Greek Texts & Translations

The Turduli live on the immediate north Tribes in Boetica of the Turdetani. . . .

The fertility of their country has had a civilising influence on the Turditani and on their Celtic kinsfolk, and taught them the art of social life. . . .

The Pillars are at either side of the straits. . . .

There is a fountain in the Heracleum at Gades, the water ^note of which is sweet and is reached by steps. This fountain has a tide which rises and falls exactly in the reverse order of the sea tide. When it is high tide at sea it is low tide in the fountain, and high in the fountain when it is low at sea. The explanation of this is that the wind, which rises from the bowels of the earth to the surface, is prevented from finding its natural egress when the earth is covered with water at the rise of the tide, and being thus turned back into the interior of the earth, it stops up the underground channels of the fountain and produces a deficiency of water; but when the earth is again uncovered, the wind having once more found an easy egress, sets the veins of the fountain free again, and the water spurts up freely.

There are very large silver mines about twenty stades ^note from New Carthage, extending to a circuit of four hundred stades, in which forty thousand men are continually employed, who produce for the benefit of the Roman people twenty-five thousand drachmae a day. It would take too long to describe the whole process of working them, but I may mention that the alluvial soil containing the silver ore is first broken up, and sifted in sieves held in water; that then the deposit is again broken, and being again filtered with running

water, is broken a third time. This is done five times; the fifth deposit is smelted, and, the lead having been run off, pure silver remains. . . .

The Anas and Boetis both flow from Celtiberia, their streams being about nine hundred ^note stades apart. . . .

Among other cities of the Vaccaei and Celtiberians are Segesama and Intercatia. . . .

One of the Iberian kings had such a magnificent and ^note richly furnished palace, that he rivalled the luxury of the Phaeacians, except that the vessels standing in the interior of the house, though made of gold and silver, were full of barley-wine. . . .