BOOK V. XV. 70-72 



famous city of the East and not of Judaea only, 

 and Herodium with the celebrated town of the 

 same name. 



The source of the river Jordan is the spring ofTheJordan 

 Panias from which Caesarea described later takes DeadSea. 

 its second name. It is a dehghtful stream, winding § 74. 

 about " so far as the conformation of the locahty 

 allows, and putting itself at the service of the people 

 who dwell on its banks, as though moving with 

 reluctance towards that gloomy lake, the Dead Sea, 

 which ultimately swallows it up, its much-praised 

 waters minghng with the pestilential waters of the 

 lake and being lost. For this reason at the first 

 opportunity afforded by the formation of the valleys 

 it ^ndens out into a lake usually called the Sea of 

 Gennesareth. This is 16 miles long and 6 broad, 

 and is sldrted by the pleasant towns of Bethsaida 

 and Hippo on the east, El Kereh on the south (the 

 name of which place some people also give to the 

 lake), and Tabariah with its salubrious hot springs 

 on the west. The only product of the Dead Sea is 

 hitumen, the Greek word for which gives it its 

 Greek name, Asphaltites. The bodies of animals do 

 not sink in its waters, even bulls and camels floating ; 

 this has given rise to the report that notliing at all 

 can sink in it. It is more than 100 miles long, and 

 fully 75 miles broad at the broadest part but only 

 G miles at the narrowest. On the east it is faced 

 by Arabia of the Nomads, and on the south by 

 Machaerus, at one time next to Jerusalem the most 

 important fortress in Judaea. On the same side 

 there is a hot spring possessing medicinal value, the 

 name of which. Calhrrhoe, itself proclaims the 

 celebriLy of its waLers. 



275 



