Octavius, B. C. 36, a. u. c. 718. In the interior of the country, and nearly in its centre, was the plain of Enna, from which Proserpine was carried away by Pluto to the shades below. (See Ovid, Met. V. 341.) Enna is now called Castro Janni, or Giovanni. Each of the promontories of Sicily had a celebrated temple. At Pelorum was that of Neptune; at Pachynum that of Apollo; and near Lilybæum that of Venus, on Mount Eryx. The antients fabled that the giant Typhoeus was buried under Sicily, Pelorum and Pachynum being placed on each arm, Lilybæum on his feet, and Ætna on his head, and that the earthquakes and eruptions of Etna were caused by his attempts to move. * North of Sicily are some volcanic islands, called the Insulæ Æoliæt, Vulcaniæt, and Lipareæ, from Æolus and Vulcan, who were supposed to have their dwellings here, and Lipara, the principal island. Here were the forges of * Vasta giganteis injecta est insula membris Trinacris; et magnis subjectum molibus urget Nititur ille quidem, pugnatque resurgere sæpe; Oppidaque et magnos evolvere corpore montes: Ovid, Met. V. 346. † Nimborum in patriam, loca fœta furentibus Austris, Vulcan, described by the poets, particularly by Homer and Virgil. Below Sicily were the islands of Melite, now Malta, and Gaulus, or Gozo, adjacent to it. North-west of Sicily are the two islands of Corsica and Sardinia. (Pl. VIII.) The former lies under Liguria, and was peopled by the Ligurians, and colonized by the Carthaginians, from whom it was taken by the Romans, B. C. 231, A. U. C. 523. Its yew trees gave a poisonous quality to the honey.* The Greeks called it Cyrnos. It had two colonies, Mariana planted by Marius, and Aleria by Sylla. Above Mariana was Mantinorum Oppidum, now Bastia. On the western coast was the Casalus Sinus, thought to be Calvi; and a little below it was Urcinium, now Ajaccio, said to have been founded by Eurysaces, the son of Ajax. Below Corsica is Sardinia, called by the Greeks Ichnusa, from its fancied resemblance to the print of a foot. It derived its name from Sardus, the son of Hercules, chief of an African colony planted there. It was taken by the Romans with Corsica. These islands are separated by a strait about 7 miles broad, called Taphros or Fossa, now the Straits of Bonifacio. The air of Sardinia was considered very unwholesome, and the quantity of wormwood and bitter herbs it produced, particularly a species of ranunculus, was proverbial.† As the features were contracted by the taste of these, the expression Sardous risus, a Sardonic smile, was used to signify a malevolent grin. The principal towns were Olbia, in the north, and near the northern extremity of the island Tibulæ. In the south was Caralis, now Cagliari. The little island of Ilva, now Elba, lying between the * Hence Virgil: Sic mea Cyrnæas fugiant examina taxos. † Immo ego Sardois videor tibi amarior herbis. Ecl. IX. 30. Virg. Ect. VII. 41. northern point of Corsica and Etruria has gained celebrity in this century as the temporary residence of Napoleon. Its iron mines were well known to the ancients.* Ilva Insula inexhaustis Chalybum generosa metallis. Virg. Æn. X. 172. CHAP. IV. BRITANNIA ANTIQUA. A. G. Plate II. GREAT BRITAIN was known to the antients under the names of Britannia and Albion. The coasts of Cornwall and the Cassiterides, or Scilly Isles, were visited by the Carthaginians. The Romans, however, were chiefly indebted for their knowledge of the country to the wars of Julius Cæsar and his successors. Cæsar invaded Britain in the year 55 B. C., and his expedition in the next year, B. C. 54, was little more than a predatory incursion as far as the Thames. The subjugation of Britain was effected in the course of the ensuing century, and completed in the reign of Domitian, A. D. 81, by Cn. Agricola, who extended the Roman province to the Forth and Clyde. Beyond this it seems never to have reached. The mountains of Britain are little noticed by the antients. The chief promontories on the east coast were Ocellum, or Spurn Head, at the mouth of the Humber; and Cantium Promontorium, or North Foreland. On the south, Vendelia was Portland Bill; Ocrinum, Lizard Point; and Bolerium, or Antivestæum, Land's End. Upon the west coast were Herculis Promontorium, or Hartland Point; Octapitarum, or St. David's Head; Ganganorum Promontorium, or Braich y Pwll, at the extremity of Carnarvonshire; and Novantum, or the Mull of Galloway. The estuaries following the same order were Bodotria, or the Firth of Forth; Abus, or the Humber; Metaris Estuarium, or The Wash; and Thamesis Ostia, or the mouth of the Thames. On the south, Tamari Ostia was Plymouth Sound; and on the west, Sabrina Estuarium, the Bristol Channel; Seteia, the mouth of the Dee; Belisama, the Mersey; Moricambe, Morecambe Bay; Itunæ Estuarium, the Solway Firth; and Glottæ Estuarium, the Clyde. Most of the rivers have been named in the above enumeration of the estuaries. We may, however, add the Alaunus or Tueda, the Tweed; Tisa, the Tees; Aufona, the Nen; Abona, the Somersetshire Avon; and Antona, the Avon of Worcestershire. As Britain appears to have been peopled by successive migrations from the coast of Gaul, it will be most natural to begin by describing the parts nearest to that country. Divided from Gaul by the Fretum Gallicum, or Straits of Dover, were the Cantii, or people of Kent, whose principal harbour was Rutupiæ, or Richborough, where the Romans generally landed. Even in the days of Juvenal the oysters of Richborough were imported into Italy.* Durovernum, or Daruenum, was Canterbury; Durobrivæ, Rochester; Dubris, Dover. A little below Dover was Portus Lemanis, or Lymne, where Cæsar is thought to have landed. in his first expedition, having set out from Portus Itius in Gaul, a little south of Calais. South-west of the Cantii were the Regni in Surrey, Sussex, and part of Hampshire, whose principal city Neomagus, or Noviomagus, is placed at Holwood, near Croydon, in Surrey. Regnum was Chichester. West of the Regni were the Belgæ, whose name indicates that they passed from Gallia Belgica into Britain. They inhabited Wiltshire, Somerset, and part of Circæis nata forent, an Lucrinum ad saxum, Rutupinove edita fundo Juv. Sat. IV. 140. |