Greek Texts & Translations

The portion of the sea which washes Libya is called the Libyan Sea; that surrounding the land opposite is designated by the respective names of the Iberian, the Ligurian, ^note and the Sardinian Seas, while the remaining portion as far as Sicily is named the Tyrrhenian Sea. ^note All along the coast between the Tyrrhenian and Ligurian Seas, there are numerous islands, the largest of which are Sardinia and Cyrnus, ^note always excepting Sicily, which is larger and more fertile than any of our islands. The remainder are much smaller. Of this number are, in the high sea, Pandataria ^note and Pontia, ^note and close to the shore Aethalia, ^note Planasia, ^note Pithecussa, ^note Prochyta, ^note Capriae, ^note Leucosia, ^note and many others On the other ^note side of the Ligurian shore, and along the rest of the coast as far as the Pillars, there are but few islands; the Gymnasisae ^note and Ebusus ^note are of this number. There are likewise but few islands along the coasts of Libya and Sicily. We may mention however Cossura, ^note Aegimurus, ^note and the Lipari Islands, likewise called the Islands of Aeolus. 20

After Sicily and the straits on either side of it, ^note there are other seas, for instance, that opposite the Syrtes and the Cyrenaic, ^note the Syrtes themselves, and the sea formerly called the Ausonian, but which, as it flows into and forms part of the Sea of Sicily, is now included under the latter name. The sea opposite to the Syrtes and the Cyrenaic is called the Libyan Sea; it extends as far as the Sea of Egypt.

The Lesser Syrtes ^note is about 1600 stadia in circumference. On either side of its mouth lie the islands of Meninx ^note and Kerkina. ^note The Greater Syrtes ^note is (according to Eratosthenes) 5000 stadia in circuit, and in depth 1800, from the Hes-