Asia Minor in the Greco-Roman period - general map - regions and main settlements

Cataonia ( grc, Kαταoνία) was one of the divisions of ancient

Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revo ...

. It is described by

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called " Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could s ...

, who had visited it, as a level plain surrounded by mountains: on the south by the Amanus, and on the west by the Antitaurus, which branches off from the

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern co ...

n Taurus and contains deep narrow valleys (in one of which was situated Comana, a considerable city on the river Sarus, which flows through the gaps of the Taurus into Cilicia and the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

). Through the plain of Cataonia flows the river

Pyramus Pyramus and Thisbe are a pair of ill-fated lovers whose story forms part of Ovid's ''Metamorphoses''. The story has since been retold by many authors. Pyramus and Thisbe are two lovers in the city of Babylon who occupy connected houses. Their ...

, which has its source in the middle of the plain, and also passes through the gaps of the Taurus into Cilicia. The plain is very productive, except that it has no

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

s. Strabo speaks of a temple of

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek relig ...

Dacius, where there is a salt-lake of the considerable extent with steep banks, so that the descent to it is like going down steps; it was said that the water never increased, and had no visible outlet. The plain of Cataonia contained no cities, but it had strong forts on the hills, such as Azamora and Dastarcum, round which the Carmalas flowed, probably the modern Zamantı River.A.H.M. Jones, ''The Cities of the Eastern Roman Provinces'' (The Clarendon Press, 1937), p. 431 n12. It also contained a temple of Cataonian

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

, which was in great repute in all Cappadocia.

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

has a list of eleven places in his Cataonia, including Cabassus and

Heraclea Cybistra Heraclea Cybistra ( grc, Ἡράκλεια Κύβιστρα), or simply Heraclea or Herakleia (Ἡράκλεια), also transliterated as Heracleia, was a town of ancient Cappadocia or Cilicia; located at the site of modern Ereğli in Konya Prov ...

, which is far beyond the limits of Strabo's Cataonia. In fact Ptolemy's Cataonia, if there is truth in it, must be a different division of the country. Cataonia also contains

Mut Mut, also known as Maut and Mout, was a mother goddess worshipped in ancient Egypt and the Kingdom of Kush in present-day North Sudan. In Meroitic, her name was pronounced mata): 𐦨𐦴. Her name means ''mother'' in the ancient Egyptian l ...

(Claudiopolis). Cucusus, mentioned in the

Antonine Itinerary The Antonine Itinerary ( la, Itinerarium Antonini Augusti, "The Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is a famous ''itinerarium'', a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly ...

, is today Göksun. The inhabitants of Cataonia were distinguished by the ancients from the other Cappadocians as a different people, but Strabo could observe no difference in manners or in language.

References

* Smith, William (editor);
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography
'
"Cataonia"
London, 1854.

Notes

Ancient Cappadocia {{AncientCappadocia-geo-stub