Stephanos of Byzantium - Ethnika
Byblos: a city of Phoenicia, most ancient of all, a foundation of Kronos, from Byble the daughter of Miletos. "Byblos was so named from the fact that in it every ancient book was kept unharmed. Others because in it Isis, weeping for Osiris, laid aside her diadem; and this was of byblos, the byblos, the Egyptian lime-tree, which the Nile nourished in the marshes". The ethnonym Byblios and Byblias. There are also Byblioi a Scythian people. There is also Byblos a most secure city on the Nile. The ethnonym Byblios, or Byblites by the Egyptian type.
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.
…αι. οἱ δὲ ὅτι ἐν αὐτῇ Ἶσις κλαίουσα Ὄσιριν τὸ διάδημα ἔθηκε· τοῦτο δ´ ἦν βύβλινον, [ἀπὸ] βύβλου τῆς φιλύρης τῆς Αἰγυπτίης, ἧς ἀνέτραφε Νεῖλος ἐν τοῖς ἕλεσι”. τὸ ἐθνικὸν Βύβλιος καὶ Βυβλιάς. εἰσὶ καὶ Βύβλιοι Σκυθικὸν ἔθνος. ἔστι καὶ Βύβλος ἐν τῷ Νείλῳ πόλις ἀσφαλεστάτη. τὸ ἐθνικὸν Βύβλιος, ἢ Βυβλίτης τῷ τύπῳ τῷ Αἰγυπτιακῷ.
…ται τὸ ψύλλος, τὸ δὲ Ψύλλος τὸ ἐπ´ ἔθνους κύριον. τὸ δὲ ἄλλος ὡς ἐπιμεριζόμενον βαρύνεται. Τὰ εἰς 'λος' μετ´ ἐπιπλοκῆς συμφώνου βαρύνεται· εἰ δέ τι εἴη ὀξύτονον, ἐπιθετικὸν ὑπάρχει, ὄτλος, βύβλος καὶ Βύβλος πόλις Φοινίκης. ἔστι καὶ Βύβλος ἐν τῷ Νείλῳ πόλις. βίβλος καὶ Βίβλος ποταμὸς Νάξου· ὄχλος, κόχλος, κύκλος, Ἄσκλος πόλις Ἰταλίας. Διονύσιος ἐν κʹ Ῥωμαϊκῆς ἀρχαιολογίας. ἔστι καὶ οὐδέτερον. Τύσκλος πόλις Ἰταλίας. λέγεται καὶ Τυσκλανόν. Ὕβλος βασιλεύς, ἀφ´ οὗ Ὕβλα πόλις Σ…