Res Gestae

Then at a considerable distance the Carcinitian gulf opens up, with a river of the same name, and the grove of Trivia,[*](Diana; on the origin of the name, see Varro, L.L. vii. 16.) sacred in those regions.

Next the Borysthenes,[*](Modern Dnieper.) rising in the mountains of the Nervii, rich in waters from its own springs, which are increased by many tributaries, and mingle with the sea in high-rolling

Then, a long distance away, is a peninsula inhabited by the Sindi, people of low birth, who after the disaster to their masters in Asia[*](By a servile war; see Justin, ii. 5, 1-8.) got possession of their wives and property. Next to these is a narrow strip of shore which the natives call ʼἀχιλλέως δρόμος, memorable in times past for the exercises of the Thessalian leader.[*](The racecourse of Achilles.) And next to it is the city Tyros, a colony of the Phoenicians, washed by the river Tyras.[*](See Mela, ii. 1, 55; Pliny, N.H. iv. 83.)

Now in the middle space of the bow, which, as I have said, is widely rounded out and is fifteen days’ journey for an active traveller, are the European Halani, the Costobocae, and innumerable Scythian tribes, which extend to lands which have no known limit. Of these, only a small part live on the fruits of the earth; all the rest roam over desert wastes, which never knew plough nor seeds, but are rough from neglect and subject to frosts; and they feed after the foul manner of wild beasts. Their dear ones, their dwellings, and their poor belongings they pack upon wains covered with the bark of trees, and when the fancy takes them they change their abode without trouble, wheeling their carts to the place which has attracted them.

But when we have come to another bend, abounding in harbours, which forms the last part of the curve of the bow, the island of Peuce juts forth,[*](At the mouth of the Danube.) and around this dwell the Trogodytae, the Peuci, and other lesser tribes. Here is Histros, once a

But the river Danube, rising near Augst,[*](According to Pliny, N.H. iv. 79, the Danube rises in Germania iugus montis Abnobae ex adverso Rauraci Galliae oppidi. For the seven months, cf. Val. Flacc. viii. 186, septem exit aquis, septem ostia pandit. ) and the mountains near the Raetian frontier, extends over a wide tract, and after receiving sixty tributaries, nearly all of which are navigable, breaks through this Scythian shore into the sea through seven mouths.[*](The earlier writers counted only five; Pliny and Ptolemy, six; Strabo, seven.)

The first of these, as their names are interpreted in the Greek tongue, is the aforesaid island of Peuce,[*](The name of the mouth itself is ἱερόν (στόμα). Stoma (στόμα) in each of the following names is the word meaning mouth. Naracu cannot be interpreted; those that follow are beautiful, false, north and narrow. ) the second Naracustoma, the third Calonstoma, the fourth Pseudostoma; but the Borionstoma and Stenostoma are far smaller than the others; the seventh is muddy and black like a swamp.