V U L 



Of all the ancient nations, the Egyptians were the prin- 

 cipal worOiippcrs of this god. Accordingly he had at Mem- 

 phis a magnificent temple, and a colofTal ftatue, feventy-five 

 feet high. His priefts were much eftet-med by the Egyp- 

 tians, lo that one of them, named Sathos, afcended the 

 throne. This god was alfo highly honoured by the Romans. 

 Tatius is faid, by Dionyfius of Halicarnaffus, to have erefted 

 for him a temple, and Romulus confecrated to him a chariot 

 of brafs drawn with four horfes. His facrifices were holo- 

 caufts : and Tarquin the elder, after the defeat of the Sa- 

 bines, burned their arms and fpoils in honour of this god. 

 The lion was, who feems to dart fire from his mo\ith, con- 

 fecrated to Vulcan ; and dogs were fct apart for guarding 

 his temples. Of thefe he had feveral in Rome, but the 

 mod a: "ient one, built by Romulus, was without the 

 bounds > f the city ; the Augurs being of opinion, that the 

 god of fire ought not to be within th<; city itfelf. But the 

 nigheft token of refpeft rendered by the Romans to this 

 god, according to Dion. Halic. was their holding in his 

 temple thofe affemblies, where the mod important affairs of 

 the republic were debated ; the Romans thinking that they 

 could invoke nothing more facred, for the confirmation of 

 their decifions and treaties, than the avenging fir^- of which 

 that god was the fymbol. All men in general, fenfible of 

 their obligations to this god for the difcovery of the various 

 ufes which artifts and others make of fire, offered facrifices 

 to him. There were alfo feftivals inftituted in honour of 

 Vulcan, of which the principal was that, at which it was 

 the cuftom to run with lighted torches, that were to be car- 

 ried to the goal without being extinguifhed, under pain of 

 difgrace ; and Pliny informs us, that he who embraces 

 another had his torch for his reward. Moft of the medals 

 of the ifland of Lemnos reprefented this god, with the 

 legend, " Deo Vulcano." The Gauls paid adoration to 

 this god 150 years before Julius C^far entered into their 

 country. 



VULCANALIA, among the Romans, a i'eftival in ho- 

 nour of Vulcan, which was kept, as fome fay, from the 

 23d to the 29th of Auguft, or, according to others, on the 

 loth before the calends of May, or the 22d of April. On 

 this occafion the people ufed to throw animals into the fire. 



VULCANI Insula, in ylncient Geography, an ifland 

 near that of Sicily, confecrated to Vulcan, according to 

 Diodorus Siculus. .Strabo calls it the temple of Vulcan, 

 and Virgil denominates it the houfe and territory of Vulcan. 

 It was under this name that the Lipari iflands were defcribed, 

 and they were alfo named the ides of CEolus. Thus Virgil 

 fays, .fineid. 1. viii. v. 416. 



" Infula Sicanium juxta latus, CEoliumque 

 Erigitur Liparca fumantibus ardua Saxis. 



• # » * » 



Vulcani domus, et Vulcania nomine tellus." 



VULCANITE, the name of the CEoIian ifle where Vul- 

 can's forges were ercfted. See LiPAiil, &c. 



VULCANO and Vulcanf.i.lo, in Geography. Vulcano 

 is one of the jEolian illes fituated to the foutli of Lipari. 

 Vulcancllo \va< formerly a fmall ifland near Vulcano, hut is 

 now joined 10 it by the matter ejefted from a volcano, whieii 

 has bee continually burning in Vulcano fince the earhefl 

 records of hillory, though in modern times the violent erup- 

 tions are lefs frequent. Vulcano has been eftimatcd to be 

 twelve miles round ; but, according to the account of it 

 given by lieutenant-general Cockburn, the circuit of this 

 ifland is about nine miles. The fide of the ifland which 

 looks towards Lipari is entirely barren, and does not pro- 

 duce any kind of vegetable; but the other fides, which 



VUL 



front the welt and the fouth, are partly covered with the 

 ilex and the oak, befides quantities of broom and other 

 (hrubs. As the whole of the ifland is compofed of volcanic 

 fubftances, it may be inferred that thofe parts which fun. 

 port vegetation have been more fubjeft to decompofition 

 than the barren parts. The fubftances, of which the foil is 

 compofed in the fertile parts of the ifland, are lavas foftened 

 to a great depth by atmofpheric agency. On removing 

 this foil, Spallanzani found the fubjacent lava hard and per- 

 phyritic. Mixed with the lava were large pieces of obfi- 

 dian, fimilar to that of Lipari. Vulcano is not inhabited, 

 but is vifited by fportfmen from Lipari, who go there to 

 fhoot rabbits. The firll account we have of Vulcano is 

 given by Thucydides, who relates, in his hiftory, that Vul, 

 cano threw out flames by night and fmoke by day. Arif- 

 totle, in his Treatife on Meteors, defcribes an ancient erup- 

 tion of Vulcano, a part of the ground fwelled and rofe with 

 a g:reat noife, forming a hill which burfl, and from whence 

 a violent wind ifTued forth, with flames. At the fame time 

 fo great a quantity of afhes were thrown out, as entirely to 

 cover the neighbouring city of Lipari. The eruptions of 

 Vulcano were vifible in his time. 



Polybius, as quoted by Strabo, fays there were three vol- 

 canoes in this ifiand, two well defined, and one with the cra- 

 ter partly fallen in. The mouth of the larger was five ftadia 

 in circuit. The bottom was only fifty feet in diameter, and 

 fituated about one ftadium above the level of the fea. The 

 form of the other two craters were fimilar. At a later 

 period, in 1726, there were two burning craters on this 

 ifland. See Volcano. 



From the text of Strabo, it may be inferred, that the 

 volcanoes in this ifland threw out lava, fince he fays the 

 burning matter ejefted filled up a part of the fea to a con- 

 fiderable extent. Callias, in his life of Agathocles, tyrant 

 of Syracufe, relates that, on a lofty eminence of Vulcano, 

 there are two craters, one of which was three iladia in cir- 

 cumfcrence, calling a great light to a vaft diftance, and that 

 from this mouth burning ftones of great fize were tlirown 

 out, with fo loud a noife that it might be heard to the dif- 

 tance of 500 Iladia. 



Cluverius and Fazello, in more recent times, defcribe 

 Vulcano as being in a Hate of adive eruption. The fmall 

 ifland of Vulcanello, which now joins Vulcano, rofe from 

 the fea about the year of Rome" ;;o. It was feparated 

 from Vulcano by a very narrow ftrait, which was open in 

 the time of Fazello, but afterwards filled up by new erup- 

 tions from Vulcano. 



At prelent there is only one burning crater on Vulcano, 

 from which there have been two confiderable eruptions in 

 modern times, the one in 1775, the latell in 1786, which 

 threw out an immenfc quantity of fand ml.^ccd with volumes 

 of fmoke and fire, accompanied with fubterranean noifes and 

 thunders. This eruption continued for fifteen days, and 

 appears to have changed the form and depth of the crater. 

 See Volcano. 



The prefent crater of Vulcano nearly equals in fize that 

 of Vefnvius, and greatly exceeds it in the variety of pro- 

 dudions with which the fides are lined. Thefe prefent the 

 moll beautiful colours, red, orange, deep yellow, and green. 

 They confill of fulphur in various llates of combination, and 

 of faline and metallic matter and volcanic glades. (See Vol- 

 cano and Volcanic Produas. ) About half way down the 

 crater, a hot fpring iffues from the lide ; but the quantity of 

 water which flows is fmall, and is foon loll among the mades 

 of fcoria; and lava. Above the fpring are pendant dalaftitcs 

 of alum of various forms and fizes. The height of the fnni- 

 mit of the crater of Vulcano is not givcu by .iny travelKr 



