Text (translated from the 1584 Latin 3rd Add., 1584 Latin, 1584 German 3rd Add., 1585 French 3rd Add., 1587 French, 1592 Latin, 1595 Latin, 1601 Latin, 1602 German, 1603 Latin, 1608/1612 Italian, 1606 English, 1609/1612 Spanish/Latin & 1624 Latin Parergon/1641 Spanish [but with Latin text] edition)
216.1. {1584L3Add{CYPRVS {1608/1612I only{AND EVBOEA, AND OTHER ISLANDS}1608/1612I only}.
216.2. That this island was once part of Syria, and joined to the mainland, is confirmed by Plinius {1606E only{in his Natural history}1606E only}, and that it shall again be reunited to it has been predicted {not in 1584G3Add{by an oracle}not in 1584G3Add}, as Strabo reports {1606E only{in his Geography}1606E only}. Among the islands in the Midland [=Mediterranean] sea more noted for their size, this [island] takes the sixth place. With respect to its shape, it can be compared, as Eustathius writes, to a{not in 1584G3Add & 1602G{sheep}not in 1584G3Add & 1602G} skin, {1595L{or, as Hyginus notes, to a French target [=shield]}1595L, not in 1602G}. By the judgement of Strabo, it is longer one way than another. He also adds that for the excellence and quality of its soil, it is inferior to no island whatsoever. Plinius and Mela state that in former times nine kings reigned here at once.
216.3. {not in 1584G3Add{Herodotus says that king Amasis was of all mortal men the first to take it, and made it tributary to his crown}not in 1584G3Add}. It used to be so woody and overgrown with bushes and trees that the ground could by no means be ploughed and manured, [but people in] a great part of it were busy daily melting and refining copper, and silver (because the island was full of metals) as also with building ships. Yet, notwithstanding all this, they were never able utterly to destroy their huge woods and the infinite luxuriousness of them, until by proclamation free liberty and licence was given and granted to every man who wanted to, to fell and carry away whatever wood and timber they pleased [to have]. Similarly, whatever ground any man had cleared by stocking up the bushes and trees, he should ever after hold as his own by free tenure.
216.4. The wonderful fertility of this soil is reported by Ælianus, when he writes that stags and deer often swim to this place from Syria, to fill their bellies, so good is the food on this isle. The manifold variety and plenty of all sorts of commodities are sufficiently demonstrated to us by the words of Ammianus in his 14th book, when he writes That it needed no kind of help from foreign countries [because] by itself only, it is able to build a ship from the very keel to the topsail, to rig it, and send it out to sea furnished with all kinds of necessities whatsoever. These words of Sextus Rufius manifestly declare the riches of this island:
216.5. CYPRVS, famous for [its] great wealth, invited the beggarly Romans to capture it, so that indeed the interest we obtained in this island was obtained by violence, rather than by any right we had to it. {1595L, not in 1602G{Florus writes That the riches of this island once it was wholly subdued filled the Treasuries of the City of Rome more fully than any other conquest wherever had achieved.}1595L} {1592L{Carystius Lapis {1601L, not in 1608/1612I{(Caristium, a kind of green marble, I think)}1601L}, a stone of high value is found here, as Antigonus writes}1592L, not in 1602G & 1608/1612I}. And as Plinius states, [also] Diamonds, Smaragds, Opalus, Crystal, Alumen, and a kind of whetstone which they call Naxium.
216.6. The same author states that the rose apples of this island far surpass those from any other place in the whole world. He also highly recommends the oils and unguents of this island for pleasure and delight, as also their wax and reeds equally, for medicine and needed for health. Athenæus extols the fair doves that pass there. Fabulous [authors in] antiquity really believed that the goddess Venus came first out of the sea here. To honour her and perhaps as a commemoration, the women of Cyprus, (as the same author claims) offer their bodies to be abused by any man who wants to.
216.7. Why it was illegal for any Jew to come to the isle of Cyprus, read Dion in the history of Hadrianus. The various names of this island as we have found in various authors are these: ACAMANTIS, ÆROSA, AMATHVSA, ASPELIA, CERASTIS, CITIDA, COLINIA, CRYPTVS, MACARIA MEIONIS, and SPHECIA, about which more details can be found in our Geographical Treasury. About the Cypriots, or people of this island, you may read a lot in Herodotus. There are three other Cypriote isles called by that name, around this island, as Plinius informs us.
216.8. EVBOEA.
216.9. This island is severed from the main land of Botia {not in 1606E{as Solinus writes)not in 1606E}{1624LParergon{in chapter 17}1624LParergon} by such a small firth that it is hard to say whether it should be counted under the islands or not {1606E only{(as some have thought about the Isle of Wight)}1606E only}. For on the side which they call Euripus, it is joined to the continent by a fair bridge, {not in 1584G3Add{and by means of a very short sort of scaffold, one may pass from the main land to the island on foot, {not in 1602G{and as Procopius says {1595L{in his 4th Ædifi. by placing or removing one rafter or plank, one may go from one place to the other on foot or by boat, as desired}1595L, not in 1602G}. Plinius writes that it was once joined to Botia, but was afterwards separated from it by an earthquake, and indeed, the whole island is much subjected to earthquakes, but especially that firth or Euripus which we mentioned earlier, as}not in 1584G3Add} Strabo tells us, who moreover adds that by those means a fair city of the same name as the isle was utterly sunk and swallowed by the sea.
216.10. Of all the islands of the Midland [= Mediterranean] sea it is in size thought to hold the fifth place. By various authors it is called by various different names, such as MACRA and MACRIS, ABANTIAS, ASOPIS, OCHE, ELLOPIA, ARCHIBIVM &c. Also CHALCIS, after the chief and metropolitan city of it, located on the firth just mentioned. This, I say, was the greatest city and metropolis of the entire island, and was of such power and command that it established colonies in Macedonia, Italy and Sicilia. In Lelantus, that excellent champion, there are, {not in 1584G3Add & 1602G{as Strabo tells us}not in 1584G3Add & 1602G}, certain hot baths, {not in 1584G3Add & 1602G{which Plinius calls Thermas Ellopias, the baths of Hellopia. They are very wholesome against various diseases}not in 1584G3Add & 1602G}. Here are, {not in 1602G{as Strabo reports}not in 1602G}, the rivers Cireus and Nileus, one of which causes sheep that drink from it to become white, the other black.
216.11. Plinius also highly recommends a kind of {1606E only{green)}1606E only} marble which they here call Carystium because it is dug from a rock near the town Carystus, {1606E only{in the East corner of the island}1606E only}, where you also find the marble temple of Apollo {not in 1602G{described by Strabo}not in 1602G}. Copper was first found on this island. Here grow the worst fir trees, as Plinius assures us. Also, here blow the olympias, winds typical of this country. {not in 1624LParergon{Again, fish caught in the sea around here are so salt that you would think they are pickled}not in 1624LParergon}. About Euripus, (where they say Aristoteles lived and died) very strange things are told by various writers, namely that it ordinarily has ebb tide and high tide seven times a day, and as many in the night, and those so violent and high that no winds can prevail against them, nay, and the tallest ships, though under full sail, they drive back and forth at leisure.
216.12. Of all men Strabo in his tenth book has most diligently described this island. {not in 1584G3Add & 1602G{See also what Procopius in his fourth book de Ædificijs Iustiniani says about it}not in 1584G3Add}. {1595L{The same [for] Wolfgang Lazius, who in his History of Greece has written a very extensive commentary on it}1595L, not in 1602G}. {1601L{Libanius Sophista in the life of Demosthenes writes that it had once twenty-two cities. Yet, in this Map of ours, on the basis of various writers, both Latin and Greek, we have collected and written down the names of many more [cities]}1601L}.
216.13. RHODVS.
216.14. The lush and frank RHODVS was by the ancients also called OPHIVSA, STADIA, {not in 1624LParergon{TELCHINE}not in 1624LParergon}, {not in 1584G3Add & 1602G{ÆTHRÆA}not in 1584G3Add & 1602G}, CORYMBIA, PESSA, ATABYRIA and TRINACRIA, yea, and by various other names too, as you may see in our Geographical Treasury. Plinius has it, that this island rose up from the bottom of the sea, {1595L only{having been drowned and all covered with water before}1595L only}. And Ammianus writes that it was once drenched and soaked with a golden shower of rain, for the fabulous writers tell that it rained gold here, when Pallas was born {1592L, 1595L, 1602G, 1606E, 1608/1612I & 1624LParergon only{out of {1584L3Add, 1584L, 1592L, 1595L, 1601L, 1602G, 1603L, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612S/L & 1624LParergon only{the head of}1584L3Add, 1584L, 1592L, 1595L, 1601L, 1602G, 1603L, 1609/1612S/L & 1624LParergon only} Iupiter}1584L3Add, 1584L, 1592L, 1595L, 1602G, 1606E, 1608/1612I & 1624LParergon only}. {not in 1584G3Add & 1602G{Therefore, this soil was loved above anything by Iupiter, the mighty king of gods and men, as the poet says}not in 1584G3Add & 1602G}. In Diodorus Siculus we read that it was loved by the Sun, and made into an island by removing all the water which before had covered it entirely, for before this it lay hidden in the bowels of the sea, or else was so full of bogs and fens that it was altogether inhabitable.
216.15. It was in memory of this {1606E only{kindness of the lovely Phoebus}1606E only}, that [the] huge Colossus of the Sun, one of the seven wonders of the world, was commonly said to have been erected. This [Colossus], we read, {not in 1584G3Add & 1602G{was made by Chares Lindius, pupil of Lysippus, and it}not in 1584G3Add & 1602G} was at least seventy cubits [=elbows] high. {not in 1584G3Add & 1602G{Festus says that it was one hundred and five feet high}not in 1584G3Add & 1602G}. This image, says Plinius {1624LParergon{book 34, chapter 7}1624LParergon}, was fifty-six years later overthrown and taken down by an earthquake. Yet, as it lay, it was still a wonder to its beholders. {1584L3Add, 1584L, 1592L, 1595L, 1601L, 1602G, 1603L, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612S/L & 1624LParergon only{Few could fully embrace its thumb. Its fingers were larger than some complete statues}1584L3Add, 1584L, 1592L, 1595L, 1601L, 1602G, 1603L, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612S/L & 1624LParergon only}. Those parts of it that were by any casualty broken, gaped open so widely that it was like looking into the mouths of hideous caves. Inside, there were huge massive stones of great weight which were used for balance when [the statue] was first set upright. It was finished in a period of twelve years, and the brass on it weighed three hundred talents {1608/1612I only{or 180,000 scudi}1608/1612I only}.
216.16. {not in 1584G3Add & 1602G{Next to this, there are in various places in the city one {1606E has instead{three}1606E} hundred smaller colosses, yet, wherever they were, they did much grace to the palace. In another place the same author writes that there were more than three thousand statues. Strabo writes that in his time the Colossus was overthrown and taken down by an earthquake, and broke at the knees, after which time the Rhodians were forbidden by the oracle {1595L only{of Apollo}1595L only} to set it up again. About this earthquake, read in Polybius' fifth book}not in 1584G3Add & 1602G}. The air is never so thick and cloudy, nor the heaven so closely masked, says Solinus Polyhistor, or the sun keeps shining in Rhodes. {1595L, not in 1602G{After which Manilius writes about it like this Tuque vere domus Solis, cui tota sacrata es,}1595L, not in 1602G} [that is:]{1606E & 1608/1612I only{And thou who art truly sacred, and pricely court of the glorious Sun}1606E & 1608/1612I only}.
216.17. Plinius and Athenæus recommend the Wines and Figs of Rhodes above those of other countries. {1592L, not in 1602G{Philostratus in his second book of Images affirms that the soil of this isle is very good and fertile for Grapes and Figs. Eusebius writes {1608/1612I only{in the sixth book of Magio}1608/1612I only} that the inhabitants and people of this isle, always on the sixth of May, used to sacrifice a man to their gods. There are some who boldly state that these people were called Colossians, after that famous Colossus just mentioned, amongst whom are Eustathius, Zonaras and Glycas, as also Suidas, but that he did not call them Colossenses but Colassenses with the sound of a, the first vowel, not o, the fourth [vowel] in the second syllable. Others, whose opinion I share, say that only those are called Colossenses who inhabit Colossæ, {1606E only{(now Chone, as Porphyrogennetas shows)}1606E only} a city in Phrygia {1606E only{in lesser Asia, to whom Saint Paul wrote his epistle, not to these Rhodians,}1606E only} {1595L{as we have demonstrated in our Treasury}1595L}.
216.18. Diodorus Siculus {1595L{and Polybius}1595L} speak much about Rhodes, but of all men Strabo describes it best. {1592L{About this island see the third chapter of the seventh book of Aulus Gellius}1592L}. {1595L{It had seven Arsenals or docks where ships were built and repaired, as I read in the fifth book of Polynæus in Heraclides. Their great number of ships was clear evidence of their great strength and power}1595L}. {1592L{About their empire and rule which they had in Asia, the main continent, see Livius' 37th and 38th books. Similarly, {not in 1592L, 1595L, 1601L, 1603L, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612S/L & 1624LParergon{about their jurisdiction over certain islands in the Midland sea}not in 1592L, 1595L, 1601L, 1603L, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612S/L & 1624LParergon}, look into Ammianus' 22nd book}1592L}. {1595L{For they had under their command all of Caria, part of {not in 1606E{Lycia}not in 1606E}, Carpathus and the Calymnæ, certain islands {1606E only{in the Ægæan or Carpathian sea (Archipelago)}1606E only} as we are to understand from the 31st oration of Dion Prusæus}1595L, not in 1602G}.
216.19. LESBOS.
216.20. This island was by ancient writers called by various different names, such as: ÆGIRA, ÆTHIOPE, HERMETTE, LÆSIA, PELASGIA, ISSA, MACARIA, MITYLENA and MYTANIDA. There are some, as Strabo writes, who think it has been separated from mount Ida. The fable of Arion, {not in 1602G & 1608/1612I{the excellent musician and lyrical poet}not in 1602G & 1608/1612I} has made this island most famous. About this story you may read in great detail in Ælianus. Similarly Sappho, the poetess who, as Pausanias states, wrote much about Love, {1592L, not in 1602G{and the temple of Apollo}1592L, not in 1602G}, with the chapel of Lepetymnus {1584L3Add, 1584L, 1584G3Add, 1592L & 1602G only{and the grave of Palamedis}1584L3Add, 1584L, 1584G3Add, 1592L & 1602G only} ((situated on mount Lepetymnus) as Antigonus writes, have also made this island [a subject] of much discussion.
216.21. {not in 1584L3Add, 1584L, 1602G & 1608/1612I{In the fables we find recorded that near this place Antissa Orpheus' head was buried, and that the nightingales also sing here much better than in other places, as Antigonus, on the authority of Myrsilus, born on this island, affirms as being certainly true}not in 1584L3Add, 1584L & 1608/1612I}. Diodorus Siculus writes that it was first inhabited by the Pelagi, then by Macarius, the son of Iupiter Cyrenaicus, together with the Iones. After that, [it was inhabited] by Lesbus, the son of Lapithus}not in 1602G}. Plinius and Athenæus report that it has a very fertile soil, and good for vines. Athenæus recommends its wine so highly, that he says that it is indeed more like Ambrosia than mere wine.
216.22. Pomponius Mela says that it has five excellent towns, but Plinius speaks of eight. Yet, in Greek and Latin authors we have found the names of many more [cities], as you may see on the Map. This [island] among the islands of the midland sea, famous for their large size and extension takes the seventh and last place. In Strabo you will find much about this island.
216.23. CHIOS.
216.24. Athenæus writes that this island Chios {1608/1612I only{or Chio as the Italians call it}1608/1612I only} is full of thick woods, and overgrown with trees and bushes. Also, that the people and inhabitants of it were of all the Greeks the first that used to buy slaves to do their menial work and drudgery. It had a city of the same name, which Thucydides calls the greatest and richest of all the cities of Ionia. There is nothing on this island better known than its wine, {not in 1584G3Add & 1602G{which they call Chium vinum, the best of all Greek wines, as Strabo, Ælianus and other good authors confirm. The vines from which this wine is made grow particularly in the fields of Arvisius {1606E only{(Amista it is now called)}1606E only} near mount Pelinæus}not in 1584G3Add & 1602G}, {1606E only{which is why this wine was ever since called Vinum arvisium, and by adding one letter Marvisium, after which we now usually call it Malmesy}1606E only}. {1595L{Athenæus proves that vinum nigrum, the red or black wine, was first known on this island}1595l}.
216.25. It is no less famous for the lentisk tree which yields Resin, {1606E{a sweet and wholesome gum}1606E}. The marble of this island is also much recommended by Plinius, who thinks that the quarries of Chios first showed to the world marble of various colours which they use for building walls. {1595L, not in 1602G{Vitruvius describes a fountain on this isle whose waters, when drunk inadvertedly, immediately turn the drinker into a stark fool, bereaved of all understanding and reason}1595L}.
216.26. {not in 1584G3Add & 1602G{There is here a kind of earth called Chia terra, [which has] an excellent effect on the body, as the same author claims}not in 1584G3Add & 1602G}. Eusebius reports that in former times the inhabitants used to sacrifice a man, cut into pieces {1606E only{as small as can be put into a pot}1606E only}, to Omadius Bacchus. This island was also known by other names [such] as CHIA, ÆTHALIA, MACRIS and PITYVSA. You may read something about the history and famous deeds of these islanders in Herodotus and also in Strabo. {1595L, not in 1602G{About Drimack, a slave or bond-servant, you may see a story well worth reading in relation to this island, in the sixth book of Athenæus'}1595L, not in 1602G} {1606E only{Deipnosophiston}1606E only}.
216.27. LEMNOS.
216.28. LEMNOS is situated opposite mount Athos {1606E only{(they [= the islanders] now call it Agion oros, the Italians Monte santo, the Turks Manastir)}1606E only}, which, as Statius and Solinus report, casts its shadow on the Market place of Myrina, {1606E only{(now Lemno)}1606E only}, a wonderful thing to tell, seeing that Athos is [at a distance of] at least 86 miles. This isle is consecrated and devoted to Vulcanus, for old fables tell that, being thrown headlong out of heaven by Iupiter, he landed on this isle. {not in 1602G{Tzetzes reports on the authority of Hellanicus that}not in 1602G} fire was first invented on this island, {1584L3Add, 1584L, 1584G3Add, 1602G & 1606E only{and also that armour and weapons for war were first devised and made here}1584G3Add, 1602G & 1606E only}, as Tzetzes says}1584L3Add & 1584L only}.
216.29. Of the {not in 1584G3Add & 1602G{four}not in 1584G3Add& 1602G} Labyrinths which are famous all over the world and listed by Plinius, the third was in this country. The surveyors and architects of this work were Zmilus and Rholus, together with the native Theodorus. It was made of hewn and polished stones, arched at the top and upheld by 140 columns of more interesting and wonderful work and greatness than the rest. {not in 1584G3Add & 1602G{Its protuberances hung so equally poised that while they were wrought and turned, that one single boy could embrace it with his arms}not in 1584G3Add & 1602G}. Certain pieces and remnants of it have remained even to Plinius' time.
216.30. The same author also claims for certain that rubrica Lemnia {1606E only{or terra Lemnia}1606E only}, a kind of red earth found here was highly appreciated for its excellent use in medicine, {1595L, not in 1602G{as can be seen in {1606E only{his history of Nature, as also in the book entitled De simplic. Medicam. by}1606E only} Galenus}1595L, not in 1602G}, {1606E{the Prince of Physicians}1606E}. In the first book of Apollodorus' Biblioteca, you may read a history on the women of this island.
216.31. SAMOS.
216.32. By reading various authors, we have found that this [island] SAMOS was called by different names, [such] as PARTHENIA, ANTHEMVS, MELAMPHILVS, CYPARISSIA, IMBRASIA and STEPHANE, as you may see in detail in our Geographical Treasury. It is an island fertile and rich in all manner of commodities, except wine, which is not of the best kind, {1606E only{nor [produced] in any great quantities}1606E only}, whereupon they used to say in a common expression That on this island their hens give milk. Athenæus writes that here the Figs, Grapes, Pears, Apples and Rose-Apples ripen twice a year. {not in 1584G3Add & 1602G{Yet, we find recorded in Ælianus {1595L{and in Heraclides' Politics}1595L} that}not in 1584G3Add & 1602G} it was once a forest, full of woods and wild beasts. Plinius speaks of Lapis Samius & Terra Samia, {1606E only{a certain stone and a kind of earth only found on this island}1606E only}, and he highly recommends their sovereign virtues and medicinal applications.
216.33. Similarly, he says that the Samian dishes were in great demand at royal tables. Moreover he also adds that there was a Labyrinth, built by Theodorus. But in Samos there is nothing more notable, or making it more famous, as Solinus notes, than that Pythagoras was born in this country. Eusebius also testifies in his Chronicles that Sibylla, who was surnamed Hierophila, was born here. Ælianus writes that the Samians used to worship sheep, {1595L, not in 1602G{and stamped their coins with them. Athenæus recommends the Peacocks bred here. In antiquity this fowl was supposed to be consecrated to Iuno, and that this island was highly favoured by Iuno appears clearly from these verse by Vergilius: Quam Iuno fertur terris magis omnibus unam,| Posthabita coluisse Samo}1595L, not in 1602G}, {1606E & 1608/1612I only{Thus translated into English/Italian {not in 1608/1612I{by Mr. Thomas Phaer:}not in 1608/1612I} Which town above all other towns to raise was Iuno's greatest delight, [she] forsook her seat at Samos isle, &c.}1606E & 1608/1612I only}.
216.34. You shall find much about Samos {1595L, not in 1602G{in the 12th book of Athenæus'}1595L} {1606E only{Deipnosophiston}1606E only} {1592L{[and] in Apuleius' second book Florid.}1592L, not in 1602G} in Plutarchus' life of Pericles, and in Strabo's 14th book {1606E only{on Geography}1606E only}, from which it is not amiss to copy this history of Polycrates, a tyrant of this country. This Polycrates, they say, grew so rich and mighty that next to his command over land, he was also lord of the sea, as a proof of which they report this history. He threw intentionally into the midst of the sea a ring of great value {not in 1584G3Add & 1602G{(both as regards the price of the stone and for its wonderful setting)}not in 1584G3Add & 1602G}. After a while, a certain fisherman caught a big fish which had swallowed it, and opening up the fish, he found the ring in its belly, so that by this means it came back into the king's hands again. {not in 1584G3Add & 1602G{{The same story is also told by Herodotus in his Thalia, but much more elegantly, and with far more cultured terms, as is his habit}not in 1584G3Add & 1602G}.
216.35. DELOS and RHENIA.
216.36. DELOS is situated among the Cyclades. {not in 1584G3Add & 1602G{Plinius writes that}not in 1584G3Add & 1602G} this island was far and near known and talked about because of the Temple of Apollo and the great Market or fair usually kept there. Pausanias calls it The Market of all Greece, {1592L, not in 1602G{Festus [calls it] The greatest market of the whole world}1592L, not in 1602G}. Thucydides calls it The Exchequer of Greece, and someone else calls it The native soil of the gods, for the fabulous tales of Poets have tried to make the world believe that Diana and Apollo were born here. Based on the convictions and opinions of people, as Cicero {1606E has instead{Tully}1606E} writes to Verres, this island was considered to be consecrated to them. And such is and always has been the authority of holiness and religion, that the Persians, waging war against Greece, in defiance of God and man, when landing at Delos with a thousand ships, never adulterated or even touched anything here.
216.37. Immediately after the first deluge or flood at the time of Ogygius, this island, as we find recorded by Solinus, before all other lands and countries whatsoever, received the lustre of the sun beams, and this is how it obtained the name of DELOS, {1606E only{that is, Apparent, or easily & quickly depicted}1606E only}. It also has other names that were given to it, {not in 1584G3Add & 1602G{through other occurrences and events that happened to it}not in 1584G3Add & 1602G}, such as PELASGIA, LAGIA, ORTYGIA, CYNETHVM, CYNTHON, CHLAMIDIA, SCYTHIA, ANAPHE, ASTERIA &c. {not in 1584G3Add & 1602G{(But Asteria was also the name of a city on this isle, which afterwards, as Apollodorus and Servius testify, was also called Delos). {1595L, not in 1624LParergon{ Plinius also calls it ARTEMITA and CELADVSSA}1595L, not in 1624LParergon}.
216.38. Athenæus notes three things worthy of special mention here: A Market wonderfully furnished with all manner of victuals and dainty dishes; The great multitudes of all kinds of people dwelling in it; and the infinite number of parasites, {1606E only{smell feasts and platter chaplains}1606E only} belonging to this god}not in 1584G3Add & 1602G}. Plinius writes about the fountain or head of the river Inopus which, fully in the same manner and at the same moment as the river Nilus {1606E only{in Egypt}1606E only} shows ebb and high tide, {1606E only{so that the people truly believe that it comes through a secret passage at the bottom of the sea from the Nilus to them}1606E only}.
216.39. The same author mentions a certain rock of Delos (petræ Deli) where he says that the fish are by nature so salt that one would think them to have been pickled, and they may well be regarded as salted fish, and yet, in the harbour of [the island] they are fresh. {not in 1584G3Add & 1602G{In old times the copper of Delos was regarded as the best, as we read in the same author. In his time, he affirms, there was a palm tree that could still be seen that had stood there ever since Apollo was born. Pausanias (who lived during the reign of Hadrianus the Emperor) writes that in his time this island was so deserted and without people that if one would remove the guard of the temple who the Athenians had sent there, [and] if one should only count the Delians, it would be entirely waste and void of inhabitants}not in 1584G3Add & 1602G}.
216.40. {1584L3Add, 1584L, 1592L, 1595L, 1608/1612I & 1624LParergon only{It is wonderful to see how time alters the state of all things}1584L3Add, 1584L, 1592L, 1595L, 1608/1612I & 1624LParergon only}. In this island it was illegal, as Strabo and others report, to keep a dog, to bury a dead person, or burn his corpse, as was the custom at the time (Thucydides says that no man might either be born or die there). {not in 1584G3Add & 1602G{Therefore, the corpses of people were from there conveyed to the next island called RHENIA which is a very small island, wholly waste and deserted, at a distance from there of no more than four furlongs {1608/1612I has instead{half a mile}1608/1612I only}. {1624LParergon{Plinius calls it Rhene, Anticlides Celadussa, and Helladius calls it Artemiten}1624LParergon}.
216.41. Plutarchus says that Nicias made a bridge from one to the other. Thucydides writes in his first and third book that it was occupied by Polycrates, the tyrant of Samus, annexed by a great long chain to Delos, and consecrated to Apollo Delius. Antigonus confirms that neither cats nor stags breed or live here. Athenæus describes a kind of table that is made on this islands and thereupon is called [in Greek lettering except 1608/1612I:] Rheniargas}not in 1584G3Add & 1602G}. {1584L3Add, 1584L & 1592L only{Plinius also calls this island Artemita & Celadussa}1584L3Add, 1584L & 1592L only} {1595L, not in 1602G{It was by violence of storm torn away from Sicilia, and utterly drowned, as Lucianus writes in his Marine dialogues. To these, add what Servius has left concerning the third book of Æneid}1595L, not in 1602G} {1606E only{by Virgil}1606E only}. {1601L{About Delos read the hymn which Callimachus has written about this isle}1601L}.
216.42. ICARIA.
216.43. The tale, death and burial of Icarus was the cause of the name both of this island as also of the sea which beats upon it. For a long time ago it was called DOLICHE, ICHTHYOESSA and MACRIS. Strabo says that it was deserted, yet green and full of excellent meadows and pastures. The same author calls it a colony of the Milesij. In spite of this, Athenæus recommends [its] vinum Pramnium, a kind of wine so called after Pramnium, a mountain on this island where the vines of which it is made grow. This wine he claims also to be called Pharmatice. About the fabulous story of Icarus, read Ovidius, Pausanias and Arrianus.
216.44. CIA.
216.45. That island which Ptolemæus calls CIA, is called CEVS by Strabo. Ceos, says Plinius {1624LParergon{book 4, chapter 12}1624LParergon}, which some of our writers call Cea, is called HYDRVSSA by the Greeks. It was severed by tempestuous storms from Euba, and was once 500 furlongs {1608/1612I has instead{42 miles}1608/1612I instead} in length, but now, after four fifths of it which lay to the North were devoured and swallowed by the sea just mentioned, it has only two towns remaining, [viz] Iulis and Carthea. {not in 1601L, 1603L & 1609/1612S/L{Corestius and Pæcessa have perished and disappeared}not in 1601L, 1603L & 1609/1612S/L}. {1595L, not in 1602G{Æschines in his epistle gives Neressus as a town of this island, but untruly and falsely, {1595L, 1601L, 1603L, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612S/L & 1624LParergon only{instead of Coressus}1595L, 1601L, 1603L, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612S/L & 1624LParergon only} in my view}not in 1602G}. From hence came that nice garment, so much esteemed by fine dames, {1592L{as Varro states}1592L}. The first source and designer of this loose gown, {1624LParergon{says Plinius in book 11, chapter 22}1624LParergon} was Pamphila, the daughter of Latous,}1584G3Add & 1602G end here}{1584L3Add, 1584L, 1592L, 1595L, 1601L, 1603L, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612S/L & 1624LParergon have instead{Latoi}1584L3Add, 1584L, 1592L, 1595L, 1601L, 1603L, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612S/L & 1624LParergon instead} {1584L{who should by no means be ignored for her due recommendations for this invention of hers, as being the first who taught how to make that kind of thin sarcenet [=silk] with which gentle women may cover their bodies, yet, in such a way as to allow thorough and easy discernment of their beauty and fair faces}1584L}.
216.46. {1595L{Ælianus in his varia historia writes that it was the custom here that those who are decrepit and very old, invite one another as it were to a solemn banquet, where, being crowned, they toast to each other with hemlock [= a sedative], while they know in their conscience that they are wholly unprofitable for any use or service to their country, as they are now doting, due to their high age}1595L} © Marcel van den Broecke ©.