Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/1072

 1052 SYBARIS. district of Oman. The maps give no bay to the W. of Syagros, where tlie Tretus Portus was situated. The Pei'iplus says that the cape extended eastward, places a castle ■with a harbour and magazine at tiyagros, and describes, in connection witii it, the Dioscoridis Insula (Socotora), which Pliny places at a distance of 2240 stadia. There is no difiiculty in identifying this promon- tory Syagros with the modern Jias Fartask, wiiich derives its designation from the snout of the animal commemorated in its Greek name, which was pro- bably a loose translation of its native appellation. Tlie Periplus describes Syagros as the largest pro- inontor}' in the world, — an byperbolical expression, no doubt, but better suited to this cape than to any other (in the coast, since the isolated mountain that forms Ras Fartask reaches an elevation of 2.500 feet, and is visible at a distance of 60 miles; while those of Ras Sauf/ra (al. Saukira^, further to the E., some- times identified with Syagros on account of the simi- larity of name, do not exceed 600 feet. The subject, it must be admitted, is not free from difHculty, mainly owing to the fact that Ptolemy places Moscha Portus, — which is usually supposed to be the same as the Moscha Portus of the Periplus, and is ideiititied with Dzafar or Saphar, — -W. of Syagros ; in which case Ras Noos (al. ^Vows), or Ras Saugra (al. Saii- kira), must be his Syagros, and tbe Sachalites Sinus still further E. But since the distance be- tween Socatra and the coast at Ras Fartask, about 2000 stadia, approximates much more nearly to Pliny's figures, 240 M.P. (= 2240 stadia), than that between the same island and either of the other capes, — for Ras Noos is 3600 stadia distant, and Ras Satyra considerably more, — the most probable solu- tion of the difiiculty is found in the hypothesis adopted above, of two ports called Moscha on the same coast. [Moscha.] (See Miiller's Notes to D'ulots ed. of the Gcogr. Graec. Min. vol. i. pp. 279, 280.) The question has been examined by Dean Vincent, who was the first to fix correctly this important point in Arabian geography, and his main conclusions are acquiesced in by JMr. Forster, who lias corroborated them by fi-esli evidence from the researches of modern travellers ; and it is an in- teresting fact, that wliile the Greek geographers appear to have translated the native name of the cape, which it retains to this day, the natives would appear to have adopted a modification of that Greek translation as the name of the tnwn situated, then as now, under the cape, which stdl bears the name of Siifjgcr. (Vincent, Periplus, vol. ii. pp. 331 — 351 ; Forster, Arabia, vol. ii. jjp. 166 — 177.) [G. W.] SY'BAPJS (2i5§apis: Eth. 2i/§apfT?js, Sybarita), a celebrated city of Magna Graecia, situated on the W. shi>re of the Tarentine gult, but a short distance from the sea, between the rivers Crathis and Sybaris. (Strab. vi. p. 263; Diod. xii. 9.) The last of these, from which it derived its name, was the stream now called the Coscile, which at the present day falls into the Crati about 3 miles from its mouth, but in ancient times undoubtedly pursued an independent course to the sea. Sybaris was apparently the earliest of all the Greek colonies in this part of Italy, being founded, according to the statement of Scymnus Chius, as early as b. c. 720. (Scymn. Ch. 360; Clinton, /'. //. vol. i. p. 174.) It was an Achaean colony, and its Oekist was a citizen of Helice in Achaia: but with the Achaean emigrants were mingled a number of Troezenian citizens. The Achaeans, however, eventually ob- SYCARIS. taincd the preponderance, and drove out the Troe- zenians. (Strab. I. c. ; Arist. Rot. v. 3.) The Sybarites indeed appear to have sought for an origin in heroic times; and Solinus has a story that the first founder of the city was a son of Ajax OVIeus (Solin. 2. § 10); but this is evidently mere fiction, and the city was, historically speaking, undoubtedly an Achaean colony. It rose rapidly to great pro- sperity, owing in the first instance to the fertility of the plain in which it was situated. Its citizens also, contrary to the policy of many of the Greek states, freely admitted settlers of other nations to the rights of citizenship, and the vast population of the city is expressly ascribed in great measure to this cause. (Diod. xii. 9.) The statements transmitted to us of the power and opulence of the city, as well as of the luxurious habits of its inhabitants, have indeed a very fabulous aspect, and are without doubt grossly exaggerated, but there is no reason to reject the main fact that Sybaris had in the sixth century b. (_'. attained a degree of wealth and power unprecedented among Greek cities, and which excited the admiration of the rest of the Hellenic world. We are told that the Sybarites ruled over 25 subject cities, and could bring into the field 300,000 of their own citizens (Strab. I. c), a statement obviously incredible. The subject cities were probably for the most part Oeno- trian towns in the interior, but we know that Sybaris had extended its dominion across the peninsula to the Tyrrhenian sea, where it had founded the colonies of Posidonia, Lalis, and Scidrus. The city' itself was said to be not less than 50 stadia in circum- ference, and the horsemen or knights who figured at the religious processions are said to have amounted to 5000 in number (Athen. xii. p. 519), which would prove that these wealthy citizens were nioie than four times as nimierous as at Athens. Smin- dyrides, a citizen of Sybaris, who was one of the suitors for the daughters of Cleisthenes of Sicyon, is said by Herodotus to have surpassed all other men in refined luxury. (Herod, vi. 127.) It was asserted that on this occasion he carried with him a train of 1000 slaves, including cooks, fishermen, &c. (Athen. vi. p. 273; Diod. viii. Fr. 19.) It is unnecessary to repeat here the tales that are told by various writers, especially by Athenaeus, concerning the absurd refinements of luxury ascribed to the Sy- barites, and which have rendered their very name proverbial. (Athenae. xii. pp. 518 — 521; DicKJ. viii. Fr. 18 — 20; Suid. s. v. 'S.uSapiTtKcus.) They were particularly noted for the splendoiu' ol their attire, which was formed of the finest Milesian wool, and this gave rise to extensive commercial relations with Jliletus, which produced a clo.se friendship between the two cities. (Timaeus, ap. Athen. xii. p. 519; Herod, vi. 21.) As an instance of their magnificence we are told that Alcimenes of Sybaris had dedicated as a votive offering in the temple of the Lacinian Juno a splendid figured robe, which long afterwards fell into the power of Diony- sius of Syracuse, and was sold by him for 120 talents, or more than 24,000/. sterling. (Pseud. Arist. Mirah. 96; Athen. xii. p. 541.) Notwithstanding these details concerning the wealth and luxury of Sybaris. we are almost wholly without information as to the history of the city until shortly before its fall. Herodotus incidentally refers to the time of Smindyrides (about 580 — 560, B. c.) as the period when Sybaris was at the height of its power. At a later period it seems to have been agitated by political dissensions, with the