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[7]

In the inland parts of Bithynia is Bithynium,1 situated above Tieium,2 and to which belongs the country about Salon, affording the best pasturage for cattle, whence comes the cheese of Salon. Nicsæa,3 the capital of Bithynia, is situated on the Ascanian lake. It is surrounded by a very large and very fertile plain, which in the summer is not very healthy. Its first founder was Antigonus, the son of Philip, who called it Antigonia. It was then rebuilt by Lysimachus, who changed its name to that of his wife Nicæa. She was the daughter of Antipater. The city is situated in a plain. Its shape is quadrangular, eleven stadia in circuit. It has four gates. Its streets are divided at right angles, so that the four gates may be seen from a single stone, set up in the middle of the Gymnasium. A little above the Ascanian lake is Otrcæa, a small town situated just on the borders of Bithynia towards the east. It is conjectured that Otrcæa was so called from Otreus.

1 Claudiopolis, now Boli.

2 Tilijos.

3 Isnik. The Turkish name is a contraction of εἰς νικαιαν, as Ismir, Smyrna, is a contraction of εἰς σμύοͅην, Istambol, Constantinople, of εἰς τὴν πόλιν, Stanco, Cos, of εἰς τὴν κῶ.

The Geography of Strabo. Literally translated, with notes, in three volumes. London. George Bell & Sons. 1903.

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