Stephanos of Byzantium - Ethnika
Bosporos: a city of Pontos on the Kimmerian gulf, as Philon, and a homonymous strait, called from Io, Aischylos in the Prometheus Bound: "and there shall be for mortals forever a great tale of your journey, and it shall be called Bosporos after you". Bosporion is also the name of the harbour of Byzantion; the natives call it Phosphorion, altering the letters, whence those who have written the antiquities of Byzantion attach another mythical story, that when Philip the Macedonian was besieging Byzantion had dug during the siege a secret entrance, from which the diggers were about to emerge unseen from the tunnel, Hekate, being light-bearer, made torches appear by night to the citizens, and having escaped the siege named the place Phosphorion. It will be said about the name in the on Byzantion. There is also another of India. The ethnonym Bosporios and Bosporianos and Bosporanos and Bosporenos, for in two ways, both with 'a' and with 'e', as 'Tibaranos' and 'Tibarenos'. Also said Bosporites and Bosporikos the possessive. Sophokles in the first Phineus gives the possessive with the diphthong in the penult: "nor the Bosporeian water among the Scythians".
External translation supplied by Brady Kiesling; reported Claude Fable 5.5 translation. Credit: Brady Kiesling and the Stephanos project (Greg Baker, Gabriel Jower, Greta Hawes, Brady Kiesling). Not individually verified; exact Greek input not supplied.
Stephanos excerpt (left) is aligned with matched Herodian passages (right). Colors indicate corresponding overlap spans.
Βόσπορος, πόλις Πόντου κατὰ τ��ν Κιμμέριον κόλπον, ὡς Φίλων, καὶ πορθμὸς ὁμώνυμος, ἀπὸ Ἰοῦς [τῆς Ἰνάχου] καλούμενος, [καθὼς] Αἰσχύλος ἐν Προμηθεῖ δεσμώτῃ [γράφει] ἔσται δὲ θνητοῖς εἰσαεὶ λόγος μέγας τῆς σῆς πορείας, Βόσπορος δ´ ἐπώνυμος κεκλήσεται. [Στράβων δὲ ἐν ἑνδεκάτῳ τῶν γεωγραφικῶν τάδε γράφει “τοῖς δὲ τοῦ Βοσπόρου δυνάσταις ὑπήκοοι Βοσποριανοὶ πάντες καλοῦνται, καὶ ἔστι τῶν μὲν Εὐρωπαίων μητρόπολις τὸ Παντικάπαιον, τῶν δὲ Ἀσιανῶν τὸ Φαναγόρειον”. μαρτυρεῖ …
ἀπὸ Ἕλλης. πόρος Βόσπορος πόλις Πόντου κατὰ τὸν Κιμμέριον κόλπον ὡς Φίλων καὶ πορθμὸς ὁμώνυμος, ἀπὸ Ἰοῦς τῆς Ἰνάχου καλούμενος, καθὼς Αἰσχύλος ἐν Προμηθεῖ δεσμώτῃ γράφει ἔσται δὲ θνητοῖς εἰσαεὶ λόγος μέγας τῆς σῆς πορείας, Βόσπορος δ´ ἐπώνυμος κεκλήσεται. ἔστι καὶ ἄλλη τῆς Ἰνδικῆς. ὅρμος Πάνορμος πόλις Σικελίας καὶ λιμήν, ὡς Πολύβιος· ἔστι καὶ λιμὴν Κυζίκου· φίλος Δίφιλος. τὸ δὲ ὀστολόγος καὶ οἰκονόμος οὐ παρὰ τὸ λόγος καὶ νόμος, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὸ λέγω καὶ νέμω. ὅσα δὲ ὑπερδ…
…καὶ Βοσπορηνός, διχῶς γάρ, καὶ διὰ τοῦ « α » καὶ διὰ τοῦ « η », ὡς τὸ Τιβαρανός καὶ Τιβαρηνός. λέγεται καὶ Βοσπορίτης καὶ Βοσπορικός τὸ κτητικόν. Σοφοκλῆς δ´ ἐν Φινεῖ πρώτῳ διὰ διφθόγγου τὴν πρὸ τέλους φησὶ τὸ κτητικόν “οὐδ´ ἂν τὸ Βοσπόρειον ἐν Σκύθαις ὕδωρ”.
…βα μὴ πλεοναζούσης τῆς 'ει' διφθόγγου προπαροξύνεται, Αἰάντειος, Ὁμήρειος, γαλήνειος, Ἱππάρχειος. Ἀλεξάνδρειος, Ἀντιόχειος, Ἑλένειος τόπος πρὸς τῷ Κανώβῳ, Ἑκαταῖος περιηγήσει Λιβύης· Βοσπόρειος. Σοφοκλῆς ἐν Φινεῖ πρώτῳ «οὐδ´ ἂν τὸ Βοσπόρειον ἐν Σκύθαις ὕδωρ». Ἰνάχειος ὡς Αἰσχύλος Προμηθεῖ δεσμώτῃ (v. 589) πῶς δ´ οὐ κλύω τῆς οἰστροδονήτου κόρης τῆς Ἰναχείης, ἣ Διὸς θάλπει κέαρ καὶ (v. 705) οὔτ´ Ἰνάχειον σπέρμα τοὺς ἐμοὺς λόγους. Ταρτάρειος παρ´ Εὐριπίδῃ ἐν Εὐρυσθεῖ σατυρικῷ…