Colophon

Colophon, a city of Asia Minor founded by the Ionians, a few miles N. of Ephesus. Hardly any traces of it are left, but its name has become proverbial, and is used in bibliography to denote the finishing touch of, or final ornament to, a work. It is doubtful whether the proverb, and so the bibliographical use of the word, arose from the fact of the Colophonian cavalry having put an end to a battle by a decisive charge, or from the fact of their having the casting vote in the Ionian assembly. The French word colophane for resin is derived from the town, as the pines of the neighbourhood were renowned for their resin.