[19] This gulf,1 as before stated, commences at the Strait of the Pillars; this at its narrowest part is said to be 70 stadia. Having sailed down a distance of 120 stadia, the shores widen considerably, especially to the left, and you behold a vast sea, bounded on the right by the shore of Libya as far as Carthage, and on the opposite side by those of Iberia and Keltica as far as Narbonne and Marseilles, thence by the Ligurian,2 and finally by the Italian coast to the Strait of Sicily. The eastern side of this sea is formed by Sicily and the straits on either side of it. That next Italy being 7 stadia [in breadth], and that next Carthage 1500 stadia. The line drawn from the Pillars to the lesser strait of 7 stadia, forms part of the line to Rhodes and the Taurus, and intersects the sea under discussion about its middle; this line is said to be 12,000 stadia, which is accordingly the length of the sea. Its greatest breadth is about 5000 stadia, and extends from the Galatic Gulf, between Marseilles and Narbonne, to the opposite coast of Libya. 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,3 and the Sardinian Seas, while the remaining portion as far as Sicily is named the Tyrrhenian Sea.4 All along the coast between the Tyrrhenian and Ligurian Seas, there are numerous islands, the largest of which are Sardinia and Cyrnus,5 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, Pandataria6 and Pontia,7 and close to the shore Æthalia,8 Planasia,9 Pithecussa,10 Prochyta,11 Capriæ,12 Leucosia,13 and many others On the other14 side of the Ligurian shore, and along the rest of the coast as far as the Pillars, there are but few islands; the Gymnasisæ15 and Ebusus16 are of this number. There are likewise but few islands along the coasts of Libya and Sicily. We may mention however Cossura,17 Ægimurus,18 and the Lipari Islands, likewise called the Islands of Æolus.
1 Viz. the Mediterranean.
2 The state of Genoa.
3 The Gulf of Genoa.
4 Vide Humboldt's Cosmos, ii. 480.
5 Corsica.
6 Vento Tiene.
7 Ponza.
8 Elba.
9 Saint Honorat.
10 Ischia.
11 Procida.
12 Capri.
13 A small island off the Capo della Licosa.
14 The western side.
15 Majorca and Minorca.
16 Iviça.
17 The island of Pantalaria.
18 Al Djamur, at the entrance of the Gulf of Tunis.
The Geography of Strabo. Literally translated, with notes, in three volumes. London. George Bell & Sons. 1903.
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