The Geography of Strabo, Volume 3 (of 3): Literally Translated, with Notes — John Shaqi
The Geography of Strabo, Volume 3 (of 3): Literally Translated, with NotesStrabo
History
The Geography of Strabo, Volume 3 (of 3): Literally Translated, with Notes
Strabo
Geography -- Early works to 1800
The three following books are dedicated to the description of Greece,
with the adjacent islands. The 8th comprises the Peloponnesus and its
well-known seven provinces, Elis, Messenia, Laconia, Argolis, Corinthia
with Sicyonia, Achaia, and Arcadia: the 9th, Attica, with Megaris,
Bœotia, Phocis, both Locri and Thessaly: the 10th, Eubœa, Ætolia, and
Acarnania, with the islands. After a long digression on the subject of
the Curetes, the description of Europe closes with some account of Crete
and the islands of the Ægean Sea. The design and construction of these
three books differ considerably from the preceding. Homer is adopted as
the foundation of his geographical descriptions; some things Strabo must
have learnt as an eye-witness, but more from _vivâ voce_ communications
at Athens or at Corinth. All is interwoven together without any clear
line of separation, and the result is some confusion. Athens, Corinth,
Argos, and their neighbourhood, were the only parts of Greece our author
saw. Heeren, indeed maintains that he had seen the whole of it, and the
Archipelago, but satisfactory proof of this is altogether wanting.
The 11th book commences with the description of the countries separated
from Europe by the Tanaïs or Don. Asia is divided by our author (who
here follows Eratosthenes) into two parts by the Taurus, which runs in a
direction east and west. The northern part of Asia (or this side Taurus)
is divided into four parts. The first part comprises the countries lying
between the Don, the Sea of Azoff, the Euxine, and the Caspian; the
second, the countries east of the Caspian; and the third, the countries
south of Caucasus. These three parts of the first or northern division
of Asia are contained in the 10th book; the remaining fourth part
occupies the 12th, 13th, and 14th books.
The chief authorities for the first part are, besides information
obtained from travellers and merchants at Amasia, Herodotus for the Don;
Artemidorus and Eratosthenes for distances; Poseidonius and Theophanes
of Mitylene, historians, of the Mithridatic war; Metrodorus of Skepsis;
Hypsicrates of Amisus; and Cleitarchus for the digression on the
Amazons.
For the second part, are principally Patrocles and Aristobulus,
historians of the Asiatic campaigns of Alexander. For the third part, or
Media and Armenia, are, Dellius, who wrote a history of the war against
the Parthians, in which he had served under Antony; Apollonides of
Nicæa, who wrote a Periplus of Europe; and other writers before
mentioned.
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