Caicus
Encyclopedia
Bakırçay is the ancient name of a river of Asia Minor
that rises in the Temnus mountains and flows through Lydia
, Mysia
, and Aeolis
before it debouch
es into the Elatic Gulf. To the Hittites
, it was the Seha river. The modern Turkish
name of the river is Bakırçay (formerly the Aksu), and it is located in the Asia
n part of Turkey
.
The river is first mentioned by Hesiod
, who, along with the other poets, fixes the quantity of the penultimate syllable of Caicus. Plutarch
relates that the name of the river was originally Astraeus but was changed after Caicus
, a son of Hermes
, threw himself into it after sleeping with his sister Alcippe.
Strabo
(p. 616) says that the sources of the Caicus are in a plain separated by the range of Temnus from the plain of Apiae, and that the plain of Apia lies above the plain of Thebe in the interior. He adds that there also flows from Tetanus a river (the Mysius) which joins the Caicus below its source. The Caicus enters the sea approximately 12 km from Pitane
, and 3 km from Elaea
. Elaea was the port of Pergamon
, which was on the Caicus, approximately 25 km from Elaea. At the source of the Caicus, according to Strabo, was a place called Gergitha.
The course of this river has undoubtedly changed since antiquity; nor is it easy to assign the proper ancient names to the branches in the ordinary maps. Leake
infers from the direction of L. Scipio
's march from Troy
to the Hyrcania
n plain, that the north-eastern branch of the river of Pergamon (Bergama or Beryma) which flows by Menduria (possibly Gergitha) and Balıkesir
(Caesaraea) is that which was anciently called Caicus; and he makes the Mysius join it on the right bank. The Caicus as it seems is formed by two streams which meet between 50 and 65 km above its mouth, and it drains an extensive and fertile country.
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
that rises in the Temnus mountains and flows through Lydia
Lydia
Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkish provinces of Manisa and inland İzmir. Its population spoke an Anatolian language known as Lydian....
, Mysia
Mysia
Mysia was a region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor or Anatolia . It was located on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara. It was bounded by Bithynia on the east, Phrygia on the southeast, Lydia on the south, Aeolis on the southwest, Troad on the west and by the Propontis on the north...
, and Aeolis
Aeolis
Aeolis or Aeolia was an area that comprised the west and northwestern region of Asia Minor, mostly along the coast, and also several offshore islands , where the Aeolian Greek city-states were located...
before it debouch
Debouch
Debouch is a term used in river and stream geography, and the military.-Geography:In fluvial geography, a debouch is a place where a body of water pours forth from a narrow opening...
es into the Elatic Gulf. To the Hittites
Hittites
The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia.They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c...
, it was the Seha river. The modern Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
name of the river is Bakırçay (formerly the Aksu), and it is located in the Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n part of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
The river is first mentioned by Hesiod
Hesiod
Hesiod was a Greek oral poet generally thought by scholars to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. His is the first European poetry in which the poet regards himself as a topic, an individual with a distinctive role to play. Ancient authors credited him and...
, who, along with the other poets, fixes the quantity of the penultimate syllable of Caicus. Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
relates that the name of the river was originally Astraeus but was changed after Caicus
Caicus
Bakırçay is the ancient name of a river of Asia Minor that rises in the Temnus mountains and flows through Lydia, Mysia, and Aeolis before it debouches into the Elatic Gulf. To the Hittites, it was the Seha river...
, a son of Hermes
Hermes
Hermes is the great messenger of the gods in Greek mythology and a guide to the Underworld. Hermes was born on Mount Kyllini in Arcadia. An Olympian god, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of the cunning of thieves, of orators and...
, threw himself into it after sleeping with his sister Alcippe.
Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
(p. 616) says that the sources of the Caicus are in a plain separated by the range of Temnus from the plain of Apiae, and that the plain of Apia lies above the plain of Thebe in the interior. He adds that there also flows from Tetanus a river (the Mysius) which joins the Caicus below its source. The Caicus enters the sea approximately 12 km from Pitane
Pitane (Aeolis)
Pitane , near Çandarlı, Turkey, was an ancient Greek town of Aeolis, in Asia Minor. In ancient times it was a port city and a member of the Delian League. About 334 BC, Alexander the Great tried to take over the city, but was repulsed by Memnon of Rhodes and 5,000 Greek mercenaries provided by...
, and 3 km from Elaea
Elaea (Aeolis)
Elaea or Elaia was an ancient city of Aeolis, Asia, the port of Pergamum; the site is not precisely determined but is near Zeytindağ, İzmir Province, Turkey....
. Elaea was the port of Pergamon
Pergamon
Pergamon , or Pergamum, was an ancient Greek city in modern-day Turkey, in Mysia, today located from the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north side of the river Caicus , that became the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon during the Hellenistic period, under the Attalid dynasty, 281–133 BC...
, which was on the Caicus, approximately 25 km from Elaea. At the source of the Caicus, according to Strabo, was a place called Gergitha.
The course of this river has undoubtedly changed since antiquity; nor is it easy to assign the proper ancient names to the branches in the ordinary maps. Leake
William Martin Leake
William Martin Leake, FRS , British antiquarian and topographer, was born in London.After completing his education at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and spending four years in the West Indies as lieutenant of marine artillery, he was sent by the government to Constantinople to instruct the...
infers from the direction of L. Scipio
Scipio Asiaticus
Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus was a Roman general and statesman. He was the son of Publius Cornelius Scipio and the older brother of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus...
's march from Troy
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
to the Hyrcania
Hyrcania
Hyrcania was the name of a satrapy located in the territories of present day Gilan, Golestan, Mazandaran and part of Turkmenistan, lands south of the Caspian Sea. To the Greeks, the Caspian Sea was the "Hyrcanian Sea".-Etymology:...
n plain, that the north-eastern branch of the river of Pergamon (Bergama or Beryma) which flows by Menduria (possibly Gergitha) and Balıkesir
Balikesir
Balıkesir is the capital city of Balıkesir Province. Balıkesir is in the Marmara region of Turkey and has a population of 265,747 inhabitants. Old name is Karesi or Karasi.- History :...
(Caesaraea) is that which was anciently called Caicus; and he makes the Mysius join it on the right bank. The Caicus as it seems is formed by two streams which meet between 50 and 65 km above its mouth, and it drains an extensive and fertile country.