Stephanos of Byzantium - Ethnika
Akte: so Attica was called, from a certain Aktaios. He was an autochthonous man, as Favorinus, who reigned there and named the land and the peoples thus after himself. Apollodoros says the opposite: "for it was so called because a large part of it reaches down to the sea; for it being triangular, the two sides converging on Sounion from either side are coastal, on account of which, of the four tribes under Kekrops, they named two Aktaia and Paralia." The ethnonym Aktaios and Aktaia and Aktaiis and Atthis and Aktites, from which the "rock of Aktites" in tragedy instead of Attic, as 'aule' 'aulites'. There is also "Aktios Aigeus", as Euphorion in the Dionysos. There is also Aktias and Aktion, from which Aktiotes, as 'Peliotes' 'Zephyriotes'. But it is better that this be from Aktia, which denotes both the land and the woman, as 'Pelasgia' 'Pelasgiotes'. There is also Attikos and Attike by change for euphony. There is also Akte of Magnesia, from which Apollo is honoured as Aktios and Epaktios. There is also another of Akarnania, which Demagetos mentions. There is also of the Peloponnese, as Thucydides, and another on the Bosporos, and a fifth in Ionia. Demetrios mentioned only the signifying the shore and the land around Athos.
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.
Ἀκτή, οὕτως ἡ Ἀττικὴ ἐκαλεῖτο ἀπὸ Ἀκταίου τινός. ἀνὴρ δὲ ἦν αὐτόχθων, ὡς Φαβωρῖνος, ὃς ἐβασίλευσεν ἐκεῖ καὶ ἀφ´ ἑαυτοῦ οὕτως τὴν χώραν ὠνόμασε καὶ τοὺς λαούς. Ἀπολλόδωρος δὲ τἀναντία φησίν “οὕτω γὰρ ἐκλήθη διὰ τὸ πολὺ μέρος αὐτῆς καθικνεῖσθαι εἰς θάλασσαν· τριγώνου γὰρ οὔσης αἱ συννεύουσαι ἐπὶ τὸ Σούνιον ἑκατέρωθεν δύο πλευραὶ παράλιοι τυγχάνουσι, δι´ ἃς τῶν ἐπὶ Κέκροπος φυλῶν τεττάρων οὐσῶν δύο προσηγόρευσαν Ἀκταίαν καὶ Παραλίαν”. τὸ ἐθνικὸν Ἀκταῖος καὶ Ἀκταία καὶ Ἀκταιίς καὶ Ἀτθίς καὶ Ἀκτίτης, ἐξ οὗ τὸ Ἀκτίτου πέτρα ἐν τῇ τραγῳδίᾳ ἀντὶ τοῦ Ἀττικοῦ, ὡς αὐλή αὐλίτης. ἔστι καὶ “Ἄκτιος Αἰγεύς” ὡς Εὐφορίων Διονύσῳ. ἔστι καὶ Ἀκτιάς καὶ τὸ Ἄκτιον, ἀφ…
…ευτή τρισύλλαβον. Τὰ εἰς 'τη' δισύλλαβα προσηγορικὰ ἔχοντα πρὸ τοῦ 'τ' σύμφωνον ὀξύνεται, εἰ μὴ παραλήγοι φωνήεντι 'ι' ἢ 'ε', βροντή, εἱρκτή, πηκτή ὄργανον μουσικόν. φυστή μᾶζα ἡ ἐξ ἀλφίτων καὶ οἴνου. ἀκτή· οὕτως δὲ καὶ ἡ Ἀττικὴ ἐκαλεῖτο ἀπὸ Ἀκταίου τινός. ἀνὴρ δὲ ἦν αὐτόχθων, ὡς Φαβωρῖνος, ὃς ἐβασίλευσεν ἐκεῖ καὶ ἀφ´ ἑαυτοῦ οὕτως τὴν χώραν ὠνόμασε καὶ τοὺς λαούς. Ἀπολλόδωρος δὲ τἀναντία φησίν »οὕτω γὰρ ἐκλήθη διὰ τὸ πολὺ μέρος αὐτῆς καθικνεῖσθαι εἰς θάλασσαν. τριγώνου γὰρ οὔσης αἱ συννεύουσαι ἐπὶ τὸ Σούνιον ἑκατέρωθεν δύο πλευραὶ παράλιοι τυγχάνουσι, δι´ ἃς τῶν ἐπὶ Κέκροπος φυλῶν τεττάρων οὐσῶν δύο προσηγόρευσαν Ἀκταίαν καὶ Παραλίαν«. ἔστι καὶ Ἀκτή Μαγνησίας, ἀφ´ ἧς Ἄκτιος καὶ Ἐπάκτιος Ἀπόλλων τιμᾶται. ἔστι καὶ ἑτέρα Ἀκαρνανίας, ἧς μέμνηται Δημάγητος. ἔστι καὶ Πελοποννήσου, ὡς Θουκυδίδης, καὶ ἄλλη ἐν Βοσπόρῳ καὶ εʹ ἐν Ἰωνίᾳ. Δημήτριος δὲ τῆς σημαντ…