Strabo Geography 8.5.7

[7] Since some critics write ¹ Lacedaemon “Ketoessan” and others “Kaietaessan,” the question is asked, how should we interpret “Ketoessa,” whether as derived from “Kete,” ² or as meaning “large,” ³ which seems to be more plausible. And as for “Kaietaessan,” some interpret it as meaning “Kalaminthode,” ⁴ whereas others say that the clefts caused by earthquakes are called “Kaietoi,” and that from “Kaietoi” is derived “Kaietas,” the word among the Lacedaemonians for their “prison,” which is a sort of cavern. But some prefer to call such cavernous places “Kooi,” and whence, they add, comes the expression ^{5 6} Laconia is subject to earthquakes, and in fact some writers record that certain peaks of Taÿgetus have been broken away. And there are quarries of very costly marble—the old quarries of Taenarian marble on Taenarum; and recently some men have opened a large quarry in Taÿgetus, being supported in their undertaking by the extravagance of the Romans.

[7] As some persons write the epithet applied by Homer to Lacedaemon, κητώεσσαν, and others καιετάεσσαν, how are we to understand κητώεσσα, whether it is derived from Cetos, ¹ or whether it denotes large, which is most probable. Some understand καιετάεσσα to signify, abounding with calaminthus; others suppose, as the fissures occasioned by earthquakes are called Caeeti, that this is the origin of the epithet. Hence Caeietas also, the name of the prison among the Lacedaemonians, which is a sort of cave. Some however say, that such kind of hollows are rather called Coi, whence the expression of Homer, ² applied to wild beasts, φηοͅσὶν ὀρεσκῴοισιν, which live in mountain caves. Laconia however is subject to earthquakes, and some writers relate, that certain peaks of Taÿgetum have been broken off by the shocks. ³

Laconia contains also quarries of valuable marble. Those of the Taenarian marble in Taenarum ⁴ are ancient, and certain persons, assisted by the wealth of the Romans, lately opened a large quarry in Taÿgetum.