PISIDIA AND THE HELLENISTIC KINGS FROM 323 TO 133 BC* Following the death of Alexander the Great (323 BC), and the break- down of his empire (301 BC), the highland region of Pisidia in SW Asia Minor passed under the successive control of all the major Hellenistic kingdoms. Antigonos Monophthalmos, the Ptolemies of Egypt, the Seleucids of Syria, and the Attalids of Pergamon, all became overlords of Pisidia, or at least parts of it, but their efforts to establish a more firm rule over that region met with only partial success. This paper will pro- vide an account of the existing evidence on the relations between the Hellenistic monarchs and individual cities in Pisidia, highlighting the new data, and evaluating the dynastic efforts to establish effective rule over this strategically important, at least in the Hellenistic period, area. THE REGION’S SITUATION Pisidia is situated to the southwestern part of Anatolia from which it is separated by mountains. Its exact boundaries are almost impossible to define; its westernmost edge borders on Lycia and was often considered part of that other region (see map). The area of Milyas which lay south- west, between Lycia and Pisidia, was often a disputed territory that was sometimes seen as belonging to either of them, or even occasionally stood apart1. Moreover, Pisidia’s southernmost cities belonged on occasion to Pamphylia, and the epigraphical evidence suggests that their residents * It is a pleasure to thank Professors H. Hauben, M. Waelkens, and S. Scheers without whose help and advice this article would not have been written. I am especially grateful to my husband, Dr. Jozef Ostyn, who read various versions of this study and offered valu- able comments and constructive criticism. This study was conducted at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, whose Research Coordination Committee granted me a Junior Fel- lowship in order to work on the project Sagalassos with Professor Marc Waelkens. In the end, I am responsible for all errors and flaws in this study. Journal abbreviations are those of L’Année Philologique; see P. ROSUMEK, Index des périodiques dépouillés dans la Collection de Bibliographie classique, Paris 1982; now supplemented by J.L. ARCAZ POZO – J.J. CAEROLS PÉREZ – A. LOPEZ FONSECA, Clavis periodicum. Índice de publicaciones periódicas del Mundo Antiguo, Madrid 1995. 1 A.S. HALL, The Milyadeis and their Territory, AS 36 (1986), p. 137-157. 6 E. KOSMETATOU were alternatitely considered as both Pamphylians and Pisidians2. Pisidia was provincialized for the first time during the reign of emperor Dio- cletian (3rd century AD), and until then, it was mostly seen as a rather vague geographical area which, over the centuries, came to belong to a large number of territories and their respective rulers. According to the few surviving sources, the Pisidians claimed descent from the mythological hero Solymos, a son of Zeus or, according to a different tradition, of Ares. Solymos, in turn, was considered to be the forefather of the Solymoi, a mysterious, legendary, presumably Pisidian, warrior-people, descendence from whom came, in time, to be claimed by a number of local tribes3. Solymos appears to have been unknown to Homer who only mentions the Solymoi in connection with the myth of Bellerephontes4. The myth of the Solymoi further appears in the writings of a few other ancient authors, most notably Pindar, Euripides, and Antimachos, who did not elaborate on it, however5. According to Stephanos Byzantios, the Solymoi were mainly associated with the region of Milyas in southwestern Pisidia, but they also seem to have played an important role in the official mythology of the cities of Termessos and Ariassos6. Until the advent of the Romans, Pisidia always was a difficult region to control no matter who became its overlord. The ancient Greek authors 2 Termessos is occasionally referred to as Pamphylian territory, particularly in Ptole- maic inscriptions. Cf. infra. 3 The Etymologicum Magnum, 721.43 ff., favours Ares as the father of Solymos, while the other sources prefer Zeus. 4 Homer, Iliad VI 155-205, particularly v. 184, 205. Bellerephontes’s fight against the Solymoi was not originally instigated by his desire to marry the Lycian princess. Follow- ing false accusations of attempting to seduce queen Sthenoboia of Argos, the hero was sent by king Proitos to his father-in-law with a letter, in which Proitos asked for Bellerephontes’s execution. For a full account of the myth and cult of the hero Solymos and his representation on the coinage of Pisidia, see E. KOSMETATOU, The Hero Solymos on the Coinage of Termessos Major, SNR 76 (1997), pp. 41-63. 5 Pindar, Olymp. XIII 129. Cf. also Serv, Aen. V 118; Quintus Smyrnaeus II 122. Euripides, Bellerephon, fr. 303; cf. Stobaios, Flor. 111.9. That Euripides may have talked at some length about the Solymoi is an attractive assumption, given this poet’s love for obscure myths which he often promoted in his tragedies. Cf. E. KOSMETATOU, The Legend of the Hero Pergamus, AncSoc 26 (1995), p. 136. Also: Antimachos, fr. 16 = Schol. Pal. Hom. Od. V 283. Antimachos was credited with an edition of the Homeric epics. Cf. B. WYSS, Antimachi Colophonii reliquiae, Berlin 1936, Praef. 30; V.J. MATTHEWS, Antimachus of Colophon, New York 1996. 6 Stephanos Byzantios, s.v. Solymoi. Cf. also E. KOSMETATOU, art. cit. (n. 4), pp. 41-63, and E. KOSMETATOU – M. WAELKENS, Local Pisidian Heroes: Solymos of Termessos and Hero Lakedaimonios of Sagalassos, in: M. WAELKENS – J. POBLOME (eds.), Sagalassos V (Acta Archaeologica Lovaniensia, 10), Leuven 1998 (forthcoming). PISIDIA AND THE HELLENISTIC KINGS 7 described the area as restless, and its inhabitants as rebellious barbarians who spoke their own languages7, fought among themselves, stirred up trouble against every «civilized» invader, and turned their region into a pirate’s haven8. Some modern scholars shared this view at first9. The Pisidians appear for the first time in ancient historiography in the writings of Xenophon, who recorded a Pisidian rebellion against king Artaxerxes in 401 BC. According to the same historian, the Persian king organized a campaign against the Pisidians in order to put an end to their continuous raids and devastation of his territory10. The region became better known to the Greeks following the campaigns of Alexan- der the Great, and the historians who recorded his deeds did not miss the opportunity to stress the difficulties that he and his generals had in subduing it and in dealing with its «barbarous» population11. Recent investigations and discoveries in the area, however, have painted an image of moderately to fully hellenized city-states that cherished their autonomy. 7 For a good overview on the Pisidian language see S. MITCHELL, The Hellenization of Pisidia, MedArch 4 (1991), p. 121; H. BRACKE, Pisidia in Hellenistic Times (334-25 B.C.), in: M. WAELKENS (ed.), Sagalassos I. First General Report on the Survey (1986- 1989) and Excavations (1990-1991) (Acta Archaeologica Lovaniensia, 5); Leuven 1993), p. 23-24. The Pisidian language is briefly discussed by: Arrian, Anab. I 26.4; Strabo XIII 4.17 (631C). Surviving Pisidian texts have been published by: W.M. RAMSAY, Inscrip- tions en langue pisidienne, RUM 1.17 (1895), p. 353-362; J. BORCHARDT – G. NEUMANN – K. SCHULZ, Vier pisidische Grabstelen aus Sofular, Kadmos 14 (1979), p. 68-79; C. BRIXHE – T. DREW-BEAR – D. KAYA, Nouveaux monuments de Pisidie, Kadmos 26 (1987), p. 122-170. 8 Arrian, Anab. I 27.5-28; 28.1-3, where the word bárbaroi is repeatedly used in connection to the Pisidians; Strabo XII 7.3. A more detailed analysis of these matters fol- lows. 9 For earlier modern assessments of the Pisidians see: A.H.M. JONES, Cities of the Eastern Roman Provinces, Oxford 19712, p. 123-146; B. LEVICK, Roman Colonies in Southern Asia Minor, Oxford 1967, p. 16-20; H. VON AULOCK, Münzen und Städte Pisi- diens I, Tübingen 1977, p. 13-15. Among the most important recent revisionist works are: S. MITCHELL, art. cit. (n. 7), p. 122; ID., Hellenismus in Pisidien, in: E. SCHWERTHEIM, Forschungen in Pisidien (Asia Minor Studien, 6), Münster 1992, p. 1-27; H. BRACKE, art. cit. (n. 12), p. 15-16; M. WAELKENS, Sagalassos. History and Archaeology, in: Sagalas- sos I (n. 7), p. 37-50. 10 Homer mentions the Solymoi who may have been a Pisidian tribe, although Strabo categorically states that they spoke a different, presumably non-Pisidian, lan- guage. See: Homer, Iliad VI 155-210; Strabo XIII 4.16-17 (630-631); S. MITCHELL, art. cit. (n. 7), p. 119. Xenophon, Anab. I 1.11, 2.1, 9.14; Hell. III 1.3. The Pisidians are not mentioned among the subject peoples in the Persian army that invaded Greece during the Persian wars of 490-479 BC. Herodotos mentions the Milyades only; cf. I 173; III 90; VII 77. 11 Arrian, Anab., I 28.1-2; Strabo XII 7.3. 8 E. KOSMETATOU PISIDIA UNDER ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND ANTIGONOS MONOPHTHALMOS (333-301 BC) Pisidia figured early in the struggle among the Diadochoi for domination of Alexander’s empire. In order to fully understand the impact of the rule of the Hellenistic kings on this region, an overview of its relations with Alexander the Great who marked the beginnings of its Helleniza- tion, is in order. In 333 BC Alexander joined Pisidia to Phrygia and assigned their control to Antigonos Monophthalmos, the Macedonian satrap of the newly established satrapy of Greater Phrygia which included, apart from Phrygia, Pisidia as well. Greater Phrygia was a largely unstable region, several of its territories, as well as the regions around them, being only nominally «conquered» by Alexander before he moved on to new adventures.