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at the same time have been much more simple, had he said
that the Ethiopians dwelt on either side of the ocean from the
rising to the setting of the sun. In this case what difference
does it make whether we follow his version, or adopt the
reading of Aristarchus,
These towards the west, and those towards the east?
which also means, that whether east or west, on either side
of the ocean, Ethiopians dwell. But Aristarchus rejects this
hypothesis. He says, The Ethiopians with whom we are
acquainted, and who are farthest south from the Greeks,
are those described by the poet as being separated into two
divisions. But Ethiopia is not so separated as to form two
countries, one situated towards the west, the other towards
the east, but only one, that which lies south of the Greeks
and adjoins Egypt; but of this the poet was ignorant, as well
as of other matters enumerated by Apollodorus, which he has
falsely stated concerning various places in his second book,
containing the catalogue of the ships.
25
To refute Crates would require a lengthened argument, which here perhaps may be considered out of place.
Aristarchus we commend for rejecting the hypothesis of
Crates, which is open to many objections, and for referring
the expression of the poet to our Ethiopia. But the remainder of his statement we must discuss. First, his minute examination of the reading is altogether fruitless, for whichever
way it may have been written, his interpretation is equally
applicable to both; for what difference is there whether you
say thus—In our opinion there are two Ethiopias, one towards the east, the other to the west; or thus—For they
are as well towards the east as the west? Secondly, He
makes false assumptions. For admitting that the poet was
ignorant of the isthmus, note and that he alludes to the Ethiopia
contiguous to Egypt, when he says,
The Ethiopians separated into two divisions; note
Odyssey i. 23.
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Strabo, Geography (English) (XML Header) [genre: prose] [word count] [lemma count] [Str.].