Transcriber's note:

Volumes I and III are available from Project Gutenberg at [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44884] and [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44886] respectively.

In this book many city names are spelled in different ways. When the correct spelling is obvious these have been corrected for the sake of consistency. See the list of modern names at the end of volume III.

The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.

THE
GEOGRAPHY
OF
STRABO.

LITERALLY TRANSLATED, WITH NOTES.
THE FIRST SIX BOOKS
BY H. C. HAMILTON, ESQ.
THE REMAINDER
BY W. FALCONER, M.A.,
LATE FELLOW OF EXETER COLLEGE, OXFORD.
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
LONDON:
HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.
MDCCCLVI.
JOHN CHILDS AND SON, BUNGAY.

BOOK VIII.
EUROPE CONTINUED.—GREECE.

SUMMARY.

The remaining parts of Macedonia are considered, and the whole of Greece; on this the author dwells some time on account of the great reputation of the country. He corrects minutely, and clears up, the confused and vague accounts respecting the cities contained therein, given by poets and historians, and especially in the Catalogue and in many other parts of the Poem.

CHAPTER I.

1. After having described as much of the western parts of Europe as is comprised within the interior and exterior seas, and surveyed all the barbarous nations which it contains, as far as the Don[1] and a small part of Greece, [namely, Macedonia,][2] we propose to give an account of the remainder of the Helladic geography. Homer was the first writer on the subject of geography, and was followed by many others, some of whom composed particular treatises, and entitled them “Harbours,” “Voyages,” “Circuits of the Earth,”[3] or gave them some name of this kind, and these comprised the description of the Helladic country. Some, as Ephorus and Polybius, included in their general history a separate topography of the continents; others, as Posidonius and Hipparchus, introduced matter relating to geography in their writings on physical and mathematical subjects.

It is easy to form an opinion of the other writers, but the poems of Homer require critical consideration, both because he speaks as a poet, and because he describes things not as they exist at present, but as they existed anciently, and the greater part of which have been rendered obscure by time.

We must however undertake this inquiry as far as we are able, beginning from the point where our description ended.

It ended with an account of the Epirotic and Illyrian nations on the west and north, and of Macedonia as far as Byzantium on the east.

After the Epirotæ and Illyrii follow the Acarnanes,[4] the Ætoli, the Locri-Ozolæ, then the Phocæenses and Bœoti, Grecian nations. Opposite to these on the other side of the strait is Peloponnesus, which comprises the Gulf of Corinth,[5] interposed between, and determining the figure of the latter, from which it also receives its own. Next to Macedonia[6] are the Thessalians,[7] extending as far as the Malienses,[8] and the other nations, situated on both sides of the isthmus.

2. There are many Greek tribes, but the chief people are equal in number to the Greek dialects with which we are acquainted, namely, four. Of these, the Ionic is the same as the ancient Attic; (for Iones was the former name of the inhabitants of Attica; from thence came the Iones who settled in Asia,[9] and use the dialect now called Ionic;) the Doric was the same as the Æolic dialect, for all the people on the other side of the isthmus except the Athenians, the Megareans, and the Dorians about Parnassus, are even now called Æolians; it is probable that the Dorians, from their being a small nation, and occupying a most rugged country, and from want of intercourse [with the Æolians], no longer resemble that people either in language or customs, and, although of the same race, have lost all appearance of affinity. It was the same with the Athenians, who inhabiting a rugged country with a light soil, escaped the ravages of invaders. As they always occupied the same territory, and no enemy attempted to expel them, nor had any desire to take possession of it themselves, on this account they were, according to Thucydides, regarded as Autochthones, or an indigenous race. This was probably the reason, although they were a small nation, why they remained a distinct people with a distinct dialect.

It was not in the parts only on the other side of the isthmus, that the Æolian nation was powerful, but those on this side also were formerly Æolians. They were afterwards intermixed first with Ionians who came from Attica, and got possession of Ægialus,[10] and secondly with Dorians, who under the conduct of the Heracleidæ founded Megara and many of the cities in the Peloponnesus. The Iones were soon expelled by the Achæi, an Æolian tribe; and there remained in Peloponnesus the two nations, the Æolic and the Doric. Those nations then that had little intercourse with the Dorians used the Æolian dialect. (This was the case with the Arcadians and Eleians, the former of whom were altogether a mountain tribe, and did not share in the partition of the Peloponnesus; the latter were considered as dedicated to the service of the Olympian Jupiter, and lived for a long period in peace, principally because they were of Æolian descent, and had admitted into their country the army of Oxylus, about the time of the return of the Heracleidæ.[11]) The rest used a kind of dialect composed of both, some of them having more, others less, of the Æolic dialect. Even at present the inhabitants of different cities use different dialects, but all seem to Dorize, or use the Doric dialect, on account of the ascendency of that nation.

Such then is the number of the Grecian nations, and thus in general are they distinguished from each other.

I shall resume my account of them, and describe each nation in their proper order.

3. According to Ephorus, Acarnania is the commencement of Greece on the west, for it is the first country which lies contiguous to the Epirotic nations. As this author follows the coast in his measurements, and begins from thence, considering the sea the most important guide of topographical description, (for otherwise he might have placed the beginning of Greece in Macedonia and Thessaly,) so ought I, observing the natural character of places, to keep in view the sea as a mark by which I should direct the course of my description.

The sea coming from Sicily spreads itself on one side towards the Corinthian Gulf, and on the other forms a large peninsula, the Peloponnesus, united to the mainland by a narrow isthmus.

The two largest bodies of country in Greece are that within the isthmus, and that without the isthmus, [extending to the mouths of the river Peneius]. That within the isthmus is however larger, and more celebrated. The Peloponnesus is, as it were, the acropolis or citadel of all Greece; and all Greece in a manner holds the chief or leading position in Europe. For independently of the fame and power of the nations which inhabited it, the position itself of the places in it suggests this superiority. One site succeeds another diversified with numerous most remarkable bays, and large peninsulas. The first of these peninsulas is the Peloponnesus, closed in by an isthmus of forty stadia in extent. The second comprehends the first, and has an isthmus reaching from Pagæ in Megaris to Nisæa, which is the naval arsenal of the Megareans; the passage across the isthmus from sea to sea is 120 stadia.

The third peninsula also comprises the latter. Its isthmus extends from the farthest recess of the Crissæan Gulf to Thermopylæ. The line supposed to be drawn between these is about 508 stadia in length, including within it the whole of Bœotia, and cutting Phocis and the country of the Epicnemidii obliquely. The fourth peninsula has the isthmus extending from the Ambracian Gulf through Mount Œta and Traclinia to the Maliac Gulf and Thermopylæ, about 800 stadia.

There is another isthmus of more than 1000 stadia reaching from the same Gulf of Ambracia, and passing through the country of the Thessalians and Macedonians to the recess of the Thermæan Gulf.

The succession of peninsulas furnishes a convenient order to be followed in describing the country.

We must begin from the smallest, as being also the most famous of these peninsulas.[12]

CHAPTER II.

1. The Peloponnesus resembles in figure the leaf of a plane tree.[13] Its length and breadth are nearly equal, each about 1400 stadia. The former is reckoned from west to east, that is, from the promontory Chelonatas through Olympia and the territory Megalopolitis to the isthmus; the latter from south to north, or from Maliæ though Arcadia to Ægium.

The circumference, according to Polybius, exclusive of the circuit of the bays, is 4000 stadia. Artemidorus however adds to this 400 stadia, and if we include the measure of the bays, it exceeds 5600 stadia. We have already said that the isthmus at the road where they draw vessels over-land from one sea to the other is 40 stadia across.

2. Eleians and Messenians occupy the western side of this peninsula. Their territory is washed by the Sicilian Sea. They possess the coast also on each side. Elis bends towards the north and the commencement of the Corinthian Gulf as far as the promontory Araxus,[14] opposite to which across the strait is Acarnania; the islands Zacynthus,[15] Cephallenia,[16] Ithaca,[17] and the Echinades, to which belongs Dulichium, lie in front of it. The greater part of Messenia is open to the south and to the Libyan Sea as far as the islands Thyrides near Tænarum.[18]

Next to Elis, is the nation of the Achæi looking towards the north, and stretching along the Corinthian Gulf they terminate at Sicyonia. Then follow Sicyon[19] and Corinth, extending as far as the isthmus. Next after Messenia are Laconia and Argeia, which latter country also reaches as far as the isthmus.

The bays of the Peloponnesus are the Messeniac,[20] the Laconian,[21] a third the Argolic,[22] and a fourth the Hermionic,[23] or the Saronic,[24] which some writers call the Salaminiac bay. Some of these bays are supplied by the Libyan, others by the Cretan and Myrtoan Seas. Some call even the Saronic Gulf a sea. In the middle of Peloponnesus is Arcadia, lying contiguous to all the other nations.

3. The Corinthian Gulf begins from the mouths of the Evenus,[25] (some say from the mouths of the Achelous,[26] which is the boundary between the Acarnanes and Ætoli,) and from the promontory Araxus. For there the shores on both sides first begin to contract, and have a considerable inclination towards each other; as they advance farther onwards they nearly meet at Rhium[27] and Antirrhium,[28] leaving a channel of only about 5 stadia between them.

Rhium is a promontory of Achaia, it is low, and bends inwards like a sickle, (indeed it has the name of Drepanum, or the Sickle,) and lies between Patræ[29] and Ægium,[30] on it there is a temple of Neptune. Antirrhium is situated on the confines of Ætolia and Locris. It is called Rhium Molycrium. From this point the sea-shore again parts in a moderate degree on each side, and advancing into the Crissæan Gulf, terminates there, being shut in by the western boundaries of Bœotia and Megaris.

The Corinthian Gulf is 2230 stadia in circuit from the river Evenus to the promontory Araxus; and if we reckon from the Achelous, it would be increased by about 100 stadia.

The tract from the Achelous to the Evenus is occupied by Acarnanians; next are the Ætoli, reaching to the Cape Antirrhium. The remainder of the country, as far as the isthmus, is occupied by Phocis, Bœotia, and by Megaris, it extends 1118 stadia.

The sea from Cape Antirrhium as far as the isthmus is [the Crissæan Gulf, but from the city Creusa it is called the Sea of] Alcyonis, and is a portion of the Crissæan Gulf.[31]

From the isthmus to the promontory Araxus is a distance of 1030 stadia.

Such in general then is the nature and extent of the Peloponnesus, and of the country on the other side of the strait up to the farther recess of the gulf. Such also is the nature of the gulf between both.

We shall next describe each country in particular, beginning with Elis.

CHAPTER III.

1. At present the whole sea-coast lying between the Achæi and Messenii is called Eleia, it stretches into the inland parts towards Arcadia at Pholoe, and the Azanes, and Parrhasii. Anciently it was divided into several states; afterwards into two, Elis of the Epeii, and Elis under Nestor, the son of Neleus. As Homer says, who mentions Elis of the Epeii by name,

“Sacred Elis, where the Epeii rule.”[32]

The other he calls Pylus subject to Nestor, through which, he says, the Alpheius flows:

“Alpheius, that flows in a straight line through the land of the Pylians.”[33]

The poet was also acquainted with a city Pylus;

“They arrived at Pylus, the well-built city of Neleus.”[34]

The Alpheius however does not flow through nor beside the city, but another river flows beside it, which some call Pamisus, others Amathus, from which Pylus seems to be termed Emathöeis, but the Alpheius flows through the Eleian territory.

2. Elis, the present city, was not yet founded in the time of Homer, but the inhabitants of the country lived in villages. It was called Cœle [or Hollow] Elis, from the accident of its locality, for the largest and best part of it is situated in a hollow. It was at a late period, and after the Persian war, that the people collected together out of many demi, or burghs, into one city. And, with the exception of a few, the other places in the Peloponnesus which the poet enumerates are not to be called cities, but districts. Each contained several assemblages of demi or burghs, out of which the famous cities were afterwards formed, as Mantineia in Arcadia, which was furnished with inhabitants from five burghs by Argives; Tegea from nine; Heræa from as many during the reign of Cleombrotus, or Cleonymus; Ægium out of seven, or eight; Patræ out of seven; Dyme out of eight; thus Elis also was formed out of the surrounding burghs. The demus of the Agriades was one of those added to it. The Peneius[35] flows through the city by the Gymnasium, which the Eleii constructed long after the countries which were subject to Nestor had passed into their possession.

3. These were the Pisatis, of which Olympia is a part, and Triphylia, and the territory of the Caucones. The Triphylii had their name from the accident of the union of three tribes; of the Epeii, the original inhabitants; of the Minyæ, who afterwards settled there; and last of all of the Eleii, who made themselves masters of the country. Instead of the Minyæ some writers substitute Arcadians, who had frequently disputed the possession of the territory, whence Pylus had the epithet Arcadian as well as Triphylian. Homer calls all this tract as far as Messene by the name of Pylus, the name of the city. The names of the chiefs, and of their abodes in the Catalogue of the Ships, show that Cœle Elis, or the Hollow Elis, was distinct from the country subject to Nestor.

I say this on comparing the present places with Homer’s description of them, for we must compare one with the other in consideration of the fame of the poet, and our being bred up in an acquaintance with his writings; and every one will conclude that our present inquiry is rightly conducted, if nothing is found repugnant to his accounts of places, which have been received with the fullest reliance on their credibility and his veracity.

We must describe these places as they exist at present, and as they are represented by the poet, comparing them together as far as is required by the design of this work.

4. The Araxus is a promontory of Eleia situated on the north, 60 stadia from Dyme, an Achæan city. This promontory we consider the commencement of the coast of Eleia. Proceeding thence towards the west is Cyllene,[36] the naval arsenal of the Eleii, from whence is an ascent of 120 stadia to the present city. This Cyllene Homer mentions in these words,

“Cyllenian Otus, chief of the Epeii,”

for he would not have given the title of chief of Epeii to one who came from the Arcadian mountain of this name. It is a village of moderate size, in which is preserved the Æsculapius of Colotes, a statue of ivory, of admirable workmanship.

Next to Cyllene is the promontory Chelonatas,[37] the most westerly point of the Peloponnesus. In front of it there is a small island and shoals on the confines of Hollow Elis, and the territory of the Pisatæ. From hence [Cyllene] to Cephallenia is a voyage of not more than 80 stadia. Somewhere on the above-mentioned confines is the river Elisson, or Elissa.

5. Between the Chelonatas and Cyllene the river Peneius empties itself, and that also called by the poet Selleïs, which flows from the mountain Pholoe. On this river is situated Ephyra, a city to be distinguished from the Thesprotian, Thessalian, and Corinthian Ephyras; being a fourth city of this name, situated on the road leading to the Lasion sea-coast, and which may be either the same place as Bœonoa, (for it is the custom to call Œnoe by this name,) or a city near this, distant from Elis 120 stadia. This Ephyra seems to be the reputed birth-place of Astyochea, the mother of Tlepolemus, the son of Hercules,

“Whom Hercules brought from Ephyra, from the river Selleis;”[38]

(for this was the principal scene of the adventures of Hercules; at the other places called Ephyra, there is no river Selleis;) hence came the armour of Meges,

“Which Phyleus formerly brought from Ephyra, from the river Selleis;”[39]

from this Ephyra came also mortal poisons. For Minerva says, that Ulysses went to Ephyra

“In search of a mortal poison wherewith to anoint his arrows:”[40]

And the suitors say of Telemachus;

“Or he will go to the rich country of Ephyra to bring back poison destructive of our lives.”[41]

And Nestor introduces the daughter of Augeas, king of the Epeii, in his account of the war with that people, as one who administered poisons:

“I first slew a man,[42] Mulius, a brave soldier. He was son-in-law of Augeas; he had married his eldest daughter; she was acquainted with all the poisons which the earth brings forth.”

There is also near Sicyon a river, Selleis, and a village of the name of Ephyra near it; and a village Ephyra in the territory of Agræa in Ætolia, the people of which are called Ephyri. There are also other Ephyri among the Perrhæbi near Macedonia, who are Crannonians,[43] and the Thesprotic Ephyri of Cichyrus, which was formerly called Ephyra.

6. Apollodorus, when he informs us in what manner the poet usually distinguishes places with the same names, as Orchomenus for instance, designating that in Arcadia by the epithet, “abounding with sheep;” the Bœotian Orchomenus, as “Minyeïus;” by applying to Samos the term Thracian, and adds,

“Between Samos and Imbros,”[44]

to distinguish it from Ionian Samos; so he says the Thesprotic Ephyra is distinguished from others by the words, “at a distance,” and “from the river Selleis.” This does not agree with what Demetrius of Scepsis says, from whom he borrows most of his information. For Demetrius does not say that there is a river Selleis in Thesprotia, but in Elis, near the Thesprotic Ephyra, as I have said before.

What he says also about Œchalia requires examination, where he asserts that the city of Eurytus of Œchalia is the only city, when there is more than one city of that name. It is therefore evident that he means the Thessalian city mentioned by Homer:

“And they who occupied Œchalia, the city of Eurytus, the Œchalian.”[45]

What city, then, is that on the road from which “Thamyris the Thracian was met by the Muses, and deprived of the power of song,” for he says,

“Coming from Œchalia, from the dwelling of Eurytus, the Œchalian.”[46]

If this were the city in Thessaly, the Scepsian is mistaken in mentioning some city in Arcadia, which is now called Andania. If he is not mistaken, still the Arcadian Œchalia is said to be the city of Eurytus, so that there is not one city only of that name, although Apollodorus asserts that there is but one.

7. There existed between the mouths of the Peneius and the Selleis near Scollis, a Pylus, not the city of Nestor, but another of that name, having nothing in common with that on the Alpheius, nor even with that on the Pamisus, or, if we must so call it, the Amathus. Some writers, through their solicitude for the fame and noble descent of Nestor, give a forced meaning to these words. Since there are three places in Peloponnesus of the name of Pylus, (whence the saying originated,

“There is a Pylus in front of Pylus, and still there is another Pylus,”)

namely, this and the Lepreatic Pylus in Triphylia, and a third, the Messeniac near Coryphasium,[47] the advocates for each place endeavour to show that the river in his own country is (Emathois) ἠμαθόεις or sandy, and declare that to be the country of Nestor.

The greater number of other writers, both historians and poets, say, that Nestor was a Messenian, assigning as his birth-place the Pylus, which continued to exist to their times. Those, however, who adhere to Homer and follow his poem as their guide, say, that the Pylus of Nestor is where the territory is traversed by the Alpheius. Now this river passes through the Pisatis and Triphylia. The inhabitants of the Hollow Elis were emulous of the same honour respecting the Pylus in their own country, and point out distinctive marks, as a place called Gerenus, and a river Geron, and another river Geranius, and endeavour to confirm this opinion by pretending that Nestor had the epithet Gerenius from these places.

The Messenians argue in the very same manner, but apparently with more probability on their side. For they say, that in their territory there is a place better known, called Gerena, and once well inhabited.

Such then is the present state of the Hollow Elis.[48]

8. The poet however, after having divided the country into four parts, and mentioned the four chiefs, does not clearly express himself, when he says:

“those who inhabit Buprasium and the sacred Elis, all whom Hyrminē and Myrsinus, situated at the extremity of the territory and the Olenian rock, and Aleisium contain, these were led by four chiefs; ten swift vessels accompanied each, and multitudes of Epeii were embarked in them.”[49]

For, by applying the name Epeii to both people, the Buprasians and the Eleii, and by never applying the name Eleii to the Buprasians, he may seem to divide, not Eleia, but the country of the Epeii, into four parts, which he had before divided into two; nor would Buprasium then be a part of Elis, but rather of the country of the Epeii. For that he terms the Buprasians Epeii, is evident from these words:

“As when the Epeii were burying King Amarynces at Buprasium.”[50]

Again, by enumerating together “Buprasium and sacred Elis,” and then by making a fourfold division, he seems to arrange these very four divisions in common under both Buprasium and Elis.

Buprasium, it is probable, was a considerable settlement in Eleia, which does not exist at present. But the territory only has this name, which lies on the road to Dyme from Elis the present city. It might be supposed that Buprasium had at that time some superiority over Elis, as the Epeii had over the Eleii, but afterwards they had the name of Eleii instead of Epeii.

Buprasium then was a part of Elis, and they say, that Homer, by a poetical figure, speaks of the whole and of the part together, as in these lines:

“through Greece and the middle of Argos;”[51] “through Greece and Phthia;”[52] “the Curetes and the Ætoli were fighting;”[53] “those from Dulichium and the sacred Echinades;”[54]

for Dulichium is one of the Echinades. Modern writers also use this figure, as Hipponax,

“they eat the bread of the Cyprians and the wheat of the Amathusii;”

for the Amathusii are Cyprians: and Alcman;

“leaving the beloved Cyprus, and Paphos, washed on all sides by the sea:”

and Æschylus;

“possessing as your share by lot the whole of Cyprus and Paphos.”

If Homer has not called the Buprasii by the name of Eleii, we shall reply, nor has he mentioned many other places and things which exist. For this is not a proof that they did not exist, but only that he has not mentioned them.

9. But Hecatæus of Miletus says, that the Epeii are a different people from the Eleii; that the Epeii accompanied Hercules in his expedition against Augeas, and joined him in destroying Elis, and defeating Augeas. He also says, that Dyme was both an Epeian and an Achæan city.

The ancient historians, accustomed from childhood to falsehood through the tales of mythologists, speak of many things that never existed. Hence they do not even agree with one another, in their accounts of the same things. Not that it is improbable that the Epeii, although a different people and at variance with the Eleii, when they had gained the ascendency, united together, forming a common state, and their power extended even as far as Dyme. The poet does not mention Dyme, but it is not improbable that at that time it was subject to the Epeii, and afterwards to the Iones, or perhaps not even to this people, but to the Achæi, who were in possession of the country of the Iones.

Of the four portions, which include Buprasium, Hyrminē and Myrsinus belong to the territory of Eleia. The rest, according to the opinion of some writers, are situated close on the borders of the Pisatis.

10. Hyrminē was a small town, which exists no longer, but there is a mountainous promontory near Cyllene, called Hormina or Hyrmina.

Myrsinus is the present Myrtuntium, a settlement extending to the sea, and situated on the road from Dyme to Elis, at the distance of 70 stadia from the city of the Eleii.

It is conjectured that the Olenian rock is the present Scollis. For we might mention probable conjectures, since both places and names have undergone changes, and the poet himself does not explain his meaning clearly in many passages.

Scollis is a rocky mountain, common to the Dymæi, and Tritæenses, and Eleii, situated close to Lampeia, another mountain in Arcadia, which is distant from Elis 130 stadia, from Tritæa 100, and an equal number [from Dyme] Achæan cities.

Aleisium is the present Alesiæum, a place near Amphidolis, where the neighbouring people hold a market every month. It is situated upon the mountain road leading from Elis to Olympia. Formerly, it was a city of the Pisatis, the boundaries of the country being different at different times on account of the change of masters. The poet also calls Aleisium, the hill of Aleisius, when he says,

“Till we brought our horses to Buprasium rich in grain, and to the Olenian rock, and to the place which is called the hill of Aleisium,”[55]

for we must understand the words by the figure hyperbaton. Some also point out a river Aleisius.

11. Since a tribe of Caucones is mentioned in Triphylia near Messenia, and as Dyme is called by some writers Cauconis, and since between Dyme and Tritæa in the Dymæan district there is also a river called Caucon, a question arises respecting the Caucones, whether there are two nations of this name, one situate about Triphylia, and another about Dyme, Elis, and Caucon. This river empties itself into another which is called Teutheas, in the masculine gender, and is the name of a small town that was one of those that composed Dyme; except that the town is of the feminine gender, and is pronounced Teuthea, without the s, and the last syllable is long.

There is a temple of Diana Nemydia (Nemeæa?). The Teutheas discharges itself into the Achelous, which runs by Dyme, and has the same name as that in Acarnania, and the name also of Peirus. In the lines of Hesiod,

“he lived near the Olenian rock on the banks of the broad Peirus,”

some change the last word Πείροιο to Πώροιο, but improperly. [56][But it is the opinion of some writers, who make the Caucones a subject of inquiry, that when Minerva in the Odyssey, who has assumed the form of Mentor, says to Nestor;

“At sunrise I go to the magnanimous Caucones, where a debt neither of a late date nor of small amount is owing to me.[57] When Telemachus comes to thy house send him with thy son, thy chariot, and thy horses;”

a certain district in the territory of the Epeii appears to be designated, which the Caucones, a different nation from that in Triphylia, possessed, and who perhaps extended even as far as the Dymean territory.] But it was not proper to omit, whence Dyme had the name Cauconitis, nor why the river was called Caucon, because the question is, who the Caucones[58] were, to whom Minerva says, she is going to recover a debt. For if we understand the poet to mean those in Triphylia about Lepreum, I know not how this is probable; whence some persons even write the passage,

“where a large debt is owing to me in the sacred Elis.”

This will appear more clearly, when we describe the Pisatis, and after it Triphylia as far as the confines of Messenia.

12. Next to the Chelonatas is the long tract of coast of the Pisatæ; then follows a promontory, Pheia; there was also a small town of this name;

“by the walls of Pheia about the stream of the Jardanes,”[59]

for there is a small river near it.

Some writers say, that Pheia is the commencement of the Pisatis. In front of Pheia is a small island and a harbour; thence to Olympia by sea, which is the shortest way, is 120 stadia. Then immediately follows another promontory, [Icthys,] projecting very far towards the west, like the Chelonatas; from this promontory to Cephallenia are 120 stadia. Next the Alpheius discharges itself, at the distance from the Chelonatas of 280, and from the Araxus of 545, stadia. It flows from the same places as the Eurotas. There is a village of the name of Asea in the Megalopolitis, where the two sources, whence the above-mentioned rivers issue, are near to one another. After running under the earth the distance of many stadia, they then rise to the surface, when one takes its course to Laconia, the other to the Pisatis. The Eurotas reappears at the commencement of the district Bleminates, flowing close beside Sparta, and passing through a long valley near Helos, which the poet mentions, empties itself between Gythium, the naval arsenal of Sparta, and Acræa. But the Alpheius, after receiving the Celadon, (Ladon?) and Erymanthus, and other obscure streams, pursues its course through Phrixa, and the Pisatis, and Triphylia, close to Olympia, and discharges itself into the Sicilian Sea between Pheia and Epitalium. At its mouth, and at the distance of 80 stadia from Olympia, is situated the grove of Artemis Alpheionia, or Alpheiusa, for both words are in use. At Olympia an annual festival, to which multitudes resort, is celebrated in honour of this goddess, as well as of Diana Elaphia and Diana Daphnia. The whole country is full of temples dedicated to Diana, and Aphrodite, and the Nymphs, which are situated amidst flowery groves, and generally where there is abundance of water. Hermeia, or images of Mercury, are frequently met with on the road, and on the sea-shore, temples dedicated to Neptune. In the temple of Diana Alpheionia are pictures by Cleanthes and Aregon, Corinthian painters; the former has depicted the taking of Troy, and the birth of Minerva; the latter, Diana borne upon a griffin; which are highly esteemed.

13. Next is the mountain, which separates Macistia in Triphylia from the Pisatis; then follows another river Chalcis, and a spring called Cruni, and Chalcis a village, and next to these the Samicum, where is the temple of the Samian Neptune, which is held in the highest honour. There is also a grove full of wild olive trees. It was intrusted to the care of the Macistii, whose business it was to announce the Samian truce as it is called. All the Triphylii contribute to the temple.

[The temple of the Scilluntian Minerva at Scillus in the neighbourhood of Olympia, opposite the Phellon, is among the celebrated temples.][60]

14. Near these temples, at the distance of 30 stadia, or a little more, above the sea-coast, is situated the Triphyliac, or Lepreatic, Pylus, which the poet calls Emathoeis, or Sandy, and transmits to us as the native country of Nestor, as may be collected from his poetry. It had the epithet Emathoeis either from the river, which flows by the city towards the north, and was formerly called Amathus, but now Mamaus, or Arcadicus; or because this river was called Pamisus, the same name as that of two rivers in Messenia, while with respect to the city, the epithet Emathoeis, or sandy, is of uncertain origin, since it is not the fact, it is said, that either the river or the country abounds with sand.

Towards the east is a mountain near Pylus, named after Minthe, who, according to the fable, was the mistress of Hades, and being deluded by Proserpine, was transformed into the garden mint, which some call hedyosmus, or the sweet-smelling mint. There is also near the mountain an enclosure, sacred to Hades, held in great veneration by the Macistii; and a grove dedicated to Ceres, situated above the Pyliac plain. This plain is fertile, and situated close to the sea-coast; it extends along the interval between the Samicum and the river Neda. The sea-shore is sandy and narrow, so that no one could be censured for asserting that Pylus was called “sandy” from this tract.

15. Towards the north there were two small Triphyliac towns, Hypana and Typaneæ, bordering upon Pylus; the former of which was incorporated with Elis, the other remained separate. Two rivers flow near, the Dalion and the Acheron, and empty themselves into the Alpheius. The Acheron has its name from its relation to Hades. For at that place were held in extraordinary reverence the temples of Ceres, Proserpine, and Hades, perhaps on account of the contrariety of the properties of the country, which Demetrius of Scepsis mentions. For Triphylia is fertile, but the soil is subject to mildew, and produces rushes,[61] whence in these places, instead of the product being large, there is frequently no crop whatever.

16. Towards the south of Pylus is Lepreum. This also was a city, situated 40 stadia above the sea-coast. Between the Lepreum and the Annius (Anigrus? Alphæus?) is the temple of the Samian Neptune. These places are distant 100 stadia from each other. This is the temple in which the poet says that the Pylii were found by Telemachus engaged in offering sacrifice:

“They came to Pylus, the well-built city of Neleus; the people were sacrificing on the sea-shore bulls, entirely black, to Neptune, the god of the dark locks, who shakes the earth.”[62]

For the poet was at liberty to feign things which did not exist, but when it is possible to adapt poetry to reality, and preserve the narrative ... it is better to abstain from fiction.

The Lepreatæ possessed a fertile country, on the confines of which were situated the Cyparissenses. But Caucones were masters of both these tracts, and even of the Macistus, which some call Platanistus. The town has the same name as the territory. It is said, that in the Lepreatis there is even a monument of a Caucon, who had the name of the nation, either because he was a chief, or for some other reason.

17. There are many accounts respecting the Caucones. They are said to be an Arcadian tribe, like the Pelasgi, and also, like them, a wandering people. Thus the poet relates, that they came as auxiliaries to the Trojans, but from what country he does not mention, but it is supposed from Paphlagonia. For in that country there is a tribe of the name of Cauconiatæ, that border upon the Mariandyni, who are themselves Paphlagonians. We shall say more of them when we describe that country.[63]

At present I must add some remarks concerning the Caucones in Triphylia. For some writers say, that the whole of the present Elis, from Messenia to Dyme, was called Cauconia. Antimachus calls them all Epeii and Caucones. But some writers say that they did not possess the whole country, but inhabited it when they were divided into two bodies, one of which settled in Triphylia towards Messenia, the other in the Buprasian district towards Dyme, and in the Hollow Elis. And there, and not in any other place, Aristotle considered them to be situated. The last opinion agrees better with the language of Homer, and the preceding question is resolved. For Nestor is supposed to have lived at the Triphyliac Pylus, the parts of which towards the south and the east (and these coincide towards Messenia and Laconia) was the country subject to Nestor, but the Caucones now occupy it, so that those who are going from Pylus to Lacedæmon must necessarily take the road through the Caucones. The temple of the Samian Neptune, and the naval station near it, where Telemachus landed, incline to the west and to the north. If then the Caucones lived there only, the account of the poet must be erroneous.

[For, according to Sotades, Minerva enjoins Nestor to send his son with Telemachus in a chariot to Lacedæmon towards the east, while she herself returns back to the west, to pass the night in the vessel;

“but at sunrise she sets out to the magnanimous Caucones,”

to obtain payment of the debt, in a forward direction. How then are we to reconcile these opinions? for Nestor might say, “The Caucones are my subjects, and lie directly in the road of persons who are going to Lacedæmon; why then do you not accompany Telemachus and his friends on his journey, but take a road in an opposite direction?” Besides, it was natural for one, who was going to recover payment of a debt, and that a considerable sum, as she says, from a people under the command of Nestor, to request some assistance from him in case they should be so unjust, as usually happens, as to refuse to discharge it. But she did not do this.

If therefore the Caucones are to be found in one situation only, these absurdities would follow. But if one division of this tribe occupied the places in Elis near Dymē, Minerva might be said to direct her journey thither, and even the return to the ship would not be absurd, nor the separation from the company of Telemachus, when her road was in an opposite direction.

The question respecting Pylus may perhaps be resolved in a similar manner, when we come, as we proceed, to the description of the Messenian Pylus.[64]]

18. There is also, it is said, a nation, the Paroreatæ, who occupy, in the hilly district of Triphylia, the mountains, which extend from about Lepreum and Macistum to the sea near the Samian grove sacred to Neptune.

19. Below these people on the coast are two caves; one, of the nymphs Anigriades; the other, the scene of the adventures of the Atlantides,[65] and of the birth of Dardanus. There also are the groves, both the Ionæum and Eurycydeium.

Samicum is a fortress. Formerly there was a city of the name of Samos, which perhaps had its designation from its height, since they called heights Sami; perhaps also this was the acropolis of Arēnē, which the poet mentions in the Catalogue of the Ships;

“who inhabited Pylus, and the pleasant Arene;”[66]

for as the position of Arēnē has not been clearly discovered anywhere, it is conjectured, that it was most probably situated where the adjoining river Anigrus, formerly called Minyeius, empties itself. As no inconsiderable proof of this, Homer says,

“There is a river Minyeius, which empties itself into the sea, near Arene.”[67]

Now near the cave of the nymphs Anigriades is a fountain, by which the subjacent country is rendered marshy, and filled with pools of water. The Anigrus however receives the greater part of the water, being deep, but with so little current that it stagnates. The place is full of mud, emits an offensive smell perceptible at a distance of 26 stadia, and renders the fish unfit for food. Some writers give this fabulous account of these waters, and attribute the latter effect to the venom of the Hydra, which some of the Centaurs[68] washed from their wounds; others say, that Melampus used these cleansing waters for the purification of the Prœtades.[69] They are a cure for alphi, or leprous eruptions, and the white tetter, and the leichen. They say also that the Alpheus had its name from its property of curing the disease alphi.[70]

Since then the sluggishness of the Anigrus, and the recoil of the waters of the sea, produce a state of rest rather than a current, they say, that its former name was Minyeïus, but that some persons perverted the name and altered it to Minteïus. The etymology of the name may be derived from other sources; either from those who accompanied Chloris, the mother of Nestor, from the Minyeian Orchomenus; or, from the Minyæ descendants of the Argonauts, who were banished from Lemnos, and went to Lacedæmon, and thence to Triphylia, and settled about Arēnē, in the country now called Hypæsia, which however no longer contains places built by the Minyæ.

Some of these people, with Theras the son of Autesion, who was a descendant of Polynices, having set sail to the country between Cyrenæa and the island of Crete, “formerly Calliste, but afterwards called Thera,” according to Callimachus, founded Thera, the capital of Cyrene, and gave the same name to the city, and to the island.

20. Between the Anigrus and the mountain from which the Jardanes rises, a meadow and a sepulchre are shown, and the Achææ, which are rocks broken off from the same mountain, above which was situated, as I have said, the city Samos. Samos is not mentioned by any of the authors of Peripli, or Circumnavigations; because perhaps it had been long since destroyed, and perhaps also on account of its position. For the Poseidium is a grove, as I have said, near the sea, a lofty eminence rises above it, situated in front of the present Samicum, where Samos once stood, so that it cannot be seen from the sea.

Here also is the plain called Samicus, from which we may further conjecture that there was once a city Samos.

According to the poem Rhadinē, of which Stesichorus seems to have been the author, and which begins in this manner,

“Come, tuneful Muse, Erato, begin the melodious song, in praise of the lovely Samian youths, sounding the strings of the delightful lyre:”

these youths were natives of this Samos. For he says that Rhadinē being given in marriage to the tyrant, set sail from Samos to Corinth with a westerly wind, and therefore certainly not from the Ionian Samos. By the same wind her brother, who was archi-theorus, arrived at Delphi. Her cousin, who was in love with her, set out after her in a chariot to Corinth. The tyrant put both of them to death, and sent away the bodies in a chariot, but changing his mind, he recalled the chariot, and buried them.

21. From this Pylus and the Lepreum to the Messenian Pylus[71] and the Coryphasium, fortresses situated upon the sea, and to the adjoining island Sphagia, is a distance of about 400 stadia, and from the Alpheius a distance of 750, and from the promontory Chelonatas 1030 stadia. In the intervening distance are the temple of the Macistian Hercules, and the river Acidon, which flows beside the tomb of Jardanus, and Chaa, a city which was once near Lepreum, where also is the Æpasian plain. It was for this Chaa, it is said, that the Arcadians and Pylians went to war with each other, which war Homer has mentioned, and it is thought that the verse ought to be written,

“Oh that I were young as when multitudes of Pylii, and of Arcades, handling the spear, fought together at the swift-flowing Acidon near the walls of Chaa,”[72]

not Celadon, nor Pheia, for this place is nearer the tomb of Jardanus and the Arcades than the other.

22. On the Triphylian Sea are situated Cyparissia, and Pyrgi, and the rivers Acidon and Neda. At present the boundary of Triphylia towards Messenia is the impetuous stream of the Neda descending from the Lycæus, a mountain of Arcadia, and rising from a source which, according to the fable, burst forth to furnish water in which Rhea was to wash herself after the birth of Jupiter. It flows near Phigalia, and empties itself into the sea where the Pyrgitæ, the extreme tribe of the Triphylii, approach the Cyparissenses, the first of the Messenian nation. But, anciently, the country had other boundaries, so that the dominions of Nestor included some places on the other side of the Neda, as the Cyparisseïs, and some others beyond that tract, in the same manner as the poet extends the Pylian sea as far as the seven cities, which Agamemnon promised to Achilles,

“All near the sea bordering upon the sandy Pylus,”[73]

which is equivalent to, near the Pylian sea.

23. Next in order to the Cyparisseïs in traversing the coast towards the Messenian Pylus and the Coryphasium, we meet with Erana, (Eranna,) which some writers incorrectly suppose was formerly called Arene, by the same name as the Pylian city, and the promontory Platamodes, from which to the Coryphasium, and to the place at present called Pylus, are 100 stadia.[74] There is also a cenotaph and a small town in it both of the same name—Protē.

We ought not perhaps to carry our inquiries so far into antiquity, and it might be sufficient to describe the present state of each place, if certain reports about them had not been delivered down to us in childhood; but as different writers give different accounts, it is necessary to examine them. The most famous and the most ancient writers being the first in point of personal knowledge of the places, are, in general, persons of the most credit. Now as Homer surpasses all others in these respects, we must examine what he says, and compare his descriptions with the present state of places, as we have just said. We have already considered his description of the Hollow Elis and of Buprasium.

24. He describes the dominions of Nestor in these words:

“And they who inhabited Pylus, and the beautiful Arene, and Thryum, a passage across the Alpheius, and the well-built Æpy, and Cyparisseis, and Amphigeneia, and Pteleum, and Helos, and Dorium, where the Muses having met with Thamyris the Thracian, deprived him of the power of song, as he was coming from Œchalia, from the house of Eurytus the Œchalian.”[75]

It is Pylus, therefore, to which the question relates, and we shall soon treat of it. We have already spoken of Arene. The places, which he here calls Thryum, in another passage he calls Thryoessa,

“There is a city Thryoessa, lofty, situated on a hill,

Far off, on the banks of the Alpheius.”[76]

He calls it the ford or passage of the Alpheius, because, according to these verses, it seems as if it could be crossed at this place on foot. Thryum is at present called Epitalium, a village of Macistia.

With respect to εὔκτιτον Αἶπυ], “Æpy the well-built,” some writers ask which of these words is the epithet of the other, and what is the city, and whether it is the present Margalæ of Amphidolia, but this Margalæ is not a natural fortress, but another is meant, a natural stronghold in Macistia. Writers who suppose this place to be meant, say, that Æpy is the name of the city, and infer it from its natural properties, as in the example of Helos,[77] Ægialos,[78] and many others: those who suppose Margalæ to be meant here, will assert the contrary.

Thryum, or Thryoessa, they say, is Epitalium, because all the country is θρυώδης, or sedgy, and particularly the banks of the rivers, but this appears more clearly at the fordable places of the stream. Perhaps Thryum is meant by the ford, and by “the well-built Æpy,” Epitalium, which is naturally strong, and in the other part of the passage he mentions a lofty hill;

“The city Thryoessa, a lofty hill,

Far away by the Alpheus.”[79]

25. Cyparisseïs is near the old Macistia, which then extended even to the other side of the Neda, but it is not inhabited, as neither is Macistum. There is also another, the Messenian Cyparissia, not having quite the same name, but one like it. The city of Macistia is at present called Cyparissia, in the singular number, and feminine gender, but the name of the river is Cyparisseis.

Amphigeneia, also belonging to Macistia, is near Hypsoeis, where is the temple of Latona.

Pteleum was founded by the colony that came from Pteleum in Thessaly, for it is mentioned in this line,

“Antron on the sea-coast, and the grassy Pteleum.”[80]

It is a woody place, uninhabited, called Pteleasimum.

Some writers say, that Helos was some spot near the Alpheius; others, that it was a city like that in Laconia,

“and Helos, a small city on the sea;”[81]

others say that it is the marsh near Alorium, where is a temple of the Eleian Artemis, (Diana of the Marsh,) belonging to the Arcadians, for this people had the priesthood.

Dorium is said by some authors to be a mountain, by others a plain, but nothing is now to be seen; yet it is alleged, that the present Oluris, or Olura, situated in the Aulon, as it is called, of Messenia, is Dorium. Somewhere there also is Œchalia of Eurytus, the present Andania, a small Arcadian town of the same name as those in Thessaly and Eubœa, whence the poet says, Thamyris, the Thracian, came to Dorium, and was deprived by the Muses of the power of song.

26. Hence it is evident that the country under the command of Nestor is on each side of the Alpheius, all of which tract he calls the country of the Pylians, but nowhere does the Alpheius touch Messenia, nor the Hollow Elis.[82]

It is in this district that we have the native country of Nestor, which we call the Triphylian, the Arcadian, and the Lepreatic Pylus. For we know that other places of the name of Pylus are pointed out, situated upon the sea, but this is distant more than 30 stadia from it, as appears from the poem. A messenger is sent to the vessel, to the companions of Telemachus,—to invite them to a hospitable entertainment. Telemachus, upon his return from Sparta, does not permit Peisistratus to go to the city, but diverts him from it, and prevails upon him to hasten to the ship, whence it appears that the same road did not lead both to the city and to the haven. The departure of Telemachus may in this manner be aptly understood:

“they went past Cruni, and the beautiful streams of Chalcis; the sun set, and all the villages were in shade and darkness; but the ship, exulting in the gales of Jove, arrived at Pheæ. She passed also the divine Elis, where the Epeii rule;”[83]

for to this place the direction of the vessel was towards the north, and thence it turns to the east. The vessel leaves its first and straight course in the direction of Ithaca, because the suitors had placed an ambush there,

“In the strait between Ithaca and Samos,

And from thence he directed the vessel to the sharp-pointed islands, νήσοισι θοῇσι;”[84]

the sharp-pointed (ὀξείαι) he calls θοαὶ. They belong to the Echinades, and are near the commencement of the Corinthian Gulf and the mouths of the Achelous. After having sailed past Ithaca so as to leave the island behind him, he turns to the proper course between Acarnania and Ithaca, and disembarks on the other side of the island, not at the strait of Cephallenia, where the suitors were on the watch.

27. If any one therefore should suppose that the Eleian Pylus is the Pylus of Nestor, the ship would not properly be said, after setting off thence, to take its course along Cruni and Chalcis, as far as the west, then to arrive by night at Pheæ, and afterwards to sail along the territory of Eleia, for these places are to the south of Eleia, first Pheæ, then Chalcis, then Cruni, then the Triphylian Pylus, and the Samicum. In sailing then to the south from the Eleian Pylus this would be the course. In sailing to the north, where Ithaca lies, all these places are left behind, but they must sail along Eleia itself, and before, although he says after, sunset. Again, on the other side, if any one should suppose the Messenian Pylus and the Coryphasium to be the commencement of the voyage after leaving the country of Nestor, the distance would be great, and would occupy more time. For the distance only to the Triphylian Pylus and the Samian Poseidium is 400 stadia, and the voyage would not be along Cruni, and Chalcis, and Pheæ, the names of obscure places and rivers, or rather of streams, but first along the Neda, then Acidon, next Alpheius, and the places and countries lying between these rivers, and lastly, if we must mention them, along the former, because the voyage was along the former places and rivers also.

28. Besides, Nestor’s account of the war between the Pylians and Eleians, which he relates to Patroclus, agrees with our arguments, if any one examines the lines. For he says there, that Hercules laid waste Pylus, and that all the youth were exterminated; that out of twelve sons of Neleus, he himself alone survived, and was a very young man, and that the Epeii, despising Neleus on account of his old age and destitute state, treated the Pylians with haughtiness and insult. Nestor therefore, in order to avenge this wrong, collected as large a body of his people as he was able, made an inroad into Eleia, and carried away a large quantity of booty;

“Fifty herds of oxen, as many flocks of sheep,

As many herds of swine,”[85]

and as many flocks of goats, an hundred and fifty brood mares, bay-coloured, most of which had foals, and “these,” he says,

“We drove away to Pylus, belonging to Neleus,

By night towards the city;”[86]

so that the capture of the booty, and the flight of those who came to the assistance of people who were robbed, happened in the day-time, when, he says, he slew Itamon; and they returned by night, so that they arrived by night at the city. When they were engaged in dividing the booty, and in sacrificing, the Epeii, having assembled in multitudes, on the third day marched against them with an army of horse and foot, and encamped about Thryum, which is situated on the Alpheius. The Pylians were no sooner informed of this than they immediately set out to the relief of this place, and having passed the night on the river Minyeius near Arene, thence arrive at the Alpheius at noon. After sacrificing to the gods, and passing the night on the banks of the river, they immediately, in the morning, engaged in battle. The rout of the enemy was complete, and they did not desist from the pursuit and slaughter, till they came to Buprasium,

“and the Olenian rock, where is a tumulus of Alesius, whence again Minerva repulsed the multitudes;”[87]

and adds below,

“but the Achæi

Turned back their swift horses from Buprasium to Pylus.”

29. From these verses how can it be supposed that Eleian or Messenian Pylus is meant. I say the Eleian, because when this was destroyed by Hercules, the country of the Epeii also was ravaged at the same time, that is, Eleia. How then could those, who were of the same tribe, and who had been plundered at that time, show such pride and insult to persons, who were suffering under the same injuries? How could they overrun and ravage their own country? How could Augeas and Neleus be kings of the same people, and yet be mutual enemies; for to Neleus

“a great debt was owing at the divine Elis; four horses, which had won the prize; they came with their chariots to contend for prizes; they were about to run in the race for a tripod; and Augeas, king of men, detained them there, but dismissed the charioteer.”[88]

If Neleus lived there, there Nestor also lived. How then were there

“four chiefs of Eleians and Buprasians, with ten swift ships accompanying each, and with many Epeii embarked in them?”

The country also was divided into four parts, none of which was subject to Nestor, but those tribes were under his command,

“who lived at Pylus, and the pleasant Arēnē,”

and at the places that follow next as far as Messene. How came the Epeii, when marching against the Pylians, to set out towards the Alpheius and Thryum, and after being defeated there in battle, to fly to Buprasium? But on the other side, if Hercules laid waste the Messenian Pylus, how could they, who were at such a distance, treat the Pylians with insult, or have so much intercourse and traffic with them, and defraud them by refusing to discharge a debt, so that war should ensue on that account? How too could Nestor, after having got, in his marauding adventure, so large a quantity of booty, a prey of swine and sheep, none of which are swift-footed, nor able to go a long journey, accomplish a march of more than 1000 stadia to Pylus near Coryphasium? Yet all the Epeii arrive at Thryoessa and the river Alpheius on the third day, ready to lay siege to the stronghold. How also did these districts belong to the chiefs of Messenia, when the Caucones, and Triphylii, and Pisatæ occupied them? But the territory Gerena, or Gerenia, for it is written both ways, might have a name which some persons applied designedly, or which might have originated even in accident.

Since, however, Messenia was entirely under the dominion of Menelaus, to whom Laconia also was subject, as will be evident from what will be said hereafter, and since the rivers, the Pamisus and the Nedon, flow through this country, and not the Alpheius at all, which runs in a straight line through the country of the Pylians, of which Nestor was ruler, can that account be credible, by which it appears that one man takes possession by force of the dominion of another, and deprives him of the cities, which are said to be his property in the Catalogue of the Ships, and makes others subject to the usurper.

30. It remains that we speak of Olympia, and of the manner in which everything fell into the power of the Eleii.

The temple is in the district Pisatis, at the distance of less than 300 stadia from Elis. In front of it is a grove of wild olive trees, where is the stadium. The Alpheius flows beside it, taking its course out of Arcadia to the Triphylian Sea between the west and the south. The fame of the temple was originally owing to the oracle of the Olympian Jove; yet after that had ceased, the renown of the temple continued, and increased, as we know, to a high degree of celebrity, both on account of the assembly of the people of Greece, which was held there, and of the Olympic games, in which the victor was crowned. These games were esteemed sacred, and ranked above all others. The temple was decorated with abundance of offerings, the contributions of all Greece. Among these offerings was a Jupiter of beaten gold, presented by Cypselus, the tyrant of Corinth. The largest was a statue of Jupiter in ivory, the workmanship of Phidias of Athens, the son of Charmides. Its height was so great, that although the temple is very large, the artist seems to have mistaken its proportions, and although he made the figure sitting, yet the head nearly touches the roof, and presents the appearance that, if it should rise, and stand upright, it would unroof the temple. Some writers have given the measurement of the statue, and Callimachus has expressed it in some iambic verses. Panænus, the painter, his nephew, and joint labourer, afforded great assistance in the completion of the statue with respect to the colours with which it was ornamented, and particularly the drapery.

There are exhibited also many and admirable pictures around the temple, the work of this painter. It is recorded of Phidias, that to Panænus, who was inquiring after what model he intended to form the figure of Jupiter, he replied, that it would be from that of Homer delineated in these words;

“He spoke, and gave the nod with his sable brows, the ambrosial hair shook on the immortal head of the king of gods, and vast Olympus trembled.”[89]

[This is well expressed, and the poet, as from other circumstances, so particularly from the brows, suggests the thought that he is depicting some grand conception, and great power worthy of Jupiter. So also in his description of Juno, in both he preserves the peculiar decorum of each character, for he says,

“she moved herself upon the throne, and shook vast Olympus:”[90]

this was effected by the motion of her whole body, but Olympus shakes when Jupiter only nods with his brows, the hair of his head partaking of the motion. It was elegantly said [of Homer] that he was the only person who had seen and had made visible the figures of the gods.][91]

To the Eleii above all other people is to be ascribed the magnificence of the temple at Olympia, and the reverence in which it was held. For about the Trojan times, and even before that period, they were not in a flourishing state, having been reduced to a low condition by war with the Pylii, and afterwards by Hercules, when Augeas their king was overthrown. The proof is this. The Eleii sent forty ships to Troy, but the Pylians and Nestor ninety; then after the return of the Heracleidæ the contrary happened. For the Ætoli returning with the Heracleidæ under the command of Oxylus, became joint settlers with the Epeii, on the ground of ancient affinity. They extended the bounds of Hollow Elis, got possession of a large portion of the Pisatis, and subjected Olympia to their power. It was these people who invented the Olympic games,[92] and instituted the first Olympiad. For we must reject the ancient stories both respecting the foundation of the temple, and the establishment of the games, some alleging that Hercules, one of the Idæan Dactyli, was the founder; others, that the son of Alcmene and Jupiter founded them, who also was the first combatant and victor. For such things are variously reported, and not entitled to much credit. It is more probable, that from the first Olympiad,[93] when Corœbus the Eleian was the victor in the race in the stadium, to the twenty-sixth, the Eleians presided over the temple, and at the games. But in the Trojan times, either there were no games where a crown was awarded, or they had not yet acquired any fame, neither these nor any of the games which are now so renowned. Homer does not speak of these games, but of others of a different kind, which were celebrated at funerals. Some persons however are of opinion that he does mention the Olympic games, when he says, that Augeas detained four victorious horses, which had been sent to contend for the prize. It is also said that the Pisatæ did not take any part in the Trojan war, being considered as consecrated to the service of Jupiter. But neither was the Pisatis, the tract of country in which Olympia is situated, subject at that time to Augeas, but Eleia only, nor were the Olympic games celebrated even once in the Eleian district, but always at Olympia. But the games, of which Homer speaks, seem to have taken place in Elis, where the debt was owing,

“For a great debt was owing in the divine Elis,

Namely, four victorious horses.”[94]

But it was not in these, but in the Olympic games, that the victor was crowned, for here they were to contend for a tripod.

After the twenty-sixth Olympiad, the Pisatæ, having recovered their territory, instituted games themselves, when they perceived that these games were obtaining celebrity. But in after-times, when the territory of the Pisatis reverted to the Eleii, the presidency and celebration of the games reverted to them also. The Lacedæmonians too, after the last defeat of the Messenians, co-operated with the Eleii as allies, contrary to the conduct of the descendants of Nestor and of the Arcadians, who were allies of the Messenians. And they assisted them so effectually that all the country as far as Messene was called Eleia, and the name continues even to the present time. But of the Pisatæ, and Triphylii, and Caucones, not even the names remain. They united also Pylus Emathoeis itself with Lepreum in order to gratify the Lepreatæ, who had taken no part in the war. They razed many other towns, and imposed a tribute upon as many as were inclined to maintain their independence.

31. The Pisatis obtained the highest celebrity from the great power of its sovereigns, Œnomaus and his successor Pelops, and the number of their children. Salmoneus is said to have reigned there, and one of the eight cities, into which the Pisatis is divided, has the name of Salmone. For these reasons, and on account of the temple at Olympia, the fame of the country spread everywhere.

We must however receive ancient histories, as not entirely agreeing with one another, for modern writers, entertaining different opinions, are accustomed to contradict them frequently; as for example, according to some writers, Augeas was king of the Pisatis, and Œnomaus and Salmoneus kings of Eleia, while others consider the two nations as one. Still we ought to follow in general what is received as true, since writers are not agreed even upon the derivation of the word Pisatis. Some derive it from Pisa, (Πῖσα) a city of the same name as the fountain, and say that the fountain had that name, as much as to say Pistra, (Πίστρα) which means Potistra, (ποτίστρα,) or “potable.” The city of Pisa is shown, situated on an eminence between two mountains, which have the same names as those in Thessaly, Ossa and Olympus. Some say, that there was no such city as Pisa, for it would have been one of the eight, but a fountain only, which is now called Bisa, near Cicysium, the largest of the eight cities. But Stesichorus calls the tract of country named Pisa, a city, as the poet calls Lesbos, a city of Macar; and Euripides in the play of Ion says

“Eubœa is a neighbour city to Athens,”

and so in the play of Rhadamanthus,

“they who occupy the land of Eubœa, an adjoining state;”

thus Sophocles also in the play of the Mysi,

“O stranger, all this country is called Asia,

But the state of the Mysi is called Mysia.”

32. Salmonē is near the fountain of the same name, the source of the Enipeus. It discharges itself into the Alpheius, [and at present it is called Barnichius.[95]] Tyro, it is said, was enamoured of this river;

“who was enamoured of the river, the divine Enipeus.”[96]

for there her father Salmoneus was king, as Euripides says in the play of Æolus. [The river in Thessaly some call Eniseus, which, flowing from the Othrys, receives the Apidanus, that descends from the mountain Pharsalus.[97]] Near Salmonē is Heracleia, which is one of the eight cities, distant about 40 stadia from Olympia on the river Cytherius, where there is a temple of the nymphs, the Ioniades, who are believed to heal diseases by means of the waters of the river.

Near Olympia is Arpīna, which also is one of the eight cities. The river Parthenius runs through it in the direction of the road to Pheræa. Pheræa belongs to Arcadia. [It is situated above Dymæa, Buprasium, and Elis, which lie to the north of the Pisatis.[98]] There also is Cicysium, one of the eight cities; and Dyspontium, on the road from Elis to Olympia, situated in a plain. But it was razed, and the greatest part of the inhabitants removed to Epidamnus and Apollonia.

Above and so very near Olympia, is Pholoe, an Arcadian mountain, that the country at its foot belongs to the Pisatis. Indeed the whole of the Pisatis and a great part of Triphylia border upon Arcadia. For this reason, most of the places, which have the name of Pylian in the Catalogue of the Ships, seem to be Arcadian. Persons, however, who are well informed, say, that the river Erymanthus, one of those that empty themselves into the Alpheius, is the boundary of Arcadia, and that the places called Pylian are beyond the Erymanthus.

33. According to Ephorus, “Ætolus, being banished by Salmoneus, king of the Epeii, and the Pisatæ, from Eleia to Ætolia, called the country after his own name, and settled the cities there. His descendant Oxylus was the friend of Temenus, and the Heracleidæ his companions, and was their guide on their journey to Peloponnesus; he divided among them the hostile territory, and suggested instructions relative to the acquisition of the country. In return for these services he was to be requited by the restoration of Elis, which had belonged to his ancestors. He returned with an army collected out of Ætolia, for the purpose of attacking the Epeii, who occupied Elis. On the approach of the Epeii in arms, when the forces were drawn up in array against each other, there advanced in front, and engaged in single combat according to an ancient custom of the Greeks, Pyræchmes, an Ætolian, and Degmenus, an Epeian: the latter was lightly armed with a bow, and thought to vanquish easily from a distance a heavy-armed soldier; the former, when he perceived the stratagem of his adversary, provided himself with a sling, and a scrip filled with stones. The kind of sling also happened to have been lately invented by the Ætolians. As a sling reaches its object at a greater distance than a bow, Degmenus fell; the Ætolians took possession of the country, and ejected the Epeii. They assumed also the superintendence of the temple at Olympia, which the Epeii exercised; and on account of the friendship which subsisted between Oxylus and the Heracleidæ, it was generally agreed upon, and confirmed by an oath, that the Eleian territory was sacred to Jupiter, and that any one who invaded that country with an army, was a sacrilegious person: he also was to be accounted sacrilegious, who did not defend it against the invader to the utmost of his power. It was for this reason, that the later founders of the city left it without walls, and those who are passing through the country with an army, deliver up their arms and receive them again upon quitting the borders. Iphitus instituted there the Olympic games, because the Eleians were a sacred people. Hence it was that they increased in numbers, for while other nations were continually engaged in war with each other, they alone enjoyed profound peace, and not themselves only, but strangers also, so that on this account they were a more populous state than all the others.”

Pheidon the Argive was the tenth in descent from Temenus, and the most powerful prince of his age; he was the inventor of the weights and measures called Pheidonian, and stamped money, silver in particular. He recovered the whole inheritance of Temenus, which had been severed into many portions. He attacked also the cities which Hercules had formerly taken, and claimed the privilege of celebrating the games which Hercules had established, and among these the Olympian games. He entered their country by force and celebrated the games, for the Eleians had no army to prevent it, as they were in a state of peace, and the rest were oppressed by his power. The Eleians however did not solemnly inscribe in their records this celebration of the games, but on this occasion procured arms, and began to defend themselves. The Lacedæmonians also afforded assistance, either because they were jealous of the prosperity, which was the effect of the peaceful state of the Eleians, or because they supposed that they should have the aid of the Eleians in destroying the power of Pheidon, who had deprived them of the sovereignty ἡγεμονίαν of Peloponnesus, which they before possessed. They succeeded in their joint attempt to overthrow Pheidon, and the Eleians with this assistance obtained possession of Pisatis and Triphylia.

The whole of the coasting voyage along the present Eleian territory comprises, with the exception of the bays, 1200 stadia.

So much then respecting the Eleian territory.

CHAPTER IV.

1. Messenia is continuous with the Eleian territory, inclining for the most part towards the south, and the Libyan Sea. Being part of Laconia, it was subject in the Trojan times to Menelaus. The name of the country was Messene. But the present city called Messene, the acropolis of which was Ithome, was not then founded. After the death of Menelaus, when the power of those who succeeded to the possession of Laconia was altogether weakened, the Neleidæ governed Messenia. At the time of the return of the Heracleidæ, and according to the partition of the country at that time, Melanthus was king of the Messenians, who were a separate community, but formerly subject to Menelaus. As a proof of this, in the space from the Messenian Gulf and the continuous gulf, (called the Asinæan from the Messenian Asine,) were situated the seven cities which Agamemnon promised to Achilles;

“Cardamyle, Enope, the grassy Hira, the divine Pheræ,[99] Antheia with rich meadows, the beautiful Æpeia, and Pedasus abounding with vines.”[100]

He certainly would not have promised what did not belong either to himself or to his brother. The poet mentions those, who accompanied Menelaus from Pheræ to the war,[101] and speaks of (Œtylus) in the Laconian catalogue, a city situated on the Gulf of Messenia.

Messene follows next to Triphylia. The promontory, after which are the Coryphasium and Cyparissia, is common to both. At the distance of 7 stadia is a mountain, the Ægaleum, situated above Coryphasium and the sea.

2. The ancient Messenian Pylus was a city lying below the Ægaleum, and after it was razed, some of the inhabitants settled under the Coryphasium. But the Athenians in their second expedition against Sicily, under the command of Eurymedon and Stratocles, got possession of it, and used it as a stronghold against the Lacedæmonians.[102] Here also is the Messenian Cyparissia, (and the island Prote,) lying close to Pylus, the island Sphagia, called also Sphacteria. It was here that the Lacedæmonians lost three hundred men,[103] who were besieged by the Athenians and taken prisoners.

Two islands, called Strophades,[104] belonging to the Cyparissii, lie off at sea in front of this coast, at the distance of about 400 stadia from the continent, in the Libyan and southern sea. According to Thucydides this Pylus was the naval station of the Messenians. It is distant from Sparta 400 stadia.

3. Next is Methone.[105] This city, called by the poet Pedasus, was one of the seven, it is said, which Agamemnon promised to Achilles. There Agrippa killed, in the Actian war, Bogus, the king of the Maurusii, a partisan of Antony’s, having got possession of the place by an attack by sea.

4. Continuous with Methone is Acritas,[106] where the Messenian Gulf begins, which they call also Asinæus from Asine, a small city, the first we meet with on the gulf, and having the same name as the Hermionic Asine.

This is the commencement of the gulf towards the west. Towards the east are the Thyrides,[107] as they are called, bordering upon the present Laconia near Cænepolis,[108] and Tænarum.

In the intervening distance, if we begin from the Thyrides, we meet with Œtylus,[109] by some called Beitylus; then Leuctrum, a colony of the Leuctri in Bœotia; next, situated upon a steep rock, Cardamyle;[110] then Pheræ, bordering upon Thuria, and Gerenia, from which place they say Nestor had the epithet Gerenian, because he escaped thither, as we have mentioned before. They show in the Gerenian territory a temple of Æsculapius Triccæus, copied from that at the Thessalian Tricca. Pelops is said to have founded Leuctrum, and Charadra, and Thalami, now called the Bœotian Thalami, having brought with him, when he married his sister Niobe to Amphion, some colonists from Bœotia.

The Nedon, a different river from the Neda, flows through Laconia, and discharges its waters near Pheræ. It has upon its banks a remarkable temple of the Nedusian Minerva. At Pœaessa also there is a temple of the Nedusian Minerva, which derives its name from a place called Nedon,[111] whence, they say, Teleclus colonized Pœaessa,[112] and Echeiæ, and Tragium.

5. With respect to the seven cities promised to Achilles, we have already spoken of Cardamyle, and Pheræ, and Pedasus. Enope, some say is Pellana; others, some place near Cardamyle; others, Gerenia.[113] Hira is pointed out near a mountain in the neighbourhood of Megalopolis[114] in Arcadia, on the road to Andania, which we have said is called by the poet Œchalia. Others say that the present Mesola was called Hira, which extends to the bay situated between Taÿgetum and Messenia. Æpeia is now called Thuria, which we said bordered upon Pheræ. It is situated upon a lofty hill, whence its name.[115] The Thuriatic Gulf has its name from Thuria; upon the gulf is a single city, named Rhium, opposite Tænarum. Some say that Antheia is Thuria, and Æpeia Methone; others, that Antheia is Asine, situated between Methone and Thuria, to which, of all the Messenian cities, the description, “with its rich pastures,” is most appropriate. Near it on the sea is Corone. There are some writers who say that this town is called Pedasus by the poet. These cities are “all near the sea;” Cardamyle close to it; Pheræ at the distance of 5 stadia, having an anchorage, which is used in the summer. The rest are situated at unequal distances from the sea.

6. Near Corone, about the middle of the gulf, the river Pamisus[116] discharges itself, having, on the right hand, this city, and the rest in succession, the last of which, towards the west, are Pylus and Cyparissia, and between these is Erana, which some writers erroneously suppose to be the ancient Arene; on the left hand it has Thyria and Pheræ. It is the largest (in width) of the rivers within the isthmus, although its course from its springs does not exceed 100 stadia in length; it has an abundant supply of water, and traverses the Messenian plain, and the district called Macaria.[117] It is distant from the present city of the Messenians 50 stadia.[118] There is also another Pamisus, a small torrent stream, running near Leuctrum of Laconia, which was a subject of dispute between the Messenians and Lacedæmonians in the time of Philip.

I have before said that some persons called the Pamisus, Amathus.[119]

7. Ephorus relates that Cresphontes, after he had taken Messene, divided it into five cities, and chose Stenyclarus, situated in the middle of this district, to be the royal seat of his kingdom. To the other cities, Pylus, Rhium, (Mesola,) and Hyameitis, he appointed kings, and put all the Messenians on an equal footing with the Dorians as to rights and privileges. The Dorians, however, taking offence, he changed his intention, and determined that Stenyclarus alone should have the rank of a city, and here he assembled all the Dorians.

8. The city of the Messenians[120] resembles Corinth, for above each city is a lofty and precipitous mountain, enclosed by a common wall in such a manner as to be used as an acropolis; the Messenian mountain is Ithome,[121] that near Corinth is Acrocorinthus. Demetrius of Pharos seemed to have counselled Philip the son of Demetrius well, when he advised him to make himself master of both cities, if he desired to get possession of Peloponnesus; “for,” said he, “when you have seized both horns, the cow will be your own;” meaning, by the horns, Ithome and Acrocorinthus, and, by the cow, Peloponnesus. It was no doubt their convenient situation which made these cities subjects of contention. The Romans therefore razed Corinth, and again rebuilt it. The Lacedæmonians destroyed Messene, and the Thebans, and subsequently Philip, the son of Amyntas, restored it. The citadels however continued unoccupied.

9. The temple of Diana in Limnæ (in the Marshes), where the Messenians are supposed to have violated the virgins who came there to offer sacrifice, is on the confines of Laconia and Messenia, where the inhabitants of both countries usually celebrated a common festival, and performed sacrifices; but after the violation of the virgins, the Messenians did not make any reparation, and war, it is said, ensued. The Limnæan temple of Diana at Sparta is said to have its name from the Limnæ here.

10. There were frequent wars (between the Lacedæmonians and Messenians) on account of the revolts of the Messenians. Tyrtæus mentions, in his poems, that their first subjugation was in the time of their grandfathers;[122] the second, when in conjunction with their allies the Eleians [Arcadians], Argives, and Pisatæ, they revolted; the leader of the Arcadians was Aristocrates, king of Orchomenus, and of the Pisatæ, Pantaleon, son of Omphalion. In this war, Tyrtæus says, he himself commanded the Lacedæmonian army, for in his elegiac poem, entitled Eunomia, he says he came from Erineum;

“for Jupiter himself, the son of Saturn, and husband of Juno with the beautiful crown, gave this city to the Heracleidæ, with whom we left the windy Erineum, and arrived at the spacious island of Pelops.”

Wherefore we must either invalidate the authority of the elegiac verses, or we must disbelieve Philochorus, and Callisthenes, and many other writers, who say that he came from Athens, or Aphidnæ, at the request of the Lacedæmonians, whom an oracle had enjoined to receive a commander from the Athenians.

The second war then occurred in the time of Tyrtæus. But they mention a third, and even a fourth war, in which the Messenians were destroyed.[123]

The whole voyage along the Messenian coast comprises about 800 stadia, including the measurement of the bays.

11. I have exceeded the limits of moderation in this description, by attending to the multitude of facts which are related of a country, the greatest part of which is deserted. Even Laconia itself is deficient in population, if we compare its present state with its ancient populousness. For, with the exception of Sparta, the remaining small cities are about thirty; but, anciently, Laconia had the name of Hecatompolis, and that for this reason hecatombs were annually sacrificed.

CHAPTER V.

1. Next after the Messenian is the Laconian Gulf, situated between Tænarum and Maleæ, declining a little from the south to the east. Thyrides, a precipitous rock, beaten by the waves, is in the Messenian Gulf, and distant from Tænarum 100 stadia. Above is Taÿgetum, a lofty and perpendicular mountain, at a short distance from the sea, approaching on the northern side close to the Arcadian mountains, so as to leave between them a valley, where Messenia is continuous with Laconia.

At the foot of Taÿgetum, in the inland parts, lie Sparta and Amyclæ,[124] where is the temple of Apollo, and Pharis. The site of Sparta is in rather a hollow, although it comprises mountains within it; no part of it, however, is marshy, although, anciently, the suburbs were so, which were called Limnæ. The temple of Bacchus, also in Limnæ, was in a wet situation, but now stands on a dry ground.

In the bay on the coast is Tænarum, a promontory projecting into the sea.[125] Upon it, in a grove, is the temple of Neptune, and near the temple a cave, through which, according to the fable, Cerberus was brought up by Hercules from Hades. Thence to the promontory Phycus in Cyrenaica, is a passage across towards the south of 3000 stadia; and to Pachynus, towards the west, the promontory of Sicily, 4600, or, according to some writers, 4000 stadia; to Maleæ, towards the east, including the measurement of the bays, 670 stadia; to Onugnathus,[126] a low peninsula a little within Maleæ, 520 stadia. (In front of Onugnathus, at the distance of 40 stadia, lies Cythera,[127] an island with a good harbour, and a city of the same name, which was the private property of Eurycles, the commander of the Lacedæmonians in our time. It is surrounded by several small islands, some near it, others lying somewhat farther off.) To Corycus, a promontory of Crete, the nearest passage by sea is 250 stadia.[128]

2. Next to Tænarum on the voyage to Onugnathus and to Maleæ[129] is Amathus, (Psamathus,) a city; then follow Asine, and Gythium,[130] the naval arsenal of Sparta, situated at an interval of 240 stadia. Its station for vessels, they say, is excavated by art. Farther on, between Gythium and Acræa, is the mouth of the Eurotas.[131] To this place the voyage along the coast is about 240 stadia; then succeeds a marshy tract, and a village, Helos, which formerly was a city, according to Homer;

“They who occupied Amyclæ, and Helos, a small town on the sea-coast.”[132]

They say that it was founded by Helius the son of Perseus. There is a plain also call Leuce; then Cyparissia,[133] a city upon a peninsula, with a harbour; then Onugnathus with a harbour; next Bœa, a city; then Maleæ. From these cities to Onugnathus are 150 stadia. There is also Asopus,[134] a city in Laconia.

3. Among the places enumerated by Homer in the Catalogue of the Ships, Messa, they say, is no longer to be found; and that Messoa is not a part of Laconia, but a part of Sparta itself, as was the Limnæum near Thornax. Some understand Messē to be a contraction of Messene, for it is said that this was a part of Laconia. [They allege as examples from the poet, the words “cri,” and “do,” and “maps,”[135] and this passage also;

“The horses were yoked by Automedon and Alcimus,”[136]

instead of Alcimedon. And the words of Hesiod, who uses βρῖ for βριθὺ and βριαρὸν; and Sophocles and Io, who have ῥᾳ for ῥᾴδιον; and Epicharmus, λῖ for λίαν, and Συρακὼ for Συράκουσαι; Empedocles also has ὂψ for ὄψις (μία γίγνεται ἀμφοτέρων ὄψ or ὄψις); and Antimachus, Δήμητρός τοι Ἐλευσινίης ἱερὴ ὄψ, and ἄλφι for ἄλφιτον; Euphorion has ἧλ for ἧλος; Philetes has δμωίδες εἰς ταλάρους λευκὸν ἄγουσιν ἔρι for ἔριον; Aratus, εἰς ἄνεμον δὲ τὰ πηδά for τὰ πηδάλια; Simmias, Dodo for Dodona.][137]

Of the rest of the places mentioned by the poet, some are extinct; of others traces remain, and of others the names are changed, as Augeiæ into Ægææ: [the city] of that name in Locris exists no longer. With respect to Las, the Dioscuri are said to have taken it by siege formerly, whence they had the name of Lapersæ, (Destroyers of Las,) and Sophocles says somewhere, “by the two Lapersæ, by Eurotas, by the gods in Argos and Sparta.”

4. Ephorus says that the Heracleidæ, Eurysthenes and Procles, having obtained possession of Laconia, divided it into six parts, and founded cities throughout the country, and assigned Amyclæ to him who betrayed to them Laconia, and who prevailed upon the person that occupied it to retire, on certain conditions, with the Achæi, into Ionia. Sparta they retained themselves as the royal seat of the kingdom. To the other cities they sent kings, permitting them to receive whatever strangers might be disposed to settle there, on account of the scarcity of inhabitants. Las was used as a naval station, because it had a convenient harbour; Ægys, as a stronghold, from whence to attack surrounding enemies; Pheræa, as a place to deposit treasure, because it afforded security from[138] attempts from without. * * * * that all the neighbouring people submitted to the Spartiatæ, but were to enjoy an equality of rights, and to have a share in the government and in the offices of state. They were called Heilotæ. But Agis, the son of Eurysthenes, deprived them of the equality of rights, and ordered them to pay tribute to Sparta. The rest submitted; but the Heleii, who occupied Helos, revolted, and were made prisoners in the course of the war; they were adjudged to be slaves, with the conditions, that the owner should not be allowed to give them their liberty, nor sell them beyond the boundaries of the country. This was called the war of the Heilotæ.[139] The system of Heilote-slavery, which continued from that time to the establishment of the dominion of the Romans, was almost entirely the contrivance of Agis. They were a kind of public slaves, to whom the Lacedæmonians assigned habitations, and required from them peculiar services.

5. With respect to the government of the Lacones, and the changes which have taken place among them, many things, as being well known, may be passed over, but some it may be worth while to relate. It is said that the Achæan Phthiotæ, who, with Pelops, made an irruption into Peloponnesus, settled in Laconia, and were so much distinguished for their valour, that Peloponnesus, which for a long period up to this time had the name of Argos, was then called Achæan Argos; and not Peloponnesus alone had this name, but Laconia also was thus peculiarly designated. Some even understand the words of the poet,

“Where was Menelaus, was he not at Achæan Argos?”[140]

as implying, was he not in Laconia? But about the time of the return of the Heracleidæ, when Philonomus betrayed the country to the Dorians, they removed from Laconia to the country of the Ionians, which at present is called Achaia. We shall speak of them in our description of Achaia.

Those who were in possession of Laconia, at first conducted themselves with moderation, but after they had intrusted to Lycurgus the formation of a political constitution, they acquired such a superiority over the other Greeks, that they alone obtained the sovereignty both by sea and land, and continued to be the chiefs of the Greeks, till the Thebans, and soon afterwards the Macedonians, deprived them of this ascendency.

They did not however entirely submit even to these, but, preserving their independence, were continually disputing the sovereignty both with the other Greeks and with the Macedonian kings. After the overthrow of the latter by the Romans, the Lacones living under a bad government at that time, and under the power of tyrants, had given some slight offence to the generals whom the Romans sent into the province. They however recovered themselves, and were held in very great honour. They remained free, and performed no other services but those expected from allies. Lately however Eurycles[141] excited some disturbances amongst them, having abused excessively, in the exercise of his authority, the friendship of Cæsar. The government soon came to an end by the death of Eurycles, and the son rejected all such friendships. The Eleuthero-Lacones[142] however did obtain some regular form of government, when the surrounding people, and especially the Heilotæ, at the time that Sparta was governed by tyrants, were the first to attach themselves to the Romans.

Hellanicus says that Eurysthenes and Procles regulated the form of government, but Ephorus reproaches him with not mentioning Lycurgus at all, and with ascribing the acts of the latter to persons who had no concern in them; to Lycurgus only is a temple erected, and sacrifices are annually performed in his honour, but to Eurysthenes and Procles, although they were the founders of Sparta, yet not even these honours were paid to them, that their descendants should bear the respective appellations of Eurysthenidæ and Procleidæ.[143] [The descendants of Agis, however, the son of Eurysthenes, were called Agides, and the descendants of Eurypon, the son of Procles, were called Eurypontiadæ. The former were legitimate princes; the others, having admitted strangers as settlers, reigned by their means; whence they were not regarded as original authors of the settlement, an honour usually conferred upon all founders of cities.]

6. As to the nature of the places in Laconia and Messenia, we may take the description of Euripides;[144]

“Laconia has much land capable of tillage, but difficult to be worked, for it is hollow, surrounded by mountains, rugged, and difficult of access to an enemy.”

Messenia he describes in this manner:

“It bears excellent fruit; is watered by innumerable streams; it affords the finest pasture to herds and flocks; it is not subject to the blasts of winter, nor too much heated by the coursers of the sun;”

and a little farther on, speaking of the division of the country by the Heracleidæ according to lot, the first was

“lord of the Lacænian land, a bad soil,”

the second was Messene,