Pliny the Elder, Natural History 6.39.213
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/425
Context
Gaius Plinius Secundus, or Pliny the Elder, from a family of the
equestian class in northern Italy, was a luminary in the fields of natural history and
philosophy. Later in life, as a close associate of Vespasian, he served several
governorships in the western provinces. Around the time of his last posts in Spain and
northern Europe and his return to living in Rome, he finished the research and writing
of his renowned encyclopedia of the world in 37 books. The first part, including this
passage, was published in 77 C.E. In his long discourse on physical geography, Pliny
discusses the divisions of the earth’s surface into “circles” or “parallels”
(circuli, paralleli), i.e. lines of latitude.
Here he traces the second line from India through the Middle East, including Caesarea
and its wider region, to Sicily, Africa, and Numidia.
Text
Sequens circulus incipit ab India vergente ad occasum, vadit per medios
Parthos, Persepolim, citima Persidis, Arabiam citeriorem, Iudaeam, Libani montis
accolas, amplectitur Babylonem, Idumaeam, Samariam, Hierosolyma, Ascalonem, Iopen,
Caesaream, Phoenicen, Ptolemaidem, Sidonem, Tyrum, Berytum,
Botryn, Tripolim, Byblum, Antiochiam, Laodiceam, Seleuciam, Ciliciae maritima, Cypri
austrina, Cretam, Lilybaeum in Sicilia, septentrionalia Africae et Numidiae, umbilicus
XXXV pedum aequinoctio umbram XXIV pedes longam facit, dies autem noxque maxima XIV
horarum aequinoctialium est accedente bis quinta parte unius horae.1
Textual Note
Ed. Mayhoff 1906Translation
The next parallel bgins in western India and goes through the middle
of Parthia, Persepolis, the closest part of Persia, the closer part of Arabia, Judaea,
the inhabitants of Mount Lebanon, and contains Babylon, Idumaea, Samaria, Jerusalem,
Ascalon, Iope, Caesarea, Phoenicia, Ptolemaïs, Sidon, Tyre, Beirut, Botrys, Tripoli,
Byblus, Antioch, Laodicea, Seleucia, the coastal part of Cilicia, the southern part of
Cyprus, Crete, Lilybaeum on Sicily, the northern part of Africa, and Numidia. On the
equinox, a 35-foot gnomon makes a shadow 24 feet tall, while the longest day and night
measure 14⅖ equinoctial hours.2
Translation Note
Trans. J. L. Rife with ref. to Rackham 1942Works Cited
- 1 Pliny the Elder, Naturalis historia I, ed. Karl Friedrich Theodor Mayhoff, Bibliotheca scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana (Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1906), bk: 6.39, ch: 213.
- 2 Pliny the Elder, Pliny: Natural History II. Books 3-7, trans. H. Rackham, Loeb Classical Library 352 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press & William Heinemann, 1942), p: 496-497.
Additional Bibliography
- Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia: Machine Readable Text, ed. Karl Friedrich Theodor Mayhoff (Medford, MA: Trustees of Tufts University, 2016)
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Pliny the Elder, Natural History 6.39.213,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/425.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Pliny the Elder, Natural History 6.39.213.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published June 30, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/425.About this Entry
Entry Title: Pliny the Elder, Natural History 6.39.213
Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:
- Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
- Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
- David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editor, “Pliny the Elder, Natural History 6.39.213”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Pliny the Elder, Natural History 6.39.213”
Additional Credit:
- TEI encoding by Joseph L. Rife
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- Electronic text added by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife