DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4719#0426
TAURUS MOUNTAINS.
399
B
<■:.
-,"'.;■--
.. ^ ....
wards, the G-rseco-Lycian coins appeared, with the head and
emblems of Apollo, names of the country, and the initials
of the several cities to which they belonged, in Greek charac-
ters ; these are known for almost all the cities from Massi-
cytus to Olympus. Patara, the seat of the oracle of Apollo,
Sidyma, and many other cities, appear to have arisen at this
period, and I should attribute also to this age many of the
fragments of sculpture found at Xanthus. History tells
us that the Lycians were a brave and warlike people, famed
for the use of the javelin and their skill in archery: Xeno-
phon says that they were sought to join the army of Cyrus
in his march to the East; and they afforded great assistance
in the expedition of Xerxes.
After this period the country became a colony of Greece,
and was soon subjected to Rome ; its history is thenceforth
blended with that of the rest of Asia Minor, which was
more or less overrun by a Byzantine and Christian people.
The very little that has hitherto been Jknown, or rather sur-
mised, of the Lycian language, appears to bear out this idea
of the early history of the inhabitants of Lycia. The cha-
racters are not of Greek, but probably of Phoenician origin,
and the root of the language, judging from many of the
never became subject to him. In the reign of his successor, Cyrus, we
find the following account of their extinction as a nation : "When Har-
pagus led his army toward Xanthus, the Lycians boldly advanced to
meet him, and, though inferior in number, behaved with the greatest
bravery. Being defeated, and pursued into their city, they collected their
wives, children, and valuable effects into the citadel, and then consumed
the whole in one immense fire. They afterwards, uniting themselves
under the most solemn curses, made a private sally upon the enemy,
and were every man put to death. Of those who now inhabit Lycia,
calling themselves Xanthians, the whole are foreigners, eighty families
excepted; these survived the calamity of their country, being at that
time absent on some foreign expedition. Thus Xanthus fell into the
hands of Harpagus; as also did Caunus, whose people imitated, almost
in every respect, the example of the Lycians."—Herodotus, Boole I. c. 176.
399
B
<■:.
-,"'.;■--
.. ^ ....
wards, the G-rseco-Lycian coins appeared, with the head and
emblems of Apollo, names of the country, and the initials
of the several cities to which they belonged, in Greek charac-
ters ; these are known for almost all the cities from Massi-
cytus to Olympus. Patara, the seat of the oracle of Apollo,
Sidyma, and many other cities, appear to have arisen at this
period, and I should attribute also to this age many of the
fragments of sculpture found at Xanthus. History tells
us that the Lycians were a brave and warlike people, famed
for the use of the javelin and their skill in archery: Xeno-
phon says that they were sought to join the army of Cyrus
in his march to the East; and they afforded great assistance
in the expedition of Xerxes.
After this period the country became a colony of Greece,
and was soon subjected to Rome ; its history is thenceforth
blended with that of the rest of Asia Minor, which was
more or less overrun by a Byzantine and Christian people.
The very little that has hitherto been Jknown, or rather sur-
mised, of the Lycian language, appears to bear out this idea
of the early history of the inhabitants of Lycia. The cha-
racters are not of Greek, but probably of Phoenician origin,
and the root of the language, judging from many of the
never became subject to him. In the reign of his successor, Cyrus, we
find the following account of their extinction as a nation : "When Har-
pagus led his army toward Xanthus, the Lycians boldly advanced to
meet him, and, though inferior in number, behaved with the greatest
bravery. Being defeated, and pursued into their city, they collected their
wives, children, and valuable effects into the citadel, and then consumed
the whole in one immense fire. They afterwards, uniting themselves
under the most solemn curses, made a private sally upon the enemy,
and were every man put to death. Of those who now inhabit Lycia,
calling themselves Xanthians, the whole are foreigners, eighty families
excepted; these survived the calamity of their country, being at that
time absent on some foreign expedition. Thus Xanthus fell into the
hands of Harpagus; as also did Caunus, whose people imitated, almost
in every respect, the example of the Lycians."—Herodotus, Boole I. c. 176.