No More Learning

For he praises the opinions of Eratosthenes,
who says that Homer and the rest of the ancients were well versed in
every thing that related to Greece, but were in a state of considerable
ignorance as to places at a distance, in consequence of the
impossibility of their making long journeys by land or voyages by sea.
In support of this he asserts,[2621] that Homer designated Aulis as
‘rocky,’ as indeed it is; Eteonus as ‘mountainous and woody,’ Thisbe as
‘abounding in doves,’ Haliartus as ‘grassy;’ but that neither Homer nor
the others were familiar with localities far off; for although there are
forty rivers which discharge themselves into the Black Sea,[2622] he
makes no mention whatever even of the most considerable, as the
Danube,[2623] the Don,[2624] the Dnieper,[2625] the Bog,[2626] the
Phasz,[2627] the Termeh,[2628] the Kizil-Irmak,[2629] nor does [CAS.
298] he even allude to the Scythians, but makes up fables about certain
illustrious Hippemolgi, Galactophagi, and Abii. He had become acquainted
with the Paphlagonians of the interior from the relations of such as had
penetrated into those regions on foot, but he was perfectly unacquainted
with the sea-coasts of the country; which indeed was likely enough, for
that sea was in his time closed to navigation, and known by the name of
Pontus Axenus [or the Inhospitable] on account of the severity of the
storms to which it was subject, as well as of the savage disposition of
the nations who inhabited its shores, but more especially of the
Scythian hordes,[2630] who made a practice of sacrificing strangers,
devouring their flesh, and using their skulls for drinking-cups;
although at a subsequent period, when the Ionians had established cities
along its shores, it was called by the name of Pontus Euxinus [or the
Hospitable]. He was likewise in ignorance as to the natural
peculiarities of Egypt and Libya,[2631] as the risings of the Nile, and
the alluvial deposits, which he no where notices, nor yet the isthmus
[of Suez] which separates the Red Sea from the Egyptian Sea;[2632] nor
yet does he relate any particulars of Arabia, Ethiopia, or the Ocean,
unless we should agree with the philosopher Zeno in altering the Homeric
line as follows,

“I came to the Ethiopians, the Sidonians, and the Arabians. ”[2633]

Indeed we ought not to be surprised at meeting with this in Homer, for
those who have lived at a more recent period than he did, have been
ignorant of many things, and have told strange tales. Hesiod has talked
of _Hemicynes_,[2634] _Megalocephali_, and _Pygmies_; Alcman of
_Steganopodes_; Æschylus of _Cynocephali_, _Sternophthalmi_, and
_Monommati_, (they say it is in his Prometheus,) and ten thousand other
absurdities. From these he proceeds to censure the writers who talk of
the Riphæan Mountains[2635] and Mount Ogyium,[2636] and the dwelling of
the Gorgons[2637] and the Hesperides,[2638] the land of Meropis[2639]
mentioned by Theopompus, Cimmeris,[2640] a city mentioned in Hecatæus,
the land of Panchæa[2641] mentioned by Euhemerus, and the river-stones
formed of sand mentioned by Aristotle,[2642] which were dissolved by
rain-showers. Further, that there exists in Africa a city of Bacchus
which no one can find twice. He likewise reproves those who assert that
the wanderings of Ulysses mentioned in Homer were in the neighbourhood
of Sicily, for again, if we should say that the wanderings did take
place in those parts, we should have to confess that the poet
transferred them to the ocean for the sake of making his account the
more romantic. Some allowance might be made for others, but no manner of
excuse can be put forward for Callimachus, who pretends to the character
of a critic, and yet supposes that Gaudus was the island of Calypso, and
identifies Scheria with Corcyra. [2643] Other writers he blames for
misstatements as to Gerena,[2644] Acacesium,[2645] and [CAS. 299] the
Demus[2646] in Ithaca, Pelethronium[2647] in Pelium, and the Glaucopium
at Athens. [2648] With these and a few similar trifling observations,
most of which he has drawn from Eratosthenes, whose inaccuracy we have
before shown, he breaks off. However, we frankly acknowledge, both with
respect to him [Apollodorus] and Eratosthenes, that the moderns are
better informed on geography than the ancients: but to strain the
subject beyond measure, as they do, especially when they inculpate
Homer, seems to me as if it gave a fair occasion to any one to find
fault, and to say by way of recrimination, that they reproach the poet
for the very things of which they themselves are ignorant. As for the
rest of their observations, particular mention is made of some of them
in the places where they occur, and of others in the General
Introduction.

7. It has been our wish, while discoursing of the Thracians, and

“the bold
Close-fighting Mysian race, and where abide,
On milk sustain’d, and _blest with length of days_,
The Hippemolgi, justest of mankind,”[2649]

to compare what we have advanced with the remarks of Posidonius and the
other critics. Now, in the first place, they have universally proved the
very contrary of the allegations which they had undertaken to maintain;
for where they undertook to show that amongst the ancients there was a
greater amount of ignorance as to places far from Greece than there was
among the moderns, they have proved the very contrary, and that not only
with regard to the countries more remote, but even with respect to
Greece itself; but, as I have said before, let the other matters remain
in abeyance while we consider carefully the subject now before us. Thus
they say that it was through ignorance Homer and the ancients omitted to
speak of the Scythians, and their cruelty to strangers, whom they
sacrificed, devoured their flesh, and afterwards made use of their
skulls as drinking-cups, for which barbarities the sea was termed the
Axine,[2650] or inhospitable; but in place of these they imagined fables
as to illustrious Hippemolgi, Galactophagi, and Abii, the most just of
mankind, who never existed any where in this world. But how came it that
they named the sea the Axenus, if they were so ignorant of the barbarism
of that region, or of those savages who were the most barbarous on
earth? But these undoubtedly are the Scythians! Or in the early times
were not those who dwelt beyond the Mysians, and Thracians, and Getæ,
Hippemolgi, (or milkers of mares,) Galactophagi, and Abii? Nay rather,
they exist at this very day, being called Hamaxœci and Nomades, living
on the herd, milk and cheese, and especially on cheese made of mare’s
milk, and being ignorant how to lay up treasure or deal in merchandise,
except the simple barter of one commodity for another. How then can it
be said that the poet [Homer] knew nothing of the Scythians, since he
doubtless designates some of them by the names of Hippemolgi and
Galactophagi? And that the men of that [CAS. 300] time called these
people Hippemolgi even Hesiod is a witness in the words which
Eratosthenes has quoted:

“He went and saw the Ethiopians, the Ligurians,[2651] and the
Scythians, milkers of mares. ”

And when we consider the amount of fraud connected with trading
speculations even amongst ourselves, what ground have we to wonder that
Homer should have designated as the justest and most noble those who had
but few commercial and monetary transactions, and with the exception of
their swords and drinking-cups, possessed all things in common, and
especially their wives and children, who were cared for by the whole
community according to the system of Plato. Æschylus too seems to plead
the poet’s cause, when he says,

“But the Scythians, governed by good laws, and feeding on cheese
of mares’ milk. ”

And this is still the opinion entertained of them by the Greeks; for we
esteem them the most sincere, the least deceitful of any people, and
much more frugal and self-relying than ourselves. And yet the manner of
life customary among us has spread almost every where, and brought about
a change for the worse, effeminacy, luxury, and over-great refinement,
inducing extortion in ten thousand different ways; and doubtless much of
this corruption has penetrated even into the countries of the nomades,
as well as those of the other barbarians; for having once learnt how to
navigate the sea, they have become depraved, committing piracy and
murdering strangers; and holding intercourse with many different
nations, they have imitated both their extravagance and their dishonest
traffic, which may indeed appear to promote civility of manners, but do
doubtless corrupt the morals and lead to dissimulation, in place of the
genuine sincerity we have before noticed.

8. Those however who lived before our time, and more especially those
who lived near to the times of Homer, were such as he describes them,
and so they were esteemed to be by the Greeks. Take for instance what
Herodotus relates concerning the king[2652] of the Scythians, against
whom Darius waged war, and especially the answer he sent [to the
messenger of Darius]. Take again what Chrysippus relates of the kings
of the Bosphorus, [Satyrus[2653] and] Leuco. The letters of the Persians
are full of the sincerity I have described; so likewise are the
memorials of the Egyptians, Babylonians, and Indians. It was on this
account that both Anacharsis and Abaris, and certain others of the same
class, gained so great a reputation among the Greeks; for we may well
believe they displayed their national characteristics of affability of
manner, simplicity, and love of justice. But what occasion is there for
me to speak of such as belonged to the times of old? for Alexander [the
Great], the son of Philip, in his campaign against the Thracians beyond
Mount Hæmus,[2654] is said to have penetrated as far as this in an
incursion into the country of the Triballi, and observed that they
occupied the territory as far as the Danube and the island Peuce,[2655]
which is in it, and that the Getæ possessed the country beyond that
river; however, he was unable to pass into the island for want of a
sufficient number of ships, and because Syrmus, the king of the
Triballi, who had taken refuge in that place, resisted the undertaking:
but Alexander crossed over into the country of the Getæ and took their
city, after which he returned home in haste, carrying with him presents
from those nations, and also from Syrmus. Ptolemy, the son of Lagus,
relates that in this campaign the Kelts who dwell on the Adriatic[2656]
came to Alexander for the purpose of making a treaty of friendship and
mutual hospitality, and that the king received them in a friendly way,
and asked them, while drinking, what might be the chief object of their
dread, supposing that they would say it was he; but that they replied,
it was no man, only they felt some alarm lest the heavens should on some
occasion or other [CAS. 302] fall on them, but that they valued the
friendship of such a man as him above every thing. These examples
sufficiently manifest the open sincerity of the barbarians, both of the
one who would not suffer Alexander to land on the island, but
nevertheless sent presents and concluded a treaty of friendship with
him, and also of those who asserted that they feared no man, but that
they valued the friendship of great men above every price.

In like manner Dromichætes, who was king of the Getæ in the times of the
successors of Alexander, having taken captive Lysimachus, who had come
to wage war against him, showed him his poverty and that of his people,
and likewise their great frugality, bade him not to make war on such,
but rather seek them as friends; after which he received him as a guest,
made a treaty of friendship, and suffered him to depart. [2657] [*And
Plato, in his Republic,[2658] considers that the neighbourhood of the
sea ought to be shunned as being productive of vice, and that those who
would enjoy a well-governed city, should plant it very far from the sea,
and not near it. *][2659]

9. Ephorus, in the fourth book of his History, which is entitled “Of
Europe,” having gone over Europe as far as the Scythians, concludes by
saying that there is great difference in the manner of life both of the
Sauromatæ and the other Scythians, for while some of them are
exceedingly morose, and are indeed cannibals, others abstain even from
the flesh of animals. Other historians, he observes, descant upon their
ferocity, knowing that the terrible and the wonderful always excite
attention; but they ought also to relate the better features of these
people, and point to them as a pattern; for his part, he declares he
will speak of those who excel in the justness of their actions, as there
are some of the nomade Scythians who subsist on mares’ milk, and excel
all men in their justice, these are mentioned by the poets: as Homer,
where he says that Jupiter beheld the land

“Of the Galactophagi and Abii, justest of mankind;”[2660]

and Hesiod, in his poem entitled “Travels round the World,” who says
that Phineus was taken by the Harpies

“To the land of the Galactophagi, who have their dwellings
in waggons. ”

Ephorus then proceeds to state the causes of their justice, because they
are frugal in their mode of life, not hoarders of wealth, and just
towards each other; they possess everything in common, both their women,
their children, and the whole of their kin; thus when they come into
collision with other nations, they are irresistible and unconquered,
having no cause for which they need endure slavery. He then cites
Chœrilus, who in his “Passage of the Bridge of Boats,” which
Darius[2661] had made, says,

“And the sheep-feeding Sacæ, a people of Scythian race, but they
inhabited
Wheat-producing Asia: truly they were a colony of the nomades,
A righteous race. ”

And again Ephorus declares of Anacharsis, whom he designates as “The
Wise,” that he was sprung from that race; and that he was reckoned as
one of the Seven Sages, on account of his pre-eminent moderation and
knowledge. He asserts too that he was the inventor of the bellows, the
double-fluked anchor, and the potter’s wheel. [2662] I merely state this,
although I know very well that Ephorus is not at all times to be relied
on, especially when speaking of Anacharsis; (for how can the wheel be
his invention, with which Homer, who is anterior to him, was acquainted;
[who says],

“as when, before his wheel
Seated, the potter twirls it with both hands,” &c. ;[2663])

[CAS. 303] for I wish to show by these references, that there was a
general impression among both the ancients and moderns with regard to
the nomades, that some were very far removed from the rest of mankind,
that they subsisted on milk, and were very frugal,[2664] and the most
just of men, and that all this was not the mere invention of Homer.

10. It is but just too that Apollodorus should give some explanation
respecting the Mysians mentioned in the Epic poems of Homer, whether he
takes them to be but people of his feigning, when the poet says,

“Of the close-fighting Mysians and the illustrious Hippemolgi,”[2665]

or would he regard them as the Mysians of Asia? Now if he should declare
that he considers them to be those of Asia, he will misinterpret the
poet, as has been before observed; but if he should say they were but an
invention, as there were no Mysians in Thrace, he will be guilty of a
palpable misstatement, for even in our own times Ælius Catus has removed
from the opposite side of the Danube into Thrace fifty thousand Getæ,
who speak a language cognate with the Thracian. They still inhabit the
very spot, and pass by the name of Mœsi. Whether those of former times
were so designated, and had their name slightly varied in Asia, or, as
is more suitable to history and the poet’s expression, those in Thrace
were at the first called Mysians,[2666] is not certain. But enough of
this; we must now return to our geography.

11. Let us pass over the early history of the Getæ, and occupy ourselves
with their actual condition. Bœrebistas, one of the Getæ, having taken
the command of his tribe, reanimated the men who were disheartened by
frequent wars, and raised them to such a degree of training, sobriety,
and a habit of obedience to orders, that he established a powerful
dominion within a few years, and brought most of the neighbouring states
into subjection to the Getæ. He at length became formidable even to the
Romans, fearlessly crossing the Danube, and laying waste Thrace as far
as Macedonia and Illyria; he also subdued the Kelts who live among the
Thracians and Illyrians, and thoroughly annihilated the Boii who were
subject to Critasirus and the Taurisci. In order to maintain the
obedience of his subjects, he availed himself of the assistance of
Decæneus a sorcerer,[2667] who had travelled in Egypt, and who, by
predictions he had learnt to draw from certain natural signs, was
enabled to assume the character of an oracle, and was almost held in the
veneration of a god, as we have related when noticing Zamolxis. [2668] As
an instance of their implicit obedience, we may relate that they were
persuaded to root up their vines and live without wine. However,
Bœrebistas was murdered in a sedition before the Romans sent an army
against him. Those who succeeded to his government divided it into
several states. Lately, when Augustus Cæsar sent an army against them,
they were divided into five states, at another time they were four, for
such divisions are but temporary in duration, and variable in their
extent.

12. There was, from ancient times, another division of these people
which still exists; thus, some they call Dacians and others Getæ: the
Getæ extend towards the Euxine and the east, but the Dacians are
situated on the opposite side towards Germany and the sources of the
Danube,[2669] whom I consider to have been called Daci from a very early
period. Whence also amongst the Attics the names of Getæ and Davi were
customary for slaves. This at least is more probable than to consider
them as taken from the Scythians who are named Daæ,[2670] for they live
far beyond Hyrcania,[2671] and it is not likely that slaves would be
brought all that way into Attica. It was usual with them to call their
slaves after the name of the nation from whence they were brought, as
Lydus and Syrus,[2672] or else by a name much in use in their own
country, as, for a Phrygian, Manes or Midas; for a Paphlagonian, Tibius.
The nation which was raised to so much power by Bœrebistas has since
been completely reduced by [CAS. 304] civil dissensions and contests
with the Romans; however, they are still able to set out 40,000 men
armed for the wars.

13. The river Maros[2673] flows through their country into the
Danube,[2674] on which the Romans transported their military stores; for
thus they termed the upper part of that river from its sources to the
cataracts, which flows chiefly through the country of the Dacians, but
the part below that point which flows through the country of the Getæ as
far as the Black Sea, they call the Ister. [2675] The Dacians speak the
same language as the Getæ. The Getæ are best known among the Greeks on
account of the frequent wandering expeditions they make on both sides of
the Danube, and their being mixed among the Thracians and Mysians. The
like is the case with regard to the nation of the Triballi, a Thracian
people; for they have received many refugees on occasions when their
more powerful neighbours have driven out the weaker, for from time to
time the Scythians of the opposite side of the river, and the Bastarnæ,
and the Sarmatians,[2676] become victorious, and those who are driven
out cross over and some of them take up their residence either in the
islands of the river or in Thrace, while on the other side the
inhabitants are distressed by the Illyrians. At one time when the Getæ
and the Dacians had increased to the greatest numbers, they were able to
set on foot an army of two hundred thousand men, but now they are
reduced to about forty thousand men, and are even likely to become
subject to the Romans; still they are not yet quite under their sway on
account of their trust in the Germans, who are enemies to the Romans.

14. Between [the Getæ and] the Black Sea, from the Danube to the
Dniester,[2677] lies the desert of the Getæ. [2678] It is entirely a
plain and destitute of water. It was there that Darius the son of
Hystaspes, at the time he crossed the Danube, was in danger of being cut
off with his whole army for want of water; this he found out before it
was too late, and returned. At a subsequent period, when Lysimachus was
waging war against the Getæ and their king Dromichætes, he not only
incurred the risk,[2679] but he fell into the hands of the enemy; but
his life was spared by the courtesy of the barbarian, as I have before
related.

15. Near the mouths of the Danube is the large island called
Peuce. [2680] This the Bastarnæ possessed, and were hence called Peucini.
There are also other islands much smaller, some above this, and others
nearer the sea. The Danube has seven mouths, the largest is called the
Sacred Mouth,[2681] the passage by which to Peuce is 120 stadia. [2682]
At the lower part of this island Darius made his bridge. It might
likewise have been constructed at the upper part. This is the first
mouth on the left-hand side as you sail into the Black Sea; the rest are
passed while sailing along towards the Dniester; the seventh mouth is
distant from this first mouth about 300 stadia. These mouths form
several islands. The first three mouths next after the Sacred Mouth are
but small, the remainder are much less than it, but greater than any of
the three. Ephorus states that the Danube has five mouths. From hence to
the Dniester,[2683] which is a navigable river, there are 900
stadia. [2684] In the district intervening there are two great lakes; one
is open to the sea, and is used as a harbour,[2685] the other has no
outlet.

16. At the mouth of the Dniester there is a tower called the Tower of
Neoptolemus, and a village called Hermōnax. [2686] As you sail up the
river 140 stadia, there are cities on both sides; the one is
Niconia,[2687] and that on the left Ophiussa. [2688] Those who dwell on
the spot say that the city is but 120 stadia [CAS. 306] up the river.
The island of Leuce[2689] is distant from the river’s mouth a course of
500 stadia; it is quite in the sea, and is sacred to Achilles.

17. Next is the Dnieper,[2690] a river navigable to the distance of
600[2691] stadia, and near to it another river, the Bog,[2692] and an
island[2693] lying before the mouth of the Dnieper, which possesses a
haven. After sailing up the Borysthenes[2694] 200 stadia, you come to
the city of like name with the river, which is likewise called
Olbia;[2695] it is a great emporium and a foundation of the Milesians.
Of the region lying inland from the coast we have described between the
Dnieper and the Danube, the first portion is the Desert of the Getæ,
then comes the Tyregetæ, after them the Jazyges Sarmatæ, and the
Basilii, who are also called Urgi. [2696] Most of these people are
nomades. However, a few of them pay attention to agriculture. These are
said to inhabit the banks of the Danube, frequently even on both sides
of the river. In the inland the Bastarnæ dwell, and confine with the
Tyregetæ and the Germans; indeed, they may almost be said to be of the
German stock. They are divided into many tribes, as some are called
Atmoni, some Sidones, those who inhabit the island Peuce[2697] in the
Danube, Peucini, and the most northern, Roxolani. [2698] These latter
depasture the plains lying between the Don[2699] and the Dnieper.
Indeed the whole of the northern regions with which we are acquainted,
from Germany to the Caspian, is an extended plain. Whether any dwell
still farther than the Roxolani is unknown to us. However, the Roxolani
fought against the generals of Mithridates Eupator. Their leader was
Tasius. They came as allies of Palacus, the son of Scilurus, and were
considered good soldiers, but against the serried and well-armed phalanx
every barbarous and light-armed tribe is ineffective. Thus they,
although numbering fifty thousand men, could not withstand the six
thousand arrayed by Diophantus, the general of Mithridates, but were
almost all cut to pieces. They make use of helmets and breastplates made
of untanned ox-hide. They bear wicker shields; and as weapons, lances,
the bow, and the sword, such as most of the other barbarians do. The
woollen tents of the nomades are fixed upon their chariots, in which
they pass their lives. Their herds are scattered round their tents, and
they live on the milk, the cheese, and the meat which they supply. They
shift their quarters ever in search of pasture, changing the places they
have exhausted for others full of grass. In the winter they encamp in
the marshes near the Palus Mæotis,[2700] and in the summer on the
plains.

18. The whole of this country, which reaches to the sea-coast extending
from the Dnieper[2701] to the Palus Mæotis, is subject to severe
winters; so also are the most northern of the districts bordering on the
sea, as the mouth of the Palus Mæotis, and farther that of the Dnieper
and the head of the Gulf of Tamyraca, or Carcinites,[2702] which washes
the isthmus[2703] of the Magna Chersonesus. The intense cold of the
districts inhabited, notwithstanding their being plains, is manifest,
for they rear no asses, as that animal is too susceptible of cold; some
of their oxen are without horns by nature, of the others they file off
the horns, as a part most susceptible of injury from cold. Their horses
are diminutive and their sheep large. Their brazen vessels are split
with the frosts, and their contents frozen into a solid mass. However,
the rigour of the frosts may be best illustrated by the phænomena which
are [CAS. 307] common in the neighbourhood of the embouchure of the Palus
Mæotis;[2704] for the passage from Panticapæum,[2705] across to
Phanagoria,[2706] is at times performed in waggons, thus being both a
sea passage[2707] and an overland route [as the season may determine].
There are also fish which are taken in the ice by means of a round net
called a gangama, and especially a kind of sturgeon called
antacæus,[2708] nearly the size of a dolphin. It is related that
Neoptolemus, the general of Mithridates,[2709] defeated the barbarians
during summer-time in a naval engagement in this very strait, and during
the winter in a cavalry action. They say that about the Bosphorus the
vine is hidden away in the earth in winter, great mounds of mould being
piled over it [to preserve it from the frost]. They also report that the
heats are excessive, [this may be accounted for in several ways,]
perhaps men’s bodies not being accustomed to them, feel them the more;
perhaps the plains are at that time unrefreshed by winds; or perhaps the
thickness of the air is heated to a great degree, similar to the way in
which the misty air is affected in times when a parhelion is observed.

It appears that Ateas,[2710] who carried on war against Philip,[2711]
the son of Amyntas, had the rule over most of the barbarians of these
parts.

19. After the island[2712] situated opposite the mouth of the Dnieper,
in sailing towards the east, we arrive at the cape of the Course of
Achilles. [2713] The district is quite bare, notwithstanding that it is
termed a wood. It is sacred to Achilles. Then we arrive at the Course of
Achilles, a low peninsula; for it is a certain tongue of land about a
thousand stadia in length, running out towards the east, and its width
is but two stadia[2714] in the broadest part, and but four
plethra[2715] in the narrowest. It is distant from the mainland, which
runs out on both sides of the neck, about 60 stadia. It is sandy, but
water is obtainable by digging. About the midst of the Course of
Achilles[2716] is the neck of the isthmus [joining it to the mainland].
It is about 40 stadia in breadth, and terminates in a headland which
they call Tamyraca. [2717] This possesses an anchorage opposite the
mainland. Next comes the Gulf Carcinites, which is of considerable
extent, reaching towards the north[2718] about 1000 stadia. Some affirm
that it is three times that distance to the head of the gulf . . . are
called Taphrii. They likewise call the Gulf Carcinites the Gulf
Tamyraca, the same as the headland.




CHAPTER IV.


1. At the bottom of the bay (Carcinites) commences the isthmus[2719]
which separates the lake called Sapra, [or the Putrid Lake,] from the
sea; it is 40 stadia in width, and forms the [CAS. 308] Tauric or
Scythian Chersonese. [2720] This, according to some, is 360 stadia
across. The Putrid Lake[2721] is said to extend 4000 stadia (in
circumference), and forms part of the [Palus] Mæotis on its western
side, with which it communicates by a large opening. It abounds in
marshy tracts, and is scarcely navigable with “sewn”[2722] boats. The
shallower parts are soon uncovered, and again covered with water, by the
force of the wind; but the marsh will not bear boats of a deeper
draught. In the bay are three small islands; and in sailing along the
coast, some shallows are met with, and rocks which rise above water.

2. On the left in sailing out of the bay [Carcinites] there is a small
town and another harbour[2723] belonging to the people of the
Chersonese; for in coasting along the bay, there projects towards the
south a large promontory, which is a part of the great Chersonese. Upon
it stands a city of the Heracleotæ, who are a colony from Heraclea[2724]
in the Euxine; it bears the same name, Chersonesus, as the territory. It
is distant from the Dniester,[2725] in following the coast, 4400 stadia.
In this city is a temple of the Virgin, some goddess,[2726] after whom
the promontory, which is in front of the city, at the distance of 100
stadia, is called Parthenium. It has a shrine of the goddess and a
statue. Between the city[2727] and the promontory are three harbours;
next is the old city Chersonesus in ruins; then follows a harbour with a
narrow entrance. It was called Symbolon Limen, or Signal Harbour; and
here principally was carried on a system of piracy against those who
took refuge in the ports. This, together with another harbour, called
Ctenus,[2728] forms an isthmus of 40 stadia in extent. This isthmus
locks in the Smaller Chersonesus, which we said was a part of the Great
Chersonesus, having on it a city of the same name.

3. It was formerly governed by its own laws, but after it was ravaged by
barbarous nations, the inhabitants were obliged to elect as their
protector, Mithridates Eupator, who was anxious to direct his forces
against the barbarians who lived above the isthmus, and occupied the
country as far as the Dnieper and the Adriatic, and thus to prepare
himself against war with the Romans. Mithridates, with these views,
readily despatched an expedition into the Chersonesus, and carried on
war at the same time against the Scythians, Scilurus, and the sons of
Scilurus, namely, Palacus and his brothers, whom Posidonius reckons to
have been fifty, and Apollonides eighty, in number. By the subjugation
of these enemies he became at once master of the Bosporus, which
Pairisades, who held the command of it, voluntarily surrendered. From
that time to the present the city of the Chersonitæ has been subject to
the princes of the Bosporus.

Ctenus is equally distant from the city of the Chersonitæ, and from
Symbolon Limen. From Symbolon Limen the Tauric coast extends 1000 stadia
to the city Theodosia. [2729] The coast is rugged and mountainous, and
during the prevalence of the north winds, tempestuous. From this coast a
promontory projects far into the sea, and stretches out southwards
towards Paphlagonia, and the city Amastris. It is called Criu-metopon,
or Ram’s Head. Opposite to it is [CAS. 309] Carambis,[2730] the
promontory of the Paphlagonians. Criu-metopon and Carambis together form
a strait compressed between them, and divide the Euxine into two parts.
Carambis is distant from the city of the Chersonesus 2500 stadia, and
from Criu-metopon much less; for many persons who have sailed through
the strait say, that they saw both promontories at once. [2731]

In the mountainous district of the Tauri there is a hill called
Trapezus,[2732] of the same name as the city,[2733] which is near
Tibarania and Colchis. There is another hill also, the Kimmerium,[2734]
in the same mountainous district, for the Kimmerii were once sovereigns
of the Bosporus, and hence the whole of the strait at the mouth of the
[Palus] Mæotis is called the Kimmerian Bosporus.

4. After leaving the above-mentioned mountainous district, is the city
Theodosia, situated on a plain; the soil is fertile, and there is a
harbour capable of containing a hundred vessels. This formerly was the
boundary of the territory of the Bosporians and of the Tauri. Then
follows a fertile country extending to Panticapæum,[2735] the capital of
the Bosporians, which is situated at the mouth of the Palus
Mæotis. [2736] Between Theodosia[2737] and Panticapæum there is a tract
of about 530 stadia in extent. The whole country is corn-producing;
there are villages in it, and a city called Nymphæum, with a good
harbour.

Panticapæum is a hill inhabited all round for a circuit of 20 stadia. To
the east it has a harbour, and docks capable of containing about thirty
vessels; there is also an acropolis. It was founded by the Milesians.
Both this place and the neighbouring settlements on each side of the
mouth of the Palus Mæotis were for a long period under the monarchical
dynasty of Leucon, and Satyrus, and Pairisades, till the latter
surrendered the sovereignty to Mithridates. They had the name of
tyrants, although most of them were moderate and just in their
government, from the time of Pairisades and Leucon. Pairisades was
accounted even a god. The last sovereign, whose name was also
Pairisades, being unable to resist the barbarians, by whom great and
unusual tributes were exacted, surrendered the kingdom into the hands of
Mithridates. After him it became subject to the Romans. The greater
portion of it is situated in Europe, but a part of it is also situated
in Asia.

5. The mouth of the [Palus] Mæotis is called the Kimmerian Bosporus. The
entrance, which at the broadest part is about 70 stadia across, where
there is a passage from the neighbourhood[2738] of Panticapæum to
Phanagoria, the nearest city in Asia. The [Palus] Mæotis closes in an
arm of the sea which is much narrower. This arm of the sea and the
Don[2739] separate Europe from Asia. Then the Don flows from the north
opposite into the lake, and into the Kimmerian Bosporus. It discharges
itself into the lake by two mouths,[2740] which are distant from each
other about 60 stadia. There is also a city of the same name as the
river; and next to Panticapæum it is the largest mart belonging to the
barbarians.

On sailing into the Kimmerian Bosporus,[2741] on the left hand is
Myrmecium,[2742] a small city, 20 stadia from Panticapæum, and 40 stadia
from Parthenium;[2743] it is a village where is the narrowest entrance
into the lake, about 20 stadia in breadth; opposite to it is a village
situated in Asia, called Achilleum. Thence to the Don, and to the island
at its mouths, is a voyage in a direct line of 2200 stadia. The distance
is somewhat greater if the voyage is performed along the coast of Asia,
but taking the left-hand side, (in which direction the isthmus of the
Chersonese is fallen in with,) the distance is more than tripled. This
latter course is along the desert shore of Europe, but the [CAS. 311]
Asiatic side is not without inhabitants. The whole circumference of the
lake is 9000 stadia.

The Great Chersonesus resembles Peloponnesus both in figure and size.
The kings of the Bosporus possess it, but the whole country has been
devastated by continual wars. They formerly possessed a small tract only
at the mouth of the [Palus] Mæotis near Panticapæum, extending as far as
Theodosia. The largest part of the territory, as far as the isthmus and
the Gulf Carcinites, was in possession of the Tauri, a Scythian nation.
The whole of this country, comprehending also a portion on the other
side of the isthmus as far as the Dnieper, was called Little Scythia. In
consequence of the number of people who passed from thence across the
Dniester and the Danube, and settled there, no small part of that
country also bore the name of Little Scythia. The Thracians surrendered
a part of it to superior force, and a part was abandoned on account of
the bad quality of the ground, a large portion of which is marshy.

6. Except the mountainous tract of the Chersonesus on the sea-coast,
extending as far as Theodosia, all the rest consist of plains, the soil
of which is rich, and remarkably fertile in corn. It yields thirty-fold,
when turned up by the most ordinary implements of husbandry. The tribute
paid to Mithridates by the inhabitants, including that from the
neighbourhood of Sindace in Asia, amounted to 180,000 medimni of corn,
and 200 talents of silver. The Greeks in former times imported from this
country corn, and the cured fish of Palus Mæotis. Leucon is said to have
sent to the Athenians 2,100,000 medimni of corn from Theodosia. [2744]

The name of Georgi, or husbandmen, was appropriately given to these
people, to distinguish them from the nations situated above them, who
are nomades, and live upon the flesh of horses and other animals, on
cheese of mares’ milk, milk, and sour milk. The latter, prepared in a
peculiar manner, is a delicacy. [2745] Hence the poet designates all the
nations in that quarter as Galactophagi, milk-eaters.

The nomades are more disposed to war than to robbery. The occasion of
their contests was to enforce the payment of tribute. They permit those
to have land who are willing to cultivate it. In return for the use of
the land, they are satisfied with receiving a settled and moderate
tribute, not such as will furnish superfluities, but the daily
necessaries of life. If this tribute is not paid, the nomades declare
war. Hence the poet calls these people both just, and miserable,
(Abii,)[2746] for if the tribute is regularly paid, they do not have
recourse to war. Payment is not made by those, who have confidence in
their ability to repel attacks with ease, and to prevent the incursion
of their enemies. This course was pursued, as Hypsicrates relates, by
Asander, who fortified on the isthmus of the Chersonesus, at the Palus
Mæotis, a space of 360 stadia, and erected towers at the distance of
every 10 stadia. [2747]

The Georgi (husbandmen) are considered to be more civilized and mild in
their manners than the other tribes in this quarter, but they are
addicted to gain. They navigate the sea, and do not abstain from piracy,
nor from similar acts of injustice and rapacity.

7. Besides the places in the Chersonesus already enumerated, there are
the fortresses Palacium, and Chabum, and Neapolis,[2748] which Scilurus
and his sons constructed, from which they sallied out against the
generals of Mithridates.

There was also a fortress called Eupatorium, built by Diophantus, one of
the generals of Mithridates. [2749]

[CAS. 312] There is a promontory, distant about 15 stadia from the wall
of Chersonesus, which forms a large bay, which bends towards the city.
Above this bay is a sea-lake, where there are salt pits. Here was the
harbour Ctenus. The generals of the king, in order to strengthen their
means of resistance in case of siege, stationed a garrison on the
above-mentioned promontory, which was further protected by a
fortification. The mouth of the Gulf was closed by an embankment which
extended to the city, and was easily traversed on foot. The garrison and
the city were thus united. The Scythians were afterwards easily
repulsed. They attacked that part of the wall built across the isthmus
which touches upon Ctenus, and filled the ditch with straw. The kind of
bridge thus formed by day, was burnt at night by the king’s generals,
who continued their resistance and defeated the enemy. At present the
whole country is subject to whomsoever the Romans may appoint as king of
the Bosporus.

8. It is a custom peculiar to all the Scythian and Sarmatian tribes, to
castrate their horses, in order to make them more tractable, for
although they are small, yet they are spirited, and difficult to manage.
Stags and wild boars are hunted in the marshes, and wild asses and
roes[2750] in the plains. It is a peculiarity of this country, that no
eagles are to be found in it. Among the quadrupeds there is an animal
called Colus, in size between a deer and a ram; it is white, and swifter
in speed than either of those animals. It draws up water into the head
through the nostrils; from this store it can supply itself for several
days, and live without inconvenience in places destitute of water.

Such is the nature of the whole of the country beyond the Danube, lying
between the Rhine and the Don, and extending as far as the Pontic Sea
and the Palus Mæotis.




CHAPTER V.


1. There remains to be described that part of Europe included between
the Danube and the sea which surrounds it, beginning from the inner
recess of the Adriatic, and extending to the Sacred mouth of the Danube.

This part contains Greece, Macedonia, Epirus, and the people who live
above them, extending to the Danube and to the two seas (the Adriatic
and the Euxine Sea) on each side. On the Adriatic are the Illyrians; on
the Euxine Sea, as far as the Propontis[2751] and Hellespont, are the
Thracians, and the Scythian or Keltic tribes intermixed with them. We
must begin from the Danube, and treat of the countries which follow next
in order to those already described, that is to say, the parts
contiguous to Italy, the Alps, the Germans, the Dacians, and the Getæ.

These may be divided into two parts. For the mountains of Illyria,
Pæonia, and Thrace, may be considered as forming, as it were, a single
line, parallel to the Danube, and extending from the Adriatic to the
Euxine. To the north of this line is the country included between the
Danube and the mountains. To the south is Greece and the barbarous tract
contiguous to these mountains.

Near the Euxine Sea is Mount Hæmus,[2752] the largest and the highest of
the mountains in that quarter, and divides Thrace nearly in the middle.
According to Polybius, both seas may be seen from this mountain; but he
is mistaken, for the distance to the Adriatic is considerable, and many
things obstruct the view.

Almost the whole of Ardia[2753] lies near the Adriatic, Pæonia is in the
middle, and all this country consists of elevated ground. On the side
towards Thrace, it is bounded by Rhodope,[2754] a mountain next in
height to Hæmus; on the other side to the north is Illyria, and the
country of the Autariatæ,[2755] and Dardania. [2756]

I shall first describe Illyria, which approaches close to the Danube,
and to the Alps which lie between Italy and Germany, [CAS. 314] taking
their commencement from the lake in the territory of the Vindelici,
Rhæti, and Helvetii. [2757]

2. The Daci depopulated a part of this country in their wars with the
Boii and Taurisci, Keltic tribes whose chief was Critasirus. The Daci
claimed the country, although it was separated from them by the river
Parisus,[2758] which flows from the mountains to the Danube, near the
Galatæ Scordisci, a people who lived intermixed with the Illyrian and
the Thracian tribes. The Illyrians were destroyed by the Daci, while the
Scordisci were frequently their allies.

The rest of the country as far as Segestica,[2759] and the Danube,
towards the north and east, is occupied by Pannonii, but they extend
farther in an opposite direction. The city Segestica, belonging to the
Pannonii, is situated at the confluence of several rivers, all of which
are navigable. It is in a convenient situation for carrying on war
against the Daci, for it lies at the foot of the Alps, which extend to
the Iapodes,[2760] a mixed Keltic and Illyrian tribe. Thence also flow
the rivers by which is conveyed to Segestica a great quantity of
merchandise, and among the rest, commodities from Italy. The distance
from Aquileia to Nauportus,[2761] a settlement of the Taurisci, across
the mountain Ocra,[2762] is 350, or, according to some writers, 500
stadia. Merchandise is transported to Nauportus in waggons. The Ocra is
the lowest part of the Alps, which extend from Rhætica to the Iapodes,
where the mountains rise again, and are called Albii. From
Tergeste,[2763] a village of the Carni,[2764] there is a pass across and
through the Ocra to a marsh called Lugeum. [2765] A river, the Corcoras,
flows near Nauportus, and conveys the merchandise from that place. It
discharges itself into the Save, and this latter river into the
Drave; the Drave again into the Noarus at Segestica. Here the Noarus,
having received the Colapis[2766] as it descends in its full stream from
the mountain Albius through the Iapodes, enters the Danube among the
Scordisci. The navigation on the rivers is in general towards the north.
The journey from Tergeste to the Danube is about 1200 stadia. Near
Segestica is Siscia, a strong-hold, and Sirmium, both situated on the
road to Italy.

3. The Breuci, Andizetii, Ditiones, Peirustæ, Mazæi, Daisitiatæ, whose
chief was Baton, and other small obscure communities, which extend to
Dalmatia, and almost to the Ardiæi to the south, are Pannonians. The
whole mountainous tract from the recess of the Adriatic bay to the
Rhizonic gulf,[2767] and to the territory of the Ardiæi, intervening
between the sea and Pannonia, forms the coast of Illyria.

Here perhaps we ought to begin an uninterrupted account of these places,
after a short repetition.

In describing Italy we said, that the Istri were the first nation on the
Illyrian coast, contiguous to Italy and to the Carni, and that the
present government had advanced the limits of Italy to Pola,[2768] a
city of Istria. These limits are distant about 800 stadia from the
recess of the bay. It is the same distance from the promontory in front
of Pola to Ancon,[2769] keeping Henetica[2770] on the right hand. The
whole voyage along the coast of Istria is 1300 stadia.

4. Next is the voyage along the coast of the Iapodes, 1000 stadia in
extent. The Iapodes are situated on Mount Albius, which is the
termination of the Alps, and is of very great height. They reach in one
direction to the Pannonii and the Danube, and in another to the
Adriatic. They are a warlike people, but were completely subdued by
Augustus. Their cities are Metulum, Arupinum, Monetium, Vendum. [2771]
The country is poor, and the inhabitants live chiefly upon spelt and
millet. [2772] Their armour is after the Keltic fashion. Their bodies are
punctured, like those of the other Illyrian and Thracian people.

[CAS. 315] After the coast of the Iapodes follows that of Liburnia,
exceeding the former by 500 stadia. On this coast is Scardon,[2773] a
Liburnian city, and a river,[2774] which is navigable for vessels of
burden as far as the Dalmatæ.

5. Islands are scattered along the whole of the above-mentioned coast;
among them are the Apsyrtides, where Medea is said to have killed her
brother Apsyrtus, who was pursuing her.

Near the Iapodes is Cyrictica,[2775] then the Liburnian islands, about
forty in number; other islands follow, of which the best known are Issa,
Tragurium, founded by Isseans; Pharos, formerly Paros, founded by
Parians, the birth-place of Demetrius, the Pharian; then the coast of
the Dalmatæ and their naval arsenal, Salon. [2776] This nation was for a
long time at war with the Romans. They had fifty considerable
settlements, some of which were in the rank of cities, as Salon,
Priomon, Ninias, and the old and new Sinotium. Augustus burnt them down.
There is also Andetrium, a strong fortress, and Dalmatium, a large city,
of the same name as the nation. Scipio Nasica greatly reduced its size,
and converted the plain into a pasture for sheep, on account of the
disposition of the people to rob and pillage.

It is a custom peculiar to the Dalmatæ to make a partition of their
lands every eighth year. They do not use money, which is a peculiarity
also when compared with the habits of the other inhabitants of this
coast; but this is common among many other tribes of barbarians.

The mountain Adrion divides Dalmatia into two parts, one of which is on
the sea, the other forms the opposite side of the mountain. Then follow
the river Naron, and the people in the neighbourhood, the Daorizi,
Ardiæi, and Pleræi. [2777] Near the former lies the island Black
Corcyra,[2778] on which is a city founded by the Cnidians. Near the
Ardiæi is Pharos, formerly called Paros, for it was founded by Parians.

6. Later writers call the Ardiæi, Vardæi. [2779] The Romans drove them
into the interior from the sea-coast, which was infested by their
piracies, and compelled them to cultivate the ground; but as the country
was rugged and barren, and not adapted to husbandry, the nation was
entirely ruined and nearly extinguished. The same happened to other
neighbouring nations. People formerly very powerful are extinct, or were
reduced to the lowest condition, as the Boii and Scordisci among the
Galatæ; the Autariatæ, Ardiæi, and Dardanii, among the Illyrians; and
the Triballi among the Thracians. They first declined in consequence of
disputes amongst themselves, but were finally prostrated by wars with
the Macedonians and Romans.

7. After the termination of the coast of the Ardiæi and Pleræi is the
bay of the Rhizæi, a city Rhizon,[2780] other small towns, and the river
Drilon,[2781] which may be navigated up its stream towards the east as
far as Dardanica. This country is situated close to the Macedonian and
Pæonian nations, towards the south, as also the Autariatæ and the
Dasaretii are in parts contiguous to one another [and to the
Autariatæ]. [2782] To the Dardaniatæ belong the Galabrii,[2783] in whose
territory is an ancient city; and the Thunatæ, who approach on the east
close to the Mædi,[2784] a Thracian tribe.

The Dardanii are entirely a savage people, so much so that they dig
caves beneath dung heaps, in which they dwell; yet they are fond of
music, and are much occupied in playing upon pipes and on stringed
instruments. They inhabit the inland parts of the country, and we shall
mention them again in another place.

8. After the bay of Rhizon[2785] is Lissus,[2786] a city,
Acrolissus,[2787] and Epidamnus, the present Dyrrhachium,[2788] founded
by Corcyræans, and bearing the name of the peninsula on which it [CAS.
316] is situated. Then follow the rivers Apsus[2789] and the Aous,[2790]
on the banks of which is situated Apollonia,[2791] a city governed by
excellent laws. It was founded by Corinthians and Corcyræans, and is
distant from the river 10, and from the sea 60, stadia. Hecatæus calls
the Aous, Aïas, and says that from the same place, or rather from the
same sources about Lacmus,[2792] the Inachus flows southward, to
Argos,[2793] and the Aïas westward, into the Adriatic.

In the territory of the Apolloniatæ there is what is called a Nymphæum.
It is a rock which emits fire. Below it are springs flowing with hot
water and asphaltus. The earth containing the asphaltus is probably in a
state of combustion. The asphaltus is dug out of a neighbouring hill;
the parts excavated are replaced by fresh earth, which after a time are
converted into asphaltus. This account is given by Posidonius, who says
also, that the ampelitis, an asphaltic earth found in the Pierian
Seleucia,[2794] is a remedy for the lice which infest the vine. If the
vine is smeared with this earth mixed with oil, the insects are killed
before they ascend from the root to the branches. This earth, but it
required for use a larger quantity of oil, he says was found at Rhodes
also, while he held there the office of Prytanes.

Next to Apollonia is Bylliace (Bullis) and Oricum,[2795] with its naval
arsenal, Panormus, and the Ceraunian mountains, which form the
commencement of the entrance of the Ionian and Adriatic Gulfs.

9. The mouth is common to both; but this difference is to be observed,
that the name Ionian[2796] is applied to the first part of the gulf
only, and Adriatic to the interior sea up to the farthest end, but the
name Adriatic is now applied to the whole sea. According to Theopompus,
the name Ionian was derived from a chief (Ionius) of that country, a
native of Issa; and the name Adriatic from a river, Adrias. [2797]

From the Liburni to the Ceraunian mountains is a distance of a little
more than 2000 stadia. But Theopompus says, that it is six days’ sail
from the farthest recess of the bay, but a journey of thirty days by
land along the length of Illyria. This appears to me an exaggeration,
but he makes many incredible statements. Among other instances, he
pretends that there is a subterraneous passage between the Adriatic and
the Ægean Seas, grounding his opinion on the discovery of Chian and
Thasian pottery in the river Naron. [2798] The two seas, he says, may be
seen from some pretended mountain. He describes the Liburnian islands as
occupying a position so extensive as to form a circle of 500 stadia.
According to him, the Danube discharges itself by one of its mouths into
the Adriatic. [2799] Similar mistakes are to be found in Eratosthenes,
which Polybius, when speaking of him and other writers, describes as
having their origin in vulgar error. [2800]

10. On the coast of Illyria, along its whole extent, and in the
neighbouring islands, there are numerous excellent harbours, contrary to
what occurs on the opposite Italian coast, where there are none. As in
Italy, however, the climate is warm, and the soil productive of fruits;
olives also and vines grow readily, except in some few excessively
rugged places. Although Illyria possesses these advantages, it was
formerly neglected, through ignorance, perhaps, of its fertility; but it
was principally avoided on account of the savage manners of the
inhabitants, and their piratical habits.

The region situated above the sea-coast is mountainous, cold, and at
times covered with snow. The northern part is still colder, so that
vines are rarely to be met with either in the hills or in the plains
lower down. These mountain-plains are in the possession of the
Pannonians, and extend towards the south as far as the Dalmatians and
Ardiæi. They terminate towards the north at the Ister, and approach
towards [CAS. 317] the east close to the Scordisci, who live near the
Macedonian and Thracian mountains.

11. The Autariatæ were the most populous and the bravest tribe of the
Illyrians. Formerly, there were continual disputes between them and the
Ardiæi respecting the salt which was spontaneously formed on the
confines of their respective territories, in the spring season, from
water which flows through a valley. The salt concreted five days after
the water was drawn and deposited in reservoirs. The right of collecting
salt was, by agreement, to be exercised alternately by each party, but
the compact was broken and war was the consequence. After the Autariatæ
had subdued the Triballi, a people whose territory extended a journey of
fifteen days, from the Agrianæ to the Danube, they became masters of the
Thracians and Illyrians. The Autariatæ were first conquered by the
Scordisci, and afterwards by the Romans, who overpowered the Scordisci,
for a long time a powerful nation.

12. This people inhabited the country on the banks of the Danube, and
were divided into two tribes, the Great and the Little Scordisci. [2801]
The former occupied the space between two rivers, which empty themselves
into the Danube, the Noarus,[2802] which runs beside Segestica, and the
Margus, or, as some call it, Bargus. The Little Scordisci lived beyond
this river close to the Triballi and Mysi. [2803] The Scordisci possessed
some of the islands also. They increased so much in strength and numbers
as to advance even to the Illyrian, Pæonian, and Thracian confines. Most
of the islands on the Danube fell into their hands, and they possessed
the cities Heorta and Capedunum. [2804]

Next to the territory of the Scordisci, lying along the banks of the
Danube, is the country of the Triballi and Mysi, whom we have before
mentioned; we have also spoken of the marshes[2805] of the Lesser
Scythia on this side the Danube. This nation, and the Crobyzi, and the
nation called Troglodytæ, live above the districts in which are situated
Callatis, Tomis, and Ister. [2806] Next are the people about the Mount
Hæmus, and those who live at its foot, extending as far as the Pontus,
Coralli, and Bessi, and some tribes of Mædi and of Dantheletæ. All these
nations are very much addicted to robbery. The Bessi possess far the
greatest part of Mount Hæmus, and are called Robbers from their mode of
life as freebooters.