T H A 



283 



T H A 



vorked by the Phoenicians on the north-east slue of 

 the island, the excavations for which were very evident 

 \i. 47 . Herodotus further states that from the proceeds 

 of these mines, and of their continental territory, which 

 must have extended for some distance along the Thracian 

 coast, there accrued to the Thasians in his time from 200 

 to 301) talents yearly, of which sum the mines in Scaple 

 Hyle produced 80 talents, and those in the island rather 

 IP.-S. (See the remarks on this passage in Boeckh, Public 

 <J'r'/>i. nf At /!?/'$, ii. 21, Lewis's translat., who assigns the 

 probable sources of the remainder of this revenue.) 



Being unencumbered with any taxes on the produce of 

 their lands, the Thasians were at this time very rich. 

 About B.C. 492 they were besieged by Histiisus of Miletus 

 for a short time, anil employed their wealth in consequence 

 in building ships of war and strengthening their fortifica- 

 tions. Their independence and growing power excited 

 the jealousy of Persia : they were reduced by Mardonius ; 

 and shortly afterwards, B.C. 491, being suspected of medi- 

 { revolt, they were compelled by Darius to throw 

 do'.vn their walls and surrender their ships of war. (Hero- 

 !, vi. 46.) On the expedition of Xerxes into Greece, 

 the burthensome honour of reeehing his army in their 

 continental territory was imposed upon them, and on this 

 entertainment they expended 400 talents of silver. (Hero- 

 dot., vii. 118.) Alter the Persian war they became subject 

 to Athens, and having a dispute with that state about their 

 Thracian i -.revolted, B.C. 465. (Thucy., i. 100.) 



(Jimon, alter defeating them at sea, besieged their island, 

 and took it in the thiul year of the siege, B.C. 463. The 

 -inns were compelled to destroy their fortifications, to 

 rider their ships, to pay a large sum of money at the 

 time and tribute for the future, and to give up their mines 

 and settlements on the continent, among which must have 

 been Stryme fHerod., vii. ION . Ga!cp>us and fEsyme 

 Thuoy., iv. 1(17 , and Datos (Kustut., Ad Dioini., 517). 



On i ii-iicy oi' the party of Pisander at Ath< 



the close of the Pefoponnesian war, Diotrephes w;i 

 by him toThasos, and established an oligarchy there. This 

 injudicious policy furnished an immediate opportunity of 

 revolting from Athens ; the Thasians fortified their city. 

 a'id communicating with an exiled party, called in the Spar- 

 tans, B.C. 411. (Thucy., viii. 04.) Much internal dissen- 

 usued; the Spartan harmost Eleonicus and his party 

 lied shortly afterwards, and the island, reduced by 

 famine and civil war, was finally restored to the Athenians 

 by Thrasybulus, B.C. 407 (Xenophon, Hellen., 1-4). with 

 til- awutance of a party of the inhabitants under Ec- 

 see Demosthenes, L?pt., 474, 25, Reiske, who 

 further states that these Thasians received in reward from 

 1h<' Athenians exemption from taxes). Subsequently 

 the Thasians appear to have regained some of their con- 

 tinental possessions, and B.C. 35!) they fortified Cre- 

 . probably as a frontier post for their Thracian terri- 

 -eized by Philip, son of Amyntas, king of 

 'Jon, who placed a number of Macedonian seti 

 it, aivl gaw it the name Philippi ; under his management 

 --old-mines were made much more productive than 

 e. Little more mention of the Thasians occurs in 

 autient history. When attacked by Philip V., king of 

 Macedon, they submitted to him, with the stipulation that 

 tln'V should retain their own laws and be exempt from 

 garrison, tribute, or other burthens, B.C. 202 (Polyb., xv. 

 _M . They were shortly afterwards released from his rule 

 by the Romans, B.C. 1!>7. (Polyb., xviii. 31.) Under the 

 emperors Tliasos is styled Libefa, or a free state. In the 

 Svnecdemus of Hierocles it forms part of the Provincia 

 Iflyrica I., and is placed by Constantino Porphyrogennetus 

 in the Prsefecture, and afterwards in the Theme ol Thrace. 

 I)e Them. II., Them I.,' Bandnr., 

 Thames was celebrated among the antients for its m 



'.. HO), its wine < \ irg., (.l--n/;<f., ii. 91 : Athe- 

 "il i, which was exported to !!'< 1'ontns Kuxinug, 

 nd i i, inductions mentioned by Athenseus. 



The coins of Thasos are very numerous. The silver 



. be generally arranged under th 

 1, those on which the type in a satyr carrying off a nymph : 



xecution of these is ic : the limbs 1 



knotty, tin- hair a globular appearance. But this 



nent gradually disappears in the improved 

 art of the laid -. To this archaic cla.-rf also be- 



long tome coins on which are two fish : '2, are a number of 

 massive coin* in a good but rather heavy style, with a head 



of Bacchus on the obverse, and Hercules kneuling, shoot- 

 ing an arrow on the reverse. The Thasians had a colossal 

 statue of Hercules at Olympia, holding in one hand a bow. 

 They originally worshipped the Tyrian Hercules, and after- 

 wards the Grecian (Pausan., v. 25) ; 3, the broad te'ra- 

 drachms of the Macedonian period, with the head of the 

 young Bacchus, and Hercules on the reverse : the inscription 

 HPAKAHS 2QTHP. These coins are a'bundant, and many 

 of them with letters and type ill executed are found in 

 Transylvania, and were probably the work of barbarous 

 Thracian:; in imitation of the originals. The head of 

 Ceres occurs on these, coins (Dionysius Perieg., 523, calls 

 Thasos Aij^i'iT-tpoe ciicri), the shore of Demeter or Ceres). 

 The inscription 9A2IQN HOEIPO on a gold coin implies, 

 according to Eckhel (Doct. Vet. Num., ' Thasos'), that it was 

 coined from a continental mine, probably Crenides, which 

 would account for the identity of its design with that of a 

 coin of Philippi, on the supposition that a Thasian type 

 was retained by the Macedonians, when they occupied 

 that settlement. No imperial coins are ascribed to this 

 place in Mionnet, except those of Hadrian, Caracalla, -and 

 Geta. The type of Perseus mentioned by Pollux (Onomdst., 

 ix. G) has not been discovered on any Thasian coin. 



Coin of Thasos. 

 British Museum. Actual size. Silver. Weight, 1 17 jjj gra. 



The antient town of Thasos is situated on the North 

 coast of the island, and occupies three eminences. On UK 

 site are remains of the Greek walls, mingled in picturesque 

 confusion with towers built by the Venetians during their 

 occup^ion of the island after the taking of Constantinople 

 by the Latins, and overgrown with various timber. Near 

 it is a large statue of Pan in a niche in the rock, and up- 

 wards of 50 sarcophagi of white marble. Some inscrip- 

 tions found in the island are given by Boeckh (Corpus 

 Iimcript., ii. 183). The longest, No. 2161, is written in the 

 Ionic dialect, and speaks of the theori and hieromnemon 

 of the place. The antient harbour appears to have been 

 used by the Venetians. No remains of ^Enyra and Co?nyra, 

 and of the gold-mines situated between them on the east 

 coast, according to Herodotus, now exist. 



Thasos is about 40 Italian miles in circumference. (Car- 

 pacchi. Jxii'r </'V Monclo.) Its greatest length is from north 

 to south. In the northern and highest part of the island 

 three peaks extend in a north-west and south-east direction. 

 The inhabitants, amounting to 5000 or 6000, are all Greeks, 

 and live in nine villages, Volgaro, Cassawith, Sotirp, Kai- 

 karahi, Moriess, Kastro, Potamia, Liman, or Panagia, and 

 Theolog, the largest situated nearly in the centre of the 

 island. These contain in all 1020 houses. The chief pro- 

 duce of this fertile country is oil, maize, honey, timber ; the 

 .vows in great abundance and in picturesque variety 

 everywhere, particularly on the southern and western sides, 

 and forms the chief article of export ; much of it was used 

 for shipbuilding by Mehemet Ali, by permission of the 

 Porte, and much is wasted by the inhabitants in the fires 

 kindled for clearing the land ; the plane-trees in particular 

 are of great size. Little wine is made here, and some is im- 

 ported from Tenedos ; the principal food of the inhabitants 

 is maize. Large herds of cattle and flocks of sheep are 

 kept in the island : asses and mules are more used than 

 horses on account of the steepness of the roads. The in- 

 habitants are hospitable, industrious, and simple in their 

 .'rs. They are governed by a Turkish Aga, whom 

 they expelled during the late Greek revolution, but whom 

 pecdily restored. They suffer from the invasions of 

 pirates, to whom they pay a tribute. 



(D '-.nitcn uv< ',', ron Prukesh von 



. 1837, ill., pp. 611-32 ; C'ouanery, Voyage 



la Micedoiiif, ii. 85, p. 108.) For the antient history 



of Thasos, besides the authorities already quoted, see 



Unoul Kochette, Ilistohr det Col , iii. 



THATCH is a covering of stri , or reeds, as a 



f ute for tiles or slates for h- ><d princi- 



202 



