Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume I Part 1.djvu/432

 414 BOEOTIA. physically belont^od to Boeotia, since it lies on the boeotlan side of Mt. Parnes, was eventually conquered by the Athenians, and annexed to Attica. [Oroi'US.] The name <£ Teamessua was given to iiua range of hills from an insulated height a little to the north of the range, upon which was a town bearing the same lume, situated upon the road from Thebes to Chalcis. (Pans. iz. 19. §§ I, 2; Horn. Hymn, in Apoll. 228; £nrip.PAo«n. 1107; Strab.iz. p. 409; Steph. B. s. V.) The mountain called Hypatus (*TirfltT«y, Pans, ix. 19. § 3) bounded the Theban plam on the east It is described by Leake as bold and rocky, with a flat summit. Its modern name is Samata or SiamaUi. Messapium (Mcircriiirioi'), lying between Hypatus and the Kuripus, now called Khtyp/L It is con- nected with Mt. Ptoum on the north by a ridge of Iiills. At its f(X)t was the town Anthedon. (Aesch. Agam. 293; Pans. ix. 22. § 5; Strab. ix. p. 405.) Crryceium (Kupxnciiov^ Paus. ix. 20. § 3), one of the slopes of Teumeasua descending down to Ta- nagra. The important passes across Mts. Cithaeron and Pames, connecting Boeotia and Attica, are described under the latter name [pp. 322, 329, 330]. III. Climate and Products. The climate of Boeotia presents a striking con- trast to that of Attica. Instead of the pure and transparent atmosphere, which is one of the chief characteristics of the Attic climate, the air of Boeotia is thick and heavy in consequence of the vapours rising from the valleys and lakes. Moreover, the winter in Boeotia is frequently very cold and stormy, and snow often lies upon the ground for many days together. (Theophr. efe VenL 32.) Hesiod gi'es a lively picture of the rigours of a Boeotian winter (6>/>. et IHeSf 501, seq.); and the truth of his de- scription is confinned by the testimony of modem travellers. Thus Dr. Wordsworth, who suffered from excessive cold and snowstorms passing through Boeotia in the month of F'ebmary, was surprised to hear, upon arriving at Athens, that the cold had not b(%n severe, and that scarcely any snow had fallen. (Wordsworth, Athens and AUicaj p. 241, seq.) The spring in Boeotia also commences later than in most other parta of Greece ; and the snow sttmetimcs covers the sides of the mountains even in the months of May and June. The soil of Boeotia presents an equally striking contrast to that of Attica. In the latter country the soil is light and arid, possessing little land adapted for the cultivation of com ; while the Boeotian soil, consisting for the most port of a rich mould, is very fertile, and produced in antiquity, as well as in the present day, abundant crops of com. (Gomp. Theophr. de Caw. Plant, iv. 9. § 5, Hitt. Plant. viii. 4. § 1 5.) The plam of the Gopais is particu- larly distinguit^ed for its fertility. Goloncl Leake counted 900 grains on one cob of maize. Nor was the country deficient in rich pasture land. Numerous flocks and herds were reared in the meadows around Orchomenus, Thebes, and Thespiae; and from the same meadows the Boeotian cavalry obtained excel- lent horses, which ranked among the best in Greece. Vegetables and fruit were also cultivated with great success, especially in the neighbourhood of Thebes, Anthedon, and Mycalessus. P>en palm-trees flou- rished in the sheltered bay of Aulis. (Paus. ix. 19. § 8.) The vine prospered on the sides of the moun- btins; and it was in Boeotia that the vine is said to BOEOTIA have been first planted by Dionysus, whom the 1o~ gends represent as a native of Thebes. (Paus. ix. 25. §1) From the mountains on the eastern coast of Boeotia, as well as from those on the opposite coast of Euboea, iron was obtained in very early times. The Boeotian swords and Aonlan iron enjoyed great celebrity (Dionys. Perieg. 476, with the note of Eustathius). The momitains also yielded black and grey marble, which was used in public buildings, and gave the Boeotian cities a sombre appearance, very different from the dazzling whiteness of the Pentelic marble of Attica. Potter's earth was found near Aulis. (Paus. ix. 19. § 8.) Among the natural productions of Boeotia, one of the most important, on account of its influence upon the development of Greek music, was the auletic, or flute-reed (5ov(i{), which grew in the marshes of the lake Gopais. (Pind. Pylh. xii. 46; Theophr. Hiat. Plant iv.l2; Plin.xvi. 35. s. 66; Strab. ix. p. 407.) The marshes of the Gopais were frequently covered wi i h water-fowl, and large quantities of fish were caught in the lake. The.se, as well as many other produc- tions of Boeotia, found a ready sale in the Athenian market. (Aristoph. Acham. 872, seq.) The eels of the lake Gopais were, however, most prized by the Athenians ; they still retain their ancient cele- brity, and are described by a modem traveller as " large, white, of delicate flavour, and light of diges- tion." (Aristoph. Pac. 1005; Acham. 880, seq.; Athen. vii. p. 297, seq.; Pollux, vi. 63; Leake, vol. ii. p. 157.) The plain of Thebes abounds with moles, and their skins were an article of foreign commerce. (Aristoph. Ackam. 879.) Pliny re- marks (viii. 58. s. 83), that though moles are not found at Lebadcia, they exist in great numbers in the lands of Orchomenus; but he has probably made some confusion respecting the locality, since Goloncl Mure did not observe a single mole-hill in any por- tion of the Gepiiissian Plain ; but upon entering that of Thebes, he foimd the ground covered with them in every direction. (Mure, vol. ii. p. 252.) IV. Inhabitants. Boeotia was originally inhabited by various bar- barous tribes, known by the names of Aones, Ectenes, Temmices, and Hyantes, some of whom were pro- bably Leleges and others Pelasgians. (Strab. ix. p. 401 ; Paus. ix. 5 ; Lycophr. 644, 786, 1209.) Men- tion is also made of other ancient inliabitants of Boeotia, such as Thracians, Gcphyraei, and Phlegyae, who are spoken of under their respective names. But in addition to all these tribes, there were two others, of far greater importance, who appear as the mlers of Boeotia in the heroic age. These two were the Minyae, and the Gadmeans or Gadraeones, — the formei' dwelling at Orchomenus, and the latter at Thebes. The history of these two tribes is given in another part of this work ; and accordingly we pass over at present the question, whether the Gadmeans arc to be regarded as a Phoenician colony, according to the general testimony of antiquity, or as Tyrrhe- nian Pclascrians, as is maintained by many modem scholars. [Minyae; Orchomenus; Theiiar.] It is only necessary to mention in tliis place that Orcho- menus was originally the more powerful of the two cities, though it was afterwards obliged to yield to the supremacy of Thebes. The description pre- viously given of the physical peculiarities of Boeotia, by which it is seen how completely the country is divided into two distinct valleys, almost leads one to