Читать книгу The Natural History of Pliny (Vol. 1-6) - Pliny the Elder - Страница 251

1763 The river Velinus, now Velino, rising in the Apennines, in the vicinity of Reate, overflowed its banks and formed several small lakes, the largest of which was called Lake Velinus, now Pie di Lugo or Lago, while a smaller one was called Lacus Reatinus, now Lago di Santa Susanna. In order to carry off these waters, a channel was cut through the rocks by Curius Dentatus, the conqueror of the Sabines, by means of which the waters of the Velinus were carried through a narrow gorge to a spot where they fall from a height of several hundred feet into the river Nar. This fall is now known as the Fall of Terni or the Cascade Delle Marmore.

1764 Still called Monte Fiscello, near the town of Civita Reale. Virgil calls the Nar (now the Nera), “Sulphureâ Nar albus aquâ,” “The white Nar with its sulphureous waters.”—Æneid, vii. 517.

1765 A Sabine divinity said to have been identical with Victory. The Romans however made her the goddess of leisure and repose, and represented her as being worshiped by the husbandmen at harvest home, when they were “vacui,” or at leisure. She is mentioned by Ovid in the Fasti, B. vi. l. 307. The grove here alluded to was one of her sanctuaries.

1766 The modern Teverone, which rises near Tervi or Trevi.

1767 A town of the Æqui, now known as Subiaco. In its vicinity was the celebrated villa of Claudius and Nero, called the Villa Sublacencis.

1768 This was a town of the Sabines between Reate and Interocrea, in the vicinity of a small lake of the same name. It was a mere pool, according to Dionysius, being but 400 feet in diameter. It is supposed that the floating island was formed from the incrustations of carbonate of lime on the banks, which, becoming detached, probably collected in the middle. The lake still exists, but the floating island has disappeared. There are some fine ruins of Roman baths in the vicinity of the lake.

1769 It was a custom with the early Italian nations, especially the Sabines, in times of danger and distress, to vow to the deity the sacrifice of all the produce of the ensuing spring, that is, of the period from the first day of March till the last day of April. It is probable that in early times human sacrifices were the consequence; but at a later period the following custom was adopted instead. The children were allowed to grow up, and in the spring of their twentieth or twenty-first year were with covered faces driven across the frontier of their native country, to go whithersoever chance or the guidance of the deity might lead them. The Mamertini in Sicily were said to have had this origin.

1770 Now the Aterno, which falls into the sea at Atri or Ortona.

1771 A famous city of Etruscan origin, which still retains its name of Adria or Atri. It had very considerable intercourse with Greece, and there are extensive remains of antiquity in its vicinity, towards Ravegnano. The river is still called the Vomano.

1772 These places are again mentioned in B. xiv. c. 8.

1773 Or “New Castle.” It probably occupied the site of the now deserted town of Santo Flaviano, near the banks of the river Tordino, the Batinus of Pliny, and below the modern town of Giulia Nova.

1774 The river still has the name of Tronto; Porto di Martin Scuro occupies the site of the town.

1775 Who had crossed over as colonists from the opposite coast of Illyricum.

1776 According to Mannert the river Tesino is the same as the Albula, and Tervium is the modern town of Grotte a Mare; but D’Anville makes the latter to be the town of Cupra next mentioned.

1777 This was called Cupra Maritima, to distinguish it from the town of the Cuprenses Montani, afterwards mentioned. It is said by Strabo to have had its name from the Tyrrhenian name of Juno. From the discovery of an inscription belonging to her temple here, there is little doubt that D’Anville is right in his suggestion that the site of Cupra is at Grotte a Mare, eight miles from the mouth of the Truentus or Tronto.

1778 “The Fortress of the Firmani,” five miles from Firmum, an important city of Picenum. The Fortress was situate at the mouth of the Leta, and was the port of the city. It is still called Porto di Fermo.

1779 Often called “Asculum Picenum” to distinguish it from Asculum in Apulia. It was a place of considerable strength, and played a great part in the Social War. It is unknown at what period it became a Roman colony. The modern city of Ascoli stands on its site.

1780 Now called Monte Novano, according to D’Anville and Brotier.

1781 Its site is supposed to have been that of the small town called Santo Elpidio a Mare, four miles from the sea, and the same distance north of Fermo. The remains of Potentia are supposed to be those in the vicinity of the modern Porto di Recanati. Numana is supposed to be the modern Umana, near the Cuscione, where, in the seventeenth century, extensive ruins were to be seen.

1782 It still retains its ancient name, which was derived from the Greek ἀγκὼν “the elbow,” it being situate on a promontory which forms a curve, and almost encloses the port. The promontory is still called Monte Comero. A triumphal arch, erected in honour of Trajan, who constructed a new mole for the port, is still in fine preservation, and there are remains of an amphitheatre.

1783 The modern city of Osimo stands on the site of Auximum, about twelve miles south-west of Ancona. Numerous inscriptions, statues, and other remains have been found there.

1784 Cluver conjectures that Beregra stood at Civitella di Tronto, ten miles north of Teramo; but nothing further relative to it is known. Cingulum was situate on a lofty mountain; the modern town of Cingoli occupies its site.

1785 “The mountaineers.” They inhabited Cupra Montana, which is supposed to have stood on the same site as the modern Ripa Transone.

1786 The people of Falaria or Faleria. There are considerable remains of this town about a mile from the village of Falerona, among which a theatre and amphitheatre are most conspicuous. The remains of Pausula are supposed to be those seen on the Monte dell’ Olmo. The town of the Ricinenses is supposed to have been on the banks of the Potenza, two miles from Macerata, where some remains were to be seen in the seventeenth century.

1787 Septempeda is supposed to have occupied the site of the modern San Severino, on the river Potenza. Tollentinum or Tollentura was probably on the site of the modern Tolentino. The town of the Treienses is supposed to have occupied a site near the modern San Severino, in the vicinity of Montecchio.

1788 A colony of the people of Pollentia was established at Urbs Salvia, occupying the site of the modern Urbisaglia on the bank of the Chiento.

1789 Cisalpine Gaul was so called because the inhabitants adopted the use of the Roman toga.

1790 This fanciful derivation would make their name to come from the Greek ὄμβρος “a shower.”

1791 Now the Esino.

1792 So called from the Galli Senones. The modern city of Sinigaglia occupies its site. The river Metaurus is still called the Metauro.

1793 “The Temple of Fortune.” At this spot the Flaminian Way joined the road from Ancona and Picenum to Ariminum. The modern city of Fano occupies the site, but there are few remains of antiquity.

1794 The modern Pesaro occupies the site of the town; the river is called the Foglia.

1795 This was a flourishing town of Umbria. Augustus showed it especial favour and bestowed on it the Grove and Temple of Clitumnus, though at twelve miles’ distance from the town. The modern town of Spello occupies its site, and very extensive remains of antiquity are still to be seen. It probably received two Roman colonies, as inscriptions mention the “Colonia Julia Hispelli” and the “Colonia Urbana Flavia.” It is considered probable that Hispellum, rather than Mevania, was the birth-place of the poet Propertius. Tuder is supposed to have occupied the site of the modern Todi, on the Tiber.

1796 The people of Ameria, an important and flourishing city of Umbria. There are still remains of the ancient walls; the modern town of Amelia occupies its site.

1797 The site of Attidium is marked by the modern village of Attigio, two miles south of the city of Fabriano, to which the inhabitants of Attidium are supposed to have migrated in the middle ages.

1798 The people of Asisium. The modern city of Assisi (the birth-place of St. Francis) occupies its site. There are considerable remains of the ancient town.

1799 The people of Arna, the site of which is now occupied by the town of Civitella d’Arno, five miles east of Perugia. Some inscriptions and other objects of antiquity have been found here.

1800 The people of Æsis, situate on the river of the same name. It is still called Iesi. Pliny, in B. xi. c. 97, mentions it as famous for the excellence of its cheeses.

1801 The people of Camerinum, a city of Umbria. The present Camerino occupies its site. Its people were among the most considerable of Umbria. The site of the Casuentillani does not appear to be known.

1802 The people of Carsulæ, an Umbrian town of some importance. Its ruins are still visible about half way between San Germino and Acqua Sparta, ten miles north of Narni. Holsten states that the site was still called Carsoli in his time, and there existed remains of an amphitheatre and a triumphal arch in honour of Trajan. Nothing seems to be known of the Dolates.

1803 The people of Fulginium. From Cicero we learn that it was a municipal town. The modern city of Foligno has risen on its site. An inscription discovered here has preserved the name of Fulginia, probably a local divinity.

1804 The people of Forum Flaminii, situated on the Flaminian Way, where it first entered the Apennines, three miles from Fulginium. It was here that the Emperors Gallus and Volusianus were defeated and slain by Æmilianus, A.D. 256. The ruins at the spot called Giovanni pro Fiamma mark its site. The site of Forum Julii appears to be unknown, as also that of Forum Brentani.

1805 The people of Forum Sempronii, the only town in the valley of the Metaurus. The modern city of Fossombrone, two miles distant, has thence taken its name. Considerable vestiges of the ancient town are still to be seen. The battle in which Hasdrubal was defeated by the Roman consuls Livius and Nero, B.C. 207, was probably fought in its vicinity.

1806 The people of Iguvium, an ancient and important town of Umbria. Its site is occupied by the modern city of Gubbio. Interamna on the Nar has been previously mentioned.

1807 The people of the town of Mevania, now called Bevagna, in the duchy of Spoleto. The Mevanionenses were the people of Mevanio, or Mevaniolæ, in the vicinity of Mevania, and thought by Cluver to be the modern Galeata.

1808 Their town was Matilica, which still retains that name. It is situate in the Marches of Ancona.

1809 Their town still retains the name of Narni.

1810 Their town was surnamed Favonia and Camellaria, to distinguish it from several others of the same name. The present Nocera stands on its site.

1811 The people of Ocriculum, now Otricoli, previously mentioned.

1812 According to Hardouin, the ruins of Ostra are those near Monte Nuovo, now Sinigaglia, but D’Anville thinks that the modern Corinaldo marks its site.

1813 Nothing is known of the Plestini, nor yet of the Pitulani, who seem to have been a different people to those mentioned in the First Region.

1814 The town of Sentis, according to D’Anville and Mannert, was in the vicinity of the modern town of Sasso Ferrato.

1815 The people of Sarsina, an important town of Umbria, famous as being the birth-place of the comic poet Plautus. It is now called Sassina, on the Savio.

1816 The people of Spoletum, now Spoleto. It was a city of Umbria on the Via Flaminia, colonized by the Romans B.C. 242. In the later days of the Empire it was taken by Totilas, and its walls destroyed. They were however restored by Narses.

1817 The people of Suasa; the remains of which, according to D’Anville and Mannert, are those seen to the east of the town of San Lorenzo, at a place called Castel Leone.

1818 The monastery of Sestino is supposed to stand on the site of Sestinum, their town, at the source of the river Pesaro.

1819 The site of their town is denoted by the modern Sigello in the Marches of Ancona.

1820 Their town is supposed to have been also situate within the present Marches of Ancona, where they join the Duchy of Spoleto.

1821 Their town was Trebia. The modern Trevi stands on its site.

1822 The people of Tuficum, which Holsten thinks was situate between Matelica and Fabrianum, on the river called the Cesena.

1823 The site of Tifernum Tiberinum is occupied by the present Citta di Castello, and that of Tifernum Metaurense, or “on the Metaurus,” by Sant Angelo in Vado in the Duchy of Urbino. The first-named place was in the vicinity of the estates of the Younger Pliny.

1824 D’Anville and Mannert are of opinion that Urbania on the Metaurus, two leagues south-east of Urbino, marks the site of their town. The Hortenses probably dwelt on the site of the present Urbino.

1825 The site of their town was probably the present Bettona. The site of the towns of the peoples next mentioned is unknown.

1826 Nothing is known of its position. There were cities in Campania and Cisalpine Gaul also called Acerræ. The first has been mentioned under the First Region. Of the other places and peoples mentioned in this Chapter no particulars seem to have come down to us.

1827 Now the Conca. It is called “rapax Crustumium” by Lucan, B. ii. l. 406.

1828 One of the most important cities of Umbria. It played a conspicuous part in most of the internal wars of the Romans. The modern city of Rimini which stands on its site, still retains two striking monuments of its grandeur; the Roman bridge of marble, which crosses the river Ariminus, erected by Augustus and Tiberius, and a triumphal arch of marble, erected in honour of Augustus. The river Ariminus is now called the Marocchia, and the Aprusa is the Ausa.

1829 A papal decree, issued in 1756, declared the river Lusa to have been the ancient Rubicon, but the more general opinion is that the Pisatello, a little to the north of it, has better claims to that honour. On the north bank of the Rubicon a pillar was placed by a decree of the Senate, with an inscription giving notice that whoever should pass in arms into the Roman territory would be deemed an enemy to the state. It is especially celebrated in history by Cæsar’s passage across it at the head of his army, by which act he declared war against the republic. See Lucan, B. i. l. 200-230.

1830 The Sapis is the modern Savio, or Rio di Cesena; the Vitis is the Bevano, and the Anemo is the Roncone.

1831 Strabo and Zosimus however state that it was first founded by the Thessalians. Ravenna first came into notice on being made one of the two chief stations of the Roman fleet. The harbour which was made for it was called “Classes,” and between it and Ravenna sprang up the town of Cæsarea. Though not deemed unhealthy, it lay in a swampy district. Theodoric made it the capital of the kingdom of the Goths. The modern city stands on the site of the ancient town. The river Bedesis is now called the Montone.

1832 No remains of it are extant; but it is supposed that it stood near the entrance of the Lagunes of Comacchio.

1833 The modern Bologna stands on its site, and there are but few remains of antiquity to be seen.

1834 He probably means only the Etruscan cities north of the Apennines.

1835 The modern town of Brescello occupies its site. Here the Emperor Otho put an end to his life on learning the defeat of his troops by Vitellius. It appears to have been a strong fortress in the time of the Lombard kings.

1836 The modern Modena stands on its site. It was famous in the history of the civil wars after Cæsar’s death. Decimus Brutus was besieged here by M. Antonius, in the years B.C. 44 and 43, and under its walls the consuls Hirtius and Pansa were slain. Its vicinity, like that of Parma, was famous for the excellence of its wool.

1837 This was a Roman colony, which was enlarged by Augustus, and from him received the name of Colonia Julia Augusta. It was called, after the fall of the Western Empire, Chrysopolis or the “Golden City.” The modern city of Parma occupies its site.

1838 A Roman colony. The present city of Piacenza stands on its site.

1839 It still retains the name of Cesena, and is a considerable place. After the fall of the Western Empire it was used as a fortress of great strength. We shall find Pliny again mentioning it in B. xiv. c. 6, as famous for the goodness of its wines, a reputation which it still maintains. The name of Claterna, once a municipal town of importance, is still retained in part by a small stream which crosses the road nine miles from Bologna, and is called the Quaderna. An old church and a few houses, called Santa Maria di Quaderna, probably mark the site of the vicinity of the town, which was situate on the high road.

1840 This Forum Clodii is said by D’Anville to be the modern Fornocchia. Forum Livii is supposed to have occupied the site of the present city of Forli. Forum Popili or Forli Piccolo occupies the site of Forum or Foro Popili.

1841 This place is supposed to have stood on the spot where the episcopal town of Bertinoro now stands. In inscriptions it is called Forodruentinorum. Forum Cornelii, said to have been so called from the Dictator Sylla, occupied the site of the modern town of Imola. The poet Martial is said to have resided for some time in this town.

1842 The people of Faventia, now Faenza. Pliny, B. xix. c. i., speaks of the whiteness of its linen, for the manufacture of which it was celebrated. At this place Carbo and Norbanus were defeated with great loss by Metellus, the partisan of Sylla, in B.C. 82.

1843 The people of Fidentia. The present Borga di San Donnino stands on its site, which is between Parma and Placentia, fifteen miles from the former city.

1844 Cluver thinks that their town was on the site of the modern Castel Bondino.

1845 So named after Æmilius Lepidus. The people of Regium Lepidum, the site of whose town is occupied by the modern Reggio.

1846 Solonatium is supposed to have had the site of the modern Citta di Sole or Torre di Sole.

1847 Nothing certain is known of this people or their town, but it is thought by Rezzonico that by this name were meant those who occupied the wood-clad heights of the Apennines, above Modena and Parma. Cicero mentions a Saltus Gallicanus as being a mountain of Campania, but that is clearly not the spot meant here.

1848 Their town is thought to have stood on the same site as the modern Tenedo.

1849 Their town was perhaps on the same site as the modern Villac, on the river Nura.

1850 The modern city of Ombria probably stands on the site of Urbana, their town, of which considerable remains are still to be seen.

1851 These and the Senones were nations of Cisalpine Gaul. The Boii emigrated originally from Transalpine Gaul, by the Penine Alps, or the Pass of Great St. Bernard. They were completely subdued by Scipio Nasica in B.C. 191, when he destroyed half of their population, and deprived them of nearly half of their lands. They were ultimately driven from their settlements, and established themselves in the modern Bohemia, which from them takes its name. The Senones, who had taken the city of Rome in B.C. 390, were conquered and the greater part of them destroyed by the Consul Dolabella in B.C. 283.

1852 The Po, which rises in Monte Viso in Savoy.

1853 Already mentioned in C. 7 of the present Book.

1854 Ovid in his account of the adventure of Phaëton (Met. B. ii.) states that he fell into the river Padus.

1855 The Tanarus is still called the Tanaro. The Trebia, now the Trebbia, is memorable for the defeat on its banks of the Romans by Hannibal, B.C. 218. The Incia is the modern Enza or Lenza, the Tarus the Taro, the Gabellus the Secchia, the Scultenna the Panaro, and the Rhenus the Reno.

1856 The Stura still has the same name; the Orgus is the modern Orco. The streams called Duriæ are known as the Dora Baltea and the Dora Riparia; the Sessites is the Sesia, the Ticinus the Tessino, the Lambrus the Lambro, the Addua the Adda, the Ollius the Oglio, and the Mincius the Menzo.

1857 This seems to be the meaning of “gravis terræ,” unless it signifies “pressing heavily upon the land,” and so cutting out channels for its course. He has previously stated that, though rapid, it is not in the habit of carrying away its banks. See a very able article on the question whether the name Eridanus belonged originally to this river or to some other in the north of Europe, in Dr. Smith’s Dictionary of Ancient Geography under the word “Eridanus.”

1858 That is to say, the canal made by Augustus was so called.

1859 It was on this occasion that, after a stay of only a few days in Britain, he quitted the island, returned to Rome, and celebrated a splendid triumph. This outlet of the Po has now the name of Po di Primero.

1860 Now the Santerno, noted for the sluggishness of its waters.

1861 The Ostium Caprasiæ is now called the Porto Interito di Bell’ Ochio, the Ostium Sagis the Porto di Magnavacca; Volane, or Volana, is the south main branch of the river. The Ostia Carbonaria, mentioned below, was the north main branch, subdivided into several small branches; and the Fossæ or Fossiones Philistinæ connected the river, by means of the Tartarus, with the Athesis.

1862 The reading is doubtful here, and even this, which is perhaps the best, appears to be corrupt; for it is difficult to conceive how all the mouths previously mentioned could have been upon one canal, and besides it would seem that Olane was one of the natural mouths of the river.

1863 More generally Adria, from which, as Pliny says, the Adriatic takes its name. Either a Greek, or, what is more probable, as Pliny states, an Etruscan colony, it became the principal emporium of trade with the Adriatic, in consequence of which it was surrounded with canals and other works to facilitate its communications with other rivers. It is still called Adria, and in its vicinity to the south, considerable remains of the ancient city are still to be seen.

1864 So called from the Philistæi, said to have been the ancient inhabitants of the spot. They are now called the Bocca della Gnoca, the Bocca della Scovetta, the Busa delle Tole, the Sbocco dell’ Asinino, &c. The Ostia Carbonaria and the Fossæ Philistinæ were to the north of the ones previously mentioned.

1865 He seems to confound the Fosses of Philistina with the Tartarus (now Tartaro). That river however connected the Fosses of Philistina with the Athesis, now the Adige.

1866 Now the Bacchiglione.

1867 The modern Brondolo.

1868 Now Chioggia, formed by the rivers Brenta and Brentella. Hardouin thinks the Clodian Canal to be the same as the modern Fossa Paltana.

1869 Now Monteu di Po, below Chevasso, mentioned in the 7th Chapter.

1870 This place is supposed to have been situate in the vicinity of the modern Saluzzo, on the north bank of the Po. Segusio occupied the site of the modern Susa.

1871 Augusta of the Taurini. The present city of Turin stands on its site. It was made a Roman colony by Augustus. With the exception of some inscriptions, Turin retains no vestiges of antiquity.

1872 The present city of Aosta occupies its site. This was also a Roman colony founded by Augustus, after he had subdued the Salassi. It was, as Pliny says in C. 5, the extreme point of Italy to the north. The remains of the ancient city are of extreme magnificence.

1873 The Grecian pass of the Alps was that now known as the Little St. Bernard; while the Penine pass was the present Great St. Bernard. Livy in his History, B. xxi. c. 38, points out the error of taking these mountains to have derived their name from the Pœni or Carthaginians. There is no doubt that they took their name from the Celtic word signifying a mountain, which now forms the “Pen” of the Welsh and the “Ben” of the Scotch.

1874 Now called Ivrea or Lamporeggio, at the entrance of the valley of the Salassi, the present Val d’Aosta. There are some remains of the ancient town to be seen.

1875 The present town of Vercelli stands on its site.

1876 Now called Novara, in the Duchy of Milan.

1877 It became a Roman municipal town, but owes its greatness to the Lombard kings who made it their capital, and altered the name to Papia, now Pavia.

1878 “Pompey’s Praises.” The present Lodi Vecchio marks its site.

1879 It was the capital of the Insubres, a Gallic nation, and was taken by the Romans in B.C. 222, on which it became a municipium and Roman colony. On the division of the empire by Diocletian, it became the residence of his colleague Maximianus, and continued to be the abode of the Emperors of the West till it was plundered by Attila, who transferred the seat of government to Ravenna. It afterwards became the capital of the kingdom of the Ostro-Goths, and was again sacked by the Goths in A.D. 539, and its inhabitants put to the sword. The present city, known to us as Milan, contains no remains of antiquity.