or, without subtracting the 5, take the years of the Olympiad found as above from 781, and you get the year B. c. required. Thus, from 781 take 447 334 B. C. I have given the longer rules in these cases, for the sake of showing the principle; the shorter are better for practice. For events in the Roman history after the birth of Christ we have only to add the given year of our Lord to 753, to get the year of Rome; or subtract 753 from the given year of Rome, to get the year of our Lord. ANTIENT GEOGRAPHY. INTRODUCTION. IN speaking of Antient Classical Geography, the Geography of that period is to be understood which is comprised between the earliest records of Greek civilisation, and the downfal of the Roman power, A. D. 476. Of this it may be found convenient to make the four following subdivisions : I. Mythic Geography, or that previous to the age of Herodotus, B. C. 444. II. Historical Geography, or that from the age of Herodotus, B. C. 444, to that of Eratosthenes, B. C. 276. III. Systematic Geography, or from Eratosthenes, B. C. 276, to Ptolemy of Pelusium, A. D. 161. IV. Geometric Geography, from the time of Ptolemy, to the ruin of the Western Empire, or from A. D. 161, to A. D. 476. I. Under the first of these heads we may consider the various geographical information conveyed to us by the early poets, and interspersed with much of fable. Here we must take Homer as our guide, both in the Iliad and Odyssey, from each of which much geographical information is to be gleaned, insomuch that Strabo calls him the oldest geographer, ἀρχηγέτην τῆς γεωγραφικῆς ἐμπειρίας. His view of the world seems to have been that of land B surrounded by water. The Phoenicians, who were the earliest navigators, and from whom the Greeks derived much of their knowledge, called the sea by the HebrewPhoenician term Hhok, i. e. the frontier, as being the boundary of their country. Hence the Greek term 'Qκɛavòs; and this idea of ocean, as a frontier, every where surrounding the earth, is to be traced in many passages. Thus it is said to be the bounds of earth, πολυφόρβου πείρατα γαίης (Π. xiv. 200.); and is described as the ἄντυξ πνμáτη, the extreme circumference of the shield of Achilles (Il. xviii. 607.). It was thought to flow in a continual stream (hence póos, and πотaμòs) round the earth from its sources in the Cimmerian rock Leucas, at the entrance to Hades. Thus we read in a fragment of Orpheus: Κύκλον τ ̓ ἀκαμάτου καλλιῤῥόου ὠκεανοῖο Ὃς γαῖαν δινῇσι πέριξ ἔχει ἀμφιελίξας. Hence, as embracing all known regions, it was considered the father of gods and author of all other waters, Tóvτos and maayos being applied only to confined portions of the Mediterranean and other smaller seas. Within the ocean the broad earth εὐρεῖα χθὼν, ἀπείρων, ȧжεɩρeσin yaîa, was spread out like a discus. A metallic heaven, oupavòs, supported on lofty pillars upon the outer shore of ocean, over-arched the earth like a vault. This opinion, as well as that of a surrounding ocean, was common to the Hebrews. Hence we not only read in Homer of the χάλκεον οἶδας, and οὐρανὸς πολύχαλ Kos and σidnosios, and of Atlas, that ἔχει κίονας αὐτὸς Μακρὰς, αἳ γαϊάν τε καὶ οὐρανὸν ἀμφὶς ἔχουσι· but, in Job also (xxvi. 11.), of the pillars of heaven. In this vault the various heavenly bodies moved. Homer was well acquainted with Greece and its islands, and the western parts of Asia Minor. He also knew Cyprus, Phoenicia, with the Sidonians, and their chief town Sidon, and Egypt as far as Thebes. He calls the Nile the river Ægyptus; Pharos he makes one day's sail from its mouth; from thence Crete is reached in five days. Westward from Egypt is the fertile country of Libya. Beyond the well-ascertained countries already enumerated, we read of many places, but much of fable is interspersed with the descriptions. In the north we find that Thrace, with the Cicones, was known with some certainty; and we even read of a Scythian nation, the Hippemolgi, living on milk, the justest of mankind. Of the Black Sea no mention is made, but as the Argonautic expedition is spoken of, Homer must have heard both of it and of Colchis; and although he places the island of Circe, the enchantress, in a very different locality, yet the name Exa, given to her, confirms the opinion that the Ææan enchantress Medea was not unknown to him. In the east of Asia Minor were the Solymi and the Amazones. In the south-east, the remotest nation was, perhaps, the Erembi in Arabia. Southwards were the Ethiopians, both eastern and western, the former perhaps in India, the latter below Egypt; and the Pygmæi, dwarfs. Westward, but still in Africa, were the Lotophagi. In Europe, westward from Greece, Thrinacria is spoken of, but Ætna is not mentioned. The coasts of Sicily and Italy, and the adjacent islands, were known as the residence of the Læstrygones, Cyclopes, Sirens, Circe, and Eolus; not that the localities of each can be ascertained, nor was this probably the poet's intention, but enough is said to show that land was known to extend above Sicily, and that it was so little known, that the poet might safely place his most fabulous monsters there. The extreme west was occupied by the Cimmerii, in sunless gloom, at the entrance to Hades; and probably in this direction, or beyond, we must look for the Elysian plain, the extremity of the earth. We next come to the age of Hesiod, whose general views accord with those of Homer. He has a great ocean stream surrounding the earth, and Atlas supporting the vault of heaven. By making the ocean a branch of the Styx, he agrees to a certain extent with Homer, who placed its source at the entrance to Hades. The Elysian plain of Homer now becomes the islands of the blessed. At the influx of the ocean into the Mediterranean is Erytheia, whence Hercules brought the cattle of Geryon. In Italy the Ligyes, Tyrrheni, and Latini make their appearance. The Eridanus and the Ister are mentioned, though perhaps the former was a different river from the Italian one. Scythia and the Galactophagi are also known. In the south is Æthiopia; the river Ægyptus now becomes the Nile. The only way in which distance is spoken of hitherto is by the vague expression, "We sailed yet further," or by the mention of days' journeys, a computation still common in the East. In the age of Eschylus the same general views are to be found. The circumfluent ocean appears as in Homer and Hesiod. Southward, a black nation, and a river. Æthiops (perhaps the Niger) are found. Northward, the Black Sea is known more distinctly. Colchis, the Chalybes, Palus Mæotis, Caucasus, and the Cimmerii of the Crimea, make their appearance. Beyond these comparatively well-ascertained points, and above the Riphæan mountains, the Arimaspi, Gryphes, and Gorgons fill up the background of the picture. Pindar about this time shows us that Sicily, with Syracuse and Agrigentum, and the neighbouring coasts of Italy, were known and civilised; Etna is now a volcano. The columns of Hercules are found at the entrance to the Mediterranean, and mention |