OLBASA
OLBASA (
Ὄλβασα).
1.
A town in Cilicia Aspera. at the foot of Mount Taurus, on a tributary of the Calycadnus. (
Ptol. 5.8.6.) Col. Leake (
Asia Minor, p. 320) identifies the town of Olbasa with the Olbe mentioned by Strabo (
xiv. p.672); while in another passage (p. 117) he conjectures that Olbasa may at a later period have changed its name into Claudiupolis, with which accordingly he is inclined to identify it.
The former supposition is possible, but not the latter, for Strabo places Olbe in the interior of Cilicia, between the rivers Lamus and Cydnus, that is, in the mountainous districts of the Taurus.
According to tradition, Olbe had been built by Ajax, the son of Teucer; it contained a temple of Zeus, whose priest once ruled over all Cilicia Aspera. (Strab.
l.c.) In later times it was regarded as belonging to Isauria, and was the seat of a bishop. (Hierocl. p. 709; Basil.
Vit. Theclae, 2.8.) We still possess coins of two of those priestly princes, Polemon and Ajax. (Eckhel,
Doctr. Num. vol. iii. p. 26, &c.)
It should be observed that Stephanus Byz. (s. v.
Ὀλβία) calls Olbasa or Olbe Olbia.
2.
A town in the Lycaonian district Antiochiana, in the south-west of Cybistra. (
Ptol. 5.6.17; Hierocl. p. 709.)
3.
A town in the northern part of Pisidia, between Pednelissus and Selge. (
Ptol. 5.5.8; Hierocl. p. 680.) [
L.S]
