Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/126

 110 LACONIA. plain, and hence Euripides, in contrasting the two countries, describes Laconia as a poor land, in which there is a large tract of arable, but of laborious tillage (ap. Slrab. viii. p. 366). This is in ac- cordance with the account of Leake, who says that the soil of the plain is in general a poor mixture of white clay and stones, difficult to plough, and better suited to olives than corn. (^Morea, vol. i. p. 148.) The vale, however, possesses a genial climate, being sheltered on every side by mountains, and the scenery is of the most beautiful description. Hence Lacedaemon has been aptly characterised by Homer as " a hollow pleasant valley" ((coi'Atj ipaTeivri, II. ii. 581, iii. 443, Od. iv. 1). The climate is favour- able to beauty ; and the women of the Spartan plain are at present taller and more robust than the other Greeks, have more colour in general, and look healthier; which agrees also with Homer's Aa/ce- taifiova KaWiyvvatKa (Leake, Morea, vol. iii. p. 149). The security of the Spartan plain against hostile attacks has been briefly alluded to. There were only two roads practicable for an invading army, one by the upper Eurotas, leading from southern Arcadia and Stenyclarus ; the other by the long and narrow valley of the Oenus, in which the roads from Tegea and Argos united near Sellasia. 3. Vale of the Loicer Eurotcts. At the southern extremity of the Spartan plain, the mountains again approach so close, as to leave scarcely space for the passage of the Eurotas. The mountains on the western side are the long and lofty counterfork of Mt. Taygetus, called Lylohimi, which has been already mentioned. This gorge, through which the Eurotas issues from the vale of Sparta into the maritime plain, is mentioned by Strabo (o 'E.vpuTas — bii^tiiv auKcovd Tiva fnaKphv, viii. p. 343). It is about 12 miles in length. The maritime plain, which is sometimes called the plain of Helos, from the town of this name upon the coast, is fertile and of some extent. In the lower part of it the Eurotas flows through marshes and sandbanks into the La- conian gulf. The banks of the Eurotas and the dry parts of its bed are overgrown with a profusion of reeds. Hence the epithets of 5ovaicoTp6(pos and SovaKueis are frequently given to it by the poets. (Theogn. 785; Eurip. fyhig. in Aid. 179, Ilelen. 207.) The only tributary of the Eurotas, which pos- sesses an independent valley, is the Oenus already mentioned. The other tributaries are mere moun- tain torrents, of which the two following names have been preserved, both descending from Jit. Tay- getus through the Spartan plain: Tiasa (Tiatra, Pans. iii. 18. § 6; Athen. iv. p. 139), placed by Pausanias on the road from Amyclae to Sparta, and hence identified by Leake with the Pamkleimona ; Phellia (*6AAia, iii. 20. § 3), the river between Amyclae and Pharis. The Cnacion (KvaKiciv), mentioned in one of the ordinances of Lycurgus, was identified by later writers with the Oenus. (Plut. Lye. 6.) The streams Smenus and Scyras, flowmg mto the sea on the western side of the Laconian gulf, are spoken of below. [See p. 114, b.] Before leaving the rivers of Laconia, a few words must be said respecting an ancient Laconian bridge still existing, which has been assigned to the re- motest antiquity. This is the bridge of Xerokampo, built over a tributary of the Eurotas, about three hours' ride to the south of Sparta, just where the stream issues from one of the deepest and darkest LACONIA. gorges of Taygetus. It was first discovered by Koss, and has been described by JIure, who supposes it to belong to the same period as the monuments of IMycenae. Even if it does not belong to so early a date, but is a genuine Hellenic work, it would esta- blish the fact that the Greeks were acquainted with the use of the concentric arch at a very early period ; whereas it has been usually supposed that it was not known to them till the time of Alexander the Great. The general appearance and character of this structure will be best seen from the annexed drawing taken from JIure. The masonry is of the polygonal species : the largest stones are those of the arch, some of which are from four to five feet long, from two to three in breadth, and between one and two in thickness. From the character of the struc- ture, and from its remote situation, ]!ilure concludes that it cannot be a Roman work; and there are strong reasons for believing that the Greeks were acquainted with the use of the arch at a much earlier period than has been usually supposed. (Mure, vol. ii. p. 247, seq.; comp. Leake, Pelopon- nesiaca, p. 116, seq.) BRIDGE OF XEUOKASIPO. There are no other plains in Laconia except the three above mentioned in the valley of the Eurotas ; but on the slopes of the mountains, especially on those of Parnon, there is a considerable quantity of arable as well as pasture ground. The whole area of Laconia is computed to contain 1896 English square miles. IV. History. The political history of the country forms a prominent part of Grecian history, and cannot be narrated in this place at sufficient length to be of value to the student. But as the boundaries of Laconia differed considerably at various periods, it is necessary to mention briefly those facts in the history of the country which produced those changes. It will be seen from the preceding description of the physical features of Laconia, that the plain of Sparta forms the very kernel and heart of the country. Accordingly, it was at all times the seat of the ruling class ; and from it the whole country received its appellation. This place is said to have been originally inhabited by the Leleges, the most ancient inhabitants of the country. According to tradition, Lelex, the first king, was succeeded by his son Jlyles, and the latter by his son Eurotas, who collected into a channel the waters which were spread over the plain, and gave his own name to the river which he had thus formed. He died without male offspring, and was succeeded by Lacedaemon, the son of Zeus and Taygeta, who married Sparta,