The Geography of Strabo
Literally translated with notes.
The first six books by H. C. Hamilton, Esq.The remainder by W. Falconer, M.A.
Published by Henry G. Bohn, London, 1856
Excerpt from Book XIII. Chapter I. 2. The Troad.
The coast of the Propontis extends from Cyzicene and the places about the Aesepus and Granicus as far as Abydos, and Sestos. Between Abydos and Lectum is the country about Ilium and Tenedos and Alexandreia Troas.* Above all these is the mountain Ida, extending as far as Lectum. From Lectum to the river Caicus and the Canae mountains as they are called is the district comprising Assus, Adramyttium, Atarneus, Pitane, and the Elaitic bay, opposite to all which places lies the island Lesbos. Next follows the country about Cyme as far as Hermus, and Phocaea, where Ionia begins, and Aeolis terminates. Such then is the nature of the country.
*Eski Stamboul, or Old Constantinople.
Excerpt from Book XIII. Chapter I.11. The Troad.
Above the mouth of the Aesepus about * * stadia is a hill on which is seen the sepulcher of Memnon, the son of Tithonus. Near it is the village of Memnon. Between the Aesepus and Priapus flows the Granicus, but for the most part it flows through the plain of Adrasteia, where Alexander defeated in a great battle the satraps of Dareius, and obtained possession of all the country within the Taurus and the Euphrates.
Book XIII. Chapter I. 26. The Troad.
The present city of Ilium was once, it is said, a village containing a small and plain temple of Minerva; that Alexander, after* his victory at the Granicus, came up, and decorated the temple with offerings, gave it the title of city, and ordered those who had the management of such things to improve it with new buildings; he declared it free and exempt from tribute. Afterwards, when he had destroyed the Persian empire, he sent a letter, expressed in kind terms, in which he promised the Ilienses to make theirs a great city, to build a temple of great magnificence, and to institute sacred games.
*According to Arrian and Plutarch, it was before his victory.
After the death of Alexander, it was Lysimachus who took the greatest interest in the welfare of the place; built a temple, and surrounded the city with a wall of about 40 stadia in extent. He settled here the inhabitants of the ancient cities around, which were in a dilapidated state. It was at this time that he directed his attention to Alexandreia, found by Antigonus, and surnamed Antigonia, which was altered (into Alexandreia). For it appeared to be an act of pious duty in the successors of Alexander first to found cities which should bear his name, and afterwards those which should be called after their own. Alexandreia continued to exists, and became a large place; at present it has received a Roman colony, and is reckoned among celebrated cities.
Excerpt from Book XIII. Chapter I. 27. The Troad.
There exists a corrected copy of the poems of Homer, called “the casket-copy.” Alexander perused it in company with Callisthenes and Anaxarchus, and having made some marks and observations deposited it in a casket* of costly workmanship which he found among the Persian treasures. On account then of his admiration of the poet and his descent from the Aeacidae, (who were kings of the Molossi, whose queen they say was Andromache, afterwards the wife of Hector,) Alexander treated the Ilienses with kindness.
But Caesar, who admired the character of Alexander, and had strong proofs of his affinity to the Ilienses, had the greatest possible desire to be their benefactor. The proofs of his affinity to the Ilienses were strong, first as being a Roman, - for the Romans consider Aeneas to be the founder of their race, - next he had the name of Julius, from Iulus, one of his ancestors, a descendant of Aeneas. He therefore assigned to them a district, and guaranteed their liberty with exemption from imposts, and they continue at present to enjoy these advantages. They maintain by this evidence that the ancient Ilium, even by Homer’s account, was not situated there…
Book XIV. Chapter I. 21. Ionia. Ephesus.
The city of Ephesus was inhabited both by Carians and Leleges. After Androclus had expelled the greatest part of the inhabitants, he settled his companions about the Athenaeum and the Hypelaeum, and in the mountainous tract at the foot of the Coressus. It was thus inhabited till the time of Croesus. Afterwards, the inhabitants descended from the mountainous district, and settled about the present temple, and continued there to the time of Alexander. Then Lysimachus built a wall around the present temple, and, perceiving the inhabitants unwilling to remove thither, took advantage of a heavy storm of rain which he saw approaching, and obstructed the drains so as to inundate the city, and the inhabitants were glad to leave it for another place.
He called the city Arsinoe, after the name of his wife, but the old name prevailed. A body of elders was enrolled, with whom were associated persons called Epicleti, who administered all affairs of the city.
Book XIV. Chapter I. 22. Ionia. Ephesus.
Chersiphron(1) was the first architect of the temple of Diana; another afterwards enlarged it, but when Herostratus set fire to it,(2) the citizens constructed one more magnificent. They collected for this purpose the ornaments of the women, contributions from private property, and the money arising from the sale of pillars of the former temple. Evidence of these things is to be found in the decrees of that time. Artemidorus says, that Timaeus of Tauromenium, in consequence of his ignorance of these decrees, and being otherwise a calumniator and detractor (when he had the name of Epitimaeus, or Reviler,) avers that the Ephesians restored the temple by means of the treasure deposited there by the Persians. But at that time no treasure was deposited, and if any had been deposited there, it must have been consumed together with the temple: after the conflagration, when the roof was destroyed, who would wish to have a deposit lying there, with the sacred enclosure exposed to the air?
Besides, Artemidorus says, that Alexander promised to defray the expense of its restoration, both what had been and what would be incurred, on condition that the work should be attributed to him in the inscription, but the Ephesians refused to accede to this; much less, then, would they be disposed to acquire fame by sacrilege and spoliation. He praises also the reply of an Ephesian to the king, “that it was not fit that a god should provide temples in honour of gods.”
(1) Cherisphron was of Gnossus in Crete. The ground being marshy on which the temple was to be built, he prepared a foundation for it of pounded charcoal, at the suggestion of Theodorus, a celebrated statuary of Samos.
(2) The temple is said to have been burnt the night Alexander the Great was born. – Cicero, de Nat. Deo. ii. 27.
Book XIV. Chapter I. 23. Ionia. Ephesus.
After the completion of the temple, which, he says, was the work of Cheirocrates (the same person who built Alexandria, and also promised Alexander that he would form Mount Athos into a statue of him, which should represent him as pouring a libation into a dish out of an ewer; that he would build two cities, one on the right hand of the mountain, and another on the left, and a river should flow out of the dish from one to the other,)* - after the completion of the temple, he says that the multitude of other sacred offerings were purchased by the Ephesians, at the value set on them by artificers, and that the altar was almost entirely full of the works of Praxiteles. They showed us also some of the performances of Thraso, namely, the Hecatesium, a Penelope, and the old woman Eurycleia.
*Plutarch says that the artist offered Alexander to make a statue of Mount Athos, which should hold in the left hand a city, capable of containing 10,000 inhabitants, and pouring from the right hand a river falling into the sea.
The priests were eunuchs, who were called Megabyzi. It was the practise to send to various places for persons worthy of this office, and they were held in high honour. They were obliged to appoint virgins as their colleagues in their priesthood. At present some of their rites and customs are observed and some are neglected.
The temple was formerly, and is at present, a place of refuge, but the limits of the sanctity of this asylum have been frequently altered; Alexander extended them to the distance of a stadium. Mithridates discharged an arrow from the angle of the roof, and supposed that it fell a little beyond the distance of a stadium. Antonius doubled this distance, and included within the range of the sanctuary a certain portion of the city. This was attended with much evil, as it placed the city in the power of criminals and malefactors. On this account Augustus Caesar abolished the privilege.
Book XIV. Chapter I. 31. Ionia.
Next follows Chalcideis, and the isthmus of the peninsula(1) of the Teians and Erythraeans; the latter inhabit the interior of the isthmus. The Teians and Clazomenians are situated on the isthmus itself. The Teians occupy the southern side of the isthmus, namely, Chalcideis;(2) the Clazomenians, the northern side, whence they are contiguous to the Erythraean district. At the commencement of the isthmus is Hypocremnus, having on this side the Erythraean, and on the other, the Clazomenian territory. Above Chalcideis is a grove, dedicated to Alexander, the son of Philip, and a festival called Alexandreia is proclaimed and celebrated there by the common body of the Ionians.
The passage across the isthmus from the Alexandrine grove and Chalcideis, as far as the Hypocremnus, is 50 stadia. Somewhere about the middle of the voyage is Erythrae, an Ionian city, with a port, having in front four small islands, called Hippoi (the Horses).
(1) Which forms the Gulf of Smyrna.
(2) The district called Chalcitis by Pausanias, xii. 5. 12
Book XIV. Chapter I. 34. Ionia.
Erythrae was the native place of the Sibyl, an ancient inspired prophetess. In the time of Alexander there was another Sibyl, who was also a prophetess, whose name was Athenais, a native of the same city; and in our age there was Heracleides the Herophilian physician, a native of Erythrae, a fellow-student of Apollonius surnamed Mus.
Book XIV. Chapter II. 17. Caria.
Halicarnassus suffered, when it was taken by storm by Alexander. Hecatomnus, who was then king of the Carians had three sons, Mausolus, Hidrieus, and Pixodarus, and two daughters. Mausolus, the eldest son, married Artemisia, the eldest daughter; Hidrieus, the second son, married Ada, the other sister. Mausolus came to the throne, and, dying without children, left the kingdom to his wife, by whom the above-mentioned sepulcher was erected. She pined away for grief at the loss of her husband. Hidrieus succeeded her; he died a natural death, and was succeeded by his wife Ada. She was ejected by Pixodarus, the surviving son of Hecatomnus. Having espoused the party of the Persians, Pixodarus sent for a satrap to share the kingdom with him. After the death of Pixodarus, the satrap became master of Halicarnassus. But upon the arrival of Alexander, he sustained a siege. His wife was Ada, daughter of Pixodarus, and Aphneis, a woman of Cappadocia. But Ada, the daughter of Hecatomnus, whom Pixodarus ejected, entreated Alexander, and endeavoured to prevail upon him to reinstate her in the kingdom of which she had been deprived; she promised (in return) her assistance in reducing to obedience the parts of the country which had revolted; for the persons who were in possession of them were her relations and subjects. She also delivered up Alinda where she herself resided. Alexander granted her request and proclaimed her queen, after the city was taken, but not the acropolis which was doubly fortified. He assigned to Ada the siege of the acropolis, which was taken in a short time, afterwards the besiegers having attacked it with fury and exasperation at the resistance of the besieged.
Book XIV. Chapter III. 9. Pamphylia.
Then follows Phaselis,* a considerable city, with three harbours and a lake. Above it is the mountain Solyma and Termessus, a Pisidic city, situated on the defiles, through which there is a pass over the mountain to Milyas. Alexander demolished it, with the intention of opening the defiles.
About Phaselis, near the sea, are narrow passes through which Alexander conducted his army. There is a mountain called Climax. It overhangs the sea of Pamphylia, leaving a narrow road along the coast, which in calm weather is not covered with water, and travelers can pass along it, but when the sea is rough, it is in a great measure hidden by the waves. The pass over the mountains is circuitous and steep, but in fair weather persons travel on the road along the shore. Alexander came there when there was a storm, and trusting generally to good fortune, set out before the sea had receded, and the soldiers marched during the whole day up to the middle of the body in water.
Phaselis also is a Lycian city, situated on the confines of Pamphylia. It is not part of the Lycian body, but is an independent city.
*Tirikowa.
Book XIV. Chapter V. 9. Cilicia.
Next follows Zephyrium,(1) of the same name as that near Calycadnus; then Anchiale, a little above the sea, built by Sardanapalus, according to Aristobulus. (According to the same author) the tomb of Sardanapalus is here, and a stone figure representing him with the fingers of his right hand brought together as in the act of snapping them, and the following inscriptions in Assyrian letters: “SARDANAPALUS, THE SON OF ANACYNDARAXES, BUILT ANCHIALE AND TARSUS IN ONE DAY. EAT, DRINK, BE MERRY; EVERYTHING ELSE IS NOT WORTH(2) THAT” – the snapping of the fingers.
Choerilus mentions this inscription, and the following lines are everywhere known:
“Meat and drink, wanton jests, and the delights of love, these I have enjoyed; but my great wealth I have left behind.”
(1) Cape Zafra.
(2) What better inscription, said Aristotle, could you have for the tomb, not of a king, but of an ox. Cicero, Tusc. Quaes. iii. 35.
Book XIV. Chapter V. 12. Cilicia.
Tarsus is situated in a plain. It was founded by Argives, who accompanied Triptolemus in his search after Io. The Cydnus flows through the middle of it, close by the gymnasium of the young men. As the source is not far distant, and the stream passing through a deep valley, then flows immediately into the city, the water is cold and rapid in its course; hence it is of advantage to men and beasts affected with swellings of the sinews, fluxions, and gout.
Book XIV. Chapter V. 17. Cilicia.
Above this coast is situated the Aleian plain, over which Philotas conducted Alexander’s cavalry, he himself leading the phalanx from Soli along the sea-coast and the territory of Mallus to Issus, against the forces of Darius. It is said that Alexander performed sacrifices in honour of Amphilochus, on account of their common affinity to Argos. Hesiod says that Amphilochus was killed by Apollo at Soli; according to others, at the Aleian plain; and others again say, in Syria, upon his quitting the Aleian plain on account of the quarrel.
Book XIV. Chapter V. 19. Cilicia.
Next to Aegaeae is Issus, a small town with a shelter for vessels, and a river, the Pinarus. At Issus the battle was fought between Alexander and Darius. The bay is called the Issic Bay. The city Rhosus is situated upon it, as also the city Myriandrus, Alexandreia,(1) Nicopolis, Mopsuestia, and the Gates,(2) as they are called, which are the boundary between Cilicia and Syria.
(1) Iskenderun.
(2) The passage is defended by the fortress of Merkes.
Excerpt from Book XIV. Chapter VI. 3. Cypress.
At Curium is the commencement of the voyage towards the west in the direction of Rhodes; then immediately follows a promontory, whence those who touch with their hands the altar of Apollo are precipitated. Next are Treta, Boosura, and Palaepaphus, situated about 10 stadia from the sea, with a harbour and an ancient temple of the Paphian Venus; then follows Zephyria, a promontory with an anchorage, and another Arsinoe, which also has an anchorage, a temple, and a grove. At a little distance from the sea is Hierocepis. Next is Paphos, founded by Agapenor, with a harbour and temples, which are fine buildings. It is distant from Palaepaphus 60 stadia by land. Along this road the annual sacred processions are conducted, when a great concourse both of men and women resort thither from other cities. Some writers say, that from Paphos to Alexandreia are 3600 stadia. Next after Paphos is the Acamas; then after the Acamas the voyage is easterly to Arsinoe a city, and to the grove of Jupiter; then Soli a city, where there is a harbour, a river, and a temple of Venus and Isis. It was founded by Phalerus and Acamas, who were Athenians. The inhabitants are called Solii. Stasanor, one of the companions of Alexander, was a native of Soli, and was honoured with a chief command. Above Soli in the interior is Limenia a city, then follows the promontory of Crommyon.