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Periploi

διὸ καὶ νῦν ἄπορον καὶ ἀδιερεύνητον γέγονεν τοὐκεῖ πέλαγος, πηλοῦ κάρτα βραχέος ἐμποδὼν ὄντος, ὃν ἡ νῆσος ἱζομένη παρέσχετο.’
wherefore also the ocean at that spot has now become impassable and unsearchable, being blocked up by the shoal mud which the island created as it settled down.”

ὀνόματα δὲ πᾶσιν ἔθετο, τῷ μὲν πρεσβυτάτῳ καὶ βασιλεῖ τοῦτο οὗ δὴ καὶ πᾶσα ἡ νῆσος τό τε πέλαγος ἔσχεν ἐπωνυμίαν, Ἀτλαντικὸν λεχθέν, ὅτι τοὔνομ᾽ ἦν τῷ πρώτῳ βασιλεύσαντι (114b) τότε Ἄτλας: τῷ δὲ διδύμῳ μετ᾽ ἐκεῖνόν τε γενομένῳ, λῆξιν δὲ ἄκρας τῆς νήσου πρὸς Ἡρακλείων στηλῶν εἰληχότι ἐπὶ τὸ τῆς Γαδειρικῆς νῦν χώρας κατ᾽ ἐκεῖνον τὸν τόπον ὀνομαζομένης, Ἑλληνιστὶ μὲν Εὔμηλον, τὸ δ᾽ ἐπιχώριον Γάδειρον, ὅπερ τ᾽ ἦν ἐπίκλην ταύτῃ ὄνομ᾽ ἂν παράσχοι.
And to all of them he gave names, giving to him that was eldest and king the name after which the whole island was called and the sea spoken of as the Atlantic, because the first king who then reigned had the name of Atlas. And the name of his younger twin-brother, (114b) who had for his portion the extremity of the island near the pillars of Heracles up to the part of the country now called Gadeira after the name of that region, was Eumelus in Greek, but in the native tongue Gadeirus,—which fact may have given its title to the country.

πρὸς δὲ τούτοις, ὅσα εὐώδη τρέφει που γῆ τὰ νῦν, ῥιζῶν ἢ χλόης ἢ ξύλων ἢ χυλῶν στακτῶν εἴτε ἀνθῶν ἢ καρπῶν, ἔφερέν τε ταῦτα καὶ ἔτρεφεν εὖ:
And in addition to all this, it produced and brought to perfection all those sweet-scented stuffs which the earth produces now, whether made of roots or herbs or trees, or of liquid gums derived from flowers or fruits.

καὶ ὅσα ὕλη πρὸς τὰ τεκτόνων διαπονήματα παρέχεται, πάντα φέρουσα ἄφθονα, τά τε αὖ περὶ τὰ ζῷα ἱκανῶς ἥμερα καὶ ἄγρια τρέφουσα. καὶ δὴ καὶ ἐλεφάντων ἦν ἐν αὐτῇ γένος πλεῖστον: νομὴ γὰρ τοῖς τε ἄλλοις ζῴοις, ὅσα καθ᾽ ἕλη καὶ λίμνας καὶ ποταμούς, ὅσα (115a) τ᾽ αὖ κατ᾽ ὄρη καὶ ὅσα ἐν τοῖς πεδίοις νέμεται, σύμπασιν παρῆν ἅδην, καὶ τούτῳ κατὰ ταὐτὰ τῷ ζῴῳ, μεγίστῳ πεφυκότι καὶ πολυβορωτάτῳ.
It brought forth also in abundance all the timbers that a forest provides for the labors of carpenters; and of animals it produced a sufficiency, both of tame and wild. Moreover, it contained a very large stock of elephants; for there was an ample food-supply not only for all the other animals which haunt the marshes and lakes and rivers, (115a) or the mountains or the plains, but likewise also for this animal, which of its nature is the largest and most voracious.

πρῶτον μὲν οὖν ὁ τόπος ἅπας ἐλέγετο σφόδρα τε ὑψηλὸς καὶ ἀπότομος ἐκ θαλάττης, τὸ δὲ περὶ τὴν πόλιν πᾶν πεδίον, ἐκείνην μὲν περιέχον, αὐτὸ δὲ κύκλῳ περιεχόμενον ὄρεσιν μέχρι πρὸς τὴν θάλατταν καθειμένοις, λεῖον καὶ ὁμαλές, πρόμηκες δὲ πᾶν, ἐπὶ μὲν θάτερα τρισχιλίων σταδίων, κατὰ δὲ μέσον ἀπὸ θαλάττης ἄνω δισχιλίων. (118b) ὁ δὲ τόπος οὗτος ὅλης τῆς νήσου πρὸς νότον ἐτέτραπτο, ἀπὸ τῶν ἄρκτων κατάβορρος.
In the first place, then, according to the account, the whole region rose sheer out of the sea to a great height, but the part about the city was all a smooth plain, enclosing it round about, and being itself encircled by mountains which stretched as far as to the sea; and this plain had a level surface and was as a whole rectangular in shape, being 3000 stades long on either side and 2000 stades wide at its center, reckoning upwards from the sea. And this region, (118b) all along the island, faced towards the South and was sheltered from the Northern blasts.

τὰ δὲ περὶ αὐτὸν ὄρη τότε ὑμνεῖτο πλῆθος καὶ μέγεθος καὶ κάλλος παρὰ πάντα τὰ νῦν ὄντα γεγονέναι, πολλὰς μὲν κώμας καὶ πλουσίας περιοίκων ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἔχοντα, ποταμοὺς δὲ καὶ λίμνας καὶ λειμῶνας τροφὴν τοῖς πᾶσιν ἡμέροις καὶ ἀγρίοις ἱκανὴν θρέμμασιν, ὕλην δὲ καὶ πλήθει καὶ γένεσι ποικίλην σύμπασίν τε τοῖς ἔργοις καὶ πρὸς ἕκαστα ἄφθονον.
And the mountains which surrounded it were at that time celebrated as surpassing all that now exist in number, magnitude and beauty; for they had upon them many rich villages of country folk, and streams and lakes and meadows which furnished ample nutriment to all the animals both tame and wild, and timber of various sizes and descriptions, abundantly sufficient for the needs of all and every craft.

ἵππους δὲ δύο καὶ (119b) ἀναβάτας, ἔτι δὲ συνωρίδα χωρὶς δίφρου καταβάτην τε μικράσπιδα καὶ τὸν ἀμφοῖν μετ᾽ ἐπιβάτην τοῖν ἵπποιν ἡνίοχον ἔχουσαν, ὁπλίτας δὲ δύο καὶ τοξότας σφενδονήτας τε ἑκατέρους δύο, γυμνῆτας δὲ λιθοβόλους καὶ ἀκοντιστὰς τρεῖς ἑκατέρους,
together with two horses and mounted men; (119b) also a pair of horses without a car, and attached thereto a combatant with a small shield and for charioteer the rider who springs from horse to horse; and two hoplites; and archers and slingers, two of each; and light-armed slingers and javelin-men, three of each;

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