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61

from Stratonice herself, by name Phila. And so the same Seleucus reigned over Syria and all of Asia and of Babylonia and Palestine for 43 years. But Seleucus Nicator, immediately after the victory over Antigonus 199 the Poliorcetes, wishing to found various cities, began to build first on the coast of Syria. And going down to the sea, he saw a small city lying on the mountain, which Syrus the son of Agenor had founded. And on the 23rd of the month Xanthicus he came to sacrifice on Mount Casius to Zeus Casius; and having completed the sacrifice and cut the meat, he prayed where he should found a city. And suddenly an eagle snatched from the sacrifice and carried it down to the old city; and Seleucus and the augurs with him pursued after it, and he found the meat thrown down by the sea below the old city in the emporium of the so-called Pieria. And having immediately marked out the walls, he laid the foundations, calling it the city of Seleucia in his own name. And giving thanks he went up to Iopolis and after three days he celebrated a festival there to Zeus Keraunios in the temple founded by Perseus the son of Picus and Danae, which is on Mount Silpius, where Iopolis lies, having made the sacrifice on the first of the month of Artemisius. And having come to the city of Antigonia, which was founded by Antigonus the Poliorcetes, for since another river, Archeuthas who is also Iaphtha, comes out of the lake, the city of Antigonia was in the middle and was situated in safety; and having made a sacrifice there to Zeus on the altars founded by Antigonus, he cut the meat; and he prayed together with the priest Amphion to learn through a given sign, if he ought to inhabit the same city of Antigonia, renaming it, or if he ought not 200 to inhabit it but to found another city in another place. And suddenly from the air a great eagle came down, and it lifted meat from the altar of the fire of the whole-burnt offering, and it went away to Mount Silpius. And pursuing together with his men, he found the priestly meat and the eagle standing above it. And when the priest and the augurs and Seleucus himself had seen the wonder, they said that, "Here we must dwell, but in Antigonia we must not dwell nor let it become a city, because the divine powers do not wish it." And so he took counsel with them in what place he would make the city safe. And fearing the flows from Mount Silpius and the torrents coming down from it, in the plain of the valley opposite the mountain near the great Dracon river, which was renamed Orontes, where the village called Bottia was, opposite Iopolis, there they marked out the foundations of the wall, having sacrificed through Amphion the high priest and initiator a virgin girl named Aemathe, in the middle of the city and the river in the month of Artemisius, which is also May, on the 22nd, at the 1st hour of the day, as the sun was rising, calling it Antioch in the name of his own son who was called Antiochus Soter, immediately founding also a temple, which he called of Zeus Bottios, and raising the walls zealously and fearfully through Xenaios the architect, setting 201 up a bronze statue-stele of the sacrificed maiden as the Tyche of the city above the river, immediately making a sacrifice to this Tyche. And going away he destroyed the whole city of Antigonia to its foundations, transferring the materials from there by way of the river, and having made for the Tyche of Antigonia a statue of a bronze stele holding a horn of Amaltheia in front of her. And having made there a tetrakionin on high, he set up this Tyche, establishing a high altar in front of her; which stele of the Tyche after the death of Seleucus, Demetrius the son of Antigonus the Poliorcetes carried away to Rhosus in the city of Cilicia. And this same city of Rhosus was founded by Cilix the son of Agenor.

61

ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς Στρατονίκης ὀνόματι Φίλαν. καὶ λοιπὸν ἐβασίλευσεν ὁ αὐτὸς Σέλευκος τῆς Συρίας καὶ τῆς Ἀσίας πάσης καὶ τῆς Βαβυλῶνος καὶ Παλαιστίνης ἔτη μγʹ. Ὁ δὲ Νικάτωρ Σέλευκος εὐθέως μετὰ τὴν νίκην Ἀντιγόνου 199 τοῦ Πολιορκητοῦ, βουλόμενος κτίσαι πόλεις διαφόρους ἤρξατο κτίζειν πρῶτον εἰς τὴν πάραλον τῆς Συρίας. καὶ κατελθὼν παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν εἶδεν ἐν τῷ ὄρει κειμένην πόλιν μικράν, ἥντινα ἔκτισε Σύρος ὁ υἱὸς Ἀγήνορος. τῇ δὲ κγʹ τοῦ ξανθικοῦ μηνὸς ἦλθε θυσιάσαι εἰς τὸ ὄρος τὸ Κάσιον ∆ιὶ Κασίῳ· καὶ πληρώσας τὴν θυσίαν καὶ κόψας τὰ κρέα ηὔξατο ποῦ χρὴ κτίσαι πόλιν. καὶ ἐξαίφνης ἥρπασεν ἀετὸς ἀπὸ τῆς θυσίας καὶ κατήγαγεν ἐπὶ τὴν παλαιὰν πόλιν· καὶ κατεδίωξεν ὀπίσω Σέλευκος καὶ οἱ μετ' αὐτοῦ ὀρνοσκόποι, καὶ ηὗρε τὸ κρέας ῥιφὲν παρὰ θάλασσαν κάτω τῆς παλαιᾶς πόλεως ἐν τῷ ἐμπορίῳ τῆς λεγομένης Πιερίας. καὶ περιχαράξας τὰ τείχη εὐθέως ἔβαλε θεμελίους, καλέσας αὐτὴν Σελεύκειαν πόλιν εἰς ἴδιον ὄνομα. καὶ εὐχαριστῶν ἀνῆλθεν εἰς Ἰώπολιν καὶ μετὰ τρεῖς ἡμέρας ἐπετέλεσεν ἑορτὴν ἐκεῖ τῷ Κεραυνίῳ ∆ιὶ ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ τῷ κτισθέντι ὑπὸ Περσέως τοῦ υἱοῦ Πίκου καὶ ∆ανάης, τῷ ὄντι εἰς τὸ Σίλπιον ὄρος, ἔνθα κεῖται ἡ Ἰώπολις, ποιήσας τὴν θυσίαν τῇ πρώτῃ τοῦ ἀρτεμισίου μηνός. καὶ ἐν τῇ πόλει ἐλθὼν Ἀντιγονίᾳ τῇ κτισθείσῃ ὑπὸ Ἀντιγόνου τοῦ Πολιορκητοῦ, ἀπὸ γὰρ τῆς λίμνης ἐξερχομένου ἄλλου ποταμοῦ Ἀρχευθᾶ τοῦ καὶ Ἰάφθα, ἐμεσάζετο ἡ πόλις Ἀντιγονία καὶ ἐν ἀσφαλείᾳ ἐκαθέζετο· καὶ ποιήσας ἐκεῖ θυσίαν τῷ ∆ιὶ εἰς τοὺς βωμοὺς τοὺς ἀπὸ Ἀντιγόνου κτισθέντας ἔκοψε τὰ κρέα· καὶ ηὔξατο ἅμα τῷ ἱερεῖ Ἀμφίονι μαθεῖν διὰ διδομένου σημείου, εἰ τὴν αὐτὴν ὀφείλει οἰκῆσαι πόλιν Ἀντιγονίαν μετονομάζων αὐτὴν ἢ οὐκ ὀφείλει 200 αὐτὴν οἰκῆσαι ἀλλὰ κτίσαι πόλιν ἄλλην ἐν ἄλλῳ τόπῳ. καὶ ἐξαίφνης ἐκ τοῦ ἀέρος κατῆλθεν ἀετὸς μέγας, καὶ ἐπῆρεν ἐκ τοῦ βωμοῦ τοῦ πυρὸς τῆς ὁλοκαυτώσεως κρέα, καὶ ἀπῆλθε παρὰ τὸ ὄρος τὸ Σίλπιον. καὶ καταδιώξας ἅμα τοῖς αὐτοῦ εὗρε τὸ κρέας τὸ ἱερατικὸν καὶ τὸν ἀετὸν ἐπάνω ἑστῶτα. τοῦ δὲ ἱερέως καὶ τῶν ὀρνοσκόπων καὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ Σελεύκου ἑωρακότων τὸ θαῦμα, εἶπον ὅτι Ἐνταῦθα δεῖ ἡμᾶς οἰκῆσαι, ἐν τῇ δὲ Ἀντιγονίᾳ οὐ δεῖ ἡμᾶς οἰκῆσαι οὔτε δὲ γενέσθαι αὐτὴν πόλιν, ὅτι οὐ βούλονται τὰ θεῖα. καὶ λοιπὸν ἐβουλεύετο ἅμα αὐτοῖς ἐν ποίῳ τόπῳ ἀσφαλῆ ποιήσει τὴν πόλιν. καὶ φοβηθεὶς τὰς ῥύσεις τοῦ Σιλπίου ὄρους καὶ τοὺς κατερχομένους ἐξ αὐτοῦ χειμάῤῥους, ἐν τῇ πεδιάδι τοῦ αὐλῶνος κατέναντι τοῦ ὄρους πλησίον τοῦ ∆ράκοντος ποταμοῦ τοῦ μεγάλου τοῦ μετακληθέντος Ὀρόντου, ὅπου ἦν ἡ κώμη ἡ καλουμένη Βωττία, ἄντικρυς τῆς Ἰωπόλεως, ἐκεῖ διεχάραξαν τὰ θεμέλια τοῦ τείχους, θυσιάσας δι' Ἀμφίονος ἀρχιερέως καὶ τελεστοῦ κόρην παρθένον ὀνόματι Αἰμάθην, κατὰ μέσου τῆς πόλεως καὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ μηνὶ ἀρτεμισίῳ τῷ καὶ μαΐῳ κβʹ, ὥρᾳ ἡμερινῇ αʹ, τοῦ ἡλίου ἀνατέλλοντος, καλέσας αὐτὴν Ἀντιόχειαν εἰς ὄνομα τοῦ ἰδίου αὐτοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ λεγομένου Ἀντιόχου Σωτῆρος, κτίσας εὐθέως καὶ ἱερόν, ὃ ἐκάλεσε Βωττίου ∆ιός, ἀνεγείρας καὶ τὰ τείχη σπουδαίως φοβερὰ διὰ Ξεναίου ἀρχιτέκτονος, στή 201 σας ἀνδριάντος στήλην χαλκῆν τῆς σφαγιασθείσης κόρης τύχην τῇ πόλει ὑπεράνω τοῦ ποταμοῦ, εὐθέως ποιήσας αὐτῇ τῇ τύχῃ θυσίαν. καὶ ἀπελθὼν κατέστρεψε τὴν Ἀντιγονίαν πόλιν πᾶσαν ἕως ἐδάφους, μετενεγκὼν καὶ τὰς ὕλας ἐκεῖθεν διὰ τοῦ ποταμοῦ, καὶ ποιήσας καὶ τῇ τύχῃ Ἀντιγονίᾳ ἀνδριάντα στήλης χαλκῆς ἐχούσης Ἀμαλθείας κέρας ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῆς. καὶ ποιήσας ἐκεῖ τετρακιόνιν ἐν ὕψει ἔστησεν αὐτὴν τὴν τύχην, καταστήσας ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῆς βωμὸν ὑψηλόν· ἥντινα στήλην τῆς τύχης μετὰ τελευτὴν Σελεύκου ∆ημήτριος ὁ υἱὸς Ἀντιγόνου τοῦ Πολιορκητοῦ ἀπήγαγεν ἐν Ῥώσῳ ἐν τῇ πόλει τῆς Κιλικίας. ἡ δὲ αὐτὴ πόλις Ῥῶσος ἐκτίσθη ὑπὸ Κίλικος τοῦ υἱοῦ Ἀγήνορος.