1.

The islands about Crete are Thera,  ²² the capital of the Cyrenæans, and a colony of the Lacedæmonians; and near Thera is Anaphe,  ²³ in which is the temple of Apollo Ægletes. Callimachus speaks of it in one place, thus,

“And Æglete Anaphe, close to the Lacedæmonian Thera;”

and in another, he mentions Thera only,

“Mother of my country, celebrated for its fine breed of horses.”

Thera is a long island, about 200 stadia in circumference. It lies opposite to the island Dia,  ²⁴ towards the Cnossian Heracleium. It is distant about 700 stadia from Crete. Near it are Anaphe and Therasia.  ²⁵ The little island Ios823 is distant from the latter about 100 stadia. Here according to some authors the poet Homer was buried.824 In going from Ios towards the west are Sicenus825 and Lagusa,826 and Pholegandrus,827 which Aratus calls the iron island, on account of its rocks. Near these islands is Cimolus,828 whence is obtained the Cimolian earth. From Cimolus Siphnus829 is visible. To this island is applied the proverb, “a Siphnian bone (astragalus),” on account of its insignificance. Still nearer, both to Cimolus and Crete, is Melos,830 more considerable than these. It is distant from the Hermionic promontory, the Scyllæum,831 700 stadia, and nearly as many from the Dictynnæan promontory. The Athenians formerly despatched an army to Melos,832 and put to death the inhabitants from youth upwards.

These islands are situated in the Cretan sea. Delos,833 the Cyclades about it, and the Sporades adjacent to these, belong rather to the Ægæan sea. To the Sporades also are to be referred the islands about Crete, which I have already mentioned.