BOOK XII.CAPPADOCIA.

SUMMARY.

The Twelfth Book contains the remainder of Pontus, viz. Cappadocia, Galatia, Bithynia, Mysia, Phrygia, and Mæonia: the cities, Sinope in Pontus, Heracleia, and Amaseia, and likewise Isauria, Lycia, Pamphylia, and Cilicia, with the islands lying along the coast; the mountains and rivers.

1.1072Cappadociaconsists of many parts, and has experienced frequent changes.

The nations speaking the same language are chiefly those who are bounded on the south by the Cilician Taurus,1073as it is called; on the east by Armenia, Colchis, and by the intervening nations who speak different languages; on the north by the Euxine, as far as the mouth of the Halys;1074on the west by the Paphlagonians, and by the Galatians, who migrated into Phrygia, and spread themselves as far as Lycaonia, and the Cilicians, who occupy Cilicia Tracheia (Cilicia the mountainous).1075

2. Among the nations that speak the same language, the ancients placed the Cataonians by themselves, contra-distinguishing them from the Cappadocians, whom they considered as a different people. In the enumeration of the nations they placed Cataonia after Cappadocia, then the Euphrates, and the nations on the other side of that river, so as to include even Melitene in Cataonia, although Melitene lies between Cataonia and the Euphrates, approaches close to Commagene, and constitutes a tenth portion of Cappadocia,according to the division of the country into ten provinces. For the kings in our times who preceded Archelaus1076usually divided the kingdom of Cappadocia in this manner.

Cataonia is a tenth portion of Cappadocia. In our time each province had its own governor, and since no difference appears in the language of the Cataonians compared with that of the other Cappadocians, nor any difference in their customs, it is surprising how entirely the characteristic marks of a foreign nation have disappeared, yet they were distinct nations; Ariarathes, the first who bore the title of king of the Cappadocians, annexed the Cataonians to Cappadocia.

3. This country composes the isthmus, as it were, of a large peninsula formed by two seas; by the bay of Issus, extending to Cilicia Tracheia, and by the Euxine lying between Sinope and the coast of the Tibareni.

The isthmus cuts off what we call the peninsula; the whole tract lying to the west of the Cappadocians, to which Herodotus1077gives the name of the country within the Halys. This is the country the whole of which was the kingdom of Crœsus. Herodotus calls him king of the nations on this side the river Halys. But writers of the present time give the name of Asia, which is the appellation of the whole continent, to the country within the Taurus.

This Asia comprises, first, the nations on the east, Paphlagonians, Phrygians, and Lycaonians; then Bithynians, Mysians, and the Epictetus; besides these, Troas, and Hellespontia; next to these, and situated on the sea, are the Æolians and Ionians, who are Greeks; the inhabitants of the remaining portions are Carians and Lycians, and in the inland parts are Lydians.

We shall speak hereafter of the other nations.

4. The Macedonians obtained possession of Cappadocia after it had been divided by the Persians into two satrapies, and permitted, partly with and partly without the consent of the people, the satrapies to be altered to two kingdoms, one of which they called Cappadocia Proper, and Cappadocianear the Taurus, or Cappadocia the Great; the other they called Pontus, but according to other writers, Cappadocia on Pontus.

We are ignorant at present how Cappadocia the Great was at first distributed; upon the death of Archelaus the king, Cæsar and the senate decreed that it should be a Roman province. But when the country was divided in the time of Archelaus and of preceding kings into ten provinces, they reckoned five near the Taurus, Melitene, Cataonia, Cilicia, Tyanītis, and Garsaurītis; the remaining five were Laviansene, Sargarausene, Saravene, Chamanene, Morimene. The Romans afterwards assigned to the predecessors of Archelaus an eleventh province formed out of Cilicia, consisting of the country about Castabala and Cybistra,1078extending to Derbe, belonging to Antipater, the robber. Cilicia Trachea about Elæussa was assigned to Archelaus, and all the country which served as the haunts of pirates.

1.Meliteneresembles Commagene, for the whole of it is planted with fruit-trees, and is the only part of all Cappadocia which is planted in this manner. It produces oil, and the wine Monarites, which vies with the wines of Greece. It is situated opposite to Sophene, having the river Euphrates flowing between it and Commagene, which borders upon it. In the country on the other side of the river is Tomisa, a considerable fortress of the Cappadocians. It was sold to the prince of Sophene for a hundred talents. Lucullus presented it afterwards as a reward of valour to the Cappadocian prince for his services in the war against Mithridates.

2. Cataonia is a plain, wide and hollow,1079and produces everything except evergreen trees. It is surrounded by mountains, and among others by the Amanus on the side towards the south, a mass separated from the Cilician Taurus, and also by the Anti-Taurus,1080a mass rent off in a contrarydirection. The Amanus extends from Cataonia to Cilicia, and the Syrian sea towards the west and south. In this intervening space it comprises the whole of the gulf of Issus, and the plains of the Cilicians which lie towards the Taurus. But the Anti-Taurus inclines to the north, and a little also to the east, and then terminates in the interior of the country.

3. In the Anti-Taurus are deep and narrow valleys, in which is situated Comana,1081and the temple of Enyus (Bellona), which they call Ma. It is a considerable city. It contains a very great multitude of persons who at times are actuated by divine impulse, and of servants of the temple. It is inhabited by Cataonians, who are chiefly under the command of the priest, but in other respects subject to the king. The former presides over the temple, and has authority over the servants belonging to it, who, at the time that I was there, exceeded in number six thousand persons, including men and women. A large tract of land adjoins the temple, the revenue of which the priest enjoys. He is second in rank in Cappadocia after the king, and, in general, the priests are descended from the same family as the kings. Orestes, when he came hither with his sister Iphigenia from Tauric Scythia,1082is thought to have introduced the sacred rites performed in honour of Diana Tauropolus, and to have deposited here the tresses (Coman, κόμην) of mourning, from which the city had the name of Comana.

The river Sarus flows through this city, and passes out through the valleys of the Taurus to the plains of Cilicia, and to the sea lying below them.

4. The Pyramus,1083which has its source in the middle of the plain, is navigable throughout Cataonia. There is a large subterraneous channel, through which the water flows under-ground to a great distance, and then may be seen springing up again to the surface. If an arrow is let down into the pit from above, the resistance of the water is so great that it is scarcely immersed. Although it pursues its course with great1084depth and breadth, it undergoes an extraordinary contraction of its size by the time it has reached the Taurus. There is also an extraordinary fissure in the mountain, through which the stream is carried. For, as in rocks which have burst and split in twoparts, the projections in one correspond so exactly with the hollows in the other that they might even be fitted together, so here I have seen the rocks at the distance of two or three plethra, overhanging the river on each side, and nearly reaching to the summit of the mountain, with hollows on one side answering to projections on the other. The bed between (the mountains) is entirely rock; it has a deep and very narrow fissure through the middle, so that a dog and a hare might leap across it. This is the channel of the river; it is full to the margin, and in breadth resembles a canal.1085But on account of the winding of its course, the great contraction of the stream, and the depth of the ravine, a noise, like that of thunder, strikes at a distance on the ears of those who approach it. In passing out through the mountains, it brings down from Cataonia, and from the Cilician plains, so great a quantity of alluvial soil to the sea, that an oracle to the following effect is reported to have been uttered respecting it:

“The time will come, when Pyramus, with its deep whirlpools, by advancing on the sea-shore, will reach the sacred Cyprus.”

Something similar to this takes place in Egypt. The Nile is continually converting the sea into continent by an accumulation of earth; accordingly Herodotus calls Egypt a gift of the river, and Homer says, that the Pharos was formerly out at sea, not as it is at present connected with the mainland of Egypt.

5. [The third1086in rank is the Dacian priesthood of Jupiter, inferior to this, but still of importance.] There is at this place a body of salt water, having the circumference of a considerable lake. It is shut in by lofty and perpendicular hills, so that the descent is by steps. The water it is said does not increase in quantity, nor has it anywhere an apparent outlet.

6. Neither the plain of the Cataonians nor Melitene have any city, but strongholds upon the mountains, as Azamora, and Dastarcum, round which runs the river Carmalas.1087There is also the temple of the Cataonian Apollo, which is veneratedthroughout the whole of Cappadocia, and which the Cappadocians have taken as a model of their own temples. Nor have the other provinces, except two, any cities. Of the rest, Sargarausene has a small town Herpa, and a river Carmalas, which also discharges itself into the Cilician sea.1088In the other provinces is Argos, a lofty fortress near the Taurus, and Nora, now called Neroassus, in which Eumenes sustained a long siege. In our time it was a treasure-hold of Sisinus, who attempted to take possession of the kingdom of Cappadocia. To him belonged Cadena, a royal seat, built after the form of a city. Situated upon the borders of Lycaonia is Garsauira, a village town, said to have been formerly the capital of the country.

In Morimene, among the Venasii, is a temple of Jupiter, with buildings capable of receiving nearly three thousand servants of the temple. It has a tract of sacred land attached to it, very fertile, and affording to the priest a yearly revenue of fifteen talents. The priest is appointed for life like the priest at Comana, and is next to him in rank.

7. Two provinces only have cities. In the Tyanitis is Tyana,1089lying at the foot of the Taurus at the Cilician Gates,1090where are the easiest and the most frequented passes into Cilicia and Syria. It is called, “Eusebeia at the Taurus.” Tyanitis is fertile, and the greatest part of it consists of plains. Tyana is built upon the mound of Semiramis, which is fortified with good walls. At a little distance from this city are Castabala and Cybistra, towns which approach still nearer to the mountain. At Castabala is a temple of Diana Perasia, where, it is said, the priestesses walk with naked feet unhurt upon burning coals. To this place some persons apply the story respecting Orestes and Diana Tauropolus, and say that the goddess was called Perasia, because she was conveyed from beyond (πέραθεν) sea.

In Tyanitis, one of the ten provinces above mentioned, is the city Tyana. But with these I do not reckon the cities that were afterwards added, Castabala, and Cybistra, and those in Cilicia Tracheia, to which belongs Elæussa, a smallfertile island, which Archelaus furnished with excellent buildings, where he passed the greater part of his time.

In the Cilician province, as it is called, is Mazaca,1091the capital of the nation. It is also called “Eusebeia,” with the addition “at the Argæus,” for it is situated at the foot of the Argæus,1092the highest mountain in that district; its summit is always covered with snow. Persons who ascend it (but they are not many) say that both the Euxine and the sea of Issus may be seen from thence in clear weather.

Mazaca is not adapted in other respects by nature for the settlement of a city, for it is without water, and unfortified. Through the neglect of the governors, it is without walls, perhaps intentionally, lest, trusting to the wall as to a fortification, the inhabitants of a plain, which has hills situated above it, and not exposed to the attacks of missile weapons, should addict themselves to robbery. The country about, although it consists of plains, is entirely barren and uncultivated, for the soil is sandy, and rocky underneath. At a little distance further there are burning plains, and pits full of fire to an extent of many stadia, so that the necessaries of life are brought from a distance. What seems to be a peculiar advantage (abundance of wood) is a source of danger. For though nearly the whole of Cappadocia is without timber, the Argæus is surrounded by a forest, so that wood may be procured near at hand, yet even the region lying below the forest contains fire in many parts, and springs of cold water; but as neither the fire nor the water break out upon the surface, the greatest part of the country is covered with herbage. In some parts the bottom is marshy, and flames burst out from the ground by night. Those acquainted with the country collect wood with caution; but there is danger to others, and particularly to cattle, which fall into these hidden pits of fire.

8. In the plain in front of the city, and about 40 stadia from it, is a river of the name of Melas,1093whose source is in ground lower than the level of the city. It is useless to theinhabitants, because it does not flow from an elevated situation. It spreads abroad in marshes and lakes, and in the summer-time corrupts the air round the city. A valuable stone quarry is rendered almost useless by it. For there are extensive beds of stone, from which the Mazaceni obtain an abundant supply of materials for building, but the slabs, being covered with water, are not easily detached by the workmen. These are the marshes which in every part are subject to take fire.

Ariarathes the king filled in some narrow channels by which the Melas entered the Halys, and converted the neighbouring plain into a wide lake. There he selected some small islands like the Cyclades, where he passed his time in boyish and frivolous diversions. The barrier, however, was broken down all at once, and the waters again flowed abroad and swelled the Halys, which swept away a large part of the Cappadocian territory, and destroyed many buildings and plantations; it also damaged a considerable part of the country of the Galatians, who occupy Phrygia. In compensation for this injury he paid a fine of three hundred talents to the inhabitants, who had referred the matter to the decision of the Romans. The same was the case at Herpa; for he there obstructed the stream of the Carmalas, and, on the bursting of the dyke, the water damaged some of the places in the Cilician territories about Mallus; he was obliged to make compensation to those who had sustained injury.

9. Although the territory of the Mazaceni is destitute in many respects of natural advantages, it seems to have been preferred by the kings as a place of residence, because it was nearest the centre of those districts which supplied timber, stone for building, and fodder, of which a very large quantity was required for the subsistence of their cattle. Their city was almost a camp. The security of their persons and treasure1094depended upon the protection afforded by numerous fortresses, some of which belonged to the king, others to their friends.

Mazaca is distant from Pontus1095about 800 stadia to the south, and from the Euphrates a little less than double that distance; from the Cilician Gates and the camp of Cyrus, ajourney of six days by way of Tyana,1096which is situated about the middle of the route, and is distant from Cybistra 300 stadia. The Mazaceni adopt the laws of Charondas, and elect a Nomōdist, (or Chanter of the Laws,) who, like the Jurisconsults of the Romans, is the interpreter of their laws. Tigranes the Armenian, when he overran Cappadocia, treated them with great severity. He forced them to abandon their settlements, and go into Mesopotamia; they peopled Tigranocerta, chiefly by their numbers. Afterwards, upon the capture of Tigranocerta, those who were able returned to their own country.

10. The breadth of the country from Pontus to the Taurus is about 1800 stadia; the length from Lycaonia and Phrygia, as far as the Euphrates to the east, and Armenia, is about 3000 stadia. The soil is fertile, and abounds with fruits of the earth, particularly corn, and with cattle of all kinds. Although it lies more to the south than Pontus, it is colder. Bagadania, although a plain country, and situated more towards the south than any district in Cappadocia, (for it lies at the foot of the Taurus,) produces scarcely any fruit-bearing trees. It affords pasture for wild asses, as does a large portion of the other parts of the country, particularly that about Garsauira, Lycaonia, and Morimene.

In Cappadocia is found the red earth called the Sinopic, which is better than that of any other country. The Spanish only can rival it. It had the name of Sinopic, because the merchants used to bring it down from Sinope, before the traffic of the Ephesians extended as far as the people of Cappadocia. It is said that even plates of crystal and of the onyx stone were discovered by the miners of Archelaus near the country of the Galatians. There was a place where was found a white stone of the colour of ivory in pieces of the size of small whetstones, from which were made handles for small swords. Another place produced large masses of transparent stone for windows, which were exported.

The boundary of Pontus and Cappadocia is a mountainous range parallel to the Taurus, commencing from the western extremities of Chammanene, (where stands Dasmenda, a fortress built upon a precipice,) and extending to the eastern parts ofLaviansene. Both Chammanene and Laviansene are provinces of Cappadocia.

11. When the Romans, after the defeat of Antiochus, first governed Asia, they made treaties of friendship and alliance both with the nations and with the kings. This honour was conferred upon the other kings separately and independently, but upon the king of Cappadocia in common with the nation. On the extinction of the royal race, the Romans admitted the independence of the Cappadocians according to the treaty of friendship and alliance which they had made with the nation. The deputies excused themselves from accepting the liberty which was offered to them, declaring that they were unable to bear it, and requested that a king might be appointed. The Romans were surprised that any people should be unwilling to enjoy liberty, but permitted1097them to elect by suffrage any one they pleased from among themselves. They elected Ariobarzanes. The race became extinct in the third generation. Archelaus, who was not connected with the nation, was appointed king by Antony.

So much respecting the Greater Cappadocia.

With regard to Cilicia Tracheia, which was annexed to the Greater Cappadocia, it will be better to describe it when we give an account of the whole of Cilicia.

1.MithridatesEupator was appointed King of Pontus. His kingdom consisted of the country bounded by the Halys,1098extending to the Tibareni,1099to Armenia, to the territory within the Halys, extending as far as Amastris,1100and to some parts of Paphlagonia. He annexed to (the kingdom of) Pontus the sea-coast towards the west as far as Heracleia,1101the birth-place of Heracleides the Platonic philosopher, and towardsthe east, the country extending to Colchis, and the Lesser Armenia. Pompey, after the overthrow of Mithridates, found the kingdom comprised within these boundaries. He distributed the country towards Armenia and towards Colchis among the princes who had assisted him in the war; the remainder he divided into eleven governments, and annexed them to Bithynia, so that out of both there was formed one province. Some people in the inland parts he subjected to the kings descended from Pylæmenes, in the same manner as he delivered over the Galatians to be governed by tetrarchs of that nation.

In later times the Roman emperors made different divisions of the same country, appointing kings and rulers, making some cities free, and subjecting others to the authority of rulers, others again were left under the dominion of the Roman people.

As we proceed in our description according to the present state of things, we shall touch slightly on their former condition, whenever it may be useful.

I shall begin from Heracleia,1102which is the most westerly of these places.

2. In sailing out of the Propontis into the Euxine Sea, on the left hand are the parts adjoining to Byzantium, (Constantinople,) and these belong to the Thracians. The parts on the left of the Pontus are called Aristera (or left) of Pontus; the parts on the right are contiguous to Chalcedon. Of these the first tract of country belongs to the Bithynians, the next to the Mariandyni, or, as some say, to the Caucones; next is that of the Paphlagonians, extending to the Halys, then that of the Cappadocians near the Pontus, and then a district reaching to Colchis.1103All this country has the name of the Dexia (or right) of Pontus. This whole coast, from Colchis to Heracleia, was subject to Mithridates Eupator. But the parts on the other side to the mouth of the Euxine and Chalcedon, remained under the government of the king of Bithynia. After the overthrow of the kings the Romans preserved the same boundaries of the kingdoms; Heracleia wasannexed to Pontus, and the country beyond assigned to the Bithynians.

3. It is generally acknowledged by writers, that the Bithynians, who were formerly Mysians, received this name from Bithynians and Thyni, Thracian people, who came and settled among them. They advance as a proof of their statement, first as regards the Bithynians, that there still exists in Thrace a people called Bithynians, and then, as regards the Thyni, that the sea-shore, near Apollonia1104and Salmydessus,1105is called Thynias. The Bebryces, who preceded them as settlers in Mysia, were, as I conjecture, Thracians. We have said1106that the Mysians themselves were a colony of those Thracians who are now called Mæsi.

Such is the account given of these people.

4. There is not, however, the same agreement among writers with regard to the Mariandyni, and the Caucones. For they say that Heracleia is situated among the Mariandyni, and was founded by Milesians.1107But who they are, or whence they came, nothing is said. There is no difference in language, nor any other apparent national distinction between them and the Bithynians, whom they resemble in all respects. It is probable therefore the Mariandyni were a Thracian tribe.

Theopompus says that Mariandynus, who governed a part of Paphlagonia, which was subject to many masters, invaded and obtained possession of the country of the Bebryces, and that he gave his own name to the territory which he had before occupied. It is also said that the Milesians who first founded Heracleia, compelled the Mariandyni, the former possessors of the place, to serve as Helots, and even sold them, but not beyond the boundaries of their country. For they were sold on the same conditions as the class of persons called Mnoans, who were slaves to the Cretans, and the Penestæ,1108who were slaves of the Thessalians.

5. The Caucones, who, according to history, inhabited the line of sea-coast which extends from the Mariandyni as far as the river Parthenius, and to whom belonged the city Tieium,1109are said by some writers to be Scythians, by others a tribe of Macedonians, and by others a tribe of Pelasgi. We have already spoken of these people elsewhere.1110Callisthenes in his comment upon the enumeration of the ships inserts after this verse,

“Cromna, Ægialus, and the lofty Erythini,”1111

these lines,

“The brave son of Polycles led the Caucones,Who inhabited the well-known dwellings about the river Parthenius,”

“The brave son of Polycles led the Caucones,

Who inhabited the well-known dwellings about the river Parthenius,”

for the territory extends from Heracleia, and the Mariandyni as far as the Leucosyri, whom we call Cappadocians. But the tribe of the Caucones about Tieium extends to the Parthenius; that of the Heneti, who occupy Cytorum,1112immediately follows the Parthenius, and even at present some Caucones are living about the Parthenius.

6. Heracleia is a city with a good harbour, and of importance in other respects. It has sent out colonies, among which are the Cherronesus,1113and the Callatis.1114It was once independent, afterwards for some time it was under the power of tyrants; it again recovered its freedom; but at last, when subject to the Romans, it was governed by kings. It received a colony of Romans, which was settled in a portion of the city, and of its territory. A little before the battle of Actium, Adiatorix, the son of Domnecleius the tetrarch of Galatia, who had received from Antony that portion of the city of which the Heracleiotæ were in possession, attacked the Romans by night, and put them to death by the command, as he said, of Antony; but after the victory at Actium, he was led in triumph, and put to death together with his son. The city belongs to the province of Pontus, which was annexed to Bithynia.

7. Between Chalcedon and Heracleia are several rivers, as the Psillis,1115the Calpas, and the Sangarius, of which last the poet makes mention.1116It has its source at the village Sangias, at the distance of 150 stadia from Pessinus. It flows throughthe greater part of Phrygia Epictetus, and a part also of Bithynia, so that it is distant from Nicomedia a little more than 300 stadia, where the river Gallus unites with it. The latter river has its source at Modra in Phrygia on the Hellespont, which is the same country as the Epictetus, and was formerly occupied by the Bithynians.

The Sangarius thus increased in bulk, and navigable, although not so formerly, is the boundary of Bithynia at the part of the coast where it discharges itself. In front of this coast is the island Thynia.

In the territory of Heracleia grows the aconite.

This city is distant from the temple at Chalcedon about 1500, and from the Sangarius 500, stadia.

8. Tieium is now a small town and has nothing remarkable belonging to it, except that it was the birth-place of Philetærus, the founder of the family of the Attalic kings.

Next is the river Parthenius, flowing through a country abounding with flowers; from these it obtained its name.1117Its source is in Paphlagonia. Then succeeded Paphlagonia, and the Heneti. It is a question what Heneti the poet means, when he says,

“the brave Pylæmenes led the Paphlagonians out of the country of the Heneti, where they have a race of wild mules;”1118

for at present, they say, no Heneti are to be found in Paphlagonia. Others say that it is a village on the shore distant ten schœni from Amastris. But Zenodotus writes the verse in this manner, “From Heneta,” and says that it means the present Amisus. According to others it was a tribe bordering upon the Cappadocians, which engaged in an expedition with the Cimmerians, and were afterwards driven away into Adria. But the account most generally received is, that the Heneti were the most considerable tribe of the Paphlagonians; that Pylæmenes was descended from it; that a large body of this people accompanied him to the Trojan war; that when they had lost their leader they passed over to Thrace upon the capture of Troy; and in the course of their wanderings arrived at the present Henetic territory.

Some writers say that both Antenor and his sons participated in this expedition, and settled at the inner recess of thegulf of Adria, as we have said in the description of Italy.1119It is probable that this was the cause of the extinction of the Heneti, and that they were no longer to be found in Paphlagonia.

9. The boundary of the Paphlagonians to the east is the river Halys, which flows from the south between the Syrians and the Paphlagonians; and according to Herodotus,1120(who means Cappadocians, when he is speaking of Syrians,) discharges itself into the Euxine Sea. Even at present they are called Leuco-Syrians, (or White Syrians,) while those without the Taurus are called Syrians. In comparison with the people within the Taurus, the latter have a burnt complexion; but the former, not having it, received the appellation of Leuco-Syrians (or White Syrians). Pindar says that

“the Amazons commanded a Syrian band, armed with spears with broad iron heads;”

thus designating the people that lived at Themiscyra.1121Themiscyra belongs to the Amiseni,1122and the district of the Amiseni to the Leuco-Syrians settled beyond the Halys.

The river Halys forms the boundary of the Paphlagonians to the east; Phrygians and the Galatians settled among that people, on the south; and on the west Bithynians and Mariandyni (for the race of the Caucones has everywhere entirely disappeared); on the north the Euxine. This country is divided into two parts, the inland, and the maritime, extending from the Halys as far as Bithynia. Mithridates Eupator possessed the maritime part as far as Heracleia, and of the inland country he had the district nearest to Heracleia, some parts of which extended even beyond the Halys. These are also the limits of the Roman province of Pontus. The remainder was subject to chiefs, even after the overthrow of Mithridates.

We shall afterwards speak of those Paphlagonians in the inland parts, who were not subject to Mithridates; we propose at present to describe the country which he governed, called Pontus.

10. After the river Parthenius is Amastris, bearing the same name as the princess by whom it was founded. It issituated upon a peninsula, with harbours on each side of the isthmus. Amastris was the wife of Dionysius, the tyrant of Heracleia, and daughter of Oxyathres, the brother of the Darius who fought against Alexander. She formed the settlement out of four cities, Sesamus, Cytorum, Cromna, (mentioned by Homer in his recital of the Paphlagonian forces,1123) and Tieium, which city however soon separated from the others, but the rest continued united. Of these, Sesamus is called the citadel of Amastris. Cytorum was formerly a mart of the people of Sinope. It had its name from Cytorus, the son of Phrixus, according to Ephorus. Box-wood of the best quality grows in great abundance in the territory of Amastris, and particularly about Cytorum.

Ægialus is a line of sea-coast, in length more than 100 stadia. On it is a village of the same name,1124which the poet mentions in these lines,

“Cromna, and Ægialus, and the lofty Erythini;”1125

but some authors write,

“Cromna and Cobialus.”

The Erythini are said to be the present Erythrini, and to have their name from their (red) colour. They are two rocks.1126

Next to Ægialus is Carambis, a large promontory stretching towards the north, and the Scythian Chersonesus. We have frequently mentioned this promontory, and the Criu-metopon opposite it, which divides the Euxine into two seas.1127

Next to Carambis is Cinolis,1128and Anti-Cinolis, and Aboniteichos,1129a small city, and Armene,1130which gave rise to the common proverb;

“He who had nothing to do built a wall about Armene.”

It is a village of the Sinopenses, with a harbour.

11. Next is Sinope itself, distant from Armene 50 stadia, the most considerable of all the cities in that quarter. It was founded by Milesians, and when the inhabitants had established a naval force they commanded the sea within the Cyaneanrocks, and were allies of the Greeks in many naval battles beyond these limits. Although this city was independent for a long period, it did not preserve its liberty to the last, but was taken by siege, and became subject first to Pharnaces, then to his successors, to the time when the Romans put an end to the power of Mithridates Eupator. This prince was born and brought up in this city, on which he conferred distinguished honour, and made it a capital of the kingdom. It has received advantages from nature which have been improved by art. It is built upon the neck of a peninsula; on each side of the isthmus are harbours, stations for vessels, and fisheries worthy of admiration for the capture of the pelamydes. Of these fisheries we have said1131that the people of Sinope have the second, and the Byzantines the third, in point of excellence.

The peninsula projects in a circular form; the shores are surrounded by a chain of rocks, and in some parts there are cavities, like rocky pits, which are called Chœnicides. These are filled when the sea is high. For the above reason, the place is not easily approached; besides which, along the whole surface of rock the road is covered with sharp-pointed stones, and persons cannot walk upon it with naked feet. The lands in the higher parts and above the city have a good soil, and are adorned with fields dressed as gardens, and this is the case in a still greater degree in the suburbs. The city itself is well secured with walls, and magnificently ornamented with a gymnasium, forum, and porticos. Notwithstanding these advantages for defence, it was twice taken; first by Pharnaces, who attacked it unexpectedly; afterwards by Lucullus, who besieged it while it was harassed by an insidious tyrant within the walls. For Bacchides,1132who was appointed by the king commander of the garrison, being always suspicious of treachery on the part of those within the city, had disgraced and put many to death. He thus prevented the citizens both from defending themselves with bravery, although capable of making a gallant defence, and from offering terms for a capitulation. The city was therefore captured. Lucullus took awaythe Sphere of Billarus,1133and the Autolycus,1134the workmanship of Sthenis, whom the citizens regarded as a founder, and honoured as a god; he left the other ornaments of the city untouched. There was there an oracle of Sthenis. He seems to have been one of the companions of Jason in his voyage, and to have got possession of this place. In after times the Milesians, observing the natural advantages of the city, and the weakness of the inhabitants, appropriated it as their own, and sent out colonists. It has at present a Roman colony, and a part of the city and of the territory belongs to the Romans. It is distant from Hieron11353500, from Heracleia 2000, and from Carambis 700, stadia. It has produced men distinguished among philosophers, Diogenes the Cynic, and Timotheus surnamed Patrion; among poets, Diphilus, the writer of comedy; among historians, Baton,1136who wrote the history of Persia.

12. Proceeding thence, next in order is the mouth of the river Halys. It has its name from thehales, or salt mines,1137near which it flows. It has its source in the Greater Cappadocia, near the territory of Pontus, in Camisene. It flows in a large stream towards the west, then turning to the north through the country of the Galatians and Paphlagonians, forms the boundary of their territory, and of that of the Leuco-Syrians. The tract of land belonging to Sinope and all the mountainous country as far as Bithynia, situated above the sea-coast, which has been described, furnishes timber of excellent quality for ship-building, and is easily conveyed away. The territory ofSinope produces the maple, and the mountain nut tree, from which wood for tables is cut. The whole country is planted with the olive, and cultivation begins a little above the sea-coast.

13. Next to the mouth of the Halys is Gadilonítis, extending as far as the Saramene; it is a fertile country, wholly consisting of plains, and produces every kind of fruit. It affords also pasture for flocks of sheep which are covered1138with skins, and produce a soft wool; very little of this wool is to be found throughout Cappadocia and Pontus. There are also deer,1139which are rare in other parts.

The Amiseni possess one part of this country. Pompey gave another to Deïotarus, as well as the tract about Pharnacia and Trapezus as far as Colchis and the Lesser Armenia. Pompey appointed him king of these people and countries: he had already inherited the tetrarchy of the Galatians, called the Tolistobogii. Upon his death various persons succeeded to the different parts of his kingdom.

14. Next to Gadilon1140are the Saramene,1141and Amisus, a considerable city distant from Sinope about 900 stadia. Theopompus says that the Milesians were the first founders, * * * * * * *1142[then by] a chief of the Cappadocians; in the third place it received a colony of Athenians under the conduct of Athenocles, and its name was changed to Piræeus.

This city also was in the possession of the kings. Mithridates Eupator embellished it with temples, and added a part to it. Lucullus, and afterwards Pharnaces, who came from across the Bosporus, besieged it. Antony surrendered it to the kings of Pontus, after it had been declared free by Divus Cæsar. Then the Tyrant Strato oppressed the inhabitants, who again recovered their liberty under Cæsar Augustus after the battle of Actium. They are now in a prosperous condition. Among other fertile spots is Themiscyra,1143the abode of the Amazons, and Sidene.1144

15. Themiscyra is a plain, partly washed by the sea, and distant about 60 stadia from the city (Amisus); and partly situated at the foot of a mountainous country, which is well wooded, and intersected with rivers, which have their source among the mountains. A river, named Thermodon, which receives the water of all these rivers, traverses the plain.

Another river very similar to this, of the name of Iris,1145flowing from a place called Phanarœa,1146traverses the same plain. It has its sources in Pontus. Flowing westward through the city of Pontic Comana,1147and through Dazimonitis,1148a fertile plain, it then turns to the north beside Gaziura,1149an ancient seat of the kings, but now deserted; it then again returns to the east, where, uniting with the Scylax1150and other rivers, and taking its course beside the walls of my native place, Amaseia,1151a very strongly fortified city, proceeds to Phanarœa. There when joined by the Lycus,1152which rises in Armenia, it becomes the Iris. It then enters Themiscyra, and discharges itself into the Euxine. This plain, therefore, is well watered with dews, is constantly covered with herbage, and is capable of affording food to herds of cattle as well as to horses. The largest crops there consist of panic and millet, or rather they never fail, for the supply of water more than counteracts the effect of all drought; these people, therefore, never on any occasion experience a famine. The country at the foot of the mountains produces so large an autumnal crop of spontaneous-grown wild fruits, of the vine, the pear, the apple, and hazel, that, in all seasons of the year, persons who go into the woods to cut timber gather them in large quantities; the fruit is found either yet hanging upon the trees or lying beneath a deep covering of fallen leaves thickly strewed upon the ground. Wild animals of all kinds, which resort here on account of the abundance of food, are frequently hunted.

16. Next to Themiscyra is Sidene, a fertile plain, but not watered in the same manner by rivers as Themiscyra. It has strongholds on the sea-coast, as Side,1153from which Sidene hasits name, Chabaca and Phabda (Phauda).1154Amisene extends as far as this place.

Among the natives of Amisus1155distinguished for their learning were the mathematicians Demetrius, the son of Rathenus, and Dionysodorus, of the same name as the Ionian (Milesian?) geometrician, and Tyrannion the grammarian, whose lessons I attended.

17. Next to Sidene is Pharnacia1156a small fortified city, and then follows Trapezus,1157a Greek city, to which from Amisus is a voyage of about 2200 stadia; thence to the Phasis about 1400 stadia, so that the sum total of stadia from the Hieron1158to the Phasis is about 8000 stadia, either more or less.

In sailing along this coast from Amisus we first come to the Heracleian promontory;1159then succeeds another promontory, Jasonium,1160and the Genetes;1161then Cytorus (Cotyorus) a small city,1162from which Pharnacia received a colony; then Ischopolis, which is in ruins. Next is a bay on which are situated Cerasus, and Hermonassa,1163small settlements. Near Hermonassa is Trapezus, then Colchis. Somewhere about this place is a settlement called Zygopolis.

I have already spoken of Colchis, and of the sea-coast beyond.1164

18. Above Trapezus and Pharnacia are situated Tibareni, Chaldæi, Sanni, (who were formerly called Macrones,1165) and the Lesser Armenia. The Appaïtæ also, formerly called Cercitæ, are not far from these places. Through the country belonging to these people stretches the Scydises,1166a very rugged mountain, contiguous to the Moschic mountains1167above Colchis. The heights of the Scydises are occupied by the Heptacometæ.1168This country is likewise traversed by the Paryadres,1169which extends from the neighbourhood of Sidene and Themiscyra to the Lesser Armenia, and forms the eastern side of the Pontus.

All the inhabitants of these mountains are quite savage, but the Heptacometæ are more so than all the others. Some of them live among trees, or in small towers, whence the ancients called them Mosynœci,1170because the towers were called mosȳnes. Their food consists of the flesh of wild animals and the fruits of trees. They attack travellers, leaping down from the floors of their dwellings among the trees. The Heptacometæ cut off three of Pompey’s cohorts, as they were passing through the mountains, by placing on their road vessels filled with maddening honey, which is procured from the branches of trees. The men who had tasted the honey and lost their senses were attacked and easily despatched. Some of these barbarians were called Byzeres.

19. The present Chaldæi were anciently called Chalybes. It is in their territory chiefly that Pharnacia is situated. On the sea-coast it has natural advantages for the capture of the pelamydes. For this fish is first caught at this place. On the mainland there are at present mines of iron; formerly there were also mines of silver. The sea-shore along all these places is very narrow, for directly above it are hills, which abound with mines and forests; much, however, of the country is not cultivated. The miners derive their subsistence from the mines, and the fishermen from the fisheries, especially from the capture of pelamydes and dolphins. The dolphins pursue shoals of fish, the cordyla, the tunny, and even the pelamys; they grow fat on them, and as they approach the land incautiously, are easily taken. They are caught with a bait and then cut into pieces; large quantities of the fat are used for all purposes.

20. These I suppose are the people who are called by Homer Halizoni, who in his Catalogue follow the Paphlagonians.

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