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[8] There is likewise a palace of the Great King1 in Celaenae, strongly fortified and situated at the foot of the Acropolis over the sources of the Marsyas river; the Marsyas also flows through the city, and empties into the Maeander, and its width is twenty-five feet. It was here, according to the story, that Apollo flayed Marsyas,2 after having defeated him in a contest of musical skill; he hung up his skin in the cave from which the sources issue, and it is for this reason that the river is called Marsyas.

1 A title often given by the Greeks to the king of Persia.

2 Marsyas, a Phrygian satyr, was so proud of his skill with the flute that he presumed to challenge Apollo, god of music and master of the lyre. The myth appears to be a record of the supersession of the flute by the lyre in Greek favour.

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hide References (9 total)
  • Commentary references to this page (1):
  • Cross-references to this page (6):
    • Herbert Weir Smyth, A Greek Grammar for Colleges, THE VERB: VOICES
    • Raphael Kühner, Bernhard Gerth, Ausführliche Grammatik der griechischen Sprache, KG 1.3.2
    • Raphael Kühner, Bernhard Gerth, Ausführliche Grammatik der griechischen Sprache, KG 1.pos=2.2
    • Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), MA´RSYAS
    • Basil L. Gildersleeve, Syntax of Classical Greek, The Article
    • Smith's Bio, Ma'rsyas
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