Humanitext Reader

Arrian · Periplus of the Euxine Sea §4.1-4.4

Athenae in the Pontus and Sheltering Ships from a Storm

Passage 4 of 25 · Greek

Summary

The author explains the origin of the place called Athenae in the Pontus and its harbor conditions, describing how they hauled all their ships ashore, except for one trireme, to escape danger when a storm arose and the wind shifted at night.

§4.1ἔστιν γάρ τοι καὶ ἐν Πόντῳ τῷ Εὐξείνῳ χωρίον οὕτω καλούμενον, καί τι καὶ Ἀθηνᾶς ἱερόν ἐστιν αὐτόθι Ἑλληνικόν, ὅθεν μοι δοκεῖ καὶ τὸ ὄνομα εἶναι τοῦτο τῷ χωρίῳ.
For indeed there is in the Euxine Pontus also a place so called, and there is also there a certain Greek temple of Athena, whence it seems to me that this name also belongs to the place.
καὶ φρούριόν τι ἐστὶν ἠμελημένον.
And there is a certain neglected fort.
§4.2ὁ δὲ ὅρμος οἷος ὥρᾳ ἔτους δέχεσθαι οὐ πολλὰς ναῦς καὶ σκέπην ταύταις παρέχειν ἀπὸ νότου ἀνέμου καὶ αὖ τοῦ εὔρου· σῴζοιτο δʼ ἂν καὶ τοῦ βορρᾶ τὰ ὁρμοῦντα πλοῖα, ἀλλʼ οὐ τοῦ γε ἀπαρκτίου οὐδὲ τοῦ θρᾳσκίου μὲν ἐν τῷ Πόντῳ, σκίρωνος δὲ ἐν τῇ Ἑλλάδι καλουμένου.
The harbor is such as to receive not many ships depending on the season, and to provide shelter for them from the south wind and again from the southeast; and the anchoring vessels might also be safe from the north wind, but not indeed from the north-by-east wind, nor from the one called Thrascias in the Pontus, but Sciron in Greece.
§4.3ἐς δὲ τὴν νύκτα βρονταί τε σκληραὶ καὶ ἀστραπαὶ κατεῖχον, καὶ πνεῦμα οὐ τὸ αὐτὸ ἔτι, ἀλλʼ ἐς νότον μεθειστήκει, καὶ διʼ ὀλίγου ἀπὸ τοῦ νότου ἐς λίβα ἄνεμον, καὶ ταῖς ναυσὶν οὐκέτι ἀσφαλὴς ὁ ὅρμος ἦν.
But towards night, harsh thunders and lightnings prevailed, and the wind was no longer the same, but shifted to the south, and in a short time from the south to the southwest wind, and the harbor was no longer safe for the ships.
§4.4πρὶν οὖν παντάπασιν ἀγριωθῆναι τὴν θάλασσαν, ὅσας μὲν αὐτὸ τὸ χωρίον αἱ Ἀθῆναι δέξασθαι ἐδύναντο, ταύτας αὐτοῦ ἐνεωλκήσαμεν, πλὴν τῆς τριήρους· αὕτη γὰρ πέτρᾳ τινὶ ὑφορμοῦσα ἀσφαλῶς ἐσάλευεν.
Therefore, before the sea became completely wild, as many ships as the place itself, Athenae, was able to receive, we hauled up on the shore there, except for the trireme; for this, anchoring under the shelter of a certain rock, rode safely.

Notes

  1. §4.2οἷος ... δέχεσθαι — The relative adjective οἷος followed by infinitives (δέχεσθαι, παρέχειν) expresses result or suitability ("such as to..." or "of a kind to..."), describing the limited capacity of the harbor.
  2. §4.2σῴζοιτο δʼ ἂν ... τοῦ βορρᾶ — The optative with ἄν (σῴζοιτο ἂν) expresses potentiality ("would/might be safe"). The genitives indicating winds (τοῦ βορρᾶ, τοῦ ἀπαρκτίου) function as genitives of separation with the verb σῴζω, meaning "saved/safe from."
  3. §4.3ἐς λίβα ἄνεμον — The verb μεθειστήκει ("had shifted") from the previous clause is implied here, expressing the transition of the wind from the south to the southwest.
  4. §4.4ὅσας μὲν ... ταύτας — A correlative structure. The noun "ships" (ναῦς) is omitted but implied within the relative clause ὅσας μὲν ... ἐδύναντο, and is grammatically picked up by the demonstrative pronoun ταύτας in the main clause.

Cite this passage

Arrian, Periplus of the Euxine Sea §4.1-4.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0074.tlg004.humanitext-grc2:4.1-4.4

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.