THYATEIRA was a place of considerable importance, and probably of early origin, but of no great rank among the surrounding towns till the time of the Macedonians; its best known name, according to Steph. Byzant., being due to Seleucus Nicator. To us, its chief interest is its connection with early Christianity, as the home of “Lydia the seller of purple” (Acts xvi. 14), and as one of the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse. There are still, according to Sir Charles Fellows, remains of a considerable city; and it is also, under the name of Ak-Hissar, a flourishing commercial town. Close to the Lake Gygæa, not far from Sardes, was the sepulchral mound of Alyattes, considered by Herodotus one of the wonders of Lydia. This remarkable tumulus, which is about 280 yards in diameter, has been recently excavated by M. Spiegenthal, who discovered in its centre a sepulchral chamber of highly polished marble blocks, and of about the same size as that of the tomb of Cyrus. Such tumuli are common in Asia Minor; indeed, round the same lake, are three or four more, probably, as Strabo has suggested, the tombs of other early Lydian kings. Sir Gardner Wilkinson has pointed out that their structure—a stone basement with a mound of earth above—resembles the constructed tombs of Etruria. The _Lydian_ MAGNESIA—usually called “_Ad Sipylum_,” to distinguish it from the Magnesia of Ionia—was the scene of the great victory gained by the two Scipios in B.C. 190, over Antiochus the Great though aided by the Gauls, which handed over Western Asia to the Romans. Hence, in the Mithradatic war, the Magnesians stood firmly by Rome. A coin of this place has on it the head of Cicero, and is interesting as the only portrait (good or bad) we have of that great orator. In legendary history, Mount Sipylus, which overhangs Magnesia on the S., was famous as the residence of Tantalus and Niobe; and here, too, was a town of the same name as the mountain, said to have been converted into a lake by volcanic action[32] (Paus.). Homer alludes to the mountain in speaking of Niobe’s transformation (Il. xxiv. 614), as do also Sophocles (Antig. v. 822), and Ovid (Metam. vi. 310). The story of the weeping Niobe was probably an optical illusion (Paus. Attic. c. 21), and, curiously, the origin of it has been clearly shown by Chandler, who says, “The phantom of Niobe may be defined as an effect of a certain portion of light and shade on a part of Sipylus, perceivable at a particular point of view. The traveller, who shall visit Magnesia after this information, is requested to observe carefully a steep and remarkable cliff, about a mile from the town; varying his distance, while the sun and shade, which come gradually on, pass over it, I have reason to believe he will see Niobe” (Travels, p. 331). The magnetic influence on the compass is confirmed by Arundell, but the name “Magnet” has been derived from other towns of the same name. Footnote 32: