or Gates. The city of Alpenus, however, which he EUROPE. describes as the first Locrian city coming from Ma- CHAP. IV. lis, evidently belonged to the Epicnemidii. He also 2 names the Locri Ozolae and their city of Amphissa, Amphissa. which was situated above the Crisaean plain; and the Opuntian Locrians who appeared among the The Opun-" Greek forces at Thermopylae." 4 tian Locri ans. scribed by Enclosed by nian rocks. Spercheius. las. About the bay of Malis lies a plain country, in one Thermopypart wide and in the other very narrow, and around lae as deit are high and impassable mountains, called the Herodotus. Trachinian rocks, which enclose the whole Malian the Trachiterritory. The first city on the bay, in coming from the Thessalian district of Achaia, is Anticyra, by Anticyra. which the river Spercheius flows into the sea. River Twenty stadia farther is the river Dyras, which, River Dyaccording to tradition, gushed forth to assist He- ras. racles when he was burning. Twenty stadia from the Dyras is a third river, called Melas. The city River Meof Trachis is 5 stadia from this river. Near it is Trachis. the widest part of the pass, for the Trachinian rocks Widest and the sea are 22,000 plethra apart. The nar- part. rowest part of the same locality is half a plethrum wide. In the Trachinian mountains which enclose the territory or district of Trachis, there is a ravine Ravine of to the south of the city of Trachis through which Asopus. the river Asopus flows along the declivity.10 Farther on to the south of the Asopus is the Phoenix, a River smaller river, which flows from these mountains into the Asopus. Here, at the river Phoenix, is the nar- Narrowest rowest part of the entire pass, for the road has been made so as only to admit of a single chariot. Fifteen stadia beyond the river Phoenix is Thermopylae, Thermopyand between the two is a village named Anthela, by Anthela. 2 vii. 216. 7 3 viii. 32. 8 • vii. 203. 1 vii. 201. Our author's description of this celebrated pass leading from the Thessalian plain of Malis into the Locrian territory, includes an account of the Malian district. It has not, however, been thought advisable to disunite the narrative for the sake of an arbitrary division of the matter. 6 vii. 198. A palpable mistake of a transcriber, as 22,000 plethra would be 366% stadia, or 90 English miles. Baehr, however, does not know how to correct the blunder. the river Phoenix. part. lae. 8 vii. 199. 9 vii. 176. 10 vii. 199. G Seats of the Amphic EUROPE. which the river Asopus, after receiving the waters of CHAP. IV. the Phoenix, falls into the Maliac Gulf. The counTemple of try about here is more spacious, and contains a temDemeter ple of the Amphictyon Demeter, the seats of the Amphictyons, and the temple of Amphictyon himtyons, etc. self. On the western side of Thermopylae is an inaccessible and precipitous mountain, stretching to Mount Oeta: on the eastern side is the sea and a morass. At the entrance to this passage there are Hot springs. hot springs, or baths, which the inhabitants call Chytri, and above them is an altar to Heracles. In this passage a wall with gates had been formerly built by the Phocians to keep out the Thessalians; and at the same time the Phocians had diverted the hot springs into the entrance in order to render the pass more impracticable. This wall had been built in very ancient times, and in the time of the Persian war the greater part had fallen down from age; the Greeks, however, at that critical moment determined to rebuild it, and then repel the invaders. On a neighbouring hill, apparently to the north of the Stone lion wall, there stood, in the time of Herodotus, the stone to Leonidas. lion to the memory of Leonidas. South of TherAlpenus. mopylae, and near the town of Alpenus, the road Phocian wall and gates. Encampments. 7 5 3 contracts, and will only receive a single chariot." Alpenus is the first Locrian city towards the Malians. Thus the general scene of the pass of Thermopylae, as pictured by Herodotus, may be described as two narrow openings, one near Anthela and the other at Alpenus, having an intermediate mile of enlarged road, and hot springs between them. Xerxes was encamped in the Trachinian territory of Malis, and the Greeks in the pass of Thermopylae. 8 The territory of Malis we may regard as extending to Thermopylae and including Anthela. Locris, as beginning at Thermopylae and including Alpenus. The pass itself led from one territory to the other without actually belonging to either. Formerly it had been a part of Phocis. 2 vii. 200. 3 vii. 176. This glorious spot, where the remnant of the Spartan band made their last stand against the Persians, has been identified in a remarkable hillock a little to the east of the hot springs. Near its base, the indications of the deposited soil are plainly discernible, having all the appearance of a sea beach. 5 vii. 225. 6 vii. 176. 7 vii. 216. The configuration of the coast, the course of the rivers, and the ge The pass of Anopaea, which Ephialtes discovered EUROPE. to Xerxes, began at the ravine through which the CHAP. IV. river Asopus flowed into the Maliac Gulf, and con- Pass of tinuing along the ridge of the mountain which is Anopaca. called by the same name of Anopaea, ended at Alpenus, by the rock of Melampygus, and the seats of the Cercopes, where also the path is narrowest.' The whole of the mountain in this neighbourhood was covered with oaks.2 at Thermo At Thermopylae were the following inscriptions. Inscriptions One was written over the grave of those who fell pylae. before Leonidas dismissed the allies: From Peloponnesus came four thousand men, And on this spot fought with three hundred myriads. Another was placed over the tomb of the Spartans: Go, stranger! tell the Lacedaemonians-here We lie, obedient to their stern commands. The third was inscribed over the tomb of Megistias the augur, by his friend Simonides: The monument of famed Megistias, Slain by the Medes what time they passed the Spercheius: Would not desert the gallant chiefs of Sparta.3 neral local phenomena have now entirely changed; and Thermopylae itself 2 vii. 217. EUROPE. VI. DORIS was a narrow strip of mountainous terCHAP. IV. ritory about 30 stadia broad, and situated between the Malian and Phocian territories. We learn from VI. DORIS. Herodotus that it was anciently called Dryopis, after country of its older inhabitants the Dryopes. It was the mother Topography country of the Dorians of the Peloponnesus,' and conErineus. tained two cities, Pindus and Erineus.2 Mother the Dorians. Pindus. VII. AETO ed notices. 3 VII. AETOLIA is scarcely mentioned by our author. LIA.Scatter- When the Dorians invaded the Peloponnesus, they were accompanied by some Aetolians, who received Elis as their share of the conquest. Males the Aetolian went to Sicyon as a suitor for the hand of the daughter of Cleisthenes. He was the brother of that Titormus, who excelled all the Greeks in strength, but fled from the society of men to the extremity of the Aetolian territory.* VIII. A- islands. VIII. ACARNANIA was watered by the river Achelous, which flowed through this country and fell into Achelous. the sea. In the time of Herodotus the Achelous had Echinades converted one-half of the islands of the Echinades into continent." Acarnania contained the city of Anactorium Anactorium, which in conjunction with the Leucadians sent 800 men to Plataea. The Teleboans also are mentioned in a Cadmean inscription on a tripod in the temple of the Ismenian Apollo in the Boeotian Thebes." Teleboa. IX. THES SALY. General description. Thessaly IX. THESSALY Proper is an irregular square plain, shut in on every side by mountain barriers-the Cambunian range on the north, Ossa and Pelion on the east, Othrys on the south, and the Pindus range on the west. In addition to this great plain, two other districts were included under the general name of Thessaly one called Magnesia, a narrow strip of land running from Tempe to the Pegasacan Gulf; the other being a long narrow valley drained by the river Spercheius, and running along the south of Thessaly Proper, between Othrys and the range of Mount Ŏeta. From the earliest times the plain of Thessaly Proper was divided into four districts or 1 viii. 31. 2 viii. 43. 3 viii. 73. Comp. page 45. Histiaeotis, Phthiotis, Two other Malis. account. lake en Ossa, Olym Peneus, Onochonus, tetrarchies, viz. Histiaeotis in the north, Pelas- EUROPE. giotis in the east, Phthiotis in the south, and Thes- CHAP. IV. saliotis in the interior.' The other two districts were as already mentioned: Magnesia east of Mount Pelasgiotis, Ossa and Pelion, and Malis south of Mount Othrys. and Thessa The great plain of Thessaly is watered by the Pe- liotis. neus and its tributaries; the southern valley between districts Othrys and Oeta is drained by the Spercheius. Magnesia, Herodotus gives us a very graphic and spirited Herodotus's account of the physical geography of Thessaly. According to a tradition it was anciently a lake Anciently a enclosed on all sides by lofty mountains. On closed by the east were the united bases of Pelion and Ossa; Pelion and on the north was Mount Olympus; on the west was pus, Pindus, Pindus; and on the south was Othrys. The vale of and Othrys; Thessaly was thus a hollow space shaped like a caldron. From these surrounding mountains numerous formed by rivers flowed into Thessaly. The most celebrated the rivers were the Peneus, the Apidanus, the Onochonus, the Apidanus, Enipeus, and the Pamisus. Of all the rivers in Enipeus, Thessalia Proper, the Onochonus was the only stream and Lake whose waters were exhausted by the Persian armies ; but none of the rivers in the Thessalian district of Achaia, not even the Apidanus, or Epidanus,' which was the largest, could hold out. The five rivers meet together in the plain, and discharge themselves through one narrow ravine into the sea, but after their union they are called by the one name of Peneus. In ancient times, before this ravine or outlet existed, these rivers, together with the lake called Boebeis, made the whole of Thessaly a sea. Thessalians say that the outlet was formed by Posei- Temp don, and Herodotus thinks that all who believe that an earthearthquakes are the works of this deity will be of the same opinion, as the separation of the mountains was evidently effected by an earthquake. On this account Xerxes commended the prudence of the Thes1 The territory of Pelasgiotis is not mentioned by Herodotus, who seems to include it in the district of Thessaliotis (i. 57). 2 vii. 129. 4 5 3 Called 'Amidavòç (vii. 129), and 'Hπıdavòç (vii. 196). 5 vii. 129. Pamisus, Boebeis. The Outlet at * vii. 196. formed by quake. |