Phanaroea
It was largely in the valleys of the Lycus and the Iris that the economic life of interior Pontus was concentrated. The plains through which these rivers flow, rising "like terraces one above another," enjoy the advantages of a mild climate and a fertile soil and so produced rich harvests of grain and fruit; and through them led the highways that connected this remote portion of Asia Minor with the East and West. The most fertile of all was Phanaroea.... This "Garden of Pontus" was rich in olives and vines and "possessed all other good qualities."
—David Magie[1]
The Phanaroea plain (Φανάροια), the modern Erbaa Plain (Erbaa Ovası), is a plain lying mostly in the
In the 20th century, it produced grain, fruit, vegetables, tobacco, rice, and opium poppy.[2]
The ancient city of Eupatoria lay near the confluence of the two rivers. The ancient city of Cabira was probably located in the Niksar plain.
Strabo describes Phanaroea as rich in olives and vines and having the best soil in the Pontus.
See also
Notes
- ISBN 1400849799,1:178
- ISBN 90-04-07591-7. p. 6f.