Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/240

 224 LYCIA. son of Pandioii, being driven by his brotber Aegeus from Attica, found a place of refuge in Milyas, the kingdom of Sarpedon, who now changed the name of his dominion into Lycia, to honour his friend Lycus. (Comp. Strab. xiv. p. 667 ; and Steph. B. s. V. TpefxiKi), who states, on the authority of the historian Alexander, that Bellerophontes changed the name of Tremilae into that of Lycians.) In later times the name Milyas still existed, but was confined to the nortliern and more mountainous parts of the country, into which the original inha- bitants of the country had been driven by the con- querors, and where they were known under the name of the Jlilyae. [Milyas.] Strabo, in his desire to look upon H(jmer as an infallible authority in historical and geographical matters, is inclined to disbelieve the tradition related by Herodotus, as irreconcilable with the poet, who, he conceives, meant by the Solymi no other people than that which in later times bore the name of Milyae. Whatever we may think of the cause of the change of name from Milyas to Lycia, it is probable that it must have originated in the conquest of the country by foreigners, and that this conquest belongs to an earlier date than the composition of the Homeric poems. But although the inhabitants of the country had changed their own name, they continued as late as the time of Herodotus to be called Termilae by their neiglibnurs. 2. Physical Character of the Country. — All Lycia is a mountainous country, — the range of jlount Taurus in the north sending forth numerous branches to the south, which generally slope down as they approach the sea, and terminate in pro- montories. The principal of these branches are, mounts Daedala, Cragus, Massicytes (rising in some parts to a height of 10,000 feet), and ClIxMAX. But, notwithstanding its mountainous cliaracter, Lycia was by no means an unfertile country, for it produced wine, corn, and all the other fruits of Asia Minor; its cedars, firs, and plane trees, were par- ticularly celebrated. (Plin. //. N. sii. 5.) Among the products peculiar to it, we may mention a par- ticularly soft kind of sponge found near Anti- phellus, and a species of chalk, which possessed medicinal properties. Lycia also contained springs of naphtha, which attest its volcanic character; of which other proofs also are mentioned, for, not flir from the rock called Deliktash, there is a perpetual fire issuing from the ground, which is supposed to have given rise to the story of the Chimaera, but is in reality nothing but a stream of inflammable gas issuing from the crevices of the rocks, as is the case in several parts of the Apennines. Most of the rivers of Lycia flow in a southern direction, and the most important of them are the Xantiius, in the west, and the Limykus or Aricandus, in the east. It also lias two considerable lakes; one, now called Avian Gnle, is formed by the confluence of several rivers, another, in the more northern part, situated in a hoUovc amL..iig high mountains, is called Yazeer Gule. 3. The Inhabitants of Lycia. — The most ancient inhabitants of Lycia, as we have seen above, were the Solymi, who are generally believed to have been a Phoenician or Semitic race. We are not informed why these Solymi were called Termilae ; but the probability is that the Solymi and the Termilae were two different tribes occupying different parts of the country at the same time, and that while the Solymi were driven into the northern mountains by LYCIA. the invaders, the Termilae were subdued, and re- ceived from their conquerors the name of Lycians. This seems clearly to follow from the account of Herodotus and the fragments quoted by Stephanus Byzantinus. The Tremilae were no doubt as foreign to the Hellenic stock of nations as the Solymi. The conquerors of the Tremilae, that is the Lycians proper, are said to have come from Crete, which, before its occupation by the Dorians, was inhabited by barbarous or non-Hellenic tribes, whence it follows that the conquering Lycians must likewise have been barbarians. Their strugsles with the Solymi appear to have lasted long, and to have been very severe, for Bellerophon and other mythical heroes are described as having fought against the warlike Solymi. (Horn. //. vi. 184, 204, Od. v. 283.) From the recently discovered Lycian inscriptions, composed in an alphabet partly Greek and partly foreign, it has been inferred that, after the conquest of Lycia by the Persians, the great body of the na- tion changed its character, at least in some parts, which are supposed to have then been occupied by Persians ; and this theory is behaved to derive support from the Lycian inscriptions, which Mr. Sharpe and others believe to contain a language akin to the Zend. But this hypothesis is devoid of all foundation, for we never find that the Persians colo- nised the countries conquered by them, and the Lycian language is as yet utterly unknown. All we can say is, that the Lycian alphabet seems to be a variety of the Graeco-Phoenician or Graeco-Semitic character, and that there is no evidence to show that in the historical ages the Lycians changed their character as a nation. They were and remained barbarians in the Greek sense, though they adopted and practised to a great extent the arts and modes of civilised life, such as they existed among their Greek neighbours. 4. Institutions, (fc. of the Lycians. — In the Ho- meric poems the Lycians appear as governed by kings (Hom. II. vi. 173 ; Diet. ofBiogr. s. v. Sarpedon) ; but in the historical times we find Lycia as a con- federation of free cities, with a constitution more wisely framed perhaps than any other in all anti- quity. An authentic account of this constitution has been preserved by Strabo. It was the political unity among the towns of Lycia that made the country strong, and enabled it to maintain its freedom against the encroachments of Croesus, while all the surrounding nations were compelled to own his sway. When and by whom this federal constitution was devised, we are not informed, but it reflects great credit upon the political wisdom of the Lycians. They were a peaceable and vrell-conducted people, and took no part in the piracy of their maritime neighbours, but remained faithful to their ancient institutions, and on this account were allowed the enjoyment of their free constitution by the Romans. It was under the dominion of Rome that Strabo saw its working. The confederacy then consisted of 23 towns, from which the deputies met in a place fixed upon each time by common consent. The six largest towns, Xanthus, Patara, Pinara, Olympus, Myra, and Tliness of the congress, and after whom the other officers of the confederacy were chosen. The judges, also, as well as the magistrates, were elected from each city according to the number of