Carura orKaroura (Ancient Greek:Κάρουρα) was an ancient town ofAsia Minor on the north-eastern border ofancient Caria.[1][2]
Its position east of therange of Cadmus assigns it toPhrygia, under which countryStrabo describes it. It was on the south side of theMaeander River, 20 miles west ofLaodicea toEphesus. The place is identified by hot springs approximately 12 miles northwest ofDenizli, that have been described by the scholarsPococke andChandler.Strabo observed that Carura contained many inns (πανδοχεῖα), which is explained by the fact of its being on a line of great traffic, by which the wool and other products of the interior were transported to the coast. He added that it has hot springs, some in the Maeander, and some on the banks of the river.[3]
This tract of land is subject to earthquakes. In a story reported by Strabo, a brothel keeper was lodging in the inns with a great number of his women, they were all swallowed up one night by the earth opening.Henry William Chandler observed on the spot a jet of hot water, which sprung up several inches from the ground; and also the remains of an ancient bridge over the river. On the road between Carura andLaodicea was the temple of Men Carus, aCarian deity; and in the time of Strabo there was a notedHerophilean school of medicine here, under the presidency of Zeuxis, and thenAlexander Philalethes.[4] Chandler discovered some remains on the road to Laodicea, which, he supposes, may be the traces of this temple; but he states nothing that confirms this conjecture.
Herodotus mentions a place called "Cydrara", to whichXerxes came on his road fromColossae toSardes.[5] It was the border betweenLydia andPhrygia, and the Lydian kingCroesus fixed astele there with an inscription on it, which declared the boundary. Classical scholarWilliam Martin Leake thought that the Cydrara of Herodotus may be Carura.[6] It could not be far off; but the boundary between Lydia and Phrygia should perhaps not be located south of the Maeander in this region.
Modern scholars locate Carura nearTekke, inAsiatic Turkey.[7][8]
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Carura".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.
37°56′25″N28°49′23″E / 37.940338°N 28.822929°E /37.940338; 28.822929
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