Humanitext Reader

Strabo · Geography §7.fragments.14-7.fragments.19

The Peneius Basin and Cities around Mount Olympus

Passage 229 of 577 · Greek

Summary

The text describes the geographical configuration of the Peneius River and Mount Olympus, which form the boundary between Macedonia and Thessaly, along with the neighboring cities of Gyrton, Crannon, and Dion, and the legend of Orpheus.

§7.fragments.14τῶν ταινιῶν, φησίν, ἀφοριοῦμεν πρώτους τοὺς περὶ Πηνειὸν οἰκοῦντας καὶ τὸν Ἁλιάκμονα πρὸς θαλάττῃ. ῥεῖ δʼ ὁ Πηνειὸς ἐκ τοῦ Πίνδου ὄρους διὰ μέσης τῆς Θετταλίας πρὸς ἕω.
"Of the strips of land," he says, "we shall first mark off those who dwell around the Peneius and the Haliacmon near the sea." And the Peneius flows from Mount Pindus through the middle of Thessaly toward the east.
διελθὼν δὲ τὰς τῶν Λαπιθῶν πόλεις καὶ Περραιβῶν τινας συνάπτει τοῖς Τέμπεσι, παραλαβὼν πλείους ποταμούς, ὧν καὶ ὁ Εὔρωπος, ὃν Τιταρήσιον εἶπεν ὁ ποιητής, τὰς πηγὰς ἔχοντα ἀπὸ τοῦ Τιταρίου ὄρους συμφυοῦς τῷ Ὀλύμπῳ, ὃ κἀντεῦθεν ἄρχεται διορίζειν τὴν Μακεδονίαν ἀπὸ τῆς Θετταλίας.
And having passed through the cities of the Lapithae and some of the Perrhaebi, it connects with Tempe, after receiving several rivers, among which is also the Europos, which the poet called Titaresios, having its sources in Mount Titarius which is contiguous to Olympus, which indeed from this point begins to divide Macedonia from Thessaly.
ἔστι γὰρ τὰ Τέμπη στενὸς αὐλὼν μεταξὺ Ὀλύμπου καὶ Ὄσσης.
For Tempe is a narrow glen between Olympus and Ossa.
φέρεται δʼ ὁ Πηνειὸς ἀπὸ τῶν στενῶν τούτων ἐπὶ σταδίους τετταράκοντα, ἐν ἀριστερᾷ μὲν ἔχων τὸν Ὄλυμπον, Μακεδονικὸν ὄρος μετεωρότατον, τῶν ἐκβολῶν τοῦ ποταμοῦ.
And the Peneius flows from these narrows for forty stadia, having on its left, as one goes towards the outlets of the river, Olympus, a very high Macedonian mountain.
ἐπὶ μὲν δὴ ταῖς ἐκβολαῖς τοῦ Πηνειοῦ ἐν δεξιᾷ Γυρτὼν ἵδρυται, Περραιβικὴ πόλις καὶ Μαγνῆτις, ἐν ᾗ Πειρίθους τε καὶ Ἰξίων ἐβασίλευσαν· ἀπέχει δʼ ὅσον σταδίους ἑκατὸν τῆς Γυρτῶνος πόλις Κραννών, καί φασιν, ὅταν εἴπῃ ὁ ποιητής " τὼ μὲν ἄρʼ ἐκ Θρῄκης " καὶ ἑξῆς, Ἐφύρους μὲν λέγεσθαι τοὺς Κραννωνίους, Φλεγύας δὲ τοὺς Γυρτωνίους· ἐπὶ δὲ θάτερα ἡ Πιερία.
Now at the outlets of the Peneius, on the right, is situated Gyrton, a Perrhaebian and Magnetian city, where Peirithous and Ixion reigned; and about one hundred stadia distant from Gyrton is the city of Crannon, and they say that when the poet says, "These two indeed from Thrace... "and so on, by "Ephyri" are meant the Crannonians, and by "Phlegyae" the Gyrtonians; and on the other side is Pieria.
E.
Vatican Epitome.
§7.fragments.15ὅτι ὁ Πηνειὸς ποταμός, ῥέων διὰ τῶν Τεμπῶν, καὶ ἀρχόμενος ἀπὸ τοῦ Πίνδου ὄρους, καὶ διὰ μέσης Θεσσαλίας καὶ τῶν Λαπιθῶν καὶ Περραιβῶν, δεχόμενός τε τὸν Εὔρωπον ποταμόν, ὃν Ὅμηρος Τιταρήσιον ὠνόμασε, διορίζει Μακεδονίαν μὲν πρὸς βορρᾶν, Θεσσαλίαν δὲ πρὸς νότον.
The river Peneius, flowing through Tempe, and starting from Mount Pindus, and passing through the middle of Thessaly and the territories of the Lapithae and the Perrhaebi, and receiving the river Europos, which Homer named Titaresios, bounds Macedonia on the north and Thessaly on the south.
αἱ δὲ τοῦ Εὐρώπου ποταμοῦ πηγαὶ ἐκ τοῦ Τιταρίου ὄρους ἄρχονται, ὅ ἐστι συνεχὲς τῷ Ὀλύμπῳ.
And the sources of the river Europos begin from Mount Titarius, which is contiguous to Olympus.
καὶ ἔστιν ὁ μὲν Ὄλυμπος τῆς Μακεδονίας, ἡ δὲ Ὄσσα τῆς Θεσσαλίας καὶ τὸ Πήλιον.
And Olympus indeed belongs to Macedonia, while Ossa and Pelion belong to Thessaly.
Epit.
Epitome.
§7.fragments.16ὅτι ὑπὸ ταῖς ὑπωρείαις τοῦ Ὀλύμπου παρὰ τὸν Πηνειὸν ποταμὸν Γυρτὼν ἔστι, πόλις Περραιβικὴ καὶ Μαγνῆτις, ἐν ᾗ Πειρίθους τε καὶ Ἰξίων ἦρξαν.
Under the foothills of Olympus, by the river Peneius, is Gyrton, a Perrhaebian and Magnetian city, where Peirithous and Ixion ruled.
ἀπέχει δʼ ἑκατὸν τῆς Γυρτῶνος πόλεως Κραννών, καί φασιν, ὅταν εἴπῃ ὁ ποιητής " τὼ μὲν ἄρʼ ἐκ Θρῄκης, " Ἐφύρους μὲν λέγεσθαι τοὺς Κραννωνίους, Φλεγύας δὲ τοὺς Γυρτωνίους.
And Crannon is distant one hundred stadia from the city of Gyrton, and they say that when the poet says, "These two indeed from Thrace, "by "Ephyri" are meant the Crannonians, and by "Phlegyae" the Gyrtonians.
Epit.
Epitome.
§7.fragments.16aἀπέχει δὲ σταδίους ἑκατὸν Γυρτῶνος ἡ Κραννὼν πόλις, ὥς φησι Στράβων.
And the city of Crannon is distant one hundred stadia from Gyrton, as Strabo says.
Stephanus in Κραννών.
Stephanus of Byzantium, under "Crannon".
§7.fragments.16bὉμόλιον πόλις Μακεδονίας καὶ Μαγνησίας.
Homolion is a city of Macedonia and Magnesia.
Στράβων ἑβδόμῃ.
Strabo, Book VII.
Stephanus v. Ὁμόλιον Ep. Strabo 9 p. 443
Stephanus of Byzantium, under "Homolion", and Strabo Book IX, p. 443.
§7.fragments.17ὅτι τὸ Δῖον ἡ πόλις οὐκ ἐν τῷ αἰγιαλῷ τοῦ Θερμαίου κόλπου ἐστὶν ἐν ταῖς ὑπωρείαις τοῦ Ὀλύμπου, ἀλλʼ ὅσον ἑπτὰ ἀπέχει σταδίους· ἔχει δʼ ἡ πόλις τὸ Δῖον κώμην πλησίον Πίμπλειαν, ἔνθα Ὀρφεὺς διέτριβεν.
The city of Dion is not on the shore of the Thermaic Gulf at the foothills of Olympus, but is distant about seven stadia; and the city of Dion has near it a village, Pimpleia, where Orpheus lived.
Epit.
Epitome.
§7.fragments.18ὅτι ὑπὸ τῷ Ὀλύμπῳ πόλις Δῖον.
Under Olympus is the city of Dion.
ἔχει δὲ κώμην πλησίον Πίμπλειαν· ἐνταῦθα τὸν Ὀρφέα διατρῖψαί φησι τὸν Κίκονα, ἄνδρα γόητα, ἀπὸ μουσικῆς ἅμα καὶ μαντικῆς καὶ τῶν περὶ τὰς τελετὰς ὀργιασμῶν ἀγυρτεύοντα τὸ πρῶτον, εἶτʼ ἤδη καὶ μειζόνων ἀξιοῦντα ἑαυτὸν καὶ ὄχλον καὶ δύναμιν κατασκευαζόμενον· τοὺς μὲν οὖν ἑκουσίως ἀποδέχεσθαι, τινὰς δʼ ὑπιδομένους ἐπιβουλὴν καὶ βίαν ἐπισυστάντας διαφθεῖραι αὐτόν.
And it has near it a village, Pimpleia; there, he says, lived Orpheus, the Ciconian, a wizard of a man, who at first went about begging, practicing music and at the same time prophecy and the orgiastic rites of the initiations, but then presently, deeming himself worthy of greater things, gathered a crowd and built up a power; some indeed received him willingly, but others, suspecting plot and violence, conspired against him and destroyed him.
ἐνταῦθα πλησίον καὶ τὰ Λείβηθρα.
Near here is also Leibethra.
E.
Vatican Epitome.
§7.fragments.19ὅτι τὸ παλαιὸν οἱ μάντεις καὶ μουσικὴν εἰργάζοντο.
In ancient times, prophets practiced music as well.
Epit.
Epitome.

Notes

  1. 7.fragments.14ὃ κἀντεῦθεν ἄρχεται διορίζειν — The relative pronoun ὃ (neuter singular nominative) refers back to Mount Titarius (which is neuter in Greek, ὄρος) or to the fact that it is contiguous with Olympus. κἀντεῦθεν is a crasis of καὶ ἐντεῦθεν, meaning 'and from this point' or 'indeed from here'.
  2. 7.fragments.14τῶν ἐκβολῶν τοῦ ποταμοῦ — In the context of the participle clause 'having Olympus on his left', the genitive τῶν ἐκβολῶν functions either as a genitive of direction/relation ('on the left as one goes toward the outlets of the river') or as a loosely bound spatial genitive. A literal translation 'on the left of the outlets' would misrepresent the geography, as Mount Olympus is situated along the left bank (north) of the river, not literally at the outlet itself.
  3. 7.fragments.18διατρῖψαί φησι τὸν Κίκονα — An accusative and infinitive construction in indirect discourse. The main verb φησί (he says) governs the infinitive διατρῖψαι, whose subject accusative is τὸν Ὀρφέα (and its appositives τὸν Κίκονα, ἄνδρα γόητα). The subsequent participles ἀγυρτεύοντα, ἀξιοῦντα, and κατασκευαζόμενον are also in the accusative, agreeing with Orpheus.
  4. 7.fragments.18τοὺς μὲν οὖν ἑκουσίως ἀποδέχεσθαι — The accusative and infinitive construction governed by φησί in the previous sentence continues here. The subject accusative of ἀποδέχεσθαι is τοὺς μέν ('some people indeed'), while the subject of the contrasting infinitive διαφθεῖραι in the next clause is τινάς ('others').

Cite this passage

Strabo, Geography §7.fragments.14-7.fragments.19. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0099.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.fragments.14-7.fragments.19

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