Baiae
A city of Campania, on a small bay west of Neapolis, and opposite Puteoli. It was originally a village, but the numerous advantages of its situation soon rendered it much frequented and famous. Its foundation is ascribed in mythology to Baius, one of the companions of Odysseus. The cause of the rapid increase of Baiae lay in the fruitfulness of the surrounding country, in the beauty of its own situation, in the rich supply of shell and other fish which the adjacent waters afforded, and, above all, in the hot mineral springs which flowed from the neighbouring mountains and formed a chief source of attraction to invalids. Baiae was first called Aquae Cumanae. Numerous villas graced the surrounding country, and many were likewise built on artificial moles extending a great distance into the sea. It is now, owing to earthquakes and inundations of the sea, a mere waste compared with what it once was. The modern name is Baia. Many remains of the ancient villas may be seen beneath the water. The classics of the imperial age teem with allusions to the splendour, the luxury, and the frivolities of this famous ancient watering-place. |
| Baiulus. (Rich.) |