Polybius, Histories

Translation

Book 34 - Chapter 5

<head lang="la">III. Contra Priores Scriptores Geographicos Disputat Polybius</head><w lemma="%2Apolu%2Fbios">Πολύβιος</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="%2Aeu%29rw%2Fphn">Εὐρώπην</w> <w lemma="xwrografw%3Dn">χωρογραφῶν</w> <w lemma="tou%5Cs">τοὺς</w> <w lemma="me%5Cn">μὲν</w> <w lemma="a%29rxai%2Fous">ἀρχαίους</w> <w lemma="e%29a%3Dn">ἐᾶν</w> <w lemma="fhsi">φησι</w>, <w lemma="tou%5Cs">τοὺς</w> <w lemma="d%27">δ᾽</w> <w lemma="e%29kei%2Fnous">ἐκείνους</w> <w lemma="e%29le%2Fgxontas">ἐλέγχοντας</w> <w lemma="e%29ceta%2Fzein">ἐξετάζειν</w> <w lemma="%2Adikai%2Farxo%2Fn">Δικαίαρχόν</w> <w lemma="te">τε</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="%2A%29eratosqe%2Fnh">Ἐρατοσθένη</w> <w lemma="to%5Cn">τὸν</w> <w lemma="teleutai%3Don">τελευταῖον</w> <w lemma="pragmateusa%2Fmenon">πραγματευσάμενον</w> <w lemma="peri%5C">περὶ</w> <w lemma="gewgrafi%2Fas">γεωγραφίας</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="%2Apuqe%2Fan">Πυθέαν</w>,

<w lemma="u%28f%27">ὑφ᾽</w> <w lemma="ou%28%3D">οὗ</w> <w lemma="parakrousqh%3Dnai">παρακρουσθῆναι</w> <w lemma="pollou%2Fs">πολλούς</w>, <w lemma="o%28%2Flhn">ὅλην</w> <w lemma="me%5Cn">μὲν</w> <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="%2Abrettanikh%5Cn">Βρεττανικὴν</w> <w lemma="e%29mbado%5Cn">ἐμβαδὸν</w> <w lemma="e%29pelqei%3Dn">ἐπελθεῖν</w> <w lemma="fa%2Fskontos">φάσκοντος</w>, <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="peri%2Fmetron">περίμετρον</w> <w lemma="pleio%2Fnwn">πλειόνων</w> <w lemma="h%29%5C">ἢ</w> <w lemma="tetta%2Frwn">τεττάρων</w> <w lemma="muria%2Fdwn">μυριάδων</w> <w lemma="a%29podo%2Fntos">ἀποδόντος</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="nh%2Fsou">νήσου</w>,

<w lemma="prosistorh%2Fsantos">προσιστορήσαντος</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="ta%5C">τὰ</w> <w lemma="peri%5C">περὶ</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="%2Aqou%2Flhs">Θούλης</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="to%2Fpwn">τόπων</w> <w lemma="e%29kei%2Fnwn">ἐκείνων</w>, <w lemma="e%29n">ἐν</w> <w lemma="oi%28%3Ds">οἷς</w> <w lemma="ou%29%2Fte">οὔτε</w> <w lemma="gh%3D">γῆ</w> <w lemma="kaq%27">καθ᾽</w> <w lemma="au%28th%5Cn">αὑτὴν</w> <w lemma="u%28ph%3Drxen">ὑπῆρχεν</w> <w lemma="e%29%2Fti">ἔτι</w> <w lemma="ou%29%2Fte">οὔτε</w> <w lemma="qa%2Flatta">θάλαττα</w> <w lemma="ou%29%2Ft%27">οὔτ᾽</w> <w lemma="a%29h%2Fr">ἀήρ</w>, <w lemma="a%29lla%5C">ἀλλὰ</w> <w lemma="su%2Fgkrima%2F">σύγκριμά</w> <w lemma="ti">τι</w> <w lemma="e%29k">ἐκ</w> <w lemma="tou%2Ftwn">τούτων</w> <w lemma="pleu%2Fmoni">πλεύμονι</w> <w lemma="qalatti%2Fw%7C">θαλαττίῳ</w> <w lemma="e%29oiko%2Fs">ἐοικός</w>,

<w lemma="e%29n">ἐν</w> <w lemma="w%28%3D%7C">ᾧ</w> <w lemma="fhsi">φησι</w> <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="gh%3Dn">γῆν</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="qa%2Flattan">θάλατταν</w> <w lemma="ai%29wrei%3Dsqai">αἰωρεῖσθαι</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="ta%5C">τὰ</w> <w lemma="su%2Fmpanta">σύμπαντα</w>, <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="tou%3Dton">τοῦτον</w> <w lemma="w%28s">ὡς</w> <w lemma="a%29%5Cn">ἂν</w> <w lemma="desmo%5Cn">δεσμὸν</w> <w lemma="ei%29%3Dnai">εἶναι</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="o%28%2Flwn">ὅλων</w>, <w lemma="mh%2Fte">μήτε</w> <w lemma="poreuto%5Cn">πορευτὸν</w> <w lemma="mh%2Fte">μήτε</w> <w lemma="plwto%5Cn">πλωτὸν</w> <w lemma="u%28pa%2Frxonta">ὑπάρχοντα</w>.

<w lemma="to%5C">τὸ</w> <w lemma="me%5Cn">μὲν</w> <w lemma="ou%29%3Dn">οὖν</w> <w lemma="tw%3D%7C">τῷ</w> <w lemma="pleu%2Fmoni">πλεύμονι</w> <w lemma="e%29oiko%5Cs">ἐοικὸς</w> <w lemma="au%29to%5Cs">αὐτὸς</w> <w lemma="e%28wrake%2Fnai">ἑωρακέναι</w>, <w lemma="ta%29%2Flla">τἄλλα</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="le%2Fgein">λέγειν</w> <w lemma="e%29c">ἐξ</w> <w lemma="a%29koh%3Ds">ἀκοῆς</w>. <w lemma="tau%3Dta">ταῦτα</w> <w lemma="me%5Cn">μὲν</w> <w lemma="ta%5C">τὰ</w> <w lemma="tou%3D">τοῦ</w> <w lemma="%2Apuqe%2Fou">Πυθέου</w>,

<w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="dio%2Fti">διότι</w> <w lemma="e%29panelqw%5Cn">ἐπανελθὼν</w> <w lemma="e%29nqe%2Fnde">ἐνθένδε</w> <w lemma="pa%3Dsan">πᾶσαν</w> <w lemma="e%29pe%2Flqoi">ἐπέλθοι</w> <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="parwkeani%3Dtin">παρωκεανῖτιν</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="%2Aeu%29rw%2Fphs">Εὐρώπης</w> <w lemma="a%29po%5C">ἀπὸ</w> <w lemma="%2Agadei%2Frwn">Γαδείρων</w> <w lemma="e%28%2Fws">ἕως</w> <w lemma="%2Atana%2Fidos:">Τανάιδος·</w>

<w lemma="fhsi%5C">φησὶ</w> <w lemma="d%27">δ᾽</w> <w lemma="ou%29%3Dn">οὖν</w> <w lemma="o%28">ὁ</w> <w lemma="%2Apolu%2Fbios">Πολύβιος</w> <w lemma="a%29%2Fpiston">ἄπιστον</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="au%29to%5C">αὐτὸ</w> <w lemma="tou%3Dto">τοῦτο</w> <w lemma="pw%3Ds">πῶς</w> <w lemma="i%29diw%2Fth%7C">ἰδιώτῃ</w> <w lemma="a%29nqrw%2Fpw%7C">ἀνθρώπῳ</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="pe%2Fnhti">πένητι</w> <w lemma="ta%5C">τὰ</w> <w lemma="tosau%3Dta">τοσαῦτα</w> <w lemma="diasth%2Fmata">διαστήματα</w> <w lemma="plwta%5C">πλωτὰ</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="poreuta%5C">πορευτὰ</w> <w lemma="ge%2Fnoito">γένοιτο</w>.

<w lemma="to%5Cn">τὸν</w> <w lemma="d%27">δ᾽</w> <w lemma="%2A%29eratosqe%2Fnh">Ἐρατοσθένη</w> <w lemma="diaporh%2Fsanta">διαπορήσαντα</w> <w lemma="ei%29">εἰ</w> <w lemma="xrh%5C">χρὴ</w> <w lemma="pisteu%2Fein">πιστεύειν</w> <w lemma="tou%2Ftois">τούτοις</w>, <w lemma="o%28%2Fmws">ὅμως</w> <w lemma="peri%2F">περί</w> <w lemma="te">τε</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="%2Abrettanikh%3Ds">Βρεττανικῆς</w> <w lemma="pepisteuke%2Fnai">πεπιστευκέναι</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="kata%5C">κατὰ</w> <w lemma="%2Aga%2Fdeira">Γάδειρα</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="%2A%29ibhri%2Fan">Ἰβηρίαν</w>.

<w lemma="polu%5C">πολὺ</w> <w lemma="de%2F">δέ</w> <w lemma="fhsi">φησι</w> <w lemma="be%2Fltion">βέλτιον</w> <w lemma="tw%3D%7C">τῷ</w> <w lemma="%2Amesshni%2Fw%7C">Μεσσηνίῳ</w> <w lemma="pisteu%2Fein">πιστεύειν</w> <w lemma="h%29%5C">ἢ</w> <w lemma="tou%2Ftw%7C:">τούτῳ·</w> <w lemma="o%28">ὁ</w> <w lemma="me%2Fntoi">μέντοι</w> <w lemma="ge">γε</w> <w lemma="ei%29s">εἰς</w> <w lemma="mi%2Fan">μίαν</w> <w lemma="xw%2Fran">χώραν</w> <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="%2Apagxai%2Fan">Παγχαίαν</w> <w lemma="le%2Fgei">λέγει</w> <w lemma="pleu%3Dsai:">πλεῦσαι·</w> <w lemma="o%28">ὁ</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="me%2Fxri">μέχρι</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="tou%3D">τοῦ</w> <w lemma="ko%2Fsmou">κόσμου</w> <w lemma="pera%2Ftwn">περάτων</w> <w lemma="katwpteuke%2Fnai">κατωπτευκέναι</w> <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="prosa%2Frktion">προσάρκτιον</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="%2Aeu%29rw%2Fphs">Εὐρώπης</w> <w lemma="pa%3Dsan">πᾶσαν</w>, <w lemma="h%28%5Cn">ἣν</w> <w lemma="ou%29d%27">οὐδ᾽</w> <w lemma="a%29%5Cn">ἂν</w> <w lemma="tw%3D%7C">τῷ</w> <w lemma="%2A%28ermh%3D%7C">Ἑρμῇ</w> <w lemma="pisteu%2Fsai">πιστεύσαι</w> <w lemma="tis">τις</w> <w lemma="le%2Fgonti">λέγοντι</w>.

<w lemma="%2A%29eratosqe%2Fnh">Ἐρατοσθένη</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="to%5Cn">τὸν</w> <w lemma="me%5Cn">μὲν</w> <w lemma="%2Aeu%29h%2Fmeron">Εὐήμερον</w> <w lemma="%2Abergai%3Don">Βεργαῖον</w> <w lemma="kalei%3Dn">καλεῖν</w>, <w lemma="%2Apuqe%2Fa%7C">Πυθέᾳ</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="pisteu%2Fein">πιστεύειν</w>, <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="tau%3Dta">ταῦτα</w> <w lemma="mhde%5C">μηδὲ</w> <w lemma="%2Adikaia%2Frxou">Δικαιάρχου</w> <w lemma="pisteu%2Fsantos">πιστεύσαντος</w>.

<w lemma="to%5C">τὸ</w> <w lemma="me%5Cn">μὲν</w> <w lemma="ou%29%3Dn">οὖν</w> "<w lemma="mhde%5C">μηδὲ</w> <w lemma="%2Adikaia%2Frxou">Δικαιάρχου</w> <w lemma="pisteu%2Fsantos">πιστεύσαντος</w>" <w lemma="geloi%3Don">γελοῖον</w>, <w lemma="w%28%2Fsper">ὥσπερ</w> <w lemma="e%29kei%2Fnw%7C">ἐκείνῳ</w> <w lemma="kano%2Fni">κανόνι</w> <w lemma="xrh%2Fsasqai">χρήσασθαι</w> <w lemma="prosh%3Dkon">προσῆκον</w>, <w lemma="kaq%27">καθ᾽</w> <w lemma="ou%28%3D">οὗ</w> <w lemma="tosou%2Ftous">τοσούτους</w> <w lemma="e%29le%2Fgxous">ἐλέγχους</w> <w lemma="au%29to%5Cs">αὐτὸς</w> <w lemma="profe%2Fretai:">προφέρεται·</w>

<w lemma="%2A%29eratosqe%2Fnous">Ἐρατοσθένους</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="ei%29%2Frhtai">εἴρηται</w> <w lemma="h%28">ἡ</w> <w lemma="peri%5C">περὶ</w> <w lemma="ta%5C">τὰ</w> <w lemma="e%28spe%2Fria">ἑσπέρια</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="ta%5C">τὰ</w> <w lemma="a%29rktika%5C">ἀρκτικὰ</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="%2Aeu%29rw%2Fphs">Εὐρώπης</w> <w lemma="a%29%2Fgnoia">ἄγνοια</w>.

<w lemma="a%29ll%27">ἀλλ᾽</w> <w lemma="e%29kei%2Fnw%7C">ἐκείνῳ</w> <w lemma="me%5Cn">μὲν</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="%2Adikaia%2Frxw%7C">Δικαιάρχῳ</w> <w lemma="suggnw%2Fmh">συγγνώμη</w> <w lemma="toi%3Ds">τοῖς</w> <w lemma="mh%5C">μὴ</w> <w lemma="katidou%3Dsi">κατιδοῦσι</w> <w lemma="tou%5Cs">τοὺς</w> <w lemma="to%2Fpous">τόπους</w> <w lemma="e%29kei%2Fnous:">ἐκείνους·</w> <w lemma="%2Apolubi%2Fw%7C">Πολυβίῳ</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="%2Aposeidwni%2Fw%7C">Ποσειδωνίῳ</w> <w lemma="ti%2Fs">τίς</w> <w lemma="a%29%5Cn">ἂν</w> <w lemma="suggnoi%2Fh">συγγνοίη</w>;

<w lemma="a%29lla%5C">ἀλλὰ</w> <w lemma="mh%5Cn">μὴν</w> <w lemma="%2Apolu%2Fbio%2Fs">Πολύβιός</w> <w lemma="ge%2F">γέ</w> <w lemma="e%29stin">ἐστιν</w> <w lemma="o%28">ὁ</w> <w lemma="laodogmatika%5Cs">λαοδογματικὰς</w> <w lemma="kalw%3Dn">καλῶν</w> <w lemma="a%29pofa%2Fseis">ἀποφάσεις</w>, <w lemma="a%28%5Cs">ἃς</w> <w lemma="poiou%3Dntai">ποιοῦνται</w> <w lemma="peri%5C">περὶ</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="e%29n">ἐν</w> <w lemma="tou%2Ftois">τούτοις</w> <w lemma="toi%3Ds">τοῖς</w> <w lemma="to%2Fpois">τόποις</w> <w lemma="diasthma%2Ftwn">διαστημάτων</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="e%29n">ἐν</w> <w lemma="a%29%2Fllois">ἄλλοις</w> <w lemma="polloi%3Ds">πολλοῖς</w>, <w lemma="a%29ll%27">ἀλλ᾽</w> <w lemma="ou%29d%27">οὐδ᾽</w> <w lemma="e%29n">ἐν</w>

<head>III. Polybius's Criticism of previous Geographical Writers</head>Polybius in his account of the geography of Europe says that he dismisses older authors, but that he will examine those who find fault with them, Dicaearchus and Eratosthenes, the latest author who has dealt with geography,

and Pytheas who has led many people into error by saying that he traversed the whole of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Britain&groupId=409&placeId=759">Britain</a> on foot, giving the island a circumference of forty thousand stades,

and telling us also about <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Thule&groupId=1032&placeId=1820">Thule</a>, those regions in which there was no longer any proper land nor sea nor air, but a sort of mixture of all three of the consistency of a jelly-fish in which one can neither walk nor sail, holding everything together, so to speak.

He says he himself saw this jellyfish-like substance but the rest he derives from hearsay. That is the account that Pytheas gives, and he tells us that he came back thence and starting again followed the whole shore of the ocean from <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Cadiz&groupId=103&placeId=338">Cadiz</a> to the river Tanaïs. Polybius, then, says that it is in itself incredible that a private man and a poor man should have traverse such vast distances in a ship or on foot, but that Eratosthenes, while doubting if one should believe this, still believes in the account of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Britain&groupId=409&placeId=759">Britain</a> and the neighbourhood of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Gades&groupId=594&placeId=1105">Gades</a> and the rest of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Spain&groupId=983&placeId=1735">Spain</a>. But Polybius says it is far better to believe the Messenian Euhemerus than Pytheas, for Euhemerus says that he sailed only to one country, Panchaia, but Pytheas says that he personally visited the whole northern coast of Europe as far as the ends of the world, a thing we would not even believe of Hermes himself if he told us so.

Eratosthenes, however, he says, calles Euhemerus a Bergaean, but believes Pytheas whom not even Dicaearchus believed.

Now to say "whom not even Dicaearchus believed" is ridiculous, as if we should take him as a standard, an author in whom Polybius himself detects so many errors.

I have spoken above of Eratosthenes' mistaken notion of the west and north of Europe.

But while we should excuse him and Dicaearchus who had never seen these districts, how can we excuse Polybius and Poseidonius?

Who but Polybius is it who calls the statement they make about distances in this case and in many others popular misstatements, but he is not even correct when he confutes them.

Walbank Commentary

Overview

34.5.1 - 34.7.14

= Strabo, ii. 4. 1–3 C. 104–5 (5. 1–6. 14); exc. de uirt. et uit. (exc. 113) (6. 15); Strabo, ii. 4. 4–5, C. 106–7 (7. 1–10); 4. 8, C. 108 (7. 11–14). Chorographia of Europe The polemic against various predecessors contained here probably formed part of P.'s general introductory description of Europe <milestone unit="page" n="587">[587]</milestone> (see pp. 567–8); and the passages printed by editors should be supplemented with Strabo, ii. 4. 1–3, C. 104–5 (passage standing between 6. 14 and 7. 1) and ii. 4. 8, C. 109 (passage following 7. 14), in order to complete the discussion (see p. 565).

Specifics

34.5.1 - 34.5.1

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">τὴν Εὐρώπην χωρογραφῶν</w>:</emph> 'in his account of the geography of Europe'. In Ptolemy (Geog. praef. 1) and Eustathius (GGM, ii. 212) <w lang="el-GR">χωρογραφία</w> is regional geography, descriptive and based on local information (but Eustathius treats <w lang="el-GR">χωρογραφία</w> and <w lang="el-GR">τοπογραφία</w> as equivalent; cf. 1. 1 n.). See Schol. ad Dionys. Perieg. GGM, ii. 428, <w lang="el-GR">ἐν μὲν τῇ γεωγραφίᾳ τὰ καθόλου λέγεται, οὐχὶ δὲ τὰ μερικά . . . ἐν δὲ τῇ χωρογραφίᾳ πάντων μέμνηται τῶν πόλεων καὶ τῶν ποταμῶν</w> . But for P. <w lang="el-GR">χωρογραφία</w> is to a large extent the description of sites and recording of the distances between places (1. 5–6), which from the time of Eratosthenes was called <w lang="el-GR">γεωγραφία</w> (cf. Strabo, i. 2. 3, C. 16). P. does not make that distinction; his <w lang="el-GR">χωρογραφία</w> includes both calculations and descriptions (Pdech, LEC, 1956, 6 n. 8; above, 1. 4 n.). <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">τοὺς . . . ἀρχαίους ἐᾶν φησι</w>:</emph> similarly P. passes over the oldest historians (Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon), reserving his criticism for those from Theopompus onwards, and especially those of the third and second centuries. <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">Δικαίαρχόν τε καὶ Ἐρατοσθένη</w>:</emph> on Dicaearchus see vi. 3. 7 n. He lived most of his life in the <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Peloponnese&groupId=861&placeId=1552">Peloponnese</a> (c. 326–296), especially at <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Sparta&groupId=660&placeId=1208">Sparta</a>, and wrote widely on political subjects, biography, literary history, philosophy, and geography. His <w lang="el-GR">περίοδος γῆς</w> attempted a cartographical survey of the oecumene; for his central parallel see 4. 6 n. For fragments and discussion see FHG, ii. 225 ff.; Wehrli, Dikaiarchos; RE, Suppl.-B. xi, 'Dikaiarchos', cols. 526–34 (supplementing Martini, RE, 'Dikaiarchos', cols. 546–63); Abel, RE, Suppl.B. xiv, 'Zone', cols. 1033–6; Berger, 367–83 and passim; Thomson, 134, 153–5; E. H. Warmington, OCD <emph rend="superscript">2</emph> , p. 338. On Eratosthenes see 2. 11 n.; and for his concept of <w lang="el-GR">γεωγραφία</w> the last note but one. <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">Πυθέαν</w>:</emph> Pytheashis date is uncertain, perhaps c. 320; Rhys Carpenter, Beyond the Pillars of Heracles: the Classical World Through the Eyes of its Discoverers (New York, 1966), 143–98, would bring it down to c. 242–238, a view excluded by the fact that Timaeus uses him (cf. Brown, 25–27) was a sea-captain from Massalia, who sailed from <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Gades&groupId=594&placeId=1105">Gades</a> north past Ushant and Cornwall, and circumnavigated <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Britain&groupId=409&placeId=759">Britain</a> in a clockwise direction (cf. Gisinger, RE, 'Pytheas von Massalia', cols. 328–9), reporting on the island of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Thule&groupId=1032&placeId=1820">Thule</a> on the Arctic circle; he was interested in scientific cartography and took bearings, but met with incredulity and hostility. See E. H. Warmington, OCD <emph rend="superscript">2</emph> , p. 904; Cary and Warmington, 33–40; Gisinger, RE, 'Pytheas von Massalia', cols. 314–66 (bibliography, cols. 363–6); Abel, RE, <milestone unit="page" n="588">[588]</milestone> Suppl.-B. xiv, 'Zone', cols. 1028–33; R. Dion, Rev. phil. 1966, 191–216; fragments in Mette. For P.'s criticism see the present passage and 10. 6–7. Pytheas recorded his voyages in a carefully written work, now lost, entitled <w lang="el-GR">Τὰ περὶ τοῦ ὠκεανοῦ</w> (Geminus, 6. 9).

34.5.2 - 34.5.2

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">ὅλην μὲν τὴν Βρεττανικὴν ἐμβαδὸν ἐπελθεῖν</w>:</emph> the manuscript has <w lang="el-GR">ὅλην μέντοι Βρεττανικὴν ἐμβατὸν ἢ ἐπελθεῖν</w>; but Coraes's emendation <w lang="el-GR">ἐμβαδόν</w>, 'on foot', (cf. Paus. x. 20. 8) is preferable. With <w lang="el-GR">ἐμβατόν</w> the sense must be either 'the whole of those parts of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Britain&groupId=409&placeId=759">Britain</a> that are accessible' or 'the whole of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Britain&groupId=409&placeId=759">Britain</a>, which is accessible'; either requires some changes in the text (such as 〈<w lang="el-GR">τὴν</w>〉 <w lang="el-GR">ἐμβατόν</w>, read by Jacob and accepted by H. L. Jones in the Loeb Strabo), and this is possible, for the <w lang="el-GR">ἤ</w> before <w lang="el-GR">ἐπελθεῖν</w> indicates that this is a bad piece of text. P. is evidently pouring scorn on Pytheas by exaggerating his claim. He probably spoke of circumnavigating <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Britain&groupId=409&placeId=759">Britain</a> and making landings, but P. speaks of his having traversed the coastline on footlike a bematistes (Mllenhoff, i. 376 n. 2). For <w lang="el-GR">ἐπελθεῖν</w>, 'go along the coast', cf. § 6. Berger, 362 n. 1 accepts <w lang="el-GR">ἐμβατόν</w>; for the reading in Btter-Wobst see Mllenhoff, i. 376; Gisinger, RE, Suppl.-B. iv, 'Geographia', cols. 594–9, esp. 597; RE, 'Pytheas von Massalia', col. 328. <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">τὴν δὲ περίμετρον κτλ</w>.:</emph> Pytheas' dimensions for the three sides of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Britain&groupId=409&placeId=759">Britain</a> (normally treated as a triangle in antiquity) survive, with variations, in several sources; they were probably based on days of sailing, perhaps calculations of stades on land (see last note) and astronomical readings (Mette, p. iii). Diod. v. 21, records what will be Pytheas' figures transmitted though Timaeus as follows: <table cols="2" rows="4"> <row> <cell>C. Belerion to C. Kantion</cell> <cell>7,500 stades</cell> </row> <row> <cell>C. Kantion to C. Orcas</cell> <cell>15,000 stades</cell> </row> <row> <cell>C. Orcas to C. Belerion</cell> <cell>20,000 stades</cell> </row> <row> <cell>Total</cell> <cell>42,500 stades</cell> </row> </table> (C. Belerion is Land's End, C. Kantion is South Foreland, and C. Orcas is Duncansby Heador possibly Dunnet Head; cf. Macdonald, RE, 'Orcas', col. 882). Strabo (i. 4. 3, C. 63), whose figures probably come via Eratosthenes, makes the long side over 20,000 stades, and the total a round figure of 40,000 stades (which is also in Scymnus, fg. 9 (= Apoll. Hist. mir. 15; cf. Gisinger, RE, 'Skymnos', col. 670), reading <w lang="el-GR">τετρακισμυρίων</w> for <w lang="el-GR">τετρακοσίων)</w>. Another tradition, coming via Isidorus, who evidently rounded off Pytheas' figures for the sides (Mllenhoff, i. 377) gives a perimeter of 4,875 m.p. = 39,000 stades (at 8 to the Roman mile); see Pliny, Nat. hist. iv. 102, and for the figure in stades Anon. geog. compar., Apospasm. A. in GGM, ii. 509. Pytheas' figures are about double the real ones; the coastal perimeter of Gt. <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Britain&groupId=409&placeId=759">Britain</a> amounts to 23,800 stades, at 8 to the Roman mile (Gisinger, RE, 'Pytheas von Massalia', col. 330), and the time <milestone unit="page" n="589">[589]</milestone> required for a coastal voyage up the indented west coast may have caused Pytheas to overestimate its length. The result was a traditional outline for the island, the sides of which were in the proportion 3:6:8, and which extended north-east with an obtuse angle of c. 120 at the Kentish coast opposite <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Gaul&groupId=598&placeId=1108">Gaul</a>. See Berger, 362;Eratosthenes, 372 ff. (F III B 127); Mllenhoff, i. 375–82 (his calculations of the coastal perimeter are in 'geographical miles', each about 4 English miles); Thomson, 144; Gisinger, RE, 'Pytheas von Massalia', cols. 330–1; Suppl.-B. iv, 'Geographia', col. 597.

34.5.3 - 34.5.3

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">τὰ περὶ τῆς Θούλης</w>:</emph> the island of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Thule&groupId=1032&placeId=1820">Thule</a> lay six days' voyage to the north of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Britain&groupId=409&placeId=759">Britain</a> (Strabo, i. 4. 2, C. 63 = Pytheas, fg. 6 a Mette) 'near the frozen sea', and was approached from 'Berrice' (Pliny, Nat. hist. iv. 104); it was reckoned to be the most northerly of the British Isles and Pytheas stated that it lay on the arctic circle (in our sense: see p. 570; Strabo, ii. 5. 8, C. 114) and spoke of the short summer nights. Geminus (6.9) quotes Pytheas' own statement: <w lang="el-GR">ἐδείκνυον ἡμῖν οἱ βάρβαροι ὅπου ὁ ἥλιος κοιμᾶται. συνέβαινε γὰρ περὶ τούτους τοὺς τόπους τὴν μὲν νύκτα παντελῶς μικρὰν γίνεσθαι ὡρῶν οἷς μὲν δύο, οἷς δὲ τριῶν, ὥστε μετὰ τὴν δύσιν μικροῦ διαλείμματος γινομένου ἐπανατέλλειν εὐθέως τὸν ἥλιον</w>. A midsummer night of 2–3 hours corresponds to a latitude of c. 65. Mela (iii. 36) seems to describe the full midnight sun, but his source may not be Pytheas. That Pytheas visited <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Thule&groupId=1032&placeId=1820">Thule</a> seems certain, but its location near or a little south of the arctic circle remains controversial. Views vary between Iceland, Shetland, and the Norwegian coast; and some scholars deny that Pytheas actually reached <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Thule&groupId=1032&placeId=1820">Thule</a>. See Mllenhoff, i. 385–410; Macdonald, RE, '<a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Thule&groupId=1032&placeId=1820">Thule</a>', cols. 627–30; Gisinger, RE, 'Pytheas von Massalia', cols. 332–44 (with very full references and discussion, but almost unreadable because of parentheses); E. H. Warmington, OCD <emph rend="superscript">2</emph> , p. 1070. <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">οὔτε γῆ . . . οὔτε θάλαττα οὔτ᾽ ἀήρ</w>:</emph> this account of a mixture of the elements to form an amalgam of land, sea, and air, resembling a 'sea-lungs', has been variously explained. It is a phenomenon of the far north, linked with <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Thule&groupId=1032&placeId=1820">Thule</a>, and may refer to the frozen sea (Strabo, i. 4. 2, C. 63, <w lang="el-GR">πεπηγυῖα θάλαττα</w>; Pliny, Nat. hist. iv. 104, xxxvii. 35, concretum mare); there are many later references to this, e.g. Tac. Agr. 10. 5, 'mare pigrum et graue remigantibus perhibent'; Germ. 45. 1, 'aliud mare, pigrum ac prope immotum'. Pytheas claimed to have seen this substance, similar to a sea-lungs or jellyfish, but had the rest on hearsay. Perhaps because P. has misrepresented, or Strabo misunderstood, what Pytheas really said, it is very hard to see what he was trying to convey; consequently hypotheses range from a muddy mixture of water and ice (Nansen), phosphorescence (Damote), the aurora borealis (Berger), shallows (Henning: but there are none in the far north) to a subjective illusion experienced by men <milestone unit="page" n="590">[590]</milestone> rowing in a sea-mist and calm against an Atlantic swell (Mllenhoff). See Macdonald, RE, '<a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Thule&groupId=1032&placeId=1820">Thule</a>', col. 628; Gisinger, RE, 'Pytheas von Massalia', cols. 342–4; Mllenhoff, i. 410–25.

34.5.5 - 34.5.5

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">τἄλλα δὲ λέγειν ἐξ ἀκοῆς</w>:</emph> Berger, 364, thinks this includes everything else about <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Thule&groupId=1032&placeId=1820">Thule</a>: but clearly Pytheas visited the place, so this probably refers to other details of the regions of the 'sea-lungs', perhaps told to him by the inhabitants of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Thule&groupId=1032&placeId=1820">Thule</a> (if he had an interpreter).

34.5.6 - 34.5.6

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">πᾶσαν . . . τὴν παρωκεανῖτιν τῆς Εὐρώπης</w>:</emph> strictly interpreted, this should mean that Pytheas returned to <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Gades&groupId=594&placeId=1105">Gades</a> and made a second voyage from there. Perhaps, after his buffeting in the northern waters (Pliny, Nat. hist. ii. 217), his ship needed repairs. But it is possible that he sailed down the east coast of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Britain&groupId=409&placeId=759">Britain</a> to South Foreland, crossed the Channel and continued his voyage north-eastward up the European coast; the section from <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Gades&groupId=594&placeId=1105">Gades</a> will in that case have already been covered before the circumnavigation of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Britain&groupId=409&placeId=759">Britain</a>. The <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Tanais&groupId=1001&placeId=503">Tanais</a> may be the Elbe; but the words 'from <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Gades&groupId=594&placeId=1105">Gades</a> to the <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Tanais&groupId=1001&placeId=503">Tanais</a>' may be P.'s own, to indicate the whole European coast in general terms, in which case <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Tanais&groupId=1001&placeId=503">Tanais</a> could be the <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Don&groupId=127&placeId=365">Don</a>, which is used to indicate the north boundary of Europe in iii. 38. 2 (with its hints at Pytheas; see iii. 37. 2–8 n.). See Gisinger, RE, 'Pytheas von Massalia', col. 348 n. How far Pytheas sailed along the German coast is uncertain. He may have reached Jutland, but hardly the Baltic (Gisinger, RE, 'Pytheas von Massalia', cols. 344–51). That the voyage was one from <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Gades&groupId=594&placeId=1105">Gades</a> to the <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Don&groupId=127&placeId=365">Don</a> inside the Mediterranean seems excluded by the word <w lang="el-GR">παρωκεανῖτις</w>.

34.5.7 - 34.5.7

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">ἰδιώτῃ ἀνθρώπῳ καὶ πένητι</w>:</emph> cf. xii. 27. 6 on the cost of travel; P.'s own Atlantic voyages were subsidized by Scipio Aemilianus (Walbank, Polybius, 126–7). <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">τὰ τοσαῦτα διαστήματα</w>:</emph> cf. § 2 n. <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">πλωτὰ καὶ πορευτά</w>:</emph> for the phrase see iii. 59. 3, iv. 40. 2; above § 4.

34.5.8 - 34.5.8

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">τῶν κατὰ Γάδειρα καὶ τὴν ᾽Ι</w>§<w lang="el-GR">βηρίαν</w>:</emph> a trace of Pytheas' account of this area survives in Strabo, iii. 2. 11, C. 148, giving Artemidorus' criticism of Eratosthenes' description of the region around Calpe, Erytheia, 'the blessed isle' (cf. Diod. v. 20, based on Timaeus, who probably used Pytheas), and a short passage to <w lang="el-GR">Κελτική</w> from northern Iberia; Strabo says that Eratosthenes' account goes back to Pytheas.

34.5.9 - 34.5.9

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">τῷ Μεσσηνίῳ</w>:</emph> Euhemerus of Messene (or Messana) served Cassander between 311 and 298, and later (probably at <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Alexandria&groupId=1063&placeId=1868">Alexandria</a>) wrote the <w lang="el-GR">῾Ι</w>§<w lang="el-GR">ερὰ ἀναγραφή</w>, an account of an imaginary voyage to Panchaea, one of a group of islands in the Indian Ocean, where a golden column preserved an inscription describing the lives and deeds on earth of the earlier kings, later worshipped as Uranos, Cronos, and Zeus. This theme drew on certain traditional Greek ideas about the gods, but in a rationalizing sense; and it was directly relevant to <milestone unit="page" n="591">[591]</milestone> Hellenistic ruler-worship. Its immediate influence in Greece was not great; but it became more popular at <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a> after the publication of Ennius' translation, Euhemerus. For Euhemerus' influence on the view of the Homeric myths to which P. adhered see 2. 6–8 n. For fragments see FGH, 63 (including Ennius' version); cf. FGH, i a ed. 2, p. 562, for Jacoby's remorse at having included Euhemerus in FGH at all; H. J. Rose, OCD <emph rend="superscript">2</emph> , pp. 414–15; Jacoby, RE, 'Euemeros (3)', cols. 952–72; Fraser, Alex. i. 289–95; ii. 447–56 (bibliography in n. 800). <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">μέχρι τῶν τοῦ κόσμου περάτων</w>:</emph> cf. Strabo, i. 4. 4, C. 63, <w lang="el-GR">τὰ ἐπέκεινα, εἰς ἃ ἐκτοπίζει</w> (sc. Eratosthenes) <w lang="el-GR">τὴν Θούλην, οὐκέτ᾽ οἰκήσιμα</w>; iv. 5. 5, C. 201, <w lang="el-GR">περὶ δὲ τῆς Θούλης . . . ἀσαφὴς ἡ ἱστορία διὰ τὸν ἐκτοπισμόν</w> <emph rend="italics">\?\</emph> <w lang="el-GR">ταύτην γὰρ τῶν ὀνομαζομένων ἀρκτικωτάτην τιθέασιν</w> (with the criticism of Pytheas that follows). <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">οὐδ᾽ ἂν τῷ Ἑρμῇ πιστεύσαι τις λέγοντι</w>:</emph> Hermes being the divine messengerbut with a reputation for untruth. P. is also joking at the expense of Eratosthenes, who wrote a didactic poem in hexameters on Hermes, his youth, adventures, and ascent to heaven (cf. 1. 16 n.; E. Hiller, Eratosthenis carminum reliquiae (Leipzig, 1872), fgs. 1–19; J. U. Powell, Collectanea Alexandrina, reliquiae minores poetarum graecorum aetatis Ptolemaicae (Oxford, 1928), 58 ff., fgs. 1–16; Fraser, Alex. i. 625–6; ii. 881–2).

34.5.10 - 34.5.10

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">Βεργαῖον</w>:</emph> i.e. as big a liar as Antiphanes of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Berga&groupId=399&placeId=743">Berga</a> (on the Strymon), the third-century author of marvellous travellers' tales, which gave rise to the verb <w lang="el-GR">βεργαΐζειν</w>; see 6. 15, where P. applies the term to Eratosthenes himself. Cf. Strabo, i. 3. 1, C. 47 for a further reference to Eratosthenes' use of this epithet for Euhemerus; ii. 3. 5, C. 100, of Poseidonius; Marcian, Epit. peripli Menippei, i. 1 (GGM, i. 565); Schmid, RE, 'Antiphanes (19)', cols. 2521–2; Weinreich, S.-B. Wien, 1942 (4), 'Antiphanes und Mnchhausen'. Wunderer, i. 101–3, has some misleading comments on this passage. Referring <w lang="el-GR">τῷ Μεσσηνίῳ</w> (§ 9) to Dicaearchus, he translates § 10, 'Eratosthenes, he says, calls him (i.e. Dicaearchus) Euhemerus of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Berga&groupId=399&placeId=743">Berga</a>', and goes on to argue that Eratosthenes believed Euhemerus and 'the Bergaean' to be one and the same person. This obvious misunderstanding may be ignored. Wunderer may be right, however, in assigning to Antiphanes of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Berga&groupId=399&placeId=743">Berga</a> the fragment of Antiphanes, CAF, ii. 130. fg. 304, a tall story about words freezing in a cold climate, and being heard in summer when the thaw came.

34.5.11 - 34.5.11

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">ὥσπερ ἐκείνῳ κανόνι χρήσασθαι προσῆκον</w>:</emph> 'as if it were appropriate for Eratosthenes to take him as a standard'. Strabo's argument is: P. calls Eratosthenes credulous for believing Pytheas, whom even Dicaearchus distrusted; but he has no right to ask Eratosthenes to regard that as of any importance, when he has himself demonstrated the unreliability of Dicaearchus. <milestone unit="page" n="592">[592]</milestone>

34.5.12 - 34.5.12

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">εἴρηται ἡ . . . ἄγνοια</w>:</emph> cf. § 8, criticizing Eratosthenes for following Pytheas concerning the north and west of Europe.

34.5.14 - 34.5.14

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">λαοδογματικὰς . . . ἀποφάσεις</w>:</emph> cf. 1. 6 n.

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