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DESCRIPTION 

O F T H E 

t?irft DISCpVERIES 

O.F T H E 

Antient City of Heracljea, 

f O U .N D 

Near PoRTicii a Country Palace belonging 
to the King of the tm) SICILIES. 

In TWO PARTS. 

« 

Part I. Containing an Account of the Foundation of Hbra- 
CLEA, together with a Defckiption df that fatal Eruption of 
Mount Vesuvii^s^ bjr which it was deftroyed. 

Part II. Containing a curious Account of the Difcoveries which 
were made in the Ybars 1689 and 1711, and thofc of a later 
Date; giving a full Defcription of the Grand Theatre, Temples* 
Infcriptions, Statues^ Columns, Lamps, Uiths, VefTels of Glafs, 
^nd other Metals, Paintings^ Medals, and fuhdry other Cu- 
riofities found therein. 

Done into ^^/i^jfroiri the Original Italtan of the 

Marquis Don'^'MJRCELLO di lENUTL 

By- WICKES SKURRAT. 



To which are added, ' 

Some Letters that paffed between the Ieai*ned Jo, Matthia 
Gefner^ Profeffor at Gottenburghi Cardinal ^irini, and Her^ 
mannus Samuel Reimarusi Profeffor at Hamburghy concerning 
thefe Difcoveries. 

>, ■ ■• • ' ■ ■ ' '" ■ ' ■ '■ ' " ' ■ ■ ■■ ■—* 

LONDON: 

Printed for R. Baldwin, jun. at tht Rofe, in 
Pater^NoJler-Row. M.DCCL. 






^f* 



ADVERTISEMENT. 

THE following Treatise, entitled, 
^Description of the fir fi Dif- 
coveries of the ant tent City of Hera- 
CLEA, '&'c. being entered in the Sta- 
tioners Hall Book : Whoever offers to 
pirate it, or to reprint the Whole, o.r 
any t*art of it, will be profecuted ac- 
cording to Law. 



*> b 
•*«- t 






■^^~)~y 



Sir Hans Sloane, Bart. 

Fellow of the Royal Society, 

AND 
Phyfician in Ordinary to his Majefty. 

SIR, 

E pleafed to accept the follow- 
ing Tranflation, from one who, 
though an entire Stranger to 
your Perfon ; yet {having heard of your 
great Renown, as a learned and curi- 
^ ous Enquirer into, and Encourager of, 

i the Study of Antiquity,) prefumes ta 

I offer you his Performance ; hoping that 

ij the Subjeft it treats on, (being the bring- 

ing, 



k. 



D E I> I C^At 1 N. 

ing to light a.n antient City, which had 
lain buried under Ground fo long, that 
it was almoft forgot to have pxifted ;) 
will plead my lixcufe for attempting to 
trouble you therewith : And as the King 
of the Two Sicilies did not difdain to 
patronize the Original, I hope you, 
Sir, will not refufc the fame Honour tq 
the Operations of, 

SIR, 

Your moji obliged. 
And moJi obedient^ 



Humble Servant, 



Wickes Skurray, 



THE 

Tranflator's Preface, 

[^nA^nHE following fmall Treatife is an authentick 
^^^£^^1 and concife Account of the Antiquities and 
V ^ I bH Curiofities, which have been difcorcred from 
Qw'fMrira^ Time to Time, in the City of HtrecUa j 
g^^^^^l Part of which was overwhelmed and covered 
with Aftics by an Eruption of Mount Vefuvius, and Part 
was fwallowed up by an Earthqualie, and remained in 
that Situation, as it were in a State of abfolute Oblivion, 
during the Space of one Thoufand fix Hundred and ten 
Years, when feme few Dlfcovcries were made, though 
ycry trifling to what has been within ihefe ten Years : 
Wherefore I (out of a Curiofity; which is natural to any 
one) no fooner faw the Original hereof advertifed, but I 
bought it, at firft barely with a Defign of perufing and 
tranflating it, for my own Amufement in my leifure 
Hours : But on ihewing my TranHation to fome Gentle- 
men of my Acquaintance, who had a<3ually been on the 
very Spot, and even in the fubterraneous City herein 
. treated of ; They, after a proper Revifal and Correition, 
gave me Encouragement to ofTer it to the Publick ; and 
though fome few (and I hope) trivial Faults may have 
been inadvertently paifed over ; yet, as it is the lirft At. 
tempt I ever made of the Kind, their * known Indulgence 
leaves me no Room to doubt of their giving it a favoura- 
ble Reception. 

» The PubJiefc's. 

THE 



THE 

Author's Preface. 

S J' the Finding of any curious Monuments 

K fif Jntiquiiy has always been reckoned one 

K ff the mhleji Pleafures of the Learned^ 

^' find all thofe who would be accounted the 

Patrons and Friends of the Arts and Sciences ; Hoiv 

much greater will be the Glory of the King of the Tvjo 

Sicilies, who has had the good Fortune, not barely of 

finding fmall Fragments, t^c. but (if one may ufe the 

"Term) he has, as it were, unburied an entire City, be' 

decked with magnificent and precious Ornaments, viz. 

Theatres, Temples, Paintings, Buildings, Coloffal and 

Equefirian Statues, both of Marble and Brafs, i^c. 

Ihe Fame of this lucky Incident, worthy of only 
fuch a King, who takes a Pleafure in encouraging Jrts 
and Sciences, has excited throughout the World fuch 
jimazement^ as raifes bqth a Kind of Envy, and lau- 
dable Curiofity^ in thofe who delight in Antiquity, and 
have any tolerable Share of good Senfe. 

And as it happened to be my Let to be thefirft that 
had the Honour to participate and explain tu his Ma- 
jefiy the firfl Di/coveries of thefe Curiojilies, and alfo 
feeing fo many Accounts daily publifhed, .and fever al lU 
' lufirious Members of the learned RepuUick ftrivmg, 
with a Kind of Emulatisn, which fhall be the firfi to 
difcourfe thereon ; I refolded (with the fole View of 
fatisfying the matry Requefls which I have had^from 
feveral Farts of Europe) to publi/h afhort and minute 
5 Defcriplisn 



The AuTH or's Prepace^ . vu 

Defer iption of thefirfi Difcoveries, which were made 
under my DireSlton j together with fome fhort Differ- 
tations^ which I read on that SubjeSf^ in our Tufran 
Academy at Cortona \ and in order that thofe who have 
taken upon them to publifh the Dejigns^ may be able 
fecyrely to purfUe the Defcription, And Signor Mu- 
ratori fpeaks thus *': Inter tot prctiofa antiquitatis 
Romanse monumcnta, ftattias, columnas, aliaque 
elaborata marmora, quse in Villa Refinse extra 
Neapolim, anno 1739, efFofla funt, & adhuc efFo- 
diuntur, & qucJrum defcriptionem fperare nos facit 
dodlifllmus Eques Venuti, primum hoc marmor 
efFodientibus fefe obtulit, ex quo innotuit ibidem 
extitiffe Theatrum qpm orcheftra, &c. ^his and 
other Accounts were tranfmitted him from Time to 
Time by me^ and the Abbot Ridolfino Venuti my Bro- 
ther. Signor Gori is publifhing a Book^ entttkd^ Col- 
leftanea Antiquitatum Herculanenfium : ThisPFork 
conjijls of a ColleSfion of all the Accounts^ which have 
been publifloed to this very Day^ by him carefully re- 
vifed and put together ; where ^ among the many other 
Things y he produces feveral Letter s^ which he received 
from my Brother and me, concerning thefe Difcoveries. 
But I being called away by my domeflick Affairs^ 
tho' very much againfi my JVill^ obtained the King^s 
PermiJJion to return Home^ wherefore I could not be 
prefent at the Profecution of this grand Enterprize : 
And as the King was pleafed to order me to write a 
Differtation of the Antiquities of that Place^ which he 
tranfmitted to the Court of Spain ; and being wrote 
within the Space of a few Hours ^ I find my f elf necef 
Jitated to publifh it in a mere diftinSl and better Man- 
ner^ to fatisfy (as I faid before) the impatient Curiofity 
of fome Perfons ; in order^ that if this my fuccinSt 
Detail fhould fall into other Hands ^ they may be better 
informed of the Difcoveries and the Hifiory thereof : 
Which (Difcoveries) have daily increafed, and have^ 

§ • Teforo dellc Ifcrizioni, p. 202 1 . i . 

$0 



4 

viii The Author's Preface.^ 

to tny great SatisfaSiion^ confirmed all that I from thi 
Beginning {as it were by a Kind of Foreknowledge) 
furmifedy i. e. that under the Spot where they firft be-^ 
gun to dig^ was buried^ not only a grand^ noble ^ and 
fumptuous antique "Theatre^ but alfo anantient City^ 
which by the Grecians^ and in particular hy Strabo^ 
was called 'HPAKAEIO'N, and by the Latins^ as 
Plinyy and many others^ Herculanium and Hercula-, 
neum, fituated in Campania Foelix ; the Situation of 
which^ I cannot better defcribe^ than by giving you 
the very Words of * Florus^ who fay s^ Omnium poni 
itiodo Italia, fed toto orbe terrarurn pulcherrima 
Campaniss plaga eft *,.'.. Hie illi nobiles por- 
\ tus . . . Hie amifti vitibus montes Gaurus, Fa- 
I lernus, Maffieus, & pureheitimus omnium Vefu- 
' vius JEtnasi ignis imitator. Urbes ad mare For- 
mise, Cumas, Puteoii, Neapolis, Herculaneum^ 
.. Pompei, &c. Permit me here 'to add^ that this Dif- 
covery clears our learned Archbifhop Nicolas Perotto^ 
from an unjufl Cenfure caft upon him by Elias Vineto^ 
in his Notes on the above Paffage of Florus^ by find- 
ing Fault with his placing Heraclea in Campania Fee- 
lix^ thus : Fuerunt autem hs (urbes) multse, qua- 
rum una Campaniae hie eelebratae : quse urbs ea-' 
dcm fuit eum Herculaneo, fi quid Perotto, !* ho- 
mini multa fine ratione, auftoreque tradenti, ere-' 
dimus. 

Having divided the Work into two Parts ^ Ifhall in 
the firfi give an Account of the Foundation of the City 
Heraelea, beginning firft with fearching out who thai 
Hero (Hereules) was^ and what the Mythologifis fay 
concerning his Travels _ from Spain into Italy : In the 
next Place^ 1 fhall give you the Hiftory of the City 
Heraelea, and its firfi Inhabitants^ beginning from the 
Ofcians and the Tufcans^ and continuing it down to the 
Romans^ without mentioning the Wars which were 

■ Lib. I. dcBell. Samnit. *» In Coraucop. pag. 207. 

ediK Venet. anni 149. 

carried 



The A IT T H D R*S P R E F A C E. iX 

carried on in Campania Fa^Iix, and particularly near 
Heraclea. Btii as fome Perfons would blame me (and 
not without Reafon) for not faying any Thing of the 
famous Baitle that happened there between the Ro'^ 
mans^ and King Pyrrhus^ I will not omit giving you 
ik this Place the very IVords of Florus * : A pud 
Heracleam, & Campaniae fluvium Lirim, La^vino 
Gonfule, prima pugna :, quae lam atrox fuit, uc 
Fcrentanae turmae praefeftus Obfidius inveftus in 
RegcjB turbaverit, coegeritque projcftis infignibus 
praslio excidere ; but on bringing Elephants into the 
Army^ the King gained a compleat Villory ; by whieb^ 
as Fiorus fays^ totam trementem Campaniam, Li- 
rim, FrcgelJafque populatuSj prope captam Ur- 
bem a Prseneftina arce profpexit. Elias Vineto con^- 
founds bimfelf in this Paffage^ not knowing how to 
find ffut what Heraclea that isj in Campania Fcelix^ 
which is mentitined by Florus^ and Paul Orofius ^ % 
feeing there is pnly one named by Strabo^ and Pliny ^ 
' in the Confines of Italy^ between the Rivers Siris and 
Aciris, but a great Way from Campania, and the 
River LiriSj where Plutarch (in his Life of King 
Pyrrhus) fays the Battle was fought ; which, if he 
had more nicely obferved Florus, be would banje found ; • 
and thefe new Difcoveries more afid more confirm it. 

But to return to the DiftributioH of this Work, I 
fhall next treat of the fir fl Eruption of Vefuvius^ as I 
happened to read publickly in our Tufcan Academy,* 
Finally, in the Second Part, I fhall d^cribe the /Anti- 
quities found, together with the Account of thefirfi 
Difcoveries of jhe Theatre, Temples, and Paintings, 
which happened in my Time \ for there ba^efince been 
found feveral other Paintings, fcfr. A naked Hercules 
as large as Life ; a Satire holding a Nymph in his . 
Arms ; Virginia accompanied by her Father, and Id- 
lius her Spoufe, whilfi M. Claudius is demanding hers 
before the Decemvir Appius : And the Education of 

'*• Lib. I, cap. I4.« ^ Lib. 4. .cap. i. 

a " Acbillef 



lc The Author's PrepacbJ 

jlcbilks under the Centaur Chiron ; but that of Vif-^ 
ginia is univerfally admired above all the reft^ being 
one of the befi preferved. Alfo two Bajfi Rilievi ; 
the one reprefenting fome Per fans playing at Dice : Un- 
der each P erf on is bis Name wrote in Greek. The 
ether reprefents a Chariot^ drawn by a Parrot^ and 
guided by ct Cricket. 

I congratulate our :/ige^ that it has been able^ as it 
were^ to look backj and aiiually to fee the Cufioms and 
Manner of the Ancients. If any wifh for the Perpe^ 
tuity of any 7iing, that has ever bad its dejired EffeU^ 
Ifbould imagine it to be that Motto^ which is to be 
feen on a Medal of TituSy bofOing on the Reverfe a 
bandfome Temple adorned with Horfes^ fix Columns^ 
and three Statues. The Motto is this ; -ffi ^ERNI- 
T ATI. FLAVIORUM. This is not a Place to 
examine ihe^ Legitimacy of that Medals nor to what 
Fahrick it pertains ; but it is eafy to imagine^ that as 
thefe Monuments of Antiquity (which^ doubtlefs^ were 
put up in Heraclea to the Honour of that Family) that 
have lately been difcoroeredy have eternalized the Name 
of that Imperial Family hitherto ; they will eternalize 
far the future^ the glorious Name <?/CHARLES 
BOURBON, the fortunate King of the two Si- 
eilies, 

The lafi Thing I have to fay isj that whatever I 
writ€y ifhall only bear Witnefs of what I hme feen 
iaith my own Eyes ; and I folemnly protefty that I 
have no Intention to publifh or deftribe the other Cu- 
riojities^ which have been fince dttg up ; nor to pre* 
Judice any one that propofes to treat thereon : But onfy 
that this my fhort Treatife {in which there m^ be fome 
Things mentioned^ which others know nothing of^) may 
ferve as a Forerunner and ConduSor of the curious 
JVorK wUch^ by Order of bis Majefty^ is preparing. 
And for Example^ Ifaw in a French Account (which 
is now printed) the Infcription. on Mammianus Ru- 
fus (j^ojfibly a Dtfeendant of tb^ L. MammuSf called* 



The A u T K o r's ^Pli e f A c e. xi 

iy Di^yjius • vir non obfcurus, whofaw the Orach 
engraved in the Temple of Jupiter Bodoneus) fmnd in 
the Theatre towards the Sea, as is the Manner of 
ether Theatres, and particularly according to Florus, 
and Orojio del Tarentino, who fays thus : 

L. ANNIVS. L. F. MAMMIANVS. RVFVS. IIVIR 

QVINQi EATRO NUMISIVS, P. F. 

ARO HERCVLANEN ^ 

There were two Infc7'iptions (as Ifhall treat about 
in my Defcription) pretty much alike j thefirft, in fe- 
deral Pieces $f a grand Architrave, ivhich I put tOr 
^gether thus. 

A .... MAMMI ..... RVFVS. IlVlR. C^^.TIEaR* 

ORC. . . . DE. SVO 

On the fecond Cornijh, or Architrave, Fellow k> the 
Jirfi, was another Infcripiion in thefe Words : 

J,. ANNIVS. L. F. MAMMIANVS. RVFVS. iVTlR. 

QUINQ. TiEAfk* O , . . P. NVMISIVS, ' 
P. F. AR . ..TEC. ..f 

And as the Workmen broke and fpoiled every Things 
and fulled the Architraves in Pieces^ (the? they were 
entire when under the Ground) it might happen, that 
they put two different Things together, an4fo confufed 
every Thing, It was, indeed, propofed^ that every 
Thing Jhould be preferved, but it could not be 'obtained ; 
only the mqfi precious Things were placed as Ornaments 
in the Royal Villa of Portkiy where the following In^ 
fffiption is put up, which I propofed \ in which is a 
^lainnefs^ which I take great Pleafure in^ 

' jpionyf. Hallcanx. Antiq, Rom. lib« i. pag. i$. 



a^ :{CAROLys< 



xH The Author's Vrzvace7 

KAROLVS. REX 

PHILIPPl. V. HISPANIAR. REGIS, F. ' 

LVDOVICI. GALLORVM. DELPHINLN. 

LVDOVICL MAGNL PRONEPOS 

THEATRVM. SPLENDIDISSIMVM 

OLIM. TITO. IMPERANTE, A, VESEVO 

OBRVTVM. ET. TEMPORVM. INIQVITATE 

DIRVTVM 

IN. APRICVM. RESTITVIT 

SIGNA. ET. STATVAS. AD. VILLAE 

ELEGANTIAM. ACCEDERE 

IVSSIT 

ANNO. MDCCXXXIX. 

Every one isfertfthle^ that from the fortunate Succefs 
cf thefe furprijing Difcoveries^ is derived a great Part 
ef the immortal Renown due to the Name of his Ma- 
jV/j CHARLES VIII. King of Naples, who has 
made his Country happy, by patronizing honeji Menj 
Arts, and Sciences, increaftng their Commerce, and 
fundry other publick Services and Beneficences ; among 
which let us mention the enlarging and fecuring the 
Wharf, {which is embellijhed with new Fountains) and 
in particular bringing thither, the fine Fountain, en- 
riched with curious Baffi Rilievi, wrought by Bene- 
detto da Majano 5 which lay abandoned and negleSled^ 
among the Ruins of the famous Villa of Poggio Reale, 
at prefent the pleafant Retirement of King Alfonfus. 
In which Place, I propofed {permit me to mention it) 
fhould be fet up, a large Statue of Bronze^ {which 
was in the Arfenal of the Caftle of Naples) made by 
the famous Donatella, which I imagine to be the Ef^ 
figy of Francefco Sferza, cruJJjing a Serpent, and I 
think, bears an AUuJion to the juji Temper of our 
King, who is a great Enemy, and Oppreffor of Vice. 
All which was performed, under the Direction of Don 
Michael Reggio, Captain General of the A'larines, 
and now Lieutenant, and Captain General of Naples, 

5 ^nd 



•^* 



The AuTttOR^S PlLEPACE^ xHf 

fnd Counfillcr of the State ; who ordered the foUotving 
Jnfcriptions to be put on the four Fronts of the f aid 
Fountain y wbkbj beir^ all different ^ I hope the 
courteous Reader mil permit me to copy here, viz, 

( •• ) 

GENIQ 

CAROLI. REGIS 

PHIL. V. HISP. REGIS. F. 

oyoD 

NEAPOL. REGNO. .RESTITVTO 

VIRTVTEM. ALVERIT 

VITIA. DEPRESSERir 

{.«. ) 

QVOD 
LACVM. EREXERIT 
ORAM. MARITIMAM. MOLES 
\ PQRTVMQ.VI. MARIS 

i DIRVTVM 

RESTITVERIT 

(3) 

QVQD 

TRIREMES. NAVESQ. 

AVXERIT 

^t. NOBILIB. EPHEBIS 

CLASSICAM 

ACADEMIAM 

FVNDAVERIT 

QVOD 

CVRIAM. COMMERCir 

INSTITVERIT 

VOTA. PVBLICA 
D.D. 

M.D.C.C.XXXIX. 

. > • . . . 



^iK The AuT-H o-a'8 Pr s r ac*7 

ff^if Itamed World reader their gratefullefi ^fUftr 
te^emnts of the Magnificences of the impar allelic 
CHARLES Kij^ of the Two Sicilies^ to&», net r«- 
garding any B-xpesce^ has net miy taufed thefepreeimi 
Monuments of Antiquity to be dug out of the Botoels 
ef the Earth ; hut alfo prgfetves them with the great- 
ifi Care and Diligence } having reftored to the World, 
a City which was htritdt and had heeit, as it wtre^ 
entirely forgpt^ and (^ t^lncA one mayjiyj as Seneca 
did • of the Villa ef C. Ofap in the fame HeracUa : 
C. Oefai ViUam io Hercuianenfi puKherrimam, qua 
mater fua aliqnaodo in ilia cuftocEta erat, diruit, fe- 
citque ejus per .hoc notatukm fg^tunam ; ftantem e- 
nim pnenavigabatnus : nunc caufa dirutx quxritur ; 
there remaining Jiill a grander Idea of the Roman 
Magnificence ; and a «ut6 gUrieus Remembrance of 
mr invincible King. 

. . ; De Ir» lib, 3. «3p, 23; - 




Table of CONTENTS.' 

» ' " ' ' . 

• • * 

PARTI, 

Of the Fdundmieh ^ H B r ac l e a; ' 

CHAP* L Who Hercules was, and why fo chlled 

Page I 
CHAP. II. Of the Coming of Hercules Pbcentcius 

into Italy 9 

CHAP. III. Of Oe :Cify lijiKACL^A and Placef' 

adjacent 1 7 

CHAP, IV. Of the firft Eruption of Vefwvius, and of 

that which dejlroyed the Cities He- 

KKOLZA and Po9fpei^ 33, 

, PA R T . Ifc 
Of the AnH^ties ef IfekAeLE A# 

CHAP. I. An AccawUof the firfi i>ifkonHrks made 

in v6i^ ar^d lyii .. 46 

CHAP. 11. An Accdwu of ^ Difcotery-of the an- 
cient TieatreoftlsKACLEA 51 
CHAP. III. Ohfervations on the faid Theatre 56 
CHAP. IV. Account of the Antiquities found in the 

Theatre ^ 7 3 

CHAP. V. Account of Antiquities 77 

CHAP. VI. Obfervations on the Infcriptions 78 
CHAP. VII. Of the Temples and Paintings^ found 

near the Theatre 90 

CHAP. VIII. Other Obfervations on, andDefcripU- 

ons of the f aid Paintings 98 

CHAP. 



xvi C-O N T E N T S. 

CHAP. IX. D^fcriptitmsof other Buildings in lit^ 

RACLEA., and of ibe Amiqmti^i 

found therein io8 

CHAP. X. A Diary of the Difcoverief made in the 

Summer of 1739 115 

CHAP. XI. Of later Difeoveries, with other Ob- 

• fervations and Remarks 123 

Ptaufus Orbis Literati^ &c. 128 

A fhort Accdunt of the Difcoveries^ in a Letter from 

Card. Siuirini to Signer Gefner^ Profejbr at Got- 

tenhurg 135 



»8Hg88HB»BHg»aHa^^ 



ERRATA. 



PAG. «• line 4./er Aeamantc rnd Athunai; 
P. 9. 1. S.yir ai it is, r. ay is. 
P. 18. I. 7* fir Heraclea, r. Heracleae. 
1P. a 5. I. %o»fir Magiflrace, r. Magiftratcir 
P. %i, \» i» for near was ftund, r. was found neaf. 
P. 65. 1. ttiftr connot, r. cannot. 
P. 6$. I. %t,fir pofuit, perfecit, r. pofuiC^ fecit^ perfedC 
P. S8. \,\*f9r Suetorius, r. Suetonius, 
P. 104. I. 2. /vr Giant, r. Giantt* 
P. 10^. I. 8./fr cllveii^ r. ten. 



DESCRIPTION 

O F T H E 

DISCOVERY 

OF T HE 

Antient City of Heraclea. 

PARTI. 

Of the Foundation c/'Heraclea. 

CHAP. I. 

H^o Hercules waSy and wiry fe called. 

P T will not be foreign from our Pur- 
'\ pofe, to treat a little in this Place about 
I the Name of Hercules, the Founder of 
' this City of Heraclea. And without 
' examining into every Particular that 
may have been wrote concerning it, by Sccbart, 
and HueTao, and others, who derive it from the ori- 
ental Languages ; and being in particular to fpeak 
B of 




2: 'jrD'EstjciPti6}i^ fte -': 

of Hercules Phanicius^ or him, who is reported .^p 
have brought thp Oxen of Geriony out of Spain j it 
is certain, (acArding to Samhonhthn and iPAJfo 
HikHcus^) that he was the Son of Jt^tnkWe^ or fff- 
pker DemroffH^ King of Pk^mcia. If we feek f^r 
the Origin <^ his Name among the Grnianj^-^ 
they will tell you that Eliano • being well informed 
of the Tradition of the Hiftory of DelpboSj has 
left it in Writing, that Hercules was firft called 
Heraclidesj but afterwards on confulting thQ Oracle^ 
he was named Hercufes^ by Jf^Ho. . 

Heraclem te alio Phcehus cognomine dicit ; 
Gratifieando etenim dtcus ittomortale tenebis* 

Hercules was however his Name, the Etymoic^y 
of which, is * the Glory of the Goddefs Juno. For 
the Greek word "^Hf « fignifies JunOy and xXioc Glory. 
But as it is not our Defign to difcourfe upon th9 
great Variety of Names of HercuU^ or rather of 
the Hercuks s^ and having pitch*d upon the moft 
antient of them, namely, Hercules Pbcenicius^ we 
fliall only take Notice of the Sentiments of th« 
modern Hiftorians. M. Fourmonty belonging to 
the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris^ is of 
Opinjpn, jhat the Greek Name "H^scXfif, derived 
from^Hffi JunOy and xxl^j Glory, is only a corrupt 
and counterfeit Name. The old EoUck Name of 
him, is Hercle \ and the old Latin Name, Hercules. 
And Heracles is only a Dulcifm or Softening of the 
Fronounciation. 

The Letters V and O, were the fame Thing a* 
mong the antient Latins^ and confequently in the 
Eolick and Dorick Dialefts, from which they de- 
rived their Language ; fo Hercules and HercoUs was 
the fame Word.*—- Further, in former Days, the 
JR. and the S were ufed without any DifFereQCC, u 
Fufius rnftead of Furius^ ahd Falf/ius tJiilcad of 

» Vtr. HiA, lib. t. 

I Valerius^ 



JnHmCity'f HBR ACLE A. ^ 

V^idfiuSs afi4l:%crv^e we may conttude^ thsct they 

profiountedjc iii^idfs \ and^erhaips it may ndt be 

-jdifaM^ccable' to the Rftadcr> to hfeAr thfe followirtjg 

-Rtafons for innilftgiftlng this to be the antientcft'DV 

nomination, which (Reafons) arc founded, both on 

fJiftovy, and oo dtivers Maiwt s of ^aft ; not only 

rftttribimd » out Pha^dan Utretdes^ but alfo td all 

theothws. 

r In Jth* fifft Place i it is ri^c^rded^ that Hermbs 

ftfildked thd Qtidi againft thd Giants, called f//i»ii\ 

He tras 41 great Friend to Mercurp \ as ArijHies 

wlatkfel he tntAs War agaiftft Antms^ with the 

Chiidttn <rf Abrd^ham ^. He fuccourcd /^//^i» and 

.ts^QwhaTidedtfee iFtoops of Ofiris^. He carried 

the War itlte\the Indiii B,nd Ethi&pia^* He was at 

the hmt Time called, Egyptian, and Phoenician ; 

and Herodotus addsji that be wa3\rcckoned among 

the XII Gods of. the.JE^j|iuf/tfjyi^r/. that he was 

as antient . 45, Jupter or Saturn \ 'Frotn all which 

';Wfr tpay gather, that th^ Herfules or Hefcuks of the 

.; Antients w abfblutely the; flrj^W Ypokeh of in Scrip- 

*tlire<?, with vfhoia /Ibrabain enti-cd itito Leagut, 

"a^aihift Atnrapheh -^iok, Codorlaomor^ and fhadai ; 

ail^is Is veryprob3(ble from this Suppofitioii, that 

; ^ Hfrtof or Hejhcol fought againft tne "Titanu they 

bctatrtfi a People of Mefopotamia^ the Sons of 

ffatbor and ^TW^^ and that Amrapbet^ King of 

Setmar^ was a Prince of the J'f/iiwf, which is con* 

Armed' by ythidmas \ who fays, that the War, 

whith was between Saturn and th^ ^itanU that is 

to fey, between i4J/^ijw>, and tile Dtfcendants of 

JNkehorj was not w^ged till after the Difpcrfion of 

Bahl: And Artafomis mentions the fame Things. 

« piodor. SkiU. UV I. ^ Out. in.H«rcal.<& Leon. Aa* 
thologia. ' Euieb! praep. lib. 9. cap. ib. Jofeph Antiq. lib. i« 
cap;^i6. ^ Diodor. l;b. i. 4ic lib. j. Huet. praep. Evang. 
|ttg. 50, • Idem. prop. 4. pag. 190. A. col. 2. ' Lib. z. 
cap. 43. ft 44. « Gcncf. 3fir. 24. * Btifeb. lib. 9. cap. 14, 
} Ibid. cap. 8. ' 

B 2 And 



4 A Deschiptiom (f the 

. ^Andas Abraham is found to be the K^ovoc or Saturn ; , 
_ ^^and 7/&i^ theZiuj or Jupiter^ of the Anticnts, it 
V * follows of courfe, that Hercules Ihould be the 
fame HefhcoU which has hitherto' remained un- 
' known. 

The Poet Ckodemus^ called alfo Malcbas^ who 
wrote the Hiftory of the Hebrewsy numbers him 
among the Children, which Jhrabam had by Cr- 
tura^ jifery Jfur, and /4fra^ and tells you he went 
with him into Jfrica to combat yinfeuj \ Where- 
fore by this fabulous Story of MalchaSy wc may 
infer, that he has not copied it from Mofes^ but 
has taken it from fome Phoenician Hiftory, relatifig 
to the Story of Jflas^ mentioned by Horner^ Hejhd^ 
Virgily and Ovid^ who calls him Japeioniades **, . 

Hie hominum cunSlis ingenti corf ore p'afians ' ' • 
Japetoniades Atlas fuity ultima tellus '• 

Regefubhocy (^ pontus fuit -^""^--^ 

whom Hercules afljfted to fupport the Skies : He >vas 
called by Nonnus T^wiof ^ which agrees with Hcftodj 
who makes him to be the Son of Climene^ and.pf 
Japety the fifth of the "Titani. Now without, en- 
tering into any Argument in Defence of Sancho^ 
niathotty and pafllng by all other fabulous Stories ; 
we fhall only fay, that Atlas was the Father^ of 
Maja % and that, of Jupter^ and Maja^ Mercury 
was born ^, If by Mercury is meant Eliezer • ; 
then he is not the Son of Aw'f or IfaaCy but lived in 
his Time, or a little before. On the other hand, 
Hercules aflifted Jtlas : Who would not imagine it 
to be Loty or in the Phoenician Language Lotay and 
corruptly Othlah? Such Tranfpofitions are very 
common, and in the Time of the Ammonitesy 
which were the Dcfcendants of Ijft ^ ; the Name 

* Eufeb. prxp. Kb. 9. cap. 20. ^ MetamOr. Hb. 4. ' Efiodi 
Thcog. ^ Ibid. pag. 129. ij. > Vid. FoarmontRcilerioos 
Critiq. lib. 2. fee. 3. cap. 29. ^ Judg. jc. i. 

^of 



I 



j^ntient City of UEKACLE A. 5 

of 7bola^ which is the fame as Aks^ was much in 
life. But Atlas was attacked by the Titanic be- 
caufe he was of the Party of Jupiter and Kroms : 
In this you may difcern the Hiftory of Lot or 
Lota ; Abraham h KronoSy and his Enemies are the 
Titanu It is faid, that Atlas was well Verfed in 
Aftronomy, and here we mufl not omit telling 
you, that Lotj or as the Ammonites call him. 
Tola, Otla, was a Chaldeim : But have not all the 
Antients mentioned that Abraham^ being a great 
Traveller, brought the Ufe of Aftronomy out, of 
Cbaldea into Egypt * ? Therefore it was Lot, or 
Lota, or Otbkh^ that cultivated that Science. 

It may poffibly be objefted, that Ailas was 
King of that Part of Mauritania, which is near 
the Mountain of that Name; and that.^^^ii^m 
takes Vf//i9/ tto be the £«^ri& mentioned in Scripture, 
namely, the Father of Metbufakm **• But it is 
very likely the Ammonites may have given it thi^t 
Name, among their Conquefts in the Time of the 
fudges *: The Manner in which Naas, the King 
of the Ammonites fpeaks \ The War which David 
waged againft them % The Alliances \ and their 
Forces c -, fliew them to have been a very formida- 
ble Nation. 

But, not to fay any thing of the other Reafons, 

. by which we might prove the Coherence that is 
between Atlas, and the Carthaginian Names ^ ; the 
Story goes, that the Tyrant Bujiris ordered his 

; People to ravilh the Neices ;of Atlas, viz. the 
Hefperidesy and that this was done without the 
Affiftance of Hercules \ but with rcfpedt to this 
Fad:, there are two Stories confounded together, 

.> Vid. Polybiftor. ex Artapano. apod Eufeb. lib. 9. ca|), 18. 
Jk idem ex Eupolemo apud eondem Eufeb. lib. 9. cap. 16. Nico- 
iaus Oaroafcenas apud eundem £uieb. cap. 16. ^ Genef. iv. 
« Judg. xi. 32. ^. \ Reg. xi. u. * 2 Reg. xiii. ^ Pialm 
Ixxxii. 6y 7i 8. s Jercm. xUx, 4* ^ Vid. Fourmom loco citato. 

fc, of 



6 A DESCRIPTION oftbi 

ft. of Bufifis^ and of Ofiris, and whith ftth tb 
mean the Difpatching of Efi&l againft Amrafhel^ 
ynho {EJhal) joined himfelf with l^mbam^ to de- 
llvfcf the Daughters of L^ or OtbUAy from SeM- 

• The Greek word /»i(xw denoting the Efperhn Ap- 

^les, fignifies alfo Gsr//^. Melt m Hebrew^ figm6^s 

/Vey»(y, and A^/()ii in the Phd^icisH Language, 

Itictis^ and 'from thfefe Equivocation^ bioi^rus 

ilffirms % that jitlas gave Hettules fome Cattk 

"With golden Fleeces. Bocbart*^ Opimon is, that, 

hy MiloHj ftceording to the Ph^niaan La^gO^ge, 

is underftood Riches in general. Others will hav« 

it to bC) Oanges, and Cedars, in particular. And 

Oitrk avcris, that this happened in MauriMnik ^iH- 

fiiana near "^ingi danger ; in Which Spot, Piifiy 

{>laites the Hefpjsrian Garderii *. All whkh is 

takfcn from the fame Story ofLoi^ or O^las^ in rife 

'Scripture^ with Additions and -EnUrgementi. \ 

' Lirt parted (k)fti Mrabam and recefftt ak Oti^Hie k, 

^tA confe^uentl^y went towards the Weft -, hei^te 

ostites the Hejperus of the Heffrerides: The ffejperfan 

'Avenue* are goatdcd by Serpents. Signor uerCj fn 

hh Cortn^nt OPpon He/hdy page 630, obferv^!;, 

that both o(p»ff and Jf axwy fignify to fee and injfe^. 

Hence the Pbc^nician word Nacbajh^ or Nabbas^ may 

ht interpreted, a Serpent, and a Keeper, c^r lA- 

'fpcftor. With f-efpeft to H^cules being Gen^il 

•of the Tit>6ps of VJiriSj this anfwers tO Efitol 

'comhiandii^g the Ttoops of Efau.^ EJbeol^kM^ 

^xpi^enced in War^ under /ibrdbam ^ joined kitfi- 

«'ifetf with EifaUy and accompanied him in AraHay 

i Etbiopm^ and the Indies^ after the Death of IJbmael 

Let us fuppofe, for Inftance, according to P. 

3?«iffei*s Chronology, that Hefc0U or Heriults,, Was 

bom A. M. 20S0, and that he was 30 or 40 Yeih 

- * iXodw. BiW. «b. 4, «» Win. Hiftor. Nat. lib. 5. ia>. 5. 
. * Ocner. 5dH. 14. « Gencf. xft. 1 1, . 

of 



'' « • 



jintiini Cify cf UEK hCLt K: 7 

of Age when he went to War againft Codorl&onm i 
in ^240» when Ja^eh returned out of M€f9potanM% 
he was about i6q Years of Age ; which in thofo 
Days was not accounted a decrepit old Age v if^a^ 
liYt^d above i8o Years \ according to which^ wc; * 
muft allow, that the War of EJau was during th^ * 
Sojoumnxnt of Jacoh with Lu^any from the fiirth 
of Rubin in 2247, to the Birth of Joftpb in 225?, 

The laft Charafter of this Heroe, vi%. That he 
waged War in the Indm and Ethiopia^ may be 
conftrued thus ; that Ofiris ordered that &tpediti- 
on, and that HtrcuUs undertook to be his General i 
now ail Authors agree, that Hircuhs conquer^ 
JnteuSy only Str^ contradicts it \ wher^ore it \% 
very likely, that the Grecians njay have confound^ 
cd one Hercules with another, and thereby, nof 
rcpnefeated the Story wrong, but applied it to the 
wrong Pcrfon. 

By all which we fee, that Ercoks n)igh( vciy 
well be, at the fame tin;^, caird, both Ph^meian 
and Egyptian, The Conquefts of Ofiris or Efim^ 
might be celebrated throughout all MgypU for the 
fame Reafon as Eliezer was there adored under th^ 
Name of Bw^o? or Mercyry^ and JSfiuki^i Qf ^s. 
So Hercules might be deified, as he was the right 
Hand of Ofiris^ or the beft General that was in 
ihofe Days; and very poflibly, all the anticjot 
Eaftern Stories came to the Knowledge of the Gr^ 
ciani by thefe two Channels, fc. one by Odnm an 
Idumeatt or Pbcenician \ the other, Dan^us an Mgyp*" 
tioHy who might both of them reprefent ^ef^ 
Stories of the Hercules^s^ as they were beliered 19 
their refpeftive Countries. 

The Grecians were like the Inhabitants of 
iflands, who kept feparate from one anothc!; and 
affeded having different Gods ; which being al- 
lowed, the four principal HercuUs^Sy befidcs Oufom 
before the Flood, nuy be reduced to thefe two, 

/ viz* 



S 'j4 Debcrittio^ of the 

viz. the Egyptian^ and the Phanician^ which an- 
fwers to the Theban and the Indian ; the Egyptian^ 
which is the fame as the Pbcenician, whom we have 
agreed to be EJhcoly accompanied Ofiris in his Ethi- 
opian Expedition. With regard to Daffy his Ideus^ 
probably he was one of the Hercules* Sy according to 
lyaxn, Hattfebai^ as he was of the Family of 
Heueen 1^33? Tfebon % becaufe Daffylas is only a 
Tranflation. 

I pafs by the fundry other Surnames, which 
were given to Hercules^ by the Egyptians^ viz. 
Gigon^ Gignon, and Sandes ; the firft of which is 
mentioned by Eficbius \ and Agatia derives the 
fecond from the Perfians : Tiywp is the fame as 
Gigas -, and Sandes was probably a God worfhipped 
in niO Sandy or in the Province of Sind. 

This is the Opinion of the Learned of our Time, 
concerning the Name and Hiftory of the true Her- 
cules ; having, with a great deal of Pains, cleared 
it from the dark Clouds of the moft obfcure Fables, 
which, by the Expounders or Moralizers, have al- 
ways had fomething counterfeit and falfe added to 
them. 

But I am perfuaded, that before the Introdu- 
cing the Pelajgian Charaders into Italy^ /. e. when 
the antient Etrurian or Tufcan Language and Sa- 
crifices were in Ufc, this was never called any 
otherwife than Hercules^ as we now call him. 
There are Hill extant fas Demfterus fays) two an- 
tient Tufcan facrificing Cups *", on which may be 
read his Name, thus 34f C13B Herkle ; which 
ferved-as a Help for the Tufcan Academy at Cor- 
tona^ and Signori Pafferi and Gori^ to form the 
Tufcan Alphabet. Wherefore there is no Room to 
doubt, that Hercules was always caird Hercle in 
Italy ; which is evident alfo, from the antient Ex- 
clamation Mebercuky and afterwards by the Latins 

» Gen. mm. 3. ^ De Etroria Regali, Tab. II. & VI. 

changed 



jhtienf Ci/y of HER A CLE A. 9 

changed into Hercules ; the Tufcans frequently 
ufmg the Letter R : Tho* many Authors deny 
them the Ufe of it. And aa we have derived the 
Name of Hercules from the Goddefs JunOj it will / 
not be improper to mention, that there is in being* 
:^iocher facrificing Cup, on which Juna is call'd 
SIQH • ^^^^9 reading it from the Right to the 
Left, as it is the Cuilom in the Eaftern Countries. 
I add further, that it is a very, chfiicult, and next 
to impoilible Undertaking, clearly to reconcile the^ 
Identity of Pcrfons, the Hiftories of whom arc 
obfcured by fo many different Interpretations, in- • 
fomuch as, on a great Number of Wild Bcafts be- 
ing gathered together, or when any noted Villain 
armed himfeJf to difturb the Peace of the People, 
it was neceffary that fome expert Warrior ihould 
be fent to tame, and root out fuch Plagues -, in the 
like Cafe, this Hero, who by the Antients was 
called Horns y being armed with a Club, one Day 
overcame the . molt diftinguilhed Warriors, and. 
thence was called Heracles or Hercoles^ i. €. a Man 
expert or famous in War ; for in the Hebrew' 
Tongue Horim * fignifies illuftrious Perfons, 'and 
Keli^ fignifies a Club, or any Kind of Arms \ I 
Ihall conclude this Chapter (for the Confolation of 
the' Learned,) with this Paffage out of Cicero:] . 
Magmm molejiiam fufcepit^ i^ minime necejfariam^ 
primus ZenOj poft CleantbeSy deinde Q^ryJippuSy com- 
mentiiiarumfabularum reddere, ratipnem % 

CHAP. 11. 

0/ the Coming of Hercules Phoenicius into Italy. 

AN Y one who underftands but a little of the 
Hiftory of the fabulous Age, call'd 'A^w, 
arid alfo of that which is more certain, fciL Immi- 

» Ecd. X, 17. Nehcm. vi. 17, * Lib. 11. cap. 44. 

* Cicero de Nait. Debium, 3. 

C ' tica \ 



ti> ji DtscfeiPTioN of the 

tka ; cannot well be ignorant of the Riches, die 
f*ower, and Travels of the Pbe^nicianSy who, (as 
Herodotus relates *) propagated the Worlhip of 
fteriuks Tyrius throughout the whole World. So 
that I don't find a greater, or more famous God 
than this, throughout all the Coaft of Jfrica * ; to, 
whom Temples and Altars, were erefted in every 
Part wherefoever they touched, among which, the 
mod famous, was a Temple of Hercules at Cadis,^ 
txtra flercuHs columnas in Gadiius ^ ; and another 
built by Hiranij whom the Scripture mentions to 
"have been cotcmpbrary with Solwnm ^ And in 
Silius Italicus^ you ^ill find the Prayer^, and human 
Sacrifices, '^]^\c)lxht Cartbc^intans dx\A Romans of-? 
fered up for any great Enterprife, as we are like- 
wife informed by Diodorus Siculus «. Slepb. Bizanti* 
If us, alfo, reckons up 23 antient Cities named after 
Hercules 5 and we have the greateft Reafon in the 
World, to imagine that this City of H&aclea^ 
which we are treating about, is the antienteft of 
them all, being built by Hercules himfel/, 

*Tis well known, that Cicer<f mentions fix Her- 
^ks*s ^ \ which Number was by others, increafed 
tb 3Q *. But 'tis my Defign to fpeak only oi Her* 
ctdes Tyrius^ who paffcd thro* Italy ^ and of whom 
out celebrated Tufcan Academy at Cortona has 
tfeated much ; who, whether we confider him as 
a Conqueror, or 2^ Merchant^, after having af- 
fifted jUIos to fupport the Skies, went from thence 
to the Streights of Gtbralter^ where he pull'd down 
JBriareus's Pillars, and then put up his own, near 
Gadiray or Cadis ^ ^ Dionysus acquaints us '. And 
after taking the golden Apples of the Hefperides^ 

. » Lib. 1 1. cap. 44. ^ Founnont, Tom: i. a. xir. « Diod, 
iib. 4. Pomponius McL^^lib. 3. cap. 6. ^^Jofeph. Antiq. lib. 9/ 
cap. 4. « Diod. lib. 4. ^ De Nat. Dcorum, 3. s Naub> 
Comes Mythd. ^ Vid. Clerk upon Hefiod. » Lib. dc Sivx 
Orbis. ^ uElianus ex Ariftotele, lib. 5. 

. * - -he 



Jntient Ciiy of HZVi ACL E A. it 

he made ufe of his drinking Bowl for a Boat » i 
imd fct Sail for Spain^ where being arrived, he 
overcame the Power of the triple Gerion^ King of 
Oifa^'o and CaUiroij who had a fine Herd of Oxen, 
guarded by a two-headed t)og, caird Orthro^ a 
feveti'hciaded Snake, and the Barbarian Shepherd 
£ur$ti(m^ The Meaning of which, Na/al Conti 
thinks to he »» this ; that he was one of the anti- 
cnteft Kings of Spain^ who was by the Poets feigned 
and hieroglyphically reprefcnted, with many Heads 
and many Hands^ to denote the Concord and U-» 
fiity that was among his People : In which he a« 
grees with Plutarcb *. The Poet Steficborus is faid 
to have fpoken of Hercules^ taking away Gerion^t 
H^rd» in the following Verfes ^ 

*Af yvf Of i^wff '^ 

^od h regione illuftri EritbU progenituM fuerit 
Juxta arginti radices immen/os Tattefifontiii 
In recejfuum tenebricoforum petris. 

HercukSi having kill'd Gerion and his flrarige 
Guards, and having taken away his fine Herd of 
Oxen, departed from Spain thro* Gaul^ and fight- 
ing with the Giants Albion and Borgio^ near Nar- 
bon % he was fuccoured by Jupiter with a Storm of 
Hail-ftoneSi and after having deftroycd feveral 
Murderers and Tyrants, he built the City AleJlfia in 
France^ which has fince been famous for the Siege 
of Cefar. Then purfuing his Journey towards 
lialy^ he built Monacum^ called Portus Herciilis 

• Macr'ob. Saturn. Acad. Etrufca. Tom. i. pag. 6t. *» Nafc 
Com. de Hercule. « In Politicise <* Vid. Str^bon. • Moant- 
faucon, Antiq. Tom. i. p. i. Ub. x. 

C a Modoeci^e > 



12 \^DESCRIPTION0/*/i&^ 

Modoecide ; Killed higty (from whom Liguria took 
its Name) who oppofcd him * ; and from thence 
he went into Tufca^^ to chaftize Dercilius and 
Alerion^ Children of Neptune^ who had ftole his 
Oxen, and brought them hither ; and the Memo- 
rials of that Voyage remained in the two rbr^, 
viz, Porto di Ercole Labrone^ now called Leghorn ^ j 
and Porto Ercole^ which now belongs to the Kfng 
of the Two Sicilies ; and from this Story of the 
Oxen, fome imagine Italy was firft called Saturnia^ ; 
becaufe the Italians ufed fdrmcrly to call thcm- 
felves Giovenchiy and from that Time, the Name 
of Hercules was very facred, both among the 
Tufcansj and the Romans ; and to him, (as is well 
known) both thofe Nations, confecrated the 
Ty thes, over and above the ufual Sacrifices. 

Bat Envy iiill continued to pqrfae him, on Ac- 
count of his being poffeffed of thofe moft beauti- 
ful ^p/aw^^ Animals ; for when he came to Latium^ 
where was afterwards built the Metropolis of the 
whole Univerfe, he found it neceflary toi flay the 
famous Ca£USj Son of Vulcan, who (Cacus) was a 
Monfter with three Heads, and belching forth 
Flames, which is a fabulous Story, known by 
every Infant, and moft elegantly defcribed by 
Ovid. Afterwards he was received hofpitably by 
the Potizi and Pinari, and begun to think of turn- 
ing his Cattle into thofe pleafant Fields, where 
Naples now ftands. And, as Conon tells us, he 
lodged in the Houfe of Locrus^ where, being again 
difturbed by King LatinuSy he accidentally killed 
his Hoft, whom, being difguifed, he took for an 
Affiftant of that King *. Small Difficulties are al- 
ways ready to prefent themfelves, when any great 
Enterprize is to be undertaken. 

■ Cato, lib. 2. dc Originibus. ^ Vid. Cellar. Geogr, 

Antiq. lib. 2. c. 9. p. 452. « Feftus. ** Narrat^ 

Congnii apud Photium. 

And 



jinfienf City of UEKAChE A. ij 

And now I come to fpeak of the Leftrigones % 
whcun Valguera^ ("drawing his Notion from Horner*^ 
Odyjfes) imagines to have lived near Mount Or- 
cello ^ which is near the Mola di Gaeta^ by the 
Latins^ called Formia^ as may be feen in Cicero * 
and/^orace % who calls them Marten Litfora^ or 
CirceSy in his Ode in Praife of Elius LamiuSj a 
Defcendant from a King of the City Lejlrigonia^ 
called by Horner^ the .City of Lamus ; and it is fur- 
ther remarkable, that a little While after the De- 
ftruftion of Heraclea^ occafioned by an Eruption 
of Mount Fefuviusj there was a Conful of that Fa- 
mily, viz. L : ^LIVS. PLAVTIVS. LAMIA, of 
which there is no Mention made in the Chronology % 
Formic Leftrigonibus bdhitatde^ fays Solinus ' ; and 
Plitry «, Formia Hormia diSa^ ut exiftinupvere anti- 
quiy Leftrigonum fedes ; alfo Suidas in the word 
)cfvT«uf ixwff *. Bochart is of Opinion, that the 
LefirigofieSy and the Leontini are the fame *• In 
which he agrees with feveral other Authors, who 
have placed them in' Sicily ^ ; tho* I fancy that they 
confounded the Leftrigones with the Cyclops \ It 
will not be difagreeable to the Reader, if, in this 
Place, I produce two antique Infcriptions on one 
great Block of Marble, which were carried from 
this City, to the royal Villa at Porticiy and which 
I have copied, as no Mention has ever been made 
of them, being lately found out, and which I 
have (ince had the Mortification, to fee miferably 
mangled by an igndrant Carver. 

* Hift. Sicul. Lugd. Bauv. Edit. pag. 6i. ^ Lad:. Fermiin. 
lib. I. ^ Lib. 2. ad Atticum. <* Lib. 3. Od. 17. • Vid. 
Philip, a Turre de Iiffcript. M. Aquili,cap. 7. ^ Polyhift. 
pip. 8. pag. 65. Edit, in uf. Delph. s Lib. 3. cap. 5. 

^ Leftrigones qui babitamt in agro Leontino. ^ Canaan^ lib. i . 

cap. 30. pag. 621. ^ Didimus, Euftatias, Tzetzes, Lyco- 
phron, StraSo, Thucididcs^ &c. ' Vid. Valguanicr. pag.. 
62 . Madam Dacier in Homer. 

QVINTO. 



14 A Descrii^tion of thi 

QVINTO. CLODIO. C . . . . 

HERMOGE 

V. C CONS. CAMP. 

ORDO. ET. POPVLVS 

FORMIANVS 

PATRONO. PRAESTAN 

TISSIMO* 



And the other> 



Of 



FVLVIAE 
AVGVRINIA 
NAEC. F. . / 
DIONISL CONS. VIRI 
CORR. CAMP. VXORI. 
FORMIANI. PVBLICE* 

But to return to Hercules. He went from FormU 
into the Fields of Cutnay where he had £mp}py^ 
ment enough, to deftroy the Gianis of Flegra^ fy 
called from the kindled Sulphur thrown up io 
thofe Parts ; for, (phiy^^iy fignifies to burn : But it 19 
different from Flegra Pillene in Tbeffaly^ where the 
Battle betweep the Gods and the Giants is faid C9 
have been fought. 

Domitofque HerculeM manu 

Telluris Juvenes^ unde periculum 
Fulgens contremuU domus 
Saturni Veteris. • 

Having overcome the Giants ; Behold Herculei 
Pacificusy leading, his Cattle into Pafture, and then 
refting in Campania Fatix. There he celebrated 
his Triumphs, and there alfo he confecrated his 
Qub to Mercurifis Potigius^ which grew up into a 
flourifhing Olive Tree ; Founding there, the Cities 
of Heraclea and Pompeia^ as we fhall tell you here- 
after. 

* Horat. lib: 2. carminam» Od. io» 



jintient City of HER ACLEAl i§ 

^i tt caydiciitts fe^tSj mirahile vifu ! 
Traditur Ificco radix oUagina ligno. * 

HercuUs departed hence with his famous Herd^ 
along that Road which is called by his Kame^ and 
which, after the fatal Eruption, was repaired hj 
Fabius Maximns ^, as may be feeh by the following 
Infcription, which was found in Piedmont^ near 

FABIVS. MAXIMVS. V. C. RECT. PROV. 

F S. PR. VIAS. HERCVLK. OB 

TERRAE, MOrVS. EVERSAS. 
RESTITVIT. A. FVNDAMENTIS. 

Then he purfued his Journey to TarenJum^ 
which was alfo called Herculea^ as you may read in 
Virsil \ 

Hincfitus Herculei^ ft vera ^ fuma^ Tarenti. 

The Account given by Diodorus Siculus *, is ; 
that Hercules being, with his Oxen, in the LacimaH 
Territories, going along the Sea Shore, he flew a 
Thief that had robbed him *, and having acciden* 
tally killed Creto^ built him a Sepulchre, where the 
City of Cortona now ftands. The Prom&ntoty Laci- 
nium « is 12 Miles from jCoriona^ and lies between 
the Road on the Weft, and the Port on the Eaft 
of it. There Cedars grow naturally : It took its 
Name from the Robber JLaciniuSj who infcfted 
thofe Parts : Here Hercules built a Temple dedica- 
ted to Juno Lacinia ^ When he arrived on the 
Confines of Reggia^ his Reft was difturbcd by the 
Locufts ; but by praying, he obtained of Jupitery 
that thofe Infedls fliould never ling any more '. 

a Vireil. 2. Georg. * Gnitcrus ex lib. Jo. PoAtani cl. 9. 

Vide CeiJarium p^. 670. « iEneid. 3. verf. 551. * Diod. 
Steal, de Antiquorum geftis fabulofis. * Called by the Modern 
Sailors to this Day, Capo Nau. ^ Barriiu de Antiq. & 

?icu. Calabria?. • t Nat. Comes, Mythol. lib. 7. 

2 After 



t(^ , !if Description of the 

After which, having overcome and killed Eurito 
and Creato^ Sons of Neptune^ heraifed Altars to the 
XII principal Gods, Jupiter^ Neptune^ Pallas^ 
Mercury^ Apollo^ the Graces^ Juno^ Bacchus^ Diana^ 
Alfetis^ Saturn^ and Rea s and thence he went to 
Sicily, where he was obliged to kill Scylla^ the 
Daughter of Forcusy King of CorftGa^ who had 
Iikewife ftolen his Oxen ; who being buryed by 
her Father, according to the Cuftom of her An-^ 
ccftors, after having been purged by Fire, from all 
that was earthly, rofe again, and remains to this 
Day, irdvarov xaxov, or a deadly Evil *. 

I (hould iiow relate Hercules^ Adventures in 
Sicily^ to recover one of the abovefaid Oxen, 
which fwam away from him when he went thro* 
Tufcarrf. But to make fhort, I (hall only mention, 
that after he had ranged over thirteen Furlongs, as 
^imeus reports *», tying himfelf to a Bull's Horn, 
he paffed the Faro^ killed the Robber SolunSy and 
fought a Duel with Eryx^ the Son of Venus. Fur- 
ther, Stepbanus Bifantinus^ and Diodorus Siculus af- 
fert, that Hercules returning from Spain^ went into 
Sicily^ to conduft the Oxen of Gerion, and refted 
near Himera^ where Minerva ordered the Nymphs 
to form fome delightful Baths for him to refrefli 
himfelf in : The Nymphs obeyed her therein,where- 
forc Pindar calls thefe Baths, Aoutj a Nu/A(pwy. Which 
may be feen on two Medals : One of which has 
upon one Side, Hercules^ and on the Reverfe, the 
three Nymphs that made thofe Baths, with this 
Infcription, ©EPMITAN. On the other, is (truck, 
a Chariot, drawn by two Horfes, in which is the 
Figure of a Man, fuppofed to be Hercules^ hold- 
ing in his Right Hand the Reins, and in his Left, 
a Club, over which is a ViSory^ putting a Crown 
on his Head 5 and on the Reverfe, a Nymph put- 

* Vide Ovid, dc Pclia, tc Hercule ; & Pocma Virgilii Ciris. 
^ Diodor. lib. 4.. 

ting 



JntiinfCify of HER ACLE A. tf 

tifig a Cup on a flaming Altar, behind whom is 
reprefented Hercules in the Bath, with this Motto^ 
iMEPAIflN. But as fome fay,' that this Journey 
into Sicily belongs rather to the Tbeban *» than 
Phoenician Hercules^ 1 fhall pafs on to fcek after tho 
Foundation of Heraclea. 

■ J^ ^m .^. -*. J^M. J>l«. J>«. ..^te. ^"th. »'<h. .♦k ..♦«. .'♦k. .^W .♦». »^ - -♦«■ »^^ -♦^ ■'fc'- .^>t-.'>^ »'>W- .^. ..♦»■ ■.♦». ^». .^fc. »♦■ ■jfc..»^W 

CHAP. III. 

Of /^ City of Hefaclea, <?«fi /Z^^ Ptaces adjdcerit: 

AMong the twenty-three Cities, called Heraclea; 
which are. mentioned by Stepbanus Bifaniinus^ 
he takes Notice of one in Italy i it is a Matter of 
Doubts whether he meant that which we are treat- 
ing of, in Campania F^liXy or that in Tu/cany or 
Calabria \ but he Certainly fpoke o.f Heraclea near 
Metapontusi where the firft Battle with King 
Pyrrhus was fought. Our Heraclea was built, by th^ 
fame Hercuks^ of whom Cluverius. writes ** j and 
was called HerculaHeum^ or Herculanium ; and D/^- 
isTj^^j Halicarnajfeus gives us the following Ac- 
count ^ HerculeSy cofnpqfitis ex dninri fententia rebus 
in Italia^ ac decimis fpoliorum in Deorum facrificia imr 
pen/is^ oppidulo etiam de Juo nomine condito ubi clajfts 
£fus ftaiionem babebat^ quod nunc efiam d.Romanis ha-- 
bitatur inter Pompeias Cs? Neapolim^ tutos omni tem- 
pore portus babehSy trajecit Siciliam. Pliny calls it 
Herculaniunt Campania ^ -, and Strabo « Heracleion ab 
Hercule fa^c^ Urbs vicina Vejavo^ non longe a Leu^ 
copetra Promontbrio \ Vefuvii cineribus fepulta jacet* 
Sifenna, in the 8th Book of his, Hiftory, writes 
thus : . Sluod oppidum tumulo excelfo in loco^ prope 
mare parvis mcenibus inter duas Fluvias intra Vefuvi- 
urn conlocatas : And a little further : Tr-anfgreJJus 

. * Valguarnera Ioq. cit. pag. 216. edit. Lug, Batav. ^ Lib 4. 
Itali* vet. 1555. «Lib.i. ^^ Lib. 3. cap. 5. « Lib. 5.. p. 247- - 

D fiuviumy 



i8 .^ Description ^/]be 

fluviumj qui fecundum Herculaneum ad mare pef^ 
tinebat. 

And Livy^ in the latter End of his Tenth Book» 
calls it Herculaneum: Wherefore *tisall one» whe- 
ther it is called Herculeus^ HercuhniuSy or Hercula- 
neuSy for, 'HfaxA^rof, is derived from *Hf^a(xA?c> 
and the Grecians write 'Hf^ axAcrix;, i. e. Heraclea^ or 
the Heracleian Cities, which in Latin would be 
HerculeaSy and Herculeanas: The Cities on the Sea 
Shore, fay$ FloruSj * are, Formia, Cuma, Pbzzolo, 
Naples, Heraclea, andPompeia. Urbes ad marf^ 
Formi^e, Cuma^ PuUoli, Neapolis^ HERCVLANE- 
VM, Pompeii. Seneca, in a Letter to a Friend of 
his, mentions, that one Part of it was overturned 
by an Earthquake, {Herculanenfis oppiMpars ruit \) 
during the Confulfhip of Memmius Regulus^ and 
Virginius Rufus. And Ovid^ dcfcribing Eneas^s Re- 
turn to Sicily, makes him touch at the Ifland of 
Caprea, the Promontory of Minerva^ Statia^ Hir^ 
cuhnum^ and Naples ; thus, "" 

Herculeamque urbem^ Statiafyue^ & in otia natam , 
Partbenopefn *• 

But not to detain you too long, I fhall refer you 
to Columella • ; Marziano Capella de Nuptiis ; Pon- 
tanus de Bello Neapolitano \ and many other Hifto^ 
rians and Writers, who have given clear Tcftimo* 
nies of this City. 

Camilto Pellegrini fays, that in this Place was the 
Retina, mentioned by Plinj^ ^ in a Letter to Or- 
nelius lacitus, wherein he gives an Account of all 
the Circumftances of his Uncle's Death, which 
fecms very probable, as the fubterraneous City is 

^Lib. I. cap. 1 6. '^ Quaeft. Nat. lib. 6. cap. i & 26. 
* Mctamorph. 15. v. 711. <* Vid. Signore Gori, che porta 
snolte autorica nella difefadeir Alfabeto KtrufcOy pag. 168. e la. 
Diflert. fopra Ercolano. * De cultu Hort. lib. 10. verf. 13 c* 
' Pellegr. App. all' aatich. di Capua dific. a. fc€(. 23.Plij1.lib. 
6. cpilt. 16. 



jintient Gty of nEKACLE A. . 19 

in the fame Spot, as Piifrf the Younger places Re- 
tina ^^ and was built where formerly Hood a little 
Village, cHlcdRefin^y which differs only in one 
Letter from Retina'^ and it would not feem ftrange, 
that this trifling Change ihould happen in the 
Space of XVIII. Ages. But Pellegrini^ and the 
Writers that followed him, have not obfcrved, 
that Pliny does not call Retina, Civitas^ Urbs^ or 
Oppidum^ but only Villa \ nam Villa ea fubjacebaf^ 
6fr. * which does not (ignify a City : And as this 
which is difcovercd, is a City, we muft conclude, 
that it is not Retina^ which was never named a* 
mong thofe that are on the Shore of the Gulf of 
NapleSj of which Pliny^ thus : " You have on this 
** Shore^ Naples^ and Heraclea^ which is near Pom- 
•* peia 5 at the Foot of VefwviuSy on the Banks of 
" the River Sarnus. 

Seeing, therefore, that none of the antient Au- 
thors place Retina among the Cities which flood 
by the Gulf , of Naples y and all agree, that Heraclea 
ftood between Naples andPompeia ; Who can doubt, 
that the City lately difcqvercd between thofe two 
Places, is Heraclea? It being the fame Diftance 
from Naplesy as from the Entrance of the River 
Sarnus y where the Ruins of Pompeia remain. 

It is remarkable, that the Hiftorians and Geo 
graphers take no Notice of Retina^ (which one 
would thereby imagine to be a Place of no Con- 
fequence) tho* Plifry affcrts, that they had a Fleet 
of Ships there ^ ; adding, that Retina was at the 
Foot of VefieviuSj and that there was no Place more 
expofed at the Time of the Eruption. This was 
the Cafe with Heraclea ; if we may judge of it bv 
the Accounts of the Anticnts, which agree fo well 
with this fubterraneous City : It may be objcdlcd, 
that the fame Circumftances being applied to dif- 
ferent Things, imply- a Contradiftion \ but in an- 

> Loc« cit. & la Verf. Ital. lib. 6. ep. i6. ^ Loc. cir. 

D 2 ^ fwcr 



V 



20 ^ De SCRITTION ^ /J&tf 

fwer to this, mark what Didnyjtus Halicamajfeus fay? 
of the Foundation of Heracteaj viz. " Hercules 
? having fettled every thing to his Mind in liafy^ 
♦' built Herculanum^ between Pompeia and Naples^ 
^* having an exceeding fafe Harbour." 

It is evident, that Hercuies^s Fleet rode at An- 

' chor in that Port, and it is natural to think, that 
the Place where it rode Ihould be called Retina^ and 
that after the Building of Herculean the maritinc 
Part of the City, (at the Extremity of which this 
Harbour was, as Sfrah pofitively afferts ^) might 
ftill retain the Name of Retina. If there remain 
ho Tracks of it -, the Reafon is, becaufe they were 
all covered by the Eruption. The fame happened 
to the navigable River Sdrhus^ which flowed by 
this City \ and formed a Harbour between Nola^ 
Nocera^ and Acerra ^ The Bed of this River was 
filled up with Afties, which changing the former 
Shape of the Land, forced the River to diredt its 
Courfe into another Channel. 

I believe the antienteft Inhabitants of Heraclea^ 
that we have any certain Knowledge of, (without 
mentioning the Aborigenes^ Aufoni^ and Aurunci "*,) 
were the Ofci^ forafmuch as Strabo % in his Defcrip- 
tion of the Situation of this City, fays, that, "/»r- 
•* merly both Heraclea, Pompeia, and the neighbour- 
V ing Places^ on the Banks of the River Sarnus were 
•' inhabited by the Ofci ^•* Thefe Ofci were alfo 
called Opici^ becaufe Capua^ which always was the 
capital City, was called Ofca^ and yulturnia^ and 
Opicia, ^. Stephanus : 'Oi 9i or^ 'OCpmo/ atro rZv "O^fwu, 

' jilii vero Opicos^ quafi Ophicos^ d Serpentibus appellatos 
futant. And Servius comments upon the Words, 

« Lib. 5. »» Plin. Hift. Nat. lib. 3. cap. 5. <^ Strab. lib. 
c. ^ Sciticae forte originis did, ante Trojae »}itir»: Nieuport. 
ta Prolcgom. ad Hiftor. Rom. * « Lib. 5. ^ Servio, lib. 

^. Ed. 8 Ariilot. Poli^icor. c. i o. Thucid. 1. 6. DionyC 

Halicamaf. 1. 1. 7. Paufan. 7. 8. 10. Dio. 1. 33. Steph. Bizan. 
Cluvef. 1. 3. cap. ro. Ital. Antiq. aliique qos^nplurimi. 

Ofcorumqufi 



jintient City of UEKhCLE A. 21 ^ 

Ofcorumque manus, thus; CapuenfeSj fays he, qui 
ftnte Ofci (fortajfe legendum Opici^ aui certe Opfci) 
appellati^ quod illic plurimi abundavere Serpentes. Nam 
Grace ''OipK diciiur Serpens. Bccaufe the Place a- 
J)ounded with Serpents, it was called Opfcia^ and 
the People Op/Vi, and by Contraftion Opfci and 
0/?;\ Moreover, Strabo writes * : AntiocbuSy ab 
Opicis earn regionem hahitaUim fuijfe narrate qui iidem 
&f Aufoties appellarentur \ at Polybius Jignificat fe pro 
duahus diverjis gentibus eos babere^ ait enim Opicos fe? 
Aufones terrain^ qua eft circa Craterem^ inc$luijfe **; 
Tho* Capua was properly called Vultumus \ But, 
even were there not fo many illuftriou$ Teftimo- 
pies ; the fine Infcription which was found cut on 
a Marble Table, would be a fufficient Witnefs ; 
w^hich I judge to have been done in Memory of 
Hercules, in Charaders which I imagine to be Tuf- 
can, pretty much refembling the Ofcian^ of which 
I fhall treat in its proper Place. 

I proceed now to give an Account pf the Peo- 
pling of the Neapolitan Crateis. It is well known - 
that the Tufcans extended their Dominion from one 
End of Itafy to the other, beginning with all that 
Part which was on the Sea-lhore, (and thereby 
might contribute towards carrying on their Trade) 
confequently they dwelt in Capua, which was by 
them called VuUurnia * ; ^^^ the City of Pomfey, 
and Nola, and Acerra : And built Nocera, and of 
courfe were Matters of the City Heraclea ; of which, 
Strabo, thus ^ : Hoc, fef quod proxime fequitur, & 
Samo amne alluitur, Pompeios tenuerunt dim Ofti^ 
deinde Etrufci, poft Samnita, qui indefunt expulfi^ eft 
autem hoc commune navale, NoU, Nuceria, ^ A- 
cerranum, Samo' amne merces Jimul excipiente atque 

* Lib. 5. pag. 142. ^ Vid. Signof . Mazzocchi in Amphf* 
theat. C^mp. pag. ii^<j. « Plutarch, in Hannib, Mazasocch. 
DiiTert. di Conon. :tOffi. 3. p. 43, & pag. 39^ ^ Cluverius 
ioJ. Antiq. 1. 2. c. i, f Scrab. 1. 5. ^ 

^mittente-y 



22 ^Description of the 

iminente ; fuper b^c locafttus eft Vefuvius tnom. And 
Servius * quoting thcanticnt Hiftorian Conon^ (in ilh 
tibro quern de Italia fcripjii -,) ^efdam Pelafgos^ alio/que 
ex Peiopcnnefo convenas^ ad eum hcum Italia venijfe dix-^ 
it 9 cut nullum antea nomenfuerit^ ^fiumini quern acco- 
luertmt^ Sarno nomen impofuijfiy ex appellatiane patrii 
fiuminiSj fcf fe Saraftes appellaffe \ hi inter multa op- 
fida Nuceriam condiderunt. Whence one may con* 
elude, that the Pelafgi either fought, or mixt them- 
fclves with, the Tujcans^ who came from the Country 
Ofcay as may be feen in thefe Verfes oiLusretius. 

Is locus eft Cumis apud EtrufcoSy & montes 
Pompeii^ calidis ubi fumant fontibus auSt ^. 

Which Verfes were varioufly conftrued by Adrian 
Turneboy and many others, who, as Paufanias fays, 
did not know that the Tyrrbeni or Trojans were the 
Inhabitants of Campania Falix^ and efpecially of 
Pvmpeia and Heraclea. The neighbouring Moun- 
tains might therefore have been called Tufcan^ as 
Tibullus calls the Hot Baths of Baia^ the Tufcan 
Baths. 

Vos tenets Etrufcis manat qua fontibus^ unda^ 
Undafub aftivum nonadeunda Canem. 

Laftly, a curious metal Medal, which (luckily 
for my Purpofe) is in the Poflcffion of Count Dia- 
mante Montemelini Perugino^ a Member of the Tus- 
can Academy * , affords the certaineft Teftimony. 
This Piece of Coin, notwithftanding the Number 
of Years it has been buried, has been fo well pre- 
ferred in a green Cruft, that the Charaders and 
V Figures are extreamly vifible, which pertain to the 
City of Heraclea % as Signori Gori and Pafferiy both 
belonging to the faid Academy, have oblcrved ; the 
Letters which are thereon, and muft be read from 

* Scrr. ad Encid. I. 7. *> Vid. LncreC. Lib. 6. V/749ii 

< Gori difela 4elV Al^abeto Etnifeo, pag. 16$. 

the 



^/i//V»/GVjf^HERACLEA, aj 

the Right to the Left, according to the Tufian Man- 
ner, areyV V "T J^ W HRCVL. i. e. Hercuianm: 
In the fame Manner as the Coin of Urinffj Necera^ 
and O^ua * ; and it is to be obferved, that they 
do not write the Names of Cities at full Lengthy 
bur abbreviate the laft Part of it, as the great Span-- 
bemitts takes notice, and is to be feen in many 
other ^ufcan Infcriptions. But as thereby is meant 
Herctdanum^ it is evident, that the Tufcans ufed 
generally to write the Letter H clofc at Top and 
Bottom, thus B, as may be feen, among others^ 
on a Marble Sarcophage belonging to me, where 
are to be read fomc ^ufcan Words with that Letter 
in them, which I explain thus : 

LARTS ANEMIVS FELSINEI FILIVS. 

And as it appears on two Cups mentioned by 
JDemflerus ; whence, one may conjcfture, the LattB 
Afpirate H and the Greek H had their Rife * 5 of 
which fee Juftus Lipjius «. 

Therefore the Letter g is wanting, poflibly on 
Account of their pronouncing q like R with an 
Afpiration before it, which feems to have the fame 
Sound as the E. Then follows the^I*, which mani- 
feftly appears toftand for 3[, or K, which has never 
till now been taken notice of by any one. There 
is no Reafon to doubt, that the fourth Letter is the 
Tufcan V. The laft Letter, A is found by the 
Members of the Cortonian Academy, to be the 
very Lamda of the Greeks. All which being a- 
greed upon, together with the infinite Number of 
^ufcan Monuments daily found about Nola and 
Capua^ fully prove the Dominion of that Nation in 
thofe Parts : In particular, there are fome extream- 
ly curious large Vcffcls finely painted with Figures; 

* Mufeo fitnifce Tab. 198. nnm. 22. ty 24. 2^. Mazxocch. 
Diifert. di Cort. t. 3. 0/43. ^ Signor Gori loco citato. ^ De 
rc£la pronunciazione lat. Lipg^. cap. VII. 

4 which 



34 jf Description of the 

which were prefentcd to his Majefty on his firfi 
Entrance into this Kingdom : Of which I intended! 
to have publifhed an Account, had my domcftic 
Affairs permitted me to ftay longer in that King- 
dom. But my very good Friend, Mr. fVUliari 
Hammndj made a great Collection about Nolai 
and ifent all that wasnew and curious to England. 

It follows, therefore, from what we have beerii 
faying, that the Sammies extended themfelves, for 
fome Time, throughout our Neapolitan Crateis ; C. 
Semprenio Araiino^ 6f ^ Fabio. Vibulano Cbfs. Pere^ 
grina res^ fed memoria digna traditur^ ep anno fa£la : 
Vultumum Hetrufcorum urbem^ qtue nunc Capua jfi^ 
ab Samnitibus (;aptam^ Capuamque ab Duce eorum Cd- 
fysy fcfr. • Therefore Capm was the only Place at 
that Time inhabited by the Grecians^ and from that 
Nation they derived their Cuftoms and Magiftrates^ 
as will be fhewn hereafter. Forafmuch as Straba 
writes **, that Naples was a Colony of the Cumaans^ 
the Chalcidenfes^ the Pitbacufans and the Athenians : 
Neapolis Cbalcidenfium, &f ipfa Partbenope a tumuU 
Sirenis appellata. Thence I conclude, that thofe 
People were all one Nation \ for Livy tells us, that 
the Cumaans had their Origin from Cbalcis Eubdicd 
or Negropontusy anantient Colony oixht Athenians'": 
Atbenienfes Rege Erichthonio in Etibceqm Infulam de- 
duxerant : Atbenienfes in Euboica Cbalcida Ercthiani 
Colonis occupavere. The Grecians poffefling it till 
the Romans became Mailers of it, whofe Wars as 
I do not intend to give an Account of, I (hall only 
mention, that in former Days, they reduced that 
Country into Prefeftorlhips, in qui bus (^ jus dice* 
batur, 6? nundina agebantur^ Cs? erat qu^edam earum 
Rejpublicay neque tamen Magijlratus fuos bakbant •, 
in quas legibus prafecii mittebantur quotannis^ qui jus 
dicerent : quarum genera fuere duo : Alterum^ in quds 
folebant ire PrafeSi quatuor^ populi fuffragio creati^ 

• Litias, lib. 4. J Lib. 3. ch. j* ^ Paufanus in Attick 

in 



JntieHfafycfiiEkACLtA. 2$ 

in hac oppida^ Capuamy Cumas^ Cafilinumy Vultur^ 
mmy Liternum^ Puteolos^ Ac err as ^ Suejfulam^ AteU 
iam^ Calanam ; Alierum^ in quas Pr^for Urbanus 
^uotannis in qtneque . loca miferat legihus : ut Fundos^ 
Formias^ Caere^ Vmafrtim^ Alicas^ Privemun^j A- 
nagnidm^ Frufinonetn^ Aeate^ Sdtumiam^ Uurfiami 
Arptnum^ alinque compluria. And this was in the 
prinlitive Times, as Paulus Manutius obferves % 
whence one may infer^ that Heracka had the like 
Prerogative ;. and for the fame Rcafon, z^ Capua 
Under the Confullhip of Cefar^ became a Colony ^j 
as did afterwards, Fondiy Fofmi^i^j ArpinrnHj Sccu 
So Heracled became a Roman Colony, without be- 
ing fuppofed to be under the Roman Laws ; in thd 
fame Manner as C^jmL^calls the Neapolitans^ Citi- 
zens of Romey ' ancPm vetted by the Julian Law^ 
with the Freedom of RomSj and at the fame Time 
having the Liberty to live under their own former 
Laws t Whence the Heracleans gave their chief Ma- 
^iftrate the Names of Demarcbi^ which poflibl^ 
Was the fame as ^inqennial Duumvirs. ^ WhicH 
Suppofition, forhe learned Perfons have ittenlpted 
to prove from the following Infcriptionj in thd 
Court-yard of St. -^/i/d?»/V (without the Gate oi Ca- 
pua) over the Gate which unites the two Terraces 3 
which Grutefus fays^ wis once in the Village of 
Pietra Bianca^ belonging to Sig, Bernardo Marti- 
f'ano ^ ; whence it was carried to Naples **, but fomc- 
thing different from the Original, which is taker! 
from Fah'ictus, 

• De Civitate Romand. ^ Livy, lib, 28. * Grtttefc 



I CGGC. XXrX. 6. * Qtpaccio. h.i, c. 9. 



te t. MVNATla- 



:26 A Description of the 

L. ^VNATIO. CONCESSIANO. V. P. PATRONO 

COLONIAE. PRO, MERITIS. EIVS. ERGA. GIVES 

MVNIFICA. LARGITATE. OLIM. HONOREM 

DEVITVM. PRESTANTISSIMO. VIRO. PRAE 

SENS. TEMPVS. EXEGIT. QVO. ETIAM. MVNA 

TI. CONCESSIANI. FILIL SVI, DEMARCHIA 

CVMVLATIORE. SVMPTV. LIBERALITATJS 

ABVNDANTIAM. VNIVERSIS. EXIBVIT. CIVIBVS 

OB. QVAE. TESTIMONIA. AMORIS. SINCERISSI 

MI. REG. PRIMARIA. SPLENDIDISSIMA 

HERCVLANENSIVM. PATRONO. MIRABILI 

STATVAM. PONENDAM. DECREVIT. * 

Which was crcfted by the People of the Colony of 
Heraclea^ in Memory of Lucius Munatius Concejfia^ 
nus a Patrician^ as a Token of theirGratitude ; for 
in the Time of Scarcity, Mfcftlfcewat his own Ex- 
pence : He was made one ot the Demarchi of the 
colony of Heraclea^ which was a great Magiftrate 
at Naples^ and as Strabo fays, Argumentum ret Junt 
nomina Magifiratuum Principis Graca^ pofierioribus 
temporibus Campana Gracis permixta ; and Spatzia- 
nus in Adriano^ fays thus : Apud Neapolim Demar- 
cbus in Patria fua §uinquennalis . On examining 
the Stile and Manner of the abovefaid Infcription, 
I imagine it not to be fo antient as before the Em- 
peror Titus ^ but of a later Date, and fome Time 
after the Eruption of Vefuvius^ and the Deftruftion 
of Heracleay wherefore it could not appertain to 
that City : Otherwife, one muft allow, that the E- 
ruption of Vefwvius did not entirely deftroy the 
City, but left Part ftanding, which is contrary to 
the Teftimony of the Authors : Wherefore 'tis mod 
natural to think that it belonged to Naples^ whither 
part of the People which were faved from the De- 

ftruftion, might eafily have efcaped, bearing the 

• >' 

* V. P. Vir Patricius. Vid. Scrtor. Urfatum poft Marm. Oxo- 
tvien. Prideaux pag. 66. Gentili^ dc Patriciorum Origine lib. IL 
c?p. X. n.VII. 

Name 



I 



j4ntient Ciiy of BEKACLE A. 27 

Name of Re^io Herculanenjiumy which was retained 
a long Time. 

Therefore Heraclea was a Roman Corporation, 
and Reinejius adds this Infcription, whicii I have 
copied as hereunder, » viz. ^ 

PRIDIE. K« MARTIAS. IN. CVR. 8CRIBEND0. ADFVERB 
CVNCTI. qvOD. V8RBA. FACTA. 8VMT. M. M. MRMMl6s 
RVF08. PAT. ET.FIL. ET. VlRI.... ITER. PEQVMIA. POUDt 
RALI. £T. CHALCIDICVM. ET. SCMOLAM. SECVNDVM 
MVNICIP. SPLSNOOREM. FECISS^. QVAK. TUERI. PVBLICE 
DECRETO. D. E, R. I. C. PLACBRE. HVIC ORDINI.CVM ' 
M. M. RVFI. PAT. ET. FIL. II. VIR. ITER IN. EDENDIS. MV 
NERIBVS. ADEO. LIBERALES. PVERINT. VT. EORYM. MO 
WVMENTA. DECORI. MVNICIPIO. 8INT. ADEO. DILIGEM 
.TBS. VT. VITIEIS. PONDERTM. GCCVBRERIHT. ID<^ IN 
PERPETVVM. PROVEDBRINT. PLACBRE. OBCVRIONIB. 
M.M. MEMMIOS. RVFOS. PAT. ET. FIL. DVM. II. VlVERENT 

•' BORVM. P08 M. ET. SCHOLA. ET. CHALCIDI. ^VAB 

II^SI. FEC18SENT. PRDCVRATIONEM. OARI. VTI<^B. SER 

\ .VOS. EIVS . . . .MPIVS EST .NEGOTIO. PRABPONB 

REKT. NB<^E. INDB. ABDVCI. SINE. OECVRIONYM, HB 
CRETO. BT.M.M.MBMMIIS. RVFIS. PAT.ET. FII*. PTBLICB * 
GRATIAS. AOEI. QVOD. ITBRATIONI. HONORl. EORVM 
VON'. AMBlTl'oNEI. NEQVB. lACTATIONl. SVAE. OEDB 
RINT. 8SD. IN. CVLTVM. MVNICIPI. ET. DECOREM 

CONTVLERINT. 

* • • ■ 

The great Building lately difcovered in the Ca- 
verns of Heraclea^ which is thought by the. Anti- 
quarians, to be a Kind of Bafilica, as is mentioned 
towards the End of this Work ; might more prp- 
bably be imagined to have been z Cbalcidicum^ did 
we not remain in the greatcft Obfcurity, concern- 
ing that Kind of Building, which the Antients 
call by that Name. I fhould conclude, fronni the 
Etymology of the Word, that it was a Mmt, or 
Place where they coined the Money 5 but others, 
afl(erting that it was a Hall belonging to the Forum^ 

k Reinef. Clafs. 7. n. XV. 

E.2 for 



^8 14 DztcKiPT ION of }be 

for the Ufe of the Pleaders and Orators •, on© 
cannot for certain know by the abov6 Infcription, 
(which near was found Portici^ about the Beginning 
of the ]afl: Age jj whether there ever was any CbaJ- 
cidicum^ (which- is rcprefented to us as a Building 
f/ith a large Hall, but without telling either the 
Ufe or Conftruftion) belonging to Ueradea. 

It ieems^ fays Vitrtcvius^ that the Chakidicum 
was commonly placed at the Extremity of the fia- 
Jitica: Which how well it may correfpond witH the 
Idea we form, I know not, as we have never yet 
been able to find any Model, or *PJati of thofe Kind 
of Buildings. 

But to return to pur City of Heracka. We have 
already proved, that it was a Colony, which ap- 
pears from the. Infcription pfCp»r^^»aj; And the 
Infcriptiops .which \ have placed among the new 
E)ifcoverie5> ihew that. it was afcrjbed.to the Mene- 
nm» Tnht i fiy what lean gather from the feveral 
Trhitigs la^eiy. found about the Theatre, it is evi- 
dent, that there were fine Springs i=n the City Herar 
(ha : On a Piece of Marble, fome Time ago dug 
p|), is the following Infcription *. 

ET. PATER. ET. FILI ..... M. SALIEN 

.DAMQVE 

TERTVLLA. RESTITVlT. . 

f 

Reinefius is of Opinion, that this Infcription re- 
lates to the two Marci Metmniii abovementioned : 
But as we have feen two Equejtrian Statues of the 
BalbU which I (hall treat of, in their proper Place, 
y^hy rnay not it as well be dedicated to them ? be- 
caufe it ought not to be doubted in the leaft, that 
fhey built fome grand and ufeful Struftures. To 
the Aquedufts there were doubtlefs annexed, Baths 
and Conduits ; Pifcina autetn inter appendices BaU 

J Reifief. Clafs. 2. XXIX, 

nearum.y 



JnfientCifyofUEKACLEA. a^ 

near urn, in qua caJenf^^Tbermis natare fokbanl^ fri" 
gidaria eft^ C^ utivocdt Sidonius ApoUinaris • BaP" 
tijlerium. Moreover, the above mentioned RBine* 
Jius goes on faying, ^ (as I told you before,) that 
Heracka and Pompeia were overthrown by an 
Earthquake, and no one has ever mentioned their 
being rebuilt again. 

It is remarkable, that (as the fame Author rcr 
lates) there were found fixed to the Walls of Her^^ 
€lea^ two Edids of the Senate, which were after- 
wards carried to the Houfe of Matteo di Capua^ 
Prince of G?»f^, Graved on a Plate of Brafs twenty- 
eight Inches long, and twenty Inches broad : The 
firft contained an Order, that no antique Buildings 
AouW be demolifhed for the fake of fellirtg the 
Materials, during the Confulfliip of HOSIDIVS 
GETA. & L. VAGELUVS, who were Suffeiii % 
in the fourth Confullhip of Claudius^, about the 
Year of Rome 800. And the fecond was decreed, 
while Volufius and ComeUus were Confuis^ which was 
' jfiine Years after the firft. 

Concerning its Government both Municipal and 
Colonick, we (hall ^eak at large thereof, under 
the Hetid of ^inqimmni Duumvirs and Demarchi : 
In this Place, I (hall only add, that they were not 
without proper Minifters, belonging to their holy 
Buildingijj as you wiil find by the Infcriptions, 
which mention the Epulom and Augufiali, both in 
Honour of Cefar and of Juguftus. The aforecited 
Reinsjius ** refers to another Infcrij^on, peruining 
|ip the City Hcra^kaf viz. 

. . . . O. D. LOCVM. AB. INCHOATO 

VM. TECTORIS 

AVGVSTALIB. DATVM. 



^ a Lib. It. ep. 2. ^ Relnef. loc. cit. « Cenomeft.de- 
rive d'un mot qui, chez les Hebreux el les Phcniciens, fignifie 

iiiges. Sbaphetim, < Reincf. Clafii. 2. XXXIII. Capac. Hift. 
Jcapol. lib. 2. c. 9. 

After 



30 ^Description of the 

After the College of 7iil(ih(s^\ the Augujlali 
Ijpning up, with new Ceremonies A. Roma 767^ 
^mong whom was reckoned Tiberius Cefar^ whofe 
Example was followed by the Colonies, out of 
Flattery and Ambition : Thefe Men were fix in 
Number, and called themfelves * SEVIRI AV- 
GVSTALES ; and they were alfo xnCortonay as 
appears from the following Infcription, which was 
difcovcred a fhort Time ago. 

C TITIO. CL. CELERI 

DOMO. CORTONA 

VIVIR. AVGV. 

LIBERTI. EIVS- 

But to return to my Purpofe. This anticnt City 
was fituated near the Sea, about four Miles from 
Naples, and remained buried under Ground by the 
Eruption of Vcfuvius, in the Space between the 
royal Falacc of Portici, and the Cottage of Refinai 
had a Harbour, a little Diftancc from Mount Ve- 
fuvius, and we fhall obftrve, that St. Gregory, 
writing to Fortunatus, Bifhop of Naples, makes 
mention Legionis Herculenfis Neapolis : And the lad 
Thing we fhall take Notice of, is, that Francefco 
Balfano wrote a Book, in ^ which be fays, that he 
imagines the Impoftures of the Friar Annio da 
Vitarbo, to be true, and the Report goes, that St. 
Peter landed there. Laftly, according to the Ac- 
count given by Pontanus: AtRefina, or fomewherc 
thereabouts, was the Seat of Antonio Panormita, 
who wrote about Alfonfus the Firft, King of Na- 
ples : And Falcus relates, that Pojtici, now a royal 
Palace, belonging to his Majefty, which was near 
Heraclea -, was the Seat of Quintus Pontius Aqui- 
la, a Roman Citizen ; called by Cicero, Neapoli- 
tanum ^inti : It is near the Promontory Leucopc- 

• Tacitus fib. x. Annal. chap. 54, * Noris Coenotaph. 
Pifab. chap. 6. 

tra, 



Antient City of HEKACLE A, 31 

tra, which retains the antient Name of Pietr^- 
bianca^ an excreamly pleafant Seat of the Duke of 
Matalona, with Refbeft to which, it will not b^ 
difagreeable to the Reader, if I mention the fol- 
lowing ancient Infcriptions, which I copied there« 
The firft of them, you will find in GruUrus ' but 
with a great Number of Errors and Omiifions. 

D. M. 

M. MARIO. PROCVLO 

VrX. ANN. III. MENS. IIII. D. Vlllf. 

M. MARIVS. FRONTO. ET. COSOONIA 

YGIA. PARENT. INFELICISS. 

FILIO. PIISSIMO. FEGERVNT. SIBl 

LIB. LIBERT ABVSQ^POSTERISCLEORVM 

SL NON. FATORVM. PRECEPS. HIC. MORTIS 

OBISSET. MATER. QVAE. HOC. TJTVLO. DEBVIT 

ANTE. VEHI. EI. TV. PRETERIENS, DICAS 

SIT. TIBI. TERRA. LEVIS. 

On another Piece of Marble, 

MYNICIO. P. F. POST. MORTEM 
MVNICIPES. SVI. AERE. CONLATO. PIETATIS 
CAVSSA. POSVERVNT. ' 

The folio wing« which is the lafl:, may ferve to* 
wards a Hiftory of the later Ages, n ♦ a\<,, 

HOSPES. ET. SI. PROPERAS. NE. SIS. IMPIVS 

PRETERIENS. HOC. AEDIFICIVM. VENERATOR 

HIC. ENIM;<:AR0LVS. v. RO. IMP. 

DEBELLATA. APHRICA. VENIENS. 

TRIDVVM. IN. LIBERALI 

LEVCOPETRAE. GREMIO. CONSVMSIT 

FLOREM. SPARC ITO. ET. VALE. 

M. D. XXXV. 

Finally, four Miles towards the Eaft, we find 
by the Foot of the Mountain, a Village called 
T^rn del Greco ^ where I believe, in the fame Man- 

* Gruteras, page 695. 9* 

ncr. 



34 A Description of thi 

Iter, the Qty Pompeia lies buried * ; fo named 
from the Pomp and Triumphs of Hercules, which 
Seneca calls, Pcmpeias Olebrem Cafnpani^e urbem. 
Vide Summonte, Pliny, Florul, Seneca and VeU 
Icius, who writes thus of his Great Grandfather. 
TMtum hoc (fociali) belh Rtmanisfidem prafiitiffe^ ut 
• • • Herculaneum fimul cum T. Didio caper ety Fomfe- 
ios cum L. Sylia appugnaret ; and Seneca ^ defcribes 
it thus, Olebrem Campania urbem^ in qua ab alterd 
parte Surrentum^ Stabiammque littus^ ah ahera Her^ 
eitldnenfe canvemunf^ mareque ex aperto reduSum ame- 
no fitu cinguntj decidijfe terr^emetUy vexatis qu4ecunqut 
adjacent regionibus. ^ Strabo calls it IIofAiraMav) Pom- 
feiam\ and Servius adds a^ Story, founded on 
^neid 7. and Verfc 662, viz. Hercules in quadam 
Campania (urbe) pompam triumpbis fuis exhibuit^ un*^ 
de Pompeii dicitur Gvitas. And Strabo *", Pompeiam 
quam Samus praterfiuit. This has in modern Ages, 
been called, Torre Ottanja^ or Cafirum Tnrris oBavi 
lapidiSy becaufe it is eight Miles from Naples, and 
becaufe the Kings of Angia caufed a Tower to be 
built there: Till in the Year 1345, a Greek Her* 
mit came there and planted a Vineyard, with Slips 
brought from his own Country. This Wine 
pleafed^ieei Joan the Firft, fo well, thatihe grant^^ 
cd him tne fole Privilege of fixing the Price of 
the Greek Wines. But the Hermit dying inteftate, 
the Society belonging to the Cathedral of Naples^ 
claimed a Right to fucceed him, as he died with* 
out Will, and to that Purpofe, they fent Annually 
two Agents from Naples, to fettle the Pricfc of the 
Greek Wine. So from the Hermit, and the Ma- 
nagers of the Wine, it took the Name of Torre 
del Greco. But Antonio Sanfelice is of Opinion^ 

• Soliii. cap. 8. Cdamella lib. 2. cap. t. ^ Lib. &. Qaxft. 
Katural. cap. i. « Vid, Cellariuiity qui ciut vcrfws-Statii,' 

8ilii^ Paalini Nolani, ^e. 

4 thiit 



Aniieni C/Vy g^ H E R A C L fe A. ii 

that the Situation of Pompeia was, where now 
ftands Torre della Nunziata. 

To conclude ; if this Country (notwithftanding 
Its having been ,defl:royed by frequent Thunders 
and Lightnings, and I'aid wafte by the terrible E7 
ruptions of Vefuvius, and epvered with Ruft and 
Drofs,) appears fuch a pleafaht Place in our Time^ 
"What muft it have been in former Ages ; in the 
Time of Auguftus, when the Roman Triumphers^ 
without any Fear of the Flames, ufed with Pleafure 
to frequent it ? Wherefore 'tis not to be wondered 
at, that they fhould have embellifhed the City of 
Heraclea with Statues, Temples, and the grand and 
magnificent Theatre, which (to the Amazement pf 
the whole World) is now to be feen, in the Caves 
that have beeri dug in our Days, X)n which Sub- 
jeft, I cannot refrain inferring in this Place,, an Er 
pi^ram, which I litt upon in Martial^ 1^/2;; 

« ■ 

Hie eft Pampineis Ijiridis modo Vefevus umhris^ 

Prejferat hie madidos nohilis Uva lacus. 
Hae jugdy quam NyJ^e eolles plus Baechtis amavit i 

Hoe nuper Satyri Monte dedere choros. . 
Hie Veneris fedes ; Laeed^emone ^ratior illi i 

Hie loeus Herculeo nomine efarus erat.- 
CiinStajaeint flammisj ^ trifti merfa favilldi 

Neefuperi vellenty hoe lieuijfeftbi. 



C H A R IV. 

Of the firft Eruption of Vefuvius^ and alfb of thai 
^hieb deftroyed the Cities of Heraeled and Pompeia. 

IT has been ^ Matter of great Debate among the 
Learned, whether Mount Vefuvius did, for the 
firft. Time, caft forth its inteftinc Flames, (and* 
therewith cover the Country round about) under 

F the. 



34 A Descriftion of Ihe 

the Reign of the Emperor Titus Auguftus, or 
whether it had not before, in remoter Ages, thrown 
up Flames ; of which (byReafon of the Number of 
Years it had lain quiet) we had no certain Account 
left. The fabulous Story of the Giants of Phlcgra, 
plainly nianifefts the great Vulcanos which had been 
taifed up round Puzzuoli^ among which, the moft 
wonderful is, Vulcan* s HeUy or the Sulphur Pitj 
where the internal Fire may be fccn thro* great 
Cavities j alfo in the Baths, in the Sands of the 
Ifland of Ifcia ; where I have obferved Iron Drofs, 
and burnt Pumice, lie in Strata ;' and an old Poet 
in the Time of Julius Cefar, fays concerning Etna, 

Diet fur infidiis flagrans jEnaria quondam j 
Nunc extinSa fuper : tutifque Neapolim inter 
Et Cumas locus eft multis jam frigidus annisy 
^amvis sternum pinguefcat ab ubere fulphur. 

A Paffage out of a Book of Natural Philofophy, 
entitled TJbe Natural Hiftory of the Univerfe^ gave 
Occafion for the Royal Academy of Infcriptions, 
at Paris, to debate on that Head \ It will not be 
amifs to give you a brief Account thereof. 

The Abbot Bannier, fearched the antient Au- 
thors, and found that Mount Vefuvius was fup- 
pofed to have made an Eruption before the Reign 
of Titus, but did not find any particular Account 
of it : On the contrary, that neither the Italians ^ 
themfelves, nor even Recupitus in his Treatife on 
that burning Volcano, make any mention thereof ^ 
Strabo faVs % that the Places about Vefuvius are 
very fertile, except thofe near the Opening, which 
arc quite barren, and look covered with Allies ; 
where they perceived Caverns of Stone of the fame 
Colour, as tho' they had been burnt and calcined 

* Memoires de Litterature, tom. i^. Des Embrafemens di», 
Mont. Vefttve. ^ De Incendiis Montis Vefuvii. f Strabone 
lib. 5. pag. 247. 

by 



Jntient Cify of HEKACLE A. 3-5 

by Fire, from which one may imagine chat they 
were fomctimes fired by a Volcano, which dcfifted, 
when all the combiiftible Matter was fpent. So 
Strabo, who was an excellent Writer a long Time 
before the Reign qf Titus, pofitively afierts, that 
there was a Volcano on the Top of Vcfuvius, but 
did not know when it was made *, Diodorus Sicu- 
lus * nightly mentions a former Eruption, but does 
hot give any particular Account of it. , 

Pltny^ to whom this Eruption was fo fatal, men* 
tions in two Places the Mountain Vefuvius : Of its 
Situation ** ; and in L. 14. treating about the 
Wines, he fays, ex its minor Aujiro Uditur^ ceteris 
venfis alitur^ ut in Vefwoio Monte^ Surrentinifquc col- 
Ubus : Which fhews, that he knew nothing, either 
of the Volcano, in this Mountain, or of the ful- 
phureous Quality of the Earth, otherwife he would 
(as Strabo does,) have attributed the Fruitfulnefs of 
the Vines to thofe Caufes ; for in the fame Book 
he mentions Mount Etna» N^dumis minis incendiis. 
Nor can apy Thing be gathered from Cornelius 
Tacitus % who lived in the Time of Tiberius, and 
fays, that this was a mod delightful Place : Ante- 
quam Mons Vefwvius ardefcens faciem loci verteret ; 
Whence one may conclude, that one Eruption of 
Vefuvius was after the Retirement of Tiberius into 
the Ifland of Capri^ and that the Hiftorian only al- 
ludes to tliat great one in which Plitrf periflied ; for 
the; Detail, and Circumftances of which, I refer you 
to Pliny junior. Even the Letter that contains the 
moft exaft Account thereof «», makes no Mention 
of any former Eruption. 

In like Manner Eufebius * fpcaks only of that, 
in the Time of Titus, and Scaliger, in his Notes, 
fays nothing of any other Eruption of Vefuvius, 

« 

^ Diod. Sic. lib. 4. ^ Plin. lib. 3. pag. 154. ediz. in fog. 
* Annal lib. 4. cap. 67. * Plin. jun. lib. 6. ep. i6. ^Eufeb. 
Hift. Eccl. k Seal, ad Not. 209c. 

F 2 than 



«6 [4 DE^Crw^ii^Tio^ of the 

than that in the Year 472, when the Afhcs were 
driyen as far as Cohftantinople, aod thcr^ caufed a 
great Aftonifhment, which they celebrated Annur 
ally pn the 8 th Ides (that is, the 6th Day) of No- 
vember, which is recorded by Count Marcellinus^ 
under the Confulfhip of Marcianus * and Feftus 1 
but the Account of this Feftival is not to be found 
in any Greek Menologium. 

The Abbot Bannier adjoins the Authority of the 
poets, and quotes the very Verfes in Lucretiu$, 
which I produced before, and which have been al- 
tered ten different Times in order to bring in the 
word Vefuvius ^» 

' • ■ ' « • 

S^mlis apud Cumas locus ejty Moniemque Vefavum 
. Oppleti calidiSj ubifumanifontibusauElus. 

Hence it appears, that the Poet was at leafl: in-r 
formed of the Quality of the Earth, round Vefu- 
vius, and. of the Jiot Springs in the Places there- 
abouts. 

The Authority of Valerius Flaccus is more pre- 
cife : He dedicated his Poem on the Argonauts, to 
Vefpafian the Father of ^itus^ therefore he wrote 
before the great Eruption* 

Sic ubi prarupti tonuit cum forte Vefavi 
Hefpcria letalis apex ^. 

Silius Italicus is^ ftill a more anticnt Writer, as 
he Hved in the Time of Nero ; and his Teftimony 
appears to be the moft decifive. 

Sic uU vi c^ca tandem deviSus ad aftra 
Evomuit paftos per facia Vefuvius ignes^ 
Et pelago^ £s? terns fufa eft Vulcania peftis. 

From which Verfes it is evident, that the Poet 
knew,, that it had at other Times difj^orged Fire, 
both over Sea and Land, 

• India. 10. * Verf. 747. lib. 6. Vid. Ediz. di Haver-, 
camp. * Argonaut, lib. 4. 

Virgi rs 



^Antient City ojf HEK A Ch E A. 37 

Virgirs Silence, on the Subjed, was taken as 4 
Proof that he was ignorant of the Volcano in 
Mount Vefuvi us, fg much the more, as he lived 
fo long in Naples; and the Abbot Bannier (to 
prove that, that ought not to be taken as a Denial 
pf the Thing) produces a Line out of the faid Vir- 
gil, which (hews diat the Poet Wi^ adqally igno- 
rant of the inward Fire in this Mountain *, for in 
the fecond Book of Georgicks, fpeaking of a fertile 
^nd well cultivated Country ; he makes this Cotx^ 
parifon, 

Talim dives arat Capua^ t? vicina Vejavo 
Orajugo. 

If he'd had any Notion of a former Volcano, he 
would at leaft have mentioned that it was fome^ 
pmes dangerous ; and would have anticipated 
Strabo, in the Obfervation of the principal Realbn 
of the Fertility of the neighbouring Grounds. In 
which Place it*s worth while to obferve the Equi^ 
vocation of Serviq$, who pretends that in that 
Paffage, Virgil does not fpcak of VefiroiuSj buC 
VefuUy a Mountain in Liguriay at the Foot of the 
Al ps. : But what Probability can there be, that Vir- 
gil fhpuld join yefula with Capuay a City fo near to 
Moqnt Vefuvius ? 

I (ball alfo quote the Sybilline Verfes % which 
mention aij Eruption of Vefuvius ; and wherein 
the Author (whoever he be) makes a very vifibte: 
Allufion to that in the Time of Titus; which* 
Xiphilinus feems to have copied ; a new Proof of a 
fuppofititious Work, which poifibly has never till 
now been taken notice of. 

In Ihort, from all their Authorities Signior 
Baryijcr concludes, that Vefuvius had caft forth 
Fire in fornier Ages : That its VoJcaao was extin- 
guiflied : That there is no particular Time fixed, 

f Lib. 4. vcrf. 127, & fcq. 

nor 



3? 'ydf DeSCR IPTION ^/i&^ 

nor an Account of any Eruption before the Reign 
of Titus ; and that Colonna would not have done 
amifs, had he mentioned none other but that. 

To this Opinion of Bannier, one may add the 
Obfervatidns of M. Bianchini, which Sig. Frerct 
made known to the Academy at Paris. For a- 
tnong the different Proofs, which this Author 
draws from the Epocha of the Flood, he makes 
ufe of the Obfervations, which were made near 
Vefuvitjs, in the Year 1689 •. 

The faid Prelate relates, that on digging the 
Ground, about a Mile diftance from the Sea, the 
Workmen acquainted the Owner of that Spot, that 
they met with feveral horizontal Beds of Earth, 
appearing to them to have been Pavements. Con- 
tinuing to dig further, they found fome Infcripti- 
ons, which made mention of the City Pompeia^ 
whereupon they perfifted to dig, till at* feventy 
Feet Depth, they came to Water, which made 
them leave off, and all the Way they dug they 
found different Strata of Earth one upon another, 
mixt with vitriBed and calcined Stones. 

Whence M. Bianchini imagines that, from the Bed 
of Infcriptions, may be proved the different Erupti- 
orts^f Vefuyius, fo that without (landing to examine 
into the aftual Situation of Pompeia, (for which 
he refers the Reader to Baudrand*s Geographical 
Diftionary) he concludes, that it was fomewhere 
near Vcfuvius : Wherefore fuppofing, a$ is moft 
certain, that the Infcriptions were buried by the 
Eruption that happened under the Reign of Titus : 
From the Depth of this Bed, and from the other 
Strata added thereto, in the Space of 1600 Years, 
he infers, that the deepeft of them, which is a 
Kind of mouldrihg Stone, (under which they found 
'a Spring of frclh Water ;) is the very fame that 

* Hfdoria. Uaivcrfal. provata con monumenti, e fig«rata con , 
ilmboli degli Antietii. Roma. 1699 pag. 246. 

was 



Anticnt City of UEVL kChE h. 39 

was exf/ofed to View at the Time of the felood, 
and that the Beds of burnt Earth upon that, were 
form'd almoft as long ago as the Inundation of the 
whole Earth ; fo that we may fay with Silius Itali- 
cus, whom I quoted before, 

EvomuU pafios per fscla Vefuvius ignes. 

But let that be as it will, it is my Bulinefs ta 
take Notice only of that remarkable Eruption of 
Vefuvius, which overwhelmed the Cities of Hera- 
dea and Pompeia in the Year of our Lord 79; 
(which is curioufly defcribed by Plitrf Jumor^ to 
whom I refer the Reader, at the Place mentioned 
above,) wherein pcriflied Pliny the Hiftorian, who 
was then Q)mmand€r of the Roman Fleet at Mi- 
fenum, and feeing fuch a Havock and Ruin, oc* 
cafioned by this extraordinary Event, endeavoured 
to coaft along the Shore about Herculanum and 
Pompeia, to fuccour the miferable Viftims of thefe 
extravagant Convulfions of Nature ; when behold ! 
the Alhes, Flames, and red hot Stones, which 
were ejcfted, filled both Air, Earth and Sea -, to 
the Deftruftion of Men, Beads, Fields, Filhes and 
Birds, both far and near ; infomuch that the Sun was 
darkned, and the Clouds of Afhes being carried, 
not only as far as Rome, but even into Africa, 
Syria and Egypt, flung the Inhabitants into a vio- 
lent Confternation. In fine, the two aforementi- 
oned Cities of Heraclca and Pompeia periQied, to* 
gether with all the People, who were affembled in 
the Theatre. 

But as the faid Theatre was one of the firft 
Things that was difcoved, the Reader will not be 
difpleafed, if I copy the whole intire Account from 
Dion Caflius Niceus, interpreted by George Me- 
rula, viz. 

Sub Tito in Campania, horrenda, & miranda 

quaedam obtigerunt. Magnus enim ignis per 

** Autumnvm 



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M 
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I^DescrIp^io*! of thi 

^* Autumnum fubito exarfit. Mons enim Vefuvl- 
us, qui juxta Neapolim ad mare vergit, abun- 
dantis ignis fontcs habet olim undique altus : 
ab cujus medio ignis exoritur, quse pars folum 
igne comprehenfa fuit : extra haec omnia fine 
** igne etiam nunc manent. Ex hoc cum caetera 
** cffent combufta, et in cin^rem redada, juga cir- 
^ circumftanria ab antiquo ufque nunc manent. 
** Quodcumque ambuftum eft atque confumptum^ 
** tempore concavum faftum eft : ut mons omnis^ 
" fi licet magnis parva conferrc, fimilis fit amphi- 
** theatro. Vertex arbores, & vites habet, Cifcu- 
** lus ab igne latior per dies fumum, noftu flam- 
•* mam emittit, ut rideatur in eo odores cvaporari, 
" & facrificia fieri : & quidem Temper, interim vero 
*• magis, interim vero minus. Ssepe vero cine- 
res efFundit, quando fcilicet aliquid coaftun^ fiib- 
fecjerit : lapides fiirfiim mittit. Quoties ^vero a 
fpiritu, & vento violatur, fonat, & ftridet ; ceil 
** non coadta, & conftrida, ied rara, & occulta 
fpiracula habens. Talis igitur eft Vefiivius, & 
hoc quidem in eo per annum plurimum fit. Quae- 
cumque vero id temporis accidere, quamvis mag- 
na, & prseter folitum vifa fint, tamen ad com- 
parationem eorum, quae tunc acciderunt, etiamfi 
omnia in unum conferantur, parva exiftimari 
poflTunt. Quae quidem fie habebant : Viri mul* 
ti, atque magni humanam omncm naturam ex- 
** cedentes,"" quales Gigantes defcribuntur, partim 
** in monte, partim in finitima regione, per Urbes 
*' interdict, atque nodu per terram oberrantes, & 
" in aerc percurrentes videbantur. Poft hasc ve- 
•* hemens ficcitas, & vehementes terrsemotus fijbito 
** fafti fiint, ut planities ilia univerfa aquis fcatu- 
" riret, & montes fiibfilirenr, fonitibus a cavernis 
fiibterraneis tonitruis perfimilcs, fuperne vero, & 
in terra mugire videbantur. Mare vero fi*cme- 
*' bat, & Coelum refonabat. Poft haec fragor im- 

" menfus. 



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JnttentCiiyofiiEKhCLtA: p 

•^ menfus, ecu concidentium montiutti exibat. Dtf- 

" inde tantus fuit fgnis, & fumus, ut aera totum 

" obumbrareti totuoi vcro Solem occultaret ecu 

" defedus. Mox vero ex die nox, & tenebrae e* 

** luce faftas funt, & cxiftitnabant gigantes infur- 

** rexifle. Apparebant quidem illofum effigies in 

** fumo : prasterea tubarum fonitus audiebantiir. 

** Putabant alii adveniffe chaos, - vel per ignem 

** mundum abfumi : atcjue fugiebant partiiti cX do* 

"** mibus in vias, alii vero ex mari in tei'ram, & 

** rurfus ex terra in mare : quidam vero trepidi, & 

amentes, otpote qui exiftimabant quid fecurius 

effe prasfens. Hsec autem fimul ac fafta funf* 

" cruftabat immenfus cinis: occupabat enim ter- 

** ram, mare, & aera •. & multa quidem alia fig- 

*^ na accidebant : laedebantur homines fcilicet, re- 

** giones, & pecora, & pifces, prasterea aves ab- 

•* fumebat. Infuper dua Civitates conflagraruiic 

^* Herculancum, & Pompeiam. Herculaneum vc^ 

^* ro, & Pompeios fedentes in theatro populos ob* 

^* limavit. Tantus fuit pulvis, uc ab eo loco in 

'** Africam, Syriam, & JEgyptum penetraverit. 

^* Pcrvenit etiam Romam ufque. Quin etiam aer 

•* totus imminens pulvere oppletus fuit. Sol cti- 

•* am obtenebratus^ obfcUratufquc eft. Nee par- 

•' vus metus fuit per multos dies. Nefciebant ho-* 

•* mines, quod faftum eft, nee conjedtari, undje 

*• fadtum eft. Exiftimabatit enim qua^Tupra, Qc 

•* infra erant, everti : Solem in tcrram defcendcrCi 

^* Cinis autem nonnihil magni iiicommodi attu-* 

« lit •.*' 

This Devaftation was preceded (as I before oI> 
fetved) by a terrible Earthquake A. D. 65. at the 
Time of the Confullbip of Regulus and Virginius^ 
which threw down great Part of Heraclea : $Qmc 
will have it that jthen the Theatre fell, and crulhcd 
the People ; and that it was again deftroyedi bf 

f Vide Xifilino nclla traduzionc di Filandro. 

G Vcfuvius ^ 



4* A Description of ihi 

Vefuvius ; which I hope I fhall be able to provtt 
from the Antiquities which were found there \ 
We have no Occafion to trouble our Heads with 
what Eruptions happened between that and our 
Time -, and it will be fufficient that we refer our 
Readers to the above cited Obfervations of M. 
Biancbini, and to the Authors which have treated 
thereon. I (hall only fay, that after that Eruption 
which dcftroyed Heraclea, they 6ount up twenty 
lix more. There is now to be feen, between Hera.- 
clea and Portici, a Plot of Ground eighty Palms 
broad lying on a Slant, by rcafon of the Currents 
which chiefly Sowed over tt^e ruined City. Among 
others, you may read with ^leafure, the Account 
of thelaft terrible Eruption, which I myfdf faw, 
and happened in May, 1737. which is very 
well dcfcribcd by the learned Dr. Nicolas di 
Martino, my intimate Friend \ and publiflied in 
the Name of the Neapolitan Academy, with Uni- 
veri^l Applaufe ; alfo another fine Defcription 
wrote by Sig. Don Ciccio Serao, Doftor of Phy- 
fick, and ProfefTor of the Univerfity . \ muft here 
mention, that at my Requeft, Signor Marcui 
Tufchcr, of Nuremberg, a Member of the Tufcan 
.Academy, now Limner and Architedb to his Danifh 
Majefly, took the Profpefl: of IVJount Vefuvius, 
from Torre del Greco, and I hope in God, I fhall 
4>e able to get the Draughts of the Antiquities, I 
am treating about in this Book. 

The Matter under which the City is buried, is 

not all alike : In feme Places, you find Currents 

.that came down from Vefuvius. In others, a Kind 

q{ Lime, or hard Cement, proceeding from the 

> Vide Seneca lib. 6. delle natarale queftioni ; Plinio fecondo 

^rel 6. delle Epiilole : Dion Caflio nel lib. 66. o fia il fuo abbre- 

viator Xifiiino. Dionigi d'AlicarnaiTo nel lib. i. Saetonio nel 

iib. %, Cluvecio Italia Antica lib. 4. Orofio wX lib. 7. cap. 9. 

iiella fua Storia. 

feme 



Antifnt City of HEKACLE A. 43 

fame Mountain. What the Neapolitans here mean 
by the Currents, arc the Streams of melted Sulphur, 
Minerals, Stones and Pitch, which were thrown 
out by Vcfuvius ; tho* thefe fiery Streams did not 
flow with that Vehemency ufual in Torrents. This 
thick vifcous Matter, runs flowly like Pafte or melt- 
ed Glafs, and keeps its Heat a long Time, tilt it 
comes to the Sea, in which it has formed feveral 
fmall Promontories : By the Current's hardening as 
it cools, it becomes a Rock as hard as Marble, 
and takes as good a Polifh. 

As long as this Subftancc keeps its Motion, it is 
ealily imagined, that it infinuates itfelf into all the 
Cavities that are in its Paflage -, and therefore 'tis not 
to be wondred, that the Places, by which it direc- 
ted it$ Courfe to Heraclea, ihould be made level, as 
tho' melted Lead had been poured in. It appears 
as if thefe Rivers of Fire, had only paffed thro* one 
Part of Heraclea : The other Part being buried 
under a Kind of Lime, or hard Cement, compofed 
of Earth, and the Afhes of Vefuvius, which being 
mixt with Water, not only fell in the Streets, but 
penetrated into all the Houfes, without doing them 
any Damage. How can this, fo fingular an In- 
ftance, be accpunted for,, without fuppofing that 
Vefuvius poured out fuch great Quantities of 
Afhes, as to rife above the Houfes *, and then the 
Sea-water making a Way into the fubterraneous Ca- 
verns of the Volcano, was thrown out at its Mouth ? 

It is doubtful, whether thofc Torrents carried 
the Aihes Into the Infides of the Buildings, where 
they were flopped by Obftacles which they every 
where met with. The Academy at Naples is of 
Opinion, that thefe Effedb ought to be attributed 
to the heavy Rains which fi-equently fall, after an 
Eruption. Many Authors fay ■, that Vefuvius 
throws out greater Quantities of Water than of 

^ ^ Celeno dell- erugino del VerurUr torn. 4. pag. 4* 

G 2 FirCy 



44 ji DESCRiFTiovi cf the 

Fire, in its Eruptions: And in the Eruption in* 
1 63 1, the Harbour of Naples was quite dry for the 
Space of a Minute, on the 10th of December, and 
all Sorts of Shell-fifh were mixt with the Stream 
which fell from the Mountain* As this laft Cir- 
cumftance is certainly true, it is an indifputable 
Proof, that the Sea had forced itfelf into the Vol? 
cano, and was again thrown out at its Mouth : The 
tcwo Infcriptions which were fct up ; the one in the 
Road that goes to Portici ; and the other, in that 
which goes to Torre del Greco ; ftrengthen thi$ 
Conjecture. Doriienico Antonio Parrino % in hi$ 
Pefcription of the Gulf of Naples, fpeaking of the 
Eruption in the Year 1698, alTures us, that the 
Sea in a Minute's Time retired twelve Paces, and at 
the fame Time, the Water iffued out of the Vol* 
cano, fo that they found on the Brink, great Quan- 
tities of Sea-fi(h calcined, and which ftunk ojf 
Brimftone. Pliny the fccond, who was an Eye 
Witnefs of- the Eruption, which occ^fioned the 
Death of his TUncIe ; (at the fame Time as Hcra- 
clca was demolifhed) pofitivcly declares, that the 
Sea fecmcd to fwallow itfelf up, and to be again 
^ drove back by the Convulfions of the Earth. 

Among the Drofs and fpungy Stones (in which 
arc Metals jnixt with diverfe Sorts of Minerals) 
caft up by the Eruption in 1737, there was found 
z Stone, which. »iis at firft thought to be anEme* 
raid, and being put into the Hands of Count Bar- 
tholomew Edward Pigetti, Secretary to his Maje- 
fiy. ; (a Gentleman, in whom all the good Quali-. 
ties imaginable were met together :) It was re- 
solved upon, to engrave the Mount Vefuvius on 
one Side ^ and on the other, in fmall Chara6ters» 
the following Words of my compofing : E Vefuvh 
natus^ farentem ignivomum exbibeo.- But as the 
Stone had a great many Flaws, and wa$ but very 

; Parfiiiopag.il. & 13. 

Ettic 



'Jntient City s^ HERACLE A. 45 

little harder than thofe Chryfolites, that are called 
- Granatelli, of which there are Numbers to be 
found in this Country, it was found impra£ticabl<. 
Wherefore it was rcpoliftied, and wrought co the 
Size of a fmall Bean> of a faded' greeni& Colour. 
This is what I was willing to relate, in order to 
inform thofe who have read thefe Things, pub- 
lifhed by different Authors -, of the tnje State of 
rfic C*fe. 



^i- <.• ■ 1 






DESCRIPTION 

O F T H E 

DISCOVERY 

O P T H E 

Antient City of Heraclea. 
PART n. 

Of the jintiquities o/'Heraclea. 

CHAP. I. 
jbt Aetoimt oftiifirjl Difcoveries made in 1689 and 

1711. 
^Sg§5^T will be neccflary, for the Satisfaftion 
StTl Tw of the Curious (Enquirers into fuch 
■Ia^^M "^* ^^^ unexpefted Things, brought 
*if'^'Tn^ to tight after fo long a Courfc of Time) 
that wc fljould begin thfs Difcourfe with the firft 
Trafts, i. e. from the End of the laft Age. I ftiall 
therefore recount all that is mentioned in the 
Memoirs of the Royal Academy at Paris ■, and 
* Mem, ^ LiteraMom. 15. DetenibnfemeiudiiM. Vefave, 
like- 



A Description, t$c, 47 

likewifc, give you the whole Relation tiuC of the 
celebrated M. Bianchini's Book of Univerfal Hif- 
tory ■. 

Firft, from the Memoirs of the French Aca- 
demy. 

As fame ff^orkmm were digging at the Foaf, of Ms 
Mountain (Vefuvius,) alfout two Miles from the Sea ; 
having come to a pretty great Depths they obferved 
fome Strata of Earthy which appeared to be regularly 
difpofedy as tho* they were Floorings or Pavements^ 
horizontally placed, one above the other. 

The Owner of the Ground, being thereby invited to 
fearcb farther, continued the Digging, and under the 
fourth Layer, finding fome Stones with Infcriptions on 
them, be ordered tbem to continue their Search, till the 
Water comity in fhould prevent tbem. fVhereupm they 
dug tUl they came to above a hundred Palms depth, and 
found various Floorings, alternatively one tmder an- 
other ; one of cultivable Earth, another of black w- 
trified Stone, of which, (fcr the greater Certainty) I 
Jhall give you an Account in the very Words, which 
Francis Piccheti, (a famous ArcbiteS in Naples, 
much celebrated for bis curious Mufaum, or CoUeSlion 
of Antiquities, of bis own compiling) communicated to 
feveral Per fins, and particularly Sig, Adrian As^ianus, 
Profeffor of Matbematicks at Rome, and much efieemed 
for his great Experience in the Study of Philofophy, 
(^c. viz. 

" In the Year 1689, in a Hole dug in the Side 
•• of Mount Vefuvius, about a Mile from the Sea ; 
hi that Spot, where formerly was the Villa of 
Pompey ^, I obferved that the clodded Earth, and 
" vitrified Stone were laid in a kind of plcafing Re- 
gularity ; and that the Earth, which is continu- 
ally falling from the Mountain unto the plain 

* Iftoria Uoiverfal. di M. BiaDchinL Rom. 1699. pag. 246. e 
Ivi. 1748. ^ Or rather City of Fosipeia^ as will be fe«A 
afcerwardi, 

" Ground, 






cc 



4? ^A DESciiii*Ti6» ofthi 

" Ground, and into the Sea ; together with the 
** Streams of melted and vitrified Stone, that 
'• flowed from the fundry Eruptions, had difpofed 
^ Things in the following Manner, vrst. 

jim(mg iviicbj what tbey fomd firfi^ hms twelve 
Palms of cultivaied Earthy viz. 

1 2 Palms of cultivated Earth ; then 
4 Palms of hlack vitrified Stone^ that the City is 
paved with \ then 

3 Palms of folidftiff Earthy then 

' o Palms and a half of vitrified Stone^ under which 
they found ^ fome Coals ^ then Iron Door-locks^ 
end two Infer iptionsy fhewing that in that Ptaci^ 
had been the Villa of Pompey \ then^ aiout 
10 Palms of folid Earth ; then 
2 Palms and a half of nitrified StonCy as ttHot^ 5 flm 
9 Palms offiiffer Earth 5 ^en 

4 Palms of vitrified StonCy more flaty \ and tigbter 

than the former I then 
25 Palms of muchftiffer Earthy like a Kind of Stone. 
16 Palms of vitrified Stone as above y very beaivy^% 

then I 

12 Palms of a foftifh Stone y below which they found 

fweet frefh Water in great ^antitiesy 'cohich 

flopped their Search. 

** The Infcriptions {fays M. Biancbini) found, 

•* together with the Tools and Iron-work, twenty* 

five Palms deep in the Ground, carry with them 

fuch Signs of the Age, in which that Plain was 

inhabited, and of the Romans having erefted 

** them ; as would perfuadc any one to believe, 

•* that the fix Palms and a half of vitrified Stone 

•* was depofited there, >y the Eruption which oc- 

* Strati 4. dalla faperiizie della Campa^na alle Jfcrictioni^ 
ine de^ quaU di pietra fufa. ^ Strati 4. dalle Ifcrizioni piti 
fotto, due delle quali di pietra fnia, f Akri 2 Strati pia ibtco, 
«D0 de'quali di pietra fufa. 

^4 ♦* cafioned 



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Jntieflt GV/c/HERACLEA. 49 

cafioned the Death of Pliny, in the firft Year of 
the Reign of Titus, and by which the Pom- 
pcian Infcriptions were buried, which are faid 
** to have been afterwards, laid up in theMufaeum 
*' of Francis Picchetti mentioned above, whofe 
Death rendered it very difficult to obtain a Copy 
of the Infcriptions 5 but I hope to be able to 
fubjoin them at the End of the Book, when they 
fhall be tranfmitted me^ which t fhall be very 
" defirous of, in order to refolve a Doubt, which 
*' I have concerning this, i. e. whether they relate 
** to the City of Ppmpeia, or to a Villa of Pompey 
" .the Great, and his Children. For the Villa be- 
** longing to that Family, and the great Captain 
'* da Ia)fl&'ddoj , is thought not to have been fitUr 
*' ated near Vciiivius, but nearer to Pozzuoli, and 
" not far diftant from the Lacus Avernus : On 
the contrary, Sig. Baudrand, in his Lex. Geo- 
graph. infers from both antient and niodern Au- 
thors, and the Stones dug up a little before the 
'^ Year 16*^4, that the City of Ponipeia was fitii- 
*^ ated near Scafa.ti in the ^Plain at the Foot of 
** Mount Vefuvius, and was much moleAed with 
*' the Matter that runs down from the Mountain, 
" in the Time of any Eruption/* Thus far M. 
Bianchini. 

The Prince d'Elbeuf being at Naples, in the 
Year 1711, purpofed to build himfelf, (near Portico) 
a pleafant Houfe, on*the Sea-fliore, and joining to 
a Convent of Friars, of the Order of St. Peter 
d* Alcantara, and was at the fame Time, thinking 
to floor fome Ground-rooms with a ne\y. Kind of 
Terras. He knew that fome Perfons at Refina, 
attempting to dig a Well, had found in that Place, 
fome Pieces of yellow Antique, and'other coloured 
Grecian Marble. Whereupon he ordered that they 
Ihould continue to dig, on a Level with the Water 
in the Well, and fearch out for a fufficient Quan- 

H ^ . tity 

/ 



5© ji l^tSClLlTTlOlU of fbe • 

tity of that Marble, ^hich he intended to powder, 
and therewith to finifli the Terras for his faid Coun- 
try Houfe, which at prefent belongs to the Dukes 
or Laviano, and the Princes of Cannalunga, my 
intimate Friends. 

Scarce had they begun to dig fideways, before 
they found fome beautiful Statues, among which 
was a Marble one of Hercules, and another which 
was imagined to reprefent Cleopatra : Then pro- 
ceeding on towards the Farm of Don Antonio 
Brancaccio ; the Diggers met with feveral wrought 
^ Columns of Alabafter, which appeared to them to 
be a Temple of a round Form, ornamented on the 
Outfide with twenty-four of thofc Columns, the 
greateft Part of them Yellow ; many of which 
were carried to the Farm of Counfellor Salerno. 

The Inlide of the faid Temple had been adorn- 
ed with the fame Number of Columns ; between 
which were as many Statues of Grecian Marble, 
tho' broken ; it was alfo paved with yellow 
Antique. The Statues were fent by the abovefaid 
Prince d'Elbeuf, to Vienna, as a Prefent to Eugene, 
Prince of Savoy. , 

They tell me there, was alfo dug up a great 
Block of Marble, with the following Letters of 
Metal Inlaid in it. 

APPrVS PVLCHER. C FILIVS 
^ g D VIR. EPVLONVM. . 

They alfo found a great Quantity of African 
Marble, which was wrought into Tables, by the 
ingenious Architeft, Jofeph Stcndard % who went 
down into the Hole they had dug. After thati 

their 

> D. Gkreppe Stcndardo, a Ne^KiIkan Arc^e^t, died ae 
Florence, in the Year 1735, ^^^ ^^ burled in the Church di 
Santa Felidtay and his Bxecators erefled a Monument for him, 
with the followiag Inicription, compofed by the Author of this 
Xceatife > who was a great Friend of his. 

lOSEPHO. 



i' 



jintienlGi^ a/ UEKACLE A. 51 

their Search was ftopt, to avoid being called upon 
for fome Dues, claimed by the Minifters of the 
Government, who, (in all Ku^doms^) by their Way 
of Proceeding, are often the Occafion of the moft 
beautiful Monuments of Antiquity remaining buri- 
ed, to ,the great Prejudice of the learned Part of 
the Republick. 

^^9§^vi^wiwSlMB^WK^9W^ WVwWVwWWW W w WWW W 

CHAP. II. 

^u Account of the Difiovery of tbi antient ficatn at 

Heraclea* 

TIHESE remarkable Difcoveries werefirft be- 
gun to be made, at the Time I was order- 
ing and difpoiing the copious Library, and cele- 
brated Mufacgm, (known thro* all Europe, by the 
Name of the Farnefian Mufaeum,^ in the King's 
Palace at Naples, over which, by the King's Order, 
dated the izth of November, 1738, I had tht 
Superintendency. 

The King of the Two Sicilies, being, in the 
Month of December at Portici, about four Miles 
diftant from Naples, there were found, in the a<* 
bove mentioned Well, fome Pieces of Marble* 
Whereupon the King gave Orders, that they (hould 
fearch at the Bottom of the Well ; fo entering iht 
Cavern (whence the abovefaid Prince d'Elbeuf hadf 
in the Year 171 1, dug out the Statues above de* 

lOSEPHO. STENDAJIDO 

MATHAEI. F. NEAPOLITANO 

GENERE. ATQ. INGENIO. CLARISS. 

SVB. IMPERAtORE. CAROLO. VI. 

REG II. DICASTERir. SACRAR. RATION VM 

ET. SENATVS. SANCTAE, CLARAE 

ARCHITECTO 

EXECVTORF^. EX. TESTAMSNTO 

AMICO. OPTVMO. PP, 

V- A. PL. M. LX. OB. FLOR. MDCCXXXV. 

H 4 fcribed,y 



^2 yf Desgriptioji of the 

fcribed,) and going to the further End, with their 
Mattocks, they found two Fragments of Brafs E- 
queftrian Statues, larger than Life, and this, a 
fmall Matter above the Surface of the Water, 
which was about eighty-fix Palms deep in the Earth. 

Proceeding to fearch laterally, or fideways, as 
they were digging along, they brought out two 
gowned Statues of Marble, which alfo were larger 
than the Life : The Face of one looked like Au* 
guftus ; after that, they every now and then litt 
upon fome Pilafters of Brick, very well made, and 
pJaiftered over, and painted with various Colours, 
and among them another gowned Statue, entire, 
on a Marble PedeftaK 

Another Day, his Majefty went to fee the faid 
Statues, when I, who followed him, as was my 
Cuftom ; was aflced by him, the Meaning of fomc 
Letters of a Cubit long, on Part of an Architrave, 
which being in different Piece§, feems tq be as 
follow^. 

. . A.. . MAMML..VS. ilVL 0^4/; Tm# 

And having in my Mind, the Paffage of Dion % 
which gives an Account of Heraclea, being overr 
whelmed by the firft Eruption of Vefuvius, to- 
gether with its Theatre, where the Peqple were 
Entertaining themftlves ; upon feeing the Name 
of a Duumvir, and alfo a T joined to a Piece 
of -an H, which appeared to me to have been Part 
JJTthe Word" TZ?^j/r«^ ; I ventured to affert, that 
if might be Part of the Theatre of Heraclea, which 
was ruiaed. 

I was not miftaken in my Opinion •, for, caufing 
myfelf to be I,ct down with a Rope about my -Mid- 
|dle, I went into the Cavern, and ordering them to 

* Xiphil. ad Dion, in Tit. pag. 251. Lugd. 1559. Duafque 
nrbes Herculanum ac Pojnpeios populo fedente in TheatropeRituf 
i^byuit (Vefcvus.) .. * - 

* • work 



AfUient City of UEK kCLH k. 5} 

«rork further ; they obfervcd, as it were, fome Steps 
of a great Woodcn-ftaircafc ;. but thefe feeming to 
me too high to ferve for going up and down, and 
the Edges tending not in a ftrait Line, but rather 
circular, I ordered them to try further on, whether 
they could difcover another Staircafe. Having 
fearched feveral Places, and turned up the Ground 
all about, I perceived it to be the Seats on which 
the Spedlacors fat to fee the Plays, as I had before 
(as it were) foretold. 

I went immediately, and acquainted the King 
with it: They then found fome more Pieces of the 
fame Architrave, which ferved to prove my Affcr- 
tion, Thofe Fragments being by me put together, 
were as follows : 

A....MAMMI...RVFYS. 11. VIR. QVIN. TEaE.# 

orch.de SVO -L««^^ 

So that I could with more Certainty affert, that 
this was the J^heatre of the City Heraclea with its 
Orcheftra^ built at the Charge of Mammianus Ru- 
fus. And in Order, that all they who (becaufc 
they had not been Eye-witneffes) doubted the Ex- 
iftence of the Theatre, m^y be convinced of the 
Truth thereof, there is another Part of the fame 
Architrave found, with two Infcriptions in cub(iul 
Letters, which ferve to explain the former, and 
I imagine had been placed over the two principal 
Doors of this beautiful Theatre. The fecond, 
bearing moreover, the Name of Publius Numtfius^ 
fhc Architect, of whom we ftiall fpeak hereafter. 

L. ANNIVS MAMMIANVS. RVFVS. II. VIRi 

QVINQ, "HEAIr* O, p. NVMISIVS. 
p. F. ARCH. EC * 

^ L'ho veduta riportata corrottamente cofi in una relazionCf 
L. ANNIVS. L. F, MAMIANVS. RVFVS. 11. VIR 
QVINQ;, THE ATRO .... NVMISIVS. P. F. 

ARO HERCVLANEN 

Near 



54 ^DESCKiFTiosofib^ 

Near the faid Infcription, which was dug up the 
nth of December 1738. they found fomc Frag^ 
ments of brafen Horfcs gilt, one of which in fall^ 
ing, had one Side fo compleatly drove into the 
other, that it appeared to be only the Half of one ; 
Afterwards they found fome Pieces of a Carr of 
Chariot belonging to the faid Horfes, with the 
Wheels whole, all of Brafs gilt ; wherefore I imai? 
gine tliat the two chief Doors of the Theatre were 
gdorned, (^bove the Infcriptions) with thefe Cha- ' 
riots and Horfes, as is fecn in Triumphal Arches 
on Medals. I don't doubt but we might find the 
Equeftrian Statues to reprefent fome of the Em- 
perors, were not the Heads wanting. Wherefore 
it was agreed, with one of thefe Trunks of Statues 
which was judged good for nothing, to make two 
great Medallions with the Mouldings of Brafs, a-f 
bout two Yards high, with the Pourtraits of the 
King and Queen. 

Qoing frequently to this Well, I caufed them 
to clear away the Earth all about the Theatre, the 
Outfide of which, I obferved to be raifed en fun-? 
dry equidiftant Pilafters of Brick, ' adorned with 
Cornifhes of Marble» PlaifterM with a kind of Ter- 
ras, varioufly coloured, in fome Parts like a Jafper, 
in other Parts black and gloify, like the Glafing 
of China. Finally, I faw the infide Stairs, which 
led to their refpeftive Vomiteries % and to the Sfcats ' 
for the Ufe of the Spcftators, fo that I conceived 
great Hopes of finding fome beautiful Marble Sta- 
tues, either ftanding on the Top, or fallen down. 

And my Hopes were not vain, for they dug up 
daily throughout that Year, many Pieces of Marble, 
fuch as beautiful Capitals of the Corinthian Order, 
and other fmalier ones of Roffe Antique, neatly 
wrought, and various Incruftations of African and 

« Doors from every Tier of Seats, to ge out, under the vault- 
ed Galleries. 

Serpentina 



JfUtent City of HEK Act Uk. $$ 

Serpentine Marble, yellow Antique, and Egyptian 
Pebble, Fragments of Mouldings, Corniihcs, and 
Architraves, of a curious Tafte, and pcrfedt Work* 
manfhip. 

Having laid open the Seats in the Theatre for a 
confiderable Way, they were found to be eighteen 
in Number, among which were perceived fome 
rather lower, in a right Line, which ferved as 
Stairs to the {Vomitories^ and to the infide Stalr^ 
cafe of the Buildings : Having afcended the eigh- 
teen Seats, you come on a landing Place, running 
round the Edifice, which I knew to be the Precin- 
zione % above which, there are more of them Steps 
to afcend to the fecond. This Precinzioney being 
in a great Meafure, cleared from the loofe Earth, 
afforded me Room to calculate, that this Theatre, 
together ^ with its Orcbeftra or Cavea^ was about 
fixty Palms in Diameter^ being entirely inlaid with 
diverfe Sorts of African, Grecian and Egyptian 
Marble, red and yellow Antique, veined Agate, 
and other curious Marbles. In a Manufcript Ac^ 
count, which I faW, the following EHmenfions of 
the Theatres are fet down, but I don*t know how 
true, viz. That the outer Circumference of the A- 
rena was two hundred and ainety Feet ; an hundred 
and fixty Feet the outer, and an hundred and fifty 
the. inner Diameter ; the Stage or Place for a(5Ung 
was ieventy five Feet in Breadth, and only thirty 
in Depth. 

This Theatre appears., from the Pieces of Mouldr 
ings, Gomiihes, Brackets, and other Ornaments of 
Architcfturc, and from the Quantity of Marble- 
fiones, and Fragments of Columns (which belong- 
ed, either to the Stage, or to the adjoining Temple, 
which, was difcovered a great While before) to have 
been a moft beautiful Building; whether we exa- 
mine the Stru&ure of the Caverns, and interna} 

• ViA il paflb di Calpurnio citato <U1 Sig^ Marchcfe MafR?i. 

3 Corridores 



^6 A Description f>f the . 

Corridorcs buiJtwith Bricks, ornamented with Cor- 
iiifhes of Marble, on which are the Arches which 
Supported the Seats. Or if we look into the Dens, 
or the other Steps, by which the Spedators went 
from one Range of Scats to the othcn 

I ihould have been willing to have defcribed 
very diftinftly, all its Parts, if my Defire of ha- 
ving it laid open, could have been effefted : But 
the great Quantity of Earth that had been laid 
over it, by the many and vaft Eruptions of Vefu- 
tius, together with the Houfes and other facred 
Edifices built thereon^ prevented the putting it in 
Execution. 

CHAP. III. 

' Ohfervatiohs on the faid fbeatri. 

IT is very probable, that the Theatre had beeA 
built as long as the City Heradea ; for, (as we 
have feen before ;) that Part of the Country was 
formerly inhabited by the Ofci, who, as is well 
known % were the Authors of obfcene Plays, and 
the Verfus Fefcennini ; and the Tufcans were fup- 
pofed to have been the Inventors of the Hiftrioni- 
cal Reprefentations. And altho* Plutarch derives 
the word HiJiriOy from a certain Philofopher of 
Cyrcne or Macedonia, called I/ier ; yet all agree 
with Efichius and Thomas Dempjlerus^ that Ifter is 
one, out of the fmall Number of antient Tufcan 
Words that are extant. Livy ^ fpeaking of the 
firft Introduftion of the Fejii Hijlrionices^ into 
Rome, attributes it to the Tufcans, and fays, that 
the Word is derived from them. 

I am of Opinion, that Mention is made of that 

'' * Cic. nel lib. 7. dell' Epift. fam. epift. i. fa menzi()ne ddk 
Comedie fatte &re ix Pompeo per la dedtcazionedeKiioTeatio. 
* Lib. I. 

Theatre, 



jktiefit City fl/" H E R A C L_E A. 5^ 

Theatre, in the following Infcriptidn on a Stohej 
taken from the learned Cin<5n Mazzocchij who 
lialfed it, Pagifeito of the Pagart Lav(r ». 

i-AOTJ. HSRCVLANBVS. SCtVif. A. O. X. TBRMtflA ... 
CONLBCIVM. nitX, MA0I3TRII. lOVBI; COMFAQE*. *. ,* 
VTE|. IM. POftTICVM. PACANAM. REFICIENDAM 
MQyUIAM. CONSVMBRBNT. BX, LEGE, FAOANA 
ARBITRATV. cii. LAETORI. CN. F. MAGIITRBi 
^ACilBt. »Tkl<yrE. EI. CONLEOIO. SBIVB. ilACUTRt 
STNT. lOVEI. COMPACBI. LOCVS. IN. TBATRd 
kSSBT. TAMC^ASBISEILVOOS. FECISSBHT. &C. 

As this was in a College of Jefuits in the Vil- 
lage of Recale, near Capua, we may fuppofe that 
that Place ^as called formerly HereulaneuiH, an<i 
afterwards corruptly, Recslle, and befidcs, they had 
the Temple of Jupiter near them ; and the Herai 
cleans gave thofe that belonged to the faid Tcniple* 
the Privilege of fitting In the Theitre^ they ha- 
ving built a Part thereof at their own Ejtpence. 
But, IS not It poflible that this Infcriptionf may 
have formerly been brought from our Heraclea? 
We know Very ^t\\ it was done in the Year o^ 
Rome Ssss a great while before the Settling of the 
Campanian Colonyi and at a Time when Heraclei 
did not deftrve the Ndme of a City. Dionyfius 
Hahcarnafleus calls Heradta Oppidutum, 6t Pazus 
into which, when the Colony entered, they aug-' 
mented the Buildings, and ethbellifhed the Theami 
with new Pillars, and th6 Statues of the Roman 
Knights, who either protefted or frequented thofe 
Parts Falcus and Summons atteft, that Portici. 
which IS now One of his Majefty's Palaces^ was thtf 
Seat of Quintus Pohtius Aquila, and that Z 

Smallnefs of the Place, and very probably of Wood. 

• De Cartp. Amphit. cap. g. pag. ^j; 

^ But 



58 A De SCRIPT,! ON tf tht 

But fearching more narrowly into q\xz Theatre, 
I was prefently ftruck with the Beauty of the Cha- 
rafters, fome of which were tied together, as may 
be feen in the Medals of Auguftus*s Time ; the 
gowned Statues without Beards, with (hort Hair, 
and of perfeft Wcrkmanfhip, all which bear the Ap- 
pearance of being done in that Time. The For- 
mation of the infide Work gave no fmall Confir- 
mation, being of Bricks, on one of which I read 
thefe words, 

ABDAE 
LIVIAE 

Abda or Abdala was the Name of a Slave in 
Africa, who was fet over all the other Slaves that 
made Bricks ; and pertained to the Emprefs Livia» 
the Wife of Auguftus. , 

If the Account of the Life of Appius Pulchef 
'was extant, and the abovefaid Fragment entire, 
which makes mention of the Epuloni ; from their 
Number, or from the Space of what is wanting, 
one might poflibly get fome Light into the Time of 
its Building \ for the Epuloni were at firft, two 5 
then three in the Time of Pacuvius, and laftly 
were increafed by Silla and Auguftus to feven. 

I cannot tell how to explain the three Figures 
thereon, (which I have never feen on any Monu- 
mcntj any other way than thus, Temflum Baccbo 
dedicavit fm fumptu Septemvir Epulonum * : Which 
fignifies, that the Temple which the Prince d*Elbeuf 
found, \vas by Appius Claudius, dedicated to Bac- 
chus, himfelf being one of the Epuloni. And a- 
mong the Fragments of Marble, I perceived the 
Trunk of a Statue, which might poflibly be that 
of Bacchus ; and joining together the following 
Letters, which were on a Marble Cornifh, viz. 

« Simili fpiegazioni da il Nicoki de Siglis Feterum, c frc- 
quenti iie fono gli cfcmpi in Roma, 

• ...LON 



Jntient City of HERACLE A. 5$ 

..•,LON .VIR.EPV 

I imagine it to have run thus, Patrono Coloniie^ 
Septetnviro Epulonum ; whence this alfo may pertain 
to Appius Claudius. Some doubt the Veracity of 
the former, which was fhewn me in Manufcript \ 
bur, as the Infcription of Annius Kufus was a 
double one, fo alfo might this of Appiu^ Claudius 
Epulo. 

I have found two Appii Claudii Pulchri, Sons of 
Caius. The one Conful with P. Scrvilius Anno 
Romse 674 j the other with Caius Norbanus Anno 
Romae 7 1 5. Thefe were, without doubt, fprung 
from that noble Family of the Claudii, famous for 
giving Birth to that Decemvir, who brought in 
the Laws of the XII. Tables from Greece -, and was 
the Occafion ' of the beautiful Virginia being 
killed by her Father in the Senate-houfe ; and alfo 
for having produced fo many great Confuls and 
Emperors of Rome. 

That Part of the Country, which we now call 
the Kingdom of Naples^ was at that Time much in- 
debted to that Family, on Account of Appius 
Claudius Coccus making the famous Via Appia^ 
called by Strabo ^ Longarumviatumreginam^ which 
is not better defcribed by any one, than by Pro- 
copiiis, who fays it ends at Capua 5 but others teli 
you it goes as far as Bruhdufium. 

Brundujium longa finis cbarU^uCy viaque. * 

* Vid. le contfoverfi tra il Sig. Marchefe Tannucchi, e 11 fir 
P. Grandi, quando erano Profeflbri in Pifa, directe 2IV Acade- 
mia Etrufca di Cortona, ftampate in Pifa, e Lucca ne) 172?. 
* Cic. in Orat. pro Coelio : Appius Claudius Cacus pacem Pyrrhi 
diremitf aquam adduxit^ nfiam mu/ti<vif : Sopra tal paflb fa for- 
mata la falfa Ifcrizione di Arezzo, riportata dal Grutero, e da 
ultri : APPIVS. CLAVDIVS. CENSOR &c. Vid. Staz. Sylv. 
Carol. 2. Sanfelic. in' Casnpania. Eutrop. 1. 2. Frontio. de Aqoae^ 
dudfc. Lipitum ad Tacit. Procop. de bello Got. lib. i. Nicolas 
Bergier. Hiftoiredes grands Che^insl. 2.ediz. di Brufelles 1736. 
pag. 221. Liv. 1. 9.C. 29. ilCaiWi^ico Pratilli della Via Appia in 
fogl. Napoli 1745* *^ Horat. lib. i. Sat. 5. 

I 2 I ob- 



I obfcrved certain Remains of it, on the Mount 
Pdfilipus, near one Part of my Territories ; which 
led fro^i Pozzuolo to Naples. But it did not run 
farther than Capua, till the Year 34 !• Galenus ' 
attributes. the Extending of it, to Trajan, others to 
Cefar, and others to Auguftus \ 

Suppofing the fecond Appius Claudius was Go* 
yernor of the Colony, when the Theatre was built, 
it will appear to have been about the Time of 
Auguftus. 

But from the Name of the Archited, I draw an- 
other Suppolition. 

P. NVMISIVS P, F. ARCHITECTVS. 

In the firft Place I fay, 'tis very rarely that you 
find any Infcription, where the Names of the Ar- 
tificers are fet down, and efpecially Architeds, 
even tho' it were ere&ed ^t their own Expence ; 
jfor it was not allowed among either Greecians or 
Kppans, to put their Names. Pliny tells us, that 
Batr^cus and S^urus, two Architefts, not being al* 
lowed to infcribe their Names on a Building, put 
up in lieu thereof, the Hieroglyphicks. Batbra- 
€um & Saurof^ Lacones^ ArchiteSos in columnarum 
fpiris infculpia nminup$ forum argumenta Rana^ 6? 
iMcerta * 5 the latter of which, is believed to have; 
been the Maker of the Marble Vafe (on which are 
wrought the Solemnities of Bacchus) in the Jufti- 
nian Garden at Rome, bccaufe there is the Repre- 
fentationbf a Lizard, which has no Relation to the 
other Part of the Carving. M. Bianchini obferves, 
that there were only two Inftances, of the Names of 
Architects being recorded, among the Latins ; fc. 
In Pozzuoli, and in Verona; and a Pourtrait of an 

* Galen. 9. Thcripeuticae. * Vid. Adriano dclla Monica 
della Via Appia, k Lipf. ad Tacit. 1. 2. qui pucat id fadum a 
Caio Gracco, ve) Cefare', vel Augufto. Pratill. poc' anzi citato 
della Via Egnazia, &;c. < yid. Moniignor del Torre Ifcriz. di 
M. Aquilio. cap. 8. 

Architcftj 



Antient Ciiy of HER ACLE A. 6i 

Architeft, in an old Painting ; which is in the Poffef- 
fion of the Marquis Alexander Gregory Caponi. 
On the Imofcapo % or Fillet of the Colonna Antoni* 
nay you'll find the Name of Nilus iEgyptius the 
Archtted): ; which being fo feldom found, confirms 
the Prohibition, chiefly in Places that are vifiblc 
and confpicuous ; and that it was permitted only in 
low and hidden Places, as the Pipes of an Aque* 
du£t ; Bricks, Lamps, and Tombftones ; whence, 
on feeing this Name in fo confpicuous a Place, as 
the great Architrave on which is the Name of a 
Quinquennial Duumvir, I conclude it muft have 
been done before the Prohibition (which, among 
the Romans, was in the Reign of Adrian) and a- 
bout the fame Time as this at Verona * where you 
read, ' 

L. VITRV VIVS. L. CERDO. ARCHITECTVS. 

which was in the Reign of Auguftus. 
On the Houfc of Terracina, alfo you will find : 

C. POSTVMIVS. C. F. 

POLLIO 

ARCHITECTVS. 

But as to Numifius the ArchiteA, I fay, the 
Learned have never fo much as mentioned him in 
that Charader. The Family of the Numifii is not 
unknown, for you may find a great many of that 
Name in Rein^fius and others. 

Vitruvius, in the Preamble to his firft Book, 
mentions one Publius Minidius^ who, together with 
Marcus Aurelius, and Gneus Cornelius, in the 
Reign of Auguftus, attended the faid Vitruvius in 
the preparing and managing the Catapulta's, Scor- 
pions, and other warlike Inftruments. I obferve 

• Vid Archit. di And. PaUad. Vicentino. Tom. 3. tab. VIIL 
pag. ij. ^ Bianchini Comment. Lapid. Antiat. cap. t. 

Gruter. 186. 4. Maffei Verona illufirata ; e Tratt. del* Anfheatru 

further. 



62 [/df Description of the 

further, that all the antient' Volumes of Vitruvius 
do not agree about this Name ; for fome call him. 
Publius Minidius^ fome Publius NumidicuSj and 
others again, Puhlius Numidius^ which Name is 
like to thgt of Numifius in the Infcription in the 
Theatre, which muft be the right Name of the 
Companion of the famous Vitruvius, the moft com* 
' pleat Architeft that ever was; and thereby we 
may find out the Time of the Building of the 
Theatre of Heraclea, which is what we want to 
know. 

We have before proved, that this Theatre was 
built by Lucius Annius Mammianus Rufus, Quin- 
quennial Duumvir, the Son of another Lucius, unr 
der theDireftion oi Publius Numifius the Archite6t. 

As to the Family of the Annii, we have feveral 
Records of them, both in Hiftory, and in the 
Infcriptions, mentioned in the Books of Antiqua- 
rians, among which, I fhall only fet down this, 

T. ANNIVS. ITALICVS. HONORATVS 

quoted by Robortello % and another Q^ Annius, 
one of the Senators, who were in Catiline's Con- 
fpiracy *, and Marcus Annius Verus Pollio, who. 
according to Petavius, was Conful together witn 
M. Plautius Sylvanus, Anno Rom. 824. andA.D. 
81. which was a fhort Time after the Eruption of 
Vefuvius. From all which I imagine, that the 
two Marci Memmii Rufi, Father and Son, menti- 
oned by Reinefius % in an Infcription, which he 
copied from Capaccius ^, and which he afferts was 
in the City of Heraclea, ought to be read Mammi 
or Mammiani, as they were Duumvirs of this City, 
and raifed publick Buildings at their own Expence, 

» Vid. Middleton's Life of Cicero, torn. i. p. 279. ^ Saluft. 
p. 17. EP. AimioRufo III. Vir. A. A. A. F. F. Goltz. Infer, p. 
155. « Reinef. Infer. claiT, 7. n. 15. * Capac. lib. 2. 

Hi&. Neap. c. 9* 

viz. 



Antient City of HER ACLE A. 63 

viz. PONDERALE. ET. CHALCIDICVM. ET 
SCHOLAM. Alfo for the.publick Games and 
. Shews, prefentcd to the Publick, at the Dedicati- 
on. I am alfo induced to believe it, from other 
Miftakes, which the above Reinefius has taken no- 
tice of, in the faid Infcription ; whence I conclude 
that L. Annius Mammianus, who did this great 
Performance, was either one of the Duumviri of 
the Colony of. Heraclea, or a Defcendant of him. 

Therefore L. Annius was ^j^nqumnial Duumvir^ 
or chief NJagiftrate of the Colony, which ought 
not .to Jeflen his Efteem^ as the principal Romans 
coveted to be elected Duumvirs in the Colonies. 
Pompey the Great was Duumvir of Capua, along 
with one of the Antonian Family, and the Names 
of the Decuriones were engraven in Brafs. And 
this ferves to prove that Heraclea was a Roman 
Colony. 

I fhali draw Proofs of the Quinquennial Duum- 
virate of Heraclea, not only from this Infcription, 
but from other Authorities. Tho* the Cities of 
Campania Foelix, being originally Grecian, and 
governed by the Athenian Laws, Jthey had the Li- 
berty (whilft under the Roman Empire) to obferve 
their own former Cuftoms, and to live according to 
^heir own Laws, and yet had the Privileges thJiC 
belonged to the Cit;,izens of Rome ; which is a 
Thing uncommon. What Cicero fays of the He- 
racleans and Neapolitans, puts it beyond all Doubt ; 
for hej fpeaking of the Julian Law % adds, that 
there were great Difputes between thefe two Cities, 
becaufe many preferred the Liberty of their Laws^ 
before the Privilege of being accounted Citizens 
of Rome : ^um magna pars in its civitatibus faderis 
fui (quo nempi leges tis reliSa) libertatem Civitati ath 
teferrent ; and this was the Reafon that thofe who 
became Citizens of Rome, were no longer among 

? Pro Balbo. 

the 



64 A Description of thi 

the Number of the Confederates. Hence it comcs^ 
that the Duumvirs of Naples and Pozzuoli called 
th'emfelvcs Arconti *. Further, Reinefius affirms^ 
that quos vocant Duumviros^ (UVIRI) Arcbon$e$ 
rp«Tiyoi, reprafentabant Colonic Confides. They 
ftiled themfelves Demarchi for the fame Reafon, 
for the Magiftracy of Naples was called Demarchia, 
as Strabo fays, Argumento reifimt nomina Magiftra- 
tuum Principis gr^ca^ fofttri^ibm iemporibus Campa* 
na Gracis permixta ; and Spartianus fays pofiti vely, 
they were ^inquemali. Jpud Neapolim Demarche 
in patria fiia quinquennalis. It was the very fame in 
Heraclea, as may be feen in the Infcription of 
ConceffianuSj of whom we fpoke before* 

It is certain, that the other Grecian' Colonies had 
Quinquennial Duumvirs. On a Medal of Nero^ 
in the Royal Mufasumy you may fee one Tiberius 
Claudius, in that Pqft at Corinth, who polTibly 
was of the Imperial Family, with the Head bea- 
tified ; (i. e. with a Glory round bis Head) 

NERO CAESAR. GERM. AVG. 

And on the Reverfe, 

COR. TI. CLAVDIO. UVIR. q. ADV. AVG. 

Corintbus. Tiberio ClaudiOy Duumviro ^inqtiennali t 
Adventus Augufti. 

In order to know, whether there were Quinquen- 
nial Duumvirs any where elfe, fee Vaillant * and 
Gruterus, whofe Examples are fet down, by Da- 
madenus, in i^t Tabula Canu^na^ which is at pre*- 
fent in the Pofleflion of the Marquis Riccardi at 

a Vid. la DiiTert. del Sig. Abbate Guafco Pieinont .Acad, 
Etrufco. fopra rAutonomia de* Greci che (i fiampa nel torn. V. 
.delle Diflert. deir Academia di Cortona. ^ V. Valliant. Co- 
loniar. t. i . Vid. Lettere cridche d^un Academ. Etrufco. ad an 
Academ. Piorent. U Jo. Lamii in Antiq. Tal?ul. i£neam obfef- 
vat. Flbr. 174.7. 

Florence 



Antient City of HER ACLE A. 65 

Florence ; Bulengcras calls this Space of Time 
Lujiro Municifale. 

I have read in Manutius as follows •• 

nVIR. QVIN, COL. IVL. HISPELL. 

And thus, 

BIS. DVOMVIRO. QVINQ. 
II. yi%. ITER. QQ. 

Cardinal Noris ^ was in a Doubt, with refpedt to 
the Time of the Duumvirate \ wherefore I Ihall 
leave it, to be decided by Sig. Gori, and Dodor 
Lami, who have difcourfed very learnedly on that 
Head*. ^ 

It remains now to fay fomething concernii^ the 
other Part of the Infcription in the Front. 

DESVO. 

We knpw that Lucius Annius Mammianus Ru- 
fus built the Theatre with its Orcheftra, at his 
own Expence, but cpnnot tell, what Letters follow- * 
ed the words D^yir^, becaufe the Stone was broke; 

In Gruterus ** we have it thus ; 

' ... 

DE. SVO : D- a 

that is, DedUaverunL But whether it is a D* or an 

F, dedicavity or feci f^ 'tis the Mark of a generous 
and great Soul : The Marquis , Maffei, and th^ 
Canon Mazzocchi ^ imagine dedicavit to be thf 
fame, as pofuit^ perfccity as Signor Muratori obt. 
ferves \ who alfo declares, that he will not decide 
this Point. Reinelius < has it thus : 

THEATRUM. ET. PROSCENIVM 

REFECERE. LVDIS. SCENICIS 

BIDVO. DEDICAR. D. S. P, 

• Manut.- Ortograph. *» Coenotaph. Pifan^ Cttrliai. Fafti. 
AtticL t. 2. ' Letcere ad un Academico di Cortona, p. 69. 

Pag. 307, n. 8. « DtW Anfiteatr. t Maseeh, dc Amphi* 
iieatr. Campano. ^ Acad, di Qortooa^ tom. t. pq^. 149^ 

Infcript. Clafs. j^. 

K V Heno^ 



f>6 A DEScfeif TJow 'of "^e 

Hence arifei a Curiofity to know what tlit Oi% 
cheflra was. Juftus Lipfius fays^ it was tlic fii^ five 
Jlows of Benches, on which the Senators and Decq- 
riones faxvaboVe thife were jfaotteen more Benches, 
for the Ufe of the Knights, called Equeftria^ and 
all that went higher, w^ for the conimbn People, 
whence cal led P^/*f/<!2rif- 

Grevius; Signor Mazzocchi, Spanemius, Bu- 
lingerus, Arduiti, arrd other ten6vmed Perfon^ 
think alfo, th^t thc'firft Sea;ts were the Ortheftra, 
tailed by MarfiaK Ijinea dives. Marquis MaffW \i 
H&f i -contrary Of)infofi, affirming that the X^rchifiryi 
qi the Theatres, was nothing but the Area^ by Ds 
trailed P&/^/:7,Vhrch was ufedi by the Grecians/ for 
the Dancers ; wliente ft had its Nah^ alfo aftiong' 
the Romans, who ccrotiftped the Ufe of Dancing 
on. the Stage: In another Place, he fays, that he 
nev'er found any antlent Author, that mentioned 
kny !Part of an Anfip'hitheatre to l^e called Orchc- 
ttra ; 'ahd rejefts the Word, tbgether with its'Sig- 
jiificalion. ^rhis Opinion was fittft publiifhed, fcy a 
trtoderh imaginary Difplayfer of che 'Magnifictiict 
of the Antients,' tttacing of th5 Theatre at Athens,' 
by hirp called the Theatre of Bacchus, which Pol- 
lux 'Wakes mention of; 'but- because I do -nw JOTC 
pifputeis,"! would fain make tip this Diflference, 
iby fluttin^ in my ppinioh, when* T am allowed to 
Introduce na jfcif among tTiVfe gfeat Men. 
'■ it "is a very dnficiitt Thing, to know when the 
Authors tpeak b1f''k Theatre of bf dn Amphithea- 
tre Vasth^yorteri confound* one with the otlier. 
The Grfeciatis ^^t^t very imwrlling to make ufe of 
this Word, Tor it is only tote found in Herodia- 
tius. The Theatfesi of Caius "Scrlbonius and Curio, 
t<rere Amphitheatres ** Thus .Sparti anus' fays, thac ' 
i&e Theatre^ whicli. Trajan <:aur6a to be biiilt in the 
CRm|ws Mspfiius, was deftroyed '; which Paufaiu^ 

* Gicl. 8. £p. 3. Theacrum Curionis. PliA.I. 36. cap. 15. 

:•;. afTcrts 



W '. 



JntieNt City 6/ UEiLACik A. ^ji 

aiietts to be an Amphicheaup » a^dDion, m tbQ 
like Manner, ddfcribes the A mphitheairc of Julius 
Ccfatf) but will not call it by that Name. Wher^ce^ 
it is a hard Majiicf, to-know whether ihe Wrk^m 
%eak o£ a Theatre, or an Awiphithcaire, when 
dkey mention the Orcheftra, I &aU only fay> tha? 
as a Theatre ia of a longer Pate than an Amphi- 
tbeatr?, which i$ only a round {or (kuUe} 7 heatret 
^ faiscie Names u\d DiviHons are retained in tha 
Amphitheatre, as were made ufe of in the Thea* 
tres. And as among the Greciaiis, the Orcheftra, 
or Pta£ea> was ufed fometimes for Shews^ and' 
fometinxes for Dancing; they wbQ fat on the 
Benches that were Ofeareft the Platea^ were faid t9 
fit on the Orcheftra* And the very fame might bcj 
among the Ramans in their Amphkheatres, whof<i^. 
Flatea,. th^* it ferred for cruel Exercife$^ regained 
the antient Nan)e of Orcheftra^ whence thoie tba( 
fat in the Orcheftra of the Amphitheatres and 
Theatres, were to be underllood to^ fit in the Rowi 
fitxc the Platea, and the fame Eiqpllwai^iim may bn^ ' 
applied to the Imea Drms of Martial \ wherefore, \ 
inoagine Signer MaSei to be much in the Rights 
when he fays^ that the Orcheftra is that Part whicii 
we call the Platea* And I am of Opinion^ thai 
the other Gcntltemen are not in the wrong* in fay-* 
ing, that what they call fitting in the CH-cheftrat 
ffiteanc fitting on thofe Seals which were neareft tha 
Platea •, which is the fame as to fay, on the Podiuou 
I am of Opinion, that altho* in Capua and other 
Pkces, there was a Theatre and an Amphithe^re : 
That, for Shews ; and this, for Wild^beafts : Yet 
where there happened not to be an Amphitheatre, 
th^ Gladiators fought in the Orcheftra ; and thii& 
has happened among the Tufcana, and efpecialiy 
the Inhabitants of Campania, who took great De- 
light in thofe Sort of Diverfion,s. Jnafmuch as, if 
the Tufcans ; and in particular, thofe that dwelt iii 

1^ a Campania^ 



68 yf Description ^f'*^ 

Campania ; firft inftituted the Gladiators, at their 
Weddings and Fcafts, much more in their Thea- 
tres •. And, . upon confidcring, that their firft 
Time of Fighting at Rome * was when Appius 
Claudius Pulcher was ^dile % it is very proba^- 
ble that he exhibited fuch Shews at Heraclea, 
(wheFe the Tufcans had before introduced them,) 
where he was much efteemed for his famous Via 
Appia, and where the faid Infcription of him was 
found, in the Theatre. 

. Alfo, as the Cities that were near one another, 
generally had the fame Cuftoms ; I am of Opinion, 
that the Ludi GymHici were made ufe of, in the 
Theatre of Hercules ; as they were wont to be in 
Naples and Sarentum, where PoUio exhibited 
them S and named them gentile Sacrum. They 
Were common to the City of Naples % where there 
were two Sorts \ and as one of them was called Sa- 
crum ^inquennale^ it is fuppofed, that Lucius 
Annius Rufus, who built the Theatre at Heraclea, 
was Quinquennial Duumvir over thefe Wreftlers 
and other Sports; if we will not believe him to bfe^ 
Conful of the Colony, as is faid above ; for it has 
been fhewed, that they calPd themfelves Archonti 
andDemarchi. . It is certain, that at Athens thtf 
ofed to chufea Prefident of the Theatre,^ who had 
the Keeping and Maaagement of the Treafury be- 
longing to the Theatre, and was called d'lwfixwy 

.'■>•■ - » . 

* Ateneo 1. 4. Nicolo Damafceno prefio il medefimo. ^ Plin^ 
I S^ c.:6.. ^ Th^ Office of ^n Mdile was to fee that Temples, 
.HoufeSf Conduits, Streets and Highways, fhould be kept clean«i^ 
ifafe,' and in good Repair ; to make Provifion for folemn^Piays, 
Games and Funerals ; ^nd to take Care of Weights and Mea<^ 
iVires, the Price of Corn and Wholfomeneft of Vidnais. <* Sut. 
t^l^in H«rc. Surrent. * Vid.. Lafena de Gymnaf. NeappL 
^ Vide Demofiii. in Oratione de pag. 46. edit. Hervagiana Cor- 
(TfiifaS; Attic,, n^fatia 1748. 

• . » . If 



ySntient City of HER ACLE A. 69 

If my Propofal had been put in Execution •, 
which was, that they fhould begin again to dig 
from that Part which was toward the Sea, (where 
the Ground lay on a Slope) and throw the Earth 
up, on each fide : Then they might cafily have laid 
open to the Air, the Theatre and the Orcheftra : 
But they were content with making a lateral Aper- 
ture, in the Manour of Refina, and making Seeps 
to go down, they came by Degrees to the Precin- 
zione % leading diredlly to the Orcheftra, which I 
had before difcovered •, thence, by fo many covered 
Ways, made with Pick-axes in a very irregular 
Manner, it is rather rendered difficultcr than eafier 
to take a View, or Plan, of this beautiful Fabrick. 
I would not have had them pare, or take up the 
Marlple, with which the faid Precinzione was en- 
tirely covered, tho*. without Columns, or other 
Ornaments, except fome Cornifhes, up on high : 
But they did not regard what I faid, and now they 
are ufed for embcllifliing the little Garden, belong* 
ing to the King's Country Palace at Portip. 

Then it might have been eafily feen, whether 
in this, they had retained the antient Form, which 
was ufed in the Time of the Ofci, who built 
Nola ^. We fhould then have found what Vitru- 
vius tell usi concerning the Form of the Greek 
Theatres, and we fliould have been able to have 
tnderftood the Method of Balancing the Scenes. 
The Grecians had, as he fays, a large Orcheftra, 
and a fmall Stage; on the contrary, the Romans 
bad a fmall Orcheftra, and a large Stage ^ But as 
during the Time I ftayed at Naples, I could not 

* Diirifions or Partitions between the upper Seats and the 
lower ; Pr^ecinSiones ad aititudines tbeatrorum . . . neque altiores 
fUam quanta fracin£tionis itimrisfit latitnig. Vitrav. de Archie, 
lib. 5. Ct 3. . ^ Polyb.. & Demfter. de Etruc. Regal, lib. t. c 9. 
P%* 37* M Lucius in Cluver. de Regno. Dalmat. lib. 4. cap.« 
ii.pag. 191, ' c Vitrov, lib. 5. cap. 8, 

make 



5ro Jl DMBcitiprion ff ils 

make the ieaft Diicoverics, either concerning ftie 
Stage, the Podium or the Putpiium^ I am apt ter 
believe^ that the Top of the higheft Seats^ abovcs 
the laft Precinzione> or Divifioo;, were bounded by 
a pretty high Wall^ ornamented with large Cor- 
niflies^ fuch aa Albert!, (mentioned by Sig. Bocchif 
of the Tufcan Academy} is faid to have made Ufe 
of. 

And as I obfenred, that over the two great 
Doors, were placed the Brazen Chariot and Horfes \ 
So I fuppofe, that above this Cornifh, ftood the. 
feveral Statues of Marble and Brafs, which fell 
down and were broke %, and that the Orcheftra was 
paved with thofe Stones, pf which ib many were ^ 
dug up. 

As to the Ufe of paving the Theatres, you find 
an Account in Giuftus lipfius, who brought tbefe 
Iftfcriptions from Salernum K 



INSTAVRATVM. PODIVM. PAVIME^fTA 

MARMOREA 

And the other, 

T«EATRVM. STRAVIT. I^AVIMENTO 
PODIO. CIRCVMSCRIPSIT. 

I iball conclude this Chapter, with referring you 
to Vitruvius % for whatever you want to know a- 
bout the Proportion, either of the Seats or the 
Pricinzicm ; which gives a Kind of Hint of the 
Remainder of the Podium and its Ornaments, 
wkkh is not yet difcovered. 

I fhall here fubjoin, the Tranflation of an Ac- 
tQuni which was publiihed in France and England ; 

• Lib. ). dc ce aedific. Bocchi Tean^. d*Adrk. ^ Lipf. d« 
Anfhitcacr. cup, 1 1. ^ Vittwr. lib. 5. cap. 6, Gradu$ Jpti^tt^ 

mfluspeiet f^ digitis fix^ Vi4» LipC €»p. ij. 

2 the 



JntientCitytfViEKhCLEh. yt 

the Truth of which^ youMl fee by comparing It 
with the Account I hare given, ^s an Eye- 
vitnefs. 

The Tranflation runs thus : ^be Theatre* is built 
in Form of a Horfejhoe^ as all Theatres are^ in the 
Injide vf which are twenty-one Rows of SeatSy pro- ^ Cj /^ 
reeding from the fame Center^ whofe Diameter increafes 
in Proportion to the Height. This Circle terminates 
in an Ohlong Square^ which is divided into three 
Parts. The middlemoji occupies the whole Wtdtb^ 
extending from the third Step teloWj to that which is 
oppofite to it on the other Side^ and had a Front (at 
the End) of the Do tick Order ^ in which' were three 
Doors ', and herCy was the Pulpitum and Profcenium 
for the Ufe of the AEtort^ who generally had their Pro^ 
fcenium vehind the Front ; the other two Parts of this 
Oblong Square^ extended from the third Step below to 
the Circumference of the Walls or Sides of the Theatre. 

The Space which is between the Pulpitum (Stage) 
4nd the Seats^ was the Orcheftra ; they found under thje 
Stage^ a ^antity of ffood reduced to a Coal^ which 
fhewed that this Theatre was built by the Grecians ; 
/(?r, the Orcheftra^ being defigned by the Romans^ for 
the Ufe of the tefials and SenatorSy it was not necef 
fary to put up Benches and Seats ^ which were invented 
by the Athenians y to give more Roam for the Dancers. 

All the upper Part of the Stage was adorned with 
a great Deal ofWood^worky which (burnt as they were") 
retained their Form very well, whereby one may con- 
jeSlurCy that this Theatre had Machines which wefe 
common^ both to the Grecians and Romans. The for*- 
mer ufed Flyings Changing of Scenes^ and Decoratl- 
ons-j as are in ours ; and amo^ the Romans^ we have 
m 4ccotmty that an ASor^ in reprefenting the Flight 
vf Icarus ifucceeded too welly for he did it fo natural- 

« Vid, Archie, di Leoa Battifta Albert!, torn. 2/lib. 8. cap. 
7. infol. Londini 1726. ' * ' - 



^ I 



72 -^Description of the 

fyj that he aSually fell down clofe t$ the Feet of Ntro^ 
andfpattered him with his Blood. 

7ife three Galleries were raifed one above another^ 
not perpendicularly^ but fo that the lower Wall leaning 
agaimft the Seats, Jerved for" a Portico to enter the, 
Theatre. The upper Part alone was covered, being 
for the life of the Ladies. Finally, the Injide of this 
Building was incrufted or lined, with the fineft antique 
Marble, enriched with Columns and Statues, the mofi 
of which^ remain flill in their Places, and Jo well pre- 
ferved, that it would be very eafy to rejiorethem to their 
former PerfeSfion. 

Whatever Precaution is taken, in order to obferve 
the Dimetfjions, we cannot ajfure you that they are in- 
fallibly true. The Theatre cannot be feen all together^ 
but Part at a Time, becaufe in emptying one Part they 
fill another, fo that one can but fee Half at once. 

And this may fuJEGce for the Prcfcnt, as it is not 
xny Defign to defcribc all the antient Theatres, 
when fo many illuftrious Men have already hand- 
Jed that Matter; Wherefore, I fhall only add, 
that the little Statues and Columns which are 
found, appear to have been the Ornaments of the 
Podium, as defcribed by the faid Vitruvius *. Fi- 
nally, I bewail the Lofs of the Books, wrote by 
the learned Juba, King of Mauritania ; who, (as 
Atheneus reports) had compiled aHiftory of Thea- 
tres *. He lived in the Time of Auguftus, and 
therefore, 'tis very probable, that he made menti- 
on of this Theatre in Heraclea. 

* Vcdi del Tcatro Ollmpico de Palladio, Difcorfo di Gio : 
Montanari In Vincenza 1733. Bocchi Teatro di Adria. Guaz- 
Kcfi Anficeatro Aretino ; nell* Opere delP Academia dt Cortona. 
^ Athen. lib. 4. pag. 17^. in voce KA^Ttuiy -ove difcorre dei balii, 
degU Scrumenti muficali, e loro inventori. Eiichio ne cita tl'lib];o 
quarto, Vcdi TEtimologico Magno. Cqit. 7. pag. 14. 



CHAP. 



» - • 

C HA p. ly. 

Account of other Antiquities found in the Theatre. 

• • 1. - 

I SHALL now recount the feveral other qurious 
.Things, which. were found in the faid Theatre, 
in all the Month of January, 1739, viz. * 

Two beautiful Statues of Bronze, a little more 
than a Roman Palm in Height, reprefcnting Au- 

fuftus and Livia, the former gowned. and bare- 
eadcd, and the latter with her Head veiled, ha- 
ving on, a Hcad-drefs, with fmall Points or Tri- 
angles, as it were a radiated Crown. 

Two Cornucopia's above a Yard long^ hand- 
fpmely defigned, in Brafs gilt, terminating in the 
Form of an Eagle's Head, with a Hole bored thro* 
the Neck : They appeared to have been fixed to the 
Wall, and to have had a Lamp hanging down from 
that Hole. 

More Pieces of the abovementioned Horfcs, of 
Brafs gilt, larger thah Life; ' ' ' 

A large Statue of Bronze of a Woman gowned^ 
and on Foot, having only half the Head. 

Two more Statues of Women in Bronze, of 
curious Workmanfliip, but very much disfigured. 

Five Marbje Statues, Fellows to the three Bronze 
ones above-mentioned,- larger . than Life, four of 
which were gowned and qn their Pedeftals ; fome 
of them, being not broken, thereon were the folr 
lowing Infcriptions, viz. 

Under the Statue of a Conful gowned. 

» ■ - . 

(I.) 

M. NONia M. F. BALW 
PR. PRO. COS. 



b.' ■ . D.- M.^ •♦ 



' r. • 






-> 






- ^ V , "^ ^ . V \ 



*-.^ 



Under 



Under that of an old Man. 

, (z.) 

Mi NONIO. M. F, BALBO 
PATRI. 
D. D. 

4 

An old Wonian, veiled and gowned, aa&ly to 
|he Life. 

(J) 

VICIRIAE. A. F. ARCHAD * 

MATRI. B ALBI ^ ^rct»dl 

D. D. 

(4) 



CYM. MON 

. . . M. HONOR. KA 



(5) 
H. VIR. ITER, QVIN. 

Two other Statues < of Bronze larger than the 
^ife, with the following Infcriptions. 

(6.)' 

L. ANNIO. L. F. MEN, 

BV I, F. . . . . . . 

'(7) 

M. CALATORIO. L , 

MEN. RVFO. FRAT 



On other Fragments. 

"* mvn!'.-*.:!| • . . • . virV epvlon, 



In 



f 



Jhikftf Gty pf H ERA C Vt A. i^ 

tn Letters of a Cubit Length. 

IMP. T. VESPA ...... 

CAESARI. AV;.....,i 

TRiB. p. COS. I rr. M* 

^■. : M . .. . ; ; '. 



(10.) 

cardi 

SEXTILI 

(II.) 
DOMITIAE. CN. F. 

DOMITIANI. CAESARIS. 
D» D. 

(ii.) 

DIVO. IvtiO. I AVGVSTO. DIVI. F. 
AVGVSTALES | AVGVSTALES. 

A Statue of MammiUs Maxitntis, \^as known hff 
the infcription on the Pede(tal. 

L. Mammio. MAXIMQ 

AVGVSTALI 

MVNICIPES. ET. INCOLAE 

AERE. CONtATO 

Froiti all which Infcriptions^ (whicK I (hall tk.^ 
plain hereafter) is to be, imagined what curious 
Things might be found in this Theatre, (if they 
dug the Ground regularly,) where was difcovere^ 
the entire Equeftrian Statue of Balbus, mentioned 
before, and of which I fliall trekt in ift proper 
Places together with its Infcription, iA which the 

L 2 MrcolMBfi 



y6 jtVB%CRt?TtOti of tb( 

Ercolaneji mention their own Names ; which puts 
it beyond all Doubt that, there, was the antient 
City of Hercolanum, Afterwards they, found 
three beautiful Marble Bufts, one of which I per- 
ceived to be the Effigy of Domitig, whofe Infcrip- 
tion I have before fet down : The other, being of 
the fame Size, with the Countenance and Features 
of a Man advanced . in Years ; I imagine tp be 
Gneus, the Father of the faid Emprefs. 

I afterwards examined the Brazen Horfe, by me 
above defcribed, and perceived that it had been 
faftend to a triumphal Car of the fame Metal, and 
had his Harnefs and Trappings, ornameqted with 
fmall Baflb Rilievos. Then they dug up feveral 
Fragments of Brafs, and three other Marble gown- 
ed Statues ; which, tho' they were very curious 
throughout, yet their Heads and Arms were made 
of a finer Sort of Marble. I imagine, they ufcd ' 
to have in Readinefs, gowned Statues without 
Heajds, that when they had Occafion for the Statue 
of any deferving Perfon, they had no further 
Trouble, than to make the Head and put it on ». 
They often made Things fo for Beauty, and fome- 
times for want of Marble. I have feen an old 
Thigh, which .was made of three different Sorts of 
Marble. Mod of their Statues have at their Feet, 
a round Block, which many think to be a fmall 
Altar, to denote the Reverence due to fuch Perfons. 
Others fuppofe it to be a Box to put the Supplica- 
tions in, which are offered up to them, by the Po- 
pulace. 

They found a fine Baflb Rilievo, whereon was 
y^rought feveral Barbarians running away ; which 
I judged to be the Defeat of the Hebrews, by the 
Emperor ; of which there was feen before, a grand 
Infcription. Among thefc Fragments, they found 

• Notifi, clic lo fteflb accadeva i^e farcofagi, cd urnc fcli, tro- 
vandofenc inohc colia cs^ttclla fenza If^ngioBek 

' a 



Anttent City of HER ACL t A. ^f 

a fmall Statue about half a Yard high, reprefent- 
ing a naked Venus, which appeared like Venus 
de Medicis, leaning on a bearded Priapus. 

After which they difcovered three fine fluted 
Columns, made of a Kind of Com'pofition, in a 
curious Manner, but broken ; and among the Inter- 
columns were two large Tables of white Marble, 
containing the Names of above four hundred Free- 
men. The Title is wanting. After having heard 
various incredible Reports concerning thefe Things, 
I obtained the Sight of them, thro' the unfpeaka- 
able Clemency of the Queen's Majefty, whofc 
Praifes I cannot find Words fufficiently to exprefs. 

I perceived that they related to the two Tribes 
of this Place, viz. VENERIA and CONCORDIA; 
and a little lower, I obferved in fpmewhat larger 
Charaders, the word ADLEGERVNT -, under 
which were the Names of feveral renowned Per- 
fons, with a Diftindion of the different Tribes of 
the Romans ; but I Ihall refcrve this to fpeak of in 

another Place. 

/ 

C H A p. V. 

jin Account ef other Antiquities, 

IN other Accounts which I have feen, I find 
Mention made of more Statues and Buds, which 
were either found after my Departure from thence; 
or may only be other Names given to thofc which 
were found before ; but be that as it will, I will 
not beguile the Reader, of a Catalogue of them at 
lead ; which is all follows. 

The Statues of Nero, Germanicus, Claudius, and 
two Women unknown : A Marble Statue of Vefpa- 
fian, and an Atalanta^ in which is obferved th<? 

Grecian 



^8 -/^ D«scRil>*toN of the 

Grecian Method. Two other Images, fitting iti SL 
State-chair, well prefervcd. Several fmall Statues 
of Bronze, fome of which appear to have been th* 
Houfehold Gods^ or Lares of the Heracleans. An 
Image, fuppofed to be Mercury ; holding in his 
fight Hand a full Purfe, and in his left a Tortoife 
on a Diih ; which poffibly is only ail Allegory, to 
ibew that this God was the Inventor of Mufick, ag 
is very learnedly laid down by P. Paciaudi a Thea- 
tine, in a Difiertation, which he dedicated to thd 
Morris dell HofpitaU French Embaflfador at Nar 
pies, to whom his Majefty had prefented that Sta* 
tuc. They found alfo [feveral Marble Bufts ; thd 
moft remarkable among which, were thofe of Ju- 
piter Ammon^ Juno, Pallas, Ceres, Neptune, Mer- 
cury, Janus Bifrons, a little Infant, and a Youth 
with a Drop of Gold of an oval Form, hanging 
from his Neck unto his Bread:* The few Bafii 
Relievi ^hich are found, are fo trifling that they 
dre not worth fpeaking of, there being only one ojf 
any Value, which is the Reprefentation of a Sacri^ 
fice. This is what I haVe feen handed about for art 
Account of the Things found in Heraclea, aftei* 
my Departure thence; the Truth of which, I 
leave the Reader to judge, and Ihall proceed to 
inake Obfervations on what I faw *.vith my own 
Eyes. 

CHAP. VL 

Obfervations (m the abovementioed hfcripHons. 

HAVING taken notice of the Time when thtf 
Foundations of the Theatre were laid, and 
having found fo many curious Ornaments therein ; 
it feems impoflible that tirfy ihould have been all 
put tliere at the Beginning. And as there have 

been 



Jntient atyirfHEK hCLU h: 79 

been difcovered, Fragments of Things of later 
Date, efpeciaJly the grand Infcription of the Em- 
peror Titus, and that of Domitia> and other Im- 
perial Statues, as of Nero, and . Claudius, ^c, it 
neceflirily occurs to think, that from the Time of • 
its B,uildihg to its Overthrow, there were continue 
»lly new Ornaments adding to it : So that, if the 
City Heraclea was dcftroyed, together with its 
Theatre, in the Reign of the fame Titus, and yet 
there remains that Infcription ; one fhould imagine 
it was repaired, or at leaft had fome new Embellilh- 
ments in that very Year, or a little before the total 
Deftruftion ; not doubting that the Infcription be- 
longed tx> the triumphal Chariot, fuppofed to have 
been put up over one of the two great Doors, 

It is moft certain from the Authority of Seneca •; 
that the total Demolition of the City, by an Erup- 
tion of Vcfuvius, was preceded by an Earthquake 
during the Confulfhip of Regulus and Virginius j 
which threw down great Part thereof, and, as fome 
will have it, the Theatre, together with the Peo- 
ple in it, was fwaliowed' up about the Year of 
Chrift*63. 

Eufebius, Zonara and Agricola, tell us, that 
the Eruption of Vefuvius was in the firft Year of 
the Reign of Titus ; but Cedrenus and Baronius 
fay, it was in the third. Suetonius relates, that 
Titus on this Occadon, fhewed not only the Ten* 
dernefs of a Father by the Succours he gave them ; 
but alfo the Circurrtfpcftnefs of a wife Emperor, by 
the Meafurcs he took, having appointed the Goods 
of thofe who died without Heirs, to go towards 
-the rebuilding the City. 

Diony(ius and Zonara add, that when this ter^ 
rible Eruption happened, Titus fent feveral Pre- 
sents into Campania, and went himfelf to fee what 
Pamages the People had fuftained. 

* Senec. Nat. Qaeft. 1. 6. c. i. 

He 



8a A Description of fbe 

He gave the Neapolitans magnificent Sports, 
and caufed their Gymnafium to be rebuilt at his 
own Expence: Which is proved by an antient 
Greek Infcription, mentioned by Grutcrus and 
Muratori : How is it poffible that Titus fliould 
make fuch large Reparations, if the Eruption, 
which was the Occafion of it, had happened in the 
laft Year of his Reign ? Could he poffibly have had 
Time to think of it ? For at that rate there were but 

• 

eighteen Days from the Eruption, which" began 
l^ON. KAL. SEPTEMBRIS % to the Death of 
the Emperor, which happened the thirteenth of 
September. However, all doubt is cleared up by 
George Agricola % who fixes the Time of the E- 
ruptipn in the eighth Year of the Confullhip of 
Titus, which was about the firftYe^r of his Reign: 
Eufebius and Zonara arc of Opinion, that Titus 
might have Time in the Year following, to take 
all neceflary Meafures for repairing the Damages 
in Campania, as Suetonius and Dion alfo fay. By 
the Neapolitan Infcription, it may be fecn, that 
Titus rep^irfcd the Gymnafium in Jthe fecond Year 
of his Reign. Whence, it is beyond all Doubt^ 
that the Eruption happened on the 24th of Auguft, 
A. D. 79, in the firft Year of his Reign ; and ad- 
mitting that the Siege of Troy was fixty Years 
after the Building of Heraclea, according to ,the 
Alexandrian Chronicle, it follows, that this City 
was 1420 Years old. 

If on this Stone, the Year of the Confulfhip of 
Titus had remained entire, we fhould have been 
at a Certainty about it : But I perfuade myfelf that 
my Opinion is jight, fed. that after the Earth- 
quake, Titus rebuilt and embelliftied our Theatre; 
as he alfo did feveral publick Strudtures which had 
been deftroyed by Earthquakes, in diverfe Parts of 

• Plin. lib. 6. Epift. 1 6. *> Geor. Agricol. dc natur. eoruns, 
quae efHuunt in natura lib. 5. 

4 . th€ 



AnthntQity ^HERACLEA. 8r 

t&e World, and fo much thfe more in a Place fo 
near Rome, he might have ordered the Repairing 
thereof, and the chief Senators who bad Country 
Scats about thofe Parts, might have contributed a 
ooe of which might be tjaie. Nonius Balbus^ of 
whom we (hall fpeak hereafter. 

In fiAc, the Theatre, as Xipbitimis reports ^^tvilhtdi 
with the People In it, but we have found neithet 
their Corpfes nor Skeletons, therefore it muft havi 
been ^thrown down firft by the Earthquake, and 
their Bodies taken away, and the Thcatte after* 
wards rebuilt in the Time of Titus, to whofe'Mc* 
inory, was put up the above nnentioned I»fcripttort 
on a gilt Cdkiflus, which was then the T^eof the 
Time } for the gilt Equidftrian Caloflfus of Domi« 
tian * ftobd in the Midft ot the Roniah: Forum^ ' 
which was afterwards aboltfhed by the Senate : 
Ukewife the Statues of the Forum of Trajan, de« 
icrtbed by Gdlius. 

. This I take to be the Occafion of thofc two large 
Marble Tabks, containing fi> many Names of the 
Uberti or Freedmen : It fignified nothing rebuild- 
ing the City and the Theatre, if the Lo(5 of Citi* 
zens was not made up : Thence it comes that you 
fee on the above Tables, the Names of fo many 
Uberti adftripti of the two Tribes VENERIA, and 
CONCORIMA, and the Names of the furviving 
Decurioncs who paffed the folemn Decree, AD* 
LEGERVNT. Certain it is, that feveral Colo- 
nies being made defolate by this Calamity, fought 
for new Inhabitants, which bfcing fent them, were 
called AdleSi and MjunSu Livy ^ gives it us thus : 
Poftulantibus AquiUjenfium Legatis^ ut numerum Co- 
Un9nm Senatus aUgeret, mitle ^ingenta familU ex 
8. C. fcript^y ^riumviriquey qui eas deducerent mijji 
funt T. Annius Lufcus^ P. Decius Subulo^ M, Orne- 

• Stazio. Nardin. Roxn. Antic. Reg. 8. del Foro Romano. 
^ Lib. 34. c 17. 

M lius 



6i J[ Descrift ion of the 

Hus Cetbegus. But as I neither have Time, nor ii^ 
it convenient for me to re-copy this Infcription, I 
hope that thofe, who at prefent have the Superin- 
tendency there, will obtain Leave from his Majefty 
to participate it to the Learned, that are defirous 
of it. 

As to the other brafs Statues, whether of Men; 
or Women (which by ignorant Interpreters have 
been thought to be Veftals, not to/ mention the 
many other Abfurdities which have been publifli- 
cd) : They reprefent the Gods Confenti^ which, ac- 
cording to Panvinius*s Opinion, were put up in 
the Place where the Shews were prefented. Don 
Matteo Egizio, who was then at Paris, wrote to 
me to defire I would feek for the Statue of the fa- 
■ mousVeftal Claudia ;I made a diligent Search, fup- 
pofing, that, as we had found Memorials of Clau- 
dius, and of Nero, there might alfo be a Statue of 
her, out of Refpeft to the Family; but I could not 
■find the lead Sign of any fuch Thing having been. 
Therefore I conclude thefe brafs Statues; to be the 
Dei Confenti, or Houfehold Gods: Hos (Penattfs) 
Confentes^ fcf Complices Etrufci aiunt^ & nominant 
quod una oriantur^ 6f una occidant^ fex mares j €<? io- 
tidem feeminas nominibus ignotis^ fisf miferationis par- 
ciffima^ fed eos fummi Jovis conJiUarios^ ac principes 
txijiimari ". Monf. Redi thinks that the Dei Ade- 
rcnti Calatini, were the Dei Confenti (fo called by 
Antonomafia,) whofe Statues were put up in the 
publick Forum in Rome, in Athens, and in al- 
moft all the Grecian and Latin Cities that were of 
any Repute **, and were calleiJ, 

^ Girald. Syntagm. 15. pag. 422. ^ Accad. di Cortonat. 
a. fopra Dei Aderent. Vid. M. Arnaud. fopra i Dei Pareditcap. 
20. Scruvio lib. i. Rycq. de Capitol, cap. 39. YqSSlo lib. 1. 14* 
SalmaiiOf {*fr. 

The 



jintient Gfy of HER ACLEA^ 83 

The Twelve 

The Great 

The Confiliary } Gods. 

The Genial 

• > 

Proceeding to confider the other Statues and 
Infcriptions found iVi tjie Theatre, I recolleft, that 
befides thofe of the Emperors ; (in Honour of 
whom 'tis no wonder that there Ihould be Statues 
put up :) There is particular .Mention made of the 
two private Families, viz. the Annian, 'aitd fhc 
Nonian. .'. ' 

. One of the Atiriian Family, /. e. Lucius Annius 
Mammianus Rufus, built the Theatre, at his own 
Expence, as we mentioned, in the 4th Chapter, I 
ihall only add,, that poffibly, one of the gowned 
Statues that were found niight belong to him. It 
isobiervable that the Arinian Family, tho' but^f^ 
private one, was as much preferred to Honours as 
the hundred Families that weit chofen out by Ro- 
mulus, for Patricians *. It produced Confuls, and 
High Priefts, and at laft arrived at the Empire, in 
the Perfons of M. AUrelius Verus, Lucius Verus„ 
Lucius Elius Cefar, Pefcennius, Tacitus, and Flo- 
rianus ; but Petavius fays, that about the Time we 
are treating of, which is the Year after the De* 
ftrudtion of Heradea, being the Year of our Lord 
81, and of Rome 834, Marcus Annius Verus PoU 
lio^ and Marcus Plautius Syhanus^ were Confuls, 
who, by Signor Muratori, are called ^ Tiius Annius 
Verus Folli»^ and $£xtus Annius Sylvanus. Btit I do 
not intend in this Place, t6 decidie that Queftion^. 

Ten Years before, Lucius Annius Baffus, was 
Conful with Caius Cccina Petus, (poffibly in ftrift 

» Pitifco Voc. Genf. Uriiilo, c Fatinb Fam.Rom. Valliantde 
Fam. Rom. pag. 1 1 3. Glandprp. Onomaftico. ^ Ai ft^Icdio* 
barbaift nQV?s Editioms in Tito. 

M 2 Conjunftion 



-^.^ 



84 .'-4. I>B«CRrf TioN tf i%^ 

Conjunftion with oyr Lucius Aooius> End Aoniut 
Rujfus,) when the Tribus Suceuffitmd erc^d a Monu- 
ment to the Emperor Vefpafiin. 

PACt AETERNAE 

DOMVS 

IMP. VESPASIANI 

• CAESARIS. AVG. 

tlBERORVMQ^ ElVS 

SACRVM 
TRIB. SVC. IVNtOR. 

In one Comer of the Marble. . 

DEDIC. XV. DEC. 

L. ANNIO. BASSOV iY\ge « 
.0. CAECINA. PAETO; '^^' 

This was in the Year of Rome 824, and of our 
Lord Chrift 71 j and. finally, in the Year of Rome 

£53, and of Chnft 20 r, I found another Conful 
,. Annius Fabianus, 

' TROPHIMO 

LIB. 

FABIANVS 
' . . COS. * 

■ 

But the Infcriptions of that Family, which W€ 
luivejn the Theatre of Hcracka, menrion alfo the 
Menenian Tribe, which being repeated in the fame^ 
I imugine to have been peculiar to that Colony. 

■ Lv ANNIO. L. F. MEN. 
BVI • . 

Which beloi^gSrto a Son of the Duumvii* Anni*' 
us Rufus, and the following to his Brother 

M. CALATORIO ...... 

MEN. RVifO. FRAT .... 



* 



• Grutwo pag. 239. 3. \ Grutcro pag. 855. to. 



Antient City 9/ HfiR ACLE A. 8j 

. I think it would be (iiperfloous» to fay any T)iin( 
4Df this Tribe, it being fo well known ; and ihai 
only mention that the word CALATORIO is en- 
tirely new to me, and if it is only a Name and not 
an Ofike, it is derived from the Fundiion of Pre- 
iident over the Theatres and Shews. For the Ca- 
latores were the Minifters that proclaimed the Holy 
Days» and Meetings to the Tribes: And probably 
thefe were in that Office, in the Menenian Tribe. 
As to the Nonian Family, we are to take Notice 
of this Marcus Nonius Balbus, of whom (we told 
you before,) there was found a gowned Staijie witk 
this Infcription. 

M. NONIO. BALBO 
?R. PRO. COS 

Atfo the other fine Equeftrian Statue of Marble^ 
In the Court-yard of the Royal Villa of Portici ; 
the Infcription on which, plainly Ihews that it wai 
raifed by the Heracle^ns. Of this Statue, an over 
hafty Account was tranfmitted to his^cellency 
the Cardinal Quirino, as follows : // i> notyetfoimi 
mU who ibis (Nonius) was : Tie P. R. none boi 
bithertQ underfiood^ &c. Then follows ; // is tb$ 
moft beautiful Statue this Day in the World ; far better 
tban that of Antminus in tbe Capitol, as it is more 
antique^ and wrougbt by a better Artifi : An Aflcrti* 
on, which required a more mature Confideration,. 

The Infcription, which was fent to roc, corre- 
fponds with that mentioned before* 

M. NONIO. M. F, 

BALBO 

PR. FRO. COB, 

HERCVLANENSES, 

I ihall leave it to the Learned to determine which 
of thefe Interpretations of the P. R. is right, viai. 
PV8I4CAE. REI, or PRIVATAE; REI, or 

PHIN-. 



86 A Description tf ^e 

PRINCIPIS. RATIONIS, or PATRIMONII, 
RATIONIS. Goltzius has it thus • PR. PROCOS. 

PrafeSus Proconfulis^ and repeats it again Page 105 
but his Explanation thereof does not pleafe me, 
wherefore I fliall call it fimply Pratori ProcanfuU. 
J (ball only fay, that as the Heracleans were wont 
to ered Statues to their Benefadors, (as is proved 
by that Infcription which I quoted, when I was 
treating of the City Hcraclea,) doubtlefs their Ob- 
ligations muft be very great to Nonius Balbus, to 
whom they not only raifed up duplicate Statues, 
but alfo to his Parents. 

He was renowned for the Offices he feirvcd in, 
viz. the PrastQrfhip ^nd Prooonfulfliip. P. Paci- 
;iudi the Theatine c^IIs him alfo Quintus, , thus, 
^be Statue of Siuintus Nonius ** Proctmjul of the whole 
Province^ which I believe extends it/elf ^ from Hera- 
xlea to the Promontory of Minerva^ now called Majfa 
'Xabrenfe. But they that are initiated in the Roman 
tiiftory, know very well,' that Marcus Nonius Bal- 
bus could not be ' Proconful of that Place^ becdufe in 
Italy there were no other Provinces than thofe of Sicily ^ 
"Sardinia^ and Corjica. He is alfo doubtful whether 
he might be Prcfedor of thefe Places, as we have 
feen, that Heraclea, though it was a Colony, yet 
lived under" its own proper Laws -, and the Prefec- 
torlhips "- Magijiratus fuos non habebant. 
■' The Nonian Family, tho* of fo much 'Note, is 
thought to have been hitherto Plebeian, Dion 
gives an Account of pne Nonius Balbus Tribune of 
the People in the' Time, of Caius Cefar, and Mar- 
cus Antonius *,. We find in 4hc Medals, com- 
monly called Confular, Sextus Nonius SufFena, 
who was Pretor^ and inftitutcd the Ludi Votivi • 
Whence none can prove that our Marcus Nonius 

' * Theft Rei. Antiq. p. 191. * Nov. letter, di Fir. col. 
ao6. ann. 17-J8. « Vid. Pad. Manut. 4e Civitatc Rom. 
i Dio dc Origio, lib. 50. p. ^ 19. 

5 Balbus 



jntiinf City of hekaclu a: if 

Balbus was not Prefor : Sextus Nonius was alfa 
Confu), in the Year 761, with Marcus Furiu* 
Camillus, according to ^intitian% and Orfinus^ 
Patinusj Morellu and Glandorpius make mention 
of that Family. 

As to the Surname Balbus, it was derived from 
an Impediment in the Speech * a balando potiusquam 
loquendo^ which was corhmon both to the Acci or 
Azi, to the Lucili, and the Oftavi ** : And this 
makes me think there is a Miftake in the Infcripti^ 
on mentioned by Grutertis, concerning one Balbus 
of the fame Tribe. 

• 

* C. CATIO. C. F. MEN. BALBO ic. 

Which ought to be Caio Atio. The Name of 
Balbus therefore being given to the noble Family 
of the Caii as well as others, and as this Family 
was divided into many other Branches of the Com- 
.monalty, taking the Surnames of Coffin Scipiones^ 
Afmiy Calvij Nqficiy Rufiniy DolabeUi^ Ceteghi^ and 
many others : Who knows whether this Nonius 
Balbus was not, either born of this noble Family, 
or at Icaft of fome Branch thereof ? I have read irr 
Sig. Mazzocchi, (the Glory of Naples, and of th^ 
Tufcan Academy at Cortona «*,) an antique Infcrip- 
tion at Capua, viz. 

L. CORNELIO L 

BALBO. COS. PATR 

D. D 

The Capuans dedicated a Statue to L. Balbus 
their Patron, fcil. to Cornelius Balbus the Greater, 
who was one of the XX. that introduced the Cam- 
. panian Colony, according to the Tenor of the Ju- 
lian Law, /. e. that Friend of Cefar, who was Wit- 

* Ifidoro lib. X. ^ Sigon. de nomin. Roman. Patino Fam. 
'Rom. in Ada. Thefau. Antiq. Rom. Gra^ii. t. XI. p. ^67. 
Urfatus denotis Roman. ^ Grucer. p. 955. 10. ^ X>e 

AmphiU&eatro Campano cap. i. pag. xS. 

nefs 



89 ji DnBttLifTion dfth 

nefs of the Orange Portent mentioned by Suetortus^ 
thuSi • tahula ^nea in manumetu^^ in qm diahatuf 
CafySy €oniit^ Urhis Capus^ fepultus^ immia efi^ 
confcripta Uteris^ verbifqui Gracis hoc font en fia «' qmn* 
doque oja Capys deUiia ejfent^ fore ut Julio progn^-. 
iusp manu amfanguineorum necaretur^ J^c. In the 
iame Suetonius yoy will read ^» Atia (mater. Jt^if/Hy 
jM. Jitio Balbo^ & Julia for on Caii Cefiirisgenita^., 
Balbus paterna ftirpe Aricinus^ muhis in famHia Se^ 
naSoriis imaginikusj a matre Magnum Pompeium arUifo 
Jimo coniingebat gradu : funSufque honor e Pr^ura in^ 
ter XXy Viros agrum Campanum plebi lege Julia drtd^ 
Jit ; Whence, cither two Balbi, the one of t^e Cor- 
nelian, and the other of the Atian Family, were 
iimong the Founders of the Colony of Capua, ot 
elfe Cornelius Balbus was Witnefs of the finding 
the Bones of Capys, and not one of the XX MagM 
ftrates, as is better explained in the Hiftory of the 
Canipanian : Amphi theatre. 

Now whether our Balbus was any Relation of 
the faid Cornelii and Atii, or not, 'tis certain that as 

ie was Prctor *, he was of noble Extradtion : And 
\ is to be inferred from thefe Statues, that the 
Ionian Family was not, as is believed, always 
Plebeian*, and that Balbus rebuilt the Theatre, and 
was a great Benefaijlor to this People. 

It rcinains to inquire how the Buft and Infcripti* 
on ofDomitia, came to be put up. I imagine that 
the Heracleans ereded the Statues of Domitian and 
Domitia, as well as thofe of Auguftus, Livia^ and 
Other Enroerors, and the Infcription of Titus the 
Brother of that Domitian. That Infcription, gives 
OS all the Names of the Father of Domitia Longina; 
Wife of the Emperor Domitian, foil. Gneus Do- 
mitius Corbulo ; which Domitia, as is well knowiif 

t 

* Sn^toa. in C«f. c. * i . ^ Stteton. in Aug. c. 4. • NemQ 
, Imtor fuit, niii ex nobilittte* 

was 



jintiefitCiiycf HER ACLU A. 89. 

%as firft betrothed to • Elius Lamia Emilianus, who 
was afterwards killed. She, notwithftanding the 
Adultery with Paris the Comoedian, was received 
t^iln by the Emperor, tho' ftie had been divorced. 

From whence it may be inferred that, if the final 
Deftruftion of Heraclca happened in the Time of 
Titusi this Infcription was erefted about the fame 
Time, But Domitian was feven times Conful be- 
fore he came to the Enipire ; the feventh Time, 
was in the Year of Rome 833, andoFChrift 8o» 
together with his Brother Titus j and a little While 
ifcerwards, he had a Son by the aforementioned Do- 
mitia *. tdiifus. Septembris^ bienniOy Csf menfibus duobus 
& diebus, viginti poftquam in Imperio patri fucctjferat. 
In which Year the Eruption happened, which was 
the firft Year of the Reign of Titus. Neither is it 
probable, that the Heracleans lliould ereft a Statue 
and Infcription to Domitiaj unlefs at/ the Time 
when Domitian, together with his Brother Titus, 
were Confuls ; and on Account, that ihe was big 
with Child of an Heir Apparent to the Family of 
th<i FlaVii S 

Thus much will fuffice, with refpeft to the ^ 
Theatre of Heraclca ; I (hall only fay, that the cu- *^ 
nous and antique Columns which were found there, 
(part of which are to be feen at the King's Villa 
at Portici, and part of them were carried to the 
Cathedral at Naples) belonged to the Porch behind 
the Stage * : Poji fcenam (fays Vitruvius) porticui 
Junt conjiituend^y uH cum imbres repentini ludos inter* 
pellaverint^ babsat populus quo Je recipiat ex l^heatro^ 
Cboragia^ue laxamentumbabeant ad chorum parandum *. 
Now I Ihall return to the Defcription of the remain- 
ing Curiofities that were found in my Time. 

* Tacit. Anna]* 1. 3. Sueton. in Domidan. c. x. & 3. XiDbi- 
Imo 66. p. 746. " Ridolfino Venuti mio fratello ne'Medag* 
lioni Vatican!. « Vid. Eutrop. in Vita Titi. •* Vitruv. 

lib. 5. ^P-9* * GallutiusJe Tragprdia cap. 7. 

N CHAP.- 



9<> '4 Dsscir^Tii^ir ^ <&^ 



CHAR vn. 

0/ /i&6 'Temples and Paintings found mar the Tbealrk 

iff Heraclia. , 

IT is a Thing not doubted among the Learned, 
that the Antients had Temples near the Thea- 
tres, cfpecially thofe that were raifed to Hercules, 
cr Bacchus ; and it is alfo certain that in the very 
Theatres themfclves, they had Altars and little. 
Temples. The Sacrifices preceded the Games, 
And the Games had a Correfpondence with the fcc- 
riical Reprefentations, efpecially m the Country of 
the Ofci, where the Ofcian Gaifies, and the Fai- 
bulas Atellanae were invented, and whofc Language 
always remained on the Roman Stage •. Cicero 
mentions thefe Fabulae Atellanas to have been ufed 
by Pompey, at the Dedication of his Theatre. 
The abovefaid little Statues of Venus, Auguftus, 
and Livia, intimate the Truth of the Exiftence of 
fuch Temples in the Theatre. Neither is it in the 
leaft to be wondered at, that there (hould be none 
of the Fragments of thefe Temples remaining, as- 
they were made of a Compofition •, with the Image, 
of that God or Emperor * in Honour of whom the 
Plays were given. 

As to the above Statue of Venus, (he feems to 
have prefided over the Ofcian Comedies ; and not 
<ieferving the Name of Anadiomcne; given her by 
Father Paciaudi ' a Theatin'e. For Anadiomene, 
was the Pifturc d6ne by'Apelles*, which repre- 
fcnted Venus that fprung from the Froth of the 
Sea, as Homer fays of Thetis • ^3/ ivsiicaro nvfAn. 
♦aXaVo-n;. And, that they ufed to offer Sacrifices 

* Strabo. V(^. de permutatione literarum. Gc. lib. 7. epift.. 
I. ad Familiar. ^ Baonarrot. Medaglion. in Settimio Serero. 
«* Novella Letterar. Fiorcn. 1748. • Plin. lib. 35. cap. 10. 
• Omer. Iliad. «. vcrf. 496. 



Aniient City of UEKhCL'E A. 9k 

to their deified Emperors, may be feen by the si- 
bovefaid Infcriptions, wherein are mentioned the 
Priefts of Ccfar and Auguftus. . But I cannot dif- 
tover, whether aH the large Columns which were 
found, belonged to the Theatre, or to the neigh- 
bouring Temples 5 by Reafon of the diforderly 
Manner of clearing the Ground ; for, what Earth 
they take off of a frelh Place, they throw inta 
what was laid open before. I know very well that 
thofc Columns of Roffe antique, (two of which were 
put up in the Cathedral at ^Japlcs, and others wrt-c 
cut into Ornamcnta for the Royal Palace,) might 
belong to the Profcoenium ; and moreover, they 
ufed to fet up Columns in the Theatres, for Orna'- 
xnents at their 'Solemnities. So we read in Pliny V 
that three hundred and fixty Columns of precious 
Marble were fent by Scaurus as a temporal Orna- 
ment of the Stage, in the Time of his iEdilelhip ; 
and in Sparzianus we find, that in the Time of the 
Circenfes, they ufed to put up Vicftories made of a 
Kind of Compofition, one of ^hich had her Shield 
ftruck out of her Hand- by Lightning, 

But befides the Difcoveries (mentioned above,) 
.made by the Prince d'Elbeuf, of a Temple fup* 
pofed to be Bacchus*s,« whofe Tomb, they imagined 
they had found -, certain it is that I perceived the 
Temple of Hercules, near our Theatre. Confe- 
quently itappears, that fome of the abovemcntioned 
Columns fupported the Porch of this Temple, gnd 
that fome of the moft beautiful of them, adorned 
the. Infide, and being intermixed with the Paint-t 
ings, formed an Arch over the Altar, 

I do not in the lead doubt, that the Statue of 
Hercules, the Founder of Heraclea ; which was of 
Bronze, a little fmaller than Life, and of a curious 
Workmanftiip, might have ftood at Top thereof ^ 
Wthin it,, lay fcattered, all Sorts of Implenflentt^ 

• *. ^.aj. 3$.. caj). 35. -^ Vid. Vkruv. IS), i. cap. 7.' 

N 2 ufed 



fZ vf Description ^/IS^ 

ufed at Sacrifices, fucl^ as Cups, fprinkling 6afoos». 
diiSefting Knives, and Veflels of feveral Sorts, with 
Handles ornamented with whin^fical Bafli Hclievi, 
the Defcription of which would be too tedious for 
the Reader ; and if I am not miftaken, the moft 
beautiful of them, will be feen in the large Ac- 
count, which will foon be publifhed. 

But what gave me the moft Satisfaftipn was a 
fquare Table of white Marble, fupported by three 
Feet of Animals, made of the fame Marble, ad- 
mirably formed.- It was entirely plain, without any 
Ornaments, faving in the Middle, I perceive^ 
fome unknown Chara^ers, which I imagined to be 
either Ofcian or Tufcan ; for 1 believe there is very 
little Difference between them, (and fo much the 
more, as the celebrated Signor Mazzochi, a par- 
ticular Acquaintance of mine, haying ih his J:^of- 
(eflion an antient Infcription in thefe Charaftcrs, is 
in doubt, whether to call them Ofcian or Tufcan ; 
and the Word Merkedonium^ fignifying among the 
Romans the Mevjis inter calaris % was a Tufcan word.) 
But on obferving this Table a little more narrowly, 
I perceived with Admiration., that there was Writ- 
ing round the Edge of it alfo: The Words of th^ 
Infcriptions are as follows. 

In the Middle of the Tabic, 

Round the Edge of the Table, 

^30%van-hnMi>iva"KiH3TNTv\3a 

Which Charaftcrs certainly denote feme folemn 
myfterious Form among the Sacrifices, inftituted 
by Hercules himfelf j firft found out by the Ofci, 

* An additlpiud Month which lyippe&^d cTcry fecQiid Year. 

and 



Jntient City of flER ACI.E A, 93 

Und afterwards rcligioufly prcfcrvcd by the Romans 
in this Place, both for the Theatre and the Temple 
confecrated to Bacchus and to Hercuks. As Bac* 
chus • was the Inventor of Stages and Theatres, at 
whofe Altar they ufed to hang up Mafks, of which 
we have found a great many made of Marble ; the 
Comedies were reckoned facred among the Tuf- 
cans ; for, in the Year 389, the A6tors were fcnt 
for from Tufcany to Rome, to appeafe the Gods 
on Account of a great Plague which then raged : 
And Polybius, (an antient Writer who lived at the 
Time of the fecx>nd Carthaginian War) treating of 
Campania Foelix \^here the Tufcan Colonics were, 
frequently mentions the Theatre. 1[*here are not 
wanting,' Accounts of the Theatres of Capua, Min- 
turnum, Atella, Pozzuoli and Naples, and feveral 
others in the Country round about ; wherefore 'tis 
not to be wondered that there fliould be found in 
this Place, a folemn Tulcan4nfcription. 

In that Infer ipt ion, I obferve the Charafters are 
like thofe in the Medals of Capua : I took notice 
pf the 3, which is taken for a V confonant in the 
Tab^le of Gubbius, which begins PVRTVVITV, 
the Letter y is to be found in Rbdbetius's Celtan 
Alphabet ; and by Bourguett 'tis taken for a T» 
f nd finally, the Marquis MafFei thinks the Letter 
N to be an A, alfo the fl, which fignifics a Latin 
P in thofe Medals, and all the others, agreeable to 
the Alphabet publifhed by the Tufcan Academy 
at Cortona. 

But let us proceed to the famous Paintings. 
This ' Temple confided of one large Room, (the 
Top being demolilhed) and being now filled up 
with Earth, whofe Walls were painted in feveral 
places, with Light and Shade, Red and Yellow, 
and I alfo obferved the Minium fpokcn of by Vi- 

i| A^Gid. Etraf9. topi. 2^ Qifiert. 4. 



9gf 'A Dm sciiipr toN cf tbe . 

truvius : In the Midft of which there were painicti 

feveral Squares, with fighting Wild Beafts ; fome 

Tygers dreifed up in Vine^ranches ; IbmeMedufas, 

-and fome Heads of Fauns. In the Middle wasii 

winged Mercury with an Infant in his Arms, and 

a Woman fitting, and holding the faid Mercury by 

the Hand ; which appears to be Bacchus carried tb 

Kurfe. Moreover, thwe were Paintings of JLand- 

^capes, fi6titious and real Animals, (and particu* 

Jarly, beautiful Peacocks,) Archite£lure, &atue9. 

Sacrifices, Houfes, and other Buildings, very well 

done in ProfpoAive, which Art was believed by 

£)ur modern Artifts, to have been unknown to the 

Antients. But I am certain, that Profpeftive, tho* 

-not extreamly well underftood, (as Buonarotti * is 

-of Opinion ; who, in his Rales, gives the Glory df 

the Invention to Peter della Francefca, a Tufcan, 

from the Town of the Holy Sepulchre) yet was 

known and alfo nraSdftd by them. That Science is 

called Optice^ but it had not that Name in Latin, 

for Vitruvius called it mmfure * ^nd Pliny * fpeak- 

i,ng of Apelles ; Nm cedebat Ampbioni de dijpofitione^ 

uifdepicidoro de mnfyris^ bcc efty fiumtum quid a fua 

^ftare iehret. I'lutarch, Vitruvius, and Suidaa 

afilire us, that Agatarcus of Samos, who fiourifhed 

at Athens about the fcventy-^fifth Olympiad, had, 

(to oblige Efcfailes) defigned the Decorations of the 

Theatre, entirely after the Rules of Profpedive, of 

which he alfo compofed a Treatife. There was ^ 

City in Lydia, famous for the Temple of Viftory^, 

and the pretended Prodigies, which were faid ^o 

have happened before the Battle of Pharfalia ; whoit 

Theatre nad been embelliftied by the Painter Apa- 

turius, after the fame Rules; Leonard de Vinci, 

who has treated upon it, has not better explained 

its Eflfeft, than Plato, in his Dialogue on Sophiftrjf^ 

t Buonarrot. Mcdaglion. pag. 255. 256. * Vitruv. lib. 1. 
cap. 1 . k lib. ^. cap. 2« * P)iD.,li^. 35. c%p. lO. at: lib 34. cap. & 

. ' and 



Md Socrates in his tenth Book on the Common'' 
wealth. 

But what aftaally exceeded all Expeftation was 
mo large Hiftory Pieces, which I imagine were 
round die Bottom of the Temple. For having 
gone over all the Paintings on the Wall, arid found 
feme Pieces of broken Columns, they obferved the 
Wall to flope in, as it were two Nitches, where 
they found beautiful Figures of the natural Size, 
with the Colours frefli and lively, and marveloufly 
difpofed. In the ikft was Thefeus naked, with a 
Club in his Hand, a Ring on his Finger, and a 
red Mantle hanging over one of his Shoulders. Be- 
tween bis Legs lay the Minotaur naked, with a 
human Body and a Builds Head, fo that you fee his 
Head entire, and the Remainder of his( Body lies, as 
it were backwards, veiy prettily defigned. Near 
this Heroe, ftand, three -Grecian Children, one of 
which embraces his left Knee, one kiffes his right 
Biand, and the other embraces, gently, his left 
Arm<;. and one of the Virgins (which I take to be 
Ariadne) modcftly touches his Club.- There isalfo 
to.be feen another Figure in the Air, denoting a 
Viftory ; likewife there appears the Winding of the 
Walls of the Labyrinth. , 

. The fecond, like the firff, is compofed of feve- 
ral Figures, of the fame Size as the Life, which 
fpemed as though lately painted. There is a 
Woman crowned with Flowers and Herbs, fitting, , 
and holding in her Hand an Iron-coloured Staff. ' 
On the left Side is a large Baflcet of Grapes^ Pome- 
granates, and other Fruits. Near thereto, is a 
young Faun playing on a Pipe made of feven- 
Reeds ; facing the Woman, fits a naked old Man, 
with a ftiort black Beard, having a Bow, a Quiver 
ftiU of Arrows, and a Club ;, behind him is an- 
other Woman crowned with Ears of Corn, at 

whofe Feet is a Hiqc^ fucjcling a little Boy. In 

5 the 



^6 A I^BseitipfioN bf ihi 

the Middle of the PiiSurc is an Eagle faintly tt* 
prcffcd, and in the famc^Line a Lyon very lively^ 
ID a pacifick Pofture \ 

The Figures of the Man, and the other Deiticsi 
together with the Infant fuckled by^ the Hind^ 
made me imagine it to reprefent, the Hiftory of 
the finding of Telefus, who was born of Auge, the 
Daughter of King Aleus^ being deflowered by 
Hercules in Tegea. This Auge, being brought 
to Bed of a Boy, hid it in. the Temple of Minerva^ 
but it was found by Aleus, who caufed it to be 
cxpofcd on the Mount Parthenius, where it was 
xpiraculoufly fuckled by a Hind, and being found 
by Coritus and his Hufbandmen, was by them 
named Telefus, and was brought up among them^ 
till having an Inclination to find out his Father, he 
went into Myfia where being adopted by King. 
Tcutans ; himfclf afterwards became King of My*, 
fia^ - 

Such was my Conje<Sture, thinking it impoffible 
to be done for the Repofe of Hercules, as the Mail 
herein painted, with his Club, and Arrows, be- 
fides having a black Beard, is^not fo robuft as 
Hercules is generally reprefented ; whofe Statues 
throughout all Greece and Rome, are always alike s 
And from the Quiver I imagine it to be Coritus, 
ahd that thofe Women are only the Nymphs of 
Mount Parthenius, and the wild Beads are making 
their Court to the new-born Babe. If I am mifta- 
kcn herein, let the Learned judge, 
; To return to the Pifture of Thefeus, The PdRure 
of the Minotaur brings into my Head the Inven- 
tion of Paufias Sicionius, of whom Pliny fays thusi 

/^ Le notizie dello fcoprimento di tali Pittare farono da me 
date al Signor abate Ridolfino mio fratello, ed egli le commnni- 
CO al celcbre Signor Gori in Firenze, 11 quale Ic fecc inferire 
nellc Nofvelle Letterarie alle colonnc 42. c 128. nel. 1740. 
^ Apollod. Biblioih. lib, 2. cap. 7. J. 4. U Hb. 3. cap. 9. 

1 — * It 



Jntient City of HEKACLE A,. 97. 

Is earn pi^uram primus invenit^ quam poftea imitaH 
Sunt mtdti^ * ^quafott nem0. Jnte omnia cum longitu* 
dinem bovis dftendere vellet^ adverfum eum pinxi$^. mn 
tranfoerfum^ unde & abunde intelligitur amplitudo. 
This Monfter has a Head like an Ox, and the reft 
of his Body human, as Apoilodorus fays % i£rr 
autem (^sSi^hsJi) peperit Jfterium^ qui Minotaurus 
diffus eft : hie babebat faciem taurinam^ reliqua bu-- 
mana. Which agrees with a Sardonian Stone in the 
Mufseum of the Emprefs Queen of Hungary, men* 
tioned by fiaron Stofch in his curious Book upon 
antique Jewels, which have the Names of the Ar^ 
tificers cut in them * ; where you fee a Rockj with 
Part of a Building of fquare Stones upon it & thro' 
the Gate of which, you fee the Monfter with a 
Bull's Head, lying dead; the. Building reprefents 
the Labyrinth, in whieh the Minotaur was fhutup 
by King Minos. There is alfo a Youth full of 
Wonder, with his Face in Profile, holding in his 
Hand a Club, and reprefents Thefeus the Son of 
Egeus and Oetra. Which Explication the Baron 
aflerts; that he received from Signor D.. Emanuel- 
Martin, a Spaniard, Dean of the Church of All* 
cant, and a very great Antiquary. 
' From all which I gather, either^ that the Figure! 
with Oxcs Bodies and Human Faces, (which are 
on all the Medals of Napl^ and Cuma) are not; 
Minotaurs as the Antiquarys have hitherto ima-- 
gined ; but reprefent the God Ebone, or elfe tb^^ 
Reprefentations of the Antiquities do not alwayt 
agree with the Accounts of the Mythologifts. Our 
Thefeus is painted very robuft, wi^h his Face to- 
wards the Beholders ; and he is without a Beard^ 

• 

* ApoUod. Biblioth^ lib. 3. cap. i. S* 4* ^ Tab. $1. Gar- 
dinii Alexander Albani has a Piece of Marble five Pabns bigb^ . 
on wbicb is wroaght, young Thefeus holding the Minotaur (who 
has a Buirs Head and Human Body) by one Horn^ and beating 
bim with bis Club. 

6 contrary 



9^ JfDESCRiPTio» (f the 

CQXiifziy to tl)e Opinion of Luctan % who fays, ikat 
Thefeus, the Son of Neptune, tho' Kipg of Atheos, 
went with a long Beard, and his Feet bare ; be has 
his Clqb ihouMered on bis left Side, of an Iron* 
colour, which is different from Hcrcules*s, which 
was nude of an Olive Branch, being what he took 
from Perifeta, the Son of Vulcan and Anticlea ; 
of whom Plutarch \ At Primum mfinibusEfidauri 
£e$sipbMm^ qui- pro - armis clava la^alur^ apprdHU- 
deidem ipfum^ Csf vetantcm prcgredi, congreffus cum 
e» ufUr fecit y abkSatus clava^ cepit earn pro armis j 
qm dtinde eft ufus. And ApoUoUorus above-citpd % 
JPrimumquidem Per ipbis tern Vulcanic fef Anticlea fir 
Rum^ qui clavam gefeant^ Coryneta dicebatur^ ad 
Epi{kurum occidit^ qui cum imbuillibus ptdibus- eJjSu^ 
firrea clava mtfnitusj viatores inierficiebat : quam e» 
^ifiprareptam Thefeus ipfeferre con/uevit. 

C H A P. VIII. 

0{her Obfervations on^ and Dejcriptions of^ the faid 
• -- * * Paintings. 

AS fopn. ^s.ey^f thefc/ Painting^. wer€ ^ifcoy^rfd, 
'^ his M^fty ordered that they Ihould be caje- 
§llly peeled off frpnx the Wall$, and carried tQ hi% 
Cp^tcy Palaqe.. Fpr, he takes a great. Delight in 
IJefigniiig, aod having wrought himfelf, fcv^ral 
veil, iu tended figures in Wax, he has not oply 
Ifegsrn his Pipte^ipri of the Bdk^ Arts^ and thc; 
, Study of venerable Antiquity \ but I may fay withr 

?6tFlattery, that he. ha^ a better Taftc than afljfr 
'erfon elfe, in his gre^t Court. Then was put in 
Execution, what Varro mentions to have been done 
with the Works of Damophilus and Goi^afus the 
celebrate^ Painter^, who embellifticd the TemplC: 

? In Cynic. * la Thcfeo. torn. i. « Apollodor. lib. J. Wp. i J.* 
\ " ^' of 



t)f ttres^ near tht Circus Maxihiiis at Romfe % Ex 
Mc euln rejlcereniur crUjias farkturh excifas fdhiifls 
fnargindtis Hckfas ejje. ' Which was eifily perforrii- 
cd, for the Stoccoe bn which theft Pdihtin^s wfcre 
done, Was rery thick ; and befidcs other fmall Pic- 
turei which I fhall fpeak of hef-eaftcr, they got'otft 
en fife, the two lirge ones : The^ were feven Pahti^ 
liight Inches high, and fix Palms fi* Inches wide;- 
Tliey were ftrcngthened behind with Slate, oh 
l¥hich the painted l?arget was laid, and the Whofc 
Wcl5fed in Frames of Woodj Which occafloned 
ttiuch Difficulty, and required a great Dealof Caft 
m the taking thcn^ out. 

"^ 'Thfe Reader' may conceive the Amazehient of 
the S^feftators; dnd efpecially tHe Jeari^ed Onesi 
for thfcy were judged by the Pa[inters themfelvesf^ 
*o be extreamJy curious, both on Account of their 
fihc Draught, after the Mariner of Raphael, ahd 
tflfo as they had lain fo many Ages, upwards df 
Cfeirty-two Palhis deep in the Eirth, without lofil 
the Frefhnefs df their Colours, I caufed thcni tJ 
be fhewn to the great Solymena, who is the fineft 
Painter of bUr Age % and he faid,,he never faw any 
Pieces of that Size, ia well performed. NHthlfr- 
the Paintings about the Sepulchre of Nafo (wkofc 
Colours have been faded and walhed off by Tihfi^,^ 
hor the fmall Picture of antient Archltefture, wlii^h 
Marquis Alex'athder Gregory Cdporii. made fdcft i 
Woi-k about; are any Thin^ to Be cdmpared t6 
thefe belonging to the Kin^ of the Twd Srciliw^ 
i^hfch are tht only Pieces, tnat kive had the Ad^ 
Vkntiige of being well prefcrved. ITie Reldfer wdl 
pardon me, if I bdaft myfelf a - Jittle, on having 
contributed to thetr perpetual PreRt^iJ'ation, by tm 
following Means. 

I f 

* Vid. Demo^tidfum it Pidura Y^teri, Juniay de Wbxrk 
Veterum, . * 

O2 I 



.100 ^ Description ^/itf 

I perceived that the Pieces of Parget, which 

were carried up into the open Air, b^ing wiped 

clean from the Dampnefs, occafioned by lying fo 

long under Ground, began to lofe their Colour, fo 

that if they went to clean the Face, it mouldered 

away by little and Uttle» and at laft underwent the 

common Fate. By good Luck, I happened to be 

intimate with one Sig. Alfiere Moriconi, aSicilian^ 

Officer in the King's Artillery, who bad the Art of 

glazing like China, which he had praAifed many 

Years, and had invented fevcral Kinds of Glazing 

and Vernifli, and was much admired, efpccially at 

the Court of the King of Sardinia. I enquired of 

him, if he had (or cQuld make) a Vernilh proper 

lo lay over Paintings done upon Stoccoe ; to which 

he anfwered, he was the .only one poffcffed of that 

Secret, and had had great Experience therein. I^ 

thinking it my Duty, went and acquainted the 

-King with it, begging him to let the faid Moriconi 

make a Trial on fome Fragment of Painting, 

/pund ^n Heraclca ; to which his Majefty, with his 

iifiul Benignity, confented, and ordered that I 

ihould go, with this OiEcer, to have a Trial made, 

which had a moft furprifing Effeft, 

Then, having acquainted his Majefty of the 
Succefs ; he was inclined to go and fee this Officer 
at work, and was pleafed to order what Colours he 
ihould make a Trial upon, which (when the Ver- ' 
liilh was laid on.) not only recovered their former 
Glofn^efs, but.alfo became quite refrefhed, and as 
jt were imprifoned within the Vernifh, there to rc- 
pxain for many Ages to come, as an Ornament to 
ihe .Royal Palace, and a Mark of the Benignity and 
Pemency of this truly amiable King. 

I was ftruck with Amazement, at the Body of 
Thefeus, which was more lively than ever : i\t his 
Members, and his heroick and nervous Arms ; and 
could not help obferving to Don Ciccio Solymena, 

that 



AntientCityefliEKACLEk. lor 

that his Thighs feemed rather of the longeft ; but 
I find it was the ufual Manner of painting the 
Heroes formerly ; for Sig. John Baptift Porta • k 
of Opinion, that when (the Arms being (tretched 
out) the Hands can touch the Knees, it is a Sign 
of Bpidnef$ and Liberality, quoting Ariftotle and 
Alexander, Polemonesand Adamanzius* We read 
that Ariftode had very long Arms ; and the fame 
of Alexander the Great : Artaxerxes was furnamed 
Lxmgimanus, becaufe bis right Hand was longer 
than his left : And Strabo fays the fan^e of Darius 
Longimaous, who, as Pollux fays, was the hand- 
fomefl Man he ever faw. 

Thefe Paintings are done in Variety of Colours, 
among which are the Green and the Blue, which 
fome People imagined the A ntients were not pof- 
felled of, grounding their Suppofition on a Pai&ge 
in Pliny \ where he feems to intimate, that they 
knew no other Colour than the White, the Black, 
the Yellow, and the Attic Red of Sinopolis; but 
thefe Paflages feem to be interpreted in too OxiQ: « 
Senfe. Pliny does adtually fay, that the Painters 
in his Time, ufed four Colours, but at the fame 
Time does not deny, that they ufed any more : 
And fpeaking of Polignotus and Micon (who ufed 
the A ttick Sile « in Painting S) he diftinguiflies thre)^ 
Sorts of Colours, the two firft of Egypt and Soria, ^ 
and the third of Spain. In another Place, he 
praifes the Purple Colour • ufcd in a City of Grece, * 
which he prefers to that of Getulia and Laconia. 

One cannot allow them the Blue and the 
Yellow, without allowing at the fame Time that ^ 
they had the Grem, which is compofed of thofc 
two, anci is an Experiment fo eafily made, that one 

• De Pkifionomui. ^ Lib. 35. c. % Vid. G. Philandti 
annout. in Vitrov. lib. 7. cap. 7. ^ A lUnd of Yellow Earth, 
which being burnt maketh Vermillion for Pamcers. ^ Lib. 
aj. c. 13. •Lib, 34. X. 7. 

cannop 



I 

102 jt DESCRltf 10^ of ih 

cannot imagine it to hare been unknown tb tRfeni. . 
There is an admirable Paflige in Pfctroniift Arbiter * 
on (hh Subjed •, for he, defcribing a GalWry, fiiyi* 
i» Pindcotbecafn perveni, vario gekere tahildHM M- 
rabilem : nam^ t^ ZinxUos fnanus vidt noMdum i>i- 
iufiatis injuria viSas^ 6? Prmgims rudifHtnh^i cUm 
ifffius nitura vmtoie cerfanfia, HdH fint ^OhdlM ^if- 
rare troBam: , Jam ver& Ap^iUSy qua)n Gtidi ^^/BAVid- 
Xihtomon appelbmi,, ttiam adbrovil Tdnta t)iim fa^ 
filitate cOrtmitates^ imagintnn e^HHf ad JiffitUiidtneh 
fracifity ttt credires efidm ttfiih^ium ' ^ fi^ttt^afH. 
Hinc Aqaila fereiai cwio fuhlifhis Deum •, illinc tandU' 
dus Hylas repellebat improhifA Naiada. DdmnaMt 
jlpotto noxias nMHkSy lyrafhqm rtfolutaM modb nato 
ftork bonor^at. . Intir quos etiath pilforum a^dnfiUfh 
nndtuSy . tawfuam in foHtudine e9cc/amavi : ergv amor 
ttidm Deos rangit} Bwt to return td our Piirpoff, 
thefe Pahitiiigs confirm to ui, that in the Temples 
,of their Gods, they were wont to paint the Hif- 
tofies of theif Heroes* •, among which, T^eftus 
wa$ picked ©lit as propereft fof* this Plac^,- he be-* 
ing as itwerfci a fecond Hercules ; both of them 
haying prfTed their whole Lives in travellings and 
clearing the Earth of MonfterS. Another Reafon 
niay be, that Hercules and Thcifeus were both df 
them, the Inventors of the GslAi^tffe ^hd Spdfii that 
were ufed among the Tufcans arid Ofeians, in thofe 
Parts; aAd which were performed with great -So- 
. Jemnity in the abovementioned Theatre. Thbfeus 
is believed 80 hovd been the Inventor of the Strd- 
pfje and Antiftrophe ^ in Memory of the in- 
tricate Turnings of the Labyrinth *. Strophns iibs^ 
utqae mftftropbus inventas a T&fjio fuijji ad tommt- 

* Satyr, cap. 43. ^ Ludaaoin Toxaris. « The Stropbi 
was the firft 'Ttrnt of the Singers, to the one; an3 the jfir- 
tjifiropht was the Counter- turn, to the other Hand; this aft- 
(wiring chat, ia the fame Meafures and Number of Verfet. 
^ l^auftus Vi^orinus lib. de Comoedia. 

morandai 



Antuni QityifUB^KkO LEA. 4o j 

Kgitmoftdas flexuoji Labyrinthi viasj es ^uihus evaferai 
fojpis: iptur oportuit eas nou folum cyclkas ejfe^ 
fUxuBfas.fr Merea^ intrkatas^ varias. 

Singing, Pancing and Mufick, ^ were the Deco- 
rations of the Stage, which in England are called 
Country-drnw^ as tho* they were invented by the 
Engliflf^ Country People, One of thefe Dancing 
Bouts was perforrned at N?.ples in tl^e Year i6^i, 
with univerfal Appl^ufe, ^t the Time when the 
Tragedy • of Crifpus, cpmpofed by Stefpnius, was 
afted. And in the Year 1743, at the Celebration 
of tHe antient Ofboforian Feafts, hy the Tufcan 
Academicks in Cortona ; feven Ladies and feven 
young^ Gentlemen danced Country Dances, ds is 
mentioned by the Canon Reginaldo Sellari, and 
Dan Emanuel Count >de Richecburt \ the Mecxnas 
or Pajtron of the. Learned ; and thus much may 
fiiffice on the Subje£b of Thefeus. 

A& ta the above mentioned Story of Tqlefus, I 
imagine it was placed there, in Allufion to the an^^ 
^nt Fdaigtana and Tyrrhenians, who were Defcai-» 
dants of that Hecoe. Par Tirronqs and Tarcon^ 

* Vid. Tarquin. Callutiuin dc Tragcedi^ * In tale occafi- 
one fu propollo per tema d^Ua F^efia, eke- non balla agli 
Eroi refercttar la virtu, .fe jiqn perfeguitMail vim : e fa pabii- 
c^toun Sonetfo dall* Autorp di ^ueftoLibro. e dedicato al mcr. 
defimo Signor Conte di kichecoort, ed e il feguente. 

S^alpra h edfenfier Tim,iro un^ R^nOp 
Otfe taccion fihggif o*ve rijorna^^ 
La tftene^^ Uukxa^ e hfne corner 
Antiche innalxa if ttmfrarifl fiiegn^ : 

h4 i depr^ pgni fublime ingegno 
La 'oirtufiminudaf e difadoma^ 
I*vi r tmpio inierejfe '; t*vi figgiorna 
Siete difungtu^ e V tradirmnU indegm. 

Ha Dio, chf ^tgl* iknpcenti al fifk coi^t^rU, 
Socforfi ina/pett^to., in mi lie gulf$^ 
Manda t^n Eroi da remofa-part^ : 

^ffii ^ Te/e<ij con effo Afireja diyije " ' . ' ; 

Jp^r^ fr^t^a, JennOy *oahrty ed kfU;r ' [ 

* Poi ruffe il Lahrinlff, e imoftri ucdff. ' ^ ' ^'^ 

I two 



A 



X 



VT* 



104 ui DsscRi^Tiov of tbe 

two Brothers, Sons of Telefus and Hiera *, coming 
into Italy, and having overcome the Giant Sitoni, 
made thcmfelvcs Matters of Jgilla and Pi/ay as Li- 
tofron relates, who adds, that they joined with. 
JEneas in Italy. 

Simul quoque {fcedus inihunt) gemint filii 
Mifforum Regis (cujus aliquando latitans baftam 
Curvabit viri DeuSy crura viticibiis colligans) 
S^arcbon fcf Tyrrbenus lupifervidiy 
H&culeo prognati fanguine. ^ 

Which agrees with the Opinion of Dionyfius 
Halicamaffeus, concerning the Origin of the Tuf- 
cans, who writes, jilii Tirenum Telepbi malum filiumy 
venijfeque pofi ^ojam Captam in Italiam. 

*Tis very well known, that the Tyrrhenians 
mingled themfelves with the Aborigines ; and 
Tyrrhenus with his Navy, fettling in the maritime 
Farts, gave his Name to the Sea, which is to this 
Day called Mare Tyrrbenum ; and Tj^rcon fet- 
tling in the Centre of Italy, became Mafter of 
Tufcany, fixing his Court at O>rtona, which Silius 
calls thus \ 

Cortona fuperhi 

Tarcb^ntis domus 



Then he proceeds to fay, that he led the Tuf-. 
cans to the Afliftance of ^neas, who afferted, that 
the Trojans had their Rife in Tufcany ; for Dar- 
danus, the Founder of Troy, was the Son of 
Coritus, King of Cortona. 

Let us now leave this long Digreffion, and re- 
turn to the Enumeration of other ancient Paintings 
which were found under Ground, befides what 
were mentioned before* Which follows, viz. 

« The Giants of Flegra & Pellene. Vid. Mariano Valguar- 
ncra. ^ Vid. Virgil, lib. X. v. 153. lib. XI. v. 725. c 512. 
* Vid. la DiiTertaz. fopra TAntiqaita di Cortona de) Signor Ab* 
bate Ridolfitto Venuti nel torn. 4. dell' Acadexnia Etratea. 

A 



'AntrentCifyo/BlE'B^ACLEA: 105 

A Pifture of Mercury above-mentioned, with , a . 
little Bacchus, two Palms eight Inches, by tWO 
Palms and one Inch. 

Two Piftures one Palm eight Inches, by one 
Palm four Inches, both reprefenting a Viftory. 

Another, one Palm fix Inches, by four Palms 
two Inches, reprefenting a Chacc. of Stags and 
Boars. 

Another of the fame Size, containing a Veffei 
of Flowers, with a Kid on each Side, 

Another, two Palms three Inches, by one P^lm 
one Inch, reprefenting a Temple. 

Another, one Palm five Inches, by two Palms' 
one Inch, reprefenting a Temple adorned with fe- 
ve'ral Columns. ! 

• A pretty Frieze or Grotefque, eight Inches by 
four Palms, whith had run entirely round the Wall. 
Two others, four Palms by two Palms, with fc- 
veral Views, Buildings, and ArcHitefture. 

A perfeft Square, Being one Palm ten Inches, 
in which are two Mufes ; the one playing on a 
Harp, the other mafked. 

Another Piece, one Palm five Inches, by two - 
Palms, reprefenting a Lion, fome Cattle, and 
Landfcape. 

Another of the fame Size, containing' fcveral 
Centaurs, Buildings, Houfes and Views -, and two 
cithers ten Inches, by one Palm nine Inches, with 
the fame Figures. 

Three fquare Ones Fellows, one Palm by elevca^ 
Inches, reprefenting a Medula's Head. 

Another, eleven Inches by feveh Inches, with 
Heads of fiftitious Animals. 

Another, nine Inches by one Palm, containing a 
Stag, with a Bird flying to peck at him. 

Another, four Inches and an half by nine Inches, 
reprefenting a Peacock. * 

? Anothei; 



iq6 a Description (f the 

Another of the ramc Size, reprefenting ^lib a 
Bird. 

^Another, two Palms two Inches, by one Palm, 

reprcfenting a Bacchanalian playing on the Cymbals. 

Another, one Palm four Inches, by one Palm five 

Inches, with a naked Bacchanalian fitting on a 

Tyger. 

Another, one Palm four Inches by eleven Inches, 
with a Bacchanalian. 

' Two Pieces Fellows, each fix Inches by eight 
Inches, containing two Dolphins. 

A Jupiter embracing Ganymede, five P^lms by 
four Palms and an halh^ 

' If it \y^re poflible to fee this magnificent Tem- 
ple entire : Who knows but in fomc Corner or 
other, i might find an Infcription of this Artificer, 
wnpfe Work has now (after fo many Ages that it 
ha3 l^in hid under the terrible Ruinsj been dif- 
covcred extremely well preferred ? Pliny aflures 
us. % • th^t the ancient Painters were wont to put 
t^.eir Names in the f^iftures -, and as a Proof, 
quotes thcfe Verfes, which were feen in the Tem- 
ple of Juno Ardeatina. 

Dignis digna loca piSluris condecoravit 
Repn^e, Jmonis fwprema conjugis Templum^ 
M. Ludius Eletas Mtolia oriuniusy 
^em nuncy 6? pfi fm^er oh artem heme Ardea 
laudat. 

But could he have gueffed at the Najne of the- 
famous Painter of thefe Piijtures in Heraclea ? 
Who knows ? I have ihewn that the Building of 
the Theatre and the neighbouring Parts, was abQut 
tifie Time of Auguftus. But I know, that the an- 
cient Painters were wont to paint on Tables -, and 
that XiUdius, the celebrated Painter in Auguftus's 



^ * PUaio, lib. 35. cap. 10. 



Time, 



Antim Citjf 2^ H ER At! L te A. ioy 

Time, was the firft (as Pliny relates) that intro- 
duced painting on the Walls as before defcribed \ 
Hie primus if^ituit dffumiffimam parietuM piffu* 
ram, Villas^ (^ porticus^ ac tapiaria epera^ lucos^ 
nemora, colles^ ptfcinasy euripos^ amnes^ littora qua*- 
iia quis cptarat^ varias ^bi obambulantfuin fp€cies\ 
aut navigantium^ terraque Villas adeuntiufn afellis^ 
ant vtbiculis. Jam pifcantes^ aucupantefque^ aih 
Venantes^ aut etiaM vindemiantes. Sunt in ejits ex* 
emplaribus Mobiles palujlris accejfu^ VilU fuecolantibtk 
fpecie^ mulieres hbentes^ trepidaque feruntnr. Phi-^ 
rima praterea tales argutia^ facetiffimi fales. Idemr 
que fubdialibus mariiimas urbes pingere inftituit^ blan^ 
diffimo ajpecfuy minimoque impendio, Could thoFe bfe 
the Works of Ludius ? Let the Reader judge 
whether I am miftaken or not. However, this is 
certain, that his Majclly the King of the Two Si- 
cilies is the only Perfon in the whole World, that 
can boaft of having fuch antique Pictures fo well 
preferved ; all other Paintings on Walls being faded 
by Length of Time. The moft beautiful were 
thofe found in the Efquiline Palace of Titus, which 
periflied almoft as foon as they were difcoVcred : 
But they were immediately copied and engraved 
by Pietro- Santo Bartoli ; and (if it had been pof- 
fible to preferve them) would haVe raifed the i^d- 
miration of the whole World. Who knows but 
^ thefe Paintings in Heraclea were done by the famfe 
Hand ? And what imports this Piflagc of Pliny ? 
Sed nulla gloria Artificum eft^ nifi eorum^ qui tabulas 
pinxere, eoque venerabilior apparei antiquitas \ wheh 
there is not fuch a Thing in the World as an ahr 
tique Pii^ure, excepting a painted Slate found 
fome Years ago in a fubterraneous Cavity in the 
Territories of Cortona, which is now in the Poffef- 
fion of Signor Nicolo Vagnucci, Knight, at Cor- 
tona, who is one of the principal Supporters of 

« Vid. Dexnontiofam de Pi^ra Veteridn. 

P 2 our 



'A 



ib8 A DpscKiitTioi? gf <i&e 

our Tufcan Academy. This Piece reprefcnts a 
Mule crowned with Laurel, with a mufical Inftru- 
ment hanging on her Shoulders, and will be de- 
fcribed in the Hiftory of the Antiquities of Cor- 
tona, which will foon be publifhed by Order of 
the faid Academy, where the Colours have been 
examined, and appear to be covered with a certain 
hard Sort of Bitumen, or at leaft with fome un- 
known Kind of Varnifli ; in which Art Apelles 
excelled j of whom Pliny fpeaks thus : Unummi- 
tari nemo fotuit^ quod abfoluta opera illinibat atra- 
mento ita tenuis ut id ipfum repercujfu claritatis colo- 
rum vim exciiarefj cujiodiretque a pulvere^ ^ fordibus^ 
ad manum intuenti demum appareret : Which fome 
of the Learned think, ought to be read ad numetij 
I fhould rather take it to be lumen. And thus 
much may fufiice about the Varnifh, which, at my 
Defire, was made Ufe of to the above-mentioned 
Piftures, 

WW WW WW WW WW WW • WW WW WW WW 

CHAR IX. 

\A De/cription of other Buildings in Heraclca, and of 

the Antiquities found in them. 

THAT the above Theatre was near (and 
even joined) to the City Heraclea, is proved 
by the other Buildings and Houfcs which were im- 
mediately afterwards difcovered : Among which 
was one that had a pretty Appearance, with a 
handfome Door, and an Iron Gate, which prefently 
broke in Pieces. Entering at the Top, and clear- 
ing away the Earth, I perceived a fmall Gallery 
leading to a Ground Chamber, plaiflered, and 
painted red, in which were found fome Veffels 
and Bottles of thick CrylVal, full of Water -, a 
Brafs Tweefer Cafe, containing three or four Stiles 
or Graves, wlych are the Inftruments they for- 
2 ^ merly 



j§ntient City of HEKACLE A. 109 

merly ufed in writing on the waxed Tabks : But 
what was mod valuable, was another Inftrumenc- 
Cafe of the fame Metal, which being opened, 
was found to contain a fmall thin Roll of Silver, 
wrote full of Greek Charafters ; and as in the un- 
roUing, it happened to break ; his Majefty thought 
it advijfeable to put it up in his Cabinet for the 
prcfent, left by any Body's indifcreet Curiofity it 
might be deftroyed. 

At the other £nd was a commodious Stair-cafe 
to go to the upper Apartments, where I went into a 
Room, the Cieling of which was entirely demo- 
lifhed, and which had probably been the Kitchin, 
by reafon of the great Quantity of Brafs and 
Earthen Veflels found therein, fuch as Diflies, 
Trivets, and other Things too numerous to de- 
fcribe here, and which I did not examine minutely. 
There I faw Eggs miraculoufly preferved ; and Al- 
monds and Nuts that retained their natural Colour, 
but being opened, the Infiide was like powdered Coal. 
In fome other Ruins near thereto, was found a Brafs 
Ink-ftand, which retained the black Colour of the 
Ink fo'Well as to be capable of tinging any Thing. 
I fhall not give a particular Account of the Frag- 
ments of Earthen Veffels, burnt Wood, Locks, 
Keys, Latches, Bolts, Door Rings, Hinges, Spears, 
cut Stones, and Medals, of which the greateft Part 
that were found, were of Nero, with the Temple 
of Janus on the Reverfe. There were found Mo- 
faic Pavements, but very ordinary, being com- 
pofed of what Vitruvius calls Pavimentum feSlile ; 
thefe are in Imitation of Scrolls, and the like. It 
is furprifing- how they could bring the Stones into 
fuch beautiful Order, and difpofe the different Co- 
lours fo exaftly ; of which a wonderful Example, 
is a Square which was found in ihe Middle of a 
Pavement in the Adrian Villa, which was pub- 
lifhed, engraved on a Copper Plate* 

In 



lib A Description if th 

In another Part were the Ruins of a Bath> paved 
with little Squares, in which were feveral Sorts of 
Veflels and Lavers of Brafs gilt. In another Part 
was found a Cellar or Vault, which^ for its Singu- 
larity, deferves to be made particular mention of. 

Thro* a Door of white Marble, we came into 
a Room thought to be about fourteen Yards or 
more in Length (becaufe they had not quite cleared 
the Ground away) and eight Yards broad. In the 
Middle of one of the Sides was a Door which led 
into another Place of the fame Length, but almoft 
fquare. Round the Infides of both thefe Rooms, 
there ran along, clofc to the Wall, about half a 
Yard high, a Kind of Bench covered with Marble 
Pavement, which feemed, at firft Sight, to have 
been ufed for a Seat, having along the Bottom a 
pretty Moulding : But on coming to examine it 
nearer, I perceived on the Top, fome round Stones 
or Stopples of Marble, which being removed, I 
found were the Covers of fome great Earthen Jars 
fet in with Mortar, the Necks of which were in- 
clofed juft within the Bench. On one Side there 
was (as it were) a great Window formed in a Sort 
of an Oblong Square, and flopped up with Earth, 
which appeared at firft Sight to be the Mouth of 
an Oven or Furnace, the Wall being all black 
within, but it was found at laft to be a Kind of 
Clofet, that reached a Cane's Length into the 
Wall ; in which was difcovered untouched, and 
very well preferved, a fmall Sett of Steps of diffe- 
rent coloured Marble, not unlike what are put upon 
Altars to fet the Candles and Flower-pots on. But 
I imagine the Ufc of thefe- was to fet the fmall 
Veffcls or Bottles of Cryftal, or other Kinds (for 
the keeping the Samples of Wine or other Drink) 
upon. The great Veflels were of a roundiih Form, 
excepting that the Mouth came up above the Le- 
vel of the Pavement, and was tnclofcd in that 

Marble 



AntienfCify of HER ACL'EK: hi 

^ Marble Bench, or Scat : I believe they would hold 
ten' Barrels Tufcan Mcafure each. 

This was (to my great Difpleafure) entirely 
ruined by taking the Marble and putting it to 
other Ufes, before I could find any Remedy ; 
and the great Wine Jars were broke, in taking out ; 
but two of them being bound with Iron, were fet 
in the King's Garden ; and, if I am not miftaken, 
I have feen in the Garden of the Villa Borghefe, 
one of thefe Veflfels ; others in the Villa Mattel, Of 
Mount Celio, and in other Places at Rome, Iix 
the Year 1732, in the Space between the Chapel 
of Corfini in the Lateran Bafilica, and the Wall of 
Home, were found {o great a Number of large 
Earthen Veffels for keeping of Wine, that after 
they had dug up one Hundred, tbey left a prcxli- 
gious Quantity buried under the Earth. Thefe 
V^Qels hAd narrow Necks and large Bodies, being 
two Foot in Diameter. Moft of them were marked 
ngaf the Neck, and fome were wrote upoa with 
Ipk ; one of which was purchafed by my Brother 
at the Mufcum of Signor Francefco Vettori, men-, 
tioned by P. Lupi of the Society of Jefus, in hia 
fine Treatife on the Infcription of St. Severa the 
Martyr *. On one of thefe Veffels was this In-i 
fcriptioo: OPUS. DOUARE. VINARIUM. 
Thi^ Names which were on the Handles mdk Neck% 
of tbef<^ Veffels, were thie Names of the Makers 
Thofe wrote with Ink ^ere the Najaes of th« 
Owners of the Liquor contained within ^ and by 
Reafon of the Multiplicity of Names, it is inla- 
gined to have been a Cellar for the Ufc of the " 
Soldiers who were ftationed there to guard the 
Walls ; aud that whofefoever Name wa^ wrote oa 
the Veffel, to him .belonged the Wiiie contained 
therein, whether he bought it, or it was. his Al- 
lowance. 

But 



112 Jt T>Esckt?Tiov of the 

But returning to where we left off: In order to 
preferve the famed and ftrong Wine of the Anti- 
cftts, it was neccffary to have thefe fubterraneous 
Veffels, which, in fome other Places, have been 
found one upon another : All which is agreeable to 
the Law Inftrumenta 8. and the Law cum fundus 21. 
ff. de fundo Infir. where it fays, Bolia defojfa^ inr- 
foca : So that Pancirolus thinks, the Antients had 
no Wine Vaults or Cellars, for this Reafon, quia 
dolia^ qua erant imbectllay fub terram dimtttehant. 
See Pliny ■, where He fpeaks of Wine Vaults : But 
as the Wine Veffels ought to be a Cart Load, and 
to contain one hundred and twenty Bottles, which 
according to fome Calculations is one thoufand fix 
hundred, and according to others one thoufand nine 
hundred and twenty Pounds weight, tho* Columella 
calls thtm fefquiculeare triginta ampborarum dolium^ I 
cannot be certain, nor could I be in Time to meafure 
the Quantity that each Jarr contained ; it is certain, 
that they were of that Form, being by the fame 
Author called ventrofe^ and there remains no Room 
to doubt that they were not the Butts or Delia of 
the Latins, of which Nonius thus : Delia funt vaja 
grandiaj quibus vinum reconditur. Neither could 
they be very fmall, if one of them ferved the great 
Diogenes for an Habitation, of whom Laerzius 
fpeaks thus ^, Dolium^ quod in Metroo erat^ pro do- 
mo babuiU ficut ipfe tefiatur in epiftolis^ and you find 
this Paffage in Juvenal ^. 

Dolia nudi 

Non ardent Cynici : Ji fregeris^ altera fiet 

Or as domus^ aut eadem plumbo commiffa manebit. 

* Flin. 1. 14. c. 21. Apain. Lexic. Agiicuk. ihale explicat 
omnia. ^ ^iog. Laere. lib. 6. fcgm. 23. e noca, dbe Metroo 
fn il Tempio della Madre dei Dei in Atene, ove fi confcrvano 
le Leggiy le Donazioni, e. i. Gintratti. Vid. Valeiio ad Har- 
pocrahonem, pag. 272. Gregor. Nazianx. in Jambids. ^ Ju- 
venal. Sat, XlV. v. 308. 

Setifit 



Jntknt City of HER ACLE a: 113 

Senfii Alexander^ tejla cum vidit in ilia 
Magnum habitatorem^ fcf ^. 

Which Verfcs arc a Contradiftion, to thofc who 
will not believe that Diogenes s Butt^ was made of 
baked Earth, but of Wood, and the Reafon they al- 
ledge is, becaufe that Philofopher oftentimes rolled 
it about * : As if thofe Veffels might not be rolled 
about without breaking -, either upon the Ground, 
upon Marl, upon Skins, or upon Straw^ or even 
on the hard Pavement, as we fee they arc made of 
fuch a monftrous Thicknefs. 

Nor did the Antients manage their Wine other- 
wife, than we do now-a-days. 

They firft trod the Crrapes witK great Dextefity, 
and then put them in a great VelTel, called Lago : 
Afterwards, they preffcd the trodden Grapes with 
the Stalks, in a Prefs, and mixt it with the Liquor 
in the Lago ; which is fet forth by Ulpianus in the 
Law Sifervtts ij, §. ult. ff, ad L. Aqutlam^ and by 
Varro\ , Others cutting the Bunches, and preff- 
ing out the Juice from the beft of the Grapes,* 
mixed the Remainder with Water, and gave it to 
their Labourers inftead of WinCj in the Winter 
Time «. Whence Father Carlo d* Aquino de- 
fcribes the Harveft thus*^, with the Teftimony of 
Cato, Varro and Pliny : Vindemia dicitur a demendo^ 
quoniam tcva a viie demitur. ColleBio ejl iivarum^ ad 
vinum ixprimendum &? affervandum. Argumentum «- 
beris future vindmia folent effe inibresy qui vere deci^ 
dunty vel cum adhuc acerba funt uva. Autumnales 
fluvia officiunt illis potius ; eafquCy largiores quidem 
copiay fed ufu vapidas 6f depravatas reddunt. Oppor- 
tunum vindemia tempus inter Fergiliarum occafum^ £5? 
Antumnale aquinoSiium cum Varrme Jlatuunt Scriptons 

* Vide Lucianum in libello, quomodo confcribenda fit Hiflo* 
ria. ^ De re railica, cap. 54. firafmus in Chiliadibas. 

f Vid. Ic Npte del Pancirolo. •* Nomcndat. Agricult. pag. 107. 



114 ^ DtsctiiPt ton of thi 

alii. ConjeSur^e^ qua fuper uvarum maturitate capt- 
untur a vifu^ &f guftu^ fallaces funt. Tuliorem not am 
exhibent vinacei^ cum^ deter fa viriditate^ nigrefcere in* 
cipiunt. CupiSy cophinis^ corbibus^ omnique compara- 
ta fupellellile vindemialiy prior em cater is curat ionem 
vindemiatores habent in ul;is eligendis. Pracaces^ iS 
qua ix locis magis apricis proveniunt, prius debent dt- 
cerpi. Racemos acerbos Jiccofque detrabi jubent^ qui* 
bus virti /ap»r fuavior cordi ejl. lidem in lacu vinario 
calcati pralo fubjiciantur^ ut quod reliquum mufti efty 
exprimatur. Poft exprejfa vina, defruti ad ufus do- 
mefticosy loraque ad familia tf operarum potionem cu- 
randa^ fupereft labor. Lora potio eft ex vinaceis aqua 
maceratiSy qua conftcitur, poftquam totum muftum ex 
acinis eft exprejfum. Earn potionem fcite Plinius vi- 
num . operarium appellate Vindemia tempore Romans 
antiquitus celebrabant Vinalia % quo fefto novum vinum 
deguftatum Jovi libabant. Et omnium quidem natio^ 
num confenfu tempus vindemiale exaSum legitur fingula- 
ft oftentatione hilaritatisy isf rufticorum, e lacu tor- 
culari exilientiumy excito quodam impunique fervore 
latitia. ' 

Thus much fhall fuffice on this Subjcd ; I fliall 
only add, that thefe Difcovcries were made in the 
Winter of the Year 1740. But as I have by me, an 
Account of what was found the Summer before, of 
which I have not hitherto made any particular 
Mention ; I thought it would not be amifs to make 
it publick, in order to procure myfelf the Name, 
(if not of a Learned) it Icaft, of a faithful Hifto- 
rian« 



CHAP. 



C H A P. X. 

J Diary of the Difarveries made in the Summer of the 

Tear 1739. 

BESIDES the abovementioned two Marble 
Tables, containing the Names of the Liberti 
alleffiy or new chofen Citizens of Hcraclea, form* 
ing 3 Columns on each Table (the laft Letter of 
each Name, being put feparate from the other 
Part of the Word, makes a Line by itfelf ;) there 
were found the following Things, viz^ 

^739- 
May 24. A great Metal Vafe, and a Spoke of one 

of the Wheels of the abovementioned 

Brafs Chariot. 

29. Several Pieces of polifiied Marble, and 
two odd fafhioned whimfical Cramps, 
which were ufed in joining grea? 
Stones. 

50. Fourteen fquare Pieces of polifhed Mar- 
ble. 
June I, Some well made Brafs Letters of one 

Palm height, each having three Spikes 
of the fame Metal, whereby they were 
fattened to the Wall, and were as fol-» 
lows, viz. an O, an S., a Bl, an F, an 
M, an S, an O, a P. B. L. A fmalt 
• Mafk of baked Earth,, in Form of a 
Lion*s-head ; a Metal Haft, and feve-. 
ral Pieces of Marble, among^ whichi 
was a Piece of a Cornilh. 
2. Two Plates of Metal, three Pajms long,, 
and two Palms ancj a half broad; Five 
more Pieces of the Brazen Horfe a- 
bovementioned, and a Piece of a flut- 
ed Pilafter of white Marble, four 
?alms high, and one broad. 

A^^ Jut^e 



. I 



1x6 ji Descritt los of the 

June 3. The Head of the great Brazen Horfc 

that was found the 15th of April, en- 
' tire and fit to join on to the Body, to 
which it let in ; on the Front of the 
Head, was a fmall BafTo Relievo, re- 
prefcnting Viftory clowning the Em- 
peror on Horfeback. 

4. Another Part of the Chariot, and feveral 
Pieces of Harnefs belonging to the 
faid Horfe, which were made of Brafs, 
znd riveted on ; and two Mafks of 
baked Earth. 

$. A large round Shield of Metal, entire ; 
a Laver and fome other Fragments. 

8. A great Number of Pieces of Brafs, a- 

mong which was Paft of the Front of 
the Chariot, having three Holes on 
each Side, by which it had been fatten* 
ed, or riveted on -, and feveral Pieces 
. of rufty Iron. 

9. Fragments of Infcriptions abovemention- 

cd, with feveral other Pieces of Mar- 
ble, and another Spoke of the Chariot 
Wheel. 

1 7. A Brafs Plate, one Palm and a half broad 
and two Palms long ; alfo a Marble 
Pedeftal, two Foot wide. 

20. A fine Head, and a naked Arm of Marble ; 

, but thefe were not broke off from the 

Statues, for they were only let in, as 

I faid before ; alfo fome round Bars of 

Metal. 

21. Several Marble Pedeftals, fome three 
Palms wide ; and the Statue of Vici- 
ria the Mother of Balbus, 

23. A Circlet of Metal, two Palms in Dia- 
meter; and a Metal Vafe with Handles, 
and other Fragments. 

June 



jintieni City of HER A.CLE A. 117 

June 25. Several Metal and Marble Pedeftals, and 

the gowned Statue of Balbus on Foot. 

30. Sundry Fragments, and two entire Difhes 
of Metal, the one large and the other 
fmall. 
July I. Several Medals, an Urn of baked Earth, 

and three Pieces of anqther Infcription 
of the Coloni alleSfi^ containing the 
Nances pf fixty-three Perfons. 
4. Several Fragments of Statues, feveral 
pieces of Brafs ; eight Metal Veflcls 
in Form of Buckets, and five Metal 
Door-hinges. 

17. Another Brafs Veffel, with a very large 
Bottom. 

2o, A pretty Maflc of Touch-ftone broke, 
the Eyes, I obferved, were of a diffe- 
rent Compofition -, Fragments, and 
Cramps of Brafs. 

2 2- They began to ftrike upon the beautiful 
Mofaic Pavement, in the Temple of 
Hercules. 

24. Fifteen Marble Pedeftals, and a curiou$ 
large earthen Lamp, four Palms and ^ 
half in Diameter. A pretty Brafs Candle- 
ftick, whofe Shank was extreamly well 
preferved ; fome Chains of Metal Wirc^ 
which pertained to this Candleftick ^ 
and feveral Pieces of white Metal, 
which were ufed for Mirrours •, fevera,! 
Lachrymatorys {Veffels in which they 
ufed to put their Tears) both of Glaf^ 
and Earth 5 Iron Rings for the Fin-» 
gers ; a Metal Ear-picker, and feveral 
Pieces of Bone Flutes, befidcs two 
large Brafs Lavers, and ^ femicircular 
Marble Moulding : All which lay up- 
on the abovem^ntioncd Marble Pave- 
- 5 ^ent 



'li8 A Description of the 

mcnt which was formed in fcv^ral 
Places with fmall equilateral Marble 
Triangles. 
Aug. I. They found the Main of a large Brazen 

Horfe, feveral Marble Stones, and z, 
Copper Cover with a Ring fixt to it. 

5, A Brafs Cylinder in Form of a Cannon, 
divided into four equal Parts, with 
two feparate Plates at the Extremity j 
and twenty-five Confular Medals of 
Silver. 

7. A Metal Spear, and three Pieces of a 
Bone Flute. 

17. A Marble Medaglion, one Palm and half 

an Inch in Diameter, entirely pre- 
ferved, with a Baffo Relievo on each 
Side, in one of which feems to be a 
Sacrifice ; for there is a Woman gowned 
ftanding, before whom is a naked 
Man killing a Hog, whofe Blood is 
received in a Veffel ; and in the other, 
is an old Man half naked fitting, and 
playing on two Pipes, which he holds 
in both Hands. A Marble Stone 
which had been the Rim of a Well ; 
a great Brafs Lock, Lamps of baked 
Earth J a fine Brafs Ma(k ; more Pieces 
of Flutes ; a Glafs Vafe ; feveral 
Pieces of a Metal Cup ; and three 
great Earthen Veflels. 

18. Two MaflvS, the one of Marble, the 

other of baked Earth ; a great Veflel ; 
feveral Brafs Rings j a great Marble, 
Mortar ; a middling-fized Brafs Pot 
feveral Pieces of Egyptian Pebble 
feveral Pieces of Mofaic Pavement 
a Lion's Foot of Marble, which had 
fupported a Marble Table i a curious. 

Builo, 



Jntlint city of tiEtiACtt A. ij0 

Bufto of a Woman ; and two large 
Pieces of Iron. 
Aug. 19. Four Pieces, and a fmall Pedeftal, of 
' Egyptian Pebble. 
20. A broken Fire-pan of Metalj one Palm 
and an half in Diameter, whofe Han- 
dles and Feet are entire. 
22. Several Iron Rings ', four Buckets ; a 
Metal Lock ; an Earthen Jug ; a 
Glafs Ball ; Holdfafts ; and other 
Pieces of Metal and Marble. 
! 26. A Piece of a Column of Jafpcr ; and 

j other Pieces of Marble and Metal. 

[ 27. A large Knife with a Handle, for killing 

of Sacrifices ; a Piece of Marble like 
* a Painter's Grind-ftone ; another Piece 
of the Column of Jafpcr, and Pieces 
of Traveriine of three or four Palms 
each. 
31, Four large ^rafs Candlefticks, two of 
which were entire. Other Pieces of 
Marble Capitals ; a great Number of 
Pidces of Marble Pavement ; and 
Leaden Pipes ; whence I imagine, 
that in this Place had formerly been a 
Bath. 
Sept. I. Three Difhes and another Veflel of Me- 
tal, and a Brick with this Infcription, 
L. VISELLI. 
2. Three Heads in a Baffo Relievo, four- 
teen Inches high, and eight Inches 
wide -, great Pieces of Travertine 5 
Pavement of Marble inlaid -, and a 
large Marble Pedeftal. three Palms 
wide. 
5. More Squares of Pavement. 
7, A Bucket and other fmall Pieces of Me- 
tal ; a pretty Mafk of bake4 Earth, 
' and fome Marble Pavement. Sept. 



120 ji DEBCRHPTIOm of the 

Sept. 9. A Marble Bufto with two Faces, repre^^ 

fenting Janus ; And fome Glafs La- 
chrymatorys. 

j:2. A curious Brafs Statue of Hercules, twd 
Palms and an half high -, three more 
Metal Candlefticks four Palms high, 
and two Inches Wide ; a large handled 
Cup ; a large facrificing Veffel ; a 
Handle which poflibly belonged to the 
faid Veffel ; a Chalice and fprinkling 
Brufli ; a votive Pig, with Letters on 
the Shoulders, indicating the Name 
of the Donor ; a fine Lamp ; another 
C^ndlieftick •, a Vafe and Cover ; a 
facrificing Cup, with a Handle ; and 
feveral other Rarities and Curiofities ; 
Fragments of Brafs Pans or Bafons, 
&c. 

14. A large handled Cup, like that on the 
1 2th Inftant. Two other fmall Veffels 
with Handles, and two ftjll fmalier^ 
^iV'ith Handles alfo ; likewife other 
Handles which had beeh broken oflf 
from fome Veffels ; one of which 
(Handles) h^s a ' Ranl*s Head neatly 
fengraved upon it, 
. ig. Another Laver -, fome Pieces and Cramps 
of Me til. 

16. A large Metal Vafe, with a curious 

Handle. 

1 7. Another Bafon, and a Metal Hoop ; fe- 

veral Coins of Auguftus and Nero ; 
fundry Fragments^ and aii Earthen 
Lamp. 
26. A round facrificing Cup -, another with 
a Handle, both broke ; three other 
, . Handles, and a Cover of a VeffeL 

Sept. 



jlntitnt City of HERACLE A. 121^ 

Sept. 30. Another Marble Bufto of Janus, Fellow 

to the above ; and two Pilafters, with 
their Bafes and Capitals, on which the 
faid two Bufts flood. 

Odt. I. A Metal Mafk (fixed to a Piece of Iron) 

bearing the Face of a Cat, with a Rat 
in her Mouth ; a Brafs Ring for the 
Finger ; an Earthen Veffel one Palm 
high ; and two Brafs Locks. 
3. A Trivet and a Vafe \ a Brafs facrificing 

Veffel. . 
5. Two Cups, whole ; three common fized 
Spoons, and one fmaller •, other Frag- 
' mcnts of Veffels, artd a fmall Half 
Moon, all of Silver. Three Glafs 
Vials ; one Lock \ two Metal Hoops \ 
feven Gold Rings, entire and perfcft, 
» two of which have Cornelians fet in 
them ; a Gold Bracelet, confiding of 
one large Button, from which hung 
two Heads, with two fmall Strings, 
and the Remainder is two Semicircles 
of . four Fingers Breadth, with two 
Strings to tye them together. 
• 7. A Silver Coin of Nero, weighing one 
Ounce. 
10. Two fmall Glafs Veffels, one larger^ 
and two others like Lachrymatorys 1 
a Metal Tube, and a Stopper, eight 
Inches wide, and twp others, each 
four Inches wide ; Seals for Letters v 
Fragments of Iron ; Metal Locks i 
Glafs Bottles full of Water •, fmall 
Pieces of Bone ; fquarc Stones po- 
filhed on all Sides ; Metal Rings ; 
and three Metal Buckets ; a large 
broken Metal Lavcr ; an entire Han- 
dle, on which is a Baffo Relievo. 

R Oft. 



izz -^Description g^/fo^ - 

0<a, 10. A Marble Head which, hdd Wcn%ofc^n^ 

off fomc Bufto. \ ?^: v«i 

12. A Brafs facrificing VcffeL 

13. Two Mctal'Pots^ one of which flood on 

a Trivet, and was crbcky oA the Out« 
fide ; two curious Brafs Lamps •, fe- 
veral Pieces of curved Metal ; and a 
rufty Iron Mattock. 

14. An Earthen Lamp 'y anothtsr Piece of a 

Bone Flute ^ and :fcveral/ Pieces of 
Lead. 

15. A curious Brafs Lamp with two Lights, 

which feems to have bcea hung up in 
the Area, by four Chains, of fine Me- 
ntal, Pieces of whic^ are to be feen on 
^ the. Wings of two Eagles which arc 

on the Sides of the Latsip y and its 

Handle is in the Form of a Horfc*s 

Head and Nerfc. . ; . 

2^. More Silver Medals, and another round 

^:.:^ Baffo Relievo of Marble, thirteen 

Inches Diameter^ ¥rhich has on one 
^ . , Side two Maiks^ and. on the Reverfe 

a Hare* 
:. -31, A Statue of a naked .Man eight Palms 

high, all in Pieces. - 
.-.T-h^ next Winter, 1740, thieyrdifcoTered feveral 
^uildif^s, and other Houfes buried, with Marks 
pf gi^e^t Magnificence,, in which I obferved a con- 
tinued Architeftu re of fmall GaUerics^ paved with 
|4ofgiie» and painted red ; in tfie: which are Pic- 
^res in Grotefque, and other Figures : Thence 
there is one ftrait Stair-cafe, and ndt very wide, 
to go up to the Floor above. i 

- All the. Wood*woxk is as black is a Coal, in 
great Pi^rt .gloffy and entire, but -as foon as touched, 
it f^lls in Pieces,, and you may fee the Lines, or 
Grain^ by' which "you may know the Kind of 
Wood, It 



Ahttmt Clfy of HER ACLE A. 123 

It b aIfb'6bterVable, that when they beat down 
the Walls, the Strokes rebound or echo from the 
neighbouring Habitations. 

The WaHfe hitherto found are very well pre- 
fctvtA^ the' Edges of the Stones being undamaged. 

The Wiater which works thro' from above, has 
fufted all the Iron ; the* Windows were not very 
large ; in fonle of which remained Part of the 
Glafing, which appeared to be of Chalk, or elfe a 
fine Alabaftcr. 

The firft Opening which was made, happened 
to be exlftly \h the Middle of the Theatre, from 
the Doors whereof they went into the Streets,, one 
of which led into the City of Heraclea. 

This is what- I could obferve myfelf till Jun^, 
1 74O, when I was (with his Majefty's Permiflion) 
obliged to¥etufrt to Cortina, to fettle my domeftick 
Affairs, tlio* very much againft my Inclination, 
having a particular Love for the Study of An- 
tiquitjr. ' ^ ' : 

C B A P. XI. 

Of later Difcoveries^ with other Obfervations and 

Remarks. 

SO many and different are the Accounts, which 
I have received of the Continuation of the 
Difcoveries in Heraclea, and mixt with fo many 
Abfurdities, that they rather confufe, than give 
any Light* to the Curiots; wherefore I refolved to 
wait for the Draughts, before I publifhed my Opi- 
nion ; but finding tliere were no good Defigners, 
and li they had done them, I could not be prefent 
to compare them with the Originals ; I (hall con- 
tent myfelf with fetting down the principal Things ' 
which 1 found therein •, the others, (being very nu- 
.' . R 2 merous,) 



^ I 



124 A Description of the 

mcrous,) wij] be publifhed by one who has, at pre- 
fcnt, the Care and Infpe6tion thereof. 

His Majefly being engaged in Bufinefs of great 
Importance ; {about the War) who put himfelf at the 
Head of his Army to defend his Kingdom, poft- 
poning his own Danger, to the Tranquillity of his 
Subjeds ; was the Reafon that they fufpended their 
Search, which had been fo diligently made for 
fome Years ; but when Things were again fettled. 
Providence rewarded ^hem with new, grand, and 
unheard-of Difcoveries, viz. 

Two fine Equeftrian Colofial Statues of Marble, 
%hich flood before one of the two Gates of the 
Theatre, /«/- in the Front of that Street which 
led to the City of Heraclea. They were eredlcd 
in Honour of the two Balbi, Father and Son ; the 
gowned Statues of whom are above defcribed. One 
of thefe Statues was broke in Pieces, the other 
better preferved ; and being repaired, was put up 
in the Court of the Palace at Portici. The Infcrip- 
tion on the Pedeftal I mentioned before, viz* 

M. NONIO. M. F. 

BALBO. 

PR. PRO. COS. 

HERCVLANENSES. 

If we place a Point between the firft P. and the 
R. as fome have done, without feeking for any 
ilrange Interpretations, it would be P. K. PROC. 
Publica Ret Pr'ccuratori. 

It is ji. noble Sutue, and of excellent Workman-^ 
Ihip, and is equally as curious as the Brafs £que<- 
ftrian Statue of M. Aurelius in the Capitol ; being 
the more valuable on Account of the fmall Num^ 
ber of Marble Equeftrian Statues that have been 
found. The Metal of the Horfe, the Ornaments, >, 
and Trappings, would take up too much Time to .« 
relate, * 

Another 



jfntieni City of UEKACL'E A. 125 

Another Statue of the Emperor Vitcllius, which 
is put on a new Pedeftal before the Steps of the 
faid Palace at Pozzoli. A Braft Statue of Ner6 
naked, and^ feated^ with Thunder in his Hand» 
reprefented thus iq the Figure of Jupiter by forac 
flattering Statuary, like that which was found in 
the Via Lavicana, and is now in the Mufeum of 
Mr. Charles Frederick in London ; that Tyrant 
being often reprefented in the Figure of Apbllo 
Citharoedus. 

Eight other Coloflal Statues feated, and many 
others, which have been repaired by Signor Ca- 
nard, a very ingenious Statuary ; and thefe Rari* 
ties adorn the domeftick Theatre at his Majcfty's 
Villa at Portici, viz. the Stairs, the Rooms, and 
the Gardens, which are become a Kind of a Mu- 
feum. 

There arc many other Veflcls, Tripods, Sta- 
tues, and Idols, continually dug up ; two fine 
Columns of fix Palms Height are placed in the. 
Royal Chapel at Portici ; and the larger ones I, 
mentioned before. 

A Difmiffion of the Soldiers, on Tables of 
Brafs, bound together (with fmall Brafs Clafps) in 
Form of aBook^ wrote on all Sides, and like that 
of Galba, and Domitian, in the Imperial Gallery 
at Florence ; in which is an Account, of the Reft 
and Freedom of the City granted to the Soldiers 
that behaved well, and were vidorious ; which is 
worth obferving, and merits a particular Regard. 
Another of Galba is in the Mufeo Barbarini. 

The Reader may imagine the infinite Number. 
of Medals, Gravings, cut Jewels, and Fragmentt* 
of ^I Kinds ; as there are fo many, that all the 
grand Chambers; and Repofitories at Portici, are 
full of them. 

They tell you there is a Decree of the Gytma- 
Jiarcha concerning the ^mM Athletici and PlebifeUu 

which 



^^ 



156 yf DEsGitiPridN of the "^ 

yfhich I fuppofe arc the above Tables of the Lr- 
herti alleSd. A Metal Head piece, -bigger than the 
natural Size, adorned with Bafli Rilievi. 

As to the buried City, I fljall finilh my Dif- 
courfe, with afierting, that (as I faid before) it 
yiz% firft ruined by an Eaohquake, then rcboilt 
again ; afterwards covered with Aihes, j^nd partly 
confumed by the Fire reverberating from Vefu- 
vius ; vi ignis % and finally covered with Earth, by 
the feveral Eruptions which have been lince, 'Tis 
^ obfefvable, that in the Metal VeflcJs were found 
fliut up, feveral Kind of Things burnt to Coal, 
and yet retaining their ancient Shape, as Fruits,' 
Corn, Bread, Olives, &c. In particular,, a Pyc in 
a Metal Pan, one Palm and an half Diameter, 
fliut up in an Oven, which, being touched^^ im* 
mediately dropped in Pieces. In this Place were 
feveral Kitchen .Utenfils of Metal. 

In another Houfc hard by, which had a Mofaic 
Pavement, was obferved a handfome Marble Door, 
the- Frame of which (being of Wood) was burnt 
to Coal ; with a handfome Chain, which the 
Count d*Arcos, a P6rtugutfe,. took off for him- 
felf. Anno 1747. 

* 

From what has hitherto been done, the following 

Remarks are made. 

I. That the Seats of the Theatre, ran up, towiirds 
the Sea. 

II. That the Toiium^ Prpfeamum fcf Orcbefira^ are 
ftill covered with Earth. 

III. That the faid Profcoenium had behind, feveral 
.^ Marble Pedeftals, on which flood the Columns 

of red Marble, two of which, as I faid, 4te in 
the Church, or rather Cathedral of St; Jaouartus, 

IV. That among thefe Columns, wer^ ithc Coloffiil 
Statues: of finifs^ and fOrnoed. a Profpoflivc to a 

V $tree^ which led towards the Sea. ' - 

V. That 



N 



Antient City of HEK ACL th. 127 

V. That from the Theatre, went the other Streets 
of the City-; in one ofi which were the Equcf- 
trian. Marble Statues of the Balbi, Father and 
Son. ' 

VI. That the City of Heiaclea, as near as' one can 
conjefturc, extended about a Mile and a Half, 
along the Shore, and towards the Villa of Port ici. 

VII. Tljat therein were, other fumptuous Build- 
ings ; one of which, from the Foundations, I 
imagine to have been a Bafilica ; in which was 
the Statue of Vitellius, and on the Sides were fix 
Pcdeftais with Statues of Brafs, which are partly, 
melted by Vefuvius. 

VIH. That befides the 1"emple of Hercules, there, 
were other Temples, as of Apollo, isfr. of whichi 
^ DeJty^there were found, two large Statues withr 
out Heads ; and a fmall Tctnple of feveral 
Kinds cJf Marble in Mofaic Wor^k ; within which; 
was > a Statue of Gold, which his Majefty pre-, 
ferves. 

This nurvellous Colledion of Anticjuitys, will 
become more com pleat in Time, as the Works 

• • • 

proceed, and , the Learned will find their Doubts 
cleared up, concerning the Epocha of an Infinity^ 
of biftorical Fa6ts, and about the'Cufl:oms, Arts, 
and religious Ceremonys- of the A,ntients. 
« Such and fo great is the Admiration of all Eu- 
rope, at thcfe Difcovfcries, as I think I cannot bet- 
ter demo^ftrate, than by publifliing (in the origi- 
nal Xianguage) the- Sentiments of fome learned 
F.o?eigners concerning the fame, and their Ap- 
p^aufe of the good Fortune and Greatnefs of Soul 
of CHARLES. BOURBON, King of the I7f^ 
&ICILTS } which (SentimentSy &c.) wcrexommuni- 
cated bv them to his Excellency the Cardinal Qui- 
rini, and follows as hereunder, for the Ufe of the 
learned Fart of the World* 

PLAUSUS 



128 ^Db6Crii^tion of thi 

P L A U S U S 

ORBIS LITERATI SEPTENTRIONALI^, 

Ob Vetera monumenta, qux ex recens 

deteSa Herculani Urbe in Regno 

Neapolitano eruuntur. 

E» Programmate Jo. Matthia Gefneri Puhlici in R^im 

Academia GotUngenJi Profejf, pro filvindis ejufdem 

jtcademia Votis Dicermalibus^ novijque nuruupandis^ 

publicato Gottinga nunf* Sipttmb. an. mdccxlvii. 

REfufcicatur ab aliquo tempore, qui jam ante 
hos aliquot annos fparfus per Germaniam 
quoque rumor fuerat, de veteri urbe ex cineribus 
& pumicibus Vefuvii montis coepta erui, quam 
** diurna Gallica, Britannica, noftra H£Racl£aM 
" appellant; Herculanum, vel Herculane- 
uM dicerent accuratius. Hoc enim oppidum 
maritimum paucis millibus pafluum ab ipfo illo 
cratere Vefuvii rcmotum, cum jam pars illius 
Kegulo & Virginio Coss. ruilTet, dubieque fta- 
rent, quse relida erant, paucis annis poll erum- 



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^* pente primum pod bqminum memoriam Vefuvii 
«' incendio, plane hauftum, id eft combuftum, c- 

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jeAifque ex illius horrendo fpecu arenis, cineri- 
bus, pumicibus, obrutumeft. 

Hujus igitur oppidi, dum navas asdificationes 
" & villas molitur Carol us, utriufque Sicilian 
** Rex, quem in Porticu fua exornanda ftudiofe 
*' vcrfari alias mcmoratur, non tenues modo reli- 
^' quias, non ftatuas, columnas, urnas, inveniri 
aiunt ; fed plane urbem integram, in eaque do- 
mus inftruAas & homines, fuis cuixl vefttbus, 
integros, ut deprehenfi a calamitate fuerant. 
** Non lubet jam quaercre fierinc poffint, qu« nar- 
^^ rata de inventa denuo urbe legimus ? & qua ra- 
" ,tione potuerint in odavum ufque dccimum fae- 

1 ** culum 



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^jiniient diiy' of ii^^^ 

*^ culum tot res int^ritatem fuam rctinere ? Meli- 
" us dc his quferetur, cum quid^invcntum fit, fide 
*' idooeorum teftium conftabit. Nobis lubet co- 
" gitationi non injucunds paullum immorari. Si 
'*' liceat ponere vera die, quae nondum fatis ccrti& 
l^audlonbus narrantur : quam nova rerum quam 
inopina facics hinc furgat litcrarum ? quanta put- 
\^ris hujus Vcfiiviani disjeftu certamina antiqua- 
riorUnl conquiefctot ? quanta item fijrgant nova? 
Poniteunum aliquem librum inveniri : quot 
*' inde res difccrent curiofi harum rerum ? cum 
\[ nee tina charta mahus eruditae calamo fcripta 
** ncc una cer^ ftilo dofto fignata, ejus astatis, ad 
" jios pervcncrit. Sed fi tarita fortuna homines 
\^ aiitiquitatis ftudiofos refpiciat, uti ex illo fc- 
pulcro prodeat aliquis integer Diodorus Siculus^ 
cujus Bibliotheca eo tempore, in ilia vicinia^ 
Bibliothecas ornabat haud dubie ; Pplybius ali^- 
*' quis totus, aut Salluftius, aut (himis forte invi* 
*' aendum munus!) Livius, aut Tacitus ; autOvi- 
" dianorum Faftorum pars pofterior : aut, ut ad 
patriam noftram pragcipue rcfpi^iamus, illi Pli- 
nii majoris Bellorum Germaniac viginti libri, 
*< fauos ille inchoavit, cum militaret in Gcrmania ? 
^ Bibliotheca vero tota hpminis eruditi fi invenia- 
** tur (& fuerunt ip e^ vicinia vijlas ujc Ciceronis 
** & LuculH fie aliorum procul dubio, quarum 
•* ornamenta Bibliothccae nOn poftrema) quantum 
•* ; ipde materias nafceretur homini6us eruditis ? 
*' Nonne ilia fuerit qu3Bdam;R9manae majeftatis 
i nftaiiratio ? nonne felix quasdam'reparatio tenx- 
porum ? Igiturmirum non fuerit fi quis de illo 
genere hominum ju»<ro7raraxIof ipfum Regem 
Carol UM fie alloquatur : Ma£le veno ifta feli- 
citate^ Carole, Regum fortunatiffime : tene^ 
^^^^uafoy ttrge^ preme^ occajionem divinitus objeSfam 
tibi. Habes oftenfum iibi ad immortalitatem iter 
exjpfditumj facile^ tutum. ^in tu ijlos exercittts 

S *' (quibiiS 






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fJO A DES.CRIJfttOM of fh6 

(quihus hngum otium bona pars Europa precAtur) 
ocius irejubes ad eruendum fua e fepultura Hetctk- 
lanum^ unde plus tibi fc? Hit manfur^e per onmiay 
qme futura funt^ facula gloria parabitur^ quamfi 
vajiitatem per ilium inferas Italia, MaliSy quafo^ 
reparator antiqui faculi^ &f antiquarufn artium onh 
nium inftaurator infer ibi ftatuis^ imfno chartis ater- 
fium manfuris commendarij quam incertam duhianh 
que Mar lis fubire fortunam. Hoc igitur age^ "Ca- 
role, Rex inclute^ 6f illud in primis cura^ ut 
praficiantur negotio cauli homines^ (S'periti barum 
•' rerum^ IS amantes^ ^^ ft futlSo jam fatt s R^mo^ 
Mazbchius, Ji illorum apud vos Jimiles^ fi chorus 
Hie erudiu Italia^ cut fuus velut prafulfato datus 
ejfe pradicaiur, negotio fuficere propter alia rum 
pojjint ; Socerum tuum roga^ ut tibi Bergcros mit- 
•** tat fuosj ^ Mafcovios, 6? Chriftios, &f Saxios, 
*** quorum opera can^eatur^ ne^ dum inveniuntur the- 
** fauri^ pereantj ne parum accurate referantur vel in 
piSlas tabulas, vel in litter as : nefiat^ quod in Pli- 
nit villat ut inventa etiam delitefcat. Sed tempe- 
ramus nobis ab imagine, quse forte a fomnio 
** non multum diflTeret. Profuerit fane Hercula* 
** num ex Vefuvii rejisAamcntis cnitum Antiqui- 
tati, Hiftoriae, Archite6hira?, literis otilnibns : 
fuerit parata gloria Regi magnanimo, qui ilia 
imperio & providentia flia perfecerit : non pro- 
fcfto minus, quin plus longe folidse gloriae 6f 
perpetuas pr^edicationis mercntur Rcges, & aml- 
ci Regum illi, qui ratiofiibus aliis moliuatur r$- 
^' parntionem feculorum.** 



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Jntient City of HER ACLE A. 131 

Ex Epiftola D. Card, ^irini ad Jacobum WiU 
lelmum Peverlinum Publicum Academia ejuf-^ 
dent Profeffbremy Brixia Im^rejfa menf. Febr. 
an. MDCCXLVUi. 

OUtinam ! pari ratione, qua cupitis ut ejj^ 
Herculano, veluti ex lepxilchro, prode-* 
ant aliquis integer Diodorus, Polybius aliqui? 
" totus, aut Salluftius, aut Livius, aut Tacitus,^ 
«* aut Ovidianorum Faftorum pars pofterior, aut 
" Plinii majoris Bcllorum Gcrmaniae libri vtginti j 
" cura mea novam vitam Dio Caffius recipere po- 
" tuiflfet ! Pro CO e Vaticana Bibliotbcca effbdi- 
•* endo, non mediocriter me uno & ^mplius ab- 
** hinc anno laborafle, fidem Vobis facient binac 
** meac Epiftolse ad Reimarum Clariffimum. Hgnv 
" burgenfem Profcfforem datae, locqmque fortitas' 
** in quarta mea Latinarum Decade. An melior 
" fortuna arrifcrit Carminio Falconi^ Calabro hifce * 
** temporibus Archiepifcopa res . ipfa declarabit 
" propediem ; admonuit me fcilieet ille ante tres 
*' menfes, Dionis foi primum ' Tomuni lucem 
" publicam vifurum, antequam annus modo jam 
•* elapfus cxpiraret. Opus illud avidiflime expec-. 
** tari a Reimaro, omnium certiffime teftari Vobis 
^' potis erit Crufius vefter, quod recens Haarburgi 
*' lares fuos pofuerit •, indeque per ipfum propius 
^^ exftimulari velim cundem Reimarum meo etin 
** am nomine ad Editiohem ejus Hiftorici, quan^ 
«' & Ipfe a multis anni^ gdoraat, fftq in pyblicqni 



cducendamJ 



r 



a 2 £;» 



X^Z -A DE8CRIP|T.ION-5/'/i?. 

Ex. Efijiola H^manm Samt/eUs Rsimari 

: Puhl. Hambergenjit Jkademia Pro- 

fe/f. ad Z). Card, ^irinum fcripta 

Hamburgi die v, Feb. mdccxlviii. 

" ^ I" AAndepn aliquando tempus inftat, quo- pof- 
*' i '•"' ni'anuth admovere operi, cujus Tu 
** adhuc Fautor, idemque Promotdr, Inftigator- 
" que fuifti, fimylque, fi idpcr Te ]icebit, rheam 
« Tibi pietatemgratumqueanimum teftari. Nam^ 
" ut ex adjetao fpccimine Editionis intelligcs, hie, 
** Hamburgi jam paratur Editio, typi recen.tcv 
« &quidcin lucukntiorcs ad textum gr. iat. furv, 
" duntur, & faAo poft Pentecoftetp initio, qua? 
*' tuor hebdomadatim plaguls profligabuntur.j fie, 
« ut proximo anno fperem me primum volumcri, 
•' ad Tux purpurae prsetextam depofiturum. tfcr, 
** teruni de Herculaneo cuperem certioralquani, 
*• adhuc rcfcivimus ; quamquam ex;,illius inccndij. 
*• reliquiis nihil expefto ad Dionem. Tanjen, ft 
" comparationi locus eft, cicius ex jgne Vefuvji, 
" quam ex ftimo . Fflconis reftitvi pionepi po/lc, 
^\ arbitror." ', . 



Antknt City ,(f H J5 R A C L B A. 1 3} 

Thp. following Letter was lately communicated 
ftp the Publifhcr o£ tb? Italian ?ook, in London), 
by Mr. Young, on? of his Britannick Maiefty*$ 
German Secretaries, apd Preceptor to their Serenp, 
Hi^hneffes the young Princes^ 

V I R O C L A R I S si M O, \ 

JO. M ATTHIjE gesnero 

Publico GoETT iNOENSi Professqri 

A. M. CARO. dUIRINUS 

iS. R, B. BibUotbe(arius, & Eptfc, Brmm. 

PO S t ^V A M fupfrionhus drehs puklicandu^, 
Brixianii bis typis cenfui plaufus ab Orbe lite- 
fato Beptmirionali editos ob Vetera Monumental quat • 
ex recens deteSa Herculani Urbe inRegu^ Neapolitans, 
frumtur^ 3>, Vir ClariJJime^ Programmatis, quo in 
primis plaufus illi continentur^ difertiffmum Author em 
fideat^ oportet^ Tibique ' infuper infcribatur^ excava- 
iionis illius Befcriptio meas ai mantis Jam jam perlaia. 
Rocce igitur grato animp accipias^ precor^ munufcu- 
fumy et^ omnino impar its gratibus referendis^ qufts * 
7?&' a me deberi profe£us fum publico documentor lite- ' 
vis fcilicet ad Fever linum Collegam tuum doSliJJimum * 
puperrime exaratis. Singularis etenim beneficii loco i 
accepijfem, me unum in Italia ab humanitate vefira fe- 
leffum fui£i^ cui copid fiiret ejufdem ProgrdmmatiSy 
legendi primoj ac petfrutndi ; deinde vero illius conp- 
fnunicandi cum eruditis FiriSj quibus certe hac etiam 
tempejtat^ regio nofira abundat. ^id vero? quum^ 
Tibi pr^eterea vifum fuerit^ injeSa ibidem mei nominis , 
fnentionCy tanto me honor e dignari^ utf dum legerem^ 
in genas meas e purpura^ quam gero^ rubor em iflabi , 
ftpim perfenferim. 




134 A De SCRIP riou of tbf 

Pretio auUm Defcriptionis^ quam confejiim profe-r 
ram^ nihil decedere arhitrdbory Ji Ttbi candide expo- 
nam levem aliquam offenfionem^ quam mibi ejufdem ex- 
erdium progignit. Memoratur in eg M. Nonius Bal- 
iusj indigitaturque abfque ulla hafitatione Proconful. 
Jnfcriptio autem^ unde nomen illud baurifur^ bujuf-^ 
modi ift i 

M. NONIO M.F, 

BALBO 

P.R. PRO a 

^ERCULANENSES. 

P. 

bacque rccitata Juibor Difcripticnis fubdit^ fig^^ '^" 
las P. R. a nemine adbuc inteUellas fuiffe. Etji vero 
mulsum tgo abfinLf ui Antiqoam perfonam iuduamy 
baud diffimulabo mibi videri, lit eras quoque PROC. 
ejufdem Author isy aliorumque^ qui iijfdew Proconfulta 
interpretatio7iem indiderint^ infelleSum fHSip* I^iasi 
namque^ potius quam Prqconful, interpretarer ega 
Procurator ; figlafque P. R. qua illicp pr^ecedunt^ red- 
derefu^jeu Pubiicas Rci, feu Privatae Rci, /eu Prin- 
cipis Kationis, /eu tqndepj,^ Patrimonii Ratianis -, 
infiituebantur enim a Principe Procuratores^ i^m pub- 
liciy quam privati fui patrimonii in provi^ciisy (si ur^ 
libus^ bofque illuftri dignitate^ &? magna autboritaU 
pr<edilos fuijfe innotefcit, Infcriptio^ quam aff^,j ^e- 
leberrimus Muratorius /)..MMXXiy. Tb^p tn/tiript^ 
uuf parum fidditer Neapoli defcripta fuit^ aui rem^ ^e^ 
qua agituTy obfctit(tt potius quam illujlrat *, nam it§ 
ilia fe babet eo loco : ' 

M. NONIO M. F. BALBO 

PR. PRO. COS. 

D E. 

^que miror^ nuUatn hujufee Infcriptionis mentionem 
fieri in Befcriptione mox fubfungenday nee Murato- 
rium ulla Adnotatione tenebras, quas dixi^ depellen 
furajfe. 

Veni^ nunc ad Defcriptioneni^ . A N 



Jaiient City e/ tl E ft. A G L E A. 2 3 if 

AN' 

A ceo UN r 

Of the Searches made in the Village of Refiruiy hf 
Order of the King of the Two Sicilies. 

AS they were Building, about fifty Years ago, 
a Palace near the prefent Opening, they 
found fomc curious Statues that had been fecratly 
conveyed out of the Kingdom : On tliis Dif- 
covery, the King ordered that they ihould begin 
to fink (at his Ellcpence) a large and very deep Pit 
near that P^rt : On doing which, they dug up fo 
many Pieces of Antiquities of all Kinds, as formed, 
in five or fix Years Time, fuch a fine Mufeum, 
that no other Monarch could have colleded the 
like in many Ages ; and as the Mine (if we may 
fo call it) is vaft, and untouched, there is hardly a 
Day paffes, but they turn up fomc Statue, or 
other antique VeflTels, and Furniture. 

Of the Things which have been hitherto difco- 
Vered (altho* fome have been entirely deftroyed, 
others badly managed, and others that the King 
keeps locked up, as very great Curiofities ;) there 
is a Block of Marble, reprefcnting a Horfe and 
his Rider, as large as Life, being the Proconful 
M. Nonius Balbus in Armour, with his Robe 
hanging on his Left Shoulder, fo well wrought, as 
would amaze the Beholders : Both the Horfe and 
the Proconful are of the moft excellent Workman- 
IJiip, being (no doubt) made by a Grecian Arti- 
ficer, of fine white Statuary Marble ; you may 
plainly difcern the Veins, andMufcles, thePofture, 
and Mettle of the Steed, having one Ear (among 
other Graces) ftanding forwards, and the other to- 

5 , ' ' ' ' wards 



136 !/f DEstkipTibN 0} the 

wards the Rider, who has Spurs on his Heels, 
and a Ring on his Finger, tec. viery ingeniouQy 
wrought ; as are alfo the Bread-plate, the Reins^ 
and the Biidle. The Infcription On the Pedeftalj 
is as follows. 

^ M. NO*^IO. M. F. . 

BALBO 

f.R. PROC. 

HERCVLANENSES 

ft 

It iids hot ^et been found wh^t this Infcription is t 
ho one could hitherto tinderftand the P. R. There 
haVe been feveral Etplitations made at Florence^ 
all which I hatre noted ; but now, adl only as a 
Relater, hot an Antiquary. The King has placed 
this Equeftrian Statue, (which is the moft beauti- 
ful this Day in the whole World, much finer thatn 
that of Antoninus in the Capitol, both as it i5 
done by a better Matter, and as it is of older Date,) 
in the Court of his grand Palace at Portici, being 
inclofed with an Iron Gate, and Marble Pilafters, 
and a Guard of Soldiers about it. 

Before the Steps of the faid Palace you fee^ on i 
rnodern Bafe, a compleat Statue of Vitellius the 
Emperor, as large as Life : It is extremely per- 
feft, and his Features very like thofe on the Coin, 
The Bfeaft-pjate is ornamented with whimfical 
Bafli Rilievi, and the Spurs arc furprizing, as is 
alfo his Robe ; there is only wanting the Spear^ 
which poffibly he 'held in his Right Hand, that 
being alfo wanting. This was found not long be* 
fore the above-mentioned Equeftrian Statue. 

They found. fix or more Coloflal Statues, and 
Statues of Women, of Bronze ; and one of Nero 
Entirely naked, alfo of Bronze, holding Thunder 
111 his Hand like Jupiter, of excellent Workman- 
iliip. Two ColoiTai Statues feated^ but without 

Head^ 



jlnfiffttCtfyofHE^ACLEA. 137 

Heads. A little Temple of Mofaic Work. ^A 
lurprizing Number of middling-fized, and fmall 
Statues and Idols ; fome of which arc fo curious« 
that two or three are worth all the E;>fpence that 
the King hath hitherto been at. They are not yet 
all placed, but are repoliihing, without uking off 
their antique Patina *, or Colour. It is reported, 
that they found another Horfe equal to the former, 

/but broken. I fhall not mention fevcral other 
Things of Marble, fuch as Tables fuppprted by 
whimfical Figures, &c. 

They have found fundry other Things tending 
to illuftrate Antiquity, viz. Veflels of Braft, with- 

-.out Flaws 5 Meafures for Liquons, with the Han- 
dles curioufly wrought with Bafli Rilievi ; and an 
infinite Number of Kitchen Utenfils ; alfo Inftru- 

.ments to knead Paftry ; and (who would belicv,c 
it?) they found an Oven (lopped, which being 
opened, had a Pye within in a Metal Pan, about 

'one Palm and an half Dijimeter ; the Pye being 

"burnt to a Coal (neverthelefs one might pqrccivc 
iHe Ornameiits , of ihc Cruft) fell in Pieces in the 

'Difli, which. was carried to the King. In the 
Bake-houfe they found feveral Utenfils of Metal, 

.^d of Ch^lk « Wherefore^ let no one doubt the 
Truth thereof, as we have had fuch certain Signs, 

'and faithful Accounts. 

There were found fome curious Marble Q>]umn9, 

. two of which were about fix Palms high, which 

. the King has placed in his Oratory ii\ the faid Pa^ 
lace ; TeffcUated Pavements, &c. Several Things 

, arc loft^ ' becaufe the Fire of Vefuvius, which co- 

^ Vjsred them, has cither totally, or partly confumcd 

, many Things, even tho* of Marble or Brafs. . 

^ A Sore of green Cruft that comes over Copper and Bra& 
Coins, Sec. when they have lain any Time in the Ground^ bat 
does not in the leaft obicure the Impreffion. 

The 



138 ^Description ^ the 

The King has in his Mufcum Locks of all Sorts, 
Keys, Latches, Door-Rings, Hinges, Arms, and 
what not ? Cameo's^ .Medals, Cornelians and Jewels, 
fomc curioufly cut, and fome but indifferently. 

'Tis not a Year fince there was a Report in this 
Metropolis, that they had found a Book of Brafs, 
confiding of only four Leaves, with Writing en- 
graved on both Sides, containing a Difmiffion of 
the Soldiers of that Place where the Search was 
inadc, having Clafps, &c. A Thing which is not 
in. the Pofleflion of any other Monarch : *It could 
hot be read by the Learned, as the King keeps it 
under Lock and Key. 

The Infcriptions are the moft valuable Pieces of 
Antiquity, becaufe they acquaint us what thofc 
PUccs were, where they are found ; they 'mention 
the Names of the Emperors, and the Theatre : 
Among othqrs, laft Summer they found a very 
large one, which they fay mentions fome Roman 
Families. It fccms, Monf. Bajardi intends to pub- 
Jifli it. 

' -There arc alfo a great Number of Fragments, 
which pannot be put together, as they are fo evil 
treated, and broke. 

Our King fcems extremely jealous, and keeps 
every Thing fafe locked up ; and there are fcveral 
. Rooms ,erc(SiDg under the Royal Apartments in^ 
the Palace at Naples, wherein to place thefe An- 
tiquities in Order, (but we don*t know when it 
'will.Jjp done) poffibly- with the Afljftancc of fomc 
learned Antiquaries. 

Every one would be glad that we would explain 
to Foreigners, what Place this has been where wc 
find thefe fuperb and precious Remains. But, how 
can we tell for certain, fince the Mining is done 
fo confufedly, and they don't leave the Parts empty 
that have been dug, but fill them up again as they 
go on, becaufe there is a large Village over it, 

• 4 called 



Jntiint City ^ HER ACLEA. ij^ 

cdled by us Refina^ and by the Latins Retina f It 
would amaze one to fee the mafiy Statues M. the 
feveral Emperors. *Tis true, that we had Vitcl- 
lius and Nero in our Theatres, to whom. Statues 
might be eredied : But as we find in the fame 
Place, the Names of the Proconfuls Balbi, and thd 
Statues of Women like Veftals, &c. about nind 
Palms high, we can't fay whether here had been ^ 
Temple, a Theatre, a City, or any triuniphal 
Arches ; and fo much the more as we found Ovens^ 
Kitchens, culinary Utenfils, Books, &c. and it 
will not be eafily determined j wherefore we muffi 
wait till Chance or Fortune throws in our Way 
fome furer Traft or Method pf finding it out, and 
then we (hall make known the Truth to the Fub- 
lick. Moreover, it ought to be confidered, that 
Vefuvius is a fad Dcftroyer, which Ruins and burns 
up our pleafant Country. And who, among eirert 
the moft learned Antiquaries, can (from only what 
we fee) argue or determine what this fertile^ rare,- 
and fuperb Antiquity has been ? 

One Thing we have already found for certain^' 
fciL that Herculanum^ or Herculaniumy ^Hp ^^eroy in 
the Greek, was here, and not at Torre del Greco^ 
as we Neapolitans, and all the mod exa6l Geogra^ 
phers, (and among the reft Cluetius^ who faw thefe 
Places) believed, having found that the HercuUr 
nenfes ereded a Statue to Nonius BaJbus. 

Thofe who have not read Dion, Strabo; and the 
other Geographers in the Originals, but bnly in 
Tranflations> believe, andareobflinateif^perfifting, 
that it is the Theatre that was demolifhed in the 
Reign of Titus, &c. as bur Sig, Lafcna^ a very 
obfcure Author, fays in his Book de Gymnafio^ 
tho* he fays it is mofl: likely, that the Theatre .wa$ 
not in Heraclea, but in our Royal City,' or elfc in 
both Places. It would take up a Year's Time to 
decide this Qjeftion, to confutt a great Number of 

T 9 Greek 



140 A Description (^ the 

Greek and Latin Authors, and make the neceffary ' 
Obfervations, and t6 clear it from the Confiifion 
*tis put in, by our learned Sig. Lafena, who merits 
Cenfure for every Reflexion he has made. 

At prefent our King has (with a truly Royal 
Magnificence) begun to dig another vaft Pit at 
Cumay tho* a little cxhaufted, by Rcafon of the 
Antiquities therein not having been fo much co- 
vered there, as at Refina or Heracka. However, 
there is found a Gallery with a great many Coloffal 
Statues, <>ne of which being taken up, is a Hercu- 
les fourteen or fifteen Palms high, quite naked, 
and Part of his Arms and Legs are wanting :' The 
Head, and what remains, is not inferior to the 
Ercole Farnefe. All our Painters admire it with 
Surprize. They dug up from Time to Time fe- 
ireral fuch Statues, which will be plafced on new 
Bafes, under the Arches of the Royal Palace at 
Naples. They found fome curious Bafli Rilievi ; 
tW6 fine Infcriptions, the one in Greek, which I 
interpreted 5 the other very difficult, in Hexameter 
Verfes, in Praife of Venus •, which I alfo made 
out,' and read to the Abbot Coflali, and fent a 
fmall Copy to the learned Apoftolo Zeno -, befides 
many fepulchral Infcriptions of the Liberti or 
Freemen, which, if I have not all myfelf, I know 
where they are. 

There is no Room to doubt that Heraclea was 
^hcTt RSfina now {hinds, as it is faid in Antoni- 
nus's Itinerary (or Journal) to be fix Miles froni 
Naples; vfhere^sTorre del GrecOy which was thought 
to. have been Heraclea^ is called Turris Oifava, be- 
ing eight Miles from that Metropolis, and poQibly 
there was a Tower at the End of every Mile. 

I hear by my Friends (who have read fome of 

the Remains of Infcriptions) that they found fome 

cubital Letters plainly to exprefs Teatro^ and the 

Name of the Architeft Rufus, who built it. 

• - - - The 



AntientCityofliERACLTS.h. i4t 

The Hole they have dug runs eighty Palms 
deep, and is entirely covered with thick Bitumen, 
which Vefuvius has poured out at divcn Times v 
and this Place is upwards of five or fix Miles di- 
ftant from Ae Mouth of that Vulcano. 'Tis about 
one Mile from the Sea, 1 think it is worthy the 
Obfervation of every learned Perfofi, that this 
Theatre and City of Heradea^ bears upon it x 
Mafs of Bitumen eighty Palms thick ; and in the 
Time of Titus, this Shore was fo many Palms 
lower than it is now. What fuiprizirtg Eruptions' 
of Fire and Stones ! 

I had forgot to inform you, that there were 
found a great Number of excellent Paintings, 
which were pared off from the fubterraneou^ 
Walls, and put in convenient Places, to be viewed 
by the Profeflbrs, who admire the Livelinefs of 
the Colours, the Defign, and the Expreflion of 
what is reprefented. 

The King being advifed, that all thefe Remains 
of Antiquities ought to be engraved on Cop'per- 
Plates, a bad Artift fet about them •, whence be- 
ing very incorrcftly done, the beft Engraver at 
Rome was fent for, and a handfome Reward 
afligned him ; and as he is extremely well verfed 
in defigning, the Publick may expeft foon to have 
the Pleafure of feeing Plates of the Statues, and 
the reft of the new Mufeum. 

They found a curious Mani^ Panteay which will 
cxercife the ingenious Lovers of Antiquities. 

Among the Paintings, which have been difco* 
vered, and are prcferved by the King, there are 
Reprefentations of Buildings of noble Architcdurej 
and in thefe, are to be feen Windows with Panes^ 
which have deceived fome of our middling Anti- 
quaries, who have reported them to be Glafs, 
like ours, but may poflibly reprefcnt the tranfpa- 
rent Stones they ufcd for them. * 

In 



142 A Description of the 

In fliort, we might furnifh the Publick wkh 
different Informations before unknown, and neccf* 
iary to illuftrate the beft Greek and Latin Writers* 

Now while \ am finifhing this Account, I am 
informed by Perfons of Credit, . that a few Days 
fince there was found an Etwee very much worn, 
containing Needles, ScifTars, Thimbles, and other 
Feminine Implements : Alfo a large Marble Statue, 
and other large Pieces of Marble Columns, which, 
thofe that are digging, flatter themfelves will be 
very curious. 

Sijfare quum itajint^ nemo inficiabitury Herculanen- 
fern Civitatem ab inferis noftra bac tempeftate excitatam 
^bi Optimo jure eos plaufus promeruijfe^ quos Tuj Ck- 
r^me Gefnere^ edidijli in ProgrammaUy quo Regue 
tftius Academic decennalie celebrajii. Idoneis Jiqutdem 
jam teftibus conftat, Herculanum ex Vefuvii rejeSa" 
mentis erutum Antiquitatiy Hiftori^y ArcbiteSur^^ 
Uteris omnibus profuturum. * ^are tibi plaudo^ Ora- 
lor difertiffimey 3!ibigratulory aique Eruditis omnibus 
gaudeo. Vale. 

Brixias, die xvl. Martii, An. mdccxlviii. 

• P. S. An eutem infer^ire etiam fojjtt figtnia Diltmi Noetici 
ipKhd^ id froftSo affirman hph aufim, nee froinii fujfragio meo 
frehmre qum di ta refcripfit Praful Romana Curia cetera doBif" 
finmsy mihique^ dam njimeret^ amcijjimus^ Franc. Blancbinus in 
Ubr9^ Hiftoiia Univerfale provata coin mbnumenti, e figurata 
con fimboli degli AnticBi : ^0 enim pa0» mihi njel ipje^ 'vei 
mlius perfuaferit^ certis omnino annorum periods alUgata fuijfe ea 
§mnia Vefuvii rejeSamenia^ qua Herculanum ad inferos tandem 
iitruferint^ fuperaggeratis adfingula illa^ feu bituminis^ feufrae- 
iorum igne tapiehtm quibufdam *oeluti pavimentis^ quorum numerus 
artos msfaciatf quo primum tempore Diiuvii aqua terra iliius 
fiorem cooperuerint f Ex mente Rquidem Blanchini, quandoquidem 
natura opera ordine procedunt^ vinaque^ ut confiaty pojlrema Ve^ 
Jievii «vomitiones (copioftp^es Jutbor intelligit^ pavimentis ii/is^er' 
mendis idoneasy) mille (^ fexcentii annis absfe invicem abfuerunt^ 
fronum efi argumentariy totidem annos inter binas alias intercederg 
debuijfe ; atque in bunc modum earundem quotquot evenerint nume^ 
ruSf certo innotefcens ex numero illorum pa'vimentorum, indubiam 
Tiddere idoneus erit aram eecumenica e/wvionis, cujus aqua fuper 
terram pavimentis iis omnibus fubje&am primum incuhutrinty bf 

pojiea