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Cythnus (Kuthnos: Eth. Kuthnios: Thermia), an island in the Aegaean
sea, one of the Cyclades, lying between Ceos and Seriphos. (Strab. x. p. 485;
Dicaearch. p. 462, ed. Fuhr.; Scylax, p. 22, ed. Hudson; Plin. iv. 12. s. 20;
Mela, ii. 7; Ptol. iii. 15. § 28.) It was colonised by the Dryopes, whence it
was also called Dryopis. (Herod. viii. 46; Steph. B. s. v.) Its name rarely occurs
in antiquity. The Cythnians sent a trireme and a penteconter to the battle of
Salamis. (Herod.) After the Peloponnesian war they became the subject allies of
Athens, together with the other islanders in the Aegaean; but they never acquired
power or wealth. (Comp. Dem. Peri Suntaxeos, p. 176.) The only native of the island
mentioned by the ancient writers, was Cydias the painter; and its chief celebrity
in (antiquity was owing to its excellent cheeses. (Steph. B. s. v.; Eustath. ad
Dionys. Per. 525; Athen. xii. p. 516; Plin. xiii. 24. s. 27.) Its political constitution,
however, had not escaped the attention of Aristotle. (Harpocrat. s. v. Kuthnioi.)
In the war between Philip and the Romans in B.C. 200, Cythnus was occupied by
a Macedonian garrison. Attalus and the Rhodians laid siege to the city; but being
unable to take it immediately, they quitted the island at the end of a few days,
as the capture of the place was hardly worth the trouble. (Liv. xxxi. 15, 45.)
After the death of Nero, Cythnus is mentioned as the place where a false Nero
made his appearance, and gathered around him many adherents. (Tac. Hist. ii. 8,
9.)
Cythnus contained a town of the same name, situated about the middle
of the western coast of the island, upon the summit and sides of a hill at least
600 feet in height. Its harbour was formed by a small rock lying in front of the
town. The ruins of the ancient town are now called Hebraeokastron. The circuit
of the walls may still be traced, though the greater part of them has disappeared.
Within this circuit Ross noticed two large rectangular substructions, divided
by a passage a few feet in width; they were probably the foundations of two temples
or other public buildings. From the above-mentioned passage a flight of steps
appears to have been cut out of the rock, leading down to the sea. Near these
steps on the descent to the sea are three chambers cut out of the rock, standing
alongside of one another; they were probably a sanctuary, as there is nothing
to indicate that they were sepulchres.
The modern name of the island, Thermia, is derived from some hot springs
on its north-eastern side, which are now much frequented from various parts of
Greece, for the cure of diseases. They are not mentioned by ancient writers, but
appear to have been used in antiquity, as some ancient remains are found near
them. (Tournefort, Voyage, vol. i. p. 251, transl.; Ross, Reisen auf den Griech.
Inseln, vol. i. p. 105; Fiedler, Reise durch Griechenland, vol. ii. p. 95.)
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
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