CHALCEDON (city in Bithynia)
Ancient city of Bithynia in modern-day Turkey
- Kind of place
- City
- Region
- Bithynia
- Where
- 40.98° N, 29.03° E
A white rock projects from the shore of this city. Pliny, Nat. Hist. 9.20 ¶1 It was also named the City of the Blind. Pliny, Nat. Hist. 5.43 ¶1 Tunnies flee towards Byzantium when they see the white rock near Chalcedon. Pliny, Nat. Hist. 9.20 ¶1
Described in the sources
Chalcedon is located at the straits that mark the northern boundary of Bithynia. Pliny, Nat. Hist. 5.43 ¶1 +3 Chalcedon is separated from Byzantium by a channel one mile wide, a distance of seven stadia. Pliny, Nat. Hist. 5.43 ¶1 +1 It was later called Colpusa. Pliny, Nat. Hist. 5.43 ¶1 The town is described as being free. Pliny, Nat. Hist. 5.43 ¶1 Xenophanes was a native of this city. Athenaeus 1.5 It was formerly known by the name Procerastis. Pliny, Nat. Hist. 5.43 ¶1 Metrodorus married a wealthy woman in this city. Strabo 13.1.55 It is located sixty-two miles away from Nicomedia. Pliny, Nat. Hist. 5.43 ¶1 The city of Chrysopolis formerly stood beyond Chalcedon. Pliny, Nat. Hist. 5.43 ¶2 Chalcedon is noted as a location where oysters can be caught. Athenaeus 3.44
Stories and history
The people of Calchedon established their settlement seventeen years before the Byzantines did. Herodotus 4.144.2 +1 The city contains a temple. Strabo 12.3.7 Otanes captured the city during his governorship. Herodotus 5.26.1 The city's inhabitants were the first to arrive in these coastal regions. Strabo 7.6.2 Metrodorus received the nickname Chalcedonian because of his marriage there. Strabo 13.1.55 The city's people received no share of the fish revenue due to fish behavior. Strabo 7.6.2 The site of Byzantium is considered preferable in every respect to Chalcedon. Pliny, Nat. Hist. 5.43 ¶1 Chalcedon suffers significant economic loss because fishing occurs at Byzantium instead. Pliny, Nat. Hist. 9.20 ¶1 Apollo called the founders of Chalcedon the Blind for choosing a barren coast over a more profitable opposite shore. Strabo 7.6.2