Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 6.djvu/783

Rh clear and healthful stream of water.&quot; But soon he was recalled, taken into custody, and finally condemned to death. The severity of Valerian spared the mass of the Christian people, and vented itself chiefly on the bishops, who refused to sacrifice to the emperor. When brought before the proconsul, the great bishop of Carthage was briefly interrogated : &quot; Art thou Thascius Cyprian, the bishop of so many impious men ] The emperor com mands thee to sacrifice.&quot; Cyprian replied, &quot; I will not sacrifice ;&quot; and, persisting in his refusal notwithstanding remonstrances, he was condemned to death. On hearing his sentence Cyprian only said, &quot; God be thanked ; &quot; aud being conducted to a neighbouring field, he was beheaded.

1em  CYPRUS, one of the largest islands in the Mediterranean, situated in the easternmost basin of that sea, at nearly equal distance from the coasts of Asia Minor to the north and of Syria to the east. The headland of Cape Kormakiti in Cyprus is distant about 46 miles from Cape Anamur in Cilicia, and its north-east point, Cape St Andrea, is about 60 miles from Latakieh in Syria. It lies between 34 30 and 35 40 N. lat, and between 32 15 and 34 35 E. long., so that it is situated in almost exactly the same latitude as Crete. Its great est length is about 145 miles, from Cape Drepano in the west to Cape St Andrea in the north-east, and its greatest breadth, from Cape Gata in the south to Cape Kormakiti in the north, reaches nearly 60 miles ; while it retains an average width of from 35 to 50 miles through the greater part of its extent, but narrows suddenly to less than 10 miles in about 34 long., and from thence sends out a long narrow tongue of land towards the E.N.E. for a distance of more than 45 miles, terminating in Cape St Andrea. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean, considerably exceeding in area both Corsica and Crete.

Island of Cyprus.

Mountains.—Great part of the island is occupied by two mountain ranges, both of which have a general direction from west to east. Of these the most extensive, as well as the most lofty, is that which fills up almost the whole southern portion of the island, and is generally designated by modern geographers as Mount Olympus, though that name appears to have been applied by the ancients only to one particular peak. The highest summit is known at the present day as Mount Trob dos, and attains an elevation of 6590 feet. It sends down subordinate ranges or spurs, cf considerable altitude, on all sides, one of which extends to Cape Arnauti (the ancient Acamas), which forms the north-west extremity of the island, while others descend on both sides quite to the northern and southern coasts. The main range is continued eastwards by the lofty summits known as Mount Adelphi and Mount Machera (both of them, however, considerably inferior to Troiidos) until it ends in the somewhat isolated peak called Oros Stavro, or Hill of the Holy Cross. This mountain, which is evidently the one designated by Strabo as Mount Olympus, is only 2300 feet high, but is a conspicuous object from Larnaca, from which it is only 12 miles distant, and is well known from being frequented as a place of pilgrimage. The northern range of mountains, which is not known by any collective name, begins at Cape Kormakiti (the ancient Crommyon) and is continued from thence in an unbroken ridge to the eastern extremity of the island, Cape St Andrea, a distance of more than 100 miles. It is very inferior in elevation to the southern, range, its highest summits not attaining to more than about 3200 feet, while in the eastern portion they but rarely exceed 2000 feet. But it is remarkable for its continuous and unbroken character consisting throughout of a narrow, but rugged and rocky ridge, descending abruptly *o the south into the great plain of Lefkosia, and to the noiii. to a narrow plain bordering the coast.

The Messaria.—Between these two mountain ranges lies a broad tract of plain, extending quite across the island from the Bay of Famagosta to that of Morphu on the west, through a length of nearly 60 miles, with a breadth vary ing from 10 to 20 miles. It is known by the name of the Messaria, and is watered by two streams, both of which descend from the mountains on the south ; but, on reaching the plain, the one turns eastward and flows into the Bay of Famagosta, close to the ruins of Salamis ; the other flows westward into the Bay of Morphu. The greater part of this plain is open and- uncultivated, and presents nothing but barren downs ; but corn is grown in considerable quantities in the northern portions of it, and there is no doubt that the whole is readily susceptible of cultivation. It is remarkable that Cyprus was celebrated in antiquity for its forests, which not only clothed the whole of its mountain ranges, but covered the entire central plain with a dense mass, so that it was with difficulty that the land could be cleared for cultivation. At the present day the whole plain of the Messaria is utterly bare and treeless, and it is only the loftiest and central summits of Mount Olympus that still retain their covering of pine woods. The disappearance of the forests has naturally affected the rivers, which are mostly mere torrents, dry in summer. The most considerable is that called in ancient times the Pediaeus, which, as already mentioned, traverses the plain of the Messaria, and falls into the sea near Salamis. But even this does not reach the sea in summer, and its stagnant waters form marshes which contribute much to the unhealthy character of the plain.

Minerals.—Next to its forests, which long supplied the Greek monarchs of Egypt with timber for their fleets, Cyprus was celebrated among the ancients for its mineral wealth, especially for its mines of copper, which were worked from a very early period, arid continued to enjoy such reputation among both Greeks and Romans that the modern name for the metal is derived from the term of Cyprium or Cuprium by which it was known to the latter. According to Strabo the most valuable mines were worked at a place called Tamasus, in the centre of the island, on the northern slopes of Mount Olympus, but their exact site has not been identified, and no mines are at present worked in Cyprus. Besides copper, according to Strabo, the island produced considerable quantities of silver ; and Pliny records it as producing various kinds of precious stones, among which he mentions diamonds and emeralds, but these were doubtless nothing more than rock crystal and beryl. But the mineralogy and geology of Cyprus have as yet been very imperfectly explored. Salt, 