Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/1215

 THEONIUJI. Pococke observed an ancient tower. (Strab. xiv. p. 682; Ptol.v. 14. §§ 2,3; Enge].Ki/pros,ol i. p.99.) THRO'NIUM (Qpovtov. Eth. @p6vi.os,@pQvir7]s, Qpoviivs). 1. The chief town of the Locri Epicne- inidii, situated 20 stadia from the coast and 30 stadia from Scarplieia, upon the river Boagrius, '.vhicli is described by Strabo as sometimes dry, and sometimes flowing with a stream two pletlira in breadth. (Strab. is. p 436.) It is mentioned by Homer, who speaks of it as near the river Boagrius. (//. ii. 533.) It was at one time partly destroyed by an eartlnjuake. (Strab. i. p. 60.) At the be- ginning of the I'eloponnesian War (B.C. 431) Thro- nium was taken by the Athenians. (Thuc. ii. 26; Diod. xii. 44.) In the Sacred War it was taken by Onomarchus, the Phocian general, who sold its in- habitants into slavery, and hence it is called by Scylax a Phocian city. (Diod. xvi. 33; Ae.sch. de. Fids. Ley. p. 45, 33; Scylax, p. 23.) (Thronium is also mentioned by Polyb. ix. 41, xvii. 9; Eurip. Tph. Aid. 264; Liv. xxxii. 5, 6, xxxiii. 3, xxsv. 37, sxxvi. 20; Paus. v. 22. § 4; Lycophr. 1148; Ptol. iii. 15. § 7; Plin. iv. 7. s. 12; Steph. B. s. v.) Tiie site of Thronium was ascertained by Meletius who found above the village Romdni, at a place named Paleokaslro, where some remains of the city still exist, a dedicatory inscription of the council and deinus of the Thronienses. (Leake, Northern Greece, vol. ii. pp. 177, 178.) 2. A town in Greek Illyria in the neighbourhood of Amantia [Ajiantia], said to have been founded after the Trojan War by the Abantes of Euboea and tiie inhabitants of the Locrian Thronium. It was taken at an early period by the iidiabitants of the neighbouring town of Apollonia, and annexed to their territory, as appears from an epigram inscribed on a dedicatory offering of the Apolluuiatae at Olym- pia. (Pans. v. 22. §§ 3, 4.) THRYON, THRYOESSA. [Epitauum.] THULE {eovri, Ptol. ii. 6. § 32), a celebrated island in the Northern Ocean, discovered by the navigator Pytheas. Pytheas arrived at it after a Voyage of six days from the Orcades, in which it may be computed that he had accomplished about 30U0 stadia. (Plin. ii. 77.) According to the accoiuit of Pytheas, he reached Ihe polar circle, so that on this island the longest day was twenty-four hours, and there was constant day during the six summer mimths and constant night during the six winter ones. It was deficient in animals, and even the most necessary fruits, but produced a little corn. From the time of its discovery it was regarded as themost northerly point of the known world, although no further knowledge was obtained respecting it ; and this view seems to be confirmed by its name, since in Gothic Tiel or Tiule (reAos, goal) denoted the remotest land. (Strab. i. p. 63, ii. pp. 104, 114, iv. p. 201; Agath. i. 8; Prise. Perieg. 587, sqq. ; Jlela, iii. 6; Plin. iv. 16. s. 30; Tac. Agr. 10; Virg. G. i. 30; Solin. c. 22, &c.; cf Praetorius, de Orbc Goth. iii. 4. 3. p. 33 ; D'AuTille, Sur la Navig. de Pgfheas, p. 439; Rudbeck, Atlant. i. p. 514.) Ptolemy is the only writer who places Thule a great deal further S., though he undoubtedly had in view the island discovered by Pytheas ; and according to him it would seem to have been the largest of the Shetland islands, or the modern Mainland (see ii. 3. § 32, i. 24. §§ 4, 6, 17, 20, vi. 16. § 21, vii. 5. § 12, viii. 3. § 3). Jlostmo- dern geographers incline to the opinion that Pythc.as meant Iceland ; though according to othens Lis TIIUIilA. 1191 Thule is to be variously sought in Norway ; in that part called Thile or Thilemarh ; in Jutland, the extreme point of which is called Thj or Thi/lawl; or in the whole Scandinavian peninsula (.Malte- Brun, Geogr. Univ. i. p. 120; Ortelius, Theatr. Orb. p. 103.) [T. II. D.] THUMATA (©ou^ciTa, Ptol. vi. 7. § 33; Piin. vi. 28. s. 32; Thamatha, Not. Imp. Rom. § 22. p. 37), a town of Arabia Felix, according to Ptolemy, and described by Pliny as distant 10 days' sail fi-om Petra, and subject to the king of the Characeni. THUMNA. [Tamna.] THUNU'DROMON {@owov^pop,.ov, Ptol. iv. 3. § 29), a Roman colony in Nunddia. It seems to be the same place as the Tynidrumense oppidum of Pliny (v. 4. s. 4). [T. H. D.] THU'RIA (Qovpia : Eth. Qovpiar-qs), a town of Messenia, situated in the eastern part of the southern Messenian plain, upon the river Ari.s (Pidhima), and at the distance of 80 stadia from Pharae, which was about a mile from the coast (Paus. iv. 31. § 1). It was generally identified with the Homeric Antheia, though others supposed it to be Aepeia. (Paus. I.e.; Strab. viii. p. 360.) It must have been a place of considerable importance, since the distant Messenian gulf was even named after it ((5 QovpidTTjs koAttos, Strab. I. c). It was also one of the chief towns of the Lacedaemonian Perioeci after the subjugation of IMessenia ; and it was here that the Third Messenian War took its rise, b. c. 464 (Time. i. 101). On the restoration of the Jlessenians by Epaminondas,Thuria, like the other towns in the country, was dependent upon the newly-founded capital Jlesscne ; but afier the capture of this city by the Achaeans in b. c. 182, Thuria, Pharae, and Abia joined the Achaean League as independent members. (Polyb. xxv. 1.) Thuria was annexed to Laconia by Augustus (Paus. /. c); but it was restored to Messenia by Tiberius. [Mes- SENLV, p. 345, a.] Pausanias found two cities of this name. The Thuriatae had descended from the summit of the lofty hill of the upper city to dwell upon the plain ; but without abandoning altogether the upper city, where a temple of the Syrian goddess still stood within the town walls (Paus. iv. 31. § 2). There are considerable remains of both places. Those of Upper Thuria are on the hill of the village called Palciikastro, divided from the range of mountains named Mukrypldi by a deep ravine and torrent, and which commands a fine view of the plain and gulf. The remains of the walls extend half a mile along the summit of the hill. Nearly in the centre of the ruins is a quadrangular cistern, 10 or 12 feet deep, cut out of the rock at one end, and on the other side constructed of masonry. The cistern was divided into three parts by two cross walls. Its whole length is 29 paces ; the breadth half as much. On the iiigliest ])art of llie ridge there are numerous ruins, among which are those of v, small Doric temple, of a hard brown calcareous stone, in which are cockle and muscio shells, extremely jicrfect. In the plain at Paha Intra are the ruins of a large Roman buiUling.standing in tlio middle of fig and mulberry grounds. Leake ob.scrves that " it is in an uncommon state of preservation, jiart even of the roof still remaining. The walls are 17 teet high, formed of equal courses of Roman tiles and mortar. The roof is of rubble mixed with cement. The plan docs not seem to be that of a bath only, as the name would imiily, thougii there are many aji- pearances of the building having contained batim : it seems rather to have been the palace of some Roman 4 G 4