Histories

For it is the most wonderful sea of all. Its length is eleven thousand one hundred stades, and its breadth three thousand three hundred stades at the place where it is widest.[*](Herodotus is wrong. The Black Sea is 720 miles long (about 6280 stades), and, at the point of Herodotus' measurement, about 270 miles broad; its greatest breadth is 380 miles. His estimates for the Propontis and Canakkale Bogazi (strait), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, Asia Hellespont are also in excess, though not by much; the Karadeniz Bogazi (strait), Istanbul, Marmara, Turkey, AsiaBosporus is a little longer than he says, but its breadth is correctly given.)

The channel at the entrance of this sea is four stades across; the narrow neck of the channel, called Karadeniz Bogazi (strait), Istanbul, Marmara, Turkey, AsiaBosporus, across which the bridge was thrown, is about one hundred and twenty stades long. The Karadeniz Bogazi (strait), Istanbul, Marmara, Turkey, AsiaBosporus reaches as far as to the Propontis;

and the Propontis is five hundred stades wide and one thousand four hundred long; its outlet is the Canakkale Bogazi (strait), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, Asia Hellespont, which is no wider than seven stades and four hundred long. The Canakkale Bogazi (strait), Canakkale, Marmara, Turkey, Asia Hellespont empties into a gulf of the sea which we call +Aegean Sea [25,38.5] (sea) Aegean.

These measurements have been made in this way: a ship will generally accomplish seventy thousand orguiae [*](The Greek o)rguia/ was the length of the outstretched arms, about six feet.) in a long day's voyage, and sixty thousand by night.

This being granted, seeing that from the +Black Sea [38,42] (sea) Pontus' mouth to the +Poti [41.683,42.183] (inhabited place), regions under republican jurisdiction, Georgia, Asia Phasis (which is the greatest length of the sea) it is a voyage of nine days and eight nights, the length of it will be one million one hundred and ten thousand orguiai, which make eleven thousand stades.

From the Sindic region to Themiscura on the Thermodon river (the greatest width of the +Black Sea [38,42] (sea) Pontus) it is a voyage of three days and two nights; that is, of three hundred and thirty thousand orguiai, or three thousand three hundred stades.