Guys, I have some downtime, so here's Part 2.
I have included modern definitions of some ancient Greek terms in parentheses. Enjoy.
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BOOK I.
FRAGM. II.
Arr. Exped. Alex., V. 6. 2-11.
Of the Boundaries of India, its General Character, and its Rivers.
According to Eratosthenes, and Megasthenes who lived with Siburtios the satrap of Arachosia (*present-day south-cental Afghanistan), and who, as he himself tells us, often visited Sandrakottos (*Chandragupta) the king of the Indians, India forms the largest of the four parts into which Southern Asia is divided, while the smallest part is that region which is included between the Euphrates and our own sea. The two remaining parts, which are separated from the others by the Euphrates and. the Indus, and lie between these rivers, are scarcely of sufficient size to be compared with India, even should they be taken both together. The same writers say that India is bounded on its eastern side, right onwards to the south, by the great ocean; that its northern frontier is formed by the Kaukasos range as far as the junction of that range with Tauros; and that the boundary towards the west and the north-west, as far as the great ocean, is formed by the river Indus. A considerable portion of India consists of a level plain, and this, as they conjecture, has been formed from the alluvial deposits of the river,--inferring this from the fact that in other countries plains which are far away from the sea are generally formations of their respective rivers, so that in old times a country was even called by the name of its river. As an instance, there is the so-called plain of the Hermos--a river in Asia (Minor), which, flowing from the Mount of Mother Dindymene, falls into the sea near the Aeolian city of Smyrna. There is also the Lydian plain of Kaustros, named after that Lydian river; and another, that of the Kaikos, in Mysia; and one also in Karia,--that of the Maiandros, which extends even to Miletos, which is an Ionian city. [As for Egypt, both the historians Herodotus and Hekataios (or at any rate the author of the work on Egypt if he was other than Hekataios) alike agree in declaring it to be the gift of the Nile, so that that country was perhaps even called after the river; for in early times Aigyptos was the name of the river which now-a-days both the Egyptians and other nations call the Nile, as the words of Homer clearly prove, when he says that Menelaos stationed his ships at the mouth of the river Aigyptos. If, then, there is but a single river in each plain, and these rivers, though by no means large, are capable of forming, as they flow to the sea, much new land, by carrying down silt from the uplands, where their sources are, it would be unreasonable to reject the belief in the case of India that a great part of it is a level plain, and that this plain is formed from the silt deposited by the rivers, seeing that the Hermos, and the Kaüstros, and the Kaïkos, and the Maiandros, and all the many rivers of Asia which fall into the Mediterranean, even if united, would not be fit to be compared in volume of water with an ordinary Indian river, and much less with the greatest of them all, the Ganges, with which neither the Egyptian Nile, nor the Danube which flows through Europe, can for a moment be compared. Nay, the whole of these if combined all into one are not equal even to the Indus, which is already a large river where it rises from its fountains, and which after receiving as tributaries fifteen rivers all greater than those of Asia, and bearing off from its rival the honour of giving name to the country, falls at last into the sea.]
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FRAGM. III.
Arr. Indica, II. 1. 7.
Of the Boundaries of India
(See translation of Arrian.)
FRAGM. IV.
Strabo, XV. i. 11,--p. 689.
Of the Boundaries and Extent of India.
India is bounded on the north by the extremities of Tauros, and from Ariana (*present-day northeast Afghanistan) to the Eastern Sea (*Bay of Bengal)by the mountains which are variously called by the natives of these regions Parapamisos, and Hemodos, and Himaos, and other names, but by the Macedonians Kaukasos (*Himalayas). The boundary on the west is the river Indus, but the southern and eastern sides, which are both much greater than the others, run out into the Atlantic Ocean. The shape of the country is thus rhomboïdal, since each of the greater sides exceeds its opposite side by 3000 Stadia (*one stadia=185m), which is the length, of the promontory common to the south and the east coast, which projects equally in these two directions. [The length of the western side, measured from the Kaukasian mountains to the southern sea along the course of the river Indus to its mouths, is said-to be 13,000 stadia, so that the eastern side opposite, with the addition of the 3000 stadia of the promontory, will be somewhere about 16,000 stadia. This is the breadth of India where it is both smallest and greatest.] The length from west to east, as far as Palibothra can be stated with greater certainty, for the royal road which leads to that city bas been measured by schoeni, and is in length 10,000 stadia. The extent of the parts beyond can only be conjectured from the time taken to make voyages from the sea to Palibothra by the Ganges, and may be about 6000 stadia. The entire length, computed at the shortest, will be 16,000 stadia. This is the estimate of Eratosthenes, who says he derived it principally from the authoritative register of the stages on the Royal Road. Herein Megasthenes agrees with him. [Patrokles, however, makes the length less by 1000 stadia.]
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FRAGM. V.
Strabo, II. i. 7,--p. 69.
Of the Size of India
Again, Hipparchos, in the 2nd volume of his commentary, charges Eratosthenes himself with throwing discredit on Patrokles for differing from Megasthenes about the length of India on its northern side, Megasthenes making it 16,000 stadia, and Patrokles 1000 less.
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FRAGM. VI.
Strabo, XV. i. 12,--pp. 689-690.
Of the Size of India
[From this, one can readily see, how the accounts of the other writers vary from one another. Thus Ktesias says that India is not of less size than the rest of Asia; Onesikritos regards it as the third part of the habitable World; and Nearchos says it takes one four months to traverse the plain only.] Megasthenes and Deimachos incline to be more moderate in their estimate, for according to them the distance from the Southern Sea to Kaukasos is over 20,000 stadia. [Deimachos, however, allows that the distance in some places exceeds 30,000 stadia. Of these notice has been taken in an earlier part of the work.]
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FRAGM. VII.
Strabo, II. I. 4,--pp. 68-69.
Of the Size of India.
Hipparchos controverts this view, urging the futility of the proofs on which it rests. Patrokles, he says, is unworthy of trust, opposed as he is by two competent authorities, Deimachos and Megasthenes, who state that in some places the distance from the southern sea is 20,000 stadia, and in others 30,000. Such, he says, is the account they give, and it agrees with the ancient charts of the country.
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FRAGM. VIII.
Arr. Indica, III. 7-8.
Of the, Size, of India.
With Megasthenes the breadth of India is its extent from east to west, though this is called by others its length. His account is that the breadth at shortest is 16,000 stadia, and
its length-by which he means its extent from north to south--is at the narrowest 22,300 stadia.
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FRAGM. IX.
Conf. Solin, 52.13:--
Beyond Palibrotha (*Pataliputra, modern-day Patna) is Mount Maleus, on which shadows fall in winter towards the north, and in summer towards the south, for six months alternately. The North Pole is visible in that part of the country once in the course of the year, and not for longer than fifteen days, as Baeton informs us, who allows that this occurs in many parts of India.
FRAGM. XI.
Strabo, XV. i. 20,--p. 693.
Of the Fertility of India.
Megasthenes indicates the fertility of India by the fact of the soil producing two crops every year both of fruits and grain. [Eratosthenes writes to the same effect, for he speaks of a winter and a summer sowing, which both have rain: for a year, he says, is never found to be without rain at both those seasons, whence ensues a great abundance, since the soil is always productive. Much fruit is produced by trees; and the roots of plants, particularly of tall reeds, are sweet both by nature and by coction, since the moisture by which they are nourished is heated by the rays of the sun, whether it has fallen from the clouds or been drawn from the rivers. Eratosthenes uses here a peculiar expression: for what is called by others the ripening of fruits and the juices of plants is called among the Indians coction, which is as effective in producing a good flavour as the coction by fire itself. To the heat of the water the same writer ascribes the wonderful flexibility of the branches of trees, from which wheels are made, as also the fact of there being trees on which wool grows.
From the vapours arising from such vast rivers, and from the Etesian winds, as Eratosthenes states, India is watered by the summer rains, and the plains are overflowed. During these rains, accordingly,--flax is sown and millet, also sesamum, rice, and bosmorum, and in the winter time wheat, barley, pulse, and other esculent fruits unknown to us.
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FRAGM. XII.
Strabo, XV. i. 37,--p. 703.
Of some Wild Beasts of India
According to Megasthenes the largest tigers are found among the Prasii, being nearly twice the size of the lion, and so strong that a tame tiger led by four men having seized a mule by the hinder leg overpowered it and dragged it to him. The monkeys are larger than the largest dogs; they are white except in the face, which is black, though the contrary is observed elsewhere. Their tails are more than two cubits in length. They are very tame, and not of a malicious disposition: so that they neither attack man nor steal. Stones are dug up which are of the colour of frankincense, and sweeter than figs or honey. In some parts of the country there are serpents two cubits long which have membranous wings like bats. They fly about by night, when they let fall drops of urine or sweat, which blister the skin of persons not on their guard, with putrid sores. There are also winged scorpions of an extraordinary size. Ebony grows there. There are also dogs of great strength and courage, which will not let go their hold till water is poured into their nostrils: they bite so eagerly that the eyes of some become distorted, and the eyes of others fall out. Both a lion and a bull were held fast by a dog. The bull was seized by the muzzle, and died before the dog could be taken off.
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FRAGM. XIII.
Aelian, Hist. Anim. XVII 39. Conf. Fragm. XII. 2.
Of Indian Apes
In the country of the Praxii (*Magadhans, rulers of all India at the time), who are an Indian people, Megasthenes says there are apes not inferior in size to the largest dogs. They have tails five cubits long, hair grows on their forehead, they have luxuriant beards hanging down their breast. Their face is entirely white, and all the rest of the body black. They are tame and. attached to man, and not malicious by nature like the apes of other countries.
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FRAGM. XIV.
Aelian, Hist. Anim. XVI. 41. Conf. Fragm. X11. 4.
Of Winged Scorpions and Serpents.
Megasthenes says there are winged scorpions (*dragonflies?) in India of enormous size, which sting Europeans and natives alike. There are also serpents which are likewise winged. These do not go abroad during the day; but by night, when they let fall urine, which if it lights upon any one's skin at once raises putrid sores thereon. Such is the statement of Megasthenes.
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FRAGM. XV.
Strabo, XV. i. 56,--pp. 710-711.
Of the Beasts of India, and the Reed
He (Megasthenes) says there are monkeys, rollers of rocks, which climb precipices whence they roll down stones upon their pursuers. Most animals, he says, which are tame with us are wild in India, and he speaks of horses which are one-horned and have heads like those of deer; and also of reeds some of which grow straight up to the height of thirty orguiae, whi1e others grow along the ground to the length of fifty. They vary in thickness from three to six cubits in diameter.
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FRAGM. XV.B.
Aelian, Hist. Anim. XVI. 20.21. Conf. Fragm. XV. 2. 1.
Of some Beasts of India.
In certain districts of India (I speak of those which are most inland) they say there are inaccessible mountains infested by wild beasts, and which are also the haunts of animals like those of our own country except that they are wild; for even sheep, they say, ran wild there, as well as dogs and goats and oxen, which roam about at their own pleasure, being independent and free from the dominion of the herdsman. That their number is beyond calculation is stated not only by writers on India, but also by the learned men of the country, among whom the Brachmans deserve to be reckoned, whose testimony is to the same effect. It is also said that there exists in India a one-horned animal, called by the natives the Kartazon. It is of the size of a full-grown horse, and has a crest, and yellow hair soft as wool. It is furnished with very good legs and is very fleet. Its legs are jointless and formed like those of the elephant, and it has a tail like a swine's. A horn sprouts out from between its eyebrows, and this is not straight, but carved into the most natural wreaths, and is of a black colour. It is said to be extremely sharp, this horn. The animal, as I learn, has a voice beyond all example loud-ringing and dissonant. It allows other animals to approach it, and is good-natured towards them, though they say that with its congeners it is rather quarrelsome. The males are reported to have a natural propensity not, only to fight among themselves, by butting with their horns, but to display a like animosity against the female, and to be so obstinate in their quarrels that they will not desist till a worsted rival is killed outright. But, again, not only is every member of the body of this animal endued with great strength, but such is the potency of its horn that nothing can withstand it. It loves to feed in secluded pastures, and wanders about alone, but at the rutting season it seeks the society of the female, and is then gentle towards her,--nay, the two even feed in company. The season being over and the female pregnant, the Indian Kartazon again becomes ferocious and seeks solitude. The foals, it is said, are taken when quite young to the king of the Prasii, and are set to fight each other at the great public spectacles. No full-grown specimen is remembered to have ever been caught.
The traveller who crosses the mountains which skirt that frontier of India which is most inland meets, they say, with ravines which are clothed with very dense, jungle, in a district called by the Indians Korouda. These ravines are said to be the haunts of a peculiar kind of animal shaped like a satyr, covered all over with shaggy hair, and having a tail like a horse's, depending from its rump. If these creatures are left unmolested, they keep within the coppices, living on the wild fruits; but should they hear the hunter's halloo and the baying of the hounds they dart up the precipices with incredible speed, for they are habituated to climbing the mountains. They defend themselves by rolling down stones on their assailants, which often kill those they hit. The most difficult to catch are those which roll the stones. Some are said to have been brought, though with difficulty and after long intervals, to the Prasii, but these were either suffering from diseases or were females heavy with young, the former being too weak to escape, and the latter being impeded by the burden of the womb.--Conf. Plin. Hist. Nat. VII. 2. 17.
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FRAGM. XVI.
Pliny, Hist. Nat. VIII. 14. 1.
Of the Boa-Constrictor.
According to Megasthenes, serpents in India grow to such a size that they eat stags and bulls --Solinus, 52. 33.
So huge are the serpents that they swallow stags whole, and other animals of equal size.
FRAGM. XVII
Aelian, Hist. Anim. VIII. 7.
Of the Electric Eel.
I learn from Megasthenes that there is in the Indian Sea a small kind of fish which is never seen when alive, as it always swims in deep water, and only floats on the surface after it is dead. Should any one touch it he becomes faint and swoons,--nay, even dies at last.
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FRAGM. XVIII.
Pliny, Hist. Nat. V1. 24. 1.
Of Taprobane (*Sri Lanka)
Megasthenes says that Taprobane is separated from the mainland by a river; that the inhabitants are called Palaigonoi, and, that their country is more productive of gold and large pearls than India.
Solin. 53.3.
Taprobane is separated from India by a river flowing between: for one part of it abounds with wild beasts and elephants much larger than India breeds, and man claims the other part.
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FRAGM. XIX.
Antigon. Caryst. 647.
Of Marine Trees.
Megasthenes, the author of the Indika, mentions that trees (*Sundarbans?) grow in the Indian Sea.
FRAGM. XX.
Arr. Ind. 4. 2-13.
Of the1ndus and the Ganges.
See translation of Arrian.
FRAGM.XX.B.
Pliny. Hist. Nat. V1. 21.9-22. 1.
The Prinas and the Cainas (a tributary of the Ganges) are both navigable rivers. The, tribes which dwell by the Ganges are the Calingae, nearest the sea, and higher up the Mandei, also the Malli, among whom is Mount Mallus, the boundary of all that region being the Ganges. Some have asserted that this river, like the Nile, rises from unknown sources, and in a similar way waters the country it flows through, while others trace its source to the Skythian mountains. Nineteen rivers are said to flow into it, of which, besides those already mentioned, the Condochates, Erannoboas, Cosoagus, and Sonus are navigable. According to other accounts, it bursts at once with thundering roar from its fountain, and tumbling down a steep and rocky channel lodges in a lake as soon as it reaches the level plain, whence it issues forth with a gentle current, being nowhere less than eight miles broad, while its mean breadth is a hundred stadia, and its least depth twenty fathoms.
Solin. 52. 6-7.
In India the largest rivers are the Ganges and the Indus,--the Ganges, as some maintain, rising from uncertain sources, and, like the Nile, overflowing its banks; while others think that it rises in the Skythian mountains. In India there is also the Hupanis, a very noble river, which formed the limit of Alexander's march, as the altars set up on its banks testify. The least breadth of the Ganges is eight miles, and the greatest twenty. Its depth where least is fully one hundred feet.
They are pure martial Greeks!
