The most distinguished
citizens
are always the priests, and hold office
during life.
during life.
Strabo
The
Nysæans at present regard Athymbrus as their founder.
47. Beyond the Mæander and in the neighbourhood are considerable
settlements, Coscinia[113] and Orthosia, and on this side the river,
Briula, Mastaura,[114] Acharaca, and above the city on the mountain,
Aroma; the letter _o_ is shortened in the pronunciation. From this
latter place is obtained the Aromeus, the best Mesogitian wine.
48. Among illustrious natives of Nysa were Apollonius the Stoic
philosopher, the most eminent of the disciples of Panætius, and of
Menecrates, the disciple of Aristarchus; Aristodemus, the son of
Menecrates, whom, when I was a very young man, I heard lecturing on
philosophy, in extreme old age, at Nysa; Sostratus, the brother of
Aristodemus, and another Aristodemus, his cousin, the master of Pompey
the Great, were distinguished grammarians. My master taught rhetoric
also at Rhodes, and in his own country he had two schools; in the
morning he taught rhetoric, in the evening grammar. When he
superintended the education of the children of Pompey at Rome, he was
satisfied with teaching a school of grammar.
CHAPTER II.
1. The places beyond the Mæander, which remain to be described, belong
to the Carians. The Carians here are not intermixed with Lydians, but
occupy the whole country by themselves, if we except a small portion of
the sea-coast, of which the Milesians and Mysians have taken possession.
Caria[115] begins on the sea-coast opposite to Rhodes, and ends at
Poseidium,[116] belonging to the Milesians. In the interior are the
extremities of Taurus, which extend as far as the Mæander. For the
mountains situated above the Chelidonian islands,[117] as they are
called, which lie in front of the confines of Pamphylia and Lycia, are,
it is said, the beginning of the Taurus; for the Taurus has there some
elevation, and indeed a mountainous ridge of Taurus separates the whole
of Lycia towards the exterior and the southern part from Cibyra and its
district, as far as the country opposite to Rhodes. Even there a
mountainous tract is continued; it is, however, much lower in height,
and is not considered as any longer belonging to Taurus, nor is there
the distinction of parts lying within and parts lying without the
Taurus, on account of the eminences and depressions being scattered
about through the whole country both in breadth and length, and not
presenting anything like a separation-wall.
The whole voyage along the coast, including the winding [CAS. 651] of
the bays, is 4900 stadia, and that along the country opposite to Rhodus
1500 stadia.
2. The beginning of this tract is Dædala,[118] a stronghold; and ends at
the mountain Phœnix,[119] as it is called, both of which belong to the
Rhodian territory. In front, at the distance of 120 stadia from Rhodes,
lies Eleussa. [120] In sailing from Dædala towards the west in a straight
line along Cilicia, Pamphylia, and Lycia, in the midway is a bay called
Glaucus, with good harbours; then is the promontory Artemisium, and a
temple; next, the grove sacred to Latona; above this, and at the
distance of 60 stadia, is Calynda, a city; then Caunus,[121] and a deep
river near it, the Calbis,[122] which may be entered by vessels; between
these is Pisilis.
3. The city Caunus has a naval arsenal and a close harbour. Above the
city upon a height is Imbrus, a stronghold. Although the country is
fertile, yet the city is allowed by all to be unhealthy in summer, on
account of the heat, and in autumn, from the abundance of fruits.
Stories of the following kind are related respecting the city.
Stratonicus, the player on the cithara, seeing the Caunians somewhat
dark and yellow,[123] said that this was what the poet meant in the
line,
“As are the leaves, so is the race of men. ”[124]
When he was accused of ridiculing the unhealthiness of the city, he
answered, “Can I be so bold as to call that city unhealthy, where even
the dead walk about? ”
The Caunians once revolted from the Rhodians, but, by a decision of the
Romans, they were received again by the Rhodians into favour. There is
in existence an oration of Molo against the Caunians.
It is said that they speak the same language as the Carians, that they
came from Crete, and retained their own laws and customs. [125]
4. Next is Physcus,[126] a small town; it has a port and a grove sacred
to Latona: then Loryma, a rugged line of sea-coast, and a mountain, the
highest of any in that quarter, on the summit of which is Phœnix, a
stronghold, of the same name as the mountain. In front is the island
Eleussa, at the distance of 4 stadia. Its circumference is about 8
stadia.
5. The city of the Rhodians is on the eastern promontory. With regard to
harbours, roads, walls, and other buildings, it so much surpasses other
cities, that we know of none equal, much less superior to it.
Their political constitution and laws were excellent, and the care
admirable with which they administered affairs of state generally, and
particularly those relative to their marine. Hence being for a long
period masters of the sea, they put an end to piracy, and became allies
of the Romans, and of those kings who were well affected to the Romans
and the Greeks; hence also the city was suffered to preserve her
independence, and was embellished with many votive offerings. These are
distributed in various places, but the greatest part of them are
deposited in the Dionysium and in the gymnasium. The most remarkable is
the Colossus of the Sun, which, the author of the iambics says, was
“seventy cubits in height, the work of Chares of Lindus. ”
It now lies on the ground, having been thrown down by an earthquake, and
is broken off at the knees. An oracle prohibited its being raised again.
This is the most remarkable of the votive offerings, and it is allowed
to be one of the seven wonders of the world. [127] There were also the
pictures by Protogenes,[128] the Ialysus, and the Satyr, who was
represented [CAS. 652] standing by a pillar. On the top of the pillar
was a partridge. The bird strongly attracted, as was natural, the gaping
admiration of the people, when the picture was first hung up in public,
and they were so much delighted, that the Satyr, although executed with
great skill, was not noticed. The partridge-breeders were still more
struck with the picture of the bird. They brought tame partridges,
which, when placed opposite to the picture, made their call, and drew
together crowds of people. When Protogenes observed that the principal
had become the subordinate part of his work, he obtained permission of
the curators of the temple to efface the bird, which he did.
The Rhodians, although their form of government is not democratic, are
attentive to the welfare of the people, and endeavour to maintain the
multitude of poor. The people receive allowances of corn, and the rich
support the needy, according to an ancient usage. There are also public
offices in the state, the object of which is to procure and distribute
provisions,[129] so that the poor may obtain subsistence, and the city
not suffer for want of persons to serve her, especially in manning her
fleets.
Some of the dockyards are kept private, and the multitude are prohibited
from seeing them. If any person should be found inspecting, or to have
entered them, he would be punished with death. As at Massalia and
Cyzicus,[130] so here particularly, everything relating to architects,
the manufacture of engines, stores of arms, and of other materials, is
administered with peculiar care, much more so than in other places.
6. Like the people of Halicarnassus,[131] Cnidus, and Cos, the Rhodians
are of Doric origin. Some of the Dorians, who founded Megara after the
death of Codrus, remained there; others associated themselves with the
colony which went to Crete under the conduct of Althæmenes the Argive;
the rest were distributed at Rhodus, and among the cities just
mentioned.
But these migrations are more recent than the events related by Homer.
For Cnidus and Halicarnassus were not then in existence. Rhodes and Cos
existed, but were inhabited by Heracleidæ. Tlepolemus, when he attained
manhood,
“slew the maternal uncle of his father, the aged Licymnius. He
immediately built ships, and, collecting a large body of
people, fled away with them:”[132]
and adds afterwards—
“after many sufferings on the voyage, he came to Rhodes; they
settled there according to their tribes, in three bodies:”
and mentions by name the cities then existing[133]—
“Lindus, Ialysus, and the white Cameirus,”
the city of the Rhodians not being yet founded.
Homer does not here mention Dorians by name, but means Æolians and
Bœotians, since Hercules and Licymnius lived in Bœotia. If however, as
others relate, Tlepolemus set out from Argos and Tiryns, even so the
colony would not be Dorian, for it was settled before the return of the
Heracleidæ.
And of the Coans also Homer says—
“their leaders were Pheidippus and Antiphus, two sons of
Thessalus the King, an Heracleid;”[134]
and these names designate rather an Æolian than a Dorian origin.
7. Rhodes was formerly called Ophiussa and Stadia, then Telchinis, from
the Telchines, who inhabited the island. [135]
These Telchines are called by some writers charmers and enchanters, who
besprinkle animals and plants, with a view to destroy them, with the
water of the Styx, mingled with sulphur. Others on the contrary say,
that they were persons who excelled in certain mechanical arts, and that
they were calumniated by jealous rivals, and thus acquired a bad
reputation; that they came from Crete, and first landed at Cyprus, and
then removed to Rhodes. They were the first workers in iron and brass,
and were the makers of Saturn’s scythe.
I have spoken of them before, but the variety of fables [CAS. 654]
which are related of them induces me to resume their history, and to
supply what may have been omitted.
8. After the Telchines, the Heliadæ[136] were said, according to
fabulous accounts, to have occupied the island. One of these Heliadæ,
Cercaphus, and his wife Cydippe had children, who founded the cities
called after their names—
“Lindus, Ialysus, and the white Cameirus. ”[137]
Others say, that Tlepolemus founded them, and gave to them the names of
some of the daughters of Danaüs.
9. The present city was built during the Peloponnesian war, by the same
architect,[138] it is said, who built the Piræus. The Piræus, however,
does not continue to exist, having formerly sustained injuries from the
Lacedæmonians, who threw down the walls, and then from Sylla, the Roman
general.
10. It is related of the Rhodians that their maritime affairs were in a
flourishing state, not only from the time of the foundation of the
present city, but that many years before the institution of the Olympic
festival, they sailed to a great distance from their own country for the
protection of sailors. They sailed as far as Spain, and there founded
Rhodus, which the people of Marseilles afterwards occupied; they founded
Parthenope[139] among the Opici, and Elpiæ in Daunia, with the
assistance of Coans. Some authors relate, that after their return from
Troy they colonized the Gymnasian islands. According to Timæus, the
greater of these islands is the largest known,[140] next the seven
following, Sardinia, Sicily, Cyprus, Crete, Eubœa,[141] Corsica, and
Lesbos; but this is a mistake, for these others are much larger. It is
said, that gymnetes (or light-armed soldiers[142]) are called by the
Phœnicians balearides, and that from hence the Gymnasian islands were
called Balearides.
Some of the Rhodians settled in the neighbourhood of Sybaris, in the
Chonian territory. [143] Homer seems to bear evidence of the former
prosperity of the Rhodians, from the very foundation of the three
cities;
“they settled according to their tribes, in three companies,
and were the favourites of Jupiter, who showered upon them
great wealth. ”[144]
Other writers have applied these verses to a fable, according to which,
at the birth of Minerva, it rained gold on the island from the head of
Jupiter, as Pindar has said. [145]
The island is 920 stadia in circumference.
11. In sailing from the city, and leaving the island on the right hand,
the first place we meet with is Lindus,[146] a city situated on a
mountain extending far towards the south, and particularly towards
Alexandreia (in Egypt). [147] There is here a celebrated temple of the
Lindian Diana, built by the Danaides. Formerly, the Lindians, like the
inhabitants of Cameirus,[148] and Ialyssus, formed an independent state,
but afterwards they all settled at Rhodes.
Cleobulus, one of the seven wise men, was a native of Lindus.
12. Next to Lindus is Ixia,[149] a stronghold, and Mnasyrium; then the
Atabyris,[150] the highest mountain in the island, sacred to Jupiter
Atabyrius; then Cameirus; then Ialysus a village, and above it is an
acropolis called Ochyroma (the Fortification); then, at the distance of
about 80 stadia, the city of the Rhodians. Between these is the
Thoantium, a sort of beach, immediately in front of which are situated
the Sporades islands lying about Chalcis, which we have mentioned
before. [151]
13. There have been many remarkable persons, natives of Rhodes, both
generals and athletæ, among whom were the ancestors of Panætius the
philosopher. Among statesmen, orators, and philosophers, were Panætius,
Stratocles, Andronicus the Peripatetic, Leonides the Stoic, and long
before the time of these persons, Praxiphanes, Hieronymus, and Eudēmus.
Poseidonius was concerned in the administration of the affairs of state,
and taught philosophy at Rhodes, (but he was a native of Apameia in
Syria,) as did Apollonius Malacus, and [CAS. 655] Molon, who were
natives of Alabanda, and disciples of Menecles the rhetorician.
Apollonius had resided at Rhodes long before, but Molon came late;
whence the former said to him “late comer,” Ὀψὲ μολών, instead of
ἐλθών[152] Peisander, a Rhodian poet, author of the Heracleia; Simmias
the grammarian, and Aristocles, of our time. Dionysius the Thracian, and
Apollonius, author of the Argonautics, although natives of Alexandreia,
were called Rhodians.
This is sufficient on the subject of the island of Rhodes.
14. There is a bend of the Carian coast opposite to Rhodes, immediately
after Eleus[153] and Loryma, towards the north, and then the ship’s
course is in a straight line to the Propontis,[154] and forms as it were
a meridian line of about 500 stadia in length, or somewhat less. Along
this line are situated the remainder of Caria, Ionians, Æolians, Troy,
and the parts about Cyzicus and Byzantium. Next to Loryma is the
Cynossema, or dogs’ monument,[155] and the island Syme. [156]
15. Then follows Cnidus,[157] which has two harbours, one of which is a
close harbour, fit for receiving triremes, and a naval station for 20
vessels. In front of Cnidus is an island, in circumference about 7
stadia; it rises high, in the form of a theatre, and is united by a mole
to the continent, and almost makes Cnidus a double city, for a great
part of the inhabitants occupy the island, which shelters both harbours.
Opposite to it, far out at sea, is Nisyrus. [158]
Illustrious natives of Cnidus were, first, Eudoxus the mathematician, a
disciple of Plato’s; Agatharchides, the Peripatetic philosopher and
historian; Theopompus, one of the most powerful of the friends of divus
Cæsar, and his son Artemidorus. Ctesias also, the physician of
Artaxerxes, was a native of this place. He wrote a history of Assyria
and Persia.
Next after Cnidus are Ceramus[159] and Bargasa, small towns overlooking
the sea.
16. Then follows Halicarnasus, formerly called Zephyra, the royal seat
of the dynasts of Caria. Here is the sepulchre of Mausolus, one of
the seven wonders of the world;[160] Artemisia erected it, in honour
of her husband. Here also is the fountain Salmacis, which has a bad
repute, for what reason I know not, for making those who drink of it
effeminate. Mankind, enervated by luxury, impute the blame of its
effects to different kinds of air and water, but these are not the
causes of luxury, but riches and intemperance.
There is an acropolis at Halicarnasus. In front of it lies
Arconnesus. [161] It had, among others, as its founders, Anthes and a
body of Trœzenians. [162]
Among the natives of Halicarnasus were Herodotus the historian, who was
afterwards called Thurius, because he was concerned in sending out the
colony to Thurii; Heracleitus the poet, the friend of Callimachus; and
in our time, Dionysius the historian.
17. Halicarnasus suffered, when it was taken by storm by Alexander.
Hecatomnus, who was then king of the Carians, had three sons, Mausolus,
Hidrieus, and Pixodarus, and two daughters. Mausolus, the eldest son,
married Artemisia, the eldest daughter; Hidrieus, the second son,
married Ada, the other sister. Mausolus came to the throne, and, dying
without children, left the kingdom to his wife, by whom the
above-mentioned sepulchre was erected. She pined away for grief at the
loss of her husband. Hidrieus succeeded her; he died a natural death,
and was succeeded by his wife Ada. She was ejected by Pixodarus, the
surviving son of Hecatomnus. Having espoused the party of the Persians,
Pixodarus sent for a satrap to share the kingdom with him. After the
death of Pixodarus, the satrap became master of Halicarnasus. But upon
the arrival of Alexander, he sustained a siege. His wife was Ada,
daughter of Pixodarus, and Aphneïs, a woman of Cappadocia. But Ada, the
daughter of Hecatomnus, whom Pixodarus ejected, entreated Alexander, and
endeavoured to prevail upon him to reïnstate her in the kingdom of which
she had been deprived; she promised (in return) her assistance in
reducing to obedience the parts of the country which had revolted; for
the persons who were in possession of them [CAS. 657] were her
relations and subjects. She also delivered up Alinda where she herself
resided. Alexander granted her request and proclaimed her queen, after
the city was taken, but not the acropolis, which was doubly fortified.
He assigned to Ada the siege of the acropolis, which was taken in a
short time afterwards, the besiegers having attacked it with fury and
exasperation at the resistance of the besieged.
18. Next is Termerium,[163] a promontory of the Myndians, opposite to
which lies Scandaria, a promontory of Cos, distant 40 stadia from the
continent. There is also above the promontory a fortress, Termerum.
19. The city of the Coans was formerly called Astypalæa, and was built
in another place, but is at present on the sea-coast. Afterwards, on
account of a sedition, they migrated to the present city, near
Scandarium, and changed the name to that of the island, Cos. The city is
not large, but beautifully built, and a most pleasing sight to mariners
who are sailing by the coast. The island is about 550 stadia in
circumference. The whole of it is fertile, and produces, like Chios and
Lesbos, excellent wine. It has, towards the south, the promontory
Laceter,[164] from which to Nicyrus is 60 stadia, and near Laceter is
Halisarna, a stronghold; on the west is Drecanum, and a village called
Stomalimne. Drecanum is distant about 200 stadia from the city. The
promontory Laceter adds to the length of the navigation 35 stadia. In
the suburb is the celebrated temple Asclepieium, full of votive
offerings, among which is the Antigonus of Apelles. It formerly
contained the Venus Anadyomene, (Venus emerging from the sea,) but that
is now at Rome, dedicated to divus Cæsar by Augustus, who consecrated to
his father the picture of her who was the author of his family. It is
said that the Coans obtained, as a compensation for the loss of this
painting, an abatement, amounting to a hundred talents, of their usual
tribute.
It is said, that Hippocrates learned and practised the dietetic part of
medicine from the narrative of cures suspended in the temple. He is one
of the illustrious natives of Cos. Simus, also, the physician, Philetas
the poet and critic, Nicias of our time, who was tyrant of Cos; Ariston,
the disciple and heir of Ariston the Peripatetic philosopher; and
Theomnestus, a minstrel of name, who was of the opposite political party
to Nicias.
20. On the coast of the continent opposite to the Myndian territory is
Astypalæa a promontory, and Zephyrium. The city Myndus follows
immediately after, which has a harbour; then the city Bargylia. In the
intervening distance is Caryanda[165] a harbour, and an island of the
same name, occupied by Caryandians. Scylax the ancient historian was a
native of this island. Near Bargylia is the temple of Artemis Cindyas,
round which the rain falls, it is believed, without touching it. There
was once a strong place called Cindya.
Among the distinguished natives of Bargylia was Protarchus the
Epicurean; Demetrius surnamed Lacon was his disciple.
21. Next follows Iasus, situated upon an island,[166] on the side
towards the continent. It has a port, and the inhabitants derive the
greatest part of their subsistence from the sea, which abounds with
fish, but the soil is very barren. Stories of the following kind are
related of Iasus.
As a player on the cithara was displaying his art in public, every one
listened to him attentively till the market bell rung for the sale of
fish, when he was deserted by all except one man, who was quite deaf.
The minstrel coming up to him said, “Friend, I am much obliged to you
for the honour you have done me, and I admire your love of music, for
all the others have left me at the sound of the bell. ”—“What say you,
has the bell rung? ”—“Yes, he replied? ”—“Good bye to you,” said the man,
and away he also went.
Diodorus the Dialectician was a native of this place. He was surnamed
Cronus (or Old Time); the title was not properly his from the first; it
was his master Apollonius who (in the first instance) had received the
surname of Cronus, but it was transferred to Diodorus on account of the
want of celebrity in the true Cronus.
22. Next to Iasus is Cape Poseidium[167] of the Milesians. In the
interior are three considerable cities, Mylasa,[168] Stratoniceia,[169]
and Alabanda. [170] The others are guard forts to these or to the
maritime towns, as Amyzon, Heracleia, Euromus, Chalcetor. But we make
little account of these.
23. Mylasa is situated in a very fertile plain; a mountain, containing a
very beautiful marble quarry, overhangs the city; and it is no small
advantage to have stone for building [CAS. 659] in abundance and near
at hand, particularly for the construction of temples and other public
edifices; consequently, no city is embellished more beautifully than
this with portico and temples. It is a subject of surprise, however,
that persons should be guilty of the absurdity of building the city at
the foot of a perpendicular and lofty precipice. One of the governors of
the province is reported to have said, when he expressed his
astonishment at this circumstance, “If the founder of the city had no
fear, he had no shame. ”
The Mylasians have two temples, one of Jupiter called Osogo, and another
of Jupiter Labrandenus. The former is in the city. Labranda is a village
on the mountain, near the passage across it from Alabanda to Mylasa, at
a distance from the city. At Labranda is an ancient temple of Jupiter,
and a statue of Jupiter Stratius, who is worshipped by the neighbouring
people and by the inhabitants of Mylasa. There is a paved road for a
distance of about 60 stadia from the temple to the city; it is called
the Sacred Way, along which the sacred things are carried in procession.
The most distinguished citizens are always the priests, and hold office
during life. These temples belong peculiarly to the city. There is a
third temple of the Carian Jupiter, common to all the Carians, in the
use of which the Lydians, also, and Mysians participate, as being
brethren.
Mylasa is said to have been anciently a village, but the native place
and royal residence of Hecatomnus and the Carians. The city approaches
nearest to the sea at Physcus, which is their naval arsenal.
24. Mylasa has produced in our time illustrious men, who were at once
orators and demagogues, Euthydemus and Hybreas. Euthydemus inherited
from his ancestors great wealth and reputation. He possessed commanding
eloquence, and was regarded as a person of eminence, not only in his own
country, but was thought worthy of the highest honours even in Asia. The
father of Hybreas, as he used to relate the circumstance in his school,
and as it was confirmed by his fellow-citizens, left him a mule which
carried wood, and a mule driver. He was maintained for a short time by
their labour, and was enabled to attend the lectures of Diotrephes of
Antioch. On his return he held the office of superintendent of the
market. But here being harassed, and gaining but little profit, he
applied himself to the affairs of the state, and to attend to the
business of the forum. He quickly advanced himself and became an object
of admiration, even during the lifetime of Euthydemus, and still more
after his death, as the leading person in the city. Euthydemus possessed
great power, and used it for the benefit of the city, so that if some of
his acts were rather tyrannical, this character was lost in their public
utility.
The saying of Hybreas, at the conclusion of an harangue to the people,
is applauded: “Euthydemus, you are an evil necessary to the city; for we
can live neither with thee nor without thee. ”[171]
Hybreas, although he had acquired great power, and had the reputation of
being both a good citizen and an excellent orator, was defeated in his
political opposition to Labienus. For the citizens, unarmed, and
disposed to peace, surrendered to Labienus, who attacked them with a
body of troops and with Parthian auxiliaries, the Parthians being at
that time masters of Asia. But Zeno of Laodiceia and Hybreas, both of
them orators, did not surrender, but caused their own cities to revolt.
Hybreas provoked Labienus, an irritable and vain young man, by saying,
when the youth announced himself emperor of the Parthians, “Then I shall
call myself emperor of the Carians. ” Upon this Labienus marched against
the city, having with him cohorts drafted from the Roman soldiery
stationed in Asia. He did not however take Hybreas prisoner, who had
retreated to Rhodes, but plundered and destroyed his house, which
contained costly furniture, and treated the whole city in the same
manner. After Labienus had left Asia, Hybreas returned, and restored his
own affairs and those of the city to their former state.
This then on the subject of Mylasa.
25. Stratoniceia is a colony of Macedonians. It was embellished by the
kings with costly edifices. In the district of the Stratoniceians are
two temples. The most celebrated, that of Hecate, is at Lagina, where
every year great multitudes assemble at a great festival. Near the city
is the temple of Jupiter Chrysaoreus,[172] which is common to all the
Carians, and whither they repair to offer sacrifice, and to deliberate
on their common interests. They call this meeting the Chrysaoreon,
[CAS. 660] which is composed of villages. Those who represent the
greatest number of villages have the precedency in voting, like the
Ceramiētæ. The Stratoniceians, although they are not of Carian race,
have a place in this assembly, because they possess villages included in
the Chrysaoric body.
In the time of our ancestors there flourished at Stratoniceia a
distinguished person, Menippus the orator, surnamed Catocas, whom
Cicero[173] commends in one of his writings above all the Asiatic
orators whom he had heard, comparing him to Xenocles, and to those who
flourished at that time.
There is another Stratoniceia, called Stratoniceia at the Taurus, a
small town adjacent to the mountain.
26. Alabanda lies at the foot of two eminences, in such a manner as to
present the appearance of an ass with panniers. On this account
Apollonius Malacus ridicules the city, and also because it abounds with
scorpions; he says, it was an ass, with panniers full of scorpions.
This city and Mylasa, and the whole mountainous tract between them,
swarm with these reptiles.
The inhabitants of Alabanda are addicted to luxury and debauchery. It
contains a great number of singing girls.
Natives of Alabanda, distinguished persons, were two orators, brothers,
Menecles, whom we mentioned a little above, and Hierocles, Apollonius,
and Molo; the two latter afterwards went to Rhodes.
27. Among the various accounts which are circulated respecting the
Carians, the most generally received is that the Carians, then called
Leleges, were governed by Minos, and occupied the islands. Then removing
to the continent, they obtained possession of a large tract of sea-coast
and of the interior, by driving out the former occupiers, who were, for
the most part, Leleges and Pelasgi. The Greeks again, Ionians and
Dorians, deprived the Carians of a portion of the country.
As proofs of their eager pursuit of war, the handles of shields, badges,
and crests, all of which are called Carian, are alleged. Anacreon says,
“Come, grasp the well-made Caric handles;”
and Alcæus—
“Shaking a Carian crest. ”
28. But when Homer uses these expressions, “Masthles commanded the
Carians, who speak a barbarous language,”[174] it does not appear why,
when he was acquainted with so many barbarous nations, he mentions the
Carians alone as using a barbarous language, but does not call any
people Barbarians. Nor is Thucydides right, who says that none were
called Barbarians, because as yet the Greeks were not distinguished by
any one name as opposed to some other. But Homer himself refutes this
position that the Greeks were not distinguished by this name:
“A man whose fame has spread through Greece and Argos;”[175]
and in another place—
“But if you wish to go through Hellas and the middle of Argos. ”[176]
But if there was no such term as Barbarian, how could he properly speak
of people as Barbarophonoi (i. e. speaking a barbarous language)?
Neither is Thucydides nor Apollonius the grammarian right, because the
Greeks, and particularly the Ionians, applied to the Carians a common
term in a peculiar and vituperative sense, in consequence of their
hatred of them for their animosity and continual hostile incursions.
Under these circumstances he might call them Barbarians. But we ask,
why does he call them Barbarophonoi, but not once Barbarians? Because,
replies Apollonius, the plural number does not fall in with the metre;
this is the reason why Homer does not call them Barbarians. Admitting
then that the genitive case (βαρβάρων) does not fall in with the
measure of the verse, the nominative case (βάρβαροι) does not differ
from that of Dardani (Δάρδανοι);
“Trojans, Lycians, and Dardani;”
and of the same kind is the word Troïi[177] in this verse,
“Like the Troïi horses” (Τρώιοι ἵπποι).
Nor is the reason to be found in the alleged excessive harshness of the
Carian language, for it is not extremely harsh; and besides, according
to Philippus, the author of a history of Caria, their language contains
a very large mixture of Greek words.
[CAS. 661] I suppose that the word “barbarian” was at first invented to
designate a mode of pronunciation which was embarrassed, harsh, and
rough; as we use the words battarizein, traulizein, psellizein,[178] to
express the same thing. For we are naturally very much disposed to
denote certain sounds by names expressive of those sounds, and
characteristic of their nature; and hence invented terms abound,
expressive of the sounds which they designate, as kelaryzein, clange,
psophos, boe, krotos,[179] most of which words are at present used in an
appropriate sense.
As those who pronounce their words with a thick enunciation are called
Barbarians, so foreigners, I mean those who were not Greeks, were
observed to pronounce their words in this manner. The term Barbarians
was therefore applied peculiarly to these people, at first by way of
reproach, as having a thick and harsh enunciation; afterwards the term
was used improperly, and applied as a common gentile term in
contradistinction to the Greeks. For after a long intimacy and
intercourse had subsisted with the Barbarians, it no longer appeared
that this peculiarity arose from any thickness of enunciation, or a
natural defect in the organs of the voice, but from the peculiarities of
their languages.
But there was in our language a bad and what might be called a barbarous
utterance, as when any person speaking Greek should not pronounce it
correctly, but should pronounce the words like the Barbarians, who, when
beginning to learn the Greek language, are not able to pronounce it
perfectly, as neither are we able to pronounce perfectly their
languages.
This was peculiarly the case with the Carians. For other nations had not
much intercourse with the Greeks, nor were disposed to adopt the Grecian
manner of life, nor to learn our language, with the exception of persons
who by accident and singly had associated with a few Greeks; but the
Carians were dispersed over the whole of Greece, as mercenary soldiers.
Then the barbarous pronunciation was frequently met with among them,
from their military expeditions into Greece; and afterwards it spread
much more, from the time that they occupied the islands together with
the Greeks: not even when driven thence into Asia, could they live
apart from Greeks, when the Ionians and Dorians arrived there.
Hence arose the expression, “to barbarize,” for we are accustomed to
apply this term to those whose pronunciation of the Greek language is
vicious, and not to those who pronounce it like the Carians.
We are then to understand the expressions, “barbarous speaking” and
“barbarous speakers,” of persons whose pronunciation of the Greek
language is faulty. The word “to barbarize” was formed after the word
“to Carize,” and transferred into the books which teach the Greek
language; thus also the word “to solœcize” was formed, derived either
from Soli or some other source.
29. Artemidorus says that the journey from Physcus, on the coast
opposite to Rhodes, towards Ephesus, as far as Lagina is 850 stadia;
thence to Alabanda 250 stadia; to Tralles 160. About halfway on the road
to Tralles the Mæander is crossed, and here are the boundaries of Caria.
The whole number of stadia from Physcus to the Mæander, along the road
to Ephesus, is 1180 stadia. Again, along the same road, from the Mæander
of Ionia to Tralles 80 stadia, to Magnesia 140 stadia, to Ephesus 120,
to Smyrna 320, to Phocæa and the boundaries of Ionia, less than 200
stadia; so that the length of Ionia in a straight line would be,
according to Artemidorus, a little more than 800 stadia.
But as there is a public frequented road by which all travellers pass on
their way from Ephesus to the east, Artemidorus thus describes it. [From
Ephesus] to Carura, the boundary of Caria towards Phrygia, through
Magnesia and Tralles, Nysa, Antioch, is a journey of 740 stadia. From
Carura, the first town in Phrygia, through Laodiceia, Apameia,
Metropolis, and Chelidoniæ,[180] to Holmi, the beginning of the
Paroreius, a country lying at the foot of the mountains, about 920
stadia; to Tyriæum,[181] the termination towards Lycaonia of the
Paroreius,[182] through Philomelium[183] is little more than 500 stadia.
Next is Lycaonia as far as Coropassus,[184] through Laodiceia in the
Catacecaumene, 840 stadia; from Coropassus [CAS. 662] in Lycaonia to
Garsaüra,[185] a small city of Cappadocia, situated on its borders, 120
stadia; thence to Mazaca,[186] the metropolis of the Cappadocians,
through Soandus and Sadacora, 680 stadia; thence to the Euphrates, as
far as Tomisa, a stronghold in Sophene, through Herphæ,[187] a small
town, 1440 stadia.
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.
Nysæans at present regard Athymbrus as their founder.
47. Beyond the Mæander and in the neighbourhood are considerable
settlements, Coscinia[113] and Orthosia, and on this side the river,
Briula, Mastaura,[114] Acharaca, and above the city on the mountain,
Aroma; the letter _o_ is shortened in the pronunciation. From this
latter place is obtained the Aromeus, the best Mesogitian wine.
48. Among illustrious natives of Nysa were Apollonius the Stoic
philosopher, the most eminent of the disciples of Panætius, and of
Menecrates, the disciple of Aristarchus; Aristodemus, the son of
Menecrates, whom, when I was a very young man, I heard lecturing on
philosophy, in extreme old age, at Nysa; Sostratus, the brother of
Aristodemus, and another Aristodemus, his cousin, the master of Pompey
the Great, were distinguished grammarians. My master taught rhetoric
also at Rhodes, and in his own country he had two schools; in the
morning he taught rhetoric, in the evening grammar. When he
superintended the education of the children of Pompey at Rome, he was
satisfied with teaching a school of grammar.
CHAPTER II.
1. The places beyond the Mæander, which remain to be described, belong
to the Carians. The Carians here are not intermixed with Lydians, but
occupy the whole country by themselves, if we except a small portion of
the sea-coast, of which the Milesians and Mysians have taken possession.
Caria[115] begins on the sea-coast opposite to Rhodes, and ends at
Poseidium,[116] belonging to the Milesians. In the interior are the
extremities of Taurus, which extend as far as the Mæander. For the
mountains situated above the Chelidonian islands,[117] as they are
called, which lie in front of the confines of Pamphylia and Lycia, are,
it is said, the beginning of the Taurus; for the Taurus has there some
elevation, and indeed a mountainous ridge of Taurus separates the whole
of Lycia towards the exterior and the southern part from Cibyra and its
district, as far as the country opposite to Rhodes. Even there a
mountainous tract is continued; it is, however, much lower in height,
and is not considered as any longer belonging to Taurus, nor is there
the distinction of parts lying within and parts lying without the
Taurus, on account of the eminences and depressions being scattered
about through the whole country both in breadth and length, and not
presenting anything like a separation-wall.
The whole voyage along the coast, including the winding [CAS. 651] of
the bays, is 4900 stadia, and that along the country opposite to Rhodus
1500 stadia.
2. The beginning of this tract is Dædala,[118] a stronghold; and ends at
the mountain Phœnix,[119] as it is called, both of which belong to the
Rhodian territory. In front, at the distance of 120 stadia from Rhodes,
lies Eleussa. [120] In sailing from Dædala towards the west in a straight
line along Cilicia, Pamphylia, and Lycia, in the midway is a bay called
Glaucus, with good harbours; then is the promontory Artemisium, and a
temple; next, the grove sacred to Latona; above this, and at the
distance of 60 stadia, is Calynda, a city; then Caunus,[121] and a deep
river near it, the Calbis,[122] which may be entered by vessels; between
these is Pisilis.
3. The city Caunus has a naval arsenal and a close harbour. Above the
city upon a height is Imbrus, a stronghold. Although the country is
fertile, yet the city is allowed by all to be unhealthy in summer, on
account of the heat, and in autumn, from the abundance of fruits.
Stories of the following kind are related respecting the city.
Stratonicus, the player on the cithara, seeing the Caunians somewhat
dark and yellow,[123] said that this was what the poet meant in the
line,
“As are the leaves, so is the race of men. ”[124]
When he was accused of ridiculing the unhealthiness of the city, he
answered, “Can I be so bold as to call that city unhealthy, where even
the dead walk about? ”
The Caunians once revolted from the Rhodians, but, by a decision of the
Romans, they were received again by the Rhodians into favour. There is
in existence an oration of Molo against the Caunians.
It is said that they speak the same language as the Carians, that they
came from Crete, and retained their own laws and customs. [125]
4. Next is Physcus,[126] a small town; it has a port and a grove sacred
to Latona: then Loryma, a rugged line of sea-coast, and a mountain, the
highest of any in that quarter, on the summit of which is Phœnix, a
stronghold, of the same name as the mountain. In front is the island
Eleussa, at the distance of 4 stadia. Its circumference is about 8
stadia.
5. The city of the Rhodians is on the eastern promontory. With regard to
harbours, roads, walls, and other buildings, it so much surpasses other
cities, that we know of none equal, much less superior to it.
Their political constitution and laws were excellent, and the care
admirable with which they administered affairs of state generally, and
particularly those relative to their marine. Hence being for a long
period masters of the sea, they put an end to piracy, and became allies
of the Romans, and of those kings who were well affected to the Romans
and the Greeks; hence also the city was suffered to preserve her
independence, and was embellished with many votive offerings. These are
distributed in various places, but the greatest part of them are
deposited in the Dionysium and in the gymnasium. The most remarkable is
the Colossus of the Sun, which, the author of the iambics says, was
“seventy cubits in height, the work of Chares of Lindus. ”
It now lies on the ground, having been thrown down by an earthquake, and
is broken off at the knees. An oracle prohibited its being raised again.
This is the most remarkable of the votive offerings, and it is allowed
to be one of the seven wonders of the world. [127] There were also the
pictures by Protogenes,[128] the Ialysus, and the Satyr, who was
represented [CAS. 652] standing by a pillar. On the top of the pillar
was a partridge. The bird strongly attracted, as was natural, the gaping
admiration of the people, when the picture was first hung up in public,
and they were so much delighted, that the Satyr, although executed with
great skill, was not noticed. The partridge-breeders were still more
struck with the picture of the bird. They brought tame partridges,
which, when placed opposite to the picture, made their call, and drew
together crowds of people. When Protogenes observed that the principal
had become the subordinate part of his work, he obtained permission of
the curators of the temple to efface the bird, which he did.
The Rhodians, although their form of government is not democratic, are
attentive to the welfare of the people, and endeavour to maintain the
multitude of poor. The people receive allowances of corn, and the rich
support the needy, according to an ancient usage. There are also public
offices in the state, the object of which is to procure and distribute
provisions,[129] so that the poor may obtain subsistence, and the city
not suffer for want of persons to serve her, especially in manning her
fleets.
Some of the dockyards are kept private, and the multitude are prohibited
from seeing them. If any person should be found inspecting, or to have
entered them, he would be punished with death. As at Massalia and
Cyzicus,[130] so here particularly, everything relating to architects,
the manufacture of engines, stores of arms, and of other materials, is
administered with peculiar care, much more so than in other places.
6. Like the people of Halicarnassus,[131] Cnidus, and Cos, the Rhodians
are of Doric origin. Some of the Dorians, who founded Megara after the
death of Codrus, remained there; others associated themselves with the
colony which went to Crete under the conduct of Althæmenes the Argive;
the rest were distributed at Rhodus, and among the cities just
mentioned.
But these migrations are more recent than the events related by Homer.
For Cnidus and Halicarnassus were not then in existence. Rhodes and Cos
existed, but were inhabited by Heracleidæ. Tlepolemus, when he attained
manhood,
“slew the maternal uncle of his father, the aged Licymnius. He
immediately built ships, and, collecting a large body of
people, fled away with them:”[132]
and adds afterwards—
“after many sufferings on the voyage, he came to Rhodes; they
settled there according to their tribes, in three bodies:”
and mentions by name the cities then existing[133]—
“Lindus, Ialysus, and the white Cameirus,”
the city of the Rhodians not being yet founded.
Homer does not here mention Dorians by name, but means Æolians and
Bœotians, since Hercules and Licymnius lived in Bœotia. If however, as
others relate, Tlepolemus set out from Argos and Tiryns, even so the
colony would not be Dorian, for it was settled before the return of the
Heracleidæ.
And of the Coans also Homer says—
“their leaders were Pheidippus and Antiphus, two sons of
Thessalus the King, an Heracleid;”[134]
and these names designate rather an Æolian than a Dorian origin.
7. Rhodes was formerly called Ophiussa and Stadia, then Telchinis, from
the Telchines, who inhabited the island. [135]
These Telchines are called by some writers charmers and enchanters, who
besprinkle animals and plants, with a view to destroy them, with the
water of the Styx, mingled with sulphur. Others on the contrary say,
that they were persons who excelled in certain mechanical arts, and that
they were calumniated by jealous rivals, and thus acquired a bad
reputation; that they came from Crete, and first landed at Cyprus, and
then removed to Rhodes. They were the first workers in iron and brass,
and were the makers of Saturn’s scythe.
I have spoken of them before, but the variety of fables [CAS. 654]
which are related of them induces me to resume their history, and to
supply what may have been omitted.
8. After the Telchines, the Heliadæ[136] were said, according to
fabulous accounts, to have occupied the island. One of these Heliadæ,
Cercaphus, and his wife Cydippe had children, who founded the cities
called after their names—
“Lindus, Ialysus, and the white Cameirus. ”[137]
Others say, that Tlepolemus founded them, and gave to them the names of
some of the daughters of Danaüs.
9. The present city was built during the Peloponnesian war, by the same
architect,[138] it is said, who built the Piræus. The Piræus, however,
does not continue to exist, having formerly sustained injuries from the
Lacedæmonians, who threw down the walls, and then from Sylla, the Roman
general.
10. It is related of the Rhodians that their maritime affairs were in a
flourishing state, not only from the time of the foundation of the
present city, but that many years before the institution of the Olympic
festival, they sailed to a great distance from their own country for the
protection of sailors. They sailed as far as Spain, and there founded
Rhodus, which the people of Marseilles afterwards occupied; they founded
Parthenope[139] among the Opici, and Elpiæ in Daunia, with the
assistance of Coans. Some authors relate, that after their return from
Troy they colonized the Gymnasian islands. According to Timæus, the
greater of these islands is the largest known,[140] next the seven
following, Sardinia, Sicily, Cyprus, Crete, Eubœa,[141] Corsica, and
Lesbos; but this is a mistake, for these others are much larger. It is
said, that gymnetes (or light-armed soldiers[142]) are called by the
Phœnicians balearides, and that from hence the Gymnasian islands were
called Balearides.
Some of the Rhodians settled in the neighbourhood of Sybaris, in the
Chonian territory. [143] Homer seems to bear evidence of the former
prosperity of the Rhodians, from the very foundation of the three
cities;
“they settled according to their tribes, in three companies,
and were the favourites of Jupiter, who showered upon them
great wealth. ”[144]
Other writers have applied these verses to a fable, according to which,
at the birth of Minerva, it rained gold on the island from the head of
Jupiter, as Pindar has said. [145]
The island is 920 stadia in circumference.
11. In sailing from the city, and leaving the island on the right hand,
the first place we meet with is Lindus,[146] a city situated on a
mountain extending far towards the south, and particularly towards
Alexandreia (in Egypt). [147] There is here a celebrated temple of the
Lindian Diana, built by the Danaides. Formerly, the Lindians, like the
inhabitants of Cameirus,[148] and Ialyssus, formed an independent state,
but afterwards they all settled at Rhodes.
Cleobulus, one of the seven wise men, was a native of Lindus.
12. Next to Lindus is Ixia,[149] a stronghold, and Mnasyrium; then the
Atabyris,[150] the highest mountain in the island, sacred to Jupiter
Atabyrius; then Cameirus; then Ialysus a village, and above it is an
acropolis called Ochyroma (the Fortification); then, at the distance of
about 80 stadia, the city of the Rhodians. Between these is the
Thoantium, a sort of beach, immediately in front of which are situated
the Sporades islands lying about Chalcis, which we have mentioned
before. [151]
13. There have been many remarkable persons, natives of Rhodes, both
generals and athletæ, among whom were the ancestors of Panætius the
philosopher. Among statesmen, orators, and philosophers, were Panætius,
Stratocles, Andronicus the Peripatetic, Leonides the Stoic, and long
before the time of these persons, Praxiphanes, Hieronymus, and Eudēmus.
Poseidonius was concerned in the administration of the affairs of state,
and taught philosophy at Rhodes, (but he was a native of Apameia in
Syria,) as did Apollonius Malacus, and [CAS. 655] Molon, who were
natives of Alabanda, and disciples of Menecles the rhetorician.
Apollonius had resided at Rhodes long before, but Molon came late;
whence the former said to him “late comer,” Ὀψὲ μολών, instead of
ἐλθών[152] Peisander, a Rhodian poet, author of the Heracleia; Simmias
the grammarian, and Aristocles, of our time. Dionysius the Thracian, and
Apollonius, author of the Argonautics, although natives of Alexandreia,
were called Rhodians.
This is sufficient on the subject of the island of Rhodes.
14. There is a bend of the Carian coast opposite to Rhodes, immediately
after Eleus[153] and Loryma, towards the north, and then the ship’s
course is in a straight line to the Propontis,[154] and forms as it were
a meridian line of about 500 stadia in length, or somewhat less. Along
this line are situated the remainder of Caria, Ionians, Æolians, Troy,
and the parts about Cyzicus and Byzantium. Next to Loryma is the
Cynossema, or dogs’ monument,[155] and the island Syme. [156]
15. Then follows Cnidus,[157] which has two harbours, one of which is a
close harbour, fit for receiving triremes, and a naval station for 20
vessels. In front of Cnidus is an island, in circumference about 7
stadia; it rises high, in the form of a theatre, and is united by a mole
to the continent, and almost makes Cnidus a double city, for a great
part of the inhabitants occupy the island, which shelters both harbours.
Opposite to it, far out at sea, is Nisyrus. [158]
Illustrious natives of Cnidus were, first, Eudoxus the mathematician, a
disciple of Plato’s; Agatharchides, the Peripatetic philosopher and
historian; Theopompus, one of the most powerful of the friends of divus
Cæsar, and his son Artemidorus. Ctesias also, the physician of
Artaxerxes, was a native of this place. He wrote a history of Assyria
and Persia.
Next after Cnidus are Ceramus[159] and Bargasa, small towns overlooking
the sea.
16. Then follows Halicarnasus, formerly called Zephyra, the royal seat
of the dynasts of Caria. Here is the sepulchre of Mausolus, one of
the seven wonders of the world;[160] Artemisia erected it, in honour
of her husband. Here also is the fountain Salmacis, which has a bad
repute, for what reason I know not, for making those who drink of it
effeminate. Mankind, enervated by luxury, impute the blame of its
effects to different kinds of air and water, but these are not the
causes of luxury, but riches and intemperance.
There is an acropolis at Halicarnasus. In front of it lies
Arconnesus. [161] It had, among others, as its founders, Anthes and a
body of Trœzenians. [162]
Among the natives of Halicarnasus were Herodotus the historian, who was
afterwards called Thurius, because he was concerned in sending out the
colony to Thurii; Heracleitus the poet, the friend of Callimachus; and
in our time, Dionysius the historian.
17. Halicarnasus suffered, when it was taken by storm by Alexander.
Hecatomnus, who was then king of the Carians, had three sons, Mausolus,
Hidrieus, and Pixodarus, and two daughters. Mausolus, the eldest son,
married Artemisia, the eldest daughter; Hidrieus, the second son,
married Ada, the other sister. Mausolus came to the throne, and, dying
without children, left the kingdom to his wife, by whom the
above-mentioned sepulchre was erected. She pined away for grief at the
loss of her husband. Hidrieus succeeded her; he died a natural death,
and was succeeded by his wife Ada. She was ejected by Pixodarus, the
surviving son of Hecatomnus. Having espoused the party of the Persians,
Pixodarus sent for a satrap to share the kingdom with him. After the
death of Pixodarus, the satrap became master of Halicarnasus. But upon
the arrival of Alexander, he sustained a siege. His wife was Ada,
daughter of Pixodarus, and Aphneïs, a woman of Cappadocia. But Ada, the
daughter of Hecatomnus, whom Pixodarus ejected, entreated Alexander, and
endeavoured to prevail upon him to reïnstate her in the kingdom of which
she had been deprived; she promised (in return) her assistance in
reducing to obedience the parts of the country which had revolted; for
the persons who were in possession of them [CAS. 657] were her
relations and subjects. She also delivered up Alinda where she herself
resided. Alexander granted her request and proclaimed her queen, after
the city was taken, but not the acropolis, which was doubly fortified.
He assigned to Ada the siege of the acropolis, which was taken in a
short time afterwards, the besiegers having attacked it with fury and
exasperation at the resistance of the besieged.
18. Next is Termerium,[163] a promontory of the Myndians, opposite to
which lies Scandaria, a promontory of Cos, distant 40 stadia from the
continent. There is also above the promontory a fortress, Termerum.
19. The city of the Coans was formerly called Astypalæa, and was built
in another place, but is at present on the sea-coast. Afterwards, on
account of a sedition, they migrated to the present city, near
Scandarium, and changed the name to that of the island, Cos. The city is
not large, but beautifully built, and a most pleasing sight to mariners
who are sailing by the coast. The island is about 550 stadia in
circumference. The whole of it is fertile, and produces, like Chios and
Lesbos, excellent wine. It has, towards the south, the promontory
Laceter,[164] from which to Nicyrus is 60 stadia, and near Laceter is
Halisarna, a stronghold; on the west is Drecanum, and a village called
Stomalimne. Drecanum is distant about 200 stadia from the city. The
promontory Laceter adds to the length of the navigation 35 stadia. In
the suburb is the celebrated temple Asclepieium, full of votive
offerings, among which is the Antigonus of Apelles. It formerly
contained the Venus Anadyomene, (Venus emerging from the sea,) but that
is now at Rome, dedicated to divus Cæsar by Augustus, who consecrated to
his father the picture of her who was the author of his family. It is
said that the Coans obtained, as a compensation for the loss of this
painting, an abatement, amounting to a hundred talents, of their usual
tribute.
It is said, that Hippocrates learned and practised the dietetic part of
medicine from the narrative of cures suspended in the temple. He is one
of the illustrious natives of Cos. Simus, also, the physician, Philetas
the poet and critic, Nicias of our time, who was tyrant of Cos; Ariston,
the disciple and heir of Ariston the Peripatetic philosopher; and
Theomnestus, a minstrel of name, who was of the opposite political party
to Nicias.
20. On the coast of the continent opposite to the Myndian territory is
Astypalæa a promontory, and Zephyrium. The city Myndus follows
immediately after, which has a harbour; then the city Bargylia. In the
intervening distance is Caryanda[165] a harbour, and an island of the
same name, occupied by Caryandians. Scylax the ancient historian was a
native of this island. Near Bargylia is the temple of Artemis Cindyas,
round which the rain falls, it is believed, without touching it. There
was once a strong place called Cindya.
Among the distinguished natives of Bargylia was Protarchus the
Epicurean; Demetrius surnamed Lacon was his disciple.
21. Next follows Iasus, situated upon an island,[166] on the side
towards the continent. It has a port, and the inhabitants derive the
greatest part of their subsistence from the sea, which abounds with
fish, but the soil is very barren. Stories of the following kind are
related of Iasus.
As a player on the cithara was displaying his art in public, every one
listened to him attentively till the market bell rung for the sale of
fish, when he was deserted by all except one man, who was quite deaf.
The minstrel coming up to him said, “Friend, I am much obliged to you
for the honour you have done me, and I admire your love of music, for
all the others have left me at the sound of the bell. ”—“What say you,
has the bell rung? ”—“Yes, he replied? ”—“Good bye to you,” said the man,
and away he also went.
Diodorus the Dialectician was a native of this place. He was surnamed
Cronus (or Old Time); the title was not properly his from the first; it
was his master Apollonius who (in the first instance) had received the
surname of Cronus, but it was transferred to Diodorus on account of the
want of celebrity in the true Cronus.
22. Next to Iasus is Cape Poseidium[167] of the Milesians. In the
interior are three considerable cities, Mylasa,[168] Stratoniceia,[169]
and Alabanda. [170] The others are guard forts to these or to the
maritime towns, as Amyzon, Heracleia, Euromus, Chalcetor. But we make
little account of these.
23. Mylasa is situated in a very fertile plain; a mountain, containing a
very beautiful marble quarry, overhangs the city; and it is no small
advantage to have stone for building [CAS. 659] in abundance and near
at hand, particularly for the construction of temples and other public
edifices; consequently, no city is embellished more beautifully than
this with portico and temples. It is a subject of surprise, however,
that persons should be guilty of the absurdity of building the city at
the foot of a perpendicular and lofty precipice. One of the governors of
the province is reported to have said, when he expressed his
astonishment at this circumstance, “If the founder of the city had no
fear, he had no shame. ”
The Mylasians have two temples, one of Jupiter called Osogo, and another
of Jupiter Labrandenus. The former is in the city. Labranda is a village
on the mountain, near the passage across it from Alabanda to Mylasa, at
a distance from the city. At Labranda is an ancient temple of Jupiter,
and a statue of Jupiter Stratius, who is worshipped by the neighbouring
people and by the inhabitants of Mylasa. There is a paved road for a
distance of about 60 stadia from the temple to the city; it is called
the Sacred Way, along which the sacred things are carried in procession.
The most distinguished citizens are always the priests, and hold office
during life. These temples belong peculiarly to the city. There is a
third temple of the Carian Jupiter, common to all the Carians, in the
use of which the Lydians, also, and Mysians participate, as being
brethren.
Mylasa is said to have been anciently a village, but the native place
and royal residence of Hecatomnus and the Carians. The city approaches
nearest to the sea at Physcus, which is their naval arsenal.
24. Mylasa has produced in our time illustrious men, who were at once
orators and demagogues, Euthydemus and Hybreas. Euthydemus inherited
from his ancestors great wealth and reputation. He possessed commanding
eloquence, and was regarded as a person of eminence, not only in his own
country, but was thought worthy of the highest honours even in Asia. The
father of Hybreas, as he used to relate the circumstance in his school,
and as it was confirmed by his fellow-citizens, left him a mule which
carried wood, and a mule driver. He was maintained for a short time by
their labour, and was enabled to attend the lectures of Diotrephes of
Antioch. On his return he held the office of superintendent of the
market. But here being harassed, and gaining but little profit, he
applied himself to the affairs of the state, and to attend to the
business of the forum. He quickly advanced himself and became an object
of admiration, even during the lifetime of Euthydemus, and still more
after his death, as the leading person in the city. Euthydemus possessed
great power, and used it for the benefit of the city, so that if some of
his acts were rather tyrannical, this character was lost in their public
utility.
The saying of Hybreas, at the conclusion of an harangue to the people,
is applauded: “Euthydemus, you are an evil necessary to the city; for we
can live neither with thee nor without thee. ”[171]
Hybreas, although he had acquired great power, and had the reputation of
being both a good citizen and an excellent orator, was defeated in his
political opposition to Labienus. For the citizens, unarmed, and
disposed to peace, surrendered to Labienus, who attacked them with a
body of troops and with Parthian auxiliaries, the Parthians being at
that time masters of Asia. But Zeno of Laodiceia and Hybreas, both of
them orators, did not surrender, but caused their own cities to revolt.
Hybreas provoked Labienus, an irritable and vain young man, by saying,
when the youth announced himself emperor of the Parthians, “Then I shall
call myself emperor of the Carians. ” Upon this Labienus marched against
the city, having with him cohorts drafted from the Roman soldiery
stationed in Asia. He did not however take Hybreas prisoner, who had
retreated to Rhodes, but plundered and destroyed his house, which
contained costly furniture, and treated the whole city in the same
manner. After Labienus had left Asia, Hybreas returned, and restored his
own affairs and those of the city to their former state.
This then on the subject of Mylasa.
25. Stratoniceia is a colony of Macedonians. It was embellished by the
kings with costly edifices. In the district of the Stratoniceians are
two temples. The most celebrated, that of Hecate, is at Lagina, where
every year great multitudes assemble at a great festival. Near the city
is the temple of Jupiter Chrysaoreus,[172] which is common to all the
Carians, and whither they repair to offer sacrifice, and to deliberate
on their common interests. They call this meeting the Chrysaoreon,
[CAS. 660] which is composed of villages. Those who represent the
greatest number of villages have the precedency in voting, like the
Ceramiētæ. The Stratoniceians, although they are not of Carian race,
have a place in this assembly, because they possess villages included in
the Chrysaoric body.
In the time of our ancestors there flourished at Stratoniceia a
distinguished person, Menippus the orator, surnamed Catocas, whom
Cicero[173] commends in one of his writings above all the Asiatic
orators whom he had heard, comparing him to Xenocles, and to those who
flourished at that time.
There is another Stratoniceia, called Stratoniceia at the Taurus, a
small town adjacent to the mountain.
26. Alabanda lies at the foot of two eminences, in such a manner as to
present the appearance of an ass with panniers. On this account
Apollonius Malacus ridicules the city, and also because it abounds with
scorpions; he says, it was an ass, with panniers full of scorpions.
This city and Mylasa, and the whole mountainous tract between them,
swarm with these reptiles.
The inhabitants of Alabanda are addicted to luxury and debauchery. It
contains a great number of singing girls.
Natives of Alabanda, distinguished persons, were two orators, brothers,
Menecles, whom we mentioned a little above, and Hierocles, Apollonius,
and Molo; the two latter afterwards went to Rhodes.
27. Among the various accounts which are circulated respecting the
Carians, the most generally received is that the Carians, then called
Leleges, were governed by Minos, and occupied the islands. Then removing
to the continent, they obtained possession of a large tract of sea-coast
and of the interior, by driving out the former occupiers, who were, for
the most part, Leleges and Pelasgi. The Greeks again, Ionians and
Dorians, deprived the Carians of a portion of the country.
As proofs of their eager pursuit of war, the handles of shields, badges,
and crests, all of which are called Carian, are alleged. Anacreon says,
“Come, grasp the well-made Caric handles;”
and Alcæus—
“Shaking a Carian crest. ”
28. But when Homer uses these expressions, “Masthles commanded the
Carians, who speak a barbarous language,”[174] it does not appear why,
when he was acquainted with so many barbarous nations, he mentions the
Carians alone as using a barbarous language, but does not call any
people Barbarians. Nor is Thucydides right, who says that none were
called Barbarians, because as yet the Greeks were not distinguished by
any one name as opposed to some other. But Homer himself refutes this
position that the Greeks were not distinguished by this name:
“A man whose fame has spread through Greece and Argos;”[175]
and in another place—
“But if you wish to go through Hellas and the middle of Argos. ”[176]
But if there was no such term as Barbarian, how could he properly speak
of people as Barbarophonoi (i. e. speaking a barbarous language)?
Neither is Thucydides nor Apollonius the grammarian right, because the
Greeks, and particularly the Ionians, applied to the Carians a common
term in a peculiar and vituperative sense, in consequence of their
hatred of them for their animosity and continual hostile incursions.
Under these circumstances he might call them Barbarians. But we ask,
why does he call them Barbarophonoi, but not once Barbarians? Because,
replies Apollonius, the plural number does not fall in with the metre;
this is the reason why Homer does not call them Barbarians. Admitting
then that the genitive case (βαρβάρων) does not fall in with the
measure of the verse, the nominative case (βάρβαροι) does not differ
from that of Dardani (Δάρδανοι);
“Trojans, Lycians, and Dardani;”
and of the same kind is the word Troïi[177] in this verse,
“Like the Troïi horses” (Τρώιοι ἵπποι).
Nor is the reason to be found in the alleged excessive harshness of the
Carian language, for it is not extremely harsh; and besides, according
to Philippus, the author of a history of Caria, their language contains
a very large mixture of Greek words.
[CAS. 661] I suppose that the word “barbarian” was at first invented to
designate a mode of pronunciation which was embarrassed, harsh, and
rough; as we use the words battarizein, traulizein, psellizein,[178] to
express the same thing. For we are naturally very much disposed to
denote certain sounds by names expressive of those sounds, and
characteristic of their nature; and hence invented terms abound,
expressive of the sounds which they designate, as kelaryzein, clange,
psophos, boe, krotos,[179] most of which words are at present used in an
appropriate sense.
As those who pronounce their words with a thick enunciation are called
Barbarians, so foreigners, I mean those who were not Greeks, were
observed to pronounce their words in this manner. The term Barbarians
was therefore applied peculiarly to these people, at first by way of
reproach, as having a thick and harsh enunciation; afterwards the term
was used improperly, and applied as a common gentile term in
contradistinction to the Greeks. For after a long intimacy and
intercourse had subsisted with the Barbarians, it no longer appeared
that this peculiarity arose from any thickness of enunciation, or a
natural defect in the organs of the voice, but from the peculiarities of
their languages.
But there was in our language a bad and what might be called a barbarous
utterance, as when any person speaking Greek should not pronounce it
correctly, but should pronounce the words like the Barbarians, who, when
beginning to learn the Greek language, are not able to pronounce it
perfectly, as neither are we able to pronounce perfectly their
languages.
This was peculiarly the case with the Carians. For other nations had not
much intercourse with the Greeks, nor were disposed to adopt the Grecian
manner of life, nor to learn our language, with the exception of persons
who by accident and singly had associated with a few Greeks; but the
Carians were dispersed over the whole of Greece, as mercenary soldiers.
Then the barbarous pronunciation was frequently met with among them,
from their military expeditions into Greece; and afterwards it spread
much more, from the time that they occupied the islands together with
the Greeks: not even when driven thence into Asia, could they live
apart from Greeks, when the Ionians and Dorians arrived there.
Hence arose the expression, “to barbarize,” for we are accustomed to
apply this term to those whose pronunciation of the Greek language is
vicious, and not to those who pronounce it like the Carians.
We are then to understand the expressions, “barbarous speaking” and
“barbarous speakers,” of persons whose pronunciation of the Greek
language is faulty. The word “to barbarize” was formed after the word
“to Carize,” and transferred into the books which teach the Greek
language; thus also the word “to solœcize” was formed, derived either
from Soli or some other source.
29. Artemidorus says that the journey from Physcus, on the coast
opposite to Rhodes, towards Ephesus, as far as Lagina is 850 stadia;
thence to Alabanda 250 stadia; to Tralles 160. About halfway on the road
to Tralles the Mæander is crossed, and here are the boundaries of Caria.
The whole number of stadia from Physcus to the Mæander, along the road
to Ephesus, is 1180 stadia. Again, along the same road, from the Mæander
of Ionia to Tralles 80 stadia, to Magnesia 140 stadia, to Ephesus 120,
to Smyrna 320, to Phocæa and the boundaries of Ionia, less than 200
stadia; so that the length of Ionia in a straight line would be,
according to Artemidorus, a little more than 800 stadia.
But as there is a public frequented road by which all travellers pass on
their way from Ephesus to the east, Artemidorus thus describes it. [From
Ephesus] to Carura, the boundary of Caria towards Phrygia, through
Magnesia and Tralles, Nysa, Antioch, is a journey of 740 stadia. From
Carura, the first town in Phrygia, through Laodiceia, Apameia,
Metropolis, and Chelidoniæ,[180] to Holmi, the beginning of the
Paroreius, a country lying at the foot of the mountains, about 920
stadia; to Tyriæum,[181] the termination towards Lycaonia of the
Paroreius,[182] through Philomelium[183] is little more than 500 stadia.
Next is Lycaonia as far as Coropassus,[184] through Laodiceia in the
Catacecaumene, 840 stadia; from Coropassus [CAS. 662] in Lycaonia to
Garsaüra,[185] a small city of Cappadocia, situated on its borders, 120
stadia; thence to Mazaca,[186] the metropolis of the Cappadocians,
through Soandus and Sadacora, 680 stadia; thence to the Euphrates, as
far as Tomisa, a stronghold in Sophene, through Herphæ,[187] a small
town, 1440 stadia.
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.
