§12.8.14ἡ μὲν οὖν παρώρεια ὀρεινήν τινα ἔχει ῥάχιν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀνατολῆς ἐκτεινομένην ἐπὶ δύσιν· ταύτῃ δʼ ἑκατέρωθεν ὑποπέπτωκέ τι πεδίον μέγα, καὶ πόλεις πλησίον αὐτῆς πρὸς ἄρκτον μὲν Φιλομήλιον, ἐκ θατέρου δὲ μέρους Ἀντιόχεια ἡ πρὸς Πισιδίᾳ καλουμένη, ἡ μὲν ἐν πεδίῳ κειμένη πᾶσα ἡ δʼ ἐπὶ λόφου ἔχουσα ἀποικίαν Ῥωμαίων· ταύτην δʼ ᾤκισαν Μάγνητες οἱ πρὸς Μαιάνδρῳ.
Now the Paroreia has a mountainous ridge extending from east to west; and on either side of this lies a large plain, and near it are cities, to the north Philomelium, and on the other side the city called Antioch near Pisidia, the former situated entirely in a plain, and the latter on a hill, containing a Roman colony; and this was founded by the Magnesians on the Maeander.
Ῥωμαῖοι δʼ ἠλευθέρωσαν τῶν βασιλέων, ἡνίκα τὴν ἄλλην Ἀσίαν Εὐμένει παρέδοσαν τὴν ἐντὸς τοῦ Ταύρου·
The Romans freed them from the kings when they delivered the rest of Asia within Taurus to Eumenes.
ἦν δὲ ἐνταῦθα καὶ ἱερωσύνη τις Μηνὸς Ἀρκαίου, πλῆθος ἔχουσα ἱεροδούλων καὶ χωρίων ἱερῶν· κατελύθη δὲ μετὰ τὴν Ἀμύντου τελευτὴν ὑπὸ τῶν πεμφθέντων ἐπὶ τὴν ἐκείνου κληρονομίαν.
There was also a priesthood of Men Arcaeus here, possessing a multitude of temple slaves and sacred territories; but it was abolished after the death of Amyntas by those who were sent for his inheritance.
Σύνναδα δʼ ἐστὶν οὐ μεγάλη πόλις· πρόκειται δʼ αὐτῆς ἐλαιόφυτον πεδίον ὅσον ἑξήκοντα σταδίων· ἐπέκεινα δʼ ἐστὶ Δοκιμία κώμη, καὶ τὸ λατόμιον Συνναδικοῦ λίθου (οὕτω μὲν Ῥωμαῖοι καλοῦσιν, οἱ δʼ ἐπιχώριοι Δοκιμίτην καὶ Δοκιμαῖον), κατʼ ἀρχὰς μὲν μικροὺς βώλους ἐκδιδόντος τοῦ μετάλλου, διὰ δὲ τὴν νυνὶ πολυτέλειαν τῶν Ῥωμαίων κίονες ἐξαιροῦνται μονόλιθοι μεγάλοι, πλησιάζοντες τῷ ἀλαβαστρίτῃ λίθῳ κατὰ τὴν ποικιλίαν, ὥστε καίπερ πολλῆς οὔσης τῆς ἐπὶ θάλατταν ἀγωγῆς τῶν τηλικούτων φορτίων ὅμως καὶ κίονες καὶ πλάκες εἰς Ῥώμην κομίζονται θαυμασταὶ κατὰ τὸ μέγεθος καὶ κάλλος.
Synnada is not a large city; and before it lies a plain planted with olives of about sixty stadia; and beyond is the village Docimia, and the quarry of Synnadic stone (so the Romans call it, but the natives call it Docimites and Docimaean), which at first yielded only small blocks, but because of the present luxury of the Romans, great monolithic columns are extracted, resembling alabaster stone in their variegation, so that, although the transport of such heavy cargoes to the sea is difficult, nevertheless both columns and slabs of wonderful size and beauty are conveyed to Rome.
§12.8.15Ἀπάμεια δʼ ἐστὶν ἐμπόριον μέγα τῆς ἰδίως λεγομένης Ἀσίας, δευτερεῦον μετὰ τὴν Ἔφεσον· αὕτη γὰρ καὶ τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰταλίας καὶ τῆς Ἑλλάδος ὑποδοχεῖον κοινόν ἐστιν.
And Apameia is a great emporium of Asia properly so called, second only to Ephesus; for it is a common receptacle for people from Italy and Greece.
ἵδρυται δὲ ἡ Ἀπάμεια ἐπὶ ταῖς ἐκβολαῖς τοῦ Μαρσύου ποταμοῦ, καὶ ῥεῖ διὰ μέσης τῆς πόλεως ὁ ποταμὸς τὰς ἀρχὰς ἀπὸ τῆς πόλεως ἔχων· κατενεχθεὶς δʼ ἐπὶ τὸ προάστειον σφοδρῷ καὶ καταφερεῖ τῷ ῥεύματι συμβάλλει πρὸς τὸν Μαίανδρον, προσειληφότα καὶ ἄλλον ποταμὸν Ὀργᾶν διʼ ὁμαλοῦ φερόμενον πρᾶον καὶ μαλακόν·
Apameia is established at the outlets of the river Marsyas, and the river flows through the middle of the city, having its sources from the city itself; and having flowed down to the suburb with a violent and steep current, it joins the Maeander, which has already received another river, the Orgas, which flows through a level country, gentle and soft.
ἐντεῦθεν δʼ ἤδη γενόμενος Μαίανδρος τέως μὲν διὰ τῆς Φρυγίας φέρεται, ἔπειτα διορίζει τὴν Καρίαν καὶ τὴν Λυδίαν κατὰ τὸ Μαιάνδρου καλούμενον πεδίον, σκολιὸς ὢν εἰς ὑπερβολὴν ὥστε ἐξ ἐκείνου τὰς σκολιότητας ἁπάσας μαιάνδρους καλεῖσθαι· τελευτῶν δὲ καὶ τὴν Καρίαν αὐτὴν διαρρεῖ τὴν ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰώνων νῦν κατεχομένην, καὶ μεταξὺ Μιλήτου καὶ Πριήνης ποιεῖται τὰς ἐκβολάς.
From here, now having become the Maeander, it flows for a while through Phrygia, and then delimits Caria and Lydia along the plain called that of the Maeander, being exceedingly crooked, so that from it all crookedness is called "meanders"; and in the end it flows through Caria itself, which is now occupied by the Ionians, and makes its outlets between Miletus and Priene.
ἄρχεται δὲ ἀπὸ Κελαινῶν, λόφου τινός, ἐν ᾧ πόλις ἦν ὁμώνυμος τῷ λόφῳ· ἐντεῦθεν δʼ ἀναστήσας τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ὁ Σωτὴρ Ἀντίοχος εἰς τὴν νῦν Ἀπάμειαν τῆς μητρὸς ἐπώνυμον τὴν πόλιν ἐπέδειξεν Ἀπάμας, ἣ θυγάτηρ μὲν ἦν Ἀρταβάζου δεδομένη δʼ ἐτύγχανε πρὸς γάμον Σελεύκῳ τῷ Νικάτορι.
It begins from Celaenae, a certain hill on which there was a city of the same name as the hill; and from here, having relocated the people, Antiochus Soter established the city, naming it after his mother Apama, who was the daughter of Artabazus and had been given in marriage to Seleucus Nicator.
ἐνταῦθα δὲ μυθεύεται τὰ περὶ τὸν Ὄλυμπον καὶ τὸν Μαρσύαν καὶ τὴν ἔριν ἣν ἤρισεν ὁ Μαρσύας πρὸς Ἀπόλλωνα.
Here is localized the myth of Olympus and Marsyas, and the contest which Marsyas contested against Apollo.
ὑπέρκειται δὲ καὶ λίμνη φύουσα κάλαμον τὸν εἰς τὰς γλώττας τῶν αὐλῶν ἐπιτήδειον, ἐξ ἧς ἀπολείβεσθαί φασι τὰς πηγὰς ἀμφοτέρας τήν τε τοῦ Μαρσύου καὶ τὴν τοῦ Μαιάνδρου.
And above lies also a lake producing the reed suitable for the tongues of flutes, from which they say both springs, that of the Marsyas and that of the Maeander, flow.
§12.8.16ἡ δὲ Λαοδίκεια μικρὰ πρότερον οὖσα αὔξησιν ἔλαβεν ἐφʼ ἡμῶν καὶ τῶν ἡμετέρων πατέρων, καίτοι κακωθεῖσα ἐκ πολιορκίας ἐπὶ Μιθριδάτου τοῦ Εὐπάτορος· ἀλλʼ ἡ τῆς χώρας ἀρετὴ καὶ τῶν πολιτῶν τινες εὐτυχήσαντες μεγάλην ἐποίησαν αὐτήν, Ἱέρων μὲν πρότερον, ὃς πλειόνων ἢ δισχιλίων ταλάντων κληρονομίαν κατέλιπε τῷ δήμῳ πολλοῖς τʼ ἀναθήμασιν ἐκόσμησε τὴν πόλιν, Ζήνων δὲ ὁ ῥήτωρ ὕστερον καὶ ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ Πολέμων, ὃς καὶ βασιλείας ἠξιώθη διὰ τὰς ἀνδραγαθίας ὑπʼ Ἀντωνίου μὲν πρότερον ὑπὸ Καίσαρος δὲ τοῦ Σεβαστοῦ μετὰ ταῦτα.
And Laodiceia, though formerly small, received its growth in our time and that of our fathers, although it was damaged by a siege in the time of Mithridates Eupator; but the excellence of the land and certain of its citizens who became wealthy made it great, first Hieron, who left an inheritance of more than two thousand talents to the people and adorned the city with many offerings, and later Zeno the rhetorician and his son Polemon, who was even deemed worthy of a kingdom because of his brave deeds, first by Antony and afterwards by Caesar Augustus.
φέρει δʼ ὁ περὶ τὴν Λαοδίκειαν τόπος προβάτων ἀρετὰς οὐκ εἰς μαλακότητα μόνον τῶν ἐρίων, ᾗ καὶ τῶν Μιλησίων διαφέρει, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς τὴν κοραξὴν χρόαν, ὥστε καὶ προσοδεύονται λαμπρῶς ἀπʼ αὐτῶν, ὥσπερ καὶ οἱ Κολοσσηνοὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὁμωνύμου χρώματος πλησίον οἰκοῦντες.
The region around Laodiceia produces excellent sheep, not only for the softness of their wool, in which they surpass even those of Miletus, but also for their raven-black color, so that they obtain splendid revenue from them, just as the Colossians do from the color of the same name, who dwell nearby.
ἐνταῦθα δὲ καὶ ὁ Κάπρος καὶ ὁ Λύκος συμβάλλει τῷ Μαιάνδρῳ ποταμῷ, ποταμὸς εὐμεγέθης, ἀφʼ οὗ καὶ ἡ πρὸς τῷ Λύκῳ Λαοδίκεια λέγεται.
And here both the Caprus and the Lycus join the river Maeander, the latter being a river of considerable size, from which also Laodiceia is called "on the Lycus".
ὑπέρκειται δὲ τῆς πόλεως ὄρος Κάδμος, ἐξ οὗ καὶ ὁ Λύκος ῥεῖ καὶ ἄλλος ὁμώνυμος τῷ ὄρει.
And above the city rises Mount Cadmus, from which flow both the Lycus and another river of the same name as the mountain.
τὸ πλέον δʼ οὗτος ὑπὸ γῆς ῥυεὶς εἶτʼ ἀνακύψας συνέπεσεν εἰς ταὐτὸ τοῖς ἄλλοις ποταμοῖς, ἐμφαίνων ἅμα καὶ τὸ πολύτρητον τῆς χώρας καὶ τὸ εὔσειστον· εἰ γάρ τις ἄλλη, καὶ ἡ Λαοδίκεια εὔσειστος, καὶ τῆς πλησιοχώρου δὲ Κάρουρα.
The latter, having flowed for the most part underground and then emerged, joins the other rivers in the same place, showing at once that the country is full of cavities and subject to earthquakes; for if any other city is prone to earthquakes, Laodiceia is especially so, as is also Carura in the neighboring territory.