Εμφανίζονται 3 τίτλοι με αναζήτηση: Πληροφορίες για τον τόπο στην ευρύτερη περιοχή: "ΣΤΥΞ Καταρράκτης ΑΙΓΙΑΛΕΙΑ" .
ΣΤΥΞ (Καταρράκτης) ΑΙΓΙΑΛΕΙΑ
Styx (Stux), a waterfall descending from a lofty rock in the Aroanian
mountains, above Nonacris, a town in the NE. of Arcadia, in the district of Pheneus.
The water descends perpendicularly in two slender cascades, which, after winding
among a labyrinth of rocks, unite to form a torrent that falls into the Crathis.
It is by far the highest waterfall in Greece; the scenery is one of wild desolation;
and it is almost impossible to climb over the rocks to the foot of the cascade.
The wildness of the scenery, the inaccessibility of the spot, and the singularity
of the waterfall made at an early period a deep impression upon the Greeks, and
invested the Styx with superstitious reverence. It is correctly described by both
Homer and Hesiod. The former poet speaks of the down-flowing water of the Styx
(to kateibomenon Stugos hudor, Il. xv. 37), and of the lofty torrents of the Styx
(Stugos hudatos aipa rheethra, Il. viii. 369). Hesiod describes it as a cold stream,
which descends from a precipitous lofty rock (hudor psuchron ho t ek petres kataleibetai
elibatoio hupseles, Theog. 785), and as the perennial most ancient water of the
Styx, which flows through a very rugged place (Stugos aphthiton hudor ogugion,
to d lesi katastuphelou dia chorou, Theog. 805). The account of Herodotus, who
does not appear to have visited the Styx, is not so accurate. He says that the
Styx is a fountain in the town Nonacris; that only a little water is apparent;
and that it dropt from the rock into a cavity surrounded by a wall (vi. 74). In
the same passage Herodotus relates that Cleomenes endeavoured to persuade the
chief men of Arcadia to swear by the waters of the Styx to support him in his
enterprise. Among the later descriptions of this celebrated stream that of Pausanias
(viii. 17. § 6) is the most full and exact. Not far from the ruins of Nonacris,
he says, is a lofty precipice higher than I ever remember to have seen, over which
descends water, which the Greeks call the Styx. He adds that when Homer represents
Hera swearing by the Styx, it is just as if the poet had the water of the stream
dropping before his eyes. The Styx was transferred by the Greek and Roman poets
to the invisible world [see Dict. of Gr. and Rom. Biogr. and Myth. art. Styx];
but the waterfall of Nonacris continued to be regarded with superstitious terrors;
its water was supposed to be poisonous; and it was believed that it destroyed
all kinds of vessels, in which it was put, with the exception of those made of
the hoof of a horse or an ass. There was a report that Alexander the Great had
been poisoned by the water of the Styx. (Arrian, Anab. vii. 27; Plut. Alex. 77,
de Prim. Frig. 20. p. 954; Paus. viii. 18. § 4; Strab. viii. p. 389; Aelian, H.
An. x. 40; Antig. Hist. Mirab. 158 or 174; Stob. Ecl. Phys. i. 52. § 48; Plin.
ii. 103. s. 106, xxx. 16. s. 53, xxxi. 2. s. 19; Vitruv. viii. 3; Senec. Q. N.
iii. 25.) The belief in the deleterious nature of the water continues down to
the present day, and the inhabitants of the surrounding villages relate that no
vessel will hold the water. It is now called ta Mauraneria, or the Black Waters,
and sometimes ta Drako-neria or the Terrible Waters. (Leake, Morea, vol. iii.
p. 160, seq.; Fiedler, Reise durch Griechenland, vol. i. p. 400, who gives a drawing
of the Styx; Curtius, Peloponnesos, vol. i. p. 195.)
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
Styx (Stux). A name connected with the verb stugeo, to hate or abhor, and applied to the principal river in the nether world, around which it flows seven times. Styx is described as a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. As a nymph she dwelt at the entrance of Hades, in a lofty grotto which was supported by silver columns. As a river, Styx is described as a branch of Oceanus, flowing from its tenth source; and the river Cocytus again is a branch of the Styx. By Pallas, Styx became the mother of Zelus, Nike, Bia, and Cratos. She was the first of all the immortals who took her children to Zeus, to assist him against the Titans; and, in return for this, her children were allowed forever to live with Zeus, and Styx herself became the divinity by whom the most solemn oaths were sworn. When one of the gods had to take an oath by Styx, Iris brought a cup full of water from the Styx, and the god, while taking the oath, poured out the water.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
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