a: T N 



to the I7ih of July, when the lava flowed from the hinjci 

 part of one of ihc two mounuins that form the double head 

 o» ylitna. On the next d;iy, afi.i- rentu ed lliock» and the 



JE T O 



,. ^-.. ^,.^ ..../v^ w.t^ , «ji,i iiittv^t-u moi.K.3 aiiu me 



ippi-arance of a thick fmoke, a fluivver of fine blaek bril- 

 -ituit fand defetndcd : on tlie call fide tlierc was a fall of 

 lloncs; and at tlie foot of the nionntain a deluge of fiaflies 

 ot hrc, fcorix, and lava. In the evening conical flames 

 appeared alternately to rife and fall from the volcano ; at 

 tiiree the next morning the mountain fecmed to be cleft, and 

 tiic fummit was a burning mafs. Two of the conical flames, 

 r/a. one on the north and another on the foiith, wcrt: of an 

 uiunenlc extent ; where thefo feparated, anotlier cone of 

 flame, compofed of many fnialler ones, appeared to afcend 

 above the mountain over a bafe of about a mile and a half in 

 dianuter to a height fuppofcd H> he about two miles. This 

 cone «-as covered with a thick fmoke, in which were feen 

 Tcry brilliant flalhes of lightning; a phenomenon v.-hich had 

 not been obferved in other eruptions. Sounds refembling 

 the explofions of a Urge cannon were alfo occaiionally heard. 

 From the cone, as from a fountain, there was perceived a 

 jet of many flaming volcanic matters, which were thrown to 

 the diftancc of fix or fcven miles ; and from the bafe of the 

 cone there ifl"ucd a thick fmoke, which darkened parts of 

 the flame, at the time when the rivere of lava were dilcharged. 

 This beautiful appearance continued for three quarters of an 

 hour. It began the next night with greater force, but lafted 

 only for half an hour. In the intervals ^tna continued to 

 throw out flames, fmoke, ignited ftones, and fliowcrs of 

 fand. From the 20th to the 2 2d, tlie appearances gradually 

 cealed. The llream of lava flowed towards Bronte and the 

 plain of Lago. After the eruption, the weftcrn iide of the 

 top of the mountain was covered with hardened lava, fcoris, 

 and ftones. The travellers were anno\ed by fmoke, 

 fliowers of fand, mephitic vapours, and exceffive heat. The 

 lava that proceeded from the weftcrn point was obferved to 

 feparate into two branches, one of which was direfted to- 

 vards Libeccio, and the other, already mentioned, towards 

 the plain of L.ago. 



The lava on the weftem head of the mountain had been 

 evidently in a ftate of fufion ; and from one of the fpi- 

 racula, the odour was that of liver of fulphur. The ther- 

 mometer in defcending was at 40° of Fahrenheit's fcale • 

 but near the lava, on the plain of Lago, it was 140°. 

 1 he lava extended two miles ; its breadth was from i 5^ to 2 1 

 feet^ and its depth i^i feet. There was another eruption 

 inOdober, 1787; the effefts of which are defcribed bv 

 the Abbe Spallanzani. The ftream of lava that iftlied on 

 this occafion, from the great crater, was three miles in 

 length ; its breadth was in fome places about a quarter of 

 a mile, and m others one third, and in other parts ftill 

 greater: its greateft depth was about 18 feet, and the leaft 

 J u ^"'■'^«"^'* ''''°"R the weft fide of the mountal;, ; 

 and the effervefccnce that produced it was, like that of 

 July, extremely violent. The fcoria; were like that of the 

 torrent in July of a black colour ; but differed from them in 

 their adheiion to the lava, in their external vitreous appear- 

 ance, their greater w-eight, and their hardnefs, which was 

 fuchas to yield fparks with fteel, almoft as plentifully as 

 ftmts. i hefe differences are afcribed to accidental combi- 

 nations of the fame fubftance ; the conftituent principles of 

 both thefe fcorix being the fame. Both contained the 

 fame feltfpar lamellx. For other particulars, relating to the 

 caufes and products of volcanic eruptions, fee Basaltes, 



t„]p^',;° r''p''"''"'^y'"-"''°- F"'- the places adjacent 

 to ^tna, fee Catania, Cvcuops, HYBi.A,and Trizza. 



Hie7„''^'f'cf """r e!^<^" te a city of Sicily, founded by 

 Hiero of Syracafe, m the ift year of the 76th olympiad, 



6 



on the rums of Catana ; which was difpoffenVd of in prlmi". 

 tive inhabitants. After the death of Hiero, the Catanian. 

 returned, expelled the new occupiers, and deftroyed the 

 fepulchre of the Sj-racufan monarch. The yEtneans retired 

 toJnne/a, or Lmiefa, which was the name given to mount 

 yLtna, and which was diftant about 80 ftadia from Catana, 

 called It iEtna, and announced Hiero to be its founder 

 p.odorus favs, that Dionyf.us of Syracufe perfuadcd the 

 inhabitants of Catana to remove to Atna, bec-.ufe it was a 

 fortihed town Authors are now hardly agreed about the 

 fituation of ^tna. Strabo, torn. i. p. 412 Diod Sic 

 l.u. c. 76. torn, i p. 461. Lxir. p. 644, &:c. Thucyd.' 

 Annalcs. p. 31. Ed. Weffehng. ' 



^TNA fall,fal JEhKr, a°name given by fome authors 

 to Ihefal ammoniac, which is found on the furface and fides 

 of the openings of iEtna, and other burning mountains 

 atter their eruptions; and fometimes on the furface of the 

 fernigmous matter which thev throw out. This fait makes 

 a very various appearance in many cafes; it is fometimes 

 found in large and thick cakes, fometimes only in form of 

 a thin powder, fcattered over the furface of the earth and 

 itones Some of this fait is yellow, fome white, and fome 

 green I ih. 



This fiilt is a concrete of nitre, fulphur, and vitriol, 

 burnt and fubhmed together. BoreUi found once a vaft 

 quantity of this fait on mount ^tna, and tried many ex- 

 periments on It ; from whence he concluded, that this fait 

 IS fo far from occafioning the explofions of the mountain, as 

 fome have fuppofed, that it does not exift in it, but is 

 formed during the burning. Phil. Tranf. N° 100. 



^rOLIA, in Ancient Geography, a province of Greece, 

 which formerly comprehended the country now called the 

 Dejpotcn, or luik Greece, was parted on the eaft bv the 

 nv-er Evenus, now the Fidari, from the Locrenfes O'zolce, 

 and on the weit from Acarnania by the Achelous ; on 

 the north it bordered upon the countn- of the Dorians 

 and part ol Epirus, and on the fouth extended to tlie 

 bay of Connth. Its utmoft extent from north to fouth 

 was about 4S miles ; and from eaft to weft its greateft 

 breadth was fomewhat above 20 miles. According to 

 •Vi^bo (Lx. torn II. p. 691) it was-cuftoman- to divide 

 ^toha into two diftrifts, the one caUed the ancient ^tolia, 

 whicn lay between the rivers Achelous and Calvdon on the 

 Evenus, and which was a level and fruitful country, and 

 tile other denominated .^.kI.'o, or the acquired, which was 

 contiguous to the Locrians, towards Naupadus and Eupa- 

 hus, and extended northwards towards the mountain 

 yeta, and which was more craggy and barren. He alfo 

 informs u. (torn. ,. p. 548. tom. ii. p. 71,.) that it derived 

 Its name from ^tohis, the fon of Endymion, who bein<. 

 compelled to leave EUs, removed to this counti-y, and 

 founded feveral cities in it ; of which the principal were 

 Thermus, Calydon, and Pleuron. Their only fea-port 

 was Oenias on the Corinthian bay. Of their kings, who 

 fucceeded ^tolus, httle more is known than thei? names. 

 ;p. I /I' 'P/'^' by whom it was inhabited before 

 YLtolus took poft-effion of it ; and its fubfequent hiftorv for 

 everal ages ,s vp. obfcure and doubtful. Thucrdides 

 (1... p. 5. Ed. Duker.) Plutarch, (in Thefeo) Sti-abo, and 

 other anc-ient wnters reprefent the ^tolians, as the 

 greateft robbers in Greece, and as continuing fuch for many 

 centuries after Hercules, Thefeus, and other heroes, had 

 extirpated thofe banditti every where elfe ; to them Strabo 

 afcribes the invention of the (ling. Livy (1. xxxvi. torn. iv. I 

 1040 ) defcnbes theni as a proud, arrogant, and ungrateful 



Q!' ^''5 "' -r ^™:"°'-^; =^"<i they are faid \o have 

 tough. >vKn one fiioe, whence the epithet ^o.o.f,^.J.; has 



been 



