Part 21

East from mount Athos the Greek towns are found at greater intervals from one another. APOLLONIA (there are at least a dozen towns of this name), an important city, maintained its independence of Olynthus. Near it was situated STAGIRA, the birth-place of Aristotle, which was destroyed by Philip, but was restored in consequence of the entreaties of Aristotle.

The district then following is now called the country of SERES, a town 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.