§8.5.6περὶ δὲ τῆς φύσεως τῶν τόπων καὶ τούτων καὶ τῶν Μεσσηνιακῶν ταῦτα μὲν ἀποδεκτέον λέγοντος Εὐριπίδου· τὴν γὰρ Λακωνικήν φησιν ἔχειν
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πολὺν μὲν ἄροτον, ἐκπονεῖν δʼ οὐ ῥᾴδιον· κοίλη γάρ, ὄρεσι περίδρομος, τραχεῖά τε
δυσείσβολός τε πολεμίοις,
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τὴν δὲ Μεσσηνιακὴν
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καλλίκαρπον
κατάρρυτόν τε μυρίοισι νάμασι,
καὶ βουσὶ καὶ ποίμναισιν εὐβοτωτάτην
οὔτʼ ἐν πνοαῖσι χείματος δυσχείμερον,
οὔτʼ αὖ τεθρίπποις ἡλίου θερμὴν ἄγαν. "
καὶ ὑποβὰς τῶν πάλων φησὶν ὧν οἱ Ἡρακλεῖδαι περὶ τῆς χώρας ἐποιήσαντο, τὸν μὲν πρότερον γενέσθαι
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γαίας Λακαίνης κύριον, φαύλου χθονός· "
τὸν δὲ δεύτερον τῆς Μεσσήνης
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ἀρετὴν ἐχούσης μείζονʼ ἢ λόγῳ φράσαι. "
οἵαν καὶ ὁ Τυρταῖος φράζει.
Concerning the nature of the places, both of these and of the Messenian ones, we must accept what Euripides says; for he says that Laconica has "much arable land, but not easy to cultivate; for it is hollow, surrounded by mountains, and rugged, and difficult for enemies to invade," and of Messenia, "rich in fruit and watered by countless streams, and most excellent for feeding cattle and flocks, neither too cold in the blasts of winter, nor again too hot in the four-horse chariot of the sun." And going further down in the poem, he speaks of the lots which the Heracleidae cast for the country, saying that the first lot became "lord of the Lacanian land, a poor soil," and the second lot became lord of Messene, "which has a goodness greater than words can express." such as Tyrtaeus also describes.
τὴν δὲ Λακωνικὴν καὶ τὴν Μεσσηνίαν ὁρίζειν αὐτοῦ φήσαντος
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Παμισὸν εἰς θάλασσαν ἐξορμώμενον,
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οὐ συγχωρητέον, ὃς διὰ μέσης ῥεῖ τῆς Μεσσηνίας, οὐδαμοῦ τῆς νῦν Λακωνικῆς ἁπτόμενος.
But when he says that Laconica and Messenia are bounded by "Pamisus rushing forth into the sea," we must not agree with him; for this river flows through the middle of Messenia, nowhere touching the present Laconica.
οὐκ εὖ δὲ οὐδʼ ὅτι τῆς Μεσσηνίας ὁμοίως ἐπιθαλαττιαίας οὔσης τῇ Λακωνικῇ φησὶν αὐτὴν πρόσω ναυτίλοισιν εἶναι.
Nor is he correct when he says that Messenia, although similarly situated on the coast as Laconica, is far from sailors.
ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ τὴν Ἦλιν εὖ διορίζει
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πρόσω δὲ βάντι ποταμὸν Ἦλις ἡ Διὸς
γείτων κάθηται. "
εἴτε γὰρ τὴν νῦν Ἠλείαν βούλεται λέγειν, ἥτις ρεῖ τῇ Μεσσηνίᾳ, ταύτης οὐ προσάπτεται ὁ Παμι, ὥσπερ γε τῆς Λακωνικῆς·
Moreover, he does not define Elis well: "and to one who goes further, Elis, the neighbor of Zeus, sits near the river." For whether he wishes to mean the present Eleia, which borders on Messenia, the Pamisus does not touch this, just as it does not touch Laconica; for it has been said that it flows through the middle of Messenia.
εἴρηται γὰρ ὅτι διὰ μέεῖ τῆς Μεσσηνίας· εἴτε τὴν παλαιὰν τὴν κοίλην νην, πολὺ μᾶλλον ἐκπίπτει τῆς ἀληθείας· διαβάνὸν Παμισὸν ἔστι πολλὴ τῆς Μεσσηνίας, εἶθʼ ἡ τῶν Λεπρεατῶν ἅπασα καὶ Μακιστίων, ἣν Τριφυλίαν ἐκάλουν, σᾶτις καὶ ἡ Ὀλυμπία, εἶτα μετὰ τριακοσί ἡ Ἦλις.
Or if he means the ancient "Hollow" Elis, he falls much further from the truth; for after crossing the Pamisus, there is much of Messenia, then the entire land of the Lepreatae and the Macistii, which they used to call Triphylia, where Olympia also is, then after three hundred stadia is Elis.
§8.5.7γραφόντων δὲ τῶν μὲν
Λακεδαίμονα κητώεσσαν
τῶν δὲ
καιετάεσσαν,
ζητοῦσι τὴν κητώεσσαν τίνα δέχεσθαι χρή, εἴτε ἀπὸ τῶν κητῶν εἴτε μεγάλην, ὅπερ δοκεῖ πιθανώτερον εἶναι·
Since some write "Lacedaemon full of monsters (ketoessan)" and others "full of fissures (kaietassan)," they inquire how one should interpret "ketoessan", whether as derived from "ketē" (sea-monsters) or as "large," which seems more plausible.
τὴν δὲ καιετάεσσαν οἱ μὲν καλαμινθώδη δέχονται, οἱ δὲ ὅτι οἱ ἀπὸ τῶν σεισμῶν ῥωχμοὶ καιετοὶ λέγονται· καὶ ὁ καιέτας τὸ δεσμωτήριον ἐντεῦθεν τὸ παρὰ Λακεδαιμονίοις, σπήλαιόν τι·
As for "kaietassan", some interpret it as "abounding in calaminth," while others say that the fissures caused by earthquakes are called "kaietoi"; and from this the "kaietas", the prison among the Lacedaemonians, which is a kind of cave, gets its name.
ἔνιοι δὲ κώους μᾶλλον τὰ τοιαῦτα κοιλώματα λέγεσθαί φασιν, ἀφʼ οὗ καὶ τὸ
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φηρσὶν ὀρεσκῴοισιν. "
εὔσειστος δʼ ἡ Λακωνική· καὶ δὴ τοῦ Ταϋγέτου κορυφάς τινας ἀπορραγῆναι τινὲς μνημονεύουσιν.
But some say that such hollows are rather called "kōoi," from which also comes the expression "wild beasts dwelling in mountain caves." And Laconica is very subject to earthquakes; indeed, some recall that certain peaks of Taygetus broke off.
εἰσὶ δὲ λατομίαι λίθου πολυτελοῦς τοῦ μὲν Ταιναρίου ἐν Ταινάρῳ παλαιαί, νεωστὶ δὲ καὶ ἐν τῷ Ταϋγέτῳ μέταλλον ἀνέῳξάν τινες εὐμέγεθες, χορηγὸν ἔχοντες τὴν τῶν Ῥωμαίων πολυτέλειαν.
There are also quarries of costly stone, those of Taenarum stone in Taenarum being ancient, and recently some opened a very large mine in Taygetus, having the luxury of the Romans as their sponsor.
§8.5.8ὅτι δὲ Λακεδαίμων ὁμωνύμως λέγεται καὶ ἡ χώρα καὶ ἡ πόλις, δηλοῖ καὶ Ὅμηρος· λέγω δὲ χώραν σὺν τῇ Μεσσηνίᾳ.
That Lacedaemon is called homonymously both the country and the city, Homer also makes clear; and I mean the country along with Messenia.
περὶ μ τόξων ὅταν λέγῃ
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καλά, τὰ οἱ ξεῖνος Λακεδαίμονι δῶκε τυχήσας,
Ἴφιτος Εὐρυτίδης,
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εἶτʼ ἐπενέγκῃ
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τὼ δʼ ἐν Μεσσήνῃ ξυμβλήτην ἀλλήλοιιν
οἴκῳ ἐν Ὀρτιλόχοιο,
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τὴν χώραν λέγει, ἧς μέρος ἦν καὶ ἡ Μεσσηνία· οὐ διήνεγκεν οὖν αὐτῷ καὶ οὕτως εἰπεῖν
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ξεῖνος Λακεδαίμονι δῶκε τυχήσας,
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καὶ
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τὼ δʼ ἐν Μεσσήνῃ ξυμβλήτην. "
ὅτι γὰρ αἱ Φηραὶ εἰσὶν ὁ τοῦ Ὀρτιλόχου οἶκος δῆλον· "
ἐς Φηρὰς δʼ ἵκοντο Διοκλῆος ποτὶ δῶμα,
υἱέος Ὀρτιλόχοιο,
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ὅ τε Τηλέμαχος καὶ ὁ Πεισίστρατος· αἱ δὲ Φηραὶ τῆς Μεσσηνίας εἰσίν.
When he says of the bow, "beautiful, which a friend gave him when he met him in Lacedaemon, Iphitus son of Eurytus," and then adds, "and the two met each other in Messene in the house of Ortilochus," he means the country, of which Messenia also was a part; therefore, it made no difference to him to speak thus: "a friend gave him when he met him in Lacedaemon," and "and the two met in Messene." For that Pherae is the house of Ortilochus is clear: "and they came to Pherae, to the house of Diocles, the son of Ortilochus," namely Telemachus and Pisistratus; and Pherae belongs to Messenia.
ὅταν δʼ ἐκ τῶν Φηρῶν ὁρμηθέντας τοὺς περὶ Τηλέμαχον πανημερίους φῇ σείειν ζυγόν, εἶτʼ εἴπῃ
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δύσετό τʼ ἠέλιος,
οἱ δʼ ἷξον κοίλην Λακεδαίμονα κητώεσσαν· πρὸς δʼ ἄρα δώματʼ ἔλων Μενελάου,
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τὴν πόλιν δεῖ δέχεσθαι· εἰ δὲ μή, ἐκ Λακεδαίμονος εἰς Λακεδαίμονα φανεῖται λέγων τὴν ἄφιξιν·
But when he says that Telemachus and his companion, starting from Pherae, shook the yoke all day long, and then says, "and the sun set, and they came to hollow Lacedaemon full of monsters; and they drove to the palace of Menelaus," one must understand the city; otherwise, he will appear to be speaking of their arrival from Lacedaemon into Lacedaemon.
ἄλλως τε οὐ πιθανὸν μὴ ἐν Σπάρτῃ τὴν οἴκησιν εἶναι τοῦ Μενελάου, μὴ οὔσης ἐκεῖ τὸν Τηλέμαχον λέγειν
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εἶμι γὰρ ἐς Σπάρτην τε καὶ εἰς Πύλον. "
δοκεῖ πίπτειν τούτῳ τὸ τοῖς τῆς χώρας ἐπιθέτοις αὐ εἰ μὴ νὴ Δία ποιητικῇ τις τοῦτο συγχωρήσει ἐξοτιον γὰρ τὴν Μεσσήνην μετὰ τῆς Λακωνικῆ τῆς ὑπὸ τῷ Νέστορι, μηδὲ δὴ καθʼ αὑτὴν τάτ καταλόγῳ μηδὲ κοινωνοῦσαν τῆς στρα.
Besides, it is not plausible that the dwelling of Menelaus was not in Sparta, since Telemachus says, "for I shall go to Sparta and to Pylos." It seems to fall to this writer to apply the epithets of the country to the city, unless indeed by Zeus one should allow this as a poetic license; for it is difficult to consider Messene along with Laconica as being under Nestor, and indeed not even arranging it by itself in the Catalogue, nor sharing in the expedition.