Tarsus is
situated
in a plain.
Strabo
The places in a straight line with these, as far as India, are described
in the same manner by Artemidorus and Eratosthenes. Polybius says, that
with respect to those places we ought chiefly to depend upon
Artemidorus. He begins from Samosata in Commagene, which is situated at
the passage, and the Zeugma of the Euphrates, to Samosata across the
Taurus, from the mountains of Cappadocia about Tomisa, he says is a
distance of 450 stadia.
CHAPTER III.
1. After the part of the coast opposite[188] to Rhodes, the boundary of
which is Dædala, in sailing thence towards the east, we come to Lycia,
which extends to Pamphylia; next is Pamphylia, extending as far as
Cilicia Tracheia, which reaches as far as the Cilicians, situated about
the Bay of Issus. These are parts of the peninsula, the isthmus of which
we said was the road from Issus as far as Amisus,[189] or, according to
some authors, to Sinope.
The country beyond the Taurus consists of the narrow line of sea-coast
extending from Lycia to the places about Soli, the present Pompeiopolis.
Then the sea-coast near the Bay of Issus, beginning from Soli and
Tarsus, spreads out into plains.
The description of this coast will complete the account of the whole
peninsula. We shall then pass to the rest of Asia without the Taurus,
and lastly we shall describe Africa.
2. After Dædala of the Rhodians there is a mountain of Lycia, of the
same name, Dædala, and here the whole Lycian coast begins, and extends
1720 stadia. This maritime tract is rugged, and difficult to be
approached, but has very good harbours, and is inhabited by a people who
are not inclined to acts of violence. The country is similar in nature
to that of Pamphylia and Cilicia Tracheia. But the former used the
places of shelter for vessels for piratical purposes themselves, or
afforded to pirates a market for their plunder and stations for their
vessels.
At Side,[190] a city of Pamphylia, the Cilicians had places for building
ships. They sold their prisoners, whom they admitted were freemen, by
notice through the public crier.
But the Lycians continued to live as good citizens, and with so much
restraint upon themselves, that although the Pamphylians had succeeded
in obtaining the sovereignty of the sea as far as Italy, yet they were
never influenced by the desire of base gain, and persevered in
administering the affairs of the state according to the laws of the
Lycian body.
3. There are three and twenty cities in this body, which have votes.
They assemble from each city at a general congress, and select what city
they please for their place of meeting. Each of the largest cities
commands three votes, those of intermediate importance two, and the rest
one vote. They contribute in the same proportion to taxes and other
public charges. The six largest cities, according to Artemidorus, are
Xanthus,[191] Patara,[192] Pinara,[193] Olympus, Myra, Tlos,[194] which
is situated at the pass of the mountain leading to Cibyra.
At the congress a lyciarch is first elected, then the other officers of
the body. Public tribunals are also appointed for [CAS. 665] the
administration of justice. Formerly they deliberated about war and
peace, and alliances, but this is not now permitted, as these things are
under the control of the Romans. It is only done by their consent, or
when it may be for their own advantage.
Thus judges and magistrates are elected according to the proportion of
the number of votes belonging to each city. [195] It was the fortune of
these people, who lived under such an excellent government, to retain
their liberty under the Romans, and the laws and institutions of their
ancestors; to see also the entire extirpation of the pirates, first by
Servilius Isauricus, at the time that he demolished Isaura, and
afterwards by Pompey the Great, who burnt more than 1300 vessels, and
destroyed their haunts and retreats. Of the survivors in these contests
he transferred some to Soli, which he called Pompeiopolis; others to
Dyme, which had a deficient population, and is now occupied by a Roman
colony.
The poets, however, particularly the tragic poets, confound nations
together; for instance, Trojans, Mysians, and Lydians, whom they call
Phrygians, and give the name of Lycians to Carians.
4. After Dædala is a Lycian mountain, and near it is Telmessus,[196] a
small town of the Lycians, and Telmessis, a promontory with a harbour.
Eumenes took this place from the Romans in the war with Antiochus, but
after the dissolution of the kingdom of Pergamus, the Lycians recovered
it again.
5. Then follows Anticragus, a precipitous mountain, on which is
Carmylessus,[197] a fortress situated in a gorge; next is Mount Cragus,
with eight peaks,[198] and a city of the same name. The neighbourhood of
these mountains is the scene of the fable of the Chimæra; and at no
great distance is Chimæra, a sort of ravine, extending upwards from the
shore. Below the Cragus in the interior is Pinara, which is one of the
largest cities of Lycia. Here Pandarus is worshipped, of the same name
perhaps as the Trojan Pandarus;
“thus the pale nightingale, daughter of Pandarus;”[199]
for this Pandarus, it is said, came from Lycia.
6. Next is the river Xanthus, formerly called Sirbis. [200] In sailing up
it in vessels which ply as tenders, to the distance of 10 stadia, we
come to the Letoum, and proceeding 60 stadia beyond the temple, we find
the city of the Xanthians, the largest in Lycia. After the Xanthus
follows Patara, which is also a large city with a harbour, and
containing a temple of Apollo. Its founder was Patarus. When Ptolemy
Philadelphus repaired it, he called it the Lycian Arsinoë, but the old
name prevailed.
7. Next is Myra, at the distance of 20 stadia from the sea, situated
upon a lofty hill; then the mouth of the river Limyrus, and on ascending
from it by land 20 stadia, we come to the small town Limyra. In the
intervening distance along the coast above mentioned are many small
islands and harbours. The most considerable of the islands is Cisthene,
on which is a city of the same name. [201] In the interior are the
strongholds Phellus, Antiphellus, and Chimæra, which I mentioned above.
8. Then follow the Sacred Promontory[202] and the Chelidoniæ, three
rocky islands, equal in size, and distant from each other about 5, and
from the land 6 stadia. One of them has an anchorage for vessels.
According to the opinion of many writers, the Taurus begins here,
because the summit is lofty, and extends from the Pisidian mountains
situated above Pamphylia, and because the islands lying in front exhibit
a [CAS. 666] remarkable figure in the sea, like a skirt of a mountain.
But in fact the mountainous chain is continued from the country opposite
Rhodes to the parts near Pisidia, and this range of mountains is called
Taurus.
The Chelidoniæ islands seem to be situated in a manner opposite to
Canopus,[203] and the passage across is said to be 4000 stadia.
From the Sacred Promontory to Olbia[204] there remain 367 stadia. In
this distance are Crambusa,[205] and Olympus[206] a large city, and a
mountain of the same name, which is called also Phœnicus;[207] then
follows Corycus, a tract of sea-coast.
9. Then follows Phaselis,[208] a considerable city, with three harbours
and a lake. Above it is the mountain Solyma[209] and Termessus,[210] a
Pisidic city, situated on the defiles, through which there is a pass
over the mountain to Milyas. Alexander demolished it, with the intention
of opening the defiles.
About Phaselis, near the sea, are narrow passes through which Alexander
conducted his army. There is a mountain called Climax. It overhangs the
sea of Pamphylia, leaving a narrow road along the coast, which in calm
weather is not covered with water, and travellers can pass along it, but
when the sea is rough, it is in a great measure hidden by the waves. The
pass over the mountains is circuitous and steep, but in fair weather
persons travel on the road along the shore. Alexander came there when
there was a storm, and trusting generally to fortune, set out before the
sea had receded, and the soldiers marched during the whole day up to the
middle of the body in water.
Phaselis also is a Lycian city, situated on the confines of Pamphylia.
It is not a part of the Lycian body, but is an independent city.
10. The poet distinguishes the Solymi from the Lycians, when he
despatches Bellerophon by the king of the Lycians to this second
adventure;
“he encountered the brave Solymi;”[211]
other writers say that the Lycians were formerly called Solymi, and
afterwards Termilæ, from the colonists that accompanied Sarpedon from
Crete; and afterwards Lycians, from Lycus the son of Pandion, who, after
having been banished from his own country, was admitted by Sarpedon to a
share in the government; but their story does not agree with Homer. We
prefer the opinion of those who say that the poet called the people
Solymi who have now the name of Milyæ, and whom we have mentioned
before.
CHAPTER IV.
1. After Phaselis is Olbia; here Pamphylia begins. It is a large
fortress. It is followed by the Cataractes,[212] as it is called, a
river which descends violently from a lofty rock, with a great body of
water, like a winter torrent, so that the noise of it is heard at a
great distance.
Next is Attaleia,[213] a city, so called from its founder Attalus
Philadelphus, who also settled another colony at Corycus, a small city
near Attaleia, by introducing other inhabitants, and extending the
circuit of the walls.
It is said, that between Phaselis and Attaleia, Thebe and Lyrnessus[214]
are shown; for, according to Callisthenes, a part of the Trojan
Cilicians were driven from the plain of Thebe into Pamphylia.
2. Next is the river Cestrus;[215] on sailing up its stream 60 stadia we
find the city Perge,[216] and near it upon an elevated place, the temple
of the Pergæan Artemis, where a general festival is celebrated every
year.
Then at the distance of about 40 stadia from the sea is [Syllium],[217]
on an elevated site, and visible at Perge. Next is Capria, a lake of
considerable extent; then the river Eurymedon;[218] sailing up it to the
distance of 60 stadia, we come to Aspendus,[219] a well-peopled city,
founded by Argives. Above it is Petnelissus;[220] then another river,
and many small islands [CAS. 668] lying in front; then Side, a colony
of the Cymæans, where there is a temple of Minerva. Near it is the coast
of the Little Cibyratæ; then the river Melas,[221] and an anchorage for
vessels; then Ptolemais[222] a city; next the borders of Pamphylia, and
Coracesium,[223] where Cilicia Tracheia begins. The whole of the voyage
along the coast of Pamphylia is 640 stadia.
3. Herodotus says,[224] that the Pamphylians are descendants of the
people who accompanied Amphilochus and Calchas from Troy, a mixture of
various nations. The majority of them settled here, others were
dispersed over different countries. Callinus says that Calchas died at
Clarus, but that some of the people who, together with Mopsus, crossed
the Taurus, remained in Pamphylia, and that others were scattered in
Cilicia and Syria, and as far even as Phœnicia.
CHAPTER V.
1. Of Cilicia without the Taurus one part is called Cilicia Tracheia,
the rugged; the other, Cilicia Pedias, the flat or plain country.
The coast of the Tracheia is narrow, and either has no level ground or
it rarely occurs; besides this, the Taurus overhangs it, which is badly
inhabited as far even as the northern side, about Isaura and the
Homonadeis as far as Pisidia. This tract has the name of Tracheiotis,
and the inhabitants that of Tracheiotæ. The flat or plain country
extends from Soli and Tarsus as far as Issus, and the parts above, where
the Cappadocians are situated on the northern side of the Taurus. This
tract consists chiefly of fertile plains.
I have already spoken of the parts within the Taurus; I shall now
describe those without the Taurus, beginning with the Tracheiotæ.
2. The first place is Coracesium,[225] a fortress of the Cilicians,
situated upon an abrupt rock. Diodotus surnamed Tryphon used it as a
rendezvous at the time that he caused Syria to revolt from her kings,
and carried on war against them with various success. Antiochus, the son
of Demetrius, obliged him to shut himself up in one of the fortresses,
and there he killed himself.
Tryphon was the cause of originating among the Cilicians a piratical
confederacy. They were induced also to do this by the imbecility of the
kings who succeeded each other on the thrones of Syria and Cilicia. In
consequence of his introduction of political changes, others imitated
his example, and the dissensions among brothers exposed the country to
the attacks of invaders.
The exportation of slaves was the chief cause of inducing them to commit
criminal acts, for this traffic was attended with very great profit, and
the slaves were easily taken. Delos was at no great distance, a large
and rich mart, capable of receiving and transporting, when sold, the
same day, ten thousand slaves; so that hence arose a proverbial saying,
“Merchant, come into port, discharge your freight—everything
is sold. ”
The Romans, having acquired wealth after the destruction of Carthage and
Corinth, employed great numbers of domestic slaves, and were the cause
of this traffic. The pirates, observing the facility with which slaves
could be procured, issued forth in numbers from all quarters, committing
robbery and dealing in slaves.
The kings of Cyprus and of Egypt, who were enemies of the Syrians,
favoured their marauding enterprises; the Rhodians were no less hostile
to the Syrians, and therefore afforded the latter no protection. The
pirates, therefore, under the pretence of trading in slaves, continued
without intermission their invasions and robbery.
The Romans paid little attention to the places situated without the
Taurus; they sent, however, Scipio Æmilianus, and afterwards some
others, to examine the people and the cities. They discovered that the
evils arose from negligence on the part of the sovereigns, but they were
reluctant to deprive the family of Seleucus Nicator of the succession,
in which he had been confirmed by themselves.
For the same reason the Parthians, who occupied the parts [CAS. 669]
beyond the Euphrates, became masters of the country; and lastly the
Armenians, who also gained possession of the country without the Taurus
as far as Phœnicia. They used their utmost to extirpate the power of the
kings and all their descendants, but surrendered the command of the sea
to the Cilicians.
The Romans were subsequently compelled to reduce the Cilicians, after
their aggrandizement, by war and expeditions, whose progress, however,
and advancement they had not obstructed; yet it would be improper to
accuse the Romans of neglect, because, being engaged with concerns
nearer at hand, they were unable to direct their attention to more
distant objects.
I thought proper to make these remarks in a short digression from my
subject.
3. Next to the Coracesium is the city Syedra;[226] then Hamaxia,[227] a
small town upon a hill, with a harbour, to which is brought down timber
for ship-building; the greatest part of it consists of cedar. This
country seems to produce this tree in abundance. It was on this account
that Antony assigned it to Cleopatra, as being capable of furnishing
materials for the construction of her fleet.
Then follows Laertes a fortress, situated upon the crest of a hill, of a
pap-like form; a port belongs to it; next, the city Selinus,[228] then
Cragus, a precipitous rock on the sea-coast; then Charadrus[229] a
fortress, which has a port (above it is the mountain Andriclus[230]) and
a rocky shore, called Platanistus, next Anemurium[231] a promontory,
where the continent approaches nearest to Cyprus, towards the promontory
Crommyum,[232] the passage across being 350 stadia.
From the boundaries of Pamphylia to Anemurium, the voyage along the
Cilician coast is 820 stadia; the remainder of it as far as Soli[233] is
about 500 stadia (1500? ). On this coast, after Anemurium, the first city
is Nagidus, then Arsinoë,[234] with a small port; then a place called
Melania,[235] and Celenderis[236] a city, with a harbour.
Some writers,[237] among whom is Artemidorus, consider this place as
the commencement of Cilicia, and not Coracesium. He says, that from the
Pelusiac mouth to Orthosia are 3900 stadia, and to the river
Orontes[238] 1130 stadia; then to the gates of Cilicia 525 stadia, and
to the borders of Cilicia 1260 stadia. [239]
4. Next is Holmi,[240] formerly inhabited by the present Seleucians; but
when Seleucia on the Calycadnus was built, they removed there. On
doubling the coast, which forms a promontory called Sarpedon,[241] we
immediately come to the mouth of the Calycadnus. [242] Zephyrium[243] a
promontory is near the Calycadnus. The river may be ascended as far as
Seleucia, a city well peopled, and the manners of whose inhabitants are
very different from those of the people of Cilicia and Pamphylia.
In our time there flourished at that place remarkable persons of the
Peripatetic sect of philosophers, Athenæus and Xenarchus. The former was
engaged in the administration of the affairs of state in his own
country, and for some time espoused the party of the people; he
afterwards contracted a friendship with Murena, with whom he fled, and
with whom he was captured, on the discovery of the conspiracy against
Augustus Cæsar; but he established his innocence, and was set at liberty
by Cæsar. When he returned from Rome, he addressed the first persons who
saluted him, and made their inquiries, in the words of Euripides—
“I come from the coverts of the dead, and the gates of
darkness. ”[244]
He survived his return but a short time, being killed by the fall,
during the night, of the house in which he lived.
Xenarchus, whose lectures I myself attended, did not long remain at
home, but taught philosophy at Alexandreia, Athens, and Rome. He enjoyed
the friendship of Areius, and afterwards of Augustus Cæsar; he lived to
old age, honoured and respected. Shortly before his death he lost his
sight, and died a natural death.
[CAS. 670] 5. After the Calycadnus, is the rock called Pœcile,[245],
which has steps, like those of a ladder, cut in the rock, on the road to
Seleucia. Then follows the promontory Anemurium,[246] of the same name
with the former, Crambusa an island, and then Corycus[247] a promontory,
above which, at the distance of 20 stadia, is the Corycian cave, where
grows the best saffron. It is a large valley of a circular form,
surrounded by a ridge of rock, of considerable height all round. Upon
descending into it, the bottom is irregular, and a great part of it
rocky, but abounding with shrubs of the evergreen and cultivated kind.
There are interspersed spots which produce the saffron. There is also a
cave in which rises a river of pure and transparent water. Immediately
at its source the river buries itself in the ground, and continues its
subterraneous course till it discharges itself into the sea. The name of
(Pikron Hydor) “bitter water” is given to it.
6. After Corycus, is the island Elæussa,[248] lying very near the
continent. Here Archelaus resided, and built a palace, after having
become master of the whole of Cilicia Tracheiotis, except Seleucia, as
Augustus had been before, and as at a still earlier period it was held
by Cleopatra. For as the country was well adapted by nature for robbery
both by sea and land, (by land, on account of the extent of the
mountains, and the nations situated beyond them, who occupy plains, and
large tracts of cultivated country easy to be overrun; by sea, on
account of the supply of timber for ship-building, the harbours,
fortresses, and places of retreat,) for all these reasons the Romans
thought it preferable that the country should be under the government of
kings, than be subject to Roman governors sent to administer justice,
but who would not always be on the spot, nor attended by an army. In
this manner Archelaus obtained possession of Cilicia Tracheia, in
addition to Cappadocia. Its boundaries between Soli and Elæussa are the
river Lamus,[249] and a village of the same name. [250]
7. At the extremity of the Taurus is Olympus a mountain,[251] the
piratical hold of Zenicetus, and a fortress of the same name. It
commands a view of the whole of Lycia, Pamphylia, and Pisidia. When the
mountain was taken by (Servilius) Isauricus, Zenicetus burnt himself,
with all his household. To this robber belonged Corycus, Phaselis, and
many strongholds in Pamphylia, all of which were taken by (Servilius)
Isauricus.
8. Next to Lamus is Soli,[252] a considerable city, where the other
Cilicia, that about Issus, commences. It was founded by Achæans, and by
Rhodians from Lindus. Pompey the Great transferred to this city, which
had a scanty population, the survivors of the pirates, whom he thought
most entitled to protection and clemency, and changed its name to
Pompeiopolis.
Chrysippus the Stoic philosopher, the son of an inhabitant of Tarsus,
who left it to live at Soli; Philemon the comic poet; and Aratus, who
composed a poem called “the Phænomena,” were among the illustrious
natives of this place.
9. Next follows Zephyrium,[253] of the same name as that near
Calycadnus; then Anchiale, a little above the sea, built by
Sardanapalus, according to Aristobulus. (According to the same author)
the tomb of Sardanapalus is here, and a stone figure representing him
with the fingers of his right hand brought together as in the act of
snapping them, and the following inscription in Assyrian letters:
“SARDANAPALUS, THE SON OF ANACYNDARAXES, BUILT ANCHIALE AND TARSUS IN
ONE DAY. EAT, DRINK, BE MERRY; EVERYTHING ELSE IS NOT WORTH[4] THAT”—the
snapping of the fingers.
Chœrilus mentions this inscription, and the following lines are
everywhere known:
“Meat and drink, wanton jests, and the delights of love, these
I have enjoyed; but my great wealth I have left behind. ”[254]
10. Above Anchiale is situated Cyinda a fortress, where the Macedonian
kings formerly kept their treasure. Eumenes, when he revolted from
Antigonus, took it away. Further above this place and Soli, is a
mountainous tract, where is situated Olbe a city, which has a temple of
Jupiter, founded by Ajax, son of Teucer. The priest of this temple was
master [CAS. 672] of the Tracheiotis. Subsequently many tyrants seized
upon the country, and it became the retreat of robbers. After their
extermination, the country was called, even to our times, the dominion
of Teucer; and the priesthood, the priesthood of Teucer; indeed, most of
the priests had the name of Teucer, or of Ajax. Aba, the daughter of
Xenophanes, one of the tyrants, entered into this family by marriage,
and obtained possession of the government. Her father had previously
administered it as guardian, but Antony and Cleopatra afterwards
conferred it upon Aba, as a favour, being ultimately prevailed upon to
do so by her entreaties and attentions. She was afterwards dispossessed,
but the government remained in the hands of the descendants of her
family.
Next to Anchiale are the mouths of the Cydnus[255] at the Rhegma, (the
Rent,) as it is called. It is a place like a lake, and has ancient
dockyards; here the Cydnus discharges itself, after flowing through the
middle of Tarsus. It rises in the Taurus, which overhangs the city. The
lake is a naval arsenal of Tarsus.
11. The whole of the sea-coast, beginning from the part opposite to
Rhodes, extends to this place in the direction from the western to the
eastern point of the equinoctial. It then turns towards the winter
solstice, as far as Issus, and thence immediately makes a bend to the
south to Phœnicia. The remainder towards the west terminates at the
pillars (of Hercules). [256]
The actual isthmus of the peninsula, which we have described, is that
which extends from Tarsus and the mouth of the Cydnus as far as Amisus,
for this is the shortest distance from Amisus to the boundaries of
Cilicia; from these to Tarsus are 120 stadia, and not more from Tarsus
to the mouth of the Cydnus. To Issus, and the sea near it, there is no
shorter road from Amisus than that leading through Tarsus, nor from
Tarsus to Issus is there any nearer than that leading to Cydnus; so
that it is clear, that, in reality, this is the isthmus. Yet it is
pretended that the isthmus extending as far as the Bay of Issus is the
true isthmus, on account of its presenting remarkable points.
Hence, not aiming at exactness, we say that the line drawn from the
country opposite to Rhodes, which we protracted as far as Cydnus, is the
same as that extending as far as Issus, and that the Taurus extends in a
straight direction with this line as far as India.
12.
Tarsus is situated in a plain. It was founded by Argives, who
accompanied Triptolemus in his search after Io. The Cydnus flows through
the middle of it, close by the gymnasium of the young men. As the source
is not far distant, and the stream passing through a deep valley, then
flows immediately into the city, the water is cold and rapid in its
course; hence it is of advantage to men and beasts affected with
swellings of the sinews, fluxions, and gout. [257]
13. The inhabitants of this city apply to the study of philosophy and to
the whole encyclical compass of learning with so much ardour, that they
surpass Athens, Alexandreia, and every other place which can be named
where there are schools and lectures of philosophers.
It differs however so far from other places, that the studious are all
natives, and strangers are not inclined to resort thither. Even the
natives themselves do not remain, but travel abroad to complete their
studies, and having completed them reside in foreign countries. Few of
them return.
The contrary is the case in the other cities which I have mentioned,
except Alexandreia; for multitudes repair to them, and reside there with
pleasure; but you would observe that few of the natives travel abroad
from a love of learning, or show much zeal in the pursuit of it on the
spot. But both these things are to be seen at Alexandreia, a large
number of strangers is received, (into their schools,) and not a few of
their own countrymen are sent out to foreign countries (to study). They
have schools of all kinds, for instruction in the liberal arts. In other
respects Tarsus is well peopled, extremely powerful, and has the
character of being the capital. [258]
[CAS. 674] 14. The Stoic philosophers Antipater, Archedemus, and Nestor
were natives of Tarsus: and besides these, the two Athenodori, one of
whom, Cordylion, lived with Marcus Cato, and died at his house; the
other, the son of Sandon, called Cananites, from some village, was the
preceptor of Cæsar,[259] who conferred on him great honours. In his old
age he returned to his native country, where he dissolved the form of
government existing there, which was unjustly administered by various
persons, and among them by Boëthus, a bad poet and a bad citizen, who
had acquired great power by courting the favour of the people. Antony
contributed to increase his importance by having in the first instance
commended a poem which he had composed on the victory at Philippi; his
influence was still augmented by the facility which he possessed (and it
is very general among the inhabitants of Tarsus) of discoursing at great
length, and without preparation, upon any given subject. Antony also had
promised the people of Tarsus to establish a gymnasium; he appointed
Boëthus chief director of it, and intrusted to him the expenditure of
the funds. He was detected in secreting, among other things, even the
oil, and when charged with this offence by his accusers in the presence
of Antony, he deprecated his anger by this, among other remarks in his
speech, that as Homer had sung the praises of “Achilles, Agamemnon, and
Ulysses, so have I sung yours. I therefore ought not to be brought
before you on such a charge. ” The accuser answered, “Homer did not steal
oil from Agamemnon[260] nor Achilles; but you have stolen it from the
gymnasium, and therefore you shall be punished. ” Yet he contrived to
avert the displeasure of Antony by courteous offices, and continued to
plunder the city until the death of his protector.
Athenodorus found the city in this state, and for some time attempted to
control Boëthus and his accomplices by argument; but finding that they
continued to commit all kinds of injustice, he exerted the power given
to him by Cæsar, condemned them to banishment, and expelled them. They
had previously caused to be written upon the walls, “Action for the
young, counsel for the middle-aged, discharging wind for the old;” but
Athenodorus, accepting it as a jest, gave orders to inscribe by the side
of it, “Thunder for the old. ” Some one, however, in contempt for his
good manners, having a lax state of body, bespattered the gate and wall
of his house as he passed by it at night. Athenodorus, in an assembly of
the people, accusing persons of being factiously disposed, said, “We may
perceive the sickly condition of the city, and its bad habit of body,
from many circumstances, but particularly from its discharges. ”
Those men were Stoics, but Nestor, of our time, the tutor of Marcellus,
son of Octavia, the sister of Cæsar, was of the Academic sect. He was
also at the head of the government, having succeeded Athenodorus, and
continued to be honoured both by the Roman governors and by the
citizens.
15. Among the other philosophers,
“Those whom I know, and could in order name,”[261]
were Plutiades and Diogenes, who went about from city to city,
instituting schools of philosophy as the opportunity occurred. Diogenes,
as if inspired by Apollo, composed and rehearsed poems, chiefly of the
tragic kind, upon any subject that was proposed. The grammarians of
Tarsus, whose writings we have, were Artemidorus and Diodorus. But the
best writer of tragedy, among those enumerated in “The Pleiad,” was
Dionysides. Rome is best able to inform us what number of learned men
this city has produced, for it is filled with persons from Tarsus and
Alexandreia.
Such then is Tarsus.
16. After the Cydnus follows the Pyramus,[262] which flows from
Cataonia. We have spoken of it before. Artemidorus says, that from
thence to Soli is a voyage in a straight line of 500 stadia. Near the
Pyramus is Mallus,[263] situated upon a height; it was founded by
Amphilochus, and Mopsus, the son of Apollo, and Mantus, about whom many
fables are related. I have mentioned them in speaking of Calchas, and of
the contest between Calchas and Mopsus respecting their skill in
divination. Some persons, as Sophocles, transfer the scene of this
contest to Sicily, which, after the custom of tragic poets, they call
Pamphylia, as they call Lycia, Caria, and [CAS. 676] Troy and Lydia,
Phrygia. Sophocles, among other writers, says that Calchas died there.
According to the fable, the contest did not relate to skill in
divination only, but also to sovereignty. For it is said, that Mopsus
and Amphilochus, on their return from Troy, founded Mallus; that
Amphilochus afterwards went to Argos, and being dissatisfied with the
state of affairs there, returned to Mallus, where, being excluded from a
share in the government, he engaged with Mopsus in single combat. Both
were killed, but their sepulchres are not in sight of each other. They
are shown at present at Magarsa, near the Pyramus.
Crates the grammarian was a native of this place, and Panætius is said
to have been his disciple.
17. Above this coast is situated the Aleïan plain, over which Philotas
conducted Alexander’s cavalry, he himself leading the phalanx from Soli
along the sea-coast and the territory of Mallus to Issus, against the
forces of Darius. It is said that Alexander performed sacrifices in
honour of Amphilochus, on account of their common affinity to Argos.
Hesiod says that Amphilochus was killed by Apollo at Soli; according to
others, at the Aleïan plain; and others again say, in Syria, upon his
quitting the Aleïan plain on account of the quarrel.
18. Mallus is followed by Ægææ, a small town[264] with a shelter for
vessels; then the Amanides Gates, (Gates of Amanus,[265]) with a shelter
for vessels. At these gates terminates the mountain Amanus,[266] which
extends from the Taurus, and lies above Cilicia towards the east. It was
successively in the possession of several tyrants, who had strongholds;
but, in our time, Tarcondimotus, who was a man of merit, became master
of all; for his good conduct and bravery, he received from the Romans
the title of King, and transmitted the succession to his posterity.
19. Next to Ægææ is Issus, a small town with a shelter for vessels, and
a river, the Pinarus. [267] At Issus the battle was fought between
Alexander and Darius. The bay is called the Issic Bay. The city
Rhosus[268] is situated upon it, as also the city Myriandrus,
Alexandreia,[269] Nicopolis, Mopsuestia,[270] and the Gates,[271] as
they are called, which are the boundary between Cilicia and Syria.
In Cilicia are the temple of the Sarpedonian Artemis and an oracle.
Persons possessed with divine inspiration deliver the oracles.
20. After Cilicia, the first Syrian city is Seleucia-in-Pieria;[272]
near it the river Orontes[273] empties itself. From Seleucia to Soli is
a voyage in a straight line of nearly 1000 stadia.
21. Since the Cilicians of the Troad, whom Homer mentions, are situated
at a great distance from the Cilicians without the Taurus, some writers
declare that the leaders of the latter colony were Cilicians of the
Troad, and point to Thebe and Lyrnessus in Pamphylia, places bearing the
same name as those in the Troad; other authors are of a contrary
opinion, and (considering the Cilicians of the Troad as descendants of
those from beyond the Taurus) point to an Aleïan plain (in support of
their hypothesis).
22. Having described the parts of the before-mentioned Chersonesus
without the Taurus, I must add these particulars.
Apollodorus, in his work on the catalogue of the ships mentioned in
Homer, relates, that all the allies of the Trojans, who came from Asia,
inhabited, according to the poet, the peninsula of which at its
narrowest part is the isthmus between the innermost recess of the bay at
Sinope and Issus. The exterior sides (of this peninsula), which is of a
triangular shape, are unequal. Of these, one extends from Cilicia to
Chelidoniæ, (islands,) another thence to the mouth of the Euxine, and
the third from the mouth of the Euxine to Sinope.
The assertion that the allies were only those who occupied the peninsula
may be proved to be erroneous by the same arguments by which we before
showed that those who lived within the Halys were not the only allies.
For the places about Pharnacia, where we said the Halizoni lived, are
situated without the Halys, and also without the isthmus, for they
[CAS. 677] are without the line drawn from Sinope to Issus;[274] and
not only without this line, but also without the true line of the
isthmus drawn from Amisus to Issus; for Apollodorus incorrectly
describes the isthmus and the line of its direction, substituting one
line for another (the line drawn from Sinope to Issus for the line drawn
from Amisus to Issus).
But the greatest absurdity is this, that after having said that the
peninsula was of a triangular shape, he speaks of three _exterior_
sides. For in speaking of _exterior_ sides, he seems to except the line
of the isthmus itself, considering it still a side, although not an
_exterior_ side, from its not being upon the sea. But if this line were
so shortened that the extremities of the (_exterior_) sides falling upon
Issus and Sinope nearly coincided, the peninsula might in that case be
said to be of a triangular shape; but as his own line (from Sinope to
Issus) is 3000 stadia in length, it would be ignorance, and not a
knowledge of chorography, to call such a four-sided figure a triangle.
Yet he published a work on Chorography, in the metre of comedy, (Iambic
metre,) entitled “The Circuit of the Earth. ”
He is still liable to the same charge of ignorance, even if we should
suppose the isthmus to be contracted to its least dimensions, and follow
writers who erroneously estimate the distance at one-half of the sum,
namely 1500 stadia, to which it is reduced by Artemidorus; but even this
would not by any means reduce the thus contracted space to the figure of
a triangle.
Besides, Artemidorus has not correctly described the exterior sides; one
side, he says, extends from Issus to the Chelidoniæ islands, although
the whole Lycian coast, and the country opposite to Rhodes as far as
Physcus, lies in a straight line with, and is a continuation of it; the
continent then makes a bend at Physcus, and forms the commencement of
the second or western side, extending to the Propontis and Byzantium.
23. Ephorus had said that this peninsula was inhabited by sixteen
tribes, three of which were Grecian, and the rest barbarous, with the
exception of the mixed nations; he placed on the sea-coast Cilicians,
Pamphylians, Lycians, Bithynians, Paphlagonians, Mariandyni, Troes, and
Carians; and in the interior, Pisidians, Mysians, Chalybes, Phrygians,
and Milyæ. [275] Apollodorus, when discussing this position, says there
is a seventeenth tribe, the Galatians, who are more recent than the time
of Ephorus; that of the sixteen tribes mentioned, the Greeks were not
settled (in the peninsula) at the period of the Trojan war, and that
time has produced great intermixture and confusion among the barbarous
nations. Homer, he continues, recites in his Catalogue the Troes, and
those now called Paphlagonians, Mysians, Phrygians, Carians, Lycians,
Meionians, instead of Lydians and other unknown people, as Halizoni and
Caucones; nations besides not mentioned in the Catalogue but elsewhere,
as Ceteii, Solymi, the Cilicians from the plain of Thebe, and Leleges.
But the Pamphylians, Bithynians, Mariandyni, Pisidians, and Chalybes,
Milyæ, and Cappadocians are nowhere mentioned by the poet; some because
they did not then inhabit these places, and some because they were
surrounded by other tribes, as Idrieis and Termilæ by Carians, Doliones
and Bebryces by Phrygians.
24. But Apollodorus does not seem to have carefully examined the
statements of Ephorus, for he confounds and misrepresents the words of
Homer. He ought first to have inquired of Ephorus why he placed the
Chalybes within the peninsula, who were situated at a great distance
from Sinope, and Amisus towards the east. Those who describe the isthmus
of this peninsula to be on the line drawn from Issus to the Euxine, lay
down this line as a sort of meridian line, which some suppose to pass
through Sinope, others through Amisus; but no one through the Chalybes,
for such a line would be altogether an oblique line. For the meridian
passing through the Chalybes, drawn through the Lesser Armenia, and the
Euphrates, would comprise (on the east) the whole of Cappadocia,
Commagene, Mount Amanus, and the Bay of Issus. [CAS. 678] But if we
should grant (to Ephorus) that this oblique line is the direction of the
isthmus, most of these places, Cappadocia in particular, would be
included, and (the kingdom of) Pontus, properly so called, which is a
part of Cappadocia on the Euxine; so that if we were to admit the
Chalybes to be a part of the peninsula, with more reason we ought to
admit the Cataonians, the two nations of Cappadocians, and the
Lycaonians, whom even he himself has omitted. But why has he placed in
the interior the Chalybes, whom the poet, as we have shown, calls
Halizoni? It would have been better to divide them, and to place one
portion of them on the sea-coast, and another in the inland parts. The
same division ought to be made of the Cappadocians and Cilicians. But
Ephorus does not even mention the former, and speaks only of the
Cilicians on the sea-coast. The subjects, then, of Antipater of Derbe,
the Homonadeis, and many other tribes contiguous to the Pisidians,
“men, who know not the sea, nor have ever eaten food seasoned
with salt,”[276]
where are they to be placed? Nor does he say whether the Lydians and the
Meonians are two nations or the same nation, or whether they live
separately by themselves or are comprehended in another tribe. For it
was impossible for Ephorus to be ignorant of so celebrated a nation, and
does he not, by passing it over in silence, appear to omit a most
important fact?
25. But who are “the mixed nations”? For we cannot say that he either
named or omitted others, besides those already mentioned, whom we should
call mixed nations. Nor, indeed, should we say that they were a part of
those nations whom he has either mentioned or omitted. For if they were
a mixed people, still the majority constituted them either Greeks or
Barbarians. We know nothing of a third mixed people.
26. But how (according to Ephorus) are there three tribes of Greeks who
inhabit the peninsula? Is it because anciently the Athenians and Ionians
were the same people? In that case the Dorians and the Æolians should be
considered as the same nation, and then there would be (only) two tribes
(and not three, inhabiting the peninsula). But if, following modern
practice, we are to distinguish nations according to dialects, there
will be four nations, as there are four dialects. But this peninsula is
inhabited, especially if we adopt the division by Ephorus, not only by
Ionians, but also by Athenians, as we have shown in the account of each
particular place.
It was worth while to controvert the positions of Ephorus, Apollodorus
however disregards all this, and adds a seventeenth to the sixteen
nations, namely, the Galatians; although it is well to mention this, yet
it is not required in a discussion of what Ephorus relates or omits;
Apollodorus has assigned as the reason of the omission, that all these
nations settled in the peninsula subsequently to the time of Ephorus.
27. Passing then to Homer, Apollodorus is correct in saying that there
was a great intermixture and confusion among the barbarous nations, from
the Trojan war to the present time, on account of the changes which had
taken place; for some nations had an accession of others, some were
extinct or dispersed, or had coalesced together.
But he is mistaken in assigning two reasons why the poet does not
mention some nations, namely, either because the place was not then
occupied by the particular people, or because they were comprehended in
another tribe. Neither of these reasons could induce him to be silent
respecting Cappadocia or Cataonia, or Lycaonia itself, for we have
nothing of the kind in history relating to these countries. It is
ridiculous to be anxious to find excuses why Homer has omitted to speak
of Cappadocia [Cataonia] and Lycaonia, and not to inform us why Ephorus
omitted them, particularly as the proposed object of Apollodorus was to
examine and discuss the opinions of Ephorus; and to tell us why Homer
mentions Mæonians instead of Lydians, and also not to remark that
Ephorus has not omitted to mention either Lydians or Mæonians. [277]
28. Apollodorus remarks, that Homer mentions certain unknown nations,
and he is right in specifying Caucones, Solymi, Ceteii, Leleges, and the
Cilicians from the plain of Thebe; but the Halizones are a fiction of
his own, or rather of those who, not knowing who the Halizones were,
frequently altered the mode of writing the name, and invented the
existence of [CAS. 680] mines of silver and of many other mines, all of
which are abandoned.
With this vain intention they collected the stories related by the
Scepsian, (Demetrius,) and taken from Callisthenes and other writers,
who did not clear them from false notions respecting the Halizones; for
example, the wealth of Tantalus and of the Pelopidæ was derived, it is
said, from the mines about Phrygia and Sipylus; that of Cadmus from the
mines about Thrace and Mount Pangæum; that of Priam from the gold mines
at Astyra, near Abydos (of which at present there are small remains, yet
there is a large quantity of matter ejected, and the excavations are
proofs of former workings); that of Midas from the mines about Mount
Bermium; that of Gyges, Alyattes, and Crœsus, from the mines in Lydia
and the small deserted city between Atarneus and Pergamum, where are the
sites of exhausted mines. [278]
29. We may impute another fault to Apollodorus, that although he
frequently censures modern writers for introducing new readings at
variance with the meaning of Homer, yet in this instance he not only
neglects his own advice, but actually unites together places which are
not so represented (by Homer).
(For example), Xanthus the Lydian says, that after the Trojan times the
Phrygians came from Europe (into Asia) and the left (western) side of
the Euxine, and that their leader Scamandrius conducted them from the
Berecynti and Ascania. Apollodorus adds, that Homer mentions the same
Ascania as Xanthus,
“Phorcys and the divine Ascanius led the Phrygians from the
distant Ascania. ”[279]
If this be so, the migration (from Europe to Asia) must be later than
the Trojan war; but in the Trojan war the auxiliaries mentioned by the
poet came from the opposite continent, from the Berecynti and Ascania.
Who then were the Phrygians,
“who were then encamped on the banks of the Sangarius,”
when Priam says,
“And I joined them with these troops as an auxiliary”? [280]
And how came Priam to send for the Phrygians from among the Berecynti,
between whom and himself no compact existed, and pass over the people
who were contiguous to him, and whose ally he formerly had been?
Apollodorus, after having spoken of the Phrygians in this manner,
introduces an account concerning the Mysians which contradicts this. He
says that there is a village of Mysia called Ascania, near a lake of the
same name,[281] out of which issues the river Ascanius, mentioned by
Euphorion:[282]
“near the waters of the Mysian Ascanius;”
and by Alexander of Ætolia:
“they who dwell on the stream of Ascanius, on the brink of the
Ascanian lake, where lived Dolion, the son of Silenus and
Melia. ”
The district, he says, about Cyzicus, on the road to Miletopolis, is
called Dolionis and Mysia.
If this is the case, and if it is confirmed by existing places and by
the poets, what prevented Homer, when he mentioned this Ascania, from
mentioning the Ascania also of which Xanthus speaks?
I have already spoken of these places in the description of Mysia and
Phrygia, and shall here conclude the discussion.
CHAPTER VI.
1. It remains for me to describe the island Cyprus, which adjoins this
peninsula on the south. I have already said, that the sea comprised
between Egypt, Phœnice, Syria, and the remainder of the coast as far as
that opposite to Rhodes, consists, [CAS. 681] so to say, of the
Egyptian and Pamphylian seas and the sea along the Bay of Issus.
In this sea lies the island Cyprus, having its northern side approaching
to Cilicia Tracheia, and here also it approaches nearest to the
continent; on the east it is washed by the Bay of Issus, on the west by
the Pamphylian sea, and on the south by that of Egypt. The latter sea is
confluent on the west with the Libyan and Carpathian seas. On its
southern and eastern parts is Egypt, and the succeeding tract of coast
as far as Seleucia and Issus. On the north is Cyprus, and the Pamphylian
sea.
The Pamphylian sea is bounded on the north by the extremities of Cilicia
Tracheia, of Pamphylia, and of Lycia as far as the territory opposite to
Rhodes; on the west, by the island of Rhodes; on the east, by the part
of Cyprus near Paphos, and the Acamas; on the south, it unites with the
Egyptian sea.
2. The circumference of Cyprus is 3420 stadia, including the winding of
the bays. Its length from Cleides[283] to the Acamas,[284] to a
traveller on land proceeding from east to west, is 1400 stadia.
The Cleides are two small islands lying in front of Cyprus on the
eastern side, at the distance of 700 stadia from the Pyramus. [285]
The Acamas is a promontory with two paps, and upon it is a large forest.
It is situated at the western part of the island, but extends towards
the north, approaching very near Selinus in Cilicia Tracheia, for the
passage across is only 1000 stadia; to Side in Pamphylia the passage is
1600 stadia, and to the Chelidoniæ (islands) 1900 stadia.
The figure of the whole island is oblong, and in some places on the
sides, which define its breadth, there are isthmuses.
We shall describe the several parts of the island briefly, beginning
from the point nearest to the continent.
3. We have said before, that opposite to Anemyrium, a promontory of
Cilicia Tracheia, is the extremity of Cyprus, namely, the promontory of
Crommyon,[286] at the distance of 350 stadia.
From the cape, keeping the island on the right hand, and continent on
the left, the voyage to the Cleides in a straight line towards north and
east is a distance of 700 stadia.
In the interval is the city Lapathus,[287] with a harbour and dockyards;
it was founded by Laconians and Praxander. Opposite to it was Nagidus.
Then follows Aphrodisium;[288] here the island is narrow, for over the
mountains to Salamis[289] are 70 stadia. Next is the sea-beach of the
Achæans; here Teucer, the founder of Salamis in Cyprus, being it is said
banished by his father Telamon, first disembarked. Then follows the city
Carpasia,[290] with a harbour. It is situated opposite to the promontory
Sarpedon. [291] From Carpasia there is a transit across the isthmus of 30
stadia to the Carpasian islands and the southern sea; next are a
promontory and a mountain. The name of the promontory is Olympus, and
upon it is a temple of Venus Acræa, not to be approached nor seen by
women.
Near and in front lie the Cleides, and many other islands; next are the
Carpasian islands, and after these Salamis, the birth-place of Aristus
the historian; then Arsinoë, a city with a harbour; next Leucolla,
another harbour; then the promontory Pedalium, above which is a hill,
rugged, lofty, and table-shaped, sacred to Venus; to this hill from
Cleides are 680 stadia. Then to Citium[292] the navigation along the
coast is for the greater part difficult and among bays. Citium has a
close harbour. It is the birth-place of Zeno, the chief of the Stoic
sect, and of Apollonius the physician. Thence to Berytus are 1500
stadia. Next is the city Amathus,[293] and between Citium and Berytus, a
small city called Palæa, and a pap-shaped mountain, Olympus; then
follows Curias,[294] a promontory of a peninsular form, to which from
Throni[295] are 700 stadia; then the city Curium,[296] with a harbour,
founded by Argives.
Here we may observe the negligence of the author, whether Hedylus, or
whoever he was, of the elegiac lines which begin,
“We hinds, sacred to Phœbus, hither came in our swift course;
we traversed the broad sea, to avoid the arrows of our
pursuers. ”
He says, that the hinds ran down from the Corycian heights, [CAS. 683]
and swam across from the Cilician coast to the beach near Curias, and
adds,
“That it was a cause of vast surprise to men to think how we
scoured the trackless waves, aided by the vernal Zephyrs. ”
For it is possible (by doubling the cape) to sail round from Corycus to
the beach of Curias, but not with the assistance of the west wind, nor
by keeping the island on the right, but on the left hand; and there is
no (direct) passage across.
At Curium is the commencement of the voyage towards the west in the
direction of Rhodes; then immediately follows a promontory, whence those
who touch with their hands the altar of Apollo are precipitated. Next
are Treta,[297] Boosura,[298] and Palæpaphus, situated about 10 stadia
from the sea, with a harbour and an ancient temple of the Paphian Venus;
then follows Zephyria,[299] a promontory with an anchorage, and another
Arsinoë, which also has an anchorage, a temple, and a grove. At a little
distance from the sea is Hierocepis. [300] Next is Paphos, founded by
Agapenor, with a harbour and temples, which are fine buildings. It is
distant from Palæpaphus 60 stadia by land. Along this road the annual
sacred processions are conducted, when a great concourse both of men and
women resort thither from other cities. Some writers say, that from
Paphos to Alexandreia are 3600 stadia. Next after Paphos is the Acamas;
then after the Acamas the voyage is easterly to Arsinoë a city, and to
the grove of Jupiter; then Soli[301] a city, where there is a harbour, a
river, and a temple of Venus and Isis. It was founded by Phalerus and
Acamas, who were Athenians. The inhabitants are called Solii. Stasanor,
one of the companions of Alexander, was a native of Soli, and was
honoured with a chief command. Above Soli in the interior is Limenia a
city, then follows the promontory of Crommyon.
4. But why should we be surprised at poets, and those particularly who
study modes of expression only, when we compare them with Damastes? The
latter gives the length of the island from north to south, from
Hierocepia, as he says, to Cleides.
Nor does even Eratosthenes give it exactly. For, when he censures
Damastes, he says that Hierocepia is not on the north, but on the south.
Yet neither is it on the south, but the west, since it lies on the
western side, where are situated Paphos and Acamas.
Such then is the position of Cyprus.
5. It is not inferior in fertility to any one of the islands, for it
produces good wine and oil, and sufficient corn to supply the wants of
the inhabitants. At Tamassus there are abundant mines of copper, in
which the calcanthus is found, and rust of copper, useful for its
medicinal properties.
Eratosthenes says, that anciently the plains abounded with timber, and
were covered with forests, which prevented cultivation; the mines were
of some service towards clearing the surface, for trees were cut down to
smelt the copper and silver. Besides this, timber was required for the
construction of fleets, as the sea was now navigated with security and
by a large naval force; but when even these means were insufficient to
check the growth of timber in the forests, permission was given to such
as were able and inclined, to cut down the trees and to hold the land
thus cleared as their own property, free from all payments.
6.
