Listed 2 sub titles with search on: Various locations for destination: "PALESTINE Country MIDDLE EAST".
Belus (Beleus), called also Pagida by Pliny (v. 19), a small river of Palestine, described by Pliny as taking its rise from a lake named Cendevia, at the roots of Mount Carmel, which after running five miles enters the sea near Ptolemais (xxxvi. 26) two stadia from the city, according to Josephus. (B. J. ii. 2. § 9.) It is chiefly celebrated among the ancients for its vitreous sand, and the accidental discovery of the manufacture of glass is ascribed by Pliny to the banks of this river, which he describes as a sluggish stream, of unwholesome water, but consecrated by religious ceremonies. (Comp. Tac. Hist. v. 7.) It is now called Nahr Na'man; but the lake Cendevia has disappeared. It is an ingenious conjecture of Reland that its ancient appellation may be the origin of the Greek name for glass, huelos, or hualos. (Balaest. p. 290.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Carmelus Mons Chermel, Karmelos, LXX.; Karmelos, Strab. xvi. p. 758;
Karmelion oros, Joseph. Ant. xiii. 15. § 4), a mountain in Palestine, insignificant
in height and extent, but celebrated in history, sacred and profane. It forms
the southern extremity of the Gulf of Khaifa, and separates the great western
plain of Philistia from the Plain of Esdraelon and the coast of Phoenicia. It
falls abruptly to the sea, and its bluff head forms a bold promontory. From this
point it rises rapidly to the elevation of about 1,500 feet, and runs in a south-easterly
direction for about 18 miles, where it is connected by a range of lower hills
with the great range that passes down the whole of Palestine, known in its various
parts under various appellations, as the Mountain of Samaria, Mount Ephraim, the
Hill country of Judaea, and the Mountains of Hebron. It is a limestone formation,
and was formerly celebrated for its fertility, as its name implies.
In the division of the land among the 12 tribes, it formed the southern
boundary of Asher (Josh. xix. 68), and is chiefly celebrated in Holy Scriptures
for the sacrifice of Elijah (2 Kings, xxiii.), and there can be little doubt that
it owes its fame for sanctity among the Pagans to the tradition of that miracle.
It is mentioned by Iamblichus, in his life of Pythagoras, as a mountain
of pre-eminent sanctity, where this philosopher passed some time in solitude,
in a temple. He was seen there by the crew of an Egyptian vessel, descending from
the summit of the Mount, walking leisurely, without turning back, unimpeded by
the precipitous and difficult rocks. He went on board their vessel and sailed
with them for Egypt (cap. 3).
It was on this mountain that Vespasian consulted the oracle (Oraculum
Carmeli Dei, Suet. Vesp. 5). Tacitus also informs us that there was a god synonymous
with the mountain. He adds Nec simulacrum Deo aut templum, sic tradidere majores:
aram tantum et reverentiam (Hist. ii. 78). The altar was doubtless the traditional
site of that erected by Elijah, the memory of which has been preserved by the
natives to this day, at the southeastern extremity of the range. The celebrated
convent at the north-western extremity is said to mark the spot where Elijah and
Elisha had their abode. (Reland, Palest. p. 327-330; Ritter, Erdkunde von Asien,
vol. viii. p. 705, &c.)
Pliny speaks of Promontorium Carmelum et in monte oppidum eodem nomine,
quondam Acbatana dictum (v. 19. s. 17). Possibly he means the town of Porphyrium,
now Khaifa, at the foot of the mountain.
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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