{"id":16043,"date":"2023-05-10T11:04:42","date_gmt":"2023-05-10T15:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/?p=16043"},"modified":"2024-04-04T10:48:42","modified_gmt":"2024-04-04T14:48:42","slug":"mediterranean-peoples-dionysios-of-alexandrias-dionysius-poetic-guide-to-the-inhabited-world-117-138-ce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/2023\/05\/mediterranean-peoples-dionysios-of-alexandrias-dionysius-poetic-guide-to-the-inhabited-world-117-138-ce\/","title":{"rendered":"Mediterranean peoples: Dionysios of Alexandria’s poetic Guide to the Inhabited World (117-138 CE)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ancient author: <\/em><\/strong>Dionysios of Alexandria (early-second century CE), Guide to the Inhabited World<\/em> \/ Oikoumenes Periegetes \/ Orbis Descriptio <\/em>(link<\/a>; link<\/a> to Greek).<\/p>\n

Comments: <\/em><\/strong>This fascinating and lengthy poem by Dionysios of Alexandria (island of Pharos in the bay to be precise) shows how ethnographic interests were by no means limited to prose narratives of the “historiographical” kind. We know very little about this Dionysios, whose signature can be found in acrostic form in the first letter of each line from lines 109-134 (“By me, Dionysios among those of Pharos”) and whose dedication to Hermes (at least that seems a good option, even though the dative is not used) in the time of Hadrian can be found in another acrostic at lines 513-532 (“God Hermes during Hadrian’s [time]”).<\/p>\n

This poet surveys the entire known world in the context of Ocean and, as a result, deals with a huge range of “tribes” (phylai<\/em>) from Libya, Europe and Asia (the three-fold division he works with, with islands added in as a fourth). In reading the poem, one begins to realize the intimate connections Dionysios imagines between particular environments and the peoples who inhabit them. His evaluations of peoples are brief and there are few signs of the sort of extended derogatory stereotypes so familiar to us from other Greek and Roman authors (even if at times he might briefly call a people “barbarous,” as with the far-off Serians \/ Chinese). Dionysios’ conclusion shows that, all along, he was very much interested in documenting the diversity of peoples which, he clarifies, is due to the variety of environments created by the gods themselves.<\/p>\n

It is difficult to determine what sources Dionysios may have used, but in some ways he comes across as a sort of poetic Strabo, so to speak. Dionysios regularly blends myth into his discussion of places and peoples, and so the story of the god Dionysos in India makes an appearance, for instance (on which see Megasthenes as this link<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Works consulted: Yumna Khan, \u201cA Commentary on Dionysius of Alexandria\u2019s Guide to the Inhabited World<\/em>, 174-382,\u201d <\/i>(Ph.D., London, University of London, 2002) (link<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u2017\u2017\u2017\u2017\u2017\u2017\u2017<\/p>\n

[Introduction on geography and the tribes of men]<\/b><\/p>\n

To begin my song of the earth and broad sea
\nand the rivers, cities and countless tribes (phyla<\/i>) of men
\nI shall recall the deep-flowing Ocean. For therein
\nthe whole world is crowned, like an immense island,
\n(5) not wholly circular throughout, but on either side
\nbecoming wider towards the sun’s paths,
\nlike a sling-shot. And although it is one
\nmen have divided it into three lands:
\nfirst Libya, and then Europe and Asia.<\/p>\n

[<\/b>Continents: <\/b>Boundaries of Libya, Europe and Asia]<\/b><\/p>\n

(10) Well, then, Libya has a horizontal division from Europe
\nand, on this line, are Gades and the mouth of the Nile,
\nwhere lies the northernmost corner of Egypt
\nand the well-known precinct of Amyklaian Kanobos.
\nThe Tanais divides Europe from Asia, right through the middle.
\n(15) This river, winding through the land of the Sauromatians,
\nsweeps to Scythia and lake Maiotis [sea of Azov]
\nin the north. In the south the boundary is the Hellespont.
\nand the line stretches further south to the mouth of the Nile.
\nBut others divide the continents according to the land.
\n(20) A certain isthmus stretches above, uppermost in the
\nAsian land, in the middle of the Caspian and Euxine seas.
\nThis they have called the boundary of Europe and Asia.
\nAnother again, unutterably long, goes towards the south,
\nin the middle of the Arabian and Egyptian gulfs,
\n(25) and this divides Libya from the land of Asia.<\/p>\n

[<\/b>Ocean and its subsidiary s<\/b>eas and bodies of water]<\/b><\/p>\n

Such have mortals said about the boundaries,
\nbut on all sides flows the might of the tireless Ocean,
\none, yet endowed with many names.
\nIndeed by the furthest recess of the Lokrian zephyr
\n(30) it is called the western Atlantic, but beyond
\ntowards the north, where dwell the children of the war-mad Arimaspians (Arimaspes<\/i>),
\nthey call it the frozen and the Kronian (or: Saturnian) sea.
\nOthers again call it the Dead sea, because of the
\nweakness of the sun, for it shines over that sea with a dim light,
\n(35) and on all sides it is dulled by dark clouds.
\nBut there, where it first shines on men,
\nthey call the swell of the sea Eastern or Indian.
\nNearby they call it Erythraian and Ethiopian, to the south,
\nthat is, where a great curve of uninhabited
\n(40) land lies stretched, burned by the sun’s fierce rays.
\nThus does the Ocean run around the whole earth,
\nin such a form and bearing among men such names.
\nHere and there it churns out gulfs, casting itself inwards
\ninto a sea. There are many small gulfs, but four large ones.
\n(45) So, then, first of all, it begets the Western sea,
\nsweeping from Libya to the Pamphylian land.
\nThe second is small, but far surpassing others,
\nwhich, spreading from the Kronian sea in the north
\nsends forth a lofty stream into the Caspian sea,
\n(50) which others call the Hyrkanian sea.
\nOf the others, which are both from the southern sea,
\none reaches higher, pouring forth the Persian wave,
\nturned to face the Caspian sea,
\nand the other, the Arabian gulf, seethes within,
\n(55) winding its channel to the south of the Euxine sea [Black sea].
\nSo many are the gulfs of the deep-waved Ocean,
\nthe greater ones, but there are countless others.
\nNow I will tell of the path of the Western sea,
\nwhich wanders to and from all the lands with its oblique waters,
\n(60) sometimes encircling islands, and sometimes
\nin turn brushing below the feet of mountains or cities.
\nBut you, Muses, tell of its winding paths,
\nbeginning in order from the Western ocean.
\nHere, by the boundaries the Pillars of Herakles stand,
\n(65) a great marvel, beside outermost Gades,
\nbeneath the high peak of the far-flung Atlantians,
\nwhere too a bronze column runs to heaven,
\ntall, and enveloped in dense clouds.
\nFirst of all, as one begins, the Iberian sea
\n(70) flows forth, which is the beginning of Europe
\nand of Libya. For it winds in the middle of the two.
\nThe Pillars stand on its shores, on this side and that,
\nthe one looking at Europe, the other at Libya.
\nAfter this comes the Galatian stream, where the land
\n(75) of Massalia lies stretched, with its curved harbour.
\nNext after these flows the Ligurian sea,
\nwhere the sons of the Italians dwell on the land,
\ndescendants of Ausonian Zeus, always mighty rulers,
\nbeginning from the north as far as the White Rock,
\n(80) which is rooted in the Sicilian strait.
\nNext the briny water bellows at Kyrnos.
\nAfter this the Sardinian sea roars within, and after
\nthis the wave of the Tyrrhenian sea howls towards the south.
\nBut then towards the rays of the sun
\n(85) the curved Sicilian stream runs back and forth, bringing
\nwaters up from its depths between wave-beaten Pachynos
\nand the headland of Crete, which juts far into the sea,
\nbeside holy Gortyn and mainland Phaistos,
\nstretched forth, in the image of the head of a ram.
\n(90) Because of this they call it the Ram’s Brow.
\nIndeed it also stretches towards the Iapygian land.
\nFrom there the swell of the Adriatic grows
\nwide and stretches towards the north, and again towards the
\nwestern corner, and those dwelling nearby also call it the Ionian sea.
\n(95) It pours forth onto two lands. As one travels,
\non the right-hand side there appears the Illyrian land, and
\nDalmatia above, province of war-like men.
\nOn the left extends the immense isthmus of the
\nAusonians, far-reaching, and surrounded by three seas,
\n(100) the Tyrrhenian, the Sicilian, and the brimming Adriatic.
\nEach one stretches its channel towards a wind,
\nThe Tyrrhenian sea the west-wind, the Sicilian the
\nsouth-wind, the Adriatic the east-wind.
\nBut beyond the soil of Sicily the sea flows towards Libya
\nraising crested waves, winding about the southern Syrtis,
\n(105) the one which they also call the Greater Syrtis.
\nThe other one, which has a lesser path, being an inlet,
\nreceives the flood of the sea making its way from afar.
\nSo do the two bays thunder as they twist and turn,
\nwhile from the Sicilian mountains stretches the wave of
\n(110) Crete far to the east, as far as the headland of Salmonis,
\nwhich they say is the eastern tip of Crete.
\nNext two further seas tremble,
\nas they are driven by the blasts of the north-wind of Ismaros,
\nblowing straight at them, for they lie opposite.
\n(115) Sailors call the first the Pharian sea,
\nwhich stretches to the furthermost cape of Casion.
\nThe other is called the Sidonian sea, where stretching into
\nthe deepest recesses of the land,
\n[as far as the city of Issos, passing the country of the Cilicians]
\nthe boundless Gulf of Issos drives northward.
\n(120) It does not run very far in this direction, for it breaks off
\ndirectly near the dark entrance to the land of the Cilicians.
\nFrom there it disgorges its crooked water to the west.
\nJust as a grim-looking serpent winds, coiled and creeping,
\nsluggish, and beneath it the entire summit of a mountain
\n(125) is crushed as it moves, so does that gulf wind in the sea,
\nfull-flowing, weighed down here and there by flood-waters.
\nAround its waters the Pamphylians dwell,
\nas far as the corners of the Chelidonian islands reach.
\nIt has as its boundary in the west the far summit of Patara.
\n(130) Consider now, turning from there again to the north,
\nthe broad path of the Aegean sea, where the waves
\nthunder as they break around the islands of the Sporades.
\nFor no other path of the sea raises waves,
\nnot like the Aegean, roaring on high.
\n(135) It sets its limit at furthest Tenedos,
\nwith Imbros on the other side, whence there goes a
\nnarrow strait, sweeping northward within all Propontis.
\nAbove this the countless tribes of the land of Asia extend
\ntowards the south, for it reaches a wide isthmus of land.
\n(140) After this is the mouth of the Thracian Bosporos, which
\nIo once swam at Hera’s instigation, as a young heifer.
\nThat is the narrowest strait of all
\nthe others, which the stormy sea holds,
\nwhere the story goes that the pitiless Kyanean rocks
\n(145) roam in the sea and clash against one another with a resounding din.
\nFrom here opens up and spreads the nearby Pontos.
\nIt is vast and vast is its sprawling span into the heart of the east.
\nIts paths flow obliquely,
\nalways looking to the north and to the east.
\n(150) In the middle, on this side and that, rise two peaks,
\none to the far south, which they call Karambis,
\nthe other further north, above the land of Europe,
\nwhich those who dwell round about call the Ram’s Brow.
\nThese two meet face to face, although they are not
\n(155) close, but as far apart as a ship might travel in three days.
\nFrom here you could also see that the Pontos is two seas,
\nand resembles the cord of a rounded bow in its curvature.
\nNow the right-hand side of the Pontos would be the bow-string,
\ndrawn straight, but Karambis is alone,
\n(160) standing outside the line, and looking to the north.
\nThe left-hand path has the shape of horns. It is bent
\nin a double curve, like the horns of a bow.
\nTo its north the waters of lake Maiotis
\nspread. Around this dwell the Scythians,
\n(165) men of countless number, and they call it the Mother of the Pontos.
\nFor from this flows the measureless water of the Pontos
\nstraight through the Kimmerian Bosporos, on which
\nmany Kimmerians dwell beneath the cold foot of the Tauros.
\nSuch, then, is the shape of the dark-shining deep.<\/p>\n

[<\/b>Form of the earth and its continents<\/b>]<\/b><\/p>\n

(170) Now I shall recall the form of the whole earth,
\nso that, without seeing it, still you should have an intelligible view,
\nand as a result of this you should be honoured and well respected,
\nas you explain the details to the man of ignorance.
\nWell, then, Libya goes stretching to the south,
\n(175) to the south and east, like a trapezium in form,
\nbeginning first from Gades, where the point
\nis sharp and reaches into the heart of the Ocean.
\nA wider boundary is marked near the Arabian sea,
\nwhere lies the land of the dark Ethiopians,
\n(180) the other ones, close to whom stretches the soil of the Erembians.
\nMen say that the continent is like a leopard-skin,
\nfor indeed it is dry and parched,
\nand dotted here and there with dark spots.<\/p>\n

[1. Libya]<\/b><\/p>\n

[Peoples of <\/b>Libya \/ <\/b>Africa<\/b>]<\/b><\/p>\n

So, then, below the outermost point there dwell
\n(185) near the Pillars the peoples (ethn\u0113<\/i>) of the Maurousian land.
\nAfter them there stretch the countless nomads,
\nwhere the Masaisylians and country-dwelling Masylians
\ngo to pasture with their children through plain and forest
\nchasing a grim and wretched hunt for sustenance.
\n(190) For they do not know the cut of the earth-sharing plough
\nand they never hear the sweet sound of the carriage’s course,
\nnor the lowing of cattle returning to their pens.
\nBut they just herd through the thickets, like wild animals,
\nignorant of corn and unaware of the harvest.
\n(195) After them Carthage embraces her lovely harbour,
\nCarthage, now Libyan, but once Phoenician,
\nCarthage, which the story says was measured with an ox-hide.
\nNext the Syrtis rolls its strong-flowing course,
\nthe Lesser Syrtis. After this towards the east the other flows,
\n(200) immense, burdened as it is by fuller floods.
\nHere, when the Tyrrhenian sea raises its crested waves,
\nsometimes the water towers high, and sometimes, in turn,
\nthe ebb-tide runs over the dry sands.
\nIn the middle of these two stands a city,
\n(205) which they call Neapolis. Inland of this
\nthe Lotophagians (Lotus-eaters) dwell, a people who welcome strangers.
\nHere the wily Odysseus once came in his wanderings.
\nIn that region you can see the deserted homes of the
\nNasamonians who have perished,
\nfor the Ausonian spear destroyed this people who paid no heed to Zeus.
\n(210) After them are the Asbystians (A<\/i>sbysta<\/i>i<\/i>), inland,
\nand the precinct of the Libyan god, beneath thick sand,
\nand Cyrene of the fine horses, seat of the Amyklaians.
\nNearby are the Marmaridians who extend before Egypt,
\n(215) and the Gaitulians beyond them and the neighbouring Nigretians.
\nNext after these are the Phaurousians, and beyond them
\nthe land is inhabited by the innumerable Garamantians. In the
\nremote corners of the continent feed the furthermost Ethiopians,
\nby the Ocean itself, beside the vales of farthest Kerne.
\n(220) Above them there rise the peaks of the smoky Blemmyians,
\ndown from which flow the waters of the most fertile Nile,
\nwhich, as it creeps from Libya towards the east,
\nis called Siris by the Ethiopians. But the inhabitants of Syene,
\nonce it has turned, change its name to Nile.<\/p>\n

[The Nile as boundary between Libya and Asia, <\/b>with an aside on Egyptians<\/b>]<\/b><\/p>\n

(225) From there stretching towards the north, this way and
\nthat, it [the Nile] winds through seven mouths and falls into the sea,
\nenriching with its waters the fertile plain of Egypt.
\nFor no river is like the Nile,
\nnot in depositing silt, nor in increasing the wealth of the land.
\n(230) This river also divides Libya from the land of Asia,
\nto the west Libya, and to the east the Asian land.
\nBeside it dwells a descent group of most illustrious men, who were
\nthe first to distinguish the ways of life,
\nthe first to put the beloved plough to the test,
\n(235) and scatter seed over the straightest furrow,
\nand the first to divide the heavens with lines,
\nconsidering at heart the oblique course of the sun.
\nI shall tell of the limits and form of their land itself,
\nfor it has been allotted no small share of honour,
\n(240) and it is of no small size, but beyond others
\nit abounds in pasture and meadows, and yields every glory.
\nIts shape, then, rests on three sides.
\nIt is broad around the northern shores, but pointed towards the dawn,
\nand stretches as far as high-peaked Syene,
\n(245) fenced on both sides by sheltering mountains,
\nthrough the middle of which pour the waters of the fair-flowing Nile.
\nAnd many prosperous men occupy this land,
\nas many as inhabit glorious Thebes,
\nancient Thebes, with a hundred gates, where, with a loud cry,
\n(250) Memnon welcomes his mother, Dawn, as she rises.
\nAs many too as inhabit the midmost land of the Heptapolis (Seven-cities),
\nand as many as there are on the moist shores of the sea
\noccupying the coast as far as lake Serbonis.
\nTo the west of this is the Macedonian city [i.e. Alexandria],
\n(255) where stands the home of mighty Zeus of Sinope,
\nadorned with precious gold. You could not see
\nanother temple more divine than that among men,
\nnor another city as wealthy, where high up
\nthere appear the summits of Pallenian Eidothea.
\n(260) Next, towards the east, by mount Kasios
\nthe city named after Peleus is occupied by a people
\nexceptionally skilled in seafaring. Those men are not
\nnumbered among the Libyans, for the city allotted them
\nis situated to the east of the seven-mouthed Nile.
\n(265) But a great many others inhabit this land,
\nsome by the Ocean, some in the centre of the mainland,
\nand others around the waters of beloved lake Tritonis,
\nwhich embraces a wide bay in the middle of Libya.
\nSuch, then, is the shape and form of Libya.<\/p>\n

[<\/b>2. <\/b>Europe]<\/b><\/p>\n

(270) But if you want an outline of Europe too, I will not hide it from you.
\nThe shape is the same as that of Libya, but it is turned
\ntowards the north, and it tends back towards the east
\njust as that of the southerly Libya leans towards the boundary.
\nBoth alike have their furthest track on the border with Asia,
\n(275) the one to the north, and the other to the south. But if you
\nmade the two of them one land, then altogether
\nit would be the shape of a triangle with two equal sides,
\npointed in the west, but broad in the east at the middle.
\nSo, having seen that this is the outline of the two
\n(280) continents, you will easily grasp the bounds of Europe.<\/p>\n

[Iberians, Celts, and Germans]<\/b><\/p>\n

At its furthest borders there dwell,
\nnear the Pillars, the people of the brave-hearted Iberians,
\nreaching across the length of the land, where lies the cold
\nstream of the northern Ocean, where the Britons
\n(285) and the white tribes of the war-mad Germans dwell,
\nrunning beside the mountains of the Herkynian forest.
\nThey say that that land is like an ox-hide.
\nAfter the Iberians are mount Pyrene and the homes of the Celts,
\nnear the springs of the fair-flowing Eridanos,
\n(290) beside the streams of which once in the solitary night
\nthe Heliades cried, lamenting Phaethon.
\nThere the children of the Celts, seated beneath the poplars,
\nmilk the tears of gold-gleaming amber.
\nNext after this are the haunts of the Tyrrhenian land.
\n(295) To the east of this appears the start of the Alp,
\nthrough the middle of which flow down the waters of the Rhine,
\ntowards the furthermost wave of the northern Ocean [North Sea].<\/p>\n

[Peoples <\/b>west of the <\/b>Black Sea <\/b>and north of the Ister \/ Danube river<\/b>]<\/b><\/p>\n

Next after the Rhine there rises the sacred Ister [Danube],
\nthe Ister, reaching to the east as far as the Euxine
\n(300) sea [Black Sea], where it emits all the foam of its water,
\nwinding around Peuke with its mouth of five channels.
\nTo its north dwell very many scattered tribes
\nwhich succeed one another as far as the mouth of lake Maiotis [Sea of Azov]:
\nGermans, Samatians [usually spelled Sarmatians], and Getians together with Bastarnians,
\n(305) and the boundless land of the Dacians and the mighty Alans,
\nand the Taurians, who inhabit the lofty track of Achilles,
\nboth narrow and long, as far as the mouth of the lake itself.
\nAbove them there extends the tribe of the Agauians rich in horses.
\nHere are the Melanchlainians and the Hippemolgians,
\n(310) and the Neurians, Hippopodians, Gelonians and Agathyrsians.
\nHere the far-reaching stream of the Borysthenes [Dnieper] river
\nmixes with the Euxine before the Ram’s Brow,
\ndirectly in a line opposite the Kyaneai [rocks].
\nHere the waters of the Aldeskos and Pantikapes [i.e. rivers between the Dnieper and the Don]
\n(315) roar each in their own corner of the Rhipaian mountains.
\nBeside them, near the waters of the frozen sea
\nsweet-gleaming amber swells, like a beam
\nof the waxing moon, and nearby you could see
\ndiamonds glittering beside the cold Agathyrsians.<\/p>\n

[Peoples west of the Black Sea and south of the Ister \/ Danube]<\/b><\/p>\n

(320) So many, then, are the peoples north of the Ister,
\nwhile to the south are the Gerrians and the fortified towns of the Norikians,
\nPannonians and Mysians, north of the Thracians,
\nand the Thracians themselves, who inhabit a limitless land,
\nsome on the shores of the sea of the Propontis,
\n(325) some beside the strong-flowing Hellespont, and others
\nbeside the deep wave of the loud-roaring Aegean sea itself.
\nHere on the summits of bee-feeding Pallene,
\nsprings the beautiful asterios<\/i> stone, which glows
\nlike a star, and the lychnis<\/i>, just like a flame of fire.
\n(330) So many, then, are the peoples who dwell around the river Ister.<\/p>\n

Consider now the remaining path of Europe, which
\nextends towards the dawn on three feet, that of the Iberians,
\nthat of the Panhellenes, and that of the noble Ausonians.
\nWell, then, the outermost is that of the illustrious Iberians,
\n(335) neighbours of the Ocean to the west. On it stands
\nthe summit of Alybe, one of the Pillars. Above this
\nis lovely Tartesos, land of affluent men,
\nand the Kempsians, who dwell by the foot of Pyrene [Pyrenees mountain range].<\/p>\n

[Peoples of Italy]<\/b><\/p>\n

In the middle of the other two extends the Ausonian land,
\n(340) far-reaching. A mountain cuts it in two down the middle,
\nstraight, as though it had been aligned with a ruler. No
\nskilled servant of artful Athena would find fault with it.
\nThis they call the Apennine [mountains], and beginning from the
\nAlp in the north it ends at the strait of Sicily.
\n(345) Many tribes dwell around it, and I will easily tell you about them all,
\nbeginning on the west side from the north.
\nThe Tyrrhenians are first, and after them are the tribes of
\nthe Pelasgians, who once came from Cyllene to the western sea,
\nwhere they settled with the Tyrrhenian men.
\n(350) After them comes the dread tribe of the noble Latins,
\nwho inhabit a lovely land, through the middle of which
\nthe Tiber winds, casting its pure stream into the sea,
\nthe fair-flowing Tiber, most regal of all rivers,
\nthe Tiber which divides in two beloved Rome,
\n(355) honoured Rome, the great home of my lords,
\nthe mother of all cities, rich abode.
\nAfter this is the fertile plain of the Campanians, where
\nstands the home of chaste Parthenope, laden with sheaves of corn,
\nParthenope, whom the sea welcomed in its embrace.
\n(360) To the south, some way beyond the Siren’s Rock,
\nappear the streams of the Picentine Silarus.
\nNearby are the men of the Leukanians and the Brentians,
\nwho inhabit the land as far the white rock.
\nFrom there to the north appears the cape of Zephyr,
\n(365) Below it are the Lokrians, all those who in years gone by,
\ncame to Ausonia, after coupling with their mistresses.
\nEven now their people dwell by the streams of the Alex.
\nNext after them are the Metapontians, and near them
\nthe beloved city of well-crowned Kroton,
\n(370) situated by the waters of the charming Aisaros,
\nwhere you can see the lofty home of Lakinian Hera.
\nThere too, at the anger of mighty Zeus is wretched Sybaris,
\nmourning her fallen inhabitants,
\nwho were overly mad for Alpheius’ honours.
\n(375) The Samnites after them inhabit the middle territory,
\nand the nimble tribes of the Marsians. Tarentum lies near the sea,
\nwhich strong Amyklaian Ares once built.
\nNext after these are the haunts of the Calabrian land
\nand the tribes of the Iapygians reaching as far as Hyrion,
\n(380) by the sea, Hyrion, where the flood of the Adriatic flows
\nto the neighbouring sea of Aquileia where stands
\nthe city of the Tegestreans, on the edges of the innermost sea.
\nSo many are the peoples who inhabit the Ausonian land.<\/p>\n

[Peoples <\/b>of Illyria<\/b>]<\/b><\/p>\n

From there to the east the winding flood flows,
\n(385) wearing at the Liburnian shores, and around all the
\nfortified country of the Hylles, all that lies beside the isthmus,
\nand the coasts of the Boulimes. Onward it drives its immense course,
\nwinding to the Illyrian land [largely overlapping with modern Albania] as far as the peak
\nand the steep mountains, which they call the Keraunians.
\n(390) Moreover in that region you could see the famous tomb,
\nthe tomb which rumour has it belongs to Kadmos and Harmony.
\nFor it was there that they were changed into coiled snakes,
\nwhen they came from Ismenos in their rich old age.
\nHere the gods brought about another miracle for them.
\n(395) For in that region, on either side two rocks stand firmly fixed,
\nwhich both tremble and come together, whenever any
\nill begins to threaten those who dwell there.<\/p>\n

[Peoples of Greece]<\/b><\/p>\n

To the south, quite far below fertile Thrace
\nand beyond the land of Orikia, is the beginning of Greece,
\n(400) stretching far, girded by twin seas,
\nthe Aegean and the Sicilian. Each has been allotted a wind,
\nthe Sicilian sea the west wind, which they also call Zephyr,
\nand the Aegean the east wind. The island of Pelops
\nfollows next, like the tapering leaf of a plane-tree.
\n(405) For the narrow isthmus to the north is
\npinched like the stem, and is attached to Greece by a common path.
\nThe land is like a wind-tossed leaf in outline,
\nwreathed with coastal bays on this side and that.
\nTo its west are the haunts of the Triphylian land,
\n(410) where the loveliest of rivers, the Alpheios, makes its way
\nseparating itself from the waters of the Messenian Eurotas.
\nBoth these rivers churn forth their streams from Asea,
\nbut the one divides the land of the Eleans, and the other that of the Amyklaians.
\nIn the middle of the island the Apidanian Arkadians
\n(415) inhabit a hollow country below the peak of Erymanthos,
\nwhere Melas, where Krathis, where the moist Iaon flows,
\nwhere too ancient Ladon stretches with its waters,
\nnearby is the soil of the Argives and the land of the Lakonians,
\nthe one looking to the east, the other to the south.
\n(420) Two seas thunder around the shores of the Isthmos,
\none flowing opposite Ephyre towards the darkness,
\nthe other towards the dawn. This they call the Saronic.
\nBeyond the isthmus to the east lies the Attic land,
\nthrough which flows the stream of the divine Ilissos.
\n(425) It was from here too that Boreas once snatched Oreithyia.
\nAfter this there is the plain of the Boiotians and the Lokrian soil,
\nand Thessaly is after these and the cities of Macedonia.
\nAfter this there appear the summits of snowy Haimos [now the Balkan range]
\nin Thrace. Facing this towards the blast of the west wind
\n(430) the immense land of Dodona extends.
\nBeyond this, below the plain of Arakynthos, the great
\nplain of the Aitolians goes towards the south. Through
\nthe middle sweeps the silver-eddying Achelous, driving its course,
\nwinding to the sea of Trinakria through the midst
\n(435) of the islands, which they call the Echinades. There
\nfollow here and there the cities of the neighbouring Kephallenians.
\nAfter this there is the soil of Phokis, towards the east and the dawn,
\ncoursing northwards to the mouth of Thermopylai,
\nbelow the cleft of snowy Parnassos. Through the middle
\n(440) of this the great wave of Kephisos descends with a murmur.
\nBeside this is the fragrant plain of Pytho, where the coil
\nof the serpent Delphyne lies next to the tripods of the god,
\nthe coil, rough with countless scales,
\nin the beloved temple, where often Apollo himself
\n(445) stops and loosens the cord of his golden quiver,
\njust back from Miletos or from Klaros.<\/p>\n

[Peoples <\/b>on <\/b>islands, <\/b>starting in the far west<\/b>]<\/b><\/p>\n

So, then, may he be gracious. But you, Muse of Zeus, tell
\nme of the sacred path of all the islands, which appear in
\nthe sea before men’s eyes, facing this way and that.
\n(450) Well, then, in the middle beneath the western Pillars
\nfurthest Gadeira [Cadiz, Spain] appears before men,
\non a sea-bound island, beside the limits of Ocean.
\nHere dwells a descent group (genos<\/i>) of Phoenician men
\nwho worship mighty Zeus’ son, Herakles.
\n(455) This island too, which among men of old
\nwas called Kotinoussa, the inhabitants call Gadeira.
\nNext are the Gymnesian islands [also in Spain]. Nearby there is Bousos,
\nand broadest Sardo, and Kyrnos lovely in the sea,
\nwhich the people who live there call Korsis.
\n(460) There is no forest which is as vast as hers.
\nAfter this there are the islands of Aiolos which form a circle in the sea,
\nAiolos, son of Hippotas, the king who welcomes strangers,
\nAiolos, who was allotted gifts wondrous among men,
\nthe command of the winds as they rage and as they rest.
\n(465) He has seven, named by men the \u201cNavigable islands,\u201d
\nbecause in their midst they have a winding path that may be sailed around.
\nAfter these Trinakria extends beyond the land
\nof the Ausonians, standing on three sides.
\nIts headlands are Pachynos, Peloris and Lilybe.
\n(470) So, then, Lilybe [Marsala in Sicily] rises up into the blast of the west wind,
\nand Pachynos is to the east, and towards the north
\nlies windy Peloris, looking at Ausonian.
\nTo its north the passage is deadly for sailors,
\nnarrow and winding and unruly, where the sea
\n(475) as it flows thunders about the high rocks,
\nthe sea pierced by the many-barbed Aonian iron.
\nTo the south is the path of Libya and the beginning of the Syrtis,
\nthe one. The other you would see as you made your way further,
\nthe western one. Before this there are two islands,
\n(480) Meninx and Kerkinna, occupying the Libyan basin.
\nBut whenever you sail the left-hand path of the Adriatic
\nsea in your ship, to the Iapygian land,
\nyou will immediately find the island of mighty Diomedes,
\nwhere the hero came, after enraging Aphrodite,
\n(485) when he sought the people of the much-longed-for Iberes,
\nat the advice of his wife, ill-minded Aegialeia.
\nNext after this passage towards the rays of the sun,
\nthere appears the immense course of the islands of Apsyrtes,
\nwhich the sons of the Kolchians once invaded, when they took pains
\n(490) in searching after the traces of the errant daughter of Aietes.
\nNext after these the Liburnian islands [off what is now Croatia] stand rooted.
\nTo the south, after the Keraunian forests, before the
\npassing ship, there would appear on the far side the islands of the
\nAmbrakians [in the Ambracian Gulf, Greece], and fertile Kerkyra, beloved land of Alkinous.
\n(495) After this is fixed the seat of Nerikian Ithaca,
\nand of all the other islands that Achelous flowing
\nfrom Chalkis winds about with silver eddies.
\nMany can be seen to the north of Amnisos:
\nAigila, Kythera and rugged Kalauria [in Greece].
\n(500) Karpathos is on the other side. Towards the darkness, nearby,
\nis honoured Crete, mighty Zeus’ nurse-maid,
\ngreat and fertile and abounding in pastures, above which is Ida,
\nIda, lush with fair-tressed oaks.
\nIts size too is indeed immense. Opposite the coast
\n(505) of Egypt is Rhodes, land of the Ialysian men.
\nAfter this to the east are the Chelidoniai [Be\u015fadalar, Turkey],
\nthree islands inside the great promontory of Patara.
\nTo the east, in the Pamphylian gulf, Cyprus
\nis washed by the sea, the lovely city of Dionean Aphrodite.
\n(510) Near Phoenicia Arados sits in the great gulf.
\nBefore the peak of Sounion, beyond the Abantes,
\nthere appear Salamis and the city of Aegina.
\nThe deep path of the Aegean is a wonder,
\nwith its row of endless islands on either side within it,
\n(515) as far as the narrow waters of Helle, Athamas’ daughter,
\nwhere Sestos and Abydos each have a harbour facing the other.<\/p>\n

The islands of Europe run in order beneath the
\nleft-hand quarter of the heavens, and those of Asia lie to the right,
\nreaching lengthwise to the Arctic north.
\n(520) So, then, Abantian Makris [belongs to Europe],
\nand windy Skyros and lofty Peparethos.
\nHere too Lemnos, the rugged land of Hephaistos,
\nextends, and ancient Thasos, Demeter’s shore,
\nImbros, and Thracian Samos, the city of the Korybantes.
\n(525) The islands of Asia which have obtained the first lot, are
\ncircled around Delos, and are called the Kyklades.
\nAs offerings to Apollo they all lead dances,
\nas the sweet spring begins anew, when in the mountains
\nfar from people, the clear-voiced nightingale conceives.
\n(530) Next the islands of the Sporades beam brightly all around,
\nas when the stars are seen through the cloudless air,
\nonce the swift north wind has dispersed the damp mists.
\nAfter these are the Ionian islands. Here are Kaunos
\nand lovely Samos, the abode of Pelasgian Hera,
\n(535) and Chios at the foot of steep Pelinnaion.
\nFrom there the mountains of the Aiolian isles appear,
\nwide Lesbos, and beloved Tenedos.
\nFrom there too the gulf of Melas flows towards the
\nHellespont, churning foam. As one goes far to the north,
\n(540) there extends on this side and that the swell of the Propontic sea.
\nThere is also, above the left-hand path of the Euxine,
\nopposite the Borysthenes, a well-known island in the sea,
\nthe Island of Heroes. They call it by the name of Leuke,
\nbecause the serpents there are \u201cwhite.\u201d
\n(545) There rumour has it the spirits of Achilles and other
\nheroes roam this way and that through the deserted glens.
\nThis is the gift from Zeus which attends the most noble
\nin reward for their virtue. For virtue is allotted a pure honour.
\nAs one goes straight through the Kimmerian Bosporos
\n(550) there is another immense island, which is situated
\nwithin lake Maiotis on the right-hand side,
\nand on which stand Phanagora and well-built Hermonassa [Taman Peninsula, Russia].
\nHere dwell the children of the Ionian land.<\/p>\n

These are the islands in the sea famous among men,
\n(555) but others are wreathed along Ocean’s stream.
\nI would tell of the notable position of these,
\nand at the foot of which wind each of them lies.
\nSo, then, there dwell around cattle-rearing Erytheia,
\nby the wave of the Atlantic, the god-fearing Ethiopians,
\n(560) noble sons of the Makrobians, who once came here
\nafter the death of proud Geryon. Below the sacred
\nCape, which they say is the headland of Europe,
\nthe islands of the Hesperides, the birthplace of tin,
\nare inhabited by the rich people of the illustrious Iberians.
\n(565) There are two other islands by the northern shores
\nof Ocean, the islands of Britannia, opposite the Rhine.
\nFor there the river pours forth its last eddy into the sea.
\nThe size of these islands is immense and no other
\namong all the islands is equal to the islands of Britannia.
\n(570) Nearby there is another path of islets, where the wives
\nof the noble Amnitian men on the opposite shores
\nexcitedly perform the sacred rites for Bacchos according to custom,
\nwreathed with clusters of black-leaved ivy
\nby night. And the clear sound of the tumult rises.
\n(575) Not so on the banks of the Thracian Apsynthos
\ndo the Bistonians call upon loud-roaring Eiraphiotes;
\nnot so beside the black-eddying Ganges do the Indians,
\nwith their children, lead the revelry in honour of loud-thundering Dionysos,
\nnot as the women in that land raise their cries of ‘Euoi’.
\n(580) Cutting further along Ocean’s long path
\nin your well-built ship you would to the island of Thulis [or: Ultima Thule, a northern island].
\nHere, when the sun reaches the pole of the Bears,
\nthe ever-blazing fire pours out days and nights alike.
\nFor then it revolves in a more oblique orbit
\n(585) its rays travelling in a straight descent,
\nuntil it progresses along its southern path in turn
\ntoward the dark-skinned peoples.
\nBut whenever you cleave the deep stream of the Scythian
\nocean in your ship, and you turn further towards the eastern sea,
\nyour path leads you to the island of Chryseia, where the
\n(590) rising of the bright sun itself is even visible.<\/p>\n

Turning from there before the southern headland,
\nyou would immediately come to the island of mighty Kolias,
\nTaprobane [Sri Lanka], mother of the Asian-born elephants,
\nbeyond which, raised high in the revolution of the heavens,
\n(595) the fiery Crab spins in a circle in the ether.
\nThis island is very broad in size, and all around
\nsea-creatures inhabit the shores, beasts of the Erythraian sea,
\nlike lofty mountains. On the ridges
\nof their backs there rises a long track of spines
\n(600) May the children of our enemies, as they wander over the
\nsea, meet these creatures in their travels. For there is no
\nescape inside their wretched jaws, since it is a gaping chasm.
\nOften these monsters even gulp down the ship along with
\nship’s men themselves. For a deity has placed myriad ills
\n(605) on sea and on land for those who are wicked.
\nThere is further on, outside the Karmanian headland
\nOgyris, where lies the tomb of king Erythraios.
\nFrom there you would make your way to the mouth of
\nthe Persian sea, if you set out northwards, and you would come to
\n(610) Icaros on the sea, where the altars of the goddess Tauropolis,
\nfull of the steam of burnt sacrifices, bear bitter smoke.
\nSo many are the islands which Ocean’s stream meet,
\nthe larger islands. But there are countless others,
\nsome in the waters of the Libyan sea,
\n(615) some Asian, and some again around the region of Europe.<\/p>\n

The other islands elsewhere are innumerable. There are
\nsome which are inhabited by men and have lovely harbours for ships,
\nand some which have high cliffs and are not suitable for sailors.
\nThe names of all these it is not easy for me to relate.<\/p>\n

[<\/b>3.<\/b> Asia]<\/b><\/p>\n

(620) The shape of Asia is the same as the form of the two
\ncontinents, facing in the other direction, like the outline of a cone,
\nheading little by little towards the furthest nooks of all the east,
\nwhere too stand the Pillars of Theban-born Dionysos,
\nbeside the stream of the outermost Ocean,
\n(625) in the most distant mountains of the Indians, where
\nthe Ganges winds its white water to the Nysaian plain.
\nBut the size of the Asian land is not so great,
\nnor is its shape entirely alike. For there is one sea
\nwhich guides its stream into those continents,
\n(630) but in Asia there is the great Ocean. For it winds
\nand pours forth three seething gulfs, casting them inwards:
\nthe Persian, the Arabian, and the Hyrkanian with its deep eddies.
\nTwo in the south, and one looking to the north,
\nlooking to the north and to the west, neighbour to the
\n(635) Euxine sea, where countless men dwell all around.
\nAn immense isthmus of land marks the boundary
\nbetween the two, stretching here and there in vast plains.
\nAt the centre of all Asia a mountain-range extends,
\nbeginning from the Pamphylian land as far as even the Indians,
\n(640) at times at an angle and winding, and at times in turn
\ncompletely straight in its tracks. They call it Tauros,
\nbecause it looks like a bull and makes its way with peaks
\nlike pointed horns, divided here and there into outstretched mountains.
\nFrom there countless rivers flow with a loud din,
\n(645) some to the north, some to the south, and some towards
\nthe blasts of the east and west winds. Who could tell the names of them all?
\nIt has not been allotted one name, but in each
\nvalley it has a name. These names might concern those
\nmen who have their homes in the neighbouring country.<\/p>\n

[Peoples north of the Black Sea near lake Maiotis \/ Sea of Azov]<\/b><\/p>\n

(650) Now, then, I will go through all the renowned peoples
\nwho dwell there. May the Muses lead a most straight path.
\nWell, then, near lake Maiotis there dwell
\nthe Maiotians themselves and the Sauromatians,
\nnoble descent group of war-like Ares. For they are sprung
\n(655) from that powerful love of the Amazons,
\nin which they once joined with the men of the Sauromatians,
\nwhen they had wandered from their homeland far from the Thermodon.
\nBecause of this great-hearted children were born too,
\nwho inhabit an immense forest, through the middle of
\n(660) which the Tanais sweeps, falling into the recesses of the Maiotis.
\nThe river also divides Europe from the Asian land,
\nto the west Europe, and to the east the land of Asia.
\nIts springs roar in the Kaukasos [now Caucasus] mountains
\nfar away. Broad, it rushes here and there
\n(665) running over the Scythian plains.
\nAnd, when it seethes in immense waves under the north wind,
\nyou would see ice freezing in the frost.
\nWretched are those who have their homes around that place.
\nConstantly they suffer the cold snow and excessive frost.
\n(670) Indeed, when the winds bring the fiercest frost,
\nyou could see horses dying before your eyes,
\nor even mules, or the tribe of field-dwelling sheep.
\nNot even the men themselves would stay unharmed,
\nthose who remained exposed to those blasts.
\n(675) So they harness up their carts and roam
\nto another place, leaving the land to the wintry
\ngales, which rage against them in cruel storms,
\nand shake the land and the pine-covered mountains.
\nSo many dwell around the Tanais river,
\n(680) while beside the Sauromatians one after another are
\nthe Sindians, the Kimmerians and, bordering on the Euxine,
\nthe Kerketians and Toreteans and the valiant Achaians [not to be confused with Achaians in Attica],
\nwhom the gusts of the south and west wind
\nonce drove from Xanthos and Idaian Simoeis,
\n(685) as they followed their war-like king after battle.
\nAfter them there dwell, inhabitants of the neighbouring land,
\nthe Heniochians and Zygians, descendants of the Pelasgian land.
\nBeside the furthest nook of the Pontos, after the country
\nof the Tyndaridians, there dwell the Kolchians, settlers from Egypt [Herodotos, Inquiries <\/i>2.104-105 – link<\/a>],
\n(690) near the Kaukasos [now Caucasus], which rises in lofty mountains
\naround the Hyrkanian sea. Here the Phasis
\nwinds across the flat of the Kirkaian plain,
\nand churns its swift foam towards the wave of the Euxine,
\nbeginning first from the Armenian mountain.<\/p>\n

[Peoples around the Caspian Sea <\/b>and to the east<\/b>]<\/b><\/p>\n

(695) To the east and north of this there lies an isthmus
\nthe isthmus of the Caspian and Euxine [Black] seas.
\nHere dwells the eastern tribe of the Iberians,
\nwho once came from Pyrene to the east,
\nwhen they engaged in a hostile war with the Hyrkanians,
\n(700) and the great tribe of the Kamaritians, who once
\nreceived and welcomed Bacchos after his war with the Indians,
\nand, together with the Lenai, established a sacred dance,
\nplacing loin-cloths and fawnskins around their middles,
\ncrying \u201cEuoi, Bacche!\u201d And the god cherished in his
\n(705) heart the descent group of those men and their haunts on the land.
\nAfter them the Caspian sea swells with waves.
\nI shall easily draw you this sea,
\nwithout having seen its far away paths, without having travelled in a ship.
\nFor my life is not on black ships,
\n(710) and my family is not in commerce, nor do I sail
\nto the Ganges, like others do, through the Erythraian sea,
\nwithout a care for their lives, in order to win immense wealth,
\nand I do not mix with the Hyrkanians, nor search for
\nthe Kaukasian peaks [of what is now the Caucasus range] of the Erythraian Arianians.
\n(715) But I am carried by the knowledge of the Muses, who,
\nwithout wandering, can measure vast tracts of sea,
\nand the mountains, the mainland and the course of the heavenly stars.
\nSo, then, the shape of the great Caspian sea as a whole
\nwould be round, circular. You would not cross it
\n(720) in a ship before the circling of the third moon.
\nFor so great is its relentless course. Flowing sharply
\ntowards the north, it mixes with the waters of Ocean.
\nIndeed it nurtures many other marvels for men.
\nIt produces crystal and cloudy jasper,
\n(725) hateful shape-shifters and other phantoms.
\nI shall tell you of all those tribes who dwell around it,
\nbeginning on the western side from the north.
\nFirst are the Scythians, as many as inhabit the coast
\nnear the sea of Kronos along the mouth of the Caspian sea.
\n(730) Next are the Thynians, and after them are the Caspians,
\nand the war-like Albanians after them, and the Kadousians
\nwho dwell beyond the rugged land. Nearby are the Mardians,
\nthe Hyrkanians and the Tapyrians. After them the Mardos winds
\nits course, the draught of the Derkebians and the rich Baktrians.
\n(735) For between the two it descends into the Hyrkanian sea.
\nSo, then, the Baktrians inhabit a wider region [overlapping with modern Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan]
\ninland beneath the ridges of Pamasos,
\nand the Derkebians dwell on the other side by the Caspian waters.
\nAfter them to the east, beyond the resounding Araxes,
\n(740) dwell the Massagetians, drawers of swift arrows.
\nMay neither I myself nor any companion go near
\nthese men. For they are far more hostile to strangers than others.
\nFor they do not have the food of sweet grain,
\nnor even native wine. But by mixing white milk
\n(745) with the blood of horses, they prepare their meals.
\nAfter them to the north are the Chorasmians, beyond whom lies the land,
\nof Sogdia, through the middle of which winds the sacred Oxos,
\nwhich leaves the Emodos mountain and descends into the Caspian.
\nAfter this there dwell beside the waters of the Iaxartes
\n(750) the Sakians, bearing bows which no other archer
\ncould put to shame. For it is not customary for them to cast arrows in vain.
\nThere also dwell the Toxarians and Phrourians and the
\nbarbarous tribes of the Serians [i.e. silk people, Chinese],
\nwho spurn cattle and fat sheep,
\nand comb the shimmering blossoms of their desolate land
\n(755) and weave finely-wrought garments, prized garments,
\nresembling in colour the flowers of the grassy meadow.
\nNo spider’s work would rival them.
\nThere are other Scythians in dense numbers, who inhabit
\nthe furthest regions. Beside them there lies stretched a stormy land,
\n(760) left to the wintry winds and hail.
\nSo many are the peoples around the Caspian waves.<\/p>\n

[Peoples west of Kolchians <\/b>in northern<\/b> Asia Minor <\/b>on the southern shore of the Black Sea]<\/b><\/p>\n

But consider now from the Kolchians and the Phasis to the west,
\nby the edge of the Euxine, the abundant tribes of the Pontos
\nas far as the Thracian mouth, where lies the land of Chalkis.
\n(765) First there are the Byzerians and nearby the tribes of the Becheirians,
\nthe Makronians and the Philyrians and those who have
\nwooden houses. Near them are the Tibarenians rich in lambs.
\nAfter them there are also the Chalybians inhabiting a cruel
\nand harsh land, experts in the working of toilsome iron,
\n(770) who, standing over their loud-thundering anvils,
\nnever cease from their labour and terrible misery.
\nAfter them the alluvial soil of the Assyrian land extends,
\nwhere, from the Armenian mountain to the Amazons,
\nthe furious Thermodon sends forth its white water,
\n(775) Thermodon, who once received Sinope, the wandering daughter of Asopos,
\nand, as she grieved, consoled her in his own land
\nat Zeus’ bidding. For Zeus, desiring sweet love,
\nsent her from her fatherland, unwilling as she was.
\nMen also inhabit a city named after her.
\n(780) Around the frozen banks of that river,
\nyou could cut the pure stone of crystal, like ice
\nin winter. You will also find watery jasper.
\nNext the Iris casts its pure stream into the sea.
\nAfter this there roar the streams of the river Halys,
\n(785) coursing towards the north near the peak of Karambis,
\nbeginning first from the Armenian mountain.
\nNext on the shores there reside the Paphlagonians
\nand the sacred plain of the Maryandini. Here they say
\nInfernal Zeus’ great dog with its voice of brass,
\n(790) when dragged up by the hands of great-hearted Herakles,
\ncast from its mouth a terrible slavering humour,
\nwhich the earth received and bore as a bane to men.
\nNearby the Bithynians inhabit a fertile land.
\nThe Rhebas here sends forth a lovely stream,
\n(795) the Rhebas, which courses beside the mouth of the Pontos,
\nthe Rhebas, whose water is the fairest to sweep over the land.
\nSo many are the men who dwell around the Pontos.
\nLet the Scythian tribes, then, be those that I have mentioned.
\nNow, I would tell in turn of the path of the Asian coast,
\n(800) which goes to the south at the Hellespont coursing
\neven to the southern stream of the most vast Aegean,
\nas far as Syria itself and lovely Arabia.
\nThe Chalcidians first of all inhabit the land near the mouth,
\nlooking at the soil of Byzantium on the opposite coast.
\n(805) After these are the Bebrykians and the mountains of the
\nMysian land, where Kios sends forth its beloved streams,
\nat the waters of which a nymph once stole Hylas,
\nthe ready servant of giant Herakles.
\nFrom here to the Hellespont runs the immense curve
\n(810) of Lesser Phrygia. The other Phrygia lies inland,
\nthe Greater Phrygia, by the waters of the Sangarios.
\nSo, then, it is vast and stretches to the east,
\na fertile land grazed by horses. To the west you would
\nsee the other, which lies beneath the foot of sacred Ida,
\n(815) with wind-blown Troy on its borders,
\nTroy, glorious city of heroes of old,
\nTroy, which Poseidon and Apollo founded,
\nTroy, which Athene and Hera destroyed,
\nbeside the broad-flowing Xanthos and Idaian Simoeis.
\n(820) After this there extend the haunts of the Aiolian land,
\nby the edge of the Aegean, beyond the great Hellespont.
\nAfter this there dwell the people of the noble Ionians,
\nnear the sea, in that country through the middle of which
\nthe Maiander descends into the sea with fertile eddies.
\n(825) between Miletos and broad Priene.
\nTo the north of these two you would see
\nEphesos on the coast, the great city of arrow-shooting Artemis,
\nwhere the Amazons once built a temple to the goddess
\nat the trunk of an elm, an extraordinary wonder to men.
\n(830) Next Maionia extends to the east
\nbeneath windy [mount] Tmolos, from which the Pactolos makes its way,
\nbringing gold in its eddies and murmuring.
\nSitting on its banks in the season of Spring
\nyou would hear the clear voices of the swans, which graze
\n(835) beside the water here and there on the growing grass.
\nFor many meadows flourish in Asia,
\nespecially on the plain of Maiander, where the gleaming
\nwater of the gently-plashing Kaystros flows.
\nYou certainly would not fault the women, who around
\n(840) that divine spot, wearing a belt of gold at their waists,
\ndance, turning in a wondrous circle,
\nwhen the dances of Dionysos take place.
\nWith them maidens skip, like young fawns,
\nand round about them the sounding winds
\n(845) stir the lovely tunics on their breasts.
\nBut this is the concern of the Lydian people.
\nBy the sea the Lycians inhabit a land
\non the waters of the Xanthos, the fair-flowing river.
\nHere the mountains of the high-cliffed Tauros appear,
\n(850) as far as Pamphylia. They call it Kragos.
\nThere you would see a city on the sea,
\nAspendos, by the stream of the river Eurymedon,
\nwhere they appease the daughter of Dione with the slaughter of swine.
\nOther Pamphylian cities follow,
\n(855) Korykos, and Perge, and wind-blown Phaselis.
\nTo the east of these, inhabiting an inland region,
\nare the Lykaonians with their crooked bows, experts in war.
\nAfter them there is the fertile plain of the Pisidians,
\nwhere stand the cities of Telmessos and Lyrbe and that city which the people
\n(860) of the Amyklaians once built in times past, Selge, of great renown in the land.
\nFrom there to the east a curved sea cuts
\na winding path reaching far inland,
\nneighbour to the stormy Euxine sea.
\nThat gulf sweeps around the peoples of the Cilicians
\n(865) a long way to the east. They call it the Strait of Asia.
\nThe waters of many rivers which come from afar
\nmix with this, the waters of the Pyramos and the Pinaros,
\nand the winding Cydnos, which flows through the middle of Tarsos,
\nwell-built Tarsos, where the horse Pegasos once,
\n(870) lost a hoof and left his name to that place, when the hero
\nBellerophon fell from the horse on his way to the home of Zeus.
\nThere too is the plain of Aleios, on the flat of which,
\nas he wandered far from men, Bellerophon rested.
\nNext are the many cities of the Cilicians,
\n(875) Lymessos and Mallos and Anchialeia and Soloi,
\nsome inland, and others near the sea itself.
\nAfter these are the seat of Commagenos and the cities of Syria
\nstretching along the winding shore. For the course of the
\ngrey sea turns around to the west, as far as the peak
\n(880) of the mountain near the sea, high-cliffed Kasios.<\/p>\n

[Conclusion to <\/b>first <\/b>section about Asia<\/b>]<\/b><\/p>\n

I would easily tell of the remaining path
\nof the lands of Asia. Keep these words in your heart,
\nand do not let the grace of my hard work be carried away by the winds.
\nFor if you were to observe this path clearly,
\n(885) then you could soon tell others too in an expert fashion
\nof the rivers and of the location of the cities and of each land.
\nSo let there be a shape of four sides, stretching towards the east in long plains.
\nNow you know, as you heard me say so in the first place,
\n(890) that a mountain cuts all of Asia in two as far as the Indians.
\nThat would form the more northerly of the sides,
\nand the Nile would be the western side. The eastern side
\nwould be the Indian ocean, and the southern would be
\nformed by the waves of the Erythraian sea.<\/p>\n

[Syrians <\/b>and<\/b> <\/b>Phoenicians<\/b>]<\/b><\/p>\n

Consider how I shall now make my way to the east along the coast,
\n(895) beginning from Syria, where I left off, and no man
\ncould accuse me of giving a false account.
\nWell, then, Syria goes beyond the sea nearby
\nto the south and east, with a land that has many cities,
\nwhich they call \u201cHollow,\u201d because it is in the middle
\n(900) of mountain-peaks which render it low down,
\nthe peaks of Kasios in the west and Libanos in the east.
\nMany wealthy men inhabit this land,
\nthough they do not dwell together under one name, but
\nseparately, some inland, who are called Syrians,
\n(905) and some near the sea, named Phoenicians.
\nThey are of the descent group of men who are Erythraians,
\nwho first made an attempt on the sea in ships,
\nand were the first to turn their minds to trade by sea
\nand consider the far chorus of the heavenly stars.
\n(910) These men inhabit Iope, Gaza and Elais,
\nand ancient Tyre and the lovely land of Berytos,
\nand Byblos by the sea and flowery Sidon,
\nsituated by the waters of the charming Bostrenos,
\nand fertile Tripolis, and Orthosia and Marathos
\n(915) and Laodike, which lies on the shores of the sea,
\nand the fields of Poseidon and the sacred vales of Daphne
\n[where stands Antiocheia, named after Antiochos].
\nIn the midst of these is the city of Apameia,
\nto the east of which flows the moist Orontes,
\n(920) immense, and dividing the land of Antiochos through the middle.
\nThe whole region is fertile and abounds in pasture,
\nto feed the sheep and cause the fruit on the trees to grow.<\/p>\n

[Arabians <\/b>and Nabateans<\/b>]<\/b><\/p>\n

Beyond this land you would see, as you made your way further south,
\nthe innermost path of the Arabian gulf, which winds
\n(925) between Syria and lovely Arabia,
\nturning a little to the east as far as Elana.
\nFrom there the land of the most fortunate Arabians extends
\nreaching far, and girded by twin seas,
\nthe Persian and the Arabian. Each has been allotted a wind,
\nthe Arabian the west wind and the Persian the paths of the east wind.
\nThe southern coast facing the east
\nis washed by the waves of the Erythraian Ocean.
\nAnd I shall tell you of its position. For it is inhabited by
\ntribes who are fortunate and noble beyond all others.
\n(935) This land has been allotted another exceptionally great wonder.
\nIt always smells sweetly from the perfume of burnt offerings,
\neither of incense, or myrrh, or fragrant grass
\nor even divinely-scented mature frankincense
\nor cassia. For indeed it was in that place that Zeus
\n(940) freed Dionysos himself from his well-stitched thigh;
\nand at his birth there grew fragrant shrubs of every kind.
\nThe sheep too then became laden with shaggy fleeces
\nin the pasture, and the lakes flowed with spontaneous waters.
\nBirds from uninhabited islands elsewhere
\n(945) came bearing leaves of untouched cinnamon.
\nThen the god stretched a fawn-skin over his shoulders
\nand garlanded his fair hair with lovely ivy,
\nand slightly drunk with wine he brandished his
\nwreathed thyrsi, smiling, and showered the men with great wealth.
\n(950) For this reason even today the fields are thick with frankincense,
\nthe mountains with gold, and the rivers elsewhere with
\nsacrificial offerings.
\nThe inhabitants themselves are a very wealthy people,
\nglorying in soft robes of gold.
\nSo, then, first beyond the slope of Libanos
\n(955) dwell the rich people called the Nabateans.
\nNear them are the Chaulasians and the Agreians, beyond whom
\nis the land of Chatramis, opposite the Persian land.
\nInhabiting the coast of the Erythraian sea
\nare the Minnaians and Sabians and the neighbouring Kletabanians.
\n(960) So many immense tribes inhabit Arabia,
\nbut there are also many more, for it is extremely vast.
\nTowards the opposite shore, under the blast of the west wind
\nappears the wretched land of the mountain-dwelling Erembians,
\nwho live their lives in dug-out rocks,
\n(965) naked and without possessions. On their bodies
\nburning from the heat the parched skin grows black.
\nThus, like wild animals, they roam and suffer hardships,
\nunlike the people of the soft-living Arabians. For the deity
\nhas not given to all men an equal share in wealth.<\/p>\n

[Cappadocians, Assyrians, <\/b>and Babylonians<\/b>]<\/b><\/p>\n

(970) Beyond Libanos towards the rays of the sun
\nthere lies stretched the extensive land of the other Syria,
\nreaching as far as sea-washed Sinope.
\nIn the middle of this deep land
\nthere dwell the Cappadocians, experts in horsemanship,
\n(975) and the Assyrians near the sea, by the mouth of the Thermodon.
\nTo the east, out from the rugged mountains
\nthere appears the stream of the boundless Euphrates.
\nThis starts first from the Armenian mountain
\nand goes far towards the south, and back, winding in curves,
\n(980) facing the sun as it journeys through the middle of Babylon,
\nit pours forth its swift foam into the swell of the Persian sea,
\npassing near Teredon with its furthermost waters.
\nAfter this to the east the most rapid of all rivers,
\nthe fair-flowing Tigris bears its stream leading an even course,
\n(985) as far as a strong, fast traveller could journey
\nif he travelled for seven days.
\nThere is in the middle a certain lake encircled by its waters,
\nnamed Thonitis, into the corners of which the Tigris flows,
\nsinking far below. On rising back up again,
\n(990) it casts southward a swifter stream. Among all the rivers
\nyou would not see another more rapid.
\nAll the land between the Euphrates and the Tigris
\nthe people who live round about call ‘Mesopotamia’.
\nNo herdsman has faulted the pastures of that land,
\n(995) nor anyone who honours horn-hoofed Pan on the syrinx
\nand follows the sheep of the field. No man who tends plants
\nhas made light of the variety of fruits,
\nsuch is the soil in that land, in fostering
\nthe grass, the pastures full of flowers, and even
\n(1000) humankind, most handsome and similar to the immortals.
\nTo the north of this a fertile country is inhabited by
\nthe Armenian men and the close-fighting Matienians,
\nwho live in the mountains, along the river Euphrates,
\nrich and wealthy and expert in war.
\n(1005) To the south is the sacred city of Babylon, the whole of
\nwhich Semiramis crowned with impenetrable walls.
\nMoreover on the acropolis she built a great temple to Belos [Marduk],
\nand adorned it with gold and ivory and silver.
\nThe plain of Babylon is immense, where many
\n(1010) overhanging palms grow with leafy crowns.
\nYes, it bears something else beautiful than gold,
\nthe sea-green stone of watery beryl, which forms
\non the jutting rocks in that region within the stone of serpentine.<\/p>\n

[Medes, <\/b>Parthians and Persians<\/b>]<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/b>Beyond Babylon toward the blast of
\n(1015) the north wind the Kissians, Messabatians and Chalonitians dwell.
\nBut whenever you should journey beyond the Armenian mountains,
\nto the east, then you will find the valleys of the Medes.
\nTo the north of these a flourishing land is inhabited
\nby Gelians, Mardians and Atropatenians.
\n(1020) To the south there dwell the tribes of the noble Medes,
\ndescendants of that glorious line of Aietes’ daughter, blameless heroine.
\nFor when, beside the stream of the Aktaian Ilissos,
\nshe prepared the baneful drugs for the son of the Pandionid,
\nshe left that place in shame, and, as she wandered among men,
\nshe came to that rich land, which shares her name,
\nnot far from the Kolchians. She could not come
\nto the land of the Kolchians, for she feared her father’s anger.
\nFor this reason still now men expert in many drugs
\n(1030) inhabit that immense land, some dwelling on the very
\nrocks, which produce dark narcissite,
\nand some also in the overgrown meadows,
\npasturing their fine flocks, which are utterly weighed
\ndown by their fleeces.
\nThese men reach towards the east, as far as the Caspian
\n(1035) Gates, which lie below hollow rocks,
\nkeys to the Asian land, where a path
\nlies stretched for those travelling both to the north and to the south,
\none to the Hyrkanians, another to the mountains of the Persian land.
\nWell, then, below the foot of the Caspian Gates
\n(1040) dwell the war-like Parthians, who carry curved bows,
\nexperts in every form of combat. For they do not
\ntrace the furrow with the plough, cleaving the farm-lands,
\nnor do they cut through the sea with oars aboard ships,
\nnor do they feed the race of cattle in the pastures. But from birth,
\n(1045) as children, they concern themselves with bows and horses,
\nand always over this echoing land there is the noise of
\njavelins or arrows, and everywhere the running of
\nstorm-swift horses, racing. For it is not customary for them to take their
\nsupper before showering their heads with sweat from the strains of battle.
\n(1050) They feed on the prey of a livelihood won by the spear.
\nNevertheless, though they are relentless in battle,
\nthe sword of the Ausonian king has tamed them [perhaps a reference to Trajan\u2019s victory over the Parthians].
\nIf sweet longing to learn of the Persians also grips you,
\nwith eloquent words I would tell you of their descent group too,
\n(1055) and of the course of the ever-flowing rivers and of the paths of the mountains.
\nFor they alone have the most kingly descent group of Asia,
\nand they alone laid boundless wealth in their homes,
\nwhen they sacked Maionia and Sardis.
\nGolden is the armour worn on the flesh of those men,
\n(1060) and golden are the bits in the mouths of their horses,
\nand with gold they adorn the shoes on their feet.
\nFor so immense is their wealth. Well, all
\nthe land of Persia is surrounded by great mountains,
\nand its path reaches to the south of the Caspian Gates,
\n(1065) going even as far as the sea of the same name.
\nThey inhabit it in three distinct areas, some in the north
\nsituated near the shady mountains of the bow-carrying Medes,
\nsome in the interior, and some to the south as far as the sea.
\nFirst are the Sabians, after them are the Pasargadians, and nearby the Taskians,
\n(1070) and others, who inhabit various parts of the Persian land.
\nMany rivers make this region very fertile,
\nturning this way and that with their winding waters.
\nOn one side is the great Coros, on the other the Choaspes,
\ndrawing Indian water, and flowing beside the country of the Sousans.
\n(1075) On its banks you would see beautiful agate,
\nlying like marbles on the ground, which the torrents
\nof the stormy river sweep down from the rock.
\nWhat’s more, ever rejoicing in the warm wind,
\nfruits flourish densely packed against one another.<\/p>\n

[Peoples further eas<\/b>t towards India<\/b>]<\/b><\/p>\n

(1080) Now consider the remaining path of Asia to the east.
\nFor nearby the coast of the land comes to an end.
\nSo, then, by the Persian wave of the Ocean,
\nthe Carmani dwell, beneath the rising sun.
\nThey occupy a land in two parts not far from Persia,
\n(1085) some by the sea, and others inland.
\nTo the east of them extends the land of the Gedrosians,
\nneighbours of the yawning Ocean, to the east of whom
\ndwell the southern Scythians beside the Indus river,
\nwhich flows opposite the Erythraian sea,
\n(1090) furiously driving its swift stream directly south,
\nbeginning first from the windy Kaukasos [now the Caucasus range].
\nIt has two mouths, and it runs past an island in the middle,
\nan island which the inhabitants call Patalene.
\nThat river divides the tribes of many peoples:
\n(1095) towards the descent of the setting sun
\nthe Oreitians, the Aribians and the Arachotians in their tunics of linen,
\nand the Satraidians, and all those beside the valley of Parpanisos,
\ntogether with very well all those alike who are called Arianans,
\nwho do not inhabit a fair land, but one filled
\n(1100) with fine sand and rough with thickets.
\nBut, nevertheless, the means are sufficient for those living there.
\nFor the land provides for them a pure wealth of a different kind.
\nFor everywhere there is the stone of red coral,
\nand everywhere, moreover, beneath the rocks, the veins
\n(1105) bear the fair stone of the golden and blue sapphire,
\nfrom the mining of which they have the merchandise to live on.<\/p>\n

[Indian <\/b>peoples<\/b>]<\/b><\/p>\n

To the east stretches the lovely land of the Indians,
\nlast of all, by the edges of Ocean.
\nThe sun scorches this land with its first rays
\n(1110) as it rises over the workings of the blessed ones and humankind.
\nFor this reason the inhabitants of the land are
\ndark-skinned, divinely sleek, and they bear on their heads
\nthe most luxuriant hair like hyacinths.
\nOf these men, some mine the sources of gold,
\n(1115) digging the sand with well-made picks,
\nsome weave webs of linen, and some polish
\nthe silvery sawn-off tusks of elephants.
\nOthers hunt on the jutting rocks of mountain-torrents
\nfor the sea-green stone of beryl or sparkling
\n(1120) adamant or green-glancing jasper
\nor again the glittering stone of pure topaz
\nand sweet softly flushing amethyst.
\nFor the land fosters wealth of every kind for the men,
\nwatered here and there by ever-flowing rivers.
\n(1125) Yes, even the meadows are always thick with leaves.
\nfor on one side millet grows, and on the other, in turn,
\nthere flourish forests of the Erythraian reed.
\nConsider how I am to describe to you the shape and the rivers,
\nand the windy mountains and the peoples of the land itself.
\n(1130) Well, then, it is fixed on four sides,
\nall of them at an angle, like the shape of a rhombus.
\nSo, on the west the waters of the neighbouring Indus
\ncut off the land, and in the south there is the swell of the
\nErythraian sea, and the Ganges is to the east, and the Kaukasos [now Caucasus] toward
\nthe pole of the Bears.
\n(1135) Many fortunate men inhabit this land,
\nnot all of them living under the same name, but
\ndistinguished into separate groups. So, near the boundless river Indus,
\nare the Dardanees, where the Acesine, which flows in a
\ncrooked course from the rocks, is received by the
\nHydaspes, navigable to ships.
\n(1140) After them there follows a third, the silver-eddying Kophe.
\nAmidst these rivers there dwell the Sabians, the Toxilians,
\nand next the Skodrians. And following on there are the wild (agria<\/i>) tribes,
\nof the Peukalians. After them the servers of Dionysos,
\nthe Gargaridians, dwell, there where the Hypanis and the
\n(1145) divine Magarsos, most turbulent of rivers, bear the
\nmarvellous progeny of gold. Starting from the mountain
\nof Emodos, they flow toward the country of the Ganges,
\nwhich reaches to the south along the borders of the Kolian land.
\nThis, indeed, juts out into the deep-eddying Ocean.
\n(1150) It is steep, inaccessible to swift birds.
\nFor this reason men call it the \u201cland without birds.\u201d<\/p>\n

[Bacchos \/ Dionysos among the Indians]<\/b><\/p>\n

There is a certain spectacular place beside the fair-flowing Ganges,
\na place which is revered and sacred, where Bacchos once
\nwalked in anger, when the delicate fawn-skins
\n(1155) of the Lenae were turned into shields, and their wands (thyrs<\/i>oi<\/i>)
\nwere changed into iron, and their belts and the tendrils of the twisting vine into the coils of serpents,
\nthen when in their folly they slighted the festival of the god.
\nFor this reason they call it the Nysaian path,
\n(1160) and they duly established with their sons all his rites.
\nHe himself, when he destroyed the tribes of the dark Indians,
\nascended the mountains of Emodos, below the foot of
\nwhich flows the mighty stream of the eastern Ocean.
\nHere he planted two pillars near the borders of the land,
\n(1165) and exultant he returned to the waters of the Ismenos.<\/p>\n

[<\/b>Conclusion: <\/b>Gods <\/b>establish variety among<\/b> <\/b>environments and <\/b>peoples<\/b>]
\n<\/b>So many are the most eminent men on the earth,
\nbut others wander here and there over the lands
\nin their thousands, whom no-one could tell of clearly,
\nno mortal. Only the gods are able to do all with ease.
\n(1170) For they rounded off the first foundations
\nand revealed the deep swell of the measureless sea.
\nThey marked out all that is immutable in life,
\ndistinguishing the stars, and allotting each
\na share of the sea and the deep earth.
\n(1175) For this reason each land has been allotted a nature of a different kind.
\nFor one is white and shining,
\nanother is darker, and another has been allotted the appearance of both.
\nOne resembles the flowers of the red earth of Assyria,
\nothers are otherwise. For mighty Zeus has conceived it this way.
\nSo everything is diverse among men.
\nFarewell, you countries and islands in the sea,
\nwaters of Ocean and sacred waves of the deep,
\nrivers and springs and wooded mountains.
\nNow I have run over the swell of the entire sea,
\n(1185) and the winding path of the lands. So let me have
\nfrom the blessed ones themselves an answer worthy of my hymns.<\/p>\n

\u2017\u2017\u2017\u2017\u2017\u2017\u2017<\/p>\n

Source of the translation:<\/em><\/strong> Translation courtesy of Yumna Khan (as cited above), used with her generous permission. Slightly adapted by Harland to match spellings and terminology on this website and to include in square brackets some indications of modern equivalents or other clarifications.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ancient author: Dionysios of Alexandria (early-second century CE), Guide to the Inhabited World \/ Oikoumenes Periegetes \/ Orbis Descriptio (link; link to Greek). Comments: This fascinating and lengthy poem by Dionysios of Alexandria (island of Pharos in the bay to be precise) shows how ethnographic interests were by no means limited to prose narratives of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71,221,222,223,224,299,520,296,82],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-02-greek-and-roman-ethnography-on-barbarians","category-a-northern-peoples","category-b-southern-peoples","category-c-western-peoples","category-d-eastern-peoples","category-ancient-ethnography-ethnographic-culture","category-dionysios-of-alexandria-greek","category-ethnicity-ancient-world","category-mediterranean-peoples"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16043"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19614,"href":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16043\/revisions\/19614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}