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GIOVANNI MARITI
Travels in the Island of Cyprus
page 163

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CH. xxix] Of the Site of Citium 159 who gave it a Greek form Cition, which does not depart very widely from Chetimus." We need not insist that Kittim was the builder of Citium. He may have been the first to settle inhabitants there, who were reinforced later by Phoenician colonists. Indeed the foundation of Citium, as well as of Lapethos, is ascribed to Belus, King of Tyre. Of the vicissitudes of Citium, and its famous men, I have spoken briefly in Chap. in. The nine kingdoms of Cyprus fell under the successors of Alexander, but the final destruction of Citium I would put as late as A.D. 210. Now where was the city situate ? Ptolemy and Strabo set it west of Cape Dades, which I identify with Cape Pyla, my friend with Cape Citi. It is true that Cape Citi is thus left without an ancient name. But Porcacchi, Lusignan and later travellers were misled by the similarity of the names into fixing the site of ancient Citium upon that of the modern village of Citi, whereas it really occupied a part of the present town of Larnaca, stretching thence towards the newer suburb of Salines. Of its port, the same which Strabo calls "a closed harbour," the remains were in my day fully visible, and on a hill above it a windmill occupied the room of some old light-tower or fort. In Citi no vestige has been found of ancient buildings ; whereas in Larnaca, besides the great squared stones which are daily dug out to serve for modern houses, even up to 1783 Roman inscriptions, and other relics of antiquity were often brought to light. Again, the great salt lake of which Pliny speaks (xxxi. 74, 84) lies nearer to Larnaca than to Citi. Diodorus Siculus sets the distance from Salamis to Citium at 200 stadia or 25 miles. This is perhaps somewhat under the truth ; but if Citium were at Citi we should have to add 48 stadia more, making the whole distance nearer 300 than 200 stadia. We are agreed as to the derivation of Larnaca from the

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