Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/702

 682 POLLANARRUA POLLNITZ high as Spitzbergen, in the Baltic, and about the Orkneys in Europe. It attains a weight of 30 Ibs. ; it swims rapidly, not very deeply, and is in the best condition from October to December, when it readily takes the hook. POLLANARRUA, a ruined city of Ceylon, once the capital of the kingdom, situated in lat. 8 K, Ion. 81 E., about 60 m. N. N. E. of Candy. The city stood on the banks of an immense artificial tank or lake, but the waters are now shrunk into a small area, and the grand em- bankment encloses a broad savannah, beyond which the remains of palaces and temples tower above the highest trees. The principal ruins extend nearly N. and S. for about a mile and a half, and consist of the Gal Yihara, a rock-cut temple containing a seated figure of Buddha; the Jayta-wanarama temple, 170 ft. long by 70 wide, and containing an erect statue of Buddha 58 ft. high ; the Rankot dagoba, a circular mass of solid brick masonry, 186 ft. Ituins of Pollanamia. in diameter and about 200 ft. high ; the Sat- raahal-prasada, a seven-storied pyramidal tem- ple, in front of which lies a monolith 26 ft. long, 4 ft. wide, and 2 ft. thick, with an in- scription, engraved about A. D. 1196, record- ing that it was brought from the mountain of Mihintala, 80 m. distant ; and the palace. The jungle around is filled with mounds of brick, fallen columns, sculptured stones, and the foun- dations of overthrown buildings. Pollanarrua was made the capital of Ceylon by Mahindo I., A. D. 769, when Anarajapoora, the former capital, had become untenable from the in- cursions of the Malabars. In the reign of Prakrama Bahu I., who surrounded it with walls and greatly enriched it, it is said to have covered an area 30 m. long by 4 m. broad. In 1204 it was sacked for the second time by the Malabars. In 1235 the capital was removed to Dambedenia, and the city gradually fell into decay. Neither the Portuguese nor the Dutch knew of these ruins. They were first visited by Mr. Fagan, an Englishman, in 1820. The site is now called Topare, probably a corruption of Topa-weva, the name of the great tank. POLLEN. See PLANT, vol. xiii., p. 587. POLLET, Joseph Michel Ange, a French sculp- tor, born in Palermo in 1814. He studied in Italy and Belgium, and in 1844 settled in Paris. His principal works are "Esmeralda," u The Duke of Brabant at Brussels," and a colossal bust of " France." His " Hour of the Night," at St. Cloud, has been frequently reproduced. POLLIO, Cains Asinins, a Roman general, born in 76 B. C., died A. D. 4. He was descended from an obscure family of the Marrucini, and is first spoken of at the age of 22 as the accuser of 0. Cato, who was acquitted through the in- fluence of Pompey. When the civil Avar broke out he joined the party of Caesar, and was with that commander at the passage of the Rubi- con and his subsequent march through Italy. Afterward he was sent to Sicily under Curio, who commanded the forces which drove M. Cato out of that coun- try; and when Curio, having crossed into Af- rica, was defeated and slain by Juba, Pollio collected the scattered troops and joined Caesar. He was at the battle of Pharsalia in 48, and probably in the follow- ing year, on his return to Rome, was elected tribune of the people. In 46 and 45 he accom- panied Caesar in his Af- rican and Spanish cam- paigns, and subsequently was sent into Further Spain to carry on the war against Sextus Pompey. After Octavius had united with Lepidus and Antony in forming the first triumvirate, Pollio joined their party, and was nominated by them for consul in 40. When the division of the provinces was made, Antony assigned to him Transpadane Gaul with the duty of distributing the lands among the veterans. In 39 he made a successful campaign against the Parthini, an Illyrian people, and had the honor of a triumph. He devoted himself thereafter to literature. Among the few preserved fragments of his writings are three letters to Cicero. He wrote a history of the civil war in 17 books, begin- ning with the year 60 B. C., and apparently extending down to the battle of Actium. He also wrote tragedies. He was a friend of Vir- gil and Horace, and established the first public library in Rome with the money procured in his Illyrian campaign. POLLNITZ, Karl Lndwig YOB, baron, a German writer of French memoirs, born near Cologne, I