Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/1195

 THESSALOXICA. tween Capes Vardiir and Kardhtirnu. On the eJf;e of this basin is tlie city, partly on the level shore and partly on the slope of a hill, in 40° 38' 47" N. lat., and 22° 57' 22" E. long. The present appear- ance of the city, as seen from the sea, is described by Leake, Holland, and other travellers as very im- posing. It rises in the form of a crescent up the declivity, and is surrounded by lofty whitened walls with towers at intervals. On the ¥j. and W. sides of the city i-avines ascend from the shore and converge towards the highest point, on which is the citadel called 'ETrTa7n;'P7io!', like that of Constantinople. (A view of Thessalonica from the sea is given by Cou- sine'i-y). The port is still convenient for large ships, and the anchorage in front of the town is good. These circumstances in the situation of Thessalonica were evidently favourable for commanding the trade of the Macedonian sea. Its relations to the inland districts were equally advantageous. With one of the two great levels of Macedonia, viz. the plain of the " wide-flowing Axius " (Horn. II. ii. 849), to the N. of the range of Olympus, it was immediately con- nected. With the other, viz. the plain of the Stry- mon and Lake Cercinitis, it communicated by a pass across the neck of the Chalcidic peninsula. Thus Thessalonica became the chief station on the Roman Via Egnatia, between the Hadriatic and the Hel- le.spont. Its distance from Pella, as given by the Itineraries, is 27 miles, and from Amphipolis (with intermediate stations; see Act. Apost. xvii. 1) 67 miles. It is still the chief centre of the trade of the district. It contains a population of 60,000, or 70,000, and (though Adrianople may possibly be larger) it is the most important town of European Turkey, next after Constantinople. 2. Name. — Two legendary names, which Thessa- lonica is said to have borne in early times, are Emathia (Zonar. Hist. xii. 26) and Halia (Steph. B. s. v.), the latter probably having reference to the maritime position of the town. During the first period of its authentic history, it was known imder the name of Therma (0€/7M«, Aesch. ; @ipixr), Herod., Thucyd.; Q^pixat, Mai. Chronog. p. 190, ed. Bonn), derived, in common with the designation of the gulf (Thermaicus Sinus); from the hot salt-springs, which are found on various parts of this coast, and one of which especially is described by Pococke as being at a distance of 4 Englisli miles from the modern city. (See Scylax, p. 278, ed. Gail.) Three stories are told of the origin of the name Thessalonica. The first (and by far the most probable) is given by Strabo (vii. Epit. 10), who says that Therma was rebuilt by Cassander, and called after his wife Thessalonica, the daughter of Philip: the second is found in Steph. B. («. v.), who says that its new name was a memorial of a victory obtained by Philip over the Thessalians (see Const. Porphyrog. De. Them. ii. p. 51, ed Bonn): the third is in the Etym. Murjn. (s. v.), where it is stated that Philip himself gave the name in honour of his daughter. Whichever of these stories is true, the new name of Thessalonica, and the new eminence connected with the name, are distinctly associated with the Macedonian period, and not at all with the earlier passages of true Greek history. The name, thus given, became per- manent. Through the Roman and Byzantine }ie- riods it remained unaltered. In the Middle Ages the Italians gave it the form oiSalonichi or Saluniki, which is still frequent. In Latin chronicles we find Salonicia. In German poems of the thirteenth cen- tury the name appears, with a Teutonic termination, THESSALONICA. 1171 as Snhiel: The uneducated Greeks of the present day call the place SoXoi/f/cT}, the Turks Selnnik: 3. Political and Military History. — Thessalonica was a place of some importance, even while it bore its earlier name of Therma. Three passages of chief interest may be mentioned in this period of its history. Xerxes rested here on his march, his land-forces being encamped on the plain between Therma and the Axius, and his ships cruis- ing about the Thermaic gulf; and it was the view from hence of Olympus and Ossa which tempted him to explore the course of the Peneius. (Herod, vii. 128, seqq.) A short time (p.. c. 421) before the breaking out of the Peloponnesian War, Therma was occupied by the Athenians (Thucyd. i. 61); but two years later it was given up to Perdiccas (Id. ii. 29.) The third mention of Therma is in Aeschines {c?e Fals. Leg. p. 31, ed. Bekk ), where it is spoken of as one of the places taken by Pau- sanias. The true liistory of Thessalonica begins, as ■we have implied above, with the decay of Greek nationality. The earliest author who mentions it under its new name is Polybius. It seems proiiahle that it was rebuilt in the same year (b. c. 315) with Cassandreia, immediately after the fall of I'ydna and the death of Olympias. [Cassandreia.] We are told by Strabo (J,, c.) that Cassander incorpo- rated in his new city the population, not only of Therma, but likewise of three smaller towns, viz. Aeneia and Cissus (which are supyxjsed to have been on the eastern side of the gulf), and Chalastra (which is said by Strabo (yW.Epit. 9) to have been on the further side of the Axius, whence Tafcl (p. xxii.) by some mistake infers that it lay between the Axius and Therma). It does not appear that these earlier cities were absolutely destroyed; nor indeed is it certain that Therma lost its separate existence. Pliny (/. c.) seems to imply that a place bearing this name was near Thessalonica; but the text is probably corrupt. As we approach the Roman period, Thessalonica begins to be more and more mentioned. From Livy (xliv. 10) this city would appear to have been the great Macedonian naval station. It surrendered to the Romans after the battle of Pydna (lb. xliv. 45), and was made the capital of the second of the four divisions of Macedonia (lb. xlv. 29). Afterwards, when the whole of Macedonia was reduced to one pro- vince (Flor. ii. 14), Thessalonica was its most import- ant city, and virtually its metropolis, though not so called till a later period. [Macedonia.] Cicero,dur- ing his exile, found a refuge here in the quaestor's house {pro Plane. 41); and on his journeys to and from his province of Cilicia he passed this w.ny, and wrote here several of his extant letters. During the first Civil War Thessalonica w.as the head-uartors of the Pompeian party and the senate. (Dion Cass, xli. 20.) During the second it took the side of Octavius and Antonins (Plut. Bmt. 46; Ai.pian, B. C. iv. lis), .ind reaped the advantage of this course by being made a free city. (See Plin. /. c.) It is possible that the word fAfuSfpiaj, with the head of Octavia, on some of tho coins of Thes- salonica, has reference to tliis circumstance (see Eckhel, ii. p. 79) ; and some writers see in the Vanldr gate, mentioned below, a monument of tlie victory over Brutus and Cassius. Even before the close of the Republic Thes- salonica was a city of great importance, in con- seciuence of its position on the line of communication 4 F a