Paphlagonia (; ) was an ancient area on the
Black Sea coast of north central
Anatolia, situated between
Bithynia to the west and
Pontus to the east, and separated from
Phrygia (later,
Galatia) by a prolongation to the east of the Bithynian Olympus. According to
Strabo, the river
Parthenius formed the western limit of the region, and it was bounded on the east by the
Halys river. The name
Paphlagonia is derived in the legends from Paphlagon, a son of
Phineus. (Eustath. ad Horn. II. ii. 851, ad Dion. Per. 787; Steph. B. t.v.; Const. Porph. de Them. i. 7.)