DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.9840#0344
290
priansos and praesos.
[chap.
of Hierapytna ; and the figure of Asclepios reminds us
of his temple at Leben, a little to the west of this
district.
These considerations, on which it would be easy to
dwell at much greater length, seem therefore sufficient
to justify us in placing Priansos on or near the south
coast, between Hierapytna and Leben.
Strabo15 must have confounded the two totally dis-
tinct cities, when he spoke of them under a common
name, and assigned them a single situation, both close
to Mount Dikte, and, at the same time, conterminous
with the Lebeneans, whose city was three days' journey
from the mountain16.
As to the situation of Praesos, it is incontrovertiblv
fixed by existing vestiges : its site is now called Praesus17,
and is found about six miles inland from the ruins of
Setia. If additional proof were wanted, it would be
obtained from a very long, and, on many accounts,
extremely interesting inscription, which I copied at Plu-
Monasteri, and in which the Praesian district is described
as lying between those of Hierapytna and Itanos18, the
situations of both which places are known.
15 Strabo, x. §. 12. p. 478. "Qp.opoi o eiaiv auT-oTs (he is speaking
of Leben) oi Upaiaioi, t?)s p.ev 6aXaxTi]s CTaiStous, TopTvvos oe Sle^ov-
t69 exaTov Kai 6ydot')KODTa' (this is true only of Priansos:) Hipri-rai fi' ots
tuiv 'ETeo/c(o>)T(jt)i' mrrjp^ev ij Ylpatcrov, Kai oti ivTaiSa. to tou Aikto-lov
Atos lepov. Kai yap jj ALkti] ttX^ctlov, ob^, u><s "ApaTO<s, cr^eoov opeo?
'loaiov, and so on, all of which applies only to the site of Praesos, far
away to the eastward of Hierapytna.
16 It is well observed by Mannert, Geographie der Griechen und
Roemer, Vol. vm. p. 712. "In zwei Stelleri entfernt er, (Strabo,) dieses
Prasos 180 Stadien von Gortynia, welches in Zusammenhaltung mit der
nebrigen Angabe eine Unmoeglichkeit ist."
17 Ilpaia-cms or Hpa<rov<s is the present name of the site of Praesos. I
visited it in the following month of August. It had been truly described,
a long time ago, by Coronelli, who says, in his Isolario, "All' ostro
di Sittia ma piu dentro terra veggonsi le rovine de Pressos citta d'angusto
recinto. Ivi si osservano ancora le vestigie e gli avanzi di case ed altri
edifici, tavole, marmi, e colonne; ed i lavoratori della terra ritrovano molte
medaglie antiche."
18 In line 45 of the opposite inscription we read, Tys Upaia-Lwu TroXeos
"rtj<i Kf ip.evris dva.p.e<rov 'lTavtwv te Ko.i '16 p airv tv loo v. The
reader
priansos and praesos.
[chap.
of Hierapytna ; and the figure of Asclepios reminds us
of his temple at Leben, a little to the west of this
district.
These considerations, on which it would be easy to
dwell at much greater length, seem therefore sufficient
to justify us in placing Priansos on or near the south
coast, between Hierapytna and Leben.
Strabo15 must have confounded the two totally dis-
tinct cities, when he spoke of them under a common
name, and assigned them a single situation, both close
to Mount Dikte, and, at the same time, conterminous
with the Lebeneans, whose city was three days' journey
from the mountain16.
As to the situation of Praesos, it is incontrovertiblv
fixed by existing vestiges : its site is now called Praesus17,
and is found about six miles inland from the ruins of
Setia. If additional proof were wanted, it would be
obtained from a very long, and, on many accounts,
extremely interesting inscription, which I copied at Plu-
Monasteri, and in which the Praesian district is described
as lying between those of Hierapytna and Itanos18, the
situations of both which places are known.
15 Strabo, x. §. 12. p. 478. "Qp.opoi o eiaiv auT-oTs (he is speaking
of Leben) oi Upaiaioi, t?)s p.ev 6aXaxTi]s CTaiStous, TopTvvos oe Sle^ov-
t69 exaTov Kai 6ydot')KODTa' (this is true only of Priansos:) Hipri-rai fi' ots
tuiv 'ETeo/c(o>)T(jt)i' mrrjp^ev ij Ylpatcrov, Kai oti ivTaiSa. to tou Aikto-lov
Atos lepov. Kai yap jj ALkti] ttX^ctlov, ob^, u><s "ApaTO<s, cr^eoov opeo?
'loaiov, and so on, all of which applies only to the site of Praesos, far
away to the eastward of Hierapytna.
16 It is well observed by Mannert, Geographie der Griechen und
Roemer, Vol. vm. p. 712. "In zwei Stelleri entfernt er, (Strabo,) dieses
Prasos 180 Stadien von Gortynia, welches in Zusammenhaltung mit der
nebrigen Angabe eine Unmoeglichkeit ist."
17 Ilpaia-cms or Hpa<rov<s is the present name of the site of Praesos. I
visited it in the following month of August. It had been truly described,
a long time ago, by Coronelli, who says, in his Isolario, "All' ostro
di Sittia ma piu dentro terra veggonsi le rovine de Pressos citta d'angusto
recinto. Ivi si osservano ancora le vestigie e gli avanzi di case ed altri
edifici, tavole, marmi, e colonne; ed i lavoratori della terra ritrovano molte
medaglie antiche."
18 In line 45 of the opposite inscription we read, Tys Upaia-Lwu TroXeos
"rtj<i Kf ip.evris dva.p.e<rov 'lTavtwv te Ko.i '16 p airv tv loo v. The
reader