Page:The Natural History of Pliny.djvu/527

 Chap. 43.J ACCOUNT OF COTJKTEIES, ETC. 493 tv'iii', the Timoniacenses^, and the Thebaseni^. G-alatia ' -0 touches upon Carbalia in Pamphylia, and the Hilyae"*, ^)ut Baris ; also upon Cyllanticum and Oroandieum% a di- strict of Pisidia, and Obizene, a part of Lycaonia. Besides those ah'cady mentioned, its rivers are the Sangarius and the GraUus^, from which last the priests® of the Mother ol the gods have taken their name. CHAP. 43. — BITHTNIA. And now as to the remaining places on this coast. On the road from Cios into the interior is Prusa^", in Bithynia, founded by Hannibal at the foot of Olympus, at a distance of twenty- five miles from Xictea, Lake Ascanius^^ Ij^^o ^^" tween them. We then come to Nicaea'", formerly called ^ The people of Sebaste, a town jof the Tectosages. 2 The people of Timonium, a town of Paphlagonia, according to Ste- phamis Byzantinus. 3 Thebasa, a town of Lycaonia, has been mentioned in C. 25 of the present Book. ^ See C. 25 of the present Book. ^ The town of Oroanda, giving name to this district, is mentioned at the end of C. 24 of the present Book. ^ The Cayster, the Rhyndacus, and the Cios. 7 !Now called the Sakariyeh, the largest river of Asia Mmor after the ancient Halys. ^ Now called the Lefke, which discharges itself mto the Tangarius, or Sakariyeh. ^ Called " GaUi." They were said to become mad from di'inking of the waters of this river, and to mutilate themselves when in a frantic state. See Ovid's Fasti, B. iv. 1. 364 et seq. ^° Kow called Brusa. It stood on the north side of Movmt Olympus, jBfteen Roman niUes fi-om Cius. According to most accounts, it was built by Prusias, king of Bithynia. It is most probable that Hannibal superuitended the works, while staying as a refugee at the com't of Prusias. '^ iNow Lake Iznik. J- Its ruins are to be seen at Iznik, on the east side of the lake o^ that name. Its site is supposed to have been originally occupied by the town of Atta?a, and afterwards by a settlement of the Bottia'ans, called An core, or Helicore, which was destroyed by the Mysians. On this spot, sliortly after the death of Alexander the Great, Antigonus built a city which he named after liimself, Antigonaea ; but Lysimachus soon alterwards changed the name into Nicsea, in honour of his wile. Under the kings of Bithynia, it was often the royal residence, and it long disputed with Nicomedia the rank of capital of Bithynia. Tlie modern JznLk is only a poor village, with about 100 houses. Considerable ruins of the ancient