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At
the Silaro begins the third region, the Lucanian and Bruttian
territory; in this too there have been frequent changes of population.
It has been occupied by the Pelasgi, Oenotri, Itali, Morgetes, Siculi
and mostly by peoples of Greece, and most recently by the Lucani,
Samnite in origin, whose leader was Lucius. The town of Paestum (called
Poseidonia by the Greeks), the bay of Paestum, the town of Elea, now
Velia, Cape Palinuro, from which across the bay that here stretches
inland the distance to the Royal Pillar [the modern Reggio] is 100
miles. Next is the river Melpes, the town of Buxentum (the Greek name
of which is Pyxus) and the river Laus - there was once a town also of
the same name. Here begins the coast of the Bruttii, with the town of
Blanda, the river Baletum, the port of Parthenius, founded by the
Phocians, the Bay of Vibo, the site of Clampetia, the town of Tempsa
(the Greek name of which is
Temese), and Terina, founded by the people of Croton, and the extensive
Bay of Terina; and inland the town of Cosenza. On a peninsula is the
river Acheron [now the Arconte], which gives its name to the township
of the Acherontians; Hippo, which we now call Viba Valentia; the Port
of Hercules, the river Metaurus, the town of Tauroentun, the Port of
Orestes, and Medma; the town of Scyllaeum and the river Crataeis, known
in legend as the Mother of Scylla; then the Royal Pillar, the Straits
of Messina and the two opposing headlands, Caenus [perhaps Punta del
Pezzo] on the Italian and Pelorum [Capo di Faro] on the Sicilian side,
the distance betwen them being 1 1/2 miles; Reggio is 11 1/2 miles
away. Next comes the Appenine forest of Sila, and the promontory of
Leucopetra 15 miles from it, and Epizephyrian Locri (called after the
promontory Zephyrium) 51 miles; it is 303 miles from the river Silaro.
And this rounds off the first gulf of Europe.
Pliny: Natural History Book III. v. 71 - 74 (Translated by H. Rackham,
1942 Cambridge, Mass. Harvard U. Press (Loeb Classical Library)
...http://www.voicenet.com/~mimir/Bruttii.html
BRUTTII from The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 1978, p. 183, 1970.
Bruttii inhabited the rugged south-west peninsula of Italy (modern
Calabria; the name Bruttium lacks ancient authority). Earlier
inhabitants were Morgetes and Oenotri (=Sicels?) and Chones
(=Illyrians). Sabellian Lucani appeared near Laus c. 390 B.C., defeated
Thurii (q.v.) (Polyaenus 2. 10), and imposed their Oscan language on
the peninsula. In 356 the Oscanized inhabitants, asserting their
independence from the Lucani, became known as Bruttii, probably a
pre-Sabellian name which the Lucani adopted as their word for
"run-aways" (Diod. 16. 15; Strabo 6 253 f.; Justin 23. 1). The Bruttii
conquered several Greek colonies on the fertile coastlands, became
themselves partly hellenized (Festus 31 L.), and reached their apogee
in the third century. Rome, however, subjugated them for supporting
Phyrrus and seized half the Sila Forest (q.v.) (Zonar. 8. 6; Dion. Hal.
20. 15). When they revolted to Hannibal, Rome confiscated additional
territory, ringed them round with colonies (Buxentum, Tempsa, Vibo,
Croton, Thurii), and practically enslaved them (App. Hann. 61).
Consequently, the separate nation of Bruttii disappeared. In 71 B.C.
Spartacus, following Hannibal's example, based his operations on
Bruttian territory. Once famous for its ship's timbers and pitch,
Hannabalic depredations started its decline (but see Cassiod. Var. 8.
31). Chief towns: Cosentia, Clampetia, and Greek coastal colonies.
J. Whatmough, Foundations of Roman Italy (1937), 335; G. Slaughter,
Calabria, the First Italy (U.S.A. 1939); E. Vetter, Handbuch der ital.
Dialekten i (1953), 119 ff.; A. De Franciscis, O. Parlangeli, Gli
italici del Bruzio (1960). -Edward Togo Salmon |
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