καὶ ἐν τῷ Καρπαθίῳ δʼ εἰσὶ πολλαὶ τῶν Σποράδων μεταξὺ τῆς Κῶ μάλιστα καὶ Ῥόδου καὶ Κρήτης· ὧν εἰσιν Ἀστυπάλαιά τε καὶ Τῆλος καὶ Χαλκία καὶ ἃς Ὅμηρος ὀνομάζει ἐν τῷ καταλόγῳ οἳ δʼ ἄρα Νίσυρόν τʼ εἶχον Κράπαθόν τε Κάσον τε, / καὶ Κῶν, Εὐρυπύλοιο πόλιν, νήσους τε Καλύδνας. / ἔξω γὰρ τῆς Κῶ καὶ τῆς Ῥόδου, περὶ ὧν ἐροῦμεν ὕστερον, τάς τε ἄλλας ἐν ταῖς Σποράσι τίθεμεν καὶ δὴ καὶ ἐνταῦθα μεμνήμεθα αὐτῶν, καίπερ τῆς Ἀσίας οὐ τῆς Εὐρώπης ἐγγὺς οὐσῶν, ἐπειδὴ τῇ Κρήτῃ καὶ ταῖς Κυκλάσι καὶ τὰς Σποράδας συμπεριλαβεῖν ἠπείγετό πως ὁ λόγος· ἐν δὲ τῇ τῆς Ἀσίας περιοδείᾳ τὰς προσεχεῖς αὐτῇ τῶν ἀξιολόγων νήσων προσπεριοδεύσομεν, Κύπρον καὶ Ῥόδον καὶ Κῶν καὶ τὰς ἐν τῇ ἐφεξῆς παραλίᾳ κειμένας, Σάμον Χίον Λέσβον Τένεδον· νῦν δὲ τὰς Σποράδας ὧν ἄξιον μνησθῆναι λοιπὸν ἔπιμεν.
In the Carpathian sea, between Cos, Rhodes, and Crete, are situated many of the Sporades, as Astypalaea, Telos, Chalcia, and those mentioned by Homer in the Catalogue. They who occupied Nisyrus, Crapathus, Casus, and Cos, / The city of Eurypylus, and the Calydnae islands. / Except Cos, and Rhodes, of which we shall speak hereafter, we place the rest among the Sporades, and we mention them here although they do not lie near Europe, but Asia, because the course of my work induces me to include the Sporades in the description of Crete and of the Cyclades.
We shall traverse in the description of Asia the considerable islands adjacent to that country, as Cyprus, Rhodes, Cos, and those situated on the succeeding line of coast, Samos, Chios, Lesbos, and Tenedos. At present we are to describe the remaining islands of the Sporades, which deserve mention.
ἡ μὲν οὖν Ἀστυπάλαια ἱκανῶς ἐστι πελαγία, πόλιν ἔχουσα. ἡ δὲ Τῆλος ἐκτέταται παρὰ τὴν Κνιδίαν μακρὰ ὑψηλὴ στενή, τὴν περίμετρον ὅσον ἑκατὸν καὶ τετταράκοντα σταδίων, ἔχουσα ὕφορμον. ἡ δὲ Χαλκία τῆς Τήλου διέχει σταδίους ὀγδοήκοντα, Καρπάθου δὲ τετρακοσίους, Ἀστυπαλαίας δὲ περὶ διπλασίους· ἔχει δὲ καὶ κατοικίαν ὁμώνυμον καὶ ἱερὸν Ἀπόλλωνος καὶ λιμένα.
Astypalaea lies far out at sea, and contains a city.
Telos, which is long, high, and narrow, in circumference about 140 stadia, with a shelter for vessels, extends along the Cnidian territory.
Chalcia is distant from Telos 80, from Carpathus 400 stadia, and about double this number from Astypalaea. It has a settlement of the same name, a temple of Apollo, and a harbour.
Νίσυρος δὲ πρὸς ἄρκτον μέν ἐστι Τήλου διέχουσα αὐτῆς ὅσον ἑξήκοντα σταδίους ὅσους καὶ Κῶ διέχει, στρογγύλη δὲ καὶ ὑψηλὴ καὶ πετρώδης τοῦ μυλίου λίθου· τοῖς γοῦν ἀστυγείτοσιν ἐκεῖθέν ἐστιν ἡ τῶν μύλων εὐπορία. ἔχει δὲ καὶ πόλιν ὁμώνυμον καὶ λιμένα καὶ θερμὰ καὶ Ποσειδῶνος ἱερόν· περίμετρον δὲ αὐτῆς ὀγδοήκοντα στάδιοι. ἔστι δὲ καὶ νησία πρὸς αὐτῇ Νισυρίων λεγόμενα. φασὶ δὲ τὴν Νίσυρον ἀπόθραυσμα εἶναι τῆς Κῶ, προσθέντες καὶ μῦθον, ὅτι Ποσειδῶν διώκων ἕνα τῶν γιγάντων Πολυβώτην ἀποθραύσας τῇ τριαίνῃ τρύφος τῆς Κῶ ἐπʼ αὐτὸν βάλοι, καὶ γένοιτο νῆσος τὸ βληθὲν ἡ Νίσυρος ὑποκείμενον ἔχουσα ἐν αὐτῇ τὸν γίγαντα· τινὲς δὲ αὐτὸν ὑποκεῖσθαι τῇ Κῷ φασιν.
Nisyrus lies to the north of Telos, at the distance of about 60 stadia, which is its distance also from Cos. It is round, lofty, and rocky, and has abundance of mill-stone, whence the neighbouring people are well supplied with stones for grinding. It contains a city of the same name, a harbour, hot springs, and a temple of Neptune. Its circumference is 80 stadia. Near it are small islands, called the islands of the Nisyrians. Nisyrus is said to be a fragment broken off from Cos; a story is also told of Neptune, that when pursuing Polybotes, one of the giants, he broke off with his trident a piece of the island Cos, and hurled it at him, and that the missile became the island Nisyrus, with the giant lying beneath it. But some say that the giant lies beneath Cos.
ἡ δὲ Κάρπαθος, ἣν Κράπαθον εἶπεν ὁ ποιητής, ὑψηλή ἐστι, κύκλον ἔχουσα σταδίων διακοσίων. τετράπολις δʼ ὑπῆρξε καὶ ὄνομα εἶχεν ἀξιόλογον, ἀφʼ οὗ καὶ τῷ πελάγει τοὔνομα ἐγένετο. μία δὲ τῶν πόλεων ἐκαλεῖτο Νίσυρος ὁμώνυμος τῇ τῶν Νισυρίων νήσῳ. κεῖται δὲ τῆς Λιβύης κατὰ Λευκὴν ἀκτήν, ἣ τῆς μὲν Ἀλεξανδρείας περὶ χιλίους διέχει σταδίους, τῆς δὲ Καρπάθου περὶ τετρακισχιλίους.
Carpathus, which the poet calls Crapathus, is lofty, having a circumference of 200 stadia. It contained four cities, and its name was famous, which it imparted to the surrounding sea. One of the cities was called Nisyrus, after the name of the island Nisyrus. It lies opposite Leuce Acte in Africa, which is distant about 1000 stadia from Alexandria, and about 4000 from Carpathus.
Κάσος δὲ ταύτης μὲν ἀπὸ ἑβδομήκοντά ἐστι σταδίων, τοῦ δὲ Σαμωνίου τοῦ ἄκρου τῆς Κρήτης διακοσίων πεντήκοντα· κύκλον δὲ ἔχει σταδίων ὀγδοήκοντα. ἔστι δʼ ἐν αὐτῇ καὶ πόλις ὁμώνυμος, καὶ Κασίων νῆσοι καλούμεναι πλείους περὶ αὐτήν.
Casus is distant from Carpathus 70, and from the promontory Salmonium in Crete 250 stadia. It is 80 stadia in circumference. It contains a city of the same name; and many islands, called the islands of the Casii, lie about it.
νήσους δὲ Καλύδνας τὰς Σποράδας λέγειν φασὶ τὸν ποιητήν, ὧν μίαν εἶναι Κάλυμναν· εἰκὸς δʼ ὡς ἐκ τῶν Νισυρίων λέγονται καὶ Κασίων αἱ ἐγγὺς καὶ ὑπήκοοι, οὕτως καὶ τὰς τῇ Καλύμνῃ περικειμένας ἴσως τότε λεγομένῃ Καλύδνῃ· τινὲς δὲ δύο εἶναι Καλύδνας φασὶ Λέρον καὶ Κάλυμναν, ἅσπερ καὶ λέγειν τὸν ποιητήν. ὁ δὲ Σκήψιος πληθυντικῶς ὠνομάσθαι τὴν νῆσον Καλύμνας φησίν, ὡς Ἀθήνας καὶ Θήβας, δεῖν δὲ ὑπερβατῶς δέξασθαι τὸ τοῦ ποιητοῦ· οὐ γὰρ νήσους Καλύδνας λέγειν, ἀλλʼ οἳ δʼ ἄρα νήσους Νίσυρόν τʼ εἶχον Κράπαθόν τε Κάσον τε καὶ Κῶν, Εὐρυπύλοιο πόλιν, Καλύδνας τε.ἅπαν μὲν οὖν τὸ νησιωτικὸν μέλι ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ ἀστεῖόν ἐστι καὶ ἐνάμιλλον τῷ Ἀττικῷ, τὸ δʼ ἐν ταῖσδε ταῖς νήσοις διαφερόντως, μάλιστα δὲ τὸ Καλύμνιον.
They say that the poet calls the Sporades, Calydnae, one of which is Calymna. But it is probable that as the islands, which are near and dependent, have their names from the Nisyrii and Casii, so those that lie around Calymna had their name from that island, which was then perhaps called Calydna. Some say that the Calydnoe islands are two, Leros and Calymna, and that the poet means these. But the Scepsian says, that the name of the island was used in the plural number, Calymnae, like Athenae, Thebae, and that the words of the poet must be understood according to the figure hyperbaton, or inversion, for he does not say, the islands Calydnae, but, they who occupied the islands Nisyrus, Crapathus, Casus, and Cos, the city of Eurypylus, and Calydnae.
All the honey of the islands is, for the most part, excellent, and rivals that of Attica; but the honey of these islands surpasses it, particularly that of Calymna.
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