[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Foreign](https://indike.org/pramana/inf) › [Greek](https://indike.org/pramana/inf.gr) › [Roman Imperial (31 BCE – 330 CE)](https://indike.org/pramana/inf.gr.roman) › [Γεωγραφικά](https://indike.org/pramana/inf.gr.roman.strabo) › 2.1.37 # Γεωγραφικά 2.1.37 Γεωγραφικά 2.1.37 - **Language:** Ancient Greek ### [2.1.37](https://indike.org/pramana/inf.gr.roman.strabo.2.1.37) οὐ τοῦτο οὖν λεκτέον πρὸς τὸν Ἐρατοσθένη, ἀλλʼ ὅτι τῶν ἐν πλάτει λεγομένων καὶ μεγεθῶν καὶ σχημάτων εἶναί τι δεῖ μέτρον καὶ ὅπου μὲν μᾶλλον ὅπου δὲ ἔλαττον, συγχωρητέον. ληφθέντος γὰρ τοῦ τῶν ὀρῶν πλάτους τῶν ἐπὶ τὰς ἰσημερινὰς ἀνατολὰς ἐκτεινομένων τρισχιλίων σταδίων, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τοῦ τῆς θαλάττης τῆς μέχρι στηλῶν, μᾶλλον ἄν τις συγχωρήσειεν ὡς ἐπὶ μιᾶς γραμμῆς ἐξετάζεσθαι τὰς παραλλήλους ἐκείνης ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ πλάτει ἀγομένας ἢ τὰς συμπιπτούσας, καὶ τῶν συμπιπτουσῶν τὰς ἐν αὐτῷ ἐκείνῳ τῷ πλάτει τὴν σύμπτωσιν ἐχούσας ἢ τὰς ἐκτός· ὡσαύτως καὶ τὰς διισταμένας μέχρι τοῦ μὴ ἐκβαίνειν τοῦ πλάτους ἢ τὰς ἐκβαινούσας, καὶ τὰς ἐν μείζονι μήκει μᾶλλον ἢ τὰς ἐν ἐλάττονι. καὶ γὰρ ἡ ἀνισότης τῶν μηκῶν συγκρύπτοιτʼ ἂν μᾶλλον καὶ ἡ ἀνομοιότης τῶν σχημάτων· οἷον ἐν τῷ πλάτει τοῦ Ταύρου παντὸς καὶ τῆς μέχρι στηλῶν θαλάττης, ὑποκειμένων τρισχιλίων σταδίων, νοεῖται ἕν τι παραλληλόγραμμον χωρίον, τὸ περιγράφον τό τε ὄρος ἅπαν καὶ τὴν λεχθεῖσαν θάλατταν. ἐὰν οὖν διέλῃς εἰς πλείω παραλληλόγραμμα τὸ μῆκος, καὶ τὴν διάμετρον ὅλου τε τούτου λάβῃς καὶ τῶν μερῶν, ῥᾷον ἂν ἡ τοῦ ὅλου διάμετρος ἡ αὐτὴ λογισθείη τῇ κατὰ τὸ μῆκος πλευρᾷ ἤπερ ἡ ἐν τοῖς μέρεσι· καὶ ὅσῳ γʼ ἂν ἔλαττον ᾖ τὸ παραλληλόγραμμον τὸ ληφθὲν ἐν μέρει, τοσῷδε μᾶλλον τοῦτʼ ἂν συμβαίνοι. ἥ τε γὰρ λοξότης τῆς διαμέτρου ἧττον ἀπελέγχεται καὶ ἡ ἀνισότης τοῦ μήκους ἐν τοῖς μεγάλοις, ὥστʼ οὐδʼ ἂν ὀκνήσειας ἐπʼ αὐτῶν τὴν διάμετρον εἰπεῖν μῆκος τοῦ σχήματος. ἐὰν οὖν τὴν διάμετρον λοξώσῃς μᾶλλον, ὥστε ἐκπεσεῖν ἔξω τῶν πλευρῶν ἑκατέρας ἢ τῆς γε ἑτέρας, οὐκ ἂν ὁμοίως ἔτι ταῦτα συμβαίνοι· τοιοῦτον δή τι λέγω τὸ μέτρον τῶν ἐν πλάτει λεγομένων. ὁ δʼ ἀπὸ τῶν Κασπίων πυλῶν τὴν μὲν διʼ αὐτῶν τῶν ὀρῶν λαμβάνων ὡς ἂν ἐπὶ ταὐτοῦ παραλλήλου μέχρι στηλῶν ἀγομένην, τὴν δʼ ἀπονεύουσαν εἰς Θάψακον εὐθὺς ἔξω πολὺ τῶν ὀρῶν, καὶ πάλιν ἐκ Θαψάκου προσεκβάλλων ἄλλην μέχρι Αἰγύπτου τοσοῦτον ἐπιλαμβάνουσαν πλάτος, εἶτα τῷ μήκει τῷ ταύτης καταμετρῶν τὸ τοῦ χωρίου μῆκος, διαμέτρῳ τετραγώνου καταμετρεῖν ἂν δόξειε τὸ τοῦ τετραγώνου μῆκος. ὅταν δὲ μηδὲ διάμετρος ᾖ ἀλλὰ κεκλασμένη ἡ γραμμή, πολὺ μᾶλλον ἂν δόξειε πλημμελεῖν· κεκλασμένη γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἀπὸ Κασπίων πυλῶν διὰ Θαψάκου πρὸς τὸν Νεῖλον ἀγομένη. πρὸς μὲν Ἐρατοσθένη ταῦτα. > Eratosthenes cannot, therefore, be found fault with on these grounds; what may be objected against him is as follows. When you wish to give a general outline of size and configuration, you should devise for yourself some rule which may be adhered to more or less. After having laid down that the breadth of the space occupied by the mountains which run in a direction due east, as well as by the sea which reaches to the Pillars of Hercules, is 3000 stadia, would you pretend to estimate different lines, which you may draw within the breadth of that space, as one and the same line? We should be more willing to grant you the power of doing so with respect to the lines which run parallel to that space than with those which fall upon it; and among these latter, rather with respect to those which fall within it than to those which extend without it; and also rather for those which, in regard to the shortness of their extent, would not pass out of the said space than for those which would. And again, rather for lines of some considerable length than for any thing very short, for the inequality of lengths is less perceptible in great extents than the difference of configuration. For example, if you give 3000 stadia for the breadth at the Taurus, as well as for the sea which extends to the Pillars of Hercules, you will form a parallelogram entirely enclosing both the mountains of the Taurus and the sea; if you divide it in its length into several other parallelograms, and draw first the diagonal of the great parallelogram, and next that of each smaller parallelogram, surely the diagonal of the great parallelogram will be regarded as a line more nearly parallel and equal to the side forming the length of that figure than the diagonal of any of the smaller parallelograms: and the more your lesser parallelograms should be multiplied, the more will this become evident. Certainly, it is in great figures that the obliquity of the diagonal and its difference from the side forming the length are the less perceptible, so that you would have but little scruple in taking the diagonal as the length of the figure. But if you draw the diagonal more inclined, so that it falls beyond both sides, or at least beyond one of the sides, then will this no longer be the case; and this is the sense in which we have observed, that when you attempted to draw even in a very general way the extents of the figures, you ought to adopt some rule. But Eratosthenes takes a line from the Caspian Gates along the mountains, running as it were in the same parallel as far as the Pillars, and then a second line, starting directly from the mountains to touch Thapsacus; and again a third line from Thapsacus to the frontiers of Egypt, occupying so great a breadth. If then in proceeding you give the length of the two last lines \[taken together\] as the measure of the length of the district, you will appear to measure the length of one of your parallelograms by its diagonal. And if, farther, this diagonal should consist of a broken line, as that would be which stretches from the Caspian Gates to the embouchure of the Nile, passing by Thapsacus, your error will appear much greater. This is the sum of what may be alleged against Eratosthenes. > — Hans Claude Hamilton & William Falconer 1854, The Geography of Strabo - [Previous: 2.1.36](https://indike.org/pramana/inf.gr.roman.strabo.2.1.36) - [Next: 2.1.38](https://indike.org/pramana/inf.gr.roman.strabo.2.1.38) - [Up: 2.1](https://indike.org/pramana/inf.gr.roman.strabo.2.1) ## Translations (1) - [The Geography of Strabo](https://indike.org/pramana/inf.gr.roman.strabo~en-hamilton-falconer.2.1.37) — Hans Claude Hamilton & William Falconer 1854, English --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/inf.gr.roman.strabo.2.1.37](https://indike.org/pramana/inf.gr.roman.strabo.2.1.37) · Pramāṇa