Strabo Geography 13.1.7

[7] Now as for Homer’s statements, those who have studied the subject more carefully ¹ conjecture from them that the whole of this coast became subject to the Trojans, and, though divided into nine dynasties, was under the sway of Priam at the time of the Trojan War and was called Troy. And this is clear from his detailed statements. For instance, Achilles and his army, seeing at the outset that the inhabitants of Ilium were enclosed by walls, tried to carry on the war outside and, by making raids all round, to take away from them all the surrounding places: ² For by “Troy” he means the part of the mainland that was sacked by him; and, along with other places, Achilles also sacked the country opposite Lesbos in the neighborhood of Thebe and Lyrnessus and Pedasus, ³ which last belonged to the Leleges, and also the country of Eurypylus the son of Telephus. ⁴ that is, the hero Eurypylus, slain by Neoptolemus. Now the poet says that these places were sacked, including Lesbos itself: ⁵ and ⁶ and ⁷ It was at Lyrnessus that Briseïs was taken captive, ⁸ and it was at her capture, according to the poet, that Mynes and Epistrophus fell, as is shown by the lament of Briseïs over Patroclus: ⁹ for in calling Lyrnessus “the city of divine Mynes” the poet indicates that Mynes was dynast over it and that he fell in battle there. But it was at Thebe that Chryseïs was taken captive: ¹⁰ and the poet says that Chryseïs was part of the spoil brought from that place. ¹¹ Thence, too, came Andromache: ¹³ This is the second Trojan dynasty after that of Mynes. And consistently with these facts writers think that the following statement of Andromache, ¹⁴ should not be interpreted strictly, I mean the words “thou in Troy, but I at Thebae” (or Thebe), but as a case of hyperbaton, meaning “both of us in Troy—thou in the house of Priam, but I at Thebae.” The third dynasty was that of the Leleges, which was also Trojan: ¹⁵ by whose daughter Priam begot Lycaon and Polydorus. And indeed those who are placed under Hector in the Catalogue are called Trojans: ¹⁶ And then come those under Aeneias: ¹⁷ and these, too, were Trojans; at any rate, the poet says, ¹⁸ And then come the Lycians under Pandarus, and these also he calls Trojans: ²⁰ And this was the sixth dynasty. And indeed those who lived between the Aesepus River and Abydus were Trojans; for not only were the parts round Abydus subject to Asius, ²³ but a son of Priam lived at Abydus, pasturing mares, clearly his father’s: ²⁴ while in Percote a son of Hicetaon was pasturing kine, he likewise pasturing kine that belonged to no other: ^{25 26} so that this country would be a part of the Troad, as also the next country after it as far as Adrasteia, for the leaders of the latter were ²⁷ Accordingly, the people from Abydus to Adrasteia were all Trojans, although they were divided into two groups, one under Asius and the other under the sons of Merops, just as Cilicia ²⁸ also was divided into two parts, the Theban Cilicia and the Lyrnessian; ²⁹ but one might include in the Lyrnessian Cilicia the territory subject to Eurypylus, which lay next to the Lyrnessian Cilicia. ³⁰ But that Priam was ruler of these countries, one and all, is clearly indicated by Achilles’ words to Priam: ³¹

[7] Those who have paid particular attention to this subject conjecture, from the expressions of the poet, that all this coast was subject to the Trojans, when it was divided into nine dynasties, but that at the time of the war it was under the sway of Priam, and called Troja. This appears from the detail. Achilles and his army perceiving, at the beginning of the war, that the inhabitants of Ilium were defended by walls, carried on the war beyond them, made a circuit, and took the places about the country; By Troja he means the continent which he had ravaged. Among other places which had been plundered, was the country opposite Lesbos,—that about Thebe, Lyrnessus, and Pedasus belonging to the Leleges, and the territory also of Eurypylus, the son of Telephus; and Neoptolemus, The poet says these places were laid waste, and even Lesbos;

when he took the well-built Lesbos, ³

Il. ix. 129. and,

he sacked Lyrnessus and Pedasus, ⁴

Il. xx. 92. and,

laid waste Lyrnessus, and the walls of Thebe. ⁵

Il. ii. 691. Briseïs was taken captive at Lyrnessus;

whom he carried away from Lyrnessus. ⁶

Il. ii. 690. In the capture of this place the poet says, Mynes and Epistrophus were slain, as Briseïs mentions in her lament over Patroclus, for by calling Lyrnessus the city of the divine Mynes, the poet implies that it was governed by him who was killed fighting in its defence.

Chryseïs was carried away from Thebe;

we came to Thebe, the sacred city of Eetion, ⁸

Il. i. 366. and Chryseïs is mentioned among the booty which was carried off from that place.

This is the second Trojan dynasty after that of Mynes, and in agreement with what has been observed are these words of Andromache; The words are not to be understood in their direct sense, but by a transposition; both born in Troja, thou in the house of Priam, but I at Thebe.

The third dynasty is that of the Leleges, which is also a Trojan dynasty;

of Altes, the king of the war-loving Leleges, ¹⁰

Il. xxi. 86. by whose daughter Priam had Lycaon and Polydorus. Even the people, who in the Catalogue are said to be commanded by Hector, are called Trojans;

Hector, the mighty, with the nodding crest, commanded the Trojans; ¹¹

Il. iii. 816. then those under Aeneas,

the brave son of Anchises had the command of the Dardanii, ¹²

Il. ii. 819. and these were Trojans, for the poet says,

Thou, Aeneas, that counsellest Trojans; ¹³

Il. xx. 83. then the Lycians under the command of Pandarus he calls Trojans; This is the sixth dynasty.

The people, also, who lived between the Aesepus and Abydos were Trojans, for the country about Abydos was governed by Asius; Now it is manifest that a son of Priam, who had the care of his father’s brood mares, dwelt at Abydos; At Percote, ¹⁷ the son of Hicetaon was the herdsman of oxen, but not of those belonging to strangers; so that this country also was part of the Troad, and the subsequent tract as far as Adrasteia, for it was governed by

the two sons of Merops of Percote. ¹⁹

Il. ii. 831.

All therefore were Trojans from Abydos to Adrasteia, divided, however, into two bodies, one governed by Asius, the other by the Meropidae, as the country of the Cilicians is divided into the Thebaic and the Lyrnessian Cilicia. To this district may have belonged the country under the sway of Eurypylus, for it follows next to the Lyrnessis, or territory of Lyrnessus. ²⁰

That Priam ²¹ was king of all these countries the words with which Achilles addresses him clearly show;