treaty with it, and made it subsequently a "libera civitas." The town stood on the S. bay, and appears to have possessed handsome buildings. Amorgos, Amorgo, N.W. of Astypalea, is chiefly celebrated as the birth-place of the poet Simonides, and for its linen fabrics. It was fertile, and was considered by the Romans as one of the most favour. able places for banishment: it contained three towns. Cinarus, named after the artichoke (xívapa) it produced, and Lebinthus, lie E. of Amorgos; Lelandrus and Nicasia N. of it; Phacusa and Schonusa W. of it. § 14. The large island of Creta, known to us under the name of Candia, but to its own inhabitants as Kriti, lies at the entrance of the Egean Sea, about 60 miles distant from the Peloponnesus, and double that distance from Asia Minor. Its length is about 160 miles, and its greatest breadth about 30. It is very mountainous and woody, and was celebrated in ancient times for its medicinal herbs (particularly the "dictamnon"), for its raisin-wine and honey, and its dogs. A chain of monntains traverses the whole length of the island: the central height, named Ida, Psiloriti, terminates in three lofty peaks at an elevation of 7674 feet: the eastern prolongation was named Dicte, Juktas, and the western Leuce, Leuki. The coast is irregular, and contains numerous promontories, of which we may notice, as most important-Corycus, C. Grabusa, in the N.W.; Dictynnæum, or Psacum, C. Spadha, a little to the E., the termination of a ridge of the same name, which was crowned with a temple of Dictynna; Criumetōpon, C. Crio, in the S.W.; Matăla, Matala, on the S. coast; Ampelus, C. Xacro, in the S.E.; and Samonium, the Salmone of Acts xxvii. 7, C. St. Sidero, in the N.E. The chief river, named Lethæus, Malogniti, runs from E. to W. through the plain of Gortyna, joining the sea on the S. coast. The other streams derive their whole importance from poetical associations: they are the Iardănus,1 Platania, on the N. coast, near which was the rock Lissa; and the Oaxes, or Axus, flowing down from Ida to the N. coast, and still retaining its name. § 15. The earliest inhabitants of Crete were probably a mixed 5 Ida, and particularly its summit, named Panacra, was regarded as especially sacred to Jupiter, where the bees nurtured him with their honey : Λευκὸν ἔπι, Κρηταῖον όρος, κεκομημένον ὕλῃ.-CALLIM. Η. in Dian. 40. 7 ἦχι Κύδωνες έναιον, Ιαρδάνου ἀμφὶ ῥέεθρα. At nos hinc alii sitientes ibimus Afros, Od. ill. 292. Pars Scythiam, et rapidum Cretæ veniemus Oaxen.-VIRG. Ecl. i. 65. race of Carians, Pelasgians, and Phoenicians. In the heroic age, Dorians were the dominant race, sharing the country with the Eteocretans, Cydonians, and other races. The Cretans had a high reputation as light troops, and served as mercenaries in Greek and barbarian armies. They lived in separate communities, each town having its own senate, coins, &c., and only coalescing, or "syncretizing," when their common mother-country was threatened by a foreign foe. The towns are said to have been as many as 100. Many of them were very ancient, and they existed until the invasion of the Romans under Q. Metellus. The most important were Cnossus, Gortyna, Cydonia, and, after the decay of the latter, Lyctus. The first two exercised a "hegemony," and were generally hostile to each other. (1.) On the Sea-Coast.--Commencing in the N.W., the first important town we meet with is Cydonia, Khania, which existed in Homer's time, but was enlarged and adorned by the Samians under Polycrates. In the Peloponnesian War it was at war with the Gortynians and Athenians. It was besieged by Phalæcus the Phocian after the Sacred War, and again by the Roman general Metellus. The quince-tree derived its name from this place. Itănus, on the E. coast, near a promontory of the same name, was probably a Phoenician town. Leben, Leda, on the S. coast, served as the port of Gortyna, and possessed a celebrated Phalasarna, on the W. coast, a little S. of temple of Asclepius. ο Κρήτη τις γαῖ ἐστὶ, μέσῳ ἐνὶ οἶνοπι ποντῳ, Αλλη δ' ἄλλων γλῶσσα μεμιγμένη· ἐν μὲν ̓Αχαιοί, Od. xix. 172. 1 Their skill with the bow and arrow is frequently noticed : Primusve Teucer tela Cydonio Direxit arcu. Hastas et calami spicula Gnosii Vitabis. Libet Partho torquere Cydonia cornu HOR. Carm. iv. 9, 17. Id. i. 15, 17. Spicula. VIRG. Ecl. x. 59. Mons Idæus ubi, et gentis cunabula nostræ. Centum urbes habitant magnas, uberrima regna.-En. iii. 104. Ventis iturus non suis; Exercitatas aut petit Syrtes Noto: Aut fertur incerto mari. HOR. Epod. ix. 29. Prom. Corycus, was the nearest port to Greece, and possessed a temple of Artemis. Remains of the walls, tombs, and of a singular chair cut out of the solid rock and destined for some deity, still exist. (2.) In the Interior.-Polyrrhenia was the chief town in the N.W., and had Phalasarna as its port, from which it was distant about 7 miles: its war with Cnossus in B.C. 219 is the only historical event recorded: some walls near Kisamo-Kasteli mark its site. Lappa, or Lampa, possessed an extensive district, extending from sea to sea, with Phoenix as its port on the S. coast. After its capture by Metellus it was made a free city by Augustus, and at a later period it became an episcopal see. Some ruins at Polis represent it. Gortyn, or Gortyna, stood S. of Ida, on a plain watered by the river Lethæus, and possessed two harbours, Leben and Matala. It ranked next to Cnossus in importance, and in early times had leagued with that town for the purpose of subduing the whole of Crete, but afterwards was engaged in constant hostilities with R NUINATO Coin of Gortyna. it. In the Peloponnesian War it sided with Athens. Philopomen was elected commander-in-chief of its army in B.C. 201, and, in 197, 500 Gortynians joined Quinctius Flamininus in Thessaly. Its site is uncertain; it has been placed at Haghios Dheka. Cnossus, or Gnossus, the royal city of Crete, was centrally situated near the N. coast, on the banks of a small stream named Cæratus, after which it was originally named. It possessed two ports, Heracleum and Amnisus. Its foundation was attributed to Minos, who resided there. The locality abounded with Coin of Cnossus. mythological associations: Jupiter was believed to have been born and to have died there; there Dædalus cultivated his art, and near it was the 3 Τῇσι δ ̓ ἐνὶ Κνωσσός, μεγάλη πόλις· ένθα τε Μίνως The whole island was occasionally named after it : Jupiter omnipotens ! utinam ne tempore primo Od. xix. 178. Perfidus in Cretam religasset navita funem.-CATULL. Ixiv. 171. 4 Χαῖρε δὲ Καίρατος ποταμὸς μέγα, χαῖρε δὲ Τηθύς. CALLIM. Hymn. in Dian. 44. 5 The Cretans pretended that they had his tomb, and hence obtained the character for lying attributed to them by Callimachus and Aratus, the latter of whom is quoted by St. Paul (Tit. i. 12): Κρῆτες ἀεὶ ψεύσται· καὶ γὰρ τάφον, ὦ ἄνα, σειο CALLIM. Hymn. in Jov. 8. Y Κρῆτες άει ψεῦσται, κακὰ θηρία, γαστέρες ἀργαί. ANC. GEOG. Labyrinth, erected by him and inhabited by the Minotaur, a building which had no existence except in the imaginations of poets. Cnossus was colonized by Dorians, and became the leading town in Crete. The Komans made it a colony. and parts of a long wall, from Teicho, are the sole relics of it. Coin of Lyctus. Some rude masses of Roman brickwork which the site is now named MakroLyctus was situated in the interior, S.E. of Cnossus: it was regarded as a colony from Sparta, and the worship of Apollo prevailed there. It was a constant rival of Cnossus. In 344 B.C. it was taken by Phalacus, the Phocian, and an ally of Cnossus, and at a later period was utterly destroyed by the Cnossians it was finally sacked by Metellus. Nu merous remains of buildings, tombs, marbles, and particularly an immense arch of an aqueduct, exist at Lytto. Præsus stood under the N. slope of Mount Dicte and possessed a considerable territory, together with a famous temple of Dictaan Jupiter: its ruins still retain the name of Præsus. History. The history of Crete is somewhat bare of events. At the time of the Trojan War, Idomeneus, son of Deucalion and grandson of Minos, was king, and took part with the Greeks. After his return he was banished, and retired to Italy. The violent quarrels between the chief towns led to a reference to Philip IV. of Macedon as a mediator; but his intervention does not appear to have effected permanent good. In B.C. 67 Crete was reduced by Q. Metellus Creticus, and was annexed to Cyrene as a Roman province. This union remained in force until the time of Constantine, when they were constituted distinct provinces. St. Paul's Travels.-In his disastrous voyage to Rome St. Paul visited the coasts of Crete. Sailing from Myra in Lycia with a N.W. wind, his vessel "ran under Crete over against Salmone,” i. è. got under the lee of the island, easily rounding the cape, but afterwards with difficulty getting along the S. coast. Reaching the neighbourhood of Prom. Matala, whence it would have been necessary to cross the open sea, it was deemed prudent to put into a roadstead a few miles E. of the cape, named Fair Havens," near which was a town named Lasæa, the ruins of which have been found five miles E. of the cape. Here the vessel remained some time; but, as the place was inconvenient for wintering, it was decided to go to Phoenice (the classical Phoenix) which lay more to the W., probably at Lutro, which is described as "looking toward the S.W. wind and N.W. wind," meaning probably the aspect which the place bore to one approaching it from the sea, in which case it would be sheltered from those winds. They set sail; but, after passing Cape Matala, they were blown off the shore of Crete by a N.E. wind, and carried by Clauda, the modern Gozza, a small island lying S.W. of Crete (Acts xxvii. 7-16). 0 Ἐν δὲ χορὸν ποίκιλλε περικλυτος Αμφιγύηεις, Il. xviii, 390 ITALY. VENETIA, ISTRIA, GALLIA CISALPINA, LIGURIA. § 1. Boundaries; Names. § 2. General Character; Climate; Produc tions. § 3. Mountains. § 4. Bays and Promontories. § 5. Rivers. § 6. Lakes. § 7. Inhabitants. § 8. Divisions. I. VENETIA and ISTRIA. § 9. Istria. § 10. Boundaries of Venetia. § 11. Rivers. § 12. Inhabitants; Towns; Roads; History. II. GALLIA CISALPINA. § 13. Boundaries; Name. § 14. Rivers. § 15. Inhabitants; Towns; Roads; History. III. LIGURIA. § 16. Boundaries; Physical Features. § 17. Inhabitants; Towns; Roads; History. § 1. THE peninsula of Italia was bounded on the N. by the Alps, on the E. by the Adriatic or Upper Sea, on the W. by the Tyrrhenian or Lower Sea, and on the S. by the open Mediterranean. The precise boundary on the N.E. and N.W. varied in the latter direction it was originally fixed at Tropaa Augusti, where an advancing spur of the Maritime Alps formed a natural division, but by Augustus it was advanced westward to the river Varus, and thus included Nicæa; in the former direction the boundary originally stood at the river Formio, but was afterwards carried on to the Julian Alps and the river Arsia. The general direction of the peninsula is towards the S.E.; its extreme length, from the foot of the Alps to Prom. Leucopetra is about 750 miles; its width varies considerably, the northern portion spreading out into a broad expanse about 350 miles across, while the southern portion has an average width of about 100 miles; its area is estimated at 90,000 square miles. |