Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume I Part 2.djvu/310

 HEBACLEUSTIBUS. Tkvm Tanis. Its ruins are mm oorered by tho lake Memalehj near whoso westera border it was pro- bably sitnated. (ChampoI]ioii,J^'iS'^;^(e,yol.ii. p.130; D'AnTUle, Mim, twr VEgppte, p. 96.) [VV. B. D.] UERACLEUSTIBUS, the name of a station in the Jemsalein Itinerary, 1 1 M. P. from ApoUimia. Tafel (de Viae EgmxL Part OriaU, p. 6) has con- jectored that it is equivalent to *HpaKovs orU 90S. [KB. J.] HERAEA ('Hpa/a: EtL 'HpaiciSr, 'Hpacvs, in an ancient inscription *Hpfao«bf : the territory 'HpotO' Tis), the most important Arcadian town on the Lower Alpbeios, was situated near the frontiers of Elis, and on the high road from Arcadia to Olympia. It is said to have been founded by Uerseens, a son of Lycaon, and to have been called originally Solo- gorgus. (Paus. viii. 26. § 1 ; Steph. B. «. v. 'Hpo^a.) At an early period the Heraeans concluded a treaty with the Eleians for mutual protection and support for one hundred years; the original of which treaty, engraven on a bnmze tablet in the old Peloponne* aian dialect, was brought irom Olympia by Gell, and is now in the Payne Knight collection in the British Moseum. This treaty is placed about the 60th Olympiad, or b. c. 580, since it belongs to a time when the Eleians exercised an undisputed su- premacy over the dependent districts of Pisatis and Triphylia; and the Heraeans consequently were anzions to avail themselves of their support. (For a copy of the inscription see Leake, Pdoponmenaeoy p. 1 ; Bockh, Imcr, uo. 11, voL i. p. 26.) Ueraea was, at that time, the chief village among eight others which lay scattered upon the banks of the Alphdus and its tributaries the Ladon and Ery- manthns; but the inhabitants of these separate vil- lages were transferred to Heraea, and a city there was founded by the Spartan king Cleombrotus or Cleonymus. (Strab. viii. p^ 337.) In consequence of their close connection with Sparta, the Heraeans incurred the hostility of the other Arcadians, who laid waste thdr territory in b. c. 370. (Xen. HM, ▼i. 5. § 22.) At a later time Heraea was a member of the Achaean League; and, as Elis was one of the chief places of tlie Aetolian League, it is frequently mentioned in the contests between these two powers. (PolyU ii. 54, iv. 77, seq.) It was afterwards in the hands of Philip, but it was restored to the Achaeans. (Liv. zxviii. 8, xxzii. 5, xxxiii. 34; Po* lyb. xviiL 25, 30.) Heraea is mentioned by Strabo (viiL pi 388) as one of the deserted cities of Arca- dia; but when it was visited by Pausanias, it was still a place of some importance. The latter writer describes its temples, batlis, plantations of myrtles and other trees along the banks of the Alpheius: among its temples he mentions two sacred to Diony- sus, one to Pan, and another to Hera, of the latter of which only some ruins were left (Paus. viii. 26. §§ 1,3.) The site of Heraea is fixed by its distance from the month of the Ladon, which, according to Pau- sanias, was 15 stadia. The same writer says that the greater part of the city lay upon a gently sloping hill, and the remainder upon the banks of the Alpheius. The remains of Heraea are visible on a hill west of the village of Aidnni (St John), bounded <m either side by a ravipe, and sloping down towards the river. These ruins extend along the summit of the hill and the slope towards the river; but they are inconsiderable, and have for tlie most part been cleared away in consequence of the isrtility of the land* A sweetish red wiw is grown HERAEI MONTES. 1051 upon the spot, which Leake says has more flavour and body thian almost any other he met with in the Morea. This wine was also celebrated in antiquity, and was said to make women fruitful (Theophr* N, PL ix. 20; Athen. L p. 31 ; Plin. ziv. 18. s. 22; Aelian, V. H, xiii. 6.) Heraea was favourably situated in several respects* Its territoiy was fertile, and it was situated, as we have already said, on the high road from Olympa into the interior of Arcadia. From the north' of Arcadia a road led into the valley of the Alpheius, near Heraea; and two roads led into the Hereatis, one from Megalopolis, and the other from Messene and Phigalia, which joined the former close to the town. There was a bridge over tiie Alpheius dose to Heraea, which Philip restored in b. c 219. (Po- lyb. iv. 77, 78.) The Heraeatis was separated from Pisatis by the river Erymanthns, and from the ter- ritory of Megalopolis by the river Buphagus. (Gell, Itiner. of the Morea^ p. 113; Leake, Morea, vol. ii. p. 91 ; Boblaye, Reckerches, #c. p. 159; Curtius, PeloponnesoSf voL i. p. 363, seq.) COIN OF HERAEA. HERAEI MONTES (rit 'Hpcua V^l). * gronp or range of mountains in Sicily, mentioned by Diodorus (iv. 84), who describes in glowing coloure the pleasant shaded valleys in which they abounded; the rich forests with wl^ch they were covered, and the abundance of wild fruits they produced. He gives no clue to their position, and they are nol mentioned by any of the geographere in their der scriptions of the island : but Vibius Sequester tells us (p. 8) that the river Ohrysas had its source in the Heraean mountains; and this shows that they must have formed part of the range which occupies the whole north of Sicily, from the neighbourhood of Messana to that of Panormus. The natural beauties of this mountain tract accord weU with the description of Diodorus, whence the name of Gale Acte, *^ the beautiful shore,*! was given to the N. ooast of Sicily, which extends along the foot of the range : and Fazello describes the fertility and plea- santness of their sootfaem slopes in terms which fully justify the rhetorical praises of Diodorus (Fazell. ix. 4. pi 385). The great contrast pre- sented by the whole of this range of mountains, to the dry and bare calcareous hills of the centre and south of Sicily, can mdeed leave no doubt as to their being those intended by that author. It ia impossible, however, to fix the precise limits within which the term was applied. The lofty mass of the MotUe Madonia, the Mens Nebrodes of the ancients, is in fiict only a portion of the same chain, while on the E. the continuation of the range, towards Messana and the promontoiy of Pelorus, appears to have been designated as the Mens Nep* tunius. The central portion of the range, between Caroma and TramOf is Ktill covered with an im- mense forest, now called the JBosco di Caronia : the highest summit of this group, Monte Sori^ attains an elevation of nearly 3000 feet above tho sea. It is certainly erroneous to extend the name of the Heraei Montes, as has been done by Clnver an4