§16.1.13πολύκλειτος δέ φησι μὴ πλημμυρεῖν τὸν Εὐφράτην· διὰ γὰρ πεδίων φέρεσθαι μεγάλων, τὰ δʼ ὄρη τὰ μὲν δισχιλίους ἀφεστάναι σταδίους τὰ δὲ Κοσσαῖα μόλις χιλίους, οὐ πάνυ ὑψηλὰ οὐδὲ νιφόμενα σφοδρῶς οὐδʼ ἀθρόαν ἐπιφέροντα τῇ χιόνι τὴν τῆξιν·
Polyclitus says that the Euphrates does not flood; for, he says, it flows through large plains, and some of the mountains are two thousand stadia distant, and others, the Cossaean mountains, scarcely a thousand, which are not very high, nor heavily covered with snow, nor do they bring about a sudden melting of the snow.
εἶναι γὰρ καὶ τὰ ὕψη τῶν ὀρῶν ἐν τοῖς ὑπὲρ Ἐκβατάνων μέρεσι τοῖς προσβορείοις· ἐν δὲ τοῖς πρὸς νότον σχιζόμενα καὶ πλατυνόμενα πολὺ ταπεινοῦσθαι, ἅμα δὲ καὶ τὸ πολὺ τοῦ ὕδατος ἐκδέχεσθαι τὸν Τίγριν καὶ οὕτως πλημμυρεῖν.
For indeed, the heights of the mountains are in the northern parts beyond Ecbatana; while in the parts toward the south they branch off and widen out, and are much lower; and at the same time, the Tigris receives most of the water, and thus overflows.
τὸ μὲν οὖν ὕστατον ῥηθὲν φανερῶς ἄτοπον· εἰς γὰρ τὰ αὐτὰ κατέρχεται πεδία·
Now this last statement is obviously absurd; for they flow down into the same plains.
τὰ δὲ λεχθέντα ὕψη τῶν ὀρῶν ἀνωμαλίαν ἔχει, πῆ μὲν ἐξηρμένα μᾶλλον τὰ βόρεια, πῆ δὲ πλατυνόμενα τὰ μεσημβρινά·
And the mentioned heights of the mountains have irregularities, in some parts the northern being more elevated, in others the southern being widened.
ἡ δὲ χιὼν οὐ τοῖς ὕψεσι κρίνεται μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς κλίμασι· τό τε αὐτὸ ὄρος τὰ βόρεια μέρη νίφεται μᾶλλον ἢ τὰ νότια, καὶ τὴν χιόνα συμμένουσαν ἔχει μᾶλλον ἐκεῖνα ἢ ταῦτα.
But the snow is judged not only by the heights but also by the climates; and the northern parts of the same mountain are more covered with snow than the southern, and the former retain the snow longer than the latter.
ὁ μὲν οὖν Τίγρις ἐκ τῶν νοτιωτάτων μερῶν τῆς Ἀρμενίας, ἃ πλησίον ἐστὶ τῆς Βαβυλωνίας, δεχόμενος τὸ ἐκ τῶν χιόνων ὕδωρ οὐ πολὺ ὄν, ἅτε ἐκ τῆς νοτίου πλευρᾶς, ἧττον ἂν πλημμύροι· ὁ δὲ Εὐφράτης τὸ ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων δέχεται τῶν μερῶν, καὶ οὐκ ἐξ ἑνὸς ὄρους ἀλλὰ πολλῶν, ὡς ἐδηλοῦμεν ἐν τῇ περιηγήσει τῆς Ἀρμενίας, προστιθεὶς τὸ μῆκος τοῦ ποταμοῦ, ὅσον μὲν τὸ ἐν τῇ μεγάλῃ Ἀρμενίᾳ διέξεισι καὶ τῇ μικρᾷ, ὅσον δὲ τὸ ἐκ τῆς μικρᾶς Ἀρμενίας καὶ τῆς Καππαδοκίας διὰ τοῦ Ταύρου διεκβαλὼν ἕως Θαψάκου φέρεται, τὴν κάτω Συρίαν καὶ τὴν Μεσοποταμίαν ἀφορίζων, ὅσον δὲ τὸ λοιπὸν μέχρι Βαβυλῶνος καὶ τῆς ἐκβολῆς ὁμοῦ τρισμυρίων καὶ ἑξακισχιλίων σταδίων.
Therefore, the Tigris, receiving the water from the snows from the southernmost parts of Armenia, which are near Babylonia—this water not being abundant, since it comes from the southern side—would flood less; whereas the Euphrates receives the water from both parts, and not from one mountain but from many, as I showed in my description of Armenia, adding the length of the river: how much it traverses in Great and Little Armenia, how much from Little Armenia and Cappadocia, after breaking through the Taurus, flows as far as Thapsacus, bounding Lower Syria and Mesopotamia, and how much is the remainder as far as Babylon and the outlet, making in all thirty-six thousand stadia.
τὰ μὲν οὖν περὶ τὰς διώρυγας τοιαῦτα.
Such, then, are the matters concerning the canals.
§16.1.14̔η δὲ χώρα φέρει κριθὰς μὲν ὅσας οὐκ ἄλλη (καὶ γὰρ τριακοσιοντάχουν λέγουσι), τὰ δὲ ἄλλα ἐκ τοῦ φοίνικος παρέχεται· καὶ γὰρ ἄρτον καὶ οἶνον καὶ ὄξος καὶ μέλι καὶ ἄλφιτα· τά τε πλεκτὰ παντοῖα ἐκ τούτου· τοῖς δὲ πυρῆσιν ἀντʼ ἀνθράκων οἱ χαλκεῖς χρῶνται, βρεχόμενοι δὲ τοῖς σιτιζομένοις εἰσὶ τροφὴ βουσὶ καὶ προβάτοις.
The country produces more barley than any other (for indeed they say it yields three-hundredfold), and other things are provided by the date-palm; for indeed it yields bread, wine, vinegar, honey, and meal; and all kinds of woven articles are made from it; and the blacksmiths use the stones instead of charcoal, and these stones, when soaked, are food for fattened cattle and sheep.
φασὶ δʼ εἶναι καὶ Περσικὴν ᾠδήν, ἐν ᾗ τὰς ὠφελείας τριακοσίας καὶ ἑξήκοντα διαριθμοῦνται·
And they say there is also a Persian song in which three hundred and sixty uses of the palm-tree are enumerated.
ἐλαίῳ δὲ χρῶνται τῷ σησαμίνῳ τὸ πλέον· οἱ δʼ ἄλλοι τόποι σπανίζονται τούτου τοῦ φυτοῦ.
They use sesame oil for the most part; but other places are in want of this plant.
§16.1.15γίνεται δʼ ἐν τῇ Βαβυλωνίᾳ καὶ ἄσφαλτος πολλή, περὶ ἧς Ἐρατοσθένης μὲν οὕτως εἴρηκεν ὅτι
ἡ μὲν ὑγρὰ ἣν καλοῦσι νάφθαν, γίνεται ἐν τῇ Σουσίδι, ἡ δὲ ξηρὰ δυναμένη πήττεσθαι ἐν τῇ Βαβυλωνίᾳ· ταύτης δʼ ἐστὶν ἡ πηγὴ τοῦ Εὐφράτου πλησίον· πλημμύροντος δὲ τούτου κατὰ τὰς τῶν χιόνων τήξεις καὶ αὐτὴ πληροῦται καὶ ὑπέρχυσιν εἰς τὸν ποταμὸν λαμβάνει· ἐνταῦθα δὲ συνίστανται βῶλοι μεγάλαι πρὸς τὰς οἰκοδομὰς ἐπιτήδειαι τὰς διὰ τῆς ὀπτῆς πλίνθου. ἄλλοι δὲ καὶ τὴν ὑγρὰν ἐν τῇ Βαβυλωνίᾳ γίνεσθαί φασι.
Much asphalt is also produced in Babylonia, concerning which Eratosthenes speaks thus: "The liquid kind, which they call naphtha, is produced in Susis, but the dry kind, which is able to solidify, in Babylonia; and the spring of this dry asphalt is near the Euphrates; and when the river overflows at the time of the melting of the snow, the spring also is filled and gets an overflow into the river; and there large clods of asphalt solidify, which are suitable for buildings made of baked brick." Others say that the liquid kind also is produced in Babylonia.
περὶ μὲν οὖν τῆς ξηρᾶς εἴρηται πόσον τὸ χρήσιμον τὸ ἐκ τῶν οἰκοδομιῶν μάλιστα· φασὶ δὲ καὶ πλοῖα πλέκεσθαι, ἐμπλασθέντα δʼ ἀσφάλτῳ πυκνοῦσθαι.
Now, as for the dry kind, it has been stated how great its utility is, especially from buildings; and they say that boats are also woven, and when smeared with asphalt are made water-tight.
τὴν δὲ ὑγρὰν ἣν νάφθαν καλοῦσι, παράδοξον ἔχειν συμβαίνει τὴν φύσιν· προσαχθεὶς γὰρ ὁ νάφθας πυρὶ πλησίον ἀναρπάζει τὸ πῦρ, κἂν ἐπιχρίσας αὐτῷ σῶμα προσαγάγῃς, φλέγεται· σβέσαι δʼ ὕδατι οὐχ οἷόν τε (ἐκκαίεται γὰρ μᾶλλον) πλὴν εἰ πάνυ πολλῷ, ἀλλὰ πηλῷ καὶ ὄξει καὶ στυπτηρίᾳ καὶ ἰξῷ πνιγεὶς σβέννυται.
But the liquid kind, which they call naphtha, happens to have a wondrous nature; for if naphtha is brought near fire, it catches the fire, and if you smear a body with it and bring fire near, it bursts into flame; and it is impossible to extinguish it with water (for it burns all the more), unless with a very great quantity, but it is extinguished when smothered with mud, vinegar, alum, and bird-lime.
πείρας δὲ χάριν φασὶν Ἀλέξανδρον ἐν λουτρῷ προσχέαι παιδὶ τοῦ νάφθα καὶ προσαγαγεῖν λύχνον· φλεγόμενον δὲ τὸν παῖδα ἐγγὺς ἐλθεῖν τοῦ ἀπολέσθαι, πλὴν πολλῷ σφόδρα καταντλοῦντες τῷ ὕδατι ἐξίσχυσαν καὶ διέσωσαν οἱ περιεστῶτες.
For the sake of experiment, they say, Alexander poured some of the naphtha on a boy in a bath and brought a lamp near; and the boy, bursting into flames, came near being destroyed, but the bystanders, by pouring a great quantity of water upon him, prevailed and saved him.
Ποσειδώνιος δέ φησι τοῦ ἐν τῇ Βαβυλωνίᾳ νάφθα τὰς πηγὰς τὰς μὲν εἶναι λευκοῦ τὰς δὲ μέλανος· τούτων δὲ τὰς μὲν εἶναι θείου ὑγροῦ (λέγω δὲ τὰς τοῦ λευκοῦ· ταύτας δʼ εἶναι τὰς ἐπισπώσας τὰς φλόγας), τὰς δὲ τοῦ μέλανος ἀσφάλτου ὑγρᾶς, ᾧ ἀντʼ ἐλαίου τοὺς λύχνους κάουσι.
Poseidonius says that of the springs of naphtha in Babylonia, some are of white and others of black; and of these, some are of liquid sulfur (I mean those of the white, and these are the ones that attract the flames), and those of the black are of liquid asphalt, which they burn in lamps instead of oil.