Pandosia (Bruttium)
Encyclopedia
Pandosia was an ancient city of Bruttium (now Calabria
), Italy
, situated near the frontiers of Lucania
(now Basilicata
). Strabo
describes it as a little above Consentia (modern Cosenza
), the precise sense of which expression is far from clear (Strab. vi. p. 256); but Livy
calls it imminentem Lucanis ac Bruttiis finibus. (Liv. viii. 24.) The site of the city is within the present-day commune
s of Castrolibero
and Acri
, Province of Cosenza
, Calabria region.
colony, as Scylax expressly enumerates it among the Greek cities of this part of Italy, and Scymnus Chius, though perhaps less distinctly, asserts the same thing. (Scyl. p. 4. § 12; Scymn. Ch. 326.) It was probably a colony of Crotona; though the statement of Eusebius, who represents it as founded in the same year with Metapontum
, would lead us to regard it as an independent and separate colony. (Euseb. Arm. Chron. p. 99.) But the date assigned by him of 774 BCE seems certainly inadmissible. But whether originally an independent settlement or not, it must have been a dependency of Crotona during the period of greatness of that city, and hence we never find its name mentioned among the cities of Magna Graecia
. Its only historical celebrity arises from its being the place near which Alexander, king of Epirus
, was slain in battle with the Bruttians, 326 BCE. That monarch had been warned by an oracle to avoid Pandosia, but he understood this as referring to the town of that name
in Thesprotia
, on the banks of the Acheron
, and was ignorant of the existence of both a town and river of the same names in Italy. (Strab. vi. p. 256 ; Livy
viii. 24 ; Justin, xii. 2; Plin.
iii. 11. s. 15.) The name of Pandosia is again mentioned by Livy (xxix. 38) in the Second Punic War
, among the Bruttian towns retaken by the consul P. Sempronius
, in 204 BCE; and it is there noticed, together with Consentia, as opposed to the ignobiles aliae civitates. It was therefore at this time still a place of some consequence; and Strabo seems to imply that it still existed in his time (Strab. l. c.), but we find no subsequent trace of it.
There was great difficulty in determining its position. It is described as a strong fortress, situated on a hill, which had three peaks, whence it was called, in the oracle (Strab, l. c.) In addition to the vague statements of Strabo and Livy above cited, it is enumerated by Scymnus Chius between Crotona and Thurii
. But it was clearly an inland town, and stood in the mountains between Consentia and Thurii. The river Acheron was evidently an inconsiderable stream, the name of which is not mentioned on any other occasion, and which, therefore, cannot be identified.
Much confusion has arisen between the Bruttian Pandosia and a town of the same name
in Lucania
; and some writers have even considered this last as the place where Alexander perished. (Romanelli, vol. i. pp. 261–263). It is true that Theopompus
(ap. Plin. iii. 11. s. 15), in speaking of that event, described Pandosia as a city of the Lucanians, but this is a very natural error, as it was, in fact, near the boundaries of the two nations (Liv. viii. 24), and the passages of Livy (xxix. 38) and Strabo can leave no doubt that it was really situated in the land of the Bruttians.
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
), Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, situated near the frontiers of Lucania
Lucania
Lucania was an ancient district of southern Italy, extending from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. To the north it adjoined Campania, Samnium and Apulia, and to the south it was separated by a narrow isthmus from the district of Bruttium...
(now Basilicata
Basilicata
Basilicata , also known as Lucania, is a region in the south of Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south, having one short southwestern coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea between Campania in the northwest and Calabria in the southwest, and a...
). Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
describes it as a little above Consentia (modern Cosenza
Cosenza
Cosenza is a city in southern Italy, located at the confluence of two historic rivers: the Busento and the Crathis. The municipal population is of around 70,000; the urban area, however, counts over 260,000 inhabitants...
), the precise sense of which expression is far from clear (Strab. vi. p. 256); but Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
calls it imminentem Lucanis ac Bruttiis finibus. (Liv. viii. 24.) The site of the city is within the present-day commune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
s of Castrolibero
Castrolibero
Castrolibero is a town and comune in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy.-Notes and references:...
and Acri
ACRI
Acri can refer to:*Acri, a town in the province of Cosenza, southern Italy*The Association for Civil Rights in Israel*ACRI, acronym of the African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance*ACRI, acronym of the American Committee for Relief in Ireland...
, Province of Cosenza
Province of Cosenza
The Province of Cosenza is a province in the Calabria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Cosenza.It has an area of 6,650 km², and a total population of 733,797 . It is the biggest Calabrian Province...
, Calabria region.
History
According to Strabo it was originally an Oenotrian town, and was even, at one time, the capital of the Oenotrian kings (Strab. l. c.); but it seems to have certainly received a GreekAncient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
colony, as Scylax expressly enumerates it among the Greek cities of this part of Italy, and Scymnus Chius, though perhaps less distinctly, asserts the same thing. (Scyl. p. 4. § 12; Scymn. Ch. 326.) It was probably a colony of Crotona; though the statement of Eusebius, who represents it as founded in the same year with Metapontum
Metapontum
Metapontum, Metapontium or Metapontion , was an important city of Magna Graecia, situated on the gulf of Tarentum, between the river Bradanus and the Casuentus . It was distant about 20 km from Heraclea and 40 from Tarentum...
, would lead us to regard it as an independent and separate colony. (Euseb. Arm. Chron. p. 99.) But the date assigned by him of 774 BCE seems certainly inadmissible. But whether originally an independent settlement or not, it must have been a dependency of Crotona during the period of greatness of that city, and hence we never find its name mentioned among the cities of Magna Graecia
Magna Graecia
Magna Græcia is the name of the coastal areas of Southern Italy on the Tarentine Gulf that were extensively colonized by Greek settlers; particularly the Achaean colonies of Tarentum, Crotone, and Sybaris, but also, more loosely, the cities of Cumae and Neapolis to the north...
. Its only historical celebrity arises from its being the place near which Alexander, king of Epirus
Epirus
The name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...
, was slain in battle with the Bruttians, 326 BCE. That monarch had been warned by an oracle to avoid Pandosia, but he understood this as referring to the town of that name
Pandosia (Epirus)
Pandosia was an ancient Greek city of Epirus. It was a colony of Elis, and a town of the Cassopaei in the district of Thesprotia in Epirus, situated upon the river Acheron....
in Thesprotia
Thesprotia
Thesprotia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Epirus region. Its capital is the town of Igoumenitsa. It is named after the Thesprotians, an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited the region in antiquity.-History:...
, on the banks of the Acheron
Acheron
The Acheron is a river located in the Epirus region of northwest Greece. It flows into the Ionian Sea in Ammoudia, near Parga.-In mythology:...
, and was ignorant of the existence of both a town and river of the same names in Italy. (Strab. vi. p. 256 ; Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
viii. 24 ; Justin, xii. 2; Plin.
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
iii. 11. s. 15.) The name of Pandosia is again mentioned by Livy (xxix. 38) in the Second Punic War
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...
, among the Bruttian towns retaken by the consul P. Sempronius
Sempronius
Sempronius may refer to:* Sempronius, a character in the play The Apple Cart* Sempronius, the nomen of the Roman gens Sempronia* Sempronius, New York* Sempronius, Texas* Sempronius Stretton, a British Army officer and artist...
, in 204 BCE; and it is there noticed, together with Consentia, as opposed to the ignobiles aliae civitates. It was therefore at this time still a place of some consequence; and Strabo seems to imply that it still existed in his time (Strab. l. c.), but we find no subsequent trace of it.
There was great difficulty in determining its position. It is described as a strong fortress, situated on a hill, which had three peaks, whence it was called, in the oracle (Strab, l. c.) In addition to the vague statements of Strabo and Livy above cited, it is enumerated by Scymnus Chius between Crotona and Thurii
Thurii
Thurii , called also by some Latin writers Thurium , for a time also Copia and Copiae, was a city of Magna Graecia, situated on the Tarentine gulf, within a short distance of the site of Sybaris, whose place it may be considered as having taken...
. But it was clearly an inland town, and stood in the mountains between Consentia and Thurii. The river Acheron was evidently an inconsiderable stream, the name of which is not mentioned on any other occasion, and which, therefore, cannot be identified.
Much confusion has arisen between the Bruttian Pandosia and a town of the same name
Pandosia (Lucania)
Pandosia was an ancient town of Lucania , Italy, situated near Heraclea. It has often been confounded with Pandosia in Bruttium; but the distinct existence of a Lucanian town of the name is clearly established by two authorities...
in Lucania
Lucania
Lucania was an ancient district of southern Italy, extending from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. To the north it adjoined Campania, Samnium and Apulia, and to the south it was separated by a narrow isthmus from the district of Bruttium...
; and some writers have even considered this last as the place where Alexander perished. (Romanelli, vol. i. pp. 261–263). It is true that Theopompus
Theopompus
Theopompus was a Greek historian and rhetorician- Biography :Theopompus was born on Chios. In early youth he seems to have spent some time at Athens, along with his father, who had been exiled on account of his Laconian sympathies...
(ap. Plin. iii. 11. s. 15), in speaking of that event, described Pandosia as a city of the Lucanians, but this is a very natural error, as it was, in fact, near the boundaries of the two nations (Liv. viii. 24), and the passages of Livy (xxix. 38) and Strabo can leave no doubt that it was really situated in the land of the Bruttians.