Cathaeans, the Land of Sopeithes and a Certain καί in Strabo’s Geography

Abstract

Having in view a critical analysis of the first sentence of chapter XV 1, 30 of Strabo’s Geography, the author of the paper refers to the Greek and Latin accounts of a country named Cathaea, its people – the Cathaeans, and a country named the land of Sopeithes, all situated in contemporary Punjab. The comparison of sources, i.e. of the appropriate passages from Diodorus, Curtius Rufus and Strabo, indicates that despite general similarities that can be spotted in the three descriptions of customs of the land of the Cathaeans and that of Sopeithes, there can also be noticed some significant differences in which Strabo opposes the other accounts. The customs attributed to the people of the land of Sopeithes by Diodorus and Curtius are attributed to Cathaea by Strabo, the latter jointly presenting what is attributed to the two different countries in the other texts. The question arises whether the closer association of the two described countries was intentional in the original account of Strabo. In consequence, the value of modern editors’ insertion of the conjunction καί separating both countries in the first sentence of Strabo’s description has been questioned.