TAUCHI´RA
TAUCHI´RA or
TEUCHI´RA (
Ταύχειρα,
Hdt. 4.171, et alii;
Τεύχειρα, Hierocl. p. 732;
Plin. Nat. 5.5. s. 5, &c.), a town on the coast of Cyrenaica, founded by Cyrene.
It lay 200 stadia W. of Ptolemais. Under the Ptolemies it obtained the name of Arsinoë. (
Strab. xvii. p.836; Mela, 1.8; Plin.
l.c.) At a later period it became a Roman colony (
Tab. Peut.), and was fortified by Justinian. (Procop.
de Aed. 6.3.) Tauchira was particularly noted for the worship of Cybele, in honour of whom an annual festival was celebrated. (Synes.
Ep. 3.)
It is the same town erroneously written
Τάριχα by Diodorus (
18.20).
It is still called
Tochira. (Cf. Della Cella,
Viagg. p. 198; Pacho,
Voyage, p. 184.)
[
T.H.D]
