Strabo, Geography, Horace Leonard Jones (Translator), 8.5.1

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[1] Be this as it may, after the Messenian Gulf comes the Laconian Gulf, lying between Taenarum¹ and Maleae,² which bends slightly from the south towards the east; and Thyrides,³ a precipitous rock exposed to the currents of the sea, is in the Messenian Gulf at a distance of one hundred and thirty stadia from Taenarum. Above Thyrides lies Taÿgetus; it is a lofty and steep mountain, only a short distance from the sea, and it connects in its northerly parts with the foothills of the Arcadian mountains in such a way that a glen is left in between, where Messenia borders on Laconia. Below Taÿgetus, in the interior, lies Sparta, and also Amyclae, where is the temple of Apollo,⁴ and Pharis. Now the site of Sparta is in a rather hollow district,⁵ although it includes mountains within its limits; yet no part of it is marshy, though in olden times the suburban part was marshy, and this part they called Limnae;⁶ and the temple of Dionysus in Limnae⁷ stood on wet ground, though now its foundations rest on dry ground. In the bend of the seaboard one comes, first, to a headland that projects into the sea, Taenarum, with its temple of Poseidon situated in a grove; and secondly, near by, to the cavern⁸ through which, according to the myth writers, Cerberus was brought up from Hades by Heracles. From here the passage towards the south across the sea to Phycus,⁹ a cape in Cyrenaea, is three thousand stadia; and the passage towards the west to Pachynus,¹⁰ the promontory of Sicily, is four thousand six hundred, though some say four thousand; and towards the east to Maleae, following the sinuosities of the gulfs, six hundred and seventy; and to Onugnathus,¹¹ a low-lying peninsula somewhat this side of Maleae, five hundred and twenty; off Onugnathus and opposite it, at a distance of forty stadia, lies Cythera, an island with a good harbor, containing a city of the same name, which Eurycles, the ruler of the Lacedaemonians in our times, seized as his private property; and round it lie several small islands, some near it and others slightly farther away; and to Corycus,¹² a cape in Crete, the shortest voyage is seven hundred stadia.¹³

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

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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.) — 8.5.1 focus

[1] ἔστι δʼ οὖν μετὰ τὸν Μεσσηνιακὸν κόλπον ὁ Λακωνικὸς μεταξὺ Ταινάρου καὶ Μαλεῶν, ἐκκλίνων μικρὸν ἀπὸ μεσημβρίας πρὸς ἕω· διέχουσι δὲ σταδίους ἑκατὸν τριάκοντα αἱ Θυρίδες τοῦ Ταινάρου ἐν τῷ Μεσσηνιακῷ οὖσαι κόλπῳ, ῥοώδης κρημνός. τούτων δʼ ὑπέρκειται τὸ Ταΰγετον· ἔστι δʼ ὄρος μικρὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς θαλάττης ὑψηλόν τε καὶ ὄρθιον, συνάπτον κατὰ τὰ προσάρκτια μέρη ταῖς Ἀρκαδικαῖς ὑπωρείαις, ὥστε καταλείπεσθαι μεταξὺ αὐλῶνα, καθʼ ὃν ἡ Μεσσηνία συνεχής ἐστι τῇ Λακωνικῇ. ὑποπέπτωκε δὲ τῷ Ταϋγέτῳ ἡ Σπάρτη ἐν μεσογαίᾳ καὶ Ἀμύκλαι, οὗ τὸ τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος ἱερόν, καὶ ἡ Φᾶρις. ἔστι μὲν οὖν ἐν κοιλοτέρῳ χωρίῳ τὸ τῆς πόλεως ἔδαφος καίπερ ἀπολαμβάνον ὄρη μεταξύ· ἀλλʼ οὐδέν γε μέρος αὐτοῦ λιμνάζει, τὸ δὲ παλαιὸν ἐλίμναζε τὸ προάστειον, καὶ ἐκάλουν αὐτὸ Λίμνας· καὶ τὸ τοῦ Διονύσου ἱερὸν ἐν Λίμναις ἐφʼ ὑγροῦ βεβηκὸς ἐτύγχανε, νῦν δʼ ἐπὶ ξηροῦ τὴν ἵδρυσιν ἔχει. ἐν δὲ τῷ κόλπῳ τῆς παραλίας τὸ μὲν Ταίναρον ἀκτή ἐστιν ἐκκειμένη τὸ ἱερὸν ἔχουσα τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος ἐν ἄλσει ἱδρυμένον· πλησίον δʼ ἐστὶν ἄντρον, διʼ οὗ τὸν Κέρβερον ἀναχθῆναι μυθεύουσιν ὑφʼ Ἡρακλέους ἐξ ᾄδου. ἐντεῦθεν δʼ εἰς μὲν Φυκοῦντα ἄκραν τῆς Κυρηναίας πρὸς νότον δίαρμά ἐστι σταδίων τρισχιλίων· εἰς δὲ Πάχυνον πρὸς δύσιν, τὸ τῆς Σικελίας ἀκρωτήριον, τετρακισχιλίων ἑξακοσίων, τινὲς δὲ τετρακισχιλίων φασίν· εἰς δὲ Μαλέας πρὸς ἕω ἑξακοσίων ἑβδομήκοντα κατακολπίζοντι· εἰς δὲ Ὄνου γνάθον, ταπεινὴν χερρόνησον ἐνδοτέρω τῶν Μαλεῶν, πεντακοσίων εἴκοσι (πρόκειται δὲ κατὰ τούτου Κύθηρα ἐν τετταράκοντα σταδίοις, νῆσος εὐλίμενος, πόλιν ἔχουσα ὁμώνυμον, ἣν ἔσχεν Εὐρυκλῆς ἐν μέρει κτήσεως ἰδίας ὁ καθʼ ἡμᾶς τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων ἡγεμών· περίκειται δὲ νησίδια πλείω τὰ μὲν ἐγγὺς τὰ δὲ καὶ μικρὸν ἀπωτέρω)· εἰς δὲ Κώρυκον ἄκραν τῆς Κρήτης ἐγγυτάτω πλοῦς ἐστι σταδίων ἑπτακοσίων πεντήκοντα.

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.) — 8.5.1 focus

[1] NE5T after the Messenian is the Laconian Gulf, situated between Taenarum and Maleae, declining a little from the south to the east. Thyrides, a precipitous rock, beaten by the waves, is in the Messenian Gulf, and distant from Taenarum 100 stadia. Above is Taÿgetum, a lofty and perpendicular mountain, at a short distance from the sea, approaching on the northern side close to the Arcadian mountains, so as to leave between them a valley, where Messenia is continuous with Laconia.

At the foot of Taÿgetum, in the inland parts, lie Sparta and Amyclae,¹ where is the temple of Apollo, and Pharis. The site of Sparta is in rather a hollow, although it comprises mountains within it; no part of it, however, is marshy, although, anciently, the suburbs were so, which were called Limnae. The temple of Bacchus, also in Limnnae, was in a wet, situation, but now stands on a dry ground.

In the bay on the coast is Taenarum, a promontory projecting into the sea.² Upon it, in a grove, is the temple of Neptune, and near the temple a cave, through which, according to the fable, Cerberus was brought up by Hercules from Hades. Thence to the promontory Phycus in Cyrenaica, is a passage across towards the south of 3000 stadia; and to Pachynus, towards the west, the promontory of Sicily, 4600, or, according to some writers, 4000 stadia; to Maleae, towards the east, including the measurement of the bays, 670 stadia; to Onugnathus,³ a low peninsula a little within Maleae, 520 stadia. (In front of Onugnathus, at the distance of 40 stadia, lies Cythera,⁴ an island with a good harbour, and a city of the same name, which was the private property of Eurycles, the commander of the Lacedaemonians in our time. It is surrounded by several small islands, some near it, others lying somewhat farther off.) To Corycus, a promontory of Crete, the nearest passage by sea is 250 stadia.⁵

Notes on the current edition

Geography

1. Now Cape Matapan.

2. Now Cape Malea.

3. Literally, “Windows”; now called Kavo Grosso, a peninsular promontory about six miles in circumference, with precipitous cliffs that are riddled with caverns (Frazer, Pausanias 3, p. 399, and Curtius, Peloponnesos 2, p. 281).

4. For a description of this temple, see Paus. 3.18.9ff

5. Hence Homer’s “Hollow Lacedaemon” ( Hom. Od. 4.1 ).

6. “Marshes.”

7. Bölte ( Mitteilungen d. Kaiserl. deutsch. Arch. Intst. Athen. Abt. vol. 34 p. 388 shows that Tozer ( Selections, note on p. 212 was right in identifying this “temple of Dionysus in Limnae” with the Lenaeum at Athens, where the Lenaean festival was called the “festival in Limnae.”

8. The “Taenarias fauces” of Vergil Georgics 4.467 .

9. Now Ras-al-Razat.

10. Now Cape Passero.

11. Literally, “Ass’s-jaw”; now Cape Elaphonisi.

12. To be identified with Cimarus (10. 4. 5); see Murray’s Small Classical Atlas ( 1904, Map 11). The cape is now called Garabusa.

13. From Cape Taenarum.

Strabo Geography 8.5.1

Horace Leonard Jones (Translator)

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