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[German version] [1] Town in northeastern Sicily This item can be found on the following maps: Sicily | Socii (Roman confederation) | | Commerce | Italy, languages | Colonization | Punic Wars | Punic Wars (Μεσσάνα/ Messána, Ionian Μεσσήνη/ Messḗnē, Lat. Messana). Town in northeastern Sicily, modern Messina. The original name Zancle (Ζάγκλη/ Zánklē = Siculan: ‘sickle’) is derived from the topographically suggestive shape of the natural harbour (Thuc. 6,4,5). Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) [German version] A. Foundation The site was settled at an early time because of its o…

(Δαίδαλα; Daídala). [German version] [1] Fortified settlement north-west of Telmessus This item can be found on the following maps: Lycii, Lycia Fortified settlement north-west of Telmessus in the border region between Lycia and Caria, the eastern part of the Rhodian Peraea [2. 54-57, 97f.]. References: Str. 14,2,2; 3,1; Liv. 37,22,3; Steph. Byz. s.v. D.; Plin. HN 5,103. D. is identified with the ruins of Inlice Asarı [1. 32f.]; for location cf. Ptol. 5,3; Stadiasmos maris magni 256f.; inscriptions are lacking (orig…

(Ληθαῖος; Lēthaîos). [German version] [1] Tributary of the Peneius Left-hand tributary of the Peneius in north-west Thessalia, flows through Tricca (Paus. 14,139), modern Trikkalinos. Kramolisch, Herwig (Eppelheim) Bibliography F. Stählin, Das hellenische Thessalien, 1924, 121. [German version] [2] River in southern Crete River in southern Crete, which flows through Gortyn from north to south (Str. 10,4,11), modern Mitropolianos. Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) [German version] [3] Tributary of the Maiander Right-hand tributary of the Maeander (river god: coins o…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Dark Ages | Mycenaean culture and archaeology | Delian League (Κάμιρος; Kámiros, Lat. Camirus). City on the western coast of  Rhodes near the modern Kalavarda; it was one of the three ancient Rhodian cities, together with  Ialysus and  Lindus (this configuration is already mentioned in Hom. Il. 2,656). According to the evidence of grave finds, C. was already inhabited in Mycenaean times. Its true foundation was by Dorian settlers. Together with Ialysus and …

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Crete (Ἱεράπυτνα; Hierápytna). Town on Crete, modern Ierapetra, at the narrowest point of the island between eastern and central Crete (Str. 10,4,3). In the Hellenistic period a significant political player as attested by several treaties primarily from the 2nd half of the 3rd cent. BC with other Cretan towns (Praesus, Itanus, Gortyn, Lyttus, Lato) [1]. There were links to powers outside Crete (Macedonia, Rhodes, Pergamum: Stv III 502; 551; Syll.3 627). An aggressive territorial policy in eastern Crete, especial…

(Ζεφύριον/ Zephýrion). Name used especially in the eastern Mediterranean region for foothills and the cities near them that are exposed to the west wind (Zephyrus). Kaletsch, Hans (Regensburg) [German version] [1] Cape on the north eastern coast of Crete Cape on the north-eastern coast of Crete (Ptol. 3,17,5), probably modern Cape Agios Ioannis at the north-eastern end of the Gulf of Mirabello. Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) [German version] [2] Cape on the south western coast of Cyprus (or Ζεφυρία/ Zephyría). Cape on the south-western coast of Cyprus. According to Ptol. 5…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Hellenistic states | Crete | Apollo (Ἴτανος; Ítanos). Port in the extreme north-east of Crete, between two acropoleis, modern Erimupolis. Traces of settlement date as far back as the Minoan period. In the 7th cent. BC, Corobius, a purple fisher from I., allegedly led colonists from  Thera to  Cyrene (Hdt. 4,151). In the Hellenistic period, it served as the Aegean base of the Ptolemies [1]. In 112 BC, rivalries with  Hierapytna were mediated on Roman i…

(Ἀμύκλαι; Amýklai). [German version] [1] Pre-Greek settlement This item can be found on the following maps: Sparta | Dark Ages | Aegean Koine Pre-Greek settlement on and at the foot of the hills bearing the chapel of Agia Kyriaki, inhabited from the early Helladic to the imperial Roman period (Paus. 3,18,6-19,6; IG V 1, 515), c. 5 km south of  Sparta near the modern Tsausi. In historical times, it was a ὠβή ( ōbḗ) of Sparta with its own ephors and other officials (cf. Syll.3 932). The region seems to have reached its peak in the 7th/6th cent. BC. From the late Mycenaean period, it housed a sa…

[German version] (Λυκόρμας; Lykórmas). Earlier name of the river Evenus [3] in Aetolia (Str. 7,7,8; 10,2,5). The L. plays a part in the story of the rape of Marpessa [1], the daughter of Evenus by Alcippe (Hom. Il. 9,555ff.; Ov. Met. 2,245; Bacchyl. 15,34). Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography B. Snell, Bakchylides' Marpessa-Gedicht, in: Hermes 80, 1952, 156-163.

(Θεράπναι/ Therápnai). [German version] [1] City in Crete City in Crete, probably in the central north (presumably between Eleutherna and Cydonia; [cf. 1. 198]), reckoned one of the island's more important towns (Mela 2,113; Plin. HN 4,59). Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography 1 P. Faure, La Crète aux cents villes, in: Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 13, 1959, 171-217. [German version] [2] Place in Laconia This item can be found on the following maps: Sparta Cult site in Laconia (Laconica) on the left bank of the Eurotas, c. 2 km to the southeast of Sparta on a foothill of the Parnon…

This item can be found on the following maps: Achaemenids | Theatre | Dark Ages | Mycenaean culture and archaeology | Persian Wars | Delian League | Education / Culture (Λίνδος; Líndos). [German version] A. Topography Town on the eastern coast of Rhodes in an exposed topographical situation, with an acropolis rising steeply (116m) from the sea and a natural twin harbour. The territory of L. extended to more than half of the island. L. held land in Asia Minor (Physcus). Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) [German version] B. History Together with Ialysus and Camirus, L. formed the triad…

[German version] Tribe of the northern Adriatic (Dalmatia), in Hecat. FGrH 1 F 62 neighbours but in Plin. HN 1,139 part of the Liburni (together with the Himani, Encheleae, Peucetti). The M. were later ruled by the Iapodes. Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography G. Alföldy, Bevölkerung u. Ges. der röm. Prov. Dalmatia, 1965 J. J. Wilkes, Dalmatia, 1969.

[German version] (Νέστοι/ Néstoi). Tribe, probably Thracian or Illyrian, of the north-eastern Adriatic, with territory between the Nestus and the Naro (Ps.-Scyl. 23f.; Apoll. Rhod. 4,1215: Νεσταῖοι/ Nestaîoi). Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography J.J. Wilkes, Dalmatia, 1969, 7.

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Crete | Macedonia, Macedones | Pompeius (Λάππα; Láppa). Town in western Crete (Str. 10,4,3) near the modern village of Argyropolis. Involved in the internal Cretan conflicts of the Lyttian War in 220 BC (Pol. 4,53-55). L. concluded an alliance with Gortyn around 200 BC, acknowledging the supremacy of its eastern neighbour [1. no. 31, p. 265-267]. In 183 BC, L. was one of the 30 Cretan towns to unite in a coalition with Eumenes II [2. 179]. In 67 BC, L. was destroyed by the Romans. Under Augustus, L. received the privileged status of a ci…

[German version] The Tyrrhenian Sea, the western part of the Mediterranean Sea ( Mare Nostrum), bordered by the Italian west coast, the Sicilian north coast and by Corsica and Sardinia. The name goes back to the Greek name of the Etruscans (Τυρσανοί/ Tyrsanoí; Τυρσηνικὸν πέλαγος/ Tyrsēnikòn pélagòs in Thuc. 4,24). The Romans spoke of the Tuscum mare (Varro, Rust. 3,9,17; Cic. Orat. 3,19,69; Liv. 5,33,8) or, in contrast to the mare superum (Adriatic), of the mare inferum (Cic. Att. 9,5,1). Before Roman rule was established in the Punic Wars, the Mare Tyrrhenum was freque…

[German version] (Ὄαξος/ Óaxos, Ἄξος/ Áxos). Mountain town in northern central Crete bordering on the region of Tylissus, c. 30 km to the south of Heraklion and called Axos in later sources (Steph. Byz. s.v. Ἄ.). O. was situated on the northern foothills of the Ida mountain range, on a steep acropolis with few archaeological remains (walls). Already inhabited in late Minoan times, O. had developed since the 8/7 cents. BC into a significant town whose building fabric is preserved today only in a rudimentary form. …

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Achaemenids | Writing | Christianity | Coloniae | Dark Ages | Grain Trade, Grain Import | Crete | Apollo | Linear B | Macedonia, Macedones | Mycenaean culture and archaeology | Natural catastrophes | Aegean Koine | Aegean Koine | Aegean Koine | Education / Culture | Mineral Resources (Κνωσός; Knōsós; in later practice the spelling is Κνωσσός/ Knōssós; Latin usually Gnosos or Gnosus). City in central Crete, about 5 km south-east of Heraklion on the western bank of the river Caeratus; settlement already too…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Crete (Ῥίθυμνα/ Rhíthymna). City on the northwest coast of Crete (Plin. HN 4,59), modern Rethymnon, settled already in the Minoan period (temple and necropolis in the south of the city). Its temporary renaming as Arsinoe (after the wife of Ptolemaeus [7] IV) in the 3rd century BC indicates Ptolemaic influence. No remains from the Classical and Hellenistic periods survive, but one building from the late Roman period does. Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography M. Guarducci, Inscriptiones Creticae 2, 268-277  I. F. San…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Coloniae Town in  Apulia on the via Traiana (Tab. Peut. 6,3), modern Troia. In the Second Punic War, it was at times allied with Hannibal, 214 BC recaptured by Rome (Liv. 24,20,5). In the later imperial period colonia Augusta Apula Aecae. Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography Nissen 2, 844 L. Vendola, Su alcune iscrizioni latine di Aecae (Troia), in: Annali della Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia di Bari 27/28, 1984/85, 23-39.

[German version] (Τίτυρος; Títyros). Extended headland in the northwest of Crete on the Rodopou peninsula, about 16 km long and 6 km wide, with a sanctuary to Dictynna in the extreme north (Str. 10,4,12). Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography M. Guarducci (ed.), Inscriptiones Creticae vol. 2, 1939, 129 f.  D. Gondicas, Recherches sur la Crète occidentale, 1988, 286.

[German version] For the whole of antiquity there are numerous reports of natural catastrophes (NC). Especially in the eastern Mediterranean, but also in Italy, tectonic conditions resulted in an extraordinary susceptibility for frequently disastrous seismic activity (earthquakes and resulting tsunami, volcanic eruptions). The ancient perception was that phenomena such as storms, epidemics, rains of stones, comets (Cic. Nat. deor. 2,14) and solar and lunar eclipses (e.g. Plut. Nicias 23; Eclipses) were also in the category of NC. Earthquakes (cf. map) …

This item can be found on the following maps: Writing | Theatre | Byzantium | Commerce | Hellenistic states | Asia Minor | Colonization | Natural catastrophes | Peloponnesian War | Pergamum | Pompeius | Rome | Rome | Athletes | Athenian League (Second) | Aegean Koine | Aegean Koine | Education / Culture (Ῥόδος; Rhódos). [German version] I. Geography Island in the southeastern Aegean Sea, off the southwestern coast of Asia Minor, now part of the Dodecanese archipelago, with an area of 1400 km2. A good part of the ancient history of the island was shaped by its geographical situ…

[German version] (Μετεών; Meteṓn). Town of the Illyrian Labeates in the territory of Labeatis (Pol. 29,3; Liv. 44,23,3; 32,3), near modern Podgorica (Montenegro). M. achieved political significance in 168 BC as the meeting place of Pantauchus, an emissary of the Macedonian king Perseus, and the Illyrian prince Genthius (Pol. loc.cit.; Liv. loc.cit.). Towers of the 3rd-cent. BC town walls are preserved; no systematic excavations. Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography J. J. Wilkes, Dalmatia, 1969, 26f., 166.

This item can be found on the following maps: Theatre | Natural catastrophes | Pompeius | Delian League | Athenian League (Second) | Aegean Koine | Aegean Koine | Education / Culture (Κῶς; Kôs, Lat. Cos). [German version] I. Geography and settlement Island in the eastern Aegean, off the south-west coast of Asia Minor, the second largest of the Doric islands (298 km2). A fertile plain in the north contrasts with a barren, sparsely populated mountainous area in the south (highest elevation the Oromedon, 850 m; in the south-west the Latra, 425 m). In the Neolithic period (finds in a cav…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Crete (τὰ Φαλάσαρνα; tà Phalásarna). Port city in the NW of Crete (Str. 10,4,2; Plin. HN 4,59) with topographically striking, steep acropolis, present-day Koutri. Historical reports start with an alliance treaty concluded with the neighbouring polis Polyrrhenia as a result of mediation by Sparta at the beginning of the 3rd cent. BC [1. no. 1, pp. 179-181]. At the behest of the Romans, P. regained its previously lost autonomy from Cydonia (Pol. 22,1…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Venetic | | Coloniae A city on the western coast of Histria, the modern Poreč. Illyrian settlement is attested as early as the late Bronze Age. In the wake of the Roman occupation in the 2nd cent. BC, a castrum was built on the coastal road. P. later became one of the oppida Histriae civium Romanorum (Plin. HN 3,129). Raised by the future Augustus to the status of a municipium, P. became colonia Iulia Parentium, tribus Lemonia under Tiberius (AD 14-37). P. developed into an important trading centre, and also had fertil…

[German version] (ἡ ἔρημος/ érēmos, ἡ ἐρημία/ erēmía, τὰ ἔρημα/ érēma; Lat. deserta, regio deserta). In geographical terms the arid desert zones were part of the marginal areas of the Ancient World (North Africa, the Middle East with Syria, Palestine, Arabia). Politically and to a greater extent economically they, had close relationships to the Graeco-Roman cultural sphere. A large part of the east-west trade devolved over long-distance routes across the Arabian deserts. Desert towns such as Ḥatra [1], Palmyr…

[German version] (Λισσήν; Lissḗn). Locality on Crete with uncertain geographical position primarily because of unclear information from the scholiasts ad Hom. Od. 3,293, probably modern Cape Lithinos. Affiliation with Phaestus in Str. 10,4,4 (only by conjecture) and Steph. Byz. s.v. Φαιστός. Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography P. Faure, La Crète aux cents villes, in: Kretika Chronika 13, 1959, 190.

(Μαρσύας; Marsýas). [German version] [1] Phrygian rivergod and Celaenae's god of protection Phrygian river god and Celaenae's god of protection, represented as satyr or silenus. The name is derived from a toponym that can be found repeatedly throughout Asia Minor and Syria; the river, at the source of which Celaenae lies, also carries this name (M. [5]). M. was considered the discoverer of flute playing ( aulós), the inventor of the bandage used for flute playing ( phorbeiá) and of songs for the worship of the goddess Cybele. According to the myth, the possibility to pla…

[German version] Region around the town of  Capua that the Romans confiscated in the Second Punic War in 211 BC, because Capua had gone over to Hannibal (Liv. 23,7). Since then   ager publicus populi Romani (Liv. 26,16,8), covering a total area of about 500 km2 [1. 36-38]. Rome thus gained control over one of Italy's most fertile areas (Liv. 26,26,7). In 209 BC, it was leased out by the censors (Liv. 27,11,8). In order to refill the Roman public purse after the strains of war, parts of the AC were sold off in 205 and in 199 BC (from the fossa Graeca to  Cyme: Liv. 28,46,4, or rather the area at…

[German version] (Ἴμβρασος; Ímbrasos). River on Samos (Plin. HN 5,135), in ancient times also referred to as Parthenius (Str. 10,2,17), near the temple of Hera, modern Imvrasos. Ancient tradition holds that Hera was born under the lygos tree (chaste-tree) on the shore of the I. (Paus. 7,4,4; Apoll. Rhod. 1,187), a legend which repeatedly gave rise to cultic activities in the water of the I. Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography E. Buschor, I., in: MDAI(A) 68, 1953 (1956), 1-10 H. J. Kienast, Zum heiligen Baum der Hera auf Samos, in: MDAI(A) 106, 1991, 71-80 G. Shipley, A History …

(Ἡράκλειον; Hērákleion). [German version] [1] Town on Crete's northern coast Town on Crete's northern coast, modern Iraklion. In a legal support agreement with Miletus (259/250 BC) H. appears as a sovereign town allied with  Knossos (Stv III 482 I) [1]. H. was in the 1st cent. BC, probably in succession to Amnisus, the port town of Knossos (Str. 10,4,7f.) and probably subject to it (cf. Str. 10,5,1). Based on Plin. HN 4,59, it was presumed that H. also bore the name Mation [2]. However, the consensus is that Pliny misunderstood his Greek source (πολισμάτιον Ἡ.; polismátion H., ‘the little…

[German version] After the conquest by Q. Caecilius Metellus (69-67 BC; Liv. per. 100; Plut. Pompey 29),  Crete was organized as a double province together with  Cyrenae (Roman province since 74 BC), ( C. et C.). A short-term separation between the two occurred as a result of M. Antonius' declaration of independence (43 BC). In 27 BC, Augustus re-established the old order (senatorial province). The seat of the government was  Gortyne. After the Diocletian reorganization, the double province was dissolved (Cyrenae went to Libya Pe…

This item can be found on the following maps: Pergamum | Aegean Koine | Aegean Koine (Λέσβος; Lésbos, Lat. Lesbus; Hittite Lazba). [German version] A. Geography Island in the north-eastern Aegean, with an area extent of 1,630 km2 the third-largest Greek island after Crete and Euboea. Characteristic topographical features are two bays that extend deep into the interior of the island: in the south the Gulf of Hiero (modern Yera), in the west the Gulf of Pyrrha (modern Kalloni). The highest elevations are Lepetymnos (838 m) in the nor…

[German version] Spring (also ad caput Ferentinum, Liv. 2,38,1) in  Latium, probably on the southern slopes of   Mons Albanus , in the lucus Ferentinae (Liv. 1,50,1). Until the middle of the 4th cent. BC a place of assembly of the  Latini (Liv. 1,50,1; 2,38,1; 7,25,5; Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 3,45; 51; 4,45; 5,61). According to Roman annalists (Liv. 1,51,9), Turnus Herdonius was drowned here at the instigation of Tarquinius Superbus. Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography Nissen 2, 558 A. Alföldi, Das frühe Rom und die Latiner, 1977, 34-36.

[German version] Island off the coast of Campania in the southern part of the Gulf of Naples (today Capri). Verg. Aen. 7,735 provides a legendary link of an early Greek settlement with  Telon and the  Teleboae: Serv. Aen. 7,735; Tac. Ann. 4,67. The Greeks linked both settlement centres (modern Capri, Anacapri) by a flight of steps which, in parts, are still usable today (Scala Fenicia). In 29 BC, Augustus acquired C. from Neapolis in exchange for Aenaria ( Pithecussae; Suet. Aug. 92; Cass. Dio 52,…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Crete | Aegean Koine (Τυλισσός/ Tylissós). City in central Crete, 13 km to the southwest of Heracleum [1] at modern T.; settlement evidently of considerable size from the early Minoan period. From the late Minoan period, there are three richly furnished houses of at least two storeys which afford an impression of superior domestic comfort. There is also evidence of settlement continuity for the Mycenaean period. In the Archaic period, a sanctuary to…

(Δρέπανον; Drépanon). Name of several foothills; the external shape of the mountain may have given rise to the name D. (‘sickle’). [German version] [1] Vorgebirge an der Nordküste von Westkreta On the north coast of western Crete (Ptol. 3,15,5), known in antiquity and today as D. Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Lienau, Cay (Münster) Bibliography M. Guarducci, Inscript. Cret. 2,10. [German version] [2] Nördlichster Vorsprung der Peloponnesos in den Korinth. Golf Northernmost outcrop of the Peloponnese into the Corinthian Gulf, 7 km north-east of Rhion (with which i…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Theatre (also Herdonia: Str. 6,3,7; Sil. Pun. 8,567; App. Hann. 48; Ptol. 3,1,72; Herdonea: Liv. 25,21,1; 27,1,6). City in Apulia ( regio II: Plin. HN 3,105; CIL IX 689f.; 1156; It. Ant. 116,2), modern Ordona, on the via Minucia (Str. 6,3,7; Plin. HN 2,244), starting-point of the roads to Beneventum, Aeclanum, and Ausculum. After the battle of Cannae (216 BC), H. switched allegiance to Hannibal, and until 210 BC, it was frequently involved in the disputes of the Second Punic War. H…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Achaemenids | Grain Trade, Grain Import | Hellenistic states | Crete | Macedonia, Macedones | Mycenaean culture and archaeology | Peloponnesian War | Persian Wars | Pompeius | Aegean Koine | Aegean Koine | Aegean Koine (Κυδωνία; Kydonía). Town in north-western Crete, now Chania, according to Str. 10,4,7 the third biggest town on the island (cf. Flor. 1,42,4). According to legend, its establishment can be traced back to  Minos and his son Cydon (Diod. Sic. 5,78,2; Paus. 8,53,4). Th…

(Νέστος/ Néstos, Μέστος/ Méstos, Νέσσος/ Néssos). [German version] [1] River in Thrace River in Thrace which rises in the Rila mountain range, (according to mistaken classical belief from the Scomius mountains, the present-day Vitoša Mountains, : Aristot. Mete. 1,13,350b 16f.) and after 234 km flows through the swampy delta area near Abdera [1] and into the Aegean (Hdt. 7,109; Theophr. Hist. pl. 3,1,5; Ps.-Skyl. 67). N. is already known as a river god in Hes. Theog. 341. In Roman times, N. was the border between the provinces of Macedonia and Thracia. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Biss…

This item can be found on the following maps: Theatre | Christianity | Dark Ages | Grain Trade, Grain Import | Hellenistic states | Hellenistic states | Crete | Apollo | Limes | Macedonia, Macedones | Pompeius | Rome | Rome | Education / Culture [German version] I. Location One of the biggest and most important cities of Crete, in the Mesara plain on the river Lethaeus, between the villages of Agi Deka and Mitropolis, 16 km (Str. 10,4,7: 90 stadia) from the Libyan Sea, also transmitted as Gortyna and Gortyne. Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) [German version] II. Historical development The earli…

(Φοῖνιξ/ Phoînix, Latin Phoenix). Persons P. [1-4], the mythical P. bird [5], the date palm P. [6], geographical locations P. [7-9]. [German version] [1] Mythical king of Sidon or Tyrus Mythical king of Sidon or Tyrus, son of Agenor [1] and Telephassa (Apollod. 3,2-4), brother of Europe [2],  Cadmus [1] and Cilix, according to others also their father (Hom. Il. 14, 321); other children: Phineus (Apoll. Rhod. 2, 178), Carne (Antoninus Liberalis 40). Eponym of the Phoenicians and the Poeni ( Poeni; cf. Phoenicians, Poeni). Käppel, Lutz (Kiel) [German version] [2] Son of Amyntor Son of Amyn…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Crete | Apollo (Λύκτος/ Lýktos, Λύττος/ Lýttos, Latin Lyctus). Important Doric city in eastern Crete with a wide territory, in the interior of the country on a ridge of the Lassithi Massif. The older form of the name is Lyctus (in this form already around 1380 BC on an Egyptian list of place names), whilst the more recent and more common form is Lyttus. Pol. 4,54,6 describes L. as the oldest city in Crete. In Homer (Hom. Il. 2,647; 17,611) L. is a participant in the Trojan War; with a close connection to Sp…

[German version] (Ὤλερος; Ṓleros). Location in eastern Crete from which most of the population probably migrated to the newly founded Hierapytna in the 4th cent. BC. Afterwards O. was a cultic center for Athena Oleria [1]. It can be located at modern Meseleri. There are no ancient remains there. Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography 1 A. Chaniotis, Die Verträge zwischen kretischen Poleis in der hellenistischen Zeit, 1996, no. 74,8. C. Bursian, Geographie von Griechenland, vol. 2, 1868, 579  H. van Effenterre, Die von den Grenzen der ostkretischen Poleis eingeschlosse…

[German version] (also Egnatia, Ignatia). Peucetic port town in Apulia between Barium and Brundisium (Str. 6,3,7; Ptol. 3,1,15; in Sallentino oppido G., Plin. HN 2,240) on the via Minucia (Tab. Peut. 6,5). Station on Horace's journey to Brundisium, who mocks alleged incense miracles in Sat. 1,5,97-100 (cf. Plin. loc. cit.). Ruins near modern Torre d'Egnazia (land wall, necropoleis, basilicas). Remains of Oriental cults (ILS 4178: Sacerdos Matris Magnae et Suriae deae et sacrorum Isidis). Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography Nissen, 860.

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Crete (Ἐλευθέρνα; Eleuthérna). City in central Crete on the northern slopes of the Ida range, settled from the late Minoan period. Some vestiges have survived near the mod. village of Prinès (cisterns, town walls, bridge, Byzantine tower). In around 260 BC, E. joined the isopoliteia of Miletus with Cnossus, Gortyn, Phaestus and their allies [2. 482]. In c. 225 BC, the city entered into an alliance with the Macedonian king Antigonus [2] Gonatas [1. 20; 2. 501]. In 220 BC, as a consequence of disputes…

[German version] (Χάλκη; Chálkē). Island off the north coast of Rhodes (29 km2). The polis of C. (remains of acropolis, temple to Apollo, necropolis) belonged to Rhodian Camirus. During the 5th cent. BC a member of the Delian League. Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography P. M. Fraser, G. E. Bean, The Rhodian Peraea and Islands, 1954, 144f.

[German version] According to Str. 5,2,9 a settlement on the   via Flaminia between Oriculi (modern Otricoli) and Rome, possibly identical with  Falerii (Str. loc. cit.). On the Tab. Peut. 5,4 ( Aequo Falsico) east of the Tiberis [1. 320]. Uncertain connection with the Aequi Falisci (Verg. Aen. 7,695; Sil. 8,490). Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography 1 Miller 2 Nissen, 2, 364.

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Linear B | Aegean Koine Minoan palace on Crete, on the northern coast c. 40 km east of Heraklion, with two harbour bays. The relatively low level of ancient building on top of the site and of later reconstruction makes genuine insight into Minoan palace architecture possible. Like the palaces of Knossos, Phaestus and Zakros, the buildings are grouped around a large central court. The history of the palace with its individual building phases also corresponds…

(Νάπη/ Nápē, ‘wooded gorge, valley’). [German version] [1] Settlement on Lesbos Settlement on Lesbos, in the territory of Methymna, with a temple of Apollo Napaios (Str. 9,4,5; Steph. Byz. s.v. N.). N. cannot be precisely located. The temple, however, may have been the cultic site to the west of the modern village of Napi in the district of Klopedi. Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography H.-G. Buchholz, Methymna: Archäologische Beiträge zur Geschichte und Topographie von Nordlesbos, 1966, 206f.  W. Günther, s.v. N., in: Lauffer, Griechenland, 454f. [German version] [2] In Att…

[German version] (Μύκονος; Mýkonos). Island in the  Cyclades (Plin. HN 4,66) with an area of 88 km2, barren, rocky, poor in water, hilly, but without very high mountains (the highest elevation amounts to just 390 m). The earliest settlement was in the late Neolithic (beginning of the 3rd millennium BC; Bay of Panormos in the north). An early Cycladic settlement (after 2600 BC) was on the peninsula of Anavolousa in the southwest. There were two urban centres on M. (Skyl. 58; cf. Syll.3 1024): near Palaiokastro to the southeast of the Bay of Panormos (from the middle of the B…

(Ἀρέθουσα; Aréthousa). Frequent name for springs. [German version] [1] Spring on Homer's Ithaca Spring on Homer's  Ithaca, where the swine of  Eumaeus graze (Hom. Od. 13,408; Plut. Mor. 776 E; Steph. Byz. s. v. A.). To identify A. with the spring of Perapigadi on the modern Ithaka, 5 km south-east of Vathy, is speculative. Strauch, Daniel (Berlin) Bibliography A. Heubeck, A commentary on Homer's Odyssey, 1992, 189 f. A. J. Wace, F. H. Stubbings, A companion to Homer, 1963, 414-416. [German version] [2] Name for the main spring of Chalkis on Euboia The name handed down by numerou…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Crete (Ῥαῦκος; Rhaûkos). Town in central Crete, c. 15 km southwest of Heracleum [1], present-day Agios Myron (named after a 3rd cent. bishop of R.), with Minoan remains in the surrounding area. The acropolis had been inhabited since the Late Mycenaean Period. At the beginning of the 2nd cent. BC, R. formed an alliance with Gortyn (Pol. 22,15,1) and in 166 BC it was the object of a combined military operation by Gortyn and Knossos (Pol. 31,1) [1. no. 4…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Dark Ages | Crete | Apollo (Δρῆρος; Drêros). Town in north-east Crete in a mountainous position, with a double acropolis, from which there is a view of the Gulf of Mirabello, modern Hagios Antonios near Neapolis. Already populated in the Minoan period, D. reached its peak between the 8th and 6th cents. BC. The Temple of Apollo Delphinios from the mid 8th cent. BC, combining Minoan and Doric elements (with cult images of Apollo, Leto and Artemis) [1], …

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Byzantium | Peloponnesian War | Persian Wars | Delian League | Athenian League (Second) (Μήθυμνα; Mḗthymna). City on the north coast of the island of Lesbos, formerly Molivos, today again officially M., on a hill jutting into the sea. M. was one of the five póleis of Lesbos (Hdt. 1,151; Strab. 13,2,2) with a considerable amount of territory after the subjugation of Arisbe ( c. 600 BC). The ancient history of M. was dominated by continual rivalry with Mytilene. M. was involved in the founding of Assus in Asia Minor (Strab.…

[German version] I. Ancient Orient and Egypt Forcible deportations of combatants and civilians during wars were common practice (though on varying scales) in many periods of the history of the Ancient Orient and Egypt. Deportations had a dual purpose: they made possible the creation of an unfree and, therefore, easily exploited labour force, and they were a convenient means of lastingly weakening the military and economic potential of defeated tribes, cities and states. In Mesopotamia deportations appear to have been a source of unfree labour as early as the late 4th…

[German version] [1] Island and city in the Cyclades This item can be found on the following maps: Ionic | Marble | Peloponnesian War | Persian Wars | Delian League | Athenian League (Second) | Aegean Koine (Νάξος, Náxos, Latin Naxus). Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) [German version] A. Geography City and island of the same name, the latter, with an area of just 420 km2, the largest of the Cyclades. A significant topographical  characteristic is a chain of mountains dividing the island from north to south (highest peak the Zia at 1004 m, also the highest poi…

(Εὐνοστίδαι; Eunostídai). [German version] [1] Attic deme (?) of the phyle Ptolemais Attic deme (?) of the phyle Ptolemais, first attested to in 201/0 BC (IG II2 2362), cf. the inscriptions of 108/7 BC (IG II2 1036 l. 37; [1. 159; 2]). In AD 154/5 (IG II2 2067) and AD 173/4 (IG II 2 2103) ephebes of the phyle Ptolemais from Εὐν and Εὐ, respectively, are mentioned. Position unknown. Lohmann, Hans (Bochum) Bibliography 1 C. A. Hutton, The Greek Inscriptions at Petworth House, in: ABSA 21, 1914/16, 155-165 2 Traill, Attica 90, 114 No. 12. [German version] [2] Phratry in Naples Phratry in Naple…

[German version] (Πεδιῆς; Pediês). Deme of Lindos on Rhodes, possibly on the coastal plain to the north of Lindos [1. 747]. It had its own tribute payment in the Delian League (between 2000 drachmas and 1 talent: ATL 1, 370f.). Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography 1 F.Hiller von Gärtringen, s.v. Rhodos, RE Suppl. 5, 731-840. Id., Die Demen der rhodischen Städte, in: MDAI(A) 42, 1917, 171-184.

[German version] (Καίρατος; Kaíratos). River on Crete. On its western bank lies  Cnossus, occasionally also referred to as C. (Str. 10,4,8; Callim. H. 3,44; Eust. in Dionys. Per. 498). Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography M. S. F. Hood, D. Smyth, Archaeological Survey of the Knossos Area, 21981.

(Ἱεράπολις; Hierápolis). [German version] [1] Important town in south-west Phrygia This item can be found on the following maps: Theatre | Christianity | Natural catastrophes | Oracles | Pergamum Important town in south-west Phrygia (as opposed to the town of same name in the ‘Pentapolis’ of central Phrygia) at the edge of the Lycus valley on the road in the Hermus valley from Sardis to Apamea, famous for its thermal springs whose water leaves white limestone terraces when evaporating; they gave the place its modern name Pa…

[German version] Area in Bruttium. The only reference was found on an epigraphical copy of the Senatus Consultum deBacchanalibus from 186 BC, containing instructions for the local administration (CIL I2 581,30 in agro Teurano; cf. ILLRP 2, 511). Judging by where the bronze tablet was found (Tiriolo), the Ager Teuranus should be localized in the vicinity thereof.  Bacchanalia Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography Nissen 2, 945.

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Dark Ages | Mycenaean culture and archaeology | Persian Wars | Delian League (Ἰάλυσος; Iálysos). City on the north coast of the island of Rhodes; with  Lindus and  Camirus one of the three ancient cities of Rhodes. Situated c. 15 km south-west of Rhodes city, on the western slope of the 267 m-high mountain Filerimos (ancient name Achaía, Diod. Sic. 5,57,6; Ath. 8,360e), which functions as the acropolis of I. Settlement and necropolis from the Mycenaean period at the present-day village of Trianda. …

[German version] (Μάταλον; Mátalon). Town on the Southern coast of Crete (Strab. 10,4,11; Stadiasmus maris magni 323), originally the harbour for Phaestus (Pol. 4,55,6), later for Gortyn; now called Matala. According to one myth, this is where Zeus made landfall after abducting Europa. Only a few classical remains from the Roman period. Some early Christian cliff graves on the northern side of the bay, now partly below sea-level. Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography H. Buhmann, s.v. Matala, in: Lauffer, Griechenland, 410 I. F. Sanders, Roman Crete, 1982, 161.

[German version] [1] Island in the Ligurian Sea (modern Gallinara). Small uninhabited island in the Ligurian Sea (Varro, Rust. 3,9); place of refuge for St. Martinus and Hilarius (Sulp. Sev. Sanctus Martinus 6,5; Sozom. Hist. eccl. 3,14; Ven. Fort. Sanctus Hilarius 35). Archaeological finds in the sea off the coast. Pera, Rossella (Genoa) Bibliography G. Forni (ed.), Fontes Ligurum et Liguriae Antiquae (Atti della Società ligure di storia patria 16), 1976 G. Spadea, Archeologia Subacquea in Liguria, in: Bollettino di Archeologia Subacquea 2-3, 1995/6, 103. [German version] [2] W…

[German version] City in the area of the  Hernici (Plin. HN 3,63), today Alatri. Like Ferentinum and Verulae, A. did not participate in 307-306 BC in the war of the Hernici against Rome (Liv. 9,42,11) and was therefore rewarded like them with autonomy and   conubium (Liv. 9,43,23). A few structural ruins, i.a. an aqueduct and wall. Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography Nissen 2, 654.

[German version] Region in northern  Campania (Plin. HN 14,62) between Mons Masicus and Volturnus, known particularly for its wines (Plin. HN 23,24). From 340 BC under Roman control (land distribution to Roman settlers: Liv. 8,11,13 f. 12,12). Pillaged by Carthaginians in the war against Hannibal (Liv. 22,13,9). Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography Nissen 2, 689 f.

[German version] (from Arabic ṣaḥrā, 'desert'; cf. Hdt. 2,32: τὰ ἐρῆμα τῆς Λιβύης/ tà erêma tês Libýēs, 'the desert region of Libya'; Mela 1,50: deserta Africae). The indigenous people today call only individual parts of the S. by their own name. The largest desert on earth, situated in North Africa, with an expanse from the Atlantic in the west to the Red Sea in the east ( c. 6000 km; c. 8 million km2). The S. underwent several cyclical climatic changes (Climate) in prehistoric times that shaped the vegetation and the natural profile; the last of these changes in…

(Μινώα/ Minṓa). [German version] [1] Region on the west coast of the Argolic Gulf According to Ptol. 3,14,32 a harbour, according to Str. 8,6,1 a phroûrion (‘fortification’), according to Paus. 3,23,11 foothills on the west coast of the Argolic Gulf, the modern island of Monemvasia with medieval and modern fortifications. Lafond, Yves (Bochum) Bibliography M.D. and R. Higgins, A Geological Companion to Greece and the Aegean, 1996, 55f.  A.J.B. Wace, F.W. Hasluck, South-Eastern Laconia, in: ABSA 14, 1907-1908, 176ff.  H. Waterhouse, R.Hope Simpson, Pre-Historic Laconia 2, in:…

(Καμάρα; Kamára). [German version] [1] Harbour settlement in eastern Crete Harbour settlement in eastern Crete, originally Lato (Λατὼ πρὸς or ἐπὶ Καμάραι, Ptol. 3,17,5; Hierocles, Synekdemos 650,1), modern Agios Nikolaos. Close political links with  Lato [1. no. 72, p. 428]. Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography 1 A. Chaniotis, Die Verträge zw. kret. Poleis in der hell. Zeit, 1996. F. Gschnitzer, Abhängige Orte im griech. Alt., 1958, 49-51. [German version] [2] Empórion on India's south-eastern coast According to Peripl. M. Rubr. 60, an   empórion …

[German version] Main settlement of the Illyrian Iapodes, now Cakovac near Ogulin (in modern Croatia). It was destroyed in 35 BC by the future Augustus (App. Ill. 19-21; Cass. Dio 49,35,2-4). In the Roman period, M. had the status of a municipium (CIL III 10060). Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography J. J. Wilkes, Dalmatia, 1969.

[German version] From a historio-geographical perspective, the term landscape carries several basic implications and connotations. Generally speaking, it can designate a space where historically relevant events have taken place. It is then attributed the quality of a historical source, to be interpreted in a variety of ways. Of further interest is the reciprocal relationship between man and landscape in terms such as: how did man perceive, design, and change the landscape? And how, on the other ha…

(Πύρρα/ Pýrrha). [German version] [1] Daughter of Epimetheus In Greek mythology daughter of Epimetheus (brother of Prometheus) and Pandora and wife of  Deucalion. She and her husband were the only people to survive the flood sent over the earth by Zeus to punish the people of the Bronze Age; on the advice of Prometheus they built a boat on which they sailed around for nine days and nine nights. Deucalion and P. created a new race of people (Pind. Ol. 9,43-56; Ov. Met. 1,318-415), by - on the instruction…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Dark Ages | Crete (Ὀλοῦς; Oloûs). Dorian port on the northern coast of Crete, on the western part of the bay of Mirabello on the isthmus of the Spinalonga peninsula, modern Elounda. But for a basilica with splendid mosaics from the 5th cent. AD, the remains of O. are under water. In the Hellenistic period, a considerable prosperity developed in O., due not least to its double harbour, with correspondingly growing political significance. The history …

[German version] [1] Roman road station Roman road station (  statio ) between  Brixia and  Beneventum (It. Burd. 558,9). Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography Nissen 2, 981. [German version] [2] Statio, San Pietro in Fine   Statio , named after the curve in the via Latina between  Casinum and  Venafrum, at the 96th milestone near Ad Flexum (CIL X 6901); today San Pietro in Fine (Caserta). Strategically significant, dominated by walls in a polygonal pattern near San Eustachio and Marena-Falascosa, in opus quadratum and incertum near Muraglie Abbandonate. Uggeri, Giovanni (Flo…

[German version] (Greek: Σαμ(μ)ώνιον/ Sam(m)ṓnion). Promontory on the northeastern tip of Crete, modern Kavo Sidero. Strong winds often prevented seafarers from rounding the cape. S. served ancient authors as a fixed point of reference for geographical information and the communication of distances between the islands of the Aegean Sea (cf. Str. 2,4,3; 10,3,20; 10,4,2 f.; 10,4,5; 10,4,12; 10,5,18; Dionys. Per. 110; Mela 2,112; Plin. HN 4,58; 60 f.; 71: promunturium Samonium; Ptol. 3,17,5; Stadiasmus maris magni 318 f.; 355; Acts 27:7: Σαλμώνη/ Salmṓnē in connection with the…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Delian League | Athenian League (Second) (Ἄντισσα; Ántissa). Harbour town in the north-west of  Lesbos, c. 9 km north-east of the modern Antissa, settled from the 14th cent. BC. A. was a member of the  Delian League, and participated in the secession of Lesbian towns on the initiative of  Mytilene (Thuc. 3,18. 28). It was a member of the Second Athenian Confederacy. In 167 BC, it was destroyed by the Romans, and its population resettled in  Methymna (Liv. 45,31,14; Plin. HN 5,139). Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography R. …

[German version] River, also known as Eurotas (Pol. 8,35,8), 40 stades (Pol. loc. cit.) or 5 miles (Liv. 25,11,8) from Tarentum. In 212 BC, Hannibal built a camp on its banks. Mentioned in Virgil (Georg. 4,12,6), Horace (Carm. 2,6,10), and Propertius (2,34,67). Its water is praised as particularly suited for the washing of wool (Mart. 2,43,3; 4,28,3; 5,37,2; 8,28,3; 12,63,6; Stat. Silv. 3,3,93). Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography Nissen 2, 870.

(Ἄμπελος; Ámpelos). [German version] [1] Cape on the south-eastern coast of  Crete Cape on the south-eastern coast of  Crete (Ptol. 3,17,4), according to Plin. HN 4,59 also one of the oppida insignia. The town is to be localized close to the modern town of Xerokampos. Graves and ceramics (i.a. of Rhodian origin) from the Hellenistic-Roman period. Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography C. Bursian, Geogr. von Griechenland 2, 1972, 577 f. I. F. Sanders, Roman Crete, 1982, 137. [German version] [2] Cape on the south-western tip of the island of  Samos Cape on the south-western …

[German version] [1] C. Inui Town of the Rutuli (Sil. Pun. 8,359) in the centre of Latium, founded by the kings of Alba Longa (Verg. Aen. 6,775). Abandoned in the archaic period, often confused with C. Novum in Etruria (Rut. Namat. 1,227). Uggeri, Giovanni (Florence) Bibliography A. Nibby, Analisi storico-topografica-antiquaria della Carta de' Dintorni di Roma 1, 1848, 440 Nissen 2, 579 O. Toti, 1984. [German version] [2] C. Novum Settlement on the southern coast of Etruria This item can be found on the following maps: Socii (Roman confederation) | Tribus …

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Crete | Education / Culture (Ἀπτάρα, Ἀπτέρα; Aptára, Aptéra). Port in the north-west of  Crete on a 230 m high plateau, today Aptara; on coins and in inscriptions Aptara, in literature Aptera (ancient explanation of the name: Steph. Byz. s. v. A.; Paus. 10,5,10). Signs of settlement from the 2nd millennium BC. Frequently involved in interstate politics in early Hellenistic times. In 220 BC under pressure from  Polyrrhenia A. terminated its alliance with  Knossos (Pol. 4,55,4). There is evidence of a   symmachia …

(Λάρισα; Λάρισσα; Lárisa, Lárissa). Name of numerous locations in Greece and Asia Minor, cf. Steph. Byz. s.v. Λ. [German version] [1] Acropolis of Argos The 289-m high acropolis of Argos with Mycenaean remains (not precisely identified) [1]. The temple of Zeus Larisaios and Athena Polias under the large Venetian castle has been excavated. References: Str. 8,6,7; Paus. 2,24,1; 3f.; Steph. Byz. s.v. Λάρισαι πόλεις. Lafond, Yves (Bochum) Bibliography 1 N. Vassilatos, Larissa. The Acropolis of Argos, 1994. [German version] [2] City in Achaea Phthiotis Important city in Achaea Phthi…

(Πολίχνη; Políchnē). [German version] [1] Settlement in the Olympieum in the SW of Syracusae Settlement in the Olympieum, a sanctuary of Zeus on the right bank of the Anapus in the south west of Syracusae, where in 414 BC Gylippus stationed part of his cavalry to hamper the Athenians on the Plemmyrium from foraging in the Syracusan hinterland (Thuc. 7,4,7; Diod. Sic. 13,7,5; cf. [1. 41, 4110]). Olshausen, Eckart (Stuttgart) Bibliography 1 H.-P. Drögemüller, Syrakus (Gymnasium Beiheft 6), 1969. [German version] [2] Town in NW Crete This item can be found on the following maps: Crete Town …

[German version] Roman castellum in Dalmatia on the Salona - Narona road (Plin. HN 3,142: N.; Nerate: other MS traditions; Geogr. Rav. 4,16: Netrate; 5,14: Nerente), modern Jesenice east of Split/Croatia. Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography A. Mayer, Die Sprache der alten Illyrier, 1957, 240f.

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Social Wars | Socii (Roman confederation) | Theatre | Tribus | | Coloniae | Coloniae | Italy, languages | Latini, Latium | Oracles | Regio, regiones Harbour town in southern Latium, modern Anzio. According to first treaty between Rome and Carthage, dated by Polybius back to 508/507 BC [1], this town, rich in tradition (Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 1,32), was at that time under Roman control (Pol. 3,22,11). Soon after, A. came under the influence of the  Volsci, and was thus inv…

[German version] Region in  Latium between   mons Albanus and the coast of the mare Tyrrhenum. Its name is derived from the town of Pometia (Cic. Rep. 2,44; Liv. 2,16,8; 17,5 f.; 25,6; Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 4,50; 6,29), which it has not been possible to localize. Probably towards the end of the 6th cent. BC, the ager Pomptinus (AP) came into the possession of the neighbouring  Volsci. Rome's reaction to this was -- supposedly as early as 492 BC -- the foundation of the colony of  Norba (Liv. 2,34,6; Dion. Hal. …

[German version] (Ῥύτιον/ Rhýtion). City in southern central Crete (Plin. HN 4,59), today's Rhotasi. Traces of settlements from late Minoan to Venetian periods. First literary mention at Hom. Il. 2,648 (reference to its being well populated). Rhytium was important beyond its borders as a cultic site for Zeus Skylios [1. 141]. Politically, R. was dependant on Gortyn  (Str. 10,4,14). Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography 1 H. Verbruggen, Le Zeus crétois, 1981. H. Beister, s. v. Pyrgos, in: Lauffer, Griechenland, 580  M. Guarducci, Inscriptiones Creticae 1, 1935, 303 f.  I. F.…

(Ὄλυμπος/Ólympos). Geography: [1-13]. People: [14-15]. [German version] [1] Home of the ›Olympian‹ gods, highest mountain in Greece (Latin Olympus) (Latin Olympus). Kramolisch, Herwig (Eppelheim) Meyer, Ernst (Zürich) [German version] I. Geography The highest mountain in Greece, regarded as the home of the 'Olympian' gods (twelve (Olympian) gods). Its altitude, overlooking all of its surroundings, creates a powerful impression, as do its massive size and density and its dramatic ascent, especially at the east and west, which …

[German version] [1] Locality in Moesia superior This item can be found on the following maps: Thraci, Thracia | | Legio | Limes | Moesi, Moesia Locality (posting station) in Moesia superior (Tab. Peut. 7,1; It. Ant. 221,4; Νοοῦαι/ Nooûai: Ptol. 3,15,5), 4 km east of modern Svištov (Bulgaria). N. was founded around AD 30; the legio I Italica  was stationed here under Vespasian (garrison on the right bank of the Danube near a river-crossing). A civilian settlement grew up nearby. Extensive archaeological and epigraphical finds (fortress wall with gate …

[German version] (Μαραθήσιον; Marathḗsion). Town on the west coast of Asia Minor (ruins at the Ambar Tepe [1]); after an exchange with Samos, it belonged to the territory of Ephesus (Scyl. 98; Steph. Byz. s.v. Μ.; Plin. HN. 5,114). From 478/7 BC it was a member of the Delian League (ATL 1,336f.; 515; 2,80; 3,204; 307). Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography R. Meriç et al (Ed.) IK 17,1, 1981, 111 (with inscriptions 3112-3114), 100 (map). Magie 2, 886.

(Κρήτη, Krētē, Latin Creta). [German version] A. Settlement geography C. is the largest Greek island, with an east-west extension of 250 km and a north-south extension of max. 60 km. The narrowest part is the Isthmus of Hierapytna in the east. The island's topography is shaped by its mountains. Three large mountain ranges dominate: in the west the ‘White Mountains’ (  Leúka órē , 2,482 m), in the centre the  Ida Mountains (Piloritis, 2,456 m) and in the east the  Dicte Range (highest elevation 2,147 m) with the Lassithi Plateau (moun…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Aegean Koine (Λεβήνα; Lebḗna). City on the southern coast of Crete (Str. 10,4,12; Plin. HN 4,59) near the modern village of Lendas. Older form of the name: Λεβήν/ Lebḗn. There is evidence that it was already settled in the Minoan period. Initially important as the harbour for Gortyn, L. became a religious centre from the 4th cent. BC onwards because of its sanctuary of Asclepius founded at a healing spring (the visible remains of the temple as well as the stoa and nympha…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Crete (Ἔλυρος; Élyros). Extensive urban settlement in south-western Crete (Steph. Byz. s.v. E.) near Rodovani east of Kandans. Archaeological data: some Roman ruins (town walls, theatre, aqueduct). Syia was Elyrus' port (Steph. Byz. s.v.). It is possible that E. belonged to the koinon of the western Cretan Oreioi, who probably entered an alliance with Magas of Cyrene between 280 and 250 BC [1. 1; 2. 468]; from 183 BC, it was part of the alliance of thirty-one Cretan cities with Eumenes…

[German version] (Κεραία; Κεραῖαι; Keraía, Keraîai). Town on Crete in the north-west of the island, of undetermined location between Lappa and Polyrrhenia (Steph. Byz. s.v. Βήνη). In the Lyttian War (220 v.Chr.), C. -- together with other Cretan towns -- seceded from Cnossus and Gortyn (Pol. 4,53,6). In 183 BC, it was one of the Cretan towns to enter an alliance with Eumenes II of Pergamum [1. 179]. Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography 1 M. Guarducci (ed.), Inscriptiones Creticae IV, 1950.

[German version] (Λευκὰ ὄρη; Leukà órē). The ‘white mountains’ in western Crete, up to 2,482 m high (Str. 10,4,4). Uncultivated and inaccessible with a remarkable stand of cypress trees (Plin. HN 16,142; cf. Theophr. Hist. pl. 4,1,3), in Plin. HN 31,43 also mentioned in connection with the search for sources. Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography J. Bowman, Kreta, 1965, 271ff. P. Faure, Noms de montagnes crétoises, in: L'Association G. Budé. Lettres d'humanités 24, 1965, 426-446.

[German version] Linguistically, a forest in Latin (Serv. Aen. 1,310) is differentiated according to the degree of human cultivation ( silva, nemus,   saltus ) and the associated religious sphere ( lucus,  ‘Grove’). On one hand, forests caused fear and discomfort (Cic. Nat. D. 2,6; Plin. HN 12,3), on the other hand they were valued as places of (even productive) rest and recuperation (Plin. Ep. 1,6,2; 9,10,2; Tac. Dial. 9,6; 12,1). Forests received an extremely negative connotation among Romans in the context of the military …

[German version] (Ἅληξ; Hálēx). River in southern Bruttium, modern Alice. According to Timaeus (FGrH 566 F 43b) and Strabo (6,1,9) the border river between Rhegium and Locri (Paus. 6,6,4, however, says Caecinus). In the Peloponnesian War (426 BC) scene of an Athenian expedition against Locri (Thuc. 3,99). Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart) Bibliography Nissen 2, 955.

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Crete (Λισος; Lisos in inscriptions, Λισ(σ)ός; Lis(s)ós in literature; cf. Λίσσα; Líssa, Scyl. 47; Ptol. 3,15,3; Tab. Peut. 8,5). City on the south-western coast of Crete, to the west of modern Sougia, in a position protected by mountains and only open to the sea. From the late 4th cent. BC, L. with Elyrus, Hyrtacina and Tarrha formed the koinón of the oreíoi (‘mountain dwellers’). The city was occupied from the Classical to the Byzantine periods. Of supraregional importance was the Asclepium with the me…

(Μίλητος; Mílētos). [German version] [1] Mythical founder of the city of Miletus Mythical founder of the city of M. [2]; from Crete; son of Apollo and Areia, daughter of Cleochus whose tomb was in the sanctuary of Didyma [1. 165f.] (Apollod. 3,5f.), or of Apollo and Deione (Ov. Met. 9,443ff.) or of Apollo and Acacallis, daughter of Minos (Antoninus Liberalis 30). Minos fell in love with M., but M. fleed to Caria, establishds M. there [2] and married Eidothea; the children of their union are Byblis and Caunus [1]. According to Ephorus FGrH 70 F 127 M. was founded by Sarpedon. Käppel, Lutz (Kiel) Bi…