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[2] After this he proceeds to determine the breadth of the habitable earth: he tells us, that measuring from the meridian of Meroe1 to Alexandria, there are 10,000 stadia. From thence to the Hellespont2 about 8100. Again; from thence to the Dnieper, 5000; and thence to the parallel of Thule,3 which Pytheas says is six days' sail north from Britain, and near the Frozen Sea, other 11,500. To which if we add 3400 stadia above Meroe in order to include the Island of the Egyptians,4 the Cinnamon country, and Taprobane,5 there will be in all 38,000 stadia.
1 Eratosthenes supposed that Meroe, Alexandria, the Hellespont, and the mouth of the Borysthenes or Dnieper, were all under the same meridian.
2 The Dardanelles.
3 Iceland.
4 This Island of the Egyptians is the same which Strabo elsewhere calls the Island of the Exiles, because it was inhabited by Egyptians who had revolted from Psammeticus, and established themselves in the island. Its exact situation is unknown.
5 Ceylon.
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(3):
- LSJ, ἐπιγελάω
- LSJ, κιννα^μωμοφόρος
- LSJ, πλάτος