Chapter 16

“Some day, around the Dragon’s stony tomb,A mighty multitude shall meet their doom.”

“Some day, around the Dragon’s stony tomb,

A mighty multitude shall meet their doom.”

For the Greeks of Italy, enticed by this prophecy, marched against Laüs and were defeated by the Leucani.2080

2. Such, along the shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea, are the possessions of the Leucani, which at first did not reach to the other sea;2081the Greeks who dwelt on the Gulf of Tarentum possessed it. But before the coming of the Greeks there were no Leucani, the Chones2082and Œnotri possessed these territories. But when the Samnites had greatly increased, and expelled the Chones and Œnotri, and driven the Leucani into this region, while the Greeks possessed the sea-coast on both sides as far as the straits, the Greeks and the Barbarians maintained a lengthened contest. The tyrants of Sicily, and afterwards the Carthaginians, at one time making war against the Romans, for the acquisition of Sicily, and at another, for Italy itself, utterly wasted all these regions. The Greeks, however, succeeded in depriving the ancient inhabitants of a great portion of the midland country, beginning even as early as the Trojan war; they increased in power, and extent of territory, to such a degree, that they called this region and Sicily, theMagna Græcia. But now the whole region, except Tarentum, Rhegium, and Neapolis, has become barbarian,2083and belongs partly to the Leucani and Bruttii, partly to the Campani; to these, however, only in name, but truly to the Romans; for these people have become Roman. However, it is incumbent on one who is treating of universalgeography, to speak both of things as they now are, and of some of those that have been, and especially when they are important. Of the Leucani, who border upon the Tuscan Sea, mention has already been made; those who possess the midland regions dwell above the Gulf of Tarentum, but these, as well as the Bruttii, and the Samnites themselves, the progenitors of both, have been so maltreated [by the Romans], that it is difficult to determine the boundaries of each people. The reason of this is, that there no longer remains separately any of the institutions common to these nations; and their peculiarities of language, of military and civil costume, and such particulars, have passed away; besides, even their places of abode, considered separately and apart, possess nothing worthy of observation.

3. We will narrate in a general manner what we have gathered concerning the Leucani, who dwell in the interior, without too much care in distinguishing them from their neighbours, the Samnites. Petilia2084is considered as the metropolis of the Leucani, and is still well peopled. It owes its foundation to Philoctetes, who was compelled to quit Melibœa on account of civil dissensions. Its position is so strong, that the Samnites were formerly obliged to construct forts around it for the defence of their territory. The ancient Crimissa, situated near these places, was also founded by Philoctetes. Apollodorus, in his description of the ships [of the Greeks], narrates concerning Philoctetes, that, according to certain writers, this prince having disembarked in the district of Crotona, settled on the promontory of Crimissa, and built the city of Chone2085above it, from which the inhabitants were called Chones; and that certain colonists being sent by him into Sicily, to the neighbourhood of Eryx,2086with Ægestus theTrojan, founded Ægesta.2087In the inland districts are also Grumentum,2088Vertinæ,2089Calasarna,2090and other small villages, reaching as far as Venusia,2091a city of some importance. This, however, I consider to be a Samnite city, as are also those which are next met with on going into Campania. Above the Thurii lies the district called Tauriana.2092The Leucani are of Samnite origin. Having vanquished the Posidoniates and their allies, they took possession of their cities. At one time the institutions of the Leucani were democratic, but during the wars a king was elected by those who were possessed of chief authority: at the present time they are Roman.

4. The Bruttii occupy the remainder of the coast as far as the Strait of Sicily, extending about 1350 stadia. Antiochus, in his treatise on Italy, says that this district, which he intended to describe, was called Italy, but that previously it had been called Œnotria. The boundary which he assigns to it on the Tyrrhenian Sea, is the river Lao,2093and on the Sea of Sicily Metapontium, the former of which we have given as the boundary of the Bruttii. He describes Tarentum, which is next to Metapontium,2094as beyond Italy, calling it Iapygian. He also relates that, at a more ancient period, those who dwelt on this side the isthmus, which lies next the Strait of Sicily, were the only people who were called Œnotrians and Italians. The isthmus is 160 stadia across between the two gulfs, namely, that of Hipponium,2095which Antiochus called Napitinus, andthat of Scylletium.2096The circumnavigation of the peninsula, which is comprised between this isthmus and the strait, is 2000 stadia. He says that afterwards the names of Italy and of the Œnotrians were extended as far as Metapontium and the Siritis; the Chones, a people of Œnotrian descent, and highly civilized, inhabited these districts, and called their country Chone. However, this author has written in a very loose and old-fashioned manner, without giving any definite boundaries to the Leucani and Bruttii. Now Leucania is situated on the Tyrrhenian and Sicilian Seas, extending on one coast from the Silaro2097to the river Lao, and on the other from Metapontium2098to Thurii. Along the continent it stretches from the country of the Samnites, as far as the isthmus between Thurii and Cerilli,2099near the Lao. This isthmus is 300 stadia2100across. Beyond are the Bruttii, who dwell on the peninsula; in this is included another peninsula, which is bounded by the isthmus between Scylletium2101and the Hipponiate gulf.2102The nation received its appellation from the Leucani, for they call runaways Bruttii, and they say that formerly they ran away from them when employed as shepherds, and that afterwards their independence was established through the weakness [of the Leucani], when Dion [of Syracuse] was prosecuting a war against [the younger] Dionysius, and fomented hostilities amongst all.2103This is all we shall remark as to the Leucani and Bruttii.

5. From the Lao the first city is the Temesa2104of the Bruttii, which at present is called Tempsa. It was founded by the Ausonians; afterwards the Ætolians, under the command of Thoas, gained possession of it. These were expelled by the Bruttii; Hannibal and the Romans have overthrown the Bruttii.2105In the vicinity of Temesa is the Heroum of Polites, one of the companions of Ulysses. It is surrounded by a thick grove of wild olives. He was treacherously slain by the barbarians, and became in consequence very wrathful, and his shade so tormented the inhabitants that they submitted to pay him a tribute, according to the direction of a certain oracle. Thus it became a proverb amongst them, “Let no one offend the hero of Temesa,” for they said that [for a long time he2106] had tormented them. But when the Epizephyrian Locrians took the city, they feign that Euthymus the pugilist went out against him, and having overcome him in fight, constrained him to free the inhabitants from tribute.2107They say that the poet intended this Temesa, and not the Tamassus2108in Cyprus, (for it is said that the words are suitable to either,2109) when he sings,

“in quest of brassTo Temesa.”2110

“in quest of brass

To Temesa.”2110

and certain copper-mines are pointed out near to the place, which are now exhausted. Contiguous to it is Terina,2111which Hannibal destroyed, when he found he could no longer retain it; at the time when he took refuge in the country of the Bruttii.2112Next in order comes Cosentia,2113the metropolis of the Bruttii. A little above it is Pandosia, which is strongly fortified, before which Alexander the Molossian king was overthrown. This prince was led astray by the oracle of Dodona, which commanded him to avoid Acheron and Pandosia;2114for places with names like these being pointed out in Thesprotia, caused him to lose his life2115here. The position has three summits, and the river Acheron flows by it. He was also mistaken in another oracle,

“O Pandosia, thou three-topp’d hill,Hereafter many people thou shalt kill;”

“O Pandosia, thou three-topp’d hill,

Hereafter many people thou shalt kill;”

for he thought that it foreshowed the destruction of his enemies, and not of his own people. They say that Pandosia2116was formerly the residence of the Œnotrian kings. After Cosentia is Hipponium,2117founded by the Locrians.2118The Romans took it from the Bruttii, who were in possession of it at a subsequent period, and changed the name into Vibo-Valentia.2119And because the meadows in its vicinity are luxuriant and full of flowers, it is supposed that Proserpine came over from Sicily to gather them, and from thence the custom among women of this city, to gather flowers and plait garlands, prevailed to such an extent, that they now think it shameful to wear purchased garlands at the festivals.2120It also possesses a harbour2121made by Agathocles,2122the tyrant of Sicily, when he was in possession of the town. On sailing hence to the Portus Herculis,2123we come to the point where the headlands of Italy, as they stretch towards the Strait [of Sicily], begin to turn westward. In this voyage we pass Medma,2124a city of the same Locrians,2125which bears the name of a copious fountain, and possessing at a short distance a naval station, called Emporium.2126Very nigh is the river Metauro,2127as also a naval station bearing the same name.2128The Lipari Isles lie off this coast; they are distant 200 stadia from the strait. They say that they are the islands of Æolus, of whom the poet makesmention in the Odyssey.2129They are seven in number, and are all easily distinguished both from Sicily and the coast of the continent about Medma. We will speak of them in particular when we describe Sicily. After the river Metaurus, there is another Metaurus.2130Next in order is Scyllæum, an elevated cliff nearly surrounded by the sea. But connected with the mainland by a low isthmus easily accessible on either side, which Anaxilaus, the tyrant of Rhegium, fortified against the Tyrrheni, and formed a commodious haven, and thus prevented the pirates from passing through the strait. Next to the Scyllæan promontory was that of Cænys, distant from Medma 250 stadia. It is the last headland, and forms the narrowest part of the Strait [of Sicily], being opposite to Cape Pelorus on the Sicilian side, which is one of the three points which give to that island the form of a triangle. Its aspect is towards the rising of the sun in summer, whilst that of Cænys looks towards the west. Indeed they both seem to have diverged from the general line of coast in order to stand out opposite each other.2131From Cænys to the Posidonium2132[and] the Columna Rheginorum,2133the narrow part of the strait stretches as much as 6 stadia, the shortest passage across the strait is a little more. From the Columna [Rheginorum]to Rhegium, where the strait begins to widen, is a hundred [stadia] as you advance in a direction towards the exterior and eastern sea, which is called the sea of Sicily.

6. Rhegium2134was founded by certain Chalcidenses, who, as they say, were decimated as an offering to Apollo in a time of scarcity, by order of an oracle, and afterwards removed hither from Delphi, taking with them certain others from home. As Antiochus says, the Zanclæans sent for the Chalcidenses, and appointed Antimnestus chief over them. Certain fugitives of the Messenians of Peloponnesus accompanied this colony, who had been compelled to fly by those who refused to give satisfaction to the Lacedæmonians for the violation2135of the virgins at Limnæ, whom they had abused when attending the religious festival, and had slain those who assisted them. However when the fugitives had removed to Macistus, they sent to the oracle complaining against Apollo and Diana for suffering these things to happen notwithstanding they so greatly honoured them, and inquiring how the devoted might be saved. Apollo commanded to send them with the Chalcidenses to Rhegium, and to be grateful, therefore, to his sister Diana for that they were not lost but saved, as they should not be destroyed with their country, which would be annihilated shortly after by the Spartans.2136They acted in accordance with the oracle, and thus it was that the rulers of the Rhegini were all of Messenian race until the time of Anaxilaus.

Antiochus asserts that anciently the whole of this district was inhabited by Sicilians and Morgetes; and that theyafterwards passed into Sicily when they were expelled by the Œnotri. Some say that Morgantium2137thus received its name from the Morgetes. But the city of the Rhegini became very powerful, and possessed many dependent settlements. It has always been a bulwark for us against the island [of Sicily], and, indeed, has recently served to that purpose when Sextus Pompeius alienated Sicily.2138It was called Rhegium either, as Æschylus says, because of the convulsion which had taken place in this region; for Sicily was broken from the continent by earthquakes,

“Whence it is called Rhegium.”2139

Others,2140as well as he, have affirmed the same thing, and adduce as an evidence that which is observed about Ætna, and the appearances seen in other parts of Sicily, the Lipari and neighbouring islands, and even in the Pithecussæ, with the whole coast beyond them, which prove that it was not unlikely that this convulsion had taken place. But now these mouths being opened, through which the fire is drawn up, and the ardent masses and water poured out, they say that the land in the neighbourhood of the Strait of Sicily rarely suffers from the effects of earthquakes; but formerly all the passages to the surface being blocked up, the fire which was smouldering beneath the earth, together with the vapour, occasioned terrible earthquakes, and the regions, being disturbed by the force of the pent-up winds, sometimes gave way, and being rent received the sea, which flowed in from either side; and thus were formed both this strait and the sea which surrounds the other islands in the neighbourhood. For Prochyta2141and thePithecussæ, as well as Capreæ, Leucosia, the Sirenes, and the Œnotrides, are but so many detached fragments from the continent, but other islands have risen from the bottom of the sea, a circumstance which frequently occurs in many places; for it is more reasonable to think that the islands in the midst of the sea have been raised up from the bottom, and that those which lie off headlands and are separated merely by a strait were broken off from them. Still it is beside our purpose to investigate thoroughly whether the name were given to the city for these causes, or whether it were named by the Samnites from the Latin word regium, which signifies royal, on account of its importance,2142for their chieftains participated in the privileges of citizenship with the Romans, and generally used the Latin language. But Dionysius (the elder), having been treated with contempt by them, destroyed the illustrious city which had founded many towns and produced many distinguished characters, whether statesmen or men of letters,2143for when he sought a consort from their city, they offered him the hangman’s daughter;2144but his son (Dionysius the younger) partly restored it,2145and called it Phœbia. During the war with Pyrrhus, a body of Campanians destroyed most of the citizens against the faith of treaties,2146and a littlebefore the Marsic or social war, earthquakes destroyed most of the towns;2147but after Augustus Cæsar had driven Sextus Pompeius out of Sicily, when he saw that the city was deficient of inhabitants, he appointed certain of those who accompanied the expedition to reside there, and it is now tolerably well peopled.2148

7. Sailing 50 stadia from Rhegium towards the east, we meet the cape called Leucopetra, from the colour of the rock, where they say the range of the Apennines terminates.2149Further on is Heraclæum.2150It is the last promontory, and looks towards the south; for presently on doubling it the course takes a south-western direction as far as the promontory of Iapygia,2151then it runs towards the north more and more, and towards the west along the Ionian gulf. After the Herculeum Promontorium is the headland of Locris, which is called Zephyrium,2152possessing a haven exposed to the west winds, whence is derived its name. Then is the state of the Locri Epizephyrii, a colony of Locrians transported by Evanthes from the Crissæan gulf, shortly after the foundation of Crotona and Syracuse.2153Ephorus was not correct in statingthat they were a colony of the Locri Opuntii.2154They remained at first during three or four years at Cape Zephyrium; afterwards they removed their city, with the assistance of certain Syracusans who dwelt amongst them. There is also a fountain called Locria in the place where the Locri first took up their abode. From Rhegium to the Locri there are 600 stadia. The city is built on a height, which they call Esopis.2155

8. The Locri are believed to have been the first who committed their laws to writing, but after they had enjoyed the advantage of these good laws for a very considerable time, Dionysius [the younger], having been expelled2156from Syracuse, found means to abuse them in a most abominable manner, for he, entering into a private chamber where certain young brides had been adorned for their nuptials, violated them; he also gathered the most beautiful virgins to his revels, and having liberated doves with uncut wings, commanded the young women to chase them round the apartment in a state of perfect nudity, while on some he bound sandals of unequal height, one being high and the other low, in order to make their appearance in the pursuit the more unseemly. However he paid dearly for this, for having returned to Sicily to resume his government, the Locri overpowered the guard he had left in their city, freed themselves, and obtained possession of his wife and children; there were two of his daughters, and his second son who had already attained the age of manhood; the eldest, however, called Apollocrates, accompanied his father in the expedition. And although Dionysius himself entreated them earnestly, as did also the Tarentines, to deliver the prisoners for whatever ransom they should name, they remained inexorable, and endured a siege and the wasting of their country, that they might vent their rage on his daughters. After having exposed them to the most shameful outrages,they strangled them, burnt their bodies, pounded their bones, and cast them into the sea.2157Ephorus in speaking of the written law of the Locri, which Zaleucus had most judiciously selected from the Cretan, Lacedæmonian, and Areopagite codes, says that Zaleucus was the first to establish this principle, that whereas formerly lawgivers had left it to the judges to award the punishments for the several offences, he established a certain penalty in his laws, thinking that the minds of the judges would not be led to attach the same penalties for the same transgressions, which course he considered expedient. He praises him also for having simplified the law of contracts. [He says also] that the Thurians, being desirous to improve [the code of Zaleucus] more than the Locri had done, became more celebrated, but were less judicious.2158For that state is not regulated by the best government, where they guard against all manner of deceit by their laws, but that wherein they abide by laws simply framed. Plato also has observed that where there are many laws, there there will be law-suits and evil lives, in the same way as, where there are many physicians, there it is likely there is much sickness.

9. There is a certain singular circumstance, respecting grasshoppers, worthy of note. The river Alece2159divides Rhegium from Locris, flowing through a deep ravine; those which are in the territory of the Locrians sing, but those on the other side are silent; and it is thought probable that this is caused by the region being woody, and their membranes being softened by dew do not produce sound; but those on the Locrian side being sunned, are dry and horny, so that the sound is easily produced by them. The statue of Eunomus the harper having a grasshopper seated on his harp is shown at Locri. Timæus says, that this Eunomus was once contending at the Pythian games and disputed with Aristo of Rhegium for the prize, and that Aristo declared that the peopleof Delphi ought to take part with him, because his ancestors were consecrated to the god, and sent out to found the colony; but Eunomus said that they could have no claim to contend for melody with any one, because that among them even the grasshoppers, who are the most gifted of all creatures, were mute. Nevertheless Aristo was applauded, and had hopes of obtaining the victory, but Eunomus was declared victorious, and dedicated the said statue in his country, because that at the contest one of the chords of his harp having broken, a grasshopper taking his stand on it supplied the sound. Above these towns the Bruttii possess the interior, and there is the city Mamertium,2160and the forest which they call Sila, which produces the best or Bruttian pitch.2161It yields fine trees, and is well watered, extending over a length of 700 stadia.

10. After the Locri is the [river] Sagras,2162in the feminine gender, on which is situated the altar of the Dioscuri, near which ten thousand Locrians, with a small body of Rhegians gained a victory over 130,000 Crotoniatæ, whence they say arose the proverb applied to incredulous people, “It is more true than the victory of the Sagras.” Some people add to the mysterious account, that it was announced the same day at the Olympic games to the people there assembled, and this speedy news was found perfectly correct. They say that this mischance was so unfortunate an event to the Crotoniatæ, that after it they did not long remain as a nation, on accountof the number of citizens who fell in the battle. After the Sagras is Caulonia, which was at first called Aulonia, from the αὐλὼν, or valley, in which it was situated; but it is deserted, for its former possessors were driven out by the barbarians,2163and have taken refuge in Sicily, and there founded [another] Caulonia.2164After this is Scylletium,2165a colony of the Athenians, who set out under Menestheus;2166it is now called Scylacium.2167Dionysius [the elder] allotted a portion of it to the Locri, whilst it was in the possession of the Crotoniatæ.2168The Scylleticus Sinus received its name from this city. It together with the Hipponiates Sinus forms the isthmus which we have mentioned above.2169Dionysius2170undertook to build a wall across the isthmus, at the time he was carrying on war against the Leucani, assigning as a pretext that it would afford security to the inhabitants of the peninsula from the inroads of the barbarians dwelling beyond it; but in truth his intention was to cut off the communication of the Greeks with each other, and to have the greater power over those who dwelt within the peninsula, but those who dwelt without2171assembled and prevented the undertaking.

11. After Scylletium is the region of Crotona, and theIapygum tria Promontoria,2172and after these the Lacinium,2173sacred to Juno, formerly rich and filled with many offerings. But the distances have not been accurately stated. We can only say that in a general way Polybius reckons 23002174stadia from the strait2175to Lacinium,2176and 700 stadia from Lacinium to the Iapygian promontory. They call this the entrance of the Gulf of Taranto. The extent of the gulf is considerable, being 240 miles along the shore. As the chorographer says ... of 380 ... to a light person, Artemidorus: wanting also by so many ... of the breadth of the mouth of the gulf.2177Its aspect looks towards the rising of the sun in winter.2178It commenced from Lacinium, for presently on doubling the cape you come to where the Greek cities formerly stood; now they no longer exist, with the exception of Tarentum. But on account of the estimation in which certain of them were held, it is worth while to speak of them somewhat in detail.

12. The first is Crotona, 150 stadia from Lacinium and the river Esaro;2179there is also a haven2180there, and another riverNieto,2181the name whereof is said to be derived from the following circumstance—they say that certain of the Greeks who had wandered from the fleet which had besieged Troy, having arrived in this place, disembarked to take a survey of the country, and that the Trojan women who accompanied them in the fleet, having observed the absence of the men, and being wearied with a toilsome voyage, set fire to the fleet, so that they were compelled to abide, when they saw, in addition [to the loss of their ships], that the soil was very fertile. Many others arriving soon after, and being desirous to live near their fellow-countrymen, founded several settlements. Most of them derived their names from the Trojans, and the river Nieto received its appellation from the destruction2182[of the ships]. But Antiochus relates that an oracle having commanded the Greeks to found Crotona, Myscellus went forth to view the place, and having seen Sybaris already built on a neighbouring river of the same name, thought it better, and returned to the god to ask if he might be permitted to settle in that, instead of the other; but that the oracle answered, applying to him an epithet noticing his defective stature, (for Myscellus was somewhat crook-backed,)

“O short-backed Myscellus, whilst seeking somewhat else of thyself,Thou pursuest only misfortune: it is right to accept that which is proffered to thee:”2183

“O short-backed Myscellus, whilst seeking somewhat else of thyself,

Thou pursuest only misfortune: it is right to accept that which is proffered to thee:”2183

and that he returned and built Crotona, wherein he was assisted by Archias,2184the founder of Syracuse, who happened to touch at Crotona by chance, as he was proceeding to the colony of the Syracusans. The Iapyges possessed Crotona before this time,2185as Ephorus relates. The city cultivated martialdiscipline and athletic exercises to a great extent, and in one of the Olympic games all the seven wrestlers, who obtained the palm in the stadium, were Crotoniatæ; whence, it seems, the saying arose that the last wrestler of Crotona was the first of the other Greeks, and hence they say also is the origin of the expression, “more salubrious than Crotona,” as instancing a place which had something to show, in the number of wrestlers which it produced, as a proof of its salubrity and the robust frame of body which it was capable of rearing. Thus it had many victors in the Olympic games, although it cannot be reckoned to have been long inhabited on account of the vast destruction of its citizens, who fell at the battle of the Sagras. Its celebrity too was not a little spread by the number of Pythagoreans who resided there, and Milo,2186who was the most renowned of wrestlers, and lived in terms of intimacy with Pythagoras, who abode long in this city. They relate that at a banquet of the philosophers, when one of the pillars in the hall gave way, Milo sustained the ceiling while they all escaped, and afterwards saved himself. It is likely that, trusting to the same strength, he met his fate as related by some, for whilst making his way through a thick wood, he strayed considerably out of the path, when finding a great log with wedges in it, he thrust both his hands and feet into the fissure, intending to split it completely, but was only able to force it enough to let the wedges fall out, when the gaping log presently closed on him, and he, being taken as in a snare, was devoured by wild beasts.

13. Beyond this, at the distance of 200 stadia, is situated Sybaris,2187a colony settled by the Achæans, between the tworivers Crati2188and Sybaris.2189Its founder was Is....2190the Helicean.2191So great was the prosperity enjoyed by this city anciently, that it held dominion over four neighbouring people and twenty-five towns; in the war with the Crotoniatæ it brought into the field 300,000 men, and occupied a circuit of 50 stadia on the Crati. But on account of the arrogance and turbulence of its citizens, it was deprived of all its prosperity by the Crotoniatæ in 702192days, who took the city, and turning the waters of the river [Crati], overwhelmed it with an inundation.2193Some time after, a few who had escaped came together and inhabited the site of their former city, but in time they were dispossessed by the Athenians2194and other Greeks, who came and settled amongst them, but they despised and subjugated them, and removed the city to a neighbouring place, calling its name Thurii, from a fountain of that name. The water of the river Sybaris has the peculiar property of making the horses which drink it shy,2195for which reason they keep their horses away from the river. The Crati turns the hair of those who bathe in it yellow, and sometimes white, but hasbeen found salutary for the cure of many disorders. Thurii, after having flourished for a long time, became a continual prey to the aggressions of the Leucani,2196and afterwards the Tarentini troubling them, they appealed to the Romans for succour, who, in course of time, sent a colony2197when it was nearly deserted, and changed the name of the city to Copiæ.2198

14. After Thurii is Lagaria,2199a garrison fort; it was originally settled by Epeius2200and the Phocenses; hence is derived the Lagaritan wine, sweet and delicate, and much recommended by the physicians, as is likewise the Thurian wine, which is reckoned among the best. Then comes the city of Heraclea,2201a little way from the sea, and two navigable rivers, the Agri2202and the Sinno,2203on which was the city Siris, founded by a Trojan colony, but in course of time, when Heraclea was peopled with the citizens of Siris by the Tarentini, it became the harbour of Heraclea. Its distance from Heraclea was 24 stadia, and from Thurii about 330.2204They point out the statue of the Trojan Minerva, which is erected there, as a proof of its colonization by the Trojans. They also relate as a miracle how the statue closed its eyes when the suppliants, who had fled for sanctuary to her shrine, were dragged away by the Ionians after they had taken the city;2205they say that these Ionians came to settle here, when they fled from the yoke of the Lydians, and took the town of the Trojans2206by force, calling its name Polieum. They show, too, at the present timethe statue that closes its eyes. It must, however, require a good courage, not to assert that it appeared to have closed its eyes, as that at Troy turned away its eyes from beholding the violence offered to Cassandra, but to show it in the act of winking:—but it is much more daring to make so many statues of the Minerva rescued from Ilium, as those who describe them affirm, for there is a Minerva said to be Trojan in the sense of having been rescued from that city, not only at Siris, but at Rome, at Lavinium, and at Luceria. The scene, too, of the daring of the Trojan female captives is assigned to many different places and appears incredible, although it is by no means impossible. There are some who say that Siris, and also that Sybaris on the Trionto,2207were founded by the Rhodians. Antiochus says that the site of Siris having become the subject of a contention between the Tarentini and the Thurii, on that occasion commanded by Cleandridas the general who had been banished from Lacedæmon, the two people came to a composition, and agreed to inhabit it in common, but that the colony2208should be considered as Tarentine; however, at a subsequent period both the name and the locality were changed, and it was called Heraclea.2209

15. Next in order is Metapontium,2210at a distance of 140 stadia from the sea-port of Heraclea. It is said to be a settlement of the Pylians at the time of their return from Ilium under Nestor; their success in agriculture was so great, that it is said they offered at Delphi a golden harvest:2211they adduce, as a proof of this foundation, the offerings of the dead sacrificed periodically to the Neleïdæ;2212but it was destroyed bythe Samnites.2213Antiochus says that certain Achæans, who had been sent for by the Achæans of Sybaris, settled in this place when it had been desolated; he adds that these were sent for on account of the hatred of the Achæans to the Tarentini, who had originally migrated from Laconia, in order to prevent their seizing upon the place which lay adjacent to them. Of the two cities, viz. Metapontium which was situated the nearer, [and Siris the further,2214] from Tarentum, the new comers preferred to occupy Metapontium. This choice was suggested by the Sybarites, because, if they should make good their settlement there, they would also possess Siris, but if they were to turn to Siris, Metapontium would be annexed to the territory of the Tarentines which was conterminous. But after being engaged in war with the Tarentini and the Œnotrians, who dwelt beyond them, they came to an agreement, securing to them a portion of land, which should constitute the boundary between Italy, as it then existed, and Iapygia. This, too, is the locality which tradition assigns to the adventures of Metapontus and the captive Melanippe, and her son Bœotus. But Antiochus is of opinion that the city Metapontium was originally called Metabum, and that its name was altered at a subsequent period; and that Melanippe was not entertained here but at Dius, and thinks that the heroum of Metabus as well as the testimony of the poet Asius, who says that

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