Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume I Part 1.djvu/266

 S50 ASTUBE& the small ambling Spanish jennet, described bj PHny (viii. 42. 8. 67), SUios Italicus (iu. 335— 337 : in the poneceding lines the poet derives the name of the people from Astor the sou of Memnon), and Martial (ziv. 199): " Hie brevis, ad nnmeram rapidos qui oolligifc nngnes, Venit ab aariferis gentibos, Astor eqnos.** The species of horse was called AsturcOj and the name was applied to horses of a similar character bred elsewhere, as Asturco Maoedonicus. (Petron. Sat. 86 : oomp. Senec. Ep. 87.) The Astorians were a wild, ragged, and warlike nice. (Strab. /. c. ; Sil. Ital. 1. 252, exercittu Astur; zii. 748, beU^er Astur; Flor. iv. 12, CcmtaJbri et Astures vaUcUssimae gentetJ) Their mountains have always been the stronghold <^ Spanish independence. In the war of Augustus against the Gantabri, b. c. 25, the Asturians, anticipating the attack of the Romans, were defeated wi^ great slaughter on the banks of the river Astura, and retreated into Lan- cia, which was taken, after some resistance. (Dion Cass. l. c; Flor. iv. 12. § 56, ed. Duker; Oros. vi. 21 ; Clinton, s. a.) These actions ended the Gan- tabrian war, as the ' result of which the country south of the mountains became subject to Rome; but the highlands themselves, and the strip cf land between the mountains and the coast (the modem Asturiaa)y still furnished 'a retreat to the natives, and afterwards sheltered the remnants of the Goths from the Arab invasion, and became the cradle of the modem Spanish monarchy. In its retired po- sition, its mountainous surfkce, and in a certain resemblance of climate, the Atturicu is the Wales of Spain; and, in imitation of our principality, it gives to the heir apparent his title. ^ Under the Romans, Asturia possessed several flon- xishing cities, nearly all of which were old Iberian towns : most of them were situated in the S: division, the valleys and plain watered by the Astura and its tributaries. The capital, Asturica Augusta {As- torga)j the city of the Amad, was the centra of several roads, which, with the towns upon them, were as folbws (oomp. Ptol. ii. 6. § 29): — (1) On the road SW.to Bracara Augusta (Bro^a, in Por- tugal; Itin. AnL p. 423): AROEimoLUM, 14 M. P. {Torienzo or Tomerasf La Medndas, Ford): Pe- tavoiiium, 15 M. P. {Poyhueno or Congostat), (2) NW. also to Bracara, branching out into three dif- ferent roads through GaUaecia (/t Ant. pp. 423, 429, 431): Interamnium Flavium, 30 M. P. {Pon- ferradaac Bembibref^: Bergidum, 16 M. P. (prob. Castro de la VaUosaj on a hill near Villa Franca^ in a Swiss-like valley at the foot of the mountain pass leading into Gallaeda), beyond which, the fol- lowing places on the same road, which would seem to belong properly to Gallaeda, are assigned by Pto- lemy to Astoria: Forum Cigurrorum (Ttyo^p^y^ corrected from 'E7o^^«v), the Forum of the Itine- rary, the chief dty of the Gigurri (Plin.), now Cigarrota or S, Estevan de Vol de Orres, with ruins and a Roman bridge, whera the people preserve a tradition that an old town once stood thera, named Guigurra: Nemetobriga (J/etufoya), the city of the TiburL (3) E. to Cabsaraugusta {Zaragoza; It. AnL pp. 448, 453): VaUata, 16 ^L P. (prob. PuenU de Orvigo): Interamnium, 13 M. P. {Villaroane'): Palantia, 14 M. P. (^Valencia de S. Juan): Vimi- nadum, 31 M. P. ( Valderaduei or Beeerilf): at the next station, Lacobrioa, 10 M. P., in the Vaccaei, this road was joined by that from the military sta- ASTYPALAEA. tion of Lbgio VIL Gemina (Leon)^ NE. of Aata^ rica {ft. Ant. "^ 395): between Legio VIL and Lacobriga were Lance or Lancia, 9 M. P.(^Solkmoo or MansUia /), and Gamala (Cea /) ; (4) A lower road to Caesarauga8ta(7t Ant. pp. 439, 440): Bedania, 20 M. P. (prob. La Baneza)^ dty of the Bedonenses: Brigaecium, 20 M. P. (prob. Benovenfe), the capital of l^e Brigaedni. In tibe district between the moun- tains and the coast, the chief dties were Lucus As- turam (Ptol.: prob. Oviedo), perhaps the Ovetom of Pliny (zxxiv. 17. s. 49); Noeoa^ and Flavio- navia (Ptol. : ^v»2m), on the coast To these may be added, in the S. district, Intercatia, the dty of the Omiad; Pelontinm, dty of the Lungcmes; Kar- dinium, dty of the Saelini (coins, Scstini, Med. Up. p. 172); Petavonium, city of the Superatii; and two or three more, too insignificant to name. (Ukert, voL ii. pt. L pp. 440—443; Forbiger, vol. iL pp. 83—85.) [P. S.] ASTURLA.. [Astures.] ASTUTIIC A AUGUSTA (AftyoArra 'Acrroypfico, Ptol. : 'Airrovpucoyol, Asturicani : Astorga^ Ru.), the chief city of the Astures, in Hispsnia Tarrsco- nensis, belonging to the tribe of the Amad, stood in a lateral valky of the NW. mountains of Astoria, on the upper course of one of the tribotaries of the As- tura (JEtki). Under the Ramans, it was the seat of the cowoemtm AHuHcanus, one of the seven convenr tusjuridici of Hispania Tarraconends. Respecting the roads from it see Astures. It obtained the title Augusta, doubtless, after the Gantabrian war, when the southern Astures first became the subjects of Rome; and from it the people S. of the monntains were called Angustani. Pliny calls it urbt magni- fica; and, even in its present wretched state, it bears traces of high antiquity, and " gives a perfect idea of a Roman fortified town." (Ford, p. 308.) " The walls are singularly curious, and there are two Roman tombs and inscriptions, near the Pwrta deHierror {Ibid.) The mythical tradition of the descent of the Astures from Astur, son of Memnon (Sil. Ital. iii. 334), is still cherished by the people of AstorgOf who make the hero the founder of their dty. There are two coins ascribed to Asturica: one, of uncertain application, inscribed col. ast. AUGUSTA., which may belong to Asta or Asnci ; the other, of doubtful genuineness, 'nith the epigraph COL. ASTURICA. AMAKUR. AUGUSTA. Asturica is one of Ptolemy's points of astronomical observation, being 3 hrs. 25 min. W. of Alexandria, and having 15 hrs. 25 min. for its longest day. (Plin. iii. 3. s. 4; Ptol. ii. 6. § 36, viii. 4. § 5; /t. Ant. ; Sestini, p. 104 ; Eckhel, voL i. p. 35.) [P. S.} ASTYCUS ('AoTwif<Jr : Vrdvnitsa, or river of Ist& a river of Paeonia, flowing into the Azius, on which was dtuatei the residence of the Paeonian kings. (Polyaen. Strat. iv. 12; Leake, Northern Greece^ voL iii pp. 464, 475.^ ASTYPALAEA ('AjmnriAoio). 1. A promon- tory on the W. coast of Attica, between the promon- tories Zoster and Sunium and oppodte the iiiland of Eleussa. (Strab. ix. p. 398 ; Steph. B. «. v. ; Leake, Demif p. 59.) 2. {Eth. 'AcrrvToXaicvf, ^AorinraAau^n}}, AstjT- palaeensis: called by the present inhabitants Astro- jMx2aea,and by the Franks <Stompa7sa),an island in the Carpathian sea, called by Strabo (z. p.392) one of tlie Sporades, and by Stephanus B. (s. v.) one of the Cy- clades, said to be 125 (Roman) miles from Cadistos in Crete (Plin. iv. 12. s. 23), and 800 stadia from Chalcia, an ishind near Rhodes. (Strab. L c.) Pliny