GORGON
GORGON or
URGO (
Γοργόνη,
Ptol. 3.1.78:
Gorgona), a small island in the Tyrrhenian sea, between the coast of Etruria and Corsica, and distant about 20 miles from the mainland. Its name is written Urgo by .Pliny and Mela; but Rutilius, who describes it in his poetical itinerary, calls it Gorgon, and this form is confirmed by the authority of Ptolemy (
l.c.), as well as by its modern name of
Gorgona. (
Plin. Nat. 3.6. s. 12; Mel. 2.7.19; Rutil.
Itin. 1.515.)
It is a small island, only about 8 miles in circumference, but elevated and rocky, rising abruptly out of the sea, which renders it a conspicuous object from a distance. Between it and the port of
Livorno is the islet of
Meloria, a mere rock, which is supposed to be the Maenaria of Pliny.
[
E.H.B]