Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/442

 42 G NICOPOLIS. § 3; Itin. Ant. pp. 183, 207, 215; Hierod. p. 703; Steph. B. s. I'.). Most travellers and antiquaries are agreed, that Nicopolis is represented by the modern Turkish iov;noi Devriki; but as this place is situ- ated on a tributary of the Euphrates, the opinion is opposed to the statements of our authorities, espe- cially the " Acta Martyrum." Others are inclined to regard ir«ra-/ttssa7', on the Lycus,as marking the site of Nicopolis; but still the routes indicated in the Iti- neraries are in favour of Devriki; whence D'Anville too identifies this place with Nicopolis, assuming that the error lies with the author of the " Acta Jlar- tyrum," who expressly places Nicopolis on the river Lycus. 3. An episcopal see of uncertain site, in Lydia or Ionia, mentioned by Hierocles (p. 660). [L. S.] 4. A town in Cilicia. [Issus.] 5. A town in Palestine. [EmLiUS, No. 2.] NICO'POLIS. II. In Africa. A town in Aegypt, founded by Augustus Caesar, in u. c. 24, on "the field where he defeated, for the last time, M. Antonius, and in commemoration of the sun-ender of Alexandreia. (Strab. svii. p. 795; Joseph. 5. Jud. iv. 1 1 ; Dion Cass. li. 18 ; Steph. B. s. v.) The conqueror was at the moment highly incensed with the Alexandrians; and, by the foundation of a Eoman town in their immediate neighbourhood, sought to intiict a permanent blow on their political and com- mercial supremacy. Nicopolis was built a little W. of the Delta propr, on the banks of the canal which connected Canopus with the capital, and about three and a half miles from its eastern gate. That it was intended for a city of the first rank ap- pears from its ground plan, which, however, was never executed. Its founder built an amphitheatre and a diaulos, and established there Ludi Quinquennales, in honour of his victory (jAKf^avSpeTa, Spanheim, Epist. V. § 3, ed Morell.) ; and coins bear on their obverse the legend NIKOnOAI2. 2EBA2T. KTI2T. He also designed to erect several temples, and to transfer to them the principal sacrifices and priest- colleges of the jMacedonian capital. But the whole scheme was a failure ; the natural advantages of Alexandreia were incontestable ; and the Koman " City of Victoiy" was never more than than a suburb of its rival. Within less than a century after its foun- dation, the name of Nicopolis disappears from history. A town called Juliopolis, mentioned by Pliny alone (vi. 23. s. 26), as seated on the same canal, and about the same distance (20 — 30 stades) from Alexandreia, is apparently Nicopolis (see Mannert, vol. X. p. 626). [W. B. D.] NICO'POLIS. lll.InEuroi^e. 1. AcityofEpeirus, erected by Augustus, in commemoration of the victoiy of Actimn, B.C. 31. It was situated near the entrance of the Ambraciot gulf, on the promontory of Epeirus, which is immediately opposite that of Actium in Acarnania. The extremity of the Epeirot promon- tory is now occupied by the town of Frevesa ; and Nicopolis lay 3 miles to the N. of this town, on a low isthmus separating the Ionian sea from the Ambraciot gulf. It vas upon this isthmus that Augustus was encamped before the battle of Actium. His own tent ■was pitched upon a height immediately above the isthmus, from whence he could see both the outer sea towards Paxi, and the Ambraciot gulf, as well as the parts towards Nicopolis. He fortified the camp, and connected it by walls with the outer port, called Comarus. (Dion Cass. 1. 12.) After the battle he surrounded with stones the place where his own tent had been pitched, adorned it with naval NICOPOLIS. trophies, and built within the enclosure a sanctuary of Neptune open to the sky. (Dion Cass. li. 12.) But, according to Suetonius {Aug. 18), he dedicated this place to Neptune and Mars. The city was peopled by inhabitants taken from Ambracia. Anac- torium, Thyrium, Argos Amphilochicum, and Caly- don. (Dion Cass. li. 1 ; Suet. Atig. 12; Strab. vii. pp. 324, 325 ; Pans. v. 23. § 3, vii. 18. § 8, x. 38. j § 4.) Augustus instituted at Nicopolis a quin- 'fl quennial festival, called Actia, in commemoration of ^ his victory. This festival was sacred to Apollo, and was celebrated with music and gymnastic games, horse-racing and sea-fights. It was probably the revival of an old festival, since there was an ancient temple cf Apollo on the promontory of Actium, which is mentioned by Thucydides (i. 29), and was enlarged by Augustus. The festival was declared by Augustus to be a sacred contest, by which it was made equal to the four great Grecian games ; it was placed under the superintendence of the Lacedae- monians. (Dion Cass., Suet., Strab., U. cc.) Au- gustus caused Nicopolis to be admitted into the Amphictyonic council (Pans. x. 38. § 3), and made it a Roman colony. (Plin. iv. 1. s. 2; Tac. Ann, v. 10.) A Christian church appears to have been founded at Nicopolis by the Apostle Paul, .since he dates his letter to Titus from Nicopolis of Mace- donia, which was most probably the colony of Au- gustus, and not the town in Thrace, as some have _ supposed. Nicopolis continued to be the chief city ll in Western Greece for a long time, but it had al- ^ ready fallen into decay in the reign of Julian, since we find that this emperor restored both the city and the games. (JIamertin. Julian. 9.) At the be- ginning of the fifth century it was plundered by the Goths. (Procop. i?. Goth. iv. 22.) It was again restored by Justinian (deAedif. iv. 2), and was still in the sixth centtiry the capital of Epeirus. (Hierocl. p. 651, ed. Wessel.) In the middle ages Nicopolis sunk into insignificance, and the town of Prtcesa., built at the extremity of the promontory, at length absorbed all its inhabitants, and was doubtless, as in similar cases, chiefly constructed out of the ruins of the ancient city. The ruins of Nicopolis are still veiy considerable. They stretch across the narrowest part of the isthmus already described. Strabo (vii. p. 324) erroneously describes the isthmus as 60 stadia in breadth; but the broadest part, from the south- eastern extremity of the lagoon called Mdzoma to Mytika, is only three miles ; while the narrowest part is less than half that distance, since the eastern half of the isthmus is occupied by the lagoon of Mdzoma. This lagoon is separated from the Ambraciot gulf only by a narrow thread of land, which is a mile long, and has openings, where the fish are caught in great numbers, as they enter the lagoon in the winter and quit it in the summer. This illustrates the statement of an ancient geographer, that fish was so plentiful at Nicopolis as to be almost disgusting. (^Geogr. Grace. Min. vol. iii. p. 13, ed. Hudson.) Nicopolis had two harbours, of which Strabo (vii. p. 324) says that the nearer and smaller was called Comarus (Kdjuapos), while the further, and larger, and better one, was near the mouth of the gulf, distant about 12 stadia from Nicopolis. It would appear, that Strabo conceived both the ports to have been on the western coast outside the gulf ; but it is evident from the nature of the western coast that this cannot have been the case. Moreover, Dion Cassius (1. 12) calls Comarus