BOOK II.
SUMMARY.
In the Second Book, having proposed for discussion the [opinions] of Eratosthenes, he examines and refutes whatever that writer may have incorrectly said, determined, or laid down. He likewise brings forward many
statements of Hipparchus, which he disproves, and finishes with a short
exposition or synopsis of the whole subject, namely, geographical knowledge.
CHAPTER I.
IN the Third Book of his Geography Eratosthenes furnishes
us with a chart of the habitable earth. This he divides into
two portions, by a line running from east to west parallel to
the equator. He makes the Pillars of Hercules the boundary
of this line to the west, and to the east the farthest ridges of
those mountains which bound India on the north. From the
Pillars he draws the line through the Strait of Sicily,
1 and the
southern extremities of Peloponnesus and Attica, to Rhodes
and the Gulf of Issus.
2 He says, ‘Through the whole of this
distance the line mentioned is drawn across the sea
3 and adjacent continents; the whole length of the Mediterranean as
far as Cilicia extending in that direction. Thence it runs
nearly in a straight line along the whole chain of the Taurus
to India. The Taurus continuing in a straight line from the
Pillars divides Asia through its whole length into two halves,
north and south. So that both the Taurus and the sea from
the Pillars hither
4 lie under the parallel of Athens.’
[
2]
He then declares that the ancient geographical chart
wants revision; that in it the eastern portion of the Taurus
is made to run too far north, India itself being also too much
drawn in the same direction. One proof which he offers in
support of this is, that the most southern extremities of India
are under the same latitude as Meroe, as attested by many,
both from astronomical observations and the temperature of
the climate. From thence to the most northerly point by the
mountains of the Caucasus,
5 there are 15,000 stadia, according to Patrocles, a writer whom we are bound to believe, both
on account of his worth, and the vast amount of his geographical attainments. Now since the distance from Meroe to
the parallel of Athens is nearly the same, the most northerly
points of India next to the Caucasian mountains ought to be
under the same degree of latitude.
[
3]
But there is another method (says Eratosthenes) of
proving this. The distance from the Gulf of Issus to the
Euxine, proceeding in a northerly direction towards Amisus
6
and Sinope,
7 is about 3000 stadia, which is as much as the
supposed extent of the mountains [of the Taurus].
8 The traveller who directs his course from Amisus due east,
9 arrives
first at Colchis, then at the high lands by the Hyrcanian
Sea,
10 afterwards at the road leading to Bactra,
11 and beyond to
the Scythians; having the mountains always on the right.
The same line drawn through Amisus westward, crosses the
Propontis and Hellespont. From Meroe to the Hellespont
there are not more than 18,000 stadia.
12 The distance is just
the same from the southern extremity of India to the land of
Bactria, if we add to the 15,000 stadia of that country the
3000 which its mountains occupy in breadth.
[
4]
Hipparchus tries to invalidate this view of Eratosthenes,
by sneering at the proofs on which it rests. Patrocles, he
says, merits little credit, being contradicted by the two writers
Deimachus and Megasthenes, who say that the distance
13
taken from the southern ocean, is in some places 20,000, in
others 30,000 stadia; that in this assertion they are supported
by the ancient charts, and he considers it absurd to require
us to put implicit faith in Patrocles alone, when there is so
much testimony against him; or that the ancient charts should
be corrected; but rather that they should be left as they are
until we have something more certain on the subject.
[
5]
This argument, I think, is in many instances unfounded.
Eratosthenes availed himself of the statements of many
writers, although Hipparchus alleges he was solely led by
Patrocles. Who then are the authors of the statement that
the southern extremity of India is under the same parallel
as Meroe; and who are they who estimate
14 the distance from
Meroe to the parallel passing through Athens? Or who, again,
were those who asserted that the whole breadth occupied by
the mountains
15 was equal to the distance from Cilicia to
Amisus? Or who made known that, travelling from Amisus,
the course lay in a straight line due east through Colchis, the
[sea of] Hyrcania, so on to Bactria, and beyond this to the
eastern ocean,
16 the mountains being always on the right hand;
and that this same line carried west in a straight line, traverses the Propontis and the Hellespont? These things Eratosthenes advances on the testimony of men who had been on
the spot, and from the study of those numerous memoirs which
he had for reference in that noble library
17 which Hipparchus
himself acknowledges to be gigantic.
[
6]
Besides, the credibility of Patrocles can be proved by a
variety of evidence—the princes
18 who confided to him so important trusts—the authors who follow his statements—and
those, too, who criticise them, whose names Hipparchus has
recorded. Since whenever these are refuted, the credit of
Patrocles is by so much advanced. Nor does Patrocles appear to state any thing improbable when he says that the army
of Alexander took but a very hasty view of every thing [in
India], but Alexander himself a more exact one, causing the
whole country to be described by men well acquainted with
it. Which description he says was afterwards put into his
hands by Xenocles the treasurer.
[
7]
Again, in the second volume of his Commentaries, Hipparchus accuses Eratosthenes of himself throwing discredit on
the statement of Patrocles, on account of his differing with Megasthenes, as to the length of India on its northern side;
19 Megasthenes stating the length at 16,000 stadia, and Patrocles
at 1000 less. Being biassed by a certain Itinerary, Eratosthenes was led to reject them both on account of this discrepancy, and to follow the Itinerary. If then merely the difference of 1000 stadia is sufficient to cause the authority of Patrocles to be rejected, how much more should this be the
case when we find a difference of 8000 stadia between his
statement and that of two writers who agree perfectly in
theirs, that the breadth of India is 20,000 stadia, while he
gives only 12,000!
[
8]
We reply, that [Eratosthenes] did not object [to the
statement of Patrocles] merely because it differed [from that
of Megasthenes], but because the statement of this latter as to
the stadia was confirmed by the Itinerary, an authority of no
mean importance. There is nothing wonderful in this, that
though a certain statement may be credible, another may be
more credible; and that while in some instances we follow the
former, in others we may dissent from it on finding a more
trust-worthy guide. It is ridiculous to say that the greater
the difference of one writer from others, the less he should be
trusted. On the contrary, such a rule would be more applicable in regard to small differences; for in little particulars
the ordinary observer and the man of great ability are equally
liable to err. On the other hand, in great matters, the ordinary run of men are more like to be deceived than the man
of superior talent, to whom consequently in such cases greater
deference is paid.
[
9]
Generally speaking, the men who hitherto have written
on the affairs of India, were a set of liars. Deimachus holds
the first place in the list, Megasthenes comes next, while
Onesicritus and Nearchus, with others of the same class,
manage to stammer out a few words [of truth]. Of this we
became the more convinced whilst writing the history of
Alexander. No faith whatever can be placed in Deimachus
and Megasthenes. They coined the fables concerning men
with ears large enough to sleep in, men without any mouths,
without noses, with only one eye, with spider-legs, and with
fingers bent backward. They renewed Homer's fable concerning the battles of the Cranes and Pygmies, and asserted
the latter to be three spans high. They told of ants digging
for gold, of Pans with wedge-shaped heads, of serpents swallowing down oxen and stags, horns and all; meantime, as
Eratosthenes has observed, reciprocally accusing each other
of falsehood. Both of these men were sent ambassadors to
Palimbothra,
20—Megasthenes to Sandrocottus, Deimachus to
Allitrochades his son; and such are the notes of their residence
abroad, which, I know not why, they thought fit to leave.
Patrocles certainly does not resemble them; nor do any other
of the authorities consulted by Eratosthenes contain such
absurdities.
[
10]
21 If the meridian of Rhodes and Byzantium has
been rightly determined to be the same, then that of Cilicia and Amisus has likewise been rightly determined; many
observations having proved that the lines are parallel, and
that they never impinge on each other.
[
11]
In like manner, that the voyage from Amisus to
Colchis, and the route to the Caspian, and thence on to
Bactra, are both due east, is proved by the winds, the seasons, the fruits, and even the sun-risings. Frequently evidence such as this, and general agreement, are more to be
relied on than the measurement taken by means of instruments. Hipparchus himself was not wholly indebted to
instruments and geometrical calculations for his statement
that the Pillars and Cilicia lie in a direct line due east. For
that part of it included between the Pillars and the Strait of
Sicily he rests entirely on the assertion of sailors. It is
therefore incorrect to say that, because we cannot exactly
determine the duration of the longest and shortest days, nor
the degree of shadow of the gnomon throughout the mountainous region between Cilicia and India, that therefore we
are unable to decide whether the line traced obliquely on
the ancient charts should or should not be parallel, and
consequently must leave it unreformed, keeping it oblique
as the ancient charts have it. For in the first place, not
to determine any thing is to leave it undetermined; and
to leave a thing undetermined, is neither to take one view
of the matter nor the other: but to agree to leave it as
the ancients have, that is to take a view of the case. It
would have been more consistent with his reasoning, if he
had told us to leave Geography alone altogether, since we
are similarly unable to determine the position of the Alps,
the Pyrenees, and the mountains of Thrace,
22 Illyria,
23 and
Germany. Wherefore should we give more credit to the
ancient writers than to the modern, when we call to mind
the numerous errors of their charts which have been pointed
out by Eratosthenes, and which Hipparchus has not attempted
to defend.
[
12]
But the system of Hipparchus altogether teems with difficulties. Reflect for an instant on the following absurdity; after
admitting that the southern extremity of India is under the
same degree of latitude as Meroe, and that the distance from
Meroe to the Strait of Byzantium is about 18,000
24 stadia,
lie then makes the distance from the southern extremity of
India to the mountains 30,000 stadia. Since Byzantium
and Marseilles are under the same parallel of latitude, as
Hipparchus tells us they are, on the authority of Pytheas,
and since Byzantium and the Dnieper
25 have also the same
meridian, as Hipparchus equally assures us, if we take his
assertion that there is a distance of 3700
26 stadia between
Byzantium and the Dnieper, there will of course be a
like difference between the latitude of Marseilles and the
Dnieper. This would make the latitude of the Dnieper
identical with that of Keltica next the Ocean; for on proceeding 3700 stadia [north of Marseilles], we reach the
ocean.
27
[
13]
Again, we know that the Cinnamon Country is the
most southerly point of the habitable earth. According to
Hipparchus's own statement, the latitude of this country,
which marks the commencement of the temperate zone, and
likewise of the habitable earth, is distant from the equator
about 8800 stadia.
28 And since he likewise says that from
the equator to the parallel of the Dnieper there are 34,000
stadia, there will remain a distance of 25,200 stadia between the parallel of the Dnieper (which is the same as
that which passes over the side of Keltica next the Ocean)
to that which separates the torrid from the temperate zone.
It is said that the farthest voyages now made north of Keltica
are to Ierne,
29 which lies beyond Britain, and, on account of
its extreme cold, barely sustains life; beyond this it is thought
to be uninhabitable. Now the distance between Keltica and
Ierne is estimated at not more than 5000 stadia; so that on
this view they must have estimated the whole breadth of the
habitable earth at 30,000 stadia, or just above.
[
14]
Let us then transport ourselves to the land opposite the
Cinnamon Country, and lying to the east under the same
parallel of latitude; we shall there find the country named
Taprobane.
30 This Taprobane is universally believed to be a
large island situated in the high seas, and lying to the south
opposite India. Its length in the direction of Ethiopia is above
5000 stadia, as they say. There are brought from thence to
the Indian markets, ivory, tortoise-shells, and other wares in
large quantities. Now if this island is broad in proportion to
its length, we cannot suppose that the whole distance,
31 inclusive of the space which separates it from India, is less than
3000 stadia, which is equal to the distance of the southern
extremity of the habitable earth from Meroe, since the
[southern] extremities of India and Meroe are under the same
parallel. It is likely there are more than 3000 stadia,
32 but
taking this number, if we add thereto the 30,000 stadia, which
Deimachus states there are between [the southern extremity
of India] and the country of the Bactrians and Sogdians, we
shall find both of these nations lie beyond the temperate zone
and habitable earth.
33 Who will venture to affirm such to be
the case, hearing, as they must, the statement made both by
ancients and moderns of the genial climate and fertility of
northern India, Hyrcania, Aria, Margiana,
34 and Bactriana
also? These countries are all equally close to the northern
side of the Taurus, Bactriana being contiguous to that part
of the chain
35 which forms the boundary of India. A country
blessed with such advantages must be very far from uninhabitable. It is said that in Hyrcania each vine produces a
metrete
36 of wine, and each fig tree 60 medimni
37 of fruit. That
the grains of wheat which fall from the husk on to the earth
spring up the year following; that bee-hives are in the trees,
and the leaves flow with honey. The same may be met
with in the part of Media called Matiana,
38 and also in Saca-
sena and Araxena, countries of Armenia. In these three it
is not so much to be wondered at, since they lie more to the
south than Hyrcania, and surpass the rest of the country in
the beauty of their climate; but in Hyrcania it is more remarkable. It is said that in Margiana you may frequently
meet with a vine whose stock would require two men with
outstretched arms to clasp it, and clusters of grapes two cubits
long. Aria is described as similarly fertile, the wine being
still richer, and keeping perfectly for three generations in
unpitched casks. Bactriana, which adjoins Aria, abounds in
the same productions, if we except olives.
[
15]
That there are cold regions in the high and mountainous
parts of these countries is not to be wondered at; since in the
[more] southern climates the mountains, and even the tablelands, are cold. The districts next the Euxine, in Cappadocia,
are much farther north than those adjoining the Taurus.
Bagadania, a vast plain, situated between the mountains of
Argæus
39 and Taurus, hardly produces any fruit trees, although
south of the Euxine Sea by 3000 stadia; while the territory
round Sinope,
40 Amisus,
41 and Phanarœa abounds in olives.
The Oxus,
42 which divides Bactriana from Sogdiana, is said
to be of such easy navigation that the wares of India are
brought up it into the sea of Hyrcania,
43 and thence successively
by various other rivers to the districts near the Euxine.
44
[
16]
Can one find any fertility to compare with this near
to the Dnieper, or that part of Keltica next the ocean,
45 where
the vine either does not grow at all, or attains no maturity.
46
However, in the more southerly portions of these districts,
47
close to the sea, and those next the Bosphorus,
48 the vine brings
its fruit to maturity, although the grapes are exceedingly
small, and the vines are covered up all the winter. And in
the parts near the mouth of the Palus Mæotis, the frost is so
strong that a general of Mithridates defeated the barbarians
here in a cavalry engagement during the winter, and on the
very same spot in a naval fight in summer, when the ice
was thawed. Eratosthenes furnishes us with the following
inscription, which he found in the temple of Æsculapius at
Panticapæeon,
49 on a brazen vase which had been broken by
the frost:—
‘If any one doubts the intensity of our winter's cold, let
him believe when he sees this vase. The priest Stratius
placed it here, not because he considered it a worthy offering
to the god, but as a proof of the severity of our winter.’
Since therefore the provinces we have just enumerated
[are so superior in climate, that they] cannot be compared
with the countries surrounding the Bosphorus, nor even the
regions of Amisus and Sinope, (for every one will admit that
they are much superior to these latter,) it would be idle to
compare them with the districts near the Borysthenes and
the north of Keltica; for we have shown that their temperature is not so low as Amisus, Sinope, Byzantium, and
Marseilles, which are universally acknowledged to be 3700
stadia south of the Dnieper and Keltica.
[
17]
If the followers of Deimachus add to the 30.000 stadia the distance to Taprobane and the boundaries of the
torrid zone, which cannot be reckoned less than 4000 stadia,
50
they will then remove Bactria and Aria from their actual
localities and place them 34,000 stadia from the torrid zone,
a distance equal to that which Hipparchus states to be between the equator and [the mouth of] the Dnieper, and
the two countries will therefore be removed 8800 stadia
north of [the mouth of] the Dnieper and Keltica; for
there are reckoned to be 8800 stadia from the equator to the
parallel of latitude which separates the temperate from the tor-
rid zone, and which crosses the Cinnamon Country.
51 We have
proved that the regions not more than 5000 stadia north of
Keltica, as far as Ierne,
52 are scarcely habitable, but their reasoning leads to the conclusion that there is another circle fitted
for the habitation of man, although 3800 stadia north of Ierne.
53
And that Bactra is still farther north than the mouth of the
Caspian or Hyrcanian Sea, which is distant about 6000 stadia
from the recess of the Caspian and the mountains of Armenia
and Media, and which appears to be the most northerly point
of the whole coast as far as India, with a sea navigable to
India all the way, as Patrocles, who had the government of
these regions, affirms. Now Bactriana stretches 1000 stadia
farther north. Beyond this the Scythians occupy a much
larger territory, bounded by the Northern Ocean: here they
dwell, though to be sure theirs is a nomade life. But we ask
how they could exist here at all, supposing even Bactra to be
beyond the limits of the habitable globe. The distance from
the Caucasus to the Northern Sea through Bactra would be
rather more than 4000 stadia.
54 This being added to the
number
55 of stadia north of Ierne
56 above-mentioned, will give
us the whole amount of uninhabitable land from Ierne northward 7800 stadia, and even omitting the 4000 stadia altogether, those parts of Bactriana next the Caucasus will still
be 3800 stadia farther north than Ierne, and 8800 farther
north than Keltica,
57 and [the mouth] of the Dnieper.
[
18]
Hipparchus narrates that at the Dnieper and [the
north of] Keltica, during the whole of the summer nights there
is one continued twilight from sun-set to sun-rise, but at the
winter solstice the sun never rises more than nine cubits above
the horizon.
58 He adds that this phenomenon is yet more remarkable in regions 6300
59 stadia north of Marseilles, (these
regions he supposes to be peopled by Kelts, but I believe are
inhabited by Britons, and 2500 stadia north of Keltica,) where
the sun at the winter solstice
