111
There is the additional problem of metonymy, as when ἅλς (hals), ‘salt’, is used
in poetry to denote the sea, in an echo of Homeric usage such as ‘the hals of the
pontos’. This, too, occurs, for example, in the poem of Dionysios Periegetes. We
might replace hals with ‘salt sea’ (rather than, for example, the ‘briny’ of older UK
speech and folk-song), though if a metrical version is desired this may not always
fit. Dionysios’ repeated use of the nymph’s name Amphitrite as another synonym
for the sea leaves little alternative but to reproduce it as it is, with a note of explanation. Both solutions avoid obscuring the different terms under the catch-all
term ‘sea’.
This second cluster of words, then, illustrates the fluidity of usage of certain
Greek terms, and again raises the question of whether to adopt expressions that may
be unfamiliar to the expected readers to a greater or lesser degree.
4 Cardinal Points
The problem of selection is slightly different in the case of directional terms. As
already noted, Greek has two regular terms for each of the cardinal points of the
compass. The resulting eight terms, as is well known, comprise one that refers to
either or both of the polar constellations (‘bears’ referring, of course, to Ursa Major
and Ursa Minor), two winds (north and south), three phases of the solar day (dawn,
midday, evening), and two solar phenomena (rising, setting). (There is, of course,
no solar event that could signify ‘north’ in the northern hemisphere.)
23
The eight
terms are shown in Table 1, together with their literal meanings and the words usually substituted for them in English.
24
A ninth term, and a third wind, also identifies the west: but Zephyros is hardly
ever used as a directional term (see Appendices), even though it was one of the four
cardinal winds in early literature.
25
The non-exhaustive catalogue in Appendices 1–2 assembles illustrative examples of words and phrases from some of the geographical authors (and from a few
others including major extant historians like Herodotos, Xenophon, and Polybios).
The phrases frequently comprise a preposition followed by the cardinal signifier,
though a given preposition cannot always be translated by the same word.
Prepositions used include apo (‘from’), eis (‘to’, ‘into’), en (‘in’), epi (with a variety
23 Except possibly ‘the place where the Sun sleeps’—the glow in the north during summer nights—
which people in Britain pointed out to Pytheas (e.g. Geminos, Introduction to Celestial Phenomena,
6. 8–9).
24 In the table, ‘pl.’ = plural. Macrons distinguish long vowels, represented by different letters from
short vowels in Greek: ē = eta (η), ō = omega (ω). Final e is never silent. There was no distinction
between lower- and upper-case letters; writing was always in what we call capitals. Dialect variations affect some terms: e.g. ēōs was heōs in Attic (Athenian) Greek, mesēmbria was mesambriē
in the Ionic of Herodotos, Hekataios, etc.
25 Cf. Hünemörder and Phillips 2006, §1a: Homer recognizes Boreas, Euros, Notos, and Zephyros.
Sun, Sea, and Sky: On Translating Directions (and Other Terms) in the Greek Geographers
There is the additional problem of metonymy, as when ἅλς (hals), ‘salt’, is used
in poetry to denote the sea, in an echo of Homeric usage such as ‘the hals of the
pontos’. This, too, occurs, for example, in the poem of Dionysios Periegetes. We
might replace hals with ‘salt sea’ (rather than, for example, the ‘briny’ of older UK
speech and folk-song), though if a metrical version is desired this may not always
fit. Dionysios’ repeated use of the nymph’s name Amphitrite as another synonym
for the sea leaves little alternative but to reproduce it as it is, with a note of explanation. Both solutions avoid obscuring the different terms under the catch-all
term ‘sea’.
This second cluster of words, then, illustrates the fluidity of usage of certain
Greek terms, and again raises the question of whether to adopt expressions that may
be unfamiliar to the expected readers to a greater or lesser degree.
4 Cardinal Points
The problem of selection is slightly different in the case of directional terms. As
already noted, Greek has two regular terms for each of the cardinal points of the
compass. The resulting eight terms, as is well known, comprise one that refers to
either or both of the polar constellations (‘bears’ referring, of course, to Ursa Major
and Ursa Minor), two winds (north and south), three phases of the solar day (dawn,
midday, evening), and two solar phenomena (rising, setting). (There is, of course,
no solar event that could signify ‘north’ in the northern hemisphere.)
23
The eight
terms are shown in Table 1, together with their literal meanings and the words usually substituted for them in English.
24
A ninth term, and a third wind, also identifies the west: but Zephyros is hardly
ever used as a directional term (see Appendices), even though it was one of the four
cardinal winds in early literature.
25
The non-exhaustive catalogue in Appendices 1–2 assembles illustrative examples of words and phrases from some of the geographical authors (and from a few
others including major extant historians like Herodotos, Xenophon, and Polybios).
The phrases frequently comprise a preposition followed by the cardinal signifier,
though a given preposition cannot always be translated by the same word.
Prepositions used include apo (‘from’), eis (‘to’, ‘into’), en (‘in’), epi (with a variety
23 Except possibly ‘the place where the Sun sleeps’—the glow in the north during summer nights—
which people in Britain pointed out to Pytheas (e.g. Geminos, Introduction to Celestial Phenomena,
6. 8–9).
24 In the table, ‘pl.’ = plural. Macrons distinguish long vowels, represented by different letters from
short vowels in Greek: ē = eta (η), ō = omega (ω). Final e is never silent. There was no distinction
between lower- and upper-case letters; writing was always in what we call capitals. Dialect variations affect some terms: e.g. ēōs was heōs in Attic (Athenian) Greek, mesēmbria was mesambriē
in the Ionic of Herodotos, Hekataios, etc.
25 Cf. Hünemörder and Phillips 2006, §1a: Homer recognizes Boreas, Euros, Notos, and Zephyros.
Sun, Sea, and Sky: On Translating Directions (and Other Terms) in the Greek Geographers