Soli (Cilicia)

For other uses, see Soli (disambiguation).

The geographical location of the ancient city Soli of Cilicia in a modern map of Turkey. The red dot shows the position of Mersin. At the present scale, it coincides with the position of Soli which is slightly on the west.

Soli (Greek: Σόλοι, Soloi) was an ancient city and port in Cilicia, in present-day Turkey, a part of Mezitli municipality which in turn is a part of Greater Mersin. It was a colony of Rhodes, founded c. 700 BC. Soli was destroyed in the 1st century BC, and rebuilt by Pompey the Great. Thereafter, it was called Pompeiopolis (Πομπηιούπολις), not to be confused with the Pompeiopolis in Paphlagonia. The word solecism is derived from Soli, since the dialect of Greek spoken there was considered by Athenians to be a corrupted form of Attic Greek.

Charles Robert Cockrell visited the site of 'Pompeiopolis' in June 1813. Examination of his travel intinery and the archaeological remains present along the coastline of southern Turkey, suggests that Soloi-Pompeiopolis is located at Elaiussa-Sebaste.

Notable natives

• Aratus of Soli (c. 315 BC/310 BC – c. 240 BC) was a Greek didactic poet.
• Chrysippus of Soli (c. 279 BC – c. 206 BC) was a Greek Stoic philosopher.