Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/703

 PYRENAEI MONIES. superseded by tli;it of Demetuium, derived from the temple of Deiiieter, spoken of by Homer, and ■which Strabo describes as distant two stadia from I'yrasus. Demetrium is mentioned as a town of Plithiotis by Scylax (p. 24, Hudson), Livy (sxviii. 6), Stephanus B. (s. v. AriiJ.-r]rpiov), and Mela (ii. 3). Leake places Pyrasus at Kokkina, where there are vestiges of an ancient town, consisting of wrought quadrangular blocks, together with many smaller fragments, and an oblong height with a flat summit, partly if not wholly artificial. He also states that at Kokkina there is a circular basin full of water near the shore, which was once probably a small harbour, since there are traces of a mole not far from it. The exact site of the temple was probably at a spot, 5 minutes short of Kokkina, where exist many stones and some hewn blocks. (Leake, Nort/iern Greece, vol. iv. p. 366.) PYRENAEI MONIES (t^ Uvpr)vuia ip-q, Ptol. i. 15. § 2, viii. 4. § 2 ; Strab. ii. p. 71, iii. p. 161, &c. ; Polyb. iii. 34), called also Pyrenaeus Mons (Mela, ii. 5 ; Plin. iii. 3. s. 4, &c.), Pyrenaeus Sal- tus (Liv. xxi. 23, &c.; Plin. iv. 19. s. 33), Pyre- naeum Jugum (Mela, iii. 1), and M. Pyrene {Tlvp-r)V7), Strab. ii. p. 160, &e.; Sil. Ital. iii. 417; Aus. £>;. XXV. 51), the lofty chain of mountains which di- vides Spain from Gaul. It was fabled to derive its name from the Greek word -rrup.Jire, from a great conflagration which, through the neglect of some sliepherds, destroyed its woods, and melted the ore of its mines, so that the brooks ran with molten silver. (Strab. iii. p. 147; Diod. v. 25; Arist. Jilir. Attsc. 88; Sen. Q. N. 1.) Silius Italicus (I.e.) derives its name from Pyrene, a daughter of the king of the Bebryces ; but its true etymology is probably from the Celtic W'ord byrin or brf/n, signifying a mountain. (Cf. Astruc. Mem. de I' Hist. Nat. de Languedoc, iii. 2.) Herodotus seems to have had some obscure intelligence respecting the Pyrenees, as he mentions (ii. 33), a place called Pyrene, near which the Ister had its source. Strabo (iii. pp. 137, 161) erroneously describes the chain as run- ning from S. to N. ; but its true direction, namely, from SE. to NW., is given by Phny (iv. 20. s. 34), and Marcian {Ileracl. p. 38). According to Dio- dorus (v. 35) it is 3000 stadia in length; according to Justin (xiiv. 1) 600 Eoman miles. After the Alps, and the mountains of Sarmatia, the Pyrenees were esteemed the highest mountains in Europe (Agathem. ii. 9, p. 47; Eustath. ad Dionys. 338; I)iod. /. c), whence they are sometimes described by the poets as covered with eternal snow. (Lucan. iv. 84, seq.) On the side of Gaul they are steep, rugged, and bare; whilst on the Spanish side they descend gi'adually to the plain, are thickly wooded, and intersected with dehcious valleys. (Strab. iii. p. 161.) Their western prolongation along the Mare Cantabricum, was called " Saltus Vasconum," wiiicli derived its name from the Vascones, who dwelt there. (Plin. iv. 20. s. 34) This portion now bears the names of Sierra de Orcamo, S. de Au- (jana and S. Sejos. Still farther W. was Mons Vinnius or Vindius (OuiVSiov opos, Ptol. vii. 1. § 21 ; Flor. iv. 12), which formed the boundary between the Cantabri and Astures. The Pyrenees form several promontories, both in the Mediterrane.-m sea and the Atlantic ocean. (Strab. ii. p. 120, iii. p. 160, iv. p. 176, &c.; Mela, ii. 5; Sil. It. iii. 417, seq.) They were rich in mines of gold, silver, iron and lead (Strab. iii. p. 146; Plin. /. c), and con- tained extensive forests, as well as the sources of the PYRGI. 687 Garumna, the Iberus, and a number of smaller rivers. (Strab. I. c, and iv. p 182.) Only three roads over them were known to the Romans ; the most westerly, by Carasae (now Garis), not far from the coast of the Cantabrian sea, and which doubtless was the still practicable route over the Bidasoa by Fuenterabia ; the most easterly, which was also the most frequented, and is still used, near the coast of the Mediterranean by Juncaria (now Junqiierd) ; and one which lay between these two, leading from Caesaraugusta to Benearnum (now Barege"). (Ithi. Ant. pp. 390, 452, 455; Strab. iii. p. 160; Liv. xxi. 23, &c.) Respecting the present condition of the Pyrenees, the reader may consult Miiiano, Diccionario, vii. p. 38, seq. ; Huber, Skizzen aus Spanien, Gott. 1 833 ; and Ford, Handbook of Spain, p. 579, seq. From the last authority, it will be perceived, that the cha- racter of the Gallic and Spanish sides has been somewhat reversed since the days of Strabo ; and that, while " the French slope is full of summer watering-places and sensual, the Spanish side is rude, savage, and Iberian, the lair of the smuggler and wild bird and beast." [T. H. D.] PYRENAEI PORTUS. [Indigetes.] PYRE'NES PEOMONTO'RIUM. [Hispania, Vol. I. p. 1084.] PY'REIUS (nup€T(5s), called by the Scythians Xlopara, described by Herodotus (iv. 48) as a large river of Scythia, flowing in an easterly direction and falling into the Danube. The modern Pruth. PYRGI (Jlvpyoi: Eth. Pyrgensis: Santa Se- vera), a city on the coast of Etruria, situated between Alsium and Castrum Novum, and distant 34 miles from Rome .(If in. Ant. p. 290.) It was rather more than 6 miles (50 stadia) from Caere, of which it served as the port (Strab. v. p. 226), but it is probable that it was not originally designed for that purpose, but grew up in the first instance around the temple of Eileithyia, for which it con- tinued to be celebrated at a much later period. (Strab. I. c; Diod. xv. 14.) The foundation of this temple is expressly ascribed to the Pelasgians, and the pure Greek form of the name certainly tends to corroborate this statement. It is probable that both Pyrgi and the neighbouring Caere were originally Pelasgian settlements, and tliat this was the cause of the close connection between the two, which led to Pyrgi ultimately passing into the con- dition of a dependency on the more powerful city of the interior. Virgil calls it an ancient city (Pyrgi veteres, Aen. x. 184), and represents it as one of the Tuscan cities that sent a.ssistance to Aeneas. But the only mention of Pyrgi in history during the period of Etruscan independence is in B. c. 384. when the treasures of its temple attracted the cupidity of Dionysius of Syracuse, who made a piratical descent upon the coast of Etruria, and, landing his troops at Pyrgi in the night, surprised and plundered the temple, from which he is said to have carried off spoils to the value of 1000 talents. (Diod. XV. 14; Strab. v. p. 226; Arist. Oecon. i. 21; Polyacn. v. 2. 21.) The amount of the booty seems incredible, but the temple was certainly very wealthy : and it would seem that the people of Pyrgi had given some excuse for the aggression, by themselves taking an active part in the piracies carried on at this period by the Etruscans in general. Servius, indeed, represents it as bearing the chief part in those de])redations; but this may probably be an exaggeration. (Serv. arf .(4e». x. 184.) It