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| Transcriber's note: |
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| 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 this volume. |
| |
| Minor index errors have also been corrected. |
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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,
RECTOR OF BUSHEY, HERTFORDSHIRE.
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. III.
WITH A COMPLETE INDEX.
LONDON:
HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.
MDCCCLVII.
JOHN CHILDS AND SON, PRINTERS.
PREFACE.
Strabo, the author of this work, was born at Amasia, or Amasijas, a town
situated in the gorge of the mountains through which passes the river
Iris, now the Ieschil Irmak, in Pontus, which he has described in the
12th book.[1] He lived during the reign of Augustus, and the earlier
part of the reign of Tiberius; for in the 13th book[2] he relates how
Sardes and other cities, which had suffered severely from earthquakes,
had been repaired by the provident care of Tiberius the present Emperor;
but the exact date of his birth, as also of his death, are subjects of
conjecture only. Coraÿ and Groskurd conclude, though by a somewhat
different argument, that he was born in the year B. C. 66, and the
latter that he died A. D. 24. The date of his birth as argued by
Groskurd, proceeds on the assumption that Strabo was in his
thirty-eighth year when he went from Gyaros to Corinth, at which latter
place Octavianus Cæsar was then staying on his return to Rome after the
battle of Actium, B. C. 31. We may, perhaps, be satisfied with following
Clinton, and place it not later than B. C. 54.
In the 17th book our author speaks of the death of Juba as a recent
occurrence. This event took place A. D. 21, or A. D. 18 or 19, according
to other chronologists; he, therefore, outlived that king, but for how
long a period we have no means of ascertaining.
The only information which we can obtain of the personal history of
Strabo is to be collected from the scanty references made to himself in
the course of this work;[3] for although a writer of the Augustan age,
his name and his works appear to have been generally unknown to his
contemporaries, and to have been passed over in silence by subsequent
authors who occupied themselves with the same branch of study. The work
being written in Greek, and the subject itself not of a popular kind,
would be hindrances to its becoming generally known; and its voluminous
character would prevent many copies being made; moreover, the author
himself, although for some time a resident at Rome, appears to have made
Amasia his usual place of residence, and there to have composed his
work. But wherever it was, he had the means of becoming acquainted with
the chief public events that took place in the Roman Empire.
It is remarkable that of his father and his father’s family he is
totally silent, but of his mother and her connexions he has left us some
notices. She was of a distinguished family who had settled at Cnossus in
Crete, and her ancestors had been intimately connected with Mithridates
Euergetes and Mithridates Eupator, kings of Pontus; their fortunes
consequently depended on those princes.
Dorylaüs, her great grandfather, was a distinguished officer, and friend
of Euergetes; but the latter being assassinated at Sinope, whilst
Dorylaüs was engaged in levying troops in Crete, he determined to remain
there. In that island he obtained the highest honours, having
successfully, as general of the Cnossians, terminated a war between that
people and the Gortynians. He married a Macedonian lady, of the name of
Sterope; the issue of which marriage was Lagetas, Stratarchas, and a
daughter. He died in Crete. Lagetas had a daughter, who, says Strabo,
was “the mother of my mother”.
Mithridates Eupator, who succeeded to the kingdom of Pontus on the death
of his father, had formed from infancy a close friendship with another
Dorylaüs, son of Philetærus (brother of the first-mentioned Dorylaüs),
and besides conferring on him distinguished honours, appointed him high
priest of Comana Pontica. The king extended also his protection to his
cousins, Lagetas and Stratarchas, who were recalled from Crete. The
prosperity of the family suddenly terminated by the discovery of an
intrigue carried on by Dorylaüs with the Romans, for the overthrow of
his benefactor. The motives assigned by Strabo for his disaffection and
treachery were the declining prospects of the king, and the execution
of his son Theophilus and a nephew Tibius.
Dorylaüs made overtures to Lucullus for the revolt of the kingdom of
Pontus to the Romans, and in return received great promises of reward,
which were never fulfilled. Lucullus ceased to command in the war, and
was succeeded by Pompey, who, through enmity and jealousy, prevailed on
the senate not to confirm the conditions entered into by his
predecessor. As before observed, there is no mention of Strabo’s father
in the works which have come down to us. Malte-Brun, in his Life of
Strabo in the Biographie Universelle, collects several passages tending
to show that he was a Roman. The name of Strabo, or “squinting,”
originally Greek, was used by the Romans, and applied to the father of
Pompey the Great, among others. How the geographer acquired this name is
not related.
When a very young man, he received instruction in grammar and rhetoric
from Aristodemus, at Nysa in Caria.[4] He afterwards studied philosophy
under Xenarchus of Seleucia, the Peripatetic philosopher.[5] Strabo does
not say whether he heard him at Seleucia in Cilicia, or at Rome, where
he afterwards taught.
Strabo also attended the lessons of Tyrannio of Amisus,[6] the
grammarian. This must have been at Rome; for Tyrannio was made prisoner
by Lucullus, B. C. 71, and carried to Rome, probably not later than B.
C. 66.
In book xvi.,[7] Strabo states that he studied the philosophy of
Aristotle with Boethus of Sidon, who afterwards became a Stoic
philosopher. Notwithstanding all these advantages, Strabo was not
possessed of all the knowledge of his times, particularly in astronomy
and mathematics, but he was well acquainted with history and the
mythological traditions of his nation. He was a devout admirer of Homer,
and acquainted with the other great poets.
The philosophical sect to which he belonged was the Stoic, as plainly
appears from many passages in his Geography.
He wrote a History, which he describes (vol. i. p. 21) as composed in a
lucid style; it is cited by Plutarch, and also by Josephus in his
Jewish Antiquities, xiv. 7. It consisted of forty-three books, which
began where the history of Polybius ended, and was probably continued to
the battle of Actium. This valuable History is lost.
Strabo was a great traveller, and apparently had no professional or
other occupation. We may therefore conclude that his father left him a
good property. Much of his geographical information is the result of
personal observation. In a passage of his 2nd book[8] he thus speaks:
“Our descriptions shall consist of what we ourselves have observed in
our travels by land and sea, and of what we conceive to be credible in
the statements and writings of others; for in a westerly direction we
have travelled from Armenia to that part of Tyrrhenia which is over
against Sardinia; and southward, from the Euxine to the frontiers of
Ethiopia. Of all the writers on geography, not one can be mentioned who
has travelled over a wider extent of the countries described than we
have. Some may have gone farther to the west, but then they have never
been so far east as we have; again, others may have been farther east,
but not so far west; and the same with respect to north and south.
However, in the main, both we and they have availed ourselves of the
reports of others, from which to describe the form, size, and other
peculiarities of the country.” He mentions having been in Egypt, the
island Gyarus, Populonium near Elba, Comana in Cappadocia, Ephesus,
Mylasa, Nysa, and Hierapolis in Phrygia. He visited Corinth, Argos,
Athens, and Megara; but, on the whole, he does not appear to have seen
more of Greece than in passing through it on his way to Brundusium,
while proceeding to Rome. Populonium and Luna in Italy were the limit of
his travels northwards. It is probable he obtained his information as to
Spain, France, Britain, and Germany, while staying at Rome.
The first systematic writer on geography was Eratosthenes, who died at
the age of 80, about B. C. 196. His work consisted of three books.
There is no ground for considering the Geography of Strabo an improved
edition of that of Eratosthenes. Strabo’s work was intended for the
information of persons in the higher departments of administration, and
contains such geographical and historical information as those engaged
in political employments cannot dispense with. Consistently with this
object he avoids giving minute descriptions, except where the place is
of real interest, but supplies some account of the important political
events that had occurred in various countries, and sketches of the great
men who had flourished or laboured in them. It is a lively, well-written
book, intended to be read, and forms a striking contrast to the
Geography of Ptolemy. His language is simple, appropriate to the matter,
without affectation, and mostly clear and intelligible, except in those
passages where the text has been corrupted. Like many other Greeks,
Strabo looked upon Homer as the depository of all knowledge, but he
frequently labours to interpret the poet’s meaning in a manner highly
uncritical. What Homer only partially knew or conjectured, Strabo has
made the basis of his description, when he might have given an
independent description, founded on the actual knowledge of his time:
these observations apply especially to his books on Greece. He does not
duly appreciate Herodotus; nor does he discriminate between the stories
which Herodotus tells simply as stories he had heard, and the accounts
he relates as derived from personal observation. He likewise rejects the
evidence of Pytheas of Marseilles as to the northern regions of Europe,
and on more than one occasion calls him a liar, although it is very
certain that Pytheas coasted along the whole distance from Gadeira, now
Cadiz, in Spain, to the river he calls Tanaïs, but which was probably
the Elbe; however, from the extracts which have been preserved it seems
that he did not give simply the results of his own observations, but
added reports which he collected respecting distant countries, without
always drawing a distinction between what he saw himself and what was
derived from the report of others.
Strabo’s authorities are for the most part Greek, and he seems to have
neglected the Latin memoirs and historical narratives of the campaigns
of the Romans, which might have furnished him with many valuable
geographical facts for the countries as well of Asia as of Europe. He
made some use of Cæsar’s description of France, the Alps, and Britain;
he alludes to the voyage of Publius Crassus in speaking of the
Cassiterides, and also the writings of Asinius Pollio, Fabius Pictor,
and an anonymous writer whom he calls the Chorographer; but he might
have obtained much additional information if he had taken pains to
avail himself of the materials he could have procured during his stay at
Rome.
Strabo considered that mathematical and astronomical knowledge was
indispensable to the science of geography; he says in book i.,[9] that
without some such assistance it would be impossible to be accurately
acquainted with the configuration of the earth; and that every one who
undertakes to give an accurate description of a place, should describe
its astronomical and geometrical relations, and explain its extent,
distance, latitude, and climate.[10] As the size of the earth, he says,
has been demonstrated by other writers, we shall take for granted what
they have advanced. We shall also assume that the earth is spheroidal,
and that bodies have a tendency towards its centre. He likewise says,
the convexity of the sea is a further proof that the earth is spheroidal
to those who have sailed; for they cannot perceive lights at a distance
when placed at the same level as their eyes, but if raised on high, they
at once become perceptible.[11] He also observes, “our gnomons are,
among other things, evidence of the revolution of the heavenly bodies,
and common sense at once shows us that if the depth of the earth were
infinite, such a revolution could not take place.”[12] But Strabo did
not consider the exact division of the earth into climates or zones, in
the sense in which Hipparchus used the term, and the statement of the
latitudes and longitudes of places, which in many instances were pretty
well determined in his time, as essential to his geographical
description.
With regard to the lost continent of Atlantis, Strabo is very cautious
in criticising[13] Poseidonius; he observes, “he did well, too, in
citing the opinion of Plato, that the tradition concerning the island of
Atlantis might be received as something more than a mere fiction, it
having been related by Solon, on the authority of the Egyptian priests,
that this island, almost as large as a continent, was formerly in
existence, although now it had disappeared,” and remarks that
Poseidonius thought it better to quote this than to say, He who brought
it into existence can also cause it to disappear, as the poet did the
wall of the Achivi.
The measure adopted by Strabo was the stadium. In book vii. chap. vii.
§ 4, he says, “From Apollonia to Macedonia is the Egnatian Way; its
direction is towards the east, and the distance is measured by pillars
at every mile, as far as Cypsela and the river Hebrus. The whole
distance is 535 miles. But reckoning, as the generality of persons do, a
mile at eight stadia, there may be 4280 stadia. And, according to
Polybius, who adds two plethra, which are a third of a stadium, to every
eight stadia we must add 178 stadia more,—a third part of the number of
miles.” In book xi. chap. xi. § 5, he compares the parasang with the
stadium, and states that some writers reckoned it at 60, others at 40,
and others at 30 stadia.
Dr. Smith, in his Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, says, “We
think that Ukert has satisfactorily shown an accurate description of a
place should be particular to add its astronomical and geometrical
relations, explaining carefully its extent, distance, degrees of
latitude, and temperature of atmosphere. He says likewise, as the size
of the earth has been demonstrated by other writers, we shall take for
granted that the Greeks had not different standards of length, but
always used the Olympic stadium and the foot corresponding to it. He
states that the stadium was equal to 600 Greek, or 625 Roman feet, or to
125 Roman paces, and the Roman mile contained 8 stadia. Hence the
stadium contained 606 feet 9 inches, English. This standard prevailed
throughout Greece under the name of the Olympic stadium, because it was
the exact length of the stadium or foot-race course at Olympia, measured
between the pillars at the two extremities of the course.” Still Dr.
Smith further observes, “But although the stadium and the foot connected
with it were single definite measures throughout Greece, yet we find in
the eastern countries, Babylon, Syria, and Egypt, and in some
neighbouring Greek states, feet longer than the Olympic, the origin of
which is to be explained by the coëxistence, in the Babylonian system,
of a _royal_ or _sacred_ and a _common_ foot and cubit, which were so
related to one another, that the royal cubit was three finger-breadths
longer than the common.”
We may conclude that Strabo’s stadium varied considerably, as he
sometimes received his distance from personal observation or credible
report, and often quoted other writers, and reduced other standards, as
the mile, the parasang, and the schœnus, to the stadium. In addition to
this, the most ancient mode of reckoning distances was by the number of
days required to perform the journey, and this was transferred into
stadia by reckoning a certain number of stadia to a day’s journey.[14]
Siebenkees and Heeren (De Fontibus Geographicorum Strabonis) have
examined the authorities to which Strabo had, or might have had, access,
and Groskurd has availed himself of their researches.
The following is a short summary of the seventeen books from these
sources, but for a more detailed account of their contents the
translation itself must be referred to.
The first two books may be considered as an independent treatise, and by
themselves form a remarkable contrast with the rest of the work, in the
manner of treating the subjects, and in the difficulties which they
present both of language and matter.
In the 1st book, the author enters into a long discussion on the merits
of Homer, whom he considers to have been the earliest geographer, and
defends him against the errors and misconceptions of Eratosthenes. He
corrects some faults of Eratosthenes, and, in his inquiry concerning the
natural changes of the earth’s surface defends Eratosthenes against
Hipparchus. In conclusion, he again corrects Eratosthenes as regards the
magnitude and divisions of the inhabited world. The most remarkable
passage in this book is that in which he conjectures the existence of
the great Western Continents.[15]
The 2nd book is chiefly occupied with some accounts of mathematical
geography, and the Author defends against Hipparchus the division of the
inhabited world adopted by Eratosthenes into sections. Then follows a
criticism of the division of the earth into six zones, as taught by
Poseidonius and Polybius. The pretended circumnavigation of Africa by
Eudoxus is referred to, as well as some geographical errors of Polybius.
He makes observations of his own on the form and size of the earth in
general, as well as of the inhabited portion of it, describing the
method of representing it on a spherical or plane surface. A short
outline is given of seas, countries, and nations; and he concludes with
remarks on the system of climates,[16] and on the shadows projected by
the sun.
The 3rd book commences with Iberia, and the subject of Europe is
continued to the end of the 10th book. His references are the Periplus
of Artemidorus, Polybius, and Poseidonius; all three of whom wrote as
eye-witnesses. For descriptions and measurement of distances,
Artemidorus is chiefly depended upon. The information possessed by
Eratosthenes of these countries was meagre and uncertain. For the
nations of southern Iberia, he adopts the account of Asclepiades of
Myrlea, who had lived and been educated there. Some statements also are
borrowed from Roman authors.
The 4th book contains Gallia, according to the four divisions then
existing, viz. Gallia Narbonensis, Acquitanensis, Lugdunensis, and the
Belgæ; also Britain, with Ierne, and Thule; and lastly, the Alps.
Here Eratosthenes and Ephorus are of little service. His chief guide is
Julius Cæsar, whom he frequently quotes _verbatim_. Polybius is his
guide for the Alps. Pytheas is the source of some scanty information
respecting Ierne and Thule. Throughout his description he adds accounts
obtained at Rome from travellers.
The 5th book commences with a general sketch of Italy, and refers
principally to northern Italy. Dividing its history into ancient and
modern, his chief reference for the former is Polybius, and for the
latter we are indebted to the observations of the author himself, or to
accounts received from others. Still the description of Upper Italy is
poor and unsatisfactory, from the author not sufficiently availing
himself of Roman resources. Then follows some account of Etruria with
its neighbouring islands, Umbria, Samnium, Latium, and Rome, chiefly the
result of the author’s own researches and observations. The book
concludes with some remarks on the inhabitants of the mountainous
districts of Samnium and Campania.
The 6th book is a continuation of the same subject. Magna Græcia,
Sicily, and the adjacent islands, are noticed, and the author concludes
with a short discussion on the extent of the Roman Empire. Descriptions
of some places are from his own observations; but the sources whence he
takes his other account of Italy and the islands are the works of
Polybius, Eratosthenes, Artemidorus, Ephorus, Fabius Pictor, Cæcilius
(of Cale Acte in Sicily), and some others, besides an anonymous
chorographer, supposed to be a Roman, from the circumstance of his
distances being given, not in stadia, but in Roman miles.
The 7th book relates, first, to the people north of the Danube,—the
Germans, Cimbri, Getæ, Dacians (particularly the European Scythians),
and the Crimea; secondly, to the people south of the Danube, viz. those
inhabiting Illyricum, Pannonia, Dalmatia, the eastern coast of Thrace to
the Euxine, Epirus, Macedonia, Thrace, and the Hellespont. The latter
part of this book is not preserved entire in any manuscript, but Kramer
has, in his own opinion, succeeded in restoring from the epitomes left
to us the greater part of what was wanting. Of Germany, Strabo had
tolerable information, but he nowhere states whence it is derived; he
may have been partly indebted to Asinius Pollio, whose work he had
already examined for the Rhine. For the remaining northern countries, he
had Poseidonius and the historians of the Mithridatic war. For the
southern countries, he had a lost work of Aristotle on forms of
government, Polybius, Poseidonius, and his chief disciples, Theopompus
and Ephorus. Incidentally also he quotes Homer and his interpreters, and
Philochorus.
The three following books are dedicated to the description of Greece,
with the adjacent islands. The 8th comprises the Peloponnesus and its
well-known seven provinces, Elis, Messenia, Laconia, Argolis, Corinthia
with Sicyonia, Achaia, and Arcadia: the 9th, Attica, with Megaris,
Bœotia, Phocis, both Locri and Thessaly: the 10th, Eubœa, Ætolia, and
Acarnania, with the islands. After a long digression on the subject of
the Curetes, the description of Europe closes with some account of Crete
and the islands of the Ægean Sea. The design and construction of these
three books differ considerably from the preceding. Homer is adopted as
the foundation of his geographical descriptions; some things Strabo must
have learnt as an eye-witness, but more from _vivâ voce_ communications
at Athens or at Corinth. All is interwoven together without any clear
line of separation, and the result is some confusion. Athens, Corinth,
Argos, and their neighbourhood, were the only parts of Greece our author
saw. Heeren, indeed maintains that he had seen the whole of it, and the
Archipelago, but satisfactory proof of this is altogether wanting.
The 11th book commences with the description of the countries separated
from Europe by the Tanaïs or Don. Asia is divided by our author (who
here follows Eratosthenes) into two parts by the Taurus, which runs in a
direction east and west. The northern part of Asia (or this side Taurus)
is divided into four parts. The first part comprises the countries lying
between the Don, the Sea of Azoff, the Euxine, and the Caspian; the
second, the countries east of the Caspian; and the third, the countries
south of Caucasus. These three parts of the first or northern division
of Asia are contained in the 10th book; the remaining fourth part
occupies the 12th, 13th, and 14th books.
The chief authorities for the first part are, besides information
obtained from travellers and merchants at Amasia, Herodotus for the Don;
Artemidorus and Eratosthenes for distances; Poseidonius and Theophanes
of Mitylene, historians, of the Mithridatic war; Metrodorus of Skepsis;
Hypsicrates of Amisus; and Cleitarchus for the digression on the
Amazons.
For the second part, are principally Patrocles and Aristobulus,
historians of the Asiatic campaigns of Alexander. For the third part, or
Media and Armenia, are, Dellius, who wrote a history of the war against
the Parthians, in which he had served under Antony; Apollonides of
Nicæa, who wrote a Periplus of Europe; and other writers before
mentioned.
The 12th book commences with a detailed account of Anatolia, and
contains the northern part. It was to have been expected that Strabo
would have described most of these countries as an eye-witness, lying,
as they do, so near his native country, Cappadocia. But this expectation
vanishes, when we discover the meagreness of his account. With the
exception of Pontus and Cappadocia, he had seen little of the rest, and
depends upon historians and oral information. For earlier times, his
authorities are Herodotus, Hellanicus, Theopompus, Ephorus, Artemidorus,
Apollodorus, and Demetrius of Skepsis; for later times, historians of
the wars of Mithridates and Pompey. For the ancient history of the
Mysians and Phrygians, he is indebted to the celebrated Lydian historian
Xanthus, and Menecrates.
The 13th book continues the description of Anatolia. The greater part of
the book is occupied with a dissertation on the Troad. Strabo had
travelled over the country himself, but his great authority is Homer and
Demetrius of Skepsis, the author of a work in twenty-six books,
containing an historical and geographical commentary on that part of the
second book of the Iliad, in which the forces of the Trojans are
enumerated. A learned digression on the Leleges, Cilices, and Pelasgi,
who preceded the Æolians and Ionians in the occupation of the country,
is principally taken from Menecrates and Demetrius of Skepsis. The
description then turns to the interior, and the account of the Æolian
cities is probably due to Poseidonius. Throughout this book are
evidences of great care and desire for accuracy.
The 14th book continues with the remainder of Anatolia, and an account
of the islands Samos, Chios, Rhodes, and Cyprus. The authorities
followed are, on the whole, the same as in the previous book—Herodotus,
Thucydides, Ephorus, Artemidorus, Eratosthenes, and Poseidonius; besides
Pherecydes of Syros, who wrote on the Ionian migration, and Anaximenes
of Lampsacus, the author of a history in Greek of the Milesian colonies.
For Caria, he had the historians of Alexander and an author named
Philip, who wrote on the Leleges and Carians. For Cyprus he had Damastes
and Eratosthenes.
The 15th and 16th books contain a description of the second portion of
Asia, namely, the southern or the other side of Taurus. In the 15th
book, Strabo describes India and Persia, the latter in two chief
divisions, viz. Ariana or East Persia, and Persis or West Persia. These
countries Strabo never saw; his description, therefore, is founded on
the authority of travellers and historians. The topography of India is
meagre, and limited to a few towns and rivers; but his account of the
people of the country is more copious, he being supplied with materials
from the historians of Alexander and of the campaigns of Seleucus in
India. He looks on Megasthenes, Onesicritus, Deïmachus, and Cleitarchus
as fabulous writers: but his confidence rests chiefly on Patrocles,
Aristobulus (one of the companions and historians of Alexander), and
Nearchus, the chief commander of Alexander’s fleet. Artemidorus and
Nicolaus of Damascus are occasionally consulted. For Ariana or East
Persia, he had for his principal authority Eratosthenes; and for Persia
Proper, he had, besides the above authors, Herodotus, Xenophon, and
Polycletus of Larissa, an historian of Alexander.
In the 16th book, he describes the westerly half of south Asia, viz.
Assyria with Babylonia, Mesopotamia, Syria, Phœnicia, and Palestine, the
Persian and Arabian Gulfs, the coast of Ethiopia, and lastly, Arabia.
For the three first countries (the old Assyrian kingdom), his chief
authorities are, besides some of Alexander’s historians, Eratosthenes,
Poseidonius, and Herodotus; for the remainder he had, in addition to the
same writers, Artemidorus, and probably also Nicolaus of Damascus. The
account of Moses and the Jews, Heeren surmises, comes from Poseidonius,
but it probably proceeds from oral communication had in Egypt; of these
countries our author could describe nothing as an eye-witness, except
the north-west of Syria. The accounts of Arabia, the Indian and the Red
Seas, are from Agatharchides; and much that he describes of Arabia was
obtained from his friends, Ælius Gallus and the Stoic, Athenodorus.
The 17th book concludes the work with the description of Egypt,
Ethiopia, and the north coast of Africa. Strabo had travelled through
the whole of Egypt, as far as Syene and Philæ, and writes with the
decided tone of an eye-witness. Much verbal information, also, he
collected at Alexandria. His most important written authorities are, for
the Nile, Eratosthenes (who borrowed from Aristotle), Eudoxus, and
Aristo. For the most remarkable events of Egyptian history, he had
Polybius, and for later times probably Poseidonius, besides _vivâ voce_
accounts.
For the oracle at Ammon, he had the historians of Alexander; for
Ethiopia, the accounts of Petronius, who had carried on war there,
Agatharchides, and Herodotus. Of Libya or Africa Proper he had nothing
new or authentic to say. Besides Eratosthenes, Artemidorus, and
Poseidonius, his chief authorities, he had Iphicrates, who wrote on the
plants and animals of Libya. The whole concludes with a short notice of
the Roman Empire.
The dates at which particular books were written, as attempted to be
given by Groskurd and Coraÿ, must be received with caution.
In book iv. c. vi. § 9, Strabo says that the Carni and Taurisci had
quietly paid tribute for thirty-three years; and both these tribes were
reduced to subjection by Tiberius and Drusus, B. C. 14. This book was
therefore written in A. D. 19.
In book vi. c. iv. § 2, Cæsar Germanicus is spoken of as still living.
He died in Syria, A. D. 20 (19). This book was therefore written before
that year.
In book xii. c. viii. § 11, Strabo says that Cyzicus was still a free
state. It lost its liberty A. D. 25. This book was therefore written
before A. D. 25. Whether Strabo was alive or dead at this date, we have
no means of determining.
The codices or manuscripts which exist of Strabo’s work appear to be
copies of a single manuscript existing in the middle ages, but now lost.
From the striking agreement of errors and omissions in all now extant
(with such differences only as can be accounted for, arising from the
want of ability or carelessness of the copyist), it appears most
probable that to this single manuscript we are indebted for the
preservation of the work. Strabo himself describes the carelessness of
bad scribes both at Rome and Alexandria,[17] in the following expressive
language: “Some vendors of books, also, employed bad scribes and
neglected to compare the copies with the originals. This happens in the
case of other books, which are copied for sale both here and at
Alexandria.” After what Kramer has done for the text, we can hope for
little improvement, unless, what is beyond all expectation, some other
manuscript should be discovered which is either derived from another
source, or is a more correct copy.
The following is some account of those in existence:—
Codices in the Imperial Library, Paris:
1. No. 1397 of the catalogue. This is the principal codex existing in
the Imperial Library, and was written in the 12th century. It was
formerly in the Strozzi Palace at Rome, and was brought to Paris by
Maria de Medici. Not only are parts of the leaves, but even whole leaves
of the 9th book, damaged or destroyed by damp, mice, bad binding, and
careless attempts at correction. This codex contains the first nine
books; the second part, containing the last eight, is lost. Collated by
Kramer, and partly for Falconer, by Villebrune.
2. No. 1393 of the catalogue. On this codex Brequigny chiefly depended
for his edition. Montfaucon says that it is of the 12th or 13th
century; Kramer, however, judging from the character of the handwriting
and contractions, maintains that it belongs to the end of the 13th or
beginning of the 14th century. It contains the whole seventeen books of
the Geography, and was written in the East (not, however, by the same
hand throughout), and brought from Constantinople to Paris by the Abbé
Servin in 1732, to whom it had been presented by a Greek named
Maurocordato. Collated by Villebrune for Falconer, and partly by Kramer.
3. No. 1408 contains the seventeen books, and appears to have been
written towards the end of the 15th century. In general, the geography
of Strabo is divided by transcribers into two parts, the first
containing nine books, the second, the last eight; but in this codex
there is a blank leaf inserted between the 10th and 11th books, from
which it would appear that there was also another division of the work,
separating the subjects, Europe and Asia. Partly collated by Villebrune
for Falconer.
4. No. 1394. This contains the seventeen books, and is very beautifully
written, and illuminated with arabesque designs. It was made by the
order of Lorenzo the Magnificent; and its date, therefore, is after the
middle of the 15th century. Collated, as before, by Villebrune.
5. No. 1396 contains the whole seventeen books, and was probably written
about the end of the 15th or the beginning of the 16th century. The
division of the work is into ten books and seven books. In the
beginning, it is stated to be “the gift of Antony the Eparch to Francis
the great and illustrious king of France.” Partly collated by Kramer.
6. No. 1395 contains the whole seventeen books, and served for the
Aldine edition of Strabo. The handwriting of this codex is excellent,
but the order of the words is arbitrarily changed, and there are
frequent omissions, sometimes even of whole lines: it is corrupt beyond
description, and among the worst we possess. Collated in some parts by
Kramer.
No. 1398, written about the end of the 15th century. It contains the
epitome of the first ten books, by Gemistus Pletho, and the last seven
books entire. It is a copy of No. 397, in the Library of St. Mark,
Venice. Collated by Villebrune.
Codices in the Vatican:
No. 1329 of the catalogue. This codex dates from the beginning,
probably, of the 14th century, and is remarkable for being the work of
thirteen different transcribers. It is much to be lamented, that the
greater part of it is lost; it begins from the end of the 12th book
only, and a part of the last leaf of the 17th book is also destroyed;
what remains to us surpasses all others in correctness of the text. The
whole has been collated for the first time by Kramer.
No. 174 is of the 15th century, and contains the seventeen books: the
first nine books are written by one transcriber, the last eight by
another hand. The first nine books have been collated by Kramer.
No. 173 contains the first ten books, and is of the middle of the 15th
century. It is badly and incorrectly written. The last seven books,
which would complete the codex, are, as Kramer conjectures from the
paper and handwriting, in the Library of the Grand Duchy of Parma. From
a note in Greek at the end of the 10th book, it appears to have been
brought to Rome A. D. 1466. Books 1, 2, 4, and 5, collated by Kramer.
No. 81 is tolerably well and correctly written. It contains the last
eight books, and is of the end of the 15th century. It appears to be a
copy of, or served as a copy to, the codex in the Laurentian Library,
No. 19. Partially collated by Kramer.
Medicean Codices, in the Laurentian Library, Florence:
Codex 5 is elegantly and correctly written; it is of the beginning,
probably, of the 15th century, and contains the first ten books. The 8th
and 9th books are not entire; passages are curtailed, and much is
omitted, to which the attention is not drawn, the lines being run on
without spaces left to mark omissions. Errors of the first transcriber
are corrected by a later hand, and noticed in the margin or between the
lines. Collated by Bandini for Falconer, and almost the whole by Kramer.
Codex 40 contains the first ten books; a copy, probably, of the former.
It was written after the middle of the 15th century.
Codex 15 is of the middle of the 15th century, and contains the last
seven books. It is not in any way remarkable.
Codex 19, written at the end of the 15th century. It contains the last
eight books, and resembles No. 81 of the Vatican. Collated by Bandini
for Falconer.
Venetian Codices:
No. 377 of the catalogue contains the first twelve books, and is written
in the 15th century. Formerly the property of Cardinal Bessarion.
No. 378 contains the seventeen books, of which the first twelve are
apparently copies of the above, No. 377; the remaining five are
transcribed from some other codex. This was, also, formerly the property
of Cardinal Bessarion.
No. 640 contains the last eight books. It was written, as appears from a
note A. D. 1321, by different hands. A great part of the 14th book is
wanting; eight blank pages are left for the completion of it; but this
was not done by the transcriber to whom this portion was assigned. It is
placed by Kramer in the first class of manuscripts, and was wholly
collated by him.
No. 379 is of the 15th century. It contains the Epitome of Gemistus
Pletho of the first ten books, and the whole of the last seven books. It
is the codex which served for the copy, No. 1398, in the Imperial
Library at Paris. Formerly the property of Cardinal Bessarion.
No. 606 contains the last eight books, and was written towards the end
of the 15th century. It contains nothing which is not to be found in
other manuscripts.
Codices in the Ambrosian Library, Milan:
Codex M. 53 contains all but book ii., and is of the 15th century. The
books are not written on paper of the same size, nor in consecutive
order, although by the same hand. Book ii. is to be found in Codex N.
289, together with portions of other authors, written by a different
transcriber, no doubt with the intention of completing this codex.
According to Kramer, the first ten books are copied from Codex 5 of the
Medici MS. The 13th, 14th, 12th books (the order in which they stand)
from the Medici MS. 19, and the 11th, 15th, 16th, 17th, from the Medici
MS. 15. Partly collated by Kramer.
Codex G. 53 contains the seventeen books, and is of the end of the 15th
century. Five leaves at the beginning, and two at the end, are destroyed
by damp, traces of which are to be seen throughout. Partly collated by
Kramer.
In the Library of Eton College is a codex containing the first ten
books; it was written at Constantinople. Kramer, who, however, did not
see it, conjectures that the Medici MS., Codex 15, containing the last
eight books, was formerly united to it, and completed the whole work.
Collated for Falconer.
In the Library of the Escurial is a codex completed, as we are informed
by a note at the end, A. D. 1423. Collated by Bayer for Falconer.
The Madrid Library possesses a codex written in the latter part of the
15th century, containing the seventeen books.
In the Library at Moscow is a codex containing the seventeen books; it
was written at the end of the 15th or beginning of the 16th century. The
first nine books resemble the Paris Codex, No. 1397; the last eight, the
Venetian Codex, No. 640. It came from one of the monasteries of Mount
Athos, and was not destroyed, as Groskurd suspects, in the great fire of
1812, but is still to be found in the Library of the Holy Synod, under
No. 204 (Matt. ccv.), as I am informed by the Archimandrite Sabba, who
dates from the Kremlin, April 4th, 1857.
A codex also is yet to be found in one of the monasteries of Mount
Athos. From the accounts of learned travellers (Zacharias, _Reise in den
Orient_, and Fallmerayer, in the _Allgem. Zeitg. 5 Jun. 1843_), it
contains nothing which can supply the deficiencies of those MSS. with
which we are acquainted.
Besides the above codices, there exist four epitomes of the Geography of
Strabo, of which,
1. The Epitome Palatina, in the Heidelberg Library, is the oldest of all
MSS. of this work. It is probably of the beginning of the 10th century,
although Dodwell places it between 976 and 996. The codex from which it
was copied appears to have been perfect, and contained the whole of the
7th book, which is imperfect in all other codices. It is, however, to be
regretted that the author did not confine himself to following the text
of Strabo; he has not only indulged in curtailing, transposing, and
changing the words and sentences of the original, but has sometimes also
added expressions of his own.
2. The Vatican Epitome is of more value than the preceding; the extracts
are more copious, the author seldom wanders from the text of Strabo, and
in no instance inserts language of his own. The codex which served as
the basis for the Epitome contained the 7th book entire, and from this
and the Palatine Epitome Kramer collected the fragments of the last part
of the 7th book, which appear for the first time in his edition (see
vol. i. of the Translation, p. 504). This codex was written in the
middle of the 14th century, and has suffered much by time and
carelessness; several leaves are lost, and lines of the text at the top
and bottom of the pages have been cut off in the binding.
3. The Parisian Epitome, on which no great value is placed by Kramer.
4. The Epitome of Gemistus Pletho, referred to above, is of great value,
and held in the highest estimation by all editors.
The first appearance of Strabo’s work in print was a Latin translation
by Guarini, of Verona, and Gregorio of Tiferno. Of this, thirteen
editions were printed, the first in 1469 or 1471, the twelfth in 1559,
and the last in 1652. It is not known from what manuscripts the
translation was taken, nor whether they now exist; but, though the
translation itself is barbarous, and in many passages erroneous, its
fidelity to the original is so apparent, that all editors to the present
time have consulted it as a manuscript.
The first edition of the Greek text was printed at Venice by Aldus in
1516, and was taken from so corrupt a manuscript that Coraÿ compares it
to the Augean stable. The second edition was a repetition of the Aldine,
accompanied by the Latin translation of Guarini, and was published by
Hopper and Heresbach, at Bâsle, in 1549. The third edition, by Xylander,
in 1570, was also a repetition of the text of Aldus; but a new Latin
translation accompanied it. The fourth and fifth editions, which do not
essentially differ, were published in 1587 and 1620, by Isaac Casaubon.
He collated for his edition four manuscripts, which he obtained from his
father-in-law, H. Stephens, and was the first to add a commentary; but
it is not known what manuscripts were made use of. The edition of
Almeloveen, 1707, being a reprint of Casaubon, with notes, and an
edition commenced by Brequigny, Paris, 1763, but not continued beyond
the first three books, can scarcely be placed among the number of new
editions. Brequigny left a French translation in manuscript and notes in
Latin, which were consulted by the French translators.
The seventh edition was that of Thomas Falconer of Chester, and of
Brasenose College, published in 2 vols. folio, at Oxford, 1807. For the
first time since Casaubon’s last edition, nearly 200 years before,
manuscripts were collated for this edition, namely, those of Eton,
Moscow, the Escurial, and the Laurentian library; the conjectural
emendations of Tyrwhitt, and notes of the editor and others, are added.
“It has everything that is valuable in Casaubon’s edition, besides
having corrected numberless typographical errors. In the account given
of it, the public are as much wronged as we are abused; for no view
whatever is laid before them of its nature or its merits.”[18] Thos.
Falconer, having prepared the greater part of the work for the press,
died in 1792. A little more than the two first books were edited by John
Parsons, Bishop of Peterborough, and formerly Master of Balliol College,
Oxford; but the whole work was, ultimately, in 1802 given up to Thomas
Falconer (nephew of the former), of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, who
completed it and wrote the preface. A complete revisal of the text,
however, was not attempted.
The eighth edition was that of Professor J. P. Siebenkees, of which
great expectations were formed. The deficiencies of his performance are
strongly commented on by Kramer. Siebenkees lived to complete only the
first six books; the remainder of the work was undertaken by Tzchucke,
and conducted with greater skill and ability than by his predecessor. It
was published in 1811, 6 vols. 8vo.
The ninth edition is that by Coraÿ, Paris, 1815-1818, 4 vols. 8vo.
Kramer passes an unfavourable opinion on it. The editor, according to
him, did not possess an aptitude for discriminating the value of the
different manuscripts he collated, and considered more what he thought
ought to have been written than what were really the author’s words.
Hence, although he was successful in restoring the true readings of many
passages, he corrupted not a few, and left untouched many errors. Yet he
was a very able scholar, and has the merit of attempting the first
critical edition of Strabo.
The tenth edition is that by Professor Gustavus Kramer, in 3 vols. 8vo,
the first of which appeared in 1844, the last in 1852. The editor has
brought to his task great ability and unwearied labour; of the many
years spent in the preparation of it, were passed in Italy for the
purpose of collating manuscripts. This edition surpasses all others in
completeness, and little is left for correction by subsequent editors.
A. Meineke published at Leipsic, in 3 vols., 1852, a reprint of Kramer’s
text, with some emendations of his own contained in his work,
“Vindiciarum Straboniarum Liber.” Berlin, 1852.
C. Müller and F. Dübner have also published the first vol., Paris, 1852,
of a reprint of Kramer’s text, with Meineke’s corrections. It is
accompanied by a new Latin translation, of which the first six books are
by Dübner, and the remainder by Müller.
In modern languages, we have a translation by Alfonso Buonacciuoli, of
Ferrara, in Italian, 2 vols. 8vo, Venice, 1552. It is a very literal
translation from a manuscript, and is frequently quoted by the French
translators. Also a translation in German by Abr. Penzel, in 4 vols.,
Lemgow, 1775. It is not literal, and abounds with wilful additions and
alterations of the author’s meaning.
A translation in French was published at Paris in five vols. 4to, from
the year 1805 to 1819. The first three books are translated by De la
Porte du Theil and Coraÿ together. The 4th, 7th, 8th, 12th, 13th, 14th,
and 15th books are by Coraÿ; the 5th, 6th, 9th, 10th, and 11th, by De la
Porte du Theil; on the death of the latter, Letronne undertook the
translation of the 16th and 17th books. The whole is accompanied by very
copious notes by the translators, and others on geographical and
mathematical subjects, by Gossellin. As might be expected from the
united labour of such distinguished men, this translation, which was
undertaken at the command of Napoleon I., has been held in high
estimation. De la Porte du Theil, for the purpose of conveying to the
reader a more accurate idea of the state of the text of the ninth book
than could be given by description or notes, has prefaced his
translation by a copy, page for page and line for line, of the original
manuscript. The number of mutilated passages amounts to two thousand.
For the purpose of restoring the text, recourse has been had to other
manuscripts, to conjectures, to extracts from the Epitomes, and to
quotations of Strabo’s work contained in the Geographical Lexicon of
Stephanus of Byzantium, composed before the seventh century, and in the
Commentaries of Eustathius on Homer, which were written towards the end
of the twelfth century. It is an example of Kramer’s just remark, that
no work of any ancient author, which has descended to our time, has
suffered more from various causes.
A translation by F. Ambrosoli, forming part of the “Collana degli
Antichi Storici Greci,” was published in 1832, 4 vols. 8vo, Milan, and
is founded on the French translation. A translation of the third book
(Spain) by Lopez, was published at Madrid, 1788, and is well spoken of.
The best translation of the whole work—and too much cannot be said in
praise of it—is in German, by Groskurd, 4 vols. 8vo, Berlin, 1831-1834.
The last volume contains a very copious index.
In conclusion, I have to acknowledge considerable obligations to the
notes and prefaces of Groskurd, Kramer, the French translators, and
others.
The part of the translation for which I am responsible commences at
chap. iv. book vii., vol. i. p. 473, to the end of the work, and is
partly based on an incomplete translation in MS. by my late father, the
Rev. Dr. T. Falconer. The previous portion is the work of Hans C.
Hamilton, Esq., F.S.A., to whom I am indebted for his continued interest
in the translation throughout, for his care in correcting the press, and
for valuable suggestions.
A complete index, which concludes the third volume, has been compiled
with the greatest regard to accuracy, by a gentleman of tried skill and
ability. It contains every geographical name mentioned by Strabo; and
the modern names, printed in italics, are also added, as far as can be
ascertained: they are not given with perfect confidence in all cases;
discussion on doubtful points would have exceeded the limits of this
work; and reference may be advantageously made, where more minute detail
is required, to the able articles in Dr. W. Smith’s Dictionary of Greek
and Roman Geography.
W. FALCONER.
_Rectory, Bushey, Herts.
September 1, 1857._
STRABO’S GEOGRAPHY.
BOOK XIV.
SUMMARY.
The Fourteenth Book contains an account of the Cyclades
islands and the region opposite to them, Pamphylia, Isauria,
Lycia, Pisidia, Cilicia as far as Seleucia of Syria, and that
part of Asia properly called Ionia.
CHAPTER I.
1. There remain to be described Ionia, Caria, and the sea-coast beyond
the Taurus, which is occupied by Lycians, Pamphylians, and
Cilicians.[19] We shall thus finish the description of the whole circuit
of the peninsula, the isthmus of which, we have said, consists of the
tract between the Euxine and the Sea of Issus.
2. The navigation around Ionia along the coast is about 3430 stadia. It
is a considerable distance, on account of the gulfs, and of the
peninsular form for the most part of the country, but the length in a
straight line is not great. The distance, for example, from Ephesus to
Smyrna is a journey in a straight line of 320 stadia; to Metropolis[20]
is 120 stadia, and the remainder to Smyrna; but this distance by sea is
little less than 2200 stadia. The extent of the Ionian coast is reckoned
from Poseidium,[21] belonging to the Milesians, [CAS. 632] and the
boundaries of Caria, as far as Phocæa,[22] and the river Hermus.[23]
3. According to Pherecydes, Miletus, Myus,[24] Mycale, and Ephesus, on
this coast, were formerly occupied by Carians; the part of the coast
next in order, as far as Phocæa, and Chios, and Samos, of which Ancæus
was king, were occupied by Leleges, but both nations were expelled by
the Ionians, and took refuge in the remaining parts of Caria.
Pherecydes says that the leader of the Ionian, which was posterior to
the Æolian migration, was Androclus, a legitimate son of Codrus king of
the Athenians, and that he was the founder of Ephesus, hence it was that
it became the seat of the royal palace of the Ionian princes. Even at
present the descendants of that race are called kings, and receive
certain honours, as the chief seat at the public games, a purple robe as
a symbol of royal descent, a staff instead of a sceptre, and the
superintendence of the sacrifices in honour of the Eleusinian Ceres.
Neleus, of a Pylian family, founded Miletus. The Messenians and Pylians
pretend that there is some affinity between them; in reference to which
later poets say that even Nestor was a Messenian, and that many Pylians
accompanied Melanthus, the father of Codrus, to Athens, and that all
this people sent out the colony in common with the Ionians. There is
also to be seen on the promontory Poseidium an altar erected by Neleus.
Myus was founded by Cydrelus, a spurious son of Codrus; Lebedos[25] by
Andropompus, who took possession of a place called Artis; Colophon by
Andræmon, a Pylian, as Mimnermus mentions in his poem of Nanno;[26]
Priene by Æpytus, son of Neleus; and afterwards by Philotas, who brought
a colony from Thebes; Teos by Athamas, its first founder, whence
Anacreon calls the city Athamantis, but at the time of the Ionian
migration of the colony it received settlers from Nauclus, a spurious
son of Codrus, and after this from Apœcus and Damasus, who were
Athenians, and from Geres, a Bœotian; Erythræ was founded by Cnopus, who
also was a spurious son of Codrus; Phocæa by Athenians, who accompanied
Philogenes; Clazomenæ by Paralus; Chios by Egertius, who brought with
him a mixed body of colonists; Samos by Tembrion, and afterwards by
Procles.
4. These are the twelve Ionian cities. At a subsequent period Smyrna
also was added to the Ionian association at the instance of the
Ephesians, for anciently they inhabited the same city, at which time
Ephesus was called Smyrna. Callinus somewhere gives it this name, and
calls the Ephesians Smyrnæans in the address to Jupiter:
“And pity the Smyrnæans;”
and in another passage,
“remember now, if ever, the beautiful thighs of the oxen
[which the Smyrnæans burnt in sacrifice].”
Smyrna was an Amazon, who got possession of Ephesus; from her the
inhabitants and the city had their name, in the same manner as some
Ephesians were called Sisyrbitæ from Sisyrba; and a certain spot in
Ephesus was called Smyrna, as Hipponax testifies:
“He lived in Smyrna, at the back of the city between Tracheia
and Lepre Acta.”
The mountain Prion was called Lepre Acta; it overhangs the present city,
and has on it a portion of the wall. Even now the farms at the back of
the Prion retain the name in the term Opistholepria. The country along
the foot of the mountain about Coressus was called Tracheia. The city
was anciently built about the Athenæum, which is now beyond the city, at
the (fountain) Hypelæus. Smyrna therefore was situated near the present
gymnasium, at the back of the present city, but between Tracheia and
Lepre Acta. The Smyrnæans, upon quitting the Ephesians, marched to the
place where Smyrna now stood, and which was in the possession of
Leleges. They expelled these people and founded the ancient Smyrna,
which is distant from the present city about 20 stadia. They were
themselves afterwards expelled by Æolians, and took refuge at Colophon;
they then returned with a body of men from the latter place, and
recovered their own city, Smyrna. Mimnermus relates this in his poem of
Nanno, and says of Smyrna, that it was always a subject of contention;
[CAS. 634] “after leaving Pylus, the lofty city of Neleus, we
came in our voyage to the long wished-for Asia, and settled at
Colophon, and hastening thence from the river Astëeis, by the
will of the gods we took Æolian Smyrna.”
So much then on this subject.
We must, however, again describe each place in particular, beginning
with the principal cities, from which the first settlements originated,
I mean Miletus and Ephesus, for these are superior to all others, and
the most celebrated.
5. Next after the Poseidium of the Milesians, at the distance of 18[27]
stadia from the sea-coast, is the oracle of Apollo Didymeus among the
Branchidæ. This, as well as the other temples, except that at Ephesus,
was burnt by the order of Xerxes.[28] The Branchidæ delivered up the
treasures of the god to the Persian king, and accompanied him in his
flight, in order to avoid the punishment of sacrilege and treachery.
The Milesians afterwards built a temple, which exceeded in size all
others, but it remained without a roof on account of its magnitude. The
circuit of the sacred enclosure contained within it a village with a
magnificent grove, which also extended beyond it; other sacred
enclosures contain the oracle, and what belongs to the worship of the
god.
Here is laid the scene of the fable of Branchus, and Apollo’s love for
him. The temple is adorned with the most costly offerings, the
productions of ancient art.
Thence to the city the journey is not long either by land or sea.[29]
6. Ephorus relates that Miletus was first founded and fortified by the
Cretans on the spot above the sea-coast where at present the ancient
Miletus is situated, and that Sarpedon conducted thither settlers from
the Miletus in Crete,[30] and gave it the same name; that Leleges were
the former occupiers of the country, and that afterwards Neleus built
the present city.
The present city has four harbours, one of which will admit a fleet of
ships.[31] The citizens have achieved many great deeds, but the most
important is the number of colonies which they established. The whole
Euxine, for instance, and the Propontis, and many other places, are
peopled with their settlers.
Anaximenes of Lampsacus says, that the Milesians colonized both the
island Icarus and Lerus, and Limnæ on the Hellespont, in the
Chersonesus; in Asia, Abydus, Arisba, and Pæsus; on the island of the
Cyziceni, Artace and Cyzicus; in the interior of the Troad, Scepsis. We
have mentioned, in our particular description of places, other cities
which this writer has omitted.
Both the Milesians and Delians invoke Apollo Ulius, as dispensing
health and curing diseases; for οὔλειν[32] is to be in health, whence
οὐλή,[33] a wound healed, and the phrase in Homer,[34] Οὖλέ τε καὶ μέγα
χαῖρε, “health and good welcome;” for Apollo is a healer, and Artemis
has her name from making persons ἀρτεμέας, or sound. The sun, also, and
moon are associated with these deities, since they are the causes of
the good qualities of the air; pestilential diseases, also, and sudden
death are attributed to these deities.
7. Illustrious persons, natives of Miletus, were Thales, one of the
seven wise men, the first person who introduced among the Greeks
physiology and mathematics; his disciple Anaximander, and Anaximenes the
disciple of Anaximander. Besides these, Hecatæus the historian;[35] and
of our time, Æschines the orator, who was banished for having spoken
with too great freedom before Pompey the Great, and died in exile.
Miletus shut her gates against Alexander, and experienced the misfortune
of being taken by storm, which was also the fate of Halicarnassus; long
before this time it was captured by the Persians. Callisthenes relates,
that Phrynichus the tragic writer was fined a thousand drachmæ by the
Athenians for composing a play entitled “The taking of Miletus by
Darius.” [CAS. 635] The island Lade lies close in front of Miletus, and
small islands about Tragææ,[36] which afford a shelter for pirates.
8. Next follows the Gulf of Latmus, on which is situated “Heracleia
under Latmus,”[37] as it is called, a small town with a shelter for
vessels. It formerly had the same name as the mountain above, which
Hecatæus thinks was the same as that called by the poet[38] the mountain
of the Phtheiri, for he says that the mountain of the Phtheiri was
situated below Latmus; but some say that it was Grium, as being parallel
to Latmus, and extending from the Milesian territory towards the east,
through Caria, as far as Euromus and Chalcetores. However, the mountain
rises up in sight of[39] the city.
At a little distance further, after crossing a small river near Latmus,
there is seen in a cave the sepulchre of Endymion. Then from Heracleia
to Pyrrha, a small city, is about 100 stadia by sea, but a little more
from Miletus to Heracleia, if we include the winding of the bays.
9. From Miletus to Pyrrha, in a straight line by sea, is 30 stadia; so
much longer is the journey by sailing near the land.
10. When we are speaking of celebrated places, the reader must endure
with patience the dryness of such geographical descriptions.
From Pyrrha to the mouth of the Mæander are 50 stadia. The ground about
it is marshy and a swamp. In sailing up the river in vessels rowed by
oars to the distance of 30 stadia, we come to Myus,[40] one of the
twelve Ionian cities, which, on account of its diminished population, is
now incorporated with Miletus. Xerxes is said to have given this city to
Themistocles to supply him with fish, Magnesia with bread, and Lampsacus
with wine.[41]
11. At four stadia from Myus is Thymbria, a Carian village, near which
is Aornum; this is a sacred cave called Charonium, which emits
destructive vapours. Above it is Magnesia[42] on the Mæander, a colony
of the Magnesians of Thessaly and Crete. We shall speak of it very soon.
12. After the mouths of the Mæander follows the shore of Priene. Above
it is Priene,[43] and the mountain Mycale,[44] which abounds with
animals of the chace, and is covered with forests. It is situated above
the Samian territory, and forms towards it, beyond the promontory
Trogilium,[45] a strait of above 7 stadia in width. Priene is called by
some writers Cadme, because Philotus, its second founder, was a Bœotian.
Bias, one of the seven wise men, was a native of Priene, of whom
Hipponax uses this expression;
“More just in pleadings than Bias of Priene.”
13. In front of Trogilium lies an island of the same name. Thence, which
is the nearest way, is a passage across to Sunium of 1600 stadia. At the
commencement of the voyage, on the right hand are Samos, Icaria, and the
Corsiæ islands;[46] on the left, the Melantian rocks.[47] The remainder
of the voyage lies through the middle of the Cyclades islands. The
promontory Trogilium itself may be considered as a foot of the mountain
Mycale. Close to Mycale is another mountain, the Pactyas, belonging to
the Ephesian territory, where the Mesogis terminates.
14. From Trogilium to Samos are 40 stadia. Both this and the harbour,
which has a station for vessels, have a southern aspect. A great part of
it is situated on a flat, and is overflowed by the sea, but a part also
rises towards the mountain which overhangs it. On the right hand, in
sailing towards the city, is the Poseidium, a promontory, which forms
towards Mycale the strait of 7 stadia. It has upon it a temple of
Neptune. In front is a small island, Narthecis; on the left, near the
Heræum, is the suburb, and the river Imbrasus, and the Heræum, an
ancient temple, and a large nave, which at present is a repository for
paintings. Besides the great number of paintings in the Heræum, there
are other repositories and some small chapels, filled with works of
ancient art. The Hypæthrum also is full of the best statues. Of these,
three of colossal size, the work of Myron, stand [CAS. 637] upon the
same base. Antony took them all away, but Augustus Cæsar replaced two,
the Minerva and the Hercules, upon the same base. He transported the
Jupiter to the Capitol, having built a chapel for its reception.
15. The voyage round the island Samos is 600 stadia.[48] Formerly, when
the Carians inhabited it, it was called Parthenia, then Anthemus, then
Melamphylus,[49] then Samos, either from the name of some native hero,
or from some one who conducted a colony thither from Ithaca and
Cephallenia. In it is a promontory looking towards Drepanum in Icaria,
which has the name of Ampelos, (the Vine,) but the whole mountain, which
spreads over the island, has the same name. The island is not remarkable
for good wine,[50] although the islands around, as Chios, Lesbos, Cos,
and almost all the adjacent continent, produce wines of the best kind.
The Ephesian and the Metropolites are good wines, but the Mesogis, the
Tmolus, the Catacecaumene, Cnidos, Smyrna, and other more obscure
places, are distinguished for the excellence of their wines, whether for
gratification or dietetic purposes.
Samos is not very fortunate as regards the production of wine, but in
general it is fertile, as appears from its possession being a subject of
warlike contention, and from the language of its panegyrists, who do not
hesitate to apply to it the proverb,
“It produces even birds’ milk,”
as Menander somewhere says. This was the cause also of the tyrannies
established there, and of the enmity of the Athenians.
16. The tyrannies were at their height in the time of Polycrates and his
brother Syloson. The former was distinguished for his good fortune, and
the possession of such a degree of power as made him master of the sea.
It is related as an instance of his good fortune, that having purposely
thrown into the sea his ring, which was of great value both on account
of the stone and the engraving, a short time afterwards a fisherman
caught the fish which had swallowed it, and on cutting the fish open,
the ring was discovered. When the king of Egypt was informed of this, he
declared, it is said, with a prophetic spirit, that Polycrates, who had
been elevated to such a height of prosperity, would soon end his life
unfortunately; and this was actually the case, for he was taken by the
Persian satrap by stratagem, and crucified. Anacreon, the lyric poet,
was his contemporary, and all his poetry abounds with the praises of
Polycrates.
It is said that in his time Pythagoras, observing the growing tyranny,
left the city, and travelled to Egypt and Babylon, with a view to
acquire knowledge. On his return from his travels, perceiving that the
tyranny still prevailed, he set sail for Italy, and there passed the
remainder of his life.
So much respecting Polycrates.
17. Syloson was left by his brother in a private station. But he made a
present to Darius, son of Hystaspes, of a robe which the latter saw him
wearing, and very much desired to possess. Darius was not king at this
time, but when he became king, Polycrates received as a compensation the
tyranny of Samos. He governed with so much severity, that the city was
depopulated, which gave occasion to the proverb,
“By the pleasure of Syloson there is room enough.”
18. The Athenians formerly sent Pericles their general, and with him
Sophocles the poet, who harassed with the evils of a siege the
refractory Samians. Afterwards[51] they sent thither a colony of two
thousand citizens, among whom was Neocles the father of Epicurus, and,
according to report, a school-master. It is said, that Epicurus was
educated here and at Teos, and was admitted among the ephebi at Athens,
having as his comrade in that class Menander the comic poet. Creophylus
was a native of Samos,[52] who, it is said, once entertained Homer as
his guest, and received, in return, his poem entitled “The taking of
Œchalia.” Callimachus, on the contrary, intimates in an epigram that it
was the composition of [CAS. 639] Creophylus, but ascribed to Homer on
account of the story of his hospitable entertainment by Creophylus:
“I am the work of the Samian, who once entertained in his
house, as a guest, the divine Homer. I grieve for the
sufferings of Eurytus, and mourn for the yellow-haired Ioleia.
I am called Homer’s writing. O Jupiter, how glorious this for
Creophylus.”
Some say that he was Homer’s master; according to others, it was not
Creophylus, but Aristeas of Proconnesus.
19. The island of Icaria, from which the Icarian Sea has its name, is
near Samos. The island has its name from Icarus, the son of Dædalus,
who, it is said, having accompanied his father in his flight, when both
of them, furnished with wings, set out from Crete, fell on that island,
unable to sustain his flight. He had mounted too near the sun, and the
wings dropped off on the melting of the wax [with which they were
fastened].
The whole island is 300 stadia in circumference; it has no harbours, but
only anchorages, the best of which is called Histi. A promontory
stretches towards the west. There is also on the island a temple of
Diana, called Tauropolium, and a small town Œnoë; and another,
Dracanum,[53] of the same name as the promontory on which it stands,
with an anchorage for vessels. The promontory is distant from the
promontory of the Samians, called Cantharius, 80 stadia, which is the
shortest passage from one to the other. The Samians occupy it at present
in its depopulated state, chiefly for the sake of pasture which it
affords for cattle.
20. Next to the Samian strait at Mycale, on the right hand on the voyage
to Ephesus, is the sea-coast of the Ephesians, a part of which even the
Samians possess. First on the sea-coast is the Panionium,[54] distant
from the sea three stadia, where the Panionia, a common festival of the
Ionians, is celebrated, and a sacrifice is performed in honour of the
Heliconian Neptune. The priests are Prienians. We have spoken of them in
the description of Peloponnesus.
Then follows Neapolis, which formerly belonged to the Ephesians, but now
belongs to the Samians, having exchanged Marathesium[55] for it, the
more distant for the nearer place. Next is Pygela, a small town,
containing a temple of Diana Munychia. It was founded by Agamemnon, and
colonized by some of his soldiers, who had a disease in the buttocks,
and were called Pygalgeis; as they laboured under this complaint, they
settled there, and the town had the appropriate name of Pygela.[56]
Next is a harbour called Panormus, with a temple of the Ephesian Diana;
then the city.
On the same coast, at a little distance from the sea, is Ortygia, a fine
wood with trees of all kinds, but the cypress in the greatest abundance.
Through this wood flows the river Cenchrius, in which Latona is said to
have bathed after the birth of her child. For here is laid the scene of
the birth of the child, the cares of the nurse Ortygia, the cave in
which the birth took place, the neighbouring olive tree under which the
goddess first reposed when the pains of childbirth had ceased.
Above the wood is the mountain Solmissus, where, it is said, the Curetes
stationed themselves, and with the noise of their arms perplexed and
terrified Juno, who was enviously watching in secret the delivery of
Latona, who was thus assisted in concealing the birth of the child.
There are many temples in the place, some of which are ancient, others
of later times; in the former are ancient statues; in the latter are
works of Scopas, Latona holding a sceptre, and Ortygia standing by her
with a child in each arm.
A convention and festival are celebrated there every year. It is the
custom for young men to vie with each other, particularly in the
splendour of their convivial entertainments. The body of Curetes
celebrate their Symposia at the same time, and perform certain mystic
sacrifices.
21. The city of Ephesus was inhabited both by Carians and Leleges. After
Androclus had expelled the greatest part of the inhabitants, he settled
his companions about the Athenæum, and the Hypelæum, and in the
mountainous tract at the foot of the Coressus. It was thus inhabited
till the time of Crœsus. Afterwards, the inhabitants descended from the
mountainous district, and settled about the present temple, and
continued there to the time of Alexander. Then Lysimachus built a wall
round the present temple, and, perceiving the inhabitants [CAS. 640]
unwilling to remove thither, took advantage of a heavy storm of rain
which he saw approaching, and obstructed the drains so as to inundate
the city, and the inhabitants were glad to leave it for another place.
He called the city Arsinoë, after the name of his wife, but the old name
prevailed. A body of elders was enrolled, with whom were associated
persons called Epicleti, who administered all the affairs of the city.
22. Chersiphron[57] was the first architect of the temple of Diana;
another afterwards enlarged it, but when Herostratus set fire to it,[58]
the citizens constructed one more magnificent. They collected for this
purpose the ornaments of the women, contributions from private property,
and the money arising from the sale of pillars of the former temple.
Evidence of these things is to be found in the decrees of that time.
Artemidorus says, that Timæus of Tauromenium, in consequence of his
ignorance of these decrees, and being otherwise a calumniator and
detractor, (whence he had the name of Epitimæus, or Reviler,) avers that
the Ephesians restored the temple by means of the treasure deposited
there by the Persians. But at that time no treasure was deposited, and
if any had been deposited there, it must have been consumed together
with the temple: after the conflagration, when the roof was destroyed,
who would wish to have a deposit lying there, with the sacred enclosure
exposed to the air?
Besides, Artemidorus says, that Alexander promised to defray the expense
of its restoration, both what had been and what would be incurred, on
condition that the work should be attributed to him in the inscription,
but the Ephesians refused to accede to this; much less, then, would they
be disposed to acquire fame by sacrilege and spoliation. He praises also
the reply of an Ephesian to the king, “that it was not fit that a god
should provide temples in honour of gods.”
23. After the completion of the temple, which, he says, was the work of
Cheirocrates (the same person who built Alexandria, and also promised
Alexander that he would form Mount Athos into a statue of him, which
should represent him as pouring a libation into a dish out of an ewer;
that he would build two cities, one on the right hand of the mountain,
and another on the left, and a river should flow out of the dish from
one to the other,)[59]—after the completion of the temple, he says that
the multitude of other sacred offerings were purchased by the Ephesians,
at the value set on them by artificers, and that the altar was almost
entirely full of the works of Praxiteles. They showed us also some of
the performances of Thraso, namely, the Hecatesium, a Penelope,[60] and
the old woman Eurycleia.
The priests were eunuchs, who were called Megabyzi. It was the practice
to send to various places for persons worthy of this office, and they
were held in high honour. They were obliged to appoint virgins as their
colleagues in their priesthood. At present some of their rites and
customs are observed, and some are neglected.
The temple was formerly, and is at present, a place of refuge, but the
limits of the sanctity of this asylum have been frequently altered;
Alexander extended them to the distance of a stadium. Mithridates
discharged an arrow from the angle of the roof, and supposed that it
fell a little beyond the distance of a stadium. Antonius doubled this
distance, and included within the range of the sanctuary a certain
portion of the city. This was attended with much evil, as it placed the
city in the power of criminals and malefactors. On this account Augustus
Cæsar abolished the privilege.
24. The city has an arsenal and a harbour. The entrance of the harbour
was made narrow, by order of the king Attalus Philadelphus, who,
together with the persons that constructed it, was disappointed at the
result. The harbour was formerly shallow, on account of the embankment
of earth accumulated by the Caÿster; but the king, supposing that there
would be [CAS. 641] deep water for the entrance of large vessels of
burden, if a mole were thrown up before the mouth of the river, which
was very wide, gave orders for the construction of a mole; but the
contrary effect took place, for the mud, being confined within the
harbour, made the whole of it shallow to the mouth. Before the
construction of the mole, the flow and ebb of the sea cleared the mud
away entirely, by forcing it outwards.
Such then is the nature of the harbour.
The city, by the advantages which it affords, daily improves, and is the
largest mart in Asia within the Taurus.
25. Among illustrious persons in ancient times natives of Ephesus were
Heracleitus, surnamed Scoteinus, or the Obscure, and Hermodorus, of whom
Heracleitus himself says:
“The Ephesians, youths and all, deserve hanging, for expelling
Hermodorus, an honest citizen,[61] a citizen distinguished for
his virtues, and saying, let there be no such amongst us; if
there be, let it be in another place and among other people.”
Hermodorus seems to have compiled laws for the Romans. Hipponax the poet
was an Ephesian, and the painters Parrhasius and Apelles.
In more recent times was Alexander the orator, surnamed Lychnus, or the
Lamp;[62] he was an administrator of state affairs, a writer of history,
and left behind him poems which contain a description of the heavenly
phenomena and a geographical account of the continents, each of which
forms the subject of a distinct poem.
26. Next to the mouth of the Caÿster is a lake called Selinusia, formed
by the overflowing of the sea. It is succeeded by another, which
communicates with this. They afford a large revenue, of which the kings,
although it was sacred, deprived the goddess, but the Romans restored
it; then the tax-gatherers seized upon the tribute by force, and
converted it to their own use. Artemidorus, who was sent on an embassy
to Rome, as he says, recovered possession of the lakes for the goddess,
and also of the territory of Heracleotis, which was on the point of
separating from Ephesus, by proceeding in a suit at Rome. In return for
these services, the city erected in the temple to his honour a statue of
gold.
In the most retired part of the lake is a temple of a king, built, it is
said, by Agamemnon.
27. Next follows the mountain Gallesius, and Colophon, an Ionian city,
in front of which is the grove of Apollo Clarius, where was once an
ancient oracle.[63] It is said that the prophet Calchas came hither on
foot, on his return from Troy with Amphilochus, the son of Amphiaraus,
and that meeting at Clarus with a prophet superior to himself, Mopsus,
the son of Mantus, the daughter of Teiresias, he died of vexation.
Hesiod relates the fable somewhat in this manner: Calchas propounds to
Mopsus something of this kind:
“I am surprised to see how large a quantity of figs there is
on this small tree; can you tell the number?”
Mopsus answered:
“There are ten thousand; they will measure a medimnus, and
there is one over, which you cannot comprehend.”
Thus he spoke; the number and measure were exact. Then Calchas closed
his eyes in the sleep of death.
But Pherecydes says, that Calchas proposed a question respecting a
pregnant sow, and asked how many young she had; the other answered,
“three, one of which is a sow.” Upon his giving the true answer, Calchas
died of vexation. According to others, Calchas propounded the question
of the sow, and Mopsus that of the fig-tree; that Mopsus returned the
true answer, and that Calchas was mistaken, who died of vexation,
according to some oracular prophecy.
Sophocles, in his “Helen Claimed,” says that he was destined by fate to
die when he should meet with a prophet superior to himself. But this
writer transfers the scene of the rivalry, and of the death of Calchas,
to Cilicia.
These are ancient traditions.
[CAS. 643] 28. The Colophonians once possessed a considerable armament,
consisting both of ships and of cavalry. In the latter they were so much
superior to other nations, that in any obstinate engagement, on
whichever side the Colophonian horse were auxiliaries, they decided it;
whence came the proverb, “he put the Colophon to it,” when a person
brought any affair to a decisive issue.[64]
Among some of the remarkable persons born at Colophon were Mimnermus, a
flute-player and an elegiac poet; Xenophanes, the natural philosopher,
who composed Silli in verse. Pindar mentions one Polymnastus also, a
Colophonian, as distinguished for his skill in music:
“Thou knowest the celebrated strains of Polymnastus, the
Colophonian:”
and some writers affirm that Homer was of that city. The voyage from
Ephesus in a straight line is 70 stadia, and including the winding of
the bays, 120.
29. Next to Colophon is the mountain Coracium, and a small island sacred
to Artemis, to which it is believed that the hinds swim across to bring
forth their young.
Then follows Lebedos,[65] distant from Colophon 120 stadia. This is the
place of meeting and residence[66] of the Dionysiac artists (who travel
about) Ionia as far as the Hellespont. In Ionia a general assembly is
held, and games are celebrated every year in honour of Bacchus. These
artists formerly inhabited Teos,[67] a city of the Ionians, next in
order after Colophon, but on the breaking out of a sedition they took
refuge at Ephesus; and when Attalus settled them at Myonnesus,[68]
between Teos and Lebedos, the Teians sent a deputation to request the
Romans not to permit Myonnesus to be fortified, as it would endanger
their safety. They migrated to Lebedos, and the Lebedians were glad to
receive them, on account of their own scanty population.
Teos is distant from Lebedos 120 stadia. Between these two places is the
island Aspis,[69] which some writers call Arconnesus. Myonnesus
is situated upon high ground resembling a peninsula.
30. Teos is situated upon a peninsula, and has a port. Anacreon, the
lyric poet, was a native of this place; in his time, the Teians, unable
to endure the insults and injuries of the Persians, abandoned Teos, and
removed to Abdera, whence originated the verse—
“Abdera, the beautiful colony of the Teians.”
Some of them returned in after-times to their own country. We have said
that Apellicon was of Teos, and Hecatæus also, the historian.
There is another port to the north, at the distance of 30 stadia from
the city, Gerrhæïdæ.[70]
31. Next follows Chalcideis, and the isthmus of the peninsula[71] of the
Teians and Erythræans; the latter inhabit the interior of the isthmus.
The Teians and Clazomenians are situated on the isthmus itself. The
Teians occupy the southern side of the isthmus, namely, Chalcideis;[72]
the Clazomenians, the northern side, whence they are contiguous to the
Erythræan district. At the commencement of the isthmus is Hypocremnus,
having on this side the Erythræan, and on the other, the Clazomenian
territory. Above Chalcideis is a grove, dedicated to Alexander, the son
of Philip, and a festival called Alexandreia is proclaimed and
celebrated there by the common body of the Ionians.
The passage across the isthmus from the Alexandrine grove and
Chalcideis, as far as the Hypocremnus, is 50 stadia (150?). The circuit
round by sea is more than 1000 stadia. Somewhere about the middle of the
voyage is Erythræ,[73] an Ionian city, with a port, having in front four
small islands, called Hippoi (the Horses).
32. But before we come to Erythræ, the first place we meet with is
Eræ,[74] a small city belonging to the Teians.
Next is Corycus, a lofty mountain; and below it, Casystes, a port;[75]
then another, called the port of Erythræ, and afterwards many others.
[CAS. 644] It is said that the whole sea-coast along the Corycus was
the haunt of pirates, who were called Corycæans, and who had contrived a
new mode of attacking vessels. They dispersed themselves among the
ports, and went among the merchants who had just arrived, and listened
to their conversation respecting the freight of their ships, and the
places whither they were bound. The pirates then collected together,
attacked the merchants at sea, and plundered the vessels. Hence all
inquisitive persons and those who listen to private and secret
conversation we call Corycæans, and say proverbially,
“The Corycæan must have overheard it,”
when any one thinks that he has done or said anything not to be
divulged, but is betrayed by spies or persons anxious to be informed of
what does not concern them.
33. Next to Corycus is Halonnesus, a small island, then the
Argennum,[76] a promontory of the Erythræan territory, situated close to
Poseidium, belonging to the Chians, and forming a strait of about 60
stadia in width. Between Erythræ and Hypocremnus is Mimas,[77] a lofty
mountain, abounding with beasts of chase, and well wooded. Then follows
Cybelia, a village, and a promontory called Melæna,[78] (or Black,)
which has a quarry whence millstones are obtained.
34. Erythræ was the native place of the Sibyl, an ancient inspired
prophetess. In the time of Alexander there was another Sibyl, who was
also a prophetess, whose name was Athenais, a native of the same city;
and in our age there was Heracleides the Herophilian physician, a native
of Erythræ, a fellow-student of Apollonius surnamed Mus.
35. The coasting circumnavigation of Chios is 900 stadia. It has a
city[79] with a good port, and a station for eighty vessels. In the
voyage round the island, a person sailing from the city, with the island
on his right hand, first meets with Poseidium,[80] then Phanæ,[81] a
deep harbour, and a temple of Apollo, and a grove of palm trees; then
Notium, a part of the coast affording a shelter for vessels; next
Laïus,[82] which is also a place of shelter for vessels; hence to the
city is an isthmus of 60 stadia. The circumnavigation is 360 stadia, as
I have before described it. Next, the promontory Melæna,[83] opposite to
which is Psyra,[84] an island distant from the promontory 50 stadia,
lofty, with a city of the same name. The island is 40 stadia in
circumference. Next is the rugged tract, Ariusia, without harbours,
about 30 stadia in extent. It produces the best of the Grecian wines.
Then follows Pelinæum,[85] the highest mountain in the island. In the
island is a marble quarry.
Among illustrious natives of Chios were Ion[86] the tragic writer,
Theopompus the historian, and Theocritus the sophist. The two latter
persons were opposed to each other in the political parties in the
state. The Chians claim Homer as a native of their country, alleging as
a proof the Homeridæ, as they are called, descendants from his family,
whom Pindar mentions:
“Whence also the Homeridæ, the chanters of the rhapsodies,
most frequently begin their song.”[87]
The Chians once possessed a naval force, and aspired to the sovereignty
of the sea, and to liberty.[88]
From Chios to Lesbos is a voyage of about 400 stadia, with a south wind.
[CAS. 645] 36. After the Hypocremnus is Chytrium, a place where
Clazomenæ[89] formerly stood; then the present city, having in front
eight small islands, the land of which is cultivated by husbandmen.
Anaxagoras, the natural philosopher, was a distinguished Clazomenian; he
was a disciple of Anaximenes the Milesian, and master of Archelaus the
natural philosopher, and of Euripides the poet.
Next is a temple of Apollo, and hot springs, the bay of Smyrna, and the
city Smyrna.
37. Next is another bay, on which is situated the ancient Smyrna, at the
distance of 20 stadia from the present city. After Smyrna had been razed
by the Lydians, the inhabitants continued for about four hundred years
to live in villages. It was then restored by Antigonus, and afterwards
by Lysimachus, and at present it is the most beautiful city in Ionia.
One portion of Smyrna is built up on a hill, but the greater part is in
the plain near the harbour, the Metroum, and the Gymnasium. The division
of the streets is excellent, and as nearly as possible in straight
lines. There are paved roads, large quadrangular porticos, both on a
level with the ground and with an upper story.
There is also a library, and the Homereium, a quadrangular portico,
which has a temple of Homer and a statue. For the Smyrnæans, above all
others, urge the claims of their city to be the birth-place of Homer,
and they have a sort of brass money, called Homereium.[90]
The river Meles flows near the walls. Besides other conveniences with
which the city is furnished, there is a close harbour.
There is one, and not a trifling, defect in the work of the architects,
that when they paved the roads, they did not make drains beneath them;
the filth consequently lies on the surface, and, during rains
particularly, the receptacles of the filth spread it over the streets.
It was here that Dolabella besieged and slew Trebonius, one of the
murderers of divus Cæsar; he also destroyed many parts of the city.
38. Next to Smyrna is Leucæ,[91] a small city, which Aristonicus caused
to revolt, after the death of Attalus, the son of Philometor,[92] under
pretence of being descended from the royal family, but with the
intention of usurping the kingdom. He was, however, defeated in a naval
engagement by the Ephesians, near the Cumæan district, and expelled. But
he went into the interior of the country, and quickly collected together
a multitude of needy people and slaves, who were induced to follow him
by the hope of obtaining their freedom, whom he called Heliopolitæ. He
first surprised Thyateira,[93] he then got possession of Apollonis, and
had an intention of making himself master of other fortresses, but he
did not maintain his ground long. The cities sent immediately a large
body of troops against him, and were supported by Nicomedes the
Bithynian and the kings of Cappadocia. Afterwards five deputies of the
Romans came, then an army, and the consul Publius Crassus. These were
followed by M. Perperna, who took Aristonicus prisoner, sent him to
Rome, and thus put an end to the war. Aristonicus died in prison;
Perperna died of some disease, and Crassus fell near Leucæ, in a
skirmish with some people who had attacked him from an ambuscade. Manius
Aquillius the consul came afterwards, with ten lieutenants; he regulated
the affairs of the province, and established that form of government
which continues at present.
After Leucæ follows Phocæa,[94] situated on a bay. I have mentioned this
place in the description of Massalia.[95] Then follow the confines of
the Ionians and the Æolians. I have already spoken of these.[96]
In the interior of the Ionian maritime territory there remain to be
described the places about the road leading from Ephesus, as far as
Antioch[97] and the Mæander.
This tract is occupied by a mixed population of Lydians, Carians, and
Greeks.
39. The first place after Ephesus is Magnesia, an Æolian city, and
called Magnesia on the Mæander, for it is situated near it; but it is
still nearer the Lethæus, which discharges itself into the Mæander. It
has its source in Pactyes, a mountain in the Ephesian district. There is
another Lethæus in [CAS. 647] Gortyne, a third near Tricca, where
Asclepius is said to have been born, and the fourth among the Hesperitæ
Libyans.[98]
Magnesia lies in a plain, near a mountain called Thorax,[99] on which it
is said Daphitas the grammarian was crucified, for reviling the kings in
a distich—
“O slaves, with backs purpled with stripes, filings of the
gold of Lysimachus, you are the kings of Lydia and Phrygia.”
An oracle is said to have warned Daphitas to beware of the Thorax.[100]
40. The Magnesians appear to be the descendants of Delphians who
inhabited the Didymæan mountains in Thessaly, and of whom Hesiod says,
“or, as the chaste virgin, who inhabits the sacred Didymæan
hills in the plain of Dotium, opposite Amyrus, abounding with
vines, and bathes her feet in the lake Bœbias—”
At Magnesia also was the temple of Dindymene, the mother of the gods.
Her priestess, according to some writers, was the daughter, according to
others, the wife, of Themistocles. At present there is no temple,
because the city has been transferred to another place. In the present
city is the temple of Artemis Leucophryene, which in the size of the
nave and in the number of sacred offerings is inferior to the temple at
Ephesus; but, in the fine proportion and the skill exhibited in the
structure of the enclosure, it greatly surpasses the Ephesian temple; in
size it is superior to all the temples in Asia, except that at Ephesus
and that at Didymi.
Anciently the Magnetes were utterly extirpated by Treres, a Cimmerian
tribe, who for a long period made successful inroads. Subsequently
Ephesians got possession of the place.[101] Callinus speaks of the
Magnetes as still in a flourishing state, and successful in the war
against the Ephesians. But Archilochus seems to have been acquainted
with the calamities which had befallen them:
“bewail the misfortunes of the Thasians, not of the Magnetes;”
whence we may conjecture that Archilochus was posterior to Callinus. Yet
Callinus mentions some other earlier inroad of the Cimmerians, when he
says—
“and now the army of the daring Cimmerians is advancing,”
where he is speaking of the capture of Sardis.
41. Among the illustrious natives of Magnesia were Hegesias the orator,
who first introduced the Asiatic fervour, as it was called, and
corrupted the established Attic style of eloquence; Simon (Simus?) the
lyric poet, who also corrupted the system and plan of former lyric
poets, by introducing the Simodia; it was still more corrupted by the
Lysiodi and Magodi;[102] Cleomachus the pugilist, who was enamoured of a
certain cinædus, and a female servant, who was maintained by the
cinædus, imitated the sort of dialect and the manners of the cinædi.
Sotades was the first person that employed the language of the cinædi,
and he was followed by Alexander the Ætolian; but these were only prose
writers. Lysis added verse, but this had been done before his time by
Simus.
The theatres had raised the reputation of Anaxenor, the player on the
cithara, but Antony elevated him as high as possible, by appointing him
receiver of the tribute from four cities, and by giving him a guard of
soldiers for the protection of his person. His native country also
augmented his dignity, by investing him with the sacred purple of
Jupiter Sosipolis, as is represented in the painted figure in the forum.
There is also in the theatre a figure in brass, with this inscription:
[CAS. 648] “It is truly delightful to listen to a minstrel
such as he is, whose voice is like that of the gods.”[103]
The artist who engraved the words was inattentive to the space which
they would occupy, and omitted the last letter of the second verse,
ΑΥΔΗΙ, (voice,) the breadth of the base not being large
enough to allow its insertion; this afforded an occasion of accusing the
citizens of ignorance, on account of the ambiguity of the inscription;
for it is not clear whether the nominative ΑΥΔΗ, or the
dative ΑΥΔΗΙ, is to be understood, for many persons write
the dative cases without the Ι, and reject the usage, as not
founded on any natural reason.
42. After Magnesia is the road to Tralles;[104] travellers have on the
left hand Mesogis,[105] and on the right hand, and from the road itself,
the plain of the Mæander, which is occupied in common by Lydians,
Carians, Ionians, Milesians, Mysians, and the Æolians of Magnesia.
The character of the sites of places is the same even as far as
Nysa[106] and Antioch.
The city of Tralles is built upon ground in the shape somewhat of a
trapezium. It has a citadel strongly fortified, and the places around
are well defended. It is as well peopled as any of the cities in Asia,
and its inhabitants are wealthy; some of them constantly occupy chief
stations in the province, and are called Asiarchs. Among the latter was
Pythodorus, originally a native of Nysa; but, induced by the celebrity
of the place, he migrated hither. He was one of the few friends of
Pompey who were fortunate. His wealth was kingly, and consisted of more
than two thousand talents, which he redeemed when it was confiscated by
divus Cæsar, on account of his attachment to Pompey, and left it
undiminished to his children. Pythodoris, who is at present queen in
Pontus, and whom we have mentioned before, is his daughter. Pythodorus
flourished in our times, and also Menodorus, an eloquent man, and a
person of dignified and grave demeanour; he was priest of Jupiter
Larisæus. He was circumvented by the adherents of Domitius Ænobarbus,
who, on the credit of informers, put him to death, for attempting, as
was supposed, the revolt of his fleet.
Tralles produced also celebrated orators, Dionysocles, and after him
Damasus, surnamed Scombrus.
It is said to have been founded by Argives and a body of Tralli
Thracians,[107] from whom it had its name. It was governed for a short
time by tyrants, sons of Cratippus, about the period of the Mithridatic
war.
43. Nysa is situated near the Mesogis, resting for the most part against
the mountain. It is as it were a double town, for a kind of torrent
watercourse divides it into two parts, and forms a valley, one part of
which has a bridge over it, connecting the two towns; the other is
adorned with an amphitheatre; underneath it is a passage through which
the waters of the torrents flow out of sight.
Near the theatre are situated[108] two heights; below one lies the
gymnasium for the young men; below the other is the forum, and a place
of exercise for older persons. To the south below the city lies the
plain, as at Tralles.
44. On the road between Tralles and Nysa is a village of the Nysæans,
not far from the city Acharaca, in which is the Plutonium, to which is
attached a large grove, a temple of Pluto and Proserpine, and the
Charonium, a cave which overhangs the grove, and possesses some singular
physical properties. The sick, it is said, who have confidence in the
cures performed by these deities, resort thither, and live in the
village near the cave, among experienced priests, who sleep at night in
the open air, on behoof of the sick, and direct the modes of cure by
their dreams. The priests invoke the gods to cure the sick, and
frequently take them into the cave, where, as in a den, they are placed
to remain in quiet without food for several days. Sometimes the sick
themselves observe their own dreams, but apply to these persons, in
their character of priests and guardians of the mysteries, to interpret
them, and to counsel what is to be done. To others the place is
interdicted and fatal.
An annual festival, to which there is a general resort, is celebrated at
Acharaca, and at that time particularly are to be [CAS. 650] seen and
heard those who frequent it, conversing about cures performed
there.[109] During this feast the young men of the gymnasium and the
ephebi, naked and anointed with oil,[110] carry off a bull by stealth at
midnight, and hurry it away into the cave. It is then let loose, and
after proceeding a short distance falls down and expires.
45. Thirty stadia from Nysa, as you cross the Mesogis towards the
southern parts of Mount Tmolus,[111] is a place called Leimon, or the
Meadow, to which the Nysæans and all the people around repair when they
celebrate a festival. Not far from this plain is an aperture in the
ground, sacred to the same deities, which aperture is said to extend as
far as Acharaca. They say that the poet mentions this meadow, in the
words,
“On the Asian mead,”[112]
and they show a temple dedicated to two heroes, Caÿstrius and Asius, and
the Caÿster flowing near it.
46. Historians relate that three brothers, Athymbrus, Athymbradus, and
Hydrelus, coming hither from Lacedæmon, founded (three?) cities, to
which they gave their own names; that the population of these towns
afterwards declined, but that out of these jointly Nysa was peopled. The
Nysæans at present regard Athymbrus as their founder.
47. Beyond the Mæander and in the neighbourhood are considerable
settlements, Coscinia[113] and Orthosia, and on this side the river,
Briula, Mastaura,[114] Acharaca, and above the city on the mountain,
Aroma; the letter _o_ is shortened in the pronunciation. From this
latter place is obtained the Aromeus, the best Mesogitian wine.
48. Among illustrious natives of Nysa were Apollonius the Stoic
philosopher, the most eminent of the disciples of Panætius, and of
Menecrates, the disciple of Aristarchus; Aristodemus, the son of
Menecrates, whom, when I was a very young man, I heard lecturing on
philosophy, in extreme old age, at Nysa; Sostratus, the brother of
Aristodemus, and another Aristodemus, his cousin, the master of Pompey
the Great, were distinguished grammarians. My master taught rhetoric
also at Rhodes, and in his own country he had two schools; in the
morning he taught rhetoric, in the evening grammar. When he
superintended the education of the children of Pompey at Rome, he was
satisfied with teaching a school of grammar.