Search

[German version] (Κυάνη). Small stream steeped in legend that has its origin about 9 km south-west of Syracusae (as the crow flies) in a source of the same name and that after about 20 km, together with the Anapus, flows through a wide swampy area into the Great Harbour of Syracusae; modern Ciani. According to Ovid …

Olshausen, Eckart (Stuttgart) [German version] A. Definition (CT) Historical geography (HG) is a branch of geography or, to be precise, historiography and is concerned with the ever changing relationship between human beings and the landscape. As well as verbal (literary, epigraphic, numismatic) and representational (archaeological) evidence of the past, its main source is the topographical framework of historical events. Nowadays, HG is essentially characterized by two different paths of scholarly research; one path derives from the…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Achaeans, Achaea (Ὤλενος; Ṓlenos). City in Achaea between Dyme [1] and Patrae (Plin. HN 4,13; Steph. Byz. s.v. Ὠ.), in whose territory the Peirus debouched…

(Κρᾶθις; Krâthis). [German version] [3] River in Bruttium that rises near  Consentia and flows into the sea near Thurii, today known as Crati. Legend held that its water could be used to dye the hair of people and animals blond (Eur. Tro. 228; Ael. NA 12,36; Aristot. Mir. 169). The valley of C. formed the main connection between inner Bruttium and the plains of  Sybaris. The river received its name from Achaean colonists after the name of a river in their homeland (Hdt. 1,145); according to other sources (Ael. NA 6,42), the name was d…

[German version] (Ῥίον; Rhíon). Flat coastal projection in Achaea, about 8 km to the northeast of modern Patras [1. 226-227; 2. 199 f.], modern Rhio, which, with Antirrhion (or also R. or Ῥίον τὸ Μολυκρικόν/ Rhíon tò Molykrikón after Molycrium; modern Antirio) to the north across the approximately 2 km wide sound (also called R., cf. Pol. 4,64,2; Liv. 27,29,9; Mela 2,52), forms the western entrance to the Gulf of Corinth (Corinth, Gulf of) (Thuc. 2,86,3; Ps.-Scyl. 35; 42; Scymn. 478; in Str. 8,2,3, as in Ptol. 3,15,5 incorrectly…

(Μηνοφάνης; Mēnophánēs). [German version] [1] General of Mithradates VI, 88 BC General of Mithradates VI. In the first Mithradatic War, in 88 B.C., he defeated Roman troops under M'. Aquillius [I 4] (Memnon FGrH 434 F 1,22,7). It is doubtful whether this was the battle at Proton Pachion mentioned by Appianus (Mith. 72) [3. 110127]. According to Pausanias (3,23,3-5), in the same year, either on orders of the King or on his own initiative, M. conquered, plundered and destroyed Delos, killed the foreigners and Delian men there, and enslaved their wive…

(ὁ Πόντος/ ho Póntos, Lat. Pontus). O…

(Δρέπανον; Drépanon). Name of several foothills; the external shape of the mountain may have given rise to the name D. (‘sickle’). [German version] …

[German version] (Ζηνοδότιον; Zēnodótion). City in Osroene near Nicephorium (Arr. FGrH 156 F 33; Plut. Crassus 17,6: Ζηνοδοτία/ Zēnodotía; Cass. Dio 40,13,2), not more precisely locatable. When the pro-consul M. Licinius [I 11] Crassus marched across the  Euphrates [2] against the Parthians in the autumn of 54 BC, he felt compelled to capture the city, which was under the tyranny of a Greek called Apollonius, by force, and for this the army proclaimed him imperator. Olshausen, Eckart (Stuttgart) Bibliography H. Treidler, s. v. Z., RE 10 A, 19.

[German version] A lake that often overflows because it has no outlet (155 km2, 655 m above sea level) in the area of the Marsi between Sulmona and the national park of Abruzzo. Caesar contemplated draining it (Suet. Iul. 44), Augustus prevented it (Suet. Claud. 20), Claudius realized it in part by laying a 5.65 km long drainage to the Liris (Suet. Claud. 20f.), under Nero the project was stopped (Plin. HN 36,124). According to CIL IX 3915, renewed flooding in AD 117 made it necessary to reclaim the borderin…

(Ναυπλία/ Nauplía, Byzantine τὸ Ναύπλιον/ tò Naúplion or τὸ Ἀνάπλι/ tò Anápli, present-day Nafplio). [German version] I. Position Port on a rocky peninsula near the Kolpos Argolikos (Str. 8,2,2; Scyl. 49; 6,11; Ptol. 3,16,11) on the northern slope of the town’s mountain, Akronafplia (formerly Iç Kale, 85m high). Greater parts of the Hellenistic acropolis wall lie under the later Byzantine- Venetian- Turkish fort. It lies to the north-west of the Palamidi (215 m high) which is surmounted by a fortress built by the Venetians in 1711-1714. Lafond, Yves (Bochum) Olshausen, Eckart (Stutt…

[German version] At the end of the 4th cent. AD a province (officially Lugdunensis S.: Notitia Galliarum 4,1; Notitia Dign. Occ. 3,31; 22,19; Senonica: ibid. 1,117; cf. Laterculus 2,16) of the Septem Provinciae dioikesis of the Galliae praefectura with the civitates of Senones (as a centre of administration, formerly Agedincum), Autessiodurum, Tricasses, Meldi, Parisii, Carnutes and Autricum (modern Chartres) and Aureliani (modern Orléans). Olshausen, Eckart (Stuttgart)

[German version] Name of the river usually called Arar, modern Saône, literarily attested only since Late Antiquity (cf. Amm. Marc. 15,11,17: Ararim quem Sauconnam appellant, 'Arar which is called S.'; Avitus, Epist. 83 = MGH AA 6,2). The name had been recorded earlier, however, e.g. as a term for dea Souconna in Châlon-sur-Sâone (ILS 9516). Olshausen, Eckart (Stuttgart)

(Λύκος; Lýkos). Mythology and religion: L. [1-9], historical persons: L. [10-13], rivers: L. [14-19]. [German version] [1] Son of Poseidon and the Pleiad Celaeno Son of Poseidon and the Pleiad Celaeno [1] (Ps.-Eratosth. Katasterismoi 23), only Apollod. 3,111 mentions his translation to the Islands of the Blessed, possibly to differentiate him from L. [6], with whom he is connected by Hyg. Fab. 31, 76 and 157 in spite of the descent from Poseidon. Scherf, Johannes (Tübingen) [German version] [2] Son of Prometheus and Celaeno Son of Prometheus and Celaeno [1], on whose tomb in th…

[German version] (Πήδασον; Pḗdason). Small settlement (πολίχνιον/ políchnion) in the territory of Stratoniceia in Caria (Str. 13,1,59); its precise location has yet to be established [1].…

(Φοῖνιξ/ Phoînix, Latin Phoenix). Persons P. [1-4], the mythical P. bird [5], the date palm P. [6], geographical locations P. [7-9]. [German version] [1] Mythical king of Sidon or Tyrus Mythical king of Sidon or Tyrus, son of Agenor [1] and Telephassa (Apollod. 3,2-4), brother of Europe [2],  Cadmus [1] and Cilix, according to others also their father (Hom. Il. 14, 321); other children: Phineus (Apoll. Rhod. 2, 178), Carne (Antoninus Liberalis 40). Eponym of the Phoenicians and the Poeni ( Poeni; cf. Phoenicians, Poeni). Käppel, Lutz (Kiel) [German version] [2] Son of Amyntor Son of Amyntor [2], whose concubine P. is urged by his mother to seduce, whereupon his father puts a curse of childlessness on him. P. flees to Peleus in Phthia, where he becomes ruler of the Dolopi and teacher of Achilleus [1] (Hom. Il. 9,447ff.). In another version, P. is blinded and healed by Chiron (Eur. frr. 804ff. Nauck2…

[German version] (Τιβαρηνοί/ Tibarēnoí). People (Hecat. FGrH 1 F 204; Xen. An. 5,5,2; Scymn. 914; Mela 1,106; Plin. HN 6,11; Schol. Apoll. Rhod. 124; Steph. Byz. s. v. Τιβαρηνία) of Scythian descent (Schol. Apoll. Rhod. 159) on the southern coast of the Black Sea (Pontos Euxeinos I.), neighbouring the Mossynoeci to the east and the Chalybes to the w…

(Οὐρανόπολις/ Ouranópolis). [German version] [1] City on Acte City on Acte (Athos I), founded by Alexarchus, the younger brother of Cassander; according to Plin. HN 4,37 and Str. 7a,1,35, it is to be found on the isthmus of Acte. U. can be connected with the extensive ruins south-west of the modern Ierissos, the extent of which agrees with the size of the city given by Str. loc cit. (30 stadia). U. was probably built c. 315 BC, minted its own coins according to a standard uncommon in Macedon at the time, but does not appear to have lasted long and may …

(Ζηνοβία; Zēnobía). [German version] [1] Wife of Radamistus, 1st cent. AD The wife of the Armenian king Radamistus is the heroine of an episode in Tacitus (Ann. 12,51): when her husband was forced to flee to Iberia in AD 54, she was apparently unable to cope with the hardships of the journey due to her pregnancy and supposedly asked to be killed. Injured by her husband and thrown into the Araxes, Z. was rescued and brought to Radamistus' rival Tiridates [5] I, who treated her honourably. These events were …

[German version] [2] (Pol. 13 in Steph. Byz. s.v. Λαμπέτεια/ Lampéteia; Λαμπέτης/ Lampétēs, Lycoph. Alexandra 1068 [promontory, modern Cap…

[German version] (Πισάτις/ Pisátis, Πίσα/ Písa). Region and city or two terms for one region in westernPeloponnesus. The question of the historicity of the city P. is controversial today [1] just as in antiquity (Str. 8,3,31) and often answered in the negative (Str. l.c.). The earliest mention gives the name Πίσα/ Písā (, cf. Pind. Ol. 2,3; 3,9; Pin…

This item can be found on the following maps: Theatre (Ἰσθμός; Isthmós, ὁ ( ho) or ἡ ( hē)) means primarily any connecting link between two things (e.g. the neck, Pl. Ti. 69e); in a narrower sense, any strip of land between two seas, as i.e. the Thracian Chersonesus [1] (Hdt. 6,36), but especially the I. of Corinth (e.g. Hdt. 8,40; Thuc. 1,13,5; 108,2; 2,9,2; 10,3). This I. corresponds to the fundamental definition in two respects - it links, on the one hand, the Corinthian Gulf with the Saronic Gulf, on the other hand, central Greece with the Peloponnese. The…

[German version] [1] A City of perioeci, northwest of Sparta on the Eurotas This item can be found on the following maps: Sparta (Πελλάνα/ Pellána, Πελλήνη/ Pellḗnē). A city of perioeci (Perioikoi) north-west of Sparta on the Eurotas (Xen. Hell. 7,5,9; Pol. 3,21,2f.; 4,81,7; 16,37,5; Diod. Sic. 15,67,2; Str. 8,7,5: κώμη/ kṓmē). Its exact location is uncertain: near the modern Vurlia [1. 371] or on the Palaeokastro hill near Castania [2. 125f.] near the modern P. (formerly Kalyvia). According to Plut. Agis 8…

[German version] Geology, in modern understanding, is the science of physical nature (mineralogy, metallurgy) and of the structure, formation, and development of earth's crust (tectonics) as well as the forces that shaped this development (‘dynamic geology’). Antiquity only knew the first beginnings of a comparable scientific discipline [1. 8-50; 2]. Geological technologies ( Mining,  Quarries) were implemented even before specific geological questions began to be studied in Near Eastern theories …

This item can be found on the following maps: Sassanids | Pontos Euxeinos | Syria | Byzantium | Urarṭu | Christianity | Xenophon | | Commerce | Hellenistic states | Colonization | Limes | Pompeius | Patricius (Τραπεζοῦς/ Trapezoûs; Lat. Trapezus; the modern Trabzon, Turkey). [German version] I. Geographical Situation A Greek city in the region of Colchis (Xen. An. 4,8,22; 5,3,2) on the southeast coast of the Black Sea (Pontos Euxeinos), situated in a favourable setting with a secure acropolis. T. may have been first founded as early as 7…

[German version] …

…

[German version] Strait of Messina between Caenus and Pelorum, 12 stadia (Plin. HN 3,73) or 1,500 passus (Plin. HN 3,86), today 3 km wide, a rift valley, with frequent earthquakes, characterized by fluctuating tidal currents that r…

[German version] I. Greece (Νᾶσοι/ Nâsoi). [German version] [I 1] Lowlands in the area of Caphyae in Arcadia Lowlands in the area of Caphyae in Arcadia (Arcadians), to the south of and below the modern village of Daras (known as Dara until 1940), with luxuriant vegetation, as the water of the upper Orchomenian Plain reemerges here in several springs forming the stream Tragus, which flows into the Ladon [2] (Paus. 8,23,2; 8). Olshausen, Eckart (Stuttgart) Lienau, Cay (Münster) Bibliography 1 E. Meyer, s.v. N. (1), RE 16, 1793  Ders., Peleponnesische Wanderungen, 1939, 31f., 34, Taf. XI. Pritchett 6, 19. [German version] [I 2] Town on the upper Ladon [2] in Arcadia Town on the upper Ladon [2] in Arcadia, in the territory of Cleitor, probably in the basin of the modern Kokova (Paus. 8,25,2). Lafond, Yves (Bochum) Bibliography E. Meyer, Peloponnesische Wanderungen, 1939, 73f. II. Israel [German version] [II 1] Designation of the Jewish patriarchs …

[German version] [1] Z. Regia City in Africa Proconsularis This item can be found on the following maps: Coloniae | Punic Wars City in Africa proconsularis, probably modern Seba Biar [1. 416 f.; 2. 321-326; 3. 325 f.; 4; 5. 251 f.; 6. 42 f.]. It was near Z. - at Naraggara - that the decisive battle between Hannibal [4] and P. Cornelius [I 71] Scipio was fought in 202 BC [1. 417-420] (Punic Wars II). In the war with Iugurtha (111-105 BC), Z. was attacked by Q. Caecilius [I 30] Metellus (Sall. Iug. 56 f.). No later tha…

[German version] River in Aquitania, modern Allier, source at 1,430 m elevation on Mont Lozère; flows from the left side into the Liger below Noviodunum after a course of 375 km (Caes. B Gall. 7,34,2; 35,1). Olshausen, Eckart (Stuttgart)

(Νεοκαισάρεια/ Neokaisáreia, Lat. Neocaesarea). [German version] …

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Sicily | Theatre | Coloniae | Punic Wars (Τυνδαρίς/ Tyndarís). Greek city on the northern coast of Sicily between Mylae [2] and Agathyrnon, modern Tíndari. T. was founded in 396 BC by Dionysius [1] I to protect the Greeks against Carthage. It was settled mainly by Messenians, who, driven from Naupactus and Zacynthos after the Peloponnesian War, had o…

…

…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Byzantium | Education / Culture (Νακόλεια; Nakóleia). City in northeastern Phrygia (Phryges; Str. 12,8,12: in Phrygia Epictetus; Ptol. 5,2,22: in Phrygia Megale) on the river Parthenius (modern river Seydi), modern Seyitgazi. The earliest evidence (Str. loc. cit.) is no later than the time of Augustus, historical notes are provided by Amm. Marc. 26,9,7-9 (defeat of Procopius in a battle with Valens at N. in AD 366) and Philostorgius in 138 (rebellion…

[German version] [1] Island and city in the Cyclades This item can be found on the following maps: Ionic | Marble | Peloponnesian War | Persian Wars | Delian League | Athenian League (Second) | Aegean Koine (Νάξος, Náxos, Latin Naxus). Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) [German version] A. Geography City and island of the same name, the latter, with an area of just 420 km2, the largest of the Cyclades. A significant topographical  characteristic is a chain of mountains dividing the…

(Λαοδίκεια; Laodíkeia). [German version] [1] Port-town in north-west Syria, modern Latakia This item can be found on the following maps: Syria | Theatre | | Coloniae | Commerce | Hellenistic states | Limes | Pompeius | Education / Culture (Λ. ἐπὶ τῇ θαλάσσῃ; L. epì têi thalássēi). Port in north-west Syria (now Latakia or al-Lāḏiqīya), not far from the Bronze Age Ugarit (Ra's Šamra). Founded by Seleucus I around 300 BC together with its sister towns of Antioch, Apamea and Seleucea (the so-called North Syrian Tetrapolis) and equipped with an…

[German version] (Ἥραιον; Hḗraion). The outermost cape (today Cape Melangavi) of the peninsula that is formed by the foothills of the Geraneia opposite Corinth with a settlement, fort and sanctuary of Hera Akraia and Limenia (rich finds from the 9th cent. BC onwards) on a small bay on the south side of the cape (Xen. Hell. 4,5,5ff.; Xen. Ages. 2,18f.; Str. 8,6,22; Plut. Cleomenes 20,3; Liv. 32,23,10). Olshausen, Eckart (Stuttgart) Lienau, Cay (Münster) Bibliography H. Payne et al. (ed.), The Sanctuaries of Hera Akraia and Limenia, 2 vols., 1940/1962.

[German version] Name given in Plin. HN 6,118 to a left-bank tributary of the Tigris in Adiabene. It remains questionable whethe…

[German version] (Νιφάτης/ Niphátēs). Mountain range on the Thospitis Limne (Van Gölü) in Armenia, belonging to the eastern Taurus massif (Doğu Toros Dağları) (Str. 11,12,4; 11,13,3; 14,2; 8; Plin. HN 5,27; Mela 1,15,81; Plut. Alexandros 31,10; Ptol. 5,13,4; 6,1,1; Amm. Marc. 23,6,13; Steph. Byz. s.v. N.; cf. Hor. Carm. 2,9,20; Verg. G. 3,30; Jos. Ant. Iud. 18,2,4) - in a narrower sense probably İhtiyarşahap Dağları with Mevzi Dağı (3446 m) in the south of Van Gölü or Ala Dağları with Tendürek Dağı (3533 m) in the north-east of Van Gölü.…

[German version] (σταδιασμός/ stadiasmós) is the term for distance in stádia (Str. 1,3,2; 4,6; 2,1,17; 4,7;…

…

[German version] (Πολεμώνιον/ Polemṓnion). Port city on the south shore of the Black Sea (Pontos Euxeinos; Ptol. 5,6,4; Peripl. m. Eux. 30-33; Steph. Byz. s. v. Π.; Plin. HN 6,11; Tab. Peut. 10,3; Hierocles, Synekdemos 37) at the modern Bolaman, 10 km west of Fatsa, where the Sidenus (Str. 1,3,7; 2,5,25; 3,3,14-16; modern Bolaman Irmağı) flows into a broad bay. Named after Polemon [4] I (37-7 BC: EM s. v. Πολεμώνιος). The town was probably built on t…

[German version] (North Sea). This shelf sea, a marginal sea of the Atlantic ( Oceanus), assumed its present form in the Jura. In the west, it is separated from the Atlantic by the Straits of Dover, in the north-west, by the line of the Orkney and Shetland Islands. In the east, the Skagerrak separates it from the Baltic Sea ( Mare Suebicum). There are few bordering archipelagos north-west and south-east. The Mare Germanicum (MG) extends over an area of 0.58 million km2, it contains 0.054 km3 of water, its medium depth is around 94 m, its greatest depth is 725 m near Arendal in th…

[German version] (Λάβδαλον; Lábdalon). Site at the northern rim of the Epipolai-Plateau of Syracusae, where a fortress was built by the Athenians in 414 BC. This was taken from them by Gylippus shortly after his arrival (Thuc. 6,97,5; 98,2; 7,3,4). Fabricius located it east of Scala Greca, above the descent of the antique roadway Syracusae - Megara from the plateau. Before him, it was thought to lie more to the west.…

[German version] I. Name Strabo was the first to refer to the peninsula of Asia Minor (AM) west of the  Taurus (Str. 2,5,24; 12,1,3; cf. Plin. HN 5,27f.; Ptol. 5,2) as a single unit by the name of Asia in the narrower sense, as opposed to the continent of Asia. The term of Asia minor in this sense is first used in Oros. 1,2,26 (early 5th cent. AD). Olshausen, Eckart (Stuttgart) [German version] …

…

[German version] (Γοργῶπις λίμνη; Gorgôpis límnē). In Aesch. Ag. 302, it belongs to the chain of fire signals from Ida to Mycenae between  Cithaeron and Aigiplanktos ( Gerania in the Megaris) and is therefore regarded as identical with the eastern part of the gulf of Corinth, the bay of Eleusis, and several lakes on the Isthmus of Corinth (Limni Vouliagmenis to the west of the Gerania, cf. Xen. Hell. 4,5,6; Limni Psatho to the east of Schinos). Olshausen, Eckart (Stuttgart) Bibliography F. Bölte, s.v. G. 1), RE 7, 1658f. W. Leiner, Die Signaltechnik der Ant., 1982, 59ff. Philippson/Kirst…

[German version] (Ὀρέσται/ Oréstai). Peo…