Page:The Natural History of Pliny.djvu/239

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

Chap. 9.] ACCOUNT OF COU^'TRTES, ETC. 205 Eome, Antipolis now Janiciilum, forming part of Eome, Antemna?-, Camerium^ Collatia^ Amitmum^ Norbe, Sulmo^ and, with these, those Alban nations^ who used to take part in the sacrifices' upon the Alban Mount, the Al- bani, the ^sulani^, the Accienses, the Abolani, the Bube- 1 Said to have been so called from being "opposite" to the ancient city of Satm-nia. The Janiculus or Janiculum was a fortress on the opposite bank of the Tiber, and a suburb of Rome, connected with it by the Subhcian bridge. 2 A very ancient city situate tiiree miles from Rome, and said to have been so called from its position on the Tiber, ante amnem. In the time of Strabo it had become a mere yiUage. It stood at the confluence of the Anio and the Tiber. 3 An ancient city of Latimn reduced by Tarquuiius Priscus. It has been suggested that the to-n of Palombara. near the foot of Monte Geimaro, stands on its site. ■* An ancient city of Latium. It probably gi-adually fell into decay. Lucius Tarquinius, the husband of Lucretia, is represented as dwelling here dm-ing the siege of Ardea. Its site is thought by some to have been at CasteUaccio or Castel deU' Osa, and by others at Lunghezza, which is perhaps the most probable conjecture. 5 An ancient city of the Sabuies. Its ruins are visible at San Yittorino, a village near Aquila. 6 An ancient town of the Yolsci, five leagues from VeUetri. Sermo- nata now stands on its site. It must not be confounded with the to-^-n of the Pehgni, the birth-place of Ovid. 7 " Popuh Albenses." It does not appear to be exactly known what is the force of tliis expression, but he probably means either colonics from .-Uba, or else nations who joiaed in the confederacy of which Alba was the principal. IS'iebuhr looks upon them as mere demi or boroughs of the ten-itory of Alba. 8 " Accipere camem." Literally, " to take the flesh." It appears that certain nations, of which Alba was"^ the chief, were in early tiines accus- tomed to meet on the Alban Mount for the purposes of sacrifice. The subject is full of obscurity, but it has been suggested that tliis minor con- federacy co-existed with a larger one including all the Latin cities, and there can be httle doubt that the common sacrifice was typical of a bond of union among the states that partook therem. It does not nec^^ssarily appear from the context that more than the thirty-one states after mew- tioned took part therein, though the text may be so construed as to imply that the Latin nations previously mentioned also shared in the sacrifice ; if so, it would seem to imply that Alba was the cliief city of the v;hole Latin confederacy. See tliis subject ably discussed in Dr. Smith's Dic- tionary of Ancient Geography, under the article Laiini. 9 The people of yEsula?. Of tliis Latin city nothing is kno i. The territory is mentioned by Horace, and GeU places its site on the Monte Affiliano.