Listed 2 sub titles with search on: Various locations for wider area of: "TYRRHENIAN SEA Sea ITALY" .
TYRRHENIAN SEA (Sea) ITALY
Pontia or Pontiae (Pontia: Ponza), an island in the Tyrrhenian sea,
situated off the coast of Italy, nearly opposite to the Circeian promontory. It
is the most considerable of a group of three small islands, now collectively known
as the Isole di Ponza; the ancient names of which were, Palmaria now Palmaruola,
the most westerly of the three, Pontia in the centre, and Sinonia (Zannone) to
the NE. (Plin. iii. 6. s. 12; Mel. ii. 7. § 18.) They are all of volcanic origin,
like the Pithecusae (Aenaria and Proclyta), nearer the coast of Campania, and
the island of Pandataria (now called Vandotena), about midway between the two
groups. Strabo places Pontia about 250 stadia from the mainland (v. p. 233), which
is nearly about the truth, if reckoned (as he does) from the coast near Caieta;
but the distance from the Circeian promontory does not exceed 16 geog. miles or
160 stadia. We have no account of Pontia previous to the settlement of a Roman
colony there in B.C. 313, except that it had been already inhabited by the Volscians.
(Liv. ix. 28 ; Diodor. xix. 101.) The colonisation of an island at this distance
from the mainland offers a complete anomaly in the Roman system of settlements,
of which we have no explanation; and this is the more remarkable, because it was
rot, like most of the maritime colonies, a colonia maritima civium, but was a
Colonia Latina. (Liv. xxvii. 10.) Its insular situation preserved it from the
ravages of war, and hence it was one of the eighteen which during the most trying
period of the Second Punic War displayed its zeal and fidelity to the Roman senate,
when twelve of the Latin colonies had set a contrary example. (Ibid.) Strabo speaks
of it as in his time a well peopled island (v. p. 233). Under the Roman Empire
it became, as well as the neighbouring Pandataria, a common place of confinement
for state prisoners. Among others, it was here that Nero, the eldest son of Germanicus,
was put to death by order of Tiberius. (Suet. Tib. 54, Cal. 15.)
The island of Ponza is about 5 miles long, but very narrow, and indented
by irregular bays, so that in some places it is only a few hundred yards across.
The two minor islands of the group, Palmaruola and Zannone, are at the present
day uninhabited. Varro notices Palmaria and Pontia, as well as Pandataria, as
frequented by great flocks of turtle doves and quails, which halted there on their
annual migrations to and from the coast of Italy. (Varr. R. R. iii. 5. § 7.)
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
Osteodes, a small island in the Tyrrhenian sea, lying off the N. coast
of Sicily, and W. of the Aeolian Islands. Diodorus tells us that it derived its
name (the Bone Island) from the circumstance, of the Carthaginians having on one
occasion got rid of a body of 6000 turbulent and disaffected mercenaries by landing
them on this island, which was barren and uninhabited, and leaving them there
to perish. (Diod. v. 11). He describes it as situated in the open sea, to the
west of the Liparaean or Aeolian Islands; a description which applies only to
the island now called Ustica. The difficulty is, that both Pliny and Ptolemy distinguish
Ustica (Oustika) from Osteodes, as if they were two separate islands (Plin. iii.
8. s. 14; Ptol. iii. 4. § 17). The former writer says, a Solunte lxxv. M. Osteodes,
contraque Paropinos Ustica. But as there is in fact but one island in the open
sea W. of the Lipari Islands (all of which are clearly identified), it seems certain
that this must have been the Osteodes of the Greeks, which was afterwards known
to time Romans as Ustica, and that the existence of the two names led the geographers
to suppose they were two distinct islands. Mela does not mention Ustica, but notices
Osteodes, which he reckons one of the Aeolian group; and its name is found also
(corruptly written Ostodis) in the Tabula, but in a manner that affords no real
clue to its position. (Mel. ii. 7. § 18; Tab. Peut.)
Ustica is an island of volcanic origin, about 10 miles in circumference,
and is situated about 40 miles N. of the Capo di Gallo near Palermo, and 60 miles
W. of Alicudi, the westernmost of the Lipari Islands. It is at this day well inhabited,
and existing remains show that it must have been so in the time of the Romans
also. (Smyth's Sicily, p. 279.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
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