Ξέρξης δὲ ὁρέων ἐκ τῆς Θέρμης ὄρεα τὰ Θεσσαλικά, τόν τε Ὄλυμπον καὶ τὴν Ὄσσαν, μεγάθεΐ τε ὑπερμήκεα ἐόντα, διὰ μέσου τε αὐτῶν αὐλῶνα στεινὸν πυνθανόμενος εἶναι διʼ οὗ ῥέει ὁ Πηνειός, ἀκούων τε ταύτῃ εἶναι ὁδὸν ἐς Θεσσαλίην φέρουσαν, ἐπεθύμησε πλώσας θεήσασθαι τὴν ἐκβολὴν τοῦ Πηνειοῦ, ὅτι τὴν ἄνω ὁδὸν ἔμελλε ἐλᾶν διὰ Μακεδόνων τῶν κατύπερθε οἰκημένων ἔστε Περραιβοὺς παρὰ Γόννον πόλιν· ταύτῃ γὰρ ἀσφαλέστατον ἐπυνθάνετο εἶναι.
ὡς δὲ ἐπεθύμησε, καὶ ἐποίεε ταῦτα· ἐσβὰς ἐς Σιδωνίην νέα, ἐς τήν περ ἐσέβαινε αἰεὶ ὅκως τι ἐθέλοι τοιοῦτο ποιῆσαι, ἀνέδεξε σημήιον καὶ τοῖσι ἄλλοισι ἀνάγεσθαι, καταλιπὼν αὐτοῦ τὸν πεζὸν στρατόν. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἀπίκετο καὶ ἐθεήσατο Ξέρξης τὴν ἐκβολὴν τοῦ Πηνειοῦ, ἐν θώματι μεγάλῳ ἐνέσχετο, καλέσας δὲ τοὺς κατηγεμόνας τῆς ὁδοῦ εἴρετο εἰ τὸν ποταμὸν ἐστὶ παρατρέψαντα ἑτέρῃ ἐς θάλασσαν ἐξαγαγεῖν.
Then Xerxes seeing from Therma the mountains of Thessaly, Olympos and Ossa, that they were of very great height, and being informed that in the midst between them there was a narrow channel, through which flows the Peneios, and hearing also that by this way there was a good road leading to Thessaly, formed a desire to sail thither and look at the outlet of the Peneios, because he was meaning to march by the upper road, through the land of the Macedonians who dwell inland, until he came to the Perraibians, passing by the city of Gonnos; for by this way he was informed that it was safest to go. And having formed this desire, so also he proceeded to do; that is, he embarked in a Sidonian ship, the same in which he used always to embark when he wished to do anything of this kind, and he displayed a signal for the others to put out to sea also, leaving there the land-army. Then when Xerxes had looked at the outlet of the Peneios, he was possessed by great wonder, and summoning his guides he asked them whether it was possible to turn the river aside and bring it out to the sea by another way.
τὴν δὲ Θεσσαλίην λόγος ἐστὶ τὸ παλαιὸν εἶναι λίμνην, ὥστε γε συγκεκληιμένην πάντοθεν ὑπερμήκεσι ὄρεσι. τὰ μὲν γὰρ αὐτῆς πρὸς τὴν ἠῶ ἔχοντα τό τε Πήλιον ὄρος καὶ ἡ Ὄσσα ἀποκληίει συμμίσγοντα τὰς ὑπωρείας ἀλλήλοισι, τὰ δὲ πρὸς βορέω ἀνέμου Ὄλυμπος, τὰ δὲ πρὸς ἑσπέρην Πίνδος, τὰ δὲ πρὸς μεσαμβρίην τε καὶ ἄνεμον νότον ἡ Ὄθρυς· τὸ μέσον δὲ τούτων τῶν λεχθέντων ὀρέων ἡ Θεσσαλίη ἐστὶ ἐοῦσα κοίλη.
ὥστε ὦν ποταμῶν ἐς αὐτὴν καὶ ἄλλων συχνῶν ἐσβαλλόντων, πέντε δὲ τῶν δοκίμων μάλιστα τῶνδε, Πηνειοῦ καὶ Ἀπιδανοῦ καὶ Ὀνοχώνου καὶ Ἐνιπέος καὶ Παμίσου, οἳ μέν νυν ἐς τὸ πεδίον τοῦτο συλλεγόμενοι ἐκ τῶν ὀρέων τῶν περικληιόντων τὴν Θεσσαλίην ὀνομαζόμενοι διʼ ἑνὸς αὐλῶνος καὶ τούτου στεινοῦ ἔκροον ἔχουσι ἐς θάλασσαν, προσυμμίσγοντες τὸ ὕδωρ πάντες ἐς τὠυτό·
ἐπεὰν δὲ συμμιχθέωσι τάχιστα, ἐνθεῦτεν ἤδη ὁ Πηνειὸς τῷ οὐνόματι κατακρατέων ἀνωνύμους τοὺς ἄλλους εἶναι ποιέει. τὸ δὲ παλαιὸν λέγεται, οὐκ ἐόντος κω τοῦ αὐλῶνος καὶ διεκρόου τούτου, τοὺς ποταμοὺς τούτους, καὶ πρὸς τοῖσι ποταμοῖσι τούτοισι τὴν Βοιβηίδα λίμνην, οὔτε ὀνομάζεσθαι κατά περ νῦν ῥέειν τε οὐδὲν ἧσσον ἢ νῦν, ῥέοντας δὲ ποιέειν τὴν Θεσσαλίην πᾶσαν πέλαγος.
αὐτοὶ μέν νυν Θεσσαλοί φασι Ποσειδέωνα ποιῆσαι τὸν αὐλῶνα διʼ οὗ ῥέει ὁ Πηνειός, οἰκότα λέγοντες· ὅστις γὰρ νομίζει Ποσειδέωνα τὴν γῆν σείειν καὶ τὰ διεστεῶτα ὑπὸ σεισμοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ τούτου ἔργα εἶναι, κἂν ἐκεῖνο ἰδὼν φαίη Ποσειδέωνα ποιῆσαι· ἔστι γὰρ σεισμοῦ ἔργον, ὡς ἐμοὶ φαίνεται εἶναι, ἡ διάστασις τῶν ὀρέων.
Now it is said that Thessaly was in old time a lake, being enclosed on all sides by very lofty mountains: for the parts of it which lie towards the East are shut in by the ranges of Pelion and Ossa, which join one another in their lower slopes, the parts towards the North Wind by Olympos, those towards the West by Pindos and those towards the mid-day and the South Wind by Othrys; and the region in the midst, between these mountains which have been named, is Thessaly, forming as it were a hollow. Whereas then many rivers flow into it and among them these five of most note, namely Peneios, Apidanos, Onochonos, Enipeus and Pamisos, these, which collect their waters from the mountains that enclose Thessaly round, and flow into this plain, with names separate each one, having their outflow into the sea by one channel and that a narrow one, first mingling their waters all together in one and the same stream; and so soon as they are mingled together, from that point onwards the Peneios prevails with its name over the rest and causes the others to lose their separate names. And it is said that in ancient time, there not being yet this channel and outflow between the mountains, these rivers, and besides these rivers the lake Boibeïs also, had no names as they have now, but by their waters they made Thessaly to be all sea. The Thessalians themselves say that Poseidon made the channel through which the Peneios flows; and reasonably they report it thus, because whosoever believes that it is Poseidon who shakes the Earth and that the partings asunder produced by earthquake are the work of this god, would say, if he saw this, that it was made by Poseidon; for the parting asunder of the mountains is the work of an earthquake, as is evident to me.
οἱ δὲ κατηγεόμενοι, εἰρομένου Ξέρξεω εἰ ἔστι ἄλλη ἔξοδος ἐς θάλασσαν τῷ Πηνειῷ, ἐξεπιστάμενοι ἀτρεκέως εἶπον βασιλεῦ, ποταμῷ τούτῳ οὐκ ἔστι ἄλλη ἐξήλυσις ἐς θάλασσαν κατήκουσα, ἀλλʼ ἥδε αὐτή· ὄρεσι γὰρ περιεστεφάνωται πᾶσα Θεσσαλίη. Ξέρξην δὲ λέγεται εἰπεῖν πρὸς ταῦτα σοφοὶ ἄνδρες εἰσὶ Θεσσαλοί.
ταῦτʼ ἄρα πρὸ πολλοῦ ἐφυλάξαντο γνωσιμαχέοντες καὶ τἆλλα καὶ ὅτι χώρην ἄρα εἶχον εὐαίρετόν τε καὶ ταχυάλωτον. τὸν γὰρ ποταμὸν πρῆγμα ἂν ἦν μοῦνον ἐπεῖναι σφέων ἐπὶ τὴν χώρην, χώματι ἐκ τοῦ αὐλῶνος ἐκβιβάσαντα καὶ παρατρέψαντα διʼ ὧν νῦν ῥέει ῥεέθρων, ὥστε Θεσσαλίην πᾶσαν ἔξω τῶν ὀρέων ὑπόβρυχα γενέσθαι.
ταῦτα δὲ ἔχοντα ἔλεγε ἐς τοὺς Ἀλεύεω παῖδας, ὅτι πρῶτοι Ἑλλήνων ἐόντες Θεσσαλοὶ ἔδοσαν ἑωυτοὺς βασιλέι, δοκέων ὁ Ξέρξης ἀπὸ παντός σφεας τοῦ ἔθνεος ἐπαγγέλλεσθαι φιλίην. εἴπας δὲ ταῦτα καὶ θεησάμενος ἀπέπλεε ἐς τὴν Θέρμην.
So the guides, when Xerxes asked whether there was any other possible outlet to the sea for the Peneios, said with exact knowledge of the truth: “O king, for this river there is no other outgoing which extends to the sea, but this alone; for all Thessaly is circled about with mountains as with a crown.” To this Xerxes is said to have replied: “The Thessalians then are prudent men. This it appears was that which they desired to guard against in good time when they changed their counsel, reflecting on this especially besides other things, namely that they had a country which, it appears, is easy to conquer and may quickly be taken: for it would have been necessary only to let the river flow over their land by making an embankment to keep it from going through the narrow channel and so diverting the course by which now it flows, in order to put all Thessaly under water except the mountains.” This he said in reference to the sons of Aleuas, because they, being Thessalians, were the first of the Hellenes who gave themselves over to the king; for Xerxes thought that they offered him friendship on behalf of their whole nation. Having said thus and having looked at the place, he sailed back to Therma.
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