It was here that
Dolabella
besieged and slew Trebonius, one of the
murderers of divus Cæsar; he also destroyed many parts of the city.
murderers of divus Cæsar; he also destroyed many parts of the city.
Strabo
[48] Formerly, when
the Carians inhabited it, it was called Parthenia, then Anthemus, then
Melamphylus,[49] then Samos, either from the name of some native hero,
or from some one who conducted a colony thither from Ithaca and
Cephallenia. In it is a promontory looking towards Drepanum in Icaria,
which has the name of Ampelos, (the Vine,) but the whole mountain, which
spreads over the island, has the same name. The island is not remarkable
for good wine,[50] although the islands around, as Chios, Lesbos, Cos,
and almost all the adjacent continent, produce wines of the best kind.
The Ephesian and the Metropolites are good wines, but the Mesogis, the
Tmolus, the Catacecaumene, Cnidos, Smyrna, and other more obscure
places, are distinguished for the excellence of their wines, whether for
gratification or dietetic purposes.
Samos is not very fortunate as regards the production of wine, but in
general it is fertile, as appears from its possession being a subject of
warlike contention, and from the language of its panegyrists, who do not
hesitate to apply to it the proverb,
“It produces even birds’ milk,”
as Menander somewhere says. This was the cause also of the tyrannies
established there, and of the enmity of the Athenians.
16. The tyrannies were at their height in the time of Polycrates and his
brother Syloson. The former was distinguished for his good fortune, and
the possession of such a degree of power as made him master of the sea.
It is related as an instance of his good fortune, that having purposely
thrown into the sea his ring, which was of great value both on account
of the stone and the engraving, a short time afterwards a fisherman
caught the fish which had swallowed it, and on cutting the fish open,
the ring was discovered. When the king of Egypt was informed of this, he
declared, it is said, with a prophetic spirit, that Polycrates, who had
been elevated to such a height of prosperity, would soon end his life
unfortunately; and this was actually the case, for he was taken by the
Persian satrap by stratagem, and crucified. Anacreon, the lyric poet,
was his contemporary, and all his poetry abounds with the praises of
Polycrates.
It is said that in his time Pythagoras, observing the growing tyranny,
left the city, and travelled to Egypt and Babylon, with a view to
acquire knowledge. On his return from his travels, perceiving that the
tyranny still prevailed, he set sail for Italy, and there passed the
remainder of his life.
So much respecting Polycrates.
17. Syloson was left by his brother in a private station. But he made a
present to Darius, son of Hystaspes, of a robe which the latter saw him
wearing, and very much desired to possess. Darius was not king at this
time, but when he became king, Polycrates received as a compensation the
tyranny of Samos. He governed with so much severity, that the city was
depopulated, which gave occasion to the proverb,
“By the pleasure of Syloson there is room enough. ”
18. The Athenians formerly sent Pericles their general, and with him
Sophocles the poet, who harassed with the evils of a siege the
refractory Samians. Afterwards[51] they sent thither a colony of two
thousand citizens, among whom was Neocles the father of Epicurus, and,
according to report, a school-master. It is said, that Epicurus was
educated here and at Teos, and was admitted among the ephebi at Athens,
having as his comrade in that class Menander the comic poet. Creophylus
was a native of Samos,[52] who, it is said, once entertained Homer as
his guest, and received, in return, his poem entitled “The taking of
Œchalia. ” Callimachus, on the contrary, intimates in an epigram that it
was the composition of [CAS. 639] Creophylus, but ascribed to Homer on
account of the story of his hospitable entertainment by Creophylus:
“I am the work of the Samian, who once entertained in his
house, as a guest, the divine Homer. I grieve for the
sufferings of Eurytus, and mourn for the yellow-haired Ioleia.
I am called Homer’s writing. O Jupiter, how glorious this for
Creophylus. ”
Some say that he was Homer’s master; according to others, it was not
Creophylus, but Aristeas of Proconnesus.
19. The island of Icaria, from which the Icarian Sea has its name, is
near Samos. The island has its name from Icarus, the son of Dædalus,
who, it is said, having accompanied his father in his flight, when both
of them, furnished with wings, set out from Crete, fell on that island,
unable to sustain his flight. He had mounted too near the sun, and the
wings dropped off on the melting of the wax [with which they were
fastened].
The whole island is 300 stadia in circumference; it has no harbours, but
only anchorages, the best of which is called Histi. A promontory
stretches towards the west. There is also on the island a temple of
Diana, called Tauropolium, and a small town Œnoë; and another,
Dracanum,[53] of the same name as the promontory on which it stands,
with an anchorage for vessels. The promontory is distant from the
promontory of the Samians, called Cantharius, 80 stadia, which is the
shortest passage from one to the other. The Samians occupy it at present
in its depopulated state, chiefly for the sake of pasture which it
affords for cattle.
20. Next to the Samian strait at Mycale, on the right hand on the voyage
to Ephesus, is the sea-coast of the Ephesians, a part of which even the
Samians possess. First on the sea-coast is the Panionium,[54] distant
from the sea three stadia, where the Panionia, a common festival of the
Ionians, is celebrated, and a sacrifice is performed in honour of the
Heliconian Neptune. The priests are Prienians. We have spoken of them in
the description of Peloponnesus.
Then follows Neapolis, which formerly belonged to the Ephesians, but now
belongs to the Samians, having exchanged Marathesium[55] for it, the
more distant for the nearer place. Next is Pygela, a small town,
containing a temple of Diana Munychia. It was founded by Agamemnon, and
colonized by some of his soldiers, who had a disease in the buttocks,
and were called Pygalgeis; as they laboured under this complaint, they
settled there, and the town had the appropriate name of Pygela. [56]
Next is a harbour called Panormus, with a temple of the Ephesian Diana;
then the city.
On the same coast, at a little distance from the sea, is Ortygia, a fine
wood with trees of all kinds, but the cypress in the greatest abundance.
Through this wood flows the river Cenchrius, in which Latona is said to
have bathed after the birth of her child. For here is laid the scene of
the birth of the child, the cares of the nurse Ortygia, the cave in
which the birth took place, the neighbouring olive tree under which the
goddess first reposed when the pains of childbirth had ceased.
Above the wood is the mountain Solmissus, where, it is said, the Curetes
stationed themselves, and with the noise of their arms perplexed and
terrified Juno, who was enviously watching in secret the delivery of
Latona, who was thus assisted in concealing the birth of the child.
There are many temples in the place, some of which are ancient, others
of later times; in the former are ancient statues; in the latter are
works of Scopas, Latona holding a sceptre, and Ortygia standing by her
with a child in each arm.
A convention and festival are celebrated there every year. It is the
custom for young men to vie with each other, particularly in the
splendour of their convivial entertainments. The body of Curetes
celebrate their Symposia at the same time, and perform certain mystic
sacrifices.
21. The city of Ephesus was inhabited both by Carians and Leleges. After
Androclus had expelled the greatest part of the inhabitants, he settled
his companions about the Athenæum, and the Hypelæum, and in the
mountainous tract at the foot of the Coressus. It was thus inhabited
till the time of Crœsus. Afterwards, the inhabitants descended from the
mountainous district, and settled about the present temple, and
continued there to the time of Alexander. Then Lysimachus built a wall
round the present temple, and, perceiving the inhabitants [CAS. 640]
unwilling to remove thither, took advantage of a heavy storm of rain
which he saw approaching, and obstructed the drains so as to inundate
the city, and the inhabitants were glad to leave it for another place.
He called the city Arsinoë, after the name of his wife, but the old name
prevailed. A body of elders was enrolled, with whom were associated
persons called Epicleti, who administered all the affairs of the city.
22. Chersiphron[57] was the first architect of the temple of Diana;
another afterwards enlarged it, but when Herostratus set fire to it,[58]
the citizens constructed one more magnificent. They collected for this
purpose the ornaments of the women, contributions from private property,
and the money arising from the sale of pillars of the former temple.
Evidence of these things is to be found in the decrees of that time.
Artemidorus says, that Timæus of Tauromenium, in consequence of his
ignorance of these decrees, and being otherwise a calumniator and
detractor, (whence he had the name of Epitimæus, or Reviler,) avers that
the Ephesians restored the temple by means of the treasure deposited
there by the Persians. But at that time no treasure was deposited, and
if any had been deposited there, it must have been consumed together
with the temple: after the conflagration, when the roof was destroyed,
who would wish to have a deposit lying there, with the sacred enclosure
exposed to the air?
Besides, Artemidorus says, that Alexander promised to defray the expense
of its restoration, both what had been and what would be incurred, on
condition that the work should be attributed to him in the inscription,
but the Ephesians refused to accede to this; much less, then, would they
be disposed to acquire fame by sacrilege and spoliation. He praises also
the reply of an Ephesian to the king, “that it was not fit that a god
should provide temples in honour of gods. ”
23. After the completion of the temple, which, he says, was the work of
Cheirocrates (the same person who built Alexandria, and also promised
Alexander that he would form Mount Athos into a statue of him, which
should represent him as pouring a libation into a dish out of an ewer;
that he would build two cities, one on the right hand of the mountain,
and another on the left, and a river should flow out of the dish from
one to the other,)[59]—after the completion of the temple, he says that
the multitude of other sacred offerings were purchased by the Ephesians,
at the value set on them by artificers, and that the altar was almost
entirely full of the works of Praxiteles. They showed us also some of
the performances of Thraso, namely, the Hecatesium, a Penelope,[60] and
the old woman Eurycleia.
The priests were eunuchs, who were called Megabyzi. It was the practice
to send to various places for persons worthy of this office, and they
were held in high honour. They were obliged to appoint virgins as their
colleagues in their priesthood. At present some of their rites and
customs are observed, and some are neglected.
The temple was formerly, and is at present, a place of refuge, but the
limits of the sanctity of this asylum have been frequently altered;
Alexander extended them to the distance of a stadium. Mithridates
discharged an arrow from the angle of the roof, and supposed that it
fell a little beyond the distance of a stadium. Antonius doubled this
distance, and included within the range of the sanctuary a certain
portion of the city. This was attended with much evil, as it placed the
city in the power of criminals and malefactors. On this account Augustus
Cæsar abolished the privilege.
24. The city has an arsenal and a harbour. The entrance of the harbour
was made narrow, by order of the king Attalus Philadelphus, who,
together with the persons that constructed it, was disappointed at the
result. The harbour was formerly shallow, on account of the embankment
of earth accumulated by the Caÿster; but the king, supposing that there
would be [CAS. 641] deep water for the entrance of large vessels of
burden, if a mole were thrown up before the mouth of the river, which
was very wide, gave orders for the construction of a mole; but the
contrary effect took place, for the mud, being confined within the
harbour, made the whole of it shallow to the mouth. Before the
construction of the mole, the flow and ebb of the sea cleared the mud
away entirely, by forcing it outwards.
Such then is the nature of the harbour.
The city, by the advantages which it affords, daily improves, and is the
largest mart in Asia within the Taurus.
25. Among illustrious persons in ancient times natives of Ephesus were
Heracleitus, surnamed Scoteinus, or the Obscure, and Hermodorus, of whom
Heracleitus himself says:
“The Ephesians, youths and all, deserve hanging, for expelling
Hermodorus, an honest citizen,[61] a citizen distinguished for
his virtues, and saying, let there be no such amongst us; if
there be, let it be in another place and among other people. ”
Hermodorus seems to have compiled laws for the Romans. Hipponax the poet
was an Ephesian, and the painters Parrhasius and Apelles.
In more recent times was Alexander the orator, surnamed Lychnus, or the
Lamp;[62] he was an administrator of state affairs, a writer of history,
and left behind him poems which contain a description of the heavenly
phenomena and a geographical account of the continents, each of which
forms the subject of a distinct poem.
26. Next to the mouth of the Caÿster is a lake called Selinusia, formed
by the overflowing of the sea. It is succeeded by another, which
communicates with this. They afford a large revenue, of which the kings,
although it was sacred, deprived the goddess, but the Romans restored
it; then the tax-gatherers seized upon the tribute by force, and
converted it to their own use. Artemidorus, who was sent on an embassy
to Rome, as he says, recovered possession of the lakes for the goddess,
and also of the territory of Heracleotis, which was on the point of
separating from Ephesus, by proceeding in a suit at Rome. In return for
these services, the city erected in the temple to his honour a statue of
gold.
In the most retired part of the lake is a temple of a king, built, it is
said, by Agamemnon.
27. Next follows the mountain Gallesius, and Colophon, an Ionian city,
in front of which is the grove of Apollo Clarius, where was once an
ancient oracle. [63] It is said that the prophet Calchas came hither on
foot, on his return from Troy with Amphilochus, the son of Amphiaraus,
and that meeting at Clarus with a prophet superior to himself, Mopsus,
the son of Mantus, the daughter of Teiresias, he died of vexation.
Hesiod relates the fable somewhat in this manner: Calchas propounds to
Mopsus something of this kind:
“I am surprised to see how large a quantity of figs there is
on this small tree; can you tell the number? ”
Mopsus answered:
“There are ten thousand; they will measure a medimnus, and
there is one over, which you cannot comprehend. ”
Thus he spoke; the number and measure were exact. Then Calchas closed
his eyes in the sleep of death.
But Pherecydes says, that Calchas proposed a question respecting a
pregnant sow, and asked how many young she had; the other answered,
“three, one of which is a sow. ” Upon his giving the true answer, Calchas
died of vexation. According to others, Calchas propounded the question
of the sow, and Mopsus that of the fig-tree; that Mopsus returned the
true answer, and that Calchas was mistaken, who died of vexation,
according to some oracular prophecy.
Sophocles, in his “Helen Claimed,” says that he was destined by fate to
die when he should meet with a prophet superior to himself. But this
writer transfers the scene of the rivalry, and of the death of Calchas,
to Cilicia.
These are ancient traditions.
[CAS. 643] 28. The Colophonians once possessed a considerable armament,
consisting both of ships and of cavalry. In the latter they were so much
superior to other nations, that in any obstinate engagement, on
whichever side the Colophonian horse were auxiliaries, they decided it;
whence came the proverb, “he put the Colophon to it,” when a person
brought any affair to a decisive issue. [64]
Among some of the remarkable persons born at Colophon were Mimnermus, a
flute-player and an elegiac poet; Xenophanes, the natural philosopher,
who composed Silli in verse. Pindar mentions one Polymnastus also, a
Colophonian, as distinguished for his skill in music:
“Thou knowest the celebrated strains of Polymnastus, the
Colophonian:”
and some writers affirm that Homer was of that city. The voyage from
Ephesus in a straight line is 70 stadia, and including the winding of
the bays, 120.
29. Next to Colophon is the mountain Coracium, and a small island sacred
to Artemis, to which it is believed that the hinds swim across to bring
forth their young.
Then follows Lebedos,[65] distant from Colophon 120 stadia. This is the
place of meeting and residence[66] of the Dionysiac artists (who travel
about) Ionia as far as the Hellespont. In Ionia a general assembly is
held, and games are celebrated every year in honour of Bacchus. These
artists formerly inhabited Teos,[67] a city of the Ionians, next in
order after Colophon, but on the breaking out of a sedition they took
refuge at Ephesus; and when Attalus settled them at Myonnesus,[68]
between Teos and Lebedos, the Teians sent a deputation to request the
Romans not to permit Myonnesus to be fortified, as it would endanger
their safety. They migrated to Lebedos, and the Lebedians were glad to
receive them, on account of their own scanty population.
Teos is distant from Lebedos 120 stadia. Between these two places is the
island Aspis,[69] which some writers call Arconnesus. Myonnesus
is situated upon high ground resembling a peninsula.
30. Teos is situated upon a peninsula, and has a port. Anacreon, the
lyric poet, was a native of this place; in his time, the Teians, unable
to endure the insults and injuries of the Persians, abandoned Teos, and
removed to Abdera, whence originated the verse—
“Abdera, the beautiful colony of the Teians. ”
Some of them returned in after-times to their own country. We have said
that Apellicon was of Teos, and Hecatæus also, the historian.
There is another port to the north, at the distance of 30 stadia from
the city, Gerrhæïdæ. [70]
31. Next follows Chalcideis, and the isthmus of the peninsula[71] of the
Teians and Erythræans; the latter inhabit the interior of the isthmus.
The Teians and Clazomenians are situated on the isthmus itself. The
Teians occupy the southern side of the isthmus, namely, Chalcideis;[72]
the Clazomenians, the northern side, whence they are contiguous to the
Erythræan district. At the commencement of the isthmus is Hypocremnus,
having on this side the Erythræan, and on the other, the Clazomenian
territory. Above Chalcideis is a grove, dedicated to Alexander, the son
of Philip, and a festival called Alexandreia is proclaimed and
celebrated there by the common body of the Ionians.
The passage across the isthmus from the Alexandrine grove and
Chalcideis, as far as the Hypocremnus, is 50 stadia (150? ). The circuit
round by sea is more than 1000 stadia. Somewhere about the middle of the
voyage is Erythræ,[73] an Ionian city, with a port, having in front four
small islands, called Hippoi (the Horses).
32. But before we come to Erythræ, the first place we meet with is
Eræ,[74] a small city belonging to the Teians.
Next is Corycus, a lofty mountain; and below it, Casystes, a port;[75]
then another, called the port of Erythræ, and afterwards many others.
[CAS. 644] It is said that the whole sea-coast along the Corycus was
the haunt of pirates, who were called Corycæans, and who had contrived a
new mode of attacking vessels. They dispersed themselves among the
ports, and went among the merchants who had just arrived, and listened
to their conversation respecting the freight of their ships, and the
places whither they were bound. The pirates then collected together,
attacked the merchants at sea, and plundered the vessels. Hence all
inquisitive persons and those who listen to private and secret
conversation we call Corycæans, and say proverbially,
“The Corycæan must have overheard it,”
when any one thinks that he has done or said anything not to be
divulged, but is betrayed by spies or persons anxious to be informed of
what does not concern them.
33. Next to Corycus is Halonnesus, a small island, then the
Argennum,[76] a promontory of the Erythræan territory, situated close to
Poseidium, belonging to the Chians, and forming a strait of about 60
stadia in width. Between Erythræ and Hypocremnus is Mimas,[77] a lofty
mountain, abounding with beasts of chase, and well wooded. Then follows
Cybelia, a village, and a promontory called Melæna,[78] (or Black,)
which has a quarry whence millstones are obtained.
34. Erythræ was the native place of the Sibyl, an ancient inspired
prophetess. In the time of Alexander there was another Sibyl, who was
also a prophetess, whose name was Athenais, a native of the same city;
and in our age there was Heracleides the Herophilian physician, a native
of Erythræ, a fellow-student of Apollonius surnamed Mus.
35. The coasting circumnavigation of Chios is 900 stadia. It has a
city[79] with a good port, and a station for eighty vessels. In the
voyage round the island, a person sailing from the city, with the island
on his right hand, first meets with Poseidium,[80] then Phanæ,[81] a
deep harbour, and a temple of Apollo, and a grove of palm trees; then
Notium, a part of the coast affording a shelter for vessels; next
Laïus,[82] which is also a place of shelter for vessels; hence to the
city is an isthmus of 60 stadia. The circumnavigation is 360 stadia, as
I have before described it. Next, the promontory Melæna,[83] opposite to
which is Psyra,[84] an island distant from the promontory 50 stadia,
lofty, with a city of the same name. The island is 40 stadia in
circumference. Next is the rugged tract, Ariusia, without harbours,
about 30 stadia in extent. It produces the best of the Grecian wines.
Then follows Pelinæum,[85] the highest mountain in the island. In the
island is a marble quarry.
Among illustrious natives of Chios were Ion[86] the tragic writer,
Theopompus the historian, and Theocritus the sophist. The two latter
persons were opposed to each other in the political parties in the
state. The Chians claim Homer as a native of their country, alleging as
a proof the Homeridæ, as they are called, descendants from his family,
whom Pindar mentions:
“Whence also the Homeridæ, the chanters of the rhapsodies,
most frequently begin their song. ”[87]
The Chians once possessed a naval force, and aspired to the sovereignty
of the sea, and to liberty. [88]
From Chios to Lesbos is a voyage of about 400 stadia, with a south wind.
[CAS. 645] 36. After the Hypocremnus is Chytrium, a place where
Clazomenæ[89] formerly stood; then the present city, having in front
eight small islands, the land of which is cultivated by husbandmen.
Anaxagoras, the natural philosopher, was a distinguished Clazomenian; he
was a disciple of Anaximenes the Milesian, and master of Archelaus the
natural philosopher, and of Euripides the poet.
Next is a temple of Apollo, and hot springs, the bay of Smyrna, and the
city Smyrna.
37. Next is another bay, on which is situated the ancient Smyrna, at the
distance of 20 stadia from the present city. After Smyrna had been razed
by the Lydians, the inhabitants continued for about four hundred years
to live in villages. It was then restored by Antigonus, and afterwards
by Lysimachus, and at present it is the most beautiful city in Ionia.
One portion of Smyrna is built up on a hill, but the greater part is in
the plain near the harbour, the Metroum, and the Gymnasium. The division
of the streets is excellent, and as nearly as possible in straight
lines. There are paved roads, large quadrangular porticos, both on a
level with the ground and with an upper story.
There is also a library, and the Homereium, a quadrangular portico,
which has a temple of Homer and a statue. For the Smyrnæans, above all
others, urge the claims of their city to be the birth-place of Homer,
and they have a sort of brass money, called Homereium. [90]
The river Meles flows near the walls. Besides other conveniences with
which the city is furnished, there is a close harbour.
There is one, and not a trifling, defect in the work of the architects,
that when they paved the roads, they did not make drains beneath them;
the filth consequently lies on the surface, and, during rains
particularly, the receptacles of the filth spread it over the streets.
It was here that Dolabella besieged and slew Trebonius, one of the
murderers of divus Cæsar; he also destroyed many parts of the city.
38. Next to Smyrna is Leucæ,[91] a small city, which Aristonicus caused
to revolt, after the death of Attalus, the son of Philometor,[92] under
pretence of being descended from the royal family, but with the
intention of usurping the kingdom. He was, however, defeated in a naval
engagement by the Ephesians, near the Cumæan district, and expelled. But
he went into the interior of the country, and quickly collected together
a multitude of needy people and slaves, who were induced to follow him
by the hope of obtaining their freedom, whom he called Heliopolitæ. He
first surprised Thyateira,[93] he then got possession of Apollonis, and
had an intention of making himself master of other fortresses, but he
did not maintain his ground long. The cities sent immediately a large
body of troops against him, and were supported by Nicomedes the
Bithynian and the kings of Cappadocia. Afterwards five deputies of the
Romans came, then an army, and the consul Publius Crassus. These were
followed by M. Perperna, who took Aristonicus prisoner, sent him to
Rome, and thus put an end to the war. Aristonicus died in prison;
Perperna died of some disease, and Crassus fell near Leucæ, in a
skirmish with some people who had attacked him from an ambuscade. Manius
Aquillius the consul came afterwards, with ten lieutenants; he regulated
the affairs of the province, and established that form of government
which continues at present.
After Leucæ follows Phocæa,[94] situated on a bay. I have mentioned this
place in the description of Massalia. [95] Then follow the confines of
the Ionians and the Æolians. I have already spoken of these. [96]
In the interior of the Ionian maritime territory there remain to be
described the places about the road leading from Ephesus, as far as
Antioch[97] and the Mæander.
This tract is occupied by a mixed population of Lydians, Carians, and
Greeks.
39. The first place after Ephesus is Magnesia, an Æolian city, and
called Magnesia on the Mæander, for it is situated near it; but it is
still nearer the Lethæus, which discharges itself into the Mæander. It
has its source in Pactyes, a mountain in the Ephesian district. There is
another Lethæus in [CAS. 647] Gortyne, a third near Tricca, where
Asclepius is said to have been born, and the fourth among the Hesperitæ
Libyans. [98]
Magnesia lies in a plain, near a mountain called Thorax,[99] on which it
is said Daphitas the grammarian was crucified, for reviling the kings in
a distich—
“O slaves, with backs purpled with stripes, filings of the
gold of Lysimachus, you are the kings of Lydia and Phrygia. ”
An oracle is said to have warned Daphitas to beware of the Thorax. [100]
40. The Magnesians appear to be the descendants of Delphians who
inhabited the Didymæan mountains in Thessaly, and of whom Hesiod says,
“or, as the chaste virgin, who inhabits the sacred Didymæan
hills in the plain of Dotium, opposite Amyrus, abounding with
vines, and bathes her feet in the lake Bœbias—”
At Magnesia also was the temple of Dindymene, the mother of the gods.
Her priestess, according to some writers, was the daughter, according to
others, the wife, of Themistocles. At present there is no temple,
because the city has been transferred to another place. In the present
city is the temple of Artemis Leucophryene, which in the size of the
nave and in the number of sacred offerings is inferior to the temple at
Ephesus; but, in the fine proportion and the skill exhibited in the
structure of the enclosure, it greatly surpasses the Ephesian temple; in
size it is superior to all the temples in Asia, except that at Ephesus
and that at Didymi.
Anciently the Magnetes were utterly extirpated by Treres, a Cimmerian
tribe, who for a long period made successful inroads. Subsequently
Ephesians got possession of the place. [101] Callinus speaks of the
Magnetes as still in a flourishing state, and successful in the war
against the Ephesians. But Archilochus seems to have been acquainted
with the calamities which had befallen them:
“bewail the misfortunes of the Thasians, not of the Magnetes;”
whence we may conjecture that Archilochus was posterior to Callinus. Yet
Callinus mentions some other earlier inroad of the Cimmerians, when he
says—
“and now the army of the daring Cimmerians is advancing,”
where he is speaking of the capture of Sardis.
41. Among the illustrious natives of Magnesia were Hegesias the orator,
who first introduced the Asiatic fervour, as it was called, and
corrupted the established Attic style of eloquence; Simon (Simus? ) the
lyric poet, who also corrupted the system and plan of former lyric
poets, by introducing the Simodia; it was still more corrupted by the
Lysiodi and Magodi;[102] Cleomachus the pugilist, who was enamoured of a
certain cinædus, and a female servant, who was maintained by the
cinædus, imitated the sort of dialect and the manners of the cinædi.
Sotades was the first person that employed the language of the cinædi,
and he was followed by Alexander the Ætolian; but these were only prose
writers. Lysis added verse, but this had been done before his time by
Simus.
The theatres had raised the reputation of Anaxenor, the player on the
cithara, but Antony elevated him as high as possible, by appointing him
receiver of the tribute from four cities, and by giving him a guard of
soldiers for the protection of his person. His native country also
augmented his dignity, by investing him with the sacred purple of
Jupiter Sosipolis, as is represented in the painted figure in the forum.
There is also in the theatre a figure in brass, with this inscription:
[CAS. 648] “It is truly delightful to listen to a minstrel
such as he is, whose voice is like that of the gods. ”[103]
The artist who engraved the words was inattentive to the space which
they would occupy, and omitted the last letter of the second verse,
ΑΥΔΗΙ, (voice,) the breadth of the base not being large
enough to allow its insertion; this afforded an occasion of accusing the
citizens of ignorance, on account of the ambiguity of the inscription;
for it is not clear whether the nominative ΑΥΔΗ, or the
dative ΑΥΔΗΙ, is to be understood, for many persons write
the dative cases without the Ι, and reject the usage, as not
founded on any natural reason.
42. After Magnesia is the road to Tralles;[104] travellers have on the
left hand Mesogis,[105] and on the right hand, and from the road itself,
the plain of the Mæander, which is occupied in common by Lydians,
Carians, Ionians, Milesians, Mysians, and the Æolians of Magnesia.
The character of the sites of places is the same even as far as
Nysa[106] and Antioch.
The city of Tralles is built upon ground in the shape somewhat of a
trapezium. It has a citadel strongly fortified, and the places around
are well defended. It is as well peopled as any of the cities in Asia,
and its inhabitants are wealthy; some of them constantly occupy chief
stations in the province, and are called Asiarchs. Among the latter was
Pythodorus, originally a native of Nysa; but, induced by the celebrity
of the place, he migrated hither. He was one of the few friends of
Pompey who were fortunate. His wealth was kingly, and consisted of more
than two thousand talents, which he redeemed when it was confiscated by
divus Cæsar, on account of his attachment to Pompey, and left it
undiminished to his children. Pythodoris, who is at present queen in
Pontus, and whom we have mentioned before, is his daughter. Pythodorus
flourished in our times, and also Menodorus, an eloquent man, and a
person of dignified and grave demeanour; he was priest of Jupiter
Larisæus. He was circumvented by the adherents of Domitius Ænobarbus,
who, on the credit of informers, put him to death, for attempting, as
was supposed, the revolt of his fleet.
Tralles produced also celebrated orators, Dionysocles, and after him
Damasus, surnamed Scombrus.
It is said to have been founded by Argives and a body of Tralli
Thracians,[107] from whom it had its name. It was governed for a short
time by tyrants, sons of Cratippus, about the period of the Mithridatic
war.
43. Nysa is situated near the Mesogis, resting for the most part against
the mountain. It is as it were a double town, for a kind of torrent
watercourse divides it into two parts, and forms a valley, one part of
which has a bridge over it, connecting the two towns; the other is
adorned with an amphitheatre; underneath it is a passage through which
the waters of the torrents flow out of sight.
Near the theatre are situated[108] two heights; below one lies the
gymnasium for the young men; below the other is the forum, and a place
of exercise for older persons. To the south below the city lies the
plain, as at Tralles.
44. On the road between Tralles and Nysa is a village of the Nysæans,
not far from the city Acharaca, in which is the Plutonium, to which is
attached a large grove, a temple of Pluto and Proserpine, and the
Charonium, a cave which overhangs the grove, and possesses some singular
physical properties. The sick, it is said, who have confidence in the
cures performed by these deities, resort thither, and live in the
village near the cave, among experienced priests, who sleep at night in
the open air, on behoof of the sick, and direct the modes of cure by
their dreams. The priests invoke the gods to cure the sick, and
frequently take them into the cave, where, as in a den, they are placed
to remain in quiet without food for several days. Sometimes the sick
themselves observe their own dreams, but apply to these persons, in
their character of priests and guardians of the mysteries, to interpret
them, and to counsel what is to be done. To others the place is
interdicted and fatal.
An annual festival, to which there is a general resort, is celebrated at
Acharaca, and at that time particularly are to be [CAS. 650] seen and
heard those who frequent it, conversing about cures performed
there. [109] During this feast the young men of the gymnasium and the
ephebi, naked and anointed with oil,[110] carry off a bull by stealth at
midnight, and hurry it away into the cave. It is then let loose, and
after proceeding a short distance falls down and expires.
45. Thirty stadia from Nysa, as you cross the Mesogis towards the
southern parts of Mount Tmolus,[111] is a place called Leimon, or the
Meadow, to which the Nysæans and all the people around repair when they
celebrate a festival. Not far from this plain is an aperture in the
ground, sacred to the same deities, which aperture is said to extend as
far as Acharaca. They say that the poet mentions this meadow, in the
words,
“On the Asian mead,”[112]
and they show a temple dedicated to two heroes, Caÿstrius and Asius, and
the Caÿster flowing near it.
46. Historians relate that three brothers, Athymbrus, Athymbradus, and
Hydrelus, coming hither from Lacedæmon, founded (three? ) cities, to
which they gave their own names; that the population of these towns
afterwards declined, but that out of these jointly Nysa was peopled. 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.
the Carians inhabited it, it was called Parthenia, then Anthemus, then
Melamphylus,[49] then Samos, either from the name of some native hero,
or from some one who conducted a colony thither from Ithaca and
Cephallenia. In it is a promontory looking towards Drepanum in Icaria,
which has the name of Ampelos, (the Vine,) but the whole mountain, which
spreads over the island, has the same name. The island is not remarkable
for good wine,[50] although the islands around, as Chios, Lesbos, Cos,
and almost all the adjacent continent, produce wines of the best kind.
The Ephesian and the Metropolites are good wines, but the Mesogis, the
Tmolus, the Catacecaumene, Cnidos, Smyrna, and other more obscure
places, are distinguished for the excellence of their wines, whether for
gratification or dietetic purposes.
Samos is not very fortunate as regards the production of wine, but in
general it is fertile, as appears from its possession being a subject of
warlike contention, and from the language of its panegyrists, who do not
hesitate to apply to it the proverb,
“It produces even birds’ milk,”
as Menander somewhere says. This was the cause also of the tyrannies
established there, and of the enmity of the Athenians.
16. The tyrannies were at their height in the time of Polycrates and his
brother Syloson. The former was distinguished for his good fortune, and
the possession of such a degree of power as made him master of the sea.
It is related as an instance of his good fortune, that having purposely
thrown into the sea his ring, which was of great value both on account
of the stone and the engraving, a short time afterwards a fisherman
caught the fish which had swallowed it, and on cutting the fish open,
the ring was discovered. When the king of Egypt was informed of this, he
declared, it is said, with a prophetic spirit, that Polycrates, who had
been elevated to such a height of prosperity, would soon end his life
unfortunately; and this was actually the case, for he was taken by the
Persian satrap by stratagem, and crucified. Anacreon, the lyric poet,
was his contemporary, and all his poetry abounds with the praises of
Polycrates.
It is said that in his time Pythagoras, observing the growing tyranny,
left the city, and travelled to Egypt and Babylon, with a view to
acquire knowledge. On his return from his travels, perceiving that the
tyranny still prevailed, he set sail for Italy, and there passed the
remainder of his life.
So much respecting Polycrates.
17. Syloson was left by his brother in a private station. But he made a
present to Darius, son of Hystaspes, of a robe which the latter saw him
wearing, and very much desired to possess. Darius was not king at this
time, but when he became king, Polycrates received as a compensation the
tyranny of Samos. He governed with so much severity, that the city was
depopulated, which gave occasion to the proverb,
“By the pleasure of Syloson there is room enough. ”
18. The Athenians formerly sent Pericles their general, and with him
Sophocles the poet, who harassed with the evils of a siege the
refractory Samians. Afterwards[51] they sent thither a colony of two
thousand citizens, among whom was Neocles the father of Epicurus, and,
according to report, a school-master. It is said, that Epicurus was
educated here and at Teos, and was admitted among the ephebi at Athens,
having as his comrade in that class Menander the comic poet. Creophylus
was a native of Samos,[52] who, it is said, once entertained Homer as
his guest, and received, in return, his poem entitled “The taking of
Œchalia. ” Callimachus, on the contrary, intimates in an epigram that it
was the composition of [CAS. 639] Creophylus, but ascribed to Homer on
account of the story of his hospitable entertainment by Creophylus:
“I am the work of the Samian, who once entertained in his
house, as a guest, the divine Homer. I grieve for the
sufferings of Eurytus, and mourn for the yellow-haired Ioleia.
I am called Homer’s writing. O Jupiter, how glorious this for
Creophylus. ”
Some say that he was Homer’s master; according to others, it was not
Creophylus, but Aristeas of Proconnesus.
19. The island of Icaria, from which the Icarian Sea has its name, is
near Samos. The island has its name from Icarus, the son of Dædalus,
who, it is said, having accompanied his father in his flight, when both
of them, furnished with wings, set out from Crete, fell on that island,
unable to sustain his flight. He had mounted too near the sun, and the
wings dropped off on the melting of the wax [with which they were
fastened].
The whole island is 300 stadia in circumference; it has no harbours, but
only anchorages, the best of which is called Histi. A promontory
stretches towards the west. There is also on the island a temple of
Diana, called Tauropolium, and a small town Œnoë; and another,
Dracanum,[53] of the same name as the promontory on which it stands,
with an anchorage for vessels. The promontory is distant from the
promontory of the Samians, called Cantharius, 80 stadia, which is the
shortest passage from one to the other. The Samians occupy it at present
in its depopulated state, chiefly for the sake of pasture which it
affords for cattle.
20. Next to the Samian strait at Mycale, on the right hand on the voyage
to Ephesus, is the sea-coast of the Ephesians, a part of which even the
Samians possess. First on the sea-coast is the Panionium,[54] distant
from the sea three stadia, where the Panionia, a common festival of the
Ionians, is celebrated, and a sacrifice is performed in honour of the
Heliconian Neptune. The priests are Prienians. We have spoken of them in
the description of Peloponnesus.
Then follows Neapolis, which formerly belonged to the Ephesians, but now
belongs to the Samians, having exchanged Marathesium[55] for it, the
more distant for the nearer place. Next is Pygela, a small town,
containing a temple of Diana Munychia. It was founded by Agamemnon, and
colonized by some of his soldiers, who had a disease in the buttocks,
and were called Pygalgeis; as they laboured under this complaint, they
settled there, and the town had the appropriate name of Pygela. [56]
Next is a harbour called Panormus, with a temple of the Ephesian Diana;
then the city.
On the same coast, at a little distance from the sea, is Ortygia, a fine
wood with trees of all kinds, but the cypress in the greatest abundance.
Through this wood flows the river Cenchrius, in which Latona is said to
have bathed after the birth of her child. For here is laid the scene of
the birth of the child, the cares of the nurse Ortygia, the cave in
which the birth took place, the neighbouring olive tree under which the
goddess first reposed when the pains of childbirth had ceased.
Above the wood is the mountain Solmissus, where, it is said, the Curetes
stationed themselves, and with the noise of their arms perplexed and
terrified Juno, who was enviously watching in secret the delivery of
Latona, who was thus assisted in concealing the birth of the child.
There are many temples in the place, some of which are ancient, others
of later times; in the former are ancient statues; in the latter are
works of Scopas, Latona holding a sceptre, and Ortygia standing by her
with a child in each arm.
A convention and festival are celebrated there every year. It is the
custom for young men to vie with each other, particularly in the
splendour of their convivial entertainments. The body of Curetes
celebrate their Symposia at the same time, and perform certain mystic
sacrifices.
21. The city of Ephesus was inhabited both by Carians and Leleges. After
Androclus had expelled the greatest part of the inhabitants, he settled
his companions about the Athenæum, and the Hypelæum, and in the
mountainous tract at the foot of the Coressus. It was thus inhabited
till the time of Crœsus. Afterwards, the inhabitants descended from the
mountainous district, and settled about the present temple, and
continued there to the time of Alexander. Then Lysimachus built a wall
round the present temple, and, perceiving the inhabitants [CAS. 640]
unwilling to remove thither, took advantage of a heavy storm of rain
which he saw approaching, and obstructed the drains so as to inundate
the city, and the inhabitants were glad to leave it for another place.
He called the city Arsinoë, after the name of his wife, but the old name
prevailed. A body of elders was enrolled, with whom were associated
persons called Epicleti, who administered all the affairs of the city.
22. Chersiphron[57] was the first architect of the temple of Diana;
another afterwards enlarged it, but when Herostratus set fire to it,[58]
the citizens constructed one more magnificent. They collected for this
purpose the ornaments of the women, contributions from private property,
and the money arising from the sale of pillars of the former temple.
Evidence of these things is to be found in the decrees of that time.
Artemidorus says, that Timæus of Tauromenium, in consequence of his
ignorance of these decrees, and being otherwise a calumniator and
detractor, (whence he had the name of Epitimæus, or Reviler,) avers that
the Ephesians restored the temple by means of the treasure deposited
there by the Persians. But at that time no treasure was deposited, and
if any had been deposited there, it must have been consumed together
with the temple: after the conflagration, when the roof was destroyed,
who would wish to have a deposit lying there, with the sacred enclosure
exposed to the air?
Besides, Artemidorus says, that Alexander promised to defray the expense
of its restoration, both what had been and what would be incurred, on
condition that the work should be attributed to him in the inscription,
but the Ephesians refused to accede to this; much less, then, would they
be disposed to acquire fame by sacrilege and spoliation. He praises also
the reply of an Ephesian to the king, “that it was not fit that a god
should provide temples in honour of gods. ”
23. After the completion of the temple, which, he says, was the work of
Cheirocrates (the same person who built Alexandria, and also promised
Alexander that he would form Mount Athos into a statue of him, which
should represent him as pouring a libation into a dish out of an ewer;
that he would build two cities, one on the right hand of the mountain,
and another on the left, and a river should flow out of the dish from
one to the other,)[59]—after the completion of the temple, he says that
the multitude of other sacred offerings were purchased by the Ephesians,
at the value set on them by artificers, and that the altar was almost
entirely full of the works of Praxiteles. They showed us also some of
the performances of Thraso, namely, the Hecatesium, a Penelope,[60] and
the old woman Eurycleia.
The priests were eunuchs, who were called Megabyzi. It was the practice
to send to various places for persons worthy of this office, and they
were held in high honour. They were obliged to appoint virgins as their
colleagues in their priesthood. At present some of their rites and
customs are observed, and some are neglected.
The temple was formerly, and is at present, a place of refuge, but the
limits of the sanctity of this asylum have been frequently altered;
Alexander extended them to the distance of a stadium. Mithridates
discharged an arrow from the angle of the roof, and supposed that it
fell a little beyond the distance of a stadium. Antonius doubled this
distance, and included within the range of the sanctuary a certain
portion of the city. This was attended with much evil, as it placed the
city in the power of criminals and malefactors. On this account Augustus
Cæsar abolished the privilege.
24. The city has an arsenal and a harbour. The entrance of the harbour
was made narrow, by order of the king Attalus Philadelphus, who,
together with the persons that constructed it, was disappointed at the
result. The harbour was formerly shallow, on account of the embankment
of earth accumulated by the Caÿster; but the king, supposing that there
would be [CAS. 641] deep water for the entrance of large vessels of
burden, if a mole were thrown up before the mouth of the river, which
was very wide, gave orders for the construction of a mole; but the
contrary effect took place, for the mud, being confined within the
harbour, made the whole of it shallow to the mouth. Before the
construction of the mole, the flow and ebb of the sea cleared the mud
away entirely, by forcing it outwards.
Such then is the nature of the harbour.
The city, by the advantages which it affords, daily improves, and is the
largest mart in Asia within the Taurus.
25. Among illustrious persons in ancient times natives of Ephesus were
Heracleitus, surnamed Scoteinus, or the Obscure, and Hermodorus, of whom
Heracleitus himself says:
“The Ephesians, youths and all, deserve hanging, for expelling
Hermodorus, an honest citizen,[61] a citizen distinguished for
his virtues, and saying, let there be no such amongst us; if
there be, let it be in another place and among other people. ”
Hermodorus seems to have compiled laws for the Romans. Hipponax the poet
was an Ephesian, and the painters Parrhasius and Apelles.
In more recent times was Alexander the orator, surnamed Lychnus, or the
Lamp;[62] he was an administrator of state affairs, a writer of history,
and left behind him poems which contain a description of the heavenly
phenomena and a geographical account of the continents, each of which
forms the subject of a distinct poem.
26. Next to the mouth of the Caÿster is a lake called Selinusia, formed
by the overflowing of the sea. It is succeeded by another, which
communicates with this. They afford a large revenue, of which the kings,
although it was sacred, deprived the goddess, but the Romans restored
it; then the tax-gatherers seized upon the tribute by force, and
converted it to their own use. Artemidorus, who was sent on an embassy
to Rome, as he says, recovered possession of the lakes for the goddess,
and also of the territory of Heracleotis, which was on the point of
separating from Ephesus, by proceeding in a suit at Rome. In return for
these services, the city erected in the temple to his honour a statue of
gold.
In the most retired part of the lake is a temple of a king, built, it is
said, by Agamemnon.
27. Next follows the mountain Gallesius, and Colophon, an Ionian city,
in front of which is the grove of Apollo Clarius, where was once an
ancient oracle. [63] It is said that the prophet Calchas came hither on
foot, on his return from Troy with Amphilochus, the son of Amphiaraus,
and that meeting at Clarus with a prophet superior to himself, Mopsus,
the son of Mantus, the daughter of Teiresias, he died of vexation.
Hesiod relates the fable somewhat in this manner: Calchas propounds to
Mopsus something of this kind:
“I am surprised to see how large a quantity of figs there is
on this small tree; can you tell the number? ”
Mopsus answered:
“There are ten thousand; they will measure a medimnus, and
there is one over, which you cannot comprehend. ”
Thus he spoke; the number and measure were exact. Then Calchas closed
his eyes in the sleep of death.
But Pherecydes says, that Calchas proposed a question respecting a
pregnant sow, and asked how many young she had; the other answered,
“three, one of which is a sow. ” Upon his giving the true answer, Calchas
died of vexation. According to others, Calchas propounded the question
of the sow, and Mopsus that of the fig-tree; that Mopsus returned the
true answer, and that Calchas was mistaken, who died of vexation,
according to some oracular prophecy.
Sophocles, in his “Helen Claimed,” says that he was destined by fate to
die when he should meet with a prophet superior to himself. But this
writer transfers the scene of the rivalry, and of the death of Calchas,
to Cilicia.
These are ancient traditions.
[CAS. 643] 28. The Colophonians once possessed a considerable armament,
consisting both of ships and of cavalry. In the latter they were so much
superior to other nations, that in any obstinate engagement, on
whichever side the Colophonian horse were auxiliaries, they decided it;
whence came the proverb, “he put the Colophon to it,” when a person
brought any affair to a decisive issue. [64]
Among some of the remarkable persons born at Colophon were Mimnermus, a
flute-player and an elegiac poet; Xenophanes, the natural philosopher,
who composed Silli in verse. Pindar mentions one Polymnastus also, a
Colophonian, as distinguished for his skill in music:
“Thou knowest the celebrated strains of Polymnastus, the
Colophonian:”
and some writers affirm that Homer was of that city. The voyage from
Ephesus in a straight line is 70 stadia, and including the winding of
the bays, 120.
29. Next to Colophon is the mountain Coracium, and a small island sacred
to Artemis, to which it is believed that the hinds swim across to bring
forth their young.
Then follows Lebedos,[65] distant from Colophon 120 stadia. This is the
place of meeting and residence[66] of the Dionysiac artists (who travel
about) Ionia as far as the Hellespont. In Ionia a general assembly is
held, and games are celebrated every year in honour of Bacchus. These
artists formerly inhabited Teos,[67] a city of the Ionians, next in
order after Colophon, but on the breaking out of a sedition they took
refuge at Ephesus; and when Attalus settled them at Myonnesus,[68]
between Teos and Lebedos, the Teians sent a deputation to request the
Romans not to permit Myonnesus to be fortified, as it would endanger
their safety. They migrated to Lebedos, and the Lebedians were glad to
receive them, on account of their own scanty population.
Teos is distant from Lebedos 120 stadia. Between these two places is the
island Aspis,[69] which some writers call Arconnesus. Myonnesus
is situated upon high ground resembling a peninsula.
30. Teos is situated upon a peninsula, and has a port. Anacreon, the
lyric poet, was a native of this place; in his time, the Teians, unable
to endure the insults and injuries of the Persians, abandoned Teos, and
removed to Abdera, whence originated the verse—
“Abdera, the beautiful colony of the Teians. ”
Some of them returned in after-times to their own country. We have said
that Apellicon was of Teos, and Hecatæus also, the historian.
There is another port to the north, at the distance of 30 stadia from
the city, Gerrhæïdæ. [70]
31. Next follows Chalcideis, and the isthmus of the peninsula[71] of the
Teians and Erythræans; the latter inhabit the interior of the isthmus.
The Teians and Clazomenians are situated on the isthmus itself. The
Teians occupy the southern side of the isthmus, namely, Chalcideis;[72]
the Clazomenians, the northern side, whence they are contiguous to the
Erythræan district. At the commencement of the isthmus is Hypocremnus,
having on this side the Erythræan, and on the other, the Clazomenian
territory. Above Chalcideis is a grove, dedicated to Alexander, the son
of Philip, and a festival called Alexandreia is proclaimed and
celebrated there by the common body of the Ionians.
The passage across the isthmus from the Alexandrine grove and
Chalcideis, as far as the Hypocremnus, is 50 stadia (150? ). The circuit
round by sea is more than 1000 stadia. Somewhere about the middle of the
voyage is Erythræ,[73] an Ionian city, with a port, having in front four
small islands, called Hippoi (the Horses).
32. But before we come to Erythræ, the first place we meet with is
Eræ,[74] a small city belonging to the Teians.
Next is Corycus, a lofty mountain; and below it, Casystes, a port;[75]
then another, called the port of Erythræ, and afterwards many others.
[CAS. 644] It is said that the whole sea-coast along the Corycus was
the haunt of pirates, who were called Corycæans, and who had contrived a
new mode of attacking vessels. They dispersed themselves among the
ports, and went among the merchants who had just arrived, and listened
to their conversation respecting the freight of their ships, and the
places whither they were bound. The pirates then collected together,
attacked the merchants at sea, and plundered the vessels. Hence all
inquisitive persons and those who listen to private and secret
conversation we call Corycæans, and say proverbially,
“The Corycæan must have overheard it,”
when any one thinks that he has done or said anything not to be
divulged, but is betrayed by spies or persons anxious to be informed of
what does not concern them.
33. Next to Corycus is Halonnesus, a small island, then the
Argennum,[76] a promontory of the Erythræan territory, situated close to
Poseidium, belonging to the Chians, and forming a strait of about 60
stadia in width. Between Erythræ and Hypocremnus is Mimas,[77] a lofty
mountain, abounding with beasts of chase, and well wooded. Then follows
Cybelia, a village, and a promontory called Melæna,[78] (or Black,)
which has a quarry whence millstones are obtained.
34. Erythræ was the native place of the Sibyl, an ancient inspired
prophetess. In the time of Alexander there was another Sibyl, who was
also a prophetess, whose name was Athenais, a native of the same city;
and in our age there was Heracleides the Herophilian physician, a native
of Erythræ, a fellow-student of Apollonius surnamed Mus.
35. The coasting circumnavigation of Chios is 900 stadia. It has a
city[79] with a good port, and a station for eighty vessels. In the
voyage round the island, a person sailing from the city, with the island
on his right hand, first meets with Poseidium,[80] then Phanæ,[81] a
deep harbour, and a temple of Apollo, and a grove of palm trees; then
Notium, a part of the coast affording a shelter for vessels; next
Laïus,[82] which is also a place of shelter for vessels; hence to the
city is an isthmus of 60 stadia. The circumnavigation is 360 stadia, as
I have before described it. Next, the promontory Melæna,[83] opposite to
which is Psyra,[84] an island distant from the promontory 50 stadia,
lofty, with a city of the same name. The island is 40 stadia in
circumference. Next is the rugged tract, Ariusia, without harbours,
about 30 stadia in extent. It produces the best of the Grecian wines.
Then follows Pelinæum,[85] the highest mountain in the island. In the
island is a marble quarry.
Among illustrious natives of Chios were Ion[86] the tragic writer,
Theopompus the historian, and Theocritus the sophist. The two latter
persons were opposed to each other in the political parties in the
state. The Chians claim Homer as a native of their country, alleging as
a proof the Homeridæ, as they are called, descendants from his family,
whom Pindar mentions:
“Whence also the Homeridæ, the chanters of the rhapsodies,
most frequently begin their song. ”[87]
The Chians once possessed a naval force, and aspired to the sovereignty
of the sea, and to liberty. [88]
From Chios to Lesbos is a voyage of about 400 stadia, with a south wind.
[CAS. 645] 36. After the Hypocremnus is Chytrium, a place where
Clazomenæ[89] formerly stood; then the present city, having in front
eight small islands, the land of which is cultivated by husbandmen.
Anaxagoras, the natural philosopher, was a distinguished Clazomenian; he
was a disciple of Anaximenes the Milesian, and master of Archelaus the
natural philosopher, and of Euripides the poet.
Next is a temple of Apollo, and hot springs, the bay of Smyrna, and the
city Smyrna.
37. Next is another bay, on which is situated the ancient Smyrna, at the
distance of 20 stadia from the present city. After Smyrna had been razed
by the Lydians, the inhabitants continued for about four hundred years
to live in villages. It was then restored by Antigonus, and afterwards
by Lysimachus, and at present it is the most beautiful city in Ionia.
One portion of Smyrna is built up on a hill, but the greater part is in
the plain near the harbour, the Metroum, and the Gymnasium. The division
of the streets is excellent, and as nearly as possible in straight
lines. There are paved roads, large quadrangular porticos, both on a
level with the ground and with an upper story.
There is also a library, and the Homereium, a quadrangular portico,
which has a temple of Homer and a statue. For the Smyrnæans, above all
others, urge the claims of their city to be the birth-place of Homer,
and they have a sort of brass money, called Homereium. [90]
The river Meles flows near the walls. Besides other conveniences with
which the city is furnished, there is a close harbour.
There is one, and not a trifling, defect in the work of the architects,
that when they paved the roads, they did not make drains beneath them;
the filth consequently lies on the surface, and, during rains
particularly, the receptacles of the filth spread it over the streets.
It was here that Dolabella besieged and slew Trebonius, one of the
murderers of divus Cæsar; he also destroyed many parts of the city.
38. Next to Smyrna is Leucæ,[91] a small city, which Aristonicus caused
to revolt, after the death of Attalus, the son of Philometor,[92] under
pretence of being descended from the royal family, but with the
intention of usurping the kingdom. He was, however, defeated in a naval
engagement by the Ephesians, near the Cumæan district, and expelled. But
he went into the interior of the country, and quickly collected together
a multitude of needy people and slaves, who were induced to follow him
by the hope of obtaining their freedom, whom he called Heliopolitæ. He
first surprised Thyateira,[93] he then got possession of Apollonis, and
had an intention of making himself master of other fortresses, but he
did not maintain his ground long. The cities sent immediately a large
body of troops against him, and were supported by Nicomedes the
Bithynian and the kings of Cappadocia. Afterwards five deputies of the
Romans came, then an army, and the consul Publius Crassus. These were
followed by M. Perperna, who took Aristonicus prisoner, sent him to
Rome, and thus put an end to the war. Aristonicus died in prison;
Perperna died of some disease, and Crassus fell near Leucæ, in a
skirmish with some people who had attacked him from an ambuscade. Manius
Aquillius the consul came afterwards, with ten lieutenants; he regulated
the affairs of the province, and established that form of government
which continues at present.
After Leucæ follows Phocæa,[94] situated on a bay. I have mentioned this
place in the description of Massalia. [95] Then follow the confines of
the Ionians and the Æolians. I have already spoken of these. [96]
In the interior of the Ionian maritime territory there remain to be
described the places about the road leading from Ephesus, as far as
Antioch[97] and the Mæander.
This tract is occupied by a mixed population of Lydians, Carians, and
Greeks.
39. The first place after Ephesus is Magnesia, an Æolian city, and
called Magnesia on the Mæander, for it is situated near it; but it is
still nearer the Lethæus, which discharges itself into the Mæander. It
has its source in Pactyes, a mountain in the Ephesian district. There is
another Lethæus in [CAS. 647] Gortyne, a third near Tricca, where
Asclepius is said to have been born, and the fourth among the Hesperitæ
Libyans. [98]
Magnesia lies in a plain, near a mountain called Thorax,[99] on which it
is said Daphitas the grammarian was crucified, for reviling the kings in
a distich—
“O slaves, with backs purpled with stripes, filings of the
gold of Lysimachus, you are the kings of Lydia and Phrygia. ”
An oracle is said to have warned Daphitas to beware of the Thorax. [100]
40. The Magnesians appear to be the descendants of Delphians who
inhabited the Didymæan mountains in Thessaly, and of whom Hesiod says,
“or, as the chaste virgin, who inhabits the sacred Didymæan
hills in the plain of Dotium, opposite Amyrus, abounding with
vines, and bathes her feet in the lake Bœbias—”
At Magnesia also was the temple of Dindymene, the mother of the gods.
Her priestess, according to some writers, was the daughter, according to
others, the wife, of Themistocles. At present there is no temple,
because the city has been transferred to another place. In the present
city is the temple of Artemis Leucophryene, which in the size of the
nave and in the number of sacred offerings is inferior to the temple at
Ephesus; but, in the fine proportion and the skill exhibited in the
structure of the enclosure, it greatly surpasses the Ephesian temple; in
size it is superior to all the temples in Asia, except that at Ephesus
and that at Didymi.
Anciently the Magnetes were utterly extirpated by Treres, a Cimmerian
tribe, who for a long period made successful inroads. Subsequently
Ephesians got possession of the place. [101] Callinus speaks of the
Magnetes as still in a flourishing state, and successful in the war
against the Ephesians. But Archilochus seems to have been acquainted
with the calamities which had befallen them:
“bewail the misfortunes of the Thasians, not of the Magnetes;”
whence we may conjecture that Archilochus was posterior to Callinus. Yet
Callinus mentions some other earlier inroad of the Cimmerians, when he
says—
“and now the army of the daring Cimmerians is advancing,”
where he is speaking of the capture of Sardis.
41. Among the illustrious natives of Magnesia were Hegesias the orator,
who first introduced the Asiatic fervour, as it was called, and
corrupted the established Attic style of eloquence; Simon (Simus? ) the
lyric poet, who also corrupted the system and plan of former lyric
poets, by introducing the Simodia; it was still more corrupted by the
Lysiodi and Magodi;[102] Cleomachus the pugilist, who was enamoured of a
certain cinædus, and a female servant, who was maintained by the
cinædus, imitated the sort of dialect and the manners of the cinædi.
Sotades was the first person that employed the language of the cinædi,
and he was followed by Alexander the Ætolian; but these were only prose
writers. Lysis added verse, but this had been done before his time by
Simus.
The theatres had raised the reputation of Anaxenor, the player on the
cithara, but Antony elevated him as high as possible, by appointing him
receiver of the tribute from four cities, and by giving him a guard of
soldiers for the protection of his person. His native country also
augmented his dignity, by investing him with the sacred purple of
Jupiter Sosipolis, as is represented in the painted figure in the forum.
There is also in the theatre a figure in brass, with this inscription:
[CAS. 648] “It is truly delightful to listen to a minstrel
such as he is, whose voice is like that of the gods. ”[103]
The artist who engraved the words was inattentive to the space which
they would occupy, and omitted the last letter of the second verse,
ΑΥΔΗΙ, (voice,) the breadth of the base not being large
enough to allow its insertion; this afforded an occasion of accusing the
citizens of ignorance, on account of the ambiguity of the inscription;
for it is not clear whether the nominative ΑΥΔΗ, or the
dative ΑΥΔΗΙ, is to be understood, for many persons write
the dative cases without the Ι, and reject the usage, as not
founded on any natural reason.
42. After Magnesia is the road to Tralles;[104] travellers have on the
left hand Mesogis,[105] and on the right hand, and from the road itself,
the plain of the Mæander, which is occupied in common by Lydians,
Carians, Ionians, Milesians, Mysians, and the Æolians of Magnesia.
The character of the sites of places is the same even as far as
Nysa[106] and Antioch.
The city of Tralles is built upon ground in the shape somewhat of a
trapezium. It has a citadel strongly fortified, and the places around
are well defended. It is as well peopled as any of the cities in Asia,
and its inhabitants are wealthy; some of them constantly occupy chief
stations in the province, and are called Asiarchs. Among the latter was
Pythodorus, originally a native of Nysa; but, induced by the celebrity
of the place, he migrated hither. He was one of the few friends of
Pompey who were fortunate. His wealth was kingly, and consisted of more
than two thousand talents, which he redeemed when it was confiscated by
divus Cæsar, on account of his attachment to Pompey, and left it
undiminished to his children. Pythodoris, who is at present queen in
Pontus, and whom we have mentioned before, is his daughter. Pythodorus
flourished in our times, and also Menodorus, an eloquent man, and a
person of dignified and grave demeanour; he was priest of Jupiter
Larisæus. He was circumvented by the adherents of Domitius Ænobarbus,
who, on the credit of informers, put him to death, for attempting, as
was supposed, the revolt of his fleet.
Tralles produced also celebrated orators, Dionysocles, and after him
Damasus, surnamed Scombrus.
It is said to have been founded by Argives and a body of Tralli
Thracians,[107] from whom it had its name. It was governed for a short
time by tyrants, sons of Cratippus, about the period of the Mithridatic
war.
43. Nysa is situated near the Mesogis, resting for the most part against
the mountain. It is as it were a double town, for a kind of torrent
watercourse divides it into two parts, and forms a valley, one part of
which has a bridge over it, connecting the two towns; the other is
adorned with an amphitheatre; underneath it is a passage through which
the waters of the torrents flow out of sight.
Near the theatre are situated[108] two heights; below one lies the
gymnasium for the young men; below the other is the forum, and a place
of exercise for older persons. To the south below the city lies the
plain, as at Tralles.
44. On the road between Tralles and Nysa is a village of the Nysæans,
not far from the city Acharaca, in which is the Plutonium, to which is
attached a large grove, a temple of Pluto and Proserpine, and the
Charonium, a cave which overhangs the grove, and possesses some singular
physical properties. The sick, it is said, who have confidence in the
cures performed by these deities, resort thither, and live in the
village near the cave, among experienced priests, who sleep at night in
the open air, on behoof of the sick, and direct the modes of cure by
their dreams. The priests invoke the gods to cure the sick, and
frequently take them into the cave, where, as in a den, they are placed
to remain in quiet without food for several days. Sometimes the sick
themselves observe their own dreams, but apply to these persons, in
their character of priests and guardians of the mysteries, to interpret
them, and to counsel what is to be done. To others the place is
interdicted and fatal.
An annual festival, to which there is a general resort, is celebrated at
Acharaca, and at that time particularly are to be [CAS. 650] seen and
heard those who frequent it, conversing about cures performed
there. [109] During this feast the young men of the gymnasium and the
ephebi, naked and anointed with oil,[110] carry off a bull by stealth at
midnight, and hurry it away into the cave. It is then let loose, and
after proceeding a short distance falls down and expires.
45. Thirty stadia from Nysa, as you cross the Mesogis towards the
southern parts of Mount Tmolus,[111] is a place called Leimon, or the
Meadow, to which the Nysæans and all the people around repair when they
celebrate a festival. Not far from this plain is an aperture in the
ground, sacred to the same deities, which aperture is said to extend as
far as Acharaca. They say that the poet mentions this meadow, in the
words,
“On the Asian mead,”[112]
and they show a temple dedicated to two heroes, Caÿstrius and Asius, and
the Caÿster flowing near it.
46. Historians relate that three brothers, Athymbrus, Athymbradus, and
Hydrelus, coming hither from Lacedæmon, founded (three? ) cities, to
which they gave their own names; that the population of these towns
afterwards declined, but that out of these jointly Nysa was peopled. 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.
