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CHAPTER IV.

[1] POLYBIUS, in his Chorography of Europe, tells us that it is not his intention to examine the writings of the ancient geographers, but the statements of those who have criticised them, such as Dicaearchus, Eratosthenes, (who was the last of those who [in his time] had laboured on geography,) and Pytheas, by whom many have been deceived. It is this last writer who states that he travelled all over Britain on foot, and that the island is above 40,000 stadia in circumference. It is likewise he who describes Thule and other neighbouring places, where, according to him, neither earth, water, nor air exist, separately, but a sort of concretion of all these, resembling marine sponge, in which the earth, the sea, and all things were suspended, thus forming, as it were, a link to unite the whole together. It can neither be travelled over nor sailed through. As for the substance, he affirms that he has beheld it with his own eyes; the rest, he reports on the authority of others. So much for the statements of Pytheas, who tells us, besides, that after he had returned thence, he traversed the whole coasts of Europe from Gades to the Don.

[2] Polybius asks, How is it possible that a private individual, and one too in narrow circumstances, could ever have performed such vast expeditions by sea and land? And how could Eratosthenes, who hesitates whether he may rely on his statements in general, place such entire confidence in what that writer narrates concerning Britain, Gades, and Iberia? says he, it would have been better had Eratosthenes trusted to the Messenian¹ rather than to this writer. The former merely pretends to have sailed into one [unknown] country, viz. Panchaea, but the latter, that he has visited the whole of the north of Europe as far as the ends of the earth; which statement, even had it been made by Mercury, we should not have believed. Nevertheless Eratosthenes, who terms Euhemerus a Bergaean, gives credit to Pytheas, although even Dicaearchus would not believe him.

This argument, although even Dicaearchus would not believe him, is ridiculous, just as if Eratosthenes ought to take for his standard a writer whom Polybius is himself for ever complaining of.²

The ignorance of Eratosthenes respecting the western and northern portions of Europe, we have before remarked. But both he and Dicaearchus must be pardoned for this, as neither of them were personally familiar with those localities. But how can one excuse Polybius and Posidonius? especially Polybius, who treats as mere hearsay what Eratosthenes and Dicaearchus report concerning the distances of various places; and many other matters, about which, though he blames them, he is not himself free from error. Dicaearchus states that there are 10,000 stadia from the Peloponnesus to the Pillars, and something above this number from the Peloponnesus to the recess of the Adriatic.³ He supposes 3000 stadia between the Peloponnesus and the Strait of Sicily; thus there would remain 7000 between the Strait of Sicily and the Pillars.⁴

I will not inquire, says Polybius, whether the statement concerning the 3000 stadia is correct or not, but 7000 stadia is not the correct measure [from the Strait of Messina to the Pillars of Hercules], whether taken along the sea-shore, or right across the sea. The coast closely resembles an obtuse angle, one side reaching to the Strait of Sicily, the other to the Pillars, the vertex being Narbonne. Now let a triangle be constructed, having for its base a right line drawn through the sea, and its sides forming the aforementioned angle. The side reaching from the Strait of Sicily to Narbonne is above 11,200 stadia, while the other is below 8000. Now the greatest distance from Europe to Libya, across the Tyrrhenian Sea,⁵ is not above 3000 stadia, and across the Sea of Sardinia⁶ it is less still. But supposing that it too is 3000 stadia add to this 2000 stadia, the depth of the bay at Narbonne as a perpendicular from the vertex to the base of the obtuse-angled triangle. It will, then, be clear even to the geometrical powers of a child, that the entire coast from the Strait of Sicily to the Pillars, does not exceed by more than 500 stadia the right line drawn across the sea; adding to these the 3000 stadia from the Peloponnesus to the Strait of Sicily, the whole taken together will give a straight line⁷ above double the length assigned by Dicaearchus; and, according to his system, you must add in addition to these the stadia at the recess of the Adriatic.

[3] True, dear Polybius, (one might say,) this error [of Dicaearchus] is manifested by the proof which you yourself have given when you inform us that from the Peloponnesus to Leucas⁸ there are 700 stadia; from thence to Corcyra⁹ the same number; and the same number again from Corcyra to the Ceraunian Mountains;¹⁰ and from the Ceraunian Mountains to Iapygia,¹¹ following the coast of Illyria on the right, 6150 stadia.¹² But the statement of Dicaearchus, that the distance from the Strait of Sicily to the Pillars is 7000 stadia, and also your view of the matter, are both of them equally incorrect. For almost every one is agreed that the distance measured straight across the sea is 12,000 stadia, and this coincides with the received calculation of the length of the inhabited earth, which is estimated at above 70,000 stadia; the western portion of this from the Gulf of Issus¹³ to the extreme western point of Iberia is little less than 30,000 stadia, and is thus calculated: from the Gulf of Issus to Rhodes 5000 stadia; from thence to Cape Salmonium,¹⁴ which forms the eastern extremity of Crete, 1000; the length of Crete to Criu-metopon¹⁵ above 2000; thence to Cape Pachynus¹⁶ in Sicily 4500, and from Pachynus to the Strait of Sicily above 1000 stadia; the run from the Strait to the Pillars 12,000 and lastly, from the Pillars to the extremity of the said promontory¹⁷ of Iberia, about 3000 stadia.¹⁸

In addition to this, the perpendicular¹⁹ is not correct, supposing it true that Narbonne lies under almost the same parallel as Marseilles, and that this latter place is under the same parallel as Byzantium; which is the opinion of Hipparchus. Now the line drawn across the sea lies under the same parallel as the Strait [of the Pillars] and Rhodes; and the distance from Rhodes to Byzantium, which both lie under the same meridian, is estimated at about 5000 stadia; to which the above-mentioned perpendicular ought to be equal. But since they say that from the recess of the Galatic Gulf, the greatest distance across the sea from Europe to Libya is 5000 stadia, it seems to me that either there is some error in this statement, or that at this point Libya must incline very much to the north, and so come under the same parallel as the Pillars. Polybius is likewise mistaken in telling us that this said perpendicular terminates close to Sardinia; for instead of being lose to Sardinia, it is far west thereof, having almost the whole of the sea of Liguria²⁰ between it and that island. Besides this he makes the length of the sea-coast too great; but this [error] is not so considerable [as the two preceding].

[4] After this Polybius proceeds to set right the mistakes of Eratosthenes. In this he is sometimes successful; at others his corrections are for the worse. For example, Eratosthenes gives 300 stadia from Ithaca to Corcyra; Polybius makes it above 900. From Epidamnus to Thessalonica Eratosthenes allows 900 stadia; Polybius says above 2000. In these instances he is correct. But where Eratosthenes states that from Marseilles to the Pillars there are 7000 stadia, and from the Pyrenees [to the same place] 6000, and Polybius alters this to more than 9000 from Marseilles, and little less than 8000 from the Pyrenees,²¹ he is quite mistaken, and not so near to the truth as Eratosthenes. For all are now agreed that, barring the indirectness of the roads, the whole length of Iberia is not more than 6000 stadia²² from the Pyrenees to its western limits; notwithstanding Polybius gives 8000 stadia for the length of the river Tagus, from its source to its outlets, and this in a straight line without any reference to its sinuosities, which in fact never enter into the geographical estimate, although the sources of the Tagus are above 1000 stadia from the Pyrenees. His remark is quite correct, that Eratosthenes knew little about Iberia, and on this account sometimes makes conflicting statements concerning it. He tells us, for example, that the portion of this country situated on the sea-coast as far as Gades is inhabited by Galatae,²³ who possess western Europe as far as Gades; nevertheless, in his account of Iberia he seems quite to have forgotten this, and makes no mention of these Galatae whatever.

[5] Again, however, Polybius makes an incorrect assertion, in stating that the whole length of Europe is unequal to that of Africa and Asia taken together. He tells us “that the entrance at the Pillars corresponds in direction to the equinoctial west, and that the Don flows from the summer rising,²⁴ consequently the length of Europe is less than that of Asia and Africa taken together by the space between the summer rising and the equinoctial rising,²⁵ since Asia occupies the eastern portion of the northern semicircle. Now, in addition to the obscurity which Polybius throws over subjects which might have been simply stated, it is false that the river Don flows from the summer rising. For all who are acquainted with these localities inform us that this river flows from the north into the Maeotis, so that the mouth of the river lies under the same meridian as that of the Maeotis; and so in fact does the whole river as far as is known.²⁶

[6] Equally unworthy of credit is the statement of those who tell us, that the Don rises in the vicinity of the Danube, and flows from the west; they do not remember that between these are the Dniester, the Dnieper, and the Bog, all great rivers, which flow [into the Euxine Sea]; one runs parallel to the Danube, the other two to the Don. Now if at the present day we are ignorant of the sources both of the Dniester, and also of the Dnieper and Bog, the regions farther north must certainly be still less known. It is therefore a fictitious and idle assertion, that the Don crosses these rivers, and then turns northward on its way to discharge itself into the Maebtis, it being well known that the outlets to this river are in the most northern and eastern portions of the lake.²⁷

No less idle is the statement which has also been advanced. that the Don, after crossing the Caucasus, flows northward and then turns towards the Maeotis.²⁸ No one, however, [with the exception of Polybius,] made this river flow from the east If such were its course, our best geographers would never have told us that its direction was contrary to that of the Nile, and, so to speak, diametrically opposite thereto, as if the course of both rivers lay under the same meridian.

[7] Further, the length of the inhabited earth is measured on a line parallel with the equator, as it is in this direction that its greatest length lies: in the same way with respect to each of the continents, we must take their length as it lies between two meridians. The measure of these lengths consists of a certain number of stadia, which we obtain either by going over the places themselves, or roads or ways parallel thereto. Polybius abandons this method, and adopts the new way of taking the segment of the northern semicircle comprised between the summer rising and the equinoctial rising. But no one ought to calculate by variable rules or measures in determining the length of fixed distances: nor yet should he make use of the phenomena of the heavens, which appear different when observed from different points, for distances which have their length determined by themselves and remain unchanged. The length of a country never varies, but depends upon itself; whereas, the equinoctial rising and setting, and the summer and winter rising and setting, depend not on themselves, but on our position [with respect to them]. As we shift from place to place, the equinoctial rising and setting, and the winter and summer rising and setting, shift with us; but the length of a continent always remains the same. To make the Don and the Nile the bounds of -these continents, is nothing out of the way, but it is something strange to employ for this purpose the equinoctial rising and the summer rising.

[8] Of the many promontories formed by Europe, a better description is given by Polybius than by Eratosthenes; but even his is not sufficient. Eratosthenes only names three; one at the Pillars of Hercules, where Iberia is situated; a second at the Strait of Sicily, and containing Italy; the third terminated by the Cape of Malea,²⁹ comprising all the countries situated between the Adriatic, the Euxine, and the Don. The two former of these Polybius describes in the same manner as Eratosthenes, but the third, which is equally terminated by the Cape of Malea³⁰ and Cape Sunium,³¹ [he makes to] comprehend the whole of Greece, Illyria, and some portion of Thrace. [He supposes] a fourth, containing the Thracian Chersonesus and the countries contiguous to the Strait,³² betwixt Sestos and Abydos. This is occupied by the Thracians. Also a fifth, about the Kimmerian Bosphorus and the mouth of the Maeotis. Let us allow [to Polybius] his two former [promontories], they are clearly distinguished by unmistakeable bays; the first by the bay between Calpé³³ and the Sacred Promontory³⁴ where Gades³⁵ is situated, as also by the sea between the Pillars and Sicily; the second³⁶ by the latter sea and the Adriatic,³⁷ although it may be objected that the extremity of Iapygia,³⁸ being a promontory in itself, causes Italy to have a double cape. But as for the remaining [promontories of Polybius], they are plainly much more irregular, and composed of many parts, and require some other division. So likewise his plan of dividing [Europe] into six parts, similar to that of the promontories, is liable to objection.

However, we will set to rights each of these errors separately, as we meet with them, as well as the other blunders into which he has fallen in his description of Europe, and the journey round Africa. For the present we think that we have sufficiently dwelt on those of our predecessors whom we have thought proper to introduce as testimonies in our behalf, that both in the matter of correction and addition we had ample cause to undertake the present work.

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.) — 2.4 focus

[1] πολύβιος δὲ τὴν Εὐρώπην χωρογραφῶν τοὺς μὲν ἀρχαίους ἐᾶν φησι, τοὺς δʼ ἐκείνους ἐλέγχοντας ἐξετάζειν Δικαίαρχόν τε καὶ Ἐρατοσθένη τὸν τελευταῖον πραγματευσάμενον περὶ γεωγραφίας, καὶ Πυθέαν, ὑφʼ οὗ παρακρουσθῆναι πολλούς, ὅλην μὲν τὴν Βρεττανικὴν ἐμβαδὸν ἐπελθεῖν φάσκοντος, τὴν δὲ περίμετρον πλειόνων ἢ τεττάρων μυριάδων ἀποδόντος τῆς νήσου, προσιστορήσαντος δὲ καὶ τὰ περὶ τῆς Θούλης καὶ τῶν τόπων ἐκείνων, ἐν οἷς οὔτε γῆ καθʼ αὑτὴν ὑπῆρχεν ἔτι οὔτε θάλαττα οὔτʼ ἀήρ, ἀλλὰ σύγκριμά τι ἐκ τούτων πλεύμονι θαλαττίῳ ἐοικός, ἐν ᾧ φησι τὴν γῆν καὶ τὴν θάλατταν αἰωρεῖσθαι καὶ τὰ σύμπαντα, καὶ τοῦτον ὡς ἂν δεσμὸν εἶναι τῶν ὅλων, μήτε πορευτὸν μήτε πλωτὸν ὑπάρχοντα· τὸ μὲν οὖν τῷ πλεύμονι ἐοικὸς αὐτὸς ἑωρακέναι, τἆλλα δὲ λέγειν ἐξ ἀκοῆς. ταῦτα μὲν τὰ τοῦ Πυθέου, καὶ διότι ἐπανελθὼν ἐνθένδε πᾶσαν ἐπέλθοι τὴν παρωκεανῖτιν τῆς Εὐρώπης ἀπὸ Γαδείρων ἕως Τανάιδος.

[2] φησὶ δʼ οὖν ὁ Πολύβιος ἄπιστον καὶ αὐτὸ τοῦτο, πῶς ἰδιώτῃ ἀνθρώπῳ καὶ πένητι τὰ τοσαῦτα διαστήματα πλωτὰ καὶ πορευτὰ γένοιτο; τὸν δʼ Ἐρατοσθένη διαπορήσαντα εἰ χρὴ πιστεύειν τούτοις, ὅμως περί τε τῆς Βρεττανικῆς πεπιστευκέναι καὶ τῶν κατὰ Γάδειρα καὶ τὴν Ἰβηρίαν· πολὺ δέ φησι βέλτιον τῷ Μεσσηνίῳ πιστεύειν ἢ τούτῳ. ὁ μέντοι γε εἰς μίαν χώραν τὴν Παγχαΐαν λέγει πλεῦσαι, ὁ δὲ καὶ μέχρι τῶν τοῦ κόσμου περάτων κατωπτευκέναι τὴν προσάρκτιον τῆς Εὐρώπης πᾶσαν, ἣν οὐδʼ ἂν τῷ Ἑρμῇ πιστεύσαι τις λέγοντι. Ἐρατοσθένη δὲ τὸν μὲν Εὐήμερον Βεργαῖον καλεῖν, Πυθέᾳ δὲ πιστεύειν, καὶ ταῦτα μηδὲ Δικαιάρχου πιστεύσαντος. τὸ μὲν οὖν μηδὲ Δικαιάρχου πιστεύσαντος γελοῖον, ὥσπερ ἐκείνῳ κανόνι χρήσασθαι προσῆκον, καθʼ οὗ τοσούτους ἐλέγχους αὐτὸς προφέρεται. Ἐρατοσθένους δὲ εἴρηται ἡ περὶ τὰ ἑσπέρια καὶ τὰ ἀρκτικὰ τῆς Εὐρώπης ἄγνοια. ἀλλʼ ἐκείνῳ μὲν καὶ Δικαιάρχῳ συγγνώμη, τοῖς μὴ κατιδοῦσι τοὺς τόπους ἐκείνους· Πολυβίῳ δὲ καὶ Ποσειδωνίῳ τίς ἂν συγγνοίη; ἀλλὰ μὴν Πολύβιός γέ ἐστιν ὁ λαοδογματικὰς καλῶν ἀποφάσεις, ἃς ποιοῦνται περὶ τῶν ἐν τούτοις τοῖς τόποις διαστημάτων καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις πολλοῖς, ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ἐν οἷς ἐκείνους ἐλέγχει καθαρεύων. τοῦ γοῦν Δικαιάρχου μυρίους μὲν εἰπόντος τοὺς ἐπὶ στήλας ἀπὸ τῆς Πελοποννήσου σταδίους, πλείους δὲ τούτων τοὺς ἐπὶ τὸν Ἀδρίαν μέχρι τοῦ μυχοῦ, τοῦ δʼ ἐπὶ στήλας τὸ μέχρι τοῦ πορθμοῦ τρισχιλίους ἀποδόντος, ὡς γίνεσθαι τὸ λοιπὸν ἑπτακισχιλίους τὸ ἀπὸ πορθμοῦ μέχρι στηλῶν· τοὺς μὲν τρισχιλίους ἐᾶν φησιν εἴτʼ εὖ λαμβάνονται εἴτε μή, τοὺς δʼ ἑπτακισχιλίους οὐδετέρως, οὔτε τὴν παραλίαν ἐκμετροῦντι οὔτε τὴν διὰ μέσου τοῦ πελάγους. τὴν μὲν γὰρ παραλίαν ἐοικέναι μάλιστʼ ἀμβλείᾳ γωνίᾳ, βεβηκυίᾳ ἐπί τε τοῦ πορθμοῦ καὶ τῶν στηλῶν, κορυφὴν δʼ ἐχούσῃ Νάρβωνα, ὥστε συνίστασθαι τρίγωνον βάσιν ἔχον τὴν διὰ τοῦ πελάγους εὐθεῖαν, πλευρὰς δὲ τὰς τὴν γωνίαν ποιούσας τὴν λεχθεῖσαν, ὧν ἡ μὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ πορθμοῦ μέχρι Νάρβωνος μυρίων ἐστὶ καὶ πλειόνων ἢ διακοσίων ἐπὶ τοῖς χιλίοις, ἡ δὲ λοιπὴ μικρῷ¹ ἐλαττόνων ἢ ὀκτακισχιλίων· καὶ μὴν πλεῖστον μὲν διάστημα ἀπὸ τῆς Εὐρώπης ἐπὶ τὴν Λιβύην ὁμολογεῖσθαι κατὰ τὸ Τυρρηνικὸν πέλαγος σταδίων οὐ πλειόνων ἢ τρισχιλίων, κατὰ τὸ Σαρδόνιον δὲ λαμβάνειν συναγωγήν. ἀλλʼ ἔστω, φησί, καὶ ἐκεῖνο τρισχιλίων, προειλήφθω δʼ ἐπὶ τούτοις δισχιλίων σταδίων τὸ τοῦ κόλπου βάθος τοῦ κατὰ Νάρβωνα, ὡς ἂν κάθετος ἀπὸ τῆς κορυφῆς ἐπὶ τὴν βάσιν τοῦ ἀμβλυγωνίου· δῆλον οὖν, φησίν, ἐκ τῆς παιδικῆς μετρήσεως, ὅτι ἡ σύμπασα παραλία ἡ ἀπὸ τοῦ πορθμοῦ ἐπὶ στήλας ἔγγιστα ὑπερέχει τῆς διὰ τοῦ πελάγους εὐθείας πεντακοσίοις σταδίοις. προστεθέντων δὲ τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς Πελοποννήσου ἐπὶ τὸν πορθμὸν τρισχιλίων, οἱ σύμπαντες ἔσονται στάδιοι, αὐτοὶ οἱ ἐπʼ εὐθείας, πλείους ἢ διπλάσιοι ὧν Δικαίαρχος εἶπε· πλείους δὲ τούτων τοὺς ἐπὶ τὸν μυχὸν τὸν Ἀδριατικὸν δεήσει, φησί, τιθέναι κατʼ ἐκεῖνον.

[3] Ἀλλʼ ὦ φίλε Πολύβιε, φαίη τις ἄν, ὥσπερ τούτου τοῦ ψεύσματος ἐναργῆ παρίστησι τὸν ἔλεγχον ἡ πεῖρα ἐξ αὐτῶν ὧν εἴρηκας αὐτός, εἰς μὲν Λευκάδα ἐκ Πελοποννήσου ἑπτακοσίους, ἐντεῦθεν δὲ τοὺς ἴσους εἰς Κόρκυραν, καὶ πάλιν ἐντεῦθεν εἰς τὰ Κεραύνια τοὺς ἴσους, καὶ ἐν δεξιᾷ εἰς τὴν Ἰαπυγίαν, ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν Κεραυνίων τὴν Ἰλλυρικὴν παραλίαν σταδίων ἑξακισχιλίων ἑκατὸν πεντήκοντα· οὕτως κἀκεῖνα ψεύσματά ἐστιν ἀμφότερα, καὶ ὃ Δικαίαρχος εἶπε, τὸ ἀπὸ πορθμοῦ ἐπὶ στήλας εἶναι σταδίων ἑπτακισχιλίων, καὶ ὃ σὺ δοκεῖς ἀποδεῖξαι· ὁμολογοῦσι γὰρ οἱ πλεῖστοι λέγοντες τὸ διὰ πελάγους μυρίων εἶναι καὶ δισχιλίων, συμφωνεῖ δὲ τοῦτο καὶ τῇ ἀποφάσει τῇ περὶ τοῦ μήκους τῆς οἰκουμένης. μάλιστα γὰρ εἶναί φασι μυριάδων ἑπτά· τούτου δὲ τὸ ἑσπέριον τμῆμα τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἰσσικοῦ κόλπου μέχρι τῶν ἄκρων τῆς Ἰβηρίας, ἅπερ δυσμικώτατά ἐστι, μικρὸν ἀπολείπειν τῶν τρισμυρίων. συντιθέασι δʼ οὕτως· ἀπὸ μὲν τοῦ Ἰσσικοῦ κόλπου μέχρι τῆς Ῥοδίας πεντακισχιλίους, ἐνθένδʼ ἐπὶ Σαλμώνιον τῆς Κρήτης, ὅπερ ἐστὶ τὸ ἑῷον ἄκρον, χιλίους, αὐτῆς δὲ τῆς Κρήτης μῆκος πλείους ἢ δισχιλίους ἐπὶ Κριοῦ μέτωπον, ἐντεῦθεν δʼ ἐπὶ Πάχυνον τῆς Σικελίας τετρακισχιλίους καὶ πεντακοσίους, καὶ ἀπὸ Παχύνου δὲ ἐπὶ πορθμὸν πλείους ἢ χιλίους, εἶτα τὸ δίαρμα τὸ ἐπὶ στήλας ἀπὸ πορθμοῦ μυρίους δισχιλίους, ἀπὸ στηλῶν δὲ ἐπὶ τὰ τελευταῖα τοῦ Ἱεροῦ ἀκρωτηρίου τῆς Ἰβηρίας περὶ τρισχιλίους. καὶ ἡ κάθετος δὲ οὐ καλῶς εἴληπται, εἴπερ ἡ μὲν Νάρβων ἐπὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ παραλλήλου σχεδόν τι ἵδρυται τῷ διὰ Μασσαλίας, αὕτη τε τῷ διὰ Βυζαντίου, καθάπερ καὶ Ἵππαρχος πείθεται, ἡ δὲ διὰ τοῦ πελάγους ἐπὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐστι τῷ διὰ πορθμοῦ καὶ τῆς Ῥοδίας, ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς Ῥοδίας εἰς Βυζάντιον ὡς ἂν ἐπὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ μεσημβρινοῦ κειμένων ἀμφοῖν περὶ πεντακισχιλίους, ὡς εἰρήκασι, σταδίους· τοσοῦτοι γὰρ ἂν εἶεν καὶ οἱ τῆς εἰρημένης καθέτου. ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ τὸ μέγιστον δίαρμα τοῦ πελάγους τούτου τὸ ἀπὸ τῆς Εὐρώπης ἐπὶ τὴν Λιβύην πεντακισχιλίων που σταδίων λέγουσιν ἀπὸ τοῦ μυχοῦ τοῦ Γαλατικοῦ κόλπου, δοκεῖ μοι πεπλανημένως λέγεσθαι τοῦτο, ἢ πολὺ τὴν Λιβύην κατὰ τοῦτο τὸ μέρος προσνεύειν ἐπὶ τὴν ἄρκτον καὶ συνάπτειν τῷ διὰ τῶν στηλῶν παραλλήλῳ. καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ εὖ λέγεται τὸ πλησίον τῆς Σαρδόνος τὴν λεχθεῖσαν κάθετον τελευτᾶν· οὐ γὰρ παραπλήσιον, ἀλλὰ πολὺ δυσμικώτερον εἶναι τὸ δίαρμα τοῦτο τῆς Σαρδόνος, ὅλον σχεδόν τι ἀπολαμβάνον ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ πρὸς τῷ Σαρδονίῳ τὸ Λιγυστικὸν πέλαγος· καὶ τῆς παραλίας δὲ τὰ μήκη πεπλεόνασται, πλὴν οὐκ ἐπὶ τοσοῦτόν γε.

[4] ̔εξῆς δὲ τὰ τοῦ Ἐρατοσθένους ἐπανορθοῖ, τὰ μὲν εὖ τὰ δὲ χεῖρον λέγων ἢ ἐκεῖνος. ἐξ Ἰθάκης μὲν γὰρ εἰς Κόρκυραν τριακοσίους εἰπόντος, πλείους φησὶν εἶναι τῶν ἐνακοσίων, ἐξ Ἐπιδάμνου δὲ εἰς Θεσσαλονίκειαν ἐνακοσίους ἀποδόντος, πλείους τῶν δισχιλίων φησί· ταῦτα μὲν εὖ. ἀπὸ δὲ Μασσαλίας ἐπὶ στήλας λέγοντος ἑπτακισχιλίους, ἀπὸ δὲ Πυρήνης ἑξακισχιλίους, αὐτὸς λέγει χεῖρον πλείους ἢ ἐνακισχιλίους τοὺς ἀπὸ Μασσαλίας, ἀπὸ δὲ Πυρήνης μικρὸν ἐλάττους ἢ ὀκτακισχιλίους· ἐγγυτέρω γὰρ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐκεῖνος εἴρηκεν. οἱ γὰρ νῦν ὁμολογοῦσιν, εἴ τις τὰς τῶν ὁδῶν ἀνωμαλίας ὑποτέμνοιτο, μὴ μείζω τῶν ἑξακισχιλίων σταδίων εἶναι τὸ μῆκος τὴν σύμπασαν Ἰβηρίαν ἀπὸ Πυρήνης ἕως τῆς ἑσπερίου πλευρᾶς. ὁ δʼ αὐτὸν τὸν Τάγον ποταμὸν ὀκτακισχιλίων τίθησι τὸ μῆκος ἀπὸ τῆς πηγῆς μέχρι τῶν ἐκβολῶν, οὐ δή που τὸ σὺν τοῖς σκολιώμασιν (οὐ γὰρ γεωγραφικὸν τοῦτο), ἀλλʼ ἐπʼ εὐθείας λέγων, καίτοι γε ἀπὸ Πυρήνης αἱ τοῦ Τάγου πηγαὶ πλέον διέχουσιν ἢ χιλίους σταδίους. πάλιν δὲ τοῦτο μὲν ὀρθῶς ἀποφαίνεται, ὅτι ἀγνοεῖ τὰ Ἰβηρικὰ ὁ Ἐρατοσθένης, καὶ διότι περὶ αὐτῆς ἔσθʼ ὅπου τὰ μαχόμενα ἀποφαίνεται· ὅς γε μέχρι Γαδείρων ὑπὸ Γαλατῶν περιοικεῖσθαι φήσας τὰ ἔξωθεν αὐτῆς, εἴ γε τὰ πρὸς δύσιν τῆς Εὐρώπης μέχρι Γαδείρων ἔχουσιν ἐκεῖνοι, τούτων ἐκλαθόμενος κατὰ τὴν τῆς Ἰβηρίας περίοδον τῶν Γαλατῶν οὐδαμοῦ μέμνηται.

[5] τό τε μῆκος τῆς Εὐρώπης ὅτι ἔλαττόν ἐστι τοῦ συνάμφω τῆς τε Λιβύης καὶ τῆς Ἀσίας ἐκθείς, οὐκ ὀρθῶς τὴν σύγκρισιν ποιεῖται· τὸ μὲν γὰρ στόμα τὸ κατὰ στήλας φησὶν ὅτι κατὰ τὴν ἰσημερινὴν δύσιν ἐστίν, ὁ δὲ Τάναϊς ῥεῖ ἀπὸ θερινῆς ἀνατολῆς· ἐλαττοῦται δὴ τοῦ συνάμφω μήκους τῷ μεταξὺ τῆς θερινῆς ἀνατολῆς καὶ τῆς ἰσημερινῆς· τοῦτο γὰρ ἡ Ἀσία προλαμβάνει πρὸς τὴν ἰσημερινὴν ἀνατολὴν τοῦ πρὸς τὰς ἄρκτους ἡμικυκλίου. χωρὶς γὰρ τοῦ περισκελοῦς ἐν πράγμασιν εὐαποδότοις καὶ ψεῦδός ἐστι τὸ ἀπὸ θερινῆς ἀνατολῆς τὸν Τάναϊν ῥεῖν· ἅπαντες γὰρ οἱ ἔμπειροι τῶν τόπων ἀπὸ τῶν ἄρκτων ῥεῖν φασιν εἰς τὴν Μαιῶτιν, ὥστε τὰ στόματα τοῦ ποταμοῦ καὶ τὸ τῆς Μαιώτιδος καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν ποταμόν, ἐφʼ ὅσον γνώριμός ἐστιν, ἐπὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ μεσημβρινοῦ κεῖσθαι.

[6] οὐκ ἄξιοι δὲ λόγου τινὲς οἱ μὲν εἶπον ἀπὸ τῶν κατὰ τὸν Ἴστρον τόπων αὐτὸν τὰς ἀρχὰς ἔχειν καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἑσπέρας, οὐκ ἐνθυμηθέντες ὡς μεταξὺ ὁ Τύρας καὶ Βορυσθένης καὶ Ὕπανις μεγάλοι ποταμοὶ ῥέουσιν εἰς τὸν Πόντον, ὁ μὲν τῷ Ἴστρῳ παράλληλος οἱ δὲ τῷ Τανάιδι· οὔτε δὲ τοῦ Τύρα τῶν πηγῶν κατωπτευμένων οὔτε τοῦ Βορυσθένους οὔτε τοῦ Ὑπάνιος, πολὺ ἂν εἴη ἀγνωστότερα τὰ ἐκείνων ἀρκτικώτερα· ὥσθʼ ὁ διʼ ἐκείνων ἄγων ἐπὶ τὴν Μαιῶτιν τὸν Τάναϊν, εἶτʼ ἐπιστρέφων ἐπʼ αὐτήν (αἱ γὰρ ἐκβολαὶ φανερῶς ἐν τοῖς προσαρκτίοις μέρεσι τῆς λίμνης δείκνυνται καὶ τούτοις τοῖς ἑωθινωτάτοις), πλαστὸς ἄν τις εἴη καὶ ἀπέραντος λόγος. ὡς δʼ αὕτως ἀπέραντος καὶ ὁ διὰ τοῦ Καυκάσου πρὸς ἄρκτον φήσας ῥεῖν, εἶτʼ ἐπιστρέφειν εἰς τὴν Μαιῶτιν· εἴρηται γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο. ἀπὸ μέντοι τῆς ἀνατολῆς οὐδεὶς εἴρηκε τὴν ῥύσιν· καὶ γὰρ εἰ ἔρρει οὕτως, οὐκ ἂν ὑπεναντίως τῷ Νείλῳ καὶ τρόπον τινὰ κατὰ διάμετρον ῥεῖν αὐτὸν ἀπεφαίνοντο οἱ χαριέστεροι, ὡς ἂν ἐπὶ ταὐτοῦ μεσημβρινοῦ ἢ παρακειμένου τινὸς τῆς ῥύσεως οὔσης ἑκατέρῳ ποταμῷ.

[7] ̔́η τε τοῦ μήκους τῆς οἰκουμένης μέτρησις κατὰ παραλλήλου τῷ ἰσημερινῷ ἐστιν, ἐπειδὴ καὶ αὐτὴ ἐπὶ μῆκος οὕτως ἐκτέταται ὥστε καὶ τῶν ἠπείρων ἑκάστης οὕτω δεῖ λαμβάνειν τὸ μῆκος μεταξὺ μεσημβρινῶν δυεῖν κείμενον. τά τε μέτρα τῶν μηκῶν σταδιασμοί εἰσιν, οὓς θηρεύομεν, ἢ διʼ αὐτῶν ἐκείνων ἰόντες ἢ τῶν παραλλήλων ὁδῶν ἢ πόρων. ὁ δὲ τοῦτον ἀφεὶς τὸν τρόπον καινὸν εἰσάγει τὸ μεταξὺ τῆς τε θερινῆς ἀνατολῆς καὶ τῆς ἰσημερινῆς τμῆμά τι τοῦ ἀρκτικοῦ ἡμικυκλίου. πρὸς δὲ τὰ ἀμετάπτωτα οὐδεὶς κανόσι καὶ μέτροις χρῆται τοῖς μεταπτώτοις οὐδὲ τοῖς κατʼ ἄλλην καὶ ἄλλην σχέσιν λεγομένοις πρὸς τὰ καθʼ αὑτὰ καὶ * διαφοράν. τὸ μὲν οὖν μῆκος ἀμετάπτωτον καὶ καθʼ αὑτὸ λέγεται, ἀνατολὴ δʼ ἰσημερινὴ καὶ δύσις, ὡς δʼ αὕτως θερινή τε καὶ χειμερινή, οὐ καθʼ αὑτὴν ἀλλὰ πρὸς ἡμᾶς· ἡμῶν δʼ ἄλλοτʼ ἄλλῃ μεταχωρούντων, ἄλλοτʼ ἄλλοι τόποι καὶ δύσεών εἰσι καὶ ἀνατολῶν ἰσημερινῶν τε καὶ τροπικῶν, τὸ δὲ μῆκος μένει ταὐτὸν τῆς ἠπείρου. Τάναϊν μὲν οὖν καὶ Νεῖλον οὐκ ἄτοπον πέρας ποιεῖσθαι, θερινὴν δʼ ἀνατολὴν ἢ ἰσημερινὴν καινόν.

[8] προπεπτωκυίας δὲ τῆς Εὐρώπης ἄκραις πλείοσι, βέλτιον μὲν οὗτος εἴρηκεν περὶ αὐτῶν Ἐρατοσθένους, οὔπω δὲ ἱκανῶς· ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ τρεῖς ἔφη, τὴν ἐπὶ τὰς στήλας καθήκουσαν, ἐφʼ ἧς ἡ Ἰβηρία, καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τὸν πορθμόν, ἐφʼ ἧς ἡ Ἰταλία, καὶ τρίτην τὴν κατὰ Μαλέας, ἐφʼ ἧς τὰ μεταξὺ τοῦ Ἀδρίου καὶ τοῦ Εὐξείνου πάντʼ ἔθνη καὶ τοῦ Τανάιδος. οὗτος δὲ τὰς μὲν δύο τὰς πρώτας ὁμοίως ἐκτίθεται, τρίτην δὲ τὴν κατὰ Μαλέας καὶ Σούνιον, ἐφʼ ἧς ἡ Ἑλλὰς πᾶσα καὶ ἡ Ἰλλυρὶς καὶ τῆς Θρᾴκης τινά, τετάρτην δὲ τὴν κατὰ τὴν Θρᾳκίαν χερρόνησον, ἐφʼ ἧς τὰ κατὰ Σηστὸν καὶ Ἄβυδον στενά (ἔχουσι δʼ αὐτὴν Θρᾷκες), πέμπτην δὲ τὴν κατὰ τὸν Κιμμερικὸν Βόσπορον καὶ τὸ στόμα τῆς Μαιώτιδος. τὰς μὲν οὖν δύο τὰς πρώτας δοτέον· ἁπλοῖς γάρ τισι περιλαμβάνονται κόλποις, ἡ μὲν τῷ μεταξὺ τῆς Κάλπης καὶ τοῦ ἱεροῦ ἀκρωτηρίου, ἐν ᾧ τὰ Γάδειρα, καὶ τῷ μεταξὺ στηλῶν καὶ τῆς Σικελίας πελάγει· ἡ δὲ τούτῳ τε καὶ τῷ Ἀδρίᾳ, καίτοι ἥ γε τῶν Ἰαπύγων ἄκρα παρεμπίπτουσα καὶ τὴν Ἰταλίαν δικόρυφον ποιοῦσα ἔχει τινὰ ἀντέμφασιν· αἱ λοιπαὶ δʼ ἔτι ἐναργέστερον ποικίλαι καὶ πολυμερεῖς οὖσαι ζητοῦσιν ἄλλην διαίρεσιν. ὡς δʼ αὕτως ἔχει καὶ ἡ εἰς ἓξ διαίρεσις τὴν ὁμοίαν ἔνστασιν ἀκολούθως ταῖς ἄκραις διειλημμένη. ποιησόμεθα δʼ ἡμεῖς ἐν τοῖς καθʼ ἕκαστα τὴν προσήκουσαν ἐπανόρθωσιν καὶ τούτων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων, ὅσα ἔν τε τῇ Εὐρώπῃ διημάρτηται καὶ ἐν τῇ τῆς Λιβύης περιοδείᾳ. νῦν δʼ ἀρκέσει ταῦτα λεχθέντα πρὸς τοὺς πρὸ ἡμῶν, ὅσους ᾠήθημεν ἱκανοὺς εἶναι παρατεθέντας ἐκμαρτυρεῖν ἡμῖν, ὅτι δικαίως προειλόμεθα καὶ αὐτοὶ τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἔργον τοσαύτης ἐπανορθώσεως καὶ προσθήκης δεόμενον.

Notes on the current edition

Geography

1. Evemerus, or Euhemerus, a Sicilian author of the time of Alexander the Great and his immediate successors, and a native of Messina. He is said to have sailed down the Red Sea and round the southern coasts of Asia to a very great distance, until he came to an island called Panchaea. After his return from this voyage, he wrote a work entitled ̔ιερὰ?̓ανα- γραφή, which consisted of at least nine books. The title of this Sacred History, as we may call it, was taken from the ἀναγραφαί, or the inscriptions on columns and walls, which existed in great numbers in the temples of Greece; and Euhemerus chose it, because he pretended to have derived his information from public documents of that kind, which he had discovered in his travels, especially in the island of Panchaea. The work contained accounts of the several gods, whom Euhemerus represented as having originally been men who had distinguished themselves either as warriors, kings, inventors, or benefactors of mankind, and who, after their death, were worshipped as gods by the grateful people. This book, which seems to have been written in a popular style, must have been very attractive; for all the fables of mythology were dressed up in it as so many true narratives; and many of the subsequent historians adopted his mode of dealing with myths, or at least followed in his track, as we find to be the case with Polybius and Dionysius. Vide Smith.

2. Every one will observe, that this criticism of Strabo is entirely gratuitous and captious. Polybius cites Dicaearchus as a most credulous writer, but states that even he would not believe Pytheas: how then could so distinguished a writer as Eratosthenes put faith in his nonsense?

3. On the contrary, the distance in a right line from Cape Tenarum, off the Peloponnesus, to the recess of the Adriatic Gulf, is only about half the distance from the Peloponnesus to the Pillars of Hercules. This mistake of Dicaearchus is a proof of the very slight acquaintance the Greeks could have had with the western portions of the Mediterranean in his time, about 320 years before the Christian era.

4. Literally, He assigns 3000 to the interval which stretches towards the Pillars as far as the Strait, and 7000 from the Strait to the Pillars. The distance from Cape Tenarum to the Strait of Messina is in proportion to the distance from the Strait of Messina to Gibraltar, about 3 to 10, not 3 to 7 as given by Dicaearchus.

5. That part of the Mediterranean which lies on the coast of Italy, from the mouth of the Arno to Naples.

6. The sea which washes the western coast of Sardinia.

7. Viz. from the Peloponnesus to the Pillars of Hercules.

8. Santa Maura, an island in the Ionian Sea.

9. Corfu.

10. The mountains of Chimera, forming the Cape della Linguetta on the coast of Albania.

11. The maritime portion of Liburnia, comprised between the coasts of Dalmatia and Istria. It is now comprehended in the district of Murlaka.

12. In all 8250 stadia.

13. Issus, now Aïas, a town of Cilicia on the confines of Syria, famous for the battle between Alexander the Great and Darius, in consequence of which it was called Nicopolis.

14. Salamoni.

15. Cape Krio.

16. Cape Passaro.

17. Cape St. Vincent.

18. Total 28,500 stadia.

19. Spoken of by Polybius.

20. The Gulf of Genoa.

21. These measures are taken along the coast, in stadia of 700 to a degree. Of these, from Marseilles to Gibraltar there are 9300, and from the ancient promontory of Pyrenaeum to Gibraltar 7380. Consequently the corrections of Polybius were neither inaccurate nor uncalled for.

22. These 6000 stadia, taken in a direct line, are just the distance from Cape St. Vincent to the chain of the Pyrenees.

23. Kelts.

24. The rising of the sun in summer.

25. The east.

26. This is an error into which Strabo fell with most of the ancient geographers. The course of the Don certainly begins from the north, but afterwards it turns eastward, and then suddenly shifts to the west. Sc that its entire course as known in the time of Strabo, differed from the Palus Maeotis and Sea of Azof by about 9 degrees of longitude. Polybius is here more exact than Strabo.

27. Palus Maeotis.

28. This was the opinion of Theophanes of Mytilene, who followed Pompey in his expeditions to the East. The Caucasus here mentioned is that which bounds Georgia in the north, and from whence the modern river Kuban (the Vardanus of Pompey) takes its rise. This river does incline slightly to the north, and afterwards turns westward in its course to the Palus Maeotis. It is possible that some confusion between this river and the Don gave occasion to the belief that the latter rose in the Caucasus.

29. Cape Malio, in the Morea. See also Humboldt’s Cosmos ii. 482.

30. Cape Malio. Gosselin is of opinion that some omission has occurred in this passage, and proposes to substitute the following: The two former of these Polybius describes in the same manner as Eratosthenes, but he subdivides the third. He comprehends within Cape Malea all the Peloponnesus; within Cape Sunium the whole of Greece, Illyria, and a part of Thrace.

31. Cape Colonna.

32. The Strait of the Dardanelles.

33. The Rock of Gibraltar.

34. Cape St. Vincent.

35. Cadiz.

36. The Italian Promontory.

37. The Gulf of Venice.

38. Capo di Leuca.

Strabo Geography 2.4

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

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