Maeander River
Encyclopedia
The Büyük Menderes River (historically the Maeander or Meander); , Ancient Greek
: Μαίανδρος, Maíandros) is a river in southwestern Turkey
. It rises in west central Turkey near Dinar before flowing west through the Büyük Menderes graben
until reaching the Aegean Sea
in the proximity of the ancient Ionia
n city Miletus
. The word "meander
" is used to describe a winding pattern, after the river (see below).
in Asia Minor
. It appears earliest in the Catalog of Trojans
of Homer
's Iliad
along with Miletus
and Mycale
.
in Phrygia
(now Dinar), where it gushed forth in a park of Cyrus
. According to some its sources were the same as those of the river Marsyas; but this is irreconcilable with Xenophon, according to whom the sources of the two rivers were only near each other, the Marsyas rising in a royal palace. Others state that the Maeander flowed out of a lake on Mount Aulocrene. William Martin Leake
reconciles all these apparently different statements by the remark that both the Maeander and the Marsyas have their origin in the lake on Mount Aulocrene, above Celaenae, but that they issue at different parts of the mountain below the lake.
The Maeander was so celebrated in antiquity for its numerous windings, that its classical name "Maeander" became, and still is, proverbial. Its whole course has a southwesterly direction on the south of the range of Mount Messogis. South of Tripolis
it receives the waters of the Lycus
, whereby it becomes a river of some importance. Near Carura
it passes from Phrygia into Caria
, where it flows in its tortuous course through the Maeandrian plain, and finally discharges itself in the Gulf of Icaros (an arm of the Aegean Sea
), between Priene
and Myus
, opposite to the Ionia
n city of Miletus
, from which its mouth is only 10 stadia distant.
.
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
: Μαίανδρος, Maíandros) is a river in southwestern Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. It rises in west central Turkey near Dinar before flowing west through the Büyük Menderes graben
Graben
In geology, a graben is a depressed block of land bordered by parallel faults. Graben is German for ditch. Graben is used for both the singular and plural....
until reaching the Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
in the proximity of the ancient Ionia
Ionia
Ionia is an ancient region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey, the region nearest İzmir, which was historically Smyrna. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements...
n city Miletus
Miletus
Miletus was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia , near the mouth of the Maeander River in ancient Caria...
. The word "meander
Meander
A meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse. A meander is formed when the moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternately eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the...
" is used to describe a winding pattern, after the river (see below).
Ancient geography
The Maeander was a celebrated river of CariaCaria
Caria was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined the Carian population in forming Greek-dominated states there...
in Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
. It appears earliest in the Catalog of Trojans
Trojan Battle Order
The Trojan Battle Order or Trojan Catalogue is a section of the second book of the Iliad listing the allied contingents that fought for Troy in the Trojan War...
of Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
's Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
along with Miletus
Miletus
Miletus was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia , near the mouth of the Maeander River in ancient Caria...
and Mycale
Mycale
Mycale, also Mykale and Mycali , called Samsun Daği and Dilek Daği in modern Turkey, is a mountain on the west coast of central Anatolia in Turkey, north of the mouth of the Maeander and divided from the Greek island of Samos by the 1300 metre wide Samos Strait...
.
Source
The river has its sources not far from CelaenaeCelaenae
Celaenae or Kelainai , was an ancient city of Phrygia and capital of the Persian satrapy of Greater Phrygia, near the source of the Maeander River in what is today west central Turkey , and was situated on the great trade route to the East.It is first mentioned by Herodotus, in Book VII of his...
in Phrygia
Phrygia
In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
(now Dinar), where it gushed forth in a park of Cyrus
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia , commonly known as Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus the Elder, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much...
. According to some its sources were the same as those of the river Marsyas; but this is irreconcilable with Xenophon, according to whom the sources of the two rivers were only near each other, the Marsyas rising in a royal palace. Others state that the Maeander flowed out of a lake on Mount Aulocrene. William Martin Leake
William Martin Leake
William Martin Leake, FRS , British antiquarian and topographer, was born in London.After completing his education at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and spending four years in the West Indies as lieutenant of marine artillery, he was sent by the government to Constantinople to instruct the...
reconciles all these apparently different statements by the remark that both the Maeander and the Marsyas have their origin in the lake on Mount Aulocrene, above Celaenae, but that they issue at different parts of the mountain below the lake.
Course
Tripolis (Phrygia)
Tripolis – also Neapolis, Apollonia, and Antoninopolis – was an ancient city of Phrygia Tripolis – also Neapolis, Apollonia, and Antoninopolis – was an ancient city of Phrygia Tripolis – also Neapolis, Apollonia, and Antoninopolis – was an ancient city of...
it receives the waters of the Lycus
Lycus (river of Phrygia)
Lycus or Lykos was the name of a river in ancient Phrygia, a tributary of the Maeander, which it joins a few km south of Tripolis. It had its sources in the eastern parts of Mount Cadmus Lycus or Lykos was the name of a river in ancient Phrygia, a tributary of the Maeander, which it joins a few...
, whereby it becomes a river of some importance. Near Carura
Carura
Carura was an ancient town of Asia Minor on the north-eastern border of Caria.Its position east of the range of Cadmus assigns it to Phrygia, under which country Strabo describes it. It was on the south side of the Maeander River, 20 miles west of Laodicea to Ephesus...
it passes from Phrygia into Caria
Caria
Caria was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined the Carian population in forming Greek-dominated states there...
, where it flows in its tortuous course through the Maeandrian plain, and finally discharges itself in the Gulf of Icaros (an arm of the Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
), between Priene
Priene
Priene was an ancient Greek city of Ionia at the base of an escarpment of Mycale, about north of the then course of the Maeander River, from today's Aydin, from today's Söke and from ancient Miletus...
and Myus
Myus
Myus, Caria was an ancient city-state and was one of twelve major settlements formed in the Ionian Confederation, called the Ionian League. The city was said to have been founded by Cyaretus , a son of Codrus. Myus was a small peninsula, it is now however surrounded by land...
, opposite to the Ionia
Ionia
Ionia is an ancient region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey, the region nearest İzmir, which was historically Smyrna. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements...
n city of Miletus
Miletus
Miletus was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia , near the mouth of the Maeander River in ancient Caria...
, from which its mouth is only 10 stadia distant.
Tributaries
The tributaries of the Maeander include the Orgyas, Marsyas, Cludrus, Lethaeus, and Gaeson, in the north; and the Obrimas, Lycus, Harpasus, and a second Marsyas in the south.Physical description
The Maeander is a deep river, but not very broad. In many parts its depth equals its breadth and, so, it is navigable only by small craft. It frequently overflows its banks and, as a result of the quantity of mud it deposits at its mouth, the coast has been pushed about 20 or 30 stadia further into the sea and several small islands off the coast have become united with the mainland.Mythology
There was a legend about a subterraneous connection between the Maeander and the Alpheus River in ElisElis
Elis, or Eleia is an ancient district that corresponds with the modern Elis peripheral unit...
.
See also
- MeanderMeanderA meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse. A meander is formed when the moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternately eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the...
- Battle of the MeanderBattle of the MeanderThe Battle of the Meander took place in December 1147, during the Second Crusade. The French crusader army, led by Louis VII of France, successfully fended off an ambush by the Seljuks of Rum at the Büyük Menderes River ....