121
‘north’ and ‘south’ because the passage also twice contains the phrase pros borean
anemon (in one case partly restored), which is translated literally as ‘towards the
north wind’ (anemos means ‘wind’), not simply ‘towards the north’. If the variation
in expression has any significance, the unadorned boreas and notos should be purely
directional without their original connotations being present. A similar variation can
be seen in Herodotos’ practice: of the 20 instances in which he uses notos as a directional term, eight include the word anemos, as in pros noton anemon, ‘towards the
south wind’.
45
Translations should reflect this variation.
The phrase apo hēliou dysmōn, likewise, merits literal translation (‘from the settings of the sun’, ‘from the sun’s settings’, or ‘from the sunsets’) as it has been
chosen by the writer where a simpler metonymic phrase such as apo dyseōs, ‘from
the setting’, could have been used; the latter, in such a context, would be translated
simply ‘from the west’.
5.3.2 Aristotle, Meteorologika
Aristotle, a contemporary of the unknown author of the periplous just quoted,
devotes Chap. 6 of book 2 of his Meteorologika (the title means roughly ‘aerial
phenomena’) to the winds, and includes one of the earliest mentions of a diagram
accompanying a text (the original is, of course, lost),
46
as well as one of the earliest
codifications of the ‘wind rose’, a version of which we have already encountered in
the version quoted from the slightly later author Timosthenes. An extract from the
middle of his chapter is particularly worthy of attention when we consider the denotations and connotations of wind names and directional expressions, as it combines
45 In one of these 8 cases the word order is varied: pros anemon noton (Hdt. 7. 129. 1).
46 We have no original, or even near-contemporary, copies of Classical, Hellenistic, or Romanperiod books unless they happen to have been copied onto stone or metal (which is rare); occasionally we have fragmentary copies on Egyptian papyri. Most ancient writings survive only in
medieval parchment or vellum manuscripts.
Fig. 2 Crete, showing places mentioned by Pseudo-Skylax (Shipley 2019: 130)
Sun, Sea, and Sky: On Translating Directions (and Other Terms) in the Greek Geographers
‘north’ and ‘south’ because the passage also twice contains the phrase pros borean
anemon (in one case partly restored), which is translated literally as ‘towards the
north wind’ (anemos means ‘wind’), not simply ‘towards the north’. If the variation
in expression has any significance, the unadorned boreas and notos should be purely
directional without their original connotations being present. A similar variation can
be seen in Herodotos’ practice: of the 20 instances in which he uses notos as a directional term, eight include the word anemos, as in pros noton anemon, ‘towards the
south wind’.
45
Translations should reflect this variation.
The phrase apo hēliou dysmōn, likewise, merits literal translation (‘from the settings of the sun’, ‘from the sun’s settings’, or ‘from the sunsets’) as it has been
chosen by the writer where a simpler metonymic phrase such as apo dyseōs, ‘from
the setting’, could have been used; the latter, in such a context, would be translated
simply ‘from the west’.
5.3.2 Aristotle, Meteorologika
Aristotle, a contemporary of the unknown author of the periplous just quoted,
devotes Chap. 6 of book 2 of his Meteorologika (the title means roughly ‘aerial
phenomena’) to the winds, and includes one of the earliest mentions of a diagram
accompanying a text (the original is, of course, lost),
46
as well as one of the earliest
codifications of the ‘wind rose’, a version of which we have already encountered in
the version quoted from the slightly later author Timosthenes. An extract from the
middle of his chapter is particularly worthy of attention when we consider the denotations and connotations of wind names and directional expressions, as it combines
45 In one of these 8 cases the word order is varied: pros anemon noton (Hdt. 7. 129. 1).
46 We have no original, or even near-contemporary, copies of Classical, Hellenistic, or Romanperiod books unless they happen to have been copied onto stone or metal (which is rare); occasionally we have fragmentary copies on Egyptian papyri. Most ancient writings survive only in
medieval parchment or vellum manuscripts.
Fig. 2 Crete, showing places mentioned by Pseudo-Skylax (Shipley 2019: 130)
Sun, Sea, and Sky: On Translating Directions (and Other Terms) in the Greek Geographers