Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/699

 PYLUS. two accompanying maps, of which the former con- tains the whole locality, and the latter the fortress of Old Navartno and its immediate neighbourhood on a larger scale. I'YLUS. C83 JIAI- Oh' XHK BAY OF PYLUS. A. S|iliactpria (Sp/ineia). B. Pylus on the promontorj- Coryphasium {Old Na- vartno). C. The modern Navarino. I) D. Bay ol Pylus {Bay of Navarino). The chief discrepancy between the account of Thucydides and the existing state of the coast is found in the width of the two entrances into the bay of Navarino, the northern entrance being about 1 50 yards wide, and the southern not less than be- tween 1300 and 1400 yards; whereas Thucydides states the former admitted only two triremes abreast, and the latter only eight or nine. Therefore not only is the actual width of the two entrances very much greater than is stated by Thucydides, but this width is not in the proportion of the number of triremes; they are not as 8 or 9 to 2, but as 17 to 2. To ex- jilain this difficulty Col. Leake supposes that Thu- cydides was misinformid respecting the breadth of the entrances to the harijour. But to this a satis- factory reply is given by Dr. Arnold, that not only could no common false estimate of distances have mistaken a pa,ssage of nearly 1400 yards in width fur one so narrow as to admit only eight or nine ^hips abreast, but still less could it have been sup- posed possible to choke up such a passage by a continuous line of ships, lying broadside to broad- side, which Thucydides tells us the Lacedaemonian commanders intended to do. Moreover the northern entrance has now a shrtal or bar of sand lying across it, on which there are not more than 18 inches of water; whereas the naiTative of Thucydides im- plies that there was sufficient depth of water for triremes to sail in unobstructed. The length of 17 stadia, which Thucydides ascribes to Sphacteria. does nut .agree with the actual length of Sphayia, which is 25 stadia. Lastly Thucydides, speaking of the bay of Pylii^, f:]< it "a harbour of con- M') SCO lOlJO IJiV jLlCOJ^aeM MAP OF PYLUS AND ITS ISOIEDLATE NEIGHBOURHOOD. A. Pylus {Old Navarino). B. S]>h»cteriA (Sphagia). C. Lagoon of Usmyn-Aga, D. Vnrt o{ Vuidlw-Kiliii, E. Bay of Pylus (Bay of Navarino). a. Cave of Hermes. b. Small channel connecting the lagoon of Osmyn- Aga with the Bay of Navarino. siderable magnitude" (Xifxivi uvn ov ff/j.iKpifi'); an expression which seems strange to be apjilied to the spacious Bay of Navarino, which 'as not only the largest harbour in Greece, but perfectly unlike the ordinary harbours of the Greeks, which were always closed artificially at the mouth by projecting moles when they were not sufficiently land-locked by nature. In consequence of these difficulties Dr. Arnold raised the doubt whether the island now called Sphayia be really the same as the ancient Sphacteria, and whether the Buy of Navarino be the real har- bour of Pylus. He started the hypothesis tiiat the peninsula, on which the ruins of Old Navarino stand, is the ancient island of Sphacteria con- verted into a peninsula by an accumulation of sand at either side; and that the lagoon of Osmt/n-.^ga on its eastern side was the real harbour of Pylus, into which there was an opening on the north, at the port of Vvldhu-Kilid, capable of admitting two triremes abreast, and another at the south, where there is still a narrow opening, by which eight or nine triremes may have entered the lagoon from the