herodotus

there are also Hypernotians; and I laugh when I see that, though manybefore this have drawn maps of the Earth, yet no one has set thematter forth in an intelligent way; seeing that they draw Oceanflowing round the Earth, which is circular exactly as if drawn withcompasses, and they make Asia equal in size to Europe. In a few wordsI shall declare the size of each division and of what nature it is asregards outline.37. The Persians inhabit Asia[38] extending to the Southern Sea, whichis called the Erythraian; and above these towards the North Wind dwellthe Medes, and above the Medes the Saspeirians, and above theSaspeirians the Colchians, extending to the Northern Sea, into whichthe river Phasis runs. These four nations inhabit from sea to sea. 38.From them Westwards two peninsulas[39] stretch out from Asia into thesea, and these I will describe. The first peninsula on the one of itssides, that is the Northern, stretches along beginning from the Phasisand extending to the sea, going along the Pontus and the Hellespont asfar as Sigeion in the land of Troy; and on the Southern side the samepeninsula stretches from the Myriandrian gulf, which lies nearPhenicia, in the direction of the sea as far as the headland Triopion;and in this peninsula dwell thirty races of men. 39. This then is oneof the peninsulas, and the other beginning from the land of thePersians stretches along to the Erythraian Sea, including Persia andnext after it Assyria, and Arabia after Assyria: and this ends, orrather is commonly supposed to end,[40] at the Arabian gulf, intowhich Dareios conducted a channel from the Nile. Now in the linestretching to Phenicia from the land of the Persians the land is broadand the space abundant, but after Phenicia this peninsula goes by theshore of our Sea along Palestine, Syria, and Egypt, where it ends; andin it there are three nations only. 40. These are the parts of Asiawhich tend towards the West from the Persian land; but as to thosewhich lie beyond the Persians and Medes and Saspeirians and Colchianstowards the East and the sunrising, on one side the Erythraian Searuns along by them, and on the North both the Caspian Sea and theriver Araxes, which flows towards the rising sun: and Asia isinhabited as far as the Indian land; but from this onwards towards theEast it becomes desert, nor can any one say what manner of land it is.41. Such and so large is Asia: and Libya is included in the secondpeninsula; for after Egypt Libya succeeds at once. Now about Egyptthis peninsula is narrow, for from our Sea to the Erythraian Sea is adistance there of ten myriads of fathoms,[41] which would amount to athousand furlongs; but after this narrow part, the portion of thepeninsula which is called Libya is, as it chances, extremely broad.42. I wonder then at those who have parted off and divided the world