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(Πλάτων/ Plátōn). [German version] [1] The philosopher, 428/7 - 348/7 BC Athenian philosopher, 428/7 - 348/7 BC Szlezák, Thomas A. (Tübingen) [German version] A. Life The Seventh Letter (which is not intended to constitute a complete autobiography) and scattered reports…

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[German version] (Ζάβιοι/ Zábioi). Indian people according to Nonnus, Dion. 26,65 (who goes back to the Bassariká of Dionysius [32]). Their territory was probably in northwestern India, neighbouring the Dardae (cf. Steph. Byz. s. v. Δάρδαι/ Dárdai), but is not identifiable [1]. Attempts to make a comparison between the information in Nonnus (and Dionysius) and Indian realities remain tenuous (already [2], later e.g. [3], [4]; see also [5]). Rather, it is a matter of a Greek literary reflection of a mythical India, which only acci…

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(Ἀγαθοκλῆς; Agathoklês) [German version] [1] of Athens Archon 357/56 BC Archon 357/56 BC (Dem. Or. 47,44; Diod. Sic. 16,9). Meier, Mischa (Bielefeld) [German version] [2] Tyrant King of Syracuse (316-288 BC) Later king of Syracuse, born 361/0 BC in Thermae in Sicily. Son of Carcinus, who had been banned from Rhegium, and who under  Timoleon had received citizenship in Syracuse and had a pottery manufactory. A. had an adventurous youth, participated in several martial undertakings and early on fostered broad-reaching politica…

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[German version] [1] Attic Paralia(?) deme of the Acamantis phyle (Πόρος/ Póros). Attic paralia(?) deme, Acamantis phyle, from 307/6 BC Demetrias, three bouleutaí. Location unknown, but certainly not in Laureum or Metropisi (otherwise [1; 2]), since no mining is recorded for P. Lohmann, Hans (Bochum) …

[German version] (Μαλλοί; Malloí). Indian people at the confluence of the Punjab rivers Hydaspes, Acesines [2] and Hydraotes, with several fortified cities. In league with the Oxydracae, they violently resisted Alexander the Great. They are probably the ancient Indian Mālava who later emigrated to the east and are attested numismatically and epigraphically in Rājasthān (2nd cent. BC) and in Madhya Pradesh. Their name there is still preserved as Mālwā.…

(Φιλόξενος; Philóxenos). [German version] [1] Name of several officers under Alexander the Great Several officers with the name P. are mentioned in the sources about Alexander  [4] the Great. They cannot always be distinguished with certainty. One P. was appointed by Alexander in 331 BC (incorrect [1]) ' to collect tribute on this side of the Taurus'(i.e. in Asia Minor) (Arr. An. 3,6,4). This cannot be correct. Arrian must, as often, have expressed himself imprecisely, as this duty had …

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[German version] (Ναλλοῦρα; Nalloûra). City in the interior of Limyrice in Southern India (Ptol. 7.1.85). There are several cities in Southern India with the Dravidian name Nallūr; exact identification does not appear possible. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography O. Stein, s.v. Ναλλοῦρα, RE 16, 1608.

[German version] Ruined city in northern Afghanistan at the confluence of the rivers Amu Darja ( Araxes) and Koktscha. It was most likely founded by Alexander himself, probably  Alexandria [12]. A. was a Greek polis with temples, gymnasium, theatre, and an acropolis with Greek monumental and tomb inscriptions […

[German version] (Ἰαβαδίου; Iabadíou; Old Indic Yavadvīpa, modern Java or Sumatra). Large island in south-east Asia (Ptol. 7,2,29). The identification is still disputed but Ptolemy knew that the name meant ‘Island of Barley’ (Old Indic, yava, barley). Supposedly it was rich in gold and its capital was called Argyre. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography A. Herrmann, s.v. I. nesos, RE 9, 1175-77.

[German version] (Ὑδραώτης/ Hydraṓtēs in Arr., Ὑάρωτις/ Hyárōtis in Str., Hiarotis in Curt. is based on a Middle Indian form for Old Indian Airāvatī/Irāwatī, probably passed down through Iranian and following Greek ὕδωρ/ hýdōr); one of the main rivers of the Punjab, modern Rāvī in Pakistan; originates in the western Himalayas, flows into the  Acesines [2] (Chenāb) and became known to the Greeks through Alexander's campaign. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography E. Kiessling, s.v. Hyarotis, RE 9, 23f.

[German version] According to Ptol. 7,1,42, a people of north-western India, in the east of modern Afghanistan; Old Indian Lampāka. Its name is preserved in the modern Lamghan; several fragments of Aramaic inscriptions of king Aśoka were discovered there. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)

[German version] (Ἀβαστάνοι; Abastánoi), also Abastanes. Indian people (Arr. Anab. 6,15,1), called ‘Sambastai’ at Diod. Sic. 17,102,1, ‘Sabarcae’ at Curt. 9,8,4-7, settled near the confluence of the  Acesines and the Indus rivers and were neighbours of the  Malli. Described as a warlike, yet democratic people, conquered by Perdiccas. Probably for Old Indian Ambaṣṭha (see [1. 87 f.]), a western people mentioned in the Aitareyabrāhmaṇa and in the Puranic̣ ethnic lists. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography 1 P. H. L. …

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: India, trade with (Virapatnam). Village and archaeological site on the east coast of southern India, in the south of Pondicherry, the Podouke of Peripl. M. Rubr. and Ptol.; finds in A. created the basis for a chron…

[German version] (Ναναγούνας; Nanagoúnas). River in western India, rising in the Vindhya mountains (Οὐίνδιον; Ouíndion). Ptol. 7,1,32 (also 7,1,7 and 66). Perhaps modern Tapti. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography O. Stein, s.v. Ναναγούνας, RE 16, 1672f.  F.F. Schwarz, s.v. N., KlP 3, 1565.

(Λυσίας; Lysías). [German version] [1] Attic logographos, 5th/4th cent. BC Attic logographos , 459/8 or c. 445 to c. 380 BC Weißenberger, Michael (Greifswald) [German version] A. Life The main biographical facts can be gathered from L.'s speeches (esp. or. 12), from which the later vitae (Dion. Hal. de Lysia; Ps.-Plut. Mor. 835c ff.) and Byzantine learning (Phot. Bibl. 262; Suda s.v. L.) drew partly. Born probably around 445, L. left Athens at the age of 15 and together with his older brother Polemarchus settled in the Panhellenic colony of Thurii, which had been founded in 444 (the archaic assessment of his year of birth as 459/8 was most likely a combination of references to his age and the foundation year of Thurii). After returning from Thurii, where he is said to have studied rhetoric with Teisias (412: anti-Athenian sentiment in Lower Italy after the defeat at Syracusae), L. was possibly active as a teacher of rhetoric (Cic. Brut. …

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: India, trade with (Ταγάρα: Peripl. m. r. 51, Τάγαρα: Ptol. 7,1,82). Inland city in the Indian state of Maharashtra, modern Ter, where excavations have found e.g. lamps of an Hellenistic type.…

(τὰ Κάρουρα; tà Károura). [German version] [1] City in SW Asia Minor Town in south-western Asia Minor on the upper course of the  Maeander at the border between Caria and Phrygia (Str. 12,8,17; 14,2,29), near the modern Sarayköy. Thanks to its hot springs, C. was an ancient health resort; a medical school (in the tradition of  Herophilus [1]) was based near the sanctuary of Men Karu (Str. 12,8,20), halfway between C. and Laodicea [4] (2nd/1st cents. BC). Kaletsch, Hans (Regensburg) Bibliography Miller, 726 W. M. Ramsay, The Historical Geography of Asia Minor, 1890, 49 Ramsay 1, 164; 168; 374 W. Ruge, s.v. K. (1), RE 10, 2243f. [German version] [2] Capital of the southern Indian Cera kingdom This item can be found on the following maps: India, trade with Tamil Karūr (Karuvūr), the capital of the southern Indian Cera kingdom (Ptol. 7,1,86 βασίλειον Κηροβόθρου; basíleion Kērobóthrou) in the district of Tiruccir…

[German version] Members of an Indian dynasty founded at the end of the 4th century BC by Chandragupta Maurya ( Sandracottus), whose territory soon included all of North India (see map). A military campaign by Seleucus I, who wanted to reconquer Alexander [4] the Great's Indian conquests, failed; in a treaty Chandragupta was g…

[German version] The modern Indian Ocean (IO) was mostly known to the Greeks as   Erythrá thálatta [1] which actually only referred to the western part. With the increase in geographical knowledge, Erythrá thálatta was also used for the entire ocean (e.g. Peripl. m.r.) that was otherwise called the Indian Sea (Ἰνδικὸν πέλαγος/ Indikòn pélagos, Ptol. 7,1,1; 7,2,1) or IO (Ἰνδικὸς ὠκεανός/ Indikòs ṓkeanós, Agathemerus 2,4; Oceanus Indicus, Mela 1,9, Sen. Q Nat. 4,2,4). With the large gulfs (…

[German version] (Ἔπανδρος Νικηφόρος; Épandros Nikēphóros) Indo-Greek king in the 1st cent. BC. He is documented only by his coins (Middle-Indian Epadra). Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography Bopearachchi 103, 305f.

(Διονύσιος; Dionýsios). Famous personalities: D. [1], the tyrant of Syracuse; the historian D. [18] of Halicarnassus. Dionysios (month),  Months, names of the. The chronicle of Ps.-D. by Tell Maḥre see D. [23]. I. Politically active personalities [German version] [1] D. I. Notorious tyrant in Syracuse c. 400 BC of Syracuse, son of Hermocritus, …

[German version] (Νάουρα/ Náoura). Port in the district of Limyrice, southern India (Peripl. m. r. 53). Because both here and in Ptol. 7,1,8f. the name is followed by Tyndis, Muziris and Nelkynda, in that order, N., as the northernmost of the cities, must correspond to the Nitraíai empórion of Ptol. 7,1,7 (cf. Nitriae in Plin. HN 6,26,104). The precise location of N. remains unknown. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography O. Stein,…

[German version] (Νόσαλα; Nósala). Uninhabited island on the Gedrosian coast of the …

[German version] [1] Roman cognomen Roman cognomen (‘pointed nose’); from the 2nd cent. BC it was hereditary in the family of the Cornelii Scipiones (Cornelius [I 81-85]). The unsuccessful legacy hunter N. (around 30 BC) who was ridiculed by Horace (Hor. Sat. 2,5,57; 65) was not part of the Cornelii family. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) Bibliography …

[German version] (Κάσπειρα; Káspeira). City of the Caspiraei in India (Ptol. 7,1,47; 49). The name C. was often associated with modern Cashmere, but whereas Ptolemaeus locates C. in the eastern Punjab, the Caspiraei's territory extends from the Punjab as far as the Vindhya mountains in the south; the Caspiraei appear therefore to have lived approximately in modern Rajasthan and Gujarāt. Ptol. (7,1,42), however, connects the land of Caspeiria with the upper reaches of the Jhelum, the Chenāb and the Rāvi, and this again rather suggests Cashmere. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliograph…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: India, trade with (Νέλκυνδα; Nèlkynda). Trading town in Limyrice, in the south of India (Peripl. m. r. 53f.). It was situated on a river 500 stadia to the south of Muziris  in the kingdom of Pandion, i.e. Pāṇdya, in the southernmost part of India. The port of Barace lay at the mouth of a river. The town is also known as Melcyda (Μελκύδα/ Melkỳda, Ptol. 7,1,9); cf. also gens Nelcyndon in Plin. HN. 6,24,105. The exact location of N. is unknown. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography O. Stein, s.v. Nelkynda, RE 16, 2281-2285.

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(Ναγαδίβα; Nagadíba). [German version] [1] Coastal city on Taprobane Coastal city on Tapro…

(Θεόφιλος; Theóphilos). [German version] [1] Comic poet, 4th cent. BC Comic poet of the 4th cent. BC; victor at the Dionysia of 329 [1. test.2], fourth there in 311 with his Pankratiastḗs [2.190, 200]. T. was of the declining Middle and the incipient New Comedy [I G]. Of the nine known titles, two - Νεοπτόλεμος ( Neoptólemos, 'Neoptolemus'), Προιτίδες ( Proitídes, 'The daughters of Proitus') - are mythological plays, the others deal with everyday…

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[German version] (Σῖναι; Sînai). People in eastern Asia (Ptol. 1,17,5 and several times in Ptol. 7,3) with capital Thínai, Latin Thinae (Ptol. 7,3,6, Peripl. m. r. 64); also a term for southern China, which people visited by sea, whereas northern and eastern China were approached by way of the central-Asian caravan routes and was known as Serica, the land of the Seres , or the 'Silk Land'. S. and Serica were never associated with one another. The name S. is from the name of the Chinese Qín dynasty (3rd cent. BC), probably by way of the Old Indian Cīna. China Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliogra…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: India, trade with According to Peripl. M. Rubr. 52f., an empórion on the west coast of India close to what is now Bombay, Sanskrit Kalyāṇa. C. was established by the elder Saraganes as an important commercial harbour; under Sandanes in the 1st cent. AD it was abandoned in favour of  Barygaza. Also attested in Cosmas [2] Indikopleustes as Calliana (11,16; 11,22).…

[German version] also Gangaridae. Mentioned in accounts of Alexander's campaign ( Alexander [4], with map) and in Megasthenes as a powerful people in India. They lived east of the  Prasii on the lower Ganges. Also mentioned in Ptol. 7,1,81. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography …

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Alexander (Βάζιρα; Bázira). Town in north-western Pakistan, on the river Swat between the Indus and the Hindu Kush, captured and fortified by  Alexander [4] the Great (Arr. Anab.). Probably near Bīr-kōt̥-Ġundai, where Hellenistic walls, pottery and graffiti have been found. Karttun…

[German version] Indian people in today's Swat, west of the Indus, with capital Massaga, subjugated by Alexander (Arr. Anab. 4, 23ff.; Ind. 1,1). Called Aspagani by Plin. HN and in Pāli called Assaka, from Old Indian aśva-/Iranian aspa ‘horse’. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography …

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[German version] (Ταξίλης/ Taxílēs). King of Taxila, who ruled over a broad and fertile plain between the Indus and the Hydaspes; his neighbours were Abisares in the north and Porus [3] in the east. His father already had allied with Alexander [4] by letter (Diod. Sic. 17,86,4; Curt. 8,12,4 f.; see also Arr. Anab. 4,22,6), and the young king approved the alliance when Alexander stayed with him as a guest for some time in the spring of 326 BC (Arr. Anab. 5,3,5 f.; 5,8,2 f.; Diod. Sic. 17,86,4-7; Plu…

[German version] Indo-Greek king sometime around 100 BC. No literary evidence, but mentioned in an Indian Brāhmī insription (Besnagar inscription; by his envoy, Heliodorus of Taxila), and named on Greek-Bactrian and Indo-Greek coins with the legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΝΙΚΗΦΟΡΟΥ ΑΝΤΙΑΛΚΙΔΟΥ / …

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(Ἀγαθόκλεια; Agathókleia). [German version] [1] Mistress of Ptolemy II Mistress of Ptolemy II; her historicity is uncertain. PP 6, 14713; [1]. Ameling, Walter (Jena) [German version] [2] Mistress of Ptolemy IV Daughter of Agathocles [5] and  Oenanthe, sister of  Agathocles [6]. Mentioned 215 BC in possession of several Nile boats, 213/12 kanephore. Mistress of Ptolemy IV; in 204 took part in the murder of  Arsinoe [II 4] III, entrusted with her mother with the young Ptolemy V (as nursemaid?). Murdered by a mob in 203 at the deposition of her brother. PP 3/9, 4984; 6, 14714; [2]. Ameling, W…

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The Old Indian name M. designates two towns. [German version] [1] Indian locality at the confluence of the Yamuna and the Ganges This item can be found on the following maps: Graeco-Bactria | Graeco-Bactria | Mauryas The northern M. (also Méthōra/Μέθωρα in Megasthenes fr. 13a apud Arr. Ind. 8,5) in the land of Śūrasena, at the confluence of the Yamuna and the Ganges. It was an old and important centre of the cult of Kṛsṇa, but also of that of the Indian Heracles; the latter may not, however, be simply identified with Kṛsṇa. Ptol. 7,1,50 knew the town as Modura in the land of the Caspiraei (