PHRYGIA, a country in Asia Minor, the extent and boundaries of which varied very much at different periods of ancient history. In pre-historic ages it is believed to have comprised the greater part of the peninsula; but at the time of the Persian invasion it was limited to the districts known as Lesser Phrygia and Greater Phrygia—the former stretching from the Hellespont to Troas (inclusive), the latter occupying a central portion of Asia Minor. The inland boundaries of Lesser Phrygia are not well ascertained; but Greater Phrygia was bounded on the n. by Bithynia and Paphlagonia, on the e, by Cap padocia and Lycaonia, on the s. by the Taurus range, and on the w. by the maritime countries of Mysia, Lydia, and Carla. At a later period it was considerably reduced by the formation of Galatia (q.v.) and the extension of Lyeaonia. Phrvgia was in general a high and somewhat barren plateau, though its pastures supported immense flocks of sheep, noted for the fineness of their wool, as inde6d they still are. The most fertile part was the valley of the Sangarius, but the most beautiful and populous district was the s.w., at the base of the Taurus, where the Mmander and other streams had their rise. The mountains ono streams yielded gold; Phrygian marble was anciently celebrated, and the cultivation of the vine appears to have been extensively carried on.
The origin of the Phrygians is one of the mysteries of ancient ethnology. Some think that they were settled at a very remote period in Europe, and that they emigrated from Thrace into Asia Minor; and Xanthus, Herodotus, and ,Sts abo certainly speak of • • such a migration. Xanthus places it after the Trojan.war; but if there be any truth in the tradition at all, it can only refer to a return of some tribes to the cradle of the race in the valley of the Sangarius, for the Phrygians were regarded as one of the oldest races (if not the very oldest) iu Asia Minor. Instead of seeking for their origin in Thrace, the best classical ethnologists seek for it in the neighboring highlands of Armenia, whence the Phrygians are believed to have spread, at a period far before the dawn of authentic history, over the greater part of the peninsula, and thence to have crossed into Europe, and occupied the greater part of Thrace; Macedonia, and Illyria; while the mythic Pelops, who colonized the Peloponnesus, and gave it his name, was said by tradi tion to be a Phrygian. In both Greek and Latin poetry the Trojans are also called
Phrygians, and the same name is applied to other nations of Asia Minor, such as the My(Ionians and Mysians. In Thrace, too, many of the names of places were the same as in 'l'roas; while it has now been demonstrated that the Armenian, Phrygian, and Greek languages are akin to each other, so that the people speaking the two tormer tongues, like those speaking the latter, belong to great Aryan branch of the human family. The Phrygians began to decline in power and numbers after the Trojan war. They 'were—if we can make anything like historic fact out of the mythic narratives of that early time—pushed out of Europe by the Illyrians in the north and the Macedonians in the south,while in Asia Minor the rise of the Semitic Assyrians also depressed and weakened them by breaking up the integrity of their territory. The whole of the s. coast of the peninsula was occupied by Semitic invaders; the Lydians and Cappadocians were of Syro Plienieian origin; and Strabo speaks of structures of Semiramis as far n. as Pontus. Their language, manners, and religion even, underwent radical changes—hence the great difficulty experienced in ascertaining their original characteristics. After being subjugated by Crcesus they passed, on the dissolution of the Lydian monarchy, under the sway of Cyrus; and it is only from this date that they are brought within the pale of positive history. Their country formed part of the empire of Alexander, and subse quently belonged to the Syrian Selencidue, to the kings of Pergamum, and to the Romans, who obtained possession of it 133 B.C.
The Phrygians had not a warlike reputation among the ancients; but though in later times commonly described as indolent and stupid, yet, like negroes, they were of a mys tic and excitable disposition. Their religious orgies, accompanied by wild music and dancing, are frequently mentioned by classic writers, and appear to have exercised a very material influence on Hellenic worship. Cybele, "the great mother of the gods," was the chief Phrygian divinity; others were Sabazius (Dionysus), Olympus, Hyaguis, Lityerses, and Marsyas.