The whole of Thrace is
composed
of twenty-two nations.
Strabo
He was a Cicon (of the tribe of the Cicones) and was
a diviner. At first he drew people about him by the practice of music
and witchcraft, and by the introduction of mysterious ceremonies in
religious worship. After a time, obtaining a greater degree of
self-importance, he collected a multitude of followers, and acquired
influence. He had many willing followers, but becoming suspected by a
few of entertaining secret designs, and of an intention of taking
forcible possession of power, he was attacked by them and put to death.
Near this place is Libethra. E.
19. Anciently diviners practised the art of music. EPIT.
20. After Dium follow the mouths of the Haliacmon; then Pydna, Methone,
Alorus, and the rivers Erigon and Ludias. The Ludias flows from
Triclari, through the Oresti and the Pellæan country (Pelagonia):
leaving the city on the left it falls into the Axius. The Ludias is
navigable up the stream to Pella 120 stadia. Methone is situated in the
middle, about 40 stadia distant from Pydna, and 70 stadia from Alorus.
Alorus is situated in the farthest recess of the Thermæan Gulf. It was
called Thessalonica on account of the splendid [victory obtained over
the Thessalians]. Alorus is considered as belonging to Bottiæa and Pydna
to Pieria. Pella is in Lower Macedonia, which was in possession of the
Bottiæi. Here was formerly the Macedonian Treasury. Philip, who was
brought up in this place, raised it from an inconsiderable city to some
importance. It has a citadel situated on a lake called Ludias. From this
lake issues the river Ludias, which is filled by a branch of the Axius.
The Axius discharges itself between Chalastra and Therma. Near this
river is a fortified place, now called Abydos; Homer calls it Amydon,
and says that the Pæonians came from hence to assist the Trojans during
the siege of Troy.
“From afar, from Amydon, from Axius’ wide stream. ”
It was razed by the Argeadæ. E.
21. The water of the Axius is turbid. Homer, however, says that the
water is “most beautiful,” probably on account of a spring called Æa
which runs into it, the water of which is of surpassing clearness. This
is sufficient to prove that the present reading in the poem is
erroneous. After the Axius is the Echedorus,[2891] 20 stadia distant.
Then Thessalonica, founded by Cassander, 40 stadia farther on, and the
Egnatian Way. He named the city after his wife Thessalonice, the
daughter of Philip Amyntas, and pulled down nearly 26 cities in the
district of Crucis, and on the Thermæan Gulf, collecting the inhabitants
into one city. It is the metropolis of the present Macedonia. The cities
transferred to Thessalonica were Apollonia, Chalastra, Therma, Garescus,
Ænea, and Cissus. Cissus, it is probable, belonged to Cisseus, who is
mentioned by the poet. “Cisseus educated him,” meaning Iphidamas. E.
22. After the city Drium is the river Haliacmon, which discharges itself
into the Thermæan Gulf. From hence to the river Axius the sea-coast on
the north of the gulf bears the name of Pieria, on which is situated the
city Pydna, now called Citrum. Then follow Methone and the river Alorus;
then the rivers Erigon and Ludias. From Ludias to the city Pella the
river is navigated upwards to the distance of 20 stadia. Methone is
distant from Pydna 40 stadia, and 70 stadia from Alorus. Pydna is a
Pierian, Alorus a Bottiæan city. In the plain of Pydna the Romans
defeated Perseus, and put an end to the Macedonian empire. In the plain
of Methone, during the siege of the city, Philip Amyntas accidentally
lost his right eye by an arrow discharged from a catapult. EPIT.
23. Philip, who was brought up at Pella, formerly a small city, much
improved it. In front of the city is a lake, out of which flows the
river Ludias. The lake is supplied by a branch of the river Axius. Next
follows the Axius, which separates the territory of Bottiæa and
Amphaxitis, and after receiving the river Erigon, issues out between
Chalestra and Therme. On the river Axius is a place which Homer calls
Amydon, and says that the Pæones set out thence as auxiliaries to Troy:
“From afar, from Amydon, from Axius’ wide stream. ”
The Axius is a turbid river, but as a spring of clearest water rises in
Amydon, and mingles with the Axius, some have altered the line
Ἀξιοῦ, οὗ κάλλιστον ὕδωρ ἐπικίδναται Αἶαν,
“Axius, whose fairest water o’erspreads Æa,”
to
Ἀξιοῦ, ᾧ κάλλιστον ὕδωρ ἐπικίδναται Αἴης.
“Axius, o’er whom spreads Æa’s fairest water. ”
For it is not the “fairest water” which is diffused over the spring, but
the “fairest water” of the spring which is diffused over the
Axius. [2892] EPIT.
24. After the river Axius is the city Thessalonica, formerly called
Therma. It was founded by Cassander, who called it after the name of his
wife, a daughter of Philip Amyntas. He transferred to it the small
surrounding cities, Chalastra, Ænea, Cissus, and some others. Probably
from this Cissus came Iphidamas, mentioned in Homer, “whose grandfather
Cisseus educated him,” he says, “in Thrace,” which is now called
Macedonia. EPIT.
25. Somewhere in this neighbourhood is the mountain Bermius,[2893] which
was formerly in the possession of the Briges, a Thracian nation, some of
whom passed over to Asia and were called by another name, Phrygians
(Phryges). After Thessalonica follows the remaining part of the Thermæan
Gulf,[2894] extending to Canastræum. [2895] This is a promontory of a
peninsula form, and is opposite to Magnesia. Pallene is the name of the
peninsula. It has an isthmus 5 stadia in width, with a ditch cut across
it. There is a city on the peninsula, formerly called Potidæa,[2896]
founded by the Corinthians, but afterwards it was called Cassandria,
from king Cassander, who restored it after it was demolished. It is a
circuit of 570 stadia round the peninsula by sea. Here giants were said
to have lived, and the region to have been called Phlegra. Some consider
this to be a mere fable, but others, with greater probability on their
side, see implied in it the existence of a barbarous and lawless race of
people who once occupied the country, but who were destroyed by Hercules
on his return home, after the capture of Troy. Here also the Trojan
women are said to have committed the destructive act of burning the
ships, to avoid becoming the slaves of their captors’ wives. E.
26. The city Berœa[2897] lies at the roots of Mount Bermius. EPIT.
27. Pallene is a peninsula. On the isthmus of Pallene lies what was once
Potidæa, but now Cassandra. It was formerly called Phlegra, and was
inhabited by the fabulous giants, an impious and lawless race, who were
destroyed by Hercules. It has upon it four cities, Aphytis, Mende,
Scione, and Sana. EPIT.
28. Olynthus is distant from Potidæa 70 stadia. E.
29. The arsenal of Olynthus is Mecyberna, on the Toronæan Gulf. EPIT.
30. Near Olynthus is a hollow tract called Cantharolethron, from an
accidental circumstance. The Cantharus, (the beetle,) which is bred in
the surrounding country, dies as soon as it touches this tract. EPIT.
31. Next after Cassandria is the remaining part of the sea-coast of the
Toronæan Gulf, as far as Derris. It is a promontory opposite the
district of Canastrum, and forms a gulf. Opposite to Derris, to the
east, are the promontories of Athos; between them is the Singitic Gulf,
which receives its name from an ancient city in it, Singus, now
destroyed. Next is the city Acanthus, situated on the isthmus of
Athos,[2898] founded by the Andrii; whence, by many, it is called the
Acanthian Gulf. E.
32. Opposite to Canastrum, a promontory of Pallene, is the promontory
Derris, near Cophus-Limen [or Deaf Harbour]: these form the boundaries
of the Toronæan Gulf. Again, towards the east lies the promontory of
Athos, [Nymphæum,] which bounds the Singitic Gulf. Then follow one
another the gulfs of the Ægean Sea, towards the north, in this order:
the Maliac,[2899] the Pagasitic,[2900] the Thermæan,[2901] the
Toronæan,[2902] the Singitic,[2903] and the Strymonic. [2904] The
promontories are these: Posidium,[2905] situated between the Maliac and
Pegasitic Gulfs; next in order, towards the north, Sepias;[2906] then
Canastrum[2907] in Pallene; then Derris;[2908] next Nymphæum[2909] in
Athos, on the Singitic Gulf; Acrathos,[2910] the promontory on the
Strymonic Gulf; between them is Athos, to the east of which is Lemnos.
Neapolis[2911] bounds the Strymonic Gulf towards the north. EPIT.
33. The city Acanthus, on the Singitic Gulf, is a maritime city near the
Canal of Xerxes. There are five cities in Athos; Dium, Cleonæ, Thyssos,
Olophyxis, Acrothoi, which is situated near the summit of Athos. Mount
Athos is pap-shaped, very pointed, and of very great height. Those who
live upon the summit see the sun rise three hours before it is visible
on the sea-shore. The voyage round the peninsula, from the city Acanthus
to the city Stagirus, the birth-place of Aristotle, is 400 stadia. It
has a harbour called Caprus, and a small island of the same name. Then
follow the mouths of the Strymon; then Phagres, Galepsus, and Apollonia,
all of them cities; then the mouth of the Nestus, which is the boundary
of Macedonia and Thrace, as settled, in their own times, by Philip and
Alexander his son. There are about the Strymonic Gulf other cities also,
as Myrcinus, Argilus, Drabescus, and Datum, which has an excellent and
most productive soil, dockyards for ship-building, and gold mines;
whence the proverb, “A Datum of good things,” like to the proverb,
“Piles of plenty. ”[2912] EPIT.
34. There are numerous gold mines among the Crenides, where the city of
Philip now stands, near Mount Pangæus. Pangæus itself, and the country
on the east of the Strymon, and on the west as far as Pæonia, contains
gold and silver mines. Particles of gold, it is said, are found in
Pæonia in ploughing the land. EPIT.
35. Mount Athos is pap-shaped, and so lofty that the husbandmen on the
summit are already weary of their labour, the sun having long since
risen to them, when to the inhabitants of the shore it is the beginning
of cockcrowing. Thamyris, the Thracian, was king of this coast, and
followed the same practices as Orpheus. Here also, at Acanthus, is seen
the canal, which Xerxes is said to have made, and through which he is
said to have brought the sea from the Strymonic Gulf, across the
isthmus. Demetrius of Skepsis is of opinion that this canal was not
navigable; for, says he, the ground is composed of deep earth, and
admits of being dug for a distance of 10 stadia only: the canal is a
plethrum in width; then follows a high, broad, and flat rock, nearly a
stadium in length, which prevents excavation throughout the whole
distance to the sea. And even if the work could be carried on so far
across, yet it could not be continued to a sufficient depth, so as to
present a navigable passage. Here Alexarchus, the son of Antipater,
built the city Uranopolis, 30 stadia in circumference.
This peninsula was inhabited by Pelasgi from Lemnos; they were
distributed into five small cities, Cleonæ, Olophyxis, Acrothoi, Dium,
Thyssos. After Athos comes the Strymonic Gulf, extending to the river
Nestus, which forms the boundary of Macedonia, as settled by Philip and
Alexander. Accurately speaking, there is a promontory forming a gulf
with Athos, on which is the city Apollonia. First in the gulf, after the
harbour of Acanthus, is Stagira, now deserted: it was one of the
Chalcidic cities, and the birth-place of Aristotle. Caprus was the
harbour, and there is a small island of the same name. Then comes the
Strymon, and Amphipolis, at the distance of 20 stadia up the river. In
this part is situated an Athenian colony, called Ennea-Odoi (the
Nine-Ways). Then Galepsus and Apollonia, which were destroyed by Philip.
E.
36. He says, it is 120 stadia (300? ) from the Peneus to Pydna. On the
sea-coast of the Strymon and of the Dateni is Neapolis, and Datum also,
which has fruitful plains, a lake, rivers, dockyards, and valuable gold
mines. Hence the proverb, “A Datum of good things,” like “Piles of
plenty. ” The country beyond the Strymon, which borders upon the sea and
includes the parts about Datum, is occupied by Odomantes, Edoni, and
Bisaltæ, some of whom are an indigenous people, the others came from
Macedonia and were under the government of Rhesus. Above Amphipolis live
the Bisaltæ, extending to the city Heraclea (Sintica); they occupy a
fertile valley, through which passes the Strymon, which rises among the
Agrianes near Rhodope. Near the Agrianes is situated Parorbelia of
Macedonia. In the interior, in a valley, which commences at Idomene, are
situated Callipolis, Orthopolis, Philippopolis, and Garescus. Among the
Bisaltæ, proceeding up the river Strymon, is situated Berga, a village,
distant from Amphipolis about 200 stadia. Proceeding northwards from
Heraclea, and to the narrows, through which the Strymon flows, keeping
the river on the right, first on the left are Pæonia and the parts about
Dobera; then on the right are the mountains Hæmus and Rhodope, with the
adjacent parts. On this side of the Strymon, close upon the river, is
Scotussa; near the lake Bolbe is Arethusa; the inhabitants above the
lake are chiefly Mygdones. Not only is the course of the Axius through
Pæonia, but that of the Strymon also; for it rises among the Agrianes,
passes through the territory of the Mædi and Sinti, and discharges
itself between the Bisaltæ and Odomantes. E.
37. The source of the river Strymon is among the Agrianes near Rhodope.
EPIT.
38. The Pæonians, according to some, were a dependent colony of the
Phrygians; according to others, they were an independent settlement.
Pæonia, it is said, extended to Pelagonia and Pieria; Pelagonia is said
to have been formerly called Orestia; and Asteropæus, one of the chiefs
from Pæonia who went to Troy, to have been called, with great
probability, the son of Pelagon, and the Pæonians themselves to have
been called Pelagones. E.
39. The Asteropæus in Homer, son of Pelegon, we are told, was of Pæonia
in Macedonia: whence “Son of Pelegon;” for the Pæonians were called
Pelagones. EPIT.
40. As the _pæanismus_, or singing of the Thracian Pæan, was called
_titanismus_ by the Greeks, in imitation of a well-known note in the
pæan, so the Pelagones were called Titanes. E.
41. Anciently, as at present, the Pæonians appear to have been masters
of so much of what is now called Macedonia as to be able to besiege
Perinthus, and subject to their power Crestonia, the whole of Mygdonia,
and the territory of the Agrianes as far as Mount Pangæus. Above the
sea-coast of the Strymonic Gulf, extending from Galepsus to Nestus, are
situated Philippi and the surrounding country. Philippi was formerly
called Crenides; it was a small settlement, but increased after the
defeat of Brutus and Cassius. E.
43. [2913] The present city Philippi was anciently called Crenides. EPIT.
44. In front of this coast lie two islands, Lemnos and Thasos. Beyond
the strait at Thasos is Abdera, with its fables. It was inhabited by
Bistones, over whom ruled Diomed. The Nestus does not always keep within
its banks, but frequently inundates the country. Then Dicæa, a city on
the gulf, with a harbour. Above it is the lake Bistonis, 200 stadia in
circumference. They say that Hercules, when he came to seize upon the
horses of Diomed, cut a canal through the sea-shore and turned the water
of the sea upon the plain, which is situated in a hollow, and is lower
than the level of the sea, and thus vanquished his opponents. The royal
residence of Diomed is shown, called, from a local peculiarity, its
natural strength, Cartera-Come [Strong-Village]. Beyond the inland lake
are Xanthia, Maronia, and Ismarus, cities of the Cicones. Ismarus is now
called Ismara-near-Maronia. Near it is the outlet of the lake Ismaris.
The stream is called sweet * * * * * * At this place are what are called
the heads of the Thasii. The Sapæi are situated above. E.
45. Topeira is situated near Abdera and Maronia. E.
46. The Sinti, a Thracian tribe, inhabit the island of Lemnos; whence
Homer calls them Sinties, thus, “There are the Sinties. ” EPIT.
47. After the river Nestus to the west is the city Abdera, named after
Abderus, who was eaten by the horses of Diomed; then, near, Dicæa, a
city, above which is situated a large lake, the Bistonis; then the city
Maronia. EPIT.
48.
The whole of Thrace is composed of twenty-two nations. Although
greatly exhausted, it is capable of equipping 15,000 cavalry and 20,000
infantry. After Maronia are Orthagoria, a city, and the district of
Serrium (the navigation along the coast is difficult); the small city
Tempyra belonging to the Samothracians, and another Caracoma, (the
Stockade,) in front of which lies the island Samothrace. Imbros is at no
great distance from Samothrace; Thasos is double the distance from it.
After Caracoma is Doriscus, where Xerxes counted the number of his army.
Then the Hebrus, with a navigation up the stream for 100 stadia to
Cypsela. Strabo says that this was the boundary of Macedonia when
wrested by the Romans, first from Perseus, and afterwards from
Pseudophilip. Paulus, who overthrew Perseus, united the Epirotic nations
to Macedonia, and divided the country into four parts; one he assigned
to Amphipolis, a second to Thessalonica, a third to Pella, and a fourth
to Pelagonia. Along the Hebrus dwell the Corpili, the Brenæ still higher
up, above them, and lastly the Bessi, for the Hebrus is navigable up to
this point. All these nations are addicted to plunder, particularly the
Bessi, whom, he says, border upon the Odrysæ and Sapæi. Bizya is the
capital of the Astæ (? ). Some give the name of Odrysæ to all those
people who live on the mountains overhanging the coast, from the Hebrus
and Cypsela to Odessus. They were under the kingly government of
Amadocus, Khersobleptes, Berisades, Seuthes, (Theseus? ) and Cotys. E.
49. The river in Thrace now called Rhiginia (Rhegina? ) was formerly
called Erigon (Erginus? ). EPIT.
50. Samothrace was inhabited by the brothers Jasion and Dardanus. Jasion
was killed by lightning, for his crime against Ceres; Dardanus moved
away from Samothrace, and built a city, to which he gave the name of
Dardania, at the foot of Mount Ida. He taught the Trojans the
Samothracian mysteries. Samothrace was formerly called Samos. EPIT.
51. The gods worshipped in Samothrace, the Curbantes and Corybantes, the
Curetes and the Idæan Dactyli, are said by many persons to be the same
as the Cabiri, although they are unable to explain who the Cabiri were.
E.
52. At the mouth of the Hebrus, which discharges itself by two channels,
in the Gulf of Melas, is a city Ænos, founded by the Mitylenæans and
Cumæans; its first founders, however, were Alopeconnesi; then the
promontory Sarpedon; then the Chersonesus, called the Thracian
Chersonesus, forming the Propontis, the Gulf of Melas, and the
Hellespont. It stretches forwards to the south-east, like a promontory,
bringing Europe and Asia together, with only a strait between them of 7
stadia in width, the Strait of Sestos and Abydos. On the left is the
Propontis, on the right the Gulf Melas,[2914] so called from the river
Melas,[2915] which discharges itself into it, according to Herodotus and
Eudoxus. It is stated (says Strabo) by Herodotus, that the stream of
this river was not sufficient to supply the army of Xerxes. The above
promontory is closed in by an isthmus 40 stadia across. In the middle of
the isthmus is situated the city Lysimachia, named after king
Lysimachus, its founder. On one side of the isthmus, on the Gulf Melas,
lies Cardia; its first founders were Milesians and Clazomenæans, its
second founders Athenians. It is the largest of the cities in the
Chersonesus. Pactya is on the Propontis. After Cardia are Drabus and
Limnæ; then Alopeconnesus, where the Gulf Melas principally ends; then
the great promontory Mazusia; then, in the gulf, Eleus, where is
Protesilaum, from whence Sigeum, a promontory of Troas, is 40 stadia
distant; this is about the most southern extremity of the Chersonesus,
distant from Cardia rather more than 400 stadia; if the circuit is made
by sea to the other side of the isthmus, the distance is a little
greater. E.
53. The Thracian Chersonesus forms three seas, the Propontis to the
north, the Hellespont to the east, and the Gulf Melas to the south,
where the river Melas, of the same name as the gulf, discharges itself.
EPIT.
54. In the isthmus of the Chersonesus are three cities, Cardia on the
Gulf of Melas, Pactya on the Propontis, Lysimachia in the interior; the
breadth of the isthmus is 40 stadia. EPIT.
55. The name of the city Eleus is of the masculine gender, perhaps that
of Trapezus is also masculine. EPIT.
56. In the voyage round of which we have been speaking; beyond Eleus,
first, is the entrance into the Propontis through the straits, where
they say the Hellespont begins. There is a promontory here by some
called Dog’s Monument, by others the Monument of Hecuba, for on doubling
the promontory, the place of her burial is to be seen. Then Madytus and
the promontory of Sestos, where was the Bridge of Xerxes; after these
places comes Sestos. From Eleus to the Bridge it is 170 stadia; after
Sestos it is 280 stadia to Ægospotamos: it is a small city in ruins. At
this place a stone is said to have fallen from heaven during the Persian
war. Then Callipolis, from whence to Lampsacus in Asia is a passage
across of 40 stadia; then a small city Crithote in ruins; then Pactya;
next Macron-Tichos, and Leuce-Acte, and Hieron-Oros, and Perinthus, a
colony of the Samians; then Selybria. Above these places is situated
Silta. Sacred rites are performed in honour of Hieron-Oros by the
natives, which is as it were the citadel of the country. It discharges
asphaltus into the sea. Proconnesus here approaches nearest the
continent, being 120 stadia distant; there is a quarry of white marble
in it, which is plentiful and of good quality; after Selybria the rivers
Athyras and [Bathynias]; then Byzantium and the parts reaching to the
Cyanean rocks. E.
57. From Perinthus to Byzantium it is 630 stadia; from the Hebrus and
Cypseli to Byzantium and the Cyanean rocks it is, according to
Artemidorus, 3100 stadia. The whole distance from Apollonia on the
Ionian Gulf to Byzantium is 7320 stadia; Polybius makes this distance
180 stadia more, by the addition of a third of a stadium to the sum of 8
stadia, which compose a mile. Demetrius of Skepsis, in his account of
the disposition of the Trojan forces, says that it is 700 stadia from
Perinthus to Byzantium, and the same distance to Parium. He makes the
length of the Propontis to be 1400 and the breadth 500 stadia; the
narrowest part also of the Hellespont to be 7 stadia, and the length
400. E.
58. All writers do not agree in their description of the Hellespont, and
many opinions are advanced on the subject. Some describe the Propontis
to be the Hellespont; others, that part of the Propontis which is to the
south of Perinthus; others include a part of the exterior sea which
opens to the Ægæan and the Gulf Melas, each assigning different limits.
Some make their measurement from Sigeum to Lampsacus, and Cyzicus, and
Parium, and Priapus; and one is to be found who measures from Singrium,
a promontory of Lesbos. Some do not hesitate to give the name of
Hellespont to the whole distance as far as the Myrtoan Sea, because (as
in the Odes of Pindar) when Hercules sailed from Troy through the
virgin strait of Hella, and arrived at the Myrtoan Sea, he returned back
to Cos, in consequence of the wind Zephyrus blowing contrary to his
course. Thus some consider it correct to apply the name Hellespont to
the whole of the Ægæan Sea, and the sea along the coast of Thessaly and
Macedonia, invoking the testimony of Homer, who says,
“Thou shalt see, if such thy will, in spring,
My ships shall sail to Hellespont. ”
But the argument is contradicted in the following lines,
“Piros, Imbracius’ son, who came from Ænos. ”
Piros commanded the Thracians,
“Whose limits are the quick-flowing Hellespont. ”
So that he would consider all people settled next to the Thracians as
excluded from the Hellespont. For Ænos is situated in the district
formerly called Apsynthis, but now Corpilice. The territory of the
Cicones is next towards the west. E.
THE
GEOGRAPHY
OF
STRABO.
LITERALLY TRANSLATED, WITH NOTES.
THE FIRST SIX BOOKS
BY H. C. HAMILTON, ESQ.
THE REMAINDER
BY W. FALCONER, M. A. ,
LATE FELLOW OF EXETER COLLEGE, OXFORD.
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
LONDON:
HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.
MDCCCLVI.
JOHN CHILDS AND SON, BUNGAY.
STRABO’S GEOGRAPHY.
BOOK VIII.
EUROPE CONTINUED. --GREECE.
SUMMARY.
The remaining parts of Macedonia are considered, and the whole
of Greece; on this the author dwells some time on account of
the great reputation of the country. He corrects minutely, and
clears up, the confused and vague accounts respecting the
cities contained therein, given by poets and historians, and
especially in the Catalogue and in many other parts of the
Poem.
CHAPTER I.
1. After having described as much of the western parts of Europe as is
comprised within the interior and exterior seas, and surveyed all the
barbarous nations which it contains, as far as the Don[1] and a small
part of Greece, [namely, Macedonia,][2] we propose to give an account of
the remainder of the Helladic geography. Homer was the first writer on
the subject of geography, and was followed by many others, some of whom
composed particular treatises, and entitled them “Harbours,” “Voyages,”
“Circuits of the Earth,”[3] or gave them some name of this kind, and
these comprised the description of the Helladic country. Some, as
Ephorus and Polybius, included in their general history a separate
topography of the continents; others, as Posidonius and Hipparchus,
introduced matter relating to geography in their writings on physical
and mathematical subjects.
It is easy to form an opinion of the other writers, but the poems of
Homer require critical consideration, both because he speaks as a poet,
and because he describes things not as [CAS. 333] they exist at present,
but as they existed anciently, and the greater part of which have been
rendered obscure by time.
We must however undertake this inquiry as far as we are able, beginning
from the point where our description ended.
It ended with an account of the Epirotic and Illyrian nations on the
west and north, and of Macedonia as far as Byzantium on the east.
After the Epirotæ and Illyrii follow the Acarnanes,[4] the Ætoli, the
Locri-Ozolæ, then the Phocæenses and Bœoti, Grecian nations. Opposite to
these on the other side of the strait is Peloponnesus, which comprises
the Gulf of Corinth,[5] interposed between, and determining the figure
of the latter, from which it also receives its own. Next to Macedonia[6]
are the Thessalians,[7] extending as far as the Malienses,[8] and the
other nations, situated on both sides of the isthmus.
2. There are many Greek tribes, but the chief people are equal in number
to the Greek dialects with which we are acquainted, namely, four. Of
these, the Ionic is the same as the ancient Attic; (for Iones was the
former name of the inhabitants of Attica; from thence came the Iones who
settled in Asia,[9] and use the dialect now called Ionic;) the Doric was
the same as the Æolic dialect, for all the people on the other side of
the isthmus except the Athenians, the Megareans, and the Dorians about
Parnassus, are even now called Æolians; it is probable that the Dorians,
from their being a small nation, and occupying a most rugged country,
and from want of intercourse [with the Æolians], no longer resemble that
people either in language or customs, and, although of the same race,
have lost all appearance of affinity. It was the same with the
Athenians, who inhabiting a rugged country with a light soil, escaped
the ravages of invaders. As they always occupied the same territory, and
no enemy attempted to expel them, nor had any desire to take possession
of it themselves, on this account they were, according to Thucydides,
regarded as Autochthones, or an indigenous race. This was probably the
reason, although they were a small nation, why they remained a distinct
people with a distinct dialect.
It was not in the parts only on the other side of the isthmus, that the
Æolian nation was powerful, but those on this side also were formerly
Æolians. They were afterwards intermixed first with Ionians who came
from Attica, and got possession of Ægialus,[10] and secondly with
Dorians, who under the conduct of the Heracleidæ founded Megara and many
of the cities in the Peloponnesus. The Iones were soon expelled by the
Achæi, an Æolian tribe; and there remained in Peloponnesus the two
nations, the Æolic and the Doric. Those nations then that had little
intercourse with the Dorians used the Æolian dialect. (This was the case
with the Arcadians and Eleians, the former of whom were altogether a
mountain tribe, and did not share in the partition of the Peloponnesus;
the latter were considered as dedicated to the service of the Olympian
Jupiter, and lived for a long period in peace, principally because they
were of Æolian descent, and had admitted into their country the army of
Oxylus, about the time of the return of the Heracleidæ. [11]) The rest
used a kind of dialect composed of both, some of them having more,
others less, of the Æolic dialect. Even at present the inhabitants of
different cities use different dialects, but all seem to Dorize, or use
the Doric dialect, on account of the ascendency of that nation.
Such then is the number of the Grecian nations, and thus in general are
they distinguished from each other.
I shall resume my account of them, and describe each nation in their
proper order.
3. According to Ephorus, Acarnania is the commencement of Greece on the
west, for it is the first country which lies contiguous to the Epirotic
nations. As this author follows the coast in his measurements, and
begins from thence, considering the sea the most important guide of
topographical description, (for otherwise he might have placed the
beginning of Greece in Macedonia and Thessaly,) so ought I, observing
[CAS. 334] the natural character of places, to keep in view the sea as
a mark by which I should direct the course of my description.
The sea coming from Sicily spreads itself on one side towards the
Corinthian Gulf, and on the other forms a large peninsula, the
Peloponnesus, united to the mainland by a narrow isthmus.
The two largest bodies of country in Greece are that within the isthmus,
and that without the isthmus, [extending to the mouths of the river
Peneius]. That within the isthmus is however larger, and more
celebrated. The Peloponnesus is, as it were, the acropolis or citadel of
all Greece; and all Greece in a manner holds the chief or leading
position in Europe. For independently of the fame and power of the
nations which inhabited it, the position itself of the places in it
suggests this superiority. One site succeeds another diversified with
numerous most remarkable bays, and large peninsulas. The first of these
peninsulas is the Peloponnesus, closed in by an isthmus of forty stadia
in extent. The second comprehends the first, and has an isthmus reaching
from Pagæ in Megaris to Nisæa, which is the naval arsenal of the
Megareans; the passage across the isthmus from sea to sea is 120 stadia.
The third peninsula also comprises the latter. Its isthmus extends from
the farthest recess of the Crissæan Gulf to Thermopylæ. The line
supposed to be drawn between these is about 508 stadia in length,
including within it the whole of Bœotia, and cutting Phocis and the
country of the Epicnemidii obliquely. The fourth peninsula has the
isthmus extending from the Ambracian Gulf through Mount Œta and
Traclinia to the Maliac Gulf and Thermopylæ, about 800 stadia.
There is another isthmus of more than 1000 stadia reaching from the same
Gulf of Ambracia, and passing through the country of the Thessalians and
Macedonians to the recess of the Thermæan Gulf.
The succession of peninsulas furnishes a convenient order to be followed
in describing the country.
We must begin from the smallest, as being also the most famous of these
peninsulas. [12]
CHAPTER II.
1. The Peloponnesus resembles in figure the leaf of a plane tree. [13]
Its length and breadth are nearly equal, each about 1400 stadia. The
former is reckoned from west to east, that is, from the promontory
Chelonatas through Olympia and the territory Megalopolitis to the
isthmus; the latter from south to north, or from Maliæ through Arcadia to
Ægium.
The circumference, according to Polybius, exclusive of the circuit of
the bays, is 4000 stadia. Artemidorus however adds to this 400 stadia,
and if we include the measure of the bays, it exceeds 5600 stadia. We
have already said that the isthmus at the road where they draw vessels
over-land from one sea to the other is 40 stadia across.
2. Eleians and Messenians occupy the western side of this peninsula.
Their territory is washed by the Sicilian Sea. They possess the coast
also on each side. Elis bends towards the north and the commencement of
the Corinthian Gulf as far as the promontory Araxus,[14] opposite to
which across the strait is Acarnania; the islands Zacynthus,[15]
Cephallenia,[16] Ithaca,[17] and the Echinades, to which belongs
Dulichium, lie in front of it. The greater part of Messenia is open to
the south and to the Libyan Sea as far as the islands Thyrides near
Tænarum. [18]
Next to Elis, is the nation of the Achæi looking towards the north, and
stretching along the Corinthian Gulf they terminate at Sicyonia. Then
follow Sicyon[19] and Corinth, extending as far as the isthmus. Next
after Messenia are [CAS. 335] Laconia and Argeia, which latter country
also reaches as far as the isthmus.
The bays of the Peloponnesus are the Messeniac,[20] the Laconian,[21] a
third the Argolic,[22] and a fourth the Hermionic,[23] or the
Saronic,[24] which some writers call the Salaminiac bay. Some of these
bays are supplied by the Libyan, others by the Cretan and Myrtoan Seas.
Some call even the Saronic Gulf a sea. In the middle of Peloponnesus is
Arcadia, lying contiguous to all the other nations.
3. The Corinthian Gulf begins from the mouths of the Evenus,[25] (some
say from the mouths of the Achelous,[26] which is the boundary between
the Acarnanes and Ætoli,) and from the promontory Araxus. For there the
shores on both sides first begin to contract, and have a considerable
inclination towards each other; as they advance farther onwards they
nearly meet at Rhium[27] and Antirrhium,[28] leaving a channel of only
about 5 stadia between them.
Rhium is a promontory of Achaia, it is low, and bends inwards like a
sickle, (indeed it has the name of Drepanum, or the Sickle,) and lies
between Patræ[29] and Ægium,[30] on it there is a temple of Neptune.
Antirrhium is situated on the confines of Ætolia and Locris. It is
called Rhium Molycrium. From this point the sea-shore again parts in a
moderate degree on each side, and advancing into the Crissæan Gulf,
terminates there, being shut in by the western boundaries of Bœotia and
Megaris.
The Corinthian Gulf is 2230 stadia in circuit from the river Evenus to
the promontory Araxus; and if we reckon from the Achelous, it would be
increased by about 100 stadia.
The tract from the Achelous to the Evenus is occupied by Acarnanians;
next are the Ætoli, reaching to the Cape Antirrhium. The remainder of
the country, as far as the isthmus, is occupied by Phocis, Bœotia, and
by Megaris, it extends 1118 stadia.
The sea from Cape Antirrhium as far as the isthmus is [the Crissæan
Gulf, but from the city Creusa it is called the Sea of] Alcyonis, and is
a portion of the Crissæan Gulf. [31]
From the isthmus to the promontory Araxus is a distance of 1030 stadia.
Such in general then is the nature and extent of the Peloponnesus, and
of the country on the other side of the strait up to the farther recess
of the gulf. Such also is the nature of the gulf between both.
We shall next describe each country in particular, beginning with Elis.
CHAPTER III.
1. At present the whole sea-coast lying between the Achæi and Messenii
is called Eleia, it stretches into the inland parts towards Arcadia at
Pholoe, and the Azanes, and Parrhasii. Anciently it was divided into
several states; afterwards into two, Elis of the Epeii, and Elis under
Nestor, the son of Neleus. As Homer says, who mentions Elis of the Epeii
by name,
“Sacred Elis, where the Epeii rule. ”[32]
The other he calls Pylus subject to Nestor, through which, he says, the
Alpheius flows:
“Alpheius, that flows in a straight line through the land
of the Pylians. ”[33]
The poet was also acquainted with a city Pylus;
“They arrived at Pylus, the well-built city of Neleus. ”[34]
The Alpheius however does not flow through nor beside the city, but
another river flows beside it, which some call Pamisus, others Amathus,
from which Pylus seems to be termed Emathöeis, but the Alpheius flows
through the Eleian territory.
2. Elis, the present city, was not yet founded in the time of Homer, but
the inhabitants of the country lived in villages. It was called Cœle [or
Hollow] Elis, from the accident of its locality, for the largest and
best part of it is situated in a hollow. It was at a late period, and
after the Persian war, that the people collected together out of many
demi, or [CAS. 337] burghs, into one city. And, with the exception of a
few, the other places in the Peloponnesus which the poet enumerates are
not to be called cities, but districts.
a diviner. At first he drew people about him by the practice of music
and witchcraft, and by the introduction of mysterious ceremonies in
religious worship. After a time, obtaining a greater degree of
self-importance, he collected a multitude of followers, and acquired
influence. He had many willing followers, but becoming suspected by a
few of entertaining secret designs, and of an intention of taking
forcible possession of power, he was attacked by them and put to death.
Near this place is Libethra. E.
19. Anciently diviners practised the art of music. EPIT.
20. After Dium follow the mouths of the Haliacmon; then Pydna, Methone,
Alorus, and the rivers Erigon and Ludias. The Ludias flows from
Triclari, through the Oresti and the Pellæan country (Pelagonia):
leaving the city on the left it falls into the Axius. The Ludias is
navigable up the stream to Pella 120 stadia. Methone is situated in the
middle, about 40 stadia distant from Pydna, and 70 stadia from Alorus.
Alorus is situated in the farthest recess of the Thermæan Gulf. It was
called Thessalonica on account of the splendid [victory obtained over
the Thessalians]. Alorus is considered as belonging to Bottiæa and Pydna
to Pieria. Pella is in Lower Macedonia, which was in possession of the
Bottiæi. Here was formerly the Macedonian Treasury. Philip, who was
brought up in this place, raised it from an inconsiderable city to some
importance. It has a citadel situated on a lake called Ludias. From this
lake issues the river Ludias, which is filled by a branch of the Axius.
The Axius discharges itself between Chalastra and Therma. Near this
river is a fortified place, now called Abydos; Homer calls it Amydon,
and says that the Pæonians came from hence to assist the Trojans during
the siege of Troy.
“From afar, from Amydon, from Axius’ wide stream. ”
It was razed by the Argeadæ. E.
21. The water of the Axius is turbid. Homer, however, says that the
water is “most beautiful,” probably on account of a spring called Æa
which runs into it, the water of which is of surpassing clearness. This
is sufficient to prove that the present reading in the poem is
erroneous. After the Axius is the Echedorus,[2891] 20 stadia distant.
Then Thessalonica, founded by Cassander, 40 stadia farther on, and the
Egnatian Way. He named the city after his wife Thessalonice, the
daughter of Philip Amyntas, and pulled down nearly 26 cities in the
district of Crucis, and on the Thermæan Gulf, collecting the inhabitants
into one city. It is the metropolis of the present Macedonia. The cities
transferred to Thessalonica were Apollonia, Chalastra, Therma, Garescus,
Ænea, and Cissus. Cissus, it is probable, belonged to Cisseus, who is
mentioned by the poet. “Cisseus educated him,” meaning Iphidamas. E.
22. After the city Drium is the river Haliacmon, which discharges itself
into the Thermæan Gulf. From hence to the river Axius the sea-coast on
the north of the gulf bears the name of Pieria, on which is situated the
city Pydna, now called Citrum. Then follow Methone and the river Alorus;
then the rivers Erigon and Ludias. From Ludias to the city Pella the
river is navigated upwards to the distance of 20 stadia. Methone is
distant from Pydna 40 stadia, and 70 stadia from Alorus. Pydna is a
Pierian, Alorus a Bottiæan city. In the plain of Pydna the Romans
defeated Perseus, and put an end to the Macedonian empire. In the plain
of Methone, during the siege of the city, Philip Amyntas accidentally
lost his right eye by an arrow discharged from a catapult. EPIT.
23. Philip, who was brought up at Pella, formerly a small city, much
improved it. In front of the city is a lake, out of which flows the
river Ludias. The lake is supplied by a branch of the river Axius. Next
follows the Axius, which separates the territory of Bottiæa and
Amphaxitis, and after receiving the river Erigon, issues out between
Chalestra and Therme. On the river Axius is a place which Homer calls
Amydon, and says that the Pæones set out thence as auxiliaries to Troy:
“From afar, from Amydon, from Axius’ wide stream. ”
The Axius is a turbid river, but as a spring of clearest water rises in
Amydon, and mingles with the Axius, some have altered the line
Ἀξιοῦ, οὗ κάλλιστον ὕδωρ ἐπικίδναται Αἶαν,
“Axius, whose fairest water o’erspreads Æa,”
to
Ἀξιοῦ, ᾧ κάλλιστον ὕδωρ ἐπικίδναται Αἴης.
“Axius, o’er whom spreads Æa’s fairest water. ”
For it is not the “fairest water” which is diffused over the spring, but
the “fairest water” of the spring which is diffused over the
Axius. [2892] EPIT.
24. After the river Axius is the city Thessalonica, formerly called
Therma. It was founded by Cassander, who called it after the name of his
wife, a daughter of Philip Amyntas. He transferred to it the small
surrounding cities, Chalastra, Ænea, Cissus, and some others. Probably
from this Cissus came Iphidamas, mentioned in Homer, “whose grandfather
Cisseus educated him,” he says, “in Thrace,” which is now called
Macedonia. EPIT.
25. Somewhere in this neighbourhood is the mountain Bermius,[2893] which
was formerly in the possession of the Briges, a Thracian nation, some of
whom passed over to Asia and were called by another name, Phrygians
(Phryges). After Thessalonica follows the remaining part of the Thermæan
Gulf,[2894] extending to Canastræum. [2895] This is a promontory of a
peninsula form, and is opposite to Magnesia. Pallene is the name of the
peninsula. It has an isthmus 5 stadia in width, with a ditch cut across
it. There is a city on the peninsula, formerly called Potidæa,[2896]
founded by the Corinthians, but afterwards it was called Cassandria,
from king Cassander, who restored it after it was demolished. It is a
circuit of 570 stadia round the peninsula by sea. Here giants were said
to have lived, and the region to have been called Phlegra. Some consider
this to be a mere fable, but others, with greater probability on their
side, see implied in it the existence of a barbarous and lawless race of
people who once occupied the country, but who were destroyed by Hercules
on his return home, after the capture of Troy. Here also the Trojan
women are said to have committed the destructive act of burning the
ships, to avoid becoming the slaves of their captors’ wives. E.
26. The city Berœa[2897] lies at the roots of Mount Bermius. EPIT.
27. Pallene is a peninsula. On the isthmus of Pallene lies what was once
Potidæa, but now Cassandra. It was formerly called Phlegra, and was
inhabited by the fabulous giants, an impious and lawless race, who were
destroyed by Hercules. It has upon it four cities, Aphytis, Mende,
Scione, and Sana. EPIT.
28. Olynthus is distant from Potidæa 70 stadia. E.
29. The arsenal of Olynthus is Mecyberna, on the Toronæan Gulf. EPIT.
30. Near Olynthus is a hollow tract called Cantharolethron, from an
accidental circumstance. The Cantharus, (the beetle,) which is bred in
the surrounding country, dies as soon as it touches this tract. EPIT.
31. Next after Cassandria is the remaining part of the sea-coast of the
Toronæan Gulf, as far as Derris. It is a promontory opposite the
district of Canastrum, and forms a gulf. Opposite to Derris, to the
east, are the promontories of Athos; between them is the Singitic Gulf,
which receives its name from an ancient city in it, Singus, now
destroyed. Next is the city Acanthus, situated on the isthmus of
Athos,[2898] founded by the Andrii; whence, by many, it is called the
Acanthian Gulf. E.
32. Opposite to Canastrum, a promontory of Pallene, is the promontory
Derris, near Cophus-Limen [or Deaf Harbour]: these form the boundaries
of the Toronæan Gulf. Again, towards the east lies the promontory of
Athos, [Nymphæum,] which bounds the Singitic Gulf. Then follow one
another the gulfs of the Ægean Sea, towards the north, in this order:
the Maliac,[2899] the Pagasitic,[2900] the Thermæan,[2901] the
Toronæan,[2902] the Singitic,[2903] and the Strymonic. [2904] The
promontories are these: Posidium,[2905] situated between the Maliac and
Pegasitic Gulfs; next in order, towards the north, Sepias;[2906] then
Canastrum[2907] in Pallene; then Derris;[2908] next Nymphæum[2909] in
Athos, on the Singitic Gulf; Acrathos,[2910] the promontory on the
Strymonic Gulf; between them is Athos, to the east of which is Lemnos.
Neapolis[2911] bounds the Strymonic Gulf towards the north. EPIT.
33. The city Acanthus, on the Singitic Gulf, is a maritime city near the
Canal of Xerxes. There are five cities in Athos; Dium, Cleonæ, Thyssos,
Olophyxis, Acrothoi, which is situated near the summit of Athos. Mount
Athos is pap-shaped, very pointed, and of very great height. Those who
live upon the summit see the sun rise three hours before it is visible
on the sea-shore. The voyage round the peninsula, from the city Acanthus
to the city Stagirus, the birth-place of Aristotle, is 400 stadia. It
has a harbour called Caprus, and a small island of the same name. Then
follow the mouths of the Strymon; then Phagres, Galepsus, and Apollonia,
all of them cities; then the mouth of the Nestus, which is the boundary
of Macedonia and Thrace, as settled, in their own times, by Philip and
Alexander his son. There are about the Strymonic Gulf other cities also,
as Myrcinus, Argilus, Drabescus, and Datum, which has an excellent and
most productive soil, dockyards for ship-building, and gold mines;
whence the proverb, “A Datum of good things,” like to the proverb,
“Piles of plenty. ”[2912] EPIT.
34. There are numerous gold mines among the Crenides, where the city of
Philip now stands, near Mount Pangæus. Pangæus itself, and the country
on the east of the Strymon, and on the west as far as Pæonia, contains
gold and silver mines. Particles of gold, it is said, are found in
Pæonia in ploughing the land. EPIT.
35. Mount Athos is pap-shaped, and so lofty that the husbandmen on the
summit are already weary of their labour, the sun having long since
risen to them, when to the inhabitants of the shore it is the beginning
of cockcrowing. Thamyris, the Thracian, was king of this coast, and
followed the same practices as Orpheus. Here also, at Acanthus, is seen
the canal, which Xerxes is said to have made, and through which he is
said to have brought the sea from the Strymonic Gulf, across the
isthmus. Demetrius of Skepsis is of opinion that this canal was not
navigable; for, says he, the ground is composed of deep earth, and
admits of being dug for a distance of 10 stadia only: the canal is a
plethrum in width; then follows a high, broad, and flat rock, nearly a
stadium in length, which prevents excavation throughout the whole
distance to the sea. And even if the work could be carried on so far
across, yet it could not be continued to a sufficient depth, so as to
present a navigable passage. Here Alexarchus, the son of Antipater,
built the city Uranopolis, 30 stadia in circumference.
This peninsula was inhabited by Pelasgi from Lemnos; they were
distributed into five small cities, Cleonæ, Olophyxis, Acrothoi, Dium,
Thyssos. After Athos comes the Strymonic Gulf, extending to the river
Nestus, which forms the boundary of Macedonia, as settled by Philip and
Alexander. Accurately speaking, there is a promontory forming a gulf
with Athos, on which is the city Apollonia. First in the gulf, after the
harbour of Acanthus, is Stagira, now deserted: it was one of the
Chalcidic cities, and the birth-place of Aristotle. Caprus was the
harbour, and there is a small island of the same name. Then comes the
Strymon, and Amphipolis, at the distance of 20 stadia up the river. In
this part is situated an Athenian colony, called Ennea-Odoi (the
Nine-Ways). Then Galepsus and Apollonia, which were destroyed by Philip.
E.
36. He says, it is 120 stadia (300? ) from the Peneus to Pydna. On the
sea-coast of the Strymon and of the Dateni is Neapolis, and Datum also,
which has fruitful plains, a lake, rivers, dockyards, and valuable gold
mines. Hence the proverb, “A Datum of good things,” like “Piles of
plenty. ” The country beyond the Strymon, which borders upon the sea and
includes the parts about Datum, is occupied by Odomantes, Edoni, and
Bisaltæ, some of whom are an indigenous people, the others came from
Macedonia and were under the government of Rhesus. Above Amphipolis live
the Bisaltæ, extending to the city Heraclea (Sintica); they occupy a
fertile valley, through which passes the Strymon, which rises among the
Agrianes near Rhodope. Near the Agrianes is situated Parorbelia of
Macedonia. In the interior, in a valley, which commences at Idomene, are
situated Callipolis, Orthopolis, Philippopolis, and Garescus. Among the
Bisaltæ, proceeding up the river Strymon, is situated Berga, a village,
distant from Amphipolis about 200 stadia. Proceeding northwards from
Heraclea, and to the narrows, through which the Strymon flows, keeping
the river on the right, first on the left are Pæonia and the parts about
Dobera; then on the right are the mountains Hæmus and Rhodope, with the
adjacent parts. On this side of the Strymon, close upon the river, is
Scotussa; near the lake Bolbe is Arethusa; the inhabitants above the
lake are chiefly Mygdones. Not only is the course of the Axius through
Pæonia, but that of the Strymon also; for it rises among the Agrianes,
passes through the territory of the Mædi and Sinti, and discharges
itself between the Bisaltæ and Odomantes. E.
37. The source of the river Strymon is among the Agrianes near Rhodope.
EPIT.
38. The Pæonians, according to some, were a dependent colony of the
Phrygians; according to others, they were an independent settlement.
Pæonia, it is said, extended to Pelagonia and Pieria; Pelagonia is said
to have been formerly called Orestia; and Asteropæus, one of the chiefs
from Pæonia who went to Troy, to have been called, with great
probability, the son of Pelagon, and the Pæonians themselves to have
been called Pelagones. E.
39. The Asteropæus in Homer, son of Pelegon, we are told, was of Pæonia
in Macedonia: whence “Son of Pelegon;” for the Pæonians were called
Pelagones. EPIT.
40. As the _pæanismus_, or singing of the Thracian Pæan, was called
_titanismus_ by the Greeks, in imitation of a well-known note in the
pæan, so the Pelagones were called Titanes. E.
41. Anciently, as at present, the Pæonians appear to have been masters
of so much of what is now called Macedonia as to be able to besiege
Perinthus, and subject to their power Crestonia, the whole of Mygdonia,
and the territory of the Agrianes as far as Mount Pangæus. Above the
sea-coast of the Strymonic Gulf, extending from Galepsus to Nestus, are
situated Philippi and the surrounding country. Philippi was formerly
called Crenides; it was a small settlement, but increased after the
defeat of Brutus and Cassius. E.
43. [2913] The present city Philippi was anciently called Crenides. EPIT.
44. In front of this coast lie two islands, Lemnos and Thasos. Beyond
the strait at Thasos is Abdera, with its fables. It was inhabited by
Bistones, over whom ruled Diomed. The Nestus does not always keep within
its banks, but frequently inundates the country. Then Dicæa, a city on
the gulf, with a harbour. Above it is the lake Bistonis, 200 stadia in
circumference. They say that Hercules, when he came to seize upon the
horses of Diomed, cut a canal through the sea-shore and turned the water
of the sea upon the plain, which is situated in a hollow, and is lower
than the level of the sea, and thus vanquished his opponents. The royal
residence of Diomed is shown, called, from a local peculiarity, its
natural strength, Cartera-Come [Strong-Village]. Beyond the inland lake
are Xanthia, Maronia, and Ismarus, cities of the Cicones. Ismarus is now
called Ismara-near-Maronia. Near it is the outlet of the lake Ismaris.
The stream is called sweet * * * * * * At this place are what are called
the heads of the Thasii. The Sapæi are situated above. E.
45. Topeira is situated near Abdera and Maronia. E.
46. The Sinti, a Thracian tribe, inhabit the island of Lemnos; whence
Homer calls them Sinties, thus, “There are the Sinties. ” EPIT.
47. After the river Nestus to the west is the city Abdera, named after
Abderus, who was eaten by the horses of Diomed; then, near, Dicæa, a
city, above which is situated a large lake, the Bistonis; then the city
Maronia. EPIT.
48.
The whole of Thrace is composed of twenty-two nations. Although
greatly exhausted, it is capable of equipping 15,000 cavalry and 20,000
infantry. After Maronia are Orthagoria, a city, and the district of
Serrium (the navigation along the coast is difficult); the small city
Tempyra belonging to the Samothracians, and another Caracoma, (the
Stockade,) in front of which lies the island Samothrace. Imbros is at no
great distance from Samothrace; Thasos is double the distance from it.
After Caracoma is Doriscus, where Xerxes counted the number of his army.
Then the Hebrus, with a navigation up the stream for 100 stadia to
Cypsela. Strabo says that this was the boundary of Macedonia when
wrested by the Romans, first from Perseus, and afterwards from
Pseudophilip. Paulus, who overthrew Perseus, united the Epirotic nations
to Macedonia, and divided the country into four parts; one he assigned
to Amphipolis, a second to Thessalonica, a third to Pella, and a fourth
to Pelagonia. Along the Hebrus dwell the Corpili, the Brenæ still higher
up, above them, and lastly the Bessi, for the Hebrus is navigable up to
this point. All these nations are addicted to plunder, particularly the
Bessi, whom, he says, border upon the Odrysæ and Sapæi. Bizya is the
capital of the Astæ (? ). Some give the name of Odrysæ to all those
people who live on the mountains overhanging the coast, from the Hebrus
and Cypsela to Odessus. They were under the kingly government of
Amadocus, Khersobleptes, Berisades, Seuthes, (Theseus? ) and Cotys. E.
49. The river in Thrace now called Rhiginia (Rhegina? ) was formerly
called Erigon (Erginus? ). EPIT.
50. Samothrace was inhabited by the brothers Jasion and Dardanus. Jasion
was killed by lightning, for his crime against Ceres; Dardanus moved
away from Samothrace, and built a city, to which he gave the name of
Dardania, at the foot of Mount Ida. He taught the Trojans the
Samothracian mysteries. Samothrace was formerly called Samos. EPIT.
51. The gods worshipped in Samothrace, the Curbantes and Corybantes, the
Curetes and the Idæan Dactyli, are said by many persons to be the same
as the Cabiri, although they are unable to explain who the Cabiri were.
E.
52. At the mouth of the Hebrus, which discharges itself by two channels,
in the Gulf of Melas, is a city Ænos, founded by the Mitylenæans and
Cumæans; its first founders, however, were Alopeconnesi; then the
promontory Sarpedon; then the Chersonesus, called the Thracian
Chersonesus, forming the Propontis, the Gulf of Melas, and the
Hellespont. It stretches forwards to the south-east, like a promontory,
bringing Europe and Asia together, with only a strait between them of 7
stadia in width, the Strait of Sestos and Abydos. On the left is the
Propontis, on the right the Gulf Melas,[2914] so called from the river
Melas,[2915] which discharges itself into it, according to Herodotus and
Eudoxus. It is stated (says Strabo) by Herodotus, that the stream of
this river was not sufficient to supply the army of Xerxes. The above
promontory is closed in by an isthmus 40 stadia across. In the middle of
the isthmus is situated the city Lysimachia, named after king
Lysimachus, its founder. On one side of the isthmus, on the Gulf Melas,
lies Cardia; its first founders were Milesians and Clazomenæans, its
second founders Athenians. It is the largest of the cities in the
Chersonesus. Pactya is on the Propontis. After Cardia are Drabus and
Limnæ; then Alopeconnesus, where the Gulf Melas principally ends; then
the great promontory Mazusia; then, in the gulf, Eleus, where is
Protesilaum, from whence Sigeum, a promontory of Troas, is 40 stadia
distant; this is about the most southern extremity of the Chersonesus,
distant from Cardia rather more than 400 stadia; if the circuit is made
by sea to the other side of the isthmus, the distance is a little
greater. E.
53. The Thracian Chersonesus forms three seas, the Propontis to the
north, the Hellespont to the east, and the Gulf Melas to the south,
where the river Melas, of the same name as the gulf, discharges itself.
EPIT.
54. In the isthmus of the Chersonesus are three cities, Cardia on the
Gulf of Melas, Pactya on the Propontis, Lysimachia in the interior; the
breadth of the isthmus is 40 stadia. EPIT.
55. The name of the city Eleus is of the masculine gender, perhaps that
of Trapezus is also masculine. EPIT.
56. In the voyage round of which we have been speaking; beyond Eleus,
first, is the entrance into the Propontis through the straits, where
they say the Hellespont begins. There is a promontory here by some
called Dog’s Monument, by others the Monument of Hecuba, for on doubling
the promontory, the place of her burial is to be seen. Then Madytus and
the promontory of Sestos, where was the Bridge of Xerxes; after these
places comes Sestos. From Eleus to the Bridge it is 170 stadia; after
Sestos it is 280 stadia to Ægospotamos: it is a small city in ruins. At
this place a stone is said to have fallen from heaven during the Persian
war. Then Callipolis, from whence to Lampsacus in Asia is a passage
across of 40 stadia; then a small city Crithote in ruins; then Pactya;
next Macron-Tichos, and Leuce-Acte, and Hieron-Oros, and Perinthus, a
colony of the Samians; then Selybria. Above these places is situated
Silta. Sacred rites are performed in honour of Hieron-Oros by the
natives, which is as it were the citadel of the country. It discharges
asphaltus into the sea. Proconnesus here approaches nearest the
continent, being 120 stadia distant; there is a quarry of white marble
in it, which is plentiful and of good quality; after Selybria the rivers
Athyras and [Bathynias]; then Byzantium and the parts reaching to the
Cyanean rocks. E.
57. From Perinthus to Byzantium it is 630 stadia; from the Hebrus and
Cypseli to Byzantium and the Cyanean rocks it is, according to
Artemidorus, 3100 stadia. The whole distance from Apollonia on the
Ionian Gulf to Byzantium is 7320 stadia; Polybius makes this distance
180 stadia more, by the addition of a third of a stadium to the sum of 8
stadia, which compose a mile. Demetrius of Skepsis, in his account of
the disposition of the Trojan forces, says that it is 700 stadia from
Perinthus to Byzantium, and the same distance to Parium. He makes the
length of the Propontis to be 1400 and the breadth 500 stadia; the
narrowest part also of the Hellespont to be 7 stadia, and the length
400. E.
58. All writers do not agree in their description of the Hellespont, and
many opinions are advanced on the subject. Some describe the Propontis
to be the Hellespont; others, that part of the Propontis which is to the
south of Perinthus; others include a part of the exterior sea which
opens to the Ægæan and the Gulf Melas, each assigning different limits.
Some make their measurement from Sigeum to Lampsacus, and Cyzicus, and
Parium, and Priapus; and one is to be found who measures from Singrium,
a promontory of Lesbos. Some do not hesitate to give the name of
Hellespont to the whole distance as far as the Myrtoan Sea, because (as
in the Odes of Pindar) when Hercules sailed from Troy through the
virgin strait of Hella, and arrived at the Myrtoan Sea, he returned back
to Cos, in consequence of the wind Zephyrus blowing contrary to his
course. Thus some consider it correct to apply the name Hellespont to
the whole of the Ægæan Sea, and the sea along the coast of Thessaly and
Macedonia, invoking the testimony of Homer, who says,
“Thou shalt see, if such thy will, in spring,
My ships shall sail to Hellespont. ”
But the argument is contradicted in the following lines,
“Piros, Imbracius’ son, who came from Ænos. ”
Piros commanded the Thracians,
“Whose limits are the quick-flowing Hellespont. ”
So that he would consider all people settled next to the Thracians as
excluded from the Hellespont. For Ænos is situated in the district
formerly called Apsynthis, but now Corpilice. The territory of the
Cicones is next towards the west. E.
THE
GEOGRAPHY
OF
STRABO.
LITERALLY TRANSLATED, WITH NOTES.
THE FIRST SIX BOOKS
BY H. C. HAMILTON, ESQ.
THE REMAINDER
BY W. FALCONER, M. A. ,
LATE FELLOW OF EXETER COLLEGE, OXFORD.
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
LONDON:
HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.
MDCCCLVI.
JOHN CHILDS AND SON, BUNGAY.
STRABO’S GEOGRAPHY.
BOOK VIII.
EUROPE CONTINUED. --GREECE.
SUMMARY.
The remaining parts of Macedonia are considered, and the whole
of Greece; on this the author dwells some time on account of
the great reputation of the country. He corrects minutely, and
clears up, the confused and vague accounts respecting the
cities contained therein, given by poets and historians, and
especially in the Catalogue and in many other parts of the
Poem.
CHAPTER I.
1. After having described as much of the western parts of Europe as is
comprised within the interior and exterior seas, and surveyed all the
barbarous nations which it contains, as far as the Don[1] and a small
part of Greece, [namely, Macedonia,][2] we propose to give an account of
the remainder of the Helladic geography. Homer was the first writer on
the subject of geography, and was followed by many others, some of whom
composed particular treatises, and entitled them “Harbours,” “Voyages,”
“Circuits of the Earth,”[3] or gave them some name of this kind, and
these comprised the description of the Helladic country. Some, as
Ephorus and Polybius, included in their general history a separate
topography of the continents; others, as Posidonius and Hipparchus,
introduced matter relating to geography in their writings on physical
and mathematical subjects.
It is easy to form an opinion of the other writers, but the poems of
Homer require critical consideration, both because he speaks as a poet,
and because he describes things not as [CAS. 333] they exist at present,
but as they existed anciently, and the greater part of which have been
rendered obscure by time.
We must however undertake this inquiry as far as we are able, beginning
from the point where our description ended.
It ended with an account of the Epirotic and Illyrian nations on the
west and north, and of Macedonia as far as Byzantium on the east.
After the Epirotæ and Illyrii follow the Acarnanes,[4] the Ætoli, the
Locri-Ozolæ, then the Phocæenses and Bœoti, Grecian nations. Opposite to
these on the other side of the strait is Peloponnesus, which comprises
the Gulf of Corinth,[5] interposed between, and determining the figure
of the latter, from which it also receives its own. Next to Macedonia[6]
are the Thessalians,[7] extending as far as the Malienses,[8] and the
other nations, situated on both sides of the isthmus.
2. There are many Greek tribes, but the chief people are equal in number
to the Greek dialects with which we are acquainted, namely, four. Of
these, the Ionic is the same as the ancient Attic; (for Iones was the
former name of the inhabitants of Attica; from thence came the Iones who
settled in Asia,[9] and use the dialect now called Ionic;) the Doric was
the same as the Æolic dialect, for all the people on the other side of
the isthmus except the Athenians, the Megareans, and the Dorians about
Parnassus, are even now called Æolians; it is probable that the Dorians,
from their being a small nation, and occupying a most rugged country,
and from want of intercourse [with the Æolians], no longer resemble that
people either in language or customs, and, although of the same race,
have lost all appearance of affinity. It was the same with the
Athenians, who inhabiting a rugged country with a light soil, escaped
the ravages of invaders. As they always occupied the same territory, and
no enemy attempted to expel them, nor had any desire to take possession
of it themselves, on this account they were, according to Thucydides,
regarded as Autochthones, or an indigenous race. This was probably the
reason, although they were a small nation, why they remained a distinct
people with a distinct dialect.
It was not in the parts only on the other side of the isthmus, that the
Æolian nation was powerful, but those on this side also were formerly
Æolians. They were afterwards intermixed first with Ionians who came
from Attica, and got possession of Ægialus,[10] and secondly with
Dorians, who under the conduct of the Heracleidæ founded Megara and many
of the cities in the Peloponnesus. The Iones were soon expelled by the
Achæi, an Æolian tribe; and there remained in Peloponnesus the two
nations, the Æolic and the Doric. Those nations then that had little
intercourse with the Dorians used the Æolian dialect. (This was the case
with the Arcadians and Eleians, the former of whom were altogether a
mountain tribe, and did not share in the partition of the Peloponnesus;
the latter were considered as dedicated to the service of the Olympian
Jupiter, and lived for a long period in peace, principally because they
were of Æolian descent, and had admitted into their country the army of
Oxylus, about the time of the return of the Heracleidæ. [11]) The rest
used a kind of dialect composed of both, some of them having more,
others less, of the Æolic dialect. Even at present the inhabitants of
different cities use different dialects, but all seem to Dorize, or use
the Doric dialect, on account of the ascendency of that nation.
Such then is the number of the Grecian nations, and thus in general are
they distinguished from each other.
I shall resume my account of them, and describe each nation in their
proper order.
3. According to Ephorus, Acarnania is the commencement of Greece on the
west, for it is the first country which lies contiguous to the Epirotic
nations. As this author follows the coast in his measurements, and
begins from thence, considering the sea the most important guide of
topographical description, (for otherwise he might have placed the
beginning of Greece in Macedonia and Thessaly,) so ought I, observing
[CAS. 334] the natural character of places, to keep in view the sea as
a mark by which I should direct the course of my description.
The sea coming from Sicily spreads itself on one side towards the
Corinthian Gulf, and on the other forms a large peninsula, the
Peloponnesus, united to the mainland by a narrow isthmus.
The two largest bodies of country in Greece are that within the isthmus,
and that without the isthmus, [extending to the mouths of the river
Peneius]. That within the isthmus is however larger, and more
celebrated. The Peloponnesus is, as it were, the acropolis or citadel of
all Greece; and all Greece in a manner holds the chief or leading
position in Europe. For independently of the fame and power of the
nations which inhabited it, the position itself of the places in it
suggests this superiority. One site succeeds another diversified with
numerous most remarkable bays, and large peninsulas. The first of these
peninsulas is the Peloponnesus, closed in by an isthmus of forty stadia
in extent. The second comprehends the first, and has an isthmus reaching
from Pagæ in Megaris to Nisæa, which is the naval arsenal of the
Megareans; the passage across the isthmus from sea to sea is 120 stadia.
The third peninsula also comprises the latter. Its isthmus extends from
the farthest recess of the Crissæan Gulf to Thermopylæ. The line
supposed to be drawn between these is about 508 stadia in length,
including within it the whole of Bœotia, and cutting Phocis and the
country of the Epicnemidii obliquely. The fourth peninsula has the
isthmus extending from the Ambracian Gulf through Mount Œta and
Traclinia to the Maliac Gulf and Thermopylæ, about 800 stadia.
There is another isthmus of more than 1000 stadia reaching from the same
Gulf of Ambracia, and passing through the country of the Thessalians and
Macedonians to the recess of the Thermæan Gulf.
The succession of peninsulas furnishes a convenient order to be followed
in describing the country.
We must begin from the smallest, as being also the most famous of these
peninsulas. [12]
CHAPTER II.
1. The Peloponnesus resembles in figure the leaf of a plane tree. [13]
Its length and breadth are nearly equal, each about 1400 stadia. The
former is reckoned from west to east, that is, from the promontory
Chelonatas through Olympia and the territory Megalopolitis to the
isthmus; the latter from south to north, or from Maliæ through Arcadia to
Ægium.
The circumference, according to Polybius, exclusive of the circuit of
the bays, is 4000 stadia. Artemidorus however adds to this 400 stadia,
and if we include the measure of the bays, it exceeds 5600 stadia. We
have already said that the isthmus at the road where they draw vessels
over-land from one sea to the other is 40 stadia across.
2. Eleians and Messenians occupy the western side of this peninsula.
Their territory is washed by the Sicilian Sea. They possess the coast
also on each side. Elis bends towards the north and the commencement of
the Corinthian Gulf as far as the promontory Araxus,[14] opposite to
which across the strait is Acarnania; the islands Zacynthus,[15]
Cephallenia,[16] Ithaca,[17] and the Echinades, to which belongs
Dulichium, lie in front of it. The greater part of Messenia is open to
the south and to the Libyan Sea as far as the islands Thyrides near
Tænarum. [18]
Next to Elis, is the nation of the Achæi looking towards the north, and
stretching along the Corinthian Gulf they terminate at Sicyonia. Then
follow Sicyon[19] and Corinth, extending as far as the isthmus. Next
after Messenia are [CAS. 335] Laconia and Argeia, which latter country
also reaches as far as the isthmus.
The bays of the Peloponnesus are the Messeniac,[20] the Laconian,[21] a
third the Argolic,[22] and a fourth the Hermionic,[23] or the
Saronic,[24] which some writers call the Salaminiac bay. Some of these
bays are supplied by the Libyan, others by the Cretan and Myrtoan Seas.
Some call even the Saronic Gulf a sea. In the middle of Peloponnesus is
Arcadia, lying contiguous to all the other nations.
3. The Corinthian Gulf begins from the mouths of the Evenus,[25] (some
say from the mouths of the Achelous,[26] which is the boundary between
the Acarnanes and Ætoli,) and from the promontory Araxus. For there the
shores on both sides first begin to contract, and have a considerable
inclination towards each other; as they advance farther onwards they
nearly meet at Rhium[27] and Antirrhium,[28] leaving a channel of only
about 5 stadia between them.
Rhium is a promontory of Achaia, it is low, and bends inwards like a
sickle, (indeed it has the name of Drepanum, or the Sickle,) and lies
between Patræ[29] and Ægium,[30] on it there is a temple of Neptune.
Antirrhium is situated on the confines of Ætolia and Locris. It is
called Rhium Molycrium. From this point the sea-shore again parts in a
moderate degree on each side, and advancing into the Crissæan Gulf,
terminates there, being shut in by the western boundaries of Bœotia and
Megaris.
The Corinthian Gulf is 2230 stadia in circuit from the river Evenus to
the promontory Araxus; and if we reckon from the Achelous, it would be
increased by about 100 stadia.
The tract from the Achelous to the Evenus is occupied by Acarnanians;
next are the Ætoli, reaching to the Cape Antirrhium. The remainder of
the country, as far as the isthmus, is occupied by Phocis, Bœotia, and
by Megaris, it extends 1118 stadia.
The sea from Cape Antirrhium as far as the isthmus is [the Crissæan
Gulf, but from the city Creusa it is called the Sea of] Alcyonis, and is
a portion of the Crissæan Gulf. [31]
From the isthmus to the promontory Araxus is a distance of 1030 stadia.
Such in general then is the nature and extent of the Peloponnesus, and
of the country on the other side of the strait up to the farther recess
of the gulf. Such also is the nature of the gulf between both.
We shall next describe each country in particular, beginning with Elis.
CHAPTER III.
1. At present the whole sea-coast lying between the Achæi and Messenii
is called Eleia, it stretches into the inland parts towards Arcadia at
Pholoe, and the Azanes, and Parrhasii. Anciently it was divided into
several states; afterwards into two, Elis of the Epeii, and Elis under
Nestor, the son of Neleus. As Homer says, who mentions Elis of the Epeii
by name,
“Sacred Elis, where the Epeii rule. ”[32]
The other he calls Pylus subject to Nestor, through which, he says, the
Alpheius flows:
“Alpheius, that flows in a straight line through the land
of the Pylians. ”[33]
The poet was also acquainted with a city Pylus;
“They arrived at Pylus, the well-built city of Neleus. ”[34]
The Alpheius however does not flow through nor beside the city, but
another river flows beside it, which some call Pamisus, others Amathus,
from which Pylus seems to be termed Emathöeis, but the Alpheius flows
through the Eleian territory.
2. Elis, the present city, was not yet founded in the time of Homer, but
the inhabitants of the country lived in villages. It was called Cœle [or
Hollow] Elis, from the accident of its locality, for the largest and
best part of it is situated in a hollow. It was at a late period, and
after the Persian war, that the people collected together out of many
demi, or [CAS. 337] burghs, into one city. And, with the exception of a
few, the other places in the Peloponnesus which the poet enumerates are
not to be called cities, but districts.
