previous next

CHAP. 37. (23.)—THE GENERAL MEASUREMENT OF EUROPE.

Having thus made the circuit of Europe, we must now give the complete measurement of it, in order that those who wish to be acquainted with this subject may not feel themselves at a loss. Artemidorus and Isidorus have given its length, from the Tanais to Gades, as 8214 miles. Polybius in his writings has stated the breadth of Europe, in a line from Italy to the ocean, to be 1150 miles. But, even in his day, its magnitude was but little known. The distance of Italy, as we have previously1 stated, as far as the Alps, is 1120 miles, from which, through Lugdunum to the British port of the Morini2, the direction which Polybius seems to follow, is 1168 miles. But the better ascertained, though greater length, is that taken from the Alps through the Camp of the Legions3 in Germany, in a north-westerly direction, to the mouth of the Rhine, being 1543 miles. We shall now have to speak of Africa and Asia.

Summary.—Towns and nations mentioned * * * *. Noted rivers * * * *. Famous mountains * * * *. Islands * * * *. People or towns no longer in existence * * * *. Remarkable events, narratives, and observations * * * *.

Roman Authors Quoted.—Cato the Censor4, M. Varro5, M. Agrippa6, the late Emperor Augustus7, Varro Atacinus8, Cornelius Nepos9, Hyginus10, L. Vetus11, Mela Pomponius12, Licinius Mucianus13, Fabricius Tuscus14, Ateius Capito15, Ateius the Philologist16.

Foreign Authors Quoted.—Polybius17, Hecatæus18, Hellanicus19, Damastes20, Eudoxus21, Dicæarchus22, Timosthenes23, Eratosthenes24, Ephorus25, Crates the Grammarian26, Serapion27 of Antioch, Callimachus28, Artemidorus29, Apollodorus30, Agathocles31, Eumachus32, Timæus the Sici- lian33, Myrsilus34, Alexander Polyhistor35, Thucydides36, Dosiades37, Anaximander38, Philistides Mallotes39, Dionysius40, Aristides41, Callidemus42 Menæchmus43, Agla- osthenes44, Anticlides45, Heraclides46, Philemon47, Xenophon48, Pytheas49, Isidorus50, Philonides51, Xenagoras52, Astynomus53, Staphylus54, Aristocritus55, Metrodorus56, Cleobulus57, Posidonius58.

1 Alluding to B. iii. c. 6. From Rhegium to the Alps. But there the reading is 1020.

2 Meaning Gessoriacum, the present Boulogne. He probably calls it Britannicum, from the circumstance that the Romans usually embarked there for the purpose of crossing over to Britain.

3 The present Santen in the Duchy of Cleves.

4 See end of B. iii.

5 See end of B. ii.

6 See end of B. iii.

7 See end of B. iii.

8 See end of B. iii.

9 See end of B. ii.

10 See end of B. iii.

11 See end of B. iii.

12 See end of B. iii.

13 See end of B. ii.

14 See end of B. iii.

15 See end of B. iii.

16 Ateius, surnamed Prœtextatus, and also Philologus, which last name he assumed to indicate his learning, was born at Athens, and was one of the most celebrated grammarians of Rome, in the latter part of the first century B.C. He was originally a freedman of the jurist Ateius Capito, by whom he was described as "a rhetorician among grammarians, and a grammarian among rhetoricians." He was on terms of intimacy with Sallust the historian, and Asinius Pollio. It is supposed that he assisted Sallust in the compilation of his history; but to what extent is not known. But few of his numerous commentaries were extant even in the time of Suetonius.

17 A native of Megalopolis in Arcadia, born about B.C. 204. He was trained probably in political knowledge and the military art under Philopœmen, and was sent as a prisoner to Rome, with others, to answer the charge of not aiding the Romans in their war against Perseus. Here, by great good fortune, he secured the friendship of Scipio Africanus, with whom he was present at the destruction of Carthage. His history is one of the most valuable works that has come down to us from antiquity.

18 Of Miletus, one of the earliest and most distinguished Greek historians and geographers. He lived about the 65th Olympiad, or B.C. 520. A few fragments, quoted, are all that are left of his historical and geographical works. There is little doubt that Herodotus extensively availed himself of this writer's works, though it is equally untrue that he has transcribed whole passages from him, as Porphyrius has ventured to assert.

19 Of Mitylene, supposed to have flourished about B.C. 450. He appears to have written numerous geographical and historical works, which, with the exception of a considerable number of fragments, are lost.

20 Of Sigæum, a Greek historian, contemporary with Herodotus. He wrote a history of Greece, and several other works, all of which, with a few unimportant exceptions, are lost.

21 See end of B. ii.

22 See end of B. ii.

23 A Rhodian by birth. He was admiral of the fleet of Ptolemy Philadelphus, who reigned from B.C. 285 to 247. He wrote a work "On Harbours," in ten books, which was copied by Eratosthenes, and is frequently quoted by ancient writers. Strabo also says that he composed poetry.

24 See end of B. ii.

25 Of Cumæ, or Cymæ, in Ionia. He flourished about B.C. 408. He studied under Isocrates, and gained considerable fame as a historian. Though anxious to disclose the truth, he has been accused of sometimes forcing his authorities to suit his own views. Of his history of Greece, and his essays on various subjects, a few fragments only survive.

26 A grammarian of Mallus, in Cilicia. He lived in the time of Ptolemy Philopater, and resided at Pergamus, under the patronage of Eumenes II. and Attalus II. In his grammatical system he made a strong distinction between criticism and grammar, the latter of which sciences he regarded as quite subordinate to the former. Of his learned commentaries on the Iliad and the Odyssey, only a few fragments have come down to us.

27 See end of B. ii.

28 Of Cyrene, an Alexandrian grammarian and poet. He flourished at Alexandria, whither Ptolemy Philadelphus had invited him to a place in the Museum. Of his Hymns and Epigrams many are still extant. His Elegies, which were of considerable poetical merit, with the exception of a few fragments, have all perished. Of his numerous other works in prose, not one is extant in an entire state.

29 See end of B. ii.

30 Probably Apollodorus of Artemita, in Mesopotamia. It is probably to him that a Treatise on Islands and Cities has been ascribed by Tzetzes, as also a History of the Parthians, and a History of Pontus.

31 Probably the author of that name, who wrote the history of Cyzicus, is the person here referred to. He is called by Athenæus both a Babylonian and a Cyzican. His work is entirely lost; but it appears to have been extensively read, and is referred to by Cicero and other ancient writers.

32 Of Neapolis. He wrote a History of Hannibal, and to him has been ascribed a Description of the Universe, of which a fragment still survives.

33 Of Tauromenium, in Sicily; a celebrated historian, who flourished about the year B.C. 300. He was banished from Sicily by Agathocles, and passed his exile at Athens. He composed a History of Sicily, from the earliest times to the year B.C. 264. The value of his history has been gravely attacked by Polybius; but there is little doubt that it possessed very considerable merit. Of this, and other works of Timæus, only a few fragments survive.

34 A Greek historian; a native of Lesbos. When he lived is unknown. Dionysius, of Halicarnassus, has borrowed from him a portion of his account of the Pelasgians. He is said to have been the author of the notion that the Tyrrhenians, in consequence of their wanderings after they left their original settlement, got the name of πελαργοὶ, or "storks." He is supposed to have written a History of Lesbos, as also a work called "Historical Paradoxes."

35 See end of B. iii.

36 See end of B. iii.

37 Of this author nothing whatever seems to be known.

38 Of Miletus, born B.C. 610. One of the earliest philosophers of the Ionian school, and said to be a pupil of Thales. Unless Pherecydes of Scyros be an exception, he was the first author of a philosophical treatise in Greek prose. Other writings are ascribed to him by Suidas; but, no doubt, on insufficient grounds. Of his treatise, which seems to have contained summary statements of his opinions, no remains exist.

39 Of this writer nothing whatever is known, beyond the fact that, from his name, he seems to have been a native of Mallus, in Cilicia.

40 It seems impossible to say which, out of the vast number of the authors who bore this name, is the one here referred to. It is not improbable that Dionysius of Chalcis, a Greek historian who lived before the Christian era, is meant. He wrote a work on the Foundation of Towns, in five books, which is frequently referred to by the ancients. It is not probable that the author of the Periegesis, or "Description of the World," is referred to, as that book bears internal marks of having been compiled in the third or fourth century of the Christian era.

41 Of Miletus. He was the author of the "Milesiaca," a romance of licentious character, which was translated into Latin by L. Cornelius Sisenna. He is looked upon as the inventor of the Greek romance, and the title of his work is supposed to have given rise to the term Milesian, as applied to works of fiction.

42 A Greek author, of whom nothing is known, except that Pliny, and after him Solinus, refer to him as the authority for the statement that Eubœa was originally called Chalcis, from the fact of (χαλκὸς) copper being first discovered there.

43 Probably Menæchmus of Sicyon, who wrote a book on Actors, a History of Alexander the Great, and a book on Sicyon. Suidas says that he flourished in the time of the successors of Alexander.

44 When he flourished is unknown. He is said by Hyginus to have written a History of the Island of Naxos.

45 He lived after the time of Alexander the Great; but his age is unknown. He wrote a book, περὶ νόστων, on the returns of the Greeks from their various expeditions, an account of Delos, a History of Alexander the Great, and other works, all of which have perished.

46 Of Heraclæa, in Pontus. He was a pupil of Plato, and, after him, of Aristotle. His works upon philosophy, history, mathematics, and other subjects, were very numerous; but, unfortunately, they are nearly all of them lost. He wrote a Treatise upon Islands, and another upon the Origin of Cities.

47 A geographical writer, of whom nothing further is known.

48 The Greek historian, the disciple of Socrates, deservedly styled the "Attic Bee." His principal works are the Anabasis, or the History of the Expedition of the younger Cyrus and the Retreat of the Ten Thousand; the Hellenica, or History of Greece, from the time when that of Thucydides ends to the battle of Mantinea, B.C. 362; and the Cyropædia, or Education of Cyrus. The greater portion of his works is now lost.

49 See end of B. ii.

50 See end of B. ii.

51 There were two physicians of this name, one of Catana, in Sicily, the other of Dyrrhachium, in Illyricum, who, like his namesake, was the author of numerous works. It is doubtful, however, whether Pliny here refers to either of those authors.

52 A Greek historian, quoted by Dionysius of Halicarnassus. If the same person as the father of the historian Nymphis, he must have lived in the early part of the second century B.C. He wrote a work on Islands, and another entitled χρφ́νοι, or Chronicles.

53 A Greek geographer, who seems to have written an account of Cyprus.

54 He is quoted by Strabo, Athenæus, and the Scholiasts; but all that is known of him is, that he wrote a work on Thessaly, Æolia, Attica, and Arcadia.

55 He wrote a work relative to Miletus; but nothing further is known of him.

56 See end of B. iii.

57 Probably a writer on geography, of whom no particulars are known.

58 See end of B. ii.

The Natural History. Pliny the Elder. John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S. H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A. London. Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street. 1855.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

load focus Latin (Karl Friedrich Theodor Mayhoff, 1906)
hide Places (automatically extracted)

View a map of the most frequently mentioned places in this document.

hide Dates (automatically extracted)
Sort dates alphabetically, as they appear on the page, by frequency
Click on a date to search for it in this document.
610 BC (1)
520 BC (1)
450 BC (1)
408 BC (1)
362 BC (1)
300 BC (1)
285 BC (1)
264 BC (1)
204 BC (1)
hide References (8 total)
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: