Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/1200

 1176 THORXAX. p. 68, seq. 2nd eJ.; Wordswoith, Al/wns <aul Attica, p. 208, seq.) THORXAX {Qopval). 1. A inountnin near tlie city of llermione in Argolis, between which and Mt. Pron the road ran from Hermione to Halice. It was subsequently called Coccygium, because Zeus was said to liave been here transformed into a cuckoo; and on its summit was a temple of Zens Coccygius. (Pans. ii. 36. §§ 1, 2; Leake, Peloponnesiaca, p. 288; Curtius, Pelopimnesos, vol. ii. p. 463.) 2. A mountain in Laconia, on the road from Sparta to Sellasia, upon which stood a colossal sta- tue of Apollo Pythacus. (Herod, i. 69; Pans. iii. 10. § 8 ; Steph. B. s. v. ; Leake, Morea, vol. ii. p. 534, Pelofonneshca, pp. 348, 352 ; Boblaj'e, Reck p. 75; Ross, Peloponnes, p. 190; Curtius, Peloponnesos, vol. ii. pp. 237, 259.) THO'SPIA (©oJO-Tria, Ptol. v. 13. § 19, viii. 19. § 12 the capital of the district Thnspitis. [T. H. D.] THOSPI'TIS (0£»(77r?Tiy, Ptol. v. 13. § 18), a district of Armenia Major. It lay at the northern side of the Lacus Thospites (ri Sooir-nlTts Xi/xvr], Ptol. ih. § 7), through which the Tigris flowed (Plin. vi. 27. s. 31). It is perhaps the same lake called Thonitis or Thopitis by Straho (©oiwris or Quittitis, xi.p. 529), and Priscian (Lacus Thonitidis, Perieg. 913), the water of which is described by Strabo as nitrous and undrinkable. It is probably the modern Wan, in the district of Tosp, and hence called by the Armenians Dzoio Tospai. [T. H. D.] THRA'CIA (0pf;/f77, Horn.; epvixiv, Herod, i. 1 68, or @p7)'LKri, iv. 99 ; Attic, &pd.KT) : Eth. Qprji^, Horn.; 0pi)i'^, Herod, viii. 1 16; Attic, 0pa|; Trag. &pfj^: Thrax. Threx, the hitter form being chiefly, if not exclusively, employed of gladiators), a country at the south-eastern extremity of Europe, and sepa- rated from Asia only by the Propontis and its two narrow channels, the Bosporus and the Hellespont. I. Name. — Besides its ordinary name, the coun- try had, according to Steph. B. (s. v.), two older ap- pellations, rie'pKTj and 'Apia; and Gellius (xiv. 6) mentions Sithon as another. Respecting the origin of these names, various conjectures have been made both in ancient and in modern times; but as none of them, with the exception to be presently mentioned, are of much value, it is not worth while to devote any space to their consideration. * The exception alluded to is the etymology adopted by Col. Slure (^Ifist. of Lang, and Lit. of Anc. Greece, i. p. 153, note), which is far more probable and satisfac- tory than any other that the present writer has seen, and which derives the name Thrace from the adjec- tive Tpa-)(iia, " rugged," by the common transfer of the aspirate. Thus the name would indicate the geo- graphical character of the various districts to which it is given ; for, as we shall see, it was by no means confined to the country which is the special subject of the present notice. II. Extent. — In the earliest times, the region called Thrace had no definite boundaries, but was often regarded as comprising all that part of Europe which lies to the north of Greece. Macedonia, in t!ie south, is spoken of by Hecataeus as belonging to it (cf. Mel. ii. 2, sub fln., where the Chalci<lic pen- insula is described under the title of Thrace); and THRACIA. Scythia, in the north, is included in it by Steph. B. (.?. V. 'S.KvQat: cf. Amm. xxvii. 4. § 3). This explains the fable reported by Andron (Tzetz. ml Lycopiir. 894), to the effect that Oceanus had four daughters, Asia, Libya, Europa, and Thracia; thus elevating the last-named country to the rank of one of the four quarters of the known — or rather imknown — world. But as the Greeks extended their geographical know- ledge, the designation Thrace became more restricted in its applicatinn, and at length was generally given to that part of Europe which is included within the following boundaries: the Ister on the N. (Strab. ii. p. 129;' Plin. iv. 18; Mel. ii. 2); the Euxine ami the Bosporus on the E. ; the Propontis, the Helles- pont, the Aegean, and the northern part of Mace- donia, on the .S. ; the Strymon, or subsequent!}', i. e. in the time of Philip II. and his son Alexander the Great, the Nestus (Strab, vii. pp. 323, 330; Ptol. iii. 11), and the countries occupied by the Illyrians, on the W., where, however, the boundary was never very settled or accurately known. (Plin. and Mel. //. cc.) These were the limits of Thrace until the Romans subdued the country, when, in the I'eign of Augustus, it was divided into two parts, separated by the Haemus; the portion to the south of that mountain chain retaining the name of Thrace, while the part between the Ister and the Haemus received the appellation of Sloesia, and was constituted a Ro- man province. [JIoesia, Vol. H. p. 367.] But even after this period both countries were sometimes in- cluded under the old name, which the Latin poets frequently used in its earliest and widest extent of meaning. (Cf. Heyne, ad Virg. Aen.. 659; Bur- man, ad Val. Place, iv. 280; Muncker, ad Ilggiii. Fab. 138; Tzschucke, ad Mel. ii. 2. ,p. 63.) As the little that is known about Moesia is stated in the article above referred to, the present will, as far as possible, be confined to Thrace proper, or south of the Haemus, corresponding pretty nearly to tiie modern Roumelia, which, however, extends some- what more to the west than ancient Thrace. III. Physical Geography, Climate, Pro- ductions, &c. — Many circumstances might have led us to expect that the ancients would have trans- mitted to us full information respecting Thrace: its proximity to Greece; the numerous Greek colonies established in it; tiie fact that it was traver.sed by the highroad between Europe and Asia; and that the capital of the Eastern Empire was situated in it, — all these things seem calculated to attract atten- tion to the country in an unusual degree, and to in- duce authors of various kinds to employ their pens in recording its natural and political history. Yet the latest and most profound historian of Greece is compelled to admit that, apart from two main roads, " scarcely anything whatever is known of [the inte- rior of] the country." (Grote, vol. xii. p.34, note. For this various reasons may be assigned; but the prin- cipal o)ie is the barbarous character, in all ages, of the occupants of the land, which has, at least until very recently, precluded the possibility of its explo- ration by peaceful travellers. * Those who have consult Steph. B. s.v.; Eustath. ad fJion. Per. 322, 323; Sickler, Ihmdb. i. § 480; Berkel ad Steph. B. p. 400; Tzschucke. ad Mel. ii. 2. p. 62; Kenrick, Philol. Mus. i. J). 618. quesnel, connnissioned by the French government, and countenanced by the Turkish authorities, found it impossible to induce his guides to conduct him to a certain district which he wished to visit, al- though he offered to take as numerous an escort as they pleased. (See Archives des Missions scient. et lilt. vol. i. p. 210.)
 * Those who are curious about such matters may
 * Even one of the latest travellers there, M. Vi-