Page:The geography of Strabo (1854) Volume 2.djvu/200

 192 STRABO. CASAUB. 474. may thus with less difficulty form conjectures about the truth. For example, mythologists probably represented the ministers of the gods, and the gods themselves, as coursing over the mountains, and their enthusiastic behaviour, for the same reason that they considered the gods to be celestial beings, and to exercise a providential care over all things, and especially over signs and presages. Mining, hunting, and a search after things useful for the purposes of life, appeared to have a relation to this coursing over the mountains, but jug- gling and magic to be connected with enthusiastic behaviour, religious rites, and divination. Of such a nature, and con- nected in particular with the improvement of the arts of life, were the Dionysiac and Orphic arts. But enough of this subject. CHAPTER IV. 1. HAVING described the islands about the Peloponnesus, and other islands also, some of which are upon, and others in front of, the Corinthian Gulf, we are next to speak of Crete, 1 (for it belongs to the Peloponnesus,) and the islands near Crete, among which are the Cyclades and the Sporades. Some of these are worthy of notice, others are inconsiderable. 2. At present we are to speak first of Crete. 1 The common European name Candia is unknown in the island ; the Saracenic " Kandax," Megalo Kastron, became with the Venetian writers Candia ; the word for a long time denoted only the principal city of the island, which retained its ancient name in the chroniclers and in Dante, Inferno xiv. 94. It is described by Strabo as lying between Cyrenaica and that part of Hellas which extends from Sunium to Laconia, and parallel in its length from W. to E. of these two points. The words [JieXP 1 AaKwviKfjc may be understood either of Malea or Tamarum ; it is probable that this geographer extended Crete as far as Taenarum, as from other passages in his work (ii. c. v. 20; viii. c. v. 1) it would appear that he considered it and the W. points of Crete as under the same meridian. -It is still more difficult to understand the position assigned to Crete with regard to Cyrenaica (xvii." c. iii. 22). Strabo is far nearer the truth, though contradicting his former statements, where he makes Cimarus, the N.W. promontory of Crete, 700 stadia from Malea, and Cape Sammonium 1000 stadia rom Rhodes, (ii. c. iv. 3,) which was one of the best ascertained points of ancient geography. Smith, v. Crete.