List of geographical names (regions, islands, cities) and discussion of the -ια endings' accentuation; historical notes on Sicily and citations (Hellanicus, Thucydides, Homer).
Θεσσαλίας, Αἰακοῦ κτίσμα· βʹ Θρᾴκης κατὰ τὸν Ἄθω. γʹ Εὐβοίας. δʹ νῆσος καὶ πόλις Πελοποννήσου περὶ τὸ Σκύλλαιον. εʹ Λυσιτανίας περὶ τὸν Ὠκεανόν. ϛʹ Ἰταλίας πρὸς ταῖς Ἄλπεσιν. ζʹ Σκυθίας παρὰ τῷ Φάσιδι. ηʹ Καρίας. θʹ Βιθυνίας πρὸς τῷ Πόντῳ· εἰσὶ καὶ δʹ νῆσοι Δῖαι λεγόμεναι. αʹ ἡ Νάξος. βʹ ἡ πρὸς Μήλῳ. γʹ ἡ πρὸς Ἀμοργῷ. δʹ κατὰ Κνωσσὸν Κρήτης. Τὰ διὰ τοῦ 'ια' ἐπὶ χωρῶν καὶ πόλεων κείμενα παροξύνεται, Λυκία, Ἀσία, Κιλικία, Παφλαγονία, Ἰτουρία, Ἰταλία ἡ χώρα ἀπὸ Ἰταλοῦ, Σικελία ἡ νῆσος Σικανία πρότερον ὠνομάζετο, εἶτα Σικελία ἐκλήθη, ὥς φησιν Ἑλλάνικος Ἱερειῶν τῆς Ἥρας βʹ «ἐν δὲ τῷ αὐτῷ χρόνῳ καὶ Αὐσόνες ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰαπύγων ἐξ Ἰταλίας ἀνέστησαν, ὧν ἦρχε Σικελός. καὶ διαβάντες εἰς τὴν νῆσον τὴν τότε Σικανίαν καλουμένην περὶ τὴν Αἴτνην καθιζόμενοι ᾤκουν αὐτοί τε καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς αὐτῶν Σικελὸς βασιλείην ἐγκαταστησάμενος καὶ ἐντεῦθεν ὁρμώμενος ὁ Σικελὸς οὗτος πάσης ἤδη τῆς νήσου τότε ταύτης Σικελίας καλουμένης ἀπὸ τοῦ Σικελοῦ τούτου, ὃς καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ ἐβασίλευσε». καὶ Μένιππος δὲ ταῦτά φησιν. Θουκυδίδης δὲ οὕτως ( 6, 2) «ἐλθόντες εἰς Σικελίαν στρατὸς πολὺς ἐξ Ἰταλίας τούς τε Σικανοὺς κρατήσαντες μάχῃ ἀπέστειλαν εἰς τὰ μεσημβρινὰ καὶ τὰ ἑσπέρια μέρη αὐτῆς καὶ ἀντὶ Σικανίας Σικελίαν τὴν νῆσον ἐποίησαν καλεῖσθαι, καὶ τὰ κράτιστα τῆς γῆς ᾤκησαν ἔχοντες». μεγίστη δὲ αὕτη μαρτυρεῖται τῶν ἑπτά, καθά φησιν Ἄλεξις ὁ κωμικός τῶν ἑπτὰ νήσων, ἃς δέδειχεν ἡ φύσις θνητοῖς μεγίστας, Σικελία μέν, ὡς λόγος, ἐστὶν μεγίστη, δευτέρα Σαρδώ, τρίτη Κύρνος. τετάρτη δ´ ἡ Διὸς Κρήτη τροφός, Εὔβοια πέμπτη στενοφυής, ἕκτη Κύπρος, Λέσβος δὲ τάξιν ἑβδόμην λαχοῦς´ ἔχει. ἔστι καὶ ἄλλη Σικελία κατὰ τὴν Πελοπόννησον. Καππαδοκία, Ἀρμενία, Τισία πόλις Ἰταλίας. Ἀγκαρία πόλις Ἰταλίας. Αἰολία νῆσος Αἰόλου. Ὅμηρος «Αἰολίην δ´ ἐς νῆσον ἀφικόμεθα» (Od. κ 1). Αἰτωλία χώρα ἀπὸ Αἰτωλοῦ τοῦ Ἐνδυμίωνος, ὃς ἐκπεσὼν ἀπὸ Πίσης ὑπὸ Σαλμωνέως συνῴκισε τὴν ἀπ´ αὐτοῦ κληθεῖσαν Αἰτωλίαν. πρότερον δὲ Ὑαντίς ἐκαλεῖτο. ἔστι καὶ Αἰτωλία πόλις Πελοποννήσου, ἣν συγκαταλέγει ταῖς Λακωνικαῖς πόλεσιν Ἀνδροτίων ἕκτῳ (?) Ἀτθίδος. Ἀμαντία
Thessaly, a foundation of Aeacus; (2) of Thrace by Athos; (3) of Euboea; (4) an island and a city of the Peloponnese about Scyllaeum; (5) of Lusitania by the Ocean; (6) of Italy near the Alps; (7) of Scythia by the Phasis; (8) of Caria; (9) of Bithynia by the Pontus; and there are also four islands called Δῖαι: (1) Naxos; (2) the one near Melos; (3) the one near Amorgos; (4) off Cnossus of Crete.
The forms in -ια, when applied to regions and cities, are accented with the acute on the penult: Λυκία, Ἀσία, Κιλικία, Παφλαγονία, Ἰτουρία, Ἰταλία, the country from Ἰταλός; Σικελία, the island formerly called Σικανία, then was called Σικελία, as Hellanicus says in the second book of the Priestesses of Hera: “And at the same time the Ausones were driven out of Italy by the Iapygians, and their leader was Sikelos. And crossing to the island then called Sicania, settling about Etna, they lived there, both they themselves and their king Sikelos, having established a kingship; and from there setting out, this Sikelos became ruler of the whole island, which was then called Sicily from this Sikelos, who also reigned in it.” Menippus too says these things. Thucydides speaks thus (6, 2): “Coming to Sicily, a great host from Italy, after defeating the Sicanians in battle, drove them off to the southern and western parts of it, and caused the island to be called Sicily instead of Sicania, and they inhabited the best parts of the land, holding them.”
And this is attested as the greatest of the seven, as Alexis the comic poet says of the seven islands which nature has shown to mortals as the greatest: “Sicily, as the saying goes, is the greatest; second Sardinia, third Corsica; fourth Crete, nurse of Zeus; Euboea fifth, narrow-grown; sixth Cyprus; and Lesbos, having obtained the seventh rank, holds it.” There is also another Sicily in the Peloponnese.
Cappadocia, Armenia, Tisia, a city of Italy. Angaria, a city of Italy. Aeolia, an island of Aeolus. Homer: “and we came to the island Aeolia” (Od. κ 1). Aetolia, a country from Aetolus son of Endymion, who, having been driven out of Pisa by Salmoneus, jointly founded the land called from him Aetolia; but formerly it was called Hyantis. There is also an Aetolia, a city of the Peloponnese, which Androtion in the sixth (?) book of the Atthis includes among the Laconian cities. Amantia.