Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume I Part 2.djvu/273

 1014 QBAECIA. rnnning a contiderable distance into the land, and separated from one another by the range of TajgetuAi The river Neda separated Messenia from Elia. This coontrj is coTered, to a greater or a less extent^ jvrith the oflEshoots of the Arcadian mountains ; but cmitains many pUins of omsiderable size and fer- tility. Of these the two most impcMrtant are the one in the centre of the country drained by the Alpheios, in which Pisa stood, and the one in tba nrarth through which the Peneios flows. Achaia was the name of the narrow slip of oonntiy between the great northern barrier of Arcadia and the Corinthian gulf. From the Arcadian mountains there project seTcral spurs, either running out into the sea in the form of bold promontories, w separated from it by narrow levels. The plains on the coast at the foot of these mountains, and the valleys between them, are for the most part very fertile. Argolis, taking the name in its most extended sense, was used to signify the whole peninsula between the Saronic and Argolic gulfs ; but daring the times of Grecian independence it contained several independ- ent states. The Argolic peninsula was nnitod to the mainland by a broad base, at one extremity of which stood the cities of Corinth and Sicyon, and at the other the city of Argoe. Corinth and Sicyon pos- sessed a level track of country along the coast, and Argos was situated in a plain, 10 or 12 miles in length and from 4 to 5 in breadth ; but the peninsula itself was nearly covered with a lofty range of hills. The shape of Peloponnesus was compared by the ancients to the leaf of the plane tree or the vine. (Strab. viii. p. 335; Dionys. Per. 403; Agathem. i. ./ p. 1 5 ; Plln. iv. 4. s. 5.) Thji isthmus is so small in comparison with the outspreaa form of the peninsula, that it was regarded by the ancients as an island, . and was accordingly called the island of Pelops, from the mythical hero df this name. It has all the advan- tages of an insular situation without its disadvan- tages. It was sufficiently protected by the mountains at the foot of the isthmus to secure the inhabitants from all attacks from the mainland, and to allow them to develop their own character and institutions without any disturbing influences from without. At the same time, it was so closely connected with tlie mainland by the isthmus as to possess at all times an uninterrupted communication with the rest cf Gi-eece. From its position, approachable only by a narrow access easily guarded, the Peloponnesus was called by the ancients the acropolis of Greece. (Eustath. ad Dwnyi, Per, 403.) IV. BiYERS AKD Lakes. Most of the Gredan rivers are entirely dependent upon the atmosphere for their supply of water. During five months of the year, in the autumn and winter, rain falls in large quantities, which fills the crevices in the limestone of the hills, and is carried off by torrents. In summer hardly any rain falls ; and these torrents, so full of water in the winter, are then perfectly dry. Even many of the rivers, which are partly supplied by springs, dwindle in the sum- mer into very insignificant streams. Most of the Grecian rivers, which give to the country upon the map the appearance of a well-watered district, are nothing but winter torrents, to which the Greeks gave the expressive name of xe</utj3|^vf. None of tlio rivers of Greece are navigable. The most con- siderable in Northern Greece are the I'eneius and the Achelous, already spoken of. To these may be added the Evenua, which flows through Aetolia, GRAECIA. parallel to the Achelous ; the Sperdieius, vhidi drains the valley between Oeta and Othrys ; the Ce- phisus and Asopus in Boeotia; and the CepUsa and Uissus in Attica, the last of which is dry ia summer, and only deserves mention on account of its poetical celebri^. The chief river of PelopooxieBBs is the Alpheios in Arcadia and Elia ; next come tfe Etuxytas in Ijioonia, the Pamkos in Muannia, and the Peneios in Nwthem Elis. Though there are few perennial riven in Greeeef the nature of the country ia Sftvoorable to the forata- tion of marshes and lakes. Many of the plains and valleys are so entirely endrded by mountaiBS tl^ the heavy rains which descend in the antnmnal aad winter months find no outlet, and remain as lakes in the winter and as marshes in the aommcr. Ia Thessaly are the lakes Nessoms and Boebeis ; ia Aetolia, Trichonis ; in Boeotia, Copais ; and in Ar- cadia, Stympbolis and others. The waten of oodm of these hikes find their way through natoxal cavi- ties in the limestone mountain^ called hatcepotMra by the modem Greeks, and after flowing under ground rise agun after a greater or lesa intemd. This is the case with the waters of the Copaii [Bobotia], and of several of the lakes of Arcadia, in which country this phaenomfnon is veiy &»• quent [Arcadia]. y. Gejtekal Rehabrs upoar Grktiaw Topo- graphy. The two most striking features in Gredan topogra- phy are the mountainous character of th« oofontzy and the great extent of its sea-coast Next to Switicr- land, Greece is the most mountaincNis ooiontiy of Europe ; but this general description ocoiveya ae correct idea of its peculiar nature. In the ynot&ng account we have attempted to give a aketeh of che direction of the mountain-ranges or chains, hat fnsa these project in all directions mnumei»ble branchea^ having very few valleys or plains of any extent. These plains, whether large or small, are fiir the noost part either entirely surrounded by mountains or open as one side to the sea. At all times mcaintains have proved the greatest barriers to interconrse between neighbouring tribes. Each of the Grredan cities situated in a pUiin, and separated from Its neigb- hours by lofty mountains, always difiScult, and oftea impossible to surmount, grew up in perfect isolatkai. They had the leas temptation to tiy to scale the lofty barriers which surrounded them, since the sea afforded them an easy communicatioQ with the nat (tf the world. Almost all the Grecian states had ready and easy access to the sea ; and the only political division which did not some territory on the coast. The mountainous nature of the country exeiriaed an important influence upon the political deatinieB of the people. The chain of Lingon and the Cam- bunian mountains defended Hellas from fbreiign in- vasion; and the mountains in the ooontry xtaeif rendered it difficult for one section of the race ta attack another. The pass of Thermopylae, the passes over Cithaeron, and those over the Gwajieiaa and Oneian mountains at the isthmus, could easily be defended by a handful of resolute men ngainst vasUy superior numbers. The same caoses pro- duced a laige number of independent states, pc£ti- cally distinct from each other, and always <ii«iiw»lin*<i to form any kind of federal union even for the pur- pose of resisting foreign invasion. This politiGal separation led to disputes and hostilities ; and thdr