LACTA´RIUS MONS
LACTA´RIUS MONS (
Γάλακτος ὄρος:
Monte S. Angelo), was the name given by the Romans to a mountain in the neighbourhood of Stabiae in Campania.
It was derived from the circumstance that the mountain abounded in excellent pastures, which were famous for the quality of the milk they produced; on which account the mountain was resorted to by invalids, especially in cases of consumption, for which a milk diet was considered particularly beneficial. (Cassiod.
Ep. 11.10.; Galen,
de Meth. Med. 5.12.)
It was at the foot of this mountain that Narses obtained a great victory over the Goths under Teïas in A.D. 553, in which the Gothic king was slain. (Procop.
B. G. 4.35, 36.)
The description of the Mons Lactarius, and its position with regard to Stabiae, leave no doubt that it was a part of the mountain range which branches off from the Apennines near
Nocera (Nuceria), and separates the
Bay of Naples from that of Paestum.
The nighest point of this range, the
Monte S. Angelo, attains a height of above 5000 feet; the whole range is calcareous, and presents beautiful forests, as well as abundant pastures.
The name of
Lettere, still borne by a town on the slope of the mountain side, a little above Stabiae, is evidently a relic of the ancient name.
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E.H.B]
