Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume I Part 1.djvu/24

 2. In ancient times termed, in Coptic Ebôt, now Arábat el Matfoon, was the chief town of the , and was situated on the Bahr Ynuf. at a short distance from the point where that water-coarse strikes off from the Nile, being about 7½ miles to the west of the river, in lat. 26° 10' N., long. 32° 3' E. It was one of the most important cities in Egypt under the native kings, and in the Thebaid ranked next to Thebes itself. Here, according to the belief generally prevalent, was the burying-place of Osiris: here Menes, the first mortal monarch, was born, and the two first dynasties in Manetho are composed of Thinite monarchs. In the time of Strabo it had sunk to a mere village, but it was still in existence when Ammianos Marcellinus wrote, and the seat of an oracle of the god Besa.

Abydus has acquired great celebrity of late years in consequence of the important ruins, nearly buried in sand, discovered on the ancient site, and from the numerous tombs, some of them belonging to a very remote epoch, which are found in the neighbouring hills. Indeed Plutarch expressly states that men of distinction among the Egyptians frequently selected Abydus as their place of sepulture, in order that their remains might repose near those of Osiris. The two great edifices, of which remains still exist, are: — 1. An extensive pile, called the Palace of Memnon (, Memnonis regia) by Strabo and Pliny; and described by the former as resembling the Labyrinth in general plan, although neither so extensive nor so complicated. It has been proved by recent investigations that this building was the work of a king belonging to the 18th dynasty, Ramses II, father of Ramses the Great. 2. A temple of Osiris, built, or at least completed by Ramses the Great himself. In one of the lateral apartments, Mr. Bankes discovered in 1818 the famous list of Egyptian kings, now in the British Museum, known as the Tablet of Abydos which is one of the most precious of all the Egyptian monuments hitherto brought to light. It contains a double series of 26 shields of the predecessors of Ramses the Great.

It must be observed that the identity of Abydus with This cannot be demonstrated. We find frequent mention of the Thinito Nome, and of Abydus as its chief town, but no ancient geographer names This except Stephanus Byzantinus, who tells us that it was a town of Egypt in the vicinity of Abydus. It is perfectly clear, however, that if they were distinct they must have been intimately connected, and that Abydus must have obscured and eventually taken the place of This. (Strab. p. 813, seq.; Plut. Is. et Os. 18; Plin. v. 9; Ptol. iv. 5 ; Antonin. Itiner. p. 158, ed. Wessel; Steph. B. s.v. Sis; Amm. Marc. xix. 12. § 3; Wilkinson, Topography of Thebes, p. 397; Kenrick, Ancient Egypt, vol. i, p. 45.)

 A'BYLA, or A'BILA MONS or COLUMNA ( or, , Eratosth.: Ximiera, Jebel-el-Mina, or Monte del Hacho) a high precipitous rock, forming the E. extremity of the S., or African, coast of the narrow entrance from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean (Fretum Gaditanum or Herculeum, Straits of Gibraltar). It forms an outlying spur of the range of mountains which runs parallel to the coast under the name of Septem Fratres (Jebel Zatout, i. e. Ape's Hill), and which appear to have been originally included under the name of Abyla. They may be regarded as the NW. end of the Lesser Atlas. The rock is connected with the main range by a low and narrow tongue of land, about 3 miles long, occupied, in ancient times, by a Roman fortress (Castellum ad Septem Fratres), and now by the Spanish town of Ceuta or Sebta the citadel of which is on the hill itself. The rock of Abyla, with the opposite rock of Calpe (Gibraltar) on the coast of Spain, formed the renowned "Columns of Hercules" ( or simply ), so called from the fable that they were originally one mountain, which was torn asunder by Hercules. (Strab. pp. 170, 829; Plin. iii. prooem., v. 1; Mela, ii. 6 ; Exploration Scientifique de l'Algérie, tom. viii. p. 301.)

 ACACE'SIUM (^'Axaicfynov: Eth. 'Aicaud^irios), a town of Arcadia in the district of Parrhasia, at the foot of a hill of the same name, and 36 stadia on the road from Megalopolis to Phigalea. It is said to have been founded by Acacius, son of Lycaon; and according to some traditions Hermes was brought up at this place by Acacus, and hence derived the surname of Acacesius. Upon the hill there was a statue in stone, in the time of Pausanias, of Hermes Acacesius; and four stadia from the town was a celebrated temple of Despoena. This temple probably stood on the hill, on which are now the remains of the church of St Elias. (Paus. viii. 3. § 2, viii. 27. § 4, viiL 36. § 10; Steph. Byz. s. v.; Boss, Reisen im Peloponnes, vol. i. p. 87.)

 ACADEMI'A [.]

 ACADE'RA or ACADIHA, a region in the NW of India, traversed by Alexander. (Curt viii. 10. §19.)

 ACALANDRUS, a river of Lucania, flowing into the golf of Tarentum. It is mentioned both by Pliny and Strabo, the former of whom appears to place it to the north of Heraclea: but his authority is not very distinct, and Strabo, on the contrary, dearly states that it was in the territory of Thurii, on which account Alexander of Epirus sought to transfer to its banks the general assembly of the Italian Greeks that had been previously held at Heraclea. [.] Cluverius and other topographers, following the authority of Pliny, have identified it with the Salandrella, a small river between the Basiento and Agri; but there can be little doubt that Barrio and Romanelli are correct in supposing it to be a small stream, still called the Calandro, flowing into the sea a little N. of Roseto and about 10 miles S. of the mouth of the Siris or Sinno. It was probably the boundary between the territories of Heradea and Thurii. (Plin. iii. 11. § 15; Strab. p. 280; Cluver. Ital. p. 1277; Barrius de Ant, Calabr. v. 20; Romanelli, vol. i. p. 244.)

 ACAMAS, ACAMANTIS. [.]

 ACANTHUS (: Eth. : Erisso), a town on the E. side of the isthmus, which connects the peninsula of Acte with Chalcidice, and about 1½ mile above the canal of Xerxes. [.] It was founded by a colony from Andros, and became a place of considerable importance. Xerxes stopped here on his march into Greece (B. C. 480) and praised the inhabitants for the zeal which they displayed in his service. Acanthus surrendered to Brasidas B.C. 424, and its independence was shortly afterwards guaranteed in the treaty of peace made between Athens and Sparta. The Acanthians maintained their independence against the Olynthians, but eventually became subject to the kings of Macedonia. In the war between the Romans and Philip <section end="ACANTHUS" />