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A Note on the Topography of Syracuse

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2013

H. W. Parke
Affiliation:
Trinity College, Dublin

Extract

(1)The Location of Trogilus. The starting-point for this note is the able reinvestigation of the topography of Syracuse made by Knud Fabricius (Klio, Beiheft XXVIII, 1932). It is accepted here that he has proved his main thesis—that Epipolae was not part of the inhabited city at the time of the Sicilian expedition, and remained unoccupied even after it had been enclosed for strategic purposes inside Dionysius' wall. This view, conflicting with those generally held previously, involves considerable changes in the identification of various localities named in our ancient authorities. It is the purpose of the present note to suggest one further change, not considered by Fabricius, which will serve, however, to reinforce his general position.

Type
Notes
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies 1944

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References

1 Cf. also, e.g., Glotz, and Cohen, , Histoire Grecque, II, p. 692Google Scholar; CAH, V, map 10; Beloch, , Griechische Geschichte, II, 2, map IVGoogle Scholar; Smith's, Dictionary (1894), p. 908Google Scholar. See the attached map based on the excellent one appended to Fabricius' article (Fig. 1).

2 Professor F. G. Moore in the Loeb edition of Livy, Vol. VI, p. 430, seems to see the difficulty, and in a footnote on Galeagra suggests: ‘The tower was probably beyond the wall in the open country.’ This seems an unnecessary hypothesis, since Livy says that the Roman observed the wall ‘from near at hand’ (ex propinquo). On his map Moore roughly follows Fabricius and places Portus Trogilorum where he marks Trogilus. He does not mark Hexapylon, though (p. 432, note 2) he indicates that it lay on the north.

3 On this centre for tunny-fishing, see Baedeker, , Southern Italy (17th edition, 1930), p. 443Google Scholar, Bleus, Guides, Italie Méridionale (1935), p. 284Google Scholar. The Mediterranean Pilot (1937), Vol. I, p. 474Google Scholar, after mentioning the tunny-nets, records that the coast here ‘is free from dangers,’ a description which it does not give to any other point south of Magnisi (Thapsus).

4 So also Professor Laistner (A History of the Greek World from 479 to 323 B.C.), who appears to follow Fabricius throughout, marks on Map III the Athenian wall as running to the ravine, but places Trogilus in the usual location well to the west of it.

5 Cf. the occurrence of a cape Τρωγίλιον or Τρωγύλιον in Ionia. I have not been able, however, to ascertain whether any local feature there would suit this derivation.

6 Cf. Schwyzer, E., Griechische Grammatik, I, pp. 484–5Google Scholar. I am indebted to my colleague, Mr. Gordon Quin, for assistance on this subject.

7 The present writer visited Syracuse early in 1939, but had not formed the theory of the above identification at the time. So he cannot add anything from autopsy.

8 For the former, e.g., II, xix, 2, , xxv, 4, , III, cvii, 1, IV, cix, , VI, xcvii, 1, , VII, iv, 1, . For the latter, e.g., I, ii, 1, , II, xcix, 5, , and many other instances with νῦν.

9 II, lxxix, 4, , IV, lvi, 2, . Cf. II, lv, 1, but in a different order II, xxiii, 3.

10 I, xx, 2 and VI, lvii, 3, , II, xvii, 1, , VI, lvii, 1, , VIII, xc, 1, , xcvii, 1, .

11 E.g., IV, viii, 6, , liv, 1 , VIII, xxxiv, .

12 A curious detail may be noted in addition. According to Livy, the tower at Portus Trogilorum was called Galeagra—i.e., ‘weasel trap’—a queer name for such a building. Without further information about this tower and ancient weasel traps, one cannot say whether, for instance, the supposed resemblance lay in some feature of the appearance. But might it not, alternatively, be a facetious name given by the Syracusan soldiers to a tower which stood guard by the mouth of the ‘Hole’ ? For another curious joke on the word γαλεάγρα in a different context, cf. Stanford, W. B., Ambiguity in Greek Literature, pp. 51–5Google Scholar. The word may therefore have been felt to have humorous associations.