BOOK V. XIV. 68-xv. 70 



lake is recorded by some WTiters as having measured 

 150 milcs romid — Herodotus gave it as reaching the 

 foot of Mount El Kas ; but it is now an inconsider- 

 able fen. There are the towns of El-Arish and 

 inland Refah, Gaza and inland Anthedon, and Mount 

 Argaris. Further along the coast is the region of 

 Samaria, the free town Ascalon, Ashdod, the two 

 towns named lamnea, one of them inland ; and the 

 Phoenician city of Joppa. This is said to have 

 existed before the flood;" it is situated on a hill, 

 and in front of it is a rock on wliich they point out 

 marks made by the chains with which Andromeda 

 was fettered ; * here there is a cult of the legendary 

 goddess Ceto. Next Apollonia, and the Tower of 

 Strato, otherwise Caesarea, founded by King Herod, 

 but now the colony called Prima Fla^ia estabUshed 

 by the Emperor Vespasian ; this is the frontier of 

 Palestine, 189 miles from the confines of Arabia. 

 After this comes Phoenicia, and inland Samaria; 

 the towns are Naplous, formerly called Mamortha, 

 Scbustieh on a mountain, and on a loftier mountain 

 Gamala. 



XV. Beyond Idimnaca and Samaria stretches the Judaea. 

 wide expanse of Judaea. Tlie pai-t of Judaea adjoin- 

 ing Syria is called Gahlee, and that next to Arabia 

 and Egypt Peraea. Peraea is covered with rugged 

 mountains, and is separated from the other parts of 

 Judaea by the river Jordan. The rest of Judaea is 

 divided into ten Local Government Areas in the 

 following order : the district of Jericho, which has 

 numerous palm-groves and springs of water, and 

 those of Emmaus, Lydda, Joppa, Accrabim, Juiria, 

 Timnath-Serah, Beth-lebaoth, tlie Hills, the district 

 that formerly contained Jerusalem, by far the most 



273 



