̔́αμα δʼ ἥ τε τῶν Σαλύων ὀρεινὴ πρὸς ἄρκτον ἀπὸ τῆς ἑσπέρας κλίνει μᾶλλον καὶ τῆς θαλάττης ἀφίσταται κατὰ μικρόν, καὶ ἡ παραλία παρὰ τὴν ἑσπέραν περινεύει· μικρὸν δʼ ἀπὸ τῆς πόλεως τῶν Μασσαλιωτῶν προελθοῦσα ὅσον εἰς ἑκατὸν σταδίους ἐπὶ ἄκραν εὐμεγέθη πλησίον λατομιῶν τινων ἐντεῦθεν ἄρχεται κολποῦσθαι καὶ ποιεῖν τὸν Γαλατικὸν κόλπον πρὸς τὸ Ἀφροδίσιον τὸ τῆς Πυρήνης ἄκρον· καλοῦσι δʼ αὐτὸν καὶ Μασσαλιωτικόν. ἔστι δʼ ὁ κόλπος διπλοῦς· ἐν γὰρ τῇ αὐτῇ περιγραφῇ δύο κόλπους ἀφορίζον ἔκκειται τὸ Σήτιον ὄρος, προσλαβὸν καὶ τὴν Βλάσκωνα νῆσον πλησίον ἱδρυμένην· τῶν δὲ κόλπων ὁ μὲν μείζων ἰδίως πάλιν καλεῖται Γαλατικός, εἰς ὃν ἐξερεύγεται τὸ τοῦ Ῥοδανοῦ στόμα, ὁ δʼ ἐλάττων ὁ κατὰ Νάρβωνά ἐστι μέχρι Πυρήνης. ἡ μὲν οὖν Νάρβων ὑπέρκειται τῶν τοῦ Ἄτακος ἐκβολῶν καὶ τῆς λίμνης τῆς Ναρβωνίτιδος, μέγιστον ἐμπόριον τῶν ταύτῃ, πρὸς δὲ τῷ Ῥοδανῷ πόλις ἐστὶ καὶ ἐμπόριον οὐ μικρὸν Ἀρελᾶτε· ἴσον δέ πως διέχει τὰ ἐμπόρια ταῦτα ἀλλήλων τε καὶ τῶν εἰρημένων ἄκρων, ἡ μὲν Νάρβων τοῦ Ἀφροδισίου τὸ δʼ Ἀρελᾶτε τῆς Μασσαλίας. ἑκατέρωθεν δὲ τῆς Νάρβωνος ἄλλοι ποταμοὶ ῥέουσιν οἱ μὲν ἐκ τῶν Κεμμένων ὀρῶν οἱ δʼ ἐκ τῆς Πυρήνης, πόλεις ἔχοντες εἰς ἃς ἀνάπλους οὐ πολύς ἐστι μικροῖς πλοίοις. ἐκ μὲν τῆς Πυρήνης ὅ τε Ῥουσκίνων καὶ ὁ Ἰλίβιρρις, πόλιν ἔχων ὁμώνυμον ἑκάτερος αὐτῶν· τοῦ δὲ Ῥουσκίνωνος καὶ λίμνη πλησίον ἐστὶ καὶ χωρίον ὕφυδρον μικρὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς θαλάττης, ἁλυκίδων μεστόν, τὸ τοὺς ὀρυκτοὺς κεστρεῖς ἔχον· δύο γὰρ ἢ τρεῖς ὀρύξαντι πόδας καὶ καθέντι τριόδοντα εἰς ὕδωρ ἰλυῶδες ἔστι περιπεῖραι τὸν ἰχθὺν ἀξιόλογον τὸ μέγεθος· τρέφεται δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς ἰλύος καθάπερ αἱ ἐγχέλυες. οὗτοι μὲν ἐκ τῆς Πυρήνης ῥέουσιν οἱ ποταμοὶ μεταξὺ Νάρβωνος καὶ τοῦ Ἀφροδισίου. ἐπὶ θάτερα μέρη τῆς Νάρβωνος ἐκ τοῦ Κεμμένου φέρονται πρὸς τὴν θάλατταν, ἐξ οὗπερ καὶ ὁ Ἄταξ ὅ τε Ὄρβις καὶ ὁ Ἄραυρις. τούτων ἐφʼ οὗ μὲν Βαίτερρα πόλις ἀσφαλὴς ἵδρυται πλησίον τῆς Νάρβωνος, ἐφʼ οὗ δὲ Ἀγάθη κτίσμα Μασσαλιωτῶν.
The mountains of the Salyes incline gently from west to north in proportion as they retire from the sea. The coast runs west, and extending a short distance, about 100 stadia, from Marseilles, it begins to assume the character of a gulf at a considerable promontory near to certain stone quarries, and extending to the Aphrodisium, the headland which terminates the Pyrenees, forms the Galatic Gulf, which is also called the Gulf of Marseilles: it is double, for in its circuit Mount Setium stands out together with the island of Blascon, which is situated close to it, and separates the two gulfs. The larger of these is properly designated the Galatic Gulf, into which the Rhone discharges itself; the smaller is on the coast of Narbonne, and extends as far as the Pyrenees. Narbonne is situated above the outlets of the Aude and the lake of Narbonne. It is the principal commercial city on this coast. On the Rhone is Arelate, a city and emporium of considerable traffic. The distance between these two cities is nearly equal to that which separates them from the aforesaid promontories, namely, Narbonne from the Aphrodisium, and Arelate from the cape of Marseilles. There are other rivers besides which flow on either side of Narbonne, some from the Cevennes, others from the Pyrenees. Along these rivers are situated cities having but little commerce, and that in small vessels. The rivers which proceed from the Pyrenees, are the Tet and the Tech; two cities are built on them, which bear respectively the same name as the rivers. There is a lake near to Ruscino, and a little above the sea a marshy district full of salt-springs, which supplies dug mullets, for whoever digs two or three feet and plunges a trident into the muddy water, will be sure to take the fish, which are worthy of consideration on account of their size; they are nourished in the mud like eels. Such are the rivers which flow from the Pyrenees between Narbonne and the promontory on which is built the temple of Venus. On the other side of Narbonne the following rivers descend from the Cevennes into the sea. The Aude, the Orbe, and the Rauraris. On one of these is situated the strong city of Baetera, near to Narbonne; on the other Agatha, founded by the people of Marseilles.
̔̀εν μὲν οὖν ἔχει παράδοξον ἡ προειρημένη παραλία τὸ περὶ τοὺς ὀρυκτοὺς ἰχθῦς, ἕτερον δὲ μεῖζον τούτου σχεδόν τι τὸ λεχθησόμενον. μεταξὺ γὰρ τῆς Μασσαλίας καὶ τῶν ἐκβολῶν τοῦ Ῥοδανοῦ πεδίον ἐστὶ τῆς θαλάττης διέχον εἰς ἑκατὸν σταδίους, τοσοῦτον δὲ καὶ τὴν διάμετρον, κυκλοτερὲς τὸ σχῆμα· καλεῖται δὲ Λιθῶδες ἀπὸ τοῦ συμβεβηκότος. μεστὸν γάρ ἐστι λίθων χειροπληθῶν ὑποπεφυκυῖαν ἐχόντων αὑτοῖς ἄγρωστιν, ἀφʼ ἧς ἄφθονοι νομαὶ βοσκήμασίν εἰσιν· ἐν μέσῳ δʼ ὕδατα καὶ ἁλυκίδες συνίστανται καὶ ἅλες. ἅπασα μὲν οὖν καὶ ἡ ὑπερκειμένη χώρα προσήνεμός ἐστι, διαφερόντως δʼ εἰς τὸ πεδίον τοῦτο τὸ μελαμβόρειον καταιγίζει πνεῦμα βίαιον καὶ φρικῶδες· φασὶ γοῦν σύρεσθαι καὶ κυλινδεῖσθαι τῶν λίθων ἐνίους, καταφλᾶσθαι δὲ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἀπὸ τῶν ὀχημάτων καὶ γυμνοῦσθαι καὶ ὅπλων καὶ ἐσθῆτος ὑπὸ τῆς ἐμπνοῆς. Ἀριστοτέλης μὲν οὖν φησιν ὑπὸ σεισμῶν τῶν καλουμένων βραστῶν ἐκπεσόντας τοὺς λίθους εἰς τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν συνολισθεῖν εἰς τὰ κοῖλα τῶν χωρίων. Ποσειδώνιος δὲ λίμνην οὖσαν παγῆναι μετὰ κλυδασμοῦ, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο εἰς πλείονας μερισθῆναι λίθους, καθάπερ τοὺς ποταμίους κάχληκας καὶ τὰς ψήφους τὰς αἰγιαλίτιδας, ὁμοίους δὲ καὶ λείους καὶ ἰσομεγέθεις τῇ ὁμοιότητι· καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν ἀποδεδώκασιν ἀμφότεροι. πιθανὸς μὲν οὖν ὁ παρʼ ἀμφοῖν λόγος· ἀνάγκη γὰρ τοὺς οὕτω συνεστῶτας λίθους οὐ καθʼ ἑαυτοὺς ἢ ἐξ ὑγροῦ παγέντας μεταβαλεῖν, ἐκ πετρῶν μεγάλων ῥήγματα συνεχῆ λαβουσῶν ἀποκριθῆναι. τὸ μέντοι δυσαπολόγητον Αἰσχύλος καταμαθὼν ἢ παρʼ ἄλλου λαβὼν εἰς μῦθον ἐξετόπισε. φησὶ γοῦν Προμηθεὺς παρʼ αὐτῷ καθηγούμενος Ἡρακλεῖ τῶν ὁδῶν τῶν ἀπὸ Καυκάσου πρὸς τὰς Ἑσπερίδας ἥξεις δὲ Λιγύων εἰς ἀτάρβητον στρατόν, ἔνθʼ οὐ μάχης, σάφʼ οἶδα, καὶ θοῦρός περ ὢν μέμψει· πέπρωται γάρ σε καὶ βέλη λιπεῖν ἐνταῦθʼ· ἑλέσθαι δʼ οὔ τινʼ ἐκ γαίας λίθον ἕξεις, ἐπεὶ πᾶς χῶρός ἐστι μαλθακός. ἰδὼν δʼ ἀμηχανοῦντά σε Ζεὺς οἰκτερεῖ, νεφέλην δʼ ὑποσχὼν νιφάδι γογγύλων πέτρων ὑπόσκιον θήσει χθόνʼ, οἷς ἔπειτα σὺ βαλὼν διώσει ῥᾳδίως Λίγυν στρατόν. ὥσπερ οὐ κρεῖττον ὄν, φησὶν ὁ Ποσειδώνιος, εἰς αὐτοὺς τοὺς Λίγυας ἐμβαλεῖν τοὺς λίθους καὶ καταχῶσαι πάντας ἢ τοσούτων δεόμενον ποιῆσαι λίθων τὸν Ἡρακλέα. τὸ μὲν οὖν τοσούτων ἀναγκαῖον ἦν, εἴπερ καὶ πρὸς ὄχλον παμπληθῆ· ὥστε ταύτῃ γε πιθανώτερος ὁ μυθογράφος τοῦ ἀνασκευάζοντος τὸν μῦθον. ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πεπρῶσθαι φήσας ὁ ποιητὴς οὐκ ἐᾷ μέμφεσθαι φιλαιτίως. καὶ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς περὶ τῆς προνοίας καὶ τῆς εἱμαρμένης λόγοις εὕροι τις ἂν πολλὰ τοιαῦτα τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων καὶ τῶν φύσει γινομένων, ὥστʼ ἐπʼ αὐτῶν φάναι πολὺ κρεῖττον εἶναι τόδε ἢ τόδε γενέσθαι, οἷον εὔομβρον εἶναι τὴν Αἴγυπτον, ἀλλὰ μὴ τὴν Αἰθιοπίαν ποτίζειν τὴν γῆν· καὶ τὸν Πάριν εἰς Σπάρτην πλέοντα ναυαγίῳ περιπεσεῖν, ἀλλὰ μὴ τὴν Ἑλένην ἁρπάσαντα δίκας τῖσαι τοῖς ἀδικηθεῖσιν ὕστερον, ἡνίκα τοσοῦτον ἀπείργαστο φθόρον Ἑλλήνων καὶ βαρβάρων· ὅπερ Εὐριπίδης ἀνήνεγκεν εἰς τὸν Δία Ζεὺς γὰρ κακὸν μὲν Τρωσὶ πῆμα δʼ Ἑλλάδι θέλων γενέσθαι ταῦτʼ ἐβούλευσεν πατήρ.
Of one marvel of this sea-coast, namely the dug mullets, we have already spoken; we will now mention another, even more surprising. Between Marseilles and the outlets of the Rhone there is a circular plain, about 100 stadia distant from the sea, and about 100 stadia in diameter. It has received the name of the Stony Plain, from the circumstance of its being covered with stones the size of the fist, from beneath which an abundant herbage springs up for the pasturage of cattle. In the midst of it are water, salt-springs, and salt. The whole both of this district and that above it is exposed to the wind, but in this plain the black north, a violent and horrible wind, rages especially: for they say that sometimes the stones are swept and rolled along, and men hurled from their carriages and stripped both of their arms and garments by the force of the tempest. Aristotle tells us that these stones being cast up by the earthquakes designated brastai, and falling on the surface of the earth, roll into the hollow places of the districts; but Posidonius, that the place was formerly a lake, which being congealed during a violent agitation, became divided into numerous stones, like river pebbles or the stones by the sea-shore, which they resemble both as to smoothness, size, and appearance. Such are the causes assigned by these two [writers]; however, neither of their opinions is credible, for these stones could neither have thus accumulated of themselves, nor yet have been formed by congealed moisture, but necessarily from the fragments of large stones shattered by frequent convulsions. Aeschylus having, however, learnt of the difficulty of accounting for it, or having been so informed by another, has explained it away as a myth. He makes Prometheus utter the following, whilst directing Hercules the road from the Caucasus to the Hesperides: There you will come to the undaunted army of the Ligurians, where, resistless though you be, sure am I you will not worst them in battle; for it is fated that there your darts shall fail you; nor will you be able to take up a stone from the ground, since the country consists of soft mould; but Jupiter, beholding your distress, will compassionate you, and overshadowing the earth with a cloud, he will cause it to hail round stones, which you hurling against the Ligurian army, will soon put them to flight!
Posidonius asks, would it not have been better to have rained down these stones upon the Ligurians themselves, and thus have destroyed them all, than to make Hercules in need of so many stones? As for the number, they were necessary against so vast a multitude; so that in this respect the writer of the myth seems to me deserving of more credit than he who would refute it. Further, the poet, in describing it as fated, secures himself against such fault-finding. For if you dispute Providence and Destiny, you can find many similar things both in human affairs and nature, that you would suppose might be much better performed in this or that way; as for instance, that Egypt should have plenty of rain of its own, without being irrigated from the land of Ethiopia. That it would have been much better if Paris had suffered shipwreck on his voyage to Sparta, instead of expiating his offences after having carried off Helen, and having been the cause of so great destruction both amongst the Greeks and Barbarians. Euripides attributes this to Jupiter: Father Jupiter, willing evil to the Trojans and suffering to the Greeks, decreed such things.
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