Page:The geography of Strabo (1854) Volume 2.djvu/56

 48 STRABO. CASAUB. 368. the same name as that in Bceotia ; Minoa, a fortress of the same name as that in Megara ; and according to Arternidorus, Epidaurus Limera; 1 Apollodorus, however, places it near Cythera, 2 and having a convenient harbour, (Ai/x/)y, limen,) it was called Limenera, which was altered by contraction to Li- mera. A great part of the coast of Laconia, beginning im- mediately from Maleae, is rugged. It has however shelters for vessels, and harbours. The remainder of the coast has good ports ; there are also many small islands, not worthy of mention, lying in front of it. 2. To the Argives belong Prasise, 3 and Temenium 4 where Temenus lies buried. Before coming to Temenium is the dis- trict through which the river Lerna flows, that having the same name as the lake, where is laid the scene of the fable of the Hydra. The Temenium is distant from Argos 26 stadia from the sea-coast ; from Argos to HeraBum are 40, and thence to Mycenae 10 stadia. Next to Temenium is Nauplia, the naval station of the Argives. Its name is derived from its being accessible to ships. Here they say the fiction of the moderns originated respecting Nauplius and his sons, for Homer would not have omitted to mention them, if Palamedes displayed so much wisdom and intelligence, and was unjustly put to death; and if Nauplius had destroyed so many people at Caphareus. 5 But the genealogy offends both against the mythology, and against chronology. For if we allow that he was the son of Neptune, 6 how could he be the son of Amymone, and be still living in the Trojan times. Next to Nauplia are caves, and labyrinths constructed in them, which caves they call Cyclopeia. 1 The ruins are a little to the north of Monembasia, Malvasia, or Nau- plia de Malvasia. 2 Cerigo. 8 The ruins are on the bay of Rheontas. 4 Toniki, or Agenitzi. 5 Napoli di Romagna. Nauplius, to avenge the death of his son Pala- medes, was the cause of many Greeks perishing on their return from Troy at Cape Caphareus in Euboea, famous for its dangerous rocks. The modern Greeks give to this promontory the name of SwXo^ayoc., (Xylo- phagos,) or devourer of vessels. Italian navigators call it Capo d'Oro, which in spite of its apparent signification, Golden Cape, is probably a transformation of the Greek word Caphareus. 6 Strabo confounds Nauplius, son of Clytoreus, and father of Palame- des, with Nauplius, son of Neptune and Amymone, and one of the ancestors of Palamedes.