§10.2.12καὶ τοῦτο δὲ δοκεῖ ὑπεναντιότητά τινα δηλοῦν
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αὐτὴ δὲ χθαμαλὴ πανυπερτάτη εἰν ἁλὶ κεῖται.
And this passage also seems to indicate a certain contradiction: "but it itself lies low, topmost in the sea.
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χθαμαλὴ μὲν γὰρ ἡ ταπεινὴ καὶ χαμηλή, πανυπερτάτη δὲ ἡ ὑψηλή, οἵαν διὰ πλειόνων σημαίνει, Κραναὴν καλῶν· καὶ τὴν ὁδὸν τὴν ἐκ τοῦ λιμένος
"
τρηχεῖαν ἀταρπὸν
χῶρον ἀνʼ ὑλήεντα
"
καί
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οὐ γάρ τις νήσων εὐδείελος, οὐδʼ εὐλείμων,
αἵ θʼ ἁλὶ κεκλίαται· Ἰθάκη δέ τε καὶ περὶ πασέων.
"For *chthamale* means low and close to the ground, whereas *panupertate* means high, such as he indicates through several passages, calling it "rugged"; and describing the path from the harbor as: "τρηχεῖαν ἀταρπὸν χῶρον ἀνʼ ὑλήεντα "and: "οὐ γάρ τις νήσων εὐδείελος, οὐδʼ εὐλείμων, αἵ θʼ ἁλὶ κεκλίαται· Ἰθάκη δέ τε καὶ περὶ πασέων.
"
ἔχει μὲν οὖν ἀπεμφάσεις τοιαύτας ἡ φράσις, ἐξηγοῦνται δὲ οὐ κακῶς· οὔτε γὰρ χθαμαλὴν δέχονται ταπεινὴν ἐνταῦθα, ἀλλὰ πρόσχωρον τῇ ἠπείρῳ ἐγγυτάτω οὖσαν αὐτῆς· οὔτε πανυπερτάτην ὑψηλοτάτην ἀλλὰ πανυπερτάτην πρὸς ζόφον, οἷον ὑπὲρ πάσας ἐσχάτην τετραμμένην πρὸς ἄρκτον· τοῦτο γὰρ βούλεται λέγειν τὸ πρὸς ζόφον, τὸ δʼ ἐναντίον πρὸς νότον
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αἱ δέ τʼ ἄνευθε πρὸς ἠῶ τʼ ἠέλιόν τε.
"Now, while the phrasing has such incongruities, the commentators explain them not badly; for they do not understand *chthamale* as "low" in this context, but as "close to the mainland," being nearest to it; nor *panupertate* as "highest," but as "highest towards the gloom," that is, situated furthest above all others towards the north; for by "towards the gloom" he wishes to mean this, and the opposite, "towards the south," by: "αἱ δέ τʼ ἄνευθε πρὸς ἠῶ τʼ ἠέλιόν τε.
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τὸ γὰρ ἄνευθε πόρρω καὶ χωρὶς ἔστιν, ὡς τῶν μὲν ἄλλων πρὸς νότον κεκλιμένων καὶ ἀπωτέρω τῆς ἠπείρου, τῆς δʼ Ἰθάκης ἐγγύθεν καὶ πρὸς ἄρκτον.
"For *aneuthe* means far away and separate, as the other islands lie inclined towards the south and further from the mainland, but Ithaca lies near and towards the north.
ὅτι δʼ οὕτω λέγει τὸ νότιον μέρος καὶ ἐν τοῖσδε φανερόν
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εἴτʼ ἐπὶ δεξίʼ ἴωσι, πρὸς ἠῶ τʼ ἠέλιόν τε,
εἴτʼ ἐπʼ ἀριστερὰ τοί γε, ποτὶ ζόφον ἠερόεντα
"
καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐν τοῖσδε
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ὦ φίλοι, οὐ γάρ τʼ ἴδμεν, ὅπη ζόφος, οὐδʼ ὅπη ἠώς,
οὐδʼ ὅπη ἠέλιος φαεσίμβροτος εἶσʼ ὑπὸ γαῖαν,
οὐδʼ ὅπη ἀννεῖται.
And that he calls the southern part thus is clear also in these verses: "εἴτʼ ἐπὶ δεξίʼ ἴωσι, πρὸς ἠῶ τʼ ἠέλιόν τε, εἴτʼ ἐπʼ ἀριστερὰ τοί γε, ποτὶ ζόφον ἠερόεντα "and still more in these: "ὦ φίλοι, οὐ γάρ τʼ ἴδμεν, ὅπη ζόφος, οὐδʼ ὅπη ἠώς, οὐδʼ ὅπη ἠέλιος φαεσίμβροτος εἶσʼ ὑπὸ γαῖαν, οὐδʼ ὅπη ἀννεῖται.
"
ἔστι μὲν γὰρ δέξασθαι τὰ τέτταρα κλίματα τὴν ἠῶ δεχομένους τὸ νότιον μέρος, ἔχει τέ τινα τοῦτʼ ἔμφασιν· ἀλλὰ βέλτιον τὸ κατὰ τὴν πάροδον τοῦ ἡλίου νοεῖν ἀντιτιθέμενον τῷ ἀρκτικῷ μέρει· ἐξάλλαξιν γάρ τινα τῶν οὐρανίων πολλὴν βούλεται σημαίνειν ὁ λόγος, οὐχὶ ψιλὴν ἐπίκρυψιν τῶν κλιμάτων.
"For although it is possible to understand the four quarters of the world by taking "dawn" to mean the southern part, and this has some plausibility, yet it is better to understand it according to the path of the sun, as opposed to the northern part; for the passage wishes to indicate a great displacement of the celestial bodies, not a mere obscuring of the quarters.
δεῖ γὰρ κατὰ πάντα συννεφῆ καιρόν, ἄν θʼ ἡμέρας ἄν τε νύκτωρ συμβῇ, παρακολουθεῖν· τὰ δʼ οὐράνια ἐξαλλάττει ἐπὶ πλέον τῷ πρὸς μεσημβρίαν μᾶλλον ἢ ἧττον παραχωρεῖν ἡμᾶς ἢ εἰς τοὐναντίον.
For a mere obscuring must accompany every cloudy time, whether it occurs by day or by night, but the celestial bodies change to a greater degree by our moving more or less towards the south, or to the contrary.
τοῦτο δὲ οὐ δύσεως καὶ ἀνατολῆς ἐγκαλύψεις ποιεῖ (καὶ γὰρ αἰθρίας οὔσης συμβαίνει), ἀλλὰ μεσημβρίας καὶ ἄρκτου.
And this does not cause obscurations of sunset and sunrise (for that happens even when the sky is clear), but of south and north.
μάλιστα γὰρ ἀρκτικός ἐστιν ὁ πόλος· τούτου δὲ κινουμένου, καὶ ποτὲ μὲν κατὰ κορυφὴν ἡμῖν γινομένου ποτὲ δὲ ὑπὸ γῆς ὄντος, καὶ οἱ ἀρκτικοὶ συμμεταβάλλουσι, ποτὲ δὲ συνεκλείπουσι κατὰ τὰς τοιαύτας παραχωρήσεις, ὥστε οὐκ ἂν εἰδείης ὅπου ἐστὶ τὸ ἀρκτικὸν κλίμα, οὐδʼ εἰ ἀρχὴν ἐστίν· εἰ δὲ τοῦτο, οὐδὲ τοὐναντίον ἂν γνοίης.
For the pole is especially northern; and when this moves, sometimes becoming at our zenith and sometimes being below the earth, the arctic circles also change with it, and sometimes disappear altogether during such displacements, so that you would not know where the northern quarter is, nor if it exists at all; and if this is so, neither would you know the opposite quarter.
κύκλος δὲ τῆς Ἰθάκης ἐστὶν ὡς ὀγδοήκοντα σταδίων.
The circumference of Ithaca is about eighty stadia.
περὶ μὲν Ἰθάκης ταῦτα.
So much for Ithaca.
§10.2.13τὴν δὲ Κεφαλληνίαν τετράπολιν οὖσαν οὔτʼ αὐτὴν εἴρηκε τῷ νῦν ὀνόματι οὔτε τῶν πόλεων οὐδεμίαν, πλὴν μιᾶς εἴτε Σάμης εἴτε Σάμου, ἣ νῦν μὲν οὐκέτʼ ἐστίν, ἴχνη δʼ αὐτῆς δείκνυται κατὰ μέσον τὸν πρὸς Ἰθάκῃ πορθμόν· οἱ δʼ ἀπʼ αὐτῆς Σαμαῖοι καλοῦνται· αἱ δʼ ἄλλαι καὶ νῦν εἰσὶν ἔτι μικραὶ πόλεις τινές, Πρώνησος καὶ Κράνιοι.
As for Cephallenia, which is a tetrapolis, the poet has mentioned neither the island itself by its present name nor any of its cities, except one, whether Same or Samos, which today no longer exists, but traces of it are shown in the middle of the strait towards Ithaca; and those from it are called Samaeans; but the others are even now still certain small cities, Pronnesus and Cranii.
ἐφʼ ἡμῶν δὲ καὶ ἄλλην προσέκτισε Γάιος Ἀντώνιος, ὁ θεῖος Μάρκου Ἀντωνίου, ἡνίκα φυγὰς γενόμενος μετὰ τὴν ὑπατείαν, ἣν συνῆρξε Κικέρωνι τῷ ῥήτορι, ἐν τῇ Κεφαλληνίᾳ διέτριψε καὶ τὴν ὅλην νῆσον ὑπήκοον ἔσχεν ὡς ἴδιον κτῆμα· οὐκ ἔφθη μέντοι συνοικίσας, ἀλλὰ καθόδου τυχὼν πρὸς ἄλλοις μείζοσιν ὢν κατέλυσε τὸν βίον.
In our time, Gaius Antonius, the uncle of Marcus Antonius, founded another city in addition, when, having become an exile after his consulship, which he held jointly with Cicero the orator, he spent time in Cephallenia and had the whole island subject to him as his private property; he did not, however, succeed in completing the settlement, but having obtained his recall, being occupied with other greater matters, he ended his life.