•i-d S. VI. 134., July 24. '58.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



63 



brought them into conne.xion with the -SIthiopians 

 of the Upper Nile. According to the statement 

 of Scylax, some persons thought that the ^Ethio- 

 pians of the northern shores of Africa were con- 

 tinuous with those who inhabited Egypt ; that 

 Africa was a peninsula stretching to the west, and 

 that the sea was uninterrupted from its western 

 extremity to the Egyptian side (§ 112.) 



According to Juba, the Atlantic Sea began with 

 the Mossylian promontory, near the south-eastern 

 extremity of the Red Sea ; and the navigation 

 thence to Gades, along the coast of Mauretania, 

 was in a north-westerly direction (Plin. vi. 34.). 



Aristotle, arguing that the form of the earth is 

 spherical, explains upon, this hypothesis the opi- 

 nion of those who not only connect the country 

 near the Pillars of Hercules with India, as well as 

 the seas in those two quarters^ but account for 

 the presence of elephants both in Africa and India 

 by the resemblance of the most remote extremes. 

 The true explanation, according to Aristotle, is, that 

 India is near the north-western coast of Africa, be- 

 cause the earth is a sphere (i)e Calo, ii. 14.). So 

 Eratosthenes expressed an opinion that, if it were 

 not for the great size of the Atlantic (or external) 

 Sea, a ship might sail along the same parallel from 

 Iberia to India (ap. Strab. i. 4. 6.) On the 

 other hand, Seneca thought that this distance was 

 not great, and that the voyage could with favour- 

 able winds be made in a short time. (" Quantum 

 enim est, quod ab ultimis litoribus Hispanias usque 

 ad Indos jacet ? Paucissimorum dierum spatium, 

 si navem suus ventus implevit." — Nat. Quasi, i. 

 Praef. § 11.) 



The belief as to the affinity between the ex- 

 treme east and the extreme west explains some 

 of the mythological stories respecting the popu- 

 lation of Africa : thus the Maurusii are said to 

 have been Indians who accompanied Hercules to 

 the west of that continent (Strab. xvii. 3. 7.) 



These opinions as to the shape of Africa, though 

 predominant, were not univei'sal : for Polybius 

 considers it to be unascertained whether the sea 

 passes round it to the south (iii. 38.). According 

 to Mela, the question long remained doubtful, 

 but it was settled by the voyages of Hanno and 

 Eudoxus (iii. 9.). 



Such being the notions of the ancients respect- 

 ing the shape of Africa, the next point to be 

 ascertained is, how far their geographical explor- 

 ation of the coast can be proved by sure evidence 

 to have extended. 



The entire northern coast of Africa had, from a 

 remote period, been visited by the Phoenician na- 

 vigators : who, together with their colonists the 

 Carthaginians, likewise established themselves in 

 force on the southern coast of Spain, and used 

 their establishments at Gades and its neighbour- 

 hood as starting-places for ulterior discovery, 

 Their efforts seem to have been directed princi- 



pally towards the opposite coast of Africa, and not 

 to the Lusitanian coast — a policy connected with 

 the natural views for the extension of the Cartha- 

 ginian empire. Tingis, the modern Tangier, and 

 Lixus and Thymiateria lying to the south on the 

 same coast, are expressly mentioned as Cartha- 

 ginian foundations : we also hear of a large num- 

 ber of Tyrian or Carthaginian towns on the 

 western coast of Mauretania, which, having once 

 amounted to 300, were destroyed by the neigh- 

 bouring barbarians. These extensive settlements 

 are indeed discredited by Strabo (xvii. 3. 3.), and 

 Pliny (v. 1.); but it cannot be doubted that the 

 Phcenicians, both of Tyre and Carthage, used their 

 important port and factory of Gades as a means 

 of extending their dominion on the opposite coast 

 of Africa (Movers, vol. ii. pp. 521 — 554.) 



An authentic record of the most important of 

 these attempts still remains in the Periplus of 

 Hanno, whose voyage is conjecturally fixed at 

 470 B.C. The extant narrative is probably an 

 exact transcript of the original, which (like the 

 bilingual inscription of Hannibal, Livy, xxviii. 

 46.) may have been engraved on brass, both in 

 Punic and Greek. The expedition was partly for 

 colonisation, partly for discovery. The most dis- 

 tant settlement was not far from the Straits ; the 

 extent of the exploring voyage cannot be fixed 

 with certainty. Gossellin takes it only as far as 

 Cape Nun ; the more prevailing opinion extends 

 it to a point near Sierra Leone. The numbers of 

 the expedition appear to be exaggerated ; but its 

 strength was such as to enable it to master all 

 opposition of the natives. Some of the circum- 

 stances related in the exploring part of the voyage 

 are manifestly fabulous ; but there is no reason 

 for doubting the general truth of the account. 



We are informed by Pliny, that when Scipio 

 was in command in Africa (about 146 b.c), he 

 employed Polybius the historian to explore the 

 western coast of that continent, and furnished him 

 with a fleet for the purpose. Pliny gives a sum- 

 mary of the extent of coast examined by Polybius ; 

 the furthest point which he visited was the river 

 Bambotus, in which were crocodiles and hippo- 

 potami (Plin. V. 1.) This voyage is referred to 

 by Polybius in an extant passage of his history 

 (iii. 59.) Pliny's account of the places which he 

 visited is analysed by Gossellin, who identifies the 

 Bambotus with the Nun {Recherches stir la Geo- 

 graj)hie des Anciens, tom. i. p. 1 06.) Gossellin thinks 

 that the ancients never passed Cape Boyador. 



Another proof of the voyages of the Gaditane 

 navigators to the south, along the African coast, 

 is the fact that they had discovered the Canary 

 Islands, certainly before the time of Sertorius, 

 about 82 B.C., and probably at a much earlier 

 period. (SeePlut.6'er<. 8.,Diod. v. 19, 20., Aristot. 

 Mir. Atisc. 84. ; Dr. Smith's Diet, of Geogr., art. 



FOBTUNAT^S InSUL.5;.) 



