PONTON POOLO. 



633 



reverted to their former dreary condition. Under 

 the Gothic king Theodoric, attempts were once 

 more made to drain them, and, as it appears, not 

 without success. But the operations were not 

 long persevered in, and hostile nature soon 

 resumed her rights. Among the popes, Boniface 

 VIII. (who died in 1303) was the first who occupied 

 himself with the draining of the marshes; and he 

 caused a large canal to be dug, by means of which 

 the country around Sezze and Sermonetta remains 

 dry even to this day. Martin V. in 1417, likewise 

 caused a great canal, the Rio Martino, to be dug, 

 for the extension of which to the sea hardly a mile 

 was wanting, when this undertaking, which would 

 have supplied an outlet for all the streams, was 

 interrupted by his death. Leo X. conferred the 

 whole country upon Giuliano de' Medici, on condi- 

 tion that he would cause it to be drained. Yet 

 during the 69 years of its continuance in the hands 

 of the Medici, little or nothing was done towards 

 this object. Sixtus V., who died in 1590, applied 

 himself with zeal to this undertaking, and visited 

 the country in person. He also caused a great 

 canal, the Fiume Sisto, to be dug, and enclosed 

 with dams, which, however, being too slightly built, 

 shortly after his death gave way, so that the whole 

 country became again as marshy as ever. After 

 him, no pope had the courage, for a long time, to 

 set about this work with earnestness. Pius VI. 

 turned his attention again to the Pontine marshes. 

 The levelling was performed with the greatest ac- 

 curacy, the depths of the various canals and outlets 

 were measured, the degree of declivity in the bed 

 of the rivers ascertained, and, in 1778, the work 

 was commenced. For ten years, it was continued 

 at the greatest expense, till, in 1788, it was com- 

 pleted. But, notwithstanding every exertion, it 

 was found impracticable to raise the low lands, and 

 give them a proper slope for the numerous streams ; 

 yet the judiciously conducted canals, the cleansing 

 of the beds of the different streams, whose slime 

 filled the air with unwholesome vapours, the laying 

 out of an excellent highway (Linea Pia), bore wit- 

 ness to the services rendered by Pius VI. to this 

 country. During the French government these la- 

 bours were also continued ; yet it seems as if the 

 old marshes would not submit to the restraint of 

 cultivation. This country is not as frightful as it is 

 usually represented ; but if is very monotonous, and 

 the predatory habits of the inhabitants, which the 

 vigorous measures of the French government in 

 some degree kept under restraint, have in later 

 times resumed all their former lawlessness. It may 

 further be observed, that this district contains a 

 considerable extent of cultivated land, and immense 

 pastures, where horses, cattle, and herds of buffa- 

 loes graze, and water-fowls (folaghe) start up with 

 a rustling noise ; towards the sea are great forests. 

 The air," however, particularly in some seasons of 

 the year, is yet very unwholesome ; and hence the 

 pale, sallow countenances of the few inhabitants, 

 who are occupied mostly with hunting and fishing, 

 and occasionally with highway robberies, when the 

 fever to which they are subject permits them. The 

 chief work on this subject is Prony's Description 

 hydrographique et historiq'ue des Marais Pont ins 

 (according to their condition in the year 1811 to 

 1812) ; (I'aris, 1S23, 4to, with an atlas, folio.) 



PONTON, OB PONTOON, in war, denotes a 

 little floating bridge made of boats and planks. 

 The ponton is a machine consisting of two vessels 

 at a little distance, joined by beams, with planks 

 laid across for the passage of the cavalry, the 

 cannon, infantry, &c., over a river, or an arm of 

 the sea, &c. 



PONTOPPIDAN, ERIC, the younger, born at 

 Aarhuis, in 1698, died in 1764, was bishop of Ber- 

 gen, and wrote many historical and theological 

 works, and also some Essays upon the Norwegian 

 Language, and an Essay on the Natural History of 

 Norway (transl. into English, London, 1755.) 



PONTUS, in Asia Minor (so called from the sea 

 on which it lay) ; the country from the Halys to 

 Colchis, or the Politic Cappadocia, as it was for- 

 merly joined with Cappadocia. The whole of Cap- 

 padocia was divided by the Persians into two sat- 

 rapies, whence there arose, under the Macedonians, 

 two distinct kingdoms. The oldest inhabitants 

 were Tibarenes and Chalybees, not Chaldseans. 

 Hitter (in his Vorhalle) thinks they were natives of 

 India, and particularly descendants of the Bud- 

 dhists at a period previous to the Brahmans. A 

 son of the Persian king Darius, Artabazes, held 

 these satrapies as a vassal, with the right to trans- 

 mit them as an inheritance to his posterity. One 

 of his successors, Mithridates, assisted the younger 

 Cyrus, and refused to pay tribute to Artaxerxes. 

 His son, Ariobarzanes I. made himself independent 

 during the general insurrection of the governors of 

 Asia Minor against Artaxerxes II. Mithridates 

 II., who reigned B. C.337, transferred his kingdom 

 voluntarily to Alexander. Afterwards, in the divi- 

 sion of his empire, in 322, it fell to Antigonus, who 

 having attempted the death of Mithridates, the lat- 

 ter fled to Paphlagonia, where he found adherents, 

 and successfully maintained himself. His successor, 

 Mithridates III., enlarged his paternal kingdom by 

 conquests. His son, Mithridates IV., drove back 

 the Gauls, but was obliged to conclude the war 

 against Sinope, because the Rhodians rendered as- 

 sistance to this city. Pharnaces I. at length tooK 

 possession of Sinope, and made it his residence. 

 Mithridates Euergetes, father of the celebrated 

 Mithridates, aided the Romans in the third Punic 

 and in the Pergamiari war, and received from them 

 Phrygia Major. He was murdered in 124. His 

 son, Mithridates the Great, succeeded him, and 

 carried on bloody wars with Rome until his death ; 

 at last he submitted to Pompey, and killed himself, 

 64 years B. C., from despair. His son Pharnaces 

 obtained only the Bosphorus, and, when he attempt- 

 ed to conquer again his paternal kingdom, was van- 

 quished by Csesar, and put to death by Asander, 

 who had made himself king of Bosphorus. Still 

 his son Darius received through Antony a part of 

 Pontus. Polemo, who at the same time possessed 

 the Bosphorus, Asia Minor, and Colchis, was his 

 successor. After the death of his widow, Pytho- 

 doris, Polemo II. succeeded, as king of Pontus, 

 A.D. 39. Nero took Bosphorus from him, and Pontus 

 became, after Polemo's death, a Roman province. 

 When the Latins, in 1204, again conquered Con- 

 stantinople, Alexius Comnenus founded a new king- 

 dom in Pontus, which remained until Mohammed 

 II. united it, in 1461, witli his great conquests. 



PONTUS ; son of Earth, and elder brother of 

 Oceanus. (See Oceanus, and Neptune.} By his 

 mother, he had Phorcys, Thaumas, Nereus, &c. 



PONTUS EUXINUS ; the ancient name for the 

 Black sea, (q. v.) According to some, its Greek 

 name, Eugs/vo; vatras (signifying hospitable sea), was 

 given it on account of its beautiful scenery and 

 fruitful coasts ; according to others, it was at first 

 called Axenus (!-wj, inhospitable), on account of 

 the barbarous character of the inhabitants along its 

 shores ; but, as these were softened by commercial 

 intercourse, its name was changed to Euxinus. 



POOH ; an Eygptian god. See Hieroglyphics. 



POOLO (from the modern Greek for little, from 

 the ancient srayAsf) is often found in geographical 



