DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4692#0019
10
TOWNS OF EOU\:
E L A E A.
TT^LAEA, the port and arsenal of Pergamus, was situated at a distance of twelve stadia to the south of the
■*-^ mouth of the Caieus. This was an unfavourable situation, for all sea-ports near the mouths of rivers
are liable to be choked up with sand. When we visited these shores, their former condition was so changed,
that, in order to reach the lagoon, which was formerly the port, we had to proceed through a vast marsh.
The alluvial soil brought down by the Caieus extends for several miles into the sea. A bar of sand encumbers
the entrance of the river. The whole coast is absolutely a desert, without doubt on account of the pestilential
air which arises from its shores.
It is difficult to describe the aspect of ruin and desolation which this coast of iEolia presents. Judging
it impossible to approach by sea, we went to Pitane, and there we took horses, in order to reach the place
by land. A Turkish farm, where we found but two or thi'ee inhabitants, who did not pass the night there,
was the only dwelling in modern Elaea. Eorests of reeds and of willows serve as shelter to a multitude of
aquatic birds of various species.
Such is the present state of this town, which was the depository of the wealth of Attalus and the scene
of the desperate struggle of Mithridates. It was at Elaea that Scipio, having fallen ill when making war
against Antiochus, received from that king a great favour in the liberation of his young son, who had been
made prisoner while navigating the Sea of Euboea. All memorial of these times has disappeared. Elaea is
called in the present day Touzla Kazleu (the salt-lake of the geese).
Some remains of walls are the only vestiges visible of the ancient town. We discovered, however, in the
midst of the reeds, a block of grey marble, on which we read this inscription:—" The Senate and the People
have honoured Titus Julius Quadratus, Proconsul of Crete and Cyrene, Ambassador of the Emperor in the
province of Cappadocia, Ambassador of the Emperor and Lieutenant-General of Lycia and of Pamphylia,
Ambassador in Asia for the second time, Ambassador in Pontus and Bithynia; Euphratus Marcellus, Epulon
(honours), the benefactor and constructor of the town." In the conviction that the Elaeans felt that the
name of their town would never perish, they neglected to inscribe it on this marble. This was the only
inscription that the Goose marsh afforded.
Kitche Keui, the nearest village, is abundantly provided with springs and fountains; but the surrounding
mountains are barren and sparsely populated. The inhabitants procure water by means of wells and of
cisterns. At a mile to the south of Kitche Keui we pass a river called Kondoura Tchai, the bed of which
is about 160 yards in breadth. It has its source, doubtless, in the volcanic country of Lydia, for the pebbles
which roll in its course are of a volcanic nature. There are many aquatic tortoises in it. This current
of water is perhaps only the river Xanthus, at the mouth of which was situated the ancient Myrina. The
topography of the towns of iEolia is exactly determined by Strabo, as may be seen in the following
table:—
Erom Pitane to the mouth of the Caieus ... ... ... 30 stadia
Elaea
Grynium
Myrina
Cyme
Neontichos
Larissa
1 Abridged from Texier's Asie-miueure
12
30
40
40
30
70
TOWNS OF EOU\:
E L A E A.
TT^LAEA, the port and arsenal of Pergamus, was situated at a distance of twelve stadia to the south of the
■*-^ mouth of the Caieus. This was an unfavourable situation, for all sea-ports near the mouths of rivers
are liable to be choked up with sand. When we visited these shores, their former condition was so changed,
that, in order to reach the lagoon, which was formerly the port, we had to proceed through a vast marsh.
The alluvial soil brought down by the Caieus extends for several miles into the sea. A bar of sand encumbers
the entrance of the river. The whole coast is absolutely a desert, without doubt on account of the pestilential
air which arises from its shores.
It is difficult to describe the aspect of ruin and desolation which this coast of iEolia presents. Judging
it impossible to approach by sea, we went to Pitane, and there we took horses, in order to reach the place
by land. A Turkish farm, where we found but two or thi'ee inhabitants, who did not pass the night there,
was the only dwelling in modern Elaea. Eorests of reeds and of willows serve as shelter to a multitude of
aquatic birds of various species.
Such is the present state of this town, which was the depository of the wealth of Attalus and the scene
of the desperate struggle of Mithridates. It was at Elaea that Scipio, having fallen ill when making war
against Antiochus, received from that king a great favour in the liberation of his young son, who had been
made prisoner while navigating the Sea of Euboea. All memorial of these times has disappeared. Elaea is
called in the present day Touzla Kazleu (the salt-lake of the geese).
Some remains of walls are the only vestiges visible of the ancient town. We discovered, however, in the
midst of the reeds, a block of grey marble, on which we read this inscription:—" The Senate and the People
have honoured Titus Julius Quadratus, Proconsul of Crete and Cyrene, Ambassador of the Emperor in the
province of Cappadocia, Ambassador of the Emperor and Lieutenant-General of Lycia and of Pamphylia,
Ambassador in Asia for the second time, Ambassador in Pontus and Bithynia; Euphratus Marcellus, Epulon
(honours), the benefactor and constructor of the town." In the conviction that the Elaeans felt that the
name of their town would never perish, they neglected to inscribe it on this marble. This was the only
inscription that the Goose marsh afforded.
Kitche Keui, the nearest village, is abundantly provided with springs and fountains; but the surrounding
mountains are barren and sparsely populated. The inhabitants procure water by means of wells and of
cisterns. At a mile to the south of Kitche Keui we pass a river called Kondoura Tchai, the bed of which
is about 160 yards in breadth. It has its source, doubtless, in the volcanic country of Lydia, for the pebbles
which roll in its course are of a volcanic nature. There are many aquatic tortoises in it. This current
of water is perhaps only the river Xanthus, at the mouth of which was situated the ancient Myrina. The
topography of the towns of iEolia is exactly determined by Strabo, as may be seen in the following
table:—
Erom Pitane to the mouth of the Caieus ... ... ... 30 stadia
Elaea
Grynium
Myrina
Cyme
Neontichos
Larissa
1 Abridged from Texier's Asie-miueure
12
30
40
40
30
70