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laneum and Pompeii. Here also was the luxurious city, Capua, which was punished so severely for its revolt in the second Punic war; and Cumæ, on the sea-coast, the residence of a sibyl. The southern portion of Italy was called Magna Grecia, from the number of the Grecian colonies it contained. It comprised Apulia, Lucania and Bruttium. The chief places of interest here were, Brundusium, Brindisi, the principal port for the passengers from Greece to Italy; Tarentum, Tarento, founded by the Lacedemonians; and Cannæ, so fatal to the Romans in the dreadful battle against Hannibal. The large islands of Sicilia, Sardinia, and Corsica were regarded as Roman colonies.

GRÆCIA. The most general name for Greece among the natives themselves was Hellas. It was bounded on the north by Macedon.

Seas and Gulfs.-Egeum Mare, the Archipelago; Saronicus Sinus, Gulf of Egina; Argolicus Sinus, G. of Napoli; Laconicus Sinus, G. of Kolokythia; Messeniăcus S., G. of Koron; S. Corinthiacus, G. of Lepanto.

Divisions.-Greece may be divided into three parts.-I. Northern Greece, containing Thessaly and Epirus. In Thessaly are the mountains, Olympus, the fabled abode of the gods; Ossa, Pelion, and Pindus, and the plain of Pharsalia, where Cæsar overcame Pompey. Larissa was its capital. In Locris is the pass of Thermopylæ. - II. Central Greece, which comprises Attica, Megăris, Boeotia, Phocis, Locris, Daris, Ætolia, and Acarnania. In Attica was Athens, and the plain of Marathon; in Boeotia, Thebes, the birth-place of Pindar; in Phocis, the mountain Parnassus, the resort of poets; and Delphi, famous for its games, and the oracle of Apollo.-III. The Peloponnesus, Morea, containing Achaia, originally called Ionia, Sicyonia, Corinthia, Elis, Arcadia, Argolis, Messenia, and Laconia. The principal cities of this region were Corinth and Sparta, or Lacedæmon.

ILLYRICUM, DACIA, MESIA, MACEDONIA and THRACE were to the N. of Greece, and form the northern part of Turkey in Europe.

Seas, &c.-Pontus Euxenus, the Black Sea; Bosphorus Thracius, the St. of Constantinople; Propontis, the Sea of Marmora; Hellespontus, the Dardanelles, so called from Helle, the sister of Phryxus, who was drowned in it.

Towns.-Pella, the native city of Philip and Alexander; Beræa, Karaferia; and Thessalonīca, mentioned in Scripture; Adrianopolis, and Byzantium, Constantinople, which became the capital of the Roman Empire, A.D. 328.

R

ASIA.

ASIA MINOR Consists of the Peninsula between the Euxine and Me

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1. Three countries towards the west; Mysia, Lydia, and Caria. The principal towns in this division were the sea-ports, Phocæa, Ephěsus, Milētus, Smyrna, and Halicarnassus; inland were the towns of Sardis and Thyatira in Lydia, and Pergamus in Mysia, afterwards celebrated for its library and the invention of parchment (membranæ Pergamena).

2. Three towards the south, Lycia, Pamphylia, and Cilicia, with its capital, Tarsus.

3. Three towards the north, Bithynia, Paphlagonia, and Pontus. On this coast were the ports Heraclea, Amīsus, and Sinōpe.

4. Three inland, Galatia; Phrygia, in which were the cities of Laodicea and Colossæ; and Cappadocia.

SYRIA; PHOENICIA and PALESTINE were on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, to the south of which was ARABIA; and to the east, MESOPOTAMIA, ARMENIA and BABYLONIA. Of these Palestine alone will require minute description.

PALESTINE, or the Holy Land, was so called from the Philistines, a warlike people, who migrated from Egypt before the time of Moses, and settled in the south-western part of the country. Its original inhabitants were the descendants of the youngest son of Ham, from whom it received the name of Canaan. After its occupation by the Israelites, and allotment amongst the twelve tribes, it was called the Land of Israel.

Under the sway of the Romans, the country west of the river Jordan was divided into three provinces, Galilee, in the north, Samaria, in the middle, and Judæa in the south. The region beyond Jordan comprehended Batanea, Perea, and several other minor districts.

1. Galilee extended from the mountains of Lebanon, on the north, to Carmel, on the south-west. Its population in the time of our Saviour was slightly intermixed with Greeks and Syrians, and spoke a dialect somewhat different from that of Judæa. For these reasons, as well as their distance from Jerusalem, the inhabitants were slighted by the Jews. Jesus spent most of his life in this province. He resided at Nazareth, Nazera; performed his first miracle at Cana; restored a widow's son to life at Nain; and often visited Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, "his own city," fishing towns situated on the Lake of Tiberias. The town of Tiberias, Tabaria, is still a place of some importance; it stands on the margin of the lake, which is also indifferently called the Lake of Gennesareth, the Sea of Galilee, and the Sea

of Cinneroth, from localities on its shores. At no great distance from Tiberias, Mount Tor, or Tabor, where Jesus was transfigured, rises from the plain of Esdraelon.

The territory stretching along the coast was assigned as a portion to Asher, but that tribe was never able to expel the Phoenicians from the north. The principal towns were Sidon, Saide, noted for its manufactures and commerce; Zarephath, or Sarepta, where Elijah raised the widow's son; Tyre, Sour, called "The Daughter of Sidon," because founded by a colony from that city; and south of these, Accho or Ptolemais, Acre, the key of Syria, on a semicircular bay; the opposite extremity of which is formed by Mount Carmel. Near Acre is the river Belus, from the sands of which glass was first made.

The Bay of Acre receives the waters of the river Kishon, memorable for the destruction of Sisera's host. At the further end of the bay stood Porphureon, famed for the fish which produced the well-known Syrian dye. Carmel, once the retreat of Elijah, terminates in a flattened cone, 2000 feet high, the boldest promontory on the coast of Palestine, and extends a distance of eight miles to the plain of Esdraelon.

Dan, and Cæsarea Philippi, or Baneas, probably occupied sites, not far distant from one another, at the foot of Mount Lebanon, or Libănus, near the sources of the Jordan: Baneas retains its ancient name, and is situated above Lake Samachonitis, the Waters of Merom.

2. Samaria included the possessions of Ephraim and Manasseh, west of Jordan. When the ten tribes were carried captive, it was peopled with Assyrians. (2 Kings, xviii. 24.) Hence arose the enmity between the Jews and Samaritans. The chief city, Samaria, named Sebaste, the Venerable, in honour of Augustus Cæsar, now Sebastich, was built by Omri, the father of Ahab, who made it the capital of the kingdom of Israel. Here Elijah and Elisha prophesied, and John the Baptist was beheaded. It stands on an insulated hill, surrounded by a deep valley. A magnificent colonnade, supposed to be the remains of Herod's palace, stands on the southern declivity. Shechem, Naplous, is delightfully situated in the valley of Sychar, between the mountains of Gerizim and Ebal -the highest in Samaria. The sepulchre of Joseph, and Jacob's Well, are still pointed out to the traveller. A remnant of the Samaritans continue to practise their ancient national observances. The ruins of a monastery mark the site of Bethel, to the south of Shechem. Cæsarea, Kissary, the city of Herod and the residence of the Roman governors of Palestine, was situated on the coast. Here St. Paul was a prisoner, and defended himself before Agrippa and Felix. favourably situated for trade, but incommodious; the sailed from it for Greece. It is now a heap of ruins. Sharon, celebrated for its beauty, lay between Cæsarea and Joppa.

Its harbour was
Apostles often
The Plain of

3. Judæa, the southern division, extended to the lower extremity of the Lake Asphaltītes, the Dead Sea, on the east, and the river of Egypt, upon which El Arisch is situated, on the west. Jerusalem, the capital, was built on four hills-Mount Zion, on which the palace of David and the Tabernacle stood; Mount Moriah, where Isaac was to have been offered, and where the Temple of Solomon was afterwards built; Mounts Bezetha and Ascra. Calvary is in the western quarter of the modern city; it was anciently without the walls. The Mount of Olives lies on the east side, and is reached by crossing the Valley of Jehoshaphat, through which the brook Kedron flows southward. A road leading from the eastern gate of the city to the villages of Bethphage and Bethany, passes the Garden of Gethsemane, the scene of our Saviour's agony. Bethlehem, his birth-place, is six miles south of Jerusalem. Tekoa, where Amos prophesied, lay beyond it, in the same direction; and still further south, in the hill-country of Judæa, is Hebron, which contains the tombs of Abraham and Sarah, within a mosque built over the cave of Machpelah.

The Wilderness of Judæa, commencing near Jericho, stretched along the shores of Jordan and the Dead Sea to Hebron.

Joppa, Jaffa, the nearest sea-port to the Holy City, is said by Pliny to have existed before the flood. It is celebrated as the place to which the materials of the Temple were brought from Lebanon, where Jonah embarked for Tarshish, and Peter restored Tabitha to life. thea, Ramla, is situated between Jaffa and Jerusalem.

Arima

Philistia, the country of the Philistines, occupied the rest of the southern coast. Its chief towns,-Asdod, Azotus, Edzoud, one of the five satrapies of the Philistines, and famed for the Temple of Dagon, stands on a hill, twelve miles from Jaffa. Ekron, Tookrair, and Gath, lay at a short distance.

The ruins of Ascalon, a flourishing city during the Crusades, occupy a strong position on a rocky ridge near the sea shore. Gaza, from which Sampson carried off the gates, crowns the summit of a hill.

Beersheba and Kadesh Barnea lay near the southern frontier of Judæa; the latter interesting as the place from which spies were sent to explore the Promised Land, and from which the Israelites recommenced their wanderings in the Wilderness.

AFRICA.

Only the northern part of this continent was known to antiquity, and the most interesting facts connected with the ancient geography of Egypt and Carthage have been given in the first part of this work.

G. Woodfall and Son, Printers, Angel Court, Skinner Street, London.

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