Strabo, Geography

But when the poet divides this country into four parts and also speaks of the leaders as four in number, his statement is not clear: “"And they too that inhabited both Buprasium and goodly Elis, so much thereof as is enclosed by Hyrmine and Myrsinus on the borders, and by the Olenian Rock and Aleisium,—of these men, I say, there were four leaders, and ten swift ships followed each leader, and many Epeians embarked thereon."
”^{1 2} For when he speaks of both the Buprasians and the Eleians as Epeians but without going on and calling the Buprasians Eleians, it would seem that he is not dividing the Eleian country into four parts, but rather the country of the Epeians, which he had already divided into only two parts; and thus Buprasium would not be a part of Elis but rather of the country of the Epeians. For it is clear that he calls the Buprasians Epeians; "as when the Epeians were burying lord Amarynces at Buprasium."³ But Buprasium now appears to have been a territory of the Eleian country, having in it a settlement of the same name, which was also a part of Elis.⁴ And again, when he names the two together, saying "both Buprasium and goodly Elis," and then divides the country into four parts, it seems as though he is classifying the four parts under the general designation "both Buprasium and goodly Elis." It seems likely that at one time there was a considerable settlement by the name of Buprasium in the Eleian country which is no longer in existence (indeed, only that territory which is on the road that leads to Dyme from the present city of Elis is now so called); and one might suppose that at that time Buprasium had a certain preeminence as compared with Elis, just as the Epeians had in comparison with the Eleians; but later on the people were called Eleians instead of Epeians. And though Buprasium was a part of Elis, they say that Homer, by a sort of poetic figure, names the part with the whole, as for instance when he says: “"throughout Hellas and mid-Argos,"
”⁵ and “"throughout Hellas and Phthia,"
”⁶ and “"the Curetes fought and the Aetolians,"
”⁷ and “"the men of Dulichium and the holy Echinades,"
”⁸ for Dulichium is one of the Echinades. And more recent poets also use this figure; for instance, Hipponax, when he says: “"to those who have eaten the bread of the Cyprians and the wheaten bread of the Amathusians,"
”⁹ for the Amathusians are also Cyprians; and Alcman, when he says: “"when she had left lovely Cypros and seagirt Paphos"
”¹⁰ and Aeschylus,¹¹ when he says: “"since thou dost possess the whole of Cypros and Paphos as thine allotment."
”¹² But if Homer nowhere calls the Buprasians Eleians, I will say that there are many other facts also that he does not mention; yet this is no proof that they are not facts, but merely that he has not mentioned them.