Pitane (Aeolis) in the context of "Hierocles (author of Synecdemus)"

Bakırçay (Latin: Caicus, Ancient Greek: Κάϊκος) is a river in Turkey. It rises in the Gölcük Dağları mountains and debouches into the Gulf of Çandarlı.

In antiquity, the Bakırçay was or formed part of the Kaikos or Caicus River which flowed near the city of Pergamon and was the site of the Battle of the Caecus River. The Kaikos River is mentioned by Hesiod and Plutarch, who claims that its name was originally Astraeus (Ἀστραῖος) but was changed after Caicus, a son of Hermes, threw himself into it after sleeping with his sister Alcippe. However, since the course of the river has changed since antiquity it is not clear how the ancient names apply to the modern geographical features. Leake infers from the direction of L. Scipio's march from Troy to the Hyrcanian plain, that the Caicus was the north-eastern branch of the river of Pergamon which flows by Menduria (possibly Gergitha) and Balıkesir (Caesaraea). The Caicus as it seems is formed by two streams which meet between 50 and 65 km above its mouth, and it drains an extensive and fertile country. Strabo (p. 616) says that the sources of the Caicus are in a plain separated by the range of Temnos from the plain of Apiae, and that the plain of Apia lies above the plain of Thebe in the interior. He adds that there also flows from Tetanus a river (the Mysius) which joins the Caicus below its source. The Caicus enters the sea approximately 12 km from Pitane, and 3 km from Elaea. Elaea was the port of Pergamon, which was on the Caicus, approximately 25 km from Elaea.

Dikili is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 534 km, and its population is 47,360 (2022).

The district is quite picturesque both along its Aegean shoreline and in its inland parts, and is a popular summer resort. The central town of Dikili is about 120 km (75 mi) north of İzmir, served by a good road. The notable township of Çandarlı (ancient Pitane) is located close to Dikili.

Elaea (Ancient Greek: Ἐλαία and Ἐλέα) was an ancient city of Aeolis, Asia, the port of Pergamum. According to the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World, it was located near the modern town of Zeytindağ, İzmir Province, Turkey. The ruins of the silted port's breakwater can be seen on satellite maps at 38°56'35.54"N 27°2'16.34"E.

According to the present text of Stephanus of Byzantium, it was also called Cidaenis (Ancient Greek: Κιδαινίς), and was founded by Menestheus; but it seems likely that there is some error in the reading Cidaenis. Strabo places Elaea south of the river Caicus, 12 stadia from the river, and 120 stadia from Pergamum. The Caicus enters a bay, which was called Elaiticus Sinus, or the bay of Elaea. Strabo calls the bay of Elaea part of the Bay of Adramyttium, but incorrectly. He has the story, which Stephanus has taken from him, that Elaea was a settlement made by Menestheus and the Athenians with him, who joined the war against Troy; but Strabo does not explain how it could be an Aeolian city, if this story was true. Elaea minted coins, which bear the head and name of Menestheus. Some argue that these are some evidence of its Athenian origin; but others, including William Smith discount the connection. Herodotus does not name Elaea among the Aeolian cities. Strabo makes the bay of Elaea terminate on one side in a point called Hydra, and on the other in a promontory Harmatus; and he estimates the width between these points at 80 stadia. Thucydides (viii. 101) places Harmatus opposite to Methymna, from which, and the rest of the narrative, it is clear that he fixes Harmatus in a different place from Strabo. The exact site of Elaea seems to be uncertain. William Martin Leake, in his map, fixes it at a place marked Kliseli, on the road from the south to Pergamum. Scylax (p. 35), Pomponius Mela (i. 18), Pliny (v. 32), and Ptolemy (v. 2), all of whom mention Elaea, do not help us to the precise place; all we learn from them is, that the Caicus flowed between Pitane and Elaea.