Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/356

 340 MESSENE. The masonry was not in general such as has been described at the towers near the gate of Megalopolis, but, as in most Greek works of defence, consisted of an exterior and interior facing of that kind of nia- somy filled up with rubble. In describing iMessene, Pausanias first mentions the Agora, which contained a fountain called Ar- sinoe, supplied by a subterraneous canal from the source named Clepsydra. In the Agora, probably in the centre, was a statue of Zeus Soter. The various temples, which he then proceeds to enumerate, either surrounded the Agora, or were in its imme- diate neighbourhood. These were temples of Poseidon and Aphrodite; a marble statue of the mother of the gods, the work of Damophon, who also made the statue of Artemis Laphria; a temple of Eileithyia, a sacred building of the Curetes, and a sanctuary of Demetcr, containing statues of the Dioscuri. But the temple of Asclepius contained the greatest num- ber of statues, all of which were made by Damo- phon. The temple of Messene contained her statue in gold and Parian marble, while the back part was adorned with pictures representing the llessenian heroes and kings. A building, called Hierosythium, contained statues of all the gods worshipped by the Greeks. Pausanias nest mentions the gymnasium, with statues made by Aegyptian artists, a pillar bearing a figure of Aethidas in relief, and the monu- ment of Aristomenes, — the stadium containing a brazen statue of Aristomenes ; and lastly, the theatre, ■with the adjoining temple of Serapis and Isis. The fountain called Clcp.sydra occurs in ascending to the summit of Itliome. On the summit was a temple of Zeus Ithomatas ; and an annual festival, called Ithomaea, was celebrated in honour of the god. (Pans. iv. 31. § 6 — iv. 33. § 2.) The Agora must liave stood near the modern village of Mavromdti, in the neiglibourhood of which most of the foundations of the ancient buildings are found. The rivulet, which now runs unconfined through the village, was in ancient times conducted through a subterraneous canal, and formed the fountain Arsinoe mentioned above. The modem village has derived its name from the spring, — Mavromdti meaning Black Spring or Black Eye. South of the site of the Agora are the ruins of the stadium, of which the upper or circular end and more than half of one of the sides still remain. The rivulet of Mavromdti now runs through the length of the stadium. " The stadium was sur- rounded by a colonnade, which was double at the upper end : here the lower parts of the columns are in their original places ; there were about twenty in each row, 1 foot 10 inches in diameter, with Doric flutings. Part of the colonnade, on the right side of the stadium, is likewise in its place, and on the left side is the foundation of a public edifice, where are many pieces of columns of the same description as the colonnade round the stadium. Perhaps this was the Hierothysium. The stone seats of the sta- dium did not extend its whole length, but about two- thirds only ; at the circular end, they are most perfect." (Leake.) Immediately south of the stadium is a wall, which appears to have been part of the walls of the city. In this wall a small temple is built, like a kind of tower. Between the stadium and the village of Mai'7-omdti, to the west of the rivulet, are the re- mains of a small theatre, about 60 feet in diameter. Nortii of the stadium the slope is divided into terraces, of which the supporting walls still remain. Here some of tile temples mentioned by Pausanias probably stood. MESSENIA. In ascending Mount Ithome, there is about half way up a terrace of considerable size, which com- mands a fine view of the ilessenian gulf. Here the French Commission discovered some ruins over- grown with shrubs, which appear to have been an Ionic temple facing the east, containing a porch with two columns and a cella. This was probably a temple of Artemis, as an inscription here found con- tains the names of IMessenians, who had held the priesthood of Artemis Limnatis, and the remains of the statue discovered in the ceUa appear to be those of this goddess. Below the temple are two smaller terraces ; and 60 feet further sideways, WSW. of the temple, is a kind of grotto cut out of the rock, with a portico, of which there are remains of five pillars. This was, perhaps, intended to receive the water of the fountain Clepsydra, which Pausanias mentions in his ascent to the summit of the mountain. The summit itself is a small flat surface, extending from SE. to NW. On the northern and eastern sides the wall runs along the edge of the perpendicular clifts, and some remains of a more ancient masonry may be perceived, which probably belonged to the earlier fortifications of Messene. At the northern and broader end of the summit are the deserted buildings of the monastery of Vurkano; this was undoubtedly the site of the temple of Zeus Ithomatas. There is a magnificent view from the summit. Along the northern boundary of the horizon the Lycaean range extends ; to the east are seen the mountains now named Makrypldi, which unite with the range of Ta'getum ; to the north-west the sea-coast between the rivers Cyparisseeis and Neda is visible ; while to the south the mouth of the Pamisus and the Mes- senian gulf are spread open to view. The similarity of Ithome to Acrocorinthus is no- ticed by Strabo (viii. p. 361). He observes, that both are lofty and precipitous mountains, overhang- ing their respective cities, but connected with them by a common line of fortifications. Messene conti- nued to exist in the later times of the Roman em- pire, as we learn from inscriptions ; but in the middle ages it had ceased to be a place of any im- portance ; and hence the ancient remains have been less distm-bed by the hands of man than in most other parts of Greece. (Leake, Morea, vol. i. p. 366, seq. ; Mure, Tour in Greece, vol. ii. p. 264 ; Bob- laje, Hecherches, c^v., p. 107, seq. ; Curtius, Pe/o- ponnesos, vol. ii. p. 138, seq.) ]IESSE'NIA(IVl6(ro-7jfi«, Herod., Thuc; in older writers, Meo'crTJs'Tj, Horn. Od. ssi. 15: Msaadva, Pind. Pyth. iv. 126 ; shortened MeVtnj, MeffTj, Steph. B. s. i: Meaarivia; Miaarjvls yij, Thuc. iv. 41 : Eth. and Adj. Meaatiyio^ : Adj. Mi<Tar]ViaK6s), the south-westerly district of Peloponnesus, bounded on the east by Laconia, on the north by Elis and Arcadia, and on the south and west by the sea. It was separated from Laconia by Mt. Taj'getus, but part of the western slope of this mountain belonged to Laconia, and the exact boundary between the two states, which varied at different times, will be men- tioned presently. Its southern frontier was the knot of mountains, which form the watershed of the rivers Neda, Pamisus and Alpheius. On the south it was washed by the Messenian gulf (o Meaaiji'iaKbs koAttos, Strab. viii. p. 335), called also the Coro- naean or Asinaean gulf, from the towns of Corone or Asine, on its western shore, now the Gulf o/Ko- roni. On the east it was bounded by the Sicilian or Ionian sea. The area of Messenia, as calculated liy Clinton, from Arrowsmith's map is 11 62 square inilL's.