Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/163

 LAUEENTTOI. most important is the occurrence of its name (or that of the Laurentini at least), together with those of Ardea, Antium, Circeii, and Tarracina, among the allies or dependants of Rome, in the celebrated treaty of the Romans with Carthage in b. c. 509. (Pol. iii. 22.) From this document we may infer that Laurentum was then still a place of some con- sideration as a maritime town, though the proximity of the Roman port and colony of Ostia must have tended much to its disadvantage. Dionysius tells us that some of the Tarquins had retired to Laurentum on their expulsion from Rome : and he subsequently notices the Laurentines among the cities which composed the Latin League in b. c. 496. (Dionys. V. 54, 61.) We learn, also, from an incidental notice in Livy, that they belonged to that confederacy, and retained, in consequence, down to a late period the riglit of participating in the sacrifices on the Alban Jlount. (Liv. xxxvii. 3.) It is clear, therefore, that though no longer a powerful or important city, Laurentum continued to retain its independent posi- tion down to the great Latin War in b. c. 340. On that occasion the Laurentines are expressly men- tioned as having been the only people who took no share in the war; and, in consequence, the treaty with them which previously existed was renewed without alteration. (Liv. viii. 11.) " From thence- forth " (adds Livj') " it is renewed always from year to year on the 10th day of the Feriae Latinae." Tiius, the poor and decayed city of Laurentum continued down to the Augustan age to retain the nominal position of an independent ally of the imperial Rome. No further notice of it occurs in history during the Roman Republic. Lucan appears to reckon it as one of the places that had fallen into decay in con- sequence of the Civil Wars (vii. 394), but it is probable that it had long before that dwindled into a very small place. The existence of a town of the name (" oppidum Laurentum ") is, however, attested by Mela, Strabo, and Pliny (Jlel. ii. 4. § 9 ; Strab. v. p. 232; Plin. iii. 5. s. 9); and the sea-coast in its vicinity was adorned with numerous villas, among which that of the younger Pliny was conspicuous. (Plin. Ep. ii. 1 7.) It is remarkable that that author, in describing the situation of his villa and its neighbourhood, makes no allusion to Laurentum itself, though he mentions the neighbouring colony of Ostia, and a village or " vicus " immediately adjoining his villa: this last may probably be the same which we find called in an inscription " Vicus Augustus Laurentium." (Gruter, Inscr. p. 398, No. 7.) Hence, it seems probable that Laurentum itself had fallen into a state of great decay ; and this must have been the cause that, shortly after, the two communities of Laurentum and Lavinium were united into one municipal body, which assumed the appellation of Lauro-Lavinium, and the inhabitants that of Lauro-Lavinates, or Laurentes Lavinates. Sometimes, however, the united "populus" calls itself in inscriptions simply " Senatus populusque Laurens," and in one case we find mention of a " Colonia Augusta Laurentium." (Orell. Inscr. 124; Gruter, p. 484, No. 3.) Nevertheless it is at least very doubtful whether there was any fresh colony established on the site of the ancient Lau- rentum : the only one mentioned in the Liber Colo- niarum is that of Lauro-Laviniura, which was undoubtedly fixed at Lavinium {Pratica). [La- vinium.] The existence of a place bearing the name of Laurentum, though probably a mere LAURENTUM. 147 village, down to the latter ages of the Empire, is, however, clearly proved by the Itineraries and Tabula (^Itin. Ant. p. 301; Tab. Pent.); and it appears from ecclesiastical documents that the locality still retained its ancient name as late as the 8th century (Anastas. Vit. Pontif. ap. Nibby, vol. ii. p. 201). From that time all trace of it disappears, and the site seems to have been entirely forgotten. Laurentum seems to have, from an early period, given name to an extensive territory, extending from the mouth of the Tiber nearly, if not quite, to Ardea, and forming a part of the broad littoral tract of Latium, which is distinguished from the rest of that country by very marked natural characteristics. [Latium.] Hence, we find the Laurentine territory much more frequently referred to than the city itself; and the place where Aeneas is represented as landing is uniformly described as " in agro Laurenti;" though we know from Virgil that he conceived the Trojans as arriving and first establishing themselves at the mouth of the Tiber. But it is clear that, previous to the foundation of Ostia, the territory of Laurentum was considered to extend to that river. (Serv. ad Aen. vii. 661, xi. 316.) The name of " ager Laurens " seems to have continued in common use to be applied, even under the Roman Empire, to the whole district extending as far as the river Numi- cius, so as to include Lavinium as well as Lauren- tum. It was, like the rest of this part of Latium near the sea-coast, a sandy tract of no natural fertility, whence Aeneas is represented as com- plaining that he had arrived " in agrum macer- rimum, littorosissimumque." (Fab. Max. ap. Serv. ad Aen. i. 3.) In the immediate neighbourhood of Laurentum were considerable marshes, while the tract a little further mland was covered with wood, forming an extensive forest, known as the Silva Laurentina. (Jul. Obseq. 24.) The existence of this at the time of the landing of Aeneas is alluded to by Virgil {Aen. xi. 133, &c.). Under the Reman Empire it was a favourite haunt of wild-boars, which grew to a large size, but were considered by epicures to be of inferior flavour on account of the marshy character of the ground in which they fed. (Virg. Aen. x. 709; Hor. Sat. ii. 4. 42; Martial, ix. 495.) Van-o also tells us that the orator Hor- tensius had a farm or villa in the Laurentine dis- trict, with a park stocked with wild-boars, deer, and other game. ( Varr. H. R. iii. 13.) The existence of extensive marshes near Laurentum is noticed also by Virgil {Aen. x. 107) as well as by Martial (x. 37. 5), and it is evident that even in ancient times they rendered this tract of country unhealthy, though it could not have suffered from malaria to the same extent as in modern times. The villas which, according to Pliny, lined the shore, were built close to the sea, and were probably frequented only in winter. At an earlier period, we are told that Scipio and Laelius used to repair to the seaside on the Laurentine coast, where they amused themselves by gathering shells and pebbles. (Cic. de Or. ii. 6 ; Val. Mas. viii. 8. § 4.) On the other hand, the bay-trees (lauri) with which the Silva Laurentina was said to abound were thought to have a benefi- cial effect on the health, and on this account the emperor Commodiis was advised to retire to a villa near Laurentum during a pestilence at Rome. (Hero- dian. i. 12.) The name of Laurentum itself was generally considered to be derived from the number of these trees, though Virgil would derive it from a particular and celebrated tree of the kind. (Vict. L 2