Page:The geography of Strabo (1854) Volume 1.djvu/199

CHAP. v. 20. INTRODUCTION. 185 The portion of the sea which washes Libya is called the Libyan Sea; that surrounding the land opposite is desig- nated by the respective names of the Iberian, the Ligurian, 1 and the Sardinian Seas, while the remaining portion as far as Sicily is named the Tyrrhenian Sea. 2 All along the coast between the Tyrrhenian and Ligurian Seas, there are numer- ous islands, the largest of which are Sardinia and Cyrnus, 3 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, Pandataria 4 and Pontia, 5 and close to the shore JEthalia, 6 Planasia, 7 Pithecussa, 8 Pro- chyta, 9 Capriae, 10 Leucosia, 11 and many others On the other 12 side of the Ligurian shore, and along the rest of the coast as far as the Pillars, there are but few islands ; the Gymnasiae 13 and Ebusus 14 are of this number. There are likewise but few islands along the coasts of Libya and Sicily. We may mention however Cossura, 15 JEgimurus, 16 and the Lipari Islands, likewise called the Islands of -ZEolus. 20. After Sicily and the straits on either side of it, 17 there are other seas, for instance, that opposite the Syrtes and the Cy- renaic, 18 the Syrtes themselves, and the sea formerly called the Ausonian, but which, as it flows into and forms part of the Sea of Sicily, is now included under the latter name. The sea opposite to the Syrtes and the Cyrenaic is called the Li- byan Sea ; it extends as. far as the Sea of Egypt. The Lesser Syrtes 19 is about 1600 stadia in circumference. On either side of its mouth lie the islands of Meninx 20 and Kerkina. 21 The Greater Syrtes 22 is (according to Eratosthenes) 5000 stadia in circuit, and in depth 1800, from the Hes- I The Gulf of Genoa. 2 Vide Huraboldt's Cosmos, ii. 480. 3 Corsica. 4 Vento Tiene. 5 Ponza. 6 Elba. 7 Saint Honorat. 8 Ischia. 9 Procida. 10 Capri. II A small island off the Capo della Licosa. 12 The western side. 13 Majorca and Minorca. 14 Ivi^a. 15 The island of Pantalaria. 18 Al Djamur, at the entrance of the Gulf of Tunis. 17 The Strait of Messina, and the strait separating Sicily and Cape Bona on the African coast. 18 Of which Gyrene, now Curen, was the capital. 19 The Gulf of Cabes. 20 The Island of Gerbi. 21 The Island of Kerkeni. m Sidra, or Zalscho.