situated at the mouth of the Strymon, and mentioned in the middle ages
under the name of _Serrae_; it is an important place, but did not exist
in antiquity. The river Strymon was, for a time, regarded as the boundary
of Macedonia, but it belongs, properly speaking, to Paeonia. The country
about its mouth, like that of Pella and Pallene, is one of the most
productive districts, and particularly fit for the growth of cotton and
tobacco, whence it was a χώρα περιμάχητος at an early period. It was as
important to the Greeks as the ports of the Baltic are to the Dutch and
English.
EION, an ancient Greek town at the mouth of the Strymon, was probably a
factory of Thasos. From it Athens and the other maritime cities obtained
the timber for shipbuilding, which was brought down the river in rafts.
Cyprus, however, also furnished timber. Eion was a very strong place;
it was long in possession of the Persians, and Boges maintained himself
there long after the great forces of Xerxes had been defeated at Mycale
and Plataeae; it was afterwards delivered by Cimon. In former times the
Milesians had attempted to establish themselves in those parts, and now
the Athenians did the same, at first without success, as the Thracians
destroyed their colony. But in a second attempt they were more fortunate.
They established themselves near the mouth of the river Strymon, about
five miles from Eion, and founded the genuine Attic colony of AMPHIPOLIS.
It derived its name from the fact of its being situated on both banks of
the river and being surrounded by two arms of it; the city was planned
with great skill, and built on an excellent site, which nature itself had
destined to be a great commercial place, like Riga. The Athenians treated
it with especial favour: it was not founded like other places which
merely received cleruchi, or, according to the Roman fashion, did not
possess municipal jurisdiction, but was a true colonial town, and, to a
certain extent, independent of the supremacy of Athens. But the Thracians
were dangerous neighbours, especially the Edonians; and in order to
defend themselves against them, the colonists admitted Chalcidians
as their fellow-citizens, who soon formed the majority, because the
Chalcidian towns were not far distant, and because Amphipolis offered
more attractions than other places. The Amphipolitans exported timber,
corn, tar, pitch, iron, and other Thracian products: it was a necessary
mart for the Paeonians and other neighbouring nations. At the time of
the Peloponnesian war, when the exasperation between the Athenians and
Chalcidians had risen very high, the latter succeeded in treacherously
overpowering the Attic colony, and in securing the assistance of Sparta.
Brasidas defended it against Cleon, and fell in the battle, but the
possession of the town was nevertheless for a long time withheld from the
Athenians, and Amphipolis henceforth remained a Chalcidian town. In the
time of Timoleon, when the maritime power of Athens was again extended,
Amphipolis was obliged to acknowledge her supremacy, but soon renounced
it again, and the Athenians being then in an unwarlike condition were
unable to re-conquer it. The possession of Amphipolis then became one
of the baits by means of which Philip for a long time deceived the
Athenians; but he took it for himself, and thenceforth, as long as the
Macedonian empire existed, it remained one of its chief towns. Early
in the middle ages (in the seventh century), it was destroyed by the
Slavonians and other barbarians, and never recovered. The town of Seres
stepped into its place.
The towns of ABDERA and MARONEA, both Ionian colonies of Teos, were
situated on the coast of Thrace proper. Abdera is celebrated from the
tradition about the silliness of its inhabitants, which has been carried
to the height of absurdity in the romance of Wieland. These stories have
almost made us forget, that Democritus, one of the greatest geniuses
of Greece, was a native of Abdera. Maronea was an ancient seat of the
worship of Bacchus, for the southern coast of Thrace is one of the
countries in which the nobler kinds of wine were produced at a very early
period.
AENOS, an Aeolian town, was situated at the mouth of the river Hebrus.
All these countries afterwards belonged for a time to the kingdom of
Egypt. If my intention of editing Polybius conjointly with Bekker should
ever be realised, I contemplate adding a map of that coast.
The CHERSONESUS, which, between forty and fifty miles in length, extends
between the κόλπος μέλας and the Hellespont, is connected with Thrace by
an isthmus of about five miles in breadth, and was formerly a Thracian
country, whence its name of _Chersonesus Thracica_. Such it appears in
the cyclic poems, and the faithless tyrant, to whom Hecuba entrusts
her son, is placed in this peninsula; but in the course of time Greeks
settled there, and hence arose the colonies of _Sestos_, _Eleus_ (Ἐλεοῦς,
Ἐλαιοῦς), and _Alopeconnesus_ on the coast of the Hellespont; but all
of them, with the exception of Sestos, were unimportant. The interior
contained the Thracian country of the Doloncians. When these latter were
attacked by the Thracian tribes, they, in common with the Greek towns,
applied to Athens for protection, for Athens was then already rising,
and fought with the Mityleneans for the possession of Sigeon. At that
time, the Athenians under Miltiades took possession of Chersonesus, and
protected it by a line of fortifications against the Thracians, on which
occasion they must have founded Cardia. The Thracians who formerly dwelt
there, now became allies and subjects, in which relation they remained
until the extension of the power of Persia. We must not imagine that the
first taking possession of Chersonesus was not the work of Pisistratus;
the tendency to refer to the people that which was done by the tyrants
alone, is one of the later republican vanities. Yet it does not follow,
that Athens at that time had a consolidated dominion over Chersonesus,
unless indeed it was broken after the expulsion of the Pisistratids.
It contained twelve towns. The wall of Miltiades was long preserved,
though it was often broken through and restored. Near it was CARDIA,
according to tradition, an ancient Greek town, which only received new
strength through Miltiades. It was destroyed by Lysimachus, perhaps not
in anger, but, as was often done by the rulers of that time, for the
purpose of enriching a favourite town with inhabitants. Thus Mahomed I.,
in order to raise Constantinople, transplanted to it many thousands of
Christian Armenians and other people. For Lysimachus founded LYSIMACHIA
by the side of Cardia, and this no doubt became his capital, though this
is nowhere expressly mentioned, for it is in the spirit of the times;
think only of Alexandria, Antioch, Demetrias, and Cassandrea! Lysimachia
was great and splendid; it was afterwards under the dominion of Syria;
in the wars between Seleucus Callinicus and Ptolemy Euergetes it passed
from the hands of the Syrians into those of the Egyptians. The latter
either set the town free, or it emancipated itself, and entered the
relation of sympolity with the Aetolians. As the latter were unable to
protect it, it was destroyed at the time of the Philippic war by the
Thracians, for the Thracian tribes were then very powerful and tyrannical
towards the Greeks. Being poorly restored by Antiochus the Great, it
thenceforth was little more than a name, until in the end it disappears
altogether. Cardia produced the historian Hieronymus, who wrote a history
of the successors of Alexander and their descendants (Epigoni); he was
an historian of great value, an able man, and a companion of Eumenes.
The latter, too, was a native of Cardia, a man of a better kind than the
other generals of Alexander; he was the only non-Macedonian who raised
himself to the rank of a prince; he had a real enthusiasm for the house
of Alexander, of which not a trace is to be found in any of the others.
All the remaining places were either Athenian or Ionian, and
Alopeconnesus and Sestos alone are called Aeolian. Sestos is celebrated
through the legend of Hero, and in history on account of the long siege
which the Persians sustained there even after the battle of Mycale. This
is the site of the ancient Dardanelles; the Hellespont there is only
seven stadia in breadth.
I ought to have mentioned ABYDOS on the opposite coast, when speaking
of Aeolis. It is renowned for its desperate defence against Philip, the
son of Demetrius, and Antiochus, in their war against young Ptolemy. It
is inconceivable what made the people of Abydos so determined not to
exchange one master for another: they made away with themselves in order
not to fall into the hands of Philip.
At a later time, CALLIPOLIS (now Gallipoli) arose in the neighbourhood of
Sestos; it was an important town under the Byzantine emperors, and even
as early as the reign of Justinian. In antiquity it was so insignificant,
that it may be doubted as to whether it really existed.
The Chersonesus appears gradually to have become completely hellenised,
although the Thracians were otherwise very obstinate. They entirely
disappeared there, either because they quitted the peninsula or because
they became amalgamated with the Greeks, for in the time of Philip all
the people were Greek, and from the time of Timotheus onward, for a
period of several years, the country was completely Athenian. But as
the Athenians sent cleruchi into it, the Thracians revolted: hence the
interference of Philip, who took possession of the peninsula. This was
the occasion of Demosthenes’ speech, περὶ τῶν ἐν Χερσονήσῳ.
We shall now proceed along the Thracian coast as far as the mouth of the
Pontus, and then cross over to the coast of Asia. The sea between the
Hellespont and the Bosporus was called _Propontis_. The continuous line
of coast of this sea never was entirely in the hands of the Greeks, but
they possessed the most important points. On the Thracian coast, between
Chersonesus and Perinthus, they had but few places, but the whole of
the Bosporus was in their hands. The most important of these places is
Perinthus; but before we come to it there are several smaller ones, which
I will pass over.
PERINTHUS, a Samian colony, if we consider the course of the history of
Samos, cannot have been founded after the time of the Persian war, and
must probably be assigned to the time of Polycrates. This is a point
which is self-evident, though no writer mentions it. The town is rarely
noticed in history, and is remarkable only on account of the siege of
Philip in Olymp. 109, when it was saved by the energetic assistance of
Athens, which was afforded to it on the proposal of Demosthenes.
The Byzantine colony of SELYMBRIA (_bria_ with the Thracians signified a
town, as in Mesembria) was situated between Perinthus and Byzantium.
BYZANTIUM, a colony of the Megarians, was situated between the Propontis,
the Bosporus, and the bay called _Ceras_. Under the Byzantine emperors,
this bay was called the Golden Horn (τὸ χρυσοῦν κέρας), and is situated
between Pera and Constantinople, forming the great port of the city
extending about five miles into the country; a river empties itself into
its μυχός. It is not known at what time the Megarians were powerful
enough to found such a colony, but, according to all accounts, it was
at an early period, perhaps during the tyrannis of Theagenes, or even
earlier. Megara probably acted only as mediator for the efflux of the
surplus population of the Dorians, for itself was too small. The original
name of Byzantium was Βύζας, of which the most distinct traces occur
in the antiquities of Constantinople, as you may see in Codinus, _De
originibus Constantinopolitanis_, a work which contains some important
matters concerning mythology; but its language is miserably bad. All
traditions go back to a hero Byzas, who is said to be the founder of
the place, and is represented on coins, just as Taras in the case of
Tarentum. A still older form was no doubt Βύζανς, like _Antians_,
_Romans_, _Campans_, _ans_ being a genuine Pelasgian ending. The
πολιτικὸν is Βυζάντιος, the citizens are called Βυζάντιοι, and the city
τὸ Βυζάντιον (supply πόλισμα) in Thucydides.[80] In the earlier writers,
such as Herodotus, οἱ Βυζάντιοι is far more common, for instead of the
names of places with the unusual terminations _as_ (_ans_) and _us_
(_uns_), the names of the citizens are generally employed, as Λεοντῖνοι
in Sicily from Λεοῦς, which does not occur at all. Such forms are used
even where topically the place alone is meant. In like manner, we find
in the middle ages _Tusculana_ or _Tusculanum_ (supply _civitas_ or
_oppidum_), _Lanuvina_ or _Lanuvinum_; and many of these things have
descended to our own times, as _Palestrina_ for _Praenestina_. The
Romans called the city _Byzantium_, and from it they formed the new
adjective _Byzantinus_, which remained indeed foreign to the Greeks, but
is the only correct form in later times, when Byzantium was restored
under the name of Constantinople.
I have made these observations, because even a grammarian like my dear
friend Buttmann[81] has been mistaken on this point. In order to decide
such questions, it is necessary to make investigations and to search
even in the inelegant corners of the literature of the fifth and sixth
centuries, and to be as familiar with it, as were Joseph Scaliger and J.
F. Gronovius. In our time scholars move within too narrow limits; but we
ought not to be satisfied with a knowledge of the elegant literature, but
must go down to the middle ages; there are many points in the language,
which receive the necessary light only from mediaeval writings.[82]
Buttmann is right so far as the classical period is concerned.[83]
Byzantium was destined by nature to be one of the most important cities;
and it was so much designed to become a large place, that the oracle
commanding the settlers to establish themselves opposite to the coast of
the Blind, said nothing but the plain truth. Chalcedon on the opposite
coast was probably a Megarian settlement, but founded from Byzantium
at its very earliest period, and not 150 years before the foundation of
Byzantium by the Megarians. Byzantium controls the Bosporus and the whole
of the Euxine, and it is inconceivable how the Greeks could settle on the
Pontus, without previously taking possession of Byzantium. Its harbour
is extremely safe and fit for the largest vessels; and even on the south
side of the city, ships may anchor in the Propontis with great safety
and without being exposed to the winds. The current from the Black Sea
through the Hellespont affords a safety of defence, which is of great
importance in case of an attack from the west, and that even without any
necessity of fortifying the pass of Sestos. The climate is extremely
healthy, the situation most beautiful, and the country all around the
most fertile in the world. Not to leave unnoticed what is apparently
accidental, I may mention that the sea there abounds in fish, which are
a great advantage to those countries. The Black Sea is in general very
rich in fish, and from it, from the Palus Maeotis, from the Don and
Dniepr, large shoals of fish proceed annually through the Bosporus and
the Hellespont towards the Aegean Sea; but the current always throws
a great many into the harbour of Byzantium, where they find no outlet
and are caught with the greatest facility, especially tunny fish and
anchovies. When the Ionian cities became weaker, the Byzantians, availing
themselves of their situation, levied a toll upon ships passing through
the Bosporus, but were unable permanently to exact it, and became in
consequence involved in serious wars.
Byzantium was conquered by a Persian general of Darius, and for a time
was nothing but a Persian fortress: the Greek inhabitants of the place
then dispersed, but the whole of the Bosporus and the country on the
other side of the Ceras as far as Selymbria, consisted of Byzantian
προάστεια. The circumference of the ancient city was not great, occupying
only about double the space of the present Seraglio. During the
Macedonian period, Byzantium, with extraordinary skill, preserved its
independence. In Olymp. 106, it undertook, in conjunction with Rhodes,
Chios, and Mitylene, the Social war against Athens. Under Lysimachus,
it appears to have formally maintained its political existence, paying
homage to him only by presents, and thus throughout all changes it
remained free until the time of the Romans. In the age of Cicero,
for example, Byzantium, as we see from his speech against Piso, was
a completely free city and in alliance with the Romans. As commerce
was constantly increasing in the Roman empire, Byzantium also rose in
prosperity, as is clear from certain statements of Tacitus. In the war of
Pescennius Niger against Septimius Severus, Byzantium stood out against
a desperate siege which lasted for three years; Niger had no hope of
conquering Severus and the West, and this seems to have suggested to
him the idea of dividing the empire, and of maintaining himself in the
East, of which Byzantium was to be the capital. When the city was taken,
Severus destroyed it completely, a piece of revenge which was otherwise
opposed to the character of that prudent emperor. The unfortunate
consequence was, that those seas were now thrown open to the barbarians.
The Goths, without any obstacle, penetrated into the Propontis,
overpowered the _claustra_ of the Hellespont, and spread over Greece. At
length Constantine restored Byzantium under the name of Constantinople;
he saw the necessity of founding a strong capital there, if he was to
maintain himself in the East. This determination of Constantine has been
censured, and the course of events seems to justify the censure; but
people overlook the fact that, if Constantine had not acted as he did,
the East would have been conquered first and much earlier, that part of
the empire being then much more in danger than the West. The Goths were
on the Danube, and the Huns were pressing on from the East, while the
Germans had been completely overpowered by the victories of Aurelian and
Probus; and in Gaul, too, not a man thought of making war against Rome.
The fact that afterwards circumstances turned out differently is no proof
that Constantine was wrong. Had not Constantinople been so strong a
place at that time, the eastern empire would have been lost.
The gradual extension of Constantinople is a subject which would lead me
too far; but if, after I have given you the topography of Rome, there he
still time left, I shall add that of Constantinople.
Let us now proceed to the southern coast of the Propontis. I will only
state in general, that the whole of the Asiatic side of the Hellespont,
as far as the entrance into the Propontis was completely covered with
Greek towns, nearly all of which, like Lampsacus and Dardanus, were
Aeolian; a few only were Ionian. But CYZICUS, on the south coast of
the Propontis, was a town which enjoyed great celebrity both in the
earlier and the somewhat later periods of antiquity. It is a disputed
point whether originally it was situated on a peninsula connected with
the mainland by a narrow neck, or whether it was in reality an island
which was artificially connected with the opposite coast by means of a
causeway. It was a Milesian colony, protected against the barbarians
by its isolated position, and it acquired importance at first by
agriculture, and afterwards by navigation and commerce. It is mentioned
by Thucydides and Xenophon, but its real greatness belongs to the
Macedonian period, when, to judge from its ruins and the vast number
of coins found there, it must have been a very large and wealthy city.
It is historically important on account of the siege during which its
inhabitants defended themselves bravely, resolutely, and heroically,
against Mithridates; the Romans rewarded them for it with distinctions
and favours of every kind; and Cyzicus, under the Romans, continued to be
a considerable city. It seems to have been destroyed during the Gothic
invasion in the third century; under the Byzantine emperors it was only a
small provincial town.
There were several other little Greek colonies on the same coast, such
as _Cios_, _Astacos_, and others, which were subsequently conquered by
the Bithynian kings, in consequence of which their names were changed. I
shall say more of them when I come to speak of Bithynia.
CHALCEDON, opposite to Byzantium, was according to tradition older than
it; it may have existed before, but certainly not as a Greek town. It is
likewise said to have been a Megarian colony; but it never was of any
historical importance. On coins it is called Καλχεδών, but in many MSS.
we find Καλχηδών, whence it is often confounded with Καρχηδών.
The Greek towns on the Thracian coast from the Bosporus onwards are
in themselves of no historical importance. MESEMBRIA was built by the
Byzantians at the time when, during the Ionian war, their own city had
been taken by the Persians. Nearly all settlements in those parts were
Ionian colonies sent out by Miletus, with the exception of CALATIS which
was a Dorian colony of Heraclea; but APOLLONIA and all places further on
as far as the Borysthenes are Milesian. All these towns as far as Olbia,
as I said before, are of no importance in history, if we except Tomi,
which derives its interest from the fact that Ovid lived there in exile.
TOMI is also called Τομεῖς, which is another instance of the variety
of adjectives. Τομεύς (Τομεῖς) is an adjective, from which is formed
Τομείτης, and from it again the Latin _Tomitanus_, so that we have three
forms of the ethnic name. The description which Ovid, in his Tristia,
gives of his sufferings in that place, as well as the Βορυσθενιτικὸς
of Dion Chrysostomus, is of historical interest, because it furnishes
us a picture of the mode of life in that country. Those distant Greeks
maintained themselves as Greeks down to the times of the Romans, but they
had enough intercourse with the barbarians to adopt many of their manners
and customs, nay, even some peculiarities of language, so that they
really were Μιξέλληνες.
The coast of Thrace as far as mount Haemus is beautiful, but in the north
of Haemus as far as the Ister, it is inhospitable, for it is rocky, and
the country a mere steppe. North of the Ister as far as the Crimea, the
coast, though high, is a perfect steppe; the country is flat and often
well adapted for agriculture, but unfit for trees, because the soil which
is often very fertile is only a few feet deep, and rests upon a stony
stratum of ochre, which destroys the roots of trees.
The coast to the north of the Ister as far as the Dniepr or the town of
Tyras is called Γετῶν ἐρημία, either because it had been a desert at all
times, or because it had been changed into a wilderness. At the mouth of
the Dniepr, TYRAS, near Akermann, was the only town, and probably even
this was only a factory. ODESSOS, which must not be confounded with the
distant Odessa, was situated near the Ister. I will remark here by the
way, that the name Odessa has been quite unreasonably adopted from the
ancient town Odessos.