Greek Texts & Translations

merely pretends to have sailed into one [unknown] country, viz. Panchaea, but the latter, that he has visited the whole of the north of Europe as far as the ends of the earth; which statement, even had it been made by Mercury, we should not have believed. Nevertheless Eratosthenes, who terms Euhemerus a Bergaean, gives credit to Pytheas, although even Dicaearchus would not believe him.

This argument, although even Dicaearchus would not believe him, is ridiculous, just as if Eratosthenes ought to take for his standard a writer whom Polybius is himself for ever complaining of. ^note

The ignorance of Eratosthenes respecting the western and northern portions of Europe, we have before remarked. But both he and Dicaearchus must be pardoned for this, as neither of them were personally familiar with those localities. But how can one excuse Polybius and Posidonius? especially Polybius, who treats as mere hearsay what Eratosthenes and Dicaearchus report concerning the distances of various places; and many other matters, about which, though he blames them, he is not himself free from error. Dicaearchus states that there are 10,000 stadia from the Peloponnesus to the Pillars, and something above this number from the Peloponnesus to the recess of the Adriatic. ^note He supposes 3000 stadia between the Peloponnesus and the Strait of Sicily; thus there would remain 7000 between the Strait of Sicily and the Pillars. ^note

I will not inquire, says Polybius, whether the statement concerning the 3000 stadia is correct or not, but 7000 stadia