﻿7S3 



MEDITERRANEAN SEA. 



MEGARIS. 



ISi 



From Cape Passaro (Pachynum) to the west extremity of Crete he 

 considered 4500 stadia, or 386 miles; it measures 400 miles; and he 

 supposed the length of Crete 2000 stadia, or 171 miles, the true 

 length being 140 miles. He supposed that a lino drawn through 

 Byzantium, the mid.ile of the Propontis, the Hellespont, and along 

 the capes of the coast of Asia SUnor, would coincide with the 

 meridian : this error placed Byzantium too far to the north, and not 

 far enough to the east. From Alexandria to the east end of Crete he 

 considered 3000 stadia, or 257 miles : it measures about 290 milra. 

 From Alexandria to Rhodes he made 3600 stadia, or 308 miles : it 

 measures 320 miles. He supposed tho head of the Greater Syrtis to 

 be 1000 stadia, or 86 miles, to tho south of Alexandria : it is about 

 60 miles. From Cape Acamas (the west point of Cyprus) to Cape 

 Ehelidonia, he made 1900 stadia, or 163 miles : it measures 120 miles ; 

 and from Cape Pedalium (Cape Greco) to Berytus (Beyroot), he made 

 1500 stadia, or 129 miles; it measures 90 miles. From Rhodes to 

 I8»U8 he considered 6000 stadia, or 429 miles : it measures 400 miles. 



Many of the latitudes given by Strabo are very near, that is, within 

 10'; those of Marseille and Byzantium excepted, the former being 

 3° 43' too little, and the latter 2° 16' too much. The longitudes, 

 which were all at that time referred to Cape Sacrum as the first 

 meridian, and tho extreme west point, as was believed, of the known 

 world, are without exception too small; that of Carthage, the nearest 

 to the truth, being 1° 9', and Alexandria, the most erroneous, 6" 40', 

 too small. 



On the shores of this sea have been transacted tho most important 

 events in the history of mankind, and its character seems to mark it 

 as the theatre best adapted to the complete and rapid civilisation of 

 the race. From the great diversity of soil and productions, under a 

 varied and favourable climate, the colonists, from whatever points 

 they first proceeded, would soon acquire those different habits under 

 which their several energies and capabilities would be developed. 

 The comparative shortness of the distances of the several places, by 

 rendering navigation easy and pleasant in small and imperfect vessels, 

 would, by facilitating intercourse from an early period, tend to diffuse 

 and to promote civiliaation ; while commerce, by bringing together 

 men of different habits, manners, and languages, and thus circulating 

 practical information, would supply the materials for the perfection 

 of the arts and sciences. On its shores in ancient times flourished 

 the Phccnicians, Jews, Egyptians, Carthaginians, Greeks, and Romans. 



This sea is navigated by vessels of no great size. There is a form 

 of rig peculiar to tho larger vessels, called ' poUooa,' which has origin- 

 ated in the suddenness and frequency of squalls, which often require 

 the sail to be instantly taken in : for this purpose the masts are made 

 in one piece, and the topsails, on being lowered, can slide down without 

 interruption. Tho Hediterraneao, being studded with places of refuge, 

 and in which galea, though frequent and violent, never last so long 

 as to wear the ship or the spirits of the men, and in which, besides, 

 vessels have from the earliest times to the present ceased to navigate 

 in the winter months, may indeed be favourable to training men to 

 a certain degree of expertness in managing boats, but could never 

 originate that seamanship on the grand icale which the long and 

 boisterous sea-voyages, the rugged and dangerous coasts, and long 

 winter nights, force upon tho hardier sailors of the northern regions. 

 Steamers now ply regularly at all seasons between all the chief sea- 

 ports of the Mediterranean. 



The winds have been remarked as peculiarly variable in the Medi- 

 terranean, and three or fonr vessels have often been seen carrying 

 different winds at the same time. The scirocco, or south-east wind 

 (called solano on the coast of Spain), has always been noted throughout 

 the Mediterranean for its depressing effects upon the animal system. 

 It is usually accompanied with a gloomy sky and haze. In winter its 

 effects are but slightly perceived. Water-spouts are very common. 

 The Adriatic is infested by a northerly wind called Bora, which blows 

 for a short time with great violence. The Black Sea has always been 

 noted for its stormy character in winter; the west winds blow 

 frequently with hurricane force. 



"The depth of the Mediterranean is without doubt very great, the 

 ■ea being in most places unfathomable ; and, unlike many other great 

 expanses of water, soundings are comparatively of limited utility. 



The Mediterranean, though poetically termed a ' tideless sea,' is not 

 strictly, so ; since in its latitudinal extent between Venice and the 

 Lesser Syrtis it experiences a rise and fall of from 5 to 7 feet. Tides 

 are also felt, but somewhat irregularly, on the sides of the Gibraltar 

 current, in the Gulf of Corinth, and in the Faro of Messina; and 

 there is a curious reciprocal motion in the waters in the channel of 

 the Euripus, between Greece and Negropont. Strong currents occur, 

 especially near Venice and the Faro of Messina. A westerly current 

 sets along the coast of Karamauia. It has been stated that an 

 easterly current prevails constantly along tho coasts of Africa and 

 Egypt, but this, we believe, has not been substantiated. 



An important source of commerce in the Mediterranean is the 

 tunny fishery, especially on the coast of Italy, in the Strait of Messina, 

 and along the coast of Sicily. The fish enter the Mediterranean in 

 spring, keeping along the European shores, and leave it a^ain at the 

 close of the year by the coast of Africa. They are caught in nets so 

 constructed that the fish are driven into compartments, where they are 

 stmok and killed. The tunny frequently weighs 44 cwt., its flrah is 



OCOO, DIV. TOI. III. 



very nutritious. The tunny swims in compact shoals of conical form 

 on a very broad base. The swoi-d-fish generally pursues the shoals, 

 and is taken by harpooning ; its weight sometimes exceeds 2 cwt., its 

 flesh resembles veal, and it is more delicate than the tunny. The 

 anchovy abounds in most parts of the Mediterranean, and the mullet 

 is very plentiful on the Italian coast. Other fish are also very 

 abundant. The sponge is a valuable product of the Archipelago. 

 Fruits of all kinds, corn, timber, raw silk, cotton, wine, dyestuffs, 

 bark, and a vast number of other products enter into the native 

 commerce of the Mediterranean. 



MEDMENHAM. [Buckinqhamshibe.] 



MEDOC. [GiKONDE.] 



MEDWAY. [Kent.] 



M^EN, ST. [Illeet-Vilainb.] 



MEERPOOR. [HiNDDSTAN.] 



MEERUT, the chief town of one of the Regulation Provinces into 

 which the sub-presidency of the north-western provinces in Hindustan 

 is divided. The town is situated in 2S° 57' N. lat, 77° 45' E. long., 

 38 miles N.E. from the city of Delhi. It is an ancient walled town of 

 considerable size, and is one of the military stations of the British 

 army. The town contains a British Protestant church, which is 

 150 feet long, 84 feet wide, and has a lofty and handsome spire; it 

 is of brick, covered with stucco, and whitewashed, and is altogether 

 a very striking building. There is also a British free school. 



MEES, LES. [Alpes, Hautes.] 



ME'GARIS, one of the political divisions of ancient Greece, was 

 separated from Bcootia on the north by the range of Mount Citha;roa, 

 and from Attica on the east and north-east by the high land which 

 descends from the north-west boundary of Attica, and terminates on 

 the west side of the Bay of Eleusis in two summits, formerly called 

 Kerata, or the Horns, and now Kandili. Megaris was divided from 

 the Corinthian territory on the west by the Oneian range of mountains, 

 through which there were only two roads from Corinth into Megaris : 

 one of these, called the Scironian Pass, which is the steep escarpment 

 of the mountains that terminate on the coast of the Saronio Gulf, 

 passed by Crommyon, and along the side of the escarpment was the 

 direct road from Corinth to Athens. This road, on the whole, is still 

 in good condition. The other road, following the coast of the Corin- 

 thian Gulf, crossed the Geranean Mountains, which belong to the 

 Oneian range, and led to Pcga;, on tho Corinthian Gulf, and thence 

 into Boeotia. _ .. 



The area of Megaris is about 720 square miles. (' Fasti Hell., ii., 

 p. 385.) Megaris is a rugged and mountainous country, and contains 

 only one plain of small extent, in which the capital, Megara, was 

 situated. The rocks are chiefly, if not entirely, calcareous. The 

 country is very deficient in springs. 



Megara, which was about 20 miles from Athens, was built on two 

 hills, on the summit of each of which was a citadel, named respectively 

 Caria and Alcathous. It was connected with the port of Nissea by 

 two walls, which were built by the Athenians when they had possession 

 of Megara, ac. 461-4^5. Pausauias has described at considerable length 

 the public buildings which existed in Megara in his time ; but scareely 

 any remains of them can now bo traced. In front of the harbour of 

 Nisxa was a little island called Minoa, which was occupied by the 

 Athenians during the Peloponnesian war. (Pausanias, Thuoydides, 

 Strabo, Procopius ; ' London Geographical Journal,' voL viii.) 



Tho port of Pagso, or Pegre, on the Corinthian Gulf, was tho only 

 other place in Megaris of any importance. Tripodiscus, situated on 

 the road from Poga3 to Megara, is mentioned by Thuoydides (iv. 70) 

 and Strabo (p. 394), and is said by Plutarch (' Qu. Gr.,' xvu. p. 387) 

 to have been one of the five hamlets (k»juoi) into which Megaris was 

 originally divided ; the names of which were— Hersea, Pii-jea, Megara, 

 Cynosuria, Tripodiscus. 



According to the traditions preserved by Pausanias, Megara must 

 have been a very ancient city. It early became annexed to Attica, and 

 was subsequently held by the Dorians aud by Corinth. It gained its 

 independence of the latter at a period which is uncertain, and rapidly 

 rose to wealth and power, attested by the numerous colonies it sent out. 

 Among these were— Selymbria, Chalcedon, Byz.-mtium, and Megara 

 in Sicily. The Megarians were powerful at sea, where they contended 

 with the Athenians, from whom they took Salamis ; and it was only 

 after a long struggle that Athens regained possession of the island. 

 The government was originally in the hands of the great Dorian 

 landholders, but they were deprived of their power by Theagenes, who 

 put himself at the head of the popular party, and obtained the sove- 

 reignty, about B.C. 620. He adorned the city with several public 

 buildings. (Paus., i. 40, 41.) Theagenes was at length expelled from 

 Megara, and shortly afterwards a most violent struggle arose between 

 the aristocratic and democratic parties, of which a vivid picture is 

 drawn in the poems of Theognis, a native of Megara. 



For some time after the Persian wars Megara appears to have been 

 constantly engaged in war with Corinth, and her enmity to Corinth 

 was the occasion of her forming an alliance with Athens, about B.C. 461. 

 (Thuc, i. 103.) Athenian garrisons were placed in Megara and Pogte ; 

 but six years afterwards the Megarians renounced their allianoe with 

 Athens, and put to death the Athenian garrison at Megara. (Thuc., 

 i. 114.) In the seventh year of the Peloponnesian war the democratic 

 party formed a plan for surrendering the city to Athens, which was 



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