Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume I Part 2.djvu/99

 840 EPICNEMIDU. Epbyra on the Selleeu (Horn. JL ii. 659, xy. 531 ) to be the Thesprotian town, but Strabo expressly mAintains that Homer alludes in these passages to the Eleian town. [No. 2.] (Strab. vii. p. 328; comp. viii. p. 338.) Paosaniaa represents Gichyros as the capital of the ancient kings of Thesprotia, where Theseos and Peirithous were thrown into chains by Ajtdoneos; and its celebrity in the most ancient times may aLM> be inferred from a passage of Pindar (Pans. L 17. § 4 ; Pind. Nem. viL 55.) (Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iii. p. 7, vol. iv. pp. 53, 175.) 5. A town of Thessaly, afterwards called Cnmon or Crannon. [Cranon.J 6. A town of the Agrad in Aetolia, of uncertain «ite. (Stiab. viii. p. 338.) 7. An island in the Argolic gnlf, supposed by Leake to be Sp^tzia, (Plin. iv. 12, s. 19 ; Leake, Pelopotmesiaca, p. 294.) EPICNEMI'DII LOOM. [LocRi.] EPICTE'TUS PHRYGIA. | Phryoia.] EPIDAMNUS. [Dyrbhachium.] EPIDAURUS ('EwiSovpos, Ptol. ii. 16. § 4, PeuL Tab.; Epidaurum, Plin. iii. 22, Geog. Banr.: Ra- ^uta-Fecchiaf lUyric, Zaptal), a maritime city of Illyricum, of which no notice occurs till the civil war between Pon^us and Caesar, when having de- daised in favour of the latter, it was besieged by M. Octavins. The opportune arrival of Vatinius re- lieved it. (Hirt jB. il^. 44, 45.) Under the Ro- mans it became a colony (Plin. I c); and, as in the cities of the same name in Peloponnesus, Asclepius was the principal deity of the Ulyrian town. Con- Btantianus, acting for Justinian in the Gothic War, occupied Epidaurus with his fleet (Procop. B. G, i. 7 ; Le Beau, Bae Empire, vol. viii. p. 335.) It was afterwards destroyed, but there is some uncer- taiBty as to the date of that event: it appears that the fugitives established themselves at Rausium, which in time was altered into Ragutct. (Const Poif^. de Adm. Imp, 29.) Jiagtua-Vecchia no longer contains any remains of Epidaurus, and all memorials of its site are ctmfined to inscriptions, fragments of walls, coins, and other things found by excavation. (Wilkinson, Dalmatia and MonUnegro, vol. i. p. 373 ; Neigebaur, Die Sudtlaven^ p. 82 ; Schafarik, Slav, AU. vol. il. p. 272; Engel, Getch, von Raguta, p. 44.) [£. B. J.] EPIDAURUS (Eirfdavpor : Eik. 'EiriSavptos), a town on the eastern coast of Peloponnesus, in the district called Argolis under the Romans. Through- out the flouri^ing period of Grecian history it was an independent state, possessing a smaU territory ("Ea-iSavpfa), bounded on the west by the Argeia, on the north by the Corinthia, on the south by the Troezenia, and on the east by the Saronic gulf. £{a- daurus is situated on a small peninsula, which pro* jects from a narrow plain, surrounded on the land side by mountains. In this plain the vine is chiefly cultivated, as it was in the time of Homer (V- wcAitevr' 'Eir tSavpoy, Hom. II. iL 561). North of the peninsula is a well protected harbour; south of it, an open roadstead. The original town was con- fined to the peninsula, which is 15 stadia in dr- cnroference. (Strab. viu. p. 374.) The town also extended upon the shore both north and south of the peninsula, and embraced the small promontory which forms the southern extremity of the northern har- bour. Epidaurus is accurately described by Strabo (/. &) as situated in a recess of the Saronic gulf, looking towards the NE., and shut in by high p>fp ^liri t l^i pf , EPIDAURUS. Epidaurus possessed only a small territary; bol various drcnmstances contributed to nuke it a plaoe of importance at an early period. Of these the prin- cipal was its temple of Asclepius, situated at the distance of five miles from the city, of which we shall speak presently. Epidauraa lay Bear Angina and the other islands in the Saronic gulf, and nearly opponte the haiboun of Athens, from which it was distant only a six hours* sait It was likewise nearly due east of Argos, from which there was a highway to EjHdaurus, forming the chief line of oommvnicatiao between Aiigos and the Sareoic gidf. Epidauns was said by Aristotle to have been originally a Carian settlement Hence it was called £piGBn& Strabo relates that its more ancient name was Epi- taunis. (Strab. 2. c ; Steph. B. t. v. 'Ew^Soipef ; Eustath. ad Horn, U. ii. 561.) It was afterwanfa colonised by lonians. According to Aristotle, it wm colonised by lonians from the Attic tetnpolis, in conjunction with the Heradeidae on their letara to Peloponnesus (op. <$fra&. 2.e.); but it is more in accordance with the generally received legend to suppose that Epidaurus had been previously oolo- nised by lonians, and that these latter were expdled by the Dorian invaders. Indeed, this u the state- ment of Pausanias, who relates that at the time of the Dorian invasion Epidaurus was gofvemed by Pityrens, a descendant of Ion, who surrendered tbo country without a contest to Deiphontes and the Argives, and himself retired to Athens with his citi- zens. (Pans. iL 26. § 1, seq.) Deiphontes is re{v»- sented as the son-in-law of Temenus, who obtained Argos as his share ef the Dorian conquests, haviqg married Hymetho, the daughtw of Temenus. The misfortunes of Ddphontes afforded materials for the tragic poets. (Diet of Biogr. art Deipkoniei.) Whatever truth there may be in these legends, the fact is certain that the Dorians became masten of Epidaurus, and continued throughout the historictl period the ruling class in the state. At an early period Epidaurus appears to have been one of the chief commen^ial dties in the Peloponnesus. It colonised Aegina, which was for a long time subject to it [Aeoina, p. 33, a.] It also colonised, near the coasts of Asia Elinor, the islands ef Ces, Ga- lydnus, and Nisyrus. (Herod, vii. 99.) But as Aegina grew in importance, Epidaurus declined, and in the sixth century b.c;. almost all the commeroe of the mother-dty had passed into the hands of the Aeginetans. £pidauru3 was originally governed by kings, the reputed descendants of Deiphontes; bnt^ as in most of the other Grecian states, monarchy was suoeeeded by an oligarchy, which was in its turn superseded for a time by a tyranny. Amongst the tyrants of Epidaurus was Procles, whose daughter Mehsea was married to Periander, tyrant of Oorinth; and when Procles resented the murder of his daughter by Periander, the latter marched against his fiuher-in- law and led him away into captivity after tsking Epidaurus. (Hered. iii. 50 — ^52.) After the ab(di- tion of the tyranny the government of Eindanros again reverted to the (digarchy, who retained jx^- session of it during the whole historical period. For this reason the Epidaurians were always firm allies of Sparta, and severed their connection with tbeir mother-city, Argos, since the latter had adopted a democratical constitution. Of the exact fonn of tlio Epidaurian government we have no particulan. Wo only read of magistrates called Artynae, who wen pnaidents of a council of 180 members. (PlnUdKoetL