Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/1049

 SPARTA. chus, and the temple of Ilera Aegopliagus. He afterwards returns to the theatre, and mentions the dilferent monuments in its neiglibourhood ; among ■which were a temple of Poseidon Genethlius, heroa of Cleodacus and Oebalus, a temple of Asclepius, near the Booneta, the most celebrated of all the temples of this god in Sparta, with the heroum of Teleclus on its left ; on a height not far distant, an ancient temple of Aphrodite armed, upon an upper story of which was a second temple of Aphrodite Murpho ; in its neighbourhood was a temple of Hi- laeira and Phoebe, containing their statues, and an egg suspended from the roof, said to have been that of Leda. Pausanias next mentions a house, named Chiton, in which was woven the robe for the Amy- clacan Apollo; and on the way towards the city gates the heroa of Cheilon and Atbenaeus. Near the Chiton was the house of Phormion, -who hospi- tably entertained the Dioscuri when they entered the city as strangers (Pans. iii. 15. § 6 — 16. § 4.) From these indications we may suppose that the Amyclaean road issued from this gate, and it may therefore be placed in the southern part of the city. In that case the double temple of Aphrodite probably stood upon one of the heights of New Sparta. Pausanias next mentions a temple of Lycurgus ; behind it the tomb of his son Eucosmus, and an altar of Lathria and Alexandra : opposite the temple were iiinnuments of Theopompus and Eurybiadcs, and the heroum of Astrabacus. In the place called Lim- iiaeum stood the temples of Artemis Orthia and Leto. This temple of Artemis Orthia was, as we have already remarked, the common place of meeting for the four villages of Pitane, Mesoa, Cynosura, and Liinnae. (Pans. iii. 16. § 6, seq.) Limnae was partly ill the city and partly in the suburbs. Its position to the N. of the Dromus has been mentioned above ; and, if an emendation in a passage of Strabo be cor- )-eet, it also included a district on the left bank of the Eurotas, in the direction of Mt. Thornax (tJi AifxvoLov Kara rhv [QipvaJKa, Meineke's emendation instead of [0pa]/ca, Strab. viii. p. 364). The most ancient topographical information re- syiccting Sparta is contained in the answer of the Delphic oracle to Lycurgus. The oracle is reported to have directed the lawgiver to erect temples to ■/eus and Athena, and to fix the seat of the senate anil kings between the Babyca and Cnacion. (Plut. Lijc. 6.) The.se names were obsolete in the time of Plutarch. He says that the Cnacion was the Oenus, n'lW the Kelefina ; and he also appears to have con- sidered the Babyca a river, though the text is not clear ; in that case the Babyca must be the Trypio- tiko, which forms the southern boundary of the city. It appears, however, from the same passage of Plu- tarch, that Aristotle regarded the Babyca as a bridge, and only the Cnacion as a river ; whence he would seem to have given the name of Cnacion to the Try- liiijti/io, and that of Babyca to the bridge over the Eurotas. The left, or eastern bank of the Eurotas, was not occupied by any part of Sparta. When Epaminondas invaded Laconia in B. c. 370 he marched down the loft bank of the Eurotas till he reached the foot of the bridge which led through the hollow way into the city. But he did not attempt to force the passage across the bridge; and he saw on the other side a body of armed men drawn up in the temple of Athena Alea. He therefore continued his march along the left bank of the river till lie arrived opposite to Amyclae, where he crossed the river. (Xen. JJdl. SPARTA. 1029 vi. 5. § 27.) The account of Xcnophon illustrates a passage of Pausanias. The latter writer, in de- scribing (iii. 19. § 7) the road to Therapne, men- tions a statue of Athena Alea as standing between the city and a temple of Zeus Plusius, above the right bank of the Eurotas, at the point where the river was crossed; and as only one bridge across the Eurotas is mentioned by ancient writers, there can be no doubt that the road to Therapne crossed the bridge which Xenophon speaks of, and the remains of Avhich are still extant. Therapne stood upon the Menelaium or Mount Menelaius, which rote abruptly from the left hand of the river opposite the south-eastern extremity of Sparta. (MeveAdiov, Polyb. v. 22 ; MeveXdeiOV, Steph. B. s. v. ; Blene- laius Jlons, Liv. xxxiv. 28.) The Menelaium has been compared to the Janiculum of Rome, and rises about 760 feet above the Eurotas. It derived its name from a temple of Jlenelaus, containing the tombs of Blenelaus and Helen, whither solemn pro- cessions of men and women were accustomed to re- pair, the men imploring Menelaus to grant them bravery and success in war, the women invoking Helen to bestow beauty upon them and their chil- dren. (Pans. iii. 19. § 9; Herod, vi. 61; Isocr. Encom. Eel. 17; Hesych. s.v. 'EXivia, Qfpu-Kva- TiSia.) The foundations of this temple were dis- covered in 1834 by Ross, who found amongst the ruins several small figures in clay, representing men in military costume and women in long robes, pro- bably dedicatory otferings made by the poorer classes to Menelaus and Helen. (Ross, Wandertmr/en in Griechenland, vol. ii. p. 13, seq.) The temple of Menelaus is expressly said to have been situated in Therapne (Q^paTTprj, Q^pdnvai; Theramne, Plin. iv. .5. s. 8), which was one of the most ancient and venerable places in the middle valley of the Eurotas. It was said to have derived its name from a daughter of Lelex (Paus. iii. 19. § 9), and was the Achaean citadel of the district. It is described by the poets as the lofty well-towered Therapne, surrounded by thick woods (Pind. Isthn. i. 31; Coluth. 225), where slept the Dioscuri, the guardians of Sparta. (Pind. Nem. x. 55.) Here was the fountain of Messeis, the water of which the captive women had to carry (Paus. iii. 20. § 1 ; Hom. //. vi. 457): and it was probably upon this height that the temple of Menelaus stood, which excited the astonishment of Telemachns in the Odyssey. Hence Therapne is said to have been in Sparta, or is mentioned as sy- nonymous with Sparta. (©epaTri'ai, tfoAu Aa/c . van], ifju TLves '2,TrdpT7]f fpaaif, Steph. B. s. 7 ; iv STrdprj;, Schol. ad ApolLIihod. ii. 162, rmd. Isthn. i. 3l'.) It is probable that further excavations upon this spot would bring to light some tombs of the heroic ages. The Phoebaeum, which has been already described as the open space on the right bank of the Eurotas [see p. 1028, b.], contained a temple of the Dioscuri. Not far from this place was the temple of Poseidon, surnamed Gaeaochus. (Paus. iii. 20. § 2.) After the power of Sparta was destroyed by the battle of Leuctra, its territory was exposed to inva- sion and the city to attack. The first time that an enemy appeared before Sparta was when Epami- nondas invaded Laconia in n. c. 390, as already re- lated. After crossing the river opposite Amyclae, lie marched against the city. His cavalry advanced as far as the temple of Poseidon Gaeaochus, which we have seen from Pausanias was in the Phoebaeum. AVe also learn from Xenophon that the Hippodrome was 3u 3