- Source
- Polybius. Vols. 1-4. Büttner-Wobst, Theodor, editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1893.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.37.1-3.37.11
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-11
The author divides the inhabited world into Asia, Libya, and Europe, detailing their boundaries and geographical orientations, and outlines the subdivisions within Europe.
ἀοράτων τόπων.1 τούτων δὲ περὶ τῆς ὅλης γῆς ὑποκειμένων, ἀκόλουθον ἂν εἴη τὸ καὶ περὶ τῆς καθʼ ἡμᾶς οἰκουμένης ἀνὰ τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον διελομένους2 εἰς ἐπίστασιν ἀγαγεῖν τοὺς ἀκούοντας.
and invisible places. These principles being assumed for the whole earth, it would be consequential to divide our inhabited world according to the same method, and so lead the hearers to a clear understanding.
ταύτης διῃρημένης εἰς τρία μέρη καὶ τρεῖς ὀνομασίας, τὸ μὲν ἓν μέρος αὐτῆς Ἀσίαν, τὸ δʼ ἕτερον Λιβύην, τὸ δὲ τρίτον Εὐρώπην προσαγορεύουσι.
Since this is divided into three parts and three names, they call one part of it Asia, another Libya, and the third Europe.
τὰς δὲ διαφορὰς ταύτας ὁρίζουσιν ὅ τε Τάναϊς ποταμὸς καὶ Νεῖλος καὶ τὸ καθʼ Ἡρακλέους στήλας στόμα.
These divisions are bounded by the river Tanais, the Nile, and the strait at the Pillars of Heracles.
Νείλου μὲν οὖν καὶ Τανάιδος μεταξὺ τὴν Ἀσίαν κεῖσθαι συμβέβηκε, πίπτειν δὲ τοῦ περιέχοντος ὑπὸ τὸ μεταξὺ διάστημα θερινῶν ἀνατολῶν3 καὶ μεσημβρίας.
Now Asia lies between the Nile and the Tanais, and falls under that portion of the surrounding heaven which lies between the summer rising and the South.
ἡ δὲ Λιβύη κεῖται μὲν μεταξὺ Νείλου καὶ στηλῶν Ἡρακλείων, τοῦ δὲ περιέχοντος πέπτωκεν ὑπό τε τὴν μεσημβρίαν καὶ κατὰ τὸ συνεχὲς ὑπὸ τὰς χειμερινὰς δύσεις ἕως τῆς ἰσημερινῆς καταφορᾶς, ἣ πίπτει καθʼ Ἡρακλείους στήλας.
Libya lies between the Nile and the Pillars of Heracles, and falls under the South and continuously under the winter setting as far as the equinoctial setting, which falls at the Pillars of Heracles.
αὗται μὲν οὖν αἱ χῶραι καθολικώτερον θεωρούμεναι τὸν πρὸς τὴν μεσημβρίαν τόπον ἐπέχουσι τῆς καθʼ ἡμᾶς θαλάττης ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνατολῶν ὡς πρὸς τὰς δύσεις.
Thus these countries, viewed more generally, occupy the southern region of our sea from East to West.
ἡ δʼ Εὐρώπη ταύταις ἀμφοτέραις ὡς πρὸς τὰς ἄρκτους ἀντιπαράκειται, κατὰ τὸ συνεχὲς ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνατολῶν παρήκουσα μὲν ἄχρι πρὸς τὰς δύσεις, κεῖται δʼ αὐτῆς τὸ μὲν ὁλοσχερέστερον καὶ βαθύτερον μέρος ὑπʼ αὐτὰς τὰς ἄρκτους μεταξὺ τοῦ τε Τανάιδος ποταμοῦ καὶ τοῦ Νάρβωνος, ὃς οὐ πολὺν ἀπέχει τόπον ὡς πρὸς δύσεις ἀπὸ Μασσαλίας καὶ τῶν τοῦ Ῥοδανοῦ στομάτων, διʼ ὧν εἰς τὸ Σαρδόνιον πέλαγος ἐξίησιν ὁ προειρημένος ποταμός.
Europe, on the other hand, lies opposite to both of these towards the North, extending continuously from East to West. Its more substantial and deeper part lies under the North itself, between the river Tanais and the Narbo, which is situated not far to the west of Massalia and the mouths of the Rhone, through which the aforementioned river discharges itself into the Sardinian Sea.
ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ Νάρβωνος καὶ τὰ περὶ τοῦτον Κελτοὶ νέμονται μέχρι τῶν προσαγορευομένων Πυρηναίων ὀρῶν, ἃ διατείνει κατὰ τὸ συνεχὲς ἀπὸ τῆς καθʼ ἡμᾶς θαλάττης ἕως εἰς τὴν ἐκτός.
From the Narbo and its neighborhood, Celts dwell as far as the so-called Pyrenees, which extend continuously from our sea to the outer sea.
τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν μέρος4 τῆς Εὐρώπης ἀπὸ τῶν προειρημένων ὀρῶν τὸ συνάπτον πρός τε τὰς δύσεις καὶ πρὸς Ἡρακλείους στήλας περιέχεται μὲν ὑπό τε τῆς καθʼ ἡμᾶς καὶ τῆς ἔξω θαλάττης, καλεῖται δὲ τὸ μὲν παρὰ τὴν καθʼ ἡμᾶς παρῆκον ἕως Ἡρακλείων στηλῶν Ἰβηρία, τὸ δὲ παρὰ τὴν ἔξω καὶ μεγάλην προσαγορευομένην κοινὴν μὲν ὀνομασίαν οὐκ ἔχει διὰ τὸ προσφάτως κατωπτεῦσθαι, κατοικεῖται δὲ πᾶν ὑπὸ βαρβάρων ἐθνῶν καὶ πολυανθρώπων, ὑπὲρ ὧν ἡμεῖς μετὰ ταῦτα τὸν
The remaining part of Europe, from the aforementioned mountains, which joins the West and the Pillars of Heracles, is bounded by our sea and the outer sea; that part which extends along our sea as far as the Pillars of Heracles is called Iberia, while that along the outer and so-called Great Sea has no common name because of having been but recently explored, but is all inhabited by numerous barbarian tribes, concerning whom we shall later...
- 3.37.1ἀοράτων τόπων
This genitive phrase continues from the end of the previous chunk, ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀγνώστων καὶ ('concerning the unknown and...'), and is governed by the preposition ὑπέρ.
- 3.37.1διελομένους
An accusative plural masculine participle functioning as the subject of the infinitive ἀγαγεῖν, representing the implicit 'we' (the authors/readers).
- 3.37.4θερινῶν ἀνατολῶν
Refers to 'the rising of the sun at the summer solstice', i.e., North-East. Similarly, χειμερινὰς δύσεις refers to 'winter setting' (South-West), and ἰσημερινῆς καταφορᾶς to 'equinoctial setting' (due West).
- 3.37.10τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν μέρος
Introduced as a nominative, but due to the subsequent division into τὸ μὲν... τὸ δὲ..., it functions as a nominativus pendens (anacoluthon) without a direct main verb.