Strabo, Geography, Hans Claude Hamilton (Translator), William Falconer (Translator), 9.2.19

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[19] These rivers descend from the Phocian mountains, and among them the Cephissus,¹ having its source at Lilaea, a Phocian city, as Homer describes it;

And they who occupied Lilaea, at the sources of Cephissus.²

Il. ii. 523. It flows through Elateia,³ the largest of the cities among the Phocians, through the Parapotamii, and the Phanoteis, which are also Phocian towns; it then goes onwards to Chaeroneia in Boeotia; afterwards, it traverses the districts of Orchomenus and Coroneia, and discharges its waters into the lake Copais. The Permessus and the Olmeius⁴ descend from Helicon, and uniting their streams, fall into the lake Copais near Haliartus. The waters of other streams likewise discharge themselves into it. It is a large lake with a circuit of 380 stadia;⁵ the outlets are nowhere visible, if we except the chasm which receives the Cephissus, and the marshes.

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.) — 9.2.19 focus

[19] οὗτοι μὲν οὖν ἐκ τῶν Φωκικῶν ὀρῶν οἱ ποταμοὶ καταφέρονται, ὧν ὁ Κηφισσὸς ἐκ Λιλαίας Φωκικῆς πόλεως τὴν ἀρχὴν λαμβάνει, καθάπερ καὶ Ὅμηρός φησιν οἵ τε Λίλαιαν ἔχον πηγῇς ἔπι Κηφισσοῖο· διʼ Ἐλατείας δὲ ῥυεὶς μεγίστης τῶν ἐν Φωκεῦσι πόλεων, καὶ διὰ Παραποταμίων καὶ Φανοτέων ὁμοίως Φωκικῶν πολισμάτων, εἰς Χαιρώνειαν τῆς Βοιωτίας πρόεισιν, εἶτα διὰ τῆς Ὀρχομενίας καὶ τῆς Κορωνειακῆς εἰς τὴν Κωπαΐδα λίμνην ἐξίησι· καὶ ὁ Περμησσὸς δὲ καὶ ὁ Ὀλμειός, ἐκ τοῦ Ἑλικῶνος συμβάλλοντες ἀλλήλοις, εἰς τὴν αὐτὴν ἐμπίπτουσι λίμνην τὴν Κωπαΐδα τοῦ Ἁλιάρτου πλη σίον· καὶ ἄλλα δὲ ῥεύματα εἰς αὐτὴν ἐμβάλλει. ἔστι μὲν οὖν μεγάλη, τὴν περίμετρον ἔχουσα ὀγδοήκοντα καὶ τριακοσίων σταδίων, αἱ δὲ ἐκρύσεις οὐδαμοῦ φαίνονται πλὴν τοῦ δεχομένου τὸν Κηφισσὸν χάσματος καὶ τῶν ἑλῶν.

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).) — 9.2.19 focus

[19] Now these rivers flow down from the Phocian mountains, and among them the Cephissus, which takes its beginning at Lilaea, a Phocian city, as Homer says: “And those who held Lilaea, at the sources of Cephissus.”¹ And flowing through Elateia, the largest of the cities of Phocis, and through Parapotamii and Phanoteus,² which are likewise Phocian towns, it goes on into Chaeroneia in Boeotia, and then through the territories of Orchomenus and Coroneia, and discharges into Lake Copais. And also the Permessus and the Olmeius, flowing from Helicon, meet one another and fall into the same Lake Copais near Haliartus; and also other streams empty into it. Now it is a large lake, having a circuit of three hundred and eighty stadia, but its outlets are nowhere to be seen, except for the fissure which admits the Cephissus, and for the marshes.

Notes on the current edition

Geography

1. There were several rivers of this name. See below, c. iii. § 16.

2. Il. ii. 523.

3. See below, ch. iii. § 15. Elateia is represented by the modern village of Elefta.

4. See ch. ii. § 26.

5. It is impossible to make any exact statement respecting its extent, since it varied so much at different times of the year and in different seasons. On the northern and eastern sides its extent is limited by a range of heights, but on the opposite quarter there is no such natural boundary to its size. Smith, v. Boeotia, which contains also a useful map from Forschamer’s Hellenica of the Basin of the Copais.

Strabo Geography 9.2.19

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

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