No More Learning

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.