No More Learning

All this too closely resembles the
falsehoods of Pytheas, Euhemerus, and Antiphanes. They however may be
pardoned; for their only aim was that of the juggler. But who can
forgive a demonstrator and philosopher, and one too striving to be at
the head of their order? it is really too bad!

6. However, he is right in attributing to earthquakes and other similar
causes, which we also have enumerated, the risings, slips, and changes
which at various periods come over the earth. He did well, too, in
citing the opinion of Plato, “that the tradition concerning the Island
of Atlantis might be received as something more than a mere fiction, it
having been related by Solon on the authority of the Egyptian priests,
that this island, almost as large as a continent, was formerly in
existence, although now it had disappeared. ” Posidonius thinks it better
to quote this than to say, “He who brought it into existence can also
cause it to disappear, as the poet did the wall of the Achivi. ”[662] He
(Posidonius) is also of opinion that the emigration of the Cimbrians and
other kindred races from their native territory, was gradual, and
occasioned by the inundation of the sea, and by no means a sudden
movement. [663] He supposes that the length of the inhabited earth is
about 70,000 stadia, being the half of the whole circle on which it is
taken; so that, says he, starting from the west, one might, aided by a
continual east wind, reach India in so many thousand stadia.

7. Next he undertakes to find fault with those who gave to the
continents their present division, instead of marking them out by lines
drawn parallel to the equator, by which means the different animals,
plants, and temperatures would have been distinguished, according as
they approached the frigid or the torrid zones; so that each continent
would have formed a kind of zone. Afterwards, however, he overturns and
gives up altogether this view, bestowing every commendation on the
existing system, and thus making his argument altogether worthless and
of no avail. In fact, the various arrangements [of a country] are not
the result of premeditation, any more than the diversities of nations
or languages; they all depend on circumstances and chance. Arts, forms
of government, and modes of life, arising from certain [internal]
springs, flourish under whatever climate they may be situated; climate,
however, has its influence, and therefore while some peculiarities are
due to the nature of the country, others are the result of institutions
and education. It is not owing to the nature of the country, but rather
to their education, that the Athenians cultivate eloquence, while the
Lacedæmonians do not; nor yet the Thebans, who are nearer still. Neither
are the Babylonians and Egyptians philosophers by nature, but by reason
of their institutions and education. In like manner the excellence of
horses, oxen, and other animals, results not alone from the places where
they dwell, but also from their breeding. Posidonius confounds all these
distinctions.

In praising the division of the continents as it now stands, he advances
as an argument the difference between the Indians and the Ethiopians of
Libya, the former being more robust, and less dried by the heat of the
climate. It is on this account that Homer, who includes them all under
the title of Ethiopians, describes them as being separated into two
divisions,

“These eastward situate, those toward the west. ”[664]

[Crates], to support his hypothesis, supposes another inhabited earth,
of which Homer certainly knew nothing; and says that the passage ought
to be read thus, “towards the descending sun,” viz. when having passed
the meridian, it begins to decline.

8. First, then, the Ethiopians next Egypt are actually separated into
two divisions; one part being in Asia, the other in Libya, otherwise
there is no distinction between them. But it was not on this account
that Homer divided the Ethiopians, nor yet because he was acquainted
with the physical superiority of the Indians, (for it is not probable
that Homer had the slightest idea of the Indians, since, according to
the assertion of Eudoxus, Euergetes was both ignorant of India, and of
the voyage thither,) but his division rather resulted from the cause we
formerly mentioned. We have shown that as for the alteration of Crates,
it makes no difference whether it be read so or not. Posidonius,
however, says that it does make a difference, and would be better
altered into “towards the descending [sun]. ” But in what can this be
said to differ from “towards the west,” since the whole section of the
hemisphere west of the meridian is styled “the west,” not only the mere
semicircle of the horizon. This is manifested by the following
expression of Aratus,

“Where the extremities of the west and east blend together. ”[665]

However, if the reading of Posidonius be preferable to that of Crates,
any one may likewise claim for it a superiority over that of
Aristarchus. So much for Posidonius. There are, however, many
particulars relating to Geography, which we shall bring under
discussion; others relating to Physics, which must be examined
elsewhere, or altogether disregarded; for he is much too fond of
imitating Aristotle’s propensity for diving into _causes_, a subject
which we [Stoics] scrupulously avoid, simply because of the extreme
darkness in which all _causes_ are enveloped.




CHAPTER IV.


1. Polybius, in his Chorography of Europe, tells us that it is not his
intention to examine the writings of the ancient geographers, but the
statements of those who have criticised them, such as Dicæarchus,
Eratosthenes, (who was the last of those who [in his time] had laboured
on geography,) and Pytheas, by whom many have been deceived. It is this
last writer who states that he travelled all over Britain on foot, and
that the island is above 40,000 stadia in circumference. It is likewise
he who describes Thule and other neighbouring places, where, according
to him, neither earth, water, nor air exist, separately, but a sort of
concretion of all these, resembling marine sponge, in which the earth,
the sea, and all things were suspended, thus forming, as it were, a link
to unite the whole together. It can neither be travelled over nor sailed
through. As for the substance, he affirms that he has beheld it with his
own eyes; the rest, he reports on the authority of others. So much for
the statements of Pytheas, who tells us, besides, that after he had
returned thence, he traversed the whole coasts of Europe from Gades to
the Don.

2. Polybius asks, “How is it possible that a private individual, and one
too in narrow circumstances, could ever have performed such vast
expeditions by sea and land? And how could Eratosthenes, who hesitates
whether he may rely on his statements in general, place such entire
confidence in what that writer narrates concerning Britain, Gades, and
Iberia? ” says he, “it would have been better had Eratosthenes trusted to
the Messenian[666] rather than to this writer. The former merely
pretends to have sailed into one [unknown] country, viz. Panchæa, but
the latter, that he has visited the whole of the north of Europe as far
as the ends of the earth; which statement, even had it been made by
Mercury, we should not have believed. Nevertheless Eratosthenes, who
terms Euhemerus a Bergæan, gives credit to Pytheas, although even
Dicæarchus would not believe him. ”

This argument, “although even Dicæarchus would not believe him,” is
ridiculous, just as if Eratosthenes ought to take for his standard a
writer whom Polybius is himself for ever complaining of. [667]

The ignorance of Eratosthenes respecting the western and northern
portions of Europe, we have before remarked. But both he and Dicæarchus
must be pardoned for this, as neither of them were personally familiar
with those localities. But how can one excuse Polybius and Posidonius?
especially Polybius, who treats as mere hearsay what Eratosthenes and
Dicæarchus report concerning the distances of various places; and many
other matters, about which, though he blames them, he is not himself
free from error. Dicæarchus states that there are 10,000 stadia from the
Peloponnesus to the Pillars, and something above this number from the
Peloponnesus to the recess of the Adriatic. [668] He supposes 3000 stadia
between the Peloponnesus and the Strait of Sicily; thus there would
remain 7000 between the Strait of Sicily and the Pillars. [669]

“I will not inquire,” says Polybius, “whether the statement concerning
the 3000 stadia is correct or not, but 7000 stadia is not the correct
measure [from the Strait of Messina to the Pillars of Hercules], whether
taken along the sea-shore, or right across the sea. The coast closely
resembles an obtuse angle, one side reaching to the Strait of Sicily,
the other to the Pillars, the vertex being Narbonne. Now let a triangle
be constructed, having for its base a right line drawn through the sea,
and its sides forming the aforementioned angle. The side reaching from
the Strait of Sicily to Narbonne is above 11,200 stadia, while the other
is below 8000. Now the greatest distance from Europe to Libya, across
the Tyrrhenian Sea,[670] is not above 3000 stadia, and across the Sea of
Sardinia[671] it is less still. But supposing that it too is 3000
stadia, add to this 2000 stadia, the depth of the bay at Narbonne, as a
perpendicular from the vertex to the base of the obtuse-angled
triangle. It will, then, be clear even to the geometrical powers of a
child, that the entire coast from the Strait of Sicily to the Pillars,
does not exceed by more than 500 stadia the right line drawn across the
sea; adding to these the 3000 stadia from the Peloponnesus to the Strait
of Sicily, the whole taken together will give a straight line[672] above
double the length assigned by Dicæarchus; and, according to his system,
you must add in addition to these the stadia at the recess of the
Adriatic. ”

3. True, dear Polybius, (one might say,) this error [of Dicæarchus] is
manifested by the proof which you yourself have given when you inform us
that from the Peloponnesus to Leucas[673] there are 700 stadia; from
thence to Corcyra[674] the same number; and the same number again from
Corcyra to the Ceraunian Mountains;[675] and from the Ceraunian
Mountains to Iapygia,[676] following the coast of Illyria on the right,
6150 stadia. [677] But the statement of Dicæarchus, that the distance
from the Strait of Sicily to the Pillars is 7000 stadia, and also your
view of the matter, are both of them equally incorrect. For almost every
one is agreed that the distance measured straight across the sea is
12,000 stadia, and this coincides with the received calculation of the
length of the inhabited earth, which is estimated at above 70,000
stadia; the western portion of this from the Gulf of Issus[678] to the
extreme western point of Iberia is little less than 30,000 stadia, and
is thus calculated: from the Gulf of Issus to Rhodes 5000 stadia; from
thence to Cape Salmonium,[679] which forms the eastern extremity of
Crete, 1000; the length of Crete to Criu-metopon[680] above 2000; thence
to Cape Pachynus[681] in Sicily 4500, and from Pachynus to the Strait of
Sicily above 1000 stadia; the run from the Strait to the Pillars 12,000;
and lastly, from the Pillars to the extremity of the said
promontory[682] of Iberia, about 3000 stadia. [683]

In addition to this, the perpendicular[684] is not correct, supposing it
true that Narbonne lies under almost the same parallel as Marseilles,
and that this latter place is under the same parallel as Byzantium;
which is the opinion of Hipparchus. Now the line drawn across the sea
lies under the same parallel as the Strait [of the Pillars] and Rhodes;
and the distance from Rhodes to Byzantium, which both lie under the same
meridian, is estimated at about 5000 stadia; to which the
above-mentioned perpendicular ought to be equal. But since they say that
from the recess of the Galatic Gulf, the greatest distance across the
sea from Europe to Libya is 5000 stadia, it seems to me that either
there is some error in this statement, or that at this point Libya must
incline very much to the north, and so come under the same parallel as
the Pillars. Polybius is likewise mistaken in telling us that this said
perpendicular terminates close to Sardinia; for instead of being close
to Sardinia, it is far west thereof, having almost the whole of the sea
of Liguria[685] between it and that island. Besides this he makes the
length of the sea-coast too great; but this [error] is not so
considerable [as the two preceding].

4. After this Polybius proceeds to set right the mistakes of
Eratosthenes. In this he is sometimes successful; at others his
corrections are for the worse. For example, Eratosthenes gives 300
stadia from Ithaca to Corcyra; Polybius makes it above 900. From
Epidamnus to Thessalonica Eratosthenes allows 900 stadia; Polybius says
above 2000. In these instances he is correct. But where Eratosthenes
states that from Marseilles to the Pillars there are 7000 stadia, and
from the Pyrenees [to the same place] 6000, and Polybius alters this to
more than 9000 from Marseilles, and little less than 8000 from the
Pyrenees,[686] he is quite mistaken, and not so near to the truth as
Eratosthenes. For all are now agreed that, barring the indirectness of
the roads, the whole length of Iberia is not more than 6000 stadia[687]
from the Pyrenees to its western limits; notwithstanding Polybius gives
8000 stadia for the length of the river Tagus, from its source to its
outlets, and this in a straight line without any reference to its
sinuosities, which in fact never enter into the geographical estimate,
although the sources of the Tagus are above 1000 stadia from the
Pyrenees. His remark is quite correct, that Eratosthenes knew little
about Iberia, and on this account sometimes makes conflicting statements
concerning it. He tells us, for example, that the portion of this
country situated on the sea-coast as far as Gades is inhabited by
Galatæ,[688] who possess western Europe as far as Gades; nevertheless,
in his account of Iberia he seems quite to have forgotten this, and
makes no mention of these Galatæ whatever.

5. Again, however, Polybius makes an incorrect assertion, in stating
that the whole length of Europe is unequal to that of Africa and Asia
taken together. He tells us “that the entrance at the Pillars
corresponds in direction to the equinoctial west, and that the Don flows
from the summer rising, consequently the length of Europe is less than
that of Asia and Africa taken together by the space between the summer
rising[689] and the equinoctial rising,[690] since Asia occupies the
eastern portion of the northern semicircle. Now, in addition to the
obscurity which Polybius throws over subjects which might have been
simply stated, it is false that the river Don flows from the summer
rising. For all who are acquainted with these localities inform us that
this river flows from the north into the Mæotis, so that the mouth of
the river lies under the same meridian as that of the Mæotis; and so in
fact does the whole river as far as is known. [691]

6. Equally unworthy of credit is the statement of those who tell us,
that the Don rises in the vicinity of the Danube, and flows from the
west; they do not remember that between these are the Dniester, the
Dnieper, and the Bog, all great rivers, which flow [into the Euxine
Sea]; one runs parallel to the Danube, the other two to the Don. Now if
at the present day we are ignorant of the sources both of the Dniester,
and also of the Dnieper and Bog, the regions farther north must
certainly be still less known. It is therefore a fictitious and idle
assertion, that the Don crosses these rivers, and then turns northward
on its way to discharge itself into the Mæotis, it being well known that
the outlets to this river are in the most northern and eastern portions
of the lake. [692]

No less idle is the statement which has also been advanced, that the
Don, after crossing the Caucasus, flows northward, and then turns
towards the Mæotis. [693] No one, however, [with the exception of
Polybius,] made this river flow from the east. If such were its course,
our best geographers would never have told us that its direction was
contrary to that of the Nile, and, so to speak, diametrically opposite
thereto, as if the course of both rivers lay under the same meridian.

7. Further, the length of the inhabited earth is measured on a line
parallel with the equator, as it is in this direction that its greatest
length lies: in the same way with respect to each of the continents, we
must take their length as it lies between two meridians. The measure of
these lengths consists of a certain number of stadia, which we obtain
either by going over the places themselves, or roads or ways parallel
thereto. Polybius abandons this method, and adopts the new way of taking
the segment of the northern semicircle comprised between the summer
rising and the equinoctial rising. But no one ought to calculate by
variable rules or measures in determining the length of fixed distances:
nor yet should he make use of the phenomena of the heavens, which appear
different when observed from different points, for distances which have
their length determined by themselves and remain unchanged. The length
of a country never varies, but depends upon itself; whereas, the
equinoctial rising and setting, and the summer and winter rising and
setting, depend not on themselves, but on our position [with respect to
them]. As we shift from place to place, the equinoctial rising and
setting, and the winter and summer rising and setting, shift with us;
but the length of a continent always remains the same. To make the Don
and the Nile the bounds of these continents, is nothing out of the way,
but it is something strange to employ for this purpose the equinoctial
rising and the summer rising.

8. Of the many promontories formed by Europe, a better description is
given by Polybius than by Eratosthenes; but even his is not sufficient.
Eratosthenes only names three; one at the Pillars of Hercules, where
Iberia is situated; a second at the Strait of Sicily, and containing
Italy; the third terminated by the Cape of Malea,[694] comprising all
the countries situated between the Adriatic, the Euxine, and the Don.
The two former of these Polybius describes in the same manner as
Eratosthenes, but the third, which is equally terminated by the Cape of
Malea[695] and Cape Sunium,[696] [he makes to] comprehend the whole of
Greece, Illyria, and some portion of Thrace. [He supposes] a fourth,
containing the Thracian Chersonesus and the countries contiguous to the
Strait,[697] betwixt Sestos and Abydos. This is occupied by the
Thracians. Also a fifth, about the Kimmerian Bosphorus and the mouth of
the Mæotis. Let us allow [to Polybius] his two former [promontories],
they are clearly distinguished by unmistakeable bays; the first by the
bay between Calpe[698] and the Sacred Promontory[699] where Gades[700]
is situated, as also by the sea between the Pillars and Sicily; the
second[701] by the latter sea and the Adriatic,[702] although it may be
objected that the extremity of Iapygia,[703] being a promontory in
itself, causes Italy to have a double cape. But as for the remaining
[promontories of Polybius], they are plainly much more irregular, and
composed of many parts, and require some other division. So likewise his
plan of dividing [Europe] into six parts, similar to that of the
promontories, is liable to objection.

However, we will set to rights each of these errors separately, as we
meet with them, as well as the other blunders into which he has fallen
in his description of Europe, and the journey round Africa. For the
present we think that we have sufficiently dwelt on those of our
predecessors whom we have thought proper to introduce as testimonies in
our behalf, that both in the matter of correction and addition we had
ample cause to undertake the present work.




CHAPTER V.


1. After these criticisms on the writers who have preceded us, we must
now confine our attention to the fulfilment of our promise. We start
with a maxim we laid down at the commencement, that whoever undertakes
to write a Chorography, should receive as axioms certain physical and
mathematical propositions, and frame the rest of his work in accordance
with, and in full reliance on, these principles. We have already stated
[our opinion], that neither builder nor architect could build house or
city properly and as it ought to be, unless acquainted with the _clima_
of the place, its position in respect to celestial appearances, its
shape, magnitude, degree of heat and cold, and similar facts; much less
should he [be without such information] who undertakes to describe the
situation of the various regions of the inhabited earth.

Represent to the mind on one and the same plane-surface Iberia and India
with the intermediate countries, and define likewise the west, the east,
and the south, which are common to every country. To a man already
acquainted with the arrangement and motions of the heavens, and aware
that in reality the surface of the earth is spherical, although here for
the sake of illustration represented as a plane, this will give a
sufficiently exact idea of the geographical [position of the various
countries], but not to one who is unacquainted with those matters. The
tourist travelling over vast plains like those of Babylon, or journeying
by sea, may fancy that the whole country stretched before, behind, and
on either side of him is a plane-surface; he may be unacquainted with
the counter-indications of the celestial phenomena, and with the
motions and appearance of the sun and stars, in respect to us. But such
facts as these should ever be present to the mind of those who compose
Geographies. The traveller, whether by sea or land, is directed by
certain common appearances, which answer equally for the direction both
of the unlearned and of the man of the world. Ignorant of astronomy, and
unacquainted with the varied aspect of the heavens, he beholds the sun
rise and set, and attain the meridian, but without considering how this
takes place. Such knowledge could not aid the object he has in view, any
more than to know whether the country he chances to be in may be under
the same latitude as his own or not. Even should he bestow a slight
attention to the subject, on all mathematical points he will adopt the
opinions of the place; and every country has certain mistaken views of
these matters. But it is not for any particular nation, nor for the man
of the world who cares nothing for abstract mathematics, still less is
it for the reaper or ditcher, that the geographer labours; but it is for
him who is convinced that the earth is such as mathematicians declare it
to be, and who admits every other fact resulting from this hypothesis.
He requests that those who approach him shall have already settled this
in their minds as a fact, that they may be able to lend their whole
attention to other points. He will advance nothing which is not a
consequence of these primary facts; therefore those who hear him, if
they have a knowledge of mathematics, will readily be able to turn his
instructions to account; for those who are destitute of this information
he does not pretend to expound Geography.

2. Those who write on the science of Geography should trust entirely for
the arrangement of the subject they are engaged on to the geometers, who
have measured the whole earth; they in their turn to astronomers; and
these again to natural philosophers. Now natural philosophy is one of
the perfect sciences. [704]

The “perfect sciences” they define as those which, depending on no
external hypothesis, have their origin, and the evidence of their
propositions, in themselves. Here are a few of the facts established by
natural philosophers. [705]

The earth and heavens are spheroidal.

The tendency of all bodies having weight, is to a centre.

Further, the earth being spheroidal, and having the same centre as the
heavens, is motionless, as well as the axis which passes through both it
and the heavens. The heavens turn round both the earth and its axis,
from east to west. The fixed stars turn round with it, at the same rate
as the whole. [706] These fixed stars follow in their course parallel
circles; the principal of which are, the equator, the two tropics, and
the arctic circles. While the planets, the sun, and the moon, describe
certain oblique circles comprehended within the zodiac. Admitting these
points in whole or in part, astronomers proceed to treat of other
matters, [such as] the motions [of the stars], their revolutions,
eclipses, size, relative distance, and a thousand similar particulars.
On their side, geometers, when measuring the size of the entire earth,
avail themselves of the data furnished by the natural philosopher and
astronomer; and the geographer on his part makes use of those of the
geometer.

3. The heavens and the earth must be supposed to be divided each into
five zones, and the celestial zones to possess the same names as those
below. The motives for such a division into zones we have already
detailed. These zones may be distinguished by circles drawn parallel to
the equator, on either side of it. Two of these will separate the torrid
from the temperate zones, and the remaining two, the temperate from the
frigid. To each celestial circle there shall be one corresponding on
earth, and bearing the same name, and likewise zone for zone. The [two]
zones capable of being inhabited, are styled temperate. The remaining
[three] are uninhabitable, one on account of the heat, the others
because of the extreme cold. The same is the case with regard to the
tropical, and also to the arctic circles, in respect of those countries
for which arctic circles can be said to exist. Circles on the earth are
supposed, corresponding to those in the heavens, and bearing the same
name, one for one.

As the whole heaven is separated into two parts by its equator, it
follows that the earth must, by its equator, be similarly divided. The
two hemispheres, both celestial and terrestrial, are distinguished into
north and south. Likewise the torrid zone, which is divided into two
halves by the equator, is distinguished as having a northern and
southern side. Hence it is evident that of the two temperate zones, one
should be called northern, the other southern, according to the
hemisphere to which it belongs. The northern hemisphere is that
containing the temperate zone, in which looking from east to west, you
will have the pole on your right hand, and the equator on the left, or,
in which, looking south, the west will be on the right hand, and the
east on the left. The southern hemisphere is exactly the contrary to
this.

It is clear that we are in one or other of these hemispheres, namely,
the north; we cannot be in both:

“Broad rivers roll, and awful floods between,
But chief the ocean. ”[707]

And next is the torrid zone. But neither is there any ocean in the midst
of the earth wherein we dwell, dividing the whole thereof, nor yet have
we any torrid region. Nor is there any portion of it to be found in
which the _climata_ are opposite to those which have been described as
characterizing the northern temperate zone.

4. Assuming these data, and availing himself likewise of astronomical
observations, by which the position of every place is properly
determined, whether with respect to the circles parallel to the equator,
or to those which cut these latter at right angles, in the direction of
the poles, the geometer measures the region in which he dwells, and
[judges of the extent of] others by comparing the distance [between the
corresponding celestial signs]. By this means he discovers the distance
from the equator to the pole, which is a quarter of the largest circle
of the earth; having obtained this, he has only to multiply by four, the
result is the [measure of the] perimeter of the globe.

In the same manner as he who takes the measures of the earth, borrows
the foundation of his calculations from the astronomer, who himself is
indebted to the natural philosopher, so in like manner the geographer
adopts certain facts laid down as established by the geometer, before
setting forth his description of the earth we inhabit; its size, form,
nature, and the proportion it bears to the whole earth. These latter
points are the peculiar business of the geographer. He will next enter
on a particular description of every thing deserving notice, whether on
land or sea; he will likewise point out whatever has been improperly
stated by those who have preceded him, especially by those who are
regarded as chief authorities in these matters. [708]

5. Let it be supposed that the earth and sea together form a spheroidal
body, and preserve one and the same level in all the seas. For though
some portions of the earth may be higher, yet this bears so small a
relation to the size of the whole mass, as need not be noticed. The
spheroid in consequence is not so minutely exact as one might be made by
the aid of a turner’s instrument, or as would answer the definition of a
geometer, still in general appearance, and looked at roughly, it is a
spheroid. Let the earth be supposed to consist of five zones, with (1. )
the equatorial circle described round it, (2. ) another parallel to
this,[709] and defining the frigid zone of the northern hemisphere, and
(3. ) a circle passing through the poles, and cutting the two preceding
circles at right angles. The northern hemisphere contains two quarters
of the earth, which are bounded by the equator and the circle passing
through the poles.

Each of these [quarters] should be supposed to contain a four-sided
district, its northern side being composed of one half of the parallel
next the pole; its southern, by the half of the equator; and its
remaining sides, by [two] segments of the circle drawn through the
poles, opposite to each other, and equal in length. In one of these
quadrilaterals (which of them is of no consequence) the earth that we
inhabit is situated, surrounded by sea, and similar to an island. This,
as we said before, is evident both to our senses and to our reason. But
should any one doubt thereof, it makes no difference so far as Geography
is concerned, whether you suppose the portion of the earth we inhabit to
be an island, or only admit what we know from experience, viz. that
whether you start from the east or west, you may sail all round it.
Certain intermediate spaces may have been left [unexplored], but these
are as likely to be occupied by sea, as uninhabited lands. The object of
the geographer is to describe known countries; those which are unknown
he passes over equally with those beyond the limits of the inhabited
earth. It will therefore be sufficient for describing the contour of the
island we have been speaking of, if we join by a right line the utmost
points which, up to this time, have been explored by voyagers along the
coast on either side.

6. Let it be supposed that this island is contained in one of the above
quadrilaterals; we must obtain its apparent magnitude by subtracting our
hemisphere from the whole extent of the earth, from this take the half,
and from this again the quadrilateral, in which we state our earth to be
situated. We may judge also by analogy of the figure of the whole earth,
by supposing that it accords with those parts with which we are
acquainted. Now as the portion of the northern hemisphere, between the
equator and the parallel next the [north] pole, resembles a vertebre or
joint of the back-bone in shape, and as the circle which passes through
the pole divides at the same time the hemisphere and the vertebre into
two halves, thus forming the quadrilateral; it is clear that this
quadrilateral to which the Atlantic is adjacent, is but the half of the
vertebre; while at the same time the inhabited earth, which is an island
in this, and shaped like a chlamys or soldier’s cloak, occupies less
than the half of the quadrilateral. This is evident from geometry,
also[710] from the extent of the surrounding sea, which covers the
extremities of the continents on either side, compressing them into a
smaller figure, and thirdly, by the greatest length and breadth [of the
earth itself]. The length being 70,000 stadia, enclosed almost entirely
by a sea, impossible to navigate owing to its wildness and vast extent,
and the breadth 30,000 stadia, bounded by regions rendered uninhabitable
on account either of their intense heat or cold. That portion of the
quadrilateral which is unfitted for habitation on account of the heat,
contains in breadth 8800 stadia, and in its greatest length 126,000
stadia, which is equal to one half of the equator, and larger than one
half the inhabited earth; and what is left is still more.

7. These calculations are nearly synonymous with those furnished by
Hipparchus, who tells us, that supposing the size of the globe as stated
by Eratosthenes to be correct, we can then subtract from it the extent
of the inhabited earth, since in noting the celestial appearances [as
they are seen] in different countries, it is not of much importance
whether we make use of this measure, or that furnished by later writers.
Now as the whole circle of the equator according to Eratosthenes
contains 252,000 stadia, the quarter of this would be 63,000, that is,
the space from the equator to the pole contains fifteen of the sixty
divisions[711] into which the equator itself is divided. There are four
[divisions] between the equator and the summer tropic or parallel
passing through Syene. The distances for each locality are calculated by
the astronomical observations.

It is evident that Syene is under the tropic, from the fact that during
the summer solstice the gnomon at mid-day casts no shadow there. As for
the meridian of Syene, it follows very nearly the course of the Nile
from Meroe to Alexandria, a distance of about 10,000 stadia.
Syene
itself is situated about midway between these places, consequently from
thence to Meroe is a distance of 5000 stadia. Advancing 3000 stadia
southward in a right line, we come to lands unfitted for habitation on
account of the heat. Consequently the parallel which bounds these
places, and which is the same as that of the Cinnamon Country, is to be
regarded as the boundary and commencement of the habitable earth on the
south. If, then, 3000 stadia be added to the 5000 between Syene and
Meroe, there will be altogether 8000 stadia [from Syene] to the
[southern] extremity of the habitable earth. But from Syene to the
equator there are 16,800 stadia, (for such is the amount of the
four-sixtieths, each sixtieth being equivalent to 4200 stadia,) and
consequently from the [southern] boundaries of the habitable earth to
the equator there are 8800 stadia, and from Alexandria 21,800. [712]
Again, every one is agreed that the voyage from Alexandria to Rhodes,
and thence by Caria and Ionia to the Troad, Byzantium, and the Dnieper,
is in a straight line with the course of the Nile. [713]

Taking therefore these distances, which have been ascertained by
voyages, we have only to find out how far beyond the Dnieper the land is
habitable, (being careful always to continue in the same straight line,)
and we shall arrive at a knowledge of the northern boundaries of our
earth.

Beyond the Dnieper dwell the Roxolani,[714] the last of the Scythians
with which we are acquainted; they are nevertheless more south than the
farthest nations[715] we know of beyond Britain. Beyond these Roxolani
the country is uninhabitable on account of the severity of the climate.
The Sauromatæ[716] who live around the Mæotis, and the other
Scythians[717] as far as the Scythians of the East, dwell farther south.

8. It is true that Pytheas of Marseilles affirms that the farthest
country north of the British islands is Thule; for which place he says
the summer tropic and the arctic circle is all one. But he records no
other particulars concerning it; [he does not say] whether Thule is an
island, or whether it continues habitable up to the point where the
summer tropic becomes one with the arctic circle. [718] For myself, I
fancy that the northern boundaries of the habitable earth are greatly
south of this. Modern writers tell us of nothing beyond Ierne, which
lies just north of Britain, where the people live miserably and like
savages on account of the severity of the cold. It is here in my opinion
the bounds of the habitable earth ought to be fixed.

If on the one hand the parallels of Byzantium and Marseilles are the
same, as Hipparchus asserts on the faith of Pytheas, (for he[719] says
that at Byzantium the gnomon indicates the same amount of shadow as
Pytheas gives for Marseilles,) and at the same time the parallel of the
Dnieper is distant from Byzantium about 3800 stadia, it follows, if we
take into consideration the distance between Marseilles and Britain,
that the circle which passes over the Dnieper traverses Britain as
well. [720] But the truth is that Pytheas, who so frequently misleads
people, deceives in this instance too.

It is generally admitted that a line drawn from the Pillars of Hercules,
and passing over the Strait [of Messina], Athens, and Rhodes, would lie
under the same parallel of latitude. [721] It is likewise admitted, that
the line in passing from the Pillars to the Strait of Sicily divides the
Mediterranean through the midst. [722] Navigators tell us that the
greatest distance from Keltica to Libya, starting from the bottom of the
Galatic Bay, is 5000 stadia, and that this is likewise the greatest
breadth of the Mediterranean. Consequently from the said line to the
bottom of the bay is 2500 stadia; but to Marseilles the distance is
rather less, in consequence of that city being more to the south than
the bottom of the bay. [723] But since from Rhodes to Byzantium is about
4900[724] stadia, it follows that Byzantium must be far north of
Marseilles. [725] The distance from this latter city to Britain is about
the same as from Byzantium to the Dnieper. [726] How far it may be from
Britain to the island of Ierne is not known. As to whether beyond it
there may still be habitable lands, it is not our business to inquire,
as we stated before. It is sufficient for our science to determine this
in the same manner that we did the southern boundaries. We there fixed
the bounds of the habitable earth at 3000 stadia south of Meroe (not
that these were its exact limits, but because they were sufficiently
near); so in this instance they should be placed about the same number
of stadia north of Britain, certainly not more than 4000. [727]

It would not serve any political purpose to be well acquainted with
these distant places and the people who inhabit them; especially if they
are islands whose inhabitants can neither injure us, nor yet benefit us
by their commerce. The Romans might easily have conquered Britain, but
they did not care to do so, as they perceived there was nothing to fear
from the inhabitants, (they not being powerful enough to attack us,) and
that they would gain nothing by occupying the land. Even now it appears
that we gain more by the customs they pay, than we could raise by
tribute, after deducting the wages of the soldiers necessary for
guarding the island and exacting the taxes. And the other islands
adjacent to this would be still more unproductive.

9. If, then, to the distance between Rhodes and the Dnieper be added
four thousand stadia north of the latter place, the whole would come to
12,700 stadia; and since from Rhodes to the southern limit of the
habitable earth there are 16,600 stadia, its total breadth from north to
south would be under 30,000 stadia. [728] Its length from west to east is
stated at 70,000 stadia, the distance being measured from the
extremities of Iberia to those of India, partly over the land and partly
across the sea. That this length is contained within the quadrilateral
aforesaid, is proved by the proportion borne by these parallels to the
equator. Thus the length of the habitable earth is above twice its
breadth. It has been compared in figure to a chlamys, or soldier’s
cloak, because if every part be carefully examined, it will be found
that its breadth is greatly diminished towards the extremities,
especially in the west.

10. We have now been tracing upon a spherical surface the region which
we state to be occupied by the habitable earth; and whoever would
represent the real earth as near as possible by artificial means, should
make a globe like that of Crates, and upon this describe the
quadrilateral within which his chart of geography is to be placed. For
this purpose, however, a large globe is necessary, since the section
mentioned, though but a very small portion of the entire sphere, must be
capable of properly containing all the regions of the habitable earth,
and presenting an accurate view of them to all those who wish to consult
it. Any one who is able will certainly do well to obtain such a globe.
But it should have a diameter of not less than ten feet: those who
cannot obtain a globe of this size, or one nearly as large, had better
draw their chart on a plane-surface, of not less than seven feet. Draw
straight lines, some parallel, for the parallels [of latitude], and
others at right angles to these; we may easily imagine how the eye can
transfer the figure and extent [of these lines] from a plane-surface to
one that is spherical. What we have just observed of the circles in
general, may be said with equal truth touching the oblique circles. On
the globe it is true that the meridians of each country passing the pole
have a tendency to unite in a single point, nevertheless on the
plane-surface of the map, there would be no advantage if the right lines
alone which should represent the meridians were drawn slightly to
converge. The necessity for such a proceeding would scarcely ever be
really felt. Even on our globe itself[729] the tendency of those
meridians (which are transferred to the map as right lines) to converge
is not much, nor any thing near so obvious as their circular tendency.

11. In what follows we shall suppose the chart drawn on a plane-surface;
and our descriptions shall consist of what we ourselves have observed in
our travels by land and sea, and of what we conceive to be credible in
the statements and writings of others. For ourselves, in a westerly
direction we have travelled from Armenia to that part of Tyrrhenia[730]
which is over against Sardinia; and southward, from the Euxine to the
frontiers of Ethiopia. [731] Of all the writers on Geography, not one can
be mentioned who has travelled over a wider extent of the countries
described than we have. Some may have gone farther to the west, but then
they have never been so far east as we have; again, others may have been
farther east, but not so far west; and the same with respect to north
and south. However, in the main, both we and they have availed ourselves
of the reports of others, from which to describe the form, the size, and
the other peculiarities of the country, what they are and how many, in
the same way that the mind forms its conceptions from the information of
the senses. The figure, colour, and size of an apple, its scent, feel to
the touch, and its flavour, are particulars communicated by the senses,
from which the mind forms its conception of an apple. So in large
figures, the senses observe the various parts, while the mind combines
into one conception what is thus seen. And in like manner, men eager
after knowledge, trusting to those who have been to various places, and
to [the descriptions of] travellers in this or that country, gather into
one sketch a view of the whole habitable earth.

In the same way, the generals perform every thing, nevertheless, they
are not present every where, but most of their success depends on
others, since they are obliged to trust to messengers, and issue their
commands in accordance with the reports of others. To pretend that those
only can know who have themselves seen, is to deprive hearing of all
confidence, which, after all, is a better servant of knowledge than
sight itself.

12. Writers of the present day can describe with more certainty [than
formerly] the Britons, the Germans, and the dwellers on either side of
the Danube, the Getæ,[732] the Tyrigetæ, the Bastarnæ,[733] the tribes
dwelling by the Caucasus, such as the Albanians and Iberians. [734] We
are besides possessed of a description of Hyrcania[735] and Bactriana in
the Histories of Parthia written by such men as Apollodorus of
Artemita,[736] who have detailed the boundaries [of those countries]
with greater accuracy than other geographers.

The entrance of a Roman army into Arabia Felix under the command of my
friend and companion Ælius Gallus,[737] and the traffic of the
Alexandrian merchants whose vessels pass up the Nile and Arabian
Gulf[738] to India, have rendered us much better acquainted with these
countries than our predecessors were. I was with Gallus at the time he
was prefect of Egypt, and accompanied him as far as Syene and the
frontiers of Ethiopia, and I found that about one hundred and twenty
ships sail from Myos-hormos[739] to India, although, in the time of the
Ptolemies, scarcely any one would venture on this voyage and the
commerce with the Indies.

13. Our first and most imperative duty[740] then, both in respect to
science and to the necessities of the man of business, is to undertake
to lay down the projection of the different countries on the chart in as
clear a style as possible, and to signify at the same time the relation
and proportion they bear to the whole earth. For such is the
geographer’s peculiar province. It belongs to another science to give an
exact description of the whole earth, and of the entire vertebre of
either zone, and as to whether the vertebre in the opposite quarter of
the earth is inhabited. That such is the case is most probable, but not
that it is inhabited by the same race of men as dwell with us. And it
must therefore be regarded as another habitable earth. We however have
only to describe our own.

14. In its figure the habitable earth resembles a chlamys, or soldier’s
cloak, the greatest breadth of which would be indicated by a line drawn
in the direction of the Nile, commencing from the parallel of the
Cinnamon Country, and the Island of the Egyptian Exiles, and terminating
at the parallel of Ierna; and its length by a line drawn from the west
at right angles to the former, passing by the Pillars of Hercules and
the Strait of Sicily to Rhodes and the Gulf of Issus,[741] then
proceeding along the chain of the Taurus, which divides Asia, and
terminating in the Eastern Ocean,[742] between India and the Scythians
dwelling beyond Bactriana.

We must therefore fancy to ourselves a parallelogram, and within it a
chlamys-shaped figure, described in such a manner that the length of the
one figure may correspond to the length and size of the other, and
likewise breadth to breadth. The habitable earth will therefore be
represented by this kind of chlamys. We have before said that its
breadth is marked out by parallels bounding its sides, and separating on
either side the portions that are habitable from those that are not. On
the north [these parallels] pass over Ierna,[743] and on the side of the
torrid zone over the Cinnamon Country. These lines being produced east
and west to the opposite extremities of the habitable earth, form, when
joined by the perpendiculars falling from their extremities, a kind of
parallelogram. That within this the habitable earth is contained is
evident, since neither its greatest breadth nor length project beyond.
That in configuration it resembles a chlamys is also clear, from the
fact that at either end of its length, the extremities taper to a
point. [744] Owing to the encroachments of the sea, it also loses
something in breadth. This we know from those who have sailed round its
eastern and western points. They inform us that the island called
Taprobana[745] is much to the south of India, but that it is
nevertheless inhabited, and is situated opposite to the island of the
Egyptians and the Cinnamon Country, as the temperature of their
atmospheres is similar. On the other side the country about the
embouchure of the Hyrcanian Sea[746] is farther north than the farthest
Scythians who dwell beyond India, and Ierna still more so. It is
likewise stated of the country beyond the Pillars of Hercules, that the
most western point of the habitable earth is the promontory of the
Iberians named the Sacred Promontory. [747] It lies nearly in a line with
Gades, the Pillars of Hercules, the Strait of Sicily, and Rhodes;[748]
for they say that the horologes accord, as also the periodical winds,
and the duration of the longest nights and days, which consist of
fourteen and a half equinoctial hours. From the coast of Gades and
Iberia . . . is said to have been formerly observed. [749]

Posidonius relates, that from the top of a high house in a town about
400 stadia distant from the places mentioned, he perceived a star which
he believed to be Canopus, both in consequence of the testimony of those
who having proceeded a little to the south of Iberia affirmed that they
could perceive it, and also of the tradition preserved at Cnidus; for
the observatory of Eudoxus, from whence he is reported to have viewed
Canopus, is not much higher than these houses; and Cnidus is under the
same parallel as Rhodes, which is likewise that of Gades and its
sea-coast.

15. Sailing thence, Libya lies to the south. Its most western portions
project a little beyond Gades; it afterwards forms a narrow promontory
receding towards the east and south, and becoming slightly broader, till
it touches upon the western Ethiopians, who are the last[750] of the
nations situated below Carthage, and adjoin the parallel of the Cinnamon
Country. They, on the contrary, who sail from the Sacred
Promontory,[751] towards the Artabri,[752] journey northwards, having
Lusitania[753] on the right hand. The remaining portion forms an obtuse
angle towards the east as far as the extremities of the Pyrenees which
terminate at the ocean. Northward and opposite to this are the western
coasts of Britain. Northward and opposite to the Artabri are the islands
denominated Cassiterides,[754] situated in the high seas, but under
nearly the same latitude as Britain. From this it appears to what a
degree the extremities of the habitable earth are narrowed by the
surrounding sea.

16. Such being the configuration of the whole earth, it will be
convenient to take two straight lines, cutting each other at right
angles, and running the one through its greatest length, and the other
through its breadth. The former of these lines will represent one of the
parallels, and the latter one of the meridians. [755] Afterwards we must
imagine other lines parallel to either of these respectively, and
dividing both the land and sea with which we are acquainted. By this
means the form of the habitable earth will appear more clearly to be
such as we have described it; likewise the extent of the various lines,
whether traced through its length or breadth, and the latitudes [of
places], will also be more clearly distinguished, whether north or
south, as also [the longitudes] whether east or west. However, these
right lines should be drawn through places that are known. Two have
already been thus fixed upon, I mean the two middle [lines] running
through its length and breadth, which have been already explained, and
by means of these the others may easily be determined. These lines will
serve us as marks to distinguish countries situated under the same
parallel, and otherwise to determine different positions both in respect
to the other portions of the earth, and also of the celestial
appearances.

17. The ocean it is which principally divides the earth into various
countries, and moulds its form. It creates bays, seas, straits,
isthmuses, peninsulas, and capes; while rivers and mountains serve to
the same purpose. It is by these means that continents, nations, and the
position of cities are capable of being clearly distinguished, together
with those various other details of which a chorographical chart is
full. Amongst these latter are the multitude of islands scattered
throughout the seas, and along every coast; each of them distinguished
by some good or bad quality, by certain advantages or disadvantages, due
either to nature or to art.

The natural advantages [of a place] should always be mentioned, since
they are permanent. Advantages which are adventitious are liable to
change, although the majority of those which have continued for any
length of time should not be passed over, nor even those which, although
but recent, have yet acquired some note and celebrity. For those which
continue, come to be regarded by posterity not as works of art, but as
the natural advantages of the place; these therefore it is evident we
must notice. True it is, that to many a city we may apply the reflection
of Demosthenes[756] on Olynthus and its neighbouring towns: “So
completely have they vanished, that no one who should now visit their
sites could say that they had ever been inhabited! ”

Still we are gratified by visiting these and similar localities, being
desirous of beholding the traces of such celebrated places, and the
tombs of famous men. In like manner we should record laws and forms of
government no longer in existence, since these are serviceable to have
in mind, equally with the remembrance of actions, whether for the sake
of imitating or avoiding the like.

18. Continuing our former sketch, we now state that the earth which we
inhabit contains numerous gulfs, formed by the exterior sea or ocean
which surrounds it. Of these there are four principal. The northern,
called the Caspian, by others designated the Hyrcanian Sea, the Persian
and Arabian Gulfs, formed by the [Southern] Sea, the one being nearly
opposite to the Caspian, the other to the Euxine; the fourth, which in
size is much more considerable than the others, is called the Internal
and Our Sea. [757] It commences in the west at the Strait of the Pillars
of Hercules, and continues in an easterly direction, but with varying
breadth. Farther in, it becomes divided, and terminates in two gulfs;
that on the left being called the Euxine Sea, while the other consists
of the seas of Egypt, Pamphylia, and Issus. All these gulfs formed by
the exterior sea, have a narrow entrance; those of the Arabian Gulf,
however, and the Pillars of Hercules are smaller than the rest. [758] The
land which surrounds these, as before remarked, consists of three
divisions. Of these, the configuration of Europe is the most irregular.
Libya, on the contrary, is the most regular; while Asia holds a middle
place between the two. In all of these continents, the regularity or
irregularity of form relates merely to the interior coasts; the
exterior, with the exception of the gulfs before mentioned, is
unindented, and, as I have stated, resembles a chlamys in its form; any
slight differences being of course overlooked, as in large matters what
is insignificant passes for nothing. Since in geographical descriptions
we not only aim at portraying the configuration and extent of various
places, but also their common boundaries, we will remark here, as we
have done before, that the coasts of the Internal Sea[759] present a
greater variety in their appearance than those of the Exterior [Ocean];
the former is also much better known, its climate is more temperate, and
more civilized cities and nations are here than there. We are also
anxious to be informed where the form of government, the arts, and
whatever else ministers to intelligence, produce the greatest results.
Interest will always lead us to where the relations of commerce and
society are most easily established, and these are advantages to be
found where government is administered, or rather where it is well
administered. In each of these particulars, as before remarked, Our
Sea[760] possesses great advantages, and here therefore we will begin
our description.

19. This gulf,[761] as before stated, commences at the Strait of the
Pillars; this at its narrowest part is said to be 70 stadia. Having
sailed down a distance of 120 stadia, the shores widen considerably,
especially to the left, and you behold a vast sea, bounded on the right
by the shore of Libya as far as Carthage, and on the opposite side by
those of Iberia and Keltica as far as Narbonne and Marseilles, thence by
the Ligurian,[762] and finally by the Italian coast to the Strait of
Sicily. The eastern side of this sea is formed by Sicily and the straits
on either side of it. That next Italy being 7 stadia [in breadth], and
that next Carthage 1500 stadia. The line drawn from the Pillars to the
lesser strait of 7 stadia, forms part of the line to Rhodes and the
Taurus, and intersects the sea under discussion about its middle; this
line is said to be 12,000 stadia, which is accordingly the length of the
sea. Its greatest breadth is about 5000 stadia, and extends from the
Galatic Gulf, between Marseilles and Narbonne, to the opposite coast of
Libya.

The portion of the sea which washes Libya is called the Libyan Sea;
that surrounding the land opposite is designated by the respective names
of the Iberian, the Ligurian,[763] and the Sardinian Seas, while the
remaining portion as far as Sicily is named the Tyrrhenian Sea. [764] All
along the coast between the Tyrrhenian and Ligurian Seas, there are
numerous islands, the largest of which are Sardinia and Cyrnus,[765]
always excepting Sicily, which is larger and more fertile than any of
our islands. The remainder are much smaller. Of this number are, in the
high sea, Pandataria[766] and Pontia,[767] and close to the shore
Æthalia,[768] Planasia,[769] Pithecussa,[770] Prochyta,[771]
Capriæ,[772] Leucosia,[773] and many others. On the other[774] side of
the Ligurian shore, and along the rest of the coast as far as the
Pillars, there are but few islands; the Gymnasiæ[775] and Ebusus[776]
are of this number. There are likewise but few islands along the coasts
of Libya and Sicily. We may mention however Cossura,[777] Ægimurus,[778]
and the Lipari Islands, likewise called the Islands of Æolus.

20. After Sicily and the straits on either side of it,[779] there are
other seas, for instance, that opposite the Syrtes and the
Cyrenaic,[780] the Syrtes themselves, and the sea formerly called the
Ausonian, but which, as it flows into and forms part of the Sea of
Sicily, is now included under the latter name. The sea opposite to the
Syrtes and the Cyrenaic is called the Libyan Sea; it extends as far as
the Sea of Egypt.

The Lesser Syrtes[781] is about 1600 stadia in circumference. On either
side of its mouth lie the islands of Meninx[782] and Kerkina. [783] The
Greater Syrtes[784] is (according to Eratosthenes) 5000 stadia in
circuit, and in depth 1800, from the Hesperides[785] to Automala,[786]
and the frontier which separates the Cyrenaic from the rest of Libya.
According to others, its circumference is only 4000 stadia, its depth
1500 stadia, and the breadth at its mouth the same.

The Sea of Sicily washes Italy, from the Strait of Rhegium[787] to
Locris,[788] and also the eastern coast of Sicily from Messene[789] to
Syracuse[790] and Pachynus. [791] On the eastern side it reaches to the
promontories of Crete, surrounds the greater part of Peloponnesus, and
fills the Gulf of Corinth. [792] On the north it advances to the Iapygian
Promontory,[793] the mouth of the Ionian Gulf,[794] the southern parts
of Epirus,[795] as far as the Ambracic Gulf,[796] and the continuation
of the coast which forms the Corinthian Gulf, near the Peloponnesus.

The Ionian Gulf forms part of what we now call the Adriatic. [797]
Illyria forms its right side, and Italy as far as the recess where
Aquileia is situated, the left.

The Adriatic stretches north and west; it is long and narrow, being in
length about 6000 stadia, and its greatest breadth 1200. There are many
islands situated here opposite the coasts of Illyria, such as the
Absyrtides,[798] Cyrictica,[799] and the Libyrnides,[800] also
Issa,[801] Tragurium,[802] the Black Corcyra,[803] and Pharos. [804]
Opposite to Italy are the Islands of Diomede. [805] The Sea of Sicily is
said to be 4500 stadia from Pachynus to Crete, and the same distance to
Tænarus in Laconia. [806] From the extremities of Iapygia to the bottom
of the Gulf of Corinth the distance is less than 3000 stadia, while from
Iapygia to Libya it is more than 4000. In this sea are the Islands of
Corcyra[807] and Sybota,[808] opposite the coasts of Epirus; and beyond
these, opposite the Gulf of Corinth, Cephallenia,[809] Ithaca,
Zacynth,[810] and the Echinades. [811]

21. Next to the Sea of Sicily, are the Cretan, Saronic,[812] and Myrtoan
Seas, comprised between Crete, Argia,[813] and Attica. [814] Their
greatest breadth, measured from Attica, is 1200 stadia, and their length
not quite double the distance. Within are included the Islands of
Cythera,[815] Calauria,[816] Ægina,[817] Salamis,[818] and certain of
the Cyclades. [819] Adjacent to these are the Ægæan Sea,[820] the Gulf of
Melas,[821] the Hellespont,[822] the Icarian and Carpathian Seas,[823]
as far as Rhodes, Crete, Cnidus, and the commencement of Asia. [In these
seas] are the Cyclades, the Sporades, and the islands opposite Caria,
Ionia, and Æolia, as far as the Troad, namely, Cos,[824] Samos,[825]
Chios,[826] Lesbos,[827] and Tenedos;[828] likewise on the Grecian side
as far as Macedonia and the borders of Thrace, Eubœa,[829] Scyros,[830]
Peparethus,[831] Lemnos,[832] Thasos,[833] Imbros,[834]
Samothracia,[835] and numerous others, of which it is our intention to
speak in detail. The length of this sea is about 4000 stadia, or rather
more,[836] its breadth about 2000. [837] It is surrounded by the coast
of Asia above mentioned, and by those of Greece from Sunium[838]
northwards to the Thermaic Gulf[839] and the Gulfs of Macedonia,[840]
and as far as the Thracian Chersonesus. [841]

22. Here too is the strait, seven stadia in length, which is between
Sestos[842] and Abydos,[843] and through which the Ægæan and Hellespont
communicate with another sea to the north, named the Propontis,[844] and
this again with another called the Euxine. This latter is, so to speak,
a double sea, for towards its middle are two projecting promontories,
one to the north, on the side of Europe, and the other opposite from the
coast of Asia, which leave only a narrow passage between them, and thus
form two great seas. The European promontory is named Criu-metopon;[845]
that of Asia, Carambis. [846] They are distant from each other about 2500
stadia. [847] The length of the western portion of this sea[848] from
Byzantium to the outlets of the Dnieper is 3800 stadia, its breadth
2000. Here is situated the Island of Leuca. [849] The eastern portion is
oblong and terminates in the narrow recess in which Dioscurias is
situated. In length it is 5000 stadia, or rather more, and in breadth
about 3000. The entire circumference of the Euxine is about 25,000
stadia. Some have compared the shape of its circumference to a Scythian
bow when bent, the string representing the southern portions of the
Euxine, (viz. the coast, from its mouth to the recess in which
Dioscurias is situated; for, with the exception of Carambis, the
sinuosities of the shore are but trifling, so that it may be justly
compared to a straight line,) and the remainder [of the circumference
representing] the wood of the bow with its double curve, the uppermost
very much rounded, the lower more in a straight line. So this sea forms
two gulfs, the western much more rounded than the other.

23. To the north of the eastern Gulf of the Pontus, is the Lake Mæotis,
whose perimeter is 9000 stadia or rather more. It communicates with the
Euxine by means of the Cimmerian Bosphorus,[850] and the Euxine with the
Propontis[851] by the Thracian Bosphorus, for such is the name given to
the Strait of Byzantium, which is four stadia in breadth. The length of
the Propontis from the Troad to Byzantium is stated to be 1500 stadia.
Its breadth is about the same. It is in this sea that the Island of the
Cyziceni[852] is situated, with the other islands around it.

24. Such and so great is the extent of the Ægæan Sea towards the
north. [853] Again, starting from Rhodes, the [Mediterranean] forms the
seas of Egypt, Pamphylia, and Issus, extending in an easterly direction
from Cilicia to Issus, a distance of 5000 stadia, along the coasts of
Lycia, Pamphylia, and the whole of Cilicia. From thence Syria, Phœnicia,
and Egypt surround the sea to the south and west as far as Alexandria.
The Island of Cyprus is situated in the Gulfs of Issus and Pamphylia,
close to the Sea of Egypt. The passage between Rhodes and Alexandria
from north [to south] is about 4000 stadia;[854] sailing round the
coasts it is double this distance. Eratosthenes informs us that,
although the above is the distance according to some mariners, others
avow distinctly that it amounts to 5000 stadia; while he himself, from
observations of the shadows indicated by the gnomon, calculates it at
3750.

That part of the Mediterranean Sea which washes the coasts of Cilicia
and Pamphylia together with the right side of the Euxine, the Propontis,
and the sea-coast beyond this as far as Pamphylia, form a kind of
extensive Chersonesus, the isthmus of which is also large, and reaches
from the sea near Tarsus[855] to the city of Amisus,[856] and thence to
the Themiscyran[857] plain of the Amazons. In fact the whole region
within this line as far as Caria and Ionia, and the nations dwelling on
this side the Halys,[858] is entirely surrounded by the Ægæan and the
aforementioned parts of the Mediterranean and Euxine Seas.