Strabo, Geography, Hans Claude Hamilton (Translator), William Falconer (Translator), 11.2.17

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[17] The greater part of the rest of Colchis lies upon the sea. The Phasis,¹ a large river, flows through it. It has its source in Armenia, and receives the Glaucus,² and the Hippus,³ which issue from the neighbouring mountains. Vessels ascend it as far as the fortress of Sarapana,⁴ which is capable of containing the population even of a city. Persons proceed thence by land to the Cyrus in four days along a carriage road.⁵ Upon the Phasis is a city of the same name, a mart of the Colchians, bounded on one side by the river, on another by a lake, on the third by the sea. Thence it is a voyage of three or two⁶ days to Amisus and Sinope, on account of the softness of the shores caused by the discharge of rivers.⁷

The country is fertile and its produce is good, except the honey, which has generally a bitter taste. It furnishes all materials for ship-building. It produces them in great plenty, and they are conveyed down by its rivers. It supplies flax, hemp, wax, and pitch, in great abundance. Its linen manufacture is celebrated, for it was exported to foreign parts; and those who wish to establish an affinity of race between the Colchians and the Aegyptians, advance this as a proof of it.

Above the rivers which I have mentioned in the Moschic territory is the temple of Leucothea,⁸ founded by Phrixus⁹ and his oracle, where a ram is not sacrificed. It was once rich, but was plundered in our time by Pharnaces, and a little afterwards by Mithridates of Pergamus.¹⁰ For when a country is devastated, in the words of Euripides,

respect to the gods languishes, and they are not honoured.

Eurip. Troad. 26.

Geography. Strabo. Hans Claude Hamilton (Translator), William Falconer (Translator). London. 1854-1857.

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Funding provided by Tufts University.

Current edition Perseus

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

Editions (1)

Γεωγραφικά Perseus (Strabo. Strabonis Geographica, Vols. 1-3. Meineke, August, editor. Leipzig: Teubner. 1877.) — 11.2.17 focus

[17] καὶ ἡ λοιπὴ δὲ Κολχὶς ἐπὶ τῇ θαλάττῃ ἡ πλείων ἐστί· διαρρεῖ δʼ αὐτὴν ὁ Φᾶσις, μέγας ποταμὸς ἐξ Ἀρμενίας τὰς ἀρχὰς ἔχων, δεχόμενος τόν τε Γλαῦκον καὶ τὸν Ἵππον ἐκ τῶν πλησίον ὀρῶν ἐκπίπτοντας· ἀναπλεῖται δὲ μέχρι Σαραπανῶν ἐρύματος δυναμένου δέξασθαι καὶ πόλεως συνοικισμόν, ὅθεν πεζεύουσιν ἐπὶ τὸν Κῦρον ἡμέραις τέτταρσι διʼ ἁμαξιτοῦ. ἐπίκειται δὲ τῷ Φάσιδι ὁμώνυμος πόλις, ἐμπόριον τῶν Κόλχων, τῇ μὲν προβεβλημένη τὸν ποταμὸν τῇ δὲ λίμνην τῇ δὲ τὴν θάλατταν. ἐντεῦθεν δὲ πλοῦς ἐπʼ Ἀμισοῦ καὶ Σινώπης τριῶν ἡμερῶν ἢ δύο διὰ τὸ τοὺς αἰγιαλοὺς μαλακοὺς εἶναι καὶ τὰς τῶν ποταμῶν ἐκβολάς. ἀγαθὴ δʼ ἐστὶν ἡ χώρα καὶ καρποῖς πλὴν τοῦ μέλιτος (πικρίζει γὰρ τὸ πλέον) καὶ τοῖς πρὸς ναυπηγίαν πᾶσιν· ὕλην τε γὰρ καὶ φύει καὶ ποταμοῖς κατακομίζει, λίνον τε ποιεῖ πολὺ καὶ κάνναβιν καὶ κηρὸν καὶ πίτταν. ἡ δὲ λινουργία καὶ τεθρύληται· καὶ γὰρ εἰς τοὺς ἔξω τόπους ἐξεκόμιζον, καί τινες βουλόμενοι συγγένειάν τινα τοῖς Κόλχοις πρὸς τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους ἐμφανίζειν ἀπὸ τούτων πιστοῦνται. ὑπέρκειται δὲ τῶν λεχθέντων ποταμῶν ἐν τῇ Μοσχικῇ τὸ τῆς Λευκοθέας ἱερὸν Φρίξου ἵδρυμα, καὶ μαντεῖον ἐκείνου, ὅπου κριὸς οὐ θύεται, πλούσιόν ποτε ὑπάρξαν, συληθὲν δὲ ὑπὸ Φαρνάκου καθʼ ἡμᾶς καὶ μικρὸν ὕστερον ὑπὸ Μιθριδάτου τοῦ Περγαμηνοῦ. κακωθείσης γὰρ χώρας

νοσεῖ τὰ τῶν θεῶν οὐδὲ τιμᾶσθαι θέλει,

¹φησὶν Εὐριπίδης.

Translations (1)

Geography (Books 6-14) Perseus (Strabo. The Geography of Strabo, Vols. 3-6. Jones, Horace Leonard, translator. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd., 1924-1929 (printing).) — 11.2.17 focus

[17] Further, the greater part of the remainder of Colchis is on the sea. Through it flows the Phasis, a large river having its sources in Armenia and receiving the waters of the Glaucus and the Hippus, which issue from the neighboring mountains. It is navigated as far as Sarapana, a fortress capable of admitting the population even of a city. From here people go by land to the Cyrus in four days by a wagon road. On the Phasis is situated a city bearing the same name, an emporium of the Colchi, which is protected on one side by the river, on another by a lake, and on another by the sea. Thence people go to Amisus and Sinope by sea (a voyage of two or three days), because the shores are soft and because of the outlets of the rivers. The country is excellent both in respect to its produce—except its honey, which is generally bitter—and in respect to every thing that pertains to shipbuilding; for it not only produces quantities of timber but also brings it down on rivers. And the people make linen in quantities, and hemp, wax, and pitch. Their linen industry has been famed far and wide; for they used to export linen to outside places; and some writers, wishing to show forth a kinship between the Colchians and the Egyptians, confirm their belief by this. Above the aforesaid rivers in the Moschian country lies the temple of Leucothea, founded by Phrixus, and the oracle of Phrixus, where a ram is never sacrificed; it was once rich, but it was robbed in our time by Pharnaces, and a little later by Mithridates of Pergamum. For when a country is devastated,

things divine are in sickly plight and wont not even to be respected,

¹says Euripides.

Notes on the current edition

Geography

1. The Rion.

2. The Tschorocsu.

3. The Ilori.

4. Choropani.

5. The point of embarkation on the Cyrus (the Kur) is supposed to have been Surham, the ancient Sura.

6. Gossellin, Groskurd, and Kramer, all agree that there is here an error. Kramer is of opinion that the conjecture of Gossellin may be adopted, viz. eight or nine, instead of three or two, the letters T and B being a corruption of η and θ.

7. Coray’s proposed reading is adopted, καιὰ for καὶ.

8. According to Heyne, this was an Assyrian goddess worshipped under various titles.

9. In consequence of the intrigues of his stepmother Ino he was to be sacrificed to Zeus, but his mother Nephele removed him and his sister Helle, and the two then rode away on the ram with the golden fleece, the gift of Hermes, through the air. Helle fell into the sea, which was afterwards called, after her, the Hellespont. Smith, art. Phrixus.

10. The son of Menodotus by a daughter o Adobogion, a descendant of the tetrarchs of Galatia. He was the personal friend of Caesar, who at the commencement of the Alexandrian war (B. C. 48) sent him into Syria and Cilicia to raise auxiliary forces. Smith, art. Mithridates, and see B. xiii. c. iv. § 3.

Strabo Geography 11.2.17

Hans Claude Hamilton (Translator), William Falconer (Translator)

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