§12.3.27ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν μὴ οὕτω σημειωδῶν ἢ μὴ τότε ἢ μὴ πρὸς τὴν ὑπόθεσιν τί ἄν τις μέμφοιτο;
As for things that are not so notable, or did not exist then, or are not relevant to his theme, who could find fault?
οἷον τὸν Τάναϊν διʼ οὐδὲν ἄλλο γνωριζόμενον ἢ διότι τῆς Ἀσίας καὶ τῆς Εὐρώπης ὅριόν ἐστιν· ἀλλʼ οὔτε τὴν Ἀσίαν οὔτε τὴν Εὐρώπην ὠνόμαζόν πω οἱ τότε, οὐδὲ διῄρητο οὕτως εἰς τρεῖς ἠπείρους ἡ οἰκουμένη· ὠνόμασε γὰρ ἄν που διὰ τὸ λίαν σημειῶδες, ὡς καὶ τὴν Λιβύην καὶ τὸν λίβα τὸν ἀπὸ τῶν ἑσπερίων τῆς Λιβύης πνέοντα·
For instance, the Tanais, which is known for nothing else than because it is the boundary between Asia and Europe; but the people of those times did not yet name either Asia or Europe, nor was the inhabited world yet divided in this way into three continents; for otherwise, the poet would surely have named it somewhere because of its extreme prominence, just as he named Libya and the south-west wind that blows from the western parts of Libya.
τῶν δʼ ἠπείρων μήπω διωρισμένων οὐδὲ τοῦ Τανάιδος ἔδει καὶ τῆς μνήμης αὐτοῦ.
But since the continents were not yet distinguished, there was no need for the Tanais or for any mention of it.
πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ἀξιομνημόνευτα μέν, οὐχ ὑπέδραμε δέ· πολὺ γὰρ δὴ καὶ τὸ ἐπελευστικὸν εἶδος ἔν τε τοῖς λόγοις καὶ ἐν ταῖς πράξεσίν ἐστιν.
And many things, though worthy of mention, did not occur to his mind; for indeed, the element of chance (or improvisation) is very large both in words and in actions.
ἐκ πάντων δὲ τῶν τοιούτων δῆλόν ἐστιν ὅτι μοχθηρῷ σημείῳ χρῆται πᾶς ὁ ἐκ τοῦ μὴ λέγεσθαί τι ὑπὸ τοῦ ποιητοῦ τὸ ἀγνοεῖσθαι ἐκεῖνο ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ τεκμαιρόμενος.
From all such instances it is clear that everyone uses a faulty proof who, from the fact of something not being mentioned by the poet, infers that it was unknown to him.
καὶ δεῖ διὰ πλειόνων παραδειγμάτων ἐξελέγχειν αὐτὸ μοχθηρὸν ὄν· πολλῷ γὰρ αὐτῷ κέχρηνται πολλοί.
And we must expose this proof as faulty by means of more examples, since many people use it extensively.
ἀνακρουστέον οὖν αὐτοὺς προφέροντας τὰ τοιαῦτα, εἰ καὶ ταυτολογήσομεν· οἷον ἐπὶ τῶν ποταμῶν εἴ τις λέγοι τῷ μὴ ὠνομάσθαι ἀγνοεῖσθαι εὐήθη φήσομεν τὸν λόγον·
We must therefore repulse them when they bring forward such arguments, even if we are to repeat ourselves; for instance, in the case of rivers, if anyone should say that because they are not named they were unknown, we shall say his argument is foolish.
ὅπου γε οὐδὲ Μέλητα τὸν παρὰ τὴν Σμύρναν ῥέοντα ὠνόμακε ποταμόν, τὴν ὑπὸ τῶν πλείστων λεγομένην αὐτοῦ πατρίδα, Ἕρμον ποταμὸν καὶ Ὕλλον ὀνομάζων, οὐδὲ Πακτωλὸν τὸν εἰς ταὐτὸ τούτοις ῥεῖθρον ἐμβάλλοντα, τὴν δʼ ἀρχὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ Τμώλου ἔχοντα οὗ μέμνηται· οὐδʼ αὐτὴν Σμύρναν λέγει, οὐδὲ τὰς ἄλλας τῶν Ἰώνων πόλεις καὶ τῶν Αἰολέων τὰς πλείστας, Μίλητον λέγων καὶ Λέσβον καὶ Τένεδον, οὐδὲ Ληθαῖον τὸν παρὰ Μαγνησίαν ῥέοντα οὐδὲ δὴ Μαρσύαν τοὺς εἰς τὸν Μαίανδρον ἐκδιδόντας, ἐκεῖνον ὀνομάζων καὶ πρὸς τούτοις
"
Ῥῆσόν θʼ Ἑπτάπορόν τε Κάρησόν τε Ῥοδίον τε,
"
καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους, ὧν οἱ πλείους ὀχετῶν οὔκ εἰσι μείζους.
For indeed, he has not named even the Meles, the river flowing by Smyrna, which is said by most to be his birthplace, though he names the Hermus and the Hyllus; nor the Pactolus, which discharges into the same stream as these, but has its source in Tmolus, which he does mention; nor does he mention Smyrna itself, nor the other cities of the Ionians and most of those of the Aeolians, though he mentions Miletus, Lesbos, and Tenedos; nor the Lethaeus flowing by Magnesia, nor indeed the Marsyas, which discharge into the Maeander, though he names the Maeander and besides these: "Rhesus, Heptaporus, Caresus, and Rhodius," and the other rivers, of which most are no larger than torrents.
πολλάς τε χώρας ὀνομάζων καὶ πόλεις τοτὲ μὲν καὶ τοὺς ποταμοὺς καὶ ὄρη συγκαταλέγει τοτὲ δʼ οὔ· τοὺς γοῦν κατὰ τὴν Αἰτωλίαν καὶ τὴν Ἀττικὴν οὐ λέγει οὐδʼ ἄλλους πλείους·
Though he names many countries and cities, sometimes he lists the rivers and mountains along with them, and sometimes not; at any rate, he does not mention those in Aetolia and Attica, nor many others.
ἔτι δὲ καὶ τῶν πόρρω μεμνημένος τῶν ἐγγὺς σφόδρα οὐ μέμνηται, οὐ δήπου ἀγνοῶν αὐτοὺς γνωρίμους τοῖς ἄλλοις ὄντας· οὐδὲ δὴ τοὺς ἐγγὺς ἐπίσης, ὧν τοὺς μὲν ὀνομάζει τοὺς δὲ οὔ, οἷον Λυκίους μὲν καὶ Σολύμους, Μιλύας δʼ οὔ, οὐδὲ Παμφύλους οὐδὲ Πισίδας· καὶ Παφλαγόνας μὲν καὶ Φρύγας καὶ Μυσούς, Μαριανδυνοὺς δʼ οὔ, οὐδὲ Θυνοὺς οὐδὲ Βιθυνοὺς οὐδὲ Βέβρυκας· Ἀμαζόνων τε μέμνηται, Λευκοσύρων δʼ οὔ, οὐδὲ Σύρων οὐδὲ Καππαδόκων οὐδὲ Λυκαόνων, Φοίνικας καὶ Αἰγυπτίους καὶ Αἰθίοπας θρυλῶν· καὶ Ἀλήιον μὲν πεδίον λέγει καὶ Ἀρίμους, τὸ δὲ ἔθνος ἐν ᾧ ταῦτα σιγᾷ.
And furthermore, having mentioned far-off things, he does not mention things that are very near, not because he was ignorant of them, since they were well known to others; nor indeed those that were equally near, of whom he names some but not others, as for instance he names the Lycians and Solymi, but not the Milyae, nor the Pamphyli, nor the Pisidae; and he names the Paphlagonians, Phrygians, and Mysians, but not the Mariandyni, nor the Thyni, nor the Bithyni, nor the Bebryces; and he mentions the Amazons, but not the Leuco-Syrians, nor the Syrians, nor the Cappadocians, nor the Lycaonians, though he repeatedly speaks of Phoenicians, Egyptians, and Ethiopians; and he mentions the Aleian plain and the Arimi, but is silent about the nation in which these are located.
ὁ μὲν δὴ τοιοῦτος ἔλεγχος ψευδής ἐστιν, ὁ δʼ ἀληθής, ὅταν δείκνυται ψεῦδος λεγόμενόν τι.
Thus, such an exposure of ignorance is false, whereas the true one is when something stated is shown to be false.
ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ἐν τῷ τοιούτῳ κατορθῶν ἐδείχθη, ὅτε γε ἐθάρρησε πλάσματα λέγειν τοὺς ἀγαυοὺς ἱππημολγοὺς γαλακτοφάγους.
But he was not shown to be successful even in this kind of test, when indeed he dared to call the illustrious mare-milkers and milk-drinkers mere fictions.
τοσαῦτα καὶ πρὸς Ἀπολλόδωρον· ἐπάνειμι δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν ἑξῆς περιήγησιν.
So much for Apollodorus; and I shall return to the subsequent circuit.
§12.3.28ὑπὲρ μὲν δὴ τῶν περὶ Φαρνακίαν καὶ Τραπεζοῦντα τόπων οἱ Τιβαρηνοὶ καὶ Χαλδαῖοι μέχρι τῆς μικρᾶς Ἀρμενίας εἰσίν.
Above the places around Pharnacia and Trapezus are the Tibareni and Chaldaei as far as Lesser Armenia.
αὕτη δʼ ἐστὶν εὐδαίμων ἱκανῶς χώρα· δυνάσται δʼ αὐτὴν κατεῖχον ἀεί, καθάπερ τὴν Σωφηνήν, τοτὲ μὲν φίλοι τοῖς ἄλλοις Ἀρμενίοις ὄντες τοτὲ δὲ ἰδιοπραγοῦντες· ὑπηκόους δʼ εἶχον καὶ τοὺς Χαλδαίους καὶ Τιβαρηνούς, ὥστε μέχρι Τραπεζοῦντος καὶ Φαρνακίας διατείνειν τὴν ἀρχὴν αὐτῶν.
This is a reasonably fertile country; and dynasts always held it, just as they did Sophene, sometimes being friendly to the other Armenians and sometimes acting independently; and they had as subjects both the Chaldaei and the Tibareni, so that their rule extended as far as Trapezus and Pharnacia.
αὐξηθεὶς δὲ Μιθριδάτης ὁ Εὐπάτωρ καὶ τῆς Κολχίδος κατέστη κύριος καὶ τούτων ἁπάντων, Ἀντιπάτρου τοῦ Σίσιδος παραχωρήσαντος αὐτῷ.
But Mithridates Eupator, having increased in power, became master of Colchis and of all these places, Antipater the son of Sisis having yielded them to him.
ἐπεμελήθη δὲ οὕτω τῶν τόπων τούτων ὥστε πέντε καὶ ἑβδομήκοντα φρούρια ἐν αὐτοῖς κατεσκευάσατο, οἷσπερ τὴν πλείστην γάζαν ἐνεχείρισε.
And he took such care of these places that he built seventy-five fortresses in them, in which he deposited most of his treasure.
τούτων δʼ ἦν ἀξιολογώτατα ταῦτα, Ὕδαρα καὶ Βασγοιδάριζα καὶ Σινορία, ἐπιπεφυκὸς τοῖς ὁρίοις τῆς μεγάλης Ἀρμενίας χωρίον, διόπερ Θεοφάνης Συνορίαν παρωνόμασεν.
Of these, the most noteworthy were Hydara, Basgoidariza, and Sinoria, a place built close to the borders of Greater Armenia, which is why Theophanes called it Synoria.
ἡ γὰρ τοῦ Παρυάδρου πᾶσα ὀρεινὴ τοιαύτας ἐπιτηδειότητας ἔχει πολλὰς εὔυδρός τε οὖσα καὶ ὑλώδης καὶ ἀποτόμοις φάραγξι καὶ κρημνοῖς διειλημμένη πολλαχόθεν· ἐτετείχιστο γοῦν ἐνταῦθα τὰ πλεῖστα τῶν γαζοφυλακίων, καὶ δὴ καὶ τὸ τελευταῖον εἰς ταύτας κατέφυγε τὰς ἐσχατιὰς τῆς Ποντικῆς βασιλείας ὁ Μιθριδάτης ἐπιόντος Πομπηίου, καὶ τῆς Ἀκιλισηνῆς κατὰ Δάστειρα εὔυδρον ὄρος καταλαβόμενος (πλησίον δʼ ἦν καὶ ὁ Εὐφράτης ὁ διορίζων τὴν Ἀκιλισηνὴν ἀπὸ τῆς μικρᾶς Ἀρμενίας) διέτριψε τέως ἕως πολιορκούμενος ἠναγκάσθη φυγεῖν διὰ τῶν ὀρῶν εἰς Κολχίδα κἀκεῖθεν εἰς Βόσπορον.
For the whole mountainous region of Paryadres has many such advantages, being well-watered and woody, and intersected in many places by steep ravines and precipices; at any rate, most of the treasuries were fortified there, and indeed Mithridates finally fled to these outermost parts of the Pontic kingdom when Pompey invaded, and having occupied a well-watered mountain near Dasteira in Acilisene (and nearby was also the Euphrates, which separates Acilisene from Lesser Armenia), he remained there for a time until, being besieged, he was forced to flee through the mountains to Colchis and from there to the Bosporus.
Πομπήιος δὲ περὶ τὸν τόπον τοῦτον πόλιν ἔκτισεν ἐν τῇ μικρᾷ Ἀρμενίᾳ Νικόπολιν, ἣ καὶ νῦν συμμένει καὶ οἰκεῖται καλῶς.
And Pompey founded a city in this place in Lesser Armenia, Nicopolis, which still survives and is well inhabited.