CHAPTER IV.

“The hero Achilles,”

says Andromache,

“killed my father, and destroyed Thebe, with its lofty gates, the city of the Cilicians.”—

“I had seven brothers in the palace; all of them went in one day to Hades, for they were all slain by the swift-footed divine Achilles.”1512

Those also under the command of Mynes had lost their leaders, and their city;

“He slew Mynes, and Epistrophus,And destroyed the city of the divine Mynes.”1513

“He slew Mynes, and Epistrophus,

And destroyed the city of the divine Mynes.”1513

He describes the Leleges as present at the battles;

“on the sea-coast are Carians, and Pæonians with curved bows, Leleges, and Caucones.”1514

And in another place,

“he killed Satnius with a spear—the son of Enops, whom a beautiful nymph Neis bore to Enops, when he was tending herds near the banks of Satnioeis,”1515

for they had not been so completely annihilated as to preventtheir forming a body of people of themselves, since their king still survived,

“Altes, king of the war-loving Leleges,”1516

nor was the city entirely razed, for he adds,

“who commanded the lofty city Pedasus.”1517

He has passed them over in the Catalogue, not considering the body of people large enough to have a place in it; or he comprised them among the people under the command of Hector, as being allied to one another. For Lycaon, the brother of Hector, says,

“my mother Laothoë, daughter of the old Altes, brought me into the world to live but a short time; of Altes, king of the war-loving Leleges.”1518

Such is the reasoning, from probability, which this subject admits.

2. We reason from probability when we endeavour to determine by the words of the poet the exact bounds of the territory of the Cilicians, Pelasgi, and of the people situated between them, namely, the Ceteii, who were under the command of Eurypylus.

We have said of the Cilicians and of the people under the command of Eurypylus what can be said about them, and that they are bounded by the country near the Caïcus.

It is agreeable to probability to place the Pelasgi next to these people, according to the words of Homer and other histories. Homer says,

“Hippothous led the tribes of the Pelasgi, who throw the spear, who inhabited the fertile Larisa; their leaders were Hippothous and Pylæus, a son of Mars, both sons of Lethus the Pelasgian, son of Teutamis.”1519

He here represents the numbers of Pelasgi as considerable, for he does not speak of them as a tribe, but “tribes,” and specifies the place of their settlement, Larisa. There are many places of the name of Larisa, but we must understand some one of those near the Troad, and perhaps we might not be wrong in supposing it to be that near Cyme; for of three places of the name of Larisa, that near Hamaxitus is quite in sight of Ilium and very near it, at the distance of about 200 stadia, so that Hippothous could not be said consistently with probability to fall, in the contest about Patroclus,

“far from Larisa,”1520

at least from this Larisa, but rather from the Larisa near Cyme, for there are about 1000 stadia between them. The third Larisa is a village in the Ephesian district in the plain of the Caÿster; which, it is said, was formerly a city containing a temple of Apollo Larisæus, and situated nearer to Mount Tmolus than to Ephesus. It is distant from Ephesus 180 stadia, so that it might be placed rather under the government of the Mæonians. The Ephesians, having afterwards acquired more power, deprived the Mæonians, whom we now call Lydians, of a large part of their territory; but not even this, but the other rather, would be the Larisa of the Pelasgi. For we have no strong evidence that the Larisa in the plain of Caÿster was in existence at that time, nor even of the existence of Ephesus. But all the Æolian history, relating to a period a little subsequent to the Trojan times, proves the existence of the Larisa near Cyme.

3. It is said that the people who set out from Phricium, a Locrian mountain above Thermopylæ, settled on the spot where Cyme is now situated; and finding the Pelasgi, who had been great sufferers in the Trojan war, yet still in possession of Larisa, distant about 70 stadia from Cyme, erected as a defence against them what is at present called Neon-teichos, (or the New Wall,) 30 stadia from Larisa. They took Larisa,1521founded Cyme, and transferred to it as settlers the surviving Pelasgi. Cyme is called Cyme Phriconis from the Locrian mountain, and Larisa also (Phriconis): it is now deserted.

That the Pelasgi were a great nation history, it is said, furnishes other evidence. For Menecrates of Elæa, in his work on the foundation of cities, says, that the whole of the present Ionian coast, beginning from Mycale and the neighbouring islands, were formerly inhabited by Pelasgi. But the Lesbians say, that they were commanded by Pylæus, who is called by the poet the chief of the Pelasgi, and that it was from him that the mountain in their country had the name of Pylæum.

The Chians also say, that the Pelasgi from Thessaly weretheir founders. The Pelasgi, however, were a nation disposed to wander, ready to remove from settlement to settlement, and experienced both a great increase and a sudden diminution of strength and numbers, particularly at the time of the Æolian and Ionian migrations to Asia.

4. Something peculiar took place among the Larisæans in the plain of Caÿster, in the Phriconis, and in Thessaly. All of them occupied a country, the soil of which has been accumulated by rivers, by the Caÿster,1522the Hermus,1523and the Peneus.1524

At Larisa Phriconis Piasus is said to receive great honours. He was chief of the Pelasgi, and enamoured, it is said, of his daughter Larisa, whom he violated, and was punished for the outrage. She discovered him leaning over a cask of wine, seized him by his legs, lifted him up, and dropped him down into the vessel. These are ancient accounts.

5. To the present Æolian cities we must add Ægæ and Temnus, the birth-place of Hermagoras, who wrote a book on the Art of Rhetoric.

These cities are on the mountainous country which is above the district of Cyme, and that of the Phocæans and Smyrnæans, beside which flows the Hermus.

Not far from these cities is Magnesia under Sipylus, made a free city by a decree of the Romans. The late earthquakes have injured this place. To the opposite parts, which incline towards the Caïcus to Cyme from Larisa, in passing to which the river Hermus is crossed, are 70 stadia; thence to Myrina 40 stadia; thence to Grynium 40 stadia, and thence to Elæa. But, according to Artemidorus, next to Cyme is Adæ; then, at the distance of 40 stadia, a promontory, which they call Hydra, that forms the Elaïtic Gulf with the opposite promontory Harmatus. The breadth of the entrance is about 80 stadia, including the winding of the bays. Myrina, situated at 60 stadia, is an Æolian city with a harbour, then the harbour of Achæans, where are altars of the twelve gods; next is Grynium, a small city [of the Myrinæans], a temple of Apollo, an ancient oracle, and a costly fane of white marble. To Myrina are 40 stadia; then 70 stadia to Elæa, which has a harbour and a station for vessels of the Attalic kings, foundedby Menestheus and the Athenians who accompanied him in the expedition against Ilium.

The places about Pitane, and Atarneus, and others in this quarter, which follow Elæa, have been already described.

6. Cyme is the largest and best of the Æolian cities. This and Lesbos may be considered the capitals of the other cities, about 30 in number, of which not a few exist no longer. The inhabitants of Cyme are ridiculed for their stupidity, for, according to some writers, it is said of them that they only began to let the tolls of the harbour three hundred years after the foundation of their city, and that before this time the town had never received any revenue of the kind; hence the report that it was late before they perceived that they inhabited a city lying on the sea.

There is another story, that, having borrowed money in the name of the state, they pledged their porticos as security for the payment of it. Afterwards, the money not having been repaid on the appointed day, they were prohibited from walking in them. The creditors, through shame, gave notice by the crier whenever it rained, that the inhabitants might take shelter under the porticos. As the crier called out, “Go under the porticos,” a report prevailed that the Cymæans did not perceive that they were to go under the porticos when it rained unless they had notice from the public crier.1525

Ephorus, a man indisputably of high repute, a disciple of Isocrates the orator, was a native of this city. He was an historian, and wrote the book on Inventions.

Hesiod the poet, who long preceded Ephorus, was a native of this place, for he himself says, that his father Dius left Cyme in Æolis and migrated to the Bœotians;

“he dwelt near Helicon in Ascra, a village wretched in winter, in summer oppressive, and not pleasant at any season.”

It is not generally admitted that Homer was from Cyme, for many dispute about him.

The name of the city was derived from an Amazon, as that of Myrina was the name of an Amazon, buried under the Batieia in the plain of Troy;

“men call this Batieia; but the immortals, the tomb of the bounding Myrina.”1526

Ephorus is bantered, because, having no achievements of his countrymen to commemorate among the other exploits in his history, and yet being unwilling to pass them over unnoticed, he exclaims,

“at this time the Cymæans were at peace.”

After having described the Trojan and Æolian coasts, we ought next to notice cursorily the interior of the country as far as Mount Taurus, observing the same order.

1.Pergamum1527has a kind of supremacy among these places. It is a city of note, and flourished during a long period under the Attalic kings; and here we shall begin our description, premising a short account of her kings, their origin, and the end of their career.

Pergamum was the treasure-hold of Lysimachus, the son of Agathocles, and one of the successors of Alexander. It is situated on the very summit of the mountain which terminates in a sharp peak like a pine-cone. Philetærus of Tyana was intrusted with the custody of this stronghold, and of the treasure, which amounted to nine thousand talents. He became an eunuch in childhood by compression, for it happened that a great body of people being assembled to see a funeral, the nurse who was carrying Philetærus, then an infant, in her arms, was entangled in the crowd, and pressed upon to such a degree that the child was mutilated.

He was therefore an eunuch, but having been well educated he was thought worthy of this trust. He continued forsome time well affected to Lysimachus, but upon a disagreement with Arsinoë, the wife of Lysimachus, who had falsely accused him, he caused the place to revolt, and suited his political conduct to the times, perceiving them to be favourable to change. Lysimachus, overwhelmed with domestic troubles, was compelled to put to death Agathocles his son. Seleucus Nicator invaded his country and destroyed his power, but was himself treacherously slain by Ptolemy Ceraunus.

During these disorders the eunuch remained in the fortress, continually employing the policy of promises and other courtesies with those who were the strongest and the nearest to himself. He thus continued master of the stronghold for twenty years.

2. He had two brothers, the elder of whom was Eumenes, the younger Attalus. Eumenes had a son of the same name, who succeeded to the possession of Pergamum, and was then sovereign of the places around, so that he overcame in a battle near Sardes1528Antiochus, the son of Seleucus, and died after a reign of two-and-twenty years.

Attalus, the son of Attalus and Antiochis, daughter of Achæus, succeeded to the kingdom. He was the first person who was proclaimed king after a victory, which he obtained in a great battle with the Galatians. He became an ally of the Romans, and, in conjunction with the Rhodian fleet, assisted them in the war against Philip. He died in old age, having reigned forty-three years. He left four sons by Apollonis, a woman of Cyzicus,—Eumenes, Attalus, Philetærus, and Athenæus. The younger sons continued in a private station, but Eumenes, the elder, was king. He was an ally of the Romans in the war with Antiochus the Great, and with Perseus; he received from the Romans all the country within the Taurus which had belonged to Antiochus. Before this time there were not under the power of Pergamum many places which reached the sea at the Elaïtic and the Adramyttene Gulfs. Eumenes embellished the city, he ornamented the Nicephorium1529with a grove, enriched it with votive offeringsand a library, and by his care raised the city of Pergamum to its present magnificence. After he had reigned forty-nine years he left the kingdom to Attalus, his son by Stratonice, daughter of Ariarathus, king of Cappadocia.

He appointed as guardian of his son, who was very young,1530and as regent of the kingdom, his brother Attalus, who died an old man after a reign of twenty years, having performed many glorious actions. He assisted Demetrius, the son of Seleucus, in the war against Alexander, the son of Antiochus, and was the ally of the Romans in the war against the Pseudo-Philip. In an expedition into Thrace he defeated and took prisoner Diegylis, king of the Cæni.1531He destroyed Prusias by exciting his son Nicomedes to rebel against his father. He left the kingdom to Attalus his ward. His cognomen was Philometor. He reigned five years, and died a natural death. He left the Romans his heirs.1532They made the country a province, and called it Asia by the name of the continent.

The Caïcus flows past Pergamum through the plain of Caïcus, as it is called, and traverses a very fertile country, indeed almost the best soil in Mysia.

3. The celebrated men in our times, natives of Pergamum, were Mithridates, the son of Menodotus and the daughter of Adobogion; he was of the family of the Tetrarchs of Galatia. Adobogion, it is said, had been the concubine of Mithridates the king; the relatives therefore gave to the child the name of Mithridates, pretending that he was the king’s son.

This prince became so great a friend of divus Cæsar, that he was promoted to the honour of Tetrarch (of Galatia); out of regard also to his mother’s family, he was appointed king of Bosporus and of other places. He was overthrown by Asander, who put to death Pharnaces the king and obtainedpossession of the Bosporus. He had a great reputation as well as Apollodorus the rhetorician, who composed a work on the Art of Rhetoric, and was the head of the Apollodorian sect of philosophers, whatever that may be; for many opinions have prevailed, the merits of which are beyond our power to decide upon, among which are those of the sects of Apollodorus and Theodorus.

But the friendship of Augustus Cæsar, whom he instructed in oratory, was the principal cause of the elevation of Apollodorus. He had a celebrated scholar Dionysius, surnamed Atticus, his fellow-citizen, who was an able teacher of philosophy, an historian, and composer of orations.

4. Proceeding from the plain and the city towards the east, we meet with Apollonia, a city on an elevated site. To the south is a mountainous ridge, which having crossed on the road to Sardes, we find on the left hand the city Thyateira, a colony of the Macedonians, which some authors say is the last city belonging to the Mysians. On the right hand is Apollonis, 300 stadia from Pergamum, and the same distance from Sardes. It has its name from Apollonis of Cyzicus (wife of Attalus). Next are the plains of Hermus and Sardes. The country to the north of Pergamum is principally occupied by Mysians; it lies on the right hand of the people called Abaïtæ, on whose borders is the Epictetus, extending to Bithynia.

5. Sardes is a large city, of later date than the Trojan times, yet ancient, with a strong citadel. It was the royal seat of the Lydians, whom the poet calls Meones, and later writers Mæones, some asserting that they are the same, others that they are a different people, but the former is the preferable opinion.

Above Sardes is the Tmolus, a fertile mountain having on its summit a seat1533of white marble, a work of the Persians. There is a view from it of the plains around, particularly of that of the Caÿster. There dwell about it Lydians, Mysians, and Macedonians.1534

The Pactolus flows from the Tmolus.1535It anciently brought down a large quantity of gold-dust, whence, it is said, the proverbial wealth of Crœsus and his ancestors obtained renown. No gold-dust is found at present. The Pactolus descends into the Hermus, into which also the Hyllus, now called Phrygius, discharges itself. These three and other less considerable rivers unite in one stream, and, according to Herodotus, empty themselves into the sea at Phocæa.

The Hermus takes its rise in Mysia, descending from the sacred mountain of Dindymene, after traversing the Catacecaumene, it enters the Sardian territory, and passes through the contiguous plains to the sea, as we have mentioned above. Below the city lie the plains of Sardes, of the Cyrus, of the Hermus, and of the Caÿster, which are contiguous to one another and the most fertile anywhere to be found.

At the distance of 40 stadia from the city is the lake Gygæa, as it is called by the poet.1536Its name was afterwards altered to Coloë. Here was a temple of Artemis Coloëne, held in the highest veneration. It is said that at the feasts celebrated here the baskets dance.1537I know not why the circulation of such strange and absurd stories should be preferred to truth.

6. The verses in Homer are to this effect,

“Mesthles and Antiphus, sons of Talæmenes, born of the lake Gygæa, were the leaders of the Meones, who live below Tmolus.”1538

Some persons add a fourth verse to these,

“below snowy Tmolus, in the rich district of Hyda.”

But no Hyda1539is to be found among the Lydians. Others make this the birth-place of Tychius, mentioned by the poet,

“he was the best leather-cutter in Hyda.”1540

They add that the place is woody, and frequently struck with lightning, and that here also were the dwellings of the Arimi; for to this verse,

“Among the Arimi, where they say is the bed of Typhoëus,”1541

they add the following,

“in a woody country, in the rich district of Hyda.”

Some lay the scene of the last fable in Cilicia, others in Syria, others among the Pithecussæ (islands),1542who say that the Pitheci (or monkeys) are called by the Tyrrhenians Arimi. Some call Sardes Hyda; others give this name to its Acropolis.

The Scepsian (Demetrius) says that the opinion of those authors is most to be depended upon who place the Arimi in the Catacecaumene in Mysia. But Pindar associates the Pithecussæ which lie in front of the Cymæan territory and Sicily with Cilicia, for the poet says that Typhon lay beneath Ætna;

“Once he dwelt in far-famed Cilician caverns, but now Sicily, and the sea-girt isle, o’ershadowing Cyme, press upon his shaggy breast.”1543

And again,

“O’er him lies Ætna, and in her vast prison holds him.”

And again,

“’Twas the great Jove alone of gods that o’erpowered, with resistless force, the fifty-headed monster Typhon, of yore among the Arimi.”

Others understand Syrians by the Arimi, who are now called Aramæi, and maintain that the Cilicians in the Troad migrated and settled in Syria, and deprived the Syrians of the country which is now called Cilicia.

Callisthenes says, that the Arimi from whom the mountains in the neighbourhood have the name of Arima, are situated near the Calycadnus,1544and the promontory Sarpedon close to the Corycian cave.

7. The monuments of the kings lie around the lake Coloë. At Sardes is the great mound of Alyattes upon a lofty base, the work, according to Herodotus,1545of the people of the city, the greatest part of it being executed by young women. He says that they all prostituted themselves; according to some writers the sepulchre is the monument of a courtesan.

Some historians say, that Coloë is an artificial lake, designed to receive the superabundant waters of the rivers when they are full and overflow.

Hypæpa1546is a city situated on the descent from Tmolus to the plain of the Caÿster.

8. Callisthenes says that Sardes was taken first by Cimmerians, then by Treres and Lycians, which Callinus also, the elegiac poet, testifies, and that it was last captured in the time of Cyrus and Crœsus. When Callinus says that the incursion of the Cimmerians when they took Sardes was directed against the Esioneis, the Scepsian (Demetrius) supposes the Asioneis to be called by him Esioneis, according to the Ionian dialect; for perhaps Meonia, he says, was called Asia, as Homer describes the country, “in the Asian meadows about the streams of Caÿstrius.”1547The city, on account of the fertility of the country, was afterwards restored, so as to be a considerable place, and was inferior to none of its neighbours; lately it has lost a great part of its buildings by earthquakes. But Sardes, and many other cities which participated in this calamity about the same time, have been repaired by the provident care and beneficence of Tiberius the present emperor.

9. The distinguished natives of Sardes were two orators of the same name and family, the Diodori; the elder of whom was called Zonas, who had pleaded the cause of Asia in many suits. But at the time of the invasion of Mithridates the king, he was accused of occasioning the revolt of the cities from him, but in his defence he cleared himself of the charge.

The younger Diodorus was my friend; there exist of hishistorical writings, odes, and poems of other kinds, which very much resemble the style of the ancients.

Xanthus, the ancient historian, is said to be a Lydian, but whether of Sardes I do not know.

10. After the Lydians are the Mysians, and a city Philadelphia, subject to constant earthquakes. The walls of the houses are incessantly opening, and sometimes one, sometimes another, part of the city is experiencing some damage. The majority of people (for few persons live in the city) pass their lives in the country, employing themselves in agriculture and cultivating a good soil. Yet it is surprising that there should be even a few persons so much attached to a place where their dwellings are insecure; but one may marvel more at those who founded the city.

11. Next is the tract of country called the Catacecaumene, extending 500 stadia in length, and in breadth 400. It is uncertain whether it should be called Mysia or Meonia, for it has both names. The whole country is devoid of trees, excepting vines, from which is obtained the Catacecaumenite wine; it is not inferior in quality to any of the kinds in repute. The surface of the plains is covered with ashes, but the hilly and rocky part is black, as if it were the effect of combustion. This, as some persons imagine, was the effect of thunderbolts and of fiery tempests, nor do they hesitate to make it the scene of the fable of Typhon. Xanthus even says that a certain Arimus was king of these parts. But it is unreasonable to suppose that so large a tract of country was all at once consumed by lightning and fiery meteors; it is more natural to suppose that the effect was produced by fire generated in the soil, the sources of which are now exhausted. There are to be seen three pits, which are called Physæ, or breathing holes, situated at the distance of 40 stadia from each other. Above are rugged hills, which probably consist of masses of matter thrown up by blasts of air (from the pits).

That ground of this kind should be well adapted to vines, may be conceived from the nature of the country Catana,1548which was a mass of cinders, but which now produces excellent wine, and in large quantities.

Some persons, in allusion to such countries as these, wittily observe that Bacchus is properly called Pyrigenes, or fire-born.

12. The places situated next to these towards the south, and extending to Mount Taurus, are so intermixed, that parts of Phrygia, Lydia, Caria, and Mysia running into one another are difficult to be distinguished. The Romans have contributed not a little to produce this confusion, by not dividing the people according to tribes, but following another principle have arranged them according to jurisdictions, in which they have appointed days for holding courts and administering justice.

The Tmolus is a well compacted mass of mountain,1549of moderate circumference, and its boundaries are within Lydia itself. The Mesogis begins, according to Theopompus, from Celænæ,1550and extends on the opposite side as far as Mycale,1551so that Phrygians occupy one part, towards Celænæ and Apameia; Mysians and Lydians another; Carians and Ionians a third part.

So also the rivers, and particularly the Mæander, are the actual boundaries of some nations, but take their course through the middle of others, rendering accurate distinction between them difficult.

The same may be said of plains, which are found on each side of a mountainous range and on each side of a river. Our attention however is not required to obtain the same degree of accuracy as a surveyor, but only to give such descriptions as have been transmitted to us by our predecessors.

13. Contiguous on the east to the plain of Caÿster, which lies between the Mesogis and Tmolus, is the plain Cilbianum. It is extensive, well inhabited, and fertile. Then follows the Hyrcanian plain, a name given by the Persians, who brought colonists from Hyrcania (the plain of Cyrus, in like manner, had its name from the Persians). Next is the Peltine plain, belonging to the Phrygians, and the Cillanian and the Tabenian plains, the latter of which contains small towns, inhabited by a mixed population of Phrygians, with a portion of Pisidians. The plains have their names from the towns.

14. After crossing the Mesogis, situated between the Carians1552and the district of Nysa,1553which is a tract of country beyond the Mæander, extending as far as the Cibyratis and Cabalis, we meet with cities. Near the Mesogis, opposite Laodicea,1554is Hierapolis,1555where are hot springs, and the Plutonium, both of which have some singular properties. The water of the springs is so easily consolidated and becomes stone, that if it is conducted through water-courses dams are formed consisting of a single piece of stone.

The Plutonium, situated below a small brow of the overhanging mountain, is an opening of sufficient size to admit a man, but there is a descent to a great depth. In front is a quadrilateral railing, about half a plethrum in circumference. This space is filled with a cloudy and dark vapour, so dense that the bottom can scarcely be discerned. To those who approach round the railing the air is innoxious, for in calm weather it is free from the cloud which then continues within the enclosure. But animals which enter within the railing die instantly. Even bulls, when brought within it, fall down and are taken out dead. We have ourselves thrown in sparrows, which immediately fell down lifeless. The Galli,1556who are eunuchs, enter the enclosure with impunity, approach even the opening or mouth, bend down over it, and descend into it to a certain depth, restraining their breath during the time, for we perceived by their countenance signs of some suffocating feeling. This exemption may be common to all eunuchs, or it may be confined to the eunuchs employed about the temple, or it may be the effect of divine care, as is probable in the case of persons inspired by the deity, or it may perhaps be procured by those who are in possession of certain antidotes.

The conversion of water into stone is said to be the property of certain rivers in Laodiceia, although the water is fit for the purpose of drinking. The water at Hierapolis is peculiarly adapted for the dyeing of wool. Substances dyed with “the roots,”1557rival in colour those dyed with the coccus, orthe marine purple. There is such an abundance of water, that there are natural baths in every part of the city.

15. After Hierapolis are the parts beyond the Mæander. Those about Laodiceia and Aphrodisias,1558and those extending to Carura, have been already described. The places which succeed are Antiocheia1559on the Mæander, now belonging to Caria, on the west; on the south are Cibyra the Great,1560Sinda,1561and Cabalis, as far as Mount Taurus and Lycia.

Antiocheia is a city of moderate size situated on the banks of the Mæander, at the side towards Phrygia. There is a bridge over the river. A large tract of country, all of which is fertile, on each side of the river, belongs to the city. It produces in the greatest abundance the fig of Antioch, as it is called, which is dried. It is also called Triphyllus. This place also is subject to shocks of earthquakes.

A native of this city was Diotrephes, a celebrated sophist; his disciple was Hybreas, the greatest orator of our times.

16. The Cabaleis, it is said, were Solymi. The hill situated above the Termessian fortress is called Solymus, and the Termessians themselves Solymi. Near these places is the rampart of Bellerophon and the sepulchre of Peisandrus his son, who fell in the battle against the Solymi. This account agrees with the words of the poet. Of Bellerophon he speaks thus,

“he fought a second time with the brave Solymi;”1562

and of his son,

“Mars, unsated with war, killed Peisandrus his son fighting with the Solymi.”1563

Termessus is a Pisidian city situated very near and immediately above Cibyra.

17. The Cibyratæ are said to be descendants of the Lydians who occupied the territory Cabalis. The city was afterwards in the possession of the Pisidians, a bordering nation, who occupied it, and transferred it to another place, very strongly fortified, the circuit of which was about 100 stadia. It flourished in consequence of the excellence of its laws. The villages belonging to it extended from Pisidia, and the bordering territory Milyas, as far as Lycia and the country opposite to Rhodes. Upon theunion of the three bordering cities, Bubon,1564Balbura,1565and Œnoanda,1566the confederation was called Tetrapolis; each city had one vote, except Cibyra, which had two, for it could equip 30,000 foot soldiers and 2000 horse. It was always governed by tyrants, but they ruled with moderation. The tyrannical government terminated in the time of Moagetes. It was overthrown by Murena, who annexed Balbura and Bubon to the Lycians. Nevertheless the Cibyratic district is reckoned among the largest jurisdictions in Asia.

The Cibyratæ used four languages, the Pisidic, that of Solymi, the Greek, and the Lydian, but of the latter no traces are now to be found in Lydia.

At Cibyra there is practised the peculiar art of carving with ease ornamental work in iron.

Milya is the mountain-range extending from the defiles near Termessus, and the passage through them to the parts within the Taurus towards Isinda, as far as Sagalassus and the country of Apameia.

1The ancient Tanais.

2These words are interpolated.Casaubon.

3λιμένες, περίπλοι, περίοδοι γῆς

4The territory of the Acarnanes is still called Carnia, south of the Gulf of Arta. The rest of the countries mentioned by Strabo no longer retain the ancient divisions, Bœotia is the modern Livadhia.G.

5The Gulf of Lepanto.

6Makedunea.

7The ancient Thessaly is the modern Vlakea.

8The neighbourhood of the Gulf of Zeitun—the ancient Maliac Gulf.

9In Asia Minor, and founded the cities Miletus, Smyrna, Phocæa, &c.

10The word Ægialus (Αἰγιαλὸς) signifies sea-shore. The name was given to this part of the Peloponnesus (afterwards called Achaia) from the towns being situated generally along the coast. Others, however, give a different explanation to the word.

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