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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §1.15.1-1.15.2

The Sacred Lake of Cotylia and Its Floating Island

Passage 15 of 962 · Greek

Summary

Describes the sacred Lake of Cotylia and its mysterious floating island, detailing its dimensions and physical characteristics.

§1.15.1ἀπὸ δὲ σταδίων ἑβδομήκοντα Ῥεάτου Κοτυλία πόλις ἐπιφανὴς πρὸς ὄρει κειμένη· ἧς ἐστιν οὐ πρόσω λίμνη τεττάρων πλέθρων ἔχουσα τὴν διάστασιν, αὐθιγενοῦς πλήρης νάματος ἀπορρέοντος ἀεί, βάθος ὡς λέγεται ἄβυσσος.
And seventy stades from Reate is the famous city of Cotylia, situated near a mountain; not far from which is a lake four plethra in diameter, filled with a self-springing stream that is constantly flowing, and its depth is said to be bottomless.
ταύτην ἔχουσάν τι θεοπρεπὲς ἱερὰν τῆς Νίκης οἱ ἐπιχώριοι νομίζουσι καὶ περιείρξαντες κύκλῳ στέμμασι τοῦ μηδένα τῷ νάματι πελάζειν ἄβατον φυλάττουσιν, ὅτι μὴ καιροῖς τισι διετησίοις, ἐν οἷς ἱερὰ θύουσιν ἃ νόμος ἐπιβαίνοντες τῆς ἐν αὐτῇ νησῖδος οἷς ὅσιον.
The inhabitants, believing that it possesses something divine, consecrate it to Nike, and having enclosed it round with fillets, they keep it inaccessible so that no one may approach the water, except at certain annual seasons, when those to whom it is lawful land upon the island in it and offer the sacrifices ordained by custom.
§1.15.2ἡ δὲ νῆσός ἐστι μὲν ὡσπερὰν πεντήκοντα ποδῶν τὴν διάμετρον, ὑπερανέστηκε δὲ τοῦ νάματος οὐ πλεῖον ἢ ποδιαῖον ὕψος· ἀνίδρυτος δʼ ἐστὶ καὶ περινήχεται πολλαχῇ δινοῦντος αὐτὴν ἄλλοτε κατʼ ἄλλους τόπους ἠρέμα τοῦ πνεύματος.
The island is about fifty feet in diameter, and rises above the water to a height of not more than a foot; it is unfixed and drifts about in many directions as the wind gently turns it from one place to another at different times.
χλόη δέ τις ἐν αὐτῇ φύεται βουτόμῳ προσεμφερὴς καὶ θάμνοι τινὲς οὐ μεγάλοι, πρᾶγμα κρεῖττον λόγου τοῖς ἀθεάτοις ὧν ἡ φύσις δρᾷ καὶ θαυμάτων οὐδενὸς δεύτερον.
Upon it grows a kind of grass resembling butomus, and some shrubs of no great size—a phenomenon past belief to those who have not witnessed the works of Nature, and second to no wonder.

Notes

  1. 1.15.1τοῦ μηδένα τῷ νάματι πελάζειν — The genitive of the articular infinitive `τοῦ ... πελάζειν` expresses purpose ("in order that no one may approach"). It takes the subject accusative `μηδένα` with the negative particle `μή`.
  2. 1.15.1οἷς ὅσιον — A relative clause with an omitted antecedent. The omitted dative antecedent (e.g., `τούτοις`) is absorbed into the relative pronoun `οἷς`, which is used with the impersonal expression `ὅσιόν ἐστι` ("for whom it is lawful/sacred").
  3. 1.15.2ὧν ἡ φύσις δρᾷ — An instance of relative attraction where the original structure `τούτων ἃ ἡ φύσις δρᾷ` ("of those things which nature does") has its relative pronoun attracted to the genitive case `ὧν` due to the omitted genitive antecedent. This phrase limits `τοῖς ἀθεάτοις` ("to those who have not witnessed").

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §1.15.1-1.15.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.15.1-1.15.2

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