Strabo, Geography, Hans Claude Hamilton (Translator), William Falconer (Translator), 8.6.5

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[5] And first, we may observe how frequently Argos is mentioned by the poet, both by itself and with the epithet designating it as Achaean Argos, Argos Jasum, Argos Hippium, or Hippoboton, or Pelasgicum. The city, too, is called Argos,

Argos and Sparta—¹

Il. iv. 52. those who occupied Argos

and Tiryns;²

Il. 559. and Peloponnesus is called Argos,

at our house in Argos,³

Il. i. 30. for the city could not be called his house; and he calls the whole of Greece, Argos, for he calls all Argives, as he calls them Danai, and Achaeans. He distinguishes the identity of name by epithets; he calls Thessaly, Pelasgic Argos;

all who dwelt in Pelasgic Argos;⁴

Il. ii. 681. and the Peloponnesus, the Achaean Argos;

if we should return to Achaean Argos;

Il. ix. 141.

was he not at Achaean Argos?

Od. iii. 251. intimating in these lines that the Peloponnesians were called peculiarly Achaeans according to another designation.

He calls also the Peloponnesus, Argos Jasum;

if all the Achaeans throughout Argos Jasum should see you,⁵

Od. xviii. 245. meaning Penelope, she then would have a greater number of suitors; for it is not probable that he means those from the whole of Greece, but those from the neighbourhood of Ithaca. He applies also to Argos terms common to other places, pasturing horses, and abounding with horses.

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.) — 8.6.5 focus

[5] καὶ πρῶτον ποσαχῶς λέγεται παρὰ τῷ ποιητῇ τὸ Ἄργος καὶ καθʼ αὑτὸ καὶ μετὰ τοῦ ἐπιθέτου, Ἀχαιικὸν Ἄργος καλοῦντος ἢ Ἴασον ἢ ἵππιον ἢ Πελασγικὸν ἢ ἱππόβοτον. καὶ γὰρ ἡ πόλις Ἄργος λέγεται

Ἄργος τε Σπάρτη τε.

οἱ δʼ Ἄργος τʼ εἶχον Τίρυνθά τε.

²καὶ ἡ Πελοπόννησος

ἡμετέρῳ ἐνὶ οἴκῳ ἐν Ἄργεϊ.

³οὐ γὰρ ἡ πόλις γε ἦν οἶκος αὐτοῦ. καὶ ὅλη ἡ Ἑλλάς· Ἀργείους γοῦν καλεῖ πάντας καθάπερ καὶ Δαναοὺς καὶ Ἀχαιούς. τὴν δʼ οὖν ὁμωνυμίαν τοῖς ἐπιθέτοις διαστέλλεται, τὴν μὲν Θετταλίαν Πελασγικὸν Ἄργος καλῶν

νῦν αὖ τοὺς ὅσσοι τὸ Πελασγικὸν Ἄργος ἔναιον.

⁴τὴν δὲ Πελοπόννησον Ἀχαιικὸν

εἰ δέ κεν Ἄργος ἱκοίμεθʼ Ἀχαιικὸν

⁵

ἢ οὐκ Ἄργεος ἦεν Ἀχαιικοῦ.

⁶σημαίνων ἐνταῦθα, ὅτι καὶ Ἀχαιοὶ ἰδίως ὠνομάζοντο οἱ Πελοποννήσιοι κατʼ ἄλλην σημασίαν. Ἴασόν τε Ἄργος τὴν Πελοπόννησον λέγει

εἰ πάντες γʼ ἐσίδοιεν ἀνʼ Ἴασον Ἄργος Ἀχαιοί

⁷ τὴν Πηνελόπην, ὅτι πλείους ἂν λάβοι μνηστῆρας· οὐ γὰρ τοὺς ἐξ ὅλης τῆς Ἑλλάδος εἰκός, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἐγγύς. ἱππόβοτον δὲ καὶ ἵππιον κοινῶς εἴρηκε.

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).) — 8.6.5 focus

[5] And in the first place let me mention in how many ways the term “Argos” is used by the poet, not only by itself but also with epithets, when he calls Argos “Achaean,” or “Iasian,” or “hippian,”¹ or “Pelasgian,” or “horse-pasturing.”² For, in the first place, the city is called Argos:

“Argos and Sparta,”

“and those who held Argos and Tiryns.”

⁴And, secondly, the Peloponnesus:

“in our home in Argos,”

⁵for the city of Argos was not his⁶ home. And, thirdly, Greece as a whole; at any rate, he calls all Greeks Argives, just as he calls them Danaans and Achaeans. However, he differentiates identical names by epithets, calling Thessaly “Pelasgian Argos”:

“Now all, moreover, who dwelt in Pelasgian Argos;”

⁷⁸ and calling the Peloponnesus “Achaean Argos.”

“And if we should come to Achaean Argos,”

⁹

“Or was he not in Achaean Argos?”

¹⁰And here he signifies that under a different designation the Peloponnesians were also called Achaeans in a special sense. And he calls the Peloponnesus “Iasian Argos”:

“If all the Achaeans throughout Iasian Argos could see”

¹¹ Penelope, she would have still more wooers; for it is not probable that he meant the Greeks from all Greece, but only those that were near. But the epithets “horse-pasturing” and “hippian” he uses in a general sense.

Notes on the current edition

Geography

1. Il. iv. 52.

2. Il. 559.

3. Il. i. 30.

4. Il. ii. 681.

5. Od. xviii. 245.

Strabo Geography 8.6.5

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

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