The Caicos is a river in Mysia. It used to be called the Astraios after Astraios, son of Poseidon. He violently raped his sister during a night-time festival of Athena without realizing who she was and took from the aforementioned her ring. The next day he recognised his own sister’s signet. Overwhelmed with grief, he threw himself into the Adouros river, which was renamed the Astraios after him.

It came to be called the Caicos for this reason. Caicos, son of Hermes and the nymph Ocyrrhoe, murdered Timandros, one of the elites. Fearing Timandros’ relatives, he threw himself into the Astraios, which was renamed the Caicos after him.

There is produced in this river a poppy that bears stones rather than seeds. Some of these are black and similar to wheat. The Mysians throw them into freshly-ploughed land. If it is not going to produce much, they remain in place where they fell. But if a good crop is forecast, the little stones leap about like locusts.

There grows also a plant called helipharmacos ( sun-drug or nail-drug) which doctors apply to women who are haemorrhaging and thus stop the blood-flow from the veins. Timagoras recounts this in book 1 of his On Rivers.

Nearby is Mount Teuthras which was named after Teuthras, king of the Mysians. He climbed Mount Thrasyllon to go hunting, saw an enormous boar and pursued it with his bodyguards. It escaped and took refuge as a suppliant in the sanctuary of Artemis Orthosia. While they were all forcing their way into the temple, the swine cried out loudly, proclaiming in a human voice: King, spare the favoured creature of the goddess!. But Teuthras was caught up in the moment and killed the animal. Artemis was insulted by this act. She restored the boar to life and, as a punishment for what he had done, inflicted vitiligo and madness upon Teuthras. Ashamed of these afflictions, he lived thereafter on the heights. Lysippe, the mother of the aforementioned, learned of what had happened and ran into the woods. She brought with her the seer Polyidos, son of Coiranos. Together they investigated the matter fully and uncovered the truth; she sacrificed bulls to the goddess and so soothed her outrage. Once she had recovered her son – now of sound mind – she dedicated an altar to Artemis Orthosia. Then she adorned it with a golden boar rendered with a human head. And still today, this golden boar, pursued by hunters, enters the temple and cries out Spare me!. Teuthras, who had against all hope regained his original appearance, renamed the mountain Teuthras

There is produced on this mountain a stone called antipathes ( counter-effect). When dissolved in wine it does wonders against vitiligo and leprosy. Ctesias of Cnidos recounts this in book 2 of his On Mountains.

CAICUS is a river of Mysia, formerly called Astraeus, from Astraeus the son of Neptune. For he, in the height of Minerva’s nocturnal solemnities having deflowered his sister by a mistake, took a ring at the same time from her finger; by which when he understood the next day the error which he had committed, for grief he threw himself headlong into the river Adurus, which from thence was called Astraeus. Afterwards it came to be called Caicus upon this occasion.

Caicus, the son of Hermes and Ocyrrhoe the Nymph, having slain Timander one of the noblemen of the country, and fearing the revenge of his relations, flung himself into the river Astraeus, which from that accident was called Caicus.

In this river grows a sort of poppy, which instead of fruit bears stones. Of these there are some which are black and shaped like harps, which the Mysians throw upon their ploughed lands; and if the stones lie still in the place where they are thrown, it is a sign of a barren year; but if they fly away like so many locusts, they prognosticate a plentiful harvest.

In the same river also grows an herb which is called elipharmacus, which the physicians apply to such as are troubled with immoderate fluxes of blood, as having a peculiar virtue to stop the orifices of the veins;—according to the relation of Timagoras in his First Book of Rivers.

Adjoining to the banks of this river lies the mountain Teuthras, so called from Teuthras king of the Mysians; who in pursuance of his sport, as he was a hunting, ascending the hill Thrasyllus and seeing a monstrous wild boar, followed him close with the rest of his train. On the other side, the boar, to prevent the hunters, like a suppliant fled to the temple of Orthosian Diana, into which when the hunters were about to force their entrance, the boar in articulate words cried out, Spare, O king, the nursling of the Goddess. However, Teuthras, exalted with his good success, killed the poor boar. At which Diana was so highly offended, that she restored the boar to life, but struck the offender with scurf and madness. Which affliction the king not enduring betook himself to the tops of the mountains. But his mother Leucippe, understanding what had befallen her son, ran to the forest, taking along with her the soothsayer Polyidus, the son of Coeranus; by whom being informed of all the several circumstances of the matter, by many sacrifices she at last atoned the anger of the Goddess, and having quite recovered and cured her son, erected an altar to Orthosian Diana, and caused a golden boar to be made with a man’s face. Which to this day, if pursued by the hunters, enters the temple, and speaks with the voice of a man the word spare. Thus Teuthras, being restored to his former health, called the mountain by his own name Teuthras.

In this mountain grows a stone called antipathes (or the resister), which is of excellent virtue to cure scabs and leprosies, being powdered and mixed with wine;—as Ctesias the Cnidian tells us in his Second Book of Mountains.