WITH A
COMPLETE
INDEX.
Strabo
The name of the city was derived from an Amazon, as that of Myrina was
the name of an Amazon, buried under the Batieia in the plain of Troy;
“men call this Batieia; but the immortals, the tomb of the
bounding Myrina. ”[1526]
Ephorus is bantered, because, having no achievements of his countrymen
to commemorate among the other exploits in his history, and yet being
unwilling to pass them over unnoticed, he exclaims,
“at this time the Cymæans were at peace. ”
After having described the Trojan and Æolian coasts, we ought next to
notice cursorily the interior of the country as far as Mount Taurus,
observing the same order.
CHAPTER IV.
1. Pergamum[1527] has a kind of supremacy among these places. It is a
city of note, and flourished during a long period under the Attalic
kings; and here we shall begin our description, premising a short
account of her kings, their origin, and the end of their career.
Pergamum was the treasure-hold of Lysimachus, the son of Agathocles, and
one of the successors of Alexander. It is situated on the very summit of
the mountain which terminates in a sharp peak like a pine-cone.
Philetærus of Tyana was intrusted with the custody of this stronghold,
and of the treasure, which amounted to nine thousand talents. He became
an eunuch in childhood by compression, for it happened that a great body
of people being assembled to see a funeral, the nurse who was carrying
Philetærus, then an infant, in her arms, was entangled in the crowd, and
pressed upon to such a degree that the child was mutilated.
He was therefore an eunuch, but having been well educated he was thought
worthy of this trust. He continued for [CAS. 623] some time well
affected to Lysimachus, but upon a disagreement with Arsinoë, the wife
of Lysimachus, who had falsely accused him, he caused the place to
revolt, and suited his political conduct to the times, perceiving them
to be favourable to change. Lysimachus, overwhelmed with domestic
troubles, was compelled to put to death Agathocles his son. Seleucus
Nicator invaded his country and destroyed his power, but was himself
treacherously slain by Ptolemy Ceraunus.
During these disorders the eunuch remained in the fortress, continually
employing the policy of promises and other courtesies with those who
were the strongest and the nearest to himself. He thus continued master
of the stronghold for twenty years.
2. He had two brothers, the elder of whom was Eumenes, the younger
Attalus. Eumenes had a son of the same name, who succeeded to the
possession of Pergamum, and was then sovereign of the places around, so
that he overcame in a battle near Sardes[1528] Antiochus, the son of
Seleucus, and died after a reign of two-and-twenty years.
Attalus, the son of Attalus and Antiochis, daughter of Achæus, succeeded
to the kingdom. He was the first person who was proclaimed king after a
victory, which he obtained in a great battle with the Galatians. He
became an ally of the Romans, and, in conjunction with the Rhodian
fleet, assisted them in the war against Philip. He died in old age,
having reigned forty-three years. He left four sons by Apollonis, a
woman of Cyzicus,--Eumenes, Attalus, Philetærus, and Athenæus. The
younger sons continued in a private station, but Eumenes, the elder, was
king. He was an ally of the Romans in the war with Antiochus the Great,
and with Perseus; he received from the Romans all the country within the
Taurus which had belonged to Antiochus. Before this time there were not
under the power of Pergamum many places which reached the sea at the
Elaïtic and the Adramyttene Gulfs. Eumenes embellished the city, he
ornamented the Nicephorium[1529] with a grove, enriched it with votive
offerings and a library, and by his care raised the city of Pergamum to
its present magnificence. After he had reigned forty-nine years he left
the kingdom to Attalus, his son by Stratonice, daughter of Ariarathus,
king of Cappadocia.
He appointed as guardian of his son, who was very young,[1530] and as
regent of the kingdom, his brother Attalus, who died an old man after a
reign of twenty years, having performed many glorious actions. He
assisted Demetrius, the son of Seleucus, in the war against Alexander,
the son of Antiochus, and was the ally of the Romans in the war against
the Pseudo-Philip. In an expedition into Thrace he defeated and took
prisoner Diegylis, king of the Cæni. [1531] He destroyed Prusias by
exciting his son Nicomedes to rebel against his father. He left the
kingdom to Attalus his ward. His cognomen was Philometor. He reigned
five years, and died a natural death. He left the Romans his
heirs. [1532] They made the country a province, and called it Asia by the
name of the continent.
The Caïcus flows past Pergamum through the plain of Caïcus, as it is
called, and traverses a very fertile country, indeed almost the best
soil in Mysia.
3. The celebrated men in our times, natives of Pergamum, were
Mithridates, the son of Menodotus and the daughter of Adobogion; he was
of the family of the Tetrarchs of Galatia. Adobogion, it is said, had
been the concubine of Mithridates the king; the relatives therefore gave
to the child the name of Mithridates, pretending that he was the king’s
son.
This prince became so great a friend of divus Cæsar, that he was
promoted to the honour of Tetrarch (of Galatia); out of regard also to
his mother’s family, he was appointed king of Bosporus and of other
places. He was overthrown by Asander, who put to death Pharnaces the
king and obtained [CAS. 625] possession of the Bosporus. He had a great
reputation as well as Apollodorus the rhetorician, who composed a work
on the Art of Rhetoric, and was the head of the Apollodorian sect of
philosophers, whatever that may be; for many opinions have prevailed,
the merits of which are beyond our power to decide upon, among which are
those of the sects of Apollodorus and Theodorus.
But the friendship of Augustus Cæsar, whom he instructed in oratory, was
the principal cause of the elevation of Apollodorus. He had a celebrated
scholar Dionysius, surnamed Atticus, his fellow-citizen, who was an able
teacher of philosophy, an historian, and composer of orations.
4. Proceeding from the plain and the city towards the east, we meet with
Apollonia, a city on an elevated site. To the south is a mountainous
ridge, which having crossed on the road to Sardes, we find on the left
hand the city Thyateira, a colony of the Macedonians, which some authors
say is the last city belonging to the Mysians. On the right hand is
Apollonis, 300 stadia from Pergamum, and the same distance from Sardes.
It has its name from Apollonis of Cyzicus (wife of Attalus). Next are
the plains of Hermus and Sardes. The country to the north of Pergamum is
principally occupied by Mysians; it lies on the right hand of the people
called Abaïtæ, on whose borders is the Epictetus, extending to Bithynia.
5. Sardes is a large city, of later date than the Trojan times, yet
ancient, with a strong citadel. It was the royal seat of the Lydians,
whom the poet calls Meones, and later writers Mæones, some asserting
that they are the same, others that they are a different people, but the
former is the preferable opinion.
Above Sardes is the Tmolus, a fertile mountain having on its summit a
seat[1533] of white marble, a work of the Persians. There is a view from
it of the plains around, particularly of that of the Caÿster. There
dwell about it Lydians, Mysians, and Macedonians. [1534]
The Pactolus flows from the Tmolus. [1535] It anciently brought down a
large quantity of gold-dust, whence, it is said, the proverbial wealth
of Crœsus and his ancestors obtained renown. No gold-dust is found at
present. The Pactolus descends into the Hermus, into which also the
Hyllus, now called Phrygius, discharges itself. These three and other
less considerable rivers unite in one stream, and, according to
Herodotus, empty themselves into the sea at Phocæa.
The Hermus takes its rise in Mysia, descending from the sacred mountain
of Dindymene, after traversing the Catacecaumene, it enters the Sardian
territory, and passes through the contiguous plains to the sea, as we
have mentioned above. Below the city lie the plains of Sardes, of the
Cyrus, of the Hermus, and of the Caÿster, which are contiguous to one
another and the most fertile anywhere to be found.
At the distance of 40 stadia from the city is the lake Gygæa, as it is
called by the poet. [1536] Its name was afterwards altered to Coloë. Here
was a temple of Artemis Coloëne, held in the highest veneration. It is
said that at the feasts celebrated here the baskets dance. [1537] I know
not why the circulation of such strange and absurd stories should be
preferred to truth.
6. The verses in Homer are to this effect,
“Mesthles and Antiphus, sons of Talæmenes, born of the lake
Gygæa, were the leaders of the Meones, who live below
Tmolus. ”[1538]
Some persons add a fourth verse to these,
“below snowy Tmolus, in the rich district of Hyda. ”
But no Hyda[1539] is to be found among the Lydians. Others make this the
birth-place of Tychius, mentioned by the poet,
“he was the best leather-cutter in Hyda. ”[1540]
They add that the place is woody, and frequently struck with lightning,
and that here also were the dwellings of the Arimi; for to this verse,
“Among the Arimi, where they say is the bed of Typhoëus,”[1541]
they add the following,[CAS. 626]
“in a woody country, in the rich district of Hyda. ”
Some lay the scene of the last fable in Cilicia, others in Syria, others
among the Pithecussæ (islands),[1542] who say that the Pitheci (or
monkeys) are called by the Tyrrhenians Arimi. Some call Sardes Hyda;
others give this name to its Acropolis.
The Scepsian (Demetrius) says that the opinion of those authors is most
to be depended upon who place the Arimi in the Catacecaumene in Mysia.
But Pindar associates the Pithecussæ which lie in front of the Cymæan
territory and Sicily with Cilicia, for the poet says that Typhon lay
beneath Ætna;
“Once he dwelt in far-famed Cilician caverns, but now Sicily,
and the sea-girt isle, o’ershadowing Cyme, press upon his
shaggy breast. ”[1543]
And again,
“O’er him lies Ætna, and in her vast prison holds him. ”
And again,
“’Twas the great Jove alone of gods that o’erpowered, with
resistless force, the fifty-headed monster Typhon, of yore
among the Arimi. ”
Others understand Syrians by the Arimi, who are now called Aramæi, and
maintain that the Cilicians in the Troad migrated and settled in Syria,
and deprived the Syrians of the country which is now called Cilicia.
Callisthenes says, that the Arimi from whom the mountains in the
neighbourhood have the name of Arima, are situated near the
Calycadnus,[1544] and the promontory Sarpedon close to the Corycian
cave.
7. The monuments of the kings lie around the lake Coloë. At Sardes is
the great mound of Alyattes upon a lofty base, the work, according to
Herodotus,[1545] of the people of the city, the greatest part of it
being executed by young women. He says that they all prostituted
themselves; according to some writers the sepulchre is the monument of a
courtesan.
Some historians say, that Coloë is an artificial lake, designed to
receive the superabundant waters of the rivers when they are full and
overflow.
Hypæpa[1546] is a city situated on the descent from Tmolus to the plain
of the Caÿster.
8. Callisthenes says that Sardes was taken first by Cimmerians, then by
Treres and Lycians, which Callinus also, the elegiac poet, testifies,
and that it was last captured in the time of Cyrus and Crœsus. When
Callinus says that the incursion of the Cimmerians when they took Sardes
was directed against the Esioneis, the Scepsian (Demetrius) supposes the
Asioneis to be called by him Esioneis, according to the Ionian dialect;
for perhaps Meonia, he says, was called Asia, as Homer describes the
country, “in the Asian meadows about the streams of Caÿstrius. ”[1547]
The city, on account of the fertility of the country, was afterwards
restored, so as to be a considerable place, and was inferior to none of
its neighbours; lately it has lost a great part of its buildings by
earthquakes. But Sardes, and many other cities which participated in
this calamity about the same time, have been repaired by the provident
care and beneficence of Tiberius the present emperor.
9. The distinguished natives of Sardes were two orators of the same name
and family, the Diodori; the elder of whom was called Zonas, who had
pleaded the cause of Asia in many suits. But at the time of the invasion
of Mithridates the king, he was accused of occasioning the revolt of the
cities from him, but in his defence he cleared himself of the charge.
The younger Diodorus was my friend; there exist of his [CAS. 628]
historical writings, odes, and poems of other kinds, which very much
resemble the style of the ancients.
Xanthus, the ancient historian, is said to be a Lydian, but whether of
Sardes I do not know.
10. After the Lydians are the Mysians, and a city Philadelphia, subject
to constant earthquakes. The walls of the houses are incessantly
opening, and sometimes one, sometimes another, part of the city is
experiencing some damage. The majority of people (for few persons live
in the city) pass their lives in the country, employing themselves in
agriculture and cultivating a good soil. Yet it is surprising that there
should be even a few persons so much attached to a place where their
dwellings are insecure; but one may marvel more at those who founded the
city.
11. Next is the tract of country called the Catacecaumene, extending 500
stadia in length, and in breadth 400. It is uncertain whether it should
be called Mysia or Meonia, for it has both names. The whole country is
devoid of trees, excepting vines, from which is obtained the
Catacecaumenite wine; it is not inferior in quality to any of the kinds
in repute. The surface of the plains is covered with ashes, but the
hilly and rocky part is black, as if it were the effect of combustion.
This, as some persons imagine, was the effect of thunderbolts and of
fiery tempests, nor do they hesitate to make it the scene of the fable
of Typhon. Xanthus even says that a certain Arimus was king of these
parts. But it is unreasonable to suppose that so large a tract of
country was all at once consumed by lightning and fiery meteors; it is
more natural to suppose that the effect was produced by fire generated
in the soil, the sources of which are now exhausted. There are to be
seen three pits, which are called Physæ, or breathing holes, situated at
the distance of 40 stadia from each other. Above are rugged hills, which
probably consist of masses of matter thrown up by blasts of air (from
the pits).
That ground of this kind should be well adapted to vines, may be
conceived from the nature of the country Catana,[1548] which was a mass
of cinders, but which now produces excellent wine, and in large
quantities.
Some persons, in allusion to such countries as these, wittily observe
that Bacchus is properly called Pyrigenes, or fire-born.
12. The places situated next to these towards the south, and extending
to Mount Taurus, are so intermixed, that parts of Phrygia, Lydia, Caria,
and Mysia running into one another are difficult to be distinguished.
The Romans have contributed not a little to produce this confusion, by
not dividing the people according to tribes, but following another
principle have arranged them according to jurisdictions, in which they
have appointed days for holding courts and administering justice.
The Tmolus is a well compacted mass of mountain,[1549] of moderate
circumference, and its boundaries are within Lydia itself. The Mesogis
begins, according to Theopompus, from Celænæ,[1550] and extends on the
opposite side as far as Mycale,[1551] so that Phrygians occupy one part,
towards Celænæ and Apameia; Mysians and Lydians another; Carians and
Ionians a third part.
So also the rivers, and particularly the Mæander, are the actual
boundaries of some nations, but take their course through the middle of
others, rendering accurate distinction between them difficult.
The same may be said of plains, which are found on each side of a
mountainous range and on each side of a river. Our attention however is
not required to obtain the same degree of accuracy as a surveyor, but
only to give such descriptions as have been transmitted to us by our
predecessors.
13. Contiguous on the east to the plain of Caÿster, which lies between
the Mesogis and Tmolus, is the plain Cilbianum. It is extensive, well
inhabited, and fertile. Then follows the Hyrcanian plain, a name given
by the Persians, who brought colonists from Hyrcania (the plain of
Cyrus, in like manner, had its name from the Persians). Next is the
Peltine plain, belonging to the Phrygians, and the Cillanian and the
Tabenian plains, the latter of which contains small towns, inhabited by
a mixed population of Phrygians, with a portion of Pisidians. The plains
have their names from the towns.
14. After crossing the Mesogis, situated between the Carians[1552] and
[CAS. 629] the district of Nysa,[1553] which is a tract of country
beyond the Mæander, extending as far as the Cibyratis and Cabalis, we
meet with cities. Near the Mesogis, opposite Laodicea,[1554] is
Hierapolis,[1555] where are hot springs, and the Plutonium, both of
which have some singular properties. The water of the springs is so
easily consolidated and becomes stone, that if it is conducted through
water-courses dams are formed consisting of a single piece of stone.
The Plutonium, situated below a small brow of the overhanging mountain,
is an opening of sufficient size to admit a man, but there is a descent
to a great depth. In front is a quadrilateral railing, about half a
plethrum in circumference. This space is filled with a cloudy and dark
vapour, so dense that the bottom can scarcely be discerned. To those who
approach round the railing the air is innoxious, for in calm weather it
is free from the cloud which then continues within the enclosure. But
animals which enter within the railing die instantly. Even bulls, when
brought within it, fall down and are taken out dead. We have ourselves
thrown in sparrows, which immediately fell down lifeless. The
Galli,[1556] who are eunuchs, enter the enclosure with impunity,
approach even the opening or mouth, bend down over it, and descend into
it to a certain depth, restraining their breath during the time, for we
perceived by their countenance signs of some suffocating feeling. This
exemption may be common to all eunuchs, or it may be confined to the
eunuchs employed about the temple, or it may be the effect of divine
care, as is probable in the case of persons inspired by the deity, or it
may perhaps be procured by those who are in possession of certain
antidotes.
The conversion of water into stone is said to be the property of certain
rivers in Laodiceia, although the water is fit for the purpose of
drinking. The water at Hierapolis is peculiarly adapted for the dyeing
of wool. Substances dyed with “the roots,”[1557] rival in colour those
dyed with the coccus, or the marine purple. There is such an abundance
of water, that there are natural baths in every part of the city.
15. After Hierapolis are the parts beyond the Mæander. Those about
Laodiceia and Aphrodisias,[1558] and those extending to Carura, have
been already described. The places which succeed are Antiocheia[1559] on
the Mæander, now belonging to Caria, on the west; on the south are
Cibyra the Great,[1560] Sinda,[1561] and Cabalis, as far as Mount Taurus
and Lycia.
Antiocheia is a city of moderate size situated on the banks of the
Mæander, at the side towards Phrygia. There is a bridge over the river.
A large tract of country, all of which is fertile, on each side of the
river, belongs to the city. It produces in the greatest abundance the
fig of Antioch, as it is called, which is dried. It is also called
Triphyllus. This place also is subject to shocks of earthquakes.
A native of this city was Diotrephes, a celebrated sophist; his disciple
was Hybreas, the greatest orator of our times.
16. The Cabaleis, it is said, were Solymi. The hill situated above the
Termessian fortress is called Solymus, and the Termessians themselves
Solymi. Near these places is the rampart of Bellerophon and the
sepulchre of Peisandrus his son, who fell in the battle against the
Solymi. This account agrees with the words of the poet. Of Bellerophon
he speaks thus,
“he fought a second time with the brave Solymi;”[1562]
and of his son,
“Mars, unsated with war, killed Peisandrus his son fighting
with the Solymi. ”[1563]
Termessus is a Pisidian city situated very near and immediately above
Cibyra.
17. The Cibyratæ are said to be descendants of the Lydians who occupied
the territory Cabalis. The city was afterwards in the possession of the
Pisidians, a bordering nation, who occupied it, and transferred it to
another place, very strongly fortified, the circuit of which was about
100 stadia. It flourished in consequence of the excellence of its laws.
The villages belonging to it extended from Pisidia, and the bordering
territory Milyas, as far as Lycia and the country opposite to Rhodes.
Upon the [CAS. 631] union of the three bordering cities, Bubon,[1564]
Balbura,[1565] and Œnoanda,[1566] the confederation was called
Tetrapolis; each city had one vote, except Cibyra, which had two, for it
could equip 30,000 foot soldiers and 2000 horse. It was always governed
by tyrants, but they ruled with moderation. The tyrannical government
terminated in the time of Moagetes. It was overthrown by Murena, who
annexed Balbura and Bubon to the Lycians. Nevertheless the Cibyratic
district is reckoned among the largest jurisdictions in Asia.
The Cibyratæ used four languages, the Pisidic, that of Solymi, the
Greek, and the Lydian, but of the latter no traces are now to be found
in Lydia.
At Cibyra there is practised the peculiar art of carving with ease
ornamental work in iron.
Milya is the mountain-range extending from the defiles near Termessus,
and the passage through them to the parts within the Taurus towards
Isinda, as far as Sagalassus and the country of Apameia.
THE
GEOGRAPHY
OF
STRABO.
LITERALLY TRANSLATED, WITH NOTES.
THE FIRST SIX BOOKS
BY H. C. HAMILTON, ESQ.
THE REMAINDER
BY W. FALCONER, M. A. ,
LATE FELLOW OF EXETER COLLEGE, OXFORD,
RECTOR OF BUSHEY, HERTFORDSHIRE.
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. III.
WITH A COMPLETE INDEX.
LONDON:
HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.
MDCCCLVII.
JOHN CHILDS AND SON, PRINTERS.
PREFACE.
Strabo, the author of this work, was born at Amasia, or Amasijas, a town
situated in the gorge of the mountains through which passes the river
Iris, now the Ieschil Irmak, in Pontus, which he has described in the
12th book. [1] He lived during the reign of Augustus, and the earlier
part of the reign of Tiberius; for in the 13th book[2] he relates how
Sardes and other cities, which had suffered severely from earthquakes,
had been repaired by the provident care of Tiberius the present Emperor;
but the exact date of his birth, as also of his death, are subjects of
conjecture only. Coraÿ and Groskurd conclude, though by a somewhat
different argument, that he was born in the year B. C. 66, and the
latter that he died A. D. 24. The date of his birth as argued by
Groskurd, proceeds on the assumption that Strabo was in his
thirty-eighth year when he went from Gyaros to Corinth, at which latter
place Octavianus Cæsar was then staying on his return to Rome after the
battle of Actium, B. C. 31. We may, perhaps, be satisfied with following
Clinton, and place it not later than B. C. 54.
In the 17th book our author speaks of the death of Juba as a recent
occurrence. This event took place A. D. 21, or A. D. 18 or 19, according
to other chronologists; he, therefore, outlived that king, but for how
long a period we have no means of ascertaining.
The only information which we can obtain of the personal history of
Strabo is to be collected from the scanty references made to himself in
the course of this work;[3] for although a writer of the Augustan age,
his name and his works appear to have been generally unknown to his
contemporaries, and to have been passed over in silence by subsequent
authors who occupied themselves with the same branch of study. The work
being written in Greek, and the subject itself not of a popular kind,
would be hindrances to its becoming generally known; and its voluminous
character would prevent many copies being made; moreover, the author
himself, although for some time a resident at Rome, appears to have made
Amasia his usual place of residence, and there to have composed his
work. But wherever it was, he had the means of becoming acquainted with
the chief public events that took place in the Roman Empire.
It is remarkable that of his father and his father’s family he is
totally silent, but of his mother and her connexions he has left us some
notices. She was of a distinguished family who had settled at Cnossus in
Crete, and her ancestors had been intimately connected with Mithridates
Euergetes and Mithridates Eupator, kings of Pontus; their fortunes
consequently depended on those princes.
Dorylaüs, her great grandfather, was a distinguished officer, and friend
of Euergetes; but the latter being assassinated at Sinope, whilst
Dorylaüs was engaged in levying troops in Crete, he determined to remain
there. In that island he obtained the highest honours, having
successfully, as general of the Cnossians, terminated a war between that
people and the Gortynians. He married a Macedonian lady, of the name of
Sterope; the issue of which marriage was Lagetas, Stratarchas, and a
daughter. He died in Crete. Lagetas had a daughter, who, says Strabo,
was “the mother of my mother”.
Mithridates Eupator, who succeeded to the kingdom of Pontus on the death
of his father, had formed from infancy a close friendship with another
Dorylaüs, son of Philetærus (brother of the first-mentioned Dorylaüs),
and besides conferring on him distinguished honours, appointed him high
priest of Comana Pontica. The king extended also his protection to his
cousins, Lagetas and Stratarchas, who were recalled from Crete. The
prosperity of the family suddenly terminated by the discovery of an
intrigue carried on by Dorylaüs with the Romans, for the overthrow of
his benefactor. The motives assigned by Strabo for his disaffection and
treachery were the declining prospects of the king, and the execution
of his son Theophilus and a nephew Tibius.
Dorylaüs made overtures to Lucullus for the revolt of the kingdom of
Pontus to the Romans, and in return received great promises of reward,
which were never fulfilled. Lucullus ceased to command in the war, and
was succeeded by Pompey, who, through enmity and jealousy, prevailed on
the senate not to confirm the conditions entered into by his
predecessor. As before observed, there is no mention of Strabo’s father
in the works which have come down to us. Malte-Brun, in his Life of
Strabo in the Biographie Universelle, collects several passages tending
to show that he was a Roman. The name of Strabo, or “squinting,”
originally Greek, was used by the Romans, and applied to the father of
Pompey the Great, among others. How the geographer acquired this name is
not related.
When a very young man, he received instruction in grammar and rhetoric
from Aristodemus, at Nysa in Caria. [4] He afterwards studied philosophy
under Xenarchus of Seleucia, the Peripatetic philosopher. [5] Strabo does
not say whether he heard him at Seleucia in Cilicia, or at Rome, where
he afterwards taught.
Strabo also attended the lessons of Tyrannio of Amisus,[6] the
grammarian. This must have been at Rome; for Tyrannio was made prisoner
by Lucullus, B. C. 71, and carried to Rome, probably not later than B.
C. 66.
In book xvi. ,[7] Strabo states that he studied the philosophy of
Aristotle with Boethus of Sidon, who afterwards became a Stoic
philosopher. Notwithstanding all these advantages, Strabo was not
possessed of all the knowledge of his times, particularly in astronomy
and mathematics, but he was well acquainted with history and the
mythological traditions of his nation. He was a devout admirer of Homer,
and acquainted with the other great poets.
The philosophical sect to which he belonged was the Stoic, as plainly
appears from many passages in his Geography.
He wrote a History, which he describes (vol. i. p. 21) as composed in a
lucid style; it is cited by Plutarch, and also by Josephus in his
Jewish Antiquities, xiv. 7. It consisted of forty-three books, which
began where the history of Polybius ended, and was probably continued to
the battle of Actium. This valuable History is lost.
Strabo was a great traveller, and apparently had no professional or
other occupation. We may therefore conclude that his father left him a
good property. Much of his geographical information is the result of
personal observation. In a passage of his 2nd book[8] he thus speaks:
“Our descriptions shall consist of what we ourselves have observed in
our travels by land and sea, and of what we conceive to be credible in
the statements and writings of others; for in a westerly direction we
have travelled from Armenia to that part of Tyrrhenia which is over
against Sardinia; and southward, from the Euxine to the frontiers of
Ethiopia. Of all the writers on geography, not one can be mentioned who
has travelled over a wider extent of the countries described than we
have. Some may have gone farther to the west, but then they have never
been so far east as we have; again, others may have been farther east,
but not so far west; and the same with respect to north and south.
However, in the main, both we and they have availed ourselves of the
reports of others, from which to describe the form, size, and other
peculiarities of the country. ” He mentions having been in Egypt, the
island Gyarus, Populonium near Elba, Comana in Cappadocia, Ephesus,
Mylasa, Nysa, and Hierapolis in Phrygia. He visited Corinth, Argos,
Athens, and Megara; but, on the whole, he does not appear to have seen
more of Greece than in passing through it on his way to Brundusium,
while proceeding to Rome. Populonium and Luna in Italy were the limit of
his travels northwards. It is probable he obtained his information as to
Spain, France, Britain, and Germany, while staying at Rome.
The first systematic writer on geography was Eratosthenes, who died at
the age of 80, about B. C. 196. His work consisted of three books.
There is no ground for considering the Geography of Strabo an improved
edition of that of Eratosthenes. Strabo’s work was intended for the
information of persons in the higher departments of administration, and
contains such geographical and historical information as those engaged
in political employments cannot dispense with. Consistently with this
object he avoids giving minute descriptions, except where the place is
of real interest, but supplies some account of the important political
events that had occurred in various countries, and sketches of the great
men who had flourished or laboured in them. It is a lively, well-written
book, intended to be read, and forms a striking contrast to the
Geography of Ptolemy. His language is simple, appropriate to the matter,
without affectation, and mostly clear and intelligible, except in those
passages where the text has been corrupted. Like many other Greeks,
Strabo looked upon Homer as the depository of all knowledge, but he
frequently labours to interpret the poet’s meaning in a manner highly
uncritical. What Homer only partially knew or conjectured, Strabo has
made the basis of his description, when he might have given an
independent description, founded on the actual knowledge of his time:
these observations apply especially to his books on Greece. He does not
duly appreciate Herodotus; nor does he discriminate between the stories
which Herodotus tells simply as stories he had heard, and the accounts
he relates as derived from personal observation. He likewise rejects the
evidence of Pytheas of Marseilles as to the northern regions of Europe,
and on more than one occasion calls him a liar, although it is very
certain that Pytheas coasted along the whole distance from Gadeira, now
Cadiz, in Spain, to the river he calls Tanaïs, but which was probably
the Elbe; however, from the extracts which have been preserved it seems
that he did not give simply the results of his own observations, but
added reports which he collected respecting distant countries, without
always drawing a distinction between what he saw himself and what was
derived from the report of others.
Strabo’s authorities are for the most part Greek, and he seems to have
neglected the Latin memoirs and historical narratives of the campaigns
of the Romans, which might have furnished him with many valuable
geographical facts for the countries as well of Asia as of Europe. He
made some use of Cæsar’s description of France, the Alps, and Britain;
he alludes to the voyage of Publius Crassus in speaking of the
Cassiterides, and also the writings of Asinius Pollio, Fabius Pictor,
and an anonymous writer whom he calls the Chorographer; but he might
have obtained much additional information if he had taken pains to
avail himself of the materials he could have procured during his stay at
Rome.
Strabo considered that mathematical and astronomical knowledge was
indispensable to the science of geography; he says in book i. ,[9] that
without some such assistance it would be impossible to be accurately
acquainted with the configuration of the earth; and that every one who
undertakes to give an accurate description of a place, should describe
its astronomical and geometrical relations, and explain its extent,
distance, latitude, and climate. [10] As the size of the earth, he says,
has been demonstrated by other writers, we shall take for granted what
they have advanced. We shall also assume that the earth is spheroidal,
and that bodies have a tendency towards its centre. He likewise says,
the convexity of the sea is a further proof that the earth is spheroidal
to those who have sailed; for they cannot perceive lights at a distance
when placed at the same level as their eyes, but if raised on high, they
at once become perceptible. [11] He also observes, “our gnomons are,
among other things, evidence of the revolution of the heavenly bodies,
and common sense at once shows us that if the depth of the earth were
infinite, such a revolution could not take place. ”[12] But Strabo did
not consider the exact division of the earth into climates or zones, in
the sense in which Hipparchus used the term, and the statement of the
latitudes and longitudes of places, which in many instances were pretty
well determined in his time, as essential to his geographical
description.
With regard to the lost continent of Atlantis, Strabo is very cautious
in criticising[13] Poseidonius; he observes, “he did well, too, in
citing the opinion of Plato, that the tradition concerning the island of
Atlantis might be received as something more than a mere fiction, it
having been related by Solon, on the authority of the Egyptian priests,
that this island, almost as large as a continent, was formerly in
existence, although now it had disappeared,” and remarks that
Poseidonius thought it better to quote this than to say, He who brought
it into existence can also cause it to disappear, as the poet did the
wall of the Achivi.
The measure adopted by Strabo was the stadium. In book vii. chap. vii.
§ 4, he says, “From Apollonia to Macedonia is the Egnatian Way; its
direction is towards the east, and the distance is measured by pillars
at every mile, as far as Cypsela and the river Hebrus. The whole
distance is 535 miles. But reckoning, as the generality of persons do, a
mile at eight stadia, there may be 4280 stadia. And, according to
Polybius, who adds two plethra, which are a third of a stadium, to every
eight stadia we must add 178 stadia more,—a third part of the number of
miles. ” In book xi. chap. xi. § 5, he compares the parasang with the
stadium, and states that some writers reckoned it at 60, others at 40,
and others at 30 stadia.
Dr. Smith, in his Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, says, “We
think that Ukert has satisfactorily shown an accurate description of a
place should be particular to add its astronomical and geometrical
relations, explaining carefully its extent, distance, degrees of
latitude, and temperature of atmosphere. He says likewise, as the size
of the earth has been demonstrated by other writers, we shall take for
granted that the Greeks had not different standards of length, but
always used the Olympic stadium and the foot corresponding to it. He
states that the stadium was equal to 600 Greek, or 625 Roman feet, or to
125 Roman paces, and the Roman mile contained 8 stadia. Hence the
stadium contained 606 feet 9 inches, English. This standard prevailed
throughout Greece under the name of the Olympic stadium, because it was
the exact length of the stadium or foot-race course at Olympia, measured
between the pillars at the two extremities of the course. ” Still Dr.
Smith further observes, “But although the stadium and the foot connected
with it were single definite measures throughout Greece, yet we find in
the eastern countries, Babylon, Syria, and Egypt, and in some
neighbouring Greek states, feet longer than the Olympic, the origin of
which is to be explained by the coëxistence, in the Babylonian system,
of a _royal_ or _sacred_ and a _common_ foot and cubit, which were so
related to one another, that the royal cubit was three finger-breadths
longer than the common. ”
We may conclude that Strabo’s stadium varied considerably, as he
sometimes received his distance from personal observation or credible
report, and often quoted other writers, and reduced other standards, as
the mile, the parasang, and the schœnus, to the stadium. In addition to
this, the most ancient mode of reckoning distances was by the number of
days required to perform the journey, and this was transferred into
stadia by reckoning a certain number of stadia to a day’s journey. [14]
Siebenkees and Heeren (De Fontibus Geographicorum Strabonis) have
examined the authorities to which Strabo had, or might have had, access,
and Groskurd has availed himself of their researches.
The following is a short summary of the seventeen books from these
sources, but for a more detailed account of their contents the
translation itself must be referred to.
The first two books may be considered as an independent treatise, and by
themselves form a remarkable contrast with the rest of the work, in the
manner of treating the subjects, and in the difficulties which they
present both of language and matter.
In the 1st book, the author enters into a long discussion on the merits
of Homer, whom he considers to have been the earliest geographer, and
defends him against the errors and misconceptions of Eratosthenes. He
corrects some faults of Eratosthenes, and, in his inquiry concerning the
natural changes of the earth’s surface defends Eratosthenes against
Hipparchus. In conclusion, he again corrects Eratosthenes as regards the
magnitude and divisions of the inhabited world. The most remarkable
passage in this book is that in which he conjectures the existence of
the great Western Continents. [15]
The 2nd book is chiefly occupied with some accounts of mathematical
geography, and the Author defends against Hipparchus the division of the
inhabited world adopted by Eratosthenes into sections. Then follows a
criticism of the division of the earth into six zones, as taught by
Poseidonius and Polybius. The pretended circumnavigation of Africa by
Eudoxus is referred to, as well as some geographical errors of Polybius.
He makes observations of his own on the form and size of the earth in
general, as well as of the inhabited portion of it, describing the
method of representing it on a spherical or plane surface. A short
outline is given of seas, countries, and nations; and he concludes with
remarks on the system of climates,[16] and on the shadows projected by
the sun.
The 3rd book commences with Iberia, and the subject of Europe is
continued to the end of the 10th book. His references are the Periplus
of Artemidorus, Polybius, and Poseidonius; all three of whom wrote as
eye-witnesses. For descriptions and measurement of distances,
Artemidorus is chiefly depended upon. The information possessed by
Eratosthenes of these countries was meagre and uncertain. For the
nations of southern Iberia, he adopts the account of Asclepiades of
Myrlea, who had lived and been educated there. Some statements also are
borrowed from Roman authors.
The 4th book contains Gallia, according to the four divisions then
existing, viz. Gallia Narbonensis, Acquitanensis, Lugdunensis, and the
Belgæ; also Britain, with Ierne, and Thule; and lastly, the Alps.
Here Eratosthenes and Ephorus are of little service. His chief guide is
Julius Cæsar, whom he frequently quotes _verbatim_. Polybius is his
guide for the Alps. Pytheas is the source of some scanty information
respecting Ierne and Thule. Throughout his description he adds accounts
obtained at Rome from travellers.
The 5th book commences with a general sketch of Italy, and refers
principally to northern Italy. Dividing its history into ancient and
modern, his chief reference for the former is Polybius, and for the
latter we are indebted to the observations of the author himself, or to
accounts received from others. Still the description of Upper Italy is
poor and unsatisfactory, from the author not sufficiently availing
himself of Roman resources. Then follows some account of Etruria with
its neighbouring islands, Umbria, Samnium, Latium, and Rome, chiefly the
result of the author’s own researches and observations. The book
concludes with some remarks on the inhabitants of the mountainous
districts of Samnium and Campania.
The 6th book is a continuation of the same subject. Magna Græcia,
Sicily, and the adjacent islands, are noticed, and the author concludes
with a short discussion on the extent of the Roman Empire. Descriptions
of some places are from his own observations; but the sources whence he
takes his other account of Italy and the islands are the works of
Polybius, Eratosthenes, Artemidorus, Ephorus, Fabius Pictor, Cæcilius
(of Cale Acte in Sicily), and some others, besides an anonymous
chorographer, supposed to be a Roman, from the circumstance of his
distances being given, not in stadia, but in Roman miles.
The 7th book relates, first, to the people north of the Danube,—the
Germans, Cimbri, Getæ, Dacians (particularly the European Scythians),
and the Crimea; secondly, to the people south of the Danube, viz. those
inhabiting Illyricum, Pannonia, Dalmatia, the eastern coast of Thrace to
the Euxine, Epirus, Macedonia, Thrace, and the Hellespont. The latter
part of this book is not preserved entire in any manuscript, but Kramer
has, in his own opinion, succeeded in restoring from the epitomes left
to us the greater part of what was wanting. Of Germany, Strabo had
tolerable information, but he nowhere states whence it is derived; he
may have been partly indebted to Asinius Pollio, whose work he had
already examined for the Rhine. For the remaining northern countries, he
had Poseidonius and the historians of the Mithridatic war. For the
southern countries, he had a lost work of Aristotle on forms of
government, Polybius, Poseidonius, and his chief disciples, Theopompus
and Ephorus. Incidentally also he quotes Homer and his interpreters, and
Philochorus.
The three following books are dedicated to the description of Greece,
with the adjacent islands. The 8th comprises the Peloponnesus and its
well-known seven provinces, Elis, Messenia, Laconia, Argolis, Corinthia
with Sicyonia, Achaia, and Arcadia: the 9th, Attica, with Megaris,
Bœotia, Phocis, both Locri and Thessaly: the 10th, Eubœa, Ætolia, and
Acarnania, with the islands. After a long digression on the subject of
the Curetes, the description of Europe closes with some account of Crete
and the islands of the Ægean Sea. The design and construction of these
three books differ considerably from the preceding. Homer is adopted as
the foundation of his geographical descriptions; some things Strabo must
have learnt as an eye-witness, but more from _vivâ voce_ communications
at Athens or at Corinth. All is interwoven together without any clear
line of separation, and the result is some confusion. Athens, Corinth,
Argos, and their neighbourhood, were the only parts of Greece our author
saw. Heeren, indeed maintains that he had seen the whole of it, and the
Archipelago, but satisfactory proof of this is altogether wanting.
The 11th book commences with the description of the countries separated
from Europe by the Tanaïs or Don. Asia is divided by our author (who
here follows Eratosthenes) into two parts by the Taurus, which runs in a
direction east and west. The northern part of Asia (or this side Taurus)
is divided into four parts. The first part comprises the countries lying
between the Don, the Sea of Azoff, the Euxine, and the Caspian; the
second, the countries east of the Caspian; and the third, the countries
south of Caucasus. These three parts of the first or northern division
of Asia are contained in the 10th book; the remaining fourth part
occupies the 12th, 13th, and 14th books.
The chief authorities for the first part are, besides information
obtained from travellers and merchants at Amasia, Herodotus for the Don;
Artemidorus and Eratosthenes for distances; Poseidonius and Theophanes
of Mitylene, historians, of the Mithridatic war; Metrodorus of Skepsis;
Hypsicrates of Amisus; and Cleitarchus for the digression on the
Amazons.
For the second part, are principally Patrocles and Aristobulus,
historians of the Asiatic campaigns of Alexander. For the third part, or
Media and Armenia, are, Dellius, who wrote a history of the war against
the Parthians, in which he had served under Antony; Apollonides of
Nicæa, who wrote a Periplus of Europe; and other writers before
mentioned.
The 12th book commences with a detailed account of Anatolia, and
contains the northern part. It was to have been expected that Strabo
would have described most of these countries as an eye-witness, lying,
as they do, so near his native country, Cappadocia. But this expectation
vanishes, when we discover the meagreness of his account. With the
exception of Pontus and Cappadocia, he had seen little of the rest, and
depends upon historians and oral information. For earlier times, his
authorities are Herodotus, Hellanicus, Theopompus, Ephorus, Artemidorus,
Apollodorus, and Demetrius of Skepsis; for later times, historians of
the wars of Mithridates and Pompey. For the ancient history of the
Mysians and Phrygians, he is indebted to the celebrated Lydian historian
Xanthus, and Menecrates.
The 13th book continues the description of Anatolia. The greater part of
the book is occupied with a dissertation on the Troad. Strabo had
travelled over the country himself, but his great authority is Homer and
Demetrius of Skepsis, the author of a work in twenty-six books,
containing an historical and geographical commentary on that part of the
second book of the Iliad, in which the forces of the Trojans are
enumerated. A learned digression on the Leleges, Cilices, and Pelasgi,
who preceded the Æolians and Ionians in the occupation of the country,
is principally taken from Menecrates and Demetrius of Skepsis. The
description then turns to the interior, and the account of the Æolian
cities is probably due to Poseidonius. Throughout this book are
evidences of great care and desire for accuracy.
The 14th book continues with the remainder of Anatolia, and an account
of the islands Samos, Chios, Rhodes, and Cyprus. The authorities
followed are, on the whole, the same as in the previous book—Herodotus,
Thucydides, Ephorus, Artemidorus, Eratosthenes, and Poseidonius; besides
Pherecydes of Syros, who wrote on the Ionian migration, and Anaximenes
of Lampsacus, the author of a history in Greek of the Milesian colonies.
For Caria, he had the historians of Alexander and an author named
Philip, who wrote on the Leleges and Carians. For Cyprus he had Damastes
and Eratosthenes.
The 15th and 16th books contain a description of the second portion of
Asia, namely, the southern or the other side of Taurus. In the 15th
book, Strabo describes India and Persia, the latter in two chief
divisions, viz. Ariana or East Persia, and Persis or West Persia. These
countries Strabo never saw; his description, therefore, is founded on
the authority of travellers and historians. The topography of India is
meagre, and limited to a few towns and rivers; but his account of the
people of the country is more copious, he being supplied with materials
from the historians of Alexander and of the campaigns of Seleucus in
India. He looks on Megasthenes, Onesicritus, Deïmachus, and Cleitarchus
as fabulous writers: but his confidence rests chiefly on Patrocles,
Aristobulus (one of the companions and historians of Alexander), and
Nearchus, the chief commander of Alexander’s fleet. Artemidorus and
Nicolaus of Damascus are occasionally consulted.
