Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/1124

 1100 TARENTUil. The climate of Tarentum, though justly praised by Horace for its mildness, was generally reckoned soft and enervating, and was considered as in some decree the cause of the luxurious and eifeminate habits ascribed to the inhabitants ('' molle Taren- tum," Hor. Sat. ii. 4. 34; " imbelle Tarentum," Id. £p. i. 7. 45.) It is probable that tliis charge, as in many other cases, was greatly exaggerated; but there is no reason to doubt that the Tarentines, like almost all the other Greeks who became a manufacturing and commercial people, indulged in a des;ree of luxury far exceeding that of the ruder nations of Central Italy. The wealth and opulence to which they attained in the 4th century b. c. na- turally tended to aggravate these evils, and the Ta- rentines are represented as at the time of the arrival of Pyrrhus enfeebled and degraded by luxurious in- dulgences, and devoted almost exclusively to the pursuit of pleasure. To such an excess was this carried that we are told the number of their annual festivals exceeded that of the days of the year. (Theopomp. ap. Athen. iv. p. 166 ; Clearch. ap. At/ien. xii. p. 522 ; Strab. vi. p. 280; Aelian, V.H. xii. 30.) Juvenal alludes to their love of feasting and pleasure when he calls it '" coronatum ac petu- lans madidumque Tarentum" (vi. 297). But it is certain, as already observed, that they were not in- capable of war: they furnished a considerable body of troops to the army of Pyrrhus ; and in the sea-fight with the Eoman fleet off the entrance of the harbour, during the Second Punic War, they displayed both courage and skill in naval combat. (Liv. xxvi. 39.) In the time of their greatest power, according to Strabo, they could send into the field an army of 30,000 foo't and 3000 horse, besides a body of 1000 select cavalry called Hipparchs. (Strab. vi. p. 280.) The Tarentine light cavalry was indeed celebrated throughout Greece, so that they gave name to a particular description of cavalry, which are mentioned under the name of Tarentines (TapafTli/oi), in the armies of Alexander the Great and his successors; and the appellation continued in use down to the period of the Itoman Empire. (Arrian, ^?io6. ; Id. Tact. 4 ; Pol. iv. 77, xi. 12 ; Liv. xxxv. 28; Aelian, Tact. 2. p. 14 ; Suidas, s. v. Tapavr'n/ot.^ It is probable, however, that these may have been always recruited in great part among the neighbouring Messapians and Sallentines, who also excelled as light horsemen. With their habits of luxury the Tarentines un- doubtedly combined the refinements of the arts usu- ally associated with it, and were diligent cultivators of the fine arts. The great variety and beauty of their coins is, even at the present day, a sufficient proof of this, while the extraordinary numbers of them which are still found in the S. of Italy attest the wealth of the city. Ancient writers also speak of the numbers of pictures, statues, and other works of art with which the city was adorned, and of which a considerable number were transported to Rome. (Flor. i. 18; Strab.vi.p.278; Liv.xxvii. 16.) Among these the most remarkable were the colossal statue of Jupiter, mentioned by Strabo {I. c), and which was apparently still .standing in the Agora in liis time : the bronze statue of Hercules by Lysippus already noticed; and a statue of Victory, which was also carried to Eome, where it became one of the chief ornaments of the Curia Julia. (Dion Cass. li. 22.) Nor were the Tarentines deficient in the cultivation of literature. In addition to Archytas, the Pythagorean philosopher, celebrated for his TAPvEXTUM. mathematical attainments and discoveries, who long held at Tarentum a place somewhat similar to that of Pericles at Athens (Diog. Laert. vii:. 4; Suid. s. V. 'Apx^T'i^ ; Athen. xii. p. 545), Aristoxenus, the celebrated musician and disciple of Aristotle, was a native of Tarentum ; as well as PJiinthon, the dramatic poet, who became the founder of a new species of burlesque drama which was subsequently cultivated by Sopater and other authors. (Suid. s. V. "PivBajv.y It was from Tarentum also that the Eomans received the first rudiments of the regular drama, Livius Andronicus, their earliest dramatic poet, having been a Greek of Tarentum, who was taken prisoner when the city fell into their hands. (Cic. Brut. 18.) Polybius tells us that Tarentum retained many traces of its Lacedaemonian origin in local names and customs, which still subsisted in his day. Such was the tomb of Hyacinthus already mentioned (Pul. viii. 30): the river Galaesusalso was called by them the Eurotas {lb. 35), though the native name ulti- mately prevailed. Another custom which he notices as peculiar was that of burying their dead within the walls of the city, so that a considerable .space within the walls was occupied by a necropolis. {lb. 30.) This custom he ascribes to an oracle, but it may have arisen (as was the case at Agrigentum and Syracuse) from the increase of the city havijig led to the original necropolis being inclosed withiu the walls. The name of Tarentum (Taras) was supposed to be derived from a river of the name of Taras (Tapas), which is noticed by several ancient writers. (Steph. B. s. V. Tdpas ; Paus. x. 10. § 8.) This is commonly identified with a deep, but sluggish , stream, which flows into the sea about 4 miles W. of the entrance of the harbour of Tarentum, and is still called Tara, though corrupted by the pea- santry into Fiume di Terra. (Romanelli, vol. i. p. 281; Swinburne, vol. i. p. 271.) The more cele- brated stream of the Galaesus flowed into the Mare Piccola or harbour of Tarentum on its N. shore: it is commonly identified with the small stream called Le Citrezze, an old church near which still retains the name of Sta Maria di Galeso. [Galaesus.] Another locality in the immediate neighbourhood of Tarentum, the name of which is associated with that of the city by Horace, is Aulon, a hill or ridge celebrated for the excellence of its wines. This is identified by local topographers, though on very slight grounds, with a sloping ridge on the sea- shore about 8 miles SE. of Tarentum, a part of which bears the name of Monte Melone, suppused to be a corruption of Atdone [Aulon]. A more obscure name, which is repeatedly mentioned in con- nection with Tarentum, is that of Satueium (Sotu- piov). From the introduction of this name in the oracle alleged to have been given to Phalanthus (Strab. vi. p. 279), it seems probable that it was an old native name, but it is not clear that there ever was a town or even village of the name. It is more probable that it was that of a tract or district in tiie neighbourhood of Tarentum. Stephanus of Byzan- tium distinctly calls it X'^P" t'^Wiov Tdpavros (s. V. '^arvpiov); and the authority of Servius, who calls it a citi/ (civitas) near Tarentum, is not worth much in comparison. There was certainly no cit// of the name in historical times. Virgil applies tJie epithet " Saturivmi" (as an adjective) to Tarentum itself {Georg. ii. 197; Serv. ad loc. : many com- mentators, however, consider " saturi" from "satur"