Messenia.[151] There was then

no difference whether he said “A stranger, whom he met at Lacedæmon,

gave him,” or, “they met at Messene;” for it is evident that Pheræ was

the home of Ortilochus:

“they arrived at Pheræ, and went to the house of Diocles the

son of Ortilochus,”[152]

namely, Telemachus and Pisistratus. Now Pheræ[153] belongs to Messenia.

But after saying, that Telemachus and his friend set out from Pheræ, and

were driving their two horses the whole day, he adds,

“The sun was setting; they came to the hollow Lacedæmon

(κητώεσσαν), and drove their chariot to the

palace of Menelaus.”[154]

Here we must understand the city; and if we do not, the poet says, that

they journeyed from Lacedæmon to Lacedæmon. It is not otherwise

improbable that the palace of Menelaus should not be at Sparta; and if

it was not there, that Telemachus should say,

“for I am going to Sparta, and to Pylus,”[155]

for this seems to agree with the epithets applied to the country,[156]

unless indeed any one should allow this to be a poetical licence; for,

if Messenia was a part of Laconia, it would be a contradiction that

Messene should not be placed together with Laconia, or with Pylus,

(which was under the command of Nestor,) nor by itself in the Catalogue

of Ships, as though it had no part in the expedition.

CHAPTER VI.

1. After Maleæ follow the Argolic and Hermionic Gulfs; the former

extends as far as Scyllæum,[157] it looks to the east, and towards

the Cyclades;[158] the latter lies still more towards the east than

the former, reaching Ægina and the Epidaurian territory.[159] The

Laconians occupy the first part of the Argolic Gulf, and the Argives

the rest. Among the places occupied by the Laconians are Delium,[160]

a temple of Apollo, of [CAS. 368] the same name as that in Bœotia;

Minoa, a fortress of the same name as that in Megara; and according to

Artemidorus, Epidaurus Limera;[161] Apollodorus, however, places it

near Cythera,[162] and having a convenient harbour, (λιμὴν, limen,)

it was called Limenera, which was altered by contraction to Limera.

A great part of the coast of Laconia, beginning immediately from

Maleæ, is rugged. It has however shelters for vessels, and harbours.

The remainder of the coast has good ports; there are also many small

islands, not worthy of mention, lying in front of it.

2. To the Argives belong Prasiæ,[163] and Temenium[164] where Temenus

lies buried. Before coming to Temenium is the district through which the

river Lerna flows, that having the same name as the lake, where is laid

the scene of the fable of the Hydra. The Temenium is distant from Argos

26 stadia from the sea-coast; from Argos to Heræum are 40, and thence to

Mycenæ 10 stadia.

Next to Temenium is Nauplia, the naval station of the Argives. Its name

is derived from its being accessible to ships. Here they say the fiction

of the moderns originated respecting Nauplius and his sons, for Homer

would not have omitted to mention them, if Palamedes displayed so much

wisdom and intelligence, and was unjustly put to death; and if Nauplius

had destroyed so many people at Caphareus.[165] But the genealogy

offends both against the mythology, and against chronology. For if we

allow that he was the son of Neptune,[166] how could he be the son of

Amymone, and be still living in the Trojan times.

Next to Nauplia are caves, and labyrinths constructed in them, which

caves they call Cyclopeia.

3. Then follow other places, and after these the Hermionic Gulf. Since

the poet places this gulf in the Argive territory, we must not overlook

this division of the circumference of this country. It begins from the

small city Asine;[167] then follow Hermione,[168] and Trœzen.[169] In

the voyage along the coast the island Calauria[170] lies opposite; it

has a compass of 30 stadia, and is separated from the continent by a

strait of 4 stadia.

4. Then follows the Saronic Gulf; some call it a Pontus or sea, others a

Porus or passage, whence it is also termed the Saronic pelagos or deep.

The whole of the passage, or Porus, extending from the Hermionic Sea,

and the sea about the Isthmus (of Corinth) to the Myrtoan and Cretan

Seas, has this name.

To the Saronic Gulf belong Epidaurus,[171] and the island in front of

it, Ægina; then Cenchreæ, the naval station of the Corinthians towards

the eastern parts; then Schœnus,[172] a harbour at the distance of 45

stadia by sea; from Maleæ the whole number of stadia is about 1800.

At Schœnus is the Diolcus, or place where they draw the vessels across

the Isthmus: it is the narrowest part of it. Near Schœnus is the temple

of the Isthmian Neptune. At present, however, I shall not proceed with

the description of these places, for they are not situated within the

Argive territory, but resume the account of those which it contains.

5. And first, we may observe how frequently Argos is mentioned by the

poet, both by itself and with the epithet designating it as Achæan

Argos, Argos Jasum, Argos Hippium, or Hippoboton, or Pelasgicum. The

city, too, is called Argos,

“Argos and Sparta”--[173]

those who occupied Argos

“and Tiryns;”[174]

and Peloponnesus is called Argos,

“at our house in Argos,”[175]

for the city could not be called his house; and he calls the whole of

Greece, Argos, for he calls all Argives, as he calls them Danai, and

Achæans.

He [CAS. 369] distinguishes the identity of name by epithets; he calls

Thessaly, Pelasgic Argos;

“all who dwelt in Pelasgic Argos;”[176]

and the Peloponnesus, the Achæan Argos;

“if we should return to Achæan Argos;”[177]

“was he not at Achæan Argos?”[178]

intimating in these lines that the Peloponnesians were called peculiarly

Achæans according to another designation.

He calls also the Peloponnesus, Argos Jasum;

“if all the Achæans throughout Argos Jasum should see you,”[179]

meaning Penelope, she then would have a greater number of suitors; for

it is not probable that he means those from the whole of Greece, but

those from the neighbourhood of Ithaca. He applies also to Argos terms

common to other places,

“pasturing horses,” and “abounding with horses.”

6. There is a controversy about the names Hellas and Hellenes.

Thucydides[180] says that Homer nowhere mentions Barbarians, because the

Greeks were not distinguished by any single name, which expressed its

opposite. Apollodorus also says, that the inhabitants of Thessaly alone

were called Hellenes, and alleges this verse of the poet,

“they were called Myrmidones, and Hellenes;”[181]

but Hesiod, and Archilochus, in their time knew that they were all

called Hellenes, and Panhellenes: the former calls them by this name in

speaking of the Prœtides, and says that Panhellenes were their suitors;

the latter, where he says

“that the calamities of the Panhellenes centred in Thasus.”

But others oppose to this, that Homer does mention Barbarians, when he

says of the Carians, that they spoke a barbarous language, and that all

the Hellenes were comprised in the term Hellas;

“of the man, whose fame spread throughout Hellas and Argos.”[182]

And again,

“but if you wish to turn aside and pass through Greece and the

midst of Argos.”[183]

7. The greater part of the city of the Argives is situated in a plain.

It has a citadel called Larisa, a hill moderately fortified, and upon it

a temple of Jupiter. Near it flows the Inachus, a torrent river; its

source is in Lyrceium [the Arcadian mountain near Cynuria]. We have said

before that the fabulous stories about its sources are the inventions of

poets; it is a fiction also that Argos is without water--

“but the gods made Argos a land without water.”

Now the ground consists of hollows, it is intersected by rivers, and is

full of marshes and lakes; the city also has a copious supply of water

from many wells, which rises near the surface.

They attribute the mistake to this verse,

“and I shall return disgraced to Argos (πολυδίψιον)

the very thirsty.”[184]

This word is used for πολυπόθητον, or

“much longed after,”

or without the δ for πολυίψιον,

equivalent to the expression πολύφθορον in

Sophocles,

“this house of the Pelopidæ abounding in slaughter,”[185]

[for προϊάψαι and ἰάψαι and ἴψασθαι, denote some injury or destruction;

“at present he is making the attempt, and he will soon destroy

(ἴψεται) the sons of the Achæi;”[186]

and again, lest

“she should injure (ἰάψῃ) her beautiful skin;”[187]

and,

“has prematurely sent down, προΐαψεν, to Ades.”[188]][189]

Besides, he does not mean the city Argos, for it was not thither that he

was about to return, but he meant Peloponnesus, which, certainly, is not

a thirsty land.

With respect to the letter δ, they introduce the conjunction

by the figure hyperbaton, and make an elision of the vowel, so that the

verse would run thus,

Καί κεν ἐλέγχιστος πολὺ δ’ ἴψιον Ἄργος ἱκοίμην,

that is, πολυίψιον Ἄργοσδε ἱκοίμην, instead of, εἰς Ἄργος.[189]

8. The Inachus[190] is one of the rivers, which flows through the Argive

territory; there is also another in Argia, the [CAS. 371] Erasīnus. It

has its source in Stymphalus in Arcadia, and in the lake there called

Stymphalis, where the scene is laid of the fable of the birds called

Stymphalides, which Hercules drove away by wounding them with arrows,

and by the noise of drums. It is said that this river passes

under-ground, and issues forth in the Argian territory, and waters the

plain. The Erasīnus is also called Arsīnus.

Another river of the same name flows out of Arcadia to the coast near

Buras. There is another Erasinus also in Eretria, and one in Attica near

Brauron.

Near Lerna a fountain is shown, called Amymone. The lake Lerna, the

haunt of the Hydra, according to the fable, belongs to the Argive and

Messenian districts. The expiatory purifications performed at this place

by persons guilty of crimes gave rise to the proverb, “A Lerna of

evils.”

It is allowed that, although the city itself lies in a spot where there

are no running streams of water, there is an abundance of wells, which

are attributed to the Danaïdes as their invention; hence the line,

“the Danaïdes made waterless Argos, Argos the watered.”

Four of the wells are esteemed sacred, and held in peculiar veneration.

Hence they occasioned a want of water, while they supplied it

abundantly.

9. Danaus is said to have built the citadel of the Argives. He seems to

have possessed so much more power than the former rulers of the country,

that, according to Euripides,

“he made a law that those who were formerly called Pelasgiotæ,

should be called Danai throughout Greece.”

His tomb, called Palinthus, is in the middle of the market-place of the

Argives. I suppose that the celebrity of this city was the reason of all

the Greeks having the name of Pelasgiotæ, and Danai, as well as Argives.

Modern writers speak of Iasidæ, and Argos Iasum, and Apia, and Apidones.

Homer does not mention Apidones, and uses the word apia only to express

distance. That he means Peloponnesus by Argos we may conclude from these

lines,

“Argive Helen;”[191]

and,

“in the farthest part of Argos is a city Ephyra;”[192]

and,

“the middle of Argos;”[193]

and,

“to rule over many islands, and the whole of Argos.”[194]

Argos, among modern writers, denotes a plain, but not once in Homer. It

seems rather a Macedonian and Thessalian use of the word.

10. After the descendants of Danaus had succeeded to the sovereignty at

Argos, and the Amythaonidæ, who came from Pisatis and Triphylia, were

intermixed with them by marriages, it is not surprising that, being

allied to one another, they at first divided the country into two

kingdoms, in such a manner that the two cities, the intended capitals,

Argos and Mycenæ, were not distant from each other more than 50 stadia,

and that the Heræum at Mycenæ should be a temple common to both. In this

temple were the statues the workmanship of Polycletus. In display of art

they surpassed all others, but in magnitude and cost they were inferior

to those of Pheidias.

At first Argos was the most powerful of the two cities. Afterwards

Mycenæ received a great increase of inhabitants in consequence of the

migration thither of the Pelopidæ. For when everything had fallen under

the power of the sons of Atreus, Agamemnon, the elder, assumed the

sovereign authority, and by good fortune and valour annexed to his

possessions a large tract of country. He also added the Laconian to the

Mycenæan district.[195] Menelaus had Laconia, and Agamemnon Mycenæ, and

the country as far as Corinth, and Sicyon, and the territory which was

then said to be the country of Iones and Ægialians, and afterwards of

Achæi.

After the Trojan war, when the dominion of Agamemnon was at an end, the

declension of Mycenæ ensued, and particularly after the return of the

Heracleidæ.[196] For when these people got possession of Peloponnesus,

they expelled its former masters, so that they who had Argos possessed

Mycenæ likewise, as composing one body. In subsequent times Mycenæ was

razed by the Argives, so that at present not even a trace is to be

discovered of the city of the Mycenæans.[197]

If [CAS. 372] Mycenæ experienced this fate, it is not surprising that

some of the cities mentioned in the Catalogue of the Ships, and said to

be subject to Argos, have disappeared. These are the words of the

Catalogue:

“They who occupied Argos, and Tiryns, with strong walls, and

Hermione, and Asine situated on a deep bay, and Eïones, and

Epidaurus with its vines, and the valiant Achæan youths who

occupied Ægina, and Mases.”[198]

Among these we have already spoken of Argos; we must now speak of the

rest.

11. Prœtus seems to have used Tiryns as a stronghold, and to have

fortified it by means of the Cyclopes. There were seven of them, and

were called Gasterocheires,[199] because they subsisted by their art.

They were sent for and came from Lycia. Perhaps the caverns about

Nauplia, and the works there, have their name from these people. The

citadel Licymna has its name from Licymnius. It is distant from Nauplia

about 12 stadia. This place is deserted, as well as the neighbouring

Midéa, which is different from the Bœotian Mídea, for that is

accentuated Mídea, like πρόνοια, but this is accentuated Midéa, like

Tegéa.

Prosymna borders upon Midéa; it has also a temple of Juno. The Argives

have depopulated most of these for their refusal to submit to their

authority. Of the inhabitants some went from Tiryns to Epidaurus; others

from Hermione to the Halieis (the Fishermen), as they are called; others

were transferred by the Lacedæmonians to Messenia from Asine, (which is

itself a village in the Argive territory near Nauplia,) and they built a

small city of the same name as the Argolic Asine. For the Lacedæmonians,

according to Theopompus, got possession of a large tract of country

belonging to other nations, and settled there whatever fugitives they

had received, who had taken refuge among them; and it was to this

country the Nauplians had retreated.

12. Hermione is one of the cities, not undistinguished. The coast is

occupied by Halieis, as they are called, a tribe who subsist by being

employed on the sea in fishing. There is a general opinion among the

Hermionenses that there is a short descent from their country to Hades,

and hence they do not place in the mouths of the dead the fare for

crossing the Styx.

13. It is said that Asine as well as Hermione was inhabited by Dryopes;

either Dryops the Arcadian having transferred them thither from the

places near the Spercheius, according to Aristotle; or, Hercules

expelled them from Doris near Parnassus.

Scyllæum near Hermione has its name, it is said, from Scylla, daughter

of Nisus. According to report, she was enamoured of Minos, and betrayed

to him Nisæa. She was drowned by order of her father, and her body was

thrown upon the shore, and buried here.

Eïones was a kind of village which the Mycenæi depopulated, and

converted into a station for vessels. It was afterwards destroyed, and

is no longer a naval station.

14. Trœzen is sacred to Neptune,[200] from whom it was formerly called

Poseidonia. It is situated 15 stadia from the sea. Nor is this an

obscure city. In front of its harbour, called Pogon,[201] lies Calauria,

a small island, of about 30 stadia in compass. Here was a temple of

Neptune, which served as an asylum for fugitives. It is said that this

god exchanged Delos for Calauria with Latona, and Tænarum for Pytho with

Apollo. Ephorus mentions the oracle respecting it:

“It is the same thing to possess Delos, or Calauria,

The divine Pytho, or the windy Tænarum.”

There was a sort of Amphictyonic body to whom the concerns of this

temple belonged, consisting of seven cities, which performed sacrifices

in common. These were Hermon, Epidaurus, Ægina, Athenæ, Prasiæ, Nauplia,

and Orchomenus Minyeius. The Argives contributed in behalf of Nauplia,

and the Lacedæmonians in behalf of Prasiæ. The veneration for this god

prevailed so strongly among the Greeks, that the Macedonians, even when

masters of the country, nevertheless preserved even to the present time

the privilege of the asylum, and were restrained by shame from dragging

away the suppliants who took refuge at Calauria. Archias even, with a

body of soldiers, did not dare to use force to [CAS. 374] Demosthenes,

although he had received orders from Antipater to bring him alive, and

all other orators he could find, who were accused of the same crimes. He

attempted persuasion, but in vain, for Demosthenes deprived himself of

life by taking poison in the temple.[202]

Trœzen and Pittheus, the sons of Pelops, having set out from Pisatis to

Argos, the former left behind him a city of his own name; Pittheus

succeeded him, and became king. Anthes, who occupied the territory

before, set sail, and founded Halicarnassus. We shall speak of him in

our account of Caria and the Troad.

15. Epidaurus was called Epitaurus [Epicarus?]. Aristotle says, that

Carians occupied both this place and Hermione, but upon the return of

the Heracleidæ those Ionians, who had accompanied them from the Athenian

Tetrapolis to Argos, settled there together with the Carians.

Epidaurus[203] was a distinguished city, remarkable particularly on

account of the fame of Æsculapius, who was supposed to cure every kind

of disease, and whose temple is crowded constantly with sick persons,

and its walls covered with votive tablets, which are hung upon the

walls, and contain accounts of the cures, in the same manner as is

practised at Cos, and at Tricca. The city lies in the recess of the

Saronic Gulf, with a coasting navigation of 15 stadia, and its aspect is

towards the point of summer sunrise. It is surrounded with lofty

mountains, which extend to the coast, so that it is strongly fortified

by nature on all sides.

Between Trœzen and Epidaurus, there was a fortress Methana,[204] and a

peninsula of the same name. In some copies of Thucydides Methone is the

common reading,[205] a place of the same name with the Macedonian city,

at the siege of which Philip lost an eye. Hence Demetrius of Scepsis is

of opinion, that some persons were led into error by the name, and

supposed that it was Methone near Trœzen. It was against this town, it

is said, that the persons sent by Agamemnon to levy sailors, uttered the

imprecation, that

“they might never cease to build walls,”

but it was not these people; but the Macedonians, according to

Theopompus, who refused the levy of men; besides it is not probable that

those, who were in the neighbourhood of Agamemnon, would disobey his

orders.

16. Ægina is a place in the territory of Epidaurus. There is in front of

this continent, an island, of which the poet means to speak in the lines

before cited. Wherefore some write,

“and the island Ægina,”

instead of

“and they who occupied Ægina,”

making a distinction between the places of the same name.

It is unnecessary to remark, that this island is among the most

celebrated. It was the country of Æacus and his descendants. It was this

island which once possessed so much power at sea, and formerly disputed

the superiority with the Athenians in the sea-fight at Salamis during

the Persian war.[206] The circuit of the island is said to be about 180

stadia. It has a city of the same name on the south-west. Around it are

Attica, and Megara, and the parts of Peloponnesus as far as Epidaurus.

It is distant from each about 100 stadia. The eastern and southern sides

are washed by the Myrtoan and Cretan seas. Many small islands surround

it on the side towards the continent, but Belbina is situated on the

side towards the open sea. The land has soil at a certain depth, but it

is stony at the surface, particularly the plain country, whence the

whole has a bare appearance, but yields large crops of barley. It is

said that the Æginetæ were called Myrmidones, not as the fable accounts

for the name, when the ants were metamorphosed into men, at the time of

a great famine, by the prayer of Æacus; but because by digging, like

ants, they threw up the earth upon the rocks, and were thus made able to

cultivate the ground, and because they lived in excavations

under-ground, abstaining from the use of bricks and sparing of the soil

for this purpose.

Its ancient name was Œnone, which is the name of two of the demi in

Attica, one near Eleutheræ;

“to inhabit the plains close to Œnone, (Œnoe,) and Eleutheræ;”

and another, one of the cities of the Tetrapolis near Marathon, to which

the proverb is applied,

“Œnone (Œnoe?) and its torrent.”

Its [CAS. 375] inhabitants were in succession Argives, Cretans,

Epidaurians, and Dorians. At last the Athenians divided the island by

lot among settlers of their own. The Lacedæmonians, however, deprived

the Athenians of it, and restored it to the ancient inhabitants.

The Æginetæ sent out colonists to Cydonia[207] in Crete, and to the

Ombrici. According to Ephorus, silver was first struck as money by

Pheidon. The island became a mart, the inhabitants, on account of the

fertility of its soil, employing themselves at sea as traders; whence

goods of a small kind had the name of “Ægina wares.”

17. The poet frequently speaks of places in succession as they are

situated;

“they who inhabited Hyria, and Aulis;”[208]

“and they who occupied Argos, and Tiryns,

Hermione, and Asine,

Trœzen, and Eïones.”[209]

At other times he does not observe any order;

“Schœnus, and Scolus,

Thespeia, and Græa.”[210]

He also mentions together places on the continent and islands

“they who held Ithaca,

and inhabited Crocyleia,”[211]

for Crocyleia is in Acarnania. Thus he here joins with Ægina Mases,

which belongs to the continent of Argolis.

Homer does not mention Thyreæ, but other writers speak of it as well

known. It was the occasion of a contest between the three hundred

Argives against the same number of Lacedæmonians; the latter were

conquerors by means of a stratagem of Othryadas. Thucydides places

Thyreæ in Cynuria, on the confines of Argia and Laconia.[212]

Hysiæ also is a celebrated place in Argolica; and Cenchreæ, which lies

on the road from Tegea to Argos, over the mountain Parthenius, and the

Creopolus.[213] But Homer was not acquainted with either of these

places, [nor with the Lyrceium, nor Orneæ, and yet they are villages in

the Argian territory; the former of the same name as the mountain there;

the latter of the same name as the Orneæ, situated between Corinth and

Sicyon].[214]

18. Among the cities of the Peloponnesus, the most celebrated were, and

are at this time, Argos and Sparta, and as their renown is spread

everywhere, it is not necessary to describe them at length, for if we

did so, we should seem to repeat what is said by all writers.

Anciently, Argos was the most celebrated, but afterwards the

Lacedæmonians obtained the superiority, and continued to maintain their

independence, except during some short interval, when they experienced a

reverse of fortune.

The Argives did not admit Pyrrhus within the city. He fell before the

walls, an old woman having let a tile drop from a house upon his head.

They were, however, under the sway of other kings. When they belonged to

the Achæan league they were subjected, together with the other members

of that confederacy, to the power of the Romans. The city subsists at

present, and is second in rank to Sparta.

19. We shall next speak of those places which are said, in the Catalogue

of the Ships, to be under the government of Mycenæ and Agamemnon: the

lines are these:

“Those who inhabited Mycenæ, a well-built city,

and the wealthy Corinth, and Cleonæ well built,

and Orneiæ, and the lovely Aræthyrea,

and Sicyon, where Adrastus first reigned,

and they who inhabited Hyperesia, and the lofty Gonoessa,

and Pellene, and Ægium,

and the whole range of the coast, and those who

lived near the spacious Helice.”[215]

Mycenæ exists no longer. It was founded by Perseus. Sthenelus succeeded

Perseus; and Eurystheus, Sthenelus. These same persons were kings of

Argos also. It is said that Eurystheus, having engaged, with the

assistance of the Athenians, in an expedition to Marathon against the

descendants of Hercules and Iolaus, fell in battle, and that the

remainder of his body was buried at Gargettus, but his head apart from

it at Tricorythus[216] (Corinth?), Iolaus having severed it from the

body near the fountain Macaria, close to the chariot-road. The spot

itself has the name of “Eurystheus’-head.”

Mycenæ then passed into the possession of the Pelopidæ, who had left the

Pisatis, then into that of the Heracleidæ, [CAS. 377] who were also

masters of Argos. But after the sea-fight at Salamis, the Argives,

together with the Cleonæi, and the Tegetæ, invaded Mycenæ, and razed it,

and divided the territory among themselves. The tragic writers, on

account of the proximity of the two cities, speak of them as one, and

use the name of one for the other. Euripides in the same play calls the

same city in one place Mycenæ, and in another Argos, as in the

Iphigeneia,[217] and in the Orestes.[218]

Cleonæ is a town situated upon the road leading from Argos to Corinth,

on an eminence, which is surrounded on all sides by dwellings, and well

fortified, whence, in my opinion, Cleonæ was properly described as “well

built.” There also, between Cleonæ and Phlius, is Nemea, and the grove

where it was the custom of the Argives to celebrate the Nemean games:

here is the scene of the fable of the Nemean Lion, and here also the

village Bembina. Cleonæ is distant from Argos 120 stadia, and 80 from

Corinth. And we have ourselves beheld the city from the Acrocorinthus.

20. Corinth is said to be opulent from its mart. It is situated upon the

isthmus. It commands two harbours, one near Asia, the other near Italy,

and facilitates, by reason of so short a distance between them, an

exchange of commodities on each side.

As the Sicilian strait, so formerly these seas were of difficult

navigation, and particularly the sea above Maleæ, on account of the

prevalence of contrary winds; whence the common proverb,

“When you double Maleæ forget your home.”

It was a desirable thing for the merchants coming from Asia, and from

Italy, to discharge their lading at Corinth without being obliged to

double Cape Maleæ. For goods exported from Peloponnesus, or imported by

land, a toll was paid to those who had the keys of the country. This

continued afterwards for ever. In after-times they enjoyed even

additional advantages, for the Isthmian games, which were celebrated

there, brought thither great multitudes of people. The Bacchiadæ, a rich

and numerous family, and of illustrious descent, were their rulers,

governed the state for nearly two hundred years, and peaceably enjoyed

the profits of the mart. Their power was destroyed by Cypselus, who

became king himself, and his descendants continued to exist for three

generations. A proof of the wealth of this family is the offering which

Cypselus dedicated at Olympia, a statue of Jupiter of beaten gold.

Demaratus, one of those who had been tyrant at Corinth, flying from the

seditions which prevailed there, carried with him from his home to

Tyrrhenia so much wealth, that he became sovereign of the city which had

received him, and his son became even king of the Romans.

The temple of Venus at Corinth was so rich, that it had more than a

thousand women consecrated to the service of the goddess, courtesans,

whom both men and women had dedicated as offerings to the goddess. The

city was frequented and enriched by the multitudes who resorted thither

on account of these women. Masters of ships freely squandered all their

money, and hence the proverb,

“It is not in every man’s power to go to Corinth.”[219]

The answer is related of a courtesan to a woman who was reproaching her

with disliking work, and not employing herself in spinning;

“Although I am what you see, yet, in this short time, I have

already finished three distaffs.”[220]

21. The position of the city as it is described by Hieronymus, and

Eudoxus, and others, and from our own observation, since its restoration

by the Romans, is as follows.

That which is called the Acrocorinthus is a lofty mountain,

perpendicular, and about three stadia and a half in height. There is an

ascent of 30 stadia, and it terminates in a sharp point. The steepest

part is towards the north. Below it lies the city in a plain of the form

of a trapezium, at the very foot of the Acrocorinthus. The compass of

the city itself was 40 stadia, and all that part which was not protected

by the mountain was fortified by a wall. Even the mountain itself, the

Acrocorinthus, was comprehended within this wall, wherever it would

admit of fortification. As I ascended it, the ruins of the circuit of

the foundation were apparent, which gave a circumference of about 85

stadia. The other sides of the mountain are less steep; hence, however,

it stretches onwards, [CAS. 379] and is visible everywhere. The summit

has upon it a small temple of Venus, and below it is the fountain

Peirene, which has no efflux, but is continually full of water, which is

transparent, and fit for drinking. They say, that from the compression

of this, and of some other small under-ground veins, originates that

spring at the foot of the mountain, which runs into the city, and

furnishes the inhabitants with a sufficient supply of water. There is a

large number of wells in the city, and it is said in the Acrocorinthus

also, but this I did not see. When Euripides says,

“I come from the Acrocorinthus, well-watered on all sides, the

sacred hill and habitation of Venus,”

the epithet “well-watered on all sides,” must be understood to refer to

depth; pure springs and under-ground rills are dispersed through the

mountain; or we must suppose, that, anciently, the Peirene overflowed,

and irrigated the mountain. There, it is said, Pegasus was taken by

Bellerophon, while drinking; this was a winged horse, which sprung from

the neck of Medusa when the head of the Gorgon was severed from the

body. This was the horse, it is said, which caused the Hippocrene, or

Horse’s Fountain, to spring up in Helicon by striking the rock with its

hoof.

Below Peirene is the Sisypheium, which preserves a large portion of the

ruins of a temple, or palace, built of white marble. From the summit

towards the north are seen Parnassus and Helicon, lofty mountains

covered with snow; then the Crissæan Gulf,[221] lying below both, and

surrounded by Phocis, Bœotia, Megaris, by the Corinthian district

opposite to Phocis, and by Sicyonia on the west. * * * *

Above all these are situated the Oneia[222] mountains, as they are

called, extending as far as Bœotia and Cithæron, from the Sceironides

rocks, where the road leads along them to Attica.

22. Lechæum is the commencement of the coast on one side; and on the

other, Cenchreæ, a village with a harbour, distant from the city about

70 stadia. The latter serves for the trade with Asia, and Lechæum for

that with Italy.

Lechæum is situated below the city, and is not well inhabited.

There are long walls of about 12 stadia in length, stretching on each

side of the road towards Lechæum. The sea-shore, extending hence to Pagæ

in Megaris, is washed by the Corinthian Gulf. It is curved, and forms

the Diolcus, or the passage along which vessels are drawn over the

Isthmus to the opposite coast at Schœnus near Cenchreæ.

Between Lechæum and Pagæ, anciently, there was the oracle of the Acræan

Juno, and Olmiæ, the promontory that forms the gulf, on which are

situated Œnoe, and Pagæ; the former is a fortress of the Megarians; and

Œnoe is a fortress of the Corinthians.

Next to Cenchreæ[223] is Schœnus, where is the narrow part of the

Diolcus, then Crommyonia. In front of this coast lies the Saronic Gulf,

and the Eleusiniac, which is almost the same, and continuous with the

Hermionic. Upon the Isthmus is the temple of the Isthmian Neptune,

shaded above with a grove of pine trees, where the Corinthians

celebrated the Isthmian games.

Crommyon[224] is a village of the Corinthian district, and formerly

belonging to that of Megaris, where is laid the scene of the fable of

the Crommyonian sow, which, it is said, was the dam of the Calydonian

boar, and, according to tradition, the destruction of this sow was one

of the labours of Theseus.

Tenea is a village of the Corinthian territory, where there was a temple

of Apollo Teneates. It is said that Archias, who equipped a colony for

Syracuse, was accompanied by a great number of settlers from this place;

and that this settlement afterwards flourished more than any others, and

at length had an independent form of government of its own. When they

revolted from the Corinthians, they attached themselves to the Romans,

and continued to subsist when Corinth was destroyed.

An answer of an oracle is circulated, which was returned to an Asiatic,

who inquired whether it was better to migrate to Corinth;

“Corinth is prosperous, but I would belong to Tenea”

which [CAS. 380] last word was perverted by some through ignorance, and

altered to Tegea. Here, it is said, Polybus brought up Œdipus.

There seems to be some affinity between the Tenedii and these people,

through Tennus, the son of Cycnus, according to Aristotle; the

similarity, too, of the divine honours paid by both to Apollo affords no

slight proof of this relationship.[225]

23. The Corinthians, when subject to Philip, espoused his party very

zealously, and individually conducted themselves so contemptuously

towards the Romans, that persons ventured to throw down filth upon their

ambassadors, when passing by their houses. They were immediately

punished for these and other offences and insults. A large army was sent

out under the command of Lucius Mummius, who razed the city.[226] The

rest of the country, as far as Macedonia, was subjected to the Romans

under different generals. The Sicyonii, however, had the largest part of

the Corinthian territory.

Polybius relates with regret what occurred at the capture of the city,

and speaks of the indifference the soldiers showed for works of art, and

the sacred offerings of the temples. He says, that he was present, and

saw pictures thrown upon the ground, and soldiers playing at dice upon

them. Among others, he specifies by name the picture of Bacchus[227] by

Aristeides, (to which it is said the proverb was applied, “Nothing to

the Bacchus,”) and Hercules tortured in the robe, the gift of

Deïaneira.[228] This I have not myself seen, but I have seen the picture

of the Bacchus suspended in the Demetreium at Rome, a very beautiful

piece of art, which, together with the temple, was lately consumed by

fire. The greatest number and the finest of the other offerings in Rome

were brought from Corinth. Some of them were in the possession of the

cities in the neighbourhood of Rome. For Mummius being more brave and

generous than an admirer of the arts, presented them without hesitation

to those who asked for them.[229] Lucullus, having built the temple of

Good Fortune, and a portico, requested of Mummius the use of some

statues, under the pretext of ornamenting the temple with them at the

time of its dedication, and promised to restore them. He did not,

however, restore, but presented them as sacred offerings, and told

Mummius to take them away if he pleased. Mummius did not resent this

conduct, not caring about the statues, but obtained more honour than

Lucullus, who presented them as sacred offerings.

Corinth remained a long time deserted, till at length it was restored on

account of its natural advantages by divus Cæsar, who sent colonists

thither, who consisted, for the most part, of the descendants of

free-men.

On moving the ruins, and digging open the sepulchres, an abundance of

works in pottery with figures on them, and many in brass, were found.

The workmanship was admired, and all the sepulchres were examined with

the greatest care. Thus was obtained a large quantity of things, which

were disposed of at a great price, and Rome filled with Necro-Corinthia,

by which name were distinguished the articles taken out of the

sepulchres, and particularly the pottery. At first these latter were

held in as much esteem as the works of the Corinthian artists in brass,

but this desire to have them did not continue, not only because the

supply failed, but because the greatest part of them were not well

executed.[230]

The city of Corinth was large and opulent at all periods, and produced a

great number of statesmen and artists. For here in particular, and at

Sicyon, flourished painting, and modelling, and every art of this kind.

The soil was not very fertile; its surface was uneven and [CAS. 382]

rugged, whence all writers describe Corinth as full of brows of hills,

and apply the proverb,

“Corinth rises with brows of hills, and sinks into hollows.”

24. Orneæ has the same name as the river which flows beside it. At

present it is deserted; formerly, it was well inhabited, and contained a

temple of Priapus, held in veneration. It is from this place that

Euphronius, (Euphorius?) the author of a poem, the Priapeia, applies the

epithet Orneates to the god.

It was situated above the plain of the Sicyonians, but the Argives were

masters of the country.

Aræthyrea[231] is now called Phliasia. It had a city of the same name as

the country near the mountain Celossa. They afterwards removed thence

and built a city at the distance of 30 stadia, which they called

Phlius.[232] Part of the mountain Celossa is the Carneates, whence the

Asopus takes its rise, which flows by Sicyon,[233] and forms the Asopian

district, which is a part of Sicyonia. There is also an Asopus, which

flows by Thebes, and Platæa, and Tanagra. There is another also in

Heracleia Trachinia, which flows beside a village, called Parasopii, and

a fourth at Paros.

Phlius is situated in the middle of a circle formed by Sicyonia, Argeia,

Cleonæ, and Stymphalus. At Phlius and at Sicyon the temple of Dia, a

name given to Hebe, is held in veneration.

25. Sicyon was formerly called Mecone, and at a still earlier period,

Ægiali. It was rebuilt high up in the country about 20, others say,

about 12, stadia from the sea, upon an eminence naturally strong, which

is sacred to Ceres. The buildings anciently consisted of a naval arsenal

and a harbour.

Sicyonia is separated by the river Nemea from the Corinthian territory.

It was formerly governed for a very long period by tyrants, but they

were always persons of mild and moderate disposition. Of these, the most

illustrious was Aratus, who made the city free, and was the chief of the

Achæans, who voluntarily conferred upon him that power; he extended the

confederacy by annexing to it his own country, and the other

neighbouring cities.

Hyperesia, and the cities next in order in the Catalogue of the poet,

and Ægialus,[234] [or the sea-coast,] as far as Dyme, and the borders of

the Eleian territory, belong to the Achæans.

CHAPTER VII.

1. The Ionians, who were descendants of the Athenians, were, anciently,

masters of this country. It was formerly called Ægialeia, and the

inhabitants Ægialeans, but in later times, Ionia, from the former

people, as Attica had the name of Ionia, from Ion the son of Xuthus.

It is said, that Hellen was the son of Deucalion, and that he governed

the country about Phthia between the Peneius and Asopus, and transmitted

to his eldest son these dominions, sending the others out of their

native country to seek a settlement each of them for himself. Dorus, one

of them, settled the Dorians about Parnassus, and when he left them,

they bore his name. Xuthus, another, married the daughter of Erechtheus,

and was the founder of the Tetrapolis of Attica, which consisted of

Œnoe, Marathon, Probalinthus, and Tricorythus.

Achæus, one of the sons of Xuthus, having committed an accidental

murder, fled to Lacedæmon, and occasioned the inhabitants to take the

name of Achæans.[235]

Ion, the other son, having vanquished the Thracian army with their

leader Eumolpus, obtained so much renown, that the Athenians intrusted

him with the government of their state. It was he who first distributed

the mass of the people into four tribes, and these again into four

classes according to their occupations, husbandmen, artificers, priests,

and the fourth, military guards; after having made many more regulations

of this kind, he left to the country his own name.

It [CAS. 383] happened at that time that the country had such an

abundance of inhabitants, that the Athenians sent out a colony of

Ionians to Peloponnesus, and the tract of country which they occupied

was called Ionia after their own name, instead of Ægialeia, and the

inhabitants Ionians instead of Ægialeans, who were distributed among

twelve cities.

After the return of the Heracleidæ, these Ionians, being expelled by the

Achæans, returned to Athens, whence, in conjunction with the Codridæ,

(descendants of Codrus,) they sent out the Ionian colonists to

Asia.[236] They founded twelve cities on the sea-coast of Caria and

Lydia, having distributed themselves over the country into as many parts

as they occupied in Peloponnesus.[237]

The Achæans were Phthiotæ by descent, and were settled at Lacedæmon, but

when the Heracleidæ became masters of the country, having recovered

their power under Tisamenus, the son of Orestes, they attacked the

Ionians, as I said before, and defeated them. They drove the Ionians out

of the country, and took possession of the territory, but retained the

same partition of it which they found existing there. They became so

powerful, that, although the Heracleidæ, from whom they had revolted,

occupied the rest of Peloponnesus, yet they defended themselves against

them all, and called their own country Achæa.

From Tisamenus to Ogyges they continued to be governed by kings.

Afterwards they established a democracy, and acquired so great renown

for their political wisdom, that the Italian Greeks, after their

dissensions with the Pythagoreans, adopted most of the laws and

institutions of the Achæans. After the battle of Leuctra the

Thebans[238] committed the disputes of the cities among each other to

the arbitration of the Achæans. At a later period their community was

dissolved by the Macedonians, but they recovered by degrees their former

power. At the time of the expedition of Pyrrhus into Italy they began

with the union of four cities, among which were Patræ and Dyme.[239]

They then had an accession of the twelve cities, with the exception of

Olenus and Helice; the former refused to join the league; the other was

swallowed up by the waves.

2. For the sea was raised to a great height by an earthquake, and

overwhelmed both Helice and the temple of the Heliconian Neptune, whom

the Ionians still hold in great veneration, and offer sacrifices to his

honour. They celebrate at that spot the Panionian festival.[240]

According to the conjecture of some persons, Homer refers to these

sacrifices in these lines,

“But he breathed out his soul, and bellowed, as a bull

Bellows when he is dragged round the altar of the Heliconian

king.”[241]

It is conjectured that the age[242] of the poet is later than the

migration of the Ionian colony, because he mentions the Panionian

sacrifices, which the Ionians perform in honour of the Heliconian

Neptune in the territory of Priene; for the Prienians themselves are

said to have come from Helice; a young man also of Priene is appointed

to preside as king at these sacrifices, and to superintend the

celebration of the sacred rites. A still stronger proof is adduced from

what is said by the poet respecting the bull, for the Ionians suppose,

that sacrifice is performed with favourable omens, when the bull bellows

at the instant that he is wounded at the altar.

Others deny this, and transfer to Helice the proofs alleged of the bull

and the sacrifice, asserting that these things were done there by

established custom, and that the poet drew his comparison from the

festival celebrated there. Helice[243] was overwhelmed by the waves two

years before the battle of [CAS. 384] Leuctra. Eratosthenes says, that

he himself saw the place, and the ferrymen told him that there formerly

stood in the strait a brazen statue of Neptune, holding in his hand a

hippocampus,[244] an animal which is dangerous to fishermen.

According to Heracleides, the inundation took place in his time, and

during the night. The city was at the distance of 12 stadia from the

sea, which overwhelmed the whole intermediate country as well as the

city. Two thousand men were sent by the Achæans to collect the dead

bodies, but in vain. The territory was divided among the bordering

people. This calamity happened in consequence of the anger of Neptune,

for the Ionians, who were driven from Helice, sent particularly to

request the people of Helice to give them the image of Neptune, or if

they were unwilling to give that, to furnish them with the model of the

temple. On their refusal, the Ionians sent to the Achæan body, who

decreed, that they should comply with the request, but they would not

obey even this injunction. The disaster occurred in the following

winter, and after this the Achæans gave the Ionians the model of the

temple.

Hesiod mentions another Helice in Thessaly.

3. The Achæans, during a period of five and twenty years, elected,

annually, a common secretary, and two military chiefs. Their common

assembly of the council met at one place, called Arnarium, (Homarium, or

Amarium,) where these persons, and, before their time, the Ionians,

consulted on public affairs. They afterwards resolved to elect one

military chief. When Aratus held this post, he took the Acrocorinthus

from Antigonus, and annexed the city as well as his own country to the

Achæan league.[245] He admitted the Megareans also into the body, and,

having destroyed the tyrannical governments in each state, he made them

members, after they were restored to liberty, of the Achæan league. * *

* * * He freed, in a short time, Peloponnesus from the existing

tyrannies; thus Argos, Hermion, Phlius, and Megalopolis, the largest of

the Arcadian cities, were added to the Achæan body, when they attained

their greatest increase of numbers. It was at this time that the Romans,

having expelled the Carthaginians from Sicily, undertook an expedition

against the Galatæ, who were settled about the Po.[246] The Achæans

remained firmly united until Philopœmen had the military command, but

their union was gradually dissolved, after the Romans had obtained

possession of the whole of Greece. The Romans did not treat each state

in the same manner, but permitted some to retain their own form of

government, and dissolved that of others. * * * * *

[He then assigns reasons for expatiating on the subject of the Achæans,

namely, their attainment of such a degree of power as to be superior to

the Lacedæmonians, and because they were not as well known as they

deserved to be from their importance.][247]

4. The order of the places which the Achæans inhabited, according to the

distribution into twelve parts, is as follows. Next to Sicyon is

Pellene; Ægeira, the second; the third, Ægæ, with a temple of Neptune;

Bura, the fourth; then Helice, where the Ionians took refuge after their

defeat by the Achæans, and from which place they were at last banished;

after Helice are Ægium, Rhypes, Patræ, and Phara; then Olenus, beside

which runs the large river [Peirus?]; then Dyme, and Tritæeis. The

Ionians dwelt in villages, but the Achæans founded cities, to some of

which they afterwards united others transferred from other quarters, as

Ægæ to Ægeira, (the inhabitants, however, were called Ægæi,) and Olenus

to Dyme.

Traces of the ancient settlement of the Olenii are to be seen between

Patræ and Dyme: there also is the famous temple of Æsculapius, distant

from Dyme 40, and from Patræ 80 stadia.

In Eubœa there is a place of the same name with the [CAS. 386] Ægæ

here, and there is a town of the name of Olenus in Ætolia, of which

there remain only vestiges.

The poet does not mention the Olenus in Achaia, nor many other people

living near Ægialus, but speaks in general terms;

“along the whole of Ægialus, and about the spacious Helice.”[248]

But he mentions the Ætolian Olenus in these words;

“those who occupied Pleuron and Olenus.”[249]

He mentions both the places of the name of Ægæ; the Achæan Ægæ in these

terms,

“who bring presents to Helice, and to Ægæ.”[250]

But when he says,

“Ægæ, where his palace is in the depths of the sea,

There Neptune stopped his coursers,”[251]

it is better to understand Ægæ in Eubœa; whence it is probable the Ægæan

Sea had its name. On this sea, according to story, Neptune made his

preparations for the Trojan war.

Close to the Achæan Ægæ flows the river Crathis,[252] augmented by the

waters of two rivers, and deriving its name from the mixture of their

streams. To this circumstance the river Crathis in Italy owes its name.

5. Each of these twelve portions contained seven or eight demi, so great

was the population of the country.

Pellene,[253] situated at the distance of 60 stadia from the sea, is a

strong fortress. There is also a village of the name of Pellene, whence

they bring the Pellenian mantles, which are offered as prizes at the

public games. It lies between Ægium[254] and Pellene. But Pellana, a

different place from these, belongs to the Lacedæmonians, and is

situated towards the territory of Megalopolitis.

Ægeira[255] is situated upon a hill. Bura is at the distance from the

sea-coast of about 40 stadia. It was swallowed up by an earthquake. It

is said, that from the fountain Sybaris which is there, the river

Sybaris in Italy had its name.

Æga (for this is the name by which Ægæ is called) is not now inhabited,

but the Ægienses occupy the territory. Ægium, however, is well

inhabited. It was here, it is said, that Jupiter was suckled by a goat,

as Aratus also says,

“the sacred goat, which is said to have applied its teats to

the lips of Jupiter.”[256]

He adds, that,

“the priests call it the Olenian goat of Jupiter,”

and indicates the place because it was near Olenus. There also is

Ceryneia, situated upon a lofty rock. This place, and Helice, belong to

the Ægienses,[257] and the Ænarium, [Homarium,] the grove of Jupiter,

where the Achæans held their convention, when they were to deliberate

upon their common affairs.

The river Selinus flows through the city of the Ægienses. It has the

same name as that which was beside Artemisium at Ephesus, and that in

Elis, which has its course along the spot, that Xenophon[258] says he

purchased in compliance with the injunction of an oracle, in honour of

Artemis. There is also another Selinus in the country of the Hyblæi

Megarenses, whom the Carthaginians expelled.

Of the remaining Achæan cities, or portions, Rhypes is not inhabited,

but the territory called Rhypis was occupied by Ægienses and Pharians.

Æschylus also says somewhere,

“the sacred Bura, and Rhypes struck with lightning.”

Myscellus, the founder of Croton, was a native of Rhypes. Leuctrum,

belonging to the district Rhypis, was a demus of Rhypes. Between these

was Patræ, a considerable city, and in the intervening country, at the

distance of 40 stadia from Patræ, are Rhium,[259] and opposite to it,

Antirrhium.[260] Not long since the Romans, after the victory at Actium,

stationed there a large portion of their army, and at [CAS. 387]

present it is very well peopled, since it is a colony of the Romans. It

has also a tolerably good shelter for vessels. Next is Dyme,[261] a city

without a harbour, the most westerly of all the cities, whence also it

has its name. It was formerly called Stratos.[262] It is separated from

Eleia at Buprasium by the river Larisus,[263] which rises in a mountain,

called by some persons Scollis, but by Homer, the Olenian rock.

Antimachus having called Dyme Cauconis, some writers suppose that the

latter word is used as an epithet derived from the Caucones, who

extended as far as this quarter, as I have said before. Others think

that it is derived from a river Caucon, in the same way as Thebes has

the appellation of Dircæan, and Asopian; and as Argos is called

Inachian, and Troy, Simuntis.[264]

A little before our time, Dyme had received a colony consisting of a

mixed body of people, a remnant of the piratical bands, whose haunts

Pompey had destroyed. Some he settled at Soli in Cilicia, and others in

other places, and some in this spot.

Phara borders upon the Dymæan territory. The inhabitants of this Phara

are called Pharenses; those of the Messenian Phara, Pharatæ. In the

territory of Phara there is a fountain Dirce, of the same name as that

at Thebes.

Olenus is deserted. It lies between Patræ and Dyme. The territory is

occupied by the Dymæi. Next is Araxus,[265] the promontory of the Eleian

district, distant from the isthmus 1000 stadia.

CHAPTER VIII.

1. Arcadia is situated in the middle of Peloponnesus, and contains the

greatest portion of the mountainous tract in that country. Its largest

mountain is Cyllene.[266] Its perpendicular height, according to some

writers, is 20, according to others, about 15 stadia.

The Arcadian nations, as the Azanes, and Parrhasii, and other similar

tribes, seem to be the most ancient people of Greece.[267]

In consequence of the complete devastation of this country, it is

unnecessary to give a long description of it. The cities, although

formerly celebrated, have been destroyed by continual wars; and the

husbandmen abandoned the country at the time that most of the cities

were united in that called Megalopolis (the Great City). At present

Megalopolis itself has undergone the fate expressed by the comic poet;

“the great city is a great desert.”

There are rich pastures for cattle, and particularly for horses and

asses, which are used as stallions. The race of Arcadian horses, as well

as the Argolic and Epidaurian, is preferred before all others. The

uninhabited tracts of country in Ætolia and Acarnania are not less

adapted to the breeding of horses than Thessaly.

2. Mantinea owes its fame to Epaminondas, who conquered the

Lacedæmonians there in a second battle, in which he lost his life.[268]

This city, together with Orchomenus, Heræa, Cleitor, Pheneus,

Stymphalus, Mænalus, Methydrium, Caphyeis, and Cynætha, either exist no

longer, or traces and signs only of their existence are visible. There

are still some remains of Tegea, and the temple of the Alæan Minerva

remains. The latter is yet held in some little veneration, as well as

the temple of the Lycæan Jupiter on the Lycæan mountain. But the places

mentioned by the poet, as

“Rhipe, and Stratia, and the windy Enispe,”

are difficult to discover, and if discovered, would be of no use from

the deserted condition of the country.

3. [CAS. 389] The mountains of note, besides Cyllene, are Pholoë,[269]

Lycæum,[270] Mænalus, and the Parthenium,[271] as it is called, which

extends from the territory of Tegea to that of Argos.

4. We have spoken of the extraordinary circumstances relative to the

Alpheius, Eurotas, and the Erasinus, which issues out of the lake

Stymphalis, and now flows into the Argive country.

Formerly, the Erasinus had no efflux, for the Berethra, which the

Arcadians call Zerethra,[272] had no outlet, so that the city of the

Stymphalii, which at that time was situated upon the lake, is now at the

distance of 50 stadia.

The contrary was the case with the Ladon, which was at one time

prevented running in a continuous stream by the obstruction of its

sources. For the Berethra near Pheneum, through which it now passes,

fell in, in consequence of an earthquake, which stopped the waters of the

river, and affected far down the veins which supplied its source. This

is the account of some writers.

Eratosthenes says, that about the Pheneus, the river called Anias forms

a lake, and then sinks under-ground into certain openings, which they

call Zerethra. When these are obstructed, the water sometimes overflows

into the plains, and when they are again open the water escapes in a

body from the plains, and is discharged into the Ladon[273] and the

Alpheius,[274] so that it happened once at Olympia, that the land about

the temple was inundated, but the lake was partly emptied. The

Erasinus[275] also, he says, which flows by Stymphalus, sinks into the

ground under the mountain (Chaon?), and reappears in the Argive

territory. It was this that induced Iphicrates, when besieging

Stymphalus, and making no progress, to attempt to obstruct the descent

of the river into the ground by means of a large quantity of sponges,

but desisted in consequence of some portentous signs in the heavens.

Near the Pheneus there is also the water of the Styx, as it is called, a

dripping spring of poisonous water, which was esteemed to be sacred.

So much then respecting Arcadia.

5.[276] Polybius having said, that from Maleæ towards the north as far

as the Danube the distance is about 10,000 stadia, is corrected by

Artemidorus, and not without reason; for, according to the latter, from

Maleæ to Ægium the distance is 1400 stadia, from hence to Cirrha is a

distance by sea of 200 stadia; hence by Heraclea to Thaumaci a journey

of 500 stadia; thence to Larisa and the river Peneus, 340 stadia; then

through Tempe to the mouth of the Peneus, 240 stadia; then to

Thessalonica, 660 stadia; then to the Danube, through Idomene, and

Stobi, and Dardanii, it is 3200 stadia. According to Artemidorus,

therefore, the distance from the Danube to Maleæ would be 6500. The

cause of this difference is that he does not give the measurement by the

shortest road, but by some accidental route pursued by a general of an

army.

It is not, perhaps, out of place to add the founders mentioned by

Ephorus, who settled colonies in Peloponnesus after the return of the

Heracleidæ; as Aletes, the founder of Corinth; Phalces, of Sicyon;

Tisamenus, of cities in Achæa; Oxylus, of Elis, Cresphontes, of Messene;

Eurysthenes and Procles, of Lacedæmon; Temenus and Cissus, of Argos; and

Agræus and Deïphontes, of the towns about Acte.

BOOK IX.[CAS. 390]

SUMMARY.

Continuation of the geography of Greece. A panegyrical account

of Athens. A description of Bœotia and Thessaly, with the

sea-coast.

CHAPTER I.

1. Having completed the description of Peloponnesus, which we said was

the first and least of the peninsulas of which Greece consists, we must

next proceed to those which are continuous with it.[277]

We described the second to be that which joins Megaris to the

Peloponnesus [so that Crommyon belongs to Megaris, and not to the

Corinthians];[278] the third to be that which is situated near the

former, comprising Attica and Bœotia, some part of Phocis, and of the

Locri Epicnemidii. Of these we are now to speak.

Eudoxus says, that if we imagine a straight line to be drawn towards the

east from the Ceraunian Mountains to Sunium, the promontory of Attica,

it would leave, on the right hand, to the south, the whole of

Peloponnesus, and on the left, to the north, the continuous coast from

the Ceraunian Mountains to the Crisæan Gulf, and the whole of Megaris

and Attica. He is of opinion that the shore which extends from Sunium to

the Isthmus, would not have so great a curvature, nor have so great a

bend, if, to this shore, were not added the parts continuous with the

Isthmus and extending to the Hermionic Bay and Acté; that in the same

manner the shore, from the Ceraunian Mountains to the Gulf of Corinth,

has a similar bend, so as to make a curvature, forming within it a sort

of gulf, where Rhium and Antirrhium contracting together give it this

figure. The same is the case with the shore about Crissa and the recess,

where the Crisæan Sea terminates.[279]

2. As this is the description given by Eudoxus, a mathematician, skilled

in the delineations of figures and the inclinations of places,

acquainted also with the places themselves, we must consider the sides

of Attica and Megaris, extending from Sunium as far as the Isthmus, to

be curved, although slightly so. About the middle of the above-mentioned

line[280] is the Piræus, the naval arsenal of the Athenians. It is

distant from Schœnus, at the Isthmus, about 350 stadia; from Sunium 330.

The distance from the Piræus to Pagæ[281] and from the Piræus to Schœnus

is nearly the same, yet the former is said to exceed the latter by 10

stadia. After having doubled Sunium, the navigation along the coast is

to the north with a declination to the west.

3. Acte (Attica) is washed by two seas; it is at first narrow, then it

widens towards the middle, yet it, nevertheless, takes a lunated bend

towards Oropus in Bœotia, having the convex side towards the sea. This

is the second, the eastern side of Attica.

The remaining side is that to the north, extending from the territory of

Oropus towards the west, as far as Megaris, and consists of the

mountainous tract of Attica, having a variety of names, and dividing

Bœotia from Attica; so that, as I have before remarked, Bœotia, by being

connected with [CAS. 391] two seas, becomes the Isthmus of the third

peninsula, which we have mentioned before, and this Isthmus includes

within it the Peloponnesus, Megaris, and Attica. For this reason

therefore the present Attica was called by a play upon the words Acta

and Actica, because the greatest part of it lies under the mountains,

and borders on the sea; it is narrow, and stretches forwards a

considerable length as far as Sunium. We shall therefore resume the

description of these sides, beginning from the sea-coast, at the point

where we left off.

4. After Crommyon, rising above Attica, are the rocks called Scironides,

which afford no passage along the sea-side. Over them, however, is a

road which leads to Megara and Attica from the Isthmus. The road

approaches so near the rocks that in many places it runs along the edge

of precipices, for the overhanging mountain is of great height, and

impassable.

Here is laid the scene of the fable of Sciron, and the Pityocamptes, or

the pine-breaker, one of those who infested with their robberies the

above-mentioned mountainous tract. They were slain by Theseus.

The wind Argestes,[282] which blows from the left with violence, from

these summits is called by the Athenians Sciron.

After the rocks Scironides there projects the promontory Minoa, forming

the harbour of Nisæa. Nisæa is the arsenal of Megara, and distant 18

stadia from the city; it is joined to it by walls on each side.[283]

This also had the name of Minoa.

5. In former times the Ionians occupied this country, and were also in

possession of Attica, before the time of the building of Megara,

wherefore the poet does not mention these places by any appropriate

name, but when he calls all those dwelling in Attica, Athenians, he

comprehends these also in the common appellation, regarding them as

Athenians; so when, in the Catalogue of the Ships, he says,

“And they who occupied Athens, a well-built city,”[284]

we must understand the present Megarenses also, as having taken a part

in the expedition. The proof of this is, that Attica was, in former

times, called Ionia, and Ias, and when the poet says,

“There the Bœoti, Iaones,”[285]

he means the Athenians. But of this Ionia Megaris was a part.

6. Besides, the Peloponnesians and Ionians having had frequent disputes

respecting their boundaries, on which Crommyonia also was situated,

assembled and agreed upon a spot of the Isthmus itself, on which they

erected a pillar having an inscription on the part towards Peloponnesus,

“THIS IS PELOPONNESUS, NOT IONIA;”

and on the side towards Megara,

“THIS IS NOT PELOPONNESUS, BUT IONIA.”

Although those, who wrote on the history of Attica,[286] differ in many

respects, yet those of any note agree in this, that when there were four

Pandionidæ, Ægeus, Lycus, Pallas, and Nisus; and when Attica was divided

into four portions, Nisus obtained, by lot, Megaris, and founded Nisæa.

Philochorus says, that his government extended from the Isthmus to

Pythium,[287] but according to Andron, as far as Eleusis and the

Thriasian plain.

Since, then, different writers give different accounts of the division

of the country into four parts, it is enough to adduce these lines from

Sophocles where Ægeus says,

“My father determined that I should go away to Acte, having

assigned to me, as the elder, the best part of the land; to

Lycus, the opposite garden of Eubœa; for Nisus he selects the

irregular tract of the shore of Sciron; and the rugged Pallas,

breeder of giants, obtained by lot the part to the

south.”[288]

Such are the proofs which are adduced to show that Megaris was a part of

Attica.

7. After the return of the Heraclidæ, and the partition of the country,

many of the former possessors were banished from their own land by the

Heraclidæ, and by the Dorians, who came with them, and migrated to

Attica. Among these was Melanthus, the king of Messene. He was

voluntarily [CAS. 393] appointed king of the Athenians, after having

overcome in single combat, Xanthus, the king of the Bœotians. When

Attica became populous by the accession of fugitives, the Heraclidæ were

alarmed, and invaded Attica, chiefly at the instigation of the

Corinthians and Messenians; the former of whom were influenced by

proximity of situation, the latter by the circumstance that Codrus, the

son of Melanthus, was at that time king of Attica. They were, however,

defeated in battle and relinquished the whole of the country, except the

territory of Megara, of which they kept possession, and founded the city

Megara, where they introduced as inhabitants Dorians in place of

Ionians. They destroyed the pillar also which was the boundary of the

country of the Ionians and the Peloponnesians.

8. The city of the Megarenses, after having experienced many changes,

still subsists. It once had schools of philosophers, who had the name of

the Megaric sect. They succeeded Euclides, the Socratic philosopher, who

was by birth a Megarensian, in the same manner as the Eleiaci, among

whom was Pyrrhon, who succeeded Phædon, the Eleian, who was also a

Socratic philosopher, and as the Eretriaci succeeded Menedemus the

Eretrean.

Megaris, like Attica, is very sterile, and the greater part of it is

occupied by what are called the Oneii mountains, a kind of ridge, which,

extending from the Scironides rocks to Bœotia and to Cithæron, separates

the sea at Nisæa from that near Pagæ, called the Alcyonian Sea.

9. In sailing from Nisæa to Attica there lie, in the course of the

voyage, five small islands. Then succeeds Salamis, which is about 70,

and according to others, 80, stadia in length. It has two cities of the

same name. The ancient city, which looked towards Ægina and to the

south, as Æschylus has described it;

“Ægina lies towards the blasts of the south:”

it is uninhabited. The other is situated in a bay on a spot of a

peninsular form contiguous to Attica. In former times it had other

names, for it was called Sciras, and Cychreia, from certain heroes; from

the former Minerva is called Sciras; hence also Scira, a place in

Attica; Episcirosis, a religious rite; and Scirophorion, one of the

months. From Cychreia the serpent Cychrides had its name, which Hesiod

says Cychreus bred, and Eurylochus ejected, because it infested the

island, but that Ceres admitted it into Eleusis, and it became her

attendant. Salamis was called also Pityussa from “pitys,” the pine tree.

The island obtained its renown from the Æacidæ, who were masters of it,

particularly from Ajax, the son of Telamon, and from the defeat of

Xerxes by the Greeks in a battle on the coast, and by his flight to his

own country. The Æginetæ participated in the glory of that engagement,

both as neighbours, and as having furnished a considerable naval force.

[In Salamis is the river Bocarus, now called Bocalia.][289]

10. At present the Athenians possess the island Salamis. In former times

they disputed the possession of it with the Megarians. Some allege, that

Pisistratus, others that Solon, inserted in the Catalogue of Ships

immediately after this verse,

“Ajax conducted from Salamis twelve vessels,”[290]

the following words,

“And stationed them by the side of the Athenian forces;”

and appealed to the poet as a witness, that the island originally

belonged to the Athenians. But this is not admitted by the critics,

because many other lines testify the contrary. For why does Ajax appear

at the extremity of the line not with the Athenians, but with the

Thessalians under the command of Protesilaus;

“There were the vessels of Ajax, and Protesilaus.”[291]

And Agamemnon, in the Review[4] of the troops,

“found the son of Peteus, Menestheus, the tamer of horses,

standing, and around were the Athenians skilful in war: near

stood the wily Ulysses, and around him and at his side, the

ranks of the Cephalleni;”[292]

and again, respecting Ajax and the Salaminii;

“he came to the Ajaces,”[293]

and near them,

“Idomeneus on the other side amidst the Cretans,”[294]

not Menestheus. The Athenians then seem to have alleged [CAS. 394] some

such evidence as this from Homer as a pretext, and the Megarians to have

replied in an opposite strain of this kind;

“Ajax conducted ships from Salamis, from Polichna, from

Ægirussa, from Nisæa, and from Tripodes,”[295]

which are places in Megaris, of which Tripodes has the name of

Tripodiscium, situated near the present forum of Megara.

11. Some say, that Salamis is unconnected with Attica, because the

priestess of Minerva Polias, who may not eat the new cheese of Attica,

but the produce only of a foreign land, yet uses the Salaminian cheese.

But this is a mistake, for she uses that which is brought from other

islands, that are confessedly near Attica, for the authors of this

custom considered all produce as foreign which was brought over sea.

It seems as if anciently the present Salamis was a separate state, and

that Megara was a part of Attica.

On the sea-coast, opposite to Salamis, the boundaries of Megara and

Attica are two mountains called Cerata, or Horns.[296]

12. Next is the city Eleusis,[297] in which is the temple of the

Eleusinian Ceres, and the Mystic Enclosure (Secos),[298] which Ictinus

built,[299] capable of containing the crowd of a theatre. It was this

person that built[300] the Parthenon in the Acropolis, in honour of

Minerva, when Pericles was the superintendent of the public works. The

city is enumerated among the demi, or burghs.

13. Then follows the Thriasian plain, and the coast, a demus of the same

name,[301] then the promontory Amphiale,[302] above which is a stone

quarry; and then the passage across the sea to Salamis, of about 2

stadia, which Xerxes endeavoured to fill up with heaps of earth, but the

sea-fight and the flight of the Persians occurred before he had

accomplished it.

There also are the Pharmacussæ,[303] two small islands, in the larger

of which is shown the tomb of Circe.

14. Above this coast is a mountain called Corydallus, and the demus

Corydalleis: then the harbour of Phoron, (Robbers,) and Psyttalia, a

small rocky desert island, which, according to some writers, is the

eye-sore of the Piræus.

Near it is Atalanta, of the same name as that between Eubœa and the

Locri; and another small island similar to Psyttalia; then the Piræus,

which is also reckoned among the demi, and the Munychia.

15. The Munychia is a hill in the shape of a peninsula, hollow, and a

great part of it excavated both by nature and art, so as to serve for

dwellings, with an entrance by a narrow opening. Beneath it are three

harbours. Formerly the Munychia was surrounded by a wall, and occupied

by dwellings, nearly in the same manner as the city of the Rhodians,

comprehending within the circuit of the walls the Piræus and the

harbours full of materials for ship-building; here also was the armoury,

the work of Philon. The naval station was capable of receiving the four

hundred vessels; which was the smallest number the Athenians were in the

habit of keeping in readiness for sea. With this wall were connected the

legs, that stretched out from the Asty. These were the long walls, 40

stadia in length, joining the Asty[304] to the Piræus. But in

consequence of frequent wars, the wall and the fortification of the

Munychia were demolished; the Piræus was contracted to a small town,

extending round the harbours and the temple of Jupiter Soter. The small

porticoes of the temple contain admirable paintings, the work of

celebrated artists, and the hypæthrum, statues. The long walls also were

destroyed, first demolished by the Lacedæmonians, and afterwards by the

Romans, when Sylla took the Piræus and the Asty by siege.[305]

16. What is properly the Asty is a rock, situated in a plain, with

dwellings around it. Upon the rock is the temple [CAS. 396] of Minerva,

and the ancient shrine of Minerva Polias, in which is the

never-extinguished lamp; and the Parthenon, built by Ictinus, in which

is the Minerva, in ivory, the work of Pheidias.

When, however, I consider the multitude of objects, so celebrated and

far-famed, belonging to this city, I am reluctant to enlarge upon them,

lest what I write should depart too far from the proposed design of this

work.[306] For the words of Hegesias[307] occur to me;

“I behold the acropolis, there is the symbol of the great

trident;[308] I see Eleusis; I am initiated in the sacred

mysteries; that is Leocorium;[309] this the Theseium.[310] To

describe all is beyond my power, for Attica is the chosen

residence of the gods; and the possession of heroes its

progenitors.”

Yet this very writer mentions only one of the remarkable things to be

seen in the Acropolis. Polemo Periegetes[311] however composed four

books on the subject of the sacred offerings which were there. Hegesias

is similarly sparing of remarks on other parts of the city, and of the

territory: after speaking of Eleusis, one of the hundred and seventy

demi, to which as they say four are to be added, he mentions no other by

name.

17. Many, if not all the demi, have various fabulous tales and histories

connected with them: with Aphidna is connected the rape of Helen by

Theseus, the sack of the place by the Dioscuri, and the recovery of

their sister; with Marathon, the battle with the Persians; at Rhamnus

was the statue of Nemesis, which, according to some writers, is the work

of Diodotus, according to others, of Agoracritus, the Parian, so well

executed, both as to size and beauty, as to rival the art of Pheidias.

Deceleia was the rendezvous of the Peloponnesians in the Decelic war.

From Phyle Thrasybulus brought back the people to the Piræus, and thence

to the Asty. Thus also much might be told respecting many other places;

the Leocorium, the Theseium, and the Lyceum have their own fables, and

the Olympicum, called also the Olympium, which the king, who dedicated

it, left, at his death, half finished; so also much might be said of the

Academia, of the gardens of the philosophers, of the Odeium,[312] of the

Stoa Pœcile, [or painted Portico,] and of the temples in the city, all

of which contain the works of illustrious artists.

18. The account would be much longer if we were to inquire who were the

founders of the city from the time of Cecrops, for writers do not agree,

as is evident from the names of persons and of places. For example,

Attica,[313] they say, was derived from Actæon; Atthis, and Attica, from

Atthis, the daughter of Cranaus, from whom the inhabitants had the name

Cranaï; Mopsopia from Mopsopus; Ionia from Ion, the son of Xuthus;

Poseidonia and Athenæ, from the deities of that name. We have said, that

the nation of the Pelasgi seem to have come into this country in the

course of their migrations, and were called from their wanderings, by

the Attici, Pelargi, or storks.

19. In proportion as an earnest desire is excited to ascertain the truth

about remarkable places and events, and in proportion as writers, on

these subjects, are more numerous, so much the more is an author exposed

to censure, who does not make himself master of what has been written.

For example, in “the Collection of the Rivers,” Callimachus says, that

he should laugh at the person, who would venture to describe the

Athenian virgins as

“drinking of the pure waters of the Eridanus,”[CAS. 397]

from which even the herds would turn away. There are indeed fountains of

water, pure and fit for drinking, it is said, without the gate called

Diochares, near the Lyceium; formerly also a fountain was erected near

it, which afforded a large supply of excellent water; but if it is not

so at present, is it at all strange, that a fountain supplying abundance

of pure and potable water at one period of time, should afterwards have

the property of its waters altered?

In subjects, however, which are so numerous, we cannot enter into

detail; yet they are not so entirely to be passed over in silence as to

abstain from giving a condensed account of some of them.

20. It will suffice then to add, that, according to Philochorus, when

the country was devastated on the side of the sea by the Carians, and by

land by the Bœotians, whom they called Aones, Cecrops first settled a

large body of people in twelve cities, the names of which were Cecropia,

Tetrapolis, Epacria, Deceleia, Eleusis, Aphidna, (although some persons

write it in the plural number, Aphidnæ,) Thoricus, Brauron, Cytherus,

Sphettus, Cephisia [Phalerus]. Again, at a subsequent period, Theseus is

said to have collected the inhabitants of the twelve cities into one,

the present city.

Formerly, the Athenians were governed by kings; they afterwards changed

the government to a democracy; then tyrants were their masters, as

Pisistratus and his sons; afterwards there was an oligarchy both of the

four hundred and of the thirty tyrants, whom the Lacedæmonii set over

them; these were expelled by the Athenians, who retained the form of a

democracy, till the Romans established their empire. For, although they

were somewhat oppressed by the Macedonian kings, so as to be compelled

to obey them, yet they preserved entire the same form of government.

Some say, that the government was very well administered during a period

of ten years, at the time that Casander was king of the Macedonians. For

this person, although in other respects he was disposed to be

tyrannical, yet, when he was master of the city, treated the Athenians

with kindness and generosity. He placed at the head of the citizens

Demetrius the Phalerean, a disciple of Theophrastus the philosopher,

who, far from dissolving, restored the democracy. This appears from his

memoirs, which he composed concerning this mode of government. But so

much hatred and dislike prevailed against anything connected with

oligarchy, that, after the death of Casander, he was obliged to fly into

Egypt.[314] The insurgents pulled down more than three hundred of his

statues, which were melted down, and according to some were cast into

chamber-pots. The Romans, after their conquest, finding them governed by

a democracy,[315] maintained their independence and liberty. During the

Mithridatic war, the king set over them such tyrants as he pleased.

Aristio, who was the most powerful of these persons, oppressed the city;

he was taken by Sylla, the Roman general, after a siege,[316] and put to

death. The citizens were pardoned, and, to this time, the city enjoys

liberty, and is respected by the Romans.

21. Next to the Piræus is the demus Phalereis, on the succeeding line of

coast, then Halimusii, Æxoneis, Alæeis, the Æxonici, Anagyrasii; then

Theoris, Lampesis; Ægilieis, Anaphlystii, Azenieis; these extend as far

as the promontory Sunium. Between the above-mentioned demi is a long

promontory, Zoster,[317] the first after the Æxoneis; then another

promontory after Thoreis, Astypalæa; in the front of the former of these

is an island, Phabra,[318] and of the latter an island, Eleüssa,[319]

opposite the Æxoneis is Hydrussa. About Anaphlystum is the Paneum, and

the temple of Venus Colias. Here, they say, were thrown up by the waves

the last portions of the wrecks of the vessels after the naval

engagement with the Persians near Salamis, of which remains Apollo

predicted,

“The women of Colias shall shudder at the sight of oars.”

In front of these places lies off, at no great distance, the island

Belbina; and the rampart of Patroclus; but most of these islands are

uninhabited.

22. On doubling the promontory at Sunium, we meet with Sunium, a

considerable demus; then Thoricus, next a demus called Potamus, from

which the inhabitants are called Potamii; next Prasia,[320] Steiria,

Brauron, where is the temple of [CAS. 399] Diana Brauronia, Halæ

Araphenides, where is the temple of Diana Tauropola; then Myrrhinus,

Probalinthus, Marathon, where Miltiades entirely destroyed the army of

Datis the Persian, without waiting for the Lacedæmonians, who deferred

setting out till the full moon. There is laid the scene of the fable of

the Marathonian bull, which Theseus killed.

Next to Marathon is Tricorynthus, then Rhamnus, where is the temple of

Nemesis; then Psaphis, a city of the Oropii. Somewhere about this spot

is the Amphiaraeum, an oracle once in repute, to which Amphiareus fled,

as Sophocles says,

“The dusty Theban soil opened and received him with his

armour, and the four-horse chariot.”

Oropus has frequently been a subject of contention, for it is situated

on the confines of Attica and Bœotia.

In front of this coast, before Thoricum and Sunium, is the island

Helena; it is rocky and uninhabited, extending in length about 60

stadia, which, they say, the poet mentions in the words, in which

Alexander addresses Helen,

“Not when first I carried thee away from the pleasant

Lacedæmon, across the deep, and in the island Cranaë embraced

thee.”[321]

For Cranaë, from the kind of intercourse which took place there, is now

called Helena. Next to Helena,[322] Eubœa[323] lies in front of the

following tract of coast. It is long and narrow, and stretching along

the continent like Helena. From Sunium to the southern point of Eubœa,

which is called Leuce Acte,[324] [or, the white coast,] is a voyage of

300 stadia, but we shall speak hereafter of Eubœa.

It would be tedious to recite the names of the Demi of Attica in the

inland parts, on account of their number.[325]

23. Among the mountains which are most celebrated, are the Hymettus,

Brilessus, Lycabettus, Parnes, and Corydallus.[326] Near the city are

excellent quarries of Hymettian and Pentelic marble. The Hymettus

produces also the finest honey. The silver mines in Attica were at first

of importance, but are now exhausted. The workmen, when the mines

yielded a bad return to their labour, committed to the furnace the old

refuse and scoria, and hence obtained very pure silver, for the former

workmen had carried on the process in the furnace unskilfully.

Although the Attic is the best of all the kinds of honey, yet by far the

best of the Attic honey is that found in the country of the silver

mines,[327] which they call acapniston, or unsmoked, from the mode of

its preparation.

24. Among the rivers is the Cephissus, having its source from the

Trinemeis, it flows through the plain (where are the Gephyra, and the

Gephyrismi) between the legs or walls extending from the Asty to the

Piræus, and empties itself into the Phalericum. Its character is chiefly

that of a winter torrent, for in the summer time it fails altogether.

Such also, for the most part, is the Ilissus, which flows from the other

side of the Asty to the same coast, from the parts above Agra, and the

Lyceium, and the fountain celebrated by Plato in the Phædrus. So much

then respecting Attica.

CHAPTER II.

1. Next in order is Bœotia. When I speak of this country, and of the

contiguous nations, I must, for the sake of perspicuity, repeat what I

have said before.

We have said, that the sea-coast stretches from Sunium to the north as

far as Thessalonica, inclining a little toward the west, and having the

sea on the east, that parts situated above this shore towards the west

extend like belts[328] parallel to one another through the whole

country. The first of these belts is Attica with Megaris, the eastern

side of which extends [CAS. 400] from Sunium to Oropus, and Bœotia; on

the western side is the isthmus, and the Alcyonian sea commencing at

Pagæ and extending as far as the boundaries of Bœotia near Creusa, the

remaining two sides are formed by the sea-shore from Sunium to the

Isthmus, and the mountain tract nearly parallel with this, which

separates Attica from Bœotia.

The second belt is Bœotia, stretching from east to west from the Eubœan

sea to the Crisæan Gulf, nearly of equal length with Attica, or perhaps

somewhat less; in quality of soil however it greatly surpasses Attica.

2. Ephorus declares the superiority of Bœotia over the bordering nations

not only in this respect, but also because it alone has three seas

adjoining it, and a great number of harbours. At the Crisæan and

Corinthian Gulfs it received the commodities of Italy, Sicily, and

Africa. Towards Eubœa the sea-coast branches off on each side of the

Euripus; in one direction towards Aulis and Tanagrica, in the other, to

Salganeus and Anthedon; on one side there is an open sea to Egypt, and

Cyprus, and the islands; on the other to Macedonia, the Propontis, and

the Hellespont. He adds also that Eubœa is almost a part of Bœotia,

because the Euripus is very narrow, and the opposite shores are brought

into communication by a bridge of two plethra in length.[329]

For these reasons he praises the country, and says, that it has natural

advantages for obtaining supreme command, but that from want of careful

education and learning, even those who were from time to time at the

head of affairs did not long maintain the ascendency they had acquired,

as appears from the example of Epaminondas; at his death the Thebans

immediately lost the supremacy they had just acquired. This is to be

attributed, says Ephorus, to their neglect of learning, and of

intercourse with mankind, and to their exclusive cultivation of military

virtues. It must be added also, that learning and knowledge are

peculiarly useful in dealing with Greeks, but in the case of Barbarians,

force is preferable to reason. In fact the Romans in early times, when

carrying on war with savage nations, did not require such

accomplishments, but from the time that they began to be concerned in

transactions with more civilized people, they applied themselves to

learning, and so established universal dominion.

3. Bœotia was first occupied by Barbarians, Aones, and Temmices, a

wandering people from Sunium, by Leleges, and Hyantes. Then the

Phœnicians, who accompanied Cadmus, possessed it. He fortified the

Cadmeian land, and transmitted the government to his descendants. The

Phœnicians founded Thebes, and added it to the Cadmeian territory. They

preserved their dominion, and exercised it over the greatest part of the

Bœotians till the time of the expedition of the Epigoni. At this period

they abandoned Thebes for a short time, but returned again. In the same

manner when they were ejected by Thracians and Pelasgi, they established

their rule in Thessaly together with the Arnæi for a long period, so

that all the inhabitants obtained the name of Bœotians. They returned

afterwards to their own country, at the time the Æolian expedition was

preparing at Aulis in Bœotia which the descendants of Orestes were

equipping for Asia. After having united the Orchomenian tract to Bœotia

(for formerly they did not form one community, nor has Homer enumerated

these people with the Bœotians, but by themselves, calling them Minyæ)

with the assistance of the Orchomenians they drove out the Pelasgi, who

went to Athens, a part of which city is called from this people

Pelasgic. The Pelasgi however settled below Hymettus. The Thracians

retreated to Parnassus. The Hyantes founded Hyampolis in Phocis.

4. Ephorus relates that the Thracians, after making treaty with the

Bœotians, attacked them by night, when encamped in a careless manner

during a time of peace. The Thracians when reproached, and accused of

breaking the treaty, replied, that they had not broken it, for the

conditions were “by day,” whereas they had made the attack by night,

whence the common proverb, “a Thracian shuffle.”

The Pelasgi and the Bœotians also went during the war to consult the

oracle. He cannot tell, he says, what answer was given to the Pelasgi,

but the prophetess replied to the Bœotians that they would prosper by

committing some act of impiety. The messengers sent to consult the

oracle suspecting the prophetess of favouring the Pelasgi on account of

their relationship, (for the temple had originally belonged to the

Pelasgi,) seized the woman, and threw her upon a burning pile,

considering, that whether her conduct had been right or [CAS. 402]

wrong, in either case they were right; for if she had uttered a

deceitful answer she was duly punished; but if not, they had only

complied with the command of the oracle. Those in charge of the temple

did not like to put to death, particularly in the temple, the

perpetrators of this act without a formal judgment, and therefore

subjected them to a trial. They were summoned before the priestesses,

who were also the prophetesses, being the two survivors out of the

three. The Bœotians alleged that there was no law permitting women to

act as judges; an equal number of men were therefore chosen. The men

acquitted; the women condemned. As the votes were equal, those for

acquittal prevailed. Hence at Dodona it is to the Bœotians only that men

deliver oracles. The prophetesses however give a different meaning to

the answer of the oracle, and say, that the god enjoins the Bœotians to

steal the tripods used at home, and to send them annually to Dodona.

This they did, for they were in the habit of carrying away by night some

of the dedicated tripods, which they concealed in their clothes, in

order to convey them clandestinely as offerings to Dodona.

5. After this they assisted Penthilus in sending out the Æolian colony,

and despatched a large body of their own people with him, so that it was

called the Bœotian colony.

A long time afterwards the country was devastated during the war with

the Persians at Platææ. They afterwards so far recovered their power,

that the Thebans, having vanquished the Lacedæmonians in two

battles,[330] disputed the sovereignty of Greece. Epaminondas, however,

was killed, and they were disappointed in their hope of obtaining this

supremacy. They, nevertheless, fought in defence of the Greeks against

the Phocæans, who had plundered their common temple. Reduced by this

war, and by the Macedonians, at the time they invaded Greece, they lost

their city, which was afterwards restored to them, and rebuilt by the

Macedonians themselves, who had razed it.[331] From that period to our

own times their affairs have continued to decline, nor do they retain

the appearance even of a considerable village. Other cities (of Bœotia)

have experienced a similar fate, with the exception of Tanagra and

Thespiæ, which in comparison with Thebes are in a tolerable condition.

6. We are next to make a circuit of the country, beginning at the

sea-coast, opposite Eubœa, which is continuous with that of Attica.

We begin this circuit from Oropus, and the Sacred Harbour,[332] which is

called Delphinium, opposite to which is the ancient Eretria in Eubœa,

having a passage across of 60 stadia. After Delphinium, at the distance

of 20 stadia, is Oropus, and opposite to this is the present

Eretria.[333] There is a passage over to it of 40 stadia.

7. Next is Delium,[334] a place sacred to Apollo, in imitation of that

at Delos. It is a small town of the Tanagræans, at the distance of 30

stadia from Aulis.

To this place the Athenians, after their defeat in battle, fled in

disorder.[335] In the flight, Socrates the philosopher (who having lost

his horse, was serving on foot) observed Xenophon, the son of Gryllus,

upon the ground, fallen from his horse; he raised him upon his shoulders

and carried him away in safety, a distance of many stadia, until the

rout was at an end.

8. Then follows a great harbour, which is called Bathys (or deep

harbour): then Aulis,[336] a rocky spot, and a village of the

Tanagræans, with a harbour capable of containing 50 small vessels. So

that probably the naval station of the [CAS. 403] Greeks was in the

Great Harbour. Near it is the Chalcidic Euripus, to which, from Sunium,

are 70 stadia. On the Euripus, as I have already said, there is a bridge

of two plethra in length;[337] at each end is a tower, one on the side

of Chalcis, the other on the side of Bœotia; and a passage (for the

water) is constructed between them.[338] With regard to the tide of the

Euripus, it is sufficient to say thus much, that according to report, it

changes seven times each day and night; the cause must be investigated

elsewhere.

9. Salganeus is a place situated near the Euripus, upon a height. It has

its name from Salganeus, a Bœotian, who was buried there. He was guide

to the Persians, when they sailed into this passage from the Maliac

Gulf. It is said, that he was put to death before they reached the

Euripus, by the commander of the fleet, Megabates, as a traitor, for

conducting the fleet deceitfully into a narrow opening of the sea,

having no outlet. The Barbarian, however, perceived his mistake, and

regretting what he had done, thought him worthy of burial, because he

had been unjustly put to death.

10. Near Oropus[339] is a place called Graia, the temple also of

Amphiaraus, and the monument of Narcissus the Eretrian, surnamed

Sigelus, (the Silent,) because passers-by keep silence. Some say that

Graia and Tanagra[340] are the same. The territory of Pœmandris,

however, is the same as that of Tanagra. The Tanagræans are also called

Gephyræans. The temple of Amphiaraus was transferred by command of an

oracle to this place from the Thebaic Cnopia.

11. Mycalessus is a village in the Tanagrian district. It lies upon

the road from Thebes to Chalcis. It is called in the Bœotian dialect

Mycalettus. Harma, also, an uninhabited village in the Tanagrian

territory, derives its name from the chariot (ἅρμα) of Amphiaraus, and

is a different place from Harma in Attica, near Phyle,[341] a demus of

Attica bordering upon Tanagra. There the proverb originated,

“When it has lightened through Harma,”

The Pythaïstæ, as they are called, signify, by the order of an oracle,

the occurrence of any lightning when they are looking in the direction

of Harma, and despatch the sacrifice to Delphi whenever it is observed.

They were to keep watch for three months, and for three days and nights

in each month, at the altar of Jupiter Astrapius, or Dispenser of

lightning. This altar is in the wall, between the Pythium and the

Olympium. Respecting the Bœotian Harma, some say, that Amphiaraus fell

in battle out of his chariot, [harma,] near the spot where his temple

now stands, and that the chariot was drawn empty to the place, which

bears the same name [Harma].[342] Others say, that the chariot of

Adrastus, in his flight, was there dashed in pieces, but that he himself

escaped on his horse Areion. According to Philochorus, his life was

preserved by the inhabitants of the village; in consequence of which

they obtained among the Argives the right of citizenship.

12. On going from Thebes to Argos,[343] on the left hand is Tanagra; and

[near the road] on the right lies Hyria. Hyria now belongs to the

Tanagrian territory, but formerly to the Thebais. Here Hyrieus is fabled

to have lived, and here is the scene of the birth of Orion, which Pindar

mentions in the dithyrambics. It is situated near Aulis. Some persons

say that Hysiæ is called Hyria, which belongs to Parasopia, situated

below Cithæron, near Erythræ, in the inland parts; it is a colony of the

Hyrienses, and was founded by Nycteus, the father of Antiope. There is

also in the Argive territory a village, Hysiæ, the inhabitants of which

are called Hysiatæ. Erythræ in Ionia is a colony of this Erythræ.

Heleon, [CAS. 405] a Tanagrian village, has its name from (Hele) the

marshes there.

13. After Salganeus is Anthedon, a city with a harbour, the last on the

Bœotian coast towards Eubœa, as the poet says,

“Anthedon at the extremity.”[344]

As we proceed a little farther, there are besides two small towns,

belonging to the Bœotians, Larymna, near which the Cephissus discharges

its waters; and farther above, Halæ, of the same name as the Attic

demus. Opposite to this coast is situated, it is said, Ægæ[345] in

Eubœa, where is the temple of the Ægæan Neptune, of which we have before

spoken. There is a passage across from Anthedon to Ægæ of 120 stadia,

and from the other places much less than this. The temple is situated

upon a lofty hill, where was once a city. Near Ægæ was Orobiæ.[346] In

the Anthedonian territory is the mountain Messapius,[347] which has its

name from Messapus, who when he came into Iapygia called it Messapia.

Here is laid the scene of the fable respecting the Anthedonian Glaucus,

who, it is said, was transformed into a sea-monster.[348]

14. Near Anthedon is a place called Isus, and esteemed sacred, belonging

to Bœotia; it contains remains of a city, and the first syllable of Isus

is short. Some persons are of opinion, that the verse ought to be

written, Ἶσόν τε ζαθέην Ἀνθηδόνα τ’ ἐσχατόωσαν,

“The sacred Isus, and the extreme Anthedon,”

lengthening the first syllable by poetical licence for the sake of the

metre, instead of Νῖσάν τε ζαθέην,

“The sacred Nisa;”

for Nisa is not to be found anywhere in Bœotia, as Apollodorus says in

his observations on the Catalogue of the Ships; so that Nisa could not

stand in this passage, unless by Nisa Homer meant Isus, for there was a

city Nisa, in Megaris, from whence Isus was colonized, situated at the

base of Cithæron, but it exists no longer.[349] Some however write

Κρεῦσάν τε ζαθέην,

“The sacred Creusa,”

meaning the present Creusa, the arsenal of the Thespieans, situated on

the Crisæan Gulf. Others write the passage Φαράς τε ζαθέας,

“The sacred Pharæ,”

Pharæ is one of the four villages, (or Tetracomiæ,) near Tanagra,

namely, Heleon, Harma, Mycalessus, Pharæ. Others again write the passage

thus, Νῦσάν τε ζαθέην,

“The sacred Nysa.”

Nysa is a village of Helicon.

Such then is the description of the sea-coast opposite Eubœa.

15. The places next in order, in the inland parts, are hollow plains,

surrounded everywhere on the east and west by mountains; on the south by

the mountains of Attica, on the north by those of Phocis: on the west,

Cithæron inclines, obliquely, a little above the Crisæan Sea; it begins

contiguous to the mountains of Megaris and Attica, and then makes a bend

towards the plains, and terminates near the Theban territory.

16. Some of these plains become lakes, by rivers spreading over or

falling into them and then flowing off. Some are dried up, and being

very fertile, are cultivated in every possible way. But as the ground

underneath is full of caverns and fissures, it has frequently happened,

that violent earthquakes have obstructed some passages, and formed

others under-ground, or on the surface, the water being carried off,

either by subterranean channels, or by the formation of lakes and rivers

on the surface. If the deep subterranean passages are stopped up, the

waters of the lakes increase, so as to inundate and cover cities and

whole districts, which become uncovered, if the same or other passages

are again opened. The same regions are thus traversed in boats or on

foot, according [CAS. 405] to circumstances; and the same cities are,

occasionally, on the borders of, or at a distance from, a lake.

17. One of two things took place. The cities either retained their

sites, when the rise of the water was insufficient to overflow the

houses, or they were deserted and rebuilt in some other place, when the

inhabitants, being frequently exposed to danger from their vicinity to

the lake, released themselves from further apprehension, by changing

to a more distant or higher situation. It followed that the cities

thus rebuilt retained the same name. Formerly, they might have had a

name derived from some accidental local circumstance, but now the site

does not correspond with the derivation of the name. For example, it

is probable that Platææ was so called, from πλάτη, or the flat part of

the oar, and Platæans from gaining their livelihood by rowing; but at

present, since they live at a distance from the lake, the name can no

longer, with equal propriety, be derived from this local circumstance.

Helos also, and Heleon, and Heilesium[350] were so called from their

situation close to ἕλη, (Hele,) or marshes; but at present the case is

different with all these places; either they have been rebuilt, or the

lake has been greatly reduced in height by a subsequent efflux of its

waters; for this is possible.

18. This is exemplified particularly in the Cephissus,[351] which fills

the lake Copais.[352] When the increase of the water of that lake was so

great, that Copæ was in danger of being swallowed up, (the city is

mentioned by the poet, and from it the lake had its name,)[353] a

fissure in the ground, which took place not far from the lake, and near

Copæ, opened a subterraneous channel, of about 30 stadia in length, and

received the river, which reappeared on the surface, near Upper Larymna

in Locris; for, as has been mentioned, there is another Larymna, in

Bœotia, on the sea, surnamed the Upper by the Romans. The place where

the river rises again is called Anchoë, as also the lake near it. It is

from this point that the Cephissus begins its course[354] to the sea.

When the overflowing of the water ceased, there was also a cessation of

danger to the inhabitants on the banks, but not before some cities had

been already swallowed up. When the outlets were again obstructed,

Crates the Miner, a man of Chalcis, began to clear away the

obstructions, but desisted in consequence of the Bœotians being in a

state of insurrection; although, as he himself says, in the letter to

Alexander, many places had been already drained; among these, some

writers supposed was the site of the ancient Orchomenus; others, that of

Eleusis, and of Athens on the Triton. These cities are said to have been

founded by Cecrops, when he ruled over Bœotia, then called Ogygia, but

that they were afterwards destroyed by inundations. It is said, that

there was a fissure in the earth near Orchomenus, that admitted the

river Melas,[355] which flows through the territory of Haliartus, and

forms there a marsh, where the reed grows of which the musical pipe is

made.[356] But this river has entirely disappeared, being carried off by

the subterraneous channels of the chasm, or absorbed by the lakes and

marshes about Haliartus; whence the poet calls Haliartus grassy,

“And the grassy Haliartus.”[357]

19. These rivers descend from the Phocian mountains, and among them the

Cephissus,[358] having its source at Lilæa, a Phocian city, as Homer

describes it;

“And they who occupied Lilæa, at the sources of

Cephissus.”[359]

It flows through Elateia,[360] the largest of the cities among the

Phocians, through the Parapotamii, and the Phanoteis, which are also

Phocian towns; it then goes onwards to Chæroneia in Bœotia; afterwards,

it traverses the districts of Orchomenus and Coroneia, and discharges

its waters into the lake Copais. The Permessus and the Olmeius[361]

descend from Helicon, and uniting their streams, fall into the lake

Copais near Haliartus. The waters of other streams likewise discharge

themselves into it. It is a large lake with a circuit of 380

stadia;[362] the outlets are nowhere visible, if we [CAS. 407] except

the chasm which receives the Cephissus, and the marshes.

20. Among the neighbouring lakes are Trephea[363] and Cephissis. Homer

mentions it;

“Who dwelt in Hyla, intent upon amassing wealth, close to the

lake Cephissis;”[364]

for he did not mean to specify the lake Copais, as some suppose, but

that called Hylicus,[365] from the neighbouring village, which is called

Hylæ: nor did he mean Hyda, as some write the passage,

“He lived in Hyda,”

for there is a place of this name in Lydia,

“at the foot of the snowy Tmolus, in the fruitful country of

Hyda;”[366]

and another in Bœotia; he therefore adds to

“behind the lake Cephissis,”

these words,

“near dwelt other Bœotians.”

For the Copais is of great extent, and not situated in the Theban

district, but the other is small, and filled from the former by

subterraneous channels; it is situated between Thebes[367] and Anthedon.

Homer however makes use of the word in the singular number, sometimes

making the first syllable long by poetical licence, as in the Catalogue,

ἠδ’ Ὕλην καὶ Πετεῶνα,[368] and sometimes shortening it, as in this

instance; Ὅς ῥ’ ἐν Ὗλῃ ναίεσκε; and again, Tychius Σκυτοτόμων ὄχ’

ἄριστος Ὕλῃ ἔνι οἰκία ναίων.[369] Nor do some persons correctly write in

this passage, Ὗδῃ ἔνι,

“In Hyda,”

for Ajax was not to send for his shield from Lydia.

21. [370]The lakes themselves would indicate the order in which the

places stand, and thence it would be easy to perceive that the poet,

when naming them, whether they were places of importance or otherwise,

has observed no order. Indeed it would be difficult in the enumeration

of so many places, obscure for the most part, and situated in the

interior, to preserve a regular order. The sea-coast affords more

convenient means of doing this; the places there are better known, and

the sea affords greater facilities for marking their position. We shall

therefore endeavour to take our point of departure from the sea-coast,

and without further discussion, shall follow the poet in his enumeration

of places; at the same time, taking from other sources whatever may

prove useful to us, but which has been omitted by him. He begins from

Hyria and Aulis, of which we have already spoken.

22. Schœnus[371] is a district of the Theban territory on the road to

Anthedon, distant from Thebes about 50 stadia. A river of the name of

Schœnus flows through it.

23. Scolus[372] is a village belonging to the district of Parasopia

situated at the foot of Cithæron; it is a rugged place, and scarcely

habitable, hence the proverbial saying,

“Neither go yourself, nor follow any one going to Scolus.”

It is said that Pentheus was brought from thence, and torn in pieces.

There was among the cities near Olynthus another of the name of Scolus.

We have said that in the Heracleian Trachinia there was a village of the

name of Parasopii, beside which runs a river Asopus, and that there is

another river Asopus in Sicyonia, and that the country through which it

flows is called Asopia. There are however other rivers of the same name.

24. The name of Eteonus was changed to that of Scarphe, which belongs to

Parasopia. [Parasopia belongs to the Thebais,] for the Asopus and the

Ismenus flow through the plain in front of Thebes. There is the fountain

Dirce, and also Potniæ, where is laid the fable of Glaucus of Potniæ,

who was torn in pieces near the city by Potnian mares. The Cithæron[373]

terminates not far from Thebes. The Asopus flows by it, and washes the

foot of the mountain, and occasions the Parasopii to be distributed

among several settlements, but all of these bodies of people are subject

to the [CAS. 409] Thebans. (Other writers say, that Scolus, Eteonus,

and Erythræ, are in the district of Platææ, for the Asopus flows past

Platææ, and discharges its waters into the sea near Tanagra.) In the

Theban territory are Therapnæ and Teumessus, which Antimachus has

extolled in a long poem, enumerating excellencies which it had not;

“There is a small hill exposed to the winds,” &c.:

but the lines are well known.

25. He calls the present place Thespiæ[374] by the name of Thespia, for

there are many names, of which some are used both in the singular and in

the plural number, in the masculine and in the feminine gender, and some

in either one or the other only. It is a city close to Helicon, lying

more to the south. The city itself and Helicon are situated on the

Crisæan Gulf. Thespiæ has an arsenal Creusa, or, as it is also named,

Creusia. In the Thespian territory, in the part lying towards Helicon,

is Ascra,[375] the birth-place of Hesiod. It is on the right of Helicon,

situated upon a lofty and rocky spot, at the distance of about 40 stadia

from Thespiæ. Hesiod has satirized it in verses addressed to his father,

for formerly emigrating (to this place) from Cume in Ætolia, as follows:

“He dwelt near Helicon in a wretched village, Ascra; bad in

winter, in summer intolerable, and worthless at any

season.”[376]

Helicon is contiguous to Phocis on its northern, and partly on its

western side, as far as the last harbour of Phocis, which is called from

its characteristic situation, Mychus, or the Recess.

Just above this part of the Crisæan Gulf, Helicon, Ascra, Thespiæ, and

its arsenal Creusa, are situated. This is considered as the part of the

Crisæan and of the Corinthian Gulf which recedes most inland. The coast

extends 90 stadia from the recess of the harbour to Creusa, and thence

120 as far as the promontory called Holmiæ. In the most retired part of

the Crisæan Gulf, Pagæ and Œnoa, which I have already mentioned, are

situated.

Helicon, not far distant from Parnassus, rivals it in height[377] and

circumference. Both mountains are covered with snow, and are rocky. They

do not occupy a circuit of ground of great extent. There are, the fane

of the Muses, the Horse-fountain Hippocrene,[378] and the grottoes of

the nymphs, the Leibethrides. Hence it might be conjectured, that

Helicon was consecrated to the Muses, by Thracians, who dedicated also

Pieris, the Leibethrum, and Pimpleia to the same goddesses. The

Thracians were called Pieres, and since their expulsion, the Macedonians

possess these places.

It has been remarked, that the Thracians, (having expelled the Bœotians

by force,) and the Pelasgi, and other barbarous people, settled in this

part of Bœotia.

Thespiæ was formerly celebrated for a statue of Cupid by Praxiteles.

Glycera the courtesan, a native of Thespiæ, received it as a present

from the artist, and dedicated it as a public offering to her

fellow-citizens.

Persons formerly used to repair thither to see the Cupid, where there

was nothing else worth seeing. This city, and Tanagra, alone of the

Bœotian cities exist at present, while of others there remain nothing

but ruins and names.

26. [CAS. 410] After Thespiæ the poet enumerates Graia and Mycalessus,

of which we have before spoken.

He proceeds as before,

“They who lived near Harma, Eilesium, and Erythræ,

And they who occupied Eleon, Hyle, and Peteon.”[379]

Peteon is a village of the Thebais near the road to Anthedon. Ocalea is

midway between Haliartus,[380] and Alalcomenæ,[381] it is distant from

each 30 stadia. A small river of the same name flows by it. Medeon,

belonging to Phocis, is on the Crisæan Gulf, distant from Bœotia 160

stadia. The Medeon of Bœotia has its name from that in Phocis. It is

near Onchestus, under the mountain Phœnicium,[382] whence it has the

appellation of Phœnicis. This mountain is likewise assigned to the

Theban district, but by others to the territories of Haliartus, as also

Medeon and Ocalea.

27. Homer afterwards names,

“Copæ, and Eutresis, and Thisbe, abounding with doves.”[383]

We have spoken of Copæ. It lies towards the north on the lake Copais.

The other cities around are, Acræphiæ, Phœnicis, Onchestus, Haliartus,

Ocalea, Alalcomenæ, Tilphusium, Coroneia. Formerly, the lake had no one

general name, but derived its appellation from every settlement on its

banks, as Copaïs from Copæ,[384] Haliartis from Haliartus, and other

names from other places, but latterly the whole has been called Copaïs,

for the lake is remarkable for forming at Copæ the deepest hollow.

Pindar calls it Cephissis, and places near it, not far from Haliartus

and Alalcomenæ, the fountain Tilphossa, which flows at the foot of Mount

Tilphossius. At the fountain is the monument of Teiresias, and in the

same place the temple of the Tilphossian Apollo.

28. After Copæ, the poet mentions Eutresis, a small village of the

Thespians.[385] Here Zethus and Amphion lived before they became kings

of Thebes.

Thisbē is now called Thisbæ. The place is situated a little above the

sea-coast on the confines of the Thespienses, and the territory of

Coroneia; on the south it lies at the foot of Cithæron. It has an

arsenal in a rocky situation abounding with doves, whence the poet terms

it

“Thisbe, with its flights of doves.”

Thence to Sicyon is a voyage of 160 stadia.

29. He next recites the names of Coroneia, Haliartus, Platææ, and

Glissas.

Coroneia[386] is situated upon an eminence, near Helicon. The Bœotians

took possession of it on their return from the Thessalian Arne, after

the Trojan war, when they also occupied Orchomenus. Having become

masters of Coroneia, they built in the plain before the city the temple

of the Itonian Minerva, of the same name as that in Thessaly, and called

the river [CAS. 411] flowing by it, Cuarius, the name of the Thessalian

river. Alcæus, however, calls it Coralius in these words,

“Minerva, warrior queen, who o’er Coroneia keepest watch

before thy temple, on the banks of Coralius.”

The festival Pambœotia was here celebrated. Hades is associated with

Minerva, in the dedication of the temple, for some mystical reason. The

inhabitants of the Bœotian Coroneia are called Coronii, those of the

Messenian Coroneia, Coronenses.

30. Haliartus[387] is no longer in existence, it was razed in the war

against Perseus. The territory is occupied by the Athenians, to whom it

was given by the Romans. It was situated in a narrow spot between an

overhanging mountain and the lake Copaïs, near the Permessus, the

Olmeïus, and the marsh that produces the flute-reed.

31. Platææ, which the poet uses in the singular number, lies at the foot

of Cithæron, between this mountain and Thebes, on the road to Athens and

Megara; it is on the borders of Attica and Bœotia, for Eleutheræ is

near, which some say belongs to Attica, others to Bœotia. We have said

that the Asopus flows beside Platææ. There the army of the Greeks

entirely destroyed Mardonius and three hundred thousand Persians. They

dedicated there a temple to Jupiter Eleutherius, and instituted

gymnastic games, called Eleutheria, in which the victor was crowned. The

tombs erected at the public expense, in honour of those who died in the

battle, are to be seen there. In the Sicyonian district is a demus

called Platææ, where the poet Mnasalces was born:

“the monument of Mnasalces of Platææ.”

Glissas,[388] Homer says, is a village on Mount Hypatus, which is near

Teumessus and Cadmeia, in the Theban territory. * * * * * * * beneath is

what is called the Aonian plain, which extends from Mount Hypatus [to

Cadmeia?].[389]

32. By these words of the poet,

“those who occupied under Thebes,”

some understand a small town, called Under-Thebes, others Potniæ, for

Thebes was abandoned after the expedition of the Epigoni, and took no

part in the Trojan war. Others say that they did take part in it, but

that they lived at that time under Cadmeia, in the plain country, after

the incursion of the Epigoni, being unable to rebuild the Cadmeia. As

Thebes was called Cadmeia, the poet says that the Thebans of that time

lived “under Thebes” instead of “under Cadmeia.”

33. The Amphictyonic council usually assembled at Onchestus, in the

territory of Haliartus, near the lake Copaïs, and the Teneric plain. It

is situated on a height, devoid of trees, where is a temple of Neptune

also without trees. For the poets, for the sake of ornament, called all

sacred places groves, although they were without trees. Such is the

language of Pindar, when speaking of Apollo:

“He traversed in his onward way the earth and sea; he stood

upon the heights of the lofty mountains; he shook the caves in

their deep recesses, and overthrew the foundations of the

sacred groves” or temples.

As Alcæus is mistaken in the altering the name of the river Cuarius, so

he makes a great error in placing Onchestus at the extremities of

Helicon, whereas it is situated very far from this mountain.

34. The Teneric plain has its name from Tenerus. According to mythology,

he was the son of Apollo and Melia, and declared the answers of the

oracle at the mountain Ptoum,[391] which, the same poet says, had three

peaks:

“At one time he occupied the caves of the three-headed Ptoum;”

and he calls Tenerus

“the prophet, dwelling in the temple, and having the same name

as the soil on which it stands.”

The Ptoum is situated above the Teneric plain, and the lake Copaïs, near

Acræphium.

Both [CAS. 413] the oracle and the mountain belonged to the Thebans.

Acræphium[392] itself is situated upon a height. This, it is said, is

the place called Arnē by the poet, having the same name as the

Thessalian Arnē.

35. Some say that Arnē and Mideia were swallowed up by the lake.

Zenodotus, however, when he writes the verse thus,

“they who occupied Ascra abounding with vines,”[393]

does not seem to have read Hesiod’s description of his native country,

and what has been said by Eudoxus, who relates things much more to the

disparagement of Ascra. For how could any one believe that such a place

could have been described by the poet as

“abounding with vines?”

Neither are those persons in the right, who substitute in this passage

Tarnē for Arnē, for there is not a place of the name of Tarne to be

found in Bœotia, although there is in Lydia. Homer mentions it,

“Idomeneus then slew Phæstus, the son of Borus, the artificer,

who came from the fruitful soil of Tarnē.”[394]

Besides Alalcomenæ and Tilphossium, which are near the lake, Chæroneia,

Lebadia, and Leuctra, are worthy of notice.

36. The poet mentions Alalcomenæ,[395] but not in the Catalogue;

“the Argive Juno and Minerva of Alalcomenæ.”[396]

It has an ancient temple of Minerva, which is held in great veneration.

It is said that this was the place of her birth, as Argos was that of

Juno, and that Homer gave to both these goddesses designations derived

from their native places. Perhaps for this reason he has not mentioned,

in the Catalogue, the inhabitants; for having a sacred character, they

were exempted from military service. Indeed the city has never suffered

devastation by an enemy, although it is inconsiderable in size, and its

position is weak, for it is situated in a plain.

All in reverence to the goddess abstained from every act of violence;

wherefore the Thebans, at the time of the expedition of the Epigoni,

abandoning their own city, are said to have taken refuge here, and on

the strong mountain above it, the Tilphossium.[397] Below Tilphossium is

the fountain Tilphossa, and the monument of Teiresias, who died there on

the retreat.

37. Chæroneia[398] is near Orchomenus,[399] where Philip, the son of

Amyntas, after having overcome, in a great battle,[400] the Athenians,

Bœotians, and Corinthians, became the master of Greece. There are seen

the sepulchres erected at the public charge of the persons who fell in

that battle.

38. At Lebadeia[401] is the oracle of Jupiter Trophonius, having a

descent through an opening, which leads under-ground. The person himself,

who consults the oracle, descends into it. It is situated between

Helicon and Chæroneia, near Coroneia.

39. Leuctra[402] is the place where Epaminondas overcame the

Lacedæmonians in a great battle, and first weakened their power; for

after that time they were never able to regain the supremacy over the

Greeks, which they before possessed, and particularly after they were

defeated in a second battle at Mantinea. Even after these reverses they

preserved their independence until the establishment of the Roman

dominion, and were always respected by that people on account of the

excellency of their form of government. The field of battle is shown on

the road which leads from Platææ to Thespiæ.

40. The poet next mentions the Orchomenians in the Catalogue, and

distinguishes them from the Bœotian nation. He gives to Orchomenus the

epithet Minyeian from the nation of the Minyæ. They say that a colony of

the Minyeians went hence to Iolcus,[403] and from this circumstance the

Argonauts were called Minyæ. It appears that, anciently, it was a rich

[CAS. 414] and very powerful city. Homer bears witness to its wealth,

for in his enumeration of places of great opulence, he says,

“Not all that is brought to Orchomenus, or to Ægyptian Thebes.”[404]

Of its power there is this proof, that the Thebans always paid tribute

to the Orchomenians, and to Erginus their king, who it is said was put

to death by Hercules. Eteocles, one of the kings that reigned at

Orchomenus, first displayed both wealth and power. He built a temple

dedicated to the Graces, who were thus honoured by him, either because

he had been fortunate in receiving or conferring favours, or perhaps for

both these reasons.

[For one who was inclined thus to honour these goddesses, must have been

naturally disposed to be a benefactor, and he must have possessed the

power. But for this purpose wealth is required. For he who has not much

cannot give much, nor can he who does not receive much possess much; but

when giving and receiving unite, then there is a just exchange. For a

vessel which is simultaneously emptied and filled is always full; but he

who gives and does not receive cannot succeed in either giving or

receiving, for the giver must desist from giving from failure of means.

Givers also will desist from giving to him who receives only, and

confers no benefits, so that he must fail in receiving. The same may be

said of power. For independently of the common saying,

“That money is the thing most highly valued,

And has the greatest influence in human affairs,”[405]

we may examine the subject more in detail. We say, for example, that

kings have the greatest power, (μάλιστα δύνασθαι,) whence the name,

dynasty. Their power is exerted by leading the multitude whither they

like, by persuasion or by force. Their power of persuasion chiefly

rests in doing acts of kindness; for persuasion by words is not

princely, but belongs to the orator. By princely persuasion, I mean,

when kings direct and lead men whither they please by acts of kindness.

They persuade by acts of kindness, but compel by means of arms. Both

power and possessions may be purchased by money. For he has the largest

body of forces, who is able to maintain the largest; and he who has the

largest possessions, can confer the greatest benefits.[406]]

The spot which the present lake Copaïs occupies, was formerly, it is

said, dry ground, and was cultivated in various ways by the

Orchomenians, who lived near it; and this is alleged as a proof of

wealth.

41. Some persons use the word Aspledon[407] without the first syllable,

Spledon. The name both of the city and of the territory was changed to

Eudeielos,[408] which expressed perhaps some peculiar advantage the

inhabitants derived from their western position, and especially the mild

winters. The extreme parts of the day are the coldest. Of these the

evening is colder than the morning, for as night approaches the cold is

more intense, and as night retires the cold abates. The severity of the

cold is mitigated by the heat of the sun, and the part which during the

coldest season has received most of the sun’s heat, is mildest in

winter.

It is distant from Orchomenus[409] 20 stadia. The river Melas is between

them.

42. Panopeus, a Phocian city, and Hyampolis[410] are situated above

Orchomenus. Opus, the metropolis of the Locri Epicnemidii, borders upon

these places. It is said, that Orchomenus was formerly situated on a

plain, but, as the waters overflowed, the settlers removed to the

mountain Acontium, which extends 60 stadia in length, as far as

Parapotamii in Phocis. It is said, that those people, who are called

Achæi in Pontus, are colonists from the Orchomenians, who, after the

capture of Troy, wandered thither under the conduct of Ialmenus. There

was also an Orchomenus near Carystus.

The writers on the Catalogue of Ships [in Homer], have furnished us with

these materials, and they have been followed, wherever they introduced

anything adapted to the design of this work.

CHAPTER III.

1. Next to Bœotia and Orchomenus is Phocis, lying along the side of

Bœotia to the north, and, anciently, nearly from sea [CAS. 416] to sea.

For at that time Daphnus belonged to Phocis, dividing Locris into two

parts, and situated midway between the Opuntian Gulf and the sea-coast

of the Epicnemidii. At present, however, the district belongs to the

Locri; but the town is in ruins, so that Phocis no longer extends to the

sea opposite Eubœa; but it is close to the Crisæan Gulf. For Crisa

itself belongs to Phocis, and is situated immediately upon the sea.

Cirrha, Anticyra,[411] and the places above them, in the interior near

Parnassus in continuous succession, namely, Delphi,[412] Cirphis, and

Daulis,[413] belong to Phocis, so also Parnassus itself, which is the

boundary of the western side.

In the same manner as Phocis lies along the side of Bœotia, so are both

the divisions of Locris situated with respect to Phocis, for Locris is

composed of two parts, being divided by Parnassus. The western part lies

along the side of Parnassus, occupies a portion of it, and extends to

the Crisæan Gulf; the eastern part terminates at the sea near Eubœa. The

inhabitants of the former are called Locri Hesperii, or Locri Ozolæ, and

have engraven on their public seal the star Hesperus. The rest are again

divided into two bodies: one, the Opuntii, who have their name from the

chief city, and border upon the Phocæans and Bœotians; the other, the

Epicnemidii, who have their name from the mountain Cnemis;[414] and

adjoin the Œtæi, and the Malienses. In the midst of the Hesperii, and

the other Locri, is Parnassus, lying lengthwise towards the northern

part, and extending from the neighbourhood of Delphi to the junction of

the Œtæan, and the Ætolian mountains, and to the Dorians, who are

situated between them. For as both divisions of Locris extend along the

side of Phocis, so also the region of Œta with Ætolia, and some of the

places situated in the Doric Tetrapolis, extend along the sides of the

two Locri, Parnassus and the Dorians. Immediately above these are

situated the Thessalians, the northern Ætolians, the Acarnanians, and

some of the Epirotic and Macedonian nations, as I observed before, the

above-mentioned tracts of country may be considered as a kind of

parallel bands stretching from the west to the east.

The whole of Parnassus is esteemed sacred, it contains caves, and other

places, which are regarded with honour and reverence. Of these the most

celebrated and the most beautiful is Corycium, a cave of the nymphs,

having the same name as that in Cilicia. Of the sides of Parnassus, the

western is occupied by the Locri Ozolæ, and by some of the Dorians, and

by the Ætoli, situated near Corax, an Ætolian mountain. The eastern side

is occupied by Phocians and by the greater part of the Dorians, who hold

the Tetrapolis, situated as it were round the side of Parnassus, but

spreading out in the largest extent towards the east. The sides of the

above-mentioned tracts and each of the bands are parallel, one side

being northern, and the other southern. The western sides, however, are

not parallel to the eastern, for the sea-coast from the Crisæan Gulf to

Actium[415] is not parallel to the coast opposite Eubœa, and extending

to Thessalonica. It is on these shores the above-mentioned nations

terminate. For the figure of these countries is to be understood from

the notion of lines drawn parallel to the base of a triangle, where the

separate parts lie parallel to one another, and have their sides in

latitude parallel, but not their sides in longitude. This is a rough

sketch of the country which remains to be examined. We shall examine

each separate part in order, beginning with Phocis.

2. The two most celebrated cities of this country are Delphi and

Elateia. Delphi is renowned for the temple of the Pythian Apollo, and

the antiquity of its oracle; since Agamemnon is said by the poet to have

consulted it; for the minstrel is introduced singing of the

“fierce contest of Ulysses, and Achilles, the son of Peleus,

how once they contended together, and Agamemnon king of men

was pleased, for so Phœbus Apollo had foretold by the oracle

in the illustrious Pytho.”[416]

Delphi then was celebrated on this account. Elateia was famous as being

the largest of the cities in that quarter, and for its very convenient

position upon the straits; for he, who is the master of this city,

commands the entrances into Phocis and Bœotia. First, there are the

Œtæan mountains, next the mountains of the Locri, and the Phocians; they

are not every where passable for invading armies, coming from Thessaly,

but having narrow passes distinct from each other, which the adjacent

cities guard. Those, who take the cities, are masters [CAS. 418] of the

passes also. But since from its celebrity the temple at Delphi possesses

a pre-eminence, this, together with the position of the places, (for

they are the most westerly parts of Phocis,) suggest a natural

commencement of our description, and we shall begin from thence.

3. We have remarked, that Parnassus itself is situated on the western

boundaries of Phocis. The western side of this mountain is occupied by

the Locri Ozolæ; on the southern is Delphi, a rocky spot, resembling in

shape a theatre; on its summit is the oracle, and also the city, which

comprehends a circle of 16 stadia. Above it lies Lycoreia; here the

Delphians were formerly settled above the temple. At present they live

close to it around the Castalian fountain. In front of the city, on the

southern part, is Cirphis, a precipitous hill, leaving in the

intermediate space a wooded ravine, through which the river Pleistus

flows. Below Cirphis near the sea is Cirrha, an ancient city, from which

there is an ascent to Delphi of about 80 stadia. It is situated opposite

to Sicyon. Adjoining to Cirrha is the fertile Crisæan plain. Again, next

in order follows another city Crisa, from which the Crisæan Gulf has its

name; then Anticyra,[417] of the same name as the city, on the Maliac

Gulf, and near Œta. The best hellebore is said to grow in the Maliac

Anticyra,[418] but here it is prepared in a better manner; on this

account many persons resort hither for the purpose of experiencing its

purgative qualities, and of being cured of their maladies. In the

Phocian territory there is found a medicinal plant, resembling Sesamum,

(Sesamoides,) with which the Œtæan hellebore is prepared.

4. Anticyra still remains, but Cirrha and Crisa[419] are in ruins;

Cirrha was destroyed by the Crisæans; and Crisa, afterwards, by

Eurylochus the Thessalian, in the Crisæan war; for the Crisæi enriched

themselves by duties levied on merchandise brought from Sicily and

Italy, and laid grievous imposts on those who resorted to the temple,

contrary to the decrees of the Amphictyons. The same was the case with

the Amphissenses, who belong to the Locri Ozolæ. This people made an

irruption into the country, and took possession of Crisa, and restored

it. The plain, which had been consecrated by the Amphictyons, was

diligently cultivated, but strangers were more harshly treated than by

the Crisæans before them. The Amphictyons punished them and restored the

territory to the god. The temple at Delphi is now much neglected,

although formerly it was held in the greatest veneration. Proofs of the

respect which was paid to it are, the treasuries constructed at the

expense of communities and princes, where was deposited the wealth

dedicated to sacred uses, the works of the most eminent artists, the

Pythian games, and a multitude of celebrated oracles.

5. The place where the oracle is delivered, is said to be a deep hollow

cavern, the entrance to which is not very wide. From it rises up an

exhalation which inspires a divine frenzy: over the mouth is placed a

lofty tripod on which the Pythian priestess ascends to receive the

exhalation, after which she gives the prophetic response in verse or

prose. The prose is adapted to measure by poets who are in the service

of the temple. Phemonoë is said to have been the first Pythian

prophetess, and both the prophetess and the city obtained their

appellation from the word Pythesthai, to inquire, (πυθέσθαι).

The first syllable was lengthened, as in the words ἀθάνατος, ἀκάματος,

διάκονος.

[420][The establishment of cities, and the honour paid to common

temples, are due to the same feelings and causes. Men were collected

together into cities and nations, from a natural disposition to society,

and for the purpose of mutual assistance. Hence common temples were

resorted to, festivals celebrated, and meetings held of the general body

of the people. For friendship commences from and is promoted by

attending the same feasts, uniting in the same worship, and dwelling

under the same roof. The advantages derived from these meetings were

naturally estimated from the number of persons who attended them, as

also from the number of places from whence they came.]

6. Although the highest honour was paid to this temple on account of the

oracle, (for it was the most exempt of any from deception,) yet its

reputation was owing in part to its situation in the centre of all

Greece, both within and without the isthmus. It was also supposed to be

the centre of the habitable [CAS. 420] earth, and was called the Navel

of the earth. A fable, referred to by Pindar, was invented, according to

which two eagles, (or, as others say, two crows,) set free by Jupiter,

one from the east, the other from the west, alighted together at Delphi.

In the temple is seen a sort of navel wrapped in bands, and surmounted

by figures representing the birds of the fable.

7. As the situation of Delphi is convenient, persons easily assembled

there, particularly those from the neighbourhood, of whom the

Amphictyonic body is composed. It is the business of this body to

deliberate on public affairs, and to it is more particularly intrusted

the guardianship of the temple for the common good; for large sums of

money were deposited there, and votive offerings, which required great

vigilance and religious care. The early history of this body is unknown,

but among the names which are recorded, Acrisius appears to have been

the first who regulated its constitution, to have determined what cities

were to have votes in the council, and to have assigned the number of

votes and mode of voting. To some cities he gave a single vote each, or

a vote to two cities, or to several cities conjointly. He also defined

the class of questions which might arise between the different cities,

which were to be submitted to the decision of the Amphictyonic tribunal;

and subsequently many other regulations were made, but this body, like

that of the Achæans, was finally dissolved.

At first twelve cities are said to have assembled, each of which sent a

Pylagoras. The convention was held twice a year, in spring and autumn.

But latterly a greater number of cities assembled. They called both the

vernal and the autumnal convention Pylæan, because it was held at Pylæ,

which has the name also of Thermopylæ. The Pylagoræ sacrificed to Ceres.

In the beginning, the persons in the neighbourhood only assembled, or

consulted the oracle, but afterwards people repaired thither from a

distance for this purpose, sent gifts, and constructed treasuries, as

Crœsus, and his father Alyattes, some of the Italians also, and the

Siceli (Sicilians).

8. But the wealth, being an object of cupidity, was guarded with

difficulty, although dedicated to sacred uses. At present, however,

whatever it might have been, the temple at Delphi is exceedingly poor.

Some of the offerings have been taken away for the sake of the money,

but the greater part remain there. It is true that the temple was once

very opulent, as Homer testifies;

“Nor all the wealth, which the marble threshold of Phœbus

Apollo, the Archer, (Aphetor,)[421] contains in the rocky

Pytho.”[422]

The treasuries indicate its riches, and the plunder committed by the

Phocians, which gave rise to the Phocic or Sacred war, as it was called.

It is however supposed that a spoliation of the temple must have taken

place at some more remote period, when the wealth mentioned by Homer

disappeared; for no vestige of it whatever was preserved to later times,

when Onomarchus and Phayllus pillaged the temple, as the property [then]

removed was of a more recent date than that referred to by the poet. For

there were once deposited in the treasuries, offerings from spoils,

bearing inscriptions with the names of the donors, as of Gyges, of

Crœsus, of the Sybaritæ, of the Spinetæ on the Adriatic, and of others

also. It would be unbecoming to suppose[423] that modern and ancient

treasures were confounded together: other places pillaged by these

people confirm this view.

Some persons, however, understanding the word Aphetor to signify

treasure, and the threshold of the aphetor the repository of the

treasure under-ground, say, that this wealth was buried beneath the

temple, and that Onomarchus and his companions attempted to dig it up by

night; violent shocks of an earthquake caused them to fly out of the

temple, and desist from their excavation; thus others were impressed

with a dread of making similar attempts.

9. Of the shrines, the winged shrine[424] is to be placed among fabulous

stories. The second is said to have been the workmanship of Trophonius

and Agamedes, but the present shrine[425] was built by the Amphictyons.

A tomb of Neoptolemus is shown in the sacred enclosure. It was built

according [CAS. 421] to the injunction of an oracle. Neoptolemus was

killed by Machæreus, a Delphian, when, as the fable goes, he was seeking

redress from the god for the murder of his father, but, probably, he was

preparing to pillage the temple. Branchus, who presided over the temple

at Didyma, is said to have been a descendant of Machæreus.

10. There was anciently a contest held at Delphi, of players on the

cithara, who executed a pæan in honour of the god. It was instituted by

Delphians. But after the Crisæan war the Amphictyons, in the time of

Eurylochus, established contests for horses, and gymnastic sports, in

which the victor was crowned. These were called Pythian games. The

players[426] on the cithara were accompanied by players on the flute,

and by citharists,[427] who performed without singing. They performed a

strain (Melos),[428] called the Pythian mood (Nomos).[429] It consisted

of five parts; the anacrusis, the ampeira, cataceleusmus, iambics and

dactyls, and pipes.[430] Timosthenes, the commander of the fleet of the

Second Ptolemy, and who was the author of a work in ten books on

Harbours, composed a melos. His object was to celebrate in this melos

the contest of Apollo with the serpent Python. The anacrusis was

intended to express the prelude; the ampeira, the first onset of the

contest; the cataceleusmus, the contest itself; the iambics and dactyls

denoted the triumphal strain on obtaining the victory, together with

musical measures, of which the dactyl is peculiarly appropriated to

praise, and the use of the iambic to insult and reproach; the syringes

or pipes described the death, the players imitating the hissings of the

expiring monster.[431]

11. Ephorus, whom we generally follow, on account of his exactness in

these matters, (as Polybius, a writer of repute, testifies,) seems to

proceed contrary to his proposed plan, and to the promise which he made

at the beginning of his work. For after having censured those writers

who are fond of intermixing fable with history, and after having spoken

in praise of truth, he introduces, with reference to this oracle, a

grave declaration, that he considers truth preferable at all times, but

especially in treating subjects of this kind. For it is absurd, he says,

if, in other things, we constantly follow this practice, but that when

we come to speak of the oracle, which of all others is the most exempt

from deception, we should introduce tales so incredible and false. Yet

immediately afterwards he says, that it is the received opinion that

Apollo, by the aid of Themis, established this oracle with a view to

benefit the human race. He then explains these benefits, by saying, that

men were invited to pursue a more civilized mode of life, and were

taught maxims of wisdom by oracles; by injunctions to perform or to

abstain, or by positive refusal to attend to the prayers of petitioners.

Some, he says, suppose, that the god himself in a bodily form directs

these things; others, that he communicates an intimation of his will to

men [by words].

12. And lower down, when speaking of the Delphians and their origin, he

says, that certain persons, called Parnassii, an indigenous tribe,

anciently inhabited Parnassus, about which time Apollo, traversing the

country, reclaimed men from their savage state, by inducing them to

adopt a more civilized mode of life and subsistence; that, setting out

from Athens on his way to Delphi, he took the same road along which the

Athenians at present conduct the procession of the Pythias; that when he

arrived at the Panopeis, he put to death Tityus, who was master of the

district, a violent and lawless man; that the Parnassii having joined

him informed him of Python, another desperate man, surnamed the Dragon.

Whilst he was despatching this man with his arrows, they shouted, Hie

Paian;[432] whence has been transmitted the custom of singing the Pæan

before the onset of a battle; that after the death of the Python the

Delphians burnt even his tent, as they still continue to burn a tent in

memorial of these events. Now what can be more fabulous than Apollo

discharging his arrows, chastising Tityi and Pythons, his journey from

Athens to Delphi, and his travels over the whole country? If he did not

consider these as fables, why did he call the fabulous Themis a woman,

and the fabulous dragon a man, unless he intended to confound the

provinces of history and fable. His account of the Ætolians is similar

to this. After having [CAS. 423] asserted that their country was never

ravaged at any period, he says, that at one time it was inhabited by

Ætolians, who had expelled the Barbarians; that at another time, Ætolus,

together with the Epeii from Elis, inhabited it; [that Ætolus was

overthrown by the Epeii,] and these again by Alcmæon and Diomedes.

I now return to the Phocians.

13. Immediately on the sea-coast, next after Anticyra,[433] and

behind[434] it, is the small city Marathus; then a promontory,

Pharygium, which has a shelter for vessels; then the harbour at the

farthest end, called Mychus,[435] from the accident of its situation

between Helicon[436] and Ascra.

Nor is Abæ,[437] the seat of an oracle, far from these places, nor

Ambrysus,[438] nor Medeon, of the same name as a city in Bœotia.

In the inland parts, next after Delphi, towards the east is Daulis,[439]

a small town, where, it is said, Tereus, the Thracian, was prince; and

there they say is the scene of the fable of Philomela and Procne;

Thucydides lays it there; but other writers refer it to Megara. The name

of the place is derived from the thickets there, for they call thickets

Dauli. Homer calls it Daulis, but subsequent writers Daulia, and the

words

“they who occupied Cyparissus,”[440]

are understood in a double sense; some persons supposing it to have its

name from the tree of the country, but others from a village situated

below the Lycoreian territory.

14. Panopeus, the present Phanoteus, the country of Epeius, is on the

confines of the district of Lebadeia. Here the fable places the abode of

Tityus. But Homer says, that the Phæacians conducted Rhadamanthus to

Eubœa,

“in order to see Tityus, son of the earth;”[441]

they show also in the island a cave called Elarium, from Elara the

mother of Tityus, and an Heroum of Tityus, and some kind of honours are

spoken of, which are paid to him.

Near Lebadeia is Trachin, having the same name as that in Œtæa; it is a

small Phocian town. The inhabitants are called Trachinii.

15. Anemoreia[442] has its name from a physical accident, to which it is

liable. It is exposed to violent gusts of wind from a place called

Catopterius,[443] a precipitous mountain, extending from Parnassus. It

was a boundary between Delphi and the Phocians, when the Lacedæmonians

made the Delphians separate themselves from the common body of the

Phocians,[444] and permitted them to form an independent state.

Some call the place Anemoleia; it was afterwards called by others

Hyampolis,[445] (and also Hya,) whither we said the Hyantes were

banished from Bœotia. It is situated quite in the interior, near

Parapotamii, and is a different place from Hyampea on Parnassus.

Elateia[446] is the largest of the Phocian cities, but Homer was not

acquainted with it, for it is later than his times. It is conveniently

situated to repel incursions on the side of Thessaly. Demosthenes[447]

points out the advantage of its position, in speaking of the confusion

which suddenly arose, when a messenger arrived to inform the Prytaneis

of the capture of Elateia.

16. Parapotamii is a settlement on the Cephissus, in the neighbourhood

of Phanoteus, Chæroneia, and Elateia. This place, according to

Theopompus, is distant from Chæroneia about 40 stadia, and is the

boundary between the Ambryseis, Panopeis, and Daulieis. It is situated

at the entrance from Bœotia to the Phocians, upon an eminence of

moderate height, between Parnassus and the mountain [Hadylium, where

there is an open space] of 5 stadia in extent, through which runs the

Cephissus, affording on each side a narrow pass. This river has its

source at Lilæa, a Phocian city, as Homer testifies;[CAS. 424]

“they who occupied Lilæa, near the source of the Cephissus;”[448]

and empties itself into the lake Copais. But Hadylium extends 60 stadia,

as far as Hyphanteium, on which Orchomenus is situated. Hesiod also

enlarges on the river and its stream, how it takes through the whole of

Phocis an oblique and serpentine course;

“which, like a serpent, winds along Panopeus and the strong

Glechon, and through Orchomenus.”[449]

The narrow pass near Parapotamii, or Parapotamia, (for the name is

written both ways,) was disputed in [the Phocian war,] for this is the

only entrance [into Phocis].[450]

There is a Cephissus in Phocis, another at Athens, and another at

Salamis. There is a fourth and a fifth at Sicyon and at Scyrus; [a sixth

at Argos, having its source in the Lyrceium].[451] At Apollonia,[452]

also, near Epidamnus,[453] there is near the Gymnasium a spring, which

is called Cephissus.

17. Daphnus[454] is at present in ruins. It was at one time a city of

Phocis, and lay close to the Eubœan Sea; it divided the Locri

Epicnemidii into two bodies, namely, the Locri on the side of

Bœotia,[455] and the Locri on the side of Phocis, which then extended

from sea to sea. A proof of this is the Schedieum, [in Daphnus,] called

the tomb of Schedius.[456] [It has been already said] that Daphnus

[divides] Locris into two parts, [in such a manner as to prevent] the

Epicnemidii and Opuntii from touching upon each other in any part. In

after-times Daphnus was included within the boundaries of the [Opuntii].

On the subject of Phocis, this may suffice.

CHAPTER IV.

1. Locris, which we are now to describe, follows next in order.

It is divided into two parts, one of which is occupied by the Locri

opposite Eubœa, and, as we have already said, formerly consisted of two

bodies, situated one on each side of Daphnus. The Locri Opuntii had

their surname from Opus,[457] the capital; the Epicnemidii from a

mountain called Cnemis.[458] The rest are the Locri Hesperii, who are

called also Locri Ozolæ. These are separated from the Locri Opuntii and

Epicnemidii by Parnassus, which lies between them, and by the Tetrapolis

of the Dorians. We shall first speak of the Opuntii.

2. Immediately after Halæ, where the Bœotian coast opposite Eubœa

terminates, is the Opuntian bay. Opus is the capital, as the inscription

intimates, which is engraved on the first of the five pillars at

Thermopylæ, near the Polyandrium:[459]

“Opoeis, the capital of the Locri, hides in its bosom those

who died in defence of Greece against the Medes.”

It is distant from the sea about 15 stadia, and 60 from the naval

arsenal. The arsenal is Cynus,[460] a promontory, which forms the

boundary of the Opuntian bay. The latter is 40 stadia in extent. Between

Opus and Cynus is a fertile plain, opposite to Ædepsus in Eubœa, where

are the warm baths[461] of Hercules, and is separated by a strait of 160

stadia. Deucalion is said to have lived at Cynus. There also is shown

the tomb of Pyrrha; but that of Deucalion is at Athens. Cynus is distant

from Mount Cnemis about 50 stadia. The island Atalanta[462] is opposite

to Opus, having the [CAS. 425] same name as the island in front of

Attica. It is said, that some Opuntii are to be found in the Eleian

territory, whom it is not worth while to notice, except that they

pretend to trace some affinity subsisting between themselves and the

Locri Opuntii. Homer[463] says that Patroclus was from Opus, and that

having committed murder undesignedly, he fled to Peleus, but that the

father Menœtius remained in his native country; for it is to Opus that

Achilles promised Menœtius that he would bring back Patroclus on his

return from the Trojan expedition.[464] Not that Menœtius was king of

the Opuntii, but Ajax the Locrian, who, according to report, was born at

Narycus. The name of the person killed by Patroclus was Æanes; a grove,

called after him Æaneium, and a fountain, Æanis, are shown.

3. Next after Cynus is Alopē[465] and Daphnus, which last, we have said,

is in ruins. At Alopē is a harbour, distant from Cynus about 90 stadia,

and 120 from Elateia, in the interior of the country. But these belong

to the Maliac, which is continuous with the Opuntian Gulf.

4. Next to Daphnus, at the distance of about 20 stadia by sea, is

Cnemides, a strong place, opposite to which in Eubœa is Cenæum, a

promontory, looking towards the west and the Maliac Gulf, and separated

by a strait of nearly 20 stadia.

At Cnemides we are in the territory of the Locri Epicnemidii. Here are

the Lichades, as they are called, three islands, having their name from

Lichas; they lie in front of Cnemides. Other islands also are met with

in sailing along this coast, which we purposely pass over.

At the distance of 20 stadia from Cnemides is a harbour, above which at

the same distance, in the interior, is situated Thronium.[466] Then the

Boagrius, which flows beside Thronium, empties itself into the sea. It

has another name also, that of Manes. It is a winter torrent; whence its

bed may be crossed at times dry-shod, and at another it is two plethra

in width.

Then after these is Scarpheia, at a distance of 10 stadia from the sea,

and of 30 from Thronium, but at a little [less from its harbour.][467]

Next are Nicæa and Thermopylæ.

5. It is not worth while to speak of any of the other cities. Of those

mentioned by Homer, Calliarus is no longer inhabited, it is now a

well-cultivated plain. Bessa, a sort of plain, does not now exist. It

has its name from an accidental quality, for it abounds with woods.

χώραν ἔχουσι Σκαρφιεῖς, &c. It ought to be written with a double s,

for it has its name from Bessa, a wooded valley, like Napē,[468] in

the plain of Methymna,[469] which Hellanicus, through ignorance of the

local circumstances, improperly calls Lapē; but the demus in Attica,

from which the burghers are called Besæenses, is written with a single

s.

6. Tarphē is situated upon a height, at the distance of 20 stadia from

[Thronium]. It has a territory, productive and well wooded; for this

place also has its name from its being thickly wooded. It is now called

Pharygæ. A temple of Juno Pharygæa is there, called so from the Argive

Juno at Pharygæ; and the inhabitants assert that they are of Argive

origin.

7. Homer does not mention, at least not in express words, the Locri

Hesperii, but only seems to distinguish them from the people of whom we

have spoken;

“Locri, who dwell beyond the sacred Eubœa;”[470]

as if there were other Locri. They occupied the cities Amphissa[471] and

Naupactus.[472] The latter still subsists near Antirrhium.[473] It has

its name from the ships that were built there, either because the

Heraclidæ constructed their fleet at this place, or because the Locri,

as Ephorus states, had built vessels there long before that time. At

present it belongs to the Ætolians, by a decree of Philip.

8. There also is Chalcis, mentioned by the poet[474] in the Ætolian

Catalogue. It is below Calydon. There also is the hill Taphiassus, on

which is the monument of Nessus, and of the other Centaurs. From the

putrefaction of the bodies of these people there flows, it is said, from

beneath the foot of that hill a stream of water, which exhales a fœtid

odour, and [CAS. 427] contains clots of blood. Hence also the nation

had the name of Ozolæ.[475]

Opposite Antirrhium is Molycreia,[476] a small Ætolian city.

Amphissa is situated at the extremity of the Crisæan plain. It was

razed, as we have said before, by the Amphictyons. Œanthia and Eupalium

belong to the Locri. The whole voyage along the coast of the Locri is a

little more than 200 stadia.

9. There is an Alope[477] both here among the Locri Ozolæ, as also among

the Epicnemidii, and in the Phthiotis. These are a colony of the

Epicnemidii, and the Epizephyrii a colony of the Ozolæ.

10. Ætolians are continuous with the Locri Hesperii, and the Ænianes,

who occupy Œta with the Epicnemidii, and between them Dorians. These

last are the people who inhabited the Tetrapolis, which is called the

capital of all the Dorians. They possessed the cities Erineus, Bœum,

Pindus, Cytinium. Pindus is situated above Erineus. A river of the same

name flows beside it, and empties itself into the Cephissus, not far

from Lilæa. Some writers call Pindus, Acyphas.

Ægimius, king of these Dorians, when an exile from his kingdom, was

restored, as they relate, by Hercules. He requited this favour after the

death of Hercules at Œta by adopting Hyllus, the eldest of the sons of

Hercules, and both he and his descendants succeeded him in the kingdom.

It was from this place that the Heracleidæ set out on their return to

Peloponnesus.

11. These cities were for some time of importance, although they were

small, and their territory not fruitful. They were afterwards neglected.

After what they suffered in the Phocian war and under the dominion of

the Macedonians, Ætolians, and Athamanes, it is surprising that even a

vestige of them should have remained to the time of the Romans.

It was the same with the Ænianes, who were exterminated by Ætolians and

Athamanes. The Ætolians were a very powerful people, and carried on war

together with the Acarnanians. The Athamanes were the last of the

Epeirotæ, who attained distinction when the rest were declining, and

acquired power by the assistance of their king Amynander. The Ænianes,

however, kept possession of Œta.

12. This mountain extends from Thermopylæ and the east, to the

Ambracian Gulf and the west; it may be said to cut at right angles the

mountainous tract, extending from Parnassus as far as Pindus, and to the

Barbarians who live beyond. The portion of this mountain verging towards

Thermopylæ[478] is called Œta; it is 200 stadia in length, rocky and

elevated, but the highest part is at Thermopylæ, for there it forms a

peak, and terminates with acute and abrupt rocks, continued to the sea.

It leaves a narrow passage for those who are going from Thessaly to

Locris.

13. This passage is called Pylæ, or gates, straits, and Thermopylæ,

because near the straits are hot springs, which are held in honour as

sacred to Hercules. The mountain above is called Callidromus; but some

writers call by the name of Callidromus the remaining part of the range

extending through Ætolia and Acarnania to the Ambracian Gulf.

At Thermopylæ within the straits are strongholds, as Nicæa, on the sea

of the Locri, Teichius and Heracleia above it, formerly called Trachin,

founded by the Lacedæmonians. Heracleia is distant from the ancient

Trachin about 6 stadia. Next follows Rhoduntia, strong by its position.

14. These places are rendered difficult of access by a rocky country,

and by bodies of water, forming ravines through which they pass. For

besides the Spercheius,[479] which flows past Anticyra, there is the

Dyras, which, it is said, endeavoured to extinguish the funeral pile of

Hercules, and another river, the Melas, distant about 5 stadia from

Trachin. Herodotus says,[480] that to the south of Trachin there is a

deep fissure, through which the Asopus, (which has the same name as

other rivers that we have mentioned,) empties itself into the sea

without the Pylæ, having received the river Phœnix which flows from the

south, and unites with it. The latter river bears the name of the hero,

whose tomb is shown near it. From the Asopus (Phœnix?) to Thermopylæ are

15 stadia.

15. These places were of the greatest celebrity when they formed the

keys of the straits. There were frequent contests for the ascendency

between the inhabitants without and those within the straits. Philip

used to call Chalcis and Corinth the fetters of Greece with reference to

the opportunity which they afforded for invasions from Macedonia; and

persons in [CAS. 429] later times called both these places and

Demetrias “the fetters,” for Demetrias commanding Pelion and Ossa,

commanded also the passes at Tempe. Afterwards, however, when the whole

country was subject to one power, the passes were freely open to

all.[481]

16. It was at these straits that Leonidas and his companions, together

with a small body of persons from the neighbourhood, resisted the

numerous forces of the Persians, until the Barbarians, making a circuit

of the mountains along narrow paths, surrounded and cut them to pieces.

Their place of burial, the Polyandrium, is still to be seen there, and

the celebrated inscription sculptured on the Lacedæmonian pillar;

“Stranger, go tell Lacedæmon that we lie here in obedience to her laws.”

17. There is also a large harbour here and a temple of Ceres, in which

the Amphictyons at the time of every Pylæan assembly offered sacrifice.

From the harbour to the Heracleian Trachin are 40 stadia by land, but by

sea to Cenæum[482] it is 70 stadia. The Spercheius empties itself

immediately without the Pylæ. To Pylæ from the Euripus are 530 stadia.

And here Locris terminates. The parts without the Pylæ towards the east,

and the Maliac Gulf, belong to the Thessalians; those towards the west,

to the Ætolians and Acarnanians. The Athamanes are extinct.

18. The Thessalians form the largest and most ancient community. One

part of them has been mentioned by Homer, and the rest by many other

writers. Homer constantly mentions the Ætolians under one name; he

places cities, and not nations dependent upon them, if we except the

Curetes, whom we must place in the division of Ætolians.

We must begin our account with the Thessalians, omitting very ancient

and fabulous stories, and what is not generally admitted, (as we have

done in other instances,) but propose to mention what appears suited to

our purpose.

CHAPTER V.

1. The sea-coast, extending from Thermopylæ to the mouths of the

Peneius,[483] and the extremities of Pelion, looking towards the east,

and the northern extremities of Eubœa, is that of Thessaly. The parts

opposite Eubœa and Thermopylæ are occupied by Malienses, and by Achæan

Phthiotæ; those towards Pelion by the Magnetes. This may be called the

eastern and maritime side of Thessaly. From either side from Pelion, and

the Peneius, towards the inland parts are Macedonians, who extend as far

as Pæonia, (Pindus?) and the Epeirotic nations. From Thermopylæ, the

Œtæan and Ætolian mountains, which approach close to the Dorians, and

Parnassus, are parallel to the Macedonians. The side towards the

Macedonians may be called the northern side; the other, the southern.

There remains the western side, enclosed by Ætolians and Acarnanians, by

Amphilochians and Athamanes, who are Epirotæ; by the territory of the

Molotti, formerly said to be that of the Æthices, and, in short, by the

country about Pindus. Thessaly,[484] in the interior, is a plain country

for the most part, and has no mountains, except Pelion and Ossa. These

mountains rise to a considerable height, but do not encompass a large

tract of country, but terminate in the plains.

2. These are the middle parts of Thessaly, a district of very fertile

country, except that part of it which is overflowed by rivers. The

Peneius flows through the middle of the country, and receiving many

rivers, frequently overflows. Formerly, according to report, the plain

was a lake; it is enclosed on all sides inland by mountains, and the

sea-coast is more elevated than the plains. When a chasm was formed, at

the place now called Tempe, by shocks of an earthquake, and Ossa was

riven from Olympus, the Peneius flowed out through it to the sea, and

drained this tract of country. Still there remained the large lake

Nessonis, and the lake Bœbeis; which is of less extent than the

Nessonis, and nearer to the sea-coast.

3. [CAS. 430] Such then is Thessaly, which is divided into four parts,

Phthiotis, Hestiæotis, Thessaliotis, and Pelasgiotis.

Phthiotis comprises the southern parts, extending along Œta from the

Maliac and (or) Pylaïc Gulf[485] as far as Dolopia and Pindus,

increasing in breadth to Pharsalia and the Thessalian plains.

Hestiæotis comprises the western parts and those between Pindus and

Upper Macedonia; the rest is occupied by the inhabitants of the plains

below Hestiæotis, who are called Pelasgiotæ, and approach close to the

Lower Macedonians; by the [Thessalians] also, who possess the country

next in order, as far as the coast of Magnesia.

The names of many cities might here be enumerated, which are celebrated

on other accounts, but particularly as being mentioned by Homer; few of

them, however, but most of all Larisa, preserve their ancient

importance.

4. The poet having divided the whole of the country, which we call

Thessaly, into ten[486] parts and dynasties, and having taken in

addition some portion of the Œtæan and Locrian territory, and of that

also which is now assigned to the Macedonians, shows (what commonly

happened to every country) the changes which, entirely or in part, they

undergo according to the power possessed by their respective governors.

5. The poet first enumerates the Thessalians subject to Achilles, who

occupied the southern side, and adjoined Œta, and the Locri Epicnemidii;

“All who dwelt in Pelasgic Argos; they who occupied Alus,

Alope, and Trachin; they who possessed Phthia, and Hellas,

abounding with beautiful women, were called Myrmidones,

Hellenes, and Achæi.”[487]

He joins together with these the people under the command of Phœnix, and

makes them compose one common expedition. The poet nowhere mentions the

Dolopian forces in the battles near Ilium, neither does he introduce

their leader Phœnix, as undertaking, like Nestor, dangerous enterprises.

But Phœnix is mentioned by others, as by Pindar,

“Who led a brave band of Dolopian slingers,

Who were to aid the javelins of the Danai, tamers of horses.”

The words of the poet are to be understood according to the figure of

the grammarians, by which something is suppressed, for it would be

ridiculous for the king to engage in the expedition,

(“I live at the extremity of Phthia, chief of the Dolopians,”[488])

and his subjects not to accompany him. For [thus] he would not appear to

be a comrade of Achilles in the expedition, but only as the commander of

a small body of men, and a speaker, and if so, a counsellor. The verses

seem to imply this meaning, for they are to this effect,

“To be an eloquent speaker, and to achieve great deeds.”[489]

From this it appears that Homer considered the forces under Achilles and

Phœnix as constituting one body; but the places mentioned as being under

the authority of Achilles, are subjects of controversy.

Some have understood Pelasgic Argos to be a Thessalian city, formerly

situated near Larisa, but now no longer in existence. Others do not

understand a city to be meant by this name, but the Thessalian plain,

and to have been so called by Abas, who established a colony there from

Argos.

6. With respect to Phthia, some suppose it to be the same as Hellas and

Achaia, and that these countries form the southern portion in the

division of Thessaly into two parts. But others distinguish Phthia and

Hellas. The poet seems to distinguish them in these verses;

“they who occupied Phthia and Hellas,”[490]

as if they were two countries. And, again,

“Then far away through wide Greece I fled and came to Phthia,”[491]

and,

“There are many Achæan women in Hellas and Phthia.”[492]

The poet then makes these places to be two, but whether cities or

countries he does not expressly say. Some of the later writers, who

affirm that it is a country, suppose it to have extended from

Palæpharsalus to Thebæ Phthiotides. In this country also is Thetidium,

near both the ancient and the modern Pharsalus; and it is conjectured

from [CAS. 432] Thetidium that the country, in which it is situated,

was a part of that under the command of Achilles. Others, who regard it

as a city, allege that the Pharsalii show at the distance of 60 stadia

from their own city, a city in ruins, which they believe to be Hellas,

and two springs near it, Messeïs and Hypereia. But the Melitæenses say,

that at the distance of about 10 stadia from their city, was situated

Hellas on the other side of the Enipeus,[493] when their own city had

the name of Pyrrha, and that the Hellenes migrated from Hellas, which

was built in a low situation, to theirs. They adduce in proof of this

the tomb of Hellen, son of Deucalion and Pyrrha, which is in their

market-place. For according to historians, Deucalion was king of

Phthiotis and of all Thessaly. The Enipeus flows from Othrys[494] beside

Pharsalus,[495] and empties itself into the Apidanus,[496] and the

latter into the Peneius.

Thus much, then, respecting the Hellenes.

7. The people under the command of Achilles, Protesilaus, and

Philoctetes, are called Phthii. The poet furnishes evidence of this.

Having recited in the Catalogue of those under the command of Achilles,

“the people of Phthia,”[497]

he represents them at the battle at the ships, as remaining in the ships

with Achilles, and inactive; but those under the command of Philoctetes,

as fighting with Medon [as their leader], and those under the command of

Protesilaus, with Podarces [as their chief]. Of these the poet speaks in

general terms;

“there were Bœoti and Iaones wearing long robes, Locri,

Phthii, and illustrious Epeii.”[498]

But here he particularizes them;

“at the head of the Phthii fought Medon and Podarces, firm in

battle. These armed with breastplates fought together with

Bœoti, at the head of the magnanimous Phthii, keeping away the

enemy from the ships.”[499]

Perhaps the people with Eurypylus were called Phthii, as they bordered

upon the country of the latter. At present, however, historians assign

to Magnesia the country about Ormenium, which was subject to Eurypylus,

and the whole of that subject to Philoctetes; but they regard the

country under the command of Protesilaus as belonging to Phthia, from

Dolopia and Pindus to the sea of Magnesia; but as far as the city

Antron, (now written in the plural number,) which was subject to

Protesilaus, beginning from Trachinia and Œta, is the width of the

territory belonging to Peleus and Achilles. But this is nearly the whole

length of the Maliac Gulf.

8. They entertain doubts respecting Halus and Alope, whether Homer means

the places which are now comprised in the Phthiotic government, or those

among the Locri, since the dominion of Achilles extended hither as well

as to Trachin and the Œtæan territory. For Halus and Halius, as well as

Alope, are on the coast of the Locri. But some substitute Halius for

Alope, and write the verse in this manner;

“they who inhabited Halus, and Halius, and Trachin.”[500]

But the Phthiotic Halus lies under the extremity of the mountain Othrys,

which lies to the north of Phthiotis, and borders upon the mountain

Typhrestus and the Dolopians, and thence stretches along to the country

near the Maliac Gulf. Halus,[501] either masculine or feminine, for it

is used in both genders, is distant from Itonus[502] about 60 stadia.

Athamas founded Halus; it was destroyed, but subsequently [restored by

the Pharsalii]. It is situated above the Crocian plain, and the river

Amphrysus[503] flows by its walls. Below the Crocian plain lies Thebæ

Phthiotides; Halus likewise, which is in Achaia, is called Phthiotis;

this, as well as the foot of Mount Othrys, approaches close to the

Malienses. As Phylace too, which was under the command of Protesilaus,

so Halus also belongs to Phthiotis, which adjoins to the Malienses.

Halus is distant from Thebes about 100 stadia, and lies in the middle

between Pharsalus and Thebæ Phthiotides. Philip, however, took it from

the latter, and assigned it to the Pharsalii. Thus it happens, as we

have said before, that boundaries and the distribution of nations and

places are in a state of continual change. Thus Sophocles also called

Phthiotis, Trachinia, Artemidorus places Halus on the coast beyond the

Maliac Gulf, but as belonging to Phthiotis. For proceeding thence in the

direction of the Peneius, he places Pteleum after Antron, then Halus at

the distance of 110 stadia from Pteleum.

[CAS. 433] I have already spoken of Trachin, and described the nature of

the place. The poet mentions it by name.

9. As Homer frequently mentions the Spercheius as a river of the

country, having its source in the Typhrestus, a Dryopian mountain,

formerly called [Tymphrestus], and emptying itself near Thermopylæ,

between Trachin and Lamia,[504] he might imply that whatever parts of

the Maliac Gulf were either within or without the Pylæ, were subject to

Achilles.

The Spercheius is distant about 30 stadia from Lamia, which lies above a

plain, extending to the Maliac Gulf. That the Spercheius is a river of

the country [subject to Achilles], appears from the words of Achilles,

who says, that he had devoted his hair to the Spercheius; and from the

circumstance, that Menesthius, one of his commanders, was said to be the

son of Spercheius and the sister of Achilles.

It is probable that all the people under the command of Achilles and

Patroclus, and who had accompanied Peleus in his banishment from Ægina,

had the name of Myrmidons, but all the Phthiotæ were called Achæans.

10. They reckon in the Phthiotic district, which was subject to

Achilles, beginning from the Malienses, a considerable number of towns,

and among them Thebæ Phthiotides, Echinus, Lamia, near which the war was

carried on between the Macedonians and Antipater, against the Athenians.

In this war Leosthenes, the Athenian general, was killed, [and

Leonnatus,] one of the companions of Alexander the king. Besides the

above-mentioned towns, we must add [Narthac]ium, Erineus, Coroneia, of

the same name as the town in Bœotia, Melitæa, Thaumaci, Proerna,

Pharsalus, Eretria, of the same name as the Euboic town, Paracheloïtæ,

of the same name as those in Ætolia; for here also, near Lamia, is a

river Achelous, on the banks of which live the Paracheloïtæ.

This district, lying to the north, extended to the north-western

territory of the Asclepiadæ, and to the territory of Eurypylus and

Protesilaus, inclining to the east; on the south it adjoined the Œtæan

territory, which was divided into fourteen demi, and contained Heracleia

and Dryopis, which was once a community of four cities, (a Tetrapolis,)

like Doris, and accounted the capital of the Dryopes in Peloponnesus. To

the Œtæan district belong also the Acyphas, Parasopias, Œneiadæ, and

Anticyra, of the same name as the town among the Locri Hesperii. I do

not mean that these divisions always continued the same, for they

underwent various changes. The most remarkable, however, are worthy of

notice.

11. The poet with sufficient clearness describes the situation of the

Dolopes, as at the extremity of Phthia, and says that both they and the

Phthiotæ were under the command of the same chief, Peleus;

“I lived,” he says, “at the farthest part of Phthia, king of

the Dolopes.”[505]

Peleus, however, had conferred on him the authority.

This region is close to Pindus, and the places about it, most of which

belong to the Thessalians. For in consequence of the renown and

ascendency of the Thessalians and Macedonians, those Epeirotæ, who

bordered nearest upon them, became, some voluntarily, others by force,

incorporated among the Macedonians and Thessalians. In this manner the

Athamanes, Æthices, and Talares were joined to the Thessalians, and the

Orestæ, Pelagones, and Elimiotæ to the Macedonians.

12. Pindus is a large mountain, having on the north Macedonia, on the

west Perrhæbi, settlers from another country, on the south Dolopes, [and

on the east Hestiæotis] which belongs to Thessaly. Close upon Pindus

dwelt Talares, a tribe of Molotti, detached from the Molotti about Mount

Tomarus, and Æthices, among whom the poet says the Centaurs took refuge

when expelled by Peirithous.[506] They are at present, it is said,

extinct. But this extinction is to be understood in two senses; either

the inhabitants have been exterminated, and the country deserted, or the

name of the nation exists no longer, or the community does not preserve

its ancient form. Whenever the community, which continues, is

insignificant, we do not think it worth while to record either its

existence or its change of name. But when it has any just pretensions to

notice, it is necessary to remark the change which it has undergone.

13. It remains for us to describe the tract of sea-coast subject to

Achilles: we begin from Thermopylæ, for we have spoken of the coast of

Locris, and of the interior.

Thermopylæ is separated from the Cenæum by a strait 70 stadia across.

Coasting beyond the Pylæ, it is at a distance from the Spercheius of

about 10, (60?) and thence to Phalara of 20 stadia. Above Phalara, 50

stadia from the sea, lies the city of the [Lamians]. Then coasting along

the shore 100 stadia, we find above it, Echinus. At the distance [CAS.

435] of 20 stadia from the following tract of coast, in the interior, is

Larisa Cremaste, which has the name also of Larisa Pelasgia.

14. Then follows a small island, Myonnesus; next Antron; which was

subject to Protesilaus. Thus much concerning the territory subject to

Achilles.

As the poet, in naming the chiefs, and cities under their rule, has

divided the country into numerous well-known parts, and has given an

accurate account of the whole circuit of Thessaly, we shall follow him,

as before, in completing the description of this region.

Next to the people under the command of Achilles, he enumerates those

under the command of Protesilaus. They were situated, next, along the

sea-coast which was subject to Achilles, as far as Antron. The boundary

of the country under the command of Protesilaus, is determined by its

being situated without the Maliac Gulf, yet still in Phthiotis, though

not within Phthiotis subject to Achilles.

Phylacē[507] is near Thebæ Phthiotides, which was subject to

Protesilaus, as were also Halus, Larisa Cremaste, and Demetrium, all of

which lie to the east of Mount Othrys.

The Demetrium he speaks of[508] as an enclosure sacred to Ceres, and

calls it Pyrasus. Pyrasus was a city with a good harbour, having at the

distance of 2 stadia from it a grove, and a temple consecrated to Ceres.

It is distant from Thebæ 20 stadia. The latter is situated above

Pyrasus. Above Thebæ in the inland parts is the Crocian plain at the

extremity of the mountain Othrys. Through this plain flows the river

Amphrysus. Above it is the Itonus, where is the temple of the Itonian

Minerva, from which that in Bœotia has its name, also the river Cuarius.

[Of this river and] of Arnē we have spoken in our account of Bœotia.

These places are in Thessaliotis, one of the four divisions of all

Thessaly, in which were the possessions of Eurypylus. Phyllus, where is

a temple of the Phyllæan Apollo, Ichnæ, where the Ichnæan Themis is

worshipped, Cierus, and [all the places as far as] Athamania, are

included in Thessaliotis.

At Antron, in the strait near Eubœa, is a sunk rock, called

“the Ass of Antron.” Next are Pteleum and Halus; next the temple of

Ceres, and Pyrasus in ruins; above these, Thebæ; then Pyrrha, a

promontory, and two small islands near, one of which is called Pyrrha,

the other Deucalion. Somewhere here ends the territory of Phthiotis.

15. The poet next mentions the people under Eumelus, and the continuous

tract of coast which now belongs to Magnesia, and the Pelasgiotis.

Pheræ is the termination of the Pelasgic plains towards Magnesia, which

plains extend as far as Pelion, a distance of 160 stadia. Pagasæ is

the naval arsenal of Pheræ, from which it is distant 90 stadia, and

20 from Iolcus. Iolcus has been razed from ancient times. It was from

this place that Pelias despatched Jason and the ship Argo. Pagasæ

had its name,[509] according to mythologists, from the building of

the ship Argo at this place. Others, with more probability, suppose

that the name of the place was derived from the springs, (πηγαί,)

which are very numerous and copious. Near it is Aphetæ, (so named) as

the starting-place[510] from which the Argonauts set off. Iolcus is

situated 7 stadia from Demetrias, overlooking the sea. Demetrias was

founded by Demetrius Poliorcetes, who called it after his own name. It

is situated between Nelia and Pagasæ on the sea. He collected there the

inhabitants of the neighbouring small cities, Nelia, Pagasæ, Ormenium,

and besides these, Rhizus, Sepias, Olizon, Bœbe, and Iolcus, which are

at present villages belonging to Demetrias. For a long time it was a

station for vessels, and a royal seat of the Macedonian kings. It had

the command of Tempe, and of both the mountains Pelion and Ossa. At

present its extent of power is diminished, yet it still surpasses all

the cities in Magnesia.

The lake Bœbeis[511] is near Pheræ,[512] and approaches close to the

extremities of Pelion and Magnesia. Bœbe is a small place situated on

the lake.

As civil dissensions and usurpations reduced the flourishing condition

of Iolcus, formerly so powerful, so they affected Pheræ in the same

manner, which was raised to prosperity, and was destroyed by tyrants.

Near Demetrias flows the Anaurus. The continuous line [CAS. 436] of

coast is called also Iolcus. Here was held the Pylaic (Peliac?) assembly

and festival.

Artemidorus places the Gulf of Pagasæ farther from Demetrias, near the

places subject to Philoctetes. In the gulf he says is the island

Cicynethus,[513] and a small town of the same name.

16. The poet next enumerates the cities subject to Philoctetes.

Methone is not the Thracian Methone razed by Philip. We have already

noticed the change of name these places and others in the Peloponnesus

have undergone. Other places enumerated as subject to Philoctetes, are

Thaumacia, Olizon, and Melibœa, all along the shore next adjacent.

In front of the Magnetes lie clusters of islands; the most celebrated

are Sciathus,[514] Peparethus,[515] Icus,[516] Halonnesus, and

Scyrus,[517] which contain cities of the same name. Scyrus however is

the most famous of any for the friendship which subsisted between

Lycomedes and Achilles, and for the birth and education of Neoptolemus,

the son of Achilles. In after times, when Philip became powerful,

perceiving that the Athenians were masters of the sea, and sovereigns

both of these and other islands, he made those islands which lay near

his own country more celebrated than any of the rest. For as his object

in waging war was the sovereignty of Greece, he attacked those places

first which were near him; and as he attached to Macedonia many parts of

Magnesia itself, of Thrace, and of the rest of the surrounding country,

so also he seized upon the islands in front of Magnesia, and made the

possession of islands which were before entirely unknown, a subject of

warlike contention, and brought them into notice.

Scyrus however is particularly celebrated in ancient histories. It is

also highly reputed for the excellence of its goats, and the quarries of

variegated marble, such as the Carystian, the Deucallian, (Docimæan?)

the Synnadic, and the Hierapolitic kinds. For there may be seen at Rome

columns, consisting of a single stone, and large slabs of variegated

marble, (from Scyrus,) with which the city is embellished both at the

public charge and at the expense of individuals, which has caused works

of white marble to be little esteemed.

17. The poet having proceeded so far along the Magnesian coast, returns

to Upper Thessaly, for beginning from Dolopia and Pindus he goes through

the region extending along Phthiotis to Lower Thessaly.

“They who occupy Tricca and rocky Ithome.”[518]

These places belong to Histiæotis, which was formerly called Doris. When

it was in the possession of the Perrhæbi, who destroyed Histiæotis in

Eubœa, and had removed the inhabitants by force to the continent, they

gave the country the name of Histiæotis, on account of the great numbers

of Histiæans among the settlers. This country and Dolopia are called

Upper Thessaly, which is in a straight line with Upper Macedonia, as

Lower Thessaly is in a straight line with Lower Macedonia.

Tricca,[519] where there is a very ancient and famous temple of

Æsculapius, borders upon the Dolopes, and the parts about Pindus.

Ithome, which has the same name as the Messenian Ithome, ought not, they

say, to be pronounced in this manner, but should be pronounced without

the first syllable, Thome, for this was its former name. At present, it

is changed to [Thumæum]. It is a spot strong by nature, and in reality

rocky. It lies between four strongholds, which form a square, Tricca,

Metropolis, Pelinnæum, and Gomphi.[520] Ithome belongs to the district

of the Metropolitæ. Metropolis was formed at first out of three small

obscure cities, and afterwards more were included, and among these

Ithome. Callimachus says in his Iambics,

“among the Venuses, (for the goddess bears several titles,)

Venus Castnietis surpasses all others in wisdom,”

for she alone accepts the sacrifice of swine. Certainly Callimachus, if

any person could be said to possess information, was well informed, and

it was his object, as he himself says, all his life to relate these

fables. Later writers, however, have proved that there was not one Venus

only, but several, who accepted that sacrifice, from among whom the

goddess worshipped at Metropolis came, and that this [foreign] rite was

delivered down by one of the cities which contributed to form that

settlement.

Pharcadon [CAS. 438] also is situated in the Hestiæotis. The Peneius

and the Curalius flow through it. The Curalius, after flowing beside the

temple of the Itonian Minerva, empties itself into the Peneius.

The Peneius itself rises in Mount Pindus, as I have before said. It

leaves Tricca, Pelinnæum, and Pharcadon on the left hand, and takes its

course beside Atrax and Larisa. After having received the rivers of the

Thessaliotis it flows onwards through Tempe, and it empties itself into

the sea.

Historians speak of Œchalia, the city of Eurytus, as existing in these

parts, in Eubœa also, and in Arcadia; but some give it one name, others

another, as I have said in the description of Peloponnesus.

They inquire particularly, which of these was the city taken by

Hercules, and which was the city intended by the author of the poem,

“The Capture of Œchalia”?

The places, however, were subject to the Asclepiadæ.

18. The poet next mentions the country which was under the dominion of

Eurypylus;

“They who possessed Ormenium and the spring Hypereia,

And they who occupied Asterium and the white peaks of Titanus.”[521]

Ormenium is now called Orminium. It is a village situated below Pelion,

near the Pagasitic Gulf, but was one of the cities which contributed to

form the settlement of Demetrias, as I have before said.

The lake Bœbeis must be near, because both Bœbe and Ormenium belonged to

the cities lying around Demetrias.

Ormenium is distant by land 27 stadia from Demetrias. The site of

Iolcus, which is on the road, is distant 7 stadia from Demetrias, and

the remaining 20 from Ormenium.

Demetrius of Scepsis says, that Phœnix came from Ormenium, and that he

fled thence from his father Amyntor, the son of Ormenus, to Phthia, to

king Peleus. For this place was founded by Ormenus, the son of

Cercaphus, the son of Æolus. The sons of Ormenus were Amyntor and

Euæmon; the son of the former was Phœnix, and of the latter, Eurypylus.

The succession to his possessions was preserved secure for Eurypylus,

after the departure of Phœnix from his home, and we ought to write the

verse of the poet in this manner:

“as when I first left Ormenium, abounding with flocks,”[522]

instead of

“left Hellas, abounding with beautiful women.”

But Crates makes Phœnix a Phocæan, conjecturing this from the helmet of

Meges, which Ulysses wore on the night expedition; of which helmet the

poet says,

“Autolycus brought it away from Eleon, out of the house of

Amyntor, the son of Ormenus, having broken through the thick

walls.”[523]

Now Eleon was a small city on Parnassus, and by Amyntor, the son of

Ormenus, he could not mean any other person than the father of Phœnix,

and that Autolycus, who lived on Parnassus, was in the habit of digging

through the houses of his neighbours, which is the common practice of

every house-breaker, and not of persons living at a distance. But

Demetrius the Scepsian says, that there is no such place on Parnassus as

Eleon, but Neon, which was built after the Trojan war, and that digging

through houses was not confined to robbers of the neighbourhood. Other

things might be advanced, but I am unwilling to insist long on this

subject. Others write the words

“from Heleon;”

but this is a Tanagrian town; and the words

“Then far away I fled through Hellas and came to Phthia,”[524]

would make this passage absurd.

Hypereia is a spring in the middle of the city of the Pheræi [subject to

Eumelus]. It would therefore be absurd [to assign it to Eurypylus].

Titanus[525] had its name from the accident of its colour, for the soil

of the country near Arne and [Aphe]tæ is white, and Asterium is not far

from these places.

19. Continuous with this portion of Thessaly are the people subject to

Polypœtes.

“They who possessed Argissa; those who inhabited Gyrtone,[526]

Orthe, Elone, and the white city Oloosson.”[527]

This country was formerly inhabited by Perrhæbi, who [CAS. 439]

possessed the part towards the sea and the Peneius, as far as[528] its

mouth and the city Gyrton, belonging to the district Perrhæbis.

Afterwards the Lapithæ, Ixion and his son Peirithous, having reduced the

Perrhæbi,[529] got possession of these places. Peirithous took

possession also of Pelion, having expelled by force the Centaurs, a

savage tribe, who inhabited it. These

“he drove from Pelion to the neighbourhood of the Æthices,”[530]

but he delivered up the plains to the Lapithæ. The Perrhæbi kept

possession of some of these parts, those, namely, towards Olympus, and

in some places they lived intermixed altogether with the Lapithæ.

Argissa, the present Argura, is situated upon the banks of the Peneius.

Atrax lies above it at the distance of 40 stadia, close to the river.

The intermediate country along the side of the river was occupied by

Perrhæbi.

Some call Orthe the citadel of the Phalannæi. Phalanna is a Perrhæbic

city on the Peneius, near Tempe.

The Perrhæbi, oppressed by the Lapithæ, retreated in great numbers to

the mountainous country about Pindus, and to the Athamanes and Dolopes;

but the Larisæi became masters of the country and of the Perrhæbi who

remained there. The Larisæi lived near the Peneius, but in the

neighbourhood of the Perrhæbi. They occupied the most fertile portion of

the plains, except some of the very deep valleys near the lake Nessonis,

into which the river, when it overflowed, usually carried away a portion

of the arable ground belonging to the Larisæi, who afterwards remedied

this by making embankments.

These people were in possession of Perrhæbia, and levied imposts until

Philip became master of the country.

Larisa is a place situated on Ossa, and there is Larisa Cremaste, by

some called Pelasgia. In Crete also is a city Larisa, the inhabitants of

which were embodied with those of Hierapytna; and from this place the

plain below is called the Larisian plain. In Peloponnesus the citadel of

the Argives is called Larisa, and there is a river Larisus, which

separates Eleia from Dyme. Theopompus mentions a city Larisa, situated

on the immediate confines of this country. In Asia is Larisa Phriconis

near Cume, and another Larisa near Hamaxitus, in the Troad. There is

also an Ephesian Larisa, and a Larisa in Syria. At 50 stadia from

Mitylene are the Larisæan rocks, on the road to Methymne. There is a

Larisa in Attica; and a village of this name at the distance of 30

stadia from Tralleis, situated above the city, on the road to the plain

of the Cayster, passing by Mesogis towards the temple of Mater Isodroma.

This Larisa has a similar position, and possesses similar advantages to

those of Larisa Cremaste; for it has abundance of water and vineyards.

Perhaps Jupiter had the appellation of Larisæus from this place. There

is also on the left side of the Pontus (Euxine) a village called Larisa,

near the extremities of Mount Hæmus, between Naulochus [and

Odessus].[531]

Oloosson, called the White, from its chalky soil, Elone, and Gonnus are

Perrhæbic cities. The name of Elone was changed to that of Leimone. It

is now in ruins. Both lie at the foot of Olympus, not very far from the

river Eurotas, which the poet calls Titaresius.

20. The poet speaks both of this river and of the Perrhæbi in the

subsequent verses, when he says,

“Guneus brought from Cyphus two and twenty vessels. His

followers were Enienes and Peræbi, firm in battle. They dwelt

near the wintry Dodona, and tilled the fields about the lovely

Titaresius.”[532]

He mentions therefore these places as belonging to the Perrhæbi, which

comprised a part of the Hestiæotis.[533] They were in part Perrhæbic

towns, which were subject to Polypœtes. He assigned them however to the

Lapithæ, because these people and the Perrhæbi lived intermixed

together, and the Lapithæ occupied the plains. The country, which

belonged to the Perrhæbi, was, for the most part, subject to the

Lapithæ, but the Perrhæbi possessed the more mountainous tracts towards

Olympus and Tempe, such as Cyphus, Dodonē, and the country about the

river Titaresius. This river rises [CAS. 441] in the mountain Titarius,

which is part of Olympus. It flows into the plain near Tempe belonging

to Perrhæbia, and somewhere there enters the Peneius.

The water of the Peneius is clear, that of the Titaresius is unctuous; a

property arising from some matter, which prevents the streams mingling

with each other,

“but runs over the surface like oil.”[534]

Because the Perrhæbi and Lapithæ lived intermingled together, Simonides

calls all those people Pelasgiotæ, who occupy the eastern parts about

Gyrton and the mouths of the Peneius, Ossa, Pelion, and the country

about Demetrias, and the places in the plain, Larisa, Crannon, Scotussa,

Mopsium, Atrax, and the parts near the lakes Nessonis and Bœbeis. The

poet mentions a few only of these places, either because they were not

inhabited at all, or badly inhabited on account of the inundations which

had happened at various times. For the poet does not mention even the

lake Nessonis, but the Bœbeis only, which is much smaller, for its water

remained constant, and this alone remains, while the former probably was

at one time filled irregularly to excess, and at another contained no

water.

We have mentioned Scotussa in our accounts of Dodona, and of the oracle,

in Thessaly, when we observed that it was near Scotussa. Near Scotussa

is a tract called Cynoscephalæ. It was here that the Romans with their

allies the Ætolians, and their general Titus Quintius, defeated in a

great battle Philip, son of Demetrius, king of Macedon.

21. Something of the same kind has happened in the territory of

Magnetis. For Homer having enumerated many places of this country, calls

none of them Magnetes, but those only whom he indicates in terms

obscure, and not easily understood;

“They who dwelt about Peneius and Pelion with waving woods.”[535]

Now about the Peneius and Pelion dwell those (already mentioned by

Homer) who occupied Gyrton, and Ormenium, and many other nations. At a

still greater distance from Pelion, according to later writers, were

Magnetes, beginning from the people, that were subject to Eumelus. These

writers, on account of the continual removals from one settlement to

another, alterations in the forms of government, and intermixture of

races, seem to confound both names and nations, which sometimes

perplexes persons in these times, as is first to be observed in the

instances of Crannon and Gyrton.

Formerly they called the Gyrtonians Phlegyæ, from Phlegyas, the brother

of Ixion; and the Crannonii, Ephyri, so that there is a doubt, when the

poet says,

“These two from Thrace appeared with breastplates armed

against Ephyri, or haughty Phlegyæ,”[536]

what people he meant.

22. The same is the case with the Perrhæbi and Ænianes, for Homer joins

them together, as if they dwelt near each other; and it is said by later

writers, that, for a long period, the settlement of the Ænianes was in

the Dotian plain. Now this plain is near Perrhæbia, which we have just

mentioned, Ossa, and the lake Bœbeis: it is situated about the middle of

Thessaly, but enclosed by itself within hills. Hesiod speaks of it in

this manner;

“Or, as a pure virgin, who dwells on the sacred heights of the

Twin hills, comes to the Dotian plain, in front of Amyrus,

abounding with vines, to bathe her feet in the lake Bœbias.”

The greater part of the Ænianes were expelled by the Lapithæ, and took

refuge in Œta, where they established their power, having deprived the

Dorians and the Malienses of some portions of country, extending as far

as Heracleia and Echinus. Some of them however remained about Cyphus, a

Perrhæbic mountain, where is a settlement of the same name. As to the

Perrhæbi, some of them collected about the western parts of Olympus and

settled there, on the borders of the Macedonians. But a large body took

shelter among the mountains near Athamania, and Pindus. But at present

few, if any, traces of them are to be found.

The Magnetes, who are mentioned last in the Thessalian catalogue of the

poet, must be understood to be those situated within Tempe, extending

from the Peneius and Ossa to Pelion, and bordering upon the Pieriotæ in

Macedonia, who occupy the country on the other side of the Peneius as

far as the sea.

Homolium, or Homolē, (for both words are in use,) must be [CAS. 443]

assigned to the Magnetes. I have said in the description of Macedonia,

that Homolium is near Ossa at the beginning of the course which the

Peneius takes through Tempe.

If we are to extend their possessions as far as the sea-coast, which is

very near Homolium, there is reason for assigning to them Rhizus, and

Erymnæ, which lies on the sea-coast in the tract subject to Philoctetes

and Eumelus. Let this however remain unsettled. For the order in which

the places as far as the Peneius follow one another, is not clearly

expressed, and as the places are not of any note, we need not consider

that uncertainty as very important. The coast of Sepias, however, is

mentioned by tragic writers, and was chaunted in songs on account of the

destruction of the Persian fleet. It consists of a chain of rocks.

Between Sepias and Casthanæa, a village situated below Pelion, is the

sea-shore, where the fleet of Xerxes was lying, when an east wind began

to blow violently; some of the vessels were forced on shore, and

immediately went to pieces, others were driven on Hipnus, a rocky spot

near Pelion, others were lost at Melibœa, others at Casthanæa.

The whole of the coasting voyage along Pelion, to the extent of about 80

stadia, is among rocks. That along Ossa is of the same kind and to the

same extent.

Between them is a bay of more than 200 stadia in extent, upon which is

situated Melibœa.

The whole voyage from Demetrias, including the winding of the bays, to

the Peneius is more than 1000 stadia, from the Spercheius 800 stadia

more, and from the Euripus 2350 stadia.

Hieronymus assigns a circuit of 3000 stadia to the plain country in

Thessaly and Magnesia, and says, that it was inhabited by Pelasgi, but

that these people were driven into Italy by Lapithæ, and that the

present Pelasgic plain is that in which are situated Larisa, Gyrton,

Pheræ, Mopsium, Bœbeis, Ossa, Homole, Pelion, and Magnetis. Mopsium has

not its name from Mopsus, the son of Manto the daughter of Teiresias,

but from Mopsus, one of the Lapithæ, who sailed with the Argonauts.

Mopsopus, from whom Attica is called Mopsopia, is a different person.

23. This then is the account of the several parts of Thessaly.

In general we say, that it was formerly called Pyrrhæa, from Pyrrha, the

wife of Deucalion; Hæmonia, from Hæmon; and Thettalia, from Thettalus,

the son of Hæmon. But some writers, after dividing it into two portions,

say, that Deucalion obtained by lot the southern part, and called it

Pandora, from his mother; that the other fell to the share of Hæmon,

from whom it was called Hæmonia; that the name of one part was changed

to Hellas, from Hellen, the son of Deucalion, and of the other to

Thettalia, from Thettalus, the son of Hæmon. But, according to some

writers, it was the descendants of Antiphus and Pheidippus, sons of

Thettalus, descended from Hercules, who invaded the country from Ephyra

in Thesprotia, and called it after the name of Thettalus their

progenitor. It has been already said that once it had the name of

Nessonis, as well as the lake, from Nesson, the son of Thettalus.

BOOK X.

GREECE.

SUMMARY.

The Tenth Book contains Ætolia and the neighbouring islands;

also the whole of Crete, on which the author dwells some time

in narrating the institutions of the islanders and of the

Curetes. He describes at length the origin of the Idæan

Dactyli in Crete, their customs and religious rites. Strabo

mentions the connexion of his own family with Crete. The Book

contains an account of the numerous islands about Crete,

including the Sporades and some of the Cyclades.

CHAPTER I.

1. Since Eubœa[537] stretches along the whole of this coast from Sunium

to Thessaly, except the extremity on each side,[538] it may be

convenient to connect the description of this island with that of

Thessaly. We shall then pass on to Ætolia and Acarnania, parts of Europe

of which it remains to give an account.

2. The island is oblong, and extends nearly 1200 stadia from Cenæum[539]

to Geræstus.[540] Its greatest breadth is about 150 stadia, but it is

irregular.[541]

Cenæum is opposite to Thermopylæ, and in a small degree to the parts

beyond Thermopylæ: Geræstus[542] and Petalia[543] are opposite to

Sunium.

Eubœa then fronts[544] Attica, Bœotia, Locris, and the Malienses. From

its narrowness, and its length, which we have mentioned, it was called

by the ancients Macris.[545]

It approaches nearest to the continent at Chalcis. It projects with a

convex bend towards the places in Bœotia near Aulis, and forms the

Euripus,[546] of which we have before spoken at length. We have also

mentioned nearly all the places on either side of the Euripus, opposite

to each other across the strait, both on the continent and on the

island. If anything is omitted we shall now give a further explanation.

And first, the parts lying between Aulis (Chalcis?) and the places about

Geræstus are called the Hollows of Eubœa, for the sea-coast swells into

bays, and, as it approaches Chalcis, juts out again towards the

continent.

3. The island had the name not of Macris only, but of Abantis also. The

poet in speaking of Eubœa never calls the inhabitants from the name of

the island, Eubœans, but always Abantes;

“they who possessed Eubœa, the resolute Abantes;”[547]

“in his train Abantes were following.”

Aristotle says that Thracians, taking their departure from Aba, the

Phocian city, settled with the other inhabitants in the island, and gave

the name of Abantes to those who already occupied it; other writers say

that they had their name from a hero,[548] as that of Eubœa was derived

from a heroine.[549] But perhaps as a certain cave on the sea-coast

fronting the [CAS. 445] Ægean Sea is called Boos-Aule, (or the Cow’s

Stall,) where Io is said to have brought forth Epaphus, so the island

may have had the name Eubœa[550] on this account.

It was also called Oché, which is the name of one of the largest

mountains[551] there.

It had the name of Ellopia, from Ellops, the son of Ion; according to

others, he was the brother of Æclus, and Cothus, who is said to have

founded Ellopia,[552] a small place situated in the district called Oria

of the Histiæotis, near the mountain Telethrius.[553] He also possessed

Histiæa, Perias, Cerinthus, Ædepsus,[554] and Orobiæ, where was an

oracle very free from deception. There also was an oracle of Apollo

Selinuntius.

The Ellopians, after the battle of Leuctra, were compelled by the tyrant

Philistides to remove to the city Histiæa, and augmented the number of

its inhabitants. Demosthenes[555] says that Philistides was appointed by

Philip tyrant of the Oreitæ also, for afterwards the Histiæans had that

name, and the city, instead of Histiæa, was called Oreus. According to

some writers, Histiæa was colonized by Athenians from the demus of the

Histiæeis, as Eretria was from the demus of the Eretrieis. But

Theopompus says, that when Pericles had reduced Eubœa, the Histiæans

agreed to remove into Macedonia, and that two thousand Athenians, who

formerly composed the demus of the Histiæans, came, and founded

Oreus.[556]

4. It is situated below Mount Telethrius, at a place called Drymus, near

the river Callas, on a lofty rock;[557] whence perhaps because the

Ellopians, the former inhabitants, were a mountain tribe,[558] the city

had the name of Oreus. Orion, who was brought up there, seems to have

had his name from the place. But according to some writers, the Oreitæ,

who had a city of their own, being attacked by the Ellopians, migrated,

and settled with the Histiæans, and although it was a single city it had

both appellations, as Lacedæmon and Sparta were the same city. We have

said, that the Histiæotis in Thessaly had its name from the people who

were carried away from this country by the Perrhæbi.

5. As Ellopia induced us to commence our description with Histiæa and

Oreus, we shall proceed with the places continuous with these.

The promontory Cenæum is near Oreus, and on the promontory is situated

Dium,[559] and Athenæ Diades, a town founded by Athenians, and overlooks

the passage across the strait to Cynus. Canæ in Æolia received colonists

from Dium. These places are situated near Histiæa, and besides these

Cerinthus, a small city, close to the sea. Near it is a river Budorus,

of the same name as the mountain in Salamis on the side of Attica.

6. Carystus[560] lies at the foot of the mountain Oche, and near it are

Styra[561] and Marmarium,[562] where is a quarry, from which are

obtained the Carystian columns. It has a temple of Apollo Marmarinus,

where there is a passage across to Halæ-Araphenides. At Carystus there

is found in the earth a stone,[563] which is combed like wool, and

woven, so that napkins are made of this substance, which, when soiled,

are thrown into the fire, and cleaned, as in the washing of linen.[564]

These places are said to be inhabited by colonists from the Tetrapolis

of Marathon, and by Steirieis. Styra was destroyed in the Maliac

(Lamiac?) war by Phædrus, the general of the Athenians. But the

Eretrians are in possession of the territory. There is also a Carystus

in Laconia, a place belonging to Ægys, towards Arcadia; from whence

comes the Carystian wine, spoken of by Alcman.

7. Geræstus[565] is not mentioned by Homer in the Catalogue of the

Ships; it is however mentioned by him elsewhere;[CAS. 447]

“The vessels came to Geræstus by night;”[566]

which shows, that the place being near Sunium lies conveniently for

persons who cross from Asia to Attica. It has a temple of Neptune the

most remarkable of any in that quarter, and a considerable number of

inhabitants.

8. Next to Geræstus is Eretria, which, after Chalcis, is the largest

city in Eubœa. Next follows Chalcis, the capital as it were of the

island, situated immediately on the Euripus. Both these cities are said

to have been founded by Athenians before the Trojan war; [but it is also

said that] after the Trojan war, Æclus and Cothus took their departure

from Athens; the former to found Eretria, and Cothus, Chalcis. A body of

Æolians who belonged to the expedition of Penthilus remained in the

island. Anciently, even Arabians[567] settled there, who came over with

Cadmus.

These cities, Eretria and Chalcis, when their population was greatly

augmented, sent out considerable colonies to Macedonia, for Eretria

founded cities about Pallene and Mount Athos; Chalcis founded some near

Olynthus, which Philip destroyed. There are also many settlements in

Italy and Sicily, founded by Chalcidians. These colonies were sent out,

according to Aristotle,[568] when the government of the Hippobatæ, (or

Knights,) as it is called, was established; it was an aristocratical

government, the heads of which held their office by virtue of the amount

of their property. At the time that Alexander passed over into Asia,

they enlarged the compass of the walls of their city, including within

them Canethus,[569] and the Euripus, and erected towers upon the bridge,

a wall, and gates.

9. Above the city of the Chalcidians is the plain called Lelantum, in

which are hot springs, adapted to the cure of diseases, and which were

used by Cornelius Sylla, the Roman general. There was also an

extraordinary mine which produced both copper and iron; such, writers

say, is not to be found elsewhere. At present, however, both are

exhausted.

The whole of Eubœa is subject to earthquakes, especially the part near

the strait. It is also exposed to violent subterraneous blasts, like

Bœotia, and other places of which I have before spoken at length.[570]

The city of the same name as the island is said to have been swallowed

up by an earthquake.[571] It is mentioned by Æschylus in his tragedy of

Glaucus Pontius;

“Euboïs near the bending shore of Jupiter Cenæus, close to the

tomb of the wretched Lichas.”

There is also in Ætolia a town of the name of Chalcis,

“Chalcis on the sea-coast, and the rocky Calydon,”[572]

and another in the present Eleian territory;

“they passed along Cruni, and the rocky Chalcis,”[573]

speaking of Telemachus and his companions, when they left Nestor to

return to their own country.

10. Some say, that the Eretrians were a colony from Macistus in

Triphylia, under the conduct of Eretrieus; others, that they came from

Eretria, in Attica, where now a market is held. There is an Eretria also

near Pharsalus. In the Eretrian district there was a city, Tamynæ,

sacred to Apollo. The temple (which was near the strait) is said to have

been built by Admetus, whom the god, according to report, served a

year[574] for hire.

Eretria,[575] formerly, had the names of Melaneïs and Arotria. The

village Amarynthus, at the distance of 7 stadia from the walls, belongs

to it.

The Persians razed the ancient city, having enclosed with multitudes the

inhabitants, according to the expression of Herodotus,[576] in a net, by

spreading the Barbarians around the walls. The foundations are still

shown, and the place is called ancient Eretria. The present city is

built near it.

The power which the Eretrians once possessed, is evinced by a pillar

which was placed in the temple of Diana Amarynthia. There is an

inscription on it to this effect, that their processions upon their

public festivals consisted of three thousand heavy-armed soldiers, six

hundred horsemen, and [CAS. 448] sixty chariots. They were masters,

besides other islands, of Andros, Tenos, and Ceos. They received

colonists from Elis, whence their frequent use of the letter R, (ρ,)[577]

not only at the end, but in the middle of words, which exposed them to

the raillery of comic writers.

Œchalia,[578] a village, the remains of a city destroyed by Hercules,

belongs to the district of Eretria. It has the same name as that in

Trachinia, as that near Tricca,[579] as that in Arcadia, (which later

writers call Andania,) and as that in Ætolia near the Eurytanes.

11. At present Chalcis[580] is allowed, without dispute, to hold the

first rank, and is called the capital of the Eubœans. Eretria holds the

second place. Even in former times these cities had great influence both

in war and peace, so that they afforded to philosophers an agreeable and

tranquil retreat. A proof of this is the establishment at Eretria of the

school of Eretrian philosophers, disciples of Menedemus; and at an

earlier period the residence of Aristotle[581] at Chalcis, where he also

died.

12. These cities generally lived in harmony with each other, and when a

dispute arose between them respecting Lelantum, they did not even then

suspend all intercourse so as to act in war entirely without regard to

each other, but they agreed upon certain conditions, on which the war

was to be conducted. This appears by a column standing in the

Amarynthium, which interdicts the use of missiles. [For with respect to

warlike usages and armour, there neither is nor was any common usage;

for some nations employ soldiers who use missile weapons, such as bows,

slings, and javelins; others employ men who engage in close fight, and

use a sword, or charge with a spear.[582] For there are two methods of

using the spear; one is to retain it in the hand; the other, to hurl it

like a dart; the pike[583] answers both purposes, for it is used in

close encounter and is hurled to a distance. The sarissa and the hyssus

are similarly made use of.][584]

13. The Eubœans excelled in standing[585] fight, which was also called

close fight,[586] and fight hand to hand.[587] They used spears extended

at length according to the words of the poet;

“warriors eager to break through breastplates with extended

ashen spears.”[588]

The missile weapons were perhaps of different kinds, as, probably, was

the ashen spear of Pelion, which, as the poet says,

“Achilles alone knew how to hurl.”[589]

When the poet says,

“I strike farther with a spear than any other person with an

arrow,”[590]

he means with a missile spear. They, too, who engage in single combat,

are first introduced as using missile spears, and then having recourse

to swords. But they who engage in single combat do not use the sword

only, but a spear also held in the hand, as the poet describes it,

“he wounded him with a polished spear, pointed with brass, and

unbraced his limbs.”[591]

He represents the Eubœans as fighting in this manner; but he describes

the Locrian mode as contrary to this;

“It was not their practice to engage in close fight, but they

followed him to Ilium with their bows, clothed in the pliant

fleece of the sheep.”[592]

An answer of an oracle is commonly repeated, which was returned to the

Ægienses;

“a Thessalian horse, a Lacedæmonian woman, and the men who

drink the water of the sacred Arethusa,”

meaning the Chalcideans as superior to all other people, for Arethusa

belongs to them.

14. At present the rivers of Eubœa are the Cereus and Neleus. The cattle

which drink of the water of the former become white, and those that

drink of the water of the latter become black. We have said that a

similar effect is produced by the water of the Crathis.[593]

15. As some of the Eubœans, on their return from Troy, were driven out

of their course among the Illyrians; pursued their journey homewards

through Macedonia, and stopped in the neighbourhood of Edessa; having

assisted the people in a war, who had received them hospitably; they

founded a city, [CAS. 450] Eubœa. There was a Eubœa in Sicily, founded

by the Chalcideans, who were settled there. It was destroyed by Gelon,

and became a stronghold of the Syracusans. In Corcyra also, and at

Lemnus, there was a place called Eubœa, and a hill of this name in the

Argive territory.

16. We have said, that Ætolians, Acarnanians, and Athamanes are situated

to the west of the Thessalians and Œtæans, if indeed we must call the

Athamanes,[594] Greeks. It remains, in order that we may complete the

description of Greece, to give some account of these people, of the

islands which lie nearest to Greece, and are inhabited by Greeks, which

we have not yet mentioned.

CHAPTER II.

1. Ætolians and Acarnanians border on one another, having between them

the river Achelous,[595] which flows from the north, and from Pindus

towards the south, through the country of the Agræi, an Ætolian tribe,

and of the Amphilochians.

Acarnanians occupy the western side of the river as far as the Ambracian

Gulf,[596] opposite to the Amphilochians, and the temple of Apollo

Actius. Ætolians occupy the part towards the east as far as the Locri

Ozolæ, Parnassus, and the Œtæans.

Amphilochians are situated above the Acarnanians in the interior towards

the north; above the Amphilochians are situated Dolopes, and Mount

Pindus; above the Ætolians are Perrhæbi, Athamanes, and a body of the

Ænianes who occupy Œta.

The southern side, as well the Acarnanian as the Ætolian, is washed by

the sea, forming the Corinthian Gulf, into which the Achelous empties

itself. This river (at its mouth) is the boundary of the Ætolian and the

Acarnanian coast. The Achelous was formerly called Thoas. There is a

river of this name near Dyme,[597] as we have said, and another near

Lamia.[598] We have also said,[599] that the mouth of this river is

considered by some writers as the commencement of the Corinthian Gulf.

2. The cities of the Acarnanians are, Anactorium, situated upon a

peninsula[600] near Actium, and a mart of Nicopolis, which has been

built in our time; Stratus,[601] to which vessels sail up the Achelous,

a distance of more than 200 stadia; and Œniadæ[602] is also on the banks

of the river. The ancient city is not inhabited, and lies at an equal

distance from the sea and from Stratus. The present city is at the

distance of 70 stadia above the mouth of the river.

There are also other cities, Palærus,[603] Alyzia,[604] Leucas,[605] the

Amphilochian Argos,[606] and Ambracia:[607] most of these, if not all,

are dependent upon Nicopolis.

Stratus lies half-way between Alyzia and Anactorium.[608]

3. To the Ætolians belong both Calydon[609] and Pleuron, which at

present are in a reduced condition, but, anciently, these settlements

were an ornament to Greece.

Ætolia was divided into two portions, one called the Old, the other the

Epictetus (the Acquired). The Old comprised the sea-coast from the

Achelous as far as Calydon, extending far into the inland parts, which

are fertile, and consist of plains. Here are situated Stratus and

Trichonium, which has an excellent soil. The Epictetus, that reaches

close to the Locri in the direction of Naupactus[610] and Eupalium,[611]

[CAS. 451] is a rugged and sterile tract, extending as far as Œtæa, to

the territory of the Athamanes, and the mountains and nations following

next in order, and which lie around towards the north.

4. There is in Ætolia a very large mountain, the Corax,[612] which is

contiguous to Œta. Among the other mountains, more in the middle of the

country, is the Aracynthus,[613] near which the founders built the

modern Pleuron, having abandoned the ancient city situated near Calydon,

which was in a fertile plain country, when Demetrius, surnamed Ætolicus,

laid waste the district.

Above Molycreia[614] are Taphiassus[615] and Chalcis,[616] mountains of

considerable height, on which are situated the small cities, Macynia and

Chalcis, (having the same name as the mountain,) or, as it is also

called, Hypochalcis. Mount Curium is near the ancient Pleuron, from

which some supposed the Pleuronii had the appellation of Curetes.

5. The river Evenus rises in the country of the Bomianses, a nation

situated among the Ophienses, and an Ætolian tribe like the Eurytanes,

Agræi, Curetes, and others. It does not flow, at its commencement,

through the territory of the Curetes, which is the same as Pleuronia,

but through the country more towards the east along Chalcis and Calydon;

it then makes a bend backwards to the plains of the ancient Pleuron, and

having changed its course to the west, turns again to the south, where

it empties itself. It was formerly called Lycormas. There Nessus, who

had the post of ferryman, is said to have been killed by Hercules for

having attempted to force Deïaneira while he was conveying her across

the river.

6. The poet calls Olenus and Pylene Ætolian cities, the former of which,

of the same name as the Achæan city, was razed by the Æolians. It is

near the new city Pleuron. The Acarnanians disputed the possession of

the territory. They transferred Pylene to a higher situation, and

changed its name to Proschium. Hellanicus was not at all acquainted with

the history of these cities, but speaks of them as still existing in

their ancient condition, but Macynia and Molycria, which were built

subsequent to the return of the Heracleidæ, he enumerates among ancient

cities, and shows the greatest carelessness in almost every part of his

work.

7. This, then, is the general account of the country of the Acarnanians

and Ætolians. We must annex to this some description of the sea-coast

and of the islands lying in front of it.

If we begin from the entrance of the Ambracian Gulf, the first place we

meet with in Acarnania is Actium. The temple of Apollo Actius has the

same name as the promontory, which forms the entrance of the Gulf, and

has a harbour on the outside.

At the distance of 40 stadia from the temple is Anactorium, situated on

the Gulf; and at the distance of 240 stadia is Leucas.[617]

8. This was, anciently, a peninsula belonging to the territory of the

Acarnanians. The poet calls it the coast of Epirus, meaning by Epirus

the country on the other side of Ithaca,[618] and Cephallenia,[619]

which country is Acarnania; so that by the words of the poet,

“the coast of Epirus,”

we must understand the coast of Acarnania.

To Leucas also belonged Neritus, which Laertes said he took--

“as when I was chief of the Cephallenians, and took Nericus, a

well-built city, on the coast of Epirus,”[620]

and the cities which he mentions in the Catalogue,

“and they who inhabited Crocyleia, and the rugged Ægilips.”[621]

But the Corinthians who were despatched by Cypselus and Gorgus, obtained

possession of this coast, and advanced as far as the Ambracian Gulf.

Ambracia and Anactorium were both founded. They cut through the isthmus

of the peninsula, converted Leucas into an island, transferred Neritus

to the spot, which was once an isthmus, but is now a channel connected

with the land by a bridge, and changed the name to Leucas from Leucatas,

as I suppose, which is a white rock, projecting from Leucas into the sea

towards Cephallenia, so that it might take its name from this

circumstance.

9. [CAS. 452] It has upon it the temple of Apollo Leucatas, and the

Leap, which, it was thought, was a termination of love.

“Here Sappho first ’tis said,” (according to Menander,) “in

pursuit of the haughty Phaon, and urged on by maddening

desire, threw herself[622] from the aerial rock, imploring

Thee, Lord, and King.”

Menander then says that Sappho was the first who took the leap, but

persons better acquainted with ancient accounts assert that it was

Cephalus, who was in love with Pterelas, the son of Deïoneus.[623] It

was also a custom of the country among the Leucadians at the annual

sacrifice performed in honour of Apollo, to precipitate from the rock

one of the condemned criminals, with a view to avert evil. Various kinds

of wings were attached to him, and even birds were suspended from his

body, to lighten by their fluttering the fall of the leap. Below many

persons were stationed around in small fishing boats to receive, and to

preserve his life, if possible, and to carry him beyond the boundaries

of the country. The author of the Alcmæonis says that Icarius, the

father of Penelope, had two sons, Alyzeus, and Leucadius, who reigned

after their father in Acarnania, whence Ephorus thinks that the cities

were called after their names.

10. At present those are called Cephallenians who inhabit Cephallenia.

But Homer calls all those under the command of Ulysses by this name,

among whom are the Acarnanians; for when he says,

“Ulysses led the Cephallenians, those who possessed Ithaca,

and Neritum, waving with woods,”[624]

(the remarkable mountain in this island; so also,

“they who came from Dulichium, and the sacred Echinades,”[625]

for Dulichium itself was one of the Echinades; and again,

“Buprasium and Elis,”[626]

when Buprasium is situated in Elis; and so,

“they who inhabited Eubœa, Chalcis, and Eretria,”[627]

when the latter places are in Eubœa; so again,

“Trojans, Lycians, and Dardanians,”[628]

and these also were Trojans): but after mentioning Neritum, he says,

“and they who inhabited Crocyleia and rocky Ægilips,

Zacynthus, Samos, Epirus, and the country opposite to these

islands;”[629]

he means by Epirus the country opposite to the islands, intending to

include together with Leucas the rest of Acarnania, of which he says,

“twelve herds, and as many flocks of sheep in Epirus,”[630]

because the district of Epirus (the Epirotis) extended anciently perhaps

as far as this place, and was designated by the common name Epirus.

The present Cephallenia he calls Samos, as when he says,

“in the strait between Ithaca and the hilly Samos,”[631]

he makes a distinction between places of the same name by an epithet,

assigning the name not to the city, but to the island. For the island

contains four cities, one of which, called Samos, or Same, for it had

either appellation, bore the same name as the island. But when the poet

says,

“all the chiefs of the islands, Dulichium, Same, and the woody

Zacynthus,”[632]

he is evidently enumerating the islands, and calls that Same which he

had before called Samos.

But Apollodorus at one time says that the ambiguity is removed by the

epithet, which the poet uses, when he says,

“and hilly Samos,”

meaning the island; and at another time he pretends that we ought to

write

“Dulichium, and Samos,”

and not

“Same,”

and evidently supposes that the city is called by either name, Samos or

Samé, but the island by that of Samos only. That the city is called Samé

is evident from the enumeration of the suitors from each city, where the

poet says,

“there are four and twenty from Samé,”[633]

and from what is said about Ctimene,[CAS. 454]

“they afterwards gave her in marriage at Samé.”[634]

There is reason in this. For the poet does not express himself

distinctly either about Cephallenia, or Ithaca, or the other

neighbouring places, so that both historians and commentators differ

from one another.

11. For instance, with respect to Ithaca, when the poet says,

“and they who possessed Ithaca, and Neritum with its waving

woods,”[635]

he denotes by the epithet, that he means Neritum the mountain. In other

passages he expressly mentions the mountain;

“I dwell at Ithaca, turned to the western sun; where is a

mountain, Neritum, seen from afar with its waving woods;”[636]

but whether he means the city, or the island, is not clear, at least

from this verse;

“they who possessed Ithaca, and Neritum.”

Any one would understand these words in their proper sense to mean the

city, as we speak of Athens, Lycabettus, Rhodes, Atabyris, Lacedæmon,

and Taygetus, but in a poetical sense the contrary is implied.

In the verses,

“I dwell at Ithaca, turned to the western sun, in which is a

mountain Neritum,”

the meaning is plain, because the mountain is on the island and not in

the city; and when he says,

“we came from Ithaca situated under Neium,”[637]

it is uncertain whether he means that Neium was the same as Neritum, or

whether it is another, either mountain or place. [He, who writes Nericum

for Neritum, or the reverse, is quite mistaken. For the poet describes

the former as “waving with woods;” the other as a “well-built city;” one

in Ithaca, the other on the sea-beach of Epirus.][638]

12. But this line seems to imply some contradiction;

“it lies in the sea both low, and very high,”[639]

for χθαμαλὴ is low, and depressed, but πανυπερτάτη expresses great

height, as he describes it in other passages, calling it Cranae, (or

rugged,) and the road leading from the harbour, as,

“a rocky way through a woody spot,”[640]

and again,

“for there is not any island in the sea exposed to the western

sun,[641] and with good pastures, least of all Ithaca.”[642]

The expression does imply contradictions, which admit however of some

explanation. They do not understand χθαμαλὴ to signify in that place

“low,” but its contiguity to the continent, to which it approaches very

close; nor by πανυπερτάτη great elevation, but the farthest advance

towards darkness, (πρὸς ζόφον,) that is, placed towards the north more

than all the other islands, for this is what the poet means by “towards

darkness,” the contrary to which is towards the south, (πρὸς νότον,)

“the rest far off (ἄνευθε) towards the morning,

and the sun.”[643]

For the word ἄνευθε denotes “at a distance,” and

“apart,” as if the other islands lay to the south, and more distant from

the continent, but Ithaca near the continent and towards the north. That

the poet designates the southern part (of the heavens) in this manner

appears from these words,

“whether they go to the right hand, towards the morning and

the sun, or to the left, towards cloudy darkness;”[644]

and still more evidently in these lines,

“my friends, we know not where darkness nor where morning lie,

nor where sets nor where rises the sun which brings light to

man.”[645]

We may here understand the four climates,[646] and suppose the morning

to denote the southern part (of the heavens), and this has some

probability; but it is better to consider what is near to the path of

the sun to be opposite to the northern part (of the heavens). For the

speech in Homer is intended to indicate some great change in the

celestial appearances, not a mere obscuration of the _climates_. For

this must happen [CAS. 455] during every cloudy season either by day or

by night. Now the celestial appearances alter very much as we advance

more or less towards the south, or the contrary; but this alteration

does not prevent our observing the setting and rising of the sun, for in

fine weather these phenomena are always visible whether in the south or

the north. For the pole is the most northerly point: when this moves,

and is sometimes over our heads and sometimes below the earth, the

arctic circles change their position with it. Sometimes they disappear

during these movements, so that you cannot discern the position of the

northern _climate_, nor where it commences;[647] and if this is so,

neither can you distinguish the contrary _climate_.

The circuit of Ithaca is about 80[648] stadia. So much then concerning

Ithaca.

13. The poet does not mention Cephallenia, which contains four cities,

by its present name, nor any of the cities except one, either Samé or

Samos, which no longer exists, but traces of it are shown in the middle

of the Strait near Ithaca. The inhabitants have the name of Samæ. The

rest still exist at present, they are small cities, Paleis, Pronesus,

and Cranii. In our time Caius Antonius, the uncle of Marcus Antonius,

founded an additional city, when (being an exile after his consulship in

which he was the colleague of Cicero the orator) he lived at

Cephallenia, and was master of the whole island, as if it had been his

own property. He returned from exile before he completed the foundation

of the settlement, and died when engaged in more important affairs.

14. Some writers do not hesitate to affirm, that Cephallenia and

Dulichium are the same; others identify it with Taphos, and the

Cephallenians with Taphians, and these again with Teleboæ. They assert

that Amphitryon, with the aid of Cephalus, the son of Deïoneus, an exile

from Athens, undertook an expedition against the island, and having got

possession of it, delivered it up to Cephalus; hence this city bore his

name, and the rest those of his children. But this is not in accordance

with Homer, for the Cephallenians were subject to Ulysses and Laertes,

and Taphos to Mentes;

“I boast that I am Mentes, son of the valiant Anchialus,

And king of the Taphians, skilful rowers.”[649]

Taphos is now called Taphius.[650] Nor does Hellanicus follow Homer

when he calls Cephallenia, Dulichium, for Dulichium, and the other

Echinades, are said to be under the command of Meges, and the

inhabitants, Epeii, who came from Elis; wherefore he calls Otus the

Cyllenian,

“companion of Phyleides, chief of the magnanimous Epeii;”[651]

“but Ulysses led the magnanimous Cephallenes.”[652]

Neither, as Andro asserts, is Cephallenia, according to Homer,

Dulichium, nor does Dulichium belong to Cephallenia, for Epeii possessed

Dulichium, and Cephallenians the whole of Cephallenia, the former of

whom were under the command of Ulysses, the latter of Meges. Paleis is

not called Dulichium by Homer, as Pherecydes says. But he who asserts

that Cephallenia and Dulichium are the same contradicts most strongly

the account of Homer; for as fifty-two of the suitors came from

Dulichium, and twenty-four from Samé, would he not say, that from the

whole island came such a number of suitors, and from a single city of

the four came half the number within two? If any one should admit this,

we shall inquire what the Samé could be, which is mentioned in this

line,

“Dulichium and Samé, and the woody Zacynthus.”[653]

15. Cephallenia is situated opposite to Acarnania, at the distance from

Leucatas of about 50, or according to others, of 40 stadia, and from

Chelonatas[654] of about 80 stadia. It is about 300 stadia (1300?) in

circumference. It extends in length towards the south-east (Eurus). It

is mountainous; the largest mountain in it is the Ænus,[655] on which is

the temple of Jupiter Ænesius. Here is the narrowest part of the island,

which forms a low isthmus, that is frequently overflowed from sea to

sea.[656] Cranii[657] and Paleis[658] are situated near the straits in

the Gulf.

16. Between Ithaca and Cephallenia is the small island [CAS. 457]

Asteria,[659] or Asteris, as it is called by the poet, which, according

to Demetrius, the Scepsian, does not remain in the state described by

the poet,

“there are harbours in it, open on both sides, for the reception

of vessels.”[660]

But Apollodorus says that it exists even at present, and mentions a

small city in it, Alalcomenæ, situated quite upon the isthmus.

17. The poet also gives the name of Samos to Thracia, which we now call

Samothracé. He was probably acquainted with the Ionian island, for he

seems to have been acquainted with the Ionian migration. He would not,

otherwise, have made a distinction between islands of the same names,

for in speaking of Samothrace, he makes the distinction sometimes by the

epithet,

“on high, upon the loftiest summit of the woody Samos,

the Thracian,”[661]

sometimes by uniting it with the neighbouring islands,

“to Samos, and Imbros, and inaccessible Lemnos;”[662]

and again,

“between Samos and rocky Imbros.”[663]

He was therefore acquainted with the Ionian island, although he has not

mentioned its name. Nor had it formerly always the same name, but was

called Melamphylus, then Anthemis, then Parthenia, from the river

Parthenius, the name of which was changed to Imbrasus. Since then both

Cephallenia and Samothracé were called Samos[664] at the time of the

Trojan war, (for if it had not been so Hecuba would not have been

introduced saying, that Achilles would sell any of her children that he

could seize at Samos and Imbros,[665]) Ionian Samos was not yet

colonized (by Ionians), which is evident from its having the same name

from one of the islands earlier (called Samos), that had it before;

whence this also is clear, that those persons contradict ancient

history, who assert, that colonists came from Samos after the Ionian

migration, and the arrival of Tembrion, and gave the name of Samos to

Samothracé. The Samians invented this story out of vanity. Those are

more entitled to credit, who say, that heights are called Sami,[666]

and that the island obtained its name from this circumstance, for from

thence

“was seen all Ida, the city of Priam, and the ships

of the Greeks.”[667]

But according to some writers, Samos had its name from the Saii, a

Thracian tribe, who formerly inhabited it, and who occupied also the

adjoining continent, whether they were the same people as the Sapæ, or

the Sinti, whom the poet calls Sinties, or a different nation.

Archilochus mentions the Saii;

“one of the Saii is exulting in the possession of an

honourable shield, which I left against my will near a

thicket.”

18. Of the islands subject to Ulysses there remains to be described

Zacynthus.[668] It verges a little more than Cephallenia to the west of

Peloponnesus, but approaches closer to it. It is 160 stadia in

circumference, and distant from Cephallenia about 60 stadia. It is

woody, but fertile, and has a considerable city of the same name. Thence

to the Hesperides belonging to Africa are 3300[669] stadia.

19. To the east of this island, and of Cephallenia, are situated the

Echinades[670] islands; among which is Dulichium, at present called

Dolicha, and the islands called Oxeiæ, to which the poet gives the name

of Thoæ.[671]

Dolicha is situated opposite to the Œniadæ, and the mouth of the

Achelous: it is distant from Araxus,[672] the promontory of Elis, 100

stadia. The rest of the Echinades are numerous, they are all barren and

rocky, and lie in front of the mouth of the Achelous, the most remote of

them at the distance of 15, the nearest at the distance of 5 stadia;

they formerly were farther out at sea, but the accumulation of earth,

which is brought down in great quantity by the Achelous, has already

joined some, and will join others, to the continent. This accumulation

of soil anciently formed the tract Paracheloitis, which the river

overflows, a subject of contention, as it was continually confounding

boundaries, which had been determined by the Acarnanians and the

Ætolians. For want of arbitrators they decided their dispute by arms.

The most [CAS. 458] powerful gained the victory. This gave occasion to

a fable, how Hercules overcame the Achelous in fight, and received in

marriage as the prize of his victory, Deïaneira, daughter of Œneus.

Sophocles introduces her, saying,

“My suitor was a river, I mean the Achelous, who demanded me

of my father under three forms; one while coming as a bull of

perfect form, another time as a spotted writhing serpent, at

another with the body of a man and the forehead of a

bull.”[673]

Some writers add, that this was the horn of Amaltheia, which Hercules

broke off from the Achelous, and presented to Œneus as a bridal gift.

Others, conjecturing the truth included in this story, say, that

Achelous is reported to have resembled a bull, like other rivers, in the

roar of their waters, and the bendings of their streams, which they term

horns; and a serpent from its length and oblique course; and

bull-fronted because it was compared to a bull’s head; and that

Hercules, who, on other occasions, was disposed to perform acts of

kindness for the public benefit, so particularly, when he was desirous

of contracting an alliance with Œneus, performed for him these services;

he prevented the river from overflowing its banks, by constructing

mounds and by diverting its streams by canals, and by draining a large

tract of the Paracheloïtis, which had been injured by the river; and

this is the horn of Amaltheia.

Homer says, that in the time of the Trojan war the Echinades, and the

Oxeiæ were subject to Meges,

“son of the hero Phyleus, beloved of Jupiter, who formerly

repaired to Dulichium on account of a quarrel with his

father.”[674]

The father of Phyleus was Augeas, king of Elis, and of the Epeii. The

Epeii then, who possessed these islands, were those who had migrated to

Dulichium with Phyleus.

20. The islands of the Taphii, and formerly of the Teleboæ, among which

was Taphus, now called Taphius, were distinct from the Echinades, not

separated by distance, (for they lie near one another,) but because they

were ranged under different chiefs, Taphii and Teleboæ. In earlier times

Amphitryon, in conjunction with Cephalus, the son of Deïoneus, an exile

from Athens, attacked, and then delivered them up to the government of

Cephalus. But the poet says that Mentes was their chief, and calls them

robbers, which was the character of all the Teleboæ.

So much then concerning the islands off Acarnania.

21. Between Leucas and the Ambracian gulf is a sea-lake, called

Myrtuntium.[675] Next to Leucas followed Palærus, and Alyzia, cities of

Acarnania, of which Alyzia is distant from the sea 15 stadia. Opposite

to it is a harbour sacred to Hercules, and a grove from whence a Roman

governor transported to Rome “the labours of Hercules,” the workmanship

of Lysippus, which was lying in an unsuitable place, being a deserted

spot.[676]

Next are Crithote,[677] a promontory, and the Echinades, and Astacus,

used in the singular number, a city of the same name as that near

Nicomedia, and the Gulf of Astacus, Crithote, a city of the same name as

that in the Thracian Chersonesus. All the coast between these places has

good harbours. Then follows Œniadæ, and the Achelous; then a lake

belonging to the Œniadæ, called Melite, 30 stadia in length, and in

breadth 20; then another Cynia, of double the breadth and length of

Melite; a third Uria,[678] much less than either of the former. Cynia

even empties itself into the sea; the others are situated above it at

the distance of about half a stadium.

Next is the river Evenus, which is distant from Actium 670 stadia.

Then follows the mountain Chalcis, which Artemidorus calls Chalcia;

[next Pleuron, then Licyrna, a village, above which in the interior is

situated Calydon at the distance of 30 stadia. Near Calydon is the

temple of Apollo Laphrius;][679] then the mountain Taphiassus; then

Macynia, a city; then Molycria, and near it Antirrhium, the boundary of

Ætolia and of Locris. To Antirrhium from the Evenus are about 120

stadia.

Artemidorus does not place the mountain, whether Chalcis or Chalcia,

between the Achelous and Pleuron, but Apollodorus, [CAS. 460] as I have

said before, places Chalcis and Taphiassus above Molycria; and Calydon

between Pleuron and Chalcis. Are we then to place one mountain of the

name of Chalcia near Pleuron, and another of the name of Chalcis near

Molycria?

Near Calydon is a large lake, abounding with fish. It belongs to the

Romans of Patræ.

22. Apollodorus says, that there is in the inland parts of Acarnania, a

tribe of Erysichæi, mentioned by Aleman,

“not an Erysichæan, nor a shepherd; but I came from the

extremities of Sardis.”

Olenus belonged to Ætolia; Homer mentions it in the Ætolian

Catalogue,[680] but traces alone remain of it near Pleuron below

Aracynthus.[681]

Lysimachia also was near Olenus. This place has disappeared. It was

situated upon the lake, the present Lysimachia, formerly Hydra, between

Pleuron and the city Arsinoë,[682] formerly a village of the name of

Conopa. It was founded by Arsinoë, wife and also sister of the second

Ptolemy. It is conveniently situated above the passage across the

Achelous.

Pylene has experienced nearly the same fate as Olenus.

When the poet describes Calydon[683] as lofty, and rocky, we must

understand these epithets as relating to the character of the country.

For we have said before, that when they divided the country into two

parts, they assigned the mountainous portion and the Epictetus[684] to

Calydon, and the tract of plains to Pleuron.

23. The Acarnanians, and the Ætolians, like many other nations, are at

present worn out, and exhausted by continual wars. The Ætolians however,

in conjunction with the Acarnanians, during a long period withstood the

Macedonians and the other Greeks, and lastly the Romans, in their

contest for independence.

But since Homer, and others, both poets and historians, frequently

mention them, sometimes in clear and undisputed terms, and sometimes

less explicitly, as appears from what we have already said of these

people, we must avail ourselves of some of the more ancient accounts,

which will supply us with a beginning, or with an occasion of inquiring

into what is controverted.

24. First then with respect to Acarnania. We have already said, that it

was occupied by Laertes and the Cephallenians; but as many writers have

advanced statements respecting the first occupants in terms sufficiently

clear, indeed, but contradictory, the inquiry and discussion are left

open to us.

They say, that the Taphii and Teleboæ, as they are called, were the

first inhabitants of Acarnania, and that their chief, Cephalus, who was

appointed by Amphitryon sovereign of the islands about Taphus, was

master also of this country. Hence is related of him the fable, that he

was the first person who took the reputed leap from Leucatas. But the

poet does not say, that the Taphii inhabited Acarnania before the

arrival of the Cephallenians and Laertes, but that they were friends of

the Ithacenses; consequently, in his time, either they had not the

entire command of these places, or had voluntarily retired, or had even

become joint settlers.

A colony of certain from Lacedæmon seems to have settled in Acarnania,

who were followers of Icarius, father of Penelope, for the poet in the

Odyssey represents him and the brothers of Penelope as then living;

“who did not dare to go to the palace of Icarius with a view

of his disposing of his daughter in marriage.”[685]

And with respect to the brothers;

“for now a long time both her father and her brothers were

urging her to marry Eurymachus.”[686]

Nor is it probable that they were living at Lacedæmon, for Telemachus

would not, in that case, have been the guest of Menelaus upon his

arrival, nor is there a tradition, that they had any other habitation.

But they say that Tyndareus and his brother Icarius, after being

banished from their own country by Hippocoon, repaired to Thestius, the

king of the Pleuronii, and assisted in obtaining possession of a large

tract of country on the other side of the Achelous on condition of

receiving a portion of it; that Tyndareus, having espoused Leda the

daughter of Thestius, returned home; that Icarius continued there in

possession of a portion of Acarnania, and had Penelope and her brothers

by his wife Polycasta, daughter of Lygæus.

We [CAS. 461] have shown by the Catalogue of the Ships in Homer, that

the Acarnanians were enumerated among the people who took part in the

war of Troy; and among these are reckoned the inhabitants of the Acté,

and besides these,

“they who occupied Epirus, and cultivated the land opposite.”

But Epirus was never called Acarnania, nor Acté, Leucas.

25. Ephorus does not say that they took part in the expedition against

Troy; but he says that Alcmæon, the son of Amphiaraus, who was the

companion of Diomede, and the other Epigoni in their expedition, having

brought the war against the Thebans to a successful issue, went with

Diomede to assist in punishing the enemies of Œneus, and having

delivered up Ætolia to Diomede, he himself passed over into Acarnania,

which country also he subdued. In the mean time Agamemnon attacked the

Argives, and easily overcame them, the greatest part having attached

themselves to the followers of Diomede. But a short time afterwards,

when the expedition took place against Troy, he was afraid, lest, in his

absence with the army, Diomede and his troops should return home, (for

there was a rumour that he had collected a large force,) and should

regain possession of a territory to which they had the best right, one

being the heir of Adrastus, the other of his father. Reflecting then on

these circumstances, he invited them to unite in the recovery of Argos,

and to take part in the war. Diomede consented to take part in the

expedition, but Alcmæon was indignant and refused; whence the

Acarnanians were the only people who did not participate in the

expedition with the Greeks. The Acarnanians, probably by following this

account, are said to have imposed upon the Romans, and to have obtained

from them the privilege of an independent state, because they alone had

not taken part in the expedition against the ancestors of the Romans,

for their names are neither in the Ætolian Catalogue, nor are they

mentioned by themselves, nor is their name mentioned anywhere in the

poem.

26. Ephorus then having represented Acarnania as subject to Alcmæon

before the Trojan war, ascribes to him the foundation of Amphilochian

Argos, and says that Acarnania had its name from his son Acarnan, and

the Amphilochians from his brother Amphilochus; thus he turns aside to

reports contrary to the history in Homer. But Thucydides and other

writers say, that Amphilochus, on his return from the Trojan expedition,

being displeased with the state of affairs at Argos, dwelt in this

country; according to some writers, he obtained it by succeeding to the

dominions of his brother; others represent it differently. So much then

respecting the Acarnanians considered by themselves. We shall now speak

of their affairs where they are intermixed in common with those of the

Ætolians, and we shall then relate as much of the history of the

Ætolians as we proposed to add to our former account of this people.

CHAPTER III.

1. Some writers reckon the Curetes among the Acarnanians, others among

the Ætolians; some allege that they came from Crete, others that they

came from Eubœa. Since, however, they are mentioned by Homer, we must

first examine his account of them. It is thought that he does not mean

the Acarnanians, but the Ætolians, in the following verses, for the sons

of Porthaon were,

“Agrius, Melas, and the hero Œneus,

These dwelt at Pleuron, and the lofty Calydon,”[687]

both of which are Ætolian cities, and are mentioned in the Ætolian

Catalogue; wherefore since those who inhabited Pleuron appear to be,

according to Homer, Curetes, they might be Ætolians. The opponents of

this conclusion are misled by the mode of expression in these verses,

“Curetes and Ætolians, firm in battle, were righting for the city

Calydon,”[688]

for neither would he have used appropriate terms if he had said,

“Bœotians and Thebans were contending against each other,”

nor

“Argives and Peloponnesians.”

But we have shown in a former part of this work, that this mode of

expression is usual with Homer, and even trite among other poets. This

objection then is easily answered. But let the objectors explain, how,

if these people were not Ætolians, [CAS. 463] the poet came to reckon

the Pleuronii among the Ætolians.

2. Ephorus, after having asserted that the nation of the Ætolians were

never in subjection to any other people, but, from all times of which

any memorial remains, their country continued exempt from the ravages of

war, both on account of its local obstacles and their own experience in

warfare, says, that from the beginning Curetes were in possession of the

whole country, but on the arrival of Ætōlus, the son of Endymion, from

Elis, who defeated them in various battles, the Curetes retreated to the

present Acarnania, and the Ætolians returned with a body of Epeii, and

founded ten of the most ancient cities in Ætolia; and in the tenth

generation afterwards Elis was founded, in conjunction with that people,

by Oxylus, the son of Hæmon, who had passed over from Ætolia. They

produce, as proofs of these facts, inscriptions, one sculptured on the

base of the statue of Ætolus at Therma in Ætolia, where, according to

the custom of the country, they assemble to elect their magistrates;

“this statue of Ætolus, son of Endymion, brought up near the

streams of the Alpheius, and in the neighbourhood of the

stadia of Olympia, Ætolians dedicated as a public monument of

his merits.”

And the other inscription on the statue of Oxylus is in the market-place

of Elis;

“Ætolus, having formerly abandoned the original inhabitants of

this country, won by the toils of war the land of the Curetes.

But Oxylus, the son of Hæmon, the tenth scion of that race,

founded this ancient city.”

3. He rightly alleges, as a proof of the affinity subsisting

reciprocally between the Eleii and the Ætolians, these inscriptions,

both of which recognise not the affinity alone, but also that their

founders had established settlers in each other’s country. Whence he

clearly convicts those of falsehood who assert, that the Eleii were a

colony of Ætolians, and that the Ætolians were not a colony of Eleii.

But he seems to exhibit the same inconsistency in his positions here,

that we proved[689] with regard to the oracle at Delphi. For after

asserting that Ætolia had never been ravaged by war from all time of

which there was any memorial, and saying, that from the first the

Curetes were in possession of this country, he ought to have inferred

from such premises, that the Curetes continued to occupy the country of

Ætolia to his days. For in this manner it might be understood never to

have been devastated, nor in subjection to any other nation. But

forgetting his position, he does not infer this, but the contrary, that

Ætolus came from Elis, and having defeated the Curetes in various

battles, these people retreated into Acarnania. What else then is there

peculiar to the devastation of a country than the defeat of the

inhabitants in war and their abandonment of their land, which is evinced

by the inscription among the Eleii; for speaking of Ætolus the words

are,

“he obtained possession of the country of the Curetes by the

continued toils of war.”

4. But perhaps some person may say, that he means Ætolia was not laid

waste, reckoning from the time that it had this name after the arrival

of Ætolus; but he takes away the ground of this supposition, by saying

afterwards, that the greatest part of the people, that remained among

the Ætolians, were those called Epeii, with whom Ætolians were

afterwards intermingled, who had been expelled from Thessaly together

with Bœotians, and possessed the country in common with these people.

But is it probable that, without any hostilities, they invaded the

country of another nation and divided it among themselves and the

original possessors, who did not require such a partition of their land?

If this is not probable, is it to be believed that the victors agreed to

an equal division of the territory? What else then is devastation of a

country, but the conquest of it by arms? Besides, Apollodorus says that,

according to history, the Hyantes abandoned Bœotia and came and settled

among the Ætolians, and concludes as confident that his opinion is right

by saying it is our custom to relate these and similar facts exactly,

whenever any of them is altogether dubious, or concerning which

erroneous opinions are entertained.

5. Notwithstanding these faults in Ephorus, still he is superior to

other writers. Polybius himself, who has studiously given him so much

praise, has said that Eudoxus has written well on Grecian affairs, but

that Ephorus has given the best account of the foundation of cities, of

the relationship subsisting between nations, of changes of settlements,

and of leaders of colonies, in these words, “but I shall explain the

[CAS. 465] present state of places, both as to position and distances;

for this is the peculiar province of chorography.”[690]

But you, Polybius, who introduce popular hearsay, and rumours on the

subject of distances, not only of places beyond Greece, but in Greece

itself, have you not been called to answer the charges sometimes of

Posidonius, sometimes of Artemidorus, and of many other writers? ought

you not therefore to excuse us, and not to be offended, if in

transferring into our own work a large part of the historical poets from

such writers we commit some errors, and to commend us when we are

generally more exact in what we say than others, or supply what they

omitted through want of information.

6. With respect to the Curetes, some facts are related which belong more

immediately, some more remotely, to the history of the Ætolians and

Acarnanians. The facts more immediately relating to them, are those

which have been mentioned before, as that the Curetes were living in the

country which is now called Ætolia, and that a body of Ætolians under

the command of Ætolus came there, and drove them into Acarnania; and

these facts besides, that Æolians invaded Pleuronia, which was inhabited

by Curetes, and called Curetis, took away their territory, and expelled

the possessors.

But Archemachus[691] of Eubœa says that the Curetes had their

settlement at Chalcis, but being continually at war about the plain

Lelantum, and finding that the enemy used to seize and drag them by

the hair of the forehead, they wore their hair long behind, and cut

the hair short in front, whence they had the name of Curetes, (or the

shorn,) from cura, (κουρά,) or the tonsure which they had undergone;

that they removed to Ætolia, and occupied the places about Pleuron;

that others, who lived on the other side of the Achelous, because they

kept their heads unshorn, were called Acarnanians.[692]

But according to some writers each tribe derived its name from some

hero;[693] according to others, that they had the name of Curetes from

the mountain Curium,[694] which is situated above Pleuron, and that this

is an Ætolian tribe, like the Ophieis, Agræi, Eurytanes, and many

others.

But, as we have before said, when Ætolia was divided into two parts, the

country about Calydon was said to be in the possession of Œneus; and a

portion of Pleuronia in that of the Porthaonidæ of the branch of

Agrius,[695] for

“they dwelt at Pleuron, and the lofty Calydon.”[696]

Thestius however, father-in-law of Œneus, and father of Althæa, chief of

the Curetes, was master of Pleuronia. But when war broke out between the

Thestiadæ, Œneus, and Meleager about a boar’s head and skin, according

to the poet,[697] following the fable concerning the boar of Calydon,

but, as is probable, the dispute related to a portion of the territory;

the words are these,

“Curetes and Ætolians, firm in battle, fought against

one another.”[698]

These then are the facts more immediately connected (with geography).

7. There[699] are others more remote from the subject of this [CAS.

466] work, which have been erroneously placed by historians under one

head on account of the sameness of name: for instance, accounts relating

to “Curetic affairs” and “concerning the Curetes” have been considered

as identical with accounts “concerning the people (of the same name) who

inhabited Ætolia and Acarnania.” But the former differ from the latter,

and resemble rather the accounts which we have of Satyri and Silenes,

Bacchæ and Tityri; for the Curetes are represented as certain dæmons, or

ministers of the gods, by those who have handed down the traditions

respecting Cretan and Phrygian affairs, and which involve certain

religious rites, some mystical, others the contrary, relative to the

nurture of Jupiter in Crete; the celebration of orgies in honour of the

mother of the gods, in Phrygia, and in the neighbourhood of the Trojan

Ida. There is however a very great variety[700] in these accounts.

According to some, the Corybantes, Cabeiri, Idæan Dactyli, and Telchines

are represented as the same persons as the Curetes; according to others,

they are related to, yet distinguished from, each other by some slight

differences; but to describe them in general terms and more at length,

they are inspired with an enthusiastic and Bacchic frenzy, which is

exhibited by them as ministers at the celebration of the sacred rites,

by inspiring terror with armed dances, accompanied with the tumult and

noise of cymbals, drums, and armour, and with the sound of pipes and

shouting; so that these sacred ceremonies are nearly the same as those

that are performed among the Samothracians in Lemnus, and in many other

places; since the ministers of the god are said to be the same.[701] The

whole of this kind of discussion is of a theological nature, and is not

alien to the contemplation of the philosopher.

8. But since even the historians, through the similarity of the name

Curetes, have collected into one body a mass of dissimilar facts, I

myself do not hesitate to speak of them at length by way of digression,

adding the physical considerations which belong to the history.[702]

Some writers however endeavour to reconcile one account with the other,

and perhaps they have some degree of probability in their favour. They

say, for instance, that the people about Ætolia have the name of Curetes

from wearing long dresses like girls, (κόραι,) and that

there was, among the Greeks, a fondness for some such fashion. The

Ionians also were called “tunic-trailers,”[703] and the soldiers of

Leonidas,[704] who went out to battle with their hair dressed, were

despised by the Persians, but subjects of their admiration in the

contest. In short, the application of art to the hair consists in

attending to its growth, and the manner of cutting it,[705] and both

these are the peculiar care of girls and youths;[706] whence in several

ways it is easy to find a derivation of the name Curetes. It is also

probable, that the practice of armed dances, first introduced by persons

who paid so much attention to their hair and their dress, and who were

called Curetes, afforded a pretence for men more warlike than others,

and who passed their lives in arms, to be themselves called by the same

name of Curetes, I mean those in Eubœa, Ætolia, and Acarnania. Homer

also gives this name to the young soldiers;

“selecting Curetes, the bravest of the Achæans, to carry from

the swift ship, presents, which, yesterday, we promised to

Achilles.”[707]

[CAS. 467] And again;

“Curetes Achæi carried the presents.”[708]

So much then on the subject of the etymology of the name Curetes. [The

dance in armour is a military dance; this is shown by the Pyrrhic dance

and by Pyrrichus, who, it is said, invented this kind of exercise for

youths, to prepare them for military service.][709]

9. We are now to consider how the names of these people agree together,

and the theology, which is contained in their history.

Now this is common both to the Greeks and the Barbarians, to perform

their religious ceremonies with the observance of a festival, and a

relaxation from labour; some are performed with enthusiasm, others

without any emotion; some accompanied with music, others without music;

some in mysterious privacy, others publicly; and these are the dictates

of nature.[710] For relaxation from labour withdraws the thoughts from

human occupations, and directs the reflecting mind to the divinity:

enthusiasm seems to be attended with a certain divine inspiration, and

to approach the prophetic character; the mystical concealment of the

sacred rites excites veneration for the divinity, and imitates his

nature, which shuns human senses and perception; music also, accompanied

with the dance, rhythm, and song, for the same reason brings us near the

deity by the pleasure which it excites, and by the charms of art. For it

has been justly said, that men resemble the gods chiefly in doing good,

but it may be said more properly, when they are happy; and this

happiness consists in rejoicing, in festivals, in philosophy, and in

music.[711] For let not the art be blamed, if it should sometimes be

abused by the musician employing it to excite voluptuousness in

convivial meetings at banquets, on the stage, or under other

circumstances, but let the nature of the institutions which are founded

on it be examined.[712]

10. Hence Plato, and, before his time, the Pythagoreans, called music

philosophy. They maintained that the world subsisted by harmony, and

considered every kind of music to be the work of the gods. It is thus

that the muses are regarded as deities, and Apollo has the name of

President of the Muses, and all poetry divine, as being conversant about

the praises of the gods. Thus also they ascribe to music the formation

of manners, as everything which refines the mind approximates to the

power of the gods.

The greater part of the Greeks attribute to Bacchus, Apollo, Hecate, the

Muses, and Ceres, everything connected with orgies and Bacchanalian

rites, dances, and the mysteries attended upon initiation. They call

also Bacchus, Dionysus, and the chief Dæmon of the mysteries of

Ceres.[713] The carrying about of branches of trees, dances, and

initiations are common to the worship of these gods. But with respect to

Apollo and the Muses, the latter preside over choirs of singers and

dancers; the former presides both over these and divination. All persons

instructed in science, and particularly those who have cultivated music,

are ministers of the Muses; these and also all who are engaged in

divination are ministers of Apollo. Those of Ceres, are the Mystæ,

torch-bearers and Hierophants; of Dionysus, Seileni, Satyri, Tityri,

Bacchæ, Lenæ, Thyiæ, Mimallones, Naïdes, and Nymphæ, as they are called.

11. But in Crete both these, and the sacred rites of Jupiter in

particular, were celebrated with the performance of orgies, and

by ministers, like the Satyri, who are employed in the worship of

Dionysus. These were called Curetes, certain youths who executed

military movements in armour, accompanied with dancing, exhibiting the

fable of the birth of Jupiter, in which Saturn was introduced, whose

custom it was to devour his children immediately after their birth;

Rhea attempts to conceal the pains of childbirth, and to remove the

new-born infant out of sight, using her utmost endeavours to preserve

it. [CAS. 468] In this she has the assistance of the Curetes who

surround the goddess, and by the noise of drums and other similar

sounds, by dancing in armour and by tumult, endeavour to strike terror

into Saturn, and escape notice whilst removing his child. The child is

then delivered into their hands to be brought up with the same care by

which he was rescued. The Curetes therefore obtained this appellation,

either because they were boys (κόροι), or because they educated Jupiter

in his youth (κουροτροφεῖν), for there are two explanations, inasmuch

as they acted the same part with respect to Jupiter as the Satyri (with

respect to Dionysus). Such then is the worship of the Greeks, as far as

relates to the celebration of orgies.

12. But the Berecyntes, a tribe of Phrygians, the Phrygians in general,

and the Trojans, who live about Mount Ida, themselves also worship Rhea,

and perform orgies in her honour; they call her mother of gods,

Agdistis, and Phrygia,[714] the Great Goddess; from the places also

where she is worshipped, Idæa, and Dindymene,[715] Sipylene,[716]

Pessinuntis,[717] and Cybele.[718] The Greeks call her ministers by the

same name Curetes, not that they follow the same mythology, but they

mean a different kind of persons, a sort of agents analogous to the

Satyri. These same ministers are also called by them Corybantes.

13. We have the testimony of the poets in favour of these opinions.

Pindar, in the Dithyrambus, which begins in this manner;

“formerly the dithyrambus used to creep upon the ground, long

and trailing.”

After mentioning the hymns, both ancient and modern, in honour of

Bacchus, he makes a digression, and says,

“for thee, O Mother, resound the large circles of the cymbals,

and the ringing crotala; for thee, blaze the torches of the

yellow pine;”

where he combines with one another the rites celebrated among the Greeks

in honour of Dionysus with those performed among the Phrygians in honour

of the mother of the gods. Euripides, in the Bacchæ, does the same

thing, conjoining, from the proximity of the countries,[719] Lydian and

Phrygian customs.

“Then forsaking Tmolus, the rampart of Lydia, my maidens, my

pride, [whom I took from among barbarians and made the

partners and companions of my way, raise on high the

tambourine of Phrygia, the tambourine of the great mother

Rhea,] my invention.

“Blest and happy he who, initiated into the sacred rites of

the gods, leads a pure life; who celebrating the orgies of the

Great Mother Cybele, who brandishing on high the thyrsus and

with ivy crowned, becomes Dionysus’ worshipper. Haste,

Bacchanalians, haste, and bring Bromius Dionysus down from the

Phrygian mountains to the wide plains of Greece.”

And again, in what follows, he combines with these the Cretan rites.

“Hail, sacred haunt of the Curetes, and divine inhabitants of

Crete, progenitors of Jove, where for me the triple-crested

Corybantes in their caves invented this skin-stretched circle

[of the tambourine], who mingled with Bacchic strains the

sweet breath of harmony from Phrygian pipes, and placed in

Rhea’s hands this instrument which re-echoes to the joyous

shouts of Bacchanalians; from the Mother Rhea the frantic

Satyri succeeded in obtaining it, and introduced it into the

dances of the Trieterides, among whom Dionysus delights to

dwell.”[720]

And [CAS. 470] the chorus in Palamedes says,

“Not revelling with Dionysus, who together with his mother was

cheered with the resounding drums along the tops of Ida.”

14. Conjoining then Seilenus, Marsyas, and Olympus, and ascribing to

them the invention of the flute, they thus again combine Dionysiac and

Phrygian rites, frequently confounding Ida and Olympus,[721] and making

them re-echo with their noise, as if they were the same mountain. There

are four peaks of Ida called Olympi, opposite Antandros.[722] There is

also a Mysian Olympus, bordering upon Ida, but not the same mountain.

Sophocles represents Menelaus in the Polyxena as setting sail in haste

from Troy, and Agamemnon as wishing to remain behind a short time, with

a view to propitiate Minerva. He introduces Menelaus as saying,

“But do thou remain there on the Idæan land,

Collect the flocks on Olympus, and offer sacrifice.”[723]

15. They invented terms appropriate to the sounds of the pipe, of the

crotala, cymbals, and drums; to the noise also of shouts; to the cries

of Evoe; and to the beating of the ground with the feet. They invented

certain well-known names also to designate the ministers, dancers, and

servants employed about the sacred rites, as Cabeiri, Corybantes, Pans,

Satyri, Tityri, the god Bacchus; Rhea, Cybele, Cybebe, and Dindymene,

from the places where she was worshipped. [The god] Sabazius belongs to

the Phrygian rites, and may be considered the child as it were of the

[Great] Mother. The traditional ceremonies observed in his worship are

those of Bacchus.[724]

16. The rites called Cotytia, and Bendideia,[725] celebrated among the

Thracians, resemble these. The Orphic ceremonies had their origin among

these people. Æschylus mentions the goddess Cotys, and the instruments

used in her worship among the Edoni.[726] For after saying,

“O divine Cotys, goddess of the Edoni,

With the instruments of the mountain worship;”

immediately introduces the followers of Dionysus,

“one holding the bombyces, the admirable work of the turner,

with the fingers makes the loud notes resound, exciting

frenzy; another makes the brass-bound cotylæ to re-echo.”

And in another passage;

“The song of victory is poured forth; invisible mimes low and

bellow from time to time like bulls, inspiring fear, and the

echo of the drum rolls along like the noise of subterranean

thunder;”[727]

for these are like the Phrygian ceremonies, nor is it at all improbable

that, as the Phrygians themselves are a colony of Thracians, so they

brought from Thrace their sacred ceremonies, and by joining together

Dionysus and the Edonian Lycurgus they intimate a similarity in the mode

of the worship of both.

17. From the song, the rhythm, and the instruments, all Thracian music

is supposed to be Asiatic. This is evident also from the places where

the Muses are held in honour. For Pieria, Olympus, Pimpla, and

Leibethrum were anciently places, and mountains, belonging to the

Thracians, but at present they are in the possession of the Macedonians.

The Thracians, who were settled in Bœotia, dedicated Helicon to the

Muses, and consecrated the cave of the Nymphs, Leibethriades. The

cultivators of ancient music are said to have been Thracians, as

Orpheus, Musæus, Thamyris; hence also Eumolpus had his name. Those who

regard the whole of Asia as far as India as consecrated to Bacchus,

refer to that country as the origin of a great portion of the present

music. One author speaks of “striking forcibly the Asiatic cithara:”

another calls the pipes Berecynthian and Phrygian. [CAS. 471] Some of

the instruments also have barbarous names, as Nablas, Sambyce,[728]

Barbitus,[729] Magadis,[730] and many others.

18. As in other things the Athenians always showed their admiration of

foreign customs, so they displayed it in what respected the gods. They

adopted many foreign sacred ceremonies, particularly those of Thrace and

Phrygia; for which they were ridiculed in comedies. Plato mentions the

Bendidean, and Demosthenes the Phrygian rites, where he is exposing

Æschines and his mother to the scorn of the people; the former for

having been present when his mother was sacrificing, and for frequently

joining the band of Bacchanalians in celebrating their festivals, and

shouting, Evoï, Saboï, Hyes Attes, and Attes Hyes, for these cries

belong to the rites of Sabazius and the Great Mother.

19. But there may be discovered respecting these dæmons, and the variety

of their names, that they were not called ministers only of the gods,

but themselves were called gods. For Hesiod says that Hecaterus and the

daughter of Phoroneus had five daughters,

“From whom sprung the goddesses, the mountain nymphs,

And the worthless and idle race of satyrs,

And the gods Curetes, lovers of sport and dance.”

The author of the Phoronis calls the Curetes, players upon the pipe, and

Phrygians; others call them “earth-born, and wearing brazen shields.”

Another author terms the Corybantes, and not the Curetes, Phrygians, and

the Curetes, Cretans. Brazen shields were first worn in Eubœa, whence

the people had the name of Chalcidenses.[731] Others say, that the

Corybantes who came from Bactriana, or, according to some writers, from

the Colchi, were given to Rhea, as a band of armed ministers, by Titan.

But in the Cretan history the Curetes are called nurses and guardians of

Jove, and are described as having been sent for from Phrygia to Crete by

Rhea. According to other writers, there were nine Telchines in Rhodes,

who accompanied Rhea to Crete, and from nursing[732] Jupiter had the

name of Curetes;[733] that Corybus, one of their party, was the founder

of Hierapytna, and furnished the Prasians[734] in Rhodes with the

pretext for saying that Corybantes were certain dæmons, children of

Minerva and the sun. By others, the Corybantes are represented to be the

children of Saturn; by others, of Jupiter and Calliope, or to be the

same persons as the Cabeiri; that they went away[735] to

Samothrace,[736] which was formerly called Melite; but their lives and

actions are mysterious.

20. The Scepsian (Demetrius) who has collected fabulous stories of this

kind, does not receive this account because no mysterious tradition

about the Cabeiri is preserved in Samothrace, yet he gives the opinion

of Stesimbrotus of Thasus, to the effect that the sacred rites in

Samothrace were celebrated in honour of the Cabeiri.[737] Demetrius,

however, says that they had their name from Cabeirus, the mountain in

Berecynthia. According to others, the Curetes were the same as the

Corybantes, and were ministers of Hecate.

The Scepsian says in another place, in contradiction to Euripides, that

it is not the custom in Crete to pay divine honours to Rhea, and that

these rites were not established there, but in Phrygia only, and in the

Troad, and that they who affirm the contrary are mythologists rather

than historians; and were probably misled by an identity of name, for

Ida is a mountain both in the Troad and in Crete; and Dicte is a spot in

the Scepsian territory, and a mountain in Crete.[738] Pytna is a peak of

Ida, (and a mountain in Crete,) whence the city Hierapytna has its name.

There is Hippocorona in the territory of Adramyttium, and

Hippocoronium[739] in Crete. Samonium also is the eastern promontory of

the island, and a plain in the Neandris,[740] and in the territory of

the Alexandrians (Alexandria Troas).

21. But Acusilaus, the Argive, mentions a Camillus, the [CAS. 473] son

of Cabeira and Vulcan; who had three sons, Cabeiri, (and three

daughters,) the Nymphs Cabeirides.[741]

According to Pherecydes, there sprung from Apollo and Rhetia nine

Corybantes, who lived in Samothrace; that from Cabeira, the daughter of

Proteus and Vulcan, there were three Cabeiri, and three Nymphs,

Cabeirides, and that each had their own sacred rites. But it was at

Lemnos and Imbros that the Cabeiri were more especially the objects of

divine worship, and in some of the cities of the Troad; their names are

mystical.

Herodotus[742] mentions, that there were at Memphis temples of the

Cabeiri as well as of Vulcan, which were destroyed by Cambyses. The

places where these dæmons received divine honours are uninhabited, as

Corybantium in the territory Hamaxitia belonging to the country of the

Alexandrians, near Sminthium;[743] and Corybissa in the Scepsian

territory about the river Eureïs, and a village of the same name, and

the winter torrent Æthaloeïs.[744]

The Scepsian says, that it is probable that the Curetes and Corybantes

are the same persons, who as youths and boys were employed to perform

the armed dance in the worship of the mother of the gods. They were

called Corybantes[745] from their dancing gait, and butting with their

head (κορύπτοντας); by the poet they were called βητάρμονες,

“Come hither, you who are the best skilled Betarmones among

the Phæacians.”[746]

Because the Corybantes are dancers, and are frantic, we call those

persons by this name whose movements are furious.

22. Some writers say that the first inhabitants of the country at the

foot of Mount Ida were called Idæan Dactyli, for the country below

mountains is called the foot, and the summits of mountains their heads;

so the separate extremities of Ida (and all are sacred to the mother of

the gods) are called Idæan Dactyli.[747]

But Sophocles[748] supposes, that the first five were males, who

discovered and forged iron,[749] and many other things which were useful

for the purposes of life; that these persons had five sisters, and from

their number had the name of Dactyli.[750] Different persons however

relate these fables differently, connecting one uncertainty with

another. They differ both with respect to the numbers and the names of

these persons; some of whom they call Celmis, and Damnameneus, and

Hercules, and Acmon, who, according to some writers, were natives of

Ida, according to others, were settlers, but all agree that they were

the first workers in iron, and upon Mount Ida. All writers suppose them

to have been magicians, attendants upon the mother of the gods, and to

have lived in Phrygia about Mount Ida. They call the Troad Phrygia,

because, after the devastation of Troy, the neighbouring Phrygians

became masters of the country. It is also supposed that the Curetes and

the Corybantes were descendants of the Idæan Dactyli, and that they gave

the name of Idæan Dactyli to the first hundred persons who were born in

Crete; that from these descended nine Curetes, each of whom had ten

children, who were called Idæan Dactyli.[751]

23. Although we are not fond of fabulous stories, yet we have expatiated

upon these, because they belong to subjects of a theological nature.

All discussion respecting the gods requires an examination of ancient

opinions, and of fables, since the ancients expressed enigmatically

their physical notions concerning the nature of things, and always

intermixed fable with their discoveries. It is not easy therefore to

solve these enigmas exactly, but if we lay before the reader a multitude

of fabulous tales, some consistent with each other, others which are

contradictory, we [CAS. 474] may thus with less difficulty form

conjectures about the truth. For example, mythologists probably

represented the ministers of the gods, and the gods themselves, as

coursing over the mountains, and their enthusiastic behaviour, for the

same reason that they considered the gods to be celestial beings, and to

exercise a providential care over all things, and especially over signs

and presages. Mining, hunting, and a search after things useful for the

purposes of life, appeared to have a relation to this coursing over the

mountains, but juggling and magic to be connected with enthusiastic

behaviour, religious rites, and divination. Of such a nature, and

connected in particular with the improvement of the arts of life, were

the Dionysiac and Orphic arts. But enough of this subject.

CHAPTER IV.

1. Having described the islands about the Peloponnesus, and other

islands also, some of which are upon, and others in front of, the

Corinthian Gulf, we are next to speak of Crete,[752] (for it belongs to

the Peloponnesus,) and the islands near Crete, among which are the

Cyclades and the Sporades. Some of these are worthy of notice, others

are inconsiderable.

2. At present we are to speak first of Crete.

According to Eudoxus, it is situated in the Ægæan sea, but he ought not

to have described its situation in that manner, but have said, that it

lies between Cyrenaica and the part of Greece comprehended between

Sunium and Laconia,[753] extending in length in the direction from west

to east, and parallel to these countries;[754] that it is washed on the

north by the Ægæan and Cretan seas, and on the south by the African,

which joins the Ægyptian sea.

The western extremity of the island is near Phalasarna;[755] its breadth

is about 200 stadia, and divided into two promontories; of which the

southern is called Criu-Metopon, (or Ram’s head,) and that on the north,

Cimarus.[756] The eastern promontory is Samonium,[757] which does not

stretch much further towards the east than Sunium.[758]

3. Sosicrates, who, according to Apollodorus, had an exact knowledge of

this island, determines its length (not?)[759] to exceed 2300 stadia,

and its breadth (about 300),[760] so that according to Sosicrates the

circuit of the island is not more than 5000 stadia, but Artemidorus

makes it 4100. Hieronymus [CAS. 475] says, that its length is 2000

stadia, and its breadth irregular, and that the circuit would exceed the

number of stadia assigned by Artemidorus. Throughout one-third of its

length, (beginning from the western parts, the island is of a tolerable

width).[761] Then there is an isthmus of about 100 stadia, on the

northern shore of which is a settlement, called Amphimalla;[762] on the

southern shore is Phœnix,[763] belonging to the Lampeis.

The greatest breadth is in the middle of the island.

Here again the shores approach, and form an isthmus narrower than the

former, of about 60 stadia in extent, reckoning from Minoa,[764] in the

district of the Lyctii,[765] to Therapytna,[766] and the African sea.

The city is on the bay. The shores then terminate in a pointed

promontory, the Samonium, looking towards Ægypt and the islands of the

Rhodians.[767]

4. The island is mountainous and woody, but has fertile valleys.

The mountains towards the west are called Leuca, or the White

Mountains,[768] not inferior in height to the Taÿgetum,[769] and

extending in length about 300 stadia. They form a ridge, which

terminates at the narrow parts (the isthmus). In the middle of the

island, in the widest part, is (Ida),[770] the highest of the mountains

there. Its compass is about 600 stadia. It is surrounded by the

principal cities. There are other mountains equal in height to the White

Mountains, some of which terminate on the south, others towards the

east.

5. From the Cyrenæan[771] territory to Criu-metopon[772] is a voyage of

two days and nights. From Cimarus [to Malea] are 700 stadia.[773] In the

midway is Cythera.[774] From the promontory Samonium[775] to Ægypt a

ship sails in four days and nights, but, according to other writers, in

three. Some say that it is a voyage of 5000 stadia; others, of still

less than this. According to Eratosthenes, the distance from Cyrenaïca

to Criu-Metopon is 2000 stadia, and thence to Peloponnesus less than

[1000].[776]

6. One language is intermixed with another, says the poet; there are in

Crete,

“Achæi, the brave Eteocretans, Cydones, Dorians divided into

three bands,[777] and the divine Pelasgi.”[778]

Of these people, says Staphylus, the Dorians occupy the eastern parts of

the island, Cydonians the western, Eteocretans the southern, to whom

Prasus, a small town, belonged, where is the temple of the Dictæan

Jupiter; the other nations, being more powerful, inhabited the plains.

It is probable that the Eteocretans[779] and Cydonians were aboriginal

inhabitants, and that the others were foreigners, who Andron says came

from Thessaly, formerly called Doris, but now Hestiæotis, from which

country he says the Dorians, who were settled about Parnassus, migrated,

and founded Erineum, Bœum, and Cytinium, whence they are called by the

poet Trichaïces, or tripartite. But the account of Andron is not

generally admitted, who represents the Tetrapolis Doris as composed of

three cities, and the metropolis of the Dorians as a colony of

Thessalians. The epithet Trichaïces[780] is understood to be derived

either from their wearing a triple crest,[781] or from having crests of

hair.[782]

7. There are many cities in Crete, but the largest and most

distinguished are Cnossus,[783] Gortyna,[784] Cydonia.[785] Both Homer

and later writers celebrate Cnossus[783] above the rest, [CAS. 476]

calling it vast, and the palace of Minos. It maintained its pre-eminence

for a long period. It afterwards lost its ascendency, and was deprived

of many of its customs and privileges. The superiority was transferred

to Gortyna and Lyctus.[786] But it afterwards recovered its ancient rank

of the capital city. Cnossus lies in a plain, with its ancient

circumference of 30 stadia, between the Lyctian and Gortynian territory;

[distant] 200 stadia from Gortyna, and from Lyttus 120, which the

poet[787] calls Lyctus. Cnossus is at the distance of 25 stadia from the

northern sea; Gortyna 90, and Lyctus 80, stadia from the African sea.

Cnossus has a marine arsenal, Heracleium.[788]

8. Minos, it is said, used as an arsenal Amnisus,[789] where is a temple

of Eileithyia. Cnossus formerly had the name of Cæratus, which is the

name of the river[790] which runs beside it.

Minos[791] is regarded as an excellent legislator, and the first who

possessed the sovereignty of the sea. He divided the island into three

portions, in each of which he built a city; Cnossus * * * * * * *,[792]

opposite to Peloponnesus, which lies toward the north.

According to Ephorus, Minos was an imitator of Rhadamanthus, an ancient

personage, and a most just man. He had the same name as his brother, who

appears to have been the first to civilize the island by laws and

institutions, by founding cities, and by establishing forms of

government. He pretended to receive from Jupiter the decrees which he

promulgated. It was probably in imitation of Rhadamanthus that Minos

went up to the cave of Jupiter, at intervals of nine years, and brought

from thence a set of ordinances, which he said were the commands of

Jove; for which reason the poet thus expresses himself;

“There reigned Minos, who every ninth year conversed with the

great Jupiter.”[793]

Such is the statement of Ephorus; the ancients on the other hand give a

different account, and say that he was tyrannical and violent, and an

exactor of tribute, and speak in the strain of tragedy about the

Minotaur, the Labyrinth, and the adventures of Theseus and Dædalus.

9. It is difficult to determine which is right. There is another story

also not generally received; some persons affirming that Minos was a

foreigner, others that he was a native of the island. Homer seems to

support the latter opinion, when he says, that

“Minos, the guardian of Crete, was the first offspring of

Jupiter.”[794]

It is generally admitted with regard to Crete that in ancient times it

was governed by good laws, and induced the wisest of the Greeks to

imitate its form of government, and particularly the Lacedæmonians, as

Plato shows in his “Laws,” and Ephorus has described in his work

“Europe.” Afterwards there was a change in the government, and for the

most part for the worse. For the Tyrrheni, who chiefly infested our sea,

were followed by the Cretans, who succeeded to the haunts and piratical

practices of the former people, and these again afterwards were subject

to the devastations of the Cilicians. But the Romans destroyed them all

after the conquest of Crete,[795] and demolished the piratical

strongholds of the Cilicians. At present Cnossus has even a colony of

Romans.

10. So much then respecting Cnossus, a city to which I am no stranger;

but owing to the condition of human affairs, their vicissitudes and

accidents, the connexion and intercourse that subsisted between

ourselves and the city is at an end. Which may be thus explained.

Dorylaüs, a military tactician, a friend of Mithridates Euergetes, was

appointed, on account of his experience in military affairs, to levy a

body of foreigners, and was frequently in Greece and Thrace, and often

in the company of persons who came from Crete, before the Romans were in

possession of the island. A great multitude of mercenary soldiers was

collected there, from whom [CAS. 478] even the bands of pirates were

recruited. During the stay of Dorylaüs in the island, a war happened to

break out between the Cnossians and the Gortynians. He was appointed

general by the Cnossians, and having finished the war speedily and

successfully, he obtained the highest honours. A short time afterwards,

being informed that Euergetes had been treacherously put to death by his

courtiers at Sinope, and that he was succeeded in the government by his

wife and children, he abandoned everything there, remained at Cnossus,

and married a Macedonian woman of the name of Sterope, by whom he had

two sons, Lagetas and Stratarchas, (the latter I myself saw when in

extreme old age,) and one daughter. Of the two sons of Euergetes, he who

was surnamed Eupator succeeded to the throne when he was eleven years of

age; Dorylaüs, the son of Philetærus, was his foster-brother. Philetærus

was the brother of Dorylaüs the Tactician. The king had been so much

pleased with his intimacy with Dorylaüs when they lived together as

children, that on attaining manhood he not only promoted Dorylaüs to the

highest honours, but extended his regard to his relations and sent for

them from Cnossus. At this time Lagetas and his brother had lost their

father, and were themselves grown up to manhood. They quitted Cnossus,

and came to Mithridates. My mother’s mother was the daughter of Lagetas.

While he enjoyed prosperity, they also prospered; but upon his downfall

(for he was detected in attempting to transfer the kingdom to the Romans

with a view to his own appointment to the sovereignty) the affairs of

Cnossus were involved in his ruin and disgrace; and all intercourse with

the Cnossians, who themselves had experienced innumerable vicissitudes

of fortune, was suspended.

So much then respecting Cnossus.

11. After Cnossus, the city Gortyna seems to have held the second place

in rank and power. For when these cities acted in concert they held in

subjection all the rest of the inhabitants, and when they were at

variance there was discord throughout the island; and whichever party

Cydonia espoused, to them she was a most important accession.

The city of the Gortynians lies in a plain, and was perhaps anciently

protected by a wall, as Homer also intimates,

“and Gortyna, a walled city;”[796]

it lost afterwards its walls, which were destroyed from their

foundation, and it has remained ever since without walls; for Ptolemy

Philopator, who began to build a wall, proceeded with it to the distance

only of about 8 stadia. Formerly the building occupied a considerable

compass, extending nearly 50 stadia. It is distant from the African sea,

and from Leben its mart, 90 stadia. It has also another arsenal,

Matalum.[797] It is distant from that 130 stadia. The river Lethæus[798]

flows through the whole of the city.

12. Leucocomas and Euxynthetus his erastes (or lover), whom Theophrastus

mentions in his discourse on Love, were natives of Leben.[799] One of

the tasks enjoined Euxynthetus by Leucocomas was this, according to

Theophrastus, to bring him his dog from Prasus.[800] The Prasii border

upon the Lebenii at the distance of 60 stadia from the sea, and from

Gortyn 180. We have said that Prasus was subject to the Eteocretans, and

that the temple of the Dictæan Jupiter was there. For Dicte[801] is

near; not, as Aratus[802] alleges, near Ida; since Dicte is distant 1000

stadia from Mount Ida, and situated at that distance from it towards the

rising sun; and 100 stadia from the promontory Samonium. Prasus was

situated between the promontory Samonium, and the Cherrhonesus, at the

distance of 60 stadia from the sea. It was razed by the Hierapytnii. He

says, too, that Callimachus[803] is not right in asserting that

Britomartis, in her escape from the violence offered by Minos, leaped

from Dicte among the nets of the fishermen (δίκτυα), and

that hence she had the name of Dictynna from the Cydoniatæ, and the

mountain that of [CAS. 479] Dicte. For Cydonia is not at all situated

in the neighbourhood of these places, but lies at the western extremity

of the island. The mountain Tityrus[804] belongs to the Cydonian

territory; upon it is situated a temple, not called Dictæan, but

Dictynnæan.

13. Cydonia is situated on the sea, fronting Laconia, at an equal

distance from both Cnossus and Gortyn, about 800 stadia, and from Aptera

80, and from the sea in this quarter 40 stadia. Cisamus[805] is the

naval arsenal of Aptera.[806] The Polyrrhenii border upon the Cydoniatæ

towards the west; in their territory is the temple of Dictynna. They are

at the distance of about 30 stadia from the sea, and 60 from Phalasarna.

Formerly they lived in villages; then Achæans and Laconians settled

there together, and fortified with a wall a strong site fronting the

south.

14. Of the three cities founded by Minos, the last, which was

Phæstus,[807] was razed by the Gortynians; it was at the distance of 60

stadia from Gortyn, 20 from the sea, and from Matalum, the arsenal, 40

stadia. They who razed the city possess the territory. Rhytium also

together with Phæstus belongs to the Gortynians,

“both Phæstus and Rhytium.”[808]

Epimenides, who performed lustrations by the means of his poetry, is

said to have been a native of Phæstus. Olyssa (Lisses?) also belonged to

the territory of Phæstus.

Cherrhonesus,[809] as it is called, is the arsenal of Lyttus or

(Lyctus), which we have before mentioned; on the former is the temple of

Britomartis.

Miletus and Lycastus, the cities which were enumerated together with

Lyctus, no longer exist; but the territory, after they had razed the

city (Lyctus), was partitioned among Lyctians and Cnossians.

15. As the poet in one place speaks of Crete as having a hundred, and in

another ninety, cities, Ephorus says, that ten were founded in later

times after the Trojan war by the Dorians, who accompanied Althæmenes

the Argive, and that hence Ulysses speaks of its ninety cities. This

account is probable. But others say, that the ten were razed by the

enemies of Idomeneus; but the poet does not say that Crete had a hundred

cities at the time of the Trojan war, but in his own age, for he speaks

in his own person; but if the words had been those of some person then

living, as those in the Odyssey, where Ulysses says, Crete had ninety

cities, they might have been properly understood in this manner. But

even if we admit this, the subsequent verses will not be exempt from

objection. For neither at the time of the expedition, nor after the

return of Idomeneus, is it probable that these cities were destroyed by

his enemies, for the poet says,

“but Idomeneus brought back all his companions who had

survived the war to Crete; the sea had not deprived him of any

of them;”[810]

for he would have mentioned such a misfortune. Ulysses indeed might not

have been acquainted with the destruction of these cities, for he had

not had any intercourse with any of the Greeks either during or after

his wanderings; but (Nestor), who had been the companion of Idomeneus in

the expedition and in his escape from shipwreck, could not be ignorant

of what had happened at home during the expedition and before his

return. But he must certainly have been aware of what occurred after his

return. For if he and all his companions escaped, he returned so

powerful that their enemies were not in a position to deprive them of

ten cities.

Such then is the general description of the country of Crete.

16. With respect to the form of government, which Ephorus has described

at large, it will be sufficient to give a cursory account of the

principal parts. The law-giver, says Ephorus, seems to lay, as the

foundation of his constitution, the greatest good that states can enjoy,

namely, liberty; for it is this alone which makes the property of every

kind which a man possesses his own; in a state of slavery it belongs to

the governor, and not to the governed. The liberty also which men enjoy

must be guarded. Unanimity ensues, when the dissensions that arise from

covetousness and luxury[811] are [CAS. 481] removed. Now where all live

temperately and frugally, neither envy, nor injuries, nor hatred have

place among equals. Whence the young were enjoined to repair to the

Agelæ, and those of mature age to assemble at the Syssitia, or common

meals, called Andreia, in order that the poorer sort, who were fed at

the public charge, might partake of the same fare as the rich.

With a view that courage, and not fear, should predominate, they were

accustomed from childhood to the use of arms, and to endure fatigue.

Hence they disregarded heat and cold, rugged and steep roads, blows

received in gymnastic exercises and in set battles.

They practised archery, and the dance in armour, which the Curetes first

invented, and was afterwards perfected by Pyrrhichus, and called after

him Pyrrhiche. Hence even their sports were not without their use in

their training for war. With the same intention they used the Cretan

measures in their songs; the tones of these measures are extremely loud;

they were invented by Thales, to whom are ascribed the pæans and other

native songs and many of their usages. They adopted a military dress

also, and shoes, and considered armour as the most valuable of all

presents.

17. Some, he says, alleged that many of the institutions supposed to be

Cretan were of Lacedæmonian origin; but the truth is, they were invented

by the former, but perfected by the Spartans. The Cretans, when their

cities, and particularly Cnossus, were ravaged, neglected military

affairs, but some usages were more observed by the Lyttii and Gortynii,

and some other small cities, than by the Cnossians. Those persons, who

maintain the priority of the Laconian institutions, adduce as evidence

of this those of the Lyttii, because as colonists they would retain the

customs of the parent state. Otherwise, it would be absurd for those,

who lived under a better form of constitution and government, to be

imitators of a worse. But this is not correct. For we ought not to form

conjectures respecting the ancient from the present state of things, for

each has undergone contrary changes. The Cretans were formerly powerful

at sea, so that it was a proverbial saying addressed to those who

pretended to be ignorant of what they knew, “a Cretan, and not know the

sea;” but at present they have abandoned nautical affairs.

Nor did it follow necessarily that, because there were some cities in

Crete colonized by Spartans, they should continue to observe Spartan

usages, since many of the cities of colonists do not preserve the

customs of the mother country; and there are many cities in Crete, the

inhabitants of which are not colonists, and yet have the same usages as

those that have received colonies.

18. Lycurgus, the Spartan legislator, he says, was five generations

later than Althæmenes, who conducted the colony into Crete. He is said

by historians to have been the son of Cissus, who founded Argos[812]

about the same time that Procles was engaged in establishing a colony at

Sparta. It is also generally admitted that Lycurgus was the sixth in

descent from Procles.[813] Copies do not precede the models, nor modern

precede ancient things. The usual kind of dancing practised among the

Lacedæmonians, the measures, and the pæans sung according to a certain

mood, and many other usages, are called among them Cretan, as if they

came from Crete. But among the ancient customs, those relative to the

administration of the state have the same designations as in Crete,[814]

as the council of Gerontes[815] and that of the Knights,[816] except

that in Crete the knights had horses; whence it is conjectured, that the

council of Knights in Crete is more ancient, since the origin of the

appellation is preserved. But the Spartan knight did not keep a horse.

They who perform the same functions as the Cosmi in Crete, have the

different title of Ephori [in Sparta]. The Syssitia, or common meal, is

even at present called Andreia among the Cretans; but among the Spartans

they did not continue to call it by its former name, as it is found in

the poet Alcman;

“In festivals and in joyous assemblies of the Andreia, it is

fit to begin the pæan in honour of the guests.”

19. The occasion of the journey of Lycurgus to Crete is said by the

inhabitants to be as follows. The elder brother of Lycurgus was

Polydectes, who, at his death, left his wife pregnant. Lycurgus reigned

in place of his brother till the [CAS. 483] birth of a son. He then

became the guardian of the child, who was heir to the kingdom. Some one

said to him insultingly, he was sure Lycurgus would be king. Suspecting

that by this speech he might be accused of contriving a plot against the

child, and fearing that, if the child should die by any accident, his

enemies might impute its death to him, he departed to Crete. This is

said to have been the cause of his journey. Upon his arrival in Crete he

became acquainted with Thales, the lyric poet and legislator. He learnt

from this person the plan adopted by Rhadamanthus in former times, and

afterwards by Minos in promulgating their laws, so as to procure a

belief that they proceeded from Jupiter. He was also in Ægypt, and

obtained information respecting the laws and customs of that

country.[817] According to some writers, he met at Chios with Homer, who

was living there, and then returned to his own country, where he found

Charilaus, the son of his brother Polydectes, upon the throne. He then

began to frame laws, repairing to the god at Delphi, and bringing thence

ordinances, as Minos brought his from the cave of Jupiter.[818] The

greater part of these ordinances were similar to those of Minos.

20. The following are the principal of the laws of Crete, which Ephorus

has given in detail.

All the Cretans, who are selected at the same time from the troop

(ἀγέλη) of youths, are compelled to marry at once. They do not

however take the young women whom they have married immediately to their

homes, until they are qualified to administer household affairs.

The woman’s dower, if she has brothers, is half of the brother’s

portion.

The children are taught to read, to chaunt songs taken from the laws,

and some kinds of music.

While they are still very young they are taken to the Syssitia, called

Andreia. They sit on the ground, eating their food together, dressed in

mean garments, which are not changed in winter or summer. They wait upon

themselves and on the men. Both those of the same and those of different

messes have battles with one another. A trainer of boys presides over

each Andreion. As they grow older they are formed into (Ἀγέλαι) or

troops of youths. The most illustrious and powerful of the youths form

Agelæ, each individual assembling together as many as he can collect.

The governor of the troop is generally the father of the youth who has

assembled them together, and has the power of taking them to hunt and to

exercise themselves in running, and of punishing the disobedient. They

are maintained at the public charge.

On certain set days troop encounters troop, marching in time to the

sound of the pipe and lyre, as is their custom in actual war. They

inflict blows, some with the hand, and some even with iron weapons.

21. They have a peculiar custom with respect to their attachments. They

do not influence the objects of their love by persuasion, but have

recourse to violent abduction. The lover apprizes the friends of the

youth, three or more days beforehand, of his intention to carry off the

object of his affection. It is reckoned a most base act to conceal the

youth, or not to permit him to walk about as usual, since it would be an

acknowledgment that the youth was unworthy of such a lover. But if they

are informed that the ravisher is equal or superior in rank, or other

circumstances, to the youth, they pursue and oppose the former slightly,

merely in conformity with the custom. They then willingly allow him to

carry off the youth. If however he is an unworthy person, they take the

youth from him. This show of resistance does not end, till the youth is

received into the Andreium to which the ravisher belongs. They do not

regard as an object of affection a youth exceedingly handsome, but him

who is distinguished for courage and modesty. The lover makes the youth

presents, and takes him away to whatever place he likes. The persons

present at the abduction accompany them, and having passed two months in

feasting, and in the chase, (for it is not permitted to detain the youth

longer,) they return to the city. The youth is dismissed with presents,

which consist of a military dress, an ox, and a drinking cup; the last

are prescribed by law, and besides these many other very costly gifts,

so that the friends contribute each their share in order to diminish the

expense.

The youth sacrifices the ox to Jupiter, and entertains at a feast those

who came down with him from the mountains. He then declares concerning

the intercourse with the lover, [CAS. 484] whether it took place with

his consent or not, since the law allows him, if any violence is used in

the abduction, to insist upon redress, and set him free from his

engagement with the lover. But for the beautiful and high-born not to

have lovers is disgraceful, since this neglect would be attributed to a

bad disposition.

The parastathentes, for this is the name which they give to those youths

who have been carried away, enjoy certain honours. At races and at

festivals they have the principal places. They are permitted to wear the

stole, which distinguishes them from other persons, and which has been

presented to them by their lovers; and not only at that time, but in

mature age, they appear in a distinctive dress, by which each individual

is recognised as Kleinos, for this name is given to the object of their

attachment, and that of Philetor to the lover.

These then are the usages respecting attachments.

22. They elect ten Archons. On matters of highest moment they have

recourse to the counsel of the Gerontes, as they are called. They admit

into this council those who have been thought worthy of the office of

Cosmi, and who were otherwise persons of tried worth.

I considered the form of government among the Cretans as worthy of

description, on account both of its peculiarity and its fame. Few of

these institutions are now in existence, and the administration of

affairs is chiefly conducted according to the orders of the Romans, as

is the case also in their other provinces.

CHAPTER V.

1. The islands about Crete are Thera,[819] the capital of the Cyrenæans,

and a colony of the Lacedæmonians; and near Thera is Anaphe,[820] in

which is the temple of Apollo Ægletes. Callimachus speaks of it in one

place, thus,

“And Æglete Anaphe, close to the Lacedæmonian Thera;”

and in another, he mentions Thera only,

“Mother of my country, celebrated for its fine breed of horses.”

Thera is a long island, about 200 stadia in circumference. It lies

opposite to the island Dia,[821] towards the Cnossian Heracleium. It is

distant about 700 stadia from Crete. Near it are Anaphe and

Therasia.[822] The little island Ios[823] is distant from the latter

about 100 stadia. Here according to some authors the poet Homer was

buried.[824] In going from Ios towards the west are Sicenus[825] and

Lagusa,[826] and Pholegandrus,[827] which Aratus calls the iron island,

on account of its rocks. Near these islands is Cimolus,[828] whence is

obtained the Cimolian earth. From Cimolus Siphnus[829] is visible. To

this island is applied the proverb, “a Siphnian bone (astragalus),” on

account of its insignificance. Still nearer, both to Cimolus and Crete,

is Melos,[830] more considerable than these. It is distant from the

Hermionic promontory, the Scyllæum,[831] 700 stadia, and nearly as many

from the Dictynnæan promontory. The Athenians formerly despatched an

army to Melos,[832] and put to death the inhabitants from youth upwards.

These islands are situated in the Cretan sea. Delos,[833] the Cyclades

about it, and the Sporades adjacent to these, belong rather to the Ægæan

sea. To the Sporades also are to be referred the islands about Crete,

which I have already mentioned.

2. The city of Delos is in a plain. Delos contains the temple of Apollo,

and the Latoum, or temple of Latona. The Cynthus,[834] a naked and

rugged mountain, overhangs the city. [CAS. 485] The Inopus,[835] not a

large river, for the island is small, flows through it. Anciently, even

from the heroic times, this island has been held in veneration on

account of the divinities worshipped here. Here, according to the fable,

Latona was relieved from the pains of labour, and gave birth to Apollo

and Diana.

“Before this time,” (says Pindar,[836]) “Delos was carried

about by the waves, and by winds blowing from every quarter,

but when the daughter of Cœus set her foot upon it, who was

then suffering the sharp pangs of approaching childbirth, at

that instant four upright columns, resting on adamant, sprang

from the depths of the earth and retained it fast on the

rugged rock; there she brought forth, and beheld her happy

offspring.”

The islands lying about it, called Cyclades, gave it celebrity, since

they were in the habit of sending at the public charge, as a testimony

of respect, sacred delegates, (Theori,) sacrifices, and bands of

virgins; they also repaired thither in great multitudes to celebrate

festivals.[837]

3. Originally, there were said to be twelve Cyclades, but many others

were added to them. Artemidorus enumerates (fifteen?) where he is

speaking of the island Helena,[838] and of which he says that it extends

from Thoricus[839] to Sunium,[840] and is about 60 stadia in length; it

is from this island, he says, the Cyclades, as they are called, begin.

He names Ceos,[841] as the nearest island to Helena, and next to this

Cythnus, Seriphus,[842] Melos, Siphnus, Cimolus, Prepesinthus,[843]

Oliarus,[844] and besides these Paros,[845] Naxos,[846] Syros,[847]

Myconus,[848] Tenos,[849] Andros,[850] Gyarus.[851] The rest I consider

as belonging to the Twelve, but not Prepesinthus, Oliarus, and Gyarus.

When I put in at the latter island I found a small village inhabited by

fishermen. When we left it we took in a fisherman, deputed from the

inhabitants to go to Cæsar, who was at Corinth on his way to celebrate

his triumph after the victory at Actium.[852] He told his

fellow-passengers, that he was deputed to apply for an abatement of the

tribute, for they were required to pay 150 drachmæ, when it was with

difficulty they could pay 100.

Aratus,[853] in his Details, intimates how poor they were;

“O Latona, thou art shortly going to pass by me [_an

insignificant island_] like to the iron-bound Pholegandrus, or

to unhappy Gyarus.

4. Although Delos[854] was so famous, yet it became still more so, and

flourished after the destruction of Corinth by the Romans.[855] For the

merchants resorted thither, induced by the immunities of the temple, and

the convenience of its harbour. It lies favourably[856] for those who

are sailing from Italy and Greece to Asia. The general festival held

there serves the purposes of commerce, and the Romans particularly

frequented it even before the destruction of Corinth.[857] The

Athenians, after having taken the island, paid equal attention to the

affairs both of religion and of commerce. But the generals[858] of

Mithridates, and the tyrant,[859] who had occasioned the defection of

(Athens from the Romans), ravaged it entirely. The Romans received the

island in a desolate state on the departure of the king to his own

country; and it has continued in an impoverished condition to the

present time.[860] The Athenians are now in possession of it.

5. Rheneia[861] is a small desert island 4 stadia from Delos, where are

the sepulchral monuments of the Delians. For it is not permitted to bury

the dead in Delos, nor to burn a [CAS. 486] dead body there. It is not

permitted even to keep a dog in Delos.

Formerly it had the name of Ortygia.[862]

6. Ceos[863] once contained four cities. Two remain, Iulis and Carthæ,

to which the inhabitants of the others were transferred; those of

Pœëessa to Carthæ, and those of Coressia to Iulis. Simonides the lyric

poet, and Bacchylides his nephew, and after their times Erasistratus the

physician, and Ariston the Peripatetic philosopher, the imitator of

Bion,[864] the Borysthenite, were natives of this city.

There was an ancient law among these people, mentioned by Menander.

“Phanias, that is a good law of the Ceans; who cannot live

comfortably (or well), let him not live miserably (or

ill).”[865]

For the law, it seems, ordained that those above sixty years old should

be compelled to drink hemlock, in order that there might be sufficient

food for the rest. It is said that once when they were besieged by the

Athenians, a decree was passed to the effect that the oldest persons,

fixing the age, should be put to death, and that the besiegers retired

in consequence.

The city lies on a mountain, at a distance from the sea of about 25

stadia. Its arsenal is the place on which Coressia was built, which does

not contain the population even of a village. Near the Coressian

territory and Pϑessa is a temple of Apollo Sminthius. But between the

temple and the ruins of Pϑessa is the temple of Minerva Nedusia, built

by Nestor, on his return from Troy. The river Elixus runs around the

territory of Coressia.

7. After Ceos are Naxos[866] and Andros,[867] considerable islands, and

Paros, the birth-place of the poet Archilochus. Thasos[868] was founded

by Parians, and Parium,[869] a city in the Propontis. In this last place

there is said to be an altar worthy of notice, each of whose sides is a

stadium in length.

In Paros is obtained the Parian marble, the best adapted for statuary

work.[870]

8. Here also is Syros, (the first syllable is long,) where Pherecydes

the son of Babys was born. The Athenian Pherecydes is younger than the

latter person. The poet seems to have mentioned this island under the

name of Syria;

“above Ortygia is an island called Syria.”[871]

9. Myconus[872] is an island beneath which, according to the

mythologists, lie the last of the giants, destroyed by Hercules; whence

the proverb, “all under one Myconus,” applied to persons who collect

under one title things that are disjoined by nature. Some also call bald

persons Miconians, because baldness is frequent among the inhabitants of

the island.[873]

10. Seriphos[874] is the island where is laid the scene of the fable of

Dictys, who drew to land in his net the chest in which were enclosed

Perseus and his mother Danaë, who were thrown into the sea by order of

Acrisius, the father of Danaë. There it is said Perseus was brought up,

and to this island he brought the head of the Gorgon; he exhibited it to

the Seriphians, and turned them all into stone. This he did to avenge

the wrongs of his mother, because their king Polydectes, with the

assistance of his subjects, desired to make her his wife by force.

Seriphus abounds so much with rocks, that they say in jest that it was

the work of the Gorgon.

11. Tenos[875] has a small city, but there is, in a grove beyond it, a

large temple of Neptune worthy of notice. It contains large banqueting

rooms, a proof of the great multitudes that repair thither from the

neighbouring places to celebrate a feast, and to perform a common

sacrifice in honour of Neptune.

12. To the Sporades belongs Amorgos,[876] the birth-place of [CAS. 488]

Simonides, the Iambic poet; Lebinthus[877] also, and Leria (Leros).[878]

Phocylides refers to Leria in these lines;

“the Lerians are bad, not some, but all, except Procles; but

Procles is a Lerian;”

for the Lerians are reputed to have bad dispositions.

13. Near these islands are Patmos,[879] and the Corassiæ[880] islands,

situated to the west of Icaria,[881] as the latter is with respect to

Samos.

Icaria has no inhabitants, but it has pastures, of which the Samians

avail themselves. Notwithstanding its condition it is famous, and gives

the name of Icarian to the sea in front of it, in which are situated

Samos, Cos, and the islands just mentioned,[882] the Corassiæ, Patmos,

and Leros[883] [in Samos is the mountain the Cerceteus, more celebrated

than the Ampelus, which overhangs the city of the Samians].[884]

Continuous to the Icarian sea, towards the south, is the Carpathian sea,

and the Ægyptian sea to this; to the west are the Cretan and African

seas.

14. In the Carpathian sea, between Cos, Rhodes, and Crete, are situated

many of the Sporades, as Astypalæa,[885] Telos,[886] Chalcia,[887] and

those mentioned by Homer in the Catalogue.

“They who occupied Nisyrus, Crapathus, Casus, and Cos,

The city of Eurypylus, and the Calydnæ islands.”[888]

Except Cos, and Rhodes, of which we shall speak hereafter, we place the

rest among the Sporades, and we mention them here although they do not

lie near Europe, but Asia, because the course of my work induces me to

include the Sporades in the description of Crete and of the Cyclades.

We shall traverse in the description of Asia the considerable islands

adjacent to that country, as Cyprus, Rhodes, Cos, and those situated on

the succeeding line of coast, Samos, Chios, Lesbos, and Tenedos. At

present we are to describe the remaining islands of the Sporades, which

deserve mention.

15. Astypalæa lies far out at sea, and contains a city.

Telos, which is long, high, and narrow, in circumference about 140

stadia, with a shelter for vessels, extends along the Cnidian territory.

Chalcia is distant from Telos 80, from Carpathus 400 stadia, and about

double this number from Astypalæa. It has a settlement of the same name,

a temple of Apollo, and a harbour.

16. Nisyrus lies to the north of Telos, at the distance of about 60

stadia, which is its distance also from Cos. It is round, lofty, and

rocky, and has abundance of mill-stone, whence the neighbouring people

are well supplied with stones for grinding. It contains a city of the

same name, a harbour, hot springs, and a temple of Neptune. Its

circumference is 80 stadia. Near it are small islands, called the

islands of the Nisyrians. Nisyrus is said to be a fragment broken off

from Cos; a story is also told of Neptune, that when pursuing Polybotes,

one of the giants, he broke off with his trident a piece of the island

Cos, and hurled it at him, and that the missile became the island

Nisyrus, with the giant lying beneath it. But some say that the giant

lies beneath Cos.

17. Carpathus, which the poet calls Crapathus, is lofty, having a

circumference of 200 stadia. It contained four cities, and its name was

famous, which it imparted to the surrounding sea. One of the cities was

called Nisyrus, after the name of the island Nisyrus. It lies opposite

Leuce Acte in Africa, which is distant about 1000 stadia from

Alexandria, and about 4000 from Carpathus.

18. Casus is distant from Carpathus 70, and from the promontory

Salmonium in Crete 250 stadia. It is 80 stadia in circumference. It

contains a city of the same name; and many islands, called the islands

of the Casii, lie about it.

19. They say that the poet calls the Sporades, Calydnæ, [CAS. 489] one

of which is Calymna.[889] But it is probable that as the islands, which

are near and dependent, have their names from the Nisyrii and Casii, so

those that lie around Calymna had their name from that island, which was

then perhaps called Calydna. Some say that the Calydnæ islands are two,

Leros and Calymna, and that the poet means these. But the Scepsian says,

that the name of the island was used in the plural number, Calymnæ, like

Athenæ, Thebæ, and that the words of the poet must be understood

according to the figure hyperbaton, or inversion, for he does not say,

the islands Calydnæ, but,

“they who occupied the islands Nisyrus, Crapathus, Casus, and

Cos, the city of Eurypylus, and Calydnæ.”

All the honey of the islands is, for the most part, excellent, and

rivals that of Attica; but the honey of these islands surpasses it,

particularly that of Calymna.[890]

BOOK XI.

ASIA.

SUMMARY.

The Eleventh Book commences with Asia and the river Don,

which, taking its rise in the northern regions, separates

Europe from Asia. It includes the nations situated in Asia

near its sources on the east and south, and the barbarous

Asiatic nations who occupy the neighbourhood of Mount

Caucasus, among whom are the Amazones, Massagetæ, Scythians,

Albani, Iberes, Bactriani, Caspii, Medes, Persians, and the

two Armenias, extending to Mesopotamia. Among these nations

are included the Troglodytæ, Heniochi, Sceptuchi, Soanes,

Assyrians, Polyphagi, Nabiani, Siraci, and Tapyri. Mention is

made of Jason and Medea, and of the cities founded by

them:--of Xerxes, Mithridates, and Alexander, son of Philip.

CHAPTER I.

1. Asia is contiguous to Europe, approaching close to it at the Tanaïs

or Don.

I am to describe this country next, after dividing it, for the sake of

perspicuity, by certain natural boundaries. What Eratosthenes has done

with respect to the whole habitable earth, this I propose to do with

respect to Asia.

2. The Taurus, extending from west to east, embraces the middle of this

continent, like a girdle, leaving one portion to the north, another to

the south. The Greeks call the former Asia Within the Taurus,[891] the

latter, Asia Without the Taurus. We have said this before, but it is

repeated now to assist the memory.

3. The Taurus has in many places a breadth of 3000 stadia; its length

equals that of Asia, namely 45,000 stadia,[892] [CAS. 491] reckoning

from the continent opposite to Rhodes to the eastern extremities of

India and Scythia.

4. It is divided into many parts, which are circumscribed by boundaries

of greater or less extent, and distinguished by various names.

But as such an extended range of mountains must comprise nations some of

which are little known, and others with whom we are well acquainted, as

Parthians,[893] Medes, Armenians, some of the Cappadocians, Cilicians,

and Pisidians; those which approach near the northern parts must be

assigned to the north, (northern Asia,) those approximating the southern

parts, to the south, (southern Asia,) and those situated in the middle

of the mountains must be placed on account of the similarity of the

temperature of the air, for it is cold to the north, while the air of

the south is warm.

The currents of almost all the rivers which flow from the Taurus are in

a direction contrary to each other, some running to the north, others to

the south, at least at the commencement of their course, although

afterwards some bend towards the east or west. They naturally suggest

the adoption of this chain of mountains as a boundary in the division of

Asia into two portions; in the same manner that the sea within the

Pillars, which for the most part runs in the same line with these

mountains, conveniently forms two continents, Europe and Africa, and is

a remarkable boundary to both.

5. In passing in our geographical description from Europe to Asia, the

first parts of the country which present themselves are those in the

northern division, and we shall therefore begin with these.

Of these parts the first are those about the Tanaïs, (or Don,) which we

have assumed as the boundary of Europe and Asia. These have a kind of

peninsular form, for they are surrounded on the west by the river Tanaïs

(or Don) and the Palus Mæotis[894] as far as the Cimmerian

Bosporus,[895] and that part of the coast of the Euxine which terminates

at Colchis; on the north by the Ocean, as far as the mouth of the

Caspian Sea; on the east by the same sea, as far as the confines of

Albania and Armenia, where the rivers Cyrus[896] and Araxes[897] empty

themselves; the latter flowing through Armenia, and the Cyrus through

Iberia[898] and Albania;[899] on the south is the tract of country

extending from the mouth of the Cyrus as far as Colchis, and comprising

about 3000 stadia from sea to sea, across the territory of the Albani,

and Iberes,[900] so as to represent an isthmus.[901]

Those writers do not deserve attention who contract the isthmus as much

as Cleitarchus, according to whom it is subject to inundations of the

sea from either side. According to Posidonius the isthmus is 1500 stadia

in extent, that is, as large as the isthmus from Pelusium to the Red

Sea. And I think, says he, that the isthmus between the Palus Mæotis and

the Ocean is not very different from this in extent.

6. I know not how any one can rely upon his authority respecting what is

uncertain, when he has nothing probable to advance on the subject; for

he reasons so falsely respecting things which are evident, and this too

when he enjoyed the friendship of Pompey, who had carried on war against

the Iberes and Albani, and was acquainted with both the Caspian and

Colchian[902] Seas on each side of the isthmus. It is related, that when

Pompey[903] was at Rhodes, on his expedition against the pirates, (he

was soon afterwards to carry on war against Mithridates and the nations

as far as the Caspian Sea,) he accidentally heard a philosophical

lecture of Posidonius; and on his departure he asked Posidonius if he

had any commands; to which he replied, [CAS. 492]

“To stand the first in worth, as in command.”[904]

Add to this, that he wrote the history of Pompey. For these reasons he

ought to have paid a greater regard to truth.

7. The second portion is that above the Hyrcanian,[905] which we also

call the Caspian Sea, extending as far as the Scythians near the

Indians.

The third portion is continuous with the above-mentioned isthmus, and

consists of the country following next in order to the isthmus and the

Caspian Gates,[906] and approaching nearest the parts within the Taurus,

and to Europe; these are Media, Armenia, Cappadocia, and the intervening

country.[907]

The fourth portion consists of the tract within the Halys,[908] and the

parts upon and without the Taurus, which coincide with the peninsula

formed by the isthmus,[909] which separates the Euxine and the Cilician

Seas. Among the other countries beyond the Taurus we place Indica and

Ariana,[910] as far as the nations which extend to the Persian Sea, the

Arabian Gulf, and the Nile, and to the Ægyptian and the Issic seas.