Aristotle
352 a αἴτιον ὑποληπτέον ὅτι γίγνεται διὰ χρόνων εἱμαρμένων, 30οἷον ἐν ταῖς κατ᾿ ἐνιαυτὸν ὥραις χειμών, οὕτως περιόδου τινὸς μεγάλης μέγας χειμὼν καὶ ὑπερβολὴ ὄμβρων. αὕτη δὲ οὐκ ἀεὶ κατὰ τοὺς αὐτοὺς τόπους, ἀλλ᾿ ὥσπερ ὁ καλούμενος ἐπὶ Δευκαλίωνος κατακλυσμός· καὶ γὰρ οὗτος περὶ τὸν Ἑλληνικὸν ἐγένετο τόπον μάλιστα, καὶ τούτου περὶ 35τὴν Ἑλλάδα τὴν ἀρχαίαν. αὕτη δ᾿ ἐστὶν ἡ περὶ 352 bΔωδώνην καὶ τὸν Ἀχελῷον· οὗτος γὰρ πολλαχοῦ τὸ ῥεῦμα μεταβέβληκεν· ᾤκουν γὰρ οἱ Σελλοὶ ἐνταῦθα καὶ οἱ καλούμενοι τότε μὲν Γραικοὶ νῦν δ᾿ Ἕλληνες. ὅταν οὖν γένηται τοιαύτη ὑπερβολὴ ὄμβρων, νομίζειν χρὴ ἐπὶ πολὺν χρόνον διαρκεῖν, 5καὶ ὥσπερ νῦν τοῦ ἀενάους εἶναί τινας τῶν ποταμῶν τοὺς δὲ μὴ οἱ μέν φασιν αἴτιον εἶναι τὸ μέγεθος τῶν ὑπὸ γῆς χασμάτων, ἡμεῖς δὲ τὸ μέγεθος τῶν ὑψηλῶν τόπων καὶ τὴν πυκνότητα καὶ ψυχρότητα αὐτῶν (οὗτοι γὰρ πλεῖστον καὶ δέχονται ὕδωρ καὶ στέγουσιν καὶ ποιοῦσιν· ὅσοις δὲ μικραὶ αἱ ἐπικρεμάμεναι 10τῶν ὀρῶν συστάσεις ἢ σομφαὶ καὶ λιθώδεις καὶ ἀργιλώδεις, τούτους δὲ προαπολείπειν), οὕτως οἴεσθαι δεῖν1 τότε, ἐν οἷς ἂν γένηται ἡ τοιαύτη τοῦ ὑγροῦ φορά, οἷον ἀενάους ποιεῖν τὰς ὑγρότητας τῶν τόπων μᾶλλον.2 τῷ χρόνῳ δὲ ταῦτα ξηραίνεται 15[γιγνόμενα]3 μᾶλλον, θάτερα δ᾿ ἔλαττον4 τὰ ἔφυδρα,5
Meteorologica, I
suppose that the cause of all these changes is that, just as there is a winter among the yearly seasons, so at fixed intervals in some great period of timea there is a great winter and excess of rains. This does not always happen in the same region of the earth: for instance, the so-called flood of Deucalion took place largely in the Hellenic lands and particularly in old Hellas, that is, the country round Dodona and the Acheloüs, a river which has frequently changed its course. Here dwelt the Selloi and the people then called Greeks and now called Hellenes. Whenever such an excess of rains occurs it must be supposed to suffice for a long time. To give an analogy—We have just said that the cause of some rivers flowing perennially, some not, is considered by some to be the size of the chasms beneath the earth, but that we consider it to be the size and frequency and low temperature of mountainous districts, for such districts catch, contain and produce most water; while if the mountain systems overhanging a district are either small or porous and composed of stones and clay, the supply of water runs out earlier: so then we must suppose that where the fall of water is so large, it tends to make the moisture of the districts almost inexhaustible. But in course of time districts of the second kind dry up more, the others, that is those of the