sit it, as soon as
they have examined the traces of antiquity, and the temple and offerings
dedicated to the hero, they return the same evening to their ships, as
it is said that no one can pass the night there without danger to his
life.

36. There is water there, and white birds like kingfishers, the origin
of which, and the battles of the Hellespont, we will discuss at a proper
time. And there are some cities in this region of which the most eminent
are Eupatoria, Dandaca, and Theodosia, and several others which are free
from the wickedness of human sacrifices.

37. Up to this we reckon that one of the extremities of the arc extends.
We will now follow, as order suggests, the rest of the curve which
extends towards the north, along the left side of the Thracian
Bosphorus, just reminding the reader that while the bows of all other
nations bend along the whole of their material, those of the Scythians
and Parthians have a straight rounded line in the centre, from which
they curve their spreading horns so as to present the figure of the
waning moon.

38. At the very beginning then of this district, where the Rhipaean
mountains end, lie the Arimphaei, a just people known for their quiet
character, whose land is watered by the rivers Chronius and Bisula; and
next to them are the Massagetae, the Alani, and the Sargetae, and several
other tribes of little note, of whom we know neither the names nor the
customs.

39. Then, a long way off, is the bay Carcinites, and a river of the
same name, and a grove of Diana, frequented by many votaries in those
countries.

40. After that we come to the Dnieper (Borysthenes), which rises in the
mountains of the Neuri; a river very large at its first beginning, and
which increases by the influx of many other streams, till it falls into
the sea with great violence; on its woody banks is the town of
Borysthenes, and Cephalonesus, and some altars consecrated to Alexander
the Great and Augustus Caesar.

41. Next, at a great distance, is an island inhabited by the Sindi, a
tribe of low-born persons, who upon the overthrow of their lords and
masters in Asia, took possession of their wives and properties. Below
them is a narrow strip of coast called by the natives the Course of
Achilles, having been made memorable in olden time by the exercises of
the Thessalian chief, and next to that is the city of Tyros, a colony of
the Phoenicians, watered by the river Dniester.

42. But in the midd