Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/692

 676 PSOPHIS. loss what to do. On the western side of the town there is a rapid torrent, impassable dnring the greater part of the winter, and which, rushing down from the mountains, makes the city exceedingly strong and inaccessible, in consequence of the size of the ravine which it has gradually formed. On the east- ern side flows the Erymanthus, a large and impetuous river, concerning which there are so many stories. As the western ton-ent joins the Erymanthus on the southern side of the city, its three sides are sur- rotinded by rivers, and rendered secure in the manner described. On the remaining side towards the north a strong hill hangs over, surrounded by a wall, and serving the purpose of a well-placed citadel. The town itself also is provided with walls, remarkable for their size and construction." (Polyb. iv. 70.) From this description it is evident that the Eryman- thus on the eastern side of the city is the river of Sopotii ; and that the western torrent, which we learn from Pausanias (viii. 24. § 3) bore the name of Aro- anius, is the river of Ghermotzdna. About 300 feet below the junction of these rivers the united stream is joined by a third, smaller than the other two, called the river of Lopesi or Skupi, which rises on the frontiers of Cleitor, near Seirae. From these three rivei's the place is now called Tripotamo. The banks of the Erymanthus and the Aroanius are precipitous, but not very high ; and between them and the steep summit of the hill upon which the town stood there is a small space of level or gently- rising ground. The summit is a sharp ridge, sending forth two roots, one of which descends nearly to the angle of junction of the two streams, the other almost to the bank of the Erymanthus at the eastern extremity of the city. (Leake, Ilorea, vol. ii. p. 242.) Philip, in his attack upon Psophis, crossed the bridge over the Erymanthus, which was probably in the same position as the modern bridge, and then drew up his men in the narrow space between the river and the walls. While the JIacedonians were attempting to scale the walls in three separate parties, the Eleians made a sally from a gate in the upper part of the town. They were, however, driven back by the Cretans in Philip's army, who followed the fugitives into the town. Euripidas and the garrison then retreated into the citadel, and shortly afterwards surrendered to Philip. (Polyb. iv. 71, 72.) Pausanias saw at Psophis a ruined temple of Aphro- dite Erycina, heroa of Promachus and Echephron, the tomb of Alcmaeon, and near the Erymanthus a temple sacred to that stream. (Paus. viii. 24. § 7.) Leake also noticed a part of a theatre, not mentioned by Pausanias, on the side of the hill towards the Aroanius. Nine hundred feet above the junction of the two rivers, and near the walls on the bank of the Erymanthus, Leake also found some remains of a public building, 96 feet in length, below which there is a source of water in the bank. He conjectures that they may be the remains of the temple of Ery- manthus. Psophis was about 2 miles in circumference. The town-walls followed the crest of the ridge to the northward and the bank above the two rivers on the opposite side ; and they are traceable nearly through- out the entire circuit of the place. On the north- eastern side of the town, which is the only part not protected by the two rivers or by the precipices at the back of the hill, there was a double inclosm-e. Leake could not trace the inclosure of the citadel. At the distance of 30 stadia from Psophis was PSYLLL Seirae (Seipai), which Pausanias describes as the boundary of the Psophidii and Cleitorii (viii. 23. § 9, 24. § 3). On the road from Psophis to Thelpusa lay Tropaea, upon the left bank of the Ladon, near which was the grove Aphrodisium, after which came a column with an ancient inscription upon it, marking the boundaries of Psophis and Thelpusa. (Leake, Morea, vol. ii. p. 240, seq. ; Boblaye, Reclierches, ij-c. p. 158 ; Curtius, Pebponnesos, voL i. p. 384, seq.) 7jO JjW jta^ PLAN OF PSOPHIS. a a. Ancient walls. b. Tlientre. c. Fiiundations of a large building. d d. Cliurchos. t Bridge over the Aroanius. /. Bridge over the Krymanthus. g g. Position of tlie army of Philip. h. Khan of Tripotamo. PSYCHIUM (yvxiov, Steph. B. s. v.; Ptol. iii. 17. § 4; Vvxfa, SkuUasm. Mar. Magn. p. 298, Hoffmann: £th. H'ux'f'^s), a town on the south coast of Crete, placed by Ptoleiny between the moutlis of the rivers Wassalia and Electra, and by the Sta- diasmus 12 stadia to the west of Sulia, a distance which agrees very well with the situation of Kustri. (Pashley, Crete, vol. i. p. 304.) PSYCHRUS (yvxpos), a small river in the east of Pontus, forming the boundary between the ti'ibes of the Colchi and Sanni. (Anian, Peripl. P. E. p. 6; Anonym. Peripl. P. E. p. 14.) [L. S.] PSYLLi' (yuWoi, Hecat. Fr. 303, ed. Klausen ; Herod, iv. 173 ; Strab. ii. p. 131, siii. p. 588, xvii. pp. 814, 838 ; Plin. v. 4, vii. 2, viii. 38, xi. 30, XXV. 76, xxviii. 6 ; Aelian, Nat. An. vi. 33), a people on the shores of the Greater Syrtis, who bordered on the Nasamones, occupying that part of the shores of Sort which lies between Aulad Sliman and Aulad Nairn. According to Herodotus (J. c.) they sallied forth against Notes, or the S. wind, and wei-e buried in the sands which were raised by the offended wind. Their country was afterwards oc- cupied by the Nasamones. The story gives a vivid picture of those seas of snnd, unbathed by dew or rain, when the fine dust- like particles, rising through the rarefied air, roll up in dark oppressive clouds. They were supposed by the ancients to have a secret art enabling them to secure themselves from the poison of serpents, like the " Hiiwee," or snake jugglers of Cairo. (Wil- kinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol. v. p. 241 ; Lane, Modern Egyptians, vol. ii. p. 214; Quatremfere, Mem. sur V Egypte, vol. i. pp.203 — 211.) Cato