Stephanos of Byzantium - Ethnika
Gynaikospolis: a city of the Phoenicians. The citizen Gynaikopolites. There is also another of Egypt. Aristagoras, not much younger than Plato, says it was so named for three reasons: either because when enemies attacked and the men were away in the fields the women won the war; or because a certain wife of a nomarch, her children being harassed by the king, armed herself together with her children and pursued the king and defeated him; or because when the Naukratites were sailing up the river and were prevented by the rest of the Egyptians from landing, these out of cowardice, being terrified, did not prevent them. These things Artemidoros too says. There is also the Harbour of Women around the so-called Phidaleia, the stretch between Anaplous and the Leostheneion. There they say Phidaleia the wife of Byzas, pursuing together with the women those who with Stroibos the brother of Byzas attacked the city while the citizens were absent, defeated them, pursuing as far as the harbour, and so named it. The ethnonym of the harbour Gynaikolimenites.
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.
Γυναικόσπολις, πόλις Φοινίκων. ὁ πολίτης Γυναικοπολίτης. ἔστι καὶ ἄλλη Αἰγύπτου. Ἀρισταγόρας δέ, οὐ πολλῷ νεώτερος Πλάτωνος, φησὶν ὅτι οὕτως ὠνομάσθη διὰ τρεῖς αἰτίας, ἢ ὅτι πολεμίων ἐπιπεσόντων καὶ τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐν γεωργίαις ἀπόντων τὰς γυναῖκας κρατῆσαι τοῦ πολέμου, ἢ ὅτι γυνή τις νομάρχου, περισπωμένων τῶν παίδων αὐτῆς ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως, ἅμα τοῖς παισὶν ὁπλισαμένη κατεδίωξε τὸν βασιλέα καὶ ἐνίκησεν, ἢ ὅτι τῶν Ναυκρατιτῶν ἀναπλεόντων κατὰ τὸν ποταμὸν καὶ κωλυομένων ὑπὸ τῶν λοιπῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἀποβαίνειν, οὗτοι καταπλαγέντες ὑπὸ ἀνανδρίας οὐ διεκώλυσαν. ταῦτα καὶ Ἀρτεμίδωρός φησιν. ἔστι καὶ Γυναικῶν λιμὴν περὶ τὴν λεγομένην Φιδάλειαν, τὸ μεταξὺ Ἀνάπλου καὶ τοῦ Λεωσθενείου. ἔνθα φασὶ τὴν γυναῖκα Βύζαντος Φιδάλειαν διώξασαν ἅμα ταῖς γυναιξὶ τοὺς μετὰ Στροίβου τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ Βύζαντος τῇ πόλει ἐπιθεμένο…
…λις.... ἀπὸ Βίθυος. Γαβαούπολις πόλις τῆς Γαλιλαίας. Ἰώσηπος ἐν ἕκτῳ Ἰουδαϊκῆς ἀρχαιολογίας (c. 7) «Σάουλος δὲ εἰς Γαβαούπολιν ἔχων ἑξακοσίους ἦλθεν». Γυναικόσπολις πόλις Φοινίκων, ἔστι καὶ ἄλλη Αἰγύπτου. Ἀρισταγόρας δέ φησιν, ὅτι οὕτως ὠνομάσθη διὰ τρεῖς αἰτίας, ἢ ὅτι πολεμίων ἐπιπεσόντων καὶ τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐν γεωργίαις ἀπόντων τὰς γυναῖκας κρατῆσαι τοῦ πολέμου, ἢ ὅτι γυνή τις νομάρχου, περισπωμένων τῶν παίδων αὐτῆς ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως, ἅμα τοῖς παισὶν ὁπλισαμένη κατεδίωξε τὸν βασιλέα καὶ ἐνίκησεν, ἢ ὅτι τῶν Ναυκρατιτῶν ἀναπλεόντων κατὰ τὸν ποταμὸν καὶ κωλυομένων ὑπὸ τῶν λοιπῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἀποβαίνειν, οὗτοι καταπλαγέντες ὑπὸ ἀνανδρίας οὐ διεκώλυσαν. ταῦτα καὶ Ἀρτεμίδωρός φησιν. Σεβαστόπολις νῆσος περὶ τὸν Πόντον ἡ καὶ Διοσκουριὰς καὶ πρότερον Αἶα. Διόσπολις ἡ μεγάλη πόλις τῆς Αἰγυπτίας Θηβαΐδος ἡ λεγομένη ἑκατόμπυλος, κτίσμα Ὀσίριδος καὶ Ἴσιδος. εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ ἄλλαι μικραὶ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ τέσσαρες. ἔ…