Strabo, Geography, Hans Claude Hamilton (Translator), William Falconer (Translator), 9.2.31

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[31] Plataeae, which the poet uses in the singular number, lies at the foot of Cithaeron, between this mountain and Thebes, on the road to Athens and Megara; it is on the borders of Attica and Boeotia, for Eleutherae is near, which some say belongs to Attica, others to Boeotia. We have said that the Asopus flows beside Plateae. There the army of the Greeks entirely destroyed Mardonius and three hundred thousand Persians. They dedicated there a temple to Jupiter Eleutherius, and instituted gymnastic games, called Eleutheria, in which the victor was crowned. The tombs erected at the public expense, in honour of those who died in the battle, are to be seen there. In the Sicyonian district is a demus called Plataeae, where the poet Mnasalces was born:

the monument of Mnasalces of Plataeae.

Glissas,¹ Homer says, is a village on Mount Hypatus, which is near Teumessus and Cadmeia, in the Theban territory. * * * * * * * beneath is what is called the Aonian plain, which extends from Mount Hypatus [to Cadmeia?].²

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.) — 9.2.31 focus

[31] Πλαταιαὶ δέ, ἃς ἑνικῶς εἶπεν ὁ ποιητής, ὑπὸ τῷ Κιθαιρῶνί εἰσι μεταξὺ αὐτοῦ καὶ Θηβῶν κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν τὴν εἰς Ἀθήνας καὶ Μέγαρα ἐπὶ τῶν ὅρων τῶν τῆς Ἀττικῆς καὶ τῆς Βοιωτίας. αἱ γὰρ Ἐλευθεραὶ πλησίον, ἃς οἱ μὲν τῆς Ἀττικῆς, οἱ δὲ τῆς Βοιωτίας φασίν. εἴρηται δʼ ὅτι παραρρεῖ τὰς Πλαταιὰς ὁ Ἀσωπός. ἐνταῦθα Μαρδόνιον καὶ τὰς τριάκοντα μυριάδας Περσῶν αἱ τῶν Ἑλλήνων δυνάμεις ἄρδην ἠφάνισαν· ἱδρύσαντό τε ἐλευθερίου Διὸς ἱερὸν καὶ ἀγῶνα γυμνικὸν στεφανίτην ἀπέδειξαν, Ἐλευθέρια προσαγορεύσαντες· ταφή τε δείκνυται δημοσία τῶν τελευτησάντων ἐν τῇ μάχῃ. ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἐν τῇ Σικυωνίᾳ δῆμος Πλαταιαί, ὅθενπερ ἦν Μνασάλκης ὁ ποιητής¹. Γλίσσαντα δὲ λέγει κατοικίαν ἐν τῷ Ὑπάτῳ ὄρει ὅ ἐστιν ἐν τῇ Θηβαϊκῇ πλησίον Τευμησσοῦ καὶ τῆς Καδμείας², ᾧ ὑποπίπτει τὸ Ἀόνιον καλούμενον πεδίον, ὃ διατείνει εἰς τὴν Καδμείαν ἀπὸ τοῦ Ὑπάτου ὄρους.

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).) — 9.2.31 focus

[31] Plataeae, which Homer¹ speaks of in the singular number, is at the foot of Cithaeron, between it and Thebes, along the road that leads to Athens and Megara, on the confines of Attica and Megaris; for Eleutherae is near by, which some say belongs to Attica, others to Boeotia. I have already said² that the Asopus flows past Plataeae. Here it was that the forces of the Greeks completely wiped out Mardonius and his three hundred thousand Persians; and they built a temple of Zeus Eleutherius, and instituted the athletic games in which the victor received a crown, calling them the Eleutheria. And tombs of those who died in the battle, erected at public expense, are still to be seen. In Sicyonia, also, there is a deme called Plataeae, the home of Mnasalces the poet:³

“The tomb of Mnasalces the Plataean.”

⁴Homer speaks of Glissas, a settlement in the mountain Hypatus, which is in the Theban country near Teumessus and Cadmeia. The hillocks below which lies the Aonian Plain, as it is called, which extends from the Hypatus mountain to Thebes, are called “Dria.”⁵

Notes on the current edition

Geography

1. Leake identifies Glisas with the ruins on the bank of the torrent Platanaki, above which rises the mountain Siamata, the ancient Hypatus.

2. The following is the original of this corrupt passage. Kramer suggests that the words γ. δ. have been introduced from the margin into the text.

γͅεώλοφα καλεῖται δρί[???ῴ͂ ὑποπ]ίπται τὸ

̓αόνιον καλούμενον πεδίον ὃ διατείνει ?*

????ἀπὸ τοῦ?̔υπάτου ὄουςι

Pausanias, b. ix. ch. 19, makes mention of a tumulus covered with trees, near the ruins of Glisas or Glissas, which was the burial-place of Aegialus and his companions, and also of other tumuli. These were probably the γεώλοθα δρία, woody hillocks. The obscurity, however, still remains.

Strabo Geography 9.2.31

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

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