Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/130

 114 LACONIA. Taenarum. Eighty stadia beyond Trinasus was Hei.os, also upon the coast. The road from Sparta to Hylos followed the Eurotas the greater part of the way ; and Leake noticed in several parts of the rock ruts of chariot wheels, evidently the vestiges of the ancient carriage-road. (Leake, Morea, vol. i. p. 194.) Thirty stadia south of Helos on the coast was AcitiAE ; and sixty stadia south of Acriae, Asoi'cs, the later name of Cvpartssia. Between Acriae and Asopus, Ptolemy mentions a town Bi.SDiNA (Biavhiva, iii. 16. § 9), the name of which occurs in an inscription in the form of Biadi- nupolis(Bia5[ii']ouiroAeiTaj',Bockh, Insc. No. 1336). Between Asopus and Acriae was an inland plain, called Leoce, containing in the interior a town of this name, and in the same neighbourhood was Pleiae. Returning to the coast, 50 stadia south of Asopus, was a temple of Asclepius, in a spot called IIypekteleatum. Two hundred stadia south of Asopus was the pi-omontory and peninsula Onu- gnatiius, connected with the mainland by a narrow Lsthmus, which is, however, generally covered with •ivater. Between Onugnathus and Malea is a con- siderable bay, called Boeaticus Sinus, from the town of BoEAE, situated at its head, In this neighbour- liood were three ancient towns, called Ens, Aphko- iHSiAS,and Side, which were founded by the Dorians; the two former on the Boeaticus Sinus, and the other on the eastern sea north of Cape Malea. Between Biieae and Malea was Nymphaeubi (Nvfxcpatoi' or NiVSaioj/), with a cave near the sea, in which was a fountain of sweet water. Pausanias (iii. 23. § 2) calls Nympliaeum a Aifiurj, but, as there is no lake in this neighbourhood, Boblaye conjectures {Re- cherches, cf'c. p. 99) that we should read Kifiriv, and ])laces Nymphaeum at the harbour oi Santa Marina, where a fountain of water issues from a grotto. Tlie promontory Malea (MaAe'a, Steph. B. s. v. et alii ; MoAeai, Herod, i. 82; Strab. viii. p. 368), still called Malid, the most southerly point in Greece with the exception of Taenarum, was much dreaded by the ancient sailors on account of the winds and waves of the two seas, which here meet together. Hence arose the proverb, " after doubling Malea, forget your country" (Strab. viii. p. 378), and the epithet of Statins, " formidatum Maleae caput" (Theb. ii. 33). On the promontory there was a statue of Apollo. (Steph. B. s. v. AtOr'iaios ; 'Air.iAAaiJ' MaAsctTrjs, Pans. iii. 12. § 8.) South of Malea was the island Cytiiera. Following the eastern coast we first come to Side, already men- tioned; then to Epidelium, 100 stadia from Malea; next to Epidaurus Lisiera, and successively to Zarax, Cyphanta, and Pkasiae or Brasiae, of which the last is near the confines of Argolis. The numbers in Pausanias, giving the distances of these places from one another, are con'upt : see CypiiANTA. In the interior, between the Eurotas and the south-western slopes of Parnon, Pausanias mentions Gerontiirae, situated 120 stadia north of Acriae; Marius, 100 stadia east of Geronthrae ; Glyppia, also called Glympia, north of Marius; and Semnus, 20 stadia from Geronthrae. Eeturning now to Gythium, we proceed to enu- merate the towns to the right, that is, west and south, of this place, according to the j)lan of Pau- sanias (iii. 24. § 6, seq.); in other words, the towns in the peninsula through which IMount Taygetus runs. Forty stadia south of Gythium was Las upon the coast, which some writers call Asine. Thirty stadia from a liill near Las was Hypsi, in lacringi. the interior; and a little below Las was the river Smenus (^/xtjuos), rising in Mt. Ta3'getus, which Pausanias praises for the excellence of its wattr, now the liver of Passavd. Immediately south of this riv«r was the temple of Artemis Dictynna, on a promontory now called Agheranos ; and in the same neighbourhood was a village called by Pausanias Araenus or Araenum, where Las, the founder of the city of Las, was said to have been buried. South of the promontory of Agheranos is a stream, now called the river of Dhikova, the Scyras (2(cupas) of Pausanias (iii. 25. § 1), beyond which were an altar and temple of Zeus: tnere are still some ancient remains on the right side of the river near its mouth. Further south is the peninsula of Shutdri, inclosing a bay of the same name, which is conjectured to be the Sinus Aegilodes of Pliny (iv. 5. s. 8) ; if so, we must pilace here Aegila. which is mentioned incidentally by Pausanias (iv. 17. § 1) as a town of Laconia. Inland 40 stadia from the river Scyras lay Py'KRHICHus. SE. of Pyrrliichus on the coast was TEL■THRo^'E. Between Teuthrone and the Taenarian peninsula no town is mentioned, but at a place on the coast called Kikonla there are considerable remains of two temples. The Taenarian peninsula is connected with that of Taygetus by an isthmus half a mile across, and contains two har- bours, named Psamatiius and Achilleius Portus [see Taenarum] : the extremity of the peninsula is C. Matap(^n. Rounding the latter point, and ascending southwards, we come to the town of Tae- narum, afterwards called Caenepolis, 40 stadia above the Taenarian isthmus. Thirty stadia N. of Caenepolis was the commencement of the promontory Thyrides, nearly as large as the Taenarian penin- sula, but connected with the mainland by a much wider isthmus. On this promontory were the towns of Hippola and JIessa. North of Jlessa was Oety'lus; but the distance of 150 stadia, assigned by Pausanias between the two places, is too much. [Oetylus.] Eighty stadia north of Oetylus was Thalajiae. situated inland, and 20 stadia from Thalamae was Pephnus, upon the coast. Both the.^e towns were upon the lesser Pamisus, now called the 3filea, which the Messenians said was originally the boundary of their territory. (Strab. viii. J). 361 ; Paus. iii. 26. § 3.) The districts north of this river were taken away from the Lacedae- monians by Philip in B.C. 338, and granted to the Messenians; but it is probable that the latter did not long retain possession of them. In the time of the Roman empire they formed part of Eleuthero- L.aconia. (Leake, Peloponnesiaca, ^.179.^ Twenty stadia north of Pephnus, upon the coast, was Leuctra or Leuctrum ; and 60 stadia north of the latter, Cardamyle, at the distance of 8 stadia from the sea. North of Cardamyle was Gerexia, the most northerly of the Eleuthero-Laconian towns. Thirty stadia from Gerenia, in the interior, was Alagonia. (On the geography of Laconia, see Leake, Morea and Peloponnesiaca ; Boblaye, Recherches, ^x. ; Ross, Reisen im Peloponnes and Wanderungen in Griechenland ; Curtius, Peloponnesos.) LACO'NICUS sinus. [Laconia.] LACONLMURGI. [Celtica ; Vettones.] LACRINGI, mentioned by Capitolitms (J/. An- tonin. c. 22), by Dion Cassius (Ixxxi. 12), and by Petrus Patricius (Excerpt. Legaf. p. 124, ed. Bonn), along with the Astingi and Bvi:i. They were either Dacian or on the Dacian frontier, and