Beyond the Pillars is Gades, concerning which all that we have hitherto remarked is, that it is distant from Calpe about 750 stadia, and is situated near to the outlet of the Guadalquiver. Notwithstanding, there is much that can be said about it. For its inhabitants equip the greatest number of ships, and the largest in size, both for our sea, and the exterior [ocean], although the island they inhabit is by no means large, nor yet do they possess much of the mainland, nor are masters of other islands. They dwell for the most part on the sea, only a few staying at home or passing their time in Rome. Still, in amount of population, their city does not seem to be surpassed by any apart from Rome. I have heard that in a census taken within our own times, there were enumerated five hundred citizens of Gades of the equestrian order, a number equaled by none of the Italian cities excepting that of the Patavini.
Their city is situated in the western parts of the island. Near to it is the temple of Saturn, which terminates [Gades to the west] and is opposite the smaller island. The temple of Hercules is on the other side, to the east, where the island approaches nearest to the mainland, being only separated therefrom by a strait of a stadium [in breadth]. They say that this temple is twelve miles from the city, thus making the number of miles and the number of [Hercules’] labors equal: but this is too great, being almost equal to the length of the island. Now the length of the island runs from west to east.
Concerning the foundation of Gades, the Gaditanians report that a certain oracle commanded the Tyrians to found a colony by the Pillars of Hercules. In the third voyage, they reached Gades and founded the temple in the eastern part of the island, and the city in the west. The Pillars, which Pindar calls the Gates of Gades, says that they were the farthest limits at which Hercules arrived. Others pretend that they are the pillars of brass eight cubits high in the temple of Hercules at Gades, on which is inscribed the cost of erecting that edifice; and that the sailors coming there on the completion of their voyage and sacrificing to Hercules, rendered the place so famous that it came to be regarded as the termination of the land and sea.
Pherecydes appears to have given to Gades the name of Erythia, the locality of the myths concerning Geryon: others suppose it to have been the island situated near to this city, and separated from it by a strait of merely one stadium. This they do on account of the excellence of its pasturage. For the milk of the cattle which feed there does not yield any whey, and they are obliged to mix it with large quantities of water when they make cheese on account of its richness. After fifty days the beasts [pasturing there] would be choked unless they were let blood.
From “Geography” by Strabo of Amaseia. Delphi Classics.
A few days ago, I visited the Blue Bird Cave in Cádiz, the site of the most recent archeological discovery. I walked down several flights of stairs, each step one-hundred-year trek into the pass. At the bottom lay the 3000-year-old remnants of a Phoenician seaport with a shipyard and a storehouse. As a young man, I came to this place to mingle with friends and listen to music, unaware that my feet treaded a relic of the ancient world. But that is my hometown, Cadiz, where every cobblestone on a street can recount a long-forgotten story.
Strabo wrote his description about 20 B.C. when he studied in Rome. Back then, Gades was on three adjacent islands off the European continent coast: Erythea, Kotinuosa, and Antipolis. They fused into one with the passage of time, and it is now separated from the continent by a tiny canal. As this book’s preface indicates, Strabo’s work provided “a valuable source of information on the ancient world, especially as much of this information was corroborated by other sources.”
There are no cows left in Cádiz.
For your information:
Gades=Cádiz, Spain; A stadium=157 meters or 172 yards. A Roman mile=1,488 meters or 0.9 miles. Patavini= Padua, Italy.
