ἔστι δὴ μετὰ τὴν Σιγειάδα ἄκραν καὶ τὸ Ἀχίλλειον ἡ Τενεδίων περαία τὸ Ἀχαίιον καὶ αὐτὴ ἡ Τένεδος, οὐ πλείους τῶν τετταράκοντα σταδίων διέχουσα τῆς ἠπείρου· ἔχει δὲ τὴν περίμετρον ὅσον ὀγδοήκοντα σταδίων καὶ πόλιν Αἰολίδα καὶ λιμένας δύο καὶ ἱερὸν τοῦ Σμινθέως Ἀπόλλωνος, καθάπερ καὶ ὁ ποιητὴς μαρτυρεῖ Τενέδοιό τε ἶφι ἀνάσσεις, / Σμινθεῦ. / περίκειται δʼ αὐτῇ νησία πλείω, καὶ δὴ καὶ δύο ἃ καλοῦσι Καλύδνας, κειμένας κατὰ τὸν ἐπὶ Λεκτὸν πλοῦν· καὶ αὐτὴν δὲ τὴν Τένεδον Κάλυδναν τινὲς εἶπον, ἄλλοι δὲ Λεύκοφρυν. μυθεύουσι δʼ ἐν αὐτῇ τὰ περὶ τὸν Τέννη ἀφʼ οὗ καὶ τοὔνομα τῇ νήσῳ, καὶ τὰ περὶ τὸν Κύκνον, Θρᾷκα τὸ γένος, πατέρα δʼ, ὥς τινες, τοῦ Τέννου, βασιλέα δὲ Κολωνῶν.
After the Sigeian promontory, and the Achilleium, is the coast opposite to Tenedos, the Achaeïum, and Tenedos itself, distant not more than 40 stadia from the continent. It is about 80 stadia in circumference. It contains an Aeolian city, and has two harbours, and a temple of Apollo Smintheus, as the poet testifies; Smintheus, thou that reignest over Tenedos. / There are several small islands around it, and two in particular, called Calydne, situated in the course of the voyage to Lectum. There are some writers who call Tenedos Calydna, and others Leucophrys. There are other small islands around it besides these. They lay near the scene of the fable about Tennes, from whom the island has its name, and of the story of Cycnus, a Thracian by descent, and father, according to some writers, of Tennes, and king of Colonae.
ἦν δὲ τῷ Ἀχαιίῳ συνεχὴς ἥ τε Λάρισα καὶ Κολωναί, τῆς αίας οὖσαι πρότερον, καὶ ἡ νῦν Χρῦσα, ἐφʼ ὕψους τινὸς πετρώδους ὑπὲρ τῆς θαλάττης ἱδρυμένη, καὶ ἡ Ἁμαξιτὸς ἡ τῷ Λεκτῷ ὑποκειμένη συνεχής· νῦν δʼ ἡ Ἀλεξάνδρεια συνεχής ἐστι τῷ Ἀχαιίῳ· τὰ δὲ πολίσματα ἐκεῖνα συνῳκισμένα τυγχάνει, καθάπερ καὶ ἄλλα πλείω τῶν φρουρίων, εἰς τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν, ὧν καὶ Κεβρήνη καὶ Νεανδρία ἐστὶ καὶ τὴν χώραν ἔχουσιν ἐκεῖνοι· ὁ δὲ τόπος ἐν ᾧ νῦν κεῖται ἡ Ἀλεξάνδρεια Σιγία ἐκαλεῖτο.
Continuous with the Achaeium are Larisa and Colonae, formerly belonging to the people of Tenedos, who occupied the opposite coast; and the present Chrysa, situated upon a rocky height above the sea, and Hamaxitus lying below, and close to Lectum. But at present Alexandreia is continuous with the Achaeium; the inhabitants of those small towns, and of many other strongholds, were embodied in Alexandreia. Among the latter were Cebrene and Neandria. The territory is in the possession of the Alexandrini, and the spot in which Alexandreia is now situated was called Sigia.
ἐν δὲ τῇ Χρύσῃ ταύτῃ καὶ τὸ τοῦ Σμινθέως Ἀπόλλωνός ἐστιν ἱερόν, καὶ τὸ σύμβολον τὸ τὴν ἐτυμότητα τοῦ ὀνόματος σῶζον, ὁ μῦς, ὑπόκειται τῷ ποδὶ τοῦ ξοάνου· Σκόπα δʼ ἐστὶν ἔργα τοῦ Παρίου· συνοικειοῦσι δὲ καὶ τὴν ἱστορίαν εἴτε μῦθον τούτῳ τῷ τόπῳ τὴν περὶ τῶν μυῶν. τοῖς γὰρ ἐκ τῆς Κρήτης ἀφιγμένοις Τεύκροις (οὓς πρῶτος παρέδωκε Καλλῖνος ὁ τῆς ἐλεγείας ποιητής, ἠκολούθησαν δὲ πολλοί) χρησμὸς ἦν, αὐτόθι ποιήσασθαι τὴν μονὴν ὅπου ἂν οἱ γηγενεῖς αὐτοῖς ἐπιθῶνται· συμβῆναι δὲ τοῦτʼ αὐτοῖς φασι περὶ Ἁμαξιτόν· νύκτωρ γὰρ πολὺ πλῆθος ἀρουραίων μυῶν ἐξανθῆσαν διαφαγεῖν ὅσα σκύτινα τῶν τε ὅπλων καὶ τῶν χρηστηρίων· τοὺς δὲ αὐτόθι μεῖναι· τούτους δὲ καὶ τὴν Ἴδην ἀπὸ τῆς ἐν Κρήτῃ προσονομάσαι. Ἡρακλείδης δʼ ὁ Ποντικὸς πληθύοντάς φησι τοὺς μύας περὶ τὸ ἱερὸν νομισθῆναί τε ἱεροὺς καὶ τὸ ξόανον οὕτω κατασκευασθῆναι βεβηκὸς ἐπὶ τῷ μυΐ. ἄλλοι δʼ ἐκ τῆς Ἀττικῆς ἀφῖχθαί τινα Τεῦκρόν φασιν ἐκ δήμου Τρώων, ὃς νῦν οἱ Ξυπετεῶνες λέγεται, Τεύκρους δὲ μηδένας ἐλθεῖν ἐκ τῆς Κρήτης. τῆς δὲ πρὸς τοὺς Ἀττικοὺς ἐπιπλοκῆς τῶν Τρώων τιθέασι σημεῖον καὶ τὸ παρʼ ἀμφοτέροις Ἐριχθόνιόν τινα γενέσθαι τῶν ἀρχηγετῶν. λέγουσι μὲν οὖν οὕτως οἱ νεώτεροι, τοῖς δʼ Ὁμήρου μᾶλλον ἔπεσι συμφωνεῖ τὰ ἐν τῷ Θήβης πεδίῳ καὶ τῇ αὐτόθι Χρύσῃ ἱδρυμένῃ ποτὲ δεικνύμενα ἴχνη, περὶ ὧν αὐτίκα ἐροῦμεν. πολλαχοῦ δʼ ἐστὶ τὸ τοῦ Σμινθέως ὄνομα· καὶ γὰρ περὶ αὐτὴν τὴν Ἁμαξιτὸν χωρὶς τοῦ κατὰ τὸ ἱερὸν Σμινθίου δύο τόποι καλοῦνται Σμίνθια· καὶ ἄλλοι δʼ ἐν τῇ πλησίον Λαρισαίᾳ· καὶ ἐν τῇ Παριανῇ δʼ ἔστι χωρίον τὰ Σμίνθια καλούμενον, καὶ ἐν Ῥόδῳ καὶ ἐν Λίνδῳ, καὶ ἄλλοθι δὲ πολλαχοῦ· καλοῦσι δὲ νῦν τὸ ἱερὸν Σμίνθιον. χωρὶς γοῦν καὶ τὸ Ἁλήσιον πεδίον οὐ μέγα ἐντὸς τοῦ Λεκτοῦ καὶ τὸ Τραγασαῖον ἁλοπήγιον αὐτόματον τοῖς ἐτησίαις πηγνύμενον πρὸς Ἁμαξιτῷ. ἐπὶ δὲ τῷ Λεκτῷ βωμὸς τῶν δώδεκα θεῶν δείκνυται, καλοῦσι δʼ Ἀγαμέμνονος ἵδρυμα· ἐν ἐπόψει δὲ τῷ Ἰλίῳ ἐστὶ τὰ χωρία ταῦτα, ὡς ἐν διακοσίοις σταδίοις ἢ μικρῷ πλείοσιν· ὡς δʼ αὕτως καὶ τὰ περὶ Ἄβυδον ἐκ θατέρου μέρους, μικρὸν δʼ ὅμως ἐγγυτέρω ἡ Ἄβυδος.
The temple of Apollo Smintheus is in this Chrysa, and the symbol, a mouse, which shows the etymology of the epithet Smintheus, lying under the foot of the statue. They are the workmanship of Scopas of Paros. They reconcile the history, and the fable about the mice, in this following manner.
The Teucri, who came from Crete, (of whom Callinus, the elegiac poet, gave the first history, and he was followed by many others,) were directed by an oracle to settle wherever the earth-born inhabitants should attack them, which, it is said, occurred to them near Hamaxitus, for in the night-time great multitudes of field-mice came out and devoured all arms or utensils which were made of leather; the colony therefore settled there. These people also called the mountain Ida, after the name of the mountain in Crete. But Heracleides of Pontus says, that the mice, which swarmed near the temple, were considered as sacred, and the statue is represented as standing upon a mouse.
Others say, that a certain Teucer came from Attica, who belonged to the Demus of Troes, which is now called Xypeteon, but that no Teucri came from Crete. They adduce as a proof of the intermixture of Trojans with Athenians, that an Ericthonius was a founder of both people.
This is the account of modern writers. But the traces which now exist in the plain of Thebe, and at Chrysa situated there, coincide better with the description of Homer; and of these we shall speak immediately.
The name of Smintheus is to be found in many places, for near Hamaxitus itself, besides the Sminthian Apollo at the temple, there are two places called Sminthia, and others in the neighbouring district of Larissa. In the district also of Pariane is a place called Sminthia; others in Rhodes, Lindus, and in many places besides. The temple is now called Sminthium.
Separate from the other is the Halesian plain near Lectum, which is not extensive, and the Tragasaean salt-pan near Hamaxitus, where the salt spontaneously concretes on the blowing of the Etesian winds. On Lectum stands an altar dedicated to the Twelve Gods, erected, it is said, by Agamemnon.
These places are in sight of Ilium, at the distance of a little more than 200 stadia. On the other side the parts about Abydos are visible, although Abydos is somewhat nearer.
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