Page:The geography of Strabo (1854) Volume 1.djvu/416

 402 STRABO. CASAUB. 266. rina, 1 another 20; then to Pachynus, 50; thence again along the third side to Syracuse, 36 ; 2 from Syracuse to Catana, 60 ; then to Tauromenium, 3 33 ; thence to Messana, 30. 4 Thus on foot 5 from Pachynus to Pelorias we have 168 [miles], and from Messana 6 to [Cape] Lilybaeum, on the Via Valeria, 7 we have 235 8 [miles]. Some have estimated the circuit in a more simple way, as Ephorus, who says that the compass of the island by sea takes five days and nights. Posidonius at- tempts to determine the situation of the island by climata, 9 and places Pelorias to the north, Lilybaeum to the south, and Pachynus to the east. We however consider that of necessity all climata are set out in the manner of a parallelogram, but that districts portrayed as triangles, and especially such tri- angles as are scalene, 10 and whereof no one side lies parallel to a side of the parallelogram, cannot in any way be assimi- lated to climata on account of their obliquity. However, we must allow, that in treating of Sicily, Pelorias, which lies to the south of Italy, may well be called the most northern of the three angles, so that we say that the line which joins it 11 to Pachynus faces the east but looks towards the north. 12 Now this line [of coast] will make the side next the Strait [of Mes- sina], and it must have a slight inclination towards the winter sunrise ; 13 for thus the shore slightly changes its direction as you travel from Catana towards Syracuse and Pachynus. Now the transit from Pachynus to the mouth of the Alpheus 14 is 4000 stadia. But when Artemidorus says that from Pachy- 1 Torre di Camarana. 2 The Paris MS. No. 1393, used by the French translators, has 33 ; the Paris MS. 1396, and the Medici plut. 28, No. 5, give 20 miles. 3 Taonnina. 4 Gossellin observes, that the distance from Messina to Cape Pelorias, which would complete the circuit of Sicily, is 'about 9 miles. 5 i. e. by land. 6 Messina. 7 An intelligent critic has imagined that this road may have been com- menced by M. Valerius Maximus Messala, consul in the year 263, and censor in 253, before the Christian era. D'Orvill. Sic. c. ii. p. 12. 8 We have followed Kramer, who inserts [dictKoo-ia] before 9 i. e. to give its parallels of latitude and longitude. 10 i. e. wherein all three sides are unequal. 11 i. e. Pelorias. 19 Or, lies towards the east, with a northern inclination. 12 South-east. " A river of the Peloponnesus, now called Rufda.