Ἀρκαδία δʼ ἐστὶν ἐν μέσῳ μὲν τῆς Πελοποννήσου, πλείστην δὲ χώραν ὀρεινὴν ἀποτέμνεται. μέγιστον δʼ ὄρος ἐν αὐτῇ Κυλλήνη· τὴν γοῦν κάθετον οἱ μὲν εἴκοσι σταδίων φασὶν οἱ δʼ ὅσον πεντεκαίδεκα. δοκεῖ δὲ παλαιότατα ἔθνη τῶν Ἑλλήνων εἶναι τὰ Ἀρκαδικά, Ἀζᾶνές τε καὶ Παρράσιοι καὶ ἄλλοι τοιοῦτοι. διὰ δὲ τὴν τῆς χώρας παντελῆ κάκωσιν οὐκ ἂν προσήκοι μακρολογεῖν περὶ αὐτῶν· αἵ τε γὰρ πόλεις ὑπὸ τῶν συνεχῶν πολέμων ἠφανίσθησαν ἔνδοξοι γενόμεναι πρότερον, τήν τε χώραν οἱ γεωργήσαντες ἐκλελοίπασιν ἐξ ἐκείνων ἔτι τῶν χρόνων ἐξ ὧν εἰς τὴν προσαγορευθεῖσαν Μεγάλην πόλιν αἱ πλεῖσται συνῳκίσθησαν. νυνὶ δὲ καὶ αὐτὴ ἡ Μεγάλη πόλις τὸ τοῦ κωμικοῦ πέπονθε καὶ ἐρημία μεγάλη ʼστὶν ἡ Μεγάλη πόλις. / βοσκήμασι δʼ εἰσὶ νομαὶ δαψιλεῖς, καὶ μάλιστα ἵπποις καὶ ὄνοις τοῖς ἱπποβάταις· ἔστι δὲ καὶ τὸ γένος τῶν ἵππων ἄριστον τὸ Ἀρκαδικόν, καθάπερ καὶ τὸ Ἀργολικὸν καὶ τὸ Ἐπιδαύριον. καὶ ἡ τῶν Αἰτωλῶν δὲ καὶ Ἀκαρνάνων ἐρημία πρὸς ἱπποτροφίαν εὐφυὴς γέγονεν οὐχ ἧττον τῆς Θετταλίας.
ARCADIA is situated in the middle of Peloponnesus, and contains the greatest portion of the mountainous tract in that country. Its largest mountain is Cyllene. Its perpendicular height, according to some writers, is 20, according to others, about 15 stadia.
The Arcadian nations, as the Azanes, and Parrhasii, and other similar tribes, seem to be the most ancient people of Greece.
In consequence of the complete devastation of this country, it is unnecessary to give a long description of it. The cities, although formerly celebrated, have been destroyed by continual wars; and the husbandmen abandoned the country at the time that most of the cities were united in that called Megalopolis (the Great City). At present Megalopolis itself has undergone the fate expressed by the comic poet; the great city is a great desert. / There are rich pastures for cattle, and particularly for horses and asses, which are used as stallions. The race of Arcadian horses, as well as the Argolic and Epidaurian, is preferred before all others. The uninhabited tracts of country in Aetolia and Acarnania are not less adapted to the breeding of horses than Thessaly.
Μαντίνειαν μὲν οὖν ἐποίησεν ἔνδοξον Ἐπαμεινώνδας, τῇ δευτέρᾳ νικήσας μάχῃ Λακεδαιμονίους ἐν ᾗ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐτελεύτα. καὶ αὕτη δὲ καὶ Ὀρχομενὸς καὶ Ἡραία καὶ Κλείτωρ καὶ Φενεὸς καὶ Στύμφαλος καὶ Μαίναλος καὶ Μεθύδριον καὶ Καφυεῖς καὶ Κύναιθα ἢ οὐκέτʼ εἰσὶν ἢ μόλις αὐτῶν ἴχνη φαίνεται καὶ σημεῖα. Τεγέα δʼ ἔτι μετρίως συμμένει καὶ τὸ ἱερὸν τῆς Ἀλέας Ἀθηνᾶς· τιμᾶται δʼ ἐπὶ μικρὸν καὶ τὸ τοῦ Λυκαίου Διὸς ἱερὸν κατὰ τὸ Λύκαιον ὄρος. τῶν δʼ ὑπὸ τοῦ ποιητοῦ λεγομένων Ῥίπην τε Στρατίην τε καὶ ἠνεμόεσσαν Ἐνίσπην / εὑρεῖν τε χαλεπὸν καὶ εὑροῦσιν οὐδὲν ὄφελος διὰ τὴν ἐρημίαν.
Mantinea owes its fame to Epaminondas, who conquered the Lacedaemonians there in a second battle, in which he lost his life.
This city, together with Orchomenus, Heraea, Cleitor, Pheneus, Stymphalus, Maenalus, Methydrium, Caphyeis, and Cynaetha, either exist no longer, or traces and signs only of their existence are visible. There are still some remains of Tegea, and the temple of the Alaean Minerva remains. The latter is yet held in some little veneration, as well as the temple of the Lycaean Jupiter on the Lycaean mountain. But the places mentioned by the poet, as Rhipe, and Stratia, and the windy Enispe, / are difficult to discover, and if discovered, would be of no use from the deserted condition of the country.
ὄρη δʼ ἐπιφανῆ πρὸς τῇ Κυλλήνῃ Φολόη τε καὶ Λύκαιον καὶ Μαίναλος καὶ τὸ Παρθένιον καλούμενον καθῆκον ἐπὶ τὴν Ἀργείαν ἀπὸ τῆς Τεγεάτιδος.
The mountains of note, besides Cyllene, are Pholoë, Lycaeum, Maenalus, and the Parthenium, as it is called, which extends from the territory of Tegea to that of Argos.
περὶ δὲ τοῦ Ἀλφειοῦ καὶ τοῦ Εὐρώτα τὸ συμβεβηκὸς παράδοξον εἴρηται καὶ τὸ περὶ Ἐρασῖνον τὸν ἐκδιδόντα ἐκ τῆς Στυμφαλίδος λίμνης εἰς τὴν Ἀργείαν νυνί, πρότερον δʼ οὐκ ἔχοντα ἔκρυσιν, τῶν βερέθρων, ἃ καλοῦσιν οἱ Ἀρκάδες ζέρεθρα, τυφλῶν ὄντων καὶ μὴ δεχομένων ἀπέρασιν ὥστε τὴν τῶν Στυμφαλίων πόλιν νῦν μὲν καὶ πεντήκοντα διέχειν σταδίους ἀπὸ τῆς λίμνης, τότε δʼ ἐπʼ αὐτῆς κεῖσθαι. τἀναντία δʼ ὁ Λάδων ἔπαθε τοῦ ῥεύματος ἐπισχεθέντος ποτὲ διὰ τὴν ἔμφραξιν τῶν πηγῶν· συμπεσόντα γὰρ τὰ περὶ Φενεὸν βέρεθρα ὑπὸ σεισμοῦ, διʼ ὧν ἦν ἡ φορά, μονὴν ἐποίησε τοῦ ῥεύματος μέχρι τῶν κατὰ βάθους φλεβῶν τῆς πηγῆς. καὶ οἱ μὲν οὕτω λέγουσιν· Ἐρατοσθένης δέ φησι περὶ Φενεὸν μὲν τὸν Ἀνίαν καλούμενον ποταμὸν λιμνάζειν τὰ πρὸ τῆς πόλεως, καταδύεσθαι δʼ εἴς τινας ἠθμοὺς οὓς καλεῖσθαι ζέρεθρα· τούτων δʼ ἐμφραχθέντων ἔσθʼ ὅτε ὑπερχεῖσθαι τὸ ὕδωρ εἰς τὰ πεδία, πάλιν δʼ ἀναστομουμένων ἄθρουν ἐκ τῶν πεδίων ἐκπεσὸν εἰς τὸν Λάδωνα καὶ τὸν Ἀλφειὸν ἐμβάλλειν, ὥστε καὶ τῆς Ὀλυμπίας κλυσθῆναί ποτε τὴν περὶ τὸ ἱερὸν γῆν, τὴν δὲ λίμνην συσταλῆναι· τὸν Ἐρασῖνον δὲ παρὰ Στυμφάλου ῥέοντα ὑποδύντα ὑπὸ τὸ ὄρος ἐν τῇ Ἀργείᾳ πάλιν ἀναφανῆναι· διὸ δὴ καὶ Ἰφικράτη πολιορκοῦντα τὸν Στύμφαλον καὶ μηδὲν περαίνοντα ἐπιχειρῆσαι τὴν κατάδυσιν ἀποφράξαι σπόγγους πορισάμενον πολλούς, παύσασθαι δὲ διοσημίας γενομένης. περὶ Φενεὸν δʼ ἔστι καὶ τὸ καλούμενον Στυγὸς ὕδωρ, λιβάδιον ὀλεθρίου ὕδατος νομιζόμενον ἱερόν. τοσαῦτα καὶ περὶ Ἀρκαδίας εἰρήσθω.
We have spoken of the extraordinary circumstances relative to the Alpheius, Eurotas, and the Erasinus, which issues out of the lake Stymphalis, and now flows into the Argive country.
Formerly, the Erasinus had no efflux, for the Berethra, which the Arcadians call Zerethra, had no outlet, so that the city of the Stymphalii, which at that time was situated upon the lake, is now at the distance of 50 stadia.
The contrary was the case with the Ladon, which was at one time prevented running in a continuous stream by the obstruction of its sources. For the Berethra near Pheneum, through which it now passes, fell in in consequence of an earthquake, which stopped the waters of the river, and affected far down the veins which supplied its source. This is the account of some writers.
Eratosthenes says, that about the Pheneus, the river called Anias forms a lake, and then sinks under-ground into certain openings, which they call Zerethra. When these are obstructed, the water sometimes overflows into the plains, and when they are again open the water escapes in a body from the plains, and is discharged into the Ladon and the Alpheius, so that it happened once at Olympia, that the land about the temple was inundated, but the lake was partly emptied. The Erasinus also, he says, which flows by Stymphalus, sinks into the ground under the mountain (Chaon?), and reappears in the Argive territory. It was this that induced Iphicrates, when besieging Stymphalus, and making no progress, to attempt to obstruct the descent of the river into the ground by means of a large quantity of sponges, but desisted in consequence of some portentous signs in the heavens.
Near the Pheneus there is also the water of the Styx, as it is called, a dripping spring of poisonous water, which was esteemed to be sacred.
So much then respecting Arcadia.
Πολυβίου δʼ εἰρηκότος τὸ ἀπὸ Μαλεῶν ἐπὶ τὰς ἄρκτους μέχρι τοῦ Ἴστρου διάστημα περὶ μυρίους σταδίους, εὐθύνει τοῦτο ὁ Ἀρτεμίδωρος οὐκ ἀτόπως, ἐπὶ μὲν Αἴγιον χιλίους καὶ ίους εἶναι λέγων ἐκ Μαλεῶν ὁδόν, ἐνθένδε εἰς διακοσίων, ἐνθένδε διὰ Ἡρακλείας πεντακοσίων ὁδόν, εἶτα εἰς Λάρισαν τριακοσίων τετταράκοντα, εἶτα διὰ νειοῦ ἐκβολὰς διακοσίων τετταράκονλονίκειαν ἑξακοσίων ἑξήκοντα, ἐντεῦένης καὶ Στόβων καὶ Δαρδανίων τρισχιυς. κατʼ ἐκεῖνον δὴ συμβαίνει τὸ ἐκ έας ἑξακισχιλίων πεντακοσίων. αἴτιον δὲ τούτου τὸ μὴ τὴν σύντομον καταμετρεῖν, ἀλλὰ τὴν τυχοῦσαν ἣν ἐπορεύθη τῶν στρατηγῶν τις. οὐκ ἄτοπον δʼ ἴσως καὶ τοὺς οἰκιστὰς προσθεῖναι τῶν τὴν Πελοπόννησον οἰκούντων, οὓς εἶπεν Ἔφορος, τοὺς μετὰ τὴν Ἡρακλειδῶν κάθοδον· Κορίνθου μὲν Ἀλήτην, Σικυῶνος δὲ Φάλκην, Ἀχαΐας δὲ Τισαμενόν, Ἤλιδος δʼ Ὄξυλον, Μεσσήνης δὲ Κρεσφόντην, Λακεδαίμονος δʼ Εὐρυσθένη καὶ Προκλῆ, Ἄργους δὲ Τήμενον κ περὶ τὴν Ἀκτὴν Ἀγραῖον καὶ Δηιφόντην.
Polybius having said, that from Maleae towards the north as far as the Danube the distance is about 10,000 stadia, is corrected by Artemidorus, and not without reason; for, according to the latter, from Maleae to Aegium the distance is 1400 stadia, from hence to Cirrha is a distance by sea of 200 stadia; hence by Heraclea to Thaumaci a journey of 500 stadia; thence to Larisa and the river Peneus, 340 stadia; then through Tempe to the mouth of the Peneus, 240 stadia; then to Thessalonica, 660 stadia; then to the Danube, through Idomene, and Stobi, and Dardanii, it is 3200 stadia. According to Artemidorus, therefore, the distance from the Danube to Maleae would be 6500. The cause of this difference is that he does not give the measurement by the shortest road, but by some accidental route pursued by a general of an army.
It is not, perhaps, out of place to add the founders mentioned by Ephorus, who settled colonies in Peloponnesus after the return of the Heracleidae; as Aletes, the founder of Corinth; Phalces, of Sicyon; Tisamenus, of cities in Achaea; Oxylus, of Elis, Cresphontes, of Messene; Eurysthenes and Procles, of Lacedaemon; Temenus and Cissus, of Argos; and Agraeus and Deiphontes, of the towns about Acte.
Cite This Text