previous next

CHAP. 30.—ISLANDS OF THE IONIAN SEA AND THE ADRIATIC.

In the Ausonian Sea there are no islands worthy of notice beyond those which we have already mentioned, and only a few in the Ionian; those, for instance, upon the Calabrian coast, opposite Brundusium, by the projection of which a harbour is formed; and, over against the Apulian coast, Diomedia1, remarkable for the monument of Diomedes, and another island called by the same name, but by some Teutria.

The coast of Illyricum is clustered with more than 1000 islands, the sea being of a shoaly nature, and numerous creeks and æstuaries running with their narrow channels between portions of the land. The more famous are those before the mouths of the Timavus, with warm springs2 that rise with the tides of the sea, the island of Cissa near the territory of the Istri, and the Pullaria3 and Absyrtides4, so called by the Greeks from the circumstance of Absyrtus, the brother of Medea, having been slain there. Some islands near them have been called the Electrides5, upon which amber, which they call "electrum," was said to be found; a most assured instance however of that untruthfulness6 which is generally ascribed to the Greeks, seeing that it has never vet been ascertained which of the islands were meant by them under that name. Opposite to the Iader is Lissa, and other islands whose names have been already mentioned7. Opposite to the Liburni are some islands called the Crateæ, and no smaller number styled Liburniecæ and Celadussæ8. Opposite to Surium is Bavo, and Brattia9, famous for its goats, Issa with the rights of Roman citizens, and Pharia with a town. At a distance of twenty-five miles from Issa is Corcyra10, surnamed Melæna, with a town founded by the Cnidians; between which and Illyricum is Melite11, from which, as we learn from Callimachus, a certain kind of little dogs were called Melitæi; fifteen miles from it we find the seven Elaphites12. In the Ionian Sea, at a distance of twelve miles from Oricum, is Sasonis13, notorious from having been a harbour of pirates.

Summary.—The towns and nations mentioned are in number****14. The rivers of note are in number****. The mountains of note are in number****. The islands are in number****. The towns or nations which have disappeared are in number****. The facts, statements, and observations are in number 326.

Roman Authors quoted.—Turannius Gracilis15, Cornelius Nepos16, T. Livius17, Cato the Censor18, M. Agrip- pa19, M. Varro20, the Emperor Augustus21 now deified, Varro Atacinus22, Antias23, Hyginus24, L. Vetus25, Pomponius Mela26, Curio27 the Elder, Cælius28, Arruntius29, Sebosus30, Licinius Mucianus31, Fabricius Tuscus32, L. Ateius33, Capito34, Verrius Flaccus35, L. Piso36, Gellianus37, and Valerianus38.

Foreign Authors quoted.—Artemidorus39, Alexander Polyhistor40, Thucydides41, Theophrastus42, Isidorus43, Theopompus44, Metrodorus of Scepsis45, Callicrates46, Xenophon of Lampsacus47, Diodorus of Syracuse48, Nymphodorus49, Calliphanes50, and Timagenes51.

1 More properly "Diomedeæ," being a group of small islands off the coast of Apulia now called Isole di Tremiti, about eighteen miles from the mouth of the Fortore. They were so called from the fable that here the companions of Diomedes were changed into birds. A species of seafowl (which Pliny mentions in B. x. c. 44) were said to be the descendants of these Greek sailors, and to show a great partiality for such persons as were of kindred extraction. See Ovid's Metamorphoses, B. xiv. 1. 500. The real number of these islands was a matter of dispute with the ancients, but it seems that there are but three, and some mere rocks. The largest of the group is the island of San Domenico, and the others are San Nicola and Caprara. The small island of Pianosa, eleven miles N.E., is not considered one of the group, but is not improbably the Teutria of Pliny. San Domenico was the place of banishment of Julia, the licentious daughter of Augustus.

2 Now called the Bagni di Monte Falcone. See B. ii. c. 106.

3 Now called Cherso and Osero, off the Illyrian coast. Ptolemy mentions only one, Apsorrus, on which he places a town of that name and another called Crepsa. The Pullaria are now called Li Brioni, in the Sinus Flanaticus, opposite the city of Pola.

4 See p. 258.

5 In B. xxxvii. c. 11, lie again mentions this circumstance, and states that some writers have placed them in the Adriatic opposite the mouths of the Padus. Scymnus of Chios makes mention of them in conjunction with the Absyrtides. This confusion probably arose from the fact previously noted that the more ancient writers had a confused idea that the Ister communicated with the Adiatic, at the same time mistaking it probably for the Vistula, which flows into the Baltic. At the mouth of this last-mentioned river, there were Electrides or "amber-bearing "islands.

6 "Vanitatis."

7 Crexa, Gissa, and Colentun, in c. 25.

8 According to Brotier, these are situate between the islands of Zuri and Sebenico, and are now called Kasvan, Capri, Smolan, Tihat, Sestre, Parvich, Zlarin, &c. Some writers however suggest that there were no islands called Celadussse, and that the name in Pliny is a corruption of Dyscelados in Pomponius Mela; which in its turn is supposed to have been invented from what was really an epithet of Issa, in a line of Apollonius Rhodius, B. iv. 1. 565. ᾿ισσὰ τε δυσκέλαδος, "and inauspicious Issa." See Brunck's remarks on the passage.

9 Now Brazza. According to Brotier the island is still celebrated for the delicate flavour of the flesh of its goats and lambs. Issa is now called Lissa, and Pharia is the modern Lesina. Baro, now Bua, lies off the coast of Dalmatia, and was used as a place of banishment under the emperors.

10 Now Curzola, or, in the Sclavonic, Karkar. It obtained its name of Nigra or Melæna, "black," from the dark colour of its pine woods. Sir G. Wilkinson describes it in his "Dalmatia and Montenegro," vol. i.

11 Now called Meleda or Zapuntello. It is more generally to the other island of Melita or Malta that the origin of the "Melitæi" or Maltese dogs is ascribed. Some writers are of opinion that it was upon this island that St. Paul was shipwrecked, and not the larger Melita.

12 So called from their resemblance to a stag, ἔλαφος, of which the modern Giupan formed the head, Ruda the neck, Mezzo the body, Calamotta the haunches, and the rock of Grebini or Pettini the tail. They produce excellent wine and oil, and are looked upon as the most valuable part of the Ragusan territory.

13 Still known as Sasino. It is ten miles from Ragusa, the port of Oricum, according to Pouqueville.

14 The original numbers are lost.

15 He was a Spaniard by birth, a native of Mellaria in Hispania Bætica. He is mentioned by Cicero as a man of great learning, and is probably the same person that is mentioned by Ovid in his Pontic Epistles, B. iv. ep. xvi. 1. 29, as a distinguished tragic writer.

16 See end of B. ii.

17 See end of B. ii.

18 M. Porcius Cato, or Cato the Elder; famous as a statesman, a patriot, and a philosopher. He wrote "De Re Rustica," a work which still survives, and "Letters of Instruction to his Son," of which only some fragments remain. He also wrote a historical work called "Origines," of which Pliny makes considerable use. Of this also only a few fragments are left. His life has been written by Cornelius Nepos, Plutarch, and Aurelius Victor.

19 M. Vipsanius Agrippa, the distinguished partisan of Augustus, to whose niece Marcella he was married, but he afterwards divorced her for Julia, the daughter of Augustus by Scribonia, and the widow of Marcellus. He distinguished himself in Gaul, at Actium, and in Illyria. He constructed many public works at Rome, and among then the Pantheon; he also built the splendid aqueduct at Nismes. He died suddenly in his 51st year. His body was buried in the Mausoleum of Augustus, who pronounced his funeral oration. He wrote memoirs of his own life. Pliny often refers to the "Commentarii" of Agrippa, by which are meant, it is supposed, certain official lists drawn up by him in the measurement of the Roman world under Augustus. His map of the world is also mentioned by Pliny in c. 3 of the present Book.

20 See end of B. ii.

21 From Servius, Suetonius and Plutarch we learn that Augustus wrote Memoirs of his Life, in thirteen books; from Suetonius, that he composed a Summary of the Empire (which was probably that referred to in the above note on Agrippa); and from Quintilian, Aulus Gellius, and Pliny, B. xviii. c. 38, that he published Letters written to his grandson Caius.

22 P. Terentius Varro, surnamed Atacinus, from the Atax, a river of Gallia Narbonensis, in which province he was born, B.C. 82. Of his "Argonautica," his "Cosmographia" (probably the same with his "Iter"), his "Navales Libri," and his Heroic and Amatory Poems, only a few fragments now exist. Of his life nothing whatever is known.

23 Valerias Antias. See end of B. ii.

24 C. Julius Hyainus, a native of Spain, and freedman of Augustus, by whom he was placed at the Palatine Library. He lived upon terms of intimacy with Ovid. He wrote works on the sites of the cities of Italy, the Nature of the Gods, an account of the Penates, an account of Virgil (probably the same as the work called "Commentaries on Virgil"), on the Families of Trojan descent, on Agriculture, the "Propempticon Cinnæ," the Lives of Illustrious Men (quoted by John of Salisbury in his "Polycraticon "), a book of Examples, and a work on the Art of War, also mentioned by John of Salisbury. A book of Fables, and an Astronomical Poem, in four books, are ascribed to him, but they are probably productions of a later age.

25 L. Antistius Vetus, Consul with Nero, A.D. 55. While commanding in Germany he formed the project of connecting the Moselle and the Saone by a canal, thus establishing a communication between the Mediterranean and the Northern Ocean. Nero having resolved on his death, he anticipated his sentence by opening his veins in a warm bath. His mother-in-law Sextia, and his daughter Pollentia, in a similar manner perished with him.

26 He was born, it is supposed, at Tingentera, or Cingentera, on the bay of Algesiras, and probably flourished in the reign of Claudius. He was the first Roman author who wrote a treatise on Geography. It is still extant, and bears marks of great care, while it is written in pure and unaffected language.

27 C. Scribonius Curio, the third known of that name. He was the first Roman general who advanced as far as the Danube. Like his son of the same name, he was a violent opponent of Julius Cæsar. He was eloquent as an orator, but ignorant and uncultivated. His orations were published, as also an invective against Cæsar, in form of a dialogue, in which his son was introduced as one of the interlocutors. He died B.C. 53.

28 L. Cælius Antipater. See end of B. ii.

29 L. Arruntius, Consul, A.D. 6. Augustus declared in his last illness that he was worthy of the empire. This, with his riches and talents, rendered him an object of suspicion to Tiberius. Being charged as an accomplice in the crimes of Albucilla, he put himself to death by opening his veins. It appears not to be certain whether it was this person or his father who wrote a history of the first Punic war, in which he imitated the style of Sallust.

30 Statius Sebosus. See end of B. ii.

31 Licinius Crassus Mucianus. See end of B. ii.

32 Of this writer no particulars whatever are known.

33 In most editions this name appears as L. Ateius Capito, but Sillig separates them, and with propriety it would appear, as the name of Capito the great legist was not Lucius. Ateius here mentioned was probably the person surnamed Prætextatus, and Philologus, a freedman of the jurist Ateius Capito. For Sallust the historian he composed an Abstract of Roman History, and for Asinius Pollio he compiled precepts on the Art of Writing. His Commentaries were numerous, but a few only were surviving in the time of Suetonius.

34 C. Ateius Capito, one of the most famous of the Roman legists, and a zealous partisan of Augustus, who had him elevated to the Consulship A.D. 5. He was the rival of Labeo, the republican jurist. His legal works were very voluminous, and extracts from them are to be found in the Digest. He also wrote a work on the Pontifical Rights and the Law of Sacrifices.

35 A distinguished grammarian of the latter part of the first century B.C. He was entrusted by Augustus with the education of his grandsons Caius and Lucius Cæsar. He died at an advanced age in the reign of Tiberius. He wrote upon antiquities, history, and philosophy: among his numerous works a History of the Etruscans is mentioned, also a treatise on Orthography. Pliny quotes him very frequently.

36 See end of B. ii.

37 He is mentioned in c. 17, but nothing more is known of him.

38 Nothing is known of him. The younger Pliny addressed three Epistles to a person of this name, B. ii. Ep. 15, B. v. Ep. 4. 14.

39 See end of B. ii.

40 Also called by Pliny Cornelius Alexander. Suidas states that he was a native of Ephesus and a disciple of Crates, and during the war of Sylla in Greece was made prisoner and sold as a slave to C. Lentulus, who made him the tutor of his children, and afterwards restored him to freedom. Servius however says that he received the franchise from L. Cornelius Sylla. He was burnt with his house at Laurentum. Other writers say that he was a native of Catiæum in Lesser Phrygia. The surname of "Polyhistor" was given to him for his prodigious learning. His greatest work seems to have been a historical and geographical account of the world, in forty-two books. Other works of his are frequently mentioned by Plutarch, Photius, and other writers.

41 The historian of the Peloponnesian war, and the most famous, perhaps, of all the ancient writers in prose.

42 Of Eresus in Lesbos; the favourite disciple of Aristotle, and designated by him as his successor in the presidency of the Lyceum. He composed more than 200 works on various subjects, of which only a very few survive.

43 See end of B. ii.

44 See end of B. ii.

45 He is frequently mentioned by Cicero, and was famous for his eloquence. Pliny informs us in his 34th book, that from his hatred of the Romans he was called the "Roman-hater." It is probable that he was the writer of a Periegesis, or geographical work, from which Pliny seems to quote.

46 No particulars of this author are known. He probably wrote on geography.

47 He is again mentioned by Pliny in B. iv. c. 13, and B. vi. c. 31, and by Solinus, c. xxii. 60. It is supposed that he was the author of a Periplus or Circumnavigation of the Earth, mentioned by Pliny B. vii. c. 48; but nothing further is known of him.

48 Diodorus Siculus was a native of Agyra or Agyrium, and not of Syracuse, though lie may possibly have resided or studied there. It cannot be doubted that he is the person here meant, and Pliny refers in his preface by name to his βιβλιοθήκη, "Library," or Universal History. A great portion of this miscellaneous but valuable work has perished. We have but few particulars of his life; but he is supposed to have written his work after B.C. 8.

49 Of Syracuse; an historian probably of the time of Philip and Alexander. He was the author of a Periplus of Asia, and an account of Sicily and Sardinia. From his stories in the last he obtained the name of "Thaumatographus "or "writer of wonders."

50 Of Calliphanes the Geographer nothing is known.

51 Probably Timagenes, the rhetorician of Alexandria. He was taken prisoner and brought to Rome, but redeemed from captivity by Faustus, the son of Sylla. He wrote many works, but it is somewhat doubtful whether the "Periplus," in five Books, was written by this Timagenes. He is also supposed to have written a work on the Antiquities of Gaul.

The Natural History. Pliny the Elder. John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S. H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A. London. Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street. 1855.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

load focus Latin (Karl Friedrich Theodor Mayhoff, 1906)
hide Places (automatically extracted)

View a map of the most frequently mentioned places in this document.

hide Dates (automatically extracted)
Sort dates alphabetically, as they appear on the page, by frequency
Click on a date to search for it in this document.
6 AD (1)
55 AD (1)
5 AD (1)
82 BC (1)
53 BC (1)
August (1)
hide References (6 total)
  • Cross-references to this page (5):
    • A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890), TRIBUS
    • Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), ILLY´RICUM
    • Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), LISSA
    • Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), ME´LITA
    • Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), PHAROS
  • Cross-references in general dictionaries to this page (1):
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: