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An historical geography of the Gargaliani Didstrict

• Λυριτζής, Σωτήρης Θ.

The Spanish argeologist Saturnino Himenez is known from his work: «L’ Asie Mineure en ruines, Paris 1924». He was a titeless reaveller.In the summer of 1900 he visited Greece. On an archeological journey to Messeniac Pylos he passed Kyparissia. A teacher of Kyparissia, A. Pe- trides. followed him on his journey to the South. On the coast near Gargaliani, they visited the place called Dialiskari, where there are Hellenistic and Roman ruins, which were first correctly identified by Ximenez as the ancient town Erana.South of Dialiskari (Erana), at a distance of 7 klm, is the place Vryso- mylos (or Vromoner), where there are ruins of Roman and later times. Himenez, influenced by a relevant passage in the Geography of Meletios, wrongly identified Vrysomylos with Messeniac Haliartos, mentined by Ptolemy (HI. 14, 42) and the Vrysomylos spring with the Achaia spring mentioned by Pausanias (IV. 33, 7).A. Petrides interposed his own comments as well, but he made a wrong hypothesis about the etymology of the place-name Gargaliani, which actually originated from the Viachic gargaliànu > Latin gurgulio.Strabo also deals with the geography of the Gargaliani district (VIII. 3, 23, 348) but the correct emendation of the relevant passage is surely the following, based on Coraes's wise comments: ««'Εφεξής δ' ούν τφ Κυπαρισσήεντι επί την Μεσσηνιακήν Πύλον παραπλεοντι και το Κορυφάσιον ή 'Έρανα έστιν, ήν τινες ούκ εύ Άρήνην νομίζουσι κεκλησθαι πρότερον όμωνύμως τη Πυλιακη. εστι δέ πλαταμώδης, άφ’ ής επί τό Κορυφάσιον καί τήν νυν καλουμένην Πύλον εκατόν είσι στάδιοι. Έστι δέ καί Κενήριον, καί επ' αύτφ πολίχνιόν τι όμωνύμως καλούμενον».Vrysomylos is identified with Kenerion, and the Vrysomylos river with River Solas mentioned by Ptolemy (ΙΙ. 16, 7).

• History and Archaeology

• Ιστορία, Αρχαία
• Ιστορική γεωγραφία

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