Strabo, Geography, Horace Leonard Jones (Translator), 10.4.14

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[14] Of the three cities that were united under one metropolis by Minos, the third, which was Phaestus, was razed to the ground by the Gortynians; it is sixty stadia distant from Gortyn, twenty from the sea, and forty from the seaport Matalum; and the country is held by those who razed it. Rhytium, also, together with Phaestus, belongs to the Gortynians:

and Phaestus and Rhytium.

¹ Epimenides,² who performed the purifications by means of his verses, is said to have been from Phaestus. And Lissen also is in the Phaestian territory. Of Lyctus, which I have mentioned before,³ the seaport is Cherronesus, as it is called, where is the temple of Britomartis. But the Cities Miletus and Lycastus, which are catalogued along with Lyctus,⁴ no longer exist; and as for their territory, the Lyctians took one portion of it and the Cnossians the other, after they had razed the city to the ground.

Geography. Strabo. Horace Leonard Jones (Translator). London. 1924-1929.

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Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Perseus

Geography (Books 6-14) (English) (Strabo. The Geography of Strabo, Vols. 3-6. Jones, Horace Leonard, translator. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd., 1924-1929 (printing).)

Editions (1)

Γεωγραφικά Perseus (Strabo. Strabonis Geographica, Vols. 1-3. Meineke, August, editor. Leipzig: Teubner. 1877.) — 10.4.14 focus

[14] τῶν δʼ ὑπὸ Μίνω συνῳκισμένων τριῶν τὴν λοιπὴν (Φαιστὸς δʼ ἦν αὕτη)¹ κατέσκαψαν Γορτύνιοι, τῆς μὲν Γόρτυνος διέχουσαν ἑξήκοντα, τῆς δὲ θαλάττης εἴκοσι, τοῦ δὲ Ματάλου τοῦ ἐπινείου τετταράκοντα· τὴν δὲ χώραν ἔχουσιν οἱ κατασκάψαντες. Γορτυνίων δʼ ἐστὶ καὶ τὸ Ῥύτιον σὺν τῇ Φαιστῷ

Φαιστόν τε Ῥύτιόν τε.

²ἐκ δὲ τῆς Φαιστοῦ τὸν τοὺς καθαρμοὺς ποιήσαντα διὰ τῶν ἐπῶν Ἐπιμενίδην φασὶν εἶναι. καὶ ὁ Λισσὴν δὲ τῆς Φαιστίας. Λύττου δέ, ἧς ἐμνήσθημεν καὶ πρότερον, ἐπίνειόν ἐστιν ἡ λεγομένη Χερρόνησος, ἐν ᾗ τὸ τῆς Βριτομάρτεως ἱερόν· αἱ δὲ συγκαταλεχθεῖσαι πόλεις οὐκέτʼ εἰσὶ Μίλητός τε καὶ Λύκαστος, τὴν δὲ χώραν τὴν μὲν ἐνείμαντο Λύττιοι τὴν δὲ Κνώσσιοι κατασκάψαντες τὴν πόλιν.

Translations (1)

Geography Perseus (Strabo. The Geography of Strabo, Vols. 1-3. Hamilton, Hans Claude, translator; Falconer, William, translator. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1854-1857.) — 10.4.14 focus

[14] Of the three cities founded by Minos, the last, which was Phaestus,¹ was razed by the Gortynians; it was at the distance of 60 stadia from Gortyn, 20 from the sea, and from Matalum, the arsenal, 40 stadia. They who razed the city possess the territory. Rhytium also together with Phaestus belongs to the Gortynians,

both Phaestus and Rhytium.²

Il. ii. 648. Epimenides, who performed lustrations by the means of his poetry, is said to have been a native of Phaestus. Olyssa (Lisses?) also belonged to the territory of Phaestus.

Cherrhonesus,³ as it is called, is the arsenal of Lyttus or (Lyctus), which we have before mentioned; on the former is the temple of Britomartis.

Miletus and Lycastus, the cities which were enumerated together with Lyctus, no longer exist; but the territory, after they had razed the city (Lyctus), was partitioned among Lyctians and Cnossians.

Notes on the current edition

Geography

1. Hom. Il. 2.648

2. Epimenides was a wizard, an ancient “Rip Van Winkle,” who, according to Suidas, slept for sixty of his one hundred and fifty years. According to Diogenes Laertius 1.110 , he went to Athens in “the forty sixth Olympiad” ( 596-593 B.C ) “and purified the city, and put a stop to the plague” (see Plutarch’s account of his visit in Solon’s time, Plut. Sol. 12 ). According to Plat. Laws 642d he went to Athens “ten years before the Persian war” (i.e., 500 B.C.), and uttered the prophecy that the Persians would not come for ten years, and would get the worst of it when they came. But see Pauly-Wissowa s.v. “Epimenides.”

3. 10. 4. 7.

4. Hom. Il. 2.647 .

Strabo Geography 10.4.14

Horace Leonard Jones (Translator)

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