ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ Ῥηγίου πλέοντι πρὸς ἕω Λευκοπέτραν καλοῦσιν ἄκραν ἀπὸ τῆς χρόας ἐν πεντήκοντα σταδίοις, εἰς ἣν τελευτᾶν φασι τὸ Ἀπέννινον ὄρος. ἐντεῦθεν δὲ Ἡράκλειον, ὃ δὴ τελευταῖον ἀκρωτήριον νεύει πρὸς μεσημβρίαν· κάμψαντι γὰρ εὐθὺς ὁ πλοῦς λιβὶ μέχρι πρὸς ἄκραν Ἰαπυγίαν· εἶτʼ ἐκκλίνει πρὸς ἄρκτον ἀεὶ καὶ μᾶλλον καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἑσπέραν ἐπὶ τὸν κόλπον τὸν Ἰόνιον. μετὰ δὲ τὸ Ἡράκλειον ἄκρα τῆς Λοκρίδος ἣ καλεῖται Ζεφύριον, ἔχουσα τοῖς ἑσπερίοις ἀνέμοις λιμένα, ἐξ οὗ καὶ τοὔνομα. εἶθʼ ἡ πόλις οἱ Λοκροὶ οἱ Ἐπιζεφύριοι, Λοκρῶν ἄποικοι τῶν ἐν τῷ Κρισαίῳ κόλπῳ, μικρὸν ὕστερον τῆς Κρότωνος καὶ Συρακουσσῶν κτίσεως ἀποικισθέντες ὑπὸ Εὐάνθους· Ἔφορος δʼ οὐκ εὖ τῶν Ὀπουντίων Λοκρῶν ἀποίκους φήσας. ἔτη μὲν οὖν τρία ἢ τέτταρα ᾤκουν ἐπὶ τῷ Ζεφυρίῳ· καὶ ἔστιν ἐκεῖ κρήνη Λοκρία, ὅπου οἱ Λοκροὶ ἐστρατοπεδεύσαντο. εἶτα μετήνεγκαν τὴν πόλιν συμπραξάντων καὶ Συρακουσσίων. ἅμα γὰρ οὗτοι ἐν οἷς […] εἰσὶ δʼ ἀπὸ Ῥηγίου μέχρι Λοκρῶν ἑξακόσιοι στάδιοι. ἵδρυται δʼ ἡ πόλις ἐπʼ ὀφρύος ἣν Ἐπῶπιν καλοῦσι.
Sailing 50 stadia from Rhegium towards the east, we meet the cape called Leucopetra, from the colour of the rock, where they say the range of the Apennines terminates. Further on is Heraclaeum. It is the last promontory, and looks towards the south; for presently on doubling it the course takes a south-western direction as far as the promontory of Iapygia, then it runs towards the north more and more, and towards the west along the Ionian gulf. After the Herculeum Promontorium is the head-land of Locris, which is called Zephyrium, possessing a haven exposed to the west winds, whence is derived its name. Then is the state of the Locri Epizephyrii, a colony of Locrians transported by Evanthes from the Crissaean gulf, shortly after the foundation of Crotona and Syracuse. Ephorus was not correct in stating that they were a colony of the Locri Opuntii. They remained at first during three or four years at Cape Zephyrium; afterwards they removed their city, with the assistance of certain Syracusans who dwelt amongst them. There is also a fountain called Locria in the place where the Locri first took up their abode. From Rhegium to the Locri there are 600 stadia. The city is built on a height, which they call Esopis.
πρῶτοι δὲ νόμοις ἐγγράπτοις χρήσασθαι πεπιστευμένοι εἰσί· καὶ πλεῖστον χρόνον εὐνομηθέντας Διονύσιος ἐκπεσὼν ἐκ τῆς Συρακουσσίων ἀνομώτατα πάντων διεχρήσατο, ὅς γε προεγάμει μὲν παρεισιὼν εἰς τὸ δωμάτιον τὰς νυμφοστοληθείσας, συναγαγὼν δὲ τὰς ὡραίας παρθένους περιστερὰς κολοπτέρους ἐν τοῖς συμποσίοις ἠφίει, κἀκείνας ἐκέλευσε θηρεύειν γυμνάς, τινὰς δὲ καὶ σανδάλια ὑποδουμένας ἄζυγα, τὸ μὲν ὑψηλὸν τὸ δὲ ταπεινόν, περιδιώκειν τὰς φάσσας τοῦ ἀπρεποῦς χάριν. δίκας μέντοι ἔτισεν, ἐπειδὴ πάλιν εἰς τὴν Σικελίαν ἐπανῆλθεν ἀναληψόμενος τὴν ἀρχήν· καταλύσαντες γὰρ οἱ Λοκροὶ τὴν φρουρὰν ἠλευθέρωσαν σφᾶς καὶ τῆς γυναικὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν παιδίων κύριοι κατέστησαν· δύο δʼ ἦσαν αἱ θυγατέρες καὶ τῶν υἱῶν ὁ νεώτερος ἤδη μειράκιον· ἅτερος γὰρ Ἀπολλοκράτης συνεστρατήγει τῷ πατρὶ τὴν κάθοδον. πολλὰ δὲ δεομένῳ τῷ Διονυσίῳ καὐτῷ καὶ Ταραντίνοις ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ προέσθαι τὰ σώματα ἐφʼ οἷς ἂν ἐθελήσωσιν οὐκ ἔδοσαν, ἀλλὰ πολιορκίαν ὑπέμειναν καὶ πόρθησιν τῆς χώρας, τὸν δὲ θυμὸν εἰς τὰς θυγατέρας τὸν πλεῖστον ἐξέχεαν· καταπορνευθείσας γὰρ ἐστραγγάλησαν, εἶτα καύσαντες τὰ σώματα κατήλεσαν τὰ ὀστᾶ καὶ κατεπόντωσαν. τῆς δὲ τῶν Λοκρῶν νομογραφίας μνησθεὶς Ἔφορος, ἣν Ζάλευκος συνέταξεν ἔκ τε τῶν Κρητικῶν νομίμων καὶ Λακωνικῶν καὶ ἐκ τῶν Ἀρεοπαγιτικῶν, φησὶν ἐν τοῖς πρώτοις καινίσαι τοῦτο τὸν Ζάλευκον ὅτι, τῶν πρότερον τὰς ζημίας τοῖς δικασταῖς ἐπιτρεψάντων ὁρίζειν ἐφʼ ἑκάστοις τοῖς ἀδικήμασιν, ἐκεῖνος ἐν τοῖς νόμοις διώρισεν, ἡγούμενος τὰς μὲν γνώμας τῶν δικαστῶν οὐχὶ τὰς αὐτὰς εἶναι περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν, δεῖν εἶναι τὰς αὐτάς· ἐπαινεῖ καὶ τὸ ἁπλουστέρως αὐτὸν περὶ τῶν συμβολαίων διατάξαι. Θουρίους δʼ ὕστερον ἀκριβοῦν θέλοντας πέρα τῶν Λοκρῶν ἐνδοξοτέρους μὲν γενέσθαι, χείρονας δέ· εὐνομεῖσθαι γὰρ οὐ τοὺς ἐν τοῖς νόμοις ἅπαντα φυλαττομένους τὰ τῶν συκοφαντῶν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἐμμένοντας τοῖς ἁπλῶς κειμένοις. τοῦτο δὲ καὶ Πλάτων εἴρηκεν ὅτι παρʼ οἷς πλεῖστοι νόμοι καὶ δίκαι παρὰ τούτοις καὶ βίοι μοχθηροί, καθάπερ καὶ παρʼ οἷς ἰατροὶ πολλοὶ καὶ νόσους εἰκὸς εἶναι πολλάς.
The Locri are believed to have been the first who committed their laws to writing, but after they had enjoyed the advantage of these good laws for a very considerable time, Dionysius [the younger], having been expelled from Syracuse, found means to abuse them in a most abominable manner, for he, entering into a private chamber where certain young brides had been adorned for their nuptials, violated them; he also gathered the most beautiful virgins to his revels, and having liberated doves with uncut wings, commanded the young women to chase them round the apartment in a state of perfect nudity, while on some he bound sandals of unequal height, one being high and the other low, in order to make their appearance in the pursuit the more unseemly. However he paid dearly for this, for having returned to Sicily to resume his government, the Locri overpowered the guard he had left in their city, freed themselves, and obtained possession of his wife and children; there were two of his daughters, and his second son who had already attained the age of manhood; the eldest, however, called Apollocrates, accompanied his father in the expedition. And although Dionysius himself entreated them earnestly, as did also the Tarentines, to deliver the prisoners for whatever ransom they should name, they remained inexorable, and endured a siege and the wasting of their country, that they might vent their rage on his daughters. After having exposed them to the most shameful outrages, they strangled them, burnt their bodies, pounded their bones, and cast them into the sea. Ephorus in speaking of the written law of the Locri, which Zaleucus had most judiciously selected from the Cretan, Lacedaemonian, and Areopagite codes, says that Zaleucus was the first to establish this principle, that whereas formerly lawgivers had left it to the judges to award the punishments for the several offences, he established a certain penalty in his laws, thinking that the minds of the judges would not be led to attach the same penalties for the same transgressions, which course he considered expedient. He praises him also for having simplified the law of contracts. [He says also] that the Thurians, being desirous to improve [the code of Zaleucus] more than the Locri had done, became more celebrated, but were less judicious. For that state is not regulated by the best government, where they guard against all manner of deceit by their laws, but that wherein they abide by laws simply framed. Plato also has observed that where there are many laws, there there will be law-suits and evil lives, in the same way as, where there are many physicians, there it is likely there is much sickness.
τοῦ δὲ Ἅληκος ποταμοῦ τοῦ διορίζοντος τὴν Ῥηγίνην ἀπὸ τῆς Λοκρίδος βαθεῖαν φάραγγα διεξιόντος ἴδιόν τι συμβαίνει τὸ περὶ τοὺς τέττιγας· οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἐν τῇ τῶν Λοκρῶν περαίᾳ φθέγγονται, τοῖς δʼ ἀφώνοις εἶναι συμβαίνει· τὸ δʼ αἴτιον εἰκάζουσιν ὅτι τοῖς μὲν παλίνσκιόν ἐστι τὸ χωρίον ὥστʼ ἐνδρόσους ὄντας μὴ διαστέλλειν τοὺς ὑμένας, τοὺς δʼ ἡλιαζομένους ξηροὺς καὶ κερατώδεις ἔχειν ὥστʼ ἀπʼ αὐτῶν εὐφυῶς ἐκπέμπεσθαι τὸν φθόγγον. ἐδείκνυτο δʼ ἀνδριὰς ἐν Λοκροῖς Εὐνόμου τοῦ κιθαρῳδοῦ τέττιγα ἐπὶ τὴν κιθάραν καθήμενον ἔχων. φησὶ δὲ Τίμαιος Πυθίοις ποτὲ ἀγωνιζομένους τοῦτόν τε καὶ Ἀρίστωνα Ῥηγῖνον ἐρίσαι περὶ τοῦ κλήρου· τὸν μὲν δὴ Ἀρίστωνα δεῖσθαι τῶν Δελφῶν ἑαυτῷ συμπράττειν· ἱεροὺς γὰρ εἶναι τοῦ θεοῦ τοὺς προγόνους αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν ἀποικίαν ἐνθένδε ἐστάλθαι· τοῦ δʼ Εὐνόμου φήσαντος ἀρχὴν μηδὲ μετεῖναι ἐκείνοις τῶν περὶ φωνὴν ἀγωνισμάτων, παρʼ οἷς καὶ οἱ τέττιγες εἶεν ἄφωνοι τὰ εὐφθογγότατα τῶν ζῴων, ὅμως εὐδοκιμεῖν μηδὲν ἧττον τὸν Ἀρίστωνα καὶ ἐν ἐλπίδι τὴν νίκην ἔχειν, νικῆσαι μέντοι τὸν Εὔνομον καὶ ἀναθεῖναι τὴν λεχθεῖσαν εἰκόνα ἐν τῇ πατρίδι, ἐπειδὴ κατὰ τὸν ἀγῶνα μιᾶς τῶν χορδῶν ῥαγείσης ἐπιστὰς τέττιξ ἐκπληρώσειε τὸν φθόγγον. τὴν δʼ ὑπὲρ τῶν πόλεων τούτων μεσόγαιαν Βρέττιοι κατέχουσι· καὶ πόλις ἐνταῦθα Μαμέρτιον καὶ ὁ δρυμὸς ὁ φέρων τὴν ἀρίστην πίτταν τὴν Βρεττίαν, ὃν Σίλαν καλοῦσιν, εὔδενδρός τε καὶ εὔυδρος, μῆκος ἑπτακοσίων σταδίων.
There is a certain singular circumstance, respecting grasshoppers, worthy of note. The river Alece divides Rhegium from Locris, flowing through a deep ravine; those which are in the territory of the Locrians sing, but those on the other side are silent; and it is thought probable that this is caused by the region being woody, and their membranes being softened by dew do not produce sound; but those on the Locrian side being sunned, are dry and horny, so that the sound is easily produced by them. The statue of Eunomus the harper having a grasshopper seated on his harp is shown at Locri. Timaeus says, that this Eunomus was once contending at the Pythian games and disputed with Aristo of Rhegium for the prize, and that Aristo declared that the people of Delphi ought to take part with him, because his ancestors were consecrated to the god, and sent out to found the colony; but Eunomus said that they could have no claim to contend for melody with any one, because that among them even the grasshoppers, who are the most gifted of all creatures, were mute. Nevertheless Aristo was applauded, and had hopes of obtaining the victory, but Eunomus was declared victorious, and dedicated the said statue in his country, because that at the contest one of the chords of his harp having broken, a grasshopper taking his stand on it supplied the sound. Above these towns the Bruttii possess the interior, and there is the city Mamertium, and the forest which they call Sila, which produces the best or Bruttian pitch. It yields fine trees, and is well watered, extending over a length of 700 stadia.
μετὰ δὲ Λοκροὺς Σάγρα, ὃν θηλυκῶς ὀνομάζουσιν, ἐφʼ οὗ βωμοὶ Διοσκούρων, περὶ οὓς Λοκροὶ μύριοι μετὰ Ῥηγίνων πρὸς δεκατρεῖς μυριάδας Κροτωνιατῶν συμβαλόντες ἐνίκησαν· ἀφʼ οὗ τὴν παροιμίαν πρὸς τοὺς ἀπιστοῦντας ἐκπεσεῖν φασιν ἀληθέστερα τῶν ἐπὶ Σάγρᾳ. προσμεμυθεύκασι δʼ ἔνιοι καὶ διότι αὐθημερὸν τοῦ ἀγῶνος ἐνεστῶτος Ὀλυμπίασιν ἀπαγγελθείη τοῖς ἐκεῖ τὸ συμβάν, καὶ εὑρεθείη τὸ τάχος τῆς ἀγγελίας ἀληθές. ταύτην δὲ τὴν συμφορὰν αἰτίαν τοῖς Κροτωνιάταις φασὶ τοῦ μὴ πολὺν ἔτι συμμεῖναι χρόνον διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν τότε πεσόντων ἀνδρῶν. μετὰ δὲ τὴν Σάγραν Ἀχαιῶν κτίσμα Καυλωνία, πρότερον δʼ Αὐλωνία λεγομένη διὰ τὸν προκείμενον αὐλῶνα. ἔστι δʼ ἔρημος· οἱ γὰρ ἔχοντες εἰς Σικελίαν ὑπὸ τῶν βαρβάρων ἐξέπεσον καὶ τὴν ἐκεῖ Καυλωνίαν ἔκτισαν. μετὰ δὲ ταύτην Σκυλλήτιον ἄποικος Ἀθηναίων τῶν μετὰ Μενεσθέως (νῦν δὲ Σκυλάκιον καλεῖται), Κροτωνιατῶν δʼ ἐχόντων Διονύσιος Λοκροῖς προσώρισεν. ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς πόλεως καὶ ὁ κόλπος Σκυλλητικὸς ὠνόμασται, ποιῶν τὸν εἰρημένον ἰσθμὸν πρὸς τὸν Ἱππωνιάτην κόλπον. ἐπεχείρησε δʼ ὁ Διονύσιος καὶ διατειχίζειν τὸν ἰσθμὸν στρατεύσας ἐπὶ Λευκανούς, λόγῳ μὲν ὡς ἀσφάλειαν παρέξων ἀπὸ τῶν ἐκτὸς βαρβάρων τοῖς ἐντὸς ἰσθμοῦ, τὸ δʼ ἀληθὲς λῦσαι τὴν πρὸς ἀλλήλους κοινωνίαν τῶν Ἑλλήνων βουλόμενος, ὥστʼ ἄρχειν ἀδεῶς τῶν ἐντός· ἀλλʼ ἐκώλυσαν οἱ ἐκτὸς εἰσελθόντες.
After the Locri is the [river] Sagras, in the feminine gender, on which is situated the altar of the Dioscuri, near which ten thousand Locrians, with a small body of Rhegians gained a victory over 130,000 Crotoniatae whence they say arose the proverb applied to incredulous people. It is more true than the victory of the Sagras. Some people add to the mysterious account, that it was announced the same day at the Olympic games to the people there assembled, and this speedy news was found perfectly correct. They say that this mischance was so unfortunate an event to the Crotoniatae, that after it they did not long remain as a nation, on account of the number of citizens who fell in the battle. After the Sagras is Caulonia, which was at first called Aulonia, from the αὐλὼν, or valley, in which it was situated; but it is deserted, for its former possessors were driven out by the barbarians, and have taken refuge in Sicily, and there founded [another] Caulonia. After this is Scylletium, a colony of the Athenians, who set out under Menestheus; it is now called Scylacium. . . . Attollit se diva Lacinia contra / Caulonisque arces, et navifragum Scylaceum. / Dionysius [the elder] allotted a portion of it to the Locri, whilst it was in the possession of the Crotoniatae. The Scylleticus Sinus received its name from this city. It together with the Hipponiates Sinus forms the isthmus which we have mentioned above. Dionysius undertook to build a wall across the isthmus, at the time he was carrying on war against the Leucani, assigning as a pretext that it would afford security to the inhabitants of the peninsula from the inroads of the barbarians dwelling beyond it; but in truth his intention was to cut off the communication of the Greeks with each other, and to have the greater power over those who dwelt within the peninsula, but those who dwelt without assembled and prevented the undertaking.
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