Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume I Part 1.djvu/111

 mile from the coast, though it was in the Roman times a seaport.

 ALE'SIA (Alise), a town of the Mandubii, who were neighbours of the Aedui. The name is sometimes written Alexia (Florus, iii. 10, note, ed. Duker, and elsewhere). Tradition made it a very old town, for the story was that it was founded by Hercules on his return from Iberia; and the Celtae were said to venerate it as the hearth and mother city of all Celtics (Diod. iv. 19). Strabo (p. 191) describes Alesia as situated on a lofty hill, and surrounded by mountains and by two streams. This description may be taken from that of Caesar (B. G. vii. 69), who adds that in front of the town there was a plain about three Roman miles long. The site corresponds to that of Mont Auxois, close to which is a place now called Ste Riene d'Alise, The two streams are the Loxerain and the Loze, both tributaries of the Yonne. In B.C. 52 the Galli made a last effort to throw off the Roman yoke, and aftir they had sustained several defeats, a large face nader Verdqgetorix shut themaelTes up in After a Tigonms resistance, the place was to Caesar, and Verdngetorix was made (j5. G. tIL 68 — 90). Caesar does not fltak of the destmctiaR of the phuse, bat Florus mn that it was boint, a dbreomatanoe which is not g I — i l l I li t with its being afterwards restored. FlnT(ixxiT. 17. s.48)8pedcsof Akaiaasnotedftr dicF-|ilsti^g articles of haness for horses and beasts «f bsnfan. Traces of several Roman roads tend toiwds this town, which appears to haye been finally M^voed about the ninth century of oar aera.i|[G« L.]

 ALE'SIAE (*AAf«r£ai), a village in Laoraiia, on tbe road from Therapne to Mt. Taygetus, is placed hj Leake nearly in a line between the soathem ex- tmity of Sparta and the site of Bryseae. (Pans. SL Sa § 2; Leake, J^elo p o tme siaea, p. 164.)

 ALESIAEUM CAAc^ricubr), called AL£rSIU>f (*AA«ivier) by Homer, a town of Pisatis, situated ^B the road leading across the moontains firom Elis to OhnpiB. Its ate is uncertain. (Strab. p. 341 ; H«L A u. 617; Steph. B. s.«. 'AAi^iar.)

 ALESIUS MONS. [MAimmEiA.]

 ALETIUM (AA^i^MT PtoL iii. 1. § 76; £tk, AMdoi, FUn. iii. 1 1. s. 16), a town of Calabria, DoliaBed, both by Pliny and Ptolemy, among the iafand atiBs which they assign to the Salentim. Its ■te (crroDeously placed by Claver at Lecce) is rJarlj marked by the andent church of Sta Maria Ms Liaa (fonnerly an episcopal see) near the vilh^ of FuaoUi, about 5 miles from GdUipoliy on J» nad to Otr^mto. Here many ancient remains kre beea £scovered, among whidi are namerous tflnbsy whh inscriptions in the Messapian dialect. (IKABTiIfe, AwaL Gtoffr. de ritaUe, p. 233; Momm- ta, Umter-ItaL IHalekU, p. 57.) The name is eorrapdy written Baktium in the Tab. Peut,j which bseever correctly places it between Neretum (Aar- d») sad Uicntam (£^j|«nto), though the distances pw ars BMCcnrate. In S^:abo, also, it is probable that wi should read with Kramer 'AKnria for So- Aaivja, wUch he describea as a town in the interior «f CaUbria, a short distance from the sea. (Strab. Ii2S2; and Kramer, ocf foe.) [E.H.a]

 ALEXANDREIA, -LA or -EA (^ 'AAc^a^Spcia: Elk *AAe(a»Spc^, more rarely 'AAc(ay8p(Ti}r, 'AA<v9pi^nts, 'AXfl|av8piar^Y, 'AAc^oySpu'Of, tbt Bodera EtSkamderiMh), the Hellenic capital of EB^wMfiBondedby Akzander the Great in B.C.332. It stood inhit3lOK.; long.47^£. (Arrian,^ L o 7 ^» iii. 1, p. 166; Q. Curt. iv. 8. § 2.) On his voyage ^*^'^^ f ,7 . firom Memphis to Canobus he was struck by the/ ^^^ ' AtV" natural advantagea of the little town of Rhacdtis, on the north-eastern angle of the Lake Mareotis. The harbour of Rhacdtis, with the adjacent island of Pharos, had been fiom very remote ages (Horn. Od, iv. 355) the resort of Greek and Phoenician sea-rovers, uid in the former place the Pharaohs kept a permanent garrison, to prevent foreigners entering their dominions by any other approach than the city of Naucratis and the Canobic branch of the Nile. At Bhac6tiB Alesumdor determined to construct the future capital of his western conquests. His archi- tect Deinocrates was instructed to survey the harbour, and to draw out a plan of a military and commercial metropoliB of the first rank. (Vitruv. ii. j>rooem.; Solin.c.32; Amm.MarcxziL40; Va].Maz.i.4.§l.) The ground-plan was traced by Alexander himself; the building was commenced immediately, but the city was not completed until the reign of the second monarch of the Lagid line, Ptolemy Phiiadelphus. It continued to receive embellishment and extension from nearly every monarch of that dynasty. The plan of Deinocrates was carried out by another architect, named Cleomenes, of Naucratis. (Justin. xiiL 4. § 1 .) Ancient writers (Strab. p. 791, seq.; Pint. Akx^ 26; Plin. v. 10. s. 11) compare the general form of Alexandreia to the cloak (chhunys) worn by the Macedonian cavalry. It was of an (^long figure, rounded at the SE. and SW. extremities. Its length from R to W. was nearly 4 miks; its breadth from S. to N. nearly a mile, and its circumference, ac- cording to Plby (/L e.) was about 15 miles. The interior was laid out in parallelograms : the streets crossed one another at right angles, and were all wide enough to admit of both wheel carriages and foot-passengers. Two grand thoroughfares nearly bisected the 6!ij, They ran in straight lines to its four prindpel gates, and each was a plethrum, or about 200 fleet wide. The longest, 40 stadia in length, ran fiiom the CanoUo gate to that of the Necropolis (£. — ^W.): the shorter, 7 — 8 stadia in length, extended from the Gate of the Sun to the Gate of the Mo(m (S. — N.). On its northern side Alexandreia was bounded by the sea, sometimes de- nominated the Egyptian Soi: on the south by the Lake of Marea or Mareotis; to the west were the Necropolis and its numerous gardens; to the east the Eleusinian road and the Great Hippodrome. The tongue of land jipon which Alexandreia stood was singularly adapted to a commercial city. The island of Pharos broke the force of the north wind, and of the occasional high floods of the Mediterranean. The headland of Lochias sheltered its harbours to tiie east; the Lake Mareotis was both a wet-dock and the general havoti of the inland navigation of the Nile- valley, whether direct from Syene, or by the royal canal from ArsinoS on the Red Sea, whilo various other canals connected the lake with the Deltaic branches of the river. The springs of Rha- cotis were few and brackish; but an aqueduct con- veyed the Nile water into the southern section of the city, and tanks, many of which are still in use, dis- tributed fresh water to both public and private edi- fices. (Hirtins, B. Akx. c. 5.) The soil, partly sandy and partly calcareous, rendered drainaf:e nearly superfluous. The fogs which periodically linger on the shores of Cyrene and Egypt were dis- persed by the north winds which, in the summer season, ventilate the Delta; whilo the ralubrious
 * Af(a»<^(mt, Alexandrinus ; /em, 'AA«(ay8pif: