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Arrian · Periplus of the Euxine Sea §10.1-10.4

Voyage to Sebastopolis and the Military Inspection

Passage 10 of 25 · Greek

Summary

Arrian reports on the voyage from the Phasis river through several rivers to Sebastopolis, formerly called Dioscurias, a colony of the Milesians, where he conducted military inspections and reviews on the same day.

§10.1ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ Φάσιδος Χαρίεντα ποταμὸν παρημείψαμεν ναυσίπορον· στάδιοι μεταξὺ ἀμφοῖν ἐνενήκοντα.
From the Phasis we passed by the navigable river Chariens; the distance between the two is ninety stades.
καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ Χαρίεντος ἐς Χῶβον ποταμὸν ἐσεπλεύσαμεν ἄλλους ἐνενήκοντα, ἵναπερ καὶ ὡρμίσθημεν.
And from the Chariens we sailed another ninety stades into the river Chobos, where we also anchored.
ὧν δὲ ἕνεκα, καὶ ὅσα ἐνταῦθα ἐπράξαμεν, δηλώσει σοι τὰ Ῥωμαϊκὰ §10.2γράμματα.
For what purpose, and what we did there, the Latin dispatch will show you.
ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ Χώβου Σιγγάμην ποταμὸν παρημείψαμεν ναυσίπορον· διέχει δὲ τοῦ Χώβου σταδίους ἐς δέκα καὶ διακοσίους μάλιστα.
From the Chobos we passed by the navigable river Singames; it is about two hundred and ten stades distant from the Chobos.
ἔχεται δὲ τοῦ Σιγγάμου Ταρσούρας ποταμός· στάδιοι εἴκοσι καὶ ἑκατὸν μεταξὺ ἀμφοῖν.
Adjacent to the Singames is the river Tarsouras; the distance between the two is one hundred and twenty stades.
ὁ δὲ Ἵππος ποταμὸς τοῦ Ταρσούρου πεντήκοντα σταδίους καὶ ἑκατὸν διέχει, καὶ τοῦ Ἵππου ὁ Ἀστέλεφος τριάκοντα.
The river Hippos is one hundred and fifty stades distant from the Tarsouras, and the Astelephos is thirty stades from the Hippos.
§10.3παραμείψαντες δὲ τὸν Ἀστέλεφον ἐς Σεβαστόπολιν ἥκομεν πρὸ μεσημβρίας, ἀπὸ Χώβου ὁρμηθέντες, σταδίους εἴκοσι καὶ ἑκατὸν τοὺς ἀπὸ Ἀστελέφου, ὡς καὶ τὴν μισθοφορὰν τοῖς στρατιώταις δοῦναι τῆς αὐτῆς ἡμέρας, καὶ τοὺς ἵππους καὶ τὰ ὅπλα ἰδεῖν καὶ τοὺς ἱππέας ἀναπηδῶντας ἐπὶ τοὺς ἵππους καὶ τοὺς κάμνοντας καὶ τὸν σῖτον, καὶ τὸ τεῖχος περιελθεῖν καὶ τὴν τάφρον.
Having passed by the Astelephos, we arrived at Sebastopolis before noon, having set out from the Chobos, a distance of one hundred and twenty stades from the Astelephos, so as both to give the soldiers their pay on the same day, and to inspect the horses and weapons, and the horsemen leaping onto their horses, as well as the sick and the grain supply, and to go around the wall and the ditch.
στάδιοι ἀπὸ Χώβου §10.4ἐς Σεβαστόπολιν τριάκοντα καὶ ἑξακόσιοι· ἀπὸ Τραπεζοῦντος δὲ ἐς Σεβαστόπολιν ἑξήκοντα καὶ διακόσιοι καὶ δισχίλιοι.
From the Chobos to Sebastopolis is six hundred and thirty stades; and from Trapezus to Sebastopolis is two thousand two hundred and sixty stades.
ἡ δὲ Σεβαστόπολις πάλαι Διοσκουριὰς ἐκαλεῖτο, ἄποικος Μιλησίων.
Sebastopolis was anciently called Dioscurias, a colony of the Milesians.
ἔθνη δὲ παρημείψαμεν τάδε.
The tribes we passed by are the following.

Notes

  1. 10.2γράμματα — The adjective `τὰ Ῥωμαϊκὰ` at the end of §10.1 and the noun `γράμματα` at the beginning of §10.2 together form the single noun phrase meaning 'the Latin dispatch' (literally 'the Roman letters'). Since the section division in the manuscript splits this phrase, the translations also split the adjective and the noun to preserve the section boundaries.
  2. 10.3ὡς καὶ τὴν μισθοφορὰν τοῖς στρατιώταις δοῦναι ... καὶ ... ἰδεῖν ... καὶ ... περιελθεῖν — The conjunction `ὡς` introduces the infinitives of purpose (`δοῦναι`, `ἰδεῖν`, `περιελθεῖν`). Furthermore, the objects of the second infinitive `ἰδεῖν` ('to inspect/see') are coordinated in a complex structure: they include standard accusative nouns (`τοὺς ἵππους καὶ τὰ ὅπλα`, `τον σῖτον`), an accusative noun with a participle (`τοὺς ἱππέας ἀναπηδῶντας...` 'the horsemen leaping...'), and a substantivized participle (`τοὺς κάμνοντας` 'the sick').

Cite this passage

Arrian, Periplus of the Euxine Sea §10.1-10.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0074.tlg004.humanitext-grc2:10.1-10.4

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