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I went down from all the world under my command to Adoulis to sacrifice to Zeus and Ares and Poseidon on behalf of those who sail; and having gathered my armies and made them one, sitting in this place I made this throne a dedication to Ares in the twenty-seventh year of my reign. 2.64 And these things are what was written on the throne. And to this day in that place where the throne is situated, they execute the condemned in front of it. Whether this custom has prevailed from the old time of Ptolemy, I cannot say. But I have set these things down, wishing to show that he himself also knows accurately the end of Ethiopia, Sasou and Barbaria, having subdued all those nations and lands, most of which we ourselves have seen, and the rest we have learned accurately as being near the places. For most of the slaves who come are from these nations, and are even now found among the merchants who travel there. But also Samene, where he says the snows and frosts occur, there the king of the Axumites exiles, whenever he condemns someone to be sent into exile. And the Arabitae and Cinaedocolpitae beyond and the land of the Sabaeans, he calls the Homerites. It is possible, therefore, also from this account to estimate accurately that the breadth of the earth from the hyperborean regions to Sasou and frankincense-bearing Barbaria is not more than two hundred stations. 2.65 For knowing accurately and not erring much from the truth, we have written down what we have learned some things by sailing and journeying, and others accurately, so that in this respect also the divine Scripture speaks truth, but those outside it lie, conjecturing rather and devising falsehoods, and narrating old wives' tales for the support of their own vanity, and fashioning another zone south of the torrid zone similar to the one inhabited by us; but this no one has ever seen or heard of. For how could something be seen or heard of that does not exist perceptibly in truth? Therefore their nonsense must not be accepted; for such things happen to be the sophisms of certain young men, and not of the ancients, who with plausible sophisms seemed to overthrow the ancients who came before them, attempting impossible things, just as in the preceding discourse we made the refutation in brief. Marginal note on Ptolemy 2.66 This Ptolemy is one of the Ptolemies who reigned after Alexander the Macedonian, about whom the prophet Daniel prophesies in various ways, but especially in the dream of the image of Nebuchadnezzar and in the vision of the four beasts rising from the sea, which Daniel himself saw, in the image a head of gold, and in the vision a lioness, signifying the rule of the Babylonians, that is Nebuchadnezzar. Then in the image a breast and arms of silver, and in the vision a bear, the rule of the Medes which was inferior to that of the Babylonians, that is, he means Darius the Mede. Then in sequence in the image a belly and thighs of bronze, and in the vision a leopard, signifying the rule of the Persians, that is Cyrus, which became brilliant and conspicuous, no less than that of the Babylonians. 2.67 Then again in the image legs of iron, and in the vision a startling and terrible beast, having claws of bronze and teeth of iron, it denotes the Macedonian rule, that is Alexander, crushing and subduing the kingdoms. Then again in the image feet and toes, "partly of iron, and partly of clay," and in the vision ten horns equal in number to the toes, it means a divided kingdom, that after Alexander, which also in the vision of the ram and the goat it shows divided to the four winds of heaven. 2.68 For when Alexander was dying he divided his kingdom among his four friends; and one ruled Europe, that is Greece, another ruled Asia, another Syria and Babylonia, and the fourth Egypt and Libya and the southern parts. From these

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πάντα τὸν ὑπ' ἐμοὶ κόσμον κατῆλθον εἰς τὴν Ἀδούλι τῷ ∆ιὶ καὶ τῷ Ἄρεει καὶ τῷ Ποσειδῶνι θυσιάσαι ὑπὲρ τῶν πλοϊζομένων· ἀθροίσας δέ μου τὰ στρατεύματα καὶ ἐφ' ἓν ποιήσας, ἐπὶ τούτῳ τῷ τόπῳ καθίσας τόνδε τὸν δίφρον παραθήκην τῷ Ἄρεει ἐποίησα ἔτει τῆς ἐμῆς βασιλείας εἰκοστῷ ἑβδόμῳ. 2.64 Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν τὰ ἐν τῷ δίφρῳ γεγραμμένα. Ἕως δὲ τῆς σήμερον ἡμέρας ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ τόπῳ ἔνθα κεῖται ὁ δίφρος ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ τοὺς καταδίκους φονεύουσιν. Εἰ ἐκ τοῦ παλαιοῦ τοῦ κατὰ τὸν Πτολεμαῖον ἔθους τοῦτο κεκρατηκός, εἰπεῖν οὐκ ἔχω. Ταῦτα δὲ τέθεικα δεῖξαι βουλόμενος ὡς καὶ αὐτὸς τέλος τῆς Αἰθιοπίας τὴν Σάσου καὶ τὴν Βαρβαρίαν ἀκριβῶς ἐπίσταται, πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ἐκεῖνα ὑποτάξας καὶ τὰς χώρας, ἃ καὶ πλεῖστα ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐθεασάμεθα, τὰ λοιπὰ δὲ καὶ ὡς ἐγγύθεν ὄντες τῶν τόπων ἀκριβῶς μεμαθήκαμεν. Τὰ γὰρ πλεῖστα τῶν ἀνδραπόδων τῶν ἐρχομένων ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν ἐθνῶν εἰσιν, ἃ καὶ νῦν εὑρίσκονται παρὰ τοῖς ἐμπορευομένοις ἐκεῖσε. Ἀλλὰ καὶ Σαμῆνε, ἔνθα λέγει τὰς χιόνας καὶ τὰ κρύη γίνεσθαι, ἐκεῖ ἐξορίζει ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἀξωμιτῶν, ἡνίκα τινὰ καταδικάσῃ πεμφθῆναι ἐν ἐξορίᾳ. Τοὺς δὲ πέραν Ἀραβίτας καὶ Κιναιδοκολπίτας καὶ τὴν Σαβαίων χώραν, τοὺς Ὁμηρίτας λέγει. Ἔστιν οὖν καὶ ἐκ ταύτης τῆς ἱστορίας ἀκριβῶς στοχάσασθαι τὸ πλάτος τῆς γῆς ἀπὸ τῶν ὑπερβορείων τόπων ἕως τῆς Σάσου καὶ τῆς λιβανωτοφόρου Βαρβαρίας οὐ πλείω τῶν διακοσίων μονῶν εἶναι. 2.65 Ἀκριβῶς γὰρ ἐπιστάμενοι καὶ οὐ πολὺ διαμαρτά νοντες τῆς ἀληθείας, τὰ μὲν πλεύσαντες καὶ ὁδεύσαντες, τὰ δὲ ἀκριβῶς μεμαθηκότες, κατεγράψαμεν, ὥστε καὶ κατὰ τοῦτο τὴν μὲν θείαν Γραφὴν ἀληθεύειν, τοὺς δὲ ἔξωθεν ψεύδεσθαι, στοχαζομένους μᾶλλον καὶ σοφιζομένους ψευδῆ, καὶ γραώδεις μύθους διηγουμένους πρὸς σύστασιν τῆς αὐτῶν ματαιότητος, καὶ ἀναπλαττομένους ἑτέραν ζώνην νοτιωτέραν τῆς κεκαυμένης ὁμοίαν τῆς ὑφ' ἡμῶν οἰκουμένης· ταύτην δὲ οὐδεὶς ἑώρακε πώποτε οὔτε ἀκήκοε. Πῶς γὰρ ὁραθείη ἢ ἀκουσθείη τὸ μὴ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ αἰσθητῶς ὑφιστάμενον; ∆ιὸ οὐ παραδεκτέον τοὺς αὐτῶν φληνάφους· νέων γάρ τινων σοφιζομένων τὰ τοιαῦτα τυγχάνει, καὶ οὐ παλαιῶν, οἵτινες σοφίσμασι πιθανοῖς ἔδοξαν ἀνατρέπειν τοὺς παλαιοὺς τοὺς πρὸ αὐτῶν γεγονότας, ἀδυνάτοις ἐπιχειροῦντες, καθάπερ ἐν τῷ πρὸ τούτου λόγῳ τὸν ἔλεγχον ὡς ἐν βραχέσιν ἐποιησάμεθα. Παραγραφὴ εἰς τὸν Πτολεμαῖον 2.66 Οὗτος ὁ Πτολεμαῖος εἷς ἐστι τῶν βασιλευσάντων μετὰ Ἀλέξανδρον τὸν Μακεδόνα Πτολεμαίων, περὶ ὧν ὁ προφήτης ∆ανιὴλ προφητεύει διαφόρως μέν, ἐξαιρέτως δὲ ἐν τῷ ἐνυπνίῳ τῆς εἰκόνος τοῦ Ναβουχοδονόσορ καὶ τῷ ὁράματι τῶν τεσσάρων θηρίων τῶν ἀναβαινόντων ἀπὸ τῆς θαλάσσης, ὧν εἶδεν αὐτὸς ὁ ∆ανιήλ, ἐν μὲν τῇ εἰκόνι κεφαλὴν χρυσῆν, ἐν δὲ τῷ ὁράματι λέαιναν, σημαίνων τὴν τῶν Βαβυλωνίων ἀρχήν, τουτέστι τὸν Ναβουχοδονόσορ. Εἶτα ἐν μὲν τῇ εἰκόνι στῆθος καὶ βραχίονας ἀργυροῦς, ἐν δὲ τῷ ὁράματι ἄρκον, τὴν τῶν Μήδων ἀρχὴν ἥττονα οὖσαν τῶν Βαβυλωνίων, τουτέστι ∆αρεῖον τὸν Μῆδον λέγει. Εἶτα ἐφεξῆς ἐν μὲν τῇ εἰκόνι κοιλίαν καὶ μηροὺς χαλκοῦς, ἐν δὲ τῷ ὁράματι πάρδαλιν, τὴν τῶν Περσῶν ἀρχήν, τουτέστι Κῦρον, σημαίνει, ἥτις ἐγένετο λαμπρὰ καὶ περιφανής, οὐκ ἔλαττον τῶν Βαβυλωνίων. 2.67 Εἶτα πάλιν ἐν μὲν τῇ εἰκόνι κνήμας σιδηρᾶς, ἐν δὲ τῷ ὁράματι θηρίον ἔκθαμβον καὶ φοβερόν, ὄνυχας χαλκοῦς καὶ ὀδόντας σιδηροῦς ἔχον, τὴν μακεδονικὴν ἀρχὴν δηλοῖ, τουτέστιν Ἀλέξανδρον, λεπτῦνον καὶ δαμάζον τὰς βασιλείας. Εἶτα πάλιν ἐν μὲν τῇ εἰκόνι πόδες καὶ δάκτυλοι, "μέρος μέν τι σιδηροῦν, μέρος δέ τι ὀστράκινον", ἐν δὲ τῷ ὁράματι δέκα κέρατα ἰσάριθμα τῶν δακτύλων, βασιλείαν διῃρημένην λέγει, τὴν μετὰ Ἀλέξανδρον, ἣν καὶ ἐν τῷ ὁράματι τοῦ κριοῦ καὶ τοῦ τράγου διαιρεθεῖσαν εἰς τοὺς τέσσαρας ἀνέμους τοῦ οὐρανοῦ δηλοῖ. 2.68 Τοῦ γὰρ Ἀλεξάνδρου τελευτῶντος τοῖς τέσσαρσι φίλοις αὐτοῦ διεῖλε τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτοῦ· καὶ ὁ μὲν εἷς τῆς Εὐρώπης, ἤτοι τῆς Ἑλλάδος, ἐβασίλευσεν, ὁ δὲ ἕτερος τῆς Ἀσίας, ὁ δὲ ἄλλος Συρίας καὶ Βαβυλωνίας, καὶ ὁ τέταρτος Αἰγύπτου καὶ Λιβύης καὶ τῶν νοτίων μερῶν. Ἐκ τούτων