Geography

​From Scepsis came the Socratic philosophers Erastus and Coriscus, and Neleus the son of Coriscus, a man who had also heard Aristotle and Theophrastus, and succeeded to the library of Theophrastus, in which was also that of Aristotle. For Aristotle indeed delivered his own to Theophrastus, to whom he also left his school, being the first we know of to collect books and to teach the kings in Egypt the organization of a library. Theophrastus delivered it to Neleus; and he, having conveyed it to Scepsis, delivered it to those after him, ordinary men, who kept the books locked up and not even carefully stored. But when they perceived the eagerness of the Attalid kings under whom the city was, who were searching for books for the construction of the library in Pergamum, they hid them under the ground in a certain trench. Having been damaged by dampness and moths, long after, the descendants of the family sold the books of Aristotle and Theophrastus to Apellicon of Teos for a great deal of money. Now Apellicon was a lover of books rather than a philosopher; wherefore, seeking a restoration of the eaten parts, he transferred the writing into new copies, filling up [the gaps] not well, and published the books full of errors. And it happened to the older Peripatetics after Theophrastus, because they did not possess the books at all except for a few, and especially the exoteric ones, that they had nothing to philosophize about systematically, but only to declaim on commonplaces; while to those of later times, from the time when these books came out, it was possible indeed to philosophize and Aristotelianize better than those, but they were forced to say what was for the most part only probable, because of the multitude of errors. And Rome also contributed much to this; for immediately after the death of Apellicon, Sulla, who had captured Athens, carried off the library of Apellicon, and when it was brought here, Tyrannion the grammarian, being a lover of Aristotle, managed it, having courted the one in charge of the library, and certain booksellers used bad scribes and did not collate, which also happens in the case of other books written for sale both here and in Alexandria. Concerning these things, then, let it suffice.

​And from Scepsis is also Demetrius, whom we mention often, the grammarian who explained “The Trojan Battle-order,” having lived at the same time as Crates and Aristarchus. And after him, Metrodorus, a man who had changed from the life of a philosopher to the political life, and wrote rhetorically for the most part in his treatises. He used a certain novel style of phrasing and astonished many. On account of his reputation, although he was poor, he obtained a brilliant marriage in Chalcedon and made his fortune as a Chalcedonian. And having courted Mithridates Eupator, he set sail with him to Pontus together with his wife, and was honored exceptionally, being appointed over the jurisdiction from which there was no appeal of the case to the king for the person judged. He did not, however, continue to be fortunate, but having fallen into enmity with more unjust men, he revolted from the king during the embassy to Tigranes the Armenian. But Tigranes sent him back, against his will, to Eupator, who was already fleeing from his ancestral domain, and on the way he ended his life, either by the hand of the king or by disease; for both are said. Concerning the Scepsians, then, let this suffice.

​And after Scepsis are Andeira, Pioniae, and Gargaris. There is a stone near Andeira which, when burnt, becomes iron; then, when smelted in a furnace with a certain earth, it distills pseudo-silver, which, when copper is added, becomes the so-called mixture, which some call oreichalcos. And pseudo-silver is also produced near Tmolus. These are the places which the Leleges held; and likewise also those around Assus.