Bellerophontes, Pegasos and the Foundation of Halikarnassos : contributions to the Study of the Salmakis Inscription

The epigraphical poem known as ‘The Pride of Halikarnassos’ or ‘Salmakis inscription’ (late 2nd-early 1st cent. BC) provides a significant mythical account of the colonial expeditions that led to the foundation of Halikarnassos, featuring heroes and deities coming from several parts of the Greek world. The paper analyzes the first section of the list of colonizers, focusing on the role of the characters involved, i.e. Athena, Bellerophontes and Pegasos, and trying to find their proper place in the cultural history of Halikarnassos, not disregarding the clues that may come from linguistic considerations. Finally, the marking of the boundaries of the indigenous land, which constitutes the core of this phase of foundation, receives here an explanation within the general sense of the poem: far from representing the brutal annexation of the territory, it is one of the ways in which the city of Halikarnassos presents itself as both genuinely Greek and deeply embedded in its Karian background.