CHAPTER III.
AFTER the part of the coast opposite
1 to Rhodes, the
boundary of which is Dædala, in sailing thence towards the
east, we come to Lycia, which extends to Pamphylia; next is
Pamphylia, extending as far as Cilicia Tracheia, which reaches
as far as the Cilicians, situated about the Bay of Issus. These
are parts of the peninsula, the isthmus of which we said was
the road from Issus as far as Amisus,
2 or, according to some
authors, to Sinope.
The country beyond the Taurus consists of the narrow line
of sea-coast extending from Lycia to the places about Soli,
the present Pompeiopolis. Then the sea-coast near the Bay
of Issus, beginning from Soli and Tarsus, spreads out into
plains.
The description of this coast will complete the account of
the whole peninsula. We shall then pass to the rest of Asia
without the Taurus, and lastly we shall describe Africa.
[
2]
After Dedala of the Rhodians there is a mountain of
Lycia, of the same name, Dedala, and here the whole Lycian
coast begins, and extends 1720 stadia. This maritime tract
is rugged, and difficult to be approached, but has very good
harbours, and is inhabited by a people who are not inclined
to acts of violence. The country is similar in nature to that
of Pamphylia and Cilicia Tracheia. But the former used
the places of shelter for vessels for piratical purposes themselves, or afforded to pirates a market for their plunder and
stations for their vessels.
At Side,
3 a city of Pamphylia, the Cilicians had places for
building ships. They sold their prisoners, whom they admitted were freemen, by notice through the public crier.
But the Lycians continued to live as good citizens, and with
so much restraint upon themselves, that although the Pamphylians had succeeded in obtaining the sovereignty of the
sea as far as Italy, yet they were never influenced by the desire of base gain, and persevered in administering the affairs
of the state according to the laws of the Lycian body.
[
3]
There are three and twenty cities in this body, which
have votes. They assemble from each city at a general congress, and select what city they please for their place of meeting. Each of the largest cities commands three votes, those
of intermediate importance two, and the rest one vote. They
contribute in the same proportion to taxes and other public
charges. The six largest cities, according to Artemidorus,
are Xanthus,
4 Patara,
5 Pinara,
6 Olympus, Myra, Tlos,
7 which
is situated at the pass of the mountain leading to Cibyra.
At the congress a lyciarch is first elected, then the other
officers of the body. Public tribunals are also appointed for
the administration of justice. Formerly they deliberated
about war and peace, and alliances, but this is not now permitted, as these things are under the control of the Romans.
It is only done by their consent, or when it may be for their
own advantage.
Thus judges and magistrates are elected according to the
proportion of the number of votes belonging to each city.
8
It was the fortune of these people, who lived under such an
excellent government, to retain their liberty under the Romans, and the laws and institutions of their ancestors; to see
also the entire extirpation of the pirates, first by Servilius
Isauricus, at the time that he demolished Isaura, and afterwards by Pompey the Great, who burnt more than 1300 vessels, and destroyed their haunts and retreats. Of the survivors
in these contests he transferred some to Soli, which he called
Pompeiopolis; others to Dyme, which had a deficient population, and is now occupied by a Roman colony.
The poets, however, particularly the tragic poets, confound
nations together; for instance, Trojans, Mysians, and Lydians,
whom they call Phrygians, and give the name of Lycians to
Carians.
[
4]
After Dædala is a Lycian mountain, and near it is Telmessus,
9 a small town of the Lycians, and Telmessis, a promontory with a harbour. Eumenes took this place from the Romans in the war with Antiochus, but after the dissolution of
the kingdom of Pergamus, the Lycians recovered it again.
[
5]
Then follows Anticragus, a precipitous mountain, on
which is Carmylessus,
10 a fortress situated in a gorge; next is
Mount Cragus, with eight peaks,
11 and a city of the same
name. The neighbourhood of these mountains is the scene
of the fable of the Chimæra; and at no great distance is
Chimera, a sort of ravine, extending upwards from the shore.
Below the Cragus in the interior is Pinara, which is one of
the largest cities of Lycia. Here Pandarus is worshipped, of
the same name perhaps as the Trojan Pandarus;
“‘thus the pale nightingale, daughter of Pandarus;’
12”
for this Pandarus, it is said, came from Lycia.
[
6]
Next is the river Xanthus, formerly called Sirbis.
13 In
sailing up it in vessels which ply as tenders, to the distance of
10 stadia, we come to the Letoum, and proceeding 60 stadia
beyond the temple, we find the city of the Xanthians, the
largest in Lycia. After the Xanthus follows Patara, which
is also a large city with a harbour, and containing a temple of
Apollo. Its founder was Patarus. When Ptolemy Philadelphus repaired it, he called it the Lycian Arsinoe, but the old
name prevailed.
[
7]
Next is Myra, at the distance of 20 stadia from the sea,
situated upon a lofty hill; then the mouth of the river Limyrus, and on ascending from it by land 20 stadia, we come to
the small town Limyra. In the intervening distance along
the coast above mentioned are many small islands and harbours. The most considerable of the islands is Cisthene, on
which is a city of the same name.
14 In the interior are the
strongholds Phellus, Antiphellus, and Chimæra, which I
mentioned above.
[
8]
Then follow the Sacred Promontory
15 and the Chelidoniæ,
three rocky islands, equal in size, and distant from each other
about 5, and from the land 6 stadia. One of them has an
anchorage for vessels. According to the opinion of many
writers, the Taurus begins here, because the summit is lofty,
and extends from the Pisidian mountains situated above Pamphylia, and because the islands lying in front exhibit a re-
markable figure in the sea, like a skirt of a mountain. But
in tact the mountainous chain is continued from the country
opposite Rhodes to the parts near Pisidia, and this range of
mountains is called Taurus.
The Chelidoniæ islands seem to be situated in a manner
opposite to Canopus,
16 and the passage across is said to be 4000
stadia.
From the Sacred Promontory to Olbia
17 there remain 367
stadia. In this distance are Crambusa,
18 and Olympus
19 a
large city, and a mountain of the same name, which is called
also Phœnicus;
20 then follows Corycus, a tract of sea-coast.
[
9]
Then follows Phaselis,
21 a considerable city, with three
harbours and a lake. Above it is the mountain Solyma
22
and Termessus,
23 a Pisidic city, situated on the defiles, through
which there is a pass over the mountain to Milyas. Alexander demolished it, with the intention of opening the defiles.
About Phaselis, near the sea, are narrow passes through
which Alexander conducted his army. There is a mountain
called Climax. It overhangs the sea of Pamphylia, leaving a
narrow road along the coast, which in calm weather is not
covered with water, and travellers can pass along it, but when
the sea is rough, it is in a great measure hidden by the
waves. The pass over the mountains is circuitous and steep,
but in fair weather persons travel on the road along the
shore. Alexander came there when there was a storm, and
trusting generally to fortune, set out before the sea had receded, and the soldiers marched during the whole day up to
the middle of the body in water.
Phaselis also is a Lycian city, situated on the confines of
Pamphylia. It is not a part of the Lycian body, but is an
independent city.
[
10]
The poet distinguishes the Solymi from the Lycians,
When he despatches Bellerophon by the king of the Lycians to
this second adventure;
“‘he encountered the brave Solymi;’
24”
other writers say that the Lycians were formerly called Solymi, and afterwards Termilæ, from the colonists that accompanied Sarpedon from Crete; and afterwards Lycians, from
Lycus the son of Pandion, who, after having been banished
from his own country, was admitted by Sarpedon to a share
in the government; but their story does not agree with Homer.
We prefer the opinion of those who say that the poet called
the people Solymi who have now the name of Milyæ, and
whom we have mentioned before.
