490. The site of the ancient town of Marathon is thought not to have

been at the modern village of Marathon, but a place called Vrana, to the south of it. [2324] The eastern part of the Eleusinian plain was thus called, from the Demus of Thria. Its exact site is uncertain. [2325] Melite was a Demus of the tribe Cecropis, of Athens, west of the Inner Ceramicus. [2326] Now Oropo, on the eastern frontiers of Bœotia and Attica, near the Euripus. It originally belonged to the Bœotians. [2327] Its ruins are supposed to be those seen eight miles from Egripo. Lukisi has also been suggested. [2328] Its ruins are still to be seen on the S.W. slope of Mount Faga. [2329] On the S.E. slope of Mount Helicon. Its ruins are to be seen at the modern Eremo or Rimokastro. [2330] Now Livadhia. The celebrated cave of Trophonius stood in its vicinity. [2331] Extensive remains of it are still to be seen; but the modern town of Theba or Stiva stands only on the site of its ancient Cadmea or citadel. [2332] To distinguish it from places of the same name in Egypt, Phthiotis, and Lucania. [2333] On the range of mountains of that name separating Bœotia from Megaris and Attica. The forest abounded in game, and the vicinity was a favourite scene of the poetic legends. Paleovuni is the highest summit of the Heliconian range. Leake fixes the Grove of the Muses at the present church of Saint Nicholas, at the foot of Mount Marandali, one of the summits of Helicon. [2334] These fountains or springs are very difficult to identify, but Hippocrene, or the “Horse-Spring” (said to have been produced by Pegasus striking the ground with his feet), was probably at the present Makariotissa; while Aganippe is the fountain that flows midway between Paleo-panaghia and Pyrgaki. [2335] This place was originally a member of the Bœotian confederacy, but joined the Athenians, though it did not become an Attic Demus. Leake thinks that its ruins are those seen at Myupoli. Ross thinks that it stood to the east of Ghyfto-kastro, while other writers are of opinion that it stood more to the west, near the modern village of Kundara. [2336] Razed to the ground by the Roman prætor Lucretius, for having espoused the cause of king Perseus. Its remains are seen about a mile from the village of Mazi, on the road from Thebes to Lebadæa. [2337] Memorable for the defeat of the Persians under Mardonius, B.C. 479. [2338] Distant twenty stadia from Orchomenus. Leake places it at the modern Izamali, Forchhammer at Avro-Kastro. [2339] Its site is uncertain. Leake supposes it to be at Paleokastro, between the north end of Lake Hylica and the foot of Mount Palea. Ulrichs places it at the south end of the lake. [2340] The modern Kakosia occupies its site. [2341] At the foot of Mount Cithæron. Leake places it eastward of Katzula, at the foot of the rocks there. [2342] Leake identifies it with the ruins on the torrent of Plataniki, below the mountain of Siamata. Pausanias says it was situate seven stadia beyond Teumessus, and at the foot of Hypatus, now Siamata. [2343] On Lake Copaïs. The modern village of Topolia occupies its site. [2344] The waters of the Cephisus here burst forth from their subterraneous channel. [2345] On Lake Copaïs. Its ruins are at a short distance to the south of the modern Kardhitza. [2346] South of Mount Helicon. Its principal remains are those of its theatre, a temple of Hera, and the agora or market-place. [2347] On the borders of Phocis; famous for the battles fought in its vicinity between the Athenians and Bœotians, B.C. 447, and between Philip of Macedon and the Athenians and Bœotians, B.C. 338, and that in which Sylla defeated the generals of Mithridates B.C. 86. It stood on the site of the modern village of Kapurna. [2348] On the river Copaïs, at the foot of Mount Tilphusion. [2349] On the river of that name, and on the road from Thebes to Anthedon. [2350] Its site appears to be unknown. [2351] Enumerated by Homer with Aulis. Ancient critics have, without sufficient reason, identified it with Hysiæ. [2352] It was sacked by the Athenians, B.C. 413, and in ruins in the time of Pausanias. [2353] The modern Grimadha or Grimala occupies its site. [2354] The modern channel of Egripo. [2355] The place where the Grecian fleet assembled when about to sail for Troy. Leake says that its harbour is now called Vathy, evidently from the Greek βαθὺς, “wide.” [2356] So called from dwelling near Mount Cnemis. [2357] Its ruins are to be seen three miles from the modern Talanti. [2358] Now the Golfo di Talanti. [2359] On the Eubœan Sea, which here extended to the Corinthian Gulf. It was in ruins in the time of Strabo. Cynus was the chief sea-port of the Locri Opuntii. Its site is marked by a tower called Palæopyrgo, and some ruins to the south of the village of Livanates. [2360] The modern village of Lefti stands on its site, and there are some ruins to be seen. [2361] In C. iv. of this Book. [2362] Or Cnemides, a fortress built on the range of Mount Cnemis, near the modern Nikoraki. [2363] Ravaged by Philip of Macedon. Its ruins are near the modern village of Vogdhani. [2364] The Lower Larymna. Its ruins are seen between the modern Matzumadi and Martini. [2365] Its ruins are to be seen near the modern Andera. [2366] Between Daphnus and Cynus. Gell found its ruins on a hill near the sea-shore. [2367] Its ruins are to be seen three miles from those of Thronium. [2368] Now called the Gulf of Zeitoun. The people from whom it received its name were the Malienses. [2369] Its ruins are two leagues from the modern town of Zeitoun. [2370] Or Sperchia. [2371] Strabo says that it lay below the town of Pindus. It is perhaps the present Palæo Choria. [2372] Its ruins are placed by Leake near the modern Mariolates. [2373] Like Pindus, one of the four towns or Tetrapolis of Doris. Its site corresponds to the modern Gravia. [2374] He seems to think that the name Græcus is older than that of Hellen, in which he is supported by Apollodorus. [2375] So called from Echion, fabled to have sprung from the dragon’s teeth. Its site is marked by the modern village called Akhino. The Sperchius is now called the Ellada. [2376] This famous spot still retains its name. It is also called Bocca di Lupo. [2377] From τραχὺς, “narrow,” in allusion to the narrowness of the mountain passes. Brotier places it on the site of the modern Zeitoun, but he is probably in error. [2378] A peak of the range of Œta. [2379] The name of a town and small district of Phthiotis: it eventually gave its name to the whole of Greece, which by its inhabitants was called Hellas. [2380] Near the river Amphrysus. Leake places it at Kefalosi, at the extremity of Mount Othrys. [2381] The modern Zeitoun. [2382] Said to have been the city of Achilles. [2383] According to Stephanus of Byzantium, Cierium was identical with Arne. Leake places it at the modern Mataranga. [2384] So called from the people called Minyæ, who derived their name from Minyas, the father of Orchomenus. In the time of Strabo, this city, the capital of the Minyan empire, was in ruins. Its site is now called Seripu. [2385] Leake places its site on the left bank of the Peneius, opposite the village of Gunitza. [2386] The residence of Admetus, and in later times of the tyrants of Thessaly. The modern Valestina occupies its site. [2387] Spoken of in C. 17 of the present book. [2388] The ancient capital of the Pelasgi. It is now called Larissa, Larza, or Ienitchen. [2389] Leake places Gomphi on the heights now called Episkopi, on the left bank of the Bliuri. [2390] Its ruins are said to be seen about eight miles from the modern city of Volo. [2391] The city of Volo stands on its site. The Gulf is called the Bay of Volo. [2392] This is not strictly correct. Demetrias was founded by Demetrius Poliorcetes, about two or three miles to the west of Pagasa, the inhabitants of which were removed to that place. Its remains are to be seen, according to Leake, on the face of a maritime height called Goritza. [2393] Pharsalus, now Farsa or Fersala, in Thessaliotis. On its plain Pompey was defeated by Cæsar, B.C. 48. [2394] Or Cranon; said to have been anciently called Ephyre. Leake places its site at some ruins called Palea Larissa, distant two hours and twenty-seven minutes’ journey from Larissa. It was the residence of the powerful family of the Scopadæ. [2395] This range in Macedonia is now called Verria. Herodotus states that it was impassably for cold, and that beyond were the gardens of Midas, where roses grew spontaneously. [2396] The name of the eastern part of the great mountain chain extending west and east from the Promontory of Acroceraunia on the Adriatic to the Thermaic Gulf. It is now called by the Greeks Elymbo, and by the Turks Semavat-Evi, the “Abode of the Celestials.” A portion of this range was called Pierus; and Ossa, now Kissavo, the “ivy-clad,” was divided from Olympus on the N.W. by the Vale of Tempe. Othrys extended from the south of Mount Pindus, to the eastern coast and the Promontory between the Gulf of Pagasa and the northern point of Eubœa. [2397] Now called Plessedhi or Zagora; situate in the district of Magnesia in Thessaly, between lake Bœbeis and the Pagasæan Gulf. [2398] Now the Gouropotamo. [2399] Flowing into the Asopus near Thermopylæ. [2400] In Pieria. Supposed to be the modern Litokhoro. [2401] The modern Rajani. [2402] This lake received the rivers Onchestus, Amyrus, and others. It is now called Karla, from an adjoining village which has ceased to exist. The town of Bœbe was in its vicinity. [2403] Now the Salambria or Salamria. [2404] The _jugerum_ was properly 240 feet long and 120 broad, but Pliny uses it here solely as a measure of length; corresponding probably to the Greek πλέθρον, 100 Grecian or 104 Roman feet long. Tempe is the only channel through which the waters of the Thessalian plain flow into the sea. [2405] Il. B. ii. c. 262. He alludes to the poetical legend that the Orcus or Titaresius was a river of the infernal regions. Its waters were impregnated with an oily substance, whence probably originated the story of the unwillingness of the Peneus to mingle with it. It is now called the Elasonitiko or Xeraghi. [2406] Near Libethrum; said to be a favourite haunt of the Muses, whence their name “Libethrides.” It is near the modern Goritza. [2407] Leake places its site on the height between the southernmost houses of Volo and Vlakho-Makhala. No remains of it are to be seen. [2408] Ansart says that on its site stands the modern Korakai Pyrgos. [2409] Near Neokhori, and called Eleutherokhori. [2410] Now Kortos, near Argalisti, according to Ansart. [2411] Now Haghios Georgios, or the Promontory of St. George. [2412] At the foot of Mount Pelion. Leake places it at some ruins near a small port called Tamukhari. The chestnut tree derived its Greek and modern name from this place, in the vicinity of which it still abounds. [2413] Probably near the village of Hagia Eutimia, according to Ansart. [2414] Now Trikeri. [2415] Melibœa was near the modern Mintzeles, and Rhizus near Pesi Dendra, according to Ansart. [2416] Ansart says, in the vicinity of the modern Conomio. [2417] Situate at the foot of Mount Homole, between Tempe and the village of Karitza. Leake thinks that the Convent of St. Demetrius, on the lower part of Mount Kissavo, stands on its site. [2418] Now Tournovo, according to Ansart. [2419] Now called Democo, according to Ansart. [2420] Between the Titaresius and the Peneus. The modern village of Tatari stands on its site. [2421] Probably the place of the same name mentioned in the last Chapter. [2422] Probably the same as Acharræ on the river Pamisus, mentioned by Livy, B. xxxii. c. 13. [2423] On the Dotian Plain, mentioned by Hesiod, and probably the same place that Pindar calls Lacereia. [2424] The birth-place of Protesilaüs, the first victim of the Trojan war. [2425] Nothing is known of this place. The word “porro” appears instead of it in some editions. [2426] Philip, the Conqueror of Greece, and Alexander, the Conqueror of Asia. [2427] The original Emathia, as mentioned by Homer, is coupled with Pieria as lying between the Hellenic cities of Thessaly and Pæonia, and Thrace. [2428] A tribe of the south-west of Mœsia, and extending over a part of Illyricum. According to Strabo, they were a wild race, of filthy habits, living in caves under dunghills, but fond of music. [2429] A people of Mœsia, mentioned in C. 29 of the last Book. [2430] Supposed by some writers to be the same place as Edessa. Ansart says it is the spot now known as Moglena. [2431] Now Verria in Roumelia. St. Paul and Silas withdrew to this place from Thessalonica. The remains are very considerable. [2432] Described by Livy as of great strength. It occupied the site of the modern Stagus. [2433] Surnamed Lyncestis; the chief town of Upper Macedonia. It must have stood not far from the modern town of Felurina. [2434] Now the Platamona. [2435] Now Kitron. The Romans usually called it Citron or Citrus. [2436] In the inmost recess of the Thermaic Gulf. Leake supposes it to have occupied the site of the present Palea Khora, near Kapsokhori. [2437] Now the Vistritza, by the Turks called Inje-Karra. Cæsar calls it the boundary between Macedonia and Thessaly. [2438] The people apparently of Aloros just mentioned. [2439] Vallæ and Phylacæ appear to have been two towns of Pieria. [2440] The people of Cyrrhus; probably on the site of the present Vistritza. Leake however makes a place called Paleokastro to occupy its site. Tyrissæ was probably in its vicinity. [2441] Now Alaklisi, upon a lake formed by the Lydias. Philip made it the capital of Macedonia, and it was the birth-place of Alexander the Great. It was made a Roman colony under the name of Julia Augusta Pella. [2442] Its ruins are still called Stoli. [2443] There were two places of this name in Macedonia; one called Antigonia Psaphara in Chalcidice, and the other in Pæonia. [2444] Between Idomene and the plains of Pella. As Pliny here says, it was a different place from Europus of Almopia, by which the Rhœdias flows. Of the following places nothing seems to be known. [2445] Coupled by Herodotus with Pella. Eordæa seems to have been the name of the district on the river Eordaicus, identified with the modern Devol. [2446] They dwelt in the vicinity of Mount Scomium. The river Axius is the modern Vardhari. [2447] Or Thrace. [2448] People of Paroræa in Thrace. [2449] The people probably of Eordæa, already mentioned. [2450] Leake thinks that Almopia was the name of the district now called Moglena. [2451] The Mygdones were a Thracian people in the east of Macedonia, on the Thermaic Gulf. [2452] The people of Arethusa, a town of Bisaltia in Macedonia, in the pass of Aulon. Euripides, the tragic poet, was buried here. [2453] A town of Mygdonia. [2454] The people of Idomene, a town about twelve miles from the pass of Stena, now Demirkapi, or the ‘Iron Gate,’ on the river Vardhari. [2455] Their district of Doberus is supposed to have been near the modern Doghiran. [2456] It has been suggested that Garescus stood on the same site as the modern Nurocopo. Many of these peoples are now entirely unknown. [2457] The people of Lyncestis, in Macedonia, of Illyrian origin and on the frontiers of Illyria. Lyncus was the ancient capital, Heraclæa the more modern one. [2458] Probably the inhabitants of the slopes of Mount Othrys. [2459] Amantia was properly in Illyria, to the south of the river Aoüs. Leake places it at Nivitza. [2460] A people of the north of Epirus, on the borders of Macedonia. They were said to have derived their name from Orestes, who, after the murder of his mother, founded in their territory the town of Argos Oresticum. [2461] A Greek city of Illyria. Dr. Holland discovered its remains at Graditza on the Aoüs or Viosa. [2462] The bulwark of the Macedonian maritime frontier to the south. Leake discovered its site near the modern Malathria. [2463] On the right bank of the river Strymon in Thracian Macedonia. It stood on the site of the modern Zervokhori. [2464] A people of Epirus on the borders of Thessaly. [2465] In Mygdonia, at the mouth of the Axius—King Perseus put all its male inhabitants to death. Its site was at or near the modern Kulakia. [2466] Now Saloniki. Its original name was Thermæ, but it was first made an important city by Cassander, B.C. 315, who gave it its new name in honour of his wife, the sister of Alexander the Great: St. Paul visited it about A.D. 53, and two years after addressed from Corinth two Epistles to his converts in the city. [2467] Polybius says, in Strabo, B. vii., 267 miles. [2468] As already mentioned, Thermæ became merged in Thessalonica, when refounded by Cassander under that name. [2469] Now the Gulf of Saloniki. [2470] This is probably an error. Pydna, already mentioned, lay far inland in the district of Pieria. [2471] On the peninsula of Pallene. Its male inhabitants were put to death by the Athenians in the Peloponnesian war. [2472] Now Capo Paliuri, the extreme point of the Isthmus of Pallene. [2473] The most westerly of the three peninsulas of Chalcidice. Phlegra is generally understood to have been its former name. [2474] Perhaps the same as Nyssa, between the rivers Nestus or Mestus, and Strymon. [2475] Its ruins are now called Pinaka. It was a colony of the Corinthians but refounded by Cassander, King Philip having previously destroyed the city. [2476] South-east of Thessalonica, and north of Chalcidice. It was given by King Philip to the Olynthians. [2477] Near Mount Athos. [2478] Now Molivo, at the head of the Toronaic Gulf, part of which thence took its name. [2479] The name of a promontory at the extremity of the peninsula of Sithonia, in Chalcidice. It seems to correspond with the modern Capo Kartali. [2480] In the district of Chalcidice, on the S.W. of the peninsula of Sithonia. [2481] On the east of the peninsula of Sithonia. It gave its name to the Sinus Singiticus or Singitic Gulf. [2482] Now Monte Santo, at the end of the long peninsula running out from Chalcidice. [2483] This is a mistake. It is only forty miles in length. From Lieut. Smith (_Journal of Royal Geogr. Soc._ vol. vii. p. 65) we learn that its average breadth is about four miles; consequently Pliny’s statement as to its circumference must be greatly exaggerated. Juvenal, Sat. x. l. 174, mentions the story of the canal as a specimen of Greek falsehood; but distinct traces have survived, to be seen by modern travellers, all the way from the Gulf of Monte Santo to the Bay of Erso in the Gulf of Contessa, except about 200 yards in the middle, which has been probably filled up. [2484] Or Acrothoüm. Pliny, with Strabo and Mela, errs in thinking that it stood _on_ the _mountain_. It stood on the _peninsula_ only, probably on the site of the modern Lavra. [2485] Or the ‘Heaven City,’ from its elevated position. It was founded by Alexarchus, brother of Cassander, king of Macedon. [2486] Probably on the west side of the peninsula, south of Thyssus. [2487] Or “long-lived.” [2488] Now Erisso; on the east side of the Isthmus, about a mile and a half from the canal of Xerxes. There are ruins here of a large mole. [2489] A little to the north of the Isthmus now called Stavro. It was the birth-place of Aristotle the philosopher, commonly called the Stagirite, and was, in consequence, restored by Philip, by whom it had been destroyed; or, as Pliny says in B. vii. c. 30, by Alexander the Great. [2490] The name of the central one of the three peninsulas projecting from Chalcidice. The poets use the word _Sithonius_ frequently as signifying ‘Thracian.’ [2491] Possibly not the same as the Heraclea Sintica previously mentioned. [2492] Now called Pollina, south of Lake Bolbe, on the road from Thessalonica to Amphipolis. [2493] Sacred to Poseidon or Neptune. Now Capo Stavros in Thessaly, the west front of the Gulf of Pagasa, if indeed this is the place here meant. [2494] On the left or eastern bank of the river Strymon, which flowed round it, whence its name Amphi-polis, “round the city.” Its site is now occupied by a village called Neokhorio, in Turkish Jeni-Keni or “Newtown.” A few remains are still to be seen. The bay at the mouth of the Strymon, now Struma or Kara-Sou, is called the Gulf of Orphano. [2495] A Thracian people, extending from the river Strymon on the east to Crestonica on the west. [2496] In Mount Scomius namely, one of the Hæmus or Balkan range. [2497] Under Alexander the Great. On his death his empire was torn in pieces by the contentions of his generals. [2498] In allusion to the legendary accounts of the Indian expeditions of Bacchus and Hercules. [2499] On the conquest of Perseus. Plutarch says that these seventy cities were pillaged in one and the same hour. They were thus punished for their support of Perseus. [2500] Alexander the Great and Paulus Æmilius. [2501] Or præfectures, as the Romans called them. [2502] In the last Chapter. [2503] An extensive tribe occupying the country about the rivers Axius, Strymon, and Nestus or Mestus. [2504] This river is now called the Mesto or Kara-Sou. [2505] A range between the Strymon and the Nestus, now the Pangea or Despoto-Dagh. [2506] Probably a canton or division of the Bessi. [2507] The most powerful people of Thrace; dwelling on both sides of the Artiscus, and on the plain of the Hebrus. [2508] Now the Maritza. It rises near the point where Mount Scomius joins Mount Rhodope. The localities of most of the tribes here named are unknown. [2509] The name of this people is often used by the poets to express the whole of Thrace. The district of Edonis, on the left bank of the Strymon, properly extended from Lake Cercinitis as far east as the river Nestus. [2510] Or “Trouble City,” also called Eumolpias. [2511] Or “Philip’s City,” founded by Philip of Macedon; still called Philippopoli. [2512] Because it stood on a hill with three summits. Under the Roman empire it was the capital of the province of Thracia. [2513] On account probably of the winding nature of the roads; as the height of the Balkan range in no part exceeds 3000 feet. With Theopompus probably originated the erroneous notion among the ancients as to its exceeding height. [2514] The people of Mœsia. The Aorsi and Getæ are again mentioned in C. 25 of this Book. [2515] The inhabitants of the present Bulgaria, it is supposed. [2516] Following the account which represent him as a king of the Cicones, and dwelling in the vicinity of Mount Rhodope. The Sithonii here mentioned dwelt about the mouth of the Ister, or Danube, and were a different people from those of Sithonia, in Chalcidice, referred to in a previous note. [2517] The Sea of Marmora. [2518] It is difficult to conceive which place of this name is here alluded to, as there seem to have been four places on this coast so called, and all mentioned by Pliny in the present Book. [2519] Called Æsyma by Homer; between the rivers Strymon and Nestus. [2520] Now called Kavallo, on the Strymonic Gulf. The site of Datos appears to be unknown. [2521] Now called Filiba, or Felibejik, on a height of Mount Pangæus, on the river Gangites, between the Nestus and the Strymon. It was founded by Philip, on the site of the ancient town of Crenides, in the vicinity of the gold mines. Here Augustus and Antony defeated Brutus and Cassius, B.C. 42; and here the Apostle Paul first preached the Gospel in Europe, A.D. 53. See Acts xvi. 12. [2522] Its site seems unknown, but it is evidently a different place from that mentioned in the last Chapter. [2523] Also called Mestus. [2524] Sintica, previously mentioned. [2525] Now Aco Mamas, at the head of the Toronaic Gulf. It was the most important Greek city on the coast of Macedon. It was taken and destroyed by Philip, B.C. 347, and its inhabitants sold as slaves. Mecyberna, already mentioned, was used as its sea-port. [2526] On the coast, and east of the river Nestus. Its people were proverbial for their stupidity, though it produced the philosophers Democritus, Protagoras, and Anaxarchus. No traces of its site are to be found. [2527] Now called the Lagos Buru. The name of the Bistones is sometimes used by the poets for that of the Thracians in general. [2528] Or mares rather. Diomedes was the son of Ares, or Mars, and king of the Bistones. He was slain by Hercules. [2529] By some identified with the modern Curnu, by others with Bauron. [2530] Or Ismarus, at the foot of Mount Ismarus. [2531] Now Marogna. [2532] A promontory opposite the island of Samothrace. [2533] A town on a promontory of the same name, said to have been frequented by Orpheus. [2534] The Plain of Doriscus is now called the Plain of Romigik. Parisot suggests the true reading here to be 100,000, or, as some MSS. have it, 120,000, there being nothing remarkable in a plain containing 10,000 men. Pliny however does not mention it as being remarkable, but merely suggests that the method used by Xerxes here for numbering his host is worthy of attention. [2535] Now the Maritza. At its mouth it divides into two branches, the eastern forming the port of Stentor. [2536] Still called Enos. [2537] A son of Priam and Hecuba, murdered by Polymnestor, king of the Thracian Chersonesus, to obtain his treasures. See the Æneid, B. iii. [2538] From the Greek, μάκρον τεῖχος. [2539] Now the Gulf of Enos. [2540] Now Ipsala, or Chapsylar, near Keshan. [2541] Now Rodosto, or Rodostshig, on the coast of the Propontis, or Sea of Marmora. [2542] Now called the Peninsula of the Dardanelles, or of Gallipoli. The wall was built to protect it from incursions from the mainland. [2543] He here skips nearly five degrees of latitude, and at once proceeds to the northern parts of Thrace, at the mouth of the Danube, and moves to the south. [2544] Or, the “city of the Ister,” at the south of Lake Halmyris, on the Euxine. Its site is not exactly known; but by some it is supposed to have been the same with that of the modern Kostendsje. [2545] Now Temesvar, or Jegni Pangola, the capital of Scythia Minor. It was said to have been so called from the Greek τέμνω, “to cut,” because Medea here cut to pieces the body of her brother Absyrtus. It is famous as the place of Ovid’s banishment; and here he wrote his ‘Tristia’ and his ‘Pontic Epistles.’ [2546] Usually identified with the modern Collat, or Collati. [2547] Its site does not appear to be known, nor yet those of many of the towns here mentioned. [2548] This story no doubt arose from the similarity of its name to γέρανος, “a crane;” the cranes and the Pigmies, according to the poets, being in a state of continual warfare. [2549] Supposed to be the present Varna. [2550] Now called Daphne-Soui, according to D’Anville. [2551] Said to have been built by Aristæus, son of Apollo. [2552] Now Missivri. [2553] Or Anchiale, now Akiali. [2554] Now Sizeboli, famous for its temple of Apollo, with his statue, thirty cubits in height, which Lucullus carried to Rome. In later times it was called Sozopolis. [2555] Now Tiniada. [2556] The present Midjeh, according to D’Anville. [2557] Afterwards called Zagora, which name it still bears. [2558] Or Straits of Constantinople. [2559] Between Galata and Fanar, according to Brotier. [2560] Or Golden Horn; still known by that name. [2561] The site of the present Constantinople. [2562] These rivers do not appear to have been identified. [2563] The present Silivri occupies its site. [2564] An important town of Thrace. Eski Erckli stands on its site. [2565] Now Vizia, or Viza. [2566] He alludes to the poetical story of Tereus, king of Thrace, Progne, and Philomela. Aldrovandus suggests that the real cause of the absence of the swallow is the great prevalence here of northern winds, to which they have an aversion. [2567] So called probably from the Thracian tribe of the Cænici, or Cæni. [2568] Now called Erkene, a tributary of the Hebrus. [2569] All that is known of it is, that it is mentioned as a fortress on the Propontis. [2570] Hexamila now occupies its site. [2571] The isthmus or neck of the Peninsula of Gallipoli, or the Dardanelles. [2572] That of Corinth. They are both about five miles wide at the narrowest part. [2573] Now Cardia, or Caridia. It was the birth-place of king Eumenes. [2574] From καρδία, in consequence of its supposed resemblance to a heart. [2575] Lysimachus destroyed Cardia, and, building Lysimachia, peopled it with the inhabitants. [2576] Mannert identities it with the ancient Ægos and the modern Galata. [2577] More generally called Ægospotamos, the “Goat River,” upon which the town of Ægos stood. It was here that Lysander defeated the Athenian fleet, B.C. 405, which put an end to the Peloponnesian war. [2578] Antoninus, in his Itinerary, makes this distance twenty-six miles. [2579] B. ii. c. 92. The present Straits of Gallipoli. [2580] Now Gallipoli, a place of considerable commercial importance. [2581] Now Ialova; famous in Grecian poetry, with Abydos, for the loves of Hero and Leander. [2582] Now Lamsaki. [2583] The village of Aidos, or Avido, probably marks its site. To the north, Xerxes passed over to Sestos on his bridge of boats, B.C. 480. [2584] Now Capo Helles. [2585] Now Jeni-Hisari, the N.W. promontory of Troas. Here Homer places the Grecian camp during the Trojan war. [2586] Meaning the “Bitch’s tomb,” the fable being that Hecuba, in her old age, was changed into that animal. It was near the town of Madytus. [2587] Meaning that their fleet was anchored off here during the Trojan war. [2588] A magnificent temple was erected near his tomb at Eleus, where he also had a sacred grove. It was greatly enriched by the votive offerings of Greek travellers. According to D’Anville, its site lay to the south of Mastusia. [2589] Now called Kilidbahr. Near this place the Spartans were defeated by the Athenians, who erected a trophy near the tomb of Hecuba. [2590] In the present Chapter; where he says that the distance from Byzantium to Dyrrhachium is 711 miles. See p. 305. [2591] Αἲξ, “a goat.” Other authors give other derivations for the name of Ægean,—from the town of Ægæ in Eubœa, or from Ægeus, the father of Theseus, who threw himself into it; or from Ægæa, a queen of the Amazons, who perished there; or from Ægæon, a god of the sea; or from the Greek αἰγὶς, “a squall,” on account of its storms. [2592] See c. 5 of this Book. [2593] Both places in Eubœa, mentioned in c. 21 of this Book. [2594] Now Corfu. Of its city of Corcyra only a few ruins now exist. [2595] There are still some remains of it near the village called Cassopo. [2596] Now Fano, or Merlere. [2597] Now Paxo and Antipaxo. [2598] On the contrary, they lie at the other end of the isle of Corcyra. Some of them are mere rocks, and cannot be distinguished by their ancient names. The present names of four are Sametraki, Diaplo, Boaia, and the Isle of Ulysses. [2599] Now Capo Drasti. [2600] Now Capo Levkimo. The islands are those of Santo Niccolo. [2601] Or Islands of the Teleboans. [2602] These three seem to be those now called Magnisi, Kalamota, and Kastus. These lie facing the promontory of Leucadia, the others opposite Ætolia. [2603] Opposite Acarnania: by the Venetians they were called the Islands of Kurtzolari. Some of them are cultivated, others again are mere rocks. [2604] Now called Cephallenia. [2605] Now Zante. [2606] Now Thiaki, or Cefalogna Piccola—Little Cephallenia. [2607] The general opinion is, that Strabo is right in identifying this island with one of the Echinades; but it seems impossible now to say which of them was so called. [2608] Sometimes confounded with Cephallenia; but, according to Virgil and Mela, as well as Pliny, they were different islands. [2609] Crocylæa was a town of Acarnania, referred to by Homer; and there was a district of Ithaca called Crocylcium. Pliny is probably in error in mentioning Crocyle as an island. [2610] Or the “Black Island;” probably from its thick foliage. [2611] Pale, Cranii, and Proni. [2612] So called from its fir-trees. It now has the name of Scopo. [2613] Now Monte Stefano. [2614] See c. 6 of this Book. [2615] Supposed by some writers to be the same with the rocky isle now called Dyscallio. Though mentioned by Homer, its existence was disputed by many of the ancient commentators. [2616] The modern Strivali and Stamphane. [2617] The present Guardiania, according to Lapie. [2618] According to Ansart, these were Prote, now Prodano, and Sphagia, formerly Sphacteria, before Pylos, now called Zonchio, or Old Navarino; the third being perhaps the isle of Bechli, in the Bay of Navarino. [2619] Now called Sapienza, Santa Maria, and Cabrera. [2620] Venetico and Formignes are the names of two of them. [2621] Now Servi. [2622] The modern Cerigo. [2623] It is much further from the Cape of Malea or Santo Angelo than the distance here mentioned. It derived its name of Porphyris from the purple fishery established here by the Phœnicians. [2624] The modern Isle of Port Tolon. Irine is the present Hipsyli according to Leake, who also identifies Ephyre with Spetzia. [2625] At the south of Argolis. [2626] The modern Dhoko, according to Leake. Some authorities think that Tiparenus, and not Ephyre, is the modern Spetzia. [2627] Leake thinks that Colonis and Hydreia, now called Hydra, were the same island; but Kiepert thinks it the same as the small island to the south of Spetzia. [2628] Now Poros. [2629] These are the islands now called Moni Jorench, Kophinidia, and San Giorgio d’Arbora. It is perhaps impossible to identify them, except that Belbina is generally supposed to be the island of San Giorgio. [2630] Now Kyra. [2631] The modern Angistri. [2632] Which name, or Eghina, it still retains. [2633] See c. 9 of this Book. [2634] Probably the modern Laoussa, one of this group. [2635] By Brotier said to be the modern Pentenesia. The other islands here mentioned seem not to have been identified. [2636] Now Cerigotto. [2637] Dalechamps suggests Hesperus. [2638] The island “of the Blessed.” [2639] Now Capo Salomon. [2640] From the Greek κριοῦ μέτωπον, “the ram’s forehead”; now called Capo Crio. [2641] Also called Elæa. Pococke speaks of it as a promontory called Chaule-burnau. [2642] Hardouin calls it Chisamo. [2643] The modern Khania. The quince derived its Latin name, “Malum Cydonium,” from this district, to which it was indigenous. From its Latin name it was called _melicotone_ by the writers of the Elizabethan period. [2644] Now Minolo, according to Hardouin. [2645] The port of Apteron, or Aptera, which Mr. Pashley supposes to be denoted by the ruins of Palæokastro; he also thinks that its port was at or near the modern Kalyres. [2646] Now La Suda, according to Hardouin, who says that Rhithymna is called Retimo; Panormus, Panormo; and Cytæum, Setia. [2647] Supposed by Ansart to have stood in the vicinity of the modern city of Candia. [2648] Strabo says that it stood on the narrowest part of the island, opposite Minoa. Vestiges of it have been found at the Kastéle of Hierapetra. Its foundation was ascribed to the Corybantes. [2649] Now Lionda. [2650] Next to Cnossus in splendour and importance. Mr. Pashley places its site near the modern Haghius Dheka, the place of the martyrdom of the ten Saints, according to tradition, in the Decian persecution. [2651] It has been remarked, that Pliny is mistaken here if he intends to enumerate Cnossus among the towns of the interior of Crete. The only remains of this capital of Crete, situate on the north of the island, are those seen at Makro-Teikho, or the “Long Walls,” so called from the masses of Roman brick-work there seen. [2652] Though an inland town, it probably stood in the vicinity of the headland or promontory of the same name, which is now called Kavo Stavro. Many of these names are utterly unknown. [2653] One of the most important towns of Crete, on the N.W. slope of Mount Ida, about fifty stadia from the port of Astale. Mr. Pashley says that some remains probably of this place are still to be seen on a hill near a place called Eletherna, five miles south of the great convent of Arkadhi. [2654] The loftiest point of the mountain-range that traverses the island of Crete from west to east. Its head is covered with snow. The modern name is Psiloriti, looking down on the plain of Mesara. The word _Ida_ is supposed to mean a mountain in which mines are worked, and the Idæi Dactyli of Crete were probably among the first workers in iron and bronze. The position of Mount Cadistus, belonging to the range of White Mountains, has been fixed by Hoeck at Cape Spadha, the most northerly point of the island. It is thought that Pliny and Solinus are in error in speaking of Cadistus and Dictynnæus as separate peaks, these being, both of them, names of the mountain of which the cape was formed; the latter name having been given in later times, from the worship and temple there of Dictynna. [2655] Now Grabusa, the N.W. promontory of Crete. [2656] Now Ras-al-Sem, or Cape Rasat, in Africa. The distance, according to Brotier, is in reality about 225 miles. [2657] Now Skarpanto. [2658] According to Hardouin, all of these are mere rocks rather than islands. [2659] The modern Haghios Theodhoros. [2660] According to Hoeck, they are now called Turlure. [2661] Now called Standiu. [2662] Now Capo Xacro, on the east, though Cape Salomon, further north, has been suggested. In the latter case, the Grandes islands would correspond with Onisia and Leuce, mentioned by Pliny. [2663] Now Gaidurognissa. None of the other islands here mentioned seem to have been identified. [2664] Between Eubœa and Locris. They are now called Ponticonesi. [2665] Now Koluri. It is memorable for the naval battle fought off its coast, when Xerxes was defeated by the Greeks, B.C. 480. [2666] Now called Lypsokutali. [2667] Now Makronisi, or “the Long Island.” Its ancient name was also Macris. Strabo identifies it with the Homeric Cranaë, to which Paris fled with Helen. [2668] Usually called Cea, one of the Cyclades, about thirteen miles S.E. of Sunium. Its modern name is Zea. Iulis was the most important town, and the birth-place of the poets Simonides and Bacchylides, of the sophist Prodicus, the physician Erasistratus, and the Peripatetic philosopher Ariston. Extensive remains of it still exist. [2669] There are considerable remains of this town, called by the inhabitants Stais Palais. [2670] Or Coresia. It was the harbour of Iulis, to which place we learn from Strabo that its inhabitants were transferred. [2671] On the S.W. side of the island. Its ruins are inconsiderable, but retain their ancient name. [2672] Now called Eubœa, as also Egripo, or Negropont,—a corruption of the former word and “pont,” “a bridge.” [2673] Hardouin speaks of this as existing in his time, 1670, and being 250 feet in length. It is supposed to have been first constructed about B.C. 411, for the purpose of uninterrupted communication with Bœotia. [2674] Now Capo Mandili. [2675] Now Kavo Doro, or Xylofago. [2676] Now Lithadha, with a mountain 2837 feet above the sea. [2677] These measurements are not exactly correct. The length from north to south is about ninety miles; the extreme breadth across, thirty, and in one part, not more than four miles. [2678] Still extant in the time of Strabo, who speaks of it as an inconsiderable place. [2679] Its site is now called Lipso. It contained warm baths sacred to Hercules, and used by the Dictator Sylla. They are still to be seen. [2680] Now Egripo, or Negropont, having given name to the rest of the island. The Euripus is here only forty yards across, being crossed by a bridge, partly of stone, partly of wood. The poet Lycophron and the orator Isæus were natives of this place, and Aristotle died here. [2681] Near the promontory of that name, now Capo Mandili. In the town there was a famous temple of Poseidon, or Neptune. According to Hardouin, the modern name is Iastura. [2682] One of the most powerful cities of Eubœa. It was destroyed by the Persians under Darius, and a new town was built to the south of the old one. New Eretria stood, according to Leake, at the modern Kastri, and old Eretria in the neighbourhood of Vathy. The tragic poet Achæus, a contemporary of Æschylus, was born here; and a school of philosophy was founded at this place by Menedemus, a disciple of Plato. [2683] Now Karysto, on the south of the island, at the foot of Mount Ocha, upon which are supposed to have been its quarries of marble. There are but few remains of the ancient city. The historian Antigonus, the comic poet Apollodorus, and the physician Diocles, were natives of this place. [2684] Probably on the promontory of the same name. It was off this coast that the Greek fleet engaged that of Xerxes, B.C. 480. [2685] There were tame fish kept in this fountain; and its waters were sometimes disturbed by volcanic agency. Leake says that it has now totally disappeared. [2686] From the fact of its producing copper, and of its being in shape long and narrow. [2687] Strabo remarks, that Homer calls its inhabitants Abantes, while he gives to the island the name of Eubœa. The poets say that it took its name from the cow (Βοῦς) Io, who gave birth to Epaphus on this island. [2688] Hardouin remarks here, that Pliny, Strabo, Mela, and Pausanias use the term “Myrtoan Sea,” as meaning that portion of it which lies between Crete and Attica, while Ptolemy so calls the sea which lies off the coast of Caria. [2689] Now called Spitilus, and the group of Micronisia, or “Little Islands,” according to Hardouin. [2690] From κύκλος, “a circle.” [2691] Now Andro. It gives name to one of the comedies of Terence. The ruins of the ancient city were found by the German traveller Ross, who has published a hymn to Isis, in hexameter verse, which he discovered here. It was famous for its wines. [2692] Now Tino. [2693] From its abounding in snakes (ὄφεις) and scorpions. [2694] Now Mycono, south-east of Tenos and east of Delos. It was famous in ancient mythology as one of the places where Hercules was said to have defeated the Giants. It was also remarkable for the great proportion of bald persons among its inhabitants. [2695] So called from its resemblance to two breasts, μαζοι. [2696] Wheeler says that the distance is but three miles; Tournefort, six. [2697] Once famous for its gold and silver mines, but equally notorious for the bad character of its people. It is now called Siphno. [2698] Now Serpho, lying between Cythnos and Siphnus. [2699] Now Fermina, according to Hardouin. [2700] Between Ceos and Seriphus. It is now called Thermia. Cydias the painter was born here, and it was famous for its cheeses. Its modern name is derived from its hot springs, which are much frequented. [2701] Still called Delos; and, though so celebrated, nothing more than a mere rock, five miles in circumference. [2702] That is, according to Varro, whose statement is ridiculed by Seneca. Some of the editors, however, punctuate this passage differently, making it to mean, “the only island that has never experienced an earthquake. Mucianus however has informed us, that down to the time of M. Varro, it has been twice so visited.” [2703] From its then becoming δῆλος, “plain,” or “manifest.” It was after the fall of Corinth that Delos became so famous for its commerce. Its bronze was in great request. [2704] From ὄρτυξ, “a quail”; the legend being, that Latona was changed into that bird by Jupiter, in order to effect her escape thither from the anger of Juno. Its name of Asteria was derived from ἄστρον, “a star,” either in consequence of its being devoted to the worship of the great luminary Apollo, or of its being considered by the gods the star of the earth. It was also called Lagia, from λαγὼς, “a hare,” that animal abounding there; and Cynæthus, from κύων, “a dog,” it being famous for its hounds. [2705] A bare granite rock, not more than 500 feet in height. The island is now a mass of ruins; a great part of its remains having been carried away in the middle ages to Venice and Constantinople. [2706] Divided by a strait of four stadia in width from Delos. Nicias connected the two islands by a bridge. Its name of Celadussa was said to be derived from the noise of the waves, κέλαδος, and of Artemite, from Artemis, or Diana. [2707] Now Syra; famous for its wine and corn. [2708] Now Antiparos; famous for its stalactite grotto, which is not mentioned by the ancient writers. [2709] Now Paro; south of Delos and west of Naxos. The ruins of its town are still to be seen at the modern Paroikia. The Parian Chronicle, inscribed on marble, and containing a chronicle of Grecian history from Cecrops, B.C. 1582, to B.C. 264, was found here. It is preserved at Oxford. [2710] Chiefly obtained from a mountain called Marpessa. [2711] Now Naxia, famous both in ancient and modern times for its remarkable fertility. [2712] From στρογγύλος, “round,” its shape being somewhat inclined to circular, though by Eustathius it is compared to the shape of a vine-leaf. It is commonly called Dia by the poets. Tournefort says that it is distant forty miles from Delos. [2713] From Διόνυσος, or Bacchus, the god of wine. [2714] Or “Fine City.” It took its other name from the fact of its rivalling the fertility of Sicily. [2715] According to Brotier, the Jesuit Babin, on visiting it, found its circumference estimated at thirty-six miles only. [2716] So called from lying scattered at random as it were, σπορὰς “scattered.” [2717] Helene is supposed to be the modern Pira; Phacussa, Fecussa; Nicasia, Rachia; Schinussa, Schinusa; and Pholegandros, Policandro. [2718] Now Nikaria, to the west of Samos. According to tradition, it derived its name from Icarus, the son of Dædalus, who was believed to have fallen into the sea in its vicinity. [2719] Its length is not so great as is here mentioned by Pliny. Its towns were Drepanum, or Dracanum, Œnoë, and Isti. [2720] The first two names are from the Greek, in allusion to its long, narrow shape, and the last bears reference to the fact of its shores abounding in fish. [2721] Now Scyro, east of Eubœa, and one of the Sporades. Here Achilles was said to have been concealed by his mother Thetis, in woman’s attire. [2722] Now Nio, one of the Sporades, inaccurately called by Stephanus one of the Cyclades. The modern town is built on the site of the ancient one, of which there are some remains. It was said that Homer died here, on his voyage from Smyrna to Athens, and that his mother, Clymene, was a native of this island. In 1773, Van Krienen, a Dutch nobleman, asserted that he had discovered the tomb of Homer here, with certain inscriptions relative to him; but they have been generally regarded by the learned as forgeries. Odia and Oletandros seem not to have been identified. [2723] Now called Gioura, or Jura. It was little better than a barren rock, though inhabited; but so notorious for its poverty, that its mice were said to be able to gnaw through iron. It was used as a place of banishment under the Roman emperors, whence the line of Juvenal, i. 73— “Aude aliquid brevibus Gyaris et carcere dignum.” “Dare some deed deserving of the little Gyara and the gaol.” It is now uninhabited, except by a few shepherds in the summer. [2724] Now Telos, or Piskopi, a small island in the Carpathian Sea, and one of the Sporades. It lies off the coast of Caria. Syrnos appears not to have been identified. [2725] Near Naxos. Virgil calls it ‘viridis,’ or ‘green,’ which Servius explains by the colour of its marble. Like Gyara, it was used as a place of banishment under the Roman Empire. In C. 22, Pliny has mentioned Cynæthus as one of the names of Delos. [2726] Now Patmo, one of the Sporades, and west of the Promontory of Posidium, in Caria. To this place St. John was banished, and here he wrote the Apocalypse. [2727] A group between Icaria and Samos. They are now called Phurni and Krusi. [2728] One of the Sporades, now Lebitha. [2729] Now Lero. Its inhabitants were of Milesian origin, and of indifferent character. In its temple of Artemis, the sisters of Meleager were said to have been changed into guinea-fowls. It was opposite the coast of Caria. [2730] Now Zinari, N.E. of Amorgos. The artichoke (called κίναρα in Greek) is said to have given name to it. [2731] Now Sikino; between Pholegandros and Ios. [2732] So called, according to Stephanus, from its cultivation of the vine and produce of wine, οἶνος. It was situate between Pholegandros and Ios. It was said to have had the name of Sicinus from a son of Thoas and Œnoë. Hieracia seems to be unknown. [2733] Still known by that name, and lying between Carpathus and Crete. The ruins of the ancient town of Casos are still to be seen at the village of Polin. It is mentioned by Homer. [2734] Now Kimoli, one of the Cyclades, between Siphnos and Melos. It took its name of Echinussa from the ‘Echinus,’ or Sea-urchin, of which various fossil specimens are still found on the coast; but nowhere else in these islands, except the opposite coast of Melos. There are considerable ruins of its ancient town. [2735] Now Milo, the most westerly of the Cyclades. It is remarkable for its extreme fertility. Its town, which, according to most authorities, was called Byblis, was situate on the north of the island. [2736] Ansart remarks, that our author is mistaken in this assertion, for not only are many others of these islands more circular in form, but even that of Kimolo, which stands next to it. [2737] Now Amorgo, S.E. of Naxos. It was the birth-place of the Iambic poet Simonides. It is noted for its fertility. Under the Roman emperors, it was used as a place of banishment. [2738] Now Polybos, or Antimelos, an uninhabited island near Melos. Phyle seems not to have been identified. [2739] Now Santorin, south of the island of Ios. The tradition was, that it was formed from a clod of earth, thrown from the ship Argo. It is evidently of volcanic origin, and is covered with pumice-stone. It was colonized by Lacedæmonians and Minyans of Lemnos, under the Spartan Theras, who gave his name to the island. [2740] A small island to the west of Thera, still known by the same name. [2741] In Lapie’s map, Ascania is set down as the present Christiana. [2742] Now Anaphe, Namfi, or Namphio, one of the Sporades. It was celebrated for the temple of Apollo Ægletes, the foundation of which was ascribed to the Argonauts, and of which considerable remains still exist. It abounds in partridges, as it did also in ancient times. [2743] Now Astropalæa, or Stamphalia. By Strabo it is called one of the Sporades, by Stephanus one of the Cyclades. It probably was favoured by the Romans for the excellence and importance of its harbours. From Hegesander we learn that it was famous for its hares, and Pliny tells us, in B. viii. c. 59, that its mussels were (as they still are) very celebrated. [2744] None of these islands can be now identified, except perhaps Chalcia, also mentioned by Strabo, and now known as Karki. [2745] Now Kalymno, the principal island of the group, by Homer called Calydne. According to most of the editions, Pliny mentions here Calydna and Calymna, making this island, which had those two names, into two islands. Although Pliny here mentions only the town of Coös, still, in B. v. c. 36, he speaks of three others, Notium, Nisyrus, and Mendeterus. There are still some remains of antiquity to be seen here. [2746] Or Carpathus, now Skarpanto. It gave name to the sea between Crete and Rhodes. [2747] It still preserves its ancient name, and presents some interesting remains of antiquity. [2748] Brotier says that the distance is really fifty-two miles. [2749] So called from the town of Petalia, on the mainland. Ansart says that their present name is Spili. [2750] Now Talanti, giving name to the Channel of Talanti. [2751] The present Gulf of Volo, mentioned in C. 15 of the present Book. [2752] Ansart suggests that this may possibly be the small island now called Agios Nicolaos. [2753] Now Trikeri. [2754] In the present Chapter. [2755] Now Scangero, or Skantzoura, according to Ansart. [2756] Now the Gulf of Saloniki, mentioned in C. 17. The islands here mentioned have apparently not been identified. [2757] Off the coast of Thessaly, now Piperi. [2758] Now Skiathos. It was famous for its wine. [2759] Now called Embro, or Imru. Both the island and city of Imbros are mentioned by Homer. [2760] This is double the actual circumference of the island. [2761] Now called Stalimene. [2762] Its site is now called Palæo Kastro. Hephæstia, or Vulcan’s Town, stood near the modern Rapanidi. That god was said to have fallen into this island when thrown from heaven by Jupiter. [2763] Now Thaso, or Tasso. Its gold mines were in early periods very valuable. [2764] Mentioned in C. 17 of this Book. [2765] Ansart says that “forty-two” would be the correct reading here, that being also the distance between Samothrace and Thasos. [2766] Its modern name is Samothraki. It was the chief seat of the mysterious worship of the Cabiri. [2767] Only twelve, according to Ansart. [2768] Barely eighteen, according to Brotier. [2769] Now Monte Nettuno. Of course the height here mentioned by Pliny is erroneous; but Homer says that from this mountain Troy could be seen. [2770] Now called Skopelo, if it is the same island which is mentioned by Ptolemy under the name of Scopelus. It exports wine in large quantities. [2771] Or the Fox Island, so called from its first settlers having been directed by an oracle to establish a colony where they should first meet a fox with its cub. Like many others of the islands here mentioned, it appears not to have been identified. [2772] See C. 18 of this Book. [2773] None of these islands appear to have been identified by modern geographers. [2774] Now generally known as the Palus Mæotis or Sea of Azof. [2775] The modern Caraboa, according to Brotier, stands on its site. Priapus was the tutelary divinity of Lampsacus in this vicinity. [2776] Or “entrance of Pontus”; now the Sea of Marmora. [2777] “Ox Ford,” or “passage of the cow,” Io being said to have crossed it in that form: now called the “Straits of Constantinople.” [2778] Said to have been called ἄξενος or “inhospitable,” from its frequent storms and the savage state of the people living on its shores. In later times, on the principle of Euphemism, or abstaining from words of ill omen, its name was changed to εὔξεινος, “hospitable.” [2779] This was a favourite comparison of the ancients; the north coast, between the Thracian Bosporus and the Phasis, formed the bow, and the southern shores the string. The Scythian bow somewhat resembled in form the figure Σ, the capital Sigma of the Greeks. [2780] Now the Straits of Kaffa or Enikale. [2781] This town lay about the middle of the Tauric Chersonesus or Crimea, and was situate on a small peninsula, called the Smaller Chersonesus, to distinguish it from the larger one, of which it formed a part. It was founded by the inhabitants of the Pontic Heraclea, or Heracleium, the site of which is unknown. See note [2844] to p. 333. [2782] Now Kertsch, in the Crimea. It derived its name from the river Panticapes; and was founded by the Milesians about B.C. 541. It was the residence of the Greek kings of Bosporus, and hence it was sometimes so called. [2783] “Thirty-six” properly. [2784] The Tanais or Don does not rise in the Riphæan Mountains, or western branch of the Uralian chain, but on slightly elevated ground in the centre of European Russia. [2785] Chap. 18 of the present Book. Istropolis is supposed to be the present Istere, though some would make it to have stood on the site of the present Kostendsje, and Brotier identifies it with Kara-Kerman. [2786] Now called the Schwarzwald or Black Forest. The Danube or Ister rises on the eastern side at the spot called Donaueschingen. [2787] So called from the Raurici, a powerful people of Gallia Belgica, who possessed several towns, of which the most important were Augusta, now Augst, and Basilia, now Bâle. [2788] Only three of these are now considered of importance, as being the main branches of the river. It is looked upon as impossible by modern geographers to identify the accounts given by the ancients with the present channels, by name, as the Danube has undergone in lapse of time, very considerable changes at its mouth. Strabo mentions seven mouths, three being lesser ones. [2789] So called, as stated by Pliny, from the island of Peuce, now Piczina. Peuce appears to have been the most southerly of the mouths. [2790] Now called Kara-Sou, according to Brotier. Also called Rassefu in the maps. [2791] Now called Hazrali Bogasi, according to Brotier. It is called by Ptolemy the Narakian Mouth. [2792] Or the “Beautiful Mouth.” Now Susie Bogasi, according to Brotier. [2793] Or the “False Mouth”: now the Sulina Bogasi, the principal mouth of the Danube, so maltreated by its Russian guardians. [2794] Or the “Passage of the Gnats,” so called from being the resort of swarms of mosquitoes, which were said at a certain time of the year to migrate to the Palus Mæotis. According to Brotier the present name of this island is Ilan Adasi, or Serpent Island. [2795] The “Northern Mouth”: near the town of Kilia. [2796] Or the “Narrow Mouth.” [2797] Though Strabo distinguishes the Getæ from the Daci, most of the ancient writers, with Pliny, speak of them as identical. It is not known, however, why the Getæ in later times assumed the name of Daci. [2798] “Dwellers in waggons.” These were a Sarmatian tribe who wandered with their waggons along the banks of the Volga. The chief seats of the Aorsi, who seem in reality to have been a distinct people from the Hamaxobii, was in the country between the Tanais, the Euxine, the Caspian, and the Caucasus. [2799] “Dwellers in Caves.” This name appears to have been given to various savage races in different parts of the world. [2800] There were races of the Alani in Asia on the Caucasus, and in Europe on the Mæotis and the Euxine; but their precise geographical position is not clearly ascertained. [2801] The present Transylvania and Hungary. [2802] The name given in the age of Pliny to the range of mountains extending around Bohemia, and through Moravia into Hungary. [2803] Its ruins are still to be seen on the south bank of the Danube near Haimburg, between Deutsch-Altenburg and Petronell. The Roman fleet of the Danube, with the 14th legion, was originally established there. [2804] In Pliny’s time this migratory tribe seems to have removed to the plains between the Lower Theiss and the mountains of Transylvania, from which places they had expelled the Dacians. [2805] The Lower Theiss. [2806] Now the river Mark, Maros, or Morava. [2807] The name of the two streams now known as the Dora Baltea and Dora Riparia, both of which fall into the Po. This passage appears to be in a mutilated state. [2808] A chief of the Quadi; who, as we learn from Tacitus, was made king of the Suevi by Germanicus, A.D. 19. Being afterwards expelled by his nephews Vangio and Sido, he received from the emperor Claudius a settlement in Pannonia. Tacitus gives the name of Suevia to the whole of the east of Germany from the Danube to the Baltic. [2809] According to Hardouin, Pliny here speaks of the other side of the mountainous district called Higher Hungary, facing the Danube and extending from the river Theiss to the Morava. [2810] This, according to Sillig, is the real meaning of _a desertis_ here, the distance being measured from the Danube, and not between the Vistula and the wilds of Sarmatia. The reading “four thousand” is probably corrupt, but it seems more likely than that of 404 miles, adopted by Littré, in his French translation. [2811] Placed by Forbiger near Lake Burmasaka, or near Islama. [2812] The Dniester. The mountains of Macrocremnus, or the “Great Heights,” seem not to have been identified. [2813] According to Hardouin, the modern name of this island is Tandra. [2814] Now called the Teligul, east of the Tyra or Dniester. [2815] Now called Sasik Beregen, according to Brotier. [2816] The modern Gulf of Berezen, according to Brotier. [2817] Probably the modern Okzakow. [2818] The modern Dnieper. It also retains its ancient name of Borysthenes. [2819] We learn from Strabo that the name of this town was Olbia, and that from being founded by the Milesians, it received the name of Miletopolis. According to Brotier, the modern Zapurouski occupies its site, between the mouths of the river Buzuluk. [2820] This was adjacent to the strip of land called “Dromos Achilleos,” or the ‘race-course of Achilles.’ It is identified by geographers with the little island of Zmievoi or Oulan Adassi, the ‘Serpents Island.’ It was said that it was to this spot that Thetis transported the body of Achilles. By some it was made the abode of the shades of the blest, where Achilles and other heroes of fable were the judges of the dead. [2821] A narrow strip of land N.W. of the Crimea and south of the mouth of the Dnieper, running nearly due west and east. It is now divided into two parts called Kosa Tendra and Kosa Djarilgatch. Achilles was said to have instituted games here. [2822] According to Hardouin, the Siraci occupied a portion of the present Podolia and Ukraine, and the Tauri the modern Bessarabia. [2823] According to Herodotus, this region, called Hylæa, lay to the east of the Borysthenes. It seems uncertain whether there are now any traces of this ancient woodland; some of the old maps however give the name of the “Black Forest” to this district. From the statements of modern travellers, the woody country does not commence till the river Don has been reached. The district of Hylæa has been identified by geographers with the great plain of Janboylouk in the steppe of the Nogai. [2824] For Enœchadlæ, Hardouin suggests that we should read _Inde Hylæi_, “hence the inhabitants are called by the name of Hylæi.” [2825] The Panticapes is usually identified with the modern Somara, but perhaps without sufficient grounds. It is more probably the Kouskawoda. [2826] The Nomades or _wandering_, from the Georgi or _agricultural_ Scythians. [2827] The Acesinus does not appear to have been identified by modern geographers. [2828] Above called Olbiopolis or Miletopolis. [2829] The Bog or Boug. Flowing parallel with the Borysthenes or Dnieper, it discharged itself into the Euxine at the town of Olbia, at no great distance from the mouth of the Borysthenes. [2830] Probably meaning the mouth or point at which the river discharges itself into the sea. [2831] The modern Gulf of Negropoli or Perekop, on the west side of the Chersonesus Taurica or Crimea. [2832] Forming the present isthmus of Perekop, which divides the Sea of Perekop from the Sea of Azof. [2833] Called by Herodotus Hypacyris, and by later writers Carcinites. It is generally supposed to be the same as the small stream now known as the Kalantchak. [2834] Hardouin says that the city of Carcine has still retained its name, but changed its site. More modern geographers however are of opinion that nothing can be determined with certainty as to its site. Of the site also of Navarum nothing seems to be known. [2835] Or Buces or Byce. This is really a gulf, _almost_ enclosed, at the end of the Sea of Azof. Strabo gives a more full description of it under the name of the _Sapra Limnè_, “the Putrid Lake,” by which name it is still called, in Russian, _Sibaché_ or Sivaché Moré. It is a vast lagoon, covered with water when an east wind blows the water of the Sea of Azof into it, but at other times a tract of slime and mud, sending forth pestilential vapours. [2836] It is rather a ridge of sand, that _almost_ separates it from the waters of the gulf. [2837] This river has not been identified by modern geographers. [2838] According to Herodotus the Gerrhus or Gerrus fell into the Hypacaris; which must be understood to be, not the Kalantchak, but the Outlouk. It is probably now represented by the Moloschnijawoda, which forms a shallow lake or marsh at its mouth. [2839] It is most probable that the Pacyris, mentioned above, the Hypacaris, and the Carcinites, were various names for the same river, generally supposed, as stated above, to be the small stream of Kalantchak. [2840] Now the Crimea. [2841] It does not appear that the site of any of these cities has been identified. Charax was a general name for a fortified town. [2842] Mentioned again by Pliny in B. vi. c. 7. Solinus says that in order to repel avarice, the Satarchæ prohibited the use of gold and silver. [2843] On the site of the modern Perekop, more commonly called Orkapi. [2844] Or Chersonesus of the Heracleans. The town of Kosleve or Eupatoria is supposed to stand on its site. [2845] After the conquest of Mithridates, when the whole of these regions fell into the hands of the Romans. [2846] The modern Felenk-burun. So called from the Parthenos or Virgin Diana or Artemis, whose temple stood on its heights, in which human sacrifices were offered to the goddess. [2847] Supposed to be the same as the now-famed port of Balaklava. [2848] The modern Aia-burun, the great southern headland of the Crimea. According to Plutarch, it was called by the natives Brixaba, which, like the name Criumetopon, meant the “Ram’s Head.” [2849] Now Kerempi, a promontory of Paphlagonia in Asia Minor. Strabo considers this promontory and that of Criumetopon as dividing the Euxine into two seas. [2850] According to Strabo, the sea-line of the Tauric Chersonesus, after leaving the port of the Symboli, extended 125 miles, as far as Theodosia. Pliny would here seem to make it rather greater. [2851] The modern Kaffa occupies its site. The sites of many of the places here mentioned appear not to be known at the present day. [2852] The modern Kertsch, situate on a hill at the very mouth of the Cimmerian Bosporus, or Straits of Enikale or Kaffa, opposite the town of Phanagoria in Asia. [2853] In C. 24 of the present Book. Clark identifies the town of Cimmerium with the modern Temruk, Forbiger with Eskikrimm. It is again mentioned in B. vi. c. 2. [2854] He alludes here, not to the Strait so called, but to the Peninsula bordering upon it, upon which the modern town of Kertsch is situate, and which projects from the larger Peninsula of the Crimea, as a sort of excrescence on its eastern side. [2855] Probably Hermes or Mercury was its tutelar divinity: its site appears to be unknown. [2856] Probably meaning the Straits or passage connecting the Lake Mæotis with the Euxine. The fertile district of the Cimmerian Bosporus was at one time the granary of Greece, especially Athens, which imported thence annually 400,000 medimni of corn. [2857] A town so called on the Isthmus of Perekop, from a τάφρος or trench, which was cut across the isthmus at this point. [2858] Lomonossov, in his History of Russia, says that these people were the same as the Sclavoni: but that one meaning of the name ‘Slavane’ being “a boaster,” the Greeks gave them the corresponding appellation of Auchetæ, from the word αὐχὴ, which signifies “boasting.” [2859] Of the Geloni, called by Virgil “picti,” or “painted,” nothing certain seems to be known: they are associated by Herodotus with the Budini, supposed to belong to the Slavic family by Schafarik. In B. iv. c. 108, 109, of his History, Herodotus gives a very particular account of the Budini, who had a city built entirely of wood, the name of which was Gelonus. The same author also assigns to the Geloni a Greek origin. [2860] The Agathyrsi are placed by Herodotus near the upper course of the river Maris, in the S.E. of Dacia or the modern Transylvania. Pliny however seems here to assign them a different locality. [2861] Also called “Assedones” and “Issedones.” It has been suggested by modern geographers that their locality must be assigned to the east of Ichim, on the steppe of the central horde of the Kirghiz, and that of the Arimaspi on the northern declivity of the chain of the Altaï. [2862] Now the Don. [2863] Most probably these mountains were a western branch of the Uralian chain. [2864] From the Greek πτεροφορὸς, “wing-bearing” or “feather-bearing.” [2865] This legendary race was said to dwell in the regions beyond Boreas, or the northern wind, which issued from the Riphæan mountains, the name of which was derived from ῥιπαὶ or “hurricanes” issuing from a cavern, and which these heights warded off from the Hyperboreans and sent to more southern nations. Hence they never felt the northern blasts, and enjoyed a life of supreme happiness and undisturbed repose. “Here,” says Humboldt, “are the first views of a natural science which explains the distribution of heat and the difference of climates by local causes—by the direction of the winds—the proximity of the sun, and the action of a moist or saline principle.”—_Asie Centrale_, vol. i. [2866] Pindar says, in the “Pythia,” x. 56, “The Muse is no stranger to their manners. The dances of girls and the sweet melody of the lyre and pipe resound on every side, and wreathing their locks with the glistening bay, they feast joyously. For this sacred race there is no doom of sickness or of disease; but they live apart from toil and battles, undisturbed by the exacting Nemesis.” [2867] Hardouin remarks that Pomponius Mela, who asserts that the sun rises here at the vernal and sets at the autumnal equinox, is right in his position, and that Pliny is incorrect in his assertion. The same commentator thinks that Pliny can have hardly intended to censure Mela, to whose learning he had been so much indebted for his geographical information, by applying to him the epithet “imperitus,” ‘ignorant’ or ‘unskilled’; he therefore suggests that the proper reading here is, “ut non imperiti dixere,” “as some by no means ignorant persons have asserted.” [2868] The Attacori are also mentioned in B. vi. c. 20. [2869] Sillig omits the word “non” here, in which case the reading would be, “Those writers who place them anywhere but, &c.;” it is difficult to see with what meaning. [2870] Herodotus, B. iv., states to this effect, and after him, Pomponius Mela, B. iii. c. 5. [2871] These islands, or rather rocks, are now known as Fanari, and lie at the entrance of the Straits of Constantinople. [2872] From σὺν and πληγὴ, “a striking together.” Tournefort has explained the ancient story of these islands running together, by remarking that each of them consists of one craggy island, but that when the sea is disturbed the water covers the lower parts, so as to make the different points of each resemble isolated rocks. They are united to the mainland by a kind of isthmus, and appear as islands only when it is inundated in stormy weather. [2873] Upon which the city of Apollonia (now Sizeboli), mentioned in C. 18 of the present Book, was situate. [2874] So called because it was dedicated by Lucullus in the Capitol. It was thirty cubits in height. [2875] In C. 24 of the present Book. [2876] Mentioned in the last Chapter as the “Island of Achilles.” [2877] From the Greek μακαρῶν, “(The island) of the Blest.” It was also called the “Island of the Heroes.” [2878] Meaning all the inland or Mediterranean seas. [2879] As the whole of Pliny’s description of the northern shores of Europe is replete with difficulties and obscurities, we cannot do better than transcribe the learned remarks of M. Parisot, the Geographical Editor of Ajasson’s Edition, in reference to this subject. He says, “Before entering on the discussion of this portion of Pliny’s geography, let us here observe, once for all, that we shall not remark as worthy of our notice all those ridiculous hypotheses which could only take their rise in ignorance, precipitation, or a love of the marvellous. We shall decline then to recognize the Doffrefelds in the mountains of Sevo, the North Cape in the Promontory of Rubeas, and the Sea of Greenland in the Cronian Sea. The absurdity of these suppositions is proved by—I. The impossibility of the ancients ever making their way to these distant coasts without the aid of large vessels, the compass, and others of those appliances, aided by which European skill finds the greatest difficulty in navigating those distant seas. II. The immense lacunæ which would be found to exist in the descriptions of these distant seas and shores: for not a word do we find about those numerous archipelagos which are found scattered throughout the North Sea, not a word about Iceland, nor about the numberless seas and fiords on the coast of Norway. III. The absence of all remarks upon the local phænomena of these spots. The North Cape belongs to the second polar climate, the longest day there being two months and a half. Is it likely that navigators would have omitted to mention this remarkable phænomenon, well known to the Romans by virtue of their astronomical theories, but one with which practically they had never made themselves acquainted?—The only geographers who here merit our notice are those who are of opinion that in some of the coasts or islands here mentioned Pliny describes the Scandinavian Peninsula, and in others the Coast of Finland. The first question then is, to what point Pliny first carries us? It is evident that from the Black Sea he transports himself on a sudden to the shores of the Baltic, thus passing over at a single leap a considerable space filled with nations and unknown deserts. The question then is, what line has he followed? Supposing our author had had before his eyes a modern map, the imaginary line which he would have drawn in making this transition would have been from Odessa to the Kurisch-Haff. In this direction the breadth across Europe is contracted to a space, between the two seas, not more than 268 leagues in length. A very simple mode of reasoning will conclusively prove that Pliny has deviated little if anything from this route. If he fails to state in precise terms upon what point of the shores of the Baltic he alights after leaving the Riphæan mountains, his enumeration of the rivers which discharge themselves into that sea, and with which he concludes his account of Germany, will supply us with the requisite information, at all events in great part. In following his description of the coast, we find mention made of the following rivers, the Guttalus, the Vistula, the Elbe, the Weser, the Ems, the Rhine, and the Meuse. The five last mentioned follow in their natural order, from east to west, as was to be expected in a description starting from the east of Europe for its western extremity and the shores of Cadiz. We have a right to conclude then that the Guttalus was to the east of the Vistula. As we shall now endeavour to show, this river was no other than the Alle, a tributary of the Pregel, which the Romans probably, in advancing from west to east, considered as the principal stream, from the circumstance that they met with it, before coming to the larger river. The Pregel after being increased by the waters of the Alle or Guttalus falls into the Frisch-Haff, about one degree further west than the Kurisch-Haff. It may however be here remarked, Why not find a river more to the east, the Niemen, for instance, or the Duna, to be represented by the Guttalus? The Niemen in especial would suit in every respect equally well, because it discharges itself into the Kurisch-Haff. This conjecture however is incapable of support, when we reflect that the ancients were undoubtedly acquainted with some points of the coast to the east of the mouth of the Guttalus, but which, according to the system followed by our author, would form part of the Continent of Asia. These points are, 1st. The Cape Lytarmis (mentioned by Pliny, B. vi. c. 4). 2ndly. The mouth of the river Carambucis (similarly mentioned by him), and 3rdly, a little to the east of Cape Lytarmis, the mouth of the Tanais. The name of Cape Lytarmis suggests to us Lithuania, and probably represents Domess-Ness in Courland; the Carambucis can be no other than the Niemen; while the Tanais, upon which so many authors, ancient and modern, have exhausted their conjectures, from confounding it with the Southern Tanais which falls into the Sea of Azof, is evidently the same as the Dwina or Western Duna. This is established incontrovertibly both by its geographical position (the mouth of the Dwina being only fifty leagues to the east of Domess-Ness) and the identity evidently of the names Dwina and Tanais. Long since, Leibnitz was the first to remark the presence of the radical _T. n_, or _D. n_, either with or without a vowel, in the names of the great rivers of Eastern Europe; Danapris or Dnieper, Danaster or Dniester, Danube (in German Donau, in Hungarian Duna), Tanais or Don, for example; all which rivers however discharge themselves into the Black Sea. There can be little doubt then of the identity of the Duna with the Tanais, it being the only body of water in these vast countries which bears a name resembling the initial _Tan_, or _Tn_, and at the same time belongs to the basin of the Baltic. We are aware, it is true, that the White Sea receives a river Dwina, which is commonly called the Northern Dwina, but there can be no real necessity to be at the trouble of combating the opinion that this river is identical with the Northern Tanais. As the result then of our investigations, it is at the eastern extremity of the Frisch-Haff and near the mouth of the Pregel, that we would place the point at which Pliny sets out. As for the Riphæan mountains, they have never existed anywhere but in the head of the geographers from whom our author drew his materials. From the mountains of Ural and Poias, which Pliny could not possibly have in view, seeing that they lie in a meridian as eastern as the Caspian Sea, the traveller has to proceed 600 leagues to the south-west without meeting with any chains of mountains or indeed considerable elevations.” [2880] It is pretty clear that he refers to the numerous islands scattered over the face of the Baltic Sea, such as Dago, Oesel, Gothland, and Aland. [2881] The old reading here was Bannomanna, which Dupinet would translate by the modern Bornholm. Parisot considers that the modern Runa, a calcareous rock covered with vegetable earth, in the vicinity of Domess-Ness, is the place indicated. [2882] It has been suggested by Brotier that Pliny here refers to the Icy Sea, but it is more probable that he refers to the north-eastern part of the Baltic, which was looked upon by the ancients us forming part of the open sea. [2883] With reference to these divisions of land and sea, a subject which is involved in the greatest obscurity, Parisot states it as his opinion that the Amalchian or Icy Sea is that portion of the Baltic which extends from Cape Rutt to Cape Grinea, while on the other hand the Cronian Sea comprehends all the gulfs which lie to the east of Cape Rutt, such as the Haff, the gulfs of Stettin and Danzic, the Frisch-Haff, and the Kurisch-Haff. He also thinks that the name of ‘Cronian’ originally belonged only to that portion of the Baltic which washes the coast of Courland, but that travellers gradually applied the term to the whole of the sea. He is also of opinion that the word “Cronium” owes its origin to the Teutonic and Danish adjective _groen_ or “green.” The extreme verdure which characterizes the islands of the Danish archipelago has given to the piece of water which separates the islands of Falster and Moen the name of Groensund, and it is far from improbable that the same epithet was given to the Pomeranian and Prussian Seas, which the Romans would be not unlikely to call ‘Gronium’ or ‘Cronium fretum,’ or ‘Cronium mare.’ In the name ‘Parapanisus’ he also discovers a resemblance to that of modern Pomerania. [2884] Upon this Parisot remarks that on leaving Cape Rutt, at a distance of about twenty-five leagues in a straight line, we come to the island of Funen or Fyen, commonly called Fionia, the most considerable of the Danish archipelago next to Zealand, and which lying between the two Belts, the Greater and the Smaller, may very probably from that circumstance have obtained the name of Baltia. Brotier takes Baltia to be no other than Nova Zembla—so conflicting are the opinions of commentators! [2885] Parisot suggests that under this name may possibly lie concealed that of the modern island of Zealand or Seeland, and that it may have borne on the side of it next to the Belt the name of Baltseeland, easily corrupted by the Greeks into Basilia. [2886] Brotier takes these to be the islands of Aloo, and Bieloi or Ostrow, at the mouth of the river Paropanisus, which he considers to be the same as the Obi. Parisot on the other hand is of opinion that islands of the Baltic are here referred to; that from the resemblance of the name Oönæ to the Greek ὠὸν, “an egg,” the story that the natives subsisted on the eggs of birds was formed; that not improbably the group of the Hippopodes resembled the shape of a horse-shoe, from which the story mentioned by Pliny took its rise; and that the Fanesii (or, as the reading here has it, the Panotii, “all-ears”) wore their hair very short, from which circumstance their ears appeared to be of a larger size than usual. [2887] Tacitus speaks of three great groups of the German tribes, the Ingævones forming the first thereof, and consisting of those which dwelt on the margin of the ocean, the Hermiones in the interior, and the Istævones in the east and south of Germany. We shall presently find that Pliny adds two groups, the Vandili as the fourth, and the Peucini and Basternæ as the fifth. This classification however is thought to originate in a mistake, for Zeuss has satisfactorily shown that the Vandili belonged to the Hermiones, and that Peucini and Basternæ are only names of individual tribes and not of groups of tribes. [2888] Brotier and other geographers are of opinion that by this name the chain of the Doffrefeld mountains is meant; but this cannot be the case if we suppose with Parisot that Pliny here returns south from the Scandinavian islands and takes his departure from Cape Rutt in the territory of the Ingævones. Still, it is quite impossible to say what mountains he would designate under the name of Sevo. Parisot suggests that it is a form of the compound word “seevohner,” “inhabitants of the sea,” and that it is a general name for the elevated lands along the margin of the sea-shore. [2889] Parisot supposes that under this name the isle of Funen is meant, but it is more generally thought that Norway and Sweden are thus designated, as that peninsula was generally looked upon as an island by the ancients. The Codanian Gulf was the sea to the east of the Cimbrian Chersonesus or Jutland, filled with the islands which belong to the modern kingdom of Denmark. It was therefore the southern part of the Baltic. [2890] By Eningia Hardouin thinks that the country of modern Finland is meant. Poinsinet thinks that under the name are included Ingria, Livonia, and Courland; while Parisot seems inclined to be of opinion that under this name the island of Zealand is meant, a village of which, about three-fourths of a league from the western coast, according to him, still bears the name of Heinïnge. [2891] Parisot is of opinion that the Venedi, also called Vinidæ and Vindili, were of Sclavish origin, and situate on the shores of the Baltic. He remarks that this people, in the fifth century, founded in Pomerania, when quitted by the Goths, a kingdom, the chiefs of which styled themselves the Konjucs of Vinland. Their name is also to be found in Venden, a Russian town in the government of Riga, in Windenburg in Courland, and in Wenden in the circle of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg Schwerin. [2892] Parisot remarks that these two peoples were probably only tribes of the Venedi. [2893] Parisot feels convinced that Pliny is speaking here of the Gulf of Travemunde, the island of Femeren, and then of the gulf which extends from that island to Kiel, where the Eider separates Holstein from Jutland. On the other hand, Hardouin thinks that by the Gulf of Cylipenus the Gulf of Riga is meant, and that Latris is the modern island of Oësel. But, as Parisot justly remarks, to put this construction on Pliny’s language is to invert the order in which he has hitherto proceeded, evidently from east to west. [2894] The modern Cape of Skagen on the north of Jutland. [2895] When Drusus held the command in Germany, as we learn from Strabo, B. vii. [2896] It is generally agreed that this is the modern island of Borkhum, at the mouth of the river Amaiius or Ems. [2897] To a bean, from which (_faba_) the island had its name of Fabaria. In confirmation of this Hardouin states, that in his time there was a tower still standing there which was called by the natives _Het boon huys_, “the bean house.” [2898] From the word _gles_ or _glas_, which primarily means ‘glass,’ and then figuratively “amber.” Probably Œland and Gothland. They will be found again mentioned in the Thirtieth Chapter of the present Book. See p. 351. [2899] Now the Scheldt. [2900] In a straight line, of course. Parisot is of opinion that in forming this estimate Agrippa began at the angle formed by the river Piave in lat. 46° 4′, measuring thence to Cape Rubeas (now Rutt) in lat. 54° 25′. This would give 8° 21′, to which, if we add some twenty leagues for obliquity or difference of longitude, the total would make exactly the distance here mentioned. [2901] As Parisot remarks, it is totally impossible to conceive the source of such an erroneous conclusion as this. Some readings make the amount 248, others 268. [2902] As already mentioned, Zeuss has satisfactorily shown that the Vandili or Vindili properly belonged to the Hermiones. Tacitus mentions but three groups of the German nations; the Ingævones on the ocean, the Hermiones in the interior, and the Istævones in the east and south of Germany. The Vandili, a Gothic race, dwelt originally on the northern coast of Germany, but afterwards settled north of the Marcomanni on the Riesengebirge. They subsequently appeared in Dacia and Pannonia, and in the beginning of the fifth century invaded Spain. Under Genseric they passed over into Africa, and finally took and plundered Rome in A.D.