Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/1134

 1110 TAURICA CHEESONESUS. tainous. The NW. portion of the low Coven- try, or that which would he to the W. of a line drawn from the isthmus to the mouth of the river Alma, consists of a sandy soil interspersed with salt lakes, an evidence that it was at one time covered by the sea (Pallas, lb. p. 605, &c.) ; but the E. and S. part has a fertile mould. The moun- tain chain (Taurici Montes) begins to rise towards the centre of the peninsula, gently at first on the N., but increasing in height as the chain approaches the sea, into which it sinks steeply and abruptly. Hence the coast at this part presents huge cliifs and preci- pices, and the sea is so deep that the lead often linds no bottom at the distance of a mile or two from the shore. From these mountains, which ex- tend from Symbolon, or Balaclava, on the W., to Theodosia, or Caffa, on the E., many bold promon- tories are projected into the sea, enclosing between them deep and warm valleys open to the S., and sheltered from the N. wind, where the olive and vine flourish, the apricot and almond ripen, and the laurel creeps among the dark and frowning cliffs. The most remarkable mountains of this chain are that anciently called the Cimmerium at the N. extremity, and the Trapezus at the S. (Strab. vii. p. 309.) The former, which is said to have derived its name from the Cimmerians, once do- minant in the Bosporus, is now called Aghirmisch- Daghi. It lies nearly in the centre of the penin- sula, to the NW. of the ancient Theodosia, and near the town of Eslcl-Kriin, or Old Crim. Some writers, however, identify Cimmerium with Mount Opouk, on the S. coast of the peninsula of Kertsch. (Kiliiler, Mem. de I' Acad, de St. Petersh. 1824, p. 649, seq. ; Dubois de Montperreux, Voyages, ^c. V. p. 253, seq.) But Trapezus is by far the highest mountain of Taurica. Kohl estimates its lieight at 5000 German feet (^Reisen in Sudmss- land, i. p. 204) ; other authorities make it rather less, or 4740 feet. (Neumann, Die Hellenen im Scijthenlunde, p. 448.) According to Mr. Seymour, it is 5125 English feet high. {Russia on the Black Sea, p. 146.) Its form justifies its ancient name, and is said to resemble that of the Table Mountain at the Cape of Good Uope (Kohl, Ih.'). A good idea of it may be obtained from the vignette in Pallas (ii. p. 196). As it stands some- what isolated from the rest of the chain, it pre- sents a very striking and remarkable object, es- pecially from the sea. At present it is called Tchatip'-Dagh, or the Tent Mountain. The other mountains seldom exceed 1200 feet. Their geo- logical structure presents many striking deviations from the usual arrangement, especially in the ab- sence of granite. These anomalies are fully described by Pallas in his second volume of travels. That part of Taurica which lay to the E. of them was called the Rugged, or Rocky, Cher- sonesus (j-priKif}, Herod. I. c.) It is in these moun- tains that the rivers which water the peninsula have their sources, none of which, however, are con- siderable. They flow principally from the northern side, from which they descend in picturesque cas- cades. Only two are mentioned by the ancients, the Thapsis and the Istrianus. At present the most fertile districts of Taurica are the calcareous valleys among the mountains, which, though often covered with only a thin layer of mould, produce excellent wheat. The nature of the country, however, does not now correspond with the descriptions of the an- cients. Strabo(i. c.) praises its fertility in produc- TAUKICA CHEESONESUS. ing corn, especially in that part which lies between Panticapaeum {Kertsch) and Theodosia {Caffa), which at present is a desolate and monotonous steppe. But this may probably be accounted for by the phy- sical and political revolutions which the countiy has undergone. Taurica yielded a large tribute of wheat to Mithridates Eupator, King of Bosporus. That sovereign took much interest in promoting the cul- tivation of the country, especially by the planting of trees; but all his care to rear the laurel and the myrtle in the neighbourhood of Panticapaeum is said to have been vain, though other trees grew there which required a mild temperature. (Plin. xvi. s. 59.) Wine was produced in abundance, as at the present day, and the custom mentioned by Strabo (p. 307), of covering the vines with earth during the winter, is still observed, though Pallas considers it unnecessary ( Voyages, <.fc. ii. p. 444.) The interest connected with the ancient history of the Taurio Chersonese is chiefly derived from the ma- ritime settlements of the Greeks, and our attention is thus principally directed to the coasts. An account of the barbarous people who inhabited the peninsula at the time when these settlements were made is given in a separate article [Tauei]. Its coasts, like those of the Euxine in general, were early visited by the Milesians, who planted some ilourishing colo- nies upon it. Besides these we iind a Dorian colony established near the site of the present Sebastopol; and, if we may believe Aeschines {contra Ctesiph. p. 141, sq.), the Athenians once possessed the town of Nymphaeon on the Cimmerian Bosporus, which, ac- cording to him, was betrayed to the Bosporan kings by Gylon, the maternal grandfather of Demosthenes (Cf. Crateros in Harpocration, s. v. JivfKpaiov.) The interior of the peninsula was but little known to the ancients, and we shall therefore best explain their connection with it by taking a survey of the coasts. We shall begin on the NW. side, after the bay of Carcina or Tamyraca, which has been already de- scribed [Cakcina; Tamykaca]. Fram this bay the peninsula stretches to its most westerly point. Cape Tarchan, which presents some high land ; but to the S. of Tarchan the coast sinks to a dead level as far as the river Alma, to the S. of which it again begins to rise in high cliffs. All the W. coast, however, presents no place of note in ancient history till we come to its extreme southern point, where a bald plateau of hills runs in a westerly direction into the sea. On the E. this tract is divided from the rest of the peninsula by a deep and broad valley, into v^hich it falls by steep declivities. The harbour of Sebastopol (or Roads of Aktiar) on the N., which bites into the land for about 4 miles in a SE. direction, and that of Bala- clava on the S. coast of the peninsula, which runs up towards the N., form an isthmus having a breadth, according to Strabo (p. 308), of 40 stadia, or 5 miles. This measurement is confirmed by Clarke {Trav. ii. p. 219), who, however, seems only to have been guided by his eye ; for in reality it is rather more, or about 6 miles. The S. coast of the little peninsula formed by this isthmus presents several promontories and small bays, with cliffs of from 500 to 700 feet in height. So barren a spot presented no attractions to the Milesians, the ehief colonisers of the Euxine ; but a more hardy race of emigrants, from the Dorian city of Heracleia in Pontus, found a new home upon it, and founded there the town of Chersonesus (Strab. I. c). We leam from Pliny (iv, 12. s. 26) that it