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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 volume III. |
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THE
GEOGRAPHY
OF
STRABO.
LITERALLY TRANSLATED, WITH NOTES.
THE FIRST SIX BOOKS
BY H. C. HAMILTON, ESQ.
THE REMAINDER
BY W. FALCONER, M.A.,
LATE FELLOW OF EXETER COLLEGE, OXFORD.
IN THREE VOLUMES
VOL. I.
LONDON:
HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.
MDCCCLIV.
JOHN CHILDS AND SON, BUNGAY.
NOTICE.
The present translation of Strabo, the great Geographer of Antiquity, is
the first which has been laid before the English public. It is curious
that a classic of so much renown and intrinsic value should have
remained a comparatively sealed book to this country for so many
centuries; yet such is the fact. It is true that the imperfect state of
the Greek text, and the difficulty of geographical identification, have
always been appalling obstacles; yet, after the acute and valuable
labours of Gossellin, Du Theil, Groskurd, and especially of Gustav
Cramer of Berlin, (whose text is followed in the present volume,) we
might fairly have expected that some English scholar would have ventured
to enter the field. But the task, like many in a similar position, has
been reserved for the publisher of the Classical Library, and he trusts
it will be found conscientiously fulfilled.
The translation was, in the first instance, intrusted to Mr. H. C.
Hamilton, whose knowledge of the subject, and familiarity with the
various languages concerned, peculiarly fitted him for the undertaking.
His official duties, however, added to his anxious examination of every
thing which tended to illustrate his author, prevented his proceeding
with much speed; and it was only after the lapse of three years that he
had reached the end of the sixth book. In the mean time it transpired
that Mr. W. Falconer, son of the editor of the Oxford edition of the
Greek text, had, after several years of care and attention, produced a
very excellent translation, meaning to publish it. Under the
circumstances it was deemed advisable to amalgamate the rival
undertakings, and it is a source of gratification to the publisher that
the respective translators were each so well satisfied with the labours
of the other, that they assented readily to his proposal of associating
their names.
This is all it seems necessary to state here. In the third volume will
be given some account of the life and labours of Strabo, and of the
manuscripts and principal editions; also a complete index of the places
mentioned in the text, accompanied, where possible, by the modern names.
H. G. B.
STRABO’S GEOGRAPHY.
BOOK I.
INTRODUCTION.
SUMMARY.
That geographical investigation is not inconsistent with
philosophy.—That Homer gives proof of it throughout his
poems.—That they who first wrote on the science have omitted
much, or given disjointed, defective, false, or inconsistent
accounts.—Proofs and demonstrations of the correctness of this
statement, with general heads containing a summary description of
the disposition of the whole habitable earth.—Credit to be
attached to the probabilities and evident proofs that in many
regions the land and sea have been shifted, and exchanged places
with each other.
CHAPTER I.
1.[1] If the scientific investigation of any subject be the proper
avocation of the philosopher, Geography, the science of which we propose
to treat, is certainly entitled to a high place; and this is evident
from many considerations. They who first ventured to handle the matter
were distinguished men, Homer, Anaximander the Milesian, and Hecatæus,
(his fellow-citizen according to Eratosthenes,) Democritus, Eudoxus,
Dicæarchus, Ephorus, with many others, and after these for Eratosthenes,
Polybius, and Posidonius, all of them philosophers.
Nor is the great learning, through which alone this subject can be
approached, possessed by any but a person acquainted with both human and
divine things,[2] and these attainments constitute what is called
philosophy. In addition to its vast importance in regard to social life,
and the art of government, Geography unfolds to us the celestial
phenomena, acquaints us with the occupants of the land and ocean, and
the vegetation, fruits, and peculiarities of the various quarters of the
earth, a knowledge of which marks him who cultivates it as a man earnest
in the great problem of life and happiness.
2. Admitting this, let us examine more in detail the points we have
advanced.
And first, [we maintain,] that both we and our predecessors, amongst
whom is Hipparchus, do justly regard Homer as the founder of
geographical science, for he not only excelled all, ancient as well as
modern, in the sublimity of his poetry, but also in his experience of
social life. Thus it was that he not only exerted himself to become
familiar with as many historic facts as possible, and transmit them to
posterity, but also with the various regions of the inhabited land and
sea, some intimately, others in a more general manner. For otherwise he
would not have reached the utmost limits of the earth, traversing it in
his imagination.
3. First, he stated that the earth was entirely encompassed by the
ocean, as in truth it is; afterwards he described the countries,
specifying some by name, others more generally by various indications,
explicitly defining Libya,[3] Ethiopia, the Sidonians, and the Erembi
(by which latter are probably intended the Troglodyte Arabians); and
alluding to those farther east and west as the lands washed by the
ocean, for in ocean he believed both the sun and constellations to rise
and set.
“Now from the gently-swelling flood profound
The sun arising, with his earliest rays,
In his ascent to heaven smote on the fields.”[4]
“And now the radiant sun in ocean sank,
Dragging night after him o’er all the earth.”[5]
The stars also he describes as bathed in the ocean.[6]
4. He portrays the happiness of the people of the West, and the
salubrity of their climate, having no doubt heard of the abundance of
Iberia,[7] which had attracted the arms of Hercules,[8] afterwards of
the Phœnicians, who acquired there an extended rule, and finally of the
Romans. There the airs of Zephyr breathe, there the poet feigned the
fields of Elysium, when he tells us Menelaus was sent thither by the
gods:—
“Thee the gods
Have destined to the blest Elysian isles,
Earth’s utmost boundaries. Rhadamanthus there
For ever reigns, and there the human kind
Enjoy the easiest life; no snow is there,
No biting winter, and no drenching shower,
But Zephyr always gently from the sea
Breathes on them, to refresh the happy race.”[9]
5. The Isles of the Blest[10] are on the extreme west of Maurusia,[11]
near where its shore runs parallel to the opposite coast of Spain; and
it is clear he considered these regions also Blest, from their
contiguity to the Islands.
6. He tells us also, that the Ethiopians are far removed, and bounded by
the ocean: far removed,—
“The Ethiopians, utmost of mankind,
These eastward situate, those toward the west.”[12]
Nor was he mistaken in calling them separated into two divisions, as we
shall presently show: and next to the ocean,—
“For to the banks of the Oceanus,
Where Ethiopia holds a feast to Jove,
He journey’d yesterday.”[13]
Speaking of the Bear, he implies that the most northern part of the
earth is bounded by the ocean:
“Only star of those denied
To slake his beams in Ocean’s briny baths.”[14]
Now, by the “Bear” and the “Wain,” he means the Arctic Circle; otherwise
he would never have said, “It _alone_ is deprived of the baths of the
ocean,” when such an _infinity_ of stars is to be seen continually
revolving in that part of the hemisphere. Let no one any longer blame
his ignorance for being merely acquainted with one Bear, when there are
two. It is probable that the second was not considered a constellation
until, on the Phœnicians specially designating it, and employing it in
navigation, it became known as one to the Greeks.[15] Such is the case
with the Hair of Berenice, and Canopus, whose names are but of
yesterday; and, as Aratus remarks, there are numbers which have not yet
received any designation. Crates, therefore, is mistaken when,
endeavouring to amend what is correct, he reads the verse thus:
Οἶος δ’ ἄμμορός ἐστι λοετρῶν,
replacing οἴη by οἶος, with a view to make the adjective agree with the
Arctic Circle, which is masculine; instead of the Arctic Constellation,
which is feminine. The expression of Heraclitus is far more preferable
and Homeric, who thus figuratively describes the Arctic Circle as the
Bear,—“The Bear is the limit of the dawn and of the evening, and from
the region of the Bear we have fine weather.” Now it is not the
constellation of the Bear, but the Arctic Circle, which is the limit of
the rising and the setting stars.
By the Bear, then, which he elsewhere calls the Wain, and describes as
pursuing Orion, Homer means us to understand the Arctic Circle; and by
the ocean, that horizon into which, and out of which, the stars rise and
set. When he says that the Bear turns round and is deprived of the
ocean, he was aware that the Arctic Circle [always] extended to the sign
opposite the most northern point of the horizon. Adapting the words of
the poet to this view, by that part of the earth nearest to the ocean we
must understand the horizon, and by the Arctic Circle that which extends
to the signs which seem to our senses to touch in succession the most
northern point of the horizon. Thus, according to him, this portion of
the earth is washed by the ocean. With the nations of the North he was
well acquainted, although he does not mention them by name, and indeed
at the present day there is no regular title by which they are all
distinguished. He informs us of their mode of life, describing them as
“wanderers,” “noble milkers of mares,” “living on cheese,” and “without
wealth.”[16]
7. In the following speech of Juno, he states that the ocean surrounds
the earth.
“For to the green earth’s utmost bounds I go,
To visit there the parent of the gods,
Oceanus.”[17]
Does he not here assert that ocean bounds all its extremities, and does
it not surround these extremities? Again, in the
Hoplopœia,[18] he places the ocean in a circle round the border of
Achilles’ shield. Another proof of the extent of his knowledge, is his
acquaintance with the ebb and flow of the sea, calling it “the ebbing
ocean.”[19] Again,
“Each day she thrice disgorges, and again
Thrice drinks, insatiate, the deluge down.”[20]
The assertion of thrice, instead of twice, is either an error of the
author, or a blunder of the scribe, but the phenomenon is the same, and
the expression soft-flowing,[21] has reference to the flood-tide, which
has a gentle swell, and does not flow with a full rush. Posidonius
believes that where Homer describes the rocks as at one time covered
with the waves, and at another left bare, and when he compares the ocean
to a river, he alludes to the flow of the ocean. The first supposition
is correct, but for the second there is no ground; inasmuch as there can
be no comparison between the flow, much less the ebb of the sea, and the
current of a river. There is more probability in the explanation of
Crates, that Homer describes the whole ocean as deep-flowing, ebbing,
and also calls it a river, and that he also describes a part of the
ocean as a river, and the flow of a river; and that he is speaking of a
part, and not the whole, when he thus writes:—
“When down the smooth Oceanus impell’d
By prosperous gales, my galley, once again,
Cleaving the billows of the spacious deep,
Had reach’d the Ææan isle.”[22]
He does not, however, mean the whole, but the flow of the river in the
ocean, which forms but a part of the ocean. Crates says, he speaks of
an estuary or gulf, extending from the winter tropic towards the south
pole.[23] Now any one quitting this, might still be in the ocean; but
for a person to leave the whole and still to be in the whole, is an
impossibility. But Homer says, that leaving the flow of the river, the
ship entered on the waves of the sea, which is the same as the ocean. If
you take it otherwise you make him say, that departing from the ocean he
came to the ocean. But this requires further discussion.
8. Perception and experience alike inform us, that the earth we inhabit
is an island: since wherever men have approached the termination of the
land, the sea, which we designate ocean, has been met with: and reason
assures us of the similarity of those places which our senses have not
been permitted to survey. For in the east[24] the land occupied by the
Indians, and in the west by the Iberians and Maurusians,[25] is wholly
encompassed [by water], and so is the greater part on the south[26] and
north.[27] And as to what remains as yet unexplored by us, because
navigators, sailing from opposite points, have not hitherto fallen in
with each other, it is not much, as any one may see who will compare the
distances between those places with which we are already acquainted. Nor
is it likely that the Atlantic Ocean is divided into two seas by narrow
isthmuses so placed as to prevent circumnavigation: how much more
probable that it is confluent and uninterrupted! Those who have returned
from an attempt to circumnavigate the earth, do not say they have been
prevented from continuing their voyage by any opposing continent, for
the sea remained perfectly open, but through want of resolution, and the
scarcity of provision. This theory too accords better with the ebb and
flow of the ocean, for the phenomenon, both in the increase and
diminution, is every where identical, or at all events has but little
difference, as if produced by the agitation of one sea, and resulting
from one cause.
9. We must not credit Hipparchus, who combats this opinion, denying that
the ocean is every where similarly affected; or that even if it were, it
would not follow that the Atlantic flowed in a circle, and thus
continually returned into itself. Seleucus, the Babylonian, is his
authority for this assertion. For a further investigation of the ocean
and its tides we refer to Posidonius and Athenodorus, who have fully
discussed this subject: we will now only remark that this view agrees
better with the uniformity of the phenomenon; and that the greater the
amount of moisture surrounding the earth, the easier would the heavenly
bodies be supplied with vapours from thence.
10. Homer, besides the boundaries of the earth, which he fully
describes, was likewise well acquainted with the Mediterranean. Starting
from the Pillars,[28] this sea is encompassed by Libya, Egypt, and
Phœnicia, then by the coasts opposite Cyprus, the Solymi,[29] Lycia, and
Caria, and then by the shore which stretches between Mycale[30] and
Troas, and the adjacent islands, every one of which he mentions, as well
as those of the Propontis[31] and the Euxine, as far as Colchis, and the
locality of Jason’s expedition. Furthermore, he was acquainted with the
Cimmerian Bosphorus,[32] having known the Cimmerians,[33] and that not
merely by name, but as being familiar with themselves. About his time,
or a little before, they had ravaged the whole country, from the
Bosphorus to Ionia. Their climate he characterizes as dismal, in the
following lines:—
“With clouds and darkness veil’d, on whom the sun
Deigns not to look with his beam-darting eye,
* * * * *
But sad night canopies the woeful race.”[34]
He must also have been acquainted with the Ister,[35] since he speaks of
the Mysians, a Thracian race, dwelling on the banks of the Ister. He
knew also the whole Thracian[36] coast adjacent thereto, as far as the
Peneus,[37] for he mentions individually the Pæonians, Athos, the
Axius,[38] and the neighbouring islands. From hence to Thesprotis[39] is
the Grecian shore, with the whole of which he was acquainted. He was
besides familiar with the whole of Italy, and speaks of Temese[40] and
the Sicilians, as well as the whole of Spain[41] and its fertility, as
we have said before. If he omits various intermediate places this must
be pardoned, for even the compiler of a Geography overlooks numerous
details. We must forgive him too for intermingling fabulous narrative
with his historical and instructive work. This should not be complained
of; nevertheless, what Eratosthenes says is false, that the poets aim at
amusement, not instruction, since those who have treated upon the
subject most profoundly, regard poesy in the light of a primitive
philosophy. But we shall refute Eratosthenes[42] more at length, when we
have occasion again to speak of Homer.
11. What we have already advanced is sufficient to prove that poet the
father of geography. Those who followed in his track are also well
known as great men and true philosophers. The two immediately succeeding
Homer, according to Eratosthenes, were Anaximander, the disciple and
fellow-citizen of Thales, and Hecatæus the Milesian. Anaximander was
the first to publish a geographical chart. Hecatæus left a work [on the
same subject], which we can identify as his by means of his other
writings.
12. Many have testified to the amount of knowledge which this subject
requires, and Hipparchus, in his Strictures on Eratosthenes, well
observes, “that no one can become really proficient in geography, either
as a private individual or as a professor, without an acquaintance with
astronomy, and a knowledge of eclipses. For instance, no one could tell
whether Alexandria in Egypt were north or south of Babylon, nor yet the
intervening distance, without observing the latitudes.[43] Again, the
only means we possess of becoming acquainted with the longitudes of
different places is afforded by the eclipses of the sun and moon.” Such
are the very words of Hipparchus.
13. Every one who undertakes to give an accurate description of a place,
should be particular to add its astronomical and geometrical relations,
explaining carefully its extent, distance, degrees of latitude, and
“climate.”[44] Even a builder before constructing a house, or an
architect before laying out a city, would take these things into
consideration; much more should he who examines the whole earth: for
such things in a peculiar manner belong to him. In small distances a
little deviation north or south does not signify, but when it is the
whole circle of the earth, the north extends to the furthest confines of
Scythia,[45] or Keltica,[46] and the south to the extremities of
Ethiopia: there is a wide difference here. The case is the same should
we inhabit India or Spain, one in the east, the other far west, and, as
we are aware, the antipodes[47] to each other.
14. The [motions] of the sun and stars, and the centripetal force meet
us on the very threshold of such subjects, and compel us to the study of
astronomy, and the observation of such phenomena as each of us may
notice; in which too, very considerable differences appear, according to
the various points of observation. How could any one undertake to write
accurately and with propriety on the differences of the various parts of
the earth, who was ignorant of these matters? and although, if the
undertaking were of a popular character, it might not be advisable to
enter thoroughly into detail, still we should endeavour to include every
thing which could be comprehended by the general reader.
15. He who has thus elevated his mind, will he be satisfied with any
thing less than the whole world? If in his anxiety accurately to portray
the inhabited earth, he has dared to survey heaven, and make use thereof
for purposes of instruction, would it not seem childish were he to
refrain from examining the whole earth, of which the inhabited is but a
part, its size, its features, and its position in the universe; whether
other portions are inhabited besides those on which we dwell, and if so,
their amount? What is the extent of the regions not peopled? what their
peculiarities, and the cause of their remaining as they are? Thus it
appears that the knowledge of geography is connected with
meteorology[48] and geometry, that it unites the things of earth to the
things of heaven, as though they were nearly allied, and not separated.
“As far as heaven from earth.”[49]
16. To the various subjects which it embraces let us add natural
history, or the history of the animals, plants, and other different
productions of the earth and sea, whether serviceable or useless, and my
original statement will, I think, carry perfect conviction with it.
That he who should undertake this work would be a benefactor to mankind,
reason and the voice of antiquity agree. The poets feign that they were
the wisest heroes who travelled and wandered most in foreign climes: and
to be familiar with many countries, and the disposition of the
inhabitants, is, according to them, of vast importance. Nestor prides
himself on having associated with the Lapithæ,[50] to whom he went,
“having been invited thither from the Apian[51] land afar.”
So does Menelaus:—
“Cyprus, Phœnicia, Sidon, and the shores
Of Egypt, roaming without hope I reach’d;
In distant Ethiopia thence arrived,
And Libya, where the lambs their foreheads show
With budding horns defended soon as yean’d.”[52]
Adding as a peculiarity of the country,
“There thrice within the year the flocks produce.”[53]
And of Egypt:—“Where the sustaining earth is most prolific.”[54] And
Thebes,
“the city with an hundred gates,
Whence twenty thousand chariots rush to war.”[55]
Such information greatly enlarges our sphere of knowledge, by informing
us of the nature of the country, its botanical and zoological
peculiarities. To these should be added its marine history; for we are
in a certain sense amphibious, not exclusively connected with the land,
but with the sea as well. Hercules, on account of his vast experience
and observation, was described as “skilled in mighty works.”[56]
All that we have previously stated is confirmed both by the testimony of
antiquity and by reason. One consideration however appears to bear in a
peculiar manner on the case in point; viz. the importance of geography
in a political view. For the sea and the earth in which we dwell furnish
theatres for action; limited, for limited actions; vast, for grander
deeds; but that which contains them all, and is the scene of the
greatest undertakings, constitutes what we term the habitable earth; and
they are the greatest generals who, subduing nations and kingdoms under
one sceptre, and one political administration, have acquired dominion
over land and sea. It is clear then, that geography is essential to all
the transactions of the statesman, informing us, as it does, of the
position of the continents, seas, and oceans of the whole habitable
earth. Information of especial interest to those who are concerned to
know the exact truth of such particulars, and whether the places have
been explored or not: for government will certainly be better
administered where the size and position of the country, its own
peculiarities, and those of the surrounding districts, are understood.
Forasmuch as there are many sovereigns who rule in different regions,
and some stretch their dominion over others’ territories, and undertake
the government of different nations and kingdoms, and thus enlarge the
extent of their dominion, it is not possible that either themselves, nor
yet writers on geography, should be equally acquainted with the whole,
but to both there is a great deal more or less known. Indeed, were the
whole earth under one government and one administration, it is hardly
possible that we should be informed of every locality in an equal
degree; for even then we should be most acquainted with the places
nearest us: and after all, it is better that we should have a more
perfect description of these, since, on account of their proximity,
there is greater need for it. We see there is no reason to be surprised
that there should be one chorographer[57] for the Indians, another for
the Ethiopians, and a third for the Greeks and Romans. What use would it
be to the Indians if a geographer should thus describe Bœotia to them,
in the words of Homer:—
“The dwellers on the rocks
Of Aulis follow’d, with the hardy clans
Of Hyria, Schœnus, Scolus.”[58]
To us this is of value, while to be acquainted with the Indies and
their various territorial divisions would be useless, as it could lead
to no advantage, which is the only criterion of the worth of such
knowledge.
17. Even if we descend to the consideration of such trivial matters as
hunting, the case is still the same; for he will be most successful in
the chase who is acquainted with the size and nature of the wood, and
one familiar with the locality will be the most competent to superintend
an encampment, an ambush, or a march. But it is in great undertakings
that the truth shines out in all its brilliancy, for here, while the
success resulting from knowledge is grand, the consequences of ignorance
are disastrous. The fleet of Agamemnon, for instance, ravaging Mysia, as
if it had been the Trojan territory, was compelled to a shameful
retreat. Likewise the Persians and Libyans,[59] supposing certain
straits to be impassable, were very near falling into great perils, and
have left behind them memorials of their ignorance; the former a
monument to Salganeus on the Euripus, near Chalcis, whom the Persians
slew, for, as they thought, falsely conducting their fleet from the Gulf
of Malea[60] to the Euripus; and the latter to the memory of Pelorus,
who was executed on a like occasion. At the time of the expedition of
Xerxes, the coasts of Greece were covered with wrecks, and the
emigrations from Æolia and Ionia furnish numerous instances of the same
calamity. On the other hand, matters have come to a prosperous
termination, when judiciously directed by a knowledge of the locality.
Thus it was at the pass of Thermopylæ that Ephialtes is reported to have
pointed out to the Persians a pathway over the mountains, and so placed
the band of Leonidas at their mercy, and opened to the Barbarians a
passage into Pylæ. But passing over ancient occurrences, we think that
the late expeditions of the Romans against the Parthians furnish an
excellent example, where, as in those against the Germans and Kelts, the
Barbarians, taking advantage of their situation, [carried on the war] in
marshes, woods, and pathless deserts, deceiving the ignorant enemy as to
the position of different places, and concealing the roads, and the
means of obtaining food and necessaries.
18. As we have said, this science has an especial reference to the
occupations and requirements of statesmen, with whom also political and
ethical philosophy is mainly concerned; and here is an evidence. We
distinguish the different kinds of civil government by the office of
their chief men, denominating one government a monarchy, or kingdom,
another an aristocracy, a third a democracy; for so many we consider are
the forms of government, and we designate them by these names, because
from them they derive their primary characteristic. For the laws which
emanate from the sovereign, from the aristocracy, and from the people
all are different. The law is in fact a type of the form of government.
It is on this account that some define right to be the interest of the
strongest. If, therefore, political philosophy is advantageous to the
ruler, and geography in the actual government of the country, this
latter seems to possess some little superiority. This superiority is
most observable in real service.
19. But even the theoretical portion of geography is by no means
contemptible. On the one hand, it embraces the arts, mathematics, and
natural science; on the other, history and fable. Not that this latter
can have any distinct advantage: for instance, if any one should relate
to us the wanderings of Ulysses, Menelaus, and Jason, he would not seem
to have added directly to our fund of practical knowledge thereby,
(which is the only thing men of the world are interested in,) unless he
should convey useful examples of what those wanderers were compelled to
suffer, and at the same time afford matter of rational amusement to
those who interest themselves in the places which gave birth to such
fables. Practical men interest themselves in these pursuits, since they
are at once commendable, and afford them pleasure; but yet not to any
great extent. In this class, too, will be found those whose main object
in life is pleasure and respectability: but these by no means
constitute the majority of mankind, who naturally prefer that which
holds out some direct advantage. The geographer should therefore chiefly
devote himself to what is practically important. He should follow the
same rule in regard to history and the mathematics, selecting always
that which is most useful, most intelligible, and most authentic.
20. Geometry and astronomy, as we before remarked, seem absolutely
indispensable in this science. This, in fact, is evident, that without
some such assistance, it would be impossible to be accurately acquainted
with the configuration of the earth; its climata,[61] dimensions, and
the like information.
As the size of the earth has been demonstrated by other writers, we
shall here take for granted and receive as accurate what they have
advanced. We shall also assume that the earth is spheroidal, that its
surface is likewise spheroidal, and above all, that bodies have a
tendency towards its centre, which latter point is clear to the
perception of the most average understanding. However we may show
summarily that the earth is spheroidal, from the consideration that all
things however distant tend to its centre, and that every body is
attracted towards its centre of gravity; this is more distinctly proved
from observations of the sea and sky, for here the evidence of the
senses, and common observation, is alone requisite. The convexity of the
sea is a further proof of this to those who have sailed; for they cannot
perceive lights at a distance when placed at the same level as their
eyes, but if raised on high, they at once become perceptible to vision,
though at the same time further removed. So, when the eye is raised, it
sees what before was utterly imperceptible. Homer speaks of this when he
says,
Lifted up on the vast wave he quickly beheld afar.[62]
Sailors, as they approach their destination, behold the shore
continually raising itself to their view; and objects which had at first
seemed low, begin to elevate themselves. Our gnomons, also, are, among
other things, evidence of the revolution of the heavenly bodies; and
common sense at once shows us, that if the depth of the earth were
infinite,[63] such a revolution could not take place.
Every information respecting the climata[64] is contained in the
“Treatises on Positions.”[65]
21. Now there are some facts which we take to be established, viz. those
with which every politician and general should be familiar. For on no
account should they be so uninformed as to the heavens and the position
of the earth,[66] that when they are in strange countries, where some of
the heavenly phenomena wear a different aspect to what they have been
accustomed, they should be in a consternation, and exclaim,
“Neither west
Know we, nor east, where rises or where sets
The all-enlightening sun.”[67]
Still, we do not expect that they should be such thorough masters of the
subject as to know what stars rise and set together for the different
quarters of the earth; those which have the same meridian line, the
elevation of the poles, the signs which are in the zenith, with all the
various phenomena which differ as well in appearance as reality with the
variations of the horizon and arctic circle. With some of these matters,
unless as philosophical pursuits, they should not burden themselves at
all; others they must take for granted without searching into their
causes. This must be left to the care of the philosopher; the statesman
can have no leisure, or very little, for such pursuits. Those who,
through carelessness and ignorance, are not familiar with the globe and
the circles traced upon it, some parallel to each other, some at right
angles to the former, others, again, in an oblique direction; nor yet
with the position of the tropics, equator, and zodiac, (that circle
through which the sun travels in his course, and by which we reckon the
changes of season and the winds,) such persons we caution against the
perusal of our work. For if a man is neither properly acquainted with
these things, nor with the variations of the horizon and arctic circle,
and such similar elements of mathematics, how can he comprehend the
matters treated of here? So for one who does not know a right line from
a curve, nor yet a circle, nor a plane or spherical surface, nor the
seven stars in the firmament composing the Great Bear, and such like,
our work is entirely useless, at least for the present. Unless he first
acquires such information, he is utterly incompetent to the study of
geography. *So those who have written the works entitled “On Ports,” and
“Voyages Around the World,” have performed their task imperfectly, since
they have omitted to supply the requisite information from mathematics
and astronomy.*[68]
22. The present undertaking is composed in a lucid style, suitable alike
to the statesman and the general reader, after the fashion of my
History.[69] By a statesman we do not intend an illiterate person, but
one who has gone through the course of a liberal and philosophical
education. For a man who has bestowed no attention on virtue or
intelligence, nor what constitutes them, must be incompetent either to
blame or praise, still less to decide what actions are worthy to be
placed on record.
23. Having already compiled our Historical Memoirs, which, as we
conceive, are a valuable addition both to political and moral
philosophy, we have now determined to follow it up with the present
work, which has been prepared on the same system as the former, and for
the same class of readers, but more particularly for those who are in
high stations of life. And as our former production contains only the
most striking events in the lives of distinguished men, omitting
trifling and unimportant incidents; so here it will be proper to dismiss
small and doubtful particulars, and merely call attention to great and
remarkable transactions, such in fact as are useful, memorable, and
entertaining. In the colossal works of the sculptor we do not descend
into a minute examination of particulars, but look principally for
perfection in the general _ensemble_. This is the only method of
criticism applicable to the present work. Its proportions, so to speak,
are colossal; it deals in the generalities and main outlines of things,
except now and then, when some minor detail can be selected, calculated
to be serviceable to the seeker after knowledge, or the man of business.
We now think we have demonstrated that our present undertaking is one
that requires great care, and is well worthy of a philosopher.
CHAPTER II.
1. No one can [justly] blame us for having undertaken to write on a
subject already often treated of, unless it appears that we have done
nothing more than copy the works of former writers. In our opinion,
though they may have perfectly treated some subjects, in others they
have still left much to be completed; and we shall be justified in our
performance, if we can add to their information even in a trifling
degree. At the present moment the conquests of the Romans and Parthians
have added much to our knowledge, which (as was well observed by
Eratosthenes) had been considerably increased by the expedition of
Alexander. This prince laid open to our view the greater part of Asia,
and the whole north of Europe as far as the Danube. And the Romans [have
discovered to us] the entire west of Europe as far as the river Elbe,
which divides Germany, and the country beyond the Ister to the river
Dniester. The country beyond this to the Mæotis,[70] and the coasts
extending along Colchis,[71] was brought to light by Mithridates,
surnamed Eupator, and his generals. To the Parthians we are indebted for
a better acquaintance with Hyrcania,[72] Bactriana,[73] and the land of
the Scythians[74] lying beyond, of which before we knew but little. Thus
we can add much information not supplied by former writers, but this
will best be seen when we come to treat on the writers who have preceded
us; and this method we shall pursue, not so much in regard to the
primitive geographers, as to Eratosthenes and those subsequent to him.
As these writers far surpassed the generality in the amount of their
knowledge, so naturally it is more difficult to detect their errors when
such occur. If I seem to contradict those most whom I take chiefly for
my guides, I must claim indulgence on the plea, that it was never
intended to criticise the whole body of geographers, the larger number
of whom are not worthy of consideration, but to give an opinion of those
only who are generally found correct. Still, while many are beneath
discussion, such men as Eratosthenes, Posidonius, Hipparchus, Polybius,
and others of their stamp, deserve our highest consideration.
2. Let us first examine Eratosthenes, reviewing at the same time what
Hipparchus has advanced against him. Eratosthenes is much too creditable
an historian for us to believe what Polemon endeavours to charge against
him, that he had not even seen Athens. At the same time he does not
merit that unbounded confidence which some seem to repose in him,
although, as he himself tells us, he passed much of his time with
first-rate [characters]. Never, says he, at one period, and in one city,
were there so many philosophers flourishing together as in my time. In
their number was Ariston and Arcesilaus. This, however, it seems is not
sufficient, but you must also be able to choose who are the real guides
whom it is your interest to follow. He considers Arcesilaus and Ariston
to be the coryphæi of the philosophers who flourished in his time, and
is ceaseless in his eulogies of Apelles and Bion, the latter of whom,
says he, was the first to deck himself in the flowers of philosophy, but
concerning whom one is often likewise tempted to exclaim, “How great is
Bion in spite of his rags!”[75] It is in such instances as the following
that the mediocrity of his genius shows itself.
Although at Athens he became a disciple of Zeno[76] of Citium, he makes
no mention of his followers; while those who opposed that philosopher,
and of whose sect not a trace remains, he thinks fit to set down amongst
the [great characters] who flourished in his time. His real character
appears in his Treatise on Moral Philosophy,[77] his Meditations, and
some similar productions. He seems to have held a middle course between
the man who devotes himself to philosophy, and the man who cannot make
up his mind to dedicate himself to it: and to have studied the science
merely as a relief from his other pursuits, or as a pleasing and
instructive recreation. In his other writings he is just the same; but
let these things pass. We will now proceed as well as we can to the task
of rectifying his geography.
First, then, let us return to the point which we lately deferred.
3. Eratosthenes says that the poet directs his whole attention to the
amusement of the mind, and not at all to its instruction. In opposition
to his idea, the ancients define poesy as a primitive philosophy,
guiding our life from infancy, and pleasantly regulating our morals, our
tastes, and our actions. The [Stoics] of our day affirm that the only
wise man is the poet. On this account the earliest lessons which the
citizens of Greece convey to their children are from the poets;
certainly not alone for the purpose of amusing their minds, but for
their instruction. Nay, even the professors of music, who give lessons
on the harp, lyre, and pipe, lay claim to our consideration on the same
account, since they say that [the accomplishments which they teach] are
calculated to form and improve the character. It is not only among the
Pythagoreans that one hears this claim supported, for Aristoxenus is of
that opinion, and Homer too regarded the bards as amongst the wisest of
mankind.
Of this number was the guardian of Clytemnestra, “to whom the son of
Atreus, when he set out for Troy, gave earnest charge to preserve his
wife,”[78] whom Ægisthus was unable to seduce, until “leading the bard
to a desert island, he left him,”[79] and then
“The queen he led, not willing less than he,
To his own mansion.”[80]
But apart from all such considerations, Eratosthenes contradicts
himself; for a little previously to the sentence which we have quoted,
at the commencement of his Essay on Geography, he says, that “all the
ancient poets took delight in showing their knowledge of such matters.
Homer inserted into his poetry all that he knew about the Ethiopians,
Egypt, and Libya. Of all that related to Greece and the neighbouring
places he entered even too minutely into the details, describing Thisbe
as “abounding in doves,” Haliartus, “grassy,” Anthedon, the “far
distant,” Litæa, “situated on the sources of the Cephissus,”[81] and
none of his epithets are without their meaning. But in pursuing this
method, what object has he in view, to amuse [merely], or to instruct?
The latter, doubtless. Well, perhaps he has told the truth in these
instances, but in what was beyond his observation both he and the other
writers have indulged in all the marvels of fable. If such be the case
the statement should have been, that the poets relate some things for
mere amusement, others for instruction; but he affirms that they do it
altogether for amusement, without any view to information; and by way of
climax, inquires, What can it add to Homer’s worth to be familiar with
many lands, and skilled in strategy, agriculture, rhetoric, and similar
information, which some persons seem desirous to make him possessed of.
To seek to invest him with all this knowledge is most likely the effect
of too great a zeal for his honour. Hipparchus observes, that to assert
he was acquainted with every art and science, is like saying that an
Attic eiresionè[82] bears pears and apples.
As far as this goes, Eratosthenes, you are right enough; not so,
however, when you not only deny that Homer was possessed of these vast
acquirements, but represent poetry in general as a tissue of old wives’
fables, where, to use your own expression, every thing thought likely to
amuse is cooked up. I ask, is it of no value to the auditors[83] of the
poets to be made acquainted with [the history of] different countries,
with strategy, agriculture, and rhetoric, and such-like things, which
the lecture generally contains.
4. One thing is certain, that the poet has bestowed all these gifts upon
Ulysses, whom beyond any of his other [heroes] he loves to adorn with
every virtue. He says of him, that he
“Discover’d various cities, and the mind
And manners learn’d of men in lands remote.”[84]
That he was
“Of a piercing wit and deeply wise.”[85]
He is continually described as “the destroyer of cities,” and as having
vanquished Troy, by his counsels, his advice, and his deceptive art.
Diomede says of him,
“Let him attend me, and through fire itself
We shall return; for none is wise as he.”[86]
He prides himself on his skill in husbandry, for at the harvest [he
says],
“I with my well-bent sickle in my hand,
Thou arm’d with one as keen.”[87]
And also in tillage,
“Then shouldst thou see
How straight my furrow should be cut and true.”[88]
And Homer was not singular in his opinion regarding these matters, for
all educated people appeal to him in favour of the idea that such
practical knowledge is one of the chief means of acquiring
understanding.
5. That eloquence is regarded as the wisdom of speech, Ulysses manifests
throughout the whole poem, both in the Trial,[89] the Petitions,[90] and
the Embassy.[91] Of him it is said by Antenor,
“But when he spake, forth from his breast did flow
A torrent swift as winter’s feather’d snow.”[92]
Who can suppose that a poet capable of effectively introducing into his
scenes rhetoricians, generals, and various other characters, each
displaying some peculiar excellence, was nothing more than a droll or
juggler, capable only of cheating or flattering his hearer, and not of
instructing him.
Are we not all agreed that the chief merit of a poet consists in his
accurate representation of the affairs of life? Can this be done by a
mere driveller, unacquainted with the world?
The excellence of a poet is not to be measured by the same standard as
that of a mechanic or a blacksmith, where honour and virtue have nothing
to do with our estimate. But the poet and the individual are connected,
and he only can become a good poet, who is in the first instance a
worthy man.
6. To deny that our poet possesses the graces of oratory is using us
hardly indeed. What is so befitting an orator, what so poetical as
eloquence, and who so sweetly eloquent as Homer? But, by heaven! you’ll
say, there are other styles of eloquence than those peculiar to poetry.
Of course [I admit this]; in poetry itself there is the tragic and the
comic style; in prose, the historic and the forensic. But is not
language a generality, of which poetry and prose are forms? Yes,
language is; but are not the rhetorical, the eloquent, and the florid
styles also? I answer, that flowery prose is nothing but an imitation of
poetry. Ornate poetry was the first to make its appearance, and was well
received. Afterwards it was closely imitated by writers in the time of
Cadmus, Pherecydes, and Hecatæus. The metre was the only thing dispensed
with, every other poetic grace being carefully preserved. As time
advanced, one after another of its beauties was discarded, till at last
it came down from its glory into our common prose. In the same way we
may say that comedy took its rise from tragedy, but descended from its
lofty grandeur into what we now call the common parlance of daily life.
And when [we find] the ancient writers making use of the expression “to
sing,” to designate eloquence of style, this in itself is an evidence
that poetry is the source and origin of all ornamented and rhetorical
language. Poetry in ancient days was on every occasion accompanied by
melody. The song or ode was but a modulated speech, from whence the
words rhapsody, tragedy, comedy,[93] are derived; and since originally
eloquence was the term made use of for the poetical effusions which were
always of the nature of a song, it soon happened [that in speaking of
poetry] some said, to sing, others, to be eloquent; and as the one term
was early misapplied to prose compositions, the other also was soon
applied in the same way. Lastly, the very term _prose_, which is applied
to language not clothed in metre, seems to indicate, as it were, its
descent from an elevation or chariot to the ground.[94]
7. Homer accurately describes many distant countries, and not only
Greece and the neighbouring places, as Eratosthenes asserts. His
romance, too, is in better style than that of his successors. He does
not make up wondrous tales on every occasion, but to instruct us the
better often, and especially in the Odyssey, adds to the circumstances
which have come under his actual observation, allegories, wise
harangues, and enticing narrations. Concerning which, Eratosthenes is
much mistaken when he says that both Homer and his commentators are a
pack of fools. But this subject demands a little more of our attention.
8. To begin. The poets were by no means the first to avail themselves of
myths. States and lawgivers had taken advantage of them long before,
having observed the constitutional bias of mankind. Man is eager after
knowledge, and the love of legend is but the prelude thereto. This is
why children begin to listen [to fables], and are acquainted with them
before any other kind of knowledge; the cause of this is that the myth
introduces them to a new train of ideas, relating not to every-day
occurrences, but something in addition to these.
A charm hangs round whatever is new and hitherto unknown, inspiring us
with a desire to become acquainted with it, but when the wonderful and
the marvellous are likewise present, our delight is increased until at
last it becomes a philtre of study. To children we are obliged to hold
out such enticements, in order that in riper years, when the mind is
powerful, and no longer needs such stimulants, it may be prepared to
enter on the study of actual realities.
Every illiterate and uninstructed man is yet a child, and takes delight
in fable. With the partially informed it is much the same; reason is not
all-powerful within him, and he still possesses the tastes of a child.
But the marvellous, which is capable of exciting fear as well as
pleasure, influences not childhood only, but age as well. As we relate
to children pleasing tales to incite them [to any course] of action, and
frightful ones to deter them, such as those of Lamia,[95] Gorgo,[96]
Ephialtes,[97] and Mormolyca.[98] So numbers of our citizens are
incited to deeds of virtue by the beauties of fable, when they hear the
poets in a strain of enthusiasm recording noble actions, such as the
labours of Hercules or Theseus, and the honours bestowed on them by the
gods, or even when they see paintings, sculptures, or figures bearing
their romantic evidence to such events. In the same way they are
restrained from vicious courses, when they think they have received from
the gods by oracles or some other invisible intimations, threats,
menaces, or chastisements, or even if they only believe they have
befallen others. The great mass of women and common people, cannot be
induced by mere force of reason to devote themselves to piety, virtue,
and honesty; superstition must therefore be employed, and even this is
insufficient without the aid of the marvellous and the terrible. For
what are the thunderbolts, the ægis, the trident, the torches, the
dragons, the barbed thyrses, the arms of the gods, and all the
paraphernalia of antique theology, but fables employed by the founders
of states, as bugbears to frighten timorous minds.
Such was mythology; and when our ancestors found it capable of
subserving the purposes of social and political life, and even
contributing to the knowledge of truth, they continued the education of
childhood to maturer years, and maintained that poetry was sufficient to
form the understanding of every age. In course of time history and our
present philosophy were introduced; these, however, suffice but for the
chosen few, and to the present day poetry is the main agent which
instructs our people and crowds our theatres. Homer here stands
pre-eminent, but in truth all the early historians and natural
philosophers were mythologists as well.
9. Thus it is that our poet, though he sometimes employs fiction for the
purposes of instruction, always gives the preference to truth; he makes
use of what is false, merely tolerating it in order the more easily to
lead and govern the multitude. As a man
“Binds with a golden verge
Bright silver:”[99]
so Homer, heightening by fiction actual occurrences, adorns and
embellishes his subject; but his end is always the same as that of the
historian, who relates nothing but facts. In this manner he undertook
the narration of the Trojan war, gilding it with the beauties of fancy
and the wanderings of Ulysses; but we shall never find Homer inventing
an empty fable apart from the inculcation of truth. It is ever the case
that a person lies most successfully, when he intermingles [into the
falsehood] a sprinkling of truth. Such is the remark of Polybius in
treating of the wanderings of Ulysses; such is also the meaning of the
verse,
“He fabricated many falsehoods, relating them like truths:”[100]
not _all_, but _many_ falsehoods, otherwise it would not have looked
like the truth. Homer’s narrative is founded on history. He tells us
that king Æolus governed the Lipari Islands, that around Mount Ætna and
Leontini dwelt the Cyclopæ, and certain Læstrygonians inhospitable to
strangers. That at that time the districts surrounding the strait were
unapproachable; and Scylla and Charybdis were infested by banditti. In
like manner in the writings of Homer we are informed of other
freebooters, who dwelt in divers regions. Being aware that the
Cimmerians dwelt on the Cimmerian Bosphorus, a dark northern country, he
felicitously locates them in a gloomy region close by Hades, a fit
theatre for the scene in the wanderings of Ulysses. That he was
acquainted with these people we may satisfy ourselves from the
chroniclers, who report an incursion made by the Cimmerians either
during his lifetime or just before.
10. Being acquainted with Colchis, and the voyage of Jason to Æa, and
also with the historical and fabulous relations concerning Circe and
Medea, their enchantments and their various other points of resemblance,
he feigns there was a relationship between them, notwithstanding the
vast distance by which they were separated, the one dwelling in an
inland creek of the Euxine, and the other in Italy, and both of them
beyond the ocean.
It is possible that Jason himself wandered as far as Italy, for traces
of the Argonautic expedition are pointed out near the Ceraunian[101]
mountains, by the Adriatic,[102] at the Posidonian[103] Gulf and the
isles adjacent to Tyrrhenia.[104] The Cyaneæ, called by some the
Symplegades,[105] or Jostling Rocks, which render the passage through
the Strait of Constantinople so difficult, also afforded matter to our
poet. The actual existence of a place named Æa, stamped credibility upon
his Ææa; so did the Symplegades upon the Planctæ, (the Jostling Rocks
upon the Wandering Rocks,) and the passage of Jason through the midst of
them; in the same way Scylla and Charybdis accredited the passage [of
Ulysses] past those rocks. In his time people absolutely regarded the
Euxine as a kind of second ocean, and placed those who had crossed it in
the same list with navigators who had passed the Pillars.[106] It was
looked upon as the largest of our seas, and was therefore _par
excellence_ styled the Sea, in the same way as Homer [is called] the
Poet. In order therefore to be well received, it is probable he
transferred the scenes from the Euxine to the ocean, so as not to
stagger the general belief. And in my opinion those Solymi who possess
the highest ridges of Taurus, lying between Lycia and Pisidia, and those
who in their southern heights stand out most conspicuously to the
dwellers on this side Taurus, and the inhabitants of the Euxine by a
figure of speech, he describes as being beyond the ocean. For narrating
the voyage of Ulysses in his ship, he says,
“But Neptune, traversing in his return
From Ethiopia’s sons, the mountain heights
Of Solymè, descried him from afar.”[107]
It is probable he took his account of the one-eyed Cyclopæ from Scythian
history, for the Arimaspi, whom Aristæus of Proconnesus describes in his
Tales of the Arimaspi, are said to be distinguished by this peculiarity.
11. Having premised thus much, we must now take into consideration the
reasons of those who assert that Homer makes Ulysses wander to Sicily
or Italy, and also of those who denied this. The truth is, he may be
equally interpreted on this subject either way, according as we take a
correct or incorrect view of the case. Correct, if we understand that he
was convinced of the reality of Ulysses’ wanderings there, and taking
this truth as a foundation, raised thereon a poetical superstructure.
And so far this description of him is right; for not about Italy only,
but to the farthest extremities of Spain, traces of his wanderings and
those of similar adventurers may still be found. Incorrect, if the
scene-painting is received as fact, his Ocean, and Hades, the oxen of
the sun, his hospitable reception by the goddesses, the metamorphoses,
the gigantic size of the Cyclopæ and Læstrygonians, the monstrous
appearance of Scylla, the distance of the voyage, and other similar
particulars, all alike manifestly fabulous. It is as idle to waste words
with a person who thus openly maligns our poet, as it would be with one
who should assert as true all the particulars of Ulysses’ return to
Ithaca,[108] the slaughter of the suitors, and the pitched battle
between him and the Ithacans in the field. But nothing can be said
against the man who understands the words of the poet in a rational way.
12. Eratosthenes, though on no sufficient grounds for so doing, rejects
both these opinions, endeavouring in his attack on the latter, to refute
by lengthened arguments what is manifestly absurd and unworthy of
consideration, and in regard to the former, maintaining a poet to be a
mere gossip, to whose worth an acquaintance with science or geography
could not add in the least degree: since the scenes of certain of
Homer’s fables are cast in actual localities, as Ilium,[109]
Pelion,[110] and Ida;[111] others in purely imaginary regions, such as
those of the Gorgons and Geryon. “Of this latter class,” he says, “are
the places mentioned in the wanderings of Ulysses, and those who pretend
that they are not mere fabrications of the poet, but have an actual
existence, are proved to be mistaken by the differences of opinion
existing among themselves: for some of them assert that the Sirenes of
Homer are situated close to Pelorus,[112] and others that they are more
than two thousand stadia distant,[113] near the Sirenussæ,[114] a
three-peaked rock which separates the Gulfs of Cumæa and Posidonium.”
Now, in the first place, this rock is not three-peaked, nor does it form
a crest at the summit at all, but a long and narrow angle reaching from
the territory of Surrentum[115] to the Strait of Capria,[116] having on
one side of the mountain the temple of the Sirens, and on the other
side, next the Gulf of Posidonium, three little rocky and uninhabited
islands, named the Sirenes; upon the strait, is situated the Athenæum,
from which the rocky angle itself takes its name.
13. Further, if those who describe the geography of certain places do
not agree in every particular, are we justified in at once rejecting
their whole narration? Frequently this is a reason why it should receive
the greater credit. For example, in the investigation whether the scene
of Ulysses’ wanderings were Sicily or Italy, and the proper position of
the Sirenes, they differ in so far that one places them at Pelorus, and
the other at Sirenussæ, but neither of them dissents from the idea that
it was some where near Sicily or Italy. They add thereby strength to
this view, inasmuch as though they are not agreed as to the exact
locality, neither of them makes any question but that it was some where
contiguous to Italy or Sicily. If a third party should add, that the
monument of Parthenope, who was one of the Sirens, is shown at Naples,
this only confirms us the more in our belief, for though a third place
is introduced to our notice, still as Naples is situated in the gulf
called by Eratosthenes the Cumæan, and which is formed by the
Sirenussæ, we are more confident still that the position of the Sirenes
was some where close by.
That the poet did not search for accuracy in every minor detail we
admit, but neither ought we to expect this of him; at the same time we
are not to believe that he composed his poem without inquiring into the
history of the Wandering, nor where and how it occurred.
14. Eratosthenes “thinks it probable that Hesiod, having heard of the
wanderings of Ulysses, and of their having taken place near to Sicily
and Italy, embraced this view of the case, and not only describes the
places spoken of by Homer, but also Ætna, the Isle of Ortygia,[117] near
to Syracuse, and Tyrrhenia. As for Homer, he was altogether unacquainted
with these places, and further, had no wish to lay the scene of the
wanderings in any well-known locality.” What! are then Ætna and
Tyrrhenia such well-known places, and Scyllæum, Charybdis,
Circæum,[118] and the Sirenussæ, so obscure? Or is Hesiod so correct as
never to write nonsense, but always follow in the wake of received
opinions, while Homer blurts out whatever comes uppermost? Without
taking into consideration our remarks on the character and aptitude of
Homer’s myths, a large array of writers who bear evidence to his
statements, and the additional testimony of local tradition, are
sufficient proof that his are not the inventions of poets or
contemporary scribblers, but the record of real actors and real scenes.
15. The conjecture of Polybius in regard to the particulars of the
wandering of Ulysses is excellent. He says that Æolus instructed sailors
how to navigate the strait, a difficult matter on account of the
currents occasioned by the ebb and flow, and was therefore called the
dispenser of the winds, and reputed their king.
In like manner Danaus for pointing out the springs of water that were in
Argos, and Atreus for showing the retrograde movement of the sun in the
heavens, from being mere soothsayers and diviners, were raised to the
dignity of kings. And the priests of the Egyptians, the Chaldeans, and
Magi, distinguished for their wisdom above those around them, obtained
from our predecessors honour and authority; and so it is that in each
of the gods, we worship the discoverer of some useful art.
Having thus introduced his subject, he does not allow us to consider the
account of Æolus, nor yet the rest of the Odyssey, as altogether
mythical. There is a spice of the fabulous here, as well as in the
Trojan War,[119] but as respects Sicily, the poet accords entirely with
the other historians who have written on the local traditions of Sicily
and Italy. He altogether denies the justness of Eratosthenes’ dictum,
“that we may hope to discover the whereabout of Ulysses’ wanderings,
when we can find the cobbler who sewed up the winds in the leathern
sack.” “And [adds Polybius] his description of the hunt of the
galeotes[120] at Scylla,
‘Plunged to her middle in the horrid den
She lurks, protruding from the black abyss
Her heads, with which the ravening monster dives
In quest of dolphins, dog-fish, or of prey
More bulky,’[121]
accords well with what takes place around Scyllæum: for the thunny-fish,
carried in shoals by Italy, and not being able to reach Sicily, fall
into [the Strait], where they become the prey of larger fish, such as
dolphins, dog-fish, and other cetacea, and it is by this means that the
galeotes (which are also called sword-fish) and dogs fatten themselves.
For the same thing occurs here, and at the rising of the Nile and other
rivers, as takes place when a forest is on fire. Vast crowds of animals,
in flying from the fire or the water, become the prey of beasts more
powerful than themselves.”
16. He then goes on to describe the manner in which they catch the
sword-fish at Scyllæum. One look-out directs the whole body of fishers,
who are in a vast number of small boats, each furnished with two oars,
and two men to each boat. One man rows, the other stands on the prow,
spear in hand, while the look-out has to signal the appearance of a
sword-fish. (This fish, when swimming, has about a third of its body
above water.) As it passes the boat, the fisher darts the spear from his
hand, and when this is withdrawn, it leaves the sharp point with which
it is furnished sticking in the flesh of the fish: this point is
barbed, and loosely fixed to the spear for the purpose; it has a long
end fastened to it; this they pay out to the wounded fish, till it is
exhausted with its struggling and endeavours at escape. Afterwards they
trail it to the shore, or, unless it is too large and full-grown, haul
it into the boat. If the spear should fall into the sea, it is not lost,
for it is jointed of oak and pine, so that when the oak sinks on account
of its weight, it causes the other end to rise, and thus is easily
recovered. It sometimes happens that the rower is wounded, even through
the boat, and such is the size of the sword with which the galeote is
armed, such the strength of the fish, and the method of the capture,
that [in danger] it is not surpassed by the chase of the wild boar. From
these facts (he says) we may conclude that Ulysses’ wanderings were
close to Sicily, since Homer describes Scylla[122] as engaging in a
pursuit exactly similar to that which is carried on at Scyllæum. As to
Charybdis, he describes just what takes place at the Strait of Messina:
“Each day she _thrice_ disgorges,”[123]
instead of _twice_, being only a mistake, either of the scribe or the
historian.
17. The customs of the inhabitants of Meninx[124] closely correspond to
the description of the Lotophagi. If any thing does not correspond, it
should be attributed to change, or to misconception, or to poetical
licence, which is made up of history, rhetoric, and fiction. Truth is
the aim of the historical portion, as for instance in the Catalogue of
Ships,[125] where the poet informs us of the peculiarities of each
place, that one is rocky, another the furthest city, that this abounds
in doves, and that is maritime. A lively interest is the end of the
rhetorical, as when he points to us the combat; and of the fiction,
pleasure and astonishment. A mere fabrication would neither be
persuasive nor Homeric; and we know that his poem is generally
considered a scientific treatise, notwithstanding what Eratosthenes may
say, when he bids us not to judge poems by the standard of intellect,
nor yet look to them for history.
It is most probable that the line
“Nine days by cruel storms thence was I borne
Athwart the fishy deep,”[126]
should be understood of merely a short distance, (for cruel storms do
not blow in a right course,) and not of being carried beyond the ocean,
as if impelled by favourable winds. “And,” says Polybius, “allowing the
distance from Malea[127] to the Pillars to be 22,500 stadia, and
supposing the rate of passage was the same throughout the nine days, the
voyage must have been accomplished at the speed of 2500 stadia per diem:
now who has ever recorded that the passage from Lycia or Rhodes to
Alexandria, a distance of 4000 stadia, has been made in two days? To
those who demand how it was that Ulysses, though he journeyed thrice to
Sicily, never once navigated the Strait, we reply that, long after his
time, voyagers always sedulously avoided that route.”
18. Such are the sentiments of Polybius; and in many respects they are
correct enough; but when he discusses the voyage beyond the ocean, and
enters on minute calculations of the proportion borne by the distance to
the number of days, he is greatly mistaken. He alleges perpetually the
words of the poet,
“Nine days by cruel storms thence was I borne;”
but at the same time he takes no notice of this expression, which is his
as well,
“And now borne sea-ward from the river stream
Of the Oceanus;”[128]
and this,
“In the island of Ogygia, the centre of the sea,”[129]
and that the daughter of Atlas[130] dwells there. And the following
concerning the Phæacians,
“Remote amid the billowy deep, we hold
Our dwelling, utmost of all human kind,
And free from mixture with a foreign race.”[131]
These passages clearly refer to the Atlantic Ocean,[132] but though so
plainly expressed, Polybius slily manages to overlook them. Here he is
altogether wrong, though quite correct about the wandering of Ulysses
having taken place round Sicily and Italy, a fact which Homer
establishes himself. Otherwise, what poet or writer could have persuaded
the Neapolitans to assert that they possessed the tomb of
Parthenope[133] the Siren, or the inhabitants of Cumæ, Dicæarchia,[134]
and Vesuvius [to bear their testimony] to Pyriphlegethon, the Marsh of
Acherusia,[135] to the oracle of the dead which was near Aornus,[136]
and to Baïus and Misenus,[137] the companions of Ulysses. The same is
the case with the Sirenussæ, and the Strait of Messina, and Scylla, and
Charybdis, and Æolus, all which things should neither be examined into
too rigorously, nor yet [despised] as groundless and without foundation,
alike remote from truth and historic value.
19. Eratosthenes seems to have had something like this view of the case
himself, when he says, “Any one would believe that the poet intended the
western regions as the scene of Ulysses’ wanderings, but that he has
departed from fact, sometimes through want of perfect information, at
other times because he wished to give to scenes a more terrific and
marvellous appearance than they actually possessed.” So far this is
true, but his idea of the object which the poet had in view while
composing, is false; real advantage, not trifling, being his aim. We may
justly reprehend his assertion on this point, as also where he says,
that Homer places the scene of his marvels in distant lands that he may
lie the more easily. Remote localities have not furnished him with near
so many wonderful narrations as Greece, and the countries thereto
adjacent; witness the labours of Hercules, and Theseus, the fables
concerning Crete, Sicily, and the other islands; besides those connected
with Cithærum, Helicon,[138] Parnassus,[139] Pelion,[140] and the whole
of Attica and the Peloponnesus. Let us not therefore tax the poets with
ignorance on account of the myths which they employ, and since, so far
from myth being the staple, they for the most part avail themselves of
actual occurrences, (and Homer does this in a remarkable degree,) the
inquirer who will seek how far these ancient writers have wandered into
fiction, ought not to scrutinize to what extent the fiction was carried,
but rather what is the truth concerning those places and persons to
which the fictions have been applied; for instance, whether the
wanderings of Ulysses did actually occur, and where.
20. On the whole, however, it is not proper to place the works of Homer
in the common catalogue of other poets, without challenging for him a
superiority both in respect of his other [excellences] and also for the
geography on which our attention is now engaged.
If any one were to do no more than merely read through the Triptolemus
of Sophocles, or the prologue to the Bacchæ of Euripides, and then
compare them with the care taken by Homer in his geographical
descriptions, he would at once perceive both the difference and
superiority of the latter, for wherever there is necessity for
arrangement in the localities he has immortalized, he is careful to
preserve it as well in regard to Greece, as to foreign countries.
“They
On the Olympian summit thought to fix
Huge Ossa, and on Ossa’s towering head
Pelion with all his forests.”[141]
“And Juno starting from the Olympian height
O’erflew Pieria and the lovely plains
Of broad Emathia;[142] soaring thence she swept
The snow-clad summit of the Thracian hills[143]
Steed-famed, nor printed, as she pass’d, the soil,
* * * * *
From Athos[144] o’er the foaming billows borne.”[145]
In the Catalogue he does not describe his cities in regular order,
because here there was no necessity, but both the people and foreign
countries he arranges correctly. “Having wandered to Cyprus, and
Phœnice, and the Egyptians, I came to the Ethiopians, and Sidonians, and
Erembi, and Libya.”[146] Hipparchus has drawn attention to this. But the
two tragedians, where there was great necessity for proper arrangement,
one[147] where he introduces Bacchus visiting the nations, the
other[148] Triptolemus sowing the earth, have brought in juxta-position
places far remote, and separated those which were near.
“And having left the wealthy lands of the Lydians and Phrygians, and the
sunny plains of the Persians and the Bactrian walls, and having come
over the stormy land of the Medes, and the Happy Arabia.”[149] And the
Triptolemus is just as inaccurate.
Further, in respect to the winds and climates, Homer shows the wide
extent of his geographical knowledge, for in his topographical
descriptions he not unfrequently informs us of both these matters. Thus,
“My abode
Is sun-burnt Ithaca.
Flat on the deep she lies, farthest removed
Toward the west, while situate apart,
Her sister islands face the rising day.”[150]
And,
“It has a two-fold entrance,
One towards the north, the other south.”[151]
And again,
“Which I alike despise, speed they their course
With right-hand flight towards the ruddy east,
Or leftward down into the shades of eve.”[152]
Ignorance of such matters he reckons no less than confusion.
“Alas! my friends, for neither west
Know we, nor east; where rises or where sets
The all-enlightening sun.”[153]
Where the poet has said properly enough,
“As when two adverse winds, blowing from Thrace,
Boreas and Zephyrus,”[154]
Eratosthenes ill-naturedly misrepresents him as saying in an absolute
sense, that the west wind blows from Thrace; whereas he is not speaking
in an absolute sense at all, but merely of the meeting of contrary winds
near the bay of Melas,[155] on the Thracian sea, itself a part of the
Ægæan. For where Thrace forms a kind of promontory, where it borders on
Macedonia,[156] it takes a turn to the south-west, and projects into
the ocean, and from this point it seems to the inhabitants of Thasos,
Lemnos, Imbros, Samothracia,[157] and the surrounding sea, that the west
winds blow.[158] So in regard to Attica, they seem to come from the
rocks of Sciros,[159] and this is the reason why all the westerly winds,
the north-west more particularly, are called the Scirones. Of this
Eratosthenes was not aware, though he suspected as much, for it was he
who described this bending of the land [towards the south-west] which we
have mentioned. But he interprets our poet in an absolute sense, and
then taxes him with ignorance, because, says he, “Zephyr blows from the
west, and off Spain, and Thrace does not extend so far.” Does he then
think that Homer was not aware that Zephyr came from the west,
notwithstanding the careful manner in which he distinguishes its
position when he writes as follows:
“The east, the south, the heavy-blowing Zephyr,
And the cold north-wind clear.”[160]
Or was he ignorant that Thrace did not extend beyond the Pæonian and
Thessalian mountains.[161] To be sure he was well acquainted with the
position of the countries adjoining Thrace in that direction, and does
he not mention by name both the maritime and inland districts, and tells
us of the Magnetæ,[162] the Malians,[163] and other Grecian
[territories], all in order, as far as Thesprotis;[164] also of the
Dolopes[165] bordering on Pæonia, and the Sellæ who inhabit the
territory around Dodona[166] as far as the [river] Achelous,[167] but he
never mentions Thrace, as being beyond these. He has evidently a
predilection for the sea which is nearest to him, and with which he is
most familiar, as where he says,
“Commotion shook
The whole assembly, such as heaves the flood
Of the Icarian deep.”[168]
21. Some writers tell us there are but two principal winds, the north
and south, and that the other winds are only a slight difference in the
direction of these two. That is, (supposing only two winds, the north
and south,) the south wind from the commencement of the summer quarter
blows in a south-easterly direction; and from the commencement of the
winter quarter from the east. The north wind from the decline of the
summer, blows in a westerly direction, and from the decline of the
winter, in a north-westerly direction.
In support of this opinion of the two winds they adduce Thrasyalces and
our poet himself, forasmuch as he mentions the north-west with the
south,
“From the north-west south,”[169]
and the west with the north,
“As when two adverse winds, blowing from Thrace,
Boreas and Zephyrus.”[170]
But Posidonius remarks that none of those who are really acquainted with
these subjects, such as Aristotle, Timosthenes, and Bion the
astronomer, entertain so mistaken an opinion in regard to the winds.
They say that the north-east (Cæcias) blows from the commencement of
summer, and that the south-west wind (Libs), which is exactly opposite
to this, blows from the decline of winter. And again, the south-east
wind (Eurus), which is opposite to the north-west wind (Argestes), from
the commencement of winter. The east and west winds being intermediate.
When our poet makes use of the expression “stormy zephyr,” he means the
wind which is now called by us the north-west; and by the “clear-blowing
zephyr” our west wind; our Leuconotus is his Argestes-notus, or clearing
south wind,[171] for this wind brings but few clouds, all the other
southern winds bringing clouds and rain,[172]
“As when whirlwinds of the west
A storm encounter from the clearing south.”[173]
Here he alludes to the stormy zephyr, which very frequently scatters the
feathery clouds brought up by the Leuconotus, or, as it is called by way
of epithet, the clearing south.
The statements made by Eratosthenes in the first book of his Geography,
require some such correction as this.
22. Persisting in his false views in relation to Homer, he goes on to
say, “He was ignorant that the Nile separated into many mouths, nay, he
was not even acquainted with the name of the river, though Hesiod knew
it well, for he even mentions it.”[174] In respect of the name, it is
probable that it had not then been given to the river, and as to the
mouths, if they were obscure and little known, will not every one excuse
him for not being aware whether there were several or merely one? At
that time, the river, its rising, and its mouths were considered, as
they are at the present day, amongst the most remarkable, the most
wonderful, and most worthy of recording of all the peculiarities of
Egypt: who can suppose that those who told our poet of the country and
river of Egypt, of Egyptian Thebes, and of Pharos, were unaware of the
many embouchures of the Nile; or that being aware, they would not have
described them, were it not that they were too generally known? “But is
it not inconceivable that Homer should describe Ethiopia, and the
Sidonians, the Erembi, and the Exterior Sea,[175]—should tell us that
Ethiopia was divided into two parts, and yet nothing about those things
which were nearer and better known?” Certainly not, his not describing
these things is no proof that he was not acquainted with them. He does
not tell us of his own country, nor yet many other things. The most
probable reason is, they were so generally known that they did not
appear to him worth recording.[176]
23. Again, they are entirely wrong when they allege as a mark of Homer’s
ignorance, that he describes the island of Pharos[177] as entirely
surrounded by the sea. On the contrary, it might be taken advantage of
as a proof that our poet was not unacquainted with a single one of the
points concerning Egypt which we have just been speaking of: and thus we
demonstrate it:—Every one is prone to romance a little in narrating
his travels, and Menelaus was no exception to the rule. He had been to
Ethiopia,[178] and there heard much discussion concerning the sources of
the Nile, and the alluvium which it deposited, both along its course and
also at its mouths, and the large additions which it had thereby made to
the mainland, so as fully to justify the remark of Herodotus[179] that
the whole of Egypt was a gift from the river; or if not the whole, at
all events that part of it below the Delta, called Lower Egypt. He had
heard too that Pharos was entirely surrounded by sea, and therefore
misrepresented it as entirely surrounded by the sea, although it had
long ago ceased so to be. Now the author of all this was Homer, and we
therefore infer that he was not ignorant concerning either the sources
or the mouths of the Nile.
24. They are again mistaken when they say that he was not aware of the
isthmus between the sea of Egypt and the Arabian Gulf, and that his
description is false,
“The Ethiopians, utmost of mankind,
These eastward situate, those toward the west.”[180]
Nevertheless he is correct, and the criticism of the moderns is quite
out of place: indeed, there is so little truth in the assertion that
Homer was ignorant of this isthmus, that I will venture to affirm he was
not only acquainted with it, but has also accurately defined it. But
none of the grammarians, not even the chiefs of their number,
Aristarchus and Crates, have understood the words of our poet on this
subject. For they disagree as to the words which follow this expression
of Homer,
“The Ethiopians, utmost of mankind,
These eastward situate, those towards the west,”[181]
Aristarchus writing,
“These towards the west, and those towards the east,”
and Crates,
“As well in the west as also in the east.”
However, in regard to their hypotheses, it makes no difference whether
the passage were written this way or that. One of them, in fact, takes
what he considers the mathematical view of the case, and says that the
torrid zone is occupied by the ocean,[182] and that on each side of this
there is a temperate zone, one inhabited by us and another opposite
thereto. And as we call the Ethiopians, who are situated to the south,
and dwell along the shores of the ocean, the most distant on the face of
the inhabited globe; so he supposed that on the other side of the
ocean,[183] there were certain Ethiopians dwelling along the shores, who
would in like manner be considered the most distant[184] by the
inhabitants of the other temperate zone; and thus that the Ethiopians
were double, separated into two divisions by the ocean. He adds, “as
well in the west as also in the east,” because as the celestial zodiac
always corresponds to the terrestrial, and never exceeds in its
obliquity the space occupied by the two Ethiopias, the sun’s entire
course must necessarily be within this space, and also his rising and
setting, as it appears to different nations according to the sign which
he may be in.
He (Crates) adopted this version, because he considered it the more
astronomical. But it would have maintained his opinion of the division
of the Ethiopians into two parts, and at the same time have been much
more simple, had he said that the Ethiopians dwelt on either side of the
ocean from the rising to the setting of the sun. In this case what
difference does it make whether we follow his version, or adopt the
reading of Aristarchus,
“These towards the west, and those towards the east?”
which also means, that whether east or west, on either side of the
ocean, Ethiopians dwell. But Aristarchus rejects this hypothesis. He
says, “The Ethiopians with whom we are acquainted, and who are farthest
south from the Greeks, are those described by the poet as being
separated into two divisions. But Ethiopia is not so separated as to
form two countries, one situated towards the west, the other towards the
east, but only one, that which lies south of the Greeks and adjoins
Egypt; but of this the poet was ignorant, as well as of other matters
enumerated by Apollodorus, which he has falsely stated concerning
various places in his second book, containing the catalogue of the
ships.”
25. To refute Crates would require a lengthened argument, which here
perhaps may be considered out of place. Aristarchus we commend for
rejecting the hypothesis of Crates, which is open to many objections,
and for referring the expression of the poet to our Ethiopia. But the
remainder of his statement we must discuss. First, his minute
examination of the reading is altogether fruitless, for whichever way it
may have been written, his interpretation is equally applicable to both;
for what difference is there whether you say thus—In our opinion there
are two Ethiopias, one towards the east, the other to the west; or
thus—For they are as well towards the east as the west? Secondly, he
makes false assumptions. For admitting that the poet was ignorant of the
isthmus,[185] and that he alludes to the Ethiopia contiguous to Egypt,
when he says,
The Ethiopians separated into two divisions;[186]
what then? Are they not separated into two divisions, and could the poet
have thus expressed himself if he had been in ignorance? Is not Egypt,
nay, are not the Egyptians, separated into two divisions by the Nile
from the Delta to Syene,[187]
These towards the west, those towards the east?
And what else is Egypt, with the exception of the island formed by the
river and overflowed by its waters; does it not lie on either side of
the river both east and west?
Ethiopia runs in the same direction as Egypt, and resembles it both in
its position with respect to the Nile, and in its other geographical
circumstances. It is narrow, long, and subject to inundation; beyond the
reach of this inundation it is desolate and parched, and unfitted for
the habitation of man; some districts lying to the east and some to the
west of [the river]. How then can we deny that it is separated into two
divisions? Shall the Nile, which is looked upon by some people as the
proper boundary line between Asia and Libya,[188] and which extends
southward in length more than 10,000 stadia, embracing in its breadth
islands which contain populations of above ten thousand men, the largest
of these being Meroe, the seat of empire and metropolis of the
Ethiopians, be regarded as too insignificant to divide Ethiopia into two
parts? The greatest obstacle which they who object to the river being
made the line of demarcation between the two continents are able to
allege, is, that Egypt and Ethiopia are by this means divided, one part
of each being assigned to Libya, and the other to Asia, or, if this will
not suit, the continents cannot be divided at all, or at least not by
the river.
26. But besides these there is another method of dividing Ethiopia. All
those who have sailed along the coasts of Libya, whether starting from
the Arabian Gulf,[189] or the Pillars,[190] after proceeding a certain
distance, have been obliged to turn back again on account of a variety
of accidents; and thus originated a general belief that it was divided
midway by some isthmus, although the whole of the Atlantic Ocean is
confluent, more especially towards the south. Besides, all of these
navigators called the final country which they reached, Ethiopia, and
described it under that name. Is it therefore at all incredible, that
Homer, misled by such reports, separated them into two divisions, one
towards the east and the other west, not knowing whether there were any
intermediate countries or not? But there is another ancient tradition
related by Ephorus, which Homer had probably fallen in with. He tells us
it is reported by the Tartessians,[191] that some of the Ethiopians, on
their arrival in Libya,[192] penetrated into the extreme west, and
settled down there, while the rest occupied the greater part of the
sea-coast; and in support of this statement he quotes the passage of
Homer,
The Ethiopians, the farthest removed of men, separated into two
divisions.
27. These and other more stringent arguments may be urged against
Aristarchus and those of his school, to clear our poet from the charge
of such gross ignorance. I assert that the ancient Greeks, in the same
way as they classed all the northern nations with which they were
familiar under the one name of Scythians, or, according to Homer,
Nomades, and afterwards becoming acquainted with those towards the
west, styled them Kelts and Iberians; sometimes compounding the names
into Keltiberians, or Keltoscythians, thus ignorantly uniting various
distinct nations; so I affirm they designated as Ethiopia the whole of
the southern countries towards the ocean. Of this there is evidence, for
Æschylus, in the Prometheus Loosed,[193] thus speaks:
There [is] the sacred wave, and the coralled bed of the Erythræan
Sea, and [there] the luxuriant marsh of the Ethiopians, situated
near the ocean, glitters like polished brass; where daily in the
soft and tepid stream, the all-seeing sun bathes his undying
self, and refreshes his weary steeds.
And as the ocean holds the same position in respect to the sun, and
serves the same purpose throughout the whole southern region,[194]
he[195] therefore concludes that the Ethiopians inhabited the whole of
the region.
And Euripides in his Phaeton[196] says that Clymene was given
“To Merops, sovereign of that land
Which from his four-horsed chariot first
The rising sun strikes with his golden rays;
And which its swarthy neighbours call
The radiant stable of the Morn and Sun.”
Here the poet merely describes them as the common stables of the Morning
and of the Sun; but further on he tells us they were near to the
dwellings of Merops, and in fact the whole plot of the piece has
reference to this. This does not therefore refer alone to the [land]
next to Egypt, but rather to the whole southern country extending along
the sea-coast.
28. Ephorus likewise shows us the opinion of the ancients respecting
Ethiopia, in his Treatise on Europe. He says, “If the whole celestial
and terrestrial globe were divided into four parts, the Indians would
possess that towards the east, the Ethiopians towards the south, the
Kelts towards the west, and the Scythians towards the north.” He adds
that Ethiopia is larger than Scythia; for, says he, it appears that the
country of the Ethiopians extends from the rising to the setting of the
sun in winter; and Scythia is opposite to it.
It is evident this was the opinion of Homer, since he places Ithaca
Towards the gloomy region,[197]
that is, towards the north,[198] but the others apart,
Towards the morning and the sun,
by which he means the whole southern hemisphere: and again when he says,
“speed they their course
With right-hand flight towards the ruddy east,
Or leftward down into the shades of eve.”[199]
And again,
“Alas! my friends, for neither west
Know we, nor east, where rises or where sets
The all-enlightening sun.”[200]
Which we shall explain more fully when we come to speak of Ithaca.[201]
When therefore he says,
“For to the banks of the Oceanus,
Where Ethiopia holds a feast to Jove,
He journey’d yesterday,”[202]
we should take this in a general sense, and understand by it the whole
of the ocean which washes Ethiopia and the southern region, for to
whatever part of this region you direct your attention, you will there
find both the ocean and Ethiopia. It is in a similar style he says,
“But Neptune, traversing in his return
From Ethiopia’s sons the mountain heights
Of Solymè, descried him from afar.”[203]
which is equal to saying, “in his return from the southern
regions,”[204] meaning by the Solymi, as I remarked before, not those of
Pisidia, but certain others merely imaginary, having the same name, and
bearing the like relation to the navigators in [Ulysses’] ship, and the
southern inhabitants there called Ethiopians, as those of Pisidia do in
regard to Pontus and the inhabitants of Egyptian Ethiopia. What he says
about the cranes must likewise be understood in a general sense.
“Such clang is heard
Along the skies, when from incessant showers
Escaping, and from winter’s cold, the cranes
Take wing, and over ocean speed away.
Woe to the land of dwarfs! prepared they fly
For slaughter of the small Pygmæan race.”[205]
For it is not in Greece alone that the crane is observed to emigrate to
more southern regions, but likewise from Italy and Iberia,[206] from
[the shores of] the Caspian, and from Bactriana. But since the ocean
extends along the whole southern coast, and the cranes fly to all parts
of it indiscriminately at the approach of winter, we must likewise
believe that the Pygmies[207] were equally considered to inhabit the
whole of it.
And if the moderns have confined the term of Ethiopians to those only
who dwell near to Egypt, and have also restricted the Pygmies in like
manner, this must not be allowed to interfere with the meaning of the
ancients. We do not speak of all the people who fought against Troy as
merely Achæans and Argives, though Homer describes the whole under those
two names. Similar to this is my remark concerning the separation of the
Ethiopians into two divisions, that under that designation we should
understand the whole of the nations inhabiting the sea-board from east
to west. The Ethiopians taken in this sense are naturally separated into
two parts by the Arabian Gulf, which occupies a considerable portion of
a meridian circle,[208] and resembles a river, being in length nearly
15,000 stadia,[209] and in breadth not above 1000 at the widest point.
In addition to the length, the recess of the Gulf is distant from the
sea at Pelusium only three or four days’ journey across the isthmus. On
this account those who are most felicitous in their division of Asia and
Africa, prefer the Gulf[210] as a better boundary line for the two
continents than the Nile, since it extends almost entirely from sea to
sea, whereas the Nile is so remote from the ocean that it does not by
any means divide the whole of Asia from Africa. On this account I
believe it was the Gulf which the poet looked upon as dividing into two
portions the whole southern regions of the inhabited earth. Is it
possible, then, that he was unacquainted with the isthmus which
separates this Gulf from the Egyptian Sea?[211]
29. It is quite irrational to suppose that he could be accurately
acquainted with Egyptian Thebes,[212] which is separated from our
sea[213] by a little less than 5000[214] stadia; and yet ignorant of the
recess of the Arabian Gulf, and of the isthmus there, whose breadth is
not more than 1000 stadia. Still more, would it not be ridiculous to
believe that Homer was aware the Nile was called by the same name as the
vast country [of Egypt], and yet unacquainted with the reason why?
especially since the saying of Herodotus would occur to him, that the
country was a gift from the river, and it ought therefore to bear its
name. Further, the best known peculiarities of a country are those which
have something of the nature of a paradox, and are likely to arrest
general attention. Of this kind are the rising of the Nile, and the
alluvial deposition at its mouth. There is nothing in the whole country
to which travellers in Egypt so immediately direct their inquiries, as
the character of the Nile; nor do the inhabitants possess any thing else
equally wonderful and curious, of which to inform foreigners; for in
fact, to give them a description of the river, is to lay open to their
view every main characteristic of the country. It is the question put
before every other by those who have never seen Egypt themselves. To
these considerations we must add Homer’s thirst after knowledge, and his
delight in visiting foreign lands, (tastes which we are assured both by
those who have written histories of his life, and also by innumerable
testimonies throughout his own poems, he possessed in an eminent
degree,) and we shall have abundant evidence both of the extent of his
information, and the felicity with which he described objects he deemed
important, and passed over altogether, or with slight allusion, matters
which were generally known.
30. These Egyptians and Syrians[215] whom we have been criticising fill
one with amazement. They do not understand [Homer], even when he is
describing their own countries, but accuse him of ignorance where, as
our argument proves, they are open to the charge themselves. Not to
mention a thing is clearly no evidence that a person is not acquainted
with it.[216] Homer does not tell us of the change in the current of the
Euripus, nor of Thermopylæ, nor of many other remarkable things well
known to the Greeks; but was he therefore unacquainted with them? He
describes to us, although these men, who are obstinately deaf, will not
hear: they have themselves to blame.
Our poet applies to rivers the epithet of “heaven-sent.” And this not
only to mountain torrents, but to all rivers alike, since they are all
replenished by the showers. But even what is general becomes particular
when it is bestowed on any object _par excellence_. Heaven-sent, when
applied to a mountain torrent, means something else than when it is the
epithet of the ever-flowing river; but the force of the term is doubly
felt when attributed to the Nile. For as there are hyperboles of
hyperboles, for instance, to be “lighter than the shadow of a cork,”
“more timid than a Phrygian hare,”[217] “to possess an estate shorter
than a Lacedæmonian epistle;” so excellence becomes more excellent, when
the title of “heaven-sent” is given to the Nile. The mountain torrent
has a better claim to be called heaven-sent than other rivers, but the
Nile exceeds the mountain torrents, both in its size and the lengthened
period of its overflow. Since, then, the wonders of this river were
known to our poet, as we have shown in this defence, when he applies
this epithet to the Nile, it must only be understood in the way we have
explained. Homer did not think it worth mentioning, especially to those
who were acquainted with the fact, that the Nile had many mouths, since
this is a common feature of numerous other rivers. Alcæus[218] does not
mention it, although he tells us he had been in Egypt. One might infer
the fact of its alluvial deposit, both from the rising [of the river]
and what Homer tells us concerning Pharos. For his account, or rather
the vulgar report concerning Pharos, that it was distant from the
mainland a whole day’s voyage, ought not to be looked upon as a
downright falsehood.
It is clear that Homer was only acquainted with the rising and deposit
of the river in a general way, and concluding from what he heard that
the island had been further removed in the time of Menelaus from the
mainland, than it was in his own, he magnified the distance, simply that
he might heighten the fiction. Fictions however are not the offspring of
ignorance, as is sufficiently plain from those concerning Proteus, the
Pygmies, the efficacy of charms, and many others similar to these
fabricated by the poets. They narrate these things not through ignorance
of the localities, but for the sake of giving pleasure and enjoyment.
But [some one may inquire], how could he describe [Pharos], which is
without water as possessed of that necessary?
“The haven there is good, and many a ship
Finds watering there from rivulets on the coast.”[219]
[I answer,] It is not impossible that the sources of water may since
have failed. Besides, he does not say that the water was procured from
the island, but that they went thither on account of the safety of the
harbour; the water was probably obtained from the mainland, and by the
expression the poet seems to admit that what he had before said of its
being wholly surrounded by sea was not the actual fact, but a hyperbole
or fiction.
31. As his description of the wanderings of Menelaus may seem to
authenticate the charge of ignorance made against him in respect to
those regions, it will perhaps be best to point out the difficulties of
the narrative, and their explanation, and at the same time enter into a
fuller defence of our poet. Menelaus thus addresses Telemachus, who is
admiring the splendour of his palace:
“After numerous toils
And perilous wanderings o’er the stormy deep,
In the eighth year at last I brought them home.
Cyprus, Phœnicia, Sidon, and the shores
Of Egypt, roaming without hope, I reach’d,
In distant Ethiopia thence arrived,
And Libya.”[220]
It is asked, What Ethiopians could he have met with on his voyage from
Egypt? None are to be found dwelling by our sea,[221] and with his
vessels[222] he could never have reached the cataracts of the Nile.
Next, who are the Sidonians? Certainly not the inhabitants of Phœnicia;
for having mentioned the genus, he would assuredly not particularize the
species.[223] And then the Erembi; this is altogether a new name. Our
contemporary Aristonicus, the grammarian, in his [observations] on the
wanderings of Menelaus, has recorded the opinions of numerous writers on
each of the heads under discussion. It will be sufficient for us to
refer to them very briefly. They who assert that Menelaus went by sea to
Ethiopia, tell us he directed his course past Cadiz into the Indian
Ocean;[224] with which, say they, the long duration of his wanderings
agrees, since he did not arrive there till the eighth year. Others, that
he passed through the isthmus[225] which enters the Arabian Gulf; and
others again, through one of the canals. At the same time the idea of
this circumnavigation, which owes its origin to Crates, is not
necessary; we do not mean it was impossible, (for the wanderings of
Ulysses are not impossible,) but neither the mathematical hypothesis,
nor yet the duration of the wandering, require such an explanation; for
he was both retarded against his will by accidents in the voyage, as by
[the tempest] which he narrates five only of his sixty ships survived;
and also by voluntary delays for the sake of amassing wealth. Nestor
says [of him],
“Thus he, provision gathering as he went,
And gold abundant, roam’d to distant lands.”[226]
[And Menelaus himself],
“Cyprus, Phœnicia, and the Egyptians’ land
I wandered through.”[227]
As to the navigation of the isthmus, or one of the canals, if it had
been related by Homer himself, we should have counted it a myth; but as
he does not relate it, we regard it as entirely extravagant and unworthy
of belief. We say unworthy of belief, because at the time of the Trojan
war no canal was in existence. It is recorded that Sesostris, who had
planned the formation of one, apprehending that the level of the sea was
too high to admit of it, desisted from the undertaking.[228]
Moreover the isthmus itself was not passable for ships, and Eratosthenes
is unfortunate in his conjecture, for he considers that the strait at
the Pillars was not then formed, so that the Atlantic should by that
channel communicate with the Mediterranean, and that this sea being
higher than the Isthmus [of Suez], covered it; but when the Strait [of
Gibraltar] was formed, the sea subsided considerably; and left the land
about Casium[229] and Pelusium[230] dry as far over as the Red Sea.
But what account have we of the formation of this strait, supposing it
were not in existence prior to the Trojan war? Is it likely that our
poet would make Ulysses sail out through the Strait [of Gibraltar] into
the Atlantic Ocean, as if that strait already existed, and at the same
time describe Menelaus conducting his ships from Egypt to the Red Sea,
as if it did not exist. Further, the poet introduces Proteus as saying
to him,
“Thee the gods
Have destined to the blest Elysian Isles,
Earth’s utmost boundaries.”[231]
And what this place was, namely, some far western region, is evident
from [the mention of] the Zephyr in connexion with it:
“But Zephyr always gently from the sea
Breathes on them.”[232]
This, however, is very enigmatical.
32. But if our poet speaks of the Isthmus of Suez as ever having been
the strait of confluence between the Mediterranean and the Red Seas, how
much more credit may we attribute to his division of the Ethiopians into
two portions, being thus separated by so grand a strait! And what
commerce could he have carried on with the Ethiopians who dwelt by the
shores of the exterior sea and the ocean? Telemachus and his companions
admire the multitude of ornaments that were in the palace,
“Of gold, electrum, silver, ivory.”[233]
Now the Ethiopians are possessed of none of these productions in any
abundance, excepting ivory, being for the most part a needy and nomad
race. True, [you say,] but adjoining them is Arabia, and the whole
country as far as India. One of these is distinguished above all other
lands by the title of Felix,[234] and the other, though not dignified by
that name, is both generally believed and also said to be pre-eminently
Blessed.
But [we reply], Homer was not acquainted with India, or he would have
described it. And though he knew of the Arabia which is now named Felix,
at that time it was by no means wealthy, but a wild country, the
inhabitants of which dwelt for the most part in tents. It is only a
small district which produces the aromatics from which the whole
territory afterwards received its name,[235] owing to the rarity of the
commodity amongst us, and the value set upon it. That the Arabians are
now flourishing and wealthy is due to their vast and extended traffic,
but formerly it does not appear to have been considerable. A merchant or
camel-driver might attain to opulence by the sale of these aromatics and
similar commodities; but Menelaus could only become so either by
plunder, or presents conferred on him by kings and nobles, who had the
means at their disposal, and wished to gratify one so distinguished by
glory and renown. The Egyptians, it is true, and the neighbouring
Ethiopians and Arabians, were not so entirely destitute of the luxuries
of civilization, nor so unacquainted with the fame of Agamemnon,
especially after the termination of the Trojan war, but that Menelaus
might have expected some benefits from their generosity, even as the
breastplate of Agamemnon is said to be
“The gift
Of Cinyras long since; for rumour loud
Had Cyprus reached.”[236]
And we are told that the greater part of his wanderings were in
Phœnicia, Syria, Egypt, Africa, around Cyprus, and, in fact, the whole
of our coasts and islands.[237] Here, indeed, he might hope to enrich
himself both by the gifts of friendship and by violence, and especially
by the plunder of those who had been the allies of Troy. They however
who dwelt on the exterior ocean, and the distant barbarians, held out no
such encouragement: and when Menelaus is said to have been in Ethiopia,
it is because he had reached the frontiers of that country next Egypt.
But perhaps at that time the frontiers lay more contiguous to Thebes
than they do now. At the present day the nearest are the districts
adjacent to Syene and Philæ,[238] the former town being entirely in
Egypt, while Philæ is inhabited by a mixed population of Ethiopians and
Egyptians. Supposing therefore he had arrived at Thebes, and thus
reached the boundary-line of Ethiopia, where he experienced the
munificence of the king, we must not be surprised if he is described as
having passed through the country.[239] On no better authority Ulysses
declares he has been to the land of the Cyclops, although he merely left
the sea to enter a cavern which he himself tells us was situated on the
very borders of the country: and, in fact, wherever he came to anchor,
whether at Æolia, Læstrygonia, or elsewhere, he is stated to have
visited those places. In the same manner Menelaus is said to have been
to Ethiopia and Libya, because here and there he touched at those
places, and the port near Ardania above Parætonium[240] is called after
him “the port of Menelaus.”[241]
33. When, after mentioning Phœnicia, he talks of Sidon, its metropolis,
he merely employs a common form of expression, for example,
He urged the Trojans and Hector to the ships.[242]
For the sons of magnanimous Œneus were no more, nor was he himself
surviving; moreover, fair-haired Meleager was dead.[243]
He came to Ida—and to Gargarus.[244]
He possessed Eubœa, Chalcis, and Eretria.[245]
Sappho likewise [says],
Whether Cyprus, or the spacious-harboured Paphos.[246]
But he had some other cause besides this for mentioning Sidon
immediately after having spoken of the Phœnicians: for had he merely
desired to recount the nations in order, it would have been quite
sufficient to say,
Having wandered to Cyprus, Phœnice, and the Egyptians, I came to
the Ethiopians.[247]
But that he might record his sojourn amongst the Sidonians, which was
considerably prolonged, he thought it well to refer to it repeatedly.
Thus he praises their prosperity and skill in the arts, and alludes to
the hospitality the citizens had shown to Helen and Alexander. Thus he
tells us of the many [treasures] of this nature laid up in store by
Alexander.[248]
“There his treasures lay,
Works of Sidonian women, whom her son,
The godlike Paris, when he crossed the seas
With Jove-begotten Helen, brought to Troy.”[249]
And also by Menelaus, who says to Telemachus,
“I give thee this bright beaker, argent all,
But round encircled with a lip of gold.
It is the work of Vulcan, which to me
The hero Phædimus presented, king
Of the Sidonians, when on my return
Beneath his roof I lodged. I make it thine.”[250]
Here the expression, “work of Vulcan,” must be looked upon as a
hyperbole: in the same way all elegant productions are said to be the
work of Minerva, of the Graces, or of the Muses. But that the Sidonians
were skilful artists, is clear from the praises bestowed [by Homer] on
the bowl which Euneos gave in exchange for Lycaon:
“Earth
Own’d not its like for elegance of form.
Skilful Sidonian artists had around
Embellish’d it, and o’er the sable deep
Phœnician merchants into Lemnos’ port
Had borne it.”[251]
34. Many conjectures have been hazarded as to who the Erembi were: they
who suppose the Arabs are intended, seem to deserve the most credit.
Our Zeno reads the passage thus:—
I came to the Ethiopians, the Sidonians, and the Arabians.
But there is no occasion to tamper with the text, which is of great
antiquity; it is a far preferable course to suppose a change in the name
itself, which is of frequent and ordinary occurrence in every nation:
and in fact certain grammarians establish this view by a comparison of
the radical letters. Posidonius seems to me to adopt the better plan
after all, in looking for the etymology of names in nations of one stock
and community; thus between the Armenians, Syrians, and Arabians there
is a strong affinity both in regard to dialect, mode of life,
peculiarities of physical conformation, and above all in the contiguity
of the countries. Mesopotamia, which is a motley of the three nations,
is a proof of this; for the similarity amongst these three is very
remarkable. And though in consequence of the various latitudes there may
be some difference between those who dwell in the north[252] and those
of the south,[253] and again between each of these and the inhabitants
of the middle region,[254] still the same characteristics are dominant
in all. Also the Assyrians and Arians have a great affinity both to
these people and to each other. And [Posidonius] believes there is a
similarity in the names of these different nations. Those whom we call
Syrians style themselves Armenians and Arammæans, names greatly like
those of the Armenians, Arabs, and Erembi. Perhaps this [last] term is
that by which the Greeks anciently designated the Arabs; the etymon of
the word certainly strengthens the idea. Many deduce the etymology of
the Erembi from ἔραν ἐμβαίνειν, (to go into the earth,) which [they say]
was altered by the people of a later generation into the more
intelligible name of Troglodytes,[255] by which are intended those Arabs
who dwell on that side of the Arabian Gulf next to Egypt and Ethiopia.
It is probable then that the poet describes Menelaus as having visited
these people in the same way that he says he visited the Ethiopians; for
they are likewise near to the Thebaid; and he mentions them not on
account of any commerce or gain, (for of these there was not much,) but
probably to enhance the length of the journey and his meed of praise:
for such distant travelling was highly thought of. For example,—
“Discover’d various cities, and the mind
And manners learn’d of men in lands remote.”[256]
And again:
“After numerous toils
And perilous wanderings o’er the stormy deep,
In the eighth year at last I brought them home.”[257]
Hesiod, in his Catalogue,[258] writes,
And the daughter of Arabus, whom gracious Hermes and Thronia,
descended from king Belus, brought forth.
Thus, too, says Stesichorus. Whence it seems that at that time the
country was from him named Arabia, though it is not likely this was the
case in the heroic period.[259]
35. There are many who would make the Erembi a tribe of the Ethiopians,
or of the Cephenes, or again of the Pygmies, and a thousand other
fancies. These ought to be regarded with little trust; since their
opinion is not only incredible, but they evidently labour under a
certain confusion as to the different characters of history and fable.
In the same category must be reckoned those who place the Sidonians and
Phœnicians in the Persian Gulf, or somewhere else in the Ocean, and make
the wanderings of Menelaus to have happened there. Not the least cause
for mistrusting these writers is the manner in which they contradict
each other. One half would have us believe that the Sidonians are a
colony from the people whom they describe as located on the shores of
the [Indian] Ocean, and who they say were called Phœnicians from the
colour of the Erythræan Sea, while the others declare the opposite.[260]
Some again would transport Ethiopia into our Phœnicia, and make Joppa
the scene of the adventures of Andromeda;[261] and this not from any
ignorance of the topography of those places, but by a kind of mythic
fiction similar to those of Hesiod and other writers censured by
Apollodorus, who, however, couples Homer with them, without, as it
appears, any cause. He cites as instances what Homer relates of the
Euxine and Egypt, and accuses him of ignorance for pretending to speak
the actual truth, and then recounting fable, all the while ignorantly
mistaking it for fact. Will any one then accuse Hesiod of ignorance on
account of his _Hemicynes_,[262] his _Macrocephali_,[263] and his
Pygmies; or Homer for his like fables, and amongst others the Pygmies
themselves; or Alcman[264] for describing the _Steganopodes_;[265] or
Æschylus for his _Cynocephali_,[266] _Sternophthalmi_,[267] and
_Monommati_;[268] when amongst prose writers, and in works bearing the
appearance of veritable history, we frequently meet with similar
narrations, and that without any admission of their having inserted such
myths. Indeed it becomes immediately evident that they have woven
together a tissue of myths not through ignorance of the real facts, but
merely to amuse by a deceptive narration of the impossible and
marvellous. If they appear to do this in ignorance, it is because they
can romance more frequently and with greater plausibility on those
things which are uncertain and unknown. This Theopompus plainly
confesses in the announcement of his intention to relate the fables in
his history in a better style than Herodotus, Ctesias, Hellanicus, and
those who had written on the affairs of India.
36. Homer has described to us the phenomena of the ocean under the form
of a myth; this [art] is very desirable in a poet; the idea of his
Charybdis was taken from the ebb and flow of the tide, and was by no
means a pure invention of his own, but derived from what he knew
concerning the Strait of Sicily.[269] And although he states that the
ebb and flow occurred thrice during the four and twenty hours, instead
of twice,
“(Each day she thrice disgorges, and each day
Thrice swallows it,”)[270]
we must suppose that he said this not through any ignorance of the fact,
but for tragic effect, and to excite the fear which Circe endeavours to
infuse into her arguments to deter Ulysses from departing, even at a
little expense of truth. The following is the language Circe makes use
of in her speech to him:
“Each day she thrice disgorges, and each day
Thrice swallows it. Ah! well-forewarn’d beware
What time she swallows, that thou come not nigh,
For not himself, Neptune, could snatch thee thence.”[271]
And yet when Ulysses was ingulfed in the eddy he was not lost. He tells
us himself,
“It was the time when she absorb’d profound
The briny flood, but by a wave upborne,
I seized the branches fast of the wild fig,
To which bat-like I clung.”[272]
And then having waited for the timbers of the wreck he seized hold of
them, and thus saved himself. Circe, therefore, had exaggerated both the
peril, and also the fact of its vomiting forth thrice a day instead of
twice. However, this latter is a hyperbole which every one makes use of;
thus we say thrice-happy and thrice-miserable.
So the poet,
“Thrice-happy Greeks!”[273]
Again,
“O delightful, thrice-wished for!”[274]
And again,
“O thrice and four times.”[275]
Any one, too, might conclude from the passage itself that Homer even
here hinted at the truth, for the long time which the remains of the
wreck lay under water, which Ulysses, who was all the while hanging
suspended to the branches, so anxiously desired to rise, accords much
better with the ebb and flow taking place but twice during the night and
day instead of thrice.
“Therefore hard
I clench’d the boughs, till she disgorged again
Both keel and mast. Not undesired by me
They came, though late; for at what hour the judge,
After decision made of numerous strifes
Between young candidates for honour, leaves
The forum, for refreshment’s sake at home,
Then was it that the mast and keel emerged.”[276]
Every word of this indicates a considerable length of time, especially
when he prolongs it to the evening, not merely saying at that time when
the judge has risen, but having adjudicated on a vast number of cases,
and therefore detained longer than usual. Otherwise his account of the
return of the wreck would not have appeared likely, if he had brought it
back again with the return of the wave, before it had been first carried
a long way off.
37. Apollodorus, who agrees with Eratosthenes, throws much blame upon
Callimachus for asserting, in spite of his character as a grammarian,
that Gaudus[277] and Corcyra[278] were among the scenes of Ulysses’
wandering, such an opinion being altogether in defiance of Homer’s
statement, and his description of the places as situated in the exterior
ocean.[279]
This criticism is just if we suppose the wandering to have never
actually occurred, and to be merely the result of Homer’s imagination;
but if it did take place, although in other regions, Apollodorus ought
plainly to have stated which they were, and thus set right the mistake
of Callimachus. Since, however, after such evidence as we have produced,
we cannot believe the whole account to be a fiction, and since no other
more likely places have as yet been named, we hold that the grammarian
is absolved from blame.
38. Demetrius of Skepsis is also wrong, and, in fact, the cause of some
of the mistakes of Apollodorus. He eagerly objects to the statement of
Neanthes of Cyzicus, that the Argonauts, when they sailed to the
Phasis,[280] founded at Cyzicus the temples of the Idæan Mother.[281]
Though their voyage is attested both by Homer and other writers, he
denies that Homer had any knowledge whatever of the departure of Jason
to the Phasis. In so doing, he not only contradicts the very words of
Homer, but even his own assertions. The poet informs us that Achilles,
having ravaged Lesbos[282] and other districts, spared Lemnos[283] and
the adjoining islands, on account of his relationship with Jason and his
son Euneos,[284] who then had possession of the island. How should he
know of a relationship, identity of race, or other connexion existing
between Achilles and Jason, which, after all, was nothing else than that
they were both Thessalians, one being of Iolcos,[285] the other of the
Achæan Pthiotis,[286] and yet was not aware how it happened that Jason,
who was a Thessalian of Iolcos, should leave no descendants in the land
of his nativity, but establish his son as ruler of Lemnos? Homer then
was familiar with the history of Pelias and the daughters of Pelias, of
Alcestis, who was the most charming of them all, and of her son
“Eumelus, whom Alcestis, praised
For beauty above all her sisters fair,
In Thessaly to king Admetus bore,”[287]
and was yet ignorant of all that befell Jason, and Argo, and the
Argonauts, matters on the actual occurrence of which all the world is
agreed. The tale then of their voyage in the ocean from Æeta, was a mere
fiction, for which he had no authority in history.
39. If, however, the expedition to the Phasis, fitted out by Pelias, its
return, and the conquest of several islands, have at the bottom any
truth whatever, as all say they have, so also has the account of their
wanderings, no less than those of Ulysses and Menelaus; monuments of the
actual occurrence of which remain to this day elsewhere than in the
writings of Homer. The city of Æa, close by the Phasis, is still pointed
out. Æetes is generally believed to have reigned in Colchis, the name is
still common throughout the country, tales of the sorceress Medea are
yet abroad, and the riches of the country in gold, silver, and iron,
proclaim the motive of Jason’s expedition, as well as of that which
Phrixus had formerly undertaken. Traces both of one and the other still
remain. Such is Phrixium,[288] midway between Colchis and Iberia, and
the Jasonia, or towns of Jason, which are every where met with in
Armenia, Media, and the surrounding countries. Many are the witnesses to
the reality of the expeditions of Jason and Phrixus at Sinope[289] and
its shore, at Propontis, at the Hellespont, and even at Lemnos. Of Jason
and his Colchian followers there are traces even as far as Crete,[290]
Italy, and the Adriatic. Callimachus himself alludes to it where he
says,
”[The temple of] Apollo and [the Isle of] Anaphe,[291]
Near to Laconian Thera.”[292]
In the verses which commence,
“I sing how the heroes from Cytæan Æeta,
Return’d again to ancient Æmonia.”[293]
And again concerning the Colchians, who,
“Ceasing to plough with oars the Illyrian Sea,[294]
Near to the tomb of fair Harmonia,
Who was transform’d into a dragon’s shape,
Founded their city, which a Greek would call
The Town of Fugitives, but in their tongue
Is Pola named.”
Some writers assert that Jason and his companions sailed high up the
Ister, others say he sailed only so far as to be able to gain the
Adriatic: the first statement results altogether from ignorance; the
second, which supposes there is a second Ister having its source from
the larger river of the same name, and discharging its waters into the
Adriatic, is neither incredible nor even improbable.[295]
40. Starting from these premises, the poet, in conformity both with
general custom and his own practice, narrates some circumstances as they
actually occurred, and paints others in the colours of fiction. He
follows history when he tells us of Æetes and Jason also, when he talks
of Argo, and on the authority of [the actual city of Æa], feigns his
city of Ææa, when he settles Euneos in Lemnos, and makes that island
friendly to Achilles, and when, in imitation of Medea, he makes the
sorceress Circe
“Sister by birth of the all-wise Æetes,”[296]
he adds the fiction of the entrance of the Argonauts into the exterior
ocean as the sequel to their wanderings on their return home. Here,
supposing the previous statements admitted, the truth of the phrase “the
renowned Argo,”[297] is evident, since, in that case, the expedition
was directed to a populous and well-known country. But if, as
[Demetrius] of Skepsis asserts, on the authority of Mimnermus, Æetes
dwelt by the Ocean, and Jason was sent thither far east by Pelias, to
bring back the fleece, it neither seems probable that such an expedition
would have been undertaken into unknown and obscure countries after the
Fleece, nor could a voyage to lands desert, uninhabited, and so far
remote from us, be considered either glorious or renowned.
[Here follow the words of Demetrius.]
“Nor as yet had Jason, having accomplished the arduous journey,
carried off the splendid fleece from Æa, fulfilling the dangerous
mission of the insolent Pelias, nor had they ploughed the
glorious wave of the ocean.”
And again:
“The city of Æetes, where the rays of the swift sun recline on
their golden bed by the shore of the ocean, which the noble Jason
visited.”
CHAPTER III.
1. Eratosthenes is guilty of another fault in so frequently referring to
the works of men beneath his notice, sometimes for the purpose of
refuting them; at others, when he agrees with them, in order to cite
them as authorities. I allude to Damastes, and such as him, who even
when they speak the truth, are utterly unworthy of being appealed to as
authorities, or vouchers for the credibility of a statement. For such
purposes the writings of trustworthy men should only be employed, who
have accurately described much; and though perhaps they may have omitted
many points altogether, and barely touched on others, are yet never
guilty of wilfully falsifying their statements. To cite Damastes as an
authority is little better than to quote the Bergæan,[298] or Euemerus
the Messenian, and those other scribblers whom Eratosthenes himself
sneers at for their absurdities. Why, he even points out as one of the
follies of this Damastes, his observation that the Arabian Gulf was a
lake;[299] likewise the statement that Diotimus, the son of Strombicus
and chief of the Athenian legation, sailed through Cilicia up the
Cydnus[300] into the river Choaspes,[301] which flows by Susa,[302] and
so arrived at that capital after forty days’ journey. This particular he
professes to state on the authority of Diotimus himself, and then
expresses his wonder whether the Cydnus could actually cross the
Euphrates and Tigris in order to disgorge itself into the Choaspes.[303]
2. However, this is not all we have to say against him. Of many places
he tells us that nothing is known, when in fact they have every one been
accurately described. Then he warns us to be very cautious in believing
what we are told on such matters, and endeavours by long and tedious
arguments to show the value of his advice; swallowing at the same time
the most ridiculous absurdities himself concerning the Euxine and
Adriatic. Thus he believed the Bay of Issus[304] to be the most easterly
point of the Mediterranean, though Dioscurias,[305] which is nearly at
the bottom of the Pontus Euxinus, is, according to his own calculations,
farther east by a distance of 3000 stadia.[306] In describing the
northern and farther parts of the Adriatic he cannot refrain from
similar romancing, and gives credit to many strange narrations
concerning what lies beyond the Pillars of Hercules, informing us of an
Isle of Kerne there, and other places now nowhere to be found, which we
shall speak of presently.
Having remarked that the ancients, whether out on piratical excursions,
or for the purposes of commerce, never ventured into the high seas, but
crept along the coast, and instancing Jason, who leaving his vessels at
Colchis penetrated into Armenia and Media on foot, he proceeds to tell
us that formerly no one dared to navigate either the Euxine or the seas
by Libya, Syria, and Cilicia. If by _formerly_ he means periods so long
past that we possess no record of them, it is of little consequence to
us whether they navigated those seas or not, but if [he speaks] of times
of which we know any thing, and if we are to place any trust in the
accounts which have come down to us, every one will admit that the
ancients appear to have made longer journeys both by sea and land than
their successors; witness Bacchus, Hercules, nay Jason himself, and
again Ulysses and Menelaus, of whom Homer tells us. It seems most
probable that Theseus and Pirithous are indebted to some long voyages
for the credit they afterwards obtained of having visited the infernal
regions; and in like manner the Dioscuri[307] gained the appellation of
guardians of the sea, and the deliverers of sailors.[308] The
sovereignty of the seas exercised by Minos, and the navigation carried
on by the Phœnicians, is well known. A little after the period of the
Trojan war they had penetrated beyond the Pillars of Hercules, and
founded cities as well there as to the midst of the African coast.[309]
Is it not correct to number amongst the ancients Æneas,[310]
Antenor,[311] the Heneti, and all the crowd of warriors, who, after the
destruction of Troy, wandered over the face of the whole earth? For at
the conclusion of the war both the Greeks and Barbarians found
themselves deprived, the one of their livelihood at home, the other of
the fruits of their expedition; so that when Troy was overthrown, the
victors, and still more the vanquished, who had survived the conflict,
were compelled by want to a life of piracy; and we learn that they
became the founders of many cities along the sea-coast beyond
Greece,[312] besides several inland settlements.[313]
3. Again, having discoursed on the advance of knowledge respecting the
Geography of the inhabited earth, between the time of Alexander and the
period when he was writing, Eratosthenes goes into a description of the
figure of the earth; not merely of the habitable earth, an account of
which would have been very suitable, but of the whole earth, which
should certainly have been given too, but not in this disorderly manner.
He proceeds to tell us that the earth is spheroidal, not however
perfectly so, inasmuch as it has certain irregularities, he then
enlarges on the successive changes of its form, occasioned by water,
fire, earthquakes, eruptions, and the like; all of which is entirely out
of place, for the spheroidal form of the whole earth is the result of
the system of the universe, and the phenomena which he mentions do not
in the least change its general form; such little matters being entirely
lost in the great mass of the earth. Still they cause various
peculiarities in different parts of our globe, and result from a variety
of causes.
4. He points out as a most interesting subject for disquisition the fact
of our finding, often quite inland, two or three thousand stadia from
the sea, vast numbers of muscle, oyster, and scallop-shells, and
salt-water lakes.[314] He gives as an instance, that about the temple
of Ammon,[315] and along the road to it for the space of 3000 stadia,
there are yet found a vast amount of oyster shells, many salt-beds, and
salt springs bubbling up, besides which are pointed out numerous
fragments of wreck which they say have been cast up through some
opening, and dolphins placed on pedestals with the inscription, Of the
delegates from Cyrene. Herein he agrees with the opinion of Strato the
natural philosopher, and Xanthus of Lydia. Xanthus mentioned that in the
reign of Artaxerxes there was so great a drought, that every river,
lake, and well was dried up: and that in many places he had seen a long
way from the sea fossil shells, some like cockles, others resembling
scallop shells, also salt lakes in Armenia, Matiana,[316] and Lower
Phrygia, which induced him to believe that sea had formerly been where
the land now was. Strato, who went more deeply into the causes of these
phenomena, was of opinion that formerly there was no exit to the Euxine
as now at Byzantium, but that the rivers running into it had forced a
way through, and thus let the waters escape into the Propontis, and
thence to the Hellespont.[317] And that a like change had occurred in
the Mediterranean. For the sea being overflowed by the rivers, had
opened for itself a passage by the Pillars of Hercules, and thus, much
that was formerly covered by water, had been left dry.[318] He gives as
the cause of this, that anciently the levels of the Mediterranean and
Atlantic were not the same, and states that a bank of earth, the remains
of the ancient separation of the two seas, is still stretched under
water from Europe to Africa. He adds, that the Euxine is the most
shallow, and the seas of Crete, Sicily, and Sardinia much deeper, which
is occasioned by the number of large rivers flowing into the Euxine
both from the north and east, and so filling it up with mud, whilst the
others preserve their depth. This is the cause of the remarkable
sweetness of the Euxine Sea, and of the currents which regularly set
towards the deepest part. He gives it as his opinion, that should the
rivers continue to flow in the same direction, the Euxine will in time
be filled up [by the deposits], since already the left side of the sea
is little else than shallows, as also Salmydessus,[319] and the shoals
at the mouth of the Ister, and the desert of Scythia,[320] which the
sailors call the Breasts. Probably too the temple of Ammon was
originally close to the sea, though now, by the continual deposit of the
waters, it is quite inland: and he conjectures that it was owing to its
being so near the sea that it became so celebrated and illustrious, and
that it never would have enjoyed the credit it now possesses had it
always been equally remote from the sea. Egypt too [he says] was
formerly covered by sea as far as the marshes near Pelusium,[321] Mount
Casius,[322] and the Lake Sirbonis.[323] Even at the present time, when
salt is being dug in Egypt, the beds are found under layers of sand and
mingled with fossil shells, as if this district had formerly been under
water, and as if the whole region about Casium and Gerrha[324] had been
shallows reaching to the Arabian Gulf. The sea afterwards receding left
the land uncovered, and the Lake Sirbonis remained, which having
afterwards forced itself a passage, became a marsh. In like manner the
borders of the Lake Mœris resemble a sea-beach rather than the banks of
a river. Every one will admit that formerly at various periods a great
portion of the mainland has been covered and again left bare by the sea.
Likewise that the land now covered by the sea is not all on the same
level, any more than that whereon we dwell; which is now uncovered and
has experienced so many changes, as Eratosthenes has observed.
Consequently in the reasoning of Xanthus there does not appear to be any
thing out of place.
5. In regard to Strato, however, we must remark that, leaving out of the
question the many arguments he has properly stated, some of those which
he has brought forward are quite inadmissible. For first he is
inaccurate in stating that the beds of the interior and the exterior
seas have not the same level, and that the depth of those two seas is
different: whereas the cause why the sea is at one time raised, at
another depressed, that it inundates certain places and again retreats,
is not that the beds have different levels, some higher and some lower,
but simply this, that the same beds are at one time raised, at another
depressed, causing the sea to rise or subside with them; for having
risen they cause an inundation, and when they subside the waters return
to their former places. For if it is so, an inundation will of course
accompany every sudden increase of the waters of the sea, [as in the
spring-tides,] or the periodical swelling of rivers, in the one instance
the waters being brought together from distant parts of the ocean, in
the other, their volume being increased. But the risings of rivers are
not violent and sudden, nor do the tides continue any length of time,
nor occur irregularly; nor yet along the coasts of our sea do they cause
inundations, nor any where else. Consequently we must seek for an
explanation of the cause either in the stratum composing the bed of the
sea, or in that which is overflowed; we prefer to look for it in the
former, since by reason of its humidity it is more liable to shiftings
and sudden changes of position, and we shall find that in these matters
the wind is the great agent after all. But, I repeat it, the immediate
cause of these phenomena, is not in the fact of one part of the bed of
the ocean being higher or lower than another, but in the upheaving or
depression of the strata on which the waters rest. Strato’s hypothesis
evidently originated in the belief that that which occurs in rivers is
also the case in regard to the sea; viz. that there is a flow of water
from the higher places. Otherwise he would not have attempted to account
for the current he observed at the Strait of Byzantium in the manner he
does, attributing it to the bed of the Euxine being higher than that of
the Propontis and adjoining ocean, and even attempting to explain the
cause thereof: viz. that the bed of the Euxine is filled up and choked
by the deposit of the rivers which flow into it; and its waters in
consequence driven out into the neighbouring sea. The same theory he
would apply in respect to the Mediterranean and Atlantic, alleging that
the bed of the former is higher than that of the latter in consequence
of the number of rivers which flow into it, and the alluvium they carry
along with them. In that case there ought to be a like influx at the
Pillars and Calpe,[325] as there is at Byzantium. But I waive this
objection, as it might be asserted that the influx was the same in both
places, but owing to the interference of the ebb and flow of the sea,
became imperceptible.
6. I rather make this inquiry:—If there were any reason why, before the
outlet was opened at Byzantium, the bed of the Euxine (being deeper than
either that of the Propontis[326] or of the adjoining sea[327]) should
not gradually have become more shallow by the deposit of the rivers
which flow into it, allowing it formerly either to have been a sea, or
merely a vast lake greater than the Palus Mæotis? This proposition being
conceded, I would next ask, whether before this the bed of the Euxine
would not have been brought to the same level as the Propontis, and in
that case, the pressure being counter-poised, the overflowing of the
water have been thus avoided; and if after the Euxine had been filled
up, the superfluous waters would not naturally have forced a passage and
flowed off, and by their commingling and power have caused the Euxine
and Propontis to flow into each other, and thus become one sea? no
matter, as I said above, whether formerly it were a sea or a lake,
though latterly certainly a sea. This also being conceded, they must
allow that the present efflux depends neither upon the elevation nor the
inclination of the bed, as Strato’s theory would have us consider it.
7. We would apply the same arguments to the whole of the Mediterranean
and Atlantic, and account for the efflux of the former, not by any
[supposed] difference between the elevation and inclination of its bed
and of that of the Atlantic, but attribute it to the number of
rivers which empty themselves into it. Since, according to this
supposition, it is not incredible that had the whole of the
Mediterranean Sea in times past been but a lake filled by the rivers,
and having overflowed, it might have broken through the Strait at the
Pillars, as through a cataract; and still continuing to swell more and
more, the Atlantic in course of time would have become confluent by that
channel, and have run into one level, the Mediterranean thus becoming a
sea. In fine, the Physician did wrong in comparing the sea to rivers,
for the latter are borne down as a descending stream, but the sea always
maintains its level. The currents of straits depend upon other causes,
not upon the accumulation of earth formed by the alluvial deposit from
rivers, filling up the bed of the sea. This accumulation only goes on at
the mouths of rivers. Such are what are called the Stethe or Breasts at
the mouth of the Ister,[328] the desert of the Scythians, and
Salmydessus, which are partially occasioned by other winter-torrents as
well; witness the sandy, low, and even coast of Colchis,[329] at the
mouth of the Phasis,[330] the whole of the coast of Themiscyra,[331]
named the plain of the Amazons, near the mouths of the Thermodon[332]
and Iris,[333] and the greater part of Sidene.[334] It is the same with
other rivers, they all resemble the Nile in forming an alluvial deposit
at their mouths, some more, some less than others. Those rivers which
carry but little soil with them deposit least, while others, which
traverse an extended and soft country, and receive many torrents in
their course, deposit the greatest quantity. Such for example is the
river Pyramus,[335] by which Cilicia has been considerably augmented,
and concerning which an oracle has declared, “This shall occur when the
wide waters of the Pyramus have enlarged their banks as far as sacred
Cyprus.”[336] This river becomes navigable from the middle of the plains
of Cataonia, and entering Cilicia[337] by the defiles of the Taurus,
discharges itself into the sea which flows between that country and the
island of Cyprus.
8. These river deposits are prevented from advancing further into the
sea by the regularity of the ebb and flow, which continually drive them
back. For after the manner of living creatures, which go on inhaling and
exhaling their breath continually, so the sea in a like way keeps up a
constant motion in and out of itself. Any one may observe who stands on
the sea-shore when the waves are in motion, the regularity with which
they cover, then leave bare, and then again cover up his feet. This
agitation of the sea produces a continual movement on its surface, which
even when it is most tranquil has considerable force, and so throws all
extraneous matters on to the land, and
“Flings forth the salt weed on the shore.”[338]
This effect is certainly most considerable when the wind is on the
water, but it continues when all is hushed, and even when it blows from
land the swell is still carried to the shore against the wind, as if by
a peculiar motion of the sea itself. To this the verses refer—
“O’er the rocks that breast the flood
Borne turgid, scatter far the showery spray,”[339]
and,
“Loud sounds the roar of waves ejected wide.”[340]
9. The wave, as it advances, possesses a kind of power, which some call
the purging of the sea, to eject all foreign substances. It is by this
force that dead bodies and wrecks are cast on shore. But on retiring it
does not possess sufficient power to carry back into the sea either dead
bodies, wood, or even the lightest substances, such as cork, which may
have been cast out by the waves. And by this means when places next the
sea fall down, being undermined by the wave, the earth and the water
charged with it are cast back again; and the weight [of the mud] working
at the same time in conjunction with the force of the advancing tide, it
is the sooner brought to settle at the bottom, instead of being carried
out far into the sea. The force of the river current ceases at a very
little distance beyond its mouth. Otherwise, supposing the rivers had an
uninterrupted flow, by degrees the whole ocean would be filled in, from
the beach onwards, by the alluvial deposits. And this would be
inevitable even were the Euxine deeper than the sea of Sardinia, than
which a deeper sea has never been sounded, measuring, as it does,
according to Posidonius, about 1000 fathoms.[341]
10. Some, however, may be disinclined to admit this explanation, and
would rather have proof from things more manifest to the senses, and
which seem to meet us at every turn. Now deluges, earthquakes, eruptions
of wind, and risings in the bed of the sea, these things cause the
rising of the ocean, as sinking of the bottom causes it to become lower.
It is not the case that small volcanic or other islands can be raised up
from the sea, and not large ones, nor that all islands can, but not
continents, since extensive sinkings of the land no less than small ones
have been known; witness the yawning of those chasms which have ingulfed
whole districts no less than their cities, as is said to have happened
to Bura,[342] Bizone,[343] and many other towns at the time of
earthquakes: and there is no more reason why one should rather think
Sicily to have been disjoined from the mainland of Italy than cast up
from the bottom of the sea by the fires of Ætna, as the Lipari and
Pithecussan[344] Isles have been.
11. However, so nice a fellow is Eratosthenes, that though he professes
himself a mathematician,[345] he rejects entirely the dictum of
Archimedes, who, in his work “On Bodies in Suspension,” says that all
liquids when left at rest assume a spherical form, having a centre of
gravity similar to that of the earth. A dictum which is acknowledged by
all who have the slightest pretensions to mathematical sagacity. He says
that the Mediterranean, which, according to his own description, is one
entire sea has not the same level even at points quite close to each
other; and offers us the authority of engineers for this piece of folly,
notwithstanding the affirmation of mathematicians that engineering is
itself only one division of the mathematics. He tells us that
Demetrius[346] intended to cut through the Isthmus of Corinth, to open a
passage for his fleet, but was prevented by his engineers, who, having
taken measurements, reported that the level of the sea at the Gulf of
Corinth was higher than at Cenchrea,[347] so that if he cut through the
isthmus, not only the coasts near Ægina, but even Ægina itself, with the
neighbouring islands, would be laid completely under water, while the
passage would prove of little value. According to Eratosthenes, it is
this which occasions the current in straits, especially the current in
the Strait of Sicily,[348] where effects similar to the flow and ebb of
the tide are remarked. The current there changes twice in the course of
a day and night, like as in that period the tides of the sea flow and
ebb twice. In the Tyrrhenian sea[349] the current which is called
descendent, and which runs towards the sea of Sicily, as if it followed
an inclined plane, corresponds to the flow of the tide in the ocean. We
may remark, that this current corresponds to the flow both in the time
of its commencement and cessation. For it commences at the rising and
setting of the moon, and recedes when that satellite attains its
meridian, whether above [in the zenith] or below the earth [in the
nadir]. In the same way occurs the opposite or ascending current, as it
is called. It corresponds to the ebb of the ocean, and commences as
soon as the moon has reached either zenith or nadir, and ceases the
moment she reaches the point of her rising or setting. [So far
Eratosthenes.]
12. The nature of the ebb and flow has been sufficiently treated of by
Posidonius and Athenodorus. Concerning the flux and reflux of the
currents, which also may be explained by physics, it will suffice our
present purpose to observe, that in the various straits these do not
resemble each other, but each strait has its own peculiar current. Were
they to resemble each other, the current at the Strait of Sicily[350]
would not change merely twice during the day, (as Eratosthenes himself
tells us it does,) and at Chalcis seven times;[351] nor again that of
Constantinople, which does not change at all, but runs always in one
direction from the Euxine to the Propontis, and, as Hipparchus tells us,
sometimes ceases altogether. However, if they did all depend on one
cause, it would not be that which Eratosthenes has assigned, namely,
that the various seas have different levels. The kind of inequality he
supposes would not even be found in rivers only for the cataracts; and
where these cataracts occur, they occasion no ebbing, but have one
continued downward flow, which is caused by the inclination both of the
flow and the surface; and therefore though they have no flux or reflux
they do not remain still, on account of a principle of flowing which is
inherent in them; at the same time they cannot be on the same level, but
one must be higher and one lower than another. But who ever imagined the
surface of the ocean to be on a slope, especially those who follow a
system which supposes the four bodies we call elementary, to be
spherical.[352] For water is not like the earth, which being of a solid
nature is capable of permanent depressions and risings, but by its force
of gravity spreads equally over the earth, and assumes that kind of
level which Archimedes has assigned it.
13. To what we cited before concerning the temple of Ammon and Egypt,
Eratosthenes adds, that to judge from appearances, Mount Casius[353] was
formerly covered by sea, and the whole district now known as Gerra lay
under shoal water touching the bay of the Erythræan Sea,[354] but was
left dry on the union[355] of the [Mediterranean] Sea [with the ocean].
A certain amphibology lurks here under this description of the district
lying under shoal water and touching the bay of the Erythræan Sea; for
to touch[356] both means to be close to, and also to be in actual
contact with, so that when applied to water it would signify that one
flows into the other. I understand him to mean, that so long as the
strait by the Pillars of Hercules remained closed, these marshes covered
with shoal-water extended as far as the Arabian Gulf, but on that
passage being forced open, the Mediterranean, discharging itself by the
strait, became lower, and the land was left dry.
On the other hand, Hipparchus understands by the term _touching_, that
the Mediterranean, being over-full, flowed into the Erythræan Sea, and
he inquires how it could happen, that as the Mediterranean flowed out by
this new vent at the Pillars of Hercules, the Erythræan Sea, which was
all one with it, did not flow away too, and thus become lower, but has
always retained the same level? and since Eratosthenes supposes the
whole exterior sea to be confluent, it follows that the Western
Ocean[357] and the Erythræan Sea are all one; and thus [remarks
Hipparchus] as a necessary consequence, the sea beyond the Pillars of
Hercules, the Erythræan Sea, and that also which is confluent with
it,[358] have all the same level.
14. But, Eratosthenes would reply, I never said that, in consequence of
the repletion of the Mediterranean, it actually flowed into the
Erythræan Sea, but only that it approached very near thereto: besides,
it does not follow, that in one and the self-same sea, the level of its
surface must be all the same; to instance the Mediterranean itself, no
one, surely, will say it is of the same height at Lechæum[359] and at
Cenchrea.[360] This answer Hipparchus anticipated in his Critique; and
being aware of the opinion of Eratosthenes, was justified in attacking
his arguments. But he ought not to have taken it for granted, that when
Eratosthenes said the exterior sea was all one, he necessarily implied
that its level was every where the same.
15. Hipparchus rejects as false the [account] of the inscription on the
dolphins “by the delegates from Cyrene,” but the reason he assigns for
this is insufficient, viz. that though Cyrene was built in times of
which we have record, no one mentions the oracle,[361] as being situated
on the sea-shore. But what matters is that no historian has recorded
this, when amongst the other proofs from which we infer that this place
was formerly on the sea-shore, we number this of the dolphins which were
set up, and the inscription, “by the delegates from Cyrene?”[362]
Hipparchus agrees that if the bottom of the sea were raised up, it would
lift the water with it, and might therefore overflow the land as far as
the locality of the oracle, or more than 3000 stadia from the shore; but
he will not allow that the rising would be sufficient to overflow the
Island of Pharos and the major portion of Egypt, since [he says] the
elevation would not be sufficient to submerge these. He alleges that if
before the opening of the passage at the Pillars of Hercules, the
Mediterranean had been swollen to such an extent as Eratosthenes
affirms, the whole of Libya, and the greater part of Europe and Asia,
must long ago have been buried beneath its waves. Besides, he adds, in
this case the Euxine would in certain places have been connected with
the Adriatic, since in the vicinity of the Euxine, [near to its
source,][363] the Ister is divided in its course, and flows into either
sea, owing to the peculiarities of the ground.[364] To this we object,
that the Ister does not take its rise at all in the vicinity of the
Euxine, but, on the contrary, beyond the mountains of the Adriatic;
neither does it flow into both the seas, but into the Euxine alone, and
only becomes divided just above its mouths. This latter, however, was an
error into which he fell in common with many of his predecessors. They
supposed that there was another river in addition to the former Ister,
bearing the same name, which emptied itself into the Adriatic, and from
which the country of Istria, through which it flowed, gained that
appellation. It was by this river they believed Jason returned on his
voyage from Colchis.
16. In order to lessen surprise at such changes as we have mentioned as
causes of the inundations and other similar phenomena which are supposed
to have produced Sicily, the islands of Æolus,[365] and the Pithecussæ,
it may be as well to compare with these others of a similar nature,
which either now are, or else have been observed in other localities. A
large array of such facts placed at once before the eye would serve to
allay our astonishment; while that which is uncommon startles our
perception, and manifests our general ignorance of the occurrences which
take place in nature and physical existence. For instance, supposing any
one should narrate the circumstances concerning Thera and the Therasian
Islands, situated in the strait between Crete and the Cyrenaic,[366]
Thera being itself the metropolis of Cyrene; or those [in connexion
with] Egypt, and many parts of Greece. For midway between Thera and
Therasia flames rushed forth from the sea for the space of four days;
causing the whole of it to boil and be all on fire; and after a little
an island twelve stadia in circumference, composed of the burning mass,
was thrown up, as if raised by machinery. After the cessation of this
phenomenon, the Rhodians, then masters of the sea, were the first who
dared to sail to the place, and they built there on the island a temple
to the Asphalian[367] Neptune. Posidonius remarks, that during an
earthquake which occurred in Phœnicia, a city situated above Sidon was
swallowed up, and that nearly two-thirds of Sidon also fell, but not
suddenly, and therefore with no great loss of life. That the same
occurred, though in a lighter form, throughout nearly the whole of
Syria, and was felt even in some of the Cyclades and the Island of
Eubœa,[368] so that the fountains of Arethusa, a spring in Chalcis, were
completely obstructed, and after some time forced for themselves another
opening, and the whole island ceased not to experience shocks until a
chasm was rent open in the earth in the plain of Lelanto,[369] from
which poured a river of burning mud.
17. Many writers have recorded similar occurrences, but it will suffice
us to narrate those which have been collected by Demetrius of Skepsis.
Apropos of that passage of Homer:—
“And now they reach’d the running rivulets clear,
Where from Scamander’s dizzy flood arise
Two fountains, tepid one, from which a smoke
Issues voluminous as from a fire,
The other, even in summer heats, like hail
For cold, or snow, or crystal stream frost-bound:”[370]
this writer tells us we must not be surprised, that although the cold
spring still remains, the hot cannot be discovered; and says we must
reckon the failing of the hot spring as the cause. He goes on to relate
certain catastrophes recorded by Democles, how formerly in the reign of
Tantalus[371] there were great earthquakes in Lydia and Ionia as far as
the Troad,[372] which swallowed up whole villages and overturned Mount
Sipylus;[373] marshes then became lakes, and the city of Troy was
covered by the waters.[374] Pharos, near Egypt, which anciently was an
island, may now be called a peninsula, and the same may be said of Tyre
and Clazomenæ.[375]
During my stay at Alexandria in Egypt the sea rose so high near
Pelusium[376] and Mount Casius[377] as to overflow the land, and convert
the mountain into an island, so that a journey from Casius into Phœnicia
might have been undertaken by water. We should not be surprised
therefore if in time to come the isthmus[378] which separates the
Egyptian sea[379] from the Erythræan,[380] should part asunder or
subside, and becoming a strait, connect the outer and inner seas,[381]
similarly to what has taken place at the strait of the Pillars.
At the commencement of this work will be found some other narrations of
a similar kind, which should be considered at the same time, and which
will greatly tend to strengthen our belief both in these works of nature
and also in its other changes.
18. The Piræus having been formerly an island, and lying πέραν, or off
the shore, is said to have thus received its name. Leucas,[382] on the
contrary, has been made an island by the Corinthians, who cut through
the isthmus which connected it with the shore [of the mainland]. It is
concerning this place that Laertes is made to say,
“Oh that I possess’d
Such vigour now as when in arms I took
Nericus, continental city fair.”[383]
Here man devoted his labour to make a separation, in other instances to
the construction of moles and bridges. Such is that which connects the
island opposite to Syracuse[384] with the mainland. This junction is now
effected by means of a bridge, but formerly, according to Ibycus, by a
pier of picked stones, which he calls _elect_. Of Bura[385] and
Helice,[386] one has been swallowed by an earthquake, the other covered
by the waves. Near to Methone,[387] which is on the Hermionic Gulf,[388]
a mountain seven stadia in height was cast up during a fiery eruption;
during the day it could not be approached on account of the heat and
sulphureous smell; at night it emitted an agreeable odour, appeared
brilliant at a distance, and was so hot that the sea boiled all around
it to a distance of five stadia, and appeared in a state of agitation
for twenty stadia, the heap being formed of fragments of rock as large
as towers. Both Arne and Mideia[389] have been buried in the waters of
Lake Copaïs.[390] These towns the poet in his Catalogue[391] thus speaks
of;
“Arne claims
A record next for her illustrious sons,
Vine-bearing Arne. Thou wast also there
Mideia.”[392]
It seems that several Thracian cities have been submerged by the Lake
Bistonis,[393] and that now called Aphnitis.[394] Some also affirm that
certain cities of Trerus were also overwhelmed, in the neighbourhood of
Thrace. Artemita, formerly one of the Echinades,[395] is now part of the
mainland; the same has happened to some other of the islets near the
Achelous, occasioned, it is said, in the same way, by the alluvium
carried into the sea by that river, and Hesiod[396] assures us that a
like fate awaits them all. Some of the Ætolian promontories were
formerly islands. Asteria,[397] called by Homer Asteris, is no longer
what it was.
“There is a rocky isle
In the mid-sea, Samos the rude between
And Ithaca, not large, named Asteris.
It hath commodious havens, into which
A passage clear opens on either side.”[398]
There is no good anchorage there now. Neither is there in Ithaca the
cavern, nor yet the temple of the nymphs described to us by Homer. It
seems more correct to attribute this to change having come over the
places, than either to the ignorance or the romancing of the poet. This
however, being uncertain, must be left to every man’s opinion.
19. Myrsilus tells us that Antissa[399] was formerly an island, and so
called because it was opposite to Lesbos,[400] then named Issa. Now,
however, it forms one of the towns of Lesbos.[401] Some have believed
that Lesbos itself has been disjoined from Mount Ida in the same way as
Prochytas[402] and Pithecussa[403] from Misenum,[404] Capreæ[405] from
the Athenæum, Sicily from Rhegium,[406] and Ossa from Olympus.[407]
Many changes similar to these have occurred elsewhere. The river Ladon
in Arcadia ceased for some time its flow. Duris informs us that the
Rhagæ[408] in Media gained that appellation from chasms made in the
ground near the Gates of the Caspian[409] by earthquakes, in which many
cities and villages were destroyed, and the rivers underwent various
changes. Ion, in his satirical composition of Omphale, has said of
Eubœa,
“The light wave of the Euripus has divided the land of Eubœa from
Bœotia; separating the projecting land by a strait.”
20. Demetrius of Callatis, speaking of the earthquakes which formerly
occurred throughout the whole of Greece, states that a great portion of
the Lichadian Islands and of Kenæum[410] were submerged; that the hot
springs of Ædepsus[411] and Thermopylæ were suppressed for three days,
and that when they commenced to run again those of Ædepsus gushed from
new fountains. That at Oreus[412] on the sea-coast the wall and nearly
seven hundred houses fell at once. That the greater part of
Echinus,[413] Phalara,[414] and Heraclæa of Trachis[415] were thrown
down, Phalara being overturned from its very foundations. That almost
the same misfortune occurred to the Lamians[416] and inhabitants of
Larissa; that Scarpheia[417] was overthrown from its foundations, not
less than one thousand seven hundred persons being swallowed up, and at
Thronium[418] more than half that number. That a torrent of water
gushed forth taking three directions, one to Scarphe and Thronium,
another to Thermopylæ, and a third to the plains of Daphnus in Phocis.
That the springs of [many] rivers were for several days dried up; that
the course of the Sperchius[419] was changed, thus rendering navigable
what formerly were highways; that the Boagrius[420] flowed through
another channel; that many parts of Alope, Cynus, and Opus were
injured,[421] and the castle of Œum, which commands the latter city,
entirely overturned. That part of the wall of Elateia[422] was thrown
down; and that at Alponus,[423] during the celebration of the games in
honour of Ceres, twenty-five maidens, who had mounted a tower to enjoy
the show exhibited in the port, were precipitated into the sea by the
falling of the tower. They also record that a large fissure was made [by
the water] through the midst of the island of Atalanta,[424] opposite
Eubœa,[425] sufficient for ships to sail in; that the course of the
channel was in places as broad as twenty stadia between the plains; and
that a trireme being raised [thereby] out of the docks, was carried over
the walls.
21. Those who desire to instil into us that more perfect freedom from
[ignorant] wonder, which Democritus and all other philosophers so highly
extol, should add the changes which have been produced by the migrations
of various tribes: we should thus be inspired with courage, steadiness,
and composure. For instance, the Western Iberians,[426] removed to the
regions beyond the Euxine and Colchis, being separated from Armenia,
according to Apollodorus, by the Araxes,[427] but rather by the
Cyrus[428] and Moschican mountains.[429] The expedition of the Egyptians
into Ethiopia[430] and Colchis. The migration of the Heneti,[431] who
passed from Paphlagonia into the country bordering on the Adriatic Gulf.
Similar emigrations were also undertaken by the nations of Greece, the
Ionians, Dorians, Achaians, and Æolians; and the Ænians,[432] now next
neighbours to the Ætolians, formerly dwelt near Dotium[433] and Ossa,
beyond the Perrhæbi;[434] the Perrhæbi too are but wanderers here
themselves. Our present work furnishes numerous instances of the same
kind. Some of these are familiar to most readers, but the migrations of
the Carians, the Treres, the Teucrians, and the Galatæ or Gauls,[435]
are not so generally known. Nor yet for the most part are the
expeditions of their chiefs, for instance, Madys the Scythian, Tearko
the Ethiopian, Cobus of Trerus, Sesostris and Psammeticus the Egyptians;
nor are those of the Persians from Cyrus to Xerxes familiar to every
one. The Kimmerians, or a separate tribe of them, called the Treres,
have frequently overrun the countries to the right of the Euxine and
those adjacent to them, bursting now into Paphlagonia, now into Phrygia,
as they did when, according to report, Midas[436] came to his death by
drinking bull’s blood. Lygdamis led his followers into Lydia, passed
through Ionia, took Sardis, but was slain in Cilicia. The Kimmerians and
Treres frequently made similar incursions, until at last, as it is
reported, these latter, together with [their chief] Cobus, were driven
out by Madys, king of the “Scythians.”[437] But enough has been said in
this place on the general history of the earth, as each country will
have a particular account.
22. We must now return to the point whence we digressed. Herodotus
having observed that there could be no such people as Hyperboreans,
inasmuch as there were no Hypernotii,[438] Eratosthenes calls this
argument ridiculous, and compares it to the sophism, that there are no
epichærekaki,[439] inasmuch as there are no epichæragathi;[440] [adding]
perhaps there are Hypernotii; since at all events in Ethiopia Notus does
not blow, although lower down it does.
It would indeed be strange, since winds blow under every latitude, and
especially the southern wind called Notus, if any region could be found
where this latter was not felt. On the contrary, not only does Ethiopia
experience our Notus, but also the whole country which lies above as far
as the equator.[441]
If Herodotus must be blamed at all, it is for supposing that the
Hyperboreans were so named in consequence of Boreas, or the north wind,
not blowing upon them. The poets are allowed much licence in their modes
of expression; but their commentators, who endeavour always to give us
the correct view, tell us that the people who dwelt in the extreme
north, were styled Hyperboreans. The pole is the boundary of the
northern winds, and the equator of the southern; these winds have no
other limit.
23. Eratosthenes next finds fault with the writers who fill their
narrative with stories evidently feigned and impossible; some as mere
fable, but others as history, which did not deserve mention. In the
discussion of a subject like his, he should not have wasted his time
about such trifles. Such is the way in which this writer completes the
First Book of his Memoirs.
CHAPTER IV.
1. In his Second Book Eratosthenes endeavours to correct some errors in
geography, and offers his own views on the subject, any mistakes in
which we shall endeavour in our turn to set right. He is correct in
saying that the inductions of mathematics and natural philosophy should
be employed, and that if the earth is spheroidal like the universe, it
is inhabited in all parts; together with some other things of this
nature. Later writers do not agree with him as to the size of the
earth,[442] nor admit his measurement. However Hipparchus, when noting
the celestial appearances for each particular locality, adopts his
admeasurements, saying that those taken for the meridian of Meroe,[443]
Alexandria, and the Dnieper, differ but very slightly from the truth.
Eratosthenes then enters into a long discussion concerning the figure of
the globe, proving that the form of the earth together with the water is
spheroidal, as also the heavens. This however we imagine was foreign to
his purpose, and should have been disposed of in the compass of a few
words.
2. After this he proceeds to determine the breadth of the habitable
earth: he tells us, that measuring from the meridian of Meroe[444] to
Alexandria, there are 10,000 stadia.
From thence to the Hellespont[445] about 8100. Again; from thence to
the Dnieper, 5000; and thence to the parallel of Thule,[446] which
Pytheas says is six days’ sail north from Britain, and near the Frozen
Sea, other 11,500. To which if we add 3400 stadia above Meroe in order
to include the Island of the Egyptians,[447] the Cinnamon country, and
Taprobane,[448] there will be in all 38,000 stadia.
3. We will let pass the rest of his distances, since they are something
near,—but that the Dnieper is under the same parallel as Thule, what
man in his senses could ever agree to this? Pytheas, who has given us
the history of Thule, is known to be a man upon whom no reliance can be
placed, and other writers who have seen Britain and Ierne,[449] although
they tell us of many small islands round Britain, make no mention
whatever of Thule. The length of Britain itself is nearly the same as
that of Keltica,[450] opposite to which it extends. Altogether it is not
more than 5000 stadia in length, its outermost points corresponding to
those of the opposite continent. In fact the extreme points of the two
countries lie opposite to each other, the eastern extremity to the
eastern, and the western to the western: the eastern points are situated
so close as to be within sight of each other, both at Kent and at the
mouths of the Rhine. But Pytheas tells us that the island [of Britain]
is more than 20,000 stadia in length, and that Kent is some days’ sail
from France. With regard to the locality of the Ostimii, and the
countries beyond the Rhine,[451] as far as Scythia, he is altogether
mistaken. The veracity of a writer who has been thus false in describing
countries with which we are well acquainted, should not be too much
trusted in regard to unknown places.
4. Further, Hipparchus and many others are of opinion that the parallel
of latitude of the Dnieper does not differ from that of Britain; since
that of Byzantium and Marseilles are the same. The degree of shadow from
the gnomon which Pytheas states he observed at Marseilles being exactly
equal to that which Hipparchus says he found at Byzantium; the periods
of observation being in both cases similar.[452] Now from Marseilles to
the centre of Britain is not more than 5000 stadia; and if from the
centre of Britain we advance north not more than 4000 stadia, we arrive
at a temperature in which it is scarcely possible to exist. Such indeed
is that of Ierne.[453] Consequently the far region in which Eratosthenes
places Thule must be totally uninhabitable. By what guesswork he
arrived at the conclusion that between the latitude of Thule and the
Dnieper there was a distance of 11,500 stadia I am unable to divine.
5. Eratosthenes being mistaken as to the breadth [of the habitable
earth], is necessarily wrong as to its length. The most accurate
observers, both ancient and modern, agree that the known length of the
habitable earth is more than twice its breadth. Its length I take to be
from the [eastern] extremity of India[454] to the [westernmost] point of
Spain;[455] and its breadth from [the south of] Ethiopia to the latitude
of Ierne. Eratosthenes, as we have said, reckoning its breadth from the
extremity of Ethiopia to Thule, was forced to extend its length beyond
the true limits, that he might make it more than twice as long as the
breadth he had assigned to it. He says that India, measured where it is
narrowest,[456] is 16,000 stadia to the river Indus. If measured from
its most prominent capes it extends 3000 more.[457] Thence to the
Caspian Gates, 14,000. From the Caspian Gates to the Euphrates,[458]
10,000. From the Euphrates to the Nile, 5000.[459] Thence to the
Canopic[460] mouth, 1300. From the Canopic mouth to Carthage, 13,500.
From thence to the Pillars at least 8000. Which make in all 70,800
stadia. To these [he says] should be added the curvature of Europe
beyond the Pillars of Hercules, fronting the Iberians, and inclining
west, not less than 3000 stadia, and the headlands, including that of
the Ostimii, named Cabæum,[461] and the adjoining islands, the last of
which, named Uxisama,[462] is distant, according to Pytheas, a three
days’ sail. But he added nothing to its length by enumerating these
last, viz. the headlands, including that of the Ostimii, the island of
Uxisama, and the rest; they are not situated so as affect the length of
the earth, for they all lie to the north, and belong to Keltica, not to
Iberia; indeed it seems but an invention of Pytheas. Lastly, to fall in
with the general opinion that the breadth ought not[463] to exceed half
the length, he adds to the stated measure of its length 2000 stadia
west, and as many east.
6. Further, endeavouring to support the opinion that it is in accordance
with natural philosophy to reckon the greatest dimension of the
habitable earth from east to west, he says that, according to the laws
of natural philosophy, the habitable earth ought to occupy a greater
length from east to west, than its breadth from north to south. The
temperate zone, which we have already designated as the longest zone, is
that which the mathematicians denominate a continuous circle returning
upon itself. So that if the extent of the Atlantic Ocean were not an
obstacle, we might easily pass by sea from Iberia to India,[464] still
keeping in the same parallel; the remaining portion of which parallel,
measured as above in stadia, occupies more than a third of the whole
circle: since the parallel drawn through Athens,[465] on which we have
taken the distances from India to Iberia, does not contain in the whole
200,000 stadia.
Here too his reasoning is incorrect. For this speculation respecting
the temperate zone which we inhabit, and whereof the habitable earth is
a part, devolves properly on those who make mathematics their study. But
it is not equally the province of one treating of the habitable earth.
For by this term we mean only that portion of the temperate zone where
we dwell, and with which we are acquainted. But it is quite possible
that in the temperate zone there may be two or even more habitable
earths, especially near the circle of latitude which is drawn through
Athens and the Atlantic Ocean. After this he returns to the form of the
earth, which he again declares to be spheroidal. Here he exhibits the
same churlishness we have previously pointed out, and goes on abusing
Homer in his old style. He proceeds:
7. “There has been much argument respecting the continents. Some,
considering them to be divided by the rivers Nile and Tanais,[466] have
described them as islands; while others suppose them to be peninsulas
connected by the isthmuses between the Caspian and the Euxine Seas, and
between the Erythræan Sea[467] and Ecregma.”[468] He adds, that this
question does not appear to him to be of any practical importance, but
rather, as Democritus observed, a bone of contention for angry
litigants. Where there are no precise boundary marks, columns, or walls,
as at Colyttus and Melitè,[469] it is easy for us to say such a place is
Colyttus, and such another Melitè; but not so easy to show the exact
limits: thus disputes have frequently arisen concerning certain
districts; that, for instance, between the Argives and Lacedæmonians
concerning [the possession of] Thyrea,[470] and that between the
Athenians and Bœotians relative to Oropus.[471] Further, in giving names
to the three continents, the Greeks did not take into consideration the
whole habitable earth, but merely their own country and the land exactly
opposite, namely, Caria, which is now inhabited by the Ionians and
other neighbouring tribes. In course of time, as they advanced further
and daily became acquainted with new countries, this their division came
to be general.”
I take this last part first, and (to use Eratosthenes’ own words, not
those of Democritus) willing to pick my bone of contention, inquire,
whether they who first made the division of the three continents were
the same persons as those who first desired to distinguish their own
land from that of the Carians opposite, or whether they were only
acquainted with Greece, Caria, and some few other adjoining countries,
and not with Europe, Asia, or Africa; but that others who followed them,
and were able to write a description of the habitable earth, were the
real authors of the division into three continents. How did he know that
these were not the men who made this division of the habitable earth?
And he who divided the earth into three parts, giving to each portion
the name of “continent,” could he not form in his mind a just idea of
that taken as a whole, which he had so parcelled out. But if indeed he
were not acquainted with the whole habitable earth, but merely made a
division of some part thereof, pray what portion of that part did he
denominate Asia, or Europe, or simply continent? Such talk is altogether
nonsense.
8. The reasoning of Eratosthenes, however, is still more absurd, when he
declares that he sees no advantage in being acquainted with the exact
boundaries of countries, and then cites the example of Colyttus and
Melitè, which prove just the contrary of his assertion. Surely if a want
of certainty respecting the boundaries of Thyrea and Oropus gave rise to
war, a knowledge of the limits of different districts must be of
practical importance. Will he tell us that the boundaries of districts,
or the limits of kingdoms, may be of some service, but when applied to
continents it is carrying the matter too far. We reply, it is of equal
consequence here. Suppose a dispute between two powerful princes, one
claiming the possession of Asia and the other of Africa, to which of
these should Egypt, I mean the country called Lower Egypt, appertain.
Will any one pass over such cases on account of their rarity? By no
means. It is acknowledged by every one that the limits of each continent
ought to be defined by some notable boundary, indicated by the
configuration of the whole habitable earth. In following out this
principle, we should not be very particular if they who determine
boundaries by the rivers leave some districts undefined, since the
rivers do not reach from sea to sea, nor leave the continents altogether
as islands.
9. At the close of the book Eratosthenes blames the system of those who
would divide all mankind into Greeks and Barbarians, and likewise those
who recommended Alexander to treat the Greeks as friends, but the
Barbarians as enemies.[472] He suggests, as a better course, to
distinguish them according to their virtues and their vices, “since
amongst the Greeks there are many worthless characters, and many highly
civilized are to be found amongst the Barbarians; witness the Indians
and Ariani,[473] or still better the Romans and Carthaginians, whose
political system is so beautifully perfect. Alexander, considering this,
disregarded the advice which had been offered him, and patronized
without distinction any man he considered to be deserving.” But we would
inquire whether those men who thus divided the human race, abandoning
one portion to contempt, and exalting to dignity the other, were not
actuated to this because they found that on one side justice, knowledge,
and the force of reason reigned supreme, but their contraries on the
other. Alexander did not disregard the advice tendered him, but gladly
embraced and followed it, respecting the wisdom of those who gave it;
and so far from taking the opposite course, he closely pursued that
which they pointed out.
BOOK II.
SUMMARY.
In the Second Book, having proposed for discussion the [opinions]
of Eratosthenes, he examines and refutes whatever that writer may
have incorrectly said, determined, or laid down. He likewise
brings forward many statements of Hipparchus, which he disproves,
and finishes with a short exposition or synopsis of the whole
subject, namely, geographical knowledge.
CHAPTER I.
1. In the Third Book of his Geography Eratosthenes furnishes us with a
chart of the habitable earth. This he divides into two portions, by a
line running from east to west parallel to the equator. He makes the
Pillars of Hercules the boundary of this line to the west, and to the
east the farthest ridges of those mountains which bound India on the
north. From the Pillars he draws the line through the Strait of
Sicily,[474] and the southern extremities of Peloponnesus and Attica, to
Rhodes and the Gulf of Issus.[475] He says, “Through the whole of this
distance the line mentioned is drawn across the sea[476] and adjacent
continents; the whole length of the Mediterranean as far as Cilicia
extending in that direction. Thence it runs nearly in a straight line
along the whole chain of the Taurus to India. The Taurus continuing in a
straight line from the Pillars divides Asia through its whole length
into two halves, north and south. So that both the Taurus and the sea
from the Pillars hither[477] lie under the parallel of Athens.”
2. He then declares that the ancient geographical chart wants revision;
that in it the eastern portion of the Taurus is made to run too far
north, India itself being also too much drawn in the same direction. One
proof which he offers in support of this is, that the most southern
extremities of India are under the same latitude as Meroe, as attested
by many, both from astronomical observations and the temperature of the
climate. From thence to the most northerly point by the mountains of the
Caucasus,[478] there are 15,000 stadia, according to Patrocles, a writer
whom we are bound to believe, both on account of his worth, and the vast
amount of his geographical attainments. Now since the distance from
Meroe to the parallel of Athens is nearly the same, the most northerly
points of India next to the Caucasian mountains ought to be under the
same degree of latitude.
3. But there is another method (says Eratosthenes) of proving this. The
distance from the Gulf of Issus to the Euxine, proceeding in a northerly
direction towards Amisus[479] and Sinope,[480] is about 3000 stadia,
which is as much as the supposed extent of the mountains [of the
Taurus].[481] The traveller who directs his course from Amisus due
east,[482] arrives first at Colchis, then at the high lands by the
Hyrcanian Sea,[483] afterwards at the road leading to Bactra,[484] and
beyond to the Scythians; having the mountains always on the right. The
same line drawn through Amisus westward, crosses the Propontis and
Hellespont. From Meroe to the Hellespont there are not more than 18,000
stadia.[485] The distance is just the same from the southern extremity
of India to the land of Bactria, if we add to the 15,000 stadia of that
country the 3000 which its mountains occupy in breadth.
4. Hipparchus tries to invalidate this view of Eratosthenes, by sneering
at the proofs on which it rests. Patrocles, he says, merits little
credit, being contradicted by the two writers Deimachus and
Megasthenes, who say that the distance[486] taken from the southern
ocean, is in some places 20,000, in others 30,000 stadia; that in this
assertion they are supported by the ancient charts, and he considers it
absurd to require us to put implicit faith in Patrocles alone, when
there is so much testimony against him; or that the ancient charts
should be corrected; but rather that they should be left as they are
until we have something more certain on the subject.
5. This argument, I think, is in many instances unfounded. Eratosthenes
availed himself of the statements of many writers, although Hipparchus
alleges he was solely led by Patrocles. Who then are the authors of the
statement that the southern extremity of India is under the same
parallel as Meroe; and who are they who estimate[487] the distance from
Meroe to the parallel passing through Athens? Or who, again, were those
who asserted that the whole breadth occupied by the mountains[488] was
equal to the distance from Cilicia to Amisus? Or who made known that,
travelling from Amisus, the course lay in a straight line due east
through Colchis, the [sea of] Hyrcania, so on to Bactria, and beyond
this to the eastern ocean,[489] the mountains being always on the right
hand; and that this same line carried west in a straight line, traverses
the Propontis and the Hellespont? These things Eratosthenes advances on
the testimony of men who had been on the spot, and from the study of
those numerous memoirs which he had for reference in that noble
library[490] which Hipparchus himself acknowledges to be gigantic.
6. Besides, the credibility of Patrocles can be proved by a variety of
evidence—the princes[491] who confided to him so important trusts—the
authors who follow his statements—and those, too, who criticise them,
whose names Hipparchus has recorded. Since whenever these are refuted,
the credit of Patrocles is by so much advanced. Nor does Patrocles
appear to state any thing improbable when he says that the army of
Alexander took but a very hasty view of every thing [in India], but
Alexander himself a more exact one, causing the whole country to be
described by men well acquainted with it. Which description he says was
afterwards put into his hands by Xenocles the treasurer.
7. Again, in the second volume of his Commentaries, Hipparchus accuses
Eratosthenes of himself throwing discredit on the statement of
Patrocles, on account of his differing with Megasthenes, as to the
length of India on its northern side;[492] Megasthenes stating the
length at 16,000 stadia, and Patrocles at 1000 less. Being biased by a
certain Itinerary, Eratosthenes was led to reject them both on account
of this discrepancy, and to follow the Itinerary. If then merely the
difference of 1000 stadia is sufficient to cause the authority of
Patrocles to be rejected, how much more should this be the case when we
find a difference of 8000 stadia between his statement and that of two
writers who agree perfectly in theirs, that the breadth of India is
20,000 stadia, while he gives only 12,000!
8. We reply, that [Eratosthenes] did not object [to the statement of
Patrocles] merely because it differed [from that of Megasthenes], but
because the statement of this latter as to the stadia was confirmed by
the Itinerary, an authority of no mean importance. There is nothing
wonderful in this, that though a certain statement may be credible,
another may be more credible; and that while in some instances we follow
the former, in others we may dissent from it on finding a more
trustworthy guide. It is ridiculous to say that the greater the
difference of one writer from others, the less he should be trusted. On
the contrary, such a rule would be more applicable in regard to small
differences; for in little particulars the ordinary observer and the man
of great ability are equally liable to err. On the other hand, in great
matters, the ordinary run of men are more like to be deceived than the
man of superior talent, to whom consequently in such cases greater
deference is paid.
9. Generally speaking, the men who hitherto have written on the affairs
of India, were a set of liars. Deimachus holds the first place in the
list, Megasthenes comes next, while Onesicritus and Nearchus, with
others of the same class, manage to stammer out a few words [of truth].
Of this we became the more convinced whilst writing the history of
Alexander. No faith whatever can be placed in Deimachus and Megasthenes.
They coined the fables concerning men with ears large enough to sleep
in, men without any mouths, without noses, with only one eye, with
spider-legs, and with fingers bent backward. They renewed Homer’s fable
concerning the battles of the Cranes and Pygmies, and asserted the
latter to be three spans high. They told of ants digging for gold, of
Pans with wedge-shaped heads, of serpents swallowing down oxen and
stags, horns and all; meantime, as Eratosthenes has observed,
reciprocally accusing each other of falsehood. Both of these men were
sent ambassadors to Palimbothra,[493]—Megasthenes to Sandrocottus,
Deimachus to Allitrochades his son; and such are the notes of their
residence abroad, which, I know not why, they thought fit to leave.
Patrocles certainly does not resemble them; nor do any other of the
authorities consulted by Eratosthenes contain such absurdities.
10. [494]If the meridian of Rhodes and Byzantium has been rightly
determined to be the same, then that of Cilicia and Amisus has likewise
been rightly determined; many observations having proved that the lines
are parallel, and that they never impinge on each other.
11. In like manner, that the voyage from Amisus to Colchis, and the
route to the Caspian, and thence on to Bactra, are both due east, is
proved by the winds, the seasons, the fruits, and even the sun-risings.
Frequently evidence such as this, and general agreement, are more to be
relied on than the measurement taken by means of instruments. Hipparchus
himself was not wholly indebted to instruments and geometrical
calculations for his statement that the Pillars and Cilicia lie in a
direct line due east. For that part of it included between the Pillars
and the Strait of Sicily he rests entirely on the assertion of sailors.
It is therefore incorrect to say that, because we cannot exactly
determine the duration of the longest and shortest days, nor the degree
of shadow of the gnomon throughout the mountainous region between
Cilicia and India, that therefore we are unable to decide whether the
line traced obliquely on the ancient charts should or should not be
parallel, and consequently must leave it unreformed, keeping it oblique
as the ancient charts have it. For in the first place, not to determine
any thing is to leave it undetermined; and to leave a thing
undetermined, is neither to take one view of the matter nor the other:
but to agree to leave it as the ancients have, that is to take a view of
the case. It would have been more consistent with his reasoning, if he
had told us to leave Geography alone altogether, since we are similarly
unable to determine the position of the Alps, the Pyrenees, and the
mountains of Thrace,[495] Illyria,[496] and Germany. Wherefore should we
give more credit to the ancient writers than to the modern, when we call
to mind the numerous errors of their charts which have been pointed out
by Eratosthenes, and which Hipparchus has not attempted to defend.
12. But the system of Hipparchus altogether teems with difficulties.
Reflect for an instant on the following absurdity; after admitting that
the southern extremity of India is under the same degree of latitude as
Meroe, and that the distance from Meroe to the Strait of Byzantium is
about 18,000[497] stadia, he then makes the distance from the southern
extremity of India to the mountains 30,000 stadia. Since Byzantium and
Marseilles are under the same parallel of latitude, as Hipparchus tells
us they are, on the authority of Pytheas, and since Byzantium and the
Dnieper[498] have also the same meridian, as Hipparchus equally assures
us, if we take his assertion that there is a distance of 3700[499]
stadia between Byzantium and the Dnieper, there will of course be a like
difference between the latitude of Marseilles and the Dnieper. This
would make the latitude of the Dnieper identical with that of Keltica
next the Ocean; for on proceeding 3700 stadia [north of Marseilles], we
reach the ocean.[500]
13. Again, we know that the Cinnamon Country is the most southerly point
of the habitable earth. According to Hipparchus’s own statement, the
latitude of this country, which marks the commencement of the temperate
zone, and likewise of the habitable earth, is distant from the equator
about 8800 stadia.[501] And since he likewise says that from the equator
to the parallel of the Dnieper there are 34,000 stadia, there will
remain a distance of 25,200 stadia between the parallel of the Dnieper
(which is the same as that which passes over the side of Keltica next
the Ocean) to that which separates the torrid from the temperate zone.
It is said that the farthest voyages now made north of Keltica are to
Ierne,[502] which lies beyond Britain, and, on account of its extreme
cold, barely sustains life; beyond this it is thought to be
uninhabitable. Now the distance between Keltica and Ierne is estimated
at not more than 5000 stadia; so that on this view they must have
estimated the whole breadth of the habitable earth at 30,000 stadia, or
just above.
14. Let us then transport ourselves to the land opposite the Cinnamon
Country, and lying to the east under the same parallel of latitude; we
shall there find the country named Taprobane.[503] This Taprobane is
universally believed to be a large island situated in the high seas, and
lying to the south opposite India. Its length in the direction of
Ethiopia is above 5000 stadia, as they say. There are brought from
thence to the Indian markets, ivory, tortoise-shells, and other wares in
large quantities. Now if this island is broad in proportion to its
length, we cannot suppose that the whole distance,[504] inclusive of the
space which separates it from India, is less than 3000 stadia, which is
equal to the distance of the [southern] extremity of the habitable earth
from Meroe, since the [southern] extremities of India and Meroe are
under the same parallel. It is likely there are more than 3000
stadia,[505] but taking this number, if we add thereto the 30,000
stadia, which Deimachus states there are between [the southern extremity
of India] and the country of the Bactrians and Sogdians, we shall find
both of these nations lie beyond the temperate zone and habitable
earth.[506] Who will venture to affirm such to be the case, hearing, as
they must, the statement made both by ancients and moderns of the genial
climate and fertility of northern India, Hyrcania, Aria, Margiana,[507]
and Bactriana also? These countries are all equally close to the
northern side of the Taurus, Bactriana being contiguous to that part of
the chain[508] which forms the boundary of India. A country blessed with
such advantages must be very far from uninhabitable. It is said that in
Hyrcania each vine produces a metrete[509] of wine, and each fig tree 60
medimni[510] of fruit. That the grains of wheat which fall from the husk
on to the earth spring up the year following; that bee-hives are in the
trees, and the leaves flow with honey. The same may be met with in the
part of Media called Matiana,[511] and also in Sacasena and Araxena,
countries of Armenia. In these three it is not so much to be wondered
at, since they lie more to the south than Hyrcania, and surpass the rest
of the country in the beauty of their climate; but in Hyrcania it is
more remarkable. It is said that in Margiana you may frequently meet
with a vine whose stock would require two men with outstretched arms to
clasp it, and clusters of grapes two cubits long. Aria is described as
similarly fertile, the wine being still richer, and keeping perfectly
for three generations in unpitched casks. Bactriana, which adjoins Aria,
abounds in the same productions, if we except olives.
15. That there are cold regions in the high and mountainous parts of
these countries is not to be wondered at; since in the [more] southern
climates the mountains, and even the tablelands, are cold. The districts
next the Euxine, in Cappadocia, are much farther north than those
adjoining the Taurus. Bagadania, a vast plain, situated between the
mountains of Argæus[512] and Taurus, hardly produces any fruit trees,
although south of the Euxine Sea by 3000 stadia; while the territory
round Sinope,[513] Amisus,[514] and Phanarœa abounds in olives.
The Oxus,[515] which divides Bactriana from Sogdiana, is said to be of
such easy navigation that the wares of India are brought up it into the
sea of Hyrcania,[516] and thence successively by various other rivers to
the districts near the Euxine.[517]
16. Can one find any fertility to compare with this near to the Dnieper,
or that part of Keltica next the ocean,[518] where the vine either does
not grow at all, or attains no maturity.[519] However, in the more
southerly portions of these districts,[520] close to the sea, and those
next the Bosphorus,[521] the vine brings its fruit to maturity, although
the grapes are exceedingly small, and the vines are covered up all the
winter. And in the parts near the mouth of the Palus Mæotis, the frost
is so strong that a general of Mithridates defeated the barbarians here
in a cavalry engagement during the winter, and on the very same spot in
a naval fight in summer, when the ice was thawed. Eratosthenes furnishes
us with the following inscription, which he found in the temple of
Æsculapius at Panticapæeon,[522] on a brazen vase which had been broken
by the frost:—
“If any one doubts the intensity of our winter’s cold, let him believe
when he sees this vase. The priest Stratius placed it here, not because
he considered it a worthy offering to the god, but as a proof of the
severity of our winter.”
Since therefore the provinces we have just enumerated [are so superior
in climate, that they] cannot be compared with the countries surrounding
the Bosphorus, nor even the regions of Amisus and Sinope, (for every one
will admit that they are much superior to these latter,) it would be
idle to compare them with the districts near the Borysthenes and the
north of Keltica; for we have shown that their temperature is not so low
as Amisus, Sinope, Byzantium, and Marseilles, which are universally
acknowledged to be 3700 stadia south of the Dnieper and Keltica.
17. If the followers of Deimachus add to the 30,000 stadia the distance
to Taprobane and the boundaries of the torrid zone, which cannot be
reckoned less than 4000 stadia,[523] they will then remove Bactria and
Aria from their actual localities and place them 34,000 stadia from the
torrid zone, a distance equal to that which Hipparchus states to be
between the equator and [the mouth of] the Dnieper, and the two
countries will therefore be removed 8800 stadia north of [the mouth of]
the Dnieper and Keltica; for there are reckoned to be 8800 stadia from
the equator to the parallel of latitude which separates the temperate
from the torrid zone and which crosses the Cinnamon Country.[524] We
have proved that the regions not more than 5000 stadia north of Keltica,
as far as Ierne,[525] are scarcely habitable, but their reasoning leads
to the conclusion that there is another circle fitted for the habitation
of man, although 3800 stadia north of Ierne.[526] And that Bactra is
still farther north than the mouth of the Caspian or Hyrcanian Sea,
which is distant about 6000 stadia from the recess of the Caspian and
the mountains of Armenia and Media, and which appears to be the most
northerly point of the whole coast as far as India, with a sea navigable
to India all the way, as Patrocles, who had the government of these
regions, affirms. Now Bactriana stretches 1000 stadia farther north.
Beyond this the Scythians occupy a much larger territory, bounded by the
Northern Ocean: here they dwell, though to be sure theirs is a nomade
life. But we ask how they could exist here at all, supposing even Bactra
to be beyond the limits of the habitable globe. The distance from the
Caucasus to the Northern Sea through Bactra would be rather more than
4000 stadia.[527] This being added to the number[528] of stadia north of
Ierne[529] above-mentioned, will give us the whole amount of
uninhabitable land from Ierne northward 7800 stadia, and even omitting
the 4000 stadia altogether, those parts of Bactriana next the Caucasus
will still be 3800 stadia farther north than Ierne, and 8800 farther
north than Keltica,[530] and [the mouth] of the Dnieper.
18. Hipparchus narrates that at the Dnieper and [the north of] Keltica,
during the whole of the summer nights there is one continued twilight
from sunset to sunrise, but at the winter solstice the sun never rises
more than nine cubits above the horizon.[531] He adds that this
phenomenon is yet more remarkable in regions 6300[532] stadia north of
Marseilles, (these regions he supposes to be peopled by Kelts, but I
believe are inhabited by Britons, and 2500 stadia north of Keltica,)
where the sun at the winter solstice[533] rises only six cubits above
the horizon. That at 9100[534] stadia north of Marseilles it only rises
four cubits, and not so much as three in the countries beyond, and which
I consider much farther north than Ierne.[535] However, Hipparchus, on
the authority of Pytheas, places them south of Britain, and says that
the longest day there consists only of 19 hours;[536] while in countries
where the sun rises but four cubits above the horizon, and which are
situated 9100[537] stadia north of Marseilles, the day has 18 hours.
Consequently [according to his hypothesis] the most southerly parts of
Britain must be north of these regions. They must therefore be under the
same parallel, or almost the same, as the parts of Bactriana next to the
Caucasus, which I have shown are, according to the followers of
Deimachus, 3800 stadia farther north than Ierne.[538] Now if we add this
to the number between Marseilles and Ierne, we shall get 12,500 stadia.
But who ever made known to us that, in those parts, I mean, in the
vicinity of Bactra, this was the duration of the longest day, or the
height which the sun attains in the meridian at the winter solstice? All
these things are patent to the eyes of every man, and require no
mathematical investigation; therefore they certainly would have been
mentioned by numerous writers both amongst the ancients who have left us
histories of Persia, and by the later writers too, who have carried them
down to our own time. How, too, would their fertility, which I have
described above, harmonize with such a latitude? The facts here advanced
are sufficient to give an idea of the learned manner in which Hipparchus
attempts to controvert the reasoning of Eratosthenes by mere petitiones
principii.
19. Again, Eratosthenes wished to show the ignorance of Deimachus, and
his want of information concerning such matters, as proved by his
assertion that India lies between the autumnal equinox[539] and winter
tropic.[540] Also in his blaming Megasthenes, where he says that in the
southern parts of India the Greater and Lesser Bear are seen to set, and
the shadows to fall both ways; assuring us that such is not the case in
India.[541] These assertions, says Eratosthenes, arise from the
ignorance of Deimachus. For it is nothing else than ignorance to suppose
that the autumnal equinox is not equally distant from the tropics with
the vernal; since in both equinoxes the sun rises at the same point, and
performs a similar revolution. Further, [he continues,] the distance
from the terrestrial tropic to the equator, between which, according to
Deimachus himself, India is situated, has been proved by measurement to
be much less than 20,000 stadia, consequently his own statements prove
that my assertion is correct, and not his. For supposing India to be
twenty or thirty thousand stadia [in breadth] it could not be contained
in the given space, but if my estimate be taken it is simple enough. It
is another evidence of his want of information, to say that the two
Bears are not seen to set, or the shadows to fall both ways, in any part
of India, since 5000 stadia south of Alexandria[542] both of these
phenomena are observable. Thus reasons Eratosthenes; whom Hipparchus
again criticises in the same mistaken way. First he substitutes [in the
text of Deimachus] the summer in place of the winter tropic; then he
says that the evidence of a man ignorant of astronomy ought not to be
received in a mathematical question; as if Eratosthenes in the main had
actually been guided by the authority of Deimachus. Could he not see
that Eratosthenes had followed the general custom in regard to idle
reasoners, one means of refuting whom is to show that their arguments,
whatever they may be, go only to confirm our views.
20. It is by assuming as a fact that the southern extremity of India is
under the same parallel as Meroe, a thing affirmed and believed by most
writers, that we shall be best able to show the absurdities of the
system of Hipparchus. In the first book of his Commentaries he does not
object to this hypothesis, but in the second book he no longer admits
it; we must examine his reasons for this. He says, “when two countries
are situated under the same parallel, but separated by a great distance,
you cannot be certain that they are exactly under the same parallel,
unless the _climata_[543] of both the places are found to be similar.
Now Philo, in his account of a voyage by sea to Ethiopia, has given us
the _clima_ of Meroe. He says that at that place the sun is vertical
forty-five days before the summer solstice,[544] he also informs us of
the proportion of shadow thrown by the gnomon both at the equinoxes and
solstices. Eratosthenes agrees almost exactly with Philo. But not a
single writer, not even Eratosthenes, has informed us of the _clima_ of
India; but if it is the case, as many are inclined to believe on the
authority of Nearchus,[545] that the two Bears are seen to set in that
country, then certainly Meroe and the southern extremity of India cannot
be under the same parallel.”[546] [Such is the reasoning of Hipparchus,
but we reply,] If Eratosthenes confirms the statement of those authors
who tell us that in India the two Bears are observed to set, how can it
be said that not a single person, not even Eratosthenes, has informed us
of any thing concerning the _clima_ of India? This is itself information
on that point. If, however, he has not confirmed this statement, let him
be exonerated from the error. Certain it is he never did confirm the
statement. Only when Deimachus affirmed that there was no place in India
from which the two Bears might be seen to set, or the shadows fall both
ways, as Megasthenes had asserted, Eratosthenes thereupon taxed him with
ignorance, regarding as absolutely false this two-fold assertion, one
half of which, namely, that concerning the shadows not falling both
ways, Hipparchus himself acknowledged to be false; for if the southern
extremity of India were not under the same parallel as Meroe, still
Hipparchus appears to have considered it south of Syene.
21. In the instances which follow, Hipparchus, treating of these
subjects, either asserts things similar to those which we have already
refuted, or takes for granted matters which are not so, or draws
improper sequences. For instance, from the computation [of Eratosthenes]
that the distance from Babylon to Thapsacus[547] is 4800 stadia, and
thence northward to the mountains of Armenia[548] 2100 stadia more, it
does not follow that, starting from the meridian of that city, the
distance to the northern mountains is above 6000 stadia. Besides,
Eratosthenes never says that the distance from Thapsacus to these
mountains is 2100 stadia, but that a part thereof has never yet been
measured; so that this argument [of Hipparchus], founded on a false
hypothesis, amounts to nothing. Nor did Eratosthenes ever assert that
Thapsacus lies more than 4500 stadia north of Babylon.
22. Again, Hipparchus, ever anxious to defend the [accuracy of the]
ancient charts, instead of fairly stating the words of Eratosthenes
concerning his third section of the habitable earth, wilfully makes him
the author of an assertion easy of disproof. For Eratosthenes, following
the opinion we before mentioned, that a line drawn from the Pillars of
Hercules across the Mediterranean, and the length of the Taurus, would
run due west and east,[549] divides, by means of this line, the
habitable earth into two portions, which he calls the northern and
southern divisions; each of these he again essays to subdivide into as
many smaller partitions as practicable, which he denominates
sections.[550] He makes India the first section of the southern part,
and Ariana[551] the second; these two countries possessing a good
outline, he has been able not only to give us an accurate statement of
their length and breadth, but an almost geometrically exact description
of their figure. He tells us that the form of India is rhomboidal, being
washed on two of its sides by the southern and eastern oceans
[respectively], which do not deeply indent its shores. The two remaining
sides are contained by its mountains and the river [Indus], so that it
presents a kind of rectilinear figure.[552] As to Ariana, he considered
three of its sides well fitted to form a parallelogram; but of the
western side he could give no regular definition, as it was inhabited by
various nations; nevertheless he attempts an idea of it by a line drawn
from the Caspian Gates[553] to the limits of Carmania, which border on
the Persian Gulf. This side he calls western, and that next the Indus
eastern, but he does not tell us they are parallel to each other;
neither does he say this of the other sides, one bounded by the
mountains, and the other by the sea; he simply calls them north and
south.
23. Having in this manner but imperfectly traced the outlines of his
second section, the third section, for various reasons, is still less
exact. The first cause has been already explained, viz. that the line
from the Caspian Gates to Carmania is not clearly defined, as the side
of the section is common both to the third and second sections.
Secondly, on account of the Persian Gulf interrupting the continuity of
the southern side, as he himself tells us, he has been obliged to take
the measured road running through Susa and Persepolis to the boundaries
of Carmania and Persia, and suppose it straight.[554] This road, which
he calls the southern side, is a little more than 9000 stadia. He does
not, however, tell us, that it runs parallel to the northern side. It is
also clear that the Euphrates, which he makes the western boundary, is
any thing but a straight line. On leaving the mountains it flows south,
but soon shifts its course to the east; it then again pursues a
southerly direction till it reaches the sea. In fact, Eratosthenes
himself acknowledges the indirect course of this river, when he compares
the shape of Mesopotamia, which is formed by the junction of the Tigris
and Euphrates, to the cushion on a rower’s bench. The western side
bounded by the Euphrates is not entirely measured; for he tells us that
he does not know the extent of the portion between Armenia and the
northern mountains,[555] as it has not been measured. By reason of these
hinderances he states that he has been only able to give a very
superficial view of the third section, and that his estimate of the
distances is borrowed from various Itineraries, some of them, according
to his own description, anonymous. Hipparchus therefore must be
considered guilty of unfairness, for criticising with geometrical
precision a work of this general nature. We ought rather to be grateful
to a person who gives us any description at all of the character of such
[unknown] places. But when he urges his geometrical objections not
against any real statement of Eratosthenes, but merely against imaginary
hypotheses of his own creation, he shows too plainly the contradictory
bent of his mind.
24. It is in this general kind of description of the third section that
Eratosthenes supposes 10,000 stadia from the Caspian Gates to the
Euphrates. This he again divides according to former admeasurements
which he found preserved. Starting from the point where the Euphrates
passes near to Thapsacus, he computes from thence to the place where
Alexander crossed the Tigris 2400 stadia. The route thence through
Gaugamela,[556] the Lycus,[557] Arbela,[558] and Ecbatana,[559] whither
Darius fled from Gaugamela to the Caspian Gates, makes up the 10,000
stadia, which is only 300 stadia too much. Such is the measure of the
northern side given by Eratosthenes, which he could not have supposed to
be parallel to the mountains, nor yet to the line drawn from the Pillars
of Hercules through Athens and Rhodes. For Thapsacus is far removed from
the mountains, and the route from Thapsacus to the Caspian Gates only
falls in with the mountains at that point.[560] Such is the boundary on
the northern side.
25. Thus, says Eratosthenes, we have given you a description of the
northern side; as for the southern, we cannot take its measure along the
sea, on account of the Persian Gulf, which intercepts [its continuity],
but from Babylon through Susa and Persepolis to the confines of Persia
and Carmania there are 9200 stadia. This he calls the southern side, but
he does not say it is parallel to the northern. The difference of length
between the northern and southern sides is caused, he tells us, by the
Euphrates, which after running south some distance shifts its course
almost due east.
26. Of the two remaining sides, he describes the western first, but
whether we are to regard it as one single straight line, or two, seems
to be undecided. He says,—From Thapsacus to Babylon, following the
course of the Euphrates, there are 4800 stadia; from thence to the mouth
of the Euphrates[561] and the city of Teredon, 3000[562] more; from
Thapsacus northward to the Gates of Armenia, having been measured, is
stated to be 1100 stadia, but the distance through Gordyæa and Armenia,
not having yet been measured, is not given. The eastern side, which
stretches lengthwise through Persia from the Red Sea towards Media and
the north, does not appear to be less than 8000 stadia, and measured
from certain headlands above 9000, the rest of the distance through
Parætacena and Media to the Caspian Gates being 3000 stadia. The rivers
Tigris and Euphrates flowing from Armenia towards the south, after
having passed the Gordyæan mountains, and having formed a great circle
which embraces the vast country of Mesopotamia, turn towards the rising
of the sun in winter and the south, particularly the Euphrates, which,
continually approaching nearer and nearer to the Tigris, passes by the
rampart of Semiramis,[563] and at about 200 stadia from the village of
Opis,[564] thence it flows through Babylon, and so discharges itself
into the Persian Gulf. Thus the figure of Mesopotamia and Babylon
resembles the cushion of a rower’s bench.—Such are the words of
Eratosthenes.
27. In the Third Section it is true he does make some mistakes, which we
shall take into consideration; but they are nothing like the amount
which Hipparchus attributes to him. However, we will examine his
objections. [In the first place,] he would have the ancient charts left
just as they are, and by no means India brought more to the south, as
Eratosthenes thinks proper. Indeed, he asserts that the very arguments
adduced by that writer only confirm him the more in his opinion. He
says, “According to Eratosthenes, the northern side of the third section
is bounded by a line of 10,000 stadia drawn from the Caspian Gates to
the Euphrates, the southern side from Babylon to the confines of
Carmania is a little more than 9000 stadia. On the western side,
following the course of the Euphrates, from Thapsacus to Babylon there
are 4800 stadia, and thence to the outlets of the river 3000 stadia
more. Northward from Thapsacus [to the Gates of Armenia] is reckoned
1100 stadia; the rest has not been measured. Now since Eratosthenes says
that the northern side of this Third Section is about 10,000 stadia, and
that the right line parallel thereto drawn from Babylon to the eastern
side is computed at just above 9000 stadia, it follows that Babylon is
not much more than 1000 stadia east of the passage of [the Euphrates]
near Thapsacus.”
28. We answer, that if the Caspian Gates and the boundary line of
Carmania and Persia were exactly under the same meridian, and if right
lines drawn in the direction of Thapsacus and Babylon would intersect
such meridian at right angles, the inference would be just.[565] For
then the line [from the common frontier of Carmania and Persia] to
Babylon, if produced to the meridian of Thapsacus, would appear to the
eye equal, or nearly equal, to that from the Caspian Gates to Thapsacus.
Consequently, Babylon would only be east of Thapsacus in the same
proportion as the line drawn from the Caspian Gates to Thapsacus exceeds
the line drawn from the frontier of Carmania to Babylon.[566]
Eratosthenes, however, does not tell us that the line which bounds the
western coast of Ariana follows the direction of the meridian; nor yet
that a line drawn from the Caspian Gates to Thapsacus would form right
angles with the meridian of the Caspian Gates. But rather, that the line
which would form right angles with the meridian, would be one which
should follow the course of the Taurus, and with which the line drawn
from the Caspian Gates to Thapsacus would form an acute angle. Nor,
again, does he ever say that a line drawn from Carmania to Babylon would
be parallel to that drawn [from the Caspian Gates] to Thapsacus; and
even if it were parallel, this would prove nothing for the argument of
Hipparchus, since it does not form right angles with the meridian of the
Caspian Gates.
29. But taking this for granted, and proving, as he imagines, that,
according to Eratosthenes, Babylon is east of Thapsacus rather more than
1000 stadia, he draws from this false hypothesis a new argument, which
he uses to the following purpose; and says, If we suppose a right line
drawn from Thapsacus towards the south, and another from Babylon
perpendicular thereto, a right-angled triangle would be the result;
whose sides should be, 1. A line drawn from Thapsacus to Babylon; 2. A
perpendicular drawn from Babylon to the meridian of Thapsacus; 3. The
meridian line of Thapsacus. The hypotenuse of this triangle would be a
right line drawn from Thapsacus to Babylon, which he estimates at 4800
stadia. The perpendicular drawn from Babylon to the meridian of
Thapsacus is scarcely more than 1000 stadia, the same amount by which
the line drawn [from the Caspian Gates] to Thapsacus exceeds that [from
the common frontier of Carmania and Persia] to Babylon. The two sides
[of the triangle] being given, Hipparchus proceeds to find the third,
which is much greater than the perpendicular[567] aforesaid. To this he
adds the line drawn from Thapsacus northwards to the mountains of
Armenia, one part of which, according to Eratosthenes, was measured, and
found to be 1100 stadia; the other, or part unmeasured by Eratosthenes,
Hipparchus estimates to be 1000 stadia at the least: so that the two
together amount to 2100 stadia. Adding this to the [length of the] side
upon which falls the perpendicular drawn from Babylon, Hipparchus
estimated a distance of many thousand stadia from the mountains of
Armenia and the parallel of Athens to this perpendicular, which falls on
the parallel of Babylon.[568] From the parallel of Athens[569] to that
of Babylon he shows that there cannot be a greater distance than 2400
stadia, even admitting the estimate supplied by Eratosthenes himself of
the number of stadia which the entire meridian contains;[570] and that
if this be so, the mountains of Armenia and the Taurus cannot be under
the same parallel of latitude as Athens, (which is the opinion of
Eratosthenes,) but many thousand stadia to the north, as the data
supplied by that writer himself prove.
But here, for the formation of his right-angled triangle, Hipparchus not
only makes use of propositions already overturned, but assumes what was
never granted, namely, that the hypotenuse subtending his right angle,
which is the straight line from Thapsacus to Babylon, is 4800 stadia in
length. What Eratosthenes says is, that this route follows the course of
the Euphrates, and adds, that Mesopotamia and Babylon are encompassed as
it were by a great circle formed by the Euphrates and Tigris, but
principally by the former of these rivers. So that a straight line from
Thapsacus to Babylon would neither follow the course of the Euphrates,
nor yet be near so many stadia in length. Thus the argument [of
Hipparchus] is overturned. We have stated before, that supposing two
lines drawn from the Caspian Gates, one to Thapsacus, and the other to
the mountains of Armenia opposite Thapsacus, and distant therefrom,
according to Hipparchus’s own estimate, 2100 stadia at the very least,
neither of them would be parallel to each other, nor yet to that line
which, passing through Babylon, is styled by Eratosthenes the southern
side [of the third section]. As he could not inform us of the exact
length of the route by the mountains, Eratosthenes tells us the distance
between Thapsacus and the Caspian Gates; in fact, to speak in a general
way, he puts this distance in place of the other; besides, as he merely
wanted to give the length of the territory between Ariana and the
Euphrates, he was not particular to have the exact measure of either
route. To pretend that he considered the lines to be parallel to each
other, is evidently to accuse the man of more than childish ignorance,
and we dismiss the insinuation as nonsense forthwith.
30. There, however, are some instances in which one may justly accuse
Eratosthenes. There is a difference in dissecting _limb by limb_, or
merely cutting off _portions_ [indiscriminately], (for in the former you
may only separate parts having a natural outline, and distinguished by a
regular form; this the poet alludes to in the expression,
“Cutting them limb from limb;”[571]
whereas in regard to the latter this is not the case,) and we may adopt
with propriety either one or other of these plans according to the time
and necessity. So in Geography, if you enter into every detail, you may
sometimes be compelled to divide your territories into _portions_, so to
speak, but it is a more preferable way to separate them into limbs, than
into such chance pieces; for thus only you can define accurately
particular _points and boundaries_, a thing so necessary to the
geographer. When it can be done, the best way to define a country is by
the rivers, mountains, or sea; also, where possible, by the nation or
nations [who inhabit it], and by its size and configuration. However, in
default of a geometrical definition, a simple and general description
may be said always to answer the purpose. In regard to size, it is
sufficient to state the greatest length and breadth; for example, that
the habitable earth is 70,000 stadia long, and that its breadth is
scarcely half its length.[572] And as to form, to compare a country to
any geometrical or other well-known figure. For example, Sicily to a
triangle, Spain to an ox-hide, or the Peloponnesus to a plane-leaf.[573]
The larger the territory to be divided, the more general also ought its
divisions to be.
31. [In the system of Eratosthenes], the habitable earth has been
admirably divided into two parts by the Taurus and the Mediterranean
Sea, which reaches to the Pillars. On the southern side, the limits of
India have been described by a variety of methods; by its
mountains,[574] its river,[575] its seas,[576] and its name,[577] which
seems to indicate that it is inhabited only by one people.[578] It is
with justice too that he attributes to it the form of a quadrilateral or
rhomboid. Ariana is not so accurately described, on account of its
western side being interwoven with the adjacent land. Still it is pretty
well distinguished by its three other sides, which are formed by three
nearly straight lines, and also by its name, which shows it to be only
one nation.[579] As to the Third Section of Eratosthenes, it cannot be
considered to be defined or circumscribed at all; for that side of it
which is common to Ariana is but ill defined, as before remarked. The
southern side, too, is most negligently taken: it is, in fact, no
boundary to the section at all, for it passes right through its centre,
leaving entirely outside of it many of the southern portions. Nor yet
does it represent the greatest length of the section, for the northern
side is the longest.[580] Nor, lastly, can the Euphrates be its western
boundary, not even if it flowed in a right line, since its two
extremes[581] do not lie under the same meridian. How then is it the
western rather than the southern boundary? Apart from this, the distance
to the Seas of Cilicia and Syria is so inconsiderable, that there can be
no reason why he should not have enlarged the third section, so as to
include the kingdoms of Semiramis and Ninus, who are both of them known
as Syrian monarchs; the first built Babylon, which he made his royal
residence; the second Ninus,[582] the capital of Syria;[583] and the
same dialect still exists on both sides of the Euphrates. The idea of
thus dismembering so renowned a nation, and allotting its portions to
strange nations with which it had no connexion, is as peculiarly
unfortunate. Eratosthenes cannot plead that he was compelled to do this
on account of its size, for had it extended as far as the sea and the
frontiers of Arabia Felix and Egypt, even then it would not have been as
large as India, or even Ariana. It would have therefore been much better
to have enlarged the third section, making it comprehend the whole space
as far as the Sea of Syria; but if this were done, the southern side
would not be as he represents it, nor yet in a straight line, but
starting from Carmania would follow the right side of the sea-shore from
the Persian Gulf to the mouth of the Euphrates; it would then approach
the limits of Mesene[584] and Babylon, where the Isthmus commences which
separates Arabia Felix from the rest of the continent. Traversing the
Isthmus, it would continue its course to the recess of the Arabian Gulf
and Pelusium,[585] thence to the mouth of the Nile at Canopus.[586] Such
would be the southern side. The west would be traced by the sea-shore
from the [river’s] mouth at Canopus to Cilicia.[587]
32. The fourth section would consist of Arabia Felix, the Arabian Gulf,
and the whole of Egypt and Ethiopia. Its length bounded by two
meridians, one drawn through its most western point, the other through
its most eastern; and its breadth by two parallels through its most
northern and southern points. For this is the best way to describe the
extent of irregular figures, whose length and breadth cannot be
determined by their sides.
In general it is to be observed, that length and breadth are to be
understood in different ways, according as you speak of the whole or a
part. Of a whole, the greater distance is called its length, and the
lesser its breadth; of a part, that is to be considered the length which
is parallel to the length of the whole, without any regard whether it,
or that which is left for the breadth, be the greater distance. The
length of the whole habitable earth is measured from east to west by a
line drawn parallel to the equator, and its breadth from north to south
in the direction of the meridian; consequently, the length of any of the
parts ought to be portions of a line drawn parallel to the length of the
whole, and their breadth to the breadth of the whole. For, in the first
place, by this means the size of the whole habitable earth will be best
described; and secondly, the disposition and configuration of its parts,
and the manner in which one may be said to be greater or less than
another, will be made manifest by thus comparing them.
33. Eratosthenes, however, measures the length of the habitable earth by
a line which he considers straight, drawn from the Pillars of Hercules,
in the direction of the Caspian Gates and the Caucasus. The length of
the third section, by a line drawn from the Caspian Gates to Thapsacus,
and of the fourth, by one running from Thapsacus through Heroopolis to
the country surrounded by the Nile: this must necessarily be deflected
to Canopus and Alexandria, for there is the last mouth of the Nile,
which goes by the name of the Canopic[588] or Heracleotic mouth. Whether
therefore these two lengths be considered to form one straight line, or
to make an angle with Thapsacus, certain it is that neither of them is
parallel to the length of the habitable earth; this is evident from what
Eratosthenes has himself said concerning them. According to him the
length of the habitable earth is described by a right line running
through the Taurus to the Pillars of Hercules, in the direction of the
Caucasus, Rhodes, and Athens. From Rhodes to Alexandria, following the
meridian of the two cities, he says there cannot be much less than 4000
stadia,[589] consequently there must be the same difference between the
latitudes of Rhodes and Alexandria. Now the latitude of Heroopolis is
about the same as Alexandria, or rather more south. So that a line,
whether straight or broken, which intersects the parallel of Heroopolis,
Rhodes, or the Gates of the Caspian, cannot be parallel to either of
these. These lengths therefore are not properly indicated, nor are the
northern sections any better.
34. We will now return at once to Hipparchus, and see what comes next.
Continuing to palm assumptions of his own [upon Eratosthenes], he goes
on to refute, with geometrical accuracy, statements which that author
had made in a mere general way. “Eratosthenes,” he says, “estimates that
there are 6700 stadia between Babylon and the Caspian Gates, and from
Babylon to the frontiers of Carmania and Persia above 9000 stadia; this
he supposes to lie in a direct line towards the equinoctial rising,[590]
and perpendicular to the common side of his second and third sections.
Thus, according to his plan, we should have a right-angled triangle,
with the right angle next to the frontiers of Carmania, and its
hypotenuse less than one of the sides about the right angle!
Consequently Persia should be included in the second section.”[591]
To this we reply, that the line drawn from Babylon to Carmania was
never intended as a parallel, nor yet that which divides the two
sections as a meridian, and that therefore nothing has been laid to his
charge, at all events with any just foundation. In fact, Eratosthenes
having stated the number of stadia from the Caspian Gates to Babylon as
above given,[592] [from the Caspian Gates] to Susa 4900 stadia, and from
Babylon [to Susa] 3400 stadia, Hipparchus runs away from his former
hypothesis, and says that [by drawing lines from] the Caspian Gates,
Susa, and Babylon, an obtuse-angled triangle would be the result, whose
sides should be of the length laid down, and of which Susa would form
the obtuse angle. He then argues, that “according to these premises, the
meridian drawn from the Gates of the Caspian will intersect the parallel
of Babylon and Susa 4400 stadia more to the west, than would a straight
line drawn from the Caspian to the confines of Carmania and Persia; and
that this last line, forming with the meridian of the Caspian Gates half
a right angle, would lie exactly in a direction midway between the south
and the equinoctial rising. Now as the course of the Indus is parallel
to this line, it cannot flow south on its descent from the mountains, as
Eratosthenes asserts, but in a direction lying between the south and the
equinoctial rising, as laid down in the ancient charts.” But who is
there who will admit this to be an obtuse-angled triangle, without also
admitting that it contains a right angle? Who will agree that the line
from Babylon to Susa, which forms one side of this obtuse-angled
triangle, lies parallel, without admitting the same of the whole line as
far as Carmania? or that the line drawn from the Caspian Gates to the
frontiers of Carmania is parallel to the Indus? Nevertheless, without
this the reasoning [of Hipparchus] is worth nothing.
“Eratosthenes himself also states,” [continues Hipparchus,[593]] “that
the form of India is rhomboidal; and since the whole eastern border of
that country has a decided tendency towards the east, but more
particularly the extremest cape,[594] which lies more to the south than
any other part of the coast, the side next the Indus must be the same.”
35. These arguments may be very geometrical, but they are not
convincing. After having himself invented these various difficulties, he
dismisses them, saying, “Had [Eratosthenes] been chargeable for small
distances only, he might have been excused; but since his mistakes
involve thousands of stadia, we cannot pardon him, more especially since
he has laid it down that at a mere distance of 400 stadia,[595] such as
that between the parallels of Athens and Rhodes, there is a sensible
variation [of latitude].” But these sensible variations are not all of
the same kind, the distance [involved therein] being in some instances
greater, in others less; greater, when for our estimate of the climata
we trust merely to the eye, or are guided by the vegetable productions
and the temperature of the air; less, when we employ gnomons and
dioptric instruments. Nothing is more likely than that if you measure
the parallel of Athens, or that of Rhodes and Caria, by means of a
gnomon, the difference resulting from so many stadia[596] will be
sensible. But when a geographer, in order to trace a line from west to
east, 3000 stadia broad, makes use of a chain of mountains 40,000 stadia
long, and also of a sea which extends still farther 30,000 stadia, and
farther wishing to point out the situation of the different parts of the
habitable earth relative to this line, calls some southern, others
northern, and finally lays out what he calls the sections, each section
consisting of divers countries, then we ought carefully to examine in
what acceptation he uses his terms; in what sense he says that such a
side [of any section] is the north side, and what other is the south, or
east, or west side. If he does not take pains to avoid great errors, he
deserves to be blamed, but should he be guilty merely of trifling
inaccuracies, he should be forgiven. But here nothing shows thoroughly
that Eratosthenes has committed either serious or slight errors, for on
one hand what he may have said concerning such great distances, can
never be verified by a geometrical test, and on the other, his accuser,
while endeavouring to reason like a geometrician, does not found his
arguments on any real data, but on gratuitous suppositions.
36. The fourth section Hipparchus certainly manages better, though he
still maintains the same censorious tone, and obstinacy in sticking to
his first hypotheses, or others similar. He properly objects to
Eratosthenes giving as the length of this section a line drawn from
Thapsacus to Egypt, as being similar to the case of a man who should
tell us that the diagonal of a parallelogram was its length. For
Thapsacus and the coasts of Egypt are by no means under the same
parallel of latitude, but under parallels considerably distant from each
other,[597] and a line drawn from Thapsacus to Egypt would lie in a kind
of diagonal or oblique direction between them. But he is wrong when he
expresses his surprise that Eratosthenes should dare to state the
distance between Pelusium and Thapsacus at 6000 stadia, when he says
there are above 8000. In proof of this he advances that the parallel of
Pelusium is south of that of Babylon by more than 2500 stadia, and that
according to Eratosthenes (as he supposes) the latitude of Thapsacus is
above 4800 stadia north of that of Babylon; from which Hipparchus tells
us it results that [between Thapsacus and Pelusium] there are more than
8000 stadia. But I would inquire how he can prove that Eratosthenes
supposed so great a distance between the parallels of Babylon and
Thapsacus? He says, indeed, that such is the distance from Thapsacus to
Babylon, but not that there is this distance between their parallels,
nor yet that Thapsacus and Babylon are under the same meridian. So much
the contrary, that Hipparchus has himself pointed out, that, according
to Eratosthenes, Babylon ought to be east of Thapsacus more than 2000
stadia. We have before cited the statement of Eratosthenes, that
Mesopotamia and Babylon are encircled by the Tigris and Euphrates, and
that the greater portion of the Circle is formed by this latter river,
which flowing north and south takes a turn to the east, and then,
returning to a southerly direction, discharges itself [into the sea].
So long as it flows from north to south, it may be said to follow a
southerly direction; but the turning towards the east and Babylon is a
decided deviation from the southerly direction, and it never recovers a
straight course, but forms the circuit we have mentioned above. When he
tells us that the journey from Babylon to Thapsacus is 4800 stadia, he
adds, following the course of the Euphrates, as if on purpose lest any
one should understand such to be the distance in a direct line, or
between the two parallels. If this be not granted, it is altogether a
vain attempt to show that if a right-angled triangle were constructed by
lines drawn from Pelusium and Thapsacus to the point where the parallel
of Thapsacus intercepts the meridian of Pelusium, that one of the lines
which form the right angle, and is in the direction of the meridian,
would be longer than that forming the hypotenuse drawn from Thapsacus to
Pelusium.[598] Worthless, too, is the argument in connexion with this,
being the inference from a proposition not admitted; for Eratosthenes
never asserts that from Babylon to the meridian of the Caspian Gates is
a distance of 4800 stadia. We have shown that Hipparchus deduces this
from data not admitted by Eratosthenes; but desirous to controvert every
thing advanced by that writer, he assumes that from Babylon to the line
drawn from the Caspian Gates to the mountains of Carmania, according to
Eratosthenes’ description, there are above 9000 stadia, and from thence
draws his conclusions.
37. Eratosthenes[599] cannot, therefore, be found fault with on these
grounds; what may be objected against him is as follows. When you wish
to give a general outline of size and configuration, you should devise
for yourself some rule which may be adhered to more or less. After
having laid down that the breadth of the space occupied by the mountains
which run in a direction due east, as well as by the sea which reaches
to the Pillars of Hercules, is 3000 stadia, would you pretend to
estimate different lines, which you may draw within the breadth of that
space, as one and the same line? We should be more willing to grant you
the power of doing so with respect to the lines which run parallel to
that space than with those which fall upon it; and among these latter,
rather with respect to those which fall within it than to those which
extend without it; and also rather for those which, in regard to the
shortness of their extent, would not pass out of the said space than for
those which would. And again, rather for lines of some considerable
length than for any thing very short, for the inequality of lengths is
less perceptible in great extents than the difference of configuration.
For example, if you give 3000 stadia for the breadth at the Taurus, as
well as for the sea which extends to the Pillars of Hercules, you will
form a parallelogram entirely enclosing both the mountains of the Taurus
and the sea; if you divide it in its length into several other
parallelograms, and draw first the diagonal of the great parallelogram,
and next that of each smaller parallelogram, surely the diagonal of the
great parallelogram will be regarded as a line more nearly parallel and
equal to the side forming the length of that figure than the diagonal of
any of the smaller parallelograms: and the more your lesser
parallelograms should be multiplied, the more will this become evident.
Certainly, it is in great figures that the obliquity of the diagonal and
its difference from the side forming the length are the less
perceptible, so that you would have but little scruple in taking the
diagonal as the length of the figure. But if you draw the diagonal more
inclined, so that it falls beyond both sides, or at least beyond one of
the sides, then will this no longer be the case; and this is the sense
in which we have observed, that when you attempted to draw even in a
very general way the extents of the figures, you ought to adopt some
rule. But Eratosthenes takes a line from the Caspian Gates along the
mountains, running as it were in the same parallel as far as the
Pillars, and then a second line, starting directly from the mountains to
touch Thapsacus; and again a third line from Thapsacus to the frontiers
of Egypt, occupying so great a breadth. If then in proceeding you give
the length of the two last lines [taken together] as the measure of the
length of the district, you will appear to measure the length of one of
your parallelograms by its diagonal. And if, farther, this diagonal
should consist of a broken line, as that would be which stretches from
the Caspian Gates to the embouchure of the Nile, passing by Thapsacus,
your error will appear much greater. This is the sum of what may be
alleged against Eratosthenes.
38. In another respect also we have to complain of Hipparchus, because,
as he had given a category of the statements of Eratosthenes, he ought
to have corrected his mistakes, in the same way that we have done; but
whenever he has any thing particular to remark, he tells us to follow
the ancient charts, which, to say the least, need correction infinitely
more than the map of Eratosthenes.
The argument which follows is equally objectionable, being founded on
the consequences of a proposition which, as we have shown, is
inadmissible, namely, that Babylon was not more than 1000 stadia east of
Thapsacus; when it was quite clear, from Eratosthenes’ own words, that
Babylon was above 2400 stadia east of that place; since from Thapsacus
to the passage of the Euphrates where it was crossed by Alexander, the
shortest route is 2400 stadia, and the Tigris and Euphrates, having
encompassed Mesopotamia, flow towards the east, and afterwards take a
southerly direction and approach nearer to each other and to Babylon at
the same time: nothing appears absurd in this statement of Eratosthenes.
39. The next objection of Hipparchus is likewise false. He attempts to
prove that Eratosthenes, in his statement that the route from Thapsacus
to the Caspian Gates is 10,000 stadia, gives this as the distance taken
in a straight line; such not being the case, as in that instance the
distance would be much shorter. His mode of reasoning is after this
fashion. He says, “According to Eratosthenes, the mouth of the Nile at
Canopus,[600] and the Cyaneæ,[601] are under the same meridian, which is
distant from that of Thapsacus 6300 stadia. Now from the Cyaneæ to Mount
Caspius, which is situated close to the defile[602] leading from Colchis
to the Caspian Sea, there are 6600 stadia,[603] so that, with the
exception of about 300 stadia, the distance from the meridian of the
Cyaneæ to that of Thapsacus, or to that of Mount Caspius, is the same:
and both Thapsacus and Mount Caspius are, so to speak, under the same
meridian.[604] It follows from this that the Caspian Gates are about
equi-distant between Thapsacus and Mount Caspius, but that the distance
between them and Thapsacus is much less than the 10,000 stadia mentioned
by Eratosthenes. Consequently, as the distance in a right line is much
less than 10,000 stadia, this route, which he considered to be in a
straight course from the Caspian Gates to Thapsacus, must have been a
circumbendibus.”
To this we reply, that Eratosthenes, as is usual in Geography, speaks of
right lines, meridians, and parallels to the equator, with considerable
latitude, whereas Hipparchus criticizes him with geometrical nicety, as
if every line had been measured with rule and compass. Hipparchus at the
same time himself frequently deciding as to right lines and parallels,
not by actual measurement, but mere conjecture. Such is the first error
of this writer. A second is, that he never lays down the distances as
Eratosthenes has given them, nor yet reasons on the data furnished by
that writer, but from mere assumptions of his own coinage. Thus, where
Eratosthenes states that the distance from the mouth of the [Thracian
Bosphorus] to the Phasis is 8000 stadia, from thence to Dioscurias 600
stadia,[605] and from Dioscurias to Caspius five days’ journey, (which
Hipparchus estimates at 1000 stadia,) the sum of these, as stated by
Eratosthenes, would amount to 9600 stadia. This Hipparchus abridges in
the following manner. From the Cyaneæ to the Phasis are 5600 stadia, and
from the Phasis to the Caspius 1000 more.[606] Therefore it is no
statement of Eratosthenes that the Caspius and Thapsacus are under the
same meridian, but of Hipparchus himself. However, supposing
Eratosthenes says so, does it follow that the distance from the Caspius
to the Caspian Gates, and that from Thapsacus to the same point, are
equal.[607]
40. In the second book of his Commentaries, Hipparchus, having again
mooted the question concerning the mountains of the Taurus, of which we
have spoken sufficiently, proceeds with the northern parts of the
habitable earth. He then notices the statement of Eratosthenes
concerning the countries situated west of the Euxine,[608] namely, that
the three [principal] headlands [of this continent], the first the
Peloponnesian, the second the Italian, the third the Ligurian, run from
north [to south], enclosing the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian Gulfs.[609]
After this general exposition, Hipparchus proceeds to criticise each
point in detail, but rather on geometrical than geographical grounds; on
these subjects, however, the number of Eratosthenes’ errors is so
overwhelming, as also of Timosthenes the author of the Treatise on the
Ports, (whom Eratosthenes prefers above every other writer, though he
often decides even against him,) that it does not seem to be worth my
time to review their faulty productions, nor even what Hipparchus has to
say about them; since he neither enumerates all their blunders, nor yet
sets them right, but only points out how they falsify and contradict
each other. Still any one might certainly object to the saying of
Eratosthenes, that Europe has but three headlands, and considering as
one that which terminates by the Peloponnesus, notwithstanding it is
broken up into so many divisions. In fact, Sunium[610] is as much a
promontory as Laconia, and not very much less south than Malea,[611]
forming a considerable bay,[612] and the Thracian Chersonesus[613] and
Sunium[614] form the Gulf of Melas,[615] and likewise those of
Macedonia.[616] Added to this, it is manifest that the majority of the
distances are falsely stated, thus arguing an ignorance of geography
scarcely credible, and so far from requiring geometrical demonstration
that it stands out prominent on the very face of the statements. For
example, the distance from Epidamnus[617] to the Thermaic Gulf[618] is
above 2000 stadia; Eratosthenes gives it at 900. So too he states the
distance from Alexandria to Carthage at 13,000[619] stadia; it is not
more than 9000, that is, if, as he himself tells us, Caria and Rhodes
are under the same meridian as Alexandria,[620] and the Strait of
Messina under the same as Carthage,[621] for every one is agreed that
the voyage from Caria to the Strait of Sicily does not exceed 9000
stadia.
It is doubtless permissible in very great distances to consider as under
one and the same meridian places which are not more east and west of
each other than Carthage is west of the Strait;[622] but an error of
3000 stadia is too much; and when he places Rome under the same meridian
as Carthage, notwithstanding its being so far west of that city, it is
but the crowning proof of his extreme ignorance both of these places,
and likewise of the other countries farther west as far as the Pillars
of Hercules.
41. Since Hipparchus does not furnish a Geography of his own, but merely
reviews what is said in that of Eratosthenes, he ought to have gone
farther, and corrected the whole of that writer’s mistakes. As for
ourselves, it is only in those particulars where Eratosthenes is correct
(and we acknowledge that he frequently errs) that we have thought it our
duty to quote his own words, in order to reinstate them in their
position, and to defend him when he could be acquitted of the charges of
Hipparchus; never failing to break a lance with the latter writer
whenever his objections seemed to be the result of a mere propensity to
find fault. But when Eratosthenes is grossly mistaken, and the
animadversions of Hipparchus are just, we have thought it sufficient in
our Geography to set him (Eratosthenes) right by merely stating facts as
they are. As the mistakes were so continual and numerous, it was better
not to mention them except in a sparse and general manner. This
principle in the details we shall strive to carry out. In the present
instance we shall only remark, that Timosthenes, Eratosthenes, and those
who preceded them, were but ill acquainted with Iberia and Keltica,[623]
and a thousand times less with Germany, Britain, and the land of the
Getæ and Bastarnæ.[624] Their want of knowledge is also great in regard
to Italy, the Adriatic, the Euxine, and the countries north of these.
Possibly this last remark may be regarded as captious, since
Eratosthenes states, that as to distant countries, he has merely given
the admeasurements as he finds them supplied by others, without vouching
for their accuracy, although he sometimes adds whether the route
indicated is more or less in a right line. We should not therefore
subject to a too rigorous examination distances as to which no one is
agreed, after the manner Hipparchus does, both in regard to the places
already mentioned, and also to those of which Eratosthenes has given the
distance from Hyrcania to Bactria and the countries beyond, and those
from Colchis to the Sea of Hyrcania. These are points where we should
not scrutinize him so narrowly as [when he describes] places situated in
the heart of our continent,[625] or others equally well known; and even
these should be regarded from a geographical rather than a geometrical
point of view. Hipparchus, at the end of the second book of his
Commentaries on the Geography of Eratosthenes, having found fault with
certain statements relative to Ethiopia, tells us at the commencement of
the third, that his strictures, though to a certain point geographical,
will be mathematical for the most part. As for myself, I cannot find any
geography there. To me it seems entirely mathematical; but Eratosthenes
himself set the example; for he frequently runs into scientific
speculations, having little to do with the subject in hand, and which
result in vague and inexact conclusions. Thus he is a mathematician in
geography, and in mathematics a geographer; and so lies open to the
attacks of both parties. In this third book, both he and Timosthenes get
such severe justice, that there seems nothing left for us to do;
Hipparchus is quite enough.
CHAPTER II.
1. We will now proceed to examine the statements made by Posidonius in
his Treatise on the Ocean. This Treatise contains much geographical
information, sometimes given in a manner conformable to the subject, at
others too mathematical. It will not, therefore, be amiss to look into
some of his statements, both now and afterwards, as opportunity occurs,
taking care to confine ourselves within bounds. He deals simply with
geography, when he tells us that the earth is spheroidal and the
universe too, and admits the necessary consequences of this hypothesis,
one of which is, that the earth contains five zones.
2. Posidonius informs us that Parmenides was the first to make this
division of the earth into five zones, but that he almost doubled the
size of the torrid zone, which is situated between the tropics, by
bringing it beyond these into the temperate zones.[626] But according to
Aristotle the torrid zone is contained between the tropics, the
temperate zones occupying the whole space between the tropics and the
arctic circles.[627] Both of these divisions Posidonius justly condemns,
for the torrid zone is properly the space rendered uninhabitable by the
heat. Whereas more than half of the space between the tropics is
inhabited, as we may judge by the Ethiopians who dwell above Egypt. The
equator divides the whole of this space into two equal parts. Now from
Syene, which is the limit of the summer tropic, to Meroe, there are
5000 stadia, and thence to the parallel of the Cinnamon region, where
the torrid zone commences, 3000 stadia. The whole of this distance has
been measured, and it may be gone over either by sea or land; the
remaining portion to the equator is, if we adopt the measure of the
earth supplied by Eratosthenes, 8800 stadia. Therefore, as 16,800 is to
8800, so is the space comprised between the tropics to the breadth of
the torrid zone.
If of the more recent measurements we prefer those which diminish the
size of the earth, such as that adopted by Posidonius, which is about
180,000 stadia,[628] the torrid zone will still only occupy half, or
rather more than half, of the space comprised between the tropics; but
never an equal space. [Respecting the system of Aristotle, Posidonius
farther says,] “Since it is not every latitude which has Arctic
Circles,[629] and even those which do possess them have not the same,
how can any one determine by them the bounds of the temperate zones,
which are immutable?” Nothing however is proved [against Aristotle] from
the fact that there are not Arctic Circles for every latitude, since
they exist for all the inhabitants of the temperate zone, on whose
account alone the zone receives its name of temperate. But the objection
that the Arctic Circles do not remain the same for every latitude, but
shift their places, is excellent.[630]
3. Posidonius, who himself divides the earth into zones, tells us that
“five is the number best suited for the explanation of the celestial
appearances, two of these are periscii,[631] which reach from the poles
to the point where the tropics serve for Arctic Circles; two more are
heteroscii,[632] which extend from the former to the inhabitants of the
tropics, and one between the tropics, which is called amphiscius,[633]
but for matters relative to the earth, it is convenient to suppose two
other narrow zones placed under the tropics, and divided by them into
two halves, over which [every year] for the space of a fortnight, the
sun is vertical.”[634] These zones are remarkable for being extremely
arid and sandy, producing no vegetation with the exception of
silphium,[635] and a parched grain somewhat resembling wheat. This is
caused by there being no mountains to attract the clouds and produce
rain, nor any rivers flowing[636] through the country. The consequence
is that the various species[637] are born with woolly hair, crumpled
horns, protruding lips, and wide nostrils; their extremities being as it
were gnarled. Within these zones also dwell the Ichthyophagi.[638] He
further remarks, that these peculiarities are quite sufficient to
distinguish the zones in question: those which are farther south having
a more salubrious atmosphere, and being more fruitful and better
supplied with water.
CHAPTER III.
1. Polybius supposes six zones: two situated between the poles and the
arctic circles; two between the arctic circles and the tropics; and two
between the tropics which are divided by the equator. However, it
appears to me that the division into five zones accords best both with
the order of external nature and geography. With external nature, as
respects the celestial phenomena, and the temperature of the atmosphere.
With respect to the celestial phenomena, as the Periscii and Amphiscii
are thereby divided in the best possible manner, and it also forms an
excellent line of separation in regard to those who behold the stars
from an opposite point of view.[639] With respect to the temperature of
the atmosphere, inasmuch as looked at in connexion with the sun, there
are three main divisions, which influence in a remarkable degree both
plants, animals, and every other animated thing, existing either in the
air, or exposed to it, namely, excess of heat, want of heat, and a
moderate supply of heat. In the division into [five] zones, each of
these is correctly distinguished. The two frigid zones indicate the want
of heat, being alike in the temperature of their atmosphere; the
temperate zones possess a moderate heat, and the remaining, or torrid
zone, is remarkable for its excess of heat.
The propriety of this division in regard to geography is equally
apparent; the object of this science being to determine the limits of
that one of the temperate zones which we inhabit. To the east and west,
it is true, the boundaries are formed by the sea, but to the north and
south they are indicated by the atmosphere; which in the middle is of a
grateful temperature both to animals and plants, but on either side is
rendered intemperate either through excess or defect of heat. To
manifest this threefold difference, the division of the globe into five
zones becomes necessary. In fact, the division of the globe, by means of
the equator, into two hemispheres, the one northern, wherein we dwell,
and the other southern, points to this threefold division, for the
regions next the equator and torrid zone are uninhabitable on account of
the heat, those next the poles on account of the cold, but those in the
middle are mild, and fitted for the habitation of man.
Posidonius, in placing two zones under the tropics, pays no regard to
the reasons which influenced the division into five zones, nor is his
division equally appropriate. It is no more than if he were to form his
division into zones merely according to the [countries inhabited] by
different nations, calling one the Ethiopian, another the Scythian and
Keltic,[640] and a third the Intermediate zone.
2. Polybius, indeed, is wrong in bounding certain of his zones by the
arctic circles,[641] namely, the two which lie under them, and the two
between these and the tropics. The impropriety of using shifting points
to mark the limits of those which are fixed has been remarked before;
and we have likewise objected to the plan of making the tropics the
boundary of the torrid zone. However, in dividing the torrid zone into
two parts [Polybius] seems to have been influenced by no inconsiderable
reason, the same which led us to regard the whole earth as properly
divided by the equator into two hemispheres, north and south. We at once
see that by means of this division the torrid zone is divided into two
parts, thus establishing a kind of uniformity; each hemisphere
consisting of three entire zones, respectively similar to each other.
Thus this partition[642] will admit of a division into six zones, but
the other does not allow of it at all. Supposing you cut the earth into
two portions by a line drawn through the poles, you can find no
sufficient cause for dividing the eastern and western hemispheres into
six zones; on the other hand, five would be preferable. For since both
the portions of the torrid zone, divided by the equator, are similar and
contiguous to each other, it would seem out of place and superfluous to
separate them; whereas the temperate and frigid zones respectively
resemble each other, although lying apart. Wherefore, supposing the
whole earth to consist of these two hemispheres, it is sufficient to
divide them into five zones. If there be a temperate region under the
equator, as Eratosthenes asserts, and is admitted by Polybius, (who
adds, that it is the most elevated part of the earth,[643] and
consequently subject to the drenching rains occasioned by the monsoons
bringing up from the north innumerable clouds, which discharge
themselves on the highest lands,) it would be better to suppose this a
third narrow temperate zone, than to extend the two temperate zones
within the circles of the tropics. This supposition is supported by the
statements of Posidonius, that the course of the sun, whether in the
ecliptic, or from east to west, appears most rapid in the region [of
which we are speaking], because the rotations of that luminary are
performed with a speed increased in proportion to the greater size of
the circle.[644]
3. Posidonius blames Polybius for asserting that the region of the
earth, situated under the equator, is the highest, since a spherical
body being equal all round, no part can be described as high; and as to
mountainous districts, there are none under the equator, it is on the
contrary a flat country, about the same level as the sea; as for the
rains which swell the Nile, they descend from the mountains of Ethiopia.
Although advancing this, he afterwards seems to adopt the other opinion,
for he says that he fancies there may be mountains under the equator,
around which the clouds assembling from both of the temperate zones,
produce violent rains. Here is one manifest contradiction; again, in
stating that the land under the equator is mountainous, another
contradiction appears. For they say that the ocean is confluent, how
then can they place mountains in the midst of it? unless they mean to
say that there are islands. However, whether such be the fact does not
lie within the province of geography to determine, the inquiry would
better be left to him who makes the ocean in particular his study.
4. Posidonius, in speaking of those who have sailed round Africa, tells
us that Herodotus was of opinion that some of those sent out by Darius
actually performed this enterprise;[645] and that Heraclides of Pontus,
in a certain dialogue, introduces one of the Magi presenting himself to
Gelon,[646] and declaring that he had performed this voyage; but he
remarks that this wants proof. He also narrates how a certain Eudoxus of
Cyzicus,[647] sent with sacrifices and oblations to the Corean
games,[648] travelled into Egypt in the reign of Euergetes II.;[649] and
being a learned man, and much interested in the peculiarities of
different countries, he made interest with the king and his ministers on
the subject, but especially for exploring the Nile. It chanced that a
certain Indian was brought to the king by the [coast]-guard of the
Arabian Gulf. They reported that they had found him in a ship, alone,
and half dead: but that they neither knew who he was, nor where he came
from, as he spoke a language they could not understand. He was placed in
the hands of preceptors appointed to teach him the Greek language. On
acquiring which, he related how he had started from the coasts of India,
but lost his course, and reached Egypt alone, all his companions having
perished with hunger; but that if he were restored to his country he
would point out to those sent with him by the king, the route by sea to
India. Eudoxus was of the number thus sent. He set sail with a good
supply of presents, and brought back with him in exchange aromatics and
precious stones, some of which the Indians collect from amongst the
pebbles of the rivers, others they dig out of the earth, where they have
been formed by the moisture, as crystals are formed with us.[650]
[He fancied that he had made his fortune], however, he was greatly
deceived, for Euergetes took possession of the whole treasure. On the
death of that prince, his widow, Cleopatra,[651] assumed the reins of
government, and Eudoxus was again despatched with a richer cargo than
before. On his journey back, he was carried by the winds above
Ethiopia, and being thrown on certain [unknown] regions, he conciliated
the inhabitants by presents of grain, wine, and cakes of pressed figs,
articles which they were without; receiving in exchange a supply of
water, and guides for the journey. He also wrote down several words of
their language, and having found the end of a prow, with a horse carved
on it, which he was told formed part of the wreck of a vessel coming
from the west, he took it with him, and proceeded on his homeward
course. He arrived safely in Egypt, where no longer Cleopatra, but her
son,[652] ruled; but he was again stripped of every thing on the
accusation of having appropriated to his own uses a large portion of the
merchandise sent out.
However, he carried the prow into the market-place, and exhibited it to
the pilots, who recognised it as being come from Gades.[653] The
merchants [of that place] employing large vessels, but the lesser
traders small ships, which they style horses, from the figures of that
animal borne on the prow, and in which they go out fishing around
Maurusia,[654] as far as the Lixus.[655] Some of the pilots professed to
recognise the prow as that of a vessel which had sailed beyond the river
Lixus, but had not returned.[656]
From this Eudoxus drew the conclusion, that it was possible to
circumnavigate Libya; he therefore returned home, and having collected
together the whole of his substance, set out on his travels. First he
visited Dicæarchia,[657] and then Marseilles, and afterwards traversed
the whole coast as far as Gades. Declaring his enterprise everywhere as
he journeyed, he gathered money sufficient to equip a great ship, and
two boats, resembling those used by pirates. On board these he placed
singing girls, physicians, and artisans of various kinds, and launching
into open sea, was carried towards India by steady westerly winds.[658]
However, they who accompanied him becoming wearied with the voyage,
steered their course towards land, but much against his will, as he
dreaded the force of the ebb and flow. What he feared actually occurred.
The ship grounded, but gently, so that it did not break up at once, but
fell to pieces gradually, the goods and much of the timber of the ship
being saved. With these he built a third vessel, closely resembling a
ship of fifty oars, and continuing his voyage, came amongst a people who
spoke the same language as that some words of which he had on a former
occasion committed to writing. He further discovered, that they were men
of the same stock as those other Ethiopians, and also resembled those of
the kingdom of Bogus.[659] However, he abandoned his [intended] voyage
to India, and returned home. On his voyage back he observed an
uninhabited island, well watered and wooded, and carefully noted its
position. Having reached Maurusia in safety, he disposed of his vessels,
and travelled by land to the court of Bogus. He recommended that
sovereign to undertake an expedition thither.
This, however, was prevented on account of the fear of the [king’s]
advisers, lest the district should chance to expose them to treachery,
by making known a route by which foreigners might come to attack them.
Eudoxus, however, became aware, that although it was given out that he
was himself to be sent on this proposed expedition, the real intent was
to abandon him on some desert island. He therefore fled to the Roman
territory, and passed thence into Iberia. Again, he equipped two
vessels, one round and the other long, furnished with fifty oars, the
latter framed for voyaging in the high seas, the other for coasting
along the shores. He placed on board agricultural implements, seed, and
builders, and hastened on the same voyage, determined, if it should
prove too long, to winter on the island he had before observed, sow his
seed, and having reaped the harvest, complete the expedition he had
intended from the beginning.
5. “Thus far,” says Posidonius, “I have followed the history of Eudoxus.
What happened afterwards is probably known to the people of Gades and
Iberia;” “but,” says he, “all these things only demonstrate more clearly
the fact, that the inhabited earth is entirely surrounded by the ocean.”
“By no continent fettered in,
But boundless in its flow, and free from soil.”
Posidonius is certainly a most strange writer; he considers that the
voyage of the Magus,[660] related by Heraclides, wants sufficient
evidence, and also the account given by Herodotus of those sent out [to
explore] by Darius. But this Bergæan[661] nonsense, either the coinage
of his own brain, or of some other story-teller, in whom he trusts, he
pretends to be worthy of our belief. But in the first place, what is
there credible in this tale of the Indian missing his way? The Arabian
Gulf, which resembles a river, is narrow, and in length is from 5000 to
10,000 stadia up to its mouth, where it is narrowest of all. It is not
likely that the Indians in their voyage out would have entered this Gulf
by mistake. The extreme narrowness of the mouth must have warned them of
their error. And if they entered it voluntarily, then there was no
excuse for introducing the pretext of mistake and uncertain winds. And
how did they suffer all of themselves but one to perish through hunger?
And how was it that this surviver was able to manage the ship, which
could not have been a small one either, fitted as it was for traversing
such vast seas? What must have been his aptitude in learning the
language of the country, and thus being able to persuade the king of his
competence, as leader of the expedition? And how came it that Euergetes
was in want of such guides, so many being already acquainted with this
sea? How was it that he who was sent by the inhabitants of Cyzicus to
carry libations and sacrifices, should forsake his city and sail for
India? How was it that so great an affair was intrusted to him? And how
came it that on his return, after being deprived of every thing contrary
to expectation, and disgraced, a yet larger cargo of goods was intrusted
to him? And when he had again returned into Ethiopia, what cause induced
him to write down the words, or to inquire whence came the portion of
the prow of the boat? For to learn that it was a ship of some sailing
from the west, would have been no information to him, as he himself
would have to sail from the west on his voyage back. When, on his return
to Alexandria, he was detected in having appropriated to himself much of
the merchandise, how came it that he was not punished, but allowed to go
about interrogating the pilots, and exhibiting his bit of prow? And that
one of these fellows actually recognised the relic, is it not delicious!
Eudoxus too believed it, this is still richer; and inspired by the hope,
hastens home, and then starts on a voyage beyond the Pillars of
Hercules! But he could never have left Alexandria without a passport,
still less after having stolen the royal property. To set sail on the
sly was impossible, as the port and every other exit was kept by a
numerous guard, which still exists, as we very well know who have lived
in Alexandria for a long time, although it is not so strict since the
Romans have had possession, but under the kings the guards were
infinitely more alert. But allowing that he reached Gades, that he there
constructed ships, and sailed thence with quite a royal fleet, when his
vessel was shattered, by what means was he able to construct a third
boat in a desert land? And when, being again on his voyage, he found
that the Ethiopians of the West spoke the same language as those of the
East, how came it that he, so proud of his travelling propensities,
forgot the completion of his voyage, when he must have had so good an
expectation that there was but little now left unexplored, but
relinquishing these prospects, set his mind on the expedition being
undertaken by Bogus? How did he become acquainted with the snare spread
for him by that king? And what advantage would have accrued to Bogus by
making away with the man, rather than by dismissing him? When Eudoxus
learned the plot against himself, what means had he to escape to safer
quarters? It is true that not one of these situations was actually
impossible, but still they were difficult circumstances, such as one
rarely escapes from by any prosperous fortune. However, he always came
off with good luck, notwithstanding he was never out of danger. Besides
this, how did it happen, that having escaped from Bogus, he was not
afraid to sail round Africa a second time, with all the requisites for
taking up his abode on the island? All this too closely resembles the
falsehoods of Pytheas, Euhemerus, and Antiphanes. They however may be
pardoned; for their only aim was that of the juggler. But who can
forgive a demonstrator and philosopher, and one too striving to be at
the head of their order? it is really too bad!
6. However, he is right in attributing to earthquakes and other similar
causes, which we also have enumerated, the risings, slips, and changes
which at various periods come over the earth. 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.” Posidonius thinks 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.”[662] He
(Posidonius) is also of opinion that the emigration of the Cimbrians and
other kindred races from their native territory, was gradual, and
occasioned by the inundation of the sea, and by no means a sudden
movement.[663] He supposes that the length of the inhabited earth is
about 70,000 stadia, being the half of the whole circle on which it is
taken; so that, says he, starting from the west, one might, aided by a
continual east wind, reach India in so many thousand stadia.
7. Next he undertakes to find fault with those who gave to the
continents their present division, instead of marking them out by lines
drawn parallel to the equator, by which means the different animals,
plants, and temperatures would have been distinguished, according as
they approached the frigid or the torrid zones; so that each continent
would have formed a kind of zone. Afterwards, however, he overturns and
gives up altogether this view, bestowing every commendation on the
existing system, and thus making his argument altogether worthless and
of no avail. In fact, the various arrangements [of a country] are not
the result of premeditation, any more than the diversities of nations
or languages; they all depend on circumstances and chance. Arts, forms
of government, and modes of life, arising from certain [internal]
springs, flourish under whatever climate they may be situated; climate,
however, has its influence, and therefore while some peculiarities are
due to the nature of the country, others are the result of institutions
and education. It is not owing to the nature of the country, but rather
to their education, that the Athenians cultivate eloquence, while the
Lacedæmonians do not; nor yet the Thebans, who are nearer still. Neither
are the Babylonians and Egyptians philosophers by nature, but by reason
of their institutions and education. In like manner the excellence of
horses, oxen, and other animals, results not alone from the places where
they dwell, but also from their breeding. Posidonius confounds all these
distinctions.
In praising the division of the continents as it now stands, he advances
as an argument the difference between the Indians and the Ethiopians of
Libya, the former being more robust, and less dried by the heat of the
climate. It is on this account that Homer, who includes them all under
the title of Ethiopians, describes them as being separated into two
divisions,
“These eastward situate, those toward the west.”[664]
[Crates], to support his hypothesis, supposes another inhabited earth,
of which Homer certainly knew nothing; and says that the passage ought
to be read thus, “towards the descending sun,” viz. when having passed
the meridian, it begins to decline.
8. First, then, the Ethiopians next Egypt are actually separated into
two divisions; one part being in Asia, the other in Libya, otherwise
there is no distinction between them. But it was not on this account
that Homer divided the Ethiopians, nor yet because he was acquainted
with the physical superiority of the Indians, (for it is not probable
that Homer had the slightest idea of the Indians, since, according to
the assertion of Eudoxus, Euergetes was both ignorant of India, and of
the voyage thither,) but his division rather resulted from the cause we
formerly mentioned. We have shown that as for the alteration of Crates,
it makes no difference whether it be read so or not. Posidonius,
however, says that it does make a difference, and would be better
altered into “towards the descending [sun].” But in what can this be
said to differ from “towards the west,” since the whole section of the
hemisphere west of the meridian is styled “the west,” not only the mere
semicircle of the horizon. This is manifested by the following
expression of Aratus,
“Where the extremities of the west and east blend together.”[665]
However, if the reading of Posidonius be preferable to that of Crates,
any one may likewise claim for it a superiority over that of
Aristarchus. So much for Posidonius. There are, however, many
particulars relating to Geography, which we shall bring under
discussion; others relating to Physics, which must be examined
elsewhere, or altogether disregarded; for he is much too fond of
imitating Aristotle’s propensity for diving into _causes_, a subject
which we [Stoics] scrupulously avoid, simply because of the extreme
darkness in which all _causes_ are enveloped.
CHAPTER IV.
1. Polybius, in his Chorography of Europe, tells us that it is not his
intention to examine the writings of the ancient geographers, but the
statements of those who have criticised them, such as Dicæarchus,
Eratosthenes, (who was the last of those who [in his time] had laboured
on geography,) and Pytheas, by whom many have been deceived. It is this
last writer who states that he travelled all over Britain on foot, and
that the island is above 40,000 stadia in circumference. It is likewise
he who describes Thule and other neighbouring places, where, according
to him, neither earth, water, nor air exist, separately, but a sort of
concretion of all these, resembling marine sponge, in which the earth,
the sea, and all things were suspended, thus forming, as it were, a link
to unite the whole together. It can neither be travelled over nor sailed
through. As for the substance, he affirms that he has beheld it with his
own eyes; the rest, he reports on the authority of others. So much for
the statements of Pytheas, who tells us, besides, that after he had
returned thence, he traversed the whole coasts of Europe from Gades to
the Don.
2. Polybius asks, “How is it possible that a private individual, and one
too in narrow circumstances, could ever have performed such vast
expeditions by sea and land? And how could Eratosthenes, who hesitates
whether he may rely on his statements in general, place such entire
confidence in what that writer narrates concerning Britain, Gades, and
Iberia?” says he, “it would have been better had Eratosthenes trusted to
the Messenian[666] rather than to this writer. The former merely
pretends to have sailed into one [unknown] country, viz. Panchæa, but
the latter, that he has visited the whole of the north of Europe as far
as the ends of the earth; which statement, even had it been made by
Mercury, we should not have believed. Nevertheless Eratosthenes, who
terms Euhemerus a Bergæan, gives credit to Pytheas, although even
Dicæarchus would not believe him.”
This argument, “although even Dicæarchus would not believe him,” is
ridiculous, just as if Eratosthenes ought to take for his standard a
writer whom Polybius is himself for ever complaining of.[667]
The ignorance of Eratosthenes respecting the western and northern
portions of Europe, we have before remarked. But both he and Dicæarchus
must be pardoned for this, as neither of them were personally familiar
with those localities. But how can one excuse Polybius and Posidonius?
especially Polybius, who treats as mere hearsay what Eratosthenes and
Dicæarchus report concerning the distances of various places; and many
other matters, about which, though he blames them, he is not himself
free from error. Dicæarchus states that there are 10,000 stadia from the
Peloponnesus to the Pillars, and something above this number from the
Peloponnesus to the recess of the Adriatic.[668] He supposes 3000 stadia
between the Peloponnesus and the Strait of Sicily; thus there would
remain 7000 between the Strait of Sicily and the Pillars.[669]
“I will not inquire,” says Polybius, “whether the statement concerning
the 3000 stadia is correct or not, but 7000 stadia is not the correct
measure [from the Strait of Messina to the Pillars of Hercules], whether
taken along the sea-shore, or right across the sea. The coast closely
resembles an obtuse angle, one side reaching to the Strait of Sicily,
the other to the Pillars, the vertex being Narbonne. Now let a triangle
be constructed, having for its base a right line drawn through the sea,
and its sides forming the aforementioned angle. The side reaching from
the Strait of Sicily to Narbonne is above 11,200 stadia, while the other
is below 8000. Now the greatest distance from Europe to Libya, across
the Tyrrhenian Sea,[670] is not above 3000 stadia, and across the Sea of
Sardinia[671] it is less still. But supposing that it too is 3000
stadia, add to this 2000 stadia, the depth of the bay at Narbonne, as a
perpendicular from the vertex to the base of the obtuse-angled
triangle. It will, then, be clear even to the geometrical powers of a
child, that the entire coast from the Strait of Sicily to the Pillars,
does not exceed by more than 500 stadia the right line drawn across the
sea; adding to these the 3000 stadia from the Peloponnesus to the Strait
of Sicily, the whole taken together will give a straight line[672] above
double the length assigned by Dicæarchus; and, according to his system,
you must add in addition to these the stadia at the recess of the
Adriatic.”
3. True, dear Polybius, (one might say,) this error [of Dicæarchus] is
manifested by the proof which you yourself have given when you inform us
that from the Peloponnesus to Leucas[673] there are 700 stadia; from
thence to Corcyra[674] the same number; and the same number again from
Corcyra to the Ceraunian Mountains;[675] and from the Ceraunian
Mountains to Iapygia,[676] following the coast of Illyria on the right,
6150 stadia.[677] But the statement of Dicæarchus, that the distance
from the Strait of Sicily to the Pillars is 7000 stadia, and also your
view of the matter, are both of them equally incorrect. For almost every
one is agreed that the distance measured straight across the sea is
12,000 stadia, and this coincides with the received calculation of the
length of the inhabited earth, which is estimated at above 70,000
stadia; the western portion of this from the Gulf of Issus[678] to the
extreme western point of Iberia is little less than 30,000 stadia, and
is thus calculated: from the Gulf of Issus to Rhodes 5000 stadia; from
thence to Cape Salmonium,[679] which forms the eastern extremity of
Crete, 1000; the length of Crete to Criu-metopon[680] above 2000; thence
to Cape Pachynus[681] in Sicily 4500, and from Pachynus to the Strait of
Sicily above 1000 stadia; the run from the Strait to the Pillars 12,000;
and lastly, from the Pillars to the extremity of the said
promontory[682] of Iberia, about 3000 stadia.[683]
In addition to this, the perpendicular[684] is not correct, supposing it
true that Narbonne lies under almost the same parallel as Marseilles,
and that this latter place is under the same parallel as Byzantium;
which is the opinion of Hipparchus. Now the line drawn across the sea
lies under the same parallel as the Strait [of the Pillars] and Rhodes;
and the distance from Rhodes to Byzantium, which both lie under the same
meridian, is estimated at about 5000 stadia; to which the
above-mentioned perpendicular ought to be equal. But since they say that
from the recess of the Galatic Gulf, the greatest distance across the
sea from Europe to Libya is 5000 stadia, it seems to me that either
there is some error in this statement, or that at this point Libya must
incline very much to the north, and so come under the same parallel as
the Pillars. Polybius is likewise mistaken in telling us that this said
perpendicular terminates close to Sardinia; for instead of being close
to Sardinia, it is far west thereof, having almost the whole of the sea
of Liguria[685] between it and that island. Besides this he makes the
length of the sea-coast too great; but this [error] is not so
considerable [as the two preceding].
4. After this Polybius proceeds to set right the mistakes of
Eratosthenes. In this he is sometimes successful; at others his
corrections are for the worse. For example, Eratosthenes gives 300
stadia from Ithaca to Corcyra; Polybius makes it above 900. From
Epidamnus to Thessalonica Eratosthenes allows 900 stadia; Polybius says
above 2000. In these instances he is correct. But where Eratosthenes
states that from Marseilles to the Pillars there are 7000 stadia, and
from the Pyrenees [to the same place] 6000, and Polybius alters this to
more than 9000 from Marseilles, and little less than 8000 from the
Pyrenees,[686] he is quite mistaken, and not so near to the truth as
Eratosthenes. For all are now agreed that, barring the indirectness of
the roads, the whole length of Iberia is not more than 6000 stadia[687]
from the Pyrenees to its western limits; notwithstanding Polybius gives
8000 stadia for the length of the river Tagus, from its source to its
outlets, and this in a straight line without any reference to its
sinuosities, which in fact never enter into the geographical estimate,
although the sources of the Tagus are above 1000 stadia from the
Pyrenees. His remark is quite correct, that Eratosthenes knew little
about Iberia, and on this account sometimes makes conflicting statements
concerning it. He tells us, for example, that the portion of this
country situated on the sea-coast as far as Gades is inhabited by
Galatæ,[688] who possess western Europe as far as Gades; nevertheless,
in his account of Iberia he seems quite to have forgotten this, and
makes no mention of these Galatæ whatever.
5. Again, however, Polybius makes an incorrect assertion, in stating
that the whole length of Europe is unequal to that of Africa and Asia
taken together. He tells us “that the entrance at the Pillars
corresponds in direction to the equinoctial west, and that the Don flows
from the summer rising, consequently the length of Europe is less than
that of Asia and Africa taken together by the space between the summer
rising[689] and the equinoctial rising,[690] since Asia occupies the
eastern portion of the northern semicircle. Now, in addition to the
obscurity which Polybius throws over subjects which might have been
simply stated, it is false that the river Don flows from the summer
rising. For all who are acquainted with these localities inform us that
this river flows from the north into the Mæotis, so that the mouth of
the river lies under the same meridian as that of the Mæotis; and so in
fact does the whole river as far as is known.[691]
6. Equally unworthy of credit is the statement of those who tell us,
that the Don rises in the vicinity of the Danube, and flows from the
west; they do not remember that between these are the Dniester, the
Dnieper, and the Bog, all great rivers, which flow [into the Euxine
Sea]; one runs parallel to the Danube, the other two to the Don. Now if
at the present day we are ignorant of the sources both of the Dniester,
and also of the Dnieper and Bog, the regions farther north must
certainly be still less known. It is therefore a fictitious and idle
assertion, that the Don crosses these rivers, and then turns northward
on its way to discharge itself into the Mæotis, it being well known that
the outlets to this river are in the most northern and eastern portions
of the lake.[692]
No less idle is the statement which has also been advanced, that the
Don, after crossing the Caucasus, flows northward, and then turns
towards the Mæotis.[693] No one, however, [with the exception of
Polybius,] made this river flow from the east. If such were its course,
our best geographers would never have told us that its direction was
contrary to that of the Nile, and, so to speak, diametrically opposite
thereto, as if the course of both rivers lay under the same meridian.
7. Further, the length of the inhabited earth is measured on a line
parallel with the equator, as it is in this direction that its greatest
length lies: in the same way with respect to each of the continents, we
must take their length as it lies between two meridians. The measure of
these lengths consists of a certain number of stadia, which we obtain
either by going over the places themselves, or roads or ways parallel
thereto. Polybius abandons this method, and adopts the new way of taking
the segment of the northern semicircle comprised between the summer
rising and the equinoctial rising. But no one ought to calculate by
variable rules or measures in determining the length of fixed distances:
nor yet should he make use of the phenomena of the heavens, which appear
different when observed from different points, for distances which have
their length determined by themselves and remain unchanged. The length
of a country never varies, but depends upon itself; whereas, the
equinoctial rising and setting, and the summer and winter rising and
setting, depend not on themselves, but on our position [with respect to
them]. As we shift from place to place, the equinoctial rising and
setting, and the winter and summer rising and setting, shift with us;
but the length of a continent always remains the same. To make the Don
and the Nile the bounds of these continents, is nothing out of the way,
but it is something strange to employ for this purpose the equinoctial
rising and the summer rising.
8. Of the many promontories formed by Europe, a better description is
given by Polybius than by Eratosthenes; but even his is not sufficient.
Eratosthenes only names three; one at the Pillars of Hercules, where
Iberia is situated; a second at the Strait of Sicily, and containing
Italy; the third terminated by the Cape of Malea,[694] comprising all
the countries situated between the Adriatic, the Euxine, and the Don.
The two former of these Polybius describes in the same manner as
Eratosthenes, but the third, which is equally terminated by the Cape of
Malea[695] and Cape Sunium,[696] [he makes to] comprehend the whole of
Greece, Illyria, and some portion of Thrace. [He supposes] a fourth,
containing the Thracian Chersonesus and the countries contiguous to the
Strait,[697] betwixt Sestos and Abydos. This is occupied by the
Thracians. Also a fifth, about the Kimmerian Bosphorus and the mouth of
the Mæotis. Let us allow [to Polybius] his two former [promontories],
they are clearly distinguished by unmistakeable bays; the first by the
bay between Calpe[698] and the Sacred Promontory[699] where Gades[700]
is situated, as also by the sea between the Pillars and Sicily; the
second[701] by the latter sea and the Adriatic,[702] although it may be
objected that the extremity of Iapygia,[703] being a promontory in
itself, causes Italy to have a double cape. But as for the remaining
[promontories of Polybius], they are plainly much more irregular, and
composed of many parts, and require some other division. So likewise his
plan of dividing [Europe] into six parts, similar to that of the
promontories, is liable to objection.
However, we will set to rights each of these errors separately, as we
meet with them, as well as the other blunders into which he has fallen
in his description of Europe, and the journey round Africa. For the
present we think that we have sufficiently dwelt on those of our
predecessors whom we have thought proper to introduce as testimonies in
our behalf, that both in the matter of correction and addition we had
ample cause to undertake the present work.
CHAPTER V.
1. After these criticisms on the writers who have preceded us, we must
now confine our attention to the fulfilment of our promise. We start
with a maxim we laid down at the commencement, that whoever undertakes
to write a Chorography, should receive as axioms certain physical and
mathematical propositions, and frame the rest of his work in accordance
with, and in full reliance on, these principles. We have already stated
[our opinion], that neither builder nor architect could build house or
city properly and as it ought to be, unless acquainted with the _clima_
of the place, its position in respect to celestial appearances, its
shape, magnitude, degree of heat and cold, and similar facts; much less
should he [be without such information] who undertakes to describe the
situation of the various regions of the inhabited earth.
Represent to the mind on one and the same plane-surface Iberia and India
with the intermediate countries, and define likewise the west, the east,
and the south, which are common to every country. To a man already
acquainted with the arrangement and motions of the heavens, and aware
that in reality the surface of the earth is spherical, although here for
the sake of illustration represented as a plane, this will give a
sufficiently exact idea of the geographical [position of the various
countries], but not to one who is unacquainted with those matters. The
tourist travelling over vast plains like those of Babylon, or journeying
by sea, may fancy that the whole country stretched before, behind, and
on either side of him is a plane-surface; he may be unacquainted with
the counter-indications of the celestial phenomena, and with the
motions and appearance of the sun and stars, in respect to us. But such
facts as these should ever be present to the mind of those who compose
Geographies. The traveller, whether by sea or land, is directed by
certain common appearances, which answer equally for the direction both
of the unlearned and of the man of the world. Ignorant of astronomy, and
unacquainted with the varied aspect of the heavens, he beholds the sun
rise and set, and attain the meridian, but without considering how this
takes place. Such knowledge could not aid the object he has in view, any
more than to know whether the country he chances to be in may be under
the same latitude as his own or not. Even should he bestow a slight
attention to the subject, on all mathematical points he will adopt the
opinions of the place; and every country has certain mistaken views of
these matters. But it is not for any particular nation, nor for the man
of the world who cares nothing for abstract mathematics, still less is
it for the reaper or ditcher, that the geographer labours; but it is for
him who is convinced that the earth is such as mathematicians declare it
to be, and who admits every other fact resulting from this hypothesis.
He requests that those who approach him shall have already settled this
in their minds as a fact, that they may be able to lend their whole
attention to other points. He will advance nothing which is not a
consequence of these primary facts; therefore those who hear him, if
they have a knowledge of mathematics, will readily be able to turn his
instructions to account; for those who are destitute of this information
he does not pretend to expound Geography.
2. Those who write on the science of Geography should trust entirely for
the arrangement of the subject they are engaged on to the geometers, who
have measured the whole earth; they in their turn to astronomers; and
these again to natural philosophers. Now natural philosophy is one of
the perfect sciences.[704]
The “perfect sciences” they define as those which, depending on no
external hypothesis, have their origin, and the evidence of their
propositions, in themselves. Here are a few of the facts established by
natural philosophers.[705]
The earth and heavens are spheroidal.
The tendency of all bodies having weight, is to a centre.
Further, the earth being spheroidal, and having the same centre as the
heavens, is motionless, as well as the axis which passes through both it
and the heavens. The heavens turn round both the earth and its axis,
from east to west. The fixed stars turn round with it, at the same rate
as the whole.[706] These fixed stars follow in their course parallel
circles; the principal of which are, the equator, the two tropics, and
the arctic circles. While the planets, the sun, and the moon, describe
certain oblique circles comprehended within the zodiac. Admitting these
points in whole or in part, astronomers proceed to treat of other
matters, [such as] the motions [of the stars], their revolutions,
eclipses, size, relative distance, and a thousand similar particulars.
On their side, geometers, when measuring the size of the entire earth,
avail themselves of the data furnished by the natural philosopher and
astronomer; and the geographer on his part makes use of those of the
geometer.
3. The heavens and the earth must be supposed to be divided each into
five zones, and the celestial zones to possess the same names as those
below. The motives for such a division into zones we have already
detailed. These zones may be distinguished by circles drawn parallel to
the equator, on either side of it. Two of these will separate the torrid
from the temperate zones, and the remaining two, the temperate from the
frigid. To each celestial circle there shall be one corresponding on
earth, and bearing the same name, and likewise zone for zone. The [two]
zones capable of being inhabited, are styled temperate. The remaining
[three] are uninhabitable, one on account of the heat, the others
because of the extreme cold. The same is the case with regard to the
tropical, and also to the arctic circles, in respect of those countries
for which arctic circles can be said to exist. Circles on the earth are
supposed, corresponding to those in the heavens, and bearing the same
name, one for one.
As the whole heaven is separated into two parts by its equator, it
follows that the earth must, by its equator, be similarly divided. The
two hemispheres, both celestial and terrestrial, are distinguished into
north and south. Likewise the torrid zone, which is divided into two
halves by the equator, is distinguished as having a northern and
southern side. Hence it is evident that of the two temperate zones, one
should be called northern, the other southern, according to the
hemisphere to which it belongs. The northern hemisphere is that
containing the temperate zone, in which looking from east to west, you
will have the pole on your right hand, and the equator on the left, or,
in which, looking south, the west will be on the right hand, and the
east on the left. The southern hemisphere is exactly the contrary to
this.
It is clear that we are in one or other of these hemispheres, namely,
the north; we cannot be in both:
“Broad rivers roll, and awful floods between,
But chief the ocean.”[707]
And next is the torrid zone. But neither is there any ocean in the midst
of the earth wherein we dwell, dividing the whole thereof, nor yet have
we any torrid region. Nor is there any portion of it to be found in
which the _climata_ are opposite to those which have been described as
characterizing the northern temperate zone.
4. Assuming these data, and availing himself likewise of astronomical
observations, by which the position of every place is properly
determined, whether with respect to the circles parallel to the equator,
or to those which cut these latter at right angles, in the direction of
the poles, the geometer measures the region in which he dwells, and
[judges of the extent of] others by comparing the distance [between the
corresponding celestial signs]. By this means he discovers the distance
from the equator to the pole, which is a quarter of the largest circle
of the earth; having obtained this, he has only to multiply by four, the
result is the [measure of the] perimeter of the globe.
In the same manner as he who takes the measures of the earth, borrows
the foundation of his calculations from the astronomer, who himself is
indebted to the natural philosopher, so in like manner the geographer
adopts certain facts laid down as established by the geometer, before
setting forth his description of the earth we inhabit; its size, form,
nature, and the proportion it bears to the whole earth. These latter
points are the peculiar business of the geographer. He will next enter
on a particular description of every thing deserving notice, whether on
land or sea; he will likewise point out whatever has been improperly
stated by those who have preceded him, especially by those who are
regarded as chief authorities in these matters.[708]
5. Let it be supposed that the earth and sea together form a spheroidal
body, and preserve one and the same level in all the seas. For though
some portions of the earth may be higher, yet this bears so small a
relation to the size of the whole mass, as need not be noticed. The
spheroid in consequence is not so minutely exact as one might be made by
the aid of a turner’s instrument, or as would answer the definition of a
geometer, still in general appearance, and looked at roughly, it is a
spheroid. Let the earth be supposed to consist of five zones, with (1.)
the equatorial circle described round it, (2.) another parallel to
this,[709] and defining the frigid zone of the northern hemisphere, and
(3.) a circle passing through the poles, and cutting the two preceding
circles at right angles. The northern hemisphere contains two quarters
of the earth, which are bounded by the equator and the circle passing
through the poles.
Each of these [quarters] should be supposed to contain a four-sided
district, its northern side being composed of one half of the parallel
next the pole; its southern, by the half of the equator; and its
remaining sides, by [two] segments of the circle drawn through the
poles, opposite to each other, and equal in length. In one of these
quadrilaterals (which of them is of no consequence) the earth that we
inhabit is situated, surrounded by sea, and similar to an island. This,
as we said before, is evident both to our senses and to our reason. But
should any one doubt thereof, it makes no difference so far as Geography
is concerned, whether you suppose the portion of the earth we inhabit to
be an island, or only admit what we know from experience, viz. that
whether you start from the east or west, you may sail all round it.
Certain intermediate spaces may have been left [unexplored], but these
are as likely to be occupied by sea, as uninhabited lands. The object of
the geographer is to describe known countries; those which are unknown
he passes over equally with those beyond the limits of the inhabited
earth. It will therefore be sufficient for describing the contour of the
island we have been speaking of, if we join by a right line the utmost
points which, up to this time, have been explored by voyagers along the
coast on either side.
6. Let it be supposed that this island is contained in one of the above
quadrilaterals; we must obtain its apparent magnitude by subtracting our
hemisphere from the whole extent of the earth, from this take the half,
and from this again the quadrilateral, in which we state our earth to be
situated. We may judge also by analogy of the figure of the whole earth,
by supposing that it accords with those parts with which we are
acquainted. Now as the portion of the northern hemisphere, between the
equator and the parallel next the [north] pole, resembles a vertebre or
joint of the back-bone in shape, and as the circle which passes through
the pole divides at the same time the hemisphere and the vertebre into
two halves, thus forming the quadrilateral; it is clear that this
quadrilateral to which the Atlantic is adjacent, is but the half of the
vertebre; while at the same time the inhabited earth, which is an island
in this, and shaped like a chlamys or soldier’s cloak, occupies less
than the half of the quadrilateral. This is evident from geometry,
also[710] from the extent of the surrounding sea, which covers the
extremities of the continents on either side, compressing them into a
smaller figure, and thirdly, by the greatest length and breadth [of the
earth itself]. The length being 70,000 stadia, enclosed almost entirely
by a sea, impossible to navigate owing to its wildness and vast extent,
and the breadth 30,000 stadia, bounded by regions rendered uninhabitable
on account either of their intense heat or cold. That portion of the
quadrilateral which is unfitted for habitation on account of the heat,
contains in breadth 8800 stadia, and in its greatest length 126,000
stadia, which is equal to one half of the equator, and larger than one
half the inhabited earth; and what is left is still more.
7. These calculations are nearly synonymous with those furnished by
Hipparchus, who tells us, that supposing the size of the globe as stated
by Eratosthenes to be correct, we can then subtract from it the extent
of the inhabited earth, since in noting the celestial appearances [as
they are seen] in different countries, it is not of much importance
whether we make use of this measure, or that furnished by later writers.
Now as the whole circle of the equator according to Eratosthenes
contains 252,000 stadia, the quarter of this would be 63,000, that is,
the space from the equator to the pole contains fifteen of the sixty
divisions[711] into which the equator itself is divided. There are four
[divisions] between the equator and the summer tropic or parallel
passing through Syene. The distances for each locality are calculated by
the astronomical observations.
It is evident that Syene is under the tropic, from the fact that during
the summer solstice the gnomon at mid-day casts no shadow there. As for
the meridian of Syene, it follows very nearly the course of the Nile
from Meroe to Alexandria, a distance of about 10,000 stadia. Syene
itself is situated about midway between these places, consequently from
thence to Meroe is a distance of 5000 stadia. Advancing 3000 stadia
southward in a right line, we come to lands unfitted for habitation on
account of the heat. Consequently the parallel which bounds these
places, and which is the same as that of the Cinnamon Country, is to be
regarded as the boundary and commencement of the habitable earth on the
south. If, then, 3000 stadia be added to the 5000 between Syene and
Meroe, there will be altogether 8000 stadia [from Syene] to the
[southern] extremity of the habitable earth. But from Syene to the
equator there are 16,800 stadia, (for such is the amount of the
four-sixtieths, each sixtieth being equivalent to 4200 stadia,) and
consequently from the [southern] boundaries of the habitable earth to
the equator there are 8800 stadia, and from Alexandria 21,800.[712]
Again, every one is agreed that the voyage from Alexandria to Rhodes,
and thence by Caria and Ionia to the Troad, Byzantium, and the Dnieper,
is in a straight line with the course of the Nile.[713]
Taking therefore these distances, which have been ascertained by
voyages, we have only to find out how far beyond the Dnieper the land is
habitable, (being careful always to continue in the same straight line,)
and we shall arrive at a knowledge of the northern boundaries of our
earth.
Beyond the Dnieper dwell the Roxolani,[714] the last of the Scythians
with which we are acquainted; they are nevertheless more south than the
farthest nations[715] we know of beyond Britain. Beyond these Roxolani
the country is uninhabitable on account of the severity of the climate.
The Sauromatæ[716] who live around the Mæotis, and the other
Scythians[717] as far as the Scythians of the East, dwell farther south.
8. It is true that Pytheas of Marseilles affirms that the farthest
country north of the British islands is Thule; for which place he says
the summer tropic and the arctic circle is all one. But he records no
other particulars concerning it; [he does not say] whether Thule is an
island, or whether it continues habitable up to the point where the
summer tropic becomes one with the arctic circle.[718] For myself, I
fancy that the northern boundaries of the habitable earth are greatly
south of this. Modern writers tell us of nothing beyond Ierne, which
lies just north of Britain, where the people live miserably and like
savages on account of the severity of the cold. It is here in my opinion
the bounds of the habitable earth ought to be fixed.
If on the one hand the parallels of Byzantium and Marseilles are the
same, as Hipparchus asserts on the faith of Pytheas, (for he[719] says
that at Byzantium the gnomon indicates the same amount of shadow as
Pytheas gives for Marseilles,) and at the same time the parallel of the
Dnieper is distant from Byzantium about 3800 stadia, it follows, if we
take into consideration the distance between Marseilles and Britain,
that the circle which passes over the Dnieper traverses Britain as
well.[720] But the truth is that Pytheas, who so frequently misleads
people, deceives in this instance too.
It is generally admitted that a line drawn from the Pillars of Hercules,
and passing over the Strait [of Messina], Athens, and Rhodes, would lie
under the same parallel of latitude.[721] It is likewise admitted, that
the line in passing from the Pillars to the Strait of Sicily divides the
Mediterranean through the midst.[722] Navigators tell us that the
greatest distance from Keltica to Libya, starting from the bottom of the
Galatic Bay, is 5000 stadia, and that this is likewise the greatest
breadth of the Mediterranean. Consequently from the said line to the
bottom of the bay is 2500 stadia; but to Marseilles the distance is
rather less, in consequence of that city being more to the south than
the bottom of the bay.[723] But since from Rhodes to Byzantium is about
4900[724] stadia, it follows that Byzantium must be far north of
Marseilles.[725] The distance from this latter city to Britain is about
the same as from Byzantium to the Dnieper.[726] How far it may be from
Britain to the island of Ierne is not known. As to whether beyond it
there may still be habitable lands, it is not our business to inquire,
as we stated before. It is sufficient for our science to determine this
in the same manner that we did the southern boundaries. We there fixed
the bounds of the habitable earth at 3000 stadia south of Meroe (not
that these were its exact limits, but because they were sufficiently
near); so in this instance they should be placed about the same number
of stadia north of Britain, certainly not more than 4000.[727]
It would not serve any political purpose to be well acquainted with
these distant places and the people who inhabit them; especially if they
are islands whose inhabitants can neither injure us, nor yet benefit us
by their commerce. The Romans might easily have conquered Britain, but
they did not care to do so, as they perceived there was nothing to fear
from the inhabitants, (they not being powerful enough to attack us,) and
that they would gain nothing by occupying the land. Even now it appears
that we gain more by the customs they pay, than we could raise by
tribute, after deducting the wages of the soldiers necessary for
guarding the island and exacting the taxes. And the other islands
adjacent to this would be still more unproductive.
9. If, then, to the distance between Rhodes and the Dnieper be added
four thousand stadia north of the latter place, the whole would come to
12,700 stadia; and since from Rhodes to the southern limit of the
habitable earth there are 16,600 stadia, its total breadth from north to
south would be under 30,000 stadia.[728] Its length from west to east is
stated at 70,000 stadia, the distance being measured from the
extremities of Iberia to those of India, partly over the land and partly
across the sea. That this length is contained within the quadrilateral
aforesaid, is proved by the proportion borne by these parallels to the
equator. Thus the length of the habitable earth is above twice its
breadth. It has been compared in figure to a chlamys, or soldier’s
cloak, because if every part be carefully examined, it will be found
that its breadth is greatly diminished towards the extremities,
especially in the west.
10. We have now been tracing upon a spherical surface the region which
we state to be occupied by the habitable earth; and whoever would
represent the real earth as near as possible by artificial means, should
make a globe like that of Crates, and upon this describe the
quadrilateral within which his chart of geography is to be placed. For
this purpose, however, a large globe is necessary, since the section
mentioned, though but a very small portion of the entire sphere, must be
capable of properly containing all the regions of the habitable earth,
and presenting an accurate view of them to all those who wish to consult
it. Any one who is able will certainly do well to obtain such a globe.
But it should have a diameter of not less than ten feet: those who
cannot obtain a globe of this size, or one nearly as large, had better
draw their chart on a plane-surface, of not less than seven feet. Draw
straight lines, some parallel, for the parallels [of latitude], and
others at right angles to these; we may easily imagine how the eye can
transfer the figure and extent [of these lines] from a plane-surface to
one that is spherical. What we have just observed of the circles in
general, may be said with equal truth touching the oblique circles. On
the globe it is true that the meridians of each country passing the pole
have a tendency to unite in a single point, nevertheless on the
plane-surface of the map, there would be no advantage if the right lines
alone which should represent the meridians were drawn slightly to
converge. The necessity for such a proceeding would scarcely ever be
really felt. Even on our globe itself[729] the tendency of those
meridians (which are transferred to the map as right lines) to converge
is not much, nor any thing near so obvious as their circular tendency.
11. In what follows we shall suppose the chart drawn on a plane-surface;
and 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 ourselves, in a westerly
direction we have travelled from Armenia to that part of Tyrrhenia[730]
which is over against Sardinia; and southward, from the Euxine to the
frontiers of Ethiopia.[731] 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, the size, and
the other peculiarities of the country, what they are and how many, in
the same way that the mind forms its conceptions from the information of
the senses. The figure, colour, and size of an apple, its scent, feel to
the touch, and its flavour, are particulars communicated by the senses,
from which the mind forms its conception of an apple. So in large
figures, the senses observe the various parts, while the mind combines
into one conception what is thus seen. And in like manner, men eager
after knowledge, trusting to those who have been to various places, and
to [the descriptions of] travellers in this or that country, gather into
one sketch a view of the whole habitable earth.
In the same way, the generals perform every thing, nevertheless, they
are not present every where, but most of their success depends on
others, since they are obliged to trust to messengers, and issue their
commands in accordance with the reports of others. To pretend that those
only can know who have themselves seen, is to deprive hearing of all
confidence, which, after all, is a better servant of knowledge than
sight itself.
12. Writers of the present day can describe with more certainty [than
formerly] the Britons, the Germans, and the dwellers on either side of
the Danube, the Getæ,[732] the Tyrigetæ, the Bastarnæ,[733] the tribes
dwelling by the Caucasus, such as the Albanians and Iberians.[734] We
are besides possessed of a description of Hyrcania[735] and Bactriana in
the Histories of Parthia written by such men as Apollodorus of
Artemita,[736] who have detailed the boundaries [of those countries]
with greater accuracy than other geographers.
The entrance of a Roman army into Arabia Felix under the command of my
friend and companion Ælius Gallus,[737] and the traffic of the
Alexandrian merchants whose vessels pass up the Nile and Arabian
Gulf[738] to India, have rendered us much better acquainted with these
countries than our predecessors were. I was with Gallus at the time he
was prefect of Egypt, and accompanied him as far as Syene and the
frontiers of Ethiopia, and I found that about one hundred and twenty
ships sail from Myos-hormos[739] to India, although, in the time of the
Ptolemies, scarcely any one would venture on this voyage and the
commerce with the Indies.
13. Our first and most imperative duty[740] then, both in respect to
science and to the necessities of the man of business, is to undertake
to lay down the projection of the different countries on the chart in as
clear a style as possible, and to signify at the same time the relation
and proportion they bear to the whole earth. For such is the
geographer’s peculiar province. It belongs to another science to give an
exact description of the whole earth, and of the entire vertebre of
either zone, and as to whether the vertebre in the opposite quarter of
the earth is inhabited. That such is the case is most probable, but not
that it is inhabited by the same race of men as dwell with us. And it
must therefore be regarded as another habitable earth. We however have
only to describe our own.
14. In its figure the habitable earth resembles a chlamys, or soldier’s
cloak, the greatest breadth of which would be indicated by a line drawn
in the direction of the Nile, commencing from the parallel of the
Cinnamon Country, and the Island of the Egyptian Exiles, and terminating
at the parallel of Ierna; and its length by a line drawn from the west
at right angles to the former, passing by the Pillars of Hercules and
the Strait of Sicily to Rhodes and the Gulf of Issus,[741] then
proceeding along the chain of the Taurus, which divides Asia, and
terminating in the Eastern Ocean,[742] between India and the Scythians
dwelling beyond Bactriana.
We must therefore fancy to ourselves a parallelogram, and within it a
chlamys-shaped figure, described in such a manner that the length of the
one figure may correspond to the length and size of the other, and
likewise breadth to breadth. The habitable earth will therefore be
represented by this kind of chlamys. We have before said that its
breadth is marked out by parallels bounding its sides, and separating on
either side the portions that are habitable from those that are not. On
the north [these parallels] pass over Ierna,[743] and on the side of the
torrid zone over the Cinnamon Country. These lines being produced east
and west to the opposite extremities of the habitable earth, form, when
joined by the perpendiculars falling from their extremities, a kind of
parallelogram. That within this the habitable earth is contained is
evident, since neither its greatest breadth nor length project beyond.
That in configuration it resembles a chlamys is also clear, from the
fact that at either end of its length, the extremities taper to a
point.[744] Owing to the encroachments of the sea, it also loses
something in breadth. This we know from those who have sailed round its
eastern and western points. They inform us that the island called
Taprobana[745] is much to the south of India, but that it is
nevertheless inhabited, and is situated opposite to the island of the
Egyptians and the Cinnamon Country, as the temperature of their
atmospheres is similar. On the other side the country about the
embouchure of the Hyrcanian Sea[746] is farther north than the farthest
Scythians who dwell beyond India, and Ierna still more so. It is
likewise stated of the country beyond the Pillars of Hercules, that the
most western point of the habitable earth is the promontory of the
Iberians named the Sacred Promontory.[747] It lies nearly in a line with
Gades, the Pillars of Hercules, the Strait of Sicily, and Rhodes;[748]
for they say that the horologes accord, as also the periodical winds,
and the duration of the longest nights and days, which consist of
fourteen and a half equinoctial hours. From the coast of Gades and
Iberia ... is said to have been formerly observed.[749]
Posidonius relates, that from the top of a high house in a town about
400 stadia distant from the places mentioned, he perceived a star which
he believed to be Canopus, both in consequence of the testimony of those
who having proceeded a little to the south of Iberia affirmed that they
could perceive it, and also of the tradition preserved at Cnidus; for
the observatory of Eudoxus, from whence he is reported to have viewed
Canopus, is not much higher than these houses; and Cnidus is under the
same parallel as Rhodes, which is likewise that of Gades and its
sea-coast.
15. Sailing thence, Libya lies to the south. Its most western portions
project a little beyond Gades; it afterwards forms a narrow promontory
receding towards the east and south, and becoming slightly broader, till
it touches upon the western Ethiopians, who are the last[750] of the
nations situated below Carthage, and adjoin the parallel of the Cinnamon
Country. They, on the contrary, who sail from the Sacred
Promontory,[751] towards the Artabri,[752] journey northwards, having
Lusitania[753] on the right hand. The remaining portion forms an obtuse
angle towards the east as far as the extremities of the Pyrenees which
terminate at the ocean. Northward and opposite to this are the western
coasts of Britain. Northward and opposite to the Artabri are the islands
denominated Cassiterides,[754] situated in the high seas, but under
nearly the same latitude as Britain. From this it appears to what a
degree the extremities of the habitable earth are narrowed by the
surrounding sea.
16. Such being the configuration of the whole earth, it will be
convenient to take two straight lines, cutting each other at right
angles, and running the one through its greatest length, and the other
through its breadth. The former of these lines will represent one of the
parallels, and the latter one of the meridians.[755] Afterwards we must
imagine other lines parallel to either of these respectively, and
dividing both the land and sea with which we are acquainted. By this
means the form of the habitable earth will appear more clearly to be
such as we have described it; likewise the extent of the various lines,
whether traced through its length or breadth, and the latitudes [of
places], will also be more clearly distinguished, whether north or
south, as also [the longitudes] whether east or west. However, these
right lines should be drawn through places that are known. Two have
already been thus fixed upon, I mean the two middle [lines] running
through its length and breadth, which have been already explained, and
by means of these the others may easily be determined. These lines will
serve us as marks to distinguish countries situated under the same
parallel, and otherwise to determine different positions both in respect
to the other portions of the earth, and also of the celestial
appearances.
17. The ocean it is which principally divides the earth into various
countries, and moulds its form. It creates bays, seas, straits,
isthmuses, peninsulas, and capes; while rivers and mountains serve to
the same purpose. It is by these means that continents, nations, and the
position of cities are capable of being clearly distinguished, together
with those various other details of which a chorographical chart is
full. Amongst these latter are the multitude of islands scattered
throughout the seas, and along every coast; each of them distinguished
by some good or bad quality, by certain advantages or disadvantages, due
either to nature or to art.
The natural advantages [of a place] should always be mentioned, since
they are permanent. Advantages which are adventitious are liable to
change, although the majority of those which have continued for any
length of time should not be passed over, nor even those which, although
but recent, have yet acquired some note and celebrity. For those which
continue, come to be regarded by posterity not as works of art, but as
the natural advantages of the place; these therefore it is evident we
must notice. True it is, that to many a city we may apply the reflection
of Demosthenes[756] on Olynthus and its neighbouring towns: “So
completely have they vanished, that no one who should now visit their
sites could say that they had ever been inhabited!”
Still we are gratified by visiting these and similar localities, being
desirous of beholding the traces of such celebrated places, and the
tombs of famous men. In like manner we should record laws and forms of
government no longer in existence, since these are serviceable to have
in mind, equally with the remembrance of actions, whether for the sake
of imitating or avoiding the like.
18. Continuing our former sketch, we now state that the earth which we
inhabit contains numerous gulfs, formed by the exterior sea or ocean
which surrounds it. Of these there are four principal. The northern,
called the Caspian, by others designated the Hyrcanian Sea, the Persian
and Arabian Gulfs, formed by the [Southern] Sea, the one being nearly
opposite to the Caspian, the other to the Euxine; the fourth, which in
size is much more considerable than the others, is called the Internal
and Our Sea.[757] It commences in the west at the Strait of the Pillars
of Hercules, and continues in an easterly direction, but with varying
breadth. Farther in, it becomes divided, and terminates in two gulfs;
that on the left being called the Euxine Sea, while the other consists
of the seas of Egypt, Pamphylia, and Issus. All these gulfs formed by
the exterior sea, have a narrow entrance; those of the Arabian Gulf,
however, and the Pillars of Hercules are smaller than the rest.[758] The
land which surrounds these, as before remarked, consists of three
divisions. Of these, the configuration of Europe is the most irregular.
Libya, on the contrary, is the most regular; while Asia holds a middle
place between the two. In all of these continents, the regularity or
irregularity of form relates merely to the interior coasts; the
exterior, with the exception of the gulfs before mentioned, is
unindented, and, as I have stated, resembles a chlamys in its form; any
slight differences being of course overlooked, as in large matters what
is insignificant passes for nothing. Since in geographical descriptions
we not only aim at portraying the configuration and extent of various
places, but also their common boundaries, we will remark here, as we
have done before, that the coasts of the Internal Sea[759] present a
greater variety in their appearance than those of the Exterior [Ocean];
the former is also much better known, its climate is more temperate, and
more civilized cities and nations are here than there. We are also
anxious to be informed where the form of government, the arts, and
whatever else ministers to intelligence, produce the greatest results.
Interest will always lead us to where the relations of commerce and
society are most easily established, and these are advantages to be
found where government is administered, or rather where it is well
administered. In each of these particulars, as before remarked, Our
Sea[760] possesses great advantages, and here therefore we will begin
our description.
19. This gulf,[761] as before stated, commences at the Strait of the
Pillars; this at its narrowest part is said to be 70 stadia. Having
sailed down a distance of 120 stadia, the shores widen considerably,
especially to the left, and you behold a vast sea, bounded on the right
by the shore of Libya as far as Carthage, and on the opposite side by
those of Iberia and Keltica as far as Narbonne and Marseilles, thence by
the Ligurian,[762] and finally by the Italian coast to the Strait of
Sicily. The eastern side of this sea is formed by Sicily and the straits
on either side of it. That next Italy being 7 stadia [in breadth], and
that next Carthage 1500 stadia. The line drawn from the Pillars to the
lesser strait of 7 stadia, forms part of the line to Rhodes and the
Taurus, and intersects the sea under discussion about its middle; this
line is said to be 12,000 stadia, which is accordingly the length of the
sea. Its greatest breadth is about 5000 stadia, and extends from the
Galatic Gulf, between Marseilles and Narbonne, to the opposite coast of
Libya.
The portion of the sea which washes Libya is called the Libyan Sea;
that surrounding the land opposite is designated by the respective names
of the Iberian, the Ligurian,[763] and the Sardinian Seas, while the
remaining portion as far as Sicily is named the Tyrrhenian Sea.[764] All
along the coast between the Tyrrhenian and Ligurian Seas, there are
numerous islands, the largest of which are Sardinia and Cyrnus,[765]
always excepting Sicily, which is larger and more fertile than any of
our islands. The remainder are much smaller. Of this number are, in the
high sea, Pandataria[766] and Pontia,[767] and close to the shore
Æthalia,[768] Planasia,[769] Pithecussa,[770] Prochyta,[771]
Capriæ,[772] Leucosia,[773] and many others. On the other[774] side of
the Ligurian shore, and along the rest of the coast as far as the
Pillars, there are but few islands; the Gymnasiæ[775] and Ebusus[776]
are of this number. There are likewise but few islands along the coasts
of Libya and Sicily. We may mention however Cossura,[777] Ægimurus,[778]
and the Lipari Islands, likewise called the Islands of Æolus.
20. After Sicily and the straits on either side of it,[779] there are
other seas, for instance, that opposite the Syrtes and the
Cyrenaic,[780] the Syrtes themselves, and the sea formerly called the
Ausonian, but which, as it flows into and forms part of the Sea of
Sicily, is now included under the latter name. The sea opposite to the
Syrtes and the Cyrenaic is called the Libyan Sea; it extends as far as
the Sea of Egypt.
The Lesser Syrtes[781] is about 1600 stadia in circumference. On either
side of its mouth lie the islands of Meninx[782] and Kerkina.[783] The
Greater Syrtes[784] is (according to Eratosthenes) 5000 stadia in
circuit, and in depth 1800, from the Hesperides[785] to Automala,[786]
and the frontier which separates the Cyrenaic from the rest of Libya.
According to others, its circumference is only 4000 stadia, its depth
1500 stadia, and the breadth at its mouth the same.
The Sea of Sicily washes Italy, from the Strait of Rhegium[787] to
Locris,[788] and also the eastern coast of Sicily from Messene[789] to
Syracuse[790] and Pachynus.[791] On the eastern side it reaches to the
promontories of Crete, surrounds the greater part of Peloponnesus, and
fills the Gulf of Corinth.[792] On the north it advances to the Iapygian
Promontory,[793] the mouth of the Ionian Gulf,[794] the southern parts
of Epirus,[795] as far as the Ambracic Gulf,[796] and the continuation
of the coast which forms the Corinthian Gulf, near the Peloponnesus.
The Ionian Gulf forms part of what we now call the Adriatic.[797]
Illyria forms its right side, and Italy as far as the recess where
Aquileia is situated, the left.
The Adriatic stretches north and west; it is long and narrow, being in
length about 6000 stadia, and its greatest breadth 1200. There are many
islands situated here opposite the coasts of Illyria, such as the
Absyrtides,[798] Cyrictica,[799] and the Libyrnides,[800] also
Issa,[801] Tragurium,[802] the Black Corcyra,[803] and Pharos.[804]
Opposite to Italy are the Islands of Diomede.[805] The Sea of Sicily is
said to be 4500 stadia from Pachynus to Crete, and the same distance to
Tænarus in Laconia.[806] From the extremities of Iapygia to the bottom
of the Gulf of Corinth the distance is less than 3000 stadia, while from
Iapygia to Libya it is more than 4000. In this sea are the Islands of
Corcyra[807] and Sybota,[808] opposite the coasts of Epirus; and beyond
these, opposite the Gulf of Corinth, Cephallenia,[809] Ithaca,
Zacynth,[810] and the Echinades.[811]
21. Next to the Sea of Sicily, are the Cretan, Saronic,[812] and Myrtoan
Seas, comprised between Crete, Argia,[813] and Attica.[814] Their
greatest breadth, measured from Attica, is 1200 stadia, and their length
not quite double the distance. Within are included the Islands of
Cythera,[815] Calauria,[816] Ægina,[817] Salamis,[818] and certain of
the Cyclades.[819] Adjacent to these are the Ægæan Sea,[820] the Gulf of
Melas,[821] the Hellespont,[822] the Icarian and Carpathian Seas,[823]
as far as Rhodes, Crete, Cnidus, and the commencement of Asia. [In these
seas] are the Cyclades, the Sporades, and the islands opposite Caria,
Ionia, and Æolia, as far as the Troad, namely, Cos,[824] Samos,[825]
Chios,[826] Lesbos,[827] and Tenedos;[828] likewise on the Grecian side
as far as Macedonia and the borders of Thrace, Eubœa,[829] Scyros,[830]
Peparethus,[831] Lemnos,[832] Thasos,[833] Imbros,[834]
Samothracia,[835] and numerous others, of which it is our intention to
speak in detail. The length of this sea is about 4000 stadia, or rather
more,[836] its breadth about 2000.[837] It is surrounded by the coast
of Asia above mentioned, and by those of Greece from Sunium[838]
northwards to the Thermaic Gulf[839] and the Gulfs of Macedonia,[840]
and as far as the Thracian Chersonesus.[841]
22. Here too is the strait, seven stadia in length, which is between
Sestos[842] and Abydos,[843] and through which the Ægæan and Hellespont
communicate with another sea to the north, named the Propontis,[844] and
this again with another called the Euxine. This latter is, so to speak,
a double sea, for towards its middle are two projecting promontories,
one to the north, on the side of Europe, and the other opposite from the
coast of Asia, which leave only a narrow passage between them, and thus
form two great seas. The European promontory is named Criu-metopon;[845]
that of Asia, Carambis.[846] They are distant from each other about 2500
stadia.[847] The length of the western portion of this sea[848] from
Byzantium to the outlets of the Dnieper is 3800 stadia, its breadth
2000. Here is situated the Island of Leuca.[849] The eastern portion is
oblong and terminates in the narrow recess in which Dioscurias is
situated. In length it is 5000 stadia, or rather more, and in breadth
about 3000. The entire circumference of the Euxine is about 25,000
stadia. Some have compared the shape of its circumference to a Scythian
bow when bent, the string representing the southern portions of the
Euxine, (viz. the coast, from its mouth to the recess in which
Dioscurias is situated; for, with the exception of Carambis, the
sinuosities of the shore are but trifling, so that it may be justly
compared to a straight line,) and the remainder [of the circumference
representing] the wood of the bow with its double curve, the uppermost
very much rounded, the lower more in a straight line. So this sea forms
two gulfs, the western much more rounded than the other.
23. To the north of the eastern Gulf of the Pontus, is the Lake Mæotis,
whose perimeter is 9000 stadia or rather more. It communicates with the
Euxine by means of the Cimmerian Bosphorus,[850] and the Euxine with the
Propontis[851] by the Thracian Bosphorus, for such is the name given to
the Strait of Byzantium, which is four stadia in breadth. The length of
the Propontis from the Troad to Byzantium is stated to be 1500 stadia.
Its breadth is about the same. It is in this sea that the Island of the
Cyziceni[852] is situated, with the other islands around it.
24. Such and so great is the extent of the Ægæan Sea towards the
north.[853] Again, starting from Rhodes, the [Mediterranean] forms the
seas of Egypt, Pamphylia, and Issus, extending in an easterly direction
from Cilicia to Issus, a distance of 5000 stadia, along the coasts of
Lycia, Pamphylia, and the whole of Cilicia. From thence Syria, Phœnicia,
and Egypt surround the sea to the south and west as far as Alexandria.
The Island of Cyprus is situated in the Gulfs of Issus and Pamphylia,
close to the Sea of Egypt. The passage between Rhodes and Alexandria
from north [to south] is about 4000 stadia;[854] sailing round the
coasts it is double this distance. Eratosthenes informs us that,
although the above is the distance according to some mariners, others
avow distinctly that it amounts to 5000 stadia; while he himself, from
observations of the shadows indicated by the gnomon, calculates it at
3750.
That part of the Mediterranean Sea which washes the coasts of Cilicia
and Pamphylia together with the right side of the Euxine, the Propontis,
and the sea-coast beyond this as far as Pamphylia, form a kind of
extensive Chersonesus, the isthmus of which is also large, and reaches
from the sea near Tarsus[855] to the city of Amisus,[856] and thence to
the Themiscyran[857] plain of the Amazons. In fact the whole region
within this line as far as Caria and Ionia, and the nations dwelling on
this side the Halys,[858] is entirely surrounded by the Ægæan and the
aforementioned parts of the Mediterranean and Euxine Seas.[859] This is
what we call Asia properly,[860] although the whole continent bears the
same name.
25. To speak shortly, the southernmost point of Our Sea is the recess of
the Greater Syrtes;[861] next to this Alexandria in Egypt, and the
mouths of the Nile; while the most northerly is the mouth of the
Dnieper, or if the Mæotis be considered to belong to the Euxine, (and it
certainly does appear to form a part of it,) the mouth of the Don. The
Strait at the Pillars is the most westerly point, and the most easterly
is the said recess, in which Dioscurias[862] is situated; and not, as
Eratosthenes falsely states, the Gulf of Issus,[863] which is under the
same meridian as Amisus[864] and Themiscyra, and, if you will have it
so, Sidene as far as Pharnacia.[865] Proceeding thence in an easterly
direction to Dioscurias, the distance by sea is above 3000 stadia, as
will be seen more plainly in my detailed account of those countries.
Such then is the Mediterranean.
26. We must now describe the countries which surround it; and here we
will begin from the same point, whence we commenced our description of
the sea itself.
Entering the Strait at the Pillars, Libya, as far as the river Nile, is
on the right hand, and to the left, on the other side of the Strait, is
Europe, as far as the Don. Asia bounds both these continents. We will
commence with Europe, both because its figure is more varied, and also
because it is the quarter most favourable to the mental and social
ennoblement of man, and produces a greater portion of comforts than the
other continents.
Now the whole of Europe is habitable with the exception of a small part,
which cannot be dwelt in, on account of the severity of the cold, and
which borders on the Hamaxœci,[866] who dwell by the Don, Mæotis, and
Dnieper. The wintry and mountainous parts of the habitable earth would
seem to afford by nature but a miserable means of existence;
nevertheless, by good management, places scarcely inhabited by any but
robbers, may be got into condition. Thus the Greeks, though dwelling
amidst rocks and mountains, live in comfort, owing to their economy in
government and the arts, and all the other appliances of life. Thus too
the Romans, after subduing numerous nations who were leading a savage
life, either induced by the rockiness of their countries, or want of
ports, or severity of the cold, or for other reasons scarcely habitable,
have taught the arts of commerce to many who were formerly in total
ignorance, and spread civilization amongst the most savage. Where the
climate is equable and mild, nature herself does much towards the
production of these advantages. As in such favoured regions every thing
inclines to peace, so those which are sterile generate bravery and a
disposition to war. These two races receive mutual advantages from each
other, the one aiding by their arms, the other by their husbandry, arts,
and institutions. Harm must result to both when failing to act in
concert, but the advantage will lie on the side of those accustomed to
arms, except in instances where they are overpowered by multitudes. This
continent is very much favoured in this respect, being interspersed
with plains and mountains, so that every where the foundations of
husbandry, civilization, and hardihood lie side by side. The number of
those who cultivate the arts of peace, is, however, the most numerous,
which preponderance over the whole is mainly due to the influence of the
government, first of the Greeks, and afterwards of the Macedonians and
Romans.
Europe has thus within itself resources both for war [and peace]. It is
amply supplied with warriors, and also with men fitted for the labours
of agriculture, and the life of the towns. It is likewise distinguished
for producing in perfection those fruits of the earth necessary to life,
and all the useful metals. Perfumes and precious stones must be imported
from abroad, but as far as the comfort of life is concerned, the want or
the possession of these can make no difference. The country likewise
abounds in cattle, while of wild beasts the number is but small. Such is
the general nature of this continent.
27. We will now describe separately the various countries into which it
is divided. The first of these on the west is Iberia, which resembles
the hide of an ox [spread out]; the eastern portions, which correspond
to the neck, adjoining the neighbouring country of Gaul. The two
countries are divided on this side by the chain of mountains called the
Pyrenees; on all its other sides it is surrounded by sea; on the south,
as far as the Pillars, by Our Sea; and thence to the northern extremity
of the Pyrenees by the Atlantic. The greatest length of this country is
about 6000 stadia, its breadth 5000.[867]
28. East of this is Keltica, which extends as far as the Rhine. Its
northern side is washed by the entire of the British Channel, for this
island lies opposite and parallel to it throughout, extending as much as
5000 stadia in length. Its eastern side is bounded by the river Rhine,
whose stream runs parallel with the Pyrenees; and its southern side
commencing from the Rhine, [is bounded] partly by the Alps, and partly
by Our Sea; where what is called the Galatic Gulf[868] runs in, and on
this are situated the far-famed cities of Marseilles and Narbonne. Right
opposite to the Gulf on the other side of the land, lies another Gulf,
called by the same name, Galatic,[869] looking towards the north and
Britain. It is here that the breadth of Keltica is the narrowest, being
contracted into an isthmus less than 3000 stadia, but more than 2000.
Within this region there is a mountain ridge, named Mount Cemmenus,[870]
which runs nearly at right angles to the Pyrenees, and terminates in the
central plains of Keltica.[871] The Alps, which are a very lofty range
of mountains, form a curved line, the convex side of which is turned
towards the plains of Keltica, mentioned before, and Mount Cemmenus, and
the concave towards Liguria[872] and Italy.
The Alps are inhabited by numerous nations, but all Keltic with the
exception of the Ligurians, and these, though of a different race,
closely resemble them in their manner of life. They inhabit that portion
of the Alps which is next the Apennines, and also a part of the
Apennines themselves. This latter mountain ridge traverses the whole
length of Italy from north to south, and terminates at the Strait of
Sicily.
29. The first parts of Italy are the plains situated under the Alps, as
far as the recess of the Adriatic and the neighbouring places.[873] The
parts beyond form a narrow and long slip, resembling a peninsula,
traversed, as I have said, throughout its length by the Apennines; its
length is 7000 stadia, but its breadth is very unequal. The seas which
form the peninsula of Italy are, the Tyrrhenian, which commences from
the Ligurian, the Ausonian, and the Adriatic.[874]
30. After Italy and Keltica, the remainder of Europe extends towards the
east, and is divided into two by the Danube. This river flows from west
to east, and discharges itself into the Euxine Sea, leaving on its left
the entire of Germany commencing from the Rhine, as well as the whole of
the Getæ, the Tyrigetæ, the Bastarnæ, and the Sauromatæ, as far as the
river Don, and the Lake Mæotis,[875] on its right being the whole of
Thrace and Illyria,[876] and in fine the rest of Greece.
Fronting Europe lie the islands which we have mentioned. Without the
Pillars, Gadeira,[877] the Cassiterides,[878] and the Britannic Isles.
Within the Pillars are the Gymnesian Islands,[879] the other little
islands of the Phœnicians,[880] the Marseillais, and the Ligurians;
those fronting Italy as far as the islands of Æolus and Sicily, and the
whole of those[881] along Epirus and Greece, as far as Macedonia and the
Thracian Chersonesus.
31. From the Don and the Mæotis[882] commences [Asia] on this side the
Taurus; beyond these is [Asia] beyond the Taurus. For since this
continent is divided into two by the chain of the Taurus, which extends
from the extremities of Pamphylia to the shores of the Eastern Sea,[883]
inhabited by the Indians and neighbouring Scythians, the Greeks
naturally called that part of the continent situated north of these
mountains [Asia] on this side the Taurus, and that on the south [Asia]
beyond the Taurus. Consequently the parts adjacent to the Mæotis and Don
are on this side the Taurus. The first of these is the territory between
the Caspian Sea and the Euxine, bounded on one side[884] by the Don, the
Exterior Ocean,[885] and the Sea of Hyrcania; on the other[886] by the
Isthmus where it is narrowest from the recess of the Euxine to the
Caspian.
Secondly, but still on this side the Taurus, are the countries above the
Sea of Hyrcania as far as the Indians and Scythians, who dwell along
the said sea[887] and Mount Imaus. These countries are possessed on the
one side by the Mæotæ,[888] and the people dwelling between the Sea of
Hyrcania and the Euxine as far as the Caucasus, the Iberians[889] and
Albanians,[890] viz. the Sauromatians, Scythians,[891] Achæans, Zygi,
and Heniochi: on the other side beyond the Sea of Hyrcania,[892] by the
Scythians,[893] Hyrcanians, Parthians, Bactrians, Sogdians, and the
other nations of India farther towards the north. To the south, partly
by the Sea of Hyrcania, and partly by the whole isthmus which separates
this sea from the Euxine, is situated the greater part of Armenia,
Colchis,[894] the whole of Cappadocia[895] as far as the Euxine, and the
Tibaranic nations.[896] Further [west] is the country designated on this
side the Halys,[897] containing on the side of the Euxine and Propontis
the Paphlagonians, Bithynians, Mysians, and Phrygia on the Hellespont,
which comprehends the Troad; and on the side of the Ægæan and adjacent
seas Æolia, Ionia, Caria, and Lycia. Inland is the Phrygia which
contains that portion of Gallo-Græcia styled Galatia, Phrygia
Epictetus,[898] the Lycaonians, and the Lydians.
32. Next these on this side the Taurus are the mountaineers of
Paropamisus, and various tribes of Parthians, Medes, Armenians,
Cilicians, with “the Lycaonians,”[899] and Pisidians.[900] After these
mountaineers come the people dwelling beyond the Taurus. First amongst
these is India, a nation greater and more flourishing than any other;
they extend as far as the Eastern Sea[901] and the southern part of the
Atlantic. In the most southerly part of this sea opposite to India is
situated the island of Taprobana,[902] which is not less than Britain.
Beyond India to the west, and leaving the mountains [of the Taurus] on
the right, is a vast region, miserably inhabited, on account of the
sterility of its soil, by men of different races, who are absolutely in
a savage state. They are named Arians, and extend from the mountains to
Gedrosia and Carmania.[903] Beyond these towards the sea are the
Persians,[904] the Susians,[905] and the Babylonians,[906] situated
along the Persian Gulf, besides several smaller neighbouring states. On
the side of the mountains and amidst the mountains are the Parthians,
the Medes, the Armenians, and the nations adjoining these, together with
Mesopotamia.[907] Beyond Mesopotamia are the countries on this side the
Euphrates; viz. the whole of Arabia Felix, bounded by the entire Arabian
and Persian Gulfs, together with the country of the Scenitæ and
Phylarchi, who are situated along the Euphrates and in Syria. Beyond the
Arabian Gulf and as far as the Nile dwell the Ethiopians[908] and
Arabians,[909] and next these the Egyptians, Syrians, and
Cilicians,[910] both those styled Trachiotæ and others besides, and last
of all the Pamphylians.[911]
33. After Asia comes Libya, which adjoins Egypt and Ethiopia. The coast
next us, from Alexandria almost to the Pillars, is in a straight line,
with the exception of the Syrtes, the sinuosities of some moderately
sized bays, and the projection of the promontories by which they are
formed. The side next the ocean from Ethiopia up to a certain point is
almost parallel to the former; but after this the southern portions
become narrowed into a sharp peak, extending a little beyond the Pillars
of Hercules, and giving to the country something the figure of a
trapezium. Its appearance, both by the accounts of other writers, and
also the description given to ourselves by Cnæus Piso, who was governor
of this province, is that of a panther’s skin, being dotted over with
habitations surrounded by parched and desert land: these habitations the
Egyptians call Auases.[912] This continent offers besides several other
peculiarities, which may be said to divide it into three distinct
portions. Most of the coast next us is very fertile, more especially
about the Cyrenaic and the parts about Carthage, as far as Maurusia and
the Pillars of Hercules.[913] Next the ocean it is likewise tolerably
fitted for the habitation of man; but not so the centre of the country,
which produces silphium;[914] this for the most part is barren, rugged,
and sandy; and the same is the case with regard to the whole of Asia
lying under the same right line which traverses Ethiopia, the
Troglodytic,[915] Arabia, and the part of Gedrosia occupied by the
Ichthyophagi.[916] The people inhabiting Libya are for the most part
unknown to us, as it has rarely been entered, either by armies or
adventurers. But few of its inhabitants from the farther parts come
amongst us, and their accounts are both incomplete and not to be relied
on. The sum of what they say is as follows. Those which are most
southern are called Ethiopians.[917] North of these the principal
nations are the Garamantes, the Pharusians, and the Nigritæ.[918] Still
farther north are the Gætuli. Close to the sea, and adjoining it next
Egypt, and as far as the Cyrenaic, dwell the Marmaridæ.[919] Above[920]
the Cyrenaic and the Syrtes[921] are the Psylli and Nasamones,[922] and
certain of the Gætuli; and after them the Asbystæ[923] and Byzacii,[924]
as far as Carthage. Carthage is vast. Adjoining it are the Numidæ;[925]
of these people the tribes best known to us are called the Masylies and
the Masæsylii. The most westerly are the Maurusians.[926] The whole
land, from Carthage to the Pillars of Hercules, is fertile. Nevertheless
it abounds in wild beasts no less than the interior; and it does not
seem improbable that the cause why the name of Nomades,[927] or
Wanderers, was bestowed on certain of these people originated in their
not being able anciently to devote themselves to husbandry on account of
the wild beasts. At the present day, when they are well skilled in
hunting, and are besides assisted by the Romans in their rage for the
spectacle of fights with beasts, they are both masters of the beasts and
of husbandry. This finishes what we have to say on the continents.
34. It now remains for us to speak of the climata.[928] Of these too we
shall give but a general description, commencing with those lines which
we have denominated elementary, namely, those which determine the
greatest length and breadth of the [habitable earth], but especially its
breadth.
To enter fully into this subject is the duty of astronomers. This has
been done by Hipparchus, who has noted down (as he says) the differences
of the heavenly appearances for every degree of that quarter of the
globe in which our habitable earth is situated, namely, from the equator
to the north pole.
What is beyond our habitable earth it is not however the business of the
geographer to consider. Nor yet even in regard to the various parts of
the habitable earth must too minute and numerous differences be noticed,
since to the man of the world they are perplexing; it will suffice to
give the most striking and simple of the statements of Hipparchus.
Assuming, as he does himself after the assertion of Eratosthenes, that
the circumference of the earth is 252,000 stadia, the differences of the
[celestial] phenomena will not be great for each [degree] within the
limits between which the habitable earth is contained. Supposing we cut
the grand circle of the earth into 360 divisions, each of these
divisions will consist of 700 stadia. This is the calculation adopted by
[Hipparchus] to fix the distances, which [as we said] should be taken
under the before-mentioned meridian of Meroe. He commences at the
regions situated under the equator, and stopping from time to time at
every 700 stadia along the whole length of the meridian above mentioned,
proceeds to describe the celestial phenomena as they appear from each.
But the equator is not the place for us to start from. For even if there
be there a habitable region, as some suppose, it forms a habitable earth
to itself, a narrow slip enclosed by the regions uninhabitable on
account of the heat; and can be no part of our habitable earth. Now the
geographer should attend to none but our own habitable earth, which is
confined by certain boundaries; on the south by the parallel which
passes over the Cinnamon Country;[929] on the north by that which passes
over Ierna.[930] But keeping in mind the scheme of our geography, we
have no occasion to mark all the places comprehended within this
distance, nor yet all the celestial phenomena. We must however
commence, as Hipparchus does, with the southern regions.
35. He tells us that the people who dwell under the parallel of the
Cinnamon Country, which he places at 3000 stadia south of Meroe,[931]
and 8800 [north] of the equator, live nearly at equal distances between
the equator and the summer tropic which passes by Syene; for Syene is
5000 stadia [north] of Meroe. They are the first[932] for whom the whole
[constellation] of the Lesser Bear is comprised within the Artic Circle,
and to whom it is always visible. For the bright and most southern star,
at the tip of the tail, is here contained within the Arctic Circle, and
appears to touch the horizon.
The Arabian Gulf lies eastward parallel to the said meridian. Its
egress[933] into the Exterior Ocean is [in the same latitude as] the
Cinnamon Country, the place where anciently they used to hunt the
elephants. The parallel of the Cinnamon Country on the one side[934]
passes a little south of Taprobana, or perhaps over its southern
extremity; and on the other side[935] over the most southern parts of
Libya.[936]
36. At Meroe and Ptolemais[937] in the Troglodytic the longest day
consists of thirteen equinoctial hours. These cities are at nearly equal
distances between the equator and Alexandria, the preponderance on the
side of the equator being only 1800 stadia. The parallel of Meroe passes
on one side[938] over unknown countries, and on the other[939] over the
extremities of India.[940] At Syene, and at Berenice, which is situated
on the Arabian Gulf and in the Troglodytic, at the summer solstice the
sun is vertical, and the longest day consists of thirteen equinoctial
hours and a half, and the whole of the Greater Bear appears within the
Arctic Circle, with the exception of his thighs, the tip of his tail,
and one of the stars composing his body. The parallel of Syene traverses
on one side[941] the portion of Gedrosia occupied by the Ichthyophagi,
and India; and on the other side[942] the countries situated south of
Cyrene by rather less than 5000 stadia.
37. In all the countries situated between the tropic and the equatorial
circle, the shadows fall [alternately] on either side, north and south.
In those which are north of Syene and beyond the summer tropic the
shadows at mid-day fall to the north. The former are called amphiscii,
the latter heteroscii. There is also another method of determining what
places are under the tropic, which we spoke of in our observations on
the zones. The soil is sandy, arid, and produces nothing but silphium,
while more to the south the land is well irrigated and fertile.
38. In the countries situated about 400 stadia south of the parallel of
Alexandria and Cyrene, where the longest day consists of fourteen
equinoctial hours, Arcturus passes the zenith, slightly declining
towards the south. At Alexandria at the time of the equinox the
proportion which the gnomon bears to the shadow is as five to
seven.[943] Thus they are south of Carthage 1300 stadia, that is,
admitting that in Carthage at the time of the equinox the proportion
which the gnomon bears to the shadow is as eleven to seven. This
parallel on the one side[944] passes by Cyrene and the regions 900
stadia south of Carthage as far as the midst of Maurusia;[945] and on
the other side[946] through Egypt,[947] Cœlosyria, Upper Syria,
Babylonia, Susiana,[948] Persia,[949] Carmania,[950] Upper
Gedrosia,[951] and India.
39. At Ptolemais in Phœnicia,[952] and at Sidon[953] and Tyre,[954] the
longest day consists of fourteen hours and a quarter. These cities are
north of Alexandria by about 1600 stadia, and north of Carthage about
700. In the Peloponnesus, and about the middle of Rhodes, at
Xanthus[955] in Lycia, or a little to the south of this place, and at
400 stadia south of Syracuse,[956] the longest day consists of fourteen
and a half equinoctial hours. These places are distant from Alexandria
3640 stadia.... This parallel, according to Eratosthenes, passes
through Caria, Lycaonia, Cataonia, Media, the Caspian Gates, and India
next the Caucasus.[957]
40. In the parts of the Troad next Alexandria[958] in Amphipolis,[959]
Apollonia in Epirus,[960] the countries just south of Rome and north of
Neapolis, the longest day consists of fifteen hours. This parallel is
distant from that of Alexandria in Egypt 7000 stadia to the north, above
28,800 stadia north of the equator, and 3400 stadia from the parallel of
Rhodes; it is south of Byzantium, Nicæa,[961] and Marseilles 1500
stadia. The parallel of Lysimachia[962] is a little to the north, and
according to Eratosthenes passes through Mysia,[963] Paphlagonia,
Sinope,[964] Hyrcania,[965] and Bactra.[966]
41. About Byzantium the longest day consists of fifteen and a quarter
equinoctial hours; the proportion borne by the gnomon to the shadow at
the summer solstice, is as 120 to 42, minus one-fifth. These places are
distant[967] from the middle of Rhodes about 4900 stadia, and 30,300
from the equator. Sailing into the Euxine and advancing 1400 stadia to
the north, the longest day is found to consist of fifteen and a half
equinoctial hours. These places are equi-distant between the pole and
equatorial circle; the arctic circle is at their zenith, the star in the
neck of Cassiopeia is within this circle, the star forming the right
elbow of Perseus being a little more to the north.
42. In regions 3800 stadia north of Byzantium the longest day consists
of sixteen equinoctial hours; the constellation Cassiopeia being brought
within the arctic circle. These regions are situated around [the mouth
of] the Dnieper and the southern parts of the Mæotis, at a distance from
the equator of 34,100 stadia; and the northern part of the horizon
during almost all the summer nights is illuminated by the light of the
sun; a certain degree of light continuing from sunset to sunrise. For
the summer tropic is distant from the horizon only the half and the
twelfth part of a sign[968] [of the zodiac], and this therefore is the
greatest distance of the sun below the horizon at midnight. With us when
the sun is at this distance from the horizon before sunrise and after
sunset, the atmosphere is enlightened to the east and west respectively.
In the winter the sun when at the highest is nine cubits above the
horizon.[969] These places, according to Eratosthenes, are distant from
Meroe rather more than 23,000 stadia,[970] for he says that [from the
parallel of Meroe] to the Hellespont[971] there are 18,000 stadia, and
thence to the Dnieper 5000 more. In regions distant 6300 stadia from
Byzantium, and north of the Mæotis, the sun during the winter time is,
when highest, six cubits [above the horizon]. The longest day consists
of seventeen hours.
43. The countries beyond this which border upon the regions
uninhabitable on account of their cold, have no interest to the
geographer. He who desires to learn about them, and the celestial
phenomena which Hipparchus has described, but which we pass over as
being too much in detail for our present undertaking, must seek for them
in that author. The statements of Posidonius concerning the periscii,
the amphiscii, and the heteroscii are likewise too detailed. Still we
must touch on these points sufficiently to explain his view, and to
point out how far such matters are serviceable in geography, and how far
not. The terms made use of refer to the shadows cast from the sun. The
sun appears to the senses to describe a circle parallel to that of the
earth.[972] Of those people for whom each revolution of the earth
produces a day and a night, the sun being carried first over, then
under, the earth, some are denominated amphiscii, others heteroscii. The
amphiscii are the inhabitants of countries in which when a gnomon is
placed perpendicularly on a plane surface, the shadow which it casts at
mid-day, falls first to one side then to the other, as the sun illumines
first this side, then that. This however only occurs in places situated
between the tropics. The heteroscii are those amongst whom the shadow
always falls to the north, as with us; or to the south, as amongst
those who inhabit the other temperate zone. This occurs in all those
regions where the arctic circle is less than the tropic. Where however
it becomes the same as or greater than the tropic, this shows the
commencement of the periscii, who extend thence to the pole. In regions
where the sun remains above the horizon during an entire revolution of
the earth, the shadow must evidently have turned in a complete circle
round the gnomon. On this account he named them periscii. However they
have nought to do with geography, inasmuch as the regions are not
habitable on account of the cold, as we stated in our review of Pytheas.
Nor is there any use in determining the size of this uninhabitable
region, [it is enough to have established] that those countries, having
the tropic for their arctic circle, are situated beneath the circle
which is described by the pole of the zodiac[973] in the [diurnal]
revolution of the earth, and that the distance between the equator and
the tropic equals four-sixtieths of the great circle [of the earth].
_Note._ The pages of Casaubon’s edition of 1620 are given to
facilitate reference to various editions and translations of Strabo.
BOOK III.
SPAIN.
CHAPTER I.
1. Having thus given a general view of Geography, it will now be proper
to describe each separate country in detail, as we engaged to do. We
fancy that the method which we have adopted in the division of our
subject, up to this point, has been correct; and we now recommence with
Europe and the various countries into which it is divided, on the same
principles as formerly, and induced by the same reasons.
2. The first division of this continent towards the west is Iberia, as
we before stated. The greater part of this country is but little fitted
for habitation; consisting chiefly of mountains, woods, and plains
covered with a light meagre soil, the irrigation of which is likewise
uncertain. The part next the north, which borders on the ocean, is
extremely cold, and besides its rugged character, has no communication
or intercourse with other [countries], and thus to dwell there is
attended with peculiar hardship. Such is the character of this portion;
on the other hand, almost the whole of the south is fertile, especially
what is beyond the Pillars [of Hercules]. This however will be shown
more in detail, but we must first describe the figure and extent [of the
country].
3. In shape it resembles a hide stretched out in length from west to
east, the forepart[974] towards the east, its breadth being from north
to south. Its length is about 6000 stadia; the greatest breadth is 5000;
while there are parts considerably less [CAS. 137] than 3000,
particularly in the vicinity of the Pyrenees, which form the eastern
side. This chain of mountains stretches without interruption from north
to south,[975] and divides Keltica[976] from Iberia. The breadth both of
Keltica and Iberia is irregular, the narrowest part in both of them from
the Mediterranean to the [Atlantic] Ocean being near the Pyrenees,
particularly on either side of that chain; this gives rise to gulfs both
on the side of the Ocean, and also of the Mediterranean; the largest of
these are denominated the Keltic or Galatic Gulfs,[977] and they render
the [Keltic] Isthmus narrower than that of Iberia.[978] The Pyrenees
form the eastern side of Iberia, and the Mediterranean the southern from
the Pyrenees to the Pillars of Hercules, thence the exterior
[ocean][979] as far as the Sacred Promontory.[980] The third or western
side runs nearly parallel to the Pyrenees from the Sacred Promontory to
the promontory of the Artabri, called [Cape] Nerium.[981] The fourth
side extends hence to the northern extremity of the Pyrenees.
4. We will now commence our detailed account, beginning from the Sacred
Promontory. This is the most western point not only of Europe, but of
the whole habitable earth. For the habitable earth is bounded to the
west by two continents, namely, the extremities of Europe and
Libya,[982] which are inhabited respectively by the Iberians and the
Maurusians.[983] But the Iberian extremity, at the promontory[984] we
have mentioned, juts out beyond the other as much as 1500 stadia.[985]
The region adjacent to this cape they call in the Latin tongue
_Cuneum_,[986] which signifies _a wedge_. The promontory which projects
into the sea, Artemidorus (who states that he has himself been at the
place) compares to a ship; three little islands, [he says,] each having
a small harbour, contribute to give it this form; the former island
resembling the beak of the ship, and the two latter the beams on each
side of the ship’s bows. [He adds] that there is no temple of Hercules
shown there, as Ephorus falsely states, nor yet any altar [to him] nor
to any other divinity; but in many parts there are three or four stones
placed together, which are turned by all travellers who arrive there, in
accordance with a certain local custom, and are changed in position by
such as turn them incorrectly.[987] It is not lawful to offer sacrifice
there, nor yet to approach the place during the night, for it is said
that then the gods take up their abode at the place. Those who go
thither to view it stay at a neighbouring village over-night, and
proceed to the place on the morrow, carrying water with them, as there
is none to be procured there.
5. It is quite possible that these things are so, and we ought not to
disbelieve them. Not so however with regard to the other common and
vulgar reports; for Posidonius tells us the common people say that in
the countries next the ocean the sun appears larger as he sets, and
makes a noise resembling the sound of hot metal in cold water, as though
the sea were hissing as the sun was submerged in its depths. The
statement [of Artemidorus] is also false, that night follows immediately
on the setting of the sun: it does not follow immediately, although
certainly the interval is short, as in other great seas. For when he
sets behind mountains the agency of the false light continues the day
for a long period; over the sea the twilight is shorter, still darkness
does not immediately supervene. The same thing may be remarked in large
plains. The image of the sun is enlarged on the seas at its rising as
well as at its setting, because at these times a larger mass of
[CAS. 138] exhalations rises from the humid element; and the eye looking
through these exhalations, sees images refracted into larger forms, as
observed through tubes. The same thing happens when the setting sun or
moon is seen through a dry and thin cloud, when those bodies likewise
appear reddish.[988] Posidonius tells us that, having himself passed
thirty days at Gades,[989] during which time he carefully observed the
setting of the sun, he is convinced of the falsity of Artemidorus’s
account. This latter writer tells us, that at the time of its setting
the sun appears a hundred times larger than its ordinary size, and that
night immediately succeeds. If we attend to his account, we cannot
believe that he himself remarked this phenomenon at the Sacred
Promontory,[990] for he tells us that no one can approach during the
night; therefore they cannot approach at sunset, since night immediately
supervenes thereupon. Neither did he observe it from any other part of
the coast washed by the ocean, for Gades is upon the ocean, and both
Posidonius and many others testify that there such is not the case.
6. The sea-coast next the Sacred Promontory forms on one side the
commencement of the western coast of Spain as far as the outlet of the
river Tagus; and on the other forms the southern coast as far as the
outlet of another river, named the Guadiana.[991] Both of these rivers
descend from the eastern parts [of Spain]; but the former, which is much
larger than the other, pursues a straight course towards the west, while
the Guadiana bends its course towards the south.[992] They enclose an
extent of country peopled for the most part by Kelts and certain
Lusitanians,[993] whom the Romans caused to settle here from the
opposite side of the Tagus. Higher up, the country is inhabited by the
Carpetani,[994] the Oretani,[995] and a large number of Vettones.[996]
This district is moderately fertile, but that which is beyond it to the
east and south, does not give place in superiority to any part of the
habitable earth with which it may be compared, in the excellence of its
productions both of land and sea. This is the country through which the
river Guadalquiver[997] flows. This river takes its rise from the same
parts as the Guadiana[998] and the Tagus, and is between these two in
size.[999] Like the Guadiana, the commencement of its course flows
towards the west, but it afterwards turns to the south, and discharges
itself at the same side of the coast as that river.
From this river[997] the country has received the name of Bætica; it is
called Turdetania by the inhabitants, who are themselves denominated
Turdetani, and Turduli. Some think these two names refer to one nation,
while others believe that they designate two distinct people. Of this
latter opinion is Polybius, who imagines that the Turduli dwell more to
the north than the Turdetani. At the present day however there does not
appear to be any distinction between them. These people are esteemed to
be the most intelligent of all the Iberians; they have an alphabet, and
possess ancient writings, poems, and metrical laws six thousand years
old, as they say. The other Iberians are likewise furnished with an
alphabet, although not of the same form, nor do they speak the same
language. Their country,[1000] which is on this side the [CAS. 139]
Guadiana, extends eastward as far as Oretania,[1001] and southward along
the sea-coast from the outlets of the Guadiana to the Pillars [of
Hercules]. But it is necessary that I should enter into further
particulars concerning this and the neighbouring places, in order to
illustrate their excellence and fertility.
7. Between this coast, where the Guadalquiver and Guadiana discharge
themselves, and the extremities of Maurusia, the Atlantic Ocean forms
the strait at the Pillars [of Hercules] by which it is connected with
the Mediterranean. Here is situated Calpe,[1002] the mountain of the
Iberians who are denominated Bastetani, by others Bastuli. Its
circumference is not large, but it is so high and steep as to resemble
an island in the distance. Sailing from the Mediterranean into the
Atlantic, it is left on the right hand. At a distance of 40 stadia from
this [mountain] is the considerable and ancient city of Carteia,
formerly a marine arsenal of the Iberians. Some assert that it was
founded by Hercules; of this number is Timosthenes,[1003] who tells us
it was anciently called Heraclæa, and that vast walls and ship-sheds are
still shown.
8. Next to these is Mellaria,[1004] where they make salted provisions.
After this the city and river[1005] of Belo. Here the merchandise and
salted provisions for Tingis in Maurusia are principally shipped. There
was a city named Zelis[1006] near to Tingis, but the Romans transferred
it to the opposite coast [of Spain], and having placed there in addition
some of the inhabitants of Tingis, and sent over also some of their own
people, they then gave to the city the name of Julia Joza.[1007] Beyond
this is Gadeira,[1008] an island separated from Turdetania by a narrow
strait, and distant from Calpe about 750 stadia, or, as others say, 800.
This island has nothing to distinguish it above others, but owing to the
boldness of its people in their expeditions by sea, and their
friendship with the Romans, has attained to that pitch of good fortune,
that although situated at the farthest extremities of the earth, it
possesses a greater celebrity than any other island. But we will
describe it when we come to speak of the other islands.
9. Next after [Cadiz] is the port of Menestheus,[1009] and the estuary
near to Asta and Nebrissa.[1010] These estuaries are valleys filled by
the sea during its flood-tides, up which you may sail into the interior,
and to the cities built on them, in the same way as you sail up a river.
Immediately after are the two outlets of the Guadalquiver.[1011] The
island embraced by these mouths has a coast of a hundred stadia, or
rather more according to others. Hereabouts is the Oracle of
Menestheus,[1012] and the tower of Cæpio,[1013] built upon a rock and
washed on all sides by the sea. This is an admirable work, resembling
the Pharos, and constructed for the safety of vessels. For the mud
carried out by the river forms shallows, and sunken rocks are also
scattered before it, so that a beacon was greatly needed. Thence sailing
up the river is the city of Ebura,[1014] and the temple of
Phosphorus,[1015] which they call _Lux Dubia_.[1016] You then pass up
the other estuaries; and after these the river Guadiana, which has also
two mouths,[1017] up either of which you may sail. Lastly, beyond is the
Sacred Promontory,[1018] distant from Gadeira[1019] less than 2000
stadia. Some say that from the Sacred Promontory to the mouth of the
Guadiana there are 60 miles; thence to the mouth of the Guadalquiver
100; and from this latter place to Gadeira 70.
CHAPTER II.
[CASAUB. 141] 1. Turdetania lies above the coast on this side the
Guadiana,[1020] and is intersected by the river Guadalquiver.[1021] It
is bounded on the west and north by the river Guadiana; on the east by
certain of the Carpetani and the Oretani; on the south by those of the
Bastetani who inhabit the narrow slip of coast between Calpe and
Gadeira, and by the sea beyond as far as the Guadiana. The Bastetani
whom I have mentioned, together with the people on the other side the
Guadiana, and many of the places adjacent, belong to Turdetania. The
size of this country in its length and breadth does not exceed two
thousand stadia, still it contains a vast number of towns; two hundred,
it is said. Those best known are situated on the rivers, estuaries, and
sea; but the two which have acquired the greatest name and importance
are, Corduba, founded by Marcellus,[1022] and the city of the
Gaditanians.[1023] The latter for its naval importance, and its alliance
with the Romans; and the former on account of its fertility and extent,
a considerable portion of the Guadalquiver flowing by it; in addition to
this it has been from its commencement inhabited by picked men, whether
natives or Romans; and it was the first colony planted by the Romans in
these parts.
After this city and that of the Gaditanians, Hispalis[1024] is the most
noted. This also is a Roman colony. Commerce is still carried on here,
although at the present moment the city of Bætis[1025] though not so
finely built, is outshining it, on account of the honour it has received
from the soldiers of Cæsar taking up their quarters there.
2. After these are Italica,[1026] and Ilipa,[1027] situated on the
Guadalquiver; farther on are Astygis,[1028] Carmo,[1029] and Obulco; and
besides these Munda,[1030] Ategua, Urso,[1031] Tukkis,[1032]
Julia,[1033] and Ægua, where the sons of Pompey were defeated. None of
these places are far from Corduba. Munda is in some sort regarded as the
metropolis of the whole district. This place is distant from Carteia
1400[1034] stadia, and it was here that Cnæus fled after his defeat, and
sailing thence landed on a rocky height overlooking the sea, where he
was murdered. His brother Sextus, having escaped from Corduba, after
carrying on the war for a short time in Spain, caused a revolt in
Sicily. Flying thence into Asia he was seized at Miletus[1035] by the
generals[1036] of Antony, and executed. Amongst the Kelts the most
famous place is Conistorgis.[1037] Upon the estuaries is Asta,[1038] in
which the Gaditani mostly hold their assemblies; it is opposite the
sea-port of the island, at a distance of not more than 100 stadia.
3. A vast number of people dwell along the Guadalquiver; and you may
sail up it almost 1200 stadia from the sea to Corduba, and the places a
little higher up. The banks and little islets of this river are
cultivated with the greatest diligence. [CASAUB. 142.] The eye is also
delighted with groves and gardens, which in this district are met with
in the highest perfection. As far as Ispalis, which is a distance of not
less than 500 stadia, the river is navigable for ships[1039] of
considerable size; but for the cities higher up, as far as Ilipas,
smaller vessels are employed, and thence to Corduba river-boats. These
are now constructed of planks joined together, but they were formerly
made out of a single trunk. Above this to Castlon the river is no longer
navigable. A chain of mountains, rich in metal, runs parallel to the
Guadalquiver,[1040] approaching the river sometimes more, sometimes
less, towards the north.
There is much silver found in the parts about Ilipas and Sisapo, both in
that which is called the old town and the new. There are copper and gold
about the Cotinæ.[1041] These mountains are on the left as you sail up
the river; on the right there is a vast and elevated plain, fertile,
full of large trees, and containing excellent pasturage. The
Guadiana[1042] is likewise navigable, but not for vessels equally large,
nor yet so far up. It is also bordered by mountains containing metal,
and extends as far as the Tagus. Districts which contain metals must, of
necessity, be rugged and poor,[1043] as indeed are those adjoining
Carpetania, and still more those next the Keltiberians. The same is the
case with Bæturia, the plains of which, bordering on the Guadiana, are
arid.
4. Turdetania, on the other hand, is marvellously fertile, and abounds
in every species of produce. The value of its productions is doubled by
means of exportation, the surplus products finding a ready sale amongst
the numerous ship-owners. This results from its rivers and estuaries,
which, as we have said, resemble rivers, and by which you may sail from
the sea to the inland towns, not only in small, but even in large-sized
skiffs. For the whole country above the coast, and situated between the
Sacred Promontory[1044] and the Pillars, consists of an extended plain.
Here in many places are hollows running inland from the sea, which
resemble moderately-sized ravines or the beds of rivers, and extend for
many stadia. These are filled by the approach of the sea at high tide,
and may be navigated as easily, or even more so than rivers. They are
navigated much the same as rivers; the sea, meeting with no obstacle,
enters like the flow of a river at flood-tide. The sea comes in here
with greater force than in the other places; for being forced from the
wide ocean into the narrow strait,[1045] formed by the coast of Maurusia
and Iberia, it experiences recoils, and thus is borne full into the
retiring parts of the land. Some of these shallows are left dry as the
tide ebbs, while others are never destitute of water; others again
contain islands, of this kind are the estuaries between the Sacred
Promontory[1046] and the Pillars, where the tide comes in with more
violence than at other places. Such a tide is of considerable advantage
to sailors, since it makes the estuaries both fuller and more spacious,
frequently swelling them to a breadth of eight[1047] stadia, so that the
whole land, so to speak, is rendered navigable, thus giving wonderful
facility both for the export and import of merchandise. Nevertheless
there is some inconvenience. For in the navigation of the rivers, the
sailors run considerable danger both in ascending and descending, owing
to the violence with which the flood-tide encounters the current of the
stream as it flows down. The ebb-tides are likewise the cause of much
damage in these estuaries, for resulting as they do from the same cause
as the flood-tides, they are frequently so rapid as to leave the vessel
on dry land; and herds in passing over to the islands that are in these
estuaries are sometimes drowned [in the passage] and sometimes surprised
in the islands, and endeavouring to cross back again to the continent,
are unable, and perish in the attempt. They say that certain of the
cattle, having narrowly observed what takes place, wait till the sea has
retired, and then cross over to the mainland.
5. The men [of the country], being well acquainted with the nature of
these places, and that the estuaries would very well answer the same
purpose as rivers, founded cities and other settlements along them the
same as along rivers. Of this number are Asta, Nebrissa,[1048]
Onoba,[1049] Ossonoba, Mænoba,[CASAUB. 143] besides many others. The
canals which have been cut in various directions are also found useful
in the traffic which is carried on between place and place, both amongst
the people themselves and with foreigners. The conflux of water at the
flood-tides is also valuable, as rendering navigable the isthmuses which
separate the different pieces of water, thus making it possible to ferry
over from the rivers into the estuaries, and from the estuaries into the
rivers. Their trade is wholly carried on with Italy and Rome. The
navigation is excellent as far as the Pillars, (excepting perhaps some
little difficulties at the Strait,) and equally so on the Mediterranean,
where the voyages are very calm, especially to those who keep the high
seas. This is a great advantage to merchant-vessels. The winds on the
high seas blow regularly; and peace reigns there now, the pirates having
been put down, so that in every respect the voyage is facile. Posidonius
tells us he observed the singular phenomenon in his journey from
Iberia,[1050] that in this sea, as far as the Gulf of Sardinia, the
south-east[1051] winds blow periodically. And on this account he strove
in vain for three whole months to reach Italy, being driven about by the
winds against the Gymnesian islands,[1052] Sardinia, and the opposite
coasts of Libya.
6. Large quantities of corn and wine are exported from Turdetania,
besides much oil, which is of the first quality;[1053] also wax, honey,
pitch, large quantities of the kermes-berry,[1054] and vermilion not
inferior to that of Sinope.[1055] The country furnishes the timber for
their ship-building. They have likewise mineral salt, and not a few salt
streams. A considerable quantity of salted fish is exported, not only
from hence, but also from the remainder of the coast beyond the Pillars,
equal to that of Pontus. Formerly they exported large quantities of
garments, but they now send the [unmanufactured] wool, which is superior
even to that of the Coraxi,[1056] and remarkable for its beauty. Rams
for the purpose of covering fetch a talent. The stuffs manufactured by
the Saltiatæ[1057] are of incomparable texture. There is a
super-abundance of cattle, and a great variety of game: while, on the
other hand, of destructive animals there are scarcely any, with the
exception of certain little hares which burrow in the ground, and are
called by some leberides.[1058] These creatures destroy both seeds and
trees by gnawing their roots. They are met with throughout almost the
whole of Iberia,[1059] and extend to Marseilles, infesting likewise the
islands. It is said that formerly the inhabitants of the Gymnesian
islands[1060] sent a deputation to the Romans soliciting that a new land
might be given them, as they were quite driven out of their country by
these animals, being no longer able to stand against their vast
multitudes.[1061] It is possible that people should be obliged to have
recourse to such an expedient for help in waging war in so great an
extremity, which however but seldom happens, and is a plague produced by
some pestilential state of the atmosphere, which at other times has
produced serpents and rats in like abundance; but for the ordinary
increase of these little hares, many ways of hunting have been devised,
amongst others by wild cats from Africa,[1062] trained for the purpose.
Having muzzled these, they turn them into the holes, when they either
drag out the animals they find there with their claws, or compel them to
fly to the surface of the earth, where they are taken by people standing
by for that purpose. The large amount of the exports from Turdetania is
evinced by the size and number of their ships. Merchant-vessels of the
greatest size sail thence to Dicæarchia[1063] and [CAS. 145] Ostia, a
Roman port; they are in number nearly equal to those which arrive from
Libya.
7. Such is the wealth of the inland part of Turdetania, and its maritime
portions are found fully to equal it in the richness of their
sea-productions. In fact, oysters and every variety of shell-fish,
remarkable both for their number and size, are found along the whole of
the exterior sea, but here in particular. It is probable that the flow
and ebb tides, which are particularly strong here, contribute both to
their quantity and size, on account of the great number of pools and
standing waters which they form.[1064] The same is the case with regard
to all kinds of cetacea, narwhals, whales, and physeteri,[1065] which
when they blow [up the water from their snouts] appear to observers from
a distance to resemble a cloud shaped like a column. The congers are
quite monstrous, far surpassing in size those of our [sea];[1066] so are
the lampreys, and many other fish of the same kind. It is said that in
Carteia there are kerukæ[1067] and cuttle-fish which would contain as
much as ten cotylæ.[1068] In the parts more exterior there are lampreys
and congers weighing 80 minæ,[1069] and polypes a talent,[1070] also
teuthidæ[1071] two cubits in length, with other fish in proportion.
Shoals of rich fat thunny are driven hither from the sea-coast beyond.
They feed on the fruit of a species of stunted oak, which grows at the
bottom of the sea, and produces very large acorns. The same oaks grow in
large numbers throughout the land of Iberia, their roots are of the same
size as those of the full-grown oak, although the tree itself never
attains the height of a low shrub. So great is the quantity of fruit
which it produces, that at the season when they are ripe, the whole
coast on either side of the Pillars is covered with acorns which have
been thrown up by the tides: the quantity however is always less on
this side the Pillars [than on the other]. Polybius states that these
acorns are ejected [by the sea] as far as [the shores of] Latium,
unless, he adds, Sardo[1072] and the neighbouring districts also produce
them. The thunny-fish become gradually thinner, owing to the failure of
their food, as they approach the Pillars from the outer sea. This fish,
in fact, may be regarded as a kind of sea-hog, being fond of the acorn,
and growing marvellously fat upon it; and whenever acorns are abundant,
thunny-fish are abundant likewise.
8. Of the various riches of the aforenamed country,[1073] not the least
is its wealth in metals: this every one will particularly esteem and
admire. Of metals, in fact, the whole country of the Iberians is full,
although it is not equally fertile and flourishing throughout,
especially in those parts where the metals most abound. It is seldom
that any place is blessed with both these advantages, and likewise
seldom that the different kinds of metals abound in one small territory.
Turdetania, however, and the surrounding districts surpass so entirely
in this respect, that however you may wish, words cannot convey their
excellence. Gold, silver, copper, and iron, equal in amount and of
similar quality, not having been hitherto discovered in any other part
of the world.[1074] Gold is not only dug from the mines, but likewise
collected; sand containing gold being washed down by the rivers and
torrents. It is frequently met with in arid districts, but here the gold
is not visible to the sight, whereas in those which are overflowed the
grains of gold are seen glittering. On this account they cause water to
flow over the arid places in order to make the grains shine; they also
dig pits, and make use of other contrivances for washing the sand, and
separating the gold from it; so that at the present day more gold is
procured by washing than by digging it from the mines. The Galatæ affirm
that the mines along the Kemmenus mountains[1075] and their side of the
Pyrenees are superior; but most people prefer those on this side. They
say that sometimes amongst the [CAS. 146] grains of gold lumps have been
found weighing half a pound, these they call _palæ_; they need but
little refining.[1076] They also say that in splitting open stones they
find small lumps, resembling paps. And that when they have melted the
gold, and purified it by means of a kind of aluminous earth, the residue
left is _electrum_. This, which contains a mixture of silver and gold,
being again subjected to the fire, the silver is separated and the gold
left [pure]; for this metal is easily dissipated and fat,[1077] and on
this account gold is most easily melted by straw, the flame of which is
soft, and bearing a similarity [to the gold], causes it easily to
dissolve: whereas coal, besides wasting a great deal, melts it too much
by reason of its vehemence, and carries it off [in vapour]. In the beds
of the rivers the sand is either collected and washed in boats close by,
or else a pit is dug to which the earth is carried and there washed. The
furnaces for silver are constructed lofty, in order that the vapour,
which is dense and pestilent, may be raised and carried off. Certain of
the copper mines are called gold mines, which would seem to show that
formerly gold was dug from them.
9. Posidonius, in praising the amount and excellence of the metals,
cannot refrain from his accustomed rhetoric, and becomes quite
enthusiastic in exaggeration. He tells us we are not to disbelieve the
fable, that formerly the forests having been set on fire, the earth,
which was loaded with silver and gold, melted, and threw up these metals
to the surface, forasmuch as every mountain and wooded hill seemed to be
heaped up with money by a lavish fortune. Altogether (he remarks) any
one seeing these places, could only describe them as the inexhaustible
treasuries of nature, or the unfailing exchequer of some potentate; for
not only, he tells us, is this land rich itself, but riches abound
beneath it. So that amongst these people the subterraneous regions
should not be regarded as the realms of Pluto, but of Plutus. Such is
the flourished style in which he speaks on this subject, that you would
fancy his turgid language had been dug from a mine itself. Discoursing
on the diligence of the miners, he applies to them the remark [of
Demetrius] of Phalaris, who, speaking of the silver mines of Attica,
said that the men there dug with as much energy as if they thought they
could grub up Plutus himself. He compares with these the activity and
diligence of the Turdetani, who are in the habit of cutting tortuous and
deep tunnels, and draining the streams which they frequently encounter
by means of Egyptian screws.[1078] As for the rest,[1079] they are quite
different from the Attic miners, whose mining (he remarks) may be justly
compared to that enigma,[1080] What I have taken up I have not kept, and
what I have got I have thrown away. Whereas the Turdetanians make a good
profit, since a fourth part of the ore which they extract from the
copper mines is [pure] copper, while from the silver mines one person
has taken as much as a Eubœan talent. He says that tin is not found upon
the surface, as authors commonly relate, but that it is dug up; and that
it is produced both in places among the barbarians who dwell beyond the
Lusitanians and in the islands Cassiterides; and that from the Britannic
Islands it is carried to Marseilles. Amongst the Artabri,[1081] who are
the last of the Lusitanians towards the north and west, he tells us that
the earth is powdered with silver, tin, and white gold, that is, mixed
with silver, the earth having been brought down by the rivers: this the
women scrape up with spades, and wash in sieves, woven after the fashion
of baskets. Such is the [CAS. 147] substance of what [Posidonius] tells
us concerning the mines [of Iberia].
10. Polybius, speaking of the silver mines of New Carthage,[1082] tells
us that they are extremely large, distant from the city about 20 stadia,
and occupy a circuit of 400 stadia, that there are 40,000 men regularly
engaged in them, and that they yield daily to the Roman people [a
revenue of] 25,000 drachmæ. The rest of the process I pass over, as it
is too long, but as for the silver ore collected, he tells us that it is
broken up, and sifted through sieves over water; that what remains is to
be again broken, and the water having been strained off, it is to be
sifted and broken a third time. The dregs which remain after the fifth
time are to be melted, and the lead being poured off, the silver is
obtained pure. These silver mines still exist; however they are no
longer the property of the state, neither these nor those elsewhere, but
are possessed by private individuals. The gold mines, on the contrary,
nearly all belong to the state. Both at Castlon[1083] and other places
there are singular lead mines worked. They contain a small proportion of
silver, but not sufficient to pay for the expense of refining.
11. Not far from Castlon is the mountain in which they report that the
[river] Guadalquiver[1084] takes its rise. They call it silver mountain
on account of the silver mines which it contains.[1085] Polybius asserts
that both the Guadiana[1086] and this river have their sources in
Keltiberia, notwithstanding they are separated from each other by a
distance of 900 stadia;[1087] [this we are to attribute to] the
Keltiberians having increased in power, and having consequently
conferred their name on the surrounding country. It appears the ancients
knew the Guadalquiver under the name of the Tartessus, and Gades[1088]
with the neighbouring islands under that of Erythia; and it is thought
that we should understand in this sense the words of Stesichorus[1089]
concerning the pastoral poet Geryon, that he was born “almost opposite
to the renowned Erythia, in a rocky cave near to the abundant springs of
the silver-bedded river Tartessus.” They say that on the piece of land
enclosed between the two outlets of this river there formerly stood a
city named, like the river, Tartessus, and that the district was called
Tartessis, which the Turduli now inhabit. Eratosthenes likewise tells us
that the [country] near to Calpe[1090] was called Tartessis, and also
Erythia the Fortunate Island. This Artemidorus contradicts, and says
that it is as false as his other statements, that the Sacred
Promontory[1091] is distant from Gades[1092] five days’ sail, when in
fact they are [distant from each other] not more than 1700 stadia.[1093]
Likewise that the tide ceased at this point, whereas it passes round the
whole circuit of the habitable earth. That it is easier to pass from the
northern parts of Iberia into Keltica,[1094] than to proceed thither by
sea; with many other things which he asserted on the faith of that
charlatan Pytheas.
12. Our poet [Homer] being very explicit, and possessing great
experience, gives one cause to believe that he was not unfamiliar with
these localities. Of this any one may be convinced who will examine
carefully what has been written on these points, both the incorrect
[comments], and likewise those which are better and more truthful. One
amongst these incorrect ideas is, that he considered [Tartessis] to be
the farthest country towards the west, where, as he himself expresses
it,
The radiant sun in ocean sank,
Drawing night after him o’er all the earth.[1095]
Now, since it is evident that night is ominous, and near to Hades, and
Hades to Tartarus, it seems probable that [Homer], having heard of
Tartessus, took thence the name of Tartarus to distinguish the farthest
of the places beneath the earth, also embellishing it with fable in
virtue of the poetic licence. In the same way, knowing that the
Cimmerians dwelt in northern and dismal territories near to the
Bosphorus, he located them [CAS. 149] in the vicinity of Hades; perhaps
also on account of the common hatred of the Ionians against this people.
For they say that in the time of Homer, or a little before, the
Cimmerians made an incursion as far as Æolia and Ionia. Always drawing
his fables from certain real facts, his Planetæ[1096] are modelled on
the Cyaneæ. He describes them as dangerous rocks, as they tell us the
Cyaneæan rocks are, [and] on which account [in fact] they are called
Symplegades.[1097] He adds to this [the account of] Jason’s navigating
through the midst of them. The Straits of the Pillars[1098] and
Sicily,[1099] likewise, suggested to him the fable of the Planetæ. Thus,
even according to the worst comments, from the fiction of Tartarus any
one might gather that Homer was acquainted with the regions about
Tartessus.
13. Of these facts, notwithstanding, there are better proofs. For
instance, the expeditions of Hercules and the Phœnicians to this country
were evidence to him of the wealth and luxury of the people. They fell
so entirely under the dominion of the Phœnicians, that at the present
day almost the whole of the cities of Turdetania and the neighbouring
places are inhabited by them. It also seems to me that the expedition of
Ulysses hither, as it took place and was recorded, was the foundation
both of his Odyssey and Iliad, which he framed upon facts collected into
a poem, and embellished as usual with poetical mythology. It is not only
in Italy, Sicily, and a few other places that vestiges of these [events]
occur; even in Iberia a city is shown named Ulyssea,[1100] also a temple
of Minerva, and a myriad other traces both of the wandering of Ulysses
and also of other survivors of the Trojan war, which was equally fatal
to the vanquished and those who took Troy. These latter in fact gained a
Cadmean victory,[1101] for their homes were destroyed, and the portion
of booty which fell to each was exceedingly minute. Consequently not
only those who had survived the perils [of their country], but the
Greeks as well, betook themselves to piracy, the former because they
had been pillaged of every thing; the latter, on account of the shame
which each one anticipated to himself:
“The shame
That must attend us, after absence long
Returning unsuccessful, who can bear?”[1102]
In the same way is related the wandering of Æneas, of Antenor, and of
the Heneti; likewise of Diomedes, of Menelaus, of Ulysses,[1103] and of
many others. Hence the poet, knowing of similar expeditions to the
extremities of Iberia, and having heard of its wealth and other
excellencies, (which the Phœnicians had made known,) feigned this to be
the region of the Blessed, and the Plain of Elysium, where Proteus
informs Menelaus that he is to depart to:
“But far hence the gods
Will send thee to Elysium, and the earth’s
Extremest bounds; there Rhadamanthus dwells,
The golden-haired, and there the human kind
Enjoy the easiest life; no snow is there,
No biting winter, and no drenching shower,
But zephyr always gently from the sea
Breathes on them to refresh the happy race.”[1104]
Now the purity of the air, and the gentle breathing of the zephyr, are
both applicable to this country, as well as the softness of the climate,
its position in the west, and its place at the extremities of the earth,
where, as we have said, he feigned that Hades was. By coupling
Rhadamanthus with it, he signifies that the place was near to Minos, of
whom he says,
“There saw I Minos, offspring famed of Jove;
His golden sceptre in his hand, he sat
Judge of the dead.”[1105]
Similar to these are the fables related by later poets; such, for
instance, as the expeditions after the oxen of Geryon, and the [CAS.
150] golden apples of the Hesperides, the Islands of the Blessed[1106]
they speak of, which we know are still pointed out to us not far distant
from the extremities of Maurusia, and opposite to Gades.
14. I repeat that the Phœnicians were the discoverers [of these
countries], for they possessed the better part of Iberia and Libya
before the time of Homer, and continued masters of those places until
their empire was overthrown by the Romans. This also is an evidence of
the wealth of Iberia: in the expedition of the Carthaginians under
Barcas,[1107] they found, according to historians, that the people of
Turdetania used silver goblets[1108] and casks. One might guess too that
it was on account of this great opulence that the men of the country,
and their chiefs in particular, were styled long-lived. Wherefore
Anacreon thus sings,
“Neither would I desire the horn of Amalthea, nor to reign over
Tartessus one hundred and fifty years.”
Herodotus too has preserved the name of the king, whom he calls
Arganthonius.[1109] The passage of Anacreon must therefore either be
understood [of this king], or some other like him; or else more
generally thus, “nor to reign for a lengthened period in Tartessus.”
Some writers[1110] are of opinion that Tartessus is the present Carteia.
15. The Turdetani not only enjoy a salubrious climate but their manners
are polished and urbane, as also are those of the people of Keltica, by
reason of their vicinity [to the Turdetani], or, according to Polybius,
on account of their being of the same stock, but not to so great a
degree, for they live for the most part scattered in villages. The
Turdetani, on the other hand, especially those who dwell about the
Guadalquiver,[1111] have so entirely adopted the Roman mode of life, as
even to have forgotten their own language. They have for the most part
become Latins,[1112] and received Roman colonists; so that a short time
only is wanted before they will be all Romans. The very names of many of
the towns at present, such as Pax Augusta[1113] amongst the Keltici,
Augusta-Emerita[1114] amongst the Turduli, Cæsar-Augusta[1115] amongst
the Keltiberians and certain other colonies, are proof of the change of
manners I have spoken of. Those of the Iberians who adopt these new
modes of life are styled _togati_. Amongst their number are the
Keltiberians, who formerly were regarded as the most uncivilized of them
all. So much for these.
CHAPTER III.
1. Starting again from the Sacred Promontory,[1116] and continuing along
the other side of the coast, we come to the gulf near the Tagus,
afterwards Cape Barbarium,[1117] and near to this the outlets of the
Tagus, which may be reached by sailing in a straight course for a
distance of 10 stadia.[1118] Here are estuaries, one of them more than
400 stadia from the said tower, on a part of which Laccæa is
situated.[1119] The breadth of the mouth of the Tagus is about 20
stadia, its depth is so great as to be capable of navigation by vessels
of the greatest burden. At the flood-tide the Tagus forms two estuaries
in the [CAS. 152] plains which lie above it, so that the plain is
inundated and rendered navigable for a distance of 150 stadia. In the
upper estuary an island is formed about 30 stadia in length, and nearly
equal in breadth, which is fertile, and has excellent vines. The island
lies near to Moro,[1120] a city happily situated on a mountain close to
the river, and about 500 stadia from the sea. The country surrounding it
is very fine, and the ascent [of the Tagus] for a considerable way
practicable for vessels of a large size, the remainder is performed in
river-boats. Above Moro it is navigable for a yet longer distance.
Brutus, surnamed the Gallician, made use of this city as a military
station, when fighting against the Lusitanians, whom he subdued. On the
sides of the river he fortified Olysipo, in order that the passage up
the river and the carriage of necessaries might be preserved unimpeded.
These therefore are the finest cities near the Tagus. The river contains
much fish, and is full of oysters. It takes its rise amongst the
Keltiberians, and flows through the [country of the] Vettones,
Carpetani, and Lusitani, towards the west;[1121] to a certain distance
it runs parallel with the Guadiana[1122] and Guadalquiver,[1123] but
parts from them as they decline towards the southern coast.
2. Of those who dwell above the aforesaid mountains, the Oretani are the
most southern, extending in part as far as the sea-coast on this side
the Pillars. Next these towards the north are the Carpetani, then the
Vettones and Vaccæi, through whose [country] the Douro[1124] flows as it
passes Acontia,[1125] a city of the Vaccæi. The Gallicians are the last,
and inhabit for the most part a mountainous country: on this account
they were the most difficult to subdue, and furnished his surname to the
conqueror of the Lusitanians; in fact, at the present day the greater
part of the Lusitanians are beginning to call themselves Gallicians. The
finest cities of Oretania are Castulo[1126] and Oria.[1127]
3. North of the Tagus is Lusitania, the principal of the nations of
Iberia, and the one which has most frequently encountered the arms of
the Romans. On the southern side this country is bounded by the Tagus,
on the west and north by the ocean, on the east by the well-known
nations of the Carpetani, the Vettones, the Vaccæi, the Gallicians, and
by others not worthy to be mentioned on account of their insignificance
and obscurity. On the other hand, certain historians of the present day
give the name of Lusitanians to all of these nations.
To the east the Gallicians border on the nation of the Asturians and
Keltiberians, the others [border] on the Keltiberians. In length
Lusitania is 3000[1128] stadia; its breadth, which is comprised between
the eastern side and the opposite sea-coast, is much less. The eastern
part is mountainous and rugged, while the country beyond, as far as the
sea, consists entirely of plains, with the exception of a few
inconsiderable mountains. On this account Posidonius remarks that
Aristotle was not correct in supposing that the ebb and flow of the tide
was occasioned by the sea-coast of Iberia and Maurusia.[1129] For
Aristotle asserted that the tides of the sea were caused by the
extremities of the land being mountainous and rugged, and therefore both
receiving the wave violently and also casting it back. Whereas
Posidonius truly remarks that they are for the most part low and sandy.
4. The country which we are describing is fertile, and irrigated by
rivers both large and small, all of which flow from the eastern parts
parallel with the Tagus: most of them are navigable and full of gold
dust. After the Tagus, the most noted rivers are the Mondego[1130] and
the Vouga,[1131] which are navigable but for a short distance. After
these is the Douro,[1132] which flows from afar by Numantia,[1133] and
many other colonies of the Keltiberians and Vaccæi; it is capable of
being navigated in large vessels for a distance of nearly 800 stadia.
Besides these there are other rivers, after which is the [river] of
Lethe, which some call the Limæa,[1134] others the Belio,[1135] it
likewise rises amongst the Keltiberians and Vaccæi. After [CAS. 153]
this is the Bænis, (some call it the Minius,[1136]) by far the largest
river of Lusitania,[1137] being navigable for a distance of 800 stadia.
Posidonius says this too rises amongst the Cantabrians.[1138] An
island[1139] lies before its outlet, and two moles affording anchorage
for vessels. A natural advantage [of this country] well deserving of
commendation is, that the banks of the rivers are so lofty as to be
capable of containing the entirety of the water raised by the high tides
of the sea, without either being overfilled, or overflowing the plains.
This was the limit of Brutus’s expedition. Beyond there are many other
rivers parallel to those I have named.
5. The Artabri are the last of the people [on this coast]. They inhabit
the promontory called Nerium,[1140] which is the boundary [of Iberia] on
its western and northern sides. Around it dwell the Keltici, a kindred
race to those who are situated along the Guadiana.[1141] They say that
these latter, together with the Turduli, having undertaken an expedition
thither, quarrelled after they had crossed the river Lima,[1142] and,
besides the sedition, their leader having also died, they remained
scattered there, and from this circumstance the river was called the
Lethe.[1143] The Artabri have besides many cities established round the
Gulf, which mariners and those familiar with the places designate as the
Port of the Artabri. At the present day the Artabri are denominated the
Arotrebæ. About thirty[1144] different nations occupy the country
between the Tagus and the Artabri. Notwithstanding the fertility of the
country in corn, cattle, gold, silver, and numerous other similar
productions, the majority of its inhabitants, neglecting to gain their
subsistence from the ground, passed their lives in pillage and continual
warfare, both between themselves and their neighbours, whom they used to
cross the Tagus [to plunder]. To this the Romans at length put a stop by
subduing them, and changing many of their cities into villages, besides
colonizing some of them better. The mountaineers, as was natural, were
the first to commence this lawless mode of life: for living but
scantily, and possessing little, they coveted the goods of others, who
being obliged to repulse them, of necessity relinquished their proper
employments, and instead of pursuing agriculture took up arms. Thus it
happened that their country, being neglected, became barren
notwithstanding its natural advantages, and inhabited by bandits.
6. The Lusitanians are reported to be clever in laying ambushes, sharp,
swift of foot, light,[1145] and easily disciplined as soldiers. The
small shield they make use of is two feet in diameter, its outer surface
concave, and suspended by leather thongs; it neither has rings nor
handles. They have in addition[1146] a poignard or dagger. Their
corselets are for the most part made of linen; a few have chain-coats
and helmets with triple crests, but the others use helmets composed of
sinews. The infantry wear greaves, each man is furnished with a number
of javelins; some also use spears pointed with brass. They report that
some of those who dwell near to the river Douro[1147] imitate the
Lacedæmonians in anointing their bodies with oil, using hot air-baths
made of heated stones, bathing in cold water, and taking but one tidy
and frugal meal a day. The Lusitanians are frequent in the performance
of sacrifice; they examine the entrails, but without cutting them out of
the body; they also examine the veins of the side, and practise augury
by the touch. They likewise divine by the entrails of captive enemies,
whom they first cover with a military cloak, and when stricken under the
entrails by the haruspex, they draw their first auguries from the fall
[of the victim]. [CAS. 155] They cut off the right hands of their
prisoners, and consecrate them to the gods.
7. All the mountaineers are frugal, their beverage is water, they sleep
on the ground, and wear a profuse quantity of long hair after the
fashion of women, which they bind around the forehead when they go to
battle.[1148] They subsist principally on the flesh of the goat, which
animal they sacrifice to Mars, as also prisoners taken in war, and
horses. They likewise offer hecatombs of each kind after the manner of
the Greeks, described by Pindar,
“To sacrifice a hundred of every [species].”[1149]
They practise gymnastic exercises,[1150] both as heavy-armed soldiers,
and cavalry, also boxing, running, skirmishing, and fighting in bands.
For two-thirds of the year the mountaineers feed on the acorn, which
they dry, bruise, and afterwards grind and make into a kind of bread,
which may be stored up for a long period. They also use beer; wine is
very scarce, and what is made they speedily consume in feasting with
their relatives. In place of oil they use butter. Their meals they take
sitting, on seats put up round the walls, and they take place on these
according to their age and rank. The supper is carried round, and whilst
drinking they dance to the sound of the flute and trumpet, springing up
and sinking upon the knees.[1151]
In Bastetania the women dance promiscuously with the men, each holding
the other’s hand. They all dress in black, the majority of them in
cloaks called saga, in which they sleep on beds of straw. They make use
of wooden vessels like the Kelts. The women wear dresses and embroidered
garments. Instead of money, those who dwell far in the interior exchange
merchandise, or give pieces of silver cut off from plates of that
metal. Those condemned to death are executed by stoning; parricides are
put to death without the frontiers or the cities. They marry according
to the customs of the Greeks.[1152] Their sick they expose upon the
highways, the same way as the Egyptians[1153] did anciently, in the hope
that some one who has experienced the malady may be able to give them
advice. Up to the time of [the expedition of] Brutus they made use of
vessels constructed of skins for crossing the lagoons formed by the
tides; they now have them formed out of the single trunk of a tree, but
these are scarce. Their salt is purple, but becomes white by pounding.
The life of the mountaineers is such as I have described, I mean those
bordering the northern side of Iberia, the Gallicians, the Asturians,
and the Cantabrians,[1154] as far as the Vascons[1155] and the Pyrenees.
The mode of life amongst all these is similar. But I am reluctant to
fill my page with their names, and would fain escape the disagreeable
task of writing them, unless perchance the Pleutauri, the Bardyetæ, the
Allotriges,[1156] and other names still worse and more out of the way
than these might be grateful to the ear of some one.
8. The rough and savage manners of these people is not alone owing to
their wars, but likewise to their isolated position, it being a long
distance to reach them, whether by sea or land. Thus the difficulty of
communication has deprived [CAS. 156] them both of generosity of manners
and of courtesy. At the present time, however, they suffer less from
this both on account of their being at peace and the intermixture of
Romans. Wherever these [influences] are not so much experienced people
are harsher and more savage. It is probable that this ruggedness of
character is increased by the barrenness of the mountains and some of
the places which they inhabit. At the present day, as I have remarked,
all warfare is put an end to, Augustus Cæsar having subdued the
Cantabrians[1157] and the neighbouring nations, amongst whom the system
of pillage was mainly carried on in our day. So that at the present
time, instead of plundering the allies of the Romans, the Coniaci and
those who dwell by the sources of the Ebro,[1158] with the exception of
the Tuisi,[1159] bear arms for the Romans. Tiberius, who succeeded
Augustus Cæsar, carried out his intention of placing a military force of
three legions in these parts, by which means he has not only preserved
peace, but introduced amongst some of them a civil polity.
CHAPTER IV.
1. What remains [to be described] of Iberia, is the sea-coast of the
Mediterranean from the Pillars to the Pyrenees, and the whole of the
inland country which lies above. The breadth of this is irregular, its
length a little above 4000 stadia. It has been remarked that the
sea-coast[1160] is above 2000 stadia, and they say that from Mount
Calpe,[1161] which is near the Pillars, to New Carthage,[1162] there are
2200 stadia. This coast is inhabited by the Bastetani, also called the
Bastuli, and in part by the Oretani. Thence[1163] to the Ebro the
distance is nearly as great. This [region] is inhabited by the Edetani.
On this side the Ebro to the Pyrenees and the Trophies of Pompey there
are 1600 stadia. It is peopled by a small portion of the Edetani, and
the rest by a people named the Indicetes, divided into four cantons.
2. Commencing our particular description from Calpe, there is [first]
the mountain-chain of Bastetania and the Oretani. This is covered
with thick woods and gigantic trees, and separates the sea-coast from
the interior. In many places it also contains gold and other mines. The
first city along the coast is Malaca,[1164] which is about as far
distant from Calpe as Calpe is from Gades.[1165] It is a market for the
nomade tribes from the opposite coast, and there are great stores of
salt-fish there. Some suppose it to be the same as Mænaca, which
tradition reports to be the farthest west of the cities of the Phocæi;
but this is not the case, for Mænaca, which was situated at a greater
distance from Calpe, is in ruins, and preserves traces of having been a
Grecian city, whereas Malaca is nearer, and Phœnician in its
configuration. Next in order is the city of the Exitani,[1166] from
which the salted fish[1167] bearing that name takes its appellation.
3. After these comes Abdera,[1168] founded likewise by the Phœnicians.
Above these places, in the mountains, the city of Ulyssea[1169] is
shown, containing a temple to Minerva, according to the testimony of
Posidonius, Artemidorus, and Asclepiades the Myrlean,[1170] a man who
taught literature in Turdetania, and published a description of the
nations dwelling there. He says that in the temple of Minerva were hung
up spears and prows of vessels, monuments of the wanderings [CAS. 157]
of Ulysses. That some of those who followed Teucer in his expedition
settled among the Gallicians;[1171] and that two cities were there, the
one called Hellenes,[1172] the other Amphilochi; but Amphilochus[1173]
having died, his followers wandered into the interior. He adds, that it
is said, that some of the followers of Hercules, and certain also of the
inhabitants of Messene, settled in Iberia. Both he and others assert
that a portion of Cantabria was occupied by Laconians. Here is the city
named Opsicella,[1174] founded by Ocela,[1175] who passed into Italy
with Antenor and his children. Some believe the account of the merchants
of Gades, asserted by Artemidorus, that in Libya there are people living
above Maurusia, near to the Western Ethiopians, named Lotophagi, because
they feed on the leaves and root of the lotus[1176] without wanting to
drink; for they possess [no drink], being without water. These people
they say extend as far as the regions above Cyrene. There are others
also called Lotophagi, who inhabit Meninx,[1177] one of the islands
situated opposite the Lesser Syrtes.[1178]
4. No one should be surprised that the poet, in his fiction descriptive
of the wanderings of Ulysses, should have located the majority of the
scenes which he narrates without the Pillars, in the Atlantic. For
historical events of a similar character did actually occur near to the
places, so that the other circumstances which he feigned did not make
his fiction incredible; nor [should any one be surprised] if certain
persons, putting faith in the historical accuracy and extensive
knowledge of the poet, should have attempted to explain the poem of
Homer on scientific principles; a proceeding undertaken by Crates of
Mallos,[1179] and some others. On the other hand, there have been those
who have treated the undertaking of Homer so contemptuously, as not only
to deny any such knowledge to the poet, as though he were a ditcher or
reaper, but have stigmatized as fools those who commented on his
writings. And not one either of the grammarians, or of those skilled in
the mathematics, has dared to undertake their defence, or to set right
any mistakes in what they have advanced, or any thing else; although it
seems to me possible both to prove correct much that they have said, and
also to set right other points, especially where they have been misled
by putting faith in Pytheas, who was ignorant of the countries situated
along the ocean, both to the west and north. But we must let these
matters pass, as they require a particular and lengthened discussion.
5. The settlement of the Grecians amongst these barbarous nations may be
regarded as the result of the division of these latter into small tribes
and sovereignties, having on account of their moroseness no union
amongst themselves, and therefore powerless against attacks from
without. This moroseness is remarkably prevalent amongst the Iberians,
who are [CAS. 158] besides crafty in their manner, devoid of sincerity,
insidious, and predatory in their mode of life; they are bold in little
adventures, but never undertake any thing of magnitude, inasmuch as they
have never formed any extended power or confederacy. If they had had but
the will to assist each other, neither could the Carthaginians by making
an incursion have so easily deprived them of the greater part of their
country, nor before them the Tyrians, then the Kelts, now called the
Keltiberians and Berones, nor after these the brigand Viriathus, and
Sertorius,[1180] nor any others who desired power. On this account the
Romans, having carried the war into Iberia, lost much time by reason of
the number of different sovereignties, having to conquer first one, then
another; in fact, it occupied nearly two centuries, or even longer,
before they had subdued the whole.—I return to my description.
6. After Abdera[1181] is New Carthage,[1182] founded by Asdrubal, who
succeeded Barcas, the father of Hannibal. It is by far the most powerful
city of this country, being impregnable, and furnished with a noble
wall, harbours, and a lake, besides the silver mines already mentioned.
The places in the vicinity have an abundance of salted fish, and it is
besides the great emporium of the sea merchandise for the interior, and
likewise for the merchandise from the interior for exportation. About
midway along the coast between this city and the Ebro, we meet with the
outlet of the river Xucar,[1183] and a city bearing the same name.[1184]
It rises in a mountain belonging to the chain which overlooks
Malaca,[1185] and the regions around Carthage, and may be forded on
foot; it is nearly parallel to the Ebro, but not quite so far distant
from Carthage as from the Ebro. Between the Xucar and Carthage are three
small towns of the people of Marseilles, not far from the river. Of
these the best known is Hemeroscopium.[1186] On the promontory there is
a temple to Diana of Ephesus, held in great veneration. Sertorius used
it as an arsenal, convenient to the sea, both on account of its being
fortified and fitted for piratical uses, and because it is visible from
a great distance to vessels approaching. It is called Dianium,[1187]
from Diana. Near to it are some fine iron-works, and two small islands,
Planesia[1188] and Plumbaria,[1189] with a sea-water lake lying above,
of 400 stadia in circumference. Next is the island of Hercules, near to
Carthage, and called Scombraria,[1190] on account of the mackerel taken
there, from which the finest garum[1191] is made. It is distant 24
stadia from Carthage. On the other side of the Xucar, going towards the
outlet of the Ebro, is Saguntum, founded by the Zacynthians. The
destruction of this city by Hannibal, contrary to his treaties with the
Romans, kindled the second Punic war. Near to it are the cities of
Cherronesus,[1192] Oleastrum, and Cartalia, and the colony of
Dertossa,[1193] on the very passage of the Ebro. The Ebro takes its
source amongst the Cantabrians; it flows through an extended plain
towards the south, running parallel with the Pyrenees.
7. The first city between the windings of the Ebro and the extremities
of the Pyrenees, near to where the Trophies of Pompey are erected, is
Tarraco;[1194] it has no harbour, but is situated on a bay, and
possessed of many other advantages. At the present day it is as well
peopled as Carthage;[1195] for it is admirably suited for the stay of
the prefects,[1196] and is as it were the metropolis, not only of [the
country lying] on this side the Ebro, but also of a great part of what
lies beyond. The near vicinity of the Gymnesian Islands,[1197] and
Ebusus,[1198] which are all of considerable importance, are sufficient
to inform one of the felicitous position of the city. Eratosthenes tells
us that it has a roadstead, but Artemidorus contradicts this, and
affirms that it scarcely possesses an anchorage.
8. The whole coast from the Pillars up to this place wants harbours, but
all the way from here to Emporium,[1199] the countries of the Leëtani,
the Lartolæetæ, and others, are both furnished with excellent harbours
and fertile. Emporium was founded by the people of Marseilles, and is
about 4000[1200] stadia [CAS. 160] distant from the Pyrenees, and the
confines of Iberia and Keltica. This is a very fine region, and
possesses good ports. Here also is Rhodope,[1201] a small town of the
Emporitæ, but some say it was founded by the Rhodians. Both here and in
Emporium they reverence the Ephesian Diana. The cause of this we will
explain when we come to speak of Massalia.[1202] In former times the
Emporitæ dwelt on a small island opposite, now called the old city, but
at the present day they inhabit the mainland. The city is double, being
divided by a wall, for in past times some of the Indiceti dwelt close
by, who, although they had a separate polity to themselves, desired, for
the sake of safety, to be shut in by a common enclosure with the
Grecians; but at the same time that this enclosure should be two-fold,
being divided through its middle by a wall. In time, however, they came
to have but one government, a mixture of Barbarian and Grecian laws; a
result which has taken place in many other [states].
9. A river[1203] flows near to it, which has its sources in the
Pyrenees; its outlet forms a port for the Emporitæ, who are skilful
workers in flax. Of the interior of their country some parts are
fertile, others covered with spartum, a rush which flourishes in
marshes, and is entirely useless: they call this the Junc Plain. There
are some who inhabit the Pyrenean mountains as far as the Trophies of
Pompey, on the route which leads from Italy into Ulterior Iberia,[1204]
and particularly into Bætica. This road runs sometimes close to the sea,
sometimes at a distance therefrom, particularly in the western parts.
From the Trophies of Pompey it leads to Tarraco,[1205] through the Junc
Plain, the Betteres,[1206] and the plain called in the Latin tongue [the
plain] of Marathon, on account of the quantity of fennel growing there.
From Tarraco [the road runs] towards the passage of the Ebro at the city
of Dertossa;[1207] from thence having traversed the city of
Saguntum,[1208] and Setabis,[1209] it follows a course more and more
distant from the sea, till it approaches the Plain of Spartarium, which
signifies the Plain of Rushes. This is a vast arid plain, producing the
species of rush from which cords are made, and which are exported to all
parts, but particularly to Italy.[1210] Formerly the road passed on
through the midst of the plain, and [the city of] Egelastæ,[1211] which
was both difficult and long, but they have now constructed a new road
close to the sea, which merely touches upon the Plain of Rushes, and
leads to the same places as the former, [viz.] Castlon,[1212] and
Obulco,[1213] through which runs the road to Corduba and Gades,[1214]
the two greatest emporia [of Iberia]. Obulco is distant about 300 stadia
from Corduba. Historians report that Cæsar came from Rome to Obulco, and
to his army there, within the space of twenty-seven days, when about to
fight the battle of Munda.[1215]
10. Such is the whole sea-coast from the Pillars to the confines of the
Iberians and Kelts. The interior of the country lying above, and
included between the mountains of the Pyrenees and the northern side [of
Iberia], as far as the Astures, is principally divided by two mountain
chains; the one of these is parallel to the Pyrenees, and takes its
commencement from the country of the Cantabri, terminating at the
Mediterranean. This is called the Idubeda.[1216] The second, springing
from the middle [of this first], runs towards the west, inclining
however to the south and the sea-coast towards the Pillars. At the
commencement it consists of bare hills, but after traversing the Plain
of Spartarium, falls in with the forest lying above Carthage,[1217] and
the regions round Malaca.[1218] It is named Orospeda.[1219] The river
Ebro flows between the Pyrenees and Idubeda, and parallel to both these
mountains. It is fed by the rivers and other waters carried down [CAS.
161] from [the mountains]. Situated on the Ebro is the city of Cæsar
Augusta,[1220] and the colony of Celsa,[1221] where there is a stone
bridge across the river. This country is inhabited by many nations, the
best known being that of the Jaccetani.[1222] Commencing at the foot of
the Pyrenees, it widens out into the plains, and reaches to the
districts around Ilerda[1223] and Osca,[1224] [cities] of the Ilergetes
not far distant from the Ebro. It was in these cities, and in
Calaguris,[1225] a city of the Gascons, as well as those of
Tarraco[1226] and Hemeroscopium,[1227] situated on the coast, that
Sertorius sustained the last efforts of the war, after being ejected
from the country of the Keltiberians. He died at Osca, and it was near
to Ilerda that Afranius and Petreius, Pompey’s generals, were afterwards
defeated by divus[1228] Cæsar. Herda is distant 160 stadia from the
Ebro, which is on its west, about 460 from Tarraco, which is on the
south, and 540 from Osca, which lies to the north.[1229] Passing through
these places from Tarraco to the extremities of the Vascons who dwell by
the ocean, near Pompelon[1230] and the city of Œaso[1231] situated on
the ocean, the route extends 2400 stadia, to the very frontiers of
Aquitaine and Iberia. It was in the country of the Jaccetani that
Sertorius fought against Pompey, and here afterwards Sextus, Pompey’s
son, fought against the generals of Cæsar. The nation of the Vascons, in
which is Pompelon, or Pompey’s city, lies north of Jaccetania.
11. The side of the Pyrenees next Iberia is covered with forests
containing numerous kinds of trees and evergreens, whilst the side next
Keltica is bare: in the midst [the mountains] enclose valleys admirably
fitted for the habitation of man. These are mainly possessed by the
Kerretani, a people of the Iberians. The hams they cure are excellent,
fully equal to those of the Cantabrians,[1232] and they realize no
inconsiderable profit to the inhabitants.
12. Immediately after passing Idubeda, you enter on Keltiberia, a large
and irregular country. It is for the most part rugged, and watered by
rivers, being traversed by the Guadiana,[1233] the Tagus, and many other
of the rivers which flow into the western sea, but have their sources in
Keltiberia. Of their number is the Douro, which flows by Numantia[1234]
and Serguntia. The Guadalquiver[1235] rises in Orospeda, and after
passing through Oretania, enters Bætica. The Berones inhabit the
districts north of the Keltiberians, and are neighbours of the Conish
Cantabrians. They likewise had their origin in the Keltic expedition.
Their city is Varia,[1236] situated near to the passage of the Ebro.
They are adjacent to the Bardyitæ, now called the Bardyli.[1237] To the
west [of the Keltiberians] are certain of the Astures, Gallicians, and
Vaccæi, besides Vettones and Carpetani. On the south are the Oretani,
and the other inhabitants of Orospeda, both Bastetani and Edetani,[1238]
and to the east is Idubeda.
13. Of the four divisions into which the Keltiberians are separated, the
most powerful are the Aruaci, situated to the east and south, near to
the Carpetani and the sources of the Tagus. Their most renowned city is
Numantia. They showed their valour in the war of twenty years, waged by
the Keltiberians against the Romans; for many armies of the Romans,
together with their generals, were destroyed; and in the end the
Numantians, besieged within their city, endured the famine with
constancy, till, reduced to a very small number, they were compelled to
surrender the place. The Lusones are also situated to the east, and
likewise border on the sources of the Tagus. Segeda and Pallantia[1239]
are cities of the [CAS. 162] Aruaci. Numantia is distant from Cæsar
Augusta,[1240] situated as we have said upon the Ebro, about 800 stadia.
Near to Segobriga and Bilbilis,[1241] likewise cities of the
Keltiberians, was fought the battle between Metellus and Sertorius.
Polybius, describing the people and countries of the Vaccæi and
Keltiberians, enumerates Segesama[1242] and Intercatia amongst their
other cities. Posidonius tells us that Marcus Marcellus exacted of
Keltiberia a tribute of 600 talents, which proves that the Keltiberians
were a numerous and wealthy people, notwithstanding the little fertility
of their country. Polybius narrates that Tiberius Gracchus destroyed 300
cities of the Keltiberians. This Posidonius ridicules, and asserts that
to flatter Gracchus, Polybius described as cities the towers such as are
exhibited in the triumphal processions.[1243] This is not incredible;
for both generals and historians easily fall into this species of
deception, by exaggerating their doings. Those who assert that Iberia
contained more than a thousand cities, seem to me to have been carried
away in a similar manner, and to have denominated as cities what were
merely large villages; since, from its very nature, this country is
incapable of maintaining so many cities, on account of its sterility,
wildness, and its out-of-the-way position. Nor, with the exception of
those who dwell along the shores of the Mediterranean, is any such
statement confirmed by the mode of life or actions of the inhabitants.
The inhabitants of the villages, who constitute the majority of the
Iberians, are quite uncivilized. Even the cities cannot very easily
refine the manners [of their inhabitants], as the neighbouring woods are
full of robbers, waiting only an opportunity to inflict injury on the
citizens.
14. Beyond the Keltiberians to the south are the inhabitants of
Orospeda and the country about the Xucar,[1244] the Sidetani,[1245] [who
extend] as far as Carthage,[1246] and the Bastetani and Oretani, [who
extend] almost as far as Malaca.[1247]
15. All the Iberians, so to speak, were peltastæ, furnished with light
arms for the purposes of robbery, and, as we described the Lusitanians,
using the javelin, the sling, and the sword. They have some cavalry
interspersed amongst the foot-soldiers, the horses are trained to
traverse the mountains, and to sink down on their knees at the word of
command, in case of necessity. Iberia produces abundance of antelopes
and wild horses. In many places the lakes are stocked. They have fowl,
swans, and birds of similar kind, and vast numbers of bustards. Beavers
are found in the rivers, but the castor does not possess the same virtue
as that from the Euxine,[1248] the drug from that place having peculiar
properties of its own, as is the case in many other instances. Thus
Posidonius tells us that the Cyprian copper alone produces the cadmian
stone, copperas-water, and oxide of copper. He likewise informs us of
the singular fact, that in Iberia the crows are not black; and that the
horses of Keltiberia which are spotted, lose that colour when they pass
into Ulterior Iberia. He compares them to the Parthian horses, for
indeed they are superior to all other breeds, both in fleetness and
their ease in speedy travelling.
16. Iberia produces a large quantity of roots used in dyeing. In olives,
vines, figs, and every kind of similar fruit-trees, the Iberian coast
next the Mediterranean abounds, they are likewise plentiful beyond. Of
the coasts next the ocean, that towards the north is destitute of them,
on account of the cold, and the remaining portion generally on account
of the apathy of the men, and because they do not lead a civilized life,
but pass their days in poverty, only acting on the animal [CAS. 164]
impulse, and living most corruptly. They do not attend to ease or
luxury, unless any one considers it can add to the happiness of their
lives to wash themselves and their wives in stale urine kept in tanks,
and to rinse their teeth with it, which they say is the custom both with
the Cantabrians and their neighbours.[1249] This practice, as well as
that of sleeping on the ground, is common both among the Iberians and
Kelts. Some say that the Gallicians are atheists, but that the
Keltiberians, and their neighbours to the north, [sacrifice] to a
nameless god, every full moon, at night, before their doors, the whole
family passing the night in dancing and festival. The Vettones, the
first time they came to a Roman camp, and saw certain of the officers
walking up and down the roads for the mere pleasure of walking, supposed
that they were mad, and offered to show them the way to their tents. For
they thought, when not fighting, one should remain quietly seated at
ease.[1250]
17. What Artemidorus relates concerning the adornment of certain of
their women, must likewise be attributed to their barbarous customs. He
says that they wear iron collars having crows fixed to them which bend
over the head, and fall forward considerably over the forehead. When
they wish they draw their veil over these crows, so as to shade the
whole face: this they consider an ornament. Others wear a
tympanium[1251] surrounding the occiput, and fitting tight to the head
as far as the ears, turning over [and increasing] little by little in
height and breadth. Others again make bald the front of the head, in
order to display the forehead to greater advantage. Some twist their
flowing hair round a small style, a foot high, and afterwards cover it
with a black veil. Of singularities like these many have been observed
and recorded as to all the Iberian nations in common, but particularly
those towards the north, not only concerning their bravery, but likewise
their cruelty and brutal madness. For in the war against the
Cantabrians, mothers have slain their children sooner than suffer them
to be captured; and a young boy, having obtained a sword, slew, at the
command of his father, both his parents and brothers, who had been made
prisoners and were bound, and a woman those who had been taken together
with her. A man being invited by a party of drunken [soldiers] to their
feast, threw himself into a fire. These feelings are common both to the
Keltic, Thracian, and Scythian nations, as well as the valour not only
of their men, but likewise of their women. These till the ground,[1252]
and after parturition, having put their husbands instead of themselves
to bed, they wait upon them. Frequently in their employment they wash
and swathe their infants, sitting down by some stream. Posidonius tells
us that in Liguria, his host Charmoleon, a man who came from Marseilles,
related to him, that having hired some men and women to dig his land,
one of the women was seized with the pains of labour, and going to a
little distance from where they were at work, she brought forth, and
returned immediately to her work, for fear she might lose her pay. He
observed that she was evidently working in considerable pain, but was
not aware of the cause till towards evening, when he ascertained it, and
sent her away, having given her her wages. She then carried her infant
to a small spring, and having washed it, wrapped it up in as good
swaddling clothes as she could get, and made the best of her way home.
18. Another practice, not restricted to the Iberians alone, is for two
to mount on one horse, so that in the event of a conflict, one may be
there to fight on foot. Neither are they the only sufferers in being
tormented with vast swarms of mice, from which pestilential diseases
have frequently ensued. This occurred to the Romans in Cantabria, so
that they caused it to be proclaimed, that whoever would catch the mice
should receive rewards according to the number taken, and [even with
this] they were scarcely preserved, as they were suffering besides from
want of corn and other necessaries, it being difficult to get supplies
of corn from Aquitaine on account of [CAS. 165] the rugged nature of the
country. It is a proof of the ferocity of the Cantabrians, that a number
of them having been taken prisoners and fixed to the cross, they chanted
songs of triumph. Instances such as these are proofs of the ferocity of
their manners. There are others which, although not showing them to be
polished, are certainly not brutish. For example, amongst the
Cantabrians, the men give dowries to their wives, and the daughters are
left heirs, but they procure wives for their brothers. These things
indicate a degree of power in the woman, although they are no proof of
advanced civilization.[1253] It is also a custom with the Iberians to
furnish themselves with a poison, which kills without pain, and which
they procure from a herb resembling parsley. This they hold in readiness
in case of misfortune, and to devote themselves for those whose cause
they have joined, thus dying for their sake.[1254]
19. Some, as I have said, state that this country is separated into
four divisions; others, into five. It is not easy to state any thing
precisely on these points, both on account of the changes which the
places have undergone, and by reason of their obscurity. In well-known
and notable countries both the migrations are known, and the divisions
of the land, and the changes of their names, and every thing else of the
same kind. Such matters being the common topics with everybody, and
especially with the Greeks, who are more talkative than any other
people. But in barbarous and out-of-the-way countries, and such as are
cut up into small divisions, and lie scattered, the remembrance of such
occurrences is not nearly so certain, nor yet so full. If these
countries are far removed from the Greeks [our] ignorance is increased.
For although the Roman historians imitate the Greeks, they fall far
short of them. What they relate is taken from the Greeks, very little
being the result of their own ardour in acquiring information. So that
whenever any thing has been omitted by the former there is not much
supplied by the latter. Add to this, that the names most celebrated are
generally Grecian. Formerly the name of Iberia was given to the whole
country between the Rhone and the isthmus formed by the two Galatic
gulfs; whereas now they make the Pyrenees its boundary, and call it
indifferently Iberia or Hispania; others have restricted Iberia to the
country on this side the Ebro.[1255] Still earlier it bore the name of
the Igletes,[1256] who inhabited but a small district, according to
Asclepiades the Myrlean. The Romans call the whole indifferently Iberia
and Hispania, [CAS. 166] but designate one portion of it Ulterior, and
the other Citerior. However, at different periods they have divided it
differently, according to its political aspect at various times.
20. At the present time some of the provinces having been assigned to
the people and senate of the Romans, and the others to the emperor,
Bætica appertains to the people, and a prætor has been sent into the
country, having under him a quæstor and a lieutenant. Its eastern
boundary has been fixed near to Castlon.[1257] The remainder belongs to
the emperor, who deputes two lieutenants, a prætor, and a consul. The
prætor with a lieutenant administers justice amongst the Lusitanians,
who are situated next Bætica, and extend as far as the outlets of the
river Douro, for at the present time this district is called Lusitania
by the inhabitants. Here is [the city of] Augusta Emerita.[1258] What
remains, which is [indeed] the greater part of Iberia, is governed by
the consul, who has under him a respectable force, consisting of about
three legions, with three lieutenants, one of whom with two legions
guards the whole country north of the Douro, the inhabitants of which
formerly were styled Lusitanians, but are now called Gallicians. The
northern mountains, together with the Asturian and Cantabrian, border on
these. The river Melsus[1259] flows through the country of the
Asturians, and at a little distance is the city of Noïga,[1260] close to
an estuary formed by the ocean, which separates the Asturians from the
Cantabrians. The second lieutenant with the remaining legion governs the
adjoining district as far as the Pyrenees. The third oversees the
midland district, and governs the cities inhabited by the togati, whom
we have before alluded to as inclined to peace, and who have adopted the
refined manners and mode of life of the Italians, together with the
toga. These are the Keltiberians, and those who dwell on either side of
the Ebro, as far as the sea-coast. The consul passes the winter in the
maritime districts, mostly administering justice either in [the city
of] Carthage,[1261] or Tarraco.[1262] During the summer he travels
through the country, observing whatever may need reform. There are also
the procurators of the emperor, men of the equestrian rank, who
distribute the pay to the soldiers for their maintenance.
CHAPTER V.
1. Of the islands which are situated in front of Iberia, two named the
Pityussæ, and two the Gymnasiæ, (also called the Baleares,) are situated
on the sea-coast between Tarraco and [the river] Xucar, on which
Saguntum[1263] is built. The Pityussæ are situated farther in the high
seas and more to the west than the Gymnasiæ. One of the Pityussæ is
called Ebusus,[1264] having a city of the same name. This island is 400
stadia in circumference, and nearly equal in its breadth and length. The
other, [named] Ophiussa, is situated near to this, but is desert, and
much smaller. The larger[1265] of the Gymnasiæ contains two cities,
Palma,[1266] and Polentia;[1267] the latter lying towards the east, the
former towards the west. The length of this island is scarcely less than
600 stadia, its breadth 200; although Artemidorus asserts it is twice
this size both in breadth and length.[1268] The smaller island[1269] is
about [2]70 stadia distant from Polentia; in size it is far surpassed
by the larger island, but in excellence it is by no means inferior, for
both of them are very fertile, and furnished with harbours. At the
mouths of these however there are rocks rising but a little out of the
water, which renders attention necessary in entering them. The fertility
of these places inclines the inhabitants to peace, as also the people of
Ebusus. But certain [CAS. 168] malefactors, though few in number, having
associated with the pirates in those seas, they all got a bad name, and
Metellus, surnamed Balearicus, marched against them. He it was who built
the cities. But owing to the great fertility of the country, these
people have always had enemies plotting against them. Although naturally
disposed to peace, they bear the reputation of being most excellent
slingers, which art they have been proficient in since the time that the
Phœnicians possessed the islands. It is said that these[1270] were the
first who introduced amongst the men [of the Baleares] the custom of
wearing tunics with wide borders. They were accustomed to go into battle
naked, having a shield covered with goat-skin in their hand, and a
javelin hardened by fire at the point, very rarely with an iron tip, and
wearing round the head three slings of black rush,[1271] hair, or sinew.
The long sling they use for hitting at far distances, the short one for
near marks, and the middle one for those between. From childhood they
were so thoroughly practised in the use of slings, that bread was never
distributed to the children till they had won it by the sling.[1272] On
this account Metellus, when he was approaching the islands, spread pelts
over the decks, as a shelter from the slings. He introduced [into the
country] 3000 Roman colonists from Spain.
2. In addition to the fruitfulness of the land, noxious animals are
rarely to be met with. Even the rabbits, they say, were not indigenous,
but that a male and female having been introduced by some one from the
opposite continent, from thence the whole stock sprung, which formerly
was so great a nuisance that even houses and trees were overturned,
[being undermined] by their warrens, and the inhabitants were
compelled, as we have related, to resort for refuge to the Romans.
However, at the present day the facility with which these animals are
taken, prevents them from doing injury, consequently those who possess
land cultivate it with advantage. These [islands] are on this side of
what are called the Pillars of Hercules.
3. Near to them are two small islands, one of which is called the Island
of Juno: some call these the Pillars. Beyond the Pillars is Gades,[1273]
concerning which all that we have hitherto remarked is, that it is
distant from Calpe[1274] about 750 stadia, and is situated near to the
outlet of the Guadalquiver.[1275] Notwithstanding there is much can be
said about it. For its inhabitants equip the greatest number of ships,
and the largest in size, both for our sea,[1276] and the exterior
[ocean], although the island they inhabit is by no means large, nor yet
do they possess much of the mainland, nor are masters of other islands.
They dwell for the most part on the sea, only a few staying at home or
passing their time in Rome. Still, in amount of population, their city
does not seem to be surpassed by any with the exception of Rome. I have
heard that in a census taken within our own times, there were enumerated
five hundred citizens of Gades of the equestrian order, a number
equalled by none of the Italian cities excepting that of the
Patavini.[1277] However, notwithstanding their vast number, its
inhabitants possess an island, in length[1278] not much above 100
stadia, and in some places only one stadium in breadth. Originally the
city in which they dwelt was extremely small, but Balbus[1279] the
Gaditanian, who received the honours of a [CAS. 169] triumph, added
another to it which they call the New Town. These two form the city of
Didyme,[1280] which is not above twenty stadia in circumference. In it,
however, they are not pressed for room, because few live at home, the
majority passing their lives on the sea, some too dwelling on the
opposite continent, and particularly on a little island adjacent on
account of its excellence. They have such a liking for this place as
almost to have made it a rival city to Didyme. However, few in
comparison inhabit either this or the sea-port which Balbus constructed
for them on the opposite continent. Their city is situated in the
western parts of the island. Near to it is the temple of Saturn, which
terminates [Gades to the west], and is opposite the smaller island. The
temple of Hercules is on the other side, to the east, where the island
approaches nearest to the mainland, being only separated therefrom by a
strait of a stadium [in breadth].[1281] They say that this temple is
twelve miles from the city, thus making the number of miles and the
number of [Hercules’] labours equal: but this is too great, being almost
equal to the length of the island. Now the length of the island runs
from west to east.
4. Pherecydes appears to have given to Gades the name of Erythia, the
locality of the myths concerning Geryon: others suppose it to have been
the island situated near to this city, and separated from it by a strait
of merely one stadium. This they do on account of the excellence of its
pasturage. For the milk of the cattle which feed there does not yield
any whey, and they are obliged to mix it with large quantities of water
when they make cheese on account of its richness. After fifty days the
beasts [pasturing there] would be choked unless they were let blood. The
pasturage of the country is dry, but it fattens wonderfully: and it is
thought that from this the myth concerning the oxen of Geryon took its
rise. The whole sea-shore however is possessed in common.[1282]
5. Concerning the foundation of Gades, the Gaditanians report that a
certain oracle commanded the Tyrians to found a colony by the Pillars of
Hercules. Those who were sent out for the purpose of exploring, when
they had arrived at the strait by Calpe, imagined that the capes which
form the strait were the boundaries of the habitable earth, as well as
of the expedition of Hercules, and consequently they were what the
oracle termed the Pillars. They landed on the inside of the straits, at
a place where the city of the Exitani now stands. Here they offered
sacrifices, which however not being favourable, they returned. After a
time others were sent, who advanced about 1500[1283] stadia beyond the
strait, to an island consecrated to Hercules, and lying opposite to
Onoba, a city of Iberia: considering that here were the Pillars, they
sacrificed to the god, but the sacrifices being again unfavourable, they
returned home. In the third voyage they reached Gades, and founded the
temple in the eastern part of the island, and the city in the west. On
this account some consider that the capes in the strait are the Pillars,
others suppose Gades, while others again believe that they lie still
farther, beyond Gades. There are also some who think that the Pillars
are Calpe,[1284] and the mountain of Libya which is opposite, named
Abilyx,[1285] and situated, according to Eratosthenes, amongst the
Metagonians, a wandering race. Others fancy that they are two small
islands near to the former, one of which is named the Island of Juno.
Artemidorus speaks both of the Island of Juno and the temple there, but
makes no mention either of mount Abilyx, or the nation of the [CAS. 170]
Metagonians.[1286] Some have transported hither the Planctæ and the
Symplegades, supposing them to be the Pillars, which Pindar calls the
Gates of Gades, when he says that they were the farthest limits at which
Hercules arrived.[1287] Dicæarchus, Eratosthenes, and Polybius, with
most of the Grecians, represent the Pillars as being close to the
strait, while the Iberians and Libyans place them at Gades, alleging
that there is nothing at all resembling pillars close by the strait.
Others pretend that they are the pillars of brass eight cubits high in
the temple of Hercules at Gades, on which is inscribed the cost of
erecting that edifice; and that the sailors coming there on the
completion of their voyage and sacrificing to Hercules, rendered the
place so famous that it came to be regarded as the termination of the
land and sea. Posidonius thinks this view the most probable of all, and
looks upon the oracle and the several expeditions as a Phœnician
invention.[1288] As for the expeditions, what matters it whether any one
should vehemently deny or credit the account, as neither the one nor the
other would be inconsistent with reason: but the assertion that neither
the little islands, nor yet the mountains, bear much resemblance to
pillars, and that we should seek for pillars, strictly so called, [set
up] either as the termination of the habitable earth, or of the
expedition of Hercules, has at all events some reason in it; it being an
ancient usage to set up such boundary marks. As for instance the small
column which the inhabitants of Rhegium[1289] erected by the Strait of
Sicily, which is indeed a little tower; and the tower called after
Pelorus, which is situated opposite to this small column; also the
structures called altars[1290] of the Philæni, about midway in the land
between the Syrtes; likewise it is recorded, that a certain pillar was
formerly erected on the Isthmus of Corinth, which the Ionians who took
possession of Attica and Megaris when they were driven out of the
Peloponnesus, and those who settled in the Peloponnesus, set up in
common, and inscribed on the side next Megaris,
“This is no longer Peloponnesus, but Ionia;”
and on the opposite,
“This is Peloponnesus, not Ionia.”
Alexander too erected altars as boundaries of his Indian campaign in
those parts of the Indies he arrived at, which were situated farthest
towards the east, in imitation of Hercules and Bacchus.[1291] That this
custom existed, then, cannot be doubted.
6. It is probable that the places themselves took the same name [as the
monuments], especially after time had destroyed the boundary marks which
had been placed there. For instance, at the present day the altars of
the Philæni no longer exist, but the place itself bears that
designation. Similarly they say that in India neither the pillars of
Hercules or Bacchus are to be seen, nevertheless certain localities
being described and pointed out to the Macedonians, they believed that
those places were the pillars in which they discovered any trace either
of the adventures of Bacchus or Hercules. In the instance before us, it
is not improbable that they who first [visited these regions], set up
boundary marks fashioned by the hand of man, such as altars, towers, and
pillars, in the most remarkable situations, to indicate the farthest
distance they had reached, (and straits, the surrounding mountains, and
little islands, are indubitably the most remarkable situations for
pointing out the termination or commencement of places,) and that after
these human monuments had decayed, their names descended to the places
[where they had stood]; whether that were the little islands or the
capes forming the strait. This latter point it would not be easy now to
determine; the name would suit either place, as they both bear some
resemblance to pillars; I say bear some resemblance, because they are
placed in such situations as might well indicate boundaries. Now this
strait is styled a mouth, as well as many others, but the mouth is at
the beginning to those sailing into the strait, and to those who are
quitting it at the end. The little islands at the mouth having a contour
easy to describe, and being remarkable, one might not improperly compare
to pillars. In like manner the mountains overlooking the strait are
prominent, [CAS. 172] resembling columns or pillars. So too Pindar might
very justly have said, “The Gaditanian Gates,” if he had in mind the
pillars at the mouth; for these mouths are very similar to gates. On the
other hand, Gades is not in a position to indicate an extremity, but is
situated about the middle of a long coast forming a kind of gulf. The
supposition that the pillars of the temple of Hercules in Gades are
intended, appears to me still less probable. It seems most likely that
the name was originally conferred not by merchants, but generals, its
celebrity afterwards became universal, as was the case with the Indian
pillars. Besides, the inscription recorded refutes this idea, since it
contains no religious dedication, but a mere list of expenses; whereas
the pillars of Hercules should have been a record of the hero’s
wonderful deeds, not of Phœnician expenditure.
7. Polybius relates that there is a spring within the temple of Hercules
at Gades, having a descent of a few steps to fresh water, which is
affected in a manner the reverse of the sea-tides, subsiding at the flow
of the tide, and springing at the ebb. He assigns as the cause of this
phenomenon, that air rises from the interior to the surface of the
earth; when this surface is covered by the waves, at the rising of the
sea, the air is deprived of its ordinary vents, and returns to the
interior, stopping up the passages of the spring, and causing a want of
water, but when the surface is again laid bare, the air having a direct
exit liberates the channels which feed the spring, so that it gushes
freely. Artemidorus rejects this explanation, and substitutes one of his
own, recording at the same time the opinion of the historian Silanus;
but neither one or other of their views seems to me worth relating,
since both he and Silanus were ignorant in regard to these matters.
Posidonius asserts that the entire account is false, and adds that there
are two wells in the temple of Hercules, and a third in the city. That
the smaller of the two in the temple of Hercules, if drawn from
frequently, will become for a time exhausted, but that on ceasing to
draw from it, it fills again: while in regard to the larger, it may be
drawn from during the whole day; that it is true it becomes lower, like
all other wells, but that it fills again during the night when drawing
ceases. [He adds] that the ebb tide frequently happening to occur during
the period of its re-filling, gave rise to the groundless belief of the
inhabitants as to its being affected in an opposite manner [to the tides
of the ocean]. However it is not only related by him that it is a
commonly believed fact, but we have received it from tradition as much
referred to amongst paradoxes.[1292] We have likewise heard that there
are wells both within the city and also in the gardens without, but that
on account of the inferiority of this water, tanks are generally
constructed throughout the city for the supply of water: whether
likewise any of these reservoirs give any signs of being affected in an
opposite manner to the tides, we know not. If such be the case, the
causes thereof should be received as amongst phenomena hard to be
explained. It is likely that Polybius may have assigned the proper
reason; but it is also likely that certain of the channels of the
springs being damped outside become relaxed, and so let the water run
out into the surrounding land, instead of forcing it along its ancient
passage to the spring; and there will of course be moisture when the
tide overflows.[1293] But if, as Athenodorus asserts, the ebb and flow
resemble the inspiration and expiration of the breath, it is possible
that some of the currents of water which naturally have an efflux on to
the surface of the earth, through various channels, the mouths of which
we denominate springs and fountains, are by other channels drawn towards
the depths of the sea, and raise it, so as to produce a flood-tide; when
the expiration is sufficient, they leave off the course in which they
are then flowing, and again revert to their former direction, when that
again takes a change.[1294]
8. I cannot tell how it is that Posidonius, who describes the Phœnicians
as sagacious in other things, should here attribute [CAS. 173] to them
folly rather than shrewdness. The sun completes his revolution in the
space of a day and night, being a portion of the time beneath the earth,
and a portion of the time shining upon it. Now he asserts that the
motion of the sea corresponds with the revolution of the heavenly
bodies, and experiences a diurnal, monthly, and annual change, in strict
accordance with the changes of the moon. For [he continues] when the
moon is elevated one sign of the zodiac[1295] above the horizon, the sea
begins sensibly to swell and cover the shores, until she has attained
her meridian; but when that satellite begins to decline, the sea again
retires by degrees, until the moon wants merely one sign of the zodiac
from setting; it then remains stationary until the moon has set, and
also descended one sign of the zodiac below the horizon, when it again
rises until she has attained her meridian below the earth; it then
retires again until the moon is within one sign of the zodiac of her
rising above the horizon, when it remains stationary until the moon has
risen one sign of the zodiac above the earth, and then begins to rise as
before. Such he describes to be the diurnal revolution. In respect to
the monthly revolution, [he says] that the spring-tides occur at the
time of the new moon, when they decrease until the first quarter; they
then increase until full moon, when they again decrease until the last
quarter, after which they increase till the new moon; [he adds] that
these increases ought to be understood both of their duration and speed.
In regard to the annual revolution, he says that he learned from the
statements of the Gaditanians, that both the ebb and flow tides were at
their extremes at the summer solstice: and that hence he conjectured
that they decreased until the [autumnal] equinox; then increased till
the winter solstice; then decreased again until the vernal equinox; and
[finally] increased until the summer solstice. But since these
revolutions occur twice in the four-and-twenty hours, the sea rising
twice and receding twice, and that regularly every day and night, how is
it that the filling and failing of the well do not frequently occur
during the ebb and flow of the tide? or if it be allowed that this does
often occur, why does it not do so in the same proportion? and if it
does so in the same proportion, how comes it that the Gaditanians are
not competent to observe what is of daily occurrence, while they are
nevertheless competent to the observing of revolutions which occur but
once in the year. That Posidonius himself credited these reports is
evident from his own conjecture respecting the decrease and increase [of
the sea] from solstice to solstice. However, it is not likely, being an
observant people, that they should be ignorant of what actually
occurred, whilst giving credit to imaginary phenomena.
9. Posidonius tells us that Seleucus, a native of the country next the
Erythræan Sea,[1296] states that the regularity and irregularity of the
ebb and flow of the sea follow the different positions of the moon in
the zodiac; that when she is in the equinoctial signs the tides are
regular, but that when she is in the signs next the tropics, the tides
are irregular both in their height and force; and that for the remaining
signs the irregularity is greater or less, according as they are more or
less removed from the signs before mentioned. Posidonius adds, that
during the summer solstice and whilst the moon was full, he himself
passed many days in the temple of Hercules at Gades, but could not
observe any thing of these annual irregularities. However, about the new
moon of the same month he observed at Ilipa[1297] a great change in the
reflux of the water of the Guadalquiver, as compared with previous
flood-tides, in which the water did not rise half as high as the banks,
and that then the water poured in so copiously, that the soldiers there
dipped their supply without difficulty, although Ilipa is about 700
stadia from the sea. He says, that the plains next the sea were covered
by the tides to a distance of 30[1298] stadia, and to such a depth as to
form islands, while the basement of the temple in the enclosure
dedicated to Hercules, and the top of the mole in front of the harbour
of Gades, were not covered higher than 10 cubits, as observed by actual
soundings; but if any one should add the double of that for the
occasional risings of the tide which occur, [neither] thus would he be
able to estimate the violence with which the full force of the high tide
rushes over the plains. Posidonius informs us that this violence [of the
tide] is common to all the coasts of Spain on the Atlantic,[1299] but
what he [CAS. 175] relates concerning the Ebro is unusual and peculiar
to itself, for he says that it sometimes overflows after continued north
winds, although there may have been neither rains nor snows. The cause
of this [he supposes] to be the lake through which the Ebro flows, its
waters being driven by the winds into the current of the river.[1300]
10. The same writer mentions a tree at Gades, which had boughs reaching
to the ground; its sword-shaped leaves often measuring a cubit long, and
four fingers broad. Also that about Carthagena there was a tree whose
thorns produced a bark from which most beautiful stuffs were woven. As
for the tree [he saw] at Gades, we ourselves have observed a similar in
Egypt, so far as the inclination of the boughs is concerned, but with a
differently shaped leaf, and producing no fruit, which according to him
the other did. In Cappadocia there are stuffs made from thorns, but it
is not a tree which produces the thorn from which the bark is taken, but
a low plant; he also tells us of a tree at Gades, from which if a branch
be broken off a milk will flow, and if the root be cut a red fluid runs.
Thus much for Gades.
11. The Cassiterides are ten in number, and lie near each other in the
ocean towards the north from the haven of the Artabri. One of them is
desert, but the others are inhabited by men in black cloaks, clad in
tunics reaching to the feet, girt about the breast, and walking with
staves, thus resembling the Furies we see in tragic
representations.[1301] They subsist by their cattle, leading for the
most part a wandering life. Of the metals they have tin and lead; which
with skins they barter with the merchants for earthenware, salt, and
brazen vessels. Formerly the Phœnicians alone carried on this traffic
from Gades, concealing the passage from every one; and when the Romans
followed a certain ship-master, that they also might find the market,
the ship-master of jealousy purposely ran his vessel upon a shoal,
leading on those who followed him into the same destructive disaster; he
himself escaped by means of a fragment of the ship, and received from
the state the value of the cargo he had lost. The Romans nevertheless by
frequent efforts discovered the passage, and as soon as Publius Crassus,
passing over to them, perceived that the metals were dug out at a little
depth, and that the men were peaceably disposed, he declared it to those
who already wished to traffic in this sea for profit, although the
passage was longer than that to Britain.[1302] Thus far concerning
Iberia and the adjacent islands.
BOOK IV.
GAUL.
SUMMARY.
The Fourth Book contains a description of the regions about Gaul, Spain,
and the Alps on this side, towards Italy. Likewise of Britain, and of
certain islands in the ocean which are habitable, together with the
country of the barbarians, and the nations dwelling beyond the Danube.
CHAPTER I.
1. Next in order [after Iberia] comes Keltica beyond the Alps,[1303] the
configuration and size of which has been already mentioned in a general
manner; we are now to describe it more particularly. Some divide it into
the three nations of the Aquitani, Belgæ, and Keltæ.[1304] Of these the
Aquitani differ completely from the other nations, not only in their
language but in their figure, which resembles more that of the Iberians
than the Galatæ. The others are Galatæ in countenance, although they do
not all speak the same language, but some make a slight difference in
their speech; neither is their polity and mode of life exactly the same.
These writers give the name of Aquitani and Keltæ to the dwellers near
the Pyrenees, which are bounded by the Cevennes. For it has been stated
that this Keltica is bounded on the west by the mountains of the
Pyrenees, which extend to either sea, both the Mediterranean and the
ocean; on the east by the Rhine, which is parallel to the Pyrenees; on
the north by the ocean, from the northern extremities of the Pyrenees to
the mouths of the Rhine; on the south by the sea of Marseilles, and
Narbonne, and by the Alps from Liguria to the sources of the Rhine. The
Cevennes lie at right angles to the Pyrenees, and traverse the plains
for about 2000 stadia, terminating in the middle near Lugdunum.[1305]
They call those people Aquitani who inhabit the northern portions of the
Pyrenees, and the Cevennes extending as far as the ocean, and bounded by
the river Garonne; and Keltæ, those who dwell on the other side of the
Garonne, towards the sea of Marseilles and Narbonne, and touching a
portion of the Alpine chain. This is the division adopted by divus Cæsar
in his Commentaries.[1306] But Augustus Cæsar, when dividing the country
into four parts, united the Keltæ to the Narbonnaise; the Aquitani he
preserved the same as Julius Cæsar, but added thereto fourteen other
nations of those who dwelt between the Garonne and the river
Loire,[1307] and dividing the rest into two parts, the one extending to
the upper districts of the Rhine he made dependent upon Lugdunum, the
other [he assigned] [CAS. 177] to the Belgæ. However, it is the duty of
the Geographer to describe the physical divisions of each country, and
those which result from diversity of nations, when they seem worthy of
notice; as to the limits which princes, induced by a policy which
circumstances dictate, have variously imposed, it will be sufficient for
him to notice them summarily, leaving others to furnish particular
details.
2. The whole of this country is irrigated by rivers descending from the
Alps, the Cevennes, and the Pyrenees, some of which discharge themselves
into the ocean, others into the Mediterranean. The districts through
which they flow are mostly plains interspersed with hills, and having
navigable streams. The course of these rivers is so happily disposed in
relation to each other, that you may traffic from one sea to the
other,[1308] carrying the merchandise only a small distance, and that
easily, across the plains; but for the most part by the rivers,
ascending some, and descending others. The Rhone is pre-eminent in this
respect, both because it communicates with many other rivers, and also
because it flows into the Mediterranean, which, as we have said, is
superior to the ocean,[1309] and likewise passes through the richest
provinces of Gaul. The whole of the Narbonnaise produces the same fruits
as Italy. As we advance towards the north, and the mountains of the
Cevennes, the plantations of the olive and fig disappear, but the others
remain. Likewise the vine, as you proceed northward, does not easily
mature its fruit. The entire of the remaining country produces in
abundance corn, millet, acorns, and mast of all kinds. No part of it
lies waste except that which is taken up in marshes and woods, and even
this is inhabited. The cause of this, however, is rather a dense
population than the industry of the inhabitants. For the women there are
both very prolific and excellent nurses, while the men devote themselves
rather to war than husbandry. However, their arms being now laid aside,
they are compelled to engage in agriculture. These remarks apply
generally to the whole of Transalpine Keltica. We must now describe
particularly each of the four divisions, which hitherto we have only
mentioned in a summary manner. And, first, of the Narbonnaise.
3. The configuration of this country resembles a parallelogram, the
western side of which is traced by the Pyrenees, the north by the
Cevennes; as for the other two sides, the south is bounded by the sea
between the Pyrenees and Marseilles, and the east partly by the
Alps,[1310] and partly by a line drawn perpendicularly from these
mountains to the foot of the Cevennes, which extend towards the Rhone,
and form a right angle with the aforesaid perpendicular drawn from the
Alps. To the southern side of this parallelogram we must add the
sea-coast inhabited by the Massilienses[1311] and Salyes,[1312] as far
as the country of the Ligurians, the confines of Italy, and the river
Var. This river, as we have said before,[1313] is the boundary of the
Narbonnaise and Italy. It is but small in summer, but in winter swells
to a breadth of seven stadia. From thence the coast extends to the
temple of the Pyrenæan Venus,[1314] which is the boundary between this
province and Iberia. Some, however, assert that the spot where the
Trophies of Pompey stand is the boundary between Iberia and Keltica.
From thence to Narbonne is 63 miles; from Narbonne to Nemausus,[1315]
88; from Nemausus through Ugernum[1316] and Tarusco, to the hot waters
called Sextiæ[1317] near Marseilles, 53;[1318] from thence to Antipolis
and the river Var, 73; making in the total 277 miles. Some set down the
distance from the temple of Venus to the Var at 2600 stadia; while
others increase this number by 200 stadia; for there are different
opinions as to these distances. As for the other road, which traverses
the [countries of the] [CAS. 179] Vocontii[1319] and Cottius,[1320] from
Nemausus[1321] to Ugernum and Tarusco, the route is common; from thence
[it branches off in two directions], one through Druentia and
Caballio,[1322] to the frontiers of the Vocontii and the commencement of
the ascent of the Alps, which is 63 miles; the other is reckoned at 99
miles from the same point to the other extremity of the Vocontii,
bordering on the state of Cottius, as far as the village of
Ebrodunum.[1323] The distance is said to be the same by the route
through the village of Brigantium,[1324] Scingomagus,[1325] and the
passage of the Alps to Ocelum,[1326] which is the limit of the country
of Cottius. However, it is considered to be Italy from Scingomagus. And
Ocelum is 28 miles beyond this.
4. Marseilles, founded by the Phocæans,[1327] is built in a stony
region. Its harbour lies beneath a rock, which is shaped like a theatre,
and looks towards the south. It is well surrounded with walls, as well
as the whole city, which is of considerable size. Within the citadel are
placed the Ephesium and the temple of the Delphian Apollo. This latter
temple is common to all the Ionians; the Ephesium is the temple
consecrated to Diana of Ephesus. They say that when the Phocæans were
about to quit their country, an oracle commanded them to take from Diana
of Ephesus a conductor for their voyage. On arriving at Ephesus they
therefore inquired how they might be able to obtain from the goddess
what was enjoined them. The goddess appeared in a dream to Aristarcha,
one of the most honourable women of the city, and commanded her to
accompany the Phocæans, and to take with her a plan of the temple and
statues.[1328] These things being performed, and the colony being
settled, the Phocæans built a temple, and evinced their great respect
for Aristarcha by making her priestess. All the colonies [sent out from
Marseilles] hold this goddess in peculiar reverence, preserving both the
shape of the image [of the goddess], and also every rite observed in the
metropolis.
5. The Massilians live under a well-regulated aristocracy. They have a
council composed of 600 persons called timuchi,[1329] who enjoy this
dignity for life. Fifteen of these preside over the council, and have
the management of current affairs; these fifteen are in their turn
presided over by three of their number, in whom rests the principal
authority; and these again by one. No one can become a timuchus who has
not children, and who has not been a citizen for three
generations.[1330] Their laws, which are the same as those of the
Ionians, they expound in public. Their country abounds in olives and
vines, but on account of its ruggedness the wheat is poor. Consequently
they trust more to the resources of the sea than of the land, and avail
themselves in preference of their excellent position for commerce.
Nevertheless they have been enabled by the power of perseverance to take
in some of the surrounding plains, and also to found cities: of this
number are the cities they founded in Iberia as a rampart against the
Iberians, in which they introduced the worship of Diana of Ephesus, as
practised in their fatherland, with the Grecian mode of sacrifice. In
this number too are Rhoa[1331] [and] Agatha,[1332] [built for defence]
against the barbarians dwelling around the river Rhone; also
Tauroentium,[1333] Olbia,[1334] Antipolis[1335] and Nicæa,[1336] [built
as a rampart] against the nation of the Salyes and the Ligurians who
inhabit the Alps. They[1337] possess likewise dry docks and armouries.
Formerly they had an abundance of vessels, arms, and machines, both for
the purposes of navigation and for besieging towns; by means of which
they defended themselves against the barbarians, [CAS. 180] and likewise
obtained the alliance of the Romans, to whom they rendered many
important services; the Romans in their turn assisting in their
aggrandizement. Sextius, who defeated the Salyes, founded, not far from
Marseilles, a city[1338] which was named after him and the hot waters,
some of which they say have lost their heat.[1339] Here he established a
Roman garrison, and drove from the sea-coast which leads from Marseilles
to Italy the barbarians, whom the Massilians were not able to keep back
entirely. However, all he accomplished by this was to compel the
barbarians to keep at a distance of twelve stadia from those parts of
the coast which possessed good harbours, and at a distance of eight
stadia where it was rugged. The land which they thus abandoned, he
presented to the Massilians. In their city are laid up heaps of booty
taken in naval engagements against those who disputed the sea unjustly.
Formerly they enjoyed singular good fortune, as well in other matters as
also in their amity with the Romans. Of this [amity] we find numerous
signs, amongst others the statue of Diana which the Romans dedicated on
the Aventine mount, of the same figure as that of the Massilians. Their
prosperity has in a great measure decayed since the war of Pompey
against Cæsar, in which they sided with the vanquished party.
Nevertheless some traces of their ancient industry may still be seen
amongst the inhabitants, especially the making of engines of war and
ship-building. Still as the surrounding barbarians, now that they are
under the dominion of the Romans, become daily more civilized, and leave
the occupation of war for the business of towns and agriculture, there
is no longer the same attention paid by the inhabitants of Marseilles to
these objects. The aspect of the city at the present day is a proof of
this. For all those who profess to be men of taste, turn to the study of
elocution and philosophy. Thus this city for some little time back has
become a school for the barbarians, and has communicated to the Galatæ
such a taste for Greek literature, that they even draw contracts on the
Grecian model. While at the present day it so entices the noblest of the
Romans, that those desirous of studying resort thither in preference to
Athens. These the Galatæ observing, and being at leisure on account of
the peace, readily devote themselves to similar pursuits, and that not
merely individuals, but the public generally; professors of the arts and
sciences, and likewise of medicine, being employed not only by private
persons, but by towns for common instruction. Of the wisdom of the
Massilians and the simplicity of their life, the following will not be
thought an insignificant proof. The largest dowry amongst them consists
of one hundred gold pieces, with five for dress, and five more for
golden ornaments. More than this is not lawful. Cæsar and his successors
treated with moderation the offences of which they were guilty during
the war, in consideration of their former friendship; and have preserved
to the state the right of governing according to its ancient laws. So
that neither Marseilles nor the cities dependent on it are under
submission to the governors sent [into the Narbonnaise]. So much for
Marseilles.
6. The mountains of the Salyes incline gently from west to north in
proportion as they retire from the sea. The coast runs west, and
extending a short distance, about 100 stadia, from Marseilles, it begins
to assume the character of a gulf at a considerable promontory near to
certain stone quarries, and extending to the Aphrodisium, the headland
which terminates the Pyrenees,[1340] forms the Galatic Gulf,[1341] which
is also called the Gulf of Marseilles: it is double, for in its circuit
Mount Setium[1342] stands out together with the island of Blascon,[1343]
which is situated close to it, and separates the two gulfs. The larger
of these is properly designated the Galatic Gulf, into which the Rhone
discharges itself; the smaller is on the coast of Narbonne, and extends
as far as the Pyrenees. Narbonne is situated above the [CAS. 181]
outlets of the Aude[1344] and the lake of Narbonne.[1345] It is the
principal commercial city on this coast. On the Rhone is Arelate,[1346]
a city and emporium of considerable traffic. The distance between these
two cities is nearly equal to that which separates them from the
aforesaid promontories, namely, Narbonne from the Aphrodisium, and
Arelate from the cape of Marseilles. There are other rivers besides
which flow on either side of Narbonne, some from the Cevennes, others
from the Pyrenees. Along these rivers are situated cities having but
little commerce, and that in small vessels. The rivers which proceed
from the Pyrenees, are the Tet[1347] and the Tech;[1348] two
cities[1349] are built on them, which bear respectively the same name as
the rivers. There is a lake near to Ruscino,[1350] and a little above
the sea a marshy district full of salt-springs, which supplies “dug
mullets,” for whoever digs two or three feet and plunges a trident into
the muddy water, will be sure to take the fish, which are worthy of
consideration on account of their size; they are nourished in the mud
like eels. Such are the rivers which flow from the Pyrenees between
Narbonne and the promontory on which is built the temple of Venus. On
the other side of Narbonne the following rivers descend from the
Cevennes into the sea. The Aude,[1351] the Orbe,[1352] and the
Rauraris.[1353] On one of these[1354] is situated the strong city of
Bætera,[1355] near to Narbonne; on the other Agatha,[1356] founded by
the people of Marseilles.
7. Of one marvel of this sea-coast, namely the “dug mullets,” we have
already spoken; we will now mention another, even more surprising.
Between Marseilles and the outlets of the Rhone there is a circular
plain, about 100 stadia distant from the sea, and about 100 stadia in
diameter. It has received the name of the Stony Plain, from the
circumstance of its being covered with stones the size of the fist, from
beneath which an abundant herbage springs up for the pasturage of
cattle. In the midst of it are water, salt-springs, and salt. The whole
both of this district and that above it is exposed to the wind, but in
this plain the black north,[1357] a violent and horrible wind, rages
especially: for they say that sometimes the stones are swept and rolled
along, and men hurled from their carriages and stripped both of their
arms and garments by the force of the tempest. Aristotle tells us that
these stones being cast up by the earthquakes designated
_brastai_,[1358] and falling on the surface of the earth, roll into the
hollow places of the districts; but Posidonius, that the place was
formerly a lake, which being congealed during a violent agitation,
became divided into numerous stones, like river pebbles or the stones by
the sea-shore, which they resemble both as to smoothness, size, and
appearance. Such are the causes assigned by these two [writers];
however, neither of their opinions is credible,[1359] for these stones
could neither have thus accumulated of themselves, nor yet have been
formed by congealed moisture, but necessarily from the fragments of
large stones shattered by frequent convulsions. Æschylus having,
however, learnt of the difficulty of accounting for it, or having been
so informed by another, has explained it away as a myth. He makes
Prometheus utter the following, whilst directing Hercules the road from
the Caucasus to the Hesperides:
“There you will come to the undaunted army of the Ligurians,
where, resistless though you be, sure am I you will not worst
them in battle; for it is fated that there your darts shall fail
you; nor will you be able to take up a stone from the ground,
since the country consists of soft mould; but Jupiter, beholding
your distress, will compassionate you, and overshadowing the
earth with a cloud, he will cause it to hail round stones, which
you hurling against the Ligurian army, will soon put them to
flight!”[1360]
Posidonius asks, would it not have been better to have rained [CAS. 183]
down these stones upon the Ligurians themselves, and thus have destroyed
them all, than to make Hercules in need of so many stones? As for the
number, they were necessary against so vast a multitude; so that in this
respect the writer of the myth seems to me deserving of more credit than
he who would refute it. Further, the poet, in describing it as fated,
secures himself against such fault-finding. For if you dispute
Providence and Destiny, you can find many similar things both in human
affairs and nature, that you would suppose might be much better
performed in this or that way; as for instance, that Egypt should have
plenty of rain of its own, without being irrigated from the land of
Ethiopia. That it would have been much better if Paris had suffered
shipwreck on his voyage to Sparta, instead of expiating his offences
after having carried off Helen, and having been the cause of so great
destruction both amongst the Greeks and Barbarians. Euripides attributes
this to Jupiter:
“Father Jupiter, willing evil to the Trojans and suffering to the
Greeks, decreed such things.”
8. As to the mouths of the Rhone, Polybius asserts that there are but
two, and blames Timæus[1361] for saying five. Artemidorus says that
there are three. Afterwards Marius, observing that the mouth was
becoming stopped up and difficult of entrance on account of the deposits
of mud, caused a new channel to be dug, which received the greater part
of the river into it.[1362] This he gave to the people of Marseilles in
recompense for their services in the war against the Ambrones and
Toygeni.[1363] This canal became to them a source of much revenue, as
they levied a toll from all those who sailed up or down it:
notwithstanding, the entrance [to the river] still continues difficult
to navigate, on account of its great impetuosity, its deposits, and the
[general] flatness of the country, so that in foul weather you cannot
clearly discern the land even when quite close. On this account the
people of Marseilles, who wished by all means to inhabit the country,
set up towers as beacons; they have even erected a temple to Diana of
Ephesus on a piece of the land, which the mouths of the rivers have
formed into an island. Above the outlets of the Rhone is a salt-lake
which they call Stomalimnè.[1364] It abounds in shell and other fish.
There are some who enumerate this amongst the mouths of the Rhone,
especially those who say that it has seven[1365] mouths. But in this
they are quite mistaken; for there is a mountain between, which
separates the lake from the river. Such then is the disposition and
extent of the coast from the Pyrenees to Marseilles.
9. The [coast] which extends from this [last city] to the river Var, and
the Ligurians who dwell near it, contains the Massilian cities of
Tauroentium,[1366] Olbia,[1367] Antipolis,[1368] Nicæa,[1369] and the
sea-port of Augustus Cæsar, called Forum Julium,[1370] which is situated
between Olbia and Antipolis, and distant from Marseilles about 600
stadia. The Var is between Antipolis and Nicæa; distant from the one
about 20 stadia, from the other about 60; so that according to the
boundary now marked Nicæa belongs to Italy, although it is a city of the
people of Marseilles, for they built these cities [as a defence] against
the barbarians who dwelt higher up the country, in order to maintain the
sea free, as the barbarians possessed the land. For this [region] is
mountainous and fortified by nature, leaving however a considerable
extent of plain country near Marseilles; but as you proceed towards the
east the country is so hemmed in by the mountains, as scarcely to leave
a sufficient road for passage by the sea-shore. The former districts are
inhabited by the Salyes,[1371] the latter by the Ligurians, who border
on Italy, of whom we shall speak afterwards. It should here be
mentioned, that although Antipolis is situated in the Narbonnaise, and
Nicæa in Italy, this latter is dependent on Marseilles, and forms part
of that province; while [CAS. 184] Antipolis is ranked amongst the
Italian cities, and freed from the government of the Marseillese by a
judgment given against them.
10. Lying off this narrow pass along the coast, as you commence your
journey from Marseilles, are the Stœchades islands.[1372] Three of these
are considerable, and two small. They are cultivated by the people of
Marseilles. Anciently they contained a garrison, placed here to defend
them from the attacks of pirates, for they have good ports. After the
Stœchades come [the islands of] Planasia[1373] and Lero,[1374] both of
them inhabited. In Lero, which lies opposite to Antipolis, is a temple
erected to the hero Lero. There are other small islands not worth
mentioning, some of them before Marseilles, others before the rest of
the coast which I have been describing. As to the harbours, those of the
sea-port [of Forum-Julium][1375] and Marseilles are considerable, the
others are but middling. Of this latter class is the port Oxybius,[1376]
so named from the Oxybian Ligurians.—This concludes what we have to say
of this coast.
11. The country above this is bounded principally by the surrounding
mountains and rivers. Of these the Rhone is the most remarkable, being
both the largest, and capable of being navigated farther than any of the
others, and also receiving into it a greater number of tributaries; of
these we must speak in order. Commencing at Marseilles, and proceeding
to the country between the Alps and the Rhone, to the river Durance,
dwell the Salyes for a space of 500 stadia. From thence you proceed in a
ferry-boat to the city of Caballio;[1377] beyond this the whole country
belongs to the Cavari as far as the junction of the Isère with the
Rhone; it is here too that the Cevennes approach the Rhone. From the
Durance to this point is a distance of 700 stadia.[1378] The Salyes
occupy the plains and mountains above these. The Vocontii, Tricorii,
Iconii, and Medylli, lie above the Cavari.[1379] Between the Durance and
the Isère there are other rivers which flow from the Alps into the
Rhone; two of these, after having flowed round the city of the Cavari,
discharge themselves by a common outlet into the Rhone. The
Sulgas,[1380] which is the third, mixes with the Rhone near the city of
Vindalum,[1381] where Cnæus Ænobarbus in a decisive engagement routed
many myriads of the Kelts. Between these are the cities of Avenio,[1382]
Arausio,[1383] and Aëria,[1384] which latter, remarks Artemidorus, is
rightly named aërial, being situated in a very lofty position. The whole
of this country consists of plains abounding in pasturage, excepting on
the route from Aëria to Avenio, where there are narrow defiles and woods
to traverse. It was at the point where the river Isère and the Rhone
unite near the Cevennes, that Quintus Fabius Maximus Æmilianus,[1385]
with scarcely 30,000 men, cut to pieces 200,000 Kelts.[1386] Here he
erected a white stone as a trophy, and two temples, one to Mars, and the
other to Hercules. From the Isère to Vienne, the metropolis of the
Allobroges, situated on the Rhone, the distance is 320 stadia.
Lugdunum[1387] is a little above Vienne at the confluence of the
Saone[1388] and the Rhone. The distance by land [from this latter city]
to Lugdunum, passing through the country of the Allobroges, is about 200
stadia, and rather more by water. Formerly the Allobroges engaged in
war, their armies consisting of many myriads; they now occupy themselves
in cultivating the plains and valleys of the Alps. They dwell generally
in villages, the most notable of them inhabiting Vienne, which was
merely a village, although called the metropolis of their nation; they
have now improved and embellished it as a city; it is situated on the
Rhone. So full and rapid is the descent of this river from the Alps,
that the flow of its waters through Lake Leman may be distinguished for
many stadia. Having descended into the plains of the countries of the
Allobroges, and Segusii, it falls into the Saone, near to Lugdunum, a
city of the Segusii.[1389] The [CAS. 186] Saone rises in the Alps,[1390]
and separates the Sequani, the Ædui, and the Lincasii.[1391] It
afterwards receives the Doubs, a navigable river which rises in the same
mountains,[1392] still however preserving its own name, and consisting
of the two, mingles with the Rhone. The Rhone in like manner preserves
its name, and flows on to Vienne. At their rise these three rivers flow
towards the north, then in a westerly direction, afterwards uniting into
one they take another turn and flow towards the south, and having
received other rivers, they flow in this direction to the sea. Such is
the country situated between the Alps and the Rhone.
12. The main part of the country on the other side of the Rhone is
inhabited by the Volcæ, surnamed Arecomisci. Their naval station is
Narbonne, which may justly be called the emporium of all Gaul, as it far
surpasses every other in the multitude of those who resort[1393] to it.
The Volcæ border on the Rhone, the Salyes and Cavari being opposite to
them on the other side of the river. However, the name of the Cavari has
so obtained, that all the barbarians inhabiting near now go by that
designation; nay, even those who are no longer barbarians, but follow
the Roman customs, both in their speech and mode of life, and some of
those even who have adopted the Roman polity. Between the Arecomisci and
the Pyrenees there are some other small and insignificant nations.
Nemausus[1394] is the metropolis of the Arecomisci; though far inferior
to Narbonne both as to its commerce, and the number of foreigners
attracted thither, it surpasses that city in the number of its citizens;
for it has under its dominion four and twenty different villages all
well inhabited, and by the same people, who pay tribute; it likewise
enjoys the rights of the Latin towns, so that in Nemausus you meet with
Roman citizens who have obtained the honours of the ædile and
quæstorship, wherefore this nation is not subject to the orders issued
by the prætors from Rome. The city is situated on the road from Iberia to
Italy; this road is very good in the summer, but muddy and overflowed by
the rivers during winter and spring. Some of these streams are crossed
in ferry-boats, and others by means of bridges constructed either of
wood or stone. The inundations which destroy the roads are caused by the
winter torrents, which sometimes pour down from the Alps even in
summer-time after the melting of the snows. To perform the route before
mentioned, the shortest way is, as we have said, across the territory of
the Vocontii direct to the Alps; the other, along the coast of
Marseilles and Liguria, is longer, although it offers an easier passage
into Italy, as the mountains are lower. Nemausus is about 100 stadia
distant from the Rhone, situated opposite to the small town of Tarascon,
and about 720 stadia from Narbonne. The Tectosages,[1395] and certain
others whom we shall mention afterwards, border on the range of the
Cevennes, and inhabit its southern side as far as the promontory of the
Volcæ. Respecting all the others we will speak hereafter.
13. But the Tectosages dwell near to the Pyrenees, bordering for a small
space the northern side of the Cevennes;[1396] the land they inhabit is
rich in gold. It appears that formerly they were so powerful and
numerous, that dissensions having arisen amongst them, they drove a vast
multitude of their number from their homes; and that these men
associating with others of different nations took possession of Phrygia,
next to Cappadocia, and the Paphlagonians. Of this those who are now
called the Tectosages afford us proof, for [Phrygia contains] three
nations, one of them dwelling near to the city of Ancyra,[1397] being
called the Tectosages; the remaining two, the Trocmi and
Tolistobogii.[1398] The resemblance these nations bear to the Tectosages
is evidence of their having immigrated from Keltica, though we are
unable to say from which district they came, as there does not appear to
be any people at the present time bearing the name of Trocmi or
Tolistobogii, who [CAS. 188] inhabit either beyond the Alps, the Alps
themselves, or on this side the Alps. It would seem that continual
emigration has drained them completely from their native country, a
circumstance which has occurred to many other nations, as some say that
the Brennus, who led an expedition to Delphi,[1399] was a leader of the
Prausi; but we are unable to say where the Prausi formerly inhabited. It
is said that the Tectosages took part in the expedition to Delphi, and
that the treasures found in the city of Toulouse by the Roman general
Cæpio formed a portion of the booty gained there, which was afterwards
increased by offerings which the citizens made from their own property,
and consecrated in order to conciliate the god.[1400] And that it was
for daring to touch these that Cæpio terminated so miserably his
existence, being driven from his country as a plunderer of the temples
of the gods, and leaving behind him his daughters, who, as Timagenes
informs us, having been wickedly violated, perished miserably. However,
the account given by Posidonius is the more credible. He tells us that
the wealth found in Toulouse amounted to somewhere about 15,000 talents,
a part of which was hidden in the chapels, and the remainder in the
sacred lakes, and that it was not coined [money], but gold and silver in
bullion. But at this time the temple of Delphi was emptied of these
treasures, having been pillaged by the Phocæans at the period of the
Sacred war; and supposing any to have been left, it would have been
distributed amongst many. Nor is it probable that the Tectosages
returned home, since they came off miserably after leaving Delphi, and
owing to their dissensions were scattered here and there throughout the
country; there is much more likelihood in the statement made by
Posidonius and many others, that the country abounding in gold, and the
inhabitants being superstitious, and not living expensively, they hid
their treasures in many different places, the lakes in particular
affording them a hiding-place for depositing their gold and silver
bullion. When the Romans obtained possession of the country they put up
these lakes to public sale, and many of the purchasers found therein
solid masses of silver. In Toulouse there was a sacred temple, held in
great reverence by the inhabitants of the surrounding country, and on
this account loaded with riches, inasmuch as there were many who offered
gifts, and no one dared to touch them.
14. Toulouse is situated upon the narrowest part of the isthmus which
separates the ocean from the sea of Narbonne; the breadth of the
[isthmus], according to Posidonius, being less than 3000 stadia. The
perfect similarity maintained throughout this country both in respect to
its rivers, and to the exterior and interior sea,[1401] appears to us
worthy of especial notice, as we have said before. This, on reflection,
will prove to be one main cause of the excellence of this country, since
the inhabitants are enabled mutually to communicate, and to procure from
each other the necessaries of life; this is peculiarly the case at the
present time, when on account of their leisure from war they are
devoting themselves to agriculture and the pursuits of social life. In
this we are persuaded that we behold the work of Providence; such a
disposition of these regions not resulting from chance, but from the
thought of some [intelligence]. The Rhone, for instance, is navigable to
a considerable distance for vessels of heavy burden, which it is capable
of transmitting through various districts of the country by means of
other rivers which fall into it, and are likewise fitted for the
navigation of large vessels. To the Rhone succeeds the Saone,[1402] and
into this latter river falls the Doubs; thence the merchandise is
carried by land to the river Seine; whence it is transported to the
ocean and the [countries of the] Lexovii and Caleti,[1403] the distance
thence to Britain being less than a day’s journey. The navigation of the
Rhone being difficult on account of the rapidity of its current, the
merchants prefer to transport in waggons certain of their wares, which
are destined for the Arverni,[1404] and the river Loire,[1405]
notwithstanding the vicinity of the Rhone in some places, but the road
being level and the distance not far, (about 800 stadia,) they do not
make use of water carriage on account of the [CAS. 189] facility of the
transport by land, from thence the merchandise is easily conveyed by the
Loire. This river flows from the Cevennes into the ocean. From Narbonne
the voyage to the Aude[1406] is short, but the journey by land to the
river Garonne longer, being as much as 700 or 800 stadia. The Garonne
likewise flows into the ocean. Such is what we have to say concerning
the inhabitants of the Narbonnaise, who were formerly named Kelts. In my
opinion the celebrity of the Kelts induced the Grecians to confer that
name on the whole of the Galatæ; the vicinity of the Massilians may also
have had something to do with it.[1407]
CHAPTER II.
1. We must now speak of the Aquitani and the fourteen Galatic nations
pertaining to them, situated between the Garonne and the Loire, some of
which extend to the river Rhone and the plains of the Narbonnaise.
Generally speaking, the Aquitani may be said to differ from the Galatic
race, both as to form of body and language, resembling more nearly the
Iberians. They are bounded by the Garonne, and dwell between this river
and the Pyrenees. There are above twenty nations which bear the name of
Aquitani, small and obscure, the major part of them dwelling by the
ocean, and the remainder in the interior and by the extremities of the
Cevennes, as far as the Tectosages. This district, however, being too
small, they added to it the territory between the Garonne and the Loire.
These rivers are nearly parallel with the Pyrenees, and form with them
two parallelograms, bounded on the remaining sides by the ocean and the
mountains of the Cevennes.[1408] Both of these rivers are navigable for
a distance of about 2000 stadia.[1409] The Garonne, after being
augmented by three other rivers,[1410] discharges itself into the
[ocean] between the [country] of the Bituriges, surnamed the
Vivisci,[1411] and that of the Santoni;[1412] both of them Gallic
nations.
The Bituriges are the only foreign people who dwell among the Aquitani
without forming a part of them. Their emporium is Burdegala,[1413]
situated on a creek formed by the outlets of the river. The Loire
discharges itself between the Pictones and the Namnetæ.[1414] Formerly
there was an emporium on this river named Corbilon, mentioned by
Polybius when speaking of the fictions of Pytheas. “The Marseillese,
[says he,] when interrogated by Scipio[1415] at their meeting, had
nothing to tell about Britain worth mentioning, nor yet had the people
of the Narbonnaise, nor those of Corbilon; notwithstanding these were
the two principal cities of the district, Pytheas alone dared to forge
so many lies [concerning that island].” Mediolanium[1416] is the capital
of the Santoni. The part of Aquitaine next the ocean is for the most
part sandy and meagre, producing millet, but barren of all other fruits.
Here is the gulf which, with that on the coast of Narbonne, forms the
isthmus. Both these gulfs[1417] go by the name of the Galatic gulf. The
former gulf belongs to the Tarbelli.[1418] These people possess the
richest gold mines; masses of gold as big as the fist can contain, and
requiring hardly any purifying, [CAS. 190] being found in diggings
scarcely beneath the surface of the earth, the remainder consisting
of dust and lumps, which likewise require but little working. In the
interior and mountainous parts [of Aquitaine] the soil is superior;
for instance, in the district near the Pyrenees belonging to the
Convenæ,[1419] which name signifies people assembled from different
countries to dwell in one place. Here is the city of Lugdunum,[1420]
and the hot springs of the Onesii,[1421] which are most excellent for
drinking. The country of the Auscii[1422] likewise is fine.
2. The nations between the Garonne and the Loire annexed to the
Aquitani, are the Elui,[1423] who commence at the Rhone. After these the
Vellæi,[1424] who were formerly comprehended amongst the Arverni,[1425]
but now form a people to themselves. After these Arverni come the
Lemovices,[1426] and Petrocorii,[1427] and after them the
Nitiobriges,[1427] the Cadurci,[1427] and the Bituriges,[1427] surnamed
Cubi. Along the ocean we meet with the Santoni, and Pictones,[1428] the
former dwelling by the Garonne, as we have stated, and the latter by the
Loire. The Ruteni and the Gabales[1429] are in the vicinity of the
Narbonnaise. The Petrocorii and Bituriges-Cubi possess excellent
iron-works, the Cadurci linen-factories, and the Ruteni silver-mines:
the Gabales likewise possess silver-mines. On certain amongst the
Aquitani the Romans have conferred the rights of Latin cities; such for
instance as the Auscii, and the Convenæ.
3. The Arverni are situated along the Loire. Nemossus, their metropolis,
is built on the same river.[1430] This river having flowed past
Genabum,[1431] an emporium of the Carnutes,[1432] situated about the
middle of its course, discharges itself into the ocean. A great proof of
the former power of the Arverni, is the fact of the frequent wars which
they sustained against the Romans, sometimes with armies of 200,000
men, and sometimes with double that number, which was the amount of
their force when they fought against divus Cæsar under the command of
Vercingetorix.[1433] Before this they had brought 200,000 men against
Maximus Æmilianus, and the same number against Domitius Ænobarbus. Their
battles with Cæsar took place, one in Gergovia,[1434] a city of the
Arverni situated on a lofty mountain, the birth-place of Vercingetorix;
the other, near to Alesia,[1435] a city of the Mandubii, who border on
the Arverni; this city is likewise situated on a high hill, surrounded
by mountains, and between two rivers. Here the war was terminated by the
capture of their leader. The battle with Maximus Æmilianus was fought
near the confluence of the Isère and the Rhone, at the point where the
mountains of the Cevennes approach the latter river. That with Domitius
was fought lower down at the confluence of the Sulgas[1436] and the
Rhone. The Arverni extended their dominion as far as Narbonne and the
borders of Marseilles, and exercised authority over the nations as far
as the Pyrenees, the ocean, and the Rhine. Luerius,[1437] the father of
Bituitus who fought against Maximus and Domitius, is said to have been
so distinguished by his riches and luxury, that to give a proof of his
opulence to his friends, he caused himself to be dragged across a plain
in a car, whilst he scattered gold and silver coin in every direction
for those who followed him to gather up.
CHAPTER III.
1. Next in order after Aquitaine and the Narbonnaise, is that portion
[of Gaul] extending as far as the Rhine from [CAS. 191] the river Loire,
and the Rhone, where it passes by Lugdunum:[1438] in its descent from
its source. The upper regions of this district from the sources of the
Rhine and Rhone, nearly to the middle of the plains, pertain to
Lugdunum; the remainder, with the regions next the ocean, is comprised
in another division which belongs to the Belgæ. We will describe the two
together.
2. Lugdunum itself, situated on[1439] a hill, at the confluence of the
Saone[1440] and the Rhone, belongs to the Romans. It is the most
populous city after Narbonne. It carries on a great commerce, and the
Roman prefects here coin both gold and silver money. Before this city,
at the confluence of the rivers, is situated the temple dedicated by all
the Galatæ in common to Cæsar Augustus. The altar is splendid, and has
inscribed on it the names of sixty people, and images of them, one for
each, and also another great altar.[1441]
This is the principal city of the nation of the Segusiani who lie
between the Rhone and the Doubs.[1442] The other nations who extend to
the Rhine, are bounded in part by the Doubs, and in part by the Saone.
These two rivers, as said before, descend from the Alps, and, falling
into one stream, flow into the Rhone. There is likewise another river
which has its sources in the Alps, and is named the Seine.[1443] It
flows parallel with the Rhine, through a nation bearing the same name as
itself,[1444] and so into the ocean. The Sequani are bounded on the east
by the Rhine, and on the opposite side by the Saone. It is from them
that the Romans procure the finest salted-pork. Between the Doubs and
Saone dwells the nation of the Ædui, who possess the city of
Cabyllinum,[1445] situated on the Saone and the fortress of
Bibracte.[1446] The Ædui[1447] are said to be related to the Romans,
and they were the first to enter into friendship and alliance with them.
On the other side of the Saone dwell the Sequani, who have for long been
at enmity with the Romans and Ædui, having frequently allied themselves
with the Germans in their incursions into Italy. It was then that they
proved their strength, for united to them the Germans were powerful, but
when separated, weak. As for the Ædui, their alliance with the Romans
naturally rendered them the enemies of the Sequani,[1448] but the enmity
was increased by their contests concerning the river which divides them,
each nation claiming the Saone exclusively for themselves, and likewise
the tolls on vessels passing. However, at the present time, the whole of
it is under the dominion of the Romans.
3. The first of all the nations dwelling on the Rhine are the Helvetii,
amongst whom are the sources of that river in Mount Adula,[1449] which
forms part of the Alps. From this mountain, but in an opposite
direction, likewise proceeds the Adda, which flows towards Cisalpine
Gaul, and fills lake Larius,[1450] near to which stands [the city of]
Como; thence it discharges itself into the Po, of which we shall speak
afterwards. The Rhine also flows into vast marshes and a great
lake,[1451] which borders on the Rhæti and Vindelici,[1452] who dwell
partly in the Alps, and partly beyond the Alps. Asinius says that the
length of this river is 6000 stadia, but such is not the case, for taken
in a straight line it does not much exceed half that length, and 1000
stadia is quite sufficient to allow for its sinuosities. In fact this
river is so rapid that it is difficult to throw bridges across it,
although after its descent from the mountains it is borne the remainder
of the way through level plains; now how could it maintain its rapidity
and vehemence, if in addition to this level channel, we suppose it also
to have long and frequent tortuosities? Asinius [CAS. 193] likewise
asserts that this river has two mouths, and blames those who say that it
has more.[1453] This river and the Seine embrace within their
tortuosities a certain extent of country, which however is not
considerable. They both flow from south to north. Britain lies opposite
to them; but nearest to the Rhine, from which you may see Kent, which is
the most easterly part of the island. The Seine is a little further. It
was here that divus Cæsar established a dock-yard when he sailed to
Britain. The navigable portion of the Seine, commencing from the point
where they receive the merchandise from the Saone, is of greater extent
than the [navigable portions] of the Loire and Garonne. From
Lugdunum[1454] to the Seine is [a distance of] 1000 stadia, and not
twice this distance from the outlets of the Rhone to Lugdunum. They say
that the Helvetii,[1455] though rich in gold, nevertheless devoted
themselves to pillage on beholding the wealth of the Cimbri,[1456]
[accumulated by that means;] and that two out of their three tribes
perished entirely in their military expeditions. However, the multitude
of descendants who sprang from this remainder was proved in their war
with divus Cæsar, in which about 400,000 of their number were destroyed;
the 8000 who survived the war, being spared by the conqueror, that their
country might not be left desert, a prey to the neighbouring
Germans.[1457]
4. After the Helvetii, the Sequani[1458] and Mediomatrici[1459] dwell
along the Rhine, amongst whom are the Tribocchi,[1460] a German nation
who emigrated from their country hither. Mount Jura, which is in the
country of the Sequani, separates that people from the Helvetii. To the
west, above the Helvetii and Sequani, dwell the Ædui and Lingones; the
Leuci and a part of the Lingones dwelling above the Mediomatrici. The
nations between the Loire and the Seine, and beyond the Rhone and the
Saone, are situated to the north near to the Allobroges,[1461] and the
parts about Lyons. The most celebrated amongst them are the Arverni and
Carnutes,[1462] through both of whose territories the Loire flows before
discharging itself into the ocean. The distance from the rivers of
Keltica to Britain is 320 stadia; for departing in the evening with the
ebb tide, you will arrive on the morrow at the island about the eighth
hour.[1463] After the Mediomatrici and Tribocchi, the Treviri[1464]
inhabit along the Rhine; in their country the Roman generals now engaged
in the German war have constructed a bridge. Opposite this place on the
other bank of the river dwelt the Ubii, whom Agrippa with their own
consent brought over to this side the Rhine.[1465] The Nervii,[1466]
another German nation, are contiguous to the Treviri; and last the
Menapii, who inhabit either bank of the river near to its outlets; they
dwell amongst marshes and forests, not lofty, but consisting of dense
and thorny wood. Near to these dwell the Sicambri,[1467] who are
likewise Germans. The country next the whole [eastern] bank is inhabited
by the Suevi, who are also named Germans, but are superior both in power
and number to the others, whom they drove out, and who have now taken
refuge on this side the Rhine. Other tribes have sway in different
places; they are successively a prey to the flames of war, the former
inhabitants for the most part being destroyed.
5. The Senones, the Remi, the Atrebates, and the Eburones dwell west of
the Treviri and Nervii.[1468] Close to the Menapii and near the sea are
the Morini, the Bellovaci, the Ambiani, the Suessiones, and the Caleti,
as far as the outlet [CAS. 194] of the river Seine.[1469] The countries
of the Morini, the Atrebates, and the Eburones are similar to that of
the Menapii. It consists of a forest filled with low trees; of great
extent, but not near so large as writers have described it, viz. 4000
stadia.[1470] It is named Arduenna.[1471] In the event of warlike
incursions the inhabitants would interweave the flexible brambly shrubs,
thus stopping up the passages [into their country]. They also fixed
stakes in various places, and then retreated with their whole families
into the recesses of the forest, to small islands surrounded by marshes.
During the rainy season these proved secure hiding-places, but in times
of drought they were easily taken. However, at the present time all the
nations on this side the Rhine[1472] dwell in peace under the dominion
of the Romans. The Parisii dwell along the river Seine, and inhabit an
island formed by the river; their city is Lucotecia.[1473] The Meldi and
Lexovii border on the ocean. The most considerable, however, of all
these nations are the Remi. Duricortora, their metropolis, is well
populated, and is the residence of the Roman prefects.
CHAPTER IV.
GAUL. THE BELGÆ.
1. After the nations mentioned come those of the Belgæ, who dwell next
the ocean. Of their number are the Veneti,[1474] who fought a naval
battle with Cæsar. They had prepared to resist his passage into Britain,
being possessed of the commerce [of that island] themselves. But Cæsar
easily gained the victory, not however by means of his beaks, (for their
ships were constructed of solid wood,)[1475] but whenever their ships
were borne near to his by the wind, the Romans rent the sails by means
of scythes fixed on long handles:[1476] for the sails [of their ships]
are made of leather to resist the violence of the winds, and managed by
chains instead of cables. They construct their vessels with broad
bottoms and high poops and prows, on account of the tides. They are
built of the wood of the oak, of which there is abundance. On this
account, instead of fitting the planks close together, they leave
interstices between them; these they fill with sea-weed to prevent the
wood from drying up in dock for want of moisture; for the sea-weed is
damp by nature, but the oak dry and arid. In my opinion these Veneti
were the founders of the Veneti in the Adriatic, for almost all the
other Keltic nations in Italy have passed over from the country beyond
the Alps, as for instance, the Boii[1477] and Senones.[1478] They are
said to be Paphlagonians merely on account of a similarity of name.
However, I do not maintain my opinion positively; for in these matters
probability is quite sufficient. The Osismii are the people whom Pytheas
calls Ostimii; they dwell on a promontory which projects considerably
into the ocean, but not so far as Pytheas and those who follow him
assert.[1479] As for the nations between the Seine and the Loire, some
are contiguous to the Sequani, others to the Arverni.
2. The entire race which now goes by the name of Gallic, or
Galatic,[1480] is warlike, passionate, and always ready for fighting,
but otherwise simple and not malicious. If irritated, they rush in
crowds to the conflict, openly and without any circumspection; and thus
are easily vanquished by those who employ stratagem. For any one may
exasperate them when, where, and under whatever pretext he pleases; he
will [CAS. 196] always find them ready for danger, with nothing to
support them except their violence and daring. Nevertheless they may be
easily persuaded to devote themselves to any thing useful, and have thus
engaged both in science and letters. Their power consists both in the
size of their bodies and also in their numbers. Their frankness and
simplicity lead them easily to assemble in masses, each one feeling
indignant at what appears injustice to his neighbour. At the present
time indeed they are all at peace, being in subjection and living under
the command of the Romans, who have subdued them; but we have described
their customs as we understand they existed in former times, and as they
still exist amongst the Germans. These two nations, both by nature and
in their form of government, are similar and related to each other.
Their countries border on each other, being separated by the river
Rhine, and are for the most part similar. Germany, however, is more to
the north, if we compare together the southern and northern parts of the
two countries respectively. Thus it is that they can so easily change
their abode. They march in crowds in one collected army, or rather
remove with all their families, whenever they are ejected by a more
powerful force. They were subdued by the Romans much more easily than
the Iberians; for they began to wage war with these latter first, and
ceased last, having in the mean time conquered the whole of the nations
situated between the Rhine and the mountains of the Pyrenees. For these
fighting in crowds and vast numbers, were overthrown in crowds, whereas
the Iberians kept themselves in reserve, and broke up the war into a
series of petty engagements, showing themselves in different bands,
sometimes here, sometimes there, like banditti. All the Gauls are
warriors by nature, but they fight better on horseback than on foot, and
the flower of the Roman cavalry is drawn from their number. The most
valiant of them dwell towards the north and next the ocean.
3. Of these they say that the Belgæ are the bravest. They are divided
into fifteen nations, and dwell near the ocean between the Rhine and the
Loire, and have therefore sustained themselves single-handed against the
incursions of the Germans, the Cimbri,[1481] and the Teutons. The
bravest of the Belgæ are the Bellovaci,[1482] and after them the
Suessiones. The amount of their population may be estimated by the fact
that formerly there were said to be 300,000 Belgæ capable of bearing
arms.[1483] The numbers of the Helvetii, the Arverni, and their allies,
have already been mentioned. All this is a proof both of the amount of
the population [of Gaul], and, as before remarked, of the fecundity of
their women, and the ease with which they rear their children. The Gauls
wear the sagum, let their hair grow, and wear short breeches. Instead of
tunics they wear a slashed garment with sleeves descending a little
below the hips.[1484] The wool [of their sheep] is coarse, but long;
from it they weave the thick saga called laines. However, in the
northern parts the Romans rear flocks of sheep which they cover with
skins, and which produce very fine wool. The equipment [of the Gauls] is
in keeping with the size of their bodies; they have a long sword hanging
at their right side, a long shield, and lances in proportion, together
with a madaris somewhat resembling a javelin; some of them also use bows
and slings; they have also a piece of wood resembling a pilum, which
they hurl not out of a thong, but from their hand, and to a farther
distance than an arrow. They principally make use of it in shooting
birds. To the present day most of them lie on the ground, and take their
meals seated on straw. They subsist principally on milk and all kinds of
flesh, especially that of swine, which they eat both fresh and salted.
Their swine live in the fields, and surpass in height, strength, and
swiftness. To persons unaccustomed to approach them they are almost as
dangerous as wolves. The people dwell in great houses arched,
constructed of planks and wicker, and covered with a heavy thatched
roof. They have sheep and swine in such abundance, that they supply saga
and salted pork in plenty, not only to Rome but to most parts of Italy.
Their governments were for the most part aristocratic; formerly they
chose a governor every year, and a military leader was likewise elected
by the multitude.[1485] At the present day they are mostly under
[CAS. 197] subjection to the Romans. They have a peculiar custom in their
assemblies. If any one makes an uproar or interrupts the person
speaking, an attendant advances with a drawn sword, and commands him
with menace to be silent; if he persists, the attendant does the same
thing a second and third time; and finally, [if he will not obey,] cuts
off from his sagum so large a piece as to render the remainder useless.
The labours of the two sexes are distributed in a manner the reverse of
what they are with us, but this is a common thing with numerous other
barbarians.
4. Amongst [the Gauls] there are generally three divisions of men
especially reverenced, the Bards, the Vates, and the Druids. The Bards
composed and chanted hymns; the Vates occupied themselves with the
sacrifices and the study of nature; while the Druids joined to the study
of nature that of moral philosophy. The belief in the justice [of the
Druids] is so great that the decision both of public and private
disputes is referred to them; and they have before now, by their
decision, prevented armies from engaging when drawn up in battle-array
against each other. All cases of murder are particularly referred to
them. When there is plenty of these they imagine there will likewise be
a plentiful harvest. Both these and the others[1486] assert that the
soul is indestructible, and likewise the world, but that sometimes fire
and sometimes water have prevailed in making great changes.[1487]
5. To their simplicity and vehemence, the Gauls join much folly,
arrogance, and love of ornament. They wear golden collars round their
necks, and bracelets on their arms and wrists, and those who are of any
dignity have garments dyed and worked with gold. This lightness of
character makes them intolerable when they conquer, and throws them into
consternation when worsted. In addition to their folly, they have a
barbarous and absurd custom, common however with many nations of the
north, of suspending the heads of their enemies from their horses’ necks
on their return from battle, and when they have arrived nailing them as
a spectacle to their gates. Posidonius says he witnessed this in many
different places, and was at first shocked, but became familiar with it
in time on account of its frequency. The heads of any illustrious
persons they embalm with cedar, exhibit them to strangers, and would not
sell them for their weight in gold.[1488] However, the Romans put a stop
to these customs, as well as to their modes of sacrifice and divination,
which were quite opposite to those sanctioned by our laws. They would
strike a man devoted as an offering in his back with a sword, and divine
from his convulsive throes. Without the Druids they never sacrifice. It
is said they have other modes of sacrificing their human victims; that
they pierce some of them with arrows, and crucify others in their
temples; and that they prepare a colossus of hay and wood, into which
they put cattle, beasts of all kinds, and men, and then set fire to it.
6. They say that in the ocean, not far from the coast, there is a small
island lying opposite to the outlet of the river Loire, inhabited by
Samnite women who are Bacchantes, and conciliate and appease that god by
mysteries and sacrifices. No man is permitted to land on the island; and
when the women desire to have intercourse with the other sex, they cross
the sea, and afterwards return again. They have a custom of once a year
unroofing the whole of the temple, and roofing it again the same day
before sunset, each one bringing some of the materials. If any one lets
her burden fall, she is torn in pieces by the others, and her limbs
carried round the temple with wild shouts, which they never cease until
their rage is exhausted. [They say] it always happens that some one
drops her burden, and is thus sacrificed.
But what Artemidorus tells us concerning the crows, partakes still more
of fiction. He narrates that on the coast, washed by the ocean, there is
a harbour named the Port of Two Crows, and that here two crows may be
seen with their right wings white. Those who have any dispute come here,
and each one having placed a plank for himself on a lofty eminence,
sprinkles crumbs thereupon; the birds fly to these, eat up the one and
scatter the other, and he whose crumbs are scattered gains the cause.
This narration has decidedly too much the air of fiction. What he
narrates concerning Ceres and Proserpine is more credible. He says that
there is an island near Britain in which they perform sacrifices to
[CAS. 199] these goddesses after the same fashion that they do in
Samothrace. The following is also credible, that a tree grows in Keltica
similar to a fig, which produces a fruit resembling a Corinthian
capital, and which, being cut, exudes a poisonous juice which they use
for poisoning their arrows. It is well known that all the Kelts are fond
of disputes; and that amongst them pæderasty is not considered shameful.
Ephorus extends the size of Keltica too far, including within it most of
what we now designate as Iberia, as far as Gades. He states that the
people are great admirers of the Greeks, and relates many particulars
concerning them not applicable to their present state. This is one:—That
they take great care not to become fat or big-bellied, and that if any
young man exceeds the measure of a certain girdle, he is punished.[1489]
Such is our account of Keltica beyond the Alps.[1490]
CHAPTER V.
BRITAIN.
1. Britain is triangular in form; its longest side lies parallel to
Keltica, in length neither exceeding nor falling short of it; for each
of them extends as much as 4300 or 4400 stadia: the side of Keltica
extending from the mouths of the Rhine to the northern extremities of
the Pyrenees towards Aquitaine; and that of Britain, which commences at
Kent, its most eastern point, opposite the mouths of the Rhine,
extending to the western extremity of the island, which lies over
against Aquitaine and the Pyrenees. This is the shortest line from the
Pyrenees to the Rhine; the longest is said to be 5000 stadia; but it is
likely that there is some convergency of the river towards the mountain
from a strictly parallel position, there being an inclination of either
toward the other at the extremities next the ocean.
2. There are four passages commonly used from the continent to the
island, namely, from the mouths of the rivers Rhine, Seine, Loire, and
Garonne; but to such as set sail from the parts about the Rhine, the
passage is not exactly from its mouths, but from the Morini,[1491] who
border on the Menapii,[1492] among whom also is situated Itium,[1493]
which divus Cæsar used as his naval station when about to pass over to
the island: he set sail by night, and arrived the next day about the
fourth hour,[1494] having completed a passage of 320 stadia, and he
found the corn in the fields. The greatest portion of the island is
level and woody, although many tracts are hilly. It produces corn,
cattle, gold, silver, and iron, which things are brought thence, and
also skins, and slaves, and dogs sagacious in hunting; the Kelts use
these, as well as their native dogs, for the purposes of war. The men
are taller than the Kelts, with hair less yellow; they are slighter in
their persons. As an instance of their height, we ourselves saw at Rome
some youths who were taller than the tallest there by as much as half a
foot, but their legs were bowed, and in other respects they were not
symmetrical in conformation. Their manners are in part like those of the
Kelts, though in part more simple and barbarous; insomuch that some of
them, though possessing plenty of milk, have not skill enough to make
cheese, and are totally unacquainted with horticulture and other matters
of husbandry. There are several states amongst them. In their wars they
make use of chariots for the most part, as do some of the Kelts. Forests
are their cities; for having enclosed an ample space [CAS. 200] with
felled trees, they make themselves huts therein, and lodge their cattle,
though not for any long continuance. Their atmosphere is more subject to
rain than to snow; even in their clear days the mist continues for a
considerable time, insomuch that throughout the whole day the sun is
only visible for three or four hours about noon; and this must be the
case also amongst the Morini, and the Menapii, and among all the
neighbouring people.
3. Divus Cæsar twice passed over to the island, but quickly returned,
having effected nothing of consequence, nor proceeded far into the
country, as well on account of some commotions in Keltica, both among
his own soldiers and among the barbarians, as because of the loss of
many of his ships at the time of the full moon, when both the ebb and
flow of the tides were greatly increased.[1495] Nevertheless he gained
two or three victories over the Britons, although he had transported
thither only two legions of his army, and brought away hostages and
slaves and much other booty. At the present time, however, some of the
princes there have, by their embassies and solicitations, obtained the
friendship of Augustus Cæsar, dedicated their offerings in the Capitol,
and brought the whole island into intimate union with the Romans. They
pay but moderate duties both on the imports and exports from Keltica;
which are ivory bracelets and necklaces, amber, vessels of glass, and
small wares; so that the island scarcely needs a garrison, for at the
least it would require one legion and some cavalry to enforce tribute
from them; and the total expenditure for the army would be equal to the
revenue collected; for if a tribute were levied, of necessity the
imposts must be diminished, and at the same time some danger would be
incurred if force were to be employed.
4. There are also other small islands around Britain; but one, of great
extent, Ierna,[1496] lying parallel to it towards the north, long or
rather, wide; concerning which we have nothing certain to relate,
further than that its inhabitants are more savage than the Britons,
feeding on human flesh, and enormous eaters, and deeming it commendable
to devour their deceased fathers,[1497] as well as openly[1498] to have
commerce not only with other women, but also with their own mothers and
sisters.[1499] But this we relate perhaps without very competent
authority; although to eat human flesh is said to be a Scythian custom;
and during the severities of a siege, even the Kelts, the Iberians, and
many others, are reported to have done the like.[1500]
5. The account of Thule is still more uncertain, on account of its
secluded situation; for they consider it to be the northernmost of all
lands of which the names are known. The falsity of what Pytheas has
related concerning this and neighbouring places, is proved by what he
has asserted of well-known countries. For if, as we have shown, his
description of these is in the main incorrect, what he says of far
distant countries is still more likely to be false.[1501] Nevertheless,
as far as astronomy and the mathematics are concerned, he appears to
have reasoned correctly, that people bordering on the frozen [CAS. 201]
zone would be destitute of cultivated fruits, and almost deprived of the
domestic animals; that their food would consist of millet, herbs,
fruits, and roots; and that where there was corn and honey they would
make drink of these. That having no bright sun, they would thresh their
corn, and store it in vast granaries, threshing-floors being useless on
account of the rain and want of sun.
CHAPTER VI.
THE ALPS.
1. Having described Keltica beyond the Alps,[1502] and the nations who
inhabit the country, we must now speak of the Alps themselves and their
inhabitants, and afterwards of the whole of Italy; observing in our
description such arrangement as the nature of the country shall point
out.
The Alps do not commence at Monœci Portus,[1503] as some have asserted,
but from the region whence the Apennines take their rise about Genoa, a
mercantile city of the Ligurians, and at the marshes named Sabatorum
Vada;[1504] for the Apennines take their rise near Genoa, and the Alps
near Sabatorum Vada. The distance between Genoa and the Sabatorum Vada
is about 260 stadia. About 370 stadia farther on is the little city of
Albingaunum,[1505] inhabited by Ligurians who are called Ingauni. From
thence to the Monœci Portus is 480 stadia. In the interval between is
the very considerable city of Albium Intemelium,[1506] inhabited by the
Intemelii. These names are sufficient to prove that the Alps commence at
the Sabatorum Vada. For the Alps were formerly called Albia and
Alpionia,[1507] and at the present day the high mountain in the country
of the Iapodes,[1508] next to Ocra and the Alps, is named Albius,
showing that the Alps extend so far.
2. Now since the Ligurians were divided into Ingauni and Intemelii, it was
natural that their maritime colonies should be distinguished, one by the
name of Albium Intemelium, Alpine as it were, and the other by the more
concise form Albingaunum.[1509] To these two tribes of Ligurians already
mentioned, Polybius adds those of the Oxybii and Deciates.[1510] The
whole coast from Monœci Portus to Tyrrhenia is continuous, and without
harbours excepting some small roads and anchorages. Above it rise the
rugged precipices of the Alpine range, leaving but a narrow passage
along the sea. This district, but particularly the mountains, is
inhabited by Ligurians, principally subsisting on the produce of their
herds, and milk, and a drink made of barley. There is plenty of wood
here for the construction of ships; the trees grow to a vast size, some
of them having been found eight feet in diameter. Much of the wood is
veined, and not inferior to cedar-wood for cabinet work. This wood,
together with the produce of their cattle, hides, and honey, they
transport to the mart of Genoa, receiving in exchange for them the oil
and wine of Italy; for the little [wine] which their country produces is
harsh and tastes of pitch. Here are bred the horses and mules known as
ginni, and here too are wrought the Ligurian tunics and saga. In their
country likewise there is plenty of lingurium, called by some
electrum.[1511] They use but few cavalry in war; their infantry are
good, and excellent slingers. Some have thought that their brazen
shields prove these people to be of Grecian origin.
3. The Monœci Portus is merely a roadstead, not capable of containing
either many or large vessels. Here is a temple dedicated to Hercules
Monœcus.[1512] The name seems to show it probable that the Massilian
voyages along the coast extended as far as here. Monœci Portus is
distant from Antipolis rather more than 200 stadia. The Salyes occupy
the region from thence to Marseilles, or a little farther; they
[CAS.203] inhabit the Alps which lie above that city, and a portion of
the sea-coast, where they intermingle with the Greeks. The ancient
Greeks gave to the Salyes the name of Ligyes,[1513] and to the country
which was in the possession of the Marseillese, that of Ligystica.[1514]
The later Greeks named them Kelto-Ligyes,[1515] and assigned to them the
whole of the plains extending as far as Luerion[1516] and the Rhone.
They are divided into ten cantons, and are capable of raising troops not
only of infantry, but of cavalry also. These people were the first of
the Transalpine Kelts whom the Romans subdued after maintaining a
lengthened war against them and the Ligurians. They closed [against the
Romans] all the roads into Iberia along the sea-coast, and carried on a
system of pillage both by sea and land. Their strength so increased that
large armies were scarcely able to force a passage. And after a war of
eighty years, the Romans were hardly able to obtain a breadth of twelve
stadia for the purpose of making a public road. After this, however, the
Romans subdued the whole of them, and established among them a regular
form of government, and imposed a tribute.[1517]
4. After the Salyes, the Albienses, the Albiœci,[1518] and the Vocontii
inhabit the northern portion of the mountains. The Vocontii extend as
far as the Allobriges, and occupy vast valleys in the depths of the
mountains, not inferior to those inhabited by the Allobriges. Both the
Allobriges and Ligurians are subject to the pretors sent into the
Narbonnaise, but the Vocontii are governed by their own laws, as we have
said of the Volcæ of Nemausus.[1519] Of the Ligurians between the Var
and Genoa, those along the sea are considered Italians; while the
mountaineers are governed by a prefect of the equestrian order, as is
the case in regard to other nations wholly barbarous.
5. After the Vocontii, are the Iconii, the Tricorii, and the Medulli;
who inhabit the loftiest ridges of the mountains, for they say that some
of them have an almost perpendicular ascent of 100 stadia, and a similar
descent to the frontiers of Italy. In these highlands there is a great
lake; there are also two springs not far distant from each other; one of
these gives rise to the Durance, which flows like a torrent into the
Rhone, and to the Durias,[1520] which flows in an opposite direction;
for it mingles with the Po after having pursued its course through the
country of the Salassi[1521] into Cisalpine Keltica. From the other
source, but much lower down, rises the Po itself, large and rapid, which
as it advances becomes still vaster, and at the same time more gentle.
As it reaches the plains it increases in breadth, being augmented by
numerous [other rivers], and thus it becomes less impetuous in its
course, and its current is weakened. Having become the largest river in
Europe, with the exception of the Danube,[1522] it discharges itself
into the Adriatic Sea. The Medulli are situated considerably above the
confluence of the Isère and the Rhone.
6. On the opposite side of the mountains, sloping towards Italy, dwell
the Taurini,[1523] a Ligurian nation, together with certain other
Ligurians. What is called the land of Ideonnus[1524] and Cottius belongs
to these Ligurians. Beyond them and the Po are the Salassi; above whom
in the summits [of the Alps] are the Kentrones, the Catoriges, the
Veragri, the Nantuatæ,[1525] Lake Leman,[1526] traversed by the Rhone,
and the [CAS. 204] sources of that river. Not far from these are the
sources of the Rhine, and Mount Adulas,[1527] from whence the Rhine
flows towards the north; likewise the Adda,[1528] which flows in an
opposite direction, and discharges itself into Lake Larius,[1529] near
to Como. Lying above Como, which is situated at the roots of the Alps,
on one side are the Rhæti and Vennones towards the east,[1530] and on
the other the Lepontii, the Tridentini, the Stoni,[1531] and numerous
other small nations, poor and addicted to robbery, who in former times
possessed Italy. At the present time some of them have been destroyed,
and the others at length civilized, so that the passes over the
mountains through their territories, which were formerly few and
difficult, now run in every direction, secure from any danger of these
people, and as accessible as art can make them. For Augustus Cæsar not
only destroyed the robbers, but improved the character of the roads as
far as practicable, although he could not every where overcome nature,
on account of the rocks and immense precipices; some of which tower
above the road, while others yawn beneath; so that departing ever so
little [from the path], the traveller is in inevitable danger of falling
down bottomless chasms. In some places the road is so narrow as to make
both the foot traveller and his beasts of burden, who are unaccustomed
to it, dizzy; but the animals of the district will carry their burdens
quite securely. These things however are beyond remedy, as well as the
violent descent of vast masses of congealed snow from above, capable of
overwhelming a whole company at a time, and sweeping them into the
chasms beneath. Numerous masses lie one upon the other, one hill of
congealed snow being formed upon another, so that the uppermost mass is
easily detached at any time from that below it, before being perfectly
melted by the sun.
7. A great part of the country of the Salassi lies in a deep
valley,[1532] formed by a chain of mountains which encloses the district
on either side; a part of them however inhabit the overhanging ridges.
The route of those who are desirous of passing from Italy over these
mountains, lies through the aforesaid valley. Beyond this the road
separates into two. The one which passes through the mountain peaks,
known as the Pennine Alps, cannot be traversed by carriages; the other,
which runs through the country of the Centrones, lies more to the
west.[1533] The country of the Salassi contains gold mines, of which
formerly, in the days of their power, they were masters, as well as of
the passes. The river Doria Baltea[1534] afforded them great facility in
obtaining the metal by [supplying them with water] for washing the gold,
and they have emptied the main bed by the numerous trenches cut for
drawing the water to different places. This operation, though
advantageous in gold hunting, was injurious to the agriculturists below,
as it deprived them of the irrigation of a river, which, by the height
of its position, was capable of watering their plains. This gave rise to
frequent wars between the two nations; when the Romans gained the
dominion, the Salassi lost both their gold works and their country, but
as they still possessed the mountains, they continued to sell water to
the public contractors of the gold mines; with whom there were continual
disputes on account of the avarice of the contractors, and thus the
Roman generals sent into the country were ever able to find a pretext
for commencing war. And, until very recently, the Salassi at one time
waging war against the Romans, and at another making peace, took
occasion to inflict numerous damages upon those who crossed over their
mountains, by their system of plundering; and even exacted from Decimus
Brutus, on his flight from Mutina,[1535] a drachm per man. Messala,
likewise, having taken up his winter quarters in their vicinity, was
obliged to pay them, both for his fire-wood, and for the elm-wood for
making javelins for the exercise of his troops. In one instance they
plundered the treasures of Cæsar,[1536] and rolled down huge [CAS. 206]
masses of rock upon the soldiers under pretence of making roads, or
building bridges over the rivers. Afterwards Augustus completely
overthrew them, and carried them to Eporedia,[1537] a Roman colony which
had been planted as a bulwark against the Salassi, although the
inhabitants were able to do but little against them until the nation was
destroyed; their numbers amounted to 36,000 persons, besides 8000 men
capable of bearing arms. Terentius Varro, the general who defeated them,
sold them all by public auction, as enemies taken in war. Three thousand
Romans sent out by Augustus founded the city of Augusta,[1538] on the
spot where Varro had encamped, and now the whole surrounding country,
even to the summits of the mountains, is at peace.
8. Beyond, both the eastern parts of the mountains, and those likewise
inclining to the south, are possessed by the Rhæti and Vindelici, who
adjoin the Helvetii and Boii, and press upon their plains. The Rhæti
extend as far as Italy above Verona and Como. The Rhætian wine, which is
esteemed not inferior to the finest wines of Italy, is produced [from
vines which grow] at the foot of the mountains. These people extend also
as far as the districts through which the Rhine flows. The Lepontii and
Camuni are of their nation. The Vindelici and Norici possess, for the
most part, the opposite side of the mountains together with the Breuni
and Genauni, who form part of the Illyrians.[1539] All these people were
continually making incursions both into the neighbouring parts of Italy,
and into [the countries] of the Helvetii, the Sequani,[1540] the Boii,
and the Germans.[1541] But the Licattii, the Clautinatii, and the
Vennones[1542] proved the boldest amongst the Vindelici; and the
Rucantii and Cotuantii amongst the Rhæti. Both the Estiones and
Brigantii belong to the Vindelici; their cities are Brigantium,
Campodunum, and Damasia, which may be looked upon as the Acropolis of
the Licattii. It is narrated, as an instance of the extreme brutality of
these robbers towards the people of Italy, that when they have taken any
village or city, they not only put to death all the men capable of
bearing arms, but likewise all the male children, and do not even stop
here, but murder every pregnant woman who, their diviners say, will
bring forth a male infant.[1543]
9. After these come certain of the Norici, and the Carni, who inhabit
the country about the Adriatic Gulf and Aquileia. The Taurisci belong to
the Norici. Tiberius and his brother Drusus in one summer put a stop to
their lawless incursions, so that now for three and thirty years[1544]
they have lived quietly and paid their tribute regularly. Throughout the
whole region of the Alps there are hilly districts capable of excellent
cultivation, and well situated valleys; but the greater part, especially
the summits of the mountains inhabited by the robbers, are barren and
unfruitful, both on account of the frost and the ruggedness of the land.
On account of the want of food and other necessaries the mountaineers
have sometimes been obliged to spare the inhabitants of the plains, that
they might have some people to supply them; for these they have given
them in exchange, resin, pitch, torches, [CAS. 207] wax, cheese, and
honey, of which they have plenty. In the Mount Apennine[1545] which lies
above the Carni there is a lake which runs out into the Isar, which
river, after receiving another river, the Aude,[1546] discharges itself
into the Adriatic. From this lake there is also another river, the
Atesinus, which flows into the Danube.[1547] The Danube itself rises in
the mountains which are split into many branches and numerous summits.
For from Liguria to here the summits of the Alps stretch along
continuously, presenting the appearance of one mountain; but after this
they rise and fall in turns, forming numerous ridges and peaks. The
first of these is beyond the Rhine and the lake[1548] inclining towards
the east, its ridge moderately elevated; here are the sources of the
Danube near to the Suevi and the forest of Hercynia.[1549] The other
branches extend towards Illyria and the Adriatic, such are the Mount
Apennine, already mentioned, Tullum and Phligadia,[1550] the mountains
lying above the Vindelici from whence proceed the Duras,[1551] the
Clanis,[1552] and many other rivers which discharge themselves like
torrents into the current of the Danube.
10. Near to these regions dwell the Iapodes, (a nation now mixed with
the Illyrians, and Kelts,) close to them is [the Mount] Ocra.[1553]
Formerly the Iapodes were numerous, inhabiting either side of the
mountain, and were notorious for their predatory habits, but they have
been entirely reduced and brought to subjection by Augustus Cæsar. Their
cities are Metulum,[1554] Arupenum,[1555] Monetium,[1556] and
Vendon.[1557] After these is the city of Segesta,[1558] [situated] in a
plain. Near to it flows the river Save,[1559] which discharges itself
into the Danube. This city lies in an advantageous position for carrying
on war against the Dacians.[1560] Ocra forms the lowest portion of the
Alps, where they approach the territory of the Carni, and through which
they convey the merchandise of Aquileia in waggons to Pamportus.[1561]
This route is not more than 400 stadia. From thence they convey it by
the rivers as far as the Danube and surrounding districts, for a
navigable river[1562] which flows out of Illyria, passes by Pamportus,
and discharges itself into the Save, so that the merchandise may easily
be carried down both to Segesta, and to the Pannonians, and
Taurisci.[1563] It is near this city,[1564] that the Kulp[1565] falls
into the Save. Both of these rivers are navigable, and flow down from
the Alps. The Alps contain wild horses and cattle, and Polybius asserts
that an animal of a singular form is found there; it resembles a stag
except in the neck and hair, which are similar to those of a wild boar;
under its chin it has a tuft of hair about a span long, and the
thickness of the tail of a young horse.[1566]
11. One of the passages over the mountains from Italy into Transalpine
and northern Keltica is that which passes through the country of the
Salassi, and leads to Lugdunum.[1567] This [route] is divided into two
ways, one practicable for carriages, but longer, which crosses the
country of the Centrones, the other steep and narrow, but shorter; this
crosses the Pennine [Alps]. Lugdunum is situated in the midst of the
country, serving as an Acropolis, both on account of the confluence of
[CAS. 208] the rivers, and of its being equally near to all parts. It
was on this account that Agrippa cut all the roads from this [as a
centre] one running through the mountains of the Cevennes to the
Santones[1568] and Aquitaine,[1569] another towards the Rhine; a third
towards the ocean by the country of the Bellovaci[1570] and
Ambiani,[1571] and a fourth towards the Narbonnaise and the coast of
Marseilles.[1572] The traveller, also, leaving Lugdunum and the country
above on his left, may pass over the Pennine Alps themselves, the Rhone,
or Lake Leman, into the plains of the Helvetii, whence there is a
passage through Mount Jura into the country of the Sequani, and
Lingones; here the road separates into two routes, one running to the
Rhine, and the other[1573] to the ocean.
12. Polybius tells us that in his time the gold mines were so rich about
Aquileia, but particularly in the countries of the Taurisci Norici, that
if you dug but two feet below the surface you found gold, and that the
diggings [generally] were not deeper than fifteen feet. In some
instances the gold was found pure in lumps about the size of a bean or
lupin, and which diminished in the fire only about one eighth; and in
others, though requiring more fusion, was still very profitable. Certain
Italians[1574] aiding the barbarians in working [the mines], in the
space of two months the value of gold was diminished throughout the
whole of Italy by one third. The Taurisci on discovering this drove out
their fellow-labourers, and only sold the gold themselves. Now, however,
the Romans possess all the gold mines. Here, too, as well as in Iberia,
the rivers yield gold-dust as well as the diggings, though not in such
large quantities. The same writer, speaking of the extent and height of
the Alps, compares with them the largest mountains of Greece, such as
Taygetum,[1575] Lycæum,[1576] Parnassus,[1577] Olympus,[1578]
Pelion,[1579] Ossa,[1580] and of Thrace, as the Hæmus, Rhodope, and
Dunax, saying that an active person might almost ascend any of these in
a single day, and go round them in the same time, whereas five days
would not be sufficient to ascend the Alps, while their length along the
plains extends 2200 stadia.[1581] He only names four passes over the
mountains, one through Liguria close to the Tyrrhenian Sea,[1582] a
second through the country of the Taurini,[1583] by which Hannibal
passed, a third through the country of the Salassi,[1584] and a fourth
through that of the Rhæti,[1585] all of them precipitous. In these
mountains, he says, there are numerous lakes; three large ones, the
first of which is Benacus,[1586] 500 stadia in length and 130 in
breadth, the river Mincio flows from it. The second is the
Verbanus,[1587] 400 stadia [in length], and in breadth smaller than the
preceding; [CAS. 209] the great river Ticino[1588] flows from this
[lake]. The third is the Larius,[1589] its length is nearly 300 stadia,
and its breadth 30, the river Adda flows from it. All these rivers flow
into the Po. This is what we have to say concerning the Alpine
mountains.
BOOK V.
ITALY.
SUMMARY.
The Fifth Book contains a description of Italy from the roots of
the Alps to the Strait of Sicily, the Gulf of Taranto, and the
region about Posidonium; likewise of Venetia, Liguria, Agro
Piceno, Tuscany, Rome, Campania, Lucania, Apulia, and the islands
lying in the sea between Genoa and Sicily.
CHAPTER I.
1. At the foot of the Alps commences the region now known as Italy. The
ancients by Italy merely understood Œnotria, which reached from the
Strait of Sicily to the Gulf of Taranto, and the region about
Posidonium,[1590] but the name has extended even to the foot of the
Alps; comprehending on one side that portion of Liguria situated by the
sea, from the confines of Tyrrhenia to the Var; and on the other, that
portion of Istria which extends as far as Pola. It seems probable that
the first inhabitants were named Italians, and, being successful, they
communicated their name to the neighbouring tribes, and this propagation
[of name] continued until the Romans obtained dominion. Afterwards, when
the Romans conferred on the Italians the privileges of equal
citizenship, and thought fit to extend the same honour to the Cisalpine
Galatæ and Heneti,[1591] they comprised the whole under the general
denomination of Italians and Romans; they likewise founded amongst them
numerous colonies, some earlier, some later, of which it would be
difficult to say which are the most considerable.
2. It is not easy to describe the whole of Italy under any one
geometrical figure; although some say that it is a promontory of
triangular form, extending towards the south and winter rising, with its
apex towards the Strait of Sicily, and [CAS. 210] its base formed by the
Alps.... [No one can allow this definition either for the base or one of
the sides,] although it is correct for the other side which terminates
at the Strait, and is washed by the Tyrrhenian Sea. But a triangle,
properly so called, is a rectilinear figure, whereas in this instance
both the base and the sides are curved. So that, if I agree, I must add
that the base and the sides are of a curved figure, and it must be
conceded to me that the eastern side deviates, as well; otherwise they
have not been sufficiently exact in describing as one side that which
extends from the head of the Adriatic to the Strait [of Sicily]. For we
designate as a side a line without any angle; now a line without any
angle is one which does not incline to either side, or but very little;
whereas the line from Ariminum[1592] to the Iapygian promontory,[1593]
and that from the Strait [of Sicily] to the same promontory, incline
very considerably. The same I consider to be the case with regard to the
lines drawn from the head of the Adriatic and Iapygia, for meeting about
the neighbourhood of Ariminum and Ravenna, they form an angle, or if not
an angle, at least a strongly defined curve. Consequently, if the coast
from the head [of the Adriatic] to Iapygia be considered as one side, it
cannot be described as a right line; neither can the remainder of the
line from hence to the Strait [of Sicily], though it may be considered
another side, be said to form a right line. Thus the figure [of Italy]
may be said to be rather quadrilateral than trilateral, and can never
without impropriety be called a triangle. It is better to confess that
you cannot define exactly ungeometrical figures.
3. [Italy], however, may be described in the following manner. The roots
of the Alps are curved, and in the form of a gulf, the head turned
towards Italy; the middle of the gulf in the country of the Salassi, and
its extremities turned, the one towards Ocra and the head of the
Adriatic, the other towards the coast of Liguria as far as Genoa, a
mercantile city of the Ligurians, where the Apennines fall in with the
Alps. Immediately under [the Alps] there is a considerable plain, of
about an equal extent of 2100 stadia both in breadth and length; its
southern side is closed by the coast of the Heneti[1594] and the
Apennines, which extend to Ariminum and Ancona; for these mountains,
commencing at Liguria, enter Tyrrhenia, leaving but a narrow sea-coast;
they afterwards retire by degrees into the interior, and having reached
the territory of Pisa, turn towards the east in the direction of the
Adriatic as far as the country about Ariminum and Ancona, where they
approach the sea-coast of the Heneti at right angles. Cisalpine Keltica
is enclosed within these limits, and the length of the coast joined to
that of the mountains is 6300 stadia; its breadth rather less than 2000.
The remainder of Italy is long and narrow, and terminates in two
promontories, one[1595] extending to the Strait of Sicily, the
other[1596] to Iapygia. It is embraced on one side by the
Adriatic,[1597] on the other by the Tyrrhenian Sea.[1598] The form and
size of the Adriatic resembles that portion of Italy bounded by the
Apennines and the two seas, and extending as far as Iapygia and the
isthmus which separates the Gulf of Taranto from that of
Posidonium.[1599] The greatest breadth of both is about 1300 stadia, and
the length not much less than 6000. The remainder of the country is
possessed by the Bruttii, and certain of the Leucani. Polybius tells us,
that traversing the sea-coast on foot from Iapygia[1600] to the Strait
[of Sicily] there are 3000 stadia, the coast being washed by the Sea of
Sicily; but, that going by water it is 500 stadia less. The Apennines,
after approaching the country about Ariminum and Ancona, and determining
the breadth of Italy at this point from sea to sea, change their
direction and divide the whole country throughout its length. As far as
the Peucetii and Leucani they do not recede much from the Adriatic, but
on arriving at the Leucani they decline considerably towards the other
sea,[1601] and traversing the remainder of the distance through the
Leucani and Bruttii, terminate at Leucopetra,[1602] in Reggio. Such is a
general description of the whole of present Italy. We will now endeavour
to undertake a description of its various parts. And, first, of those
situated below the Alps.
[CAS. 212] 4. This is a superb plain variegated with fruitful hills. The
Po divides it almost through its midst, one side being denominated
Cispadana, and the other Transpadana. Cispadana comprehends that part
next the Apennines and Liguria and Transpadana the remainder. The former
[division] is inhabited by Ligurian and Keltic nations, the former
inhabiting the mountains and the latter the plains; and the latter
[division] by Kelts and Heneti. These Kelts are of the same race as the
Transalpine Kelts. Concerning the Heneti there are two traditions, some
saying that they are a colony of those Kelts of the same name who dwell
by the ocean.[1603] Others say that they are descended from the Veneti
of Paphlagonia, who took refuge here with Antenor after the Trojan war;
and they give as a proof of this the attention these people bestow on
rearing horses; which, though now entirely abandoned, was formerly in
great esteem among them, resulting from the ancient rage for breeding
mules, which Homer thus mentions:
“From the Eneti for forest mules renowned.”[1604]
It was here that Dionysius, the tyrant of Sicily, kept his stud of
race-horses. And, in consequence, the Henetian horses were much esteemed
in Greece, and their breed in great repute for a long period.
5. The whole of this country[1605] is full of rivers and marshes,
especially the district of the Heneti, which likewise experiences the
tides of the sea. This is almost the only part of our sea[1606] which is
influenced in the same manner as the ocean, and, like it, has ebb and
flood tides. In consequence most of the plain is covered with
lagoons.[1607] The inhabitants have dug canals and dikes, after the
manner of Lower Egypt, so that part of the country is drained and
cultivated, and the rest is navigable. Some of their cities stand in the
midst of water like islands, others are only partially surrounded. Such
as lie above the marshes in the interior are situated on rivers
navigable for a surprising distance, the Po in particular, which is
both a large river, and also continually swelled by the rains and snows.
As it expands into numerous outlets, its mouth is not easily perceptible
and is difficult to enter. But experience surmounts even the greatest
difficulties.
6. Formerly, as we have said, the district next this river was chiefly
inhabited by Kelts. The principal nations of these Kelts were the Boii,
the Insubri, and the Senones and Gæsatæ, who in one of their incursions
took possession of Rome. The Romans afterwards entirely extirpated these
latter, and expelled the Boii from their country, who then migrated to
the land about the Danube, where they dwelt with the Taurisci, and
warred against the Dacians until the whole nation was destroyed; and
they left to the surrounding tribes this sheep-pasturing district of
Illyria. The Insubri still exist; their metropolis is Mediolanum,[1608]
which formerly was a village, (for they all dwelt in villages,) but is
now a considerable city, beyond the Po, and almost touching the Alps.
Near to it is Verona, a large city, and the smaller towns Brescia,
Mantua, Reggio, and Como. This latter was but a very indifferent colony,
having been seriously impaired by the Rhæti who dwelt higher up, but it
was repeopled by Pompey Strabo, father of Pompey the Great. Afterwards
Caius Scipio[1609] transferred thither 3000 men, and finally divus Cæsar
peopled it with 5000 men, the most distinguished of whom were 500
Greeks. He conferred on these the privileges of citizens, and enrolled
them amongst the inhabitants. They not only took up their abode here,
but left their name to the colony itself; for all the inhabitants taking
the name of Νεοκωμῖται, this was translated [into Latin], and the place
called Novum-Comum. Near to this place is Lake Larius,[1610] which is
filled by the river Adda, and afterwards flows out into the Po. The
sources of this river, as well as those of the Rhine, rise in Mount
Adulas.[1611]
7. These cities are situated high above the marshes; near to them is
Patavium,[1612] the finest of all the cities in this [CAS. 213]
district, and which at the time of the late census[1613] was said to
contain 500 equites. Anciently it could muster an army of 120,000 men.
The population and skill of this city is evinced by the vast amount of
manufactured goods it sends to the Roman market, especially clothing of
all kinds. It communicates with the sea by a river navigable from a
large harbour [at its mouth], the river runs across the marshes for a
distance of 250 stadia. This harbour,[1614] as well as the river,[1615]
is named Medoacus. Situated in the marshes is the great [city of]
Ravenna, built entirely on piles,[1616] and traversed by canals, which
you cross by bridges or ferry-boats. At the full tides it is washed by a
considerable quantity of sea-water, as well as by the river, and thus
the sewage is carried off, and the air purified; in fact, the district
is considered so salubrious that the [Roman] governors have selected it
as a spot to bring up and exercise the gladiators in. It is a remarkable
peculiarity of this place, that, though situated in the midst of a
marsh, the air is perfectly innocuous; the same is the case with respect
to Alexandria in Egypt, where the malignity of the lake during summer is
entirely removed by the rising of the river which covers over the mud.
Another remarkable peculiarity is that of its vines, which, though
growing in the marshes, make very quickly and yield a large amount of
fruit, but perish in four or five years. Altinum[1617] stands likewise
in the marshes, its situation being very similar to that of Ravenna.
Between them is Butrium,[1618] a small city of Ravenna, and Spina,[1619]
which is now a village, but was anciently a celebrated Grecian city. In
fact, the treasures of the Spinitæ are shown at Delphi, and it is,
besides, reported in history that they had dominion over the sea. They
say that it formerly stood on the sea; now, however, the district is
inland about 90 stadia from the sea. Ravenna is reported to have been
founded by Thessalians, who not being able to sustain the violence of
the Tyrrheni, welcomed into their city some of the Ombrici, who still
possess it, while they themselves returned home. These cities for the
most part are surrounded, and, as it were, washed by the marshes.
8. Opitergium,[1620] Concordia, Atria,[1621] Vicetia,[1622] as well as
some smaller cities, are less annoyed by the marshes: they communicate
by small navigable canals with the sea. They say that Atria was formerly
a famous city, from which the Adriatic Gulf, with a slight variation,
received its name. Aquileia, which is the nearest to the head [of the
gulf], was founded by the Romans,[1623] to keep in check the barbarians
dwelling higher up. You may navigate transport ships to it up the river
Natisone for more than sixty stadia. This is the trading city with the
nations of Illyrians who dwell round the Danube. Some deal in marine
merchandise, and carry in waggons wine in wooden casks and oil, and
others exchange slaves, cattle, and hides. Aquileia is without the
limits of the Heneti, their country being bounded by a river which flows
from the mountains of the Alps, and is navigable for a distance of 1200
stadia, as far as the city of Noreia,[1624] near to where Cnæus Carbo
was defeated in his attack upon the Kimbrians.[1625] This place contains
fine stations for gold washing and iron-works. At the very head of the
Adriatic is the Timavum,[1626] a temple consecrated to Diomede, worthy
of notice. For it contains a harbour and a fine grove, with seven
springs of fresh water, which fall into the sea in a broad, deep
river.[1627] Polybius, however, says that, with the exception of one,
they are all salt springs, and that it is on this account the place is
called by the inhabitants—_the source and mother of the sea_.
Posidonius, on the other hand, tells us that the river Timavo, after
flowing from the mountains, precipitates itself into a chasm, [CAS. 215]
and after flowing under ground about 130 stadia, discharges itself into
the sea.
9. That Diomedes did hold sovereignty over the country around this
sea,[1628] is proved both by the Diomedean islands,[1629] and the
traditions concerning the Daunii and Argos-Hippium.[1630] Of these we
shall narrate as much as may be serviceable to history, and shall leave
alone the numerous falsehoods and myths; such, for instance, as those
concerning Phaethon and the Heliades[1631] changed into alders near the
[river] Eridanus, which exists no where, although said to be near the
Po;[1632] of the islands Electrides, opposite the mouths of the Po, and
the Meleagrides,[1633] found in them; none of which things exist in
these localities.[1634] However, some have narrated that honours are
paid to Diomedes amongst the Heneti, and that they sacrifice to him a
white horse; two groves are likewise pointed out, one [sacred] to the
Argian Juno, and the other to the Ætolian Diana. They have too, as we
might expect, fictions concerning these groves; for instance, that the
wild beasts in them grow tame, that the deer herd with wolves, and they
suffer men to approach and stroke them; and that when pursued by dogs,
as soon as they have reached these groves, the dogs no longer pursue
them. They say, too, that a certain person, well known for the facility
with which he offered himself as a pledge for others, being bantered on
this subject by some hunters who came up with him having a wolf in
leash, they said in jest, that if he would become pledge for the wolf
and pay for the damage he might do, they would loose the bonds. To this
the man consented, and they let loose the wolf, who gave chase to a herd
of horses unbranded, and drove them into the stable of the person who
had become pledge for him. The man accepted the gift, branded the horses
with [the representation of] a wolf, and named them _Lucophori_. They
were distinguished rather for their swiftness than gracefulness. His
heirs kept the same brand and the same name for this race of horses, and
made it a rule never to part with a single mare, in order that they
might remain sole possessors of the race which became famous. At the
present day, however, as we have before remarked, this [rage for]
horse-breeding has entirely ceased.
After the Timavum[1635] comes the sea-coast of Istria as far as Pola,
which appertains to Italy. Between [the two] is the fortress of
Tergeste, distant from Aquileia 180 stadia. Pola is situated in a gulf
forming a kind of port, and containing some small islands,[1636]
fruitful, and with good harbours. This city was anciently founded by the
Colchians sent after Medea, who not being able to fulfil their mission,
condemned themselves to exile. As Callimachus says,
“It a Greek would call
The town of Fugitives, but in their tongue
’Tis Pola named.”
The different parts of Transpadana are inhabited by the Heneti and the
Istrii as far as Pola; above the Heneti, by the Carni, the Cenomani, the
Medoaci, and the Symbri.[1637] These nations were formerly at enmity
with the Romans, but the Cenomani and Heneti allied themselves with that
nation, both prior to the expedition of Hannibal, when they waged war
with the Boii and Symbrii,[1637] and also after that time.
10. Cispadana comprehends all that country enclosed [CAS. 216] between
the Apennines and the Alps as far as Genoa and Vada-Sabatorum.[1638] The
greater part was inhabited by the Boii, the Ligurians, the Senones, and
Gæsatæ; but after the depopulation of the Boii, and the destruction of
the Gæsatæ and Senones, the Ligurian tribes and the Roman colonies alone
remained. The nation of the Ombrici[1639] and certain of the Tyrrheni
are also mixed amongst the Romans. These two nations, before the
aggrandizement of the Romans, had some disputes with each other
concerning precedence. Having only the river Tiber between, it was easy
to commence war upon each other; and if the one sent out an expedition
against any nation, it was the ambition of the other to enter the same
country with an equal force. Thus, the Tyrrheni, having organized a
successful expedition against the barbarians [dwelling in the countries]
about the Po, but having speedily lost again through their luxury [all
they had acquired], the Ombrici made war upon those who had driven them
out. Disputes arose between the Tyrrheni and Ombrici concerning the
right of possessing these places, and both nations founded many
colonies; those, however, of the Ombrici were most numerous, as they
were nearest to the spot. When the Romans gained the dominion, they sent
out colonies to different parts, but preserved those which had been
formerly planted by their predecessors. And although now they are all
Romans, they are not the less distinguished, some by the names of Ombri
and Tyrrheni, others by those of Heneti, Ligurians, and Insubri.
11. Both in Cispadana and around the Po there are some fine cities.
Placentia[1640] and Cremona, situated about the middle of the country,
are close to each other. Between these and Ariminum,[1641] are Parma,
Mutina,[1642] and Bononia,[1643] which is near to Ravenna; amongst these
are smaller cities on the route to Rome, as Acara,[1644]
Rhegium-Lepidum,[1645] Macri-Campi,[1646] where a public festival is
held every year, Claterna,[1647] Forum-Cornelium;[1648] while
Faventia[1649] and Cæsena, situated near to the river Savio[1650] and
the Rubicon,[1651] are adjacent to Ariminum. Ariminum, like Ravenna, is
an ancient colony of the Ombri, but both of them have received also
Roman colonies. Ariminum has a port and a river[1652] of the same name
as itself. From Placentia to Ariminum there are 1300 stadia. About 36
miles above Placentia, towards the boundaries of the kingdom of Cottius,
is the city of Ticinum,[1653] by which flows a river[1654] bearing the
same name, which falls into the Po, while a little out of the route are
Clastidium,[1655] Derthon,[1656] and Aquæ-Statiellæ.[1657] But the
direct route as far as Ocelum,[1658] along the Po and the Doria
Riparia,[1659] is full of precipices, intersected by numerous other
rivers, one of which is the Durance,[1660] and is about 160 miles long.
Here commence the Alpine mountains and Keltica.[1661] Near to the
mountains above Luna is the city of Lucca. Some [of the people of this
part of Italy] dwell in villages, nevertheless it is well populated, and
furnishes the greater part of the military force, and of equites, of
whom the senate is partly composed. Derthon is a considerable city,
situated about half way on the road from Genoa to Placentia, which are
distant 400 stadia from each other. Aquæ-Statiellæ is on the same route.
That from Placentia to Ariminum we have already described, but the sail
to Ravenna down the Po requires two days and nights. A[1662] great part
of Cispadana likewise was covered by marshes, through which Hannibal
passed with difficulty on his march into Tyrrhenia.[1663] But Scaurus
drained the plains by navigable canals from the Po[1664] to the country
of the Parmesans. For the Trebia meeting the Po near Placentia, and
having previously received many other rivers, is over-swollen near this
place. I allude to the Scaurus[1665] who also made the Æmilian road
through Pisa and Luna as far as Sabbatorum, and thence through Derthon.
There is another Æmilian road, which continues the Flaminian. For Marcus
Lepidus and Caius Flaminius being colleagues in the consulship, and
having vanquished the Ligurians, the one made the Via Flaminia from Rome
across [CAS. 218] Tyrrhenia and Ombrica as far as the territory of
Ariminum,[1666] the other, the road as far as Bononia,[1667] and thence
to Aquileia[1668] by the roots of the Alps, and encircling the marshes.
The boundaries which separate from the rest of Italy this country, which
we designate Citerior Keltica,[1669] were marked by the Apennine
mountains above Tyrrhenia and the river Esino,[1670] and afterwards by
the Rubicon.[1671] Both these rivers fall into the Adriatic.
12. The fertility of this country is proved by its population, the size
of its cities, and its wealth, in all of which the Romans of this
country surpass the rest of Italy. The cultivated land produces fruits
in abundance and of every kind, and the woods contain such abundance of
mast, that Rome is principally supplied from the swine fed there. Being
well supplied with water, millet grows there in perfection. This affords
the greatest security against famine, inasmuch as millet resists any
inclemency of the atmosphere, and never fails, even when there is
scarcity of other kinds of grain. Their pitch-works are amazing, and
their casks give evidence of the abundance of wine: these are made of
wood, and are larger than houses, and the great supply of pitch allows
them to be sold cheap. The soft wool and by far the best is produced in
the country round Mutina[1672] and the river Panaro;[1673] while the
coarse wool, which forms the main article of clothing amongst the slaves
in Italy, is produced in Liguria and the country of the Symbri. There is
a middling kind grown about Patavium,[1674] of which the finer carpets,
gausapi,[1675] and every thing else of the same sort, whether with the
wool on one or on both sides, are made. The mines are not worked now so
diligently, because not equally profitable with those of Transalpine
Keltica and Iberia; but formerly they must have been, since there were
gold-diggings even in Vercelli, near to Ictimuli,[1676] both which
villages are near to Placentia.[1677] Here we finish our description of
the first part of Italy, and pass on to the second.
CHAPTER II.
1. In the second place, we shall treat of that portion of Liguria
situated in the Apennines, between the Keltica[1678] already described
and Tyrrhenia. There is nothing worth mentioning about it, except that
the people dwell in villages, ploughing and digging the intractable
land, or rather, as Posidonius expresses it, hewing the rocks.
The third division contains the Tyrrhenians, who dwell next the former,
and inhabit the plains extending to the Tiber, which river, as far as
its outlet, washes the side towards the east, the opposite side being
washed by the Tyrrhenian and Sardinian sea. The Tiber flows from the
Apennines, and is swelled by many rivers; it flows partly through
Tyrrhenia, dividing it in the first instance from Ombrica,[1679]
afterwards from the Sabini and the Latini, who are situated next Rome as
far as the sea-coast; so that these countries are bounded in their
breadth by the river [Tiber] and the Tyrrhenians, and in their length by
each other. They extend upwards towards the Apennines which approach the
Adriatic. The first[1680] are the Ombrici, after these the Sabini, and
finally the inhabitants of Latium. They all commence from the river. The
country of the Latini extends on one side along the sea-coast from Ostia
to the city of Sinuessa, on the other it is bounded by the land of the
Sabini, (Ostia is the port of Rome, through which the Tiber passes in
its course,) it [CAS. 219] extends in length as far as Campania and the
Samnitic mountains. The country of the Sabini lies between the Latini
and the Ombrici, it likewise extends to the Samnitic mountains, but
approaches nearer to the Apennines inhabited by the Vestini, the
Peligni, and the Marsi. The Ombrici lie between the country of the
Sabini and Tyrrhenia, but extend beyond the mountains as far as
Ariminum,[1681] and Ravenna. The Tyrrheni, commencing from their own sea
and the Tiber, extend to the circular chain of mountains which stretches
from Liguria to the Adriatic. We will now enter into a detailed account,
commencing with these.
2. The Tyrrheni have now received from the Romans the surname of Etrusci
and Tusci. The Greeks thus named them from Tyrrhenus the son of Atys, as
they say, who sent hither a colony from Lydia. Atys, who was one of the
descendants of Hercules and Omphale, and had two sons, in a time of
famine and scarcity determined by lot that Lydus should remain in the
country, but that Tyrrhenus, with the greater part of the people, should
depart. Arriving here, he named the country after himself, Tyrrhenia,
and founded twelve cities, having appointed as their governor Tarcon,
from whom the city of Tarquinia [received its name], and who, on account
of the sagacity which he had displayed from childhood, was feigned to
have been born with hoary hair. Placed originally under one authority,
they became flourishing; but it seems that in after-times, their
confederation being broken up and each city separated, they yielded to
the violence of the neighbouring tribes. Otherwise they would never have
abandoned a fertile country for a life of piracy on the sea, roving from
one ocean to another; since, when united they were able not only to
repel those who assailed them, but to act on the offensive, and
undertake long campaigns. After the foundation of Rome, Demaratus
arrived here, bringing with him people from Corinth.[1682] He was
received at Tarquinia, where he had a son, named Lucumo, by a woman of
that country.[1683] Lucumo becoming the friend of Ancus Marcius, king
of the Romans, succeeded him on the throne, and assumed the name of
Lucius Tarquinius Priscus. Both he and his father did much for the
embellishment of Tyrrhenia, the one by means of the numerous artists who
had followed him from their native country; the other having the
resources of Rome.[1684] It is said that the triumphal costume of the
consuls, as well as that of the other magistrates, was introduced from
the Tarquinii, with the fasces, axes, trumpets, sacrifices, divination,
and music employed by the Romans in their public ceremonies. His son,
the second Tarquin, named Superbus, who was driven from his throne, was
the last king [of Rome]. Porsena, king of Clusium,[1685] a city of
Tyrrhenia, endeavoured to replace him on the throne by force of arms,
but not being able he made peace[1686] with the Romans, and departed in
a friendly way, with honour and loaded with gifts.
3. Such are the facts concerning the celebrity of the Tyrrheni, to which
may be added the exploits of the Cæretani,[1687] who defeated the Galatæ
after they had taken Rome. Having attacked them as they were departing
through the country of the Sabini, they took from them, much against
their will, the ransom which the Romans had willingly paid to them;
besides this, they took under their protection those who fled to them
out of Rome, the sacred fire and the priestesses of Vesta.[1688] The
Romans, influenced by those who then misgoverned the city, seem not to
have been properly mindful of this service; for although they conferred
on them the rights of citizenship, they did not enrol them amongst the
citizens; and further, they inscribed upon the same roll with the
Cæretani, others who did not enjoy as great privileges as they did.
However, [CAS. 220] amongst the Greeks this city was highly esteemed
both for its bravery and rectitude of conduct; for they refrained from
piracy, with favourable opportunities for engaging in it, and dedicated
at Delphi the treasure, as it was called, of the Agyllæi; for their
country was formerly named Agylla, though now Cærea. It is said to have
been founded by Pelasgi from Thessaly. The Lydians, who had taken the
name of Tyrrheni, having engaged in war against the Agyllæi, one of
them, approaching the wall, inquired the name of the city; when one of
the Thessalians from the wall, instead of answering the question,
saluted him with χαῖρε.[1689] The Tyrrheni received this as an omen, and
having taken the city they changed its name. This city, once so
flourishing and celebrated, only preserves the traces [of its former
greatness]; the neighbouring hot springs, named Cæretana,[1690] being
more frequented than it, by the people attracted thither for the sake of
their health.
4. Almost every one is agreed that the Pelasgi were an ancient race
spread throughout the whole of Greece, but especially in the country of
the Æolians near to Thessaly. Ephorus, however, says that he considers
they were originally Arcadians, who had taken up a warlike mode of life;
and having persuaded many others to the same course, imparted their own
name to the whole, and became famous both among the Greeks, and in every
other country where they chanced to come. Homer informs us that there
were colonies of them in Crete, for he makes Ulysses say to Penelope—
“Diverse their language is; Achaians some,
And some indigenous are; Cydonians there,
Crest-shaking Dorians, and Pelasgians dwell.”[1691]
And that portion of Thessaly between the outlets of the Peneius[1692]
and the Thermopylæ, as far as the mountains of Pindus, is named Pelasgic
Argos, the district having formerly belonged to the Pelasgi. The poet
himself also gives to Dodonæan Jupiter, the epithet of Pelasgian:—
“Pelasgian, Dodonæan Jove supreme.”[1693]
Many have likewise asserted that the nations of the Epirus are Pelasgic,
because the dominions of the Pelasgi extended so far. And, as many of
the heroes have been named Pelasgi, later writers have applied the same
name to the nations over which they were the chiefs. Thus Lesbos[1694]
has been called Pelasgic, and Homer has called the people bordering on
the Cilices in the Troad Pelasgic:—
“Hippothous from Larissa, for her soil
Far-famed, the spear-expert Pelasgians brought.”[1695]
Ephorus, when he supposes that they were a tribe of Arcadians, follows
Hesiod, who says,
“The sons born of the divine Lycaon, whom formerly Pelasgus
begot.”
Likewise Æschylus in his Suppliants, or Danaids, makes their race to be
of Argos near Mycenæ. Ephorus likewise says that Peloponnesus was named
Pelasgia; and Euripides, in the Archelaus, says,
“Danaus, who was the father of fifty daughters, having arrived in
Argos, inhabited[1696] the city of Inachus, and made a law that
those who had before borne the name of Pelasgiotæ throughout
Greece should be called Danai.”
Anticlides says, that they first colonized about Lemnos and Imbros, and
that some of their number passed into Italy with Tyrrhenus, the son of
Atys. And the writers on the Athenian Antiquities,[1697] relate of the
Pelasgi, that some of them came to Athens, where, on account of their
wanderings, and their settling like birds in any place where they
chanced to come, they were called by the Athenians _Pelargi_.[1698]
5. They say that the greatest length of Tyrrhenia, which is along the
coast from Luna to Ostia, is about 2500 stadia; and that its breadth in
the direction of the mountains is less than half that number. Then from
Luna to Pisa there are more than 400 stadia; from thence to
Volaterræ[1699] 280; thence to [CAS. 222] Poplonium 270; and from
Poplonium to Cossa[1700] near 800, or as some say, 600. Polybius,
however, says that there are not[1701] in all 1330.[1702] Of these Luna
is a city and harbour; it is named by the Greeks, the harbour and city
of Selene.[1703] The city is not large, but the harbour[1704] is very
fine and spacious, containing in itself numerous harbours, all of them
deep near the shore; it is in fact an arsenal worthy of a nation holding
dominion for so long a time over so vast a sea. The harbour is
surrounded by lofty mountains,[1705] from whence you may view the
sea[1706] and Sardinia, and a great part of the coast on either side.
Here are quarries of marble, both white and marked with green, so
numerous and large, as to furnish tablets and columns of one block; and
most of the material for the fine works, both in Rome and the other
cities, is furnished from hence. The transport of the marble is easy, as
the quarries lie near to the sea, and from the sea they are conveyed by
the Tiber. Tyrrhenia likewise supplies most of the straightest and
longest planks for building, as they are brought direct from the
mountains to the river. Between Luna and Pisa flows the Macra,[1707] a
division which many writers consider the true boundary of Tyrrhenia and
Liguria. Pisa was founded by the Pisatæ of the Peloponnesus, who went
under Nestor to the expedition against Troy, but in their voyage home
wandered out of their course, some to Metapontium,[1708] others to the
Pisatis; they were, however, all called Pylians. The city lies between
the two rivers Arno[1709] and Æsar,[1710] at their point of confluence;
the former of which, though very full, descends from Arretium[1711] not
in one body, but divided into three; the second flows down from the
Apennines. Where they fall into one current, the shock between them is
so great as to raise the water to that height, that people standing on
either bank are not able to see each other; so that necessarily the
voyage up from the sea is difficult. This voyage is about 20 stadia.
There is a tradition, that when these rivers first descended from the
mountains they were impeded by the inhabitants of the district, lest
falling together they should inundate the country; however, they
promised not to inundate it, and they have kept their word. This city
appears to have been formerly flourishing, and at the present day it
still maintains its name, on account of its fertility, its
marble-quarries, and its wood for building ships, which formerly they
employed to preserve themselves from danger by sea; for they were more
warlike than the Tyrrheni, and were constantly irritated by the
Ligurians, troublesome neighbours, who dwelt on the coast. At the
present day the wood is mostly employed for building houses in Rome, and
in the country villas [of the Romans], which resemble in their
gorgeousness Persian palaces.
6. The country of the Volaterrani[1712] is washed by the sea. Their city
is situated in a deep hollow on the top of a high hill. The wall of the
city is built round its summit, which is flat and precipitous on every
side. From its base, the ascent upward is fifteen stadia, steep and
difficult. Here certain of the Tyrrhenians and of those proscribed by
Sulla,[1713] took their stand, and having organized four bands,
sustained a siege for two years, and at last secured articles of truce
before surrendering the place. Poplonium is situated on a lofty
promontory, which projects into the sea, and forms a chersonesus. It
likewise sustained a siege about the same time. This little place is now
deserted, with the exception of the temples and a few houses; the
sea-port, which is situated at the root of the mountain, is better
inhabited, having both a small harbour and ship-sheds. This appears to
me the only one of the ancient Tyrrhenian cities situated on the sea;
the reason being that this territory affords no harbours. The founders
[of the cities] therefore either avoided the sea altogether, or threw up
fortifications in order that they might not become the ready prey of
those who might sail against them. On the [CAS. 223] summit [of the
cape] there is a look-out for thunnies.[1714] From this city there is an
indistinct and distant view of Sardinia. Cyrnus,[1715] however, is
nearer, being distant from Sardinia about 60 stadia. While Æthalia[1716]
is much nearer to the continent than either, being distant therefrom
only 300[1717] stadia, and the same number from Cyrnus. Poplonium is the
best starting-place to any of the three mentioned islands. We ourselves
observed them from the height of Poplonium, in which place we saw
certain mines which had been abandoned, we also saw the craftsmen who
work the iron brought from Æthalia; for they cannot reduce it into bars
in the furnaces on the island, and it is therefore transferred direct
from the mines to the continent. There is another remarkable
circumstance, that the exhausted mines of the island in course of time
are again refilled similarly to what they say takes place at the
_platamones_[1718] in Rhodes, the marble-quarries in Paros, and the
salt-mines in India, mentioned by Clitarchus. Eratosthenes was therefore
incorrect in saying that from the mainland you could neither see Cyrnus
nor Sardinia; and so was Artemidorus in his assertion, that both these
places lay in the high sea at a distance of 1200 stadia. For whatever
others might, I certainly could never have seen them at such a distance,
however carefully I had looked, particularly Cyrnus. Æthalia has a
harbour named Argoüs,[1719] derived, as they say, from the [ship] Argo,
Jason having sailed hither, seeking the abode of Circe as Medea wished
to see that goddess; and that from the sweat scraped off by the
Argonauts and hardened, are formed the variegated pebbles now seen on
the beach.[1720] This and similar traditions prove what we before
stated, that Homer did not invent them all himself, but, hearing the
numerous current stories, he merely transferred the scenes to other
localities and exaggerated the distances: as he makes Ulysses wander
over the ocean, so does he narrate of Jason, as he too had been renowned
for his travels: and the same he likewise relates of Menelaus. This is
what we have to say of Æthalia.
7. Cyrnus is called by the Romans Corsica; it is poorly inhabited, being
both rugged and in many parts entirely inaccessible, so that the
mountaineers, who live by plunder, are more savage than wild beasts.
Whenever any Roman general invades the country, and, penetrating into
the wilds, seizes a vast number of slaves, it is a marvel to behold in
Rome how savage and bestial they appear. For they either scorn to live,
or if they do live, aggravate their purchasers by their apathy and
insensibility, causing them to regret the purchase-money, however
small.[1721] We must remark, however, that some districts are habitable,
and that there are some small cities, for instance Blesino, Charax,
Eniconiæ, and Vapanes.[1722] The chorographer[1723] says that the length
of this island is 160 miles, its breadth 70; that the length of Sardinia
is 220, and its breadth 98. According to others, the perimeter of Cyrnus
is said to be about 1200[1724] stadia, and of Sardinia 4000. A great
portion of this latter is rugged and untranquil; another large portion
is fertile in every production, but particularly in wheat. There are
many cities, some are considerable, as Caralis[1725] and Sulchi.[1726]
There is however an evil, which must be set against the fertility of
these places; for during the summer the island is unhealthy, more
particularly so in the most fertile districts; in addition to this, it
is often ravaged by the mountaineers, whom they call Diagesbes,[1727]
who formerly were named Iolaënses. For it is said that Iolaus[1728]
brought hither certain of the children of Hercules, and established
himself amongst the barbarian [CAS. 225] possessors of the island, who
were Tyrrhenians. Afterwards the Phœnicians of Carthage became masters
of the island, and, assisted by the inhabitants, carried on war against
the Romans; but after the subversion of the Carthaginians, the Romans
became masters of the whole. There are four nations of mountaineers, the
Parati, Sossinati, Balari, and the Aconites. These people dwell in
caverns. Although they have some arable land, they neglect its
cultivation, preferring rather to plunder what they find cultivated by
others, whether on the island or on the continent, where they make
descents, especially upon the Pisatæ. The prefects sent [into Sardinia]
sometimes resist them, but at other times leave them alone, since it
would cost too dear to maintain an army always on foot in an unhealthy
place: they have, however, recourse to the arts of stratagem, and taking
advantage of the custom of the barbarians, who always hold a great
festival for several days after returning from a plundering expedition,
they then fall upon them, and capture many. There are rams here which,
instead of wool, have hair resembling that of a goat; they are called
musmones, and the inhabitants make corselets of their hides. They
likewise arm themselves with a pelta and a small sword.
8. Along the whole coast between Poplonium and Pisa these islands are
clearly visible; they are oblong, and all three nearly parallel,[1729]
running towards the south and Libya. Æthalia is by far smaller than
either of the other two. The chorographer says that the shortest passage
from Libya to Sardinia is 300[1730] miles. After Poplonium is the city
of Cossæ, situated at a short distance from the sea: there is at the
head of the bay a high hill upon which it is built; below it lies the
port of Hercules,[1731] and near to it a marsh formed by the sea.[1732]
At the summit of the cape which commands the gulf is a look-out for
thunnies; for the thunny pursues his course along the coast, from the
Atlantic Ocean as far as Sicily, in search not only of acorns, but also
of the fish which furnishes the purple dye. As one sails along the coast
from Cossæ to Ostia there are the towns of Gravisci,[1733] Pyrgi,[1734]
Alsium,[1735] and Fregena.[1736] [From Cossæ] to Gravisci is a distance
of 300 stadia, and between them is the place named Regis-Villa. This is
said to have been the royal residence of Maleos the Pelasgian; they
report that after he had reigned here for some time, he departed with
his Pelasgians to Athens. These were of the same tribe as those who
occupied Agylla. From Gravisci to Pyrgi is a little less than 180
stadia, and the sea-port town of the Cæretani is 30 stadia farther.
[Pyrgi] contains a temple of Ilethyia[1737] founded by the Pelasgi, and
which was formerly rich, but it was plundered by Dionysius the tyrant of
the Sicilians, at the time[1738] of his voyage to Cyrnus.[1739] From
Pyrgi to Ostia is 260 stadia; between the two are Alsium and Fregena.
Such is our account of the coast of Tyrrhenia.
9. In the interior of the country, besides the cities already mentioned,
there are Arretium,[1740] Perusia,[1741] Volsinii,[1742] Sutrium;[1743]
and in addition to these are numerous small cities, as Blera,[1744]
Ferentinum,[1745] Falerium,[1746] Faliscum,[1747] Nepita,[1748]
Statonia,[1749] and many others; some of which exist in their original
state, others have been colonized by the Romans, or partially ruined by
them in their wars, viz. those they frequently waged against the
Veii[1750] and the Fidenæ.[1751] Some say that the inhabitants of
Falerium are not Tyrrhenians, but Falisci, a distinct nation; others
state further, that the Falisci speak a language peculiar to themselves;
some again would make it Æquum-Faliscum on [CAS. 226] the Via Flaminia,
lying between Ocricli[1752] and Rome. Below Mount Soracte[1753] is the
city of Feronia, having the same name as a certain goddess of the
country, highly reverenced by the surrounding people: here is her
temple, in which a remarkable ceremony is performed, for those possessed
by the divinity pass over a large bed of burning coal and ashes
barefoot, unhurt. A great concourse of people assemble to assist at the
festival, which is celebrated yearly, and to see the said spectacle.
Arretium,[1754] near the mountains, is the most inland city: it is
distant from Rome 1200 stadia: from Clusium[1755] [to Rome] is 800
stadia. Near to these [two cities] is Perusia.[1756] The large and
numerous lakes add to the fertility of this country,[1757] they are
navigable, and stocked with fish and aquatic birds. Large quantities of
typha,[1758] papyrus, and anthela[1759] are transported to Rome, up the
rivers which flow from these lakes to the Tiber. Among these are the
lake Ciminius,[1760] and those near the Volsinii,[1761] and
Clusium,[1762] and Sabatus,[1763] which is nearest to Rome and the sea,
and the farthest Trasumennus,[1764] near Arretium. Along this is the
pass by which armies can proceed from [Cisalpine] Keltica into
Tyrrhenia; this is the one followed by Hannibal. There are two; the
other leads towards Ariminum across Ombrica, and is preferable as the
mountains are considerably lower; however, as this was carefully
guarded, Hannibal was compelled to take the more difficult, which he
succeeded in forcing after having vanquished Flaminius in a decisive
engagement. There are likewise in Tyrrhenia numerous hot springs, which
on account of their proximity to Rome, are not less frequented than
those of Baiæ, which are the most famous of all.
10. Ombrica lies along the eastern boundary of Tyrrhenia, and commencing
from the Apennines, or rather beyond those mountains, [extends] as far
as the Adriatic. For commencing from Ravenna, the Ombrici inhabit the
neighbouring country together with the cities of Sarsina,
Ariminum,[1765] Sena,[1766] †and Marinum.†[1767] To their country
likewise belongs the river Esino,[1768] Mount Cingulum, [the city of]
Sentinum,[1769] the river Metaurus, and the Fanum Fortunæ;[1770] for
about these parts are the boundaries which separate ancient Italy and
[Cisalpine] Keltica on the side next the Adriatic, although the boundary
has frequently been changed by the chief men of the state. First they
made the Esino the boundary; afterwards the river Rubicon: the Esino
being between Ancona and Sena, and the Rubicon between Ariminum and
Ravenna, both of them falling into the Adriatic. At the present day,
however, since Italy comprehends the whole country as far as the Alps,
we need take no further notice of these limits. All allow that
Ombrica[1771] extends as far as Ravenna, as the inhabitants are Ombrici.
From Ravenna to Ariminum they say is about 300 stadia. Going from
Ariminum to Rome by the Via Flaminia, the whole journey lies through
Ombrica as far as the city of Ocricli[1772] and the Tiber, a distance of
1350 stadia. This, consequently, is the length [of Ombrica]; its breadth
varies. The cities of considerable magnitude situated on this side the
Apennines along the Via Flaminia, are Ocricli on the Tiber,
Laroloni,[1773] and Narnia,[1774] through which the Nera[1775] flows.
This river discharges itself into the Tiber a little above Ocricli; it
is not navigable for large vessels. After these are Carsuli and
Mevania,[1776] past which latter the Teneas[1777] flows, by which river
the merchandise of the plain is transported in small vessels to the
Tiber. There are also other cities well populated, rather on account of
the route along which they lie, than for their political importance.
Such are Forum Flaminium,[1778] Nuceria[1779] where wooden vases are
manufactured, and Forum Sempronium.[1780] Going from Ocricli to
Ariminum, on the right of the [CAS. 228] way are Interamna,[1781]
Spoletium,[1782] Asisium,[1783] and Camerta, situated in the mountains
which bound Picenum. On the other side[1784] are Ameria,[1785]
Tuder,[1786] a well-fortified city, Hispellum,[1787] and Iguvium,[1788]
near to the passes of the mountain. The whole of this country is
fertile, but rather too mountainous, and producing more rye[1789] than
wheat for the food of the inhabitants. The next district, Sabina, is
mountainous, and borders on Tyrrhenia in like manner. The parts of
Latium which border on these districts and the Apennines are very
rugged. These two nations[1790] commence from the Tiber and Tyrrhenia,
and extend as far as the Apennines which advance obliquely towards the
Adriatic: Ombrica extends, as we have said, beyond as far as the sea. We
have now sufficiently described the Ombrici.
CHAPTER III.
1. The Sabini occupy a narrow country, its length from the Tiber and the
small city of Nomentum[1791] to the Vestini being 1000 stadia. They have
but few cities, and these have suffered severely in their continual wars
[with the Romans]. Such are Amiternum[1792] and Reate,[1793] which is
near to the village of Interocrea[1794] and the cold waters at Cotyliæ,
which are taken by patients, both as drink and as baths, for the cure of
various maladies. The rocks of Foruli,[1795] likewise, belong to the
Sabini; fitted rather for rebellion than peaceable habitation. Cures is
now a small village, although formerly a famous city: whence came Titus
Tatius and Numa Pompilius, kings of Rome. From this place is derived the
name of Quirites, which the orators give to the Romans when they address
the people. Trebula,[1796] Eretum,[1797] and other similar places, must
be looked upon rather as villages than cities. The whole land [of
Sabina] is singularly fertile in olive-trees and vines, it produces also
many acorns, and besides has excellent cattle: the mules bred at
Reate[1798] are much celebrated. In one word the whole of Italy is rich
both in cattle and vegetable productions; although certain articles may
be finer in some districts than in others. The race of the Sabini is
extremely ancient, they are Autochthones. The Picentini and Samnitæ
descend from them, as do the Leucani from these latter, and the Bruttii
again from these. A proof of their antiquity may be found in the bravery
and valour which they have maintained till the present time.
Fabius,[1799] the historian, says that the Romans first knew what wealth
was when they became masters of this nation. The Via Salaria, which
however does not extend far, runs through their country: the Via
Nomentana, which commences likewise at the Porta Collina, falls in with
the Via Salaria near to Eretum, a village of Sabina lying above the
Tiber.
2. Beyond Sabina is Latium, wherein the city of Rome is situated. It
comprises many places which formed no part of ancient Latium. For the
Æqui, the Volsci, the Hernici, the aborigines around Rome, the Rutuli
who possessed ancient Ardea, and many other nations, some larger, some
smaller, formed so many separate states around Rome, when that city was
first built. Some of these nations, who dwelt in villages, were governed
by their own laws, and subjected to no common tribe. They say[1800] that
Æneas, with his father Anchises and his child Ascanius, arrived at
Laurentum,[1801] near to Ostia and the bank of the Tiber, where he built
a city about 24 stadia above the sea. That Latinus, the king of the
aborigines who then dwelt on the site where Rome now stands, employed
his forces to aid Æneas against the neighbouring Rutuli who inhabited
Ardea, (now from Ardea to Rome is a distance of 160 stadia,) and having
gained a victory, he built near to the spot a city, to which he gave the
name of his daughter Lavinia. However, in a second battle, commenced by
the Rutuli, Latinus fell, and Æneas, being conqueror, [CAS. 229]
succeeded this prince on the throne, and conferred on his subjects the
name of Latini. After the death both of himself and his father, Ascanius
founded Alba,[1802] on Mount Albanus,[1803] situated about the same
distance from Rome as Ardea. Here Romans and Latini conjointly offer
sacrifice to Jupiter. The magistracy all assemble, and during the period
of the solemnity the government of the city is intrusted to some
distinguished youth. The facts related of Amulius and his brother
Numitor, some of which are fictitious, while others approach nearer the
truth, occurred four hundred years later. These two brothers, who were
descended from Ascanius, succeeded conjointly to the government of Alba,
which extended as far as the Tiber. However, Amulius the younger, having
expelled the elder, governed [alone]. Numitor had a son and a daughter;
the former Amulius treacherously murdered in the chase; the latter, that
she might remain childless, he made a priestess of Vesta, thus imposing
virginity upon her. This [daughter] they name Rhea Silvia. Afterwards he
discovered that she was pregnant, and when she had given birth to twins,
he, out of respect to his brother, placed her in confinement, instead of
putting her to death, and exposed the boys by the Tiber according to a
national usage. According to the mythology, Mars was the father of these
children, and when they were exposed they were discovered and suckled by
a she-wolf. Faustulus, one of the swine-herds of the place, took and
reared them up, and named one Romulus, the other Remus. (We must
understand that Faustulus, who took them up and nourished them, was an
influential man, and a subject of Amulius.) Having arrived at man’s
estate, they waged war upon Amulius and his sons; and having slain them,
restored the government to Numitor. They then returned home and founded
Rome, in a locality selected rather through necessity than choice, as
the site was neither fortified by nature, nor sufficiently large for a
city of importance. In addition to this, the neighbourhood supplied no
inhabitants; for those who dwelt around, even though touching the very
walls of the newly founded city, kept to themselves, and would have
nothing at all to do with the Albani. Collatia, Antemnæ, Fidenæ,
Labicum,[1804] and similar places are here alluded to which then were
small cities, but are now villages possessed by private individuals;
they are distant from Rome 30 or 40[1805] stadia, or rather more.
Between the fifth and sixth mile-stone which marks the distance from
Rome there is a place named Festi; this they say was at that time the
limit of the Roman territory, and at the present day, both here and in
numerous other places which they consider to have been boundaries, the
priests offer the sacrifice denominated Ambarvia.[1806] They say that,
at the time of the foundation [CAS. 230] [of the city], a dispute arose
in which Remus lost his life. The city being built, Romulus assembled
men from every quarter, and instituted for an asylum a grove between the
citadel and the Capitol, to which whoever fled from the neighbouring
states, he proclaimed as Roman citizens. Not having wives for these men,
he appointed a horse-race in honour of Neptune, which is celebrated to
this day. Numbers [of spectators] having assembled, particularly of the
Sabini, he commanded that each of those who were in want of a wife,
should carry off one of the assembled maidens. Titus Tatius, king of the
Quirites, took up arms to avenge the insult, but made peace with Romulus
on condition that their kingdoms should be united, and that they should
divide the sovereignty between them. Tatius, however, was treacherously
assassinated in Lavinium, upon which Romulus, with the consent of the
Quirites, reigned alone. After him Numa Pompilius, formerly a subject of
Tatius, assumed the government, by the general desire of the people.
Such is the most authentic account of the foundation of Rome.
3. However, there also exists another more ancient and mythical account,
to the effect that Rome was an Arcadian colony planted by Evander. He
entertained Hercules when driving the oxen of Geryon, and being informed
by his mother Nicostrata, (who was skilled in the art of prophecy,) that
when Hercules should have completed his labours it was fore-ordained
that he should be enrolled amongst the gods; he informed him of the
matter, consecrated to him a grove, and offered sacrifice to him after
the Grecian mode; a sacrifice which is continued in honour of Hercules
to this day. The Roman historian Cœlius is of opinion that this is a
proof that Rome is a Grecian colony, the sacrifice to Hercules after the
Grecian mode having been brought over from their fatherland. The Romans
also worship the mother of Evander under the name of Carmentis,[1807]
considering her one of the nymphs.
4. Thus then the Latini originally were few in number, and for the most
part under no subjection to the Romans; but afterwards, being struck by
the valour of Romulus and the kings who succeeded him, they all
submitted. But the Æqui,[1808] the Volsci, the Hernici; and before them
the Rutuli, the aborigines, the Rhæci, together with certain of the
[CAS. 231] Argyrusci and the Preferni,[1809] being subdued, the whole of
their different countries were included under the name of Latium. To the
Volsci pertained the Pomentine plain, bordering on the territory of the
Latini, and the city of Apiola, levelled to the ground[1810] by
Tarquinius Priscus. The Æqui principally were neighbours to the
Quirites, whose cities Tarquinius Priscus likewise devastated. His son
took Suessa,[1811] the metropolis of the Volsci. The Hernici dwelt near
to Lanuvium, Alba, and to Rome itself; neither were Aricia,[1812] the
Tellenæ, and Antium[1813] at any great distance. The Albani were at
first friendly with the Romans, speaking as they did the same language,
and being likewise of the Latin stock; and though they were under
separate governments, this did not prevent them from marrying together,
nor from performing in common the sacred ceremonies at Alba, and other
civil rites. In after-time, however, war having sprung up, Alba was
entirely destroyed with the exception of the temple, and the Albani were
declared citizens of Rome. Of the other surrounding cities, those which
resisted were either destroyed or enfeebled, while others, which were
friendly to the Romans, flourished. At the present day the coast from
Ostia to the city of Sinuessa[1814] is denominated the Latin coast;
formerly the country thus designated extended only so far as
Circæum.[1815] The interior also [of Latium] was formerly small; but it
afterwards extended to Campania, the Samnitæ, the Peligni,[1816] and
other nations dwelling around the Apennines.
5. The whole [of Latium] is fertile, and abounding in every production,
with the exception of a few districts along the coast, which are marshy
and unhealthy; such as the country of Ardea, the lands between Antium
and Lanuvium as far as Pometia, and certain of the districts of
Setia,[1817] Terracina, and Circæum. Some parts may also be too
mountainous and rocky; but even these are not absolutely idle and
useless, since they furnish abundant pasturage, wood, and the peculiar
productions of the marsh and rock; while Cæcubum, which is entirely
marshy, nourishes a vine, the dendritis,[1818] which produces the most
excellent wine. Of the maritime cities of Latium, one is Ostia. This
city has no port, owing to the accumulation of the alluvial deposit
brought down by the Tiber, which is swelled by numerous rivers; vessels
therefore bring to anchor further out, but not without danger; however,
gain overcomes every thing, for there is an abundance of lighters in
readiness to freight and unfreight the larger ships, before they
approach the mouth of the river, and thus enable them to perform their
voyage speedily. Being lightened of a part of their cargo, they enter
the river and sail up to Rome, a distance of about 190 stadia. Such is
the city of Ostia, founded by Ancus Martius. Next in order comes Antium,
which city is likewise destitute of any port; it is situated on rocks,
and about 260 stadia distant from Ostia. At the present day it is
devoted to the leisure and recreation of statesmen from their political
duties, whenever they can find time, and is in consequence covered with
sumptuous mansions suited to such rusticating. The inhabitants of Antium
had formerly a marine, and even after they were under subjection to the
Romans, took part with the Tyrrhenian pirates. Of this, first, Alexander
sent to complain; after him Demetrius, having taken many of these
pirates, sent them to the Romans, saying that he would surrender them
their persons on account of their affinity to the Greeks, and remarking
at the same time, that it seemed to him a great impropriety, that those
who held sway over the whole of Italy should send out pirates, and that
they who had consecrated in their forum a temple to the honour of the
Dioscuri,[1819] whom all denominated the Saviours, should likewise send
to commit acts of piracy on Greece, which was the fatherland of those
divinities. Hereupon the Romans put a stop to this occupation [piracy].
Between these two cities is Lavinium, which contains a temple of Venus
common to all the Latini, the care of which is intrusted to the priests
of [CAS. 232] Ardea. After this is Laurentum;[1820] and above these lies
Ardea, a colony of the Rutuli, 70 stadia from the sea; near to it is
another temple of Venus, where all the Latini hold a public festival.
These regions have been ravaged by the Samnitæ, and only the traces of
the cities left; but even these are reverenced on account of the arrival
of Æneas here, and of the religious rites which they say were bequeathed
from those times.
6. At 290 stadia from Antium is Mount Circæum, insulated by the sea and
marshes. They say that it contains numerous roots, but this perhaps is
only to harmonize with the myth relating to Circe. It has a small city,
together with a temple to Circe and an altar to Minerva; they likewise
say that a cup is shown which belonged to Ulysses. Between [Antium and
Circæum] is the river Stura,[1821] which has a station for ships: the
rest of the coast is exposed to the south-west wind,[1822] with the
exception of this small harbour of Circæum.[1823] Above this, in the
interior, is the Pomentine plain: the region next to this was formerly
inhabited by the Ausonians, who likewise possessed Campania: next after
these the Osci, who also held part of Campania; now, however, as we have
remarked, the whole, as far as Sinuessa, belongs to the Latini. A
peculiar fate has attended the Osci and Ausonians; for although the Osci
have ceased to exist as a distinct tribe, their dialect is extant among
the Romans, dramatic and burlesque pieces composed in it being still
represented at certain games which were instituted in ancient times. And
as for the Ausonians, although they never have dwelt by the sea of
Sicily,[1824] it is named the Ausonian Sea. At 100 stadia from Circæum
is Tarracina, formerly named Trachina,[1825] on account of its
ruggedness; before it is a great marsh, formed by two rivers, the larger
of which is called the Aufidus.[1826] This is the first place where the
Via Appia approaches the sea. This road is paved from Rome to
Brundusium,[1827] and has great traffic. Of the maritime cities, these
alone are situated on it; Tarracina, beyond it Formiæ,[1828]
Minturnæ,[1829] Sinuessa,[1830] and towards its extremity Tarentum and
Brundusium. Near to Tarracina, advancing in the direction of Rome, a
canal runs by the side of the Via Appia, which is supplied at intervals
by water from the marshes and rivers. Travellers generally sail up it by
night, embarking in the evening, and landing in the morning to travel
the rest of their journey by the way: however, during the day the
passage boat is towed by mules.[1831] Beyond is Formiæ, founded by the
Lacedæmonians, and formerly called Hormiæ, on account of its excellent
port. Between these [two cities],[1832] is a gulf which they have named
Caiata,[1833] in fact all gulfs are called by the Lacedæmonians Caietæ:
some, however, say that the gulf received this appellation from
[Caieta], the nurse of Æneas. From Tarracina to the promontory of Caiata
is a length of 100 stadia. Here[1834] are opened vast caverns, which
contain large and sumptuous mansions. From hence to Formiæ is a distance
of 40 stadia. Between this city and Sinuessa, at a distance of about 80
stadia from each, is Minturnæ. The river Liris,[1835] formerly named the
Clanis, flows through it. It descends from the Apennines, passes through
the country of the Vescini,[1836] and by the village of Fregellæ,
(formerly a famous city,) and so into a sacred grove situated below the
city, and held in great veneration by the people of Minturnæ. There are
two islands, named Pandataria and Pontia,[1837] lying in the high sea,
and clearly discernible from the caverns. Although small, they are well
inhabited, are not at any great distance from each other, and at 250
stadia from the mainland. Cæcubum is situated on the gulf of Caiata, and
next to it Fundi, a city on the Via Appia. All these places produce
excellent wines; but those of Cæcubum, Fundi, and Setia[1838] are most
in repute, and so are the Falernian, Alban,[1839] and Statanian wines.
Sinuessa is situated in a gulf from which it takes its name, sinus
signifying [CAS. 234] [in Latin] a gulf. Near to it are some fine
hot-baths, good for the cure of various maladies. Such are the maritime
cities of Latium.
7. In the interior, the first city above Ostia is Rome; it is the only
city built on the Tiber. It has been remarked above, that its position
was fixed, not by choice, but necessity; to this must be added, that
those who afterwards enlarged it, were not at liberty to select a better
site, being prevented by what was already built. The first [kings]
fortified the Capitol, the Palatium, and the Collis Quirinalis, which
was so easy of access, that when Titus Tatius came to avenge the rape of
the [Sabine] virgins, he took it on the first assault. Ancus Marcius,
who added Mount Cælius and the Aventine Mount with the intermediate
plain, separated as these places were both from each other and from what
had been formerly fortified, was compelled to do this of necessity;
since he did not consider it proper to leave outside his walls, heights
so well protected by nature, to whomsoever might have a mind to fortify
themselves upon them, while at the same time he was not capable of
enclosing the whole as far as Mount Quirinus. Servius perceived this
defect, and added the Esquiline and Viminal hills. As these were both of
easy access from without, a deep trench was dug outside them and the
earth thrown up on the inside, thus forming a terrace of 6 stadia in
length along the inner side of the trench. This terrace he surmounted
with a wall flanked with towers, and extending from the Colline[1840] to
the Esquiline gate. Midway along the terrace is a third gate, named
after the Viminal hill. Such is the Roman rampart, which seems to stand
in need of other ramparts itself. But it seems to me that the first
[founders] were of opinion, both in regard to themselves and their
successors, that Romans had to depend not on fortifications, but on arms
and their individual valour, both for safety and for wealth, and that
walls were not a defence to men, but men were a defence to walls. At the
period of its commencement, when the large and fertile districts
surrounding the city belonged to others, and while it lay easily open to
assault, there was nothing in its position which could be looked upon as
favourable; but when by valour and labour these districts became its
own, there succeeded a tide of prosperity surpassing the advantages of
every other place. Thus, notwithstanding the prodigious increase of the
city, there has been plenty of food, and also of wood and stone for
ceaseless building, rendered necessary by the falling down of houses,
and on account of conflagrations, and of the sales, which seem never to
cease. These sales are a kind of voluntary falling down of houses, each
owner knocking down and rebuilding one part or another according to his
individual taste. For these purposes the numerous quarries, the forests,
and the rivers which convey the materials, offer wonderful facilities.
Of these rivers, the first is the Teverone,[1841] which flows from Alba,
a city of the Latins near to the country of the Marsi, and from thence
through the plain below this [city], till it unites with the Tiber.
After this come the Nera[1842] and the Timia,[1843] which passing
through Ombrica fall into the Tiber, and the Chiana,[1844] which flows
through Tyrrhenia and the territory of Clusium.[1845] Augustus Cæsar
endeavoured to avert from the city damages of the kind alluded to, and
instituted a company of freedmen, who should be ready to lend their
assistance in cases of conflagration;[1846] whilst, as a preventive
against the falling of houses, he decreed that all new buildings should
not be carried so high as formerly, and that those erected along the
public ways should not exceed seventy feet in height.[1847] But these
improvements must have ceased only for the facilities afforded by the
quarries, the forests, and the ease of transport.
8. These advantages accrued to the city from the nature of the country;
but the foresight of the Romans added others [CAS. 235] besides. The
Grecian cities are thought to have flourished mainly on account of the
felicitous choice made by their founders, in regard to the beauty and
strength of their sites, their proximity to some port, and the fineness
of the country. But the Roman prudence was more particularly employed on
matters which had received but little attention from the Greeks, such as
paving their roads, constructing aqueducts, and sewers, to convey the
sewage of the city into the Tiber. In fact, they have paved the roads,
cut through hills, and filled up valleys, so that the merchandise may be
conveyed by carriage from the ports. The sewers, arched over with hewn
stones, are large enough in some parts for waggons loaded with hay to
pass through; while so plentiful is the supply of water from the
aqueducts, that rivers may be said to flow through the city and the
sewers, and almost every house is furnished with water-pipes and copious
fountains. To effect which Marcus Agrippa directed his special
attention; he likewise bestowed upon the city numerous ornaments. We may
remark, that the ancients, occupied with greater and more necessary
concerns, paid but little attention to the beautifying of Rome. But
their successors, and especially those of our own day, without
neglecting these things, have at the same time embellished the city with
numerous and splendid objects. Pompey, divus Cæsar, and Augustus, with
his children, friends, wife, and sister, have surpassed all others in
their zeal and munificence in these decorations. The greater number of
these may be seen in the Campus Martius, which to the beauties of nature
adds those of art. The size of the plain is marvellous, permitting
chariot-races and other feats of horsemanship without impediment, and
multitudes to exercise themselves at ball,[1848] in the circus[1849] and
the palæstra. The structures which surround it, the turf covered with
herbage all the year round, the summits of the hills beyond the Tiber,
extending from its banks with panoramic effect, present a spectacle
which the eye abandons with regret. Near to this plain is another
surrounded with columns, sacred groves, three theatres, an amphitheatre,
and superb temples in close contiguity to each other; and so
magnificent, that it would seem idle to describe the rest of the city
after it. For this cause the Romans, esteeming it as the most sacred
place, have there erected funeral monuments to the most illustrious
persons of either sex. The most remarkable of these is that designated
as the Mausoleum,[1850] which consists of a mound of earth raised upon a
high foundation of white marble, situated near the river, and covered to
the top with ever-green shrubs. Upon the summit is a bronze statue of
Augustus Cæsar, and beneath the mound are the ashes[1851] of himself,
his relatives, and friends. Behind is a large grove containing charming
promenades. In the centre of the plain,[1852] is the spot where this
prince was reduced to ashes; it is surrounded with a double enclosure,
one of marble, the other of iron, and planted within with poplars. If
from hence you proceed to visit the ancient forum, which is equally
filled with basilicas, porticos, and temples, you will there behold the
Capitol, the Palatium, with the noble works which adorn them, and the
piazza of Livia, each successive place causing you speedily to forget
what you have before seen. Such is Rome.
9. Of the other cities of Latium, some are distinguished by a variety of
remarkable objects, others by the celebrated roads which intersect
Latium, being situated either upon, or near to, or between these roads,
the most celebrated of which are the Via Appia, the Via Latina, and the
Via Valeria. The former of these bounds the maritime portion of Latium,
as far as Sinuessa, the latter extends along Sabina as far as the Marsi,
whilst between these is the Via Latina, which falls in with the Via
Appia near to Casilinum,[1853] a city distant from Capua[1854] 19
stadia. The Via Latina commences from the Via Appia, branching from it
towards the left, near to Rome. It passes over the Tusculan mountain,
between the city of Tusculum[1855] and Mount Albanus; it then descends
to the little city of Algidum,[1856] and the Pictæ tavern; afterwards
the Via [CAS. 237] Lavicana joins it, which commences, like the Via
Prænestina, from the Esquiline gate. This road, as well as the Esquiline
plain, the Via Lavicana leaves on the left; it then proceeds a distance
of 120 stadia, or more, when it approaches Lavicum, an ancient city now
in ruins, situated on an eminence; this and Tusculum it leaves on the
right, and terminates near to Pictæ in the Via Latina. This place is 210
stadia distant from Rome. Proceeding thence along the Via Latina there
are noble residences, and the cities Ferentinum,[1857] Frusino,[1858] by
which the river Cosa flows, Fabrateria,[1859] by which flows the river
Sacco,[1860] Aquinum,[1861] a large city, by which flows the great river
Melfa,[1862] Interamnium, situated at the confluence of two rivers, the
Garigliano and another, Casinum, also an important city, and the last of
those belonging to Latium. For Teanum, called Sidicinum,[1863] which
lies next in order, shows by its name that it belongs to the nation of
the Sidicini. These people are Osci, a surviving nation of the Campani,
so that this city, which is the largest of those situated upon the Via
Latina, may be said to be Campanian; as well as that of Cales,[1864]
another considerable city which lies beyond, and is contiguous to
Casilinum.[1865]
10. As to the places situated on either side of the Via Latina, those on
the right are between it and the Via Appia; of their number are
Setia[1866] and Signia,[1867] which produce wine, that of Setia being
one of the dearest wines, and that called Signium the best for
strengthening the stomach. Before this[1868] are Privernum,[1869]
Cora,[1870] Suessa,[1871] ‘Trapontium,’[1872] Velitræ,[1873]
Aletrium,[1874] and also Fregellæ,[1875] by which the Garigliano flows,
which discharges itself [into the sea] near Minturnæ. Fregellæ, though
now a village, was formerly a considerable city, and the chief of the
surrounding places we have just named. Even now their inhabitants throng
to it on market days, and for the performance of certain religious
solemnities. Its defection from the Romans was the cause of its
ruin.[1876] Both these, and also the cities lying on the Via Latina and
beyond, situated in the territories of the Hernici, Æqui, and Volsci,
were for the most part founded by the Romans. To the left of the Via
Latina, the cities between it and the Via Valeria, are, Gabii,[1877]
standing in the Via Prænestina, it possesses a stone-quarry, in greater
demand at Rome than any other, and is at an equal distance of about 100
stadia between Rome and Præneste.[1878] Then Præneste, of which we shall
have occasion presently to speak. Then, in the mountains above Præneste,
Capitulum, a small city of the Hernici, and Anagnia,[1879] a
considerable city; Cereate,[1880] and Sora, by which the river
Garigliano[1881] flows as it passes on to Fregellæ, and Minturnæ. After
these there are other places, and finally, Venafrum,[1882] from whence
comes the finest oil. This city is situated on a high hill by the foot
of which flows the Volturno,[1883] which passing by Casilinum,[1884]
discharges itself [into the sea] at a city[1885] bearing the same name
as itself. Æsernia[1886] and Alliphæ,[1887] cities of the Samnites, the
former was destroyed in the Marsian war,[1888] the other still remains.
11. The Via Valeria, commencing from Tibura,[1889] leads to the country
of the Marsi, and to Corfinium,[1890] the metropolis of the Peligni.
Upon it are situated the Latin cities of Valeria,[1891] Carseoli,[1892]
Alba,[1893] and near to it the city of Cuculum.[1894] Within sight of
Rome are Tibura, Præneste, and Tusculum.[1895] At Tibura is a temple of
Hercules, and a cataract formed by the fall of the Teverone,[1896]
(which is here navigable,) from a great height into a deep and wooded
ravine close to the city. From thence the river flows through a highly
fertile plain along by [CAS. 238] the Tiburtine stone-quarries, those of
the Gabii, and those denominated the red-stone quarries. As both the
carriage from the quarries and the conveyance by river are easy, most of
the Roman edifices are built of materials from hence. In this plain flow
the cold waters called Albula, they spring from numerous fountains, and
are taken both as a beverage and as baths,[1897] for the cure of various
diseases. Of the same kind are the Labanæ,[1898] not far from these, on
the Via Nomentana, and near to Eretum.[1899] At Præneste is the
celebrated temple and oracle of Fortune. Both this and the preceding
city are situated on the same chain of mountains, and are distant from
each other 100 stadia. Præneste is 200 stadia from Rome, Tibura less
than that distance. They are said to be both of Grecian foundation,
Præneste being formerly named Polystephanus. They are both fortified,
but Præneste is the stronger place of the two, having for its citadel a
lofty mountain, which overhangs the town, and is divided at the back
from the adjoining mountain range by a neck of land. This mountain is
two stadia higher than the neck in direct altitude. In addition to these
[natural] defences, the city is furnished on all sides with
subterraneous passages, which extend to the plains, and some of which
serve to convey water, while others form secret ways; it was in one of
these that Marius[1900] perished, when he was besieged. Other cities are
in most instances benefited by a strong position, but to the people of
Præneste it has proved a bane, owing to the civil wars of the Romans.
For hither the revolutionary movers take refuge, and when at last they
surrender, in addition to the injury sustained by the city during the
war, the country is confiscated, and the guilt thus imputed to the
guiltless. The river Verestis[1901] flows through this region. The said
cities are to the east of Rome.
12. But within-side the chain of mountains, [where these cities are
situated,] there is another ridge, leaving a valley between it and Mount
Algidus; it is lofty, and extends as far as Mount Albanus.[1902] It is
on this ridge that Tusculum is situated, a city which is not wanting in
adornment, being entirely surrounded by ornamental plantations and
edifices, particularly that part of it which looks towards Rome. For on
this side Tusculum presents a fertile hill, well irrigated, and with
numerous gentle slopes embellished with majestic palaces. Contiguous are
the undulating slopes of Mount Albanus, which are equally fertile and
ornamented. Beyond are plains which extend some of them to Rome and its
environs, others to the sea; these latter are unhealthy, but the others
are salubrious and well cultivated. Next after Albanum is the city
Aricia, on the Appian Way. It is 160 stadia from Rome. This place is
situated in a hollow, and has a strong citadel.[1903] Beyond it on one
side of the way is Lanuvium,[1904] a Roman city on the right of the Via
Appia, and from which both the sea and Antium may be viewed. On the
other side is the Artemisium,[1905] which is called Nemus,[1906] on the
left side of the way, leading from Aricia to the temple.[1907] They say
that it is consecrated to Diana Taurica, and certainly the rites
performed in this temple are something barbarous and Scythic. They
appoint as priest a fugitive who has murdered the preceding priest with
his own hand. Apprehensive of an attack upon himself, the priest is
always armed with a sword, ready for resistance. The temple is in a
grove, and before it is a [CAS. 240] lake of considerable size. The
temple and water are surrounded by abrupt and lofty precipices, so that
they seem to be situated in a deep and hollow ravine. The springs by
which the lake is filled are visible. One of these is denominated
Egeria, after the name of a certain divinity; however, their course on
leaving the lake is subterraneous, but they may be observed at some
distance, when they rise to the surface of the ground.
13. Near to these localities is Mount Albanus,[1908] which is much
higher than either the Artemisium or the heights surrounding it,
although these are sufficiently lofty and precipitous. It has likewise a
lake,[1909] much larger than that of the Artemisium. Further forward
than these are the cities on the Via Latina, we have already mentioned.
Alba[1910] is the most inland of all the Latin cities; it borders on the
Marsi, and is situated on a high hill near to Lake Fucinus. This [lake]
is vast as a sea, and is of great service to the Marsi and all the
surrounding nations. They say, that at times its waters rise to the
height of the mountains which surround it, and at others subside so
much, that the places which had been covered with water reappear and may
be cultivated; however, the subsidings of the waters occur irregularly
and without previous warning, and are followed by their rising again;
the springs fail altogether and gush out again after a time; as they say
is the case with the Amenanus,[1911] which flows through Catana,[1912]
for after remaining dry for a number of years, it again flows. It is
reported that the Marcian[1913] water, which is drunk at Rome in
preference to any other, has its source in [Lake] Fucinus. As Alba is
situated in the depths of the country, and is besides a strong position,
the Romans have often employed it as a place of security, for lodging
important prisoners.[1914]
CHAPTER IV.
1. After having commenced with the nations about the Alps, and the
Apennine mountains which are near to these, we proceeded from thence and
passed through that portion of the hither country lying between the
Tyrrhenian Sea and the Apennine mountains, which incline towards the
Adriatic, as far as the Samnites and the Campani. We will now return
again, and describe the mountaineers, and those who dwell at the foot of
the mountains; whether on the coast of the Adriatic, or in the interior.
Thus, we must recommence from the boundaries of Keltica.[1915]
2. After the cities of the Ombrici, which are comprised between
Ariminum[1916] and Ancona, comes Picenum. The Picentini proceeded
originally from the land of the Sabini. A woodpecker led the way for
their chieftains, and from this bird they have taken their name, it
being called in their language Picus, and is regarded as sacred to Mars.
They inhabit the plains extending from the mountains to the sea; the
length of their country considerably exceeds its breadth; the soil is
every where good, but better fitted for the cultivation of fruits than
grain. Its breadth, from the mountains to the sea varies in different
parts. But its length; from the river Æsis[1917] to Castrum,[1918]
sailing round the coast, is 800 stadia. Of its cities, Ancona is of
Grecian origin, having been founded by the Syracusans who fled from the
tyranny of Dionysius. It is situated upon a cape, which bending round
towards the north forms a harbour; and it abounds in wine and wheat.
Near to it is the city of Auxumon,[1919] at a little distance from the
sea. After it are Septempeda,[1920] Pneuentia,[1921] Potentia,[1922] and
Firmum Picenum,[1923] with its port of Castellum.[1924] Beyond, is the
temple of Cupra,[1925] built and dedicated by the Tyrrheni to Juno, who
is named by them Cupra; and after it the river Tronto,[1926] [CAS. 241]
with a city of the same name.[1927] Beyond this is Castrum Novum,[1928]
and the river Piomba,[1929] flowing from the city of Adria,[1930] and
having [at its mouth] the naval station of Adria, which bears the same
name as itself. In the interior is [the city of Adria] itself and
Asculum Picenum,[1931] a very strong position, upon which is built a
wall: the mountains which surround it are not accessible to
armies.[1932] Above Picenum are the Vestini,[1933] the Marsi,[1934] the
Peligni,[1935] the Marucini,[1936] and the Frentani,[1937] a Samnitic
nation possessing the hill-country, and extending almost to the sea. All
these nations are small, but extremely brave, and have frequently given
the Romans proofs of their valour, first as enemies, afterwards as
allies; and finally, having demanded the liberty and rights of citizens,
and being denied, they revolted and kindled the Marsian war.[1938] They
decreed that Corfinium,[1939] the metropolis of the Peligni, should be
the capital for all the Italians instead of Rome: made it their place
d’armes, and new-named it Italica. Then, having convoked deputies from
all the people friendly to their design, they created consuls[1940] and
prætors, and maintained the war for two[1941] years, until they had
obtained the rights for which they struggled. The war was named the
Marsian[1942] war, because that nation commenced the insurrection, and
particularly on account of Pompædius.[1943] These nations live generally
in villages, nevertheless they are possessed of certain cities, some of
which are at some little distance from the sea, as Corfinium,
Sulmo,[1944] Maruvium,[1945] and Teatea[1946] the metropolis of the
Marrucini. Others are on the coast, as Aternum[1947] on the Picentine
boundary, so named from the river [Aternus], which separates the Vestini
from the Marrucini. This river flows from the territory of Amiternum and
through the Vestini, leaving on its right the Marrucini, who lie above
the Peligni, [at the place where the river] is crossed by a bridge. The
city, which bears the same name, (viz. Aternum,) belongs to the Vestini,
but its port is used in common both by the Peligni and the Marrucini.
The bridge I have mentioned is about 24 stadia from Corfinium. After
Aternum is Orton,[1948] a naval arsenal of the Frentani, and Buca,[1949]
which belongs to the same people, and is conterminous with the Apulian
Teanum.[1950] †Ortonium[1951] is situated in the territory of the
Frentani. It is rocky, and inhabited by banditti, who construct their
dwellings of the wrecks of ships, and lead [CAS. 242] otherwise a savage
life.† Between Orton and Aternum is the river Sagrus,[1952] which
separates the Frentani from the Peligni. From Picenum to the Apuli,
named by the Greeks the Daunii,[1953] sailing round the coast, is
a distance of about 490[1954] stadia.
3. Next in order after Latium is Campania, which extends along the
[Tyrrhenian] Sea; above it is Samnium, in the interior, extending as far
as the Frentani and Daunii; and beyond are the Daunii, and the other
nations as far as the Strait of Sicily. We shall in the first place
speak of Campania. From Sinuessa[1955] to Misenum[1956] the coast forms
a vast gulf; beyond this is another gulf still larger, which they name
the Crater.[1957] It is enclosed by the two promontories of Misenum and
the Athenæum.[1958] It is along the shores of these [two gulfs] that the
whole of Campania is situated. This plain is fertile above all others,
and entirely surrounded by fruitful hills and the mountains of the
Samnites and Osci. Antiochus says that this country was formerly
inhabited by the Opici, and that these were called Ausones. Polybius
appears to consider these as two people, for he says that the Opici and
Ausones inhabit the country around the Crater.[1959] Others, however,
state that it was originally inhabited by Opici and Ausones, but was
afterwards seized on by a nation of the Osci, who were driven out by the
Cumæi, and these again by the Tyrrheni. Thus the possession of the plain
was much disputed on account of its great fertility. [They add that the
Tyrrheni] built there twelve cities, and named the metropolis Capua. But
luxury having made them effeminate, in the same way that they had
formerly been driven from the banks of the Po, they were now forced to
abandon this country to the Samnites; who in their turn fell before the
Romans. One proof of the fertility of this country is, that it produces
the finest corn. I allude to the grain from which a groat is made
superior to all kinds of rice, and to almost all other farinacious food.
They say that some of the plains are cropped all the year round; twice
with rye, the third time with panic, and occasionally a fourth time
with vegetables. It is likewise from hence that the Romans procure their
finest wines, the Falernian, the Statanian, and the Calenian. That of
Surrentum[1960] is now esteemed equal to these, it having been lately
discovered that it can be kept to ripen. In addition to this, the whole
country round Venafrum, bordering on the plains, is rich in olives.
4. The maritime cities [of Campania], after Sinuessa, are
Liternum,[1961] where is the sepulchral monument of the first of the two
Scipios, surnamed Africanus; it was here that he passed the last days of
his life, having abandoned public affairs in disgust at the intrigues of
certain opponents. A river of the same name[1962] flows by this city. In
like manner the Vulturnus bears the same name as the city[1963] founded
on it, which comes next in order: this river flows through
Venafrum[1964] and the midst of Campania. After these [cities] comes
Cumæ,[1965] the most ancient settlement[1966] of the Chalcidenses and
Cumæans, for it is the oldest of all [the Greek cities] in Sicily or
Italy. The leaders of the expedition, Hippocles the Cumæan and
Megasthenes of Chalcis, having mutually agreed that one of the nations
should have the management of the colony, and the other the honour of
conferring upon it its own name. Hence at the present day it is named
Cumæ, while at the same time it is said to have been founded by the
Chalcidenses. At first this city was highly prosperous, as well as the
Phlegræan[1967] plain, which mythology has made the scene of the
adventures of the giants, for no other reason, as it appears, than
because the fertility of the country had given rise to battles for its
possession. Afterwards, however, the Campanians becoming masters[1968]
of the city, inflicted much injustice on the [CAS. 243] inhabitants, and
even violated their wives. Still, however, there remain numerous traces
of the Grecian taste, their temples, and their laws. Some are of opinion
that Cumæ was so called from τὰ κύματα, the waves, the sea-coast near it
being rocky and exposed. These people have excellent fisheries. On the
shores of this gulf there is a scrubby forest, extending over numerous
acres of parched and sandy land. This they call the Gallinarian[1969]
wood. It was there that the admirals of Sextus Pompeius assembled their
gangs of pirates, at the time when he drew Sicily into revolt.[1970]
5. Near to Cumæ is the promontory of Misenum,[1971] and between them is
the Acherusian Lake,[1972] which is a muddy estuary of the sea. Having
doubled Misenum, you come to a harbour at the very foot of the
promontory. After this the shore runs inland, forming a deeply indented
bay, on which are Baïæ and the hot springs, much used, both as a
fashionable watering-place, and for the cure of diseases. Contiguous to
Baïæ is the Lucrine Lake,[1973] and within this the Lake Avernus,[1974]
which converts into a peninsula the land stretching from the maritime
district, situated between it and Cumæ, as far as Cape Misenum, for
there is only an isthmus of a few stadia, across which a subterraneous
road is cut [from the head of the gulf of Avernus] to Cumæ and the sea
[shore] on which it stands. Former writers, mingling fable with history,
have applied to Avernus the expressions of Homer in his Invocation of
Departed Spirits,[1975] and relate that here formerly was an oracle of
the dead,[1976] and that it was to this place that Ulysses came.
However, this gulf of Avernus is deep even near the shore, with an
excellent entrance, and is both as to its size and nature a harbour; but
it is not used, on account of the Lucrine Gulf which lies before it, and
is both large and somewhat shallow. The Avernus is surrounded with steep
hills which encompass the whole of it, with the exception of the
entrance. These hills, now so beautifully cultivated were formerly
covered with wild forests, gigantic and impenetrable, which overshadowed
the gulf, imparting a feeling of superstitious awe. The inhabitants
affirm that birds, flying over the lake, fall into the water,[1977]
being stifled by the vapours rising from it, a phenomenon of all
Plutonian[1978] localities. They believed, in fact, that this place was
a Plutonium, around which the Kimmerians used to dwell, and those who
sailed into the place made sacrifice and propitiatory offerings to the
infernal deities, as they were instructed by the priests who ministered
at the place. There is here a spring of water near to the sea fit for
drinking, from which, however, every one abstained, as they supposed it
to be water from the Styx: [they thought likewise] that the oracle of
the dead was situated some where here; and the hot springs near to the
Acherusian Lake indicated the proximity of Pyriphlegethon. Ephorus,
peopling this place with Kimmerii, tells us that they dwell in
under-ground habitations, named by them Argillæ, and that these
communicate with one another by means of certain subterranean passages;
and that they conduct strangers through them to the oracle, which is
built far below the surface of the earth. They live on the mines
together with the profits accruing from the oracle, and grants made to
them by the king [of the country]. It was a traditional custom for the
servants of the oracle never to behold the sun, and only to quit their
caverns at night. It was on this account that the poet said,
“On them the Sun
Deigns not to look with his beam-darting eye.”[1979]
At last, however, these men were exterminated by one of the kings, the
oracle having deceived him; but [adds Ephorus] the oracle is still in
existence, though removed to another [CAS. 245] place. Such were the
myths related by our ancestors. But now that the wood surrounding the
Avernus has been cut down by Agrippa, the lands built upon, and a
subterranean passage cut from Avernus to Cumæ, all these appear fables.
Perhaps[1980] Cocceius, who made this subterranean passage,[1981] wished
to follow the practice of the Kimmerians we have already described, or
fancied that it was natural to this place that its roads should be made
under-ground.
6. The Lucrine gulf extends in breadth as far as Baïæ; it is separated
from the sea by a bank eight stadia in length, and the breadth of a
carriage-way; this they say was constructed by Hercules when he drove
away the oxen of Geryon. But as the wave covered its surface in stormy
weather, rendering it difficult to pass on foot, Agrippa has repaired
it. Small vessels can put into it, but it is useless as a harbour.[1982]
It contains abundant oyster-beds. Some take this to be the Acherusian
Lake, while Artemidorus confounds it with Avernus. They say that Baïæ
took its name from Baïus one of the companions of Ulysses, and Misenum
from Misenus. Beyond is the strand and city of Dicæarchia. Formerly it
was nothing but a naval station of the Cumæi. It was built on an
eminence. But at the time of the war with Hannibal, the Romans
established a colony there, and changed its name into Puteoli,[1983] [an
appellation derived] from its wells; or, according to others, from the
stench of its waters, the whole district from hence to Baïæ and Cumæ
being full of sulphur, fire, and hot-springs. Some too are of opinion
that it was on this account [that the country about] Cumæ was named
Phlegra, and that the fables of the giants struck down by thunderbolts
owe their origin to these eruptions of fire and water. This city has
become a place of extensive commerce, having artificially constructed
harbours, which were much facilitated by the facile nature of the sand,
which contains much gypsum, and will cement and consolidate thoroughly.
For mixing this sand with chalk-stones they construct moles in the sea,
thus forming bays along the open coast, in which the largest transport
ships may safely ride. Immediately above the city lies the
Forum-Vulcani,[1984] a plain surrounded with hills which seem to be on
fire, having in many parts mouths emitting smoke, frequently accompanied
by a terrible rumbling noise; the plain itself is full of drifted
sulphur.
7. After Dicæarchia is Neapolis,[1985] [founded[1986] originally] by the
Cumæi, but afterwards being peopled by Chalcidians, and certain
Pithecussæans and Athenians,[1987] it was on this account denominated
Naples.[1988] Here is pointed out the tomb of [CAS. 246] Parthenope, one
of the sirens, and a gymnastic sport is celebrated by command of an
oracle. In course of time the inhabitants, having disagreed amongst
themselves, admitted certain Campanians; thus being forced to regard in
the light of friends those most inimical to them, since their friends
were hostile. This is proved by the names of their demarchi, the earlier
of which are Grecian, but the latter a mixture of Campanian with the
Grecian names. Many traces of Grecian institution are still preserved,
the gymnasia, the ephebeia,[1989] the fratriæ,[1990] and the Grecian
names of people who are Roman citizens. At the present time they
celebrate, every fifth year, public games for music and gymnastic
exercises during many days, which rival the most famous games of Greece.
There is here a subterranean passage, similar to that at Cumæ,[1991]
extending for many stadia along the mountain,[1992] between
Dicæarchia[1993] and Neapolis: it is sufficiently broad to let carriages
pass each other, and light is admitted from the surface of the mountain,
by means of numerous apertures cut through a great depth.[1994] Naples
also has hot springs and baths not at all inferior in quality to those
at Baïæ, but much less frequented, for another city has arisen there,
not less than Dicæarchia, one palace after another having been built.
Naples still preserves the Grecian mode of life, owing to those who
retire hither from Rome for the sake of repose, after a life of labour
from childhood, and to those whose age or weakness demands relaxation.
Besides these, Romans who find attractions in this style of life, and
observe the numbers of persons dwelling there, are attracted by the
place, and make it their abode.
8. Following this is the fortress of Heraclæum,[1995] built upon a
promontory which projects out into the sea, and which, on account of the
prevalence of the south-west wind, is a very healthy spot. The
Osci[1996] originally possessed both this and Pompeia,[1997] which is
next to it, by which the river Sarno[1998] flows; afterwards the
Tyrrheni and Pelasgi,[1999] and then the Samnites[2000] obtained
possession of them, and the last[2001] in their turn were driven from
these regions. Pompeia is the port for Nola,[2002] Nuceria,[2003] and
Acerræ, which bears the same name as the city near to Cremona. It is
built on the river Sarno, by which merchandise is received and exported.
Above these places is Mount Vesuvius, which is covered with very
beautiful fields, excepting its summit, a great part of which is level,
but wholly sterile. It appears ash-coloured to the eye, cavernous
hollows appear formed of blackened stones, looking as if they had been
subjected to the action of fire. From this we may infer that the place
was formerly in a burning state with live craters, which however became
extinguished on the failing of the fuel. Perhaps this [volcano] may have
been the cause of the fertility of the surrounding country, the same as
occurs in Catana, where they say that that portion which has been
covered with ashes thrown up by the fires of Ætna is most excellent for
the vine. The land about Vesuvius contains fat, and a soil which has
been subjected to fire, and is very strong and productive of fruit: when
this fat superabounds, it is apt, like all sulphurous substances, to
take fire, but being dried up by evaporation, extinguished, and
pulverized, it becomes a productive earth. Adjoining [CAS. 247] Pompeia
is Surrentum,[2004] [a city] of the Campanians, from whence the
Athenæum,[2005] called by some the promontory of the Sirenusæ, projects
[into the sea]; upon its summit is the temple of Minerva, founded by
Ulysses. From hence to the island of Capreas the passage is short; after
doubling the promontory you encounter various desert and rocky little
islands, which are called the Sirenusæ.[2006] On the side towards
Surrentum there is shown a temple with the ancient offerings of those
who held this place in veneration. Here is the end of the bay named
Crater,[2007] which is bounded by the two promontories of Misenum[2008]
and the Athenæum, both looking towards the south. The whole is adorned
by the cities we have described, by villas, and plantations, so close
together that to the eye they appear but one city.
9. In front of Misenum lies the island of Prochyta,[2009] which has been
rent from the Pithecussæ.[2010] Pithecussæ was peopled by a colony of
Eretrians and Chalcidians, which was very prosperous on account of the
fertility of the soil and the productive gold-mines; however, they
abandoned the island on account of civil dissensions, and were
ultimately driven out by earthquakes, and eruptions of fire, sea, and
hot waters. It was on account of these eruptions, to which the island is
subject, that the colonists sent by Hiero,[2011] the king of Syracuse,
abandoned the island, together with the town which they had built, when
it was taken possession of by the Neapolitans. This explains the myth
concerning Typhon, who, they say, lies beneath the island, and when he
turns himself, causes flames and water to rush forth, and sometimes even
small islands to rise in the sea, containing springs of hot water.
Pindar throws more credibility into the myth, by making it comformable
to the actual phenomena, for the whole strait from Cumæa to Sicily is
subigneous, and below the sea has certain galleries which form a
communication between [the volcanos[2012] of the islands[2013]] and
those of the mainland. He shows that Ætna is on this account of the
nature described by all, and also the Lipari Islands, with the regions
around Dicæarchia, Neapolis, Baïæ, and the Pithecussæ. And mindful
hereof, [Pindar] says that Typhon lies under the whole of this space.
“Now indeed the sea-girt shores beyond Cumæ, and Sicily,
press on his shaggy breast.”[2014]
Timæus,[2015] who remarks that many paradoxical accounts were related by
the ancients concerning the Pithecussæ, states, nevertheless, that a
little before his time, Mount Epomeus,[2016] in the middle of the
island, being shaken by an earthquake, vomited forth fire; and that the
land between it and the coast was driven out into the sea. That the
powdered soil, after being whirled on high, was poured down again upon
the island in a whirlwind. That the sea retired from it to a distance of
three stadia, but after remaining so for a short time it returned, and
inundated the island, thus extinguishing the fire. And that the
inhabitants of the continent fled at the noise, from the sea-coast, into
the interior of Campania. It seems that the hot-springs[2017] here are a
remedy for those afflicted with gravel. Capreæ[2018] anciently possessed
two small cities, afterwards but one. The Neapolitans possessed this
island, but having lost Pithecussæ in war, they received it again from
Cæsar Augustus, giving him in exchange Capreæ. This [island] having thus
become the property of that prince, he [CAS. 248] has ornamented it with
numerous edifices. Such then are the maritime cities of Campania, and
the islands lying opposite to it.
10. In the interior is the metropolis, Capua, being, as the etymon of
the name signifies, the head; for in regard to it all the other cities
appear small, excepting Teanum-Sidicinum,[2019] which is a very
considerable place. This city lies on the Via Appia, as also the others
which lead from hence to Brundusium, [viz.] Callateria,[2020]
Caudium,[2021] and Beneventum.[2022] On the side of Rome is
Casilinum,[2023] situated on the river Vulturnus.[2024] Here 540 men of
Præneste sustained against Hannibal in the height of his power so
desperate a siege, that by reason of the famine, a rat[2025] was sold
for two hundred drachmæ, the seller dying [of hunger], but the purchaser
being saved. Hannibal observing some of them sowing turnip-seed near to
the wall, admired, as well he might, the patient courage of these men,
who hoped to hold out in the mean while, until these turnips should be
ready for food. However, we are assured that they all survived, with the
exception of a few who perished either by famine or in war.
11. In addition to those just spoken of, there are these Campanian
cities which we have already mentioned, viz. Cales,[2026] and
Teanum-Sidicinum, the limits of which are respectively marked out by the
two temples of Fortune situated on either side of the Via Latina.
Besides these are Suessula,[2027] Atella,[2028] Nola,[2029]
Nuceria,[2030] Acerræ,[2031] Abella,[2032] with other smaller
settlements, some of which are said to be Samnite.[2033] The Samnites,
by making incursions into Latium as far as Ardea, and afterwards
devastating Campania itself, greatly extended their power. The
Campanians, being otherwise accustomed to a despotic government, yielded
ready obedience to their commands. At the present day they have been
almost entirely exterminated by the various Roman generals, and last of
all by Sulla, who was absolute master of the republic. He, after having
by numerous battles extinguished the Italian revolt, observing that the
Samnites, almost without exception, remained in one body, and with one
sole intention, so that they had even marched upon Rome itself, gave
them battle under the walls, and as he had issued orders to make no
prisoners, many of them were cut to pieces on the field, while the
remainder, said to be about three or four thousand men, who threw down
their arms, were led off to the _Villa Publica_ in the Campus Martius,
and there shut in; three days after soldiers were sent in who massacred
the whole; and when [Sulla] drew up his conscription list, he did not
rest satisfied until he had destroyed, or driven from Italy, every one
who bore a Samnite name. To those who reproached him for this animosity,
he replied that he had learned by experience that not a single Roman
could rest in peace so long as any of the Samnites survived. Thus their
cities have now dwindled into villages, some indeed being entirely
deserted, as Boianum,[2034] Æsernia,[2035] Panna, Telesia[2036]
adjoining Venafrum, and others similar, none of which can be looked upon
as cities; but in a country so renowned and powerful as Italy, we
thought proper to mention places even of second-rate importance. [We
should add that] Beneventum[2037] and Venusia[2038] are still
prosperous.
12. The following is the tradition concerning the [origin of the]
Samnites. The Sabines having been engaged for [CAS. 250] a long period
in war with the Ombrici, made a vow, common with some of the Grecian
nations, that they would consecrate to the gods the productions of the
year.[2039] They were victorious, and accordingly of the
productions,[2040] the one kind were sacrificed, the other consecrated.
However, in a time of scarcity, some one remarked, that they ought
likewise to have consecrated the children. This then they did, and the
children born at that period were called the sons of Mars.[2041] When
these had grown up to manhood, they were sent forth, a bull leading the
way, to found a colony. The bull lay down to rest in a place belonging
to the Opici; a people dwelling in villages. These they drove out, and
established themselves in the place. The bull, according to the
direction of the diviners, they sacrificed to Mars, who had given him to
them as a leader. It seems to have been in allusion to this that their
parents called them by the diminutive form of Sabelli.[2042] The name of
Samnites, or, as the Greeks call them, Saunites, originated in another
cause. It is also said that certain Lacedæmonians came to dwell amongst
them, and that this is the reason of their affection for the Greeks, and
that certain of them are called Pitanatæ.[2043] The whole of this,
however, appears to be a mere fabrication of the Tarentini, interested
in flattering and conciliating to themselves a neighbouring people, so
powerful as to be able, on a time, to bring into the field a force of
eighty thousand foot-soldiers, and eight thousand cavalry. There is said
to be a law amongst the Samnites, excellent in itself, and calculated to
excite to virtue. It is not lawful for fathers to give away their
daughters to whomsoever they may please; but every year ten of the most
virtuous young women, and ten of the most virtuous young men, are
selected; of these the most excellent young man is married to the most
excellent young woman, the second to the second, and so on in order.
Should he who receives this reward, afterwards change and become wicked,
he is dishonoured, and the wife who had been given is taken away from
him. Beyond are the Hirpini, who are also Samnites: their name they take
from the wolf, which conducted their colony; a wolf being called by the
Samnites _hirpos_: these people border on the Leucani in the interior.
So much for the Samnites.
13. The fertility of their country has been productive to the Campanians
of as much evil as good. Their luxury ran to such a height, that they
would invite to supper, in order to exhibit pairs of fighting
gladiators, the exact number of pairs being regulated according to the
distinction of the guests. When, on their voluntary submission to
Hannibal, they received his soldiers into winter quarters,[2044] the
pleasures [of the place] rendered the men so effeminate, that Hannibal
said, although conqueror, that he was in danger of the enemy, since his
soldiers were returned to him women, and no longer men. When the Romans
obtained the mastery,[2045] they inflicted on them numerous ills, and
ended by distributing their land by lot.[2046] At the present day they
are living in prosperity, and on friendly terms with the [Roman]
colonists, and preserve their ancient reputation, both in respect to the
size of their city and the numbers of their population. Beyond Campania
and the Samnites,[2047] and upon the Tyrrhenian Sea, dwells the nation
of the Picentini. This is a small off-shoot from the Picentini who dwell
near the Adriatic, and was transplanted by the Romans to the Posidoniate
Gulf,[2048] now called the Gulf of Pæstum. The city of Posidonia, which
is built about the middle of the gulf, is called Pæstum.[2049] The
Sybarites [when they founded the city[2050]] built the fortifications
close upon the sea, but the inhabitants removed higher up. In after
time[2051] the Leucani seized upon the city, but in their turn were
deprived of it by the Romans.[2052] It is rendered unhealthy by a
river[2053] [CAS. 251] which overflows the marshy districts in the
neighbourhood. Between the Sirenussæ and Posidonia[2054] is
Marcina,[2055] a city founded by the Tyrrheni, but inhabited by the
Samnites. [To go] from thence into Pompæa,[2056] through Nuceria,[2057]
[you cross] an isthmus of not more than 120 stadia. The Picentes extend
as far as the river Silaro,[2058] which separates their country on this
side from ancient Leucania.[2059] The water of this river is reported to
possess the singular property of petrifying any plant thrown into it,
preserving at the same time both the colour and form.[2060] Picentia was
formerly the capital of the Picentes; but they now dwell in villages,
having been ejected by the Romans[2061] for taking part with Hannibal.
Also, instead of doing military service, it has been decreed that they
shall be the public daily couriers and letter-carriers; [a penalty]
which for the same cause has been likewise inflicted on the Leucani and
Bruttii. To keep them in check, the Romans fortified Salernum, which is
a little above the sea. The distance from the Sirenussæ to the Silaro is
260 stadia.
BOOK VI.
ITALY.
SUMMARY.
The Sixth Book contains the remainder of Italy, and the regions
within the Adriatic, as far as Macedonia; likewise a description
of Apulia, Calabria, the country by the Ionian Gulf, together
with the adjacent islands, from Sicily to the Ceraunian
mountains, and on the other side as far as Carthage, and the
small islands lying near to it.
CHAPTER I.
1. After the mouth of the Silaro,[2062] is Leucania, and the temple of
Argive Juno, founded by Jason. Near to this, within 50 stadia, is
Posidonia.[2063] Sailing thence, towards the high sea, is the island of
Leucosia,[2064] at a little distance from the mainland. It bears the
name of one of the Sirens, who according to the mythology was cast up
here, after having been precipitated with her companions into the deep.
The promontory[2065] of the island projects opposite the
Sirenussæ,[2066] forming the bay of Posidonium.[2067] After having made
this cape there is another contiguous bay, on which is built the city
which the Phocæans called Hyela when they founded it, but others Ela
from a certain fountain. People in the present day call it Elea. It is
here that Parmenides and Zeno, the Pythagorean philosophers, were born.
And it is my opinion that through the instrumentality of those men, as
well as by previous good management, the government of that place was
well arranged, so that they successfully resisted the Leucani and the
Posidoniatæ, notwithstanding the smallness of their district and the
inferiority of their numbers. They are [CAS. 252] compelled, therefore,
on account of the barrenness of the soil, to apply to maritime trade
chiefly, to employ themselves in the salting of fish, and in such other
occupations. Antiochus[2068] says that when Phocea was taken by
Harpagus, the general of Cyrus, those who had the means embarked with
their families, and sailed under the conduct of Creontiades, first to
Cyrnos and Marseilles, but having been driven thence, they founded
Elea;[2069] the name of which some say is derived from the river
Elees.[2070] The city is distant about two hundred stadia from
Posidonia. After this city is the promontory of Palinurus. But in front
of the Eleatis are the Œnotrides, two islands[2071] having good
anchorage.[2072] And beyond Palinurus are the promontory, harbour, and
river of Pyxus;[2073] the three having the same name. This colony was
founded[2074] by Micythus, then governor of Messina in Sicily; but those
who were located here, except a few, abandoned the place. After Pyxus
are the gulf,[2075] the river,[2076] and the city[2077] of Laüs. This,
the last[2078] city of the Leucani, situate a little above the sea, is a
colony[2079] of the Sybarites, and is distant from Elea 400 stadia. The
whole circuit of Leucania, by sea is 650 stadia. Near to Laüs is seen
the tomb of Draco, one of the companions of Ulysses, and the oracular
response, given to the Italian Greeks, alludes to him:
“Some day, around the Dragon’s stony tomb,
A mighty multitude shall meet their doom.”
For the Greeks of Italy, enticed by this prophecy, marched against Laüs
and were defeated by the Leucani.[2080]
2. Such, along the shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea, are the possessions of
the Leucani, which at first did not reach to the other sea;[2081] the
Greeks who dwelt on the Gulf of Tarentum possessed it. But before the
coming of the Greeks there were no Leucani, the Chones[2082] and Œnotri
possessed these territories. But when the Samnites had greatly
increased, and expelled the Chones and Œnotri, and driven the Leucani
into this region, while the Greeks possessed the sea-coast on both
sides as far as the straits, the Greeks and the Barbarians maintained a
lengthened contest. The tyrants of Sicily, and afterwards the
Carthaginians, at one time making war against the Romans, for the
acquisition of Sicily, and at another, for Italy itself, utterly wasted
all these regions. The Greeks, however, succeeded in depriving the
ancient inhabitants of a great portion of the midland country, beginning
even as early as the Trojan war; they increased in power, and extent of
territory, to such a degree, that they called this region and Sicily,
the _Magna Græcia_. But now the whole region, except Tarentum, Rhegium,
and Neapolis, has become barbarian,[2083] and belongs partly to the
Leucani and Bruttii, partly to the Campani; to these, however, only in
name, but truly to the Romans; for these people have become Roman.
However, it is incumbent on one who is treating of [CAS. 253] universal
geography, to speak both of things as they now are, and of some of those
that have been, and especially when they are important. Of the Leucani,
who border upon the Tuscan Sea, mention has already been made; those who
possess the midland regions dwell above the Gulf of Tarentum, but these,
as well as the Bruttii, and the Samnites themselves, the progenitors of
both, have been so maltreated [by the Romans], that it is difficult to
determine the boundaries of each people. The reason of this is, that
there no longer remains separately any of the institutions common to
these nations; and their peculiarities of language, of military and
civil costume, and such particulars, have passed away; besides, even
their places of abode, considered separately and apart, possess nothing
worthy of observation.
3. We will narrate in a general manner what we have gathered concerning
the Leucani, who dwell in the interior, without too much care in
distinguishing them from their neighbours, the Samnites. Petilia[2084]
is considered as the metropolis of the Leucani, and is still well
peopled. It owes its foundation to Philoctetes, who was compelled to
quit Melibœa on account of civil dissensions. Its position is so strong,
that the Samnites were formerly obliged to construct forts around it for
the defence of their territory. The ancient Crimissa, situated near
these places, was also founded by Philoctetes. Apollodorus, in his
description of the ships [of the Greeks], narrates concerning
Philoctetes, that, according to certain writers, this prince having
disembarked in the district of Crotona, settled on the promontory of
Crimissa, and built the city of Chone[2085] above it, from which the
inhabitants were called Chones; and that certain colonists being sent by
him into Sicily, to the neighbourhood of Eryx,[2086] with Ægestus the
Trojan, founded Ægesta.[2087] In the inland districts are also
Grumentum,[2088] Vertinæ,[2089] Calasarna,[2090] and other small
villages, reaching as far as Venusia,[2091] a city of some importance.
This, however, I consider to be a Samnite city, as are also those which
are next met with on going into Campania. Above the Thurii lies the
district called Tauriana.[2092] The Leucani are of Samnite origin.
Having vanquished the Posidoniates and their allies, they took
possession of their cities. At one time the institutions of the Leucani
were democratic, but during the wars a king was elected by those who
were possessed of chief authority: at the present time they are Roman.
4. The Bruttii occupy the remainder of the coast as far as the Strait of
Sicily, extending about 1350 stadia. Antiochus, in his treatise on
Italy, says that this district, which he intended to describe, was
called Italy, but that previously it had been called Œnotria. The
boundary which he assigns to it on the Tyrrhenian Sea, is the river
Lao,[2093] and on the Sea of Sicily Metapontium, the former of which we
have given as the boundary of the Bruttii. He describes Tarentum, which
is next to Metapontium,[2094] as beyond Italy, calling it Iapygian. He
also relates that, at a more ancient period, those who dwelt on this
side the isthmus, which lies next the Strait of Sicily, were the only
people who were called Œnotrians and Italians. The isthmus is 160 stadia
across between the two gulfs, namely, that of Hipponium,[2095] which
Antiochus called Napitinus, and [CAS. 255] that of Scylletium.[2096] The
circumnavigation of the peninsula, which is comprised between this
isthmus and the strait, is 2000 stadia. He says that afterwards the
names of Italy and of the Œnotrians were extended as far as Metapontium
and the Siritis; the Chones, a people of Œnotrian descent, and highly
civilized, inhabited these districts, and called their country Chone.
However, this author has written in a very loose and old-fashioned
manner, without giving any definite boundaries to the Leucani and
Bruttii. Now Leucania is situated on the Tyrrhenian and Sicilian Seas,
extending on one coast from the Silaro[2097] to the river Lao, and on
the other from Metapontium[2098] to Thurii. Along the continent it
stretches from the country of the Samnites, as far as the isthmus
between Thurii and Cerilli,[2099] near the Lao. This isthmus is 300
stadia[2100] across. Beyond are the Bruttii, who dwell on the peninsula;
in this is included another peninsula, which is bounded by the isthmus
between Scylletium[2101] and the Hipponiate gulf.[2102] The nation
received its appellation from the Leucani, for they call runaways
Bruttii, and they say that formerly they ran away from them when
employed as shepherds, and that afterwards their independence was
established through the weakness [of the Leucani], when Dion [of
Syracuse] was prosecuting a war against [the younger] Dionysius, and
fomented hostilities amongst all.[2103] This is all we shall remark as
to the Leucani and Bruttii.
5. From the Lao the first city is the Temesa[2104] of the Bruttii,
which at present is called Tempsa. It was founded by the Ausonians;
afterwards the Ætolians, under the command of Thoas, gained possession
of it. These were expelled by the Bruttii; Hannibal and the Romans have
overthrown the Bruttii.[2105] In the vicinity of Temesa is the Heroum of
Polites, one of the companions of Ulysses. It is surrounded by a thick
grove of wild olives. He was treacherously slain by the barbarians, and
became in consequence very wrathful, and his shade so tormented the
inhabitants that they submitted to pay him a tribute, according to the
direction of a certain oracle. Thus it became a proverb amongst them,
“Let no one offend the hero of Temesa,” for they said that [for a long
time he[2106]] had tormented them. But when the Epizephyrian Locrians
took the city, they feign that Euthymus the pugilist went out against
him, and having overcome him in fight, constrained him to free the
inhabitants from tribute.[2107] They say that the poet intended this
Temesa, and not the Tamassus[2108] in Cyprus, (for it is said that the
words are suitable to either,[2109]) when he sings,
“in quest of brass
To Temesa.”[2110]
[CAS. 256] and certain copper-mines are pointed out near to the place,
which are now exhausted. Contiguous to it is Terina,[2111] which
Hannibal destroyed, when he found he could no longer retain it; at the
time when he took refuge in the country of the Bruttii.[2112] Next in
order comes Cosentia,[2113] the metropolis of the Bruttii. A little
above it is Pandosia, which is strongly fortified, before which
Alexander the Molossian king was overthrown. This prince was led astray
by the oracle of Dodona, which commanded him to avoid Acheron and
Pandosia;[2114] for places with names like these being pointed out in
Thesprotia, caused him to lose his life[2115] here. The position has
three summits, and the river Acheron flows by it. He was also mistaken
in another oracle,
“O Pandosia, thou three-topp’d hill,
Hereafter many people thou shalt kill;”
for he thought that it foreshowed the destruction of his enemies, and
not of his own people. They say that Pandosia[2116] was formerly the
residence of the Œnotrian kings. After Cosentia is Hipponium,[2117]
founded by the Locrians.[2118] The Romans took it from the Bruttii, who
were in possession of it at a subsequent period, and changed the name
into Vibo-Valentia.[2119] And because the meadows in its vicinity are
luxuriant and full of flowers, it is supposed that Proserpine came over
from Sicily to gather them, and from thence the custom among women of
this city, to gather flowers and plait garlands, prevailed to such an
extent, that they now think it shameful to wear purchased garlands at
the festivals.[2120] It also possesses a harbour[2121] made by
Agathocles,[2122] the tyrant of Sicily, when he was in possession of the
town. On sailing hence to the Portus Herculis,[2123] we come to the
point where the headlands of Italy, as they stretch towards the Strait
[of Sicily], begin to turn westward. In this voyage we pass Medma,[2124]
a city of the same Locrians,[2125] which bears the name of a copious
fountain, and possessing at a short distance a naval station, called
Emporium.[2126] Very nigh is the river Metauro,[2127] as also a naval
station bearing the same name.[2128] The Lipari Isles lie off this
coast; they are distant 200 stadia from the strait. They say that they
are the islands of Æolus, of whom the poet makes [CAS. 257] mention in
the Odyssey.[2129] They are seven in number, and are all easily
distinguished both from Sicily and the coast of the continent about
Medma. We will speak of them in particular when we describe Sicily.
After the river Metaurus, there is another Metaurus.[2130] Next in order
is Scyllæum, an elevated cliff nearly surrounded by the sea. But
connected with the mainland by a low isthmus easily accessible on either
side, which Anaxilaus, the tyrant of Rhegium, fortified against the
Tyrrheni, and formed a commodious haven, and thus prevented the pirates
from passing through the strait. Next to the Scyllæan promontory was
that of Cænys, distant from Medma 250 stadia. It is the last headland,
and forms the narrowest part of the Strait [of Sicily], being opposite
to Cape Pelorus on the Sicilian side, which is one of the three points
which give to that island the form of a triangle. Its aspect is towards
the rising of the sun in summer, whilst that of Cænys looks towards the
west. Indeed they both seem to have diverged from the general line of
coast in order to stand out opposite each other.[2131] From Cænys to the
Posidonium[2132] [and] the Columna Rheginorum,[2133] the narrow part of
the strait stretches as much as 6 stadia, the shortest passage across
the strait is a little more. From the Columna [Rheginorum] to Rhegium,
where the strait begins to widen, is a hundred [stadia] as you advance
in a direction towards the exterior and eastern sea, which is called the
sea of Sicily.
6. Rhegium[2134] was founded by certain Chalcidenses, who, as they say,
were decimated as an offering to Apollo in a time of scarcity, by order
of an oracle, and afterwards removed hither from Delphi, taking with
them certain others from home. As Antiochus says, the Zanclæans sent for
the Chalcidenses, and appointed Antimnestus chief over them. Certain
fugitives of the Messenians of Peloponnesus accompanied this colony, who
had been compelled to fly by those who refused to give satisfaction to
the Lacedæmonians for the violation[2135] of the virgins at Limnæ, whom
they had abused when attending the religious festival, and had slain
those who assisted them. However when the fugitives had removed to
Macistus, they sent to the oracle complaining against Apollo and Diana
for suffering these things to happen notwithstanding they so greatly
honoured them, and inquiring how the devoted might be saved. Apollo
commanded to send them with the Chalcidenses to Rhegium, and to be
grateful, therefore, to his sister Diana for that they were not lost but
saved, as they should not be destroyed with their country, which would
be annihilated shortly after by the Spartans.[2136] They acted in
accordance with the oracle, and thus it was that the rulers of the
Rhegini were all of Messenian race until the time of Anaxilaus.
Antiochus asserts that anciently the whole of this district was
inhabited by Sicilians and Morgetes; and that they [CAS. 258] afterwards
passed into Sicily when they were expelled by the Œnotri. Some say that
Morgantium[2137] thus received its name from the Morgetes. But the city
of the Rhegini became very powerful, and possessed many dependent
settlements. It has always been a bulwark for us against the island [of
Sicily], and, indeed, has recently served to that purpose when Sextus
Pompeius alienated Sicily.[2138] It was called Rhegium either, as
Æschylus says, because of the convulsion which had taken place in this
region; for Sicily was broken from the continent by earthquakes,
“Whence it is called Rhegium.”[2139]
Others,[2140] as well as he, have affirmed the same thing, and adduce as
an evidence that which is observed about Ætna, and the appearances seen
in other parts of Sicily, the Lipari and neighbouring islands, and even
in the Pithecussæ, with the whole coast beyond them, which prove that it
was not unlikely that this convulsion had taken place. But now these
mouths being opened, through which the fire is drawn up, and the ardent
masses and water poured out, they say that the land in the neighbourhood
of the Strait of Sicily rarely suffers from the effects of earthquakes;
but formerly all the passages to the surface being blocked up, the fire
which was smouldering beneath the earth, together with the vapour,
occasioned terrible earthquakes, and the regions, being disturbed by the
force of the pent-up winds, sometimes gave way, and being rent received
the sea, which flowed in from either side; and thus were formed both
this strait and the sea which surrounds the other islands in the
neighbourhood. For Prochyta[2141] and the Pithecussæ, as well as
Capreæ, Leucosia, the Sirenes, and the Œnotrides, are but so many
detached fragments from the continent, but other islands have risen from
the bottom of the sea, a circumstance which frequently occurs in many
places; for it is more reasonable to think that the islands in the midst
of the sea have been raised up from the bottom, and that those which lie
off headlands and are separated merely by a strait were broken off from
them. Still it is beside our purpose to investigate thoroughly whether
the name were given to the city for these causes, or whether it were
named by the Samnites from the Latin word regium, which signifies royal,
on account of its importance,[2142] for their chieftains participated in
the privileges of citizenship with the Romans, and generally used the
Latin language. But Dionysius (the elder), having been treated with
contempt by them, destroyed the illustrious city which had founded many
towns and produced many distinguished characters, whether statesmen or
men of letters,[2143] for when he sought a consort from their city, they
offered him the hangman’s daughter;[2144] but his son (Dionysius the
younger) partly restored it,[2145] and called it Phœbia. During the war
with Pyrrhus, a body of Campanians destroyed most of the citizens
against the faith of treaties,[2146] and a little [CAS. 259] before the
Marsic or social war, earthquakes destroyed most of the towns;[2147] but
after Augustus Cæsar had driven Sextus Pompeius out of Sicily, when he
saw that the city was deficient of inhabitants, he appointed certain of
those who accompanied the expedition to reside there, and it is now
tolerably well peopled.[2148]
7. Sailing 50 stadia from Rhegium towards the east, we meet the cape
called Leucopetra, from the colour of the rock, where they say the range
of the Apennines terminates.[2149] Further on is Heraclæum.[2150] It is
the last promontory, and looks towards the south; for presently on
doubling it the course takes a south-western direction as far as the
promontory of Iapygia,[2151] then it runs towards the north more and
more, and towards the west along the Ionian gulf. After the Herculeum
Promontorium is the headland of Locris, which is called
Zephyrium,[2152] possessing a haven exposed to the west winds, whence is
derived its name. Then is the state of the Locri Epizephyrii, a colony
of Locrians transported by Evanthes from the Crissæan gulf, shortly
after the foundation of Crotona and Syracuse.[2153] Ephorus was not
correct in stating that they were a colony of the Locri Opuntii.[2154]
They remained at first during three or four years at Cape Zephyrium;
afterwards they removed their city, with the assistance of certain
Syracusans who dwelt amongst them. There is also a fountain called
Locria in the place where the Locri first took up their abode. From
Rhegium to the Locri there are 600 stadia. The city is built on a
height, which they call Esopis.[2155]
8. The Locri are believed to have been the first who committed their
laws to writing, but after they had enjoyed the advantage of these good
laws for a very considerable time, Dionysius [the younger], having been
expelled[2156] from Syracuse, found means to abuse them in a most
abominable manner, for he, entering into a private chamber where certain
young brides had been adorned for their nuptials, violated them; he also
gathered the most beautiful virgins to his revels, and having liberated
doves with uncut wings, commanded the young women to chase them round
the apartment in a state of perfect nudity, while on some he bound
sandals of unequal height, one being high and the other low, in order to
make their appearance in the pursuit the more unseemly. However he paid
dearly for this, for having returned to Sicily to resume his government,
the Locri overpowered the guard he had left in their city, freed
themselves, and obtained possession of his wife and children; there were
two of his daughters, and his second son who had already attained the
age of manhood; the eldest, however, called Apollocrates, accompanied
his father in the expedition. And although Dionysius himself entreated
them earnestly, as did also the Tarentines, to deliver the prisoners for
whatever ransom they should name, they remained inexorable, and endured
a siege and the wasting of their country, that they might vent their
rage on his daughters. After having exposed them to the most shameful
[CAS. 260] outrages, they strangled them, burnt their bodies, pounded
their bones, and cast them into the sea.[2157] Ephorus in speaking of
the written law of the Locri, which Zaleucus had most judiciously
selected from the Cretan, Lacedæmonian, and Areopagite codes, says that
Zaleucus was the first to establish this principle, that whereas
formerly lawgivers had left it to the judges to award the punishments
for the several offences, he established a certain penalty in his laws,
thinking that the minds of the judges would not be led to attach the
same penalties for the same transgressions, which course he considered
expedient. He praises him also for having simplified the law of
contracts. [He says also] that the Thurians, being desirous to improve
[the code of Zaleucus] more than the Locri had done, became more
celebrated, but were less judicious.[2158] For that state is not
regulated by the best government, where they guard against all manner of
deceit by their laws, but that wherein they abide by laws simply framed.
Plato also has observed that where there are many laws, there will be
law-suits and evil lives, in the same way as, where there are many
physicians, there it is likely there is much sickness.
9. There is a certain singular circumstance, respecting grasshoppers,
worthy of note. The river Alece[2159] divides Rhegium from Locris,
flowing through a deep ravine; those which are in the territory of the
Locrians sing, but those on the other side are silent; and it is thought
probable that this is caused by the region being woody, and their
membranes being softened by dew do not produce sound; but those on the
Locrian side being sunned, are dry and horny, so that the sound is
easily produced by them. The statue of Eunomus the harper having a
grasshopper seated on his harp is shown at Locri. Timæus says, that this
Eunomus was once contending at the Pythian games and disputed with
Aristo of Rhegium for the prize, and that Aristo declared that the
people of Delphi ought to take part with him, because his ancestors
were consecrated to the god, and sent out to found the colony; but
Eunomus said that they could have no claim to contend for melody with
any one, because that among them even the grasshoppers, who are the most
gifted of all creatures, were mute. Nevertheless Aristo was applauded,
and had hopes of obtaining the victory, but Eunomus was declared
victorious, and dedicated the said statue in his country, because that
at the contest one of the chords of his harp having broken, a
grasshopper taking his stand on it supplied the sound. Above these towns
the Bruttii possess the interior, and there is the city Mamertium,[2160]
and the forest which they call Sila, which produces the best or Bruttian
pitch.[2161] It yields fine trees, and is well watered, extending over a
length of 700 stadia.
10. After the Locri is the [river] Sagras,[2162] in the feminine gender,
on which is situated the altar of the Dioscuri, near which ten thousand
Locrians, with a small body of Rhegians gained a victory over 130,000
Crotoniatæ, whence they say arose the proverb applied to incredulous
people, “It is more true than the victory of the Sagras.” Some people
add to the mysterious account, that it was announced the same day at the
Olympic games to the people there assembled, and this speedy news was
found perfectly correct. They say that this mischance was so unfortunate
an event to the Crotoniatæ, that after it they did not long remain as a
nation, on account [CAS. 261] of the number of citizens who fell in the
battle. After the Sagras is Caulonia, which was at first called Aulonia,
from the αὐλὼν, or valley, in which it was situated; but it is deserted,
for its former possessors were driven out by the barbarians,[2163] and
have taken refuge in Sicily, and there founded [another] Caulonia.[2164]
After this is Scylletium,[2165] a colony of the Athenians, who set out
under Menestheus;[2166] it is now called Scylacium.[2167] Dionysius [the
elder] allotted a portion of it to the Locri, whilst it was in the
possession of the Crotoniatæ.[2168] The Scylleticus Sinus received its
name from this city. It together with the Hipponiates Sinus forms the
isthmus which we have mentioned above.[2169] Dionysius[2170] undertook
to build a wall across the isthmus, at the time he was carrying on war
against the Leucani, assigning as a pretext that it would afford
security to the inhabitants of the peninsula from the inroads of the
barbarians dwelling beyond it; but in truth his intention was to cut off
the communication of the Greeks with each other, and to have the greater
power over those who dwelt within the peninsula, but those who dwelt
without[2171] assembled and prevented the undertaking.
11. After Scylletium is the region of Crotona, and the Iapygum tria
Promontoria,[2172] and after these the Lacinium,[2173] sacred to Juno,
formerly rich and filled with many offerings. But the distances have not
been accurately stated. We can only say that in a general way Polybius
reckons 2300[2174] stadia from the strait[2175] to Lacinium,[2176] and
700 stadia from Lacinium to the Iapygian promontory. They call this the
entrance of the Gulf of Taranto. The extent of the gulf is considerable,
being 240 miles along the shore. As the chorographer says ... of 380 ...
to a light person, Artemidorus: wanting also by so many ... of the
breadth of the mouth of the gulf.[2177] Its aspect looks towards the
rising of the sun in winter.[2178] It commenced from Lacinium, for
presently on doubling the cape you come to where the Greek cities
formerly stood; now they no longer exist, with the exception of
Tarentum. But on account of the estimation in which certain of them were
held, it is worth while to speak of them somewhat in detail.
12. The first is Crotona, 150 stadia from Lacinium and the river [CAS.
262] Esaro;[2179] there is also a haven[2180] there, and another river
Nieto,[2181] the name whereof is said to be derived from the following
circumstance—they say that certain of the Greeks who had wandered from
the fleet which had besieged Troy, having arrived in this place,
disembarked to take a survey of the country, and that the Trojan women
who accompanied them in the fleet, having observed the absence of the
men, and being wearied with a toilsome voyage, set fire to the fleet, so
that they were compelled to abide, when they saw, in addition [to the
loss of their ships], that the soil was very fertile. Many others
arriving soon after, and being desirous to live near their
fellow-countrymen, founded several settlements. Most of them derived
their names from the Trojans, and the river Nieto received its
appellation from the destruction[2182] [of the ships]. But Antiochus
relates that an oracle having commanded the Greeks to found Crotona,
Myscellus went forth to view the place, and having seen Sybaris already
built on a neighbouring river of the same name, thought it better, and
returned to the god to ask if he might be permitted to settle in that,
instead of the other; but that the oracle answered, applying to him an
epithet noticing his defective stature, (for Myscellus was somewhat
crook-backed,)
“O short-backed Myscellus, whilst seeking somewhat else of thyself,
Thou pursuest only misfortune: it is right to accept that which is
proffered to thee:”[2183]
and that he returned and built Crotona, wherein he was assisted by
Archias,[2184] the founder of Syracuse, who happened to touch at Crotona
by chance, as he was proceeding to the colony of the Syracusans. The
Iapyges possessed Crotona before this time,[2185] as Ephorus relates.
The city cultivated martial discipline and athletic exercises to a
great extent, and in one of the Olympic games all the seven wrestlers,
who obtained the palm in the stadium, were Crotoniatæ; whence, it seems,
the saying arose that the last wrestler of Crotona was the first of the
other Greeks, and hence they say also is the origin of the expression,
“more salubrious than Crotona,” as instancing a place which had
something to show, in the number of wrestlers which it produced, as a
proof of its salubrity and the robust frame of body which it was capable
of rearing. Thus it had many victors in the Olympic games, although it
cannot be reckoned to have been long inhabited on account of the vast
destruction of its citizens, who fell at the battle of the Sagras. Its
celebrity too was not a little spread by the number of Pythagoreans who
resided there, and Milo,[2186] who was the most renowned of wrestlers,
and lived in terms of intimacy with Pythagoras, who abode long in this
city. They relate that at a banquet of the philosophers, when one of the
pillars in the hall gave way, Milo sustained the ceiling while they all
escaped, and afterwards saved himself. It is likely that, trusting to
the same strength, he met his fate as related by some, for whilst making
his way through a thick wood, he strayed considerably out of the path,
when finding a great log with wedges in it, he thrust both his hands and
feet into the fissure, intending to split it completely, but was only
able to force it enough to let the wedges fall out, when the gaping log
presently closed on him, and he, being taken as in a snare, was devoured
by wild beasts.
13. Beyond this, at the distance of 200 stadia, is situated
Sybaris,[2187] a colony settled by the Achæans, between the two [CAS.
263] rivers Crati[2188] and Sybaris.[2189] Its founder was Is....[2190]
the Helicean.[2191] So great was the prosperity enjoyed by this city
anciently, that it held dominion over four neighbouring people and
twenty-five towns; in the war with the Crotoniatæ it brought into the
field 300,000 men, and occupied a circuit of 50 stadia on the Crati. But
on account of the arrogance and turbulence of its citizens, it was
deprived of all its prosperity by the Crotoniatæ in 70[2192] days, who
took the city, and turning the waters of the river [Crati], overwhelmed
it with an inundation.[2193] Some time after, a few who had escaped came
together and inhabited the site of their former city, but in time they
were dispossessed by the Athenians[2194] and other Greeks, who came and
settled amongst them, but they despised and subjugated them, and removed
the city to a neighbouring place, calling its name Thurii, from a
fountain of that name. The water of the river Sybaris has the peculiar
property of making the horses which drink it shy,[2195] for which reason
they keep their horses away from the river. The Crati turns the hair of
those who bathe in it yellow, and sometimes white, but has been found
salutary for the cure of many disorders. Thurii, after having flourished
for a long time, became a continual prey to the aggressions of the
Leucani,[2196] and afterwards the Tarentini troubling them, they
appealed to the Romans for succour, who, in course of time, sent a
colony[2197] when it was nearly deserted, and changed the name of the
city to Copiæ.[2198]
14. After Thurii is Lagaria,[2199] a garrison fort; it was originally
settled by Epeius[2200] and the Phocenses; hence is derived the
Lagaritan wine, sweet and delicate, and much recommended by the
physicians, as is likewise the Thurian wine, which is reckoned among the
best. Then comes the city of Heraclea,[2201] a little way from the sea,
and two navigable rivers, the Agri[2202] and the Sinno,[2203] on which
was the city Siris, founded by a Trojan colony, but in course of time,
when Heraclea was peopled with the citizens of Siris by the Tarentini,
it became the harbour of Heraclea. Its distance from Heraclea was 24
stadia, and from Thurii about 330.[2204] They point out the statue of
the Trojan Minerva, which is erected there, as a proof of its
colonization by the Trojans. They also relate as a miracle how the
statue closed its eyes when the suppliants, who had fled for sanctuary
to her shrine, were dragged away by the Ionians after they had taken the
city;[2205] they say that these Ionians came to settle here, when they
fled from the yoke of the Lydians, and took the town of the
Trojans[2206] by force, calling its name Polieum. They show, too, at the
present time [CAS. 264] the statue that closes its eyes. It must,
however, require a good courage, not to assert that it appeared to have
closed its eyes, as that at Troy turned away its eyes from beholding the
violence offered to Cassandra, but to show it in the act of winking:—but
it is much more daring to make so many statues of the Minerva rescued
from Ilium, as those who describe them affirm, for there is a Minerva
said to be Trojan in the sense of having been rescued from that city,
not only at Siris, but at Rome, at Lavinium, and at Luceria. The scene,
too, of the daring of the Trojan female captives is assigned to many
different places and appears incredible, although it is by no means
impossible. There are some who say that Siris, and also that Sybaris on
the Trionto,[2207] were founded by the Rhodians. Antiochus says that the
site of Siris having become the subject of a contention between the
Tarentini and the Thurii, on that occasion commanded by Cleandridas the
general who had been banished from Lacedæmon, the two people came to a
composition, and agreed to inhabit it in common, but that the
colony[2208] should be considered as Tarentine; however, at a subsequent
period both the name and the locality were changed, and it was called
Heraclea.[2209]
15. Next in order is Metapontium,[2210] at a distance of 140 stadia from
the sea-port of Heraclea. It is said to be a settlement of the Pylians
at the time of their return from Ilium under Nestor; their success in
agriculture was so great, that it is said they offered at Delphi a
golden harvest:[2211] they adduce, as a proof of this foundation, the
offerings of the dead sacrificed periodically to the Neleïdæ;[2212] but
it was destroyed by the Samnites.[2213] Antiochus says that certain
Achæans, who had been sent for by the Achæans of Sybaris, settled in
this place when it had been desolated; he adds that these were sent for
on account of the hatred of the Achæans to the Tarentini, who had
originally migrated from Laconia, in order to prevent their seizing upon
the place which lay adjacent to them. Of the two cities, viz.
Metapontium which was situated the nearer, [and Siris the
further,[2214]] from Tarentum, the new comers preferred to occupy
Metapontium. This choice was suggested by the Sybarites, because, if
they should make good their settlement there, they would also possess
Siris, but if they were to turn to Siris, Metapontium would be annexed
to the territory of the Tarentines which was conterminous. But after
being engaged in war with the Tarentini and the Œnotrians, who dwelt
beyond them, they came to an agreement, securing to them a portion of
land, which should constitute the boundary between Italy, as it then
existed, and Iapygia. This, too, is the locality which tradition assigns
to the adventures of Metapontus and the captive Melanippe, and her son
Bœotus. But Antiochus is of opinion that the city Metapontium was
originally called Metabum, and that its name was altered at a subsequent
period; and that Melanippe was not entertained here but at Dius, and
thinks that the heroum of Metabus as well as the testimony of the poet
Asius, who says that
“The beautiful Melanippe, in the halls of Dius, bare Bœotus,”
afford sufficient proof that Melanippe was led to Dius and not to
Metabum. Ephorus says that Daulius, the tyrant of Crissa[2215] near
Delphi, was the founder of Metapontium. There is, however, another
tradition, that Leucippus was sent by the Achæans to help to found the
colony, and having asked permission of the Tarentini to have the place
for a day and a night, would not give it up, replying by day to those
who [CAS. 265] asked it of him, that he had asked and obtained it till
the following night, and when asked by night, he said that he held it
till the coming day.
Next adjoining is Tarentum and Iapygia, which we will describe when we
shall have first gone through the islands which lie off Italy, according
to our original purpose; for we have always given the adjacent islands
with every nation we have hitherto described, and since we have gone
through Œnotria, which only, the people of ancient times named Italy, we
feel justified in keeping to the same arrangement, and shall pass on to
Sicily and the surrounding islands.
CHAPTER II.
1. Sicily is triangular in form, and on this account was at first called
Trinacria, but afterwards the name was softened and it was changed into
Thrinacia.[2216] Three low headlands bound the figure: Pelorias is the
name of that towards Cænys and the Columna Rheginorum which forms the
strait; Pachynus[2217] is that which stretches towards the east, and is
washed by the Sea of Sicily, looking towards the Peloponnesus and in the
direction of the passage to Crete; the third is Lilybæum,[2218] and is
next to Africa, looking towards that region and the setting of the sun
in winter.[2219] Of the sides which these three headlands bound, two are
somewhat concave, while the third is slightly convex, it runs from
Lilybæum to Pelorias, and is the longest, being, as Posidonius has said,
1700 stadia adding further twenty. Of the others, that extending to
Pachynus from Lilybæum is the longer, while the shortest faces the
Strait and Italy, extending from Pelorias to Pachynus, being about 1120
or 1130 stadia. Posidonius shows that the circumference is 4400 stadia,
but in the Chorography the distances are declared to exceed the above
numbers, being severally reckoned in miles. Thus from Cape Pelorias to
Mylæ,[2220] 25 miles; from Mylæ to Tyndaris,[2221] 25; thence to
Agathyrnum,[2222] 30; from Agathyrnum to Alæsa,[2223] 30; from Alæsa to
Cephalœdium,[2224] 30; these are but insignificant places; from
Cephalœdium to the river Himera,[2225] which runs through the midst of
Sicily, 18; from thence to Panormus,[2226] 35; [thence] to the
Emporium[2227] of the Ægestani, 32; leaving to Lilybæum[2228] a distance
of 38; thence having doubled the Cape and coasting the adjacent side to
Heracleum,[2229] 75; and to the Emporium[2230] of the Agrigentini, 20;
and to[2231] [CAS. 266] Camarina,[2232] another 20; then to Pachynus,
50; thence again along the third side to Syracuse, 36;[2233] from
Syracuse to Catana, 60; then to Tauromenium,[2234] 33; thence to
Messana, 30.[2235] Thus on foot[2236] from Pachynus to Pelorias we have
168 [miles], and from Messana[2237] to [Cape] Lilybæum, on the Via
Valeria,[2238] we have 235[2239] [miles]. Some have estimated the
circuit in a more simple way, as Ephorus, who says that the compass of
the island by sea takes five days and nights. Posidonius attempts to
determine the situation of the island by climata,[2240] and places
Pelorias to the north, Lilybæum to the south, and Pachynus to the east.
We however consider that of necessity all climata are set out in the
manner of a parallelogram, but that districts portrayed as triangles,
and especially such triangles as are scalene,[2241] and whereof no one
side lies parallel to a side of the parallelogram, cannot in any way be
assimilated to climata on account of their obliquity. However, we must
allow, that in treating of Sicily, Pelorias, which lies to the south of
Italy, may well be called the most northern of the three angles, so that
we say that the line which joins it[2242] to Pachynus faces the east but
looks towards the north.[2243] Now this line [of coast] will make the
side next the Strait [of Messina], and it must have a slight inclination
towards the winter sunrise;[2244] for thus the shore slightly changes
its direction as you travel from Catana towards Syracuse and Pachynus.
Now the transit from Pachynus to the mouth of the Alpheus[2245] is 4000
stadia. But when Artemidorus says that from Pachynus to Tænarum[2246] it
is 4600, and from the Alpheus to the Pamisus is 1130 stadia,[2247] he
appears to me to lie open to the objection of having given distances
which do not accord with the 4000 stadia from Pachynus to the Alpheus.
The line run from Pachynus to Lilybæum (which is much to the west of
Pelorias) is considerably diverged from the south towards the west,
having at the same time an aspect looking towards the east and towards
the south.[2248] On one side it is washed by the sea of Sicily, and on
the other by the Libyan Sea, extending from Carthage to the Syrtes. The
shortest run is 1500 stadia from Lilybæum to the coast of Africa about
Carthage; and, according to report, a certain very sharp-sighted
person,[2249] placed on a watch-tower, announced to the Carthaginians
besieged in Lilybæum the number of the ships which were leaving
Carthage. And from Lilybæum to Pelorias the side must necessarily
incline towards the east, and look in a direction towards the west and
north, having Italy to the north, and the Tyrrhenian Sea with the
islands of Æolus to the west.[2250]
2. The cities situated on the side which forms the Strait are, first
Messana, then Tauromenium,[2251] Catana, and Syracuse; between Catana
and Syracuse were the ruined cities Naxos[2252] and Megara,[2253]
situated where the rivers descending from Ætna fall into the sea, and
afford good accommodation for shipping. Here is also the promontory of
Xiphonia. They say that Ephorus founded these first cities of the Greeks
in Sicily in [CAS. 267] the tenth generation from the Trojan war. For
those who preceded him were so terrified by the piratical customs of the
Tyrrheni, and the ferocity of the savages of the neighbourhood, that
they did not even venture to resort thither for the purposes of
commerce. Theocles the Athenian, however, having been driven to Sicily
by storms, observed both the weakness of the inhabitants and the
excellence of the soil. On his return home, he was unable to persuade
the Athenians to make any attempt, but he collected a numerous band of
Chalcidians in Eubœa, with some Ionians and Dorians, whereof the most
part were Megarenses, and sailed. The Chalcidians founded Naxos, and the
Dorians Megara, which was at first called Hybla. These cities no longer
exist, but the name of Hybla survives on account of the Hyblæan honey.
3. The first of the cities which at present remain on the aforesaid side
is Messana, built at the head of the gulf of Pelorias, which is curved
very considerably towards the east, and forms a bay. The passage across
to Rhegium[2254] is 60 stadia, but the distance to the Columna
Rheginorum is much less. It was from a colony of the Messenians of the
Peloponnesus that it was named Messana, having been originally called
Zancle, on account of the great inequality of the coast (for anything
irregular was termed ζάγκλιον).[2255] It was originally founded by the
people of Naxos near Catana. Afterwards the Mamertini, a tribe of
Campanians, took possession of it.[2256] The Romans, in the war in
Sicily against the Carthaginians, used it as an arsenal.[2257] Still
more recently,[2258] Sextus Pompeius assembled his fleet in it, to
contend against Augustus Cæsar; and when he relinquished the island, he
took ship from thence.[2259] Charybdis[2260] is pointed out at a short
distance from the city in the Strait, an immense gulf, into which the
back currents of the Strait frequently impel ships, carrying them down
with a whirl and the violence of the eddy. When they are swallowed down
and shattered, the wrecks are cast by the stream on the shore of
Tauromenia,[2261] which they call, on account of this kind of
accumulation, the dunghill.[2262] So greatly have the Mamertini
prevailed over the Messenians, that they have by degrees wrested the
city from them. The inhabitants generally are rather called Mamertini
than Messenians. The district abounds in wine, which we do not call
Messenian, but Mamertinian: it vies with the best produced in
Italy.[2263] The city is well peopled, but Catana is more populous,
which has been colonized by the Romans.[2264] Tauromenium is less
populous than either. Catana was founded by people from Naxos, and
Tauromenium by the Zanclæans of Hybla,[2265] but Catana was deprived of
its original inhabitants when Hiero, the tyrant of Syracuse, introduced
others, and called it by the name of Ætna instead of Catana. It is of
this that Pindar says he was the founder, when he sings,
“Thou understandest what I say, O father, that bearest the same name
with the splendid holy sacrifices, thou founder of Ætna.”[2266]
But on the death of Hiero,[2267] the Catanæans returned and expelled the
new inhabitants, and demolished the mausoleum of the tyrant. The
Ætnæans, compelled to retire,[2268] established themselves on a hilly
district of Ætna, called Innesa,[2269] and called the place Ætna. It is
distant from Catana about 80 stadia. They still acknowledged Hiero as
their founder.
Ætna lies the highest of any part of Catana, and participates the most
in the inconveniences occasioned by the mouths of the volcano, for the
streams of lava flowing down in Catanæa[2270] pass through it first. It
was here that Amphinomus [CAS. 269] and Anapias set the example of
filial piety so greatly celebrated, for they, seizing their parents,
carried them on their shoulders[2271] to a place of safety from the
impending ruin; for whenever, as Posidonius relates, there is an
eruption of the mountain the fields of the Catanæans are buried to a
great depth. However, after the burning ashes have occasioned a
temporary damage, they fertilize the country for future seasons, and
render the soil good for the vine and very strong for other produce, the
neighbouring districts not being equally adapted to the produce of wine.
They say that the roots which the districts covered with these ashes
produce, are so good for fattening sheep, that they are sometimes
suffocated, wherefore they bleed them in the ear every four or five
days,[2272] in the same way as we have related a like practice at
Erythia. When the stream of lava cools[2273] it covers the surface of
the earth with stone to a considerable depth, so that those who wish to
uncover the original surface are obliged to hew away the stone as in a
quarry. For the stone is liquefied in the craters and then thrown up.
That which is cast forth from the top is like a black moist clay and
flows down the hill-sides, then congealing it becomes mill-stone,
preserving the same colour it had while fluid. The ashes of the stones
which are burnt are like what would be produced by wood, and as rue
thrives on wood ashes, so there is probably some quality in the ashes of
Ætna which is appropriate to the vine.
4. Archias, sailing from Corinth, founded Syracuse about the same
period[2274] that Naxos and Megara were built. They say that Myscellus
and Archias having repaired to Delphi at the same time to consult the
oracle, the god demanded whether they would choose wealth or health,
when Archias preferred wealth and Myscellus health, upon which the
oracle assigned Syracuse to the former to found, and Crotona to the
latter. And certainly, in like manner as it fell out that the Crotoniatæ
should inhabit a state so notable for salubrity as we have
described,[2275] so such great riches have accrued to the Syracusans
that their name has been embodied in the proverb applied to those who
have too great wealth, viz. that they have not yet attained to a tithe
of the riches of the Syracusans. While Archias was on his voyage to
Sicily, he left Chersicrates, a chief of the race of the
Heracleidæ,[2276] with a part of the expedition to settle the island now
called Corcyra,[2277] but anciently called Scheria, and he, having
expelled the Liburni who possessed it, established his colony in the
island. Archias, pursuing his route, met with certain Dorians at
Zephyrium,[2278] come from Sicily, and who had quitted the company of
those who had founded Megara; these he took with him, and in conjunction
with them founded Syracuse. The city flourished on account of the
fertility[2279] of the country and the convenience of the harbours, the
citizens became great rulers; while under tyrants themselves, they
domineered over the other states [of Sicily], and when freed from
despotism, they set at liberty such as had been enslaved by the
barbarians: of these barbarians some were the aboriginal inhabitants of
the island, while others had come across from the continent. The Greeks
suffered none of the barbarians to approach the shore, although they
were not able to expel them entirely from the interior, for the Siculi,
Sicani,[2280] Morgetes, and some others,[2281] still inhabit the island
to the present day, amongst whom also were the Iberians, who, as Ephorus
relates, were [CAS. 270] the first of the barbarians that are
considered to have been settlers in Sicily. It seems probable that
Morgantium[2282] was founded by the Morgetes. Formerly it was a city,
but now it is not. When the Carthaginians[2283] endeavoured to gain
possession of the island they continually harassed both the Greeks and
the barbarians, but the Syracusans withstood them; at a later period
the Romans expelled the Carthaginians and took Syracuse after a long
siege.[2284] And [Sextus] Pompeius, having destroyed Syracuse in the
same way as he had done by the other cities,[2285] Augustus Cæsar in
our own times sent thither a colony, and to a great extent restored
it to its former importance, for anciently it consisted of five
towns[2286] enclosed by a wall of 180[2287] stadia, but there being
no great need that it should fill this extensive circle, he thought
it expedient to fortify in a better way the thickly inhabited portion
lying next the island of Ortygia, the circumference of which by itself
equals that of an important city. Ortygia is connected to the mainland
by a bridge, and [boasts of] the fountain Arethusa, which springs in
such abundance as to form a river at once, and flows into the sea. They
say that it is the river Alpheus[2288] which rises in the Peloponnesus,
and that it flows through the land beneath the sea[2289] to the place
where the Arethusa rises and flows into the sea. Some such proofs as
these are given in support of the fact. A certain chalice having fallen
into the river at Olympia was cast up by the springs of Arethusa; the
fountain too is troubled by the sacrifices of oxen at Olympia. And
Pindar, following such reports, thus sings,
“Ortygia, revered place of reappearing[2290] of the Alpheus,
The offset of renowned Syracuse.”[2291]
Timæus[2292] the historian advances these accounts in like manner with
Pindar. Undoubtedly if before reaching the sea the Alpheus were to fall
into some chasm,[2293] there would be a probability that it continued
its course from thence to Sicily, preserving its potable water unmixed
with the sea; but since the mouth of the river manifestly falls into the
sea, and there does not appear any opening in the bed of the sea there,
which would be capable of imbibing the waters of the river, (although
even if there were they could not remain perfectly fresh, still it might
be possible to retain much of the character of fresh water, if they were
presently to be swallowed down into a passage running below the earth
which forms the bed of the sea,) it is altogether impossible; and this
the water of Arethusa clearly proves, being perfectly fit for beverage;
but [CAS. 271] that the flow of the river should remain compact through
so long a course, not mixing with the sea until it should fall into the
fancied channel, is entirely visionary; for we can scarcely credit it of
the Rhone, the body of the waters of which remains compact during its
passage through the lake, and preserves a visible course, but in that
instance both the distance is short and the lake is not agitated by
waves like the sea, but in this case of the Alpheus,[2294] where there
are great storms and the waters are tossed with violence, the
supposition is by no means worthy of attention. The fable of the chalice
being carried over is likewise a mere fabrication, for it is not
calculated for transfer, nor is it by any means probable it should be
washed away so far, nor yet by such difficult passages. Many rivers,
however, and in many parts of the world, flow beneath the earth, but
none for so great a distance.—Still, although there may be no
impossibility in this circumstance, yet the above-mentioned accounts are
altogether impossible, and almost as absurd as the fable related of the
Inachus: this river, as Sophocles[2295] feigns,
“Flowing from the heights of Pindus and Lacmus, passes from the
country of the Perrhœbi[2296] to that of the Amphilochi[2297] and
the Acarnanians, and mingles its waters with the Achelous:”[2298]
and further on [he says],
“Thence to Argos, cutting through the waves, it comes to the
territory of Lyrceius.”
Those who would have the river Inopus to be a branch of the Nile flowing
to Delos, exaggerate this kind of marvel to the utmost. Zoïlus the
rhetorician, in his Eulogium of the people of Tenedos, says that the
river Alpheus flows from Tenedos: yet this is the man who blames Homer
for fabulous writing. Ibycus also says that the Asopus, a river of
Sicyon,[2299] flows from Phrygia. Hecatæus is more rational, who says
that the Inachus of the Amphilochi, which flows from Mount Lacmus, from
whence also the Æas[2300] descends, was distinct from the river of like
name in Argolis, and was so named after Amphilochus, from whom likewise
the city of Argos was denominated Amphilochian. He says further, that
this river falls into the Achelous, and that the Æas flows to
Apollonia[2301] towards the west. On each side of the island there is an
extensive harbour; the extent of the larger one is 80[2302] stadia.
[Augustus] Cæsar has not only restored this city, but Catana, and
likewise Centoripa,[2303] which had contributed much towards the
overthrow of [Sextus] Pompey. Centoripa is situated above Catana and
confines with the mountains of Ætna and the river Giaretta,[2304] which
flows into Catanæa.
5. One of the remaining sides, that stretching from Pachynus to
Lilybæum, is entirely deserted; still it preserves a few traces of the
ancient inhabitants, one of whose cities was Camarina.[2305]
Acragas,[2306] which was a colony of the Geloi,[2307] together with its
port and Lilybæum,[2308] still exist. In fact, these regions, lying
opposite to Carthage, have been wasted by the great and protracted wars
which have been waged. The remaining and greatest side, although it is
by no means densely peopled, is well occupied, for Alæsa,[2309]
Tyndaris,[2310] the emporium[2311] of the Ægestani and
Cephalœdium,[2312] are respectable towns. Panormus has received a Roman
colony: they say that Ægesta[2313] was founded by the Greeks who passed
over, as we have related when speaking of Italy, with Philoctetes to the
Crotoniatis, and were by him sent to Sicily with Ægestus[2314] the
Trojan.
6. In the interior of the island a few inhabitants possess Enna,[2315]
in which there is a temple of Ceres;[2316] it is situated on [CAS. 272]
a hill, and surrounded by spacious tablelands well adapted for tillage.
The fugitive slaves, who placed themselves under the leading of
Eunus,[2317] and sustained in this city a long siege, scarcely being
reduced by the Romans, occasioned much damage to the city. The Catanæi,
Tauromenitæ, and many others, suffered, much in like manner.
†Eryx,[2318] a very lofty mountain, is also inhabited. It possesses a
temple of Venus, which is very much esteemed; in former times it was
well filled with women sacred to the goddess, whom the inhabitants of
Sicily, and also many others, offered in accomplishment of their vows;
but now, both is the neighbourhood much thinner of inhabitants, and the
temple not near so well supplied with priestesses and female
attendants.[2319] There is also an establishment of this goddess at Rome
called the temple of Venus Erycina, just before the Colline Gate; in
addition to the temple it has a portico well worthy of notice.† The
other settlement and most of the interior have been left to the
shepherds for pasturage; for we do not know that Himera is yet
inhabited,[2320] or Gela,[2321] or Callipolis, or Selinus, or Eubœa, or
many other places; of these the Zanclæi of Mylæ[2322] founded
Himera,[2323] the people of Naxos, Callipolis,[2324] the Megaræans of
Sicily,[2325] Selinus,[2326] and the Leontini[2327] Eubœa.[2328] Many
too of the cities of the aboriginal inhabitants[2329] have been
destroyed, as Camici, the kingdom of Cocalus, at whose house Minos is
reported to have been treacherously cut off. The Romans therefore,
considering the deserted condition of the country, and having got
possession both of the hills and the most part of the plains, have given
them over to horse-breeders, herdsmen, and shepherds, by whom the island
has frequently been brought into great perils. First of all the
shepherds, taking to pillage here and there in different places, and
afterwards assembling in numbers and forcibly taking settlements; for
instance, as those under the command of Eunus[2330] seized upon
Enna.[2331] And quite recently, during the time that we were at Rome, a
certain Selurus, called the son of Ætna, was sent up to that city. He
had been the captain of a band of robbers, and had for a long time
infested the country round Ætna, committing frequent depredations. We
saw him torn to pieces by wild beasts in the forum after a contest of
gladiators: he had been set upon a platform fashioned to represent Mount
Ætna, which being suddenly unfastened and falling, he was precipitated
amongst certain cages of wild beasts, which had also been slightly
constructed under the platform for the occasion.
7. The fertility of the country is so generally extolled by every one,
as nothing inferior to Italy, that there is a question as to what we
should say of it. Indeed, for wheat, honey, saffron, and some other
commodities, it even surpasses that country. In addition to this, its
proximity renders the island like a part of Italy itself, so that it
supplies the Roman market with produce both commodiously and without
trouble. Indeed they call it the granary of Rome, for all the produce of
the island is carried thither, except a few things required for home
consumption. It consists not only of the fruits of the earth, but of
cattle, skins, wool, and the like. Posidonius says that Syracuse and
Eryx are situated on the sea like two citadels, and that Enna in the
midst, between Syracuse and Eryx, commands the surrounding plains.
†The[2332] whole [CAS. 273] territory of the Leontini, which was
possessed by the people of Naxos settled in Sicily, suffered much, for
they always shared in the misfortunes of Syracuse, but not always in its
prosperity.†
8. Near to Centoripa is the town we have a little before mentioned,
Ætna, which serves as a place for travellers about to ascend Mount Ætna,
to halt and refresh themselves for the expedition. For here commences
the region in which is situated the summit of the mountain. The
districts above are barren and covered with ashes, which are surmounted
by the snows in winter: all below it however is filled with woods and
plantations of all kinds. It seems that the summits of the mountain take
many changes by the ravages of the fire, which sometimes is brought
together into one crater, and at another is divided; at one time again
it heaves forth streams of lava, and at another flames and thick smoke:
at other times again ejecting red-hot masses of fire-stone. In such
violent commotions as these the subterraneous passages must necessarily
undergo a corresponding change, and at times the orifices on the surface
around be considerably increased. Some who have very recently ascended
the mountain, reported[2333] to us, that they found at the top an even
plain of about 20 stadia in circumference, enclosed by an overhanging
ridge of ashes about the height of a wall, so that those who are
desirous of proceeding further are obliged to leap down into the plain.
They noticed in the midst of it a mound; it was ash-coloured, as was
likewise the plain in appearance. Above the mound a column of cloud
reared itself in a perpendicular line to the height of 200 stadia, and
remained motionless (there being no air stirring at the time); it
resembled smoke. Two of the party resolutely attempted to proceed
further across this plain, but, finding the sand very hot and sinking
very deep in it, they turned back, without however being able to make
any more particular observations, as to what we have described, than
those who beheld from a greater distance. They were, however, of
opinion, from the observations they were able to make, that much
exaggeration pervades the accounts we have of the volcano, and
especially the tale about Empedocles, that he leaped into the crater,
and left as a vestige of his folly one of the brazen sandals which he
wore, it being found outside at a short distance from the lip of the
crater, with the appearance of having been cast up by the violence of
the flame; for neither is the place approachable nor even visible, nor
yet was it likely that any thing could be cast in thither, on account of
the contrary current of the vapours and other matters cast up from the
lower parts of the mountain, and also on account of the overpowering
excess of heat, which would most likely meet any one long before
approaching the mouth of the crater; and if eventually any thing should
be cast down, it would be totally decomposed before it were cast up
again, what manner of form soever it might have had at first. And again,
although it is not unreasonable to suppose that the force of the vapour
and fire is occasionally slackened for want of a continual supply of
fuel, still we are not to conclude that it is ever possible for a man to
approach it in the presence of so great an opposing power. Ætna more
especially commands the shore along the Strait and Catana, but it also
overlooks the sea that washes Tyrrhenia and the Lipari Islands. By night
a glowing light appears on its summit, but in the day-time it is
enveloped with smoke and thick darkness.
9. The Nebrodes mountains[2334] take their rise opposite[2335] to Ætna;
they are not so lofty as Ætna, but extend over a much greater surface.
The whole island is hollow under ground, and full of rivers and fire
like the bed of the Tyrrhenian Sea,[2336] as far as Cumæa, as we before
described.[2337] For there are hot springs in many places in the island,
some of which are saline, as those named Selinuntia[2338] and the
springs at Himera, while those at Ægesta[2339] are fresh. Near to
Acragas[2340] there are certain lakes,[2341] the waters of which taste
like the sea, but their [CAS. 274] properties are very different, for if
those who do not know how to swim plunge into them, they are not covered
over by them, but float on the surface like pieces of wood.
The Palici[2342] possess craters which cast up water in a jet, having
the appearance of a dome, and then receive it back again into the same
place it rose from. The cavern near Mataurum[2343] has within it a
considerable channel, with a river flowing through it under ground for a
long distance, and afterwards emerging to the surface as does the
El-Asi[2344] in Syria, which, after descending into the chasm between
Apameia and Antioch, which they call Charybdis, rises again to the
surface at the distance of about 40 stadia. Much the same circumstances
are remarked of the Tigris[2345] in Mesopotamia, and the Nile in
Africa,[2346] a little before[2347] its most notorious springs. The
water in the neighbourhood of the city of Stymphalus, having passed
under ground about 200 stadia, gives rise to the river Erasinus[2348] in
Argia;[2349] and again, the waters which are ingulfed with a low roaring
sound near Asea[2350] in Arcadia, after a long course, spring forth with
such copiousness as to form the Eurotas and the Alpheus,[2351] whence
has arisen a fable extensively credited, that if a certain charm is
uttered over each of two crowns on their being cast into the stream
where the two rivers flow in a common channel, each crown will make its
appearance in its respective river according to the charm. As for what
we might add with reference to the Timao,[2352] it has already been
particularized.
10. Phænomena, similar to these, and such as take place throughout
Sicily,[2353] are witnessed in the Lipari Islands, and especially in
Lipari itself.—These islands are seven in number, the chief of which is
Lipari, a colony of the Cnidians.[2354] It is nearest to Sicily after
Thermessa.[2355] It was originally named Meligunis. It was possessed of
a fleet, and for a considerable time repelled the incursions of the
Tyrrheni.[2356] The islands now called Liparæan were subject to it, some
call them the islands of Æolus. The citizens were so successful as to
make frequent offerings of the spoils taken in war to the temple of
Apollo at Delphi.[2357] It possesses a fertile soil,[2358] [CAS. 275] and
mines[2359] of alum easy to be wrought, hot springs,[2360] and craters.
[Thermessa] is, as it were, situated between this and Sicily; it is now
designated as Hiera, or sacred to Vulcan; it is entirely rocky, and
desert, and volcanic. In it are three craters, and the flames which
issue from the largest are accompanied with burning masses of lava,
which have already obstructed a considerable portion of the strait
[between Thermessa and the island Lipari]; repeated observations have
led to the belief that the flames of the volcanos, both in this island
and at Mount Ætna, are stimulated by the winds[2361] as they rise; and
when the winds are lulled, the flames also subside; nor is this without
reason, for if the winds are both originally produced and kept up by the
vapours arising from the sea, those who witness these phenomena will not
be surprised, if the fire should be excited in some such way, by the
like aliment and circumstances. Polybius tells us that one of the three
craters of the island has partly fallen down, while the larger of the
two that remain has a lip, the circumference of which is five stadia,
and the diameter nearly 50 feet,[2362] and its elevation about a stadium
from the level of the sea, which may be seen at the base in calm
weather; but if we are to credit this, we may as well attend to what has
been reported concerning Empedocles. [Polybius] also says, that “when
the south wind is to blow, a thick cloud lies stretched round the
island, so that one cannot see even as far as Sicily in the distance;
but when there is to be a north wind, the clear flames ascend to a great
height above the said crater, and great rumblings are heard; while for
the west wind effects are produced about half way between these two. The
other craters are similarly affected, but their exhalations are not so
violent. Indeed, it is possible to foretell what wind will blow three
days beforehand, from the degree of intensity of the rumbling, and also
from the part whence the exhalations, flames, and smoky blazes issue. It
is said indeed that some of the inhabitants of the Lipari Islands, at
times when there has been so great a calm that no ship could sail out of
port, have predicted what wind would blow, and have not been mistaken.”
From hence indeed that which seems to be the most fabulous invention of
the poet, appears not to have been written without some foundation, and
he appears to have merely used an allegorical style, while guided by the
truth, when he says that Æolus is the steward of the winds;[2363]
however, we have formerly said enough as to this.[2364] We will now
return to the point whence we digressed.
11. We have noticed the islands of Lipari and Thermessa. As for
Strongyle,[2365] it takes its name from its form.[2366] Like the other
two, it is subigneous, but is deficient in the force of the flames which
are emitted, while their brightness is greater. It is here they say that
Æolus resided.[2367] The fourth is Didyma; this island also is named
from its form.[2368] Of the others, [the fifth and sixth] are [CAS. 276]
Ericussa[2369] and Phœnicussa;[2370] they are called from the plants
which they produce, and are given up to pasture. The seventh [island] is
called Euonymus;[2371] it is the farthest in the sea and barren. It is
called Euonymus because it lies the most to the left when you sail from
the island of Lipari to Sicily,[2372] and many times flames of fire have
been seen to rise to the surface, and play upon the sea round the
islands: these flames rush with violence from the cavities at the bottom
of the sea,[2373] and force for themselves a passage to the open air.
Posidonius says, that at a time so recent as to be almost within his
recollection, about the summer solstice and at break of day, between
Hiera and Euonymus, the sea was observed to be suddenly raised aloft,
and to abide some time raised in a compact mass and then to subside.
Some ventured to approach that part in their ships; they observed the
fish dead and driven by the current, but being distressed by the heat
and foul smell, were compelled to turn back. One of the boats which had
approached nearest lost some of her crew, and was scarcely able to reach
Lipari with the rest, and they had fits like an epileptic person, at one
time fainting and giddy, and at another returning to their senses; and
many days afterwards a mud or clay was observed rising in the sea, and
in many parts the flames issued, and smoke and smoky blazes; afterwards
it congealed and became a rock like mill-stones. Titus Flaminius,[2374]
who then commanded in Sicily, despatched to the senate [of Rome] a full
account of the phenomenon; the senate sent and offered sacrifices to the
infernal and marine divinities both in the little island [which had thus
been formed] and the Lipari Islands. Now the chorographer reckons that
from Ericodes to Phœnicodes are 10 miles, from thence to Didyma 30, from
thence to the northernmost point[2375] of Lipari 29, and from thence to
Sicily 19, while from Strongyle are 16.[2376] Melita[2377] lies
before[2378] Pachynus; from thence come the little dogs called
Maltese;[2379] so does also Gaudus,[2380] both of them are situated
about 88 miles distant from that promontory. Cossura[2381] is situated
before Cape Lilybæum, and opposite the Carthaginian city Aspis, which
they call [in Latin] Clypea, it is situated in the midst of the space
which lies between those [CAS. 277] two places, and is distant from each
the number of miles last given.[2382] Ægimurus also and other little
islands lie off Sicily and Africa. So much for the islands.
CHAPTER III.
1. Having previously passed over the regions of ancient Italy as far as
Metapontium, we must now proceed to describe the rest. After it
Iapygia[2383] comes next in order; the Greeks call it Messapia, but the
inhabitants, dividing it into cantons, call one the Salentini,[2384]
that in the neighbourhood of the Cape[2385] Iapygia, and another the
Calabri;[2386] above these towards the north lie the Peucetii,[2387] and
those who are called Daunii[2388] in the Greek language, but the
inhabitants call the whole region beyond the Calabri, Apulia. Some of
these people are called Pœdicli,[2389] especially the Peucetii. Messapia
forms a peninsula; the isthmus extending from Brentesium[2390] to
Tarentum, which bounds it, being 310 stadia, and the circumnavigation
round the Iapygian promontory[2391] about [one thousand][2392] four
hundred. [Tarentum[2393]] is distant from Metapontium[2394] about two
hundred and [twenty[2393]] stadia. The course to it by sea runs in an
easterly direction. The Gulf of Tarentum is for the most part destitute
of a port, but here there is a spacious and commodious [harbour[2395]],
closed in by a great bridge. It is 100 stadia[2396] in circuit. This
port, at the head of its basin which recedes most inland, forms, with
the exterior sea, an isthmus which connects the peninsula with the land.
The city is situated upon this peninsula. The neck of land is so low
that ships are easily hauled over it from either side. The site of the
city likewise is extremely low; the ground, however, rises slightly
towards the citadel. The old wall of the city has an immense circuit,
but now the portion towards the isthmus is deserted, but that standing
near the mouth of the harbour, where the citadel is situated, still
subsists, and contains a considerable city. It possesses a noble
gymnasium and a spacious forum, in which there is set up a brazen
colossus of Jupiter, the largest that ever was, with the exception of
that of Rhodes. The citadel is situated between the forum and the
entrance of the harbour, it still preserves some slight relics of its
ancient magnificence [CAS. 278] and gifts, but the chief of them were
destroyed either by the Carthaginians[2397] when they took the city, or
by the Romans[2398] when they took it by force and sacked it. Amongst
other booty taken on this occasion[2399] was the brazen colossus of
Hercules, the work of Lysippus, now in the Capitol, which was dedicated
as an offering by Fabius Maximus, who took the city.
2. Antiochus, speaking of the foundation of this city, says that after
the Messenian war[2400] such of the Lacedæmonians as did not join the
army were sentenced to be slaves, and denominated Helots; and that such
as were born during the period of the war they termed Partheniæ, and
decreed to be base: but these not bearing the reproach, (for they were
many,) conspired against the free citizens,[2401] but the chief
magistrates, becoming acquainted with the existence of the plot,
employed certain persons, who, by feigning friendship to the cause,
should be able to give some intelligence of the nature of it. Of this
number was Phalanthus, who was apparently the chief leader of them, but
who was not quite pleased with those who had been named to conduct their
deliberations.[2402] It was agreed that at the Hyacinthine games,
celebrated in the temple of Amyclæ, just at the conclusion of the
contest, and when Phalanthus should put on his helmet,[2403] they should
make a simultaneous attack. The free citizens[2401] were distinguishable
from others by their hair. They, having been secretly warned as to the
arrangements made for the signal of Phalanthus, just as the chief
contest came off, a herald came forward and proclaimed, “Let not
Phalanthus put on his helmet.” The conspirators perceiving that the plot
was disclosed, some fled, and others supplicated mercy. When the chief
magistrates had bid them not to fear, they committed them to prison,
but sent Phalanthus to inquire after a new settlement. He received from
the oracle the following response,
“To thee Satyrium[2404] I have given, and the rich country of
Tarentum to inhabit, and thou shalt become a scourge to the
Iapygians.”
The Partheniæ accordingly accompanied Phalanthus to their destination,
and the barbarians and Cretans,[2405] who already possessed the country,
received them kindly. They say that these Cretans were the party who
sailed with Minos to Sicily, and that after his death, which took place
at Camici,[2406] in the palace of Cocalus, they took ship and set sail
from Sicily, but in their voyage they were cast by tempest on this
coast, some of whom, afterwards coasting the Adriatic on foot, reached
Macedonia, and were called Bottiæi.[2407] They further add, that all the
people who reach as far as Daunia were called Iapygians, from Iapyx, who
was born to Dædalus by a Cretan woman, and became a chief leader of the
Cretans. The city Tarentum was named from a certain hero.[2408]
3. Ephorus gives the following account of the foundation. The
Lacedæmonians waged war against the Messenians, who had murdered their
king, Teleclus,[2409] when he visited Messene to offer sacrifice. They
took an oath that they would not return home before they had destroyed
Messene, or should be [CAS. 279] all slain. They left only the youngest
and oldest of the citizens to keep their own country. After this, in the
tenth [year] of the war, the Lacedæmonian matrons assembled and deputed
certain women to remonstrate with the citizens, and show them that they
were carrying on the war with the Messenians on very disadvantageous
terms, for they, abiding in their own country, procreated children,
while the Lacedæmonians, leaving their wives in a state like widowhood,
remained away in the war; and to expose the great peril there was of the
depopulation of their country. The Lacedæmonians, being both desirous of
observing their oath, and taking into consideration the representations
of their wives, sent a deputation of the most vigorous, and, at the same
time, most juvenile of the army, whom they considered, in a manner, not
to have participated in the oath, because they had been but children
when they accompanied their elders to the war, and charged them all to
company with all the maidens, reckoning that by that means they would
bear the more children; which having been accordingly obeyed, the
children who were born were denominated Partheniæ. Messene was taken
after a war of nineteen years, as Tyrtæus says,
“The fathers of our fathers, armed for war,
Possessing ever patient courage, fought at Messene
For nineteen years with unremitting toil.
Till on the twentieth, leaving their rich soil,
The enemy forsook the towering heights of Ithome.”[2410]
Thus then did they destroy Messenia, but returning home, they neglected
to honour the Partheniæ like other youths, and treated them as though
they had been born out of wedlock. The Partheniæ, leaguing with the
Helots, conspired against the Lacedæmonians, and agreed to raise a
Laconic felt hat[2411] in the market-place as a signal for the
commencement of hostilities. Some of the Helots betrayed the plot, but
the government found it difficult to resist them by force, for they were
many, and all unanimous, and looked upon each other as brothers; those
in authority therefore commanded such as were appointed to raise the
signal, to depart out of the market-place; when they therefore perceived
that their plot was disclosed they desisted, and the Lacedæmonians
persuaded them, through the instrumentality of their fathers, to leave
the country and colonize: and advised them, if they should get
possession of a convenient place, to abide in it, but if not, they
promised that a fifth part of Messenia should be divided amongst them on
their return. So they departed and found the Greeks carrying on
hostilities against the barbarians, and taking part in the perils of the
war, they obtained possession of Tarentum, which they colonized.
4. At one time, when the government of the Tarentines had assumed a
democratic form, they rose to great importance; for they possessed the
greatest fleet of any state in those parts, and could bring into the
field an army of 30,000 foot and 3000 horse, exclusive of a select body
of 1000 cavalry called Hipparchi.[2412] They likewise encouraged the
Pythagorean philosophy, and Archytas, who for a long time presided over
the government of their state, gave it his special support.[2413] But at
a later period their luxury, which was produced by their prosperity,
increased to that degree that their general holidays or festivals
exceeded in number the days of the year; and hence arose an inefficient
government, and as one proof of their unstatesmanlike acts we may adduce
their employment of foreign generals; for they sent for Alexander,[2414]
king of the Molossi, to come and assist them against the Messapii and
Leucani. They had before that employed Archidamus, the son of
Agesilaus;[2415] afterwards they called in Cleonymus[2416] and
Agathocles,[2417] and later, when they rose against the Romans,
Pyrrhus.[2418] They were not able even to retain the respect of those
whom they had invited, but rather merited their disgust. Alexander [of
Epirus] was so displeased with them that he endeavoured to remove the
seat of the general council of the Greek states in Italy, which was
accustomed to assemble at Heraclea, a city of the Tarentines, to a city
of the Thurii; and he commanded that some place on the river
Acalandrus,[2419] [CAS. 281] commodious for their meetings, should be
properly fortified for their reception.—And indeed they say that the
misfortune[2420] of that prince was chiefly due to a want of good
feeling on their part. They were deprived of their liberty during the
wars[2421] of Hannibal, but have since received a Roman colony,[2422]
and now live in peace and are in a more prosperous state than ever. They
also engaged in war with the Messapii concerning Heraclea, when they
counted the kings of the Daunii and of the Peucetii as allies.[2423]
5. The remainder of the country of the Iapygii is very fair,
notwithstanding unfavourable appearances; for although, for the most
part, it appears rugged, yet when it is broken up the soil is found to
be deep; and although it lacks water, yet it appears well-suited for
pasture, and is furnished with trees. At one time it was thickly
inhabited throughout its whole extent, and possessed thirteen cities,
but now it is so depopulated that, with the exception of Tarentum and
Brentesium,[2424] they only deserve the name of hamlets. They say that
the Salentini are a colony of Cretans. Here is the temple of
Minerva,[2425] which formerly was rich, and the rock called Acra
Iapygia,[2426] which juts out far into the sea towards the rising of the
sun in winter,[2427] and turning, as it were, towards Cape Lacinium,
which lies opposite to it on the west, it closes the entrance of the
Gulf of Tarentum, as on the other side, the Ceraunian Mountains,
together with the said Cape, close the entrance of the Ionian Gulf, the
run across is about 700 stadia from that,[2428] both to the Ceraunian
Mountains and to Cape Lacinium.[2429] In coasting along the shore from
Tarentum to Brentesium there are 600 stadia as far as the little city of
Baris, which is at the present time called Veretum,[2430] and is
situated on the extremities of the Salentine territory; the approach to
it from Tarentum is much easier on foot[2431] than by sea. Thence to
Leuca are 80 stadia; this too is but a small village, in which there is
shown a well of fetid water, and the legend runs, that when Hercules
drove out the last of the giants from Phlegra in Campania, who were
called Leuternians, some fled and were buried here, and that from their
blood a spring issues to supply the well; on this account likewise the
coast is called the Leuternian coast.[2432] From Leuca to Hydrus,[2433]
a small town, 150 stadia. From thence to Brentesium 400, and the like
distance also [from Hydrus] to the island Saso,[2434] which is situated
almost in the midst of the course from Epirus to Brentesium; and
therefore when vessels are unable to obtain a direct passage they run to
the left from Saso to Hydrus, and thence watching for a favourable wind
they steer towards the haven of Brentesium, or the passengers
disembarking proceed on foot by a shorter way through Rudiæ, a Grecian
city, where the poet Ennius was born.[2435] The district which we have
followed by sea from [CAS. 282] Tarentum to Brentesium is like a
peninsula. The road by land from Brentesium to Tarentum is but a day’s
journey for a light person on foot, it constitutes the isthmus of the
said peninsula, which people in general call Messapia, Iapygia,
Calabria, or Salentinum, without being at all particular; but some, as
we have said before, do make a distinction. Thus have we described the
towns on the sea-coast.
6. In the inland are Rudiæ and Lupiæ, and at a short distance from the
sea Aletia;[2436] about the middle of the isthmus is Uria,[2437] in
which is still shown the palace of a certain famous nobleman.[2438] As
Hyria[2439] is described by Herodotus as situated in Iapygia, and as
founded by the Cretans who strayed from the fleet of Minos while sailing
to Sicily;[2440] we must suppose that he meant either this place [Uria]
or Veretum. It is said that a colony of Cretans settled in
Brentesium,[2441] but the tradition varies; some say they were those who
came with Theseus from Cnossus;[2442] others, that they were some out of
Sicily who had come with Iapyx; they agree however in saying that they
did not abide there, but went thence to Bottiæa. At a later period, when
the state was under the government of a monarch, it lost a large portion
of its territories, which was taken by the Lacedæmonians who came over
under Phalanthus; notwithstanding this the Brundusians received him when
he was expelled from Tarentum, and honoured him with a splendid tomb at
his death. They possess a district of superior fertility to that of the
Tarentines; for its soil is light, still it is fruitful, and its honey
and wools are amongst the most esteemed; further, the harbour of
Brentesium is superior to that of Tarentum, for many havens are
protected by the single entrance,[2443] and rendered perfectly smooth,
many bays [or reaches] being formed within it, so that it resembles in
fashion the antlers of a stag, whence its name, for the place, together
with the city, is exceedingly like the head of a stag, and in the
Messapian language the stag’s head is called Brentesium; while the port
of Tarentum is not entirely safe, both on account of its lying very
open, and of certain shallows near its head.
7. Further, the course for passengers from Greece and Asia is most
direct to Brentesium, and in fact all who are journeying to Rome
disembark here. Hence there are two ways to Rome; one, which is only
walked by mules, through the Peucetii, who are called Pœdicli, the
Daunii, and the Samnites, as far as Beneventum, on which road is the
city Egnatia,[2444] then Celia,[2445] Netium,[2446] Canusium,[2447] and
Herdonia.[2448] That through Tarentum is a little to the left, it runs
about a day’s journey round for one traversing the whole distance; it is
called the Appian Way, and is more of a carriage road than the other. On
it stands the city Uria,[2449] and Venusia;[2450] the one [Uria] between
Tarentum and Brentesium, the other on the confines of the Samnites and
Lucani. Both the roads from Brentesium run into one near Beneventum and
Campania, and thence to Rome it receives the name of Appian, and runs
through Caudium,[2451] Calatia,[2452] Capua,[2453] and Casilinum,[2454]
to Sinuessa.[2455] The way from thence to Rome has been already
described.—The whole length of the Appian Way from Rome to Brentesium
is 360 miles.
There is a third way from Rhegium, through the Bruttii, Lucani, and
Samnites, along the chain of the Apennines, into [CAS. 283] Campania,
where it joins the Appian Way;[2456] it is longer than those from
Brentesium by about three or four days’ journey.
8. From Brentesium the sea is traversed by two passages to the opposite
coast, one crossing to the Ceraunian[2457] Mountains and the adjacent
coasts of the Epirus and Greece, the other to Epidamnus,[2458] which is
the longer[2459] of the two, being 1800[2460] stadia. Still this is
habitually traversed, on account of the situation of the city
[Epidamnus] being convenient for the nations of Illyria and Macedonia.
As we coast along the shore of the Adriatic from Brentesium we come to
the city Egnatia,[2461] it is the general place to stop at for those
travelling to Barium,[2462] as well by land as by sea. The run is made
when the wind blows from the south. The territory of the Peucetii
extends as far as this along the coast, in the interior of the land it
reaches as far as Silvium.[2463] It is throughout rugged and
mountainous, and chiefly occupied by the Apennine mountains. It is
thought to have been colonized by a party of Arcadians. The distance
from Brentesium to Barium is about 700 stadia. [Tarentum] is about
equally distant from both.[2464] The Daunii inhabit the adjoining
district, then the Apuli as far as the Phrentani. As the inhabitants of
the district, except in ancient times, have never been particular in
speaking of the Peucetii or Daunii precisely, and as the whole of this
country is now called Apulia, the boundaries of these nations are
necessarily but ill defined: wherefore we ourselves shall not be very
exact in treating of them.
9. From Barium to the river Ofanto,[2465] on which the Canusitæ have
established an emporium, there are 400[2466] stadia. The course up the
river to the emporium is 90 [stadia]. Near it is Salapia,[2467] the port
of the Argyrippeni. For the two cities, Canusium and Argyrippa, are
situated at no great distance from the sea, and in the midst of a plain;
at one time they were the most important cities of the Greeks of Italy,
as is manifest from the circumference of their walls, but now they have
fallen off. One of them was originally called Argos Hippium, then
Argyrippa, and then again Arpi. They are said to have been both founded
by Diomed, and both the plain of Diomed and many other things are shown
in these districts as evidence of his having possessed them. Such were
the ancient offerings in the temple of Minerva, at Luceria.[2468] That
was an ancient city of the Daunii, but now it is of no account. Again,
in the neighbouring sea there are two islands called the Diomedean
islands, one of which is inhabited, but the other, they say, is desert:
in the latter it is fabled that Diomed disappeared from the earth, and
that his companions were transformed into birds,[2469] and indeed the
fable goes so far as to prolong their race to the present time, saying
that they are tame, and lead a sort of human life, both in respect of
food, and their readiness to approach men of gentle manners, and to shun
the evil and wanton. We have already noticed[2470] what is currently
reported amongst the Heneti concerning this hero [Diomed] and the
honours decreed to him by custom. It is thought also that Sipus[2471]
was a settlement founded by Diomed, [CAS. 284] it is distant from
Salapia about 140 stadia, and was called by the Greeks Sepius, from the
numbers of cuttle fish[2472] thrown up by the sea along its shore.
Between Salapia and Sipus is a navigable river, and a considerable
estuary; by both of these channels the merchandise, and wheat
especially, of Sipus is conveyed to the sea. Two heroa or shrines are
shown on a hill of Daunia, called Drium, one on the very brow of the
hill sacred to Calchas, those who are about to inquire of the oracle
offer a black ram to him, and sleep upon the fleece, the other below
near the foot of the hill is dedicated to Podalirius, it is about a
hundred stadia distant from the sea; from this hill also flows a
stream,[2473] which is a potent cure for all manner of diseases among
cattle.[2474] The promontory of Garganum[2475] running into the sea,
juts out from this bay about 300 stadia.[2476] As you turn the point you
perceive the town of Urium,[2477] while off the headland are seen the
Diomedean islands. All this coast produces everything in great
abundance, it is exceedingly well adapted for horses and sheep, and the
wool is finer than that of Tarentum, but less glossy. The district is
mild on account of the cup-like situation of the plains. There are some
who report that Diomed attempted to cut a canal to the sea, but being
sent for to return home, where he died, left it incomplete, as well as
other undertakings. This is one account of him: another makes him abide
here till the end of his days; a third is the fable I have already
noticed, that he vanished in the island [of Teutria], and one might
reckon as a fourth that of the Heneti,[2478] for they somehow make out
that he finished his career among them, as they assert his apotheosis.
The distances I have thus given are laid down in accordance with those
of Artemidorus.
10. The chorographer indeed gives only 165 miles from Brentesium[2479]
to Garganum, but Artemidorus makes them more.[2480] Thence to Ancona,
the first says there are 254 miles, whilst Artemidorus has given but
1250 stadia to the Fiumesino,[2481] near to Ancona, which is much
shorter. Polybius says that from Iapygia the distance has been laid down
in miles, and that there are 562 miles thence to the town of Sila,[2482]
thence to Aquileia 178. These geographers do not agree as to the length
to be assigned to the line of the sea-coast of Illyria, run from the
Ceraunian Mountains[2483] to the head[2484] of the Adriatic, some of
them stating it to be above 6000 [stadia], and making it longer than the
opposite coast [of Italy], while it is much shorter.[2485] Indeed they
all generally differ among themselves in stating distances, as we often
have occasion to remark. Wherever it is possible to discriminate we set
forth what appears to us to be correct, but where it is impossible to
come to any safe conclusion we think it our duty to publish their
several assertions. However, when we have no data furnished by them, it
must not be wondered at, if we should leave some points untouched in
treating of such and so vast a subject as we have undertaken. We would
not indeed omit any of the important particulars, but trifling
circumstances, even when they are noted, are of little advantage, and
when taken no heed of, are not missed, nor does their omission at all
impair the whole work, or, if it does, at most not much.
[CAS. 285] 11. Immediately beyond the Garganum comes a deep bay.[2486]
Those who dwell round it call themselves Apuli,[2487] they speak the
same language as the Daunii and Peucetii, and at the present time
resemble them in every other particular; however it is likely that they
were formerly distinct, since their names completely differ from those
of the others. In ancient times the whole of this country was
flourishing, but Hannibal and the wars which subsequently occurred have
wasted it. Here too was fought the battle of Cannæ, where there was so
great a slaughter of the Roman forces and their allies.[2488] Near this
gulf there is a lake,[2489] and above the lake in the interior is the
Apulian Teanum,[2490] having a like name with that of the
Sidicini.[2491] It is between this and the neighbourhood of
Dicæarchia[2492] that the breadth of Italy is so contracted as to form
an isthmus of less than 1000 stadia from sea to sea.[2493] Leaving the
lake we sail next to Buca,[2494] and the country of the Frentani. There
are 200 stadia from the lake both to Buca and to the Garganum. The
remainder of the towns in the vicinity of Buca have been before
described.[2495]
CHAPTER IV.
1. So great indeed is Italy, and much as we have described it; we will
now advert to the chief of the many things that have been described,
which have conduced to raise the Romans to so great a height of
prosperity. One point is its insular position, by which it is securely
guarded, the seas forming a natural protection around it with the
exception of a very inconsiderable frontier, which too is fortified by
almost impassable mountains. A second is, that there are but few
harbours, and those few capacious and admirably situated. These are of
great service both for enterprises against foreign places, and also in
case of invasions undertaken against the country, and the reception of
abundant merchandise. And a third, that it is situated so as to possess
many advantages of atmosphere and temperature of climate, in which both
animals and plants, and in fact all things available for sustaining
life, may be accommodated with every variety both of mild and severe
temperature; its length stretches in a direction north and south.
Sicily, which is extensive, may be looked upon as an addition to its
length, for we cannot consider it in any other light than as a part of
it. The salubrity or severity of the atmosphere of different countries,
is estimated by the amount of cold or heat, or the degrees of
temperature between those extremes; in this way we shall find that
Italy, which is situated in the medium of both the extremes, and having
so great a length, largely participates in a salubrious atmosphere, and
that in many respects. This advantage is still secured to it in another
way, for the chain of the Apennines extending through its whole length,
and leaving on each side plains and fruitful hills, there is no district
which does not participate in the advantages of the best productions
both of hill and plain. We must also enumerate the magnitude and number
of its rivers and lakes, and the springs of hot and cold waters supplied
by nature in various localities for the restoration of health; and in
addition to these, its great wealth in mines of all the metals,
abundance of timber, and excellent food both for man and for beasts of
all kinds. Italy, likewise, being situated in the very midst of the
greatest nations, I allude to Greece and the best provinces of Asia, is
naturally in a [CAS. 286] position to gain the ascendency, since she
excels the circumjacent countries both in the valour of her population
and in extent of territory, and by being in proximity to them seems to
have been ordained to bring them into subjection without difficulty.
2. If, in addition to our description of Italy, a few words should be
summarily added about the Romans who have possessed themselves of it,
and prepared it as a centre from whence to enforce their universal
dominion, we would offer the following.—The Romans, after the
foundation of their state, discreetly existed as a kingdom for many
years, till Tarquin, the last [Roman king], abused his power, when they
expelled him, and established a mixed form of government, being a
modification both of the monarchical and aristocratical systems; they
admitted both the Sabines[2496] and Latins[2497] into their alliance,
but as neither they nor the other neighbouring states continued to act
with good faith towards them at all times, they were under the necessity
of aggrandizing themselves by the dismemberment of their
neighbours.[2498] Having thus, by degrees, arrived at a state of
considerable importance, it chanced that they lost their city suddenly,
contrary to the expectation of all men, and again recovered the same
contrary to all expectation.[2499] This took place, according to
Polybius, in the nineteenth year after the naval engagement of
Ægos-potami,[2500] about the time of the conclusion of the peace of
Antalcidas.[2501] Having escaped these misfortunes, the Romans first
reduced all the Latins[2502] to complete obedience, they then subdued
the Tyrrheni,[2503] and stayed the Kelts, who border the Po, from their
too frequent and licentious forays; then the Samnites, and after them
they conquered the Tarentines and Pyrrhus,[2504] and presently after the
remainder of what is now considered as Italy, with the exception of the
districts on the Po. While these still remained a subject of dispute
they passed over into Sicily,[2505] and having wrested that island from
the Carthaginians[2506] they returned to complete the conquest of the
people dwelling along the Po. While this war was still in hand Hannibal
entered Italy,[2507] thus the second war against the Carthaginians
ensued, and after a very short interval the third, in which Carthage was
demolished.[2508] At the same time the Romans became masters of
Africa,[2509] and of such portions of Spain as they won from the
Carthaginians. Both the Greeks and the Macedonians, and the nations of
Asia who dwelt on the hither side of the river Kizil-Irmak[2510] and the
Taurus, took part in these struggles with the Carthaginians: over these
Antiochus[2511] was king, and Philip and Perseus,[2512] these therefore
the Romans found themselves obliged to subdue. The people likewise of
Illyria and Thrace, who were next neighbours to the Greeks and
Macedonians, at this time commenced the war with the Romans that never
ceased, until the subjugation of all the people who inhabit the
countries on the hither side of the Danube[2513] and the
Kizil-Irmak[2510] had been effected. The Iberians, and Kelts, and all
the rest who are subject to the Romans, shared a similar fate, for the
Romans never rested in the subjugation of the land to their sway until
they had entirely overthrown it: in the first instance they took
Numantia,[2514] and subdued Viriathus,[2515] and afterwards vanquished
Sertorius,[2516] and last of all the Cantabrians,[2517] who were brought
to subjection by Augustus Cæsar.[2518] Likewise the whole of Gaul both
within and beyond the Alps with Liguria were annexed at first by a
partial occupation, but subsequently divus Cæsar and then Augustus
subdued them completely in open war, so that now[2519] the Romans direct
their expeditions against the Germans from these countries as the most
convenient rendezvous, and have already adorned their own country with
several triumphs over them. Also in Africa all that did not belong to
the Carthaginians has been left to the charge of kings owning dependence
on the Roman state, while such as have attempted to assert their
independence have been overpowered. At the present moment both Maurusia
and much of the rest [CAS. 288] of Africa have fallen to the portion of
Juba[2520] on account of his good will and friendship towards the
Romans. The like things have taken place in Asia. At first it was
governed by kings who were dependent on the Romans, and afterwards when
their several lines of succession failed, as of that of the kings
Attalus,[2521] the kings of the Syrians,[2522] the Paphlagonians,[2523]
Cappadocians,[2524] and Egyptians,[2525] [or] when they revolted and
were subsequently deposed, as it happened in the case of Mithridates
Eupator, and Cleopatra of Egypt, the whole of their territories within
the Phasis[2526] and the Euphrates,[2527] with the exception of some
tribes of Arabs, were brought completely under the dominion of the
Romans and the dynasties set up by them. The Armenians and the people
who lie beyond Colchis, both the Albani and Iberians, require nothing
more than that Roman governors should be sent among them, and they would
be easily ruled; their attempted insurrections are merely the
consequence of the want of attention from the Romans, who are so much
occupied elsewhere: the like may be asserted of those who dwell beyond
the Danube,[2528] and inhabit the banks of the Euxine, excepting only
those who dwell on the Bosphorus[2529] and the Nomades;[2530] of these
the former are in subjection to the Romans, and the latter are
unprofitable for commerce on account of their wandering life, and only
require to be watched. The rest of the countries [of Asia] are chiefly
inhabited by Scenites[2531] and Nomades who dwell at a great distance.
The Parthians indeed border on them and are very powerful, but they have
yielded so far to the superiority of the Romans and our emperors, that
they have not only sent back[2532] to Rome the trophies which they had
at a still more distant period taken from the Romans, but Phraates has
even sent his sons and his sons’ sons to Augustus Cæsar, as hostages,
assiduously courting his friendship:[2533] indeed the [Parthians] of the
present time frequently send for a king from hence,[2534] and are almost
on the point of relinquishing all power to the Romans. We now see Italy,
which has frequently been torn by civil war even since it came under the
dominion of the Romans, nay, even Rome herself, restrained from rushing
headlong into confusion and destruction by the excellence of her form of
government and the ability of her emperors. Indeed it were hard to
administer the affairs of so great an empire otherwise than by
committing them to one man as a father.[2535] For it would never have
been in the power of the Romans and their allies to attain to a state of
such perfect peace, and the enjoyment of such abundant prosperity, as
Augustus Cæsar afforded them from the time that he took upon himself the
absolute authority; and which his son Tiberius, who has succeeded him,
still maintains, who takes his father for a pattern in his government
and ordinances. And in their turn his sons, Germanicus and Drusus,[2536]
who are exercising the functions of government under their father, take
him for their model.
BOOK VII.
GERMANY.—THE CIMBRI, GETÆ, DACI.—MOUTHS OF THE DANUBE.—THE
TAURICA CHERSONESUS, ILLYRICUM, HUNGARY, EPIRUS, DODONA,
MACEDONIA, THRACE.—THE HELLESPONT.
SUMMARY.
In the Seventh Book Strabo describes the remaining portions of
Europe. That on the east is the country beyond the Rhine, as far
as the Don[2537] and the mouth of the Sea of Azof;[2538] and on
the south, that which the Danube[2539] bounds, lying between the
Adriatic and the left shores of the Euxine, as far as Greece and
the Sea of Marmora,[2540] including the whole of Macedonia.
CHAPTER I.
1. We have described Spain and the Keltic nations, together with Italy
and the islands adjacent, and must now speak of the remaining portions
of Europe, dividing it in the best way we can. That which remains is, on
the east, all the country beyond the Rhine, as far as the Don and the
mouth of the Sea of Azof; and, on the south, that which the Danube
bounds, lying between the Adriatic and the left shores of the Euxine, as
far as Greece and the Sea of Marmora, for the Danube, which is the
largest of the rivers of Europe, divides the whole territory of which we
have spoken, into two portions. This river from its commencement flows
southwards, then, making a sudden turn, continues its course from west
to east, which [terminates] in the Euxine Sea. It takes its rise in the
western confines of Germany, not far from the head of the Adriatic,
being distant from it about 1000 stadia,[2541] and falls into the Euxine
near the mouths of the Dniester[2542] and the Dnieper,[2543] inclining a
little towards the north. Thus the countries beyond the Rhine and
Keltica are situated to the north of the Danube, and are occupied by the
Galatic and German tribes, as far as the territory of the
Bastarnæ,[2544] the Tyregetæ,[2545] and the river Dnieper; so also is
the country situated between the Dnieper, the Don, and the mouth of the
Sea of Azof, which on one side stretches back as far as the [Northern]
Ocean,[2546] and on another is washed by the Euxine. To the south of the
Danube are situated the people of Illyria and Thrace, and mixed with
them certain tribes of Kelts and other races, extending as far as
Greece.
We will first speak of those nations to the north of the Danube, for
their history is less involved than that of the tribes situated on the
other side of the river.
2. Next after the Keltic nations come the Germans who inhabit the
country to the east beyond the Rhine; and these differ but little from
the Keltic race, except in their being more fierce, of a larger stature,
and more ruddy in countenance; but in every other respect, their figure,
their customs and manners of life, are such as we have related of the
Kelts.[2547] The Romans therefore, I think, have very appositely applied
to them the name “Germani,” as signifying genuine; for in the Latin
language Germani signifies genuine.[2548]
3. The first division of this country is the land extending along the
Rhine from its source to its embouchure. Indeed, the valley of that
river extends nearly as far as the whole breadth of Germany on the west.
Of the people who occupied this country, some have been transplanted by
the Romans into Keltica, the others have retired to the interior, as the
Marsi;[2549] there are but few remaining, and some portion of them [CAS.
290] are Sicambri;[2550] next to the inhabitants of this valley succeeds
the tribe dwelling between the Rhine and the river Elbe,[2551] which
river flows towards the ocean in a direction nearly parallel with the
Rhine, and traversing a country of no less extent. There are also
between these other navigable rivers, such as the Ems,[2552] on which
Drusus defeated the Bructeri[2553] in a naval engagement; all likewise
flowing from south to north, and falling into the ocean; for the whole
country rises towards the south, and forms a ridge of mountains near the
Alps, which extends eastward as though it were a continuation of the
Alps;[2554] and some have even so described it, as well on account of
its position as because it produces the same system of vegetation;
nevertheless, the altitude of this ridge in no part equals that of the
Alps. Here is situated the Hercynian Wood,[2555] and the tribes of the
Suevi,[2556] some of whom inhabit the forest, as do likewise some of the
Quadi.[2557] Among these latter people is situated Bujæmum, the royal
city of Marobodus, whither he has assembled many strangers and many of
the Marcomanni, a kindred nation with his own. This Marobodus, from a
private station, raised himself to the administration of affairs after
his return from Rome. For he went to that city while a youth, and was
patronized by Augustus. After he came home, he acquired the sovereignty
of his country, and added to the people I have enumerated, the
Luji,[2558] a powerful nation, and the Zumi,[2559] and the Gutones[2560]
and Mugilones and Sibini, besides the Semnones, another considerable
tribe of the Suevi. As I have previously stated, a portion of the Suevi
dwells within the Forest, while another portion occupies the territory
beyond, on the frontiers of the Getæ; wherefore the nation of the Suevi
is the most considerable, as it extends from the Rhine as far as the
Elbe, and even a part of them, as the Hermonduri and the Langobardi,
inhabit the country beyond the Elbe; but at the present time these
tribes, having been defeated, have retired entirely beyond the Elbe. All
these nations easily change their abode, on account of the scantiness of
provisions, and because they neither cultivate the lands nor accumulate
wealth, but dwell in miserable huts, and satisfy their wants from day to
day, the most part of their food being supplied by the herd, as amongst
the nomade races, and in imitation of them they transfer their
households in waggons, wandering with their cattle to any place which
may appear most advantageous. There are many other smaller German
tribes, as the Cherusci, Chatti, Gamabrivi,[2561] Chattuarii, and next
the ocean the Sicambri, Chaubi,[2562] Bructeri,[2563] Cimbri, Cauci,
Caulci, Campsiani,[2564] and many others.
In the same direction with the Ems,[2565] the Weser[2566] and the river
Lippe[2567] take their course, the latter, distant about 600 stadia from
the Rhine, flows through the territory of the Lesser Bructeri. And there
is also the river Sala,[2568] between which and the Rhine Drusus
Germanicus died, whilst in the midst of his victories. He not only
subdued the greater part of the German tribes, but also the islands on
the coast he passed along, one amongst which is Byrchanis,[2569] which
he took by siege.
4. All these nations became known through their wars with [CAS. 291] the
Romans, at one time submitting, at another revolting and quitting their
habitations; and we should have become acquainted with a greater number
of their tribes, if Augustus had permitted his generals to pass the
Elbe, in pursuit of those who had fled thither; but he considered the
war on hand would be more easily brought to a conclusion, if he left the
people on the other side of the Elbe unmolested, and not by attacking
provoke them to make common cause with his enemies.
The Sicambri inhabiting the country next the Rhine were the first to
commence the war, under the conduct of their leader, Melon; other
nations afterwards followed their example, at one time being victorious,
at another defeated, and again recommencing hostilities, without regard
to hostages or the faith of treaties. Against these people mistrust was
the surest defence; for those who were trusted effected the most
mischief. For example, the Cherusci, and those who were subject to them,
amongst whom three Roman legions with their general, Quintilius Varus,
perished by ambush, in violation of the truce; nevertheless all have
received punishment for this perfidy, which furnished to Germanicus the
Younger the opportunity of a most brilliant triumph, he leading publicly
as his captives the most illustrious persons, both men and women,
amongst whom were Segimuntus,[2570] the son of Segestes, the chief of
the Cherusci, and his sister, named Thusnelda, the wife of Armenius, who
led on the Cherusci when they treacherously attacked Quintilius Varus,
and even to this day continues the war; likewise his son Thumelicus, a
boy three years old, as also Sesithacus, the son of Segimerus,[2571]
chief of the Cherusci, and his wife Rhamis, the daughter of
Ucromirus,[2572] chief of the Chatti,[2573] and Deudorix, the son of
Bætorix, the brother of Melon, of the nation of the Sicambri; but
Segestes, the father-in-law of Armenius, from the commencement opposed
the designs of his son-in-law, and taking advantage of a favourable
opportunity, went over to the Roman camp and witnessed the triumphal
procession over those who were dearest to him, he being held in honour
by the Romans. There was also led in triumph Libes the priest of the
Chatti, and many other prisoners of the various vanquished nations, the
Cathylci and the Ampsani, the Bructeri, the Usipi, the Cherusci, the
Chatti, the Chattuarii, the Landi,[2574] the Tubattii.[2575]
The Rhine is distant from the Elbe about 3000 stadia, if one could
travel in a direct line; but we are compelled to go a circuitous route,
on account of the windings of the marshes and the woods.
5. The Hercynian Forest[2576] is extremely dense, and overgrown with
very large trees, covering an immense circuit of country, fortified by
nature. In the midst of it is situated the region well suited for
habitation, of which we have spoken. Near this forest are the sources of
the Danube and the Rhine, and the lake[2577] situated between these,
together with the marshes formed by the Rhine. The circuit of the lake
is more than 300[2578] stadia, and the distance across about 200. In
this lake is an island which served Tiberius as an arsenal, in the naval
war with the Vindelici. This lake is south of the sources of the Danube
and the Hercynian Forest, so that in passing from Keltica[2579] to the
forest, one has first to cross the lake, then the Danube, and afterwards
by a more passable country, and over elevated plains, you approach the
forest. When Tiberius had proceeded but one day’s journey from the lake,
he came in sight of the sources of the Danube.[2580]
The territory of the Rhæti[2581] borders some portion of this lake, but
the greater part of the shores belong to the Helvetii[2582] [CAS. 292]
and Vindelici,[2583] [the Norici come next after the Vindelici in an
easterly direction,][2584] and the desert of the Boii.[2585] The nations
as far as the Pannonians,[2586] but more especially the Helvetii and
Vindelici, inhabit high table lands. The Rhæti and the Norici,[2587]
verging towards Italy, extend over the very summits of the Alps; the
former confining with the Insubri,[2588] the latter the Carni,[2589] and
the districts about Aquileia. There is likewise another great forest,
named Gabreta, on this side the territory of the Suevi, while beyond
them lies the Hercynian Wood, which also is in their possession.