Themiscyra Plain
Themiscyra plain (/ˌθɛmɪˈskɪrə/; Greek: Θεμίσκυρα Themiskyra) refers to an ancient place name for a plain near the mouths of the Iris (modern Yeşil) and Thermodon (modern Terme) rivers in the north of Pontus, near the ancient Greek town, Themiscyra.[1] It is described by Leonhard Schmitz, writing in William Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman geography, as
a rich and beautiful district, ever verdant... [that] suppl[ied] food for numberless herds of oxen and horses... produced great abundance of grain, especially pannick and millet... [and that] the southern parts near the mountains furnished a variety of fruits, such as grapes, apples, pears, and nuts in such quantities that they were suffered to waste on the trees.[1]
With regard to the plain, Schmitz goes on to state that "[m]ythology describes [it] as the native country of the Amazons."[1]
Further reading
- Cited by Schmitz in the Thermodon article, op. cit.:
- Aeschylus Prometheus Bound 722.
- Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus) ii. 5.
- Apollonius of Rhodes, ii. 370.
- Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia vi. 3.
- Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia xxiv. 102.
- Strabo ii. p. 126.
- Strabo xii. pp. 547f.
References
- Schmitz, Leonhard (1857). "Themiscyra". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. Vol. II, Iabadius-Zymethus. London: Walton and Maberly, and John Murray. p. 1156, principally; see also pp. 64, 70, 119, 223, 546, 659, 946, and 1161.