BOOK II. Lxxn. 180-LXXIV. 182 



flat, all would be visible to all alike at the same 

 time ; also the nights would not vary in length, 

 because corresponding periods of 12 hours would 

 be visible equally to others than those at the equator, 

 periods that as it is do not exactly correspond in 

 every region ahke. 



LXXIII. Consequently also although night and Siinri.ie atu 

 day are the same thing all over the world, it is not ^^"^^'* '"''■ 

 night and day at the same time all over the world, longitude. 

 the intervention of the globe bringing night or its 

 revolution day. This has been discovered by many 

 experiments — that of HannibaVs towers in Africa 

 and Spain, and in Asia when piratical alarms 

 prompted the precaution of watchtowers of the same 

 sort, warning fires lit on which at noon were often 

 ascertained to have been seen by the people farthest 

 to the rear at 9 p.m. Alexander above mentioned 

 had a runner named Philonides " who did the 1200 

 stades from Sicyon to Ehs in 9 hours from sunrise 

 and took till 9 p.m.'' for the return journey, although 

 the way is downhill ; this occurred repeatedly. 

 The reason was that going his way lay with the sun 

 but returning he was passing the sun as it met him 

 travelhng in the opposite direction. For this reason 

 ships saihng westward beat even in the shortest 

 day the distances they sail in the nights, because 

 they are going with the actual sun. 



LXXIV. Travellers' sundials are not the same for Sun'» 

 reference everywhere, beeause the shadows thrown ^^^'"^ ^j-,^ 

 by the sun as they alter alter the readings at every latuude. 

 300 or at farthest 500 stades. Consequently in 

 Egypt at midday on the day of the equinox the 



above sea-level than Sicyon, but only the latter part of the 

 return journey can be described as downhill. 



