Iardanus
Encyclopedia
The River Iardanus or Iardanes denoted two small rivers in Antiquity
, and previously a third, it would seem.
A Iardanus in Elis
is referred to in passing in Iliad
(Book VII.135), where Nestor
remembers Pylians
and Arcadia
ns gathered in fight by the rapid river Celadon
under the walls of Pheia, and round about the waters of the river Iardanus. Strabo
(VII.3.12) notes, in describing the coast of Elis
"After Chelonatas comes the long sea-shore of the Pisatans; and then Cape Pheia. And there was also a small town called Pheia: 'beside the walls of Pheia, about the streams of Iardanus,' for there is also a small river near by. According to some, Pheia is the beginning of Pisatis."
In the Odyssey
(Book III.293), on the other hand, a River Iardanus lies in northwestern Crete
— Nestor again recalls— where the Cydonia
ns dwell round about the waters of the river Iardanus.
Yet in the 2nd century CE, Pausanias
reports (v.5.9), of a sulfurous-smelling river that descends from the mountain Lapithus in Arcadia, called the Acidas, "I heard from an Ephesian
that the Acidas was called Iardanus in ancient times. I repeat his statement, though I have nowhere found evidence in support of it." Cyrus H. Gordon was the first to point out that Jordan in the Hebrew Bible
is not a proper name, but, with two exceptions, always appears with a qualifier, and suggested that on an early linguistic level it may relate to the rivers in Crete and in the Greek mainland as the word "river". In the Mandaean cosmological accounts Jordan plays an important part, the "river of living water"; Mandaeans resist the connection with the geological River Jordan.
Iardanus is specified as the father of Omphale
, "the queen of the people who were called at that time Maeonians, but now Lydia
ns;" she bought Heracles
as a slave. Whether the detail embodies a suggestion of cultural connections between Lydia in Asia Minor
and Crete is moot.
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
, and previously a third, it would seem.
A Iardanus in Elis
Elis
Elis, or Eleia is an ancient district that corresponds with the modern Elis peripheral unit...
is referred to in passing in Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
(Book VII.135), where Nestor
Nestor (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Nestor of Gerenia was the son of Neleus and Chloris and the King of Pylos. He became king after Heracles killed Neleus and all of Nestor's siblings...
remembers Pylians
Pylos
Pylos , historically known under its Italian name Navarino, is a town and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pylos-Nestoras, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It was the capital of the former...
and Arcadia
Arcadia
Arcadia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the central and eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas. In Greek mythology, it was the home of the god Pan...
ns gathered in fight by the rapid river Celadon
Celadon (river)
The Celadon is a mythological river of Arcadia crossed by Herakles in pursuit of the Hind of Ceryneia, according to Pindar: it is mentioned by Strabo...
under the walls of Pheia, and round about the waters of the river Iardanus. 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...
(VII.3.12) notes, in describing the coast of Elis
Elis
Elis, or Eleia is an ancient district that corresponds with the modern Elis peripheral unit...
"After Chelonatas comes the long sea-shore of the Pisatans; and then Cape Pheia. And there was also a small town called Pheia: 'beside the walls of Pheia, about the streams of Iardanus,' for there is also a small river near by. According to some, Pheia is the beginning of Pisatis."
In the Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
(Book III.293), on the other hand, a River Iardanus lies in northwestern Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
— Nestor again recalls— where the Cydonia
Cydonia (Ancient Greece)
Cydonia or Kydonia was an important ancient city-state on the northwest coast of the island of Crete. It is at the site of the modern-day Greek city of Chania...
ns dwell round about the waters of the river Iardanus.
Yet in the 2nd century CE, Pausanias
Pausanias (geographer)
Pausanias was a Greek traveler and geographer of the 2nd century AD, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is famous for his Description of Greece , a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece from firsthand observations, and is a crucial link between classical...
reports (v.5.9), of a sulfurous-smelling river that descends from the mountain Lapithus in Arcadia, called the Acidas, "I heard from an Ephesian
Ephesus
Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era...
that the Acidas was called Iardanus in ancient times. I repeat his statement, though I have nowhere found evidence in support of it." Cyrus H. Gordon was the first to point out that Jordan in the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
is not a proper name, but, with two exceptions, always appears with a qualifier, and suggested that on an early linguistic level it may relate to the rivers in Crete and in the Greek mainland as the word "river". In the Mandaean cosmological accounts Jordan plays an important part, the "river of living water"; Mandaeans resist the connection with the geological River Jordan.
Iardanus is specified as the father of Omphale
Omphale
In Greek mythology, Omphale was a daughter of Iardanus, either a king of Lydia, or a river-god. Omphale was queen of the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor; according to Bibliotheke she was the wife of Tmolus, the oak-clad mountain king of Lydia; after he was gored to death by a bull, she continued...
, "the queen of the people who were called at that time Maeonians, but now 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....
ns;" she bought Heracles
Heracles
Heracles ,born Alcaeus or Alcides , was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus...
as a slave. Whether the detail embodies a suggestion of cultural connections between Lydia in Asia Minor
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...
and Crete is moot.