Page:The Natural History of Pliny.djvu/500

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466 PLINT's KATtTBAL HISTOET. [Book V. river Pactolus also called the Chrysorroas, and the sources of the Tarniis : this famous city, which is situate upon the G-ygaean Lake^, used to be called Hyde^ by the people of Maeonia. This jurisdiction is now called that oi JSardes, and besides the people of the places already mentioned, the following now resort to it — the Macedonian Cadueni^, the Loreni, the Philadelpheni^, the Maeonii, situate on the river Cogamus at the foot of Mount Tmolus, the Tripolitani, who are also called the Antoniopolitse, situate on the banks of the McTander, the Apollonihieritse®, the Mesotimolitse', and some others of no note. CHAP. 31. — IONIA. Ionia begins at the Grulf of lasos, and has a long winding coast with numerous bays. First comes the Grulf of Basili- cum^, then the Promontory^ and town of Posideum, and the oracle once called the oracle of the Branchidse^", but now of Didymsean Apollo, a distance of twenty stadia from the sea- shore. One hundred and eighty stadia thence is Miletus ^^, 1 Now called the Sarabat. It was famous for its gold-producing sands. 2 On the road between Thyatira and Sardes : near it was situate the necropohs of Sardes. 3 Strabo says that some persons called the citadel only by that name. ^ There was a city of Mysia or Phrygia of the name of Cadus or Cadi ; but nothing is known of the place here aUuded to, whose people would appear to have been a colony from Macedonia. ^ The people of Philadelphia, now Ala- Cher, or the "Fine City," twelve leagues south-east of Sardes, and nine leagues south of Attaha. ^ So called from the Greek 'AttoXXwj'os Upov, " the temple of Apollo," in the vicinity of which, south-east of Pergamus, their town was probably situate. Nothing is known of these localities. ' Dwellers in Mesotmolus, a town which, from its name, would ap* pear to have been situate on the middle of Mount Tmolus. ^ Now called the Gulf of Melasso. ^ Now the Cape of Melasso. ^•^ The remains of the Temple of Didymsean Apollo at Branchidse are BtUl visible to those sailing along the coast. It was in the Milesian ter- ritory, and above the harbour Panormus. The name of the site was probably Didyma or Didymi, but the place was also called Branchidse, I from that being the name of a body of priests who had the care of the temple. We learn from Herodotus that Croesus, king of Lydia, consulted this oracle, and made rich presents to the temple. The temple, of which only two columns are left, was of wliite marble. 11 The ruins of this important city are difficult to discover on account