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Arrian · Periplus of the Euxine Sea §25.1-25.4

Distances from Salmydessus to Byzantium

Passage 25 of 25 · Greek

Summary

Mentions Xenophon's description of Salmydessus and its shipwrecks, and records the distances from there via the Cyaneae to the mouth of the Pontus and Byzantium.

§25.1τούτου τοῦ χωρίου μνήμην πεποίηται Ξενοφῶν ὁ πρεσβύτερος, καὶ μέχρι τούτου λέγει τὴν στρατιὰν ἐλθεῖν τῶν Ἑλλήνων, ἧς αὐτὸς ἡγήσατο, ὅτε τὰ τελευταῖα σὺν Σεύθῃ τῷ Θρᾳκὶ ἐστράτευσεν.
Xenophon the Elder has made mention of this place, and says that the army of the Greeks, which he himself led, reached as far as this point when he made his final campaign with Seuthes the Thracian.
καὶ περὶ τὴς ἀλιμενότητος τοῦ §25.2χωρίου πολλὰ ἀνέγραψεν, ὅτι ἐνταῦθα ἐκπίπτει τὰ πλοῖα χειμῶνι βιαζόμενα, καὶ οἱ Θρᾷκες οἱ πρόσχωροι ὅτι ὑπὲρ τῶν ναυαγίων ἐν σφίσιν διαμάχονται.
And concerning the harborless character of the place, he wrote many things: namely, that here ships are cast ashore when forced by winter storms, and that the neighboring Thracians fight among themselves over the shipwrecks.
ἀπὸ δὲ Σαλμυδησσοῦ §25.3ἐς Φρυγίαν στάδιοι τριάκοντα καὶ τριακόσιοι.
From Salmydessus to Phrygia it is 330 stadia.
ἐνθένδε ἐπὶ Κυανέας εἴκοσι καὶ τριακόσιοι.
From here to the Cyaneae it is 320 stadia.
αὗται δὲ αἱ Κυάνεαί εἰσιν, ἃς λέγουσιν οἱ ποιηταὶ πλαγκτὰς πάλαι εἶναι, καὶ διὰ τούτων πρώτην ναῦν περᾶσαι τὴν Ἀργώ, ἥτις ἐς Κόλχους Ἰάσονα ἤγαγεν ἐκ δὲ Κυανέων ἐπὶ τὸ
These are the Cyaneae which the poets say were formerly wandering rocks, and that through them the Argo, which carried Jason to the Colchians, was the first ship to pass.
§25.4ἱερὸν τοῦ Διὸς τοῦ Οὐρίου, ἵναπερ τὸ στόμα τοῦ Πόντου, στάδιοι τεσσαράκοντα.
From the Cyaneae to the sanctuary of Zeus Ourios, just where the mouth of the Pontus is, it is 40 stadia.
ἐνθένδε ἐς λιμένα Δάφνης τῆς Μαινομένης καλουμένης στάδιοι τεσσαράκοντα.
From here to the harbor of the so-called Mad Daphne it is 40 stadia.
ἀπὸ δὲ Δάφνης ἐς Βυζάντιον ὀγδοήκοντα.
From Daphne to Byzantium it is 80 stadia.
τάδε μὲν καὶ τὰ ἀπὸ τοῦ Βοσπόρου τοῦ Κιμμερίου ἐπὶ Βόσπορον τὸν Θρᾴκιον καὶ πόλιν Βυζάντιον.
Such are the distances from the Cimmerian Bosporus to the Thracian Bosporus and the city of Byzantium.

Notes

  1. §25.1Ξενοφῶν ὁ πρεσβύτερος — Refers to Xenophon, the author of the Anabasis. The author calls him "the Elder" to distinguish him from himself, as Arrian often styled himself as a second Xenophon.
  2. §25.2ὅτι ... ὅτι ... — Noun clauses introduced by ὅτι, serving either as the direct object of ἀνέγραψεν ("he wrote") or in apposition to the preceding neuter plural accusative πολλά ("many things").
  3. §25.3πρώτην ναῦν περᾶσαι τὴν Ἀργώ — An accusative-and-infinitive construction depending on λέγουσιν ("they say"). τὴν Ἀργώ (the Argo) is the subject accusative of the infinitive περᾶσαι ("to pass through"), while πρώτην ναῦν ("as the first ship") functions predicatively.

Cite this passage

Arrian, Periplus of the Euxine Sea §25.1-25.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0074.tlg004.humanitext-grc2:25.1-25.4

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