Page:The geography of Strabo (1854) Volume 2.djvu/183

B. x. c. in. 1. CURETES. 175 writers say, that Amphilochus, on his return from the Trojan expedition, being displeased with the state of affairs at Argos, dwelt in this country ; according to some writers, he obtained it by succeeding to the dominions of his brother ; others re- present it differently. So much then respecting the Acarna- nians considered by themselves. We shall now speak of their affairs where they are intermixed in common with those of the JEtolians, and we shall then relate as much of the history of the ^Etolians as we proposed to add to our former account of this people. CHAPTER III. 1. SOME writers reckon the Curetes among the Acarnani- ans, others among the -ZEtolians ; some allege that they came from Crete, others that they came from Eubrea. Since, however, they are mentioned by Homer, we must first ex- amine his account of them. It is thought that he does not mean the Acarnanians, but the jEtolians, in the following verses, for the sons of Porthaon were, " Agrius, Melas, and the hero QBneus, These dwelt at Pleuron, and the lofty Calydon," l both of which are .^Etolian cities, and are mentioned in the .ZEtolian Catalogue; wherefore since those who inhabited Pleuron appear to be, according to Homer, Curetes, they might be ^Etolians. The opponents of this conclusion are misled by the mode of expression in these verses, " Curetes and ^Etolians, firm in battle, were fighting for the city Calydon," 2 for neither would he have used appropriate terms if he had said, " Boeotians and Thebans were contending against each other," nor " Argives and Peloponnesians." But we have shown in a former part of this work, that this mode of expression is usual with Homer, and even trite among other poets. This objection then is easily answered. But let the objectors explain, how, if these people were not JEto- 1 II. xiv. 116. 2 II. ix. 525.