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CHAP. XVII.

of Bosporus, as the name of a General in the army of Mithradates, who built the city of Eupatorium in the Minor Cherronesus'. It may further gratify curiosity, to observe the singular mode of spelling the word BooSPORUS, in the third line.

The other is also a barbarous and imperfect inscription:

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Many remains of a similar nature we saw buried in the foundation of the fortress, which it was impossible to recover. Having therefore concluded our researches and journey in this part of Asia, we hired a boat, on the 12th of July, to conduct us to Yenikalé in the Crimea, on the opposite side of the Straits, a distance of twelve miles; being resolved to examine all that side of the Bosporus, and afterwards to explore the whole of the peninsula.

(1) Strab. lib. vii. p. 451. ed. Oxon.

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Top of a Sarcophagus, found in one of the Tumuli of Asiatic Sarmatia, now a Cistern near the Fortress of Yenikale in the Crimea.

CHAP. XVIII.

FROM THE CIMMERIAN BOSPORUS, TO CAFFA.

Passage across the Straits-YENIKALE-Modern Greeks-Marble Soros-Singular Antient Sepulchre - Pharos of MithradatesMedals of the Bosporus-Ruins-KERTCHY-Tomb of Mithradates -View of the Cimmerian Straits- Antiquities of KertchyAccount of a Stranger who died there-Fortress-Church-Havoc made by the Russians - Cause of the Obscurity which prevails concerning the Antient Topography of the Crimea - Departure from Kertchy-Antient Vallum-Locusts - Venomous Insects Gipsies-Cattle-Tartars-Vallum of ASANDER-Arrival at

CAFFA.

WE set sail from Taman on the 12th of July. The distance CHAP. XVIII. to Yenikalé, on the opposite shore, is only eighteen Russian Passage across versts, or twelve English miles. Prosperous gales, and placid the Straits.

weather,

CHAP. XVIII.

Yenikalé.

Weather, soon brought us midway between the European and Asiatic coasts; and, as the sea was tranquil, I profited by the opportunity to delineate the view, both towards the Mæotis and the Euxine. Dolphins, in great numbers, played about our vessel. These animals go in pairs; and it is remarkable how very accurately their appearance corresponds with the description given of them by Pliny'. Arriving opposite Yenikalé, or, as it is frequently written, Jenikalé 2, we found a fleet of Turkish ships waiting favourable winds, both for Taganrock and for Constantinople. Soon after we landed, we obtained lodgings in a neat and comfortable Greek mansion, the owner of which, by birth a Spartan, and a native of Misitra, was a man of integrity and considerable information. His wife was a native of Paros. We found their dwelling an asylum so agreeable, after our long Scythian penance, that we remained there nearly a week. A wooden balcony, or covered gallery, to which their principal apartment opened, gave us a constant view of the Bosporus, with all the opposite Asiatic coast, and of the numerous vessels which at this season of the year are constantly passing to and fro. As the table of our host was free to every comer, we dined with people from almost all parts of Greece and Asia Minor; and their conversation, as they all spoke Italian, was intelligible and interesting. The natives of Cephalonia, a sturdy and athletic race, those of the Morea, of the islands of the Archipelago, of Candia, the South

(1) Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. ix. c. 8.

(2) Yenikalé is compounded of two Turkish or Tartar words, signifying The New Castle.

Amasra, and Con- CHAP. XVIII.

South coast of the Black Sea, Trebisond, Amasra, and Constantinople, amused us by the singularity of their dress and manner, as well as by their conversation.

The house of

Keriâki, for that was the name of our host, was a sort of rendezvous, at which they all met, once in a year, in their voyage to and from Taganrock3. His windows were full of books, printed at Venice, in the modern Greek language, although the characters exactly corresponded with those in use among us; and his boys, during evening, read to him the popular poem of Erotocritus, the Life of Alexander, with the extraordinary anecdotes of his horse Bucephalus, and the History of the Antient Kings of Byzantium. Their mode of pronouncing Greek is much softer than ours, and more like Italian; but they understood me when I endeavoured to read Greek after their manner. Among all the Greeks, the letter B is sounded like our V; and it is very doubtful whether this was not the case in antient times". The natives of the Crimea still call the town of Kertchy Vospor, and the Straits Vospor, although they write the word Bospor. It is worth while to enquire into the origin of the very popular poem of Erotocritus; since, although in rhyme, and certainly of no antient date, the traditions and the stories on which it is founded are common all over Greece, and constitute the favourite topic of their evening tales. They pretend that

the

(3) The name of this place would be more properly Taganrog, as Mr. Heber uniformly writes it.

(4) The late Professor Porson believed that the antient Greeks pronounced the 8 as we do; and, in proof of his opinion, used to cite this verse of Cratinus:

Ὁ δ ̓ ἠλίθιος ὥσπερ πρόβατον βῆ βῆ λίγων βαδίζει.

CHAP. XVIII. the palace of Erotocritus is still to be seen, at a place called Cava Colonna, near Athens; alluding evidently to the promontory and temple of Suñium. Upon the walls of Keriâki's apartments were rude drawings, representing subjects taken from Grecian history; and, among others, was one of Hercules, in a helmet and coat of mail, destroying the Hydra; but they knew nothing of the name of the hero, saying merely that it was the picture of a warrior once famous in Greece, and relating many extravagant tales of his valour, perhaps such as once formed the foundation of those poetic fables which antient writers have handed down, with higher authority, to modern times. The heads of the young Greeks, both male and female, are full of such stories; and, as they much delight in long recitals, these relations constitute the subject of their songs and discourses. In the islands are vagrant bards and improvvisatori, who, like Homer of old, enter villages and towns to collect alms, by singing or reciting the traditions of the country.

Modern
Greeks.

If we may judge of the Greeks in general, from the view we had of them in this part of the Crimea, they are remarkable for cleanliness, and for the attention paid to decency and order in their dwellings. The women are perhaps the most industrious housewives upon earth, and entirely the slaves of the family. Their cookery is simple and wholesome. We never saw them idle. They have no desire to go abroad; and if the employments of the house admit of their sitting down for a short time, they begin to spin, or to wind cotton. Yenikalé is almost wholly inhabited by Greeks. are for the most part absorbed in mercenary speculations;

The men

but

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