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ELEA (Ancient city) ITALY
Palinurus or Palinuri Promontorium (Palinouros akroterion, Strab.:
Capo Paliuro), a promontory on the coast of Lucania, on the Tyrrhenian sea, between
Velia and Buxentum. It had a port of the same name immediately adjoining it, which
still bears the name of the Porto di Palinuro. Both headland and port received
their name from the well-known tradition, recorded by Virgil, and alluded to by
many other Latin writers, that it was here that Palinurus, the pilot of Aeneas,
was cast on shore and buried. (Virg. Aen. v. 833-871, vi. 337-381; Dionys. i.
53; Lucan ix.42; Mel. ii. 4. § 9; Solin. 2. § 13.) We learn from Servius that
heroic honours were paid him by the Lucanians (probably by the citizens of Velia),
and that he had a cenotaph and sacred grove not far from that city. (Serv. ad
Aen. vi. 278.) It does not appear that there was ever a town adjoining the headland;
and the port, which is small, though secure and well sheltered, is mentioned only
by Dionysius; but the promontory is noticed by all the geographers except Ptolemy,
and is described by Pliny as forming the northern boundary of a great bay which
might be considered as extending to the Colaumna Rhegina, or the headland on the
Sicilian straits. It is in fact the most salient point of the projecting mass
of mountains which separate the gulf of Posidonia from that of Laus or Policastro,
and form the chief natural feature of the coast of Lucania. (Plin. iii. 5. s.
10; Mel ii. 4. § 9; Strab. vi. p. 252; Oros. iv. 9.) Some ruins of ancient buildings
are still visible on the summit of the headland, which are popularly known as
the tomb of Palinurus. The promontory still retains its ancient name, though vulgarly
corrupted into that of Palonudo.
Like most mountain promontories, that of Palinurus was subject to
sudden and violent storms, and became, in consequence, on two occasions the scene
of great disasters to the Roman fleets.. The first was in B.C. 253, when a fleet
under the consuls Servilius Caepio and Sempronius Blaesus, on its return from
Africa, was shipwrecked on the coast about Cape Palinurus, and 150 vessels lost
with all the booty on board. (Oros. iv. 9.) The second was in B.C. 36, when a
considerable part of the fleet of Augustus, on its way to Sicily, having been
compelled by a tempest to seek refuge in the bay or roadstead of Velia, was lost
on the rocky coast between that city and the adjoining headland of Palinurus.
(Dion Cass. xlix. 1; Appian, B.C. v. 98; Vell. Pat. ii. 79.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
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