Volume I - 1947

Author Category Volume Page Year Language Platon N. PAPERS AND STUDIES 1 14 - 26 1947 Greek Title Two names of non-existant Cretan towns: i. Mation, ii. Tisyroi Summary PDF Attempts to identify certain ancient sites on Crete with the aid of archaeological finds and attestations by ancient historians and geographers run the risk of leading to erroneous readings and misunderstandings. Pliny’s reference to the existence of the imaginary city of Mation, on the north shores of Crete, can be attributed to the incorrect division of the words in the Greek originals he had in mind. In all probability, these had the term ΠΟΛΙΣΜΑΤΙΟΝ. A similar mistake appears to have occurred in the misreading of ΓΟΡΤΥΝΙ, inscribed on certain Gortyna type coins, as ΤΙΣΥΡΟΙ. This resulted in the case being made for an imaginary city of Tisyroi, followed by attempts to identify it with the city of Tityros mentioned by a commentator on Theocritus.