in the south of Argolis, "the ox's head;" Buporthmos, near Hermione, "ox-ford "-in which word the latter part probably refers to the narrow channel between its extremity and the island of Aperopia, the former perhaps to the horns of the neighbouring bay; 101 and Mycale, which is derived from the same root as μuxтng, "nostril," and is used to designate a promontory in the same way as næs, ness, in northern countries: 102 from their resemblance to inanimate objects-Zoster," the girdle," in Attica; and Drepanum and Zancle, “the sickle," in Achaia and Sicily. Other peculiarities have suggested other names. From their colour come Leucate in Leucadia and Leucimme in Corcyra, and also Pyrrha, in the northern part of the Pagasaan gulf. From caves and hollows in the rocks-Olmiæ, a projection of Geraneia in the Corinthian gulf, from ὅλμος, a trough or hollow;" Pharygium, or “jaws,” in the south of Phocis; Thyrides, "the windows," as an extraordinary precipitous face of rock to the west of Tænarum, now Cape Grosso, was called in antiquity, 103 << 101 E. Curtius, Peloponnesos, ii. 453, 454. 102 G. Curtius, Gr. Etymol. 148. E. Curtius, Onomatologie, 155. It is true that μUKTηp and similar words are derived from a root signifying "to blow the nose;" but it is likely enough that from this a substantive was derived, signifying the nose itself, and so a projection. 103 The aspirate of this word is not necessarily an objection to this etymology, for if, as G. Curtius (p. 322) thinks, öλμos is derived from ^^w, the aspirate would only represent a lost digamma. from its caverns, which are the resort of innumerable doves; 104 Canastraum, the southernmost point of the peninsula of Pallene, from xávαorgov, "a basket,” in the same way as zúgunos, "a wallet," as being a hollow receptacle, is used as a name for caverns; Lacinium, in Bruttium, from λáxxos, a “hollow or rent;" and Caieta in Italy, the Greek form of which, Καιάτα, is connected with καιάδας, the pit at Sparta, and refers to the vast caverns (σπήλαια ὑπερμεγέθη) which Strabo105 mentions as existing there. From the vegetation and animals-Ampelos, at the extremity of Sithonia; Crithote, from xgion, "barley," in Acarnania; Platanistus, the northern promontory of Cythera; Opus, a headland in the south of Phocis, perhaps from ¿tós, silphium;" Struthus, in the south of Argolis, from the sparrow; and Circæum, in Italy, from the hawk. Some, too, were called from places of worship erected upon them-as Artemisium in Euboea, Poseidium in Epirus, in Phthiotis, and in the peninsula of Pallene, Nymphæum at the extremity of Athos, Æneium in Chalcidice, projecting into the Thermaic gulf, and Eantium in Magnesia. 104 E. Curtius, Peloponnesos, ii. 281. 105 V. 3, § 6. of Greece. LECTURE III. SECONDARY FEATURES OF THE COUNTRY: RIVERS, The Rivers of Greece-Perennial Streams and Torrents-Features The rivers IN describing the geography of an extensive inland country, it would be necessary to give the rivers equal prominence with the mountains, since, while the latter represent the barriers that defend a territory, and separate one tribe from another, the rivers are means of transit and arteries of communication. But in a narrow country like Greece the courses of the streams are not of sufficient length to allow of their attaining any considerable volume, so that none of them are navigable except for boats, and very few even for these. In Thrace and Macedonia, where there is an extensive tract to be drained, we find rivers of greater size-the Hebrus, the Nestus, the Strymon, and the Axius-which last river in particular Homer celebrates for its fertilising water, as "the fairest stream that flows in all the earth ̓Αξιοῦ, οὗ κάλλιστον ὕδωρ ἐπικίδναται αΐαν 1 but even these, though barges are floated down them at the present day, could not be made permanently serviceable without a large outlay of money and labour, owing to the violence of their current. It was rather from the value of their water that the Greek rivers came to be so highly estimated. In that thirsty land, where light-soiled plains filled up the spaces between the stony hills, everything was valued which could refresh the surface and encourage the fertility of the soil. Hence they were called Torapoi, or waters for drinking. It would not be true to say that water was scarce in Greece, because it was eminently a land of fountains; but the need of it was sufficiently great to cause the inhabitants to prize all that they could obtain. To this fact we must refer for the explanation of the sacred character attached to innumerable sources, and the legends attached to every river and every fountain. streams and It may be well at starting to distinguish the Greek Perennial rivers into two kinds, the perennial streams and the torrents. torrents. A river like the Spercheius, which rises at the base of the lofty Typhrestus, and is supplied by tributaries from Othrys and Eta, which flank it on either hand throughout its course, though its volume is diminished during the hot season, never fails 1 Il. ii. 850. G Features of the larger rivers. 3 throughout the year; but with the rivers of Attica this is not the case. The Cephisus, indeed, which is fed by copious sources on the side of Mount Parnes, has a constant supply of water, and Strabo is probably in error, when he speaks of it as having been completely dry in the summer in ancient times;2 but it does not reach the sea, being drawn off into numerous channels for the irrigation of the neighbouring olive groves and gardens; and this would seem to have been the case also in antiquity from Sophocles' description— "the sleepless fountains of Cephisus, which stray forth from their channels” (ἄϋπνοι κρῆναι Κηφισού νομάδες gee@gwv), and accounts for the renowned fertility of the neighbourhood of Colonus and of the Academus. The Ilissus, however, is a mere brook, and notwithstanding its beautiful source in Mount Hymettus, which Ovid has so gracefully described, stands in pools a great part of the year, and during the summer is completely dry. Still more was this the case in the plain of Argos, which Homer has characterised as "very thirsty" (Toλudio), and which still shows the dryness of its soil by its numerous windmills. There the brooks which descend the steep mountainsides are at once sucked in and disappear from sight, and the stony channels remain dry except after violent rains. The rivers on the west side of the Pindus chain, 3 O. C. 685, foll. 2 ix. 1, § 24. 4 Ars. Am. iii. 687. |