to the bravery of Aristodemus, who then led a force to the relief of Aricia, which was being attacked by the Etruscans, and, returning at the head of his victorious army, overturned the aristocracy and made himself tyrant, but was ultimately murdered by the aristocrats. These were unable to repel a renewed Etruscan attack without the help of Hiero of Syracuse, who in the battle of Cumae of 474 B.C. drove the Etruscan fleet from the sea, and broke their power in Campania.
The Samnites finally destroyed the Etruscan supremacy by the capture of Capua in the latter half of the 5th century (see Capua; Campania), and the Greeks of Cumae were overwhelmed by the same invasion, either in 420 B.C. (Livy iv. 44) or in 421 (Diodor. Sic. xii. 76), if his statement is drawn from Greek sources, 428 if it is to be dated by the Roman consuls to whose year he ascribes it. This catastrophe brought to an end the beautiful series of Greek coins from the town (B. V. Head, Historia Numorum, p. 31), and Oscan became its language, though in many respects the Greek character of the town survived (Strabo v. 4. 3, and the other references given by R. S. Conway, Italic Dialects, p. 84). One or two inscriptions in Oscan survive (id. ib. 88-92), one of which is a Iovila or heraldic dedication. The date of the general disuse of Oscan in the town appears to be fixed about 180 B.C. by the request (Livy xl. 44) which the Cumaeans addressed to Rome that they might be allowed to use Latin for public purposes. Cumae now ceased to have any independent history. It came under the supremacy of Rome in 343 (or 340) as Capua did, obtained the civitas sine suffragio and was governed after 318 by the praefecti Capuam Cumas. (R. S. C.)
In the Hannibalic wars it remained faithful to Rome. It probably acquired civic rights in the Social War and remained a municipium until Augustus established a colony here. Under the empire it is spoken of as a quiet country town, in contrast to the gay and fashionable Baiae, which, however, with the lacus Avernus and lacus Lucrinus, formed a part of its territory. Cicero’s villa on the east bank of the latter, for example, which he called the Academia, was also known as Cumanum. In the Gothic wars the acropolis of Cumae was, except Naples, the only fortified town in Campania, and it retained its military importance until it was destroyed by the Neapolitans in 1205, since, which time it has been deserted.
The acropolis hill (269 ft. above sea-level), a mass of trachyte which has broken through the surrounding tufa, lies hardly 100 yds. from the low sandy shore. It is traversed by caves, which are at three different levels with many branches. Some of them may belong to a remote date, while others may be quarries, but they have not been thoroughly investigated. They are famous in legend as the seat of the oracle of the Cumaean Sibyl.
The acropolis has only one approach, on the south-east; on all other sides it falls away steeply. Remains of fortifications of all ages run round the edge of the hill; some of the original Greek work, in finely hewn rectangular tufa blocks, exists on the east. The medieval line follows the ancient, except on the N.E., where it takes in a larger area.
Within the acropolis stood the temple of Apollo, erected, according to tradition, by Daedalus himself, the remains of which, restored in Roman times, were discovered in 1817, on the eastern and lower summit. On the higher western summit stood another temple, excavated in 1792, but now covered up again. This may be that of the Olympian Zeus (Liv. xxvii. 23).
There are also various remains of buildings of the imperial period, and these are far more frequent on the site of the lower town (now occupied by vineyards) which lies below the acropolis to the south. The line of the city walls can be traced both on the E. and on the W., though the remains on the E. are insignificant, and on the W. (the seaward side) only the scarping of the hill remains. To the S. of the town, just outside the wall, is the amphitheatre. To the N. of it is the point where the roads from Liternum (the Via Domitiana running along the sandy coast), Capua (a branch of the Via Campana), Misenum and Puteoli meet. The last passes through the Arco Felice, an arch of brick-faced concrete 63 ft. high which spans a cutting through the Monte Grillo, made by Domitian to shorten the course of the road, which had hitherto run farther north. The Grotto della Pace leads to the shores of Avernus. On the E. side of Cumae are considerable remains of the Roman period, among them those of the temple of Demeter, as restored by the family of the Lucceii.
The cemeteries of Cumae extended on all sides of the ancient city, except towards the sea, but the most important lay on the north, between this temple and the Lago di Licola. Excavations during the 19th century in Greek, Samnite and Roman graves have produced many important objects, now in the various museums of Europe, but especially at Naples. Recent discoveries in this necropolis (including that of a circular archaic tomb with a conical roof) have led to considerable discussion as to the true date of the foundation of Cumae, and have made it clear that, in any case, a pre-Hellenic indigenous settlement existed here—a result of great importance.
See J. Beloch, Campanien (Breslau, 1890), 145 seq.; G. Pellegrini, Monumenti dei Lincei, xiii. (1903); G. Patroni, Atti del Congresso di Scienze Storiche (1904), vol. v. p. 215 seq. (T. As.)
CUMANÁ, a city and port of Venezuela, capital of the state
of Bermudez, situated on the Manzanares river about 1 m.
above its mouth, 52 ft. above sea-level and 180 m. E. of Caracas.
It is the oldest existing European settlement on the South
American continent, having been founded by Diego Castellon
in 1523 under the name of Nueva Toledo. The city was almost
totally destroyed by an earthquake in 1766, and again in 1797.
Slight shocks are very frequent, some of them severe enough to
cause considerable damage to the buildings. The mean annual
temperature is 83° F. and the climate is enervating. In colonial
times the city was rich and prosperous and enjoyed a lucrative
trade with the mother country, its population at that time being
estimated at 30,000, but much of its prosperity has disappeared
and its population is now estimated at 10,000. Excellent fruits
are produced in its vicinity, and its exports include cacáo, coffee,
sugar, hides, tobacco and sundry products in small quantities.
A tramway connects the city with its port at the mouth of the
Manzanares.
CUMBERLAND, DUKES AND EARLS OF. The earldom of Cumberland was held by the family of Clifford (q.v.) from 1525 to 1643, when it became extinct by the death of Henry, the 5th earl. The 1st earl of Cumberland was Henry, 11th Lord Clifford (1493–1542), a son of Henry, 10th Lord Clifford (c. 1454–1523). Created an earl by Henry VIII. in 1525, Henry remained loyal during the great rising in the north of England in 1536, and
died on the 22nd of April 1542. His son and successor, Henry, the 2nd earl (c. 1517–1570), married Eleanor (d. 1547), a daughter of Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, and Mary, daughter of King Henry VII.; he had the tastes of a scholar rather than a soldier, and died early in 1570. By his first wife, Eleanor, he left an only daughter Margaret (1540–1596), who married Henry Stanley, 4th earl of Derby, and who in 1557 was regarded by many as the rightful heiress to the English throne. By his second wife he left two sons and a daughter; his elder son George succeeding to the earldom in 1570, and his younger son Francis succeeding his brother in 1605. George, 3rd earl of Cumberland (1558–1605), was born on the 8th of August 1558, and married Margaret (c. 1560–1616), daughter of his guardian, Francis, 2nd earl of Bedford. Although interested in mathematics and geography he passed his early years in dissipation and extravagance; then he took to the sea, commanded the “Bonaventure” against the Spanish Armada, and from this time until his death on the 30th of October 1605 was mainly engaged in fitting out and leading plundering expeditions, some of which, especially the one undertaken in 1589, gained a large amount of booty. The earl left no sons, and his barony was claimed by his only daughter Anne (1590–1676), the wife successively of Richard Sackville, 3rd earl of Dorset, and of Philip Herbert, 4th earl of Pembroke and Montgomery; while his earldom was inherited by his brother Francis (1559–1641). A long law-suit between the new earl and the countess Anne over the possession of the
