r 36* j
jfpjirtus, or Apfirtius. Stylax Cariandenus, the oldeff o f the geographers
o f whom the works or fragments are now extant, and
who lived about.422 years before our era, knew it by the name
o f Apfirtis ; and, in his Periplus, leaves us the dimenfions of
k . *
Scymmts Chius, who lived 332 years after Scyhx, fpeaks alfo,
and more diffufely o f the Apjirtides, placing them together with
~the Eiburnian iflands very properly, and very improperly with
the EleSlrides. He fays, “ that, in the Adriatick fea, there are
1 many iflands difpofed like Ciclades in an inward bay, o f which
“ fome are called Apfirtides, others Liburnian,. and EleSlrides.”
He adds,, “ They fay that thofe iflands in a bay of the Adriatick
“ ‘ are inhabited by near a hundred and fifty thoufand barbarians,
“ who cultivate a rich and fertile foil. There the ewes often
“ bring forth, twins- Though near the Ponticum, the climate
** of thefe iflands is different •, neither fnow nor froft remains
“ long on them, but the rains maintain the foil continually freih
“ and moift; the Iky is frequently darkened on a fudden, efpeci-
" ally in the fummer days, and thunder» whirlwinds,, and ty-
“ i phons. burihout.” -jj'
JDyonfius
* rvo-of faSiuy rL irKctro$ m gx. £t The ifland .AfyfirttSy is CC'CX Jiadii
4< longj and cXx broad. Scyl. Cdriand. in Periph ¿inter Gectgraph. min. ab Hud-
Jpno colled05. And here It is obfervabJe,ithat JScylax gave the meafure o f this ifland
in preference-to almoft all the others, ihewing thereby*, that he thought it o f
greater confequence. Th e unikilfulnefs o f eopifts has probably altered the numerical
figures, fince they by no means;correfpond to the true lengthand'breadth;
©f the Apfirtis; unlefs they were to be taken- for the meafures of only the naif o f
it ,, as far as the Euripus,
I Ttirav is tcc$ Xtyoptttaq ’AvJ/vpiac,
MMxrpiiecf rt>.rTdf is xett'Av@vpn$ccfr *,.
Dmyfius in his Perkgefis, -commented, fome ages after b y Eu-
flathius, fays: “ The iflands o f Apfirms occupy a large fpace, and
4‘ there the fons o f Colchos reffed after their long voyage."*
Straba, has adopted the etymology which feems indicated by
Dionyfius, fpeaking o f the Apfirtides, f and fays, in his V I lth
book, I near the coaft of which I have been treating, lie the
“ iflands o f the Apfirtides, in which there is a report that Medea
“ killed her own brother Apfirtus, who was purfuing her."
Befides the Greek geographers o f the good times, other writ*
«rs, both in verte and profe, have taken notice pf our ifland.
Orpheus, whofe poem, upon the expedition o f the Argonauts,
A a a 2 18
•T è i zoTmov irogS&t t o » Aoptctvzov
T a » -Bxp@dpu» n?wQo<; n m tp o xw xvx>m
’ JLxolTqv [Avpicco't trtn tiz on a , Te»
jiu p c tv cipiTfiV »sfoo^Evas» Jy xapwipwj». ^ , , _ , . ,, . '
A»iuf/.0T0X£l» y » f pcurp x)T« fyéfAfACCTCU
’ A u'p hcthàrcra)» $1 irtp) t o » ( * ) T rom x ò » * a>j .K a X r t z e i .
"jEr»» vvtp aura.?, zccitreponots irhvxriov. ’
O J y ùp n(piTcóhs> & &7av H ^ 7 P ‘iy^ 9
’Y yp è s is ora»T«7raff-i» ita TfXa?jiévet
’0 !« i TapaX4» ^ tì wpòs T*5 pt£TaSoX*tf»
MaXtr* T» Sspas 'is irpvìTY,^ T£, x}
xtpcevvtov, rù< r s teyopuiiis h at
Tvipcovas • • •
' ix v p .'XÌ'«-' ¡» Ptriegtfl. af/iunitm HaUfdnam. k ¡69. k f ig ,
* ’E Ì Elij ; 3s Própoto ■ w p k à v y ù s i o i t i i l 1 x' 7
À-«|/ygTS Viicrnr» dvct^'diverat curireroq oXxo^
T a i ' w ° t ì x&X,™'vtti'inifyeifèò»; . ' i ■
Ditnyf. 'Otcinom. Pcritg'A. 4« 7- <t fiq.lbtd.
+ n « | oAn» w suro» v c t^ te tv .m r o i [Atv ctl ’A ifupTtiii, v e p ■«« »j XtytTta itcttpQiigen To» «ÌeX«
Qq|i *A>l^tfgT0» ilWXO»TOl<60T7jr« ClCik« »}. • , ,
In which paflage it is obfervable, that the voyage o f Apfirtus + ,in confequwicfi
*of Medea’s .flight, doesnot-feemtohaye heen counted among the fables,.