Stephanus of Byzantium, Book of Nations Δ 150
created: This entry is taken from Book of Nations Δ 150 written by Stephanus of Byzantium
edition published: 2023-06-30-05:00
language: grc; grc
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https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/219

Καισάρειαν

,

Στράτωνος πύργος

,

Caesarea

, and

Straton’s Tower

are directly attested at Stephanus of Byzantium, Book of Nations Δ 150. This passage was written ca. 530-560 C.E. possibly in Constantinople. Stephanus of Byzantium was a polymath who compiled the magnificent Book of Nations (Ἐθνικά) in the eastern capital during the age of prosperity under the emperor Justinian I. This geographical dictionary was a treasury of geographical, literary, and historical data collected from myriad ancient works, which Stephanus often directly cited. Consequently, Stephanus has been greatly valued by scholars from medieval to modern times. The long entry under “Doros”, rich with quotations from Classical to Late Roman sources, attests to the Phoenician settlement and natural environment of the area around Dor. The passage on Strato’s Tower derives from Artemidorus of Ephesus, Geographical Description fr. 111, written roughly six to seven centuries before Stephanus’s work, and Marcian of Heraclea, Epitome of Artemidorus’ Geography 576.19-27, written roughly one to two centuries before Stephanus’s work.

Δῶρος· πόλις Φοινίκης. Ἑκαταῖος Ἀσίᾳ “μετὰ δὲ ἡ πάλαι Δῶρος, νῦν δὲ Δῶρα καλεῖται.” καὶ οὕτως Ἰώσηπος αὐτὴν καλεῖ ἐν εʹ τῆς Ἰουδαϊκῆς ἱστορίας “ἀπὸ μέν Ἰορδάνου μέχρι Δώρων πόλεως.” καὶ πάλιν “Ἀζώτῳ καὶ Δώροις ὁριζόμενοι.” καὶ ἐν ϛʹ “εἶναί τι γύναιον ἐν πόλει Δώρῳ.” καὶ πάλιν “ὅτε ἤνεγκεν εἰς τὴν Δῶρον.” καὶ Κλαύδιος Ἰόλαος ἐν γʹ Φοινικικῶν “μετὰ Καισάρειαν Δῶρα κεῖται βραχεῖα πολίχνη, Φοινίκων αὐτὴν οἰκούντων, οἳ διὰ τὸ ὑπόπετρον τῶν {τε} αἰγαλῶν καὶ τὸ πορφύρας γόνιμον συνελθόντες καλιὰς αὐτοῖς ᾠκοδομήσαντο καὶ περιβαλόμενοι χάρακας, ὡς ὑπήκουεν αὐτοῖς τὰ τῆς ἐργασίας, τεμνόμενοι τὰς πέτρας διὰ τῶν ἐξαιρουμένων λίθων τα τείχη κατεβάλοντο καὶ τὴν εὔορμον χηλὴν ὅπως <οἷόν> τε ἀσφαλῶς ἔθεντο, ἐπώνυμον αὐτὴν τῇ πατρίῳ γλῴσσῃ Δὼρ καλοῦντες. Οἱ δ’ Ἕλληνες χάριν τοῦ τῆς φωνῆς εὐπροφόρου καλεῖν ἀρκοῦνται Δῶρα τὴν πόλιν. καί τινες ἱστοροῦσι Δῶρον τὸν Ποσειδῶνος οἰκιστὴν αὐτῆς γεγονέναι.” καὶ Ἀρτεμίδωρος Δῶρα τὴν πόλιν οἶδεν ἐν Ἐπιτομῇ τῶν ιαʹ “συνεχῶς δʼ ἐστὶ Στράτωνος πύργος, εἶτα ἔνι Δῶρα, ἐπὶ χερσονησοειδοῦς τόπου κείμενον πολισμάτιον, ἀρχομένου τοῦ ὄρους τοῦ Καρμήλου.” καὶ ἐν θʹ Γεωγραφουμένων τὸ αὐτό. Ἀπολλόδωρος δὲ Δῶρον καλεῖ ἐν Χρονικῶν δʹ “εἰς Δῶρον οὖσαν ἐπιθαλάττιον πόλιν.” καὶ Ἀλέξανδρος ἐν Ἀσίᾳ· “Δῶρός τ’ ἀγχίαλος τ’ Ἰόπη προύχουσα θαλάσσης.” καὶ Χάραξ ιαʹ “Τρύφων ἐν Δώρῳ τῆς κοίλης Συρίας πόλει πολιορκούμενος ὑπ’ Ἀντιόχου ἔφυγεν εἰς Πτολεμαΐδα τὴν Ἄκην λεγομένην.”

[Ed. Billerbeck and Zubler 2011]

Doros. City in Phoenicia. Hecataeus in (his book on) Asia: “After that is the city called Doros in the old times but today Dora.” So Josephus called it this in Jewish Antiquities 5: “from the Jordan to the city Doros”; and “bordered by Azotos and Doros”; and in Jewish Antiquities 6: “there is a woman in the city Doros”; and “when he came to Doros.” Claudius Iolaus in Phoenicica 3: “Behind Caesarea is located Dor, a small settlement. Phoenicians inhabit it who, because of the rocky seabed and the fertile conditions for purple-dye shellfish, came together and built huts for themselves and erected a palisade all around. When the fruits of their labor brought them success, quarrying the bedrock, they founded walls out of the extracted stones and established a breakwater for good mooring, as safe as possible. They gave it an eponymous name, Dor, in the language of their homeland, but the Greeks just called the city Dora for easy pronunciation. And some report that Doros the son of Poseidon was the city’s founder.” Artemidorus knows the city Dora in Epitome of 11 books: “Continuing on is Straton’s Tower, and then Dora, a town situated on the peninsula where Mount Carmel begins.” Τhe same thing in Geography 9. But Apollodoros calls it Doros in Chronicle 4: “to Doros, a coastal city.” Alexander in [his book on] Asia: “both Doros and waterside Iope projecting into the sea.” And Charax (in book) 11: “Tryphon, beseiged by Antiochus at Dor, a city in Koile Syria, fled to Ptolemaïs, also called Ake.” [Trans. J. L. Rife with ref. to Billerbeck and Zubler 2011]

Works Cited

[...] Δ 150

[Alexander of Ephesus, Supplementum Hellenisticum 29

Apollodorus, FGrH 244 F 19

Artemidorus of Ephesus, Geographical Description fr. 111

Charax, FGrH 103 F 29

Claudius Iolaus, Phoenicica, FGrH 788 F 2

Hecataeus of Abdera FGrH 1 F 275

Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 5.83

Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 5.87

Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 6.330

Marcian of Heraclea, Epitome of Artemidorus’ Geography 576.19-27]

[Ashdod (Azotos)

Carmel, Mount (Karmelos, Har HaKarmel, Jabal Mar Elyas)

Coele Syria

Dor (Dor of Nafath, Dor Nafeth, Nafethdor, Nefeddor, Doros, Doroi, Dora, Dora Maritima, Tel Dor, Dor Tantura)

Ioppa (Ioppe, Iope, Jaffa)

Jordan, River

Phoenicia

Ptolemaïs (Acco, Accho, Ake, Acre, Akko)]

[Antiochus VII Sidetes, King of Syria

Diodotus Tryphon, King of Syria]

[Economy

Geography

Greek Language

Hellenistic History

Maritime Activity

Natural Environment

Paganism

Roman History

Travel]