[image ALT: Much of my site will be useless to you if you've got the images turned off!]
mail:
Bill Thayer

[image ALT: Click here for the text in ancient Greek.]
Ἑλληνική

[image ALT: Cliccare qui per una pagina di aiuto in Italiano.]
Italiano

[Link to a series of help pages]
Help
[Link to the next level up]
Up
[Link to my homepage]
Home
previous:

[image ALT: link to previous section]
VII.6

This webpage reproduces a section of
The Geography

of
Strabo

published in Vol. III
of the Loeb Classical Library edition,
1924

The text is in the public domain.

This page has been carefully proofread
and I believe it to be free of errors.
If you find a mistake though,
please let me know!

next:

[image ALT: link to next section]
VII, Fragments

(Vol. III) Strabo
Geography

 p285  Book VII, Chapter 7

1 (320) These alone, then, of all the tribes that are marked off by the Ister and by the Illyrian and Thracian mountains, deserve to be mentioned, occupying as they do the whole of the Adriatic seaboard beginning at the recess, and also the seaboard that is called "the left parts of the Pontus," and extends from the Ister River as far as Byzantium. But there remain to be described the southerly parts of the aforesaid​387 mountainous country and next thereafter the districts that are situated below them, 321among which are both Greece and the adjacent barbarian country as far as the mountains. Now Hecataeus of Miletus says of the Peloponnesus that before the time of the Greeks it was inhabited by barbarians. Yet one might say that in the ancient  p287 times the whole of Greece was a settlement of barbarians, if one reasons from the traditions themselves: Pelops​388 brought over peoples​389 from Phrygia to the Peloponnesus that received its name from him; and Danaüs​390 from Egypt; whereas the Dryopes, the Caucones, the Pelasgi, the Leleges, and other such peoples, apportioned among themselves the parts that are inside the isthmus — and also the parts outside, for Attica was once held by the Thracians who came with Eumolpus,​391 Daulis in Phocis by Tereus,​392 Cadmeia​393 by the Phoenicians who came with Cadmus, and Boeotia itself by the Aones and Temmices and Hyantes. According to Pindar,​394 there was a time when the Boeotian tribe was called "Syes."​395 Moreover, the barbarian origin of some is indicated by their names — Cecrops, Codrus, Aïclus, Cothus, Drymas, and Crinacus. And even to the present day the Thracians, Illyrians, and Epeirotes live on the flanks of the Greeks (though this was still more the case formerly than now); indeed most of the country that at the present time is indisputably Greece is held by the barbarians — Macedonia and certain parts of Thessaly by the Thracians, and the parts above Acarnania and  p289 Aetolia by the Thesproti, the Cassopaei, the Amphilochi, the Molossi, and the Athamanes — Epeirotic tribes.

2 As for the Pelasgi, I have already discussed them.​396 As for the Leleges, some conjecture that they are the same as the Carians, and others that they were only fellow-inhabitants and fellow-soldiers of these; and this, they say, is why, in the territory of Miletus, certain settlements are called settlements of the Leleges, and why, in many places of Caria, tombs of the Leleges and deserted forts, known as "Lelegian forts," are so called. However, the whole of what is now called Ionia used to be inhabited by Carians and Leleges; but the Ionians themselves expelled them and took possession of the country, although in still earlier times the captors of Troy had driven the Leleges from the region about Ida that is near Pedasus and the Satnioïs River. So then, the very fact that the Leleges made common cause with the Carians might be considered a sign that they were barbarians. And Aristotle, in his Polities,​397 also clearly indicates that they led a wandering life, not only with the Carians, but also apart from them, and from earliest times; for instance, in the Polity of the Acarnanians he says that the Curetes held a part of the country, whereas the Leleges, and then the Teleboae, held the westerly part; and 322in the Polity of the Aetolians (and likewise in that of the Opuntii and the Megarians) he calls the Locri of to‑day Leleges and says that they took possession of Boeotia too; again, in the Polity of the Leucadians he names a certain indigenous Lelex, and also Teleboas, the son of a daughter of Lelex, and twenty-two sons of Teleboas, some of  p291 whom, he says, dwelt in Leucas.​398 But in particular one might believe Hesiod when he says concerning them: "For verily Locrus was chieftain of the peoples of the Leleges, whom once Zeus the son of Cronus, who knoweth devices imperishable, gave to Deucalion — peoples​399 picked out of earth";​400 for by his etymology​401 he seems to me to hint that from earliest times they were a collection of mixed peoples and that this was why the tribe disappeared. And the same might be said of the Caucones, since now they are nowhere to be found, although in earlier times they were settled in several places.

3 Now although in earlier times the tribes in question were small, numerous, and obscure, still, because of the density of their population and because they lived each under its own king, it was not at all difficult to determine their boundaries; but now that most of the country has become depopulated and the settlements, particularly the cities, have disappeared from sight, it would do no good, even if one could determine their boundaries with strict accuracy, to do so, because of their obscurity and their disappearance. This process of disappearing began a long time ago, and has not yet entirely ceased in many regions because the people keep revolting; indeed, the Romans, after being set up as masters by the inhabitants,  p293 encamp in their very houses.​402 Be this as it may, Polybius​403 says that Paulus,​404 after his subjection of Perseus and the Macedonians, destroyed seventy cities of the Epeirotes (most of which, he adds, belonged to the Molossi),​405 and reduced to slavery one hundred and fifty thousand people. Nevertheless, I shall attempt, in so far as it is appropriate to my description and as my knowledge reaches, to traverse the several different parts, beginning at the seaboard of the Ionian Gulf — that is, where the voyage out of the Adrias ends.

4 Of this seaboard, then, the first parts are those about Epidamnus and Apollonia. From Apollonia to Macedonia one travels the Egnatian Road, towards the east; it has been measured by Roman miles and marked by pillars as far as Cypsela​406 and the Hebrus​407 River — a distance of five hundred and thirty-five miles. Now if one reckons as most people do, eight stadia to the mile, there would be four thousand two hundred and eighty stadia, whereas if one reckons as Polybius does, who adds two plethra, which is a third of a stadium, to the eight stadia, one must add one hundred and seventy-eight stadia — the third of the number of miles. 323And it so happens that travellers setting out from Apollonia and Epidamnus meet at an equal distance from the two places on the same road.​408 Now although the road as a whole is called the Egnatian Road, the first part of it is called the Road to Candavia (an Illyrian mountain) and passes through Lychnidus,​409 a city, and Pylon, a place on the road which marks  p295 the boundary between the Illyrian country and Macedonia. From Pylon the road runs to Barnus​410 through Heracleia​411 and the country of the Lyncestae and that of the Eordi into Edessa​412 and Pella​413 and as far as Thessaloniceia;​414 and the length of this road in miles, according to Polybius, is two hundred and sixty-seven. So then, in travelling this road from the region of Epidamnus and Apollonia, one has on the right the Epeirotic tribes whose coasts are washed by the Sicilian Sea and extend as far as the Ambracian Gulf,​415 and, on the left, the mountains of Illyria, which I have already described in detail, and those tribes which live along them and extend as far as Macedonia and the country of the Paeonians. Then, beginning at the Ambracian Gulf, all the districts which, one after another, incline towards the east and stretch parallel to the Peloponnesus belong to Greece; they then leave the whole of the Peloponnesus on the right and project into the Aegaean Sea. But the districts which extend from the beginning of the Macedonian and the Paeonian mountains as far as the Strymon​416 River are inhabited by the Macedonians, the Paeonians, and by some of the Thracian mountaineers; whereas the districts beyond the Strymon, extending as far as the mouth of the Pontus and the Haemus, all belong to the Thracians, except the seaboard. This seaboard is inhabited by Greeks, some being situated on the Propontis,​417 others on the Hellespont and the Gulf of Melas,​418 and others on the Aegaean. The Aegaean  p297 Sea washes Greece on two sides: first, the side that faces towards the east and stretches from Sunium,​419 towards the north as far as the Thermaean Gulf​420 and Thessaloniceia, a Macedonian city, which at the present time is more populous than any of the rest; and secondly, the side that faces towards the south, I mean the Macedonian country, extending from Thessaloniceia as far as the Strymon. Some, however, also assign to Macedonia the country that extends from the Strymon as far as the Nestus River,​421 since Philip was so specially interested in these districts that he appropriated them to himself, and since he organized very large revenues from the mines and the other natural resources of the country. But from Sunium to the Peloponnesus lie the Myrtoan, the Cretan, and the Libyan Seas, together with their gulfs, as far as the Sicilian Sea; and this last fills out the Ambracian, the Corinthian, and the Crisaean​422 Gulfs.

5 Now as for the Epeirotes, there are fourteen tribes of them, according to Theopompus, but of these the Chaones and the Molossi are the most famous, because of the fact that they once ruled over the whole of the Epeirote country — the Chaones earlier and later the Molossi; 324and the Molossi grew to still greater power, partly because of the kinship of their kings, who belonged to the family of the Aeacidae,​423 and partly because of the fact that the oracle at Dodona​424 was in their country, an oracle both ancient and renowned. Now the Chaones and the Thesproti and, next in order after these, the Cassopaei (these, too, are Thesproti) inhabit the  p299 seaboard which extends from the Ceraunian Mountains as far as the Ambracian Gulf, and they have a fertile country. The voyage, if one begins at the country of the Chaones and sails towards the rising sun and towards the Ambracian and Corinthian Gulfs, keeping the Ausonian Sea​425 on the right and Epeirus on the left, is one thousand three hundred stadia, that is, from the Ceraunian Mountains to the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. In this interval is Panormus,​426 a large harbour at the centre of the Ceraunian Mountains, and after these mountains one comes to Onchesmus,​427 another harbour, opposite which lie the western extremities of Corcyraea,​428 and then still another harbour, Cassiope,​429 from which the distance to Brentesium is one thousand seven hundred stadia. And the distance to Taras from another cape, which is farther south than Cassiope and is called Phalacrum,​430 is the same. After Onchesmus comes Poseidium,​431 and also Buthrotum​432 (which is at the mouth of what is called Pelodes Harbour, and has alien settlers consisting of Romans), and the Sybota.​433 The Sybota are small islands situated only a short distance from the mainland and opposite Leucimma, the eastern headland of Corcyraea. And there are still other small islands as one sails along this coast, but they are not worth mentioning. Then comes Cape Cheimerium, and also Glycys Limen,​434 into which the River  p301 Acheron​435 empties. The Acheron flows from the Acherusian Lake​436 and receives several rivers as tributaries, so that it sweetens the waters of the gulf. And also the Thyamis​437 flows near by. Cichyrus,​438 the Ephyra of former times, a city of the Thesprotians, lies above this gulf, whereas Phoenice​439 lies above that gulf which is at Buthrotum. Near Cichyrus is Buchetium, a small town of the Cassopaeans, which is only a short distance above the sea; also Elatria, Pandosia, and Batiae, which are in the interior, though their territory reaches down as far as the gulf. Next in order after Glycys Limen come two other harbours — Comarus,​440 the nearer and smaller of the two, which forms an isthmus of sixty stadia​441 with the Ambracian Gulf, and Nicopolis, a city founded by Augustus Caesar, and the other, the more distant and larger and better of the two, which is near the mouth of the gulf and is about twelve stadia distant from Nicopolis.442

6 Next comes the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. 325Although the mouth of this gulf is but slightly more than four stadia wide, the circumference is as much as three hundred stadia; and it has good harbours everywhere. That part of the country which is on the right as one sails in is inhabited by the Greek Acarnanians. Here too, near the mouth, is the sacred precinct of the Actian Apollo — a hill on which the temple stands; and at the foot of the hill is a plain which contains a sacred grove and a naval station, the naval station where Caesar  p303 dedicated as first fruits of his victory​443 the squadron of ten ships — from vessel with single bank of oars to vessel with ten; however, not only the boats, it is said, but also the boat-houses have been wiped out by fire. On the left of the mouth are Nicopolis and the country of the Epeirote Cassopaeans, which extends as far as the recess of the gulf near Ambracia.​444 Ambracia lies only a short distance above the recess; it was founded by Gorgus, the son of Cypselus. The River Aratthus​445 flows past Ambracia; it is navigable inland for only a few stadia, from the sea to Ambracia, although it rises in Mount Tymphe and the Paroraea. Now this city enjoyed an exceptional prosperity in earlier times (at any rate the gulf was named after it), and it was adorned most of all by Pyrrhus, who made the place his royal residence. In later times, however, the Macedonians and the Romans, by their continuous war, so completely reduced both this and the other Epeirote cities because of their disobedience that finally Augustus, seeing that the cities had utterly failed, settled what inhabitants were left in one city together — the city on this gulf which was called by him Nicopolis;​446 and he so named it after the victory which he won in the naval battle before the mouth of the gulf over Antonius and Cleopatra the queen of the Egyptians, who was also present at the fight. Nicopolis is populous, and its numbers are increasing daily, since it has not only a considerable territory and the adornment taken from the spoils of the battle, but also, in its suburbs, the thoroughly equipped sacred precinct — one part of it being in  p305 a sacred grove that contains a gymnasium and a stadium for the celebration of the quinquennial games,​447 the other part being on the hill that is sacred to Apollo and lies above the grove. These games — the Actia, sacred to Actian Apollo — have been designated as Olympian,​448 and they are superintended by the Lacedaemonians. The other settlements are dependencies of Nicopolis. In earlier times also the Actian Games were wont to be celebrated in honour of the god by the inhabitants of the surrounding country — games in which the prize was a wreath — but at the present time they have been set in greater honour by Caesar.

7 After Ambracia comes Argos Amphilochicum, founded by Alcmaeon and his children. According to Ephorus, at any rate, Alcmaeon, after the expedition of the Epigoni against Thebes, on being invited by Diomedes, went with him into Aetolia and helped him acquire both this country and Acarnania; and when Agamemnon summoned them to the Trojan war, 326Diomedes went, but Alcmaeon stayed in Acarnania, founded Argos, and named it Amphilochicum after his brother; and he named the river which flows through the country into the Ambracian Gulf "Inachus," after the river in the Argeian country. But according to Thucydides,​449 Amphilochus himself, after his return from Troy, being displeased with the state of affairs at Argos, passed on into Acarnania, and on succeeding to his brother's dominion founded the city that is named after him.

 p307  8 The Amphilochians are Epeirotes; and so are the peoples who are situated above them and border on the Illyrian mountains, inhabiting a rugged country — I mean the Molossi, the Athamanes, the Aethices, the Tymphaei, the Orestae, and also the Paroraei and the Atintanes, some of them being nearer to the Macedonians and others to the Ionian Gulf. It is said that Orestes once took possession of Orestias — when in exile on account of the murder of his mother — and left the country bearing his name; and that he also founded a city and called it Argos Oresticum. But the Illyrian tribes which are near the southern part of the mountainous country and those which are above the Ionian Gulf are intermingled with these peoples; for above Epidamnus and Apollonia as far as the Ceraunian Mountains dwell the Bylliones, the Taulantii, the Parthini, and the Brygi. Somewhere near by are also the silver mines of Damastium,​450 around which the Dyestae and the Enchelii (also called Sesarethii) together established their dominion; and near these people are also the Lyncestae, the territory Deuriopus, Pelagonian Tripolitis, the Eoerdi, Elimeia, and Eratyra. In earlier times these peoples were ruled separately, each by its own dynasty. For instance, it was the descendants of Cadmus and Harmonia who ruled over the Enchelii; and the scenes of the stories told about them are still pointed out there. These  p309 people, I say, were not ruled by men of native stock; and the Lyncestae became subject to Arrabaeus, who was of the stock of the Bacchiads (Eurydice, the mother of Philip, Amyntas' son, was Arrabaeus' daughter's daughter and Sirra was his daughter); and again, of the Epeirotes, the Molossi became subject to Pyrrhus, the son of Neoptolemus the son of Achilles, and to his descendants, who were Thessalians. But the rest were ruled by men of native stock. Then, because one tribe or another was always getting the mastery over others, they all ended in the Macedonian empire, except a few who dwelt above the Ionian Gulf. And in fact the regions about Lyncus, Pelagonia, Orestias, and Elimeia, used to be called Upper Macedonia, though later on they were by some also called Free Macedonia. But some go so far as to call the whole of the country Macedonia, as far as Corcyra, 327at the same time stating as their reason that in tonsure, language, short cloak, and other things of the kind, the usages of the inhabitants are similar,​451 although, they add, some speak both languages. But when the empire of the Macedonians was broken up, they fell under the power of the Romans. And it is through the country of these tribes that the Egnatian Road​452 runs, which begins at Epidamnus and Apollonia. Near the Road to Candavia​452 are not only the lakes which are in the neighbourhood of Lychnidus,​453 on the shores of which are salt-fish establishments that are independent of other waters, but also a number of rivers, some emptying into the Ionian Gulf and others flowing in a southerly direction — I mean the Inachus, the Aratthus, the Acheloüs and the  p311 Evenus (formerly called the Lycormas); the Aratthus emptying into the Ambracian Gulf, the Inachus into the Acheloüs, the Acheloüs itself and the Evenus into the sea — the Acheloüs after traversing Acarnania and the Evenus after traversing Aetolia. But the Erigon, after receiving many streams from the Illyrian mountains and from the countries of the Lyncestae, Brygi, Deuriopes, and Pelagonians, empties into the Axius.

9 In earlier times there were also cities among these tribes; at any rate, Pelagonia used to be called Tripolitis,​454 one of which was Azorus; and all the cities of the Deuriopes on the Erigon River were populous, among which were Bryanium, Alalcomenae, and Stubara. And Cydrae belonged to the Brygi, while Aeginium, on the border of Aethicia and Tricca,​455 belonged to the Tymphaei. When one is already near to Macedonia and to Thessaly, and in the neighbourhood of the Poeus and the Pindus Mountains, one comes to the country of the Aethices and to the sources of the Peneius River, the possession of which is disputed by the Tymphaei and those Thessalians who live at the foot of the Pindus, and to the city Oxineia, situated on the Ion River one hundred and twenty stadia from Azorus in Tripolitis. Near by are Alalcomenae, Aeginium, Europus, and the confluence of the Ion River with the Peneius. Now although in those earlier times, as I have said, all Epeirus and the Illyrian country were rugged and full of mountains, such as Tomarus and Polyanus and several others, still they were populous; but at the present time desolation prevails in most parts,  p313 while the parts are still inhabited survive only in villages and in ruins. And even the oracle at Dodona,​456 like the rest, is virtually extinct.

10 This oracle, according to Ephorus, was founded by the Pelasgi. And the Pelasgi are called the earliest of all peoples who have held dominion in Greece. And the poet speaks in this way: "O Lord Zeus, Dodonaean, Pelasgian";​457 and Hesiod: "He came to Dodona and the oak-tree, seat of the Pelasgi."​458 The Pelasgi I have already discussed in my description of Tyrrhenia;​459 328and as for the people who lived in the neighbourhood of the temple of Dodona, Homer too makes it perfectly clear from their mode of life, when he calls them "men with feet unwashen, men who sleep upon the ground,"​460 that they were barbarians; but whether one should call them "Helli," as Pindar does, or "Selli," as is conjectured to be the true reading in Homer, is a question to which the text, since it is doubtful, does not permit a positive answer. Philochorus says that the region round about Dodona, like Euboea, was called Hellopia, and that in fact Hesiod speaks of it in this way: "There is a land called Hellopia, with many a corn-fieldº and with goodly meadows; on the edge of this land a city called Dodona hath been built."​461 It is thought, Apollodorus says, that the land was so called from the marshes​462 around the temple; as for the poet, however, Apollodorus takes it for granted that he did not call the people  p315 who lived about the temple "Helli," but "Selli," since (Apollodorus adds) the poet also named a certain river Selleeïs. He names it, indeed, when he says, "From afar, out of Ephyra, from the River Selleeïs";​463 however, as Demetrius of Scepsis says, the poet is not referring to the Ephyra among the Thesprotians, but to that among the Eleians, for the Selleeïs is among the Elians, he adds, and there is no Selleeïs among the Thesprotians, nor yet among the Molossi. And as for the myths that are told about the oak-tree and the doves, and any other myths of the kind, although they, like those told about Delphi, are in part more appropriate to poetry, yet they also in part properly belong to the present geographical description.

11 In ancient times, then, Dodona was under the rule of the Thesprotians; and so was Mount Tomarus,​464 or Tmarus (for it is called both ways), at the base of which the temple is situated. And both the tragic poets and Pindar have called Dodona "Thesprotian Dodona." But later on it came under the rule of the Molossi. And it is after the Tomarus, people say, that those whom the poet calls interpreters of Zeus — whom he also calls "men with feet unwashen, men who sleep upon the ground"​465 — were called "tomouroi"; and in the Odyssey some so write the words of Amphinomus, when he counsels the  p317 wooers not to attack Telemachus until they inquire of Zeus: "If the tomouroi of great Zeus approve, I myself shall slay, and I shall bid all the rest to aid, whereas if god averts it, I bid you stop."​466 For it is better, they argue, to write "tomouroi" than "themistes"; at any rate, nowhere in the poet are the oracles called "themistes," but it is the decrees, statutes, and laws that are so called; and the people have been called "tomouroi" because "tomouroi" is a contraction of "tomarouroi," 329the equivalent of "tomarophylakes."​467 Now although the more recent critics say "tomouri," yet in Homer one should interpret "themistes" (and also "boulai") in a simpler way, though in a way that is a misuse of the term, as meaning those orders and decrees that are oracular, just as one also interprets "themistes" as meaning those that are made by law. For example, such is the case in the following: "to give ear to the decree​468 of Zeus from the oak-tree of lofty foliage."469

12 At the outset, it is true, those who uttered the prophecies were men (this too perhaps the poet indicates, for he calls them "hypophetae,"​470 and the prophets might be ranked among these), but later on three old women were designated as prophets, after Dione also had been designated as temple-associate of Zeus. Suidas,​471 however, in his desire to gratify the Thessalians with mythical stories, says that the temple was transferred from Thessaly, from the part of Pelasgia which is about Scotussa (and  p319 Scotussa does belong to the territory called Thessalia Pelasgiotis), and also that most of the women whose descendants are the prophetesses of to‑day went along at the same time; and it is from this fact that Zeus was also called "Pelasgian." But Cineas tells a story that is still more mythical. . . .


The Editor's Notes:

387 See 7.5.1.

388 See 8.3.31, 4.4, 5.5 and 12.8.2.

389 See the quotation from Hesiod (§ 2 following) and footnote on "peoples."

390 See 8.6.9, 10.

391 Son of Poseidon, king of the Thracians, and reputed founder of the Eleusinian Mysteries.

392 See 9.3.13.

393 Thebes and surrounding territory (9.2.3, 32).

394 A dithyrambic fragment (Bergk, Frags. Dith. 83); cp. Pindar, Olymp. 6.152.

395 Strabo identifies "Hyantes" with "Syes" = "Hyes," i.e. "swine."

396 5.2.4.

397 Only fragments of this work are now extant (see Didot Edition, Vol. IV, pp219‑296).

398 Now Santa Maura (cp. 10.2.2).

399 In the Greek word for "peoples" (λαούς) Hesiod alludes to the Greek word for "stones" (λᾶας). Pindar (Olymp. 9.46 ff.) clearly derives the former word from the latter; "Pyrrha and Deucalion, without bed of marriage, founded a Stone Race, who were called Laoi." One might now infer that the resemblance of the two words gave rise to the myth of the stones.

400 A fragment otherwise unknown (Paulson, Frag. 141.3).

401 That is, of "Leleges." In the Greek the root leg appears in (1) "Leleges," (2) "picked," and (3) "collection."

402 Now standing empty.

403 Book XXX, Frag. 16.

404 Aemilius Paulus Macedonicus (consul 182 and 168 B.C.) in 168 B.C.

405 See 7.7.8.

406 Now Ipsala.

407 Now the Maritza.

408 Or, as we should say, the junction of the roads is equidistant from the two places.

409 Now Ochrida.

410 Now the Neretschka Planina Mountain.

411 Heracleia Lyncestis; now Monastir.

Thayer's Note: And one more name change — its name in the early 21c is Bitola.

412 Now Vodena.

413 The capital of Macedonia; now in ruins and called Hagii Apostoli.

414 Now Thessaloniki or Saloniki.

415 The Gulf of Arta.

416 Now the Struma.

417 Now the Sea of Marmara.

418 Now the Gulf of Saros.

419 Now Cape Colonna.

420 Now the Gulf of Saloniki.

421 Now the Mesta.

422 See footnote on 6.1.7.

423 Aeacus was son of Zeus and Aegina, was king of the Isle of Aegina, was noted for his justice and piety, and was finally made one of the three judges in Hades.

424 Dodona was situated to the south of Lake Pambotis (now Janina), near what is now Dramisi.

425 See 2.5.20, 2.5.29, 5.3.6.

426 Now Panormo.

427 Now Santi Quaranta.

428 Now Kerkyra or Corfu.

429 "Cassope" is probably the correct spelling; now Cassopo, the name of a harbour and cape of Corfu.

430 Now Cape Drasti, at the southern extremity of Corfu.

431 In Thesprotia (see Ptolemaeus, 3.13.3); now Cape Scala.

432 Now Butrinto.

433 Now called the Syvota.

434 "Sweet Harbour"; now Port Splantza (Phanari).

435 Now the Phanariotikos.

436 Now Lago di Fusaro.

437 Now the Kalamas.

438 The exact side of Cichyrus is uncertain (see Pauly-Wissowa, s.v. "Ephyre").

439 Now Phiniki.

440 Now Gomaro.

441 In width.

442 Now in ruins near Prevesa.

443 In the Battle of Actium, 31 B.C.

444 Now Arta.

445 Otherwise called Arachthus; now the Arta.

446 "Victory-city."

447 The Ludi Quinquennales, celebrated every four years (see Dio Cassius 51.1).

448 So in the course of time games at numerous places (including Athens, Ephesus, Naples, Smyrna, Tarsus) came to be called "Olympian" in imitation of those at Olympia. The actual term used, for those at Tarsus at least, was Ἰσολύμπια, "equal to the Olympian" (CI 4472).

449 2.68.

450 The site of Damastium is unknown. Imhoof-Blumer (Ztschr. f. Numism. 1874, Vol. I pp99 ff.) think that it might be identified with what is now Tepeleni, on the Viosa River. But so far as is now known, there is no silver ore in Epeirus or Southern Illyria. Philippson (Pauly-Wissowa, s.v. "Damastion") suggests that Argyrium (near Argyrokastro, on the Viosa) might be connected with the presence of silver.

451 That is, to those of the Macedonians.

452 See 7.7.4.

453 Now Ochrida.

454 "Country of three cities."

455 Now Trikala.

456 See articles s.v. "Dodona" in Pauly-Wissowa and Encyclopedia Britannica.

457 Iliad 16.233.

458 Frag. 212 (Rzach).

459 5.2.4.

460 Iliad 16.235.

461 Frag. 134 (Rzach); see the Schol. on Sophocles Trachiniae 1137.

462 The Greek for marshes is "Helê."

463 Iliad 2.659; 15.531.

464 Now Mt. Olytsika.

465 Iliad 16.235.

466 Odyssey 16.403‑5.

467 "Guardians of Mt. Tomarus."

468 "Boulê."

469 Odyssey 14.328.

470 "interpreters."

471 Little is known of this Suidas except that he wrote a History of Thessaly and a History of Euboea.


[image ALT: Valid HTML 4.01.]

Page updated: 27 Oct 12