§12.3.22ταῦτα μὲν ἀπολύεται τῇ μεταγραφῇ· γράφει γὰρ οὕτως
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αὐτὰρ Ἀμαζώνων Ὀδίος καὶ Ἐπίστροφος ἦρχον,
ἐλθόντʼ ἐξ Ἀλόπης, ὅ θʼ Ἀμαζονίδων γένος ἐστί. "
ταῦτα δʼ ἀπολυσάμενος εἰς ἄλλο ἐμπέπτωκε πλάσμα· οὐδαμοῦ γὰρ ἐνθάδε εὑρίσκεται Ἀλόπη· καὶ ἡ μεταγραφὴ δὲ παρὰ τὴν τῶν ἀντιγράφων τῶν ἀρχαίων πίστιν καινοτομουμένη ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον σχεδιασμῷ ἔοικεν.
These difficulties are resolved by the rewrite; for he writes as follows: "But the Amazones were led by Odios and Epistrophos, coming from Alope, where is the race of the Amazonides." But although he has resolved these difficulties, he has fallen into another fiction; for nowhere here is Alope found; and the rewrite, being innovated contrary to the trust of the ancient manuscripts, to such an extent seems like an invention.
ὁ δὲ Σκήψιος οὔτε τὴν τούτου δόξαν ἔοικεν ἀποδεξάμενος οὔτε τῶν περὶ τὴν Παλλήνην τοὺς Ἁλιζώνους ὑπολαβόντων, ὧν ἐμνήσθημεν ἐν τοῖς Μακεδονικοῖς.
And the Scepsian seems neither to have accepted this man's opinion nor the opinion of those who assumed the Halizones to be around Pallene, of whom we made mention in the Macedonian books.
ὁμοίως διαπορεῖ καὶ πῶς ἐκ τῶν ὑπὲρ τὸν Βορυσθένην νομάδων ἀφῖχθαι συμμαχίαν τοῖς Τρωσί τις νομίσειεν, ἐπαινεῖ δὲ μάλιστα τὴν Ἑκαταίου τοῦ Μιλησίου καὶ Μενεκράτους τοῦ Ἐλαΐτου τῶν Ξενοκράτους γνωρίμων ἀνδρὸς δόξαν καὶ τὴν Παλαιφάτου, ὧν ὁ μὲν ἐν γῆς περιόδῳ φησίν
"ἐπὶ δʼ Ἀλαζίᾳ πόλι ποταμὸς Ὀδρύσης ῥέων διὰ Μυγδονίης πεδίου ἀπὸ δύσιος ἐκ τῆς λίμνης τῆς Δασκυλίτιδος ἐς Ῥύνδακον ἐσβάλλει. "
ἔρημον δὲ εἶναι νῦν τὴν Ἀλαζίαν λέγει, κώμας δὲ πολλὰς τῶν Ἀλαζώνων οἰκεῖσθαι, διʼ ὧν Ὀδρύσης ῥεῖ, ἐν δὲ ταύταις τὸν Ἀπόλλωνα τιμᾶσθαι διαφερόντως, καὶ μάλιστα κατὰ τὴν ἐφορίαν τῶν Κυζικηνῶν.
Likewise he is in doubt also how anyone could assume that an alliance had arrived for the Trojans from the nomads above the Borysthenes, but he especially praises the opinion of Hecataeus of Miletus and of Menecrates of Elaea, one of the acquaintances of Xenocrates, and that of Palaephatus, of whom the former says in his Circuit of the Earth: "Above the city Alazia, the river Odryses, flowing through the plain of Mygdonia from the west out of the Dascylitis lake, empties into the Rhyndacus." And he says that Alazia is now deserted, but that many villages of the Alazones are inhabited, through which the Odryses flows, and that among these Apollo is exceptionally honoured, and especially in the territory of the Cyzicenes.
ὁ δὲ Μενεκράτης ἐν τῇ Ἑλλησποντιακῇ περιόδῳ ὑπερκεῖσθαι λέγει τῶν περὶ τὴν Μύρλειαν τόπων ὀρεινὴν συνεχῆ, ἣν κατῴκει τὸ τῶν Ἁλιζώνων ἔθνος· δεῖ δέ, φησί, γράφειν ἐν τοῖς δύο λάβδα, τὸν δὲ ποιητὴν ἐν τῷ ἑνὶ γράφειν διὰ τὸ μέτρον.
And Menecrates in his Hellespontine Circuit says that above the places around Myrlea there lies a continuous mountainous tract which the tribe of the Halizones inhabited; but it is necessary, he says, to write it with two lambdas, but the poet wrote it with one on account of the metre.
ὁ δὲ Παλαίφατός φησιν ἐξ Ἀλαζώνων τῶν ἐν τῇ Ἀλόπῃ οἰκούντων, νῦν δὲ Ζελείᾳ, τὸν Ὀδίον καὶ τὸν Ἐπίστροφον στρατεῦσαι.
And Palaephatus says that from the Alazones who lived in Alope, but now in Zeleia, Odios and Epistrophos went on the expedition.
τί οὖν ἄξιον ἐπαινεῖν τὰς τούτων δόξας;
Why then is it worthy to praise the opinions of these men?
χωρὶς γὰρ τοῦ τὴν ἀρχαίαν γραφὴν καὶ τούτους κινεῖν οὔτε τὰ ἀργυρεῖα δεικνύουσιν, οὔτε ποῦ τῆς Μυρλεάτιδος Ἀλόπη ἐστίν, οὔτε πῶς οἱ ἐνθένδε ἀφιγμένοι εἰς Ἴλιον τηλόθεν ἦσαν, εἰ καὶ δοθείη Ἀλόπην τινὰ γεγονέναι ἢ Ἀλαζίαν· πολὺ γὰρ δὴ ταῦτα ἐγγυτέρω ἐστὶ τῇ Τρῳάδι ἢ τὰ περὶ Ἔφεσον.
For apart from the fact that these men also alter the ancient text, they neither show the silver mines, nor where in the Myrleatis territory Alope is, nor how those who arrived from there at Ilion were "from far-off", even if it should be granted that some Alope or Alazia had existed; for these are indeed much closer to the Troad than the places around Ephesus.
ἀλλʼ ὅμως τοὺς περὶ Πύγελα λέγοντας τοὺς Ἀμαζῶνας μεταξὺ Ἐφέσου καὶ Μαγνησίας καὶ Πριήνης φλυαρεῖν φησὶν ὁ Δημήτριος· τὸ γὰρ
τηλόθεν
οὐκ ἐφαρμόττειν τῷ τόπῳ· πόσῳ οὖν μᾶλλον οὐκ ἐφαρμόττει τῷ περὶ Μυσίαν καὶ Τευθρανίαν;
But nevertheless Demetrius says that those who say the Amazons are around Pygela between Ephesus and Magnesia and Priene are talking nonsense; for the word "from far-off" does not fit the place; how much more, then, does it not fit the place around Mysia and Teuthrania?
§12.3.23νὴ Δία, ἀλλά φησι δεῖν ἔνια καὶ ἀκύρως προστιθέμενα δέχεσθαι, ὡς καὶ
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τῆλʼ ἐξ Ἀσκανίης
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καὶ
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Ἀρναῖος δʼ ὄνομʼ ἔσκε, τὸ γὰρ θέτο πότνια μήτηρ,
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καὶ
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εἵλετο δὲ κληῖδʼ εὐκαμπέα χειρὶ παχείῃ Πηνελόπη. "
δεδόσθω δὴ καὶ τοῦτο· ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖνα οὐ δοτέα, οἷς προσέχων ὁ Δημήτριος οὐδὲ τοῖς ὑπολαβοῦσι δεῖν ἀκούειν
τηλόθεν ἐκ Χαλύβης
πιθανῶς ἀντείρηκε.
"Yes, by Zeus," someone might say, "but he says that we must accept some things even if they are added inappositely, as also 'far from Ascania' and 'and his name was Arnaeus, for his lady mother had given him this name' and 'Penelope took the well-curved key in her thick hand.'" Let this indeed be granted; but those other things are not to be conceded, with reference to which Demetrius, though he paid attention to them, has not even plausibly answered those who assumed that we should hear "from far-off Chalybe".
συγχωρήσας γὰρ ὅτι, εἰ καὶ μὴ ἔστι νῦν ἐν τοῖς Χάλυψι τὰ ἀργυρεῖα, ὑπάρξαι γε ἐνεδέχετο, ἐκεῖνό γε οὐ συγχωρεῖ ὅτι καὶ ἔνδοξα ἦν καὶ ἄξια μνήμης, καθάπερ τὰ σιδηρεῖα.
For although he conceded that, even if the silver mines are not now among the Chalybes, it was at least possible for them to have existed, he does not concede that they were both famous and worthy of mention, like the iron mines.
τί δὲ κωλύει, φαίη τις ἄν, καὶ ἔνδοξα εἶναι, καθάπερ καὶ τὰ σιδηρεῖα;
But what prevents them, someone might say, from being famous as well, just like the iron mines?
ἢ σιδήρου μὲν εὐπορία τόπον ἐπιφανῆ δύναται ποιεῖν, ἀργύρου δʼ οὔ;
Or can an abundance of iron make a place famous, but an abundance of silver cannot?
τί δʼ εἰ μὴ κατὰ τοὺς ἥρωας, ἀλλὰ καθʼ Ὅμηρον εἰς δόξαν ἀφῖκτο τὰ ἀργυρεῖα, ἆρα μέμψαιτό τις ἂν τὴν ἀπόφασιν τοῦ ποιητοῦ;
And what if the silver mines had come into fame, not in the time of the heroes, but in the time of Homer, would anyone find fault with the statement of the poet?
πῶς οὖν εἰς τὸν ποιητὴν ἡ δόξα ἀφίκετο;
How, then, did the fame reach the poet?
πῶς δʼ ἡ τοῦ ἐν τῇ Τεμέσῃ χαλκοῦ τῇ Ἰταλιώτιδι;
And how did that of the copper in Temese in Italy?
πῶς δʼ ἡ τοῦ Θηβαϊκοῦ πλούτου τοῦ κατʼ Αἴγυπτον;
And how did that of the Theban wealth in Egypt?
καίτοι διπλάσιον σχεδόν τι διέχοντα τῶν Αἰγυπτίων Θηβῶν ἢ τῶν Χαλδαίων.
And yet these are almost twice as far away from the Egyptian Thebes as from the Chaldaei.
ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ οἷς συνηγορεῖ, τούτοις ὁμολογεῖ· τὰ γὰρ περὶ τὴν Σκῆψιν τοποθετῶν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ πατρίδα, πλησίον τῆς Σκήψεως καὶ τοῦ Αἰσήπου Νέαν κώμην καὶ Ἀργυρίαν λέγει καὶ Ἀλαζονίαν.
But he does not even agree with those whom he supports; for when he defines the geography around Scepsis, his own native city, he speaks of Nea Come, Argyria, and Alazonia near Scepsis and the Aesepus.
ταῦτα μὲν οὖν εἰ καὶ ἔστι, πρὸς ταῖς πηγαῖς ἂν εἴη τοῦ Αἰσήπου.
Therefore, even if these exist, they would be near the sources of the Aesepus.
ὁ δὲ Ἑκαταῖος λέγει ἐπέκεινα τῶν ἐκβολῶν αὐτοῦ, ὅ τε Παλαίφατος πρότερον μὲν Ἀλόπην οἰκεῖν φήσας νῦν δὲ Ζέλειαν, οὐδὲν ὅμοιον λέγει τούτοις.
But Hecataeus says it is beyond its mouth, and Palaephatus, having said that they formerly inhabited Alope but now Zeleia, says nothing similar to these.
εἰ δʼ ἄρα ὁ Μενεκράτης, καὶ οὐδʼ οὗτος τὴν Ἀλόπην ἢ Ἀλόβην ἢ ὅπως ποτὲ βούλονται γράφειν φράζει ἥτις ἐστίν, οὐδʼ αὐτὸς ὁ Δημήτριος.
And if indeed Menecrates says anything, not even he makes clear what Alope or Alobe (or however they wish to write it) is, nor does Demetrius himself.