being drawn off in numerous artificial channels to irrigate the neighbouring
olive groves. A frequent peculiarity of the Greek rivers is
their sudden disappearance in subterranean chasms and reappearance
on the surface again, such as gave rise to the fabled course of
the Alpheus under the sea, and its emergence in the fountain of
Arethusa in Syracuse. Some of these chasms—“Katavothras”—are
merely sieves with herbage and gravel in the bottom, but others
are large caverns through which the course of the river may sometimes
be followed. Floods are frequent, especially in autumn, and
natural fountains abound and gush out even from the tops of the
hills. Aganippe rises high up among the peaks of Helicon, and
Peirene flows from the summit of Acrocorinthus. The only noteworthy
cascade, however, is that of the Styx in Arcadia, which has a
fall of 500 ft. During part of the year it is lost in snow, and it
is at all times almost inaccessible. Lakes are numerous, but few are
of considerable size, and many merely marshes in summer. The
largest are Karla (Boebeïs) in Thessaly, Trichonis in Aetolia, Copaïs
in Boeotia, Pheneus and Stymphalus in Arcadia.
The valleys are generally narrow, and the plains small in extent, deep basins walled in among the hills or more free at the mouths of the rivers. The principal plains are those of Thessaly, Boeotia, Messenia, Argos, Elis and Marathon. The bottom of these plains consists of an alluvial soil, the most fertile in Greece. In some of the mountainous regions, especially in the Morea, are Plains. extensive table-lands. The plain of Mantinea is 2000 ft. high, and the upland district of Sciritis, between Sparta and Tegea, is in some parts 3000 ft.
Strabo said that the guiding thing in the geography of Greece was the sea, which presses in upon it at all parts with a thousand arms. From the Gulf of Arta on the one side to the Gulf of Volo on the other the coast is indented with a succession of natural bays and gulfs. The most important are the Gulfs of Aegina (Saronicus) and Lepanto (Corinthiacus), which separate Coast. the Morea from the northern mainland of Greece,—the first an inlet of the Aegean, the second of the Ionian Sea,—and are now connected by a canal cut through the high land of the narrow Isthmus of Corinth (312 m. wide). The outer portion of the Gulf of Lepanto is called the Gulf of Patras, and the inner part the Bay of Corinth; a narrow inlet on the north side of the same gulf, called the Bay of Salona or Itea, penetrates northwards into Phocis so far that it is within 24 geographical miles of the Gulf of Zeitun on the north-east coast. The width of the entrance to the gulf of Lepanto is subject to singular changes, which are ascribed to the formation of alluvial deposits by certain marine currents, and their removal again by others. At the time of the Peloponnesian war this channel was 1200 yds. broad; in the time of Strabo it was only 850; and in our own day it has again increased to 2200. On the coast of the Morea there are several large gulfs, that of Arcadia (Cyparissius) on the west, Kalamata (Messeniacus) and Kolokythia (Laconicus) on the south and Nauplia (Argolicus) on the east. Between Euboea and the mainland lie the channels of Trikeri, Talanti (Euboicum Mare) and Egripo; the latter two are connected by the strait of Egripo (Euripus). This strait, which is spanned by a swing-bridge, is about 180 ft. wide, and is remarkable for the unexplained eccentricity of its tide, which has puzzled ancients and moderns alike. The current runs at the average speed of 5 m. an hour, but continues only for a short time in one direction, changing its course, it is said, ten or twelve times in a day; it is sometimes very violent.
There are no volcanoes on the mainland of Greece, but everywhere traces of volcanic action and frequently visitations of earthquakes, for it lies near a centre of volcanic: agency, the island of Santorin, which has been within recent years in a state of eruption. There is an extinct crater at Mount Laphystium (Granitsa) in Boeotia. The mountain of Methane, on Volcanic action. the coast of Argolis, was produced by a volcanic eruption in 282 B.C. Earthquakes laid Thebes in ruins in 1853, destroyed every house in Corinth in 1858, filled up the Castalian spring in 1870, devastated Zante in 1893 and the district of Atalanta in 1894. There are hot springs at Thermopylae and other places, which are used for sanitary purposes. Various parts of the coast exhibit indications of upheaval within historical times. On the coast of Elis four rocky islets are now joined to the land, which were separate from it in the days of ancient Greece. There are traces of earlier sea-beaches at Corinth, and on the coast of the Morea, and at the mouth of the Hellada. The land has gained so much that the pass of Thermopylae which was extremely narrow in the time of Leonidas and his three hundred, is now wide enough for the motions of a whole army. (J. D. B.)
Structurally, Greece may be divided into two regions, an eastern and a western. The former includes Thessaly, Boeotia, the island of Euboea, the isthmus of Corinth, and the peninsula of Argolis, and, throughout, the strike of the beds is nearly from west to east. The western region includes the Pindus and all the parallel ranges, and the whole of the Peloponnesus excepting Geology. Argolis. Here the folds which affect the Mesozoic and early Tertiary strata run approximately from N.N.W. to S.S.E.
Up to the close of the 19th century the greater part of Greece was believed to be formed of Cretaceous rocks, but later researches have shown that the supposed Cretaceous beds include a variety of geological horizons. The geological sequence begins with crystalline schists and limestones, followed by Palaeozoic, Triassic and Liassic rocks. The oldest beds which hitherto have yielded fossils belong to the Carboniferous System (Fusulina limestone of Euboea). Following upon these older beds are the great limestone masses which cover most of the eastern region, and which are now known to include Jurassic, Tithonian, Lower and Upper Cretaceous and Eocene beds. In the Pindus and the Peloponnesus these beds are overlaid by a series of shales and platy limestones (Olonos Limestone of the Peloponnesus), which were formerly supposed to be of Tertiary age. It has now been shown, however, that the upper series of limestones has been brought upon the top of the lower by a great overthrust. Triassic fossils have been found in the Olonos Limestone and it is almost certain that other Mesozoic horizons are represented.
The earth movements which produced the mountain chains of western Greece have folded the Eocene beds and must therefore be of post-Eocene date. The Neogene beds, on the other hand, are not affected by the folds, although by faulting without folding they have in some places been raised to a height of nearly 6000 ft. They lie, however, chiefly along the coast and in the valleys, and consist of marls, conglomerates and sands, sometimes with seams of lignite. The Pikermi deposits, of late Miocene age, are famous for their rich mammalian fauna.
Although the folding which formed the mountain chains appears to have ceased, Greece is still continually shaken by earthquakes, and these earthquakes are closely connected with the great lines of fracture to which the country owes its outline. Around the narrow gulf which separates the Peloponnesus from the mainland, earthquakes are particularly frequent, and another region which is often shaken is the south-western corner of Greece, the peninsula of Messene.[1] (P. La.)
The vegetation of Greece in general resembles that of southern Italy while presenting many types common to that of Asia Minor. Owing to the geographical configuration of the peninsula and its mountainous surface the characteristic flora of the Mediterranean regions is often found in juxtaposition with that of central Europe. In respect to its vegetation the country Flora. may be regarded as divided into four zones. In the first, extending from the sea-level to the height of 1500 ft., oranges, olives, dates, almonds, pomegranates, figs and vines flourish, and cotton and tobacco are grown. In the neighbourhood of streams are found the laurel, myrtle, oleander and lentisk, together with the plane and white poplar; the cypress is often a picturesque feature in the landscape, and there is a variety of aromatic plants. The second zone, from 1500 to 3500 ft., is the region of the oak, chestnut and other British trees. In the third, from 3500 to 5500 ft., the beech is the characteristic forest tree; the Abies cephalonica and Pinus pinea now take the place of the Pinus halepensis, which grows everywhere in the lower regions. Above 5500 ft. is the Alpine region, marked by small plants, lichens and mosses. During the short period of spring anemones and other wild flowers enrich the hillsides with magnificent colouring; in June all verdure disappears except in the watered districts and elevated plateaus. The asphodel grows abundantly in the dry rocky soil; aloes, planted in rows, form impenetrable hedges. Medicinal plants are numerous, such as the Inula Helenium, the Mandragora Officinarum, the Colchicum napolitanum and the Helleborus orientalis, which still grows abundantly near Aspraspitia, the ancient Anticyra, at the foot of Parnassus.
The fauna is similar to that of the other Mediterranean peninsulas, and includes some species found in Asia Minor but not elsewhere in Europe. The lion existed in northern Greece in the time of Aristotle and at an earlier period in the Morea. The bear is still found in the Pindus range. Wolves are common in all the mountainous regions and jackals are numerous in the Morea. Foxes Fauna. are abundant in all parts of the country; the polecat is found in the woods of Attica and the Morea; the lynx is now rare. The wild boar is common in the mountains of northern Greece, but is almost extinct in the Peloponnesus. The badger, the marten and the weasel are found on the mainland and in the islands. The red deer, the fallow deer and the roe exist in northern Greece, but are becoming scarce. The otter is rare. Hares and rabbits are abundant in many parts of the country, especially in the Cyclades; the two species never occupy the same district, and in the Cyclades some islands (Naxos, Melos, Tenos, &c.) form the exclusive domain of the hares, others (Seriphos, Kimolos, Mykonos, &c.) of the rabbits. In Andros alone a demarcation has been arrived at, the hares retaining the northern and the rabbits the southern portion of the island.
- ↑ For the Geology of Greece see: M. Neumayr, &c., Denks. k. Akad. Wiss. Wien, math.-nat. Cl. vol. xl. (1880); A. Philippson, Der Peloponnes (Berlin, 1892) and “Beiträge zur Kenntnis der griechischen Inselwelt,” Peterm. Mitt., Ergänz.-heft No. 134 (1901); R. Lepsius, Geologie von Attika (Berlin, 1893); L. Cayeux, “Phénomènes de charriage dans la Méditerranée orientale,” C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, vol. cxxxvi. (1903) pp. 474-476; J. Deprat, “Note préliminaire sur la géologie de l’île d’Eubée,” Bull. Soc. Géol. France, ser. 4, vol. iii. (1903) pp. 229-243, p. vii. and “Note sur la géologie du massif du Pélion et sur l’influence exercée par les massifs archéens sur la tectonique de l’Égéide,” ib. vol. iv. (1904), pp. 299-338.
