Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/943

 SATION. it, when, by so aoing, we involve ourselves in a great historical difficulty; for the revolt of one of the Latin colonies is in itself most improbable, and was cer- tainly not an event to be passed over with such slight notice. The territory of Saticulum ("ager Saticulanus ") is aeain noticed durinjj the same war in conjunction with that of Trebula (Liv. xxiii. 14); but from the end of the Second Punic War all trace of it disappears. The name is not found in any of the geographers, and its site is extremely uncertain. But the passages in Livy (is. 21, 22) seem to point to its being situated not far from Plistia, which may very probably be placed at Prestia near Sta Agata dei Goti ; while the description of the march of Mar- cellus in B. c. 216, shows clearly that it must have been situated S. of the Vultumus, and probably in the valley at the back of Mount Tifata, between that ridge and the underfalls of Mount Taburnus. It may be added that such a position would be a very natural one for the Roman consul to occupy at the first outbreak of the Samnite wars, from its prox- imity to Capua. [E. H. B.] SATION. [Dassaketae, Vol. I. p. 756, a.] SATNI0EIS(2aTw<{eis: Tuzla or Tnsla), a. smaW river in the southern part of Troas, having its sources in Mount Ida, and flowing in a western direction between Hamaxitus and Larissa, discharges itself into the Aegean. It owe.s its celebrity entirely to the Homeric poems. (H. vi. 34, xiv. 445, xsi. 87; Strab. xiii. pp. 605, 606, who states that at a later time it was called 2o(J)Cideiy.) [L. S.] SATRAE (2drpM, Herod, vii. 110—112), a Thracian people who occupied a portion of the range of the Pangaeus, between the Nestus and the Strymon. Herodotus states that they were the only Thracian tribe who had always preserved their freedom ; a fact for which he accounts by the nature of their country, — a mountainous region, covered with forests and snow — and by their great bravery. They alone of the Thracians did not follow in the train of Xerxes, when marching towards Greece. The Satrae were in possession of an oracle of Dionysus, situated among the loftiest mountain peaks, and the inter- preters of which were taken from among the Bessi, — a circumstance which has suggested the conjecture that the Satrae were merely a clan of the Bessi, — a notion which is rendered more probable by the fact that Herodotus is the only ancient writer who men- tions them; whereas the Bessi are repeatedly spoken of. We may infer from Pliny's expression, '' Bes- sorum multa nomina"(iv. 11. s. 18), that the Bessi were divided into many distinct clans. Herodotus says that to the Satrae belonged the principal part of the gold and silver mines which then existed in the Pangaeus. [J. R.] SA'TKICUM (^Eth. 1,aTptKav6s, Satricanus: Ca- sale di Conca), an ancient city of Latium, situated on the frontier of the Volscian territory, between the Alban hills and the sea. This position rendered it a place of importance during the wars between the Romans and Volscians, and it is frequently men- tioned in history at that period. It appears to have been originally a Latin city, as Diodorus mentions its name among the reputed colonies of Alba, and Dionysius also includes it in the list of the thirty cities of the Latin Leagiie. (Diod. vii. Fr. 3; Dionys. v. 61.) But when it first appears in his- tory it is as a Volscian town, apparently a depen- dency of Antium. It had, however, been wrested from that people by the Romans at the same time with Corioli. PoUusca, &c ; and hence it is one of SATRICUM. 923 the towns the recovery of which by the Volscians is ascribed to Coriolanus. (Liv. ii. 39.) It seems to have continued in their power from this time till after the Gaulish invasion, as in r. c. 386 it was made the head-quarters of the Volscians and their allies on the outbreak of a war with Rome, and, after their defeat by Camillus, was assaulted and taken by that general. (Id. vi. 7, 8.) It would appear that it must on this occasion have for the first time received a Roman colony, as a few years later (b. c. 381) it is styled a " colonia populi Romani." In that year it was attacked by the Volscians in con- cert with the Praenestines, and, after an obstinate defence, was carried by assault, and the garrison put to the swond. (Id. vi. 22.) It is subsequently mentioned on two occasions as affording shelter to the Volscian armies after their defeat by the Ro- mans (Id. vi. 22, 32); after the last of these (b. c. 377) it was buiTit by the Latins, who considered themselves betrayed by their Volscian allies. (76. 33.) It was not till b. c. 348 that the city was re- built by the Antiates, who established a colony there; but two years later it was again taken by the Ro- mans under M. Valerius Corvus. The garrison, to the number of 4000 men, were made prisoners, and the town burnt and destroyed, with the exception of a temple of Mater Matuta. (Id. vii. 27; Fast. Capit.) A few years later it was the scene of a victory of the Romans, under C. Plautius, over the Antiates (id. viii. 1), and seems to have been soon after restored, and received a fresh colony, as it was certainly again inhabited at the commencement of the Second Samnite War. In b. c. 320, after the disaster of the Caudine Forks, the Satricans revolted from Rome and declared in favour of the Samnites; but they were soon punished for their defection, their city being taken by the consul Papirius, and the Samnite garrison put to the sword. (Liv. is. 12, 16; Oros, iii. 15.) From this time it seems to have continued subject to Rome; but its name disappears from history, and it probably sunk rapidly into de- cay. It is incidentally mentioned during the Second Punic War (b. c. 206) on occasion of a prodigy which occurred in the temple of Mater Matuta, already noticed (Liv. xxviii. 11); but it seems cer- tain that it ceased to exist before the close of the Republic. Cicero indeed alludes incidentally to the name in a manner that shows that the site at least was well known in his time {ad Q. Fr. iii. 1. § 4); but Pliny reckons it among the celebrated towns of Latium, of which, in his days, no vestige reuiained (Plin. iii. 5. s. 9); and none of the other geograjihers allude to its name. The site, like that of most of the Latin cities which disappeared at an early period, is a matter of much doubt ; but several passages in Livy tend to prove that it must have been situated between Antium and Velitrae, and its site has been fixed with much probability by Nibby at the farm or ca- sale, now called Conca, about half way between Artzo 3.nA Vellctri. The site is an isolated hill of tufo, of somewhat quadrangular form, and about 2500 feet in circuit, with precipitous sides, and pre- sents portions of the ancient walls, constructed in much the same style as those of Ardea, of irregular square blocks of tufo. The sites of two gates, one on the E. the other to the W., may also be distinctly traced. There is therefore no doubt that the site in question is that of an ancient city, and the position would well accord with the supposition that it is that of Satricuin. (Nibby, DintoT^ii di Rnma, vol. iii. p. 64, a.) ' [E. H.B.]