Neapolis

“ Neapolis, or Parthenope, as is well known, was founded by Parthenope, a siren who was cast ashore there. Her descendants still live here; and we have become a little weary of their inherited musical ability: they have learned to play upon many new instruments, with which they keep us awake late at night, and arouse us early in the morning. One of them is always there under the window, where the moonlight will strike him, or the early dawn will light up his love-worn visage, strumming the guitar with his horny thumb, and wailing through his nose as if his throat was full of seaweed. ”

“ Its port was where the harbour of S. Lucia existed up to twenty years ago. Neapolis occupied that part of the present Naples which lies to the east of this. About 400 B.C. the Republic, formed by these two then united towns, allied itself with Rome; and during the height of the Empire's power, her rulers, statesmen, and poets built themselves residences on the shores of the beautiful bay. Augustus did much for Neapolis, and Tiberius sought refuge in that entrancing island, Capri, where to this day his infamies are a byword. ”

“ From that time Palaeopolis totally disappeared from history, and Neapolis became an allied city (foederata civitas) —a dependency of Rome, to whose alliance it remained constantly faithful, even in the most trying circumstances. In 280 B.C. Pyrrhus unsuccessfully attacked its walls; and in the Second Punic War Hannibal was deterred by their strength from attempting to make himself master of the town. ”

“ Many absurdities have been written about the site of Palaepolis, and most of all by Italian antiquaries. We have no data to go upon except the two statements in Livy, that Palaepolis was situated by the side of Neapolis, and that the Romans [in the second Samnite war] had pitched their camp between the two towns. The ancient Neapolis was undoubtedly situated in the centre of the modern city of Naples above the church of Sta. Rosa; the coast is now considerably advanced. People have sought for Palaepolis likewise within the compass of the modern city. ... ”

“ How they live and bear fruit at all in such astonishingly rocky fields is a mystery, yet they are proverbially prolific. They seem ghosts of dead Syracuse, phantoms of the citizens who once, in the pride of their strength and glory, trod the streets of the great pentapolis of Epipolai, Neapolis, Tyche, Achradina and Ortygia—Syracuse all. ”

“ The anchor was quickly raised, the poised oars began to move with regular rhythm, and the boat bounded forward like a living thing. The bow cleaved the smooth water in gentle ripples, and the dripping oars, when raised for the next stroke, showered sparkling drops in the air like tears of joy.
Every one was inspired by the gorgeous sight. The emperor, looking at the retreating shores of Neapolis, pointed out to his companions the different villas that had once belonged to Cicero, [230] Lucullus, and Augustus. ”

“ Towards the mainland it was defended by a triple line of wall still to be traced, and on the sea-side by blocks of enormous strength, which are said to resemble those on the western side of the island of Aradus.597 In Roman times the town, under the name of Neapolis,598 attained a vast size, and was adorned with magnificent edifices, of which there are still numerous remains. The neighbourhood is rich in palm-groves and olive-groves,599 and the Cinyps region, regarded by Herodotus as the most fertile in North Africa,5100 lies at no great distance to the east. ”

“ But what force could not do, treachery brought about. Neapolis had ships of war with which frequent attacks may have been made against the Roman coasts, which the Romans were not able to protect: the Samnite garrison, at least to all appearance, lay for the greater part in Palæopolis, the Greeks in Neapolis. Two Greeks, Charilaus and Nymphæus, now betrayed the Samnites to the Roman consul Publilius Philo. They proposed an expedition against the Roman coast, and the Samnites marched out of the town ready to embark. ”

“ After mentioning the city of Sabrata, this author observes, in speaking of the country which lies between the Great and Lesser Syrtis, “Ibi civitas Oensis, Cynips fluvius ac regio, oppida, Neapolis, Taphra, Abrotonum, Leptis altera, quæ cognominatur magna.”— (Hist. Nat. lib. v. cap. 5.) Here we find Neapolis mentioned immediately after Oea, and distinguished from Leptis Magna. “Io crederei,” says Signor della Cella, “che sia piu conforme al vero, l’ammettere che Tripoli degli antichi geografi debba riconoscersi nelle rovine che trovansi a ponente de Tripoli tuttora chiamato Tripoli Vecchio. ”

“ Farther up the slopes of Neapolis and Epipolai straggle great rocky groves of uncanny, fantastically shaped old olives, the most disreputable-looking tenants of the soil imaginable. They are whorled like an oak, knobbed like an apple tree, split full of holes, leaning at all angles ”

“ CHAPTER V. The fall of Neapolis had occurred a few days after the meeting at Regeta, and Totila, on his march thither, met at Formiæ with his brother Hildebad, whom King Witichis had at once sent off with a few thousands to strengthen the garrison at Neapolis, until he himself could follow with a larger force. ”

“ In the silence of mountain valleys thinly grown with arbutus and pine and oak, open at all seasons to pure air, and breaking downwards to the sea, we understand the apparition of Pan to Pheidippides, we read the secret of a nation's art that aimed at definition before all things. The bay of Naples, the coast of Sicily, are instinct with the sense of those first settlers, who, coasting round the silent promontories, ran their keels upon the shelving shore, and drew them up along the strand, and named the spot Neapolis or Gela. ”

“ The site of Palaeopolis has given rise to much discussion, but the researches by R. T. Günther open completely new ground, and seem to be the correct solution of the problem. He places Palaeopolis at Gaiola Point and has discovered the remains of the harbour, the town hall and various other rudiments of the ancient city. This site, moreover, corresponds with Livy’s testimony, and would account for his statement that the towns of Palaeopolis and Neapolis were near together. ”

“ Neapolis could also be reached by a branch from the Via Popillia at Suessula, which passed through Acerrae. From Suessula, too, there was a short cut to the Via Appia before it actually entered the mountains. ”

“ Leptis Magna, a titular see of Tripolitana. Founded by the Sidonians in a fine and fertile country, it was the most important of the three towns which formed the Tripoli Confederation. The remains of the ancient Phœnician town are still visible, with the harbour, quays, walls, and inland defence, which make it look like Carthage. This Semitic city subsequently became the centre of a Greek city, Neapolis, of which most of the monuments are buried under sand. ”

“ They were placed for safe custody, along with the other prisoners, in the stone-quarries of Syracuse,—of which there were several, partly on the southern descent of the outer city towards the Nekropolis, or from the higher level to the lower level of Achradina,—partly in the suburb afterwards called Neapolis, under the southern cliff of Epipolæ. Into these quarries—deep hollows of confined space, with precipitous sides, and open at the top to the sky—the miserable prisoners were plunged, lying huddled one upon another, without the smallest protection or convenience. ”

“ Whilst the ancient cities thus lay buried and forgotten, Neapolis, the residence and burial-place of Virgil, [50] grew into the great modern city of Naples, extending its suburban villages along the shore, and connecting itself by a chain of houses to the very roots of Vesuvius. The next town to Naples is Portici. It contains 6000 inhabitants. Immediately adjoining Portici is the still larger town of Resina, with a population of 11,000 souls. These bustling and much frequented places are built upon the lava which covers Herculaneum.
[50] See Portrait Gallery, No. ”

“ There is here a subterranean passage, similar to that at Cumæ,1991 extending for many stadia along the mountain,1992 between Dicæarchia1993 and Neapolis: it is sufficiently broad to let carriages pass each other, and light is admitted from the surface of the mountain, by means of numerous apertures cut through a great depth.1994 Naples also has hot springs and baths not at all inferior in quality to those at Baïæ, but much less frequented, for another city has arisen there, not less than Dicæarchia, one palace after another having been built. ”

“ In the burial spots of the Genoese, as well as in the homes where they live, there is much of luxury and elegance. In its business activities, its social life, its climate, and its customs, Genoa is attractive, and holds the visitor there for sometime content.
NAPLES
On the most beautiful site in Europe stands Naples, the Neapolis of the Athenian colonists. After the Romans conquered it, it still retained Greek culture and institutions. It became the favorite summer resort of the Romans, and the delight of the poets Horace, Ovid, and Virgil. ”

“ Its site and environs are among the most beautiful in the world. The vicissitudes of its history are as remarkable as those of its volcanic soil. Here in hoar antiquity Greeks from Kyme (Cumæ) 138founded Parthenope, afterwards called Palaeopolis or ‘old town’, and Neapolis, or ‘new town’. Here, too, Ostrogoths, Byzantines, Normans, and Hohenstaufen held sway. Charles of Anjou (1266–85) made Naples his capital, which was much extended by Ferdinand I. of Aragon (1458–94) , by the Spanish viceroy Don Pedro de Toledo (1532–53) , and by the Bourbon Charles III. (1748–59) . ”

“ No need for me to describe in these humble records the phenomenal growth of Minneapolis; it is known and read of all men, and the world is startled at its rapid transition from a somewhat obscure manufacturing town to a great and prosperous city, whose foundations are so solid, and whose possibilities so great, that there seems no limit to its progress. We who have watched it from infancy are justly proud of our city, and it is certainly cause for congratulation that so much time and thought and money are given to establishing and fostering benevolent institutions and charities of all kinds. ”

“ Paul, the capital of Minnesota, is a very flourishing and beautiful city built on a series of terraces on the left or eastern bank of the great "Father of Waters," over which it commands magnificent views. The streets are paved with pine-logs, over which one travels in comfort that contrasts most favourably with the rough and clumsy paving-stones of New York. Minneapolis is situated ten miles further west, on the right bank of the Mississippi. ”

“ She hove anchor and was rowed out through the entrance between the ends of the granite piers of the harbour. The seamen hoisting the sails, the little ship went gaily out into the Ægean Sea.
All day they ran before the breeze and at night anchored under the lee of an island. At dawn they sailed northward again with a good wind, till they saw land. Behind the coast on high ground the columns of a temple glowed in the sunlight. They ran into a spacious bay and anchored in the harbour of a new city—Neapolis as it was called—the port of Philippi. ”

“ If, upon the other hand, you ask a Minneapolis man that question, what will he do? He will look at you pityingly and think you are demented. Then he will tell you very positively that there is nothing the matter with Minneapolis, but that there is something definitely the matter with any one who thinks there is! ”

“ The next was Minneapolis, a Scandinavian city, with a leadership of New Englanders. Then came Pittsburg, Scotch Presbyterian, and that was what my New York friend was. “Ah, but they are all foreign populations,” I heard. The next city was Philadelphia, the purest 5American community of all, and the most hopeless. And after that came Chicago and New York, both mongrel-bred, but the one a triumph of reform, the other the best example of good government that I had seen. The “foreign element” excuse is one of the hypocritical lies that save us from the clear sight of ourselves. ”

“ Each is a distinct urban community, although they lie so near together that they constitute one general centre of commerce and transportation when viewed from a distance. Their stimulating rivalry has had the effect to keep each city alert and to prevent a listless, degenerate local administration. About the Falls of St. Anthony, at Minneapolis, great manufacturing establishments are grouping themselves, and each year adds to the certainty that these two picturesque and charming cities have before them a most brilliant civic future. ”

“ Other changes equally disastrous in the artistic point of view are going on even more quickly. Beside the falls stands a city which by an ingenious combination of Greek and Sioux languages received the name of Minneapolis, the City of the Water, and which in 1867 contained ten thousand inhabitants, two national banks, and an opera house, while its rival city of St. Anthony, immediately opposite, boasts a gigantic water cure and the State University. In short, the great natural beauty of the place is utterly spoiled."
Minneapolis is essentially a manufacturing city. ”

“ Coming to Minneapolis when a young man, seventeen years before, he had fought for employment, fought with his employers for position, fought with his employees, the lumber Jacks, for command, fought for his company against competitors ”

“ Such persons are no more acceptable socially [54] in Chicago, Minneapolis, or Denver than they are in New York. The country is so closely knit together that a fashionable gathering in one place presents very much the appearance of a similar function in another. New York, socially speaking, is very hospitable to the Southerner; the South has a tradition of aristocracy that the West lacks. In both New York and Boston a very different tone characterizes the mention of a Southern girl and any reference to a daughter of the West. ”