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NAPLES (Town) CAMPANIA
Sarnus (ho Sarnos: Sarno), a river of Campania, flowing into the Bay
of Naples. It has its sources in the Apennines, above Nuceria (Nocera), near which
city it emerges into the plain, and, after traversing this, falls into the sea
a short distance S. of Pompeii. Its present mouth is about 2 miles distant from
that city, but we know that in ancient times it flowed under the walls of Pompeii,
and entered the sea close to its gates. The change in its course is doubtless
owing to the great catastrophe of A.D. 79, which buried Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Virgil speaks of the Sarnus as flowing through a plain (quae rigat aequora Sarnus,
Aen. vii. 738); and both Silius Italicus and Statius allude to it as a placid
and sluggish stream. (Sil. Ital. viii. 538; Stat. Silv. i. 2. 265; Lucan ii.422.)
According to Strabo it was navigable, and served both for the export and import
of the produce of the interior to and from Pompeii. (Strab. v. p. 247; Plin. iii.
5. s. 9; Ptol. iii. 1. § 7; Suet. Clar. Rhet. 4.) Vibius Sequester tells us (p.
18) that it derived its name as well as its sources from a mountain called Sarus,
or Sarnus, evidently the same which rises above the modern town of Sarno, and
is still called Monte Saro or Sarno. One of the principal sources of the Sarno
does, in fact, rise at the foot of this mountain, which is joined shortly after
by several confluents, the most considerable of these being the one which flows,
as above described, from the valley beyond Nuceria.
According to a tradition alluded to by Virgil (l. c.), the banks of
the Sarnus and the plain through which it flowed, were inhabited in ancient times
by a people called Sarrastes whose name is evidently connected with that of the
river. They are represented as a Pelasgian tribe, who settled in this part of
Italy, where they founded Nuceria, as well as several other cities. (Conon, ap.
Serv. ad Aen. l. c.; Sil. Ital. viii. 537.) But their name seems to have quite
disappeared in the historical period; and we find Nuceria occupied by the Alfaterni,
who were an Oscan or Sabellian race.
No trace is found in ancient authors of a town of the name of Sarnus; but
it is mentioned by the Geographer of Ravenna (iv. 32), and seems, therefore, to
have grown up soon after the fall of the Roman Empire.
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
VAIE (Ancient city) ITALY
Lucrinus Lacus (ho Lokrinos kolpos, Strab: Lago Lucrino), a salt-water
lake or lagoon, adjoining the gulf of Baiae on the coast of Campania. It was situated
just at the bight or inmost point of the deep bay between Puteoli and Baiae, and
was separated from the outer sea only by a narrow strip or bank of sand, in all
probability of natural origin, but the construction of which was ascribed by a
tradition or legend, frequently alluded to by the Roman poets, to Hercules, and
the road along it is said to have been commonly called in consequence, the Via
Herculea or Heraclea. According to Strabo it was 8 stadia in length, and wide
enough to admit of a road for waggons. (Diod. iv. 22 ; Strab. v. p. 245; Lycophr.
Alex. 697 ; Propert. iv. 18. 4; Sil. ltal. xii. 116--120.) On the other side,
the Lucrine lake was separated only by a narrow space from the lake Avernus, which
was, however, of a wholly different character, being a deep basin of fresh water,
formed in the crater of an extinct volcano; while the Lacus Lucrinus, in common
with all similar lagoons, was very shallow, and was for that reason well adapted
for producing oysters and other shell-fish, for the excellence of which it was
celebrated. (Hor. Epod. ii. 49, Sat. ii. 4. 32; Juven. iv. 141; Petron. Sat. p.
424; Martial, vi. 11. 5, xiii. 90; Varr. ap. Non. p. 216.) These oyster-beds were
so valuable as to be farmed out at a high price, and Caesar was induced by the
contractors to repair the dyke of Hercules for their protection. (Serv. ad Georg.
ii. 161.)
The Lucrine lake is otherwise known chiefly in connection with the
great works of Agrippa for the construction of the so-called Julius Portus, alluded
to in two well-known passages of Virgil and Horace. (Virg. Georg. ii. 161-163;
Hor. Ars Poet. 63.) It is not easy to understand exactly the nature of these works;
but the object of Agrippa was obviously to obtain a perfectly secure and land-locked
basin, for anchoring his fleet and for exercising his newly-raised crews and rowers.
For this purpose he seems to have opened an entrance to the lake Avernus by a
cut or canal from the Lucrine lake, and must, at the same time, have opened a
channel from the latter into the bay, sufficiently deep for the passage of large
vessels. But, together with this work, he strengthened the natural barrier of
the Lucrine lake against the sea by an artificial dyke or dam, so as to prevent
the waves from breaking over it as they previously did during heavy gales. (Strab.
v. p. 245; Dion Cass. xlviii. 50; Suet. Aug. 16; Veil. Pat. ii. 79; Serv. et Philargyr.
ad Virg. l. c.; Plin. xxxvi. 15. s. 24.) It is clear from the accounts of these
works that they were perfectly successful for a time, and they appear to have
excited the greatest admiration; but they were soon abandoned, probably from the
natural difficulties proving insuperable; and, from the time that the station
of the Roman fleet was established at Misenum, we hear no more of the Julian Port.
Even in the time of Strabo it seems to have fallen into complete disuse, for he
says distinctly, that the lake Avernus was deep and well adapted for a port, but
could not be used as such on account of the Lucrine lake, which was shallow and
broad, lying between it and the sea (v. p. 244). And again, a little further on
(p. 245), he speaks of the latter as useless as a harbour, and accessible only
to small vessels, but producing abundance of oysters. At a later period Cassiodorus
(Var. ix. 6) describes it in a manner which implies that a communication was still
open with the lake Avernus as well as with the sea. The two lakes are now separated
by a considerable breadth of low sandy ground, but it is probable that this was
formed in great part by the memorable volcanic eruption of 1538, when the hill
now called Monte Nuovo, 413 feet in height and above 8000 feet in circumference,
was thrown up in the course of two days, and a large part of the Lucrine lake
filled up at the same time. Hence the present aspect of the lake, which is reduced
to a mere marshy pool full of reeds, affords little assistance in comprehending
the ancient localities. (Daubeny, On Volcanoes, pp. 208-210.) It is said that
some portions of the piers of the port of Agrippa, as well as part of the dyke
or bank ascribed to Hercules, are still visible under the level of the water.
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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