§14.1.6φησὶ δʼ Ἔφορος τὸ πρῶτον κτίσμα εἶναι Κρητικόν, ὑπὲρ τῆς θαλάττης τετειχισμένον, ὅπου νῦν ἡ πάλαι Μίλητος ἔστι, Σαρπηδόνος ἐκ Μιλήτου τῆς Κρητικῆς ἀγαγόντος οἰκήτορας καὶ θεμένου τοὔνομα τῇ πόλει τῆς ἐκεῖ πόλεως ἐπώνυμον, κατεχόντων πρότερον Λελέγων τὸν τόπον· τοὺς δὲ περὶ Νηλέα ὕστερον τὴν νῦν τειχίσαι πόλιν.
Ephorus says that the first foundation was Cretan, fortified above the sea, where the ancient Miletus now is, Sarpon having brought colonists from Cretan Miletus and having given the name to the city homonymous to the city there, while Leleges previously occupied the place; and that those around Neleus later fortified the present city.
ἔχει δὲ τέτταρας λιμένας ἡ νῦν, ὧν ἕνα καὶ στόλῳ ἱκανόν.
The present city has four harbors, of which one is sufficient even for a fleet.
πολλὰ δὲ τῆς πόλεως ἔργα ταύτης, μέγιστον δὲ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἀποικιῶν· ὅ τε γὰρ Εὔξεινος πόντος ὑπὸ τούτων συνῴκισται πᾶς καὶ ἡ Προποντὶς καὶ ἄλλοι πλείους τόποι.
Many are the achievements of this city, but the greatest is the multitude of its colonies; for the Euxine Sea was entirely colonized by them, and the Propontis, and many other places.
Ἀναξιμένης γοῦν ὁ Λαμψακηνὸς οὕτω φησὶν ὅτι καὶ Ἴκαρον τὴν νῆσον καὶ Λέρον Μιλήσιοι συνῴκισαν καὶ περὶ Ἑλλήσποντον ἐν μὲν τῇ Χερρονήσῳ Λίμνας, ἐν δὲ τῇ Ἀσίᾳ Ἄβυδον Ἄρισβαν Παισόν, ἐν δὲ τῇ Κυζικηνῶν νήσῳ Ἀρτάκην Κύζικον, ἐν δὲ τῇ μεσογαίᾳ τῆς Τρῳάδος Σκῆψιν· ἡμεῖς δʼ ἐν τοῖς καθʼ ἕκαστα λέγομεν καὶ τὰς ἄλλας τὰς ὑπὸ τούτου παραλελειμμένας.
Anaximenes of Lampsacus at any rate says thus, that the Milesians colonized both the island of Icarus and Leros, and around the Hellespont, Limnae in the Chersonese, and in Asia Abydos, Arisba, and Paesos, and in the island of the Cyzicenes, Artace and Cyzicus, and in the inland of the Troad, Scepsis; but we will speak of the others omitted by him in the detailed accounts.
οὔλιον δʼ Ἀπόλλωνα καλοῦσί τινα καὶ Μιλήσιοι καὶ Δήλιοι, οἷον ὑγιαστικὸν καὶ παιωνικόν· τὸ γὰρ οὔλειν ὑγιαίνειν, ἀφʼ οὗ καὶ τὸ οὐλὴ καὶ τό
οὖλέ τε καὶ μέγα χαῖρε. ἰατικὸς γὰρ ὁ Ἀπόλλων· καὶ ἡ Ἄρτεμις ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀρτεμέας ποιεῖν· καὶ ὁ Ἥλιος δὲ καὶ ἡ Σελήνη συνοικειοῦνται τούτοις, ὅτι τῆς περὶ τοὺς ἀέρας εὐκρασίας αἴτιοι· καὶ τὰ λοιμικὰ δὲ πάθη καὶ τοὺς αὐτομάτους θανάτους τούτοις ἀνάπτουσι τοῖς θεοῖς.
Both the Milesians and the Delians call a certain Apollo "Oulios", as if healing and curative; for "oulein" means to be healthy, from which also "oule" and the expression: "Be healthy and fare well greatly." For Apollo is healing; and Artemis is from "making sound"; and the Sun and the Moon are associated with these, because they are the causes of the good temperature of the surrounding air; and they attribute both pestilential diseases and sudden deaths to these gods.
§14.1.7ἄνδρες δʼ ἄξιοι μνήμης ἐγένοντο ἐν τῇ Μιλήτῳ Θαλῆς τε εἷς τῶν ἑπτὰ σοφῶν, ὁ πρῶτος φυσιολογίας ἄρξας ἐν τοῖς Ἕλλησι καὶ μαθηματικῆς, καὶ ὁ τούτου μαθητὴς Ἀναξίμανδρος καὶ ὁ τούτου πάλιν Ἀναξιμένης, ἔτι δʼ Ἑκαταῖος ὁ τὴν ἱστορίαν συντάξας, καθʼ ἡμᾶς δὲ Αἰσχίνης ὁ ῥήτωρ, ὃς ἐν φυγῇ διετέλεσε, παρρησιασάμενος πέρα τοῦ μετρίου πρὸς Πομπήιον Μάγνον.
And men worthy of memory were born in Miletus: Thales, one of the seven wise men, who first began the study of nature and mathematics among the Greeks; and his pupil Anaximander, and his pupil in turn Anaximenes; further, Hecataeus, who composed the history; and in our time, Aeschines the orator, who remained in exile, having spoken with more frankness than was moderate to Pompey the Great.
ἠτύχησε δʼ ἡ πόλις ἀποκλείσασα Ἀλέξανδρον καὶ βίᾳ ληφθεῖσα, καθάπερ καὶ Ἁλικαρνασός· ἔτι δὲ πρότερον ὑπὸ Περσῶν· καί φησί γε Καλλισθένης ὑπʼ Ἀθηναίων χιλίαις δραχμαῖς ζημιωθῆναι Φρύνιχον τὸν τραγικόν, διότι δρᾶμα ἐποίησε Μιλήτου ἅλωσιν ὑπὸ Δαρείου.
And the city was unfortunate in shutting out Alexander and being taken by force, just as Halicarnassus also was; and even earlier by the Persians; and Callisthenes says that the tragic poet Phrynichus was fined a thousand drachmas by the Athenians, because he made a drama, "The Capture of Miletus," by Darius.
πρόκειται δʼ ἡ Λάδη νῆσος πλησίον καὶ τὰ περὶ τὰς Τραγαίας νησία ὑφόρμους ἔχοντα λῃσταῖς.
And the island of Lade lies near, and the islets around the Tragaeae, which have anchorages for pirates.
§14.1.8ἑξῆς δʼ ἐστὶν ὁ Λατμικὸς κόλπος, ἐν ᾧ Ἡράκλεια ἡ ὑπὸ Λάτμῳ λεγομένη, πολίχνιον ὕφορμον ἔχον· ἐκαλεῖτο δὲ πρότερον Λάτμος ὁμωνύμως τῷ ὑπερκειμένῳ ὄρει, ὅπερ Ἑκαταῖος μὲν ἐμφαίνει τὸ αὐτὸ εἶναι νομίζων τῷ ὑπὸ τοῦ ποιητοῦ Φθειρῶν ὄρει λεγομένῳ (ὑπὲρ γὰρ τῆς Λάτμου φησὶ τὸ Φθειρῶν ὄρος κεῖσθαι), τινὲς δὲ τὸ Γρίον φασίν, ὡς ἂν παράλληλον τῷ Λάτμῳ ἀνῆκον ἀπὸ τῆς Μιλησίας πρὸς ἕω διὰ τῆς Καρίας μέχρι Εὐρώμου καὶ Χαλκητόρων· ὑπέρκειται δὲ ταύτης ἐν ὄψει.
Next is the Latmic Gulf, in which is Heracleia called "under Latmus", a small town having an anchorage; and it was previously called Latmus, homonymous with the mountain lying above it, which Hecataeus indicates he thinks is the same as the mountain called "of Phthires" by the poet (for he says that the mountain of Phthires lies above Latmus), but some say it is Grion, as if running parallel to Latmus, extending from the Milesian territory toward the east through Caria as far as Euromus and Chalcetores; and it lies above this in sight.
μικρὸν δʼ ἄπωθεν διαβάντι ποταμίσκον πρὸς τῷ Λάτμῳ δείκνυται τάφος Ἐνδυμίωνος ἔν τινι σπηλαίῳ· εἶτα ἀφʼ Ἡρακλείας ἐπὶ Πύρραν πολίχνην πλοῦς ἑκατόν που σταδίων.
And a little way off, for one who has crossed a small river near Latmus, the tomb of Endymion is shown in a certain cave; then from Heracleia to the small town of Pyrrha is a voyage of about a hundred stadia.
§14.1.9μικρὸν δὲ πλέον τὸ ἀπὸ Μιλήτου εἰς Ἡράκλειαν ἐγκολπίζοντι, εὐθυπλοίᾳ δʼ εἰς Πύρραν ἐκ Μιλήτου τριάκοντα· τοσαύτην ἔχει μακροπορίαν ὁ παρὰ γῆν πλοῦς.
And it is a little more from Miletus to Heracleia for one who sails along the gulf, but by direct sailing from Miletus to Pyrrha it is thirty stadia; such a long distance does the voyage along the coast have.
ἀνάγκη δʼ ἐπὶ τῶν ἐνδόξων τόπων ὑπομένειν τὸ περισκελὲς τῆς τοιαύτης γεωγραφίας.
But it is necessary, in the case of famous places, to endure the minute details of such geography.
§14.1.10ἐκ δὲ Πύρρας ἐπὶ τὴν ἐκβολὴν τοῦ Μαιάνδρου πεντήκοντα· τεναγώδης δʼ ὁ τόπος καὶ ἑλώδης· ἀναπλεύσαντι δʼ ὑπηρετικοῖς σκάφεσι τριάκοντα σταδίους πόλις Μυοῦς, μία τῶν Ἰάδων τῶν δώδεκα, ἣ νῦν διʼ ὀλιγανδρίαν Μιλησίοις συμπεπόλισται.
And from Pyrrha to the mouth of the Maeander, fifty stadia; and the place is shallow and marshy; and for one who has sailed up thirty stadia in small boats, there is the city of Myus, one of the twelve Ionian cities, which now, because of sparse population, is incorporated into the Milesians.
ταύτην ὄψον λέγεται Θεμιστοκλεῖ δοῦναι Ξέρξης, ἄρτον δὲ Μαγνησίαν, οἶνον δὲ Λάμψακον.
This city, it is said, Xerxes gave to Themistocles for fish, Magnesia for bread, and Lampsacus for wine.