Chap. 9.]
ACCOUNT OF COUNTRIES, ETC.
197
archia, then the Phlegræan[1] Plains, and the Marsh of Acherusia[2] in the vicinity of Cumæ.
Again, on the coast we have Neapolis[3], also a colony of the Chalcidians, and called Parthenope from the tomb there of one of the Sirens, Herculaneum[4], Pompeii[5], from which Mount Vesuvius may be seen at no great distance, and which is watered by the river Sarnus[6]; the territory of Nuceria, and, at the distance of nine miles from the sea, the town of that name[7], and then Surrentum[8], with the Promontory of Minerva[9], formerly the abode of the Sirens. The distance thence by sea to Circeii is seventy-eight miles. This
- ↑ Now called Salpatara. This was the name given to the volcanic plain extending from Cumæ to Capua, and supposed to have been once covered with fire; whence the name, from Φλέγω "to burn."
- ↑ Now the Lago di Fusaro. It seems to have had its name from its vicinity to Avernus, the supposed entrance to the infernal regions. Its banks were, in the later times of the Roman republic, adorned with the villas of the wealthy.
- ↑ Neapolis, or the "New City," was founded by the Chalcidians of Cumæ on the site of Parthenope, the supposed burial-place of the Siren of that name. It was so called as being only a 'new quarter' of the neighbouring city of Cumæ. The modern city of Naples stands nearly on its site.
- ↑ Said to have been founded by Hercules. It was on the occasion of its destruction by an eruption of Vesuvius, A.D. 79, that our author unfortunately met his death, a martyr to his thirst for knowledge. Its closer proximity to Vesuvius caused it to be buried under a more solid body of materials ejected from the mountain than was the case with Pompeii; which seems to have been suffocated with ashes, while Herculaneum was covered with volcanic tufa most probably hardened by the agency of water. A few scattered inhabitants are supposed to have afterwards settled upon the site where it was buried, which for many centuries was utterly forgotten, till brought to light in 1738. Part of the site over the buried town is occupied by the villages of Resina and Portici. The works of art found here far exceed in value and interest those discovered at Pompeii.
- ↑ This seems to have been a town of Oscan origin. The first traces of it were found in 1689, but excavations were not commenced till 1721. It perished in the same eruption of Vesuvius as Herculaneum.
- ↑ Now the Sarno. Its course was changed by the great eruption of Vesuvius previously mentioned.
- ↑ The modern Nocera stands on its site. Pompeii was used as its harbour.
- ↑ Now Sorrento.
- ↑ Now also called Capo della Minerva.
town, which was destroyed by Alaric, Genseric, and Totila, and as many times rebuilt.
