VENTORUM

ET
BY

SITUS

COGNOMINA
E. S.

FORSTER

OXFORD AT THE CLARENDON PRESS

M

PREFACE
THIS short extract from the Peripatetic
Signis,
treatise
is

De

usually

attributed

to

Theophrastus,

chiefly

interesting for comparison with the charts of the winds given in the Meteorologica and De Mundo. The text used
for this translation

that of 0. Apelt, 1 who has in the main followed V. Rose s edition 2 the latter is a great
is
;

improvement on Bekker s text. I have to thank Mr. W. D. Ross and

Professor
1 2

my

colleague,

W.

C.

Summers,

for several suggestions.

(Leipzig: Teubner, 1888).
(pp.

Aristotelis quae feruntur

Aristotelis

De Plantis etc.

quae feruntur librorum fragmenta Teubner, 1886). (Leipzig:

199-201)

ENTORUM SITUS ET APPELLATIONES

EX ARISTOTELIS LIBRO DE SIGNIS
a (the North Wind). At Mallus this wind is called 973 for it blows from the high cliffs and two parallel Pagreus ranges known as the Pagrean Mountains. At Caunus it

BOREAS
;

is

called

Meses
is

known

(the North-North-East Wind). ... In Rhodes as Caunias ; for it blows from Caunus,

it
5

causing

storms in the harbour of that place.

At
;

in Pamphylia, it is called Idyreus an island called Idyris. Some people identify Boreas and Meses, amongst them the Lyrnatians near Phaselis. Caecias (the North-East Wind). In Lesbos this wind is called Thebanas for it blows from the plain of Thebe,
;

dum

Olbia, near Magyfor it blows from

10

north of the Elaitic Gulf in Mysia. It causes storms in the harbour of Mitylene and very violent storms in the harbour
of Mallus. 2

In some places

it is

called Caunias,

which others

identify with Boreas. Apeliotes (the East Wind). This wind is called Potameus at Tripolis in Phoenicia it blows from a plain resembling a great threshing-floor, which lies between the mountains
;

15

of
1

Libanus and Bapyrus

a

hence

it

is

called

Potameus. 3

between Boreas and Caecias (3) it is called Caunias at Rhodes, and Caunus is NNE. of Rhodes (4) Meses is a very general term (see Meteor. 36^-^64^ passim} and would not be confined to Caunus. We must therefore suppose lacunae (such as occur also in this treatise at b 973 II, 14, 15), and read fV Se MeVqj (ovroy fv /xeV KaXeirai Winds other than those at the main ,) ev 8e PdSw KT\. points of the compass are inserted, e.g. Thracias, 973 b 17. 2 a 973 II. Reading MaAAo en-a.
;
;

973 4- Meses must certainly be mentioned here as a separate wind, the NNE. wind: (i) unless a wind other than Boreas is de scribed in 11. 3-9 the words rives fioppav o iovrai flvat give no sense (2) Meses is described in Meteor. 363 b 30 as a separate wind
<5e

nurot>

Kaui/&>

a 16. The reason for this f 973 this plain was called Potamus.

name does

not seem obvious, unless

973

VENTORUM
It causes

SITUS ET COGNOMINA
In the Gulf of Issus
;

storms at Posidonium. 1
of

20

known as Syriandus and the neighbourhood 2 Gates the the Syrian it blows from pass between the Taurus and the Rosian Mountains. In the Gulf of Tripolis In Proconit is called Marseus, from the village of Marsus. and it is known as Euboea, Gyrene Crete, nesus, Teos,
Rosus
it is
,

in

storms in particular at Caphereus harbour of Cyrene, which is called Apollonia. It blows from the Hellespont. [At Sinope it is called Berecyntias, because it blows from the direction of
Hellespontias.
It causes

Euboea, and

in the

Phrygia.]

In Sicily

it is

973

b
it

blows from the

Straits.

known as Cataporthmias, because Some people identify it with

This wind
is

Caecias,

and also call it Thebanas. Eurus (the South-East Wind). Scopeleus at Aegae, on the borders
at Rosus.
;

called
cliff
4

of Syria, after the

In Cyrene it is known as Carbas after the Carwherefore some people call this banians in Phoenicia same wind Phoenicias. Some people identify it with
Apeliotes.

Euronotus 5 (the South-South-East Wind). Some call this wind Eurus, others Amneus. Notus (the South Wind) bears the same name everywhere. It is derived from the fact that this wind is unwholesome, thus there are two while out of doors it brings showers
;

reasons for
10

its

name. 6
white
or
clearing

Leuconotus (the

South Wind)

1 a coast (Strabo, p. 75 1), 973 16. Uoa-etiiov, a harbour on the Syrian should perhaps be read here. 2 a 973 1 8. Reading als for or. 3 a The east wind 973 24, 25. This passage is obviously misplaced. could not possibly be called Berecyntias at Sinope, because Sinope is The statement should probably be transferred to east of Berecynthia.

Zephyrus. 4 b 973 45 b 973 6.

True

SKOTTcXfuy from <rKont\os. the MS., can only mean the Op66voros, the reading of South Wind , which seems superfluous, when VOTOS is mentioned
ie>

be likely to arise immediately afterwards, nor would any confusion between the True South Wind and Eurus. Rose suggests OpQpovoros, the Morning South Wind, a word not found elsewhere. Evpovoros b seems to suit the sense better and is used in Meteor, s63 22 and De Mundo 394 b 33 for the wind between Eurus and Notus, i.e. the

SSE. wind.
6

973

b 8.

i.e.

two derivations are given

healthy,

and

(2) VOTLOS,

damp = KdTop.fipos,
(

for POTOS, (i)

voaa>5r)s,

un

showery).

VENTORUM
likewise derives its
1

SITUS ET COGNOMINA
its effect
;

973

name from

for

it

clears the

sky.

Lips (the South- West Wind). This wind gets its name from Libya, whence it blows. Zephyrus (the West Wind). This wind is so named because it blows from the west, and the west

lapyx (the North-West Wind). At Tarentum Scylletinus from the place Scylletium. At

it is

called
in
:

Dorylaeum

CHART OF THE WINDS TO ILLUSTRATE ARISTOTLE VENTORUM SITUS ET APPELLATIONES.*

ZephyrusW

E.Apelictes

Phrygia because

(it is
it

Many

Some people call it Pharangites, called) blows from a certain ravine in Mount Pangaeus.
. . .

call it

Argestes.

Thracias (the North-North-West Wind) is called Strymonias in Thrace, for it blows from the river Strymon in the Megarid it is known as Sciron, after the Scironiari
;

wfi?

973 io. Leuconotus is apparently the SSW. Wind. For a chart of the various systems of winds in Aristot. Meteor 1 nd in Seneca see Capelle, Die Schrift von de r ? , ^ Welt, Neue Jahrb. xv. ("1905) p. 542.

"

973

VENTORUM
in Italy

SITUS ET COGNOMINA
is

20 cliffs,

and

Sicily it

called Circias, because

it

it

blows from Circaeum.

the

In Euboea and Lesbos

goes by

name
;

of
it

Olympus
I

Olympias, which is derived from Pierian causes storms at Pyrrha. 1

circle of

have drawn the

the earth and indicated the

25

positions of the winds, and the directions in which they blow, so that they may be presented to your vision.
1

973

23.

The use
in

name

of

Pyrrha

Lesbos

of the ethnicon Ilvppatoi instead of the placeis found also in Strabo (p. 617), rbv

fvpinov.