BOOK VI. V. 17-VI1. 20 



Sea, where, he tells as, the channel dries up at low 

 tide. On the coast of the Black Sea near the Cercetae 

 is the river Icarus, and the Achaei, witli their Holy 

 Town and River, 136 miles from Heracleuni. Then 

 comes Cape Cruni, after which a steep cHff is occupied 

 by the Toretae, and then the city-state of Sindica, 

 67^ miles from Holy 'I"own, and the river Seclieries. 



VI. The distance from the Seciieries to the entrance straiu o/ 

 to the Straits of Kertsch is 88^ miles. But the '^'^"''^- 

 actual peninsuhi projecting between the Black Sea 

 and the Sea of Azov is not more than 67| miles long, 

 its breadth being nowhere below 80 yards ; it is 

 called Eone. The actual coast of the Straits on 

 both the Asiatic and the European sides curves into 

 the Sea of Azov. The towns at its entrance are 

 Hermonasa and next the Milesian town of Cepi, 

 then Stratocha and Phanagoria and the almost 

 deserted town of Apaturos, and at the extreme end 

 of the mouth Cimmerium, the former name of which 

 was Cerberion. VII. Then comes the Sea of Azov, 

 which is held to be in Europe. 



After passing Cimmerium, the tribes inhabit- The Don 

 ing the coast are the Maeotici, HaU, Sernes, Serrei, coa.^n ** 

 Scizi and Gnissi. Next come the two moutlis ^n/<»td. 

 of the river Don, where the inhabitants are the 

 Sarmatae, said to be descended from the Medes, 

 and themselves divided into a number of sections. 

 The first of these are the Matriarchal Sauromatae, 

 the husbands of the Amazons ; then the Naevazae, 

 Coitae, Cizici, Messeniani, Cotobacchi, Cetae, Zigae, 

 Tindari. Thussegetae and Ty''^''^^» which brings us to 

 uninhabited deserts intersected by wooded glens, 

 beyond which are the Arimphaei, who reach to the 

 Ripaean Mountains. The Don itself is called by the 



351 



