Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume I Part 1.djvu/756

 738 CYSA. OTSA (K^o^ Arrian, Indie, a. 26), a small vil. lage oa the coast of Gedrosia, at which the fleet of Nearchns arrived. Its position is nncertain. [V.] CYSSUS. [Oabtbtes.] CYTAE, CYTAEA. [Cdtatkbium-] CYTHEltA (r& K^^ii^ also ii KvS^pa at a ]ater time: Eth. KvOliptos: Cerigo an island lying off the soath>eastem extremity of Laoonia. Its northern promontory, Platanistos, was distant 40 stadia from Onngnathos, from whence peraoos nsoaUy crossed over to the island. (Pans. iii. 23. § 1 ; Stiab. viii. p. 363.) Pliny says that it was 5 miles from Males; but he ooght to have said OnognaUios, since the island is mnch farther fmoi Males than this distance. (Plin. ir. 12. s. 19.) Cythera is of an irregular oval shape, about 20 miles in length from N. to S., and about 10 miles in breadth in its widest part Its area is about 1 12 square miles. It is very rocky and contains only a few valleys; and being the most southerly continua- tion of the mountains of the Peloponnesus, it forms, together with Crete, the southern boundary of the Medttemnean sea. After passing this island, the ancient Phoenician and Grecian maiiners entered upon an unknown sea, not so rich in islands and harboun, with different currants and winds. If we could obtain an account of the early Phoenician voyagers, there is no doubt, as Curtius remarks, that we should find that the stormy Cape Malea and the island of Cytheia long formed the extreme point of their voyages, beyond which they did not venture into the unknown western seas. The Phoe- nicians had an ancient settlement in the island, which was the head-quarters of their purple fishery off the Laconian coast Hence the island is said to have derived its name from Cytherns, the son of Phoenix, and also to have been called PorphyrOsa or Porphyris. (Azistot ap, Steph. B. a. v, KJ^qpa; Eustath. ad Dhnyt, Per. 498, ad IL^ 304, 36; Plin. iv. 12. s. 19.) It was from Cythera that the worship of the Syrian goddess Aphrodite was intro- duced into Greece; and consequently in the Grecian legends this isknd is said to have been the spot which received the goddess after her birth from the foam of the sea. Hence, in the Greek and Latin poets Cythera is constantly represented as one of the nvourite residences of Aphrodite, and Cytheraea is one of the most frequent ejathets applied to her. (Besiod. Tkeogn. 195; Herod. L 105; Viig. Am. L 680, et alibi) On the conquest oi Pdoponnesus by the Dorians, Cythera, together with the whole eastern coast of Laoonia, was dependent upon Argos (Herod, i. 82). It afterwards became subject to the Spartans, who attached great importance to the islimd, since it afforded a landing-phtce for their merchant-vessels from Egypt and Africa, and the possession of it protected the coasts of Laconia from the attacks of privateers. Accordingly, they sent over annually to Cythera a magistrate called Cytherodices, with a garrison of Spartans. (Thuc. iv. 53.) The Lace- daemonian Chilon, who is reckoned among the Seven Sages, considered the proximity of Cythera so dan- gerous to Sparta, that he wished it sunk in the sea; and Demaratus, king of Sparta, advised Xerxes to seize this island, and from it to prosecute the war against Laoonia. (Herod. viiL 235.) The fears of Chilon were realized in the Peloponnesian war, when Kicias conquered the island, b. o. 424, and from thence made frequent descents upon the Laco- nian coast (Thuc. iv. 64.) CYTHNUS. Thucydides, in his account of the conquest of Cythera by Nicias, mentions three places; Scandcia, and two towns called Cythera, one on the coast and the other inland. Nicias sailed against the island with 60 triremes. Ten of them took Scandeia upoa the coast (^ ^irl doAcbraTy ir6is, SxciyScia iraAaif- fUni); the remainder proceeded to the side <fppmt& Cape Malea, where, afto: landing, the troops first captured the maritinM city of the Cythexians (^ M ^oKdfftrp ir6?at tmv Kv9i}p-W), and afterwards the upper city ( j^ tti^v w6is). Acoording to this account, we should be led to place Scandeia upon the coast of the Sicilian sea, where KaptAli, the modem town of CerigOj now stands ; and the maritime d^, at Atie- mofM, on tiie eastern coast opposite Cape Malea. This is, however, directly opposed to the statement of Pausanias (/. a), who connects Scandeia and Cythera as the maritime and inland cities respectively, sepa- rated from one another by a distance of only 10 stadia. Of this contradiction there is no satisfiictory expla- nation. It seems, howerer, pretty certain that the sheltered creek of AtHemoma was the principal har- bour of the island, and is probably the same as the one called Phoenicos (^ou^ucovs) by Xenophon (JTisUL iv. 8. § 7), a name obviously derived from the Phoe- nician colony. About three miles above the port of AvUmona are the ruins of an ancient town, called PaledpoUf which is evidoitly the site of the upper city mentioned by Thucydides. Here stood the ancient temple of Aphrodite, which was seen by Pausanias. In B. a 393, Cythera came again into the posses- sion of the Athenians, being taken by Conon in the year after the battle of Cnidns. (Xen. L c.) It was given by Augustus to Eurydes to hold as his private property. (Strab. viii. p. 363.) Its chief prodnctiona in antiquity were wine and honey. (Heraclid. Pont «. V. Kv$7fpi»y.) The island appears to have been always subject to foreign powers, and consequently there are no coins of it extant It is now one of the seyen Ionian islands under the protection of Great Britain. Its modem name TeerigOj in Italian Cerigo, is remarked by Leake as almost the only instance of a SUtvonic name in the Greek islands. (Leake, Northern Greece^ vol. iii. p. 69, seq.; Curtius, Peh' ponnesoSf vol. ii. p. 298, seq.) CYTHE'RIUS (Kwe^pios, Strab. viii. p. 856; KMripoSj Pans. vi. 22. § 6), a small river in Pisatis in Elis, flowing by Heracleia, and fiUling into the Alpheius on its right bank: identified by Leake, with the river of Strefi; by Boblaye, with the river of Landtot (Leake, MoreOj vol. ii. p^ 192; BoUaye, RechercheSy p. 129.) CYTHETIUM. JCttobus.] CYTHE'RUS. [Attica, p. 332, b.] CYTHNUS (K6eyos: Eth. K6$ytos: Tiermia an island in the Aegaean sea, one of the Cydades, lying between Ceos and Seriphos. (Strab. x. p. 485; Dicaearch. p. 462, ed. Fuhr.; Scylax, p. 22, ed. Hudson; Plm. iv. 12. s. 20; MeU, iL 7; Ptol. iiL 15. § 28.) It was colonised by the Dryopes, whence it was also called Dryopis. (Herod, viii. 46 ; Steph. B. 8. V.) Its name raidy occurs in antiquity. The Cythnians sent a trireme and a peiiteoonter to the battle of Salamis. (Herod. 2. c.) After the Pdo- ponnesian war they became the subject allies of Athens, together with the other ishuoders in the Aegaean; but they never acquired power or wealth. (Comp. Dem. Htpl Svi^^ctfS, p. 176.) The only native of the island mentioned by Uie andent writers, was Cydias the painter; and its chief oelehritj in