[1] Cineas ¹ says that there was a city in Thessaly, ² and that an oak-tree and the oracle of Zeus were transferred from there to Epeirus.

[1a] In earlier times the oracle was in the neighborhood of Scotussa, a city of Pelasgiotis; but when the tree was set on fire by certain people the oracle was transferred in accordance with an oracle which Apollo gave out at Dodona. However, he gave out the oracle, not through words, but through certain symbols, as was the case at the oracle of Zeus Ammon in Libya. Perhaps there was something exceptional about the flight of the three pigeons from which the priestesses were wont to make observations and to prophesy. It is further said that in the language of the Molossians and the Thesprotians old women are called “peliai” ³ and old men “pelioi.” ⁴ And perhaps the much talked of Peleiades were not birds, but three old women who busied themselves about the temple.

[1b] I mentioned Scotussa also in my discussion of Dodona and of the oracle in Thessaly, because the oracle was originally in the latter region.

[1c] According to the Geographer, a sacred oak tree is revered in Dodona, because it was thought to be the earliest plant created and the first to supply men with food. And the same writer also says in reference to the oracular doves there, as they are called, that the doves are observed for the purposes of augury, just as there were some seers who divined from ravens.

[2] Among the Thesprotians and the Molossians old women are called “peliai” and old men “pelioi,” as is also the case among the Macedonians; at any rate, those people call their dignitaries “peligones” (compare the “gerontes” ⁵ among the Laconians and the Massaliotes). ⁶ And this, it is said, is the origin of the myth about the pigeons in the Dodonaean oak-tree.

[3] The proverbial phrase, “the copper vessel in Dodona,” ⁷ originated thus: In the temple was a copper vessel with a statue of a man situated above it and holding a copper scourge, dedicated by the Corcyraeans; the scourge was three-fold and wrought in chain fashion, with bones strung from it; and these bones, striking the copper vessel continuously when they were swung by the winds, would produce tones so long that anyone who measured the time from the beginning of the tone to the end could count to four hundred. Whence, also, the origin of the proverbial term, “the scourge of the Corcyraeans.”

[4] Paeonia is on the east of these tribes and on the west of the Thracian mountains, but it is situated on the north of the Macedonians; and, by the road that runs through the city Gortynium ⁸ and Stobi, ⁹ it affords a passage to . . . ¹⁰ (through which the Axius ¹¹ flows, and thus makes difficult the passage from Paeonia to Macedonia—just as the Peneius flows through Tempe and thus fortifies Macedonia on the side of Greece). And on the south Paeonia borders on the countries of the Autariatae, the Dardanii, and the Ardiaei; and it extends as far as the Strymon.

[5] The Haliacmon ¹² flows into the Thermaean Gulf.

[6] Orestis is of considerable extent, and has a large mountain which reaches as far as Mount Corax ¹³ in Aetolia and Mount Parnassus, About this mountain dwell the Orestae themselves, the Tymphaei, and the Greeks outside the isthmus that are in the neighborhood of Parnassus, Oeta, and Pindus. As a whole the mountain is called by a general name, Boëum, but taken part by part it has many names. People say that from the highest peaks one can see both the Aegaean Sea and the Ambracian and Ionian Gulfs, but they exaggerate, I think. Mount Pteleum, also, is fairly high; it is situated around the Ambracian Gulf, extending on one side as far as the Corcyraean country and on the other to the sea at Leucas.

[7] Corcyra is proverbially derided as a joke because it was humbled by its many wars.

[8] Corcyra in early times enjoyed a happy lot and had a very large naval force, but was ruined by certain wars and tyrants. And later on, although it was set free by the Romans, it got no commendation, but instead, as an object of reproach, got a proverb: “Corcyra is free, dung where thou wilt.”

[9] There remain of Europe, first, Macedonia and the parts of Thrace that are contiguous to it and extend as far as Byzantium; secondly, Greece; and thirdly, the islands that are close by. Macedonia, of course, is a part of Greece, yet now, since I am following the nature and shape of the places geographically, I have decided to classify it apart from the rest of Greece and to join it with that part of Thrace which borders on it and extends as far as the mouth of the Euxine and the Propontis. Then, a little further on, Strabo mentions Cypsela and the Nebrus River, and also describes a sort of parallelogram in which the whole of Macedonia lies.

[10] Macedonia is bounded, first, on the west, by the coastline of the Adrias; secondly, on the east, by the meridian line which is parallel to this coastline and runs through the outlets of the Nebrus River and through the city Cypsela; thirdly, on the north, by the imaginary straight line which runs through the Bertiscus Mountain, ¹⁴ the Scardus, ¹⁵ the Orbelus, ¹⁶ the Rhodope, ¹⁷ and the Haemus; ¹⁸ for these mountains, beginning at the Adrias, extend on a straight line as far as the Euxine, thus forming towards the south a great peninsula which comprises Thrace together with Macedonia, Epeirus, and Achaea; and fourthly, on the south, by the Egnatian Road, ¹⁹ which runs from the city Dyrrhachium towards the east as far as Thessaloniceia. And thus ²⁰ the shape of Macedonia is very nearly that of a parallelogram.

[11] What is now called Macedonia was in earlier times called Emathia. And it took its present name from Macedon, one of its early chieftains. And there was also a city Emathia close to the sea. Now a part of this country was taken and held by certain of the Epeirotes and the Illyrians, but most of it by the Bottiaei and the Thracians. The Bottiaei came from Brete originally, so it is said, ²¹ along with Botton as chieftain. As for the Thracians, the Pieres inhabited Pieria and the region about Olympus; the Paeones, the region on both sides of the Axius River, which on that account is called Amphaxitis; the Edoni and Bisaltae, the rest of the country as far as the Strymon. Of these two peoples the latter are called Bisaltae alone, whereas a part of the Edoni are called Mygdones, a part Edones, and a part Sithones. But of all these tribes the Argeadae, ²² as they are called, established themselves as masters, and also the Chalcidians of Euboea; for the Chalcidians of Euboea also came over to the country of the Sithones and jointly peopled about thirty cities in it, although later on the majority of them were ejected and came together into one city, Olynthus; and they were named the Thracian Chalcidians.

[11a] The ethnic ²³ of Botteia ²⁴ is spelled with the “i”, ²⁵ according to Strabo in his Seventh Book. And the city is called ²⁶ after Botton the Cretan. ²⁷

[11b] Amphaxion. Two parts of speech. ²⁸ A city. The ethnic of Amphaxion is Amphaxites.

[12] The Peneius forms the boundary between Lower Macedonia, or that part of Macedonia which is close to the sea, and Thessaly and Magnesia; the Haliacmon forms the boundary of Upper Macedonia; and the Haliacmon also, together with the Erigon and the Axius and another set of rivers, form the boundary of the Epeirotes and the Paeonians.

[12a] For if, according to the Geographer, Macedonia stretches from the Thessalian Pelion and Peneius towards the interior as far as Paeonia and the Epeirote tribes, and if the Greeks had at Troy an allied force from Paeonia, it is difficult to conceive that an allied force came to the Trojans from the aforesaid more distant part of Paeonia.

[13] Of the Macedonian coastline, beginning at the recess of the Thermaean Gulf and at Thessaloniceia, there are two parts—one extending towards the south as far as Sunium and the other towards the east as far as the Thracian Chersonese, thus forming at the recess a sort of angle. Since Macedonia extends in both directions, I must begin with the part first mentioned. The first portion, then, of this part—I mean the region of Sunium—has above it Attica together with the Megarian country as far as the Crisaean Gulf; after this is that Boeotian coastline which faces Euboea, and above this coast-line lies the rest of Boeotia, extending in the direction of the west, parallel to Attica. And he ²⁹ says that the Egnatian Road, also, beginning at the Ionian Gulf, ends at Thessaloniceia.

[14] As for the ribbon-like ³⁰ stretches of land, he ³¹ says, I shall first mark off the boundary of the peoples who live in the one which is beside the sea near the Peneius and the Haliacmon. Now the Peneius flows from the Pindus Mountain through the middle of Thessaly towards the east; and after it passes through the cities of the Lapithae and some cities of the Perrhaebians, it reaches Tempe, after having received the waters of several rivers, among which is the Europus, which the poet called Titaresius, ³² since it has its sources in the Titarius Mountain; the Titarius Mountain joins Olympus, and thence Olympus begins to mark the boundary between Macedonia and Thessaly; for Tempo is a narrow glen between Olympus and Ossa, and from these narrows the Peneius flows for a distance of forty stadia with Olympus, the loftiest mountain in Macedonia, on the left, and with Ossa, near the outlets of the river, on the right. So then, Gyrton, the Perrhaebian and Magnetan city in which Peirithoüs and Ixion reigned, is situated near the outlets of the Peneius on the right; and the city of Crannon lies at a distance of as much as one hundred stadia from Gyrton; and writers say that when the poet says, ³³ and what follows, he means by “Ephyri” the Crannonians and by “Phlegyae” the Gyrtonians. But Pieria is on the other side of the Peneius.

[15] The Peneius River rises in the Pindus Mountain and flows through Tempo and through the middle of Thessaly and of the countries of the Lapithae and the Perrhaebians, and also receives the waters of the Europus River, which Homer called Titaresius; it marks the boundary between Macedonia ³⁴ on the north and Thessaly on the south. But the source-waters of the Europus rise in the Titarius Mountain, which is continuous with Olympus. And Olyunpus belongs to Macedonia, whereas Ossa and Pelion belong to Thessaly.

[15a] The Peneius rises, according to the Geographer, in that part of the Pindus Mountain about which the Perrhaebians live. . . . And Strabo also makes the following statements concerning the Peneius: The Peneius rises in the Pindus; and leaving Tricca on the left it flows around Atrax and Larissa, and after receiving the rivers in Thessaly passes on through Tempe. And he says that the Peneius flows through the center of Thessaly, receiving many rivers, and that in its course it keeps Olympus on the left and Ossa on the right. And at its outlets, on the right, is a Magnetan city, Gyrton, in which Peirithoüs and Ixion reigned; and not far from Gyrton is a city Crannon, whose citizens were called by a different name, “Ephyri,” just’ as the citizens of Gyrton were called “Phlegyae.”

[16] Below the foot-hills of Olympus, along the Peneius River, lies Gyrton, the Perrhaebian and Magnetan city, in which Peirithoüs and Ixion ruled; and Crannon is at a distance of one hundred stadia from Gyrton, and writers say that when the poet says, ³⁵ he means by “Ephyri” the Crannonians and by “Phlegyae” the Gyrtonians. ³⁶

[16a] The city of Crannon is at a distance of one hundred stadia from Gyrton, according to Strabo.

[16b] Homolium, a city of Macedonia and Magnesia. Strabo in his Seventh Book.

[16c] I have said in my description of Macedonia that Homolium is close to Ossa and is where the Peneius, flowing through Tempe, begins to discharge its waters. ³⁷

[16d] There were several different Ephyras, if indeed the Geographer counts as many as nine. ³⁸

[16e] He (the Geographer) speaks of a city Gyrton, a Magnetan city near the outlets of the Peneius.

[17] The city Dium, in the foot-hills of Olympus, is not on the shore of the Thermaean Gulf, but is at a distance of as much as seven stadia from it. And the city Dium has a village near by, Pimpleia, where Orpheus lived.

[18] At the base of Olympus is a city Dium. And it has a village near by, Pimpleia. Here lived Orpheus, the Ciconian, it is said—a wizard who at first collected money from his music, together with his soothsaying and his celebration of the orgies connected with the mystic initiatory rites, but soon afterwards thought himself worthy of still greater things and procured for himself a throng of followers and power. Some, of course, received him willingly, but others, since they suspected a plot and violence, combined against him and killed him. And near here, also, is Leibethra.

[19] In the early times the soothsayers also practised music.

[20] After Dium come the outlets of the Haliacmon; then Pydna, Methone, Alorus, and the Erigon and Ludias Rivers. The Erigon flows from the country of the Triclari ³⁹ through that of the Orestae and through Pellaea, leaves the city on the left, ⁴⁰ and meets the Axius; the Ludias is navigable inland to Pella, a distance of one hundred and twenty stadia. Methone, which lies between the two cities, is about forty stadia from Pydna and seventy from Alorus. Alorus is in the inmost recess of the Thermaean Gulf, and it is called Thessaloniceia because of its fame. ⁴¹ Now Alorus is regarded as a Bottiaean city, whereas Pydna is regarded as a Pierian. ⁴² Pella belongs to lower Macedonia, which the Bottiaei used to occupy; in early times the treasury of Macedonia was here. Philip enlarged it from a small city, because he was reared in it. It has a headland in what is called Lake Ludias; and it is from this lake that the Ludias River issues, and the lake itself is supplied by an offshoot of the Axius. The Axius empties between Chalastra and Therma; and on this river lies a fortified place which now is called Abydon, though Homer calls it Amydon, and says that the Paeonians went to the aid of Troy from there, ⁴³ The place was destroyed by the Argeadae.

[20a] Abydon, Abydonis; a place in Macedonia, according to Strabo.

[21] The Axius is a muddy stream; but Homer ⁴⁴ calls it “water most fair,” perhaps on account of the spring called Aea, which, since it empties purest water into the Axius, proves that the present current reading ⁴⁵ of the passage in the poet is faulty. After the Axius, at a distance of twenty stadia, is the Echedorus; ⁴⁶ then, forty stadia farther on, Thessaloniceia, founded by Gassander, and also the Egnatian Road. Cassander named the city after his wife Thessalonice, daughter of Philip son of Amyntas, after he had razed to the ground the towns in Crusis and those on the Thermaean Gulf, about twenty-six in number, and had settled all the inhabitants together in one city; and this city is the metropolis of what is now Macedonia. Among those included in the settlement were Apollonia, Chalastra, Therma, Garescus, Aenea, and Cissus; and of these one might suspect that Cissus belonged to Cisses, ⁴⁷ whom the poet mentions in speaking of Iphidamas, ⁴⁸

[21a] Crusis; a portion of Mygdonia. Strabo in his Seventh Book.

[21b] Chalastra: a city of Thrace near the Thormaean Gulf—though Strabo, in his Seventh Book, calls it a city of Macedonia.

[22] After the city Dium comes the Haliacmon River, which empties into the Thermaean Gulf. And the part after this, the seaboard of the gulf towards the north as far as the Axius River, is called Pieria, in which is the city Pydna, now called Citrum. Then come the cities Methone and Alorus. Then the Rivers Erigon and Ludias; and from ⁴⁹ Ludias to the city of Pella the river is navigable, a distance of one hundred and twenty stadia. Methone is forty stadia distant from Pydna and seventy stadia from Alorus. Now Pydna is a Pierian city, whereas Alorus is Bottiaean. ⁵⁰ Now it was in the plain before Pydna that the Romans defeated Perseus in war and destroyed the kingdom of the Macedonians, and it was in the plain before Methone that Philip the son of Amyntas, during the siege of the city, had the misfortune to have his right eye knocked out by a bolt from a catapult.

[23] As for Pella, though it was formerly small, Philip greatly enlarged it, because he was reared in it. It has a lake before it; and it is from this lake that the Ludias River flows, and the lake is supplied by an offshoot of the Axius. Then the Axius, dividing both Bottiaea and the land called Amphaxitis, and receiving the Erigon River, discharges its waters between Chalastra and Therma. And on the Anius River lies the place which Homer calls Amydon, saying that the Paeonians went to the aid of Troy from there, ^{51 52} But since the Axius is muddy and since a certain spring rises in Amydon and mingles “water most fair” with it, therefore the next line, ^{53 54} is changed to read thus, ⁵⁵ ; for it is not the “water most fair” of the Axius that is spread over the face of the earth, but that of the spring o’er the Axius.

[23a] In the phrase ’spread o’er Aiai,’ or ‘Aian,’ ⁵⁶ , some are of the opinion that ‘Aea’ means, not the earth, but a certain spring, as is clear from what the Geographer says, namely: the Amydon in Homer was later called Abydon, but it was destroyed; and there is a spring near Amydon called Aea, which empties purest water into the Axius; and this river, since it is filled from many rivers, flows muddy. Therefore, he says, the current reading, ‘Axius’s water most fair spreads o’er Aea,’ is faulty, because it is clearly not the water of the Axius that spread o’er the spring, but the reverse. Then the Geographer goes on somewhat gruffly to find fault with the opinion that Aea refers to the earth, and appears disposed to eject such diction from the Homeric poem altogether.

[24] After the Axius River comes Thessalonica, a city which in earlier times was called Therma. It was founded by Cassander, who named it after his wife, the daughter of Philip the son of Amyntas. And he transferred to it the towns in the surrounding country, as, for instance, Chalastra, Aeuea, Cissus, and also some others. And one might suspect that it was from this Cissus that Homer’s Iphidamas came, whose grandfather Cisseus “reared him,” Homer says, in Thrace, which now is called Macedonia.

[25] Mt. Bermium, ⁵⁷ also, is somewhere in this region; in earlier times it was occupied by Briges, a tribe of Thracians; some of these crossed over into Asia and their name was changed to Phryges. After Thessaloniceia come the remaining parts of the Thermaean Gulf as far as Canastraeum; ⁵⁸ this is a headland which forms a peninsula and rises opposite to Magnetis. The name of the peninsula is Pallene; and it has an isthmus five stadia in width, through which a canal is cut. On the isthmus is situated a city founded by the Corinthians, which in earlier times was called Potidaea, although later on it was called Cassandreia, after the same King Cassander, ⁵⁹ who restored it after it had been destroyed. The distance by sea around this peninsula is five hundred and seventy stadia. And further, writers say that in earlier times the giants lived here and that the country was named Phlegra; ⁶⁰ the stories of some are mythical, but the account of others is more plausible, for they tell of a certain barbarous and impious tribe which occupied the place but was broken up by Heracles when, after capturing Troy, be sailed back to his home-land. And here, too, the Trojan women were guilty of their crime, it is said, when they set the ships on fire in order that they might not be slaves to the wives of their captors. ⁶¹

[25a] The Geographer points out that the Phrygians too were called Brigians.

[26] The city Beroea lies in the foot-hills of Mt. Bermium.

[27] The peninsula Pallene, on whose isthmus is situated the city formerly called Ptidaea and now Cassandreia, was called Phlegra in still earlier times. It used to be inhabited by the giants of whom the myths are told, an impious and lawless tribe, whom Heracles destroyed. It has four cities, Aphytis, Mende, Scione, Sane.

[27a] The Scepsian ⁶² apparently accepts the opinion neither of this man ⁶³ nor of those who suppose them ⁶⁴ to be the Halizoni near Pallene, whom I have mentioned in my description of Macedonia.

[28] Olynthus was seventy stadia distant from Potidaea.

[29] The naval station of Olynthus is Macyperna, on the Toronaean Gulf.

[30] Near Olynthus is a hollow place which is called Cantharolethron ⁶⁵ from what happens there; for when the insect called the Cantharos, which is found all over the country, touches that place, it dies.

[31] After Cassandreia, in order, comes the remainder of the seaboard of the Toronic Gulf, extending as far as Derrhis. Derrhis is a headland that rises opposite to Canastraeum and forms the gulf; and directly opposite Berrhis, towards the east, are the capes ⁶⁶ of Athos; and between ⁶⁷ is the Singitic Gulf, which is named after Singus, the ancient city that was on it, now in ruins. After this city comes Acanthus, a city situated on the isthmus of Athos; it was founded by the Andrii, and from it many call the gulf the Acanthian Gulf.

[32] Opposite Canastrum, ⁶⁸ a cape of Pallene, is Derrhis, a headland near Cophus Harbor; and these two mark off the limits of the Toronaean Gulf. And towards the east, again, lies the cape of Athos, which marks off the limit of the Singitic Gulf. And so the gulfs of the Aegaean Sea lie in order, though at some distance from one another, towards the north, as follows: the Maliac, the Pagasitic, the Thermaean, the Toronaean, the Singitic, the Strymonic. The capes are, first, Poseidium, the one between the Maliac and the Pegasitic; secondly, the next one towards the north, Sepias; then the one on Pallene, Canastrum; then Derrhis; then come Nymphaeum, on Athos on the Singitic Gulf, and Acrathos, the cape that is on the Strymonic Gulf (Mt. Athos is between these two capes, and Lemnos is to the east of Mt. Athos); on the north, however, the limit of the Strymonic Gulf is marked by Neapolis. ⁶⁹

[33] Acanthus, a city on the Singitic Gulf, is on the coast near the canal of Xerxes. Athos has five cities, Dium, Cleonae, Thyssus, Olophyxis, Acrothol; and Acrothol is near the crest of Athos. Mt. Athos is breast-shaped, has a very sharp crest, and is very high, since those who live on the crest see the sun rise three hours before it rises on the seaboard. And the distance by sea around the peninsula from the city Acanthus as far as Stageirus, ⁷⁰ the city of Aristotle, is four hundred stadia. On this coast is a harbor, Caprus by name, and also an isle with the same name as the harbor. Then come the outlets of the Strymon; then Phagres, Galepsus, Apollonia, all cities; then the month of the Nestus, ⁷¹ which is the boundary between Macedonia and Thrace as fixed by Philip and his son Alexander in their times. There is also another set of cities about the Strymonic Gulf, as, for instance, Myrcinus, Argilus, Drabescus, and Datum. ⁷² The last named has not only excellent and fruitful soil but also dock-yards and gold mines; and hence the proverb, “a Datum of good things,” like that other proverb, “spools of good things.”

[34] There are very many gold mines in Crenides, where the city Philippi ⁷³ now is situated, near Mt. Pangaeum. ⁷⁴ And Mt. Pangaeum as well has gold and silver mines, as also the country across, and the country this side, the Strymon River as far as Paeonia. And it is further said that the people who plough the Paeonian land find nuggets of gold.

[35] Mt. Athos is high and breast-shaped; so high that on its crests the sun is up and the people are weary of ploughing by the time cock-crow ⁷⁵ begins among the people who live on the shore. It was on this shore that Phamyris the Thracian reigned, who was a man of the same pursuits as Orpheus. ⁷⁶ Here, too, is to be seen a canal, in the neighborhood of Acanthus, where Xerxes dug a canal across Athos, it is said, and, by admitting the sea into the canal, brought his fleet across from the Strymonic Gulf through the isthmus. Demetrius of Scepsis, however, does not believe that this canal was navigable, for, he says, although as far as ten stadia the ground is deep-soiled and can be dug, and in fact a canal one plethrum in width has been dug, yet after that it is a flat rock, almost a stadium in length, which is too high and broad to admit of being quarried out through the whole of the distance as far as the sea; but even if it were dug thus far, certainly it could not be dug deep enough to make a navigable passage; this, he adds, is where Alexarchus, the son of Antipater, ⁷⁷ laid the foundation of Uranopolis, with its circuit of thirty stadia. Some of the Pelasgi from Lemnos took up their abode on this peninsula, and they were divided into five cities, Cleonae, Olophyxis, Acrothoï, Dium, Thyssus. After Athos comes the Strymonic Gulf extending as far as the Nestus, the river which marks off the boundary of Macedonia as fixed by Philip and Alexander; to be accurate, however, there is a cape which with Athos forms the Strymonic Gulf, I mean the cape which has had on it a city called Apollonia. ⁷⁸ The first city on this gulf after the harbor of the Acanthians is Stageira, the native city of Aristotle, now deserted; this too belongs to the Chalcidians and so do its harbor, Caprus, and an isle ⁷⁹ bearing the same name as the harbor. Then come the Strymon and the inland voyage of twenty stadia to Amphipolis. Amphipolis was founded by the Athenians and is situated in that place which is called Ennea Hodoi. ⁸⁰ Then come Galepsus and Apollonia, which were razed to the ground by Philip.

[36] From the Peneius, he says, to Pydna is one hundred and twenty stadia. Along the seaboard of the Strymon and the Dateni are, not only the city Neapolis, but also Datum ⁸¹ itself, with its fruitful plains, lake, rivers, dock-yards, and profitable gold mines; and hence the proverb, “a Datum of good things,” like that other proverb, “spools of good things.” Now the country that is on the far side of the Strymon, I mean that which is near the sea and those places that are in the neighborhood of Datum, is the country of the Odomantes and the Edoni and the Bisaltae, both those who are indigenous and those who crossed over from Macedonia, amongst whom Rhesus reigned. Above Amphipolis, however, and as far as the city Heracleia, ⁸² is the country of the Bisaltae, with its fruitful valley; this valley is divided into two parts by the Strymon, which has its source in the country of the Agrianes who live round about Rhodope; and alongside this country lies Parorbelia, a district of Macedonia, which has in its interior, along the valley that begins at Eidonene, the cities Callipolis, Orthopolis, Philippopolis, Garescus.

If one goes up the Strymon, one comes to Berge; ⁸³ it, too, is situated in the country of the Bisaltae, and is a village about two hundred stadia distant from Amphipolis. And if one goes from Heracleia towards the north and the narrows through which the Strymon flows, keeping the river on the right, one has Paeonia and the region round about Doberus, ⁸⁴ Rhodope, and the Haemus Mountain on the left, whereas on the right one has the region round about the Haemus. ⁸⁵ This side the Strymon are Scotussa, near the river itself, and Arethusa, near lake Bolbe. ⁸⁶ Furthermore, the name Mygdones is applied especially to the people round about the lake. Not only the Axius flows out of the country of the Paeonians, but also the Strymon, for it flows out of the country of the Agrianes through that of the Medi and Sinti and empties into the parts that are between the Bisaltae and the Odomantes.

[37] The Strymon River rises in the country of the Agrianes who live round about Rhodope.

[38] Some represent the Paeonians as colonists from the Phrygians, while others represent them as independent founders. And it is said that Paeonia has extended as far as Pelagonia and Pieria; that Pelagonia was called Orestia in earlier times, that Asteropaeus, one of the leaders who made the expedition from Paeonia to Troy, was not without good reason called “son of Pelegon,” and that the Paeonians themselves were called Pelagonians.

[39] The Homeric ⁸⁷ was, as history tells us, from Paeonia in Macedonia; wherefore “son of Pelegon,” for the Paeonians were called Pelagonians.

[40] Since the “paeanismos” ⁸⁸ of the Thracians is called “titanismos” by the Greeks, in imitation of the cry ⁸⁹ uttered in paeans, the Titans too were called Pelagonians.

[41] It is clear that in early times, as now, the Paeonians occupied much of what is now Macedonia, so that they could not only lay siege to Perinthus but also bring under their power all Crestonia and Mygdonis and the country of the Agrianes as far as Pangaeurum. ⁹⁰ Philippi and the region about Philippi lie above that part of the seaboard of the Strymonic Gulf which extends from Galepsus as far as Nestus. In earlier times Pllilippi was called Crenides, and was only a small settlement, but it was enlarged after the defeat of Brutus and Cassius. ⁹¹

[42] What is now the city Philippi was called Crenides in early times.

[43] Off this seaboard lie two islands, Lemnos and Thasos. And after the strait of Thasos one comes to Abdera ⁹² and the scene of the myths connected with Abderus. It was inhabited by the Bistonian Thracians over whom Diomedes ruled. The Nestus River does not always remain in the same bed, but oftentimes floods the country. Then come Dicaea, ⁹³ a city situated on a gulf, and a harbor. Above these lies the Bistonis, ⁹⁴ a lake which has a circuit of about two hundred stadia. It is said that, because this plain was altogether a hollow and lower than the sea, Heracles, since he was inferior in horse when he came to get the mares of Diomedes, dug a canal through the shore and let in the water of the sea upon the plain and thus mastered his adversaries. One is shown also the royal residence ⁹⁵ of Diomedes, which, because of its naturally strong position and from what is actually the case, is called Cartera Come. ⁹⁶ After the lake, which is midway between, come Xantheia, ⁹⁷ Maroneia, ⁹⁸ and Ismarus, ⁹⁹ the cities of the Cicones. Ismarus, however, is now called Ismara; it is near Maroneia. And near here, also, Lake Ismaris sends forth its stream; this stream is called Odysseium. And here, too, are what are called the Thasiön Cephalae. ¹⁰⁰ But the people situated in the interior are Sapaei.

[44] Topeira is near Abdera and Maroneia.

[44a] The aforesaid Ismarus, in later times called Ismara, is, they say, a city of the Cicones; it is near Maroneia, where is also a lake, the stream of which is called Odysseium; here too is a hero-temple of Maron, as the Geographer records.

[45] The Sinti, a Thracian tribe, inhabit the island Lemnos; and from this fact Homer calls them Sinties, when he says, ^{101 102}

[45a] Lemnos: first settled by the Thracians who were called Sinties, according to Strabo.

[46] After the Nestus River, towards the east, is the city Abdera, named after Abderus, whom the horses of Diomedes devoured; then, near by, the city Picaea, above which lies a great lake, Bistonis; then the city Maroneia.

[47] Thrace as a whole consists of twenty-two tribes. But although it has been devastated to an exceptional degree, it can send into the field fifteen thousand cavalry and also two hundred thousand infantry. After Maroneis one comes to the city Orthagoria and to the region about Serrhium ¹⁰³ (a rough coastingvoyage) and to Tempyra, the little town of the Samothracians, and to Caracoma, ¹⁰⁴ another little town, off which lies the island Samothrace, and to Imbros, which is not very far from Samothrace; Thasos, however, is more than twice as far from Samothrace as Imbros is. From Caracoma one comes to Doriscus, ¹⁰⁵ where Xerxes enumerated his army; then to the Hebrus, which is navigable inland to Cypsela, ¹⁰⁶ a distance of one hundred and twenty stadia. This, he ¹⁰⁷ says, was the boundary of the Macedonia which the Romans first took away from Perseus and afterwards from the Pseudo-Philip. ¹⁰⁸ Now Paulus, ¹⁰⁹ who captured Perseus, annexed the Epeirotic tribes to Macedonia, divided the country into four parts for purposes of administration, and apportioned one part to Amphipolis, another to Thessaloniceia, another to Pella, and another to the Pelagonians. Along the Hebrus live the Corpili, and, still farther up the river, the Brenae, and then, farthermost of all, the Bessi, for the river is navigable thus far. All these tribes are given to brigandage, but most of all the Bessi, who, He ¹¹⁰ says, are neighbors to the Odrysae and the Sapaei. Bizye ¹¹¹ was the royal residence of the Astae. The term “Odrysae” is applied by some to all the peoples living above the seaboard from the Hebrus and Cypsela as far as Odessus ¹¹² —the peoples over whom Amadocus, Cersobleptes, Berisades, Seuthes, and Cotys reigned as kings.

[47a] Odrysae: a tribe of Thrace; Strabo in his Seventh Book.

[47b] The Geographer, in pointing out the great extent of Thrace, says also that Thrace as a whole consists of twenty-two tribes.

[48] The river in Thrace that is now called Rheginia used to be called Erigon.

[49] Iasion and Dardanus, two brothers, used to live in Samothrace. But when Iasion was struck by a thunderbolt because of his sin against Demeter, Dardanus sailed away from Samothrace, went and took up his abode at the foot of Mount Ida, calling the city Dardania, and taught the Trojans the Samothracian Mysteries. In earlier times, however, Samothrace was called Samos.

[50] Many writers have identified the gods that are worshipped in Samothrace with the Cabeiri, though they cannot say who the Cabeiri themselves are, just as the Cyrbantes and Corybantes, and likewise the Curetes and the Idaean Dactyli, are identified with them.

[50a] This Thracian island, according to the Geographer, is called Samos because of its height; for “samoi,” he says, means “heights.” . . . And the Geographer says that in olden times Samians from Mycale settled in the island, which had been deserted because of a dearth of crops, and that in this way it was called Samos. . . . And the Geographer records also that in earlier times Samothrace was called Melite, as also that it was rich; for Cilician pirates, he says, secretly broke into the temple in Samothrace, robbed it, and carried off more than a thousand talents.

[51] Near the outlet of the Hebrus, which has two mouths, lies the city Aenus, ¹¹³ on the Melas Gulf; ¹¹⁴ it was founded by Mitylenaeans and Cumaeans, though in still earlier times by Alopeconnesians. Then comes Cape Sarpedon; then what is called the Thracian Chersonesus, which forms the Propontis and the Melas Gulf and the Hellespont; for it is a cape which projects towards the south-east, thus connecting Europe with Asia by the strait, seven stadia wide, which is between Abydus and Sestus, and thus having on the left the Propontis and on the right the Melas Gulf—so called, just as Herodotus ¹¹⁵ and Eudoxus say, from the Melas River ¹¹⁶ which empties into it. But Herodotus, ¹¹⁷ he ¹¹⁸ says, states that this stream was not sufficient to supply the army of Xerxes. The aforesaid cape is closed in by an isthmus forty stadia wide. Now in the middle of the isthmus is situated the city Lysimacheia, named after the king who founded it; and on either side of it lies a city—on the Melas Gulf, Cardia, the largest of the cities on the Chersonesus, founded by Milesians and Clazomenians but later refounded by Athenians, and on the Propontis, Pactye. And after Cardia come Drabus and Limnae; then Alopeconnesus, in which the Melas Gulf comes approximately to an end; then the large headland, Mazusia; then, on a gulf, Eleus, ¹¹⁹ where is the temple of Protesilaus, opposite which, forty stadia distant, is Sigeium, ¹²⁰ a headland of the Troad; and this is about the most southerly extremity of the Chersonesus, being slightly more than four hundred stadia from Cardia; and if one sails around the rest of the circuit, towards the other side of the isthmus, the distance is slightly more than this.

[51a] Aenus; a city of Thrace, called Apsinthus. Strabo in his Seventh Book. The city Aenus is in the outlet of the Hebrus, which has two mouths, and was founded by Cumaeans; and it was so called because there was an Aenius River and also a village of the same name near Ossa.

[52] The Thracian Chersonesus forms three seas: the Propontis in the north, the Hellespont in the east, and the Melas Gulf in the south, into which empties the Melas River, which bears the same name as the gulf.

[53] On the isthmus of the Chersonesus are situated three cities: near the Melas Gulf, Cardia, and near the Propontis, Pactye, and near the middle, Lysimacheia. The length ¹²¹ of the isthmus is forty stadia.

[54] The name of the city Eleus is masculine; and perhaps also that of the city Trapesus.

[55] On this voyage along the coast of the Chersonesus after leaving Eleus, one comes first to the entrance which leads through the narrows into the Propontis; and this entrance is called the beginning of the Hellespont. And here is the cape called the Cynos-Sema; ¹²² though some call it Hecabe’s Sema, and in fact her tomb is pointed out after one has doubled the cape. Then one comes to Madytus, and to Cape Sestias, where the pontoon bridge of Xerxes was built; and, after these, to Sestus. The distance from Eleus to the place of the pontoon-bridge is one hundred and seventy stadia. After Sestus one comes to Aegospotami, eighty ¹²³ stadia, a town which has been razed to the ground, where it is said, the stone ¹²⁴ fell at the time of the Persian war. Then comes Callipolis, ¹²⁵ from which the distance across to Lampsacus in Asia is forty stadia; then Crithote, a little town which has been razed to the ground; then Pactye; then Macron Teichos,” ¹²⁶ Leuce Acte, ¹²⁷ Hieron Oros, ¹²⁸ and Perinthus, founded by the Samians: then Selybria. ¹²⁹ Above these places lies Silta; ¹³⁰ and the Hieron Oros is revered by all the natives and is a sort of acropolis of the country. The Hieron Oros discharges asphalt into the sea, near the place where the Proconnesus, ¹³¹ only one hundred and twenty stadia distant, is nearest to the land; and the quarry of white marble in the Proconnesus is both large and excellent. After Selybria come the Rivers Athyras and Bathynias; and then, Byzantium and the places which come in order thereafter as far as the Cyanean Rocks.

[55a] As for Sestus and the whole of the Chersonesus, I have already discussed them in my description of the regions of Thrace.

[55b] Sestus, a colony of the Lesbians, as is also Madytus, as the Geographer says, is a Chersonesian city thirty stadia distant from Abydus, from harbor to harbor.

[56] The distance from Perinthus to Byzantium is six hundred and thirty stadia; but from the Hebrus and Cypsela to Byzantium, as far as the Cyanean Rocks, three thousand one hundred, as Artemidorus says; and the entire distance from the Ionian Gulf at Apollonia as far as Byzantium is seven thousand three hundred and twenty stadia, though Polybius adds one hundred and eighty more, since he adds a third of a stadium to the eight stadia in the mile. Demetrius of Scepsis, however, in his work On the Marshalling of the Trojan Forces ¹³² calls the distance from Perinthus to Byzantium six hundred stadia and the distance to Parium equal thereto; and he represents the Propontis as one thousand four hundred stadia in length and five hundred in breadth; while as for the Hellespont, he calls its narrowest breadth seven stadia and its length four hundred.

[57] There is no general agreement in the definition of the term “Hellespont”: in fact, there are several opinions concerning it. For some writers call “Hellespont” the whole of the Propontis; others, that part of the Propontis which is this side Perinthus; others go on to add that part of the outer sea which faces the Melas Gulf and the open waters of the Aegaean Sea, and these writers in turn each comprise different sections in their definitions, some the part from Sigeium to Lampsacus and Cysicus, or Parium, or Priapus, another going on to add the part which extends from Sigrium in the Lesbian Isle. And some do not shrink even from applying the name Hellespont to the whole of the high sea as far as the Myrtoan Sea, since, as Pindar ¹³³ says in his hymns, those who were sailing with Heracles from Troy through Helle’s maidenly strait, on touching the Myrtoan Sea, ran back again to Cos, because Zephyrus blew contrary to their course. And in this way, also, they require that the whole of the Aegaean Sea as far as the Thermaean Gulf and the sea which is about Thessaly and Macedonia should be called Hellespont, invoking Homer also as witness; for Homer says, ¹³⁴ ; but such an argument is refuted by those other lines, ¹³⁶ but he was the leader of the Thracians, ^{137 138} that is, Homer would represent those ¹³⁹ who are situated next after these ¹⁴⁰ as situated outside the Hellespont; that is, Aenus lies in what was formerly called Apsinthis, though now called Corpilice, whereas the country of the Cicones lies next thereafter towards the west. ¹⁴¹

[58] Corpili: certain of the Thracians. Strabo, Seventh Book; their country is called Corpilice; for Aenus lies in what was formerly called Apsinthis, though now called Corpilice.

[59] Tetrachoritae: the Bessi, according to Strabo in his Seventh Book. These are also called Tetracomi.

[60] For he ¹⁴² says in the Seventh Book of the same work ¹⁴³ that he knew Poseidonius, the Stoic philosopher. ¹⁴⁴

In the Seventh Book Strabo describes the remaining portions of Europe. That on the east is the country beyond the Rhine, as far as the Don ¹ and the mouth of the Sea of Azof; ² and on the south, that which the Danube ³ bounds, lying between the Adriatic and the left shores of the Euxine, as far as Greece and the Sea of Marmora, ⁴ including the whole of Macedonia.

[1a] THE oracle was formerly at Scotussa, a city of Pelasgiotis, but was transferred to Dodona by the command of Apollo, after some persons had burnt down the tree. The oracular answers were not conveyed by words, but by certain signs, as at the oracle of Ammon in Libya. Probably the three doves made some peculiar flight, which, observed by the priestesses, suggested the oracular answer. Some say that, in the language of the Molotti and Thesprote, old women are called peliae, and old men pelii, so that the celebrated doves were probably not birds, but three old women who passed an idle time about the temple. EPIT.

[2] Among the Thesprotae and Molotti old women are called peliae, and old men pelii, as among the Macedonians. Persons at least who hold office are called peligones, as among the Laconians and Massilienses they are called gerontes. Hence it is asserted that the story of the doves in the oak at Dodona is a fable. E.

[3] The proverb, The brazen vessel of Dodona, thus arose. In the temple was a brazen vessel, having over it a statue of a man (an offering of the Corcyraeans) grasping in the hand a brazen scourge of three thongs, woven in chains, from which were suspended small bones. The bones striking continually upon the brazen vessel, whenever they were agitated by the wind, produced a long protracted sound, so that a person from the beginning to the end of the vibrations might proceed to count as far as four hundred. Whence also came the proverb, The Corcyraean scourge. ⁶ EPIT.

[4] Paeonia is to the east of these nations, and to the west of the Thracian mountains; on the north it lies above Macedonia. Through the city Gortynium and Stobi it admits of a passage to * * * (through which the Axius flows, and renders the access difficult from Paeonia into Macedonia, as the Peneus flowing through Tempe protects it on the side of Greece.) On the south, Paeonia borders on the Autariatae, the Dardanii, and the Ardiaei; it extends also as far as the Strymon. E.

[5] The Haliacmon ⁷ flows into the Thermaean Gulf. E.

[6] Orestis is of considerable extent; there is in it a large mountain which reaches to Corax ⁸ of Aetolia and to Parnassus. It is inhabited by the Orestae themselves, by the Tymphaeans, and by Greeks without the isthmus, namely, those who also occupy Parnassus, Aeta, and Pindus. As a whole, the mountain is called by one name, Boion, (Peum?) but the separate divisions bear various names. The Aegean, Ambracian, and Ionian Seas are said to be distinguishable from the highest elevations, but this appears to me to be an extravagant assertion; for Pteleum rises to a considerable height, and is situated near the Ambracian Gulf, stretching on one side to the Corcyraean and on the other to the Leucadian Seas. E.

[7] Corcyra, humbled by many wars, became a subject of ridicule, and passed into a proverb. E.

[8] Corcyra was formerly a flourishing place, and possessed a considerable naval force, but went into decay through war and the oppression of its rulers. In later times, although restored to liberty by the Romans, it acquired no renown, but the taunting proverb was applied to it, Corcyra the Free, ease yourself where you please. EPIT.

[9] Of Europe, there remains Macedonia, and the parts of Thrace contiguous to it, extending to Byzantium, Greece also, and the adjacent islands: indeed, Macedonia is a part of Greece. Following, however, the natural character of the country and its form, we have determined to separate it from Greece, and to unite it with Thrace, which borders upon it.——Strabo, after a few remarks, mentions Cypsela ⁹ and the river Hebrus. ¹⁰ He also describes a parallelogram in which is placed the whole of Macedonia. E.

[10] Macedonia is bounded on the west by the sea-coast of the Adriatic; on the east by a meridian line parallel to this coast, passing through the mouth of the river Hebrus, and the city Cypsela; on the north by an imaginary straight line passing through the mountains Bertiscus, Scardus, ¹¹ Orbelus, ¹² Rhodope, ¹³ and Haemus. ¹⁴ For these mountains extend in a straight line, beginning from the Adriatic, to the Euxine, forming towards the south a great peninsula, which comprehends Thrace, Macedonia, Epirus, and Achaia. On the south, Macedonia is bounded by the Egnatian Way, which goes from Dyrrachium eastwards to Thessalonica, and thus has very nearly the form of a parallelogram. EPIT.

[11] The country now called Macedonia was formerly called Emathia. It acquired this name from Macedon, one of its ancient princes. There was also a city Emathia near the sea. The country was occupied by some of the Epirotae and Illyrians, but the greatest part by Bottiaei and Thracians. The Bottiaei were of Cretan origin, and came under the command of Botton; the Pieres, who were Thracians, inhabited Pieria and the parts about Olympus; the Paeonians, the borders of the river Axius, from whence the region was called Amphaxitis; the Edoni and Bisalti, the rest of the country as far as the Strymon. The Bisalti retained their name, but the Edoni went under the various names of Mygdones, Edoni, (Odones?) and Sithones. Of all these people, the Argeadae and the Chalcidenses of Euboea became the chief. The Chalcidenses came from Euboea into the territory of the Sithones, and there founded about thirty cities. They were subsequently driven out by the Sithones, but the greater part of them collected together into a single city, namely, Olynthus. ¹⁵ They had the name of Chalcidenses-in-Thrace. E.

[12] The Peneus separates Lower Macedonia and the seaboard from Thessaly and Magnesia. The Haliacmon is the boundary of Upper Macedonia; and the Haliacmon, the Erigon, the Axius, and other rivers, form the boundary between Macedonia and the Epirotae and the Paeonians. E.

[13] If a line is drawn from the recess of the Thermaic Gulf, on the sea-coast of Macedonia, and from Thessalonica, southwards, to Sunium, and another eastwards, towards the Thracian Chersonese, an angle will be made in the recess. Macedonia extends in both directions, and we must begin with the line first mentioned. The first part of it has beyond it Attica with Megaris to the Crissaean Bay. Next succeeds the sea-coast of Boeotia near Eubea. Above Euboea an the west lies the rest of Boeotia, parallel with Attica. Strabo says that the Egnatian Way begins from the Ionian Gulf and ends at Thessalonica. E.

[14] From these reefs, says Strabo, we shall first mark the boundaries of those who live about the river Peneus and Haliacmon near the sea. The Peneus flows from Mount Pindus through the middle of Thrace eastwards; passing through the cities of the Lapithae and some of the cities of the Perrhaebi, it arrives at the vale of Tempe, having in its course received the waters of several rivers: of these, the Europus (Eurotas) is one, called by the poet Titaresius. It rises from Titarius, (Titarus,) a mountain continuous with Olympus, which at this point first begins to mark the boundary between Macedonia and Thessaly. Tempe is a narrow valley between Olympus and Ossa. The Peneus continues its course from this narrow pass 40 stadia, having Olympus, the highest of the Macedonian mountains, on the left, [and Ossa on the right, near] the mouth of the river. At the mouth of the Peneus on the right is situated Gyrton, a city of the Perrhaebi, and Magnetis, where Pirithous and Ixion were kings. The city Crannon is 100 stadia distant from Gyrton. Some assert, that in the lines of Homer, These two from Thrace, and what follows, for Ephyri we are to understand Crannonii, and for Phlegyes, the people of Gyrton. Pieria is on the other side. E.

[15] The Peneus, rising in Mount Pindus, flows through Tempe, the middle of Thessaly, the Lapithae, and the Perrhaebi. It receives the Europus, (Eurotas,) which Homer calls Titaresius, in its course, and forms on the north the boundary of Macedonia, and on the south that of Thessaly. The sources of the river Europus are in Mount Titarius, which is contiguous to Olympus. Olympus itself is in Macedonia; Ossa and Pelion in Thessaly. EPIT.

[16] At the roots of Olympus, and on the banks of the Peneus, is Gyrton, a Perrhaebic city, and Magnetis, where Pirithous and Ixion ruled. [The city] Crannon is [100 stadia] distant [from Gyrton]; and it is said that when the poet writes Both from Thrace, we are to understand by Ephyri, the Crannonians, and by Phlegyes, the Gyrtonii. EPIT.

[17] The city Dium is not on the sea-shore of the Thermaean Gulf, at the roots of Olympus, but is about 7 stadia distant. Near Dium is a village Pimplea, where Orpheus lived. EPIT.

[18] Beneath Olympus is Dium; near it is a village, Pimplea, where it is said Orpheus lived. He was a Cicon (of the tribe of the Cicones) and was a diviner. At first he drew people about him by the practice of music and witchcraft, and by the introduction of mysterious ceremonies in religious worship. After a time, obtaining a greater degree of self-importance, he collected a multitude of followers, and acquired influence. He had many willing followers, but becoming suspected by a few of entertaining secret designs, and of an intention of taking forcible possession of power, he was attacked by them and put to death. Near this place is Libethra. E.

[19] Anciently diviners practised the art of music. EPIT.

[20] After Dium follow the mouths of the Haliacmon; then Pydna, Methone, Alorus, and the rivers Erigon and Ludias. The Ludias flows from Triclari, through the Oresti and the Pellaean country (Pelagonia): leaving the city on the left it falls into the Axius. The Ludias is navigable up the stream to Pella 120 stadia. Methone is situated in the middle, about 40 stadia distant from Pydna, and 70 stadia from Alorus. Alorus is situated in the farthest recess of the Thermaean Gulf. It was called Thessalonica on account of the splendid [victory obtained over the Thessalians]. Alorus is considered as belonging to Bottiaea and Pydna to Pieria. Pella is in Lower Macedonia, which was in possession of the Bottiaei. Here was formerly the Macedonian Treasury. Philip, who was brought up in this place, raised it from an inconsiderable city to some importance. It has a citadel situated on a lake called Ludias. From this lake issues the river Ludias, which is filled by a branch of the Axius. The Axius discharges itself between Chalastra and Therma. Near this river is a fortified place, now called Abydos; Homer calls it Amydon, and says that the Paeonians came from hence to assist the Trojans during the siege of Troy. It was razed by the Argeadae. E.

[21] The water of the Axius is turbid. Homer, however, says that the water is month beautiful, probably on account of a spring called Aea which runs into it, the water of which is of surpassing clearness. This is sufficient to prove that the present reading in the poem is erroneous. After the Axius is the Echedorus, ¹⁶ 20 stadia distant. Then Thessalonica, founded by Cassander, 40 stadia farther on, and the Egnatian Way. He named the city after his wife Thessalonice, the daughter of Philip Amyntas, and pulled down nearly 26 cities in the district of Crucis, and on the Thermraean Gulf, collecting the inhabitants into one city. It is the metropolis of the present Macedonia. The cities transferred to Thessalonica were Apollonia, Chalastra, Therma, Garescus, Aenea, and Cissus. Cissus, it is probable, belonged to Cisseus, who is mentioned by the poet. Cisseus educated him, meaning Iphidamas. E.

[22] After the city Drium is the river Haliacmon, which discharges itself into the Thermaean Gulf. From hence to the river Axius the sea-coast on the north of the gulf bears the name of Pieria, on which is situated the city Pydna, now called Citrum. Then follow Methone and the river Alorus; then the rivers Erigon and Ludias. From Ludias to the city Pella the river is navigated upwards to the distance of 20 stadia. Methone is distant from Pydna 40 stadia, and 70 stadia from Alorus. Pydna is a Pierian, Alorus a Bottiaean city. In the plain of Pydna the Romans defeated Perseus, and put an end to the Macedonian empire. In the plain of Methone, during the siege of the city, Philip Amyntas accidentally lost his right eye by an arrow discharged from a catapult. EPIT.

[23] Philip, who was brought up at Pella, formerly a small city, much improved it. In front of the city is a lake, out of which flows the river Ludias. The lake is supplied by a branch of the river Axius. Next follows the Axius, which separates the territory of Bottiaea and Amphaxitis, and after receiving the river Erigon, issues out between Chalestra and Therme. On the river Axius is a place which Homer calls Amydon, and says that the Paeones set out thence as auxiliaries to Troy: The Axius is a turbid river, but as a spring of clearest water rises in Amydon, and mingles with the Axius, some have altered the line to For it is not the fairest water which is diffused over the spring, but the fairest water of the spring which is diffused over the Axius. ¹⁷ EPIT.

[24] After the river Axius is the city Thessalonica, formerly called Therma. It was founded by Cassander, who called it after the name of his wife, a daughter of Philip Amyntas. He transferred to it the small surrounding cities, Chalastra, Aenea, Cissus, and some others. Probably from this Cissus came Iphidamas, mentioned in Homer, whose grandfather Cisseus educated him, he says, in Thrace, which is now called Macedonia. EPIT.

[25] Somewhere in this neighbourhood is the mountain Bermius, ¹⁸ which was formerly in the possession of the Briges, a Thracian nation, some of whom passed over to Asia and were called by another name, Phrygians (Phryges). After Thessalonica follows the remaining part of the Thermaean Gulf, ¹⁹ extending to Canastraeum. ²⁰ This is a promontory of a peninsula form, and is opposite to Magnesia. Pallene is the name of the peninsula. It has an isthmus 5 stadia in width, with a ditch cut across it. There is a city on the peninsula, formerly called Potidaea, ²¹ founded by the Corinthians, but afterwards it was called Cassandria, from king Cassander, who restored it after it was demolished. It is a circuit of 570 stadia round the peninsula by sea. Here giants were said to have lived, and the region to have been called Phlegra. Some consider this to be a mere fable, but others, with greater probability on their side, see implied in it the existence of a barbarous and lawless race of people who once occupied the country, but who were destroyed by Hercules on his return home, after the capture of Troy. Here also the Trojan women are said to have committed the destructive act of burning the ships, to avoid becoming the slaves of their captors’ wives. E.

[26] The city Beroea ²² lies at the roots of Mount Bermius. EPIT.

[27] Pallene is a peninsula. On the isthmus of Pallene lies what was once Potidaea, but now Cassandra. It was formerly called Phlegra, and was inhabited by the fabulous giants, an impious and lawless race, who were destroyed by Hercules. It has upon it four cities, Aphytis, Mende, Scione, and Sana. EPIT.

[28] Olynthus is distant from Potidaea 70 stadia. E.

[29] The arsenal of Olynthus is Mecyberna, on the Toronaean Gulf. EPIT.

[30] Near Olynthus is a hollow tract called Cantharolethron, from an accidental circumstance. The Cantharus, (the beetle,) which is bred in the surrounding country, dies as soon as it touches this tract. EPIT.

[31] Next after Cassandria is the remaining part of the seacoast of the Toronaean Gulf, as far as Derris. It is a promontory opposite the district of Canastrum, and forms a gulf. Opposite to Derris, to the east, are the promontories of Athos; between them is the Singitic Gulf, which receives its name from an ancient city in it, Singus, now destroyed. Next is the city Acanthus, situated on the isthmus of Athos, ²³ founded by the Andrii; whence, by many, it is called the Acanthian Gulf. E.

[32] Opposite to Canastrum, a promontory of Pallene, is the promontory Derris, near Cophus-Limen [or Deaf Harbour]: these form the boundaries of the Toronaean Gulf. Again, towards the east lies the promontory of Athos, [Nymphaeum,] which bounds the Singitic Gulf. Then follow one another the gulfs of the Aegean Sea, towards the north, in this order: the Maliac, ²⁴ the Pagasitic, ²⁵ the Thermaean, ²⁶ the Toronaean, ²⁷ the Singitic, ²⁸ and the Strymonic. ²⁹ The promontories are these: Posidium, ³⁰ situated between the Maliac and Pegasitic Gulfs; next in order, towards the north, Sepias; ³¹ then Canastrum ³² in Pallene; then Derris; ³³ next Nymphaeum ³⁴ in Athos, on the Singitic Gulf; Acrathos, ³⁵ the promontory on the Strymonic Gulf; between them is Athos, to the east of which is Lemnos. Neapolis ³⁶ bounds the Strymonic Gulf towards the north. EPIT.

[33] The city Acanthus, on the Singitic Gulf, is a maritime city near the Canal of Xerxes. There are five cities in Athos; Dium, Cleonae, Thyssos, Olophyxis, Acrothoi, which is situated near the summit of Athos. Mount Athos is pap-shaped, very pointed, and of very great height. Those who live upon the summit see the sun rise three hours before it is visible on the sea-shore. The voyage round the peninsula, from the city Acanthus to the city Stagirus, the birth-place of Aristotle, is 400 stadia. It has a harbour called Caprus, and a small island of the same name. Then follow the mouths of the Strymon; then Phagres, Galepsus, and Apollonia, all of them cities; then the mouth of the Nestus, which is the boundary of Macedonia and Thrace, as settled, in their own times, by Philip and Alexander his son. There are about the Strymonic Gulf other cities also, as Myrcinus, Argilus, Drabescus, and Datum, which has an excellent and most productive soil, dock-yards for ship-building, and gold mines; whence the proverb, A Datum of good things, like to the proverb, Piles of plenty. ³⁷ EPIT.

[34] There are numerous gold mines among the Crenides, where the city of Philip now stands, near Mount Pangaeus. Pangaeus itself, and the country on the east of the Strymon, and on the west as far as Paeonia, contains gold and silver mines. Particles of gold, it is said, are found in Paeonia in ploughing the land. EPIT.

[35] Mount Athos is pap-shaped, and so lofty that the husbandmen on the summit are already weary of their labour, the sun having long since risen to them, when to the inhabitants of the shore it is the beginning of cockcrowing. Thamyris, the Thracian, was king of this coast, and followed the same practices as Orpheus. Here also, at Acanthus, is seen the canal, which Xerxes is said to have made, and through which he is said to have brought the sea from the Strymonic Gulf, across the isthmus. Demetrius of Skepsis is of opinion that this canal was not navigable; for, says he, the ground is composed of deep earth, and admits of being dug for a distance of 10 stadia only: the canal is a plethrum in width; then follows a high, broad, and flat rock, nearly a stadium in length, which prevents excavation throughout the whole distance to the sea. And even if the work could be carried on so far across, yet it could not be continued to a sufficient depth, so as to present a navigable passage. Here Alexarchus, the son of Antipater, built the city Uranopolis, 30 stadia in circumference.

This peninsula was inhabited by Pelasgi from Lemnos; they were distributed into five small cities, Cleonae, Olophyxis, Acrothoi, Dium, Thyssos. After Athos comes the Strymonic Gulf, extending to the river Nestus, which forms the boundary of Macedonia, as settled by Philip and Alexander. Accurately speaking, there is a promontory forming a gulf with Athos, on which is the city Apollonia. First in the gulf, after the harbour of Acanthus, is Stagira, now deserted: it was one of the Chalcidic cities, and the birth-place of Aristotle. Caprus was the harbour, and there is a small island of the same name. Then comes the Strymon, and Amphipolis, at the distance of 20 stadia up the river. In this part is situated an Athenian colony, called Ennea-Odoi (the Nine-Ways). Then Galepsus and Apollonia, which were destroyed by Philip. E.

[36] He says, it is 120 stadia (300?) from the Peneus to Pydna. On the sea-coast of the Strymon and of the Dateni is Neapolis, and Datum also, which has fruitful plains, a lake, rivers, dockyards, and valuable gold mines. Hence the proverb, A Datum of good things, like “Piles of plenty. The country beyond the Strymon, which borders upon the sea and includes the parts about Datum, is occupied by Odomantes, Edoni, and Bisaltae, some of whom are an indigenous people, the others came from Macedonia and were under the government of Rhesus. Above Amphipolis live the Bisaltae, extending to the city Heraclea (Sintica); they occupy a fertile valley, through which passes the Strymon, which rises among the Agrianes near Rhodope. Near the Agrianes is situated Parorbelia of Macedonia. In the interior, in a valley, which commences at Idomene, are situated Callipolis, Orthopolis, Philipopolis, and Garescus. Among the Bisaltae, proceeding up the river Strymon, is situated Berga, a village, distant from Amphipolis about 200 stadia. Proceeding northwards from Heraclea, and to the narrows, through which the Strymon flows, keeping the river on the right, first on the left are Paeonia and the parts about Dobera; then on the right are the mountains Haemus and Rhodope, with the adjacent parts. On this side of the Strymon, close upon the river, is Scotussa; near the lake Bolbe is Arethusa; the inhabitants above the lake are chiefly Mygdones. Not only is the course of the Axius through Paeonia, but that of the Strymon also; for it rises among the Agrianes, passes through the territory of the Maedi and Sinti, and discharges itself between the Bisaltae and Odomantes. E.

[37] The source of the river Strymon is among the Agrianes near Rhodope. EPIT.

[38] The Paeonians, according to some, were a dependent colony of the Phrygians; according to others, they were an independent settlement. Paenonia, it is said, extended to Pelagonia and Pieria; Pelagonia is said to have been formerly called Orestia; and Asteropaeus, one of the chiefs from Paeonia who went to Troy, to have been called, with great probability, the son of Pelagon, and the Paeonians themselves to have been called Pelagones. E.

[39] The Asteropaeus in Homer, son of Pelegon, we are told, was of Paeonia in Macedonia: whence Son of Pelegon; for the Paeonians were called Pelagones. EPIT.

[40] As the poeanismus, or singing of the Thracian Paean, was called titanusmus by the Greeks, in imitation of a wellknown note in the paean, so the Pelagones were called Titanes. E,

[41] Anciently, as at present, the Paeonians appear to have been masters of so much of what is now called Macedonia as to be able to besiege Perinthus, and subject to their power Crestonia, the whole of Mygdonia, and the territory of the Agrianes as far as Mount Pangaeus. Above the sea-coast of the Strymonic Gulf, extending from Galepsus to Nestus, are situated Philippi and the surrounding country. Philippi was formerly called Crenides; it was a small settlement, but increased after the defeat of Brutus and Cassius. E.

[43] ³⁸ The present city Philippi was anciently called Crenides. EPIT.

[44] In front of this coast lie two islands, Lemnos and Thasos. Beyond the strait at Thasos is Abdera, with its fables. It was inhabited by Bistones, over whom ruled Diomed. The Nestus does not always keep within its banks, but frequently inundates the country. Then Dicaea, a city on the gulf, with a harbour. Above it is the lake Bistonis, 200 stadia in circumference. They say that Hercules, when he came to seize upon the horses of Diomed, cut a canal through the sea-shore and turned the water of the sea upon the plain, which is situated in a hollow, and is lower than the level of the sea, and thus vanquished his opponents. The royal residence of Diomed is shown, called, from a local peculiarity, its natural strength, Cartera-Come [Strong-Village]. Beyond the inland lake are Xanthia, Maronia, and Ismarus, cities of the Cicones. Ismarus is now called Ismara-near-Maronia. Near it is the outlet of the lake Ismaris. The stream is called sweet * * * * * * At this place are what are called the heads of the Thasii. The Sapaei are situated above. E.

[45] Topeira is situated near Abdera and Maronia. E.

[46] The Sinti, a Thracian tribe, inhabit the island of Lemnos; whence Homer calls them Sinties, thus, There are the Sinties. EPIT.

[47] After the river Nestus to the west is the city Abdera, named after Abderus, who was eaten by the horses of Diomed; then, near, Dicaea, a city, above which is situated a large lake, the Bistonis; then the city Maronia. EPIT.

[48] The whole of Thrace is composed of twenty-two nations. Although greatly exhausted, it is capable of equipping 15,000 cavalry and 20,000 infantry. After Maronia are Orthagoria, a city, and the district of Serrium (the navigation along the coast is difficult); the small city Tempyra belonging to the Samothracians, and another Caracoma, (the Stockade,) in front of which lies the island Samothrace. Imbros is at no great distance from Samothrace; Thasos is double the distance from it. After Caracoma is Doriscus, where Xerxes counted the number of his army. Then the Hebrus, with a navigation up the stream for 100 stadia to Cypsela. Strabo says that this was the boundary of Macedonia when wrested by the Romans, first from Perseus, and afterwards from Pseudophilip. Paulus, who overthrew Perseus, united the Epirotic nations to Macedonia, and divided the country into four parts; one he assigned to Amphipolis, a second to Thessalonica, a third to Pella, and a fourth to Pelagonia. Along the Hebrus dwell the Corpili, the Brenae still higher up, above them, and lastly the Bessi, for the Hebrus is navigable up to this point. All these nations are addicted to plunder, particularly the Bessi, whom, he says, border upon the Odrysae and Sapei. Bizya is the capital of the Astrae (?). Some give the name of Odrysae to all those people who live on the mountains overhanging the coast, from the Hebrus and Cypsela to Odessus. They were under the kingly government of Amadocus, Khersobleptes, Berisades, Seuthes, (Theseus?) and Cotys. E.

[49] The river in Thrace now called Rhiginia (Rhegina?) was formerly called Erigon (Erginus?). EPIT.

[50] Samothrace was inhabited by the brothers Jasion and Dardanus. Jasion was killed by lightning, for his crime against Ceres; Dardanus moved away from Samothrace, and built a city, to which he gave the name of Dardania, at the foot of Mount Ida. He taught the Trojans the Samothracian mysteries. Samothrace was formerly called Samos. EPIT.

[51] The gods worshipped in Samothrace, the Curbantes and Corybantes, the Curetes and the Idaean Dactyli, are said by many persons to be the same as the Cabiri, although they are unable to explain who the Cabiri were. E.

[52] At the mouth of the Hebrus, which discharges itself by two channels, in the Gulf of Melas, is a city Aenos, founded by the Mitylenaeans and Cumaeans; its first founders, however, were Alopeconnesi; then the promontory Sarpedon; then the Chersonesus, called the Thracian Chersonesus, forming the Propontis, the Gulf of Melas, and the Hellespont. It stretches forwards to the south-east, like a promontory, bringing Europe and Asia together, with only a strait between them of 7 stadia in width, the Strait of Sestos and Abydos. On the left is the Propontis, on the right the Gulf Melas, ³⁹ so called from the river Melas, ⁴⁰ which discharges itself into it, according to Herodotus and Eudoxus. It is stated (says Strabo) by Herodotus, that the stream of this river was not sufficient to supply the army of Xerxes. The above promontory is closed in by an isthmus 40 stadia across. In the middle of the isthmus is situated the city Lysimachia, named after king Lysimachus, its founder. On one side of the isthmus, on the Gulf Melas, lies Cardia; its first founders were Milesians and Clazomenaeans, its second founders Athenians. It is the largest of the cities in the Chersonesus. Pactya is on the Propontis. After Cardia are Drabus and Limnae; then Alopeconnesus, where the Gulf Melas principally ends; then the great promontory Mazusia; then, in the gulf, Eleus, where is Protesilaum, from whence Sigeum, a promontory of Troas, is 40 stadia distant; this is about the most southern extremity of the Chersonesus, distant from Cardia rather more than 400 stadia; if the circuit is made by sea to the other side of the isthmus, the distance is a little greater. E.

[53] The Thracian Chersonesus forms three seas, the Propontis to the north, the Hellespont to the east, and the Gulf Melas to the south, where the river Melas, of the same name as the gulf, discharges itself. EPIT.

[54] In the isthmus of the Chersonesus are three cities, Cardia on the Gulf of Melas, Pactya on the Propontis, Lysimachia in the interior; the breadth of the isthmus is 40 stadia. EPIT.

[55] The name of the city Eleus is of the masculine gender, perhaps that of Trapezus is also masculine. EPIT.

[56] In the voyage round of which we have been speaking; beyond Eleus, first, is the entrance into the Propontis through the straits, where they say the Hellespont begins. There is a promontory here by some called Dog’s Monument, by others the Monument of Hecuba, for on doubling the promontory, the place of her burial is to be seen. Then Madytus and the promontory of Sestos, where was the Bridge of Xerxes; after these places comes Sestos. From Eleus to the Bridge it is 170 stadia; after Sestos it is 280 stadia to Aegospotamos: it is a small city in ruins. At this place a stone is said to have fallen from heaven during the Persian war. Then Callipolis, from whence to Lampsacus in Asia is a passage across of 40 stadia; then a small city Crithote in ruins; then Pactya; next Macron-Tichos, and Leuce-Acte, and Hieron-Oros, and Perinthus, a colony of the Samians; then Selybria. Above these places is situated Silta. Sacred rites are performed in honour of Hieron-Oros by the natives, which is as it were the citadel of the country. It discharges asphaltus into the sea. Proconnesus here approaches nearest the continent, being 120 stadia distant; there is a quarry of white marble in it, which is plentiful and of good quality; after Selybria the rivers Athyras and [Bathynias]; then Byzantium and the parts reaching to the Cyanean rocks. E.

[57] From Perinthus to Byzantium it is 630 stadia; from the Hebrus and Cypseli to Byzantium and the Cyanean rocks it is, according to Artemidorus, 3100 stadia. The whole distance from Apollonia on the Ionian Gulf to Byzantium is 7320 stadia; Polybius makes this distance 180 stadia more, by the addition of a third of a stadium to the sum of 8 stadia, which compose a mile. Demetrius of Skepsis, in his account of the disposition of the Trojan forces, says that it is 700 stadia from Perinthus to Byzantium, and the same distance to Parium. He makes the length of the Propontis to be 1400 and the breadth 500 stadia; the narrowest part also of the Hellespont to be 7 stadia, and the length 400. E.

[58] All writers do not agree in their description of the Hellespont, and many opinions are advanced on the subject. Some describe the Propontis to be the Hellespont; others, that part of the Propontis which is to the south of Perinthus; others include a part of the exterior sea which opens to the Aegaean and the Gulf Melas, each assigning different limits. Some make their measurement from Sigeum to Lampsacus, and Cyzicus, and Parium, and Priapus; and one is to be found who measures from Singrium, a promontory of Lesbos. Some do not hesitate to give the name of Hellespont to the whole distance as far as the Myrtoan Sea, because (as in the Odes of Pindar) when Hercules sailed from Troy through the virgin strait of Hella, and arrived at the Myrtoan Sea, he returned back to Cos, in consequence of the wind Zephyrus blowing contrary to his course. Thus some consider it correct to apply the name Hellespont to the whole of the Aegaean Sea, and the sea along the coast of Thessaly and Macedonia, invoking the testimony of Homer, who says, But the argument is contradicted in the following lines, Piros commanded the Thracians, So that he would consider all people settled next to the Thracians as excluded from the Hellespont. For Aenos is situated in the district formerly called Apsynthis, but now Corpilice. The territory of the Cicones is next towards the west. E.