| May 23, 2013 |
Language selection |
 |
|
|
 |
| Various locations
(84)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|  LAISTRYGONES (Mythical lands) ITALY |
|
|
The spring Artacia
Homer mentions that the spring Artacia was in the land of the Laestrygones (Od. 10.108).
|
|
|
|
|
| | AETNA (Mountain) SICILY |
|
|
Acis river
Acis (Akis), a river of Sicily, on the eastern coast of the island,
and immediately at the foot of Aetna. It is celebrated on account of the mythological
fable connected with its origin, which was ascribed to the blood of the youthful
Acis, crushed under an enormous rock by his rival Polyphemus. (Ovid. Met. xiii.
750, &c.; Sil. Ital. xiv. 221-226; Anth. Lat. i. 148; Serv. ad Virg. Eel. ix.
39, who erroneously writes the name Acinius.) It is evidently in allusion to the
same story that Theocritus speaks of the sacred waters of Acis. (Akidos hieron
hudor, Idyll. i. 69.) From this fable itself we may infer that it was a small
stream gushing forth from under a rock; the extreme coldness of its waters noticed
by Solinus (Solin. 5. § 17) also points to the same conclusion. The last circumstance
might lead us to identify it with the stream now called Fiume Freddo, but there
is every appearance that the town of Acium derived its name from the river, and
this was certainly further south. There can be no doubt that Cluverius is right
in identifying it with the little river still called Fiume di Jaci, known also
by the name of the Acque Grandi, which rises under a rock of lava, and has a very
short course to the sea, passing by the modern town of Aci Reale (Acium). The
Acis was certainly quite distinct from the Acesines or Asines, with which it has
been confounded by several writers. (Cluver. Sicil. p. 115; Smyth's Sicily, p.
132; Ortolani, Diz. Geogr. p. 9; Ferrara, Descriz. dell' Etna, p. 32.)
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
|
|
Acium town
Acium, a small town on the E. coast of Sicily, mentioned only in the Itinerary
(Itin. Ant. p 87), which places it on the high road from Catana to Tauromenium,
at the distance of 9 M. P. from the former city. It evidently derived its name
from the little river Acis, and is probably identical with the modern Act Reale,
a considerable town, about a mile from the sea, in the neighbourhood of which,
on the road to Catania, are extensive remains of Roman Thermae. (Biscari, Viaggio
in Sicilia, p. 22; Ortolani, Diz. Geogr. p. 9.)
|
|
|
| | AGYRION (Ancient city) SICILY |
|
|
Ameselum town
Ameselum (to Ameselon) a town of Sicily, mentioned only by Diodorus (xxii. Exc.
Hoesch. p.499), from whom we learn that it was situated between Centuripi and
Agyrium, in a position of great natural strength. It was taken, in B.C. 269, by
Hieron king of Syracuse, who destroyed the city and fortress, and divided its
territory between its two neighbours the Centuripini and Agyrians. Its exact site
is unknown.
|
|
|
| | AKRAGAS (Ancient city) SICILY |
|
|
Ypsas & Acragas rivers
In the region, there were the Ypsas river (the Drago river of today) and Acragas river (the Fiume S. Biagio river of today).
|
|
|
| | ARPINO (Town) LAZIO |
|
|
Cereatae
Cereatae (Kereate, Strab.; Kirraiatai, Plut.: Eth. Cereatinus), a town of Latium, mentioned by Strabo (v. p. 238) among those which lay on the left of the Via Latina, between Anagnia and Sora. There is no doubt that it is the same place called by Plutarch Cirrhaeatae, which was the birth-place of. C. Marius. (Plut. Mar. 3.) He terms it a village in the territory of Arpinum; it appears to have been subsequently erected into a separate municipium, probably by Marius himself, who seems to have settled there a body of his relations and dependents. It subsequently received a fresh body of colonists from Drusus, the stepson of Augustus. Hence the Cereatini Mariani appear among the Municipia of Latium in the time of Pliny. (Plin. iii. 5. s. 9; Lib. Colon. p. 233; Zumpt, de Colon. p. 361.) The passage of Strabo affords the only clue to its position; but an inscription bearing the name of the Cereatini Mariani has been discovered at the ancient monastery of Casa Mara or Casamari, about half way between Verulae and Arpinum, and 3 miles W. of the Liris. It is thus rendered probable that this convent (which is built on ancient foundations) occupies the site of Cereatae, and retains in its name some trace of that of Marius. (Bull. d. Inst. Arch. 1851, p. 11.) We learn from another inscription that there was a branch of the Latin way which communicated directly with Arpinum and Sora, passing apparently by Cereatae. (Ibid. p. 13.)
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited Oct 2006 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
| | AUSONIA (Ancient country) CAMPANIA |
|
|
Ausonian mare
On the southern coast of Italy, between the Iapygian Peninsula and the Sicilian Straits
|
|
|
|
|
Ausonia town
An ancient town of the Ausones, near Menturnae and Vescia
|
|
|
| | AVOLA (Town) SICILY |
|
|
Abolla
|
|
|
| | CAMPANIA (Region) ITALY |
|
|
Lactarius Mons
Lactarius Mons (Galaktos oros: Monte S. Angelo), was the name given
by the Romans to a mountain in the neighbourhood of Stabiae in Campania. It was
derived from the circumstance that the mountain abounded in excellent pastures,
which were famous for the quality of the milk they produced; on which account
the mountain was resorted to by invalids, especially in cases of consumption,
for which a milk diet was considered particularly beneficial. (Cassiod. Ep. xi.
10.; Galen, de Meth. Med. v. 12.) It was at the foot of this mountain that Narses
obtained a great victory over the Goths under Teias in A.D. 553, in which the
Gothic king was slain. (Procop. B. G. iv. 35, 36.) The description of the Mons
Lactarius, and its position with regard to Stabiae, leave no doubt that it was
a part of the mountain range which branches off from the Apennines near Nocera
(Nuceria), and separates the Bay of Naples from that of Paestum. The nighest point
of this range, the Monte S. Angelo, attains a height of above 5000 feet; the whole
range is calcareous, and presents beautiful forests, as well as abundant pastures.
The name of Lettere, still borne by a town on the slope of the mountain side,
a little above Stabiae, is evidently a relic of the ancient name.
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
|
|
Massicus Mons
Massicus Mons (Monte Massico), a mountain, or rather range of hills,
in Campania, which formed the limit between Campania properly so called and the
portion of Latium, south of the Liris, to which the name of Latium Novum or Adjectum
was sometimes given. (Plin. iii. 5. s. 9.) The Massican Hills form a range of
inconsiderable elevation, which extends from the foot of the mountain group near
Suessa (the Mte. di Sta. Croce), in a SW. direction, to within 2 miles of the
sea, where it ends in the hill of Mondragone, just above the ancient Sinuessa.
The Massican range is not, like the more lofty group of the Mte. di Sta. Croce
or Rocca Monfina, of volcanic origin, but is composed of the ordinary limestone
of the Apennines (Daubeny On Volcanoes, p. 175). But, from its immediate proximity
to the volcanic formations of Campania, the soil which covers it is in great part
composed of such products, and hence probably the excellence of its wine, which
was one of the most celebrated in Italy, and vied with the still more noted Falernian.
(Virg. Georg. ii. 143, Aen. vii. 724; Hor. Carm. i. 1. 19, iii. 21. 5; Sil. Ital.
vii. 20; Martial, i. 27. 8, xiii. 111; Plin. xiv. 6. s. 8; Columell. iii. 8.)
Yet the whole of this celebrated range of hills does not exceed 9 miles in length
by about 2 in breadth.
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
|
|
Nesis
Nesis (Nisida), a small island on the coast of Campania, between Puteoli
and Neapolis, and directly opposite to the extremity of the ridge called Mons
Pausilypus (Seneca, Ep. 53). It may be considered as forming the eastern headland
of the bay of Baiae or Puteoli, of which Cape Misenum is the western limit. The
island is of small extent, but considerable elevation, and undoubtedly constituted
at a remote period one side of the crater of a volcano, This must, however, have
been extinct before the period of historical memory; but it appears that even
in the days of Statius and Lucan it emitted sulphureous and noxious vapours, which
has long ceased to be the case (Stat. Silv. ii. 2. 78; Lucan vi.90). It was nevertheless,
like the adjoining hill of Pausilypus, a pleasant place of residence. Brutus had
a villa there, where he was visited by Cicero shortly after the death of Caesar,
and where they conferred, together with Cassius and Libo, upon their future plans
(Cic. ad Att. xvi. 1-4). Pliny tells us that it was famous for its asparagus,
a celebrity which it still retains (Plin. xix. 8. s. 42); but the wood which crowned
it in the days of Statius (Silv. iii. 1. 148), has long since disappeared.
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
|
|
Vulturnus river
Vulturnus (Ououltournos: Volturno), the most considerable river of
Campania, which has its sources in the Apennines of Samnium, about 5 miles S.
of Aufidena, flows within a few miles of Aesernia on its left bank. and of Venafrum
on its right, thence pursues a SE. course for about 35 miles, till it receives
the waters of the Calor (Calore), after which it turns abruptly to the WSW., passes
under the walls of Casilinum (Capoua), and finally discharges itself into the
Tyrrhenian sea about 20 miles below that city. Its mouth was marked in ancient
times by the town of the same name (Vulturnum), the site of which is still occupied
by the modern fortress of Castel Volturno. (Strab. v. pp. 238, 249; Plin. iii.
5. s. 9; Mel. ii. 4. § 9.) The Vulturnus is a deep and rapid, but turbid stream,
to which character we find many allusions in the Roman poets. (Virg. Aen. vii.
729; Ovid. Met. xv. 714; Lucan ii.423; Claudian. Paneg. Prob. et Ol. 256; Sil.
Ital. viii. 530.) A bridge was thrown over it close to its mouth by Domitian,
when he constructed the Via Domitia that led from Sinuessa direct to Cumae. (Stat.
Silv. iv. 3. 67, &c.) From the important position that the Vulturnus occupies
in Campania, the fertile plains of which it traverses in their whole extent from
the foot of the Apennines to the sea, its name is frequently mentioned in history,
especially during the wars of the Romans with the Campanians and Samnites, and
again during the Second Punic War. (Liv. viii. 11, x. 20, 31, xxii. 14, &c.; Polyb.
iii. 92.) Previous to the construction of the bridge above mentioned (the remains
of which are still visible near the modern Castel Volturno), there was no bridge
over it below Casilinum, where it was crossed by the Via Appia. It appears to
have been in ancient times navigable for small vessels at least as far as that
city. (Liv. xxvi. 9; Stat. Silv. iv. 3. 77.)
Its only considerable tributary is the Calor which brings with it
the waters of several other streams, of which the most important are the Tamarus
and Sabatus. These combined streams bring down to the Vulturnus almost the whole
waters of the land of the Hirpini; and hence the Calor is at the point of junction
nearly equal in magnitude to the Vulturnus itself.
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
| | CATANI (Ancient city) SICILY |
|
|
Pantagias river
Pantagias (Pantakias, Thuc.; Pantachos, Ptol.: Porcari), a small river
on the E. coast of Sicily, flowing into the sea between Catania and Syracuse,
a few miles to the N. of the promontory of Sta Croce. It is alluded to both by
Virgil and Ovid, who agree in distinctly placing it to the N. of Megara, between
that city and the mouth of the Symaethus; thus confirming the authority of Ptolemy,
while Pliny inaccurately enumerates it after Megara, as if it lay between that
city and Syracuse. Its name is noticed both by Silius Italicus and Claudian, but
without any clue to its position; but the characteristic expression of Virgil,
vivo ostia saxo Pantagiae, leaves no doubt that the stream meant is the one now
called the Poredri, which flows through a deep ravine between calcareous rocks
at its mouth, affording a small but secure harbour for small vessels. (Virg. Aen.
iii. 689; Ovid, Fast. iv. 471; Sil. Ital. xiv. 231; Claudian, Rapt. Pros. ii.
58; Plin. iii. 8. s. 14; Ptol. iii. 4. § 9; Cluver. Sicil. p. 131.) It is but
a small stream and easily fordable, as described by Silius Italicus, but when
swollen by winter rains becomes a formidable torren<*>, whence Claudian calls
it saxa rotantem: but the story told by Servius and Vibius Sequester of its deriving
its name from the noise caused by its tumultuous waters, is a mere grammatical
fiction. (Serv. ad Aen. l. c.; Vib. Seq. p. 16.)
Thucydides tells us that the Megarian colonists in Sicily, previous
to the foundation of the Hyblaean Megara, established themselves for a short time
at a place called Trotilus, above the river Pantagias, or (as he writes it) Pantacias
(Thuc. vi. 4). The name is otherwise wholly unknown, but the site now occupied
by the village and castle of La Bruca, on a tongue of rock commanding the entrance
of the harbour and river, is probably the locality meant. (Smyth's Sicily, p.
159.)
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
|
|
Terias river
Terias (Terias: Fiume di S. Leonardo), a river of Sicily, on the E.
coast of the island, flowing into the sea between Catana and Syracuse. It is mentioned
by Pliny (iii. 8. s. 14) immediately after the Syimaethus; and Scylax tells us
it was navigable for the distance of 20 stadia up to Leontini. (Scyl. p. 4. §
13.) Though this last statement is not quite accurate, inasmuch as Leontini is
at least 60 stadia from the sea, it leaves little doubt that the river meant is
that now called the Flume di S. Leonardo, which flows from the Lake of Lentini
(which is not mentioned by any ancient author) to the sea. It has its outlet in
a small bay or cove, which affords a tolerable shelter for shipping. Hence we
find the mouth of the Terias twice selected by the Athenians as a halting-place,
while proceeding with their fleet along the E. coast of Sicily. (Thuc. vi. 50,
96.) The connection of the Terias with Leontini is confirmed by Diodorus, who
tells us that Dionysius encamped on the banks of that river near the city of Leontini.
(Diod. xiv. 14.)
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
|
|
Xiphonius portus
Xiphonius portus (Xiphoneios limen, Scyl. p. 4: Bay of Augusta), a
spacious harbour on the E. coast of Sicily, between Catana and Syracuse. It is
remarkable that this, though one of the largest and most important natural harbours
on the coasts of Sicily, is rarely mentioned by ancient authors. Scylax, indeed,
is the only writer who has preserved to us its name as that of a port. Strabo
speaks of the Xiphonian Promontory (to tes Hxiphonias akroterio, vi. p. 267),
by which he evidently means the projecting headland near its entrance, now called
the Capo di Santa Croce. Diodorus also mentions that the Carthaginian fleet, in
B.C. 263 touched at Xiphonia on its way to Syracuse (eis ten, Xiphonian, xxiii.
4. p. 502). None of these authors allude to the existence of a town of this name,
and it is probably a mistake of Stephanus of Byzantium, who speaks of Xiphonia
as a city (s. v.). The harbour or bay of Augusta is a spacious gulf, considerably
larger than the Great Harbour of Syracuse, and extending from the Capo di Santa
Croce to the low peninsula or promontory of Magnisi (the ancient Thapsus). But
it is probable that the port designated by Scylax was a much smaller one, close
to the modern city of Augusta, which occupies a low peninsular point or tongue
of land that projects from near the N. extremity of the bay, and strongly resembles
the position of the island of Ortygia, at Syracuse, except that it is not quite
separated from the mainland. It is very singular that so remarkable and advantageous
a situation should not have been taken advantage of by the Greek colonists in
Sicily; but we have no trace of any ancient town on the spot, unless it were the
site of the ancient Megara. The modern town of Augusta, or Agosta, was founded
in the 13th century by Frederic II.
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
| | ENNA (Ancient city) SICILY |
|
|
Pergus Lake
A lake in Sicily, near the city of Enna, where Pluto is said to have carried off Proserpine.
|
|
|
| | HERAKLIA (Ancient city) ITALY |
|
|
Aciris river
Aciris (Akiris), a river of Lucania, mentioned both by Pliny and Strabo,
as flowing near to Heraclea on the N. side, as the Siris did on the S. It is still
called the Acri or Agri, and has a course of above 50 miles, rising in the Apennines
near Marsico Nuovo, and flowing into the Gulf of Tarentum, a little to the N.
of Policoro, the site of the ancient Heraclea. (Plin. iii. 11. s. 15 ; Strab.
p. 264.) The Acidios of the Itinerary is supposed by Cluverius to be a corruption
of this name, but it would appear to be that of a town, rather than a river. (Itin.
Ant. p. 104.)
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
| | IPPONION (Ancient city) CALABRIA |
|
|
Harbor of Heracles (Tropea)
Thence (from Hipponium) one sails to the Harbor of Heracles, which is the point where the headlands of Italy near the Strait begin to turn towards the west.
|
|
|
| | IRAKLIA MINOA (Ancient city) SICILY |
|
|
Halycus river
Halycus (Halukos). A river in the south of Sicily, flowing into the sea near Heraclea Minoa.
|
|
|
| | KROTON (Ancient city) CALABRIA |
|
|
Crathis
A river by Sybaris, Italian river beside Crotona.
|
|
|
|
|
Hylias river
A river in Bruttium, separating the territories of Sybaris and
Croton.
|
|
|
|
|
Aesar river
A river of Bruttii in Lower Italy, in the neighborhood of Crotona, now Esaro.
|
|
|
|
|
Traens, Trais
A river in Bruttium, now the Trionto, near which the Sybarites were defeated by the troops of Crotona in B.C. 510
|
|
|
|
|
Via Traiana
|
|
|
|
|
Lacinium
Lacinium, (Lakinion akron). A promontory on the eastern coast
of Bruttium, a few miles south of Croton, and forming the western boundary of
the Tarentine Gulf. It possessed a celebrated temple of Iuno, who was worshipped
here under the surname of Lacinia. The ruins of this temple have given the modern
name to the promontory, Capo delle Colonne.
| This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Nov 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
|
|
Lacinium : Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary
|
|
|
| | LAZIO (Region) ITALY |
|
|
Melpis river
Melpis or Melfis (ho Melpis: Melfa), a small river of Latium, falling
into the Liris (Garigliano), about 4 miles below its junction with the Trerus
(Sacco). It crossed the Via Latina about 4 miles from Aquinum, though Strabo erroneously
speaks of it as flowing by that city. It is a still greater mistake that he calls
it a great river (potamos megas, Strab. v. p. 237), for it is in reality a very
inconsiderable stream: but the text of Strabo is, in this passage, very corrupt,
and perhaps the error is not that of the author. The name appears in the Tabula,
under the corrupt form Melfel, for which we should probably read Ad Melpem. (Tab.
Pent.)
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
|
|
Sacriportus
Sacriportus (d Hieros limen, Appian, B.C. i. 87), a place in Latium,
between Signia and Praeneste, celebrated as the scene of the decisive battle between
Sulla and the younger Marius, in which the latter was totally defeated, and compelled
to take refuge within the walls of Praeneste, B.C. 82. (Liv. Epit. lxxxvii.; Appian,
B.C. i. 87; Vell. Pat. ii. 26, 28; Flor. iii. 21. § 23; Vict. Vir. Ill. 68, 75;
Lucan ii.134.) The scene of the battle is universally described as apud Sacriportum,
but with no more precise distinction of the locality. The name of Sacriportus
does not occur upon any other occasion, and we do not know what was the meaning
of the name, whether it were a village or small town, or merely a spot so designated.
But its loeality may be approximately fixed by the accounts of the battle; this
is described by Appian as taking palce near Praeneste, and by Plutarch (Sull.
28) as near Signia. We learn moreover from Appian that Sulla having besieged and
taken Setia, the younger Marius, who had in vain endeavoured to relieve it, retreated
step by step before him until he arrived in the neighbourhood of Praeneste, when
he halted at Sacriportus, and gave battle to his pursuer. It is therefore evident
that it must have been situated in the plain below Praeneste, between that city
and Signia, and probably not far from the opening between the Alban hills and
the Volscian mountains, through which must have lain the line of retreat of Marius;
but it is impossible to fix the site with more precision.
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
|
|
Regillus-lacus
Regillus Lacus (he Hpegille limne, Dionys.: Lago di Corsnufelle),
a small lake in Latium, at the foot of the Tusculan hills, celebrated for the
great battle between the Romans and the Latins under C. Mamilius, in B.C. 496.
(Liv. ii. 19; Dionys. vi. 3; Cic. de Nat. D. ii. 2, iii. 5; Plin. xxxiii. 2. s.
11; Val. Max. i. 8. § 1; Vict. Vir. Ill. 16; Flor. i. 11.) Hardly any event in
the early Roman history has been more disguised by poetical embellishment and
fiction than the battle of Regillus, and it is impossible to decide what amount
of historical character may be attached to it: but there is no reason to doubt
the existence of the lake, which was assigned as the scene of the combat. It is
expressly described by Livy as situated in the territory of Tusculum ( ad lacum,
Regillum in agro Tusculano, Liv. ii. 19); and this seems decisive against the
identification of it with the small lake called Il Laghetto di Sta Prassede, about
a mile to the N. of La Colonna; for this lake must have been in the territory
of Labicum, if that city be correctly placed at La Colonna [Labicum], and at all
events could hardly have been in that of Tusculum. Moreover, the site of this
lake being close to the Via Labicana would more probably have been indicated by
some reference to that high-road than by the vague phrase in agro Tusculano. A
much more plausible suggestion is that of Gell, that it occupied the site of a
volcanic crater, now drained of its waters, but which was certainly once occupied
by a lake, at a place called Cornufelle, at the foot of the hill on which stands
the modern town of Frascati. This crater, which resembles that of Gabii on a much
smaller scale, being not more than half a mile in diameter, was drained by an
artificial emissary as late as the 17th century: but its existence seems to have
been unknown to Cluverius and other early writers, who adopted the lake or pool
near La Colonna for the Lake Regillus, on the express ground that there was no
other in that neighbourhood. (Cluver. Ital. p. 946; Nibby, Dintorni, vol. iii.
pp. 8-10; Gell, Top. of Rome, pp. 186, 371.) Extensive remains of a Roman villa
and baths may be traced on the ridge which bounds the crater, and an ancient road
from Tusculum to Labicum or Gabii passed close by it, so that the site must certainly
have been one well known in ancient times.
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited October 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
|
|
Numicius
Numicius (Nomikios: Rio Torto), a small river of Latium, flowing into
the sea between Lavinium and Ardea. It is mentioned almost exclusively in reference
to the legendary history of Aeneas, who, according to the poetical tradition,
adopted also by the Roman historians, was buried on its banks, where he was worshipped
under the name of Jupiter Indiges, and had a sacred grove and Heroum. (Liv. i.
2; Dionys. i. 64; Vict. Orig. Gent. Rom. 14: Ovid. Met. xiv. 598-608; Tibull.
ii. 5.39-44.) Immediately adjoining the grove of Jupiter Indiges was one of Anna
Perenna, originally a Roman divinity, and probably the tutelary nymph of the river,
but who was brought also into connection with Aeneas by the legends of later times,
which represented her as the sister of Dido, queen of Carthage. The fables connected
with her are related at full by Ovid (Fast. iii. 545-564), and by Silius Italicus
(viii. 28-201). Both of these poets speak of the Numicius as a small stream, with
stagnant waters and reedy banks: but they afford no clue to its situation, beyond
the general intimation that it was in the Laurentine territory, an appellation
which is some-times used, by the poets especially, with very vague latitude. But
Pliny, in enumerating the places along the coast of Latium, mentions the river
Numicius between Laurentum and Ardea; and from the narrative of Dionysius it would
seem that he certainly conceived the battle in which Aeneas was slain to have
been fought between Lavinium and Ardea, but nearer the former city. Hence the
Rio Torto, a small river with a sluggish and winding stream, which forms a considerable
marsh near its outlet, may fairly be regarded as the ancient Numicius. It would
seem from Pliny that the Lucus Jovis Indigetis was situated on its right bank.
(Plin. iii. 5. s. 9; Dionys. i. 64; Nibby, Dintorni, vol. ii. p. 418.)
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
|
|
Solonius ager
Solonius ager (Solonion, Plut.), was the name given to a district
or tract in the plain of Latium, which appears to have bordered on the territories
of Ostia, Ardea, and Lanuvium. But there is some difficulty in determining its
precise situation or limits. Cicero in a passage in which he speaks of a prodigy
that happened to the infant Roscius, places it in Solonio, qui est campus agri
Lanuvini (de Div. i. 36); but there are some reasons to suspect the last words
to be an interpolation. On the other hand, Livy speaks of the Antiates as making
incursions in agrum Ostiensem, Ardeatem, Solonium (viii. 12). Plutarch mentions
that Marius retired to a villa that he possessed there, when he was expelled from
Rome in B.C. 88; and from thence repaired to Ostia. (Plut. Mar. 35.) But the most
distinct indication of its locality is afforded by a passage of Festus (s. v.
Pomonal, p. 250), where he tells us Pomonal est in agro Solonio, via Ostiensi,
ad duodecimum lapidem, diverticulo a miliario octavo. It is thence evident that
the ager Solonius extended westward as far as the Via Ostiensis, and probably
the whole tract bordering on the territories of Ostia, Laurentum, and Ardea, was
known by this name. It may well therefore have extended to the neighbourhood of
Lanuvium also. Cicero tells us that it abounded in snakes. (De Div. ii. 31.) It
appears from one of his letters that he had a villa there, as well as Marius,
to which he talks of retiring in order to avoid contention at Rome (ad Att. ii.
3).
The origin of the name is unknown; it may probably have been derived
from some extinct town of the name; but no trace of such is found. Dionysius,
indeed, speaks of an Etruscan city of Solonium, from whence the Lucumo came to
the assistance of Romulus (Dionys. ii. 37); but the name is in all probability
corrupt, and, at all events, cannot afford any explanation of the Latin district
of the name.
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
| | LEONTINI (Ancient city) SICILY |
|
|
Palicorum lacus
Palicorum lacus (he ton Palikon limne: Lago di Naftia), a small volcanic
lake in the interior of Sicily, near Palagonia, about 15 miles W. of Leontini.
It is a mere pool, being not more than 480 feet in circumference, but early attracted
attention from the remarkable phenomena caused by two jets of volcanic gas, which
rise under the water, causing a violent ebullition, and sometimes throwing up
the water to a considerable height. On this account the spot was, from an early
period, considered sacred, and consecrated to the indigenous deities called the
Palici, who had a temple on the spot. This enjoyed the privileges of an asylum
for fugitive slaves, and was much resorted to also for determining controversies
by oaths; an oath taken by the holy springs, or craters as they are called, being
considered to possess peculiar sanctity, and its violation to be punished on the
spot by the death of the offender. The remarkable phenomena of the locality are
described in detail by Diodorus, as well as by several other writers, and notwithstanding
some slight discrepancies, leave no doubt that the spot was the same now called
the Lago di Naftia, from the naphtha with which, as well as sulphur, the sources
are strongly impregnated. It would, however, seem that in ancient times there
were two separate pools or craters, sometimes termed fountains (krenai), and that
they did not, as at the present day, form one more considerable pool or lake.
Hence they are alluded to by Ovid as Stagna Palicorum ; while Virgil notices only
the sanctuary or altar, pinguis et placabilis ara Palici. (Diod. xi. 89; Steph.
Byz. s. v. Palike; Pseud.-Arist. Mirab. 58; Macrob. Sat. v. 19; Strab. vi. p.
275; Ovid, Met. v. 406; Virg. Aen. ix. 585; Sil. Ital. xiv. 219; Nonn. Dionys.
xiii. 311.) The sacred character of the spot as an asylum for fugitive slaves
caused it to be selected for the place where the great servile insurrection of
Sicily in B.C. 102 was first discussed and arranged; and for the same reason Salvius,
the leader of the insurgents, made splendid offerings at the shrine of the Palici.
(Diod. xxxvi. 3, 7.)
There was not in early times any other settlement besides the sanctuary
and its appurtenances, adjoining the lake of the Palici; but in B.C. 453, Ducetius,
the celebrated chief of the Siculi, founded a city close to the lake, to which
he gave the name of Palica (Palike), and to which he transferred the inhabitants
of Menaenum and other neighbouring towns. This city rose for a short time to considerable
prosperity; but was destroyed again shortly after the death of Ducetius, and never
afterwards restored. (Diod. xi. 88, 90.) Hence the notices of it in Stephanus
of Byzantium and other writers can only refer to this brief period of its existence.
(Steph. B. l. c.; Polemon, ap. Macrob. l. c.) The modern town of Palagonia is
thought to retain the traces of the name of Palica, but certainly does not occupy
the site of the city of Ducetius, being situated on a lofty hill, at some distance
from the Lago di Naftia. Some remains of the temple and other buildings were still
visible in the days of Fazello in the neighbourhood of the lake. The locality
is fully described by him, and more recently by the Abate Ferrara. (Fazell. de
Reb. Sic. iii. 2; Ferrara, Campi Flegrei della Sicilia, pp. 48,105.)
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
| | LILYBAEUM (Ancient city) SICILY |
|
|
Aegithallus promontory
Aegithallus (Aighiphallos, Diod.; Aighithalos, Zonar.; Aighitharos,
Ptol.) a promontory on the W. coast of Sicily, near Lilybaeum, which was occupied
and fortified by the Roman consul L. Junius during the First Punic War (B.C. 249),
with a view to support the operations against Lilybaeum, but was recovered by
the Carthaginian general Carthalo, and occupied with a strong garrison. Diodorus
tells us it was called in his time Acellum, but it is evidently the same with
the Aighitharos akra of Ptolemy, which he places between Drepanum and Lilybaeum;
and is probably the headland now called Capo S. Teodoro, which is immediately
opposite to the island of Burrone. (Diod. xxiv. Exc. H. p. 50; Zonar. viii. 15:
Ptol. iii. 4. § 4; Cluver. Sicil. p. 248.)
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited October 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
| | LOKRI EPIZEFIRIOI (Ancient city) ITALY |
|
|
Amphissa
A promontory of Locri Epizephyrii, in Lower Italy
|
|
|
|
|
Thronium, Thronion
Now Pikraki; the chief town of the Locri Epicnemidii, on the river Boagrius, at a short distance from the sea, with a harbour upon the coast.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Narycia
the city of Locri, founded in Lower Italy by the Ozolian Locrians
|
|
|
|
|
Sagra river
A small river in Magna Graecia, on the southeastern coast of Bruttium, falling into the sea between Caulonia and Locri.
|
|
|
|
|
Zephyrium "the western promontory"
The name of several promontories of the ancient world, not all
of which, however, faced the west. The chief of them were: Now C. di Brussano,
a promontory in Bruttium, forming the southeastern extremity of the country, from
which the Locri, who settled in the neighbourhood, are said to have obtained the
name of Epizephyrii.
|
|
|
| | LUCERIA (Ancient city) PUGLIA |
|
|
Accua town
|
|
|
| | MEDMA (Ancient city) CALABRIA |
|
|
Metaurus river
Metaurus (Metauros), a river of Bruttium, flowing into the Tyrrhenian
sea, between Medma and the Scyllaean promontory. It is mentioned both by Pliny
and Strabo; and there can be no doubt that it is the river now called the Marro,
one of the most considerable streams in this part of Bruttium, which flows into
the sea about 7 miles S. of the Mesima, and 18 from the rock of Scilla. (Strab.
vi. p. 256; Plin. iii. 5. s. 10; Romanelli, vol. i. p. 66.) There was a town of
the same name at its mouth.
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
| | MILAZZO (Town) SICILY |
|
|
Longanus river
Longanus (Longanos), a river in the N. of Sicily, not far from Mylae
(Milazzo), celebrated for the victory of Hieron, king of Syracuse, over the Mamertines
in B.C. 270 (Pol. i. 9 ; Diod. xxii. 13; Exc. H. p. 499, where the name is written
Loitanos, but the same river is undoubtedly meant). Polybius describes it as in
the plain of Mylae (en toi Mulaioi pedioi), but it is impossible to say, with
certainty, which of the small rivers that flow into the sea near that town is
the one meant. The Fiume di Santa Lucia, about three miles southwest of Milazzo,
has perhaps the best claim; though Cluverius fixes on the Flume di Castro Reale,
a little more distant from that city. (Cluv. Sicil. p. 303.)
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
| | MINTURNO (Town) LAZIO |
|
|
Liris river
Liris (Leiris: Garigliano), one of the principal rivers of central
Italy, flowing into the Tyrrhenian Sea a little below Minturnae. It had its source
in the central Apennines, only a few miles from the Lacus Fucinus, of which it
has been sometimes, but erroneously, regarded as a subterranean outlet. It flows
at first in a SE. direction through a long troughlike valley, parallel to the
general direction of the Apennines, until it reaches the city of Sora, where it
turns abruptly to the SW., and pursues that course until after its junction with
the Trerus or Sacco, close to the site of Fregellae ; from thence, it again makes
a great bend to the SE., but ultimately resumes its SW. direction before it enters
the sea near Minturnae. Both Strabo and Pliny tell us that it was originally called
Clanis, a name which appears to have been common to many Italian rivers: the former
writer erroneously assigns its sources to the country of the Vestini; an opinion
which is adopted also by Lucan. (Strab. v. p. 233; Lucan ii.425.) The Liris is
noticed by several of the Roman poets, as a very gentle and tranquil stream (Hor.
Carm. i. 31. 8; Sil. Ital. iv. 348),- a character which it well deserves in the
lower part of its course, where it is described by a modern traveller as a wide
and noble river, winding under the shadow of poplars through a lovely vale, and
then gliding gently towards the sea. (Eustace's Classical Tour, vol. ii. p. 320.)
But nearer its source it is a clear and rapid mountain river, and at the village
of Isola, about four miles below Sora, and just after its junction with the Fibrenus,
it forms a cascade of above 90 feet in height, one of the most remarkable waterfalls
in Italy. (Craven's Abruzzi, vol. i. p. 93.)
The Liris, which is still called Liri in the upper part of its course,
though better known by the name of Garigliano, which it assumes when it becomes
a more considerable stream, has a course altogether of above 60 geographical miles:
its most considerable tributary is the Trerus or Sacco, which joins it about three
miles below Ceprano. A few miles higher up it receives the waters of the Fibrenus,
so celebrated from Cicero's description (de Leg. ii. 3); which is, however, but
a small stream, though remarkable for the clearness and beauty of its waters.
The Melfis (Melfa), which joins it a few miles below the Sacco, but from the opposite
bank, is equally inconsiderable.
At the mouth of the Liris near Minturnae, was an extensive sacred
grove consecrated to Marica, a nymph or local divinity, who was represented by
a tradition, adopted by Virgil, as mother of Latinus, while others identified
her with Circe. (Virg. Aen. vii. 47; Lactant. Inst. Div. i. 21.) Her grove and
temple (LUCUS MARICAE: Marikas alsos, Plut. Mar. 39) were not only objects of
great veneration to the people of the neighbouring town of Minturnae, but appear
to have enjoyed considerable celebrity with the Romans themselves. (Strab. v.
p. 233; Liv, xxvii. 37; Serv. ad Aen. vii. 47.) Immediately adjoining its mouth
was an extensive marsh, formed probably by the stagnation of the river itself,
and celebrated in history in connection with the adventures of Marius.
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
| | MORGANTINA (Ancient city) SICILY |
|
|
Symaethus river
Now Giaretta; a river on the east coast of Sicily and at the foot of Mount Aetna, forming the boundary between Leontini and Catana.
|
|
|
| | NAPLES (Town) CAMPANIA |
|
|
Sarnus river
Sarnus (ho Sarnos: Sarno), a river of Campania, flowing into the Bay
of Naples. It has its sources in the Apennines, above Nuceria (Nocera), near which
city it emerges into the plain, and, after traversing this, falls into the sea
a short distance S. of Pompeii. Its present mouth is about 2 miles distant from
that city, but we know that in ancient times it flowed under the walls of Pompeii,
and entered the sea close to its gates. The change in its course is doubtless
owing to the great catastrophe of A.D. 79, which buried Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Virgil speaks of the Sarnus as flowing through a plain (quae rigat aequora Sarnus,
Aen. vii. 738); and both Silius Italicus and Statius allude to it as a placid
and sluggish stream. (Sil. Ital. viii. 538; Stat. Silv. i. 2. 265; Lucan ii.422.)
According to Strabo it was navigable, and served both for the export and import
of the produce of the interior to and from Pompeii. (Strab. v. p. 247; Plin. iii.
5. s. 9; Ptol. iii. 1. § 7; Suet. Clar. Rhet. 4.) Vibius Sequester tells us (p.
18) that it derived its name as well as its sources from a mountain called Sarus,
or Sarnus, evidently the same which rises above the modern town of Sarno, and
is still called Monte Saro or Sarno. One of the principal sources of the Sarno
does, in fact, rise at the foot of this mountain, which is joined shortly after
by several confluents, the most considerable of these being the one which flows,
as above described, from the valley beyond Nuceria.
According to a tradition alluded to by Virgil (l. c.), the banks of
the Sarnus and the plain through which it flowed, were inhabited in ancient times
by a people called Sarrastes whose name is evidently connected with that of the
river. They are represented as a Pelasgian tribe, who settled in this part of
Italy, where they founded Nuceria, as well as several other cities. (Conon, ap.
Serv. ad Aen. l. c.; Sil. Ital. viii. 537.) But their name seems to have quite
disappeared in the historical period; and we find Nuceria occupied by the Alfaterni,
who were an Oscan or Sabellian race.
No trace is found in ancient authors of a town of the name of Sarnus; but
it is mentioned by the Geographer of Ravenna (iv. 32), and seems, therefore, to
have grown up soon after the fall of the Roman Empire.
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
| | PANORMOS (Ancient city) SICILY |
|
|
Nebrodes Mons
Nebrodes Mons (ta Neurode ore, Strab.: Monti di Madonia), one of the
most considerable ranges of mountains in Sicily. The name was evidently applied
to a part of the range which commences near Cape Pelorus, and extends along the
northern side of the island, the whole way to the neighbourhood of Panormus. Though
broken into various mountain groups, there is no real interruption in the chain
throughout this extent, and the names applied to different parts of it seem to
have been employed (as usual in such cases) with much vagueness. The part of the
chain nearest to Cape Pelorus, was called Mons Neptunius, and therefore the Mons
Nebrodes must have been further to the west. Strabo speaks of it as rising opposite
to Aetna, so that he would seem to apply the name to the mountains between that
peak and the northern coast, which are still covered with the extensive forests
of Caronia. Silius Italicus, on the other hand, tells us that it was in the Mons
Nebrodes the two rivers of the name of Himera had their sources, which can refer
only to the more westerly group of the Monti di Madonia, the most lofty range
in Sicily after Aetna, and this indentification is generally adopted. But, as
already observed, there is no real distinction between the two. Silius Italicus
speaks of the Mons Nebrodes as covered with forests, and Solinus derives its name
from the number of fawns that wandered through them; an etymology obviously fictitious.
(Strab. vi. p. 274; Solin. 5. §§ 11, 12; Sil. Ital. xiv. 236; Cluver. Sicil. p.
364; Fazell. de Reb. Sic. x. 2. p. 414.)
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
| | PUGLIA (Region) ITALY |
|
|
Liburnus Mons
A mountain in Apulia, mentioned only by Polybius, in his description of Hannibal's
march into that country, B.C. 217 (Pol. iii. 100), from which it appears to have
been the name of a part of the Apennines on the frontiers of Samnium and Apulia,
not far from Luceria; but it cannot be more precisely identified.
|
|
|
|
|
Vultur Mons
Vultur Mons (Monte Voltore), one of the most celebrated mountains
of Southern Italy, situated on the confines of Apulia, Lucania, and the country
of the Hirpini. It commences about 5 miles to the S. of the modern city of Melfi,
and nearly due W. of Venosa (Venusia), and attains an elevation of 4433 feet above
the level of the sea. Its regular conical form and isolated position, as well
as the crater-like basin near its summit, at once mark it as of volcanic origin;
and this is confirmed by the nature of the rocks of which it is composed. Hence
it cannot be considered as properly belonging to the range of the Apennines, from
which it is separated by a tract of hilly country, forming as it were the base
from which the detached cone of Monte Voltore rises. No ancient author alludes
to the volcanic character of Mount Vultur; but the mountain itself is noticed,
in a well known passage, by Horace, who must have been very familiar with its
aspect, as it is a prominent object in the view from his native city of Venusia.
(Carm. iii. 4. 9-16.) He there terms it Vultur Apulus, though he adds, singularly
enough, that he was without the limits of Apulia ( altricis extra limen Apuliae
) when he was wandering in its woods. This can only be explained by the circumstance
that the mountain stood (as above stated) on the confines of three provinces.
Lucan also incidentally notices Mt. Vultur as one of the mountains that directly
fronted the plains of Apulia. (Lucan ix.185.)
The physical and geological characters of Mount Vultur are noticed
by Romanelli (vol. ii. p. 233), and more fully by Daubeny (Description of Volcanoes,
chap. 11).
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
| | RIGION (Ancient city) CALABRIA |
|
|
Apsias river
The Calopinace river of today. The ancient city of Rhegium was founded in the mouth of the river.
|
|
|
|
|
Leukopetra
As one sails from Rhegium towards the east, and at a distance of fifty stadia, one comes to Cape Leucopetra (so called from its color), in which, it is said, the Apennine Mountain terminates.
|
|
|
|
|
Aquillia Via
The Via Aquillia began at Capua, and ran south through Nola and Nuceria to Salernum; from thence, after sending off a branch to Paestum, it took a wide sweep inland through Eburi and the region of the Mons Alburnus up the valley of the Tanager; it then struck south through the very heart of Lucania and Bruttium, and, passing Nerulum, Interamnia, and Consentia, returned to the sea at Vibo, and thence through Medma to Rhegium.
|
|
|
|
|
Caenys
A promontory of Italy north of Rhegium, facing the promontory of Pelorus in Sicily, and forming with it the narrowest part of the Fretum Siculum.
|
|
|
|
|
Caecinus river
|
|
|
|
|
Heracleium cape
Then comes Heracleium, which is the last cape of Italy and inclines towards the south; for on doubling it one immediately sails with the southwest wind as far as Cape Iapygia, and then veers off, always more and more, towards the northwest in the direction of the Ionian Gulf.
|
|
|
| | ROME (Ancient city) ITALY |
|
|
Marcius mons
Marcius mons (to Markion oros) was, according to Plutarch, the name
of the place which was the scene of a great defeat of the Volscians and Latins
by Camillus in the year after the taking of Rome by the Gauls B.C. 389. (Plut.
Camill. 33, 34.) Diodorus, who calls it simply Marcius or Marcium (to kaloumenon
Markion, xiv. 107), tells us it was 200 stadia from Rome; and Livy, who writes
the name ad Mecium, says it was near Lanuvium. (Liv. vi. 2.) The exact site cannot
be determined. Some of the older topographers speak of a hill called Colle Marzo,
but no such place is found on modern maps; and Gell suggests the Colle di Due
Torri as the most probable locality. (Gell, Top. of Rome, p. 311.)
|
|
|
| | SARDINIA (Island) ITALY |
|
|
Sardoum
Sardoum or Sardonium Mare (to Sardoon pelagos, Strab., Pol., but to
Sardonion pelagos, Herod. i. 166), was the name given by the ancients to the part
of the Mediterranean sea adjoining the island of Sardinia on the W. and S. Like
all similar appellations it was used with considerable vagueness and laxity; there
being no natural limit to separate it from the other parts of the Mediterranean.
Eratosthenes seems to have applied the name to the whole of the sea westward of
Sardinia to the coast of Spain (ap. Plin. iii. 5. s. 10), so as to include the
whole of what was termed by other authors the Mare Hispanum or Balearicum; but
this extension does not seem to have been generally adopted. It was, on the other
hand, clearly distinguished from the Tyrrhenian sea, which lay to the E. of the
two great islands of Sardinia and Corsica, between them and Italy, and from the
Libyan sea (Mare Libycumn), from which it was separated by the kind of strait
formed by the Lilybaean promontory of Sicily, and the opposite point (Cape Bon)
on the coast of Africa. (Pol. i. 42; Strab. ii. pp. 105, 122; Agathem. ii. 14;
Dionys. Per. 82.) Ptolemy, however, gives the name of the Libyan sea to that immediately
to the S. of Sardinia, restricting that of Sardoum Mare to the W., which is certainly
opposed to the usage of the other geographers. (Ptol. iii. 3. § 1.) Strabo speaks
of the Sardinian sea as the deepest part of the Mediterranean; its greatest depth
was said by Posidonius to be not less than 1000 fathoms. (Strab. ii. pp. 50, 54.)
It is in fact quite unfathomable, and the above estimate, is obviously a mere
guess.
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
|
|
Thyrsus
Thyrsus or Tyrsus (Thursos potamos, Ptol.; Thorsos, Paus.: Tirso),
the most considerable river of Sardinia, which still retains its ancient name
almost unaltered. It has its sources in the mountains in the NE. corner of the
island, and flows into the Gulf of Oristano on the W. coast, after a course of
above 75 miles. About 20 miles from its mouth it flowed past Forum Trajani, the
ruins of which are still visible at Fordungianus; and about 36 miles higher up
are the Bagni di Benetutti, supposed to be the Aquae Lesitanae of Ptolemy. The
Itineraries give a station ad Caput Tyrsi (itin. Ant. p. 81), which was 0 M.P.
from Olbia by a rugged mountain road: it must have been near the village of Beuduso.
(De la Marmora, Voy. en Sardaigne, vol. ii. p. 445.) Pausanias tells us that in
early times the Thyrsus was the boundary between the part of the island occupied
by the Greeks and Trojans and that which still remained in the hands of the native
barbarians. (Paus. x. 17. § 6.)
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
|
|
Insani Montes
Insani Montes (ta Mainomena ore, Ptol. iii. 3. § 7), a range of mountains
in Sardinia, mentioned by Livy (xxx. 39) in a manner which seems to imply that
they were in the NE. part of the island; and this is confirmed by Claudian, who
speaks of them as rendering the northern part of Sardinia rugged and savage, and
the adjoining seas stormy and dangerous to navigators. (Claudian, B. Gild. 513.)
Hence, it is evident that the name was applied to the lofty and rugged range of
mountains in the N. and NE. part of the island: and was, doubtless, given to them
by Roman navigators, on account of the sudden and frequent storms to which they
gave rise. (Liv. 1. c.). Ptolemy also places the Mainomena ore - a name which
is obviously translated from the Latin one - in the interior of the island, and
though he would seem to consider them as nearer the W. than the E. coast, the
position which he assigns them may still be referred to the same range or mass
of mountains, which extends from the neighbourhood of Olbia (Terra Nova) on the
E. coast, to that of Cornus on the W.
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
| | SIKELIA (Ancient Hellenic lands) ITALY |
|
|
Asinarus
River in Sicily.
|
|
|
|
|
Asinarus
Perseus Project Index. Total results on 27/4/2001: 5 for Asinarus.
|
|
|
|
|
Crimisus river
Crimisus or Crimissus (Krimisos, Lycophr., Dion. Hal.; Krimesos, Plut.;
Krimissos, Ael.), a river of Sicily, in the neighbourhood of Segesta, celebrated
for the great battle fought on its banks in B.C. 339, in which Timoleon, with
only about 11,000 troops, partly Syracusans, partly mercenaries, totally defeated
a Carthaginian army of above 70,000 men. This victory was one of the greatest
blows ever sustained by the Carthaginian power, and secured to the Greek cities
in Sicily a long period of tranquillity. (Plut. Timol. 25-29; Diod. xvi. 77-81;
Corn. Nep. Tim. 2.) But though the battle itself is described in considerable
detail both by Plutarch and Diodorus, they afford scarcely any information concerning
its locality, except that it was fought in the part of the island at that time
subject to Carthage (en tei ton Karchedonion epikrateiai). The river Crimisus
itself is described as a considerable stream, which being flooded at the time
by storms of rain, contributed much to cause confusion in the Carthaginian army.
Yet its name is not found in any of the ancient geographers, and the only clue
to its position is afforded by the fables which connect it with the city of Segesta.
According to the legend received among the Greeks, Aegestes or Aegestus (the Acestes
of Virgil), the founder and eponymous hero of Egesta, was the son of a Trojan
woman by the river-god Crimisus, who cohabited with her under the form of a dog.
(Lycophr. 961; Tzetz. ad loc.; Virg. Aen. v. 38; and Serv. ad Aen. i. 550.) For
this reason the river Crimisus continued to be worshipped by the Segestans, and
its effigy as a dog was placed on their coins (Ael. V. H. ii. 33; Eckhel, vol.
i. p. 234): Dionysius also distinctly speaks of the Trojans under Elymus and Aegestus
as settling in the territory of the Sicani, about the river Crimisus (i. 52);
hence it seems certain that we must look for that river in the neighbourhood,
or at least within the territory of Segesta, and it is probable that Fazello was
correct in identifying it with the stream now called Fiume di S. Bartolommeo or
Fizmne Freddo, which flows about 5 miles E. of Segesta, and falls into the Gulf
of Castellamare at a short distance from the town of that name. Cluverius supposed
it to be the stream which flows by the ruins of Entella, and falls into the Hypsas
or Belici, thus flowing to the S. coast: but the arguments which he derives from
the account of the operations of Timoleon are not sufficient to outweigh those
which connect the Crimisus with Segesta. (Fazell. de Reb. Sic. vii. p. 299; Cluver.
Sicil. p. 269.)
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
|
|
Siculum Mare
Siculum Mare (to Sikelikon pelagos, Pol. Strab. &c.), was the name
given in ancient times to that portion of the Mediterranean sea which bathed the
eastern shores of Sicily. But like all similar appellations, the name was used
in a somewhat vague and fluctuating manner, so that it is difficult to fix its
precise geographical limits. Thus Strabo describes it as extending along the eastern
shore of Sicily, from the Straits to Cape Pachynus, with the southern shore of
Italy as far as Locri, and again to the eastward as far as Crete and the Peloponnese;
and as filling the Corinthian Gulf, and extending northwards to the Iapygian promontory
and the mouth of the Ionian gulf. (Strab. ii. p. 123.) It is clear, therefore,
that he included under the name the whole of the sea between the Peloponnese and
Sicily, which is more commonly known as the Ionian sea, but was termed by later
writers the Adriatic. Polybius, who in one passage employs the name of Ionian
sea in this more extensive sense, elsewhere uses that of the Sicilian sea in the
same general manner as Strabo, since he speaks of the island of Cephallenia as
extending out towards the Sicilian sea (v. 3); and even describes the Ambracian
gulf as an inlet or arm of the Sicilian sea (iv. 63, v. 5). Eratosthenes also,
it would appear from Pliny, applied the name of Siculum Mare to the whole extent
from Sicily to Crete. (Plin. iii. 5. s. 10.) The usage of Pliny himself is obscure;
but Mela distinguishes the Sicilian sea from the Ionian, applying the former name
to the western part of the broad sea, nearest to Sicily, and the latter to its
more easterly portion, nearest to Greece. (Mel. ii. 4. § 1.) But this distinction
does not seem to have been generally adopted or continued long in use. Indeed
the name of the Sicilian sea seems to have fallen much into disuse. Ptolemy speaks
of Sicily itself as bounded on the N. by the Tyrrhenian sea, on the S. by the
African, and on the E. by the Adriatic; thus omitting the Sicilian sea altogether
(Ptol. iii. 4. § 1); and this seems to have continued under the Roman Empire to
be the received nomenclature.
Strabo tells us that the Sicilian sea was the same which had previously
been called the Ausonian (Strab. ii. p. 133, v. p. 233); but it is probable that
that name was never applied in the more extended sense in which he uses the Sicilian
sea, but was confined to the portion more immediately adjoining the southern coasts
of Italy, from Sicily to the Iapygian promontory. It is in this sense that it
is employed by Pliny, as well as by Polybius, whom he cites as his authority.
(Plin. l. c.)
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
|
|
Halycus river
Halycus (Halukos: Platani), a considerable river of Sicily, which
rises nearly in the centre of the island, and flows towards the SW. till it enters
the sea close to the site of Heracleia Minoa. Its name was evidently derived from
the salt or brackish quality of its waters, a circumstance common to those of
the Platani and of the Fiume Salso (the ancient Himera), and arising from the
salt springs which abound in this part of Sicily. It obtained considerable historical
importance from the circumstance that it long formed the eastern boundary of the
Carthaginian dominions in Sicily. This was first established by the treaty concluded,
in B.C. 383, between that people and Dionysius of Syracuse (Diod. xv. 17): and
the same limit was again fixed by the treaty between them and Timoleon (Id. xvi.
82). It would appear, however, chat the city of Heracleia, situated at its mouth,
but on the left bank, was in both instances retained by the Carthaginians. The
Halycus is again mentioned by Diodorus in the First Punic War (B.C. 249), as the
station to which the Carthaginian fleet under Carthalo retired after its unsuccessful
attack on that of the Romans near Phintias, and where they awaited the approach
of a second Roman fleet under the consul L. Junius. (Diod. xxiv. 1.; Exc. Hoesch.
p. 508.) Polybius, who relates the same events, does not mention the name of the
river (Polyb. i. 53): but there is certainly no reason to suppose (as Mannert
and Forbiger have done) that the river here meant was any other than the well-known
Halycus, and that there must therefore have been two rivers of the name. Heracleides
Ponticus, who mentions the landing of Minos in this part of Sicily, and his alleged
foundation of Minoa, writes the name Lycus, which is probably a mere false reading
for Halycus. (Heracl. Pont. § 29, ed. Schneidewin.) Though a stream of considerable
magnitude and importance, it is singular that its name is not mentioned by any
of the geographers.
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
| | SYRACUSSES (Ancient city) SICILY |
|
|
Ortygia
Island off Syracuse.
|
|
|
|
|
Ortygia
Perseus Project Index. Total results on 27/4/2001: 81
|
|
|
|
|
Anapus river
Anapus (Anapos). (Anapo), one of the most celebrated and considerable
rivers of Sicily, which risesabout a mile from the modern town of Buscemi, not
far from the site of Acrae; and flows into the great harbour of Syracuse. About
three quarters of a mile from its mouth, and just at the foot of the hill on which
stood the Olympieium, it receives the waters of the Cyane. Its banks for a considerable
distance from its mouth are bordered by marshes, which rendered them at all times
unhealthy; and the fevers and pestilence thus generated were among the chief causes
of disaster to the Athenians, and still more to the Carthaginians, during the
several sieges of Syracuse. But above these marshes the valley through which it
flows is one of great beauty, and the waters of the Anapus itself are extremely
limpid and clear, and of great depth. Like many rivers in a limestone country
it rises all at once with a considerable volume of water, which is, however, nearly
doubled by the accession of the Cyane. The tutelary divinity of the stream was
worshipped by the Syracusans under the form of a young man (Ael. V. H. ii. 33),
who was regarded as the husband of the nymph Cyane. (Ovid. Met. v. 416.) The river
is now commonly known as the Alfeo, evidently from a misconception of the story
of Alpheus and Arethusa; but is also called and marked on all maps as the Anapo.
(Thuc. vi. 96, vii. 78; Theocr. i. 68; Plut. Dion. 27, Timol. 21; Liv. xxiv. 36;
Ovid. Ex Pont. ii. 26; Vib. Seq. p. 4; Oberlin, ad loc.; Fazell. iv. 1, p. 196.)
It is probable that the Palus Lysimeleia (he limne he Lusimeleia kaloumene)
mentioned by Thucydides (vii. 53), was a part of the marshes formed by the Anapus
near its mouth. A marshy or stagnant pool of some extent still exists between
the site of the Neapolis of Syracuse and the mouth of the river, to which the
name may with some probability be assigned.
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited October 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
|
|
Asinarus river
Asinarus or Assinarus (Asinaros, Diod. Plut. Assinaros, Thuc.), a
small river on the E. coast of Sicily, between Syracuse and Helorus; memorable
as the scene of the final catastrophe of the Athenian armament in Sicily, and
the surrender of Nicias with the remains of his division of the army. (Thuc. vii.
84, 85; Diod. xiii. 19; Plut. Nic. 27.) It is clearly identified by the circumstances
of the retreat (as related in detail by Thucydides), with the river now called
the Falconara, but more commonly known as the Fiume di Noto, from its proximity
to that city. It rises just below the site of the ancient Neetum (Noto Vecohio),
and after flowing under the walls of the modern Noto, enters the sea in a little
bay called Ballata di Noto, about 4 miles N. of the mouth of the Helorus (F. Abisso).
Being supplied from several subterranean and perennial sources it has a considerable
body of water, as described by Thucydides in the above passage. A curious monument
still extant near Helorum is commonly supposed to have been erected to commemorate
the victory of the Syracusans on this occasion; but it seems too far from the
river to have been designed for such an object. Plutarch tells us (Nic. 28), that
the Syracusans instituted on the occasion a festival called Asinaria; and it is
said that this is still celebrated at the present day, though now converted to
the honour of a saint. (Smyth's Sicily, p. 179; Fazell. de Reb. Sic. iv. 1. p.
198; Cluver. Sicil. p. 184.)
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited October 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
| | SYVARIS (Ancient city) PUGLIA |
|
|
Hylias river
A river in Bruttium, separating the territories of Sybaris and Croton.
|
|
|
|
|
Crathis river
|
|
|
|
|
Traens
A river in Bruttium, now the Trionto, near which the Sybarites were defeated by the troops of Crotona in B.C. 510
|
|
|
| | TARANTO (Ancient city) PUGLIA |
|
|
Tarentinus Sinus
Tarentinus Sinus (ho Tarantinos kolpos: Golfo di Taranto) was the
name given in ancient as well as in modern times to the extensive gulf comprised
between the two great promontories or peninsulas of Southern Italy. It was bounded
by the Iapygian promontory (Capo della Leuca) on the N., and by the Lacinian promontory
(Capo delle Colonne) on the S.; and these natural limits being clearly marked,
appear to have been generally recognised by ancient geographers. (Strab. vi. pp.
261, 262; Mel. ii. 4. § 8; Plin. iii. 11. s. 16; Ptol. iii. 1. § 12.) Strabo tells
us it was 240 miles in extent, following the circuit of the shores, and 700 stadia
(87 1/2 miles) across from headland to headland. Pliny reckons it 250 miles in
circuit, and 100 miles across the opening. The latter statement considerably exceeds
the truth, while Strabo's estimate is a very fair approximation. This extensive
gulf derived its name from the celebrated city of Tarentum, situated at its N
E. extremity, and which enjoyed the advantage of a good port, almost the only
one throughout the whole extent of the gulf. (Strab. vi. p. 278.) But notwithstanding
this disadvantage, its western shores were lined by a succession of Greek colonies,
which rose into flourishing cities. Crotona, Sybaris, Metapontum, and, at a later
period, Heraclea and Thurii, all adorned this line of coast; the great fertility
of the territory compensating for the want of natural harbours. On the northern
or Iapygian shore, on the contrary, the only city was Callipolis, which never
rose above a subordinate condition.
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
| | TAVROMENION (Ancient city) SICILY |
|
|
Acesines river
Acesines (Akesines), a river of Sicily, which flows, into the sea
to the south of Tauromenium. Its name occurs only in Thucydides (iv. 25) on occasion
of the attack made on Naxos by the Messenians in B.C. 425 : but it is evidently
the same river which is called by Pliny (iii. 8) Asines, and by Vibius Sequester
(p. 4) Asinius. Both these writers place it in the immediate neighbourhood of
Tauromenium, and it can be no other than the river now called by the Arabic name
of Cantara, a considerable stream, which, after following throughout its course
the northern boundary of Aetna, discharges itself into the sea immediately to
the S. of Capo Schizo, the site of the ancient Naxos. The Onobalas of Appian (B.C.
v. 109) is probably only another name for the same river. Cluverius appears to
be mistaken in regarding the Flume Freddo as the Acesines : it is a very small
stream, while the Cantara is one of the largest rivers in Sicily, and could hardly
have been omitted by Pliny. (Cluver. Sicil. p. 93; Mannert, vol. ix. pt. ii. p.
284.)
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited October 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
| | THOURII (Ancient city) PUGLIA |
|
|
Acalandrus (Akalandros), river
|
|
|
| | VAIE (Ancient city) ITALY |
|
|
Lucrinus Lacus
Lucrinus Lacus (ho Lokrinos kolpos, Strab: Lago Lucrino), a salt-water
lake or lagoon, adjoining the gulf of Baiae on the coast of Campania. It was situated
just at the bight or inmost point of the deep bay between Puteoli and Baiae, and
was separated from the outer sea only by a narrow strip or bank of sand, in all
probability of natural origin, but the construction of which was ascribed by a
tradition or legend, frequently alluded to by the Roman poets, to Hercules, and
the road along it is said to have been commonly called in consequence, the Via
Herculea or Heraclea. According to Strabo it was 8 stadia in length, and wide
enough to admit of a road for waggons. (Diod. iv. 22 ; Strab. v. p. 245; Lycophr.
Alex. 697 ; Propert. iv. 18. 4; Sil. ltal. xii. 116--120.) On the other side,
the Lucrine lake was separated only by a narrow space from the lake Avernus, which
was, however, of a wholly different character, being a deep basin of fresh water,
formed in the crater of an extinct volcano; while the Lacus Lucrinus, in common
with all similar lagoons, was very shallow, and was for that reason well adapted
for producing oysters and other shell-fish, for the excellence of which it was
celebrated. (Hor. Epod. ii. 49, Sat. ii. 4. 32; Juven. iv. 141; Petron. Sat. p.
424; Martial, vi. 11. 5, xiii. 90; Varr. ap. Non. p. 216.) These oyster-beds were
so valuable as to be farmed out at a high price, and Caesar was induced by the
contractors to repair the dyke of Hercules for their protection. (Serv. ad Georg.
ii. 161.)
The Lucrine lake is otherwise known chiefly in connection with the
great works of Agrippa for the construction of the so-called Julius Portus, alluded
to in two well-known passages of Virgil and Horace. (Virg. Georg. ii. 161-163;
Hor. Ars Poet. 63.) It is not easy to understand exactly the nature of these works;
but the object of Agrippa was obviously to obtain a perfectly secure and land-locked
basin, for anchoring his fleet and for exercising his newly-raised crews and rowers.
For this purpose he seems to have opened an entrance to the lake Avernus by a
cut or canal from the Lucrine lake, and must, at the same time, have opened a
channel from the latter into the bay, sufficiently deep for the passage of large
vessels. But, together with this work, he strengthened the natural barrier of
the Lucrine lake against the sea by an artificial dyke or dam, so as to prevent
the waves from breaking over it as they previously did during heavy gales. (Strab.
v. p. 245; Dion Cass. xlviii. 50; Suet. Aug. 16; Veil. Pat. ii. 79; Serv. et Philargyr.
ad Virg. l. c.; Plin. xxxvi. 15. s. 24.) It is clear from the accounts of these
works that they were perfectly successful for a time, and they appear to have
excited the greatest admiration; but they were soon abandoned, probably from the
natural difficulties proving insuperable; and, from the time that the station
of the Roman fleet was established at Misenum, we hear no more of the Julian Port.
Even in the time of Strabo it seems to have fallen into complete disuse, for he
says distinctly, that the lake Avernus was deep and well adapted for a port, but
could not be used as such on account of the Lucrine lake, which was shallow and
broad, lying between it and the sea (v. p. 244). And again, a little further on
(p. 245), he speaks of the latter as useless as a harbour, and accessible only
to small vessels, but producing abundance of oysters. At a later period Cassiodorus
(Var. ix. 6) describes it in a manner which implies that a communication was still
open with the lake Avernus as well as with the sea. The two lakes are now separated
by a considerable breadth of low sandy ground, but it is probable that this was
formed in great part by the memorable volcanic eruption of 1538, when the hill
now called Monte Nuovo, 413 feet in height and above 8000 feet in circumference,
was thrown up in the course of two days, and a large part of the Lucrine lake
filled up at the same time. Hence the present aspect of the lake, which is reduced
to a mere marshy pool full of reeds, affords little assistance in comprehending
the ancient localities. (Daubeny, On Volcanoes, pp. 208-210.) It is said that
some portions of the piers of the port of Agrippa, as well as part of the dyke
or bank ascribed to Hercules, are still visible under the level of the water.
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
| | VENUSIA (Ancient city) BASILICATA |
|
|
Vultur mountain
A mountain dividing Apulia and Lucania near Venusia, is a branch
of the Apennines. It is celebrated by Horace as one of the haunts of his youth.
It attains an elevation of 4433 feet above the sea. From it the southeast wind
was called Vulturnus by the Romans.
|
|
|
|
|
| | CAMPANIA (Region) ITALY |
|
|
Minervae Promontorium
Minervae Promontorium (to Athenaion akroterion, Strab.: Punta della
Campanella), a promontory on the coast of Campania, opposite to the island of
Capreae, forming the southern boundary of the celebrated Crater or Bay of Naples.
It is a bold and rocky headland, constituting the extremity of a mountain ridge,
which branches off from the main mass of the Apennines near Nuceria, and forms
a great mountain promontory, about 25 miles in length, which separates the Bay
of Naples from that of Paestum or Salerno. The actual headland derived its name
from a temple of Minerva, situated on its summit, which was said to have been
founded by Ulysses (Strab. v. p. 247): it was separated by a channel of only 3
miles in width from the island of Capreae (Capri). On the S. side of the promontory,
but about 5 miles from the extreme headland, are some small rocky islets now called
Li Galli, very bold and picturesque in appearance, which were selected by tradition
as the abode of the Sirens, and hence named the Sirenusae Insulae (Seirenoussai
nesoi, Ptol. iii. 1. § 79; Strab. v. p. 247; Pseud. Arist. Mirab. 110). From the
proximity of these, according to Strabo, the headland itself was sometimes called
the Promontory of the Sirens (Seirenousson akroterion), but all other writers
give it the more usual appellation of Promontory of Minerva, though Pliny adds
that it had once been the abode of the Sirens; and there was an ancient temple
on the side towards Surrentum in honour of those mythical beings, which had at
one time been an object of great veneration to the surrounding population. (Strab.
v. pp. 242, 247; Plin. iii. 5. s. 9; Pseud. Arist. l. c.; Ovid. Met. xv. 709;
Mel. ii. 4. § 9; Liv. xlii. 20.) Tacitus in one passage calls the headland Surrentinum
Promontorium, from its proximity to the town of Surrentum, from which it was only
5 miles distant; and Statius also speaks of the temple of Minerva as situated
in vertice Surrentino. (Tac. Ann. iv. 67; Stat. Silv. v. 3. 165.)
The Promontory of Minerva is a point of considerable importance in
the coast-line of Italy: hence we find it selected in B.C. 181 as the point of
demarcation for the two squadrons which were appointed to clear the sea of pirates;
the one protecting the coasts from thence to Massilia, the other those on the
S. as far as the entrance of the Adriatic. (Liv. xl. 18.) In B.C. 36 a part of
the fleet of Augustus, under Appius Claudius, on its voyage from Misenum to Sicily,
encountered a tempest in passing this cape, from which it suffered heavy loss.
(Appian, B.C. v. 98.) It is mentioned also by Lucilius as a point of importance
in his voyage along the coast of Italy. (Lucil. Sat. iii. Fr. 10.)
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
| | ELEA (Ancient city) ITALY |
|
|
Palinurus
Palinurus or Palinuri Promontorium (Palinouros akroterion, Strab.:
Capo Paliuro), a promontory on the coast of Lucania, on the Tyrrhenian sea, between
Velia and Buxentum. It had a port of the same name immediately adjoining it, which
still bears the name of the Porto di Palinuro. Both headland and port received
their name from the well-known tradition, recorded by Virgil, and alluded to by
many other Latin writers, that it was here that Palinurus, the pilot of Aeneas,
was cast on shore and buried. (Virg. Aen. v. 833-871, vi. 337-381; Dionys. i.
53; Lucan ix.42; Mel. ii. 4. § 9; Solin. 2. § 13.) We learn from Servius that
heroic honours were paid him by the Lucanians (probably by the citizens of Velia),
and that he had a cenotaph and sacred grove not far from that city. (Serv. ad
Aen. vi. 278.) It does not appear that there was ever a town adjoining the headland;
and the port, which is small, though secure and well sheltered, is mentioned only
by Dionysius; but the promontory is noticed by all the geographers except Ptolemy,
and is described by Pliny as forming the northern boundary of a great bay which
might be considered as extending to the Colaumna Rhegina, or the headland on the
Sicilian straits. It is in fact the most salient point of the projecting mass
of mountains which separate the gulf of Posidonia from that of Laus or Policastro,
and form the chief natural feature of the coast of Lucania. (Plin. iii. 5. s.
10; Mel ii. 4. § 9; Strab. vi. p. 252; Oros. iv. 9.) Some ruins of ancient buildings
are still visible on the summit of the headland, which are popularly known as
the tomb of Palinurus. The promontory still retains its ancient name, though vulgarly
corrupted into that of Palonudo.
Like most mountain promontories, that of Palinurus was subject to
sudden and violent storms, and became, in consequence, on two occasions the scene
of great disasters to the Roman fleets.. The first was in B.C. 253, when a fleet
under the consuls Servilius Caepio and Sempronius Blaesus, on its return from
Africa, was shipwrecked on the coast about Cape Palinurus, and 150 vessels lost
with all the booty on board. (Oros. iv. 9.) The second was in B.C. 36, when a
considerable part of the fleet of Augustus, on its way to Sicily, having been
compelled by a tempest to seek refuge in the bay or roadstead of Velia, was lost
on the rocky coast between that city and the adjoining headland of Palinurus.
(Dion Cass. xlix. 1; Appian, B.C. v. 98; Vell. Pat. ii. 79.)
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
| | LOKRI EPIZEFIRIOI (Ancient city) ITALY |
|
|
Zephyrium promontorium
Zephyrium promontorium (to Zephurion: Capo di Bruzzano), a promontory
on the E. coast of the Bruttian peninsula, between Locri and the SE. corner of
Bruttium. It is mentioned principally in connection with the settlement of the
Locrian colonists in this part of Italy, whose city thence derived the name of
Locri Epizephyrii. According to Strabo, indeed, these colonists settled in the
first instance on the headland itself, which had a small port contiguous to it,
but after a short time removed to the site of their permanent city, about 15 miles
farther N. (Strab. vi. pp. 259, 270.) The Zephyrian Promontory is mentioned by
all the geographers in describing the coast of Bruttium, and is undoubtedly the
same now called the Capo di Bruzzano, a low but marked headland, about 10 miles
N. of Cape Spartivento, which forms the SE. extremity of the Bruttian peninsula.
(Strab. l. c.; Plin. iii. 5. s. 10; Mel. ii. 4. § 8; Ptol. iii. 1. § 10; Steph.
Byz. s. v.)
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
| | RIGION (Ancient city) CALABRIA |
|
|
Scyllaeum
Scyllaeum (to Skullaion: Scilla) a promontory, and town or fortress,
on the W. coast of Bruttium, about 15 miles N. of Rhegium, and almost exactly
at the entrance of the Sicilian strait. The promontory is well described by Strabo
(vi. p. 257) as a projecting rocky headland, jutting out boldly into the sea,
and united to the mainland by a narrow neck or isthmus, so as to form two small
but well sheltered bays, one on each side. There can be no doubt that this rocky
promontory was the one which became the subject of so many fables, and which was
represented by Homer and other poets as the abode of the monster Scylla. (Hom.
Od. xii. 73, &c., 235, &c.; Biogr. Diet. art. Scylla.) But the dangers of the
rock of Scylla were far more fabulous than those of its neighbour Charybdis, and
it is difficult to understand how, even in the infancy of navigation, it could
have offered any obstacle more formidable than a hundred other headlands whose
names a<*> unknown to fame. (Senec. Ep. 79; Smyth's Sicily, p. 107.) At a later
period Anaxilas, the despot of Rhegium, being struck with the natural strength
of the position, fortified the rock, and established a naval station there, for
the purpose of checking the incursions of the Tyrrhenian pirates. (Strab. vi.
p. 257.) In consequence of this a small town grew up on the spot; and hence Pliny
speaks of an oppidum Scyllaeum; but it was probably always a small place, and
other writers speak only of the promontory. (Plin. iii. 5. s. 10; Mel. ii. 4.
§ 8; Ptol. iii. 1. § 9.; Steph. Byz. s. v.) At the present day the rock is still
occupied by a fort, which is a post of considerable strength, while a small town
stretches down the slopes towards the two bays. The distance from the castle to
the opposite point of the Sicilian coast, marked by the Torre del Faro, is stated
by Capt. Smyth at 6047 yards, or rather less than 3 1/2 Eng. miles, but the strait
afterwards contracts considerably, so that its width between the Punta del Pezzo
(Caenys Prom.) and the nearest point of Sicily does not exceed 3971 yards. (Smyth's
Sicily, p. 108.)
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
|
|
Leucopetra
Leucopetra (Leukopetra), a promontory of Bruttium, remarkable as the
extreme SW. point of Italy, looking towards the Sicilian sea and the E. coast
of Sicily. It was in consequence generally regarded as the termination of the
chain of the Apennines. Pliny tells us it was 12 miles from Rhegium, and this
circumstance clearly identifies it with the modern Capo dell' Armi, where the
mountain mass of the southern Apennines in fact descends to the sea. The whiteness
of the rocks composing this headland, which gave origin to the ancient name, is
noticed also by modern travellers. (Strab. vi. p. 259; Plin. iii. 5. s. 10; Ptol.
iii. 1. § 9; Swinburne, Travels, vol. i. p. 355.) It is evidently the same promontory
which is called by Thucydides Petra tes Pegies, and was the last point in Italy
where Demnosthenes and Eurymedon touched with the Athenian armament before they
crossed over to Sicily. (Thuc. vii. 35.) It was here also that Cicero touched
on his voyage from Sicily, when, after the death of Caesar, B.C. 44. he was preparing
to repair into Greece, and where he was visited by some friends from Rhegium,
who brought news from Rome that induced him to alter his plans. (Cic. Phil. i.
3, ad Att. xvi. 7.) In the former passage he terms it promontorium agri Rhegini:
the Leucopetra Tarentinorum mentioned by him (ad Att. xvi. 6), if it be not a
false reading, must refer to quite a different place, probably the headland of
Leuca, more commonly called the Iapygian promontory.
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
| | SIKELIA (Ancient Hellenic lands) ITALY |
|
|
Pachynus
Pachynus (Pachunos: Capo Passaro), a celebrated promontory of Sicily,
forming the extreme SE. point of the whole island, and one of the three promontories
which were supposed to have given to it the name of Trinacria. (Ovid, Fast. iv.
479, Met. xiii. 725; Dionys. Per. 467-472; Scyl. p. 4. § 13; Pol. i. 42; Strab.
vi. pp. 265, 272, &c.; Plin. iii. 8. s. 14; Ptol. iii. 4. § 8; Mela, ii. 7. §
15.)
All the ancient geographers correctly describe it as extending out
towards the S. and E. so as to be the point of Sicily that was the most nearly
opposite to Crete and the Peloponnese. It is at the same time the southernmost
point of the whole inland. The headland itself is not lofty, but formed by bold
projecting rocks (projecta saxa Puchyni, Virg. Aen. iii. 699), and immediately
off it lies a small rocky island of considerable elevation, which appears to have
been generally regarded as forming the actual promontory. This explains the expression
of Nonnus, who speaks of the island rock of the seagirt Pachynus. (Dionys. xiii.
322.) Lycophron also has a similar phrase. (Alex. 1181.)
We learn from Cicero (Verr. v. 34) that there was a port in the immediate
neighbourhood of the promontory to which he gives the name of Portus Pachyni:
it was here that the fleet of Verres was stationed under his officer Cleomenes,
when the news that a squadron of pirates was in the neighbouring Port of Ulysses
(Portus Odysseae) caused that commander to take to flight with precipitation.
The Port of Ulysses is otherwise unknown; but Ptolemy gives the name of Promontory
of Ulysses (Odusseia akra, Ptol. iii. 4. § 7) to a point on the S. coast of the
island, a little to the W. of Cape Pachynus. It is therefore probable that the
Portus Pachyni was the one now called Porto di Palo, immediately adjoining the
promontory, while the Portus Odysseae may be identified with the small bay or
harbour of La Marza about 6 miles distant. There are, however, several rocky coves
to which the name of ports may be applied, and the determination must therefore
be in great measure conjectural. (Smyth's Sicily, pp. 181,185,186.) The convenience
of this port at the extreme SE. point of the island caused it to be a frequent
place of rendezvous and station for fleets approaching Sicily; and on one occasion,
during the Second Punic War the Carthaginian commander Bomilcar appears to have
taken up his post in the port to the W. of the promontory, while the Roman fleet
lay immediately to the N. of it. (Liv. xxiv. 27, xxv. 27, xxxvi. 2.)
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
| | TARANTO (Ancient city) PUGLIA |
|
|
Lacinium
Lacinium (to Lakinion akron: Capo delle Colonne), a promontory on
the E. coast of the Bruttian peninsula, about 6 miles S. of Crotona. It formed
the southern limit of the gulf of Tarentum, as the Iapygian promontory did the
northern one: the distance between the two is stated by Strabo, on the authority
of Polybius, at 700 stadia, while Pliny apparently (for the passage in its present
state is obviously corrupt) reckons it at 75 Roman miles, or 600 stadia; both
of which estimates are a fair approximation to the truth, the real interval being
65 geog. miles, or 650 stadia. (Strab. vi. p. 261 ; Plin. iii. 11. s. 15; Mel.
ii. 4. § 8.) The Lacinian promontory is a bold and rocky headland, forming the
termination of one of the offshoots or branches of the great range of the Apennines
(Lucan ii.434; Plin. iii. 5. s. 6): it was crowned in ancient times by the celebrated
temple of the Lacinian Juno, the ruins of which, surviving through the middle
ages, have given to the promontory its modern appellation of Capo delle Colonne.
It is also known by that of Capo Nau, a name evidently derived from the Greek
Naos, a, temple; and which seems to date from an early period, as the promontory
is already designated in the Maritime Itinerary (p. 490) by the name of Naus.
That Itinerary reckons it 100 stadia from thence to Crotona: Strabo gives the
same distance as 150 stadia; but both are greatly overrated. Livy correctly says
that the temple (which stood at the extreme point of the promontory) was only
about 6 miles from the city. (Liv. xxiv. 3.)
Pliny tells us (iii. 10. s. 15) that opposite to the Lacinian promontory,
at a distance of 10 miles from the land, was an island called Dioscoron (the island
of the Dioscuri), and another called the island of Calypso, supposed to be the
Ogygia of Homer. Scylax also mentions the island of Calypso immediately after
the Lacinian promontory ( § 13, p. 5). But there is at the present day no island
at all that will answer to either of those mentioned by Pliny: there is, in fact,
no islet, however small, off the Lacinian cape, and hence modern writers have
been reduced to seek for the abode of Calypso in a small and barren rock, close
to the shore, near Capo Rizzuto, about 12 miles S. of Lacinium. Swinburne, who
visited it, remarks how little it corresponded with the idea of the Homeric Ogygia:
but it is difficult to believe that so trifling a rock (which is not even marked
on Zannoni's elaborate map) could have been that meant by Scylax and Pliny. The
statement of the latter concerning the island which he calls Dioscoron is still
more precise, and still more difficult to account for. On the other hand, he adds
the names of three others, Tiris, Eranusa, and Meloessa, which he introduces somewhat
vaguely, as if he were himself not clear of their position. Their names were probably
taken from some poet now lost to us.
| This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks |
|
|
|
|
|
| | VENUSIA (Ancient city) BASILICATA |
|
|
Bandusiae Fons
A fountain in Apulia some six miles from Venusia, and made famous
by Horace in his ode (iii. 13) beginning "O fons Bandusiae, splendidior vitro!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
