drawn from the Ambracian gulf to the mouth of the river Peneus. The term Hellas was also employed in a more extended sense to signify the abode of the Hellenes, wherever they might be settled; and accordingly the Grecian cities of Cyrene in Africa, of Syracuse in Sicily, and of Tarentum in Italy, were as much parts of Hellas as Athens, Sparta, and Corinth. Map of Greece, showing the general direction of the Mountain Ranges. 1. Thessaly. 9. Epirus. 3. Doris. 8 Attica. 9. Megaris. 11. Ætolia. 12. Acarnania. 7. Bœotia. 13. Arcadia. 14. Achaia. 15. Argolis. 10. Locri Ozolae. 16. Laconia. 17. Messenia. 18. Elis. § 5. Midway between the Ionian and Ægean seas the chain cf mountains forming the northern boundary of Greece is intersected at right angles by the long and lofty range of Pindus, running from north to south, like the Apennines of the Italian peninsula. From Mount Pindus two lateral branches stretch towards the eastern sea, running parallel to one another at the distance of sixty miles, and enclosing the plain of Thessaly, the richest and largest in Greece. The southern of these two branches bore the name of Othrys; the northern, which has been already mentioned under the name of the Cambunian mountains, terminates upon the coast in the lofty summit of Olympus, the highest in all Greece, being 9700 feet above the level of the sea, and scarcely ever free from snow. South of Olympus another range, known under the successive names of Ossa and Pelion, stretches along the coast parallel to that of Pindus. Thus Thessaly is enclosed between four natural ramparts, which are only broken at the north-eastern extremity by the celebrated vale of Tempe, between Olympus and Ossa, through which the river Peneus finds its into the sea. way Pindus forms the boundary between Thessaly and Epirus. The latter country contains no enclosed plain like that of Thessaly, but is covered by rugged ranges of mountains running from north to south, through which the Achelous, the largest river of Greece, flows towards the Corinthian gulf. § 6. At about the thirty-ninth degree of latitude Greece is contracted into a kind of isthmus by two opposite gulfs, the Ambracian on the west and the Malian on the east. This isthmus separates the peninsula of central Greece from the mainland of Thessaly and Epirus. Central Greece again may be divided into two unequal halves, the eastern half containing the countries of Doris, Phocis, Locris, Boeotia, Attica, and Megaris, the western comprising Ozolian Locris, Ætolia, and Acarnania. A little above the thirty-ninth degree of latitude there is a summit in the range of Pindus, called Mount Tymphrestus, from which ranges of mountains radiate, as from a centre, in all directions. On the east two gigantic arms branch off towards the sea: the one which runs nearly due east under the name of Othrys has been already mentioned; the other which bears the name of Eta, has a south-easterly direction, and forms the northern barrier of central Greece. The only entrance into central Greece from the north is through the narrow opening left between Mount Eta and the sea, immortalized in history under the name of Thermopyla. South of Tymphrestus the chain of Pindus divides into two great branches, and no longer bears the same name: one strikes to the south-east under the names of Parnassus, Helicon, Citharon, and Hymettus, and finally reaches the sea at Sunium, the southernmost point of Attica; the other diverges to the south-west under the names of Corax and the Ozolian mountains, and joins the sea near the entrance of the Corinthian gulf. § 7. In the highlands between Eta and Parnassus is a narrow plain called Doris, from which the Dorians are said to have issued to the conquest of Peloponnesus. Here rises the river Cephissus, which flows into Phocis. The greater part of Phocis is occupied by Parnassus, which rises to the height of 8000 feet, but between this mountain and those of eastern Locris is a fertile plain drained by the Cephissus. From the eastern extremity of Mount Eta a range of mountains runs southward along the coast. It passes through the country of the Locrians, called respectively Epicnemidian, from Mount Cnemis, and Opuntian, from the town of Opus. Baotia extends from sea to sea, but it is separated from the Eubœan channel by a continuation of the Locrian mountains and from the Corinthian gulf by the lofty range of Helicon, celebrated in poetry as the abode of the Muses. On its northern frontier the offshoots of Parnassus and the Locrian mountains leave only a narrow opening through which the Cephissus flows; and on the south the country is shut in by the lofty barrier of Citharon and Parnes, which separate it from Attica. Baotia is thus a large hollow basin, enclosed on every side by mountains, and containing a considerable quantity of very fertile land. The Cephissus, and the streams which descend from the surrounding hills, form in the centre of the country the lake Copaïs, which finds an outlet for its waters through subterraneous channels in the limestone mountains. Attica is in the form of a triangle, having two of its sides washed by the sea and its base united to the land. The range of Citharon and Parnes, which forms its northern boundary, shuts off this peninsula from the rest of Greece. Citharon is prolonged towards the south-west, skirting the shores of the Corinthian gulf and forming the mountainous country of Megaris. Here it rises into a new chain under the name of the Geranean mountains, which stretch across Megaris from west to east, parallel to Citharon. These mountains sink down southward towards the Isthmus, which separates central Greece from Peloponnesus. Here the Corinthian gulf on the west and the Saronic gulf on the east penetrate so far inland as to leave only a narrow neck of land between them, not more than four miles across at its narrowest part. The Isthmus is comparatively level, but im mediately to the south rise the Onean hills, protecting Peloponnesus from invasion by land. § 8. The western half of central Greece consists, as already said, of Locris, Ætolia, and Acarnania. Locris, called Ozolian to distinguish it from the eastern district of this name, lies upon the Corinthian gulf, and is a wild and mountainous country, nearly covered by the offshoots of the Phocian Parnassus and the Etolian Corax. Etolia and Acarnania, separated by the river Achelous, are also mountainous, the greater part of their surface being occupied by a continuation of the hills of Epirus, but at the same time containing a few fertile plains upon the banks of the Achelous. All three countries were the haunts of rude robber tribes even as late as the Peloponnesian war. § 9. The Isthmus which connects central Greece with the southern peninsula is so small in comparison with the outspread form of the latter, that the ancients regarded the peninsula as an island, and gave to it the name of Peloponnesus, or the island of Pelops, from the mythical hero of this name. Its form was compared in antiquity to the leaf of the plane tree or the vine, and its modern name, the Morea, was bestowed upon it from its resemblance to the leaf of the mulberry. The mountains of Peloponnesus have their roots in the centre of the country, from which they branch out towards the sea. This central region, called Arcadia, is the Switzerland of the peninsula. It is surrounded by a ring of mountains, forming a kind of natural wall, which separates it from the other Peloponnesian states. These mountains are unbroken on the northern, eastern, and southern frontiers, and it is only on the western side that the waters of the Alpheus, the chief river in the peninsula, find their way through a narrow opening towards the Ionian sea. It is on the northern frontier that the Arcadian mountains are the loftiest and most massive; and at the northeastern extremity of the country Mount Cyllene rises to the height of 7788 feet above the level of the sea, a grand and majestic object as seen from the isthmus and the Corinthian gulf. § 10. The other chief divisions of Peloponnesus were Achaia, Argolis, Laconia, Messenia, and Elis. Achaia was a narrow slip of country lying between the northern barrier of Arcadia and the Corinthian gulf. It is intersected by numerous ranges of hills, which descend from the Arcadian mountains, and either run out into the sea in the form of bold promontories, or subside before reaching the shore. The plains thus left on the coast, and the valleys between the mountains, are for the most part very fertile Argolis was used as a collective term to signify the territories of several independent states. Of these the most important were Corinth and Sicyon, near the eastern extremity of the Corinthian gulf, and Argos, situated at the head of the Argolic gulf, in a plain ten or twelve miles in length and from four to five in breadth. The remainder of Argolis consisted of a rocky peninsula between the Saronic and Argolic gulfs, containing at its eastern extremity the territories of Epidaurus, Træzen, and Hermione. Laconia and Messenia occupied the whole of the south of Peloponnesus from sea to sea. They were separated by the lofty range of Taygetus, running from north to south and terminating in the promontory of Tænarum (now Cape Matapan), the southernmost point of Greece and Europe. Along the eastern side of Laconia the range of Mount Parron extends from north to south parallel to that of Taygetus, and terminates in the promontory of Malea. Between these two ranges is the valley of the Eurotas, in which Sparta stood, and which south of this city opens out into a plain of considerable extent toward the Laconian gulf. Messenia in like manner was drained by the Pamisus, whose plain is still more extensive and fertile than that of the Eurotas. Elis was the region between the western barrier of Arcadia and the Ionian sea. It is covered to a great extent with the offshoots of the Arcadian mountains, but contains several plains. In the centre of the country is the memorable plain of Olympia, through which the Alpheus flows, and in which the city of Pisa stood. § 11. The numerous islands which line the Grecian shores were occupied in historical times by the Grecian race. Of these the most important was Eubœa, ninety miles in length, stretching along the coasts of Boeotia and Attica. Through it ran from north to south a long chain of mountains which may be regarded as a continuation of the range of Ossa and Pelion. South of Euboea was the group of islands called the Cyclades, lying round Delos as a centre; and east of these were the Sporades, near the Asiatic coast. South of these groups lay the two large islands of Crete and Rhodes. In the Saronic gulf between Attica and Argolis were the celebrated islands of Salamis and Ægina, the former reckoned as part of Attica, and the latter long the rival and eye-sore of Athens. Off the western coast of Greece, in the Ionian sea, we find Corcyra opposite Epirus, Cephallenia and Ithaca opposite Acarnania, and Zacynthus near the coast of Elis in Peloponnesus. Cythera was separated by a narrow channel from the southern extremity of Laconia. § 12. The physical features of the country exercised an important influence upon the political destinies of the people. |