μετὰ δὲ τὸ Σκυλλήτιον ἡ Κροτωνιᾶτις χώρα καὶ τῶν Ἰαπύγων ἄκραι τρεῖς. μετὰ δὲ ταύτας τὸ Λακίνιον Ἥρας ἱερόν, πλούσιόν ποτε ὑπάρξαν καὶ πολλῶν ἀναθημάτων μεστόν. τὰ διάρματα δʼ οὐκ εὐκρινῶς λέγεται· πλὴν ὥς γε ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ σταδίους ἀπὸ πορθμοῦ μέχρι Λακινίου Πολύβιος ἀποδίδωσι χιλίους καὶ τριακοσίους, ἐντεῦθεν δὲ καὶ δίαρμα εἰς ἄκραν Ἰαπυγίαν ἑπτακοσίους. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν στόμα λέγουσι τοῦ Ταραντίνου κόλπου. αὐτὸς δʼ ὁ κόλπος ἔχει περίπλουν ἀξιόλογον μιλίων διακοσίων τετταράκοντα, ὡς ὁ χωρογράφος φησί […] τριακοσίων ὀγδοήκοντα […] ἀζώνῳ, Ἀρτεμίδωρος· τοσούτοις δὲ καὶ λείπων […] τοῦ πλάτους τοῦ στόματος τοῦ κόλπου. βλέπει δὲ πρὸς ἀνατολὰς χειμερινάς, ἀρχὴ δʼ αὐτοῦ τὸ Λακίνιον· κάμψαντι γὰρ εὐθὺς αἱ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν πόλεις ἦσαν, αἳ νῦν οὐκ εἰσὶ πλὴν τῆς Ταραντίνων. ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν δόξαν τινῶν ἄξιον καὶ ἐπὶ πλέον αὐτῶν μνησθῆναι.
After Scylletium is the region of Crotona, and the lapygum tria Promontoria, and after these the Lacinium, sacred to Juno, formerly rich and filled with many offerings. But the distances have not been accurately stated. We can only say that in a general way Polybius reckons 2300 stadia from the strait to Lacinium, and 700 stadia from Lacinium to the Iapygian promontory. They call this the entrance of the Gulf of Taranto. The extent of the gulf is considerable, being 240 miles along the shore. As the chorographer says .. of 380 .. . to a light person, Artemidorus: wanting also by so many . . . of the breadth of the mouth of the gulf. Its aspect looks towards the rising of the sun in winter. It commenced from Lacinium, for presently on doubling the cape you come to where the Greek cities formerly stood; now they no longer exist, with the exception of Tarentum. But on account of the estimation in which certain of them were held, it is worth while to speak of them somewhat in detail.
πρώτη δʼ ἐστὶ Κρότων ἐν ἑκατὸν καὶ πεντήκοντα σταδίοις ἀπὸ τοῦ Λακινίου καὶ ποταμὸς Αἴσαρος καὶ λιμὴν καὶ ἄλλος ποταμὸς Νέαιθος, ᾧ τὴν ἐπωνυμίαν γενέσθαι φασὶν ἀπὸ τοῦ συμβεβηκότος. καταχθέντας γάρ τινας τῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἰλιακοῦ στόλου πλανηθέντων Ἀχαιῶν ἐκβῆναι λέγουσιν ἐπὶ τὴν κατάσκεψιν τῶν χωρίων, τὰς δὲ συμπλεούσας αὐτοῖς Τρῳάδας καταμαθούσας ἔρημα ἀνδρῶν τὰ πλοῖα ἐμπρῆσαι βαρυνομένας τὸν πλοῦν, ὥστʼ ἀναγκασθῆναι μένειν ἐκείνους, ἅμα καὶ τὴν γῆν σπουδαίαν ὁρῶντας· εὐθὺς δὲ καὶ ἄλλων πλειόνων εἰσαφικνουμένων καὶ ζηλούντων ἐκείνους κατὰ τὸ ὁμόφυλον, πολλὰς κατοικίας γενέσθαι, ὧν αἱ πλείους ὁμώνυμοι τῶν ποταμῶν ἐγένοντο. φησὶ δʼ Ἀντίοχος, τοῦ θεοῦ χρήσαντος Ἀχαιοῖς Κρότωνα κτίζειν, ἀπελθεῖν Μύσκελλον κατασκεψόμενον τὸν τόπον, ἰδόντα δʼ ἐκτισμένην ἤδη Σύβαριν ποταμῷ τῷ πλησίον ὁμώνυμον κρῖναι ταύτην ἀμείνω· ἐπανερέσθαι δʼ οὖν ἀπιόντα τὸν θεὸν εἰ λῷον εἴη ταύτην ἀντʼ ἐκείνης κτίζειν, τὸν δὲ ἀνειπεῖν (ἐτύγχανε δὲ ὑπόκυφος ὢν ὁ Μύσκελλος) Μύσκελλε βραχύνωτε, παρὲκ θεὸν ἄλλο ματεύων / κλάσματα θηρεύεις· δῶρον δʼ ὅ τι δῷ τις ἐπαινεῖν. / ἐπανελθόντα δὲ κτίσαι τὸν Κρότωνα συμπράξαντος καὶ Ἀρχίου τοῦ τὰς Συρακούσσας οἰκίσαντος, προσπλεύσαντος κατὰ τύχην ἡνίκα ὥρμητο ἐπὶ τὸν τῶν Συρακουσσῶν οἰκισμόν. ᾤκουν δὲ Ἰάπυγες τὸν Κρότωνα πρότερον, ὡς Ἔφορός φησι. δοκεῖ δʼ ἡ πόλις τά τε πολέμια ἀσκῆσαι καὶ τὰ περὶ τὴν ἄθλησιν· ἐν μιᾷ γοῦν Ὀλυμπιάδι οἱ τῶν ἄλλων προτερήσαντες τῷ σταδίῳ ἑπτὰ ἄνδρες ἅπαντες ὑπῆρξαν Κροτωνιᾶται, ὥστʼ εἰκότως εἰρῆσθαι δοκεῖ διότι Κροτωνιατῶν ὁ ἔσχατος πρῶτος ἦν τῶν ἄλλων Ἑλλήνων· καὶ τὴν παροιμίαν δὲ ὑγιέστερον Κρότωνος λέγουσαν ἐντεῦθεν εἰρῆσθαί φασιν, ὡς τοῦ τόπου πρὸς ὑγίειαν καὶ εὐεξίαν ἔχοντός τι φορόν. πλείστους οὖν Ὀλυμπιονίκας ἔσχε, καίπερ οὐ πολὺν χρόνον οἰκηθεῖσα διὰ τὸν φθόρον τῶν ἐπὶ Σάγρᾳ πεσόντων ἀνδρῶν τοσούτων τὸ πλῆθος· προσέλαβε δὲ τῇ δόξῃ καὶ τὸ τῶν Πυθαγορείων πλῆθος καὶ Μίλων, ἐπιφανέστατος μὲν τῶν ἀθλητῶν γεγονὼς ὁμιλητὴς δὲ Πυθαγόρου διατρίψαντος ἐν τῇ πόλει πολὺν χρόνον. φασὶ δʼ ἐν τῷ συσσιτίῳ ποτὲ τῶν φιλοσόφων πονήσαντος στύλου τὸν Μίλωνα ὑποδύοντα σῶσαι ἅπαντας, ὑποσπάσαι δὲ καὶ ἑαυτόν· τῇ δʼ αὐτῇ ῥώμῃ πεποιθότα εἰκὸς καὶ τὴν ἱστορουμένην ὑπό τινων εὑρέσθαι καταστροφὴν τοῦ βίου. λέγεται γοῦν ὁδοιπορῶν ποτε διʼ ὕλης βαθείας παραβῆναι τὴν ὁδὸν ἐπὶ πλέον, εἶθʼ εὑρὼν ξύλον μέγα ἐσφηνωμένον, ἐμβαλὼν χεῖρας ἅμα καὶ πόδας εἰς τὴν διάστασιν βιάζεσθαι πρὸς τὸ διαστῆσαι τελέως· τοσοῦτον δʼ ἴσχυσε μόνον ὥστʼ ἐκπεσεῖν τοὺς σφῆνας· εἶτʼ εὐθὺς ἐπισυμπεσεῖν τὰ μέρη τοῦ ξύλου, ἀποληφθέντα δʼ αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ τοιαύτῃ πάγῃ θηρόβρωτον γενέσθαι.
The first is Crotona, 150 stadia from Lacinium and the river Esaro; there is also a haven there, and another river Nieto. the name whereof is said to be derived from the following circumstance—they say that certain of the Greeks who had wandered from the fleet which had besieged Troy, having arrived in this place, disembarked to take a survey of the country, and that the Trojan women who accompanied them in the fleet, having observed the absence of the men, and being wearied with a toilsome voyage, set fire to the fleet, so that they were compelled to abide, when they saw, in addition [to the loss of their ships], that the soil was very fertile. Many others arriving soon after, and being desirous to live near their fellow-countrymen, founded several settlements. Most of them derived their names from the Trojans, and the river Nieto received its appellation from the destruction [of the ships]. But Antiochus relates that an oracle having commanded the Greeks to found Crotona, Myscellus went forth to view the place, and having seen Sybaris already built on a neighbouring river of the same name, thought it better, and returned to the god to ask if he might be permitted to settle in that, instead of the other; but that the oracle answered, applying to him an epithet noticing his defective stature, (for Myscellus was somewhat crook-backed,) O short-backed Myscellus, whilst seeking somewhat else of thyself, Thou pursuest only misfortune: it is right to accept that which is proffered to thee: and that he returned and built Crotena, wherein he was assisted by Archias, the founder of Syracuse, who happened to touch at Crotona by chance, as he was proceeding to the colony of the Syracusans. The Iapyges possessed Crotona before this time, as Ephorus relates. The city cultivated martial discipline and athletic exercises to a great extent, and in one of the Olympic games all the seven wrestlers, who obtained the palm in the stadium, were Crotoniatae; whence, it seems, the saying arose that the last wrestler of Crotona was the first of the other Greeks, and hence they say also is the origin of the expression, more salubrious than Crotona, as instancing a place which had something to show, in the number of wrestlers which it produced, as a proof of its salubrity and the robust frame of body which it was capable of rearing. Thus it had many victors in the Olympic games, although it cannot be reckoned to have been long inhabited on account of the vast destruction of its citizens, who fell at the battle of the Sagras. Its celebrity too was not a little spread by the number of Pythagoreans who resided there, and Milo, who was the most renowned of wrestlers, and lived in terms of intimacy with Pythagoras, who abode long in this city. They relate that at a banquet of the philosophers, when one of the pillars in the hall gave way, Milo sustained the ceiling while they all escaped, and afterwards saved himself. It is likely that, trusting to the same strength, he met his fate as related by some, for whilst making his way through a thick wood, he strayed considerably out of the path, when finding a great log with wedges in it, he thrust both his hands and feet into the fissure, intending to split it completely, but was only able to force it enough to let the wedges fall out, when the gaping log presently closed on him, and he, being taken as in a snare, was devoured by wild beasts.
ἐφεξῆς δʼ ἐστὶν διακοσίοις σταδίοις Ἀχαιῶν κτίσμα ἡ Σύβαρις δυεῖν ποταμῶν μεταξύ, Κράθιδος καὶ Συβάριδος· οἰκιστὴς δʼ αὐτῆς ὁ Ἶς Ἑλικεύς. τοσοῦτον δʼ εὐτυχίᾳ διήνεγκεν ἡ πόλις αὕτη τὸ παλαιὸν ὥστε τεττάρων μὲν ἐθνῶν τῶν πλησίον ἐπῆρξε, πέντε δὲ καὶ εἴκοσι πόλεις ὑπηκόους ἔσχε, τριάκοντα δὲ μυριάσιν ἀνδρῶν ἐπὶ Κροτωνιάτας ἐστράτευσεν, πεντήκοντα δὲ σταδίων κύκλον συνεπλήρουν οἰκοῦντες ἐπὶ τῷ Κράθιδι. ὑπὸ μέντοι τρυφῆς καὶ ὕβρεως ἅπασαν τὴν εὐδαιμονίαν ἀφῃρέθησαν ὑπὸ Κροτωνιατῶν ἐν ἡμέραις ἑβδομήκοντα· ἑλόντες γὰρ τὴν πόλιν ἐπήγαγον τὸν ποταμὸν καὶ κατέκλυσαν. ὕστερον δʼ οἱ περιγενόμενοι συνελθόντες ἐπῴκουν ὀλίγοι· χρόνῳ δὲ καὶ οὗτοι διεφθάρησαν ὑπὸ Ἀθηναίων καὶ ἄλλων Ἑλλήνων, οἳ συνοικήσοντες μὲν ἐκείνοις ἀφίκοντο, καταφρονήσαντες δὲ αὐτῶν τοὺς μὲν διεχειρίσαντο […] τὴν δὲ πόλιν εἰς ἕτερον τόπον μετέθηκαν πλησίον καὶ Θουρίους προσηγόρευσαν ἀπὸ κρήνης ὁμωνύμου. ὁ μὲν οὖν Σύβαρις τοὺς πίνοντας ἵππους ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ πτυρτικοὺς ποιεῖ· διὸ καὶ τὰς ἀγέλας ἀπείργουσιν ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ· ὁ δὲ Κρᾶθις τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ξανθοτριχεῖν καὶ λευκοτριχεῖν ποιεῖ λουομένους καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ πάθη ἰᾶται. Θούριοι δʼ εὐτυχήσαντες πολὺν χρόνον ὑπὸ Λευκανῶν ἠνδραποδίσθησαν, Ταραντίνων δʼ ἀφελομένων ἐκείνους ἐπὶ Ῥωμαίους κατέφυγον. οἱ δὲ πέμψαντες συνοίκους ὀλιγανδροῦσι μετωνόμασαν Κωπιὰς τὴν πόλιν.
Beyond this, at the distance of 200 stadia, is situated Sybaris, a colony settled by the Achoeans, between the two rivers Crati and Sybaris. Its founder was Is . . . . the Helice an. So great was the prosperity enjoyed by this city anciently, that it held dominion over four neighbouring people and twenty-five towns; in the war with the Crotoniatae it brought into the field 300,000 men, and occupied a circuit of 50 stadia on the Crati. But on account of the arrogance and turbulence of its citizens, it was deprived of all its prosperity by the Crotoniatae in 70 days, who took the city, and turning the waters of the river [Crati], overwhelmed it with an inundation. Some time after, a few who had escaped came together and inhabited the site of their former city, but in time they were dispossessed by the Athenians and other Greeks, who came and settled amongst them, but they despised and subjugated them, and removed the city to a neighbouring place, calling its name Thurii, from a fountain of that name. The water of the river Sybaris has the peculiar property of making the horses which drink it shy, for which reason they keep their horses away from the river. The Crati turns the hair of those who bathe in it yellow, and sometimes white, but has been found salutary for the cure of many disorders. Thurii, after having flourished for a long time, became a continual prey to the aggressions of the Leucani, and afterwards the Tarentini troubling them, they appealed to the Romans for succour, who, in course of time, sent a colony when it was nearly deserted, and changed the name of the city to Copiae.
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