Chapter III (3)

[618] Van Egmont (Travels, vol. i. p. 297) considers it impossible, from the character of the intervening country, to see Jerusalem from Joppa. Pococke, on the contrary, says, that it would not be surprising to see from the heights of Joppa, in fine weather, the summit of one of the high towers of Jerusalem; and this is not so unlikely, for according to Josephus the sea was visible from the tower of Psephina at Jerusalem.

[619] Jebna.

[620] Ras-el-Kasaroun.

[621] Esdod.

[622] Asculan.

[623] Akaba or Akaba-Ila.

[624] Near Suez.

[625] Refah.

[626] B. C. 218.

[627] El Arish.

[628] Sebaki-Bardoil.

[629] The passage through which the lake discharged itself into the sea.

[630] El-Cas.

[631] It appears that in the time of Strabo and Josephus the temple of Jupiter only remained; at a later period a town was built there, of which Steph. Byzant., Ammianus Marcellinus, and others speak, and which became the seat of a bishopric.

[632] B. xvi. c. iii. §3.

[633] B. xiv. c. v. §3.

[634] Arabia Petræa. Petra, now called Karac, was the capital.

[635] Josephus, Ant. Jud. xiii. 9. 1.

[636] §27, above.

[637] Jaffa.

[638] Rabbath-Ammon, or Amma.

[639] Herod rebuilt Samaria, and surrounded it with a vast enclosure. There also he erected a magnificent temple, and gave to the city the surname of Sebaste, in honour of Augustus.

[640] In b. xiii. c. ii. §5, our author again says that the Jews were originally Egyptians. So also Josephus, xiv. 7. 2.

[641] “Judæi mente solâ, unumque numen intelligunt, summum illud et eternum, neque mutabile, neque interiturum.” Tacitus, Hist. v. c. 5.

[642] Strabo here attributes to Moses the opinions of the Stoics.

[643] Strabo appears to have had little acquaintance with the Jewish history previous to the return from captivity, nor any exact knowledge until the arrival of the Romans in Judæa. Of the Bible he does not seem to have had any knowledge.

[644] Probably Strabo copies from accounts when the country was not well cultivated.

[645] αἱ γυναῖκες Ἰουδαïκῶς ἐκτετμημέναι, below, c. iv. Section 9.

[646] Od. xix. 494.

[647] Diviners by the dead.

[648] Diviners by a dish into which water was poured and little waxen images made to float.

[649] Diviners by water.

[650] ὡροσκόποι is the reading of the text, which Groskurd supposes to be a corruption of the Latin word Haruspex. I adopt the reading οἰωνοσκόποι, approved by Kramer, although he has not introduced it into the text.

[651] According to Josephus, Johannes Hyrcanus dying, B. C. 107, was succeeded by Aristobulus, who took the title of king, this being the first instance of the assumption of that name among the Jews since the Babylonish captivity. Aristobulus, was succeeded by Alexander Jannæus, whose two sons were Hyrcanus II. and Aristobulus II., successively kings of Judæa, B. C. 67, 68.

[652] B. C. 63.

[653] Solomon’s conduit was constructed on the hydraulic principle, that water rises to its own level. The Romans subsequently, being ignorant of this principle, constructed an aqueduct.

[654] Balsamodendron Giliadense. Pliny xii. 25.

[655] Medicago arborea.

[656] The pistachia, b. xv. c. ii. § 10.

[657] In. b. xvi. c. ii. § 16, our author says that it is found on the borders of the Lake Gennesareth.

[658] It yields, during the hot season, an immense quantity of toddy or palm wine.

[659] Obtained by boiling the branches of the balsamodendron in water, and skimming off the resin.

[660] Strabo here commits the singular error of confounding the Lake Asphaltites, or the Dead Sea, with the Lake Sirbonis. Letronne attempts to explain the origin of the error. According to Josephus, the Peræa, or that part of Judæa which is on the eastern side of the Jordan, between the lake of Tiberias and the Dead Sea, contained a district (the exact position of which is not well known, but which, according to Josephus, could not be far from the Lake Asphaltites) called Silbonitis. The resemblance of this name to Sirbonis probably misled our author.

[661] Specific gravity 1·211, a degree of density scarcely to be met with in any other natural water. Marcet’s Analysis. Philos. Trans. part ii. page 298. 1807.

[662] By chrysocolla of the ancients is generally understood borax, which cannot however be meant in this passage. It may probably here mean uric acid, the colour of which is golden.

[663] A place near the Lake Asphaltites, called Masada by Josephus, de B. Jud. iv. 24, v. 3.

[664] Genesis xiv. and Wisdom x. 6: “the fire which fell down on the five cities.”

[665] In this quotation from Eratosthenes we are probably to understand the Lake Sirbonis, and not the Dead Sea; a continuation, in fact, of Strabo’s first error. The translator adopts Kramer’s suggestion of Θετταλίαν for θάλατταν in the text.

[666] “The salting station,” on the lake of Gennesareth.

[667] It has been a subject of dispute whether Herod was of Jewish or Idumæan origin.

[668] Herod went to Rome B. C. 38, and obtained from the senate the title of king. In the dispute between Octavius and Antony, he espoused the cause of the latter. Octavius not only pardoned him and confirmed him in his title, but also added other cities to his dominions. B. C. 18.

[669] The chief promoters of the crimes of Herod were Salome his sister, who desired to gratify her hatred; and Antipater, who aimed at the throne. Herod, influenced by their misrepresentations, put to death Mariamne his wife, Aristobulus her brother, and Alexandra her mother; also his sons Aristobulus and Alexander, besides Antipater, a third son, who had conspired against his life.

[670] Augustus conferred on Archelaus the half of the kingdom of Herod with the title of ethnarch, promising to grant the title of king, should he prove worthy of it. The other half of the kingdom was separated into two tetrarchies, and divided between Philip and Antipas, two other sons of Herod.

[671] Augustus not only confirmed to Salome the legacy made to her by Herod, of the towns Jamneia, Azoth, and Phasaëlis, but granted to her also the royal palace and domains of Ascalon.

[672] This was Archelaus, whose tyranny was insupportable. He was accused by the chief Jews and Samaritans before Augustus, who exiled him to Vienne, to the south of Lyons, where he died the following year, A. D. 7.

[673] This refers to the journey of Philip and Antipas to Rome. At the death of Herod, Archelaus went to Rome, A. D. 2, to solicit the confirmation of his father’s will, in which he had been named king. The two brothers, Antipas and Philip, also went there, and the kingdom of Herod was divided as above stated. After the exile of Archelaus, his dominions were administered by his two brothers.

Strabo does not appear to have been acquainted with the history of the two brothers after their return to Judæa; for otherwise he would not have omitted to mention the exile of Antipas. This tetrarch, it is known, went to Rome A. D. 38, to intrigue against his brother, of whom he was jealous; but he was himself accused by Agrippa of having intelligence with the Parthians, and was exiled to Lyons, A. D. 39.

[674] C. i. § 21.

[675] C. i. § 6.

[676] C. iii. § 4.

[677] The name Erythræan, or Red Sea, was extended to the whole of the Arabian Gulf, to the sea which surrounds Arabia to the south, and to a great part of the Persian Gulf.

[678] The cape Harmozi, or Harmozon, is the cape Kuhestek of Carmania, Kerman, situated opposite to the promontory Maceta, so called from the Macæ, an Arabian tribe living in the neighbourhood. This last promontory is now called Mocandon, and is the “Asaborum promontorium” of Ptolemy.

[679] For a long period the Euphrates has ceased to discharge itself directly into the Persian Gulf, and now unites with the Tigris above 100 miles from the sea.

[680] The reading followed, but not introduced into the text, by Kramer is that suggested by the corrections of Letronne and Groskurd, καὶ τὴν Ἀράβων παραλίαν παραπλεύσαντα καθ’ αὑτόν.

[681] Peludje, at the entrance of the Gulf of Gran.

[682] Heeren (Comment. Gotting. 1793. Vol. xi. pp. 66, 67) supposes that this city was founded by Chaldæans solely for the purpose of a depôt for the transit of goods to Babylon, the trade having for a long time been in the hands of the Phœnicians. He also conjectures that the most flourishing period of the town was when the Persians, for political reasons, destroyed the commerce of Babylon, and Gerrha then became the sole depôt for the maritime commerce of India.

[683] El-Der.

[684] The island Ormus, which before the year 1302 was called Turun or Gerun, from which the Greeks formed the names Tyros, Tyrine, Gyris, Gyrine, Ogyris, and Organa. _Gossellin._

[685] Arek.

[686] Besides the islands Tyre and Aradus, there existed even in the time of Alexander, and near the present Cape Gherd, a city called Sidon or Sidodona, which was visited by Nearchus, as may be seen in his Periplus. The Phœnician inhabitants of these places appear to have afterwards removed to the western side of the Persian Gulf, and to the islands Bahraïn, to which they gave the names Tylos, or Tyre, and Aradus. The latter name still exists; it was from this place that the Phœnicians moved, to establish themselves on the shores of the Mediterranean, and transferred the name of Sidon, their ancient capital, and those of Tyre and Aradus, to the new cities which they there founded. _Gossellin._

[687] As Nearchus in his voyage kept along the coast, this distance must not be understood as so much to the south of Carmania in the open sea, but as the distance from Cape Jask, the commencement of Carmania.

[688] In Ptolemy, this island is called Vorochtha, now Vroct, or Kismis, or Dschisme.

[689] ἡ καυσία, a broad-brimmed Macedonian hat.

[690] Pliny, v. 21, mentions a place which he calls Massica, situated on the Euphrates, near the mouth of a canal which communicated with the Tigris near Seleucia. It is now called Masseib-khan, and is at a short distance above Babylon, on the borders of the desert. I do not know whether this is the Mæcene of Strabo. _Gossellin._

[691] Strabo here refers to the marsh lakes now called Mesdjed Hosaïn, Rahémah, Hour, &c. The Chaldæans whom he mentions occupied the country along the banks of the Euphrates to the coast of the Persian Gulf.

[692] In Cashmir melons are now grown in the same manner. Humboldt remarks that the same contrivance is adopted in Mexico for the cultivation of vegetables.

[693] Letronne here proposes to read Erythræan or Ethiopian Sea.

[694] Mimosa Nilotica.

[695] This is remarkable.

[696] Carn Almanazil.

[697] Mariaba was not the name of a city, but the title of a city acquired by the residence of their sovereigns. “Mariana oppidum,” says Pliny, vi. 32, “significat dominos omnium.” The capital was called Saba, now Sabbea; and the country in which it is situated is called Sabieh.

[698] Yemen.

[699] The people of Hadramaüt.

[700] The extent was six times as large as the Delta.

[701] Ailah, or Hœle, or Acaba-Ila.

[702] C. ii. § 30.

[703] The ruins are still visible at Abu-Keyschid.

[704] Deire, or the “neck,” so called from its position on a headland of the same name, was a town situated on the African shore of the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, at their narrowest part.

[705] The Troglodytica extended along the western side of the Arabian Gulf, from about the 19th degree of latitude to beyond the strait. According to Pliny, vi. c. 34, Sesostris conducted his army as far as the promontory Mossylicus, which I think is Cape Mète of the modern kingdom of Adel. _Gossellin._

[706] The 60 and 200 stadia assigned to the straits refer to the two passages there to be found. The 60 stadia agree with the distance of the eastern cape of Bab-el-Mandeb, the ancient Palindromos, to the island Mehun; and the 200 stadia to the distance of this island from the coast of Africa. In this last interval are the six islands of which Strabo speaks.

[707] This passage has sometimes been mistaken to mean, that the region producing myrrh and cinnamon refers to the southern coast of Arabia. Our author here speaks of the coast of Africa, which extends from the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb to Cape Guardafui. This space in following the coast is 160 or 165 leagues, which are equivalent to 5000 olympic stadia. _Gossellin._

[708] The long and interesting passage from § 5 to the end of § 20 is taken from Artemidorus, with the exception of a very few facts, which our author has taken from other sources, accompanied by observations of his own. On comparing this fragment of Artemidorus with the extracts of Agatharchides preserved by Photius, and the description of Arabia and Troglodytica which Diodorus Siculus (b. iii. 31) says he derived from Agatharchides, we find an identity, not only in almost all the details, but also in a great number of the expressions. It is, therefore, evident that Artemidorus, for this part of his work, scarcely did anything more than copy Agatharchides. Agatharchides, in his youth, held the situation of secretary or reader to Heraclides Lembus, who (according to Suidas) lived in the reign of Ptolemy Philometor. This king died B. C. 146. He wrote a work on Asia in 10 books, and one on Europe in 49 books; a geographical work on the Erythræan Sea in 5 books; a treatise on the Troglodytæ in 5 books; and other works. He wrote in the Attic dialect. His style, according to Photius, was dignified and perspicuous, and abounded in sententious passages, which inspired a favourable opinion of his judgment. In the composition of his speeches he was an imitator of Thucydides, whom he equalled in dignity, and excelled in clearness. His rhetorical talents also are highly praised by Photius. He was acquainted with the language of the Ethiopians, and appears to have been the first who discovered the true cause of the inundations of the Nile. See Smith, art. Agatharchides.

[709] Ghela.

[710] Kosseir.

[711] Mouse Harbour, or Harbour of Venus.

[712] Meleagrides.

[713] Bender-el-Kebir.

[714] Zemorget or Zamargat. The “Agathonis Insula” of Ptolemy.

[715] Ptolemy Philadelphus.

[716] About 12 feet.

[717] The whole of this description is so vague that it would be difficult to recognise the position of the places mentioned by Strabo without the assistance of scattered notices by other authors. The result of many comparisons leads me to fix upon 16° 58´ as about the latitude of Ptolemaïs Epitheras. Mount Taurus was 22 leagues higher up, and the harbour of the goddess Soteira 12 leagues beyond. _Gossellin._

[718] Letronne translates Πτολεμαῒς πρὸς τῇ θήρᾳ as Ptolemaïs Epitheras; see c. iv. § 4.

[719] Tacazze, which however does not appear to have such a branch.

[720] These islands are to the north of Arkiko.

[721] Gulf of Matzua.

[722] From the position here assigned to the fortress of Suchus, it is impossible to place it at Suachem, as is commonly done. _Gossellin._

[723] An island Stratioton is mentioned in Pliny vi. 29, as though he had read in our author the word Στρατιωτῶν, “the island of soldiers.” As the island of Strato is named only in this extract from Artemidorus, we might be tempted to correct the text of Strabo by the text of Pliny. But as it is not certain that the two authors speak of one and the same island, it is more prudent to make no change. _Du Theil._

[724] I am not acquainted with this place. The ancients speak only of one town of the name of Saba (c. iv. § 19). Was there a town Saba which gave its name to the Sabaïtic Gulf? but the one in question does not appear to have been situated there. _Gossellin._

[725] B. C. 658.

[726] The modern Senaar corresponds with the territory of the Sembritæ. See also b. xvii. c. i. § 2. Herodotus, b. ii. 30.

[727] Tacazze.

[728] The Blue Nile.

[729] ἀκροδρύων is expressed in the Periplus of Agatharchides by the words τὸν καρπὸν π ί π τ ο ν τ α ἀ π ὸ τῶν δένδρων, “the fruit falling from the trees.” The Periplus adds another tribe, the Hylophagi, “wood-eaters,” who subsisted on the tender branches of certain trees. Strabo refers to them, b. xvii. c. ii. § 2, but without giving their name. The pods of the Lotus Zizyphus are eatable, and may here be meant.

[730] Gymnetæ. Between the Spermophagi and the Creophagi, Agatharchides places another people called Cynegetæ. Strabo and Pliny do not mention them; but the sort of life the Gymnetæ, of which they both speak, lead resembles that of the Cynegetæ or Cynegi of Agatharchides and Diodorus Siculus (iii. 25). It seems therefore that these two authors, as well as Strabo and Pliny, meant here to speak of one and the same tribe of Ethiopian Gymnetæ, which might have been distinguished by the particular name of Cynegetæ, or Cynegi. _Du Theil._

[731] Above, c. ii. § 37.

[732] Milkers of bitches.

[733] This Berenice was also surnamed Epi Dire, because it was nearer the promontory Dire than the other cities of the same name. It is probably Bailul, about 12 leagues to the north-west of Assab.

[734] Assab or As-Sab.

[735] Below, Artemidorus calls it the harbour of Eumenes, § 13.

[736] Agatharchides, as quoted by Diodorus Sic. iii. 27, says expressly that this bird is the ostrich. May it be the cassowary?

[737] Groskurd supposes the name of this nation has been omitted in the text, and proposes Acridophagi, or Locust-eaters.

[738] According to Agatharchides and Diodorus Sic. iii. 28, the habit of living on locusts produced a kind of winged louse in the interior of the body; but this is denied by Niebuhr.

[739] Above, § 4.

[740] Pliny, xiii. 17; xv. 13.

[741] Perhaps Zeila. Strabo is here describing the coast of the modern kingdom of Adel.

[742] The Periplus of the Erythræan Sea indicates on this coast a place called Niloptolemæum, which appears to correspond with the mouth of the river Pedra. _Gossellin._

[743] Phleus schæoris. _Linn._

[744] Daphnus Parvus of the Periplus of the Erythræan Sea.

[745] Now Fellis or Fel, which signifies Elephant in Arabic.

[746] I think that there is something here omitted and wanting in the text of Strabo, as he seems to make Artemidorus say, that a little after Mount Elephas we find the Horn, or the Cape of the South; for this last appellation appears to have been applied to Cape Guardafui. But this cape, from the time of Philadelphus, and consequently before the period in which Artemidorus wrote, was known by the name of the Promontory of the Aromatics; this author therefore could not have confounded it with the Southern Horn. I have already come to the conclusion that the Southern Horn corresponds with the Southern Cape of Bandel-caus, where commences the desert coast of Ajan, the ancient Azania, respecting which Artemidorus confesses that he was unable to procure any information. It therefore appears to me, that the description which this author must have given of the coast of Africa, from Mount Elephas to the Southern Horn, and which Strabo should have copied, is now wanting in the text. This omission seems to have been noticed by some copyist, who thought to supply it by naming again, to the south of Mount Elephas, the altars of Pytholaus, Lichas, Pythangelus, and Leon, which Artemidorus had already spoken of, and which navigators meet with on the west, and before arriving at Mount Elephas. _Gossellin._

[747] The text of this paragraph is corrupt; but the reading followed is that suggested in a note by Kramer.

[748] λέων μύρμηξ. Agatharchides calls them μυρμηκολέων, and Ælian simply μύρμηξ. What animal is intended by the name is uncertain. In b. xv. c. i. §44, the marmot seems to be described.

[749] What the words ἐπὶ σειρὰν mean is doubtful. Casaubon supposes that some words are wanting in the text; Groskurd proposes to read ἀπὸ κεφαλῆς ἐπὶ οὐρὰν, “from the head to the tail.”

[750] The passage is corrupt, and some words are wanting to complete the sense. Groskurd proposes, “a span less.”

[751] Pliny, viii. 29.

[752] Ancient authors, under the name of Sphinx, generally describe the ape, _Simia troglodyte_ of Gmelin. _Du Theil._

[753] Simia innuus.

[754] Simia cepus.

[755] The spotted hyæna.

[756] See b. xv. c. 1, §45.

[757] The juice of the berries is a strong purge.

[758] Above, § 5.

[759] The bay of Heroopolis is the modern bay of Suez. In the text “Ælanitic bay,” which is an error of the author or of the copyist.

[760] An altar to Poseidon (Neptune), which was erected by Aristo, whom one of the Ptolemies had sent to explore the Arabian Gulf.

[761] Φοινικών, a grove of palm trees, is taken as a proper name by Diodorus Siculus, b. iii. 41.

[762] Sheduan. The “Saspirene insula” of Ptolemy.

[763] Ras Mahomet, which terminates the south of the peninsula formed by the two bays, the Ælanitic running up to Petra, and that of Heroopolis running up to Suez. The meaning of Strabo seems to be, that this cape is in a direction due south of Petra and Palestine.

[764] There is a wide difference of opinion among geographers with regard to the position of this important tribe in the modern map of Arabia. See Smith, art. Minæi.

[765] The Maraneitæ appear to me to be the same people whom other geographers call Pharanitæ, and who received their name from their proximity to Cape Pharan, now Ras Mahomet. _Gossellin._

[766] Diodorus Siculus, iii. § 41, following Agatharchides, narrates the fact with greater precision. The Garindæi took advantage of the absence of the greater part of the Maraneitæ, and put to death those that remained. They then laid in wait for and massacred all those who were returning from the festival.

[767] Gulf of Akaba.

[768] “Light vessels.” Diodorus Sic.

[769] Thamud, formerly occupied by the ancient Thamudeni.

[770] Shaur and Iobab?

[771] Gibel Seik, Gibel el Hawene, and Gibel Hester.

[772] The harbour of Charmothas seems to be the ancient Iambo, the “Iambia” of Ptolemy, which now, from the accumulation of soil, is more than a day’s journey into the interior of the country. It is in a fertile territory. The Arabs call it Iambo el Nakel, or Iambo of Palm Trees, to distinguish it from the new Iambo situated on an arid soil on the sea-coast. Al Charm, in Arabic, signifies a fissure or opening in the mountains. It seems as if the Greeks had formed the name Charmothas from this word, mistaking the epithet given to the narrow entrance of the harbour of Iambo for the name of the town itself. _Gossellin._

[773] The Debæ occupied Sockia. The river which flows through the country is called Bætius by Ptolemy.

[774] τὰ πλείω is Kramer’s correction for παλαιὰ.

[775] Some are called by Diodorus Siculus, iii. 44, and Agatharchides, Asilæi and Casandres or Gasandres.

[776] Instead of εὔομβρος, Groskurd reads πάμφορος, “produces everything,” following the fragments the Agatharchides and Diodorus Sic. b. iii 44.

[777] Groskurd’s correction, σιδήρου for ἀργύρου, in the text, is adopted. But the passage is probably corrupt, and after σιδήρου we may read καὶ δεκαπλάσιον τοῦ ἀργύρου, “for ten times the quantity of silver,” according to Bochart, and approved by Kramer.

[778] The precise boundaries of Sabæa it is impossible to ascertain. The area we have presumed is comprised within the _Arabian Sea_ W., the _Persian Gulf_ E., the _Indian Ocean_ S., and an irregular line skirting the desert, and running up in a narrow point to Idumæa N. See Smith, Dict. of Greek and Roman Geography, art. Saba.

Milton appears to have been acquainted with the following passage from Diodorus Siculus, b. iii. 46, descriptive of Sabæa: “It is impossible to enumerate the peculiarities and nature of all these trees and plants, on account of the surpassing variety and body of perfume which fall upon and excite the senses, in a manner divine and beyond description. The mariner, as he sails even at a distance along the coast, has his share of enjoyment; for when the breezes of spring blow from off the land, the fragrance of the trees and shrubs is carried down to the shore; nor is it of the kind with which we are acquainted, proceeding from old and stored aromatics, but fresh and in full perfection from new-blown flowers, striking the inmost sense.”

[779] The same as Saba; see c. iv. § 2.

[780] The above details derived from Artemidorus, and by him from Agatharchides, would not be found in Eratosthenes, who lived before the time of Agatharchides.

[781] We must not confound this measure with the 5000 stadia mentioned in c. iv. § 4. The distance here in question is that taken along the southern coast of Arabia from the straits to Kesem, the ancient Cane, through which passes now, as in former times, the greater part of the perfumes collected in Hadramaut and Seger. But this harbour is about the middle, and not at the extremity of the cinnamon-bearing country. _Gossellin._

[782] Cardinal Noris places these facts in the year of Rome 730, and quotes, besides Strabo, the historian Josephus. In following the last author, the Cardinal places the death of Obodas in the prefecture of C. Sentius Saturninus, about the year of Rome 740. After the death of Obodas, Æneas, afterwards called Aretas, took possession of the kingdom of the Nabatæans. Upon this Syllæus, the late king’s minister, went to Rome, and declared before Augustus that Æneas, or Aretas, had no right to the kingdom. How this corrupt minister was punished by Augustus may be seen in Nicolas of Damascus and in Josephus. This Aretas must have reigned for a long time, to at least the last years of Tiberius. _Du Theil._ “The interest attaching to this expedition, which promises so much for the elucidation of the classical geography of Arabia, has hitherto served only still further to perplex it.” The author of the article Marsyabæ in _Smith’s Dict. of Greek and Roman Geography_, where the subject is discussed at some length.

[783] Called also Arsinoë, b. xvii. c. i. § 25. It was near Heroopolis, or Suez.

[784] Koft.

[785] This name is variously written in manuscripts. If Negra be adopted, as by Letronne, it is not the same town as the city of the Negrani above mentioned, which was in the interior; but, as Kramer observes, “Mire corrupta est hæc ultima libri pars.”

[786] B. xvi. c. iv. § 2.

[787] See above, § 2.

[788] This reminds us of the prophet Elijah and John the Baptist.

[789] Od. iv. 84.

[790] This subject was discussed in b. i. c. ii. § 34.

[791] B. xvi. c. iv, § 2 and § 14.

[792] Genadil.

[793] Assouan.

[794] Thus Eratosthenes calculated, in following the windings of the Nile, 12,900 stadia, which is 7900 stadia more than he calculated in a straight line, as he made the distance between the same points (Meroë and Syene, b. ii. c. v. § 7) to be 5000 stadia. M. Falconer suspects that there is an error in the text; but the error lies further off. I believe that it is attributable to Eratosthenes himself, and that that geographer did nothing more than convert the days’ marches into stadia. According to Pliny, Timosthenes, commander of the fleet of Ptolemy Philadelphus, and consequently anterior to Eratosthenes, said that from Syene to Meroë was a march of 60 days; and this statement agrees tolerably well with that of Herodotus, who calculated 56 days’ march between Elephantina and Meroë, besides a small distance the extent of which he does not state.

Procopius, a learned writer, estimates a day’s march at 210 stadia; and employment of this value, in the whole course of his history, proves that it was generally adopted. Now, if we multiply 60 by 210, we shall have 12,600 stadia, and dividing 12,900 by 60, we have 215 stadia, or nearly the amount of a day’s march according to Procopius. I am therefore of opinion that Eratosthenes did nothing more than multiply 210 or 215 by the number of 60 days, furnished by Timosthenes; and as the excessive length of 12,900 stadia could not agree with the 5000 stadia, which he had calculated in a straight line for the same interval, he imagined this great difference arose from the excessive winding course of the Nile; consequently he supposed the Nile to change frequently the direction of its course.

This opinion had its influence in the construction of Ptolemy’s map, which presents to us nearly all the inflexions which Eratosthenes imagined; in calculating the intervals of positions assigned by Ptolemy along the river, we find a total of 1260 minutes; and adding about 1/6 for the small windings, we have a total of 1470 minutes, which are equal to 12,400 stadia of the module (700 to the degree) adopted by that geographer.

According to this hypothesis, the distance in Strabo will be thus divided: Setting out from Meroë, the Nile runs,

days.
1. 2700 stadia to the north 12·8
2. 3700 to the S. and S. W. 17·6
3. 5300 to the N. 1/4 E. 25
4. 1200 to the N. 5·7
—————
61·1

which nearly corresponds with the account of Timosthenes. The number of days corresponds tolerably well with the distance given by the explorers sent by Nero for the discovery of Meroë: they reported the distance to be 873 miles. If we divide this number by 60, we shall have for the day’s mean march 14·55 Roman miles, or 11·64 geographical miles, which is in fact the day’s mean march, according to Major Rennell. _Letronne._

In carefully measuring, upon a large map of Egypt in 47 sheets, the course of the Nile through all its windings, and with the compass opened to 1000 metres, I find—

metres.
From the middle of Syene to Luxor in the ancient territory
of Thebes 218,900
From Luxor to Becous situated at the point of the Delta 727,500
From Becous following the Damietta branch to that city 234,000
—————————
1,180,400

This measure reduced to mean degrees of the earth equals 637° 25´, and represents 5312 stadia of 500 (to the degree). I certainly did not expect to find such an agreement between the new and the ancient measures. The periodic rising of the Nile, I think, must have produced, since the time of Eratosthenes, some partial changes in the windings of the river; but we must acknowledge that these changes, for greater or for less, compensate one another on the whole.

We observe, moreover, as I have already often observed, that the use of the stadium of 500 to the degree is anterior to the Alexandrine school; for at the time of Eratosthenes the stadium of 700 was more particularly made use of in Egypt. _Gossellin._

[795] Although generally described as an island, it was, like Mesopotamia, a district included between rivers: the city Meroë was situated in lat. 16° 44´.

[796] Tacazze.

[797] Bahr-el-Azrek, or Blue river.

[798] See b. xvi. c. iv. § 8, and Herod. ii. 30, who calls the Sembritæ, Automoloi, that is, persons who had voluntarily quitted their abode.

[799] The Nile valley was parcelled out into a number of cantons, varying in size and number. Each of these cantons was called a nome (νομὸς) by the Greeks, “præfectura oppidorum” by the Romans. Each had its civil governor, the Nomarch, who collected the crown revenues, and presided in the local capital and chief court of justice. Each nome too had its separate priesthood, its temple, chief and inferior towns, its magistrates, registration and peculiar creed, ceremonies and customs; and each was apparently independent of every other nome. At certain seasons, delegates from the various cantons met in the palace of the Labyrinth, for consultation on public affairs (b. xvii. c. i. § 37). According to Diodorus, the nomes date from Sesostris. But they did not originate from that monarch, but emanated probably from the distinctions of animal worship; and the extent of the local worship probably determined the boundary of the nome. Thus in the nome of Thebaïs, where the ram-headed deity was worshipped, the sheep was sacred, the goat was eaten and sacrificed: in that of Mendes, where the goat was worshipped, the sheep was a victim and an article of food. Again, in the nome of Ombos, divine honours were paid to the crocodile: in that of Tentyra, it was hunted and abominated: and between Ombos and Tentyra there existed an internecine feud.

Ardet adhuc Ombos et Tentyra: summus utrinque
Inde furor vulgo, quod numina vicinorum
Odit uterque locus, cum solos credat habendos
Esse deos, quos ipse colit.

Juv. xv. 35.

The extent and number of the nomes cannot be ascertained. They probably varied with the political state of Egypt. See _Smith_, art. Ægyptus.

[800] See b. xvi. c. ii. § 24.

[801] In the text ὀστράκινα πορθμεῖα “earthenware ferry boats.” The translation is not literal, but a paraphrase.

Hac sævit rabie imbelle et inutile vulgus
Parvula fictilibus solitum dare vela phaselis,
Et brevibus pictæ remis incumbere testæ.

Juv. xv. 126.

[802] In the text κειρίᾳ ψυχομένῃ ἐπὶ μῆκος, which is evidently corrupt. Kramer proposes to read ἀναπτυσσομένῃ or ἀνεπτυγμένῃ, and Groskurd reads αὐξομένῃ for ψυχομένῃ “lengthened out.” Alii alia proposuerunt, infelicia omnia.

[803] The Mediterranean.

[804] Od. iv. 581.

[805] ἐγὼ γοῦν ἀπορούμενος ἀντιγράφων εἰς τὴν ἀντιβολὴν ἐκ θατέρου θάτερον ἀντέβαλον. Casaubon, who narrates a similar circumstance which occurred to himself, thus explains the passage: Our author, being in want of codices to correct imperfections in his own, and to form a complete copy, availed himself of another author whose account was identical, being either, as he says, the original or a transcript from the first.

[806] The words “Sostratus of Cnidus, son of Dexiphanes, to the gods preservers,” are rejected by Kramer as being introduced from the margin.

[807] Od. xvii. 266.

[808] Some word, such as κατοικίαι, seems here to be wanting; ὁδοὶ, which some commentators suppose to be here understood, would be unsuitable to the passage, nor would it convey a proper meaning. _Kramer._

[809] The word ἐραστής must be here understood, and not υἱὸς. _Groskurd._

[810] The celebrated general of Mithridates.

[811] See b. xii. c. i. § 2.

[812] He was prevented from carrying on this war by the senate. See b. xii. c. iii. § 34.

[813] The elder sister of Cleopatra.

[814] Six months after.

[815] About B. C. 49.

[816] B. ix. c. v. § 6.

[817] I have adopted the reading, ἀπολιτικὸν, “not understanding or ill-adapted for the duties of citizens,” suggested by Kramer.

[818] Od. iv. 481.

[819] No longer existing.

[820] Akabet el Kebira or Marsa Sollom.

[821] Baretoun, or Berek-Marsa. “Alexander, after passing 1600 stadia through that part of the desert where water was to be found to Parætonium, then turned inland to visit the oracle of Ammon.” _Arrian_, b. iii. § 3.

[822] “Wines which have been very carefully prepared with sea-water never cause head-aches.” _Athenæus_, b. i. c. i. 59, p. 54. Bohn’s Classical Library.

[823] Cape Deras.

[824] The exact site is not ascertained, but it was not far from Aboukir.

[825] “Hellanicus says that the vine was first discovered in Plinthine, a city of Egypt,” and that for those “who, on account of their poverty, could not get wine, there was introduced a custom of drinking beer made of barley.” _Athenæus_, b. i. c. i. 61, p. 56. Bohn’s Classical Library.

[826] “The Mareotic wine is erroneously stated by Athenæus (p. 55. Bohn’s Classical Library) to have obtained its name from a fountain called Marea. The fountain and town derived their name from Maro, who was one of the companions of Bacchus.” The wine is praised by Horace, Odes I. xxxvii. 14:

Mentemque lymphatam Mareotico
Redegit in veros timores.

Virgil, Geor. ii. 91, calls a vine by this name:

Sunt Thasiæ vites, sunt et Mareotides albæ.

[827] The Papyrus.

[828] “There is also the ciborium. Hegesander the Delphian says that Euphorion the poet, when supping with Prytanis, his host, exhibited to him some ciboria, which appeared to be made in a most exquisite and costly manner. Didymus says that it is a kind of drinking-cup, and perhaps it may be the same as that which is called scyphium, which derives its name from being contracted to a narrow space at the bottom, like the Egyptian ciboria.” _Athenæus_, b. xi. § 54, p. 761. Bohn’s Classical Library.

[829] The two kinds known at present are the Egyptian and the Syracusan, which, according to Professor Parlatori, have the same general appearance, but differ in the number of flower-lobes.

[830] That is, the juice was extracted for its sugar; see b. xvi. c. ii. § 41, and Pliny, xiii. 12.

[831] Od. iv. 228.

[832] The Canobic mouth was situated in the bay of Aboukir; the Bolbitine is the Rosetta mouth; the Sebennytic is the Burlos mouth; the Phatnitic, the Damietta mouth; the Mendesian is that at Dibeh; the Tanitic, that at Omm. Faregeh; the Pelusiac, that at Terraneh.

[833] The watch-tower of Perseus was at the western end of the Delta, according to Herodotus, ii. 15.

[834] The horned Pan.

[835] The people of Busiris worshipped Isis, and at one epoch, according to Hellenic tradition, sacrificed red men, who came over the sea, i. e. the nomades of Syria and Arabia.

[836] Od. iv. 481.

[837] In this nome tradition affirmed that the Hebrew legislator was born and educated.

[838] καὶ is omitted in the translation, as Groskurd proposes.

[839] Memphis was the residence of the Pharaohs, who succeeded Psammitichus, B. C. 616. The Memphite Nome rose into importance on the decline of the kingdom of Thebaïs, and was itself in turn eclipsed by the Hellenic kingdom of Alexandria. The village of Mitranieh, half concealed in a grove of palm trees, about ten miles south of Gizeh, marks the site of the ancient Memphis. The successive conquerors of the land, indeed, have used its ruins as a stone quarry, so that its exact situation has been a subject of dispute. Major Rennell, however, brings incontestable evidence of the correspondence of Mitranieh with Memphis. Its remains extend over many hundred acres of ground, which are covered with blocks of granite, broken obelisks, columns, and colossal statues. The principal mound corresponds probably with the area of the great temple of Ptah. _Smith._

[840] The Egyptians say that the ox Mneyis is sacred to the sun, and that Apis is dedicated to the moon. Ælian de Nat. Animal. ii. 11.

[841] Saïs stood in lat. 30° 4′ N., on the right bank of the Canopic arm of the Nile. The site of the ancient city is determined not only by the appellation of the modern town Sa-el-Hadjar, which occupies a portion of its area, but also by mounds of ruin corresponding in extent to the importance of Saïs, at least, under the later Pharaohs. The city was artificially raised high above the level of the Delta to be out of the reach of the inundations of the Nile, and served as a landmark to all who ascended the arms of the river, from the Mediterranean to Memphis. Its ruins have been very imperfectly explored, yet traces have been found of the lake on which the mysteries of Isis were performed, as well as of the temple of Neith (Athene) and the necropolis of the Saïte kings. The wall of unburnt brick which surrounded the principal buildings of the city was 70 feet thick, and probably, therefore, at least 100 feet high. It enclosed an area 2325 feet in length by 1960 in breadth. Beyond this enclosure were also two large cemeteries, one for the citizens generally, and the other reserved for the nobles and priests of the higher orders.

Saïs was one of the sacred cities of Egypt: its principal deities were Neith, who gave oracles there, and Isis. The mysteries of the latter were celebrated with unusual pomp on the evening of the Feast of Lamps. Herodotus (ii. 59) terms this festival the third of the great feasts in the Egyptian calendar. It was held by night; and every one intending to be present at the sacrifices was required to light a number of lamps in the open air around his house. At what season of the year the feast of burning lamps was celebrated, Herodotus knew, but deemed it wrong to tell (ii. 62); it was, however, probably at either the vernal or autumnal equinox, since it apparently had reference to one of the capital revolutions in the solar course. An inscription, in the temple of Neith, declared her to be the Mother of the Sun. It ran thus, “I am the things that have been, and that are, and that will be; no one has uncovered my skirts; the fruit which I brought forth became the Sun.” It is probable, accordingly, that the kindling of the lamps referred to Neith, as the author of light. On the same night, apparently, were performed what the Egyptians designated as the “Mysteries of Isis.” Saïs was one of the supposed places of interment of Osiris, for that is evidently the deity whom Herodotus will not name (ii. 171), when he says that there is a burial-place of _him_ at Saïs in the temple of Athene. The mysteries were symbolical representations of the sufferings of Osiris, especially his dismemberment by Typhon. They were exhibited on the lake behind the temple of Neith. Portions of the lake may be still discerned near the hamlet Sa-el-Hadjar. _Smith, Dict. of Greek and Roman Geography, Art._ Saïs.

[842] The evil or destroying genius.

[843] Suez.

[844] Pharaoh Necho, under whom and in the execution of the work 120,000 labourers perished. Herod. ii. 158.

[845] κλειστὸν ἐποίησαν τὸν Εὔριπον, “closed the Euripus.” Diodorus Siculus, i. 33, thus speaks of this same work. “Darius the Persian left the canal unfinished, as he was informed by some persons, that by cutting through the isthmus he would be the cause of inundating Egypt; for they pointed out to him that the Red Sea was higher than the level of Egypt. The second Ptolemy afterwards completed the canal, and in the most convenient part constructed an artfully contrived barrier, (διάφραγμα,) which he could open when he liked for the passage of vessels, and quickly close again, the operation being easily performed.”

The immediate communication therefore between the sea and the canal was cut off by a lock; and as there must have been two, there would be a flux and reflux of water between them on the passage of vessels. This probably suggested to our author the word Euripus, and is to be understood as applying to that portion of the canal included between the locks. By the word Euripus is generally understood the channel between Negropont and the mainland, which is subject to an ebb and flow of the sea. The storing up of water, and the distribution of it for the purposes of irrigation, was no doubt well known to the Egyptians. Diodorus, b. i. 19, ascribes to Osiris the invention. “Osiris confined the Nile by embankments on both sides, so that at the period of its rising it might not inconveniently spread over the country, but that, by gates (διὰ θυρῶν) adapted for the purpose, the stream might be gently discharged as occasion required.

[846] B. i. c. i. § 20.

[847] Bubastis or Artemis, Diana. Herod. ii. 59, 67, 137.

[848] Among those no doubt now at Rome.

[849] This description is illustrated by the remains of the great temple at Philæ, dedicated to Ammon Osiris.

[850] οὐδὲ γραφικόν. These words have been understood by some writers as signifying that there were no paintings, but Letronne has clearly shown that they do not convey this meaning.

[851] George (Syncellus, or companion of the Patriarch), a writer of the eighth century, and who had the reputation of being well versed in history, says that “Ptolemy Philadelphus collected all the writings of Greeks, Chaldæans, Egyptians, and Romans, and had such of them as were not Greek translated into that language, and deposited 100,000 volumes at Alexandria. M. Letronne is disposed to think that Hipparchus, Eratosthenes, Ptolemy, and others borrowed from these sources.

[852] “Sesoosis (Sesostris) raised two obelisks of hard stone, 120 cubits in height, on which were inscribed the greatness of his power, the amount of his revenue, and the number of the nations which he had conquered. At Memphis, in the temple of Vulcan, he erected monolithe images of himself and his wife, 30 cubits in height, and images of his sons, 20 cubits in height,” in memory of his escape from fire when his brother Armais attempted to burn him with his wife and children. Diod. Sic. i. 57.

[853] Probably the statue of Venus bore a crescent on the forehead.

[854] We have reason to be surprised that Strabo, who had seen the pyramids, has said so little concerning them. Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus enter into more particulars, and in general are more exact. Some idea of the immense labour required may be obtained from considerations such as follow:—

The base and height being given, we find for the solid contents—

cubic yards.
1. of the great pyramid 2,864,000
2. of Chephren 2,056,000
3. of Mycerinus 211,000

So that if a wall of (three metres) about 9-1/4 feet in height, and a foot in thickness, were built with the materials of these pyramids, we should have a wall—

miles.
1. from the great pyramid in length 1626
2. from Chephren or Cheops 1167
3. from Mycerinus 117

The stones, therefore, of the three pyramids would form such a wall 2910 miles in length, or one sufficient to reach from Alexandreia to the coast of Guinea. _Letronne._

[855] This is a palpable error, and greater than that of Herodotus, who makes the base equal to the height. The ratio of the height to the base in the great pyramid was as 0·627 to 1; and in the second, as 0·640 to 1. Diodorus approaches nearest of all to the truth, as he makes this ratio to be as 6 to 7 or as 0·817 to 1. Strabo should rather have said, “the sides are rather greater than the height;” but all that he says respecting the pyramids is vague and inexact.

[856] ἐν ὕψει μέσως πως μιᾶς τῶν πλευρῶν· μιᾶς is adopted, although not introduced into the text, by Kramer; μέσως πως is connected with ἐν ὕψει, and not with τῶν πλευρῶν, in the sense of “moderately,” in which it is also used in b. xi. c. ii. § 18. “The kings who succeeded to the possession of the country, (μέσως ἔπραττον) were moderately successful.” The moveable stone has been taken away, and the aperture is at most at about one-twelfth the whole height of the pyramid from its base.

[857] Chembes the Memphite built the largest of the three pyramids, which are reckoned among the seven most remarkable works in the world. They are situated by the side of Libya, distant 120 stadia from Memphis, and 45 from the Nile. These works, by their size and by the artifice and labour employed in their construction, strike the beholder with astonishment and wonder. The base of the largest, the plan of which is quadrilateral, is seven plethra on each side; the height is more than six plethra; the pyramid gradually contracts towards the top, of which each side measures six cubits, and the whole is built of hard stone. Its construction must have been accompanied with great difficulty, but its permanence will be eternal; for although, it is said, not less than a thousand years have passed away to our day (some even say more than 3400 years) since they were built, yet the stones still remain, preserving their original position, and their whole arrangement uninjured by time. The stone is said to have come from a great distance in Arabia, and the process of building was carried on by raising mounds of earth; for at that period no machines had been invented. But it is most marvellous that although such an immense undertaking has been completed, and the whole country around is composed of sand, not a single trace remains of the mounds raised, nor of the fragments of stone broken off by the workmen: indeed the pyramids do not seem to have been raised by the gradual labour of man, but to have been placed by some divine hand in a mass, perfectly formed, down upon the surrounding sands. Some Egyptians undertake to narrate wondrous stories respecting them, such, for instance, that the mounds above-mentioned were composed of salt and nitre, which melted away upon the rising of the river, and completely disappeared without the intervention of human labour. But this cannot be true, for the same number of hands which constructed the mounds would be able to reduce them again to their former state; and 360,000 men, it is said, were employed in the undertaking. The whole was completed in a little less than twenty years.

On the death of this king, he was succeeded by his brother Chephren, who reigned 56 years. According to some writers, it was not a brother, but a son, named Chabryis, who was his successor. But all agree that the successor, whoever he was, desired to imitate his predecessor’s conception, and built the second pyramid, which resembled the first in its artificial construction, but was inferior to it in size, the sides of the base being a stadium each in length.

On the greater pyramid is an inscription which states the amount expended on herbs and radishes for the workmen, and it informs us that 1600 talents were paid for this purpose.

The lesser pyramid bears no inscription, and it has an ascent formed in it through an opening in one of the sides. But although the kings built these pyramids for their own tombs, yet it has so happened that none of them have ever been buried in them. For the population, in consequence of the misery to which these works exposed them, and of the cruelty and tyranny of the kings, were incensed against them as the causes of their sufferings; and moreover threatened to tear their bodies in pieces, and to cast them out with insult from their place of burial. Every king therefore, on the approach of death, enjoined his relations to bury his body secretly in a place undistinguished by marks.

These were succeeded by king Mycerinus, (whom some call Mecherinus,) son of the king who built the first pyramid. He designed to build a third, but died before he accomplished it. Each side of the base of this pyramid was three plethra in length, and fifteen tiers of the building were raised of black stone like the Thebaic stone, but the rest was filled up with a stone resembling that of the other pyramids. This work is inferior to the two former in size, but far surpasses them in artificial construction and in the expensiveness of the stone. On its northern side the name of Mycerinus is inscribed, as the person who caused it to be built. He is said to have held in abhorrence the cruelty of his predecessors, and to have been ambitious of leading a just life, and beneficial to his subjects. He performed many actions by which he called forth the affection of his people towards him; and among others he expended a great sum of money in public causes, rewarding the judges who delivered upright judgments, which was not commonly the case.

There are three other pyramids, the sides of which are two plethra in length; in workmanship they entirely resemble the others, except in magnitude. These pyramids, it is said, were built by the three before-mentioned kings in honour of their own wives. These works by universal consent are the most remarkable in Egypt, not only in their ponderous construction, but also in the art displayed. We ought, we are told, to admire more the architects than the kings, who supplied the means, for the architects brought their designs to completion by force of mind and the influence of an honourable ambition, but the kings by the power of that wealth which was their portion, or by injuries inflicted on others. There is no agreement whatever, either between the natives of the country or between authors, respecting the pyramids; for some assert that the kings before mentioned built them, others that they were not the builders, but that Armæus built the first and largest; Amasis, the second; and Inaro, the third: but this last is said by some to be the burial-place of Rhodopis, a courtesan, whose lovers were certain governors of nomes, who from affection towards her undertook this great work, and completed at their common charge. Diodorus Siculus, b. i. 63, 64.

[858] Niebuhr says, that in these stones are found small petrified substances in the form of lentils, which appear to be of the same kind of shell of which he collected several at Bushir. Clarke also says, that at the base of the pyramids a variety of calcareous stone is found in detached masses, exactly such as Strabo has described, and appear to be the petrified remains of some unknown animal. Forskal calls them “testacea fossilia kakiensia.” Diodorus, as quoted above, says that there are no vestiges of fragments.

[859] The translation follows Letronne’s correction, ἐπέοικε for ἀπέοικε.