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

Cataonia () was one of the divisions of ancient

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

. 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 "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

, who had visited it, as a level plain surrounded by mountain- on the south by the

Amanus The Nur Mountains (, "Mountains of Holy Light"), formerly known as Alma-Dağ, the ancient Mount Amanus (), medieval Black Mountain, or Jabal al-Lukkam in Arabic, is a mountain range in the Hatay Province of south-central Turkey. It begins sout ...

, and on the west by the

Antitaurus The Anti-Taurus Mountains (from ) or Aladaglar are a mountain range in southern and eastern Turkey, curving northeast from the Taurus Mountains. At , Mount Erciyes ( Turkish: Erciyes Dağı) is the highest peak not just in the range but in cen ...

, which branches off from the

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

Taurus Taurus is Latin for 'bull' and may refer to: * Taurus (astrology), the astrological sign ** Vṛṣabha, in vedic astrology * Taurus (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac * Taurus (mythology), one of two Greek mythological ch ...

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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

). Through the plain of Cataonia flows the river

Pyramus In Greek mythology, Pyramus and Thisbe () are a pair of ill-fated lovers from Babylon, whose story is best known from Ovid's narrative poem ''Metamorphoses''. The tragic myth has been retold by many authors. Pyramus and Thisbe's parents, drive ...

, 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 Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

s. Strabo speaks of a temple of

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

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 Zamantı River is a river in Central Anatolia, Turkey, crossing Kayseri Province in practically its whole course to join Seyhan River further south, of which it is the western, the longest and the most important tributary. Zamantı and Göksu jo ...

.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 is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

, which was in great repute in all Cappadocia.

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

has a list of eleven places in his Cataonia, including

Cabassus Cabassus or Kabassos (), or Cabessus or Kabessos (Καβησσός), or Kabissos, was a town of ancient Cataonia or Cappadocia between Tarsus and Mazaca. It was inhabited during Roman and Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the ...

and

Heraclea Cybistra Heraclea Cybistra (), 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 Province, Turkey. History Middle Bronze ...

, 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 transliterated as Maut and Mout) was a mother goddess worshipped in ancient Egypt. Her name means ''mother'' in the ancient Egyptian language. Mut had many different aspects and attributes that changed and evolved greatly over th ...

(Claudiopolis). Cucusus, mentioned in the

Antonine Itinerary The Antonine Itinerary (, "Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is an , a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly in part from a survey carried out under Augustus, it describes t ...

, is today

Göksun Göksun (, or , ''Koukousós''; or ; ) is a municipality and district of Kahramanmaraş Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,942 km2, and its population is 50,676 (2022). It is near one of the sources of the Ceyhan River (ancient Pyramos), in the ...

. 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