chapter 4 Mountain, Myth, and Territory: Teuthrania as Focal Point in the Landscape of

Christina G. Williamson

For to see is to have at a distance merleau-ponty 1964, 166

1 Introduction

Creating a symbolic focus that fosters territorial consolidation is a critical fac- tor in the process of state formation.1 More than governance or force, the power of the imagination ultimately determines the sense of connectedness that can weave together a large geographic area with various local communities and diverse populations. This is even more acute with rapidly emerging states. In such landscapes of flux the administrative control of local centers is clearly vital, but dialogues between the centripetal authority, dispersed communities, and those passing through play a crucial role in constructing a common iden- tity. Military presence and economic incentives are obvious influencing factors, but the mythological landscape wields at least as much potential as a tool of persuasion, with its capacity to map the hierarchy of the past onto the topog- raphy of the present. Pergamon provides an excellent case to examine these issues. Turned into a fortified center by Philetaerus in the 280s bce, within a century this hill- top town came to rule over most of Asia Minor.2 A vortex of power, - mon rapidly overshadowed the surrounding communities as it battled invad- ing Gauls while encroaching on rival kingdoms.3 Besides tactical force, the

1 Paasi 2009, 134–136. 2 On Pergamon in general: Ohlemutz 1940; McShane 1964; Hansen 1971; Allen 1983; Radt 1999; more recently Grüßinger, Kästner, and Scholl 2011, Ma 2013 (overview of Attalid exploits), and Pirson and Scholl 2014. 3 Allen 1983, 159: ‘Put simply, whereas Pella, , and Alexandria were the chief cities of kingdoms already in existence, the Attalid Kingdom was built around Pergamon …’.

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2016 | doi: 10.1163/9789004319714_005 mountain, myth, and territory 71 success of the Attalids’ territorial expansion depended at least as much on sound investments and negotiation skills, hallmarks of Attalid rule.4 Under Eumenes ii (197–159 bce), Pergamon was again reinvented as a cosmopolitan and intellectual center. This was clearly a kingdom in a hurry and as such its ideological conception was vital to its authoritative position among neighbor- ing regions and city-states. Kulturpolitik, according to Hans-Joachim Schalles, was a critical means to this end.5 But it was also important as a medium for internal territorial cohesion, particularly in the overlap of Attalid space with the mythological landscape of . In this landscape the saga plays a pivotal role. Tanja Scheer interprets the Attalid adoption of this myth as a means of enhancing their political standing by giving them a link to the heroic Greek past.6 Ann Kuttner, on the other hand, stresses their use of its Asian- izing qualities and connections with Anatolian culture.7 Yet there is a third tangent to this myth—its spatial instrumentality in the Attalid drive towards consolidating territory. Using a variety of sources and theories, I explore how Teuthrania, the central place in the myth, acted as a focus that helped visu- ally and ideologically to pull the surrounding countryside into the sphere of the Residenzstadt. Studies in the cognitive sciences and social geography have shown the importance of landmarks, or foregrounded places, as anchors in the mental organization and perception of space. I argue that, besides culturally legitimizing their rule, the significance of the Telephus myth to the Attalids cannot fully be understood without understanding its impact on their terri- tory. Teuthrania is situated between Pergamon and the coast in the western plain of the Caecus river (the Bakırçay) (Fig. 4.1).8 The Caecus valley is the corridor that connected the mountains of Phrygia and Lydia in the East with the Aegean in the West where the river emptied near , Pergamon’s principal military harbor. With Pergamon roughly in the middle, this valley remained the heartland of Attalid territory throughout their rule. The western basin has recently been subject to archaeological surveys conducted by the German

4 On the borders of the Attalid state, see Sommerey 2008, esp. 136–142; on the khôra of Perga- mon, Pirson 2012b. 5 Schalles 1985; also McShane 1964; Allen 1983. See Thonemann 2013b on the territorial politics of Eumenes ii as a model for Roman imperial policy. 6 Scheer 1993; Scheer 2003. 7 Kuttner 2005. 8 13.1.69, discussed below.