Notes on the Multiplication of Cities in Ancient Geography

Abstract

My purpose in this paper is to show, by means of a few examples, how the fragmentary nature of our sources has led modern students of ancient Greek geography to make difficulties for themselves by creating out of one city several imaginary cities of the same name or region. I shall make quotations, with running commentary, from a few paragraphs of Pliny's Natural History to prove also that this multiplication of cities is not confined to modern writers, and that in Pliny's case it was due to a similar but not identical cause, the fragmentary and unsystematic nature of the extracts and notes he had made from Greek authors. For the central theme of this discussion I have chosen the triplex Apollonial of the Chalcidic peninsula; but other towns, located indefinitely 7pos iOp'K-, will engage our attention. Arnae comes first in point of tiine, for it issued coins during the early years of the Peloponnesian War.2 Since it was not tributary to Athens at any time, especially in the few years before the war, when the Athenians were adding so many names to their tribute lists and were leaving no stone unturned to bring in every possible drachma, its existence at that time must be doubtful. Other towns and villages whose very names would long since have been forgotten are found on the quota records of this period. The issue of coins alone shows that Arnae was more important than these forgotten villages. Before making the attempt to trace its history, we must ascertain its location. Thucydides in the one passage where it is mentioned, calls it Chalcidic,3 i-r's XaXKLLKis. That in itself means little, for