Strabo, Geography, Hans Claude Hamilton (Translator), William Falconer (Translator), 14.5.29

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[29] We may impute another fault to Apollodorus, that although he frequently censures modern writers for introducing new readings at variance with the meaning of Homer, yet in this instance he not only neglects his own advice, but actually unites together places which are not so represented (by Homer).

(For example), 5anthus the Lydian says, that after the Trojan times the Phrygians came from Europe (into Asia) and the left (western) side of the Euxine, and that their leader Scamandrius conducted them from the Berecynti and Ascania. Apollodorus adds, that Homer mentions the same Ascania as 5anthus,

Phorcys and the divine Ascanius led the Phrygians from the distant Ascania.¹

If this be so, the migration (from Europe to Asia) must be later than the Trojan war; but in the Trojan war the auxiliaries mentioned by the poet came from the opposite continent, from the Berecynti and Ascania. Who then were the Phrygians,

who were then encamped on the banks of the Sangarius,

when Priam says,

And I joined them with these troops as an auxiliary?²

And how came Priam to send for the Phrygians from among the Berecynti, between whom and himself no compact existed, and pass over the people who were contiguous to him, and whose ally he formerly had been?

Apollodorus, after having spoken of the Phrygians in this manner, introduces an account concerning the Mysians which contradicts this. He says that there is a village of Mysia called Ascania, near a lake of the same name,³ out of which issues the river Ascanius, mentioned by Euphorion:⁴

near the waters of the Mysian Ascanius;

and by Alexander of Aetolia:

they who dwell on the stream of Ascanius, on the brink of the Ascanian lake, where lived Dolion, the son of Silenus and Melia.

The district, he says, about Cyzicus, on the road to Miletopolis, is called Dolionis and Mysia.

If this is the case, and if it is confirmed by existing places and by the poets, what prevented Homer, when he mentioned this Ascania, from mentioning the Ascania also of which 5anthus speaks?

I have already spoken of these places in the description of Mysia and Phrygia, and shall here conclude the discussion.

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

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

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.) — 14.5.29 focus

[29] ἔτι καὶ ταῦτα μέμψαιτο ἄν τις τοῦ Ἀπολλοδώρου, ὅτι τῶν νεωτέρων καινοτομούντων πολλὰ παρὰ τὰς Ὁμηρικὰς ἀποφάσεις, εἰωθὼς ταῦτʼ ἐλέγχειν ἐπὶ πλέον, ἐνταῦθα οὐκ ὠλιγώρηκε μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τἀναντία εἰς ἓν συνάγει τὰ μὴ ὡσαύτως λεγόμενα. ὁ μὲν γὰρ Ξάνθος ὁ Λυδὸς μετὰ τὰ Τρωικά φησιν ἐλθεῖν τοὺς Φρύγας ἐκ τῆς Εὐρώπης καὶ τῶν ἀριστερῶν τοῦ Πόντου, ἀγαγεῖν δʼ αὐτοὺς Σκαμάνδριον ἐκ Βερεκύντων καὶ Ἀσκανίας. ἐπιλέγει δὲ τούτοις ὁ Ἀπολλόδωρος, ὅτι τῆς Ἀσκανίας ταύτης μνημονεύει καὶ Ὅμηρος ἧς ὁ Ξάνθος

Φόρκυς δὲ Φρύγας ἦγε καὶ Ἀσκάνιος θεοειδὴς

τῆλʼ ἐξ Ἀσκανίης.

¹ ἀλλʼ εἰ οὕτως ἔχει, ἡ μὲν μετανάστασις ὕστερον ἂν εἴη τῶν Τρωικῶν γεγονυῖα, ἐν δὲ τοῖς Τρωικοῖς τὸ λεγόμενον ὑπὸ τοῦ ποιητοῦ ἐπικουρικὸν ἧκεν ἐκ τῆς περαίας ἐκ τῶν Βερεκύντων καὶ τῆς Ἀσκανίας. τίνες οὖν Φρύγες ἦσαν

οἵ ῥα τότʼ ἐστρατόωντο παρʼ ὄχθας Σαγγαρίοιο,

² ὅτε ὁ Πρίαμος

ἐπίκουρος ἐὼν μετὰ τοῖσιν ἐλέγμην

³ φησί; πῶς δὲ ἐκ μὲν Βερεκύντων μετεπέμπετο Φρύγας ὁ Πρίαμος, πρὸς οὓς οὐδὲν ἦν αὐτῷ συμβόλαιον, τοὺς δʼ ὁμόρους καὶ οἷς αὐτὸς πρότερον ἐπεκούρησε παρέλιπεν; οὕτω δὲ περὶ τῶν Φρυγῶν εἰπὼν ἐπιφέρει καὶ τὰ περὶ τῶν Μυσῶν οὐχ ὁμολογούμενα τούτοις· λέγεσθαι γάρ φησι καὶ τῆς Μυσίας κώμην Ἀσκανίαν περὶ λίμνην ὁμώνυμον, ἐξ ἧς καὶ τὸν Ἀσκάνιον ποταμὸν ῥεῖν, οὗ μνημονεύει καὶ Εὐφορίων

Μυσοῖος παρʼ ὕδασιν Ἀσκανίοιο.

καὶ ὁ Αἰτωλὸς Ἀλέξανδρος

οἳ καὶ ἐπʼ Ἀσκανίῳ δώματʼ ἔχουσι ῥόῳ,

λίμνης Ἀσκανίης ἐπὶ χείλεσιν· ἔνθα Δολίων

υἱὸς Σιληνοῦ νάσσατο καὶ Μελίης.

καλοῦσι δέ, φησί, Δολιονίδα καὶ Μυσίαν τὴν περὶ Κύζικον ἰόντι εἰς Μιλητούπολιν. εἰ οὖν οὕτως ἔχει ταῦτα, καὶ ἐκμαρτυρεῖται ὑπὸ τῶν δεικνυμένων νῦν καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ποιητῶν, τί ἐκώλυε τὸν Ὅμηρον ταύτης μεμνῆσθαι τῆς Ἀσκανίας, ἀλλὰ μὴ τῆς ὑπὸ Ξάνθου λεγομένης; εἴρηται δὲ καὶ πρότερον περὶ τούτων ἐν τῷ περὶ Μυσῶν καὶ Φρυγῶν λόγῳ, ὥστε ἐχέτω πέρας.

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).) — 14.5.29 focus

[29] Still further one might find fault with Apollodorus, because, when the more recent writers make numerous innovations contrary to the statements of Homer, he is wont frequently to put these innovations to the test, but in the present case he not only has made small account of them, but also, on the contrary, identifies things that are not meant alike; for instance, Xanthus the Lydian says that it was after the Trojan War that the Phrygians came from Europe and the left-hand side of the Pontus, and that Scamandrius led them from the Berecyntes and Ascania, but Apollodorus adds to this the statement that Homer refers to this Ascania that is mentioned by Xanthus:

And Phorcys and godlike Ascanius led the Phrygians from afar, from Ascania.

¹However, if this is so, the migration must have taken place later than the Trojan War, whereas the allied force mentioned by the poet came from the opposite mainland, from the Berecyntes and Ascania. Who, then, were the Phrygians,

who were then encamped along the banks of the Sangarius,

²when Priam says,

for I too, being an ally, was numbered among these?

³And how could Priam have sent for Phrygians from the Berecyntes, with whom he had no compact, and yet leave uninvited those who lived on his borders and to whom he had formerly been ally? And after speaking in this way about the Phrygians he adds also an account of the Mysians that is not in agreement with this; for he says that there is also a village in Mysia which is called Ascania, near a lake of the same name, whence flows the Ascanius River, which is mentioned by Euphorion,

beside the waters of the Mysian Ascanius,

and by Alexander the Aetolian,

who have their homes on the Ascanian streams, on the lips of the Ascanian Lake, where dwelt Dolion, the son of Silenus and Melia.

And he says that the country round Cyzicus, as one goes to Miletupolis, is called Dolionis and Mysia. If this is so, then, and if witness thereto is borne both by the places now pointed out and by the poets, what could have prevented Homer from mentioning this Ascania, and not the Ascania spoken of by Xanthus? I have discussed this before, in my account of the Mysians and Phrygians;⁴ and therefore let this be the end of that subject.

Notes on the current edition

Geography

1. Il. ii. 862.

2. Il. iii. 187.

3. Isnik.

4. Euphorion acquired celebrity as a voluminous writer. Vossius, i. 16, gives a catalogue of his works. According to Suidas, he was born in Chalcis, in Negropont, at the time Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, was defeated by the Romans. He acquired a considerable fortune by his writings and by his connexion with persons of eminent rank. He was invited to the court of Antiochus the Great, king of Syria, who intrusted him with the care of his library. According to Sallust, (Life of Tiberius,) he was one of the poets whom Tiberius took as his model in writing Greek verse. Fecit et Graeca poemata, imitatus Euphorionem, et Rhianum et Parthenium.

Strabo Geography 14.5.29

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

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