Strabo, Geography, Hans Claude Hamilton (Translator), William Falconer (Translator), 6.1.7

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[7] Sailing 50 stadia from Rhegium towards the east, we meet the cape called Leucopetra, from the colour of the rock, where they say the range of the Apennines terminates.¹ Further on is Heraclaeum.² It is the last promontory, and looks towards the south; for presently on doubling it the course takes a south-western direction as far as the promontory of Iapygia,³ then it runs towards the north more and more, and towards the west along the Ionian gulf. After the Herculeum Promontorium is the head-land of Locris, which is called Zephyrium,⁴ possessing a haven exposed to the west winds, whence is derived its name. Then is the state of the Locri Epizephyrii, a colony of Locrians transported by Evanthes from the Crissaean gulf, shortly after the foundation of Crotona and Syracuse.⁵ Ephorus was not correct in stating that they were a colony of the Locri Opuntii.⁶ They remained at first during three or four years at Cape Zephyrium; afterwards they removed their city, with the assistance of certain Syracusans who dwelt amongst them. There is also a fountain called Locria in the place where the Locri first took up their abode. From Rhegium to the Locri there are 600 stadia. The city is built on a height, which they call Esopis.⁷

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

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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.) — 6.1.7 focus

[7] ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ Ῥηγίου πλέοντι πρὸς ἕω Λευκοπέτραν καλοῦσιν ἄκραν ἀπὸ τῆς χρόας ἐν πεντήκοντα σταδίοις, εἰς ἣν τελευτᾶν φασι τὸ Ἀπέννινον ὄρος. ἐντεῦθεν δὲ Ἡράκλειον, ὃ δὴ τελευταῖον ἀκρωτήριον ὂν νεύει πρὸς μεσημβρίαν· κάμψαντι γὰρ εὐθὺς ὁ πλοῦς λιβὶ μέχρι πρὸς ἄκραν Ἰαπυγίαν· εἶτʼ ἐκκλίνει πρὸς ἄρκτον ἀεὶ καὶ μᾶλλον καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἑσπέραν ἐπὶ τὸν κόλπον τὸν Ἰόνιον. μετὰ δὲ τὸ Ἡράκλειον ἄκρα τῆς Λοκρίδος ἣ καλεῖται Ζεφύριον, ἔχουσα τοῖς ἑσπερίοις ἀνέμοις λιμένα, ἐξ οὗ καὶ τοὔνομα. εἶθʼ ἡ πόλις οἱ Λοκροὶ οἱ Ἐπιζεφύριοι, Λοκρῶν ἄποικοι τῶν ἐν τῷ Κρισαίῳ κόλπῳ, μικρὸν ὕστερον τῆς¹ Κρότωνος καὶ Συρακουσσῶν κτίσεως ἀποικισθέντες ὑπὸ Εὐάνθους· Ἔφορος δʼ οὐκ εὖ τῶν Ὀπουντίων Λοκρῶν ἀποίκους φήσας. ἔτη μὲν οὖν τρία ἢ τέτταρα ᾤκουν ἐπὶ τῷ Ζεφυρίῳ· καὶ ἔστιν ἐκεῖ κρήνη Λοκρία, ὅπου οἱ Λοκροὶ ἐστρατοπεδεύσαντο. εἶτα μετήνεγκαν τὴν πόλιν συμπραξάντων καὶ Συρακουσσίων. ἅμα γὰρ οὗτοι ἐν οἷς εἰσὶ δʼ ἀπὸ Ῥηγίου μέχρι Λοκρῶν ἑξακόσιοι στάδιοι. ἵδρυται δʼ ἡ πόλις ἐπʼ ὀφρύος ἣν Ἐπῶπιν καλοῦσι.

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).) — 6.1.7 focus

[7] As one sails from Rhegium towards the east, and at a distance of fifty stadia, one comes to Cape Leucopetra¹ (so called from its color), in which, it is said, the Apennine Mountain terminates. Then comes Heracleium, which is the last cape of Italy and inclines towards the south; for on doubling it one immediately sails with the southwest wind as far as Cape Iapygia, and then veers off, always more and more, towards the northwest in the direction of the Ionian Gulf.² After Heracleium comes a cape belonging to Locris , which is called Zephyrium ; its harbor is exposed to the winds that blow from the west, and hence the name. Then comes the city Locri Epizephyrii ,³ a colony of the Locri who live on the Crisaean Gulf,⁴ which was led out by Evanthes only a little while after the founding of Croton and Syracuse .⁵ Ephorus is wrong in calling it a colony of the Locri Opuntii. However, they lived only three or four years at Zephyrium , and then moved the city to its present site, with the cooperation of Syracusans [for at the same time the latter, among whom . . .]⁶ And at Zephyrium there is a spring, called Locria, where the Locri first pitched camp. The distance from Rhegium to Locri is six hundred stadia. The city is situated on the brow of a hill called Epopis.

Notes on the current edition

Geography

1. Pliny computes the distance from Rhegium to Cape Leucopetra at 12 miles; there is probably some error in the text, as there is no cape which corresponds with the distance of 50 stadia from Rhegium. A note in the French translation proposes to read 100 instead of 50 stadia. Topographers are not agreed in fixing the situation of the celebrated Leucopetra. D’Anville places it at Capo Pittaro, Grimaldi at the Punta della Saetta, and Cluverius, Holstenius, and Cellarius at the Capo dell’ Armi. This latter opinion seems more compatible with the statement of Pliny, and is also more generally accredited.

2. The Herculeum Promontorium is known in modern geography as Capo Spartivento.

3. The Promontorium Iapygium, or Sallentinum, as it was sometimes called, formed a remarkable feature in the figure of Italy, while the art of navigation was in its infancy. It was a conspicuous land-mark to mariners bound from the ports of Greece to Sicily. The fleets of Athens, after having circumnavigated the Peloponnesus, usually made for Corcyra, whence they steered straight across to the promontory, and then coasted along the south of Italy. It seems from Thucydides (vi. 44) that there was a haven here which afforded a shelter to vessels in tempestuous weather.

4. Now Capo di Bruzzano.

5. The one 710, the other 734 years B. C.

6. The opinion of Ephorus seems to be supported by many other writers, and is generally preferred by modern critics.

7. Monte Esope.

Strabo Geography 6.1.7

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

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