C E R 



671 



C E R 



Cerigo. lets. Hernia is an extremely prevalent disease, inso- 



, ' nuii-h that it is calculated a fifth part of the popula- 

 tion labour nnder it. By some this has been judged 

 an hereditary malady; according to other*, it is owing 

 to the great consumption of oil and legumes in diet ; 

 while the native physicians ascribe it entirely to ine- 

 quality of the air. 



Towards the south-west part of the island, the 

 town of Cerigo, consisting or a confused assemblage 

 of flat-roofed edifices, is situated on a lull. It is de- 

 fended by a strong fortress, which was lately taken 

 by the British on the expulsion of the Turks and 

 Russians. The houses are necessarily low, to resist 

 the effect of earthquakes, and the frequent tempests. 

 The capacious harbours described by the ancients 

 no longer exist, nor is there more than a confined place 

 for the anchorage of shipping at the base of the hill. 



Several monasteries and convents are on the island, 

 one of which is held in peculiar veneration, from the 

 inhabitants believing that St John there composed 

 the Revelations. It is cut out of the solid rock, 

 amidst impending cliffs which threaten to crush the 

 spectator. The Greek cathedral, where the bishop 

 of Cerigo officiates on solemn occasions, was built 

 at the expence of one of the eastern emperors in 

 the year 1028. 



An academy for the tuition of the public was recent- 

 ly established in Cerigo, and an old Roman Catholic 

 monastery converted to the more useful purpose of 

 accommodating the pupils. 



As the political state of the island must, from ne- 

 cessity, be passive, the inhabitants have little in- 

 ducement to action. They were deprived of the 

 means of cultivation before the establishment of the 

 academy ; but some repaired to Italy for the be- 

 nefit of education. Living in constant insecurity 

 from the numerous corsairs which infest the shores 

 of the Mediterranean, is a depressing restraint to the 

 progress of improvement, and renders the property 

 they possess of inferior value. Sometimes their ship- 

 ping is destroyed, their cattle carried away, and 

 their own persons exposed to imminent danger. 



Most of the islanders devote themselves to agricul- 

 ture, and the acquisition of articles of the first ne- 

 cessity : they besides carry on a trifling traffic with 

 the neighbouring coasts. 



Probably Cerigo was infinitely more populous of 

 old, and has long been inhabited. Not far from the 

 town is a hill, apparently composed of human bones 

 alone, which, tradition says, was a cemetery in for- 

 mer times. 



This island was known to the ancients by the 

 name of Porphyrmsa, supposed to be derived either 

 from porphyry abounding in it, or from the shell 

 producing a certain purple dye, held in high estima- 

 tion in antiquity : But it is not ascertained by the 

 moderns that Cerigo has now to boast of either. It 

 was also called Cythera ; derived, as Ptolemy thinks, 

 from Cytherus, the son of Phoenix, who established 

 himself there. It is sufficiently authenticated, that 

 the island was consecrated to the worship of Venus, 

 under the name of Cythera ; and when that goddess 

 sprung from the waters, according to ancient mytho- 

 logy, she was wafted thither in a pearl shell. A 

 temple was here erected in honour of her, the most 

 celebrated within the bounds of the Grecian territo- 

 ries : it contained her statue, of unrivalled workman- 

 ship, with all her attributes ; and also another, of 

 Helen the queen of Menelaus. Ruins, conjectured 



to be those of temples or palaces, still exist ; and &t 

 some, more widely diffused, are supposed the vesugrt 

 of an ancient city, where Menelaus reigned. Tb 7^ ttor ^: 

 islanders point out a grotto among them as the bathe 

 of Helen, cut out of the fcolid rock. Such rams *re 

 dispersed over all Cerigo, both in the interior and 

 on the coant ; and in calm wcathrr they are said to 

 be discernible at the bottom of the sea. Coins and 

 statues are sometimes dug up from the few de- 

 cayed columns, (.till remaining, which are said to 

 mark the site of the temple of Venus ; and an ancient 

 quarry, of vast extent, shews that huge blocks were 

 detached from it for constructing edifices. Cata- 

 combs, of regular shape and dimensions, with seve- 

 ral sarcophagi, were lately discovered : the interior 

 of the wall*, is plastered with a layer of pitch or mastic* 

 whereon trace* of painting could be recognised, (c) 



CER1GOTTO, i*a small island to the eastward 

 of Cerigo, which was known to the ancients by the 

 name of Aigiala. Its history has attracted little at- 

 tention ; but, from a medal still preserved, and be- 

 longing to very remote antiquity, it is supposed t 

 have participated in some important naval events. 



Cerigotto has, in modern times, been a constant re- 

 ccptucle for pirates from the continent, or other is- 

 lands ; and its own scanty population may be said to 

 subsist almost entirely on plunder. It is composed 

 of Greeks and Turks expelled from their native 

 country ; and, if the inhabitants find themselves in 

 greater force than their visitors, they overpower 

 them, and divide the spoil. Whenever a merchant 

 vessel appears off their coast, which they think may 

 prove a capture, they immediately arm their boats, 

 and endeavour to cut her off. Some years ago, their 

 depredations had become so obnoxious, that the 

 Turkish government complained to that of Venice; 

 and an order was, in consequence, issued to the gover- 

 nor general of the islands to extirpate the offenders. 

 This, however, was never carried into execution. 

 Though they acknowledge no laws or superiority but 

 those of force, the inhabitants live in good understand- 

 ing with the people of Cerigo, who entrust some flocks 

 to pasture under their care on Cerigotto. What- 

 ever the conduct of the inhabitants may have been 

 to other nations, they treated a number of distressed 

 Englishmen, whom casualties had directed to their 

 island in 1807, with great humanity. At that time 

 they dwelt in huts, generally built against the side 

 of a rock, and containing one or two apartments on 

 the same floor. The walls consisted of clay and 

 straw, and the roof was supported by a tree in the 

 centre of the dwelling. Their food was a coarse 

 kind of bread, made of boiled pease and flour, and 

 they had a scanty portion of kids' flesh. From 

 corn they prepared a sort of strong liquor, which 

 had an agreeable flavour, (c) 



CER INT HE, a genus of plants of the class Pen- 

 tandria, and order Monogynia. See BOTANY, p. 133. 



CERINTHIANS. See ECCLESIASTICAL HIS- 



TORY. 



CEROPEGIA, a genus of plants of the class 

 Pentandria, and order Monogynia. See BOTANY, 

 p. 159, 180; and R. Brown, Wertierian Transac- 

 tionx. 



CEROXYLON, a genus of plants of the clasi 

 Polygamia, and order Moncecia. See BOTANY, p. 343. 



CERTIORARI, or CKHTIORARI FACIAS, in the 

 law of England, is a writ which issues out of the Court 

 of Chancery or King's Bench, for the purpose ef 



