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Diomedes

(1,079 words)

Author(s): Auffarth, Christoph (Tübingen) | Hidber, Thomas (Berne) | Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) | Gatti, Paolo (Trento)
(Διομήδης; Diomḗdēs). [German version] [1] Cultic hero of the city of Argos Hero of the city of Argos in the Trojan War, as opposed to Agamemnon of Mycenae, the lord of north-eastern Argolis (Hom. Il. 2,559-568; cf. Il. 23,471f. [1; 2]). Son of Tydeus and Deipyle, the daughter of Adrastus. In his aristeia before Troy (Il. 5 and 6), he killed Pandarus, wounded Aphrodite when she tried to save Aeneas (Il. 5, 290-351), and later also wounded Ares (Il. 5, 825-863). As a friend of the family, he exchanged weapons with Glaucus the Lycian (on the side o…

Bucephala

(99 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: India, trade with (Ἀλεξάνδρεια Βουκέφαλα; Alexándreia Bouképhala). City on the right bank of the Hydaspes (modern Jhelum), founded by Alexander [4] the Great on the site of the battle with Porus ( Porus) and named after his warhorse  Bucephalus (Arr. Anab. 5,19,4; Curt.). Still known in the early imperial period (Plin. HN; Peripl. m.r.; Ptol.). According to Lamotte mentioned in Buddhist literature as Bhadāśva [1]. Its exact location is disputed. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography 1 É. Lamotte, Alexandre et le …

Indo-Scythians

(59 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] (in Chinese sources Yuèzhī) originally a Central Asian people, which migrated west in the 2nd cent. BC. The I. conquered  Graeco-Bactria and later moved to India, where they founded the powerful  Kushan dynasty ( Kanishka). Their Indian kingdom is called Indo-Scythia by Ptolemy and others.  Scythians Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography J. E. van Lohuizen-de Leeuw, The Scythian Period, 1949.

Chryse

(64 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] (Χρυσῆ χερρόνησος; Chrysê cherrónēsos). South-west Asian Peninsula (Peripl. m. r. 63; Ptol. 7,2,5, etc.), Lat. Promunturium Chryse (Plin. HN 6,20,55), probably on the modern Malacca Peninsula; cf. Sanskrit Suvarṇabhūmi ‘Land of Gold’ and Suvarṇadvı̄pa ‘Island of Gold’ in south-west Asia. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography P. Wheatley, The Golden Khersonese. Studies in the historical geography of the Malay Peninsula before A.D. 1500, 1961.

Phegeus

(304 words)

Author(s): Käppel, Lutz (Kiel) | Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
(Φηγεύς; Phēgeús). [German version] [1] Son of Alpheius Son of Alpheius [2] (Hyg. Fab. 244), brother of Phoroneus; mythological king of Phegea in Arcadia, which was later called Psophis (Steph. Byz. s.v. Φηγεία; Paus. 8,24,2). He expiated the sin of Alcmaeon [1], who had killed his own mother, and married him to his daughter Alphesiboea (different name: Arsinoe [I 3]). However, Alcmaeon had to move on and then married Achelous' [2] daughter Callirhoe [2], for whom Alcmaeon deceitfully robbed P. of Harmo…

Taprobane

(343 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] (Ταπροβάνη/ Taprobánē). The most common name for the island of Ceylon from the time of Onesicritus (in Str. 15,1,17 and Plin. HN 6,81) and Megasthenes (Plin. HN 6, 81) onwards, Ancient Indian Tāmraparṇi, Middle Indian Tambapaṇṇi. The unrealistic geographical ideas of Antiquity, which are probably based on Eratosthenes [2], are noteworthy: in all Greek and Latin sources T. is much larger than in reality and extends far to the west. Nevertheless, in Ptolemaeus [65] for instance, who devotes a whole chapter to T. (7,4…

Alexandria

(1,725 words)

Author(s): Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) | Schwertheim, Elmar (Münster) | Renger, Johannes (Berlin) | Treidler, Hans (Berlin) | Brentjes, Burchard (Berlin) | Et al.
(Ἀλεξάνδρεια; Alexándreia). Name of numerous cities founded by Alexander the Great, including nine in eastern Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. [German version] [1] in Egypt This item can be found on the following maps: Egypt | Caesar | Christianity | Wine | Zenobia | | Diadochi and Epigoni | Alexander | Commerce | Hellenistic states | Hellenistic states | India, trade with | Legio | Legio | Limes | Pilgrimage | Pompeius | Rome | Rome | Athletes | Education / Culture | Egypt Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) [German version] A. Topography City on the Egyptian Mediterranean coast foun…

Komarei

(37 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] (Peripl. m. r. 58f.; Komaria, Ptol. 7,1,9). Southern Indian harbour town with a cape of the same name. Cf. modern Kanya Kumari on the southern tip of the Indian peninsula. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)

Straton

(1,134 words)

Author(s): Bäbler, Balbina (Göttingen) | Wildberg, Christian (Princeton) | Ameling, Walter (Jena) | Nutton, Vivian (London) | Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) | Et al.
(Στράτων; Strátōn). [German version] [1] Attic comedy writer, 4th cent. BC Attic comedy writer of the 4th cent. BC, according to the Suda belonging to the Middle Comedy [1. test. 1], but on the basis of fr. 1,43 (mentioning Philitas [1] of Cos) certainly to the New Comedy [2.62 f.]. At the Dionysia of 302, S. attained the fourth place [1. test. 2]. Of the comedy Phoinikídes (fr. 1 PCG) a rhesis survives on papyrus (fr. 1,4-8; 11; 13-15; 17-21; 23-25; 34-50; cf. [3]) and in a divergent version in Athenaeus (fr. 1,1-47; cf. [1.621 f.]); the spe…

Kushan, Kushanians

(229 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] Eastern Iranian dynasty (1st-4th cent. AD) whose territory stretched from the Ganges to Lake Aral. The dynasty evolved from nomadic tribes (part of the Yuezhi; Indo-Scythians) who took Bactria ( Bactria) from the Greeks. Heraios is attested as their first ancestor, Kujula Kadphises as founder of the empire. His successors are Vima Kadphises, Kanishka, Vasishka, Huvishka and Vāsudeva (there may be several bearers of these names.). The dating is contentious. The dominant religion was a syncretistic Mahāyāna-Buddhism. The arts were greatly shaped by th…

Aśoka

(126 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] (Ashoka). Maurya emperor of India (269/268-233/232 BC), also called Piyadassi/Priyadarōsi (Greek Πιοδάσσης; Piodássēs). Famous for his edicts, many examples of which have been found in many parts of southern Asia, written in Middle Indian dialect, and in the north-west (today Afghanistan) also several fragments in Aramaic, and also an Aramaic-Greek bilingual inscription [3] and a Greek fragment [4] in Kandahar. The edicts convey a lively image of A.'s empire and its administration, and also i…

Punjab

(172 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] (Neo-Persian panǧāb). The land of the five rivers Indus [1], Jhelum (Hydaspes), Chenāb (Acesines [2]), Rāvī (Hydraotes) and Sūtlaj-Beas (Zadadrus, Ptol. 7,1,27, Sydrus, Plin. HN 6,21,63 and Hyphasis). Although it was already known to the Achaemenids, P. entered the Greek geographical consciousness only through the campaigns of Alexander. In 326 BC Alexander [4] conquered P. as far as the Hyphasis, though it hardly resulted in founding any Greek settlements; P. was instead administe…

Hyphasis

(137 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] (H. in Arr.,  Hypanis in Str., Diod. Sic. and Dionys. Per., Hypasis in Curt. and Plin. HN, Bipasis in Ptol.; all of them possibly passed down from Old Indian Vipāśā- through Iranian); one of the five main rivers of the Punjab, modern Satlaǧ/Beas. At the upper reaches (modern Beas) was the point from which Alexander returned to the  Hydaspes. Thus the Satlaǧ ( Zaradrus of Ptol.), which lies further to the east, remained unknown for the most part to the Alexander historians, and also the lower course, which bot…

Zaradrus

(90 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] (Ζάραδρος/ Záradros, in manuscripts also Ζάδαδρος/ Zádadros). Indian river in Ptol. 7,1,27 and 42; Sydrus in Plin. HN 6,21,63; Old Indo-Iranian Śutudrī (in the Veda), Śatadru (in Epic), modern Sutlej, an eastern tributary of the Indus [1] in the Punjab. The river rises in the western Himalayas, flows through the Kulindrene region and then into the Indus. As the easternmost of its tributaries it was not noticed by Alexander [4] the Great and therefore not mentioned in Alexander literature. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography H. Treidler, s. v. Z., RE 9 A, 23…

Caspapyrus

(82 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] (Town in India, Hecat. in Steph. Byz.; Caspatyrus of Hdt. 4,44). Here Scylax had begun his journey with the fleet of Darius I down the Indus and through the sea to Egypt. An identification with Multan (as Kāśyapapura) in the Punjab hardly is possible; C. should rather be looked for west of the Indus, perhaps on the Kabul River, as the journey first took an easterly direction. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography K. Karttunen, India in Early Greek Literature, 1989, 41-46.

Thrason

(36 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] (Θράσων; Thrásōn). Indo-Greek king in the Punjab at about the beginning of the 1st cent. BC, recorded only on a number of coins, Middle Indic Thrasa. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography Bopearachchi, 106 f.; 310.

Oaxes

(78 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] River ‘at the eastern edge of the world’ (Verg. Ecl. 1,65); probably not in Crete (as stated correctly by Serv. Aen. ad loc., rather it was a variation on Oxus, old Iranian Vaxshu, which, according to Plin. HN 6,48 and Iust. 1,8,2 flows out of the Oaxus lacus. A further variation is Araxes [2]. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography E. Kirsten, s.v. O. (1), RE 17, 1686f.  E. Meyer, s.v. O. (1), RE Suppl. 12, 897f.

Dardae

(116 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] (Δάρδαι; Dárdai). A people in north-west India, Darada in Old Indo-Aryan, today known as the Dards and resident in the region known as Dardistan on the upper reaches of the Indus. Hdt. 3, 102ff. places them in the region below the sources of the Indus where the Δαράδραι ( Darádrai) mentioned by Ptol. 7,1,4 are also to be found. Also mentioned by Plin. HN 6,67 and 11,111 ( Dardae, probably following Megasthenes), Dionys. Per. 1138, Steph. Byz. i.a. According to Megasthenes (F 23b bei Str. 15,1,44), the Δέρδαι ( Dérdai) live on a high plateau in the east and steal gold …

Graeco-Bactria

(566 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] A. History The area of  Bactria in north-east Iran is a country with an old culture with an early developed city culture and an Iranian population. Greeks settled there sporadically as early as under the  Achaemenids [2]; however, one cannot as yet speak of a Greek population, with [1]. Not until under Alexander [4] the Great, who conquered the country in a gruelling two-year war, were several settlements started for the veterans of his army. Bactria became a Hellenistic satrapy und…

Acesines

(157 words)

Author(s): Manganaro, Giacomo (Sant' Agata li Battiata) | Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
(Ἀκεσίνης; Akesínēs). [German version] [1] River in Sicily River in  Sicily (Thuc. 4,25,8 Ἀχεσίνης; Achesínēs, Plin. HN 3,88 Asines), the modern Alcantara, which rises north of Randazzo, runs along the northern foot of Mount  Aetna [1] [2. 137], and flows, south of  Naxos, into the  Ionios Kolpos, identical with the Assinus (depicted as a horned youth on the obverse of a coin from Naxos, bearing the legend ΑΣΣΙΝΟΣ [1. 65 f., 93 f.]. Manganaro, Giacomo (Sant' Agata li Battiata) Bibliography 1 H. A. Cahn, Die Mz. der sizilischen Stadt Naxos, 1944 2 G. Manganaro, Per una storia de…

Eudamus

(218 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) | Günther, Linda-Marie (Munich)
(Εὔδαμος; Eúdamos). [German version] [1] Macedonian general under Alexander the Gr. Macedonian general ( dux Thracium in Curt. 10,1,21), appointed in 323 BC by Alexander [4] the Great as military commander together with Taxiles (Arr. Anab. 6,27,2). He slew Porus and took 120 elephants west when he followed the call of Eumenes [1] together with other eastern satraps in 317 BC (Diod. Sic. 19,14). He fought under Eumenes and was killed together with him by Antigonus [1] (Diod. Sic. 19,27-44). According to Bernard…

Moeris

(396 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) | Baumbach, Manuel (Zürich)
[German version] [1] Indian prince of the Patalii Indian prince of the Patalii at the mouth of the Indus, a companion of Alexander [4] (Curt. 9,8,28). The name M. is said to have been derived from Maurya [1. 25-27], but this is extremely unlikely. India Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography 1 P.H.L. Eggermont, Alexander's Campaigns in Sind and Baluchistan, 1975, 25-27. [German version] [2] Grammarian and lexicographer, 2nd/3rd cent.? (Μοῖρις; Moîris). Greek grammarian and lexicographer of the late 2nd or early 3rd cent. AD. Author of an alphabetically ordere…

Monsoon

(184 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] The regular seasonal winds of the  Indian Ocean. By using the summer southwesterly monsoon it was possible to sail quickly and safely from southern Arabia to India and return in the winter with the northeasterly monsoon. In a similar way the winds could also be used between India and southeastern Asia. The Indians and southern Arabians had probably known these winds for a long time, but their discovery was ascribed by the Greeks to a navigator called Hippalus [2] (ὁ λιβόνοτος/ libόnotos, Latin libonotus; Peripl. m. r. 57). In Plin. HN 6,100; 104 the wind itself is called Hippa…

Emodus

(103 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] (Ἠμωδός/ Ēmōdós, Ἠμωδὸν ὄρος/ Ēmōdòn óros, [ H] emodus; derived through Middle Indian from the Old Indian Haimavata, also Imaos, Ἴμαον ὄρος; Ímaon óros, Imaus, from Old Indian Himavān, ‘covered with snow’). Name of the eastern part of the Hindukuš-Pamir-Himalaya taken as one single mountain range. There were several views about the location of this mountain range; sometimes Imaos was named as the more easterly (Eratosth. in Str. 15,1, 11; Plin. HN 6, 64; Arr. Ind. 2, 3 et al.), sometimes Emodos. (Ptol.). Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography O. von Hinüber, in: G. W…

Calingae

(74 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] People on the east coast of India, Sanskrit Calinga, lived about where Orissa is today; capital city Pertalis (Plin. HN 6,64; 65; 7,30, perhaps following Megasthenes). Their land was conquered in 261 BC by  Aśoka in a bloody war and incorporated into the empire of the  Mauryas; probably identical with the Calliga of Ptol. (7,1,93, in the  Maesolia in eastern India). Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography A. Herrmann, s.v. Kalingai, RE 10, 1604f.

Chaberis

(61 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: India, trade with (Χαβηρὶς ἐμπόριον; Chabērìs empórion). Harbour town of the Soringoi at the mouth of the Chaberos (Kāveri) in southern India, in Ptol. 7,1,13. Old Indian (Tamil) Kāveripaṭṭinam or Pumpuhar; port of the Chola Empire. A Greek settlement is mentioned in classic Tamil poetry. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)

Apollophanes

(252 words)

Author(s): Hidber, Thomas (Berne) | Nutton, Vivian (London) | Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] [1] Attic poet of the Old Comedy Attic poet of the Old Comedy, who according to the witness of Suda wrote five pieces (Δαλίς, Δανάη, Ἰφιγέπων, Κένταυροι, Κρῆτες; Dalís, Danáē, Iphigépōn, Kéntauroi, Krêtes; 1. test. 1), all of which are lost, except for a few remnants. On the inscription list of the Lenaean victors A. figures between Nicophon and Amipsias [1. test. 3]. Hidber, Thomas (Berne) Bibliography 1 PCG II, 1991, 518-523. [German version] [2] Personal physician of Antiochos III Son of A. of Seleucia, personal physician ( archiatros) and tropheus of Antiochus III;…

Erannoboas

(58 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] (Ἐραννοβόας; Erannobóas). Tributary of the Ganges according to Arr. Ind. 4,3 and Plin. HN 6,65; Middle Indian Hiraññāha, another name for Śoṇa, the modern Son; although the latter is mentioned separately by both authors as Sonus (Σῶνος; Sônos). Ancient Palibothra/Pāṭaliputra was situated at the confluence of the Son and the Ganges. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)

Taxila

(183 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Achaemenids | Alexander | Graeco-Bactria | Graeco-Bactria | India, trade with | Mauryas (Τάξιλα/ Táxila, Skt. Takṣaśilā, Middle Ind. Takkasilā, Takṣaila). City in the Punjab between the Indus and the Hydaspes, near modern Islamabad, visited in the spring of 326 BC (Arr. Anab. 5,8; Str. 15,1,28) by Alexander [4] the Great (with map); its young king Taxiles became his faithful follower. T. was already inhabited in prehistoric times, and excavations have reveal…

Limyrice

(78 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] (Λιμυρική; Limyrikḗ). Indian region on the Malabar coast between Naoura and Nelcynda, with Carura [2] as capital (Ptol. 7,1,8; 85; Peripl. m.r. 53f.). It has been suggested that L. should be regarded as an incorrect reading of Damyrice (Old Indo-Aryan Damila, cf. modern Tamil), but the name is preserved only as L. In this country, modern Kerala, lay the famous harbour town of Muziris. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography O. Wecker, s.v. Limyrike, RE 13, 711f.

Theodorus

(7,286 words)

Author(s): Knell, Heiner (Darmstadt) | Folkerts, Menso (Munich) | Baumhauer, Otto A. (Bremen) | Schmitz, Winfried (Bielefeld) | Blume, Horst-Dieter (Münster) | Et al.
[German version] I Greek (Θεόδωρος; Theódōros). [German version] [I 1] Of Samos, Greek architect, bronze sculptor and inventor, Archaic period Multitalented Greek inventor, architect, bronze sculptor and metal worker ( toreutḗs; Toreutics) of the Archaic period from Samos (for the occupational image cf. architect). His father was Telecles (Hdt. 3,41; Paus. 8,14,8; 10,38,6) or according to other sources (Diog. Laert. 2,103; Diod. Sic. 1,98) Rhoecus [3]; his name is so frequently mentioned in conjunction with the latter that …

Hippostratus

(186 words)

Author(s): Schulte-Altedorneburg, Jörg (Marburg) | Badian, Ernst (Cambridge, MA) | Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) | Meister, Klaus (Berlin)
(Ἱππόστρατος; Hippóstratos). [German version] [1] Seducer of Periboea Son of Amarynceus who seduced  Periboea, daughter of Hipponous (Apollod. 1,74; Hes. fr. 12 M-W). Schulte-Altedorneburg, Jörg (Marburg) [German version] [2] Nephew of Attalus [1] Nephew of  Attalus [1], brother of  Cleopatra, after whose death he was executed by  Alexander [4] the Great (cf. Iust. 11,5,1); not to be identified with other men by the same name. Badian, Ernst (Cambridge, MA) Bibliography Berve 2, no. 390. [German version] [3] H. Soter Indo-Greek king in Gandhara in the 1st cent. BC One of the later I…

Zoilus

(701 words)

Author(s): Matthaios, Stephanos (Cologne) | Neudecker, Richard (Rome) | Ameling, Walter (Jena) | Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) | Nutton, Vivian (London)
(Ζωίλος/ Zōílos). [German version] [1] Greek Sophist from Amphipolis, 4th cent. BC Greek Sophist from Amphipolis, 4th cent. BC; active in the area of historiography [1], rhetoric [3] and philology; pupil of Polycrates [3], teacher of Anaximenes [2] from Lampsacus and Demosthenes [2]. However, Z. owes his fame to his criticism of Homerus [1] in his work Κατὰ τῆς Ὁμήρου ποιήσεως/ Katà tês Homērou poiḗseōs ('Against Homer's verse'; 9 books; fragments in [2]) which earned him the epithet Ὁμηρομάστιξ ( Homēromástix, 'Scourge of Homer'). Motivated by the Cynic approach, Z. endeav…

Laodice

(2,285 words)

Author(s): Harder, Ruth Elisabeth (Zürich) | Mehl, Andreas (Halle/Saale) | Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
(Λαοδίκη; Laodíkē). I. Mythology [German version] [I 1] Daughter of Priamus and Hecuba Daughter of Priamus and Hecabe; her husbands are given as Helicaon (Hom. Il. 3,122-124; 6,252), through whom she was spared enslavement after the fall of Troy (Paus. 10,26,3), or Acamas (Parthenius 16 MythGr), Demophon [2] (Plut. Thes. 34,2) or Telephus (Hyg. Fab. 101). According to Apollodorus (Epit. 5,25), after the fall of Troy she was swallowed up by a cleft in the earth (cf. also Lycoph. 316f.; Tryphiodorus 660f.). Harder, Ruth Elisabeth (Zürich) [German version] [I 2] Daughter of Agamemnon …

Orthura

(82 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: India, trade with (Ὄρθουρα/ Órthoura). City in the interior of the Soringi in Southern India, residence of King Sornas (Ptol. 7,1,91); probably the Greek form of Uraiyūr, capitol of the Choḷā empire on the Kāveri River, with the port of Chaberis at the mouth of the river. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography K. Karttunen, Early Roman Trade with South India, in: Arctos 29, 1995, 81-91  O. Stein, s.v. Ὄρθουρα, RE 18, 1503-1505.

Cathaei

(108 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] (Καθαῖοι; Kathaîoi). Indian people in the Punjab either east of the  Hydraotes or between  Hydaspes and  Acesines [2], subjugated by Alexander the Great (Arr. Anab. 5,22; Diod. Sic. 17,91,2; Curt. et al.); perhaps to be identified with Sanskrit Kāthaka (attested as a Vedic school, as also the Kambistholoi and Madyandinoi). Their customs (burning of widows, bride selection, wearing jewellery and high regard for physical beauty) were described by Onesicritus (fr. 34 in Str.) who also reports that there were many metals …

Ganges

(224 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) | Treidler, Hans (Berlin)
[German version] (Γάγγης; Gángēs, Sanskrit Gaṅga). The largest river in India, known to the west (Arr. Anab. 5,4,1; 5,6,7; 5,9,4; 5,26,1; Curt. 8,9,5, et passim) since Alexander's campaign ( Alexander [4], with map), if not already in Ktesias (in Plin. HN 37,39). Its length was measured in the early Hellenistic period and calculated to be 10,000 stadia (Str. 15,689). According to Str. 15,719 its source lay in the Ēmōdá órē (Himalaya). The G. is mentioned several times by Ptolemy (7,1,29; 30; 42; 51 Nobbe, et passim), its delta described as having five arms (7,1,18), and also the Gangētikós…

Peucelaotis

(176 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Alexander | Graeco-Bactria | Graeco-Bactria | Hellenistic states | India, trade with (Πευκελαῶτις/ Peukelaôtis: Arr. Anab. 4,22,7-8,28,6; also Πευκελαῖτις/ Peukelaîtis: Arr. Ind. 1,8; 4,11; Πευκελαῖτις/ Peukelaîtis: Str. 15,1,27; also e.g. Προκλαίς/ Proklaís: Ptol. Geog. 7,1,44; Ποκλαίς/ Poklaís: Peripl. m. Eux. 47f.). City in Gandhāra (in modern Pakistan, west of the Indus; Gandaritis), Old Indian Puṣkalavatī, Middle Indian Pukkhalāvatī, Greek form probably influenced by names with Peuko- ( Peukolaos, Peukésta…

Zamirae

(96 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] (Ζαμῖραι/ Zamîrai, perhaps better Γαμῆραι/ Gamêrai). A tribe, described by Ptol. 7,2,16 as cannibal, in India extra Gangem, beyond the Cirrhadia, roughly in modern Burma ( Argyrâ chṓra, 'silver land' in Ptol. 7,2,17). It is almost impossible to identify the individual peoples and places of southeastern Asia named in Ptol. (attempts in [1] and [2]), because most other sources are from a substantially later period. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography 1 A. Berthelot, L'Asie ancienne centrale et sud-orientale d'après Ptolémée, 1930 2 A. Herrmann, Das Land …

Kanishka

(77 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] (Kaniṣka). Most prominent ruler of the Indo-Scythians; exact date controversial, begin of his reign approximately AD 100. His empire stretched from Bactria and Sogdiana to the heartland of India, with Bactra, Surkh Kotal, Taxila and Mathurā as important centres. K. maintained relations with Rome and probably used - apart from Indian and Iranian titles - the Greek title kaísar. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography A. L. Basham (ed.), Papers on the Date of K., 1968.

Ozene

(80 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: India, trade with (Ὀζήνη/ Ozḗnē). Indian city in the interior of the country east of Barygaza, a former capital city (Peripl. m. Eux. 48); Hellenized form of central Indian Ojjenī (for Old Indian Ujjayinī), the famous metropolis in western India. In Ptol. 7,1,63, O. is the capital city of Tiastanes, identical with the epigraphically attested Kṣatrapa prince Caṣṭana. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography O. Stein, s.v. Ὀζήνη, RE 18, 2048f.

Palimbothra

(199 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Graeco-Bactria | Graeco-Bactria | India, trade with | Mauryas (Παλίμβοθρα/ Palímbothra, also Παλίβοθρα/ Palíbothra; name derived from an early Middle Indian form of Old Indian Pāṭaliputra [1. 34]). City of the Prasii, located in a position favourable for communications in the densely populated state of Magadha at the confluence of the Son and Ganges in modern Patna in Bihar. Made by Sandracottus the capital city of the Maurya empire (Mauryas), often mention…

Nicaea

(1,521 words)

Author(s): Frey, Alexandra (Basle) | Badian, Ernst (Cambridge, MA) | Dreyer, Boris (Göttingen) | Daverio Rocchi, Giovanna (Milan) | Strobel, Karl (Klagenfurt) | Et al.
(Νίκαια; Níkaia). [German version] [1] Naiad Naiad, daughter of the Phrygian river god Sangarius and the goddess Cybele. As a huntress, N. spurns love and remains a virgin. In Memnon of Heracleia, she does not yield to Dionysus and so he resorts to a ruse and turns into wine the spring from which N. is accustomed to drinking. She becomes drunk and falls asleep. Dionysus overpowers her in her sleep and fathers with her 'satyrs and others' (Memnon FGrH 434 F 41, 8f.). In Nonnus, Dion. 15,169-16,405, the…

Colchi

(68 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: India, trade with Trading city on the south-eastern coast of India, situated opposite  Taprobane (Ptol. 7,1,10; 7,1,95: Kolchikòs kólpos). Peripl. m. r. 58f. made reference to the fact that the coast of  Komarei up to and including C. was important for pearl fishing. C. was probably the city today known as Koṟkai. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)

Indo-Greeks

(114 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] The Greeks of Hellenistic Bactria ( Graeco-Bactria), who conquered southeastern Afghanistan (Paropamisadae and Arachosia) and northwestern India (modern Pakistan) in the 2nd cent. BC. After the first and most important kings ( Demetrius [10] and Menander) the kingdom disintegrated into several parts whose numerous rulers (almost 40) are mostly attested only by coins. The I. held on until the 1st cent. BC or even the 1st cent. AD, when territories were conquered by the  Parthians a…

Euthydemus

(540 words)

Author(s): Schmitz, Winfried (Bielefeld) | Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) | Cassin, Barbara (Paris) | Nutton, Vivian (London)
(Εὐθύδημος; Euthýdemos). [German version] [1] Athenian strategos 418/7 BC Athenian strategos of 418/17 BC. He took part in the Sicilian campaign, during which in 414/13 both he and Menander became commanders to serve alongside Nicias. They were defeated before  Demosthenes [1] even arrived. They failed in their attempt to force their departure out of Syracuse's great harbour (Thuc. 7,16,1; 69,4; Diod. Sic. 13,13,2-4; Plut. Nicias 20). Schmitz, Winfried (Bielefeld) Bibliography D. Kagan, The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition, 1981. [German version] [2] E. I. Greek ki…

Maesolus

(94 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] (Μαισῶλος; Maisôlos). Indian river, has its source in the Orudia mountain range (unclear according to [1]) and flows south to the Gulf of the Ganges (Ptol. 7,1,15; 37). Either modern Godavari or rather Kistna (Krishna) at whose delta the city of Masulipatam still lies today. Dey [2] also equates the name of the river M. with Old Indian Mahāósāla, a place of pilgrimage on the Godavari. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography 1 O. Stein, s.v. Ὀρούδια, RE 18, 1526f. 2 N. L. Dey, The Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Mediaeval India, 1927.

Cabura

(62 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] (Κάβουρα, Ptol. 6,18,5, erroneously there also Károura), also called Ortospana; probably what is now Kabul on the  Cophen (Sanskrit Kubhā). In the Alexander histories, C. is never mentioned; following the  Bematistai however it is cited by Plin. HN 6,61 as Ortospanum. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography A. Herrmann, s.v. Kabura, RE 10, 1452f. O. Stein, s.v. Ortospanum, RE 18, 1507f.

Maesolia

(73 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] (Μαισωλία; Maisōlía, Ptol. 7,1,15; Masalia, Peripl. m.r. 62); the land of the Maesolians (Ptol. 7,1,79; 93) on the east coast of India. For the name and the position see Maesolus. From an unnamed harbour there, the ships departed, according to Ptolemy, for Chryse Chersonesus (Malacca). Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) Bibliography 1 B. Chatterjee, The Point of Departure for Ships Bound for ‘Suvarnabhumi’, in: Journ. of Ancient Indian History 11, 1977-1978, 49-52.

India

(1,809 words)

Author(s): Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki)
[German version] I. Name Old Indian Sindhu as the name for the Indus river, is attested (with Iranian h) as Hindu in the ancient Persian inscriptions; from this came Greek Ἰνδός ( Indōs; with the Ionian loss of h) for the river and then Ἰνδική ( Indikḗ) for the country. The Latin terms are Indus and India. Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) [German version] II. Early relationships Whilst relationships between north-western I. and Mesopotamia go back to the 3rd millennium BC, I. became known in Greece only in the late 6th cent. through Scylax (FGrH 709), who visited …
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