Byzantium was destined by nature to be one of the most important cities; and it was so much designed to become a large place, that the oracle commanding the settlers to establish themselves opposite to the coast of the Blind, said nothing but the plain truth. Chalcedon on the opposite coast was probably a Megarian settlement, but founded from Byzantium at its very earliest period, and not 150 years before the foundation of Byzantium by the Megarians. Byzantium controls the Bosporus and the whole of the Euxine, and it is inconceivable how the Greeks could settle on the Pontus, without previously taking possession of Byzantium. Its harbour is extremely safe and fit for the largest vessels; and even on the south side of the city, ships may anchor in the Propontis with great safety and without being exposed to the winds. The current from the Black Sea through the Hellespont affords a safety of defence, which is of great importance in case of an attack from the west, and that even without any necessity of fortifying the pass of Sestos. The climate is extremely healthy, the situation most beautiful, and the country all around the most fertile in the world. Not to leave unnoticed what is apparently accidental, I may mention that the sea there abounds in fish, which are a great advantage to those countries. The Black Sea is in general very rich in fish, and from it, from the Palus Maeotis, from the Don and Dniepr, large shoals of fish proceed annually through the Bosporus and the Hellespont towards the Aegean Sea; but the current always throws a great many into the harbour of Byzantium, where they find no outlet and are caught with the greatest facility, especially tunny fish and anchovies. When the Ionian cities became weaker, the Byzantians, availing themselves of their situation, levied a toll upon ships passing through the Bosporus, but were unable permanently to exact it, and became in consequence involved in serious wars.